Chelsea (1) 2 - 3 (1) ArsenalStamford Bridge. Sunday 21st September 1997FA Carling Premiership
Scorers:
Poyet, Zola. Bergkamp 2, Winterburn.
Teams:
Arsenal: Seaman
Dixon Adams Bould Winterburn
Parlour Petit Vieira Overmars (Grimandi ??)
Bergkamp Wright
Chelsea: De Goey
Poyet Duberry Le Boeuf Le Saux
P.Hughes Di Matteo (Flo) Wise Petrescu (Nicholls)
Vialli (M.Hughes) Zola
Arsenal subs not used: Anelka, Manninger, Upson.
This report from half-listening to the radio coverage.
More later (see also AFCi).
It was a hard-fought game, with lots of yellow cards and by the sound of it we were a bit lucky that it was Chelsea who had a player sent off first. For the second time in a London Derby this season we were level pegging against a team down to ten men, and dominating, but this time we were able to get the winner (I guess attacking comes more naturally to Chelsea than to it does to Spurs which can only have helped!). Chelsea scored first on about 40 minutes when their second disputed corner (both should possibly have been goal kicks) was met by Duberry in the air. He arived late and unmarked in the manner of Adams. His downward header landed at Poyet's feet and he scored from point-blank range. Our equaliser came just before half-time. The Chelsea defence were caught square when a cushioned Wright header fell into Bergkamp's path and he shot past De Goey. Chelsea players disputed it, possibly for offside or maybe handball against Vieira who had the touch before Wright's. A few bookings already at this stage. Le Boeuf got one a bit harshly (according to the commentators) and Parlour was lucky to escape a worse punishment when he kicked Le Saux early doors). The first half was fairly even, but by the sound of it Chelsea had the upper hand. Arsenal came out much stronger in the second half, but it was a Chelsea mistake which gave us our second on 57. Le Boeuf and Duberry got in a mix up, both going for the same ball int heir area, and it was headed out to Bergkamp on the edge of their box. 2-1. Almost immediately they equalised. Mark Hughes, who had come on for Vialli, put over a curling cross which Seaman came for, but it curled away from him and landed with Zola, again at point-blank range. 2-2. Lee Dixon was clattered shortly after this, when he turned into Mark Hughes (both were watching the ball) and in the battle between face and shoulder it was Dixon's nose and mouth that came out of it the worst. It looked like he'd been knocked out, and Hughes was clearly very concerned in his desperation to get the physio on. But Dixon got up and managed to carry on after treatment. On 66 minutes Le Boeuf was sent off for a second bookable offence, after fouling Bergkamp. It messed Chelsea up because they'd already made all 3 substitutions. Poyet went into central defence but it left them less able to back Paul Hughes up against Overmars. Chelsea started to look pretty shagged out all over the pitch, but commendably (from the Arsenal viewpoint) didn't ignore the attacking part of the game completely. They even came close once or twice. But it was a power drive from 25 yards or so, by Nutty boy Nigel Winterburn, that won it on around 88 minutes. Hey, we even managed to survive a few minutes of injury time without conceding even a solitary equaliser! This win takes Arsenal into second place in the table. The lateness of Winteburn's winner, and the fact that this match now deserves a big derby status comparable with the Tottenham matches, has earned this match a place in our list of Last Gasp Arsenal goals. Another event worth mentioning... since we weren't playing till the Sunday, one might have thought the Arsenal presence in last night's Match of the Day would be missing altogether. But the programme, on a day when there were very few goals in the top flight, was notable mainly for Dennis Bergkamp's becoming the first player ever to be placed in all three of the top positions in their Goal of the Month competition. The winner, incidentally, was his injury-time "winner" in the 3-3 draw at Leicester. report by Rupe. FA Carling Premiership Chelsea vs Arsenal Sun Sep 21 1997 Result : Chelsea (1) 2 Arsenal (1) 3 Scorers: Poyet 40, Zola 60 Bergkamp 45,59, Winterburn 89 Arsenal: Seaman, Dixon, Bould, Adams, Winterburn, Petit, Vieira, Parlour, Overmars, Bergkamp, Wright