FA Cup
ODION IGHALO PROPELS MAN UNITED TO FA CUP SEMI FINALS
Odion Ighalo Saturday night laid the foundation, which Harry Maguire built on to propel Manchester to the FA Cup semi finals after a hard-fought battle against Norwich.
Manchester United won 2-1 following an Odion Ighalo opener and Maguire’s second goal almost at the end of extra time after Todd Cantwell’s equalizer 15 minutes to regulation time.
Great Ighalo! He has now scored in each of his four Manchester United starts, making it five goals in 11 appearances since he arrived from Shanghai Shenhua in January.
Norwich, playing their first quarter finals match since 1992 really stretched Manchester United almost to breaking poin.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side had to work hard for their place in the last four as Todd Cantwell forced extra time by cancelling out Odion Ighalo’s opener at Carrow Road.
Norwich defender Timm Klose was sent off for hauling down Ighalo in the 89th minute and that eventually tipped the balance in United’s favour.
They gradually wore Norwich down and England defender Maguire pounced to extend their unbeaten run to 14 games in all competitions.
United, who won their 12th and most recent FA Cup in 2016, remain on course to reach the final for the second time in three years.
Exactly 114 days after United won at Derby in the fifth round on March 5, the FA Cup returned following the coronavirus hiatus with the competition’s first ever match in June.
Solskjaer made eight changes as only Maguire, Luke Shaw and Bruno Fernandes survived from the midweek Premier League win against Sheffield United.
United’s stand-ins were out of sync for much of a first half that followed the pattern of many post-lockdown matches, both teams lacking energy and invention.
In a rare threat, Maguire had to stop Lukas Rupp’s shot with an alert block after Cantwell’s run opened up the visitors’ defence.
Solskjaer’s team finally awoke from their slumber after the interval and grabbed the lead in the 51st minute.
Luke Shaw’s cross was helped on by Juan Mata and Ighalo sniffed out the chance, flicking an agile finish past Tim Krul from inside the six-yard box.
FRANTIC FINALE
Norwich were playing in their first FA Cup quarter-final since 1992, but Canaries boss Daniel Farke had dampened the mood when he insisted they had no chance of winning the competition.
Despite Farke’s pessimism, Norwich nearly equalised when Ben Godfrey stretched to reach Alexander Tettey’s header from Emiliano Buendia’s free-kick.
It seemed certain Godfrey would score but instead the defender could only accidently deflect the ball away from the United goal.
Norwich kept pressing and drew level in the 75th minute when Cantwell’s 20-yard strike swerved away from slow-to-react United keeper Sergio Romero.
Suddenly in the ascendency, Norwich almost won it in the final minutes when Buendia shot just past the far post.
But with extra time looming, Fernandes’ superb flick found Ighalo on the edge of the area and Klose’s panicked response, hauling down the Nigerian, triggered a red card from referee Jonathan Moss.
Krul made good saves to keep out efforts from United substitutes Paul Pogba and Mason Greenwood in a frantic finale.
With five subs allowed since the lockdown and an additional one given to teams who go to extra time in the FA Cup, United become the first English side to make six changes in the same game when Anthony Martial replaced Eric Bailly.
United dominated extra time and Marcus Rashford’s strike was pushed over by Krul, who made an even better save to stop Maguire’s header.
Maguire wasn’t to be denied and in the 118th minute United’s pressure finally told as the England defender poked home from close range after Ighalo flicked on.
The first weekend of semi-automated offside decisions in English soccer descended into confusion on Saturday as Bournemouth had a goal ruled out after a record eight-minute VAR check.
Bournemouth, who eventually beat Premier League rivals Wolverhampton Wanderers on penalties in the FA Cup fifth round after a 1-1 draw, thought they had doubled their lead when defender Milos Kerkez scored in the 35th-minute goal.
However, new technology could not be used because the six-yard area was too crowded and VAR officials had to revert to manually drawing lines before disallowing the goal.
Fellow defender Dean Huijsen was adjudged to have been in an offside position as Kerkez’s effort brushed his shoulder before going in to the net.
The VAR check was further complicated as VAR officials Timothy Wood and Darren England also had to also examine the possibility of hand balls prior to the tight offside call.
Both sets of fans voiced their disapproval at the interminable wait, chanting “it’s not football any more” and “this is embarrassing”.
Referee Sam Barrott, who eventually announced the decision to the crowd via a microphone, had to explain to the respective managers and players what was happening during the delay.
-Reuters
Follow the Sports Village Square channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vaz7mEIGk1FxU8YIXb0H
FA Cup giant-killers Plymouth Argyle drew Premier League champions Manchester City on Monday as the second-tier side’s fifth-round reward for a shock defeat of Liverpool at the weekend.
