Cardiff and West Bromwich Albion completed a stunning performance by the English Championship's upstarts as they booked their places in the FA Cup semi-finals on Sunday.
After Barnsley had led the way with a sensational 1-0 victory over holders Chelsea on Saturday, Cardiff followed suit with a shock 2-0 win at Premier League side Middlesbrough.
Albion gave English soccer's second tier a third representative in the last four when they romped to a 5-1 win at League One Bristol Rovers thanks in large part to Ishmael Miller's hat-trick.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Millwall were the last team from outside the Premier League to reach the FA Cup final in 2004.
For the first time in over a century there is only one top-flight club, Portsmouth, in the semis and there is a real possibility that the final could be contested by two Championship clubs.
But Cardiff manager Dave Jones insisted the champagne was still on ice despite his side's first appearance in the semi-finals for 81 years.
"Someone asked for champagne -- for what? We have just got through to the next round," he said. "We have not done anything yet."
"We haven't won it, we have not got to the final and we have got to get prepared. Why would we be drinking champagne?" Jones said.
Between them Chelsea and Manchester United have won four of the last five Premier League titles, boast some of the world's finest players and bank balances and in midweek marched into the Champions League quarter-finals.
But those resources weren't enough to protect them from the FA Cup's ability to throw up jaw-dropping results.
Barnsley's hero was Kayode Odejayi.
The Nigerian striker's last goal had come back in September, but he was in the right place to head past Carlo Cudicini in the 66th minute and send the Tykes into the semi-finals for the first time since 1912.
United fared little better, with Portsmouth winning at Old Trafford for the first time in 51 years thanks to Sulley Muntari's second half penalty.
Sir Alex Ferguson launched a typically furious tirade at the officials after referee Martin Atkinson's controversial display.
Atkinson turned down United's appeals for a spot-kick when Sylvain Distin shoulder-charged Cristiano Ronaldo, then rubbed salt into the wound by giving a penalty and sending off goalkeeper Tomasz Kuszczak for his foul on Milan Baros.
"It's absolutely ridiculous. I cannot explain it. Managers get sacked because of things like that and he's going to referee a game next week," Ferguson said.
Shohei Ohtani and Clayton Kershaw on Friday joined their Los Angeles Dodgers teammates in sticking their fists out to show off their glittering World Series rings at a ceremony. “There’s just a lot of excitement, probably more than I can ever recall with the Dodger fan base and our players,” manager Dave Roberts said before Los Angeles rallied to beat the Detroit Tigers 8-5 in 10 innings. “What a way to cap off the first two days of celebrations,” Roberts said afterward. “By far the best opening week I’ve ever experienced. I just couldn’t have scripted it any better.” A choir in the
After fleeing Sudan when civil war erupted, Al-Hilal captain Mohamed Abdelrahman and his teammates have defied the odds to reach the CAF Champions League quarter-finals. They are today to face title-holders Al-Ahly of Egypt in Cairo, with the return match in the Mauritanian capital, Nouakchott, on Tuesday next week. Al-Hilal and biggest domestic rivals Al-Merrikh relocated to Mauritania after a power struggle broke out in April 2023 between the Sudanese army and a paramilitary force. The civil war has claimed tens of thousands of lives and displaced more than 12 million people, according to the UN. The Democratic Republic of the Congo-born Al-Hilal
Shohei Ohtani, Teoscar Hernandez and Tommy Edman on Thursday smashed home runs to give the reigning World Series champions the Los Angeles Dodgers a 5-4 victory over Detroit on the MLB’s opening day in the US. The Dodgers, who won two season-opening games in Tokyo last week, raised their championship banner on a day when 28 clubs launched the season in the US. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts shuffled his batting lineup with all four leadoff hitters finally healthy as Ohtani was followed by Mookie Betts, then Hernandez and Freddie Freeman in the cleanup spot, switching places with Hernandez. “There’s a Teoscar tax to
Matvei Michkov did not score on Monday, but the Philadelphia rookie had a hand in both goals as hosts the Flyers earned a 2-1 victory over the Nashville Predators. Ryan Poehling and Jamie Drysdale got the goals for the Flyers (31-36-9, 71 points), who won their third straight. Michkov and Travis Konecny assisted on both. Ivan Fedotov stopped 28 shots to earn his first win since March 1, ending a personal six-game losing streak. Zachary L’Heureux got the lone goal for Nashville. Michael McCarron and Brady Skjei got the assists for the Predators (27-39-8, 62 points), who have just four goals in their
RSS