Top Stories

FA Cup: Barnsley does it again, knocks off Chelsea

Barnsley_ap

After beating Liverpool in dramatic fashion, Barnsley wasn’t given much of a chance of pulling off a second miracle win in the FA Cup.

Well, another miracle has taken place for the tiny Coca Cola Championship club.

Nigerian forward Kayode Odejayi headed home the winner to give Barnsley a 1-0 win against Chelsea in the FA Cup quarterfinals.

The win clinches a place in the FA Cup semifinals at Wembley Stadium.

Chelsea was seen as a lock to win this match, especially after its Champions League thrashing of Olympiakos, but several key players were rested and Barnsley did not budge against a flat Chelsea squad.

Did you watch the match? Did you another upset coming? Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. The U.S. Open Cup used to be like this. Then MLS teams started the sweep. Hopefully this year a USL-1 or 2 side will win it. Only in futbol can semi-pros, amateurs and smaller professional sides stick it to the “man” or big league teams. You gotta admit (even you Blues and Liverpool fans) that it’s exciting to watch.

    Reply
  2. “CD: The EPL is doing just fine in the Champions League, though…”

    So what your saying is if Barnsley wins the FA Cup they are the best team in Europe.

    Reply
  3. I watched the match and was rooting for Barnsley all the way. Unless you’re a Chelsea supporter, who doesn’t root for the underdog in games like that?

    Reply
  4. I watched the match, and Barnsley played very well.

    I really hope that the final is played between two championship sides. I was angry that LFC got knocked out by Barnsley, but now I am cheering for them to win it all. What a good story for all the clubs involved, yes even Pompey.

    Reply
  5. To defend myself: The last 10 minutes or so, 9:30 were played near Barnsley’s box. Chelsea had almost a dozen chances to score. There were probably around 5 open shots someone had and they just whiffed big time.

    Barnsley deserved the win because of how they played for most the game, don’t get me wrong. Chelsea playe just awful for most of the game. I’m just saying that the last ~20 minutes provided ample opportunities for Chelsea to score, and they didn’t because of their own faults, not because of Barnsley defending that well.

    Reply
  6. I love the story on the surface, but once you really look at it, it’s just further proof that the FA Cup is approaching Carling Cup level of importance to many of these clubs.

    This year I’ve seen the big 4 clubs trot out truly questionable sides figuring ‘well if our second team isn’t good enough to beat em, oh well’ because the money just isn’t worth the effort if it drains them for upcoming Prem/CL matches.

    I’m no Liverpool supporter, but does anyone think the result wouldn’t have been different if Rafa had actually started Gerrard? The 10 minutes he played he hit the wood once and almost scored 3 other times. It’s a joke.

    FA Cup aint what it used to be…

    Reply
  7. kpugs,

    As I mentioned in the previous thread, I’m an Arsenal supporter and thus also a ManU hater. But even I have to admit that you guys were robbed. I just have no idea what the ref was watching.

    Did I want to see ManU bounced? For sure, I did. But not like this…..

    Barnsley over Chelsea, on the other hand……oh my!!!!

    Reply
  8. watched the game in Chinese on sopcast, was a great game and Barnsley fought hard and earned every bit of the win, would be a story for the ages if they can pull of the next two games, why not? reminds me a bit of George Mason’s run to the final four a few years ago, but on an even bigger scale

    Reply
  9. It could be a bad year for the big boys in England. The FA Cup could go to a Championship side and then throw in a Newcastle relegation for good measure. That would technically be a really bad year for the 14th biggest club in the World. Barnsley put together a pretty good resume against some massive clubs. Below is the list of the biggest clubs in the world.

    1 (1) Real Madrid 236.2/351.0

    2 (4) Manchester United 212.1/315.2

    3 (2) Barcelona 195.3/290.1

    4 (6) Chelsea 190.5/283.0

    5 (9) Arsenal 177.6/263.9

    6 (5) Milan 153.0/227.2

    7 (8) Bayern Munich 150.3/223.3

    8 (10) *Liverpool* 133.9/198.9

    9 (7) Internazionale 131.3/195.0

    10 (12) AS Roma 106.1/157.6

    11 (15) Tottenham Hotspur 103.1/153.1

    12 (3) Juventus 97.7/145.2

    13 (11) Olympique Lyonnais 94.6/140.6

    14 (13) Newcastle United 87.1/129.4

    Reply
  10. FA Cup FYI…

    “With shocks galore this weekend, it is set to be an interesting draw as the likes of Portsmouth and Barnsley look to see who they will draw as a reward for knocking out last season’s Finalists.”

    The Semi-Final draw will be made live from Soho Square on Monday.

    1. Middlesbrough or Cardiff City

    2. Portsmouth

    3. Bristol Rovers or West Bromwich Albion

    4. Barnsley

    Reply
  11. Disagree with Kris. Barnsely deserved to win. They outplayed Chelsea. I don’t even think the Barnsley keeper even had a difficult save. The only Chelsea player who came to play was Joe Cole. Anelka was horrible. Malouda, Kalou, SWP and Essien were irrelevent. And Cuducini should have done better on the goal.

    Reply
  12. Kris I disagree about the “luck” comment. Chelsea were pure crap today, no way around it.

    It had nothing to do with luck, and they played a team that meant business. The goal was top class.

    I guess you can claim Barnsley were “lucky” that Chelsea played terribly. But if you’re going to take it that far I’d counterclaim that Chelse were “lucky” to win their most recent Premiership title, you know?

    I know some wins and losses can involve luck, but not this one.

    Congrats to Barnsley…and I hope they play Portsmouth, and beat them. Kris if you want to come back at me, I’m a Manchester United fan (second to RBNY) and that’s all the ammo you’ll need after this morning’s game. 😉

    Reply
  13. Absolutely remarkable! This is what makes the FA cup so much fun to watch. Who doesn’t want to route for the underdogs in a competition like this.

    I’m a Liverpool fan, and was torn while watching the last round. I was routing for Barnsley to tie the match to force a replay, but never expected them to do what they did. To repeat the miracle tonight was beautiful.

    This is what the US Open Cup should be like, but sadly few Americans (including the USSF) give it any attention.

    Reply
  14. This is what this Cup is supposed to be able to offer- a group of men, ignoring the resume, and just playing. Belief, courage, determination- all on display. Completely refreshing.

    Reply
  15. As a big-time Chelsea supporter (2nd after my beloved Stuttgart), I was disappointed with the outcome and the effort. Fortunately Chelsea played their hearts out for the last ~25 minutes, and to be honest Barnsley were lucky to escape with a 1-0 victory. Chelsea should have scored once during those last 25 minutes.

    Overall, though, as a small-team supporter (I live in Wisconsin so live-and-die by the Packers, Brewers, and Badgers), it was exciting to see such a small team continue their dream.

    I will be routing for them next round. Anyone know who they play in the semi-final?

    Reply
  16. I watched it and lover every minute. It was a well earned victory.

    As a side note, when is John Terry going to get his? After leveling the Barnsley player at the end of the match with what looked like a vicious elbow, the “Captain” chewed out the ref about a call at the other end of the pitch. He’s an disgrace. I hate watching professionals act like spoiled little children.

    Way to go Barnsley!

    Reply

Leave a Reply to RK Cancel reply