1997 FA Cup Final

The 1997 FA Cup Final took place on 17 May 1997 at Wembley Stadium and was won by Chelsea with a 2–0 victory over Middlesbrough. Chelsea were attempting to win their first FA Cup final for 27 years, while Middlesbrough were contesting their first ever final. Chelsea took to the field on the back of something of a renaissance under Dutch manager Ruud Gullit, having recorded their best league finish for a decade. Middlesbrough, on the other hand, began the final having been relegated from the Premiership and also been losing finalists in the League Cup.

Match review

Chelsea took the lead just 42 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 the quickest ever goal in a Wembley FA Cup final, breaking Jackie Milburn's 42-year record. 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 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.

Match details

footballbox
date = 1997-05-17
15:00 BST
team1 = Chelsea
score = 2 – 0
team2 = Middlesbrough
report = [http://www.fa-cupfinals.co.uk/1997.htm (Report)]
goals1 = Di Matteo goal|1
Newton goal|83
goals2 =
stadium = Wembley, London
attendance = 79,160
referee = Stephen Lodge (South Yorkshire)

Road to Wembley

External links

* [http://www.soccerbase.com/results3.sd?gameid=259037 Game facts] at soccerbase.com