FA Carling Premiership
Game 18: Sunday 20 December 1998
Arsenal 3 - 1 Leeds United
(Half-time: 1 - 0)
Crowd: 38025
Referee: P Durkin (Portland)
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FA Carling Premiership Arsenal 3 - 1 Leeds United(Half-time: 1 - 0) |
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| « Coventry City | Newcastle United » | |
| Match Facts | ||
|---|---|---|
| Teams | Unused Subs | |
| Leeds | Martyn, Woodgate, Molenaar (Wetherall 45), Haaland, Harte, Granville (Smith 81), Halle, Bowyer, Hopkin, Kewell, Hasselbaink | Sharpe, Wijnhard, Robinson |
| Arsenal | Manninger, Dixon, Bould, Keown, Vivas, Vieira, Petit, Ljungberg (Grimandi 71), Overmars (Wreh 87), Bergkamp, Anelka | Boa Morte, Mendez, Lukic |
| Scorers | Other Info | |
| Leeds | Hasselbaink 66 | |
| Arsenal | Bergkamp 28, Vieira 53, Petit 82 | |
| Yellow Cards | Red Cards | |
| Leeds | Woodgate, Hopkin, Harte | |
| Arsenal | Bergkamp, Vieira | Grimandi |
| Match Statistics | ||
|---|---|---|
| Leeds | Arsenal | |
| Corners won | 3 | 5 |
| Fouls committed | 13 | 14 |
| Hit woodwork | 0 | 0 |
| Offsides committed | 3 | 2 |
| Shirt numbers of goalscorers | 9 | 10, 4, 17 |
| Yellow cards | 3 | 2 |
| Red cards | 0 | 1 |
| Match Reports | |
|---|---|
| Fans' Reports | |
| Guy Bonello | Arse...Armchair report |
| Nick Allen | Arse, via a bar stool |
| Kev Lewis | Arse Game |
| Newspaper/Newswire/Net Reports | |
| The Guardian | Arsenal back with big guns blazing |
| The Electronic Telegraph | Arsenal ready to cavalry charge |
| The Times | Leeds are undone by Bergkamp |
| Express Sport | Arsenal back in title race |
| The Independent | Arsenal's assault on summit |
| Yorkshire Evening Post | So nearly for O'Leary |
| Soccernet | Soccernet match report |
| Carlingnet | Carlingnet match report |
1-3, beaten by the better side on the day. A better team showing compared to Coventry except for a couple of players performing under par.Strange line-up sent out by DOL
Martyn
Haaland
Woodgate Molenaar
Halle Harte
Bowyer Hopkin Granville
Jimmy Harry
Molenaar's injury looks a serious one and could keep him out for a while. Leeds looked lively and Hopkin missed a sitter. Bergkamp scored on the break (TV showed Anelka was offside). Leeds tried hard but could not penetrate the Arse rearguard and Vieira and Petit ran the midfield. Second half Vieira scored a belter, Leeds pushed forward and Jimmy scored a beaut. As Leeds pushed for the equaliser, Petit scored from another quick Arsenal break. Leeds desperately need a consistent striker to partner Jimmy up front. Let's hope this new guy we are supposed to be signing can cut the mustard.
Overall, a good, determined performance, but no points to take home. Compared to the Coventry game, give me 3 points any day, even if it means a crap performance!!!!
Scores:
Martyn 6 No chance with the goals, not much else to so.
Halle 5 Slow, caught out many times.
Woodgate 6 Not up to usual standard
Haaland 8 MOTM. solid game at the back. Looks like he'll be there
for a while with Mols, Lucas and Hiden injured.
Molenaar 8 A rock until injured. Threw himself at a couple of shots
kamikaza-style.
Harte 7 Solid first half, quiet second.
Bowyer 7 Lost the midfield battle to the 2 Frogs.
Hopkin 7 Missed a sitter, passing improved but a bit slow when
going forward.
Granville 5 Anonymous. Send him back to the stiffs!!!!
Kewell 6 Quiet game. It looks like he prefers the left of midfield
rather than playing up front.
Jimmy 6 Not much apart from a super goal.
subs:
Wetherall 6
Smith 5 Got Grimandi sent off, and that's about it.
Lucky Dirty Arsenal.
just a series of points really
1. Anelka was offside when Petite played the lob through for the first goal.
2. Bergkamp should have been sent off just before half time for the foul on Bowyer. A lunge from behind, jamming his studs into the back of Bowyer's knee, and then dragging them down his calf.
3. Hopkin - should now be told that DOL was only having a laugh, and that of course he's going to be dropped for Batty, as soon as he is fit. Batts was bought to allow Hoppo to "get forward and score a few" - with finishing like that - Hardy fucking Har...
