Division One League Match, Arsenal vs. Benfica (Wed Mar 27)


                              Arsenal  |  Benfica
                              4-5-1 P  |  4-4-2 C
                       Adrian Dalmedo  |  Matias Finkelstein
                                       |
                           D_James GK  |  GK F_Foster
                         R_Holding DF  |  DF Yann_M_Vila
                         C_Blewitt DF  |  DF R_Tomassi
                           S_Ramos DF  |  DF J_Foyth
                            D_Burn DF  |  DF M_Zeffane
                     N_Ben_Khalifa MF  |  MF J_Plasil
                          I_Falque MF  |  MF J_Wilshere
                          T_Cruise MF  |  MF J_Bolm
                        D_Rocastle MF  |  MF W_Dustice
                        S_Matthews MF  |  FW T_Erak
                          P_Crouch FW  |  FW B_Dugnutt
                                       |
                          D_de_Gea SUB |  SUB Z_Alomerovic
                         G_Collins SUB |  SUB S_Mannaerts
                            Bebeto SUB |  SUB E_Spence
                          D_Murphy SUB |  SUB R_Fraser
                           Ricardo SUB |  SUB Stefano

Referee: W_Collum (Scotland)


Min. 1  :(bfa) J_Wilshere sprints down the wing
          ...  He knocks it past the defender into space!
          ...  He puts in a square ball!
          ...  T_Erak runs onto it
          ...  He uses a clever change of direction to go past the defender
          ...  T_Erak from 20 yards !
          ...  But it goes wide
Min. 7  :(arn) I_Falque with a first time pass
          ...  P_Crouch runs onto it!
          ...  Excellent sliding challenge from R_Tomassi
Min. 7  :(bfa) J_Wilshere sidesteps his marker
          ...  That was too easy
          ...  J_Wilshere tries one from the edge of the box !
          ...  It floats over D_James
          ...  Its heading goal ward!
          ...  But floats just over
          ...  That was a great effort
Min. 13 :(arn) T_Cruise is first to the loose ball
          ...  He plays the ball across to P_Crouch
          ...  T_Erak plays the back pass
          ...  F_Foster can't get to it!!
          ...  It goes just wide!!
          ...  What a lucky escape!!
          ...  CORNER!
          ...  S_Matthews drives it into the box!
          ...  F_Foster catches it!
Min. 13 :(bfa) B_Dugnutt times his run well
          ...  But S_Ramos clears the ball to safety
Min. 15 :(bfa) T_Erak controls the ball with a deft piece of skill
          ...  He plays the ball out to the right!
          ...  J_Foyth gets onto the end of the pass!
          ...  R_Holding cuts out the pass
          ...  That was close!
Min. 17 :(bfa) J_Plasil brings the ball under control
          ...  He sees a team mate leave his marker!
          ...  He plays the ball across to him!
          ...  T_Erak gets on the end of the pass
          ...  T_Erak gets up high for the header !
          ...  But he puts it well wide
          ...  That was a mishit effort!
Min. 27 :(arn) D_Rocastle with a measured pass to T_Cruise
          ...  Yann_M_Vila takes the ball and the player!!
          ...  But the ref waves play on!!
Min. 30 :(bfa) Yann_M_Vila whips the ball across to M_Zeffane
          ...  D_Burn wins the ball
Min. 31 :(arn) N_Ben_Khalifa works the ball inside
          ...  He sees a team mate making a run
          ...  He plays the ball through to S_Matthews
          ...  S_Matthews has a go!
          ...  F_Foster gets up well to catch that one
Min. 32 :(arn) I_Falque with a smart pass to N_Ben_Khalifa
          ...  N_Ben_Khalifa with a terrific drive !
          ...  F_Foster makes the save
          ...  He hits the ball up field!
Min. 33 :(arn) N_Ben_Khalifa with a precise ball to T_Cruise
          ...  M_Zeffane takes the player out!!
          ...  The ref turns away!!
Min. 35 :(arn) R_Holding sidesteps his marker
          ...  His quick feet took him past the defender
          ...  A great volley from R_Holding !
          ...  It takes a deflection!
          ...  But sails wide!
          ...  CORNER!
          ...  T_Cruise lofts the ball in!
          ...  F_Foster catches it!
Min. 35 :(bfa) J_Wilshere takes advantage of a defensive mistake
          ...  He runs towards goal
          ...  J_Wilshere hits the shot with the inside of the left foot!
          ...  But D_James tips it behind
          ...  CORNER!
          ...  J_Plasil drives it into the box!
          ...  J_Bolm loses his marker
          ...  He gets his head onto it!
          ...  D_James makes himself big and wins the ball
Min. 38 :(bfa) W_Dustice has the ball on the wing
          ...  He knocks the ball past C_Blewitt!
          ...  He has some space now!
          ...  Driven towards goal by W_Dustice !
          ...  But D_James with the difficult save
Min. 39 :(bfa) W_Dustice with the through ball to J_Bolm
          ...  J_Bolm tries to lob the keeper !
          ...  D_James has it covered
          ...  It takes a bobble!
          ...  D_James reacts well to save!!!
Min. 41 :(arn) S_Matthews with the through ball to I_Falque
          ...  I_Falque has a dig at goal!
          ...  GOAL !!
          ...  The crowd goes wild !
          ...  That's put Arsenal in front!
          ...  Arsenal 1-0 Benfica ...
Min. 43 :(REF) The board goes up indicating that there is 1 minute of time to be added on
Min. 46 :(arn) P_Crouch sidesteps Yann_M_Vila
          ...  He showed great skill there
          ...  P_Crouch hits the shot with the inside of the left foot!
          ...  Looks like it should be F_Foster's
          ...  Oh he's let it go through his legs
          ...  But drifts inches wide !!
          ...  F_Foster looks embarrassed!
          ...  He was relieved to see it go wide!
          ...  CORNER!
          ...  D_Burn chips the ball in towards the far post!
          ...  F_Foster jumps well to claim it!

