The similarities between Arsenal’s elimination from the FA Cup at the hands of Wrexham in 1992 and their defenestration from the Carabao Cup earlier this week are striking. Now read on…
Swap Fleetwood Town for Wrexham and thereafter the two occasions have many mutually identifying factors. Both of their conquerors wear red and white like themselves, on both occasions the winning goal was scored by an Irish man and the two teams were domiciled at the same level of English football when they took out The Gunners.
From a personal perspective, there was even a bit of a local connection to it in that there’s a very strong possibility former Fleetwood player and Dunboyne’s own current hottest property in Irish football, Tommy Lonergan, may well have been in the midst of the chaotic celebrations in the aftermath of Conor Haughey’s decisive penalty. With a name like that strong leadership and being well stocked for big shots comes naturally!
The young midfielder’s nerves of flashing steel set the Codmen up with an opportunity to better the biggest catch in their history when they will no doubt have flotillas of welcome out for either Newcastle United or Everton. Elsewhere, Liverpool boss Andoni Iraola’s most dreaded outcome has come to pass with his current employers paired against those whom he left just a few short months ago.
Meanwhile, Manchester City’s reward for just about dodging a potentially lethal banana skin at the Amex Stadium is, with the greatest of respect to Bradford City, the the handiest of the four ties, while the outstanding one between Sunderland and their hosts Crystal Palace has an air of intrigue about it.
It’s quite staggering to consider both are currently engaged in European competition. But most especially the Black Cats. Has it ever happened previously that a team has gone into the Premier League and qualified for Europe in their first season up?
A fantastic achievement for sure, but you do wonder if it has contributed to the fact that both are really struggling during the current season comparative to their productivity of a year ago. For any of what would be, with respect, the smaller clubs, balancing the workload can be challenging enough when only dealing with domestic competition.
Still, it comes down to that oft mentioned, seldom found thing – balance. And, at the end of the day, surely in the case of the clubs concerned here, Premier League survival will surely trump everything else. Be that as it may, the pitch in Fleetwood is probably still not clear and more luck to them!
The Carabao Cup quarter final fixture details are as follows:
Fleetwood Town vs Everton/Newcastle
Manchester City vs Bradford
Crystal Palace vs Sunderland
Liverpool vs Bournemouth
Ties to be played week commencing December 14
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