FA Cup
Denied by toenail, Coventry boss Robins proud in defeat
The width of a toenail cost Coventry City a place in the FA Cup final after a remarkable comeback against Manchester United on Sunday but manager Mark Robins said he was proud of his players after losing a penalty shootout.
Robins, who won the Cup as player with United in 1990, watched his side battle back from 3-0 down after 71 minutes with goals from Ellis Simms and Callum O’Hare and a Haji Wright penalty deep into stoppage time.
Second-tier Coventry were the better side in extra time and thought they had pulled off a remarkable win against the 12-time champions when Victor Torp scored from close range 20 seconds from the end of extra time.
The joy of the 36,000 travelling Coventry fans turned to tears though as Torp’s goal was disallowed by VAR with Wright adjudged to have been centimetres offside before playing the ball across the face of goal.
United then won 4-2 on penalties to deny Coventry a second FA Cup final, having beaten Tottenham Hotspur in 1987, and prevent them from becoming the first team from outside the Premier League to reach the final since Cardiff City in 2008.
Despite the outcome it felt like a moral victory for Coventry who were magnificent after a poor first hour.
“Bitterly disappointed, but I’m proud as well,” said Robins whose goal in an FA Cup third round for United against Nottingham Forest in 1990 is said to have saved then manager Alex Ferguson’s job and paved the way for a glittering era.
“Someone said to me I don’t think any team have been as close to a final without getting there.
“We deserved to go through, we were 20 seconds away and a toenail offside, it’s ridiculous.”
Robins said Simms’ goal gave his side belief after struggling to make any impact before that.
“We thought it might be a consolation and then the second loops in and it gives us a lifeline. Your tails are up then. Haji sticks a penalty away and all to play for,” he said.
“They hit the bar, we hit the bar. Another goal with 20 seconds to go. It took an age. The fourth official said there was nothing wrong with it (initially). A toenail offside.”
-Reuters
Manchester City F.C. completed a domestic cup double on Saturday after a late strike from Antoine Semenyo secured a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Chelsea F.C. in the FA Cup Final.
The decisive moment arrived in the 72nd minute when the Ghana international produced a clever finish from close range, turning sharply before back-heeling the ball beyond Chelsea goalkeeper Robert Sánchez after an inviting cross from Erling Haaland.
Semenyo’s goal transformed what had been a tense and cautious contest into an entertaining finale as both sides pushed aggressively in search of goals during the closing stages.
City nearly doubled their advantage when Rayan Cherki forced an excellent save from Sánchez, while Matheus Nunes struck the post as Pep Guardiola’s side intensified the pressure.
Chelsea also searched desperately for an equaliser but were unable to break through City’s disciplined defence.
The triumph handed Manchester City their eighth FA Cup title and completed an impressive domestic cup double following their League Cup success earlier in March.
For Semenyo, the winning goal marked one of the biggest moments of his career, with the forward delivering when it mattered most on English football’s grandest domestic stage.
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Erling Haaland scored a hat-trick as Manchester City crushed Liverpool 4-0 at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday to cruise into the FA Cup semi-finals.
Champions Liverpool played well in the opening half-hour with Mohamed Salah wasting an early chance, but once Haaland had scored from the spot in the 37th minute after a foul on Nico O’Reilly, their resistance crumbled.
Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk conceded the penalty with a rash challenge, and there was little the Dutch defender could do as City played scintillating attacking football for the remainder of the game.
His blond hair swinging behind him in a ponytail, Haaland netted his second two minutes into first-half stoppage time with a well-placed header from an excellent Antoine Semenyo cross.
Semenyo got on the scoresheet himself five minutes after the break, latching on to a ball in behind from Rayan Cherki and chipping it beautifully past Giorgi Mamardashvili, and Haaland completed his treble with a shot off the underside of the crossbar in the 57th minute.
Liverpool’s woes continued when Mohamed Salah, who is set to leave the club at the end of the season, capped off a poor performance by having his penalty saved by James Trafford, snuffing out any faint hopes Liverpool might have had of a comeback
As the game turned into a victory parade, many Liverpool fans started heading for the exits, and City manager Pep Guardiola rang the changes, replacing Haaland with Omar Marmoush, the Norwegian striker receiving a standing ovation as he left the field.
In the other quarter-finals, Chelsea take on Port Vale and Southampton host Arsenal later on Saturday, with Leeds United travelling to West Ham United on Sunday.
The semi-finals will take place at Wembley, and Haaland is relishing a return to the stadium.
“First half, we struggled a bit, but then we after around 30 minutes we kept going and in the end it’s an amazing game. Another Wembley trip for us is amazing and important,” he told broadcaster TNT.
“I think (my form this season) has been a bit too much up and down, which is not good enough. I cannot keep on thinking about what I could have done differently or what didn’t happen, or what happened. I have to think about the next game.”
-Reuters
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Arsenal will be without injured England attacker Noni Madueke when they face Southampton in Saturday’s FA Cup quarter-final, but Martin Odegaard and Jurrien Timber may return from injury, manager Mikel Arteta said.
Madueke was among the 11 Arsenal players who withdrew from international duty last month over injuries and fitness management, as the club eye their first Premier League title since 2004.
“When you have to communicate the state of every player, we are always honest and a medical decision had to be made. That was clear what the conclusion was,” Arteta told reporters on Friday.
“It makes us so proud that we had that many players in the national team. Players are desperate to play for their nation. I know how important it is to them. We are fully supportive of that and when we can do it, we do it.”
Madueke picked up a knee injury during England’s friendly with Uruguay, missing the game against Japan. But Arteta said his condition was not as bad as a knee injury that kept him out for six weeks.
Martin Zubimendi, William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhaes, Timber, Leandro Trossard, Eberechi Eze, Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice were unavailable for their countries.
Arteta did not disclose how many of them will be available for Saturday’s game, as Arsenal look to shake off last month’s League Cup final loss to Manchester City with a return to Wembley in the FA Cup semi-finals.
“We’re in a position right now where we need to make the strongest line-up we possibly can to win every competition,” he said. ” We are two or three games away from the FA Cup and we know how important that competition is for us.”
-Reuters
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