# 2005–06 FA Cup

The 2005–06 FA Cup was the 125th staging of the world's oldest football competition, the FA Cup.
The competition began on 20 August 2005, with the lowest-ranked of the 674 entrants competing in the Extra preliminary round. For the top 44 clubs, the FA Cup began in the third round in January.
For information on the matches played from the Extra preliminary round to the fourth round qualifying, see 2005–06 FA Cup qualifying rounds.
Ties are all single-legged and take place at the stadium of the club drawn first. If scores are level at the end of a match, it is replayed at the away club's stadium, usually 10 days later. If the scores are still level, extra-time and penalties (if necessary) are used to determine a winner. However, from the semi-finals onwards, the ties take place at a neutral stadium, and there are no replays. That is to say, extra-time and penalties are played if necessary to determine a winner in a single match.
At the special request of England national team manager Sven-Göran Eriksson, the quarter-finals (i.e., 6th round proper) were held on weeknights (they would normally take place at weekends). This action was made to ensure that the season finishes as early as possible, allowing players a full month's rest before the 2006 World Cup finals.
The semi-finals were staged at neutral venues and, like the final, would not be replayed in the event of a draw.
The Football Association had hoped to stage the final at the newly rebuilt Wembley Stadium, London on 13 May 2006, but due to the uncertainty of the new stadium being completed in time, the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff hosted the final, which was contested between Liverpool and West Ham United.

## Calendar

| Round | Date | Matches | Clubs | Byes | Prize money |
| Extra preliminary round | Saturday 20 August 2005 | 86 | 674 → 588 | none | £500 |
| Preliminary round | Saturday 27 August 2005 | 182 | 588 → 406 | 278: 225th-502nd | £1,000 |
| First round qualifying | Saturday 10 September 2005 | 124 | 406 → 282 | 66: 159th-224th | £2,250 |
| Second round qualifying | Saturday 24 September 2005 | 84 | 282 → 198 | 44: 115th-158th | £3,750 |
| Third round qualifying | Saturday 8 October 2005 | 42 | 198 → 156 | none | £5,000 |
| Fourth round qualifying | Saturday 22 October 2005 | 32 | 156 → 124 | 22: 93rd-114th | £10,000 |
| First round proper | Saturday 5 November 2005 | 40 | 124 → 84 | 48: 45th-92nd | £16,000 |
| Second round proper | Saturday 3 December 2005 | 20 | 84 → 64 | none | £24,000 |
| Third round proper | Saturday 7 January 2006 | 32 | 64 → 32 | 44: 1st-44th | £40,000 |
| Fourth round proper | Saturday 28 January 2006 | 16 | 32 → 16 | none | £60,000 |
| Fifth round proper | Saturday 18 February 2006 | 8 | 16 → 8 | none | £120,000 |
| Sixth round proper | Wednesday 22 March 2006 | 4 | 8 → 4 | none | £300,000 |
| Semi-finals | Saturday 22 April 2006 | 2 | 4 → 2 | none | £900,000 |
| Final | Saturday 13 May 2006 | 1 | 2 → 1 | none | £1,000,000 |

## Results

The results listed below start at the first round proper, where the 32 non-league clubs to have made it through the preliminary rounds meet the 24 clubs from League Two and the 24 clubs from League One.

