Carling Cup Semi-Final (2nd Leg) - Jan 22 & 23

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Carling Cup Semi-Final - (First-Leg)

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Tottenham v Arsenal

Tuesday, 22 January 2008

Channel 22: 4:00am - (Live) - (Wed Morning)

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V

Everton v Chelsea

Wednesday, 23 January 2008

Channel 22: 4:00am - (Live) - (Thur Morning)

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Polish goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski believes Arsenal's youngsters have the character required to beat arch-rivals Tottenham in the second leg of their Carling Cup semi-final at White Hart Lane tomorrow night and keep alive his Wembley dream.

The tie is delicately poised a 1-1, but with Spurs holding what could prove to be a crucial away goal. Tomorrow's encounter should, though, have been much more comfortable for Juande Ramos' men, who failed to capitalise further on their dominance and allowed the Gunners back in it when Theo Walcott netted with 11 minutes left.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has indicated he could bolster what has always been a traditionally young Carling Cup side with some experience tomorrow night, as captain William Gallas stands ready to continue at the heart of the defence with the Gunners looking to make it the final for the second successive season.

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Poyet (left) wants Wenger to taste derby defeat at White Hart Lane

Spurs target end of Arsenal jinx

Tottenham assistant Gus Poyet admits the whole club are desperate to end a nine-year winless run against Arsenal in Tuesday's Carling Cup semi-final. The tie is poised at 1-1 going into the second leg at White Hart Lane, and Poyet said: "Everyone knows we haven't beaten Arsenal for a very long time.

"We are convinced we can win and reach the final, it doesn't matter how." But Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger warned: "They played well in the first leg, we want to pay them back and qualify."

He added: "The draw continued our long unbeaten run against Tottenham and I don't know why it should be that they haven't beaten us for more than eight years.

"They have always had good teams in that period, but we have been fighting for the title a lot in that time so we always have a high focus. Maybe after a while it becomes psychological as well.

"We will go there positively, looking for the win, and they will be too, so it is set up nicely."

Arsenal line-up that will include established first-teamers William Gallas, Alexander Hleb and Bacary Sagna, as well as out-of-favour World Cup winner Gilberto.

Wenger has also opted to have Cesc Fabregas, Emmanuel Adebayor, Mathieu Flamini and Eduardo on the bench as an insurance policy.

Although the Frenchman will stick with the likes of Theo Walcott, Nicklas Bendtner, Denilson, Abou Diaby, Lukasz Fabianski, Armand Traore and Justin Hoyte, who have been key figures in the club's Carling Cup run, his decision to bring in the big guns reflects his desire to end Arsenal's three-year trophy drought.

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Tottenham 5 Arsenal 1 (Agg: 6-2)

A pulsating Tottenham performance saw them run riot against Arsenal to book a place in the Carling Cup final. Spurs got off to the perfect start when Jermaine Jenas angled in a shot to put them 2-1 ahead on aggregate.

Arsenal's Nicolas Bendtner then headed into his own net before Robbie Keane's 18-yard shot put Spurs 3-0 up. Aaron Lennon sidefooted in for Spurs before Emmanuel Adebayor grabbed a consolation for Arsenal but Steed Malbranque's strike completed the rout.

Emmanuel Adebayor and Nicklas Bendtner had to be pulled apart by Arsenal skipper William Gallas as frustrations boiled over during their first defeat against Spurs in eight years.

Arsenal's Bendtner (left) and Gallas had a row near the end of the game

Bendtner had blood on his shirt and a lump and a gash on the bridge of his nose following the altercation and Adebayor was restrained from going down the tunnel at the end of the game.

Ramos, who led Sevilla to five finals in 15 months before joining Spurs last October, said: "To get to the final in such a short space of time is fantastic.

"For the fans to be going to Wembley makes me tremendously happy because it has been a long time since they have had the flavour of a final. That makes it all the more satisfying.

"Arsenal are one of the biggest teams in England, they are our direct rival from the same city and it is a long time since Tottenham have beaten Arsenal. To beat them in such a comprehensive fashion is something special.

"I want to win everything, whether that is the Premier League, the UEFA Cup or the Carling Cup. Sometimes you get it right and sometimes you don't, but it doesn't stop me wanting to win anything."

Ramos will be immortalised after becoming the first Tottenham manager to lead them to a final since Glenn Hoddle steered them to the Worthington Cup in 2001 against Blackburn.

Man of the match Jenas said: "We deserve it after all the double sessions and all the running, we have won it. This is job done. A lot of people talked about us setting the record straight and we gave done that. The game plan was simple - we wanted to win it inside 90 minutes and we have done that."

