ANOTHER STUMBLE

 

(Image taken from Sky Sports)

 

United vs Arsenal matches are always interesting rumbles with one or both teams usually finding themselves in the title race. Last season it seemed as though the two would contest the title again which made the 2-2 draw at the Emirates Stadium dissapointing from a United point of view. However, while the Gunners faded out of the title race, United went from strength to strength and won 2-1 at Old Trafford on our way to retaining the title. That doesn't change our bad record at the Emirates Stadium though. We've never won a match there and the last time we won a game at their old Highbury ground was back in 04/05. It was the Keave vs Viera era and we won 4-2.

This time around, it's looking to be a lot trickier for both sides. United are only just starting to get their act together and Arsenal aren't on the best of form either. Will either side have a say in the title race? Once again this was a dead crucial match, though arguably for the wrong reasons. Either way, it meant a Premiership trip to the Emirates Stadium with United needing another win. United switched to 4-4-2. van de Saar in goal, Neville at right back(and captain), Evra left back, Carrick and Anderson centre mid, Park at left back and Rooney and Berbatov up front. This was the match the big names were rested for midweek. Another three points please.

United had the firest real chance of note but that was down to messiness from the Arsenal defence rather than anything particularly classy. The early stages were certainly tight but United appeared to take over and put the ball in the net only for it to be given as offside. Arsenal didn't have that problem though. In the 22nd minute a Cesc Fabregas free kick found Samir Nasri and Arsenal had taken the lead against the run of play. The champions kept attacking but Arsenal were starting to give as good as they got and it was United dodging further bullets late on in the half. This didn't look like good news and clearly Fergie would need to do some finetuning at half time.

Arsenal had other ideas though. In the 48th minute Fabregas again set up Nasri and United were in serious trouble thanks to a leak defence. We were soon back on the attack but couldn't seem to find the net and Arsenal were happy to counter and United looked only capable of stopping them at the last minute. After a strong period from the Gunners United tried attacking again but the Arsenal defence was just soaking us up with ease. In the meantime Fergie had gotten some fresh legs on but as the clock went down the game was clearly a write off...untill a 90th minute Giggsy cross was headed out by Ronaldo to Rafael for his first United goal. Congratulations to him but despite a ton of injury time we couldn't find an equaliser.

Elsewhere, Liverpool beat West Brom 3-0 at Anfield in a game that fortified the strongest Scouse title challenge I can remember. There was only one team in the match and the worry now is that United's title chances might be fading. The bigger result and better news though was Villa getting beaten 2-1 by Middlesborough at Villa Park, Martin O'Neil's crew finally having a serious off day in their bid to break into the "big four". Losing to Arsenal still means that United slide down to 4th in the Premiership but we are still on course for the Champions League, even if only the preliminary stages. We're eight points behind the Scousers and a direct run to the group stages and only a point ahead of Villa and the UEFA Cup. We still have a game in hand though.

North of the border, Aberdeen faced Dundee United at Tannadice Park in the SPL. The Dons were soon undone by their New Firm rivals though with Francisco Sandaza and Warren Feeney putting the Tangerines ahead though the Dons didn't have that bad a first half overall. The second half was better for the Reds though and Darren Mackie pulled a goal back. However the home side were still able to hold out and prevent a Dons equaliser. A dissapointing result fo the Reds who need to keep defeats to a minimum given that the midtable and lower reaches of the SPL are so tight. However, they've got another game midweek to put things right.

Elsewhere, Hearts faced St Mirren at St Mirren Park. The home side had the much better game in the first have as they surged forward looking for points to get them out of relegation trouble but the opportunities were ultimately wasted. Arguably St Mirren continued to have the better game in the second half but it ultimately counted for nothing when Eggert Jonsson hit the winner for the visitors which changes things significantly for the Edinburgh side. As for the Dons, well it leaves them dropping to 8th place in the SPL. However, they remain only two points behind Kilmarnock and the top half of the table and four points ahead of Hamilton and relegation.

Back south of the border and down a few levels, the FA Cup 1st round took place. The main team I was keeping an eye on was local side Exeter City and somehow Curzon Ashton of the Unibond North league beat the Grecians 3-2 at the Tameside Stadium. It's certainly been a while since City were the wrong end of a Cup upset. My former local team Brentford didn't do so badly though, beating Ble Square South side Havant and Waterlooville 3-1 at West Leigh Park but even that match wasn't without it's headaches for the L2 side but on paper the match was pretty smooth with the Bees leading at halftime and not looking back in the second half.

Either way, the draw for the second round has been made and Brentford will face the winners of an all-Blue Square Premier tie between Eastborne and Barrow at either Lagney Sport Club or Holker Street. The original match finished 0-0 but with Barrow both hosting the replay and doing better in the Blue Square Premier than their opponents, it's probably them who are the safe bet to face the Bees. As for the second round match, I don't think even Barrow are likely to provide much of a threat, though in the Cup anything can happen. Still, I'm expecting Brentford to make a return to mising it with the big guns in the third round after this draw.

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