BPL Saturday Review 3rd Oct 2009

Source: www.espnstar.com

Manchester United delved into their much-used box of late comebacks to rescue a point against Sunderland.

Two weeks after Michael Owen's last-gasp winner against Manchester City, Anton Ferdinand could not get out of the way of an off-target effort from Patrice Evra to grab United a point and deprive the Black Cats of their first Old Trafford win since 1968.

In truth, it lacked the thrill factor of a fortnight ago. And so poor was United's general performance that questions are bound to be asked about their ability to retain their Barclays Premier League title.

Darren Bent gave the visitors a seventh-minute lead, Dimitar Berbatov levelled after 51, only for Kenwyne Jones to restore Sunderland's advantage seven minutes later.

However, deep into injury-time - and shortly after Sunderland had seen former United midfielder Kieran Richardson dismissed for a second yellow card, Ferdinand's own goal earned a point for Sir Alex Ferguson's side.

Elsewhere, bottom club Portsmouth put recent troubles behind them to grab a first Barclays Premier League win after holding off Wolves 1-0 at Molineux.

Paul Hart's men - who had lost all of their seven league games before this afternoon, with reports of wages not being paid following Sulaiman al Fahim's protracted takeover - went ahead on 19 minutes through Hassan Yebda, on-loan from Benfica.

Aruna Dindane almost made it 2-0, but was denied by Wolves goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey before Pompey stopper David James produced a fine save from Andrew Keogh in first-half stoppage time.

Wolves felt they had a strong penalty claim just after the hour mark when Michael Kightly appeared to handle the ball, but referee Howard Webb was unconvinced.

Pompey dug in - with James producing a superb late save from Greg Halford - to record a morale-boosting victory, but they remain at the foot of the table.

High-flying Tottenham twice fought back to secure a 2-2 draw at Bolton.

Ricardo Gardner fired the Trotters into a fourth-minute lead after goalkeeper Carlo Cudicini had parried Chung-Yong Lee's shot.

Spurs, though, equalised somewhat against the run of play when Croatia international Niko Kranjcar (34) slotted home after Peter Crouch's knockdown to score his first goal since moving from Portsmouth.

Kevin Davies (69) headed the hosts back in front, but after Crouch had seen his shot come off keeper Jussi Jaaskelainen and hit the bar, defender Vedran Corluka (73) headed in a corner to earn Harry Redknapp's men a share of the points as Spurs moved back into the top three.

Hull moved out of the bottom three with a 2-1 win over Wigan at KC Stadium.

After having a first-half penalty appeal for handball turned down, the Tigers - thrashed 6-1 at Liverpool last weekend - took the lead on the hour through a powerful header from Dutch striker Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink.

Brazilian Giovanni (68) put the home side, who ended a run of three straight league defeats, in control when he swept in Kamil Zayatte's right-wing cross.

However, there was still time for substitute Scott Sinclair (87) to pull a goal back for Wigan - who last week produced a shock win over Chelsea.

Burnley maintained their 100% home record as they beat Birmingham 2-1 at Turf Moor.

The visitors should have been ahead at the break, but Lee Bowyer somehow missed the target when the ball arrived to him unmarked at the far post.

It proved costly as, on 53 minutes Burnley - who have beaten Manchester United, Everton and Sunderland at home on their first foray into the Premier League - went ahead when England hopeful Joe Hart allowed Steven Fletcher's shot to squirm into the net.

Before Birmingham, promoted last season along with the Clarets, had a chance to respond, Owen Coyle's side doubled their lead when Andre Bikey, a summer buy from Reading, played a one-two with David Nugent and slotted past Hart.

Sebastian Larsson (90) netted a late consolation for Birmingham with a well-taken free-kick.

Final Results - 4th March 2009

Man City 2 - 0 Aston Villa
Stoke 2 - 0 Bolton
Newcastle 1 - 2 Man Utd
Wigan 0 - 1 West Ham
Blackburn 0 - 0 Everton
Fulham 0 - 1 Hull
Tottenham 4 - 0 Middlesbrough

Match Report - Tottenham vs Middlesbrough - 4th March 2009

Source: www.espnstar.com

Robbie Keane's first goal since returning to Tottenham and a double from Aaron Lennon ensured there was no Carling Cup hangover for Harry Redknapp's men as they romped to a 4-0 victory over Middlesbrough.

