Last gasp penalty helps Arsenal edge past Huddersfield Town
A late penalty kick from Cesc Fabregas helped ten-man Arsenal move into the fifth round of the FA Cup as they beat Huddersfield Town 2-1 on Sunday. The League One team would consider themselves unlucky not to earn a replay after a gutsy performance at the
Emirates Stadium.
Arsene Wenger once again reshuffled his squad as the Gunners played their ninth match this month. http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Abou-Diaby-c3453 returned to the lineup after long injury layoffs, as the Gunners put up a strong side for this encounter.
The Gunners started positively in the early minutes of the game and dominated possession. The hosts threatened the opposition goal on a number of occasions in the first half. In the 21st minute Nicklas Bendtner’s deflected shot off Peter Clarke
found the back off the net to give the Gunners a well deserved lead.
At that point it seemed as if Arsenal might just follow up with a goal spree but the Terriers didn’t give up. The hosts nearly conceded moments later when Anthony Pilkington crossed from the right but Alan Lee failed to connect the shot. Soon after the pair
threatened again, but this time Pilkington’s low shot went just beyond the far post.
Arsenal didn’t panic under pressure as their counter attacking play had class written all over it. However, the home side suffered a huge blow just before half time, when the star of their season so far http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Samir-Nasri-c32360 pulled his hamstring and was immediately
replaced by Thomas Rosicky. The fans will hope that the injury is not serious enough to keep him out for a long time, as the Gunners have a number of key fixtures in the coming weeks.
The Frenchman’s departure didn’t do Arsenal’s confidence any good as they nearly conceded twice before the break. Pilkington headed just wide followed by Joey Gudjonsson’s wayward cross. The Gunners misery was further compounded when Sebastien Squillaci
was shown a straight red card by referee Mark Clattenburg. Squillaci was penalised for a cynical challenge on Jack Hunt, as the youngster ran past three Arsenal players at the stroke of half time.
With very limited defensive options on the bench, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Andrei-Arshavin-c5771 made
an important intervention to prevent Gudjonsson from pulling the trigger form few yards out.
Almunia had to make two brilliant saves to deny Huddersfield a clear scoring opportunity. A goal looked inevitable now as the Terriers were growing in confidence with each passing minute. http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Lee-c21860 eventually headed a powerful delivery from Pilkington’s corner
to equalise in the 66th minute.
Wenger quickly responded by replacing Diaby with skipper Cesc Fabregas, whose inclusion made a real difference in midfield, as the Huddersfield players looked out of sorts after scoring.
In the 86th minute Bendtner was brought down in the box by Jamie McCombe and Arsenal were awarded a penalty. Fabregas calmly placed his shot into back of the net as the Spaniard clinched another late winner for the Gunners. Arsenal held on for
a few nervy minutes to seal their passage into the next round where they will play Leyton Oreint
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