Arsenal and Bolton reach cup semis
LONDON, England -- Second string Arsenal ended West Bromwich Albion's giant-killing run in the League Cup with a 2-0 quarterfinal victory at the Hawthorns.
Nwankwo Kanu fired the Gunners ahead after 25 minutes and Jeremie Aliadiere capitalized on a blunder by keeper Russell Hoult for the second in the 56th against a West Brom team that had knocked out Newcastle and Manchester United.
Danish forward Henrik Pedersen scored the winner five minutes from the end of extra time as Bolton edged Southampton 1-0.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger kept faith with many of the young players who had played in previous rounds.
But he still had experienced stars such as Sylvain Wiltord, Martin Keown, Ray Parlour, Lauren, Edu and Kanu on the field for a match between the leaders of the Premier League and Division One.
At the Reebok Stadium, Southampton 'keeper Antti Niemi made a series of saves to keep out shots from Jay Jay Okocha, Pedersen and Stelios Giannakopoulos while Wanderers' Bruno N'Gotty and Mario Jardel also missed chances.
After Youri Djorkaeff had a goal ruled out for offside, Niemi was beaten in the 115th minute when Anthony Barness drove in a cross and Pedersen turned the ball home at the far post.
Saints almost equalized when Paul Telfer fired in a shot which Bolton's 40-year-old 'keeper Kevin Poole, in his 19th season as a pro, pushed onto the crossbar.
