F.A Cup Chelsea Beat Liverpool

Ramires and Didier Drogba scored as Chelsea won the FA Cup at Wembley, where Liverpool were controversially denied a late equaliser.The irrepressible Ramires put his team in front before Drogba scored his eighth goal in nine appearances on the hallowed turf – justifying boss Roberto Di Matteo’s decision to select him rather than former Reds frontman Fernando Torres.But Liverpool rallied and substitute Andy Carroll reduced the deficit, setting up an anxious final 25 minutes for Di Matteo’s men.And the Merseysiders thought they had completed a remarkable comeback when Carroll’s late header from Luis Suarez’s cross looked like it may have crossed the line before being pushed onto the underside of the bar by keeper Petr Cech.Referee Phil Dowd was not convinced the ball did go over the line, and Chelsea were able to get their hands on the trophy for the fourth time in six years.

It was a deserved victory, although Liverpool did well to make a fight of it after Drogba had put the Blues firmly in command – and became the first man to score in four FA Cup finals.Ramires netted in recent semi-final victories against Barcelona and Tottenham and maintained his knack of scoring in important games when he put Chelsea ahead in the 11th minute.Juan Mata pounced on a mistake by Jay Spearing and threaded the ball through to the Brazilian, who got the better of Jose Enrique and then fired past Pepe Reina at the keeper’s near post.And when Chelsea doubled their lead six minutes into the second half, they looked on course for a comfortable win.

Frank Lampard skipped away from the ineffective Spearing and picked out Drogba, who shot through the legs of Liverpool defender Martin Skrtel and into the far corner.But Liverpool hit back when Carroll replaced Spearing and gave his team hope with a well taken goal on 64 minutes.Jose Bosingwa was closed down on the left flank by Stewart Downing, and when the ball came in to Carroll the striker wrong-footed Blues skipper John Terry before slamming a left-footed shot into the roof of the net.Unsurprisingly, Chelsea then had to withstand a period of pressure as Liverpool pushed for an equaliser.

Cech did well to keep out a low shot from Suarez, before Carroll headed over following a cross from ex-Chelsea man Glen Johnson.Liverpool, who benefited from a goal-line decision when Luis Garcia’s Champions League semi-final winner stood in 2005, will argue that they should also have been awarded a goal after Carroll’s effort.

Chelsea may be able to thank Lady Luck on this occasion, but they can also thank Cech who, it should not be forgotten, did brilliantly to get a hand to the ball.

Balotelli angers Man City and fans after amazing double snub

Manchester City striker Mario Balotelli snubbed their FA Cup victory parade yesterday.
The Sun says in a double insult, the £80,000-a-week star also failed to turn up for the club's end-of-season dinner on Sunday where he was due to receive the Young Player of the Year award - as voted for by the fans.The controversial striker, recalled yesterday to the Italy squad, flew home after the final match of the season at Bolton.Micah Richards had to pick up the honour on his behalf in front of embarrassed club officials, sponsors and disappointed supporters, who paid to be at the event.City chief executive Garry Cook wrote to the players insisting they must attend last night's celebration.The club were ready to fine anyone who ignored the directive.
But they are unable to punish Balotelli, 20, as boss Roberto Mancini gave him permission to fly off.

This has angered the Eastlands hierarchy.

