Premiership Football Results Round-Up Wk24
Posted on February 3, 2009
Filed Under Premiership 08/09
Saturday 31-01-2009
Stoke City 1 - 0 Man City
The fate of Robinho seemed to effect his Premiership side too as Manchester City lost the first tie of this game week to one of the weakest competitors, Stoke. Men in blue clearly had the upper hand once Stoke was reduced to a 10-men force. Delap’s 37th minute ruthless challenge on Wright-Philips couldn’t provide much respite as Manchester City still found it difficult to break the deadlock. Though Robinho and Ireland can be easily blamed for their missed chances, it was Stoke’s defending in depth that eventually won the match. James Beattie’s first-half’s injury time goal erupted the stadium and then it was a different game altogether. Stoke constantly attacked from all flanks and many a times caught Hart unaware. Fuller’s return the starting line-up seemed to work as he was repeatedly involved in wonderful moves and some dangerous headers that missed the opposite net by a whisker. Man City who is now just 6 points away from relegation face a daunting task to re-unite and deliver.
Arsenal 0 – 0 West Ham Utd
West Ham continued their impressive run this season and kept the Gunners at bay in their own yard. Gunners, who seem to find the net more so often at home were left frustrated by the West Ham defence. Arsenal who had to win this contest to keep their hopes of Champions League alive suffered their first blow in 35th minute when Eboue limped off. Greene nullified every move and kept the nets wonderfully well. Though some rough defending was seen from West Ham’s side, Neill and Collins were deservingly awarded the Yellow card. Regular attacks by Nasri, Denilson and Adebayor did not help as very few moves created panic inside the penalty area. Scott Parker defended well to keep Bendtner quiet. Diaby too limped off the field in the dying moments to add to gunner’s miseries.
Aston Villa 0 – 0 Wigan Athletic
Villa missed a golden opportunity to brighten their Champions League’s chances as they drew against Wigan at home. It was a game where both keepers zeroed all the wonderfully crafted moves. Villa got ample opportunities in the first half in the form of Corners whose headers flew wide, mishit free shots and unutilized free-kicks. Bramble and Figueroa played their hearts out to keep Agbonlahor silent. Heskey couldn’t direct his header well and gifted the ball in the hands of Kirkland. Villa came close to the crucial 3 points in the 55th minute when Knight’s header struck the post. Though Kirkland’s loose handling of the ball gave Villa a real chance, but it was Figueroa again who time and again kept the likes of L.Young and Gabriel at bay. Eventually Wigan proved their defending skills yet again after silencing Liverpool’s strikers before and would be very happy to go back with a crucial point.
Bolton 3 – 2 Tottenham
This was an evenly contested match, and both teams were in search of 3 points to keep them away from the relegation zone. Bolton had an electric start to this match and the lead could have achieved in 22nd minute when Mark Davies directed his 8 yard header just wide. Bentley and Pavlyuchenko started a wave of attacks after Marks’ attempts until Bolton replied back with the lead in the 31st minute. Mark Davies directed his free kick perfectly for Puygrenier who headed it past the Spurs’ defence. Redknapp’s problems elevated in the absence of Defoe and at the end of first half he decided to bring in Bent and Jenas at the cost of Zokora and injured Modric. Adding to the visitor’s woes, Davies slashed the ball in the top-right corner to make it 2-0. It was a game on when Bent proved his presence in the 73rd minute with a goal and repeatedly did the same in the next minute to change the score line 2-2. Tension prevailed high on both ends till the last until Taylor’s corner was successfully put away by Davies, again. It was too late for Spurs to give a fight and Bolton had all the 3 points in their bag at the Reebok Stadium.
Fulham 3 – 1 Portsmouth
Portsmouth poor run continues this season as they were thrashed by Fulham at the Craven Cottage. No wins in the last eight matches have left Portsmouth in a miserable condition. Johnson got the game going in the 14th minute with a through ball from Dempsey and guided it past James. Pompey replied instantly through Davis’ efforts but Schwarzer’s vigilance kept the lead with Fulham. Both the sides attacked equally well and tested the goalkeepers regularly until the visitors were near to an equalizer in the 46th minute through Hreidarsson’s free kick. 63rd minute came with a welcome change for Fulham as struggling Zamora was replaced with Nevland. The attacks began to come faster and more testing for Pompey defence. Nevland single-handedly finished any hopes for visitors with his 2 late goals. The first came in the 71st minute when he guided a pass from Davies beyond James and 9 minutes later he did it again with the same combination making it happen. Nugent’s late consolation wasn’t enough to lift Pompey’s spirits who now are just a point away from the relegation zone.
