Joy for Steele as he dodges semi-final shut-out

Steele, the hero of shock victories over Liverpool and Chelsea in the last two rounds, watched the draw anxiously in the knowledge that he would not be able to play if Barnsley had drawn West Bromwich.

Scroll down for more

The 23-year-old former Manchester United goalkeeper, on loan from The Hawthorns, would have been ruled out of a tie with the Midlands team. Now he can look ahead to the biggest day of his career.

Steele said: 'I was a little bit nervous before the draw, but it has worked out perfectly for me and I'm really looking forward to it.

'Knowing my luck, prior to coming here, it was going to work out against me and we were going to draw West Brom. It wasn't to be, so I'm happy. I didn't mind if we got Portsmouth or Cardiff, so I'm delighted.

'Hopefully I'm going to sign at Barnsley in the next few days to the end of the season. That's the plan, so I will be eligible to play in whatever comes up.'

The semi-finals will take place at Wembley on the weekend of April 5-6, with West Bromwich facing Barclays Premier League side Portsmouth in the other game.

The FA have not announced which match will take place first or if ticket prices will be cut to reflect the more moderate standings of the clubs involved.

All four clubs are expected to make in excess of £1million by reaching Wembley and they will more than double that if they make it through to the final.

But as Steele celebrated his moment of good fortune and his Swansea-supporting manager Simon Davey looked forward to playing his personal rivals, Cardiff were digesting some rather different news.

The Wales club had it confirmed by the FA that they will be denied the ultimate reward of a place in the UEFA Cup if they do go on to surprise everybody by winning the final in May.

FA officials insist they will not nominate a non-English team to represent them in UEFA competitions. Cardiff are members of the Football Association of Wales and play in the English league because of an affiliate membership.

An FA spokesman confirmed that in the event of Dave Jones' side winning the FA Cup, the UEFA Cup place will go to the runners-up and not to the side that finishes sixth in the Premier League.

He said: 'It's a unique situation for Cardiff as they play in our association yet belong to another one in the FAW. Representation would have to be entered by us. They are not eligible for an English place. Those rules are set in stone at the start of the season and they enter in that knowledge.'

While Cardiff chairman Peter Ridsdale hinted on Monday that his club may investigate ways of forcing the FA's hand if they do indeed make it to the final, he has more pressing concerns today with his club in the High Court defending a potential £35m lawsuit brought by creditors Langston.

If successful, the action could force the club into administration and with it a mandatory 10-point deduction.

If the High Court judge rules that the club has no defence, Ridsdale acknowledges the future is bleak.

He said: 'We believe and always have believed we will win the High Court case. However, if the case did go against us, then the directors would be legally bound to put the football club into administration. That's not something we want to do but we would have no choice.'

Portsmouth are favourites to lift the trophy having beaten 1-0 Manchester United at the weekend. Chief executive Peter Storrie said: 'After that result we do not fear anybody.

'It is unusual. On Saturday morning we were driving to Old Trafford thinking it was going to be the Alamo. Now we are 5-4 favourites. It's a funny old game, football.

'I have been in the game 20 years and this is one of the greatest results of my career. It was a good performance from the team and it is still pretty hard to take in.'

One thing for certain is that the FA Cup will be won by an English manager for the first time since Joe Royle's Everton side won it in 1995.