2011 F.A.Cup final Highlights

Manchester City 1 - 0 Stoke City | The FA Cup... by fatv

Toure The Hero As Blues Pip Stoke In FA Cup Final

Manchester City ended their 35-year trophy drought  beating Stoke 1-0 to clinch the FA Cup final at Wembley.
Ivory Coast international Yaya Toure was the hero once again for City, rifling in a shot on 74 minutes to settle a largely one-sided encounter.
The win gave City their first piece of silverware since their victory in the 1976 League Cup final at Wembley and completed a rare double on the same day that their rivals Manchester United sealed the Premier League.
It also sealed a fine week for City, who had clinched qualification for next season’s Champions League on Tuesday by beating Tottenham.
“I can only say that I’m very happy for all the supporters,” a delighted City manager Roberto Mancini told ITV afterwards.
“After many years, they deserved to win this trophy,” Mancini added, gesturing towards City’s delirious army of fans.
“We need to improve but we are very happy. We did a small piece of history of Manchester City. We start now.”
Goal hero Toure — who had also scored the winner in last month’s semi-final victory over Manchester United — was jubilant to have helped City end their long wait for a piece of silverware.
“The dream is now... It’s fantastic to win. It’s fantastic for the history of the club,” said Toure. “We wanted to win something and get through to the Champions League. It’s amazing.”
City, who dominated throughout, might have won by more had it not been for a couple of fine saves by Stoke goalkeeper Thomas Sorensen early on when Mancini’s men were threatening to run riot.
City, who had been lifted by captain Carlos Tevez passing a late fitness test, settled swiftly and took control of the the opening exchanges.
Tevez might have put City ahead after only five minutes, his curling shot headed for goal after taking a slight deflection off Ryan Shawcross, only for Sorensen to save superbly at full stretch.
There was little respite for Stoke thereafter, and Shawcross was deeply relieved when he stuck a leg out to intercept a low Aleksandar Kolarov cross in the 10th minute which came dangerously close to being an own goal.
Moments later it was Toure’s turn, the Ivorian letting fly from 30 yards with a ferocious drive that beat Sorensen only to go inches wide.
With City rampant, Stoke’s defence showed signs of cracking under the pressure, and German centre-half Robert Huth was lucky to escape punishment for a blatant off the ball elbow that flattened Mario Balotelli.
Stoke’s only chance on goal in a lop-sided opening period came when Trinidad striker Kenwyne Jones found some space in the City box, only for his shot to be blocked by Vincent Kompany.
At the other end Stoke again had Sorensen to thank after another brilliant save on 24 minutes, this time from Balotelli, whose curling shot was hurtling towards the top corner before it was palmed away to safety.
City should have gone 1-0 up on 35 minutes, when a wonderful ball from Tevez found Balotelli in the box and in the ensuing melee David Silva’s shot into the turf bounced up and over the bar with Sorensen nowhere.
Five minutes before half-time Huth earned the booking he should have received earlier, cautioned by Martin Atkinson for an ugly challenge on Micah Richards. A scrappy start to the second half saw Stoke enjoy their best spell but City’s defence were more than equal to the challenge.
City again spurned a good chance on 56 minutes when a swift breakout of defence saw Tevez surge down the right before crossing to the unmarked Silva who took too long to get his shot away.
With the clock ticking down, Mancini took the bold move to replace Gareth Barry with the more attacking option of Adam Johnson on 74 minutes.
A minute later, Toure struck the decisive blow for City. A shot from Balotelli deflected off Marc Wilson and fell kindly to the former Barcelona midfielder who blasted an unstoppable first-time shot past Sorensen.

The dumbest football fan ever?

This Bolton fan must be crying into his club scarf right now after quitting his $77,000-a-year job in Australia so he could fly back to England to watch his beloved team take on Stoke in the FA Cup semi-final at Wembley.

Ian Wagstaff was told by his boss that he would not be given the time off to travel across the globe to join the legions of Bolton fans heading to London for the massive clash.

But the 50-year-old would not take 'no' for an answer and informed his employers that there was no chance he would be missing Bolton’s first trip to the new Wembley.

And after spending $2,000 on flights and tickets, the British ex-pat had not been to see Bolton play since 1994, said he had no regrets.

"I've been a Wanderer all my life," Wagstaff told ESPN Soccernet.

"I told my boss I wanted to go, but he said we were too busy. I told him I was going anyway. It's not every day you get the chance to watch Wanderers at Wembley."

Bolton's last appearance at Wembley was in the FA Cup semi-final of 2000, which they lost to Aston Villa on penalties and the Trotters last won the FA Cup in 1958.

But unfortunately Sunday's game didn't quite go to plan for Bolton, who were soundly beaten 5-0 by a rampant Stoke City.

Stoke will now face Manchester City in their first ever FA Cup final.

There has yet been no word on whether Mr Wagstaff is still has no regrets about his decision.

