Tag: FA Cup

Carli Lloyd resumes her domination at Wembley, helps Man City win FA Cup

City are establishing themselves as a dominant force in English women’s football

(Wembley Stadium/Twitter)

Back in 2012, Carli Lloyd made her mark at Wembley when she scored both goals in the U.S.’s 2–1 win over Japan in the Olympic gold medal match. On Saturday, she returned to Wembley with Manchester City to face Birmingham in the Women’s FA Cup final and once again she found the back of the net.

With City already up 2–0 at the half-hour mark after goals from Lucy Bronze and Izzy Christiansen, Lloyd jumped out of her boots to head in a spectacular ball from Megan Campbell to make it 3–0. City went on to win their first Women’s FA Cup 4–1.

Despite losing the Champions League semifinals to Lyon and Alex Morgan, City have now won the three trophies in the last nine months with last season’s WSL title and the Continental Cup.

Lloyd’s loan spell with the club will end at the conclusion of the WSL Spring Series, which wraps up on June 3. So she still has another chance to add to her trophy haul before returning to the Houston Dash and the NWSL. Given Lloyd’s track record, Manchester City might want to look into playing the rest of their matches at Wembley.

Sutton reserve goalkeeper Wayne Shaw made the most of not playing against Arsenal

Few players are able to seize the spotlight on their biggest stage, but Wayne Shaw did it


Throughout fifth-division Sutton United’s FA Cup run, the focus has been firmly on one man: 45-year-old, 280-pound backup goalkeeper Wayne Shaw. Through heavy press coverage (pun intended), he’s been made out to be a mascot for the everyman—if a sitcom dad came to life and played for a non-league club that made an improbable FA Cup run. He’s been asked to pose nude and he has his own chili sauce.

But with Arsenal’s surreal visit to 765-seat Gander Green Lane in the fifth round, Shaw knew he had one last chance to make himself a star—even though he wasn’t playing—and he made the most of his chance.

Before the match, he personally vacuumed the away dugout while wearing sandals just as a photographer happened to be milling around to illustrate the class difference between non-league jacks of all trades and their more privileged guests.

https://www.gettyimages.com/license/643158570

At halftime, with Arsenal up 1–0, he popped over to the bar.

And late in the second half, with Arsenal up 2–0 and the hope of a profoundly hilarious upset out of reach, Shaw’s coup-de-grâce came when he ate a pie in the dugout…

…for all the cameras to see.

Now, it was quickly revealed that this was a set-up choreographed by Sutton shirt sponsor Sun Bets, who offered 8/1 odds on Shaw eating a pie “live on air” during the match and even advertised it in the paper.

Still, there remains a strong possibility that Shaw was going to do this anyway and this was like if it was revealed that The Sun paid a bunch of Arsenal fans to hold a “Wenger out” protest. It’s going to happen regardless of the outside influence. The money is just a bonus.

So now the Roly-Poly Goalie will live on—an FA Cup tale for the ages—with a little extra cash in his pocket and a few extra calories in his belly. Job done.

UPDATE: Shaw had to resign “in tears” from Sutton and both the FA and the Gambling Commission are investigating his actions, ending his career, what, a month earlier than he would’ve otherwise (again, he’s 45 years old), but he’s been offered a perfect new job by supermarket chain Morrisons: Pie taster.

From the Independent:

Morrisons’ Chief Pie Buyer Tessa Callaghan said: “We’re always looking for the best talent to taste our pies and make sure they hit the back of the net.

“Wayne’s performance last night sets him apart as one of the country’s most famous pie connoisseurs.

“We were really impressed by his commitment to pie eating, and we understand that a good pie is the best way to warm up for any occasion, even if it is the biggest night of your football career.”

As the saying goes, “When one door closes another opens” and this sounds like a net gain for Shaw already.


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Everything you need to know about Lincoln City: The first non-league FA Cup quarterfinalists in 103…

Their creepy crest is one of these things

(Lincoln City/Facebook)

Non-league Lincoln City, who play in the fifth tier of English football, beat Premier League side Burnley 1–0 to become the first club outside of the top four division to reach the FA Cup quarterfinals since 1914. Defender Sean Raggett scored an 89th-minute winner to achieve the unlikely feat with their Lincoln’s first and only shot on target in the match. And though Sutton United will have a chance to match them on Monday if they can beat Arsenal, it’s Lincoln City who have gotten there first, so they get the glory of being the subject of this prestigious post.

