Arsenal 1-2 Chelsea – 25/02/07 – (Carling Cup Final) 25 February, 2007
Posted by lasagnechef in Cup Games.trackback
Proud.
Haven’t much time for a full match report but what a day it was. I arrived in Cardiff about 11 o’clock and headed to the gatekeeper pub for the pre-match banter. As I entered the stadium Ljungberg, Lehmann and Clichy + some more were entering. I got a nod of approval from Mad Jens for my “Leeeeeeeeeeee-man, Leeeeeeeeeeee-man” and a high five from Freddie. My seats were 3rd row, behind the goal but more in line with the edge of the box. It was a fantastic atmosphere and well done to the Gooners for travelling so far for a game nobody expected us to win.
It was Arsenal reserves vs. Chelsea 1st team and we started the much better side. Theo scored in the 12th minute and what a finish it was, his first for Arsenal and what I time to get it. I went ballistic and my shins still hurt. We were on top but Drogba equalized 9 minutes later with a clearly offside goal. The first half was all Arsenal and we should’ve been winning. Not only should’ve Drogba been flagged offside again, but we had so many chances; we really should’ve scored again.
Half time came and it was 1-1. It was all set up nicely for the 2nd half. Things carried on in Arsenal’s favour and we looked the most likely to score. Chelsea brought on Robben for Makelele and half time to try and shake things up but Traore was immense. On the hour mark there was a bit of drama when Terry was knocked out cold. It was a Chelsea corner and the ball was whipped in, the was a bit of a goalmouth scramble with people trying to get any sort of touch they could on the ball. This was up the other end so I couldn’t see what was going on but next thing I know Terry’s on the floor with players from both sides screaming towards the touchline in desperation. You could tell it was bad and the first man on the scene was Arsenal’s Gary Lewin.
I only saw the incident a few minutes ago when I got home, Diaby went to clear the ball putting his foot through the ball as hard as he could but he made the connection square in Terry’s face and he was gone before he even hit the floor. He was rushed hospital but was back at the stadium 2 hours later. I’ve heard he doesn’t remember anything that happened that day and that Diaby had a tear in his eye when he was coming off; with the reaction his injury got from the players it looked as if he could’ve been killed. But you missed the target Abou; you’re supposed to go for the bollocks.
The game was a bit more even now and I could feel a goal coming and with 6 minutes of normal time to go Drogba got the winner with a great header. I knew the game was over. We tried to inspire the lads on but it wasn’t to be. There were 7 minutes added time so you thought maybe we had a chance but not after all the sendings offs we didn’t: Toure had his shirt pulled by Mikel and reacted violently and everyone joined in this massive brawl. The coaching staff and officials all ran on to the pitch to try and sort it out. It got really heated and it’s nice to see the youngsters hate Chelsea as much as the fans do. I still haven’t seen exactly what happened yet but in the end Adebayor, Toure and Mikel. There’ll probably be some sort of discipline from the FA for this but oh well.
Personally I don’t think it ruined the day. I had a fantastic time but hopefully I won’t have to go all the way to Cardiff anymore. Thanks for the memories, well done the kids. I would talk about every play individually but I don’t think it’s worth it; they were all incredible. I think a special mention must go to Diaby though, it’s beyond me how me wasn’t man of the match.
Sorry about the shit quality of the report, only just got back and I’m knackered. Also I’m going to Edinburgh in the morning and I’ve still got bits and pieces to sort out. I won’t get a chance to update the blog until next weekend, but hang tight and I’ll be back with a Reading match report. See you then, have a good week.
the news that arsenal’s youngsters vs abramovich’s wealth urges me to watch this game. in the first half arsenal looks lively, the second half of the game remains balanced but the only difference are two man, IMHO.
fabregas was all over midfield and wallcott’s goal was fantastic. the bad news was cech and drogba was in form.
maybe experience won at last. but the future sure looks bright for arsene and the team. cheer up!
