© EuroFootball.com
On Sunday, the remaining two matches of the 13th round of the English Premier League were played. Both games ended in a draw - both "Wigan" and "Aston Villa", as well as "Blackburn" and "Tottenham", shared a point.
The match started lively and already in one of the first attacks, the visitors' goalkeeper Thomas Sorensen had work to do by saving a very dangerous header by Lee McCulloch after a precise pass from the right wing by Henri Camara. Shortly after, Paul Scharner tried his luck with a shot from distance, but the ball flew wide of the goal and didn't cause any major problems.
The pressure from "Wigan" continued and L. McCulloch and H. Camara had a few more chances to score, but lacked accuracy in the final stages of the attacks.
The only more dangerous attack in the first half was launched by the "Aston Villa" players, who had reason to worry when Peter Whittingham's long shot shook the crossbar.
In the second half, the hosts continued to dominate. Their attacks were more dangerous and frequent, but despite all efforts, they couldn't find the back of the net.
Meanwhile, the visitors "Wigan" threatened goalkeeper Chris Kirkland a few times, and during the most dangerous attacks, Gareth Barry, like all other players on the field, lacked accuracy at the crucial moments.
In the second match between the UEFA Cup participants promised an intriguing and beautiful battle. Although initially the "Tottenham" players looked slightly better, 23 minutes into the game, the situation turned upside down with a fantastic long-range shot from Turkish goalkeeper Tugay, leaving no hope for the desperate leap by goalkeeper Paul Robinson.
"Tottenham" responded with two dangerous shots from Jermain Defoe, and at the end of the first half, another striker from the London club, Mido, missed a couple of good opportunities to score. Initially, practically alone against the goalkeeper, the Egyptian decided not to approach the goal and try his luck from a distance, but his shot was way off target.
During another attack, goalkeeper Edgaras Davids deceived several opponents and passed the ball to a striker in the penalty area. He quickly launched another attack at the goal, but the shot was too weak, and Brad Friedel easily caught the ball.
The second half unfolded similarly until the 60th minute, when everything turned upside down once again - the visitors' goalkeeper H. Ghaly received a great pass near the penalty area and, entering it, technically deceived Tugay, who, having no other option, brought down his opponent. Although the contact was minimal, the referee saw it as a last-ditch foul and not only awarded a penalty kick but also sent off the Turkish scorer of the first goal of the match.
J. Defoe took the penalty kick and executed it flawlessly - even though B. Friedel guessed the direction of the ball, he could only rely on a miracle to save his team.
After a few minutes, and already causing displeasure to the local fans with his previous decision, Phill Dowd had to withstand a wave of noise, curses, and disputes when he decided that Mido had stopped the ball in the penalty area with his chest, not his hand.
Although "Blackburn" continued the match with ten players after this, the passionate hosts completely took the initiative and tried to snatch victory. Benni McCarthy had the best chance to do so, but his technically shot towards the goal was caught by P. Robinson. In the opposite end, Ledley King's header was perhaps the only serious threat to B. Friedel's goal.
Nevertheless, the emotions didn't calm down until the final whistle. Already during added time, the same H. Ghaly, fighting for the ball, elbowed Michael Gray and was sent off. Along with his player, "Tottenham" coach Martin Jol had to withdraw after receiving a red card for disputes with the referee.
In the remaining minutes, neither team managed to snatch a dramatic victory. Interestingly, for the "Blackburn" team, this was already the sixth match in a row without a win.
