Manchester City reach their fourth consecutive FA Cup Final.

Manchester City reach their fourth consecutive FA Cup Final.

And so it was that the attacking juggernaut that is Manchester City have chalked up another milestone. Eventually some team with the necessary streetwise intelligence, wit and ingenuity will stop Manchester City from functioning properly but at the moment it just seems like the impossible dream. There was a time during this gripping, see saw, delightful end to end FA Cup semi final where the underdog wagged its tail before realising where they were and the FA Cup was no longer capable of shocks.

For a while you could have been forgiven for thinking that we were still in 1976. But then again a half century ago does seem fairly distant now in the memory bank and, besides, the Southampton manager Lawrie Mcmenemy was so highly regarded at the Dell that at the time you felt sure that the status quo would always be maintained and no team from the lower leagues would ever win the FA Cup again. 

And yet four years later West Ham would emerge from their old Second Division wilderness and beat high flying, classy first division Arsenal. Southampton were hoping that some of those fading videos from 1976 would do the trick again. But the FA Cup is both odd, unpredictable and capricious, an object of some affection. We love its enduring ability to catch us off guard with its teasing finger of fate and then revel in its brief flirtation with glory and then shuddering defeat just when you thought you'd done enough. 

For this is the way Southampton must have felt as soon as the referee had blown for the final whistle. Southampton finally surrendered to the inevitable defeat against a Manchester City side who must have known that things were bound to turn out alright on the evening. Destiny seems to follow City around like some worshipping fan who turns up reliably at every pop concert or religious gathering. Manchester City did beat Southampton in this FA Cup semi final 2-1 but not after a few frights and panicky palpitations. 

Back in 1976 some of us could hardly have anticipated the most remarkable heatwave that would follow shortly after Southampton's 1-0 victory over Tommy Docherty's seemingly all conquering Manchester United. But then who would have thought a whole nation of housewives would have to pop outside their homes buckets in hand because there was no water and a nationwide drought had forced them to resort to their standpipes?

On the day Mike Channon, Peter Osgood, Peter Rodrigues, Jim McCalliog, David Peach and match winning goal scorer, the late and much missed Bobby Stokes had ensured that there was just a flame of romance still burning brightly in the inner sanctum of an FA Cup Final day. Southampton were a positive, eye catching team at the time and when Kevin Keegan took up residence at the old Dell, the south coast must have been alive with seaside jollity and fun. And of course Alan Ball would provide much needed World Cup winning experience as well. But 50 years ago Southampton would win their only FA Cup.

Roll forward 50 years and German manager Tonda Eckert looked on from the sidelines as the current Southampton boss and after the Saints had taken a wholly unexpected lead half way through the second half, a vast majority of Southampton fans were beginning to believe in magic, miracles and superstition. After the south coast side had broken the deadlock. those same supporters became a seething mass of red and white jubilation.

The Southampton midfield of Finn Azaz, Cameron Bragg and Caspar Jander had woven so many neat and attractive patterns in between the lines of City's slowly retreating defence that you wondered why it had taken Southampton so long to really assert their authority. There was a smoothness and silkiness to some of Southampton's passing that reminded you of 1976 but surely there could be no repetition of that day but it did happen again. 

At the back, Taylor Harwood- Bellis displayed all the hyphenated sophistication of a player of a far more advanced age. Both Welington and James Bree were completely at ease with what seemed a daunting task. How to throw a barbed wire fence over City's relentless forward march. It would prove to be much easier than they must have thought. Leo Scienza was almost unstoppable on the wing, terrorising the City defence with devious trickery and mischievous impudence into the bargain. He shuffled along the touchline, showing his defender one way before checking the ball back onto his other feet with marvellous close ball control.

Southampton duly opened the scoring after a dazzling exchange of passes across the edge of the City penalty area before a stunning break landed at the feet of Finn Azaz who shifted onto his favourite foot, curling a sumptuous shot into the roof of the net. For 10 or 15 of some of the sweetest moments in this game, Southampton were fantasising and hoping for the greatest David and Goliath act the FA Cup would ever see. And then Manchester City wrested back the game and just had too much know how for the Saints. 

Mattheus Nunes, the evergreen Bernardo Silva, the stately and controlling influence of Ryan Cherki, and the always confident Tijani Rejinders gave the City attack, an overwhelming mastery and craft that would pin back Southampton onto the back foot. There was a period during the second half when Southampton were almost camped into their own half rather like a scouting expedition who had decided to put up their tent too early. It was backs against the wall from that point onwards. 

When Jeremy Doku came on for City to tear open the decaying fabric of Southampton's back four with mesmerising and bewitching feet, the Saints, who had become paragons of virtue before then, were given the run around by Doku. Picking up the ball cleverly on the edge of the Southampton penalty area, Doku cut inside his defender delicately and fired a firmly driven shot which took a wicked deflection off a Southampton player and the equaliser dramatically changed the balance of the game.

Manchester City were now self indulgent, tapping the ball to each other so instinctively that it seemed as if a magnet had been attached to their feet. The ball was treated with all the care and tenderness of some valuable ornament on the mantelpiece, polished and precise passes that were almost telepathic. It was passing of short distance proximity of the finest type. Then City opened up Southampton, unfolding the Saints rather like some ancient document that hadn't seen the light of the day since the Middle Ages.  

Then, with the match seemingly destined for extra time, City unleashed their most lethal explosive. Slowly Southampton looked more withdrawn and helpless as the City bombardment finally told. Doku, once again creating havoc wherever he went, once again the central figure behind all of City's almost incessant creativity. Doku, it was, who busied himself on the edge of Southampton's now rapidly tiring back four. His smart, short ball was fed to Nico Gonzalez who moved into position and from at least 30 yards from goal, smashed an unstoppable shot into the roof of the net for City's decisive winner. 

And now the FA Cup Final will be between Chelsea and Manchester City. As was the case in 1970, Chelsea repeated the same dose of medicine against Leeds United. But this was at Wembley rather than Old Trafford where a bad tempered and acrimonious FA Cup Final ended with fists flying, Billy Bremner tangling with Norman Hunter and the whole shooting match resulting in a Dave Webb header clinching the Cup for Chelsea. But this year Chelsea will be facing a lighter shade of blue and Pep Guardiola will be going all out to achieve world footballing domination. It could be an FA Cup Final to savour for the purists. We must hope so.