Joe Hart calls for calm after joyous Man City reach FA Cup final

The Manchester City goalkeeper warns that the trophy is not theirs yet despite ousting rivals Manchester United out of the competition.

Yaya Toure celebrates scoring his goal which put Manchester City into the FA Cup final for the first time in 30 years.

LONDON // Joe Hart, the Manchester City goalkeeper, called for calm after his side's 1-0 FA Cup semi-final win over derby rivals Manchester United and warned that the trophy is not theirs yet.

City conducted triumphant celebrations at Wembley after Yaya Toure's 52nd-minute goal sent Roberto Mancini's men into the final, their first since 1981, and ended United's treble bid.

But, amid the glee, there was a word of caution from Hart.

"It means the world, just look at us," said Hart after a match that also saw the United veteran Paul Scholes sent off for an ugly challenge on Pablo Zabaleta in the second half. "The boys are over the moon, the fans are over the moon and the staff are over the moon but we've won nothing yet," Hart told ITV1

"We've done nothing yet but we've got ourselves in a good position in the league and in the final and I'm so happy for the [fans] here."

Turning to Toure's goal, coming on the back of a Michael Carrick error, Hart said: "It was a fantastic goal. He was fired up at half-time. He's an emotional guy and he lets his emotion show on the pitch."

It was game-turning mistake from Carrick. A woeful attempt by the England midfielder to find Scholes was pounced on by Toure and, once the Ivorian had been invited into United's box, he finished in style, beating Edwin van der Sar with a low shot.

Mancini's men deserved the win, too, after surviving an early pummelling and two glorious opportunities for Dimitar Berbatov.

The City goal first opened up for the Bulgarian when Carrick intercepted a Gareth Barry pass and began a one-touch move that involved Scholes and Park Ji-sung. Berbatov found himself one-on-one with the outstanding Hart and the England goalkeeper won.

United quickly retrieved possession and when Nani gave Zabaleta the slip, his low cross invited the close-range finish. However, Berbatov scooped over from inside the six-yard box.

Defeat means there will be no repeat of the 1999 treble for United, who must concentrate on their bid for trophies in the Premier League and Champions League.

But City, watched by chairman Khaldoon al Mubarak, have the chance to "change history", as Mancini has demanded this week, and will return to Wembley on May 14 to face either Bolton Wanderers or Stoke City.

The Italian manager urged his players not to waste their historic victory by failing to end their 35-year trophy drought. Mancini's side will be strong favourites to claim their first trophy since the 1976 League Cup, but he claimed the final would be even tougher than yesterday's 1-0 victory.

"I'm very happy. I'm very happy for our supporters," Mancini said. "We mustn't forget we play another game. Today, we won only the semi-final."

Unfortunately, firebrand Mario Balotelli threatened to put a damper on celebrations when he unwisely rejoiced in front of the United fans, triggering a shoving match with Anderson and an angry reaction from Rio Ferdinand - who had to be calmed by the City coach David Platt.

Van der Sar conceded the result was even harder to take than a normal semi-final defeat due to the identity of the opponents.

"It is never nice to lose the game but a semi-final against City is even worse, of course," he told BBC Radio Five Live. "We had our chances in the first half and the tempo of the game was too slow for us. You don't like to concede but if it's a 25-yard screamer you can sometimes live with it, but it was a scrappy goal and we didn't really clear the ball."