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Villa Park, Sunday 11th April 1999. kick-off 12.30pm
FA Cup Semi-final
see below for reports by: Derek, Rupe
The replay
- will be on Wednesday 14th (this coming Wednesday)
back at Villa Park.
- kick-off 7.45pm
- See AFCi's ticket information page
Preview
Haven't really had time to do a proper report, so with apologies to the
Guardian, I've "adapted" their
minute by minute account.
Result : Arsenal (0) 0 Manchester United (0) 0
(After extra time)
Arsenal: Seaman, Dixon, Winterburn, Keown, Adams; Vieira, Vivas,
Parlour, Overmars; Bergkamp, Anelka
Subs: Ljungberg (Overmars 90), Kanu (Anelka 98),
Bould, Grimandi, Lukic
Booked: Vivas, Parlour
Sent off: Vivas (95, 2nd bookable offence)
Man Utd: Schmeichel; Irwin, Johnsen, G Neville, Stam;
Beckham, Butt, Keane, Giggs; Cole, Yorke
Subs: P Neville (Irwin 84), Solskjaer (Giggs 98),
Scholes (Cole 112), Blomqvist, van der Gouw
Att: 39217
Ref: David Elleray (Harrow-on-the-Hill)
First half
2nd minute Gary Neville slices through Marc Overmars. Neville booked for
second foul on Overmars in a minute.
3 Vieira unlucky not to capitalise from the resulting free-kick. Didn't
realise at the time what a good chance this was. After Vivas' ball in
had just cleared Anelka's head, Vieira tried to glance a side foot
volley into the net from the 6yd line, but missed it completely
4 With the fiery expected opening continuing, Roy Keane bundles over
Vieira in United's half.
5 Arsenal enjoy good possession in an energetic midfield battle.
7 Nelson Vivas fouls David Beckham and receives the game's second
yellow card.
9 Giggs has the best chance of the game so far but blazes high from an
unmarked position deep in the Arsenal penalty box.
14 Keane is robbed by Vieira. Parlour's break comes to nothing.
17 Anelka has a snap-shot from the edge of the United box but Stam
charges down well.
18 Tony Adams wins another high ball, this time from a Schmeichel kick.
Anelka caught offside though video replay shows he was in his own half
when Parlour made the pass.
20 Winterburn receives treatment after a nasty and deliberate elbow in
the ribs by Beckham.
24 Irwin just beats Parlour to the ball as he angles in towards
United's goal.
25 Schmeichel tips over Adams' header from Vivas' resulting corner.
26 More scrappy play ends with Arsenal conceding another needless
throw-in.
29 Yorke holds up play and Beckham receives the ball on the left but
his delivery with his left foot doesn't match his right. United fans
appeal for a penalty after an apparent hand-ball by Keown.
31 Overmars tears through the United defence but Neville gets a toe-end
tackle to concede a corner. Scramble in the six yard box ends with
Schmeichel saving low from Bergkamp.
34 Winterburn swings a poor shot wide of Schmeichel's post.
35 Scything tackle by Ronny Johnsen on Bergkamp goes unpunished.
38 DISALLOWED GOAL Beckham steals a yard on Winterburn but the cross is
cleared. Another cross, this time from Neville, is cleared for a corner.
Giggs' wizardry on the left produces a cross and Keane smashes in at the
far post. However, the linesman flags the goal offside - 'he got it
wrong', says Sky's Andy Gray. Vehement agreement from the United
players, Neville the most persistent protestor.
39 Irwin booked for dissent. The temperature rises, Neville has another
go at the linesman.
41 Stam again thwarts Bergkamp as he attempts to weave through the
centre of United's back-line.
43 An angry Keane stalks the midfield as United squander possession.
44 More inaccurate passing from both sides results in a throw to
Arsenal. They give the ball away but United make nothing of it.
45 Solid defending from Arsenal but United have the better of the
half's last few moments.
Injury time Irwin gets away with an aggressive foul deep in the Arsenal
half, a nasty tackle from behind on Anelka, normally an automatic
booking. The Gunners retain possession in United territory, but the move
breaks down. Yorke gets the ball in a good position in the Arsenal area
but fluffs his shot tamely at Seaman.
Second half
46 Arsenal get the second half under way. Butt immediately concedes
another free-kick, starting the second period as scrappily as the first
ended.
