And so it is Wigan of the Championship who now face Arsenal at Wembley on April 12 or 13 for the right to play either Hull City or Sheffield United in the final on May 17. City paraded the Capital One Cup before kick-off but it was Wigan basking in the glow of the FA Cup at the end as they staged a repeat of last year’s final win.
It was an emotional experience for Uwe Rosler, the Wigan manager and former City striker whose sons are named after City legends (Colin after Bell and Tony after Book). He has spoken of his bond with the City fans, who chanted his name while he was fighting cancer. He respects City so much and this meant so much.
Outwitting Manuel Pellegrini, Rosler’s tactics worked so well against his old club. Seeking to blunt City’s prolific attack, Rosler fielded five at the back: Perch and Stephen Crainey as the wing-backs book-ending the superb Emmerson Boyce, Ivan Ramis and Chris McCann. Gomez, James McArthur and Josh McEachran filled the centre, working brilliantly at squeezing the space around Yaya Toure and Sergio Aguero when the Argentine dropped off Alvaro Negredo. Callum McManaman was everywhere, covering the right and supporting Marc-Antoine Fortune.
City’s defence had its flaw. Martin Demichelis was starting, always giving opponents hope. On his last but one appearance here, Demichelis gifted Barcelona a penalty with his foul on Lionel Messi, was dismissed and misses the trip to the Camp Nou on Wednesday. The 33-year-old, who was good enough to play 37 times for Argentina, was badly caught out again with that penalty mistake after 27 minutes.
Until then, Demichelis had been all right, partnering Joleon Lescott, while Micah Richards and Gael Clichy were at full-back. They struggled to get going, to shake off the straitjacket that Rosler had wrapped them in. Wigan’s 3,750 fans were leaping up and down, delighting in their team’s defiance, even chanting “ole” after 13 minutes following sustained spell of possession before Lescott intervened.
City’s pressure briefly built but they ran into a Wigan defence that would not yield. Ramis went in slightly high in clearing the ball away from Negredo. Boyce, giving one of his greatest performances for Wigan, held off Aguero. McCann cleared from under Jesus Navas’ feet. Yet Rosler was not allowing his team to be overly defensive; he shouted instructions at McManaman to stay up with Fortune and the English youngster, breaking modern tradition with his all-black boots, responded with a thumbs-up, putting in a tireless shift until fading just before the hour.
Wigan stayed calm as City poured forward in that first period. After 22 minutes, Negredo combined with Toure, who slid the ball behind Wigan’s defence for Navas. The Spaniard crossed but Ramis intervened, the ball spinning back and forcing Scott Carson into an emergency save.
The determination and organization in Wigan’s defence was then lacking in City’s back-line after 27 minutes. Fortune, running in from the left, got away from Demichelis, who responded by catching the striker on his right foot. Anthony Taylor pointed immediately to the spot. Gomez calmly stroked the ball left-footed into the net as Costel Pantilimon dived the wrong way. Up in the smart seats, Dave Whelan was smiling. Down in the dug-out, Rosler kept his emotions in check out of respect for his former club. Wigan fans were certainly not holding back, performing a brief Poznan.
City became rattled. Toure swung a boot at McManaman. Nasri was cautioned for kicking the ball away. Shortly afterwards, Nasri misjudged a cross, and slammed his hand in frustration into the turf on the apron of the pitch. Wigan fans were loving it, cheering every touch, every clearance, every minute that passed with their team ahead.
With nine minutes of the half remaining, McManaman produced a lovely bit of skill to spirit the ball around Micah Richards, whose fuse began burning and he stormed back to try and win possession. Gomez was now in control and Richards flew in, gifting the Championship side a free-kick. McManaman continued running for the ball, claiming Javi Garcia elbowed him while fending him off.
Wigan continued to defend strongly, sometimes too strongly, and Boyce went through the back of Negredo, yet the holders finished the half well, forcing a string of corners. Within two minutes of the restart, Wigan were in dream-land, their fans singing of Wembley, Rosler throwing off the cloak of restraint and punching the air as his team scored a second. When McArthur crossed from the left, Clichy was guilty of ball-watching, allowing Perch to poach the goal from close range.
Facing humiliation, Pellegrini responded, making a triple chance to try to preserve the treble dream. James Milner, Edin Dzeko and David Silva came on, replacing Navas, Negredo and the badly out-of-sorts Toure, who handed the armband to Lescott.
And so began the Alamo. Milner immediately crossed but there was nobody there. From Clichy’s cross, Dzeko headed against the post. Carson then dropped down to clutch Aguero’s shot. Silva and Richards went hurtling into the box, going down under challenges and vainfully claiming penalties. It was breathless, a great advertisement for the Cup.
City finally began to believe with 22 minutes left. Richards headed the ball back to Nasri, whose low shot from the edge of the area went under Lescott who was in an offside position and beat Carson. Wigan could have argued that Lescott was obscuring Carson’s view but any complaints were brief.
“Come on City” came the incessant chant as Pellegrini’s men kept pushing for the equalizer. Wigan occasionally found space and hope on the break. Fortune selfishly shot when James McClean was unmarked. Wigan sighed. City still believed.
The noise was deafening, the pressure from City relentless. With 10 minutes left, the lively Milner drilled the ball into the six-yard box and Boyce somehow cleared over the bar as Dzeko awaited a simple tap-in. Still the siege continued. Carson saved from Aguero. Dzeko headed Nasri’s cross wide.
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