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English Premiership review            No. 17             23/02/2008


This week sees two interesting battles, the first being Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United visit to St James’ Park, home of Newcastle United, of strategic importance as Manchester United need to gain all three points to ensure that they remain in the title chase and although United have a great record in these fixtures, in their way is an old rivalry between the two managers dating back over ten years when Newcastle where in a head to head in the title race, the outcome was psychological with Sir Alex’s experience winning through and United coming back from twelve points in arrears to outpace Newcastle and win the title.
The second big battle, the Carling Cup Final, between last season’s winners, Chelsea and a team in resurgence, Tottenham. A team that hasn’t won a trophy since 1999. The Tottenham manager, Juande Ramos has made a dramatic impact to the north Londoners, having beaten their arch rivals Arsenal 5-1 en route to Sunday’s Final.


Birmingham City (1) 2 Arsenal (0) 2

If Arsenal are not to see their title aspirations melt away, along with their season, they might have to adopt Birmingham's anthem of Keep Right On To The End Of The Road. Here, with a Birmingham side forced to play with 10 men for 85 minutes, seemingly running out of road after conceding two early second-half goals, the Gunners simply tried to pass their rivals into submission rather than going for a killer third goal.
They paid the price when Birmingham equalised with a fortunate 94th-minute penalty and you don't get much nearer to the end of the road than that. It marked the end of a disappointing week and a distressing afternoon for Arsenal, who lost striker Eduardo to a broken leg after a dreadful tackle by Martin Taylor, who was shown red. Eduardo's injury was so bad that television refused to replay the incident and the game was held up for over seven minutes while he received treatment and oxygen.




Liverpool (2) 3 Middlesborough (1) 2

There is no doubt the individual magnificence of Fernando Torres is indispensable to this Liverpool team. Imperiously converting his first Premier League hat-trick, he has hit 21 goals this season and in so doing carried his team-mates back into fourth place, keeping the Anfield crowd on a high after the midweek heroics against Internazionale. It was harsh on the visitors, but the winds of El Nino simply swept brave Boro away.
Torres, a club record signing this summer at £26.5 million, has exceeded all expectations in his virgin season and has thoroughly vindicated Benitez's decision to buy the 23-year-old Spanish international.
Without Torres, Liverpool would likely have lost this game.
Middlesbrough came into the match unbeaten in eight games and eased into an early lead against a somnolent Liverpool. Stewart Downing curled in an in-swinging free-kick from the right and, in attempting to play the Boro attack offside, Sami Hyypia and Steve Finnan moved up too slowly and Tuncay Sanli had a simple job to head in from close range. The organisational qualities of the suspended Jamie Carragher were badly missed.
In those 120 seconds Torres turned Liverpool's deficit into a lead. First he scampered onto Julio Arca's undercooked back-header to take the ball around Mark Schwarzer and score. With the adrenaline still pumping, he received the ball from Fabio Aurelio some 25 yards from goal and disdainfully thumped the ball inside the near post for the pick of his three goals.




Reading (0) 1 Aston Villa (1) 2

Goals from Ashley Young and substitute Marlon Harewood ensured Aston Villa of a deserved win over relegation-threatened Reading.
Steve Coppell's side have now lost a club-record eight successive league games and are one point adrift of safety following their latest defeat.
They could, however, take consolation in Nicky Shorey's 90th minute free-kick which found a way past Scott Carson - the club's first goal in 540 minutes of play.
Villa, though, could have triumphed by a much larger margin, especially as Gareth Barry missed a first-half penalty.
It was the first time the England international has failed from the spot this season after Kalifa Cisse was adjudged to have handled in the area by referee Martin Atkinson.
Young made sure Villa were not to regret the miss by breaking the deadlock on the stroke of half-time when he fired into the roof of the net after Cisse sold himself on the right touchline and allowed the fit-again Gabriel Agbonlahor to race away.
Agbonlahor squared the ball to Young, who had all the time and space in the box to make sure his shot was high enough to beat Marcus Hahnemann and Graeme Murty, the man on the line.
Carson was required to preserve his side's lead in the 70th minute when Shorey's free-kick was flicked goal-wards by Dave Kitson, whose next effort from 25 yards out was less accurate.
But for all Reading's huff and puff during the second half it was Villa who struck again when substitute Harwood wrapped up the points seven minutes from time with a curling finish from the edge of the area.
Kitson and then Stephen Hunt then saw good efforts blocked before Shorey finally gave the Reading fans something to cheer with a goal at the death.




Blackburn (1) 4 Bolton (0) 1

Benni McCarthy forced beleaguered Bolton to pay the penalty at Ewood Park as the South African struck home two ice-cool spot-kicks to clinch an incident-packed Lancashire derby.
Gary Cahill's needless 65th-minute foul on David Dunn in the visitors' box turned the game on its head, paving the way for Rovers to reignite their European hopes and leaving Gary Megson's men deep in relegation trouble.
Bolton had burst out at the start of the second period and Kevin Davies' 49th minute equaliser sparked a prolonged period of dominance which was only broken by Cahill's clumsy challenge.
Five minutes later the match was effectively over when David Bentley nodded home Rovers' third at the far post, with Morten Gamst Pedersen giving a overly one-sided look to the scoreline with an injury-time fourth.

Fulham (0) 0 West Ham United (0) 1

A scruffy game won with a scruffy goal. West Ham substitute Nolberto Solano settled this undistinguished London derby three minutes from the end of normal time by winning a challenge with Fulham goalkeeper Antti Niemi dubiously and then accidentally knocking the ball into the net with his elbow.
The referee, Howard Webb, saw nothing wrong, however, and pointed towards the centre circle. Desperate for points to rescue them from the threat of relegation, the Fulham players were furious with the decision and midfielder Leon Andreasen, booked earlier, was sent off for arguing with Webb and collecting a second yellow.

Only two players, one on each side, emerged from this mishmash with any real credit. Jimmy Bullard, gaining in confidence with every game since he came back from his long injury lay-off, prompted Fulham's attack assiduously without being able to produce the final pass that would have brought a shot at goal, which his team did not have until the 38th minute.
But Bullard was matched, particularly in the second half, by Mark Noble, who drove West Ham on at every opportunity. If Carlton Cole had responded more clinically to the service he received from Noble and others, he might have had a hat-trick. Cole's worst miss was a header straight at Niemi from a Freddie Ljungberg cross midway through the second half.
Niemi only just stopped Aaron Hughes putting through his own goal and Robert Green came out to deny Bullard at the other end, before Lucas Neill crossed from the right. Luis Boa Morte chested down and Solano swept in to force himself and the ball past Niemi to lift West Ham up into ninth place.




Newcastle United (0) 1 Manchester United (2) 5

Kevin Keegan put the bins out shortly before 5.15pm. They were interestingly striped, randomly numbered and unquestionably full of rubbish.
Manchester United danced around them with contrasting elegance and all but dumped Keegan in the mess that remains very much Newcastle United.
Goals, points and talent are rarely evident and, on current form, relegation cannot be dismissed. As goals by Cristiano Ronaldo (2), Wayne Rooney (2) and Louis Saha floored them with barely an argument, they were miserable and ragged.
Optimism had always been high on Tyneside. Expectancy, too, though not a match in the Premier League has been won since he joined the club in the first week of January with 16 goals being conceded while only three have been scored.
Could they find an elusive touch against the champions? Keegan spent time on the pitch with the groundsman before kick-off, making sufficient gestures to suggest that he had concerns about the surface. He walked off blowing kisses towards the main stand.
Such warmth did not last long. The most significant and emotional pre-match moment was the introduction of Sir Bobby Robson, 75, former manager and thorough Geordie, who received a prolonged standing ovation minutes after a statue of him had been unveiled.
If only Newcastle could produce the football of Robson's beliefs. They rarely came near it, though they tried hard enough. Trouble is, some of Newcastle's players are just not good enough. They chased and they huffed and puffed without genuine quality.
For 20 minutes or so they responded to the encouragement of another huge crowd but United were playing a game of patience. They had Nani and Ronaldo switching wings and then Ronaldo was told to move into the middle with Rooney out wide on the left.
Yet it was from the left that Ronaldo created United's first goal. He tricked Habib Beye by the corner flag and delivered a perfect cross to the far post where Rooney, taking advantage of a complete lack of concentration by Charles N'Zogbia allowed the ebullient Rooney to steal in to score with a right-footed volley as the ball dropped to him two yards out. The crowd's enthusiasm deflated.
United were full of skill, invention and pace as they sprayed the ball wide and forward. All the early promise and intricacies of James Milner and Damien Duff subsided and shortly before half-time United were celebrating their second. This time a perfectly measured pass from Michael Carrick glided between defenders and into the path of Ronaldo who took it in his stride and passed the ball, right-footed, past Shay Given.
The goalkeeper did not appear for the second half. He has been fighting injury and his confidence appeared to have suffered. Patrice Evra also stayed in the dressing room with John O'Shea taking his place at left-back for United.
Newcastle at least had a corner to celebrate but should not have been surprised to see Ronaldo heading the ball away from his own penalty area.
He, Rooney and Nani were in such tormenting form that a third goal seemed inevitable and Ronaldo was the executioner after 56 minutes when, after slipping and losing possession, he soon had it back and, with every assistance from Newcastle's inadequate defence, he went wide and took his goal sublimely.
The goal that Abdoulaye Faye forced in from a corner after 78 minutes was something of a consolation but United had no desire to settle for 3-1 and in the next minute a corner from Nani came out to Rooney who curled a superb right-footer past Harper.
Just to emphasise the gulf in class, Louis Saha scored a goal in time added on, driving home a pass from Rooney.




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English Premiership review      No. 18 02/03/2008

Now we are approaching the ‘run- in’, whose nerves will hold? Arsenal having dropped points last weekend at Birmingham will need to do better at home against Aston Villa if they are to hold their closest rivals Manchester United and Chelsea at bay, both of whom are winning games. United travel to Fulham, a game they must continue to win if they are to make amends for their recent ‘blip’ in form and as always Chelsea must win every game to keep up the pressure. At the other end, there are five clubs all fighting to avoid the last relegation birth, amongst them, Newcastle, who under the new stewardship of their newly appointed messiah, Kevin Keegan, are continuing to drop points are heading ominously close to the bottom, whilst Wigan, Sunderland, Birmingham and Bolton seem to be pulling themselves upwards. Interesting to see how this week develops….

Arsenal (0) 1 Aston Villa (1) 1

Substitute Nicklas Bendtner rescued a point for Arsenal with a stoppage-time equaliser to deny Aston Villa at Emirates Stadium.
Arsenal started the better of the two sides and after 23 minutes Scott Carson spilled a corner and the ball dropped to Philippe Senderos on the penalty spot. However, the centre-back was caught by surprise and rushed his shot, which was horribly wide.
The Swiss defender was on target at the wrong end in the 27th minute, though. Gabriel Agbonlahor made progress down the left channel, as William Gallas looked to hold him up.
However, the Villa forward got to the goal-line and cut the ball back across into the six-yard box where Senderos diverted it past a wrong-footed Manuel Almunia and into the net.
Villa used up all their subs when Shaun Maloney was replaced by Marlon Harewood with 19 minutes left - and the striker almost grabbed a second when he brushed off Senderos, only to be denied by a good save from Almunia.
Wenger then went for broke to reshuffle his side as he sent on Brazilian duo Denilson and Gilberto for Senderos and Mathieu Flamini.
Villa captain Gareth Barry was fortunate to escape with just a yellow card when he slid in two-footed on Denilson.
Arsenal pressed in the closing stages and rescued a point when Bendtner stabbed home from close range.



Fulham (0) 0 Manchester United (2) 3

Manchester United cut Arsenal's lead at the top to a point as they eased to victory at Fulham, despite leaving Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo on the bench, as efforts from Owen Hargreaves, Ji-Sung Park and a Simon Davies own goal sealed the three points.  
As expected United dominated the early possession, stringing passes together and having the first shot inside three minutes when Louis Saha chested on Park's right-wing cross for Nani to drill into the chest of Antti Niemi.
Two minutes later and Saha was galloping through the middle again on to a long free-kick from Paul Scholes but unaccountably skewering his shot wide from 14 yards.
Scholes had a goalbound shot blocked by Aaron Hughes as United poured forward again in the 14th minute.
Seconds later Carlos Tevez won a dubious free kick inches outside the area, after falling over a challenge by Brede Hangeland, and Hargreaves stepped up to place it perfectly over the defensive wall and wide of Niemi's groping reach for the opening goal.
Ji-Sung Park headed a second for United just before the break when a passing move between Tevez, Nani and Scholes opened up Fulham at the back.
United went three up in the sceond half but it was a comedy of errors for Fulham.
Park's pass went through the legs of Paul Konchesky to find John O'Shea on the right and when the Irishman crossed low it was Fulham's Simon Davies who connected with a toe and sent the ball through the legs of Niemi into the net.




West Ham (0) 0 Chelsea (3) 4

Ten-man Chelsea destroyed West Ham to keep in touch with the leaders at the top of the Premier League.
The visitors, bidding to put the disappointment of their Carling Cup defeat to Tottenham behind them, had a Nicolas Anelka goal ruled out for offside in the second minute.
Chelsea's early pressure earned them a penalty in the 15th minute when Salomon Kalou was brought down by Anton Ferdinand. Former West Ham midfielder Frank Lampard converted the resultant spot-kick to put Avram Grant's side into the lead.
Four minutes later, another West Ham old boy made it 2-0 to the visitors when Anelka got away from the home defence and supplied Joe Cole on the edge of the penalty area.
Cole, who missed out on a place in Chelsea's starting line-up at Wembley last weekend, drilled a low angled shot into the far corner to put Chelsea in total command.
Grant's men looked dangerous with every attack and Michael Ballack made it 3-0 in the 22nd minute. Anelka and Lampard combined on the left flank before the England midfielder crossed for Ballack to hit the ball into the corner on the half-volley.
The game erupted into controversy in the 34th minute when Lampard was sent off by referee Peter Walton. The England midfielder tangled with Luis Boa Morte on the ground and appeared to push the West Ham player in the face as he attempted to get up.
Walton's decision appeared harsh on the Chelsea midfielder to say the least and it sparked a confrontation between players from both sides which culminated in a booking for Ballack. Lampard's straight red will now rule him out of their FA Cup clash with Barnsley and the league games against Sunderland and Tottenham.
West Ham continued to press for a way back into the game but Chelsea are masters at last-ditch defending and they doggedly kept the home side at bay.
The 10 men made it 4-0 in the 63rd minute when Joe Cole's shot was superbly saved by Robert Green only for Ashley Cole to pass the ball into the net from an acute angle.




