1884 FA Cup final

Queen's Park Queen's Park were invited to compete in the 1883–84 FA Cup, despite being from Scotland. They had previously been invited on several occasions from the 1871–72 competition onwards, but ultimately withdrew on each occasion. Their most successful runs had been in both 1871–72 and 1872–73 when they reached the semi-final each time before withdrawing. On each occasion since, they had withdrawn from the cup without playing any matches. Queen's 1883–84 FA Cup campaign began on 6 October 1883 with a 10–0 victory over Crewe Alexandra in the first round in front of a crowd of 2,000 spectators. The second round saw their first home game, and a 15–0 victory against Manchester F.C. on 1 December. They defeated the English Welsh-border team from Oswestry in the third round, 7–1. They were drawn at home against Aston Villa in the fourth round, but the match was called into doubt when it was scheduled to take place on the same date and location as Queen's Park's match against Hibernian F.C. in the Scottish Cup. Queen's and their fellow Scottish opponents agreed to postpone the match for two weeks. There was a great deal of interest by the spectators from Birmingham, and three special trains were laid on to transport them to Glasgow for the game with more than 1200 of them travelling north of the border. Around 10,000 fans filled the ground where they watched Queen's Park defeat Aston Villa 6–1. The fifth round was their lowest scoring game of the campaign, where they won away to Old Westminsters 1–0 at the Kennington Oval in London. In the semi-final they defeated Blackburn Olympic 4–1 to set up a final against the other Blackburn-based team; the match was played at a neutral venue in Nottingham. Olympic subsequently complained to The Football Association as the crowd invaded the pitch to cause disruption for their team; the complaint was not upheld. Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers also started their campaign in the first round, where they won their first game at home against Southport Central 7–1. The second round saw them drawn away to South Shore at Blackpool resulting in a further victory by a margin of 7–0. They defeated Padiham 3–0 in the third round, once again at their home ground of Leamington Street, and in the fourth round against Staveley 5–1 in a match which was dominated by Rovers and in front of a crowd of 3000 spectators. Rovers won once again in an away game against Upton Park at West Ham Park by a scoreline of 3–0 in the fifth round. The match was more competitive than the scoreline might suggest, as Blackburn were a goal down at half time but won the game after a goal by John Inglis and two by Joe Lofthouse in the second half. At Birmingham in a neutral venue, they defeated Notts County in the semi-final 1–0. but the FA did not uphold the complaint. == Pre-match ==

Prior to the match, Queen's Park and Blackburn Rovers had met on three occasions; each time the game ended in a draw. Queen's went into the match as the favourites, being the most successful club in Scotland at that point and having developed a style of play involving short passing which was not in use in England. Blackburn Rovers were seeking to emulate the success of rivals Blackburn Olympic, who were the current holders of the trophy, and the team that Queen's Park defeated in the semi-final. Blackburn trained during the week prior to the game by conducting practise games and going for walks. They departed for the London area by train on the day before the final; a large crowd of local supporters gathered at the train station in Blackburn to wish them well as they left. Additional stands were built at the Oval for the match at both the Gasometer end and on the west side, as the Pavilion was reserved for members of the Surrey County Cricket Club. == Match ==

(here pictured in 1891), venue for the match The match was refereed by Major Francis Marindin of the Royal Engineers, who was also President of the Football Association. His two umpires were Charles Wollaston of Wanderers and C. Crump of the Birmingham Football Association. According to initial estimates, there were around 10,000 to 12,000 spectators, Queen's won the coin toss and chose to defend the gasometer end. Rovers kicked off, but play quickly turned in the Scottish team's favour and they made the first two attacks. The work of Inglis and Sowerbutts saw Rovers take control of the match briefly, but Queen's Park were awarded an indirect free kick for handball inside the Blackburn half. The ball was shot straight into the Blackburn net without touching another player, and so no goal was awarded. Rovers quickly gained a corner kick but failed to score. Queen's Park then committed the second handball of the game, giving Rovers a free kick. Brown took the ball up the wing, and centred it towards Forrest, who turned the ball into the back of the Queen's Park goal and put Blackburn two ahead. In response, Queen's Park's attacks on the Blackburn defence increased, and they scored through Christie before half time. they were not presented publicly. Instead, Major Marindin handed them over in the dressing rooms. Match details Match rules90 minutes.30 minutes extra-time if scores are level, at captains' discretion.Replay if scores still level.No substitutes. == Post-match ==

Following the match, the referee admitted that at one point during the game the ball had passed the Blackburn goal line, but as Queen's Park did not attempt to claim the goal, it was not awarded. Following their victory in the FA Cup final, Blackburn Rovers played Blackburn Olympic in the final of the Lancashire Association Cup where Rovers won once again 2–1. The 1884 FA Cup was the first of a winning streak for Rovers, with the team retaining the trophy for the following two seasons, by first defeating Queen's Park again in 1885 and then West Bromwich Albion following a replay in 1886. This run was ended in the second round of the 1886-87 FA Cup when Rovers played another Scottish team, Renton. After an initial 2–2 draw played at Queen's Park's ground at Hampden Park, Renton were victorious in the replay. == References ==