FA Cup Final 2003
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The FA Cup Final 2003 took place on Saturday, 17 May 2003 at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. Arsenal, defending holders, beat Southampton 1-0 with a goal by Robert Pirès on 38 minutes in front of a crowd of 73,726. Pirès fired home a rebound from six yards.
Due to the ongoing construction of Wembley Stadium, the final's usual venue, the match was played at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff for the third time.
Arsenal had won the FA Cup on eight previous occasions (1930, 1936, 1950, 1971, 1979, 1993, 1998, and 2002). Three of these wins yielded a League / FA Cup 'double' (1971, 1998, and 2002), and one win yielded an FA Cup/League Cup 'cup double' (1993). Southampton had won the FA Cup on one previous occasion (1976). The 2002-03 season saw Arsenal finish 2nd and Southampton finish 8th in the Premier League.
The two Premiership matches played between the clubs that season resulted in a home win each time. On 7 April, Arsenal won 6-1, with Jermaine Pennant and Robert Pirès both scoring hat-tricks. Southampton had beaten Arsenal at home in November.
Goalkeeper David Seaman captained Arsenal in the absence of the injured Patrick Vieira. It was to be his last appearance for the club. In defence for Southampton, Chris Baird made only his second competitive start, having made his debut in March. Chris Marsden captained Southampton.
Graham Barber from Tring, Hertfordshire was the referee with Nigel Miller and Keith Stroud as his assistants, and Mike Dean as the fourth official.
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[edit] Team Line-ups
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[edit] Road to Cardiff
| Arsenal | Southampton | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oxford United [D2] H 2-0 |
Bergkamp 15 McNiven 67(og) |
Round Three | Tottenham Hotspur [P] H 4-0 |
M. Svensson 13 Tessem 50 A. Svensson 56 Beattie 80 |
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| Farnborough Town [FC] A 5-1 |
Campbell 19 Jeffers 23, 68 Bergkamp 74 Lauren 79 |
Round Four | Millwall [C] A 1-1 |
Davies 90 | |
| Replay | Millwall [C] H 2-1 |
Oakley 21, 102
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| Manchester United [P] A 2-0 |
Edu 34 Wiltord 52 |
Round Five | Norwich City [C] H 2-0 |
A. Svensson 71 Tessem 74 |
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| Chelsea [P] A 3-1 |
Terry 25 (og) Wiltord 34 Lauren 82 |
Round Six | Wolverhampton Wanderers [C] H 2-0 |
Marsden 56 Butler 81 (og) |
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| Sheffield United [C] H 1-0 |
Ljungberg 34 | Semi-Final | Watford [C] A 2-1 |
Ormerod 43 Robinson 80 (og) |
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- Both clubs received a bye to round three.
- Square brackets [ ] represent the opposition's division
[edit] See also
- FA Cup Final for a list of previous FA Cup Final results.
[edit] External links
- Game facts at soccerbase.com
- Match Report at thefa.com
- Saints fans view at SaintsForEver.com