Birmingham (1) 4 Tottenham (0) 1

Mikael Forssell repaid the faith shown in him by Birmingham manager Alex McLeish as his hat-trick ensured Tottenham suffered a massive Carling Cup hangover.  
Birmingham, with a strong wind in their favour, went ahead after seven minutes through Forssell's fifth goal of the campaign.
Gary McSheffrey's cross picked out Liam Ridgewell whose header looked to be going wide. However, James McFadden reacted quickly and turned the ball back across goal to Forssell who made no mistake with a close-range header.
After 55 minutes a superb free-kick from Sebastian Larsson doubled Birmingham's lead. Full-back David Murphy created the opportunity with a run towards the Spurs box before being brought down by Didier Zokora.
Up stepped Larsson and the Swedish international curled his free-kick over the defensive wall and past the despairing dive of Paul Robinson.
The cheering had hardly died down before Forssell struck for the second time in the game four minutes later to put Birmingham 3-0 ahead.
Larsson's fizzing ball was deflected towards his own goal by Pascal Chimbonda and it needed Robinson at full stretch to finger-tip the ball away. But Forssell was quick to react in firing the loose ball into the corner of the net from a narrow angle.
Forssell was denied a hat-trick when his shot was blocked by Chimbonda after good play by Larsson. But with nine minutes to go Forssell completed his treble with a cool finish after McFadden had set up the opportunity.
Jermaine Jenas scored a late consolation for Spurs after a lapse in concentration by Ridgewell on the halfway line, but the day belonged to Birmingham.

Newcastle (0) 0 Blackburn Rovers (0) 1

Substitute Matt Derbyshire made Newcastle pay for missed chances as Blackburn snatched a last-gasp Premier League victory at St James' Park.
Derbyshire struck after being played in by David Bentley, but Newcastle had only themselves to blame after wasting a series of glorious opportunities.
Rovers goalkeeper Brad Friedel made two fine saves from Michael Owen, but the England international was guilty of shooting wide with the goal at his mercy after rounding Friedel 10 minutes before the break.



Middlesbrough (0) 0 Reading (0) 1

James Harper ended Reading's run of eight consecutive Premier League defeats in dramatic fashion at the Riverside Stadium by striking a 90th-minute winner past Mark Schwarzer.
A dreadful game looked destined for a stalemate until Stephen Hunt stole down the left flank and sent in a cross which Harper met with a cool strike past the Boro keeper.
Middlesbrough had felt aggrieved when Stewart Downing was denied a 77th-minute penalty and was instead booked for diving under Marek Matejovsky's challenge, while Gary O'Neil fired over the bar.


Derby County (0) 0 Sunderland (0) 0

Sunderland missed out on their first away with of the season after Michael Chopra was denied by an offside flag at Derby.
Chopra thought he had put the Wearsiders ahead 34 minutes into the relegation battle at Pride Park, but his effort was chalked off despite replays suggesting he was level.
The draw with the Premier League's bottom side at least ensured Sunderland avoided a club record 11th consecutive away defeat.

Bolton (0) 1 Liverpool (1) 3

Liverpool enjoyed a comfortable 3-1 victory over Bolton at the Reebok Stadium as a Jussi Jaaskelainen own goal and second-half strikes from Ryan Babel and Fabio Aurelio wrapped up the points.
The victory marked the first time in two months that Liverpool have won two consecutive Premier League fixtures.
El-Hadji Diouf almost put Bolton ahead in the fifth minute when he hit the post with a curling free kick, but the visitors took the lead seven minutes later.
Steven Gerrard, the Liverpool captain, shot weakly toward goal but his effort was heading wide until Jaaskelainen dived for it, causing the ball to flip back over his body and into the net. Jaaskelainen then saved shots from Babel and Gerrard to keep his team in the game, but the visitors went ahead 2-0 in the 60th minute.
Liverpool had forced a string of corners before Dirk Kuyt hit the post from a cross by Jamie Carragher. The ball rolled to Babel on the edge of the area and the forward scored with a low shot.
Aurelio stretched his team's lead 15 minutes later when he controlled the ball on his chest and volleyed past Jaaskelainen from the edge of the area.
Substitute Tamir Cohen, the son of former Liverpool player Avi Cohen, scored with a header to get a late goal back for Bolton, who remain above the relegation zone only on goal difference.




Everton (1) 3 Portsmouth (1) 1

Everton responded to Liverpool moving ahead of them on goal difference earlier in the day by matching their city rivals' scoreline to keep their hopes of Champions League football next season very much alive.
Ayegbeni Yakubu took his goal tally for the season to 18 as Everton extended their run of unbeaten league matches to eight with an ultimately comprehensive win over a Portsmouth side who threatened only sporadically due to Everton's neat passing and high energy game.
The Nigerian opened the scoring inside the first minute with a close range header presented after Portsmouth struggled to deal with a Steven Pienaar free-kick.
Everton then went on to make the running in the first-half but before the break Jermain Defoe had the sides level.
Glen Johnson's cross wrong-footed the Portsmouth defence and Defoe broke from an onside position to get the slightest of touches to beat Tim Howard.
Everton's dominance continued after the break but the second goal did not come until after the introduction of Andrew Johnson from the bench.
The England striker caused problems to Portsmouth from the moment he entered the game and turned the game in the home side's favour.
A header from close range from Tim Cahill, following a swift break, restored the lead before Yakubu got the better of Sol Campbell before firing an emphatic strike past David James to confirm the victory.





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English Premiership review                                                   No. 19             08/03/2008

This week is the FA cup quarter finals and therefore a smaller premiership programme than usual. However, only four of those premiership teams remain in the competition, holders Chelsea travel away to Barnsley, Manchester United host the only premiership tie against Portsmouth and Middlesbrough face Cardiff City.
The main game of the day in the premiership programme sees Liverpool host old boy Kevin Keegan’s Newcastle, whilst Arsenal travel to Wigan after their famous victory in Milan earlier in the week, looking to widen their advantage in the league.


Wigan (0) 0 Arsenal (0) 0

Premier League leaders Arsenal dropped two crucial points in the title race as they were held to a frustrating goalless draw by struggling Wigan at the JJB Stadium.
Arsene Wenger's men failed to create any real clear-cut chances and their best opportunity came after just 42 seconds when striker Emmanuel Adebayor forced goalkeeper Chris Kirkland into a save low on the edge of his area after racing on to a through-ball.
In the 65th minute, Wenger brought on Robin van Persie for his first appearance since Jan 9 in place of Nicklas Bendtner, while Kolo Toure replaced Brazilian Gilberto.
Van Persie was momentarily forced off the pitch after taking a ball to the face and Antoine Sibierski was cautioned for complaining, quite justifiably, to referee Rob Styles that Arsenal had not returned an uncontested drop-ball to them after the hosts had kicked it out to allow the Dutchman to receive treatment.
With seven minutes to go Van Persie, obviously still looking for match-fitness, blazed over from 20 yards.
Wigan manager Steve Bruce sent on Kevin Kilbane for Marlon King with three minutes to go to shore up the defensive effort, before Kirkland smothered Cesc Fabregas' close-range shot late on.
Wigan defended heroically for a point to aid their cause and although Arsenal moved two ahead of Manchester United, having played a match more, they missed an opportunity to increase the pressure on their main rivals.




Tottenham (2) 4 West Ham (0) 0

Dimitar Berbatov's two headers helped Tottenham towards victory at White Hart Lane as West Ham manager Alan Curbishley suffered his third consecutive 4-0 defeat.
Berbatov scored both his goals early in the first half, with hopes of a West Ham comeback virtually ending when Luis Boa Morte was dismissed just before the break.
Gilberto came off the bench and added a third before Darren Bent headed a fourth.
Both of West Ham's strikers - Dean Ashton and Bobby Zamora - could have opened the scoring when Paul Robinson failed to hold a powerful Freddie Ljungberg effort after five minutes.
Robinson had to dive at the feet of Ashton and Boa Morte, then the ball fell for Zamora and his finish looped over off team-mate Boa Morte. Ashton also hooked over the crossbar from a corner, and he was made to rue the miss after eight minutes.
Tom Huddlestone swung over a free-kick from the right flank and Berbatov's header on the penalty spot skidded past Robert Green into the far corner.
The Spurs pair combined again three minutes later from the opposite flank with the same outcome, Berbatov's header this time beating Green at the near post.
It was too much for Ljungberg, who threw a water bottle to the touchline in disgust, while Alan Hutton was on the receiving end of a spiteful late tackle. Huddlestone, creator of the first two, then almost added to the scoring when he got on the end of Aaron Lennon's cross, but his header was too high.
Boa Morte picked up a booking for persistent fouling, and he was constantly battling with Hutton and Robbie Keane.
Keane, in turn, angered West Ham fans with a gesture towards his own supporters acknowledging the recent Carling Cup triumph.
Steed Malbranque was the next to try his luck but his angled drive went wide of Green's post. Green also saved a Berbatov volley when another Huddlestone set-piece caused problems. Boa Morte received his second yellow card a minute from half-time for a foul on Lennon.
Spurs' third goal came when Gilberto scored with a shot on the turn, with six minutes remaining, after Lennon had dummied a Pascal Chimbonda pass. Darren Bent added the fourth with a stoppage-time header.




Sunderland (0) 0 Everton (0) 1

A slice of luck for Andrew Johnson was enough to hand Everton the points in the clash at Sunderland and keep alive their hopes of edging Liverpool out of the Champions League places.
Johnson scored the only goal of the game when Mikel Arteta's left-wing cross ricocheted off his arm in the 55th minute, leaving a committed but limited Sunderland side still nursing relegation worries.
Johnson had earlier missed a gilt-edged opportunity to open the scoring, heading over from point-blank range when Tim Cahill's effort was cleared off the line by Anthony Stokes.


Liverpool (2) 3 Newcastle (0) 0

Liverpool cruised to their fourth successive league win, taking their goal tally in their last three Anfield matches to 10, to leave Kevin Keegan still without a victory since his return as manager to St James Park.
Newcastle had done well until two minutes from the break, when Jermaine Pennant was fortunate to deflect home his first of the season.
Then with seconds to go before the break, Fernando Torres scored another cracker, his 25th of the season, before Steven Gerrard added the third with a cool chip in the second-half.
Jose Enrique came close to conceding a penalty for a collision with Gerrard, but generally Kevin Keegan's men were competing well.
However, a freak goal gave Liverpool the lead after 43 minutes when Enrique's attempted clearance cannoned back off Pennant and the ball looped into the net.
It was only Pennant's second goal in 71 games for the club. And while Newcastle were still ruing their bad luck, Torres struck just before half-time.
Gerrard's pass sent him into the box, and he deceived Steve Harper and rounded the goalkeeper before sliding home his 25th goal of the season.
Newcastle had replaced James Milner with Geremi just before the break, and must have felt that fate was very much against them at the moment.
Enrique was made to suffer again after 51 minutes as he failed to confront Torres, opting to back away as the Spaniard took possession.
That just invited Liverpool forward and Torres sent Gerrard away down the middle to neatly chip Harper for the third.




Reading (0) 2 Manchester City (0) 0

Relegation battlers Reading boosted their hopes of beating the drop with a win over Manchester City at the Madejski Stadium.
A second-half strike from Shane Long - with new assistant Republic of Ireland manager Liam Brady watching in the stands - and a late goal from substitute Dave Kitson proved enough for a second successive win by Reading to move them out of the bottom three.
City were forced into a change after 30 minutes when Richard Dunne had to be taken off on a stretcher, replaced by Sun Jihai, after badly twisting and also cutting his knee following a challenge with Stephen Hunt.
At half-time, City revealed Dunne had received nine stitches in a shin wound and is now set for a spell on the sidelines.
The hosts continued to press and Kevin Doyle saw his angled drive from the right side of the area deflected into the side netting.
From the corner, Andre Bikey managed to get into space at the near post and fired the ball goalwards, which Joe Hart pushed onto the bar from point-blank range.
Reading, however, were soon in front. A goal-kick was flicked on by Long out to the left after 62 minutes. Doyle chased the ball down and held off Michael Ball before cutting inside to the goal-line.
His pull-back was straight into the path of the on-rushing Long, who had continued his run and made no mistake with a cool finish from five yards.
The atmosphere inside the Madejski Stadium was tense as the match entered the final 10 minutes.
Long was given a rest when Reading sent on Dave Kitson. The Reading substitute made sure of victory with a fine solo effort after 87 minutes, cutting in from the right before slotting into the bottom corner from 10 yards.




Blackburn (0) 1 Fulham (0) 1

Jimmy Bullard grabbed a late equaliser as Fulham stunned Blackburn to keep alive their hopes of avoiding relegation.
The struggling visitors looked to be heading towards another defeat as Morten Gamst Pedersen headed Blackburn in front just before the hour at Ewood Park.
However, Fulham hit back late on as Bullard stepped up to curl home a free-kick from the edge of the area.
Prior to the opening goal the match had little in the way of goal-mouth action.
David Bentley had an effort deflected for a corner and Santa Cruz was denied by a good Paul Konchesky tackle, but there had been little to excite the fans as the first half drifted towards its conclusion.
Blackburn won a corner early in the second half - but with Steven Reid heading over, it came to nothing.
Yet the game was starting to show belated signs of coming to life, and Fulham almost conceded a freak goal moments later. Reid looked set to lose out to Konchesky as he chased Santa Cruz's knock-down, but the ball somehow deflected off the pair and looped on to the bar and behind.
Fulham then launched a rare attack and almost snatched the lead as Eddie Johnson broke into the area and fired in a shot that clipped the outside of Brad Friedel's post. But having survived that scare, Rovers hit back and grabbed the opener themselves just before the hour.
The newly-introduced Jason Roberts created the chance, delivering a fine cross for the unmarked Pedersen to head past Kasey Keller at the far post. Fulham could have levelled within minutes, but Danny Murphy's shot was blocked, and Clint Dempsey could not make decent contact in the resulting goalmouth scramble.
Roberts had the chance to make the game safe but scuffed a shot and Keller saved easily, and Pedersen went close to a second with a superb curling effort from a 30-yard free-kick.
Roberts broke through again seven minutes from time but Keller rushed out and blocked with his feet from point-blank range.
The miss proved costly as Fulham grabbed a shock equaliser three minutes from time. Christopher Samba was punished for high feet in a challenge with Johnson on the edge of the area and Bullard stepped up to curl home the free-kick.




If you want to share your views about your club, please write to us on the forum page, alternatively, send me your views, questions or suggestions: markjcliftoninfo@yahoo.com

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English Premiership review                                                       No. 20          15/03/2008



So, the leading premiership guns back after an incredible FA cup week, which saw Chelsea, lose to Barnsley and Portsmouth win at Old Trafford. Whilst these unlikely wins brought back the passion for the FA Cup, allowing a day of glory for the underdog, Arsenal, were finding things tricky in the premiership, drawing at Wigan. Should United regain their composure and win at Derby, they could technically regain pole position, for the first part of the afternoon at least, until Arsenal face Middlesborough for the late afternoon game. However, let’s not dismiss Chelsea’s part in the race; they have yet to drop points in the last few weeks.
Briefly, away from the premiership, the other ‘holy grail’ in terms of trophy’s to be won, the European Champions League quarter final was drawn last Friday. Interestingly, Arsenal face Liverpool, the only English teams to be drawn together, whilst Manchester United are set to face Roma for the third time in two seasons, this time however, I doubt Roma will allow United a 7 goal start.  Chelsea got off comparatively lightly, facing Fenerbache of Turkey.