Keane opened the scoring before Roman Pavlyuchenko and Lennon added to the scoreline before the break as Spurs moved closer to mid-table after starting the match two points above the Barclays Premier League relegation zone.

Lennon then added a fourth in the second half at White Hart Lane, building on his performance at Wembley on Sunday when he had the beating of Manchester United full-back Patrice Evra.

It was just the response Spurs boss Redknapp wanted after losing on penalties to United, a clash Keane was cup-tied for after playing three minutes earlier in the competition for Liverpool.

That was part of an unhappy six months at Anfield - but he helped erase those memories with the opener in the ninth minute.

Luka Modric's corner was flicked on by Michael Dawson and Keane stabbed home from close range.

It was his first goal at Spurs' home ground in nearly a year and it came in his third appearance since returning.

Redknapp had wanted a positive reply in contrast to last season, while Juande Ramos was boss, when Spurs won just three more league matches after going to Wembley.

Despite Keane settling the nerves, Spurs were still not in total control after the opener.

Tuncay Sanli thought he had equalised when he latched on to Stewart Downing's long pass and finished off, only for the assistant referee to halt his celebrations.

Pavlyuchenko rubbed salt into the wound by adding the second in the 14th minute, finishing off Modric's cross from six yards out after the Croatia playmaker turned Robert Huth.

If Tuncay thought he was unfortunate to have his goal disallowed, he must have thought he had run out of luck when he drilled a shot that was blocked by Dawson's backside as the defender bravely slid in.

Keane should have extended the lead 10 minutes before the break when Modric weighted a pass through and Brad Jones had to rush out to block the finish - then the Spurs skipper for the night helped set up the third.

Almost the whole of the Spurs team had a hand in the goal as they strung together pass after pass, but it was Keane who threaded the ball through Huth's legs to give Lennon a clear run on goal.

Lennon followed up his Wembley performance with a cool finish, with Boro boss Gareth Southgate turning to his dugout in disgust at the ease in which the hosts had scored.

Huth's mistakes for two of the three first-half goals meant he was hauled off at half-time and replaced by Andrew Taylor.

It was a disastrous 45 minutes rather than the solid performance Southgate wanted after beating Liverpool at the weekend, a first victory in 15 attempts.

It could have been different had Downing, who Spurs made a bid for during the January transfer window, put away an early chance to open the scoring.

Seizing on Jonathan Woodgate's poor clearance, Downing fired an angled shot that Heurelho Gomes had to parry away, with Benoit Assou-Ekotto beating Tuncay to the rebound.

But after Spurs put away their chances, Boro were playing for pride and looking to avoid the psychological damage of a heavy defeat.

Spurs went in search of a fourth goal after the break and asked for a penalty when Keane was bundled over by Emanuel Pogatetz.

Tuncay's looping effort struck Gomes' far post in the second half - and Boro needed that to go in if there was any hope of a comeback.

Lennon added the fourth with 11 minutes remaining, chipping home after Keane slipped him through.

Match Report - Newcastle vs Man Utd - 4th March 2009

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Dimitar Berbatov fired Manchester United seven points clear at the top of the Barclays Premier League, scoring the winner in a 2-1 victory at lowly Newcastle.

The Bulgarian clinched the points with a 56th-minute strike, but United had to come from behind to re-establish their advantage over Chelsea and Liverpool with a game in hand.

There was jubilation on Tyneside when, with just nine minutes gone, Peter Lovenkrands ended Edwin Van der Sar's record of not having conceded a league goal since November 8 after the keeper failed to cling on to Jonas Gutierrez's shot.

But it took the visitors just 11 minutes to restore parity through Wayne Rooney, and Berbatov ensured United's run of successive league wins stretched to 11 after Park Ji-Sung pounced on an error by Ryan Taylor.

As Sir Alex Ferguson's bandwagon rumbled on ominously, opposite number Chris Hughton was at least able to console himself with a spirited performance in front of an appreciative crowd of 51,636, although that will count for little if it is not transformed into points over the coming weeks.

Such have been the contrasting fortunes of the two clubs this season since they drew 1-1 at Old Trafford during the opening round of fixtures in August, that the talk before kick-off was not of if United would win, but by how many.

But with just nine minutes gone, it was Newcastle who took the lead against all odds as Van der Sar's run without conceding a Premier League goal came to an end in ignominious circumstances.