47 Neville crosses to an unmarked Cole but he fails to get a touch with
the goal at his mercy.
48 United dominate the opening exchanges. York wins a throw after good
work to get past Winterburn. United caught offside.
49 Stam again beats Bergkamp to the ball to rob Arsenal of possession.
Schmeichel just clears under pressure from Anelka.
50 Vieira carelessly gives possession away for Arsenal.
51 Bergkamp turns Stam but Butt does well to deny the Dutchman space
and eventually win the ball.
52 Vivas, already booked, brings down Keane but escapes a caution.
Beckham's free-kick is low and a brief scramble in the Arsenal box is
eventually tidied up by Adams.
54 Measured build-up play from United ends with a headed clearance from
Adams. Overmars breaks through the centre but loses possession.
55 Parlour beats Stam but the Dutchman pulls him back and concedes a
free-kick on the edge of United's box. Stam's head clears the danger at
the back post.
56 Overmars finds Anelka on the edge of the United box but the
Frenchman's effort comes to nothing. Growing threat from Arsenal.
57 Butt skies a shot from the edge of Arsenal's penalty area.
59 Cole breaks free for a one-on-one with Seaman from Giggs' pass, but
his left-foot shot is weak and the England 'keeper gathers comfortably.
61 Tackles fly in from both sides as the tie again hots up.
62 Keane tackles back brilliantly to stop a rampaging Anelka run.
65 Cole beats Adams to flick a header on to Yorke but Keown clears.
66 Arsenal break and Dixon has a crack from thirty yards, but it's high
and wide.
67 Vivas's cross is hacked clear by Neville.
68 Cole wastes possession as United look menacing in Arsenal's penalty
area.
69 Yorke feeds Neville on the right but he fails to control the ball
and concedes a throw to Arsenal. Adams wins a challenge with Giggs on
the edge of the Arsenal box.
70 Dixon down injured after a heavy tackle from a United player.
71 Butt fouls Parlour in United's last third. Bergkamp swings in the
free-kick but United get it away.
74 Johnsen just beats an fast-accelerating Anelka to a ball floated
after the United defender's head.
75 Keane heads straight at Seaman after adroit skills from Yorke, and
backed by the United hordes behind the goal yells for a penalty,
claiming Dixon held him back. Good defending I say.
76 Overmars is brought down on the edge of United's box - but David
Elleray waves play on.
77 Dixon and Bergkamp combine to win a corner.
78 Vivas scuffs the corner and Yorke clears.
79 Gary Neville crosses directly into Seaman's arms after finding acres
of space on the United right.
80 Beckham free-kick on the edge of Arsenal's penalty area -
a couple of feet wide of Seaman's right post.
82 Stam fouls Anelka. The free-kick sparks another run from Overmars
but he is stopped by Johnsen.
83 Yellow card for Parlour after he brings down Irwin.
84 Irwin has to be lifted from the field and is replaced by Phil
Neville.
85 Chance for Beckham in Arsenal's box but he slips and Arsenal break.
86 Anelka one-on-one with Schmeicel from Bergkamp's through-ball but
the Frenchman's shot is way off target.
87 Typically resolute defending from Arsenal as United pile on the
pressure.
89 Keown concedes another foul when he slips and accidentally bumps
into Yorke on the edge of Arsenal's box. Giggs free-kick saved easily by
Seaman.
91 Yorke races through for the final chance to settle the game before
extra time but Adams stops him at the last.
Extra-time
1 United start extra-time more positively and Arsenal's first period of
possession is squandered by Bergkamp.
2 Yorke drags a shot wide under pressure from two Arsenal defenders.
5 SENDING OFF Vivas earns a second yellow for an arm in Butt's face.
6 Yet another free-kick on the edge of Arsenal's box.Beckham hits the
top of the wall.
7 Corner to United which Seaman misses, but Adams heads clear.
8 Arsenal's attacking endeavour decreases but plenty of grit and
determination evident in their defending. Kanu replaces Anelka.
11 Vieira continues to shut down space in midfield both sides play some
scrappy football.
14 Backs-to-the-wall-defending from Arsenal as United dominated
possession. A snap-shot from Cole is charged down by Adams.
15 Gary Neville sends in another deep cross but the impressive Keown
gets there first. United lose some momentum and Kanu slows play down in
midfield. Beckham comprehensively beaten in the tackle by Keown.
