SERVICES

Tuesday May 13, 2009

Chelsea Spank The Gunners!

Blackburn Rovers 2 Portsmouth 0

Sam Allardyce saw his side surely secure their top-flight status with this victory at Ewood Park.
He has always believed 40 points would be enough to stay up and they achieved that mark by overcoming Portsmouth.
Goals from Morten Gamst Pedersen and Benni McCarthy in each half saw Blackburn maintain their good home record.
They have lost only one of 10 League matches on their own patch since Allardyce arrived as manager in December.
He has steadied the ship after a dreadful start and steered his side away from trouble.

Bolton Wanderers 0 Sunderland 0

Marton Fulop made a crucial injury-time save to earn Sunderland a point at Bolton Wanderers that edges them closer towards survival.
The Black Cats had been the better side for much of a tepid contest.
However, Bolton finally roused themselves in a frantic few minutes and Gary Cahill thought he had won it with a header that seemed to be heading for the corner.
Defeat would have been disastrous for the Black Cats but Fulop flung himself to the right to preserve a point, which gives them a two-point advantage over Newcastle and five over Middlesbrough, who met at St James' Park on Monday.

Everton 0 Tottenham Hotspur 0

FA Cup finalists Everton produced a disappointing display against Spurs and missed the chance to leapfrog Aston Villa back into fifth place.
The only consolation was their Wembley-bound side avoided any more of the damaging injuries that have dogged their season and - in the case of Phil Jagielka - robbed a star man of a cup final date.
Spurs needed the win to keep themselves in the hunt for seventh spot and European qualification, and will reflect on their first-half domination and know they too wasted a golden opportunity.
Everton, with European qualification already certain, have little more than pride to play for at this stage.

Fulham 3 Aston Villa 1

Fulham kept their European dreams alive with a comfortable win over Aston Villa at Craven Cottage.
A brace from Diomansy Kamara and a penalty by captain Danny Murphy ensured the Cottagers overcame a poor Villa side who re-established parity at the interval thanks to a strike from Ashley Young.
But Kamara struck twice in the second half to push Fulham into seventh place and keep them on course for a place in next season's Europa League.
Villa remained in fifth spot but only because Everton failed to beat Spurs at Goodison Park.

Hull City 1 Stoke City 2

Liam Lawrence guaranteed Stoke City's Premier League survival with a stunning strike that pushed Hull City closer to relegation.
Lawrence blasted home from 25 yards with 18 minutes remaining at the KC Stadium to double his side's advantage after an earlier Ricardo Fuller effort.
Andy Dawson replied with an injury-time free-kick but it was too late as Stoke held on to clamber to 42 points and safety.
The result left the Tigers with just two wins in 26 matches since October and with their survival hopes depending largely on the form of Middlesbrough and Newcastle United.
Stoke, whose position had seemed relatively safe anyway, can now plan for next season with certainty they will again be rubbing shoulders with the elite.

West Bromwich Albion 3 Wigan Athletic 1

Two goals from Marc-Antoine Fortune and another from Chris Brunt breathed new life into West Bromwich Albion's bid to escape relegation as they secured a vital victory against Wigan Athletic.
Fortune's eighth-minute header was cancelled out by Hugo Rodallega's deflected free-kick but after the break Brunt converted his own penalty rebound and Fortune made the points safe in the 73rd minute.
The win, the Baggies' second in three matches, lifts them to 31 points and just three from safety.
However, their goal difference is currently inferior to Hull City's and it may yet require four or even six points from their final two matches to pull off the Great Escape.

West Ham United 0 Liverpool 3

Steven Gerrard scored twice against West Ham United to send Liverpool top of the League for a day and keep alive their slim title hopes.
United have three matches and may not need them all to secure the title, although the efforts of Gerrard has at least stretched them well into May.

Manchester United 2 Manchester City 0

Carlos Tevez delivered the most personal message possible to Sir Alex Ferguson as he helped Manchester United move to within four points of an 18th Premier League title.
After admitting on Sunday morning that his future almost certainly lies away from Old Trafford, Tevez drilled home a superb first-half shot before racing away to celebrate, alone, in a very pointed manner, right in front of his manager.
Not only was the goal a perfect way for the striker to express his frustration at a move that now looks destined not to happen, it also snatched at the straw Liverpool were clutching at, with United knowing another win at Wigan Athlertic on Wednesday will virtually clinch a record-equalling 18th title.

Arsenal 1 Chelsea 4

Chelsea did their talking on the pitch with a 4-1 win at the Emirates Stadium securing at least third place in the table and ending Arsenal's 21-match Premier League unbeaten run.
Guus Hiddink's men kept their composure to weather early pressure from the home side before killing the match off with two clinical strikes.
Chelsea - who beat Arsenal to reach the FA Cup final at the end of the month - are now guaranteed automatic entry to Europe's elite club competition once again next season, while Arsene Wenger must again guide his young team through qualification as another campaign finishes empty-handed.

Newcastle United 3 Middlesbrough 1

Obafemi Martins and Peter Lovenkrands climbed off the substitutes' bench to hand Alan Shearer a first victory and Newcastle United a Premier League lifeline.
The Nigeria international struck 55 seconds after replacing Michael Owen with 20 minutes of a pulsating encounter remaining and the Dane secured the points with four minutes left to drag the Magpies out of the relegation zone and send Hull City into the bottom three.
It was Newcastle's first home win since 21st December and just their second anywhere in 18 attempts. Shearer had described it as the biggest match of his career, and he celebrated accordingly on the final whistle.