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1892 F A CUP FINAL
WEST BROMWICH ALBION 3
VS
ASTON VILLA 0
SCORERS- ALF GEDDES-4, NICHOLLS-27, JOHN REYNOLDS-55
19th MARCH-KENNINGTON OVAL-LONDON
ATTENDANCE-32,810
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The 1892 F A cup was notable as the first season in which there were no double figure scorelines in the competition proper. It had shown that changing the format of the cup to keep the top clubs out until the first round proper was a sensible decision. Conversely, there was room for only eighteen clubs from outside the football league in the first round proper. The vast majority of these clubs hailed from the football alliance which, the following year became the newly formed second division of the football league.
The weather on first round day was atrocious and many of the games should have been called off. Blackburn's defence of the cup went ahead as planned and Jack Southworth took up where he left off in last years final with all the goals in a 4-1 win over Derby. Preston's game with the extravagantly named Middlesbrough Ironopolis had to be abandoned with the sides locked at 2-2 while four other sides who lost, lodged protests about the state of the pitch, including a surprising protest from Everton about the state of their own Anfield Road ground. Of course what the protesting teams failed to remember was that their opponents had been forced to play on the same conditions so there may have been a sense of justice when all four replays produced the same results. Sheffield Wednesday were the only non league club to claim a league scalp when they beat Bolton 2-1 on a frozen pitch and then 4-1 after Bolton's protest. Middlesbrough Ironopolis probably wished their tie had not been abandoned as Preston ran out easy 6-0 winners while Royal Arsenal knew better than to protest about the pitch after their 5-1 defeat by Small Heath.
The cup holders and ultimate league champions both came to grief in round two although one used the old fashioned protest method to book a second chance. West Bromwich Albion put paid to the holders 3-1 while Accrington looked to be into the quarter finals for the first time in their history after a 1-0 win over Sunderland. History could have been very different if that score had been allowed to stand but a replay was ordered which Sunderland won 3-1. Within a year Accrington were out of business in an era where winning the cup could keep a club financially sound for a decade. that said, Accrington still had a long way to go to win the 1892 cup. Giant killers, Sheffield Wednesday made the last eight with a 2-0 win over Small Heath while Preston took their place with 2-1 win at Middlesbrough, Nottingham Forest, Wolves, Aston Villa and Stoke completed the last eight.
The two non league sides were kept apart in the quarter finals but met with different results. Sheffield Wednesday bowed out 1-2 at West Bromwich Albion but there was delight for Nottingham Forest with a 2-0 win over Preston. The two all league clashes saw Aston Villa gain an impressive 3-1 win at Wolves while Sunderland and Stoke fought out a 2-2 draw before the Makems came through 4-0 at the Victoria Ground in the replay.
By that time Sunderland already knew that their semi final opponents would be Aston Villa and were keen to make amends for their defeat by Notts County at the penultimate hurdle last year. Superstitious Sunderland fans would not have been happy at the choice of Sheffield's Bramell Lane where they had lost last year. The ground remained unlucky for the team from the North East as John Devey and Denny Hodgetts bagged a brace apiece to cancel out Smith's solitary strike for Sunderland, 4-1 the final score. The match did not pass without controversy however as Sunderland keeper Teddy Doig had been blatently held back by Villa captain Dickson in order to prevent his stopping Villa's first goal. The score suggests that it made little difference but it is on such small matters that the fate of games hang.
Meanwhile in Wolverhampton, Nottingham Forest were playing out of their skins in a bid to get to the cup final for the first time. Lindley for Forest and Alf Geddes for Albion ensured a 1-1 draw and a replay a week later. By now cup fever had gripped both camps with Albion fans salivating at a second crack at Aston Villa in a cup final and Forest fans believeing they could be the first non league cup finalist for two years. Yet again both sets of fans were frustrated as a Billy Bassett goal late on forced another 1-1 draw. The second replay was moved from Molyneaux to the grounds of Derby Racecourse, an unusual venue which has never since been used. This time Forest were overwhelmed as Alf Geddes became only the third player in history to strike a semi final hat-trick. Billy Bassett, Groves and Charlie Perry added goals for a comprehensive 6-2 win, Higgins scored both goals for Forest in a game played in arctic conditions with a full blown blizzard during the game.
