1898

In the first round on 29th January 1898 Aston Villa lost 1-0 away to Derby County (45)
Derby County then enjoyed a good cup run: on 12th February they beat Wolverhampton Wanderers away, also by 1-0.
In the third round on 26th February they drew 1-1 at home to Liverpool but won the replay at Anfield by 5-1 on 2nd March.They then met Everton at Molineux in the semi final on 19th March, winning 3-1.

1898 Final

This set up an East Midlands derby in the final, as Derby County faced Nottingham Forest at Crystal Palace on 16th April.
'Honest John' Lewis again was the ref, and a crowd of  62,017 was recorded. Derby had John Goodall and Steve Bloomer in their side (John Goodall was an England International, but in this match his brother , Archie, became the first Irish international to play in the Cup Final). The form book was upset though, as Nottingham Forest won 3-1 to become team 46 on our list.