2005–06 FA Cup

The 2005–06 FA Cup was the 125th staging of the world's oldest football competition, the FA Cup.

The competition began on 20 August 2005, with the lowest-ranked of the 674 entrants competing in the Extra preliminary round. For the top 44 clubs, the FA Cup began in the third round in January.

Ties are all single-legged and take place at the stadium of the club drawn first. If scores are level at the end of a match, it is replayed at the away club's stadium, usually 10 days later. If the scores are still level, extra-time and penalties (if necessary) are used to determine a winner. However, from the semi-finals onwards, the ties take place at a neutral stadium, and there are no replays. That is to say, extra-time and penalties are played if necessary to determine a winner in a single match.

At the special request of England national team manager Sven-Göran Eriksson, the quarter-finals (i.e., 6th round proper) were held on weeknights (they would normally take place at weekends). This action was made to ensure that the season finishes as early as possible, allowing players a full month's rest before the 2006 World Cup finals.

The semi-finals were staged at neutral venues and, like the final, would not be replayed in the event of a draw.

The Football Association had hoped to stage the final at the newly rebuilt Wembley Stadium, London on 13 May 2006, but due to the uncertainty of the new stadium being completed in time, the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff hosted the final, which was contested between Liverpool and West Ham United.

Calendar Round Date Matches Clubs Byes Prize money Extra preliminary round Saturday 20 August 2005 86 674 → 588 none £500 Preliminary round Saturday 27 August 2005 182 588 → 406 278: 225th-502nd £1,000 First round qualifying Saturday 10 September 2005 124 406 → 282 66: 159th-224th £2,250 Second round qualifying Saturday 24 September 2005 84 282 → 198 44: 115th-158th £3,750 Third round qualifying Saturday 8 October 2005 42 198 → 156 none £5,000 Fourth round qualifying Saturday 22 October 2005 32 156 → 124 22: 93rd-114th £10,000 First round proper Saturday 5 November 2005 40 124 → 84 48: 45th-92nd £16,000 Second round proper Saturday 3 December 2005 20 84 → 64 none £24,000 Third round proper Saturday 7 January 2006 32 64 → 32 44: 1st-44th £40,000 Fourth round proper Saturday 28 January 2006 16 32 → 16 none £60,000 Fifth round proper Saturday 18 February 2006 8 16 → 8 none £120,000 Sixth round proper Wednesday 22 March 2006 4 8 → 4 none £300,000 Semi-finals Saturday 22 April 2006 2 4 → 2 none £900,000 Final Saturday 13 May 2006 1 2 → 1 none £1,000,000

Qualifying rounds All participating clubs that were not members of the Premier League or Football League entered the competition in the qualifying rounds to secure one of 32 places available in the first round proper.

The winners from the fourth qualifying round were Harrogate Town, Tamworth, Southport, Burscough, Chasetown, Northwich Victoria, York City, Leamington, Worcester City, Hednesford Town, Burton Albion, Halifax Town, Morecambe, Hereford United, Braintree Town, Kettering Town, Burnham, Welling United, Aldershot Town, Histon, Grays Athletic, Nuneaton Borough, Stevenage Borough, Woking, Chippenham Town, Merthyr Tydfil, Cambridge City, Folkestone Invicta, Ramsgate, Dagenham & Redbridge, Weymouth and Eastbourne Borough.

Chasetown, Braintree Town, Burnham, Eastbourne Borough and Folkestone Invicta were appearing in the competition proper for the first time, with Invicta being the first club from Folkestone to feature at this stage since Folkestone F.C. in 1982-83. Of the others, Weymouth had last qualified for the first round in 1985–86, Leamington had last done so in 1983-84 (although the club had been inactive from 1988-2000), Burscough had last done so in 1980-81, Ramsgate had last done so in 1955-56 and Chippenham Town had last done so in 1951-52.

First round proper All ties took place on the weekend of Saturday 5 November 2005. Replays, played in the week of 14 November 2005, are shown in italics. Ties are shown in order of the draw.

Step 9 sides Chasetown and Leamington, from the Midland Alliance, were the lowest-ranked teams in the round.

