2003–04 FA Cup


The 2003–04 FA Cup was the 123rd staging of England and the world's oldest football competition, the FA Cup. The competition began on 23 August 2003, with the lowest-ranked of the entrants competing in the Extra Preliminary round. In the Third Round, the clubs from the Premiership and Division One competed in the competition for the first time.
The semi-finals were staged at neutral venues and, like the final, would not be replayed in the event of a draw. The competition culminated with the cup final at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff for a fourth year in a row, since Wembley Stadium was still in the rebuilding process. The cup was won by Manchester United for a record 11th time, with a 3-0 victory over Millwall from Division One.
The appearance in the Cup Final by Millwall, a Level 2 team, marked the first time in 12 years that a team outside Level 1 of the English football pyramid appeared in the final game.

Calendar

First round proper

This round is the first in which Football League teams from League One and League Two compete with non-league teams. Luton's Adrian Forbes and Sheffield Wednesday's Adam Proudlock netted hat tricks. Shildon AFC, of the Arngrove Northern League, were the lowest ranked team left in the competition in the first round.
Tie noHome teamScoreAway team
1Lincoln City3 - 1Brighton & Hove Albion
2Peterborough United2 - 0Hereford United
3Oldham Athletic3 - 0Carlisle United
4Cheltenham Town3 - 1Hull City
5Yeovil Town4 - 1Wrexham
6Macclesfield Town3 - 0Boston United
7Grays Athletic1 - 2Aldershot Town
8Scarborough1 - 0Doncaster Rovers
9Barnet2 - 2Stalybridge Celtic
replayStalybridge Celtic0 - 2Barnet
10Blackpool4 - 0Boreham Wood
11Wycombe Wanderers4 - 1Swindon Town
12Lancaster City1 - 2Cambridge United
13Woking3 - 1Histon
14AFC Bournemouth1 - 0Bristol Rovers
15Stevenage Borough2 - 1Stockport County
16Grantham Town1 - 2Leyton Orient
17Thurrock1 - 1Luton Town
replayLuton Town3 - 1Thurrock
18Northampton Town3 - 2Plymouth Argyle
19Tranmere Rovers3 - 2Chesterfield
20Hornchurch2 - 0Darlington
21Scunthorpe United2 - 1Shrewsbury Town
22Torquay United1 - 2Burton Albion
23Accrington Stanley1 - 0Huddersfield Town
24Grimsby Town1 - 0QPR
25Notts County7 - 2Shildon
26Brentford7 - 1Gainsborough Trinity
27Kidderminster Harriers2 - 1Northwich Victoria
28Southend United1 - 1Canvey Island
replayCanvey Island2 - 3Southend United
29York City1 - 2Barnsley
30Port Vale2 - 2Ford United
replayFord United1 - 2Port Vale
31Mansfield Town6 - 0Bishop's Stortford
32Sheffield Wednesday4 - 0Salisbury City
33Farnborough Town0 - 1Weston-super-Mare
34Chester City0 - 1Gravesend & Northfleet
35Telford United3 - 2Crawley Town
36Colchester United1 - 0Oxford United
37Bradford Park Avenue2 - 5Bristol City
38Bury1 - 2Rochdale
39Swansea City3 - 0Rushden & Diamonds
40Hartlepool United4 - 0Whitby Town

Second round proper

Ties were played over the weekend of 6 December 2003. Mansfield's Liam Lawrence showed how interested Championship and premiership clubs were with him by netting a hat trick.

