So this was it, the season defining game. Win this one and go on to play I the biggest footballing show piece of the year and the season is successful. Not many Gooners went into the game brimming with confidence after all last weeks game was a terribly disappointing affair and gave us little to shout about but I think confidence breeds confidence so I went with my head held high. Technically the end of that game was only half time and we had time on our side to over come a 1-0 deficit. But still 2 goals against them and keeping it tight at the back would take us through.
We lined up with last weeks hero, Manuel Almunia, taking up his usual place between the sticks. Gibbs, another hero of last week, on the left, Toure, Djourou and Sagna making up the back four. Across the middle we had Walcott on the right, with Song, Fabregas and Nasri completing the midfield. Upfront was Adebayor and a welcome return for Van Persie.
For the first 8 minutes the atmosphere inside the Grove was red hot. We were finding our feet and putting together some nice passing. A good bit of play down the left Gibbs fluffed his lines and his cross ended up nowhere. Still decent enough play in the opening stages.
Then disaster struck. A cross that looked easy enough to deal with was then gifted to Ji Sung Park after Gibbs slipped in the ball. After last weeks heroics I was expecting Almunia to get down and gobble it up like Hungry Hippos. Park put it in the next with a good finish. We were now on the hunt for three.
Three minutes later the world crumbled round us. After conceding a soft free kick to who else but Mr Gay UK, the northern poofcake, the manc whore, the guy everyone would love to punch square between the eyes, Ronaldo. The irritating little t**t then stuck it in to make it 2-0. Numb.
11 minutes in and it felt like it was over. It really was. We did nothing of note in the first half that I can recall. The heads of the players and fans were down and there was no-one out there willing to pick the game up and at least try to make a go of it. We were snuffed out with every attempted attack to be honest they put up a fight and we shit ourselves.
The second half was no better than the last or the previous two halves in Manchester. Eboue had come on for Gibbs which seriously worried me in two ways. I was hoping first of all it wasn’t because the kids confidence was in tatters, then hoping he wasn’t injured and finally hoping that Eboue wouldn’t end up being booed the last time he was seriously played out of position. The manner in which they took their third summed up the tie for me. After a Fabregas corner which as per usual resulted in nothing, Manure broke away after some nice trickery poofcake *spits*. A sweeping move which totally done us for pace. Hands up it was a great goal and one I’d have been wanking myself silly over had it been us.
By this time I just wanted to f**k off, phone up the PM of Laos and tell them I’d take that pregnant birds punishment and get shot for her. Then I decided maybe I’d be better phoning the bird up, scoring a bit of brown off her and curling up in a ball and bawling my eyes out.
We were absolutely nowhere until we were gifted a rather cheap penalty from the Italian ref who had lost the plot completely by this point. The Pers steps up and executes a brilliant penalty. Apparently the Laos firing squad are considering calling him up for his brilliance in the execution field. To be fair though I barely raised a smile when it went it. The tie was finished.
All in all the tie was lost in the first leg. A shoddy performance in Manchester man a lot of fans, and possibly some players, doubt we could go on and do it. We were desperately unlucky with conceding when we did but the better team wet through and yet again we are left wondering when the potential is going to be fulfilled.
Leading up to tonight I was almost sick with excitement, when I left I felt sick to the pit of my stomach with disappointment. It's sad when the best part of your night is trying to decide what the sniffer dog was doing. Apparently he dropped a big bag of hash there the other week and was trying to find it. Other unconfirmed reports it that it was Didier Dogbaar on a scouting mission. Sorry.
Hopefully the boys can pick themselves up and do us a favour by raping (copyright Alan Pardew) Chelski.
I really apologise for the shitness of this report but I just feel utterly numb to the core.