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Tuesday April 12, 2011

United Stays Seven Clear

Wolves 0 Everton 3

Everton maintained their late-season push for a European spot as a first-half scoring burst increased Wolverhampton Wanderers' Premier League relegation fears at Molineux.
Goals from Jermaine Beckford, skipper Phil Neville - his first for three years - and Diniyar Bilyaletdinov effectively ended the match as a contest before the interval.
Everton have now taken 14 points from a six-match unbeaten run to keep alive their hopes of breaking into the top six despite a lengthy injury list.
But Wolves, beaten 4-1 at Newcastle United last weekend, are suddenly looking prime candidates for the drop on the evidence of this performance after a promising opening 20 minutes.

Blackburn Rovers 1 Birmingham City 1

Junior Hoilett capitalized on a Birmingham City defensive blunder to grab his side a point in a hard-fought Premier League relegation battle at Ewood Park.
Hoilett pounced on an error by Liam Ridgewell to burst clear and beat keeper Ben Foster in first-half injury time in a dramatic end to the opening period.
Lee Bowyer had earlier put Blues in front with a header from point-blank range but the second half was nowhere near as dramatic, with both teams ultimately forced to settle for a point.

Bolton Wanderers 3 West Ham United 0

On-loan striker Daniel Sturridge sent Bolton Wanderers heading down Wembley way with a spring in their step after this emphatic victory at the Reebok Stadium.
Sturridge, though, will be there in spirit only when they face Stoke City in an FA Cup semi-final as he played for Chelsea earlier in the competition.
He took his tally to six goals in eight matches and has arguably been one of the best signings of the January transfer window.
Lee Chung-yong was also on target and while Bolton have much to look forward to the future looks bleak for West Ham United.
They remain deep in relegation trouble and manager Avram Grant cut a disconsolate figure in the stand as he served a touchline ban.

Chelsea 1 Wigan Athletic 0

A Chelsea player ended a two-and-a-half month goal drought but it was not Fernando Torres as Florent Malouda sealed an ugly 1-0 win over Wigan Athletic.
Malouda drove home through a crowd of players with 23 minutes remaining to ensure the stuttering Premier League champions moved back into third place, two points clear of Manchester City.
But Torres' misery continued, the Spaniard failing again in front of goal after coming off the bench for the final half-hour against a Wigan side who remained rooted to the foot of the table.

Manchester United 2 Fulham 0

There was no Grand National glory for Sir Alex Ferguson but Manchester United continue to power their own way towards the Premier League title.
First-half strikes from Dimitar Berbatov - his 22nd of the season - and Antonio Valencia with his first since August allowed United to surge 10 points clear of nearest challengers Arsenal.
And, if they can keep a steady course over the final six hurdles, United will achieve what Ferguson's Aintree hopeful What A Friend was unable to and finish ahead of the chasing pack.

Sunderland 2 West Brom 3

Paul Scharner dumped Sunderland deep into relegation trouble as West Bromwich Albion gave their own Premier League survival hopes a massive boost.
The Austria international fired home a 72nd-minute winner at the Stadium of Light to leave his former boss at Wigan Athletic, Steve Bruce, in the thick of the fight against the drop.
Victory extended the Baggies' unbeaten run to seven matches, six of them under new manager Roy Hodgson, and left Sunderland with just a single point from the past 24 they have contested in a disastrous run.

Tottenham Hotpsur 3 Stoke City 2

Harry Redknapp's decision to keep faith with Peter Crouch paid off as the striker scored twice against Stoke City to give Tottenham Hotspur their first victory in almost two months.
Despite his costly dismissal against Real Madrid in midweek, the England striker started the match and took only 10 minutes to open the scoring with a well-taken header before Luka Modric made it 2-0.
Crouch added his second after Matthew Etherington had pulled one back for Stoke and Kenwyne Jones smashed one in off the bar to make it 3-2 just before the break.
Despite an impressive second-half performance, the Potters could not find an equalizer and Spurs were made to hold on for the narrow win.
The Londoners will have to put in a much more disciplined performance if they are to overhaul Jose Mourinho's men with five goals on Wednesday, but the win is an important one given that they had failed to win any of their previous four league matches in their pursuit of a top-four place.

Blackpool 1 Arsenal 3

Robin van Persie killed off a Blackpool fightback as Arsenal kept their slender Premier League title hopes alive.
Abou Diaby and Emmanuel Eboue put Arsenal into a commanding position at Bloomfield Road but Gary Taylor-Fletcher replied as relegation-threatened Blackpool played for their top-flight lives.
Taylor-Fletcher felt he was denied a penalty but Robin van Persie made victory safe for Arsenal after 76 minutes.

Aston Villa 1 Newcastle United 0

James Collins eased Aston Villa's relegation worries with a first half winner in the Premier League match with Newcastle United at Villa Park.
The Wales international defender headed home an Ashley Young free-kick midway through the first half to give Villa revenge for a 6-0 mauling at the hands of the Magpies at St James' Park in August.
More importantly, the victory lifted Gerard Houllier's side five points clear of the bottom three, with six matchs remaining.
Villa were relieved to hang on for the victory after dropping more points - 23 - from winning positions than any other Premier League team this season.