*************  HALF TIME  ****************
Half Time Score: Arsenal 1-0 Benfica

Min. 46 :(arn) D_Burn brings the ball into the opposing area
          ...  D_Rocastle makes himself available
          ...  D_Rocastle hits the shot with the inside of the left foot!
          ...  F_Foster makes a great save
          ...  But he can't hold onto it!
          ...  He gathers it at the second attempt!
Min. 46 :(bfa) J_Plasil flicks it past R_Holding
          ...  He runs forward
          ...  S_Ramos brings him down from behind!
          ...  But the ref gives nothing!
Min. 49 :(arn) N_Ben_Khalifa runs at the defender
          ...  He gets past him!
          ...  He sees a team mate in space
          ...  He passes it to P_Crouch
          ...  Blocked by J_Wilshere
Min. 51 :(bfa) Yann_M_Vila controls it well
          ...  He nutmegs C_Blewitt
          ...  He puts in B_Dugnutt!
          ...  B_Dugnutt with a bicycle kick !
          ...  D_James parries it
          ...  The defender clears it
Min. 52 :(arn) The ball rolls free!
          ...  P_Crouch takes control of it on the half way line
          ...  He sprints past the defenders!!
          ...  J_Wilshere with an ugly foul
          ...  The fans are chanting "OFF!!! OFF!!!
          ...  YELLOW CARD!!
          ...  He'll be off if he does that again
Min. 54 :(arn) C_Blewitt with a fantastic turn that puts him through on goal
          ...  C_Blewitt with an overhead kick !
          ...  He gets a connection
          ...  It's hit the bar
          ...  It bounces down
          ...  F_Foster grabs it
          ...  No Goal!
          ...  Boo's surround the stadium!!!
Min. 55 :(arn) P_Crouch sidesteps M_Zeffane
          ...  He's been running his marker ragged all game
          ...  P_Crouch curls the ball in on goal !
          ...  OOOOHHHHH!!!!
          ...  It's wide!
          ...  That was a dismal effort!
          ...  He should have buried that!
Min. 60 :(bfa) Up goes the substitution board - Stefano on for W_Dustice as a AM
Min. 60 :(bfa) Benfica's manager orders his side to play A
Min. 64 :(arn) P_Crouch runs towards the goal
          ...  R_Tomassi gets the foot in to win the ball
          ...  It rolls out of play
          ...  CORNER!
          ...  N_Ben_Khalifa drives it into the box!
          ...  M_Zeffane wins the ball
          ...  He belts it away
Min. 65 :(arn) Arsenal will now play D after the order comes from the dugout
Min. 65 :(bfa) J_Plasil cuts the ball back to Stefano
          ...  But C_Blewitt wins the ball
Min. 66 :(arn) a big roar from the crowd as G_Collins comes on for D_Rocastle to play DF
Min. 66 :(bfa) J_Bolm moves out over to the edge of the pitch
          ...  He plays the ball through to Stefano
          ...  Superbly timed tackle by R_Holding
          ...  He made it look easy
          ...  But he can't keep it in
          ...  CORNER!
          ...  J_Wilshere floats the ball in!
          ...  S_Matthews wins the ball
