Portsmouth ended a 69 year drought at Wembley yesterday when they beat Cardiff City 1 - 0 in the 2008 FA Cup Final.  The winner came courtesy of ex Arsenal striker Kanu in the first half.  It was not all one way traffic for the Premiership side though as Cardiff City of the Championship did themselves proud with a very spirited display.

Kanu and Utaka perform their clebratory dance at the feet of Cardiff's goalkeeper Peter Enckelman whose fumble cost Cardiff the Cup.  Whoops!

What a difference to last year's Cup Final. OK, this won't go down as a classic but compared to the mind numbingly boring 120 minutes Chelsea and Man Utd served up I'd be more than happy for apparently "lesser" teams to get to the Final every year.  Let's hope they do better on Wednesday in Moscow.

This was the first Final not to feature one of the "big four" since 1991 when Spurs played Notts Forest and that Gaza tackle!  Remember that?  Anyway, initially this game was an open and adventurous affair with Cardiff, in particular, not being overawed by their big day out.  The game was of course played against the magnificant backdrop of the new Wembley on an overcast day, but this didn't seem to dampen the spirits of the noisy fans from both teams.  They were going to enjoy their day whatever the weather.

The fans had to wait for 37 minutes for the opening and only goal of the game when Pompey midfielder John Utaka whipped a low cross in from the right bye-line only for Cardiff's on loan goalie Peter Enckelman to push the ball in to the path of Kanu who had the simple task of knocking the ball into the net with a combination of both shin and foot.

In truth it should have been Kanu's second goal of the Final.  Minutes earlier he produced some fabulous footwork in the penalty box to skip first around a defender then the goalie and with the open goal at his mercy he could only hit the post.  In fact was was harder to hit the post than score.

Kanu dances around Peter Enckelman only to then do the hard thing and hit the post.

Cardiff who were attempting to become the lowest ranking team to win the FA Cup since 1901 looked dangerous on the break with Paul Parry having an attempt saved by Portsmouth goalie David James after 13 minutes and creating an opening for McNaughton 5 minutes before the break when he should have had a shot of his own.

Cardiff's Johnson also went close with a header from Whittingham's freekick, but despite taken the game to Portsmouth in the 1st half they failed to score.

They did however have the ball in the net on the stroke of halftime when Loovens lobbed the ball over James and under the crossbar, but the referee had already blown for a handball by the defender.  The replays showed that it did strike his elbow but perhaps the decision was a little harsh.

Portsmouth did improve in the second half with the dominating in midfield and taking the game to Cardiff with some excellent passing and well timed runs.

Cardiff, replaced verteran striker Hasselbaink for the last 20 minutes and rallied as time began to run out.  I've never been a great fan of Hasselbaink as he has always seemed more interested in moaning and thinking the whole world is against him and his performance yesterday proved, for me at least, that it's time he retired.  The change helped Cardiff and it was only some frantic defending by the Portsmouth defence in the final minutes that prevented Cardiff equalising.

This was Portsmouth's 5th 1 - 0 win from the six matches in the competition clinched a place in the UEFA Cup next season and meant that Harry Redknapp became the first English manager to guide a team to success in the Final since Joe Royle of Everton in 1995 when they beat Man Utd 1 - 0.

Like a said, not a classic Cup Final but it was an entertaining game.  As a neutral I would have looked to have seen Cardiff's disallowed goal right at the end of the first half stand, it would have set up a great second half.

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 FA Cup 2008 - Cardiff City Vs Portsmouth FC

What an amazing day of FA Cup action! Who would have thought that last years finalists would both be knocked out of the greatest cup competition in the world on the same day by supposedly lesser teams?

Well, they were. Both the current cup holders and the Premiership champions were beaten 1 - 0 in the Quarter Finals and for the naturals it totally blows open this years competition with the reality, that for once, a lower league team could win the famous old trophy.

So the holders Chelsea lost to Liverpool’s conquerers, Barnsley, a second division side. So that famous win at Anfield maybe wasn’t a flash in the pan! The win mean the Yorskshire side are now in the Semi Finals for the first time in nearly 100 years after striker Kayode Odejay headed the winner in the 66th minute.

The celebrations begin at Oakwell as Barnsley knock out the FA Cup holders Chelsea

Earlier in the day at Old Trafford, with no disrepect to Portsmouth, they pulled off a huge shock by beating Manchester Utd also by the same 1 - 0 scoreline. The winner was a penalty in the 81st minute scored by Sulley Muntari. It was Portmouth’s first victory at Old Trafford in 51 years. See what I mean about a “huge shock”?

So after years of domination by England’s so called “big four” (going back to 1996) this year’s FA Cup has produced some stunning upsets and the true possibility that a club from outside of the Premier League could win the trophy.

