The referee, Pol, quickly used a coin toss to determine the kickoff order with both captains, and after both sides agreed, a long whistle blew! The first match of the FA Cup semi-final officially began!
Simon Davey deployed a 4-3-2-1 formation today. Hugo Colace and Jacob Butterfield's double defensive midfield tactic aimed to solidify the defense, with captain Brian Howard positioned slightly further forward to link with the attack. Martin Vani's wing breakthroughs were Barnsley's primary attacking direction. Kayode Odejayi played a crucial role as the pivot upfront, scoring the winning goal against Chelsea. Daniel Bogdanovic, as a shadow striker, roamed around Odejayi.
Huang Hao also fielded his strongest lineup! Dzeko and Vardy started as the main strikers, with Tadić and Bennett on the wings, and the midfield continued to be partnered by the in-form MacKenzie, Cole, and Lansbury.
After the kickoff, Barnsley barely passed the ball around in their backfield, launching an immediate attack on Cambridge United.
Howard's first touch was a beautiful through ball, which went straight through Cambridge United's defense and landed at Odejayi's feet!
Zhu Lu seized the opportunity and made a sliding tackle, sending the ball out of bounds! This drew a collective gasp from the stands!
Huang Hao also stroked his chin on the sidelines, thinking, 'Well, the lads are really relaxed!'
Just one minute into the game, Barnsley had already won two consecutive corner kicks!
Fortunately, Pantilimon performed steadily, ensuring the goal remained safe.
Cambridge United continued to implement their aggressive pressing tactic. Soon, Barnsley attacked again. MacKenzie, on the left side of the penalty area, directly tripped Howard! Pol blew his whistle! Barnsley earned a free kick on the left side of the big penalty area.
Bogdanovic stood alone in front of the ball, not intending to make any feint or combination play.
The ball curved directly towards the far post!
Odejayi leaped high, with Tutanda becoming a backdrop in the scramble!
Despite the extremely tight angle, Odejayi did not shoot directly but instead flicked the ball back towards the front of the goal!
Pantilimon immediately turned and moved towards the near post!
Konate, with Suxi behind him, headed the ball directly towards the goal! Pantilimon's fingers barely touched the ball, which hit the post and rebounded. Zhu Lu immediately cleared the ball out of bounds with a big kick.
Huang Hao gasped, taking a sharp breath. 'This attacking power, this teamwork, I'm so envious!'
Not only in attack, but also in defense, the cooperation between Darren Moore and Stephen Foster was seamless. Almost all of Cambridge United's crucial crosses were successfully neutralized by the two of them!
Under tight marking, Dzeko and Vardy clearly had little room to maneuver!
Just over 15 minutes into the game, Barnsley had already earned 5 corner kicks. Every player on the field for Cambridge United felt this strong sense of suppression!
Barnsley attacked again! Vani had just broken into the vicinity of the penalty area when he was tripped by Tadić! But the ball was intercepted again by Bobby Hassell!
According to the advantage rule, Pol extended both hands forward, signaling for the attack to continue!
Hassell quickly passed the ball to the center, and Howard arrived swiftly!
After continuous passing and combination play between Howard and Colace, they passed the ball back to Odejayi on the edge of the big penalty area!
Odejayi, with his back to the goal, held off Zhu Lu's challenge, and as a red figure flashed past his eyes, he immediately flicked the ball through! Suxi was currently marking Bogdanovic, leaving Pantilimon's goal wide open!
Hassell took a powerful shot from the penalty spot, but the ball sailed slightly over the top corner of the goal!!! Hassell held his head in disbelief.
The atmosphere in the stands was directly ignited by Barnsley's continuous attacks, and fans began lighting flares! Flags waved everywhere, accompanied by the glow of the flares, even neutral fans were incredibly excited!
After the initial three-pronged attack, Barnsley reverted to their familiar defensive counter-attack, while Cambridge United continued to press high! They used fierce defense to thwart Barnsley's attacks!
For a time, the field was a chaotic scene of players falling, and Pol frequently used yellow cards to calm both sets of players down!
In the 21st minute of the first half, Suxi's long pass from the back tore through Barnsley's defense! Adams tried his best to keep up with Dzeko, but Dzeko still managed to get to the ball first!
Dzeko cleverly used his heel to flick the ball directly between Foster's legs to Vardy!
