Ally
Active Member
Arsenal 2 (Jeffers 36, Henry 45) Chelsea 2 (Terry 3, Lampard 83)
Gut-wrenching. You can see it. It's there. A semi-final, surely a trip to Cardiff. You've played the opposition off the field, you're looking dangerous in every attack ... and they score a fluke to level things up at the death.
Awesome game of football though. The first half was more like something you'd see on a pinball machine, played at incredible pace with word class players in attack minded set-ups taking turns to give each other a right going-over on the offence.
Didn't start ideally, though. Before there was time to say "Ruud van Nistelrooy can go forth and multiply", Zola got clear and forced a great save off Seaman. From the resulting corner, Gronkjaer floated one in, Ljungberg was late pushing out and Parlour left Terry completely free to amble in and head into the top corner.
Chelsea were subsequently able to threaten only from set-pieces, all of which were gathered with minimum fuss by the sublime Big Dave between the sticks, and as we pushed up on the break-away, Jeffers was played in by Vieira, tried to round Cudicini and was brought down. When you're going like a train and someone takes your trailing foot out, you go down. The backlash for this 'dive' now seems to be pretty ugly, but what seems baffling to me is the pure hypocrisy involved here. When Michael Owen hurls himself to the floor under a breath from Pochetino, you're alright there. Likewise, when Ruud or Beckham do a decent impression of a dying sack of potatoes, the reaction seems to be limited to a non-comittal rebuke at best,
Whatever, Cudicini stayed on (Why? If the ref has seen this as a foul, the keeper has to go. If he's seen it as a dive and is looking to dish out milder punishment as a result, why was the penalty given in the first place?) and dived to his right to sublimely keep out Henry's shabby and predictable penalty, clawing it out with an outstretched glove. He wasn't on the pitch this time, but let's have Pires taking every penalty from now on.
There were two more stonewall penalties to argue over too - Henry shambled past Gallas on the by-line, looked to curl one into the corner, and was assaulted by the returning defender. Cudicini had fairly dived at his feet similtaniously and it seemed that Thierry had just fallen over under a fine piece of keeping. A reverse angle study showed a suspicious degree of cynicism to bring him down. The second appeal was simply a blatant handball by Manu Petit which enabled him to bring the ball down and clear, therefore qualifying us for another penalty. Which wasn't given.
The breakthrough did come before the half was up; Freddie (Who didn't really get to grips with the contest until the second period) was bundled in when Henry looked to have been taken out on the edge of the area, a good advantage was played, Cudicini saved with his legs and Jeffers smuggled in the rebound when Babayaro missed his kick trying to clear. A chance that elderly members of Luis Boa Morte's family would have been able to tuck away, but the positioning of the striker is everything and Franny more often than not gets his spot on. His value is now becoming very, very clear; the doubters had grounds for whinging earlier on this year - not any more. All this was the bare minimum that we deserved, Jeffers being the finest player on the park and acting as the heart of our attack when Thierry didn't seem to be on top of matters - Vieira generally pissed all over the Chelsea mid two and Edu got better with time. The less said about Ray Parlour, the better, unfortunately.
Everything was clicking into place, and everything was very nearly oh-so different when Thierry got clear, took the ball right up to Cudicini and rolled it against the inside of the post. Ouch. Frustrating, sublime and promising, all at once.
We probably would have taken 1-1 at half time in all honesty, but why settle for Alberto Mendez when you could have Gilberto Silva, metaphorically speaking?
Bang on 45 minutes, Henry managed to beat the Chelsea offside trap and take down a speculative Vieira punt on his instep - Cudicini came running out, and was turned brilliantly which left the formality of a brush into the open goal from 20 yards. The keeper was doubtless aware that a foul would have resulted in an invitation to leave, but was completely beaten by a truly world class bit of exhibitionism fit to win any game. Pity that justice isn't always done when the Arsenal are involved.
Whatever was said at half time in the home dressing room clearly worked - Freddie and the Razor came out and didn't look like old ladies waiting for a bus. Which was nice of them. Still, Arsenal as an attacking force were mainly limited to Henry floating down the left wing and trying to measure a cut-back - superb football but not productive. Still, Thierry is the best player in the world.
Substitions presumably designed to kill the game off were made, and to be honest they really didn't work. The engine room (Franny) was taken off to be replaced by Wiltord (On the wing - definitely. Up front in a game like this against Gallas and Terry? Uh-uh.) and Pires was introduced for Freddie (Decent idea that was way overdue, but which mysteriously failed to work).
Chelsea meanwhile began to play - Gallas stole in and headed over at the far post, and Hasselbaink was one-on-one twice but was denied with an expert Keown interception and a solid save from Big Dave. Arsenal were overall giving off an air of misleading control - we looked to be completely dominating the visitor's half, which in truth misled us as to how well we were dealing with the Chelsea frontmen.
