Man Utd Pay the Penalty

By Brian Lofrumento | 19th April 2009

Man Utd Pay the Penalty | read this item

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evertonvmanutd Tim Howard emerged as the unlikely hero of the FA Cup semifinal match between Manchester United and Everton as the Toffees booked a spot against Chelsea in May at Wembley. After 120 minutes of scoreless play, the American goalkeeper came up with two huge penalty saves to end United’s dream of an unprecedented quintuple.

While Everton were strong underdogs leading up to the match, following the announcement of the teams David Moyes’s side were clear favorites. Sir Alex Ferguson opted to rest stars such as Wayne Rooney, Cristiano Ronaldo, Ryan Giggs, and Edwin van der Sar and instead fielded youth players such as Danny Welbeck, Federico Macheda, Darron Gibson, and Ben Foster. Twin brothers Rafael and Fabio also started the match on opposite flanks.

Everton enjoyed large spells of possession in the first half, but it was Manchester United who were on top during the second. With Paul Scholes, Dimitar Berbatov, and Patrice Evra all introduced in the second half United pushed on, but Joleon Lescott and Phil Jagielka held strong all afternoon.

After a sloppy extra time was played out, both Rio Ferdinand and Dimitar Berbatov were stonewalled by Tim Howard. The pair missed both of their penalties, and it was Phil Jagielka who eventually sealed United’s fate.

The FA Cup final now sees Everton face off against Chelsea, after the Blues beat a young Arsenal side in the other semifinal. Didier Drogba continued his excellent form with his eighth goal in just nine games. The final will take place at Wembley on May 30th.

Who will win the FA Cup Final? Have your say in the comments section below or head on over to the Premiership Talk Forum!

Brian Lofrumento says:

April 19, 2009 at 9:48 pm

Good call, Andy. That Vidic shot felt like a miss at the time as our back was against the wall! And yes, Berba’s penalty was awful.

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Andy says:

April 19, 2009 at 6:33 pm

Just so you know it was Berbatov and Ferdinand, not Vidic who’s pens were saved. Berbatov’s penalty was one of the worst i’ve seen in a while, same too with Cahill. On balance i’d say that penalties was probably the right outcome, Man Utd shaded the second half, and Everton had the best chance of the match in extra time. I have to say that at the time, I thought it was a penalty. But after a few replays I decided it wasn’t, he seems to hit the floor with his foot then trip over his own leg. Hardly any contact. Certainly wasn’t a dive however.

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Mike Diamente says:

April 19, 2009 at 3:28 pm

i watched this game, and you gotta mention the fact that there was a penalty kick that was not called for Man United…

In the pk’s Tevez and Scholes did not step up….

Everton deserved the win though

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