1887 FA Cup final

Aston Villa, winning side

Event

Aston Villa	West Bromwich Albion

2	0

Date

2 April 1887

Venue

Kennington Oval, London

Referee

Francis Marindin

Attendance

15,500

← 1886

1888 →

The 1887 FA Cup final was a football match between Aston Villa and West Bromwich Albion at the Kennington Oval. It was the final of the sixteenth staging of the FA Cup which saw 124 teams compete for the final. The final was won by Aston Villa with goals coming from Archie Hunter and Hodgetts to give Aston Villa a 2–0 victory. This is Aston Villa’s first of 7 FA cups.

Route to the Final

Aston Villa's route to the final was a turbulent one, smashing Wednesbury Old Athletic 13–0 in the first round, but having to play three replays against Wolverhampton Wanderers. After that, they recovered to make it to the final.

Although West Bromwich Albion didn't have any wins nearly as large as Aston Villa's, their path to the final was less turbulent, constantly defeating teams without much variation.^[1]

Aston Villa

Round	Opponent	Score	Rep.1	Rep.2	Rep.3
1	Wednesbury Old Athletic	13–0
2	Derby Midland	6–1
3	Wolverhampton Wanderers	2–2	1–1	3–3	2–0
4	bye
5	Horncastle	5–0
6	Darwen	3–2
Semi-Finals	Rangers	3–1

West Bromwich Albion

Round	Opponent	Score	Rep.1
1	Burton Wanderers	6–0
2	Derby Junction	2–1
3	bye
4	Mitchell St. George's	1–0
5	Lockwood Brothers	1–0 ^{[note 1]}	2–1
6	Notts County	4–1
Semi-Finals	Preston North End	3–1

Notes

^ Match voided

Background

Aston Villa and West Bromwich Albion had already played each other in the FA Cup once, in 1885. They played out a goalless draw, with West Bromwich winning the replay 3–0.^[2] Although the two clubs have a fierce rivalry, this match was well before the rivalry developed and was probably not even a catalyst for the rivalry.

Match

Summary

After defeating the incredibly strong team Preston North End in the semis, West Bromwich began the match as favourites. For forty-five minutes, the Aston Villa defense was besieged. The Albion strikers even attempted to run the goalie over his own goal line. However, the first half ended goalless. In the second half, momentum began to shift Villa's way, as West Brom lost confidence. Finally, Villa broke the deadlock when Archie Hunter fired home, the West Brom goalie not even attempting a save, believing Hunter to be offside. In the final minute, Villa completed the win, with Dennis Hodgetts colliding with West Bromwich Albion goalie Bob Roberts, and poking the ball over the line to make it 2–0^[1]

Details

1886–87 FA Cup Final

2 April 1887

Aston Villa	2–0	West Bromwich Albion
Hunter Hodgetts

Kennington Oval, London

Attendance: 15,500

Referee: Francis Marindin

Aston Villa

West Bromwich Albion



GK		Jimmy Warner
DF		Frank Coulton
DF		Joseph Simmonds
MF		John Burton
MF		Harry Yates
MF		Frankie Dawson
FW		Richmond Davis
FW		Albert Brown
FW		Archie Hunter (c)
FW		Howard Vaughton
FW		Dennis Hodgetts



GK		Bob Roberts
DF		Harry Green
DF		Albert Aldridge
MF		Ezra Horton
MF		Charlie Perry
MF		George Timmins
FW		George Woodhall
FW		Tommy Green
FW		Jem Bayliss (c)
FW		Jack Paddock
FW		Tom Pearson

References

^ ^a ^b "F a Cup Final 1887". www.fa-cupfinals.co.uk. Archived from the original on 23 July 2008. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
^ "The Four Acres 1882 – 1885". West Bromwich Albion History. Archived from the original on 12 November 2014.

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Aston Villa F.C. matches

National

FA Cup Finals

FL War Cup Final

1944

FA Charity Shields

English
Football League

First Division	Aston Villa 1–7 Arsenal (1935)
Play-offs	2018 2019

League Cup Finals

Dewar Shield

Continental

European Cup Final	1982
European Super Cup	1982

International

Intercontinental Cup	1982
Other matches	Aston Villa 3–0 Hibernian (1887)

v t e West Bromwich Albion F.C. matches
FA Cup Finals	1886 1887 1888 1892 1895 1912 1931 1935 1954 1968
League Cup Finals	1966 1967 1970
FA Charity Shields	1920 1931 1954 1968
Football League play-off Finals	1993 Second Division 2007 Championship
Other matches	1888 World Championship 5–3 v Manchester United (1978) Len Cantello Testimonial Match (1979) Battle of Bramall Lane (2002)

v t e 1886–87 in English football
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FA competitions	FA Cup Qualifying rounds Final
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Club seasons	Argyle (Plymouth Argyle) Aston Villa Eastville Rovers (Bristol Rovers) Newton Heath LYR (Manchester United) Dial Square / Royal Arsenal St. Mary's Y.M.A. (Southampton) Stoke West Bromwich Albion