You could have seen what was going to happen as Kolo Toure was brought on for Henry (More than one eye on Roma, methinks). And the inevitable finally came in a completely ridiculous manner - a corner wasn't cleared, six or seven players frantically dived in to take control, Seaman simply couldn't see what was going on, Campbell took a swing to clear and the ball rebounded off Lampard's shin and bobbled into the net. Two Chelsea players were offside and obscuring the keeper's view.
If anything, Chelsea then didn't seem too bothered about going for a winner - with the last kick of the ball, Gio (Really assured at left back and with a terrific shot) thundered a rocket through the wall and Cudicini managed to palm it away.
And so to the Bridge. Can we win it? To be honest, no. It's really a Catch-22 - if we're out of the Champions League, we'll have a great chance. If we're not, we'll be knackered and Chelsea will take advantage. Fixture congestion will be our undoing. Sooner or later.
Not a great day. One rash substitution perhaps made all the difference - if Henry had stayed on...if, if, if.
A stunning first half will probably be forgotten under the heart-break of the farcical equaliser - if that eventually proves to be the difference in this tie, it'll be a travesty. Neutrals won't have too many better Saturdays than this. I will.
Man of the Match
How can you overlook Thierry Henry? Answer - when Franny Jeffers plays out of his skin and is behind every attacking manouever attempted.
Moment of the Match
Thierry's turn and the accompanying celebrations - all together now - "YYYYEEESSSS!!!!"
Moan of the Match
The absolutely ridiculous Chelsea leveller. I sat with my head in my hands for a minute afterwards. I felt dizzy. I felt sick. Not angry, just disbelieving. Horrible.
Ally Winford
- Right, I've calmed down, I took 20 minutes and got a curry in, I watched the closing stages of the first half again. The red-tinted specs have been partially taken off, too. I still maintain that Jeffers was taken down. Having looked at it again, Durkin made absolutely the right decision to keep the fantastic Cudicini on the pitch - there were men in between him and the goal. Aside from that, this ain't a tape I intend to keep. I just feel tired and completely footballed-out, for a change.
Remember how it felt when the equaliser went in, everyone. When Vieira goes up to lift one, or two, or maybe three trophies this year, think back to that moment. It's what being a supporter is all about. You take the rough with the smooth. It'll all the worth it in the end. Just wait. -
Gut-wrenching. You can see it. It's there. A semi-final, surely a trip to Cardiff. You've played the opposition off the field, you're looking dangerous in every attack ... and they score a fluke to level things up at the death.
Awesome game of football though. The first half was more like something you'd see on a pinball machine, played at incredible pace with word class players in attack minded set-ups taking turns to give each other a right going-over on the offence.
Didn't start ideally, though. Before there was time to say "Ruud van Nistelrooy can go forth and multiply", Zola got clear and forced a great save off Seaman. From the resulting corner, Gronkjaer floated one in, Ljungberg was late pushing out and Parlour left Terry completely free to amble in and head into the top corner.
Chelsea were subsequently able to threaten only from set-pieces, all of which were gathered with minimum fuss by the sublime Big Dave between the sticks, and as we pushed up on the break-away, Jeffers was played in by Vieira, tried to round Cudicini and was brought down. When you're going like a train and someone takes your trailing foot out, you go down. The backlash for this 'dive' now seems to be pretty ugly, but what seems baffling to me is the pure hypocrisy involved here. When Michael Owen hurls himself to the floor under a breath from Pochetino, you're alright there. Likewise, when Ruud or Beckham do a decent impression of a dying sack of potatoes, the reaction seems to be limited to a non-comittal rebuke at best,
Whatever, Cudicini stayed on (Why? If the ref has seen this as a foul, the keeper has to go. If he's seen it as a dive and is looking to dish out milder punishment as a result, why was the penalty given in the first place?) and dived to his right to sublimely keep out Henry's shabby and predictable penalty, clawing it out with an outstretched glove. He wasn't on the pitch this time, but let's have Pires taking every penalty from now on.
There were two more stonewall penalties to argue over too - Henry shambled past Gallas on the by-line, looked to curl one into the corner, and was assaulted by the returning defender. Cudicini had fairly dived at his feet similtaniously and it seemed that Thierry had just fallen over under a fine piece of keeping. A reverse angle study showed a suspicious degree of cynicism to bring him down. The second appeal was simply a blatant handball by Manu Petit which enabled him to bring the ball down and clear, therefore qualifying us for another penalty. Which wasn't given.