The Dutchman failed to hold Jonas' shot as it leapt up off the sodden turf and Lovenkrands stabbed the rebound home before casting an anxious glance at referee Steve Bennett's assistant and only then beginning his celebrations.

St James' Park erupted as fans who had arrived fearing a repeat of Liverpool's 5-1 demolition job at the end of December - United won on Tyneside by the same scoreline last season - dared to believe their side could emerge with something to show for their efforts.

It might have been 2-0 within four minutes when Obafemi Martins fired inches wide under pressure from Rio Ferdinand, with the Nigerian also forcing a good 31st-minute block from the England defender after Van der Sar had failed to deal with a Ryan Taylor corner.

However, by that point, United had made the most of their greater share of the possession to get themselves back on level terms in fine style.

Rooney, back in the side after recovering from a virus, turned superbly past Fabricio Coloccini on to John O'Shea's pass and blasted a left-foot shot past Steve Harper with the help of a deflection off Steven Taylor, although the defender's contribution was largely irrelevant.

United continued to enjoy the greater share of the ball and defender Nemanja Vidic header over with the goal at his mercy after the home defence had failed to deal with a 39th-minute Michael Carrick corner.

But the Magpies continued to threaten with Martins and Jonas causing problems.

Mr Bennett had to deal with an ugly incident in injury time when Steven Taylor caught Cristiano Ronaldo with a flailing arm and then careered into Carrick on the sideline, sparking a furious response from skipper Ferdinand.

After consulting his assistant, the referee booked Taylor, and Ferdinand followed him as he continued his protests following the half-time whistle.

A feisty affair continued in the same vein after the break with Vidic accusing Martins of catching him with an elbow as the pair jumped for a high ball.

Van de Sar had to race from his line to prevent Lovenkrands from latching on to a 52nd-minute through-ball, but when the second goal did arrive, it did so predictably at the other end.

Ryan Taylor slipped as he attempted to chest a deep ball back to Harper and Park got there first to square for Berbatov, who calmly slotted it into the empty net.

Newcastle were visibly deflated by the reverse as United once again assumed control, and they might have increased their lead as they powered their way towards the final whistle.

Harper had to save from Ronaldo and Berbatov in quick succession as time ran down, and then dived bravely at the Portugal international's feet after he had slipped away from Steven Taylor.

But Newcastle made one last push and it was Van der Sar who finished the busier of the two keepers as he kept out first Lovenkrands and then Martins, although without any great difficulty.

Match Report - Liverpool vs Sunderland - 3rd March 2009

Source: www.espnstar.com

Liverpool discovered an unlikely new hero as they finally gave manager Rafael Benitez something to smile about following a 2-0 win over Sunderland.

French teenager David Ngog, making his full home debut, scored one goal and helped create the second for Yossi Benayoun as Liverpool cut Manchester United's lead at the top to four points.

Of course Chelsea did the same by winning at Portsmouth, but what was Liverpool's second home league win since Boxing Day lifted the gloom that has descended on Anfield following the shambles at Middlesbrough at the weekend.

Benitez had looked like a man with a huge weight on his shoulders before this match, but he found some comfort in a decent display ahead of next week's Champions League showdown with Real Madrid.

Manchester United may well have two games in hand on Liverpool, but at least the title race is not a procession just yet.

Benitez made four changes from the side that lost to Middlesbrough.

And he chose to use Argentina midfielder Javier Mascherano at right-back.

Left out were Sami Hyypia, Fabio Aurelio, Ryan Babel and Nabil El Zhar, with Albert Riera, Yossi Benayoun, Emiliano Insua and David Ngog in the starting line-up.

Sunderland made only one change from the side that drew at Arsenal last time out, with Grant Leadbitter taking over from the injured Teemu Tainio.

Benitez is clearly running out of options at right-back with Alvaro Arbeloa still injured. Jamie Carragher seems not to fancy the job any more so Mascherano was removed from his critical ball-winning midfield role to fill the void.

It left Liverpool with almost a 4-4-2, with Steven Gerrard and Xabi Alonso in centre of midfield. Dirk Kuyt's roving role behind Ngog meant the French youngster was left on his own against Danny Collins and Anton Ferdinand.

And he did pretty well at times. His pace and energy not quite able to make up for the loss of Fernando Torres' brilliance, but Ngog certainly showed spirit.

Sunderland should have been ahead after just four minutes when Kenwyne Jones ran clear after Martin Skrtel's slip, but Jose Reina saved well to his right.

