Soccer
Tevez treble trounces Barnsley
2013-03-09 21:36
Manchester - Carlos Tevez made light of his arrest for a driving offence to lead Manchester City into the FA Cup semi-finals with a hat-trick in a leisurely 5-0 win at home to second-tier Barnsley on Saturday.
Tevez was arrested for allegedly driving while disqualified on Thursday, an offence that carries a maximum six-month jail term, but he scored three times and made two goals at the Etihad Stadium as City joined Wigan in the last four.
Barnsley, who last reached the semi-finals in 2009, came to Manchester intending to defend en masse but their resistance was broken inside 11 minutes.
Yaya Toure found David Silva with a delightful flicked pass over the top and when Barnsley goalkeeper Luke Steele pushed the Spaniard's volley onto the post, Tevez was on hand to tuck the ball home.
The Argentine created his side's second goal in the 27th minute, tearing into the Barnsley box and rolling a deliciously weighted pass square for Aleksandar Kolarov, who found the bottom-right corner.
Tevez made it 3-0 four minutes later, gathering Silva's cut-back and spinning before beating Steele with a low shot from close range.
The hat-trick goal arrived five minutes into the second half and saw Tevez guide a low shot into the bottom-right corner after a gambolling run and cross from Samir Nasri.
Silva hit the hosts' fifth in the 65th minute, following in to score after Steele had saved his initial effort, with Tevez again supplying the assist.
Earlier, Wigan shocked Everton 3-0 at Goodison Park to book a place in the semi-finals for the first time in the club's history.
Roberto Martinez's side are currently threatened with relegation from the Premier League, while Everton are gunning for a top-four finish, but the Latics upset the form-book with a performance as superb as it was unexpected.
"For us to go to Wembley is a unique, historic moment," said Wigan manager Martinez.
Wigan chairman Dave Whelan broke his leg while playing for Blackburn Rovers in the 1960 FA Cup final, and Martinez said: "You could sense that in the dressing room - everyone wanted to see the chairman at Wembley."
Wigan's three goals arrived within a devastating four-minute spell during the first half.
Shaun Maloney had already hit the post for Wigan by the time Maynor Figueroa broke the deadlock in the 30th minute, climbing to head in Jordi Gomez's right-wing corner at the back post.
Wigan's second followed within a minute and the goal-scorer was childhood Everton fan Callum McManaman, who raced onto a misplaced pass from Phil Neville before beating goalkeeper Jan Mucha.
The onslaught continued and in the 33rd minute Gomez made it 3-0, sweeping home Arouna Kone's square pass from outside the 18-yard box.
"We have to pick ourselves up," said Everton manager David Moyes, whose side were booed by the home fans.
"We have had a pretty good season. We've not had many downsides but today is a massive one, for me, the team, and the supporters.
"We didn't play well and if you don't play well, you are going to lose."
Two of Barnsley's fellow Championship sides, Millwall and Blackburn Rovers, face off in the third quarter-final on Sunday, before the stand-out tie of the last eight between Manchester United and Chelsea at Old Trafford.