 |
|
Bradford will now enter
the hat for the fifth round of the FA Cup
|
Chelsea
surrendered a two-goal advantage to lose 4-2 at home to third tier Bradford
City while Manchester City were beaten 2-0 by visiting Middlesbrough on an
astonishing day of FA Cup shocks today.
Reuters reports Chelsea's
silverware options dwindled from four to three in remarkable fashion at their
west London fortress. Goals
from Gary Cahill and Ramires had Jose Mourinho's men cruising after 38 minutes
of their fourth-round tie but John Stead pulled a goal back before the break
and former Chelsea player Filipe Morais equalized in the second half.
Bradford
began the day 49 places below the Stamford Bridge club and for the first 38
minutes that looked about right. Chelsea
made nine changes to the side that drew 1-1 with Liverpool in the League Cup
semi-finals on Tuesday but still fielded a team packed with international
quality.
England
centre back Cahill flicked in Oscar's cross before Brazilian Ramires made it
2-0.
Stead's
left-foot shot into the top corner gave Bradford a lifeline and Morais levelled
15 minutes from time.
Andy
Halliday made it 3-2 before Mark Yeates' stoppage time goal sent the Bradford
fans into raptures and left the manager of the Premier League leaders seething.
What
followed will enter FA Cup folklore as first Halliday fired past Petr Cech
after 81 minutes and then Yeates calmly side-footed a fourth to seal a famous
win for the Yorkshire club who won the FA Cup in 1911.
 |
|
Bradford manager Phil
Parkinson (right) and his players and staff celebrate their third goal
|
"Me
and the players must feel ashamed," Mourinho told the BBC as his hopes of
a quadruple this season for the Premier League leaders were extinguished in the
most unexpected circumstances.
"I
repeat a word I used before this match, it's a disgrace for a big team to lose
to a small team from a lower (division). Frustration is not the right word,
embarrassed would be more appropriate."
Premier
League champions Manchester City could have few complaints as they were
outplayed by second tier promotion hopefuls Middlesbrough for whom Chelsea
loanee Patrick Bamford deflected in the opener and Spaniard Kike wrapped up
victory.
"An
unforgettable day for us and the fans. We went through some tough tests, the
keeper kept us in it at times. The scruffy goals are the goals I love,"
Bamford said.
"As
a team we were magnificent."
The
surprises, that begun earlier in the day when top flight Swansea City lost 3-1
at second tier Blackburn Rovers and had two players sent off, continued when
Southampton went down 3-2 at home to Crystal Palace, meaning the top three in
the Premier League all crashed out.
Fourth-placed
Manchester United could only draw 0-0 at fourth tier Cambridge United on
Friday.
Meanwhile
Tottenham Hotspur were also beaten 2-1 at home by the Premier League's bottom
club Leicester City on Saturday.
 |
|
Leicester City scored
twice in the final 10 minutes to come from behind and dump Tottenham out of the
FA Cup at White Hart Lane.
|
West
Bromwich Albion avoided an upset at Birmingham City, winning the Midlands derby
2-1 but a poor day for the elite continued when Sunderland were held 0-0 at
home by Fulham.
Derby
County beat Chesterfield 2-0 while Preston North End and Sheffield United, both
of the third tier, will need a replay after a 1-1 draw.
No comments:
Post a Comment