Manchester_United (0) 1 - 1 (1) ArsenalOld Trafford, Monday 24th January 2000FA Carling PremiershipPreview
Manchester_United (0) 1 - 1 (1) ArsenalOld Trafford, Monday 24th January 2000FA Carling Premiership
scorers: Sheringham (73) Ljungberg 11
Arsenal:
Seaman
Dixon Keown Grimandi Silvinho (Winterburn 23)
Parlour Peit Vieira Hughes (Malz 70)
Henry Ljungberg
subs not used: Manninger Wreh Luzhny
The game was late kicking off, due to someone not doing
their job properly. Somehow United keeper Mark Bosnich had been
allowed to come out in a yellow shirt which was very similar to
Arsenal's second strip. The delay was extended because, apparently,
they didn't have another keeper's jersey in the dressing room.
So someone had to go off and get one from the club shop! If this
is true then that person screwed up, because the shirt Bosnich
was given was a plain white number (the Old Trafford club shop
must sell at least 4 different keeper's jerseys!). Then there
was some fun while Bosnich tried to get changed on the pitch.
Taking his yellow shirt off the undergarment came off too, and
it beccame clear that he hasn't quite mastered the task of
putting on a T-shirt. Get your mummy to show you, MArk.
Anyway, to the game. Arsenal started pretty brightly, although there were some dodgy moments in the first few minutes. A bad pass from petit let them in and a dangerous through ball was played for Butt to run onto. But Grimandi just got in to touch it back to Seaman. Then Henry won a free kick on the right wing. It was played into the box to Henry who received with back to goal. he turned nicely but pushed it slightly too fsar and a defender got in to nick the ball away. But we won it straight back and it came back to Henry whose shot on the edge of the D was on target but blocked right in front of him. 5 minutes gone and already the newly laid pitch was coing up in chunks all over the place. It's their 6th new pitch in 2 years apparently. Am I the only person who finds it amazing that they don't sack the groundsman? I know we're blessed at Highbury, I don't expect them to have a Steve Braddock (there's only one), but 6 in 2 years is ridiculous when you think about the money they have at that club. New stands going up all over the place and they can't get a decent playing surface. The other side of the coin, of course, is that we have to hope that Arsenal are paying Braddock enough for him to have no ideas about leaving, and also that he's going to be consulted when it comes to designing the inevitable new Arsenal stadium. Ljungberg, as predicted here on ArseWeb, got the second striker position rather than Wreh or Barrett. He was roving about behind and alongside Henry as he saw fit, in the role he plays for Sweden. On 7 minutes he beat Neville on the left and played it into the box for Henry, whose first-time shot with the outside of his boot was palmed safe by Bosnich who was grateful to see no other Arsenal player coming in on goal. Grimandi was (unusually) caught dallying on the ball, and Cole was able to whip in a cross from the left. But no red shirt was attacking the goal so Seaman was able to let it pass through his area. On 11 minutes Seaman cleared and the ball was flicked on by in the centre circle. Stam was chasing the ball back towards his goal, halfway into his own half, and should have dealt with it. But as he went to kick it (it looked like he was going to knock it back upfield, over his own head) Ljungberg nipped in bravely to nod the ball practically off of Stam's raised boot. He ran on away from the defender and slotted it coolly low through the keeper's legs. 4 minutes later United cleared from an Arsenal corner and everyone came out quickly. But it came to Dixon and he chipped a lovely ball over the top for Henry. In a prime position outside the box his first touch sadly let him down and a defender was able to get across to take the ball. The right first touch and no-one would have got near him. Giggs and Beckham were whipping crosses in at every opportunity, but betwen Seaman Keown and Grimandi we had everything covered. One dodgy moment came on 19 minutes though, just after Seaman had fallen on a Giggs cross. The next one came in from the other side. Cole flicked Beckham's ball on to Yorke near the spot. He nodded it back to Keane on the edge of the box who had a couple of blasts, both blocked. Ljungberg shot just wide a couple of minutes later, but Bosnich clearly had it covered. Then a good cross from Neville (G) found Giggs's head at the far post and he nodded it diagonally back towards goal for Yorke but he didn't react and Seaman was again able to let it go through. On 23 minutes Winterburn had to come on for Silvinho, who went off with a calf injury. Nice to have such class on the bench (although apart from Nutty ours wasn't the strongest of benches). apparently Nigel nearly didn't travel with the squad due to a back problem but (of course) you'd never have guessed from the way he played. Ljungberg robbed Keane but the ball forward for Henry was poor. Then Ljungberg went onb a good run down the middle. He was crowded out by 3 defenders in the D but the ball popped out for Henry to the left. He beat his man and got into the box down the left, then cut back and tried a fast curler into the far top corner which the defender just managed to deflect out for a corner. 