2002–03 FA Cup

The 2002–03 FA Cup was the 122nd staging of the world's oldest cup competition, the FA Cup. The competition was won by Arsenal with a 1–0 victory in the final at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff against Southampton, courtesy of a Robert Pires goal.

Calendar

Qualifying rounds

All participating clubs that were not members of the Premier League or Football League entered the competition in the qualifying rounds to secure one of 32 places available in the first round proper.

The winners from the fourth qualifying round were Runcorn Halton, Morecambe, Southport, Harrogate Railway Athletic, Doncaster Rovers, Barrow, Chester City, Scarborough, Burton Albion, Northwich Victoria, Vauxhall Motors, Harrogate Town, Guiseley, Moor Green, Stafford Rangers, Hereford United, St Albans City, Boreham Wood, Slough Town, Hastings United, Stevenage Borough, Crawley Town, Farnborough Town, Havant & Waterlooville, Margate, Dover Athletic, Tiverton Town, Dagenham & Redbridge, Heybridge Swifts, Forest Green Rovers, Team Bath and Yeovil Town.

Harrogate Railway Athletic, Harrogate Town and Team Bath were appearing in the competition proper for the first time. Additionally, Hastings United (formerly ''Hastings Town'') and Dover Athletic were appearing at this stage for the first time in their own right after the original Hastings United and the original Dover FC had last qualified for the first round in 1981-82. The Ellesmere Port-based Vauxhall Motors was also featuring in the main draw for the first time in their own right after their now-defunct corporate rivals ''Vauxhall Motors (Luton)'' had reached the first round in 1947-48.

Of the others, Crawley Town had last appeared at this stage in 1994–95, Stafford Rangers had last done so in 1992-93, and Moor Green had last done so in 1979-80.

First round proper

At this stage the 48 Second and Third Division clubs joined the 32 non-league clubs who came through the qualifying rounds. Step 8 sides Harrogate Railway Athletic, from the Northern Counties East League, and Team Bath, from the Western League, were the lowest-ranked teams in the draw.

The matches were scheduled to be played on the weekend of Saturday, 16 November 2002, with replays in the week commencing 25 November.

Second round proper

The matches were scheduled to be played on the weekend of Saturday, 7 December 2002, with replays in the week commencing 16 December. Harrogate Railway Athletic was again the lowest-ranked team in the draw.

Third round proper

This round was the first in which Division 1 and Premier League (top-flight) teams entered the competition. The matches were scheduled to be played on the weekend of Saturday, 4 January 2003, with replays in the week commencing 13 January. The round featured three clubs from the Football Conference (Step 5): Farnborough Town, Morecambe and Dagenham & Redbridge.

Shrewsbury, who ended the season with relegation from the Football League, achieved the biggest upset of the round (if not the whole competition), with a surprise 2–1 win over an Everton side who were pushing for a place in Europe and featuring a 17-year-old striker called Wayne Rooney – one of the most promising young players in the game.

Fourth round proper

* Matches played weekend of 25 January 2003
* Four replays played week commencing 3 February 2003
* Farnborough Town and Dagenham & Redbridge were again the lowest-ranked teams in the draw. By this stage, they were also the last non-league teams left in the competition.

Fifth round proper

* Matches played weekend of 15 February 2003
* One replay played 26 February 2003
* Third Division side Rochdale was the lowest-ranked team in the draw and the last team from the First Round left in the competition

Sixth round proper

Holders Arsenal moved closer to retaining the trophy by beating Chelsea 3–1 in a replay that followed a 2–2 draw. They were paired in the semi-finals with Sheffield United, while the other semi-final would be contested between Southampton and Watford.

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Replay

Semi-finals

For the 11th season running, the FA Cup final would be contested by top division clubs – Arsenal and Southampton. Their semi-final opponents (Sheffield United and Watford respectively) were both Division One sides.

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Final

The final took place on Saturday, 17 May 2003 at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff and ended 1–0 with a goal by Robert Pires separating the sides.

It was the third consecutive year the final was played at the Millennium Stadium, due to the ongoing reconstruction of Wembley Stadium, the final's usual venue. There were 73,726 spectators at the game. Arsenal retained the trophy, winning it for the ninth time in their history – a record second only to that of Manchester United.

It was also Southampton's first FA Cup final since 1976, when they won the trophy for the only time to date.

Notes

Media coverage

In the United Kingdom, the BBC were the free to air broadcasters for the second consecutive season while Sky Sports were the subscription broadcasters for the fifteenth consecutive season.

The matches shown live on the BBC were:
* Forest Green Rovers 0-0 Exeter City (R1)
* Oxford United 1-0 Swindon Town (R2)
* Southampton 4-0 Tottenham Hotspur (R3)
* Manchester City 0-1 Liverpool (R3)
* Manchester United 6-0 West Ham United (R4)
* Shrewsbury Town 0-4 Chelsea (R4)
* Manchester United 0-2 Arsenal (R5)
* Wolverhampton Wanderers 3-1 Rochdale (R5)
* Arsenal 2-2 Chelsea (QF)
* Watford 2-0 Burnley (QF)
* Arsenal 1-0 Sheffield United (SF)
* Arsenal 1-0 Southampton (Final)

The matches shown live on Sky Sports were:
* Team Bath 2-4 Mansfield Town (R1)
* Hereford United 0-1 Wigan Athletic (R1)
* Burton Albion 2-2 Oldham Athletic (R1 Replay)
* Macclesfield Town 2-0 Vauxhall Motors (R2)
* Harrogate Railway 1-3 Bristol City (R2)
* Manchester United 4-1 Portsmouth (R3)
* Wolverhampton Wanderers 3-2 Newcastle United (R3)
* Coventry City 3-0 Cardiff City (R3 Replay)
* Gillingham 1-1 Leeds United (R4)
* Crystal Palace 0-0 Liverpool (R4)
* Millwall 1-2 Southampton (R4 Replay)
* Crystal Palace 1-2 Leeds United (R5)
* Stoke City 0-2 Chelsea (R5)
* Burnley 3-0 Fulham (R5 Replay)
* Sheffield United 1-0 Leeds United (QF)
* Southampton 2-0 Wolverhampton Wanderers (QF)
* Chelsea 1-3 Arsenal (QF Replay)
* Watford 1-2 Southampton (SF)
* Arsenal 1-0 Southampton (Final)

The second round replay between Carlisle United vs. Scunthorpe United was originally scheduled to be on Sky Sports on 19 December 2002, but because of weather conditions, the game was postponed.

References

External links

2002/03 Results on www.thefa.comResults on Soccerbase

{{DEFAULTSORT:2002-03 FA Cup

FA Cup seasons
FA Cup