Arsenal (0) 3 - 0 (0) Coventry_CityHighbury, Sunday 26th March 2000. kick-off 4pmFA Carling PremiershipPreview
Result : Arsenal (0) 3 Coventry (0) 0
Scorers: Henry 50, Grimandi 79,
Kanu 80
Arsenal: Seaman, Dixon, Winterburn, Luzhny, Grimandi; Petit,
Vieira, Parlour, Overmars; Bergkamp, Henry
Subs: Kanu (Bergkamp 68), Ljungberg (Henry 75),
Suker (Overmars 80), Silvinho, Manninger
Booked: Vieira
Coventry: Ogrizovic, Shaw, Gustafsson, Hendry, Chippo, McAllister,
Eustace, Froggatt, Hadji, Whelan, Roussel
Subs: Telfer (Gustafsson 63), Normann (Hadji 71),
Breen, Quinn, Kirkland
Booked: Gustafsson, Chippo
Att: 38027
Ref: Barry Knight (Orpington)
A game and an Arsenal performance with a split personality at Highbury
yesterday. A first half that was lethargic and turgid almost to extreme
was followed by a vibrant second in which Arsenal's ceaseless attacking
frequently broke through the Sky Blue rearguard. Only an ageless
performance by Ogrizovic in the Coventry goal kept the score down to
three.
There really was little of note to report in the first half. Arsenal started very slowly and Coventry were the better team in the opening 20 minutes - McAllister caused an early scare when his snap shot from 25 yards fizzed only a few feet wide. Arsenal gradually gained control but failed to seriously threaten in the opening half hour, the only mild excitement in that period coming when Parlour headed Bergkamp's chipped pass back towards the Dutchman in the area, and the ball struck Shaw on the arm. The ref declined the opportunity to create some excitement though. The Gunners finally began to look more lively in the final 15 minutes of the half though, their game given impetus by Luzhny who came steaming forward from the back, and ran onto Vieira's smart return pass into the area before cracking a shot in from an angle. Ogrizovic made his first great save of the match, beating the ball aside for a corner. The 42 year old was forced into action again soon afterwards when Parlour broke through on the right, but the old man belied his years with a quick dash of his line to smother the midfielder's shot. Late on in the half Vieira did well on the right and cut a ball back across the area which deflected to Henry at the far post about 10 yards out. He had to readjust and improvise a stabbed shot which may finally have beaten Ogrizovic but Gustafsson was handily placed to clear off the line. Parlour then put Henry through down the right, but from an acute angle he put his shot into the side netting. The second half was a completely different story, a catalogue of attacking Arsenal moves and chances. Overmars should have put Arsenal in front early on when a typically precise Bergkamp through ball sent him racing clear on the left. With only Ogrizovic to beat, he cut in and tried to take the ball round him, but the keeper reacted brilliantly to get a touch on the ball which was enough to hold the flying Dutchman up and Ogrizovic was then able to recover and block Overmars' attempt to force the loose ball past him. A couple of minutes later though Arsenal did take the lead. Vieira picked up Grimandi's headed clearance and looked up to play a superb first time through ball which picked out Henry's run through the middle. An adroit first touch took the Frenchman clear of the pursuing defenders and from the edge of the area he confidently stroked the ball past Ogrizovic and inside the right hand post. Petit then went close with a 25 yard free kick, which from my view right down the line of the ball may have just being going wide, but Ogrizovic made sure anyway, flying to his left to tip the ball past the angle. Vieira also had a couple of clear headers, both from corners, fly over the bar, before Petit went even closer. Luzhny made another foray forward from the back and played the ball in to Petit in space just outside the area. The Frenchman hit a tremendous shot, cutting his left foot across the ball as it rolled across in front of him, but the ball zipped across the grass and slammed against the foot of the right hand upright. The rebound went to Overmars but he was rather too deliberate with a sidefoot shot from 20 yards and Ogrizovic was able to get back and make another good save. Overmars did rather better when another Petit pass sent him clear down the left. He checked back in the area and skipped round a defender to curl in a right footed shot which seemed bound for the top right hand corner until Ogrizovic defied him again with a brilliant flying one handed save, palming the ball over the bar. The second goal did eventually arrive with just over 10 minutes left. Parlour again did well on the right, his persistence winning a free kick which Petit played into the area, miskicking it somewhat I think. However, the ball deflected slightly off the first line of Coventry defence to Grimandi in the middle, and he dug a shot out from under his feet and into the roof of the net from about 10 yards. A minute later it was three. Another Petit pass beat the woeful Coventry offside trap again, and this time sent Kanu clear, and he typically sold Ogrizovic at least 3 dummies, the final one leaving him on the seat of his pants, before finally lashing a left foot shot into the empty net from the corner of the 6yd box. The last 10 minutes or so were then treated somewhat as a training match by Arsenal, with some over-elaboration and general farting about without trying overly seriously to add to the score. Ljungberg did raise the tempo with a tremendously struck 20 yarder which went straight at Ogrizovic, and Suker tried to emulate his Sunderland goal with another left foot volley from just outside the area, but it sailed high and wide this time. Coventry finally got a shot on target in injury time when the substitute Normann fired one straight at Seaman. A rather typical post-Europe hangover feeling to the first half, but Arsenal's performance was impressive for the way they managed to get themselves going in the 2nd, even if they were helped by the early goal and fairly poor opposition. As an exercise and an attempt to alleviate the usual mundane futility, I've split the ratings below into 1st half/2nd half.
Seaman 7.0/7.0 A virtual spectator, albeit a slightly worried one
in the first 15-20 minutes.
Dixon 6.5/7.5 Plugged away as reliably as ever.
Winterburn 7.0/7.5 Battled away as reliably as ever.
Luzhny 8.0/8.0 Continued his recent impressive form.
Grimandi 6.5/7.5 Had a solid enough game in his best position.
Vieira 6.0/8.0 Looked really lax and out of sorts in the opening
half hour, but thereafter got better and better.
Petit 7.5/9.0 One of the few to end the first with any credit,
throwing himself into tackles again, and looked
like the Petit of yore in the 2nd. Easily his best
game of the season.
Parlour 7.5/8.0 Picked up more or less where he left off in the
Bremen game (goalscoring apart).
Overmars 7.5/8.0 Also looking lively again, getting past his man
almost at will, though his finishing & touch aren't
completely there yet.
Henry 7.0/8.0 Continued his confident form and finishing.
Bergkamp 6.5/6.5 Somewhat disappointing, never quite got going.
Kanu 8.0 The usual delightful stuff.
Ljungberg Looked lively as usual.
Suker Didn't really get much chance to get into the game.
Derek
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