4. We played most of this game without 4 of our first choice defenders - Kelly, Hiden, Lucas, and Molenaar (who was having a good game), its no wonder that at times our defence didn't recognise each other.
5. Grimandi's sending off - well it was a bit powder puff, but to the letter of the law, he was right to send him off - but Smith's a noughty little bugger and no mistake, let's just hope that he remembers that his first job is to score goals - that's the best way to wind up the opposition.
6. We've played everyone that counts in the league now, and nobody was in any way out of our class. I would back our starting 11 against any other in the country - so let's hope for fewer injuries and suspensions, cos the squad isn't big enough for all of that...
Funnily enough from the throne, this game gave me more reasons for optimism than the Coventry match. Although I was pissed off when we lost.
Although I must've seen a differnt match from some.
Amazingly we were in charge for the 1st half hour and Hopkin missed a great chance.
Arse's 1st goal changed the game and should've been given offside. However the luck, and a few decisions have gone with leeds for a few games, so this was just one of those things that sometimes happens.
Arse's other 2 goals came from breaks when promising moves from Leeds broke down catching players out of position. In both cases the run of the ball went with Arse. However Petit and Vieira's goals were both brilliantly taken, and one wonders whether Leeds would have been quite so clinical given the same opportunities.
As highlighted on TV it was a bad decision not to track Petit for their 3rd goal, but by that time we essentially had a 2nd choice back 3 on the pitch - if you count the 1st choice threesome as Hiden, Molenaar and Radebe.
Overall we could have got something out of the game, given a bit of luck.
I disagree about Kewell. I think he and Hasselbaink looke godd individually and as a partnership yesterday. I've always advocated having a big forward, but now thw team are playing a passing game, Kewell and Hasselbaink could wory most defences.
Scores.
Martyn 6 -Not much chance with the goals, but a 'wonder save' would
have helped?
Halle 6 - Overmars left him for dead a couple of times, but he's a
tidy player, who reads tha game well and is the best available in
that position at the moment.
Woodgate 7 - Not seen him live yet (well since his junior games).
Seems good defensively and composed on the ball.
Molenaar 7 - Good steady game.
Haaland 7 - A revelation in the defence. Positionally disciplined.
Used his pace to cover well.
Harte 6 - Better 1st half than 2nd when Overmars started roaming
into the spaces behind both wing-backs.
Hopkin 7 - A goodish game touch, passing and tackling all good.
Won't mark him down for the booking cos the ref wasn't watching and
it was a good tackle. Not got the pace to exploit the openings he
makes or is given.
Bowyer 7 - Acquited himself well against Petit, but just lacks
Petit's composure.
Granville 6 - Trailed Vieira everywhere and kept him fairly quiet.
Lost him for the 2nd goal though, but in fairness he'd shot forward
as leeds looked like creating a chance. Didn't impose himself
much.
Kewell 7 - Ran at, and beat Arse defenders all game. Nice touch
(looked deliberate) to Jimmy for the goal. Poor shooting spoiled
excellent approach work at times.
Hasselbaink 7 - In and out of the game, fantastic shot for the
goal. Always worried Arse when leeds were able to give him the
ball.
Those who criticise Jimmy, or any forwards must realise that On some days a forward gets a lot of the ball and on others he may only get into the game 2 or 3 times in a match. It is the mark of a class player to make these moments count. By and large Jimmy does that.
A for the next game, it is a bigger test in a way. You can be forgiven for not getting anything at Arse, especially if you play well.
However we are EXPECTED to get somthing from Newcastle, who will have Shearer (and possibly Ferguson) back. Arguably Leeds best possible back 5 is. Kelly, Hiden, Molenaar, Radebe and Harte. All those could be missing.
Halle, Woodgate, Wetherall, Haaland, Granville could all play. It would certainly help if Lucas is fit. Although I would keep Wetherall to look after Ferguson.
Hopkin, Batty, Bowyer should be the midfield 3, with Jimmy and Harry up front again.
Copy from Football Unlimited of 21/12/98.
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By the new year Arsenal's latest challenge for the championship may be something more than a muffled boom from distant cannons. Yesterday they were content to rediscover the art of holding leads by beating Leeds in a match not short of flying shrapnel.
Dennis Bergkamp scored one goal and created two others as David O'Leary's first return to Highbury as a manager saw his lively, confident team defeated 3-1, Arsenal's first league victory in six games. Had Leeds taken chances at crucial moments, Arsenal, who a week earlier had lost 3-2 at Aston Villa after going 2-0 up, might have had to work even harder for the victory which has brought them to within four points of the leading pair.
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