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1898 F A CUP FINAL
NOTTINGHAM FOREST 3
VS
DERBY COUNTY 1
SCORERS-{NF} ARTHUR CAPES-19, 42 JOHN MCPHERSON-86
{DC} STEVE BLOOMER-31
16th APRIL-CRYSTAL PALACE-LONDON
ATTENDANCE-62,017
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The press are always the first off the blocks to try and claim that there is something wrong with the game, and it was no different back in 1898. There were claims as the F A cup came around that it was futile for any club outside the first division to take part as no first division club had been defeated by lesser opposition for two years. The gulf between the elite and the rest, it was believed had grown too wide. As ever in football, just when any suggestion like this is made, football restores the sanity. Sheffield United were roaring towards their first league title as January 1898 approached and a visit from non league Burslem Port Vale in the first round of the F A cup was hardly shaking Bramall Lane to its foundations. United looked out of sorts when they were held to a 1-1 draw by the Midland league outfit but they could not believe it four days later when United returned from the Potteries having been defeated 2-1 in extra time. The winner was scored for Vale by one of the cup's more colourful personalities, Lucien Boulleier, the son of a famous French ceramic artist. Lucien himself was an artist of some reputation and on two occasions painted the portrait of Queen Victoria herself. United had the consolation of not being alone in biting the dust in round one as Preston had fallen at home 2-1 to second division promotion chasers, Newcastle a few days earlier. Double winners, Aston Villa were also out at the first hurdle as they went down 1-0 at Derby in an all top flight clash.
The Port Vale cup dream came to an end in round two when Burnley put them back in their place 3-0 to book a quarter final tie with last years beaten finalists Everton who needed a replay before hammering Stoke 5-1. Only non league Southampton would make the last eight from outside the top flight though and they did it impressively with a 1-0 over the first round giant killers Newcastle. The Geordie outfit would gain consolation by winning promotion for the first time at the end of the season while Southampton now had the prize of a trip to first division Bolton in the quarter finals. The last eight was completed by West Bromwich Albion, Nottingham Forest, Derby County and Liverpool whose runs to the last eight had all been unremarkable other than Derby putting paid to the double winners in round one.
All four quarter finalswent ahead on schedule on February 26th but only two were settled at the first attempt as Nottingham Forest reached their first semi final for six years as they won the best game of the day at West Bromwich Albion 3-2, Alf Spouncer getting the all important third goal. Everton joined them with a 3-1 win at Burnley while Derby and Liverpool could not be seperated in a 1-1 draw at Derby. Southampton performed heroics to keep out Bolton in a goalless draw to earn a replay down on the south coast. The replay on March 2nd was a very one sided affair but it was the non league team who dominated as Southampton blew their illustrious rivals away 4-0 to reach the semi finals for the first time in their history. Derby completed the quartet as John Boag bagged a hat-trick in an easy 5-1 win at Liverpool.
Having seen off one half of Merseyside, Derby now found themselves up against the other as they drew Everton in the semi finals for the second year in a row. The Rams had been the better side twelve Months earlier but some dreadful finishing had cost them a place in the final. This time they made no mistake as Steve Bloomer scored twice and John Goodall once as Derby won in a canter in Wolverhampton. Edgar Chadwick scored a consolation for Everton but they were very much second best as Derby deservedly won 3-1 to reach their first ever F A cup final. With Everton gone, a new name was certain for the trophy as neither Nottingham Forest or non league Southampton had ever reached a final before. Few gave Southampton a chance but they came so very close to the Crystal Palace as Haynes goal was cancelled out by Len Benbow for Forest in a 1-1 draw at Bramall Lane. Long before the controversy of staging semi finals at Wembley the F A took the similar step of allowing Forest and Southampton to replay at the final venue, Crystal Palace. Despite huge Southern support for the Saints, they bowed out 2-0 to goals from Tom McInnes and Chas Richards as Forest booked their first ever F A cup final appearance.
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THE FINAL
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Neither the fans of Derby or Forest had been afforded the chance to see their respective clubs play in a cup final before this meeting in 1898 so it was fitting that the weather helped to make the occasion a memorable one. The two sets of fans began to congregate in London from early morning on April 16th under cloudless skies and glorious sunshine. Sadly by the time most of the 62,017 fans arrived at Crystal Palace, the clouds had rolled in, though thankfully the rain stayed away.
