Old Trafford was packed for this PMF Cup Semi-Final match between two superpowers of Division 1, Arsenal and Leeds United. Coming into this match there was no clear favourites, as both teams have been in dire form in the top division of late, with the Gunners crashing towards an unlikely relegation spot. Leeds seem content with mid-table mediocrity though, and have suffered from some nondescript performances of late, but both sets of players and supporters would be looking for a change in their respective fortunes coming into this money-spinning clash.

Arsenal have been one of the strangest enigmas in PMF this season. At one stage of the season, under ex-manager Ani Palat, they looked as unstoppable force as any, and would have been confident of a high finish in the league. And it even appeared current boss Winston Matobonadzo might follow that trend, with a good start to his managerial career at the high-profile London club, but things have fallen away sharply in recent weeks. Last weekend's loss to bitter rivals Tottenham Hotspur has left many supporters calling for the African manager's head, and he reverted to a much better lineup for this match, recalling the likes of David Seaman and Thierry Henry as he looked to reverse the recent trend of poor form. Kevin Nolan was the only major surprise in the side selection, with Sol Campbell also returning onto the bench in a standard 4-4-2 formation.

Things haven't been too rosy for Chris Porter and the Whites either of late, and they suffered a humiliating 2-0 home loss to relegation-threatened Sunderland last weekend to finally end their hopes of a Top 2 finish. The side has been troubled with injuries and suspensions of late, and would be without David Dunn tonight. Prolific striker Louis Saha returned from a minor injury though to take his place up front alongside Jermaine Defoe, and with a menacing midfield looking to supply the two pocket dynamos tonight, it would be an interesting match between the Leeds offence and the Arsenal defence. Porter chose a daring 4-3-1-2 formation for this game as Leeds looked to make the inaugural PMF Cup Final.

Unsurprisingly, the match began at a lethargic pace, the first action occurring in the 6th minute when Nolan stupidly got himself booked for a late challenge on Rio Ferdinand. It was to set the tone for the rest of the match, as just minutes later, Ian Harte was booked for a retaliatory challenge on the former Bolton Wanderers star.

The football itself was slow, with neither midfield able to impose itself on the game, although Fredrik Ljungberg was putting himself about early on with some good footwork. He wasn't very well supported though, making an opportunity in the 14th minute to cross into the box only for it to be met with a sea of white shirts.

Matobanadzo looked frustrated on the sidelines, his side were marginally in front in the opening stoushes but they just couldn't do anything meaningful with the ball. He stood right at the edge of his technical area for a while, barking orders at his players, but it was to no avail as his side began to lose the early initiative.

Leeds nearly surged ahead on the scoreboard with their first attack of the match when Harry Kewell made a fine diagonal run from the left of the field to the edge of the box before striking a low drive which shaved Seaman's right-hand post. The England goalkeeper was completely stranded, and as soon as he saw the shot go wide, berated his defence for some very poor marking.

Some dicey challenges came into play again, with Danny Mills and Ljungberg exchanging bookings for a 'handbag at ten paces' incident, as both sides degenerated into some terrible football again. Neither set of players could string a couple of passes together, and the packed stadium - which was being extremely well policed by security to stop any potential problems - was beginning to get restless.

With half time approaching, both sides began to look for some magic, and Henry very nearly provided it for the Gunners when he made a 30 yard dash to get onto a looping ball over the top by Samuel Kuffour. His finish looked to contain a bit of the brilliant about it, with the French star lining up for a piledriver from just over 20 yards out, but Nigel Martyn produced an outstanding save to his upper left to deny the goalward-bound shot.

The following corner was broken up, and suddenly Leeds themselves had a chance to go ahead just before the break from a lightning fast counterattack. A long clearance up the field by Jonathon Woodgate was well controlled on the half way line by Kewell, who turned and passed through the middle of a scattered Arsenal defence to Defoe. The West Ham starlet got into the box, but just as he was about to shoot for goal, Martin Keown got back to produce a spectacularly hard but fair tackle from the side, leaving the crowd applauding as the experienced defender cleared the ball away.

