Young Guns take step towards FA Cup Final

THE Arsenal under-18 side beat Manchester United 1-0 in a FA Youth Cup semi-final first leg at the Emirates.

In front of a crowd of 38,187 – a record for the competition and almost the same number of fans as at Villa Park – Steve Bould’s youngsters got the better of their rivals thanks to a sublime second-half strike by midfielder Kieran Gibbs. The Lambeth-born 17-year-old latched on to left-back Armand Traore’s clever pass 14 minutes after the break to unleash an unstoppable drive past United keeper Ben Amos and into the top-left hand corner. It was the first time the resolute United rearguard had been breached in this year’s competition and means the Gunners only need a draw in the return leg at Old Trafford in three weeks time to book their place in their first final in six years, against Liverpool or Newcastle. Traore, ever-present for the first team in their Carling Cup run this season, was the most experienced player for an exciting Arsenal team that also featured the talented Spaniard Fran Merida and livewire hitman Jay Simpson, author of the first ever Emirates hat-trick in the quarter-final win over Cardiff. But it was the visitors who had the best chances of the first half with Sam Hewston and Febian Brandy both proving a handful for central defenders Paul Rogers and Gavin Hoyte, brother of Arsenal first-teamer Justin. Twice the home side relied on clinical blocks from Rogers who, once he sorts out his wayward distribution and on-the-ball contribution, could prove a hit with the first team. Arsenal’s first chance before the interval came when Gibbs’ fifteenth minute header zipped past the left upright following a corner. Minutes later Simpson gathered the ball on the edge of the box with his chest, turned and smashed a fierce drive over the bar with Amos sprawling. Otherwise, the home side, for all their intricate passing and fluid movement, looked technically brilliant without really testing their opponents, much like the club’s first team in so many games this season. After the break, however, the young Guns attacked with vim and vigour. The breakthrough almost came on 55 minutes after Dutch playmaker Nacer Barazite burst into the box and rifled his rising shot into the side netting. The decisive moment came soon after when Gibbs hit home emphatically to give the expectant crowd something to cheer about. Buoyed by breaking down United’s traditionally water-tight defence, Arsenal began to dictate the game. In the 67th minute, England Under-17 international Rhys Murphy, on as a substitute, found space on the edge of the box only to see his curling effort cannon off the crossbar with Amos well beaten. It was the most memorable of a series of Arsenal attacks which came from all directions. At the other end, sliding interventions from both Simpson and Hoyte kept United at bay, although the visitors could have drawn level in the dying moments of the game when Danny Welbeck’s freekick was expertly palmed away by the hitherto untested Lee Butcher. With the youthful crowd whistling, throwing chips and engaging in lengthy Mexican waves, the referee finally blew his whistle amid a raucous crescendo of noise. If only Arsenal’s first team could elicit such a reception at all of their home games. Post-match entertainment came from a group of teenage spectators who managed to leap-frog the hoardings and invade the pitch. After much hi-jinx and sliding around, they were rounded up by the stewards and escorted from the pitch.