Birmingham City and Championship club Ipswich Town progressed to the Carling Cup Semi-Finals on Wednesday night.
Ipswich became the only non-Premier League team in the last four as a Grant Leadbitter penalty held up to eliminate West Bromwich Albion.
Birmingham City advanced thanks to victory in a bad tempered second city derby game. Unfortunately, the game was marred by ugly scenes at the final whistle as fans clashed on the pitch.
West Ham United ended Manchester United’s bid for a third straight Carling Cup title with an emphatic 4-0 win at Upton Park. Former Manchester United player Jonathan Spector opened the scoring with two first half goals, while Carlton Cole scored twice in the first half to round off the win. Inter Milan loanee Victor Obbina was in inspirational form for West Ham, providing the assist for all four goals.
Arsenal cruised into the last four with a comfortable 2-0 win over Wigan Athletic. French winger Charles N’Zogbia was the lone bright spot for Wigan as Arsenal largely dominated proceedings. An own goal by Antolin Alcaraz and a second half effort by Nicklas Bendtner help up for the 2-0 win.
Arsenal stayed on course to win their first domestic trophy as they cruised past Wigan Athletic in the Carling Cup Quarter-Finals. An own goal by Antolin Alcaraz and a second half strike by Nicklas Bendtner were enough to guide Arsenal into the last four.
The game was disjointed in the early stages but returning forward Robin van Persie twice released Carlos Vela with clever flicks, but Vela failed to muster a shot on target with either chance.
Wigan took a blow on 39 minutes when forward Victor Moses was stretchered off, and things got worse for the Latics only three minutes later as Arsenal took the lead. Theo Walcott ran in behind the defense and provided a cross that was turned into his own goal by Alcaraz.
Alcaraz quickly had an opportunity to atone for his error but his header on goal was saved well by Wojciech Szczesny and allowed the Gunners to go in at the break with a lead.
Arsenal continued to dominate play in the second half and the win was sealed by Bendtner in the 67th minute. Carlos Vela fired over a low cross that the Danish striker stabbed past Ali Al Habsi for the final 2-0 score line.
Manchester United’s bid for a third straight Carling Cup title was ruined as they were beaten 4-0 by West Ham United at Upton Park. Former Manchester United player Jonathan Spector scored two first half goals, before Carlton Cole added two second half strikes to complete the rout.
Inter Milan loanee Victor Obbina was in inspired form for West Ham. The Nigerian winger provided the assist on all four goals and also had a strike of his own disallowed for offside.
The game started in entertaining end to end fashion and it took an excellent save from Rob Green to prevent Manchester United from going in front. The World Cup’s most infamous goalkeeper got down brilliantly to tip Gabriel Obertan’s strike onto the goal post before James Tomkins cleared.
Soon after the excellent Obbina appeared to have put the Hammers ahead, but his long range shot deflected off Spector who was stood in an offside position.
Spector made up for the error in the 22nd minute when he headed home Obbina’s pinpoint cross. The strike was Spector’s first goal in English football, a surprising statistic given the fact the American first arrived at Manchester United in 2003.
After waiting seven years to score his first goal in English football, Spector had to wait only 15 minutes to add his second. Spector surged into the area and was set up by Obbina before firing the ball past Tomas Kuszczak for the 2-0 lead going into half-time.
West Ham continued to press after the break and an excellent 56th minute cross by Obbina was headed home by Cole for his 50th career goal. Obbina was on fire and completed Manchester United’s misery when he skinned Rafael Da Silva and set up Cole to finish clinically and round off the 4-0 win. The victory means West Ham have reached their first League cup semi-final in 20 years.
Birmingham City progressed to the Carling Cup semi-finals with a victory over bitter rivals Aston Villa in a hot tempered second city derby. Nikola Zigic grabbed a late winning goal after Gabriel Agbonlahor had cancelled out Sebastian Larsson’s opener for Birmingham.
Birmingham went ahead in the 12th minute after their first real attack. Veteran midfielder Lee Bowyer was brought down in the penalty area by Richard Dunne, and Larsson calmly slid home the resulting spot kick.
