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Tuesday September 22, 2009
United Down City In Contentious Overtime...
Burnley 3 Sunderland 1Super sub David Nugent clambered off the bench to sink Sunderland with a stunning late double and keep Burnley's proud 100 per cent home record intact. Nugent, a last-gasp deadline day loan signing from Portsmouth, rose to meet Wade Elliott's pin-point cross in the 67th minute to head home the Clarets' second. Four minutes from time the in-form front man struck again as he turned on another neat ball from Elliott in the box and curled a super shot past Sunderland goalkeeper Craig Gordon. Nugent had been thrown on in the 58th minute by Clarets manager Owen Coyle who scented the chance for his side to add to previous home wins over Manchester United and Everton. And Coyle's men richly deserved to take three more points from an entertaining encounter in which Graham Alexander's penalty opener had been cancelled out by Darren Bent. Arsenal 4 Wigan Athletic 0Arsenal recorded a straightforward Premier League victory against Wigan Athletic, helped by Thomas Vermaelen's double. Arsene Wenger's men have never been far away from the headlines recently - and they were also beaten in their previous two league matches. What they needed was a regulation win, and Wigan's limited attacking ambition at the Emirates Stadium meant they were perfect opponents. The hosts could have racked up a huge score before half-time if their finishing was clinical. In the end it was down to Vermaelen to grab the limelight, with the defender scoring his third and fourth goals of the season, the first a powerful header and the second a delightful curling finish. Emmanuel Eboue's deflection then made it 3-0 when the match was effectively over, then Cesc Fabregas added another in stoppage time. Aston Villa 2 Portsmouth 0Gabriel Agbonlahor struck for the third successive match to propel Aston Villa towards a fourth Premier League win on the trot - and pile on more misery for bottom-placed Portsmouth. Agbonlahor, overlooked by England coach Fabio Capello for the recent games with Slovenia and Croatia, netted the decisive second goal just before the interval. Another 2010 World Cup hopeful in James Milner had broken the deadlock from the penalty spot as Martin O'Neill's side cruised to victory to sustain their early challenge for a European spot. Apart from a spell mid-way through the second half, Villa were seldom tested and the memory of their opening-day setback against Wigan Athletic is fast fading. Agbonlahor is looking sharp and hungry in attack while Milner continues to impress with his work-rate and commitment down the right flank. Central defender Richard Dunne has also added a presence to the Villa back four after his move from Manchester City. But Portsmouth look doomed even at this early stage of the campaign to a lengthy battle against the drop after slumping to a sixth successive league reversal which leaves them still searching for their first point of the campaign. Only Kevin-Prince Boateng emerged with much credit for the visitors who look short of confidence. Bolton Wanderers 1 Stoke City 1Matt Taylor came to Bolton Wanderers' rescue with a minute remaining by scoring from the penalty spot at the Reebok Stadium. The midfielder showed a cool head after Stoke City's Danny Collins had been hauled back for a challenge on Sam Ricketts. Stoke were stunned as they were in sight of their first away victory on the road in the league this season. Dave Kitson had given them the lead in the 52nd minute with his third goal in six matches in all competitions. Hull City 0 Birmingham City 1Substitute Garry O'Connor headed a late winner as Birmingham City finally beat goalkeeper Boaz Myhill to claim a scrappy win at Hull City. Myhill had been outstanding throughout an eventful League encounter at the KC Stadium, producing brilliant saves from the lively Christian Benitez and Lee Bowyer. Joe Hart was also kept busy in the Birmingham goal and Hull's Seyi Olofinjana hit the bar late on but O'Connor's 75th-minute effort proved decisive. It was only Birmingham's third goal of the season but the reasons why Hull went into the match with the worst defence in the competition were only too evident. Ecuador striker Benitez, making his first league start, was a threat throughout and was unlucky to come up against Myhill in such good form. Yet Blues could consider themselves fortunate to come away with the point as Hart was the least convincing of the two keepers and Hull caused some moments of panic in his area. West Ham United 2 Liverpool 3Fernando Torres scored twice as Liverpool held off a brave fightback from West Ham United to claim a deserved victory in a five-goal thriller at Upton Park. Torres put the Reds in front in the 19th minute with a fine solo goal but debutant Alessandro Diamanti levelled from the penalty spot. Dirk Kuyt restored Liverpool's lead in the 40th minute but Carlton Cole levelled a minute before the interval. Torres settled a pulsating game when he headed home from close range in the 75th minute. Manchester United 4 Manchester City 3"Historically it has happened before. I was in teams here where we always had a little bit of benefit. I never felt it was an issue when we played here. But since I have left maybe I have changed my view on that. I am not going to question anyone's integrity but I do not know where has got seven minutes from. It would be nice to get an explanation but I don't think I will."
Michael Owen stole the show in a derby for the ages as Manchester United beat Manchester City 4-3. In the fifth minute of stoppage-time, the substitute strode onto Ryan Giggs' precise pass, looked up and calmly found the bottom right corner. United led three times but on each occasion were pegged back thanks to their own defensive mistakes. Carlos Tevez started the match against his former club. His hard work was one of the reasons that made him such a hero among the Old Trafford faithful and why the City fans were so quick to acknowledge talent beyond the obvious humour of signing a player Sir Alex Ferguson was urged time and again last season to sign up. Wolves 2 Fulham 1Goals from Kevin Doyle - his first for the club - and David Edwards secured Wolves' first home Premier League victory of the season. Doyle's 18th-minute header gave the hosts the lead and Edwards doubled the advantage just after half-time as he finished off a move he had started. Danny Murphy's penalty midway through the second half gave a disappointing Fulham hope they barely deserved. The Cottagers could have no excuses for their lacklustre performance as manager Roy Hodgson had rested 10 of the starting line-up from the midweek Europa League draw with CSKA Sofia. Everton 3 Blackburn Rovers 0Everton picked up their second home win in four days with a comprehensive Premier League victory over Blackburn. Louis Saha scored after 22 and 54 minutes and then defender Joseph Yobo grabbed the third for the hosts, punishing poor defending at a corner after the impressive Paul Robinson had denied the France striker a hat-trick goal. David Moyes' side had endured a slow start to the campaign, seemingly suffering a hangover from last season's FA Cup final defeat to Chelsea. But the Toffees appear to be back on track after following Thursday's 4-0 Europa League rout of AEK Athens with another fine win and clean sheet at Goodison Park against a disappointing Rovers side who were looking to haul themselves out of the relegation zone. While Moyes' worries look to be easing, Rovers boss Sam Allardyce must be seriously concerned now about his side, who have won just one league match all term and were feeble for much of this encounter. Chelsea 3 Tottenham Hotspur 0Chelsea remained top of the Premier League after a 3-0 defeat of London rivals Tottenham at Stamford Bridge. Ashley Cole put the Blues on the way to a comfortable victory with a first-half header and Michael Ballack made it two in the 57th minute. Didier Drogba finished Spurs off with a third in the 62nd minute to make it six straight wins for the Blues and leave them three points clear of Manchester United at the summit. To make matters worse for Spurs they lost both Ledley King and Sebastien Bassong through injury to leave Harry Redknapp with a defensive crisis. There was bad news for Chelasea, too, as Drogba exited seven minutes from time with a calf problem. |
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