"Premier" League - three victories for the hosts

2006-10-21 21:48 © EuroFootball.com

On Saturday, five matches of the 9th round of the English Premier League were played. "Wigan" won a crushing victory, "Chelsea" defeated "Portsmouth" at home, "Everton" dealt with "Sheffield Utd", the match between the two league outsiders "Charlton" and "Watford" ended in a draw, and "Aston Villa" lost two points in a match against "Fulham."

In the early games of the day, at the bottom of the championship, "Wigan" and mid-table "Man City" met. A goal was not long in coming. In the 1st minute, the ball went into the net of "Man City" goalkeeper Nicky Weaver after a pass from the right by Emerson Boyce to veteran striker Emile Heskey, who sent the ball into the net from about 10 meters. This was his 96th goal in the English championship in 350 appearances.

Unexpectedly for "Man City," the match was not going as planned, and "Wigan" scored a second goal. In the 4th minute, after a pass from Josip Skoko from the left, one of the best defenders of "Man City," Richard Dunne, headed the ball into his own net. But even after this goal, the home team continued to attack more and more. In the 12th minute, a shot from Henri Camara from afar went wide.

But after ten minutes, a new signing of "Man City" this summer, Bernardo Corradi, had a chance to score, but his header went straight into the hands of "Wigan" goalkeeper Chris Kirkland. A few minutes later, the culprit of the second goal, R. Dunne, wasted a great opportunity when he headed the ball over the goal after a pass from Joey Barton. In the 35th minute, after a header from Trevor Sinclair, B. Corradi sent the ball over the crossbar.

In the second half, the hosts again had a chance. Kevin Kilbane passed the ball to Paul Scharner, who missed the goal. Ten minutes later, P. Scharner threatened N. Weaver's goal, but his header went over the crossbar. In the 64th minute, "Wigan" striker H. Camara started the rout by sending the ball into the left bottom corner of the goal after a pass from defender Leighton Baines.

After two minutes, the "Man City" players conceded their fourth and final goal of the match. After E. Heskey's pass from the right, rising Ecuadorian star Antonio Valencia struck the ball into the Manchester club's net. In the 75th minute, a dangerous penalty kick was taken by "Man City" captain J. Barton, but the ball went wide.

At the end of the match, "Wigan" could have scored a fifth goal, but H. Camara and Gary Teale's shots were saved by "City" goalkeeper N. Weaver. The crushing victory for the "Wigan" club lifted them from 17th to 13th place, while "Man City" remains in 12th.

In another match at the "Stamford Bridge" stadium, the defending champions "Chelsea" faced the league newcomers "Portsmouth". The match started with an unusual initiative from the visitors. After Gary O'Neil's pass, Nwankwo Kanu's header flew just wide of the "Blues" goalkeeper Hilario's net. This was followed by Matthew Taylor's long-range shot, which went over the crossbar.

But after this moment, the "Chelsea" players took the initiative. The most dangerous attacks came from the top scorer of the "Blues," Didier Drogba. Soon after, a powerful shot from Arjen Robben was saved by "Portsmouth" goalkeeper David James. In the 19th minute, after a corner kick from A. Robben, Andrei Shevchenko's header was again saved by D. James.

In the 25th minute, a shot from John Terry's head into the "Pompey" net was disallowed due to D. Drogba's foul on D. James. A few minutes later, a "deadly" shot from A. Shevchenko was tipped over by the excellent former England national team goalkeeper D. James. In the 30th minute, A. Robben broke into the box, but his shot was saved by none other than D. James.

After five minutes, "Chelsea" continued to terrorize the "Pompey" club. A shot from Arjen Robben was saved by the Portsmouth goalkeeper. A few moments later, D. James had to make another save when he caught D. Drogba's shot. At the end of a stormy first half, the result remained unchanged at 0-0.

In the second half, "Chelsea" continued to attack actively. Frank Lampard's shot after a pass from Ashley Cole went wide. In the 51st minute, A. Robben's long-range shot was off target. However, the hosts showed more desire to score in the 55th minute when A. Robben attacked from the left, passed the ball to A. Shevchenko, and the Ukrainian sent the ball into the left bottom corner of the net after a very long break.

