Football: Graham's hard men stand firm

AFTER Saturday's dire exhibition the leaden, rain-heavy clouds were as appropriate as the suggestion that a delay of 30 minutes to cater for Sheffield Wednesday supporters stranded on the M1 by an accident that caused long tailbacks, should have been extended to 12 months.

Apart from the consolation of knowing that the issue could not proceed the second time around beyond the penalty shoot-out, the Wembley pitch was so damp after a steady downpour that sure-footed attackers were bound to have the advantage they were denied by close marking in the first game.

With Chris Waddle in their attack Sheffield Wednesday appeared to have an edge in this department, but they were brought down to earth, literally, in the opening minutes when Waddle and Mark Bright were felled by cynical challenges from behind.

Tony Adams's foul on Bright was particularly nasty, but both offences went unpunished, the referee, Keren Barrett, presumably operating on the basis that it is a man's game and therefore quite in order to walk all over your opponents.

As a result of Barrett's leniency, feuds broke out with some of Wednesday's players clearly looking for revenge, especially gunning for the abrasive John Jensen who went about his work with the cold detachment older Arsenal supporters will recall in Peter Storey, the hardman in their Double team of 1971.

Obviously unsettled by Arsenal's aggressive mood, Wednesday found it difficult to establish any sort of rhythm and for a while it looked as though they would be overwhelmed.

Without Viv Anderson's stabilising influence in defence they were frequently exposed on the flanks with most danger coming from the right where Kevin Campbell found plenty of room.

Pushed further and further back, they struggled to make contact with Bright and David Hirst, and had Paul Merson and Alan Smith made better use of the opportunities that came their way among panicking defenders Arsenal would have been beyond reach by half-time.

At that stage it seemed that the London club had more left in the tank at the end of a gruelling season, but as so often happens when one team has been completely in charge, they left their ascendancy in the dressing-room. All they had to show for a lot of purposeful endeavour was Ian Wright's goal.

Both teams were to have chances after the break but the transformation in Wednesday's play so alarmed the Arsenal manager, George Graham, that he was on his feet issuing admonishments from the touchline before Waddle snatched an equaliser.

Now it was anybody's game and if the impression on Saturday was that inadequate technique rather than fatigue was to blame for the inadequacy, you could only admire the resilience these two teams displayed in extra time. Then a corner in the last minute, a header from Andy Linighan, and at last it was over.