The story appears on

Page A16

March 29, 2012

GET this page in PDF

Free for subscribers

View shopping cart

Related News

HomeSportsSoccer

Tottenham, Everton through to semis

TOTTENHAM produced a rousing finish to beat Bolton 3-1 in the FA Cup quarterfinals on Tuesday, 10 days after the original match was abandoned because of Fabrice Muamba's on-field cardiac arrest.

Ryan Nelsen, Gareth Bale and Louis Saha scored in the final 16 minutes to earn Spurs a semifinal meeting against London rival Chelsea at Wembley Stadium on April 15.

It was an emotional reunion for the two teams at White Hart Lane, the scene of Muamba's collapse when the Bolton midfielder's heart stopped beating on its own for 78 minutes. He was revived by medics and is now making encouraging progress in the hospital.

"The events of 10 days ago were fresh and it was an opportunity for everybody to say thanks for the support," Bolton manager Owen Coyle said.

Everton beat Sunderland 2-0, setting up a semifinal against local rival Liverpool at Wembley on April 14. Croatia striker Nikica Jelavic's 24th-minute goal and an own goal by David Vaughan 12 minutes into the second half ended Sunderland's hopes of a return to Wembley for the first time in 14 years.

With Muamba in the midst of a remarkable recovery, the Tottenham-Bolton match was as much a celebration of the midfielder's improved health as a fight to reach the semifinals.

A stadium that fell eerily quiet when Muamba collapsed just before halftime on March 17 was filled with a minute's applause from fans to honor the former England under-21 international. Coyle acknowledged before the game that he didn't know how his players would react returning to the scene of such a traumatic occasion.



 

Copyright 漏 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.

娌叕缃戝畨澶 31010602000204鍙

Email this to your friend