Manchester United 1 Arsenal 0
David Bellion's 19-second strike settled the latest collision between English
football's superpowers as Manchester United deservedly advanced to the Carling
Cup semi-finals at Arsenal's expense.
On a cold night at Old Trafford, a frosty post-match handshake between Sir
Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger marked the end of hostilities, with both men
knowing there was no reason for acrimony about this result, as opposed to the
league meeting six weeks ago which ended the Gunners' 49-match unbeaten run.
The winner came as a direct result of some fatal hesitation in possession from
17-year-old Johan Djourou, which allowed Bellion to seize control, then some
woeful goalkeeping from Manuel Almunia, who inexplicably allowed a 20-yard shot
he appeared to have covered enter the net.
There was not the same ferocity about the contest which followed, although in
the end both sides were fortunate to end the game with 11 men as Robin van
Persie and Kieran Richardson continued a feud that started with the Dutchman
launching an elbow at the United man and ended with a last-minute revenge tackle
which went unpunished.
It was enough to keep the biggest League Cup crowd outside a final for many a
long year entertained though, accustomed as they are to a fixture that rarely
passes by without incident.
If players are not squaring up on the pitch, they are throwing food at each
other off it and the antipathy between the rival managers, so fiercely
protective of their own domain, seemingly knows no bounds.
And though, considering the ages of the respective line-ups, Wednesday's
encounter was more jelly and ice cream than soup and pizza, it took virtually no
time to explode into life.
Referee Mark Halsey's watch had reached just 18.6 seconds when Bellion's
20-yard effort entered the net as Djourou and Almunia combined to cough up a
goal that must have left Wenger shaking his head in frustration.
When talk around Old Trafford drifts on to Ferguson's recent bad buys,
Bellion's name often crops up with that of Eric Djemba-Djemba and Kleberson.
While no-one could seriously argue Bellion is in the Ruud van Nistelrooy
class, the Frenchman's goalscoring record is not that bad. He now has five for
the season, only one behind Wayne Rooney and four in front of almost
permanently-injured fellow countryman Louis Saha.
Having gained such an early advantage against a side whose average age did not
even pass 20, United understandably went for the jugular, only to find Almunia
far more difficult to pass than he first appeared to be.
The Spaniard, comfortably the oldest player in the visitors' line-up, produced
an acrobatic effort to keep out John O'Shea's looping header, then did even
better to beat away a Kieran Richardson half-volley after Djourou had nodded a
weak clearance into his path.
Facing a team containing eight full internationals to their none, Arsenal were
not so much overawed as out-experienced.
Their only decent opportunity of the opening period came from a curling
Jermaine Pennant free-kick which Tim Howard did well to keep out with an
excellent one-handed stop.
Wenger has amassed plenty of talent in his youth ranks though, not least van
Persie, whose ability to drift off the central strikers has earned comparison
with Dennis Bergkamp.
It is not just that ability, plus their Dutch heritage, the pair share. They
clearly also have the same vicious streak judging by the elbow van Persie swung
at Richardson a minute after the restart.
The United man reacted with considerable anger, quickly joined by a posse of
team-mates willing to offer support. It was the first test of Halsey's
diplomatic skills and the official probably got it right by handing out yellow
cards to both offenders, although van Persie could count himself quite fortunate
to stay on the field.
It proved to be the prelude for a far more robust second 45 minutes and
Richardson joined van Persie in the lucky lads' club with a woeful injury-time
challenge on the Dutchman which went unpunished as Halsey almost immediately
blew his whistle for the final time.
The one sour note for Ferguson was the sight of Kleberson disappearing down
the tunnel on a stretcher, although a place in the last four, and, more
importantly, another Arsenal scalp, should provide plenty of comfort.
Teams
Man Utd Howard, Phil Neville, Brown, O'Shea, Fortune,
Eagles (Rossi 79), Djemba-Djemba, Miller, Richardson,
Kleberson (Jones 79), Bellion.
Subs Not Used: Ricardo, Pique, Ebanks-Blake.
Booked: Richardson.
Goals: Bellion 1.
Arsenal Almunia, Hoyte, Senderos, Djourou,
Clichy (Karbassiyoon 81), Pennant, Flamini, Larsson (Cregg 72),
Owusu-Abeyie, Lupoli (Smith 68), Van Persie.
Subs Not Used: Simek, Wright.
Booked: Van Persie.
Att: 67,103
Ref: M Halsey (Lancashire).