Ramos added: "It makes me happy that the fans are pleased with my work, but the footballers got us there. They run, they make the effort, but it is nice that the supporters are recognising the work we are doing.

"Without doubt, to beat Arsenal you have to play well and they did play well. They didn't make mistakes and they were perfect in all areas. The effort the players put in means they are the architects of this win."

Tottenham: Cerny, Chimbonda, Dawson, King, Lee, Lennon (Huddlestone 74), Jenas, Tainio, Malbranque, Keane (Boateng 64), Berbatov (Defoe 64).
Subs Not Used: Robinson, O'Hara.

Booked: Malbranque, Jenas.

Goals: Jenas 3, Bendtner 27 og, Keane 48, Lennon 60, Malbranque 90.

Arsenal: Fabianski, Sagna, Justin Hoyte, Gallas, Traore (Eduardo 65), Hleb, Denilson (Fabregas 18 ), Silva, Diaby, Walcott (Adebayor 65), Bendtner.
Subs Not Used: Mannone, Flamini.

Booked: Justin Hoyte, Adebayor.

Goals: Adebayor 70.

Att: 35,979

Ref: Howard Webb (S Yorkshire).

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Avram Grant taunts Everton

Avram Grant last night taunted Everton, comparing them to the "small club" where he won his first major trophy in Israel. The Chelsea boss also claimed winning the Carling Cup would not "mean a lot to me" because he's focused on the Premier League and Champions League.

Grant said: "I understand Everton, I understand clubs that do not take a trophy for a long time. Even if it's not a major trophy, for them it's very, very important."

He said he could identify with Everton after winning the 1990 and 1991 Toto Cup - the Israeli equivalent of the Carling Cup - with Hapoel Petah Tikva. "We were a very small club," he recalled. "We didn't have a budget even for the tea!

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Everton 0-1 Chelsea
(Chelsea win 3-1 on aggregate)

Chelsea secured a Carling Cup final meeting with Tottenham thanks to a Joe Cole strike that saw off the challenge of Everton at Goodison Park.

Cole scored the only goal of the game when he controlled Florent Malouda's raking ball and sent his half-volley past goalkeeper Tim Howard.

Chelsea also went close through striker Nicolas Anelka who hit the crossbar.

Everton's best chances came from the boots of Phil Neville and Phil Jagielka whose shots were saved by Petr Cech.

Everton: Howard, Neville, Jagielka, Lescott, Nuno Valente, Osman, Cahill, Carsley (Anichebe 70), Arteta, Fernandes (Vaughan 78.), Johnson.
Subs Not Used: Wessels, Hibbert, Stubbs.

Booked: Carsley, Fernandes, Nuno Valente, Neville.

Chelsea: Cech, Belletti, Carvalho, Alex, Bridge, Makelele, Malouda (Ashley Cole 90), Sidwell, Joe Cole (Pizarro 82), Wright-Phillips, Anelka (Ben-Haim 90).
Subs Not Used: Cudicini, Ferreira.

Booked: Makelele, Belletti.

Goals: Joe Cole 69.

Agg (1-3)

Att: 37,086

Ref: Steve Bennett (Kent).

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BBC Sport Player Rater man of the match: Chelsea's Petr Cech

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Grant pays tribute to Blues squad

Avram Grant was full of praise for his Chelsea side after their 1-0 win over Everton was enough to secure a Carling Cup final encounter against Tottenham. Joe Cole's second-half strike gave the Blues a 1-0 win on the night and a 3-1 aggregate victory at Goodison Park.

"That was a big test of character. The players are doing a great job and so are my staff," said Grant. "We're pleased to be in the final. Chelsea try to win every competiton they are involved in."

Grant's men have only lost two matches under his leadership and are currently fighting strong on four fronts - Carling Cup, FA Cup, Premier League and Champions League.

Injuries to Frank Lampard, John Terry, Andriy Shevchenko and the departures of Didier Drogba, Salomon Kalou and Michael Essien to the Africa Cup of Nations have hit the Chelsea squad.

But the Israeli boss said he would not be making any additional purchases during the January transfer window unless he thought it was absolutely necessary.

"It has been suggested that I bring in players, but we have a good squad. If we do bring in players then they will have to have good character," he said.

Meanwhile, Chelsea hero Joe Cole remained modest about his exploits on Merseyside.

"We stick together from back to front - everyone defends and everyone attacks," said the former West Ham player.

He added: "We now have a great chance to win a trophy. We wanted to beat Everton tonight and have always shown respect to this cup."

Everton boss David Moyes focused on the future after his side's defeat.

"We're still in Uefa Cup, so the team need to focus on that now," he said.

"There is no doubt we are going in right direction, but we need to bridge the gap between Chelsea and Everton.

"To get into the top four we need to fill that gap. It may need money."