Manchester City 1 Y Toure 74
Stoke City 0
Manchester City Hart - Richards, Kolarov, Kompany, Lescott - De Jong, Barry (Johnson 73), Yaya Toure, Silva (Vieira 90+2) - Balotelli, Tevez (Zabaleta 87). Subs: Given, Milner, Dzeko, Boyata.
Stoke City Sorensen - Wilkinson, Shawcross, Huth, Wilson - Pennant, Whelan (Pugh 84), Delap (Carew 80), Etherington (Whitehead 62) - Walters, Jones. Subs: Nash, Collins, Diao, Faye. Booked: Huth, Wilkinson.
Attendance 88,643 at Wembley Referee Martin Atkinson (W Yorks) Kick-off 3pm
Live on ITV and ESPN
YAYA TOURE added to his Wembley goal collection as Manchester City beat Stoke City 1-0 to win the FA Cup for the first time since 1969.
Toure struck just as it looked as if Stoke were going to be able to force the match into extra time but this was a deserved win for Roberto Mancini's men.
PREVIEW
EITHER Manchester City or Stoke City will end their long wait for trophy success in the FA Cup Final this afternoon, live on ITV and ESPN (kick-off 3pm).
Man City, who start as favourites with the bookmakers, are aiming to win their first major prize since 1976 when they beat Newcastle United in the League Cup Final.
A cup win would cap a brilliant week at Eastlands after Roberto Mancini's secured Champions League football thanks to Peter Crouch's own goal on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Stoke have also confirmed their meteoric recent rise by reaching their first ever FA Cup Final in their 148-year existence.
Potters fans have to go even further back than Man City supporters for their last major trophy - back to the 1972 League Cup Final when Stoke beat Chelsea 2-1.
Since then, the Staffordshire club has fallen as low as 14th in the bottom tier in 1990/91, though recent seasons have been in a solely upward direction.
It all started when Stoke gained promotion to the surprise of many by finishing second to West Bromwich Albion in 2007/08.
Expected by many to go straight back down, Tony Pulis' men confounded their critics by finishing 12th in their first season back in the top flight as they comfortably avoided the drop.
The detractors then predicted that Stoke would suffer from so-called 'second season syndrome' but Pulis' men did nothing of the sort in 2009/10, improving their final placing to 11th.
This season, another improvement looks likely with Stoke lying in the top half after their impressive 3-1 home win over Arsenal.
Pulis' critics continue to complain that his team has only achieved success by playing a horrible long ball game but it would be harsh not to accept that this has been developed during their time in the top flight.
True, their sturdy defence remains as important as ever but now Stoke have a decent attack with Kenwyne Jones and Jonathan Walters supplied by wingers Matthew Etherington and Jermaine Pennant.
All of those players may be pretty direct at times but they are a far sight better than constant Rory Delap throws - and probably more effective if the 5-0 semi final drubbing of Bolton Wanderers is anything to go by.
Of course, Stoke are not the only team in this Final with an image problem. Manchester City may have finally broken into the top four but it was perhaps typical that they made it via an own goal.
Since the arrival of Khaldoon Al Mubarak of the Abu Dhabi United Group, Man City have spent more than £300m on transfer fees alone.
It is a simply astonishing amount given that they currently remain 11 points adrift off their Manchester rivals in the league.
Indeed, even in victory, United can somewhat rain upon City's parade by winning a record 19th English league title earlier this afternoon against Blackburn Rovers at 12.45pm.
At least the Red Devils will not pick up their Premier League crown until next weekend regardless of what happens though it is disappointing, to say the least, that the FA Cup Final is being played alongside league matches.
Worse still, it was announced yesterday that the same thing will happen next season even though the FA does not have the excuse that Wembley will be hosting the Champions League Final, as it is this time.
Of course, neither Man City nor Stoke will worry too much about such matters as long as they win - particularly the former after their swashbuckling semi final success over Man United.
That level of performance is exactly what is expected of Man City on a more regular basis and, though Carlos Tevez was injured on that occasion, he is often vital to providing a focal point to their attacks.
This is especially the case if the three nominally defensive midfielders - Nigel de Jong, Gareth Barry and Patrick Vieira - are all used by Mancini.
Indeed, you could even go as far as to say that the late fitness call on Tevez is more vital to Man City than the doubts over Robert Huth and Etherington are for Stoke.
Otherwise, it means the likes of Edin Dzeko, David Silva and trouble-maker Mario Balotelli take to the pitch knowing that they still have much to prove.
Nevertheless, it is difficult to argue this week that the Blue Moon is not finally ascendant and, as such, it should be the case that the investment of hundreds of millions of pounds will finally produce dividends.
Not before a tough, tight encounter, though. Prediction: 2-1 to Manchester City.
ROAD TO WEMBLEY
Manchester City
R3 Leicester City (a) drew 2-2
R3r Leicester City (h) won 4-2
R4 Notts County (a) drew 1-1
R4r Notts County (h) won 5-0
R5 Aston Villa (h) won 3-0
R6 Reading (h) won 1-0
SF Manchester United (w) won 1-0
Stoke City
R3 Cardiff City (h) drew 1-1
R3r Cardiff City (a) won 2-0 after extra time
R4 Wolverhampton Wanderers (a) won 1-0
R5 Brighton and Hove Albion (h) won 3-0
R6 West Ham United (h) won 2-1
SF Bolton Wanderers (w) won 5-0
PREVIOUS FA CUP FINALS
Manchester City
Four wins, one draw, four defeats
1904 won 1-0 v Bolton Wanderers (at Crystal Palace)
1926 lost 0-1 v Bolton Wanderers
1933 lost 0-3 v Everton
1934 won 2-1 v Portsmouth
1955 lost 1-3 v Newcastle United
1956 won 3-1 v Birmingham City
1969 won 1-0 v Leicester City
1981 drew 1-1 v Tottenham Hotspur [after extra time]
1981 replay lost 2-3 v Tottenham Hotspur
Stoke City
None
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