The 1997–98 FA Cup (known as the FA Cup sponsored by Littlewoods for sponsorship reasons) was the 117th staging of the FA Cup. The competition was won by Arsenal with a 2–0 victory against Newcastle United at Wembley Stadium.
Calendar Round Initial Matches New Entries Clubs Preliminary round Saturday 30 August 1997 318 563 → 404 First round qualifying Saturday 13 September 1997 129 404 → 260 Second round qualifying Saturday 27 September 1997 none 260 → 188 Third round qualifying Saturday 11 October 1997 none 188 → 152 Fourth round qualifying Saturday 25 October 1997 20 152 → 124 First round proper Saturday 15 November 1997 52 124 → 84 Second round proper Saturday 6 December 1997 none 84 → 64 Third round proper Saturday 3 January 1998 44 64 → 32 Fourth round proper Saturday 24 January 1998 none 32 → 16 Fifth round proper Saturday 14 February 1998 none 16 → 8 Sixth round proper Saturday 7 March 1998 none 8 → 4 Semi-finals Sunday 5 April 1998 none 4 → 2 Final Saturday 16 May 1998 none 2 → 1
Qualifying rounds Most participating clubs that were not members of the Premier League or Football League competed in the qualifying rounds to secure one of 28 places available in the first round.
The winners from the fourth qualifying round were Gainsborough Trinity, Lincoln United, Colwyn Bay, Blyth Spartans, Northwich Victoria, Winsford United, Ilkeston Town, Emley, Solihull Borough, Morecambe, Southport, Boston United, Hereford United, Wisbech Town, Billericay Town, Tiverton Town, Boreham Wood, Margate, Basingstoke Town, Hendon, Farnborough Town, King's Lynn, Heybridge Swifts, Bromsgrove Rovers, Cheltenham Town, Hayes, Carshalton Athletic and Slough Town.
Billericay Town was appearing in the competition proper for the first time. Of the others, Basingstoke Town had last featured at this stage in 1989–90, King's Lynn had last done so in 1984-85, Gainsborough Trinity had last done so in 1983-84, Margate had last done so in 1972-73 and Ilkeston Town had last done so in 1956-57.
Northern Premier League side Emley made national headlines when, after defeating Workington, Durham City, Belper Town and Nuneaton Borough in the qualifying rounds and then seeing off Morecambe and Lincoln City in the first two rounds of the competition proper, they only lost narrowly to a West Ham United team containing the likes of Rio Ferdinand, David Unsworth, Eyal Berkovic, John Hartson and Frank Lampard in the third round.
First round proper The 48 teams from the Football League Second and Third Divisions entered in this round along with the 28 non-league qualifiers and Woking, Dagenham & Redbridge, Stevenage Borough and Hednesford Town who were given byes. Tiverton Town, from the Western League Premier Division at Step 8 of the football pyramid, was the lowest-ranked team in the draw - with the club going on to win this year's FA Vase and be crowned undefeated champions of their league, their first-round Cup tie against Football Conference (Step 5) outfit Cheltenham Town represented their only senior-level competitive loss of the season.
The matches were played on 14 November 1997. There were fourteen replays, with four ties requiring a penalty shootout to settle the results.