The other Quarter Finals feature Premier League strugglers Middlesbrough at home to Championship side Cardiff City whilst League One (or the old Third Division) team Bristol Rovers are at home to Championship high flyers West Bromwich Albion. All the remaining teams must now surely be dreaming of Wembley and the fact it could be their year.

The hero and scorer of Barnsley’s winner at their Oakwell ground was journeyman Odejay, who was formerly at minor league team Forest Green. he had already caused the Chelsea captain John Terry a whole host of problems before he outleapt Carlo Cudicini in the Chelsea goal the head his winner.

Chelsea launched a wave of desperate attacks in the final minutes with Terry himself shooting wildly over and several efforts being blocked. But Barnsly bravely hung on to, not surprisngly, spark wild celebrations at the final whistle.

The Barnsely manager, Simon Davey said after the game, “I’m ecstatic, I can’t believe it.” I bet he wasn’t the only one!

“Everybody thought we couldn’t do it again after beating Liverpool [at Anfield]. The players were fantastic. I’ve not been to Wembley before and nor have many of the players.” (The semi-finals are going to be held at Wembley this year for the first time since 1992. Another FA money grabbing scheme if ever there was one!)

So, only two weeks after losing the League Cup final to Tottenham at Wembley, the Chelsea boos Avram Grant is now surely going to come under increasing pressure. Good job they made it easily through to the last 8 of the Champions League in mid-week. Otherwise I wouldn’t have put much money on him surviving too much longer. Football is certianly a cut-throat business these days. A few shorts weeks ago, everything was looking fine for Grant and Chelsea and a lot of people were saying “Jose who?”

Grant said, “Credit to Barnsley, they showed a lot of spirit. We knew it wasn’t going to be easy to play well on this pitch and we didn’t, especially in the first half.” Oh dear, excuses excuses! Didn’t Barnsley have to put up with and play on the same pitch?

Meanwhile, back at Old Trafford, Portsmouth produced more of a classic “smash and grab” to reach the semi-finals. Pomepy were under seige for long spells but a penalty with only 12 minutes remaining, after the Utd keeper Kuszozak had been sent off for fouling former Liverpool striker Milan Baros, sealed the famous victory.

A jubilant manager Harry Redknapp said, “It was the worst draw we could have had but it was a great performance and a great result. We rode our luck but United are a fantastic team and we deserved our luck. It was the second time Redknapp had knocked man Utd out of the Cup, after his Bournemouth side did it way back in 1984.

It must be said that Portsmouth did have a huge let-off though in the first half after Distin seemed to barged into Ronaldo as he burst into the box.

At the heart of the Portsmouth defence, Sol Campbell’s resistance was excellent whilst keeper David James produced one top class saveto turn a great shot by Evra onto the post.

Also substitute Michael Carrick looked an absolute certainty to score from just a few yeards out only for Distin to make a brilliant last ditch tackle.

Distin’s last ditch tackle to deny Carrick what looked like a certain goal for Man Utd

Portsmouth were, to be fair, on the rack at this point, but just when it seemed it was only a matter of time before Utd broke the deadlock, James made a quick clearance and picked out Croatian Kranjcar and he then squared the ball to Baros. The Czech went round the goalie [a half time sub for van der Sar] before he was fouled. The red card followed, and with already having used their sub goalie, it was left to Ferdinand to go in goal. But he was powerless to stop the penalty as Muntari cooly placed it into the bottom corner.

Portsmouth win a penalty when Tomasz Kuszczak, on for Edwin Van der Sar, brings down Milan Baros

it was hardly a surprise that Alex Ferguson, the Utd manager, was scathing of the referee Martin Atkinson after the game. “The game was decided by a decision not to give us a penalty. They [Pompey] had great confidence to hang on knowing the referee was on their side.” Oh dear, not too bitter then.

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Hmmmm!

Well, they kicked off at 3pm on Saturday. That was just about the most exciting thing that happened until the 116th minute when Chelsea managed to string more than two passes together and Drogba woke everyone up.

Drogba’s “alarm call” wakes everyone up only to send Man Utd and their supporters into a nightmare

The final whistle blew. Chelsea players jumped up and down, Manchester Utd players sank to the ground. John Terry lifted the Cup.

John Terry lifts the Cup as people wake from their afternoon nap. Even Frank Lampard appears to be having a good stretch and yawn. It was possibly the most he moved all afternoon.

The End!

