Saturday 3 Man Utd beat Arsenal 1-0 in their FA Cup semi-final at Villa Park, Paul Scholes scoring to deny the holders a fourth successive final. “We didn't deserve to lose,” says Arsène, graciously. “I wouldn't bet on them on Tuesday night,” says Sir Alex, employing spare mind games on behalf of Claudio Ranieri. In the league, Chelsea win 1-0 at Spurs to cut Arsenal’s lead to four points. In his first start for six months, Jamie Redknapp needs plastic surgery after being accidentally punched in the mouth by his cousin Frank Lampard. Newcastle take fourth off Liverpool with a 4-2 win over Everton. Wolves lose 4-1 at home to Southampton; Claus Lundekvam scores his first goal in 296 games for the Saints. At the bottom of the First, Derby lose 1-0 to a disputed penalty at home to Walsall. Wimbledon end a run of 11 straight defeats and stave off relegation for a few days by beating Wigan 1-0. In the game of the day in the Second Division, 19,041 see Bristol City beat QPR 1-0 to draw level on points in the automatic promotion race behind Plymouth, who stay seven points clear despite a 1-0 loss at Barnsley. At the bottom Brentford and Chesterfield draw 1-1, both goals in the final minute, but slip below Peterborough, Grimsby and Stockport, who all win. Wycombe stay alive with a 2-1 win at home to Port Vale. “The lads are going through brick walls,” explains Tony Adams. In the Third Doncaster extend their lead with a 3-1 defeat of Bury, while Carlisle narrow the gap at the bottom with a 2-1 win at Swansea. In Scotland Celtic open up a 20-point lead over Rangers, coming from two down to draw with Hearts.
Search: ' Port Vale'
Stories
It's often said that football has gone soft. However Philip Cornwall not only approves of that but believes the whole history of the game has been one of taming the back line
A brisk walk from The Valley is the home of a rugby side often known simply as Club. But while they are hardly giants of any game now and have never played Charlton Athletic, Blackheath’s role in the history of rugby and also football is a crucial one – had they not stood up for the rights of defenders, who knows what either game would be like today.
As the final stage of the absurd reinvention of Wimbledon in Milton Keynes moves closer, Ian Pollock points the finger at those who failed to protect football in south-west London
It’s nearly two years since the Football Association’s infamous three-man commission approved the move of Wimbledon Football Club from south-west London to Milton Keynes. After staggering around like a zombie in a graveyard for most of that time, the club now appear to have overcome the main hurdles to establishing themselves in their new home and springing back to life. The acceptance by creditors on March 18 of a company voluntary arrangement means that WFC may finally come out of administration on April 6, subject to final approval by the Football League.
At face value, it has possibly been Livingston's most successful season ever. The semi-finals of the Scottish Cup, winners of the League Cup and a decent-looking league finish are not enough to cheer up their fans, though, as they face administration, Neil White reports
His side had just reached the semi-finals of the Scottish Cup and won the CIS League Cup, their first major trophy, yet the man I know only as “Deasel” sounded depressed. It was understandable. Deasel supports Livingston.
Coventry's fall from the Premiership in 2001 and financial decline have now led to a team reliant on players borrowed from others, to the confusion of Neville Hadsley
Standing on the temporary, open, terrace on a freezing day at the National Hockey Stadium watching Coventry recently, I found myself squinting at our back four, feeling puzzled. It wasn’t the garish Ajax-style red away shirts, incongruous as they were. Nor the fact that the numbers on the four shirts seemed to add up to a ridiculously high number – 98, in fact, a total surpassed the following week when it reached 114. It was the fact that I didn’t recognise two of our defenders.