GOAL-SNATCHING
ARSENAL - WEDNESDAY 2:1
— Ivan Sharpe | 17/11/1930 —

Have you ever watched a match in which, while one side was doing all the attacking, you had a feeling that the other chaps would win? That's how I felt about this one.

Arsenal didn't deserve to win. If bombardments count for anything, they didn't deserve a point. They got both — snatched them — because of their tactics, which I will once more explain.

They play — or did again in this match — a kind of "safety-first" game. James and Jack are semi-half-backs.

In this position they help the Arsenal defence to pack the goal (which they were doing for a big part of this game).

This makes it difficult for the opposing forwards to find an opening — there are seven or eight defenders instead of six. It also makes play ugly — so much struggling around a congested goal. 

That's one phase of it; there's another. 

AND AWAY HE GOES!

These two semi half-backs are cute fellows. They are always looking out for the chance to flash through an arrow-like pass between the opposing backs for their centre forward (Lambert) to burst through at goal.

And Lambert can now do this death or glory descent on goal, shouldering off defenders on the way, better than any man I know. He is off the mark very quickly. His size and weight — always fairly used — make him very difficult to knock off the ball.

This way, in this match, Lambert scored twice, and betwixt and between Wednesday peppered their goal, but only once drew blood, this being when they took the lead in the thirteenth minute through Ball, following a flying shot by Burgess that struck the post.

OLD-FASHIONED.

Lambert, who has rubbed off his crudities, is the old-fashioned centre-forward come to life again — the big, tear-away chap who will dash off on his own for goal and from almost any position. He used to rush about rather loosely. Now he is much more dangerous.

Opponents may make plans to stop him, but he is difficult to check because:

(1) His weight and speed are telling; 

(2) The Arsenal's pack-the-goal play naturally makes a breakaway to the other end dangerous, since the opposing defence sooner or later will be drawn well up the field in support of its own attack;

(3) The cuteness of James is such that he can place the through pass in a swift and piercing way.

And that's how Arsenal beat a better and purer football team on Saturday. The Cup-holders beat the League Champions by this safety-first Cup play, and, having been overrun in the second half and bombarded, snatched the winning point five minutes from the end, and in the Sheffield gloom. Gloom is correct.

SPLENDID DEFENCE.

They tell me Arsenal can play two games. I believe it. But I have only seen this uglier one.

You could not call them good League leaders in this game. If all First Division teams played on this pattern the game would be a dull affair. We should be inflicted with the complaint that Rugby men raise — too much scrummaging and spotting, and too little, open, artistic passing in attack.

But full credit must go to their defence. Harper saved them — he played magnificertly — and, with the packed-goal business to congest attacks, the Wednesday forwards seldom looked like beating him despite their onslaughts.

The play of Parker, Hapgood, and Roberts also was heroic, and it certainly can be said for Arsenal's unattractive system that it shut down the route to their goal.

Wednesday kept the game open in an attempt to beat it and find an avenue to goal. But when, in the second half, they still remained at 1-1 despite all their attacks, they lost much of the coolness and precision that has marked their work in other games, and played the ball in a more haphazard way into the front of the goal.

This suited Roberts and Parker down to the ground. They must have headed that muddy ball scores of times. As defenders, in fact, Arsenal were strong all round, John being efficient enough to join occasionally in the through-passing scheme and, in fact, giving Lambert the ball that got the winning goal.

THE THREE RED LINE.

Of the semi-half-backs James was the danger spot, Jack being a minor force in the game. James was always elusive, sometimes failed in his scheming, but once or twice achieved that telling pass down the middle to Lambert, who had to thank him for his equalising goal 15 minutes before half-time

It was the weakness of the attack that it had practically only the one aforesaid plan of campaign. Sometimes the front line of three (Williams, Lambert, and Bastin) was feeble, but what else could be expected? Too often an individual raid was asked of a man.

Lambert could do it. Bastin couldn't; but Williams played quite well. Bastin also failed with a penalty-kick, which was perhaps as well for the referee, as an uglier demonstration I have not seen for many a day. Was it a penalty? How could I tell from 150 yards away and in the fading light?

MISSED ALLEN.

The result does the Wednesday an injustice, but when I have seen them Arsenal have mostly won their games this way. The system was emphasised in this match because Wednesday had so much of the play and yet were beaten.

On this occasion they could have done with Allen's weight at centre-forward, for BaLl, although an improved and plucky centre, could not get through the packs of players.

But the chief disappointment was Hooper, who seemed over-anxious and tried to do too much, so that after the usual lively start he missed chances and faded out.

The rest of the line played well and, with the half-backs, gave us the best football of the match. Although the Wednesday were put out of stride to some extent by Arsenal's tactics, and Strange was less sure of himself than usual, the defence played a cool, resourceful game, and was unfortunate to finish on the losing side.

FINALE.

I think most people would say the points should have stayed at Sheffield. One neighbour of mine did — with appalling emphasis. This vociferous wednesdayne is Football's Champion Spectator. Every moment he seemed likely bodily and com reensively to explode.

When Arsenal grabbed the winning goal words failed him. He rose to his feet, swallowed his wrath in one choking gulp, and went home. Pity his wife.

Sheffield Wednesday: Brown; Walker, Blenkinsop; Strange, Leach, Wilson; Hooper, Seea, Ball, Burgess, and Rimmer.

Arsenal: Harper; Parker, Hapgood; Seddon, Roberts, John; Williams, Jack, Lambert, James, Bastin.

Referee: L. B. Watson (Nottingham).