Arsene Youoff soon ended the first half, which had ended with far more excitement than the rest of it had mustered, with both managers looking content with a 0-0 scoreline at the break. Just one change was made at the break, with the disappointing Danny Murphy being replaced by livewire Mahamadou Diarra in the Arsenal midfield, Matobanadzo obviously hoping an injection of life would give his side a lift for the second half.

It very nearly worked when the Ghanaian international wormed his way past both Ferdinand and Woodgate, before unleashing a drive from just over 20 yards out. Again Martyn was there to stop it though, pawing the ball away with Diarra already wheeling away for his celebrations.

Again Diarra was in the thick of things for Arsenal's next chance on the 52 minute mark, when some nifty footwork saw him rather unceremoniously hacked down by Robbie Keane from 25 yards out, directly in front of goal. Giovanni van Bronckhorst and Henry stood over the ball, and it was the Dutchman who took the shot, the dipping set piece just not doing enough though to get into the top corner with Martyn stranded. The Arsenal supporters behind the goals summed up the disappointment with hundreds of hands being simultaneously thrown into the air as the shot just cleared the bar.

This was to end Arsenal's small period of domination, as Leeds began to take Diarra out of the game, Arsenal as an attacking force dissolved in front of everyone's eyes. The rest of the engine room just had no petrol left in the tank, and Leeds began to overrun them, although the Whites themselves seemed to be running on empty at times.

It was the inspiration and invention of Kewell which cooked up the go-ahead goal though, in the 67th minute. The little Aussie magician produced some fine footwork and dribbling skills to get past Kuffour and Keown, cutting in from the left and then back out to the left of the pitch. He made a run to the bye-line as Leeds attackers swamped the box, and his biting cross was meant for one head and one head only. Unfortunately, Ferdinand couldn't get his header on target, but waiting at the far post was Steed Malbranque, who smashed a volley into the roof of the net with nobody marking him.

The Leeds supporters erupted into celebration as Malbranque sprinted towards the sidelines, hugging his manager and teammates as they marked the all important goal. The move had worked perfectly, three defenders had marked Ferdinand and although they'd forced his header into going wide, they didn't count for the loose ball to be pounced on by former Fulham midfielder Malbranque to score his first goal of the season.

Matobanadzo sent on young Mexican sensation Daniel Osorno for the ineffectual van Bronckhorst, but he would regret the move in the 72nd minute as the midfielder was sent from the field by Youoff. Stupidly the central American retaliated to a late challenge by Mills, and the referee had no choice but to send him off for pushing Mills in the chest. Mills was also given his marching orders though, for his second bookable offence, and the two players cut forlorn figures as they walked towards their respective dressing rooms.

Leeds' reaction was simple, Porter sending on big defender Titus Bramble for Defoe who limped off with a mild heel injury, to galvanise the Whites' defence. Alan Smith, who had replaced Keane after the goal, partnered Saha up front, but in truth neither saw much of the ball in attack for the rest of the game as they came back to help in defence.

The defence of Leeds needed help too, as Arsenal swamped forward in the search for a late equaliser. They thought they had it in the 81st minute when Ashley Cole unleashed an unstoppable bullet-like volley from the edge of the area, but it smacked into the bar before rebounding away for a goal kick. Then, from the throw in, the same player produced a brave diving header, only to see Martyn take a great slips catch to stop the goal.

This proved to be Arsenal's final chance of the game, they'd run themselves into the ground, and their Cup dreams were over. This was evident well before Youoff blew his whistle for the final time to end the match, as the Leeds supporters sang loud and proud. The Whites had made the Final in a dour but eventful match. In the end it was a fair result, Leeds had shown better form in attack although Arsenal had better chances. Porter will know his side will need to play a whole lot better than this to lift the first-ever PMF Cup thought. For Matobanadzo, he knows his side ultimately deserved to lose, but his head'll still be on the chopping block over the next few days. It's been rumoured that a replacement is in line already for the job, and with the Gunners struggling against relegation this season, the current manager might just have seen his last game in charge...

