2011 FA Cup final

For the women's event, see 2011 FA Women's Cup final.
2011 FA Cup Final
The match programme cover.
Event2010–11 FA Cup
Manchester City Stoke City
1 0
Date14 May 2011
VenueWembley Stadium, London
Man of the MatchMario Balotelli (Manchester City)[1]
RefereeMartin Atkinson (West Yorkshire)[2]
Attendance88,643[3]
WeatherSunny
17 °C (63 °F)
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The 2011 FA Cup final was the 130th final of the FA Cup, the world's oldest domestic football cup competition.[4][5] The final took place on 14 May 2011 at Wembley Stadium in London in front of 88,643 spectators and a British television audience of more than eight million.[6][7] The clubs contesting the final were Premier League clubs Manchester City and Stoke City. The match was Stoke City's first FA Cup final, and Manchester City's ninth.

As Premier League clubs, they entered the competition in the third round. Manchester City made an unconvincing start, contesting two replays against lower league opposition in the third and fourth rounds but gained momentum and kept three consecutive clean sheets en route to the final. Stoke City played one replay in the third round, before beating all opponents in a run which culminated in a 5–0 victory over Bolton Wanderers in the semi-final at Wembley Stadium – the biggest winning margin at Wembley since 1939.[8] Manchester City entered the final as favourites,[9] with Stoke City as underdogs.[10]

Manchester City began the match the brighter of the two teams with the majority of possession and a number of shots forcing saves from goalkeeper Thomas Sørensen but the first half remained goalless. Stoke improved after the half-time interval but failed to score from their only shot on target in the 62nd minute, which was saved by goalkeeper Joe Hart after a one-on-one with striker Kenwyne Jones. In the 74th minute, Manchester City midfielder, Yaya Touré fired a loose ball in the Stoke City penalty area past goalkeeper Sørensen to give Manchester City the lead. Stoke attempted to equalise after Manchester City's goal without success and the final finished 1–0 with Manchester City claiming their fifth FA Cup.[11] The result gave Manchester City their first major trophy for 35 years, ending the longest trophy drought in the club's history.[3][12] Stoke City manager Tony Pulis said "Manchester City were the better team and deserved to win",[13] but expressed "disappointment" at his team's display.[13] Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini dedicated the victory to the Manchester City supporters, declaring, "I am happy for the fans, they deserved to win this Cup. For a long time they didn't win."[14]

The medals were handed out by Prime Minister David Cameron. As winners, Manchester City won a place in the 2011 FA Community Shield and the 2011–12 UEFA Europa League but as they had already qualified for the UEFA Champions League via their league position, the Europa League place was given to Stoke City as runners-up. To celebrate their victory, Manchester City held an open-top bus parade on 23 May 2011, beginning at Manchester Town Hall and ending at the City of Manchester Stadium; it attracted a crowd of up to 100,000.[15][16]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference manofthematch was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "Atkinson takes Cup Final whistle". TheFA.com. The Football Association. 19 April 2011. Archived from the original on 3 February 2013. Retrieved 19 April 2011.
  3. ^ a b McNulty, Phil (14 May 2011). "Man City 1–0 Stoke". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 13 May 2011. Retrieved 14 May 2011.
  4. ^ "History of The FA Cup". TheFA.com. The Football Association. Retrieved 10 December 2011. TheFA.com takes a brief look at the rich history of the oldest and best domestic Cup competition in the world.
  5. ^ "FA Cup first round draw details". BBC Sport. 30 October 2011. Retrieved 10 December 2011. The FA Cup is the world's oldest association football club competition
  6. ^ Plunkett, John (16 May 2011). "FA Cup final nets 8m viewers". The Guardian. Retrieved 18 May 2011.
  7. ^ "FA seeking to avoid Cup final clash with Premier League". BBC Sport. 31 August 2010. Retrieved 4 March 2011.
  8. ^ Ley, John (17 April 2011). "Bolton Wanderers 0 Stoke City 5: match report". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 18 December 2011.
  9. ^ "Stoke's Whelan not seeking Man City revenge in Cup". BBC Sport. 12 May 2011. Retrieved 18 December 2011.
  10. ^ Shaw, Phil (12 May 2011). "We are biggest underdogs since the Crazy Gang, claims Pulis". The Independent. Independent Print. Archived from the original on 14 May 2011. Retrieved 17 May 2011.
  11. ^ "City end 35 years of hurt by winning FA Cup". ESPN Soccernet. ESPN Internet Ventures. 14 May 2011. Archived from the original on 18 May 2011. Retrieved 16 May 2011.
  12. ^ White, Duncan (16 May 2011). "FA Cup final: Manchester City 1 Stoke City 0 match report". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 16 May 2011.
  13. ^ a b "Stoke boss Tony Pulis proud despite FA Cup defeat". BBC Sport. 14 May 2011. Retrieved 16 May 2011.
  14. ^ "Roberto Mancini dedicates FA Cup win to Man City fans". BBC Sport. 14 May 2011. Archived from the original on 15 May 2011. Retrieved 17 May 2011.
  15. ^ Nield, Chris (24 May 2011). "FA Cup parade: Your photos". mcfc.co.uk. Manchester City FC. Archived from the original on 17 December 2011. Retrieved 23 December 2011.
  16. ^ "Manchester United fans brave rain for parade". The Independent. Independent Print Limited. 30 May 2011. Archived from the original on 20 August 2011. Retrieved 23 December 2011.