1996–97 FA Cup

Most participating clubs that were not members of the Premier League or 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 Kidderminster Harriers, Consett, Stalybridge Celtic, Boston United, Hednesford Town, Newcastle Town, Runcorn, Colwyn Bay, Whitby Town, Southport, Altrincham, Morecambe, Shepshed Dynamo, Merthyr Tydfil, Wisbech Town, Cheltenham Town, Hendon, Bromley, Ashford Town (Kent), St Albans City, Rushden & Diamonds, Welling United, Boreham Wood, Hayes, Farnborough Town, Stevenage Borough, Dagenham & Redbridge and Sudbury Town. Newcastle Town and Sudbury Town were appearing in the competition proper for the first time while, of the others, Hendon had not featured at this stage since 1988–89, Whitby Town had not done so since 1986-87, Shepshed Dynamo had not done so since 1982-83, Boreham Wood had not done so since 1977-78, Bromley since 1976-77, Consett since 1958-59 and Hednesford Town since 1919-20. In Hednesford Town's only previous appearance in the competition proper, they became one of the first two clubs to participate in nine rounds of one Cup tournament. This season, they featured in eight rounds of the competition - after defeating Wednesfield, Evesham United, Tamworth and Telford United in the qualifying rounds, they accounted for Southport, Blackpool and York City in the main draw before going out to Premier League side Middlesbrough in the fourth round in a match played at Riverside Stadium despite Hednesford being the designated "home" team. ==First round proper==

The 48 teams from the Football League Second and Third Division entered in this round along with the 28 non-league qualifiers and Macclesfield Town, Northwich Victoria, Woking and Enfield who were given byes. The draw for this round included four teams from the various competitions at Step 8 of English football: Whitby Town and Consett from the Northern League First Division, Newcastle Town from the North West Counties League First Division and Wisbech Town from the Eastern Counties League Premier Division. This was a rare season in which more clubs from Step 8 than from Step 7 qualified for the first round. The matches were played on 16 November 1996. There were thirteen replays, with two ties requiring a penalty shootout to settle them. Sudbury Town's shock penalty shootout win over Brighton & Hove Albion capped off the last FA Cup match ever played at the Goldstone Ground. ==Second round proper==

The second round of the competition featured the winners of the first round ties. The matches were played on 7 December 1996, with four replays and one penalty shootout required. The round included six clubs from Step 6 of the football pyramid: Enfield, St Albans City and Boreham Wood from the Isthmian League Premier Division, Ashford Town (Kent) and Sudbury Town from the Southern League Premier Division and Boston United from the Northern Premier League Premier Division. Similarly to the first round, this was a rare instance in which more teams from Step 6 than from Step 5 qualified for this stage (although all of the Step 5 teams and none of the Step 6 teams progressed through to the next round). ==Third round proper==

The 44 teams from the Premier League and the Football League First Division entered the competition at this stage. Due to adverse weather conditions, the initial matches were played on various dates between 4-21 January 1997. There were nine replays, with no penalty shootouts required. Hednesford Town, Stevenage Borough and Woking from the Football Conference (Step 5) were the lowest-ranked teams in the draw. ==Fourth round proper==

The fourth round ties featured the thirty-two winners from the previous round. The matches were originally scheduled for Saturday, 25 January 1997, although six matches were played on later dates. There was only one replay. Hednesford Town was again the lowest-ranked team in the draw and was, by this stage, the last non-league club left in the competition. ==Fifth round proper==

The fifth-round matches were scheduled for Saturday, 15 February 1997. There was, again, only one replay. Chesterfield and Wrexham, from the Second Division, were the lowest-ranked teams in the draw. ==Sixth round proper==

The sixth round ties were scheduled for the weekend of 8–9 March. No replays were required. Chesterfield defeated Wrexham 1–0 in a rare "all-Third Tier" quarter-final clash, while Middlesbrough's 2–0 win at Derby County moved them a step closer to their first-ever FA Cup final. {{football box ---- {{football box ---- {{football box ---- {{football box ==Semi-finals==

The semi-final ties were played at neutral venues on 13 April 1997. Middlesbrough and Chelsea came through their ties (with Middlesbrough requiring a replay against Second Division side Chesterfield) to reach the final. Wimbledon, playing the semi-finals for the first time since they were FA Cup winners nine years earlier, had their hopes of FA Cup glory ended by a semi-final defeat at the hands of Chelsea. This came just weeks after Wimbledon had been eliminated from the League Cup semi-finals. Middlesbrough, on the other hand, reached the FA Cup final for the first time in their history, but only after a 3–0 replay win over a Chesterfield side that had given them a serious run for their money in the first match. Chesterfield narrowly missed out on becoming the first third-tier side to reach the FA Cup final after an exciting match ended in a 3–3 draw. The Spireites took a 2–0 lead in the second half and had a goal controversially ruled out despite the ball appearing to cross the line (video evidence is inconclusive), which would have seen them go 3–1 up. {{football box ---- {{football box ;Replay {{football box ==Final==

The 1997 FA Cup Final took place on 17 May 1997 at Wembley Stadium. Chelsea were attempting to win the FA Cup for the first time in 27 years, while Middlesbrough were contesting their first ever FA Cup final, having only just competed in their first ever League Cup final one month earlier. Chelsea took to the field on the back of something of a renaissance under Dutch manager Ruud Gullit, having recorded their best league finish for a decade. Middlesbrough, on the other hand, began the final having been relegated from the Premier League and had also been losing finalists in the League Cup. Chelsea beat Middlesbrough 2–0, with Roberto Di Matteo scoring the fastest goal in FA Cup Final history, 43 seconds after kick-off. This beat Jackie Milburn's record from the 1955 FA Cup Final, who scored after 45 seconds. Di Matteo's record was then beaten in 2009 (coincidentally against Chelsea) by Everton's Louis Saha (27.9 seconds). Eddie Newton scored the Blues' second goal in the 83rd minute to clinch the match and give Chelsea their first major trophy in 26 years. ==Media coverage==

For the ninth consecutive season in the United Kingdom, the BBC were the free to air broadcasters which was their last before ITV took over while Sky Sports were the subscription broadcasters. The matches shown live on the BBC were: • Manchester United 2-0 Tottenham Hotspur (R3) • Chelsea 4-2 Liverpool (R4) • Leicester City 2-2 Chelsea (R5) • Sheffield Wednesday 0-2 Wimbledon (QF) • Chelsea 3-0 Wimbledon (SF) • Chelsea 2-0 Middlesbrough (Final) The matches shown live on Sky Sports were: • Woking 2-2 Millwall (R1) • Northampton Town 0-1 Watford (R1) • Millwall 0-1 Woking (R1 Replay) • Plymouth Argyle 4-1 Exeter City (R2) • Cardiff City 0-2 Gillingham (R2) • Wycombe Wanderers 3-2 Barnet (R2 Replay) • Charlton Athletic 1-1 Newcastle United (R3) • Sunderland 0-2 Arsenal (R3 Replay) • Newcastle United 1-2 Nottingham Forest (R4) • Wimbledon 1-0 Manchester United (R4 Replay) • Bradford City 0-1 Sheffield Wednesday (R5) • Chelsea 1-0 Leicester City (R5 Replay) • Portsmouth 1-4 Chelsea (QF) • Middlesbrough 3-3 Chesterfield (SF) • Chesterfield 0-3 Middlesbrough (SF Replay) ==References==