Derby (0) 0 Manchester United (0) 1

Derby so nearly conjured the most improbable scoreline of their hapless season by holding Premier League champions Manchester United, before Cristiano Ronaldo settled matters at Pride Park.
With his ninth chance of the game, and in the 76th minute, Ronaldo finally broke brave Derby's resistence by scoring the only goal - his 31st of the season - to keep United firmly in the hunt for back-to-back titles.
Sir Alex Ferguson's side created eight clear chances in the first half as a spirited Derby held off countless attacks, including five in the opening 19 minutes, but could not make the breakthrough.
But for debutant goalkeeper Ben Foster, United could even have been a goal down at the break as he pulled off two superb saves in the space of 60 seconds late on as Derby grew in confidence.
In the space of 30 seconds Ronaldo was twice denied by Carroll - initially from a vicious, low 35-yard free-kick, and then from a powerful downward header as he firmly met an inswinging Giggs corner.
Ronaldo then tried his luck again with another free-kick, this time from 37 yards, that he swerved inches wide of Carroll's left-hand post. Ferguson made a double substitution in the 62nd minute as Louis Saha and Michael Carrick replaced Park and Scholes.
And United's title bid could have turned sour before Foster tipped over from underneath his own bar a shot from Sterjovski that had looped off a covering United defender.
But in the end there was to be no stopping Ronaldo as he finally found the net in the 76th minute with a 12-yard sidefoot finish to a Rooney centre - who looked off-side in the build-up- after he had raced onto a looping through ball from substitute Darren Fletcher, on just two minutes earlier.




Sunderland (0) 0 Chelsea (1) 1

John Terry's first Chelsea goal since the opening game of last season gave the Champions League quarter-finalists a life-line in the Premier League, as they kept up the heat on Manchester United and Arsenal.
The England defender headed home a 10th-minute Frank Lampard corner in a powerful start to the half, and Craig Gordon kept out Lampard's injury-time shot to keep his side in the game.
Roy Keane's men might have snatched a point as Carlo Cudicini had to be at his best to keep out Andy Reid's first-half free-kick.
As the second half opened up, substitute Dwight Yorke nearly made an immediate impact. His 75th-minute cross picked out Jones unmarked in front of goal, but the Trinidad and Tobago striker directed his header straight at Cudicini with 15 minutes remaining.
Prica headed a Whitehead corner just wide six minutes later with the Wearsiders mounting a strong finish and Jones was just too high with another effort in the final minute as the visitors escaped with their clean sheet intact.
Drogba curled an injury-time free-kick just wide, but Whitehead was within inches of claiming a draw with the last kick of the game.




West Ham (1) 2 Blackburn (1) 1

Freddie Sears was the hero on his debut as West Ham ended their run of 4-0 defeats with victory over Blackburn at Upton Park.
The teenager came off the bench with a quarter of an hour left and made his mark six minutes later, finishing with a diving header after Brad Friedel had saved his first shot.
Roque Santa Cruz had given Rovers the lead in the 20th minute but Dean Ashton levelled before the break.
With both sides looking for European qualification, the game opened up a little in the second half but the lack of goalmouth action explained why finishing in mid-table looks likely.
It took the introduction of a fearless youngster to change the game, with the Romford lad immediately sparking excitement from home fans every time he received the ball.
Avoiding defeat also lifts some of the pressure on Alan Curbishley.

Liverpool (1) 2 Reading (1) 1

In-form striker Fernando Torres scored his 27th goal of the season - and 20th in the Premier League - as Liverpool held off a brave Reading side at Anfield.
The Spaniard became the first Liverpool player to score 20 league goals in a season since Robbie Fowler in the 1995-96 campaign.
Reading had taken the lead through a cracking strike by Marek Matejovsky early on, with Javier Mascherano, who scored his first goal for Liverpool, equalising before the break.
Torres' header early in the second period put Liverpool ahead but they had to withstand a determined fightback from the Berkshire side to make it seven wins on the trot.
Reading failed to give up on a point, however, and threw everything forward in the dying seconds of the game.
There were loud appeals for a penalty when Steven Gerrard charged down a Dave Kitson shot in injury-time but Liverpool held on for the points.



Portsmouth (2) 2 Aston Villa (0) 0

An 11th-minute strike from Jermain Defoe and a Nigel Reo-Coker own-goal gave Portsmouth a 2-0 win over Aston Villa at Fratton Park. Defoe controlled a long ball from Glen Johnson before he deftly lobbed the ball over Villa goalkeeper Scott Carson from the right edge of the penalty area.
Reo-Coker scored Pompey's second after he directed the ball past Carson from 30 yards out in the 38th minute. Portsmouth midfielder Sulley Muntari and Aston Villa's Olof Mellberg were both sent off late in the game.
Portsmouth's Muntari was sent off for a second yellow card and Mellberg went for similar offences soon afterwards.
But Carson was probably the saddest figure of all after England manager Fabio Capello saw two mistakes by the Villa goalkeeper contribute to the hosts' goals.


Arsenal (0) 1 Middlesbrough (1) 1

Arsenal's spectacular win against AC Milan in the San Siro looks like becoming an almost forgotten postscript to a season of bitter disappointment, one shining moment before the lights went out on their fanciful ambition to win a Champions League and Premier League double. Adding to the symbolism, someone inadvertently plunged the interview room into darkness as Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger delivered his post-mortem on this match and possibly, the season.
 
Losing once to Middlesbrough in a season may be considered unfortunate. Losing twice, as Arsenal looked like doing for so long, to a club hoping only to stay in the top flight, would clearly have been careless.
One has to give credit to Middlesbrough for some fine, intelligent defending, backed up by some inspired goalkeeping by Mark Schwarzer when they were unpicked by the Gunners, most notably when Cesc Fabregas wriggled free 23 minutes from time.
Right to the end, after Kolo Toure had equalised in the 86th minute, Robert Huth and David Wheater continued their fine double act in the centre of defence, taking it in turns to block when Theo Walcott seemed certain to score.
Arsenal captain William Gallas, always happy to drive forward when needs must, should have put his team level but directed his header over the bar. Later, after substitutes Nicklas Bendtner and Walcott had been sent on, Fabregas ran clear of the Boro defence but failed to slip his shot past Schwarzer.




Fulham (0) 1 Everton (0) 0

Fulham's fight for Premier League survival was given a massive boost as the West London club frustrated an in-form Everton side for much of their game at Craven Cottage before coming away with a 1-0 victory.
Everton entered the game under pressure to keep pace with Liverpool, whose victory over Reading yesterday moved their city rivals three points clear in fourth place. That pressure told and David Moyes' team failed to gain the upper hand throughout the game as urgency eventually gave way to frustration for the visitors.
A Brian McBride header in the 67th minute secured the victory and leaves Fulham just three points from safety.
Fulham had began the game in sparkling fashion though they could not find the breakthrough despite chances for Jimmy Bullard, Eddie Johnson and Leon Andreasen. Likewise, a delightfully chipped pass by Simon Davies allowed McBride to try his luck with a left-foot volley but that effort also failed to find the target as it flashed past the far post.
Everton's lacklustre start was clearly of concern to manager David Moyes, and their situation was not helped by an enforced substitution in the 13th minute when England striker Andrew Johnson was replaced by Tony Hibbert after appearing to take an ankle knock.
Johnson's injury would not have helped his international chances, with both England coach Fabio Capello and assistant Stuart Pearce among the spectators.
The home side began the second half much like the first and their efforts soon paid off with McBride giving the home side the lead.
The goal owed much to the skill and endeavour of Davies on the left flank who sent over a perfect cross for the American forward to head into the roof of the net.
It was just reward for the home side who had kept their more illustrious opponents subdued for much of the contest.



Manchester City (0) 2 Tottenham (1) 1

Manchester City produced a spirited second-half fightback to beat Tottenham 2-1 at Eastlands and claim their first win in four matches.
Robbie Keane had put the visitors ahead in the 32nd minute by clipping a left-footed shot past Joe Hart.
However, just before the hour Stephen Ireland poked home from close range before Nedum Onuoha's powerful 72nd-minute header clinched a first victory since the Manchester derby on February 10.
City had been sliding down the table in recent weeks after a fine start to the campaign. But they halted the dismal run of one win in eight matches thanks to a stirring second half revival.
Tottenham had been unlucky to go out of the Uefa Cup at PSV Eindhoven in midweek, but their season is in danger of ending in anti-climax after a result that ended any chance of a late surge towards the top six.


Wigan (1) 1 Bolton (0) 0

Emile Heskey ended a 20-match goal drought to give 10-man Wigan a vital 1-0 victory in their Barclays Premier League relegation showdown with Bolton at the JJB Stadium.
The Latics had Jason Koumas dismissed after just four minutes for a challenge on Gary Cahill that could lead to an appeal as referee Steve Tanner may adjudge he made a mistake.
Indeed the referee had a forgettable outing as Bolton were also denied an equaliser midway through the second half as Tanner failed to spot Michael Brown's deliberate handball on the line.
As it turned out, the Koumas sending off spurred the home team with Steve Bruce's side enjoying the majority of the play, with Heskey hooking home a 34th-minute volley for his first goal since August 18.
Both Wigan and Bolton went into the game knowing that defeat would leave them floundering too close for comfort to the mire that is the Premier League's relegation zone and so it is for Bolton who remain in the drop zone, one point behind Birmingham City.



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English Premiership review                                                       No. 21         22/03/2008


Welcome back to the English Premier review! Earlier in the week, we saw Manchester United climb back on top of the league having killed off the game against Bolton with two clinical finishes from Christiano Ronaldo in the first half, one being a technically sublime freekick, which talkes his scoring record of 33 goals in a season beyond Old Trafford legend, Georgie Best .Meanwhile, Chelsea drew with Spurs in an epic 4-4 draw and with Arsenal dropping points against Middlesborough, we are now looking forward to ‘super Sunday’, where the top guns go head to head. United host their big rival Liverpool, Rafa Bentez’s team recently finding top form, however, under his leadership they have yet to record a win against their north west rivals, having lost in every meeting so far, United for their part need to win to maintain their three point lead. Arsenal their biggest challengers face a difficult away fixture at Chelsea.
Meanwhile, Newcastle are facing a difficult period, yet to win a game under Keegan’s reign, they are dropping further down the ladder, facing a home game against fellow relegation battlers, Fulham, with both teams needing a win to avoid the drop. Birmingham face Reading and Sunderland face a difficult away trip to Aston Villa, who are looking to challenge for a UEFA cup position. So all to play for this weekend enjoy!

Chelsea (0) 2 Arsenal (0) 1

Stamford Bridge and keep alive their hopes of catching Premier League leaders Manchester United.  
Bacary Sagna, who later went off injured, headed Arsenal in front from a near-post corner on the hour.
However, Drogba scored twice in eight minutes to turn the game around and move Chelsea above Arsenal into second place, but still five points behind United - who have yet to come to Stamford Bridge.
Arsenal were the last team to beat Chelsea here in the league, back in February 2004 - some 77 games ago.
After 16 minutes, Alexander Hleb carried the ball across the edge of the Chelsea area - and possession broke to Robin van Persie on the left. The Dutch striker elected to shoot first time, and the ball spun wide of the top corner.
Drogba then limped off to receive treatment to a thigh injury but was soon back on. Suddenly Drogba raced clear of the Arsenal defence on to a through pass from John Terry. However, the Ivory Coast striker mis-controlled at the vital moment as the ball bounced to a grateful Almunia.
Arsenal almost scrambled a goal when the ball was worked out to Gael Clichy on the overlap down the left. His cross was deflected through to Emmanuel Adebayor in the six-yard box, only for his shot to be blocked by Ashley Cole. Emmanuel Eboue stabbed the ball goalwards, which Carlo Cudicini kicked clear.
As the half-hour marked passed, the tempo of the game showed no signs of dropping as a cross from the right flew along the Arsenal six-yard line which Ricardo Carvalho was just unable to reach coming in at the back post.
With five minutes to go to the break, Arsenal won a corner on the left. Kolo Toure flicked the ball towards the far post, where Gallas arrived at pace and stabbed a shot off the upright.
However, the assistant referee had always flagged for offside. At the other end, Michael Ballack headed down a free-kick to Salomon Kalou - but from four yards out the striker completely missed his shot and the ball was eventually scrambled clear.
After 55 minutes, Gallas produced a brilliant last-ditch tackle to block Drogba after the striker got clear of the defence again.
Arsenal snatched the lead in the 59th minute. Cesc Fabregas sent over a corner from the left and Sagna got ahead of Kalou to flick the ball between Cudicini and the near post for the Frenchman's first Arsenal goal since signing from Auxerre.
Sagna was later replaced by Abou Diaby, but then Chelsea drew level through Drogba when he fired home a loose ball at the edge of the Arsenal box following a knockdown by Frank Lampard after 73 minutes.
Walcott was introduced for Van Persie as the game entered its final quarter-of-an-hour. But Drogba then capitalised on some poor defending from Toure to hook in a deep cross into the box after a knock-on from Anelka - and win it with just nine minutes left.
A fine low save from Almunia to deny Drogba a hat-trick prevented it being worse for Arsenal, who have now not won in their last five league games.




Manchester United (1) 3 Liverpool (0) 0

Manchester United strengthened their grip at the top of the Premier League with a convincing defeat of Liverpool.
Wes Brown had headed United ahead after 34 minutes before Liverpool were reduced to 10 men when Javier Mascherano, booked earlier, was sent off for dissent just before half-time.
Liverpool fought gamely after the break but Cristiano Ronaldo and then Nani secured the points.
The tension in this 150th league meeting between England's two most successful clubs was palpable, and the opening tackles were just as sharp. Paul Scholes went in on Xabi Alonso and Rio Ferdinand on Fernando Torres, before Mascherano went too far and was booked for cutting down Scholes.
In the midst of it all Wayne Rooney could have scored twice. First he got behind Jamie Carragher, whose tackle could easily have produced a penalty had the former Everton man gone down. Instead Rooney kept his feet and forced Jose Reina into a save with his legs.
Then Scholes' lofted pass fell behind the Liverpool defence and Reina scooped the ball away from Rooney's rush into the box.
The Liverpool tactic of playing deep defence was conceding the ball to United in dangerous positions, and from one set-piece the ball cleared Liverpool's back-line for Ronaldo to see his shot hit the foot of a post.
Steven Gerrard, who had looked strangely subdued, finally burst into action after 27 minutes, taking a knock-down from Dirk Kuyt and seeing a right-footed shot deflected inches over.
United, though, were soon back on the attack, and after 33 minutes Reina only stopped a Ryan Giggs effort, and was forced to claw it back from under the bar. But Liverpool were not to survive much longer.
Scholes swept the ball out to Rooney on the left after 34 minutes, and when his curling cross arrived in the box, the unlikely figure of Brown was there to reach it before Reina and head into the net.
Liverpool's frustrations were growing and they soon imploded. Torres was booked for dissent, and Mascherano joined in. Referee Steve Bennett, having already booked the Argentinian, produced another yellow and then red.
Mascherano was furious, as was Rafael Benitez. The player had to be hauled away from the pitch, such was his anger.
United sent on Carlos Tevez and Nani for Giggs and Anderson after 73 minutes, and it took another wonder save from Reina to stop Tevez close in.
United, though, were in no mood to let Liverpool escape. After 79 minutes Ronaldo headed home a Nani corner and two minutes later Nani created space for himself on the edge of the box to score the third.