Subs: Boa Morte (Parlour 88), Grimandi (Overmars 90), Anelka, Marshall, Manninger Booked: Bergkamp, Bould, Grimandi Chelsea: De Goey, P Hughes, Leboeuf, Duberry, P Hughes, Di Matteo, Wise, Petrescu, Poyet, Zola, Vialli Subs: Nicholls (Petrescu h-t), M Hughes (Vialli 57), Flo (Di Matteo 61), Myers, Hitchcock Booked: Leboeuf, Wise Sent Off: Leboeuf (67, two bookable offences) Att: 33012 Ref: D J Gallagher (Banbury)An eventful and dramatic London derby at Stamford Bridge yesterday ended in the best possible way for the Gunners, when Nigel Winterburn crashed in a 30 yard screamer in the 89th minute to clinch a game of 5 goals, 7 bookings and a sending off. After a fairly even 1st half, the match was Arsenal's for the taking when Frank Leboeuf was sent off midway through the 2nd for his second bookable foul on Dennis Bergkamp, though by then Arsenal were already looking the better team. It was Chelsea who started the match the stronger, and dominated possession in the opening 25 minutes. For the most part however, with Tony Adams restored to it's centre, the Arsenal defence (vintage 10 years) held out fairly comfortably. The only real scares came when a Petrescu cross found Zola in some space on the edge of the area, but the Italian's volley flew high over the bar. Another Chelsea move had Arsenal stretched, but that most vintage of defenders, Steve Bould, threw himself in front of Poyet to block the Uruguyan's shot from just outside the area. At the other end Arsenal gradually began to work their way back into the game and in fact started to create the better chances. A brilliant Bergkamp run through about 4 tackles took him clear into the right side of the area, but bizarrely he elected to chip to the far post instead of shooting, and overhit the pass to Wright and Overmars who were both free. Ray Parlour also went on a couple of superb runs down the right. After one of them he crossed to the far post to pick out Overmars, running in at speed, but the Dutch winger lashed a volleyed shot high and wide from the corner of the 6yd box. Parlour later blotted his copy book by kicking a leg out at Le Saux after the two had tangled as Parlour made another run down the right. I couldn't see the incident from my seat low down on the same side at the other end of the pitch (tremendous value at 21 quid), but seeing it on video later, Pizza was somewhat lucky to get away without even a booking. Lebouef was actually the first player booked for a gratuitous trip on Bergkamp just outside the area. Petit forced De Goey into a sprawling save from the free kick. Overmars had the beating of Paul Hughes down the left, demonstrated when Bergkamp played a lovely ball inside the fullback for Overmars to outpace him into the area. Hughes was reduced to pulling back the winger by the arm, clearly shown on TV, a definite penalty. The ref gave a goal kick. Later Overmars again easily outpaced Hughes and clipped in a cross to the near post to find Bergkamp whose header had De Goey plunging desperately down at his near post to just stop the ball crossing the line. Just after the penalty incident though, it was Chelsea who took the lead following another decision from the referee which did Arsenal no favours. Being shepherded by Adams, Vialli clearly knocked the ball over the goal line himself, but the linesman I think awarded a corner. Arsenal were thus perhaps not concentrating enough when Vialli took the corner quickly, played a couple of passes with Wise before the latter lifted over a cross to the far post. Adams was marking Duberry but for some reason left him to allow the big Chelsea defender a free header inside the 6yd box. He completely misdirected it, but fortunately for him it went straight to Poyet standing about 3 yards out at the opposite post. He in turn mishit his shot, but it went into the net off his studs. Three slices of luck a Chelsea goal do make. By contrast the Arsenal equaliser just before half time was beautifully constructed. Vieira chested down a pass in midfield before chipping a half volley forward to pick out Wright on the edge of the area. The goal machine turned provider this time, cushioning a header perfectly into Bergkamp's path as he ran clear into the area. The Dutch master stroked his shot clinically into