Third round proper

This round marks the first time Championship and Premier League teams play. Matches were played on the weekend of Saturday, 3 January 2004, with replays on 13 January and 14 January.
Tie noHome teamScoreAway team
1Preston North End3 - 3Reading
replayReading1 - 2Preston North End
2Southampton0 - 3Newcastle United
3Watford2 - 2Chelsea
replayChelsea4 - 0Watford
4Yeovil Town0 - 2Liverpool
5Gillingham3 - 2Charlton Athletic
6Nottingham Forest1 - 0West Bromwich Albion
7Aston Villa1 - 2Manchester United
8Crewe Alexandra0 - 1Telford United
9Middlesbrough2 - 1Notts County
10Sunderland1 - 0Hartlepool United
11Everton3 - 1Norwich City
12Ipswich Town3 - 0Derby County
13Tranmere Rovers1 - 1Bolton Wanderers
replayBolton Wanderers1 - 2Tranmere Rovers
14Tottenham Hotspur3 - 0Crystal Palace
15Manchester City2 - 2Leicester City
replayLeicester City1 - 3Manchester City
16Kidderminster Harriers1–1Wolverhampton Wanderers
replayWolverhampton Wanderers2–0Kidderminster Harriers
17Fulham2–1Cheltenham Town
18Barnsley0–0Scunthorpe United
replayScunthorpe United2–0Barnsley
19Northampton Town1–1Rotherham United
replayRotherham United1 - 2Northampton Town
20Coventry City2–1Peterborough United
21Portsmouth2–1Blackpool
22Bradford City1–2Luton Town
23Millwall2–1Walsall
24Wimbledon1–1Stoke City
replayStoke City0–1Wimbledon
25Southend United1–1Scarborough
replayScarborough1–0Southend United
26Mansfield Town0–2Burnley
27Cardiff City0–1Sheffield United
28Leeds United1–4Arsenal
29Wigan Athletic1–2West Ham United
30Birmingham City4–0Blackburn Rovers
31Swansea City2–1Macclesfield Town
32Accrington Stanley0–0Colchester United
replayColchester United2–1Accrington Stanley

Fourth round proper

Ties played during the weekend of 24 January 2004, with replays on 3 February and 4 February.
Tie noHome teamScoreAway team
1Burnley3–1Gillingham
2Liverpool2–1Newcastle United
3Nottingham Forest0–3Sheffield United
4Wolverhampton Wanderers1–3West Ham United
5Luton Town0–1Tranmere Rovers
6Everton1–1Fulham
replayFulham2–1Everton
7Scarborough0–1Chelsea
8Ipswich Town1–2Sunderland
9Manchester City1–1Tottenham Hotspur
replayTottenham Hotspur3–4Manchester City
10Northampton Town0–3Manchester United
11Coventry City1–1Colchester United
replayColchester United3–1Coventry City
12Portsmouth2–1Scunthorpe United
13Arsenal4–1Middlesbrough
14Birmingham City1–0Wimbledon
15Telford United0–2Millwall
16Swansea City2–1Preston North End

The match between Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City was particularly notable. Tottenham led the match 3-0 at half-time but Manchester City turned the match around in the second half to win 4-3, with Jon Macken scoring the winning goal in the 90th minute. This was despite Manchester City having one less player on the pitch during the second half after Joey Barton was red carded during the half-time interval.

Fifth round proper

Tie noHome teamScoreAway teamAttendance
1Liverpool1–1Portsmouth34,669
replayPortsmouth1–0Liverpool19,529
2Sunderland1–1Birmingham City24,966
replayBirmingham City0–2Sunderland25,645
3Sheffield United1–0Colchester United17,074
4Tranmere Rovers2–1Swansea City12,215
5Fulham0–0West Ham United14,705
replayWest Ham United0–3Fulham27,934
6Manchester United4–2Manchester City67,228
7Millwall1–0Burnley10,420
8Arsenal2–1Chelsea38,136

Quarter-finals

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Replay

Semi-finals

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Final

Manchester United won the game and lifted the trophy for the 11th time in their history with a 3-0 victory over a Millwall side who were the first team from outside the top flight to reach the FA Cup final in 12 years.

Media coverage

In the United Kingdom, the BBC were the free to air broadcasters for the third consecutive season while Sky Sports were the subscription broadcasters for the sixteenth consecutive season.
The matches shown live on the BBC were: Accrington Stanley 1–0 Huddersfield Town ; Burton Albion 0–1 Hartlepool United ; Southampton 0–3 Newcastle United and Yeovil Town 0–2 Liverpool ; Liverpool 2–1 Newcastle United and Manchester City 1–1 Tottenham Hotspur ; Sunderland 1–1 Birmingham City and Arsenal 2–1 Chelsea ; Portsmouth 1–5 Arsenal and Millwall 0–0 Tranmere Rovers ; Arsenal 0–1 Manchester United ; and Manchester United 3–0 Millwall.