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Tuesday March 1, 2011

United Go Four Clear

Aston Villa 4 Blackburn Rovers 1

Aston Villa's impressive revival continued as inspired performances from two-goal Ashley Young and Stewart Downing enabled them to comfortably dispose of Blackburn Rovers at Villa Park.
Young's penalty broke the deadlock early in the second half and, after an own goal from Rovers defender Grant Hanley, Downing also got on the score-sheet before Nikola Kalinic's consolation.
Young's stunning strike completed the scoring eight minutes from time and Blackburn captain Ryan Nelsen was sent off in injury time for a second bookable offence.
Villa have now taken 12 points from their last seven Premier League matches to climb into mid-table.
Watching England head coach Fabio Capello must have been impressed by Young who is relishing playing in the central role behind Darren Bent.
Downing and on-loan Tottenham Hotspur right-back Kyle Walker also caught the eye down the flanks.
Veteran midfielder Robert Pires also had his most influential match for Villa.
Rovers had little to offer as an attacking force and finished well beaten.

Everton 2 Sunderland 0

Jermaine Beckford struck twice as Sunderland suffered yet more misery at Everton.
The former Leeds United striker found the net twice in the first half to lift Everton further away from relegation danger and send Sunderland home from Goodison Park empty-handed again.
The Black Cats, without a league win at the ground since 1996, went close when Tim Howard saved well from Stephane Sessegnon but Beckford's second just before the interval blunted their threat.
Steve Bruce's side created little after the break and surrendered to a fourth successive loss that could have been more emphatic.
It was another dent in their push for Europe but Everton, winning for only the second time in six league matches, could still make a late charge.
Beckford's double took his tally after a slow start to his Everton career to eight and emphasised that the Merseysiders still have much to play for after their stunning FA Cup win at Chelsea last week.
Beckford stole the limelight from strike partner Louis Saha, who scored four goals against Blackpool three weeks ago but had been out since with a hamstring injury.

Newcastle United 1 Bolton Wanderers 1

Daniel Sturridge's fourth goal in as many matches was only enough to claim a point for Bolton Wanderers as 10-man Newcastle United held out for a draw.
The striker, on loan from Chelsea, struck seven minutes before the break to cancel out the lead former Wanderers midfielder Kevin Nolan had given the Magpies with his 11th of the season with 13 minutes gone.
But an open match shifted firmly Bolton's way with Ryan Taylor's 54th-minute dismissal for a two-footed challenge on Johan Elmander.
Taylor was making just his fifth appearance of the season on his return from an ankle ligament injury, but his rush of blood left Newcastle hanging on for a dear life.
The draw ended Bolton's run of six successive away defeats and extended the Magpies' run to one loss in nine.

Wigan Athletic 0 Manchester United 4

Javier Hernandez made it a lucky 13 goals for the season as Manchester United charged four points clear of Arsenal with a clinical victory at Wigan Athletic.

Birmingham Win League Cup Final

Birmingham City have won the Carling Cup for the first time since 1963 after beating Arsenal 2-1 at Wembley.
Arsenal's six-year quest for a trophy goes on after Birmingham snatched a dramatic last-minute winner from substitute Obafemi Martins to beat the Gunners.
Former Newcastle United striker Martins swept home after a mix-up between goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny and centre-half Laurent Koscielny.
It was, though, no more than the Blues deserved following a battling display as Arsenal, without injured captain Cesc Fabregas and England winger Theo Walcott, failed to deliver.
Nikola Zigic had headed Birmingham in front on 28 minutes, but Robin van Persie equalised with a fine volley.
The Arsenal fightback, though, didn't materialize as Arsene Wenger's men could not make the most of their possession and were dealt a killer blow when Szczesny spilled Zigic's knockdown after Koscielny's mis-kick and Martins slotted home in front of the Blues fans to send the Midlands club into Europe.

Sir Alex Ferguson declared the Premier League title battle was now a straight fight between his own side and the Gunners, and with trips to Chelsea and Liverpool looming, United could not have made a better start to their week on the road.
Preferred to Dimitar Berbatov, Hernandez justified the faith of his manager, turning home Nani's first-half cross before finishing Wayne Rooney's brilliant second-half through ball.
Rooney and Fabio then scored in the final minutes to leave relegation-threatened Wigan thoroughly deflated at a result that did not reflect their performance.
Three times Edwin van der Sar needed to make outstanding saves, whilst skipper Nemanja Vidic was a towering presence in the United defence.
Ferguson often speaks of his regret at failing to land Van der Sar in 1999 when he was searching for Peter Schmeichel's replacement.
At the time, the giant Dutchman was at Ajax and about to leave for Juventus. Instead, Ferguson tried a number of alternatives. Some were better than others and titles kept being won.
But was not until Van der Sar arrived from Fulham in 2005 that concern about the goalkeeping position ended.
This summer, Ferguson must hope for more success as Van der Sar heads off into retirement, having hit the 40-mark but still capable of producing the brilliance that has categorized his career.

Wolves 4 Blackpool 0

Wolverhampton Wanderers lifted themselves out of the bottom three of the Premier League for only the second time in five months following a comprehensive defeat of 10-man Blackpool.
Matt Jarvis gave manager Mick McCarthy's men the perfect start with a second-minute opener before a moment of madness from Blackpool leading scorer DJ Campbell saw him sent off in the 43rd minute.
Wolves then made their numerical advantage count after the break as Jamie O'Hara and then substitute Sylvan Ebanks-Blake with a brace eased their club off the foot of the table into 17th.

West Ham United 3 Liverpool 1

West Ham United produced arguably their best display of the season to haul themselves back off the bottom of the Premier League and all but end Liverpool's faint Champions League hopes.
Goals from Scott Parker, Demba Ba - rapidly developing into one of the signings of the January transfer window - and Carlton Cole secured a 3-1 win at Upton Park and kept the pressure on the Hammers' relegation rivals.
Glen Johnson pulled one back for Liverpool but their late rally was in vain as their revival under Kenny Dalglish suffered its first major setback.
The defeat left the Reds eight points behind fourth-placed Tottenham Hotspur having played a match more, while Avram Grant was able to celebrate a result that moved the Hammers level on points with fourth-bottom Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Manchester City 1 Fulham 1

Mark Hughes enjoyed his return to Eastlands as his Fulham side's draw with former club Manchester City virtually ended their title challenge.
Damien Duff's leveller just after half-time was enough to deny the Blues victory, leaving them 10 points adrift of leaders Manchester United, having played a match more.
Worse still, if Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea win their matches in hand, City will find themselves outside the top four.
And, having complained so often about the huge number of fixtures his team are having to play, Mancini must be concerned about how meekly they faded once the Cottagers had levelled Mario Balotelli's ninth goal of the season.
Having let a number of squad men leave on loan, Mancini now finds injury robbing him of others and far better will be required on Wednesday if City are to dispose of Aston Villa to reach the FA Cup quarter-finals.