Stoke thrash Bolton to reach the F.A.Cup final

Three first-half goals helped Stoke City demolish Bolton Wanderers and reach the FA Cup final for the first time in their history.Aided by some woeful Bolton defending, Matthew Etherington, Robert Huth and Kenwyne Jones scored in the first half-hour and two goals by Jon Walters after the break completed the victory.Stoke, roared on by their vociferous fans, can look forward to returning to Wembley to face Manchester City in the final on 14 May.Their other reward is a probable place in the Europa League because their final opponents are all-but guaranteed European qualification of some sort through their league position.
For Wanderers, however, the occasion was a massive anti-climax as their hopes of reaching a first final since 1958 in tribute to the late Nat Lofthouse were quickly left in ruins.

Bolton were given an ominous warning in the opening minutes when they were caught napping by a quickly taken Stoke free-kick that enabled Walters to escape down the left before being denied by Jussi Jaaskelainen.Bolton did manage a couple of efforts at the other end, with Gary Cahill blasting over from a corner and Johan Elmander failing to test Thomas Sorensen with a low shot from distance.But their big day began to disintegrate from the moment a misplaced pass by Paul Robinson found Etherington on the edge of the area and the winger composed himself before lashing a fierce shot into the corner of the net.
Things quickly got worse for Bolton and, again, their defending was at fault. Cahill got no distance on his header as he tried to clear a cross and Huth met the bouncing ball with a first-time shot that flew past Jaaskelainen's despairing dive.

In the absence of the cup-tied striker Daniel Sturridge, Bolton's only game-plan appeared to be lumping the ball towards Kevin Davies' head, a tactic that failed to create any openings.
On the half-hour mark Stoke compounded their misery with a third goal. Jermaine Pennant stole the ball from Martin Petrov and made for goal, before slipping a pass through to Jones that Cahill failed to intercept, leaving the Stoke striker with an easy task to slot home.With Bolton so poor going forward and generous in defence, the game already seemed up and to the evident frustration of their manager Owen Coyle, a comeback never looked on the cards.His response to a dismal first 45 minutes was a double change at half-time, replacing the anonymous Ivan Klasnic and the ineffective Martin Petrov with Matt Taylor and Mark Davies.

Mark Davies in particular tried to get his side going but clear-cut chances for Wanderers remained elusive, while Stoke's enterprising attacking play continued to threaten further goals, and they eventually scored them.
Jaaskelainen kept out a Jones header and needed Robinson to block a thunderous shot from the Trinidadian after making a hash of Etherington's chipped cross.
The Bolton keeper also stopped an angled Walters effort when his defence again went missing but the Stoke forward was not to be denied a goal, making it 4-0 on 68 minutes with a rasping low shot after a fine solo run.
Stoke were not quite finished yet, with Walters getting on the end of a deflected Jones cross nine minutes from the end to notch his second of the game and put the seal on an impressive display.

City end Man United’s hopes of winning the treble

Manchester United's dream of repeating their 1999 treble was ended by a goal from Yaya Toure, a strike that takes Manchester City to their first FA Cup final since 1981. The Sky Blues will face the winners of Sunday's semi-final between Bolton and Stoke next month at Wembley.
United had beaten Chelsea in the quarter-final of the Champions League in midweek and the Red Devils began against Manchester City looking as though they would take another step towards securing a domestic league and cup double as well as European glory.
In the opening few minutes Dimitar Berbatov – starting in place of the suspended Wayne Rooney – wasted two chances to give United the lead. Joe Hart pulled off a great block on the first occasion and then the Bulgarian blasted wide from six yards when it would have been easier to score.
City only began to find their feet late on in the first half with Mario Balotelli forcing a fine save from Edwin Van der Sar with a thunderous shot.
City took the lead on 52 minutes when Michael Carrick gave away the ball to Toure, who then skipped past the challenge of Nemanja Vidic and coolly fired past Van der Sar. City came close to extending their lead shortly after when Adam Johnson had a near post effort scrambled away by the Dutch keeper and Joleon Lescott headed wide from David Silva's inviting cross.
With time running out United's frustrations got the better of them and Paul Scholes was shown a straight red on 73 minutes for a shocking challenge on Pablo Zabaleta that not even Alex Ferguson could defend.
"With Paul, we've seen it over his career. He's had unbelievable moments and is a great player, one of the greatest ever at this club but he has these red mist moments and this was another one," said the United manager later.
Ferguson went on to rue Berbatov's early errors, saying: "The chance that Dimitar missed - there was a great save by the keeper but the second chance, from under the bar, if he'd have scored there it could have been different - I had a feeling whoever scored first would win the match. We were a wee bit sloppy and it got them on the counter-attack against us."
City boss Robert Mancini, now just one game away from guiding the club to their first silverware in 35 years, urged the fans not to get carried away ahead of next month's final.
"Today we have only won the semi-final [and] I'm very happy for the supporters," he said, adding: "They have never had a day like this afternoon but for us it's important we forget it. We still have to play another game. Probably the final will be harder than this."

