SERVICES

Tuesday March 23, 2010

Chelsea Stumble!

Aston Villa 2 Wolves 2

John Carew salvaged a point for Champions League-chasing Aston Villa after Mick McCarthy's side had threatened to pull off a shock win in the derby meeting at Villa Park.
Wolverhampton Wanderers looked set for their first victory over Villa for 30 years after Jody Craddock's equaliser and James Milner's own goal had put them in front.
But Carew followed up his opener with his 13th goal of the campaign with only seven minutes remaining.

Portsmouth 3 Hull City 2

Portsmouth proved they are taking the rest of the Premier League campaign seriously by staging a last-gasp comeback against Hull City which denied Tigers' manager Iain Dowie a debut victory.
Avram Grant's men, staring relegation in the face after a nine-point deduction for going into administration, were 2-1 down with three minutes remaining at Fratton Park, only for Jamie O'Hara to equalize and Kanu to score the winner.
Dowie's men had led twice, with Caleb Folan scoring two fortuitous goals in between Tommy Smith's equalizer, with Hull City appearing to be on course for a first league win away from home this season.

Everton 2 Bolton Wanderers 0

Mikel Arteta and Steven Pienaar fired Everton to their seventh successive Premier League home win after a strong second-half showing against 10-man Bolton Wanderers.
Arteta broke the Goodison Park deadlock after 72 minutes with a stunning free-kick after last man Gretar Steinsson was sent off for bundling Yakubu over.
Pienaar then wrapped up victory in the dying moments by side-footing into an empty net after good work from Leon Osman, who had hit the bar seconds earlier.
Victory maintained Everton's late push for Europe while Bolton, after a run of three wins in four matches prior to their trip to Merseyside, still have work to do to avoid relegation.

Stoke City 1 Tottenham Hotspur 2

Eidur Gudjohnsen clambered off the bench to tighten Tottenham Hotspurs' hold on fourth place in the Premier League at the Britannia Stadium.
Gudjohnsen polished off a delightful chip by Peter Crouch to put Spurs ahead just 18 seconds after the restart then his clever dummy set up Niko Kranjcar to blast the 77th-minute winner.
Stoke City had seen Dean Whitehead sent off for two bookable offences four minutes after Gudjohnsen's opener, but still fashioned a 64th-minute equalizer from Matthew Etherington's penalty.
Ricardo Fuller then missed a 70th-minute chance which might have capped a stunning Stoke recovery, and was made to pay when Kranjcar lashed home his right-footed shot from the edge of the box.

Sunderland 3 Birmingham City 1

Darren Bent smashed through the 20-goal barrier as Sunderland survived a second-half fightback to edge past Birmingham City.
The England international fired the home side into a fifth-minute lead and then added a second six minutes later to put them firmly in the driving seat.
However, Birmingham emerged after the break in a much more determined mood and having reduced the deficit through Cameron Jerome's strike on the hour they threatened to leave with a point.
Sunderland were indebted to the brilliance of goalkeeper Craig Gordon, who made fine saves from Jerome, Christian Benitez, Stephen Carr and Liam Ridgewell. Fraizer Campbell's 88th-minute strike ended the hopes of Alex McLeish's men.

Wigan Athletic 1 Burnley 0

Hugo Rodallega broke Burnley's hearts with a last-gasp winner to add to the Clarets' deepening relegation woes and keep Wigan Athletic on course for Premier League survival.
It is now 15 defeats from 16 top-flight matches on the road for Burnley, who came as close as they have done all season to finally ending their away-day hoodoo.
But deep into stoppage time Colombian striker Rodallega scored the most important goal of his nine for the Latics when he powered home a header from eight yards.

Arsenal 2 West Ham United 0

Arsenal showed the spirit of champions to overcome the dismissal of defender Thomas Vermaelen as they battled back to the top of the Premier League with victory over struggling West Ham United.
Brazilian midfielder Denilson fired the Gunners in front after only five minutes as Arsene Wenger's men looked to leapfrog Manchester United and Chelsea, who didn't play until Sunday.
Vermaelen was then deemed to have been the last man when he pulled down Guillermo Franco, and was shown a straight red card by referee Martin Atkinson.
However, Manuel Almunia saved Alessandro Diamanti's penalty and captain Cesc Fabregas - back from a injury lay-off - made it 2-0 with nine minutes left from the same spot following a handball by Matthew Upson.

Manchester United 2 Liverpool 1

Manchester United came from behind to clamber back to the Premier League summit, trampling on Liverpool's top-four hopes in the process.
Park Ji-sung headed home the winner after an hour, securing the spoils after Wayne Rooney's 33rd goal of the season had levelled Fernando Torres' fifth-minute opener.
Although victory was not achieved without a nervy ending, during which Torres spurned a glorious chance to equalize, the result kept United's noses in front of Arsenal and Chelsea.

Fulham 1 Manchester City 2

Manchester City forward Carlos Tevez earned victory at Craven Cottage to maintain his side's Champions League hopes and give Fulham a European hangover.
The hosts still had their famous victory against Juventus fresh in the mind when they found themselves behind to Roque Santa Cruz's opener, with Tevez then extending the lead before the break in the Premier League match.
But Danny Murphy pulled a goal back from the penalty spot and Fulham could have snatched a point.
With Liverpool defeated at Old Trafford, City moved above Rafael Benitez's side and know their destiny is in their own hands - if they win the rest of their matches they will be in the top four.

Blackburn Rovers 1 Chelsea 1

Chelsea suffered a stumble in the title race after this 1-1 draw with Blackburn Rovers.
A match that seemed there for the taking after Didier Drogba's early goal somehow drifted out of Chelsea's grasp.
El Hadji Diouf headed a superb equalizer as Blackburn put in such a powerful second-half performance that keeper Jason Brown was barely tested.
Chelsea are now four points behind Manchester United and two behind Arsenal, though with a match in hand.