City fall short but give their fans reason to be hopeful
It may have been the red half of Manchester celebrating a trip to Wembley on Wednesday but Manchester City’s performance over the two legs will convince their fans that success may not be far around the corner.
It was a huge mark of respect to City that Sir Alex Ferguson felt it necessary to field his strongest eleven in a competition which is usually of little significance to The Red Devils.
Ferguson clearly knew what winning the trophy could have done for the appetite and belief of City’s stars as well as their billionaire owners.
He will never admit it but Fergie must fear City’s spending power and was desperate to put their ‘noisy neighbours’ in their place – no matter what competition it was in.
The United boss will now look forward to another trip to Wembley with the comforting thought that his side have got something that money can’t buy – a winning mentality.
And it was that which was the difference in a semi-final which could have swung either way over the two legs.
Whilst City were content to go into extra-time, United always believed that they could force a winner in the dieing moments just as they did four months earlier in the Premier League.
City fans can still be proud at matching their bitter rivals for the majority of the tie.
They will be one of the favourites to progress to the FA Cup Final if the draw is kind to them.
After all, Arsenal, Liverpool and United have all already been eliminated at the early stages.
Whilst, a long-awaited major Wembley final would be a fairytale for City’s long-suffering fans, a top four finish will remain the ultimate target for Roberto Mancini’s side.
Qualifying for the Champions League will give City a huge boost in status which could definitely attract some of the world’s finest players to Eastlands.
And if they continue to perform as they did against United, then it would be tough to bet against them doing just that.
Joe Elvin
