With many thanks to Brian Judson, without whom this feature would not be possible.
Saturday, February 1st, 2003
Arsenal v Fulham 2-1
Highbury is not a happy hunting ground for Fulham. Before the match, they
had only drawn once. But they caught Arsenal on an off day and for long
spells they looked as if they might snatch an undeserved point. Legwinski
limped off with an injury after 10 minutes which disrupted Fulham for a
while. Pires put Arsenal ahead in the 17th minute when Henry provided the
cross from which Pires headed home. Malbranque equalised in the 29th
minute when Campbell and Keown were slow to clear a ball and Malbranque
whipped the ball into Seaman's goal before anyone could react. Pires
snatched a dramatic winner in the 90th minute when Jeffers provided the
pass for Pires to poke the ball home.
Bolton Wanderers v Birmingham City 4-2
This was the proverbial six-pointer! Cunningham conceded an own goal in
the 12th minute to put Bolton ahead when he misjudged a centre from
Gardner and diverted the ball into his own goal. Savage equalised in the
44th minute when he swept the ball into the Bolton goal from a cross by
Lazaridis. Pedersen restored Bolton's lead in the 46th minute when Bennett
flapped at a shot from Djorkaeff and Pedersen turned the loose ball into
the Birmingham goal. Morrison equalised in the 60th minute when Clemence
provided the pass for Morrison to hook home. Djorkaeff put Bolton ahead
again in the 84th minute when he stroked the ball into the corner of the
net. Facey ensured the points would be Bolton's when a 25-yard shot from
Okocha came back off an upright for him to turn into the goal in the 87th
minute.
Chelsea v Tottenham Hotspur 1-1
Read the full report on our creditable draw here
Everton v Leeds United 2-0
The Leeds fans who travelled to Goodison Park left Ridsdale in no doubt as
to what they thought of his decision to transfer Woodgate to Newcastle. A
very ordinary Leeds side gave Everton no problems. But it needed Unsworth
to score from the penalty spot in the 56th minute to calm Everton's
nerves. Radzinski added a second in the 68th minute when Li Tie slipped
the ball to the striker, who chipped the ball over the diving Robinson.
Manchester City v West Bromwich Albion 1-2
Clement put the Baggies ahead in the 18th minute when Koumas took a corner
for Clement to head behind Nash. Gilchrist allowed City to draw level when
he conceded an own goal in the 22nd minute as a result of a deflection
from a shot by Foe. Moore scored the winner for the Baggies in the 71st
minute when he bundled home the winning goal from a flick-on by Clement.
But near the end of the game, Sommell and Roberts clashed as West Bromwich
took a free-kick and Roberts was sent off.
Middlesbrough v Newcastle United P-P
This game was called off on Friday on police advice as the approaches to
the Riverside Stadium were icebound.
Southampton v Manchester United 0-2
Both the goals came in the first half. Ruud van Nistlerooy opened the
scoring in the 15th minute when he met a centre from Gary Neville to head
the ball home. Giggs added a second in the 22nd minute when he was put
through by Veron. He scuffed his first shot but the ball came back to him
and he made no mistake with his second chance.Thereafter, Manchester
United were content to play out time.
Sunderland v Charlton Athletic 1-3
Sunderland look doomed to relegation after this performance. They look a
side very short on confidence. Not since October 1974 have I seen three
own goals in a single match (and Spurs conceded those three own goals!).
Mark Fish tried to claim the first goal for Charlton but there was no
doubt about the fact that it was Wright who conceded the own goal in the
24th minute. The goal came from a corner when the ball fell at Fish's
feet. His shot was deflected by Flo to Wright, who deflected it into his
own goal. Proctor's first own goal in the 29th minute came because
Sorensen parried a shot from Powell but the ball hit Proctor's foot and
flew into his own goal. Less than three minutes later, Proctor conceded a
second own goal in the 32nd minute. This time, Jensen took a corner and
the ball hit Proctor's back and dropped into his own goal. Phillips scored
a consolation goal from the penalty spot in the 81st minute after Flo had
been upended by Fortune.
Sunday, February 2nd, 2003
Aston Villa v Blackburn Rovers 3-0
Dublin required only 2 minutes to put Villa ahead. Gudjonsson provided the
centre from a free-kick and Dublin outjumped a static Blackburn defence to
nod the ball behind Freidel. Dublin added a second in the 40th minute when
Barry picked up a loose ball and his centre to the unmarked Dublin was so
accurate that he had plenty of time to pick his spot to head the ball wide
of Friedel. Barry added a third in the 81st minute when de la Cruz found
Barry unmarked in the penalty area and Barry hammered the ball home for
his second goal in four days. Blackburn were very poor and manager Graeme
Souness was scathing about them at the post match interviews.
West Ham United v Liverpool 0-3
All three Liverpool goals came from dead ball situations and the deadly
foot of John Arne Riise. From the first corner, Baros outjumped everyone
else in the 7th minute to force the ball beyond James. Riise's second
corner was partially cleared by James but Gerrard intercepted the
clearance in the 9th minute and promptly thumped the ball behind James
from outside the penalty area. The third goal came from yet another Riise
corner which Hyypia headed back to Heskey, who headed the ball behind
James in the 67th minute. West Ham were atrociously poor and never
seriously threatened Dudek in the Liverpool goal. The most aggression they
showed was when Winterburn was substituted and who promptly threw his
drinks container into the dugout before stalking down the tunnel.
Tuesday, February 4th, 2003
Birmingham City v Manchester United 0-1
Ruud van Nistlerooy scored the only goal of the match in the 56th minute.
Veron and Silvestre swapped passes before Silvestre centred the ball to
the Dutchman. There seemed no danger as he was closely marked by the
Birmingham defence but the Dutchman suddenly swivelled on the spot to
force the ball into the corner of the goal. Dugarry and Clemence had
chances to equalise late in the game but wasted them.
FA Barclaycard Premiership
Pos. Pl. W. D. L. F-A. GD Pts
1 Arsenal 26 17 5 4 56-28 28 56
2 Man Utd 26 16 5 5 43-24 19 53
3 Newcastle 25 15 3 7 41-31 10 48
4 Chelsea 26 12 9 5 45-26 19 45
5 Everton 26 13 6 7 34-30 4 45
6 Liverpool 26 11 9 6 37-25 12 42
7 So'pton 26 10 9 7 28-26 2 39
8 Charlton 26 11 6 9 34-33 1 39
9 Spurs 26 11 6 9 36-36 0 39
10 Man City 26 11 4 11 37-37 0 37
11 A. Villa 26 10 5 11 23-27 3 35
12 Blackburn 26 8 10 8 31-31 0 34
13 Leeds 26 9 4 13 33-34 -1 31
14 M'brough 25 8 6 11 29-29 0 30
15 Fulham 25 7 6 12 26-33 -7 27
16 B'mingham 26 6 8 12 23-37 -14 26
17 Bolton 26 5 9 12 29-43 -14 24
18 West Brom 25 5 5 15 19-37 -18 20
19 West Ham 26 4 8 14 28-51 -23 20
20 S'derland 26 4 7 15 17-38 -21 19