Arsenal 0-1 Leeds United

Arsenal Squad: David Seaman 7, Samuel Kuffour 7, Ashley Cole 7, Martin Keown 8, Tony Adams © 7, Kevin Nolan 8, Fredrik Ljungberg 8, Danny Murphy 6 (Mahamadou Diarra 8), Giovanni van Bronckhorst 6 (Daniel Osorno 5 (sent off)), Thierry Henry 7, Dennis Bergkamp 6.
Subs Not Used: Richard Wright, Sol Campbell, Danny Landzaat.

Scorers: None.
Injuries: None.
Bookings: Adams, Nolan, Ljungberg, Diarra.
Sendings Off: Osorno.

Leeds United Squad: Nigel Martyn 8, Danny Mills 6 (sent off), Ian Harte 7, Rio Ferdinand © 8, Jonathon Woodgate 8, Lee Bowyer 7, Steed Malbranque 7, Robbie Keane 7 (Alan Smith 7), Louis Saha 8, Jermaine Defoe 7 (Titus Bramble 7), Harry Kewell 9.
Subs Not Used: Paul Robinson, Dominic Matteo, Eirik Bakke.

Scorers: Malbranque '67.
Injuries: Defoe (minor foot injury - 25th March).
Bookings: Harte, Mills, Kewell, Keane, Ferdinand.
Sendings Off: Mills.

Match Stats
Shots On Target: Arsenal 4-3 Leeds United
Shots Off Target: 5-5
Fouls Committed: 26-25
Corners: 1-3
Offsides: 1-2
Possession: 46%-54%
Attendance: 67,650 (full capacity) @ Old Trafford, Manchester (neutral venue)
Referee: Arsene Youoff (Bradford) - 8/10.

Man of the Match: Harry Kewell - without a shadow of a doubt the best on field today. His vision and trademark runs at the defence were a sight to behold in a match where too often nothing happened, and he did a fine job in setting up Malbranque's goal. Porter and Co. have to thank Kewell a lot for Leeds making the next round.

Derby County vs Manchester City

Highbury was awash with white and light blue for this massive fixture between Division 3 promotion hopefuls Derby County, and Division 4 champions-elect Manchester City. The bookies had placed City as the favourites for this match, and Matt Hansen's men came into this match brimful of confidence, after previously knocking out Liverpool and Leicester City to progress to this stage. There was a buzz around the crowd though, Derby had sensationally taken out red-hot favourites Newcastle United in the quarter-finals, and it would make for a very interesting game, with two attack-minded teams.

Damian Rix has been surrounded with controversy of late though, with a massive number of strange transfers occurring at Pride Park this week. Coupled with the shock release of Alan Kimble, it hasn't been a great week for the Rams, but their minds would be focused on this match. The Division 3 side also haven't been in the best league form of late, but they still had one of the strongest sides outside PMF Division 1, with the likes of Mart Poom, Lauren, Nolberto Solano and the mercurial front pairing of Paolo Di Canio and Fabrizio Ravanelli gracing their books. Rix chose a strong 4-4-1-1 formation for this match.

Under Hansen, Manchester City have looked one of the best teams in PMF this season. Five points clear at the top of a very competitive Division 4, and with Cup wins against much higher opposition in Liverpool and Leicester to boot, came into this match without a care in the world. The addition of Argentinian megastar Ariel Ortega in the week has lifted the clubs' spirits too, and the former River Plate star was included straight into the squad. He was surrounded by more great talent, the brilliant strike partnership of Milan Baros and Shaun Goater continuing up front in an adventurous 3-1-3-1-2 formation.

Derby started the match at a million miles a minute, having the first opportunity of the match inside the first minute when Lauren burst down the right. After pacing past Danny Tiatto the Cameroon international crossed into the box, and it looked to be going right for the head of the waiting and unmarked Ravanelli on the penalty spot, but from nowhere Nicky Weaver came out to punch the ball away.

This early scare out of the way, City settled into their rhythm of quick passing and movement, and threatened to cut the Derby defence into ribbons on several occasions. Their final passes were erratic early on though, especially from Vladimir Smicer, who twice had chances to play Ortega in behind the defence, but both times picked out Matei Mirel Radoi instead.

