Arsenal (2) 5 - 1 (0) Farnborough Town
Highbury (relocated AWAY game), Saturday 25th January 2003
FA Cup 4th round
Arsenal started with a stronger line-up than some of us had anticipated, and continued to show the non-League visitors
plenty of respect when the substitutions (after the game was
as good as won) were all first team regulars.
Taylor
Lauren Campbell Cygan Gio
Toure (Wiltord) Vieira Parlour Pires (Bergkamp)
Kanu (Edu) Jeffers
Farnborough started strong in defence, and although Arsenal dominated the first 20 minutes we were mainly restricted to half-chances from afar. Then, from a van Bronckhorst corner from the right, Campbell powered in a header from the 6 yard box and things started to get a whole lot easier.
Pires and Toure combined 4 minutes later to set up the second
for Jeffers, whose deft touch from just outside the 6 yard line
slipped the ball between keeper and defender.
Boro had a go, but not long after the second goal the game was effectively killed off when the ref sent one of their defenders off (actually a striker playing out of position). Parlour's through ball had set Jeffers racing clear, and he was definitely held back. The ref obviously felt he had no choice but to send the guy off but he was a little behind the play and maybe the linesman could have advised him that actually the ball was running pretty close to the keeper. Still, hard decision for the ref who is after all supposed to apply the rules fairly without regard to the fact that one team is a hundred places below the other in the league. So I felt a bit sorry for him as the whole ground slagged him off in song!
We didn't get the third till 25 minutes into the second half. Gio had a great game going forward (didn't have a lot else to do). His cross found Jeffers (who'd been rather unfairly booed by the Boro fans since the red card) unmarked practically under the crossbar for a free and easy header.
Then Farnboruough got their consolation goal thanks largely to
Pascal Cygan, who showed no strenght whatsoever as he allowed Rocky Baptiste to get goal side of him and latch onto a through ball. Taylor did well in the one-on-one, saving with his hands as the ball went under his body. But full credit to Baptiste for following in and getting a foot on the ball before Taylor could get hold of it again.
Bergkamp got the 4th, another easy one created by a superb Gio cross from the left. And Lauren finished the scoring with 10 minutes to go when Parlour's chip from the right touchline sent him running towards goal. He stepped inside to go round a defender and chipped it in from 10 yards or so.
So, as easy as it ought to be. Could have been more if not for
Boro's defender Annon who I think made 4 goal-line clearances.
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