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| [photo by Adam Bowie] |
- by Hiten Mandalia, writing from West London
An average game which had high expectations failed to live up to expectations. A first Manchester Derby at Wmebley in the FA Cup Semi Final. Man Utd aiming for the treble while Man City were aiming to get to their first final since 1976. On paper, it looked like a mouth-watering game, but in reality, it failed to live up to the hype.
Man Utd had dominated the first 30 minutes at Wembley with Berbatov having two great opportunites within as many minutes. His first chance was saved brilliantly by Joe Hart, who’s still proving why he’s England’s No.1. A minute later, Berbatov saw his shot fly over the bar from two yards out. It was a golden opportunity, and maybe that’s why Ferguson has relegated him to the bench in recent games. Had Rooney or Hernandez, or even Owen been in his posiiton, you could have bet your life that they would have scored. That proved to be Utd’s best chances of the game.
Since then, Man City got back into the game and started finding areas to shoot in.
Man City started the second half strongly, which led to a goal, ten minutes into the second half. A poor goal kick from Van Der Sar instantly pressurised the Utd defence, and then a moment of madness from Carrick allowed Yaya Toure to bust past two defenders and slot the ball past the goalkeeper. The celebrations from the players and the fans said how much that goal meant to them.
Carrick performed well against Chelsea in the champions league, but other then that, he’s been poor this season. It went to show as his mistake led to Man City’s goal. He passed straight to Toure and the the disappointment on Carrick’s face after the goal told the whole story. He hasn’t been the player he was two seasons ago. He’s proving to be a liability to Utd.
Man City then went onto dominate the second half, with Man Utd’s only real chance coming from a well struck Nani free kick, which was well saved by Hart. As much as Scholes will be rememberd for his goals and his passes, he’ll also be remembered for his poor tackling ability. He lashed in at Zabaletta’s leg, which resulted in Zabaletta bleeding and Scholes being sent off for a rational tackle.
Many die hard Utd supporters agreed that as good as Scholes is, his tackling ability is poor and he deserved that red card.
City dashed Utd’s chances of winning a treble, while City aim to win their first trophy since 1976. However, it could be argued that Man Utd’s main priorities lay in the Premiership and Champions League, while Mancini is re-paying the faith and millions of pounds the owners have booted into the club. Man City deserved to progress into the final, where they will face Stoke City, who beat Bolton 5-0.
