Soccer Central

It was veteran midfielder Nick Barmby that opened the scoring for Hull City this evening, putting the club on the front foot in just the 13th minute of the match. For much of the game the score remained at 1-0, and Hull continued to lead Arsenal despite heavy pressure. Hull tried hard to remain in the cup, and even had a second goal ruled out for offside soon after the first; Robin van Persie equalised in the 74th minute though, and once Arsenal had a goal back; the team continued to push on.

In the 84th minute William Gallas controversially scored the winner from a header, scoring his goal from an offside position. The goal should not have stood, it’s the goal that has ultimately sent Arsenal flying through to Wembley for the next round of the FA Cup though, and a semi-final against Chelsea is now what Arsenal fans have to look forward to.

Arsenal deserved to win, and it’s a shame that the goal that sent them through should not have counted. Just to make matters worse, Hull City manager Phil Brown accused Cesc Fabregas of spitting at his assistant Brian Horton in the tunnel after the match. Arsenal captain Fabregas denies it, but if it is indeed true then that’s just absolutely disgusting behaviour from the Arsenal player.

Hull City fans have a right to feel aggrieved about the result given the controversial nature of the winner; on the balance of play it was Arsenal that deserved to win this one though, and although Hull City was unlucky to be punished so controversially, Arsenal perhaps would have gone on to score the winner anyway, and there’s no guarantee that had the goal been ruled out then it wouldn’t have spurred the Arsenal players on even more to push on and win the match.

Hull City was unlucky, but it was Arsenal that was the best team over the course of the 90 minutes. The end result could have been so different had it been Hull City that had their offside goal counted; sadly for them luck was not on their side though, and the most talented and impressive team won.

Hull City 1-2 Arsenal

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