Coventry 3 Man Utd 3 Wembley FA Cup semi final

As a Coventry fan, I am devastated and disconsolate. Heart breaking.

 

You can imagine what it was like in the City end; proverbial emotional rollercoaster.

 

Resignation as we went three down, pleasure at getting one back, hope at two, delirium at last minute penalty equaliser, beyond ecstasy at last minute of extra time winner, at which point we were looking far the more dangerous team, devastation at having it ruled out for an offside so marginal it was impossible to see with the naked eye, then elation at first penalty saved, then inexorable unravelling of all hopes and dreams….

 

A friend who was watching on TV with his 9 year old said they had to turn off the coverage at the end because of the harrowing shots of crying boys in the crowd. I saw some of them close up. Hard to tell a 10 year old they will suffer worse as a football fan as they get older. Probably not the consolation they were looking for.

 

I got there early!

It is difficult to convey the excitement at our end as the comeback progressed. This lad who whipped off his shirt was not alone. And to put this in context, it was not warm - I was wearing jacket jumper and thermal underwear, and gloves!

Start of penalty shoot out

Telling part was the scene at the end. Coventry end applauding the losers, United end emptied immediately, skulking out in embarrassment at the winners. Have seen some of the social media stuff and United fans incredibly unhappy. Essentially that was an incredibly expensive Premier League team that looked in trouble as soon as Coventry actually gave it a go, which we didn’t do at all in the first half.