Source: Daily_Mail
Manchester City 1 Stoke 0: Yaya the hero again as Blues end 35-year wait for trophy
ShareThirty-Five years, two months and 17 days ago Manchester City won the League Cup. A generation has passed in which this famous football club had been reduced to being the punchline of everybody's favourite football joke, their capacity for calamity unrivalled throughout the leagues. [LNB]And though they may have had the most expensive image makeover in history, coming in at around ?300million on players alone, yesterday they finally shed their status as the comedy club of England, possibly forever. [LNB]For Manchester City won the FA Cup and the fact that their bitter rivals from across the city had won a record-beating 19th league title shortly beforehand mattered not a jot to those long-suffering supporters who celebrated at Wembley. [LNB] Trophy hunter: Yaya Toure smashes the ball past Stoke goalkeeper Thomas Sorensen[LNB]When Yaya Toure struck from inside the penalty area on 74 minutes, after some superb work from David Silva and Mario Balotelli, he broke what sometimes had seemed to be the longest curse in football history. [LNB]Even as the net bulged, the infamous banner at Old Trafford which celebrates the length of City's trophy drought wasbeing dismantled. [LNB]By then there was no doubt that City would complete the task. So utterly had they dominated possession, so poorly had Stoke played, that it seemed inconceivable that City, even with their reputation for catastrophe, could concede the game. So it proved. [LNB] Hounded out: City's David Silva (2nd right) is challenged by Stoke trio Ryan Shawcross (left), Robert Huth (2nd left) and Andy Wilkinson (right)[LNB]It was not one of the great finals; Stoke's best player by far was goalkeeper Thomas Sorensen, which told its own story. [LNB]'Our greatest disappointment is that we haven't really reached the level of performance we have shown in the past few weeks,' said Stoke manager Tony Pulis. 'Perhaps we ran out of depth in our squad but even so, it is disappointing.' [LNB]Yet the significance of the day did not lie in the quality of the contest. Roberto Mancini, a man who has been doubted at key points this season, has delivered Champions League football and a major trophy in an extraordinary week for City.[LNB] Up for the Cup: Manchester City's Gareth Barry (left) challenges Stoke City's Jermaine Pennant[LNB]However stratospheric the ambitions of Sheik Mansour, the club's owner, might be, that represents a seismic change in City's fortunes. [LNB]Mancini is infuriating at times, his commitment to caution unparalleled in the Premier League. But on Saturday, starting with Carlos Tevez - a captain whose last significant act at the club could well be lifting the FA Cup - Silva and Balotelli showed an altogether different side to the man. [LNB]Balotelli was the principal gamble of the day and how he repaid his manager; his back-heel that indirectly led to the only goal of the match was the game's delight.[LNB] City slickers: Rock star and City fan Liam Gallagher (left) and manager Roberto Mancini [LNB] [LNB] When he had received an elbow to the throat on 15 minutes from Robert Huth that went unpunished, you feared the worst for the volatile young Italian. Mancini winced when reminded. [LNB]'This was difficult for him,' he said, with a wry smile. 'But I said to him before the game, "If I see that you are nervous and don't think about the game, then you will come off". I think it is now important he realises he has a big talent and he can't lose his big talent.' [LNB]On Saturday Balotelli's talent rather than his temperament dominated. His stunning first-half strike from 25 yards that produced an even better save from Sorensen, diving to his left - justifiably labelled the 'save of the season' by Pulis - was the best of several first-half contributions from wide left.[LNB] Smash hits: Manchester City's Yaya Toure (right) celebrates scoring against Stoke[LNB]Tevez and Silva played admirable supporting roles yet the Spaniard must have been filled with acute embarrassment on 36 minutes. Eight yards out with Sorensen stranded, Silva drove the ball into the ground and saw it bounce over. [LNB]By then, City had accumulated several first-class chances: Tevez, on five minutes, had one turned away by Sorensen; Toure's swerving effort form 45 yards was just wide; Vincent Kompany's shot was parried by Sorensen. Early in the second half, Aleksandar Kolarov drove into the side-netting. [LNB]Yet, with an hour gone and City utterly dominant, Kenwyne Jones managed to get the wrong side of Joleon Lescott and was clean through on goal. The quick reactions of Joe Hart managed to block the ball, but it was a tense moment.[LNB] Super save: Stoke keeper Thomas Sorensen somehow pushed away Mario Balotelli's strike[LNB]However, Sorensen's excellence apart, the best you could say of Stoke was that Huth and Ryan Shawcross defended manfully in the face of serial trickery from City's front three. Overwhelmed in midfield, it took 21 minutes to register a shot, from Jones, that was easily blocked. [LNB]More consistent with the flow of the game was Balotelli's impish back-heel which released Silva, who returned the ball to the Italian. Though Balotelli's shot was blocked, it rebounded in a crowded penalty area to Toure, whose left-footed strike was low, fierce and finally defeated Sorensen. [LNB]With 74 minutes gone, it seemed as though we had been waiting an age for it to come. [LNB]Then again, half of Wembley had been waiting a generation.[LNB] FA CUP FINAL LIVE: Manchester City v Stoke City - all the action as it happenedExclusive: The nine-year-old rebel who became City's ideal Kompany manDes Kelly: We really need a Wembley classic to resuscitate the FA CupExclusive: FA caught in bitter beer war with Budweiser named Cup sponsorExclusive: FA Cup Final flags printed with wrong names ahead of Wembley clashAll the latest Manchester City FC news, features and opinionAll the latest Stoke City FC news, features and opinion[LNB] [LNB] Explore more:People: David Silva, Thomas Sorensen, Mario Balotelli, Vincent Kompany, Tony Pulis, Joleon Lescott, Ryan Shawcross, Joe Hart, Carlos Tevez, Robert Huth, Roberto Mancini, Liam Gallagher Places: United Kingdom
