With many thanks to Brian Judson, without whom this feature would not be possible
Saturday 1 December 2001
Aston Villa v Leicester City 0-2
Not for the first time in his long reign as Villa Chairman, Doug Ellis is
again being barracked by his club's supporters. Villa were always second
best to Leicester City, the side who had scored the fewest goals in the
championship so far this season. Akinbiyi set Leicester on the road to
victory when he headed home a corner kick taken by Dennis Wise. Villa
loudly protested, to no avail, that Schmeichel had been hindered by
Sinclair but referee Steve Bennett was having none of it. Scowcroft
extended Leicester's lead in the 51st minute when Schmeichel failed to
hold a cross from Marshall when under pressure from Akinbiyi. As
Schmeichel collided with Mellberg, the ball ran loose to Scowcroft who had
all the time in the world to score. With seven minutes left, Ginola was
sent off for kicking Wise. The referee had no doubts about sending him off
but Ginola had an altercation with the fourth official before heading for
the dressing room. (Note : it has been announced that Ginola is likely to
be charged for the altercation with the fourth official as well as
receiving a three game ban for his dismissal.)
Blackburn Rovers v Middlesbrough 0-1
Boksic scored the only goal of the game deep in first half injury time
when he was struck by the ball from a shot by Greening and looped over
Friedel into the net. Blackburn tried to fight back in the second half but
could make no headway against the effective Ehiogu and Southgate, who
marshalled their defence very well.
Charlton Athletic v Newcastle United 1-1
Newcastle looked to have broken their London hoodoo when they went ahead
in the 73rd minute through a goal by Gary Speed. They have not won in
London for four years. Robert had floated a speculative centre which
Stuart seemed to have cleared. The ball ran loose to Speed who volleyed
the ball home as Kiely dived in a vain attempt to block the shot.
Macdonald equalised for the Addicks in the 83rd minute when MacDonald
cracked the ball home from 18 yards. Shearer was dismissed with three
minutes to go when the referee, Andy D'Urso, decided, after consulting his
linesman, that Shearer had elbowed Fortune. (Note : Tonight, it has been
announced that Shearer will NOT be suspended as the referee changed his
mind about the dismissal after watching a video of the incident.)
Derby County v Liverpool 0-1
Michael Owen scored the only goal of the game in the 6th minute but Derby
really should have salvaged something from the match. It was Poom's error
that cost Derby because he spilled the ball at Owen's feet and Owen
reacted faster than anyone else, needless to say. Dudek defied Derby for
long periods but could do nothing when Heskey handled the ball in his own
penalty area with five minutes left to play. Ravenelli missed the
resulting penalty for the second week running by shooting straight to
Dudek.
Ipswich Town v Arsenal 0-2
The Tractor Boys are deep in trouble at the foot of the table. Ljungberg
put Arsenal ahead after only 5 minutes. It was also the Swede who was
instrumental in securing the penalty when he was brought down by Venus in
the 56th minute. Henry scored from the spot to give Arsenal an
unassailable lead. Ljungberg also blocked the ball on his own goal line
from Hreidarsson when the Ipswich defender tried to head home a corner
kick.
Manchester United v Chelsea 0-3
The Champions effectively conceded their hopes for a fourth successive
title when they lost this match. They were always second best despite
having more of the possession than Chelsea. Melchiot put the Blues ahead
after only 6 minutes when he headed home Hasselbaink's corner from the
right wing. No one was marking Melchiot, who had plenty of time to pick
his spot. Chelsea should have gone into the half-time break at least 3-0
ahead but Hasselbaink ensured Chelsea would win when he scored their
second in the 64th minute. Veron gave the ball away in midfield and
Gudjohnsen pounced on the ball. The ball went to Hasselbaink whose low
shot eluded Barthez and ricochetted into the United goal off the far
upright. Gudjohnsen confirmed the rout with four minutes to go when he
scored.
Sunderland v West Ham United 1-0
Kevin Phillips struck late in the game to deny a gutsy West Ham side a
share of the points. West Ham wasted many chances to secure all three
points for themselves through rank poor shooting. Sunderland predictably
aimed for the tall head of Niall Quinn in the hope that he could knock
down a ball for Phillips to profit from and it was exactly this tactic
that settled the game. Arca centred the ball which everyone expected to be
headed downwards by Quinn but Phillips got there first to prod the ball
behind James.
Sunday 2 December 2001
Everton v Southampton 2-0
Both of the Everton goals came in the second half when they were much more
inventive, due largely to the fact Gascoigne came on as a second half
substitute. 'Gazza' is no longer the force he once was and can only figure
in cameo roles. But prior to his arrival, Everton were not looking likely
to score in a month of Sundays. 'Gazza' played no part in their first
goal. It was Steve Watson whose flick put Radzinski clear on the left in
the 50th minute with the Saints defence in total disarray and Paul Jones,
the Saints 'keeper, could do nothing to retrieve the situation. After
that, it was always obvious that Everton were going to win. But Walter
Smith was visibly annoyed at the number of chances they missed that could
have turned this match into a thrashing for the Saints. Finally,
Pembridge, another second half substitute, scored the winning goal in the
87th minute when he timed his run to perfection to latch on to Gravesen's
cross, to thump the ball home.
Fulham v Leeds United 0-0
Robbie Fowler's debut was the only talking point of a match that saw
Fulham end the match reflecting on another afternoon of poor finishing.
There were few incidents worthy of recollection. Leeds were poor at times.
Their passing was abysmal, their attitude negative and Smith was
needlessly cautioned only a week after being sent off. Kelly cleared one
shot off the line from Boa Morte. But that was all that was worthy of
notice.
Monday 3 December 2001
Tottenham Hotspur v Bolton Wanderers 3-2
Full report here.
Pos Pl. W. D. L. For-Ag Pts.
1 Liverpool 13 9 2 2 23-11 29
2 Arsenal 14 7 5 2 30-15 26
3 Leeds 14 6 7 1 16- 8 25
4 Newcastle 14 7 3 4 24-18 24
5 Spurs 15 7 3 5 24-20 25
6 Chelsea 14 5 8 1 19-11 23
7 A. Villa 14 6 5 3 18-14 23
8 Man United 14 6 3 5 31-26 21
9 Everton 14 5 5 4 20-17 20
10 Bolton 15 5 5 5 20-20 20
11 Blackburn 15 4 7 3 21-17 19
12 Fulham 14 4 7 3 15-13 19
13 S'derland 15 5 4 6 13-15 19
14 M'brough 15 5 4 6 17-20 19
15 Charlton 14 3 6 5 17-19 15
16 West Ham 14 4 3 7 16-26 15
17 Leicester 15 3 4 8 9-25 13
18 S'hampton 14 3 1 10 11-24 10
19 Derby 14 2 4 8 10-24 10
20 Ipswich 15 1 6 8 14-24 9
