Beer and a bus stop: Steven Taylor on Newcastle’s last domestic semi-final

Steven Taylor (left) battles with Paul Scholes during Newcastle’s FA Cup semi-final defeat by Manchester United in 2005. Photograph: David Ashdown/Getty Images

Steven Taylor felt quietly optimistic. His team, Gulf United, were on a winning run and he was rather proud of the tactical trap he had set for their high-profile English opponents.

The consequent realisation that there would be no ambush in the warm desert air proved suitably brutal. “I remember thinking: ‘We’ll give Newcastle a good run for their money,’” he says from Dubai. “But we were 3-0 down after 20 minutes. Newcastle won 5-0 and put on a show. They were special. My boys were: ‘Wow.’”