WILL GRIGG ENDED 10-man Manchester City’s bid for an unprecedented quadruple as League One Wigan Athletic stunned the Premier League leaders with a 1-0 win in the fifth round of the FA Cup.
Wigan famously beat City by the same scoreline in the 2013 FA Cup final before dumping them out of the same competition the following season.
Even so, the prospect of Paul Cook’s current Latics vintage repeating the dose seemed a fanciful notion against a City team who have been imperious at home and abroad over recent weeks.
But Fabian Delph altered the complexion of the contest with a rash challenge on Max Power — the England international’s first-half red card meaning his is set to miss Sunday’s EFL Cup final against Arsenal and subsequent Premier League matches against the Gunners and Chelsea.
Referee Anthony Taylor approached Delph with a yellow card in his hand while being harangued by Wigan players and that seemingly contributed to the angry reaction from City’s players and bench when the left-back’s dismissal was confirmed.
As was to be expected given the abundance of excellent ballplayers in Pep Guardiola’s side, the numerical disadvantage did not stop them dominating possession, but an error from Kyle Walker allowed Grigg to bring the house down 11 minutes from time and book a quarter-final home tie against Southampton.
Sergio Aguero almost gave City a third-minute lead but headed over when he stole in front of Dan Burn to meet Bernardo Silva’s cross from the right.
Ilkay Gundogan then forced Wigan goalkeeper Christian Walton into a sharp save down to his right before the hosts showed their capabilities as an attacking force.
Right-back Nathan Byrne bustled into the box and a loose ball trickled under Danilo’s boot, forcing Claudio Bravo to fling himself at Gary Roberts’ feet.
More poor work from Danilo allowed Grigg to get the run on John Stones and fire into the side netting.
An apparent hamstring injury forced off former Manchester United midfielder Nick Powell, interrupting Wigan’s momentum, and City should have led when record signing Aymeric Laporte failed to convert Gundogan’s flick-on from Leroy Sane’s 26th-minute corner.
A similarly glaring miss came when Fernandinho smashed Stones’ knockdown over and City were left to regret such profligacy when their task became taller on the stroke of the interval.
Walton saved well from Aguero and, after Wigan partially cleared the resulting corner, Delph dived in over the ball on Power to earn his red card.
The enraged Guardiola brought on Walker for Sane at the start of the second half, moving Danilo to the left-back slot Delph vacated.
Clear chances were proving hard to come by for the depleted City and Guardiola introduced Kevin De Bruyne with 25 minutes remaining.
Gundogan was unable to turn in De Bruyne’s corner five minutes later and the Belgium midfielder’s arrival lifted the intensity.
Aguero’s touch let him down after De Bruyne raided down the Wigan left, leaving Grigg to cast himself as the match-winning striker when Walker inexplicably let Elder’s pass run under his boot.
Still with plenty to do, the Northern Ireland favourite kept his cool to slot his seventh of the competition past Bravo and claim a place in FA Cup history.
Wigan survived a couple of late scares and the full-time whistle sparked wild scenes of celebration as many home fans jubilantly invaded the pitch.
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Absolute scenes at the end! What a win for Wigan!
If Pep or anyone else has a problem with the Delph red, let them ask Seamus Coleman what he thinks about players diving in studs up at shin hight. The contact wasnt bad in this instance but it’s exactly the type of tackle that can break someone’s leg. Red all day.
@Seán Weir:
Last week he was banging on about good players not getting enough protection from referees. Well he got his wish tonight….and he’s still bloody complaining……..hate that.
@Seán Weir: irrelevant, never a red. Yellow at most.
@Seán Weir: Spot on. If he had of connected with him(pure luck that he didn’t) his leg would have been broke.
They stood in their flat caps and clogs eating baked beans and mince pies against the backdrop of mills and mines stretching down to the pier where Orwell wrote Homage to Catalonia and watched the City players arriving in their Baby Bentleys, their Mercedes-Benz SLR McLarens, their Rolls Royce Phantoms, their Lamborghinis and their Chrome Aston Martin DBS’s, like street kids gazing into sweet shop windows at a glittering array of luxury which will always be beyond their reach.
