WILTORD STRIKE SENDS DEPLETED GUNNERS IN TO ROUND FOUR
Carlisle 0 Arsenal 1
FIFTY YEARS AGO to the day Carlisle recorded one of the best results in their history - a goalless cup draw at Highbury. Half a century later they perhaps deserved at least to emulate that scoreline this afternoon after a frantic, simmering, at times downright bad-mannered cup tie at Brunton Park. That says much about the fragility of this Arsenal side which has struggled to win away all season.
The Gunners lie 90 places above Carlisle, the worst side in the Football League, but they had to thank the guile and the precision of Sylvain Wiltord whose 22nd minute strike was all that separated the teams at the final whistle. In the end, however, the match will not be remembered for Wiltord's strike but for the first-half bust-up which saw Carlisle's Richard Prokas launch a two-footed assault on Patrick Vieira.
It brought an irate Arsenal manager down to the touchline to remonstrate with the assistant referee as players squared up against each other in what was an explosive flashpoint. The mystery was that the only man who seemed to miss the incident was experienced referee Stephen Lodge, who didn't even give a freekick though he booked Arsenal's Argentinian defender Nelson Vivas for his protests.
It was always going to be a match to curdle the blood as the Cumbrians utilised a band of steel to combat Arsenal's superior style. There was such a cavernous gulf between the teams in football terms that commitment was Carlisle's one hope. After all, Dennis Bergkamp, to name but one in the Arsenal line-up, comfortably earns more than twice as much in a week as the entire Carlisle playing staff.
Ninety places separated the clubs at either end of the Football league. And Carlisle, the club which has escaped relegation to the Conference on the last day of the past two seasons, already look doomed six points adrift at the bottom of the third division. This week, however, there was salvation rather than insurrection in the hearts of the Brunton Park supporters with the news that the eight-year reign of Michael Knighton - the man they blame for all the club's woes - had sold out to a Gibraltar-based investment company.
It remains to be seen whether Knighton has gone for good. His son Mark is on the new board and talk abounds that Knighton, who famously ball-juggled in front of the Stretford End when attempting to buy Manchester United 14 years ago, retains links with the new owners. One suggestion is that the plan of the new owners is to merge the club with Clydebank and play in the Scottish League next season. Whatever, Carlisle had much to fight for in front of 15,300 supporters and they began with a spring in their stride which matched the crispness of the Cumbrian air.
Manager Ian Atkins' game-plan was clearly to deny Arsenal space, to close down Vieira at all cost and hit the Gunners on the break. All very well for a Premiership side - not so easy for the worst side in the Football League. Still, it is testimony to their spirit that they produced a series of chances in the first-half which came close to shocking the Gunners. The pity was that they all fell to striker Ian Stevens, who on the afternoon gave the impression he could not have hit the impressive stand which so drained Carlisle's finances.
So it was that the world of the Cumbrians began to crumble in the 22nd minute - and almost inevitably it was Vieira at the heart of the action. He burst forward with that familiar loping run deep into the heart of Carlisle's static midfield. The pass he unleashed was as precise as it was punishing to defenders without the vision and the pace required at the top level. And it fell sweetly into the path of countryman Wiltord who, without breaking stride, turned neatly to glide the ball with his right foot past Glennon from 18 yards. One-nil to the Arsenal and we waited for the floodgates to open.
Instead we got that unsavoury incident in the 28th minute, the type which seems to follow Arsenal wherever they go, whether it be of their making or not. Desperate to get back into the match Prokas lunged into several ferocious midfield tackles, one of which felled Vieira and appeared to be of the reckless over-the-top two-footed variety. The Arsenal players certainly thought so and Nelson Vivas was handed the yellow card by referee Stephen Lodge for his protestations as players from both sides squared up to each other.
Wenger also remonstrated angrily with the assistant referee on the touchline as the flashpoint threatened to get out of hand. Strangely, however, Mr Lodge saw nothing wrong with the tackle and Prokas didn't receive a warning, while Vieira returned gingerly to the action. The simmering undercurrent of unpleasantness continued at the start of the second-half when Arsenal's Ashley Cole squared up to Mark Birch and both received a lecture from the referee.
Arsenal, however, should have extended their lead in the 50th minute when Fredrik Ljungberg met a quite exquisite through-ball from Robert Pires only to see his shot saved by the legs of Glennon. Not content with that the sprightly Carlisle goalkeeper rose to dive to his left to palm away a thunderous shot on the rebound from Wiltord. Five minutes later Glennon was again the hero, throwing himself twice at the feet of Bergkamp to keep the Cumbrian hopes alive.
And so Arsenal at last began to dominate, though Carlisle should receive much credit for their effort. Before the game Wenger had said that cup ties such as these were akin to road crashes. "You just hope you don't get hit," he said. Today he didn't, but it was a close call.
