First of all, apologies for not posting yesterday as promised but I was stuck ill in bed all day so was not able to log on. However, the post that was going to be yesterday is now today, meaning I can also talk about Gareth Bale's incredible scoring run that continued last night as he scored two against West Ham. But first, Sunday's big headline, no, not the Oscars, Swansea's Capital One Cup final thrashing of Bradford.
Matt’s red ’n buried - The Sun
Epic Journey ends in stroll for Swansea - The Independent
Swansea blitz Bradford for five in historic cup final win - The Mirror
Those just 3 of yesterday's paper headlines from Wembley after Bradford couldn't end their dream run by beating Swansea as they were beaten heavily 5-0 by the Swans. After Nathan Dyer scored the first in the 16th minute, Bradford's aim was to keep it at that until half-time. That plan was ruined by bargain buy Michu, scoring his 19th of the season, 5 minutes before the break. Phil Parkinson brought Andrew Davies on at half-time in an attempt to sure up the League 2 side's defence. But it only got worse for the Bantams. Just 2 minutes after the restart, Nathan Dyer got his second after a fabulous run and only 10 minutes later Bradford were in deeper trouble. Goalkeeper Matt Duke, who I named as the club's star man in my last post, was shown a straight red for tripping Jonathan de Guzmán in the box, resulting in a penalty to Swansea. The Dutchman himself stepped up to take it and slotted home past Bradford's back-up keeper Jon McLaughlin. He tucked it away cooler, but there was definitely one man who didn't want him to take it. Winger Nathan Dyer, who had scored two already in the game, had the chance to complete a dream hat-trick at Wembley. The Welsh side had not been given a penalty all season so had no first choice taker. But de Guzmán clung on to the ball and as previously mentioned slotted home, much to his relief. If the game wasn't over already, de Guzmán scored again in stoppage time to secure one of the highest ever scorelines in cup final history. 5-0. Swansea fans were jubilant but there were some angry English fans, believing Swansea shouldn't be allowed to compete in English leagues, let alone English cups...
Jonathan de Guzmán and Nathan Dyer squabble over who should take the penalty
There has always been a great rivalry between England & Wales, but it has only recently come to the fore in football since Swansea booked their place at Wembley just over a month ago. In total there are 6 Welsh teams who play in one of England's many divisions, with all 6 also competing in English cup competitions. Before Sunday, Cardiff were the only Welsh side to win an English cup, the FA Cup in 1927. Newport County, Wrexham and Merthyr Town play in the Welsh Cup as well, however Swansea, Cardiff and Colwyn Bay declined the offer. Many people are unhappy about these 6 playing in the English leagues, when they are not even English. Money is a big question in this. Teams will get a lot more income by playing the likes of Manchester United and Manchester City than they will do against teams like The New Saints and Bangor City. This is a valid argument and a reasonable option but I disagree. Welsh clubs have been playing in England for over 100 years, and people have only started disputing their involvement because a Welsh side not only reachs a cup final but wins it too. Trust me, I am 100% English and I see no wrong with Welsh teams' involvement. Not only that, I would love to see a Great British league, with teams from England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland all competing in one big system. I think this would really unite football in Great Britain and possibly give us a chance of doing better on the international stage. Talking of international football, this unification of the leagues could lead to the creation of a Great British football team, like at the Olympics. This would give players like Gareth Bale a chance to play at the World Cup or European Championship, which, in no offence to Wales, he may not get to do playing for The Dragons. Please feel free to agree or disagree with my views in the comments.
Premier League Round Up
- Ryan Giggs made his 999th appearance for club and country as Manchester United beat QPR 2-0 at Loftus Road. But Rafael stole the lime light with an absolute stunner from 20 yards as well as making a goal line clearance at the other end. The result leaves QPR 7 points from safety.
- After bitter disappointment last weekend in the FA Cup and in midweek in the Champions League, Arsenal beat relegation battlers Aston Villa, Santi Cazorla scoring both the Gunners' goals.
- Talking of relegation battlers, Reading faced off to Wigan in a real '6-pointer' at the Madjeski. The away side won 3-0 in a surprisingly one sided encounter. Pavel Pogrebnyak got sent off for the Royals as Arouna Kone scored two for the Latics.
- Grant Holt completed a stunning comeback for Norwich against Everton, scoring a last gasp winner to give the Canaries a first win in 10. Kei Kamara cancelled out Leon Osman's opener on 84 minutes before Holt struck.
- West Brom beat Sunderland at the Hawthorns courtesy of two Romelu Lukaku goals. The striker on loan from Chelsea has now scored 12 goals for the Baggies and is being encouraged to stay on next season.
- Dimitar Berbatov's immaculate volley was enough to beat Stoke City and earn Fulham just their fourth victory in 19 Premier League games. The result puts the Cottagers just one point off Stoke, who remain in 10th, despite the loss.
- Two second half goals from Yaya Toure and Carlos Tevez (his first in nine league games) gave Manchester City a vital three points against Chelsea as they put the gap between themselves and Manchester United back to 12 points.
- By beating Southampton 4-2, Newcastle overtook the Saints into 14th. Papiss Cisse scored the pick of the goals in a thriller at St. James Park.
- Tottenham leapfrogged Chelsea into third place with a 3-2 win over West Ham at Upton Park, Gareth Bale scored a brace, including a last minute winner, to carry on his incredible scoring run.
There are two this week, which is a bit of a cop out, but I couldn't decide!
- Rafael Da Silva vs QPR: When Julio Cesar palmed away Robin Van Persie's cross, the ball fell to the Brazilian, who sent his shot spinning into the top corner, almost taking Christopher Samba's head off.
- Papiss Cisse vs Southampton: Newcastle's number 9 produced a spectacular long range dipping strike on the half-volley after Magpies keeper Rob Elliot had launched a long ball forward.
- Championship: Hull missed the chance to close the gap on Championship leaders Cardiff as they were convincingly beaten by Bolton 4-1 on Saturday.
- League 1: In Portsmouth's game against Oldham, Pompey player Sam Sodje saw red for an off-the-ball incident with Lee Barnard, apparently punching him where you don't want to know! Is it coincidence that Barnard is on loan from Portsmouth's rivals Southampton?
- League 2: New Aldershot manager Andy Scott got off to a great start as his new club beat 9-man Fleetwood 2-0. 2 goals from Danny Hylton put the Shots 4 points clear of the relegation zone with a game in hand.
See ya on Thursday (hopefully!),
Olly Allen
Follow me on twitter: @OllyAllen1998
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