Tie noHome teamScoreAway teamDate1Blackpool4–3Blyth Spartans (6)15 November 19972Chester City2–1Winsford United (6)15 November 19973Chesterfield1–0Northwich Victoria (5)15 November 19974Darlington1–1Solihull Borough (7)15 November 1997ReplaySolihull Borough3–3Darlington26 November 1997Darlington won 4–2 on penalties5AFC Bournemouth3–0Heybridge Swifts (6)15 November 19976Barnet1–2Watford15 November 19977Bristol City1–0Millwall15 November 19978Preston North End3–2Doncaster Rovers15 November 19979Rochdale0–2Wrexham15 November 199710Walsall2–0Lincoln United (7)15 November 199711Woking (5)0–2Southend United15 November 199712Notts County2–0Colwyn Bay (6)16 November 199713Lincoln City1–1Gainsborough Trinity (6)15 November 1997ReplayLincoln City3–2Gainsborough Trinity25 November 199714Luton Town0–1Torquay United15 November 199715Shrewsbury Town1–1Grimsby Town15 November 1997ReplayGrimsby Town4–0Shrewsbury Town25 November 199716Wycombe Wanderers2–2Basingstoke Town (6)15 November 1997ReplayBasingstoke Town2–2Wycombe Wanderers25 November 1997Basingstoke Town won 5–4 on penalties17Brentford2–2Colchester United15 November 1997ReplayColchester United0–0Brentford25 November 1997Colchester United won 4–2 on penalties18Bristol Rovers2–2Gillingham14 November 1997ReplayGillingham0–2Bristol Rovers25 November 199719King's Lynn (6)1–0Bromsgrove Rovers (6)15 November 199720Plymouth Argyle0–0Cambridge United15 November 1997ReplayCambridge United3–2Plymouth Argyle25 November 199721Hull City0–2Hednesford Town (5)15 November 199722Carlisle United0–1Wigan Athletic15 November 199723Oldham Athletic1–1Mansfield Town15 November 1997ReplayMansfield Town0–1Oldham Athletic25 November 199724Exeter City1–1Northampton Town15 November 1997ReplayNorthampton Town2–1Exeter City25 November 199725Scunthorpe United2–1Scarborough15 November 199726Margate (7)1–2Fulham16 November 199727Cheltenham Town (5)2–1Tiverton Town (8)15 November 199728Southport (5)0–4York City15 November 199729Morecambe (5)1–1Emley (6)15 November 1997ReplayEmley3–3Morecambe25 November 1997Emley won 3–1 on penalties30Carshalton Athletic (6)0–0Stevenage Borough (5)15 November 1997ReplayStevenage Borough5–0Carshalton Athletic24 November 199731Hereford United (5)2–1Brighton & Hove Albion15 November 199732Rotherham United3–3Burnley15 November 1997ReplayBurnley0–3Rotherham United25 November 199733Hayes (5)0–1Boreham Wood (6)15 November 199734Hendon (6)2–2Leyton Orient15 November 1997ReplayLeyton Orient0–1Hendon25 November 199735Ilkeston Town (7)2–1Boston United (6)15 November 199736Slough Town (5)1–1Cardiff City15 November 1997ReplayCardiff City3–2Slough Town25 November 199737Swansea City1–4Peterborough United14 November 199738Farnborough Town (5)0–1Dagenham & Redbridge (6)15 November 199739Hartlepool United2–4Macclesfield Town15 November 199740Billericay Town (7)2–3Wisbech Town (7)15 November 1997
Second round proper
The second round of the competition featured the winners of the first round ties. The matches were scheduled to be played on Saturday 6 December 1997, with nine replays and three penalty shootouts required, each of which featured a team who won on penalties in the previous round. Wisbech Town and Ilkeston Town, from the Southern League Midland Division at Step 7 of English football, were the lowest-ranked teams in the draw.
Tie noHome teamScoreAway teamDate1Chester City0–2Wrexham5 December 19972AFC Bournemouth3–1Bristol City7 December 19973Preston North End2–2Notts County6 December 1997ReplayNotts County1–2Preston North End16 December 19974Wisbech Town (7)0–2Bristol Rovers6 December 19975Grimsby Town2–2Chesterfield6 December 1997ReplayChesterfield0–2Grimsby Town16 December 19976Macclesfield Town0–7Walsall6 December 19977Lincoln City2–2Emley (6)6 December 1997ReplayEmley3–3Lincoln City17 December 1997Emley won 4–3 on penalties8Hednesford Town (5)0–1Darlington6 December 19979Fulham1–0Southend United6 December 199710Northampton Town1–1Basingstoke Town (6)6 December 1997ReplayBasingstoke Town0–0Northampton Town16 December 1997Northampton Town won 4–3 on penalties11Oldham Athletic2–1Blackpool6 December 199712Scunthorpe United1–1Ilkeston Town (7)6 December 1997ReplayIlkeston Town1–2Scunthorpe United17 December 199713Cardiff City3–1Hendon (6)6 December 199714Cheltenham Town (5)1–1Boreham Wood (6)6 December 1997ReplayBoreham Wood0–2Cheltenham Town16 December 199715Torquay United1–1Watford6 December 1997ReplayWatford2–1Torquay United16 December 199716Rotherham United6–0King's Lynn (6)6 December 199717Wigan Athletic2–1York City6 December 199718Peterborough United3–2Dagenham & Redbridge (6)6 December 199719Colchester United1–1Hereford United (5)6 December 1997ReplayHereford United1–1Colchester United16 December 1997Hereford United won 5–4 on penalties20Cambridge United1–1Stevenage Borough (5)6 December 1997ReplayStevenage Borough2–1Cambridge United15 December 1997
Third round proper
The third round was scheduled for Saturday 3 January 1998, although six matches were postponed until later dates. This round marked the point at which the teams in the two highest divisions in the English league system, the Premiership and the Football League First Division, entered the competition. There were eight replays, with two of those games requiring a penalty shootout to settle the results. Emley, from Step 6, was the lowest-ranked team in the draw.
