1915 FA Cup final

1915 FA Cup Final
	Match programme
Event	1914–15 FA Cup
Date	24 April 1915
Venue	Old Trafford,Manchester
Referee	H. H. Taylor
Attendance	49,557
	←1914 1920→

The1915 FA Cup finaltook place on 24 April 1915 and was contested bySheffield UnitedandChelsea.It was the lastFA Cupfinal to be staged after the implementation of theDefence of the Realm Act 1914which suspended competitive football in Britain for the duration of theFirst World War.The match was moved from its pre-war location ofCrystal Palacein south London toOld Traffordin Manchester to avoid disruption to travel in and around London.

The match is one of the fewFA Cup Finalsthat has acquired a name; the "Khaki Cup Final", owing to the large number of uniformed soldiers in attendance. However, the attendance of about 50,000 was lower than previous years as a result ofwartimetravel restriction and the mobilisation of large numbers of young men into the armed forces.

Road to the Final

Chelsea had the easiest start in the FA Cup competition, their first round match was withSwindon Town,aSouthern Football Leagueteam, but they made heavy work of it requiring a replay to defeat them and conceding 3 goals during the two matches. Their Cup performance improved considerably, and after defeatingArsenal(then aSecond Divisionside) in the second round, they defeated severalFirst Divisionsides who finished above them in the league table, includingEvertonwho later went on to win the league thatseason.

Sheffield United defeatedBlackpool,a second division side, in the first round and then made steady progress until round 4 where they metOldham Athletic,who finished above them in the First Division that season, and they required a replay to finally defeat them. Sheffield United met Bolton Wanderers in the semi-final andUtley,the Blades' Captain, scored a rare goal.^[1]

Sheffield United

Home teams listed first.

Round 1:Blackpool1–2 Sheffield United

Masterman 2

Round 2:Sheffield United 1–0Liverpool

Kitchen

Round 3:Sheffield United 1–0Bradford

Kitchen during extra time

Round 4:Oldham Athletic0–0 Sheffield United

after extra time

Replay:Sheffield United 3–0Oldham Athletic

Kitchen 2, Fazackerly

Semi-final:Bolton Wanderers1–2 Sheffield United

Simmons, Utley

(atEwood Park)

Chelsea

Home teams listed first.

Round 1:Chelsea 1–1Swindon Town

Thomson

Replay:Chelsea 5–2Swindon Town

Thomson 2, Ford 2 McNeil

Round 2:Chelsea 1–0Arsenal

Halse

Round 3:Manchester City0–1 Chelsea

Thomson

Round 4:Chelsea 1–1Newcastle

Thomson

Replay:Newcastle0–1 Chelsea

Ford

Semi-final:Everton0–2 Chelsea

Croal, Halse

(atVilla Park)

Pre-match build-up

The favourites to win the match were Sheffield United. They had combined a successful FA Cup run with a strongleague campaignwhere they finished 6th overall but only three points behind the League winners. Their defence was one of the best in the league but they had not managed to score many goals.

Chelsea were statistically the weaker side, whilst they had scored more goals than Sheffield United in the league, their defence was poor and they had conceded many more and lay in therelegation zone.They had however beaten several strong clubs away from home during the FA Cup competition and the programme noted that the underdogs had won on six occasions in the previous ten years.^[1]

Chelsea also had injury problems:Bob Thomson,their leading goal scorer thatseason,had been injured in a league game atBolton Wanderersten days earlier and was doubtful.Vivian Woodwardan amateur and England international who played for Chelsea in peacetime but was currently serving in theBritish Army,had been given leave to play in the final. However Woodward sportingly insisted that as Thomson had helped the club reach the final, he ought to play in it. There was bad news when Thomson suffered an eye injury, but he played.

Match programme

The officialmatch programmewas produced byManchester United.A special version was printed on silk for presentation to the players and officials.^[2]

The programme showed that both teams played a 2–3–5formationand the Chelsea teamsheet listed Vivian Woodward andLaurence Abramsin addition to those who played in the match. Neither played in the match.

Match summary

As the score line suggests, the match was very much a one-sided affair. Chelsea adopted a gentlemanly "Drawing Room" style of play with attacks made up of zig-zag passes. These were broken up by an alert and cooperative Sheffield United defence.^[3]The Sheffield United forwards, with their superior tactics, pace and fitness, had the run of the Chelsea half and only the excellent performance of Molyneux, in goal for Chelsea, saved them from further embarrassment. Contemporary reports^[3] singled out Brelsford, Simmons and Utley of Sheffield United for their quality of their performances during the match and Logan, who made some unsuccessful attacks for Chelsea during the second half.

