semifinals
17th april 2011:
bolton wanderers v. stoke city
Bolton Wanderers face Stoke City on Sunday, April 17, 2011 in the semi-final of the FA Cup. And by the time the teams walk out onto the Wembley turf they will already know who they will face, as the other semi-final between Manchester City and Manchester United takes place the day before.
Owen Coyle’s Bolton Wanderers come into this match on a mixed run of form. Their fine 3-0 win over West Ham United on Saturday was preceded by two league defeats to Manchester United and Birmingham City. Before that their league run had seen them draw away to Newcastle United and beat Everton at home. They are lying eighth in the Premiership, but a full 10 points behind Tottenham Hotspur who hold the vital Europa League place.
Stoke City is only five points behind Bolton, but more crucially is only six points above the relegation zone and cannot therefore relax just yet, though manager Tony Pulis is probably feeling quietly confident that they will avoid the drop. Recent form has been mixed with their last three Premiership games seeing a win over Newcastle United, an impressive draw against Chelsea and a defeat at the hands of Tottenham Hotspur.
Bolton Wanderers had to battle hard in the quarter finals to secure their place in the semis. They were drawn away at Birmingham City and won the ding-dong match 3-2. Johan Elmander gave them the lead after 20 minutes but Cameron Jerome equalised for Birmingham City shortly afterwards. Bolton again took the lead at 60 minutes through Kevin Davies from the penalty spot. But Birmingham still had fire and equalised again with just 10 minutes to go through Kevin Phillips. It was down to South Korean international Chung-Yong Lee to head the winner in the last minute. The Wanderers had a 2-0 home win over non-league York City to begin their campaign before being held at home to a goalless draw against local rivals Wigan Atheltic. It took a 66th minute winner by Ivan Klasnic in the replay to get them into the fifth round, where they had to travel to Craven Cottage to face Fulham. An early goal by Ivan Klasnic secured the 1-0 win.
Stoke City had a tough 2-1 win over Premiership strugglers West Ham United in the quarter finals. Defender Robert Huth put them in the lead early in the game before Frederic Piquionne equalised shortly afterwards. It took a goal by another defender – Danny Higginbotham – on the hour mark to secure the victory. City started their Cup run nervously with a 1-1 home draw against Championship side Cardiff City before winning the replay 2-0 after extra time. This set up a local derby away at Wolverhampton Wanderers, which they won 1-0 thanks to a late goal from Huth. The fifth round saw them win comfortably 3-0 against Brighton & Hove Albion.