22 August 2004 West Brom (1) 1 (Clement 38) Aston Villa (1) 1 (Mellberg 4) Honours even in the West Midlands derby as West Brom and Aston Villa gave a masterclass in how NOT to defend set pieces. Villa took an early lead with the quickest goal in the Prem so far this season when Olof Mellberg found space at the near post to head home Thomas Hitzlsperger's free kick inside four minutes. Mellberg almost did it again ten minutes later, however this time a combination of keeper Russell Hoult and Paul Robinson on the line kept it out. The hosts equalised when Jonathon Greening's free kick was met by an unmarked Neil Clement who headed his second of the season. West Brom dominated the second half and should have won it when Geoff Horsfield was sent clear, however he rushed his shot and prodded it wide of a gaping goal. Arsenal (1) 5 (Henry 25, 90, Bergkamp 54, Pires 64, Reyes 65) Middlesbrough (1) 3 (Job 43, Hasselbaink 50, Queudrue 53) Arsenal have equalled Nottm Forest's record of 42 top flight games unbeaten after an astonishing 5-3 against a Middlesbrough side who at one stage, early in the second half, led 3-1. The hosts dominated the first half and took the lead when Jose Antonio Reyes sent a 50 yard pass perfectly into the path of Thierry Henry whose lob over the keeper was inch perfect, however with two minutes of the half left, Boro stunned the Highbury crowd with a fine equaliser as Franck Queudrue played in Joseph Desire Job and his firm drive beat Jens Lehmann at the near post. If the crowd were stunned after that, they were positively speechless when a long ball forward was missed by both Ashley Cole and Pascal Cygan, allowing Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink to burst through and beat Lehmann with a stinging drive, again at the near post. Three minutes later, George Boetang found Queudrue who spotted Lehmann drifting to his far post anticipating a cross and drilled a 30 yard shot straight into the net as the keeper failed to regain his ground in time. Within a minute, Arsenal pulled a goal back when Reyes found Dennis Bergkamp and as the Boro defence backed off, he found the net from the edge of the area. Ten minutes later, the game was turned upside down when the Gunners scored twice in 48 SECONDS! The equaliser came from sub Robert Pires with a simple far post tap in after good work from Henry to bobble the ball across goal and as Boro kicked off, they lost possession to Bergkamp who sent Reyes away. He cut inside his marker and belted a superb shot into the top corner to complete a sequence of six goals in 22 amazing minutes either side of the break. The clincher came in stoppage time when Bergkamp and Pires set up Henry for a near post tap in to end a remarkable encounter and send Arsenal top. 21 August 2004 Southampton (1) 3 (Phillips 32, Svensson 74, Beattie (pen) 90) Blackburn (0) 2 (Ferguson 50, Dickov 68) A controversial, stoppage time penalty from James Beattie gave Southampton a victory against his former club in a topsy-turvy clash at St Marys. The first half was dire, notable only for a Kevin Phillips goal as he took full advantage of lax marking to clip home a Fabrice Fernandes cross from close range. A double change at half time altered the game though, largely through the arrival of Paul Dickov who, within five minutes, set up Barry Ferguson to fire the equaliser in, albeit via the post, from the edge of the area. Midway through the second half, Dickov was on hand to collect a cross from Brett Emerton and volley into the roof of the net to put Rovers ahead, however six minutes later, a cross from Beattie missed everyone and after Fernandes played the ball back to Anders Svensson, the Swede smashed a superb shot into the top corner from the edge of the area. The winner came a minute into injury time after Beattie was barged in the back by Craig Short. It looked a harsh decision, however the striker got to his feet and sent Brad Friedel the wrong way with a confident penalty. The award of the kick led to a furious Ferguson being shown his second yellow card of the game, however no red card was waved and the Blackburn man stayed on for the remainder of stoppage time! The Rovers keeper came up for two late corners, but was unable to repeat his scoring heroics of last season and deny Saints victory. Birmingham (0) 0 Chelsea (0) 1 (Cole 68) Played two, won two by the same 1-0 scoreline for Chelsea after a Joe Cole goal gave them all three points at Birmingham. The only goal came midway through