Newcastle United (1) 2 Fulham (0) 0

Mark Viduka and Michael Owen teamed up to hand Kevin Keegan the first win of his second spell as Newcastle United manager and push Fulham deeper into trouble.
The Australian struck with just six minutes gone, and Owen claimed his eighth goal of the season with seven minutes remaining to cement a precious victory.
Kasey Keller had to make fine first-half saves from Obafemi Martins and Owen, and Owen passed up a glorious opportunity when he headed straight at the keeper.
Roy Hodgson, who had earlier replaced Brian McBride with Clint Dempsey, sent on Moritz Volz for Danny Murphy with 19 minutes remaining.
Boos rang around the stadium three minutes later when Keegan withdrew Martins to send on midfielder Charles N'Zogbia, although the move immediately gave his side a better shape.
Keller spilled a 76th-minute Geremi shot, but recovered quickly, although there was nothing he could do when Owen met Geremi's 83rd-minute free kick with a deft header to seal the win.
The sense of relief was palpable as the home fans celebrated a league win for the first time in more than three months and the start of what they hope will be a concerted fightback.

Everton (1) 1 West Ham (0) 1

Dean Ashton grabbed a fine goal that could do serious damage to Everton's bid to qualify for the Champions League.
Everton had been ahead early on thanks to a blistering drive from Ayegbeni Yakubu, his 19th of the season.
But West Ham were the better side after the break and when Ashton headed in Lucas Neill's cross, it was no more than they deserved.
It could have been worse for Everton as Hammers teenager Freddie Sears hit the post in the dying minutes.
The result leaves David Moyes's side two points behind city rivals Liverpool, who have a game in hand.



Tottenham Hotspur (0) 2 Portsmouth (0) 0

Tottenham head coach Juande Ramos continued with his knack of inspired substitutions as Darren Bent and Jamie O'Hara came off the bench to defeat Portsmouth 2-0.
Ramos made changes to turn the Carling Cup final around last month and he did the same in this Premier League match at White Hart Lane.
With snow and sleet making chances difficult to come by, the game was fizzling out towards a goalless draw until Ramos made his move. Bent headed in the first 10 minutes from full time before setting up O'Hara for the second.
Spurs responded by taking off Aaron Lennon and Michael Dawson for Bent and O'Hara with 20 minutes left.
Paul Robinson was almost caught out by Richard Hughes' quick free kick, then he hesitated when he came to claim Glen Johnson's cross. Kanu stole the ball but Didier Zokora was back to clear.
Bent headed in 10 minutes from the end when Steed Malbranque's shot was blocked and Dimitar Berbatov's cuffed effort fell into the path of the substitute.
Bent set up the second two minutes later, raiding down the left before crossing for O'Hara.

Reading (1) 2 Birmingham City (0) 1

Andre Bikey struck twice to secure Reading three crucial points from their Premier League relegation tussle at the Madejski stadium.  
Bikey struck with an emphatic header on the half-hour mark to give Reading a lead before Birmingham hit back through Mauro Zarate in the 65th minute.
But Birmingham hopes of returning to St Andrews with a lucky point were dashed when Cameroon defender Bikey nodded home the winner in the 80th minute.
Reading now looked jittery at the back but they breathed more easily in the 80th minute when Bikey made it 2-1.
Nicky Shorey sent a free kick into the box and Bikey nodded home as Birmingham once again struggled to contain the powerful African at the decisive moment.
This defeat will do little to ease the pressure on Birmingham manager Alex McLeish, whose team now sit precariously above the bottom three.



Bolton Wanderers (0) 0 Manchester City (0) 0

Struggling Bolton were forced to settle for a point after Manchester City refused to bow to pressure at the Reebok stadium.
Bolton, battling to escape the relegation zone, produced a typically aggressive and energetic display as they searched for a crucial Premier League win.
Gretar Steinsson hit the post and Kevin Davies had a late header cleared off the line as the hosts created a number of chances but City held firm.
Diouf showed his strength to set up the next Bolton attack with Davies charging forward into the City half. He looked up to play in Matt Taylor but Elano got back to intercept.
Bolton then won a corner after Steinsson's shot was deflected and City were grateful Javier Garrido was standing in the way as Davies got a header on target.
Diouf then went through on goal from Davies' flick-on but Joe Hart flung himself at the ball and saved with his legs as the former Liverpool striker tried to lift it over him.
Taylor also shot wide as Bolton again failed to make the most of openings in the City defence.
City had a chance late on as Felipe Caceido had a shot blocked on the line but referee Andre Marriner blew for an infringement in the box.
Benjani might also have snatched the game for City with just two minutes remaining but headed over from Vedran Corluka's cross.

Aston Villa (0) 0 Sunderland (0) 1

Michael Chopra earned Sunderland their first away win of the season to give a massive lift to their survival hopes - and put a huge dent in Aston Villa's chances of European qualification.
The £5 million summer capture from Cardiff City came off the bench and struck the winner with seven minutes remaining.
It silenced the Villa fans who had witnessed another below-par display from Martin O'Neill's side.
Daryl Murphy shot into the side-netting when Chopra was better placed in the centre.
Kieran Richardson flashed a low drive across the face of goal as Sunderland still threatened on the break.
O'Neill brought on Isaiah Osbourne in place of Shaun Maloney to reinforce the midfield area.
Marlon Harewood shot on the turn into the side-netting while at the other end Grant Leadbitter screwed a shot across goal when well placed.
With seven minutes remaining Chopra broke the deadlock after racing on to a long ball from Richardson.



Middlesbrough (1) 1 Derby County (0) 0

Tuncay Sanli fired home his sixth Premier League goal of the season as Middlesbrough grabbed the points at the expense of a dismal Derby at the Riverside stadium.  
The Turkish striker swept across the Derby back line in the 32nd minute before hitting a clinical finish past helpless visiting goalkeeper Roy Carroll from the edge of the box.
Jeremie Aliadiere should have added to Boro's tally early in the second half and George Boateng brought a brilliant save out of Carroll, but Robert Earnshaw missed a golden chance to equalise five minutes from time.
Once the blizzard cleared Aliadiere came close again when he was sent clear in the right side of the box by Lee Cattermole only to once again fire straight at the advancing Carroll.
Aliadiere should have made the game safe when he headed terribly wide in the 80th minute and Boro were almost made to pay when Earnshaw somehow sent a point-blank header wide five minutes from time.

Blackburn Rovers (2) 3 Wigan Athletic (1) 1

Ten-man Blackburn kept alive their hopes of Uefa Cup football next season with an impressive 3-1 victory over Premier League strugglers Wigan, who also had a player sent off late on.
Paraguay striker Roque Santa Cruz scored with two headers either side of an equaliser by Wigan's Marlon King and a goal from Jason Roberts on the stroke of half-time.
Rovers lost Christopher Samba to a 17th-minute red card for bringing down Emile Heskey in the incident which led to King's penalty, while Wigan midfielder Wilson Palacios was dismissed with 20 minutes to go for a second bookable offence.
With the game won Hughes finally sacrificed a striker, sending on midfielder Tugay for Roberts 12 minutes from time. Wigan forced a number of corners in the latter stages but failed to take advantage.



If you want to share your views about your club, please write to us on the forum page, alternatively, send me your views, questions or suggestions: markjcliftoninfo@yahoo.com

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English Premiership review                                                       No. 22        30/03/2008

With the all of the ‘big four’ facing European champions league quarter finals midweek, it was important to ensure their race for the premiership was still on course whilst maintaining availability of key squad members for the games ahead, strategy and economies of scale being the order of the day. Liverpool, therefore were in a difficult position, needing to win against their arch rival and neighbors, Everton at home, the match was poised for a significant encounter, could Everton take advantage of their rivals’ focus on the forthcoming tie with Arsenal? Meanwhile at the other end of the table, could Derby finally against fellow relegation strugglers, Fulham? What of the other teams also fighting the relegation vortex, could Birmingham upset Manchester City, Sunderland beat West Ham and could Bolton continue their run against Arsenal. ? Stay tuned…

Liverpool 1 (1) Everton 0 (0)

Liverpool took a significant step towards securing fourth place in the Premier League with a tense 1-0 victory over Everton in the 207th Merseyside derby.
Rafa Benitez's team, who face Arsenal in the first-leg of their Champions League quarter-final at the Emirates on Wednesday, rarely looked in danger of conceding the points after Fernando Torres had put them ahead on seven minutes with his 21st league goal of the season.
Everton were without broken foot victim Tim Cahill and strikers Andy Johnson, Victor Anichebe and James Vaughan, leaving Yakubu Aiyegbeni alone up front. But it was the Nigerian forward's dithering outside his own penalty box that gave Torres his early opportunity. Steven Gerrard then hit the post and the hosts should have had the match wrapped up by half-time.
Poor in the first-half, Everton attempted to claw themselves level after the break as Leon Osman almost equalised on 59 minutes when his near post header from Mikel Arteta's free-kick flashed narrowly wide of the near post.
But despite a late surge, David Moyes' side could not find the breakthrough and Liverpool held on for a victory that puts them five points clear in the race for fourth spot with six matches of the campaign remaining.





Tottenham 1 (1) Newcastle 4 (0)

Michael Owen was on the scoresheet again as Newcastle took a huge stride towards Premier League safety.  Kevin Keegan's men fell behind to Darren Bent's opener and trailed at half-time but goals from Nicky Butt and Geremi put the visitors ahead before Owen scored his third in as many games for his club.
Obafemi Martins added a fourth with eight minutes remaining, latching onto Joey Barton's pass and finishing calmly.


Chelsea 1 (1) Middlesbrough 0 (0)

Cheslea reduced Manchester United's Premier League lead to five points but were fortunate to escape with a victory at Stamford Bridge.
Ricardo Carvalho's header from a Wayne Bridge free-kick put the home side in front after five minutes.
Chelsea failed to press home their advantage, however, missing a number of chances, and should have been made to pay in the last quarter by Boro striker Afonso Alves.
First, the Brazilian forward, unmarked, headed wide from close range. Then, with Chelsea goalkeeper Carlo Cudicini stranded and the goal open, he struck the post from outside the area. Finally, a goalmouth scramble saw both Alves and defender David Wheater head against the crossbar.

Saturday

Bolton (2) 2 Arsenal (0) 3


Ten-man Arsenal reignited their faint Premier League title hopes by coming back from 2-0 down to win 3-2 at Bolton.
Two goals from Matthew Taylor either side of Abou Diaby's sending-off for a reckless challenge on Gretar Steinsson appeared to have given Gary Megson's side a much-needed boost as they battle against relegation.
However, in the second half William Gallas poked home a corner before Robin van Persie equalised from the penalty spot after Gary Cahill had brought down Alexander Hleb and Jlloyd Samuel's own goal with seconds remaining capped a remarkable turnaround.
The result was just what Arsenal needed after going five league matches without a win, a run which appeared to have derailed their bid to catch leaders Manchester United.
It also ended Arsenal's remarkable run of not having won at the Reebok in the league since April 2002.
Arsenal coach Arsene Wenger had almost paid the price for leaving 23-goal leading scorer Emmanuel Adebayor - probably with Wednesday's Champions League quarter-final against Liverpool in mind - on the bench but introduced the Togo international on the hour mark.




Manchester United (2) 4 Aston Villa (0) 0

Manchester United warmed up for their Champions League trip to Rome with an imperious display of attacking football that Aston Villa had no answer for.
Villa have not won at Old Trafford since 1983 and showed little sign of challenging that record despite a bright opening and a resolute approach to their task.
They were simply outclassed by a rampant United who opened up a six point lead at the top of the Premier League and look odds on to defend their title.
Cristiano Ronaldo opened the scoring with an audacious back-heel from around the penalty spot that nutmegged the first defender and found a way through a forest of legs in a crowded box.
Chances came and went for United before Carlos Tevez extended the lead. A neat interchange of passes spread the Villa defence before Ronaldo turned provider to pick out the Argentine at the far post for an emphatic header.
As the rain fell United put on a display of attacking football unparalleled in the English game at present - though Shaun Maloney wasted a clear opportunity with the score still at 2-0.
Rooney was twice the beneficiary of United's incisive passing and wasted as many chances more. The England striker was denied his hat-trick by the linesman's flag, correctly despite his and the crowd's protestations.

Derby (1) 2 Fulham (1) 2

Emanuel Villa's double failed to help doomed Derby stave off relegation and ended Fulham's hopes of snapping a 32-match run.
Hameur Bouazza's heavily-deflected 77th-minute strike looked set to seal three rare points for the visitors but Villa struck back just two minutes later with a superb close-range header.
Villa had put Derby ahead in the 10th minute when he deflected home Dean Leacock's drive, but Diomansy Kamara equalised for the visitors with a header 14 minutes later.



Birmingham (1) 3 Man City (0) 1

Mauro Zarate's double earned 10-man Birmingham three precious points in their battle for Premier League survival against Sven-Goran Eriksson's side.
The on-loan Al-Sadd striker produced some clinical finishing to edge Birmingham further away from the bottom three.
The home side had a few scares after Franck Queudrue was sent-off as Elano converted a penalty but another spot-kick from Gary McSheffrey restored the two-goal advantage.
Queudrue, brought into the side in place of the suspended Liam Ridgewell, was influential at the heart of Birmingham's back four before his red card which meant a tense 20-minute spell before McSheffrey eased their nerves with a third.

Sunderland (1) 2 West Ham (1) 1

Andy Reid chose the perfect moment to open his Sunderland account with an injury-time winner which fired Sunderland to within touching distance of Premier League safety.
The Irishman struck in the sixth minute of injury time as Sunderland finally made the pressure tell with the game seemingly heading for a draw.
Kenwyne Jones had earlier ended his personal goal drought with a 28th-minute equaliser, his first goal in 11 games, to cancel out Freddie Ljungberg's deflected opener.
But it was Reid who claimed the headlines when he volleyed home in time added on after injuries to John Pantsil and Ljungberg saw the visitors finish the game with 10 men having used all their substitutes.



Portsmouth (1) 2 Wigan (0) 0

Jermain Defoe scored twice but goalkeeper David James was the Portsmouth hero by saving a second half penalty from Wigan's Ryan Taylor at Fratton Park.
Defoe, who has scored a club record of eight goals in seven games, struck after 33 minutes following a great run and deflected pass from John Utaka.
Chris Kirkland made a string of saves in the Wigan goal, most notably from Hermann Hreidarsson and Niko Kranjcar, but James preserved Portsmouth's lead with a save from the spot before Defoe added a second.

Reading (0) 0 Blackburn (0) 0

Reading earned a valuable point in their battle against relegation with a goalless draw against Uefa-Cup chasing Blackburn.
But the scoreline tells none of the story in a game which was flat for an hour and then exploded into life with a controversial red card for Reading midfielder Marek Matejovsky.
The hosts, down to 10 men, then created the two best chances of the afternoon for Stephen Hunt and Andre Bikey and could have wrapped up a victory that would have virtually assured their top flight survival.



