By the narrowest of margins, Coventry was denied one of the greatest FA Cup comebacks ever, but was the decision the right one?
HIGHLIGHTS
- Coventry were potentially robbed of a goal that would’ve sealed an epic comeback with VAR ruling Victor Torp offside in extra time.
- Man United dominated the start of the match but Coventry showed self-belief and spirit to level the scores at 3-3.
- New footage suggests that the offside decision may have been incorrect.
Coventry City’s extra-time goal against Manchester United has drawn criticism because it appears from new video that the goal was onside. Victor Torp appeared to have completed one of the greatest FA Cup comebacks ever in the 121st minute of play, but VAR disqualified it for offside.
It appeared as though Mark Robins’ team was losing badly until the 71st minute, when they were behind by three goals. But in a thrilling last minute of play, the Sky Blues unexpectedly levelled the score and forced extra time.
In the final moments of the game, Coventry appeared to have fully capitalised on United’s obvious on-pitch collapse. The celebrations were cut short by VAR after Haji Wright slid the ball across the box for Torp to poke home, setting off wild scenes.
Wright was judged to be offside, but fresh pitch-side video raises the possibility that the technology was flawed.
The Coventry forward appears to be onside in the video, which you can view below, with Aaron Wan-Bissaka, the final Manchester United defender, much deeper than him as the ball is played through.
Man United Survive FA Cup Collapse
Coventry fall short after penalty-shout drama
After just 28 minutes, Scott Mctominay scored the first goal, and just before halftime, Harry Maguire scored another. When Bruno Fernandes added a third in the 58th minute, it seemed as though the Red Devils were done for good. Erik ten Hag and company’s path to a second straight FA Cup final was not going to be simple, though, as their Championship rivals managed to muster the confidence to re-enter the match.
With 81 minutes remaining, Ellis Simms pulled one back, and the comeback was underway eight minutes later when Callum O’Hare found the net. It took until the 95th minute for Wright to maintain his composure from the penalty spot to tie the score at 3-3.
With only a few seconds remaining, Coventry appeared to have found a winner as both teams, who were undoubtedly exhausted, pushed for a winner in extra time. This can be seen in the video above. In the end, the match went to penalties, and Manchester United narrowly prevailed, scoring four goals to the Sky Blues’ two.
Mark Robins on the Offside Call
“Had he cut his toenails”
At least Coventry manager Robins could make light of how close his team had come to an FA Cup final after all the drama. In fact, he noted that if Wright had clipped his toenails prior to the game, his team would have defeated Man United, saying:
“Had he cut his toenails we wouldn’t be talking about penalties. Our performance will be spoken about for a long time. We are disappointed but we can’t be too down about it. For the last hour of the game we performed like Manchester United and that’s what I’m proud of.”
The Red Devils and Manchester City will now play a rematch of their encounter from the previous campaign. On that occasion, Pep Guadiola’s team won 2-1 and Ilkay Gundogan scored the fastest FA Cup final goal in history in just 12 seconds.
GET MORE NEWS HERE