Jack, Dean and Scott Shoot Down the Gunners.

I Got Two Babe

By The Kid
November 21 2005

On a chilly Winter Saturday morning the Academy got Chelsea Football Club's day off to a thrilling start as they beat their counterparts from North London, Arsenal 3-1 at the training complex in Cobham.

As the first team were no doubt reporting in and settling down to their pre-match lunch before their game against Newcastle, the Academy went into their half-time leading 2-0.

Chelsea's goalscorers were Jack Watkins and Dean Furman. This is what coach Brendan Rodgers had to say

"We won the ball high up the pitch, a terrific interception and pass from Dean Furman played in Jack Watkins who slotted in an excellent finish. There was a great sequence of passes to get Dean Furman in on the edge of the box and he supplied another cool finish," for Chelsea's second.

Rodgers also added about the first-half performance by saying "There was a great sequence of passes to get Dean Furman in on the edge of the box and he supplied another cool finish."

Although critical Rodgers said about the second-half "Arsenal came into it a little bit more but I still felt we controlled the game. We went close on a number of occasions and then got the third goal from a penalty."

The penalty was won by Fabio Ferreira, a 16 year old signed in the summer from Sporting Lisbon who has spent most of the season injured. He played in the training ground friendly against Wycombe last week and came on to find himself pushed in the penalty area.

Sinclair took it, despite having his penalty saved at West Ham last week. "Scott stuck it away confidently," says Brendan. "That was good because he and Jack Watkins did extra work on penalties for about 20 minutes on Friday." Watkins had also missed a penalty this season, at Southampton.

Arsenal started the day one point behind Chelsea, so this was a significant win. Brendan concludes: "I was delighted with the performance on the back of last week’s game at West Ham. And after a number of weeks when our group has been split up through illness and international duty, we’ve all been back together and it showed."

Team (4-2-1-3) Hamann; Hutchinson, Worley, Cork (c), Hurrell; Bridcutt, Furman; Fernandes (Bertrand); Cummings (Ferreira), Watkins, Sinclair.

The Academy on Record:

Games

Wolves (a) W 2-1; Man City (h) L 0-2; Coventry (a) D 1-1; Leicester (h) W 4-2; MK Dons (a) D 0-0; Charlton (a) W 2-0; Norwich (h) W 1-0; Southampton (a) L 0-3; Ipswich (h) W 4-1; Fulham (a) D 1-1; Millwall (h) D 0-0; West Ham (a) L 1-2; Arsenal (h) W 3-1.

Appearances 13

Sinclair 13, Furman 12, Hutchinson 12, Bertrand 10+1, Worley 10+1, Cork 10, Watkins 9+4, Cummings 9+2, Bridcutt 8+4, Fernandes 8+1, Simmonds 7+2, Mancienne 6, Hamann 6, Russell 5, Grant 4, J Younghusband 4, Ofori 2+1, Taylor 2, Saarelma 1+6, Sawyer 1+1, Elmer 1, J Smith 1, Tillen 1, F Ferreira 0+2, Ogbuagu 0+1, Saville 0+1.

Goals 19

Sinclair 8, Watkins 3, Cummings 2, Furman 2, Bridcutt 1, Grant 1, Worley 1, og 1

Penalties scored 1

Sinclair 1.

Penalties missed 2

Sinclair 1, Watkins 1.

Penalties won 3

F Ferreira 1, Hutchinson 1, Ofori 1.

Penalties conceded 3

Hutchinson 2, Saville 1.

Penalties saved 1

Taylor 1.