If you want to share your views about your club, please write to us on the forum page, alternatively, send me your views, questions or suggestions: markjcliftoninfo@yahoo.com

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English Premiership review No. 23       05/04/2008

With all four big guns recovering from their respective exploits mid week in Europe, Liverpool get to play Arsenal again, their second meeting in the space of three days. This time their position in the premiership title chase is at stake. Chelsea have a difficult away visit to the blue half of Manchester, whilst their rivals travel to Middlesboro on Sunday having won decisively in Rome on Tuesday evening.
Meanwhile at the other end of the table, the clubs fighting off the clutches of relegation all come head to head, with Sunderland away at Fulham, Birmingham playing Wigan and Newcastle hosting Reading.
The only premiership club left in the FA cup, Portsmouth will face West Bromwich Albion at Wembley.


Everton (0) 1 Derby (0) 0

Everton moved back to within three points of Liverpool in fourth place with a laboured victory over relegated Derby.
The visitors showed spirit and endeavor though could not muster the quality to end a 27 match run without a win that has seen their exit from the top flight confirmed as the quickest demotion in Premier League history.
Everton were solid and compact but they too lacked the invention to breakdown the Derby defence.
In the end the home side were left to rely on Leon Osman's seventh goal of the season, a low drive mid-way through the second-half, to see them home though David Moyes will be left concerned his side's excellent season risks floundering on tired legs in the coming weeks




Middlesbrough (1) 2 Man Utd (1) 2

Afonso Alves scored his first goals in English football to dash Manchester United's ambitions of restoring their five-point cushion at the top of the table.
United now only lead Chelsea by three points and still have to go to Stamford Bridge with five games of the league season left to run.
Gareth Southgate's side were well worth the point at a snow-swept Riverside, and could even have stolen a late winner.
United could point to several chances apart from Cristiano Ronaldo's 37th goal of the campaign and an equaliser from Wayne Rooney, but there was an unusual frailty in defence.
Perhaps the absence of Nemanja Vidic, who was injured during the Champions League win over Roma in midweek upset the balance - John O'Shea was never comfortable and Rio Ferdinand also limped off in the second half.
The signs had looked good, however, when the visitors took a 10th minute lead through Ronaldo who fired home from inside the six-yard box.
But Boro were level by the break when Alves scored his first goal for his new club with a cool finish past Edwin Van der Sar.
And the Brazilian was back on the scoresheet just 11 minutes after the interval when his curling effort put Boro in front for the first time.
Rooney was able to grab United's equaliser from close range with 16 minutes to play and although a tense finale ensued, neither side were able to snatch a winner.



Manchester City (0) 0 Chelsea (1) 2

Chelsea signalled their intention to push Manchester United all the way to the wire in the Premier League title race by cutting the champions' lead at the top back to two points with a 2-0 win at Manchester City.
United can re-establish a five-point advantage by winning at Middlesbrough tomorrow lunchtime but Chelsea showed they will not make life easy for Sir Alex Ferguson's side.
Manchester City captain Richard Dunne handed the west Londoners the perfect start at Eastlands when he swept a cross from City old boy Nicolas Anelka past his own goalkeeper, Joe Hart, in the sixth minute.
Salomon Kalou then made sure of victory on the hour mark, breaking into the box and going round Hart before slotting home.
It was just the response coach Grant was looking for after the disappointing Champions League quarter-final, first leg defeat by Fenerbahce in midweek.




Arsenal (0) 1 Liverpool (1) 1

Arsenal's faint Premier League title hopes have been all but extinguished after being held to a draw by Liverpool.
Arsene Wenger's decision to rest a clutch of first-team regulars ahead of Tuesday's Champions League quarter-final second leg tie at Anfield back-fired as his makeshift side proved unable to over-turn Peter Crouch's opening goal.
Nicklas Bendtner preserved Arsenal's unbeaten home record with a 55th-minute equaliser, but a draw was not enough for the north Londoners, who still trail leaders Manchester United by five points having now played a game more.
Liverpool, meanwhile, departed content. Rafael Benitez's team not only tightened their grip on fourth place and Champions League qualification but the Spaniard's decision to field a largely reserve side should ensure they are fresh for their European decider.
Benitez's decision to make eight changes was no surprise. Wenger's decision to make five was, however, given his insistence that Arsenal needed to win their remaining their games if they had hopes of regaining the league title.
While stretching their unbeaten home run to 22 games, however, at the final whistle, the 1-1 draw seemed more like a defeat than a point won.
 

Aston Villa (1) 4 Bolton (0) 0

Two-goal captain Gareth Barry and striker Gabriel Agbonlahor rediscovered their scoring touch as Aston Villa ended their mini-slump and dealt another blow to Bolton's survival hopes.  
Barry's strikes were his first in open play this campaign as Martin O'Neill's side revived their slim hopes of capturing an Uefa Cup spot after a run of three successive defeats.
Agbonlahor scored for the first time in 2008 to condemn the visitors to their seventh defeat in their last eight matches with substitute Marlon Harewood completing the rout for the hosts.
Villa dominated for long periods with Ashley Young often tormenting the Bolton defence on the left with his pace and crossing ability.
Bolton barely posed a threat but when they did venture forward they found it hard to break down a Villa defence which kept its first clean sheet since late November, with Wilfred Bouma particularly impressive at left-back.
 

Newcastle (2) 3 Reading (0) 0

Newcastle manager Kevin Keegan had cause to be grateful for the efforts of his predecessors as his multi-million strike force put Reading to the sword.
Obafemi Martins, Michael Owen and Mark Viduka were all on the scoresheet to ease Newcastle to a third successive Premier League victory, which all but ends their relegation fears.
Such has been the turnover of managers at St James' Park in recent years that the three men were signed by different managers, with Graeme Souness landing Real Madrid star Owen in a £17million deal, Glenn Roeder paying Inter Milan £10million for Martins and Sam Allardyce recruiting Viduka on a free transfer from Middlesbrough last summer.
But each demonstrated his potency on an afternoon when the quality in front of goal was the difference between the two sides.




Fulham (0) 1 Sunderland (1) 3

Fulham took another step towards relegation but Roy Keane and Sunderland can almost start looking towards next season in the Premier League after victory at Craven Cottage.
Keane's men secured their third win a row courtesy of a rare goal from Danny Collins and tidy finishes from Michael Chopra and Kenwyne Jones, taking them to 36 points with five games remaining.
David Healy gave the hosts brief hope when he found the top corner but Sunderland held on for the win that should be enough for survival in Keane's first season as a top-flight manager.
 

Wigan (1) 2 Birmingham (0) 0

Wigan took their biggest step yet towards Premier League survival and left Birmingham sweating over relegation as the visitors self-destructed at the JJB Stadium.
Ryan Taylor's brace - doubling his top-flight tally - and the foolishness of captain Damien Johnson sealed Birmingham's downfall.
With his side trailing 1-0 late in the first half, Johnson launched into an ugly two-footed lunge on Kevin Kilbane and was rightly sent off.
Birmingham boss Alex McLeish will be relieved Bolton were also beaten today, maintaining his side's four-point cushion above the bottom three.
For Wigan, that gap is now eight points, enough to all but guarantee they will start next season in the top flight.
 

Blackburn (1) 1 Tottenham (1) 1

Morten Gamst Pedersen cancelled out Dimitar Berbatov's opener as Blackburn and Tottenham fought out an entertaining draw.
Berbatov put Spurs ahead six minutes into the Premier League contest at Ewood Park with Pedersen levelling after fine work by David Bentley after half an hour.
Chances were plentiful at either end after that and Rovers felt Bentley was denied a penalty late on, but a draw was a fair result.
Both sides had been intent on winning, Blackburn to maintain their European ambitions and mid-table Spurs because they had little to lose.



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English Premiership review                                                  13/04/2008

Christiano Ronaldo is on the verge of signing an extension to his existing contract and making him the richest player in the premier league in the same process, his wages will increase from £100,000 per week to £150,000..no one can criticize United for wanting to extend and secure his contract, after all with 37 goals in all competitions, making him both the league’s highest scorer as well as the most creative, he is a man at the top of his game. Sir Alex Ferguson also believes that Ronaldo, aside, he now has the most complete squad ever available to him. Compare that to poor Arsenal, a team that seems to be slowly running out of steam, mainly due to the lack of depth in the squad, despite money being made available to him, Wenger doesn’t believe in spending for the sake of it and still has total faith in his team and their ability….well, the proof of these two extremes will be put to the test this weekend, as old rivals Manchester United face Arsenal at Old Trafford on Sunday afternoon for the big game of the week. The title is the only trophy Arsenal are in contention for, whereas United, having comfortably defeated Roma in midweek, are up for both the premiership and in the semi finals of the Champions league..
The same dog fight continues at the bottom, with Fulham away to Reading, Birmingham facing Everton and Bolton entertaining West Ham.

Manchester United (0) 2 Arsenal (0) 1    

Owen Hargreaves all but ended Arsenal's Premier League title aspirations with a stunning free-kick which moved Manchester United six points clear of second-placed Chelsea in the table.
Hargreaves' 72nd minute free-kick completed United's comeback win over Arsene Wenger's side who had struck through a Emmanuel Adebayor header shortly after the interval.
Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 38th goal of a remarkable season from the penalty spot in the 54th minute after William Gallas was penalised for handball to bring United level before Hargreaves struck with just under 20 minutes to play.
It was tough luck on Arsenal who had signalled their intentions from the start but were made to rue a number of first-half chances.
Adebayor was the most guilty culprit, wasting a string of opportunities before he made amends by breaking the deadlock after half-time.
The Togo international took advantage of a rare mix up in United's defence between Rio Ferdinand and Edwin Van der Sar to head the ball over the line, although there was a suspicion of handball.
Gallas, however, was penalised for handball when the ball struck his arm from Michael Carrick's shot.
Ronaldo lashed his penalty into the top corner only for referee Howard Webb to order him to retake it after spotting an infringement.
Such is Ronaldo's confidence, however, he again made no mistake to bring United level at 1-1 before Hargreaves struck the winner.



    Liverpool (0) 3 Blackburn Rovers (0) 1    

Second-half strikes from Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres took Liverpool five points clear of local rivals Everton in fourth spot.  
After a minute's silence for next week's 19th anniversary of the Hillsborough tragedy, the game started very low key.
The first chance came after nine minutes when Gerrard, playing his 300th league game for his club, saw a whipped in cross flicked narrowly wide by Torres.
Gerrard then went down far too easily as goalkeeper Brad Friedel came out to meet him on the left of the box. Referee Alan Wiley was rightly quick to warn the Liverpool captain.
Wiley then ignored far more straightforward claims for a free-kick when Christopher Samba bundled Gerrard over on the edge of the box.
And when Torres and Dirk Kuyt combined to set-up Gerrard for a 20-yarder that looked to be deflected wide, the official gave a goal-kick much to the growing anger of the home crowd.
After 59 minutes, Rafa Benitez introduced Yossi Benayoun, in place of Ryan abel, and the Israel international's energy was instrumental in the early build-up to a fine Gerrard goal on the hour, his 21st of the season.
Benayoun won possession and fed Lucas Leiva, the Brazilian exchanging passes with Gerrard before the Liverpool skipper cut into the box and side-footed past Friedel.
Gerrard then supplied a perfect cross for Torres to head home his 30th goal of the season to wrap the match up eight minutes from time.
Late substitute Andriy Voronin added the third with a tap-in in the 90th minute and Roque Santa Cruz scored a consolation in stoppage time for Rovers.




    Bolton (0) 1 West Ham (0) 0    

Bolton kick-started their Premier League survival bid with a hard fought 1-0 victory over West Ham at the Reebok Stadium.
Kevin Davies' close-range finish after 46 minutes secured Bolton's first win in nine league matches and the result should really have been more emphatic.
Davies had two headers cleared off the line in the first half, while El-Hadji Diouf and Kevin Nolan both had goals disallowed for offside.
After a goalless first-half, Bolton swiftly snatched the lead just a minute into the second period. A Kevin Davies header forced Robert Green to turn the ball for a corner from which Bolton went ahead.
Jonathan Spector failed to deal with Matthew Taylor's in-swinging delivery inside the six-yard area and Davies pounced to fire home only his fourth goal of the season and the 100th of his career.
West Ham's best chance came in the 55th minute when Ali Al Habsi flapped at Bobby Zamora's cross and Luis Boa Morte shot at goal only for Gary Cahill to clear off the line.
Al Habsi then atoned for his error by superbly tipping over Dean Ashton's overhead kick from the follow-up.
Kevin Nolan thought he had made it 2-0 in the 65th minute when he scored from close range, after Green could only parry Diouf's shot, but he was offside.


    Reading (0) 0 Fulham (1) 2    

Brian McBride struck to give Fulham a glimmer of hope in their battle against relegation and end their horrendous away record.  
Former USA striker McBride stabbed home a superb cross from Simon Davies to give Fulham their first Premier League victory on the road since Sept 2006.
And they would have won more convincingly but McBride, Brede Hangeland and Jimmy Bullard all struck the woodwork in a second half dominated by Fulham.
Neither side were in a hurry to make things happen, although Fulham continued to find themselves on the back foot, until they scored against the run of play.
Simon Davies darted free down the left in the 23rd minute and produced a perfect cross for McBride who stabbed home from close range before Marek Matejovsky could stop him.
Bullard then followed in Hangeland's footsteps by striking the post with a free-kick, but substitute Erik Nevland made no mistake in injury-time.
Davies set up the opportunity with a killer pass that Nevland expertly tucked home to kill off Reading's crumbling resistance.



    Birmingham (0) 1 Everton (0) 1    

On-loan Argentinian striker Mauro Zarate rescued a precious point for Alex McLeish's side with a free-kick equaliser against Everton at St Andrews.
Joleon Lescott looked to have kept alive Everton's push for a Champions League spot with a 78th-minute header for his ninth goal of the season.
However, five minutes later Zarate struck a 20-yard drive past Everton goalkeeper Tim Howard to salvage a share of the spoils for the home side.
McLeish brought on Zarate for James McFadden with 13 minutes remaining. Maik Taylor then turned aside a low drive from Manuel Fernandes but after 78 minutes Joleon Lescott put Everton ahead.
Andy Johnson's cross was flicked on by Yakubu and Lescott headed in for his ninth goal of the campaign.
Birmingham, though, roared back and Zarate curled a free-kick past Howard to rescue a point after Lee Carsley had handled on the edge of the box.