### First round proper

All ties took place on the weekend of Saturday 5 November 2005. Replays, played in the week of 14 November 2005, are shown in italics. Ties are shown in order of the draw.
| Tie no | Home team | Score | Away team | Attendance |
| 1 | Nottingham Forest (3) | 1–1 | Weymouth (6) | 10,305 |
| replay | Weymouth (6) | 0–2 | Nottingham Forest (3) | 6,500 |
| 2 | Southport (5) | 1–1 | Woking (5) | 1,417 |
| replay | Woking (5) | 0–0 | Southport (5) | 2,298 |
| Woking won 1–0 after extra time |||||
| 3 | Bristol City (3) | 0–2 | Notts County (4) | 4,221 |
| 4 | Burnham (8) | 1–3 | Aldershot Town (5) | 1,623 |
| 5 | Rochdale (4) | 0–1 | Brentford (3) | 2,928 |
| 6 | Eastbourne Borough (6) | 1–1 | Oxford United (4) | 3,770 |
| replay | Oxford United (4) | 3–0 | Eastbourne Borough (6) | 4,396 |
| 7 | Merthyr Tydfil (7) | 1–2 | Walsall (3) | 3,046 |
| 8 | Hartlepool United (3) | 2–1 | Dagenham & Redbridge (5) | 3,655 |
| 9 | Bradford City (3) | 2–1 | Tranmere Rovers (3) | 6,116 |
| 10 | Barnet (4) | 0–1 | Southend United (3) | 3,545 |
| 11 | Peterborough United (4) | 0–0 | Burton Albion (5) | 3,857 |
| replay | Burton Albion (5) | 1–0 | Peterborough United (4) | 2,511 |
| 12 | Cheltenham Town (4) | 1–0 | Carlisle United (4) | 2,405 |
| 13 | Histon (6) | 4–0 | Hednesford Town (6) | 1,080 |
| 14 | York City (5) | 0–3 | Grays Athletic (5) | 3,586 |
| 15 | Swindon Town (3) | 2–2 | Boston United (4) | 3,814 |
| replay | Boston United (4) | 4–1 | Swindon Town (3) | 2,467 |
| 16 | Chasetown (9) | 1–1 | Oldham Athletic (3) | 1,997 |
| replay | Oldham Athletic (3) | 4–0 | Chasetown (9) | 7,235 |
| 17 | AFC Bournemouth (3) | 1–2 | Tamworth (5) | 4,559 |
| 18 | Chester City (4) | 2–1 | Folkestone Invicta (7) | 2,503 |
| 19 | Kettering Town (6) | 1–3 | Stevenage Borough (5) | 4,548 |
| 20 | Nuneaton Borough (6) | 2–0 | Ramsgate (8) | 2,153 |
| 21 | Huddersfield Town (3) | 4–1 | Welling United (6) | 5,578 |
| 22 | Cambridge City (6) | 0–1 | Hereford United (5) | 1,116 |
| 23 | Port Vale (3) | 2–1 | Wrexham (4) | 5,046 |
| 24 | Halifax Town (5) | 1–1 | Rushden & Diamonds (4) | 2,303 |
| replay | Rushden & Diamonds (4) | 0–0 | Halifax Town (5) | 2,133 |
| 0–0 after extra time — Rushden & Diamonds won 5–4 on penalties |||||
| 25 | Barnsley (3) | 1–0 | Darlington (4) | 6,059 |
| 26 | Torquay United (4) | 1–1 | Harrogate Town (6) | 2,079 |
| replay | Harrogate Town (6) | 0–0 | Torquay United (4) | 3,317 |
| 0–0 after extra time — Torquay United won 6–5 on penalties |||||
| 27 | Doncaster Rovers (3) | 4–1 | Blackpool (3) | 4,332 |
| 28 | Shrewsbury Town (4) | 4–1 | Braintree Town (7) | 2,969 |
| 29 | Bury (4) | 2–2 | Scunthorpe United (3) | 2,940 |
| replay | Scunthorpe United (3) | 0–0 | Bury (4) | 4,006 |
| Scunthorpe United won 1–0 after extra time |||||
| 30 | Morecambe (5) | 1–3 | Northwich Victoria (6) | 2,166 |
| 31 | Burscough (7) | 3–2 | Gillingham (3) | 1,927 |
| 32 | Stockport County (4) | 2–0 | Swansea City (3) | 2,978 |
| 33 | Macclesfield Town (4) | 1–1 | Yeovil Town (3) | 1,943 |
| replay | Yeovil Town (3) | 4–0 | Macclesfield Town (4) | 4,456 |
| 34 | Chippenham Town (7) | 1–1 | Worcester City (6) | |
| replay | Worcester City (6) | 1–0 | Chippenham Town (7) | 4,006 |
| 35 | Wycombe Wanderers (4) | 1–3 | Northampton Town (4) | 3,974 |
| 36 | Grimsby Town (4) | 1–2 | Bristol Rovers (4) | 2,680 |
| 37 | Rotherham United (3) | 3–4 | Mansfield Town (4) | 4,089 |
| 38 | Colchester United (3) | 9–1 | Leamington (9) | 3,513 |
| 39 | Lincoln City (4) | 1–1 | Milton Keynes Dons (3) | 3,508 |
| replay | Milton Keynes Dons (3) | 2–1 | Lincoln City (4) | 4,029 |
| 40 | Leyton Orient (4) | 0–0 | Chesterfield (3) | 3,554 |
| replay | Chesterfield (3) | 1–2 | Leyton Orient (4) | 4,895 |

