The match programme cover.
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Event | 2010–11 FA Cup | ||||||
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Date | 14 May 2011 | ||||||
Venue | Wembley Stadium, London | ||||||
Man of the Match | Mario Balotelli (Manchester City) | ||||||
Referee | Martin Atkinson (West Yorkshire) | ||||||
Attendance | 88,643 | ||||||
Weather | Sunny 17 °C (63 °F) |
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The 2011 FA Cup Final was the 130th final of the FA Cup, the world's oldest domestic football cup competition. The final took place on 14 May 2011 at Wembley Stadium in London in front of 88,643 spectators and a British television audience of more than eight million. The clubs contesting the final were Premier League clubs Manchester City and Stoke City. The match was Stoke City's first FA Cup final, and Manchester City's ninth.
As Premier League clubs, they entered the competition in the third round. Manchester City made an unconvincing start, contesting two replays against lower league opposition in the third and fourth rounds but gained momentum and kept three consecutive clean sheets en route to the final. Stoke City played one replay in the third round, before beating all opponents in a run which culminated in a 5–0 victory over Bolton Wanderers in the semi-final at Wembley Stadium – the biggest winning margin at Wembley since 1939. Manchester City entered the final as favourites, with Stoke City as underdogs.
Manchester City began the match the brighter of the two teams with the majority of possession and a number of shots forcing saves from goalkeeper Thomas Sørensen but the first half remained goalless. Stoke improved after the half-time interval but failed to score from their only shot on target in the 62nd minute, which was saved by goalkeeper Joe Hart after a one-on-one with striker Kenwyne Jones. In the 74th minute, Manchester City midfielder, Yaya Touré fired a loose ball in the Stoke City penalty area past goalkeeper Sørensen to give Manchester City the lead. Stoke attempted to equalise after Manchester City's goal without success and the final finished 1–0 with Manchester City claiming their fifth FA Cup. The result gave Manchester City their first major trophy for 35 years, ending the longest trophy drought in the club's history. Stoke City manager Tony Pulis said "Manchester City were the better team and deserved to win", but expressed "disappointment" at his team's display. Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini dedicated the victory to the Manchester City supporters, declaring, "I am happy for the fans, they deserved to win this Cup. For a long time they didn't win."