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Tuesday May 10, 2011

United Close To 19th Title

Aston Villa 1 Wigan Athletic 1

Aston Villa striker Emile Heskey was fortunate not to be sent off after making contact with referee Mike Jones as relegation-threatened Wigan Athletic earned a precious point in the battle for survival.
Heskey lost his composure after not winning a free-kick and appeared to barge into the official. But he escaped with a yellow card and was substituted at half-time.
Charles N'Zogbia gave the Latics the lead but Ashley Young leveled for the home side with his ninth goal of the campaign.
A share of the spoils has banished any lingering relegation fears for Villa.
They were not at their best with only winger Stewart Downing and midfielder Nigel Reo-Coker emerging with full credit.
But Wigan's survival hopes are still alive ahead of next week's crunch meeting with West Ham after fully deserving to collect a point with N'Zogbia always a threat.

Bolton Wanderers 1 Sunderland 2

Substitute Sully Muntari steered Sunderland to only their second win in 12 Premier League matches with a dramatic stoppage-time winner at the Reebok Stadium.
The Ghanaian international midfielder took advantage of a superb through-ball from Stephane Sessegnon to end Bolton Wanderer's run of five straight home victories in the top flight and give the Wearsiders the double over Owen Coyle's team.
It was a rousing finish to a match that took a long time to come alive. Stand-in skipper Bolo Zenden put Sunderland ahead, only for substitute Ivan Klasnic to equalize three minutes from time.

Everton 2 Manchester City 1

Superb second-half headers from Sylvain Distin and Leon Osman frustrated Manchester City in their Champions League quest this afternoon.
The FA Cup finalists looked on course for a potentially decisive win in their pursuit of a top-four place as Yaya Toure put them ahead at Everton.
The visitors squandered several chances to make victory safe at Goodison Park and were stunned when former City defender Distin equalized and in-form Osman grabbed a winner.
With David Silva at his influential best, City seemed in little trouble as they dictated play.
Yet Everton have become their bogey side in recent years and the Merseysiders hit back to win for the seventh time in eight meetings.
City now face their chief rivals for fourth, Tottenham Hotspur, on Tuesday knowing they cannot ease up ahead of next week's trip to Wembley.
Distin, facing his old club, turned the match and Osman settled it with his fourth goal in nine matches.

Newcastle United 2 Birmingham City 1

Steven Taylor headed Newcastle United to Premier League safety as 10-man Birmingham City's woes increased at St James' Park.
The Carling Cup winners had defender Liam Ridgewell dismissed for deliberate handball 10 minutes before the break to spark a madcap and ultimately decisive flurry of activity.
Shola Ameobi converted the resulting penalty to give the Magpies the advantage and when Taylor powered home a second from Joey Barton's corner, the match looked to be over. However, Lee Bowyer marked his return to Tyneside with a 45th-minute strike, which went in off Fabricio Coloccini's leg, to give the visitors hope.
But the margin of victory would have been far greater had it not been for the heroics of City keeper Ben Foster, who made stunning saves from Peter Lovenkrands, Nile Ranger and Kevin Nolan twice to keep his side in it to the whistle.
Victory took Newcastle to 44 points and left Birmingham on 39 and while the former can now start planning for next season, there is still work to be done for the West Midlanders.

West Ham United 1 Blackburn Rovers 1

Thomas Hitzlsperger ensured the fight for Premier League survival will go to the wire as his late equalizer against Blackburn Rovers pulled West Ham United from the brink of the drop.
The Germany midfielder - nicknamed 'The Hammer' - unleashed a trademark 25-yard drive into the bottom corner 12 minutes from time to rescue a point from a turgid showing from Avram Grant's side.
Rovers looked to have secured a win which would have practically had them safe when Jason Roberts struck early on.
Without the injured Scott Parker the Hammers were short of invention and looked to be on their way into the Championship after six seasons in the top flight.
They had mustered just a solitary effort on goal for 78 minutes until Hitzlsperger crashed an unstoppable shot past the previously unemployed Paul Robinson.
That kick-started a late surge and substitute Robbie Keane and Carlton Cole both then spurned great chances in the final few moments.
But the Hammers are still alive and next Saturday will travel to face Wigan Athletic in what is likely to be a season-deciding match for both sides.

Tottenham Hotspur 1 Blackpool 1

In the late game on Saturday, Jermain Defoe's late equalizer grabbed a point for Tottenham Hotspur against Blackpool but they now face a huge mountain to climb to make next year's Champions League after Heurelho Gomes' error gifted the Tangerines the lead at White Hart Lane.
Just a week after spilling Frank Lampard's routine 35-yard shot, the Brazilian produced another mistake to gift Blackpool the lead with just 15 minutes left.
Moments after saving Charlie Adam's first penalty, the former PSV Eindhoven goalkeeper suffered a rush of blood to the head to barge over Gary Taylor-Fletcher in the box to give the Scot his second opportunity from the spot.
He did not miss, and Spurs seemed destined for only their second home league defeat of the season.
Defoe spared the goalkeeper's blushes as he fired home with under two minutes of normal time left, but in reality the draw will mean little if anything to Harry Redknapp, who takes his team to Eastlands on Tuesday with a six-point gap behind Manchester City with three matches left.

Wolves 3 West Bromwich Albion 1

Early on Sunday morning, two-goal Steven Fletcher helped lift Wolves out of the bottom three with victory over local rivals West Bromwich Albion at Molineux.
The Scotland international took his tally to four goals in four matches to end a five-game run without a win for Mick McCarthy's side.
Adlene Guedioura was also on target for the home side while Albion's only reply came from a Peter Odemwingie penalty.
The home side dominated the opening 45 minutes with Stephen Hunt a livewire figure and Fletcher and Stephen Ward a constant threat upfront.
Albion looked to be suffering a hangover after securing their own top-flight future for another season and were pulled apart defensively.
It was a different story in the second period when they created several opportunities.
But Wolves managed to survive to put their destiny back in their own hands with two fixtures remaining.

Stoke City 3 Arsenal 1

Stoke City once again exposed Arsenal's soft underbelly with a deserved victory which finally extinguished the dying embers of the Gunners' outside chance of making a late run for the title.
First-half goals from Kenwyne Jones and Jermaine Pennant were conceded far too easily and further defensive weaknesses were exposed after the break as the Londoners got themselves back into the match late on only to throw away their good work seconds later.
Robin van Persie hit his 19th in his last 21 matches, the eighth time in succession he had scored away from home, with less than 10 minutes remaining only for Jon Walters to go straight down the other end and make it 3-1.
It was a defeat which put the top of the table beyond reach for Arsene Wenger's side, although in truth they had blown their chances of ended a six-year wait for a trophy several weeks ago.