Foster immediately turned and chased Vardy, but ultimately to no avail!
The ball was quickly passed to Lansbury in the center!
Facing the goal at close range, Lansbury prepared to push the ball towards the far corner, but Moore, from his side, decisively slid in and cleared the ball before Lansbury could shoot.
In the 32nd minute of the first half, Vani broke through to the byline on the left side of the penalty area, then passed the ball back to Howard, attempting a one-two to break into Cambridge United's penalty area!
In a flash, Bennett suddenly emerged, appearing in the passing lane, and with a side volley, kicked the ball to the right!
Tadić calmly brought the ball down on the right side of the backfield, advanced two steps, then directly kicked the ball to Vardy, who was sprinting towards Barnsley's half!
At this moment, there were only Moore and Foster in Barnsley's half! And Cole also quickly surged into Liverpool's territory! Moore was very experienced, maintaining a distance of about 1 meter from Vardy, gradually forcing Vardy towards the corner flag!
The moment Moore slid towards Vardy, Vardy laid the ball back to Cole, who was surging forward!
Howard and Colace appeared in front of Bennett at the same time!
Bennett showed no fear, facing the goal, but used his heel to flick the ball behind him! As if he knew Vardy was standing right behind him!
Vardy, facing the two charging players, gently flicked his calf, and the ball returned to Bennett's feet! A beautiful one-two!!!
Mikel and all Cambridge United fans stood up, all eyes focused on Bennett's feet!
The moment Bennett received the ball, he immediately pushed it towards the goal!
Dzeko, facing the ball passed to him, held off Foster and took a shot, but unfortunately, the shot was too central, straight into Luke Steele's arms!!!
The entire Wembley stadium erupted in sighs! It was unclear whether it was relief or regret!!!
In the 35th minute, Butterfield's breakthrough earned Barnsley a free kick at the top of the penalty area arc, and Vani shot directly!
Pantilimon bravely parried the ball out of bounds!
In the 45th minute, Cambridge United's attack in the front field was intercepted by Hassell! Hassell made a long pass, and Bogdanovic dribbled past Zhu Lu again, getting another one-on-one opportunity!
Bogdanovic surged into the penalty area and took a powerful shot! The ball flew just wide of the left post!
Pol blew the whistle, ending the first half.
Huang Hao looked at his somewhat tired players, feeling a pang of sympathy. The reckless running and pressing in the first half had caused significant physical exertion for the players. Fortunately, the team was full of young players in their twenties, which was Cambridge United's capital for their relentless running.
“Just two things.”
“First, your performance in the first half was excellent! This calm demeanor in the face of danger is a sign of your maturity!”
“Second, if Barnsley continues with their defensive counter-attacking style in the second half, we need to pass and move the ball around as much as possible. Barnsley's defensive counter-attack is very well-practiced, and this is how they eliminated Liverpool and Chelsea, so we must not be impatient when attacking! Set pieces and long-range shots are key to breaking through when facing a defensive formation!”
“For the rest of the time, rest well. As long as you have no regrets in this match, nothing else matters!”
At the start of the second half, Butterfield received a pass from Odejayi in the penalty area and shot directly! Pantilimon, with incredible speed, dived to parry the ball out of bounds!
Barnsley earned their 7th corner kick of the match! Odejayi's header again went over the crossbar!
Subsequently, Vani got another one-on-one opportunity, but his shot was a bit weak, and Pantilimon easily caught the ball overhead with both hands.
Pantilimon kicked a long goal kick, and Tadić in midfield got to the ball before Luke Potter, flicking it to Dzeko's feet.
Dzeko advanced with the ball but couldn't shake off Colace's marking, so he passed the ball to Bennett, who was surging up on the right!
Bennett and Cole played a one-two, evading Potter's defense!
By the time Potter caught up with Bennett again, Bennett had already kicked the ball towards the goal!
Moore stood out like a crane among chickens, becoming the only high point in the crowd, successfully heading the ball clear!
Howard headed the second ball, but the third ball was won by Cambridge United's Cole! Cole passed the ball forward to Bennett again!
This time, Bennett chose not to cross, but instead passed the ball to Lansbury in the center.
Lansbury had a moment of brilliance, executing a beautiful Marseille turn outside the big penalty area, evading Hassell's pressure! He passed the ball to Tadić nearby!