### Second round proper

The 40 clubs to have made it through the first round, play off to reduce the number of remaining clubs to 20.
All ties took place between Friday 2 and Sunday 4 December 2005. Replays took place on 13 December. Ties are shown in order of the draw.
| Tie no | Home team | Score | Away team | Attendance |
| 1 | Walsall (3) | 2 – 0 | Yeovil Town (3) | 4,580 |
| 2 | Woking (5) | 0 – 0 | Northwich Victoria (6) | 2,462 |
| replay | Northwich Victoria (6) | 2 – 1 | Woking (5) | 2,302 |
| 3 | Burton Albion (5) | 4 – 1 | Burscough (7) | 4,499 |
| 4 | Aldershot Town (5) | 0 – 1 | Scunthorpe United (3) | 3,584 |
| 5 | Shrewsbury Town (4) | 1 – 2 | Colchester United (3) | 3,695 |
| 6 | Hartlepool United (3) | 1 – 2 | Tamworth (5) | 3,786 |
| 7 | Cheltenham Town (4) | 1 – 1 | Oxford United (4) | 4,592 |
| replay | Oxford United (4) | 1 – 2 | Cheltenham Town (4) | 3,455 |
| 8 | Mansfield Town (4) | 3 – 0 | Grays Athletic (5) | 2,992 |
| 9 | Hereford United (5) | 0 – 2 | Stockport County (4) | 3,620 |
| 10 | Stevenage Borough (5) | 2 – 2 | Northampton Town (4) | 3,937 |
| replay | Northampton Town (4) | 2 – 0 | Stevenage Borough (5) | 4,407 |
| 11 | Port Vale (3) | 1 – 1 | Bristol Rovers (4) | 4,483 |
| replay | Bristol Rovers (4) | 0 – 1 | Port Vale (3) | 5,623 |
| 12 | Boston United (4) | 1 – 2 | Doncaster Rovers (3) | 3,995 |
| 13 | Rushden & Diamonds (4) | 0 – 1 | Leyton Orient (4) | 3,245 |
| 14 | Nuneaton Borough (6) | 2 – 2 | Histon (6) | 3,366 |
| replay | Histon (6) | 1 – 2 | Nuneaton Borough (6) | 3,077 |
| 15 | Oldham Athletic (3) | 1 – 1 | Brentford (3) | 4,365 |
| replay | Brentford (3) | 1 – 0 | Oldham Athletic (3) | 3,146 |
| 16 | Southend United (3) | 1 – 2 | Milton Keynes Dons (3) | 5,267 |
| 17 | Worcester City (6) | 0 – 1 | Huddersfield Town (3) | 4,163 |
| 18 | Torquay United (4) | 2 – 1 | Notts County (4) | 2,407 |
| 19 | Barnsley (3) | 1 – 1 | Bradford City (3) | 7,051 |
| replay | Bradford City (3) | 3 – 5 | Barnsley (3) | 4,738 |
| 20 | Chester City (4) | 3 – 0 | Nottingham Forest (3) | 4,732 |

