1875 FA Cup final

The Royal Engineers AFC squad that won the FA Cup. Left to right (standing): Mulholland (did not play in final), Onslow, Stafford, Rawson, Mein, Wingfield; (middle): Ruck, Merriman, Tailyour, Donop; (down): Sim, Jones (did not play in final).

Event

1874–75 FA Cup

Royal Engineers	Old Etonians

Royal Engineers won after a replay

Final

Royal Engineers	Old Etonians
1	1

After extra time

Date

13 March 1875

Venue

Kennington Oval, London

Referee

Charles Alcock

Attendance

2,000

Replay

Royal Engineers	Old Etonians
2	0

Date

16 March 1875

Venue

Kennington Oval, London

Referee

Charles Alcock

Attendance

3,000

← 1874

1876 →

The 1875 FA Cup final was a football match between Royal Engineers and Old Etonians on 13 March 1875 at Kennington Oval in London. It was the fourth final of the world's oldest football competition, the Football Association Challenge Cup (known in the modern era as the FA Cup). Heading into the final, the Royal Engineers were playing in their third final after losing the 1872 and 1874 finals while the Old Etonians were playing in their first FA Cup final.^[1]

Prior to the final, the Royal Engineers had played one more match than the Old Etonians with the Etonians getting a bye in the second round due to the odd number of the teams that had entered the tournament. 2,000 people saw the match which ended in a 1–1 draw, Henry Renny-Tailyour scored for the Engineers but Alexander Bonsor replied to have the match end in a draw and have the final being replayed for the first time with two goals from Renny-Tailyour sealing the Royal Engineers' first and only FA Cup title.

Route to the final

Main article: 1874–75 FA Cup

The Engineers, who lost the final on two of the three previous occasions, kicked off with a resounding 3–0 win over Marlow. They kept the scoring feat up in the next round, beating Cambridge University 5–0. The Quarter Final was a closely fought match against Clapham Rovers, just prevailing 3–2. The Semi-final produced a repeat fixture of the final of 1874, as the Engineers faced Oxford University. This time, the Engineers won 1–0.

The Old Etonians started off against the Swifts, which proved a very tough match. After two drawn games, the Etonians managed to pull off a 3–0 victory. In the second round they received a bye which led them into the quarter-finals. Following a win against Maidenhead, they played Shropshire Wanderers. An extremely close match was just edged out by a single goal to nil.^[2]

Final matches

The first match was notable chiefly because it was played in a "howling gale". The conditions considerably favoured the Etonians team, which had the wind at its backs for all but 10 minutes of the 90, and all 30 minutes of extra time (teams in this period changed ends after every goal- this game was the last to feature this rule).^[3] Cuthbert Ottaway received an ankle injury after 37 minutes into the final, following a collision with Richard Ruck, and was forced to leave the field; in his absence, the Old Boys were regarded as fortunate to have held on for a 1–1 draw.^[4]

Ottaway failed to recover in time for the replay, held only three days later, and Etonians also lost the services of three other players who had prior commitments. Unable to obtain adequate replacements, the Old Boys arrived at the ground an hour late and lost the delayed replay 0–2. Henry Renny-Tailyour scored all three goals in both matches for the Engineers.^[5]^a

The newspaper The Observer published the following chronicle of the match on 14 March 1875:

... considering the coldness of the weather, there was a large attendance of visitors, who must have numbered over 1,000... With the change of ends, the Engineers soon showed their superiority, and five minutes had scarcely elapsed before Von Donop ran the ball a short distance along the right side, planting it well in front of the Old Etonians goal, and Renny-Tailyour, who was in waiting, had little difficult in scoring the goal. The Engineers wore scarlet and blue jerseys and stockings, and blue serge knickerbockers, the Old Etonians being dressed in blue and white, which difference of uniform made the players on either side very discernible.^[6]

Final

13 March 1875

Royal Engineers	1–1 (a.e.t.)	Old Etonians
Renny-Tailyour	Report	Bonsor

Kennington Oval, London

Attendance: 2,000

Referee: Charles Alcock

Royal Engineers

Old Etonians


GK		Capt William Merriman
DF		Lieut George Hamilton Sim
HB		Lieut. Gerald Onslow
DF		Lieut Richard Ruck
FW		Lieut Pelham von Donop
FW		Lieut Charles Wood
FW		Lieut Herbert Rawson
FW		Lieut William FH Stafford
FW		Capt Henry Renny-Tailyour
FW		Lieut Alexander Mein
FW		Lieut Cecil Wingfield-Stratford


GK		Charles Farmer
DF		Francis Wilson
DF		Albert Thompson
DF		Edgar Lubbock
FW		Robert Benson
FW		William Kenyon-Slaney
FW		Frederick Patton
FW		Alexander Bonsor
FW		Cuthbert Ottaway
FW		Hon Arthur Kinnaird
FW		Sir James Stronge

Replay

16 March 1875

Royal Engineers	2–0	Old Etonians
Renny-Tailyour	Report

Kennington Oval, London

Attendance: 3,000

Referee: Charles Alcock

Royal Engineers

Old Etonians


GK		Capt William Merriman
DF		Lieut George Hamilton Sim
HB		Lieut. Gerald Onslow
DF		Lieut Richard Ruck
FW		Lieut Pelham von Donop
FW		Lieut Charles Wood
FW		Lieut Herbert Rawson
FW		Lieut William FH Stafford
FW		Capt Henry Renny-Tailyour
FW		Lieut Cecil Wingfield-Stratford
FW		Lieut Alexander Mein


GK		Capt Edward Drummond-Moray
DF		Matt Farrer
DF		Edgar Lubbock
DF		Francis Wilson
FW		Thomas Hamond
FW		Alfred Lubbock
FW		Frederick Patton
FW		Alexander Bonsor
FW		Charles Farmer
FW		Hon Arthur Kinnaird
FW		Sir James Stronge

Notes

References

Bibliography

Collett, Mike (2003). The Complete Record of the FA Cup. Sports Books. ISBN 1-899807-19-5.
Gibbons, Philip (2001). Association Football in Victorian England – A History of the Game from 1863 to 1900. Upfront Publishing. ISBN 1-84426-035-6.
Warsop, Keith (30 November 2004). The Early F.A. Cup Finals and the Southern Amateurs. Nottingham: SoccerData. ISBN 978-1899468782.

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