page_title: 1872 FA Cup Final
section_title: Route to the final
hierarchical_section_title: 1872 FA Cup Final / Route to the final
caption_attribution_description: English: The Royal Engineers AFC that lost the 1872 FA Cup final. Back: Merriman, Ord, Marindin, Addison, Mitchell; Front: Hoskyns, Renny-Tailyour, Creswell, Goodwyn, Barker, Rich.
context_page_description: The 1872 FA Cup Final was a football match between Wanderers and Royal Engineers on 16 March 1872 at Kennington Oval in London. It was the final of the first staging of the Football Association Challenge Cup, which became the primary cup competition in English football and the oldest football competition in the world. Fifteen teams entered the competition in its first season and, due to the rules in place at the time, Wanderers reached the final having won only one match in the four preceding rounds. In the semi-finals, they drew with the Scottish club Queen's Park, but reached the final when the Scots withdrew from the competition as they could not afford to return to London for a replay.
  The final was decided by a single goal, scored after fifteen minutes by Morton Betts of Wanderers, who was playing under the pseudonym "A.H. Chequer". The Engineers were praised for their innovative use of passing, then referred to as the "Combination Game", at a time when most teams relied almost solely on dribbling tactics. Despite this they could not manage to score a goal.
context_section_description: Wanderers and Royal Engineers were among fifteen teams who entered the inaugural FA Cup competition, and both were allocated home matches in the first round. Wanderers were paired with Harrow Chequers, a team consisting of former pupils of Harrow School, and the Engineers were set to face  Reigate Priory.  Neither match actually took place, however, as in both cases the away team withdrew from the competition, sending the home team through to the next round on a walkover. In the second round, both teams played away matches and emerged victorious.  Wanderers defeated Clapham Rovers 1–0 in December and the Engineers beat Hitchin 5–0 the following month.
  At the quarter-final stage, Wanderers drew 0–0 with Crystal Palace (a former amateur club not thought to be connected to the current professional club of the same name). Rather than be made to replay the match, however, both teams were permitted to go through to the semi-finals under one of the competition's original rules, which stated that in the event of a drawn match the teams would either be made to play again or both progress to the next round, at the organising committee's discretion. The Engineers beat Hampstead Heathens 2–0.  In the semi-finals Wanderers took on the leading Scottish club Queen's Park  who, due to a combination of walkovers and byes, had reached this stage of the competition without actually playing a match.  The rules of the competition stated that all matches from the semi-final stage onwards would take place at Kennington Oval in London and, after being held to a 0–0 draw, the Scottish club could not afford to make the lengthy trip from Glasgow a second time for a replay and withdrew from the competition, sending Wanderers into the final. The Engineers also drew their semi-final at the Oval 0–0, and beat Crystal Palace 3–0 in the replay.
caption: The Royal Engineers pictured in 1872. Back: Merriman, Ord, Marindin, Addison, Mitchell; Front: Hoskyns, Renny-Tailyour, Creswell, Goodwyn, Barker, Rich.
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