### Third round proper

The 20 clubs to have made it through Round Two meet the 24 clubs from the Football League Championship and the 20 Premier League clubs, including holders Arsenal.
All ties took place on Saturday 7 and Sunday 8 January 2006. Replays took place on 17 and 18 January, and are shown in italics. Ties are shown in order of the draw.
One of the most significant games of the round, if not the entire competition, was the goalless draw between Premier League giants Manchester United and Conference National underdogs Burton Albion in the first match at the Pirelli Stadium. However, United were in no mood for humiliation in the replay at Old Trafford, crushing Burton Albion 5-0.
| Tie no | Home team | Score | Away team | Attendance |
| 1 | West Bromwich Albion (1) | 1–1 | Reading (2) | 19,197 |
| replay | Reading (2) | 2–2 | West Bromwich Albion (1) | 16,737 |
| Reading win 3–2 after extra time |||||
| 2 | Fulham (1) | 1–2 | Leyton Orient (4) | 13,394 |
| 3 | Brighton & Hove Albion (2) | 0–1 | Coventry City (2) | 6,734 |
| 4 | Wolverhampton Wanderers (2) | 1–0 | Plymouth Argyle (2) | 11,041 |
| 5 | Port Vale (3) | 2–1 | Doncaster Rovers (3) | 4,923 |
| 6 | Sheffield Wednesday (2) | 2–4 | Charlton Athletic (1) | 14,851 |
| 7 | Torquay United (4) | 0–0 | Birmingham City (1) | 5,974 |
| replay | Birmingham City (1) | 2–0 | Torquay United (4) | 24,650 |
| 8 | Manchester City (1) | 3–1 | Scunthorpe United (3) | 27,779 |
| 9 | Newcastle United (1) | 1–0 | Mansfield Town (4) | 41,459 |
| 10 | Luton Town (2) | 3–5 | Liverpool (1) | 10,170 |
| 11 | Preston North End (2) | 2–1 | Crewe Alexandra (2) | 8,380 |
| 12 | Stoke City (2) | 0–0 | Tamworth (5) | 9,366 |
| replay | Tamworth (5) | 1–1 | Stoke City (2) | 3,812 |
| 1–1 after extra time, Stoke win 5 – 4 on penalties |||||
| 13 | Derby County (2) | 2–1 | Burnley (2) | 12,713 |
| 14 | Southampton (2) | 4–3 | Milton Keynes Dons (3) | 15,908 |
| 15 | Blackburn Rovers (1) | 3–0 | Queens Park Rangers (2) | 12,705 |
| 16 | Arsenal (1) | 2–1 | Cardiff City (2) | 36,552 |
| 17 | Stockport County (4) | 2–3 | Brentford (3) | 4,078 |
| 18 | Norwich City (2) | 1–2 | West Ham United (1) | 23,968 |
| 19 | Ipswich Town (2) | 0–1 | Portsmouth (1) | 15,593 |
| 20 | Wigan Athletic (1) | 1–1 | Leeds United (2) | 10,980 |
| replay | Leeds United (2) | 2–2 | Wigan Athletic (1) | 15,243 |
| 3–3 after extra time, Wigan win 4 – 2 on penalties |||||
| 21 | Sunderland (1) | 3–0 | Northwich Victoria (6) | 19,329 |
| 22 | Chelsea (1) | 2–1 | Huddersfield Town (3) | 41,650 |
| 23 | Cheltenham Town (4) | 2–2 | Chester City (4) | 4,741 |
| replay | Chester City (4) | 0–1 | Cheltenham Town (4) | 5,096 |
| 24 | Leicester City (2) | 3–2 | Tottenham Hotspur (1) | 19,844 |
| 25 | Watford (2) | 0–3 | Bolton Wanderers (1) | 13,239 |
| 26 | Sheffield United (2) | 1–2 | Colchester United (3) | 11,820 |
| 27 | Nuneaton Borough (6) | 1–1 | Middlesbrough (1) | 6,000 |
| replay | Middlesbrough (1) | 5–2 | Nuneaton Borough (6) | 26,255 |
| 28 | Hull City (2) | 0–1 | Aston Villa (1) | 17,051 |
| 29 | Barnsley (3) | 1–1 | Walsall (3) | 6,884 |
| replay | Walsall (3) | 2–0 | Barnsley (3) | 4,074 |
| 30 | Burton Albion (5) | 0–0 | Manchester United (1) | 6,191 |
| replay | Manchester United (1) | 5–0 | Burton Albion (5) | 53,564 |
| 31 | Crystal Palace (2) | 4–1 | Northampton Town (4) | 10,391 |
| 32 | Millwall (2) | 1–1 | Everton (1) | 16,440 |
| replay | Everton (1) | 1–0 | Millwall (2) | 25,800 |