TEAMS
Carlisle: Glennon, Whitehead, Darby, Winstanley, Birch, Hemmings, Connelly, Soley, Prokas, Dobie, Stevens. Subs: Heggs, Halliday, Hore, Thwaites, Inglis.
Arsenal: Manninger, Dixon, Stepanovs, Vivas, Cole, Parlour, Vieira, Ljungberg, Pires, Bergkamp, Wiltord. Subs: Silvinho, Malz, Danilevicius, Lukic, Halls.
Referee: S Lodge (Barnsley)
POST MATCH QUOTES
Arsene Wenger has claimed an horrific tackle by Carlisle midfielder Richard Prokas could have wrecked Patrick Vieira's career. The Arsenal boss was seething after the two-footed lunge in the first half, which provoked a flare-up between both sets of players and saw Wenger remonstrating on the touchline, went unpunished by referee Steven Lodge.
"I can show you his shin protector which is broken and full of blood," said Wenger after Arsenal had eased passed the steely Cumbrians 1-0 to take their place in the fourth round. I believe it was a very bad tackle and it was not punished. Vieira is such an important man in the midfield for Arsenal that I am scared some people go out just to try to do him. It happened last week at Charlton when a player was not punished and it happened again today."
"Every player can react sometimes in a stupid way and you have to forgive that. But on the other hand a player can end his career with that tackle." Wenger, however, praised Vieira, who carried on after treatment, for keeping his composure after an incident which saw defender Nelson Vivas booked for his animated protests.
"Vieira didn't react but it was not easy. I thought things could go a bad way but he controlled himself well. When you are a player you expect to be kicked but you expect as well to be protected. Maybe the referee didn't see it happen today but it has happened two or three times on the trot and you get fed up with it."
Carlisle boss Ian Atkins said of the controversial tackle: "That was two very committed players going for the ball and when that happens someone sometimes gets hurt."
Atkins however believed his side could have snatched glory if striker Ian Stevens had taken just one of a hat-trick of golden opportunities. "If he had scored just one then who knows what might have happened. Unfortunately they all fell to Stevens who has been out for three weeks and has only had four days training. I'm disappointed because I don't like losing."
Atkins now waits to learn of his own future when he meets the new owners of Carlisle on Monday. "If they want me I will be seeking assurances that resources will be made available to take this club away from the bottom of the league," he said.
Wily Wiltord helps Arsenal maintain the class divide
By Colin Malam (Filed: 06/01/2001)
Carlisle (0) Arsenal (1) 1
THERE WAS never much chance of an upset at Brunton Park, where French international Sylvain Wiltord survived the culture shock of a trip to darkest Cumbria and scored the first-half goal that put Arsenal into the fourth round.
Carlisle worked hard enough to make the 90-place gap between the teams look much smaller, but the Third Division's rock-bottom club failed to take what few chances they made against the second-best team in the Premiership.
The Gunners ought to have won more comfortably but were defied regularly by Matty Glennon, the goalkeeper Carlisle have had on loan from Bolton since November.
Arsenal's patched-up defence often looked vulnerable, but they managed to combine enough toughness with their vastly superior skill to ensure that their FA Cup ambitions were not undermined by their disappointing away form in the Premiership.
The tie was played against a background of accusation and rumour about Carlisle's change of ownership. For a start, yesterday morning's edition of The Scotsman had made unflattering claims about the business dealings of Steve Brown, the public face of Mam Carr, the Gibraltar-based consortium who were understood to have bought out the club's controversial owner, Michael Knighton, for an undisclosed sum.
Meanwhile, suspicious locals in Carlisle, fearful that they might not have seen the back of Knighton after all, were said to be linking Mam Carr, rightly or wrongly, with the fact that the Christian names of the former chairman, his wife and children are Michael and Mark, Chevonne and Rosemary and Rory. Mark, in fact, is still on the club's board of directors.
But all this, and the speculation about a merger with Clydebank, the replacement of manager Ian Atkins with former Rangers player Ian McCall and a switch to Scottish football, was soon put aside as Carlisle found themselves having to resist a determined start by an Arsenal team seemingly unaffected by the absence of eight injured first-teamers.
Twice in the first five minutes Glennon had to save from Dennis Bergkamp, returning after injury. First, he caught the Dutch international's 25-yard free-kick easily enough, then he dived to hold his curling shot from the left.
Even so, the home side might easily have taken the lead once they had forced their distinguished visitors back.
Striker Ian Stevens was put clean through by midfielder Richard Prokas after 11 minutes, but seemed so surprised that he failed even to control the ball. Stevens did much better seven minutes later, when he beat Alex Manninger to the pass Scott Dobie angled cleverly behind the Arsenal defence, but was able only to stab the ball wide of the near post.
