1997 FA Cup Final

The 1997 FA Cup Final was the 116th final of the FA Cup. It took place on 17 May 1997 at Wembley Stadium and was contested by Chelsea and Middlesbrough, the North East club appearing in its first FA Cup Final.

1997 FA Cup Final
Match programme
Event1996–97 FA Cup
Date17 May 1997
VenueWembley Stadium, London
RefereeStephen Lodge (South Yorkshire)
Attendance79,160

Chelsea won 2–0 to win the FA Cup for the second time, the first having come in 1970.

It was the first major honour in the career of most Chelsea's players, but for Mark Hughes, it was the fourth time that he had featured in an FA Cup winning side (having played on the winning Manchester United teams of 1985, 1990 and 1994).[1] For Middlesbrough, it was a second final defeat of the 1996–97 season (having lost the League Cup Final to Leicester City the previous month), to go with their controversial relegation from the Premier League.

Road to Wembley

Chelsea

Home teams listed first.

Round 3: Chelsea 3–0 W.B.A.

Round 4: Chelsea 4–2 Liverpool

Round 5: Leicester City 2–2 Chelsea

Replay: Chelsea 1–0 Leicester City

Quarter-Final: Portsmouth 1–4 Chelsea

Semi-Final: Wimbledon 0–3 Chelsea

(at Highbury, London)

Middlesbrough

Home teams listed first.

Round 3: Middlesbrough 6–0 Chester City

Round 4: Hednesford Town 2–3 Middlesbrough

Round 5: Manchester City 0–1 Middlesbrough

 

Quarter-Final: Derby County 0–2 Middlesbrough

Semi-Final: Chesterfield 3–3 Middlesbrough

(at Old Trafford, Manchester)
Replay: Middlesbrough 3–0 Chesterfield
(at Hillsborough Stadium, Sheffield)

Match review

Chelsea took the lead just 42 seconds into the match, with Italian midfielder Roberto Di Matteo receiving the ball and firing it into the goal off the crossbar from 25 yards to record what was at the time the quickest ever goal in a Wembley FA Cup final (Louis Saha broke this record 12 years later in the 2009 final after just 25 seconds, coincidentally against Chelsea, though Chelsea won the match 2–1), breaking Jackie Milburn's 42-year record.[2] Middlesbrough's prolific striker Fabrizio Ravanelli limped off after 21 minutes, further diminishing his side's chances of victory. Late in the first half Gianluca Festa put the ball in the net for Middlesbrough, but the goal was controversially ruled out for offside. In a largely disappointing match, in which Chelsea were generally in control, Chelsea eventually added a second goal seven minutes from full-time with Eddie Newton steering the ball into the net from Gianfranco Zola's clever flick to seal a 2–0 win.[3]

Match details

Chelsea2–0Middlesbrough
Di Matteo  1'
Newton  83'
Report
Attendance: 79,160
Chelsea
Middlesbrough
GK30 Frode Grodås
RWB2 Dan Petrescu
CB6 Steve Clarke
CB5 Frank Leboeuf
CB20 Frank Sinclair
LWB17 Scott Minto
CM11 Dennis Wise (c)
CM16 Roberto Di Matteo
CM24 Eddie Newton
CF10 Mark Hughes
CF25 Gianfranco Zola 89'
Substitutes:
GK13 Kevin Hitchcock
DF8 Andy Myers
FW9 Gianluca Vialli 89'
Manager:
Ruud Gullit
GK25 Ben Roberts
RB14 Curtis Fleming
CB5 Nigel Pearson (c)
CB18 Gianluca Festa
LB17 Clayton Blackmore
RM10 Juninho
CM8 Robbie Mustoe 29'
CM6 Emerson
LM20 Phil Stamp
CF11 Fabrizio Ravanelli 24'
CF21 Craig Hignett 74'
Substitutes:
DF4 Steve Vickers 29'
DF7 Vladimír Kinder 74'
FW9 Mikkel Beck 24'
Manager:
Bryan Robson

Match rules

  • 90 minutes.
  • 30 minutes of extra-time if necessary.
  • Replay required if scores still level.
  • Three named substitutes.
  • Maximum of three substitutions.

References

  1. "Where are they now? Chelsea's 1997 FA Cup winners". FourFourTwo. 17 May 2017. Retrieved 5 September 2020.
  2. "ROBERTO'S QUICKIE MAKES ROBBO SICKIE!; Blue heaven in 43 seconds". The People (London). 18 May 1997. Retrieved 21 November 2012.
  3. "Blue what a scorcher!". Sunday Mirror. 18 May 1997. Retrieved 21 November 2012.
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