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Leeds leaps into New Year Liverpool checked by Bolton 1-1; Chelsea crashesPosted: Tuesday January 01, 2002 11:04 AMUpdated: Tuesday January 01, 2002 6:00 PM
LONDON (AP) -- Mark Viduka and Robbie Fowler ensured Leeds United jumped to the top of the Premier League on Tuesday with a 3-0 win over West Ham. Australian international Viduka scored in the fourth and seventh minutes and former Liverpool striker Fowler added the third early in the second half at Elland Road. With Liverpool held to a 1-1 draw and Arsenal's match against Leicester postponed because of a frozen pitch, Leeds moves one place into the lead. Relegation-threatened Southampton shocked Chelsea 4-2 at Stamford Bridge. Leeds played without eight first team players to notch up its third consecutive win. Despite conceding three goals, Hammers goalkeeper David James had a good game with a series of strong saves. A cross from Alan Smith helped Viduka to his first goal from six yards (meters), with Danny Mills feeding him for the second. Five minutes into the second half, Viduka backheeled the ball for Lee Bowyer who lost control only for Fowler to pounce and chip the ball over a stranded James. Leeds has 41 points, followed by Arsenal and Newcastle with 39 points, Liverpool with 38 points and defending champion Manchester United with 36 points. In other results Tuesday: Charlton 3, Ipswich 2; Chelsea 2, Southampton 4; Middlesbrough 1, Everton 0; Sunderland 1, Aston Villa 1; Tottenham 1, Blackburn 0. Wednesday, Manchester United hosts Newcastle and Derby plays Fulham. At Liverpool, Bolton held the title contenders to a 1-1 draw after equalizing with a late Kevin Nolan goal. Steven Gerrard had scored his first goal in three months from a Michael Owen cross to give Liverpool the lead, before Nolan leveled from a rebound nine minutes from time. The draw continues the Reds' inconsistent form where they have won just one game in their last six. Bolton, one of only four teams to beat Liverpool this season, remains close to the relegation zone after earning only three points from its last eight games. Arsenal was denied the opportunity to extend its lead at the top of the table when its match at Leicester was postponed because of a frozen pitch. England's lower divisions were also badly hit by snow and ice conditions, with 27 matches canceled. At Chelsea, James Beattie began the Southampton goalfest in the seventh minute with a 35-yard free kick. Chelsea fought back with goals from Eidur Gudjohnsen in the 19th minute and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink at half time, but the game was all Southampton after the break. Marian Pahars and Chris Marsden scored for the Saints before Beattie added his second in the 73rd minute. Chelsea boasted the meanest defense in the league before the game with just 16 goals conceded in 20 games but they were all at sea on Tuesday. The defeat was a huge disappointment for their fans who had seen their team become serious challengers after victories over Newcastle, Liverpool, Leeds and Manchester United in December only to slip back to their old ways with a home defeat against a struggling team. In other results Tuesday, Charlton 3, Ipswich 2; Middlesbrough 1, Everton 0; Sunderland 1, Aston Villa 1; Tottenham 1, Blackburn 0. Wednesday, Manchester United hosts Newcastle and Derby plays Fulham. Arsenal has 39 points, equal with Newcastle, with Liverpool one point behind. Defending champion Manchester United has 36 points. At White Hart Lane, Andy Cole made his first appearance since joining Blackburn on Saturday from champion Manchester United. But Tottenham goalkeeper Kasey Keller was not too troubled by Cole's attempts on goal. At one stage Cole failed to connect with a cross from Keith Gillespie in the box. Blackburn's Brad Friedel was the more occupied of the two U.S goalkeepers on the field. Friedel stopped half a dozen good attempts from Steffen Freund and Teddy Sheringham, but had little chance to save Dean Richards' close range header in the 45th minute. Rovers have now failed to win their last eight games. Middlesbrough's match against Everton went ahead after two pitch inspections. Striker Danny Cadamarteri made his first start for Everton in 11 months as the club and manager Walter Smith were under pressure after four straight defeats. Cadamerteri only lasted 38 minutes before being replaced by U.S forward Joe-Max