# 1897–98 Newton Heath F.C. season

The 1897–98 season was Newton Heath's sixth season in the Football League and their fourth in the Second Division. They finished fourth in the league, which was not enough to earn them a chance for promotion back to the First Division. In the FA Cup, the Heathens were knocked out by Liverpool in the Second Round, after beating Walsall in the First Round.
The club also entered teams in the Lancashire and Manchester Senior Cups in 1897–98. They reached the semi-finals of the Manchester Senior Cup before being beaten 2–1 by Manchester City in a replay, but they went two better in the Lancashire Senior Cup, beating Blackburn Rovers 2–1 in the final.

## Second Division

| Date | Opponents | H / A | Result F – A | Scorers | Attendance |
| 4 September 1897 | Lincoln City | H | 5–0 | Boyd (3), Cassidy, Bryant | 5,000 |
| 11 September 1897 | Burton Swifts | A | 4–0 | Boyd (3), Cassidy | 2,000 |
| 18 September 1897 | Luton Town | H | 1–2 | Cassidy | 8,000 |
| 25 September 1897 | Blackpool | A | 1–0 | Smith | 2,000 |
| 2 October 1897 | Leicester Fosse | H | 2–0 | Boyd (2) | 6,000 |
| 9 October 1897 | Newcastle United | A | 0–2 | | 12,000 |
| 16 October 1897 | Manchester City | H | 1–1 | Gillespie | 20,000 |
| 23 October 1897 | Small Heath | A | 1–2 | Bryant | 6,000 |
| 30 October 1897 | Walsall | H | 6–0 | Cassidy (2), Donaldson (2), Bryant, Gillespie | 6,000 |
| 6 November 1897 | Lincoln City | A | 0–1 | | 2,000 |
| 13 November 1897 | Newcastle United | H | 0–1 | | 7,000 |
| 20 November 1897 | Leicester Fosse | A | 1–1 | Wedge | 6,000 |
| 27 November 1897 | Grimsby Town | H | 2–1 | Bryant, own goal | 5,000 |
| 11 December 1897 | Walsall | A | 1–1 | Boyd | 2,000 |
| 25 December 1897 | Manchester City | A | 1–0 | Cassidy | 16,000 |
| 27 December 1897 | Gainsborough Trinity | A | 1–2 | Carman | 3,000 |
| 1 January 1898 | Burton Swifts | H | 4–0 | Boyd, Bryant, Carman, McNaught | 6,000 |
| 8 January 1898 | Woolwich Arsenal | A | 1–5 | Erentz | 8,000 |
| 12 January 1898 | Burnley | H | 0–0 | | 7,000 |
| 15 January 1898 | Blackpool | H | 4–0 | Boyd (2), Cartwright, Cassidy | 4,000 |
| 26 February 1898 | Woolwich Arsenal | H | 5–1 | Bryant, Cassidy (2), Collinson, Ord (o.g.) | 6,000 |
| 7 March 1898 | Burnley | A | 3–6 | Collinson, Bryant (2) | 3,000 |
| 19 March 1898 | Darwen | A | 3–2 | Boyd (2), McNaught | 2,000 |
| 21 March 1898 | Luton Town | A | 2–2 | Boyd, Cassidy | 2,000 |
| 29 March 1898 | Loughborough | H | 5–1 | Boyd (3), Cassidy (2) | 2,000 |
| 2 April 1898 | Grimsby Town | A | 3–1 | Cassidy (2), Boyd | 2,000 |
| 8 April 1898 | Gainsborough Trinity | H | 1–0 | Cassidy | 5,000 |
| 9 April 1898 | Small Heath | H | 3–1 | Boyd, Gillespie, Morgan | 4,000 |
| 16 April 1898 | Loughborough | A | 0–0 | | 1,200 |
| 23 April 1898 | Darwen | H | 3–2 | Collinson (2), Bryant | 4,000 |
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Burnley (C, O, P) | 30 | 20 | 8 | 2 | 80 | 24 | 3.333 | 48 | Qualification for test matches |
| 2 | Newcastle United (O, P) | 30 | 21 | 3 | 6 | 64 | 32 | 2.000 | 45 | Qualification for test matches |
| 3 | Manchester City | 30 | 15 | 9 | 6 | 66 | 36 | 1.833 | 39 | |
| 4 | Newton Heath | 30 | 16 | 6 | 8 | 64 | 35 | 1.829 | 38 | |
| 5 | Woolwich Arsenal | 30 | 16 | 5 | 9 | 69 | 49 | 1.408 | 37 | |
| 6 | Small Heath | 30 | 16 | 4 | 10 | 58 | 50 | 1.160 | 36 | |
| 7 | Leicester Fosse | 30 | 13 | 7 | 10 | 46 | 35 | 1.314 | 33 | |
| 8 | Luton Town | 30 | 13 | 4 | 13 | 68 | 50 | 1.360 | 30 | |
| 9 | Gainsborough Trinity | 30 | 12 | 6 | 12 | 50 | 54 | 0.926 | 30 | |
| 10 | Walsall | 30 | 12 | 5 | 13 | 58 | 58 | 1.000 | 29 | |
| 11 | Blackpool | 30 | 10 | 5 | 15 | 49 | 61 | 0.803 | 25 | |
| 12 | Grimsby Town | 30 | 10 | 4 | 16 | 52 | 62 | 0.839 | 24 | |
| 13 | Burton Swifts | 30 | 8 | 5 | 17 | 38 | 69 | 0.551 | 21 | |
| 14 | Lincoln City | 30 | 6 | 5 | 19 | 43 | 82 | 0.524 | 17 | Re-elected |
| 15 | Darwen | 30 | 6 | 2 | 22 | 31 | 76 | 0.408 | 14 | Re-elected |
| 16 | Loughborough | 30 | 6 | 2 | 22 | 24 | 87 | 0.276 | 14 | Re-elected |

## FA Cup

| Date | Round | Opponents | H / A | Result F – A | Scorers | Attendance |
| 29 January 1898 | First Round | Walsall | H | 1–0 | Pears (o.g.) | 6,000 |
| 12 February 1898 | Second Round | Liverpool | H | 0–0 | | 12,000 |
| 16 February 1898 | Second Round Replay | Liverpool | A | 1–2 | Jimmy Collinson | 6,000 |