With many thanks to Brian Judson, without whom this feature would not be possible.
Saturday, December 21st, 2002
Arsenal v Middlesbrough 2-0
Middlesbrough keeper Schwarzer had kept the Gunners at bay until Campbell
struck in the 45th minute. Boateng had been stretchered off with a serious
injury after 24 minutes. But with the referee looking at his watch von
Bronckhorst took a free kick from which Campbell headed the ball into
Schwarzer's goal. Wilkshire was later sent off for two cautionable
offences which Middlesbrough angrily denied. Pires snatched a 90th minute
second goal when he sent in a low ball from the edge of the penalty area
that left Schwarzer beaten.
Birmingham City v Charlton Athletic 1-1
Birmingham came back from the dead to snatch a point. Jensen had given
Charlton the lead in the 37th minute when Jensen played a one-two with
Parker before dummying the ball into the net. Cisse then gained his 10th
booking of the season and Horsfield was sent off to boost Birmingham's
crime sheet to 52 yellow cards and 3 red cards. Devlin converted a penalty
in the 67th minute after Ciise had been upended by Jensen.
Chelsea v Aston Villa 2-0
The Blues are now second in the table and looking good for a challenge for
the title. Gudjohnssen put the Blues ahead in the 42nd minute when he
latched on to Hasselbaink's pass and sent Enckleman the wrong way with his
shot. Lampard grabbed a second goal in the 57th minute when his cross
skidded off the wet pitch, eluding everyone in the penalty area and flew
into the corner of the goal.
Leeds United v Southampton 1-1
Both goals came very late in the game. It was Leeds who struck first when
Kewell got on to the end of a Harte corner in the 74th minute to force the
ball home. Just as Leeds thought they had done enough to snatch the
points, Fernandes popped up in the 89th minute to score after a raking
driving from Fernandes. An identical move a couple of moments later almost
saw Saints win the match but Robinson was able to block the shot this
time.
Newcastle United v Fulham 2-0
Solano put the Toon ahead in the 8th minute when Bellamy forced a Fulham
defender to pass the ball back to Van Der Sar. The goalkeeper spooned the
ball to Solano, who promptly lobbed the ball into Fulham's goal. Shearer
missed a penalty three minutes after the break after Davis was penalised
for tugging Dyer's shirt. Van Der Sar limped off after 62 minutes to be
replaced by Maik Taylor and was quickly followed by Wome, who was sent off
for a dreadful challenge on O'Brien. Bellamy made sure of the points in
the 70th minute when Dyer fed Bellamy who broke away and fired the ball
behind Taylor.
West Bromwich Albion v Sunderland 2-2
Sunderland snatched an unexpected point after going 2-0 down at the
Hawthorns. Dichio's goal came from a corner in the 27th minute when Koumas
put the ball on to his head. Koumas added a second in the 33rd minute when
he volleyed a terrific shot that left Macho rooted to his line. In the
second half, Phillips reduced the arrears in the 56th minute when Gregan
failed to deal with a Kilbane pass, leaving Phillips with a relatively
simple chance to score. Phillips then ensured that Sunderland shared the
points when he cut in from the left in the 64th minute and eluded two
Baggies defenders before volleying the ball behind Hoult.
West Ham United v Bolton Wanderers 1-1
The Hammers go into Christmas still rooted bottom of the table. No side
has yet avoided relegation after being bottom of the table at this stage
of the season. Pearce put the Hammers ahead in the 17th minute when
Carrick fed the ball to make-shift striker Pearce, who outpaced the Bolton
defence to volley the ball home. Ricketts snatched an equaliser in the
65th minute when he came on as a substitute and scored from what looked to
be an offside position. But West Ham should have won the game when in
injury time, Lomas crossed from the right but Sinclair could only head the
ball wide.
Sunday, December 22nd, 2002
Blackburn Rovers v Manchester United 1-0
Flitcroft scored the only goal of the match in the 40th minute, thus
ending Manchester United's run of eight consecutive victories. Dunn was
tripped by Scholes just outside the penalty area. Duff floated a free-kick
over the wall and Taylor headed a ball on to Wes Brown with the ball
falling into Flitcroft's oncoming path. Barthez could do nothing to stop
his shot flying into his goal. It was the first time in 14 outings that
Manchester United had failed to score.
Liverpool v Everton 0-0
Neither side really looked like scoring as both defences were well on top
for the majority of this match. Liverpool played much better defensively
with Hyypia and Henchoz returning to something like their normal form.
However, Gerrard was one of a few players who fell foul of referee Poll
but he had only himself to blame for going in double footed with studs
exposed on Naysmith. That tackle provoked a confrontation between the two
teams. In my view, Gerrard should have been dismissed as I felt he could
have broken Naysmith's leg. Six other players were booked, three from each
side, including Naysmith for extracting revenge on Gerrard.
Monday, December 23rd, 2002
Manchester City v Tottenham Hotspur 2-3
Read the full report here
FA Barclaycard Premiership
Pos. Pl. W. D. L. F-A. GD Pts
1 Arsenal 19 12 3 4 39-20 19 39
2 Chelsea 19 10 7 2 34-15 19 37
3 Man Utd 19 10 5 4 30-18 12 35
4 Everton 19 10 3 6 22-21 1 33
5 Liverpool 19 9 5 5 28-19 9 32
6 Newcastle 18 10 2 6 29-24 5 32
7 Spurs 19 9 4 6 27-26 0 31
8 So'pton 19 7 7 5 22-20 2 28
9 Blackburn 19 7 6 6 25-22 3 27
10 M'brough 19 7 5 7 22-18 4 26
11 Charlton 19 7 4 8 21-23 -2 25
12 B'mingham 19 6 6 7 19-22 -3 24
13 Man City 19 7 3 9 24-28 -4 24
14 Fulham 19 6 4 9 22-25 -3 22
15 A. Villa 19 6 4 9 17-20 -3 22
16 Leeds 19 6 3 10 24-26 -2 21
17 S'derland 19 4 6 9 12-26 -14 18
18 West Brom 19 4 4 11 15-29 -14 16
19 Bolton 18 3 6 9 19-32 -13 15
20 West Ham 19 3 5 11 18-35 -17 14