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THE FINAL
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The 1892 cup final saw the F A bid farewell to Kennington Oval. The famous old cricket ground, which is still the home of English cricket today, just couldn't cope with the huge crowds that football was attracting in the 1890's. Just 2,000 had turned up for the final twenty years previously but in 1892 over 32,000 people converged on London from the Midlands for the second meeting between Aston Villa, The Perry Barr Pets, and West Bromwich Albion, The Stoney Lane Strollers. The Oval was also situated in one of the more upmarket areas of London and it is probable that the Northern fans were less than welcome there on cup final day. For the fans there was a new innovation with the introduction of a cup final programmes instructing fans how and where to get their hands on team photographs. For the more up market fan planning to stay overnight in London, The Alhambra advertised that it would be open until 11 p.m. that night while The Gaiety theatre's entertainment started at 8 in the evening with a wide range of popular music hall acts. After the game fans were also invited to see the latest exhibits at Madame Tussaud's for 1/-. Football wise, sadly this final would leave a bad taste in the mouth of players from both camps.
Villa were clear favourites on the day and included Jimmy Warner and Denny Hodgetts in their side from their 1887 cup winning XI. Albion had more experience though with Charles Perry, Billy Bassett and Pearson from the 1888 winning side. As expected, Villa looked to be the more composed side in the opening exchanges but the destiny of the game was decided very early on. With his first chance to run at the Villa Defence, Billy Bassett carved their back line open with a great run and cross which Alf Geddes met with a stunning volley which Warner had no chance of stopping. Albion were in front with the fastest goal yet scored in a cup final, just four minutes. At this early stage Villa didn't panic and continued to play very controlled and crisp football but just like Notts County last year, they seemed unable to carve out a decent opportunity to truely test Joe Reader. On twenty-seven minutes Villa were caught out in exactly the same fashion as they had been for the first goal. Another lung bursting run from Bassett again went unchecked and his cross this time fell to Nicholls whose tame shot somehow eluded Jimmy Warner.
Villa had done most of the attacking in the first half hour and, had their strikers been up for it, they could have easily had three or four goals but hesitancy had seen them two down and yet to force a decent save from Reader. After the second goal any hope of a Villa fightback was snuffed out. The favourites began to visibly labour as Albion grew in confidence to take the game by the scruff of the neck to the point that Villa were grateful for half time. Albion had created several clear cut chances in the last fifteen minutes of the half and it is notable that Jimmy Warner was praised for two top quality saves in light of what was to happen after the game.
The second half was very one sided as Albion began to dominate the game in every department. Any Villa attacks were quickly and easily closed down by Reynolds, Perry and Groves at the heart of the defence while Billy Bassett was tormenting 38 year old Billy Evans at the other end. Few were surprised when John Reynolds popped up from defence to increase Albion's lead ten minutes into the second half, although yet again Warner looked to have been at fault for a very saveable effort. The remaining thirty-five minutes were an anti climax after that. The game was over as a contest and Villa did little to try and salvage some pride from a local derby their fans had expected them to win at a canter. West Brom by contrast were well satisfied with their days work and were more than happy to settle on a three goal lead which was never in danger. At the final whistle Charles Perry recieved the cup from Lord Kinnaird and the Oval era was at an end. At the time it seemed that this would be the last time the Northern fans would get a day out in London as Manchester's Fallowfield ground was announced as the new home of the cup final.
The 1892 cup final was far from over in the eyes of the two finalist's directors though. At Aston Villa, dissappointed fans started to point the finger at Jimmy Warner, a faithful club servant and usually reliable keeper. Warner had made some fine saves but had also been at some fault for two of the goals and it was the latter that the fans picked up on. A rumour began to circulate that Warner had placed hefty bets on Albion to win the cup and then contrived to throw the game. This accusation made the National press and while no action was ever taken against Warner, his career at Villa was over. Newton Heath signed him for a snip for their first campaign in the new second division but Warner's heart wasn't in it. A Villa man to the core, Jimmy Warner quit football and shortly after quit the Country, moving to Philadelphia with his daughter to get away from the rumours. Meanwhile things were not rosey at Albion either. John Reynolds had played his best game for Months in the final and when his form dipped again after the game, he was openly accused by the board of having played for a transfer and was promptly told that if he didn't start playing to his cup final form every week, he would be fined £1 a week until he did. Reynold's response to that was to tip off a friend who was playing for Villa. Reynolds, who had played a major part in sinking Villa in 1892's cup final would go on to become one of their all time legends.
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THE TEAMS
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WEST BROMWICH ALBION
JOE READER
NICHOLSON
MCCULLOCH
JOHN REYNOLDS
CHARLIE PERRY {CAPTAIN}
BILLY GROVES
BILLY BASSETT
RODDY MCLEOD
NICHOLLS
PEARSON
ALF GEDDES
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ASTON VILLA
JIMMY WARNER
BILLY EVANS
COX
H DEVEY
JAS COWAN
J BAIRD
CHARLIE ATHERSMITH
JOHN DEVEY
{CAPTAIN} WILLIAM DICKSON
DENNIS HODGETTS
CAMPBELL
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