The first corner of the match came in the 9th minute when Ugo Ehiogu went with safety first to clear a dangerous Niclas Alexandersson cross, but it was to be disaster for City as they went behind from the set piece. Solano bent in a wicked cross from the right, and coming in with the late run was Romanian international Radoi, who got a fair piece of the header to have the back of the net bulging, leaving Weaver with no chance of stopping it. A fine header to cap off a great cross.

Worse was to come for the blue half of Manchester when they went 2-0 down to their Division 3 opponents just minutes later. It wasn't a great goal to concede, as there was seemingly little danger when the omnipresent Radoi pumped a long ball up the field. Di Canio beat David Unsworth back to it, but still there was little signs of what would happen, until the little Italian tapped the ball through the City captain's legs. Suddenly he had all the time in the world to pick out the late run of Ravanelli into the box, and the former Sheffield Wednesday playmaker found him perfectly, the Derby skipper half-volleying the ball home with the defence in tatters.

At 2-0 up, Derby began to sit back on their lead, although they nearly paid dearly when a lazy backpass from Gilles Grimandi was hacked off the line by the sliding Poom. Rix looked fairly happy on the sidelines though as his side confidently stroked the ball around, leaving the City players often chasing shadows as the Rams players steadily gained confidence.

There was little excitement for a fair chunk of the first half, Derby content to keep the ball, and City unable to get it off them. There was a couple of chances for the team from Manchester though, the most notable being in the 37th minute when Tiatto produced an excellent defence-splitting pass for Ortega to get onto the end of. Ortega thought he was offside though, and pulled the instant shot well wide, only afterwards seeing the the goal would have stood had he tried harder. He clasped his head in his hands, many City fans mimicking the actions of their newest striker.

It remained 2-0 at half time, and the Derby fans were singing. The team from Pride Park had simply blown away their Division 4 counterparts in the first half, and two goals in four minutes had damaged the City side. Neither side made changes at half time though, Hansen surely knowing that this game was far from over.

City came out in the second half a changed side. They began to control the ball more, and inside the opening few minutes the possession was an astonishing 90/10 in favour of the team in light blue, although in the early stages of the half they couldn't convert possession into chances at goal. The only one came from a dipping long range drive by Erlend Hanstveit which landed a metre or so the wrong side of Poom's post.

City finally did begin to get chances at goal, their next falling to an Ehiogu header from a corner which was sensationally tipped over by Poom. The Estonian goalkeeper, who recently lost his place in the national squad, proved his athleticism again minutes later when a low 30-yard free kick by Ortega was tipped around the post at full stretch.

It looked to be only a matter of time before City pulled a goal back, but Poom was doing his best to frustrate them, pulling out two top-shelf saves to deny Ortega again, and a smart volley by Goater. Ironically it was a Poom mistake which nearly did provide City their way back into the game, when Poom mis-hit a clearance into the body of Baros, but the ball spun away to safety.

Slowly Derby began to assert some more control on their ambitious opponents, and they resumed control of the ball in midfield. They even had a chance to go 3-0 up when Alexandersson took a surprise snap shot at goal from well outside the box, but it was excellently palmed away by Weaver.

City sensationally got the goal they deserved on 71 minutes with a contender for 'goal of the season'. It came from the unlikely left boot of Erlend Hanstveit - the Norwegian made a surging run down the left before cutting inside. He had few viable passing options though, and shaped to shoot on his right foot from ridiculous range. It was a fake though, as he tapped the ball across to his favoured left foot to fool Olivier Bernard, before launching an unstoppable rising drive from fully 30 yards out. The shot nearly ripped the net out of the ground, Poom not even moving a centimetre. The City fans celebrated the fine goal wildly, they were back in the game!

The goal gave the City players some massive confidence, and they were soon swamping forward. Poom was in excellent form though, continuing his fine game to produce solid saves to deny goalbound shots by Smicer and Ortega. In frustration, and rather surprisingly, Hansen responded by sending on big central defender Zat Knight for the hard-working Tiatto. Strangely he put Knight up front, and the move paid off immediately as City grabbed a great equaliser.