the back of the net from about 12 yards. Arsenal had the better of the second half even before the sending off. Overmars was still causing problems down the left and was twice tripped just outside the area. From one of the resulting free kicks Bergkamp picked out Bould's bald pate at the far post, but his header flashed just wide. Bergkamp then forced De Goey into a tremendous save when he produced a brilliant volley from an acute angle beyond the far post, where Petit had picked him out with a lovely diagonal ball. The Gunners deservedly took the lead a few minutes later. Wright tried to flick a pass from Bergkamp over the defence, Duberry miscued an attempted clearance which went straight up in the air. Lebouef then got in his fellow centre half's way, and Duberry mistimed a headed clearance. Bergkamp had cleverly dropped off, the clearance went to him on the edge of the box and he struck a well placed volley just inside the post, leaving De Goey little chance. The Arsenal fans' celebrations hadn't died down when Chelsea were level again. Mark Hughes was allowed to get clear down the right, and clipped in a devilishly curling cross which Seaman couldn't quite reach, nor could Adams just behind him and the ball eventually reached Zola at the far post and went into the net off his shins. The quick equaliser might have been the signal for Chelsea to gain the advantage again, but fortunately the match swung back Arsenal's way midway through the 2nd half when Lebouef was sent off. Bergkamp again ran at him with the ball, and the French defender was reduced to tripped the Dutch maestro. A fairly obvious booking and the red card duly followed. Having used all their allowed substitutes, Chelsea had to move Poyet back into defence and Zola and Hughes back into midfield and from then on could really only hope to hang on and salvage a draw. They almost managed it too, at times more through luck than judgement. Bergkamp broke clear of Poyet but appeared to me to be clearly pulled back. The ref saw otherwise though and waved play on. Overmars had a decent half chance from the edge of the box, but put a rasping drive a yard or two wide of the far post. The breakthrough eventually came from an unlikely source. Boa Morte had just replaced Parlour and as he made a run into space down the left I was screaming at Winterburn to give him the ball. Fortunately Nutty had other ideas and unleashed a screaming shot from fully 25 yards which dipped over the keeper and into the far top corner. It's a while since an Arsenal goal has produced such excitement amongst the watching Gooners. I was kissed and hugged by the bloke in front of me, and bizarrely had my hair furiously ruffled by another. There was enough injury time for a couple of scares at the other end as Chelsea searched desperately for another equaliser, but the Arsenal defence held on for a deserved and wonderful victory. Overall a pretty good performance, and despite Chelsea dominating the opening 20-25 minutes I thought Arsenal were the better team even before Lebouef was sent off. We certainly had much the better chances.
Seaman 6.5 Uncharacteristically hesitant and uncertain with his
handling a couple of times.
Dixon 7.0 Solid performance.
Winterburn 8.0 Worth a bit extra for that goal, though I thought
besides that he had a particularly good game,
particularly in his tackling.
Adams 7.0 I thought he was outstanding against PAOK, but seemed a
little more rusty yesterday. Uncharacteristic error for
the first goal.
Bould 7.5 Another great performance from old reliable.
Petit 7.5 I think probably his best game yet for Arsenal, though I
think he was also partly to blame for the 1st goal,
berating the ref while it was being taken.
Vieira 7.5 Typically robust and constructive performance.
Parlour 7.5 Did very well, particularly in the 1st half, though
perhaps faded a bit in the 2nd.
Overmars 7.5 Possibly the best game I've seen him have. He fairly
consistently had the beating of Hughes down the left,
though I was still a little frustrated that he didn't do
it enough.
Bergkamp 9.0 I've run out of superlatives for the man.
Wright 7.0 Strangely quiet game, though he set up Bergkamp's first
goal beautifully.
report by Derek Brownjohn Other reports
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