Jamie Jackson’s match report is in, so that’s my cue to go and write some Talking Points. Thanks for your company, correspondence and views on VAR. It’s been memorable. Coventry lost the match but won a lot of friends.
André Onana is not suspended for the Cup Final, apparently. I wish I could tell you why. His gamesmanship, in sledging Ben Sheaf, may have had an effect.
The player of the match is Bruno Fernandes. Someone call the police, Diogo Dalot’s been robbed. He was immense. Rasmus Hojlund did well too, thumping the last penalty home after the lean spell he’s been having.
On ITV Mark Pougatch notes that when Hojlund went over to celebrate near the United fans, none of his teammates joined him. “I don’t like this United team,” says Roy Keane, not for the first time.
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You wait 150 years for an all-Manchester FA Cup final. Then two come along at once.
Here’s Harry Maguire. “We started the game really well,” he says, “Really professional… The penalty was so harsh, but all credit to Coventry.”
The Sky Blue flags are still flying proudly. United do a rather muted lap of honour, and rightly so.
FINAL SCORE: Coventry 3-2 Man United (2-4 on pens)
Mark Robins and his men really don’t deserve that. They mounted a great comeback, thought they’d got the winner in the 121st minute, but as so often, the first team to miss a penalty end up squeezing through.
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UNITED WIN!
Hojlund hits it very well, into the corner. And Coventry’s hearts are broken, on penalties, at Wembley, again.
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Sheaf misses! Over the bar. United lead 3-2 and Hojlund has the chance to win the match.
Onana gets another yellow, Martinez-style.
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Fernandes scores! United lead, for the first time since the 70-minute mark.
O’Hare misses! Flying save by Onana. Still 2-2.
But Coventry haven’t missed one yet.
Eriksen scores! So it’s 2-2.
Torp scores! Making up for the goal that was chalked off. Coventry lead 2-1.
Dalot scores, so it’s 1-1.
That’s two pens in one afternoon for Haji Wright. And he’s sent Onana the wrong way twice.
Wright scores, again. 1-0 to Coventry.
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He went for the dink and Collins, after feinting to his right, stayed put.
First pen: Casemiro misses!
The pens will be taken at the United end. A few of their fans were leaving when Torp’s shot went in… Hope they’re back now.
“Garnachooooo,” says Rick Harris. “Ten Hag obviously decided to teach Garnacho a lesson by substituting him when he looked like United’s best player. If United lose this, I think Ten Hag will be sacked in the summer.” Or in the morning?
Both teams know what it feels like to go to penalties at Wembley. United beat Brighton in this fixture last year, while Coventry lost to Luton in the play-offs.
“VAR,” says Robert Speed. “Disallows open-play goals and awards pens. Just what we all wanted when it was brought in.”
FULL TIME!! Coventry 3-3 Man United
And so we go to penalties.
120+3 min United go long and win a corner.
GOAL DISALLOWED! Coventry 3-3 Man United
Torp’s goal has been torpedoed by the VAR.
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120+2 min Torp pointed to where he wanted it and then stuck out a toe. But it may be offside…
GOALLLLLLLLL!!!!!!! Coventry 4-3 Man United (Torp 120+12)
They’ve done it! Fabulous stuff.
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120 min Eriksen’s cross almost finds Hiojlund, but then Coventry attack again…
119 min Maguire goes down the left wing. Hojlund crosses to nobody. Antony hits a volley on the turn, into Row X.
117 min Forson goes close, hitting his shot from the D just over the bar. Replays suggests Onana got a finger to that shot from Simms. It’s all happening, but it’s still 3-3.
Simms hits the bar!
115 min From close range. Anything Fernandes can do …
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114 min A poor ball in a good position from Hojliund allows Coventry to counter. Then United come again: Antony’s shot is blocked, Amad’s goes wide.
113 min Just before that, Fernandes went down in the D, thinking he’d won a free kick.
113 min Close! Coventry break again, faster this time, and Wright drills in a left-foot shot that goes just wide of the far post.
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111 min Simms finds space down the right, but can’t quite eke out a shot. Dasilva, who’s on for somebody, picks up a yellow as United break. It’s basketball now.
110 min Hojlund has a shot for once. It’s blocked and Coventry break smoothly with Godden, whose shot is blocked in turn by Casemiro.
109 min O’Hare threatens to get away on the corner and Dalot does well to thwart him. There’s a brief VAR check for a penalty to United – usual thing, barely avoidable handball – but it’s not given.
