First FA Cup Final

25 April 1914
In March 1914, at the fourth time of asking, Liverpool finally prevailed in an FA Cup semi-final.
Having dispatched Aston Villa 2-0 at White Hart Lane, only Burnley now stood in the way of an historic first FA Cup.
Crystal Palace was the venue, where the 72,778 crowd included a reigning monarch for the first time.
It proved a nervy occasion for both sets of players – unsurprising considering neither club had got this far before.
Liverpool went into the fixture without tough-tackling half-back Harry Lowe, and things went from bad to worse when the Clarets won the toss and opted to play with the advantage of a strong wind in the first half.
Despite Burnley having the better of the opening exchanges, the Reds did threaten through Jimmy Nicholl, who was only denied when his shot smacked an opponent in the face.
Then, 14 minutes after the restart, Bert Freeman opened the scoring for the Lancashire men. The goal followed a throw-in which was headed to Freeman, and within the blink of an eye the ex-Evertonian had smashed the ball beyond Liverpool custodian Ken Campbell.
Merseyside's finest threw everything and the kitchen sink at Burnley as the game drew to a close, testing the Claret resistance with a host of long shots. The Reds even had a pop from the half-way line, but it wasn't to be.
Having beaten Barnsley, Gillingham, West Ham, QPR and Aston Villa, Liverpool's FA Cup journey was over as King George V handed the famous trophy to Burnley.
Incredibly, the country's most famous silverware didn't find its way to Anfield until 1965.