Lita: A constant threat throughout
Picture from Reading official site
A last-minute penalty save from Vito Mannone ensured that Arsenal reserves held on for their first point of 2008. The Gunners took the lead through Jack Wilshere on the stroke of half-time but it was cancelled out by Leroy Lita’s strike early in the second half. In the dying moments, Mannone was alleged to have brought down Jimmy Kebe in the area and a penalty was awarded. But Mannone stood strong to deny Shane Long and it capped a terrific performance from the young Italian.
Neil Banfield shuffled his pack for this fixture. Paul Rodgers played at right back, whilst Abu Ogogo pushed in to the right wing position. Jay Thomas slotted into central midfield alongside Craig Eastmond and Jack Wilshere made his Reserves debut on the left flank. It was a very inexperienced Arsenal side.
In contrast, Reading named several first-teamers in their starting line-up including Leroy Lita and Bobby Convey. The Royals started the brightest in Aldershot putting pressure on the nervous Arsenal defence. Vito Mannone dealt with a tame Bobby Convey effort early on and then Jack Wilshere did well to clear the ball off the line after a corner. Moments later Reading were on the attack again. New signing Jimmy Kebe linked up well with Lita who found Shane Long in a good position. Long, however, rushed his shot and fired it over the bar.
Slowly but surely, Arsenal were beginning to get into the game and after a shaky start they began to create some opportunities of their own. First Ogogo headed the ball over after good work from Traore, and then Barazite showed good close control skills to create an opening, but his shot failed to match the quality of the build up.
Reading continued to press and Lita forced a good save out of Mannone. At the other end, Rui Fonte’s weak header struggled to get past Adam Federici. Shane Long wasted another decent opportunity as Reading put Arsenal under constant pressure. Bobby Convey hit the post after an excellent through ball from Kebe.
The wind was against Arsenal in the first half and they struggled to create many clear cut chances. That was until the last minute of the first half when Rui Fonte found Barazite who threaded the ball through to Wilshere to score. The much talked about youngster was on the scoresheet in his first appearance for the Reserves and he was calm and composed as he slotted the ball home.
Arsenal began the second half the liveliest with Armand Traore winning a corner after a long, surging run. However, Reading hit Arsenal on the counter attack and Traore gave away possession to Long who found Lita who took a touch before rolling it past Mannone. In truth, there wasn’t much the Italian could do to deny him.
Arsenal wanted to respond quickly and Fonte showed good technical ability but again hit a weak shot at Federici. On 51 minutes, Barazite went down in the area looking for a penalty but it was not given. There was certainly contact from Kebe, but Nacer went down a little too easily to be honest.
Reading could have gone in front with just sixteen minutes left when Jem Karakan rounded Mannone and looked certain to score, but substitute Tom Cruise made a last ditch clearance to get it away. It seemed as if Arsenal were going to be able to hold on for a point, but with the clock ticking down, Kebe skipped past Traore and Mannone appeared to make a decent save, but instead a penalty was awarded. It was a controversial decision by the referee, and Mannone couldn’t believe it. Long stepped up but Mannone was watching it all the way and stopped it. Justice was done.
So, overall a decent performance from a young Arsenal side against an experienced Reading team. There were some good individual performances tonight, but the youngsters need to learn how to keep the lead if they’re going to progress in the future.
PLAYER RATINGS
Vito Mannone- 9- JEORGE BIRD’S MAN OF THE MATCH
Denied Lita on several occasions and produced an excellent penalty save at the end.
Paul Rodgers- 7- Strong in the tackle and linked up well with Ogogo
Havard Nordtveit- 6- Made a couple of mistakes but looked assured and confident
Kyle Bartley-5- Allowed Lita in too often and looked nervous
Armand Traore-6- Made some good forward runs but was run ragged by Lita
Abu Ogogo- 6- Made dynamic runs but not given enough space to perform
Craig Eastmond-6- Linked up well with Thomas and made some decent passes
Jay Thomas-8- A strong physical presence and was always on the lookout for a decent pass
Jack Wilshere-8- Wasn’t fazed by the prospect of reserve football and took his goal well
Nacer Barazite-7- Made some good chances and was a constant threat throughout.
Rui Fonte-6- Showed some good close control skills but the end product is not there yet.
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SUBS:
Murphy (for Fonte 71)-5-
Was on the lookout for chances but looked rusty after a long injury lay-off
Cruise (for Wilshere 71) -6-
Made a vital goal line clearance
Freeman (for Eastmond 80)-5-
Didn’t really make an impact on the game