Moore, whose second half shot was saved by 'Boro 'keeper Mark Crossley. But Middlesbrough made the breakthrough with a Gianluca Festa strike in the 50th minute. Peter Schmeichel starred for Aston Villa against Sunderland. First the former Manchester United goalkeeper saved a Michael Gray volley, then kept out a Kevin Phillips penalty with a full length dive in the first half. Aston Villa took the lead with an Ian Taylor header in the 59th minute, but Sunderland's Brazilian defender Emerson Thome equalized four minutes from time. Sunderland was hit halfway through the first half when U.S captain Claudio Reyna, who recently moved to the club from Rangers, was stretchered off with ankle damage after a midfield clash with Lee Hendrie. Marcus Bent put Ipswich two goals ahead in the first five minutes at Charlton. Bent headed his first in the opening minute and chipped in the second four minutes later. But Charlton rallied through John Robinson's 18-yard (meter) drive and Scott Parker's hooked shot before Jason Euell put the Addicks ahead from close range in the 61st minute. Manchester City top the first division, eight months after being relegated from the Premier League. City beat Sheffield United 3-1, while West Bromwich Albion thrashed Stockport 4-0 and Millwall beat Watford 4-1. In other games, Barnsley and Grimsby played a goalless draw while Birmingham drew 1-1 with Nottingham Forest. Half of the 12 division one matches scheduled to be played Tuesday were postponed, while 10 of the Cheltenham's 1-0 win at Torquay, the only game to be played.
Liverpool 1, Bolton 1, (0-0) Steven Gerrard scored his first goal since September in the 50th minute after a cross from fellow England striker Michael Owen. But Kevin Nolan leveled for Bolton nine minutes from time. Kevin Ricketts' attempt was blocked by Liverpool 'keeper Jerzy Dudek and Nolan scored from the rebound. Fourth-placed Liverpool has now only won one game in six matches, while Bolton is nearing the relegation zone having won just one its last 12 matches. Middlesbrough 1, Everton 0 (0-0) Everton lost its fifth consecutive match Tuesday, putting further pressure on manager Walter Smith. Middlesbrough scored when Italian defender Gianluca Festa, making his first appearance in nine months, scored from a Carlos Marinelli corner in the 50th minute. Boro are now fourth from the bottom, two places below Everton. Sunderland 1, Aston Villa 1 (0-0) Brazilian defender Emerson Thome scored a late equalizer to give Sunderland a 1-1 draw with Aston Villa. The visitors had taken a 59th-minute lead through Ian Taylor's header, but before Thome equalized four minutes from time. Aston Villa goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel saved a penalty from Sunderland's England striker Kevin Phillips in the first half. The Black Cats suffered an blow when midfielder Claudio Reyna was taken off the field with an ankle injury. Tottenham 1, Blackburn 0 (1-0) Andy Cole made his first appearance for Blackburn since signing from Manchester United on Saturday, but had a low key debut with Tottenham goalkeeper Kasey Keller not too troubled by Cole's attempts on goal. At one stage Cole failed to connect with a cross from Keith Gillespie in the box. It was Keller's U.S goalkeeping teammate Brad Friedel who was kept the busiest on the pitch, but he had little chance to save Dean Richards' close range header in the 45th minute. Ipswich 2, Charlton 3 (2-2) Ipswich had won three games in a row going into the match with Charlton and were off to a strong start with two goals by Marcus Bent in the first five minutes. First Bent headed from a Hermann Hreidarsson pass and then lobbed the ball past Charlton 'keeper Dean Kiely. John Robinson then scored for Charlton and Scott Parker hooked in another to level the scores. Ipswich 'keeper Matteo Sereni then made a great save from a Kevin Lisbie header before Jason Euell struck home the decisive rebound. Chelsea 2, Southampton 4 (2-1) James Beattie scored two goals as Southampton stunned Chelsea 4-2. Beattie opened the scoring with a 35-yard (meter) free kick after seven minutes. Chelsea replied with goals from Eidur Gudjohnsen and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, but in the second half, the game was all Southampton. Marian Pahars beat Chelsea defender John Terry to chip the ball past goalkeeper Claudio Cudicini, an unmarked Chris Marsden headed another while Beattie volleyed home the fourth.
