SERVICES

Tuesday April 26, 2011

Gunners Implode Again

Manchester United 1 Everton 0

Javier Hernandez headed home an 84th-minute winner to send Manchester United to the brink of a record 19th league title.
The Mexican had come closer than any other United player to breaking the stubborn resistance of an Everton side who could have had a couple of penalties and for whom goalkeeper Tim Howard was outstanding.
But additional heroic performances from Phil Jagielka and Sylvain Distin counted for nothing as Hernandez rose to meet Antonio Valencia's far-post cross.

Aston Villa 1 Stoke City 1

Aston Villa striker Darren Bent repaid another slice of the faith shown in him by absent manager Gerard Houllier to rescue a point against Stoke City at Villa Park.
Houllier, who is recovering from chest pains in hospital, paid Sunderland an initial £18m for Bent in January and here he scored his seventh goal in 12 matches for Villa.
That cancelled out the opening goal from another former Black Cats forward in Stoke's Kenwyne Jones.
Villa have now taken eight points from the last four fixtures to virtually ensure another season of top-flight football.
But Cup finalists Stoke would be happy with a share of the spoils after losing their seven previous away matches.

Blackpool 1 Newcastle United 1

Blackpool were left cursing their luck despite claiming a draw against Newcastle United with a contentious DJ Campbell equalizer.
Campbell cancelled out an early Peter Lovenkrands strike in a frantic clash at Bloomfield Road when his flick was ruled to have crossed the line.
Yet the Seasiders had three penalty appeals rejected and missed a host of other chances as they failed to win for the 13th time in 14 matches to remain firmly in the relegation scrap.

Sunderland 4 Wigan Athletic 2

Jordan Henderson answered his critics in spectacular style as he fired home a double to ease Sunderland's relegation fears.
The 20-year-old England midfielder went into the game with a question mark hanging over him after a disappointing run of form.
However, he scored twice in the second half as the Black Cats came from behind to win for the first time in 10 Premier League matches and plunge Wigan Athletic back into trouble.

Liverpool 5 Birmingham City 0

A Maxi Rodriguez hat-trick inspired Liverpool to their biggest win of the season.
The little Argentinian was not necessarily brilliant but just put himself in the right places to capitalize on some impressive team play by a side brimming with the confidence instilled by the 60-year-old Scot.
There were positives all over the field with Dirk Kuyt scoring his seventh goal in six league matches while even substitute Joe Cole, who has endured a disappointing maiden season, got among the goals with a late deflected effort.
Five goals and all this achieved without £35m record signing Andy Carroll, who was unavailable due to an injury sustained in last Sunday's draw at Arsenal which allowed Kuyt to move back up front.

Tottenham Hotspur 2 West Bromwich Albion 2

A late equalizer from West Bromwich Albion substitute Simon Cox ruined Tottenham Hotspur's attempt to move ahead of Manchester City as Harry Redknapp's side had to settle for a frustrating 2-2 draw at White Hart Lane.
Jermain Defoe's 100th goal for Tottenham looked to have given the home side the win after Roman Pavlyuchenko had equalised Peter Odemwingie's fifth-minute opener.
But with nine minutes remaining, Cox dipped a wonderful 20-yard shot over Heurelho Gomes' head to steal a point and leave Spurs one point behind fourth-place City, who play their match in hand against Blackburn Rovers on Monday.
The result was a bitter blow for Redknapp and his men, who had their tails up after Wednesday night's thrilling comeback against Arsenal.
Spurs will now hope that relegation-threatened Rovers will surprise Roberto Mancini's men and it may be that the Londoners have to win all five of their remaining matches - which include tough fixtures against City, Chelsea and Liverpool - to make it into the Champions League for the second year running.

Wolves 1 Fulham 1

Wolverhampton Wanderers were denied a potentially vital victory in their battle to beat the drop as substitute Andrew Johnson earned Fulham a point at Molineux.
The hosts, who went into the match lying bottom of the Premier League, went 1-0 up in the 22nd minute when Steven Fletcher headed in a cross from skipper Karl Henry.
Cottagers manager Mark Hughes was sent to the stands in the second half after reacting angrily to a booking for Brede Hangeland, but his team equalized with 10 minutes to go through Johnson, who had come on just seconds earlier.
The result meant Wolves moved off the foot of the table to 19th, but they will be cursing their inability to hold out for all three points.

Chelsea 3 West Ham United 0

Fernando Torres finally scored his first goal for Chelsea as he ended his 15-hour goal drought and helped keep his side's slim title hopes alive against West Ham United.
The £50m man had not found the net for 901 minutes for club and country, 732 for the champions since joining them almost three months ago, but it took him just eight minutes to do so after coming off the bench today.
The jubilant Spaniard was mobbed by his team-mates after scoring in a victory that moved Chelsea back to within six points of Manchester United, with Frank Lampard and Florent Malouda also among the goals.
The margin of defeat was harsh on West Ham, who missed several chances of their own as they ended the day back on the bottom of the table, two points from safety.

Bolton Wanderers 2 Arsenal 1

Arsenal's title bid was surely ended at the Reebok Stadium as Tamir Cohen netted an emotional late winner for Bolton Wanderers.
The Israeli powered a 90th-minute header past Wojciech Szczesny and then removed his shirt to reveal a picture of his late father Avi, who died in December following a motorcycle accident, before breaking down in tears.
On-loan Chelsea striker Daniel Sturridge had opened the scoring in the 38th minute while Kevin Davies also missed a penalty for Bolton at the start of the second half before Robin van Persie netted a 48th-minute equalizer.
The result leaves Arsenal nine points behind United and three behind Chelsea with four matches remaining.