Arsenal Res 2 Ipswich Res 1A GUTSY young Ipswich Reserves went down 2-1 to 10-man Arsenal on Barnet's sloping Underhill pitch, last night, writes Derek Davis.

Arsenal Res 2 Ipswich Res 1

A GUTSY young Ipswich Reserves went down 2-1 to 10-man Arsenal on Barnet's sloping Underhill pitch, last night, writes Derek Davis.

Arsenal went ahead on the quarter-hour with a swift counter following a blocked Pablo Counago shot. The talented Quincy Owusu-Abeyie broke clear and beat Shane Supple in a one-on-one with a good low finish.

Town levelled 12 minutes later when Counago sent Stuart Taylor the wrong way from the penalty spot. The Spaniard had won the spot kick after Scott Barron played a good ball through and got injured for his troubles.

Centre-back Johann Djourou clearly pushed the Blues striker, but with Taylor still to beat it seemed a harsh red card.

Although Daniel Flack and Chris Hogg were getting a lot of joy down the Town right, there were few clear-cut chances.

Dean Bowditch scorned the best when the play was spread wide and the nifty Flack got a good low ball in but the England Under-19 striker somehow shot wide.

Hogg and Tony Dinning made excellent tackles to thwart Abeyie and Arturo Lupoli in an even first half.

The Gunners showed their class again four minutes after the break with another lightning-quick attack. Abeyie burst through on to a Lupoli ball but his shot was well well saved by Supple's legs. There was nothing the Town keeper could do about Stephen O'Donnell's brilliant follow-up as he volleyed in from 10 yards.

The tenacious Flack had the ball in the back of the net after running on to a Bowditch pass but was ruled offside.

Dinning had a shot blocked and from the resultant corner Aidan Collins had a header scrambled off the line.

The on-loan Wigan player caused a minor ruckus when he put in a determined tackle on Lupoli which the ref deemed fair, but the player stayed down injured and a few Arsenal players lost their cool.

The Blues were denied a penalty in time-added on when a good through-ball put Bowditch in and his shot appeared to be blocked by Ingi-Skulsson's hand.

Squads

Arsenal Res: Taylor, Simek, Karbassiyoon, Fowler, Ingi-Skulason, Djoura, Larsson, Cregg, Lupoli (Gilbert, 88) Owusu-Abeyie (Brendtner, 90) and O'Donnell. Subs not used: Howard and Muamba.

Ipswich Town Res: Supple, Hogg, Barron, Mitchell, Sobers (Clarke, 86) Collins, Flack, Dinning, Counago, Bowditch and Murray (Garvan, 78). Subs not used: Craig, Synott and Knights.

Referee: G Sutton.

Attendance: 2,100.