Saturday 16 October 2010

Go somewhere expecting nothing, getting nothing, but still feeling like you got something

If that makes sense at all.

It's a great feeling - losing but still feeling like you got something out of the game. A moral victory, some would call it. We went there expecting to be beat, and juding on recent Blues performances, we were expecting to be beat by about 4 or 5. As it were, we were the ones that went a goal up, and we were the ones who created the most chances in the first half.

Of course, Arsenal passed it about in their lovely style. They owned much of the first half, but something everyone noticed about them - when they go on the attack, the run about 20 yards... then stop. And look for a player to pass to. They did this pretty much every attack they went on. Had they actually carried on, they would have gone on to score probably 4 or 5. As it were, they stopped to look for a man, which allowed our defence to get back and stop the threat.

Blues went ahead just after half an hour had passed - Fahey put in a ball which found the head - yes, the head - of Nikola Zigic... and into the back of the Arsenal net. The 2,000 odd Brummies went absolutely mental. It was a brilliant feeling, and you could see the team were chuffed to bits for Zigic.


That ten minutes was fun while it lasted, though, as (same old) Arsenal (always cheating) were awarded a penalty under dubious circumstances - hold on... de ja vu .. martin atkinson .. penalty .. dubious circumstances.. anyway, so Chamakh fell over thin and and Samir Nasri converted. Arsenal back in the game.

If Mr. Wenger gets annoyed at players, then he should be annoyed at his own. Ridgewell gets fouled by Nasri... Nasri kicks him. Kicks him. Right in front of the ref and the linesman too. And gets a yellow card. Double standards springs to mind.

The turn of the half saw another Arsenal goal. For an Arsenal fan, it was a wonder to watch; Chamahk, literally, did a pirouette and then stuck the ball in the back of the net. For the travelling fans and the visiting team, it was a nightmare. To concede so early on was a kick in the teeth, and unfortunately we just couldn't get back from it. Arsenal dominated the rest of the half, and another ironic twist to the tale saw Jack Wilshere - small person - totally take out Nikola Zigic - very tall person - and received a straight red card for his troubles. Even more surprisingly, Mr. Wenger accepted it was a red card. Some Arsenal fans though did not -this is why I pointed out the size difference. It takes a lot for Zigic to go down seeing as he is so tall: if Wilshere didn't take him out, what did? Thin air? No thank you.

A spirited performance by Blues and it should give them confidence going into the next game. After all, it's no bad thing to only lose 2-1 at Arsenal - just asked Blackpool.
Full Time: Arsenal 2-1 Birmingham City

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