    Derby County (0) 0 Aston Villa (3) 6    

Stiliyan Petrov's 50-yard goal was the undoubted highlight of Aston Villa's rout as Paul Jewell suffered yet another black day as manager of Derby.
The hosts crashed to their worst home defeat of an already wretched season, eclipsing the 5-0 thrashing they suffered at the hands of another team in claret and blue - West Ham - five months ago.
Ashley Young, John Carew, captain Gareth Barry, Gabriel Agbonlahor and Marlon Harewood all joined Petrov on the scoresheet to keep Villa in the hunt for European football next season.
Derby were at least looking the more energetic side at the start, perhaps playing with a greater freedom in the wake of their relegation. But then out of nothing Villa conjured two goals in 90 seconds to compound the host's ongoing misery.
The first was courtesy of an error from Roy Carroll, who allowed a Young free-kick from 25 yards to slip through his grasp while under pressure from Olof Mellberg.
With Villa's next attack, Carroll cleared his six-yard box with his defence under pressure, only for the ball to fall straight to Carew. The Norway striker immediately cracked a 20-yard drive goalwards, with the ball taking a slight deflection off Agbonlahor, who was two yards offside at the time.
Then came a genuine contender for goal of the season as Stiliyan Petrov ended a year-long drought in spectacular fashion. Carroll cleared and must have thought there was no danger as the ball flew to Petrov just outside the centre circle. But after one touch on his chest, the 28-year-old Bulgarian unleashed a 50-yard left-footed shot which flew back over the retreating goalkeeper and into the top right-hand corner of the net.
Jewell then made two changes in the 54th minute, with Andy Todd and Darren Moore replaced by Rob Earnshaw and Dean Leacock. They counted for nothing because in the 58th minute Barry duly made it 4-0 by tapping home from seven yards after Carroll had turned an Agbonlahor shot into his path.
After Harewood replaced Carew, Earnshaw forced the first meaningful save of the game out of Scott Carson, with the goalkeeper at full stretch in turning aside a first-time shot from the edge of the area.
Moments later Villa added a fifth, with Agbonlahor running onto a ball over the top and sliding it past the beleaguered Carroll in off his right-hand post.
Substitute Patrik Berger then came within inches of a sixth in the 82nd minute, before the rout was completed by Harewood five minutes from time




    Tottenham (1) 1 Middlesbrough (0) 1    


Middlesbrough edged closer towards a mid-table finish after two fortuitous goals at White Hart Lane meant they shared the points with Tottenham.  
A fine piece of skill from Dimitar Berbatov set up the opener, with Jon Grounds putting through his own net, before Stewart Downing had an effort deflected in to level matters in the second half.
With Premier League survival virtually assured, Gareth Southgate's men can take heart from their recent narrow defeat to Chelsea and last weekend's draw against Manchester United. Along with this result, Boro are looking upwards rather than towards the danger zone.
Spurs were ahead in the 26th minute. Jermain Jenas broke the offside trap and, despite losing momentum, fed Berbatov on the right flank. The Bulgarian striker flicked the ball up and volleyed over a cross that Aaron Lennon met first time, with the ball going in off Grounds' knee.
Boro, who had Emanuel Pogatetz booked for a foul soon after the opener, looked for a way back into the game. They were almost gifted a chance when Radek Cerny came out to claim but dropped the ball on the edge of the area to prevent handball, but he managed to scramble clear.
Boro were level with 21 minutes remaining through Downing's fortunate strike. Choosing to shoot with his unfavoured right foot, the winger's shot from 25 yards took a deflection off Berbatov's head and went in.


    Sunderland (0) 1 Manchester City (0) 2    


Substitute Darius Vassell snatched victory for Manchester City at Sunderland in a dramatic finish.  
The England international scuffed home the winner with only three minutes remaining after the home side had dragged themselves back into the game.
City went ahead through Elano's controversial 79th-minute penalty but Dean Whitehead levelled with a superb volley three minutes later.
City took the lead with 11 minutes remaining after Nyron Nosworthy was adjudged to have tripped substitute Daniel Sturridge and Elano calmly stroked the resulting penalty past Craig Gordon.
However, the hosts looked to have snatched a point three minutes later when Whitehead met Andy Reid's cross with a volley to level.
Elano could have won it seconds later when Vedran Corluka's header dropped to him eight yards out, but he volleyed over.
However, substitute Vassell won it with 87 minutes gone when he accepted Elano's pass and shot passed the helpless Gordon.



    Portsmouth (0) 0 Newcastle United (0) 0    

Portsmouth and Newcastle fought out an unlikely goalless draw but England strikers Jermain Defoe and Michael Owen had plenty of chances to make an impact.
Newcastle stretched their unbeaten run to five matches as the FA Cup finalists made it just two defeats from 13, but Defoe should have wrapped up the points instead of volleying wide in the 52nd minute with only Steve Harper to beat.
David James was similarly unprotected when Owen seized on a mistake by Sylvain Distin but his first-time shot flew over the bar.
Owen had another golden chance a few minutes later when Distin shanked his clearance from Geremi's corner.
That put the ball right on Owen's foot eight yards out but the England international front man, clearly surprised, volleyed over with only James to beat.
Portsmouth sent on David Nugent for Kanu with 16 minutes to go but it was Defoe again who almost struck.
He caught Niko Kranjcar's corner full on the volley beyond the far post and drilled it ove.




If you want to share your views about your club, please write to us on the forum page, alternatively, send me your views, questions or suggestions: markjcliftoninfo@yahoo.com

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English Premiership review                                                       19/04/2008

The big ‘run in’ continues this week. Chelsea having beaten Everton last Thursday evening in Merseyside kept themselves in the premiership title fight. Blackburn, who were torn apart by Liverpool last week, will certainly be up for the visit of leaders Manchester United and old boy Mark Hughes will be looking to resurrect their form and dent United’s push for their tenth championship. This week’s fixtures, however, revolve around the fight for a European position with Everton’s ambition of fifth spot still realistic despite the loss on Thursday. Portsmouth have the strongest contention for a European outing next season as they can enter via winning the FA cup against Cardiff City or the league, currently ninth, they face a difficult trip to fellow Euro ‘dreamers’ Manchester City. Whilst most Manchester City fans would have been more than satisfied with their teams impact as a top ten team with a slim prospect of a Uefa place and having already outgunned their city rival, United, twice, their owner, Thaksin Shinawatra, is less than pleased at his new club’s recent run of form and has even indicated his manager could be out at the end of the season when he reviews the club’s status. The other team pushing for a Euro berth is Aston Villa, who face city rivals and relegation strugglers Birmingham City at Villa Park on Sunday, this should prove an interesting fixture, Villa recently have found their rhythm and form and have maintained a Euro pole position for most of the season. Birmingham under new boss Alex McLeish , have stemmed the tide by collecting points, most recently against Everton, they are however deep in the relegation zone and must avoid defeat. Wigan, on the other hand under the guidance of former Birmingham manager, Steve Bruce, maintain their climb out of trouble having drawn away against Chelsea last week, they host an indifferent Tottenham side that seem happy to mid table positon before re structuring in the summer.  Reading also dropping into trouble have to take on an Arsenal team looking to make amends for their loss against United last week. Finally, can Sunderland confirm their premiership standing by beating arch rivals Newcastle in the North East derby? All to play for enjoy the football!



Manchester City (2) 3 Portsmouth (1) 1

Sven-Goran Eriksson delivered the perfect response to the warnings of owner Thaksin Shinawatra as Manchester City won on home soil for only the second time since December to keep the pressure on Aston Villa for a European spot.
 
Darius Vassell and Martin Petrov struck within three first-half minutes of each other before Benjani Mwaruwari's first City goal at home finally finished off 10-man Portsmouth and probably killed off their hopes of overhauling fifth-placed Everton in the process.
However, while Portsmouth, who had Hermann Hreidarsson sent off for a cynical block on Vassell after John Utaka had halved the early deficit, must surely be starting to let their minds wander to a Wembley date with Cardiff in May, City, and Eriksson in particular, still have plenty to play for.
It was Portsmouth who had the first shooting opportunity as Papa Bouba Diop let fly from 35 yards. Despite the extreme distance, there was enough venom in the effort for Joe Hart to push it behind and from the corner, Lassana Diarra found Sylvain Distin, who should have done far better with his near-post header than bounce it disappointingly wide.
Much to his annoyance, Petrov slipped as he tried to threaten the Portsmouth goal but within a minute, City had the lead in most bizarre circumstances. There appeared little danger as the ball was pumped up towards the Portsmouth area but a breakdown in communication between David James and Sol Campbell offered Benjani the chance to challenge the visitors' keeper.
The former Portsmouth striker got the first touch, which left James totally stranded and while Stephen Ireland failed to get his shot on target, with only Campbell on the goal-line, Vassell had the easiest of tasks to tap home.
And it got worse for Portsmouth as Elano crossed from the right to Petrov. James seemed to have the Bulgarian's 10-yard strike covered, only for it to bounce off Campbell's leg and leave his keeper helpless.
Campbell was having a very uncomfortable afternoon and on another day, a debatable handball claim might have gone against him as Benjani's low cross hit first the veteran defender's leg, then his arm inside the box.
Distin cleared as Ireland tried to slip Benjani through then Jermain Defoe's call for a square pass went ignored when more awareness from Sulley Muntari would have set up the former Tottenham man.
However, Defoe was involved as Harry Redknapp's men hauled themselves back into the game, even if Hart was at fault. Muntari floated a cross to Defoe, who headed towards goal. Hart dashed out and Utaka managed to steer the ball past the keeper.
A calm piece of defending from Elano snuffed out a promising Portsmouth opportunity but City were soon back on the attack and when Hreidarsson needlessly blocked Vassell's run, as Ireland's through ball would have run on to James anyway, referee Andre Marriner had little option other than to produce the red card.
It was not long before City themselves were forced into a major reshuffle as Richard Dunne limped off, young Sam Williamson handed his debut as substitute and Michael Ball taking over in central defence.
Eriksson's side showed no initial sign of being affected, though, as Petrov's cross invited a volleyed finish from Benjani but the striker smashed his effort over from six yards.
Portsmouth quickly burst to the other end and Muntari stepped inside Elano, only for Hart to push his shot against the near post. The rebound rolled across the City box where Utaka was racing in but this time the Portsmouth goalscorer could only hit the other post, leaving Redknapp unable to believe his luck.
Hart denied Milan Baros and Nico Krancjar at the death to prevent any late scares for City, who remain three points adrift of Villa in the battle for sixth spot.



Newcastle (2) 2 Sunderland (0) 0


Michael Owen wrote himself into Newcastle folklore with a match-winning derby day double against Sunderland.  
The England striker headed his side in front with just four minutes gone, and then converted a 45th-minute penalty after Danny Higginbotham had been penalised for handball.
Obafemi Martins could have wrapped up the win with 22 minutes remaining, but saw his effort blocked by Craig Gordon, and Steve Harper had to make a fine save from Kenwyne Jones seconds later to deny the visitors a way back into the game.
Newcastle took the lead in the fourth minute when Geremi curled a cross into the box and Owen got ahead of Paul McShane to power a header past Craig Gordon for his 11th goal of the season.
The home fans were then appealing for a 36th-minute penalty after Martins went down under McShane's challenge, as he ran on to Owen's through-ball, but the referee correctly waved away Newcastle's lukewarm appeals.
The visitors slowly started to enjoy a greater share of the possession as the half drew to a close, but lacked the cutting edge to use it to any great effect.
Andy Reid got a sight of goal six minutes before the break, from around 25 yards, but Harper positioned himself well to collect a dipping shot.
However, it was 2-0 on the stroke of half-time when Higginbotham was harshly penalised for handball, after Owen and Mark Viduka played a one-two around him, and the former Liverpool and Real Madrid man blasted the spot-kick through Gordon.
Newcastle might have claimed a third goal just three minutes after the restart when they once again opened Sunderland up, this time down the right.
Viduka fed the ball beautifully into Habib Beye's run and Martins dummied the defender's cross to allow the unmarked Owen to collect. But the striker's control for once let him down and when he did eventually try to shoot, his effort was blocked easily.


Aston Villa (2) 5 Birmingham (0) 1

John Carew and Ashley Young grabbed a brace apiece to keep Aston Villa on course for Europe and send local rivals Birmingham closer to Premier League relegation.
England head coach Fabio Capello was in the stands to witness an electric atmosphere for a match which was crucial to both sides for vastly different reasons.
Villa began to take a stranglehold on the match at an early stage and it came as no surprise when Young broke the deadlock with a stunning goal after 28 minutes, his seventh of the current campaign.
Gareth Barry made the run into the Birmingham box and saw his low cross half-cleared, but Olof Mellberg managed to clip the ball back across the area and Young struck with a superb volley from 20 yards out which flew past Maik Taylor.
Capello must have been impressed with Barry, who brought a good save out of Taylor with a curling shot from just inside the area.
Villa's pressure eventually reaped further rewards, though, and they doubled their lead through Carew's 11th goal of the campaign after 42 minutes.
This time Young was the creator with an inswinging free-kick and Carew was unmarked as he sent a glancing header past the exposed Taylor.
Carew was only just off target with a header from a Barry free-kick, but the home side were not to denied and after 53 minutes struck again. Barry was again heavily involved as he ran onto Young's curling ball into the box, shook off the challenge of Liam Ridgewell and squared the ball for Carew, who had a simple task to score his second goal of the game.
Birmingham were powerless to stop the tide of attacks and after 63 minutes Young made it 4-0 with a solo goal, his second of the game. The England winger left Stephen Kelly for dead as he cut into the box and saw his initial shot parried by Taylor. But he was first to react to the rebound and smashed it past the Northern Ireland No 1.
Mikael Forssell gave City a glimmer of hope when he reduced the arrears after 66 minutes, coolly slotting the ball past Scott Carson from a pass by James McFadden.
However, Gabriel Agbonlahor completed Villa's impressive win with 12 minutes remaining when he beat Taylor with a low shot.
Mellberg left the pitch to a standing ovation with six minutes remaining in his last derby before heading for Juventus this summer, to be replaced by Marlon Harewood.




Blackburn (1) 1 Manchester United (0) 1

The Argentinian striker headed the ball home with two minutes to go after Paul Scholes had flicked on a corner from Nani.
Tevez's goal cancelled out the opener from Roque Santa Cruz leaving United three points ahead of Chelsea with the teams meeting next Saturday at Stamford Bridge.
United almost made the breakthrough after 11 minutes when Tevez got on the end of a cross from Wayne Rooney, only for Christopher Samba to make the block.
Backed by a capacity crowd, Rovers surged forward four minutes later but Santa Cruz's header was easily taken by Tomasz Kuszczak.
Blackburn went ahead in the 21st minute following a long throw from Morten Gamst Pedersen.
Nemanja Vidic won the header but it came off Rio Ferdinand's back and broke kindly to Santa Cruz, who took advantage to fire a shot beyond Kuszczak for his 20th goal of the season.
United were looking lacklustre and that led to an appearance in the technical area by Sir Alex Ferguson. He had good reason to look anxious and Rooney's frustration took hold in the 39th minute when he was booked for a late challenge on Samba.
Rooney, however, then delivered a good ball into the path of Michael Carrick two minutes later. He cut the ball back into the are, only for Johann Vogel to make a timely interception.
From the corner, Ryan Giggs picked out Ronaldo but his close range header was palmed away by Brad Friedel. Ronaldo could hardly believe it as he was looking to build on his remarkable 38-goal tally.
Ronaldo was struggling to get into the game but released Nani in the 61st minute, who cut inside only to send an effort high over the bar.
Ronaldo almost grabbed the equaliser in the 64th minute when his left-footed effort beat Friedel but came back off the post.
Blackburn nearly extended their lead in the 74th minute when Pedersen skipped away from Wes Brown only to send his effort across the face of the goal.
However, United had increased the tempo and Rooney picked out Ronaldo in the 78th minute. Vogel did enough to put Ronaldo off but Tevez picked up the loose ball. He was not able to make a clean contact and Friedel saved on the line.
Friedel again came to Rovers' rescue when he pushed away shots from Rooney and substitute John O'Shea in quick succession.
United were not to be denied, though, and Tevez headed home the equaliser with two minutes remaining after Paul Scholes had flicked on a corner from Nani.