Playing as purely a target man, Knight received a pinpoint long pass from Steve Howey 30 yards from goal. Holding off his marker, he looked to backheel the ball through to Hanstveit, and though not doing it successfully, the ball squirted out to Ortega. Without a marker, the Argentinian ran forward 10 yards and, given all the time in the world, drilled in an unstoppable low drive past the outstretched fingertips of Poom to equalise for City. Poom simply sat on the ground, his defenders pointing fingers at each other for giving Ortega way too much time and room.

The entire complexion of the match had changed in just eleven devastating minutes, and suddenly Derby were chasing the game. But things would get much darker just three minutes later when a defensive mistake gifted City the opportunity to go ahead. Again they let Ortega run at them, Bernard a chief culprit by watching the feet instead of the ball, and by the time he did challenge the Argentine international had ghosted past him. Ortega then chipped inside for Baros to shoot home, but as the Czech looked to sidestep Poom, down he came. Poom's hands had caught his ankle, and Ahmed Youwalk had no choice but to send Derby's goalkeeping hero off.

After a few minutes of pandemonium, Quinton Fortune came off for Ghanaian goalkeeper Richard Kingston. The reserve goalie looked very nervous as he took his place between the sticks, but during all this Baros was waiting patiently. Finally, it came time for him to hit the penalty, and he did so, smashing it to the right of Kingston. The goalie guessed the right way though, and saved it, but could only watch in horror as the ball bobbled back out to Baros to roll the ball over the goal line.

Again pandemonium set in, the City players went absolutely wild, with the Derby team just standing in their spots stunned. Kingston lay on the ground, face down in the grass - he'd done nothing wrong, but would be seen as the player who had Derby knocked out. The rest of the match was little more than a blur, City holding on to win 3-2.

The two managers exchanged a warm handshake and some words as the final whistle blew, it had been an energy-draining game for both sides, and both sets of players were applauded off the pitch by the capacity crowd. It had been an excellent game of football, which had seen the advantage lie with Derby in the first half, only to see City steal it with three goals in the last 20 minutes. Hansen knows his men probably deserved this win, and they will now be looking at a great double as they look to meet the winners of the Arsenal/Leeds game in the PMF Cup Final. For Rix, it's back to the promotion claims in Division 3. A great game had come to an end, City the deserving winners. But could they go on to win the final against Division 1 opponents? Only time can tell...

Derby County 2-3 Manchester City

Derby County Squad: Mart Poom (sent off) 9, Lee Dixon 7, Matei Mirel Radoi 8, Olivier Bernard 5, Gilles Grimandi 6, Niclas Alexandersson 7, Lauren 7, Nolberto Solano 7, Quinton Fortune 6 (Richard Kingston 6), Paolo Di Canio 8, Fabrizio Ravanelli © 7.
Subs Not Used: Steve Elliott, Antonio Benarrivo, Dabodi Dixon, Roberto Palacios.

Scorers: Radoi '9, Ravanelli '13.
Injuries: None.
Bookings: Lauren.
Sendings Off: Poom.

Manchester City Squad: Nicky Weaver 8, Steve Howey 7, David Unsworth © 7, Alf Inge Haaland 7, Ugo Ehiogu 7, Erlend Hanstveit 8, Vladimir Smicer 8, Ariel Ortega 9, Milan Baros 8, Shaun Goater 7, Danny Tiatto 7 (Zat Knight 6).
Subs Not Used: Carlo Nash, Eyal Berkovic, Branko Boskovic, Darren Huckerby.

Scorers: Hanstveit '71, Ortega '82, Baros '87; Baros missed penalty '87.
Injuries: None.
Bookings: Haaland, Goater.
Sendings Off: None.

Match Stats
Shots On Target: Derby County 5-11 Manchester City
Shots Off Target: 12-8
Fouls Committed: 10-12
Corners: 6-8
Offsides: 5-2
Possession: 49%-51%
Attendance: 38,500 (full capacity) @ Highbury, London (neutral venue)
Referee: Ahmed Youwalk - 9/10.

Man of the Match: Mart Poom - the sending off was harsh for the big goalkeeper who had kept Derby in the match. His saves and athleticism indicate that he could be playing at a much higher level, and he will surely have some big clubs calling after another fine performance between the sticks for Derby.