Derby were considered overwhelming favourites to lift the trophy. They had the Nation's most famous and feared striker in their ranks in the shape of Steve Bloomer and it was hard to believe that he had yet to win a major honour in the colours of the Rams. Forest also were bidding to win their first major domestic trophy. In appreciation of his long service to the club, William Wragg was made captain for the day, John McPherson stepping down from that position for the match.
It was the tradition back in the Crystal Palace era for a photographer to take the two sides outside the stadium prior to kick off to be photographed both with and without the cup to avoid a photo of the winners with muddy shirts. As usual the photographer took his two snaps of the Derby eleven which would be syndicated to the pictorial press but when the forest team posed, the photographer was quite put out. He demanded they remove their scarlet red shirts and wear something else, his reason being that the shirts would show up as too dark in the dull skies behind. The bemused Forest players were ordered to swap shirts with their Derby opponents for the official photos. And so for a couple of minutes the entire Nottingham Forest team got the chance to see if they would suit being Derby County players before handing the shirts back to their opponents to get on with the more important issue of actually winning the cup.
As is always the case with the cup final, it took a while for both sides to find their feet. As usual it required a goal to spark life into the game and fortunately it came in the first quarter of the match. William Wragg's 19th minute free kick fell to Arthur Capes whose shot gave Jack Fryer in the Derby goal little hope of stopping. The underdogs were in front but their goal seemed to simply wake up what had been a lacklustre Derby side. Suddenly the Rams were playing at a much higher pace and there was a huge expectation of it being just a metter of time before the equaliser came. As it was, it had looked as if Forest had weathered the worst that Derby could throw at them when another free kick led to another goal. This time it was Forest's Frank Foreman who gave away the free kick which was whipped in for Steve Bloomer to score the goal he had surely been destined to. The Forest fans present would have been forgiven for thinking that their chance may have gone with that equaliser as the underdog who gets their nose in front is usually beaten when pegged back. On this occasion though, Derby recoiled back into their shell and allowed Forest to dictate the remaining fifteen minutes of the first half. The goal which spelled the end for Derby came just three minutes before the interval. It most certainly would not have been considered among the greatest cup final goals of all time either and it was a moment that haunted Jack Fryer for the rest of his days. A simple and tame shot came at Fryer at chest height for a simple catch but Fryer fumbled it and palmed the ball straight to Arthur Capes who had the simplist of tasks to put Forest 2-1 up. It was a crucial goal at a crucial time in the game as Derby found themselves having to lift their play again in the second half. Despite their more skillful side though, the Rams seemed unable to raise their game a second time and although they did put Forest on the back foot more and more as the second half progressed, Bloomer and Goodall and co consistantly failed to truely test Dennis Allsop in the Forest goal. The killer punch came four minutes from time. With Derby by then committed to all out attack they left themselves hopelessley vulnerable in defence giving John Mcpherson a deserved reward for having given up the captaincy to Wragg.
At the final whistle few of the Derby players were keen to talk but John Goodall summed up the mood by simply telling the press that "The better team on the day won and good luck to them."
Derby fans could have few complaints with Goodall's summing up, Forest had played like a side with nothing to lose and everything to gain to bring the cup to the red half of Nottingham for the first time, even if modern fans are sometimes misled to believe that Forest wore white that day.
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THE TEAMS
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NOTTINGHAM FOREST
DENNIS ALLSOP
ARCHIE RITCHIE
ADAM SCOTT
FRANK FOREMAN
JOHN MCPHERSON
WILLIAM WRAGG {CAPTAIN}
TOM MCINNES
CHAS RICHARDS
LEN BENBOW
ARTHUR CAPES
ALF SPOUNCER
MANAGER
HARRY HALLAM
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DERBY COUNTY
JACK FRYER
JIMMY METHVEN
JOE LEIPER
JOHN COX
ARCHIE GOODALL
JAMES TURNER
{CAPTAIN} JOHN GOODALL
STEVE BLOOMER
JOHN BOAG
STEVENSON
MCQUEEN
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