FanHouse FACup

Portsmouth striker Nwankwo Kanu scored the lone goal of the FA Cup Final in the 37th minute when a John Utaka cross into the box ricocheted awkwardly off Cardiff City goalkeeper Peter Enckelmann, and Kanu put the rebound into the net. That goal gave Portsmouth a 1-0 victory and the club's first FA Cup since 1939.

From the onset, Portsmouth's strategy against Cardiff City was obvious -- push forward quickly on attack, push Cardiff around on defense. That plan worked wonders in front of 89.874 in Wembley Stadium today, as Harry Redknapp's side committed 22 fouls and gave Cardiff plenty of set piece opportunities, but the Bluebirds' finishing was lacking today. David James only had to save three shots on goal. It was clear today which side was the Premier League side and which was Coca-Cola Championship side.

Portsmouth will join Premier League qualifiers Everton, Carling Cup winners Tottenham Hotspur and Fair Play winners Manchester City as England's representatives in next season's UEFA Cup. Redknapp is the first English manager to win the FA Cup since 1990.

The oldest football competition in the world is holding its final at Wembley Stadium on Saturday. I'm hard-pressed to find anyone who cares.

The whole of England is focused on the Champions League Final on Wednesday. And why not? It's the first all-English final in history, and it features the two clubs who finished 1st and 2nd in the Premier League. All the press is focused on who might play, who might not play, who's jealous of whom, who might be changing clubs in the summer, whether Moscow can pull it off and if the late local start time will impact players. Even ESPN is advertising this Manchester United v. Chelsea match during NBA Playoff games.

Last year, Manchester United and Chelsea were in the FA Cup Final, and everyone was buzzing about it. This year, we get two cinderella stories -- Portsmouth and Cardiff City -- and the buzz is non-existent. It's all about the Champions League Final. Why is that?

Barnsley has had a dream run in this FA Cup, what with their last-second goal to win at Liverpool and their 1-0 upset at home over Chelsea. Alas, their semfinal trip to Wembley stadium proved to be the end of their journey, as this 9th-minute wonderstrike by Cardiff City's Joe Ledley gave the Welsh club a 1-0 win over Barnsley. Kayode Odejay had a shot to equalize in the 67th minute, but he shockingly missed a wide open shot, and Barnsley didn't get another chance to score.

Cardiff advances to its first FA Cup Final since 1927. The Coca-Cola Championship side faces Portsmouth, who hasn't been to the FA Cup Final since 1939. The question remains, though -- if Cardiff wins, will the FA let the Welsh club take an English spot in the UEFA Cup?

I don't quite get the connection between Bon Jovi and the FA Cup. Perhaps whoever put this video together is suggesting that West Bromwich Albion is living on a prayer -- which as you can see, was not answered, thanks to this goal, which gave a Portsmouth a 1-0 win in a less-than-stellar semifinal in Wembley Stadium.

On the other hand, perhaps this video's creator is suggesting that Portsmouth's Milan Baros is holding on, which is exactly what West Brom striker suggested after the match. About a minute into this video, you can see the controversial touch by Baros. It was close, but I don't see a handball there.

Portsmouth will play in their first FA Cup Final since 1939. They await the winner of tomorrow's Barnsley v. Cardiff match.

Looks like Barnsley and West Bromwich Albion are going to give Luke Steele his day in Wembley after all.

The goalkeeper who shut down Liverpool and Chelsea in consecutive FA Cup rounds has rejoined Barnsley on loan for the rest of the season and will start in goal for Barnsley in the club's FA Cup semifinal match against Cardiff in Wembley Stadium in two weeks.

Barnsley and West Brom had been unable to come to a deal to extend Steele's loan, which forced him to return to West Brom last week. This new loan deal will ensure that Steele will walk out of the tunnel and onto England's biggest stage.

However, because Steele is still under contract with West Brom, the loan deal ensures that Steele could not play in a West Brom v. Barnsley FA Cup final. Portsmouth got caught in the same trap this week with Jermain Defoe, who initially moved from Tottenham Hotspur to Portsmouth on loan at the end of the transfer window and thus couldn't play for Portsmouth in their 2-0 loss on Spurs on Saturday.

Previously at FanHouse:
West Brom Denies Barnsley Its Steele

Coca-Cola Championship club Barnsley owes much of its miraculous FA Cup run to goalkeeper Luke Steele. His exceptional play in the net has led to victories over Liverpool and Chelsea and has given Barnsley a semifinal match in Wembley Stadium against Cardiff City.

There's only one problem -- Steele is only on loan to Barnsley from West Bromwich Albion, who just happen to be in the FA Cup semifinals themselves. Now it seems the loan deal is up, and Barnsley and West Brom can't seem to agree on an extension.

