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The FA Cup is regarded as magical by football fans up and down the country and over the years has provided moments that many fans will never forget. This year’s FA cup has been no different, as we head into the Final at the home of English football, Wembley.

The FA Cup is the oldest Football competition in the world, founded in 1871 it has been going for 151 years.

Much Anticipated Round 3

The Premier League teams entered the fray in round three. There were no upsets for Manchester City who dispatched League two Swindon 4-1. Liverpool replicated that score line against a shy Shrewsbury Town. The goals were flying in for the Premier League sides as Chelsea ran riot against Chesterfield, knocking them out of the cup.

Fans flock from corner to corner of the country to see their teams try to go on a cup journey. One set of fans who did not have far to travel were Crystal Palace. Palace made the short trip across South London where they faced Millwall in a London derby. After a tentative start Crystal Palace powered past a hostile Millwall and booked their place in the 4th round.

For many of the lower league teams, the FA Cup is a chance to play teams they may never usually face and likewise for the teams at the top end of the footballing pyramid. The biggest shock of the third round happened at St James’ Park. Newly owned Newcastle United faltered against League One’s Cambridge United. Results like this is what make the FA Cup so special to many.

There were a couple of other third round shock exits as 14-time winners of the competition, Arsenal fell short against Nottingham Forest. Everyone likes to see the underdogs do well in the FA Cup. This year’s underdogs were Boreham Wood of the National League. They picked apart a struggling Wimbledon side to progress to round four after being in the competition since round one.

Giant Killing

February rolled around and we had the pleasure of more FA Cup action. If teams can get past this round, then Wembley would start to be on the mind of many fans and the ‘what if’ conversations start to be had.

Manchester United have won the FA Cup on 12 occasions and were looking to do well in the competition as they haven’t had much success of late in other competitions. They had a home fixture against Championship side Middlesborough. A tense game went to extra time, where the deadlock was still not broken. Penalties was to be the decider. A defiant Middlesborough beat Manchester United 8-7 on penalties, and they put themselves in the hat for the next round.

Another Premier League heavyweight were put under pressure in round four. Plymouth made the trip up to London from the South Coast to Stamford Bridge. A defiant Plymouth pushed the European Champions to extra time. Unfortunately for Plymouth, Chelsea’s quality showed as they scored in extra time knocking Plymouth out. Last year’s champions Leicester were stunned as Nottingham Forest dismantled them, winning 4-1, beating another Premier League side.

Premier League top dogs Liverpool and Manchester City yet again cruised into the next round with convincing wins against Cardiff and Fulham.

The shocks did not let up in round five. Most notably in the Middlesborough v Tottenham Hotspur fixture. Middlesborough found themselves a winner late in extra time. Tottenham’s miserable wait for a trophy continued.

Boreham wood’s magical journey also came to an end in the fifth round losing to Everton. Liverpool kept their hopes alive with a narrow win at home to Norwich with rivals Man City winning away at Peterborough.

The Business End

The business end was approaching with the Quarter Final draw done. Some of the big hitters were still in the hat. In form forest hosted Liverpool which was a cagey affair. Liverpool prevailed triumphant with a 1-0 victory. Crystal Palace, who’s last trip to Wembley was six years ago hosted Everton. Crystal Palace got off to a slow start, but their quality shined through and ended up beating the toffees 4-1. This sent the Palace faithful into pandemonium, they were on their way to Wembley.

The Semi Final draw was made up of Liverpool, Man City, Chelsea and Crystal Palace. The draw was watched by many with anticipation. Chelsea drew Crystal Palace with Liverpool and City drawing each other in what was a massive fixture.

Wembley Bound

Wembley beckoned, Liverpool v City was first up. Liverpool got off to a flyer with an early goal. From there City never looked to be in the driving seat. With goals from Konate and a stunning brace from Mane, Liverpool were 3-0 up at half time. City fought back after half time with a Grealish goal and a late strike from Bernardo Silva, however it was not to be enough against a resolute Liverpool side.

