Football
Richard Jolly, ESPN.com writer 10y

'Beating City is my biggest achievement'

Wigan manager Uwe Rosler said it was the greatest achievement of his managerial career as his Championship side eliminated Manchester City from the FA Cup with a 2-1 win at the Etihad Stadium.

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And the former City striker said he borrowed from the gameplan that former Wigan manager Roberto Martinez used when he defeated the same opponents in last season’s FA Cup final.

Jordi Gomez and James Perch got the goals for Wigan, who will now face Arsenal in April’s semi-final clash at Wembley.

Rosler said: “I have had some highs and lows but coming here against one of the best teams in the world we did not just park the bus and be lucky. It is my biggest achievement.

“Last season was an unbelievable achievement to win the FA Cup and put Wigan on the worldwide football map but to follow it up this season and get to the semi-final is equally big from my players. It is unbelievable to be back [at Wembley]. Nobody thought Wigan would be back. My players deserve all the credit.”

Martinez selected a 3-4-3 formation when Wigan beat City in the 2013 FA Cup final and Rosler, who normally picks a four-man defence, went to three at the back as he borrowed from the blueprint his predecessor used in both the Wembley showpiece and a 1-0  league defeat at the Etihad Stadium.

And he explained: “I studied Roberto’s tactics from when he won the FA Cup. He put out a very good gameplan. I saw the league game here where Roberto’s team played periods of the game to perfection. I tried to replicate it. I felt our only chance was keeping the ball in attacking areas if we looked to defend we would have no chance.”

Rosler singled out captain Emmerson Boyce for particular praise after he made a goal-saving block to deny City substitute Edin Dzeko an equaliser.

He added: “Unbelievable. I just saw the block. What you need in football, you need match-winners at both ends, not only in an attacking box, but in your own box and that was a match-winning decisive moment.

“I can only take my hat off to my players. Emmerson is a symbol of that, not only today but since I walked into the club.”

Matchwinner James Perch told BT Sport: "It was just the gameplan we had all week, we've worked on it hard, we've had four weeks to prepare for it and the gaffer's got us geed up for this game.

"It's the FA Cup, I don't think you need to work too hard on getting people geed up, it's the magic of the FA Cup. He [Rosler] told us to press them high and get in their faces, and they didn't like it. I think it paid off.

"I think the we gave a good account of ourselves, the lads were superb and credit should go to the fans who travelled down today. I don't think there's much better than scoring a late goal against Man City in the FA Cup, and it turned out to be the winning goal.

"It's not just about the goal that I scored; it's about the lads, the team effort, the defence was unbelievable, the goalkeeper was superb and it was just brilliant to get away from here with a win."

After learning his side would next play the Gunners, Perch added: "It's good, it's a one-off game, no one thought we would come here and win. Maybe we can prove a few people wrong again."

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