FA Cup Saves Wenger Again

A good FA Cup Final, a dismal performance from the Union and a tense but ultimately unsatisfying Championship Division Final.  Also, getting ready for a "busy" summer of international action.


A Match of Two Calls

Ramsey heads in Giroud's cross for the game winner

Overall I thought Saturday's FA Cup Final was a great match for the neutral with plenty of back and forth attacking football.  Recognizing that I still believe that referees' decisions don't cost you games, there were two calls that, shall we say, changed the complexion of the match.  One I think Anthony Taylor got wrong but he was spot on with the other.

At four minutes, Alexis Sanchez got Arsenal on the board with a play that was a) a handball, b) offside, c) handball and offside or d) no infractions at all.  Taylor and his assistant went with d) no infraction but a) might be the correct answer.  You can see a decent video of the incident here.  For me, Sanchez extended his arms in an unnatural way and guided the ball so that he could maintain control; in other words, he handled it.  I agree with the announcer that the play was not offside.  You could try to make a case that Courtois didn't get a clear view of Sanchez as early as he otherwise might have, coming around Ramsey as he did but that's about it.  You also might say the rule stinks if that play was not offside but I don't think Taylor was wrong in not calling offside.

The Arsenal goal probably helped make this a lively contest.  But then it seemed Chelsea's fate was sealed with a textbook dive by Victor Moses, right in front of Taylor, for which Moses was awarded his second yellow of the match and was sent into exile.  The video, complete with laugh track, is here.  BFS co-founder and Diving Analyst Dennis F was especially impressed with the technique but ultimately awarded only a 4.5 out of 5 saying there "was not enough embellishment for the full 5."

Chelsea promptly showed how devastating the loss was by equalizing eight minutes later on a fine play by Diego Costa.  But Arsenal would carry the day with a great cross from Giroud that Ramsey headed emphatically into goal for the winner.  This was the third title for Arsenal in four years but probably carries a bit more prestige given the quality of the opponent.  This is not a knock on Hull City or Aston Villa.  Wait, it actually is.

And I would be proven wrong about Wenger, as days after the win, he signed a two-year contract extension.  So, Arsenal fans will still have him to kick around.


Union Run Out of Luck

The Union put up another stinker but this time there would be no PKs or sending off to save them.  I don't know if the Union were slow or if Salt Lake was pressing them but it seemed like every pass was made under pressure, with the result that they were intercepted or otherwise ultimately unsuccessful.  Without heroics from Blake, this would have been 0-3 or 0-4 instead of the final 0-1.  Graham R points out that this team is probably not as bad as the early record suggested nor as good as the recent form might indicate.  No, without improvement or changes, this is a mediocre team that could contend for one of the last playoff spots.  This latest loss helped them to slip back to 9th.  They are back in action at 1 pm vs NYCFC, who sit 5th in the table.  Not hopeful of a good result here, plus soccer at Yankee Stadium is practically unwatchable; the pitch is about as wide as a bowling lane.


Huddersfield Are Going Up

Sir Patrick Stewart displays the full range of a football fan's
 emotions while taking in  Huddersfield-Reading

With Sir Patrick Stewart (right) urging them on, Huddersfield Town edged out Reading in a penalty shootout to secure the last promotion spot from the Championship Division to the EPL.  The match had all the tension you would expect and for about 75 minutes, though scoreless, wasn't terrible.  From there on, through the 30 minutes of extra time, it was just tense, as it looked like everybody was playing not to lose so it was still scoreless after 120 minutes.  Somewhat understandable - would you want to be known as the guy who cost his team $150 million?   Thus, it came down to kicks from the spot and Huddersfield won out, 4-3.  They return to top flight football for the first time since 1972.


Champions League Final

The European club season draws to a close on Saturday with the Champions League final between Juventus and Real Madrid (Fox, 2:45).  The oddsmakers suggest this should be a close match, with Real Madrid a slight favorite.  We will be rooting for Juventus for marginally suspect reasons.  First, the Juventus black and white kit (left) is very Newcastle-like.  Second, as a casual Atletico fan (I do have a scarf), Real Madrid is not a particular favorite of mine.  Mostly, though, I'd just like to see a decent match decided in the run of play, not on a shootout.


International Calendar

Though European club soccer is done, there will be a vigorous international schedule.  The US has two world cup qualifiers in June - 6/8 vs Trinidad & Tobago and 6/11 vs Mexico.  The Gold Cup, Concacaf's biennial tournament, runs from 7/7 to 7/26.  Europe will have a round of WC qualifiers between 6/9-6/11.  And there's the Confederations Cup, an eight team tournament that serves as a dry run for the next World Cup host (Russia in this case).  That will run from June 17 to July 2.  So definitely not as busy as August to May but you'll be able to find some good stuff.