how can you say aim for his bolloxs? we all know chelsea have none……..well played arsenal, thought we were awesome, but unlucky
Senderos, senderos, senderos….. Picked over Djourou yet again and taken to town by Drogba yet again. How different it would have been if either Djourou and especially Gallas was playing? I’m proud of everyone else though and especially of Walcott who I’m confident will make quantum leaps of progress now. I hope we play the same team ex-Senderos against Blackburn in the F.A. Cup replay too.
arsenal young guns really really awesome dude facing first team chelsea .. they so nervous to face the young blood and put the strongest side ever.. and we done well..very welll.. n lampard soo damn hell stupid..anti-lampard anti essien.. im so glad walcott scored his first goal.in the final.. what a timing for scoring..
Okay, when I said we should hurt Terry, I didn’t mean kill him! And I didn’t think we’d loose our focus over it! But hey, our boys did better than expected. I was really proud of them. Oh well, just wait till our big boys play Chelsea. We’ll show them what a real team looks like.
Fucking chelsea scum. And i mean the fans also. Did u see em chucking bottles at Cesc when he went to take a corner? Why isnt any action being taken about that? Boys have done us proud. I really feel for Ade and hope his red is revoked.
Also this brings us back to the issue of Eboue. I got alot of stick for talkin about his attitude and I’m gonna say it again. He has to buck up. Right now Hoyte in my book is ahead of him in the pecking order and Djorou ( if picked) would be marginally ahead as well. These 2 boys just work and work, no fuss. Eboue…. sigh, as skillful as he is isnt good enough defensively and he’s really doing no one favors with his antics.
Well done the Arsenal I am proud, let’s go on a massive winning streak now!
Erm… Chelsea weren’t throwing bottles. It was something a bit more benign. And bizarre. It was celery. I’ve no idea why but it was clearly orchestrated as both sides of the ground did it. A browse through their blogs might explain it.
Not sure why you’re criticising Eboue defensively. He did nothing wrong yesterday. Fact is Senderos should have gotten closer but it was a top cross and a great header.
The entire team was excellent. In fairness to Senderos, he made one mistake all game long. Costly, yes. But Toure, Diaby, etc. all had great chances to put us ahead which made our defensive mistakes all the more expensive. It seems very harsh to blame the defenders for this one. It was a team effort. They win and lose together. And all in all, I thought they were excellent yesterday and nobody should be singled out for criticism… well maybe Toure for over-reacting but I doubt itmade a huge difference to the result.
I know no one was really expecting the Arsenal reserves to come out on top but after watching the first half, I must admit I was really hoping they would win and was bitterly disappointed when they didn’t. Walcott played beautifully and its great that he finally scored. Diaby was definitely my star for the day as well…after he went off, the team didn’t seem to function as well as they did. It’s a shame about Terry – although I don’t really care much about Chelsea – I doubt anyone would mean anything that bad to happen.
I wonder if the linesman had actually kept his bloody eye’s open, things might have turned out differently. That first offside decision really played a huge roll and who knows what would have happened if things turned out differently….youngest team ever to win a Cup final? Maybe.
Anyway, on to more important issues. I can’t believe Adebayor was red carded…I didn’t really see much of him during the chaos but his 3 match suspension is really going to suck. Oh, and Chelsea fans are just disgusting! Throwing stuff (celery?!) at Fabregas….simply sick.
The Arsenal played beautiful football, it was very encouraging to see that our youngsters are brilliant! The terry incident was quite scary and the ruck at the end was bit of a let down.
Although it’s nice to know that this will [hopefully] be the only trophy Chelski will have won this season.
I don’t think it’s harsh to blame Senderos because he was at fault for both the goals. For the first, he was the one who played Drogba onside because he botched the offside trap and then didn’t have the footspeed to right his mistake. For the second, he let Drogba get the better of him for the header. Again, call a spade a spade and hope he improves but in the meantime, to be fair to the better players, let’s hope AW plays Gallas and Djourou more. That’s what genuine competition for places is about. Senderos may well improve in training in the future and then deserve and earn a first team place but it is unfair to deny better players who are less error-prone their chance. Also, I wonder if Lehmann or Poom would have allowed Drogba to nutmeg them to score the first goal like that although Almunia was blameless for the second goal. Here’s hoping for Akinfeev in the Summer when Lehmann leaves.
