Route To The Final
As the previous year's FA Cup winners, Wanderers received a bye straight to the final in the 1872–73. This was in keeping with the original concept of the competition being a "challenge cup", in which the holders would qualify directly for the following season's final and teams would compete for the other place in the final and the right to challenge them for the trophy. This was the only time this rule was used.
In the first round Oxford University played Crystal Palace (a different club to the modern club of the same name) and won 3–2 at home. In the second round, they played an away match against Clapham Rovers, winning 3–0.
In the third round Oxford University were paired with the previous season's runners-up, the Royal Engineers. Oxford won 1–0 and went on to play Maidenhead in the quarter-finals. Due to other teams receiving byes, this was the only match at the quarter-final stage, and for the third consecutive round Oxford emerged victorious without conceding a goal, winning 4–0. In the semi-finals, Oxford's opponents were set to be the leading Scottish club, Queen's Park, who had received a bye straight to the semi-finals to reduce the amount of travelling required to compete in a competition in which all the other entrants were from the south of England. Queen's, however, decided to withdraw from the competition, giving Oxford a bye into the final. One modern source states that the Scottish club actually beat Oxford but then could not afford to travel to London for the final so withdrew at that point.
Read more about this topic: 1873 FA Cup Final
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