26 September 2005 Tottenham (1) 1 (Defoe 8) Fulham (0) 0 Spurs move into the top four with a narrow against Fulham, who drop two places into the bottom four as a result of the defeat. Spurs began well and went ahead inside eight minutes thanks to a log ball forward by Ledley King which sent Jermain Defoe clear and as keeper Tony Warner hesitated as regards coming off of his line, Defoe slotted the ball past him and into the net. Claus Jensen hit the bar for the visitors, whilst both keepers had to make saves later in the game, but Spurs held on for the win. Attendance : 20,721 Assist : King 25 September 2005 Middlesbrough (0) 0 Sunderland (1) 2 (Miller 2, Arca 60) Sunderland are off the bottom of the table after winning for the first time this season, a deserved 2-0 victory at North-East rivals Middlesbrough. Mick McCarthy's side were off to a flying start when they went ahead inside 90 seconds. A long ball forward from keeper Kelvin Davis was nodded on by Andy Gray and although Stephen Elliott couldn't get the ball under control, the home defence failed to deal with the ball and when it bounced into the path of Tommy Miller, he fired in off the post. Davis then kept his side ahead with excellent saves from James Morrison, Yakubu and George Boateng, all before half time and then on the hour, the lead was doubled. It was a goal tinged with controversy as Elliott was fouled on the edge of the area, however as he fell, his path was deemed offside, but the ref judged that the tackle had come first and awarded a free kick, which was promptly curled into the top corner by Julio Arca. Boro had plenty of possession for the final half an hour, but Davis was only called into action in stoppage time to save from Boateng. Attendance : 29,583 Assists : Gray, Elliott (won fk) 24 September 2005 Birmingham (0) 2 (Warnock (og) 72, Pandiani 75) Liverpool (0) 2 (Garcia 68, Cisse (pen) 83 SENT OFF: Kilkenny (Birmingham) 82 Birmingham and Liverpool shared four goals, three of which came from subs, all of which arrived in a crazy last 23 minutes at St Andrews. The first three-quarters of the game was, in truth, drab, however when Steven Gerrard sent Luis Garcia through and he finished well with a first time shot from the edge of the area, it sparked off a remarkable finale to the game. The hosts equalised when a Jermaine Pennant corner was only cleared to Julian Gray on the right flank and his near post cross was glanaced past his own goalkeeper by Stephen Warnock. Three minutes later, Birmingham went ahead with Pennant again crossing, this time for Emile Heskey and after his header was fumbled by keeper Jose Reina, both Neil Kilkenny and Walter Pandiani went for the loose ball which was again kept out by the keeper only for Pandiani to pounce again to bundle the ball home. Liverpool grabbed a point with seven minutes to go when Gerrard's corner was headed against the underside of the bar by Jamie Carragher and although they claimed it had crossed the line, the referee instead brandished a red card to Kilkenny and awarded a penalty. Replays proved the official 100% right as it bounced well in front of the line, only to spin back goalwards and then to be palmed away by the Birmingham debutant. Djibril Cisse then converted the spot kick with ease. Late on, Cisse blazed wide and Peter Crouch twice came close with headers, however a draw was the final result. Attendance : 27,733 Assists : Gerrard, n/a, n/a, n/a Chelsea (1) 2 (Lampard 45, (pen) 75) Aston Villa (1) 1 (Moore 44) Chelsea remain 100% this season, however not only did they concede for the first time in the league, they also went behind in a game, yet still battled back to beat Aston Villa. A shock looked possible just before half time when a long punt forward was nodded on by Juan Pablo Angel for Luke Moore to get the ball under control, make space and fire in from a tight angle, although keeper Petr Cech did get a hand to the shot. Within two minutes, Chelsea were level thanks to a Frank Lampard free kick, struck low into the corner from twenty yards out. The winner came with fifteen minutes left when Didier Drogba was clumsily fouled by Olof Mellberg, leaving Lampard to score from the penalty spot. Attendance : 42,146 Assists : n/a, Essien (won fk), Drogba (won pen) Everton (0) 0 Wigan (0) 1 (Francis 47) Wigan's excellent start to their embryonic Premiership campaign continues as they won at Everton, whose season is rapidly falling apart with six defeats in seven games now. The winner came early in the second half as Nigel Martyn could only parry a shot from Henri Camara, leaving Damien Francis to shoot home from close range from the rebound. Attendance : 37,189 Assists : n/a Man United (0) 1 (Van Nistelrooy 67) Blackburn (1) 2 (Pedersen 33, 81) Blackburn boss Mark Hughes returned to the club where he made his name and still enjoys hero status - and shocked Man United with Rovers' first win at Old Trafford in 43 years! Morten Gamst Pedersen was the new hero with two goals, although both could be put down to United's dismal defending. The first came from a free kick wide on the right, swung in by Pedersen towards the far post. However as forwards and defenders alike watched, it sailed past everyone and nestled into the net. United equalised when Brad Friedel couldn't hold Wayne Rooney's shot and allowed Ruud Van Nistelrooy to round him and tap the ball home. With nine minutes to go, Blackburn completed their victory when Paul Scholes lost possession on the edge of his own box and after being found by Michael Gray, Pedersen smashed the ball past Edwin Van Der Sar and inside the near post. Attendance : 67,765 Assists : Bellamy (won fk), n/a, n/a Newcastle (1) 1 (Owen 18) Man City (0) 0 Two wins in two games for Newcastle now and two in two also for Michael Owen after in-form Man City were narrowly beaten at St James Park. The sole goal came when Lee Bowyer slid the ball foward for Owen to run onto and the former Real Madrid striker prodded it first time past David James and into the net. Attendance : 52,280 Assists : Bowyer West Brom (0) 1 (Davies 51) Charlton (2) 2 (Murphy (pen) 9, 31) Charlton's excellent start continues as they consolidated second place with a victory at West Brom. The game was effectively over by half time, but which time the visitors were two goals up. The first came from a Danny Murphy penalty after Jerome Thomas had been tripped by Steve Watson and Murphy added a second just after the half hour when he was left with a tap in after a fine run and cross by Dennis Rommedalh. The Baggies pulled one back when Ronnie Wallwork's header was nodded in by Curtsi Davies, however Charlton held on for their sixth win in seven league games. Attendance : 23,909 Assists : Thomas (won pen), Rommedahl, Wallwork West Ham (0) 0 Arsenal (0) 0 Arsenal completed a good day for Chelsea when they could only draw at West Ham. Their best chance fell to Cesc Fabregas who slipped the ball wide whilst through on goal, however West Ham could have snatched a win late on when Bobby Zamora sent a free header wide. Attendance : 34,742 Assists : Bolton (1) 1 (Nolan 25) Portsmouth (0) 0 Bolton moved into third place with a narrow win against struggling Portsmouth. It wasn't the best game in truth, however the only goal was something a bit special. It came from a cross by Henrik Pedersen which found Kevin Davies at the far post. His nod back across goal was acrobatically finished by Kevin Nolan with a superb overhead kick. Attendance : 23,134 Assist : Pedersen 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 |