(1) 1 - 2 (1) ArsenalMolineux, Sunday 24th January 1999. kick-off 3.30pm (live on ITV)FA Cup 4th roundsee below for reports by: Rupepreview
(1) 1 - 2 (1) ArsenalMolineux, Sunday 24th January 1999. kick-off 3.30pm (live on ITV)FA Cup 4th round
scorers: Flo 36 Overmars 9 Bergkamp 70ish
Arsenal:
Manninger
Dixon Adams Upson Winterburn
Parlour Petit Garde (Vivas) Overmars
Bergkamp Anelka (Grimandi)
A professional and deserved win, even if the winning
goal came via a couple of deflections, but marred by
another sending-off.
Arsenal started well and had a couple of early chances. Adams had to stoop at the far post to head a Petit free-kick from the right wing, and wasn't able to make enough contact to turn the ball goal-wards. Then Anelka had the ball in the net, but was called back for offside. Before 10 minutes had been played Overmars made the pressure count. Picking the ball up in his own half he accepted the invitation from half the Wolves team, to run at them with the ball while they backed off, and just outside the penalty area he fired home a low shot inside the left post. Wolves did get forward though, and created a chance from either wing, first a lobbed cross/shot which came back off the face of the crossbar, then a cross which Garde did well to get back and intercept. Manninger was looking a bit fragile, and so it was to prove when he came out for a high punt into the box and failed to get his punch to the ball before Flo's head, the ball looping over the keeper into the empty net. Upson had failed to challenge for the ball, perhaps he got a call from Manninger. We had a few more chances and shots int he first half, most notably shots from Petit and dixon, and a fine piece of wing play from centre-back Matthew Upson who carried the ball to the bye-line, got past the defender, and put a cross in which would have been fine if we'd had anyone in the box. Our lack of a poacher, a player like Wright Hartson or Smith who likes to attack the goal when he hasn't got the ball, was highlighted by the number of times our shots were spilled by the Wolves keeper. There was always an orange shirt there first to tidy up. Arsenal came out stronger and dominated the second half. But Wolves were still dangerous on the break. Flo was unlucky to hit the post (and Manninger was lucky when his punch at the rebound went to Winterburn rather than a striker). At the other end, Anelka was called back for offside unmustly, but his shot was cleared off the line anyway, and more chances were created and saves forced from Bergkamp Dixon and Overmars. The last of these, created by some determined and not necessarily 100% legal ball-winning by Anelka, went for a corner. Bergkamp, as usual, was waiting outside the box, and when the ball came out to him he hit it first time on the volley. Although he mis-hit it slightly, into the ground, he got enough power on it to take it into the goal via deflections off both Flo and Curle. Although Wolves had chances to get back, Arsenal continued to create more, and the game was only spolit by a late red crad for Petit, apparently for words said and/or gestures made to the linesman. I don't know how many games this means he'll miss but we could really do without it. In the post-match interview Wenger said the word from the dressing-room was that he did nothing wrong, and that he (Wenger) was generally far from happy with the referee. We have a home tie in the next round, against either Sheffield United or Cardiff City. Their replay is on Wednesday 27th January. Not sure about Petit's ban yet, but I expect it'll be 3 matches, possibly with a bonus for being red carded 3 times in the last 18 months.
Result : Wolverhampton Wanderers (1) 1 Arsenal (1) 2
Scorers: Flo 37 Overmars 10, Bergkamp 69
Arsenal: Manninger, Dixon, Winterburn, Adams, Upson; Garde, Petit,
Parlour, Overmars; Bergkamp, Anelka
Subs: Vivas (Garde 76), Grimandi (Anelka 87),
Hughes (Overmars 90), Caballero, Lukic
Booked: Winterburn, Anelka, Garde
Sent off: Petit (85, foul & abusive language)
Wolves: Stowell, Atkins, Richards, Curle,
Muscat, Emblen, Robinson, Osborn, Gilkes, Flo, Keane
Subs: Sedgley (Robinson 82), Simpson (Gilkes 82),
Connolly (Atkins 90), Murray, Niestroj
Booked: Curle
Att: 27511
Ref: Steve Dunn (Bristol)
A rather fitful and not always convincing performance at Molyneux
yesterday saw Arsenal through to the 5th round, after eventually
overcoming Wolves in the 2nd half with a deflected Bergkamp goal. This
morning's headlines however were dominated by a sending-off for Emmanuel
Petit and a minor mass ruckus in the final few minutes. After a first
half in which honours were fairly even, Arsenal ultimately found enough
extra in the 2nd half to see off the 1st division side's challenge
reasonably comfortably.