Half-time, extra-time
16 Arsenal start more brightly and enjoy some good possession.
17 Winterburn hits a low free-kick into Bergkamp's feet but his shot on
the turn has the pace taken off it by a defelection, and Schmeichel
saves at a stretch to his right.
18 Parlour steams into the United half but he is tackled with Kanu in
space to his right.
19 Keane angles a ball into the Arsenal six-yard box but Keown
scrambles a clearance.
23 Scholes has a chance but loses control at the crucual second.
24 Keane has a shot charged down from twelve yards.
25 Solkjaer hooks a ball in to the box from the left but Yorke is put
off when Adams misses the ball and heads wide of the back post.
26 Scholes fouls Adams deep in Arsenal territory.
28 Ljungberg one-on-one with Schmeichel after superb Bergkamp pass, but
the Danish international shuts him down brilliantly.
29 Yorke drags a shot wide with only Seaman to beat, but it wouldn't
have counted anyway because the whistle had gone for a push on
Winterburn.
30 Arsenal shut down another United attack and break on the right.
Bergkamp goes on a brilliant dribble into the area but is tackled at the
last by Gary Neville.
Seaman 7.5 Didn't have a difficult save to make.
Winterburn 8.0 Amazingly kept going after Beckham's attempt to break
his ribs.
Dixon 7.5 Another pretty good game overall.
Adams 8.5 Brilliant again.
Keown 8.5 After a couple of sloppy moments in the 1st half, also
brilliant.
Vieira 7.5 A couple of shocking passes, but otherwise had a pretty
good game I thought.
Vivas 7.5 Also played pretty well, but rather needlessly got
himself sent off. Might at least have made sure it was
Beckham he whacked.
Parlour 7.0 Didn't have a bad game, though not as much strong
running as normal.
Overmars 6.5 A bit disappointing, particularly after getting Neville
booked early on, though reports now say he has an ankle
injury which may have had something to do with it.
Bergkamp 7.0 Didn't really impose himself on the game, though he
still came up with some lovely touches and twice almost
won it in the final minute.
Anelka 6.5 Never really found the space he likes.
Ljungberg Did quite well with a couple of good runs.
Kanu Also did pretty well in the short time he was on, never
gave the ball away.
Derek
An extremely tense day for Gooners, as for the first time in ages
Manchester United were the better team. Still, we survived an
offside goal which some officials would have allowed to stand, hung
on with 10 men for most of extra time, and at the death had the
better chances.
I thought Vivas was superb, my man of the match despite the bookings
that saw him sent off. His total commitment was in evidence all the time,
and to be frank it was he who made up for Vieira's unusual lack of
form on the day. To my mind, Patrick gave the ball away far more than a
few times and was something of a liability. With our defence superb
as ever it seemed to me that the lost battle in midfield was the key
to this game. Hopefully Vieira will be happier and play better with
Petit alongside him in the replay.
Overmars never quite looked right from the moment Gary Neville
took him out in the 2nd minute, and in the second started to
be visibly uncomfortable and slow, and drifted right out of
the game. So it was rather surprising that it took so long for
him to be substituted. It was his replacement Ljungberg who
missed possibly our best chance, when he took one too many
touches as he bore down on Schmeichels goal in extra time,
allowing the keeper to get close enough to block.
Special mention to the Gooner for organising the massive
and spectacular show of yellow cards and ballons before
kick-off. It really helped the crowd get worked up and there's
no question that our team was better supported, at least until
ManU started to dominate the match.
Inevitably ManU have been moaning about the offside goal. Given that
the offside happened early in the move and that the linesman therefore
put his flag down (thinking that the offside player
wasn't interfering) and up again (when he saw the player move forward again)
it's understandable that they might want it to stand. But given that
the offside player ended up nodding Giggs's cross on to Keane, it
seems clear that he did interfere with play. Haven't we all seen
hundreds of far more controversial decisions? So why has this one
been the talk of the media?
On the other side, there were potential sendings off for Irwin
(befor he got carried off following a convincing Roy Keane impersonation
courtesy of Ray Parlour) Keane (elbowing Winterbrun in the chest)
and in particlar Gary Neville (who clearly threw the ball and a
tantrum when a decision was given against him, and had already been booked).
More comments later,
Rupe.
Other reports
copyright belongs to original author where credited. otherwise © Rupert Ward, ArseWeb MMV
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