2003–04 FA Cup
The 2003–04 FA Cup was the 123rd staging of England and the world's oldest football competition, the FA Cup. The competition began on 23 August 2003, with the lowest-ranked of the entrants competing in the Extra Preliminary round. In the Third Round, the clubs from the Premiership and Division One competed in the competition for the first time.
The semi-finals were staged at neutral venues and, like the final, would not be replayed in the event of a draw. The competition culminated with the cup final at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff for a fourth year in a row, since Wembley Stadium was still in the rebuilding process. The cup was won by Manchester United for a record 11th time, with a 3-0 victory over Millwall from Division One.
The appearance in the Cup Final by Millwall, a Level 2 team, marked the first time in 12 years that a team outside Level 1 of the English football pyramid appeared in the final game.
Calendar
First round proper
This round is the first in which Football League teams from League One and League Two compete with non-league teams. Luton's Adrian Forbes and Sheffield Wednesday's Adam Proudlock netted hat tricks. Shildon AFC, of the Arngrove Northern League, were the lowest ranked team left in the competition in the first round.- Ties were played over the weekend of 8 November 2003.
| Tie no | Home team | Score | Away team |
| 1 | Lincoln City | 3 - 1 | Brighton & Hove Albion |
| 2 | Peterborough United | 2 - 0 | Hereford United |
| 3 | Oldham Athletic | 3 - 0 | Carlisle United |
| 4 | Cheltenham Town | 3 - 1 | Hull City |
| 5 | Yeovil Town | 4 - 1 | Wrexham |
| 6 | Macclesfield Town | 3 - 0 | Boston United |
| 7 | Grays Athletic | 1 - 2 | Aldershot Town |
| 8 | Scarborough | 1 - 0 | Doncaster Rovers |
| 9 | Barnet | 2 - 2 | Stalybridge Celtic |
| replay | Stalybridge Celtic | 0 - 2 | Barnet |
| 10 | Blackpool | 4 - 0 | Boreham Wood |
| 11 | Wycombe Wanderers | 4 - 1 | Swindon Town |
| 12 | Lancaster City | 1 - 2 | Cambridge United |
| 13 | Woking | 3 - 1 | Histon |
| 14 | AFC Bournemouth | 1 - 0 | Bristol Rovers |
| 15 | Stevenage Borough | 2 - 1 | Stockport County |
| 16 | Grantham Town | 1 - 2 | Leyton Orient |
| 17 | Thurrock | 1 - 1 | Luton Town |
| replay | Luton Town | 3 - 1 | Thurrock |
| 18 | Northampton Town | 3 - 2 | Plymouth Argyle |
| 19 | Tranmere Rovers | 3 - 2 | Chesterfield |
| 20 | Hornchurch | 2 - 0 | Darlington |
| 21 | Scunthorpe United | 2 - 1 | Shrewsbury Town |
| 22 | Torquay United | 1 - 2 | Burton Albion |
| 23 | Accrington Stanley | 1 - 0 | Huddersfield Town |
| 24 | Grimsby Town | 1 - 0 | QPR |
| 25 | Notts County | 7 - 2 | Shildon |
| 26 | Brentford | 7 - 1 | Gainsborough Trinity |
| 27 | Kidderminster Harriers | 2 - 1 | Northwich Victoria |
| 28 | Southend United | 1 - 1 | Canvey Island |
| replay | Canvey Island | 2 - 3 | Southend United |
| 29 | York City | 1 - 2 | Barnsley |
| 30 | Port Vale | 2 - 2 | Ford United |
| replay | Ford United | 1 - 2 | Port Vale |
| 31 | Mansfield Town | 6 - 0 | Bishop's Stortford |
| 32 | Sheffield Wednesday | 4 - 0 | Salisbury City |
| 33 | Farnborough Town | 0 - 1 | Weston-super-Mare |
| 34 | Chester City | 0 - 1 | Gravesend & Northfleet |
| 35 | Telford United | 3 - 2 | Crawley Town |
