1925 FA Cup final

The 1925 FA Cup final was an association football match contested by Sheffield United and Cardiff City on 25 April 1925 at Wembley Stadium in London, England. The final was the showpiece match of English football's primary cup competition, the Football Association Challenge Cup (FA Cup), organised by the Football Association. Sheffield United won the game with a single goal.

Both teams entered the competition in the first round and progressed through five stages to reach the final. Sheffield United conceded only two goals en route to the final, both in a 3–2 victory over their local rivals The Wednesday in the second round. Cardiff also conceded twice before the final, once in the fourth round and once in the semi-final. They struggled to overcome Third Division North side Darlington in the first round, needing two replays to progress. This was the first time a Welsh team had played in an FA Cup final, and only the third time a team from outside England had reached a final. The Scottish side Queen's Park played in the 1884 and 1885 finals.

Nearly 92,000 spectators attended the game. The only goal of the contest was scored by Sheffield United's Fred Tunstall after 30 minutes when he dispossessed Harry Wake on the edge of the Cardiff penalty area before shooting past goalkeeper Tom Farquharson. Cardiff were unable to respond and the match finished 1–0, giving Sheffield United their fourth FA Cup triumph. The match remains the last time Sheffield United have won the competition. Cardiff returned to Wembley two years later, in the 1927 final, when they won the trophy for the first time.

The FA Cup is English football's primary cup competition and is organised by the Football Association (FA). If a match ends in a draw, a replay comes into force, ordinarily at the ground of the team who were drawn away for the first match. Although the competition primarily contains teams from England, Welsh teams have been allowed entry since 1876. A motion had been put forward in the early 1920s to bar Welsh clubs from competing in the FA Cup. Although this idea was rejected, the number of teams from Wales allowed to enter was limited to 14 with the FA having the final say on selection. Cardiff City had joined the Football League in 1920 and quickly established themselves as one of the leading clubs in the competition.

Four goals by Harry Johnson and one by Tommy Boyle helped First Division side Sheffield United defeat amateur side Corinthian 5–0 in the first round of the 1924–25 FA Cup, in front of a home crowd of 38,167 at Bramall Lane. This set up a second round tie against local rivals The Wednesday in a match that was preceded by torrential rain. Nevertheless, both teams attacked from the offset and The Wednesday took a two-goal lead in the opening ten minutes, the only goals United would concede en route to the final. United rallied and, after wasting several chances, goals from Tommy Sampy and George Green drew them level before half-time. Another goal by Sampy early in the second half gave United a 3–2 win.

United were given another home tie in the third round where a single goal by Fred Tunstall was enough to give them a win over Everton in what was, at the time, a record attendance at Bramall Lane of 51,745. This figure was surpassed in the fourth round as 57,197 watched goals by Tunstall and Johnson give United a 2–0 home win against West Bromwich Albion.

For United's next match they travelled to a neutral venue, Stamford Bridge in London, to face Second Division side Southampton. It was United's seventh appearance in the semi-final of the competition (and 100th cup tie overall) and nearly 70,000 fans attended the tie. An own goal late in the first half gave United the lead. After the break Southampton had a chance to draw level when Harry Pantling fouled Bill Rawlings in the penalty area. The resulting penalty was taken by Tom Parker but his shot was saved by Charles Sutcliffe. The penalty proved to be Southampton's only major opportunity in the match as they rarely troubled the opposition defence. Soon after the missed penalty, United added a second goal from Tunstall who broke through the defence to make it 2–0 and secure his side a place in the final.

Cardiff City, also of the First Division, entered the FA Cup as one of the joint favourites to win the competition, alongside Aston Villa and reigning First Division champions Huddersfield Town. In the first round of the cup they were drawn against Third Division North leaders Darlington. The first tie at Cardiff's ground, Ninian Park, ended in a goalless draw with the poor state of the pitch being blamed for a lack of excitement in the game. A replay at Darlington's Feethams ground drew a record crowd of more than 18,000 people for the club but again ended goalless. A third match was arranged at a neutral venue, Anfield in Liverpool, where Cardiff finally overcame their lower ranked opponents in front of more than 22,000 spectators. Second-half goals from Len Davies and Willie Davies secured a 2–0 win and set up a home tie against Fulham. Cardiff's second round match was played in a heavy downpour that caused play to be suspended for ten minutes. A Len Davies goal late in the first half was enough to give Cardiff a 1–0 win.