SUNDAY’S MATCHES
Picture from arsenalpies
Carlos Vela- Osasuna 2 Almeria 1
Carlos was involved again as Osasuna saw off Almeria 2-1. They lined up as follows:
———Ricardo————-
Flano—Cruchaga—Josataxo—Monreal
—-Javi Garcia——-Punal
–Juanfran—-Plasil——Vela
———Sola———-
Carlos was withdrawn with four minutes remaining after helping Osasuna secure the victory . Sola gave the Pamplona based side the lead after 6 minutes, before Corona levelled for the visitors. The winner came on 29 minutes when Cruchaga struck for Osasuna. Carlos linked up well with Plasil and had a couple of good opportunities but failed to make anything of them. Arséne Wenger recently reiterated that Carlos will be part of the first-team squad next season but for now he is continuing his development in Spain.
Fran Merida- Albacete 1 Real Sociedad 2
Fran was on the bench as his Real Sociedad side saw off Albacete 2-1. Nacho gave Sociedad the lead just 6 minutes in, then Diaz de Cerio doubled the visitors tally on the half hour. Albacete weren’t out of it though and came back into the game on 66 minutes with a David Bauza strike. Real had Mikel Gonzalez sent off with two minutes remaining, but held on for the win.
Pedro Botelho- Alaves 0 Salamanca 0
Pedro missed out through injury as Salamanca were held to a goalless draw away to Alaves.
SATURDAY’S MATCHES
Mark Randall- Stoke 1 Burnley 1
Mark made his first Burnley start in central midfield against Stoke this afternoon at the Brittania Stadium. This is how the Clarets lined up:
———Kiraly—————-
-Alexander–Carlisle—-Varga—Harley
-Elliott—-O’Connor—-Randall—Lafferty
——Akinbyi——–Blake
subs: Cole, Mahon, Spicer, Jensen, Unsworth
Playing in central midfield, Mark saw a lot of the ball early on and in the third minute his pass found Kyle Lafferty who scored to give Burnley the lead. This was an important moment for Mark, making his first start for Burnley and having such a significant impact so early on in the game.
In a tightly contested affair, there were several yellow cards for both sides and clear cut chances were hard to come by. Mark came close with an effort towards the end of the first half but it was tipped over the bar by the Stoke ‘keeper.
After putting in an energetic display, Mark tired and was withdrawn on 63 minutes and replaced by Alan Mahon. Randall watched on from the bench for the rest of the game and it looked as if his team mates had done enough to secure the victory, but Stoke were avoided a controversial penalty in the first minute of stoppage time and up stepped Liam Lawrence for Stoke. He sent the ‘keeper the wrong way and the home fans into raptures. It was a cruel punishment for Burnley who had worked so hard and especially for Randall who had such a big part to play in the Burnley goal.
Kieran Gibbs- Coventry 1 Norwich 0
Kieran was an unused substitute as Norwich lost 1-0 to Coventry. The Canaries went behind after just 6 minutes when Jay Tabb struck for the home side. Norwich had former Tottenham defender Gary Doherty sent off early in the second half for a second bookable offence and from that point on it seemed as if the game was beyond them. To make matters worse, Norwich also had Darel Russell dismissed five minutes from time.
FRIDAY’S MATCHES
Jay Simpson – Swansea City 1 Millwall 2
A lot has been said about Jay Simpson’s Arsenal future in the last few days, but tonight he showed that he is fully concentrated on playing for Millwall at the moment. It’s not easy playing for a club battling to avoid relegation whilst being under the watchful eye of Arséne Wenger and his scouts, but Jay is now back in form and back amongst the goals.
Tonight Millwall faced a trip to face a Swansea City side who were unbeaten for a club record 18 games going into the match. However, Millwall settled the quickest and went in front after just 28 seconds thanks to yet another goal from the in-form Lewis Grabban. Simpson was left isolated in midfield and was struggling to create chances as he was constantly being closed down.
But in the second half, his big moment came. From 16 yards out, Jay fired the ball into the back of the net to give the Lions a comfortable lead. He has been short of goals of late, so this could be the morale booster he needs to finish off the season in style.
Swansea were not out of it yet though, and with 18 minutes to go, Fabian Brandy was brought down in the area. Jason Scotland duly dispatched the spot kick but Millwall held on for a vital three points.
Vincent van den Berg- Go Ahead Eagles 1 FC Eindhoven 1
