Champion Wimbledon F.C. | Dates 14 Nov 1987 – 14 May 1988 | |
The 1987–88 FA Cup was the 108th season of the world's oldest knockout football competition, The Football Association Challenge Cup, or FA Cup for short. The competition was won by Wimbledon F.C.'s Crazy Gang who defeated league champions Liverpool through a goal by Lawrie Sanchez, thus denying Liverpool the double. They would be one of three clubs other than Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool to win the trophy in the following 20 years (the others being Everton and Spurs) before Portsmouth's victory in the 2008 final.
Contents
- First round proper
- Second Round Proper
- Third round proper
- Fourth Round Proper
- Fifth Round Proper
- Sixth Round Proper
- Semi Finals
- Television Coverage
- References
The tournament started in August 1987 with non-league teams competing in a qualifying competition. Teams from the First and Second Divisions entered at the third round.
First round proper
The first round of games were played over the weekend 14–15 November 1987, with the exception of the Welling United – Carshalton Athletic game. Replays were played in the midweek fixtures on 16th-17th. All other replays were played on 28 November.
Second Round Proper
The second round of games were played over 5–6 December 1987, with replays being played at various dates afterwards (no replay was played on the same night as another).
Third round proper
The third round of games in the FA Cup were played over the weekend 9–11 January 1988, with the first set of replays being played on 12–13 January. Three games went to second replays and one of these to a third replay.
Fourth Round Proper
The fourth round of games were played over the weekend 30 January-1 February 1988, with replays being played on 3 February. A second replay was then played on 9 February.
Fifth Round Proper
The fifth set of games were played over the weekend 20–21 February 1988, with replays on 23–24 February.
Sixth Round Proper
The sixth round of FA Cup games were played over the weekend 12–13 March 1988. There were no replays.
Semi-Finals
Luton Town's fine season in the cup competitions culminated in a semi-final clash with Wimbledon at White Hart Lane. Wimbledon emerged as 2-1 winners to reach the FA Cup final, in only their second season in the First Division and their 11th in the Football League.
On the same day, First Division leaders Liverpool took on a resurgent Nottingham Forest at Hillsborough. Top scorer John Aldridge found the net twice in a 2-1 win.
Television Coverage
The right to show FA Cup games were, as with Football League matches, shared between the BBC and ITV. The stations would alternate between showing a live game and a highlights programme. No games from Rounds 1 or 2 were shown. Occasional highlights of replays would be shown on either the BBC or ITV.
These matches were.
1Footage available on YouTube