{"id":3987,"date":"2021-09-22T23:29:50","date_gmt":"2021-09-22T22:29:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/?p=3987"},"modified":"2021-09-25T10:08:31","modified_gmt":"2021-09-25T09:08:31","slug":"blind-mans-bluff-the-carabao-cup-tie-with-wimbledon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/?p=3987","title":{"rendered":"Blind man&#8217;s bluff &#8211; the Carabao Cup tie with Wimbledon"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"getty embed image\" style=\"background-color:#fff;display:inline-block;font-family:Roboto,sans-serif;color:#a7a7a7;font-size:11px;width:100%;max-width:473px;\" align=\"center\"><div style=\"padding:0;margin:0;text-align:left;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/1341929743\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"color:#a7a7a7;text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal !important;border:none;display:inline-block;\" rel=\"noopener\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><\/div><div style=\"overflow:hidden;position:relative;height:0;padding:125.5814% 0 0 0;width:100%;\"><iframe src=\"\/\/embed.gettyimages.com\/embed\/1341929743?et=8b-vQNBJTXJpIN3AiB_JRw&amp;tld=com&amp;sig=YuI-xYE_Qeu_bCOiYMjPsH1gx4sn3_KcbvO3P9bACoI=&amp;caption=true&amp;ver=1\" scrolling=\"no\" style=\"display:inline-block;position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;margin:0;\" width=\"473\" height=\"594\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>When this game was scheduled it was expected to be shown here in the US on ESPN+, which would have made fine lunchtime watching on the West coast.  Alas, it was not to be, and so this report is brought to you, in the main, by the fine voices of the Arsenal commentary squad&#8230;whose names I failed to get at the start or the end of the match.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Needless to say it is not the optimal way to &#8220;watch&#8221; a match.  Given the ongoing attention to various &#8220;colorful&#8221; details of the clubs, the players, the coaches, and the fans, the reportage of the playing of the game was somewhat lacking.  Still, I managed to compile 4 pages of notes while listening, and I&#8217;ll mix in overall impressions with moments from the commentary team.  Hopefully I&#8217;ll be able to create a semi-vivid picture of the game.  And for those of you who went to the game, even if you were held up by Picadilly line works issues, please add your commentaries in the drinks below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We started the game in a 4-3-3:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">Leno<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">Cedric &#8212; Holding &#8212; Mar\u00ed &#8212; Tavares<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">Lokonga &#8212; Partey &#8212; AMN<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">Gabi &#8212; Laca (c) &#8212; Nketiah<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Apparently we started out well, dominating the opening exchanges only giving Wimbledon rare chances on the break for the first half hour.  We moved the ball quickly up the field, and across it, with Gabi being particularly active; at one point he started a move for Cedric to cross for Nketiah, only to see the end product be a goal kick.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One such move led to our first goal, as Gabi interplayed with his teammates across the box then was brought down by Guinness-Walker in the 10th minute.  Captain Laca stepped up and sent Tzanev the wrong way, sticking the ball to the keeper&#8217;s left, in the bottom corner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Arsenal 1-0 Wimbledon<\/strong> (Laca, 10&#8242;)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>AMN, Lokonga, and Partey were passing in a number of triangles, and continued to move the ball quickly from defense to offense, often in breaks of 4-6 players, only to see the ball at the end blocked, intercepted, or out for a corner.  But Wimbledon were remaining dangerous on the break as well; in the 18th minute Capitola Rob had to head over the bar a Wimbledon cross after they broke upfield, though it ended with Gabi on the turf after clearing the ball and getting caught.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On 23 minutes Eddie tried an overhead kick (see photo above) after some good exchanges by the front six, and missed; he was nearly booked for it, apparently, though it&#8217;s clear the danger to the Wimbledon player might have been the latter&#8217;s own fault.  Lokonga flashed a shot over the bar from a corner on 26 minutes&#8230;perhaps his and Eddie&#8217;s audacity was just part and parcel of Arsenal enjoying themselves on the pitch on the half hour.  McCormick was shown the yellow card for a foul on Gabi, who took some time and treatment before he was up again to play on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Arsenal continued to defend what breaks Wimbledon were able to muster and Wimbledon enjoyed more of the ball as the second third of the match began.  Nonetheless we were still pressuring them, and in the 38th minute had a shot from Cedric saved for a corner after a good move involving Gabi and Laca.  Gabi then had his shot from that corner put behind for another, thought that came to nothing as Cedric hit the first defender&#8230;sigh.  A later corner to the near post was nearly flicked in by Nketiah, and led to a freekick by Gabi on 41, which was disappointingly wasted.  In one minute of added time Heneghan was booked for fouling Eddie; this was followed by a shot from Tavares that was blocked, then a corner, which was headed over by Laca.