Ahead of Chelsea’s FA Cup fourth round tie at home against third-division Bradford City, Jose Mourinho made his feelings very clear: either win the match or be shamed.
Tag: FA Cup
Angel Di Maria launches shot out of Cambridge United’s stadium
“Go get it.”
League Two side Cambridge United held Manchester United to a scoreless draw at their Abbey Stadium to force a dream FA Cup replay at Old Trafford. While Cambridge’s performance against their much wealthier opponent was a valiant one, Man United’s left a lot to be desired. And when Angel Di Maria blasted a shot completely out of the 4,376-seat Abbey Stadium, it pretty much summed up the evening for the visiting side.
The madness of Wimbledon v Liverpool in pictures
League Two side AFC Wimbledon — the club built from the ground up by fans in 2002 after Wimbledon FC were relocated to become MK Dons — hosted Liverpool in the FA Cup third round in front of a record crowd of 4,785. Even without the requisite Magic of the FA Cup, the match was a reward for more than a decade of hard work and passion from a group of fans betrayed by the game they love who had the determination to turn that into something positive.
As a result, there was a unique atmosphere at Kingsmeadow even before kickoff. And it fueled a wonderful brand of madness that lasted until the final whistle. Let’s take a look…
FA Cup darlings Blyth Spartans have a wonderful fine list
Seventh tier Blyth Sparans embodied the much talked about Magic of the FA Cup by reaching the third round of the FA Cup to face second tier Birmingham and taking a 2-0 lead into halftime. Though that all unraveled when Birmingham scored three goals in six minutes to win 3-2, Blyth have still won over the world (they count Barack Obama and Luis Figo amongst their 11,000 Twitter followers) with their day jobs and quaint fines.
10-year-old competition winner takes the FA Cup home for a night
Eating a sandwich in your kitchen beside one of the game’s most iconic trophies is something many children (and adults) fantasize about and one 10-year-old Derby County fan actually got to live that dream. Ryan O’Donnell won a competition put on by the FA and his prize was a tour of the Rams’ iPRO Stadium and a night with the FA Cup at his house.
So how did he spend his time with the cup? He ate next to it (of course), he watched TV with it, he played a board game against it, and he slept with it at his bedside (or he at least got in bed and stared at it with the lights on while a camera person filmed him).
Thankfully, Arsenal finally ended their trophy drought by winning the FA Cup last season so Arsene Wenger didn’t have to go through the indignity of entering this competition himself under a variety of pseudonyms and never giving it back if he won.