Man City 1 – 3 Arsenal

Arsenal started well but almost found themselves behind after 5mins when Elano sent a dinked ball over the defence that was only inches from being put away by Ireland.
It wasn’t long before the visitors were in front. Sang made an incisive run into the box pulling back the ball to Adebayor who scrambled the ball home to make it 0-1 after 8mins.
City didn’t really respond and stuck to their counter-attacking gameplan as Arsenal continues to dominate. Petrov, on 24mins, with their most attacking move as he marauded down the left, past two Arsenal players but couldn’t find a finish.
A minute later Arsenal doubled there lead when Adebayor nodded down to Eduardo for the in-form striker to control on his chest and volley into the back of the net form 8 yards.
Still without much effort the home side responded when on 27mins Clichy failed to deal with a long ball and let Corluka in who set up Fernandes to pass the ball past Lehmann to make it 1-2.
Arsenal really looked in the mood for the remainder of the half and had several chances to extend their lead. Adebayor coming closest on 43mins when his headed effort was cleared off the line following a corner kick.
The home side continued to sit back in the second half with the visitors looking rampant. Twice City were lucky to stay in the game when, firstly on 57mins, Adebayor tee’d up Fabregas but the Spaniard’s normally reliable shooting let him down as he blazed over . And then on 63mins Adebayor was though and went down under pressure from Richards but rightly no penalty was awarded.
With three quarters of the game gone City finally began to step it up as the game got alot more physical. Both sides were looking to score and the game didn’t lack excitement but it was the visitors who were always the more likely to score. Adebayor and Fabregas both came close before, on 87mins, a clinical break put the match to bed. Several one-twos between Fabreas and Hleb opened up the space for Adebayor who slotted home from 12 yards out.
It’s hard to criticise City for their lack of ambition as they were up against a really flowing and in-form Arsenal side.

Movie Round Up

Conspiracy Theory (1997 / USA)

A subtly tongue-in-cheek thriller aided by some well thought-out action sequences and a great comic performance by Mel Gibson. Hollywood at it’s best.

Blood Diamond (2006 / USA)

A more action packed film then the political thriller I was expecting but probably all the better for it as it helps maintain the pace and the 143mins don’t drag at all. The solemn tone is maintained with the minimum of preaching at the audience and the high level of acting throughout. A must see.

Cloverfield (2008 / USA)

An intense survival-horror cum disaster film that uses special effects and surround sound to great effect. The shaky hand-held video camera approach really helps promote feelings of anxiety and intrigue and increases the sense of immersion which adds something new to the canon of disaster films. Highly Recommended.

Death Train AKA Detonator (1993 / UK/USA)

The fact that this is Baywatch actress, Alexandra Paul’s, career low-point speaks volumes. Lacking any creativity, originality or wit it’s arguably one of the worst films of all time. How a sequel exists is beyond belief.

Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles (Wii)

I love Resident Evil. The dilapidated locations, the cheesy dialogue, the huge plot holes and the whole B-Movie feeling to everything. All of these elements are present in this latest version but these alone do not a good game make.

It comes as a relief when first playing that it really does feel like a Resident Evil game as it so easily could’ve been a cobbled-together exploitation of a successful series with some new Wii controls tagged on.

Said controls are soundly calibrated and, as you would hope from a pseudo light-gun game, provide a sufficient degree of accuracy to make the game both accessible and also challenging. Although getting head shots (or “Critical Hits”) proves quite tricky to begin with it, it’s a skill that does come after practice. These critical hits become increasingly necessary as the game progresses in order to preserve ammo whilst dealing with the hordes of undead that are thrown at you. The aiming reticules are particularly large though and it can become confusing in 2-player which is who’s as they change colour but this is only a minor bugbear.

As a gun game it’s quite a long one with 12 levels pulled from the featured games of the series (RE0,1,2 and 3) and plenty of unlockable side-missions on top of that (detailing sub-plots and missing links from the games) which adds up to 20+ levels.

Adding to its longevity is a rating system which rewards skilful play with the ability to upgrade the familiar arsenal of guns ala RE4. There is also a full list of token unlockables for the die hard completists.

The graphics and sound mightn’t really push the Wii to its limits (they are of similar quality to the Gamecube remake) but they are of a familiar high-standard design and evoke the type of atmosphere needed.

Overall it’s a quality game, especially in 2-player, and an essential for fans of the series. Although with the dearth of good Wii games around it’s a worthwhile addition to anyone’s collection (especially if you have a Zapper!)

Everton 0 – 1 Chelsea

After the cracking first leg this promised to be a real barn-stormer of a match.

The game began as intense as you’d expect with both sides looking set for a battle. The pace of the game led to some chances early on, Wright-Philip’s with a shot blocked by Jagielka followed by Belletti’s curling effort that wasn’t far away. Everton too had a good chance when Lescott was unmarked form a corner only for his header to be saved on the line by Cech on 9mins.

The early end-to-end action was followed by a solid period of pressure from the home side but Chelsea were about their business and limited the space to play brilliantly. Everton’s passing and movement was sharp and crisp as they really looked to get the upperhand but all they had to show for their efforts was Johnson’s shot form distance that never troubled Cech.

Having stifled their hosts sufficiently Chelsea began to come out more and were dominating possession themselves on the half hour with both Anelka and Malouda having chances.

The home side made another push again in an exciting end to the half. Johnson again with their only real chance whose shot was deflected wide. The Everton players left the field looking thoroughly frustrated.

It might have been expected for the Merseysiders to come out fired up for the second half but it was Chelsea who looked to have the bit between their teeth. With the half only seconds old Anelka saw his shot form the edge of the area hit the bar. Everton tried to get forward but Chelsea were holding on to the ball extremely well and wee very much on top.

It took two chances from set-pieces just before the hour to stir the Toffees back in to life. Neville fired the ball across the goal mouth, following a clever short corner, but none of the men in blue managed to connect. A minute later a free-kick came to Jagielka who’s flicked shot was blocked on the line.

Everton were on the front foot and were sure they had a goal, on 66mins, when Cech spilled a ball from a free kick but the whistle went for an inexplicable free out as Lescott was about to tap the ball home!

A goal did come but it was for the visitors and it was against the run of play. On 68mins, Malouda played a ball over the Everton defence which Joe Cole latched on and clinically dispatched.

This knocked the home side and crowd for six and despite throwing on extra attackers they never really got at a tight Chelsea defence.The high balls began raining in but they were easily dealt with.

It was Chelsea who looked the more likely to get a goal as they were continually breaking as Everton pushed everyone up late on with Lescott being used as an auxiliary centre forward! Pizarro had two good chances at the death but failed to convert either.

A brave performance by Everton but the gap between the top clubs and the rest was again highlighted in this match as Chelsea were thoroughly professional in defence and oozed class going forward.