Villa had the better of possession but Birmingham were convinced they had doubled their lead after 29 minutes. A long range shot by Zigic squirmed through the arms of Brad Friedel and across the line, sparking furious protests by Birmingham players, even though the linesman’s flag was raised for offside.
Minutes later, things got worse for Birmingham when Agbonlahor tied the scores after he was released by Jonathan Hogg. Villa played well after the goal and their dominance of possession continued throughout the second half.
The best chance for Villa came when Ben Foster saved well to deny Agbonlahor, and Ashley Young got to the rebound first only to see his shot blocked.
Birmingham soaked up the pressure and broke Villa’s hearts with an 84th minute goal from Serbian international forward Zigic. The tall striker turned home Cameron Jerome’s cross to wrap up the win.
Sadly, the game ended with sets of rival fans clashing on the field as tempers got out of control. It is certain that members of England’s 2018 World Cup bid looked on in horror ahead of decision day on Thursday.
Championship club Ipswich Town gave their supporters a much needed boost as they reached the Carling Cup Semi-Finals at the expense of Premier League West Bromwich Albion.
Ipswich became the only non-Premier League team in the last four courtesy of a Grant Leadbitter penalty and some good saves by goalkeeper Brian Murphy.
The first half was an open affair with both teams stringing passes together and carving out chances. Jason Scotland wasted a chance for the home team when he shot straight at Myhill, and for West Brom Marc-Antoine Fortune and Giles Barnes forced good saves from Murphy.
Ipswich were livid just before half-time as they were denied a penalty Tamas Priskin appeared to be brought down by Boaz Myhill. Manager Roy Keane spent a long time berating the officials for what he felt was a wrong decision.
Ipswich were awarded a decisive penalty in the second half but this time West Brom were enraged. Carlos Edwards was felled by Graham Dorrans right on the edge of the area. The penalty was awarded with West Brom players furiously claiming the foul took place outside the area. Leadbitter kept a cool head to convert the spot kick and give Ipswich the lead.
Ipswich played well and had two chances to double their lead, but in the end Leadbitter’s strike was enough to award Ipswich a Semi-Final tie with Arsenal.
Birmingham City advanced thanks to victory in a bad tempered second city derby game. Unfortunately, the game was marred by ugly scenes at the final whistle as fans clashed on the pitch.
West Ham United ended Manchester United’s bid for a third straight Carling Cup title with an emphatic 4-0 win at Upton Park. Former Manchester United player Jonathan Spector opened the scoring with two first half goals, while Carlton Cole scored twice in the first half to round off the win. Inter Milan loanee Victor Obbina was in inspirational form for West Ham, providing the assist for all four goals.
Arsenal cruised into the last four with a comfortable 2-0 win over Wigan Athletic. French winger Charles N’Zogbia was the lone bright spot for Wigan as Arsenal largely dominated proceedings. An own goal by Antolin Alcaraz and a second half effort by Nicklas Bendtner help up for the 2-0 win.
Arsenal stayed on course to win their first domestic trophy as they cruised past Wigan Athletic in the Carling Cup Quarter-Finals. An own goal by Antolin Alcaraz and a second half strike by Nicklas Bendtner were enough to guide Arsenal into the last four.
The game was disjointed in the early stages but returning forward Robin van Persie twice released Carlos Vela with clever flicks, but Vela failed to muster a shot on target with either chance.
Wigan took a blow on 39 minutes when forward Victor Moses was stretchered off, and things got worse for the Latics only three minutes later as Arsenal took the lead. Theo Walcott ran in behind the defense and provided a cross that was turned into his own goal by Alcaraz.
Alcaraz quickly had an opportunity to atone for his error but his header on goal was saved well by Wojciech Szczesny and allowed the Gunners to go in at the break with a lead.
Arsenal continued to dominate play in the second half and the win was sealed by Bendtner in the 67th minute. Carlos Vela fired over a low cross that the Danish striker stabbed past Ali Al Habsi for the final 2-0 score line.
