Blackburn Town Hall as it would have looked in the 1890s when it hosted celebratory homecomings for the Rovers and their prize of the FA Cup. The town hall would be utilised in such a way up to and including the 1992 promotion to the Premiership. © Cottontown

The Lancashire side went ahead as soon as the sixth minute through Billy Townley and never looked back. By the thirty fifth minute they were 3-0 up after Walton and Townley again breached the Wednesday defence. It could have been at least double that and the goals had not yet stopped. The fourth came from Jack Southworth and led to a mini-rally from the Yorkshire side which resulted in Bennett netting a solo consolation goal before two more goals were scored by the Blue and whites, one of which was by former cup winner Joe Lofthouse and the other was the last of a William Townley hat trick. The first ever FA Cup final hat trick, a feat that has been equalled but never bettered, as was the tally of Rovers goals in the 6-1 win. Bury also scored six goals a decade or so later. The referee, Colonel Francis Mandarin, was overseeing his eighth and last final, of which the four Rovers victories were all included. So, the cup returned to Blackburn and to Leamington Street. The club however would be somewhere else by the new season. Before then, the traditional civic reception at the town hall was attended by many happy Rovers fans.

This was however to be the last hurrah at their Leamington Street Ground. After their landlord increased the rent to unacceptable levels, Rovers looked elsewhere for a suitable home. Their eyes naturally fell upon the international stadium across the town in the Ewood area of Blackburn. With excellent transport links such as a tram line along Bolton Road linking it to the town centre and the nearby Mill Hill train station, Ewood Park seemed the only logical choice for a team of the ambition of Rovers. After agreeing a ten-year lease at an annual rent of £60 per year (rising to £70 after five years) Rovers moved into their new ground in the summer of 1890 and played their first league game there against Accrington in front of a 10,000 crowd. During the summer Rovers had spent over £1,000 making adjustments to the ground to bring it up to a satisfactory standard to cope with a long season of league and cup football. Later on that season 18,000 would be drawn for the first Rovers home victory over Preston North end, by a 1-0 scoreline. The game at Deepdale had finished 2-1 meaning a Rovers double. The possibilities of Ewood were there for all to see.

Rovers brought in two more players for this season, yet again from Scotland. The goalkeeper John Gow arrived from Renton (who had ended the four year unbeaten streak of Rovers in the 1886 competition) and the inside left Coombe Hall. Although Gow would be a disappointing recruit and leave at the end of the season having lost his place in the team, Hall would stay for five seasons.

Their third league campaign ended in their worst final placing so far of sixth, yet they were only five points behind the new champions, Everton, meaning they were closer to the top points-wise than they were in the previous two campaigns than when they had achieved higher positions. They opened the campaign with a ridiculously high scoring 8-5 defeat at Derby yet successful for most of the rest of the season. They lost their four last games to blow any chance of the title. They did manage however a third ‘double’ over their Claret and blue neighbours of Burnley, 6-1 away and 5-2 at home this time around. In all they were certainly the best of the local sides, having beaten Burnley and Preston twice apiece as well as winning one and drawing one of the league games against Accrington.