With many thanks to Brian Judson, without whom this feature would not be possible
Wednesday 24 October 2001
Aston Villa v Charlton Athletic 1-0
The only goal of the match was scored by Kachloul after 9 minutes. Villa
dominated much of the game as Charlton were very poor. It didn't help the
Addicks cause that there had been a pre-match spat at their training
ground between two Charlton players, one of whom was Andy Todd. The other
was thought to be Dean Kiely, Charlton's goalkeeper, who was seen sporting
a black eye. This is the second incident involving Todd, as he was sacked
by Bolton for a similar offence before moving to Charlton.
Southampton v Ipswich Town 3-3
Gordon Strachan, the new Southampton manager, was disappointed the Saints
only drew this match. They had stormed into a 2-0 lead and had then taken
their foot off the pedal. Beattie and Pahars had put them 2-0 ahead in the
first 23 minutes of the match. Stewart reduced the arrears immediately
before the break but Marsden restored the Saints' two goal advantage early
in the second half Venus then reduced the arrears after 64 minutes before
Stewart equalised fifteen minutes from the end of the match.
West Ham United v Chelsea 2-1
The Blues' unbeaten run was ended at Upton Park when West Ham scored twice
in the first 13 minutes. Carrick and Kanoute scored the goals that put the
East London side in the driving seat. But almost immediately after
Kanoute's goal, Hasselbaink reduced the arrears. Chelsea were unable to
find an opening to get back on level terms despite fighting hard for the
rest of the match.
Saturday 27 October 2001
Aston Villa v Bolton Wanderers 3-2
Villa went to the top of the table after beating the Trotters. Ricketts
had put Bolton in the lead after only 2 minutes when Frandsen sent
Ricketts clear with a long ball over the Villa defence. Schmeichel was
unable to retrieve the situation. Angel equalised for Villa in the 13th
minute when Staunton's corner was headed home by Angel. Vassell gave Villa
the lead in the 43rd minute when Angel sent Vassell away with Bergsson in
hot pursuit. Vassell made no mistake with his shot. Two minutes after the
break, Angel scored from the penalty spot after Hadji had been pushed by
Gardiner. Ricketts reduced the arrears in the 75th minute when he slipped
past Staunton and Delaney to score. Bergsson should have equalised late on
but completely miscued the ball.
Charlton Athletic v Liverpool 0-2
Two first half goals were enough to settle this encounter. Redknapp scored
the first goal in the 14th minute when a long through from Wright, who
was later sent off, bounced across the Charlton goal area and Redknapp was
perfectly positioned to force the ball home. Owen marked his return to the
team following injury by scoring in the 44th minute. Hamann split the
Charlton defence with a pass that Owen latched on to and hammered past
Kiely. After that, Liverpool were content to contain Charlton.
Everton v Newcastle United 1-3
The Blues were mugged by the Toons with Bellamy playing a huge role in the
win by the Magpies. Everton had dominated the early proceedings but had
not been able to score. Against the run of play, Newcastle scored in the
18th minute when Acuna's 50-yard long ball saw Gerrard collide with
Xavier. The ball ran loose to Bellamy who was able to score with ease.
Xavier was carried off and replaced by Stubbs. Everton resumed their
dominance but Solano mugged them again in the 49th minute when Shearer
drifted out to the wing and Solano headed his cross home. Two minutes
later, Everton reduced the arrears when Weir powerfully headed home
Alexandersson's cross. But Acuna then mugged Everton with four minutes to
go when Bellamy raced clear on the right, Robert pushed the ball back to
Acuna, who blasted the ball home.
Fulham v Southampton 2-1
All the goals came in an eight minute spell midway through the first half.
Malbranque put Fulham ahead in the 25th minute when Marlet headed
goalwards and Malbranque slipped the ball behind Jones. Beattie equalised
in the 32nd minute when the Fulham defence waited for Pahars to be flagged
offside, a decision that never came, and Beattie had all the time in the
world to pick his spot. But Fulham were quickly ahead again within a
minute when Finan's low cross was inadequately cleared and Malbranque
gratefully picked up the loose ball to fire high into the net.
