What a way to leave Cardiff

Airads FA Cup Cardiff 2006 3770. Photo by DrMoores.

I’ve hooked in the TV to the computer so that I can have some noise to distract me from the builders. It’s spring so the house needs rebuilding again – this time it’s the roof. This shouldn’t be a to distracting. For instance FA Cup finals are usually dull affairs. The earlier stages can be interesting, but by the time you get to the final you have two very professional teams playing in a conservative way.

Today was different. It was the sort of match the FA Cup Final should be. On paper it looked like it was going to be a comfortable Liverpool win. Liverpool scored first and even though it was an own goal, I still expected a Liverpool win, but they’d made life tougher for themselves. When West Ham scored at the right end it looked like an upset was very possible; you don’t want to give away goals and especially not two to West Ham. After that it was frantic and both sets of fans added to the atmosphere.

In the end the only man standing between West Ham and the FA Cup was Steven Gerrard. Liverpool weren’t bad, but it’s Gerrard who makes them something special. West Ham looked like they were more of a team to me. If they play in the UEFA Cup the way they played today then they could well be in the final of that next season. In any event they’ll be a team to watch.

Hopefully when they take the final to Wembley next season they’ll take the atmosphere with them.