ARSENAL RESERVES 4-0 COVENTRY CITY RESERVES BY KEV MONKS
Coventry City Reserves put up a spirited performance but were beaten 4-0 at Arsenal Reserves in their final away league game of the season.
Arsenal announced that they were moving this FA Premier Reserve League South fixture to their training ground and this league match was to be played behind closed doors. Now I've seen every away reserve league game this season and did not particularly want to miss this final one.
I also contacted Arsenal about obtaining press accreditation,so you could read my 100th report of this season and so City for whom I also write away reserve team reports could put it on their website plus I'd already booked my travel which I later had to change and decided to go after receiving an email from the Arsenal press office saying I would be admitted.
The National Express coach from Coventry was an hour late (serves me right for getting a £2 funfare) and I had to decamp at Earls Court in order to get a tube to Kings Cross to meet a very good mate then get another train plus a taxi before finally getting to Shenley some twenty mins before kick off.
We arrived to be told in no uncertain terms that no press or anyone with accreditation would not be admitted. Gutted, we decided that watching the game we were. A few yards walk led us to a house whose garden backed onto the ground and offered a view of the pitch albeit some eighty yards away (a bit like the latest away end at Brighton). The woman of the house and her daughter welcomed us into her garden and said they were moving to get away from the club that they described as "not nice neighbours" and she was only too happy to let us enjoy the view from their lawn.
Her hospitality also extended to providing us with a hot drink as we stood on private property watching the opening exchanges.
Why any media were not allowed in,was soon deduced, as stood watching Ashley Cole who had been named in Neil Banfield's starting line-up. was the England boss plus his assistant as well as the Northern Ireland manager and our own Micky Adams.
Arsenal had just taken an eight minute lead thanks to a low drive inside the area from Bendtner past the diving Clayton Ince.
Then the radios started to cackle and the hunt was on for security to find our new lair. We were finally spotted in the garden and informed that we would be sued if we took and published any photos, not that we were planning on taking any without a lens of Jodrell Bank proportions!! This enraged the householder who was on the phone to the Daily Mail Pictures Editor to check the legality of this.
After finally realising that we were there purely to watch the game and to write a match report,we were left to carry on watching the rest of the match. City had regained their composure closing down the home side and in an opening period of few chances, a 27th minute drive by Liam Davis was well saved by the Arsenal keeper.
Rikki Bains did well to find space in the 54th minute but under pressure fired at Mart Poom in the Arsenal goal.
The home side doubled their tally in the 68th minute, a ball from the right was sent over and Bendtner was again on hand to fire home.
With four minutes to go and the VIP's on their way,Arsenal scored two goals in a minute. Clayton Ince was left standing when Simpson slotted home from inside the penalty area. The Trinidadian who hopes to be possibly playing against Ashley Cole in Germany in the summer could only watch as seconds later, Larsson cracked a twenty yarder which flew low into the net.
Something different it certainly was but at least I'd seen the game and realised an ambition. A big thank you to everyone who has helped me get to every away reserve game this season.
HT AFC 1-0 CCFC
FT AFC 4-0 CCFC
Goals Bendtner (8,68).Simpson (86),Larsson (87)
Team
Ince,Stringfellow,Lynch,Wall,Bains,Ogarro,Impey (Lourougnon),Thornton (Turner),D.Jones,Reid,Davis (Hildreth) SNU McCrink
Arsenal
Poom,Gilbert,Cole,Muamba,O'Cearuill,Connolly,Efrem,Larsson,Bendtner,Stokes,Glichy
Sub used Simpson