108 min One corner brings two as Eriksen’s shot is deflected.
107 min Maguire comes close! He goes on the longest run seen at Wembley since Ricky Villa, and ends up shooting from a tight angle and winning a corner.
107 min No subs from Erik ten Hag, so no United debuts today.
106 min Coventry sub: Godden for Tavares, who was hobbling.
HALF-TIME IN EXTRA TIME: Coventry 3-3 Man United
United were better in that segment, which isn’t saying a lot. Coventry still full of spirit, but cramp may be setting in.
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105 min The excellent Dalot puts in an overlap that frees Forson to have a go. He shoots wide but close enough to win a corner as Collins plays safe, only for the corner to come to nothing.
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103 min An enforced change for United as McTominay pulls up lame. With no midfielders left on the bench, they have to bring on a third right-winger. Omari Forsson joins Antony and Amad. Antony was already on the left and Amad is now at No 10, with Fernandes as the 8.
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100 min Sheaf’s long shot curls just wide. If Coventry hadn’t started with a back five, they’d be out of sight.
97 min United break with Amad looking busy again, but he loses his way as Coventry do well to get bodies back.
“I spoke too soon,” says Richard Hooker. “Upon reflection, I don’t think MU would make much of an impact in the Championship.”
97 min United pass it around, with Amad again to the fore. He can smell the glory again. Casemiro’s long ball finds Fernandes, who heads wide.
Fernandes hits the bar!
92 min Almost a Geoff Hurst! Fed by Amad, Fernandes hits his shot handsomely, but it bounces back into play, not over the line.
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93 min Eriksen has the ball in acres, but even he can’t find a team mate with his through ball. A minute later, Antony makes the same mistake.
92 min Coventry look purposeful. For United, only Amad has the same air about him.
91 min On we go, with Jim Ratcliffe wondering if he will ever see United win.
FULL TIME! Coventry 3-3 Man United – extra time to come
The whistle finally goes in the 100th minute. It’s been majestic from United, somehow snatching chaos from the jaws of serenity. And it’s been tremendous from Coventry, who won the second half, hands down, and probably deserve to win the game.
90+8 min Rashford goes off, limping. On comes Amad, a good man in a tight corner in the FA Cup.
90+6 min Wright went low to his right, and Onana went the other way. From 0-3 to 3-3: Coventry do love a last half-hour.
GOAL!!! Coventry 3-3 Man United (Wright 90+5)
No trouble.
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90+4 min The penalty stands.
PENALTY TO COVENTRY!
For handball, against Wan-Bissaka. The ref gives it, perhaps a touch harshly…
90+2 min Rashford is down in a heap after feeling he was fouled. The ref didn't see it that way.
90 min There will be six more minutes. Plenty of time for Coventry to score two.
89 min Another shot from Coventry, another deflection, but this time it loops over the bar. Onana is risking a red by wasting time again.
89 min Chance for Hojlund! Fernandes found him in space by the penalty spot, and he took so long to sort his feet out that he ended up not even taking a shot.
88 min Coventry’s turn to have the ball for a bit. After making that fine save, Onana got a yellow card for time-wasting.
87 min United manage to keep the ball for a minute.
84 min The corner is deep and Dalot heads it away with a flick. But Coventry have a long-thrower, Van Wijk, and as the ball bobbles out of the mixer it sits up nicely for Torp, who sends in a screamer, very well saved by Onana.
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83 min Thomas commits a foul, gets a yellow and gives away a free kick. Fernandes whips it in and wins a corner, well cleared by Coventry. They charge up the other end and win a corner of their own. The force is with them.
81 min This is United’s speciality: conceding twice in quick succession.
80 min It was another wicked deflection as a harmless-looking shot bobbled off Wan-Bissaka’s back and looped over the helpless Onana. But full credit to Simms for finding the space and time to cross to O’Hare, and to Coventry for their spirit.
GOAL!!! Coventry 2-3 Man United (O'Hare 79)
Game. On.
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77 min Eriksen, bossing the midfield, exchanges a few passes with his neighbours and sends a through ball to Rashford but gets it a moment too late, so the flag goes up.
76 min United need a spell of possession and they have one now with Casemiro and Eriksen leading the way.
74 min United counter, Rashford gets a cross in from the right but Collins has no trouble gathering it in.
