With many thanks to Brian Judson, without whom this feature would not be possible.
Monday, April 21st, 2003
Birmingham City v Southampton 3-2
This was a roller-coaster of a match which left Gordon Strachan lost for
words to explain how the Saints lost this match. Anders Svensson scored in
the 26th minute following a long downfield punt from Jones, Beattie
touched the ball on and Svensson swept the ball into the net. Dugarry
equalised for the Blues in the 75th minute when he scored from a 20-yard
free-kick. Ormerod put the Saints ahead again in the 77th minute when he
volleyed in a Michael Svensson knock-down. Hughes equalised in the 79th
minute after Horsfield pulled the ball back from the bye-line. Dugarry
grabbed the winner for the Blues in the 82nd minute when John crossed the
ball for Dugarry to head home. Birmingham now seem assured of survival.
Blackburn Rovers v Bolton Wanderers 0-0
The point from this match was more useful to Bolton than to Blackburn, who
were hoping to qualify for the UEFA Cup. Although West Ham unexpectedly
won, Bolton have almost reached safety. There were very few chances as
both teams were woeful, much to the annoyance of both managers.
Chelsea v Everton 4-1
It now looks certain that Chelsea will qualify for next season's
Champions' League and that Everton will have to be satisfied with the UEFA
Cup. Gudjohnsen put them ahead in the 25th minute when he took advantage
of a slip by Weir to power the ball behind Wright. Hasselbaink extended
Chelsea's lead in the 48th minute when a centre from Gronkjaer was
perfectly timed for the Dutchman to head home. Gronkjaer added a third
goal in the 62nd minute when he latched on to a long clearance from Terry
before hammering the ball behind Wright. Carsley reduced the arrears in
the 77th minute when he took advantage of some poor defending to score.
Zola rounded off the afternoon by scoring in the 90th minute when he
lobbed the ball over Wright from the left wing.
Liverpool v Charlton Athletic 2-1
The first half was dire with both sides out of sorts. Owen produced some
sparkling chances and wasted them. Bartlett put the Addicks ahead in the
47th minute when Troare lost possession of the ball in his penalty area
and Dudek could only palm Bartlett's shot into the goal. Liverpool were
awful for a long time after that but after substitutions, they got a grip
on the game. Hyypia equalised in the 86th minute when he stabbed home a
Riise corner. Gerrard scored in the 90th minute when he burst between
Young and Robinson before lashing the ball behind Kiely. The relief was
evident in Gerard Houillier's post comments!
Manchester City v Sunderland 3-0
Sunderland never seriously bothered their hosts. It was always going to be
a question of how many the Sky Blues would bother to score. Foe put them
ahead in the 36th minute when Anelka's low cross was swept into the
Sunderland goal by Foe. Fowler added a second in the 38th minute with a
very cheeky goal when he ran onto a pass from Benarbia to lob the ball
over the advancing Poom. Foe rounded off the scoring in the 80th minute
after Belmadi had centred from the left wing. Phillips limped off eleven
minutes from the end and looks like missing the rest of the season.
Newcastle United v Aston Villa 1-1
The Magpies are living on their nerves as they dropped more points. Solano
put them ahead from a free-kick in the 37th minute following a foul by
Barry. Solano beat the ball around the wall, taking advantage of a mistake
by Staunton. Shearer needed lengthy treatment for a nasty gash on his
head. Woodgate went off with a hamstring strain. Dublin grabbed an
unexpected equaliser in the 69th minute when he was left unmarked as
Staunton took a free-kick, heading the ball behind Given.
West Bromwich Albion v Tottenham Hotspur 2-3
Full report available here
West Ham United v Middlesbrough 1-0
Sinclair grabbed the only goal of the match in the 77th minute. They had
almost fallen behind after only 28 seconds when Repka made one of his
classic mistakes but fortunately Brevett was on hand to block Maccarone's
shot. In the second half, West Ham wasted three gilt edged chances before
Sinclair struck. Defoe should have scored with a chip. Joe Cole should
have done better with a drive and Lomas saw his shot strike a post. It was
a centre from Johnson that provided Sinclair with the opportunity to score
from 15 yards. Shortly after the end of the match, Glenn Roeder was rushed
to hospital after collapsing with chest pains. The initial diagnosis is
that there was a blocked blood vessel in his brain but the full results of
the CT scan will not be available until later today. It is understood he
is stable but he is being kept in for further observation. It is not
expected that he will resume his duties this season.
Tuesday, April 22nd, 2003
Leeds United v Fulham 2-0
Whilst Fulham's agony is still prolonged, it looks as if Leeds are finally
safe as their goal difference is worth another point, Viduka struck in the
4th minute when poor marking allowed him to latch on to Kelly's corner to
net the ball. Fulham were so poor that caretaker manager Chris Coleman
observed that he could have replaced Robinson in the Leeds goal and still
kept a clean sheet for Leeds. The surprise was that Leeds took longer to
extend their lead. Viduka finally struck again in the 49th minute when a
long ball rebounded off a prone Mailk Taylor to Viduka, who whipped the
ball in the net before anyone else could react. Viduka should have ended
with a hat-trick but Melville blocked a shot four minutes from the end of
the game.
FA Barclaycard Premiership
Pos. Pl. W. D. L. F-A. GD Pts
1 Man Utd 35 22 8 5 66-32 34 74
2 Arsenal 34 21 8 5 71-36 35 71
3 Chelsea 35 18 9 8 65-35 30 63
4 Newcastle 35 19 5 11 59-46 13 62
5 Liverpool 35 17 10 8 53-37 16 61
6 Everton 35 16 8 11 45-44 1 56
7 Blackburn 35 14 11 10 44-40 4 53
8 Spurs 35 14 8 13 50-51 -1 50
9 So'pton 34 12 12 10 40-39 1 48
10 Man City 35 14 6 15 45-51 -6 48
11 M'brough 35 12 10 13 42-38 4 46
12 Charlton 35 13 7 15 42-50 -8 46
13 B'mingham 35 12 8 15 37-46 -9 44
14 A. Villa 35 11 9 15 39-42 -3 42
15 Leeds 35 12 5 18 50-51 -1 41
16 Fulham 35 11 8 16 37-49 -12 41
17 Bolton 35 9 12 14 37-48 -11 39
18 West Ham 35 8 11 16 38-57 -19 35
19 West Brom 35 6 6 23 26-56 -30 24 R
20 S'derland 35 4 7 24 21-59 -38 19 R