26 minutes and a Cole cross from their left balloned up off an Arsenal leg into our box. Giggs went for it but Keown held him off, and it bounced beyond the both of them towards Yorke, who couldn't get on top of the ball and ended up skying it. United claimed a penalty for Keown's handling of Giggs but TV replays were inconclusive. Half an hour gone and for a while things got really heated. It started with Petit running into the ref, which seemd to really get the frenchman going. He followed it with a couple of ferocious tackles, one of which at least looked decidedly late. Suddenly everyone was diving in, but fortunately it ended with a foul being awarded against United before Manu or anyone else could go really over the top. Moments later Keane shoved Winterburn down by our goal line after Keane had just won a corner off him. There didn't seem to be any reason but Nige just smiled (Manu and others take note, and learn what you can from this man before he leaves). Then Keane miskicked badly after a nice one-two on the edge of our box had created a good shooting chance for him. But the miskick spun wide to Beckham whose sharo cross to the near post was blocked by Seaman plus a defender or 2. Then a corner from Beckham was headed goalwards by Yorke from near the penalty spot. Cole tried to bang it in as it went past him just in front of goal but missed it, and Dixon was on hand to make the clearance off the line. It hit Grimandi in the box, and they claimed for hands, but it looked to have struck him on the chest, possible touching his arm at the same time. Hardly intentional, and he whacked the ball clear. A loose pass from Hughes let them back in but Grimandi stepped in beautifully to pass it back to Seaman just as Beckham looked to have got clear. Dixon got in a fantastic tackle on Giggs, and the ball came forward to Henry via a Ljungberg flick on in the centre circle. He was clear on the keeper and should have made it 2, but Bosnich played it well, staying on his feet and making a good save low to his left. Beckham got another early cross in towards Cole but Keown beat him well and the ball fell safe to Seaman. Into the last 5 minutes of the half, with United having gotten into the game rather more than in the first 25 to 30 minutes, and Grimandi was booked for a rather obvious but equally necessary block on Yorke. The striker had played it forward for himself from the centre circle and if Gilles had let him through he'd have been clear on goal. United had a series of corners, and it was nice to see Henry popping up in the box once or twice to head clear (don't remember Anelka doing much of that!). The Beckham tried a shot from a 30 yard free-kick which dipped but not nearly enough. Wishful thinking against Seaman. Just because Gascoigne did it once... On the stroke of halftime United had possibly the best move of the match. It started with Parlour losing the ball in midfield, and several passes later it was slipped rightt to Butt on the edge of the box. He brought it in central and fired from near the penalty spot, must have been shocked to see Seaman get down and get his right hand to the ball to push it wide. Giggs was following up on their left but fired wide of the near post. Amazignly, it looked like Seaman had already got up and across and had it covered. The first action of the second half was a corner won by Henry. Petit crossed it into the goalmouth where Henry and Grimandi challenged Bosnich (now in a proper keeper's top) but he got a hand to it. The punch only went straight up though, but Irwin was on hand to belt it off the line. 6 minutes into the half and we got away with one when Cole was pulled up for offside when he'd actually been level. Then a Petit corner from our right looped over to the far post where it bounced over Ljungberg's stretch. Giggs went on a good run down the left, but Dixon kept him on the outside and when the cross came in Seaman was able to pluck it off Yorke's head. Ljungberg intercepted well but then played the ball losely across the pitch into no mans land, Beckham did well to reach it and keep it in, then hit an early cross towards goal but no-one made the run in front of Seaman so it came through to the keeper. Half an hour to go and there was a typically nasty incident involving Beckham, going in studs high on Hughes. Hughes, maybe remembering his last start for Arsenal: the corresponding fixture last year when Keane got away with kicking him in the head, was understandably upset and gave Beckham a shove in the back. Silly, and could gave been punished by a ref in a different mood (to be fair, Durkin had a pretty good game on the whole). Moment later Beckham put in another fierce (but, this time) fair tackle on Hughes, and one started to wonder if that might turn nasty. Keane got het up a few minutes later. Penalised for a blatant trip on Ljungberg he got all bothered about it and did the Man Utd "running up to the ref yelling" thing. He actually bumped into Durkin but like I said the ref was in a good mood tonight. Sheringham came on for Cole, and seemed to make a difference. United started pressuring us more when we had the ball, and Sheringham's coming back into midfield to get the ball helped them in the midfield battle (which mostly Vieira and Petit had won). Our rocks in central defence, both of whom had another excellent game, each showed their worth with blocks in rapid succession. First Keown stopped a ferocious shot from Butt. the ball came out to their left and a cross was volleyed hard goalwards by Keane but Grimandi threw himself in front of it. Henry did some nice work winning and then holding the ball up just inside our half, trying to get an attack started (they were becoming all too rare). But he passed it to Hughes and he just gave it away. It came to Sheringham who played a nice 1-2 on the edge of the box with Yorke. But just as Sheringham looked to have got through clear on Seaman, Grimandi stretched a leg and got just enough of a touch on the ball to take it back to the keeper. 