Manchester United’s bid for a third straight Carling Cup title was ruined as they were beaten 4-0 by West Ham United at Upton Park. Former Manchester United player Jonathan Spector scored two first half goals, before Carlton Cole added two second half strikes to complete the rout.
Inter Milan loanee Victor Obbina was in inspired form for West Ham. The Nigerian winger provided the assist on all four goals and also had a strike of his own disallowed for offside.
The game started in entertaining end to end fashion and it took an excellent save from Rob Green to prevent Manchester United from going in front. The World Cup’s most infamous goalkeeper got down brilliantly to tip Gabriel Obertan’s strike onto the goal post before James Tomkins cleared.
Soon after the excellent Obbina appeared to have put the Hammers ahead, but his long range shot deflected off Spector who was stood in an offside position.
Spector made up for the error in the 22nd minute when he headed home Obbina’s pinpoint cross. The strike was Spector’s first goal in English football, a surprising statistic given the fact the American first arrived at Manchester United in 2003.
After waiting seven years to score his first goal in English football, Spector had to wait only 15 minutes to add his second. Spector surged into the area and was set up by Obbina before firing the ball past Tomas Kuszczak for the 2-0 lead going into half-time.
West Ham continued to press after the break and an excellent 56th minute cross by Obbina was headed home by Cole for his 50th career goal. Obbina was on fire and completed Manchester United’s misery when he skinned Rafael Da Silva and set up Cole to finish clinically and round off the 4-0 win. The victory means West Ham have reached their first League cup semi-final in 20 years.
Birmingham City progressed to the Carling Cup semi-finals with a victory over bitter rivals Aston Villa in a hot tempered second city derby. Nikola Zigic grabbed a late winning goal after Gabriel Agbonlahor had cancelled out Sebastian Larsson’s opener for Birmingham.
Birmingham went ahead in the 12th minute after their first real attack. Veteran midfielder Lee Bowyer was brought down in the penalty area by Richard Dunne, and Larsson calmly slid home the resulting spot kick.
Villa had the better of possession but Birmingham were convinced they had doubled their lead after 29 minutes. A long range shot by Zigic squirmed through the arms of Brad Friedel and across the line, sparking furious protests by Birmingham players, even though the linesman’s flag was raised for offside.
Minutes later, things got worse for Birmingham when Agbonlahor tied the scores after he was released by Jonathan Hogg. Villa played well after the goal and their dominance of possession continued throughout the second half.
The best chance for Villa came when Ben Foster saved well to deny Agbonlahor, and Ashley Young got to the rebound first only to see his shot blocked.
Birmingham soaked up the pressure and broke Villa’s hearts with an 84th minute goal from Serbian international forward Zigic. The tall striker turned home Cameron Jerome’s cross to wrap up the win.
Sadly, the game ended with sets of rival fans clashing on the field as tempers got out of control. It is certain that members of England’s 2018 World Cup bid looked on in horror ahead of decision day on Thursday.
Championship club Ipswich Town gave their supporters a much needed boost as they reached the Carling Cup Semi-Finals at the expense of Premier League West Bromwich Albion.
Ipswich became the only non-Premier League team in the last four courtesy of a Grant Leadbitter penalty and some good saves by goalkeeper Brian Murphy.
The first half was an open affair with both teams stringing passes together and carving out chances. Jason Scotland wasted a chance for the home team when he shot straight at Myhill, and for West Brom Marc-Antoine Fortune and Giles Barnes forced good saves from Murphy.
Ipswich were livid just before half-time as they were denied a penalty Tamas Priskin appeared to be brought down by Boaz Myhill. Manager Roy Keane spent a long time berating the officials for what he felt was a wrong decision.
Ipswich were awarded a decisive penalty in the second half but this time West Brom were enraged. Carlos Edwards was felled by Graham Dorrans right on the edge of the area. The penalty was awarded with West Brom players furiously claiming the foul took place outside the area. Leadbitter kept a cool head to convert the spot kick and give Ipswich the lead.
Ipswich played well and had two chances to double their lead, but in the end Leadbitter’s strike was enough to award Ipswich a Semi-Final tie with Arsenal.
