Arsenal crashes

Press, 28 August 1986, Page 24

Arsenal crashes

NZPA-Reuter London Arsenal’s hopes of taking a share of the earlyseason leadership of the English soccer first division were dashed when Nick Pickering scored five minutes from time, to send it crashing to a 2-1 defeat at Coventry yesterday.

The midfielder, Pickering, signed from Sunderland last season, sealed Coventry’s victory when he rammed home a rebound after the Arsenal goalkeeper, John Lukic, could only parry a header by the former York striker, Keith Houchen. Earlier, the former England striker, Cyrille Regis, had shot Coventry ahead in the twenty-first minute with a tremendous first-time shot from 20 metres.

Arsenal, under the new management of Mr George Graham, fought , back and equalised in the

forty-eighth minute, when the England defender, Viv Anderson, scored with a diving header from a free-kick by Stewart Robson.

Wimbledon, playing ns first home match in ■ the first division only nine years after entering the Football League, thrillingly beat Aston Villa, 3-2, in a bruising match which saw the Birmingham side reduced to 10 men when, the fullback, Gary Williams, was sent off in the fourteenth minute. Villa, beaten 3-0 at home by Tottenham on Saturday, was already 1-0 down to a goa’ by Glyn Hodges, when Williams retaliated after a challenge by him, and was dismissed.

John Fashanu, with a header, and Kevin Gage, with a penalty, put Wimbledon 3-1 up before

Garry Thompson scored Villa’s second in injury time.

Queen’s Park Rangers, beaten 5-1 at Southampton on ’ Saturday, bounced back to beat Watford, 3-2, with first-half goals from Martin Allen, Wayne Fereday and Gary Bannister. *

Rangers had a fright in the second half as Watford fought back to 3-2 with goals from Brian Talbot and England striker John Barnes.

Southampton came down to earth with a bump. It lost, 1-2, at Luton — where it was beaten, 07, last season. The midfielder, Robert Wilson, headed Luton ahead in the third minute, and set up Brian Stein for its second before Colin Clarke scored his fourth goal in two games in the second half.