With many thanks to Brian Judson, without whom this feature would not be possible.
Saturday 2 February 2002
Arsenal v Southampton 1-1
Wiltord put Arsenal ahead five minutes before the break. His goal meant
that Arsenal have now scored in 26 consecutive matches, a new Premiership
record. They were without Keown, who sustained a broken leg in midweek and
Adams is still some way from match fitness. Vieira limped off with a
hamstring injury. The goal came when Wiltord swept the ball out to Pires,
who sent Henry away down the wing. Henry centred to Bergkamp by the near
post and as Southampton failed to clear the ball, Wiltord lashed it into
the net. But with eleven minutes to go, Tessem outjumped everyone else to
head a shock equaliser.
Derby County v Tottenham Hotspur 1-0
The full report is available here, not that it makes good reading.
Everton v Ipswich Town 1-2
Ipswich continued their rise up the table with a 2-1 win over Everton.
Peralta put them ahead in the 11th minute when Clapham put over a superb
cross for Peralta to lash the ball into Everton's goal. Unsworth scored a
28th minute penalty when Campbell was brought down by Ipswich 'keeper
Marshall. But Holland snatched the winner for the visitors in the 44th
minute when Clapham took a free-kick, tapping the ball to Holland, who
cracked the ball home. In the second half, Everton looked bereft of ideas
and ran out of steam.
Fulham v Aston Villa 0-0
Fulham should have won this match as they were the better of two poor
sides. Villa clearly missed the departed John Gregory and were probably
upset, too, by their fans constantly chanting demands for Doug Ellis and
his Board to resign. The first half saw only one shot - from Saha, which
Enckelman saved easily. Hayles had a second half chance when van der Sar
made a huge clearance but saw his lob hit the wrong side of the roof of
the net. Vassell had a chance to nick all three points for Villa eight
minutes from the end when Merson created a chance but he shot tamely at
van der Sar.
Leicester City v Chelsea 2-3
Leicester thought they had done enough to win this match after their best
performance for weeks. Scowcroft headed the ball into the net in the 24th
minute after Oakes had taken a corner. Hasselbaink equalised in the 62nd
minute when he headed home a Le Saux cross. Six minutes later, Scowcroft
restored Leicester's lead when he headed home from a corner by Oakes. Zola
equalised in the 79th minute when he curled home a free-kick and in the
dying seconds of the match, Forssell put Hasselbaink through to slip the
ball behind Ian Walker.
Manchester United v Sunderland 4-1
The Champions wrapped up the points by half-time with a superb
performance. Phil Neville put them ahead after 6 minutes when several
crisp passes found van Nistleroy who back heeled the ball to Solksjaer,
who slipped the ball to Neville, who drove home his second goal of the
season. Phillips equalised for Sunderland when they scored against the run
of play. He received the ball from McAteer some 25 yards out and hit the
ball into the United goal. Beckham restored the Champions' lead when he
took a free-kick on the edge of the penalty area. Three minutes later,
van Nistleroy added another goal when Beckham played the ball forward for
the Dutchman to whip the ball home. The final goal came from the penalty
spot when van Nistleroy thumped a penalty kick after Reyna had obstructed
Giggs. The second half was an anti-climax as United eased off.
Newcastle United v Bolton Wanderers 3-2
Gardner put the Trotters ahead in the 19th minute when he robbed Solano of
the ball, sprinted between two defenders and hit the ball behind Given on
the run. Shearer equalised four minutes later when Newcastle were awarded
a free-kick which Solano tapped to Shearer who lashed the ball home.
Southall restored Bolton's lead in the 34th minute when Nolan crossed the
ball only for it to be partially cleared. Southall collected the loose
ball and lashed it behind Given. In the 43rd minute, Shearer equalised
when Hughes put over a superb cross that Shearer nodded into the goal. In
the second half, Newcastle looked the better side but wasted their chances
until Bellamy scored the winner in the 79th minute. He ran to the far post
and flung himself forward to nod the ball into the Bolton goal after
Hughes had centred the ball.
West Ham United v Blackburn Rovers 2-0
The Hammers gained revenge for their 7-1 thrashing earlier this season
when they beat a very poor Blackburn side. Sinclair put them ahead after
17 minutes when he broke down the left wing to score after the Hammers had
spurned a number of chances. Kanoute added a second in the 56th minute
when he raced on to a Di Canio pass to crash the ball behind Friedel. This
was Di Canio's last appearance for three weeks as he is now suspended.
Sunday 3 February 2002
Leeds United v Liverpool 0-4
The Reds handed out a footballing lesson to Leeds in this match, probably
ended any hopes the Yorkshire side entertained of winning the title.
Ferdinand began the rout by conceding a 16th minute own goal under
pressure from a free-kick taken by Murphy as he tried to clear his lines.
Heskey then scored twice in three minutes midway through the second half.
His first goal, in the 61st minute, came when Gerrard sent him away,
looking suspiciously offside but the linesman never flagged and Heskey
eluded Martyn to score. Two minutes later, Wright headed on Riise's
corner, Owen headed down and Heskey swept the ball into the net. In the
dying seconds, Owen, who had worked hard throughout the match, swept home
a last minute strike. Leeds were very off colour and Bowyer and Kewell
were both well below their normal form.
Middlesbrough v Charlton Athletic 0-0
This was a very disappointing match. Charlton lacked the nous to unlock
the Teessiders defence whilst Middlesbrough lacked anyone with the nous to
score. Southgate and Ince were the stars in a gritty display by the home
side but they will undoubtedly regret dropping two valuable points.
Southgate almost snatched a winner in the second half but was unable to
take a clean shot on the Charlton goal.
Cheers, Brian
Pos Pl. W. D. L. For-Ag Pts.
1 Man Utd 26 16 3 7 64- 35 51
2 Newcastle 25 15 4 6 48- 32 49
3 Liverpool 26 14 7 5 38- 24 49
4 Arsenal 25 13 9 3 50- 30 48
5 Chelsea 25 11 10 4 45- 25 43
6 Leeds 25 11 9 5 35- 27 42
7 A. Villa 25 9 10 6 31- 28 37
8 Charlton 25 8 9 8 30- 30 33
9 Spurs 25 9 5 11 35- 34 32
10 Fulham 24 7 11 6 23- 23 32
11 West Ham 25 8 7 10 29- 40 31
12 Ipswich 25 8 6 11 34- 34 30
13 Everton 25 7 7 11 26- 30 28
14 S'derland 25 7 7 11 20- 30 28
15 S'hampton 25 9 3 13 30- 38 27
16 M'brough 24 7 6 11 22- 31 27
17 Blackburn 25 6 7 11 32- 34 25
18 Bolton 25 5 10 10 29- 42 25
19 Derby 25 6 4 15 18- 42 22
20 Leicester 25 3 8 14 17- 44 17