Here’s what you need to know about The Imps:

  • The what? Yes, their nickname is The Imps and they have arguably the creepiest badge in English football. An imp is a mythical creature and The Lincoln Imp is a local legend that goes beyond football. From the city’s tourism website:

Legend has it that one day the Devil was in a frolicsome mood, and let out all his young demons to play.

After having allegedly stopping at Chesterfield, twisting the spire of St Mary and All Saints Church, a group of imps went to Lincoln and planned to wreak havoc in the city’s stunning Cathedral.

Mischievous activities in Lincoln included knocking over the Dean, smashing the stained glass windows and destroying the lights. To put a stop to any further chaos, an angel appeared from the Bible left on the altar and commanded “Wicked Imp, be turned to stone!”

Some imps managed to escape but one imp remained, hurling insults and stones at the angel. The angel responded in kind, turning the imp to stone where it sat and it can still be seen there today! It is said that the angel caught up with one of the escapees at St James’ Church, Grimsby, turning that imp to stone also.


  • Lincoln City last played in the Football League in 2011. They won League Two in 1976 (then called Division 4) and their best ever finish was fifth in Football League Division Two in 1902. They currently lead the National League with two games in hand over second-place Dagenham & Redbridge.
  • Manager Danny Cowley and assistant Nicky Cowley are brothers. They quit jobs as PE teachers to take their full-time positions with The Imps just last summer.
  • Their mascot is Poacher the Imp, named after the folk song “The Poacher of Lincolnshire.” This should’ve been Pippo Inzaghi’s nickname.
  • In 2012, Lincoln goal hero Sean Raggett expressed his dream to one day play against Joey Barton. Hopefully this was a joke and not the saddest life goal ever committed to social media, but, either way, it came true as Barton started for Burnley (and earned a yellow card for his usual assholery).

  • Their fans didn’t let life obligations—like attending a wedding—get in the way of watching club history in the making.

  • Their shirt sponsor is a van leasing company (that also sponsors the league in which they play—the Vanarama National League).

  • Lincoln City beat sixth-tier Altrincham in the first round of the FA Cup and third-tier Oldham Athletic in the second round. They needed a replay to beat second-tier Ipswich Town in the third round and beat another second-tier side in Brighton & Hove Albion in the fourth round.
  • And finally, Lincoln is home to a glory hole that has been pleasing boaters for generations.


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Vaping managers and diving Spider-Men: Oddities of the FA Cup third round

Strange things happen in the FA Cup and not all of them are magic


The FA Cup is a unique competition where the world’s top pros intermingle with the part-timers in the hope of winning the world’s oldest football tournament. A few people have made the third round of this year’s FA Cup campaign a bit more unique than usual, though.

For example, Paul Doswell, manager for non-league side Sutton United, was casually vaping on the touchline during his side’s scoreless draw with Wimbledon to force a replay.

https://streamable.com/tdc9b

Back in the old days, it wasn’t uncommon to see a manager smoke a cigarette, cigar, or pipe in the dugout, but modern stadium regulations and health concerns have largely made this practice a thing of the past for just about everyone except Napoli manager Maurizio Sarri.

But Paul Doswell likes to do things differently. He even pays Sutton to be their manager. So to see him puffing on a vape pen during an FA Cup match is actually one of the less weird things he does.

Not to be outdone, recently sacked former Crystal Palace manager Alan Pardew was in attendance wearing a cravat and looking like he sailed up to Gander Green Lane in his yacht with Mrs. Howell.

Meanwhile, Wolves fans had a steward crowd surfing before their match at Stoke, which the visitors won 2–0.

A day earlier, Man City’s 5–0 win at West Ham was capped off by a bizarre scene where one pitch invader tackled another, who was dressed as Spider-Man.

Realizing that nothing could top this, the referee decided to forego added time and end the match here.

https://www.gettyimages.com/license/631107772

The FA Cup has become a music festival without the music.


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