GOALLESS AT THE COLLIERY

EBAC NORTHERN LEAGUE DIVISION TWO
EASINGTON COLLIERY 0 NORTHALLERTON TOWN 0
By Ricky Butler. Additional reporting from Connor Lamb and Andy Heywood

THERE WERE NO GOALS AND PRECIOUS LITTLE EXCITEMENT AT WELFARE PARK LAST NIGHT AS TWO OF THE DIVISION'S IN-FORM SIDES, EASINGTON COLLIERY AND NORTHALLERTON TOWN, CANCELLED EACH OTHER OUT.

Easington, back in the Ebac Northern League this season after a three year absence, had seen their eight-match unbeaten run brought to an end at struggling Esh Winning over the weekend, while EA Cup finalists Town arrived on the back of a good run of only one defeat in their previous ten matches.

But after a bright start in which Easington's Shaun Smith saw a cross cut out by Town defender, Daniel Jones, the match developed into a dour, midfield battle with chances at either end few and far between.

The hosts did much of the early pressing and in the 15th minute, Luke Page lifted a good ball into the penalty area but Jones headed clear again.

Meanwhile, Town were slowly settling into the match and Aaron Ramsbottom's high ball into the penalty area was well dealt with by home goalkeeper, Kyle Donaldson, under pressure from Elliot McGlade.

Northallerton were now just shading proceedings and they came close to opening the scoring midway through the first half. A free-kick from 25 yards by Ramsbottom curled over the Easington wall but Donaldson punched the ball behind for a corner.

Colliery responded with Stephen Bogie looking to thread the ball through to Joe Kerridge but Town goalkeeper Michael Thackeray rushed out to clear the danger.

Although no real chances were being created, both sides were busy, probing for the breakthrough. A mazy run from Page saw him dart from one edge of the penalty area to the other but his shot was blocked. Then, at the other end, Damon Reaks knocked the ball wide to Ramsbottom, who's low cross was cleared.

That summed up much of the first half where good approach play from both sides was let down by a poor final ball.

Looking to shake things up during the interval, Town manager, Darren Trotter, replaced Reaks with Daniel Ballantyne, but the pattern of the match did not really change in the second half.

Easington however, did begin to look a lot more dangerous and six minutes after the restart they twice came close to edging in front. Firstly, a deep cross from Liam Hodgson fell just wide of the far post, while Page then started a promising Easington move which saw Hodgson tee-up Aidan Heywood, but his curling effort just missed the target.

Approaching the hour-mark the hosts again came close to breaking the deadlock. Reece Kenney hit a long-range drive which forced Thackeray into a diving save but the former Billingham Town goalkeeper could only palm the ball to Kerridge, who saw his effort deflected behind for a corner.

With 64 minutes on the clock, Easington made their first change as Bogie gave way for Bryan Norton, while a minute later, an Easington free-kick led to a game of head tennis inside the Town penalty area before the away side eventually cleared.

Northallerton then made a second change as McGlade was replaced by Jack Dalton, while at the same time, Easington made what turned out to be a final substitution of the night as Peter Jones came on for Kenney.

With eighteen minutes left, Town's Mark Hemingway lifted a free-kick into the penalty area which Donaldson easily claimed, while the Easington goalkeeper then did just enough to deal with Stuart Owens' dangerous set-piece delivery.

The home side had the chance to grab the lead in the 77th minute when Smith played in Kerridge but he could only fire straight at the ‘keeper. Then, less than a minute later, Kerridge found himself in a promising position once again following a pass from Heywood, but despite looking ill-at-ease, the Northallerton defence somehow managed to clear the danger.

With time running out, the visitors made a tactical change as Hemingway and Ballantyne switched wings, and in the final few seconds it almost paid dividends. Donaldson failed to cleanly collect a Ballantyne cross but the Easington goalkeeper quickly recovered to deny Town what would have been a very late winner.

The draw does neither side any favours as Town remain in sixth place, 12 points off a possible promotion place, with Easington one place and two points worse off.

Next up for Town is a trip to Willington on Saturday while Easington host Thornaby. Both games kick off at 3pm.

EASINGTON COLLIERY: Donaldson, Hodgson, Varga, Pearson (c), O’Brien, Kenney, Heywood, Page, Kerridge, Boyle, Smith. Subs: Nesbit, Martin, Maughan, Norton, Jones.

NORTHALLERTON TOWN: Thackeray, Johnson, Hemingway, Keogh, Jones, Knox, Reaks, Owens (c), Ramsbottom, McGlade, McLachlan. Subs: Ballantyne, Calvert, Dalton, Foley, Farrell.

REFEREE: Darren Wylam.

ATTENDANCE: 102

Barca defeat and TV schedules - Reasons to be cheerful (part 54)

By Ricky Butler

SO ANOTHER DISAPPOINTING European exit. Once again we paid the price for a poor first leg result, although there is certainly no shame in losing to this Barcelona side.

At least we showed some character in the Nou Camp. It was actually a decent performance. Yes, Barca, 2-0 up from that first leg at the Emirates, were already on the beach but there was still a lot of positives to take on the night.

Alex Iwobi, 19, proved again that he is set for a big future while Mohamed Elneny had his best game yet in an Arsenal shirt. Arsene Wenger has had his critics in recent months but he has once again unearthed two real gems.

Elsewhere it was a familiar story as we paid the price for some poor defending and a failure to take our chances. We needed to score first and we had several chances to do just that; Alexis Sanchez' header which glanced just wide being the best.

Once we went behind in the 18^th minute to a well taken goal from Neymar, just moments after David Ospina had produced an incredible save to deny Lionel Messi, we played with more freedom and should have had a penalty before the break when Iwobi was clipped by Javier Mascherano. With the Nigerian teenager clean through on goal, a red card may well have followed for the Spaniard.

However, history shows us that English sides never get any big decisions in the Nou Camp so we should not have been surprised when the Russian official waved away our appeals.

Elneny's superb strike early in the second half, which had Messi or Neymar scored would have been talked about for weeks, briefly raised our hopes. Danny Welbeck, again showing what a terrific player he is, had a great chance to bring us to within one goal of going through. But Mascherano, who perhaps should not still have been on the field, got across make to make a crucial block.

The danger was always a Barca counter-attack and midway through the second half that was exactly what happened. Luis Suarez' volley appeared to come off his shin but it flew in off the underside of the crossbar and that was that. Game over.

Sanchez' free kick did force a great save from Marc-Andre de Stegen, who then did well to keep out Olivier Giroud's follow up, and Welbeck hit the crossbar, but on the night that was the difference; Barca took their chances, and in the closing stages they added an undeserved third.

Again our defending left a lot to be desired but it was a tidy finish from an otherwise disappointing Messi. 3-1 on the night, 5-1 on aggregate. We perhaps deserved better over the two legs but with a front three of MSN, Barca are pretty much unstoppable. Last year we went out out a team who we should have beaten, this time we can have very few complaints.

So where now for Wenger? Saturday's trip to Everton is now even more important. Nothing less than victory will do.

Off track slightly but it is great that the TV companies have helped by making it a lunchtime kick off after a Wednesday night away match in Europe. Not that we should be surprised as they never take into the account the players or the fans when it comes to rescheduling games. Unless it is Manchester United or Chelsea. Have either of them ever faced such a schedule at this point in a title race?

Surely from an audience point of view it would have been in BT Sports best interests to have two fresh teams playing. What will inevitably happen now is Arsenal will have to try to get the job done early on, making the second half a non-event. Cue millions of viewers switching off.

But enough of all that. Nothing less than three points will do and the only positive is that we have a very good record at Goodison Park. Everton have their own problems, especially at home, and they will more focused on the FA Cup, so expect a very cagey, error-ridden match.

If we can take the positives from the Nou Camp I still feel we still have a chance to claw back Spurs and Leicester City. A small chance, perhaps, but a chance nonetheless. Despite evidence to the contrary in recent weeks, we do have some very good players and if they can get that spark back maybe we can salvage something from the wreckage of the season.

Wenger has another year left on his contract and I'd like him to see it through regardless or what happens over the final nine matches. The problems are more to do with the ownership of the club, and getting a new manager in would not alter that. The club have to change their whole philosophy or we will have to accept that the top 4 and the odd cup run will be the limit of our ambitions for the foreseeable future.

Of course things could be much, much worse, but we are The Arsenal. We have a rich history and we should be challenging for honours. The frustrating thing is we are so close; maybe just three or four players away from matching the likes of Barca and Bayern Munich.

So a season that promised so much is now just 90 minutes away from being over. Victory at Goodison could ignite a run-in to defy all the odds but I am not convinced it will happen. The Barca match will have taken its toll and I expect a tired Arsenal to limp to defeat, Lukaku perhaps proving the difference.

Ten-men Gunners keep title chances alive

TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR 2 ARSENAL 2

by Richard Butler

WHAT A DIFFERENCE a few days makes. They say a week is a long time in politics but in football it is even longer.

After shocking performances over the previous six days against Manchester United and Swansea City which lacked the necessary spirit and character of an Arsenal side, this draw at White Hart Lane epitomised everything that The Arsenal is all about.

1-0 up and cruising at the home of their neighbours, it all looked to be going wrong early in the second half when Francis Coquelin was shown a second yellow card for a nonsensical challenge on Harry Kane. The two Spurs' goal which followed in space of less than two minutes appeared to not only seal this result but also end once and for all the Gunners title challenge.

But from out nowhere this much criticised Arsenal side dug deep to draw level, and in the end they might even have snatched all three points. Football, eh? Bloody hell!!

