With many thanks to Brian Judson, without whom this feature would not be possible.
Tuesday, October 14th, 2003
Birmingham City v Chelsea 0-0
Rainieri again rang the changes which led to their being less efficient in
front of goal. There was never any doubt the outcome of the match would be
goal-less. It took Chelsea to the top of the table, however.
Saturday, October 18th, 2003
Arsenal v Chelsea 2-1
Edu put Arsenal ahead in the 5th minute when Johnson handled the ball just
out of the penalty area. Edu struck the free-kick low and Cudicini could
not prevent the ball flying into the goal. Crespo equalised for Chelsea in
the 8th minute. Fed by Geremi, he skipped past Lauren before unleashing a
shot that bulletted into Lehmann's goal. Henry snatched the winner for
Arsenal in the 75th minute when his bobbling shot was allowed to run
between Cudicini's legs and bobble over the goal line.
Fulham v Wolverhampton Wanderers 0-0
The point that Wolves achieved at Loftus Road was enough to take them off
the bottom of the table. Had it not been for the inspired form shown by
Van Der Sar, Wolves might even have won! Fulham did not become effective
until Hayles replaced Saha in the 66th minute.
Leeds United v Manchester United 0-1
Roy Keane scored the only goal of the game in the 81st minute. The first
half was virtually devoid of incident as Ferdinand effectively marshalled
the United defence. Giggs was missing because he was ill. Robinson was the
busier goalkeeper but the Leeds defence was at its best.But with nine
minutes left, Gary Neville powered in a centre that Keane headed beyond
Robinson.
Manchester City v Bolton Wanderers 6-2
Nolan put Bolton ahead in the 25th minute when N'Gotty sent a long ball
forward for Nolan to scuff the ball home from 4 yards. Wright-Phillips
equalised in the 27th minute when he chipped the ball over the Bolton
goalkeeper from an extremely acute angle. Distin put the Sky Blues ahead
in the 48th minute when Anelka tore down the wing and slung the ball over
for Distin to score. Wright-Phillips scored again in the 56th minute when
Jaaskelainen got a hand to his shot but could not prevent the ball from
flying into his goal. Anelka added another goal in the 58th minute when
Anelka won the race to a loose ball and slipped past the Bolton
goalkeeper. Campo reduced Bolton's arrears in the 60th minute when he
hammered a powerful shot beyond Seaman. It was at this point
Wright-Phillips was sent off after a rugged challenge on Simon Charlton.
Anelka added another goal in the 72nd minute and Reyna completed the rout
in the 84th minute.
Middlesbrough v Newcastle United 0-1
Amoebi scored the only goal of the game in the 21st minute when Shearer
headed down a cross from Bowyer and Speed chested the ball on to Amoebi to
force home. This was rather harsh on Middlesbrough because they played
fairly well but failed to take the chances that came their way.
Portsmouth v Liverpool 1-0
Berger scored the only goal of the match in the 4th minute. Schemmel put a
terrific cross to the far post where Berger was lurking to slip the ball
beyond Dudek. Liverpool had their chances to pull the game out of the fire
but without the injured Owen looked completely toothless.
Sunday, October 19th, 2003
Birmingham City v Aston Villa 0-0
Neither side were unduly bothered in a match in which entertainment was
very scarce. Only Sorensen of the two goalkeepers had anything to trouble
him and that was the sum total of shots on target - ONE! Least said about
the rest of the match!
Everton v Southampton 0-0
Both sides were without their star strikers and neither side looked like
scoring. Beattie came closest to scoring for the Saints but it would have
been an injustice had either side won.
Leicester City v Tottenham Hotspur 1-2
Full report available here
Monday, October 20th, 2003
Blackburn Rovers v Charlton Athletic 0-1
A rare goal by Hreidarsson was enough to separate the two teams. The goal
was created from a corner taken by di Canio in the 33rd minute. Flitcroft
failed to pick up Hreidarsson. who forced the ball home. Kiely was
scarcely troubled until di Baggio came on in the 77th minute.
Tuesday October 21st, 2003
Fulham v Newcastle United 2-3
(Ed: Brian's review of this match will be in next week's article.)
Cheers, Brian
FA Barclaycard Premiership
Pos. Pl. W. D. L. F-A. GD Pts
1 Arsenal 9 7 2 0 18-7 11 23
2 Man Utd 9 7 1 1 17-3 14 22
3 Chelsea 9 6 2 1 19-9 10 20
4 B'mingham 9 4 4 1 8-5 3 16
5 Man City 9 4 3 2 20-11 9 15
6 Fulham 9 4 3 2 17-12 5 15
7 Charlton 9 4 2 3 13-12 1 14
8 So'pton 9 3 4 2 8-5 3 13
9 P'tsmouth 9 3 3 3 11-9 2 12
10 Newcastle 9 3 3 3 12-12 0 12
11 Liverpool 9 3 2 4 12-10 2 11
12 Spurs 9 3 2 4 10-13 -3 11
13 Everton 9 2 3 4 12-14 -2 9
14 A. Villa 9 2 3 4 8-12 -4 9
15 Blackburn 9 2 2 5 15-17 -2 8
16 Bolton 9 1 5 3 8-18 -10 8
17 Leeds 9 2 2 5 8-18 -10 8
18 M'brough 9 2 1 6 7-15 -8 7
19 Wolves 9 1 3 5 3-18 -15 6
20 L'cester 9 1 2 6 11-17 -6 5
