Man United Treble Dream Shattered

Manchester United's dreams of winning the League-FACup-UCL Treble ended just a few minutes ago with a 0-1 home loss to Portsmouth in FA Cup Quarterfinal action. United had opportunity after opportunity to beat Pompey keeper David James but couldn't find the net, hitting the post on one occasion. Ronaldo had very legitimate, but unanswered, appeals for a penalty early in the match, but it was Portsmouth who converted from the spot. After a 10 minute flurry of activity from the Red Devils, Portsmouth broke back in a 2 on 2 counterattack, the ball being neatly slotted through for a clean break, when the referee adjudged Tomas Kuszczak to have taken down the Pompey forward, issuing a straight red card for the foul in the 81st minute. Rio Ferdinand guessed correctly, but could not keep out the Muntari bullet into the side netting. Reduced to 10 men, United was never able to mount a serious charge on goal. A furious Alex Ferguson will surely have some colorful comments in the post-match recap.

Chances for the Treble now solely rest in the hands of Chelsea, who faces Barnsley later today in FA Cup Quarterfinal action of their own.