Senderos is shit. You’ll never win anything ever again with that clown in the team. Serch your feelings, you know it to be true.
Now Joey can I please invite you to a party i’m having in my pants. Bring a freind.
Come on?! Played him onside for the first goal? It was a marginal decision. An inch more and he was clearly off. It’s not like he was standing in no man’s land without a clue. I attribute very little blame to him for the first goal. It was well worked and marginal. As for the second, he was well beaten. But it was a great run and header by one of the most on-form strikers in world football. 28 goals in all competitions is outstanding – and how many have been opening goals and winners?! He’s a cunt, but a great player this year.
I maintain to blame Senderos for the defeat is lame. You win together and lose together. We didn’t lose just because of Drogba’s header. We lost becuase we failed to make the most of our chances which would have put the game out of sight. There were far more ‘mistakes’ in attack and defence in that respect, so lay off the defenders.
Pabz I blame your dog-breath
Blog Head,
You are crazy. You just love controversy don’t you?
Granted we lost because we didn’t take our chances but that doesn’t mean we ignore defensive mistakes. In any case, it’s only Senderos that I take exception too and perhaps to a lesser extent Almunia. All the other defenders including Toure did very well. It seemed that all the other defenders were singing off the same hymn sheet and left Drogba in an offside position except for Senderos; coincidence? Senderos wasn’t marking his man Drogba closely enough allowing him a running start, getting ahead of him for the header and the goal. As for our attackers, I don’t blame them as much because if not for Carvalho and Cech having great games, we could have scored at least a couple more goals. Still, I’m not trying to nit-pick but I’m just pointing out the facts and I’m wondering if things just might have been different if we had someone else in goal and either Djourou or Gallas instead of Senderos. That’s all.
The Saint,
Yeah and if Spurs had Ronaldinho and Henry and Petr Cech we might be top of the league.
Now tickle my balls gently
If you wanna pick a scapegoat pick Eboue. Senderos has been far more consistent this season that Eboue. Plus Big Phil has a far better playing attitude.
Justin,
And Eboue never washes. This is a fact. Its the reason Sol Cambell dumped him cos he stunk like a dog.
Banned from Gunnerblog, you’re now on here. Go get a life blog head, I do believe that this forum/comments section is for sensible people.
It’s all over in the FA Cup, highlights here.
Sorry, posted the wrong link:
highlights here.
what a shambolic performance… something really needs to be done…..
Like fire wenger if he’s gonna perform like that.
gooner67,
I know you like following my life but please stop. I’m getting a bit scared. If your that desperate to see me maybe You can come round and lick my balls on saturday. Not sunday though I’m busy.
This is my impression of Arsene Wenger : “whing, whinge, whinge, whinge, whinge, whinge, whinge, whinge, whinge, whinge”
I rest my case Blog Head!!
gooner67, sniff me now !!!!!
Highlights from Arsenal vs. Reading
[...] exiting trip to Cardiff ended in disappointment and 3 days later we were out of the FA Cup. However I think the biggest [...]
Bloghead will you fuck off? Fucking tosser
Inferior fucking yid cunts who lost to our second team? Pathetic twat
blog head u sound like a right yido freak …. no wonder the arsen hole hate u , u scary cunt
Up the Os lalalalala theres only one team
east east east London
We are the Orient so fuck all the rest!!!
Sorry for my post,
[...] a chance to add to the trophy cabinet for the first time since 2005; and what a chance it is. I went to Cardiff in 2007 and that was a pretty decent day out but back then the Carling Cup was for kids and reserves only. [...]
[...] a chance to add to the trophy cabinet for the first time since 2005; and what a chance it is. I went to Cardiff in 2007 and that was a pretty decent day out but back then the Carling Cup was for kids and reserves only. [...]