Wanderers successfully pursued on 16 March 1872, at Kennington Oval, London the first FA Cup defeating the Royal Engineers by a single goal, made by Morton Betts, who was playing under the pseudonym A. H. Chequer.
The Football Association, the governing body of the sport in England, had been formed in 1863, and for the first eight years of its existence, its member clubs contested only each other inconsequentially in friendly matches, no prizes at stake.
[1] In 1871, however, Charles Alcock, the association's secretary, conceived the idea for a knock-out tournament open to all member clubs, with a trophy to be awarded to the winner.
When a match was drawn after 90 minutes, there would either be a replay, or both teams would be allowed to proceed to the next round; the choice between these alternatives was left to the organising committee's discretion in each case.
Queen's Park continued to compete in the FA Cup until 1887, when the Scottish Football Association banned its member clubs from entering the English competition.
After holding Wanderers to a draw in the semi-final, however, they could not afford to return to London for a replay and were themselves forced to withdraw, giving their opponents a walkover into the final.
Wanderers and Royal Engineers both won their matches by walkover when their opponents withdrew from the competition, and as Queen's Park and Donington School were unable to agree on a mutually acceptable date for the game, they were both allowed to progress to the second round without playing.
The committee ordered a replay (the first in FA Cup history), with the Heathens emerging victorious, despite playing both matches away from home and with only ten players.
[8][9] The odd number of teams at this stage in the competition resulted Queen's Park receiving a bye and reach the semi-finals without having played a match in this round.
Wanderers and Crystal Palace were both permitted to advance to the semi-finals without a replay All matches from this stage of the competition onwards were played at Kennington Oval in London.
Queen's Park, however, could not afford to make the long trip from Glasgow a second time and thus withdrew from the competition, giving Wanderers a place in the final.