Soccer Buzz

Another exciting round of games from this side of the pond this weekend. This weekend saw a 6 goal thriller at Stamford Bridge whilst elsewhere City fans were calling for Stuart Pearce’s head after his side were dumped out of the cup away at Blackburn.

Middlesbrough V Manchester United
The first of the quarter finals. The visitors took the lead through Wayne Rooney, the scouser jinked past a couple of Boro’ defenders on the edge of the box before driving a low shot past Mark Schwarzer. Lee Cattermole volleyed Middlesbrough level on the stroke of half-time.
The home side took a shock lead after the break with George Boateng heading in Boro’s second a minute after the interval, but then handled Rio Ferdinand’s header after 66 minutes at the other end and Ronaldo equalised freom the spot to send the tie into a replay.
My prediction: United to progress
Actual Result: 2 - 2 (the jury is still out)

Chelsea V Tottenham Hotspur
The tie of the round saw an all-London affair at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea started badly and Dimitar Berbatov smashed the ball past Petr Cech to put Tottenham ahead. Chelsea hit back almost instantly and midfielder Frank Lampard levelled after turing in Michael Ballack’s shot. Michael Essien turned the ball into his own net to give Tottenham a deserved lead. Ghaly then netted a third after a powerful run. Then the game turned on it’s head, with the home side trailing, the blue’s slipped into gear and it was one-way traffic towards the spurs goal. Lampard claimed his second after the interval, slotting home from close range after a ping-pong session in the Spurs six yard box. Soloman Kalou then grabbed an equaliser for Chelsea after sweetly volleying home Didier Drogba’s headed knock down. Defoe was unlucky not to win the tie for Spurs after his mazy run and shot resulted in a smash off the crossbar.
My Prediction: Chelsea to progress
Actual Result: 3 - 3 (the jury is still out)

Blackburn Rovers V Manchester City
The visitors were dumped out of the FA Cup thanks to a Moenka opener and Derbyshire’s finish on the stroke of full time. The visiting supporters vented their frustrations at their constantly under-achieving club and cries of ‘You’re not fit to wear the shirt’ rang out from the 7,000 away fans.
My Prediction: 2 - 0
Actual Result: 2 - 0 (SPOT ON)

Plymouth Argyle V Watford
The Championship V The Premiership. Watford ran out eventual winners thanks to Hamuer Bouazza powerful left footed strike in the 21st minute. That goal galvinised the home side and Plymouth threw everything they had at Watford, who can thank on loan keeper Ben Foster for cementing them a place in the Semi-Finals. A future England number 1 me thinks!

Let’s take a look ahead to the FA Cup Quarter-Finals shall we?

First up we’ve got Middlesbrough V Manchester United. I’m not going to predict a score, as we all know anything can happen in a cup competition! So I’ll just predict an overall winner, in this instance I think it will be Manchester United. Middlesbrough usually perform amazing against the bigger clubs, especially at the Riverside Stadium but I think United are on course for the treble and I can’t see Boro stopping them this weekend.
My Prediction: Manchester United to progress

Blackburn Rovers V Manchester United. This match features my team Manchester City, am I going to be biased? I’d love to be! The fact of the matter is we’re simply not good enough to progress. Blackburn should have this one in the bag. City are sloppy at times and are languishing in the league. That said, if there is a team capable of a shock it is us!
My Prediction: Blackburn Rovers to progress

Chelsea V Tottenham. A massive clash, the tie of the round. A London derby that pits two quality sides hoping to progress to the semi-finals. Both teams have done well in cup competitions this season but I think Chelsea will have enough in the tank to edge past Spurs on this occasion.
My Prediction: Chelsea to progress

Plymouth Argyle V Watford. Championship side Plymouth play host to Premiership side Watford in a typical David and Golliath style battle. I’d love to see Plymouth progress to the semi-finals. What a great acheivement for Ian Holloway that would be! Sadly my head has to rule my heart and the Premiership side should cruise past Plymouth.
My Prediction: Watford to progress

Middlesbrough, Watford, Plymouth Argyle, Manchester United, Manchester City, Blackburn Rovers, Ian Holloway, Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur, FA Cup, 6th Round

Blackburn Rovers beat Arsenal last night at Ewood Park. A late strike from in-form Benni McCarthy three minutes from time ensured Rovers a place in the quarter finals of the FA Cup.

Arsenal were unlucky not to go ahead with Julio Baptista missing a host of chances early on in the game. The Gunners were forced to make a series of changes from the side that lost to Chelsea in the Carling Cup final on Sunday, with Freddie Ljungberg and William Gallas amongst others being drafted in. This game was a replay as both sides failed to score in the last encounter at Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium. The reward for Blackburn’s heroics is a home-time against my beloved Manchester City in the next round. Hopefully I will be travelling to the game as it is fairly close to my home and hopefully we’ll insure a place in the semi finals. Finger’s crossed!

Blackburn Rovers, Arsenal, FA Cup, FA Cup Replay, Benni McCarthy, Ewood Park, Julio Baptista, Manchester City