Wigan hero Will Grigg savours FA Cup triumph over Manchester City
By AFP | Published: 20th February 2018 09:20 PM |
Last Updated: 20th February 2018 09:58 PM | A+A A- |
Wigan's Will Grigg duels for the ball with Manchester City's John Stones during the English FA Cup (File | AP)
LONDON: Wigan striker Will Grigg hailed the greatest moment of his career after shattering Manchester City's quadruple dream by firing his team into the FA Cup quarter-finals.
The Northern Ireland forward scored the only goal of a stormy fifth-round tie in Wigan on Monday, netting after 79 minutes to stun the runaway Premier League leaders.
"I've scored against some Premier League teams and had some brilliant nights, a lot of promotions," said the 26-year-old, who also scored twice for MK Dons in a famous League Cup win over Manchester United in 2014.
"But in terms of one single night, this is probably the best, against probably the best team in Europe at the moment. They've been flying. It's going to be difficult to top that and for me to get the goal was very special."
Wigan apparently have a hold over the runaway Premier League leaders in the FA Cup -- this was their third victory against them in the competition in six years. The most famous of those was the 2013 final but the Latics were then a top-flight side.
IN PICS: Manchester City knocked out of FA Cup by Wigan
"We said 'get through the first 15 minutes'," said Grigg. "You have to be in the game to have a chance and I think you could sense around the pitch after 15-20 minutes that this was a good game, we were in it and if we could create chances we could cause them problems."
Wigan were aided by the sending-off of City's Fabian Delph before the break, an incident that sparked heated exchanges between opposing managers Pep Guardiola and Paul Cook.
Those flashpoints were the main talking point of the game itself, while the contest as a whole was later overshadowed by a pitch invasion and crowd disorder.
But Grigg focused on his moment of glory.
"I sort of gambled and found myself in a foot race with Kyle Walker, which is not exactly ideal," he said. "He is probably the quickest player on the pitch but my first touch took him out of the game.
"Then I've always said if I get chance to score goals... I managed to find the bottom corner, which was an unbelievable feeling."
Wigan will now host another top-flight side in Southampton in the quarter-finals.
Grigg added: "We'll be going into that game with no fear whatsoever. We've just beaten the best side in Europe at the moment."
