The 1997 FA Cup final was the 116th final of the FA Cup. It took place on 17 May 1997 at Wembley Stadium and was contested by Chelsea and Middlesbrough, the North East club appearing in its first FA Cup Final.

1997 FA Cup final
Match programme
Event1996–97 FA Cup
Date17 May 1997
VenueWembley Stadium, London
Man of the MatchRoberto Di Matteo
RefereeStephen Lodge (South Yorkshire)
Attendance79,160
1996
1998

Chelsea won 2–0 to win the FA Cup for the second time, the first having come in 1970. It was also the club's first major trophy in 26 years.

It was the first major honour in the career of most Chelsea's players, but for Mark Hughes, it was the fourth time that he had featured in an FA Cup winning side (having played on the winning Manchester United teams of 1985, 1990 and 1994).[1] For Middlesbrough, it was a second final defeat of the 1996–97 season (having lost the League Cup Final to Leicester City the previous month), to go with their controversial relegation from the Premier League.

Road to Wembley

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Chelsea

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Home teams listed first.

Round 3: Chelsea 3–0 W.B.A.

Round 4: Chelsea 4–2 Liverpool

Round 5: Leicester City 2–2 Chelsea

Replay: Chelsea 1–0 Leicester City

Quarter-Final: Portsmouth 1–4 Chelsea

Semi-Final: Wimbledon 0–3 Chelsea

(at Highbury, London)

Middlesbrough

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Home teams listed first.

Round 3: Middlesbrough 6–0 Chester City

Round 4: Hednesford Town 2–3 Middlesbrough

Round 5: Manchester City 0–1 Middlesbrough

 

Quarter-Final: Derby County 0–2 Middlesbrough

Semi-Final: Chesterfield 3–3 Middlesbrough

(at Old Trafford, Manchester)
Replay: Middlesbrough 3–0 Chesterfield
(at Hillsborough Stadium, Sheffield)

Match review

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Chelsea took the lead just 43 seconds into the match, with Italian midfielder Roberto Di Matteo receiving the ball and firing it into the goal off the crossbar from 25 yards to record what was at the time the quickest ever goal in a Wembley FA Cup final (Louis Saha broke this record 12 years later in the 2009 final after just 25 seconds, coincidentally against Chelsea, though Chelsea won the match 2–1), breaking Jackie Milburn's 42-year record.[2] Middlesbrough's prolific striker Fabrizio Ravanelli limped off after 21 minutes, further diminishing his side's chances of victory. Late in the first half Gianluca Festa put the ball in the net for Middlesbrough, but the goal was controversially ruled out for offside. In a largely disappointing match, in which Chelsea were generally in control, Chelsea eventually added a second goal seven minutes from full-time with Eddie Newton steering the ball into the net from Gianfranco Zola's clever flick to seal a 2–0 win.[3]

Match details

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Chelsea2–0Middlesbrough
Di Matteo   1'
Newton   83'
Report
Attendance: 79,160
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Chelsea
 
 
 
 
 
 
Middlesbrough
GK 30   Frode Grodås
RWB 2   Dan Petrescu
CB 6   Steve Clarke
CB 5   Frank Leboeuf  
CB 20   Frank Sinclair
LWB 17   Scott Minto
CM 11   Dennis Wise (c)
CM 16   Roberto Di Matteo  
CM 24   Eddie Newton  
CF 10   Mark Hughes
CF 25   Gianfranco Zola   89'
Substitutes:
GK 13   Kevin Hitchcock
DF 8   Andy Myers
FW 9   Gianluca Vialli   89'
Manager:
  Ruud Gullit
 
GK 25   Ben Roberts
RB 14   Curtis Fleming
CB 5   Nigel Pearson (c)
CB 18   Gianluca Festa  
LB 17   Clayton Blackmore
RM 10   Juninho Paulista
CM 8   Robbie Mustoe   29'
CM 6   Emerson
LM 20   Phil Stamp
CF 11   Fabrizio Ravanelli   24'
CF 21   Craig Hignett   74'
Substitutes:
DF 4   Steve Vickers   29'
DF 7   Vladimír Kinder   74'
FW 9   Mikkel Beck   24'
Manager:
  Bryan Robson

Match rules

  • 90 minutes.
  • 30 minutes of extra-time if necessary.
  • Replay required if scores still level.
  • Three named substitutes.
  • Maximum of three substitutions.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Where are they now? Chelsea's 1997 FA Cup winners". FourFourTwo. 17 May 2017. Retrieved 5 September 2020.
  2. ^ "ROBERTO'S QUICKIE MAKES ROBBO SICKIE!; Blue heaven in 43 seconds". The People (London). 18 May 1997. Retrieved 21 November 2012.
  3. ^ "Blue what a scorcher!". Sunday Mirror. 18 May 1997. Retrieved 21 November 2012.
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