Manchester United rolled to an easy 3-0 win over tiny Aldershot while Andrei Arshavin sparked the Gunners' revival as Arsenal toppled Bolton 2-1 in Tuesday’s Carling Cup action.
Elsewhere, Cardiff booked their passage to the quarterfinals with a hard-fought 1-0 win over Burnley while Crystal Palace toppled Championship pace-setters Southampton 2-0.
Tomorrow, Wolverhampton take on Manchester City live on FOX Soccer Plus at 2:30 p.m. Eastern as the Carling Cup rolls on with a four game, an all-Premiership slate.
At the Recreation Ground, no one expected the Shots to offer much tonight against a United side that was humiliated Sunday by Manchester City. Even though Sir Alex Ferguson made a full rotation for the game, swapping out 11 players from the side that was thumped 6-1, they still had loads more talent than a side a full 82 places down the league ladder. Back came Dimitar Berbatov and Michael Owen, and there was a surprise return for the injured Tom Cleverley against a team of players that are, frankly, anonymous.
It took Berbatov only 15 minutes to put United ahead, with the Bulgarian pressing his case to again be a regular player instead of a bench-warmer. Ji-Sung Park was the creator, using Cleverley as a fulcrum to run a one-two through the Shots’ back line and gift Berbatov a routine finish.
United took a bit longer to get the second, but not for lack of trying, with Park and Berbatov missing good chances against an Aldershot side that had a grand total of one foray forward. Berbatov finally fed Michael Owen from the endline just before the break to ice the game. Antonio Valencia would add a third just minutes after the second half restart, but the game was already over.
It was neither pretty nor entertaining, but for United, it was a step towards washing away the weekend’s misery. They also have a fairly easy stretch ahead, with matches at Everton, home to European minnow Otelul, and a date up in Sunderland over the next 10 days.
Danny Hylton of Aldershot in action with Park Ji-Sung of Manchester United. (Photo: Michael Regan/Getty Images)
The Shots didn’t embarrass themselves, which is arguably the best they could have hoped for, but there was no disguising the gap in money and talent. That said, Aldershot collected an estimated gate of £150,000 for the one-off, which will go a long way towards helping their balance sheet.
The best game of the day was at Emirates, where Arsenal outlasted Bolton in a thriller thanks to an inspired day from Arshavin. The Russian, criticized so often this season for a perceived lack of effort, proved his worth by sparking two goals inside three minutes, then leading the line to hang on under a withering late flurry from Wanderers.
Francis Coquelin gifted Bolton the lead when his pass to Emmanuel Frimpong was intercepted by former Gunner Francis Muamba. The midfielder raced forward, teamed with Darren Pratley and then blasted the ball into the roof of Lukas Fabianski’s net with only a minute gone in the second half. It was a rude shock for Arsenal, who had shaded Bolton in the first half and had enjoyed the better of the chances yet promptly went to pieces in midfield. Arsene Wenger was out of his seat like a dervish, but this seemed like a script we’ve read so often before.
Instead, Arshavin sprang to life, collecting a ball 30 yards out and wide, to dribble past a stunned Adam Bogdan in the Bolton nets. Two minutes later, Arshavin found Chu-Young Park who scored a beauty off the post and in to seal the win.
Bolton were not dead, and had they actually put some more of their chances on frame, they arguably would have won. Instead, Ivan Klasnic (twice) and Gary Cahill (once) booted the ball over the bar from close range, and Fabianski came up big three times to put the Gunners into the quarterfinals.
Arsenal’s revival now seems to be in full bloom. They have won seven of their last eight across all competitions and are showing some of the old spirit and elan that was so noticeably absent after the departures of Samir Nasri and Cesc Fabregas. They face Chelsea on the weekend.
For Bolton, things just go from bad to worse. Mired in the drop zone and now out of the Cup, Owen Coyle has a lot of uncomfortable questions to answer. Last year, this was a solid team. What happened?
Across London, Darren Ambrose scored the winner and Jermaine Easter got insurance from the spot as Crystal Palace ejected the Championship leaders Southampton. It was a tepid match overall that saw Palace finally gain the upper hand thanks to the class of young Welsh international Jonathan Williams. Williams played creator, and might have done more had it not been for his teammates’ wastefulness. As it was, he set up the winner with a fine pass from wide right for Ambrose to run on to; then was felled by Ben Harding to earn the penalty late. Only 18, Williams suddenly looks like a top-flight prospect.
Finally, in Wales, Cardiff outlasted Burnley in a wild game filled with sloppy misses and tough tackles thanks to a critical goal from Joe Mason. His strike from close range just before the break put the Welsh side into the quarters for the first time since 1965.
Cardiff’s misses, however, were legendary. Don Cowie lauched one into the cheap seats when it would have been easier to score, and Mark Hudson inexplicably put a free header over the bar from two yards. Burnley did little save foul, picking up four cards on the night and only rarely looking as if they could actually finish (despite putting on some heat late).
The four winners will learn their next opponents on Saturday when the quarterfinal draw is held. Those matches take place on November 29 and 30.
