Source: Daily_Mail
Arsenal 2 Hull City 1: Gallas hell for Hull as rough justice sees Gunners steal a win
No wonder Phil Brown threw his earpiece to the ground in disgust. No wonder Nicky Barmby confronted Mike Riley afterwards and asked him to explain how his 'goal' could be disallowed when William Gallas was so much further offside. No wonder even Hull[LNB]'s pop stars regard London as the not-so-beautiful south.This FA Cup quarter-final will be remembered as much for the bad blood as the bad decisions the accusations that were levelled at Cesc Fabregas; the refusal on the part of Arsene Wenger to shake Brown's hand; the angry half-time exchange between Wenger and Brian Horton. And that decisive goal from Gallas, a goal that only the match officials failed to realise should not have been allowed.Arsenal[LNB]dominated the second half of this dramatic encounter but not until Gallas struck in the 85th minute was their passage to the semi-finals secure. [LNB] Decisive goal: William Gallas checks his goal has been given while the Hull defenders appeal for the offside that should have been spotted[LNB]It was a goal as ridiculous as the Frenchman's new chrome-plated car,Gallas drifting behind the Hull defence in anticipation of what hehoped would be a flick on from Johan Djourou.Djourou did indeed win the ball, beating Boaz Myhill to the free-kickthat had been floated in by Samir Nasri, but Gallas was miles offsidein the six-yard box when he finished the job with a close-range header.[LNB]Brown protested then and he protested again when Geovanni being hackeddown by Djourou also went unnoticed. It was at that moment that theearpiece ended up in the Emirates turf as Brown realised this was notgoing to be Hull's night. Until the 74th minute, it seemed as though it might be. Until the 74thminute and Robin van Persie's equaliser it seemed as though TheHousemartins might have to reform and change the scoreline on thatfirst album cover. [LNB] Tell me why: Nick Barmby confronts match officials after the game to ask why his goal was disallowed and yet Gallas' goal was not[LNB]The team that had already taken three precious Barclays Premier Leagueat Arsenal, Fulham and Tottenham, the team that even brought LuizFelipe Scolari's reign at Chelsea to a shuddering halt with thatgoalless draw at Stamford Bridge appeared to be inflicting yet moredamage here in London. Ahead thanks to a deflected goal from Barmby, they defended so courageously that Wenger became increasingly animated. Incensed by what he considered to be Hull's time-wasting tactics afterseizing that 13th-minute lead when Barmby's volley took a nastydeflection off Djourou and looped over Lukasz Fabianski, Arsenal'smanager complained to anyone who would listen. First he moaned to thematch officials and then to Horton.Clearly, he was worried about the effect another morale-sapping defeatto Hull could have. They were top of the league when they lost inSeptember and another such setback here would have all but ruined theirchances of ending that four-year search for a trophy, even though arein Friday's Champions League quarter-final draw. [LNB] A good start: Barmby celebrates with teammates Peter Halmosi and Andy Dawson after putting Hull ahead in the 13th minute[LNB]Hull, on the other hand, were flying, inspired by the prospect of asecond appearance at Wembley in less than a year and what would havebeen their first appearance in an FA Cup semi-final since 1930.It was all the more impressive because even Brown had put PremierLeague survival ahead of FA Cup glory, making five changes to the sidethat drew with Newcastle last Saturday. No sooner had Hull scored once than they almost scored a second. Firstcame a super free-kick from Geovanni that forced Fabianski to make aquite brilliant save; then what Brown clearly thought was a second goalfor Barmby until he realised, along with the match officials, that theformer England international was one of four players offside when AndyDawson unleashed a shot across goal. It was inches rather than feet but the assistant referee had no trouble spotting that one.[LNB] The leveller: Robin van Persie equalises for Arsenal at The Emirates[LNB]Andrey Arshavin tried to respond only to see his shot blocked by theoutstanding Kamil Zayatte, who then threatened Arsenal's goal with aheader. Wenger, too, had left key players on the sidelines, but forArsenal it was looking costly. After the break and that exchange between Wenger and Horton, thefrequency of Arsenal's opportunities increased. Theo Walcott threatenedbut was denied by Zayatte, while Samuel Ricketts excelled in blockingan effort from Arshavin. There was no doubting the quality of Arsenal's players. Some of theirfootball was delightful. But against their physically-imposing visitorsthey needed to combine a bit of brute force with the fancy footwork,prompting Wenger to send on Nicklas Bendtner and Samir Nasri. A yellow card for Myhill for timewasting followed, as did Andy Dawsonclearing off the line, Myhill producing another terrific save to diverta Van Persie free-kick to safety and Van Persie sending an effortagainst Hull's bar. [LNB] Bad blood: Cesc Fabregas, who was accused of spitting at Brian Hortin, confronts the Hull players and staff after the final whistle[LNB]In the end, though, Hull's goalkeeper could do nothing to prevent VanPersie from equalising thanks to the precision of the passing fromBendtner and Arshavin and he could do nothing about the momentaryblindness of the officials either. Cue an angry reaction from Hull and what, it has been alleged, was adecidedly unpleasant reaction from the player who once threw pizza atSir Alex Ferguson and verbally abused Mark Hughes. The Football Association must be so proud.[LNB] [LNB]
