Derby County vs Arsenal 11/05/97

Derby County (1) 1 - 3 (?) Arsenal

Baseball Ground. Sunday 11th May 1997

FA Carling Premiership

Read this for the lowdown on the situation going into this match.

Just sketchy details for now, having been reduced to the radio which was covering the relegation games.....

With Wednesday holding Liverpool to a draw at Hillsbrough (despite being down to 10 men and finishing with a striker in goal) this win could have been enough to take us into the Champions League. However Newcastle were at home to Forest, and annihilated them 5-0. So Newcastle finish second, and we also leapfrog Liverpool into third place (see table).

But Arsenal's win showed great character as for the second time this season we won away from home despite being down to 10 men. This time it was possibly more impressive than at St James's Park, because we were 1 down and Adams had been dismissed for his second yellow card after only about 15 minutes. By this time Newcastle were already 2 or 3 up so Arsenal might not have thought they had much to play for. But they played for pride, and for my each-way bet at 25-1 :-))))

Wright scored a couple, set up each time by Anelka, who had come on for the injured Merse and once again showed that he may be a star for the near rather than distant future.

Sandwiched between these was an amazing chip from the edge of the box by Bergkamp. Possibly the Baseball Ground's final match saw it's greatest goal - one to be seen to be believed.

Meanwhile Coventry pulled off their traditional escape by beating a minor North London side away from home, sending Sunderland down with Middlesbrough. Not such a good day for the North-East after all I guess.

FA Carling Premiership
Derby County vs Arsenal                                Sun May 11 1997

Result : Derby                 (1) 1   Arsenal                 (0) 3
Scorers: Ward 9                        Wright 55,90, Bergkamp 82

Arsenal: Seaman, Dixon, Bould, Adams, Keown, Winterburn, Platt,
         Vieira, Merson, Bergkamp, Wright
         Subs: Anelka (Merson 9), Parlour (Vieira 76),
               Marshall, Hughes, Lukic
         Booked: 
         Sent off: Adams (13 mins, 2 bookable offences)

Derby: Poom, Rowett, Laursen, Dailly, McGrath, C Powell, D Powell, 
       Van Der Laan, Asanovic, Willems, Ward, 
       Subs: Trollope (D Powell 45), Carsley (McGrath 57), 
             Simpson (Willems 76), Yates, Hoult
       Booked: 

Att: 18287
Ref: P A Durkin (Portland)

A fairly eventful example of the old football cliche, a game of two halves yesterday as the Baseball Ground saw it's last ever game. After conceding a goal and losing their captain in the first 15 minutes, the 10 men of Arsenal eventually dug deep to turn the game around in the second half and produce the win they needed to stand any chance of finishing second. Unfortunately Derby's local rivals' capitulation to Newcastle had effectively dashed those hopes by half time, but it was nonetheless an enjoyable end to the season.

During the first half it looked like being anything but an enjoyable final game. Even allowing for the fact that the Gunners were down to 10 men when Adams was sent off in the 13th minute, it was still one of the worst halves of football I've seen from Arsenal this season. Because of an obtrusive pillar I couldn't actually see the foul which produced the first booking, and from Adams' reaction to the second he thought that Daryl Powell was feigning injury, but they were both certainly reckless and needless (being on the halfway line) challenges, so I couldn't really see much cause for complaint.

By that time Derby were already a goal up. Merson had just come back onto the field after receiving treatment following a clattering, but was pretty much immobile which was possibly why Asanovic had so much time and space to put over a cross from the left. At the far post Ward headed against the post and then got his head to the rebound to nod it past the grounded Seaman. Merson hobbled off before the game restarted to be replaced by Anelka.

For much of the rest of the half, and without Adams, Arsenal seemed pretty well totally disorganised and incapable of mounting any sort of fightback. Derby probably should have had the game won by half time. Ward headed another cross from the left against the near post, and I think it was him again who missed another good headed chance this time from a right wing cross. Seaman made a good save from a long range effort I think from Asanovic, and another one went only just wide.

At the other end the only real threat I can remember Arsenal producing came when Bergkamp was sent away (I think by Platt) down the left channel. With the ball tending to get slightly stuck in the surface water on the pitch, he still managed to retain control on a brilliant run before checking back onto his right foot and whipping in an angled shot from just inside the box which Poom just managed to deflect past the far post.

Arsenal did gradually manage to get things together and exert a bit of pressure towards the end of the first half, but a few corners were the only result of their efforts, and with Newcastle four up at half time it seemed the only thing to look forward to in the second half was the potential streaker who my neighbours claimed to have seen in the front row wearing only a coat to hide her privacy.

