Jim_UK
13-05-2006, 16:07
If any of you were lucky enough to watch the F.A. cup final today, you will have been treated to arguably one of the greatest F.A. cup finals in the history of the competition.
As a Liverpool fan i am of course totally overjoyed that we won, however West Ham played a blinder and played the better football in the match. But Liverpool never gave up and with the best midfielder in the world (more on that in a mo) you always have a chance.
This game had everything, favourites and underdogs ... an own goal, a disallowed goal, a goal from a cross, goalie errors, 3 class strikes, heroic saves, missed open goal, penalty saves, more cramp and injuries than you could count, eye-catching boots and best of all no malicious tackles ! You will never see a better advert for the English game. It was an outrageous final one that any true football fan will enjoy. People who don't enjoy it surely need their head's reading ...
Right from the start i had a hunch West Ham would win as my dad went off to watch the game at a friend's house. The last time he did that was in 1988 when Wimbledon beat Liverpool and after West Ham went 2-0 up i was ready to blame my dad for everything :D With Liverpool having one of the most consistently reliable goalkeepers and centre-backs in England to see them both at fault for the two goals was a shock. West Ham were running us ragged, pulling us all over the place. But then out of the blue Crouch scored a legitimate goal but it was chalked off for offside ... a bad call. A few moments later Cisse scored a fantastic volley to make it 2-1 ... poise, balance, technique ... it had everything, which is uncommon for Cisse :D
Half-time and the nerves were creeping in, onto the second half and i'd gone to the bathroom, on my return i was informed of Reina's double save to keep the Hammers out. Liverpool were getting back into it and playing some half decent stuff, although they couldn't have played much worse in the first 45 mins to be fair. Then Riise on a run and he drew the foul from Reo-Coker, he argued but he shouldn't have gone in on him, no need to foul him. A quick freekick and i was shouting what a waste, a few passes later and it's with Gerrard about 16 yards out and he lashes home the bouncing ball into the top corner ..... GOAL !!!!! Amazing ... 2-2 game on.
A few minutes later, disaster strikes ... Konchesky scores straight from a cross as he miss hits his delivery right into the goal, Reina had no chance ... only his 2nd Hammers goal, great i thought .... that's it, you know you're out when something like that happens. Kewell goes off injured (waste of space, sorry Aussie members, but he's atrocious at times), Cisse starts messing about and then Morientes comes on ... it's all doom and gloom now.
The clock ticks round to injury time, West Ham are still lively, Liverpool look down and out ... you've never seen so many players falling over with cramp, it was like a warzone, but they all struggled on. The ball is hit forward and knocked out the Hammers area ( a few mins earlier Gerrard hit a freekick and it went miles over so i was not expecting what happened next ) .... it falls to Gerrard 35 yards out BANG GOAL !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The greatest goal you'll see in an FA Cup final ... an unbelievable 35 yard volley that bends and swerves and doesn't hit the ground from the moment it leaves his foot to the time it hits the back of the net ... Hislop had no chance. I'm up on my feet ... so was everyone else, we can't believe it ... no one can, the guy is a phenomenon !
Full Time 90
All the players are down and out, West Ham have more energy but the 'Pool players are shattered, only Kromkamp who was the last sub has any energy so he's used as the only outlet. Players from both sides are limping, falling over ... it's an incredible sight, no signs of giving up from either side though. Then in the last few minutes of injury time a fluke connection off of someone's back forces Reina into a miraculous save but leaves the goal empty .... Sheringham misses, Hyppia flicks it away and it falls to Harewood ... GOAL ????? NO !!!!!!!!!! He misses from 4 yards, heartbreak for the lad .... FULL TIME 120 PENALTIES !!!
Who on earth will take the Liverpool penalties, there isn't 5 fit players to run ! But Reina is in goal who average a 75% penalty success ratio in Spain ! Hamann first ... GOAL ! Zamora ... SAVED !! Hyppia ... Denied !!!!! Sheringham ... GOAL ! ... Gerrard .... GOAL !! ... West Ham again ... SAVED !! Riise ... GOAL !!! Ferdinand ... has to score ... runs up ... SAVED !!! Reina saves 3 out of 4 penalties ... Liverpool win the cup !!!!!
Unbelievable ... the best final in many many years. West Ham played so well and on who played the best football they deserved to win. But Liverpool never gave up and while the Hammers 3 goals were all fortunate, either from mistakes or complete flukes ... all 3 Liverpool goals were class strikes.
I applauded the West Ham players because they were magnificent, a true credit to their team, to their area and to English football. I also think it's criminal that players like Etherington, Reo-Coker and Ashton have been left out of the England squad in favour of Downing and Hargreaves, what a joke !
But right now there is no doubt that Gerrard is the best central midfielder in the world. There isn't another midfield man who can do what he does. I'm not talking about the Ronaldinho's or Kaka's of this world as their role is different. But in terms of playing in the middle, workrate, energy, will to win, playing for the big occasion, passion, spirit, passing, tackling, humility, graciousness and shooting ... there is no finer player. He would walk into any side in the world period and he would be a success. He's been playing for almost a year now and shows no signs of slowing down. Anybody who truly believes he is over rated or thinks there is someone better is surely not being honest to themselves.
