LONDON: Crystal Palace reached the FA Cup final for the first time in nine years as Ismaila Sarr’s double and a rocket from Eberechi Eze sealed a 3-0 win against Aston Villa at Wembley on Saturday.
Oliver Glasner’s side took the lead in the semifinal through Eze’s long-range blast before Sarr netted twice in the second half.
In the final on May 17, Palace will face Nottingham Forest or Manchester City, who meet in the second semifinal on Sunday.
The Eagles have never won the FA Cup, losing their two final appearances against Manchester United in 2016 and 1990.
“All the credit to the players. They had to work so hard. They had to overcome a few difficult moments,” Glasner said.
“We got more control and it was an unbelievable performance. The players stuck to the plan and we never lost our heads.
“I don’t know at the moment how I feel — a bit exhausted. The players have four days off now. They should enjoy the moment.”
Villa, who last won the FA Cup in 1957, were hoping to make the final for the first time since 2015.
But Unai Emery’s team produced a dismal display and will have to settle for fighting to qualify for the Champions League via a top five finish in the Premier League.
“When they scored the first goal it was more difficult for us and we only reacted after 2-0 and then we created more chances to score and we didn’t do. In transition they are very good, and they deserve to win,” Emery said.
“Sorry to our supporters because they were motivated. We have to accept it. We have to be quick to react because in the league we have the most important objective.”
Jean-Philippe Mateta had the ball in the back of the net just before the half-hour mark, but it was chalked off after a VAR check confirmed the Palace striker had fouled Ezri Konsa in the build-up.
There was no such doubt about Eze’s opener, however, after Sarr got in the way of Pau Torres’ pass, then collected the resulting ricochet to the right of the Villa area.
Sarr found Eze and the midfielder curled a superb strike beyond the reach of Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez.
Torres looked for an instant reply when he nodded just over the crossbar.
Konsa came closer, forcing Dean Henderson into a low save with a header of his own from a corner.
Villa piled on more pressure after the restart when Henderson made another fine save to deny John McGinn’s sharp volley, then Lucas Digne fired narrowly wide through a crowd of players.
Palace were awarded a 53rd-minute penalty after Eze was tugged down by Boubacar Kamara and Mateta stepped up to the spot after a VAR check, but his shot clipped the post and went wide.
Just as Villa started to gain momentum, Adam Wharton intercepted a pass and, after a quick touch from Mateta, Sarr fired into the bottom corner.
Henderson repelled a blast from Villa substitute Leon Bailey, moments after Mateta slid in to deny Ross Barkley.
Sarr nodded Eze’s cross off target, while Matty Cash’s attempt to claw a late goal back for Villa sailed wide.
Sarr put the seal on Palace’s impressive performance in stoppage-time, outpacing Konsa before slotting home to send the Eagles into the final.
Palace sweep past Villa to reach FA Cup final
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Palace sweep past Villa to reach FA Cup final
- Oliver Glasner’s side took the lead in the semifinal through Eze’s long-range blast
- “All the credit to the players. They had to work so hard. They had to overcome a few difficult moments,” Glasner said
Desert Vipers cruise past Sharjah Warriorz to secure top-two finish
- A clinical bowling performance, led by player-of-the-match David Payne, set up a straightforward chase
DUBAI: Desert Vipers continued their impressive run in the International League T20 with a comprehensive four-wicket victory over Sharjah Warriorz at Dubai International Stadium on Saturday, a result that guaranteed them a top-two finish in the points table.
A clinical bowling performance, led by player-of-the-match David Payne, set up a straightforward chase as the Vipers registered their seventh win from eight matches to move clear at the summit with 14 points.
Payne spearheaded the attack with an incisive spell that dismantled the Warriorz batting line-up, finishing with figures of 3 for 14. He struck twice inside the powerplay to remove Johnson Charles and Tom Kohler-Cadmore, conceding just nine runs from his three opening overs as Sharjah crawled to 28/2 after six overs.
Pressure was maintained from both ends as Khuzaima Tanveer and Naseem Shah kept runs to a minimum, before Payne struck again just after the powerplay to dismiss James Rew for a duck. Tight overs from Dan Lawrence and Naseem further strangled the scoring, with the Warriorz unable to find momentum through the middle overs.
Regular wickets continued to fall as Noor Ahmad and Sam Curran applied sustained pressure. Noor removed Ethan D’Souza with a sharp stumping and later trapped Harmeet Singh lbw, while Curran dismissed Sikandar Raza cheaply. Tom Abell offered lone resistance with an unbeaten 35, but found little support as the Warriorz slid from 76/7 to 90 all out.
In reply, the Vipers lost early wickets but never allowed the chase to drift. Taskin Ahmed struck twice to remove Fakhar Zaman and Hasan Nawaz, and Max Holden fell soon after, leaving the Vipers 38/3 at the end of the powerplay.
Sam Curran anchored the innings with a composed 37 from 31 deliveries, rotating the strike efficiently alongside Dan Lawrence to keep the required rate under control. Despite disciplined spells from Taskin, Adil Rashid and Dwaine Pretorius, the Warriorz were unable to build sustained pressure.
Late wickets briefly delayed the inevitable, but Tom Bruce’s late six and four in the 13th over effectively sealed the contest before Vriitya Aravind clipped the winning run to complete the chase with 37 balls to spare.
After the match, Payne said his success came from adapting his plans to the conditions and opposition.
“My plans were slightly different to usual tonight,” he said. “It was about bowling across the bat and matching up against their strengths. Having such a strong bowling attack around me takes a lot of pressure off.”
Warriorz captain Sikandar Raza admitted his side struggled to adapt.
“We’ve won our games when batting first, but while chasing we haven’t quite found the right combinations,” he said. “For us now, every game is like a final.”