Portsmouth, losing confidence, were forced to withdraw the ball from the net for the second time after two minutes. A. Robben lifted the ball into the penalty area, where Michael Ballack headed it back to D. Drogba, and the German shot from a few meters away, beating an outstretched D. James. The "Blues" players, feeling on a roll, continued to attack "Pompey" even more. A powerful shot by F. Lampard was saved by D. James, and D. Drogba scored a third goal, but the referee found an offside.

As time went on, the hosts gradually lost their initiative. In the 68th minute, after a serious mistake by the defenders, Benjani Mwaruwari scored a consolation goal to the empty net. Seeing that he could equalize, "Pompey" managed to regain their momentum at the start of the match. The same B. Mwaruwari's shot went wide.

But at the end of the match, "Chelsea" still showed their strength. Shots from M. Ballack and Joe Cole were saved by "Portsmouth" goalkeeper D. James. This was all that the "Pompey" players could manage. "Chelsea" secured their 7th victory and returned to the top of the league table, while "Portsmouth," suffering their third defeat, remained in fourth.

In other matches, Liverpool's "Everton" faced league newcomers "Sheffield Utd" at Bramall Lane. The goal was scored in the 13th minute when after a pass from Phil Neville, Mikel Arteta's header beat "Sheffield Utd" goalkeeper Paddy Kenny and gave "Everton" the lead.

After the goal, once again, the champions' newcomers threatened the "Sheffield Utd" goal. James Beattie's long-range shot went over the crossbar. After five minutes, Tim Cahill didn't stop the ball from hitting the target. In the 30th minute, "Sheffield Utd's" Mikele Leigertwood's shot was saved by "Everton" goalkeeper Tim Howard.

Just a minute later, another goal was scored in their goal. "Sheffield Utd" defender Claude Davis committed a serious foul on the most successful "Everton" forward, Andrew Johnson, in the penalty area, leading to a penalty kick, and the referee immediately sent off the offending player. James Beattie, the designated penalty taker, sent the ball into the top left corner of the goal without giving P. Kenny any chance.

In the 37th minute, Chris Morgan had a chance to reduce the score, but he missed the target. A few moments later, Rob Hulse's shot went wide of the post. At the end of the first half, "Everton" striker A. Johnson tested the "Sheffield Utd" goal when he hit the crossbar.

At the start of the second half, "Sheffield Utd" had a chance with M. Leigertwood, but he missed. Both teams then moved to the middle of the field. Only in the 66th minute did the away team threaten the home team's goal, but Leon Osman's shot was off target. In the 68th minute, after a defensive error, James McFadden, who had recovered from injury, had a chance to score, but his shot was off target.

However, the "Everton" players immediately responded with Danny Webber's shot, which was saved by T. Howard. After that, both teams exchanged attacks: "Sheffield Utd's" defense M. Leigerwoodo's shot to the near post was off target, and "Everton's" defender Victor Anichebe's shot flew over the crossbar.

This victory allowed the "Everton" team to move up two places, while the "Sheffield Utd" team dropped from 16th to 17th.

In another championship match, the two league outsiders, "Charlton" and "Watford," faced each other. In this match, both teams missed the opportunity to move out of the relegation zone. The result ended in a draw 0-0.

In the evening matches, the "Aston Villa" and "Fulham" clashed. However, the first goal in this match was scored by the "Villa" home team when the team captain Gareth Barry converted a penalty kick. But at the end of the first half, the "Fulham" team managed to equalize. This was done by defender Moritz Volz, who headed the ball into the net after a pass from Tomasz Radzinski, beating "Aston Villa" goalkeeper Thomas Sorensen.

After these draws, the "Aston Villa" club continues to be in 6th place, while "Fulham" has moved up one spot to 9th.

English Premier League matches statistics for Saturday:

Wigan 4 – 0 Man City

1‘ [1 – 0] Emile Heskey

4‘ [2 – 0] Richard Dunne (own goal)

65‘ [3 – 0] Henri Camara

67‘ [4 – 0] Luis Antonio Valencia

Chelsea 2 – 1 Portsmouth

55‘ [1 – 0] Andriy Shevchenko

57‘ [2 – 0] Michael Ballack

68‘ [2 – 1] Benjani Mwaruwari

Everton 2 – 0 Sheffield Utd