Saints boss Strachan: We can be proudGordon Strachan said his Southampton team deserved a pat on the back for their stunning victory over Chelsea on Tuesday, but said it was not their best performance of the season. "In pure football terms we've had better performances," he told Sky Sports TV. "But this was a good performance against top, top players and we are proud of ourselves today. "Sometimes you can just give yourselves a pat on the back. "We actually made more chances at Old Trafford [in last month's 6-1 defeat] but it's taking them that made the difference. "It was also about being brave in the second half and showing some more belief in our ourselves. "I just told them to enjoy the occasion because their destiny is in their own hands." Chelsea had boasted the best defense in the league prior to the game and their last match had seen a superb performance in a 2-1 win at leaders Newcastle United. However, it will have come as no surprise to their long-suffering fans to see the wheels come off against a struggling team and coach Claudio Ranieri was unable to explain the perennial problem. "It is very strange, I don't know why it happens," he said. "Maybe after the Newcastle match maybe everybody wanted to win it too much. "Of course we want to win every game but we were not calm, we did not keep possession of the ball, it wasn't Chelsea play. "The players all worked hard, the attitude was good but maybe we didn't play as a team today." Frustrated man Liverpool's stand-in coach Phil Thompson was also a frustrated man after seeing his team miss the chance to go top after a 1-1 home draw with Bolton Wanderers. "We worked hard, played quite well -- very well at times -- but just didn't get that cutting edge that could have finished them off," he said. "You always feel with Bolton you need the extra goal," he added after Liverpool-born Kevin Nolan's 78th minute equaliser rewarded the visitors for their second-half efforts. Thompson, however, was by no means despondent about the missed opportunity. "We're sitting in a very, very comfortable position and we just need to consolidate now," he said. "We know we've got the quality to go on a run of nine or 10 games unbeaten." Bolton boss Sam Allardyce made Nolan captain for the day and told the BBC: "It's a fairytale for him and a very satisfying point for us. We were very resilient today." No excuses Everton manager Walter Smith had no excuses after his side's fifth straight defeat, a 1-0 at Middlesbrough, who had also lost their previous four, and time could be running out for the former Rangers boss. "It's disappointing," he told Sky Sports. "Overall we possibly had the best of the game but didn't get anything for it. "We have had a lot of games like that so we can only blame ourselves. We can't blame injuries or anything else." Aston Villa manager John Gregory called for radical changes in the way games are officiated after his side's 1-1 draw at Sunderland. Gregory disputed the decision to award Sunderland a first-half penalty -- which Villa goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel saved. "There wasn't a foul in my opinion -- or [Sunderland manager] Peter Reid's," he said. "We have got modern technology but we're still very stubborn in wanting to change the number of officials. We've still got two linesmen and one referee -- a 45-year-old referee. They are not the most athletic people you're likely to see. "You've only got to look at gridiron in America. I can't see why there can't be four linesmen, two in each half. "The game has changed so much in the last 10 years but the officials are still doing the same kind of job they were 25 years ago when the game was played at a pedestrian pace." Ipswich's George Burley was angry after his team, buoyant after three successive wins, tossed away an early 2-0 lead to lose 3-2 at Charlton Athletic. "Once we scored we seemed to take our foot off the pedal which is fatal," he said. "It's a difficult league and we can't throw away two-goal leads. "One or two players didn't stand up and be counted today."
Copyright 2003 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. |
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