End result? Steele has to report back to West Brom, and because he's cup-tied to Barnsley, he wouldn't be able to play for either club in the FA Cup semifinals in Wembley.

I understand wanting to put your opponent at a disadvantage, but to deny Steele the opportunity to play on England's biggest stage after his heroic performances against Premier League titans is just mean. Yes, he'll be a top-flight goalkeeper soon enough, but Steele deserves to walk out of the tunnel at Wembley more than anyone still in the FA Cup, and West Brom would rather shut him down than reward him.

Here's hoping karma comes in the form of a Jermaine Dafoe hat trick. Play up, Pompey!

Earlier this week, Irishoutsider wrote here that FA Cup semifinalist Cardiff City would not be able to enter the UEFA Cup if it won the FA Cup, because that UEFA Cup spot is reserved for English clubs, and Cardiff is in Wales and not England.

That may be about to change. UEFA President Michel Platini stepped forward on Wednesday and told reporters that he supported a Cardiff City UEFA Cup bid, saying:

"If England don't do something we will do something because we always respect the result."

That comment is consistent with Platini's views that "worth has to be proven on the pitch," which was a central point of his Champions League revisions. As a result, the Football Association has announced that it will consider changing the rule that would deny Cardiff a UEFA Cup bid if it wins.

This could all be moot if Barnsley defeats Cardiff on April 6. Still, if the FA allows Welsh clubs to play in the English league system, it should award them the full prize for winning an English trophy. One would have to ask, though, if such a ruling would allow Scottish clubs to compete for the FA Cup in the future. I suspect Platini wouldn't be quite so eager to support that.

There isn't quite as big a gap between Middlebrough and Cardiff as there is between Barnsley and Chelsea. Only 21 clubs stand between the former two on the table, rather than the 35 between the latter two. That doesn't make Cardiff's 2-0 win at Middlesbrough any less of an upset.

The end result is that only one Premier League club -- Portsmouth -- will be in the semifinal draw for the FA Cup. At least three second- division clubs will join Harry Redknapp's side in the draw: Barnsley, Cardiff, and West Bromwich Albion.

Is this the result of "the romance of the FA Cup," though, or is it just that most Premier League clubs just don't care anymore? Kevin Fylan at Reuters Soccer Blog thinks that for the Big Four, it's the latter.

Let's be honest: it has more to do with the Champions League than the FA Cup itself. This season, all four English clubs are either through to the quarter-finals or odds-on to get there and it is increasingly evident that the FA Cup is going the way of the League Cup in terms of importance for that quartet.

How many cinderella stories could one competition possibly have?

Three weeks after their miracle game-winner at Anfield, Coca-Cola Championship club Barnsley pulled off another stunner, beating Chelsea at home, 1-0, thanks to a header from Nigerian striker Kayode Odejayi in the 66th minute and another brilliant performance from goalkeeper Luke Steele and the Barnsley backline.

Odejayi's goal came off a quality cross from Martin Devaney, which set up a dramatic final half hour in which the Blues attacked relentlessly but could not break through. Chelsea fans and pundits alike will have many questions for Avram Grant after this -- starting with why Didier Drogba and Frank Lampard weren't even on the bench. Were they still tired from Wednesday's Champions League match against Olympiakos? Did Grant forget that Barnsley defeated Liverpool, or think lightning couldn't strike twice?

Whatever the reason, Chelsea clearly underestimated their opponent. As a result, Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United are all out of the FA Cup, guaranteeing a non-Big Four winner for the first time since 1995. Ironically, those four are all still alive in the Champions League quarterfinals.

That won't make the party in Barnsley any less raucous, though. The slipper still fits for this second-division
giant-killer.

Sir Alex Ferguson must be wondering whom he has to shag to catch a break against Portsmouth anymore.

After 74 minutes of relentless Red Devil attacks came up empty, Portsmouth sub Milan Baros broke for goal, only to have Manchester United goalkeeper Tomasz Kuszczak take him down in the box. The referee ruled it a last-man penalty and showed Kuszczak a straight red.

One problem -- Kuszczak was a substitute for Edwin van der Sar. Sir Alex was out of goalkeepers.

Thus, Rio Ferdinand, who scored a shocking own goal at Fratton Park a year ago, donned the blue jersey for 10-man United. He wasn't quick enough, however, to stop Sulley Muntar's penalty, which secured a 1-0 win for Pompey and sent the Red Devils tumbling out of the FA Cup quarterfinals.

Portsmouth, Middlesbrough and Chelsea are now the only Premier League clubs left in the FA Cup. Even if Chelsea wins the Cup again, that UEFA Cup spot will go to the runner-up, meaning the 6th-place club in the Premier League will have to rely on the Intertoto Cup to qualify for UEFA Cup play next season. Kuszczak's howler just made the battle for 4th, 5th and 6th even hotter.