1930–31 Birmingham F.C. season

Football League First Division

League table (part)

FA Cup

Main article: 1930–31 FA Cup, 1931 FA Cup Final

Birmingham "won finely" at Anfield to defeat Liverpool 2–0, then eliminated Port Vale and, with Ernie Curtis "in magnificent form", Watford, to reach the sixth round in which they played Chelsea. Playing in a blizzard at St Andrew's, Chelsea took the lead and had a second goal disallowed before the change of ends brought a change of fortunes. George Briggs crossed for Joe Bradford's header, then Briggs and Bradford combined for Curtis to put Birmingham ahead. With ten minutes left, a misplaced clearance by Bob Gregg allowed Jackie Crawford to equalise. The replay at Stamford Bridge, before a ground-record crowd of 74,365 with thousands more locked out, remained goalless until Chelsea half-backs John Townrow and Sid Bishop were injured. With no substitutes permitted, Birmingham took advantage, winning the tie 3–0 with goals from Jack Firth and two from Bradford. Curtis opened the scoring half an hour into the semi-final against First Division Sunderland. Sunderland's players thought they should have had a penalty, they failed to take numerous chances, and Harry Hibbs made some fine saves, but three minutes from time, Curtis had a shot blocked, Bradford "rushed in to help his colleague and between them they scored the second goal".

After six minutes of the final, Bob Gregg's header from Jimmy Cringan's free kick was ruled offside; newspaper reports suggest the decision was incorrect. After 24 minutes, Ned Barkas deflected W. G. Richardson's shot away from Hibbs and Richardson steered it home. Chances were missed by both sides before Joe Bradford equalised with a 25 yd shot. But straight from the restart, Albion ran the ball down the field, George Liddell sliced his clearance to Richardson's feet, and the forward scored from close range.

Appearances and goals

: This table includes appearances and goals in nationally organised competitive matchesthe Football League and FA Cuponly. : For a description of the playing positions, see Formation (association football)#2–3–5 (Pyramid).

References

General

• Matthews, Tony (1995). Birmingham City: A Complete Record. Breedon Books (Derby). .
• Matthews, Tony (2010). Birmingham City: The Complete Record. DB Publishing (Derby). .
• Source for match dates and results: "Birmingham City 1930–1931: Results". Statto Organisation. Retrieved 12 May 2012.
• Source for lineups, appearances, goalscorers and attendances: Matthews (2010), Complete Record: pp. 302–03.
• Source for kit: "Birmingham City". Historical Football Kits. Retrieved 22 May 2018.

Specific

References

1. [http://www.statto.com/football/teams/birmingham-city/records "Birmingham City: Records"] {{Webarchive. link. (9 December 2016 . Statto Organisation. Retrieved 15 May 2012.)
2. [http://www.statto.com/football/teams/birmingham-city/1930-1931/table "Birmingham City 1930–1931: English Division One (old) Table"] {{Webarchive. link. (20 September 2015 . Statto Organisation. Retrieved 12 May 2012.)
3. "Other F.A. Cup Matches". ''The Times'' (London): p.5. 12 January 1931.
4. "F.A. Cup. Draw For Sixth Round". ''The Times'' (London): p.6. 17 February 1931.
5. "Drawn Match At Birmingham". ''The Times'' (London): p.6. 2 March 1931.
6. "Chelsea Beaten. A Day Of Misfortunes". ''The Times'' (London): p.7. 5 March 1931.
7. "Birmingham's Fine Defence. Sunderland Miss Their Chances". ''The Times'' (London): p.6. 16 March 1931.
8. "The Cup. Victory Of West Bromwich, A Triumph Of Youth." ''The Times'' (London): p.5. 27 April 1931.
   The ''Daily Mail'' match report, reproduced in Thraves, Andrew, ed. (1994). ''The History of the Wembley FA Cup Final''. Weidenfeld & Nicolson (London): pp.24–25. {{ISBN. 978-0-297-83407-6.
   "Albion's Cup". ''Birmingham Mail'': p.12. 25 April 1931.
   Matthews (1995), ''Complete Record''. p.19.