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Group A Roundup Gunners dump Dortmund 2-0; Auxerre holds PSV 0-0Posted: Tuesday September 17, 2002 5:41 PMUpdated: Tuesday September 17, 2002 11:04 PM
LONDON (Reuters) -- Arsenal responded positively to the rhetoric of manager Arsene Wenger on Tuesday as they carved out a patient 2-0 win over Borussia Dortmund in their opening Champions League first phase match at Highbury. Wenger has insisted his English double winners can secure the north London club's first ever European Cup this season, and goals from Dennis Bergkamp and fit-again Fredrik Ljungberg gave them a perfect start against the Bundesliga champions. If Dutchman Bergkamp's deflected opener after 62 minutes was fortunate, the strike from Ljungberg 13 minutes from time was executed with the sort of panache that has seen them go 27 games unbeaten in the English premier league. Goalkeeper David Seaman began the move in his own area, and the ball was moved through Sylvain Wiltord and Thierry Henry before Ljungberg -- making his first appearance of the season after hip surgery -- darted through the middle to round keeper Jens Lehmann and finish into an empty net. Arsenal's starting side had looked full of invention with the surprise inclusion of Ljungberg and it was he who created the home side's best chance of the first half. Winning the ball in a 32nd minute midfield tussle, Ljungberg found Henry in space who in turn fed Wiltord, but the forward betrayed the supreme touch that has brought him six goals in six premier league matches so far this term. His hesitation allowed Lehmann to rush off his line to make an excellent save. Hard work Prior to that sight of goal, Arsenal had flattered to deceive, with only Henry's 26th minute snapshot -- again well stopped by Lehmann, plunging low to his right -- a tangible sign of their hard work. With five men in midfield Dortmund were as steely as the character of manager Matthias Sammer would suggest, but they could not match the poise with which Sammer the player had helped Dortmund to the Champions League title in 1997. Their first half highlights were restricted largely to long range efforts, although Juan Ramon Fernandez's swerving shot had Seaman beaten but the ball flew just over. The visitors were soon on the back foot after halftime, as Henry had a strike disallowed for offside, but the breakthrough was not long in coming. Just after the hour, Wiltord skipped inside before finding Bergkamp, who at first looked to have lost control. But he dug the ball out of his feet on the edge of the area and directed a shot goalwards which deflected off Christoph Metzelder and past Lehmann. Henry was having a frustrating night and he blazed wide 15 minutes from time, but he made amends by setting up Ljungberg two minutes later as Dortmund committed players forward in search of an equaliser. Ljungberg said even he was surprised to start the match. "I've just trained a week but it was a bit of a surprise to start," said the Swede. "I thought I would last 60 minutes but I lasted a bit longer. I was delighted, it was nice to show that I can still play football." Summary Arsenal 2 Borussia Dortmund 0 - result Champions League, group A Scorers: Dennis Bergkamp 62, Fredrik Ljungberg 77 Halftime: 0-0; Attendance: 34,907 Teams: Arsenal: 1-David Seaman; 22-Oleg Luzhny (12-Lauren 74), 5-Martin Keown, 23-Sol Campbell, 3-Ashley Cole; 8-Fredrik Ljungberg (18-Pascal Cygan 85), 4-Patrick Vieira, 19-Gilberto Silva, 11-Sylvain Wiltord (28-Kolo Toure 89); 14-Thierry Henry, 10-Dennis Bergkamp Borussia Dortmund: 1-Jens Lehmann; 2-Evanilson, 5-Sebastian Kehl, 6-Jorg Heinrich, 17-Dede; 23-Ahmed Reda Madouni, 8-Torsten Frings, 21-Christoph Metzelder, 3-Juan Ramon Fernandez (Heiko Herrlich 73); 9-Jan Koller, 12-Ewerthon (Giuseppe Reina 73) Referee: Anders Frisk (Sweden). Auxerre holds PSV Eindhoven to scoreless drawAUXERRE, France (Reuters) -- Coach Guus Hiddink, making his first appearance in Europe since leading South Korea to the World Cup semifinals, guided PSV Eindhoven to a goalless draw against AJ Auxerre in the Champions League on Tuesday.In a scrappy and often disjointed Group A opening clash at the Stade Abbe Deschamps, his in-form team, missing suspended midfielder Marc Van Bommel, settled for a point despite dominating for long periods. It meant the Dutch team extended their winless run in France to seven Champions League fixtures and left his counterpart, the long-serving Auxerre coach Guy Roux, claiming that a point won was an encouragement for his team. Auxerre, returning to the Champions League for the first time since 1988, worked hard, but their young and relatively inexperienced team was unable to break down tough opposition. "We were poor in the first half, but more imaginative with more movement in the second," said Roux. "Eindhoven showed they have a lot of quality and experience, but I believe this point is one gained, not two lost, and we will improve from now on. It was a high-quality game, typical of the Champions League." Hiddink said he felt his team deserved to win because they had created, and missed, the best chances. "I have mixed feelings about this game," he said. "We wanted to win, but we missed a lot of chances. But they have a lot of good technical players so, in the end, we are happy enough with the result." His team enjoyed most of the possession in the first half, but were unable to find a way past the impressive Auxerre goalkeeper Fabien Cool who saved superbly from Dennis Rommedahl after 19 minutes when he dived low to stop his perfectly-struck 15-meter shot on the turn. After an unbeaten run of four straight wins without conceding a goal in the Dutch league, it was no surprise that PSV pushed forward frequently, but they were lucky to keep their defensive record intact at times. Their greatest escape came after 21 minutes when right-back Andre Ooijer cleared off the line after reserve goalkeeper Jelle ten Rouwelaar, selected because regular number one Ronald Waterreus suffered a hamstring injury in training, was beaten by a shot from Benjani Mwaruwari. It was the closest the French came in the opening period during which PSV midfielder Remco van der Schaaf was cautioned, after only three minutes, shot over from close range and was later withdrawn -- and replaced by Theo Lucius -- shortly before the interval. PSV continued to control much of the game in the second half and should have taken the lead after 53 minutes when striker Mateja Kezman, sent clear on his own by Rommedahl's pass, had his shot smothered by Cool. The young French side flagged in the final stages but PSV were still unable to kill them off and secure their first Champions League victory in seven attempts on French soil and, in the end, it was Auxerre who almost snatched a goal when a cross from Khalilou Fadiga deflected off Bogelund and forced the goalkeeper into an awkward backward diving save. Summary AJ Auxerre 0 PSV Eindhoven 0 - result Champions League, group A Halftime: 0-0; Attendance: 21,000 Teams: AJ Auxerre: 1-Fabien Cool, 2-Johan Radet, 3-Jean-Sebastien Jaures, 4-Jean-Alain Boumsong, 5-Philippe Mexes, 7-Amdy Faye, 8-Yann Lachuer, 10-Teemu Tainio, 11-Khalilou Fadiga, 21-Benjani Mwaruwari (20-Arnaud Gonzalez 86), 23-Olivier Kapo. PSV Eindhoven: 1-Jelle ten Rouwelaar, 2-Andre Ooijer, 3-Kevin Hofland, 5-Jan Heintze, 9-Mateja Kezman, 10-Arnold Bruggink (26-Leandro 86), 13-Remco van der Schaaf (16-Theo Lucius 40), 14-Johann Vogel, 19-Dennis Rommedahl, 22-Wilfred Bouma, 30-Kasper Bogelund. Referee: Alfredo Trentalange (Italy)
The Associated Press contributed to this report. |
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