With many thanks to Brian Judson, without whom this feature would not be possible.
Saturday 23 August 2003
Bolton Wanderers v Blackburn Rovers 2-2
Djorkaeff put Bolton ahead after 3 minutes when he put the ball behind
Friedel from the penalty spot. Davies increased Bolton's lead when he was
put through by Djorkaeff in the 25th minute. Jansen reduced the arrears in
the 50th minute when he turned in a low cross from Thompson. Yorke
snatched an unlikely equaliser in the 90th minute when he scored from
Grabbi's centre. Just before this, Reid had been dismissed for serious
foul play.
Chelsea v Leicester City 2-1
Nalis conceded an own goal after a colleague had deflected a corner taken
by Duff into his own goal in the 3rd minute. Scowcroft snatched an
equaliser in the 40th minute when he was put through by Holland. Mutu
scored what proved to be the winner when he took a free kick with his
right foot in the 45th minute and caught the rebound with his left foot
before smashing the ball wide of Walker.Geremi was sent off for a
two-footed challenge on a Leicester player. Rogers followed him after
kicking Gronkjaer as he lay on the ground. Scicema also made the long walk
following two yellow cards.
Everton v Fulham 3-1
Naysmith put Everton ahead after 7 minutes when Naysmith pounced on a ball
that had rebounded off Van Der Sar to slot the bal home. Unsworth added a
second goal after 20 minutes following good work by Rooney and Radzinski.
Watson added a third goal in the 35th minute when Rooney provided the pass
for him to score. Hayles scored a late consolation goal for Fulham in the
69th minute.
Manchester City v Portsmouth 1-1
Yakubu fired Portsmouth ahead in the 24th minute when he won the race to a
loose ball and rounded Seaman before slipping the bal into an unguarded
goal. Sommell snatched a late equaliser in the 90th minute when Barton
floated over a free-kick and Sommell outjumped everyone else to head the
ball home.
Newcastle United v Manchester United 1-2
Shearer put the Toon ahead in the 26th minute with a trademark header.
Ruud van Nistelrooy equalised in the 51st minute when he was put through
clear by Keane and deceived Hughes with his intentions before hitting the
bal beyond Given. Scholes snatched the winner in the 59th minute when he
was put through by Keane and chipped the ball beyond Given. Sir Alex
Ferguson was dismissed from the touchline for swearing at the fourth
official after a penalty appeal had been rejected.
Southampton v Birmingham City 0-0
There were no goals at St Mary's. The Blues came with the intention of
nicking a point and duly took it away. Yet the Blues could have gone home
with all three points had not Horsfield scuffed his shot in the very first
minute of the match! There were the usual tantrums when the paths of Le
Saux and Savage crossed but mostly, everyone was asleep with the boredom
of watching it all. Gordon Strachan himself admitted he nodded off at one
point!
Tottenham Hotspur v Leeds United 2-1
Read the full report here.
Wolverhampton Wanderers v Charlton Athletic 0-4
Euell took advantage of a poor back pass in the 5th minute to fire the
Addicks ahead. Jensen put them further ahead from a free-kick in the 15th
minute when he scored from outside the area. Bartlett was released by
Holland to take advantage of poor marking in the 25th minute. The rout was
completed by Bartlett in the 33rd minute after a long mazy dribble by
Parker. In the second half, Parker was sent off, which took the sheen of
the Addick's victory.
Sunday 24 August 2003
Aston Villa v Liverpool 0-0
Liverpool looked bereft of ideas for long spells of this match and were
fortunate that Gerrard was not dismissed for an early bath. His tackling
was suspect at times. Few of the Liverpool players seemed to be in
anything remotely approaching their normal club form. Owen looked
distinctly jaded and out of form.I thought if anyone should be
substituted, it should have been Owen. Villa were the more impressive of
two poor teams but they, at least, knew they were playing for their lives.
Yet it was Sorensen who was the busiest goalkeeper as Liverpool had no
incisiveness up front.
Middlesbrough v Arsenal 0-4
Henry put Arsenal ahead after 5 minutes when he was put clear by Ljungberg
and left with a fairly simple chance to score, Gilberto added a second in
the 13th minute when Pires provided the pass from which Gilberto lashed
the ball home from some distance. Wiltord extended Arsenal's lead to 3-0
in the 22nd minute when Pores released Henry, whose shot was parried by
Schwarzer but ran loose to the hovering Wiltord, who accepted his gift
with glee. Witltord rounded off Middlesbrough's nightmare by adding a
fourth goal in the 60th minute when Ljungberg provided the pass from which
Wiltord swept the ball wide of Schwarzer.
Cheers, Brian
FA Barclaycard Premiership
Pos. Pl. W. D. L. F-A. GD Pts
1 Arsenal 2 2 0 0 6-1 5 6
2 Man Utd 2 2 0 0 6-1 5 6
3 Chelsea 2 2 0 0 4-2 2 6
4 Blackburn 2 1 1 0 7-3 4 4
5 Man City 2 1 1 0 4-1 3 4
6 P'tsmouth 2 1 1 0 3-2 1 4
7 B'mingham 2 1 1 0 1-0 1 4
8 Charlton 2 1 0 1 4-3 1 3
9 Everton 1 1 0 1 4-3 1 3
10 Spurs 2 1 0 1 2-2 0 3
11 Fulham 2 1 0 1 4-5 -1 3
12 So'pton 2 0 2 0 2-2 0 2
13 Leeds 2 0 1 1 3-4 -1 1
14 L'cester 2 0 1 1 3-4 -1 1
15 Newcastle 2 0 1 1 3-4 -1 1
16 A. Villa 2 0 1 1 1-2 -1 1
17 Liverpool 2 0 1 1 1-2 -1 1
18 Bolton 2 0 1 1 2-6 -4 1
19 M'brough 2 0 0 2 2-7 -5 0
20 Wolves 2 0 0 2 1-9 -8 0
