THERE will be no “our name’s on the cup” gun –jumping from me but I firmly believe City have got their best chance of reaching an FA Cup final for years.
Benni McCarthy’s stunning 87th minute strike means that the Blues have got a hotly contested, anything goes North West derby to look forward to in the quarter finals rather than a trip to London to face an Arsenal side brimming with talent.
Granted, City were well and truly beaten by Blackburn at the City of Manchester in January, but to say that the Blues were abject that day would be akin to saying that the Pope has slight Christian leanings.
City’s form in the Cup, however, has been altogether different and, even though it is likely that Man United and Chelsea will be in the hat for the semi-final draw, I would wager that many fans have been tentatively checking the internet for hotel room availability in the Wembley area of North London on May 19.
As any fans of middle of the table/yoyo clubs, will testify, it is the little victories such as beating your main rivals on their own turf and decent cup runs that you live for.
City fans have had precious little to shout about in recent years and I doubt that any supporters outside deepest, reddest Salford, would begrudge them the chance to banish the nightmares of Ricky Villa’s wonder goal in 1981.