By Chris Wright
Safe to say, I’ve had a shocker this weekend Pies fans. Hands up. Guilty. String me from the nearest gallows.
Due to unforeseen ‘family commitments’, I duly missed all of the FA Cup action that was on offer over the last two days – with the following being all I’ve been able to gather into my rather hasty little nutshell…
Man Utd 2-0 Arsenal: United managed to grind out yet another victory despite fielding eight defenders and being faintly naff throughout – thanks mainly to Arsenal’s recurring ‘shoot on sight’ phobia.
Bacary Sagna kindly dislocated Johan Djourou’s shoulder for him.
Birmingham 2-3 Bolton: Bolton left it fiendishly late to deprived Brum of a second Wembley date in a matter of weeks.
Despite being older than most Sequoias, Kevin Phillips can still stick them away.
Stoke 2-1 West Ham: The Potters booked their first FA Cup semi-final place for 39 years thanks to Danny Higginbotham’s low free-kick, and despite Frederic Piquionne’s controversial equaliser for the Hammers.
Apparently the Frenchman carried the ball into Stoke’s area before placing it on the goal-line before getting down on his hands and knees to nudge the ball across the line with his head – or something like that anyway.
Man City 1-0 Reading: Micah Richards…bullet-header.
That’s about it I’m afraid. Feel free to elaborate!
Photos…
The Da Silva boys celebrate Fabio’s opener against Arsenal
Wayne Rooney (who apparently played with a decent first touch for the first time in months) nods United’s second goal past Manuel Almunia
Johan Djourou is carried off on a stretcher after dislocating his shoulder
Kevin Davies puts Bolton 2-1 up from the penalty spot
Kevin Phillips celebrates scoring for Birmingham with a bout of cramp
Chung-Yong Lee celebrates after scoring an injury-time winner for Bolton
Rob Green struggles with the sun against Stoke
Frederic Piquionne bundles the ball across the line to equalise for West Ham
Danny Higginbotham celebrates scoring Stoke’s winner with a driven free-kick
The banner says it all as Man City fans prove hard to come by at Eastlands
Micah Richards thumps a header past Alex McCarthy in the Reading goal…
…and gets mobbed by Vincent Kompany and Nigel de Jong for his troubles
FA Cup Semi-Final Draw:
Manchester City v Manchester United
Bolton Wanderers v Stoke City
Both ties to be played at Wembley over the weekend of Saturday 16th and Sunday 17th April 2011.
Photos courtesy of PA.