AYE! But they’re a proud people these Wigan folk and there was to be no homage to City’s Catalonian manager this evening…no…indeed the stout hearted Wigan players showed the true passion of the FA Cup, humbled the multi millionaires and sent them back up the motorway with their tails between their legs. It’s what we love about the cup. They say death is the great leveller – they haven’t watched the FA Cup.
The whole town will be off their cake tonight.
@David Sinclair: looking for a job writing for the 42 m8?
Griggs has more goals than Lukaku against the top 6
@Jordo: and 74mil cheaper
Delighted, well done Wigan some exhibition of defending. Aguero gonna be banned for ages after punch up with Wigan fans. Maybe time to have a cheeky flutter on Arsenal for Sunday.
@Tony Yeboah TP: punch up? He pushed him away.
@FPL Thommo: there’s a slap before that if you re watch it buddy
@Tony Yeboah TP: fans have no business on the pitch he deserved a slap
@Gary O’Hanlon: agreed aguero is dead right nobody should be near him. Still doesn’t change the fact he’s getting whacked with a ban
@Tony Yeboah TP: ye I’d say 6 games, saiz back Wednesday !
@Gary O’Hanlon: and we only 7 points off the playoffs. 66/1 to get promoted, get on it
Well done Paul Cook! All that cup experience with Sligo has paid off
@Dave O’Hanlon: Super manager. A breath of fresh air to hear a totally unpretentious plain-speaking chief.
@Dave O’Hanlon: Yes when they robbed Shells with the help of a plonker Wicklow referee!
@Colm O’Rourke: Still rankles with me too Colm. Clancy sent of for diving when infact it was a defo peno. Coulda gone 2 up. Got so drunk that night i have no idea how i broke my ankle.
@Colm O’Rourke: Yeah ye were hard done by, we seemed to have the jitters playing a first division team in the final again after what happened against Sporting Fingal two years previously. I was at that final and id’ve felt like a jinx if it wasn’t for that ref
Don’t think the red card was too harsh you just can’t tackle like that these days silly from delph well done Wigan
@John Barnes: never a red
@Jordo: always going against the grain Jordo. Wrong again, howler of a tackle
@Mikarlachenko: always right. Yellow card all day long, not even two footed
@Jordo: Clueless
@Stephen Lyons: fairy
@Jordo: ran in from a mile away, jumped with both feet off the ground, and was not in control
All that silly talk of a quadruple, they won’t even match our treble
@Paul Friday Shannon: who did you play for?
@Paul Friday Shannon: what treble did you win Paul?
@Dermot Lane: The ‘99 treble. All Utd fans won that. City can’t do that this season.. delighted!
@Gerry Ivie: Funny that tonight will be the highlight of all Man U fans season though…..says it all really!!
@Owen Harney: I doubt that Owen I’m sure you’ll lose again, maybe this weekend in fact
Hopefully Arsenal will end their Treble dream this weekend
Haha get in! Love an underdog, I prepared a short poem for this occasion, THATS PRETTY PATHETIC ITS ONLY WIGAN ATHLETIC! Who wants to bet pep says they are the best team he’s ever faced
@Gary O’Hanlon: You’re a wordsmith buddy. LOVE THE POEM.
They didn’t want to win it anyway
Aguero in trouble too
@Ollie Watson: Bullshit – Wigan are responsible for security – non existent tonight – sc—bags or fans whatever all over the field!
Class, Will Grigg’s on fire.
Everyone could see that City’s defense was terrified because of one Wigan player from NI who was on fire.
@Alex Marquis: what a load of rubbish!
Great result for Wigan yet still all the school yard finger pointing goes on, oooh, ohhh we could finish up second or fourth get a grip lads the difference between Burnley and West Brom is sixteen points the difference between the Gunners an City is what? Children.
Beautiful football… oops. Good luck in the next Champions League game.
There’s that journalistic laziness again. Apparently “dump” is the only verb that can be used against teams in higher positions in leagues or indeed, higher leagues.
Max Power “I got it from the hairdryer”
Paul Cooke is a manager who is capable and able to deliver at the highest level.
His career is a stepping stone of SUCCESS followed by SUCCESS.
As a Sligo Rovers supporter he gave us Success and Pride.
Thank you Paul and we watch as your STAR RISES.