Arsenal FA Cup Quarter Final Home Won 2 – 1, Bl**dy Amazing!
If they were taking a wider view of the season, neither Southampton nor Arsenal would have wanted an Easter cup tie, but, whereas the Gunners were viewing it as an irrelevant irritation before a European game, Saints needed a win to keep their long unbeaten run intact. Team selections tended to support that view, anyway, as the Arsenal squad system was called into play whereas Saints were only without Downes (suspended, again) and Stephens (doesn’t play in cup matches) plus Charles, benched after a difficult international week – it all led to surprise returns for Stewart and Scienza. A Premier League elite squad is still pretty tasty, of course, and you feared for our team as the visitors mounted a five man press in the opening seconds. Southampton weren’t fazed and were happy to play it their own way, with Scienza and Fellows causing trouble down the flanks, where, in truth, schoolboy sensation Downing and scourge-of-the-Saints Martinelli were supposed to wreak havoc. Scienza managed to break clear after a Peretz punt and chose to take the ball round the keeper but Mosquera was quick to get back to clear. Never mind, as a diagonal run by Scienza seemed to pull the visiting defence out of shape; Bree’s cross should still have been comfortably headed clear by White, somehow he managed to miss it completely instead and Stewart was able to compose himself before slottting the ball past Kepa. Hardwood-Bellis had managed to head an apparently goal-bound shot out of harm’s way and we still had a number of Arsenal’s notoriously fiendish corners to deal with, but the first half was about as good as anyone could have hoped. The second period was going that way as well, and would have been even better if Fellows hadn’t blazed over a fine opportunity or had Scienza’s shot found the net instead of the bar, with Kepa beaten. With a couple of Arsenal changes and no activity from our bench , Saints then began to look tired, and it may have been tiredness that led to a sloppy equaliser when Bragg failed to cover Havertz with Bree asleep somewhere; Havertz’s cross was tucked away by Gyokeres. Off went Bragg (who had otherwise done a great job), Stewart and Scienza, and on came Charles, Larin and Edozie. Fears that Arsenal would now blow Southampton resistance away were unfounded but clearly neither side wanted extra time. There are a couple of ways to avoid that, and Saints chose the better one: a delightful move down the right finished with a strong run by Fellows, a neat pass and just as neat a finish by Charles. The four minutes of normal time and an expanding six added were marked by cheers for every missplaced pass and every off target Arsenal shot, and every Peretz save, no matter how mundane, before it was Saturday party night in Southampton.
Four man of the match contenders to choose from this time as they all had a case on a night when no-one let us down.
3. Ryan Manning. Another solid performance marred only by a caution that will lead to a cup suspension.
13. Leo Scienza, forgiven for the 1:1 miss because of a strong game overall.
20. The other of our players to be cautioned (one for the team!), but tactically his most disciplined game of the season.
48. Cameron Bragg. Bree’s absence left him in an impossible position for the Arsenal goal.
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