SERVICES

Tuesday December 8, 2009

Chelsea's Lead Falls To Two After Defeat By Man City

Portsmouth 2 Burnley 0

Portsmouth striker Aruna Dindane made up for a penalty miss to help his side to a 2-0 Premier League win over Burnley, as Avram Grant picked up his first points as manager.
Hermann Hreidarsson fired the South Coast club ahead after 65 minutes, thanks to a brilliant ball from substitute Kanu.
Dindane missed a spot-kick, and a presentable rebound chance, after half an hour but made no mistake when he sealed Pompey's third win of the season from Jamie O'Hara's pinpoint cross after 83 minutes.

Arsenal 2 Stoke City 0

Arsenal leapfrogged Tottenham Hotspur into third place in the Premier League with a morale-boosting 2-0 win over Stoke City.
Andrey Arshavin, who was by far the Gunners' best player, slotted home from a tight angle in the first half minutes after Cesc Fabregas had missed a penalty on his 250th appearance for the club.
After a largely frustrating second half, impressive substitute Aaron Ramsey sealed the win with a cool finish 10 minutes from time.

Aston Villa 3 Hull City 0

James Milner delivered another reminder why he is in contention to be in England's World Cup squad by inspiring Aston Villa to a comfortable 3-0 home win over Hull City which maintained their European push.
Milner set up the opening goal for central defender Richard Dunne and scored the second himself before half-time with an exquisite lob.
John Carew added a third from the penalty spot two minutes from time.
To make matters worse for the Tigers, midfielder Jimmy Bullard had to be substituted after 18 minutes through injury to his left knee.
The former Fulham player had only returned to action in October after nine months out of action and had played a major role in Hull's recent revival, winning the Barclays Player of the Month award for November.
But it is doubtful whether even Bullard at his best would have been able to contain Villa who produced some of their best football of the campaign in the opening 45 minutes when inspired by Milner.
The 23-year-old has played predominantly on the flanks for Villa but slotted effectively into a central role.
Stewart Downing impressed on his home Premier League debut before understandably tiring after his lengthy injury lay-off, while skipper Stiliyan Petrov and full-back Luke Young also played key roles.
Hull never threatened to extend their four-match unbeaten run and it was like a cloud was hanging over them once Bullard had hobbled to the dressing room to supportive applause from both sets of fans.

Blackburn Rovers 0 Liverpool 0

Blackburn Rovers and Liverpool fought out a gruelling 0-0 draw at Ewood Park with Liverpool substitute David Ngog coming closest to a goal with a shot that rattled the bar.
The first half was a grim affair with neither side producing anything worthy of note.
After the break Liverpool were arguably the better side, but even a third successive clean sheet will not mask another display which lacked drive and belief.
Blackburn deserved their point in a good week which also saw them beat Chelsea in the Carling Cup quarter-finals.

West Ham United 0 Manchester United 4

Paul Scholes came up with the sort of strike which has been his signature throughout a fabulous career as Manchester United gave notice that they are in no mood to give up the chase for their title with a 4-0 victory over West Ham United.
There are few midfielders who could have bettered the strike which came in the dying seconds of stoppage-time in the first half of a contest which was beginning to fray around the edges for Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson.
However further goals from Darron Gibson, Antonio Valencia and Wayne Rooney made it comfortable for the visitors after the break.

Wigan Athletic 2 Birmingham City 3

A resurgent Birmingham City produced a rousing second-half comeback to win 3-2. It is now six matches without defeat for Alex McLeish's side, who find themselves riding high in an unaccustomed eighth position in the Premier League and comfortably on course for survival.
Two free-kicks from Sebastian Larsson sandwiched a second goal of the season for Christian Benitez, all in the space of 11 maddening minutes for Martinez, whose side had easily led 1-0 at the break via a stunning effort from Charles N'Zogbia.
That should have been the platform for back-to-back wins for the Latics for the first time this season following last weekend's 1-0 win over Sunderland.

Wolves 2 Bolton Wanderers 1

Manager Mick McCarthy saw his Wolverhampton Wanderers side chalk up their first win in eight matches thanks to a nervy 2-1 victory over Bolton Wanderers.
Goals from Jody Craddock and Nenad Milijas put them in the driving seat at Molineux.
But when substitute Johan Elmander hit back with 12 minutes remaining, it set up a tense finish.
Bolton though failed to get the goal they craved despite some sustained pressure.
Wolves moved off the foot of the table after the three points McCarthy was hoping for.

Manchester City 2 Chelsea 1

Shay Given emerged a hero on both sides of Manchester by saving a late Frank Lampard penalty to give City a precious win over Chelsea and cut their advantage over United to two points.
Carlos Tevez's brilliant free-kick ultimately proved decisive after Emmanuel Adebayor had inadvertently put Chelsea in front, then cancelled out that own goal himself seven minutes before the interval.
However, that hardly told the story as Chelsea went down in a hail of yellow cards - six in all - and skipper John Terry went off with a leg injury that will bring a moment of dread to England coach Fabio Capello even if the damage is not too great.

Fulham 1 Sunderland 0

Fulham striker Bobby Zamora fired his club back into the top half of the Premier League.
While Zamora's work-rate is appreciated by manager Roy Hodgson, his goal against Sunderland was only his 10th in two seasons since arriving from West Ham United.
It means Fulham leapfrog over Sunderland into eighth, with their form reliant on home performances - they have not lost on their own turf since September.

Everton 2 Tottenham Hotspur 2

Everton scored twice late on and goalkeeper Tim Howard saved an injury-time penalty as the hosts fought back to draw 2-2 with Tottenham Hotspur at Goodison Park.
The visitors led through Jermain Defoe's 13th goal of the season and Michael Dawson's header, both scored early in the second half.
However, strikes from substitute Louis Saha and Tim Cahill in the last 12 minutes and Howard's spot-kick save earned a point.
The result cost Spurs the chance of returning to third in the table and despite the morale boost, it also extended Everton's poor run to one win in their last nine Premier League matches.
David Moyes' side, ravaged by a lengthening injury list, are three points above the relegation zone with little prospect of seeing their major stars return before the new year.