Tie noHome teamScoreAway teamDate1Darlington (4)0–4Wolverhampton Wanderers (2)14 January 19982AFC Bournemouth (3)0–1Huddersfield Town (2)13 January 19983Liverpool (1)1–3Coventry City (1)3 January 19984Preston North End (3)1–2Stockport County (2)3 January 19985Watford (3)1–1Sheffield Wednesday (1)3 January 1998ReplaySheffield Wednesday0–0Watford14 January 1998Sheffield Wednesday won 5–3 on penalties6Leicester City (1)4–0Northampton Town (3)3 January 19987Blackburn Rovers (1)4–2Wigan Athletic (3)3 January 19988Grimsby Town (3)3–0Norwich City (2)3 January 19989Crewe Alexandra (2)1–2Birmingham City (2)3 January 199810West Bromwich Albion (2)3–1Stoke City (2)13 January 199811Derby County (1)2–0Southampton (1)3 January 199812Everton (1)0–1Newcastle United (1)4 January 199813Swindon Town (2)1–2Stevenage Borough (5)3 January 199814Sheffield United (2)1–1Bury (2)3 January 1998ReplayBury1–2Sheffield United13 January 199815Tottenham Hotspur (1)3–1Fulham (3)5 January 199816Manchester City (2)2–0Bradford City (2)3 January 199817Queens Park Rangers (2)2–2Middlesbrough (2)3 January 1998ReplayMiddlesbrough2–0Queens Park Rangers13 January 199818Barnsley (1)1–0Bolton Wanderers (1)3 January 199819Bristol Rovers (3)1–1Ipswich Town (2)3 January 1998ReplayIpswich Town1–0Bristol Rovers13 January 199820Portsmouth (2)2–2Aston Villa (1)3 January 1998ReplayAston Villa1–0Portsmouth14 January 199821West Ham United (1)2–1Emley (6)3 January 199822Crystal Palace (1)2–0Scunthorpe United (4)3 January 199823Chelsea (1)3–5Manchester United (1)4 January 199824Wimbledon (1)0–0Wrexham (3)4 January 1998ReplayWrexham2–3Wimbledon13 January 199825Cardiff City (4)1–0Oldham Athletic (3)3 January 199826Charlton Athletic (2)4–1Nottingham Forest (2)3 January 199827Arsenal (1)0–0Port Vale (2)3 January 1998ReplayPort Vale1–1Arsenal14 January 1998Arsenal won 4–3 on penalties28Cheltenham Town (5)1–1Reading (2)13 January 1998ReplayReading2–1Cheltenham Town20 January 199829Leeds United (1)4–0Oxford United (2)3 January 199830Hereford United (5)0–3Tranmere Rovers (2)13 January 199831Rotherham United (4)1–5Sunderland (2)3 January 199832Peterborough United (4)0–2Walsall (3)13 January 1998
Fourth round proper
The fourth round ties were played with the 32 winners of the previous round. The matches were originally scheduled for Saturday 24 January 1998. There were five replays, with one penalty shootout. Stevenage Borough, from the Football Conference at Step 5, was the lowest-ranked team in the draw and the last non-league club left in the competition.