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Arsenal 1-0 Wimbledon<\/strong> (Halftime)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The halftime commentary left our two announcers and went to the studio, though before they left they did say AMN had played a good game at center mid for the first half, though he was a bit sloppy, and raised some questions about his passing range.  They praised Nuno for his strength and direct running, and passing.  They also acknowledged that the game must not be streaming worldwide as they had so few Twitter comments\/questions\/whatever they use to drum up interest in their halftime festivities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The first quarter of an hour of the second half was more to Wimbledon&#8217;s liking than Arsenal&#8217;s, especially after they substituted Pressley for Palmer up front.  He was able to take advantage of Arsenal sloppiness for a couple half-chances, and the voices of the Wimbledon faithful were raised high and proud in the evening sky.  In truth, both sets of fans could be heard throughout the game, giving vociferous evidence of their value in this post-Covid season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On 59 minutes Thomas hit a driving shot low to their keeper&#8217;s left, and Tzanev got down well to save, but the corner led to nothing.  It was Thomas&#8217;s last action as he was replaced a minute later by ESR, even as Mebude replaced McCormick for the visitors.  Mebude was quickly involved in a break for Wimbledon, with Pressley running at our defense before passing to Mebude, only to have the pass cut out for a corner (that, like all their other corners, led to nothing).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Again and again Wimbledon looked like they would be dangerous on the break, only to have their moves snuffed out by the Arsenal defense&#8230;who turned nice, quick movement into breaks of their own.  A good run by Gabi into the box brought us another corner; Nuno blasted his shot over the bar after Mar\u00ed&#8217;s headed ball from the corner was saved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On 69 minutes Wimbledon threw on their last sub, Chislett for Rudoni, in an effort to get their left wing juiced up to push for an equalizer.  Arsenal started putting higher and higher pressure on their goal, leading to a wasted corner after some fine play back and forth across the box.  Saka replaced Gabi (big clap for Gabi) in the 76th minute, and very shortly ESR scored our second after interplay with Tavares, Laca, and Saka.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Arsenal 2-0 Wimbledon<\/strong> (ESR, 77&#8242;)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Wimbledon must have drooped at that point; who wouldn&#8217;t have?  To their credit they fought on, blocking a Lokonga shot in the 80th minute.  However, Arsenal recycled the ball, finishing with passes from Saka to Cedric to Eddie&#8230;who flicked in a sumptuous goal with his off foot, if I understood rightly.  The goal of the game, the announcers implied.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Arsenal 3-0 Wimbledon<\/strong> (Eddie, 80&#8242;)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That was Eddie&#8217;s last meaningful contribution to the game, as he was replaced by Balogun in the 84th minute.  The game largely petered out after the third goal, though the commentators pointed out Wimbledon was still doing their best, and their fans were up on their feet to get them going.  In the 90th minute Saka drove the ball downfield and got a good shot away, but it was just wide left.  Apparently he was very dangerous after coming on, as one might expect.  He had the final shot in the game, after running at their defense and playing a 1-2 with Laca; Saka&#8217;s powerful shot to the upper right corner was well saved by Tzanev.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And the whistle sounded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We get to the next round of the Carabao Cup (26-27 October), when we&#8217;ll play Leeds United at THOF.  Rumor has it tonight&#8217;s game will be up later on the .Pravda, though I wouldn&#8217;t put real money on a bet about it.  Similar rumors abound about it being on ESPN+ on demand after 24 hours; my feelings about that are similar, with respect to a punt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I do hope anyone who was there (ahem, C100) can flesh out the above with more\/better information.  It&#8217;s a really bad way to enjoy a football match.  Thanks for reading!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Embed from Getty Images When this game was scheduled it was expected to be shown here in the US on ESPN+, which would have made fine lunchtime watching on the West coast. Alas, it was not to be, and so this report is brought to you, in the main, by the fine voices of the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[6],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3987"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3987"}],"version-history":[{"count":17,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3987\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4005,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3987\/revisions\/4005"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3987"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3987"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3987"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}