FA Cup 2008-09

The 2008–09 FA Cup was the 128th season of the world's oldest football knockout competition; The Football Association Challenge Cup, or FA Cup for short. A record 762 clubs were accepted for the competition; one club, South Normanton Athletic, folded before the fixtures were released, leaving 761 clubs to appear in the draw. Two more clubs, Brierley Hill & Withymoor and Stapenhill, folded after the draws for the early rounds were made, giving their opponents a walk-over.
The competition started on 16 August 2008 with the Extra Preliminary Round and concluded on 30 May 2009 with the Final, held at Wembley Stadium. Because winners Chelsea qualified for the 2009–10 UEFA Champions League by finishing 3rd in the 2008–09 Premier League, losing finalists Everton qualified for the play-off round of the 2009–10 UEFA Europa League. Because Everton also happened to qualify for a Europa League berth by finishing 5th in the Premier League, that berth was awarded to the 6th place team, whose berth (which was available because 2009–10 Football League Cup winners Manchester United qualified for the Champions League as Premier League winners) was in turn awarded to the 7th place team.
This season's competition saw the beginning of a new television contract for the tournament, with ITV and Setanta Sports taking over the domestic rights from the BBC and Sky Sports.
==Calendar==
Round 	Main date 	Number of fixtures	Clubs 	New entries this round	Prize money 	Player of the Round
Extra Preliminary Round	16 August 2008 	203 	761 → 558	406: 356th–761st 	£750 	n/a
Preliminary Round 	30 August 2008 	166 	558 → 392	129: 227th–355th 	£1,500 	n/a
First Round Qualifying 	13 September 2008 	116 	392 → 276	66: 161st–226th 	£3,000 	Derren Ibrahim (Dartford)
Second Round Qualifying	27 September 2008 	80 	276 → 196	44: 117th–160th 	£4,500 	Dean Lodge (Kingstonian)
Third Round Qualifying 	11 October 2008 	40 	196 → 156	none 	£7,500 	Craig Davis (AFC Totton)
Fourth Round Qualifying	25 October 2008 	32 	156 → 124	24: 93rd–116th 	£12,500 	Sam Hatton (AFC Wimbledon)
First Round Proper 	8 November 2008 	40 	124 → 84 	48: 45th–92nd 	£20,000 	Jon Adams (AFC Telford United)
Second Round Proper 	29 November 2008 	20 	84 → 64 	none 	£30,000 	Lindon Meikle (Eastwood Town)
Third Round Proper 	3 January 2009 	32 	64 → 32 	44: 1st–44th 	£75,000 	Nathan Tyson (Nottingham Forest)
Fourth Round Proper 	24 January 2009 	16 	32 → 16 	none 	£100,000 	Scott Parker (West Ham United)
Fifth Round Proper 	14 February 2009 	8 	16 → 8 	none 	£200,000 	Mikel Arteta (Everton)
Sixth Round Proper 	7 March 2009 	4 	8 → 4 	none 	£400,000 	Robin van Persie (Arsenal)
Semi-Finals 	18 April 200919 April 2009	2 	4 → 2 	none 	Winners: £1,000,000Losers: £500,000	Phil Jagielka (Everton)
Final 	30 May 2009 	1 	2 → 1 	none 	Winner: £2,000,000Loser: £1,000,000	
==Qualifying Rounds==
All of the teams that entered the competition, but were not members of the Premier League or The Football League, had to compete in the qualifying rounds.
==First Round Proper==
All of the 24 League One and 24 League Two teams entered at this round, along with the winners of the previous round, the fourth qualifying round. These 32 winners came from the following levels:
*14 teams from Level 5 (Conference National)
*9 from Level 6: 5 Conference North, 4 Conference South
*6 from Level 7: 1 Northern Premier League, 2 Southern League, 3 Isthmian League
*2 from Level 8: Curzon Ashton of the NPL North and Bury Town of the Southern League Midland
*1 from Level 9: Leiston of the Eastern Counties League Premier Division
The draw for the First Round Proper took place on 26 October 2008. The matches were played between 7 and 9 November 2008.