Fulham (0) 0 Liverpool (1) 2

Fulham's survival hopes were virtually finished off by goals from Jermaine Pennant and Peter Crouch as Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez again sent out a much weakened side at Craven Cottage.  
Benitez risked the wrath of Fulham's relegation rivals by fielding another much-changed Liverpool team in west London - a gift which Fulham snapped up almost a year ago with a 1-0 win that ultimately saved them from the drop.
This time the Spaniard made eight changes but once Liverpool had seen off Fulham's inevitable early flurry and taken a 16th-minute lead through a cracking finish by Pennant they always looked likely to justify their manager's decision.
Pennant, who broke a leg in October, banged in his second goal in 16 starts this season from a smart pass by Steven Gerrard's replacement Lucas Leiva and Fulham, for all their commitment and sweat, could have done with a little of that power in front of goal.
Crouch doubled Liverpool's advantage with 20 minutes left with a low finish from a Pennant pass which veteran keeper Kasey Keller should have done better with.
While defeat edged Fulham closer to the trap door, victory lifted Liverpool's spirits ahead of their Champions League semi-final meet with Chelsea.




Middlesbrough (0) 0 Bolton (0) 1

Gavin McCann snatched a dramatic winner as Bolton stunned Middlesbrough to keep alive their hopes of escaping relegation from the top-flight.  
McCann had been lucky not to concede a penalty for handball just moments before he stabbed home from close range with 59 minutes gone at the Riverside Stadium.
The result, which had seemed unlikely as Boro ran the visitors ragged in the opening 10 minutes, was enough to lift them out of the bottom three with Birmingham playing tomorrow.
It was only their second win in 10 outings and, coming on the back of last week's success over West Ham, put the pressure on Reading and Birmingham in the battle to beat the drop.
Bolton, showing some of the fighting spirit for which they were renowned under former manager Sam Allardyce, were able to hold on to the win despite coming under late pressure from the hosts.
Boro manager Gareth Southgate had signalled his intentions to entertain the fans by starting with a three-pronged attack in Jeremie Aliadiere, Afonso Alves and Tuncay Sanli, but they were unable to break through Bolton's rearguard.

Arsenal (2) 2 Reading (0) 0

Arsene Wenger put the "worst week" of his Arsenal tenure behind him as his side returned to winning ways against relegation-haunted Reading.
Arsenal, whose Premier League title aspirations and Champions League dreams have evaporated in recent weeks, turned in an impressive showing and fully deserved their comfortable win.
Emmanuel Adebayor scored his 27th goal of the season to put Arsenal in front on the half-hour mark after showing cool composure to control Kolo Toure's pass and fire the ball home from 15 yards.
And the hosts were 2-0 up at the break when Gilberto's deflected effort deceived goalkeeper Marcus Hahnemann.
Arsenal continued to dominate proceedings after the interval but were unable to add to their tally. Robin Van Persie had the ball in the back of the net late on, but his effort was ruled out for offside.
Defeat for Reading leaves them perilously close to the drop zone with a crucial contest against Wigan to come next weekend.




Wigan (1) 1 Tottenham (1) 1

Emile Heskey salvaged a point for Wigan for the second time in six days against visiting Tottenham, but their fight against the drop is far from over.
Bolton's win at Middlesbrough means Steve Bruce's side are now just five points clear of the relegation zone with three matches remaining.
The hosts had to come from a goal down to rescue a point against Juande Ramos' side.
Dimitar Berbatov struck after just five minutes when he sidefooted home following a surging run to the byline by Aaron Lennon.
It was his 23rd goal of the season, ending Wigan's proud home record of five successive clean sheets stretching over eight hours back to mid-January.
Wigan, though, were back on level terms seven minutes later when Heskey drilled a 15-yard shot beyond Radek Cerny following a break away move involving Paul Scharner, Marcus Bent and Kevin Kilbane.
While a draw has assisted Wigan's battle to beat the drop, it came at a cost, though, as both Heskey and Marcus Bent limped off late on with injuries that will prove a major concern for Bruce at such a critical stage of the campaign.

West Ham (1) 2 Derby (0) 1

Substitute Carlton Cole scored a late winner as West Ham made hard work of beating relegated Derby at Upton Park.  
Bobby Zamora had given the hosts a 20th-minute lead when he headed home George McCartney's free-kick from six yards but Tyrone Mears levelled for the rock-bottom visitors in the 64th minute.
Manager Alan Curbishley felt the wrath of the home supporters in the 75th minute when he replaced youngster Freddie Sears, who was making his first league start, for Cole.
But his decision proved to be spot on when Cole finished off a run and cross from Freddie Ljungberg in the 77th minute to give Curbishley's side all three points.
Despite the win, the home fans were less than impressed and a chorus of boos rang out when referee Steve Tanner blew the final whistle.




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English Premiership review                                                      26/04/2008

The title race looks as though it will go to the wire, three games to go… Chelsea host Manchester United, the only two teams with everything to play for, both teams are one game away from reaching the European cup final in Moscow and only three games away from the Premiership title. If Chelsea win against United this afternoon they will go level on points, however, United will still hold the key to the title as they have superior goal difference.
Elsewhere, Liverpool can effectively claim fourth spot and a place in next season’s champions’ league competition if they win away at Birmingham City, who also must win if they are to have any chance of avoiding the drop back into the championship. With Bolton and fellow strugglers Fulham, already all but relegated it is as tight at the bottom as it is at the top.


Chelsea (1) 2 Manchester United (0) 1

Manchester United remain hot - or at least lukewarm - favourites for the Premier League title, albeit that the most likely way they will hang on to their crown is by the hollow margin of goal difference, which is a bit like winning an election on a recount. But what Chelsea's magnificent fightback has done is to remove any margin for error at a stage of the campaign when one slip, one momentary loss of concentration or one clumsy handball, like the one from Michael Carrick that delivered victory by penalty here, can destroy a season's work.

On top of that, United have been tripping over every paving stone and discarded supermarket trolley on what was supposed to be a clear road to the title these past few weeks, collecting just five points from their last four games. And should they now fail to win their final two matches to take the title, manager Sir Alex Ferguson will have some explaining to do about his remarkable gamble with his team for this match, which bordered on impertinence. With only a point needed to make it all over bar the shouting, Ferguson left Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez on the bench, while Paul Scholes sat in the stands.

If it looked like a calculated insult to Chelsea, which would also allow United to negate the value of any home victory, Fergie will argue that it was a necessary resting of his most valuable troops before Tuesday's Champions League semi-final second leg against Barcelona at Old Trafford. If they had hung on to the point that was theirs for the taking, after Wayne Rooney's first goal against Chelsea - at the 16th time of asking - people would have applauded his courage.

As it is, critics will now be questioning his judgment, and possibly his sanity, because that is the way it is in a results-driven business. All the judgment calls from outside the touchlines are made with the splendid aid of hindsight, though many of us did raise both eyebrows when the team sheet emerged from the away dressing room.



No wonder Chelsea manager Avram Grant had such a broad smile when a shirt-sleeved Fergie greeted him on the touchline before the game. Hugs and jokes followed but, at the end, Fergie offered only a handshake and a face of thunder while a bare-chested Chelsea captain John Terry raised a clenched fist of triumph to the fans before punching the Perspex side of the retractable tunnel as he took his leave.

Grant simply raised his eyes to the heavens before accepting the applause of Chelsea fans. Given that they have been openly hostile to him for much of his time in charge, a lesser man might have offered a rude gesture in exchange. This was his moment, vindication of his softer style of management since taking over from Jose Mourinho and sweet revenge for defeat at Old Trafford in his first game in charge last September.

Now Avram Who? can not only plant both feet in Chelsea history, as only the third manager to win the title, he can succeed where Mourinho failed by guiding his team past Liverpool in Wednesday's Champions League semi-final second leg. Grant, who refused to say whether Chelsea were still in the title race after the win at Everton 10 days ago, now says: "Of course we can win it. If you are not optimistic now, you shouldn't be in sport."

With the sun on their backs, Chelsea's thoroughbreds started as though they fancied their chances of posting the 10-0 victory that would have seen them go top of the Premier League, rather than the proud share of it that they have claimed. Yet they seemed to be running out of steam when Didier Drogba's lovely right-wing cross allowed Michael Ballack to head them in front in first-half stoppage time.

United were so negative in the opening half, with Rooney on the wing much of the time in a 'none up-front' formation, that it was miraculous that he and Ryan Giggs were flagged offside in quick succession. But United are never that quiet for long - Barcelona on Wednesday notwithstanding - and when Paulo Ferreira and Ricardo Carvalho messed up a free-kick, Rooney produced a wonderful finish off a post.

It all turned nasty after that, officials from both sides haranguing fourth official Mike Riley, while Drogba and Ballack argued with each other over who was to take a free-kick on the edge of the box. Drogba won that one but when Carrick handled Michael Essien's cross five minutes from time, not seen by referee Alan Wiley but spotted by assistant Shaun Proctor-Green, the Drog sensibly handed over responsibility to Ballack. When you have a pressure penalty, always entrust it to a German.


Sunderland (2) 3 Middlesbrough (1) 2

Salvation can arrive in the most curious ways. If injury-time winners come almost as standard on Wearside these days, nobody could have been expecting it to come via - partial - redemption for Steve Bennett.

It was when the Orpington referee mysteriously ruled out a last-gasp winner from a corner against Aston Villa that Roy Keane finally broke his rule of not directly criticising match officials; yesterday Bennett ruled that Daryl Murphy's header from Grant Leadbitter's corner had crossed the line, despite the best efforts of Emanuel Pogatetz to clear.

Sunderland fell behind to Tuncay Sanli's smart finish, Danny Higginbotham pulled them level with a powerful header. Michael Chopra then turned inside David Wheater and whipped his finish in on half-time. Then a fractionally offside Afonso Alves shot home via Craig Gordon's chest



West Ham United (2) 2 Newcastle United (2) 2

When his Newcastle side stumbled with the finishing line in sight a decade ago, Kevin Keegan must have felt he was the unluckiest manager in the world. Not any more.
How his Mark II Newcastle avoided defeat at West Ham, only fortune knows; the home side were hugely superior for the first 40 minutes and had goals from Mark Noble and Dean Ashton to show for it. Then, within the space of 120 seconds, everything changed.
With half-time fast approaching, an error from inexperienced centre-back James Tomkins allowed Obafemi Martins to pull one back. Then the Nigerian tried a speculative effort and saw it flash past Robert Green off the head of Geremi.

DESPITE ALL the bleak prognoses, Fulham are refusing to give up their fragile Premier League status. They came back from two goals down at Manchester City yesterday to win 3-2 in injury time, courtesy of Diomansy Kamara's goal and, improbably, are still in with a chance of survival.

Next week they host Birmingham in a game that will have real resonance for the relegation struggle. Alex McLeish's side threw away a two-goal lead of their own against a Liverpool second string at St Andrew's to draw 2-2.

Bolton also squandered a lead that would have taken them clear of the scrap, drawing 1-1 with Tottenham. They remain ahead of Reading - who also had to make do with a point on the road after being held to a 0-0 draw by Wigan - on goal difference, with 33 points.
Reading have the cushion of a trip to relegated Derby but Steve Coppell will be sleeping no easier than Messrs Hodgson, McLeish and Megson.




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English Premiership review                                                       04/05/2008


The penultimate week of the premiership sees the top two, namely Manchester United and Chelsea fight it out for the title and it is really all in United hands, if they win both games the title will remain in Manchester. However the first of those games is against West Ham, a team that notoriously beat them in the same fixture last season to retain their premiership status and the goal scorer that day, Carlos Tevez…,so maybe it won’t be that straight forward after all.Ironically, both teams will now meet in Moscow at the end of May as the first all English European Champions league finalists, so either team could technically win a glorious league and cup double, or at least share the spoils. Everton and Aston Villa are also fighting for fifth spot, guaranteeing a UEFA position for next season and then down in the relegation zone, four clubs are fighting it out to avoid the drop alongside Derby, who currently hold the dubious  record for the poorest ever premiership run, the two remaining spots await either Fulham, Birmingham, Reading or Bolton, however, things are becoming complicated based on goal difference and it could still go the last game before the relegation issue is resolved.

Arsenal (0) 1 Everton (0) 0

Nicklas Bendtner's 77th-minute goal, his ninth of the season, condemned David Moyes' Everton side to defeat at the Emirates Stadium.
The result means that Everton, who hold over a three-point advantage over sixth-placed Aston Villa, will have to wait until next week to secure the single pointed needed to confirm their place in next season's Uefa Cup.
Bendtner's second-half header means, in theory at least, Arsenal could still claim second place in the Premier League, as they sit just one point behind Champions League finalists Chelsea, who play their game in hand tomorrow against Newcastle.
After coasting for much of the match, Arsenal suddenly sprang into life nine minutes after Arsene Wenger made a double substitution, Armand Traore replacing for Kolo Toure and goalkeeper Jens Lehmann entering the fray, and appearing to make his final home appearance for Arsene Wenger's side in the process.
Bendtner's pass sent Armand Traore away down the left and the young full-back returned the favour with a perfectly-flighted cross. Bendtner rose above Phil Jagielka to power his header past Tim Howard.
Bendtner said: "We set ourselves a target of maximum points in our last three games, so we are nearly there."




Liverpool (0) 1 Manchester City (0) 0

Fernando Torres scored in his eighth consecutive league game at Anfield equalling Roger Hunt's 46-year-old record to give Liverpool a comfortable victory over Sven-Goran Eriksson's Manchester City.
Torres' 32nd goal of the season secured Liverpool's seventh successive home victory in the Premier League as Manchester City fans expressed their displeasure throughout the match at the uncertainty surrounding Eriksson's future at Eastlands.
The critical moment came five minutes into the second-half just after Brazilian Elano had struck the post for the visitors from a free-kick, which had eluded Jose Reina.
England midfielder Steven Gerrard put Torres through the City defence with an exquisite pass from the outside of his foot, leaving the Spaniard to shoot through the legs of goalkeeper Joe Hart.
Liverpool then dominated for the next twenty minutes, and could have scored a couple more, but Torres' lone goal was enough for Rafael Benitez's team to end the final home game of the season team with a victory, and also give a appearance for Xabi Alonso for what could be his final game at Anfield for the side.


