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The 1905–06 FA Cup was the 35th staging of the world's oldest association football competition, the Football Association Challenge Cup (more usually known as the FA Cup). Everton won the competition for the first time, beating Newcastle United 1–0 in the final at Crystal Palace.
 The Everton team following the club's first FA Cup victory | |
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Country | England |
| Defending champions | Aston Villa |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Everton (1st title) |
| Runner-up | Newcastle United |
Matches were scheduled to be played at the stadium of the team named first on the date specified for each round, which was always a Saturday. If scores were level after 90 minutes had been played, a replay would take place at the stadium of the second-named team later the same week. If the replayed match was drawn further replays would be held at neutral venues until a winner was determined. If scores were level after 90 minutes had been played in a replay, a 30-minute period of extra time would be played.
The Crystal Palace versus Chelsea tie in the third qualifying round led to the Football Association changing the rules. The tie was scheduled to be played on 18 November 1905, and Chelsea were also obliged to play a Football League game against Burnley on the same day. Chelsea were chasing promotion from the Second Division, so they fielded a full strength side in the league and sent a reserve team to the FA Cup match. Crystal Palace won the fixture 7–1. As a result of the outcry, the Football Association amended their rules such that teams must always field their strongest side in the FA Cup.[1]
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The format of the FA Cup for the season had a preliminary round, four qualifying rounds, four proper rounds, and the semi-finals and final.
| Round | Date |
|---|---|
| Preliminary Round | 23 September 1905 |
| First Qualifying Round | 7 October 1905 |
| Second Qualifying Round | 28 October 1905 |
| Third Qualifying Round | 18 November 1905 |
| Fourth Qualifying Round | 9 December 1905 |
| First Round Proper | 13 January 1906 |
| Second Round Proper | 3 February 1906 |
| Third Round Proper | 24 February 1906 |
| Fourth Round Proper | 10 March 1906 |
| Semi-finals | 31 March 1906 |
| Final | 21 April 1906 |
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The Football Association reduced the number of places available to non-league clubs in the qualifying rounds of this year's Cup tournament. Restructuring of the competition during the 1905 close-season resulted in the temporary suspension of the extra preliminary, fifth qualifying and sixth qualifying rounds, and the permanent abolition of the Intermediate Round, but also allowed up to 24 non-league clubs to qualify for the main draw (although eleven Football League clubs were still required to enter the tournament in the qualifying stages).
At the end of the fourth qualifying round, the 24 teams progressing to the first round were Stockport County, Barnsley, Hull City, Bradford City, Burton United, Burslem Port Vale, Gainsborough Trinity and Clapton Orient from the Football League along with non-league sides Barrow, Bishop Auckland, Kettering, Crewe Alexandra, Watford, King's Lynn, Northampton Town, Worcester City, Tunbridge Wells Rangers, Norwich City, the Sidcup-based New Crusaders, Brighton & Hove Albion, Swindon Town, Crystal Palace, Staple Hill and Brentford.
Featuring in the competition proper for the first time were Hull City, Clapton Orient, Barrow, King's Lynn, Worcester City, Tunbridge Wells Rangers, Norwich City, New Crusaders and Staple Hill, while Stockport County had not appeared at this stage since 1893-94 and Watford's predecessor club Watford Rovers had last appeared in 1887-88. The current Crystal Palace also claimed a tenuous connection to the original club of that name, which had entered the FA Cup for the final time in 1875-76.
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29 of the 40 clubs from the First and Second divisions joined the 24 clubs who came through the qualifying rounds. Of the League sides not given byes to this round, Chelsea, Hull City, Leeds City and Clapton Orient were entered in the first qualifying round. Chelsea and Leeds City went out in the third qualifying round (to Crystal Palace and Hull City respectively), while the other two teams qualified. Barnsley, Bradford City, Burslem Port Vale, Burton United, Gainsborough Trinity, Glossop and Stockport County were entered in the fourth qualifying round, with only Glossop going out (to Brighton & Hove Albion).
Eleven Southern League clubs were given byes to the first round to set the total number of teams at this stage at 64. These were:
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32 matches were scheduled to be played on Saturday 13 January 1906. Six matches were drawn and went to replays on the following Wednesday or Thursday, while Blackpool and Crystal Palace needed a second replay at Villa Park on the subsequent Monday.
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The 16 second round matches were played on 3 February 1906. Six matches were drawn, with the replays taking place in the following midweek fixture. One of these, the Brighton & Hove Albion v. Middlesbrough match, went to a second replay the following week.
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The eight third round matches were scheduled for 24 February 1906. There was one replay, played in the following midweek fixture.
| Tie no | Home team | Score | Away team | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Liverpool | 2–0 | Brentford | 24 February 1906 |
| 2 | Southampton | 6–1 | Middlesbrough | 24 February 1906 |
| 3 | The Wednesday | 4–1 | Nottingham Forest | 24 February 1906 |
| 4 | Everton | 1–0 | Bradford City | 24 February 1906 |
| 5 | Woolwich Arsenal | 5–0 | Sunderland | 24 February 1906 |
| 6 | Newcastle United | 5–0 | Blackpool | 24 February 1906 |
| 7 | Tottenham Hotspur | 1–1 | Birmingham | 24 February 1906 |
| Replay | Birmingham | 2–0 | Tottenham Hotspur | 28 February 1906 |
| 8 | Manchester United | 5–1 | Aston Villa | 24 February 1906 |
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The four fourth round matches were scheduled for 10 March 1906. The Newcastle United v. Birmingham game was drawn, and replayed on 14 March.
| Tie no | Home team | Score | Away team | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Birmingham | 2–2 | Newcastle United | 10 March 1906 |
| Replay | Newcastle United | 3–0 | Birmingham | 14 March 1906 |
| 2 | Liverpool | 3–0 | Southampton | 10 March 1906 |
| 3 | Everton | 4–3 | The Wednesday | 10 March 1906 |
| 4 | Manchester United | 2–3 | Woolwich Arsenal | 10 March 1906 |
The semi-final matches were played on 31 March 1906. Everton and Newcastle United won and advanced to the final.
The Final was contested by Everton and Newcastle United at Crystal Palace on 21 April 1906. Everton won 1–0 with the goal scored by Alex Young.
Match details
| Everton | 1–0 | Newcastle United |
|---|---|---|
Young  77' |
      Everton
|
    Newcastle United[2]
|
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