The huge gulf in class between the sides was soon underlined. With 22 minutes on the clock, Patrick Vieira threaded the perfect pass through Carlisle's defence for his fellow French international, Wiltord, to take the ball in his stride and stroke it clinically into the bottom corner from the edge of the penalty area.
Going behind seemed to incense Prokas so much that, five minutes later, he was clearly guilty of a dreadful two-footed tackle on Vieira. Amazingly, the referee, Stephen Lodge, who was close to the incident, did not even blow for a foul.
Then, when Bergkamp and, more violently, Nelson Vivas took matters into their own hands, Lodge added insult to injury by booking only the little Argentine.
Freddie Ljungberg ought to have settled the contest in Arsenal's favour five minutes into the second half but the Swedish international failed to beat Glennon from 12 yards after being put clear by Robert Pires.
The rebound found its way out to Wiltord, only for the Carlisle goalkeeper to complete a fine double save by blocking the Frenchman's shot with his legs.
Rapidly emerging as the man of the match, Glennon also denied Bergkamp when the Arsenal striker closed in on goal for shot. With the second half degenerating into a succession of bookings and substitutions, goalmouth action became rare.
Wiltord lashed one shot into the side-netting and Ray Parlour's head saved Manninger from being embarrassed by a well-struck Tony Hemmings free-kick. But that was about that.
Telegraph
Wenger's side thankful for FA Cup victory
By Malcolm Folley
Carlisle 0 - 1 Arsenal
Should Arsenal eventually book their passage across the Severn Bridge to the Millennium Stadium in May, they will remember without affection an uncomfortable afternoon in Carlisle.
Carlisle's Scott Dobie takes on Arsenal star Nelson Vivas
(BenRadford/Allsport)
Embarrassingly, the team placed second in the Premiership were unable to buy themselves breathing space against a club anchored at the bottom of the Football League and facing a desperately uncertain future.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger doubtlessly warned his foreign stars that days like this require steel in the soul as well as skill. He was not mistaken.
But Wenger was entitled to be incensed when Arsenal playmaker Patrick Vieira was the victim of an appalling, studs-up tackle by Richard Prokas in the 28th minute.
Wenger left the dug-out to voice his disgust as Vieira was being treated. His fury was shared by a posse of Arsenal players, including Dennis Bergkamp, Sylvain Wiltord, Nelson Vivas and Ray Parlour.
Referee Steve Lodge had missed the tackle, but he received no assistance from his assistants. Lodge, eventually, cautioned Vivas for taking his protest too far. By then, Arsenal had scored what proved to be the match-winner.
Vieira, inevitably, threaded the ball through for £13million striker Wiltord to stroke a right-footed shot past the otherwise flawless Carlisle goalkeeper, Matty Glennon, in the 22nd minute. Those 2,000-odd fans who travelled from north London sat back and awaited a massacre.
It never came. Not only because Glennon made a sequence of superb saves from Freddie Ljungberg and Bergkamp, but also because of the fierce commitment of a Carlisle team probably playing their last game under the management of Ian Atkins.
These are mysterious times at Brunton Park. To all intense and purposes Michael Knighton sold his controlling interest in Carlisle for £700,000 in midweek to a Gibraltar-based consortium represented by Stephen Brown and David Low.
Knighton these days is a much vilified figure in Carlisle after almost nine years of eccentric ownership. He was last sighted at Brunton Park behind dark glasses in the unfinished hospitality boxes in the East Stand at a match earlier this season.
His forecast that he would make Carlisle a force in European football when he bought the club, just three years after he almost acquired Manchester United for £10m, has long been a hollow joke in these parts.
For the past two seasons they have had to wait until the last day of the season before been assured of retaining their league status.
On Saturday Jimmy Glass, a symbol of Carlisle's perpetual struggle, made a guest appearance. But not even the presence of the keeper whose goal kept Carlisle in the League in 1998 could erase suspicions that the club is still in desperate straits.
With the arrival of Brown and Low, whose background is across the nearby border, there is again a fear that Carlisle may be amalgamated with Clydebank, a story that was given high currency a few years ago.
Certainly, Brown and Low resisted the opportunity to give Atkins a vote of confidence when they moved into office in midweek.
But the Carlisle supporters, swollen from 2,000 to a capacity 15,000 Saturday, registered their own belief in their manager by consistently chanting his name. The smart money in Cumbria is on former Clydebank manager Ian McCall being summoned sooner rather than later to replace Atkins.
But Atkins must have been proud of his team, should this have been his swan-song. Any one of the Arsenal team had a greater value than the price placed on Carlisle FC last week.
Bergkamp's salary would unquestionably be more than Carlisle's annual wage bill of £900,000.
Yet Arsenal will have been relieved to have returned south, still in the Cup and still all in one piece.
