RECAP: WEEKEND ENGLISH ACTION Alan Tong - Sunday, November 1, 2009
Brad Friedel became a record breaker on a day that also saw Clint Dempsey dent the Premier League aspirations of one of the "Big Four."
Everton 1-1 Aston Villa
The teams fought out a hard-earned draw on the day that Brad Friedel became the first player in the Premier League game to play two hundred consecutive games, with Brad Guzan watching from the bench and Tim Howard from the opposing goalmouth.
The Toffees took the lead in the 45th minute when Diniyar Bilyaletdinov became a scorer in successive games. Tim Cahill crossed from the left and the ball was helped on by Yakubu Aiyegbeni to the Russian, who side-footed past Friedel into the bottom right corner.
The lead was short-lived as John Carew found the net in the 47th minute, making an immediate impact after coming on as a half-time substitute. Stephen Warnock's left-wing cross found Gabriel Agbonlahor at the far post who put in a fierce shot which Howard could only parry for the Norwegian to tap the rebound into the lower right-hand corner of the net.
The hosts were reduced to ten men in the 87th minute following a two-footed challenge by Bilyaletdinov on Stilian Petrov Parity was restored in the 90th minute when Carlos Cuellar was sent off for a second bookable offence following a foul on Yakubu, after previously being cautioned in the 31st minute for fouling Leighton Baines.
Everton remain 13th in the standings, and will next welcome Benefica on Thursday, before they visit 19th ranked West Ham on Saturday. Villa, who remain in seventh position, are at West Ham on Wednesday, before hosting 15th placed Bolton Wanderers on Saturday.
Fulham 3-1 Liverpool
Man of the match Clint Dempsey scored his second goal in as many games, and in the process heaped further pressure on the Reds' Head Coach Rafa Benitez, whose team suffered its fifth loss of the season in their eleventh league contest.
Bobby Zamora opened the scoring in the 24th minute, scoring against the run of play. Damien Duff crossed from the left with an inch-perfect pass that allowed the forward to tap into the right corner from seven yards.
The equalizer came in the 42nd minute with the tenth goal of the season for Fernando Torres, who scored from the edge of the penalty area. Philipp Degan crossed from the right, and Andriy Vorononin's header rebounded off Aaron Hughes to the Spaniard, who swivelled and hit an unstoppable volley into the bottom left corner of the goal.
Erik Nevland restored the Cottager's lead with a headed goal in the 74th minute, and again it came after pressure from the Merseysiders. Paul Konchesky crossed from the left, and the ball was flicked on by the head of Zoltan Gera to the far post for the Norwegian, who put the ball back across Pepe Reina into the center of the goal.
Problems increased with two red cards in a crazy three minutes. Degan was sent off in the 80th minute for a reckless challenge on Dempsey, and Jamie Carragher was dismissed in the 83rd minute after a foul on Zamora.
Dempsey's goal followed in the 90th minute of the game after an interchange of passes with Nevland. The American received the ball centrally thirty yards from goal, laid the ball to the right, carried on his run, and hit the return past Reina from eight yards.
Fulham remain in 11th position, and next travel to Roma in the Europa Cup before travelling to 12th ranked Wigan Athletic on Sunday. Liverpool fall to sixth in the rankings, and face a tricky game at Lyon in the European Champions League before welcoming 14th placed Birmingham City to Anfield.
Burnley 2-0 Hull City
Jozy Altidore came on as a 58th minute substitute, and managed to pick up a yellow card as the ten-man Tigers remained in the relegation zone.
Defender Graham Alexander opened the scoring in the 21st minute from a disputed penalty, firing the ball into the left corner of the goal. The referee judged that Stephen Hunt had fouled Tyrone Mears, but television replays clearly showed that the defender had tripped over his own feet.
The referee further upset the visitors in the 65th minute when Deiberson Geovanni appeared to score from a curling free-kick, but the shot was ruled out for an infringement in the defensive wall. The midfielder argued so vehemently that he was booked for dissent, and from the same incident Altidore saw yellow, also for dissent.
The Brazilian was sent off after receiving a second caution in the 70th minute for a challenge on Steven Fletcher. This cannot have pleased his Head Coach Phil Brown, who has been the subject of press speculation all week regarding his future.
The Clarets' second goal was again scored by Alexander, and was a great solo effort. He received the ball thirty-five yard from goal, and ran ten yards before hitting a firm right footed shot into the lower right-hand corner.
Hull remain in 18th position in the Premier League, and next face a tough home game against eighth placed Stoke City on Sunday. Burnley climbed to 10th in the rankings, and will travel to big spending Manchester City, who are ranked fourth.
Sunderland 2-2 West Ham United
Jonathan Spector went the distance in successive Premier League games for the first time since August 29th as he and his team-mates gave up a two goal lead, despite playing all of the second-half against ten men.
The Hammers took the lead in the 30th minute as Guillermo Franco beat goalie Craig Gordon from three yards. Youngster Jack Collison had made a good break down the right, and crossed in to the near post, from where the Mexican slotted the ball past the keeper.
Collison was also the provider for the second goal which came in the 26th minute of the game. The midfielder broke through the middle, and poked the ball forward for Carlton Cole, who waited for the goalie to make his move before pushing the ball under Gordon into the center of the goal from twelve yards.
Things looked a little better for the Black Cats when Andy Reid scored in the top-left of the goal from a twenty-yard free-kick which was bent over the wall from just to the right of the goal on the edge of the penalty area. The free-kick had been given for a Valon Behrami foul on Steed Malbranque.