Tie noHome teamScoreAway teamAttendance1Nottingham Forest (3)1–1Weymouth (6)10,305replayWeymouth (6)0–2Nottingham Forest (3)6,5002Southport (5)1–1Woking (5)1,417replayWoking (5)0–0Southport (5)2,298Woking won 1–0 after extra time3Bristol City (3)0–2Notts County (4)4,2214Burnham (8)1–3Aldershot Town (5)1,6235Rochdale (4)0–1Brentford (3)2,9286Eastbourne Borough (6)1–1Oxford United (4)3,770replayOxford United (4)3–0Eastbourne Borough (6)4,3967Merthyr Tydfil (7)1–2Walsall (3)3,0468Hartlepool United (3)2–1Dagenham & Redbridge (5)3,6559Bradford City (3)2–1Tranmere Rovers (3)6,11610Barnet (4)0–1Southend United (3)3,54511Peterborough United (4)0–0Burton Albion (5)3,857replayBurton Albion (5)1–0Peterborough United (4)2,51112Cheltenham Town (4)1–0Carlisle United (4)2,40513Histon (6)4–0Hednesford Town (6)1,08014York City (5)0–3Grays Athletic (5)3,58615Swindon Town (3)2–2Boston United (4)3,814replayBoston United (4)4–1Swindon Town (3)2,46716Chasetown (9)1–1Oldham Athletic (3)1,997replayOldham Athletic (3)4–0Chasetown (9)7,23517AFC Bournemouth (3)1–2Tamworth (5)4,55918Chester City (4)2–1Folkestone Invicta (7)2,50319Kettering Town (6)1–3Stevenage Borough (5)4,54820Nuneaton Borough (6)2–0Ramsgate (8)2,15321Huddersfield Town (3)4–1Welling United (6)5,57822Cambridge City (6)0–1Hereford United (5)1,11623Port Vale (3)2–1Wrexham (4)5,04624Halifax Town (5)1–1Rushden & Diamonds (4)2,303replayRushden & Diamonds (4)0–0Halifax Town (5)2,1330–0 after extra time — Rushden & Diamonds won 5–4 on penalties25Barnsley (3)1–0Darlington (4)6,05926Torquay United (4)1–1Harrogate Town (6)2,079replayHarrogate Town (6)0–0Torquay United (4)3,3170–0 after extra time — Torquay United won 6–5 on penalties27Doncaster Rovers (3)4–1Blackpool (3)4,33228Shrewsbury Town (4)4–1Braintree Town (7)2,96929Bury (4)2–2Scunthorpe United (3)2,940replayScunthorpe United (3)0–0Bury (4)4,006Scunthorpe United won 1–0 after extra time30Morecambe (5)1–3Northwich Victoria (6)2,16631Burscough (7)3–2Gillingham (3)1,92732Stockport County (4)2–0Swansea City (3)2,97833Macclesfield Town (4)1–1Yeovil Town (3)1,943replayYeovil Town (3)4–0Macclesfield Town (4)4,45634Chippenham Town (7)1–1Worcester City (6)replayWorcester City (6)1–0Chippenham Town (7)4,00635Wycombe Wanderers (4)1–3Northampton Town (4)3,97436Grimsby Town (4)1–2Bristol Rovers (4)2,68037Rotherham United (3)3–4Mansfield Town (4)4,08938Colchester United (3)9–1Leamington (9)3,51339Lincoln City (4)1–1Milton Keynes Dons (3)3,508replayMilton Keynes Dons (3)2–1Lincoln City (4)4,02940Leyton Orient (4)0–0Chesterfield (3)3,554replayChesterfield (3)1–2Leyton Orient (4)4,895

Second round proper The 40 clubs to have made it through the first round, play off to reduce the number of remaining clubs to 20.

All ties took place between Friday 2 and Sunday 4 December 2005. Replays took place on 13 December. Ties are shown in order of the draw.

Burscough, from the Northern Premier League Premier Division, was the lowest-ranked team in the round. Tie noHome teamScoreAway teamAttendance1Walsall (3)2 – 0Yeovil Town (3)4,5802Woking (5)0 – 0Northwich Victoria (6)2,462replayNorthwich Victoria (6)2 – 1Woking (5)2,3023Burton Albion (5)4 – 1Burscough (7)4,4994Aldershot Town (5)0 – 1Scunthorpe United (3)3,5845Shrewsbury Town (4)1 – 2Colchester United (3)3,6956Hartlepool United (3)1 – 2Tamworth (5)3,7867Cheltenham Town (4)1 – 1Oxford United (4)4,592replayOxford United (4)1 – 2Cheltenham Town (4)3,4558Mansfield Town (4)3 – 0Grays Athletic (5)2,9929Hereford United (5)0 – 2Stockport County (4)3,62010Stevenage Borough (5)2 – 2Northampton Town (4)3,937replayNorthampton Town (4)2 – 0Stevenage Borough (5)4,40711Port Vale (3)1 – 1Bristol Rovers (4)4,483 replayBristol Rovers (4)0 – 1Port Vale (3)5,62312Boston United (4)1 – 2Doncaster Rovers (3)3,99513Rushden & Diamonds (4)0 – 1Leyton Orient (4)3,24514Nuneaton Borough (6)2 – 2Histon (6)3,366replayHiston (6)1 – 2Nuneaton Borough (6)3,07715Oldham Athletic (3)1 – 1Brentford (3)4,365replayBrentford (3)1 – 0Oldham Athletic (3)3,14616Southend United (3)1 – 2Milton Keynes Dons (3)5,26717Worcester City (6)0 – 1Huddersfield Town (3)4,16318Torquay United (4)2 – 1Notts County (4)2,40719Barnsley (3)1 – 1Bradford City (3)7,051replayBradford City (3)3 – 5Barnsley (3)4,73820Chester City (4)3 – 0Nottingham Forest (3)4,732

