The midlands took centre stage of the curtain-raiser as championship side Coventry City, made the short trip to Wolverhampton in what looked to be an ideal route to Wembley for Gary O’Neill’s high-flying Wolves. This opening tie would set the tone for a top-flight derby of the takeovers, with the Saudi Arabian Newcastle United travelling to Manchester City, the flag-bearers for Arabian owners. The following day would see a repeat of the 2021 final, with Championship high-flyers, Leicester City, heading south to the land of the uncertain Chelsea. The mouth-watering weekend concluded at Old Trafford, a proper cup tie between two old enemies: Manchester United and Liverpool. Let the football do the talking.
As the weekend kicked off, Coventry City’s unexpected dominance at Molineux Stadium looked to have seen them home on eighty-four minutes. Ellis Simms’ scruffy opener, coming after an inexplicable miss from two yards in the first half, seemingly was sending his side to Wembley. However, on a day that initially didn’t seem to be the kind that would offer twists, Wolves full back, Rayan Ait-Nouri, sprinkled some Premier League stardust on the tie as the Algerian capitalised on some weary defending to volley home from five yards. He then turned the tie on its head two minutes from time with a majestic run through the heart of a tiring defence, before picking the perfect pass, releasing Hugo Bueno to calmly slot Wolves in front. Heartbreak for the sky blues, who had worked so hard, yet it appeared to be in vain. As the nine thousand travelling Coventry fans sat rueing their missed chances at 1-0, their never say-die attitude roared on as the excellent Hagi Wright’s late cross was flicked on by Bobby Thomas and converted by the red-hot Simms in the seventh minute of added time to surely signal extra-time. At 2-2 and as Wolves were coming to terms with an extra half hour of football, lively Coventry substitute, Callum O’Hare, superbly created an opening down the left and sent the ball into the box. Simms lunged ahead of his man to set the ball for Wright, who, in the tenth minute of additional time, with all the calmness in the world, whipped the ball into the far corner to signal pandemonium in the away end and send Coventry City to Wembley, for an FA Cup semi-final.
Those who witnessed the miracle at Molineux on both the television and at the stadium were still processing the magical events as Manchester City continued their defence of the cup seventy-five miles north. Less fireworks were seen at the Etihad as Newcastle, struggling for form and ideas in all competitions, looked toothless against the ruthless brilliance of the treble chasers, with a first-half Bernardo Silva brace sending City to Wembley and capping a memorable quarter-final Saturday with two famous footballing cities booking trains to Euston for April.
The FA Cup needs a new narrative and with sixth-tier Maidstone United reaching the fifth round of the competition, only to play their glamour tie away at Covetry on a Monday night on BBC4, surely conversations need to be had regarding the restoration of the tournament. Since the beginning of the millennium, only Wigan Athletic, Portsmouth and Leicester City have disturbed the ‘big six’. Whether it’s Bradford dumping out eventual Premier League winners, Chelsea, in 2015, or Hereford defeating Newcastle United in the early seventies, early round upsets have kept this great competition alive, however a cluttered schedule, unjust financial system and prioritisation of league form has left a new generation of fans simply not appreciating the FA Cup for what it is: an opportunity.
Coventry’s slaying of Wolves and the manner it was performed in certainly offered flashbacks of what the FA Cup can bring yet the constant league matches forces teams to push cup competitions on the back seat in their quest for league glory after nine months of football. Ultimately, that is what the ticket buyers pay their money to see. This year has offered hope, though, and seeing a Championship side in the semi-final for the second consecutive season is nothing but positive in bringing back to life English football’s oldest and dearest asset.
