Arsenal versus Birmingham City – Carling Cup Final: First half Review (Part 1)
The Carling Cup final between Arsenal and Birmingham City kicked off in a fine fashion at the Wembley Stadium as the Gunners started the first half in ascendency. The men in red and white pressed onwards but they were soon disposed by Alex McLeish’s team
as Birmingham embarked on a counter attack. The Blues were wasteful with the possession of the ball as http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Lee-c21860 Bowyer’s stray pass found Jack Wilshire’s feet in the 2nd minute of the match.
Birmingham City proved to be a real goal threat in the 3rd minute of the first half as Bowyer was played in by http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Barry-Ferguson-c7311. The former Newcastle United player nicked the ball past the onrushing Wojech Szczesny but he was brought down by the
Polish international goalkeeper’s late challenge.
However, Arsenal was bailed out of trouble as the linesman on the far side flagged for an offside on Bowyer. For a minute, it looked like a certain penalty for Alex McLeish’s men but the referee soon spotted the offside flag and gave Arsenal a well deserved
free kick.
Arsenal took heed from Bowyer’s intelligible run and initiated an offensive move of its own but Tomasz Rosicky was wayward with his cross field ball towards http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Bacary-Sagna-c7148 as the ball went out of play for a Birmingham City throw inn.
In the 7th minute of the match, Jack Wilshire played in http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Robin-van-Persie-c31380 in behind the Arsenal defense but Craig Gardener was on hand to man-mark the Dutchman’s run as the former Eredivisie striker fired the ball wide.
In the 8th minute of the encounter, Arsenal almost broke the deadlock with a superb passing move inside the Birmingham penalty area. It was Nasri who played in Arshavin. The Russian winger unleashed a powerful drive on towards Ben Foster’s goal
but the former Manchester United goalie showcased remarkable reflexes to kick the ball away as the score line remained at 0-0.
In the 9th minute, Arsene Wegner’s boys pressurized the Birmingham defense once again as http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Johan-Djourou-c18779 missed a golden opportunity to head Arsenal in front following his wayward header from Van Persie’s corner kick.
In the 13th minute of the match, Rosicky and Arshavin combined yet again to a great effect as the former played in the latter with a wonderfully lofted pass but http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Liam-Ridgewell-c22240 showed tremendous defensive insight as he cleared the ball before it
reached the speedy Russian forward.
In the 15th minute, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Ben-Foster-c7445, the shot was wayward as the referee pointed towards
a Birmingham City goal kick.
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