Jamie Jackson was at Wembley; here’s his report. Congratulations to Manchester City for becoming the first club to reach four consecutive FA Cup finals; commiserations to Southampton for coming up inches short; thanks to both for contributing to such an entertaining match; and thanks to you, dear reader, for joining us on this MBM.
Tonda Eckert, calm and measured beyond his years, talks to the BBC. “It’s a tough performance … a game of moments … we controlled most moments very well … it doesn’t happen too often that you lose a game against City from two goals outside the box … a top performance … we need to put this performance to bed because the real test of maturity comes on Tuesday [with the crunch Championship visit of Ipswich Town] … against City you will have to defend a couple of spells closer to your box … the boys did that brilliantly … they didn’t give much away … we didn’t manage to get over the line, so there is a slight bit missing, but overall a very good performance … we go again against Ipswich … we are ready to suffer … every game is different … some games we need to win with possession, some on transition … we showed we can play different kind of games … we are very close to that … our dedication is clear … today gives us extra fuel to make sure we finish the season strong.”
