noted for its "deadness that made accurate passing impossible". The two teams met in a replay four days later where the pitch at Darlington's home ground, Feethams, also drew criticism with Cardiff players being quoted as saying the pitch was "worse than Ninian Park had ever been". The teams played out a second goalless draw necessitating a second replay, held at Anfield in Liverpool. Their lower ranked opponents created several scoring opportunities in the opening stages of the match but were unable to convert any, hitting the crossbar twice. Early in the second half, Cardiff took the lead when Beadles' shot rebounded off the crossbar allowing Len Davies to open the scoring. Willie Davies added a second later in the half as the match finished 2–0. In the second round, Cardiff were drawn against Fulham. The match was played in difficult conditions with The Times stating that the heavy rainfall meant that "good football was out of the question". The rapidly deteriorating pitch led the referee to halt the game for ten minutes before both sides agreed to continue play with Len Davies scoring the only goal of the match. Fellow First Division side Notts County were Cardiff's opponents in the third round, with County considered favourites for the tie. With Len Davies injured, his replacement Joe Nicholson opened the scoring before Jimmy Gill scored a second. Gill's goal received particular praise and was described as "the finest exhibition of artistry ever seen. With the ball at his feet, he evaded opponent after opponent, all after him like terriers and when he placed the ball in the net he gave Iremonger no chance." In the fourth round, Cardiff were drawn against Second Division side Leicester City, the second meeting between the two sides in the FA Cup in three seasons; Cardiff had eliminated Leicester in the second round during the 1922–23 season. More than 50,000 spectators attended the fixture and Leicester enjoyed the better play of the first half but it was Cardiff who took the lead early in the second half when Beadles headed in from Willie Davies' cross. Leicester quickly equalised when Arthur Chandler's shot was parried by Cardiff goalkeeper Tom Farquharson, allowing Johnny Duncan to lift the ball over the stricken keeper and into the net. In the final moments of the game, Leicester defender Adam Black cleared the ball out for an opposition corner after being