This year's FA Cup Final (English "soccer's" equivalent of the Super Bowl) will be Liverpool VS West Ham.
Yesterday, Liverpool beat English Champions Chelsea 2-1 in the Semi Final and today West Ham United beat Middlesbrough 1-0 in the other Semi Final.
It is the first time since 1980 that the Hammers have reached the FA Cup Final. There's isn't much of a report on the West Ham game as it only finished around an hour ago.
The Final will be played on 13th May.
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Liverpool are the special ones now
by IAN RIDLEY, Mail on Sunday
23rd April 2006
FA Cup Semi Final, Old Trafford
Chelsea 1-2 Liverpool
Liverpool's Garcia celebrates scoring the winning goal.
Jose Mourinho and Chelsea may have the midas touch when it comes to Premiership gold, but in the cups, it is Liverpool who sing the sweet silver sound.
Now, deservedly, they march on to their 13th FA Cup final, seeking to win it for the seventh time at Cardiff on May 13. There will be no Double for Chelsea.
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Nor do they deserve it. Mourinho sent out what professionals might call a compact side, what the rest of us would describe as dull. Only after John Arne Riise and Luis Garcia — with a wonderful strike — had taken Liverpool clear did the manager introduce real invention to his side. Didier Drogba did pull a goal back, and Liverpool had to withstand a late barrage, but it was not enough.
Instead, Liverpool, going out to win the game with more purpose and creativity, notably in the effervescent Harry Kewell, rightly reached another final at Chelsea's expense.
For the teams' 10th meeting in two seasons — with Liverpool having won just the Champions League semi-final, second leg last season — Mourinho departed from his normal preference of personnel.
Instead of one totem striker, there were two in tandem in Drogba and Hernan Crespo. To supply them with ammunition, there was no recognised wide player, however, with Joe Cole, Damien Duff and Arjen Robben all starting on the bench, where there was not even a place for Shaun Wright-Phillips.
Instead, the full-back Paulo Ferreira operated ahead of Geremi on the right, Asier Del Horno expected to get forward from left-back on the other flank.
The aim was clearly to be compact and tight, and to counter Steven Gerrard, who starts on the right but has licence to roam for Liverpool. They were a more recognisable shape, with Kewell offering a conventional and inventive outlet on the left.
He it was who created the game's first opening with a wicked low cross that just eluded Luis Garcia and Peter Crouch. Chelsea were looking distinctly uneasy.
Carlo Cudicini, again preferred as the Cup goalkeeper to Petr Cech, took two attempts to clutch Xavi Alonso's dipping low shot.
Cautious of selection they might have been but Chelsea still possessed enough talent to open up Liverpool, notably in Frank Lampard. First his corner was flicked on by Crespo to Drogba, who stooped to head just wide. Then Lampard's through ball left Liverpool vainly appealing for offside, only for Drogba, glaringly, to turn the ball wide with only Reina to beat. It was a miss Chelsea quickly came to rue.
John Terry fouled Luis Garcia on the edge of the penalty area and Gerrard shaped to take the free kick. Instead, John Arne Riise's versatile left foot tucked a low shot around a clearly misaligned Chelsea wall and into Cudicini's bottom righthand corner to give Liverpool the lead.
Chelsea were rocked, Liverpool scenting more blood. Kewell, switching to the right, cut inside past two defenders and screwed a low shot wide. He should have shot again just after, when Crouch's clever run off the ball had created space, but he passed up the chance. Then Terry put Cudicini in trouble with a bad backpass, Crouch almost profiting.
It should certainly have been two in added time at the end of the first half. Kewell swung a crossfield ball out to Gerrard, who hared past Del Horno before cutting the ball back for Luis Garcia, the Spaniard wastefully skying the ball over the bar.
Chelsea were grateful to reach the sanctuary of the interval just a goal adrift.
Mourinho relented for the restart, bringing on Robben for Del Horno. It almost paid a swift dividend when the Dutchman curled in a free kick from the right and Terry rose to plant a trademark header past Reina. Referee Graham Poll had spotted him, however, clambering over Riise. Now Chelsea had a creative force to match Kewell's effect for Liverpool, though remained vulnerable down the flanks.
Luis Garcia was marginally offside in turning Gerrard's cross just wide. No matter. Soon he had made amends for both that and his first-half miss. There looked no danger as Gallas rose to head away a throw-in just inside his own half. Instead, he made a mess of it and the ball dropped into Luis Garcia's path. On the Spaniard ran but with defenders closing in, his pace unable to carry him clear, he shot. It seemed too soon but the ball arced beautifully over Cudicini and into the net.
On the touchline, Duff and Cole warming up, shook their heads, perhaps in disbelief that they were not yet on the pitch.
Soon they were, though, and soon Chelsea had a foothold in the game. Cole launched a hopeful ball into the Liverpool penalty area, Riise's header was unconvincing and amid hesitation by Reina, Drogba pounced to turn the ball home.
But it was not enough and time ran out on Chelsea's desperate attempts to snatch an equaliser.
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Hammers through to Final
FA Cup Semi Final, Villa Park
Middlesbrough 0-1 West Ham
West Ham will play Liverpool in the FA Cup final after Marlon Harewood's second-half strike took them past Middlesbrough.
Harewood latched onto a Dean Ashton flick-on to lash the winner past Brad Jones after Ashton's header had earlier hit the crossbar.
It was a second semi-final disappointment in a week for Boro, who lost the first leg of the UEFA Cup semi to Steaua Bucharest on Thursday, and they also lost Mark Schwarzer, who fractured his cheekbone in the first half.
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