1987–88 FA Cup

Most participating clubs that were not members of the Football League competed in the qualifying rounds to secure one of 28 places available in the first round. The winners from the fourth qualifying round were Bishop Auckland, Macclesfield Town, Colwyn Bay, Runcorn, Chorley, Lincoln City, Northwich Victoria, Billingham Synthonia, Atherstone United, Welling United, Chelmsford City, Dagenham, VS Rugby, Barnet, Aylesbury United, Hayes, Worcester City, Halesowen Town, Tamworth, Sutton United, Carshalton Athletic, Bath City, Merthyr Tydfil, Farnborough Town, Bognor Regis Town, Yeovil Town, Maidstone United and Cheltenham Town. Appearing in the competition proper for the first time were Colwyn Bay and Atherstone United. Of the others, Merthyr Tydfil had last featured at this stage in 1979–80, Cheltenham Town had last done so in 1974-75, Hayes had last done so in 1973-74, Tamworth had last done so in 1970-71 and Billingham Synthonia had last done so in 1957-58. Macclesfield Town, Sutton United and Yeovil Town each played nine matches across seven rounds of this tournament, progressing from the first qualifying round to the third round proper. Yeovil Town did this from the Isthmian League at Step 6 of English football, while Macclesfield Town and Sutton United were from the Football Conference at Step 5. Sutton United also managed to push Middlesbrough to extra time in a replay (at Ayresome Park) before being knocked out of the competition. ==First round proper==

The 48 teams from the Football League Third and Fourth Divisions entered in this round along with the 28 non-league clubs from the qualifying rounds and Kidderminster Harriers, Burton Albion, Altrincham and Telford United who were given byes. 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. This round included four clubs from the various competitions at Step 8 of the English football pyramid: Bishop Auckland and Billingham Synthonia from the Northern League, Colwyn Bay from the North West Counties League and Tamworth from the West Midlands (Regional) League. ==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). Step 6 sides Yeovil Town, from the Isthmian League Premier Division, and VS Rugby, from the Southern League Premier Division, were the lowest-ranked teams in the draw. ==Third round proper==

Teams from the Football League First and Second Divisions entered in this round. 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. Yeovil Town was again the lowest-ranked team in the draw, while Macclesfield Town, Maidstone United, Sutton United, Bath City and Yeovil were the last non-league clubs left in the competition. ==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. Holders Coventry City were eliminated by Watford. Fourth Division side Leyton Orient was the lowest-ranked team in the draw. ==Fifth round proper==

The fifth set of games was played over the weekend 20–21 February 1988, with replays on 23–24 February. Port Vale, from the Third Division, was the lowest-ranked team in the draw and the last team from the First Round left in the competition. ==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. {{football box ---- {{football box ==Final==

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The right to show FA Cup games was, 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 ==References==