Manchester United (3) 4 West Ham United (1) 1

Two more goals from Cristiano Ronaldo helped United take a massive stride towards retaining their Premier League title in an open match in which their exuberance and style was too much for a disappointing West Ham to contend with.
Despite losing a man when Nani was sent off for a confrontation with Lucas Neill shortly before the break and resting Wayne Rooney, United were too strong for the visitors and raced to a 3-0 lead inside half an hour with Ronaldo grabbing the first two and Carlos Tevez sending a blistering drive from distance for the third.
Dean Ashton pulled one back with a wonderful overhead volley but Michael Carrick settled the match after the break when he benefited from a thick deflection to re-establish United's three goal margin.
United started with the confidence of a side on the brink of domestic and European titles and were ahead inside the first five minutes through a familiar source.
Nani found Ronaldo with a touchline lay off and once his marker Neill slipped he needed no further invitation to burst into the box and unleash a shot which flicked off George McCartney and flew into the net.
A further 20 minutes passed before Owen Hargreaves, once more filling in at right-back, floated a cross to the far post and, with Robert Green failing to cut it out, Ronaldo turned the ball in with his hip and watched as it bobbled in.
That strike took Ronaldo's Premier League haul to 30 goals, underlining the incredible nine months the double player of the season has enjoyed for United.
However, within minutes the Portuguese had been upstaged by Tevez. Taking Ronaldo's short pass just inside the visitors half, Tevez advanced unopposed before lashing a superb 30-yard shot over Green and into the roof of the net.
At that point it looked as though rampant United were set to inflict a humiliation on the visitors in the Manchester sunshine.
Yet, possibly roused by fear of embarrassment, West Ham struck back themselves almost immediately.
Wes Brown made a mess of Bobby Zamora's cross, sending it looping into the air and Ashton, with back to goal and under physical pressure from Rio Ferdinand, took to the air to score with a glorious overhead kick.
Ashton hurt himself on returning to the earth and though he battled on was replaced shortly after the break.
Before the interval, United were a man down when Nani reacted petulantly to an unnecessary attempted overhead kick by Neill inn the United box. Nani pushed his forehead against Neill's and the Australian fell to ground as if struck by a baseball bat.
Despite feigning injury himself to try and avoid referee Mike Riley's's wrath, Nani was dismissed with Neill shown the yellow card.
West Ham started brightly after the break but any hopes of a revival were quashed when former player Carrick strode through the midfield and saw his shot from distance take a huge deflection to beat Green for United's fourth.
From that point on United were simply playing out time and Ronaldo was withdrawn undoubtedly with United's final league match at Wigan and the Champions League final in mind.
However, with West Ham failing to improve on their first-half showing the work had been done and match long since won.




Fulham (0) 2 Birmingham (0) 0

Fulham took their bid to avoid relegation to the final day of the season with goals from Brian McBride and Erik Nevland securing a priceless victory over fellow strugglers Birmingham City, whose own future now looks bleak.

Fulham move out of the bottom three, at Reading's expense, and now have survival in their own hands.
In an understandably nervous first-half for both teams both chances and genuine quality were at a premium, though both sides displayed urgency.
Simon Davies nearly gave Fulham an early lead but was denied by a magnificent save from Maik Taylor. Whilst Birmingham's best chance fell to Mikael Forssell, but he was denied by an excellent Aaron Hughes tackle just as he was about to shoot.
Early in the second-half Fulham gave themselves a Premier League life-line when Brian McBride headed them in front.
As so often, it was Jimmy Bullard who was the architect of the goal, flighting a free kick to the back post for the American to meet it perfectly.
Nevland had ironically been brought on to help protect the lead Fulham had, Diomansy Kamara making way, but he extended the home team's lead to put the match beyond any doubt.


Reading (0) 0 Tottenham (1) 0

Reading slipped in to bottom three after defeat at the hands of Tottenham and now will have to rely on other results as well as their own on the last day of the season to stay in the top flight.
With Reading unable to rouse themselves for their last home fixture of the season, Tottenham were the better team throughout and in truth should have won by a greater margin.
Reading were given early optimism when Dimitar Berbatov was omitted from the match squad by Juande Ramos, further adding to speculation that the Bulgarian may be leaving White Hart Lane in the summer.
But it was another Tottenham striker who caused Reading's defenders constant problems, with Robbie Keane dictating play.
And it was Keane who scored the only goal of the game after 15 minutes with an emphatic finish, the Irish striker only being denied further reward by some exceptional goalkeeping from Marcus Hahnemann.
Steed Malbranque should have settled the match immediately after the break, putting a clear chance in to the side netting at the back post with the goal at his mercy.
Mid-way through the second period Reading woke up to the seriousness of their situation and belatedly began to threaten themselves but it was to little effect and Steve Coppell will now have to pick his players up for a trip to Derby next week when a win may still not be enough to save them.




Aston Villa (0) 0 Wigan Athletic (0) 2

Wigan Athletic secured their Premier League survival with two goals from Luis Antonio Valencia, at the same time reducing Aston Villa's European ambitions to entry to the InterToto Cup.
Defeat puts fifth place beyond Aston Villa this season and Everton will now take the Uefa Cup place on offer.
Needing just a point to be safe, Wigan secured all three thanks to the clinical Valencia who is bound to attract unwanted attention, as far as manager Steve Bruce is concerned, this summer from bigger clubs.
The Ecuadorian has been a revelation for Wigan in the tail end of the season and his two goals in ten second-half minutes proved priceless for Wigan.
Having taken a smart pass from Jason Koumas and with the angle tight, Valencia struck what looked to be an ambitious strike at goal. But his shot took a friendly deflection off the outstretched boot of Wilfred Bouma to put it beyond the reach of Scot Carson in the Villa goal.
Villa went close soon after through Gareth Barry but just past the hour mark Valencia made it two.
Neat footwork took the Ecuador international clear of Nigel Reo-Coker - shuffled into an unfamiliar right-back slot to accommodate the introduction of Patrik Berger - and he made no mistake with a near post finish.
All eyes were on Barry, who played for Villa despite manager Martin O'Neill confirming this week that Liverpool had made an offer for a player who has been integral to Villa's push for European place this season.
The Villa captain put in a tidy performance, at the heart of much of what good football the home side played.
Gabriel Agbonlahor almost had Villa ahead in the first-half but was denied by a combination of Chris Kirkland's reflexes and the woodwork when his close range header was turned away by the England hopeful.


Middlesbrough (1) 2 Portsmouth (0) 0

Chris Riggott returned from exile to steer Middlesbrough to Premier League survival, something that many around the club thought should have been settled well in advance of the penultimate match of the season.
Riggott, who was recalled from his loan spell at Stoke yesterday, went straight into Gareth Southgate's team and rewarded his manager with a powerful 40th-minute header which put them on the road to victory over the FA Cup finalists.
Riggott was loaned out to the Championship side having effectively been told he had no future at Middlesbrough, but a man who at one point formed a solid central defensive partnership with Southgate under Steve McClaren grabbed his chance during this unlikely reprieve.
Tuncay Sanli wrapped up an ultimately comfortable victory with a 53rd-minute header to put away any lingering nerves amongst the home supporters.
It was only Middlesbrough's second league win in 11 attempts and after the relief of survival makes way to a post mortem of a disjointed season for Middlesbrough questions will be asked of a squad containing several excellent players having failed to produce better and more consistent performances across the year.
Portsmouth minds appeared to be on other matters, with the Wembley final just weeks away.
Harry Redknapp had earlier in the week warned his players against allowing themselves to be distracted and will be disappointed at the way in which their league campaign has petered out after the club being so strong for such long periods in the campaign.


Blackburn (1) 3 Derby County (1) 1

Derby County earned the unwanted record as the worst team in Premier League history after they let an early lead slip to suffer their 28th defeat of the season at Ewood Park.
Derby's latest defeat leaves them on just 11 points with one game left to play, and means they cannot now overhaul Sunderland's previous record low total of 15 points from two years ago.
Kenny Miller had given the visitors hope of claiming a win at the 25th time of asking when he sprang the offside trap in the 19th minute to finish adroitly past Brad Friedel.
But Blackburn's newly-crowned player of the year Roque Santa Cruz snatched his side's equaliser deep into first-half injury time and Jason Roberts took advantage of awful defending to score the second two minutes after the break.
By the time Santa Cruz headed his second 12 minutes from time, the Derby's fine start had been long forgotten and they were fortunate not to concede more.
Jewell had spoken of his desire to head into the final game of the season still with a chance of at least matching Sunderland's tally but as with Derby's season as a whole the brief optimism very soon dissipated.





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English Premiership

Manchester United have won their 10th Premier League title from Chelsea who conceded a last-gasp equaliser against Bolton. United were 2-0 winners at Wigan while Chelsea drew 1-1 at home to Bolton. At the bottom, Fulham's 1-0 win at Portsmouth sends Birmingham and Reading down to the Championship.
So after a gripping last month, United prevailed and still on course for a valuable double against …Chelsea in Moscow in a fortnight’s time. It is also fitting that United won their tenth title as a tribute to the Munich tragedy on the fiftieth anniversary.
I hope you enjoyed this season’s coverage of the most complete and competitive football league in Europe. Look forward to reporting back again next season.




Wigan (0) 0 Manchester United (1) 2
Ryan Giggs wrapped up Manchester United's 10th Premier League title after a 2-0 win at Wigan while Chelsea were held to a 1-1 draw by Bolton.
Giggs, making a record-equalling 758th appearance for United, scored the visitors' second goal with 10 minutes to play after Cristiano Ronaldo had opened the scoring with a first-half penalty.
Ronaldo, who missed a penalty against Barcelona in United's Champions League semi-final at the Nou Camp, was able to convert the 33th minute spot-kick which was awarded after Emmerson Boyce was adjudged to have brought down Wayne Rooney.
It was Ronaldo's 41st goal of the season and just the boost United wanted in their final game of the season.
Wigan refused to cave in and almost equalised in the 38th minute following a surging run from Antonio Valencia.
He delivered a superb cross to the back post and Marcus Bent made a clean connect, only to send his effort into the side netting.
United improved after the break and were afforded a two-goal cushion when substitute Giggs cooly converted from close range.
Although Emile Heskey almost grabbed a goal back late on, United held on to keep them in the hunt for a league and European Cup double.
 
Chelsea (0) 1 Bolton (0) 1
A second-half strike from substitute Andriy Shevchenko was not enough for Chelsea to pinch the title from Manchester United.
Shevchenko struck in the 62nd minute but an equaliser in the dying seconds from Matt Taylor and United's victory over Wigan meant the Premier League crown remained at Old Trafford.
But Chelsea were also rocked by the loss of captain John Terry who was carried off in the first half with a shoulder injury and could now miss next week's Champions League final in Moscow.



 
Portsmouth (0) 0 Fulham (0) 1
Danny Murphy's 76th-minute header kept Fulham in the Premier League as FA Cup finalists Portsmouth slumped to their fourth defeat in a row.
Murphy had all the freedom and time he needed to nod in Jimmy Bullard's free-kick and complete a third successive away win.
Portsmouth, who fielded a strong side, had ample opportunities to sink their visitors but could not find a cutting edge to go with their possession.
 
Birmingham (1) 4 Blackburn (0) 1
Birmingham fans turned on Chairman David Gold and co-owner David Sullivan after their side's relegation from the Premier League was confirmed - despite Cameron Jerome's late double against Blackburn.
Chants of the 'the board must go' were aimed towards the directors' box once it became clear there was going to be no last day of the season escape act for Alex McLeish's side.
David Murphy's first half goal was cancelled out by Rovers midfielder Morten Gamst Pedersen before substitute Jerome struck twice. Fabrice Muamba added a fourth in injury-time.



 
Derby (0) 0 Reading (1) 4
Reading were relegated from the Premier League despite a convincing victory over Derby.
James Harper curled home his sixth goal of the season to hand the hosts a deserved half-time lead and Dave Kitson, Kevin Doyle and Leroy Lita were all on target after the break.
However, Fulham's victory at Portsmouth took their fate out of their own hands and the Royals will join Derby and Birmingham in the second tier next season.
 
Everton (1) 3 Newcastle (0) 1
Everton clinched fifth place and Uefa Cup qualification as Ayegbeni Yakubu ended the season with 21 goals for the Goodison Park club.
Everton led at the break thanks to Yakubu's header, but Michael Owen's penalty had Newcastle level and nerves jangling, especially with sixth-placed Aston Villa then leading at West Ham.
But Joleon Lescott scored his 10th goal of the season before Yakubu fired home a penalty after Leon Osman was brought down.
 
West Ham (1) 2 Aston Villa (1)
Aston Villa's last-ditch push to secure a Uefa Cup place met with failure as they concluded their season with an undeserved draw at Upton Park.
Captain Gareth Barry appeared to have fired a second-half winner when he expertly finished a move he started but West Ham striker Ashton struck a late equaliser to earn his side a point they scarcely deserved.
But ultimately Villa's efforts to secure European qualification were rendered meaningless by Everton's victory over Newcastle which took the matter out of their hands.



 
Sunderland (0) 0 Arsenal (1) 1
Theo Walcott edged Arsenal to a narrow win at Sunderland with his seventh goal of the season.
The youngster converted from Gilberto's 24th-minute pass to hand Arsene Wenger all three points at the Stadium of Light.
Emmanuel Adebayor passed up two chances to make the win more comfortable, but Carlos Edwards and substitute Roy O'Donovan both went close for the hosts.
 
Tottenham (0) 0 Liverpool (0) 2
Liverpool striker Fernando Torres wrapped up victory at Tottenham to set a record for goals scored by a foreigner in his first season in the Premier League.
Torres' goal was his 24th since arriving from Atletico Madrid, taking him past Ruud van Nistelrooy's total when he arrived at Manchester United.
Andriy Voronin had opened the scoring at White Hart Lane as Liverpool ended their season on a high, while Spurs' fizzled out as it has done since winning the Carling Cup.
 
Middlesbrough (2) 8 Manchester City (0) 1
Sven-Goran Eriksson's anticipated final match in charge of Manchester City ended in humiliating fashion as his 10-man side lost 8-1 at Middlesbrough. Stewart Downing fired home a 16th-minute penalty after City captain Richard Dunne was harshly sent off for bringing down Tuncay Sanli and eight minutes before the break Afonso Alves slotted home the second.
After the break Downing smashed in a superb left-footed volley, Afonso Alves completed his hat-trick with two goals, substitute Adam Johnson scored with a deflected long-rang shot, Fabio Rochemback curled in a 30-yard free-kick and Jeremie Aliadiere fired home with Elano getting a consolation.

Pos.   Team   Pl   W   D   L   +/-   Pts
1 Manchester United  38 27 6 5 58 87
2 Chelsea  38 25 10 3 39 85
3 Arsenal  38 24 11 3 43 83
4 Liverpool  38 21 13 4 39 76
5 Everton  38 19 8 11 22 65
6 Aston Villa  38 16 12 10 20 60
7 Blackburn Rovers  38 15 13 10 2 58
8 Portsmouth  38 16 9 13 8 57
9 Manchester City  38 15 10 13 -8 55
10 West Ham  38 13 10 15 -8 49
11 Tottenham Hotspur  38 11 13 14 5 46
12 Newcastle United  38 11 10 17 -20 43
13 Middlesbrough  38 10 12 16 -10 42
14 Wigan Athletic  38 10 10 18 -17 40
15 Sunderland  38 11 6 21 -23 39
16 Bolton Wanderers  38 9 10 19 -18 37
17 Fulham  38 8 12 18 -22 36
18 Reading  38 10 6 22 -25 36
19 Birmingham City  38 8 11 19 -16 35
20 Derby County  38 1 8 29 -69 1


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