· Spurs fans! Find a hotel near the ground here!
· 10 years ago - FA Cup 6th Rd - Liverpool 1 Spurs 2
· FA Cup Semi-Final April 11th 1999 - Newcastle 2 Spurs 0
· FA Cup 3rd Rd Replay 22nd December, 1999 - Newcastle 6 Spurs 1
· Preview (2) - The Romance

FA CUP:

04-05  2    H    1-1  Walton                  
       2R   A    0-4                            
34-35  4    H    2-0  G W Hunt 2              
51-52  4    H    0-3                             
86-87  5    H    1-0  C Allen (p)             
98-99  SF   OT   0-2*                            
99-00  3    H    1-1  Iversen
99-00  3R   A    1-6  Ginola  

FOOTBALL LEAGUE CUP:

75-76  SF1  H    1-0   Pratt                  
       SF2  A    1-3   McAllister     

A further preview will follow later in the week. In the meantime, my thanks go to Declan Mulcahy for this account of the full history of FA Cup Ties between the two sides. Don't forget to check out the links above for full reports of the matches played in 1999

This will be the seventh time that Spurs have met Newcastle in the FA Cup. Surprisingly this is the first time that Spurs have been drawn away to Newcastle, as the two previous games played at St James’ Park were replays after draws at White Hart Lane.

The first meeting between the two clubs was exactly 100 years ago in February 1905 in the second round of the cup. Newcastle were in Division 1 and would win the league championship that year while Spurs were still in the Southern League. The first game at White Hart Lane was a 1-1 draw with Joe Walton scoring Spurs goal. Four days later the replay took place at St James’ Park and Spurs crashed heavily losing 4-0. Newcastle went on to reach the final that year at the Crystal Palace where they lost 2-0 to Aston Villa.

The next meeting was exactly thirty years later during the 1934-35 season. This was a bad season for Spurs as they were relegated from Division 1 at the end of the season. Newcastle were in Division 2 at the time. The teams met at White Hart Lane in a fourth round game. Spurs won 2-0 with George Hunt scoring both goals.

The third encounter between the teams was in 1951-52. At the time Spurs were the reigning league champions and Newcastle were the cup holders. It was a fourth round game at White Hart Lane. A little over a month earlier Spurs had beaten Newcastle 2-1 in a league game at the Lane. On this occasion Newcastle triumphed 3-0 and went on to win the cup for a second consecutive season beating Arsenal in the final. (To reach the final Arsenal had beaten Chelsea in a semi final played at White Hart Lane).

The next meeting between the teams was in 1987 in a fifth round tie at White Hart Lane. Spurs won 1-0 thanks to a Clive Allen penalty. Spurs progressed to Wembley, where they lost an FA Cup Final for the only time, Coventry winning 3-2.

The fifth meeting was in 1998-99 in a semi-final at Old Trafford. Three weeks previously Spurs had won the league cup at Wembley beating Leicester. In the previous game before the semi final the two teams had drawn 1-1 at St James’ Park, Darren Anderton scoring Spurs’ goal. Spurs had two former Newcastle players in their team Les Ferdinand and David Ginola.

The game turned on two handball decisions. Early in the second half there was a blatant hand ball by the Newcastle defender Nikos Dabizas in the Newcastle penalty area. Referee Paul Durkin appeared not to see the infringement and did not award a penalty. The score was 0-0 at the end of normal time and the game went to extra time. It was still scoreless after the first period of extra time. Early in the second period of extra time Sol Campbell handled in the Spurs penalty area and this time Durkin spotted the offence. Shearer scored from the penalty spot. With Spurs seeking an equalizer, Shearer scored a second goal two minutes from the end. Newcastle progressed to the final where they were totally outplayed by Manchester United who completed the second stage of their treble that season. (Interestingly enough the only trophy they did not win was the League Cup where an understrength United team was beaten by Spurs).

The most recent meeting between the two teams was the next season. Unusually the Third round of the Cup took place in December rather than January. Spurs were drawn at home to Newcastle. Spurs opened the scoring with a powerful header from Iversen after a nice cross from Ginola in the 56th minute. However Speed headed home from a corner in the 77th minute and the game ended in a 1-1 draw.

The replay took place at St James’ Park ten days later and was an absolute disaster for Spurs. Newcastle scored two in the first half hour before Ginola pulled one back in the 33rd minute. However Spurs conceded another goal before the break and were 3-1 down at half time. Newcastle scored three more goals in the second half without reply. The 6-1 defeat equalled Spurs worst ever cup result the previous occasion having been against Huddersfield Town during the 1927-28 season.

Overall Newcastle have won four of the six previous cup ties against Spurs. In addition Spurs Cup record against Newcastle at St James’ Park is quite dreadful. They have played there twice losing both games, scoring only one goal but conceding ten!