FA Cup Tickets Stolen

Thieves have made off with 900 FA Cup semi-final tickets from Manchester City after the Royal Mail Van which was carrying the tickets was targeted in Manchester on Friday and subsequently, the person believed to be behind the robbery has been arrested. The tickets for the upcoming derby slated for April 16 will probably be sold on the black market but authorities are intent on making sure that the tickets are not used to get into the game. As a result, the police have arrested a 39-year-old man who has been retained on suspicion that he might be involved.

The man who was arrested was actually not found at any of the addresses that were searched by the police and he has been bailed; all this pending further investigations and inquiries. A spokesman for Greater Manchester Police revealed that no tickets were found at the locations that were searched but he added that further inquiries and investigations were being held. "Shortly before 7.50pm on Friday, April 1, police were called to Ashton New Road, Manchester, following reports two bags of special delivery mail had been stolen from a Royal Mail van," the spokesman said. "A number of tickets for the FA Cup semi-final were stolen and GMP is working with Royal Mail and MCFC. Inquiries are continuing."

Manchester City have however made it clear that they will be getting in touch with the owners of the tickets and that they will only accept tickets purchased from the club. A statement released by Manchester city said: "Manchester City are working closely with Greater Manchester Police and Royal Mail in connection with the theft of special delivery mail items from a Royal Mail van on Friday. A number of tickets for the FA Cup semi-final at Wembley Stadium were stolen. All supporters impacted by the theft will be contacted by the club in the coming days." The statement also said: "Supporters are strongly advised not to purchase tickets from unofficial sources. Only tickets purchased direct from the club will be valid for the game."

Arsenal 5-0 Leyton Orient

Nicklas Bendtner's classy hat-trick booked an enticing FA Cup quarter-final at Manchester United as Arsenal swatted aside Leyton Orient.Marouane Chamakh slotted an early opener before Bendtner's superb header, then a curling finish, put Arsenal's second-string in command.Bendtner's cool third came from the penalty spot after Kieran Gibbs was tripped by Alex Revell in the box.Substitute Gael Clichy then lashed in low with 15 minutes remaining.League One Orient were routinely swept aside in this fifth-round replay, but Arsenal's crushing disappointment from Sunday's failure to collect their first trophy since 2005 - after losing the Carling Cup final to Birmingham - was hard to hide at a muted Emirates Stadium.The hosts initially looked like they lacked a spring in their step, but fears of further agony evaporated in the seventh minute with a goal of typical Arsenal quality.Irish debutant Conor Henderson - another ball-playing midfielder - probed for a gap through the back-line and the 19-year-old's deflected pass was pounced on by Tomas Rosicky, who sped to the byeline to clip a square ball through the legs of Charlie Daniels across the box.Moroccan striker Chamakh held his position to coolly side-foot the ball through the legs of Terrell Forbes from eight yards out, right into the corner of the net, for his first goal since the end of November.
Orient hit back soon after as Ignasi Miquel's poor headed clearance fell for Ben Chorley.
But his full-blooded volley was blocked by a crouching team-mate in front of Manuel Almunia, who nevertheless had it covered.Their best chance came when pacy Daniels twisted and turned down the left wing to whip in a dangerous low cross.Yet Revell misjudged his promising position in the area to put his point-blank snapshot wide from only six yards out.