73 min That’s the first shot on target today from Coventry. Erik ten Hag reacts by taking Mainoo off and sending on Eriksen, to bring some control. But it’s all Coventry now… the magic of the cup.
72 min United usually concede, and they have now! Simms was in acres of space between the centre-backs. Tavares found him with a neat cross, and Simms didn’t even have to hit the ball cleanly to beat Onana. That’s his 19th goal of the season.
GOAL! Coventry 1-3 Man United (Simms 71)
Ooh!
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68 min The Coventry fans want a penalty as Maguire gives O’Hare a shove. Goal kick, says the ref, and the various VARs agree with him.
67 min Chance for Coventry! Their first in open play, I think. O’Hare has a flying header, 12 yards out, meeting the ball well but sending it over the bar. The cameras find Sir Trevor Brooking, who once scored here with an effort like that.
65 min Subs: Coventry have Luis Binks, Fabio Tavares and Victor Torp on for Kitching, Latibaudiere and Eccles. For United, Antony has replaced Garnacho.
64 min Coventry, still giving it their all, win a corner. as both managers line up some subs. When United break, Garnacho overhits a cross. He is now going off, presumably to save his legs for Sheffield United on Wednesday.
63 min Chance for Maguire! A free kick from Fernandes found Casemiro on the right. His header into the mixer brought a toe-poke from Garnacho, and another from Maguire, who hit his over the bar when it might have been easier to find the net.
62 min Next time United come here, they will be cast in the role of Coventry.
60 min Half of Coventry’s goals this season have come in the last half-hour. It’s just that they need three of them now.
“Great MBM, thank you,” says Richard Hooker, generously. “Based on what I’m seeing so far, it looks as though MU would be a good Championship team and could do well in that division.”
58 min Fernandes got lucky with a deflection as he hit a left-foot shot, but United has done well to create the chance, on the counter, with Garnacho and Rashford combining well with Fernandes himself.
GOAL! Coventry 0-3 United (Fernandes 59)
Just when Coventry were playing so much better …
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55 min United race away on the counter, only for Fernandes to mess up a simple through ball to Garnacho.
54 min Coventry have a nice spell of possession. Bidwell whips in a promising cross and Wan-Bissaka has to get a vital toe in.
53 min Onana takes his time over a goal kick, allowing the Coventry end to have some fun showering him in boos.
50 min Jim Ratcliffe has now taken his seat. He has quite a good excuse for being late: he was running the London Marathon, clocking up a PB apparently (4hrs 30) at the age of 71. He has yet to witness a United win as their part-owner, but may fancy his chances today.
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49 min Fernandes slips the ball square for Rashford, whose rocket is well blocked.
48 min Coventry break down the right, but United counter and Rashford wins a free kick in the same zone that Fernandes just shot from. He’s on the ball again.
47 min Close! Fernandes with a fine effort from the corner of the box. He beats Collins but can’t curl it inside the post.
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46 min Onana flirts with danger as Simms presses in, but United have been composed at the back with Casemiro there. Maybe this is now the best place for him.
46 min Coventry kick off, and look as if they’ve switched to a back four.
“Surely that is game over as United don’t let two-goal leads slip,” says Rick Harris. “Oh, wait a minute, yes they do! Coventry have been a bit too cautious with only Eccles prepared to break the lines, so they need to have a go in the second half.” They certainly do.
Coventry deserve better, but United have been right on it. Diogo Dalot has been the man of the match so far and United are now in the same driving seat as at this stage of last year’s Carabao Cup final against Newcastle: one goal in open play, one from a set-piece, and, for once, none conceded.
HALF-TIME! Coventry 0-2 Man United
Last summer United were quite prepared to sell Scott McTominay and Harry Maguire. Both opted to stay, both have had a good season, and now both have scored to put United in charge of this tie.
GOAL Coventry 0-2 Man United (Maguire 45)
From the resulting corner, Maguire steers a fine header past Brad Collins.
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44 min Chance for Rashford! A long ball sends Dalot down the right. He cuts back to Rashford, in the inside-right channel, and the shot is a screamer, well saved. But …
44 min Coventry take the hint and try going long to Haji Wright. He has the pace but the ball is too close to Onana.
42 min Garnacho roams from right to left, teeing up Rashford, whose decent cross is turned into a tame shot by a deflection.
40 min Pressure from Coventry at last! Eccles does really well, beating two men on the right and keeping his low cross out of Onana’s reach. But again Dalot saves the day, sliding in ahead of Simms.
