Cook’s Wigan send City home
LAST Monday night saw former Sligo Rovers manager Paul Cook continuing to make Cup dreams come true as Wigan sent hot favourites Manchester City out of the FA Cup after defeating Pep Guardiola’s side 1-0 in the fiery tie at the DW Stadium.
The main talking point came on the stroke of half-time as City’s Fabian Delph was controversially sent off and an irate Guardiola became embroiled in a touchline argument with Cook.
The pair continued their row in the tunnel as the teams left the field at half-time and they had to be separated by colleagues.
Controversy then erupted as referee Anthony Taylor dismissed Delph following a sliding challenge on Power.
Taylor initially had a yellow card in his hand, but eventually brandished the red one, sparking vociferous complaints from City players, who felt the decision was harsh.
Guardiola was also angered and encroached on to the field, his arguments with Cook continuing for some time afterwards.
People appeared to calm down during the break and City, minus Delph, soon reasserted their dom- inance. Again they controlled much of the ball, but Wigan continued to defend stubbornly and Guardiola sent Kevin De Bruyne on after the hour in the hope of opening them up.
Yet the frustration continued for City, with Fernandinho having a shot blocked and nobody able to turn in a Danilo ball across goal.
Will Grigg capitalised on a Kyle Walker error to win it for Wigan late on. The Northern Ireland international seized possession on halfway and charged upfield before slotting a fine shot past Bravo from the edge of the area. Wigan survived a nervy finish with the final whistle prompting a pitch invasion.
Sligo Rovers were quick to congratulate the 51-year-old Liverpudlian who was manager of the club when it won the FAI Cup in 2010 and 2011 and also the League Cup in 2010. The club said: “Congratulations to our former manager Paul Cook. Tonight’s result in the FA Cup comes as no surprise to thousands of our supporters that watched dreams realised through trophies and the football on show, thanks to his teams. Good luck to Wigan in the next round. #bitored”. Lots of congratulations flowed from Rovers fans on social media too.