City sink United to stamp final ticket
Saturday, April 16, 2011
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Yaya Touré made the difference for Manchester City FC as his second-half strike proved sufficient to defeat ten-man Manchester United FC and earn his team a place in next month's FA Cup final.
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Manchester City FC have sealed a place in their first major cup final since 1981 thanks to Yaya Touré, whose second-half goal was enough to beat ten-man Manchester United FC at Wembley.
Sir Alex Ferguson's charges missed a host of first-half chances before midfielder Touré capitalised on a rare Michael Carrick mistake to send the City fans into raptures and his team into the FA Cup final, while ending their rivals' treble hopes.
Neither side were able to impose themselves on the game in the opening stages before United took charge of the contest with Paul Scholes and Carrick pulling the strings in midfield. So it came as no surprise to see the dynamic duo combine to create the first real chance of the game for Dimitar Berbatov, who could have given United the lead twice in a minute.
First, via some neat one-touch passing, Carrick picked out Scholes who found Park Ji-Sung, the South Korean then slipping in Berbatov to unleash an effort that was well saved by Joe Hart. Moments later, Nani turned Pablo Zabaleta and rolled the ball across the face of goal, only for the Bulgarian striker to fail to convert from close range.
City grew into the game and came close to breaking the deadlock through Mario Balotelli, playing in place of the injured Carlos Tévez, but his fiercely struck long-range effort was tipped over by Edwin van der Sar. Roberto Mancini's men then came out firing after the break and took the lead seven minutes into the second half when Touré intercepted Carrick's pass and powered past Nemanja Vidić before finishing through Van der Sar's legs.
Unable to carve out a second after that, City were almost made to pay when Nani's free-kick was superbly tipped onto the bar by Hart. United were reduced to ten men when Scholes was sent off for a high challenge on Zabaleta, and they were unable to find an equaliser despite a spell of late pressure. City will now face either Stoke City FC or Bolton Wanderers FC in the final on 14 May, with the second semi-final to be held on Sunday.