The 1978 FA Cup final was an association football match between Arsenal and Ipswich Town on 6 May 1978 at the old Wembley Stadium, London. It was the final match of the 1977–78 FA Cup, the 97th season of the world's oldest football knockout competition, the FA Cup. Four-time winners Arsenal were appearing in their ninth final, whereas Ipswich Town were making their debut at Wembley and in their first FA Cup final. Each team had progressed through five rounds to reach the final. Ipswich had needed a replay in the fifth round to proceed past Bristol Rovers while Arsenal won all of their ties at the first time of asking and went into the final as clear favourites. The game was watched by a stadium crowd of around 100,000 and was broadcast live on television and radio. Ipswich dominated the match, hitting the woodwork three times (including twice from John Wark) before Roger Osborne scored the only goal of the game with a left-foot shot, as Ipswich triumphed 1–0. It remains Ipswich Town's only FA Cup triumph to date and they have not appeared in the final since. Arsenal returned to Wembley the following season and won the 1979 FA Cup Final over Manchester United. Route to the final The FA Cup is English football's primary cup competition. Clubs in the highest tier of English football enter the FA Cup in the third round and are selected randomly out of a hat with the remaining clubs. If a match is drawn, a replay comes into force, ordinarily at the ground of the team who were away for the first game. As with league fixtures, FA Cup matches are subject to change in the event of games being selected for television coverage and this often can be influenced by clashes with other competitions. Arsenal Arsenal entered the 1977–78 FA Cup in the third round where they faced Second Division team Sheffield United at Bramall Lane. Four goals in a ten-minute spell in the first half, from David O'Leary, Malcolm Macdonald (2) and Frank Stapleton, effectively ended the match as a contest. United had missed a penalty after O'Leary's opener and conceded a fifth to Stapleton in the second half, as Arsenal proceeded to the fourth round with a 5–0 victory. Wolverhampton Wanderers were Arsenal's fourth round opponents at Highbury. In front of a crowd of nearly 50,000, Wolves made the