Hull City 2 – 2 West Brom
Being the better side doesn’t always pay the way you expect. Hull city could manage just a solitary point at home as they were held to a 2-2 draw by the weakest team in this league. West Brom equalized twice and eventually earned a useful point at the KC Stadium. Though injury-marred starting line up of Hull City was struggling, yet Fagan and Mendy paired up to put a good show. After many unsuccessful attempts, Hull managed to draw first blood by an astounding individual effort from Mendy. The second half also witnessed regular bombardment but Carson stood firm. West Brom eventually broke the deadlock in the 53rd minute when Simpson left foot tucked the ball past the Hull defence. Mendy was again on the move as he provided an incredible pass for Fagan to glide it past Carson and restore the lead in the 69th minute. Confusion helped West Brom to gain a penalty 3 minutes later as Zayatte brought down Koren who was leaping towards a loose ball. Brunt made it 2-2 for West Brom with his neat effort. The Tigers made 2-3 late attempts but Carson was always there like a wall.
Middlesbrough 0 – 0 Blackburn
Big Sam’s Blackburn could not reap awards for their numerous attempts and managed a stalemate at Riverside. The new goalkeeper Brad Jones fought bravely against regular bombardments from almost all the Blackburn players and kept his side’s sheets clean. Right from the beginning the likes of Santa Cruz hovered like a fly for goal opportunities. The first half belonged completely to the Rovers as Boros managed to unease Robinson just once. Rejuvenated in the second half, Tuncay and Josh made serious attempts within the enemy territory. Second half substitutions from Blackburn worsened the scenario and Jones was tested very harshly, especially in the 82nd and 86th minute. The likes of Dunn and Roberts constantly made good moves till the 90th minute but Jones had a reply to every move. It was a heroic attempt from Jones that Boros managed a point. Otherwise they were always on the backfoot in their territory for the entire game. Grella should have won the game for the home side in the 75th minute, only to find an unbelievable block from Walker. The result left both the teams in the relegation zone since Stoke had already managed to defeat Manchester City.
Man Utd 1 – 0 Everton
With a game in hand and already at the zenith, Manchester went into this game with their strongest side and with the likes of Christiano finding the net more often now, victory didn’t seem distant. The loan goal came from a penalty strike from the Portuguese winger just before half time when Mikel Arteta tripped Michael Carrick to give the home team a reason to cheer. The match was set alive in the 4th minute itself when Ronaldo fired a free-kick into the defending wall. J.S. Park accompanied by Ronaldo and Carrick were regular visitors in the Enemy territory. Rio Ferdinand kept all the corners away from Everton and Cahill was silenced. In the 25th minute, Ronaldo’s 25th minute kick kissed the post and came back. Carrick was being manned by Arteta and so many of the moves could not find the perfect end. Tevez played his heart out throughout the game and was a part of many good passes. Anichebe was brought in for Fellaini in the 68th minute to speed up the attacks. A deflected Tevez shot sent shivers down the spines of Everton with Howard tipping it over just at the last moment. With 5 points clear, Manchester is all set for a hat-trick.
Sunday 01-02-2009
Newcastle 1 – 1 Sunderland
Newcastle fought really hard to get Sunderland to level terms and share the points in front of the home crowd. Sunderland played as a better side in all aspects of the game and got rewards for their efforts when Cisse put them in front in the 33rd minute. Newcastle tried desperately to level the scores with the help of Ameobi in various attempts. The second half saw Cisse and Jones on the prowl even more and things were not going Magpies’ way as they were forced into their defending territory time and again. The visitors managed to maintain the lead till the 68th minute when a loose challenge by Malbranque on Taylor yielded a penalty. Ameobi stepped up and blasted it into the left side to set the atmosphere alive. Sunderland yet another charged up the attacks and Magpies did collate some counter-attacks but eventually none of the sides could find a late winner till the final whistle.
Liverpool 2 – 0 Chelsea
The most awaited match of this Gameweek maintained its aura till the end before yielding a deserving result in Liverpool’s favour. Fernando Torres who is yet to score this year for Liverpool struck form just at the right time to keep his club’s Premiership hopes alive. Cech was put to high alert as attacks poured in starting from Alonso’s swirling kick in 11th minute to Mascherano’s flyer. The tackles got rough as the game progressed and soon the yellow slips were all over. The central defenders from Both Chelsea and Liverpool were put to test time and again by Torres, Riera and Ballack, Lampard respectively. The biggest turnaround arrived when Lampard was unfortunately shown the Red Card by the referee. Replays confirmed fair play but this decision proved way too costly in the end. Both sides flooded the fields with fresh blood around 65 minutes into the match. The home team got the lead in the 88th minute with a Torres slanting header that was way too acute for Cech to defend. Chelsea attacked full on in the last 2 minutes only to expose their defence and allow Torres to guide in a simple Banayoun pass to make the final score-line 2-0. The result dashed Chelsea’s hopes of title as they stand 5 points behind the leaders Manchester United, who still have a game in hand.
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