Sheffield United take on Nottingham Forest The FA Cup Fifth Round at Bramall Lane on Sunday.
The League One outfit have already made a significant mark on this season’s competition by knocking out Premier League Aston Villa and Fulham away from home.
United and Forest, two clubs with great histories who have lifted the famous trophy six times between them, once played in an FA Cup tie that took seven hours to resolve.
Sheffield United v Nottingham Forest
The FA Cup with Budweiser
Fifth Round
3pm, Sunday 16 February 2014
Bramall Lane
They clashed in the First Round in a special year for the competition. It was 1923, when Wembley hosted its first Final.
Both clubs were in Division One, United finishing the season in tenth place and Forest in 20th.
It was a 0-0 draw at the City Ground on 13 January. Five days later at Bramall Lane it was goalless again, this time after the extra half-hour.
The second replay, played at Notts County’s Meadow Lane ground on 22 January, was a 1-1 draw after extra time.
John Green was on target for Forest and Harry Johnson for United. The latter notched more than 300 League goals.
United’s Billy Gillespie, who scored the only goal of the third replay at Hillsborough, was capped for both Ireland and Northern Ireland and skippered the Blades to FA Cup Final victory in 1925.
So that marathon First Round tie had gone to four matches and lasted a total of 420 minutes. Forest had only managed one goal.
United reached the Semi-Finals that year, losing to David Jack’s goal for Bolton Wanderers at Old Trafford.
A month later Jack and the Wanderers would make acquaintance with a white horse called ‘Billy’ at the new Empire Stadium.
