Advertisement
Help
You are here: Rediff Home » India » Sports » Football » Reuters > Report
Search:  Rediff.com The Web
  Advertisement


Gallas goal secures Arsenal win
Get Sports updates:What's this?
   
  Advertisement
March 18, 2009 07:15 IST

A controversial late winner by William Gallas [Images] earned Arsenal [Images] a 2-1 victory over Hull City in their FA Cup quarter-final on Tuesday and set up a last four showdown with Chelsea at Wembley.

The French defender flicked in a close-range header from what appeared to be an offside decision shortly after Dutchman Robin Van Persie had equalised for the Gunners.

Arsenal had trailed to Nicky Barmby's early strike and were not posing much threat until Hull buckled late on.

Hull boss Phil Brown accused Arsenal skipper Cesc Fabregas, who did not play because of injury, of spitting at the feet of Hull's assistant manager Brian Horton after the match.

"I was there, I witnessed it, he spat at his feet," Brown said at the post-match news conference, shown on Sky Sports News.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said he had no knowledge of any incident.

"I cannot speak about something I haven't seen," Wenger said at his news conference.

Hull, hoping to reach the last four of the FA Cup for the first time in 79 years, started brightly and took the lead after 13 minutes when Barmby's effort deflected off Johan Djourou and evaded Arsenal's reserve keeper Lukasz Fabianski.

Arsenal, who made six changes from the side that beat Blackburn Rovers on Saturday, took a long time to respond and Barmby had another effort ruled out for offside.

As the clock ticked down Hull's resistance finally broke when Andrei Arshavin set up Van Persie, who sent a rising shot past Hull keeper Boaz Myhill.

Hull had a chance to regain the lead through Brazilian Geovanni but they were sunk when Myhill flapped at high ball played into the area and Gallas, who was stood all on his own in the six-yard area, headed the winner.

The other semi-final will be between Manchester United [Images] and Everton.



© Copyright 2009 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon.
   Discuss   |      Share with friends   |      Print   |   Ask a question  Ask a question   |  Get latest news on your desktop  Get latest news on your desktop

© 2009 Rediff.com India Limited. All Rights Reserved. Disclaimer | Feedback