Chamakh looked full of confidence after his smart opening goalBendtner had appeared marginally disinterested, but that changed during the course of an sparkling 20-minute spell from the Danish forward before half-time.His first goal, in the 27th-minute, was a superb effort as he leapt high to outmuscle Daniels before guiding a looping header past the reach of O's keeper Jamie Jones from a floated Gibbs cross.
With that, Arsene Wenger's team took complete control.The second from Bendtner was even better that the first. Pouncing on a loose ball, he stalked into the area while teasing the ball just in front of Andrew Whing to find a gap before curling a low shot perfectly past Jones into the far corner.The hosts remained in second gear after the break although Orient, with impressive Daniels a constant outlet down the right, did at least show a sense of adventure.

Abou Diaby should have added Arsenal's fourth in the 50th minute after he danced round a host of defenders on a charge towards goal.
But, after a fine one-two with Chamakh set him free inside the box, he dragged his low shot just wide.
It finally came in the 62nd minute when Gibbs shimmied his way into the area only to be felled by Revell, who looked uncomfortable defending.
Bendtner's penalty finish was true and unerring as he completed his hat-trick before being taken off, though not before nearly gifting a goal to the east Londoners as he dallied while covering at right-back.
One sour note was the withdrawal of Rosicky, who suffered concussion after a heavy collision.
The 75th minute coup de grace was inevitable as injury-hit Arsenal, who host Sunderland in the Premier League before facing Barcelona away in the Champions League, pushed forward in waves.
Emmanuel Eboue's testing ball across the box evaded O's defenders. Chamahk dummied and the ball just eluded substitute Jack Wilshere, but French left-back Clichy ran on to it like a stream train to propel a powerful low finish just inside the far post past overworked Jones.

West Ham 5 - 1 Burnley

West Ham cruised  into an FA Cup sixth-round tie at Stoke with a comprehensive win over Championship outfit Burnley.Thomas Hitzlsperger, making his long-awaited Hammers debut, opened the scoring with a trademark thunderbolt.Carlton Cole looked to be offside and to have handled the ball when he slotted home before his classy lob over Clarets keeper Lee Grant made it 3-0.In between Winston Reid's header and Freddie Sears' fine high finish, Jay Rodriguez was gifted a consolation.While Burnley had chances to exploit the home side's shaky defence, the cups continue to liberate the east Londoners, who have recorded three more wins in knockout competitions than in the Premier League this season.But, despite the crushing scoreline, it was the visitors who made the more promising start and Rodriguez should have punished the hesitant Reid after only 13 minutes but the Clarets striker spurned the opportunity with a tame shot.
Moments later West Ham goalkeeper Robert Green spared his side's blushes when he parried Ross Wallace's fizzing shot from the edge of the penalty area, before making a brilliant reaction save as Rodriguez tried to steer in the rebound from close-range.Failing to take their opportunities, Burnley were on the back foot as the Hammers finally found some rhythm.
The midfield trio of Scott Parker, Mark Noble and Hitzlsperger, who was making his first competitive start since joining in June 2010, worked well as the visitors struggled to impose themselves.
The hosts' superiority was rewarded in the 23rd minute in stunning fashion. Cutting in from the right, Hitzlsperger exploited a gap in front of the Burnley defence before unleashing a venomous dipping drive with his left foot from all of 25 yards.While Hitzlsperger's strike was a flash of brilliance, the kind of moment all too rare in West Ham's season, the Clarets paid the price for affording the German the time to align his shot - with Grant failing to at least get his fingertips to the ball.With the Upton Park faithful finding its voice, the visitors came under increasing pressure but managed to hold firm and even forced Green into action when Chris Eagles had a low shot after a neat flick from Rodriguez.

