Emirates Stalemate

Top quality game at Arsenal on Tuesday night which began at least in warm Spring sunshine for a change. With both sides in need of three points it was good to see an open game. Although for Everton it was certainly a case of no quarter asked or given, the Toffee's up and at 'em approach initially discombobulated Arsenal as they appealed in vain to the officials for protection. However once the Gunners realised that Everton knew exactly where the referee's line was and how to sidle alongside it, they stepped up to the plate and from then on looked most likely to win the game. That they didn't was down to the absence of a top drawer striker. Last season Robin Van Persie earned the three points with a sublime piece of skill to score the only goal of the game. This time around no one was quite good enough to make the most of the few goal scoring opportunities that were created. With the ever impressive Fellaini in the cockpit, Everton also maintained a threat leaving the draw a fair result which reflected the clubs current status in the chasing pack.

Guthree

An all too early trip to probably the best located club in the Blue Square Bet South, Bath City. Fortunately for me the evening kick off was no problem and I was able to set off from Paddington just after lunch to give me plenty of time to wander round the tourist sites. Torrential rain forced me and my travel companion into the pub though and a more traditional pre match warm up of several pints of premium continental lager ensued.

Wandering out onto the magnificent covered terrace in the fading daylight I took in the familiar view of old school floodlights and Somerset countryside. Although I guess it must be expensive to maintain, Twerton Park is a real gem of a ground and hopefully will be around for a few years yet.

Multiple Magpies and a pig

Ironically in terms of results at Twerton Park, Maidenhead had lost all four matches against Bath City but won all three against Team Bath. In short the team wearing black and white stripes won every time. Indeed Bath City are appropriately the only home team I have seen win at Twerton Park as back in 1989 I saw Reading firstly hold and then in a second replay beat tenants Bristol Rovers in an FA Cup tie.

Sadly the result went true to form last night with like Saturday at York Road, the home team deserving the win but being a little flattered by the final scoreline.
Maidenhead carried on where they left off on Saturday, with only Lee Barney missing through injury from the opening day starting line up. After a bright United start though it was Bath who took the lead with their first purposeful attack in the 7th minute when Aaron Brown flew down the left wing and delivered a cross for debutant Kurtis Guthrie to finish with a flying header. Bath manager Adie Britton had clearly captured the zeitgeist by electing to give the Fellaini haired Guthrie his first start but he was forced into his next two decisions as Bath lost two players through injury by the twenty minute mark. This enabled Maidenhead tp exert some pressure but there was no end product for the 20 Magpies strewn behind the goal to cheer, which must have kept the Bath mascot a pig, happy having decided to join us. 

The arrival of the Logician midway through the first half signalled a period of Bath dominance which they capped with a second goal nine minutes ahead of the break. This was a replica of the first, Guthrie going one better than his Moroccan lookalike. This time it was Kerry Morgan's turn (on for the injured Brown) to deliver the cross from the left for Guthrie to head home. 
As the first half drew to a close Maidenhead gave notice of a resurgence when a sharp shot from Paul Semakula drew a great save from Bath goalkeeper Glyn Garner. All in all a bit of a shock to the system after Saturday with Bath showing all the hallmarks of a team used to playing at a higher level.
With nothing to lose in the second half Maidenhead gave it a real good go keeping Bath pushed back in their own penalty area. Derek Duncan was first to threaten with a free kick after eight minutes which Garner tipped over the bar. As with Saturday the substitutions inspired a goal. This time it was Harry Pritchard who made the difference swinging in a corner from the right which was met at the far post by the head of Daniel Brown.
This had the unfortunate effect of rousing the ire of Guthrie again and within two minutes he had a shot well saved by the feet of Billy Lumley. Maidenhead continued to press for an equaliser and the match was decided by a sucker punch of a Bath counter attack. Inevitably the ball again came from the left this time from Morgan's substitute Noah Keats whose ball put Guthrie through on the keeper, the striker making no mistake with his finish to seal his hat trick.
Maidenhead continued to work hard for a way back into the game a close range effort from David Pratt drawing a fine reaction save from Garner and as we wandered off into the teeming rain to find our taxi we were left to reflect on an evening when the clinical finishing off a striker sure to make a name for himself this season ensured United's sorry run against Bath at Twerton Park continued.

