21 August 2005 Bolton (0) 0 Everton (0) 1 (Bent 52) Everton bounced back from their opening day defeat to record a narrow win at Bolton, who had the majority of the chances, but rarely looked threatening. The first half was instantly forgetable, however the home side began the second well, only to go behind to a breakaway strike. A long ball - a feature of the game as a whole - was too high for Duncan Ferguson, however it fell to Tim Cahill on the left and his low cross was perfect for Marcus Bent to tap in from close range. Either side of the goal, Kevin Nolan shot over for Bolton, but their best chance came late when El Hadji Diouf smashed a bullet of a shot against the bar. Attendance : 25,608 Assists : Cahill Chelsea (0) 1 (Drogba 73) Arsenal (0) 0 A fluke of a goal from half time sub Didier Drogba settled the clash between last season's top two as Chelsea edged a 1-0 win agains Arsenal. The first half was very continental in it's approach with plenty of possession and passing, but attempts at goal at a premium as both defences were on top. It began well though as Damien Duff was denied very early by Jens Lehmann and then Freddie Ljungberg was on hand to clear the ball off the line from Asier Del Horno's header. Arsenal showed glimpses of what they are capable as both Thierry Henry and Ljungberg were off target. At the end of the half, Chelsea almost came good again when Lehmann was again called into action to save at the far post from Arjen Robben. The second half was slightly higher in pace but again chances were rare, although Drogba did blast one wide when well placed and then got a verbal hammering from his own fans. They were cheering him minutes later though, although it certainly didn't go as planned. A free kick from Paulo Ferriera was floated into the area for Drogba and as he tried to control the ball, it bounced off of his shin, wrong footing Lehmann and dribbled into the net! He was borderline offside, however it looked to me as though a defender on the far side was playing him on, even though he was ahead of his actual marker. Arsenal rallied, but rarely looked like equalising, although Gilberto's header and two efforts from Henry did call Petr Cech into action. Drogba should have settled it in stoppage time, but shot straight at the keeper whilst clean through. Attendance : 42,136 Assist : Lampard (fk) 20 August 2005 Manchester United (0) 1 (Van Nistelrooy 66) Aston Villa (0) 0 Ruud Van Nistelrooy made it two goals in two games as Man United beat Aston Villa 1-0 to maintain their 100% record this season. United had the better of a goalless first half which saw Villa keeper Thomas Sorensen tipped a belter from Ji-Sung Park against the bar and Wayne Rooney have a shot cleared off the line. The only goal came midway through the second half and was largely down to a surge from defence by Rio Ferdinand who then found sub Cristiano Ronaldo on the left. His cross was helped on at the near post by Villa defender Olaf Mellberg and touched in at the far post by Van Nistelrooy. Attendance : 67,934 Assist : n/a Blackburn (1) 2 (Pedersen 15, Tugay 71) Fulham (0) 1 (McBride 49) Two stunning volley's gave Blackburn their first points of the season as they held off Fulham, who still search for their initial victory. Rovers went ahead through Morten Gamst Pedersen with a superb far post volley from Shefki Kuqi's cross, the ball crashing in off the underside of the bar. Fulham's equaliser came early in the second half when Niclas Jensen's cross was helped in by a stooping Brian McBride, the ball appearing to hit his knee before finding the net. The winner, when it arrived, was absolute class as Pedersen turned provider with a corner swung out to the far edge of the penalty where Tugay struck a sensational first time volley that tore past the keeper and inside the near post. Attendance : 16,953 Assists : Kuqi, Jensen N, Pedersen Charlton (1) 1 (Bent 42) Wigan (0) 0 Charlton remain 100% after a narrow win against new boys Wigan, who remain without a goal or point thus far. The only goal came just before half time from Darren Bent, who scored twice last weekend. This time around it came from a superb Danny Murphy cross and was headed in at the far post by the former Ipswich striker. Attendance : 23,453 Assist : Murphy Liverpool (1) 1 (Alonso 24) Sunderland (0) 0 SENT OFF: Welsh (Sunderland) 75 A delayed kick off at Anfield due to traffic problems, however it didn't stop Liverpool recording their first win of the season against a Sunderland side struggling to make an impact at the top level. The only goal came from Xabi Alonso, a pacy free kick with swerve that found the net from 20 yards, however the main talking point was the late red card to Andy Welsh. The Sunderland man seemed to run into Luis Garcia after a battle with Julio Arca, however the linesman and referee felt that something additional had occurred and showed the youngster a straight red card. Attendance : 44,913 Assist : Zenden (won fk) Newcastle (0) 0 West Ham (0) 0 SENT OFF: Konchesky (West Ham) 55 Another baffling red card involving Newcastle and Jermaine Jenas, although this time around they benefited from it - or should have done! The incident came ten minutes into the second half as Jenas burst through on goal, only to be tackled by the chasing West Ham defender Paul Konchesky. Having consulted with his assistant, the ref produced a straight red card for Konchesky, although replays showed that he clearly played the ball. Ultimately Newcastle were jeered off after failing to take advantage, although prodigal son Lee Clark almost snatched all three points but his effort was well tipped away by the diving Roy Carroll. Attendance : 51,620 Assists : n/a Tottenham (0) 2 (Defoe 49, Mido 75) Middlesbrough (0) 0 Two very different goals at White Hart Lane as Middlesbrough keeper Mark Schwarzer produced a howler of Massimo Taibi proportions. The moment in question came with Spurs already one up, as Jermaine Defoe found Ahmed Mido on the right. He cut in and struck a powder-puff of a shot from the edge of the area, which 99 times out of 100, the Australian keeper would have collected with ease. This time though, the ball dribbled through his hands and bobbled into the net! Prior to that, he'd been beaten by the skill and fearsome power of Defoe, who collected the ball on the halfway line, dribbled to the edge of the area and crashed a bullet of a shot past Schwarzer to put his side top at the end of the Saturday fixtures. Attendance : 35,844 Assists : Tainio, Defoe West Brom (1) 2 (Horsfield 2, 59) Portsmouth (0) 1 (Robert 63) Last season's Houdini side, West Brom, are on a roll after a narrow 2-1 win against Portsmouth, who remain pointless. Geoff Horsfield scored the quickest goal of the season so far, netting after 100 seconds with a far post downward header from Jonathon Greening's cross. The lead was doubled when Zoltan Gera found Horsfield who cut inside and hit a weak shot which keeper Sander Westerveld allowed to creep under his hand and over the line. Pompey gave themselves brief hope when Laurent Robert struck home a trademark free kick from the right edge of the area, however the Baggies held on to remain unbeaten. Attendance : 24,404 Assists : Greening, Gera, ? (won fk) Birmingham (1) 1 (Butt 7) Man City (1) 2 (Barton 20, Cole 47) Man City have also began well with a win and a draw after coming from behind to win at Birmingham. The hosts went ahead early on when a fine run and cross by Julian Gray was not cleared and Nicky Butt hammered the ball home via the hands of keeper David James. The equaliser was also a scrambled effort as Andy Cole and Darius Vassell combined well and although Maik Taylor blocked the shot, Joey Barton was on hand to slot in the loose ball. The winner was totally out of context and came from Cole who met a cross from Trevor Sinclair perfectly at the far post to send a volley back across goal and into the far corner. Attendance : 26,366 Assists : n/a, n/a, Sinclair 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 |