9 March 2014

Semi

It was March 1930 when Hull City AFC - also known as The Tigers - last appeared in an English FA Cup semi final. At Elland Road, Leeds we squandered a 2-0 lead to draw 2-2 with the mighty Arsenal. Then in the replay at Villa Park, Birmingham on March 26th we lost 1-0. See the rare footage below. By losing the semi-final we missed out on an attractive  Yorkshire derby final with Huddersfield Town.
And so we come to today - FA Cup quarter final day. My team comprehensively suppressed Sunderland to reach our first cup semi-final in eighty four years. The score was 3-0. After the game, the draw for the semi-finals was made and we have been paired with Sheffield United. It's the team I have always supported against one of the two big teams from my adopted city and by the way United's Bramall Lane ground is just a half hour walk from this keyboard.

If we can get past United, the likelihood is that we will play Arsenal in the final on May 17th - the same team that broke our hearts in 1930. If we make it to the final, many things will be different from last time such as the players' outfits, their boots, the maintenance of the pitch, the athleticism of the players, the television coverage and the media interest. And if a player scores he will be mobbed in wild goal celebrations whereas back in 1930, scorers more or less just shook hands with their teammates and carried on.
UP THE TIGERS!

11 comments:

  1. I'm not a football fan but the only ground I've ever been to is Bramall Lane.
    I went there twice. I remember the Bovril. Horrible it was. Sheffield United were playing but I don't know who the other teams were or who won.

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    1. What is your real gender Adrianne?

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    2. Male. I'm not homophobic but do find footballers a little strange. All the hugging, mounting each other, whingeing and rolling on the ground at the slightest tap. An odd lot they are.

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    3. It was so different back in 1930. If a player went down it was because he was genuinely injured and there would be no crowding of the ref - challenging decisions. When on Skye perhaps you'll get to see Struan FC v Portree. They might even use you as a sub (not a submarine!).

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    4. It's Shinty up here. It's like Hockey for psychopaths. No chance fo me being silly enough for that

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  2. Go on, say it Adrian, they're all a bunch of... ballet dancers!

    I don't follow soccer either, the only two matches I have been to were Karlsruhe playing Stuttgart and Leicester City playing Man U but I am rooting for Hull. If Hull lose, YP will become all morose and unbearable.

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    Replies
    1. NO I BLOODY WON'T HIPPO!

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    2. he might even write a poem, a lament... Oh please let Hull win!

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    3. YOU ARE DELIBERATELY WINDING ME UP HIPPO! YOU WAZZOCK!

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    4. That's given me a chuckle to go to bed with. Night night, YP. I still want Hull to win.

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  3. Well done, congratulations are in order! By the way, did you know Barnsley are the only team to have won the FA Cup in Yorkshire ?

    (read that again, and think about it for a moment before googling the 1912 final)

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Mr Pudding welcomes all genuine comments - even those with which he disagrees. However, puerile or abusive comments from anonymous contributors will continue to be given the short shrift they deserve. Any spam comments that get through Google/Blogger defences will also be quickly deleted.

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