2002–03 FA Cup


The 2002–03 FA Cup was the 122nd staging of the world's oldest cup competition, the FA Cup. The competition was won by Arsenal with a 1–0 victory in the final at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff against Southampton, courtesy of a Robert Pires goal.

Calendar

Early rounds

First Round Proper

At this stage the 48 Second and Third Division clubs joined the 32 non-league clubs who came through the qualifying rounds.
The matches were scheduled to be played on the weekend of Saturday, 16 November 2002, with replays in the week commencing 25 November.

Second Round Proper

The matches were scheduled to be played on the weekend of Saturday, 7 December 2002, with replays in the week commencing 16 December.

Tie noHome teamScoreAway teamDateAttendanceSummary
1Blackpool3–1Torquay United7 December 20025,014
2Darlington4–1Stevenage Borough7 December 20023,351
3Macclesfield Town2–0Vauxhall Motors7 December 20022,972
4Crewe Alexandra3–0Mansfield Town7 December 20024,563
5Shrewsbury Town3–1Barrow7 December 20024,210
6Stockport County0–3Plymouth Argyle7 December 20023,571
7Bristol Rovers1–1Rochdale7 December 20024,369
ReplayRochdale3 – 2Bristol Rovers17 December 20022,206
8Oldham Athletic1–2Cheltenham Town7 December 20024,416
9Southend United1–1Bournemouth7 December 20025,721
ReplayBournemouth3 – 2Southend United17 December 20025,456
10Exeter City3–1Rushden & Diamonds7 December 20022,277
11Scunthorpe United0–0Carlisle United7 December 20023,590
ReplayCarlisle United0 – 1Scunthorpe United23 December 20026,809
12Margate0–3Cardiff City7 December 20021,362
13Southport0–3Farnborough Town7 December 20022,534
14Morecambe3–2Chester City7 December 20024,293
15York City1–2Brentford7 December 20023,517
16Wigan Athletic3–0Luton Town7 December 20024,544
17Cambridge United2–2Northampton Town7 December 20025,076
ReplayNorthampton Town0 – 1Cambridge United17 December 20024,591
18Harrogate Railway Athletic1–3Bristol City8 December 20023,500
19Crawley Town1–2Dagenham & Redbridge7 December 20024,516
20Oxford United1–0Swindon Town8 December 200211,645

Third Round Proper

This round was the first in which Division 1 and Premier League teams entered the competition. The matches were scheduled to be played on the weekend of Saturday, 4 January 2003, with replays in the week commencing 13 January.
Shrewsbury, who ended the season with relegation from the Football League, achieved the biggest upset of the round, with a surprise 2–1 win over an Everton side who were pushing for a place in Europe and featuring a 17-year-old striker called Wayne Rooney – one of the most promising young players in the game.

Fourth Round Proper

Tie noHome teamScoreAway teamDateAttendanceSummary
1Southampton2–0Norwich City15 February 200331,103
2Wolverhampton Wanderers3–1Rochdale16 February 200323,921
3Sunderland0–1Watford15 February 200326,916
4Sheffield United2–0Walsall15 February 200317,510
5Fulham1–1Burnley16 February 200313,062
ReplayBurnley3–0Fulham26 February 200311,635
6Manchester United0–2Arsenal15 February 200367,209
7Crystal Palace1–2Leeds United16 February 200324,512
8Stoke City0–2Chelsea16 February 200326,615

Final rounds

Holders Arsenal moved closer to retaining the trophy by beating Chelsea 3–1 in a replay that followed a 2–2 draw. They were paired in the semi-finals with Sheffield United, while the other semi-final would be contested between Southampton and Watford.

Sixth Round Proper

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Replay

Semi-finals

For the 11th season running, the FA Cup final would be contested by top division clubs – Arsenal and Southampton. However, their opponents were both Division One sides.
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Final

The final took place on Saturday, 17 May 2003 at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff and ended 1–0 with a goal by Robert Pires separating the sides.
It was the third consecutive year the final was played at the Millennium Stadium, due to the ongoing reconstruction of Wembley Stadium, the final's usual venue. There were 73,726 spectators at the game. Arsenal retained the trophy, winning it for the ninth time in their history – a record second only to that of Manchester United.
It was also Southampton's first FA Cup final since 1976, when they won the trophy for the only time to date.

Media coverage

In the United Kingdom, the BBC were the free to air broadcasters for the second consecutive season while Sky Sports were the subscription broadcasters for the fifteenth consecutive season.
The matches shown live on the BBC were: Forest Green Rovers 0–0 Exeter City ; Oxford United 1–0 Swindon Town ; Southampton 4–0 Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City 0–1 Liverpool ; Manchester United 6–0 West Ham United and Shrewsbury Town 0–4 Chelsea ; Manchester United 0–2 Arsenal and Wolverhampton Wanderers 3–1 Rochdale ; Arsenal 2–2 Chelsea and Watford 2–0 Burnley ; Arsenal 1–0 Sheffield United ; and Arsenal 1–0 Southampton.