Tie no 	Home team 	Score 	Away team 	Attendance
1 	Colchester United 	0 – 1 	Leyton Orient 	4,600
2 	Havant & Waterlooville	1 – 3 	Brentford 	1,631
3 	Blyth Spartans 	3 – 1 	Shrewsbury Town 	2,742
4 	Sutton United 	0 – 1 	Notts County 	2,041
5 	Torquay United 	2 – 0 	Evesham United 	2,275
6 	Oxford United 	0 – 0 	Dorchester Town 	3,196
replay 	Dorchester Town 	1 – 3†	Oxford United 	1,474
7 	Bury 	0 – 1 	Gillingham 	2,161
8 	AFC Wimbledon 	1 – 4 	Wycombe Wanderers 	4,528
9 	Chester City 	0 – 3 	Millwall 	1,932
10 	Carlisle United 	1 – 1 	Grays Athletic 	3,921
replay‡	Grays Athletic 	0 – 2 	Carlisle United 	1,217
11 	Team Bath 	0 – 1 	Forest Green Rovers 	906
12 	Eastbourne Borough 	0 – 0 	Barrow 	1,216
replay 	Barrow 	4 – 0 	Eastbourne Borough 	2,131
13 	AFC Hornchurch 	0 – 1 	Peterborough United 	3,000
14 	Yeovil Town 	1 – 1 	Stockport County 	3,582
replay 	Stockport County 	5 – 0 	Yeovil Town 	3,260
15 	Leiston 	0 – 0 	Fleetwood Town 	1,250
replay 	Fleetwood Town 	2 – 0 	Leiston 	2,010
16 	Accrington Stanley 	0 – 0 	Tranmere Rovers 	2,126
replay 	Tranmere Rovers 	1 – 0 	Accrington Stanley 	2,560
17 	Walsall 	1 – 3 	Scunthorpe United 	2,318
18 	AFC Bournemouth 	1 – 0 	Bristol Rovers 	3,935
19 	Brighton & Hove Albion	3 – 3 	Hartlepool United 	2,545
replay 	Hartlepool United 	2 – 1 	Brighton & Hove Albion	3,288
20 	Aldershot Town 	1 – 1 	Rotherham United 	2,632
replay 	Rotherham United 	0 – 3 	Aldershot Town 	2,431
Tie no 	Home team 	Score 	Away team 	Attendance
21 	Morecambe 	2 – 1 	Grimsby Town 	1,713
22 	Huddersfield Town 	3 – 4 	Port Vale 	6,942
23 	Alfreton Town 	4 – 2 	Bury Town 	1,060
24 	Kidderminster Harriers 	1 – 0 	Cambridge United 	1,717
25 	Leicester City 	3 – 0 	Stevenage Borough 	7,586
26 	Milton Keynes Dons 	1 – 2 	Bradford City 	5,542
27 	Darlington 	0 – 0 	Droylsden 	2,479
replay 	Droylsden 	1 – 0 	Darlington 	1,672
28 	Chesterfield 	3 – 1 	Mansfield Town 	6,612
29 	AFC Telford United 	2 – 2 	Southend United 	3,631
replay 	Southend United 	2 – 0 	AFC Telford United 	4,415
30 	Curzon Ashton 	3 – 2 	Exeter City 	1,259
31 	Histon 	1 – 0 	Swindon Town 	1,541
32 	Kettering Town 	1 – 1 	Lincoln City 	3,314
replay 	Lincoln City 	1 – 2 	Kettering Town 	3,953
33 	Barnet 	1 – 1 	Rochdale 	1,782
replay 	Rochdale 	3 – 2† 	Barnet 	2,339
34 	Hereford United 	0 – 0 	Dagenham & Redbridge 	1,825
replay 	Dagenham & Redbridge 	2 – 1 	Hereford United 	1,409
35 	Cheltenham Town 	2 – 2 	Oldham Athletic 	2,585
replay 	Oldham Athletic 	0 – 1 	Cheltenham Town 	2,552
36 	Luton Town 	0 – 0 	Altrincham 	3,200
replay 	Altrincham 	0 – 0 	Luton Town 	2,397
Luton Town won 4–2 on penalties	Luton Town won 4–2 on penalties	Luton Town won 4–2 on penalties	Luton Town won 4–2 on penalties	Luton Town won 4–2 on penalties
37 	Crewe Alexandra 	1 – 0 	Ebbsfleet United 	2,593
38 	Eastwood Town 	2 – 1 	Brackley Town 	960
39 	Leeds United 	1 – 1 	Northampton Town 	9,531
replay 	Northampton Town 	2 – 5 	Leeds United 	3,960
40 	Harlow Town 	0 – 2 	Macclesfield Town 	2,149
† – After extra time
‡ – Grays' replay with Carlisle was abandoned the first time it was played after 20 minutes because of floodlight failure with Grays leading 1–0.
Blyth Spartans, Droylsden and Histon beat teams from two levels higher. Kettering Town were the fourth non-league team to beat a league club. Curzon Ashton were the only club to beat a team from four levels higher, beating Exeter City.
