Sport - Football   

Arsenal retains FA Cup

CARDIFF (Wales) May 17. Robert Pires scored the only goal of the 122nd FA Cup final as defending champion Arsenal beat Southampton 1-0 on Saturday to become the first team for 21 years to win the famous trophy two seasons in a row.

The Frenchman struck seven minutes before half time as injury-hit Arsenal, which lost its Premier League title to Manchester United, gained the consolation of winning soccer's oldest cup competition for the ninth time in its record 16th final.

Veteran England goalkeeper David Seaman, captain of the team in the absence of injured Patrick Vieira, ensured Arsenal's victory when he pushed a shot from Brett Ormerod over the top seven minutes from the end and Ashley Cole cleared a header from James Beattie off the line in the fifth minute of injury time.

But Arsenal should have been three goals ahead by then, Thierry Henry going close at least three times and Saints defenders twice clearing off the line.

``The team was under pressure today because we were scared to finish without a trophy,'' said Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger.

``The last few weeks have been difficult I suppose. We got the trophy we wanted today.

``We are disappointed not having won the (league) championship but we finished runners-up and won the FA Cup and we were very, very close to a double double,'' Wenger said.

Henry, who signed a new 3-year extension to his Arsenal contract on the eve of the final, said the victory partly made up for losing the league title.

``This win was something we were waiting for. It would have been difficult to finish without a trophy,'' he said.

``The result is only 1-0 but to be fair we had some chances, (Antti) Niemi made some great saves. What a pleasure it is to win something. To win nothing would've been a massive disappointment.

``People said things about me, whether I would still be here next year,'' Henry said. ``But my desire is still the same and when I see the fans singing my name I don't want to leave and that's why I signed the contract.''

Although Saints twice went close near the end, captain Chris Marsden said it was difficult to accept defeat.

``We're not delighted at getting beat. It's hitting us now, walking around see all our fans and seeing Arsenal pick the cup up,'' he said. ``It's quite a sobering moment.

The final was the first in the competition's long history to be played ``indoors'', officials deciding to close the Millennium Stadium roof because of heavy rain. — AP

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Sport

News: Front Page | National | Southern States | Other States | International | Opinion | Business | Sport | Miscellaneous |
Advts: Classifieds | Employment | Obituary |

Stories in this Section

Chess

• Smooth sailing for IMs
  
  Cricket
  
• Australia 109 for two
• A truly surprising England squad
• Captains look to batsmen to fire
  
  Football
  
• Arsenal retains FA Cup
  
  Hockey
  
• Champions Trophy: India opens against Holland
  
  Sports : General
  
• IMG founder McCormack dead
  
  Tennis
  
• Liza prevails over Ankita to complete a double
• Vishnuvardhan finishes in style
• Clijsters, Sugiyama in last four
• Calleri makes final
• Harsh in doubles semifinals
  
  

Copyright © 2003, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu