Late Giroud strike downs Preston


Arsenal captain Olivier Giroud struck late to send his side into the FA Cup fourth round with a 2-1 win at Preston North End on Saturday night.

The Premier League side had to do it the hard way against their Sky Bet Championship opposition, coming from behind at Deepdale following Callum Robinson's seventh-minute opener.

Preston squandered several clear-cut chances to add a second and were punished when Aaron Ramsey equalised a minute after half-time.

And Giroud, who scored a dramatic leveller against Bournemouth on Tuesday night, repeated the trick, bundling home from Lucas Perez's neat back-heel.

There was more good news for Arsenal as Danny Welbeck made his first appearance for eight months, replacing Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain in the closing stages.

Arsene Wenger made five changes from the draw at Bournemouth, leaving Petr Cech, Laurent Koscielny, Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil at home and handing the armband to Giroud.

Preston, meanwhile, made three changes and the hosts dominated the first half, opening the scoring through the lively Robinson.

Everton loanee Aiden McGeady had a crucial role in creating the goal, with Robinson on hand to slot home after a fortuitous break of the ball.

The Preston goalscorer was a constant menace alongside strike partner Jordan Hugill, and the Championship outfit had three big chances to extend their lead before the break.

The best was wasted by Robinson, who failed to pick out Hugill for a tap-in at the far post after springing Arsenal's offside trap.

Monreal cleared Paul Gallagher's lob off the line and Shkodran Mustafi recovered well to block Robinson's goal-bound header as last-ditch defending kept Arsenal in the game.

Preston were made to pay for those missed chances when the Gunners equalised within 50 seconds of the restart.

Ramsey, who went closest for the visitors in the first half with a header straight at Preston goalkeeper Chris Maxwell, blasted home from 18 yards.

The goal sparked Arsenal into life and they enjoyed the better of the second period, with Maxwell busy to deny Mustafi and Alex Iwobi.

It set the stage for Giroud, who had a goal correctly ruled out for offside earlier in the half, to deny Preston the chance for a replay at the Emirates.

The Arsenal skipper rose highest to flick on for Perez before latching onto the Spaniard's back-heel and turning past Maxwell.

There was still time for Welbeck to go close as the Preston 'keeper denied the Arsenal forward the perfect comeback with a fine save in the final minute.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Chelsea sign Bakayoko from Monaco for £40M

Image
Tiemoue Bakayoko has joined Chelsea from Monaco and become the club's second-most expensive signing of all time. Sky Sports News HQ understands the 22-year-old has cost the Blues £40m - some £10m less than Fernando Torres in 2011. Bakayoko, an athletic central midfielder, has signed a five-year contract at Stamford Bridge and will join up with France international team-mate N'Golo Kante. Bakayoko said: "I have grown up watching Chelsea. Signing was the natural thing for me because it is a club I loved very much in my childhood. "I am now looking forward to evolving under this fantastic coach (Antonio Conte) and alongside so many great team-mates." Chelsea's technical director Michael Emenalo said: "Tiemoue was outstanding as Monaco emerged as one of Europe's best sides last season and we are delighted to welcome him to Chelsea. "Despite his young age he already has plenty of experience as a French title winner and having competed ...
Read more

Jose Gimenez's goal secured a late win for Uruguay against Egypt

Image
It’s another exciting atmosphere in Russia as Egypt take on Uruguay in a group A encounter. Uruguay dominated possession in the first 3 minutes of the opening stage of the first half. Caceres was put under pressure defensively but can’t keep the ball in play after tackle, though it shows Egypt are doing everything within their reach to limit the time Uruguay have on the ball. Egypt are starting to to enjoy the game after the early pressure from the Uruguay. Cavani look threatening to the Egypt defense with the first attempt of the game, firing a low shot from outside the box that El – Shenawy managed to keep out comfortably. Egypt have done great defensively as they’ve kept Uruguay silent and finding thir rhythm in attack. Egypt with their first attempt of the game as trezeguet forced Muslera into action for the first time. He chests the ball down to create some chance in the box but couldn’t get contact with the ball properly. Egypt are looking more dangerous on th...
Read more

Ronaldo on a rare run of goals and assists for Juventus

Image
The Portuguese star is on a rare run of getting goals and assists, after pulling it off against Parma, Sassuolo and Frosinone Cristiano Ronaldo proved his importance to Juventus once again as he scored and assisted in a match for the third time in a row on Friday. The 34-year-old helped fire the Serie A leaders to a 3-0 win over Frosinone when he set Paulo Dybala up for the opening goal and then netted his side's third in the second half. Having also notched goals and assists against Parma and Sassuolo in the previous two league games, he is on a rare run of form of playing the dual role of scorer and provider for the defending champions. It is the second time in the 33-year-old's career that he has scored and set up goals in three games in a row. The last time he put such run together was in November 2014, when he was still with Real Madrid. Ronaldo's 19th goal extends his lead at the top of the Serie A goal chart, while he now has made the joint-most ass...
Read more