SERVICES

Tuesday October 25, 2011

City Demolish United!

Wolves 2 Swansea City 2

Wolves ended their five-match losing run as late goals from Kevin Doyle and Jamie O'Hara saw them salvage a draw and alleviate some of the pressure on manager Mick McCarthy against Swansea City at Molineux.
The Welsh side were in complete control at half-time courtesy of goals from Danny Graham and Joe Allen.
But Doyle tapped in after Michel Vorm could not hold a Sam Vokes effort, before O'Hara calmly slotted the leveler after intelligent play on the left by Doyle.

Aston Villa 1 West Brom 2

Paul Scharner's second-half goal earned West Bromwich Albion their first away league win over 10-man Aston Villa for 32 years.
Villa went ahead through Darren Bent's penalty but this match turned Albion's way after midfielder Chris Herd was red-carded after 35 minutes following a clash with Jonas Olsson inside his own box.
Chris Brunt missed the spot-kick but the Baggies cashed in on Villa's frailty at set-pieces with Olsson equalizing before half-time and Scharner netting the winner - both from Brunt corners.

Bolton Wanderers 0 Sunderland 2

Late goals from Stephane Sessegnon and Nicklas Bendtner earned Sunderland their first away win of the season and left beleaguered Bolton Wanderers without a point from five Premier League matches at the Reebok Stadium.
Black Cats manager Steve Bruce had won all four of his previous matches against Bolton but five in a row looked very unlikely in an uninspiring first hour of the match.
Sunderland gradually began to pile on the pressure, though, and it was nothing more than they deserved when Sessegnon's neat turn and shot put them ahead eight minutes from time, with Bendtner making the points safe in injury time.

Newcastler United 1 Wigan Athletic 0

Yohan Cabaye picked a fine time to score his first goal for Newcastle United as the Frenchman's 80th-minute strike sunk gutsy Wigan Athletic at St James' Park.
The summer signing from Lille curved home a knock back by substitute Sylvain Marveaux to finally end the resistance of the visitors, who have now lost six matches in a row.
Meanwhile, Alan Pardew's men continue to ride high after stretching their unbeaten Premier League start to nine matches despite struggling for much of the afternoon.

Liverpool 1 Norwich City 1

Liverpool lost ground on the top four as their leaky defence and a failure to capitalize on numerous opportunities cost them victory at Anfield.
Kenny Dalglish's side hit the woodwork three times among several other chances but had only Craig Bellamy's late first-half goal against his former club to show for their efforts.
And a side which has kept only two clean sheets all season should have known what was coming as a result.
They were punished on the hour when Grant Holt headed home just three minutes after coming off the bench to spoil what would have been perfect story for Bellamy on his first Liverpool start since May 2007.

Arsenal 3 Stoke City 1

Robin van Persie climbed off the bench to rescue Arsenal with two goals to sink Stoke City at the Emirates Stadium.
Arsene Wenger's decision to start his captain on the bench almost backfired as they only had Gervinho's strike to show for their dominance in the first half.
To add to their problems, former Tottenham striker Peter Crouch marked his return to north London with an equalizer 10 minutes before the interval.
With the Gunners labouring against their battle-hardened visitors, Van Persie was let loose with 25 minutes remaining.
And within a quarter of an hour he had scored twice to bail out his team-mates and take his goal tally to a remarkable 29 in his last 34 appearances for the club.
It was hardly a convincing performance from Arsenal, and yet a sixth win in their last seven matches is not exactly the record of a club supposedly in crisis not so long ago.

Fulham 1 Everton 3

Former Fulham striker Louis Saha returned to haunt his former club with a late goal which inspired Everton to a dramatic victory at Craven Cottage.
The 33-year-old netted from an acute angle for the Toffees before Jack Rodwell scored in stoppage time to ensure they ended their three-match losing steak.
Saha's strike came seconds after Bobby Zamora somehow managed to hit the bar despite rounding Tim Howard.

Manchester United 1 Manchester City 6

Controversial striker Mario Balotelli provided the spark as Manchester City stormed Old Trafford to humiliate rivals Manchester United.
Hours after more headlines about his off-field antics following a fire at his home, Balotelli struck twice to set up a convincing win for the Premier League leaders over 10-man United.
Balotelli also won the free-kick which led to a straight red card for United defender Jonny Evans before Edin Dzeko struck twice and Sergio Aguero and David Silva added to the tally.
United claimed a consolation with a fine goal from Darren Fletcher 10 minutes from time but they were run ragged in the dying moments as City struck three times after the 88th minute.
City's stunning victory not only lifted them five points clear of United and underlined their title credentials but shattered a host of statistics.
In recording only their second win at Old Trafford since 1974, City inflicted United's first home defeat since April 2010 and ended their run of 19 consecutive home league wins.

Blackburn Rovers 1 Tottenham Hotspur 2

Rafael van der Vaart's brace earned victory for Tottenham Hotspur at struggling Blackburn Rovers to increase the pressure on Rovers manager Steve Kean.
The heat was turned up on Kean when Van der Vaart put Spurs in front inside the opening quarter of an hour.
The hosts equalized through Mauro Formica's fierce strike in the 28th minute, but Van der Vaart produced a brilliant winner from outside the box eight minutes after the restart.

QPR 1 Chelsea 0

Chelsea completely lost their discipline as two sending offs, seven yellow cards and a penalty handed Queens Park Rangers a first win over their arch-rivals for 16 years.
Jose Bosingwa and Didier Drogba both saw red in the Premier League match at Loftus Road, while Ashley Cole also picked up a suspension for his fifth booking of the season.
The rot set in when David Luiz needlessly conceded an eighth-minute penalty which Heidar Helguson scored, but the nine men wasted more than one chance to level, most notably when Nicolas Anelka headed straight at Paddy Kenny.
The defeat saw Chelsea blow the chance to capitalise on Manchester United's derby defeat and move second in the Barclays Premier League, while also leaving them six points adrift of Manchester City.
That merely added to the jubilation for the home fans as they celebrated their side's first home victory since promotion.