1902 FA Cup final
The 1902 FA Cup final was an association football match between Sheffield United and Southampton on Saturday, 19 April 1902 at the Crystal Palace stadium in south London.
Sheffield United won 2–1 with goals by George Hedley and Billy Barnes against one by Albert Brown for Southampton.
Sheffield United were appearing in the final for the third time, having defeated Derby County 4–1 in 1899 and lost 1–3 to Tottenham Hotspur in the 1901 replay.
[6] Sheffield United entered the competition in the first round proper and played seven matches, including three replays, en route to the final.
[10] Sheffield faced First Division opposition again in the third round (the quarter-final stage) having been drawn away to Newcastle United.
In its report of the third round matches, The Times mentioned that Newcastle had beaten the league-leaders Sunderland and so were confident of success against Sheffield.
[12] The semi-finals were staged at neutral venues on Saturday, 15 March, and Sheffield United were drawn to play Derby County at The Hawthorns in West Bromwich.
Priest scored the only goal of the game after Derby had missed a penalty and Sheffield United won 1–0 to reach their third final in four seasons.
[20][21][22] Like Sheffield United, Southampton entered the competition in the first round proper and played six matches, including two replays, en route to the final.
The Tottenham goals were both scored by Ted Hughes and Southampton's scorers were Edgar Chadwick and Joe Turner.
[24] The second replay was played on a neutral venue at Elm Park, the home of Reading FC, on Monday, 3 February, in front of a crowd of only 6,000.
Southampton equalised very quickly with a goal by Archie Turner and then, when it looked as if the match would end in another draw, Tottenham's Sandy Tait made a poor backpass to his goalkeeper Fred Griffiths.
[24] In the second round on Saturday, 8 February, Southampton were drawn at home against the reigning Football League champions Liverpool, who had dropped into a mid-table position in the First Division.
After sprinting the full length of the pitch, Brown unleashed a shot that hit the crossbar and rebounded over his head.
[31] In extra time, Albert Brown scored twice, once from the penalty spot and then, in the final minute, with what the match report called "a wonderful goal with a screw shot from an oblique angle".
[33] For extra preparation, Southampton's players went to nearby Chilworth and stayed at the Clump Inn which had useful training facilities.
Many fans tried to get a better view of the match by climbing the surrounding trees which, according to David Bull and Bob Brunskell, "shook as though whipped by a gale, denoting the enthusiasm of adventurous individuals who were in their branches".
It was agreed that Southampton would wear their normal kit and Sheffield United wore white shirts with dark shorts.
After consultation between the referee and his linesmen, the officials decided that the ball had struck a United defender, thus playing Wood onside.
[36] At the end of the game United's goalkeeper, William "Fatty" Foulke, protested to the officials that the equalising goal should not have been allowed.
Foulke, who was reputed to weigh more than 20 stone (280 pounds; or 127 kg), left his dressing room unclothed and angrily pursued the referee, Tom Kirkham, who took refuge in a broom cupboard.
Foulke had to be stopped by a group of FA officials from wrenching the cupboard door off its hinges to reach the hapless referee.
[38] The Times criticised the teams for persistent foul play and named Southampton as the worst offenders, calling them the "chief delinquents".
Southampton fielded an unchanged team; Sheffield had to replace Walter Bennett, who had an ankle injury, with Billy Barnes.
[39][40][30] Two minutes into the game, Southampton goalkeeper Robinson stumbled when trying to intercept a cross by Bert Lipsham, allowing George Hedley to score the opening goal for Sheffield.
[37] It looked as though the match was going into extra time, when, with ten minutes remaining, Robinson failed to cut out a cross from Common and Barnes was left with an unguarded net to score the winner for Sheffield.
[48] Southampton were the third Southern League team in succession to reach the FA Cup final, following themselves in 1900 and Tottenham in 1901.