### Fourth round proper

The 32 clubs to have made it through Round Three.
All ties took place on Saturday 28 and Sunday 29 January 2006. Replays took place on 7 and 8 February, and are shown in italics. Ties are shown in order of the draw.
| Tie no | Home team | Score | Away team | Attendance |
| 1 | Stoke City (2) | 2–1 | Walsall (3) | 8,834 |
| 2 | Cheltenham Town (4) | 0–2 | Newcastle United (1) | 7,022 |
| 3 | Coventry City (2) | 1–1 | Middlesbrough (1) | 28,120 |
| replay | Middlesbrough (1) | 1–0 | Coventry City (2) | 14,131 |
| 4 | Reading (2) | 1–1 | Birmingham City (1) | 23,762 |
| replay | Birmingham City (1) | 2–1 | Reading (2) | 16,644 |
| 5 | Portsmouth (1) | 1–2 | Liverpool (1) | 17,247 |
| 6 | Leicester City (2) | 0–1 | Southampton (2) | 20,427 |
| 7 | Bolton Wanderers (1) | 1–0 | Arsenal (1) | 13,326 |
| 8 | Aston Villa (1) | 3–1 | Port Vale (3) | 30,434 |
| 9 | Brentford (3) | 2–1 | Sunderland (1) | 11,698 |
| 10 | Manchester City (1) | 1–0 | Wigan Athletic (1) | 30,811 |
| 11 | Everton (1) | 1–1 | Chelsea (1) | 29,742 |
| replay | Chelsea (1) | 4–1 | Everton (1) | 39,301 |
| 12 | Preston North End (2) | 1–1 | Crystal Palace (2) | 9,489 |
| replay | Crystal Palace (2) | 1–2 | Preston North End (2) | 7,356 |
| 13 | West Ham United (1) | 4–2 | Blackburn Rovers (1) | 23,700 |
| 14 | Colchester United (3) | 3–1 | Derby County (2) | 5,933 |
| 15 | Charlton Athletic (1) | 2–1 | Leyton Orient (4) | 22,029 |
| 16 | Wolverhampton Wanderers (2) | 0–3 | Manchester United (1) | 28,333 |

