SCOUSERS KNOCK US OUT

 

Last time around, United faced then-L1 Southampton at St Mary's Stadium in the FA Cup 4th round. It was a weakened United side that showed up and that gave the underdogs enough confidence to open the scoring before half time through Richard Chaplow. Eventually United got their act together in the second half though and Owen equalised for the Red Devils before Hernandez completed the turnaround and the Saints never looked the qualising after that. It was a dodged bullet for United but more importantly it was an encounter we were still able to survive and the next round awaited. We went on to reach the semis of that season's competition.

This time around, we found ourselves up against Liverpool. The last time we faced them in the FA Cup was in the 3rd round last season when we beat them 1-0 at Old Trafford thanks to an early, but admittedly dodgy penalty. For the last time we faced the Scousers in a later round of the Cup, you have to go back to 05/06. Back then Rafa Benitez was Anfield gaffer and his crew beat us 1-0 at Anfield in the 5th round, one of those we like to forget. For the last time we beat the Scousers in a later round you have to go back to the Treble winners of '99 when Gerard Houllier was Pool gaffer and we beat them 2-1 at Old Trafford in the 4th round with Dwight Yorke and Ole Gunnar Solksjaer hitting the net to turn the game round.

Fast forward to the present day and this matchup was always going to be a tasty one. Not only is the big rivalry between the two sides ongoing but the Scousers didn't take kindly to their assasin Luis Suarez being accused of racism by Evra and then suspended - seemingly suggesting that the United player was lying. Even without that being a factor, this FA Cup 4th round match at Anfield was surely the tie of the round and one of the trickiest possible for United who went 4-3-3. De Gea in goal. Rafael right back. Carrick, Scholsey and Giggsy in midfield with Wellbeck, Valencia and Park up front. Injuries had certainly taken their toll on Fergie's selection.

The early stages of the match were generally even with the big eyebrow raiser being the extent of Scouse booing but United did certainly have enough opportunities to take the lead but Fergie's crew weren't able to take advantage of them. They were made to pay for that in the 21st minute when our goalie got smothered after Steven Gerrard sent the ball in and Agger was able to head it in effortlessly. United responded with the smooth posession game that has usually been ineffective this season but this time it came off with Rafael setting up Park in the 39th minute for the equaliser. That wasn't a bad way to end the half for United with the second half up for grabs.

In the early stages of the second half United resumed their smooth posession game and completely dominated the ball, though they were unable to hit the net it looked as though it would be one of the rare occasions where an English team could make a posession game work. As the game went on though the deadlock lengthened and it seemed as though the two sides would have to lock horns again in a replay, but that was untill the 88th minute when Andy Carroll flicked it to Dirk Kuyt who got the Scousers' second goal. If anything, we could have been buried before the end. It was gutting and arguably it was an undeserved result but the bottom line is, another Cup run is over.

Elsewhere, mugs of the round turned out to be Newcastle, who were beaten 1-0 at the Arnex Stadium by Championship Brighton with the underdogs winning the day thanks to a late og from a Magpies defender, allowing the home side to claim another top-flight scalp. In other all-Premiership matches, Everton beat Fulham 2-1 at Goodison Park, West Brom were beaten 2-1 by Norwich at the Hawthorns, Bolton beat Swansea 2-1 at the Reebok Stadium, QPR were beaten 1-0 by Chelsea at Loftus Road and Arsenal beat Villa 3-2 at the Emirates Stadium. That leaves nine Premiership sides remaining in the competition though most of those were seen off by fellow top flight sides.

The draw for the next round has been made. Liverpool will play Championship Brighton at Anfield(Liverpool to win). Everton will face the winners of a replay between Championship Blackpool and L1 Sheffield Wednesday at Goodison Park(Everton to reach quarter finals). Chelsea will face Championship Birmingham at Stamford Bridge(Chelsea to win). L2 Crawley Town will face Stoke at Broadfield Stadium(Stoke to win). L1 Stevenage will face Spurs at Broadhall Way(Spurs to win). Norwich will face Championship Leicester at Carrow Road. The winner of a 4th round replay between Sunderland and Championship Middlesborough will face Arsenal at either the Riverside or the Stadium of Light(Arsenal to make the quarter finals). The winner of an all-Championship 4th round replay beteen Millwall and Southampton will face Bolton at either The Den or St Mary's(Bolton to win).

North of the border, Aberdeen faced Dunfirmline at Pittodrie in the SPL. The Dons had the first opportunity of the game but the Pars goalie dealt with that. The visitors also had chances but before half time Vernon headed in the opener for the Dons. The Reds picked up where they left off early in the second half but their first effort proved to be weak. The Pars had a go at getting an equaliser themselves but missed their main opportunities, allowing the Dons to come away with the win. Craig Brown's crew are finally on form and new faces are incoming. Midfielder Gavin Rae has up in from Dundee and Brown may not be done yet in the transfer market.

That result means that Aberdeen rise to 6th in the SPL, six points behind Hearts and a Europa League spot and just two points ahead of Dundee United at the bottom half of the table though both teams have a game in hand. Given that the Reds seemed to be dragged into a relegation battle not long ago, it's great that they've finally gotten their act together. In a lot of ways though the Reds were lucky given that Dundee United in particular were given a weekend off by the fixture list. Now the Reds take a break from league action to resume their Scottish Cup campaign and after that with any luck, the Dons will not only remain safe but possibly be able to return to European football next season.

The Scottish Communitees Cup semi finals also took place over the weekend. SD1 Ayr drew 0-0 with Kilmarnock at Hampden Park after 90 minutes with the SPL side really running the show only to find the Ayr goalie gettting in the way. Another SD1 side, Falkirk were beaten 3-1 by Celtic, also at Hampden Park, the Celts opening the scoring before the Bairns equalised before half time and then the Green buriesd their opponents in the second half. With Ayr vs Kilmarnock remaining deadlocked though, that tie needed extra time to settle it, with the underdogs surely hoping for penalties given that Killie were doing all the attacking.

In extra time in the Ayr vs Kilmarnock tie, Killie again set about assaulting the Ayr goal but the ball went past the post and the part-timers breathed again. The next shot went over the bar and at half time the underdogs were still holding firm. In the second half though Killie finally broke through, thanks to Dean Shiels. Before the end Ayr had a chance to equalise and force a penalty shootout but it was not to be and Killie scrabbled through to the final. Congrats to Killie whose efforts helped garuntee an all-SPL final with one of the sides having not competed in Europe this season. It looks to be an interesting occasion when the attention of Scottish football fans returns to Hampden.

So, the Scottish Communitees Cup final looks like this. Celtic(second League Cup final in a row) will face Kilmarnock(first League Cup final since the '07 CIS Insurance Cup). Celtic as the Old Form side are going to be the favourites here and why not, they are the league leaders after all. Kimarnmock are currently settled in midfield. Killie surely have enough to give the Celts a match on this occassion but Celtic have proven themselves too good for most teams this season. Cetic the safe bets to win, their gaffer Neil Lennon missed out on this tropy at the first time of asking but surely this time around it'll be more straightforward.

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