Gerrard, twice, Ngog and Riera all had shots charged down, while Marton Fulop saved well to his left to keep out a Dirk Kuyt drive.

Ngog's enthusiasm got the better of him when he was then booked after 15 minutes for a foul on Tal Ben Haim.

Fulop made an outstanding save after 31 minutes, finger-tipping the ball away at full-stretch from his right post, when Riera's low drive was deflected off Leadbitter.

Mascherano then saw a dipping 30-yard effort graze the bar, before Insua, Xabi Alonso and Gerrard all tried their luck with Sunderland increasingly forced back into their box on defence.

One break inspired by a fine Gerrard tackle on Kieran Richardson allowed Ngog to set up Mascherano on the right, but his drive was into the side-netting.

Liverpool started the second period at a higher tempo, with Benayoun willing to run at defenders.

And it was Benayoun who swept the ball out to Riera on the left to pave the way for Liverpool to take the lead after 52 minutes.

Riera sent over a deep cross that Gerrard headed back into the six-yard box for Ngog fire home his first league goal for the club.

Sunderland were forced to come forward, and Steed Malbranque saw a shot from the right fly over the bar.

After 62 minutes Sunderland brought on Djibril Cisse for Leadbitter, the former Liverpool man getting a rousing reception from the Anfield crowd.

Four minutes later Liverpool got their second. Again Ngog was involved, hooking the ball back across goal for Fulop to palm away only as far as Benayoun, who punished the error.

The next ovation was for Ngog. He had been struggling with cramp and was replaced by Lucas after 71 minutes.

Lucas, with a header, and Babel - shooting from the edge of the box - threatened to extend the lead, before El Zhar came on for Benayoun in the final minute.

Match Report - Portsmouth vs Chelsea - 3rd March 2009

Source: www.espnstar.com

Didier Drogba kept Chelsea's faint title hopes alive with a late winner to secure a 1-0 victory against Portsmouth at a rain-soaked Fratton Park.

The Ivory Coast international pounced to convert a low cross from Jose Bosingwa to hand interim coach Guus Hiddink his fourth straight win as Chelsea boss.

It leaves them four points behind leaders Manchester United who still have two games in hand on the Blues.

But Chelsea were made to battle all the way by Pompey who remain just two points off the relegation places at the foot of the Barclays Premier League.

The home side had Chelsea rocking from the off when a free-kick from Glen Johnson provided Hermann Hreidarsson with a clear chance but his effort from eight yards was deflected wide.

The game was being played in atrocious conditions with rain sweeping down onto the Fratton Park playing surface.

The pitch was extremely slippery and made ball control difficult for both sets of players.

In the 16th minute, Chelsea should have taken the lead but Drogba was inches away from putting the finishing touches to a drilled cross from Ashley Cole.

The Ivorian flung himself at the ball but missed it by inches at the far post.

Moments later a clever ball by Frank Lampard put Drogba through but the Chelsea striker's shot was charged down by the onrushing David James.

Chelsea continued to have the better of the exchanges and in the 21st minute Florent Malouda flashed an angled 20-yard drive beyond the far upright.

Seconds later Chelsea were unable to take advantage of an error by James. The Pompey goalkeeper allowed a cross from Malouda to slip out of his grasp in the wet conditions but Pompey's Sean Davies cleared for a corner.

The Blues had goalkeeper Petr Cech to thank for keeping the scoreline level in the 28th minute when he dived to his right to keep out a powerful low drive from Davis.

A foul by John Terry on Peter Crouch on the edge of the penalty area brought Pompey a free-kick but Johnson smashed his effort straight into Chelsea's defensive wall.

James failed to hold Lampard's 20-yard drive in the 34th minute but again Chelsea were unable to make the most of it as the ball bounced out of his hands.

Chelsea were now beginning to assert some consistent pressure for the first time in the game but the conditions were preventing them from playing the neat passing game they rely on.

Long passes through the middle for Drogba to chase also had little effect with the ball skidding off the surface and out of play on numerous occasions.

Three minutes before the break a goalmouth scramble from a Pompey corner ended in relief for the visitors when Cech pounced to grab the ball inside the six-yard box.

Chelsea almost broke the deadlock in injury time but Michael Ballack's header was just over the bar.

In the 59th minute Chelsea had Cech to thank again as a header from Crouch put David Nugent clear but the Pompey striker's shot was pushed away by the Czech Republic keeper.