As half-time approached Kenwyne Jones was red-carded in the 47th minute for reacting to a Herita Ilunga foul on him. The forward put his hands on the face and chest of the Congolese defender, pushing him to the floor.
The ten men of the hosts pushed the visitors back with wave after wave of attacks, and eventually equalized in the 76th minute as Kieran Richardson scored. Darren Bent got free down the right and his cross was partially blocked by Matthew Upson, causing the ball to balloon over helpless goalie Robert Green to the far post, where Richardson headed into an empty net from three yards.
In the 86th minute a Spector cross was cleared by defender Nyron Nosworthy to Darren Bent. The forward was fouled by visiting midfielder Radoslav Kovac, resulting in a red card for a second booking for the Czech player, who had earlier been booked for a foul on Malbranque in the 37th minute.
West Ham are 19th in the Standings, and will next host seventh ranked Aston Villa on Wednesday. Sunderland remain eighth ranked, and travel to fifth ranked Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday.
Bristol City 1-1 Sheffield Wednesday
Frank Simek had his first league appearance since August 11th, and played the full ninety minutes, and also earning himself a yellow card, as the Owls prevented the Robins from moving to joint secondnd in the rankings.
The opening goal came for the hosts in the 59th minute when Nicky Maynard scored into the center of the goal. A Paul Hartley corner was cleared by Tommy Miller, but only to Alboro Saborio, who returned the ball low for the forward to beat goalie Lee Grant from close range.
Luke Varney scored the equalizer in the 75th minute following a clever through ball from Marcus Tudgay. The forward hit a twenty-five yard thunderbolt, scoring into the bottom left of the goal.
As the home-team pushed forward looking for a winner Simek was forced into a challenge on Evander Sno in the 86th minute, and was cautioned for unsporting behavior.
Wednesday are ranked 14th, and will next host ninth ranked Queens Park Rangers on Saturday. Bristol are ranked fifth and next travel to 10th ranked Nottingham Forest.
Wycombe Wanderers 2-3 Walsall
Jon-Paul Pittman remained on the bench until the 73rd minute after coming back from a groin strain as his team gave up a two goal half-time lead.
The Chairboys took the lead in the 14th minute with a spectacular goal from a Scott Davies
Free kick. The midfielder, who is on loan from Reading, saw that visiting goalie Clayton Ince was off his line, and lobbed him from close to the half-way line.
The hosts doubled their lead in the 37th minute when Davies struck from a corner. Matt Phillips took a corner, laying it to the edge of the box, where the midfileder struck the ball with the outside of his right foot, to place his shot into the bottom-right corner.
The Saddlers got a goal back in the 55th minute from the left-foot of substitute Steve Jones. A Matthew Richards cross was fired in to the right lower corner from three yards when Jones was given far too much space in the area.
As the visitors poured forward their second goal came in the 80th minute, and was scored by defender Mark Hughes. A corner from Richards was not cleared, and the ball was hit in from five yards.
A great pass from Jones in the 83rd minute gave the Midlanders the win. He pushed a through ball to Alex Nicholls, who was left one-on-one with home goalie Scott Shearer, and the midfielder made no mistake, striking the ball into the bottom-left corner.
Wycombe remain bottom of the standings, and will next host fellow League One strugglers Brighton & Hove Albion in FA Cup action on Saturday.
Morecambe 3-1 Lincoln City
Eric Lichaj saw red for violent conduct as the Imps lost at Christie Park in an important match against their fellow strugglers.
The Shrimps took the lead in the 19th minute with a headed goal from Stewart Drummond. The midfielder was first to a quickly taken Craig Stanley left-side corner, scoring from seven yards.
The visitors conceded a second goal in the 42nd minute as Phil Jevons scored from the penalty spot, sending the keeper the wrong way after he had been fouled. A poor clearance by defender Daniel Hone was intercepted by the forward who ran into the area before being double-teamed by Hone and Moses Swaibu.
The contest was all but over in the 54th minute with the hosts' third goal, scored by Paul Mullin from inside the six-yard box. The forward hammered the ball home following an excellent right wing cross from Neil Wainwright.
The visitors scored a consolation goal in the 79th minute when Rene Howe scored into the top-left roof of the net from four yards. Forward Jamie Clark beat his defender, and crossed into the area where Howe was quickest to react.
Lichaj was sent off following an altercation with Laurance Wilson close to the halfway line. The referee decided that Lichaj was the cause of the problem, and dismissed him, which led to a melee which reulted in yellow cards for home players Wilson and Jim Bentley, and Clark for the visitors.
Lincoln are 19th ranked, and will play non-league AFC Telford in the FA Cup. Morecambe sit in 20th place, and will also be in FA Cup action at League One Carlisle United.
Notes:
Mike Grella stayed on the bench as Leeds United scored a 4-0 hammering of Yeovil Town, moving the Yorkshire team seven points clear at the top of the rankings.
Marcus Hahnemann was an unused substitute for Wolverhampton Wanderers as they earned a 2-2 draw at Stoke City.
Ian Joyce watched from the sidelines as Southend beat Gillingham 1-0.
Jay DeMerit was missing through injury as Watford suffered a 5-0 thrashing at West Bromwich Albion.
Jemal Johnson missed the game through injury as Milton Keynes Dons moved into 3rd place in the rankings with a 2-1 win over Bristol Rovers.
Zak Whitbread was out injured and missed the 2-1 victory for Millwall over Colchester United.
Seb Harris did not suit up as Northampton Town lost 1-0 at Torquay United.
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