With many thanks to Brian Judson, without whom this feature would not be possible.
Saturday, 30 August 2003
Aston Villa v Leicester City 3-1
Thatcher conceded an own goal in the 8th minute as he was the final person
to get his head to a corner taken by Hendrie. Angel equalised in the 10th
minute when he head home Whittingham's cross from the wing. Minutes later,
Angel put them ahead in the 16th minute when he side-footed the ball
beyond Walker from a centre by Whittingham. Izzet reduced the arrears in
the 53rd minute when they won a free-kick and Izzett curled the ball home.
Leicester had Les Ferdinand sent off for two books, one of which was for
dissent. Steve Howey was injured shortly before that and having made an
earlier substitution, Leicester were not able to effect a tactical
solution when Ferdinand was sent off.
Bolton Wanderers v Charlton Athletic 0-0
There were few opportunities for both sides. Bolton lacked a cutting edge
and Charlton were more intent on securing a point on their travels. Bolton
have a number of players injured and have a small squad. It was a point
gained for Bolton but two dropped for Charlton, who were very
unadventurous.
Chelsea v Blackburn Rovers 2-2
Cole put the visitors ahead in less than 1 minute (20 seconds to be
precise)when he took advantage of indecision in the Chelsea defence when
Desailly was caught in two minds and Cole was on hand to divert the ball
behind Cudicini. Mutu equalised in the 45th minute when he ran on to
Lampard's pass to score from an acute angle. Cole restored Blackburn's
lead in the 58th minute when Cudicini failed to catch an inswinging corner
taken by Thompson and Cole whipped the ball into the net before anybody
else could react. Hasselbaink scored in the 63rd minute from the penalty
spot after Neill handed the ball in the goal area.
Everton v Liverpool 0-3
There was only one team in this match once Liverpool started to apply
pressure. Owen put them ahead in the 39th minute when Kewell took
advantage of an Everton defensive error to provide a perfect pass for Owen
to toe in. Shortly after half-time, Owen increased their lead in the 52nd
minute. Baros cut in from the left, Everton dashed towards the threat and
Baros pulled the ball back for the completely unmarked Owen to score.
Kewell completed the rout in the 80th minute when Owen sped down the
right. Heskey could not reach his centre but Kewell, coming in a fraction
late, drove the ball into the back of the net.
Middlesbrough v Leeds United 2-3
Sakho put his side ahead in the 16th minute when Pennant, on loan from
Arsenal, put him through. Nemeth equalised in the 60th minute and Juninho
put 'Boro ahead in the 63rd minute with a spectacular volley. Camara
equalised for Leeds in the 77th minute after being set up by Pennant.
Viduka snatched the winner in the 89th minute when he lost his shadow to
latch on to a pass from Pennant.
Newcastle United v Birmingham City 0-1
Dunn scored the only goal of the game in the 61st minute following a
penalty. Speed had upended Johnson and Dunn took the kick. Given blocked
the penalty but could do nothing to prevent Dunn following up. The one
surprise was that Birmingham did not score more as Dunn was prompting them
from all angles. Newcastle were hopelessly out of form with even Shearer
having a poor game by his high standards.
Tottenham Hotspur v Fulham 0-3
As is my normal practice, I am not commenting on this match except to say
my heart goes out to those who had to pay good money to see this shambles. The full report can be read here
Wolverhampton Wanderers v Portsmouth 0-0
It was a poor match played by two teams that were over familiar with each
other after meeting in Division 1 for the past 15 seasons. The only
talking point after the match was the dismissal of Harry Redknapp to the
stands after he had made comments to the fourth official which were passed
on to the referee, Andy D'Urso. After the match, Redknapp called it a
storm in a tea cup and said the fourth official could have laughed it off.
The reason for Redknapp's expulsion was his complaint that most of the
bookings were being handed out to Portsmouth. Redknapp felt that Wolves
deserved some as well.
Sunday, 31 August 2003
Manchester City v Arsenal 1-2
Out of deference to Seaman, Arsenal played in their change shirts in case
he forgot he was no longer playing for Arsenal and habitually threw the
ball to a red shirt. But it was Lauren who was covered in embarrassment
when he conceded an own goal under pressure after 10 minutes as he tried
to put the ball out for a corner. Wiltord equalised for Arsenal in the
48th minute when he netted as Arsenal quickly broke out from defending
their goal in a fine flowing movement that had Pires at the heart of it.
Ljungberg snatched the winner in the 72nd minute when Pires created panic
in the Manchester City defence and hindered Seaman as he tried to retrieve
the situation.
Southampton v Manchester United 1-0
Beattie grabbed the only goal of the match in the 88th minute when he
headed the ball home from after Ormerod had forced Howard into committing
a rare mistake. But for most of the match it had looked as if Manchester
United would return to the top of the table for at least a few hours. They
were fairly fluent but clearly missed the absence of Scholes' calming
influence. Ruud van Nistlerooy was unusually quiet for much of the game.
Cheers, Brian
FA Barclaycard Premiership
Pos. Pl. W. D. L. F-A. GD Pts
1 Arsenal 4 4 0 0 10-2 8 12
2 Man Utd 4 3 0 1 7-2 5 9
3 P'tsmouth 4 2 2 0 7-2 5 8
4 Man City 4 2 1 1 8-5 3 7
5 Chelsea 3 2 1 0 6-4 2 7
6 B'mingham 3 2 1 0 2-0 2 7
7 Fulham 3 2 0 1 7-5 2 6
8 So'pton 4 1 3 0 3-2 1 6
9 Blackburn 4 1 2 1 11-8 3 5
10 Liverpool 4 1 2 1 4-2 2 5
11 Charlton 4 1 2 1 6-5 1 5
12 Leeds 4 1 2 1 6-6 1 5
13 A. Villa 4 1 1 2 4-5 -1 4
14 Everton 4 1 1 2 6-8 -2 4
15 Spurs 4 1 1 2 2-5 -3 4
16 L'cester 4 0 2 2 4-7 -3 2
17 Bolton 4 0 2 2 2-10 -8 2
18 Newcastle 3 0 1 2 3-5 -2 1
19 M'brough 4 0 1 3 4-10 -6 1
20 Wolves 4 0 1 3 1-10 -9 1