Had Carlisle striker Ian Stevens shown any composure at all, Arsenal might have been awaiting a replay. On three occasions Stevens evaded the Arsenal defence, but Carlisle's top scorer had a day to forget.
If on another occasion Glass was the on-loan keeper who stole the headlines, Glennon was entitled to his moment in the spotlight Saturday. On-loan from Bolton, he performed with courage and no mean skill.
soccernet
Following the media hype surrounding the Gunners marginal victory over the struggling Cumbrians, the misinformed public would be lead to believe that this third round FA Cup encounter had only one moment of note.
The fact that the home side's Richard Prokas was very close to wrecking Patrick Viera's career with a reckless over the top challenge will be remembered for years to come.
What is lost in the hype is the fact that Carlisle had their moments for glory as well as defending as well as anyone has done this season against the men from Highbury.
The home supporters will be greatly encouraged by a rearguard performance that will surely be a turning point in the Cumbrians so far dismal season. Sylvain Wiltord's match winner apart the Cumbrian defence was impossible to breach with home keeper Matty Glennon in inspired form.
Second half saves from Wiltord, Ljungberg and Bergkamp were world class and no more than his impeccable performance deserved.
Carlisle manager Ian Atkins faces a worrying weekend with considerable uncertainty about his future following the take over of the club by a consortium shrouded in secrecy over the makeup of their numbers.
He said after the game: "I'm disappointed to lose because I don't like losing. We had three good chances in the first 15 minutes and, with more composure, we might have scored.
If that had happened, who knows what the outcome might have been. The chances fell to Ian Stevens, who has been out for three weeks. He's only got four days training behind him, but he usually scores if he only gets one chance.''
Commenting on the 27th-minute flashpoint between Richard Prokas and Arsenal's Patrick Vieira, in which the Carlisle midfielder's two-footed lunge at the Frenchman went unnoticed by referee Stephen Lodge, he said: ''The tackle was two wholly committed players going for the ball, and when that happens someone sometimes gets hurt. The referee did not think it was a foul or take any action.''
Atkins admitted that he remained in the dark about what future, if any, he has at Brunton Park following last week's takeover by a consortium headed by Scottish businessman Stephen Brown.
He said: ''I'm none the wiser about what my position is. I'll be meeting the new people on Monday. I've 18 months on my contract but it's their club and they do what they want. If they want me to stay I'll be seeking assurances that resources will be available to get this club away from the bottom of the league.''
From the start, the home side were content to hoist the ball from the back utilising wind assisted punts to the opposing area, from keeper Matty Glennon, in an attempt to beat the offside trap of Arsenal's back four, which centralised on the defensive duo of Nelson Vivas and Igors Stepanovs.
The pair looked less than comfortable and within the opening quarter-of-an-hour, three excellent chances fell to Carlisle top scorer Ian Stevens, who had banged in four goals against Woking in the First Round.
After nine minutes he found himself unmarked in the penalty area but couldn't control the high bouncing ball. Three minutes later a flick-on from tough-tackling midfielder Richard Prokas saw Stevens again unmarked and through in the centre of the box, but he failed to make contact.
The best of the trio of opportunities came on 15 minutes when the highly-rated Scott Dobie beat Vivas on the left touchline, cut in and found the on-rushing Stevens with a clever angled pass. But the striker shot wide from close range after beating a hesitant Alex Manninger to the ball.
The importance of that miss was illustrated by Arsenal on 22 minutes, when Patrick Vieira threaded a ball through from central midfield to Sylvain Wiltord on the edge of the area. He took the ball into his stride and smoothly stroked it into the bottom corner beyond Glennon.
Fighting to retrieve the situation, Prokas was fortunate to remain on the pitch as he lunged into Vieira with a two-footed tackle which smashed the Frenchman's right shinpad and left him writhing in agony.
Incredibly, referee Stephen Lodge missed the challenge, which resulted in an eight-man fracas and had Wenger up and howling in protest.
Nelson Vivas was booked in the ensuing touchline melée.
When play restarted Dennis Bergkamp sought retribution with a chop on Steve Soley's achilles from behind and was booked. Minutes later we saw the other side of the Dutchman as, in a sublime manouevre, he flicked the ball up in the air on his heel for a volley which was held by Glennon.
As Arsenal got on top after the interval Glennon made a double save, one with his legs from Ljungberg when the Swede was clean through on goal, then picking himself up to save again with his feet from Wiltord. As Arsenal pressed for their second goal the mood continued to simmer away in midfield, with Parlour booked for a late challenge on Prokas, and Carlisle substitute Carl Heggs for a similar offence against Ashley Cole.
A late flurry by Carlisle saw most of their attacks caught in Arsenal's, by now, well-functioning offside trap, as the home support cheered themselves by chanting "There's only one Ian Atkins".
Let's hope for the sake of the future of this outpost of football the new owners take heed of the supporters.
Mike Corry
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