With many thanks to Brian Judson, without whom this feature would not be possible.
Thursday, December 26th, 2002
Birmingham City v Everton 1-1
Radzinski had put Everton ahead in the 45th minute when he raced on to a
pass from Gravesen to score whilst the home defence stood still waiting
for an offside decision that never came. Kirovski equalised less than a
minute later when Lazaridis swept home a centre for Kirovski to head home.
Rooney was later sent off after jumping at Vickers, leaving the defender
prone on the turf.
Bolton Wanderers v Newcastle United 4-3
Okocha put Bolton ahead in the 5th minute when Gardner dispossessed Dyer
and centred the ball to Okocha to score. Shearer equalised in the 8th
minute when Solano released Dyer to centre the ball for Shearer to force
home. Gardner put the Trotters back in front in the 9th minute when
Caldwell conceded a free-kick and Gardner placed the kick beyond Given.
Ricketts extended their lead in the 45th minute when he headed home a
cross from Frandsen. The Trotters went further ahead when Ricketts scored
again in the 63rd minute when Speed made a sloppy back pass and Ricketts
diverted the ball beyond Given. Amoebi reduced the arrears in the 72nd
minute when he wrong-footed Jaaskelainen. Shearer gave the Magpies hope in
the 79th minute when Robert rolled a free-kick into his path to allow
Shearer to score the 350th goal of his career.
Chelsea v Southampton 0-0
The Blues' hopes of going top for a couple of hours disappeared in the mud
at Stamford Bridge. They never looked capable of breaking down the Saints
defence, not even after putting four strikers on the field. De Gooey was
in goal for the first time since September 2001 as Cudicini was injured.
Liverpool v Blackburn Rovers 1-1
Owen saw Riise running down the left unmarked in the 17th minute and
slipped the ball to him. Friedel had no chance to block Riise's shot. Cole
equalised in the 77th minute when he beat Kirkland with a dipping shot.
Liverpool have not had such a poor sequence of results since they were
last relegated from the old Division One in season 1953-54.
Manchester City v Aston Villa 3-1
Foe put the Sky Blues ahead in the 15th minute when Anelka and Goater
swapped passes before Foe forced the ball home. Dublin equalised in the
41st minute to provide Villa with their first goal from open play for a
while. Most of their goals have come from dead ball situations. Benarbia
restored the Sky Blues lead in the 78th minute when he flung himself
forward to head home an Anelka cross. Foe ensured City would win in the
80th minute after being put through by Benarbia.
Middlesbrough v Manchester United 3-1
Boksic put the Teessiders ahead in the 44th minute when he left Veron
behind him and hit the ball on the run beyond Barthez. Nemeth added a
second for the home side in the 48th minute when Geremi headed the ball on
to Nemeth, who slipped past O'Shea and Blanc to force the ball beyond
Barthez. Giggs reduced the arrears in the 60th minute when Solksjaer's
centred was weighted perfectly for Giggs to force home. Job ensured the
points remained at the Riverside in the 85th minute when Maccarone proved
the pass from which Job only had to tap the ball home.
Sunderland v Leeds United 1-2
Proctor put Sunderland ahead in the 34th minute when he outjumped Harte at
a corner kick to head the ball home. When Smith had to go off with a nasty
facial injury, Leeds sent on Milner. Milner became the youngest
Premiership scorer in history in the 51st minute when he stabbed home a
cross from Wilcox. Fowler ensured Leeds would win when he scored from the
penalty spot in the 80th minute after Proctor handled the ball in the
penalty area.
Tottenham Hotspur v Charlton Athletic 2-2
Full match report available here
West Bromwich Albion v Arsenal 1-2
Dichio gave the Baggies a shock 3rd minute lead when Koumas took a corner
and Dichio headed the ball home. Jeffers equalised for the Gunners in the
48th minute when Sigurdsson inadvertently deflected a centre from Henry
into Jeffers path to enable the latter player to score. Henry atoned for
an earlier miss in the 85th minute when a clearance was not properly made
and Henry was left with a relatively simple chance to score.
West Ham United v Fulham 1-1
Sava put Fulham ahead in the 49th minute when Finian provided the cross
for Sava to force home. Sinclair equalised from the penalty spot in the
65th minute after Legwinski had handled the ball in the area. Repka was
booked for dissent and refused to end his argument with the referee so was
sent off for a second bookable offence. West Ham looked poor and look
certainties for relegation but Fulham cannot afford to be complacent
either.
FA Barclaycard Premiership
Pos. Pl. W. D. L. F-A. GD Pts
1 Arsenal 20 13 3 4 41-21 20 42
2 Chelsea 20 10 8 2 34-15 19 38
3 Man Utd 20 10 5 5 31-21 10 35
4 Everton 20 10 4 6 23-22 1 34
5 Liverpool 20 9 6 5 29-20 9 33
6 Newcastle 19 10 2 7 32-28 4 32
7 Spurs 20 9 5 6 29-28 1 32
8 M'brough 20 8 5 7 25-19 6 29
9 So'pton 20 7 8 5 22-20 2 29
10 Blackburn 20 7 7 6 26-23 3 28
11 Man City 20 8 3 9 27-29 -2 27
12 Charlton 20 7 5 8 23-25 -2 26
13 B'mingham 20 6 7 7 20-23 -3 25
14 Leeds 20 7 3 10 26-27 -1 24
15 Fulham 20 6 5 9 23-26 -3 23
16 A. Villa 20 6 4 10 18-23 -5 22
17 Bolton 19 4 6 9 23-35 -12 18
18 S'derland 20 4 6 10 13-28 -15 18
19 West Brom 20 4 4 12 16-31 -15 16
20 West Ham 20 3 6 11 19-36 -17 15