          ...  And he heads it away
Min. 69 :(bfa) B_Dugnutt plays a great one-two
          ...  He continues to run forward now
          ...  B_Dugnutt shoots towards goal !
          ...  It takes a deflection!
          ...  But goes wide!
          ...  CORNER!
          ...  J_Bolm drives it into the box!
          ...  It is cleared by D_Burn
Min. 70 :(arn) S_Matthews controls the ball with a deft piece of skill
          ...  He plays the ball out to the left!
          ...  I_Falque gets onto the end of the pass!
          ...  J_Foyth with an ugly foul
          ...  That was a deliberate act that deserves punishment
          ...  He's in trouble here!!
          ...  YELLOW CARD!
Min. 71 :(bfa) J_Bolm takes control of the loose ball
          ...  He plays the ball across to T_Erak
          ...  T_Erak looks to see where D_James is!
          ...  He shoots!
          ...  It hits off a defender!
          ...  But goes clear to safety!
Min. 75 :(bfa) R_Fraser will come on for J_Bolm and play MF
Min. 75 :(arn) I_Falque crosses in from the wing, he finds G_Collins in the box
          ...  G_Collins belts the ball towards goal!
          ...  It swerves a lot in the air
          ...  Brilliant save from F_Foster
          ...  That must have impressed his national manager sitting in the stands
Min. 76 :(bfa) S_Mannaerts will replace the useless Yann_M_Vila and will play DF
Min. 81 :(bfa) S_Mannaerts takes possession
          ...  Knocks it past R_Holding
          ...  He's through on goal
          ...  S_Ramos is late with that one
          ...  There's no place in the game for that kind of challenge
          ...  He is ordered to cool off
          ...  FREE KICK!
          ...  Stefano hits it hard
          ...  But D_James parries the ball
          ...  It's picked up by the defender, much to the relief of the crowd
Min. 81 :(bfa) S_Mannaerts jumps over C_Blewitt's challenge
          ...  Excellent sliding challenge from N_Ben_Khalifa
Min. 86 :(bfa) S_Mannaerts plays it to his team mate for a one-two
          ...  Stefano decides to keep possession instead!
          ...  He runs towards the goal now!
          ...  A powerful header from Stefano !
          ...  It looks good
          ...  D_James makes a comfortable save
          ...  He makes it look so easy
Min. 87 :(bfa) J_Plasil brings the ball into the opposing area
          ...  J_Wilshere makes himself available
          ...  I_Falque anticipates the pass and cuts it out
Min. 88 :(REF) The 4th official signals that there are 4 minutes of time to be added on
Min. 88 :(bfa) Stefano is force to hold onto the ball
          ...  No one seems to be coming forward
          ...  He heads towards the goal alone!
          ...  S_Matthews muscles him off the ball
          ...  Looked like a good tackle but the referee has awarded them a free kick
Min. 91 :(bfa) T_Erak runs with pace at the defence
          ...  G_Collins wins the ball with a superb sliding challenge

