7 November 2004 Man United (0) 0 Man City (0) 0 SENT OFF : Smith (Man United) 89 Alan Smith was sent off as Man United failed to turn massive possession into goals as they were held at Old Trafford by rivals Man City. United dominated the first half, especially the early stages when they had two shouts for a penalty turned down to to holding and pulling in the area and Louis Saha came within inches of scoring when his shot was half saved by David James and then somehow hooked off the line by Stephen Jordan as it looked likely to bobble in. Aside from that, for all their possession, chances were rare with Cristiano Ronaldo coming as close as anyone with a vicious swerving shot saved by the legs of James. More of the same followed after the break as Paul Scholes almost broke through twice, Smith had a superb overhead kick somehow cleared off the line by Steve McManaman and Ryan Giggs shot just wide when through. The arrival of Wayne Rooney from the subs bench on 76 minutes had little effect, although he did have a shot blocked by the impressive Richard Dunne. Ultimately frustration got to the home side and in particular Smith, who had already been booked for one awful late lunge before catching Dunne slightly late and was promptly shown his second yellow of the game. In stoppage time, Louis Saha, whose ability to sneak offside all afternoon was remarkable, headed wide from six yards. In many ways, it summed up United's afternoon. Assist : n/a Middlesbrough (0) 1 (Boateng 90) Bolton (0) 1 (Pedersen 72) SENT OFF : Jaaskelainen (Bolton) 86 George Boateng scored an injury time equaliser as Middlesbrough grabbed a point against ten man Bolton in a niggly match which never really took off until the latter stages. El Hadji Diouf, at the centre of most of the nigglyness, took the corner which gave Bolton the lead as his kick was nodded goalwards by Rahdi Jaidi and helped in by sub Henrik Pedersen. Boro battled back and after Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink chased a long clearance from keeper Mark Schwarzer, he knocked the ball past Jussi Jaaskelainen, who had come out to the edge of his area, and was brought down. The referee dismissed the Bolton keeper but only awarded a free kick when contacted looked to be on the line of the area. Hasselbaink wasted the kick and the chance looked to have gone, however with Diouf now replaced by reserve keeper Kevin Poole, himself a former Middloesbrough keeper, the home side through everything forward and were rewarded when Poole couldn't hold a stinging shot from Ray Parlour and Boateng pounced to volley home a well deserved equaliser. Assist : Jaidi Newcastle (0) 1 (Bellamy 77) Fulham (1) 4 (John 28, Malbranque 65, (pen) 71, Boa Morte 76) A remarkable encounter at St James Park saw Newcastle dominate against Fulham, yet end up losing 4-1 after the visitors played a classic counter-attack strategy. Fulham were kept in it early on thanks to veteran keeper Mark Crossley who made a series of excellent saves and then watched as his forwards did the damage at the other end. They went ahead when Luis Boa Morte's through ball was dummied by Andy Cole and collected by Collins John who slotted it neatly past Shay Given. Three goals in eleven second half minutes then ended the game as a contested as firstly Steed Malbranque blasted in the second from the edge of the area after being found by Cole after an error by Andy O'Brien gifted him the ball and then six minutes later, Robbie Elliott fouled Thomasz Radzinski in the area, allowing Malbranque to send the keeper the wrong way from the spot. Boa Morte then added a fourth with a neat chip having been sent clear by Malbranque and although Craig Bellamy pulled one back with a header from Lee Bowyer's cross, it was never going to be enough. The stats themselves are amazing considering the final score as Newcastle had 19 corners with Fulham not winning one, whilst the home side had 26 shots at goal, twenty of which were ON target! Assists : Boa Morte, Cole, Radzinski (won pen), Malbranque, Bowyer 6 November 2004 Aston Villa (3) 3 (Whittingham 18, Angel 25, Solano 40) Portsmouth (0) 0 This weekend's `after the Lord Mayors Show` award goes to Portsmouth who followed up their win against Man United last week by getting crushed at Aston Villa. The game was effectively won by half time, by when Villa were three goals up thanks to clinical finishing by two of their South American contingent, although it was a home grown player who broke the deadlock with his first league goal for the club when Peter Whittingham tapped home at the far post after Carlton Cole's cross was missed at the near post by Juan Pablo Angel. It wasn't long before the Colombian was on target though as he controlled a cross from Ulises de la Cruz, turned and fired across the keeper and inside the far post. Cole was the provider again for the third as his cross was only half cleared to Nol Solano whose shot with the outside of his foot found the net via the underside of the bar. As so often happens in such circumstances, the second half was devoid of the action previously experienced as Villa took things easy and Portsmouth rarely looked capable of making any impact. Assists : n/a, De La Cruz, n/a Chelsea (0) 1 (Robben 72) Everton (0) 0 Chelsea hit top spot for the first time this season after a tight victory over third placed Everton. The only goal came in the final twenty minutes as a long ball forward from Eidur Gudjohnsen sent Arjen Robben clear and despite being held back in the area, he managed to keep his feet and chip the ball over the keeper from a tight angle. Assist : Gudjohnsen Liverpool (0) 0 Birmingham (0) 1 (Anderton 77) Liverpool's 100% home league record was ended by Birmingham who recorded a surprise victory at Anfield and they can only have themselves to blame as they fell asleep at a short corner, allowing Robbie Savage to swing in a cross to the far post where Matthew Upson nodded back across goal for Darren Anderton to tap in from close range. Assist : n/a Norwich (0) 1 (Svensson 56) Blackburn (0) 1 (Dickov 86) SENT OFF: Bothroyd (Blackburn) 44 Norwich were within four minutes of recording their first win of the season, only for fellow relegation strugglers Blackburn to battle back and equalise. Rovers had already been reduced to ten men late in the first half when Jay Bothroyd took umbridge to the close attentions of Mattias Jonson and, when the ball went dead, decided to lash out and kick his opponent firmly on the ankle, leaving the ref no option but to show the red card. Initially Norwich took full advantage when they took the lead early in the second half when Adam Drury's cross was met by a couple of Norwich heads, before falling for Mattias Svensson whose volley across goal found the net at the far post. A first three-pointer looked on the cards until four minutes from time when Lucas Neill's cross was nodded in by Paul Dickov, although the ball appeared to go in off his shoulder. Assists : Francis, Neill Southampton (1) 2 (Svensson 28, Robinson 87 og) West Brom (2) 2 (Earnshaw 29, Eanrshaw 37) Another relegation battle at St Marys which also ended all square thanks to a late home equaliser. Southampton took the lead when Paul Telfer's cross was nodded into the far corner well by Anders Svensson, however the lead lasted less than a minute as Zoltan Gera's cross was headed goalwards by Jonathon Greening and although it may have skimmed the back of Robert Earnshaw, it still found the net, although keeper Alan Blayney - only playing due to a warm-up injury sustained by first choice Antti Niemi - will be disappointed as he allowed the ball to bounce through his hands. West Brom then took the lead with Earnshaw definately netting this time with a firm shot as Saints failed to clear a Greening cross. The hosts then snatched a late point when Svensson dribbled his way into the area and attempted an ambitious effort which found the net via a wicked deflection off of Paul Robinson. Assists : Telfer, Greening, Johnson, og Spurs (0) 2 (Keane (pen) 69, Defoe 79) Charlton (2) 3 (Bartlett 17, 39, Thomas 50) SENT OFF: Bartlett (Charlton) 68 Managerless Spurs slumped to defeat against Charlton, although a late comeback almost provided them with an unlikely point after Shaun Bartlett had scored twice before getting sent off for the visitors! Bartlett's brace gave Charlton a 2-0 half time lead, firstly when he lost his marker to convert Jerome Thomas' near post cross and then when he finished off a superb flowing move to send Luke Young's cross into the net with a diving header. The game should have been won when Thomas added a third when he played a neat one-two with Bartlett before his shot was deflected in by Ledley King, however Spurs battled back and after Freddie Kanoute thumped a shot against the post, they were literally handed a lifeline when Bartlett handled Reto Zeigler's goalbound shot on the line and was shown a red card. Robbie Keane found the bottom corner with the spot kick and ten minutes later, his cross was controlled and fired in on the turn by Jermain Defoe. Despite throwing everything at Charlton, Spurs were unable to grab an equaliser after what has been a turbulent couple of days at White Hart Lane. Assists : Thomas, Young, King og, n/a, Keane Crystal Palace (0) 1 (Riihilahti 65) Arsenal (0) 1 (Henry 63) Arsenal drop to second in the table after losing a lead against Crystal Palace to go three league games without a win. Arsenal took over an hour - and sixteen attempts at goal - to break down a resolute home defence and it was largely due to Freddie Ljungberg that they did as he burst into the area on the right and crossed low for Thierry Henry to bundle the ball home from close range. The lead lasted just two minutes as Palace found space on the right with sub Lakis who crossed for Riihilahti to stretch and knock the ball into the corner. A minute later, Lakis somehow missed the target from inside the six yard box as the match exploded into life with the Gunners looking decidedly rattled at the back. Both clubs had late chances to win it, with Andy Johnson looking lively for Palace, whilst sub Robin van Persie was denied twice by the home keeper. Assists : Ljungberg, Lakis Gary Dowden - Joint Admin Topica Premier-L list http://www.topica.com/lists/premier-L/ Leeds United and Scotland and proud of it http://www.peanutsfan.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/footiemad The Unofficial Premiership Site |