Arsenal completed an incredible comeback from 4-0 down at Reading to
win 7-5 in the Capital One Cup, while League Two Bradford stunned Wigan
in a penalty shootout.
Theo Walcott and Marouane Chamakh both netted twice as Reading blew the chance to record a first-ever win over Arsenalin a jaw-dropping fourth-round match at the Madejski Stadium.
The Gunners looked shaky at the back in the early stages, and were
punished when Jason Roberts lost Laurent Koscielny in the area and slid
in to convert Hal Robson-Kanu’s fine cross. And Koscielny was again at
fault as the Royals doubled their lead, turning into his own net with
Damian Martinez beaten at his near post.
Reading stormed into a 3-0 lead before 20 minutes had elapsed,
Mikele Leigertwood’s shot from 20 yards slipping into the net after
Martinez made a mess of keeping the shot out, getting his angles wrong
and punching the ball into the net. Arsenal were unable to stem the
tide, and it was four when Noel Hunt beat Carl Jenkinson to bury a
far-post header.
Walcott pulled one back in stoppage time at the end of the opening
period, running through on goal and dinking over Adam Federici, while
substitute Olivier Giroud netted a header in the second period to spark
hopes of a comeback.
Koscielny, who had been given a torrid time by Roberts, gave the
Gunners a further injection of hope by scoring a header on 88 minutes,
before Jenkinson intervened in the sixth minute of stoppage time –
after Ian Harte had appeared to handle Walcott’s goalbound shot on the
line – to complete the remarkable turnaround.
The scoring in extra time was started by Chamakh, who netted for the
first time in over a year. Pavel Pogrebnyak’s reply with only a few
minutes remaining seemed to have forced penalties, only for Walcott and
Chamakh to put the game out of the Royals’ reach
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