Since it was an away game, Gao Bo and his team didn't celebrate too wildly after the match.
After the game, the players celebrated for a while in the locker room, then packed their things and boarded the bus, returning to the hotel to rest for the night before heading back to Luton the next morning.
When the team's vehicle entered the city, the fans were practically boiling over.
They crowded around the bus, which was slowly moving through the city streets, as if it were a championship parade.
In fact, reaching the FA Cup semi-finals was indeed no less than winning a championship for Luton's fans.
Because Luton was only a fourth-tier team, achieving such results in a cup competition at this league level meant that even if Luton were eliminated in the semi-finals, fans would still be talking about this season's Luton with great enthusiasm for the next decade or two.
Luton's historic entry into the semi-finals drove the entire town wild.
Anyway, the tavern owners last night must have made a fortune.
.....
On the front pages of all sports media published the next day, this match was the main news.
The other three knockout matches all involved Premier League teams, including powerhouses like Arsenal and Liverpool, but the most eye-catching, unsurprisingly, was the match between Coventry, playing at home, and Luton, a Championship team versus a League Two team.
"Luton - FA Cup Semi-Finalists!" This was the headline of many media outlets.
Just linking the name of the Luton team with the FA Cup semi-finals was shocking enough.
"Luton, led by a Chinese coach, is creating miracles, or rather, they have already created miracles.
In League Two, Luton, who were deducted thirty points, are now ranked second in the league.
They are almost certain to secure a promotion spot to League One, and it wouldn't be surprising if Luton won the League Two title at the end of the season!
And in the FA Cup, Luton is also the ultimate dark horse this season.
Their path to the semi-finals wasn't due to good luck in the draw.
On their way to the final four, they encountered Chelsea and Manchester City.
But in the end, Luton eliminated them all!!
Now, this League Two team will go to Wembley to compete for a place in the FA Cup final!!"
Sky Sports wrote in its report.
And the photo they used was of Gao Bo jumping up to celebrate a goal.
Generally speaking, the media prefers to use players as accompanying images, after all, on the football field, fans prefer to chase after highly individual football stars.
However, the English media unanimously chose to put up Gao Bo's photo, which fully demonstrates how successful this coach's work at Luton is.
"The first half of the match was quite dull, with both sides adopting a defensive counter-attacking posture, but eventually, under the pressure of the home fans, Coventry tried to attack, but if the Coventry fans knew the consequences of pressing forward, they might not have put pressure on the team.
Luton took advantage of the opportunity created by Coventry players trying to press forward, causing a midfield disconnect, and completed a quick counter-attack!!
Scoring a goal."
"Coventry used a corner kick opportunity in the second half to score a goal and equalize, and the essence of the game was in the last minute of injury time, Luton also used a corner kick, with center-back Jeffrey heading in the goal, completing the kill!!!!!"
...
Three of the four FA Cup quarter-final matches have ended, and none of these three matches ended in a draw.
The other three teams that made it to the semi-finals include Everton and Arsenal, while Liverpool's home game against Fulham will be played tonight.
No matter the result of this match, the advancing team will be a Premier League team.
No matter which of these teams Luton draws as their opponent next, it won't be easy.
However, the FA Cup semi-final match is still a month away, so Gao Bo is not considering the FA Cup for the time being.
Besides needing to pay attention to the draw tonight, Gao Bo began to turn his attention back to the league.
Upon returning to Luton that day, Gao Bo gave the team a day off, and Gao Bo also allowed himself to rest for a day.
Since League Two has forty-six league rounds, Luton's schedule, while needing to balance cup competitions, is even more intensive than some Premier League teams.
Therefore, the team's string has been stretched very tight during this period.
Gao Bo understands the principle of too much is as bad as too little.
Gao Bo didn't go anywhere on his day off.
After returning to the apartment, he first caught up on sleep, and then got up in the afternoon to read the newspaper for a while.
He originally wanted to go out for a stroll in the afternoon, wait to go to the bar for a drink, and watch the last FA Cup quarter-final match and the draw after the match at the bar.
However, when Gao Bo opened the curtains, he knew that his plan was ruined when he looked at the drizzling rain outside the window.
It seems that he can't go anywhere today.
Gao Bo brewed himself a pot of tea and then turned on the TV.
Just when Gao Bo was getting a little impatient, BBC Sports finally started the live broadcast.
The match was held at Anfield, Liverpool's home stadium, and both sides sent out their strongest lineups.
Liverpool is once again far away from the Premier League title this season.
In order not to end the season empty-handed, they must also gain something in the FA Cup in order to give an explanation to the fans.
Fulham, on the other hand, is in the middle of the league, and it is basically impossible to get a Europa League qualification, but there is no worry about relegation.
Fulham is basically in a supporting role in the league.
If we talk about strength, Liverpool is far stronger than Fulham, but in this single-elimination system where a single game determines the outcome, with both sides fully invested, it is not easy for Liverpool to easily eat Fulham.
This is a very difficult game for both sides.
However, in the seventy-third minute of the second half, Gerrard broke the deadlock with a long shot, breaking Fulham's goal.
Then Liverpool successfully maintained the one-to-zero score until the final whistle, winning the match and securing the last FA Cup semi-final ticket.
Then the FA Cup semi-final draw ceremony was also held immediately after the match.
The first team to be drawn was Everton, and then Liverpool was also drawn.
In this way, the result is determined.
The Merseyside derby will be staged in the FA Cup semi-finals, while Luton will draw Arsenal...
After seeing the result, Gao Bo turned off the TV.
He walked to the balcony, looking at the two- or three-story apartments not far away.
Drew Arsenal ah....
Gao Bo frowned, Wenger's team is not easy to deal with.
He held the railing of the balcony, and the lights of the distant floors reflected on the white walls and red tiles through the rain.