Not really much else you can say about it really, apart from the fact that it was such an anti-climax. It was supposed to be the top two teams (apparently) staging the show piece Final for the grand opening of the new Wembley stadium. It simply wasn’t worth the wait. Saturday’s game has to rank up there with the 1996 Final as possibly the worst Final, if not of all time, then at least of the modern era. Personally I’d vote this one as the worst. At least in 1996 it was decided in normal time and we didn’t have to endure an additional 30 minutes. Go down any local park on a Sunday morning to watch the local pub league and you’ll see any number of more entertaining games.

Man Of The Match: There wasn’t one! So I’m awarding it to the stadium itself. Now that was worth the wait!

The Star of The Show

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So, let’s take a look at the two teams who will battle it out this afternoon at the brand new and improved Wembley stadium

Chelsea

Chelsea against Manchester United is a fitting fixture with which to end the domestic season, but it’s only the third time in history that the leading two clubs in the League have graced the FA Cup final. In 1913, Aston Villa beat the champions Sunderland 1-0, and in 1986 champions Liverpool did the League and FA Cup Double, in beating their Merseyside rivals and League runners-up Everton 3-1. Indeed every FA Cup final from 1995 has been won by one of the top four finishers in this season’s Premiership. Having spent the top flight campaign chasing Manchester United, Chelsea are now looking to the 126th FA Cup to compensate for surrendering their League crown to the Red Devils in what has now become the Blues’ most important game of the season.

The Londoners were the last club to win the FA Cup final at the old Wembley in 2000 and are keen to be the first to lift the silverware at the magnificent new structure, built at a cost of more than £750 million. Seven years ago, Chelsea beat Aston Villa 1-0 in the end-of-season showpiece with a goal from Roberto Di Matteo. The same player scored the fastest goal in Wembley Cup Final history three years earlier, when his strike after 43 seconds led to a 2-0 victory over Middlesbrough. It wasn’t so clear cut in 1970 as the final went to a replay. The original tie, played on a disgraceful surface that had earlier hosted the Horse of the Year Show, ended 2-2 after 120 minutes. Chelsea prevailed 2-1 in the replay at Old Trafford. Peter Osgood ensured he scored in every round, and David Webb won it in extra time. The west Londoners qualified for the final only once in the six years it was held at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. They lost 2-0 to Arsenal in 2002.

The FA Cup remains the only domestic trophy Chelsea have not won under owner Roman Abramovich and manager Jose Mourinho. They go into Saturday’s game in front of 90,000 and an estimated global television audience of 500 million, on their longest winless run in the Mourinho era of five matches. They ended the Premiership season with five draws, interspersed by the loss on penalties to Liverpool in the Champions League semi-final.

This will be the ninth time that managers Mourinho and Sir Alex Ferguson have gone head-to-head. The Portuguese has the better record with four wins, one loss and three draws. The defeat was 1-0 in last season’s visit to Old Trafford when United ended Chelsea’s 40-match unbeaten Premiership run. Chelsea gained revenge by clinching their second straight Premier League title with a 3-0 success in last season’s reverse fixture. This season’s two meetings were all square, although the Stamford Bridge fixture was an uncompetitive affair as the title had just been claimed by the Red Devils.

Goalkeeper Petr CECH could well be celebrating an early birthday present should Chelsea win. The Czech Republic international turns 25 the day after the final.

Manchester United

Manchester United take on their free-spending fierce rivals eager to complete a first League and FA Cup Double since famously completing the treble with the Champions League in 1999. At the same time they would also deny Chelsea a Carling Cup and FA Cup Double.

The Old Trafford giants are making a record 18th appearance in the FA Cup final, and are setting their sights on lifting the trophy for a 12th time, thus increasing the outright record they already hold. Seven of the previous 17 final appearances were under Sir Alex, and five of those were victorious (1990, 1994, 1996, 1999 and 2004). Ferguson is looking for an unprecedented fourth League and FA Cup Double. The veteran Scot has won 18 major trophies as United manager and 27 titles in total in his managerial career in Scottish and English football - a post-war record.

While Chelsea eased their way into the quarter-finals with home ties against lower League opposition in Macclesfield, Nottingham Forest and Norwich, before dismissing Tottenham after a replay, and Blackburn after extra time, Manchester United have come up against Premiership opposition all the way. They accounted for Aston Villa, Portsmouth and Watford at the first time of asking, and Reading and Middlesbrough after replays. Their Cup run has produced 23 goals, 15 by United, whereas Chelsea’s has yielded 26 goals, 20 by the Blues.

The Red Devils had dominated meetings with Chelsea in football’s oldest knock out competition. This is the 10th time they find themselves facing each other. United lead by eight wins to one. Since Chelsea’s solitary success in the quarter-finals in 1950, United have won seven clashes, six at the first time of asking. They needed a replay on the most recent occasion, in the last four in 1999. A goalless draw at the Theatre of Dreams was followed by a 0-2 success in west London when Dwight Yorke scored both. United’s most important victory came in the 1994 final, when Eric Cantona was at his height. The Frenchman scored two penalties in seven minutes after the hour of a match which had been level pegging until then. Mark Hughes and Brian McClair were the other scorers in a 4-0 triumph against Glenn Hoddle’s side that completed United’s first ever League and FA Cup double.