Holders Manchester United will host Fulham at Old Trafford in one of at least three all-Premier League clashes, with League Cup finalists Newcastle United at home to top-tier rivals Brighton & Hove Albion.
Bournemouth will host Wolverhampton Wanderers in another all-top-flight encounter.
Struggling Plymouth caused one of the great upsets of the FA Cup on Sunday when they beat a second-string Liverpool 1-0, ending the Premier League leaders’ hopes of a quartet of trophies this season.
The Pilgrims are bottom of the Championship but City, who reached the fifth round with a 2-1 win at third-tier Leyton Orient on Saturday after going behind early on, have been misfiring this season.
There will be a fourth all-Premier League clash if Nottingham Forest avoid trouble at League One (third tier) Exeter City on Tuesday, with Ipswich Town awaiting the winners.
Aston Villa, who ended Tottenham Hotspur’s hopes on Sunday, host second tier Cardiff City.
The fifth round matches will be played on the weekend of March 1 and 2.
Last 16 draw:
- Preston North End v Burnley
- Aston Villa v Cardiff City
- Doncaster Rovers or Crystal Palace v Millwall
- Manchester United v Fulham
- Newcastle United v Brighton & Hove Albion
- Bournemouth v Wolverhampton Wanderers
- Manchester City v Plymouth Argyle
-Reuters
Follow the Sports Village Square channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vaz7mEIGk1FxU8YIXb0H
A much-changed Liverpool were dumped out of the FA Cup by struggling second-tier side Plymouth Argyle, who pulled off a stunning 1-0 fourth-round win at Home Park on Sunday that put an end to the visitors’ hopes of a quadruple.
The hosts took the lead in the 53rd minute after they were awarded a penalty for a handball by midfielder Harvey Elliott and Ryan Hardie stepped up to send Liverpool goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher the wrong way.
Premier League leaders Liverpool were bereft of ideas and had just one shot on target in the opening half, with Plymouth keeper Conor Hazard making a diving save in the 36th minute to keep out James McConnell’s long-range shot.
Ahead of the Merseyside derby against Everton on Wednesday, Liverpool made wholesale changes with Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk, Alisson Becker and Alexis Mac Allister among the big-names rested and left at home.
Liverpool, who were also forced into an early change when defender Joe Gomez went down injured, failed to create many chances in a scrappy encounter as Plymouth, who sit bottom of the second-tier Championship, gradually grew in confidence.
Arne Slot’s side switched gears after going down but Hazard proved to be the hero for Plymouth as the Northern Irishman brilliantly kept out Diogo Jota’s volley in added time, as well as a header from Darwin Nunez.
With Liverpool top of the Premier League, having strolled into the Champions League’s last 16 and reached the League Cup final, some fans and pundits had begun to speculate about a potential quadruple.
Plymouth’s remarkable victory, however, brought a shuddering halt to talk of clean sweep of silverware for Slot’s side, who had only lost three games all season, prior to Sunday.
Meanwhile, there was no surprise in the other FA Cup fourth-round tie with Premier League Wolverhampton Wanderers beating second-tier Championship side Blackburn Rovers 2-0 at Ewood Park.
There was little to separate the two teams in the opening minutes before Wolves hit Blackburn with two rapid-fire goals through midfielder Joao Gomes in the 33rd minute and seconds later via forward Matheus Cunha.
Blackburn defender Dominic Hyam had the ball in the back of the net in the 19th minute, but his celebrations were cut short when the linesman’s flag went up for offside.
-Reuters
Follow the Sports Village Square channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vaz7mEIGk1FxU8YIXb0H
As major global sporting events beckon, Morocco’s monarch launches the Kenitra-Marrakech High-Speed rail project
Nigeria Premier League attains a crescendo this weekend
Nigeria becoming an epicentre of global badminton as Francis Orbih enters the Badminton World Federation Council
- WOMEN'S FOOTBALL7 days ago
Naira rain falls on Nigeria’s Flamingos after a 4-0 defeat of Algeria
- OBITUARY4 days ago
NFF mourns the demise of former FIFA referee, Bosede Momoh
- Nigerian Football2 days ago
Financial rainfall awaits Nigeria’s Flamingos for every goal scored in Algeria
- U-17 AFCON7 days ago
Morocco crowned CAF U-17 AFCON champions after dramatic penalty shootout win over Mali
- U-20 FOOTBALL6 days ago
Nigeria begin CAF Under-20 Africa Cup of Nations title chase with Tunisian clash
- Nigerian Football6 days ago
Remo Stars maintain ‘7Up’ lead over Rivers United
- feature4 days ago
Ghana’s Cardinal, Appiah Turkson, listed as a possible Pope
- Nigerian Football2 days ago
Former WAFU President, Ogufere mourns Christian Chukwu