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38 min Coventry play out stylishly from the back, all diagonals, and they’ve got four men forward, but Dalot gets a vital interception in.
37 min That free kick is Coventry’s only shot so far. They may need to give Casemiro a dose of his own medicine.
34 min Casemiro is going long and having fun. He launches the ball into the Coventry area again, forcing the keeper Bradley Collins to palm it away from the onrushing Garnacho.
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33 min Bidwell takes it, left-footed, but can’t clear the wall.
32 min Coventry manage to go forward. Dalot gets United out of trouble but McTominay lands them back in it with a late challenge. Free kick, 25 yards out.
30 min After half an hour, not only are United winning: they haven’t let Coventry have a shot. Quite a change from the past few weeks.
28 min Credit to Erik ten Hag for playing Dalot on the right, where he and Garnacho have formed a good rapport since Christmas.
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27 min If Willy Kambwala had been fit, McTominay would be sitting on the bench.
25 min McTominay started the move himself, feeding Garnacho, who slipped in Dalot on the overlap. McTominay just kept on running and Dalot, who often overhits his crosses, got this one just right – drilled in low, beating the keeper, so that McTominay just had to get something on it.
GOAL! Coventry 0-1 United (McTominay 23)
The breakthrough!
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23 min Unite have had 77 per cent of the ball and all seven of the shots, but Coventry have blocked four of those and the other three have been wayward.
22 min Fernandes finds space for a shot that is blocked. United win a corner and Garnacho has a go from the D – spinning into Row Q.
20 min Before that the cameras found United’s top brass, with Jason Wilcox joining Dave Brailsford and co. They now have almost as many chiefs as owners. Jim Ratcliffe is expected after half-time – he’s just run the marathon in four and a half hours, at the grand old age of 71.
19 min Chance for Rashford! Casemiro sends him a glorious through ball and he runs onto it well, but then shovels his shot wide.
16 min “Coventry are setting the tempo,” says Lee Dixon. “Slowing the game down.”
14 min Coventry, now playing on the counter, have a three-on-three, but Mainoo and Maguire snuff out the danger.
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12 min Rashford has another shot blocked. Coventry’s back five are doing their job so far. When they clear, Wright gets into a race with Dalot, which he loses.
11 min Rashford looks up for this. He wiggles inside and finds McTominay on the edge of the box, but Coventry deal with he danger.
9 min United’s midfield is more mobile without Casemiro. McTominay moves the ball quickly out of defence and pops up again to send the ball to the left wing, where Rashford gets a cutback in, to nobody.
8 min Coventry’s turn to break and it’s looking good until Wan-Bissaka puts in a typically neat tackle. The corner is headed clear by Casemiro, the new Steve Bruce.
Chance for Garnacho!
6 min Big miss! United go long, Fernandes heads the ball down … Garnacho gets his positioning all right, and his lunge all wrong, connecting only with thin air.
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6 min Coventry are pressing hard, pinning United’s makeshift defence back. But when United break, they look dangerous, with Rashford beating his man and having a shot blocked, and then Garnacho winning a corner with a cutback.
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3 min Kobbie Mainoo sets off on a slalom towards the D. Has nobody told him he’s the holding midfielder now?
2 min United have started better than on their last trip to Wembley, when they conceded to City after 13 seconds.
1 min The sun is out, the pitch half in shadow as Fernandes kicks off and United go back to Onana.
The managers have a friendly word. Mark Robins, in a tracksuit, makes Erik ten Hag, in a suit, look tall, but it’s Robins whose stock stands higher at the moment.
The teams are led out by Ben Sheaf and Bruno Fernandes. Of the two, Fernandes looks the more anxious.
The Coventry end of Wembley is a fabulous sight. A sea of sky blue.
An email! “A minor point, I know,” says Jason Jawando, “but Coventry beat United in the fourth round of the FA Cup in 1987. Alex Fergusson only lost once in the third round, against Leeds in 2010. Ah thanks, you’re quite right – in the third round, United had beaten Manchester City, as they surely won’t if they win today. I’ll make a correction.
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Meanwhile, in the relegation six-pointer at Goodison … Everton have got a second against Forest, which should make them safe-ish. It’s good news for Burnley, who, as things stand, are breathing down Forest’s necks, only three points adrift. Daniel Harris is on the case here.