This final could provide Paul Scholes with a third FA Cup winners’ medal after successes in 1999 and 2004, but Ryan Giggs could go one better, and become the first player to claim five winners’ medals since Jimmy Forrest of Blackburn Rovers in 1891. Victory would also give the 33-year old Welshmen his 17th major honour, which would equal the all-time record of Liverpool’s Phil Neal.

The PFA’s Player and Young Player of the Year and United’s 23-goal leading scorer this season, Ronaldo, will be making his 150th start for the club if he lines-up for the kick off.

Chelsea v Manchester United (3pm Wembley)

So, it’s finally here. FA Cup Final Day. A special day for any football season but this year there is the added spice of the return of Wembley and, as most neutrals will have wanted, it’s between the top two teams of the season. First plays second. But who will finish No. 1 on the day?

Chelsea were of course the last club to win the FA Cup final at the old Wembley in 2000 and just to put a little more into the mix, Man United will be aiming to claim a fourth domestic Double having won the Premiership title ahead of Chelsea, winners for the previous couple of years. The Londoners will be desperate to finish the season on a high by winning a cup double and denying Utd The Double of leagues title and FA Cup, as Utd denied Chelsea a hat-trick of titles which is something Utd haven’t done. It really is all about stopping the other team getting one over on you.

This is also the only domestic trophy that Jose Mourinho has failed to win so far during his time at Chelsea so he will be doing everything possible to add it to his roll of honour. Who knows, it may be Jose’s last game in charge of Chelsea. Will he be at the Bernabeu next season. Anything could happen over the close season. I for one am looking forward to the football soap opera that will transpire before the kick-off in August. And Jose won’t be the only star involved.

When the two teams have meet this season’s the games have ended in draws, but Mourinho boasts a good record against Sir Alex Ferguson having lost just one of eight clashes against the Utd manager.

Unfortunately for Jose, Chelsea go into the game with an injury list the length of his arm and he’s claiming that out of the richest squad in football he 15 players available to pick from. Bless! Those going to miss out of the first Cup Final at the new Wembley are Ricardo Carvalho, Michael Ballack and Andrei Shevchenko. Mind you I reckon the only one he will really miss is his fellow countryman Carvalho as the other two, obviously bought last summer to ensure Chelsea won the Champions League (DOH!) have been huge disappointments. It wouldn’t surprise me if certainly Ballack will be playing elsewhere next season. Probably not Shevchenko, too pally with Roman!

So in the absence of Carvalho, Michael Essien is set to start in central defence alongside the Chelsea captain John Terry. With Arjen Robben is expected to be on the bench after recovering from a knee injury.

Ashley Cole will be given until the last minute to prove his fitness as he struggles with an ankle injury with Wayne Bridge standing by to replace him. John Obi Mikel is set to undergo a late fitness test as he looks to shake off a thigh problem.

Whilst on the Man United injury list Gary Neville and Louis Saha are missing for the trip to Wembley. With Neville missing both Wes Brown and John O’Shea are battling it out to take his place at right-back.

The captain’s armband will therefore pass to Ryan Giggs and amazingly he looks to win his fifth FA Cup winners’ medal.

The manager also has a selection dilemma at left-back with Patrice Evra and Gabriel Heinze vying for the spot. He must also decide what formation to play as he could decide to bolster his midfield with the inclusion of Darren Fletcher or opt to give Alan Smith a start in attack.

The Player of the Season Cristiano Ronaldo is in line to make his 150th start for the club against Chelsea. Will he continue his marvellous form and help Utd carry off the FA Cup and climb those steps to the Royal Box second? I’m so glad the climb up the steps is back to lift the trophy. So much better than doing it on the pitch. Only problem is, at the old Wembley the teams had to climb only 39 steps. Now there are, I think from memory, 104 of them. Good job they are all fit lads having to climb all those. Another reason they won’t want it going to extra time.

The Teams

Chelsea (from): Cech, Hilario, Cudicini, Geremi, Ferreira, A Cole, Terry, Boulahrouz, Diarra, Makelele, Obi, Lampard, Essien, Kalou, Wright-Phillips, Bridge, Robben, Drogba, Sahar.

Man Utd (from): Van der Sar, Kuszczak, Brown, O’Shea, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra, Heinze, Ronaldo, Scholes, Carrick, Fletcher, Giggs, Richardson, Eagles, Rooney, Smith, Solskjaer.

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