The F.A. cup returned with all its glory this weekend, and already threw up a few surprises. The oldest football tournament in the world has lost its sheen in the past few years, with big teams considering the tournament a ‘nuisance’. The trend seemed to continue after a few shock results.
The biggest tie of the 3rd round was undoubtedly the North London Derby at the Emirates. Arsenal dominated the game and took the lead in the first half through Santi Cazorla. Spurs’ misery was compounded in the second half after a suicidal piece of defending from Danny Rose gifted Tomas Rosicky a goal. However, the gunners were dealt a major blow when Theo Walcott inured himself and had to be carried off on a stretcher. The game however, did not have any more twists in it, as Arsenal held out for a 2-0 victory.
In the other big match on Saturday, Manchester City travelled to Ewood Park to take on Blackburn Rovers. Things were going according to plan for Manuel Pellegrini’s men as they took the lead at the end of the first half, leaving Blackburn with quite a bit of work to do in the second half. Blackburn showed great resolve to come back into the game in the second half. Scott Dann scored from a corner 9 minutes into the second half. City then had Dedryck Boyata sent off for a second yellow, and desperately held on to force a replay.
The early kick off on Sunday saw West Ham United absolutely hammered by Nottingham Forrest. The score line read 5-0 at full time and was enough to reduce a few West Ham fans to tears. The hero of the game, or villain from West Ham’s perspective, was 22 year old Jamie Patterson, who grabbed a hat-trick, with Andy Reid and Djamel Abdoun grabbing the other two goals.
With Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester City all winning, it came down to Manchester United to deliver against Swansea City in the late game. The red Devils are the most successful team in the competitions history, but things went awry for them early on, with Wayne Routledge gave the swans the lead. Javier Hernandez came into the side with a point to prove, and he got the hosts back on level terms. However, in the final 15 minutes, things began to unravel for United. Rio Ferdinand had to go off injured for United and Fabio Da Silva came on to replace him. He only lasted 4 minutes as he was sent off for a reckless tackle on Jose Canas. Swansea took full advantage and found the breakthrough right at the death, through Wilfried Bony. Old Trafford was emptying quickly, and David Moyes had a now familiar look of frustration on his face.
With red cards, massive score lines, derbys and upsets, the magic of the F.A. cup has well and truly returned.