==Second Round Proper==
The draw for the Second Round Proper took place on 9 November 2008 and involved the 40 winning teams from the First Round Proper. These were from the following levels:
*13 from Level 3 (League One)
*14 from Level 4 (League Two)
*7 from Level 5 (Conference National)
*4 from Level 6 (all Conference North)
*1 from Level 7 (Eastwood Town of the Northern Premier League Premier Division)
*1 from Level 8 (Curzon Ashton of the Northern Premier League North)
The draw was conducted by Lawrie Sanchez and Ray Parlour. Matches in the Second Round Proper were played over the weekend of 29 November 2008, with the exception of the match between Crewe Alexandra and Carlisle United, which was played on 2 December, due to the abandonment of the first game between Carlisle United and Grays Athletic in the First Round.
Tie no 	Home team 	Score 	Away team 	Attendance
1‡ 	Chesterfield 	2 – 2 	Droylsden 	5,698
replay‡ 	Droylsden 	2 – 1 	Chesterfield 	2,824
Droylsden expelled for fielding an ineligible player; Chesterfield progress	Droylsden expelled for fielding an ineligible player; Chesterfield progress	Droylsden expelled for fielding an ineligible player; Chesterfield progress	Droylsden expelled for fielding an ineligible player; Chesterfield progress	Droylsden expelled for fielding an ineligible player; Chesterfield progress
2 	Peterborough United 	0 – 0 	Tranmere Rovers 	5,980
replay 	Tranmere Rovers 	1 – 2† 	Peterborough United 	3,139
3 	Eastwood Town 	2 – 0 	Wycombe Wanderers 	1,955
4 	Notts County 	1 – 1 	Kettering Town 	4,451
replay 	Kettering Town 	2 – 1 	Notts County 	3,019
5 	Leicester City 	3 – 2 	Dagenham & Redbridge 	7,791
6 	Barrow 	2 – 1 	Brentford 	3,532
7 	Bradford City 	1 – 2 	Leyton Orient 	5,065
8 	Southend United 	3 – 1 	Luton Town 	4,111
9 	Forest Green Rovers 	2 – 0 	Rochdale 	1,715
10 	Histon 	1 – 0 	Leeds United 	4,103
11 	Scunthorpe United 	4 – 0 	Alfreton Town 	4,249
12 	Torquay United 	2 – 0 	Oxford United 	2,647
13 	Fleetwood Town 	2 – 3 	Hartlepool United 	3,280
14 	Morecambe 	2 – 3 	Cheltenham Town 	1,758
15 	Gillingham 	0 – 0 	Stockport County 	4,419
replay 	Stockport County 	1 – 2 	Gillingham 	3,329
16 	Millwall 	3 – 0 	Aldershot Town 	6,159
17 	Carlisle United 	0 – 2 	Crewe Alexandra 	2,755
18 	AFC Bournemouth 	0 – 0 	Blyth Spartans 	4,165
replay 	Blyth Spartans 	1 – 0 	AFC Bournemouth 	4,040
19 	Kidderminster Harriers 	2 – 0 	Curzon Ashton 	2,070
20 	Port Vale 	1 – 3 	Macclesfield Town 	4,684
† – After extra time
‡ – Droylsden's first visit to Chesterfield was abandoned at half time due to fog.
6 non-league clubs beat league clubs: Leeds United lost to Histon, while League Two clubs lost to Eastwood Town, Blyth Spartans, Barrow, Forest Green Rovers and Kettering Town.
==Third Round Proper==
The draw for the Third Round Proper took place on 30 November 2008. The draw was carried out by Sir Trevor Brooking and Ray Clemence at Soho Square. The 20 Premier League and 24 Championship teams enter at this stage, along with the 20 winners of the Second Round Proper. These 20 teams came from the following levels:
*9 from Level 3 (League One)
*3 from Level 4 (League Two)
*6 from Level 5 (Conference National)
*1 from Level 6 (Blyth Spartans of the Conference North)
*1 from Level 7 (Eastwood Town of the Northern Premier League Premier Division)
The matches were played between 2 January and 5 January 2009, with the exception of the ties between Birmingham City and Wolverhampton Wanderers, Histon and Swansea City, Cheltenham Town and Doncaster Rovers, and Leyton Orient and Sheffield United, which were postponed until 13 January 2009.
