Cardiff's first match in the FA Cup was away to non-league Chasetown who became the lowest ranked side ever to reach the third round of the competition and, despite an early scare when Kevin McNaughton turned the ball into his own net, they eventually came away with a 3–1 victory. The fourth and fifth round ties saw the Bluebirds go through with little trouble after wins over Hereford United and Wolverhampton Wanderers. With those results, Cardiff reached the quarter-finals and were rewarded with a trip to Premiership side Middlesbrough. A tough match was predicted but Cardiff got off to a great start when Peter Whittingham found his way through a crowd of defenders to score and Roger Johnson headed in meaning the match was all but over after just 23 minutes. The semi-final saw Cardiff come up against Championship opposition for the second time in Barnsley at Wembley Stadium and a Joe Ledley goal in the opening 10 minutes was the only thing that separated the two clubs at the final whistle sending Cardiff into their first FA Cup final since they won the trophy in 1927.