Third round proper The 20 clubs to have made it through Round Two meet the 24 clubs from the Football League Championship and the 20 Premier League clubs, including holders Arsenal.

All ties took place on Saturday 7 and Sunday 8 January 2006. Replays took place on 17 and 18 January, and are shown in italics. Ties are shown in order of the draw.

One of the most significant games of the round, if not the entire competition, was the goalless draw between Premier League giants Manchester United and Conference National underdogs Burton Albion in the first match at the Pirelli Stadium. However, United were in no mood for unpleasant surprises in the replay at Old Trafford and easily overcame Albion 5-0.

Conference North sides Northwich Victoria and Nuneaton Borough were the lowest-ranked teams in the draw.

Tie noHome teamScoreAway teamAttendance1West Bromwich Albion (1)1–1Reading (2)19,197replayReading (2)2–2West Bromwich Albion (1)16,737Reading win 3–2 after extra time2Fulham (1)1–2Leyton Orient (4)13,3943Brighton & Hove Albion (2)0–1Coventry City (2)6,7344Wolverhampton Wanderers (2)1–0Plymouth Argyle (2)11,0415Port Vale (3)2–1Doncaster Rovers (3)4,9236Sheffield Wednesday (2)2–4Charlton Athletic (1)14,8517Torquay United (4)0–0Birmingham City (1)5,974replayBirmingham City (1)2–0Torquay United (4)24,6508Manchester City (1)3–1Scunthorpe United (3)27,7799Newcastle United (1)1–0Mansfield Town (4)41,45910Luton Town (2)3–5Liverpool (1)10,17011Preston North End (2)2–1Crewe Alexandra (2)8,38012Stoke City (2)0–0Tamworth (5)9,366replayTamworth (5)1–1Stoke City (2)3,8121–1 after extra time, Stoke win 5 – 4 on penalties13Derby County (2)2–1Burnley (2)12,71314Southampton (2)4–3Milton Keynes Dons (3)15,90815Blackburn Rovers (1)3–0Queens Park Rangers (2)12,70516Arsenal (1)2–1Cardiff City (2)36,55217Stockport County (4)2–3Brentford (3)4,07818Norwich City (2)1–2West Ham United (1)23,96819Ipswich Town (2)0–1Portsmouth (1)15,59320Wigan Athletic (1)1–1Leeds United (2)10,980replayLeeds United (2)2–2Wigan Athletic (1)15,2433–3 after extra time, Wigan win 4 – 2 on penalties21Sunderland (1)3–0Northwich Victoria (6)19,32922Chelsea (1)2–1Huddersfield Town (3)41,65023Cheltenham Town (4)2–2Chester City (4)4,741replayChester City (4)0–1Cheltenham Town (4)5,09624Leicester City (2)3–2Tottenham Hotspur (1)19,84425Watford (2)0–3Bolton Wanderers (1)13,23926Sheffield United (2)1–2Colchester United (3)11,82027Nuneaton Borough (6)1–1Middlesbrough (1)6,000replayMiddlesbrough (1)5–2Nuneaton Borough (6)26,25528Hull City (2)0–1Aston Villa (1)17,05129Barnsley (3)1–1Walsall (3)6,884replayWalsall (3)2–0Barnsley (3)4,07430Burton Albion (5)0–0Manchester United (1)6,191replayManchester United (1)5–0Burton Albion (5)53,56431Crystal Palace (2)4–1Northampton Town (4)10,39132Millwall (2)1–1Everton (1)16,440replayEverton (1)1–0Millwall (2)25,800

Fourth round proper This round featured the 32 clubs to have made it through Round Three.

All ties took place on Saturday 28 and Sunday 29 January 2006. Replays took place on 7 and 8 February, and are shown in italics. Ties are shown in order of the draw.

League Two sides Cheltenham Town and Leyton Orient were the lowest-ranked teams in the round.