With Keown & Vieira suspended, and Bould & Seaman injured, it was potentially a tricky tie, but Upson coped well alongside Adams, Garde filled in admirably for Vieira and though Manninger cost Arsenal a goal with an all too typical rush of blood he otherwise had little to do. The opening 10 minutes then appeared to dispel any anxiety. Early on Anelka stroked the ball home from Parlour's cross, only to be denied by a rather dubious offside decision. Then in the 10th minute Overmars received a pass from Adams inside his own half, and set off on a run towards the opposition area. The Wolves defence retreated and retreated, unaccountably leaving him time to pick out either Parlour or Anelka who were both well placed in space to his right and left. He did neither but calmly picked his spot from about 20 yards, placing the ball just inside Stowell's right hand post. Arsenal then seemed to try and sit back too much, and Wolves were encouraged a few minutes later when Gilkes beat Dixon for pace down the left and his cross looped over Manninger and glanced off the crossbar. Soon afterwards Petit was booked for bringing down Robinson a few yards outside the area. No real surprise, though a couple of minutes earlier Muscat escaped a booking for a far worse tackle, a scything knee high lunge on Bergkamp with the ball nowhere in the vicinity. It was Muscat who got on the end of the freekick, but put a volley well wide. Upson did have a superb run after intercepting inside his own half which took him all the way down the left hand touchline to the byline before he sent over a decent cross, but Arsenal were otherwise unambitious in attack, and in defence were starting to live a bit dangerously. Petit sent a risky pass across the face of his own goal which Manninger had to be quick to reach ahead of Flo. Then Robinson sent over a dangerous cross from the right which Garde brilliantly headed clear for a corner as a Wolves player waited just behind him. The equalising goal however came out of virtually nothing. Muscat lobbed forward a high and hopeful ball which Flo was underneath with Upson marking him. The young defender must have had a call from Manninger though as he pulled out of the challenge, but the keeper's reckless dash from his line was hopelessly mistimed and his attempt to punch clear missed completely to leave Flo a free header which looped into the empty net off the inside of a post. The Gunners were then forced into attempting to shake off their lethargy. Parlour did well to reach a ball forward down the right and hooked back a cross which reached Bergkamp at the end of the area. The Dutch master shaped to volley (and probably should have done) but instead laid the ball off to Petit on his right, but the Frenchman's shot screwed wide. Dixon then cut in from the right to let fly with his now trademark left foot 20 yarder which Stowell spilled, but there was no red shirt on hand to profit. It was Wolves though who had possibly the best chance late in the half. A chip forward into the area found Keane in space, and he turned but wafted a volley from about 15 yards over the bar. The second half started with the home side continuing where they'd left off. A ball into the area found Keane seemingly with time and space, but Winterburn got back superbly to pull off a brilliant block. Muscat also continued his attempts to maim Bergkamp, catching the Dutchman with a forearm smach which the ref ignored but left Bergkamp with blood streaming from his mouth. About 10 minutes into the half Wolves went closer still to taking the lead. Another long ball in from the left found Flo again in space inside the area, and he brought it down well and turned to hit a half-volley across Manninger which beat the keeper but bounced back out off the base of the post. Manninger punched hurriedly at the rebound and the ball reached Winterburn who completed the clearance. That however seemed to be the turning point of the match, and from then on Arsenal took control. Soon afterwards Anelka went close when he brought down a lob forward by Garde, and turned and volleyed past the onrushing Stowell all in one movement. The ball drifted agonisingly past the post though. Bergkamp then had a shot from the edge of the area which was headed for the corner of the net until Stowell superbly parried it round the post. Dixon also produced a good parry from the keeper when he fired