from the factory floor
Brittania Stadium
Referee: Chris Foy
Stoke City 1-1 Arsenal 28 April 2012
Crouch [9] Van Persie [15]
Knowing that none of the other
"big" sides have come away from the Brittania with anything more than
a single point, and that the Arsenal have only ever got full value there at the
very high cost of Aaron Ramsey's leg, you could say this trip to the Factory
came with some anxiety mixed in with the usual excited anticipation. A
change to the subway schedule lost me an extra 15 minutes and served to rumble
my nerves that much more, despite the attempt at soothing it with delicious,
football-gods-appeasing bacon.
The angst of my late arrival was calmed
somewhat by the discovery that our spanking new NY Gooner flag was making its debut
on the main level. I sidled up to the bar underneath it to find Tin Lid, TJ, Kaiser and a
one-nil scoreline to the towel boys courtesy of a Peter Crouch header. Ed and the Captain would join moments later. Apparently
Chris Foy had already booked Dean Whitehead for a studs first tackle in the
first five minutes, but it still looked to me that Stoke were going to put in
another shift of overstepping the margins of fair play.
