With many thanks to Brian Judson, without whom this feature would not be possible
Saturday 27 April 2002
Aston Villa v Southampton 2-1
Vassall gave Villa the lead in the 8th minute when a freekick from
Hitzlsperger was cleared by Svensson but Hitzlsperger centred the ball for
Vassall to head home. Vassall added a second goal in the 42nd minute when
Barry found Vassall and enabled him to beat the offside trap. Vassall took
the ball in his stride and hammered the ball home. Beattie reduced the
arrears for the Saints in the 52nd minute when Ormerod found space on the
left and his low cross made it a simple matter for Beattie to divert the
ball behind Enckelman.
Charlton Athletic v Sunderland 2-2
Euell put Charlton ahead after 63 seconds when Young took a quick throw in
and Johansson's cross found Euell unmarked and he volleyed the ball home.
Kilbane equalised 51 second later when Butler chipped the ball into
Kilbane's path and he slotted the ball behind Kiely. Phillips put
Sunderland ahead in the 11th minute when Kilbane was fouled by Costa. The
referee intervened to prevent Sunderland taking a quick free-kick. When it
was taken, McAteer picked out Phillips, who headed the ball beyond Kiely.
Lisbie equalised for Charlton in the 62nd minute when Sunderland failed to
clear Stuart's chipped cross and Lisbie hammered the ball into the net.
Derby County v Leeds United 0-1
Bowyer scored the only goal of the game in the 16th minute. The goal came
Smith sent Bowyer away and the irrepressible Bowyer lobbed the ball over
Poom. There was an ugly incident late in the game when a ball boy tossed
the ball at Kelly and Kelly threw the ball back to the ball boy. The match
officials did not notice the incident, which was fortunate for Kelly.
Fulham v Leicester City 0-0
Both sides were very disappointing. Neither side looked like scoring at
all. The point that Fulham secured from this match should really have been
all three but they wasted the chances they created. All the strikers on
view worked their way into good positions and then wasted the chance they
had created. Next season looks bleak for Fulham unless they can find a
proven goalscorer.
Ipswich Town v Manchester United 0-1
The Tractor Boys were deeply aggrieved when van Nistleroy scored the 45th
minute penalty that virtually condemned Ipswich to relegation. Only a
miracle can save them now. Action replays of the incident in which McGreal
was alleged to have brought down van Nistleroy suggested that the Dutchman
had conned the match officials. Ipswich might have had a penalty
themselves when Bent was sandwiched between Brown and O'Shea but the
referee was not having any sympathy for the Tractor Boys at all and waved
play on.
Middlesbrough v Chelsea 0-2
Carlton Cole scored in the 38th minute of his senior debut. He was
promoted when Hasselbaink was rested as a precaution to ensure his fitness
for the Cup Final. Cole was a handful all afternoon and looks to be a fine
prospect. Petit took a free-kick and Cole outjumped everyone else to head
the ball home. Zenden added a second in the 43rd minute when his shot was
partly deflected by a Middlesbrough defender. Middlesbrough played better
in the second half but were not given a chance to make up the difference,
thanks to good defending by Desailly.
Newcastle United v West Ham United 3-1
Defoe was released by Kanoute in the 20th minute and thumped the ball
behind a static Given. Shearer equalised in the 41st minute when Robert's
pass split the Hammers' defence and Shearer lured James out of position to
score his 200th Premiership goal. Lua Lua gave the Toon the lead in the 53
rd minute when he scored from close range. Robert wrapped the points up
for the Toon when Solano put Robert through in the 66th minute and the
Frenchman lobbed the ball over the advancing James.
Tottenham Hotspur v Liverpool 1-0
Read the full report here.
Sunday 28 April 2002
Everton v Blackburn Rovers 1-2
Jansen headed Blackburn ahead in the 10th minute when he beat Gerrard to
Dunn's cross. Chadwick equalised for Everton in the 51st minute when
Unsworth's corner was headed on by Weir for Chadwick to back-heel behind
Friedel. Cole ensured the points would be snatched by the visitors in the
63rd minute when Dunn's drive was pushed into Cole's path by Gerrard and
Cole did not miss. Everton were very poor at times and Moyes has a lot of
hard work ahead of him to re-cast his squad on a meagre budget.
Monday 29 April 2002
Bolton Wanderers v Arsenal 0-2
The Gunners are within touching distance of another League and Cup Double!
Ljungberg broke away down the left wing in the 36th minute. He slipped the
ball to Wiltord, who pushed the ball on to Vieira. Vieira pushed the ball
back to Bergkamp, who ignored the posse of white shirts around him and set
up Ljungberg to score with contemptuous ease. Wiltord added a second goal
in the 44th minute when Bergkamp released Wiltord, who ran on endlessly
before firing the ball behind Jaaskelainen.
Pos Pl. W. D. L. For-Ag Pts.
1 Arsenal 36 24 9 3 74- 33 81
2 Man Utd 36 24 4 8 87- 44 76
3 Liverpool 36 22 8 6 58- 27 74
4 Newcastle 37 21 8 8 73- 49 71
5 Chelsea 37 17 13 7 65- 35 64
6 Leeds 37 17 12 8 52- 37 63
7 Spurs 37 14 8 15 48- 51 50
8 West Ham 37 14 8 15 46- 55 50
9 A. Villa 37 11 14 12 43- 46 47
10 M'brough 37 12 9 16 35- 46 45
11 Fulham 37 10 14 13 36- 41 44
12 Blackburn 36 11 10 15 49- 47 43
13 Everton 37 11 10 16 42- 53 43
14 Charlton 37 10 13 14 38- 49 43
15 S'hampton 37 11 9 17 43- 53 42
16 Bolton 37 9 13 15 43- 60 40
17 Sunderland 37 10 9 17 28- 50 39
18 Ipswich 37 9 9 19 41- 59 36
19 Derby 37 8 5 24 32- 62 29 R
20 Leicester 37 4 13 20 28- 63 23 R