| 36 | Colchester United | 1 - 0 | Oxford United |
| 37 | Bradford Park Avenue | 2 - 5 | Bristol City |
| 38 | Bury | 1 - 2 | Rochdale |
| 39 | Swansea City | 3 - 0 | Rushden & Diamonds |
| 40 | Hartlepool United | 4 - 0 | Whitby Town |
Second round proper
Ties were played over the weekend of 6 December 2003. Mansfield's Liam Lawrence showed how interested Championship and premiership clubs were with him by netting a hat trick.Third round proper
This round marks the first time Championship and Premier League teams play. Matches were played on the weekend of Saturday, 3 January 2004, with replays on 13 January and 14 January.| Tie no | Home team | Score | Away team |
| 1 | Preston North End | 3 - 3 | Reading |
| replay | Reading | 1 - 2 | Preston North End |
| 2 | Southampton | 0 - 3 | Newcastle United |
| 3 | Watford | 2 - 2 | Chelsea |
| replay | Chelsea | 4 - 0 | Watford |
| 4 | Yeovil Town | 0 - 2 | Liverpool |
| 5 | Gillingham | 3 - 2 | Charlton Athletic |
| 6 | Nottingham Forest | 1 - 0 | West Bromwich Albion |
| 7 | Aston Villa | 1 - 2 | Manchester United |
| 8 | Crewe Alexandra | 0 - 1 | Telford United |
| 9 | Middlesbrough | 2 - 1 | Notts County |
| 10 | Sunderland | 1 - 0 | Hartlepool United |
| 11 | Everton | 3 - 1 | Norwich City |
| 12 | Ipswich Town | 3 - 0 | Derby County |
| 13 | Tranmere Rovers | 1 - 1 | Bolton Wanderers |
| replay | Bolton Wanderers | 1 - 2 | Tranmere Rovers |
| 14 | Tottenham Hotspur | 3 - 0 | Crystal Palace |
| 15 | Manchester City | 2 - 2 | Leicester City |
| replay | Leicester City | 1 - 3 | Manchester City |
| 16 | Kidderminster Harriers | 1–1 | Wolverhampton Wanderers |
| replay | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 2–0 | Kidderminster Harriers |
| 17 | Fulham | 2–1 | Cheltenham Town |
| 18 | Barnsley | 0–0 | Scunthorpe United |
| replay | Scunthorpe United | 2–0 | Barnsley |
| 19 | Northampton Town | 1–1 | Rotherham United |
| replay | Rotherham United | 1 - 2 | Northampton Town |
| 20 | Coventry City | 2–1 | Peterborough United |
| 21 | Portsmouth | 2–1 | Blackpool |
| 22 | Bradford City | 1–2 | Luton Town |
| 23 | Millwall | 2–1 | Walsall |
| 24 | Wimbledon | 1–1 | Stoke City |
| replay | Stoke City | 0–1 | Wimbledon |
| 25 | Southend United | 1–1 | Scarborough |
| replay | Scarborough | 1–0 | Southend United |
| 26 | Mansfield Town | 0–2 | Burnley |
| 27 | Cardiff City | 0–1 | Sheffield United |
| 28 | Leeds United | 1–4 | Arsenal |
| 29 | Wigan Athletic | 1–2 | West Ham United |
| 30 | Birmingham City | 4–0 | Blackburn Rovers |
| 31 | Swansea City | 2–1 | Macclesfield Town |
| 32 | Accrington Stanley | 0–0 | Colchester United |
| replay | Colchester United | 2–1 | Accrington Stanley |
Fourth round proper
Ties played during the weekend of 24 January 2004, with replays on 3 February and 4 February.| Tie no | Home team | Score | Away team |
| 1 | Burnley | 3–1 | Gillingham |
| 2 | Liverpool | 2–1 | Newcastle United |
| 3 | Nottingham Forest | 0–3 | Sheffield United |
| 4 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 1–3 | West Ham United |
| 5 | Luton Town | 0–1 | Tranmere Rovers |
| 6 | Everton | 1–1 | Fulham |
| replay | Fulham | 2–1 | Everton |
| 7 | Scarborough | 0–1 | Chelsea |
| 8 | Ipswich Town | 1–2 | Sunderland |
| 9 | Manchester City | 1–1 | Tottenham Hotspur |