Nostalgia for an age yet to come

Nostalgia fest yesterday. With a ticket to the New Order reunion concert in the obscure location of Stepney and a friend travelling down from Scotland to see it I opted for the safe bet of tickets to Arsenal's 125th birthday and an easy day in London.

The day hopefully set the seal on the Arsenalisation of the new ground which has now become a cross between a museum and a football theme park. Putting the dates of trophy wins around the stadium was the first stage in removing posterity from the current squad as the achievements of their predecessors lurked ever larger in the new environment. The dates also hang like something of an albatross round the club's neck, a constant reminder of the growing time since the last trophy. I really don't like the burgeoning trend of football statuary, and feel that people should be only commemorated in this way once they have shuffled off their mortal coil.

Certainly the fact that I was off to see arch modernists New Order concentrated the mind on  the future and led me to ponder what the Gunners great visionary Herbert Chapman would have thought. Although a listed building now the old Highbury ground was state of the art when it was built and the worry is that the futuristic nature of the new ground may be strangled by the past.

The game itself long looked like it would be overshadowed by the pre match celebrations, the nadir of which was MC Tom Watt's babbling inability to turn his stream of consciousness into a question for the legends he introduced before kick off, most of whom would have been at the game anyway in a PR/media role. At least "Good Old Arsenal" replaced "The Wonder of You" as the warm up music and the embarrassing call and response of the team line ups was dropped. Unfortunately I guess the club is contractually obliged to play the indie rock dirge of the Premier League anthem.

Still it was good that Everton with their pleasingly simplistic all blue kit and unbroken top division status (only beaten by Arsenal), were the opposition particularly as despite their lowly position manager Davie Moyes set out to win the game. Early on the unusual Arsenal defence with centre backs filling the wide roles looked as though it might be undone by the powerful wing play of the likes of Leighton Baines and Seamus Coleman. This focus on attack forced the blue defence up the pitch and Arsenal had ample opportunity to exploit the high line only for Gervinho (again) and Theo Walcott to be especially profligate when through on goal.

As the game wore on Everton's confidence was symbolised by the way Marouane Fellaini played progressively further up the pitch but the game was won with a moment of quality to reflect the historic occasion. Alex Song's delightful pass found Robin Van Persie to fire home and take everyone's breath away with a strike which was executed when the Dutchman was fully airborne, a move that was ripe to end in farce perfectly carried out with a volley that rocketed into the back of the net. As usual any hope that Arsenal would quietly see out the win were in vain as Everton went for broke, but there was to be no match for Van Persie's coup de grace so Arsenal completed their comeback from their early season turmoil with a win that lifted them into the top four.

If Van Persie stays fit maybe this season will see the Emirates see silverware for the first time, the quality is evidently there to achieve it.

Actively Passive

Despite many viewings and a detailed explanation from a Gooner work colleague I am still at a loss to understand why Everton's goal was allowed to stand at the Arsenal on Tuesday night.  However in a way this made the evening by cranking up the atmosphere and forcing the game to turn into a right battle between two determined teams with the skill to match.  Unfortunately Arsenal's lack of a solid 20 goal a season striker again told against them as countless chances went begging until the introduction of Bendtner and Arshavin, coupled with a change to 4-4-2 and last melted the Toffee defence and instigated a swift comeback to overturn the deficit and claim the points.
Sincerely hope Everton continue to prosper under David Moyes, if only he had the funds to add two or three players to turn them into a consistent top six outfit.  Also glad to see that Marouane Fellaini is as cool as mo' fo' live as he is on the small screen.