Wenger was understandably delighted with the point but also disappointed it was not more. He said: “It was vital for us [to get something] today. We come out of the match with regrets as I couldn't see how we would drop points when we were 1-0 up and 11 against 11.

“After the shock of going down to ten men and then down 2-1 and we have shown a great response again to all the people who doubt our character.”

Spurs' boss, Mauricio Pochettino, felt his side had thrown it away. He said: “I think yes it is [a missed opportunity]. We feel disappointed for the last ten or fifteen minutes but we need to recognise too that the effort from our players was fantastic.

“I think we played much better than Arsenal and we created more chances. We tried to push and score the third goal but we took risks and unluckily for us they scored for 2-2.”

This was billed as the biggest North London derby in history and the day the power shift was meant to finally move from N5 to N17.

But Wenger's side had not read the script. Despite a nervy start in which David Ospina, in for the injured Petr Cech for his first Premier League appearance of the season, produced a smart save to deny Eric Lamela, Arsenal grew into the match.

And just before half time, they grabbed an unlikely lead with a goal of real beauty. Danny Welbeck did well down the left and when his low cross found Hector Bellerin, the Spaniard's pass was neatly back-heeled into the net by Aaron Ramsey.

The Welshman has been criticised in recent weeks for a series of poor performances in a central midfield role, and his selection on the right here ahead of midweek goalscorer, Joel Campbell, was a shock. But he does have goals in him and this moment perfectly illustrated what he brings to this team.

But when Coquelin, impressive up until then, sliced down Kane on the near touchline just ten minutes into the second half to receive a second yellow card from referee Michael Oliver, it looked all over for Wenger's men.

Indeed within five minutes, Toby Alderweireld had fired Spurs level from a corner poorly defended by Arsenal, and when Kane then curled home a delicious second after a mistake from the otherwise outstanding Per Mertersacker, it sent Pochettino's side to the top of the Premier League table.

With so much written about Arsenal's supposed lack of character and spirit there appeared to be no way back. But perhaps aided by a home side who appeared to not quite be able to believe the position they now found themselves in, the ten men drew level with fourteen minutes left.

Again Bellerin created the opportunity with a lovely ball into the area and Alexis Sanchez, another to have been off the boil in recent matches, whipped a first-time shot across Hugo Lloris into the far corner of the net to send the travelling fans behind the goal into ecstasy.

In fact Wenger's men, character and spirit very much to the fore, almost won it in stoppage time. Ramsey, who had covered every blade of grass, made one last lung-bursting run into the penalty area but just as he looked set to fire home, Kevin Wimmer got across to deflect his effort over the top.

So a draw; a result that does not really help either side. Leicester City, who won at Watford, have increased their lead at the top to five points with just nine games remaining. Arsenal are a further three adrift.

Of course nothing is decided yet. In this of all seasons it is impossible to predict what twists and turns lie ahead. But you certainly get the feeling that this was a big chance missed for Spurs. It is over twenty years since they last finished above their neighbours in the Premier League. A win here would have given them a six point advantage. Low on confidence and down to ten men, Arsenal was there for the taking.

This is potentially the best chance either of these two sides will get to win the title but on this evidence neither look capable of doing so.

Spurs' problems seem to be tiredness from a long season, not helped by a small squad and a run in the Europa League, and an over-reliance on Kane. The 22-year old Englishman has undoubted talent: 51 goals in his last 91 appearances demonstrates that.

But he also wastes plenty of opportunities for his team with a shoot on sight policy, often refusing to pass to a better positioned team mate if he thinks there is a minuscule chance of him scoring. When it comes off, as it did spectacularly here, everything appears rosy. But all too often good moves break down with a poor shot from a tight angle when a pass would have been the better option.

Arsenal, on the other hand, can take a lot of encouragement from this spirited comeback. A good result against Spurs often leads to a strong run in, and they will certainly need one if they are to haul back the leaders.

With more attacking options than any of their title rivals, Manchester City excluded, it would be foolish to bet against the Gunners. But they will possibly need seven wins from their last nine matches, a big ask when you consider the fact that they have failed to win more than three in a row since October.

So in a season with not one outstanding side, this title is literally anyone's. Good for the neutral, perhaps, but possibly not good for the game in this country as a whole. Not that either of these two North London rivals will care about that should they lift the trophy in May.  

Another home defeat to Swansea; the point of no return?

ARSENAL 1 SWANSEA CITY 2

By Ricky Butler

WHEN A TEAM is battling for the title the minimum you expect is to see a bit fighting spirit on the pitch. But this meek surrender to a weakened Swansea City side was painful to watch.

You could point to the fact that we hit the woodwork three times. Or that Mesut Ozil was fouled in the build up to the Swans' first goal. Or that Ashley Williams' winner was offside. But none of that can disguise the fact that this performance was nowhere near good enough.

