Diary of A ManUtd Fan
Game: Manchester City Vs Manchester United
Venue: Wembley
Competition : FA Cup
I’m back, it was a wonderful week for most soccer fans except of course the Chelsea fans. I’ll recap because frankly I love to gloat. Manutd knocked Chelsea out of the Champions league. That Victory was the best thing that has happened to me in a while. Finally pay back for all the humiliation we’ve suffered in the hands of Chelsea in recent times. Well back to the crux of the matter; Today’s FA Cup Derby against City. It is the 159th derby between both sides and yet the 1st time both sides will meet at Wembley. This is Man City’s 1st FA Cup Semifinal since 1981. Sir Alex Ferguson nicks his 10th FA cup semi-final in his 25 year reign as gaffer of Man Utd. He is confined to the stands as he serves his FA imposed Touchline ban. I am not comfortable with this fixture even though we have a relatively fit squad. Rio Ferdinand gave me a bit of a scare when he had to head back to Manchester to witness the birth of his 3rd child. Luckily he made it back to London in time for the game. Man City would be without their talisman Carlos Tevez. Man Utd will not have Wayne Rooney in action, he serves his FA Match ban (are we cursed or what?). The absence of these two match winners should not impact too heavily on Today’s game as both sides boast of quality players in their ranks.
Our starting line up had Van Der Saar, O’shea, Evra, Vidic, Ferdinand,Carrick, Scholes, Park, Nani, Valencia and Berbatov. City’s 1st XI had Hart, Lescott, Kompany, Zabaleta, Kolarov, De Jong, Barry, Yaya Toure,Johnson, Silva and Baloteli. Both starting XIs could only produce one natural born Mancunian in Paul Scholes.
The game kicked off with both sides tentativly seeking the early goal.Berbatov was gifted two clear cut chances in less than a minute but failed to bury them. It was a shame for a striker of his pedigree. Rooney was seen shaking his head in disgust at his teammate’s inability to find the net. United began to dominate possession from then on. A couple of other chances came United’s way but we couldn’t break the deadlock. Barry came closest for City in the 31st minute but hit the side netting. Baloteli hit a wonderful shot from 35 yards but Van Der Saar was quick to knock it out for a City corner. As the 1st half drew to a close City finally got into the game and appeared to find their rhythm. Kompany (a player I admire) came close to snatching a 1st half goal for City but narrowly missed the goal. The 1st half ended goalless (the 1st goalless 1st half since the start of this series). United obviously needs to up the ante in the 2nd Half. AGiggs/Chicharito introduction should do the trick. However that’s Fergie’s decision to make.
The 2nd half started with City looking the hungrier side. Their persistence was rewarded after a sustained onslaught on ManUtd’s goal. City’s Hero was Yaya Toure. United’s Carrick gifted City the ball just outside the 18yard box. Toure held off Vidic to slot one past Van der Sar. From then on it was all about City and the game was theirs to lose. An equalizer wasn’t forthcoming. United’s chances were further damaged when Scholes was sent off for a reckless challenge on Zabaleta. As much as it hurts to say this he deserved the Red card. Nani did come close to sparing our blushes. His free kick was tipped onto the bar by City’s keeper Joe Hart. The deflection off a City head helped steer the ball his way. It was a good save. Chicharito came on for Valencia. The young lad could only do so much with an ineffective midfield behind him. Carrick was nowhere to be found. The few times he touched the ball he was shaky and often gave possession away. Anderson’s introduction for Berbatov did help to strengthen our middle. It was however too little too late as the brazillian’s impact was barely news worthy. With ten minutes to go United brought on Fabio, he replaced the largely unimaginative O’shea. All the while, City attacked with purpose and vengeance. Seeking to exploit their 1man advantage. We thank Van Der Sar for his composure. Vidic was everywhere as usual and he made timely interceptions. On the stroke of 90 minutes City came close to adding another. United’s desperation and increased urgeny in extra time was not rewared with a goal. The game ended 1-0 in favour of City and ultimately ends Man Utd’s treble dream. Take nothing away from City they put up a good performance and deserve their victory.
My Man of the match is unarguably Yaya Toure. Special mentions go to Joe Hart, Vincent Kompany and ManUtd’s Nemanja Vidic and Edwin Van der Sar (but for them this match could’ve ended with a far more embarrassing scoreline) .
It’s Strange to write this, seeing as I haven’t had to come up with any excuses since the inception of this series. Well it was bound to happen sooner or later. Here we go, my excuses; 1st I think Fatigue had a role to play in this defeat. Competiting on all fronts is no easy task. Especially with the hectic fixture list the English FA imposes on its teams. Secondly I’ll have you know the Glazers(United’s owners) brokered some sort of deal with Sheikh Mansour(City’s Head Honcho) to give City a shot at Silverware. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.
We are still the undisputed kings of the FA cup. We’ve won it a gazillion times already especially when compared to Arsenal, Chelsea or Liverpool. We Lost tonight and while it’s a tough pill to swallow, we must now look to the Premier League and the Champions League for
Glory. Glory Glory ManUtd, as the reds go marching on!
Thanks for reading. Bless!
Swizz
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