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Blunt and to the point
The ITV pundits are having a chat on the pitch. Ian Wright is sporting orange specs, Roy Keane brown suede shoes, and Karen Carney a cream suit. When the conversation turns to United, Carney doesn’t hold back. “They’re not a good team,” she says. “They have good individuals.”
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This is only the second FA Cup semi-final in Coventry’s history. For their opponents, it’s the 32nd (a record). United are pretty good at semi-finals, winning 21 of those 32 games, but Coventry are flawless. Their lone appearance came back in 1987, en route to a famous triumph (and in the wake of a win over United, in the third fourth round at Old Trafford). They beat Leeds 3-2 in the semi at Hillsborough with the winner coming in the 99th minute, then beat Spurs 3-2 in the final with the winner coming in the 96th minute. There seems to be a pattern here.
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Full marks if you know the names on the United bench. It’s basically a school trip, with Christian Eriksen cast as the long-suffering teacher.
Five academy graduates on the bench for #mufc pic.twitter.com/X0NJOdlcaY
— Samuel Luckhurst (@samuelluckhurst) April 21, 2024
This is thought to be the 28th different back four Man United have fielded since the start of the season. And it will surely be the slowest pair of centre-backs, with the stately Harry Maguire joined by the even statelier Casemiro. Can they make up for that with their vast experience? And can Kobbie Mainoo, who has only ever played at Wembley for England, step into Casemiro’s shoes as the player shielding the defence?
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Teams in full
Manchester United (probable 4-2-3-1) Onana; Wan-Bissaka, Casemiro, Maguire, Dalot; McTominay, Mainoo; Garnacho, Fernandes, Rashford; Højlund.
Subs: Bayindir, Ogunneye, Jackson, Amass, Eriksen, Forson, Antony, Amad, Wheatley.
Coventry (probable 4-3-1-2) Collins; Latibeaudiere, Thomas, Kitching, Bidwell; Van Ewijk, Eccles, Sheaf; O’Hare; Wright, Simms.
Subs: Wilson, Binks, Kelly, Dasilva, Allen, Torp, Tavares, Andrews, Godden.
Teams in brief: O'Hare and Eccles come in for Coventry
Mark Robins makes two changes, bringing Josh Eccles and Callum O’Hare in for Victor Torp and the suspended Kasey Palmer.
Teams in brief: United down to one fit centre-back
Willy Kambwals joins United’s interminable injury list, along with Mason Mount and Sofyan Amrabat. So Harry Maguire, himself a doubt until recently, is United’s last centre-back standing. Scott McTominay comes into the starting XI with Casemiro expected to drop back into the back four. Ellis Simms will be licking his lips.
Preamble
Afternoon everyone and welcome to the Mark Robins derby. The FA Cup is all about storylines and this semi-final is all about one of the managers, even if he insists that it’s not.
Robins has gone from suddenly scoring the FA Cup goal that famously bought Alex Ferguson the time to become a legend, back in 1990, to slowly becoming a bit of a legend himself. Seven years into his second stint at Coventry, he’s the longest-serving manager in the land after Jürgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola. In the Championship, where bosses often last five minutes, he’s the longest-serving manager by nearly five years.
He is particularly adept at spotting and developing strikers. Last season it was Victor Gyökeres, bought from Brighton for £1m, sold to Sporting Lisbon for £19m, now valued at £50m and linked with Arsenal. This season it’s been Ellis Simms, bought from Everton for £6m, knocking in the goals ever since – he has 15 in 2024, the same as Cole Palmer. Five of those goals have come in the FA Cup, including the 97th-minute winner in the quarter-final at Wolves.
If Man United had Simms on their staff, Rasmus Højlund would not be starting today. Even more than most strikers, Højlund lurches from helping himself to going hungry, and his plate has been empty since he returned from injury seven games ago. It’s not just that he can’t find the net: he struggles to find the ball. At Bournemouth last weekend he played the full 109 minutes without producing a shot or even a shot-creating action.
United are still firm favourites today, for good reasons. They have more star quality, they’re used to the big occasion, they have the stronger bench, and under Erik ten Hag they’ve been highly efficient in the domestic cups (W15, D1, L2), with a spotless record against clubs from the lower divisions.
Coventry, though, will really fancy this. They have nothing to lose, they’ll get umpteen chances, their manager is in full command of his ship, and their win at Molyneux was every bit as thrilling as United’s against Liverpool. It’s true that they always seem to concede a goal, but then United usually concede two.
The kick-off is at 3.30pm (BST) and I’ll be back soon with the teams.