Tadić, before Howard could charge forward, immediately passed the ball to Dzeko in the center!
Dzeko took a direct poke shot!
Steele dived to block the ball!
Moore got to the ball before Vardy and cleared it out of bounds.
In the 65th minute of the second half, Vani was a bit hasty and pushed Tadić during an attack. The referee immediately blew his whistle, awarding Cambridge United a free kick in their own half.
The ball was advanced to Barnsley's attacking third, where Vani kicked it out of bounds again.
Tadić threw in the ball, directly to Cole. Cole quickly shifted the ball to the center, giving it to the in-form MacKenzie. Under MacKenzie's organization, the ball quickly moved to Bennett's feet on the left.
Kotner did not press tightly, giving Bennett space to kick, so he unhesitatingly crossed the ball into the penalty area from the byline!
Seeing the ball flying towards the far post, Dzeko quickly accelerated and leaped high! This time, Vani was outmatched in the aerial duel!
Dzeko arched his head back with force in the air, tightened his core, and powerfully headed the ball!
Steele was practically kneeling in the goal, but he couldn't prevent the ball from hitting the net! 1:0!!!
Cambridge United scored!!!
Wembley Stadium, after a few seconds of silence, erupted in a huge roar again, as if the earth itself was trembling!!
Without further ado, Simon Davey immediately arranged for Canadian forward Iain Hume, who was on the bench, to start warming up, then substituted him in for Butterfield.
Barnsley deployed two tall central forwards, preparing to play a long-ball game.
In the 69th minute, Zhu Lu's clearance directly hit Moore. Moore brought the ball down, then immediately shifted it to the right, to the surging Vani!
Vani broke directly to the byline, then crossed the ball! Hume, who had come on as a substitute, leaped high, overpowering Suxi, and headed the ball fiercely towards the goal.
Pantilimon had no time to react and could only instinctively extend his hands. 'Duang' The ball violently struck the crossbar, resulting in a goal kick.
In the 71st minute, Howard's through ball reached Hume's feet. Hume, with his height, long legs, and strong physique, completely dominated Warren, who couldn't do anything. After drawing Zhu Lu to assist in defense, Hume passed the ball to the unmarked Odejayi, who met the ball with a powerful shot, but unfortunately, it landed in Pantilimon's arms again.
Seeing the unfavorable situation, Huang Hao immediately arranged for Kante and a group of defenders to warm up, then substituted Kante and Pasquel for Tadić and Lansbury, changing the formation from 3-5-2 to 4-4-2 to strengthen the defense.
In the 75th minute, Howard battled Lansbury fiercely in the central midfield. As soon as he took a touch, a yellow blur stole the ball. In the 79th minute, Barnsley played a beautiful one-two on the wing, and Vani successfully broke past Pasquel, striding towards the byline. Again, it was that yellow blur, who made a sliding tackle, kicking the ball out of bounds.
In the subsequent time, Kante became the most eye-catching player on the field, his defensive cover appearing wherever there was danger.
In the 87th minute, the entire Barnsley team pressed forward in attack. Vani's breakthrough was easily intercepted by Kante, who, without even looking up, launched a long ball into Barnsley's backfield. Vardy sprinted towards the ball at full speed. The Barnsley players all raised their hands for offside, but Vardy was still in his own half at the halfway line, so there was no offside.
Vardy dribbled the ball at full speed towards the penalty area. The closest player to Vardy was more than 10 meters away, the closest being Hassell, but he was on the other side of the field.
Seeing this situation, Steele had no choice but to rush out of his goal. Vardy gently chipped the ball with his left foot, and it sailed over the goalkeeper towards the goal. Vardy already had his jersey in hand, ready to take it off in celebration, but just as the ball was about to cross the goal line, Hassell made a flying hook with his foot, miraculously kicking the ball out of bounds.
All the Barnsley players ran up to give Hassell appreciative pats.
After three minutes of added time, Pol blew two short and one long whistle, ending the match.
Cambridge United defeated Barnsley 1-0, advancing to the FA Cup final.
The lovely Cambridge United fans once again sang the song that had resonated for years at Abbey Stadium. Two seasons ago, they were on the brink of bankruptcy, even facing the abyss of sliding into lower amateur Leagues!
And today, they could proudly stand at Wembley Stadium, with a chance to touch a high-level competition trophy!