Coventry 3-3 Man Utd (2-4 on Pens): Survival After the Revival!

Published by CM22ENT on 22 April 202422 April 2024

Trips to Wembley are always treasured. In this stage of the competition last year, Manchester United dramatically slid past Brighton & Hove Albion on penalties. Joyous celebrations followed as Erik ten Hag’s first season seemed to be climaxing in the correct manner. An extraordinary purple patch post World Cup kickstarted those dreams.

Coventry’s last Wembley trip also consisted of penalties, but heartbreak ensued in a play-off final that may have granted them Premier League football instead of Kenilworth Road’s very own, Luton Town. Interestingly, the only time they’ve performed at this stage of the competition led to their 100 year trophy drought being exterminated against Tottenham Hotspur back in 1987. Mark Robins would’ve been hoping to pull further motivation from that, especially after their Wondrous victory in Wolverhampton!

Early in proceedings, the trajectory of this encounter presented Manchester United with possessional dominance, as The Sky Blues every now and then showcased their threat in transition. Something that has been a weakness after turnovers for Erik ten Hag’s side all season long.

It remained imperative that they stayed purposeful with their methodologies on ball and that seemed to be the case as Scott McTominay fired home the first Coventry blow. Excellent overlapping from Diogo Dalot combined with his drilled cross beat Bradley Collins and found the Scotsman back post ready to convert.

Both teams had bright moments as the first half elapsed, but it was Harry Maguire’s free header that looked to define what was turning into a sombre day for all travelling fans in blue and white. On the cusp of half time, Manchester United were two goals to the good, and seemingly cruising to another FA Cup final against their City rivals.

That observation took a step further to reality when Bruno Fernandes tripled the lead with just over half an hour to go. Coventry’s more positive approach to start their second half only opened up more opportunities for Manchester United to exploit open spaces left behind, and so they did.

Deflation radiated around one section of fans, while jubilation spread through all dressed in red. Perhaps on the field, those premature celebrations occurred also as performance levels dropped. The Sky Blues could only fight to redeem their lost pride and that soul searching journey began with Ellis Simms striking home his sixth goal in the competition this season.

Glimmers of hope in most scenario’s stay that way, but when it comes to facing off against the modern day Manchester United, glimmers resemble clear openings… With that being said, to set up a frantic climax, it was Callum O’Hare’s heavily deflected strike from outside the area that beat Andre Onana again. All of a sudden, trouble ensued for Erik ten Hag who adopted a less comfortable expression. You could only imagine those far from satiated in the stands.

Survival mode wasn’t meant to be in the script for what once seemed to be a comfortable walk in the park, so when Aaron Wan-Bissaka was unluckily penalised for a hand ball moments before the full time whistle, tides had confirmed to have viciously shifted. An extremely questionable penalty that lacked logic in an illogical era of officiating. Nonetheless, Haji Wright who had threatened on occasion dispatched with confidence, completing Coventry’s classic comeback!

Extra time told a tale of near misses for The Sky Blues with strikes being dragged wide, ricocheting off the crossbar and agonisingly, in the final minute of time, as medlum followed Victor Torps’ suspected winner, VAR not only postponed celebrations, but indefinitely suspended them.

Memories of heartbreak only intensified having seen both Callum O’Hare and Ben Sheaf miss penalties one after the other, while Rasmus Højlund decided their fate. What should’ve been, was not to be. Manchester United avoided death multiple times to achieve back to back FA Cup finals. They will hope to reverse last year’s disappointment in due time.

How did you assess the game and each team’s performance? Have your say in the comment section, and feel free to follow my accounts on X, TikTok, and YouTube where I’ll be providing extra Man Utd content and updates. Contact CM via email or social media platforms by clicking here