Extra drama in the Cup
One team through, one team out, one place left.
Three teams this week scored 33 which means that for the second consecutive tournament we will have a replay to decide a finalist. Meanwhile Bigger than Brolin scored 36 and prepare for another Cup Final.
Smash & Grab (4) 33 – 36 Bigger than Brolin (5)
Big Brol the first team to earn a place in the Spring Cup Final
The first Semi-Final of the 2021 BFFA Cup was a double-header for these two Premier League teams. Having progressed from the Third Round draw, they met in this Semi-Final in the same week as their fourth-and-final meeting in the Premier League this season. As mentioned previously, S&G had won not only the last three encounters, but also the three PL encounters last season too. This week, things fell differently.
Both teams put out a 4-3-3 formation. BtB have used four different ‘keepers for this fixture. This week they opted for new signing Fraser Forster, while S&G chose former BtB ‘keeper Illan Meslier. Both sides flooded their squads with new signings during the international break; Big Brol added Matty Cash, Mason Holgate and Davinson Sanchez to their starting XI and S&G hired the servies of Wolves defensive duo Coady and Semedo. Despite all the effort to strengthen their back lines only Ruben Dias, who has been playing for BtB since GW4, returned to the team bus with a clean sheet.
In midfield, Smash & Grab had the advantage over their opponents. Bale (BtB) didn’t appear at St. James’ Park until the 88th minute, Phillips missed with two shots from 30-yards and Odegaard had none. Meanwhile, the S&G midfield was threatening from the first game of the weekend. Matheus Pereira, who scored in S&G’s 57-27 win over Big Brol nine weeks ago, was in great form away at Chelsea, making four shots on target, scoring two in first-half injury-time and assisting Diagne & Robinson in the second half too. However, unlike Banana Swans, The Globes & SNSS, Smash decided to bench the Baggies’ man against Champions League-chasing Chelsea in favour of Ward-Prowse, Trossard and Armstrong. Trossard, who also scored against BtB in GW21, was ineffective away at Old Trafford, but the Southampton pair put in a better performance against Burnley, coming from 2-0 down to win 3-2, a comeback kickstarted by Stuart Armstrong’s 30th-minute goal from just outside the area. Armstrong, another ex-Bigger than Brolin player, was signed by Smash & Grab as a free agent just five days before the Semi-Final.
The biggest threat to Bigger than Brolin’s return to the Cup Final lay in Smash & Grab’s front three. In the last three meetings S&G had outscored Big Brol 10-1, which included goals from Rashford (GW3), Salah (GWs 12 & 21) and Bamford (GW21). Big Brol’s solitary goal against Smash this season was Gabriel Jesus’ strike in CIty’s 1-0 win over Sheffield United. This weekend, as you can see below, four of those five scored again. Patrick Bamford came close in the second half when his volley was blocked by Ramsdale, but it was Rashford and Salah that put the pressure on for the Premier League leaders. However, despite struggling in front of goal this season, the PL team in fourth place got a decisive goal from Jesus and assists from Werner and Raphinia to get them over the line and into the 2021 Cup Final.
In a huge week for Bigger than Brolin, their score of 36 moved them upto fifth in the Best-ish rankings and, perhaps more importantly, they moved to within two League Points of third-placed The Money Team and the prize money places. Next weekend they will play second-placed Mighty fine feeling, who are riding high on a 13-game win streak. In Gameweek 35 they will face The Money Team and may also be in the Super Cup that weekend too. Then finally in Gameweek 38 they will be playing Vanishing Spray FC, who are also still playing for Cup Glory this season, in the last game of the season.
Smash & Grab:
Goals: Armstrong (31′), Rashford (62′), Salah (68′)
Min: 905 G: 3 A: 0 YC: 0 RC: 0
Bigger than Brolin:
Goal: Jesus (74′)
Min: 901 G: 1 A: 2 YC: 0 RC: 0
Gloopy Yarbles (7) 33 – 33 Vanishing Spray FC (18)
SF all-square after another superb Lingard performance
The return of the EPL began with a disaster for Chelsea, but somehow these two teams both pulled a profit from the wreckage at Stamford Bridge. Gloopy collected a eight from Pulisic’s opening goal, which he knocked in after Alonso’s shot came back off the post, and Spray picked up a fiver when Pulisic’s half-time replacement, Mason Mount, tapped in from a Werner assist. With nothing more that day but a couple of missed half-chances for Iheanacho and Mahrez, and Laporte’s clean sheet on the Yarbles bench, Gloopy went into Sunday morning 17-7 up.
Sunday offered nothing more to the fixture, only a Bruno Fernandes assist that was chalked up by both teams. With that and appearance points on both sides, Gloopy continued to lead the Semi Final 25-17 at the end of the second day. Although only eight points up, their hopes of a place in the Final lay with Calvert-Lewin, while Spray set up for a comeback with Olsen, Keane and Richarlison in the 6pm game and Lingard, Saiss (bench) and Neves (bench) in the later match.
With three extra players to come, Vanishing Spray were hoping that Everton would win-to-nil and settle the tie before the final game of the weekend. Unfortunately for them, Olsen and Keane saw their clean sheet taken away with less than five minutes regular time to go, and the matchplay between Richarlison and Calvert-Lewin ended with neither player scoring nor assisting. Richarlison (Spray) fired a shot into the ground which Guaita palmed away and Calvert-Lewin was inches away from sliding in Sigurdsson’s blocked shot in the second half. The crucial point at Goodison Park went to Robert Olsen for his five saves (the same number as Pope had made for Yarbles, but without losing a point for conceding three).
The tie then came down to just one man, Jesse Lingard, playing away at Molyneux. Knowing that he needed double figures to get Vanishing Spray into the Spring Cup Final, Jesse hit the pitch with all guns blazing. In the sixth minute Coufal beat Neves to the ball and set Lingard off on a 60-yard run which ended with him taking on three defenders and putting the ball past Rui Patricio to open the scoring. Just a few minutes later, Cresswell sent a long ball down the left wing to Lingard who flicked it past Semedo; Masuaku picked it up and set up Fornals for a second. Then not long before half-time Lingard was instrumental again and got the assist he wanted by taking on the Wolves defence at the halfway line and putting Bowen through for West Ham’s third. Spray were 34-33 up with Lingard’s 60th minute of play, but there was just one more action to come. In the 93rd minute the former United man picked up a yellow card as the game drew to a close and fell one point short of booking Spray into their first Cup Final.
The Semi-Final ended a draw and will be replayed this weekend, Gameweek 31. The gameweek begins on Friday 9th with Fulham hosting Wolves. Chelsea, who currently have eight players representing these two sides, play midtable Crystal Palace and Manchester United return to White Hart Lane six months after being embarrassed 6-1 in October.
Gloopy Yarbles:
Goal: Pulisic (27′)
Min: 734 G: 1 A: 2 YC: 1 RC: 0
Vanishing Spray FC:
Goal: Lingard (6′), Mount (71′)
Min: 845 G: 2 A: 2 YC: 1 RC: 0
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