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Tuesday November 2, 2010

Man City And Spurs Stumble

Arsenal 1 West Ham United 0

Alex Song's late header gave title chasers Arsenal a narrow victory over West Ham United to deny the bottom club a deserved point at Emirates Stadium.
Robert Green, in front of watching England manager Fabio Capello, had pulled off a string of fine saves to keep the Gunners at bay.
However, the Irons keeper was finally beaten with just two minutes left when Song dived to head home Gael Clichy's cross as Arsene Wenger's improving side kept up the pressure on leaders Chelsea.

Blackburn Rovers 1 Chelsea 2

Branislav Ivanovic nodded home a late winner for Premier League leaders Chelsea as Blackburn Rovers squandered a golden chance to upset the odds at Ewood Park.
Rovers controlled the match for long periods and could have gone in front for the second time when Jason Roberts shot wide in the 81st minute with the goal at his mercy.
Less than a minute later Carlo Ancelotti's side were heading towards all three points when the unmarked Ivanovic connected with a Yury Zhirkov cross at point-blank range.
Rovers boss Sam Allardyce will be left reflecting on how his side finished up with nothing after an exceptional first-half display capped by Benjani Mwaruwari's first goal for the club.
Benjani headed a 21st-minute opener as Rovers pinned Chelsea back in their own half and the home side ought to have moved further ahead before the break.
Instead they allowed Nicolas Anelka to fire home a 39th-minute equaliser and leave Chelsea no doubt relieved to have got off so lightly.

Everton 1 Stoke City 0

Ayegbeni Yakubu struck his first goal since April to maintain Everton's Premier League revival at the expense of Stoke City.
The Nigerian international hit the only goal of a cagey Goodison Park encounter after 67 minutes.
Matthew Etherington had a late chance to equalize for Stoke but shot wide when well placed.
The match only came to life in the second half but Everton deserved their victory having dominated possession and created the better of the chances.
Yakubu showed a brilliant striker's instinct to snatch his chance after Tim Cahill had hit the post.
His goal was the first from an Everton striker this season and finally justified manager David Moyes' faith in him after featuring in the eight previous matches.
Victory extended Everton's unbeaten run to five matches and continued their march up the table after sitting bottom with six games gone.
Stoke's promising start is now beginning to fade after three consecutive defeats.

Fulham 2 Wigan Athletic 0

Clint Dempsey struck twice as Fulham avoided a third successive Premier League defeat to rocket up the table.
Dempsey, paired alongside Moussa Dembele in attack, took his tally for the season to five with both goals arriving in the first half of an encounter dominated by Mark Hughes' side.
The USA international's brace saw him take centre stage at Craven Cottage, but left-back Carlos Salcido was another outstanding performer.
Salcido, a £1.6m summer signing from PSV Eindhoven, set up the opener for Dempsey and was a constant menace to Wigan Athletic's over-worked defence.
The Mexican has become a key attacking weapon and his reputation at Craven Cottage is growing.
Fulham should have claimed their second league victory of the season by a more convincing scoreline given their ascendancy with Zoltan Gera and Brede Hangeland missing chances.
It was Wigan's first defeat in seven matches in all competitions and they appeared lethargic, hardly troubling Mark Schwarzer throughout the 90 minutes.

Wolves 2 Manchester City 1

David Edwards scored his first goal for 14 months to earn Wolverhampton Wanderers a shock win over Manchester City and boost their survival hopes.
City went ahead through Emmanuel Adebayor's penalty and dominated the early part of the match.
But Wolves equalized through Nenad Milijas and then Edwards earned Mick McCarthy's side their first victory since the opening day of the campaign.

Manchester United 2 Tottenham Hotspur 0

A late goal from Nani and a first-half header by Manchester United captain Nemanja Vidic ensured Tottenham Hotspur's 21-year wait for victory at Old Trafford continued.
United captain Vidic opened the scoring with a header after 31 pulsating minutes before Nani reacted quickest to some goalmouth confusion to prod home five minutes from time.

Aston Villa 0 Birmingham City 0

In the early game on Sunday morning, Aston Villa and Birmingham City shared the spoils in the derby match at Villa Park.
The result meant Birmingham ended a run of six successive defeats against their local rivals.
But this was a match lacking in quality and will not remain long in the memory.
The midfield was overcrowded with both sides only employing one out and out striker in Emile Heskey and Nikola Zigic.
Villa seemed to rely mainly on trying to find Heskey with a direct approach and Ashley Young was a peripheral figure for long periods.
They finished the stronger of the two teams but have now gone three league matches without a goal and it would have been harsh on Birmingham to end up with nothing

Newcastle United 5 Sunderland 1

Captain Kevin Nolan plundered a derby hat-trick as Newcastle United routed Sunderland.
The midfielder put the home side 2-0 ahead within 34 minutes and completed his treble 15 minutes from time, after striker Shola Ameobi had helped himself to two goals, the first of them from the penalty spot.
It was the first hat-trick in the fixture since Peter Beardsley achieved the feat for Newcastle in January 1985.
Sunderland, who had former Magpies defender Titus Bramble sent off for an ill-judged challenge on Andy Carroll in the 53rd minute, were never at the races on a day when their promoted neighbours won at St James' Park for the first time in five attempts.
Darren Bent's last-minute strike was no consolation for the travelling fans.
Sunderland had conceded only seven goals in their first nine Premier League matches, but were repeatedly torn apart by a committed Magpies side even before Bramble's premature departure.

Bolton Wanderers 0 Liverpool 1

Maxi Rodriguez struck a late winner at Bolton Wanderers as relieved Liverpool finally climbed out of the relegation zone.
The Argentinian latched onto a brilliant Fernando Torres backheel to settle a competitive encounter at the Reebok Stadium four minutes from time.
Both sides created numerous chances in an evenly-matched contest but Liverpool left satisfied knowing their near month-long stay in the bottom three was over.
The match had looked like bringing more frustration for Liverpool and manager Roy Hodgson as Sotirios Krygiakos twice went close and Torres squandered a good early opportunity.
The win drew them level on points with Bolton, who had been enjoying their best start for four years and were looking set for a seventh draw of the campaign.
They might even have won it themselves had a late Kevin Davies glancing header fallen the right side of the post.