The other semi-final saw Chelsea play Crystal Palace. With a raging atmosphere the players took to a sunny Wembley. Nothing separated the sides in the first half with chances for both teams. The game approached the later stages and Chelsea showed their quality with two goals in short succession. Palace hearts were broken.

This made the match up for the Final. Liverpool play Chelsea this weekend at Wembley for what will surely be one of the games of the season. Chelsea will be looking for their revenge after losing to Liverpool on penalties in the Carabao Cup Final. Who will you be backing?

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England v New Zealand Series Review

When play was about to begin at 10:59am on June 2^nd, few would have predicted what came to pass at Lord’s, Trent Bridge, and Headingley over the following month. Although there was a keen sense of anticipation around The Home of Cricket, with Ben Stokes and Brendan McCullum still fresh in their new roles as captain and head coach, the past year or so hasn’t exactly suggested that this test team was capable of mixing it with the best in the world. How wrong we all were. Three wins from three matches, all achieved from positions that England of old would have capitulated and collapsed were to follow, and that’s not the least of it.

The beginning of a new era

England began their so-called test reset with a taste of things to come at Lord’s. Joe Root notched up his 10,000-test run as part of a spellbinding 115 not out 4^th innings century to secure the win – honourable mention to Ben Foakes who provided the perfect foil for the ex-captain as he steered England to only their second win in their last eleven test matches. Despite Root’s heroics however, this was really a match and wicket for the bowlers to excel, and England’s attack didn’t disappoint with Jimmy Anderson returning to the line-up to take six wickets and Matthew Potts on debut taking a superb seven across both innings as he introduced himself to the England faithful for the first time.

Whilst Lord’s was a brilliant win for an England team starved of both confidence and results of late, and meant England chasing down a total that they had previously baulked at exactly a year earlier against the same opponents, it was about to be topped. Twice. After high first innings totals by both sides, which for England included Ollie Pope hitting a brilliant 145 and yet more runs for Root (176), England were set 299 to win the match. Everything seemed all too familiar when Alex Lees edged one to Blundell off the bowling of Southee to put England at 93-4, and we all thought we knew what was coming. With Jonny Bairstow at the crease though, it’s never that simple. Still needing over 200 runs to win the match, aided by Captain Ben Stokes (75*), Bairstow produced an innings full of shots you’d expect to see in The Hundred or Vitality Blast as he hit 136 off only 92 deliveries, including bringing up his century in only 77 balls to fall agonisingly short of an English record set in 1902. This test match encapsulated the change in mindset that both Stokes and McCullum have looked to instil in this England side, and they weren’t done yet…

To Headingley, the scene of one of England’s greatest days in recent years. Ben Stokes and Jack Leach’s remarkable run chase in the 2019 Ashes series will live long in the memory, and the latter was at it again, but this time with the ball, taking five-for in both innings, and in the process becoming only the third spinner to do so in a test match in England. The other two? Shane Warne and Muttiah Muralitharan. However, much like at Trent Bridge, few could keep pace with Jonny Bairstow who stole the show once again, this time on his home ground. At 55-6 in the first innings, England again turned to the in-form Yorkshireman, who, aided by debutant Jamie Overton (97), hit another remarkable century, perhaps even more impressive than his match winning one at Trent Bridge, given the dire situation England found themselves in, with the Kiwis setting a solid 329 all out in their first innings. For the third time in three matches, England would need to produce a 4^th innings run chase that would be amongst their ten biggest of all time; and for the third time in three matches, they did so in style. Root and Pope would hit centuries and Bairstow a casual, unbeaten 71 off 44 deliveries to win the match and whitewash the series at a canter.

What’s to come?

With a one-off test against India at Edgbaston, and a three-match series against South Africa at Lord’s, Old Trafford and The Oval to come, there should be plenty more box office action to get stuck into this summer. A new era has dawned on English test cricket, and by all accounts, it looks like it is going to be an exciting one.