### Fifth round proper

All ties took place on Saturday 18 and Sunday 19 February 2006. Replays are shown in italics, and took place on 14 and 15 March. Ties are shown in order of the draw.
Liverpool's 1-0 win over Manchester United ended their arch rivals' hopes of an FA Cup/League Cup double, as well as ending Liverpool's 85-year wait for a win over Manchester United in an FA Cup tie.
| Tie no | Home team | Score | Away team | Attendance |
| 1 | Preston North End (2) | 0–2 | Middlesbrough (1) | 19,877 |
| 2 | Newcastle United (1) | 1–0 | Southampton (2) | 40,975 |
| 3 | Aston Villa (1) | 1–1 | Manchester City (1) | 23,847 |
| replay | Manchester City (1) | 2–1 | Aston Villa (1) | 33,006 |
| 4 | Chelsea (1) | 3–1 | Colchester United (3) | 41,810 |
| 5 | Charlton Athletic (1) | 3–1 | Brentford (3) | 22,098 |
| 6 | Liverpool (1) | 1–0 | Manchester United (1) | 44,039 |
| 7 | Bolton Wanderers (1) | 0–0 | West Ham United (1) | 17,120 |
| replay | West Ham United (1) | 2–1 | Bolton Wanderers (1) | 24,685 |
| 8 | Stoke City (2) | 0–1 | Birmingham City (1) | 18,768 |

### Sixth round proper

The most significant game of the round was undoubtedly Liverpool's 7-0 win at Birmingham City, one of the biggest ever scorelines in an FA Cup quarter-final tie.
This was also a rare occurrence of all eight quarter-finalists being members of the top flight.

#### Replays
### Semi-finals

Chelsea's hopes of the league title and FA Cup double were ended as they lost 2–1 to Liverpool, while Middlesbrough's defeat to West Ham United ended their hopes of an FA Cup/UEFA Cup double.
West Ham's victory meant that they would be contesting their first FA Cup final for 26 years, with this victory coming just five days after the death of John Lyall, manager of the West Ham side that had won the cup that year.

### Final

In the final, an injury-time equaliser by Liverpool's Steven Gerrard forced a 3–3 draw, and his side went on to win the penalty shoot-out and secure the seventh FA Cup triumph of their history. West Ham's Alan Pardew was the first Englishman to manage an FA Cup finalist side since Aston Villa's John Gregory six years earlier.
| Liverpool | West Ham |

## Top scorers

    As of 13 May 2006
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Yakubu | Middlesbrough | 4 |
| 1 | Steven Gerrard | Liverpool | 4 |
| 3 | Dean Ashton | West Ham United | 3 |
| 3 | Milan Baroš | Aston Villa | 3 |
| 3 | Dudley Campbell | Brentford | 3 |
| 3 | Peter Crouch | Liverpool | 3 |
| 3 | Neil Danns | Colchester United | 3 |
| 3 | Mikael Forssell | Birmingham City | 3 |
| 3 | Robbie Fowler | Manchester City | 3 |
| 3 | Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink | Middlesbrough | 3 |
| 3 | Kevin James | Walsall | 3 |
| 3 | Leroy Lita | Reading | 3 |
| 3 | Gez Murphy | Nuneaton Town | 3 |
| 3 | Kieran Richardson | Manchester United | 3 |
| 3 | John Arne Riise | Liverpool | 3 |

## Player of the Round

From the first round (qualifying) onward, a panel including Sky Sports' Jeff Stelling and FA Chief Executive Brian Barwick nominated players for the award. The winners were voted by visitors of thefa.com.
The player with the most votes each round won £1000 worth of football equipment for a local school or club, as well as an engraved silver salver.
| Round | Player | Club |
| First round qualifying | Jamie Laidlaw | Gosport Borough |
| Second round qualifying | Paul Brayson | Northwich Victoria |
| Third round qualifying | Alex Rodman | Leamington |
| Fourth round qualifying | Stuart Tuck | Eastbourne Borough |
| First round proper | Paul Brayson | Northwich Victoria |
| Second round proper | Dave Mulligan | Doncaster Rovers |
| Third round proper | Gez Murphy | Nuneaton Borough |
| Fourth round proper | Ricardo Gardner | Bolton Wanderers |
| Fifth round proper | Jamie Carragher | Liverpool |
| Sixth round proper | Steven Gerrard | Liverpool |
| Semi-finals | Luis García | Liverpool |
No vote was made for the final tie.