Consent Preferences Spurs Odyssey Review of 2002-3 Index - Match 26
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Spurs Odyssey Reviews the Premiership Season
for 2002-2003 - Match 26

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

Cheers, Brian

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