THE FA CUP gets a bad rap mostly. With clubs motivated by money rather than prestige and the excitement of winning some silverware, it’s struggled to keep its head above the parapet.
Last night at the Boleyn Ground, there was an energy and electricity between West Ham and Manchester United as the Hammers desperately chased a way back into the game for the last half an hour.
It brought back some memories of when the Cup still meant something.
Like on April 14 1999, when United faced Arsenal in a semi-final replay at Villa Park.
Just three days before, the teams couldn’t be separated after 120 minutes in a dull encounter that lacked any real spice.
They more than made up for it second time around.
The season before, Arsenal had pipped United to the league championship and claimed the Cup too. So the rivalry between both was just nicely simmering.
The replay had everything.
United began brightly as David Beckham whipped a superb opener to the far corner after Teddy Sheringham’s lay-off.
Arsenal replied through Dennis Bergkamp’s deflected equaliser in the second half while Nicolas Anelka thought he scored the winner shortly after as he pounced on Peter Schmeichel’s fumble to tap to the net. But, he was whistled back for offside and both the Arsenal players and management took an age to realise, making it all the more agonising.
Roy Keane was then sent-off after picking up a second yellow for a foul on Marc Overmars and in stoppage time, incredibly, Arsenal were awarded a penalty when Phil Neville brought down Ray Parlour.
Bergkamp saw his subsequent strike saved by Schmeichel – the Dane flinging himself to his left to beat away the Dutchman’s tentative effort.
And the end? Well, we all know what happened, don’t we?
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