Aston Villa 1 - 0 Sunderland
- Aston Villa
- (Barber)
- Sunderland
Crystal Palace, Saturday 19th April
Attendance: 120,081
Match Referee: A. Adams
Team Line-ups:
Aston Villa
- 1Hardy
- 2Lyons
- 3Weston
- 4Barber
- 5Harrop
- 6Leach
- 7Wallace
- 8Halse
- 9Hampton
- 10Stephenson (C.)
- 11Bache
Sunderland
- 1Butler
- 2Gladwin
- 3Ness
- 4Cuggy
- 5Thompson
- 6Low
- 7Mordue
- 8Buchan
- 9Richardson
- 10Holley
- 11Martin
Match Report
For the first time the current top two clubs in the League contested the Cup Final. Sunderland, with a great tradition of fine performances in the League, had reached their first Final. Villa, the most popular side in the country, were back in the Final after an interval of eight years.
A Packed Crystal Palace
This veritable 'battle of the giants' attracted a record crowd for a Final (120,081), so large that many hardly caught a glimpse of the ball during the whole match.
Barber's Winning Goal
Villa won, but only after a tremendous fight. First Wallace failed with a penalty-kick that would have given them an early advantage, then Sam Hardy, their great international goalkeeper, had to leave the field for ten minutes in the second half with a leg injury. Harrop took over in goal in his absence.
Richardson and Buchan both missed 'gifts' for Sunderland, and the great chance had gone. Barber, Villa's right-half, headed home a perfect Wallace corner-kick in the closing minutes, and Villa were victors for the fifth time, equalling the record of the Wanderers and Blackburn Rovers.
The play in the first ten minutes was such a delight to watch, that the massive crowd had cheered almost non-stop. Then the football lost its crispness, and there were frequent free-kicks for fouls and offside.
Aston Villa - Cup Winners 1913
Players in playing Kit
Back Row: Lyons, Weston, Hardy
Seated: Bache, Halse, Hampton, Stephenson
Front: Wallace, Barber, Harrop, Leach
Cup Presentation from the Earl of Plymouth to the Villa Captain