The first goal was scored by Simmons just before half-time. A ball in from the left hand side crossed over the Chelsea backs and Simmons, racing in from the right half, half-volleyed it into the top of the net. Some sources^[4]suggest that Molyneux should have stopped this goal but others^[3]state that he was let down by his defence in all three goals. Chelsea had their best chances just before half-time when they had two shots saved by Gough in the Blades' goal.

At some point Chelsea woes were added to when Harry Ford on the right wing was injured.^[2]

Play was muted at the start of the second half as a thick fog descended over the pitch, preventing spectators from seeing any action on the opposite side of the pitch, thoughThe Times^[5]commented that they were not missing much. The final two goals were scored in the last ten minutes. A shot from Wally Masterman rebounded from the bar but Fazackerly headed it past the Chelsea keeper for United's second. Directly after this goal Joe Kitchen picked the ball up just inside the Chelsea half and passed two defenders. Molyneaux emerged from the Chelsea goal but Kitchen dodged him and placed the ball in the open net. At this point, before the final whistle, large numbers of the spectators began to leave.

The crowd included many men in uniform but a much larger contingent who, theManchester Guardiancommented, should have been in uniform. A number of wounded soldiers, one missing an arm, watched the match from lower stand.^[3]

The cup was awarded by theEarl of Derbywhose speech, largely drowned out by a noisy crowd of young supporters, noted that all present needed to join together and play "a sterner game for England".^[3]

The Irwell Old Prize band provided the half time entertainment, playing a selection of tunes from around theBritish Isles.A collection was made during the match on behalf of theBritish Red Cross.^[1]

Match details

24 April 1915

15:00BST

Sheffield United	3–0	Chelsea
Simmons36' Fazackerley84' Kitchen88'

Old Trafford,Manchester

Attendance: 49,557

Referee: H. H. Taylor

Sheffield United

Chelsea



GK		Harold Gough
FB		Billy Cook
FB		Jack English
HB		Albert Sturgess
CH		Bill Brelsford
HB		George Utley(c)
OF		Jimmy Simmons
IF		Stanley Fazackerley
CF		Joseph Kitchen
IF		Wally Masterman
OF		Bob Evans
Manager:
John Nicholson



GK		Jim Molyneux
FB		Walter Bettridge
FB		Jack Harrow
HB		Fred Taylor(c)
CH		Tommy Logan
HB		Andy Walker
OF		Harry Ford
IF		Harold Halse
CF		Bob Thomson
IF		Jimmy Croal
OF		Bob McNeil
Manager:
David Calderhead

Match rules

90 minutes.
30 minutes of extra-time if necessary.
Replay if scores still level.
No substitutes

Aftermath

In July 1915, the Football League put all players on amateur status and clubs were only allowed to pay expenses. Attendances at matches collapsed and as fuel for transport became scarce the national league was abandoned and football teams played inregional leagueswith whatever players they could find.^[2]Chelsea often played with players from other sides who passed through London whilst on active service, including Stanley Fazackerley.^[2]

Sheffield United held the FA Cup until it was contested again in1920.They reached the final and won the cup again in1925.

Chelsea did not reach the final again until1967and finally won it in1970at Old Trafford in a replay 55 years later.

References

^^a ^b ^cUnknown (1915).Cup Final Programme.
^^a ^b ^c ^dGlanvill, Rick (2006).Chelsea FC: The Official Biography – The Definitive Story of the First 100 Years.Headline Book Publishing Ltd. p. 182.ISBN 0-7553-1466-2.
^^a ^b ^c ^d ^e"The Cup Final".Manchester Guardian.26 April 1915. p. 9.
^"fa-cupfinals.co.uk".fa-cupfinals.co.uk. Archived fromthe originalon 27 December 2007.Retrieved28 January2008.
^"The Cup Final".The Times.26 April 1915.

External links

[Unknown_1915-1] Unknown (1915).Cup Final Programme.

[Glanvill,_Rick_2006_p._182-2] Glanvill, Rick (2006).Chelsea FC: The Official Biography – The Definitive Story of the First 100 Years.Headline Book Publishing Ltd. p. 182.ISBN 0-7553-1466-2.

[The_Cup_Final-3] "The Cup Final".Manchester Guardian.26 April 1915. p. 9.

[fa-cupfinals.co.uk-4] "fa-cupfinals.co.uk".fa-cupfinals.co.uk. Archived fromthe originalon 27 December 2007.Retrieved28 January2008.

[5] "The Cup Final".The Times.26 April 1915.

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[4]

[5]

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