Tyrone Mears almost found a way behind the Hammers defence, outpacing Wayne Bridge down the flank to collect Wallace's threaded pass, only for James Tomkins thwart the attack with a timely interception of his cut-back to Rodriguez.
Burnley proved themselves capable of playing attractive football throughout the contest, but it was West Ham who were the more efficient in possession, and it was a neat build up that led to Cole's controversial strike which doubled the home side's lead barely three minutes after the restart.
Cole, picked out by an exquisite pass from the outside of Mark Noble's right boot, mis-controlled the ball with his second touch but as Grant had appeared to have smothered the shot, the England striker's persistence paid off as he picked himself up to scramble the ball home from close-range.
However, on closer-inspection, the ball clearly struck Cole's arm as he adjusted his body to shoot. The visitors were enraged that the goal was allowed to stand, especially given that Cole also appeared to be offside as Noble played him in.
With Burnley still rocking, Cole doubled his personal tally a minute later, but there was no doubt about this one.
Picking up another defence-splitting pass from Noble, the Hammers striker this time took an excellent touch after exploiting the Burnley offside trap, before stroking the ball over Grant and into the roof of the net.
As the Clarets went into damage-limitation mode, Reid made it 4-0 with a glancing header at the near post, having found space at Hitzlsperger's corner to score his first goal for the men from Upton Park.
The lively Rodriguez missed the opportunity to restore some pride for the visitors, blazing over from 20 yards, but he was rewarded for a decent personal display moments later.
Rather than clearing his lines, Wayne Bridge's ill-advised back pass to Green gave the England goalkeeper very little time to clear.
As a result Green's clearance ricocheted off the back of the charging Mears and the ball popped up for Rodriguez to nod into an empty net.
Burnley deserved something from the game, but West Ham manager Avram Grant will be disappointed that his side surrendered their clean sheet in such farcical circumstances.
Freddie Sears then wrapped the win in injury time, slotting home from 15 yards after the ball broke to him following Burnley's failure to clear.

Leyton Orient 1 - 1 Arsenal

Jonathan Tehoue's stunning 89th minute equaliser earned League One side Leyton Orient an unlikely FA Cup fifth round replay with Arsenal.
The Gunners had dominated possession for most of the tie and thought Tomas Rosicky's second-half header would be enough to set up a quarter-final clash with Manchester United.
But Orient, who came into the match on the back of an incredible run of only one defeat in their last 20 games, never gave up and got their reward when substitute Tehoue bulldozed his way through two challenges and buried his shot past Manuel Almunia.
It had already been a frustrating day for the Gunners, who came to Brisbane Road on the back of their midweek Champions League win over Barcelona looking to maintain their push for silverware on four fronts.
This game was always going to be a very different test to the clash with the Spaniards, especially since Gunners boss Arsene Wenger picked a very different team, making 10 changes.

Alex Song was the only survivor of that victory in the starting XI at Brisbane Road but a side containing Rosicky, Andrey Arshavin and Marouane Chamakh should still have seen off Orient with ease.
But they did not, mainly because of a lack of urgency in the final third, and some poor finishing when they did turn their vastly superior possession into chances.
Too often, they were kept at arms length - Nicklas Bendtner and Chamakh failed to trouble O's keeper Jamie Jones with efforts from the edge of the box and even Jones' best save - from Arshavin's snap-shot - was a relatively straightforward near-post stop.
It was not all one-way traffic, with Charlie Daniels sending a 30-yard drive fizzing over the bar from a quickly-taken corner.
But Arsenal should still have been ahead at the break when Kieran Gibbs overlapped down the left and sent in a perfect cross, only for the unmarked Chamakh to slice his shot horribly wide from near the penalty spot.
That lack of cutting edge left Wenger with plenty to ponder at the interval but in the end he did not have to wait long to see his side break the deadlock.

The Gunners continued to attack and finally got their reward in the 52nd minute, when Rosicky met Bendtner's cross with a neat header that nestled into the bottom corner of the net.
That still left Orient more than half-an-hour to find an equaliser, howeve, and they threatened an instant response when Alex Revell met Dean Cox's cross, but saw his looping header easily saved.
Arsenal appeared the more likely to score a second, with only a fine double save by Jones denying Rosicky from Arshavin's pull-back.
But while there was only one goal in it, Orient remained hopeful and they continued to press forward.
Revell had fired wide with a sweeping shot before the home side had appeals for a penalty turned down when the striker's effort hit Sebastien Squillaci in the face.
It appeared the O's final chance had come and gone before Tehoue surged forward and his powerful finish means the east Londoners have a lucrative replay to look forward to on top of the £800,000 they have already made from this Cup run.