Touré strike wins FA Cup for Manchester City
Saturday, May 14, 2011
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Yaya Touré's 74th-minute goal proved decisive as Manchester City FC defeated Stoke City FC 1-0 in the FA Cup final at Wembley, ending the club's 35-year wait for silverware.
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Manchester City FC won their first major trophy since 1976, and the FA Cup for the fifth time, thanks to a 1-0 victory against Stoke City FC at Wembley.
Neither side was able to break the deadlock in a tight and often tense first half, but Yaya Touré's thunderous strike 16 minutes from time secured a first FA Cup triumph for Manchester City since 1969. Yaya Touré was also the match-winner in the semi-finals, when the Citizens beat Manchester United FC 1-0.
Roberto Mancini's men settled the better and had the first meaningful attempt inside five minutes through Carlos Tévez, whose fiercely-struck shot was well saved by Thomas Sørensen away to his left. City continued to assert themselves, with Yaya Touré's long-range drive sailing agonisingly wide before Mario Balotelli's top-corner bound effort was superbly tipped wide by the impressive Danish goalkeeper.
Stoke grew into the game, with Kenwyne Jones providing a constant aerial threat, but the best chance of the first half fell to David Silva, who, with the goal at his mercy, smashed his shot into the ground and over the bar.
The second half started in frenetic fashion, with Silva squandering another glorious chance from Tévez's centre, while at the other end Jones was thwarted by the legs of Joe Hart after shrugging off Vincent Kompany. With 16 minutes remaining, however, Yaya Touré scored the winner, drilling in the loose ball following a scramble in the Stoke penalty area.
"Stoke are a very strong team and it's very difficult to beat them but we played very well and deserved to win the game," said Mancini. "This year was important for us to start to win. In the space of four days we've qualified for the Champions League, which was our first target, and we won the FA Cup, so we have had two very satisfying moments."
Stoke boss Tony Pulis added: "We've reached a level over the past few weeks and the biggest disappointment today is that we haven't reached that level again. We've had a great season reaching the FA Cup final, hopefully finishing in the top eight and getting into Europe for next season."