| replay | Tottenham Hotspur | 3–4 | Manchester City |
| 10 | Northampton Town | 0–3 | Manchester United |
| 11 | Coventry City | 1–1 | Colchester United |
| replay | Colchester United | 3–1 | Coventry City |
| 12 | Portsmouth | 2–1 | Scunthorpe United |
| 13 | Arsenal | 4–1 | Middlesbrough |
| 14 | Birmingham City | 1–0 | Wimbledon |
| 15 | Telford United | 0–2 | Millwall |
| 16 | Swansea City | 2–1 | Preston North End |
The match between Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City was particularly notable. Tottenham led the match 3-0 at half-time but Manchester City turned the match around in the second half to win 4-3, with Jon Macken scoring the winning goal in the 90th minute. This was despite Manchester City having one less player on the pitch during the second half after Joey Barton was red carded during the half-time interval.
Fifth round proper
- Matches played weekend of 14 and 15 February 2004
- Three replays played week commencing 22 and 25 February 2004.
- Four non-Premiership sides progressed to the quarter-finals.
| Tie no | Home team | Score | Away team | Attendance |
| 1 | Liverpool | 1–1 | Portsmouth | 34,669 |
| replay | Portsmouth | 1–0 | Liverpool | 19,529 |
| 2 | Sunderland | 1–1 | Birmingham City | 24,966 |
| replay | Birmingham City | 0–2 | Sunderland | 25,645 |
| 3 | Sheffield United | 1–0 | Colchester United | 17,074 |
| 4 | Tranmere Rovers | 2–1 | Swansea City | 12,215 |
| 5 | Fulham | 0–0 | West Ham United | 14,705 |
| replay | West Ham United | 0–3 | Fulham | 27,934 |
| 6 | Manchester United | 4–2 | Manchester City | 67,228 |
| 7 | Millwall | 1–0 | Burnley | 10,420 |
| 8 | Arsenal | 2–1 | Chelsea | 38,136 |
Quarter-finals
- Matches played on the weekend of Saturday, 6 March 2004.
- There was one replay between Tranmere and Millwall, played on Tuesday 16 March.
- Two Division One sides progressed to the semi-finals, while another was eliminated at this stage. In addition, a Division Two side reached the quarter-finals and were only eliminated after a replay.
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Replay
Semi-finals
- Matches played on the weekend of Saturday, 3 April 2004.
- Two teams from Division 1 featured in the semi-finals who faced each other. The other tie was an all-Premiership affair between Manchester United and Arsenal, held at Villa Park.
- Both games were played at neutral venues.
Final
Manchester United won the game and lifted the trophy for the 11th time in their history with a 3-0 victory over a Millwall side who were the first team from outside the top flight to reach the FA Cup final in 12 years.Media coverage
In the United Kingdom, the BBC were the free to air broadcasters for the third consecutive season while Sky Sports were the subscription broadcasters for the sixteenth consecutive season.The matches shown live on the BBC were: Accrington Stanley 1–0 Huddersfield Town ; Burton Albion 0–1 Hartlepool United ; Southampton 0–3 Newcastle United and Yeovil Town 0–2 Liverpool ; Liverpool 2–1 Newcastle United and Manchester City 1–1 Tottenham Hotspur ; Sunderland 1–1 Birmingham City and Arsenal 2–1 Chelsea ; Portsmouth 1–5 Arsenal and Millwall 0–0 Tranmere Rovers ; Arsenal 0–1 Manchester United ; and Manchester United 3–0 Millwall.