*************  FULL TIME  ****************


Match Details
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Venue                : Emirates Stadium
Attendance           : 125,000
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Arsenal Match Info
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Best player          : I_Falque (Man of the Match)
Scorers              : I_Falque (41)
Sent Off             : N/A
Booked               : N/A
Injured              : N/A
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Benfica Match Info
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Best player          : J_Bolm
Scorers              : N/A
Sent Off             : N/A
Booked               : J_Wilshere (52), J_Foyth (70)
Injured              : N/A
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Match Statistics
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                              Arsenal     |    Benfica
Attempts on Goal     :           9        |       12
Off target           :           4        |       5
On target            :           5        |       7
Possession           :          61        |       39
Corners              :           4        |       3
Red Cards            :           0        |       0
Yellow Cards         :           0        |       2
Subs Used            :           1        |       3
Fouls                :           9        |       10
Key Tackles          :           9        |       6
Key Passes           :          11        |       11
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Final Score          : Arsenal 1 - 0 Benfica
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Player Statistics - Arsenal
Name          Pos  St  Tk  Ps  Sh  Ag | Min Sav Ktk Kps Ass Sht Gls Yel Red KAb TAb PAb SAb
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
D_James        GK  35   2   2   3  26 |  95   7   0   0   0   0   0   0   0  75   0   0   0
R_Holding      DF   1  29   8   6  22 |  95   0   2   0   0   1   0   0   0   0  40   0   1
C_Blewitt      DF   3  28   7   6  22 |  95   0   1   0   0   1   0   0   0   0  20   0   1
S_Ramos        DF   2  28   7   7  40 |  95   0   2   0   0   0   0   0   0   0  40   0   0
D_Burn         DF   2  26   9  11  21 |  95   0   2   1   0   0   0   0   0   0  40  10   0
N_Ben_Khalifa  MF   1  12  29  12  25 |  95   0   1   3   0   1   0   0   0   0  40  50  25
I_Falque       MF   3  15  28  10  19 |  95   0   1   3   0   1   1   0   0   0  20  30  30
T_Cruise       MF   2  10  28   9  39 |  95   0   0   1   0   0   0   0   0   0  20  30  20
D_Rocastle     MF   2   7  28  10  21 |  67   0   0   1   0   1   0   0   0   0   0  10   5
S_Matthews     MF   3   8  28   7  32 |  95   0   1   2   1   1   0   0   0   0  20  35   5
P_Crouch       FW   1   6  12  28  21 |  95   0   0   0   0   2   0   0   0   0   0   0   2
D_de_Gea       GK  29   2   3   3  38 |   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
G_Collins      DF   2  29   9   7  19 |  28   0   1   0   0   1   0   0   0   0  60   0   5
Bebeto         MF   1   9  27   7  30 |   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
D_Murphy       FW   2  11   8  27  37 |   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
Ricardo        FW   1   7   9  25  21 |   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0

Player Statistics - Benfica
Name          Pos  St  Tk  Ps  Sh  Ag | Min Sav Ktk Kps Ass Sht Gls Yel Red KAb TAb PAb SAb
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
F_Foster       GK  39   2   4   4  16 |  95   7   0   0   0   0   0   0   0  25   0   0   0
Yann_M_Vila    DF   2  32  14   8  22 |  77   0   1   2   0   0   0   0   0   0  20  20   0
R_Tomassi      DF   1  30   8   7  37 |  95   0   2   0   0   0   0   0   0   0  40   0   0
J_Foyth        DF   1  29  12   6  42 |  95   0   0   0   0   0   0   1   0   0 -22 -22 -22
M_Zeffane      DF   1  29  10   7  31 |  95   0   2   0   0   0   0   0   0   0  40   0   0
J_Plasil       MF   1   7  31  10  19 |  95   0   0   3   0   0   0   0   0   0   0  30   0
J_Wilshere     MF   2  20  30  12  19 |  95   0   1   1   0   2   0   1   0   0  18   8   4
J_Bolm         MF   2  11  29  13  32 |  76   0   0   2   0   2   0   0   0   0   0  20  10
W_Dustice      MF   1  12  23   6  42 |  61   0   0   1   0   1   0   0   0   0   0  10   5
T_Erak         FW   2   6   6  27  21 |  95   0   1   1   0   3   0   0   0   0  20  10   3
B_Dugnutt      FW   1   5   6  24  20 |  95   0   0   0   0   2   0   0   0   0   0   0   6
Z_Alomerovic   GK  29   1   1   1  14 |   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
S_Mannaerts    DF   2  28   9   5  12 |  18   0   0   1   0   0   0   0   0   0   0  10   0
E_Spence       MF   2   9  28   9  40 |   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
R_Fraser       MF   1   9  14   7  20 |  19   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0 -20 -20 -20
Stefano        AM   2   9   8  30  39 |  34   0   0   0   0   2   0   0   0   0   0   0  10
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