Tie no	Home team 	Score 	Away team 	Attendance
1 	Portsmouth 	0 – 0 	Bristol City 	14,446
replay	Bristol City 	0 – 2 	Portsmouth 	14,302
2 	Sheffield Wednesday 	1 – 2 	Fulham 	18,377
3 	Preston North End 	0 – 2 	Liverpool 	23,046
4 	Birmingham City 	0 – 2 	Wolverhampton Wanderers	22,232
5 	West Ham United 	3 – 0 	Barnsley 	28,869
6 	Middlesbrough 	2 – 1 	Barrow 	25,132
7 	Hull City 	0 – 0 	Newcastle United 	20,557
replay	Newcastle United 	0 – 1 	Hull City 	31,380
8 	Hartlepool United 	2 – 0 	Stoke City 	5,367
9 	Chelsea 	1 – 1 	Southend United 	41,090
replay	Southend United 	1 – 4 	Chelsea 	11,314
10 	Manchester City 	0 – 3 	Nottingham Forest 	31,869
11 	Cardiff City 	2 – 0 	Reading 	12,448
12 	Ipswich Town 	3 – 0 	Chesterfield 	12,524
13 	Charlton Athletic 	1 – 1 	Norwich City 	12,615
replay	Norwich City 	0 – 1 	Charlton Athletic 	13,997
14 	West Bromwich Albion	1 – 1 	Peterborough United 	18,659
replay	Peterborough United 	0 – 2 	West Bromwich Albion 	10,735
15 	Torquay United 	1 – 0 	Blackpool 	3,654
16 	Leyton Orient 	1 – 4 	Sheffield United 	4,527
17 	Southampton 	0 – 3 	Manchester United 	31,901
18 	Millwall 	2 – 2 	Crewe Alexandra 	5,754
replay	Crewe Alexandra 	2 – 3 	Millwall 	3,060
19 	Histon 	1 – 2 	Swansea City 	2,821
20 	Forest Green Rovers 	3 – 4 	Derby County 	4,836
21 	Queens Park Rangers 	0 – 0 	Burnley 	8,896
replay	Burnley 	2 – 1†	Queens Park Rangers 	3,760
22 	Leicester City 	0 – 0 	Crystal Palace 	15,976
replay	Crystal Palace 	2 – 1 	Leicester City 	6,023
23 	Tottenham Hotspur 	3 – 1 	Wigan Athletic 	34,040
24 	Cheltenham Town 	0 – 0 	Doncaster Rovers 	4,417
replay	Doncaster Rovers 	3 – 0 	Cheltenham Town 	5,345
25 	Arsenal 	3 – 1 	Plymouth Argyle 	59,424
26 	Kettering Town 	2 – 1 	Eastwood Town 	5,090
27 	Blyth Spartans 	0 – 1 	Blackburn Rovers 	3,445
28 	Macclesfield Town 	0 – 1 	Everton 	6,008
29 	Watford 	1 – 0 	Scunthorpe United 	8,690
30 	Sunderland 	2 – 1 	Bolton Wanderers 	20,685
31 	Coventry City 	2 – 0 	Kidderminster Harriers 	13,652
32 	Gillingham 	1 – 2 	Aston Villa 	10,107
† – After extra time
Torquay United were the only team to beat a team from 3 levels higher, while Hartlepool United were the only team to beat a team from 2 levels higher.
==Fourth Round Proper==
The draw for the Fourth Round of the FA Cup was held on 4 January 2009. It comprised teams from the following levels:
*15 from the Premier League
*13 from the Championship
*2 from League One
*0 from League Two
*2 from the Conference National
The draw was conducted by Roberto Di Matteo and Dave Beasant.
A technical error during ITV's broadcast of the Everton–Liverpool replay meant that millions of viewers missed Dan Gosling's winner for Everton late in extra time. Coverage of the match was temporarily interrupted by advertisements, only for viewers to see Everton's players celebrating upon the restoration of the feed. ITV received thousands of complaints about the mistake, with many viewers questioning ITV's ability to broadcast live football, especially given their £275 million contract with the Football Association. ITV has subsequently apologised for the error.
