Unlucky Derby
There was another upset in
the 1898. Derby beat Nottingham Forest 5-0 the week
before the Final but lost the big game 3-1. In fact,
Derby were the unluckiest team of this era. In the nine
season between 1896 and 1904 Derby County reached the
Semi Finals of the Cup seven times and the Final three
times. But they did not win the Cup until
1946.
In 1901 Tottenham Hotspur played in their first ever
Cup Final against Sheffield United at Crystal Palace.
Tottenham were not even in the Football League at this
time, but they lead 2-1 until Sheffield United scored a
very strange goal.
The ball was pushed around the post by the Tottenham
goalkeeper, and the linesman signalled a corner. The
referee, however, was fifty yards down the pitch. He
gave a goal and the game ended a 2-2 draw.
The replay was held in Bolton. Sheffield United scored
first, but Tottenham came back to win 3-1. They became
the first team outside the Football League to win the
FA Cup since 1888.
Newcastle
Newcastle United did not like the
Crystal Palace ground. Between 1905 and 1911 they
played in five FA Cup Finals there - and did not
win one of them. They drew the Final in 1910 and
went on to win the replay, but they never won in
London.
During this era Newcastle were the best team in
England. They won the League Championship three times
and never finished outside the top eight of the First
Division. Yet for some reason they seemed to have
problems against lower division teams.
In 1906 they lost at home to non-League Crystal Palace
in the First Round of the Cup. In 1908 they lost in the
Final to Second Division Wolves.
Crystal Palace
Pitch
Some Newcastle supporters
blamed the Crystal Palace pitch. They said the grass
was too long, and that this stopped Newcastle's passing
game. But perhaps the problem was in the minds of the
Newcastle players. Football is played with the head as
well as the feet.
In 1910 Newcastle finally won the FA Cup. Lord
Kinnaird, the first famous footballer, presented Cup to
the Newcastle captain. Newcastle kept the Cup because
the FA decided to produce a new one.
Newcastle again reached the Cup Final in 1911, and
again drew the match at Crystal Palace. They lost the
replay to Bradford City.