Ahh, the FA Cup 3rd round. The REAL Theatre of Dreams. Where crowds sit and watch the Chelsea’s and the Man Utd’s battle against the Tamworth’s and Kidderminster’s of this world. And occasionally, you get the hard hitter. The early clash. And this one was a peach.

Liverpool vs Arsenal. Now Arsenal have absolutely dominated the FA Cup over the last 5 years, winning 3 times out of 5. They must be experts. But Liverpool are the holders, after Gerrard almost single handedly piloted the win last year, with a gunman’s shot that ripped open the intestines of West Ham and lay their entrails to the Gods. That still sends glorious shivers up my spine.

So the match started at the Liverpool stronghold, Anfield. Almost an unfair advantage, considering that once Liverpool didn’t lose in that magical stadium for 3 years. But as the scarily tanned Gary Lineker introduced the players walking onto the pitch, I felt pretty good.

By the way, I’ve forgotten to make it clear that I’m a Liverpool supporter. So if you’re an Arsenal fan, kindly go and die, or rid yourself of that terrible curse.

So the match started well. Liverpool seemed to be bossing the midfield, and our line held true. Both teams had fielded strong line-ups, with Thierry Henry making an appearance in the Arsenal side, with Cesc Fabregas missing. Luis Garcia was playing on the wing, and Xabi Alonso and Gerrard were in the centre of the park.

So this was how it remained, with Gerrard and Alonso passing the ball around and about, almost mind-numbingly, until Arsenal took the ball and ran with it.

This is what I love about Arsenal. Almost every player they put on the field day in, day out can break with the ball and pass and shoot and attack and make runs and everything you could ever want from any player. And when it gets going, it’s like a symphony orchestra, with Arsene Wenger the wise old conductor, prancing around on the sidelines.

And they symphonied our ass alright. Hleb broke down the right wing, doing a nice little interchange with Rosicky, and then found some space.

Let’s pause the TV for a moment here. Dudek was on the six yard line, thinking they would cross it. Hleb looked up, saw Rosicky was in space, and picked him out along the ground. The centre backs were following the runs of Henry and Van Persie, leaving Rosicky blissfully alone. His shot was perfect, looping over the head of Dudek and ending up in the back of the net.

Bugger.

Next, the Czech International struck again, dancing in between languid defenders who seemed to have been temporarily comatosed. Finally, Finnan made a challenge but it was too late. Rosicky had planted the ball in the back of the net again.

I like Rosicky as a player. I think he contributes to any team, with his strength and pace. He’s a perfect itsy-bitsy midfielder with the thigh-strength to punt in any shot.

Half time came and went, with Alan Hansen and Ian Wright agreeing for once about the crap defence and the superb attack of either team. But then from a Pennant long ball in, Crouch made a header on goal.

Almost in slow motion, the ball flew through the air and you could see Kuyt in the action replay looking at it as it came at him. He checked where the keeper was, then glanced it past the oncoming punch into the back of the net.

YES! I couldn’t tell what the crowd’s reaction was because i was screaming so loud. We can only assume they went ABSOLUTELY MENTAL. I guess.

So some hope crept into the Anfield crowd. But then, the playful kid started hitting the big pinyata.

Henry burst down the side of the pitch having come back from injury. Almost at a jog, he outpaced Finnan and cut inside the defender, only to finish in sweet Henry style and use our dignity as a tea towl to wipe up any strands of hope still floating around the metaphorical draining board.

Bugger.

And that was it for the Liverpool dream. Arsenal remain the kings of the cup.

But now, there is a chance for us to get revenge. We play Arsenal again in 2 days time for the Carling Cup. I can almost hear the maniacal laughing already.

This entry was posted on Monday, January 8th, 2007 at 9:22 am and is filed under Liverpool. You can subscribe via RSS 2.0 feed to this post's comments. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.