With many thanks to Brian Judson, without whom this feature would not be possible.
Friday, September 26th, 2003
Arsenal v Newcastle United 3-2
In a match where sanity needed to be present, all the players were on
their best behaviour after last Sunday's brawl. The pitch was greasy as it
had been watered earlier and made even more slippery when there was a
cloudburst in the first half. Newcastle had been playing well when Henry
struck in the 18th minute Bramble miscued a clearance that flew straight
to Henry, who accepted the gift gratefully. Shortly afterwards, Vieira
limped off with a thigh injury. Robert equalised in the 26th minute when
Dyer scampered down the wing to beat the Arsenal offside trap and centre
the ball for the Frenchman to score. Arsenal were being rocked in their
heels when suddenly Gilberto restored their lead in the 67th minute.
Robert clattered into Ljungberg which left him limping badly but he had to
stay on as he could not be substituted. From the free-kick, Gilberto
struck the ball which flew past Given. Bernard equalised in the 71st
minute when Dyer provided the pass for the Frenchman to thump home from an
angle. But then, just as Newcastle dared to hope it was mission
accomplished, Jenas needlessly conceded a penalty by punching the ball
away. Henry duly scored from the penalty spot in the 80th minute.
Saturday, September 27th, 2003
Birmingham City v Portsmouth 2-0
The Birmingham Blues won the battle and left the Pompey Chimes silent.
Clemence put the Birmingham fans in festive mood when he scored in the
21st minute when Lazaridis took a free-kick that left Pompey's defence
ball-watching, thus allowing Clemence to slide in and prod the ball into
the goal. Lazaridis added a second in the 50th minute when Dugarry sent
Clemence down the left and his lob found Lazaridis, who put the ball wide
of the advancing Hislop. Sheringham worked hard to put Pompey back in the
game but saw one shot hit the woodwork.
Bolton Wanderers v Wolverhampton Wanderers 1-1
Poor Wolves were left struggling at the bottom of the table when Bolton
snatched a very late equaliser. Rae had put the visitors ahead in the 30th
minute when he rifled home a 30-yard shot after a corner by Kennedy was
not properly cleared by Okocha. Just as it looked as if Wolves had done
enough to claim all the points, Davies popped up in the 85th minute to
snatch an improbable equaliser. The ball was centred by Little and Davies
volleyed the ball home. Wolves had only themselves to blame as Iversen had
missed a hat-trick of good chances.
Chelsea v Aston Villa 1-0
Hasselbaink scored the only goal of the game in the 43rd minute. Sorensen
parried a cross from Lampard but the ball only ran as far as Hasselbaink.
The game as a spectacle was largely dull and Chelsea did not seem to want
to put too much effort into beating Villa. Some of the passing was sloppy
and Angel almost grabbed an equaliser after a very sloppy pass from
Lampard which left Angel one on one with Cudicini. Villa deserved to earn
a point but could not convert their chances into goals.
Leicester City v Manchester United 1-4
There was never any doubt about the outcome of this match! Keane put his
side ahead in the 15th minute when Scholes made a pass that enabled Keane
to beat Leicester's offside trap to sidefoot the ball behind Walker, Ruud
van Nistelrooy then proceeded to score a hat-trick. His first goal came in
the 16th minute when Scholes attempted a low shot that the Dutchman picked
up and diverted the ball behind Walker. The Dutchman's second goal came in
the 45th minute when Ferdinand provided the pass for him to score. He
completed his hat-trick when Djemba-Djemba provided the pass for him to
score in the 52nd minute. Sinclair scored a consolation goal for the hosts
in the 73rd minute. Ex-Spurs players Walker and Thatcher played for
Leicester but Thatcher went off just before half-time suffering from flu.
Southampton v Middlesbrough 0-1
Christie grabbed the only goal of the game in the 13th minute when he cut
in from the right and volleyed the ball into a small gap between Jones and
an upright. The referee was kept busy dealing with feuds. Marsden was
lucky in that he was only booked instead of being sent off for an aerial
challenge on Schwarzer.Within two minutes, Strachan hauled him off but
there was worse to come. Near the end of the game Queuendrue and Phillips
clashed and Phillips threw a punch at the French player and was quickly
despatched for an early bath.
Sunday, September 28th, 2003
Blackburn Rovers v Fulham 0-2
Boa Morte put Fulham ahead after they had capitalised on some defensive
mistakes in the 5th minute. Saha added a second in the 56th minute when he
slipped past Amoruso. Blackburn were very very poor and manager Souness
was apoplectic after their third consecutive home defeat.
Charlton Athletic v Liverpool 3-2
Smicer put Liverpool ahead in the 15th minute when they took advantage of
some poor defensive marking to create Smicer's chance. Lisbie equalised in
the 31st minute when he managed to get on the end of a long downfield pass
prom Stuart and lobbed the ball over Dudek.Just before half-time, Lisbie
profited from a defensive mistake that led to a corner. From the corner,
Dudek pushed out a Bartlett shot to score in the 43rd minute. Owen
equalised from the penalty spot in the 52nd minute after Perry had
wrestled Heskey to the ground. Lisbie completed his hat-trick in the 83rd
minute when he raced 70 yards with the ball to score the wining goal.
Everton v Leeds United 4-0
This was such a one-sided match that Peter Reid, disgusted with his
charges, retreated to the back of the dugout. Watson put Everton ahead in
the 27th minute. His second goal saw Watson chip the ball over Robinson in
the 37th minute. Ferguson headed the third in the 39th minute. Watson
completed the rout in the 52nd minute with a gentle lob.
Manchester City v Tottenham Hotspur 0-0
Read the full report on "Lucky Spurs" here
Cheers, Brian
FA Barclaycard Premiership
Pos. Pl. W. D. L. F-A. GD Pts
1 Arsenal 7 5 2 0 14-5 9 17
2 Chelsea 6 5 1 0 16-6 10 16
3 Man Utd 7 5 1 1 13-3 10 16
4 B'mingham 6 4 2 0 8-2 6 14
5 Man City 7 3 3 1 14-8 6 12
6 So'pton 7 3 3 1 8-4 4 12
7 Fulham 6 3 2 1 13-9 4 11
8 Liverpool 7 3 2 2 11-7 4 11
9 P'tsmouth 7 2 3 2 9-7 2 9
10 Everton 7 2 2 3 12-11 1 8
11 Blackburn 7 2 2 3 14-14 0 8
12 Charlton 7 2 2 3 10-11 -1 8
13 A. Villa 7 2 1 4 7-11 -4 7
14 M'brough 7 2 1 4 6-12 -6 7
15 Bolton 7 1 4 2 5-11 -6 7
16 L'cester 7 1 2 4 10-13 -3 5
17 Spurs 7 1 2 4 5-12 -7 5
18 Leeds 7 1 2 4 6-16 -10 5
19 Newcastle 6 0 3 3 7-10 -3 3
20 Wolves 7 0 2 5 2-18 -16 2
