PREMIERSHIP ROUND 9
 
19 October 2003

Birmingham (0) 0
Aston Villa (0) 0

No goals in the second city derby devoid of the controversy and activity of
last season's meetings and indeed clear cut chances. Juan Pablo Angel headed
just wide for Villa in the first half, whilst Peter Whittingham had the best
chances after the break but was denied a shot on goal by a last minute
tackle from Robbie Savage.


Leicester (1) 1 (Dickov 38)
Spurs (0) 2 (Mabizela 79, Kanoute 90)

Two goals in the final eleven minutes gave Spurs a vital win at relegation
rivals Leicester who remain at the foot of the table, despite dominating for
long periods after taking a first half lead as a long ball forward was
headed on by Les Ferdinand and although Paul Dickov had drifted offside, the
flag stayed down allowing the Scot to turn and volley goalwards. Keller had
the effort covered, however it slipped through his hands, between his legs
and into the net. Spurs equalised when South African captain Mbulelo
Mabizela, who'd only been on the pitch for under four minutes, scored a
belter as Bobby Zamora laid the ball back for him to drill into the top
corner from fully 25 yards, giving Ian Walker no chance. It was anyone's
game then and Spurs were the ones who took the late chance as Dalmat burst
clear into the area and although his shot struck the post, Freddie Kanoute
was on hand to tap in the late winner.


Everton (0) 0
Southampton (0) 0

No goals at Goodison as Southampton dominated for long periods but the
better chances fell to the home side. Saints came close in the first half
when Brett Ormerod forced a reaction save from Nigel Martyn, however after
the break, both James McFadden and Steve Watson missed glorious chances for
the hosts, as they both sent close range efforts wide.


18 October 2003

Leeds United (0) 0
Man United (0) 1 (Keane 81)

A noon start at Elland Road saw Man United go top, albeit temporarily, after
a late Roy Keane goal decided matters against Leeds. The game looked to be
heading for a drab draw until Keane rose at the far post to head home Gary
Neville's cross, leaving the hosts still struggling against relegation.


Arsenal (1) 2 (Edu 5, Henry 75)
Chelsea (1) 1 (Crespo 8)

A freak winner, courtesy of an almighty mistake from Chelsea keeper Carlo
Cudicini, saw Arsenal become the third side to top the table in five hours
on Saturday. The game began explosively as Arsenal took an early lead when
Edu's 25 yard free kick took a slight deflection off of Ray Parlour before
nestling into the back of the net, however within three minutes, Hernan
Crespo latched onto a pass from Geremi, cut inside from the left and curled
a beauty past Jens Lehmann from long range. The winner came late as Cudicini
looked to scoop up a routine cross from Robert Pires, only for the ball to
squirm between his hands and legs before striking Thierry Henry on the knee
and bobbling over the line.


Fulham (0) 0
Wolves (0) 0

Wolves move off the foot of the table after a well earned goalless draw at
high flying Fulham. Both keepers made excellent saves, however Fulham almost
grabbed a stoppage time winner when Steed Malbranque's shot crashed against
the bar.


Man City (1) 6 (Wright-Phillips 27, 56, Distin 48, Anelka 58, 72, Reyna 84)
Bolton (1) 2 (Nolan 25, Campo 60)
RED CARD : Wright-Phillips (Man City) 64

Man City came from behind to destroy Bolton, despite playing a quarter of
the game with ten men. The visitors took the lead when Kevin Nolan beat the
offside trap to fire into the far corner after Bruno N'Gotty and Stelios had
set him up. Within two minutes, Shaun Wright-Phillips latched onto a through
ball to lob into the net from a tight angle, however his shirt-removing
celebrations earned him a costly booking. City took control early in the
second half with a goal blitz as Sylvain Distin exchanged passes with Nik
Anelka before firing in his first ever Prem goal and then Wright-Phillips
doubled his tally with a crisp shot from Claudio Reyna's pass. Anelka then
added a fourth with a near post shot, although keeper Jussi Jaaskelainen
should have done better, before Bolton were given hope when Ivan Campo shot
in after being found by Mario Jardel. Further hope followed when
Wright-Phillips was dismissed for a high tackle on Simon Charlton, however
it inspired City rather than Bolton as Anelka added his second and City's
fifth, slotting in after a fine through ball from Danny Tiatto, and then
late on, Reyna completed the rout with a far post tap in from Sibierski's
cross.


Middlesbrough (0) 0
Newcastle (1) 1 (Ameobi 21)

Middlesbrough dominated the north-east derby, but poor finishing and
excellent goalkeeping from Shay Given meant that Newcastle stole all three
points. The only goal came midway through the first half as Alan Shearer
headed back a Lee Bowyer cross and although Gary Speed could have scored,
Shola Ameobi was on hand to sweep the ball in.


Portsmouth (1) 1 (Berger 4)
Liverpool (0) 0

Liverpool crashed to their third successive league defeat after one of their
old boys won the game for Portsmouth. Emile Heskey had already hit the post
before Pompey netted a fourth minute winner as Patrick Berger touched
Sebastien Schemmel's cross into the far corner.


Gary Dowden
Chief Editor SoccerAge UK

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