1883 FA Cup Final: Blackburn Olympic vs Old Etonians

Blackburn Olympic 2 - 1 Old Etonians

• Blackburn Olympic
  • Matthews 65'
  • Costley 108'
• Old Etonians
  • Goodhart 30'

Kennington Oval - Saturday 31st March

Attendance: 8000

Match Referee: C. Crump

Team Line-ups:

The Olympians somewhat compensated for the disappointment experienced a year ago, when everyone had taken it for granted that Blackburn Rovers would bring the Cup up north. The 1883 Final at one time looked like being a repetition of the previous year's Final, with the Etonians a goal in front and the Olympians playing a similar game to Rovers - very little cohesion, long shots and reckless passing. But they pulled themselves together and in the end fully deserved their victory, having the better of the game overall and running the Etonians off their feet before the match was over.

Inside-left Dunn was proving to be an early handful for the Lancastrians' defence, before Yates relieved the pressure with a snap shot against the Etonian crossbar. After another good run on the left for Old Etonians by Dunn, Goodhart sent the ball over the top when he ought really to have scored.

For some time the play was give-and-take, Olympic indulging in long crossfield passes while their opponents stuck to their close dribbling game. Then Goodhart made amends for his earlier miss, scoring with a terrific shot.

Up to half-time, Olympic, hard though they tried, had been unsuccessful in their efforts to equalize, though the proverbial luck of the Old Etonians saved them on several occasions. Yates dropped the ball on to the Eton bar as he had done earlier and Paravicini and Foley then had to make last-ditch clearances from near the goal-line.

Play in the second half was evenly balanced and. after twenty minutes had elapsed, a grand effort on the part of Olympic ended with Matthews putting a well-directed shot beyond the reach of Rawlinson for the equalizer. Dunn, the best Etonian forward, was hurt at this point and had to retire from the field a great loss to his side. Olympic began to play with more confidence as a result, and the Eton goalkeeper only just stopped Costley's fine shot in time.

Olympic certainly had the better of the play up to the end of the ninety minutes and Dewhurst, their outside-right, took advantage of the first chance offered in the extra-time period to hammer in a shot that went just wide. The Etonians were tiring fast, and Olympic, with their superior stamina, had matters nearly all their own way in the second period. Yates put in fine diagonal run and crossed hard from the right to Costley who rushed up to score the winning goal.

Blackburn Olympic- 1883 Winners

Back Row: Bramham (Secretary), Wilson, Dewhurst, Hacking, Ward, Astley (Treasurer)

Middle Row: Costley, Hunter, Yates, Astley

Front Row: Gibson, Warburton, Matthews