Route to the final 2013 FA Cup Final

manchester city

entering fa cup in third round virtue of premier league status, manchester city s first game @ home against watford. in city s side, notable absentee joe hart replaced substitute goalkeeper costel pantilimon. hart had been designated club s domestic cup goalkeeper had conceded 4 goals in previous game. city team took control after mixed first 20 minutes. carlos tevez , gareth barry scored in first half. in second half, substitute academy player marcos lopes scored within seconds of taking field in 90th minute become club s youngest ever goalscorer @ age of 17 years , 8 days.

city progressed fourth round match @ britannia stadium play stoke city. in match dominated city took until 86th minute city score goal powerful drive pablo zabaleta. fifth-round game took place on 17 february against leeds united, strong 4–0 win boosted club spirits after progress in league had stagnated. although leeds had knocked out tottenham hotspur in previous round, conceded 2 goals including penalty sergio agüero in first 15 minutes, , looked capable of reducing deficit. further goals tevez , agüero sealed tie, , city s progression sixth round, drawn @ home championship club barnsley.

barnsley, having played second- , third-tier teams in previous cup fixtures, had backs wall against city, , disparity showed took hour record first shot on target, point had conceded four. tevez scored hat-trick , set 2 more david silva , aleksandar kolarov city swept opponents aside.

in semi-finals, city took on defending champions chelsea @ wembley fourth time in fa cup, , first time since 1971, in semi-final on 14 april. in fast-paced match, city took control largely pinning chelsea long periods , took lead in 35th minute, when samir nasri s poorly-timed cross deflected own path him sweep ball on petr Čech. chelsea, less energetic of teams picked failed take control of game, , punished 2 minutes second half when quick gareth barry free-kick put ball on head of agüero, sent high looping header far corner beyond Čech s reach. city continued press , had more opportunities score when fernando torres came onto field substitute s bench, chelsea fashioned chance demba ba, reflex kick gave chelsea goal. resurgent, chelsea dominated last 25 minutes, ball barely leaving city s half handful of wasted counter-attacks, while series of defensive substitutions confirmed city s intent play game out rather seeking third. despite pressure exerted, chelsea unable score, , defeat meant had failed reach fa cup final , not able defend trophy. chelsea s goal meant city within 29 minutes of being first team since 1966 reach fa cup final without conceding goal.

wigan athletic

premier league wigan s fa cup campaign began in third round against league 1 afc bournemouth. roberto martínez fielded number of fringe players, , made 9 changes team played premier league match 4 days earlier. despite having home advantage, club unable progress next round in 1 game, drawing 1–1. towards end of first half, eunan o kane struck sweet shot outside penalty area top right corner, while jordi gómez levelled tie midway through second half on rebound penalty spot after 2 of teammates had struck bar. time of replay, afc bournemouth on impressive 18-match unbeaten run, conceded tie , unbeaten run through poor defensive work mauro boselli picked weak pass bournemouth midfield own defence, thumping ball home way out when no defender closed him down. bournemouth struck bar twice, while both teams came close scoring, boselli s goal put wigan through next round.

wigan drawn against non-league macclesfield town in fourth round. snow had cleared pitch on morning of game avoid being postponed. gómez scored goal penalty awarded after callum mcmanaman brought down in box in sixth minute of play. goal did not dent spirits of macclesfield, lowest ranked team remaining in competition, came coming close equalising, wigan progressed 1–0 win. victory gave wigan second appearance in fa cup fifth round since founding of club in 1932.

wigan drawn away again – first game against bournemouth home game of campaign – huddersfield town. team took control, mcmanaman scored first fa cup goal of season on 31 minutes after running box , jinking around nearside defender blast ball on goalkeeper. less ten minutes later, gómez shot deflected onto foot of arouna koné, close enough goal outstretched leg crossed goal line, though questionably. goals james mcarthur , koné s second sealed tie, although lee novak s header, leaving goalkeeper joel robles on goal line, gave huddersfield consolation.

a quarter-final draw against everton @ goodison park seemed spell end of wigan s cup run when club drew premier league opposition first time. everton pulling out of bad run of form, having taken 12 points 27. though everton had larger share of possession, wigan proved more clinical , efficient destroying everton s hopes 3 goals in 4 minutes. although everton continued fight, wigan had third clean sheet , first fa cup semi-final appearance in club s history.

for wigan s fifth appearance @ wembley stadium, drew championship side millwall, while manchester city , chelsea had power match of penultimate round on following day. though match scrappy in beginning, wigan scored in 25th minute when koné hit perfect cross onto foot of shaun maloney, found himself in space in front of six-yard box , hit shot under millwall goalkeeper david forde. while possession statistics suggested match, millwall s failure register shot on target told wigan instead went close several times before gómez play well-timed through ball past millwall defence mcmanaman, picked , took round forde before slotting home wigan s second in 78th minute, sealing win wigan.