The breakthrough did come before the half was up; Freddie (Who didn't really get to grips with the contest until the second period) was bundled in when Henry looked to have been taken out on the edge of the area, a good advantage was played, Cudicini saved with his legs and Jeffers smuggled in the rebound when Babayaro missed his kick trying to clear. A chance that elderly members of Luis Boa Morte's family would have been able to tuck away, but the positioning of the striker is everything and Franny more often than not gets his spot on. His value is now becoming very, very clear; the doubters had grounds for whinging earlier on this year - not any more. All this was the bare minimum that we deserved, Jeffers being the finest player on the park and acting as the heart of our attack when Thierry didn't seem to be on top of matters - Vieira generally pissed all over the Chelsea mid two and Edu got better with time. The less said about Ray Parlour, the better, unfortunately.
Everything was clicking into place, and everything was very nearly oh-so different when Thierry got clear, took the ball right up to Cudicini and rolled it against the inside of the post. Ouch. Frustrating, sublime and promising, all at once.
We probably would have taken 1-1 at half time in all honesty, but why settle for Alberto Mendez when you could have Gilberto Silva, metaphorically speaking?
Bang on 45 minutes, Henry managed to beat the Chelsea offside trap and take down a speculative Vieira punt on his instep - Cudicini came running out, and was turned brilliantly which left the formality of a brush into the open goal from 20 yards. The keeper was doubtless aware that a foul would have resulted in an invitation to leave, but was completely beaten by a truly world class bit of exhibitionism fit to win any game. Pity that justice isn't always done when the Arsenal are involved.
Whatever was said at half time in the home dressing room clearly worked - Freddie and the Razor came out and didn't look like old ladies waiting for a bus. Which was nice of them. Still, Arsenal as an attacking force were mainly limited to Henry floating down the left wing and trying to measure a cut-back - superb football but not productive. Still, Thierry is the best player in the world.
Substitions presumably designed to kill the game off were made, and to be honest they really didn't work. The engine room (Franny) was taken off to be replaced by Wiltord (On the wing - definitely. Up front in a game like this against Gallas and Terry? Uh-uh.) and Pires was introduced for Freddie (Decent idea that was way overdue, but which mysteriously failed to work).
Chelsea meanwhile began to play - Gallas stole in and headed over at the far post, and Hasselbaink was one-on-one twice but was denied with an expert Keown interception and a solid save from Big Dave. Arsenal were overall giving off an air of misleading control - we looked to be completely dominating the visitor's half, which in truth misled us as to how well we were dealing with the Chelsea frontmen.
You could have seen what was going to happen as Kolo Toure was brought on for Henry (More than one eye on Roma, methinks). And the inevitable finally came in a completely ridiculous manner - a corner wasn't cleared, six or seven players frantically dived in to take control, Seaman simply couldn't see what was going on, Campbell took a swing to clear and the ball rebounded off Lampard's shin and bobbled into the net. Two Chelsea players were offside and obscuring the keeper's view.
If anything, Chelsea then didn't seem too bothered about going for a winner - with the last kick of the ball, Gio (Really assured at left back and with a terrific shot) thundered a rocket through the wall and Cudicini managed to palm it away.
And so to the Bridge. Can we win it? To be honest, no. It's really a Catch-22 - if we're out of the Champions League, we'll have a great chance. If we're not, we'll be knackered and Chelsea will take advantage. Fixture congestion will be our undoing. Sooner or later.
Not a great day. One rash substitution perhaps made all the difference - if Henry had stayed on...if, if, if.
A stunning first half will probably be forgotten under the heart-break of the farcical equaliser - if that eventually proves to be the difference in this tie, it'll be a travesty. Neutrals won't have too many better Saturdays than this. I will.
Man of the Match
How can you overlook Thierry Henry? Answer - when Franny Jeffers plays out of his skin and is behind every attacking manouever attempted.
Moment of the Match
Thierry's turn and the accompanying celebrations - all together now - "YYYYEEESSSS!!!!"
Moan of the Match
The absolutely ridiculous Chelsea leveller. I sat with my head in my hands for a minute afterwards. I felt dizzy. I felt sick. Not angry, just disbelieving. Horrible.
Ally Winford
- Right, I've calmed down, I took 20 minutes and got a curry in, I watched the closing stages of the first half again. The red-tinted specs have been partially taken off, too. I still maintain that Jeffers was taken down. Having looked at it again, Durkin made absolutely the right decision to keep the fantastic Cudicini on the pitch - there were men in between him and the goal. Aside from that, this ain't a tape I intend to keep. I just feel tired and completely footballed-out, for a change.
Remember how it felt when the equaliser went in, everyone. When Vieira goes up to lift one, or two, or maybe three trophies this year, think back to that moment. It's what being a supporter is all about. You take the rough with the smooth. It'll all the worth it in the end. Just wait. -