Tie no	Home team 	Score 	Away team 	Attendance
1 	Liverpool 	1 – 1 	Everton 	43,524
replay	Everton 	1 – 0†	Liverpool 	37,918
2 	Manchester United 	2 – 1 	Tottenham Hotspur 	75,014
3 	Hull City 	2 – 0 	Millwall 	18,639
4 	Sunderland 	0 – 0 	Blackburn Rovers 	22,634
replay	Blackburn Rovers 	2 – 1†	Sunderland 	10,112
5 	Hartlepool United 	0 – 2 	West Ham United 	6,849
6 	Sheffield United 	2 – 1 	Charlton Athletic 	15,957
7 	Cardiff City 	0 – 0 	Arsenal 	20,079
replay	Arsenal 	4 – 0 	Cardiff City 	57,237
8 	Portsmouth 	0 – 2 	Swansea City 	17,357
9 	Chelsea 	3 – 1 	Ipswich Town 	41,137
10 	Doncaster Rovers 	0 – 0 	Aston Villa 	13,517
replay	Aston Villa 	3 – 1 	Doncaster Rovers 	24,203
11 	West Bromwich Albion 	2 – 2 	Burnley 	18,294
replay	Burnley 	3 – 1 	West Bromwich Albion	6,635
12 	Torquay United 	0 – 1 	Coventry City 	6,018
13 	Kettering Town 	2 – 4 	Fulham 	5,406
14 	Watford 	4 – 3 	Crystal Palace 	10,006
15 	Derby County 	1 – 1 	Nottingham Forest 	32,035
replay	Nottingham Forest 	2 – 3 	Derby County 	29,001
16 	Wolverhampton Wanderers	1 – 2 	Middlesbrough 	18,013
† – After extra time
==Fifth Round Proper==
The draw for the Fifth Round Proper was held on 25 January 2009. It comprised 10 teams from the Premier League and 6 from the Championship, and was conducted by Gary Mabbutt and Gary Pallister. The Fifth Round matches were played on the weekend of 14 February 2009, with the exception of the tie between Arsenal and Burnley, after Arsenal's Fourth Round replay with Cardiff City was postponed due to snow. The match was played on 8 March 2009.
Tie no	Home team 	Score 	Away team 	Attendance
1 	Sheffield United	1 – 1	Hull City 	22,283
replay	Hull City 	2 – 1	Sheffield United 	17,239
2 	Watford 	1 – 3	Chelsea 	16,851
3 	West Ham United 	1 – 1	Middlesbrough 	33,658
replay	Middlesbrough 	2 – 0	West Ham United 	15,602
4 	Blackburn Rovers	2 – 2	Coventry City 	15,053
replay	Coventry City 	1 – 0	Blackburn Rovers 	22,793
5 	Derby County 	1 – 4	Manchester United	32,103
6 	Swansea City 	1 – 1	Fulham 	16,573
replay	Fulham 	2 – 1	Swansea City 	12,316
7 	Everton 	3 – 1	Aston Villa 	35,439
8 	Arsenal 	3 – 0	Burnley 	57,454
==Sixth Round Proper==
The draw for the Sixth Round Proper was held on 15 February 2009. It comprised 7 teams from the Premier League and Coventry City from the Championship. It was conducted by Frank McLintock and Graeme Souness. The matches were played on the weekend of 7 March 2009,
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==Semi-Finals==
The draw for the semi-finals was held on 8 March 2009, and was conducted by Bob Wilson and Joe Royle. The semi-final matches were played at Wembley Stadium, on the weekend of 18 April 2009. Unlike the previous rounds, replays were not held if a match ended as a draw; if necessary, extra time was added and a penalty shoot-out was held immediately after the match.
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==Final==
==Top scorers==
The top scorers in the 2008–09 FA Cup (First Round Proper and onwards) are as follows:
Rank	Scorer 	Club 	Goals
1 	Nicolas Anelka 	Chelsea 	4
1 	Matt Fryatt 	Leicester City 	4
1 	Gary Hooper 	Scunthorpe United 	4
1 	Robin van Persie 	Arsenal 	4
1 	Craig Westcarr 	Kettering Town 	4
6 	Afonso Alves 	Middlesbrough 	3
6 	Michael Ballack 	Chelsea 	3
6 	Andy Barcham 	Gillingham 	3
6 	Jermaine Beckford 	Leeds United 	3
6 	Didier Drogba 	Chelsea 	3
6 	Louis Dodds 	Port Vale 	3
6 	Eduardo 	Arsenal 	3
6 	Greg Halford 	Sheffield United 	3
6 	Matt Harrold 	Wycombe Wanderers 	3
6 	Rob Hulse 	Derby County 	3
6 	Andrew Johnson 	Fulham 	3
6 	Frank Lampard 	Chelsea 	3
6 	Adam le Fondre 	Rochdale 	3
6 	Jack Lester 	Chesterfield 	3
6 	Craig Mackail-Smith	Peterborough United	3
6 	James Milner 	Aston Villa 	3
6 	Roman Pavlyuchenko 	Tottenham Hotspur 	3
6 	Jason Scotland 	Swansea City 	3
6 	Steven Thompson 	Burnley 	3
==External links and references==
2008-09