After a bright start which had seen the recalled Joel Campbell give us an early lead, we completely fell apart after the Swansea equaliser. The players seem to lack not only confidence but also direction.

I actually think the problem is that Arsene Wenger has them believing that they are better than they actually are. So when things don't go well and we get turned over by poor sides like Swansea, the players are looking around wondering what the hell is going on.

Aaron Ramsey is case in point. Apart from half a season back at the start of 2013-14, the guy has been poor since his dreadful injury yet Wenger insists on picking him every week. Clearly this sends out the message that he must be doing okay.

Yes, Ramsey has lots of energy and covers an incredible amount of ground. He can make some great, late runs into the box. But he can't do the basics such as pass to a team-mate, tackle or shoot. He wants to play centrally yet when he has done so he looks out of his depth and gives the ball away more than any other player.

We have missed Santi Cazorla and Jack Wilshere, there is no doubt about that. Both can carry the ball in midfield, drive us forward, something neither Ramsey nor Francis Coquelin are capable of doing. New signing Mohammed Elneny could fulfil that role yet Wenger rarely uses him.

Alexis Sanchez is another to be suffering at the moment. In fact bar a run of five or six games in the autumn, he has been poor all season. This match summed up his recent problems. A simple first half chance and he completely missed his kick. This is a world class player and not for the first time in recent games, he fails to connect with the ball.

Wenger has said he is just coming back from injury and needs time to regain his sharpness, yet he has played several games now and appears to getting progressively worse with each one.

I have always supported the manager despite the evidence piling up against him. But even I am struggling now. The decision to take off Campbell last night, easily our best player, was baffling. Wenger said he was looking tired having not played a for a while. But that's only because you have failed to pick him, Wenger, despite the poor form of Alexis and Theo Walcott.

In his 70 minutes against Swansea, the Costa Rican had more influence on the match than either Sanchez or Walcott have had in the last 10 put together.

Danny Welbeck, a scorer in his two league matches since returning from injury, started on the bench. Why? Surely he needs game time, like Alexis, to get back to full match fitness.

It is just baffling.

The frustrating thing is we were playing so well before Christmas. We had the best record in the calendar year of 2015. Most wins, most points, most goals scored. But the 4-0 defeat at Southampton on Boxing Day seems to have derailed our season, just like the heavy defeat at Liverpool did two years ago.

Our home form has not been great either. From the opening day defeat against West Ham we have rarely hit the heights at Emirates. We have scored just 19 league goals at home, less than Newcastle United. On just two occasions have we scored more than twice in a match at home.

In all fairness we could play this game against Swansea 10 times and we'd win nine. If either Sanchez or Olivier Giroud had scored in the first half instead of hitting the woodwork, we would have won comfortably. But as soon as we conceded the confidence ebbed away.

So when we went 2-1 down with a little over fifteen minutes to play, instead of rising to the challenge and throwing everything at Swansea, we retreated into our shell. Players who earlier in the season where giving their all to ensure we got the result were scared to take a chance.

No balls were put into the box for Giroud to attack. Too many square passes and no movement. This was not the performance of a team who believes they can win the title. It was the performance of a team lacking leadership and direction.

Successful teams, and by successful I mean teams that win titles, roll up their sleeves up when things go against them. Playing poorly we can all accept. But giving up? No way.

And so on to Spurs. Knowing us, we will probably go there and win, giving us all false hope again. But I won't be fooled. I said back in 2013 that I believed this group would win the title by 2016. I honestly thought they would. I felt they were growing together as a squad and with the additions of Ozil, Sanchez and Petr Cech, we had the world class players we had been lacking.

Back-to-back FA Cup wins convinced me even more that this would be our year. The collapse of Chelsea and Manchester City merely strengthened that belief. But I have now conceded defeat. I was wrong. For all their ability, and despite recent performances they do have plenty of ability, they will never have the mental toughness required to win the title. And for that Wenger must take the blame.

So as much as it pains me to say it, it is now time for change. I love Wenger and really hope that he can go out on a high. He deserves that. A record third straight FA Cup win would be a great way to go. 20 years that has seen some unimaginable highs should not end with the whimper of another failed title challenge.

I am old enough to remember the demise of George Graham. This current situation reminds me of that. A team drifting along going nowhere fast. A manager running out of ideas. It was said Graham went due to the 'bung' he received but that was merely an excuse to get rid of a manager who had gone stale.

We were all upset for a while but we supported the club and soon we were rewarded with the genius that was Wenger. We have now come full circle and I have no doubt we will be rewarded again.

Wenger, your players have let you down but you must take responsibility. The same mistakes are being made, week in, week out, season after season. A fresh approach is needed. I'm sorry it has come to this but, bye bye, Arsene, and thanks for the memories. The King is dead, long live the King...