Chelsea made two quick changes with Ricardo Quaresma replacing Salomon Kalou and John Obi Mikel making way for Juliano Belletti.

Both sides had increased the tempo but had little luck in the worsening conditions.

A shot from Belletti was well-held by James as it skidded across the turf.

The Blues remained in overall control though and in the 66th minute a cross from Quaresma was headed just over by Drogba who managed to get ahead of Sol Campbell.

Quaresma was providing an excellent service from the right flank and another cross had to be cut-out by Campbell as Drogba lurked inside the six-yard box.

Portsmouth had become penned in their own half and Davis presented the Blues with a free-kick opportunity in the 68th minute when he brought down Lampard.

Lampard, normally deadly from 20 yards, sent the free-kick into the ball and Campbell's clearance sent Crouch racing clear into the Chelsea half.

The England striker crossed for Niko Kranjcar but the Pompey midfielder sent his effort just wide.

But Ivorian Drogba settled the contest when he drilled home a cross from Bosingwa with 11 minutes remaining.

Match Report - West Brom vs Arsenal - 3rd March 2009

Source: www.espnstar.com

Nicklas Bendtner ended Arsenal's Barclays Premier League goal drought as they swept aside struggling West Brom 3-1 to rekindle their hopes of a Champions League spot.

The Denmark international struck twice to take his goal tally for the campaign to 11 as Arsene Wenger's side moved to within three points of fourth-placed Aston Villa.

Kolo Toure was also on target for the Gunners who had failed to net in their previous four league games. Albion managed a solitary reply from Chris Brunt.

The visitors could not have faced a more accommodating defence against which to rediscover their touch in front of goal.

Albion have conceded 17 goals in their last six league games and at times seemed reluctant to put in a tackle as Bendtner and his team-mates cut through them almost at will.

Baggies keeper Scott Carson looks uncertain and devoid of confidence when dealing with crosses into the box although he did make some reflex stops after the interval to prevent the scoreline becoming more embarrassing.

Russia international Andrey Arshavin looked sharp in his second start for Arsenal who are now unbeaten in 14 league games.

But on this evidence Albion looked doomed to the drop unless they can stop gifting soft goals to the opposition in the final 10 games of the season.

Arsenal made a positive start and needed only four minutes to end their recent goal drought through Bendtner.

Samir Nasri's corner was headed clear by Baggies skipper Jonathan Greening but only found Denilson in space on the edge of the Baggies area.

He had time to release Bendtner who easily cut inside Ryan Donk before drilling a low left-footed drive across Scott Carson into the corner of the net.

Albion needed only three minutes to draw level through Brunt although there was big question mark over the quality of the Arsenal defending.

Luke Moore was brought down 20 yards out by Gunners defender Johan Djourou and Brunt's low free-kick skidded through the defensive wall and past the dive of Manuel Almunia.

Bendtner missed a great chance to restore Arsenal's lead after 13 minutes. Emmanuel Eboue fed the ball into the feet of the Danish international who was unmarked 12 yards out but he blazed his shot over the bar.

The game was flowing from end to end and Almunia had to go down at his near post to hold a fierce shot on the turn from Moore.

A deep corner from Brunt caused problems for Arsenal and was turned back across goal by Fortune but Moore was unable to keep his header down.

Then after 38 minutes some dreadful defending allowed Toure to restore Arsenal's lead.

Arshavin floated a free-kick into the area and Carson remained rooted to his line as Toure stole in to plant a free header into the corner of the net for his first goal of the season.

Then a minute before the interval, Bendtner struck for the second time to double Arsenal's advantage. Toure's long ball caught out the Baggies defence and Bendtner was able to skip away from Abdoulaye Meite before hammering a fierce shot past Carson.

Wenger made a half-time substitution with Abou Diaby replacing Toure.

Carson did well to parry a fierce drive from Arshavin after he had been teed up by Bendtner who had burst unchallenged into the Baggies box.

The England keeper then excelled himself in denying Arshavin at close range after more good play by Bendtner.

Arsenal were queueing up to fire shots in at Carson who was relieved to see a long range attempt from Diaby deflect off Meite and over the bar.

Then Bendtner was denied a hat-trick when he cut in from the left flank, skipped past Meite and Robinson and hammered a low shot against the post.

Fortune could have pulled one back but drilled his low shot wide of the far post.