20 minutes to go. Malz came on for Hughes, possibly it had been one loose ball too many. He hadn't had a very bad game, and I can't say I'm convinced that Malz is any better. Clearly no-one in our squad is a patch on Overmars in that position. I have to say, though, that I'd rather Wenger stuck with Silvinho there when Marc's out. I know he wants Silvinho to be a left back rather than a midfielder but he's the nearest we've got to a second left winger and we do have arguably the best left-back in the country (and last season's Arsenal player of the year) sitting on the bench. Stam intercepted a ball that was bound for Bosnich, rather unnecessarily, and the ball ended up with Henry on our left wing. He crossed ror Ljungberg in the box. Under challenge from Silvester he managed to win the ball despite going down. He bounced up and got a shot in which Silvestre did well to get a touch in, deflecting it high. The corner from our left came over to the far post where Ljungberg was loitering again, but the Swede mnade his run too late and came up short. 17 minutes to go and they pulled level. Dixon showed Giggs the otside again but this time he put in a very difficult cross, going high to the far post but bending away from goal. Seaman was tempted out but only got a slight touch on the ball. It came to Beckham on (our) left of the box and he banged it back across goal for Sheringham to touch in. Yorke, who'd been challenging Seaman for the cross, looks to be in a clearly offside position in the goal mouth. Hardly "not interfering with play", I alwasy think, if players look occupied in marking him. But on the other hand when we had 2 players on Yorke but none on Sheringham there's clearly some fault on our side too. and to be fair, UInited had had the better of the game for most of the second half as well as the end of the first. Ljungberg went on a good run down the right wing, and Parlour made a terrific run past him on the inside. But Freddie's ball forward was ever so slightly too strong and Bosnich got there first. Keown got in abrilliant tackle to stop Sheringham going clear on Seaman, and then, from the ground, hooked it away from Butt as he stormed forward to pick up the loose ball. More good reffing from Durkin on 81 minutes when Irwin pushed the ball past Ljungberg and off the pitch on their left wing, then ran past Ljungberg and fell over theatrically. Result: Arsenal throw. Again Ljungberg passed forawrd and inside too strong for Parlour's run. Then he played a nice 1-2 with Henry to the left of centre, just outside the box, before slipping it to the right for Parlour. he was in space and his first touch let him down slightly, but credit to Roy Keane who raced back to get in a telling block. There was some nonsense involving Sheringham and Vieira, starting with a foul on the big Frenchman. Moments later sheringham ran past Vieira (a few feet away) in the cenbtre circle and tumbled over. There was no contact but there were a few worrying moments as the ref asked his linesman if he'd seen anything. Fortunately, although he was visibly agitated, the new-look post-massive-suspension calme Paddy didn't get too excited by it all. And to be fair I didn't see if Sheringham was claiming anything. He might have just fallen over one of the many massive divots. We were getting forward a bit more since their goal. Made you think... The last few chances fell to us, if only we'd created nore earlier. A dodgy Bosnich clearance came to Ljungberg in the centre circle but Henry was caught marginally offside when the ball came through. In injury time Henry won a corner off Silvester which Petit put in to the near post and Grimandi's flick took it across the face of goal. So, a fair result and one which we might have taken if offered before kick-off. Obviously it's a bit frustrating having been ahead for so long, and having looked likely to stretch our lead for much of the first half. But we're still in touch. They might have 3 games in hand but we've had to catch up more than this in recent years. A couple of other events tonight. First, a double prediction success for ArseWeb (following the Ljungberg thing) as the Beeb decided to put Wrighty's "This is your Life" opposite the big match. Must have done a lot for the ratings! I'll put somewhting about it onArseWeb when I've had a chance to watch the tape. And Beckham managed to win second place in the World player of the year poll. Was that before or after the assault on Stephen Hughes, I wonder...? Anyway, he got 194 votes compared to Rivaldo's 543, which is almost a fair reflection of how much better Rivaldo is. report by Rupe. Other reports
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