Sadly the streaker proved only to be a figment of boozy imagination and early in the 2nd half things didn't seem to have improved on the pitch as Arsenal were indebted to Seaman for keeping them in the match. Some clever inter passing between Chris Powell and Asanovic set the former free on the left goal line and his near post cross was met by Ward with a downward header which seemed destined to put the Rams two up. However, Seaman reacted brilliantly to turn it round the post.

A few minutes later Arsenal were level. Anelka was sent racing down the left by Winterburn (I think), checked back and cut along the edge of the area before unleashing a shot which Poom couldn't hold. Wrighty was following up and lobbed the rebound over the stranded keeper and into the net.

The goal seemed to galvanise the Gunners, and from then on there was really only one team in it, though Derby did occasionally threaten and Seaman made another good save late in the game, tipping over a 25 yard shot from Trollope. Wright should have put Arsenal in front when he was put clear by a brilliant backheel from Anelka. However, his first touch took the ball slightly too far in front of him and Poom was able to come out to superbly block his attempt to lift a shot over the keeper.

We then saw Bould break from defence and release Anelka for another run down the left. The young Frenchman's cross looked a little deep, but Wright got a head to it beyond the far post and nodded back into the middle. And who should be sliding in to meet the ball in the 6 yard box, but Uncle Bouldy who had somehow found the energy to continue his run. Unfortunately he must have knackered himself because his shot went wide.

Vieira then went on a superb run which seemed to me to be stopped when he was clattered on the edge of the box. I guess the ref tried to play advantage as the ball ran through to Anelka, but he couldn't quite work a shooting position and was eventually crowded out. Vieira had to go off shortly afterwards because of the injury sustained in the tackle, and was replaced by Parlour.

It was Parlour's shot, following a bit of a scramble on the edge of the box, which led to Arsenal taking the lead from yet another piece of Bergkamp brilliance. Pizza didn't properly catch his attempt from 25 yards and it hit Bergkamp in the middle of goal a couple of yards inside the area. The Dutch master cushioned the attempted shot which took the ball clear of the defence in the right side of the area, and then turned to chip a lob over the keeper into the far top corner. From the other end of the ground it looked like it was going over, so there was a moment's pause before the Gooners erupted.

With Derby now leaving more space at the back, another Arsenal break should have seen them go two up. Anelka surged into the Derby half before spotting Parlour's run into acres of space down the right, and he slid a pass perfectly into Parlour's path. Unfortunately Pizza's first touch wasn't all it could have been and took him rather wide, and he lashed his angled shot wide.

In injury time however, Arsenal did get the third goal, and it was once again made for Wright by Anelka. Bergkamp picked him out as he made a run into the box down the right, with a brilliant pass inside the full back. Anelka crossed low and hard into the 6yd box, a slight deflection took the ball into WWW's path and he knocked it home under Poom's dive. From the other end the ball was obscured by the keeper's body and I (and most of the other Arsenal fans I think) only realised it was a goal when Wrighty started prancing around in celebration.

All in all a pretty satisfactory final 45 minutes of the season. I don't know whether or what Wenger did to effect the 2nd half transformation. My guess is he pulled Bergkamp further back so that he was playing more or less as an orthodox midfielder - he certainly seemed somewhat deeper for much of the time in the 2nd half, even being the last man in defence a couple of times late in the game.

Derby's reaction to the slightly unreal carnival atmosphere at the ground probably also had something to do with it. Before the match there was a minute's silence "in memory of the Baseball Ground", which was predictably interrupted by the more boozed up members of the Gooner fraternity, and the boos in reply from some of the Derby fans. Rather a bizarre concept, a minute's silence in memory of a pile of bricks and mortar - I don't recall one when the North Bank was knocked down. Maybe Derbyshire farming folk are given to standing for a moment in silent contemplation and wiping away a tear when they knock down derelict shearing sheds.

 
Seaman     7.5  Typically competent, one brilliant save.

Dixon      6.5  Worked hard as usual.

Winterburn 6.5  Ditto, one superb saving tackle in his own area in 
                the second half.
            
Adams      5.0  

Keown      7.5  Another superb defensive display.

Bould      7.0  Also defended well, particularly in 2nd half.

Platt      6.0  I thought he was particularly poor in the 1st half, 
                in common with the rest he improved after the break.

Vieira     7.0  Again was everywhere covering in midfield.

Bergkamp   6.5  Not his best game, but then I think he spent most of the 
                game playing an unfamiliar (and unsuited) role, and 
                provided another fantastic Bergkamp moment which will 
                linger long in the memory.

Wright     6.0  I thought he was dreadful in the 1st half, he seemed 
                particularly static and not making the usual runs. Once 
                he'd scored though (and old man McGrath had gone off), he 
                looked much like his usual self.

Anelka     8.0  Struggled a little bit in the 1st half, but some 
                brilliant play in the second half showed what a mouth 
                watering prospect he is.

Parlour    6.5

Report by Derek Brownjohn

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