in a loose ball from the 18 yard line, and Bergkamp was just beaten to the rebound by Richards. Winterburn then played a lovely pass inside the fullback for Overmars to run onto. His ball into the middle was only cleared back to him, and he jinked past a challenge before firing in a shot from an angle which Stowell again brilliantly pushed round the post. From the corner however, Arsenal took the lead. Garde's far post corner was half cleared to Bergkamp as he characteristically lurked on the edge of the box. His volley was slightly mishit into the ground, but Flo's attempt to head clear succeeded only in wrong-footing Stowell and the ball went into the net via a second though irrelevant deflection off Curle. Bergkamp could have added another goal not long afterwards when Anelka was sent away down the left by Petit, and his cutback reached Bergkamp as he ran into the area. His left foot shot from about 16 yards dipped a a foot or so over the crossbar though. Vivas, on for the injured Garde, also had a chance to make the game safe when a ball across the area from the left reached him at the far post. For some reason he chose to dummy a shot from an angle and checked back onto his left foot, and his eventual shot was blocked inside the 6yd box. At the other end the only time I can recall Wolves really threatening was when Emblem made a late run to get on the end of a free kick, but from just inside the area he put a free header well wide. Despite a couple of late substitutions by Wolves Arsenal were comfortably containing their attempts to find an equaliser until Petit got himself sent off 5 minutes from time. He was justifiably upset about the lack of an offside flag when a ball was lobbed forward, but Manninger had comfortably made a catch anyway, so his subsequent enraged gesticulating and shouting at the linesman seemed out of all proportion. He even ignored Winterburn's attempts to stop him and carried on while the game continued, so when the linesman called the ref over it was inevitable that the red card would follow. There was another minor flurry as the match moved into injury time when Bergkamp reacted angrily to a challenge by Curle, and most of the remaining players rushed in to have their say. There was only a bit of shoving and pushing though, and the ref contented himself with merely booking Curle. A satisfactory result, and in the second half at least a reasonably satisfactory performance, though there's still bit of lethargy in attack and the failure to put games away is still a bit worrying. What tends to particularly frustrate me is the seeming reluctance to get bodies in the opposition box. Winterburn made one determined run down the line late in the second half, but had he crossed there'd have been no-one in the middle to get on the end of it. The main minus point was Petit's sending off. A red card for foul and abusive language means he'll miss two games plus a further one as it's his second this season. By my calculations he'll miss the FA cup 5th round game (13 Feb), Man United away (17th Feb) & Leicester home (20 Feb).
Manninger 6.5 Dreadful blunder for their goal. Otherwise I don't
recall him having a difficult save to make.
Dixon 7.5 A pretty good game again overall.
Winterburn 7.5 A typically determined performance again, and a
couple of vital penalty box interventions.
Adams 7.5 Characteristically commanding and competent. Helped get
the team going in the second half with one typical
charge forward.
Upson 7.0 Had a dodgy spell in the first half when he looked a
bit nervous but otherwise did well again.
Garde 7.5 Had a pretty good game overall, in particular making a
couple of vital defensive interceptions in the 1st half
Petit 7.0 I thought he has unusually quiet and ineffectual in the
1st half but grew in influence as the game went on.
Crazy reaction to earn the red card though.
Parlour 7.5 Another good game. I reckon he is Arsenal's most
positive player at the moment.
Overmars 7.0 In and out again, but a brilliant goal and he was more
involved. I could have been dreaming but I think he
even made a couple of tackles in the 2nd half.
Anelka 6.5 One or two good moments, and again frustrated by at
least two bad offside decisions.
Bergkamp 6.5 Clearly didn't enjoy the treatment meted out by Muscat
and Curle, but signs that he is coming back to form.
Derek
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