Lowestoft were to go on to be champions of the Norfolk & Suffolk League that season and it was after all only the third game Norwich had played in - the other two being friendlies against Harwich & Parkeston (1-1) and Yarmouth Town (a 3-2 defeat). The following season the Citizens (as City were then known) gained sweet revenge at Newmarket Road, defeating Lowestoft 4-1 in the preliminary round of the competition in front of 4,000 spectators. Wins at Yarmouth Town and Harwich & Parkeston followed, meaning Norwich City had reached the 3rd Round Qualifying stage where they were drawn against West Norwood at home.
The game ended 1-1 but City declined to take part in the replay because a FA Amateur Cup game was scheduled two days later. They therefore had to withdraw from the competition - unbeaten I should add ! It is an indication of the priority of the two competitions back in the early 1900's, certainly as far as amateur clubs were concerned.
A few years later of course, we were to turn professional and join the Southern League, and we gained a quick reputation as giant-killers. On 11th January 1908, as the Canaries, we stunned the FA Cup holders The Wednesday (later to be known as Sheffield Wednesday) 2-0 in the 1st Round at Newmarket Road with over 10,000 people witnessing goals from James Bauchop and Tommy Allsopp. The following season we humbled Liverpool 3-2 away in a game watched by 32,000 people, easily the biggest crowd Norwich had ever played in front of. It was a huge achievement for what was still after all a fledgling club.
In 1911 it was the turn of Sunderland, who finished the season as the third best side in England, to be scuppered - 3-1 at The Nest. Other notable acts of FA Cup giant killing by Norwich City include beating Arsenal 2-1 in 1954 and league champions Manchester United 2-1 in 1967. In 1945-46 season, City lost twice in the FA Cup! Known as the 'transitional season', because many clubs were still fielding guests as they waited for their players to return from war, the competition was played, for the only time in history, over two legs. City lost both their matches against Brighton & Hove Albion.
Norwich City's greatest period of FA Cup glory came in 1958-59 when they became only the third team from the Third Division to reach the semi-final of the competition, collecting the scalps of Manchester United, Cardiff City, Tottenham Hotspur and Sheffield United on the way, before losing to Luton Town 1-0 in a replay. On two other occasions the Canaries fell just one game short of the Final, losing 1-0 on both occasions to Everton in 1989 and Sunderland in 1992. These were to prove to be the closest we have come to winning the cup. In 1963, the competition provided our highest ever home attendance, 43,984 at Carrow Road against Leicester City in the 6th Round.
Wembley has hosted the final ever since, apart from during it's re-building when the event transferred to Cardiff's Millennium Stadium. Currently the FA Cup takes place over 14 Rounds and 762 teams took part last year. The lowest placed side in the English pyramid to reach the 3rd Round were Chasetown, who in 2007-2008 season were in the 8th tier. In history, the most prolific winners have been Manchester United with 11 wins, followed by Arsenal (10) and Tottenham Hotspur (8).
Of all English football competitions, the FA Cup is without doubt the most romantic, and arguably the most exciting. Over the years it has provided many magic moments, not least with regards to giant-killing, to which Norwich City have played their part. Apart from the war years when the competition was suspended, we have taken part every year since 1902, as indeed we will do in 2011 and beyond.
Pictured : middle - fans spill onto the pitch during the 1923 FA Cup Final, above - Norwich City versus Leicester City 1963 - the biggest ever attendance at Carrow Road
It is my intention to do a feature on every competition Norwich City have taken part in, chronologically - click on the label below to source other items in the series already posted