If you can watch the highlights, you're in for a treat :)
As a Liverpool fan i am of course totally overjoyed that we won, however West Ham played a blinder and played the better football in the match. But Liverpool never gave up and with the best midfielder in the world (more on that in a mo) you always have a chance.
This game had everything, favourites and underdogs ... an own goal, a disallowed goal, a goal from a cross, goalie errors, 3 class strikes, heroic saves, missed open goal, penalty saves, more cramp and injuries than you could count, eye-catching boots and best of all no malicious tackles ! You will never see a better advert for the English game. It was an outrageous final one that any true football fan will enjoy. People who don't enjoy it surely need their head's reading ...
Right from the start i had a hunch West Ham would win as my dad went off to watch the game at a friend's house. The last time he did that was in 1988 when Wimbledon beat Liverpool and after West Ham went 2-0 up i was ready to blame my dad for everything :D With Liverpool having one of the most consistently reliable goalkeepers and centre-backs in England to see them both at fault for the two goals was a shock. West Ham were running us ragged, pulling us all over the place. But then out of the blue Crouch scored a legitimate goal but it was chalked off for offside ... a bad call. A few moments later Cisse scored a fantastic volley to make it 2-1 ... poise, balance, technique ... it had everything, which is uncommon for Cisse :D
Half-time and the nerves were creeping in, onto the second half and i'd gone to the bathroom, on my return i was informed of Reina's double save to keep the Hammers out. Liverpool were getting back into it and playing some half decent stuff, although they couldn't have played much worse in the first 45 mins to be fair. Then Riise on a run and he drew the foul from Reo-Coker, he argued but he shouldn't have gone in on him, no need to foul him. A quick freekick and i was shouting what a waste, a few passes later and it's with Gerrard about 16 yards out and he lashes home the bouncing ball into the top corner ..... GOAL !!!!! Amazing ... 2-2 game on.
A few minutes later, disaster strikes ... Konchesky scores straight from a cross as he miss hits his delivery right into the goal, Reina had no chance ... only his 2nd Hammers goal, great i thought .... that's it, you know you're out when something like that happens. Kewell goes off injured (waste of space, sorry Aussie members, but he's atrocious at times), Cisse starts messing about and then Morientes comes on ... it's all doom and gloom now.
The clock ticks round to injury time, West Ham are still lively, Liverpool look down and out ... you've never seen so many players falling over with cramp, it was like a warzone, but they all struggled on. The ball is hit forward and knocked out the Hammers area ( a few mins earlier Gerrard hit a freekick and it went miles over so i was not expecting what happened next ) .... it falls to Gerrard 35 yards out BANG GOAL !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The greatest goal you'll see in an FA Cup final ... an unbelievable 35 yard volley that bends and swerves and doesn't hit the ground from the moment it leaves his foot to the time it hits the back of the net ... Hislop had no chance. I'm up on my feet ... so was everyone else, we can't believe it ... no one can, the guy is a phenomenon !
Full Time 90
All the players are down and out, West Ham have more energy but the 'Pool players are shattered, only Kromkamp who was the last sub has any energy so he's used as the only outlet. Players from both sides are limping, falling over ... it's an incredible sight, no signs of giving up from either side though. Then in the last few minutes of injury time a fluke connection off of someone's back forces Reina into a miraculous save but leaves the goal empty .... Sheringham misses, Hyppia flicks it away and it falls to Harewood ... GOAL ????? NO !!!!!!!!!! He misses from 4 yards, heartbreak for the lad .... FULL TIME 120 PENALTIES !!!
Who on earth will take the Liverpool penalties, there isn't 5 fit players to run ! But Reina is in goal who average a 75% penalty success ratio in Spain ! Hamann first ... GOAL ! Zamora ... SAVED !! Hyppia ... Denied !!!!! Sheringham ... GOAL ! ... Gerrard .... GOAL !! ... West Ham again ... SAVED !! Riise ... GOAL !!! Ferdinand ... has to score ... runs up ... SAVED !!! Reina saves 3 out of 4 penalties ... Liverpool win the cup !!!!!
Unbelievable ... the best final in many many years. West Ham played so well and on who played the best football they deserved to win. But Liverpool never gave up and while the Hammers 3 goals were all fortunate, either from mistakes or complete flukes ... all 3 Liverpool goals were class strikes.
I applauded the West Ham players because they were magnificent, a true credit to their team, to their area and to English football. I also think it's criminal that players like Etherington, Reo-Coker and Ashton have been left out of the England squad in favour of Downing and Hargreaves, what a joke !
But right now there is no doubt that Gerrard is the best central midfielder in the world. There isn't another midfield man who can do what he does. I'm not talking about the Ronaldinho's or Kaka's of this world as their role is different. But in terms of playing in the middle, workrate, energy, will to win, playing for the big occasion, passion, spirit, passing, tackling, humility, graciousness and shooting ... there is no finer player. He would walk into any side in the world period and he would be a success. He's been playing for almost a year now and shows no signs of slowing down. Anybody who truly believes he is over rated or thinks there is someone better is surely not being honest to themselves.
If you can watch the highlights, you're in for a treat :)