Manchester United v Leeds United 1-1
The Champions were lucky to escape with a point from this match. It was a
nasty squalid match in which tempers nearly boiled over. Robbie Keane
should have been sent off by referee Dermot Gallagher when he threw a
punch at Beckham but was only booked. It wasn't until the 77th minute that
Leeds snatched the lead, although they had threatened to do so on many
occasions. Kewell crossed from the left, the Reds' defence fatally
hesitated and Viduka, looking offside, had plenty of time to lash the ball
behind Barthez. It was deep in injury time before Solksjaer rose to head
home Giggs' cross by the far post. Manchester United are not looking
championship material at the moment.
Sunderland v Arsenal 1-1
This may well prove to be two very costly points dropped by the Gunners.
Kanu had given them a 40th minute lead against the dispirited Wearsiders.
He picked up a loose ball and shuffled through the Sunderland defence
before picking his spot to score. Schwarz scored the equaliser in the 54th
minute when he speculatively lobbed the ball in the direction of Wright's
goal and no one was more surprised that Schwarz when he realised he has
scored against his old side. There were 18 minutes left when Ljungberg was
sent flying in the Sunderland penalty area. Vieira stepped up to take the
penalty and skied the ball high over the bar.
Tottenham Hotspur v Middlesbrough 2-1
Full report here.
Sunday 28 October 2001
Derby County v Chelsea 1-1
Ravenelli gave the Rams a 6th minute lead when Bosnich parried a shot from
Powell but Ravenelli was on hand to turn the ball back into Chelsea's net.
Chelsea were distinctly off colour and it was not until they switched to a
flat back four that they showed something of their normal form.
Hasselbaink equalised for Chelsea four minutes after the break when he
volleyed home a Zenden cross. Bosnich and Poon then had to be at their
best to prevent further goals and Lampard might have snatched a totally
undeserved winner for Chelsea deep in injury time instead of screwing the
ball wide of an empty goal.
Ipswich Town v West Ham United 2-3
Di Canio gave the Hammers a first half lead when he scored in the 22nd
minute. Carrick sent Kanoute away, Hutchinson fed Di Canio and the Italian
was left with a simple chance to score. Hreidarsson equalised after 63
minutes when a free kick from Venus was parried out by Hislop to
Hreidarsson, who volleyed the ball home. Kanoute extended the Hammers'
lead in the 71st minute when Hutchison ran from midfield before slipping
the ball to Kanoute for the striker to score. Holland and Defoe scored one
apiece in the dying seconds to round off the scoring.
Monday 29 October 2001
Blackburn Rovers v Leicester City 0-0
This was a very poor match with neither side playing particularly well.
Given that it isn't so long ago that Blackburn thrashed West Ham, it is
surprising they failed to win. There were six bookings, two of whom were
predictably Savage and Wise. Graeme Souness admitted that it had been a
very poor match at the press conference after the game.
Pos Pl. W. D. L. For-Ag Pts.
1 A. Villa 10 6 3 1 17- 8 21
2 Leeds 10 5 5 0 13- 4 20
3 Arsenal 10 5 4 1 22- 9 19
4 Liverpool 9 6 1 2 17- 9 19
5 Man United 10 5 3 2 27-17 18
6 Newcastle 10 5 2 3 18-14 17
7 Spurs 11 5 2 4 18-15 17
8 Chelsea 10 3 6 1 14-10 15
9 Bolton 11 4 3 4 14-14 15
10 Blackburn 11 3 5 2 18-14 14
11 Everton 10 4 2 4 16-15 14
12 S'derland 11 3 4 4 10-13 13
13 West Ham 10 4 2 4 12-18 14
14 Fulham 10 2 5 3 10-12 11
15 M'brough 11 3 2 6 11-19 11
16 Charlton 10 2 4 4 8-11 10
17 Ipswich 11 1 5 5 12-18 8
18 Derby 10 1 4 5 8-17 7
19 S'hampton 10 2 1 7 9-19 7
20 Leicester 11 1 3 7 6-23 6
