|
Hammers Heartbreak
No-one who was present at the F.A. Cup final of 2006 will ever forget it, but being a part, and a major part, of one of the most memorable finals ever will be small consolation to West Ham United and their fans. Twice they had one hand on the trophy in a pulsating game which they are entitled to feel that they deserved to win.
In the first half hour the Hammers raced to a 2-0 lead, courtesy of a Jamie Carragher own goal and a fumble from Liverpool goalkeeper Pepe Reina which let in Dean Ashton, before Cisses crisp finish pulled one back for the Reds.
But 9 minutes after the interval Liverpool were level when Steven Gerrard latched on to Crouchs headed pass to fire an unstoppable shot past Hislop. Then 10 minutes later a second error from Reina allowed Koncheskys fierce cross into the far corner.
The minutes ticked by and West Ham held firm in the face of Liverpools desperate efforts to draw level. They had one hand on the cup and were set for a remarkable victory when the cramp stricken Gerrard unleashed a 30 yard last gasp volley that flew into the far corner past Hislops despairing dive.
As fatigue set in during extra time, player after player collapsed with cramp and for the second successive season it seemed that the F.A. Cup would be decided on penalties, until Benayouns fizzing cross from a free kick met a West Ham players head and soared towards the top corner. A hand on the cup again, but only for the fraction of a second it took Reina to stretch and paw the ball onto the post and out towards Harewood, who was too paralysed by cramp to convert the rebound.
As the game went to penalties, two more saves from Reina against one from Hislop and the cup was Liverpools. But the glory was shared in an epic contest that was ultimately decided by the brilliance of Gerrard, key saves from Reina and the indomitable spirit that last season made Liverpool Champions of Europe.
|
