1903 FA Cup Final

The 1903 FA Cup Final was contested by Bury and Derby County at Crystal Palace. Bury won 6–0, with goals from George Ross, Charles Sagar, Joe Leeming (2), William Wood and John Plant. The scoreline remains a record for the biggest win in the FA Cup final.

Route to the final

*Bury

::Round 1 - Wolverhampton Wanderers ( H ) 1–0::Round 2 - Sheffield United ( A ) 1–0::Round 3 - Notts County ( H ) 1–0::Semi-final - Aston Villa ( N ) 3–0

*Derby County

::Round 1 - Birmingham ( H ) 2–1::Round 2 - Blackburn Rovers ( H ) 2–0::Round 3 - Stoke ( H ) 3–0::Semi-final - Millwall ( N ) 3–0

Teams

Bury

*Hugh Monteith
*Jimmy Lindsey
*James McEwen
*John Johnston
*Frank Thorpe
*George Ross (Captain)
*Billy Richards
*Willie Wood
*Charles Sagar
*Joe Leeming
*John Plant

Derby County

*Jack Fryer
*Jimmy Methven
*Charlie Morris
*Ben Warren
*Archie Goodall (Captain)
*Johnny May
*Joe Warrington
*Charlie York
*John Boag
*George Richards
*George Davis

Other details

*Venue - Crystal Palace
*Played 18 April 1903
*Attendance 63,102
*Referee: J Adams

Match summary

Derby came into the final without the injured Steve Bloomer, but even so they had the stronger side on paper. However, the match turned out to be one of the most one-sided ever played, and Bury's 6–0 victory remains a record for the biggest win in the FA Cup final. Bury also equalled another record, winning the Cup without conceding a goal in any round.

Derby's play was so poor that Bury were never fully extended. Monteith, the Bury goalkeeper, had little to do whilst defenders McEwen and Ross contributed much to Bury's crushing victory. Richards led the attack although he didn't score; Leeming scored twice with Bury's other goals coming from Ross, Sagar, Wood and Plant.

Derby’s goalkeeper Jack Fryer had been injured in the previous week but declared himself fit to appear in the final. In the event his groin problems restricted his movement and contributed towards the margin of defeat. Bury’s first goal came after twenty minutes when Willie Wood’s cross reached George Ross whose long range volley avoided Fryer’s token attempt at a save. Although Bury continued to dominate the game, they were unable to press home their advantage. There was little further action during the first half and the half-time score was 1–0.

In the 48th minute Charles Sagar beat Fryer to Frank Thorpe's through ball and slid it into the net for the second goal. By now Fryer was in serious pain, and was replaced in goal by Charlie Morris with Fryer a “passenger” in defence. Morris managed to keep Bury out for eight minutes before the inevitable third goal came on 56 minutes. Wood crossed into the Derby box and Morris could do no more than knock the ball into the path of Joe Leeming who fired past the stand in keeper.

Fryer now resumed his place in goal, but within a minute Bury scored their fourth goal; Sagar shot from the edge of the box, Fryer saved but couldn't hold it and Wood slid the ball home. By the 59th minute, Derby had only nine fit players as Morris was suffering with cramp and when he was unable to clear the ball from the edge of his own area, Joe Leeming passed it to John Plant for the fifth goal.

Shortly afterwards Fryer was finally forced to retire from the match with Morris once again taking his place. With fifteen minutes remaining scored their sixth and final goal when Joe Leeming beat the offside trap to shoot past Charlie Morris. Jimmy Methven took over in goal for the last ten minutes, but had little to do as Bury eased off the pressure.

At the final whistle, the Bury players received the cup and medals from Lord (Arthur) Kinnaird who had won the FA Cup five times in the 1870s and 1880s.

References

* [http://www.sportingchronicle.com/FACUP/1903.html Line-ups]
* [http://www.fa-cupfinals.co.uk/1903.html Match report at www.fa-cupfinals.co.uk]