the second half as Frank Lampard played the ball wide for Cole, who cut inside and found the near post courtesy of a defelction off of a defender. Charlton (1) 2 (Euell 23, Unsworth (og) 87) Portsmouth (0) 1 (Berger 53) A goal of the season contender and a freak own goal were two of the highlights as Charlton beat Portsmouth at the Valley. The hosts took the lead when Kevin Lisbie's shot found Shaun Bartlett in the area and although he couldn't get a shot in, the ball fell to Jason Euell who fired into the roof of the net. Early in the second half, Portsmouth levelled when David Unsworth's shot pass was chipped into the air by Patrik Berger who then unleashed a superb dipping shot from 25 yards which looped over Dean Kiely and into the net. Joy turned to despair though for the visitors late on when a long ball was headed back towards his own keeper by Unsworth only for Shaka Hislop to dive and allow the ball to squirm under him and bobble over the line. Crystal Palace (1) 1 (Hudson 9) Everton (1) 3 (Gravesen (pen) 19, 62, Bent 82) RED CARD: Naysmith (Everton) 71 Everton collected their first win of the season and also had the distinction of being shown the first red card of the campaign as they won at Crystal Palace. It looked bad to begin with for the Merseysiders when Wayne Routledge crossed for Mark Hudson to head powerfully home at the far post, however more dodgy defending led to the equaliser after home keeper Julian Speroni was robbed of possession in his own area by Kevin Campbell, who was the tripped by the Argentine stopper to compound his mistake. Thomas Gravesen stepped up and found the bottom corner with the penalty. Gravesen also scored the second, a superb curling shot from the edge of the area after being set up by Marcus Bent. The roles were reversed eight minutes from time when Gravesen sent Bent clear to slot the third under the keeper and that despite being reduced to ten men with twenty minutes to go when Gary Naysmith earned a second yellow card for hauling back Dougie Freedman. Fulham (1) 2 (Cole 5, 82) Bolton (0) 0 Fulham celebrated their return to Craven Cottage with a comfortable win over last weekend's star team Bolton. A goal at each end of the game decided matters as firstly a shot from Zat Knight was helped in by Andy Cole and then late on, Cole found the net again from a tight angle having been sent clear by Claus Jensen. Liverpool (0) 2 (Baros 48, Gerrard 75) Man City (1) 1 (Anelka 45) RED CARD: Dunne (Man City) 85 Liverpool came from behind to beat Man City who ended the game with ten men. Liverpool old boy Nik Anelka gave City a shot lead on half time when Shaun Wright-Phillip's long ball was headed back by Jamie Carragher and although keeper Jerzy Dudek appeared to have it under control, it slipped from his grasp allowing the Frenchman to slot home. Three minutes into the second half Steven Gerrard played Milan Baros in to equalise with a crisp shot and Gerrard was on hand to fire in the winner after Baros had been tackled as he bore down on goal. Richard Dunne was shown a second yellow card late on for a foul on Djibril Cisse. Newcastle (0) 0 Spurs (0) 1 (Atouba 51) A poor week for Newcastle ended in further disappointment as Spurs recorded a fine away win at St James Park. The only goal was a beauty as Jamie Redknapp found Thimothee Atouba wide on the left, he cut inside and curled a fantasic effort past Shay Given and inside the far post. Man United (1) 2 (Bellion 32, Smith 50) Norwich (0) 1 (McVeigh 75) Man United recorded their first win of the season, although they were made to sweat a little late on by newly promoted Norwich. The visitors almost took a shock lead on the half hour when David Bently's scorching shot thudded against the bar and within a minute, United took advantage by taking the lead when a cross from Ryan Giggs was was nodded on by Alan Smith and finished well by David Bellion at the far post. Five minutes into the second half, a long cross was nodded back by Giggs for Smith to control on his chest and crash a brilliant volley across goal and in via the far post. Norwich pulled one back after Gary Doherty's shot was blocked and Paul McVeigh collected the loose ball to cut inside and fire inside the near post, although keeper Tim Howard did get hands to it. They almost snatched an improbable equaliser when Leon McKenzie shot inches wide, however United held on for all three points. Gary Dowden Chief Editor SoccerAge UK 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 |