John McCormick writes: I didn’t expect the lineup that started this game and for the second time this season one of the manager’s initial XI was injured in the warm up. A bench which was supposed to have only six ended up with only five and the manager’s choice was limited. But those who made it got the job done. There are those who feel the F.A. Cup is no longer a priority but Gus has stated that he loves this competition. Bradford next. Get through that and we are one game from Wembley but is Gus counting any chickens? Tonight he is upbeat in his post match e-mail to M Salut and maybe to some others and pointedly credits the fans and recognises what they wish to see.
Dear Colin
I’m delighted with the way we played today, I really enjoyed watching us and we played well, really good passing football. We completely dominated but somehow we conceded in the first half. We were the better team, we created the most chances and we were very good on the ball.
I’m very happy for Ricky Alvarez, him and all of the players did very well tonight. I was waiting for the right game for him to come in and we chose this one to give him the opportunity to show everyone what he is capable of – his goal was outstanding – he’s a happy boy in the dressing room which is good for us.
At half time I told the players just to keep doing what they were doing and keep believing in what they were doing. I’m delighted that we scored our goals in front of the fans, it was fantastic for them. This seems to be a good ground for us, we got a good result here last year and we’ve fond memories of it and now we’ve progressed in the cup.
The fans made the difference, it was nice to score in front of them and nice to celebrate with them; now they can enjoy their trip back.
We lost Jack [Rodwell] earlier today and then we lost Connor [Wickham] in the warm-up; we only had five on the bench as our options were limited. The players know they need to be ready for anything and they were today.
I’m really happy with everything I’ve seen tonight, I really enjoyed watching us.
Bradford will be a completely different test; it will be tough but we know what we have to do if we want to progress in the competition.
Thanks for your support,
Gus Poyet
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Big step in the right direction. We need to build on the two wins. Must get something against Swansea.