Round 22: "Man Utd" lost points in the match with "Newcastle"

2007-01-01 22:31 © EuroFootball.com

Today, on January 1, 2007, in the English Premier League championship, eight matches of the 22nd round were played. This round was characterized by very high scoring. "Liverpool," "Reading," and "Blackburn" teams secured overwhelming victories, "Middlesbrough" managed to defeat "Sheffield United," "Man City" at home overcame the resistance of "Everton," "Man Utd" lost two points in the match against "Newcastle," and two more matches ended in a draw.

In the early matches, neighbors on the tournament table "Liverpool" and "Bolton" clashed at "Anfield" stadium. The hosts initiated the first dangerous attack when the ball, struck by a shot from the edge of the box by defender Steve Finnan, was punched over the crossbar by the "Trotters" goalkeeper Jussi Jaaskelainen. This was followed by an attack from the Spaniard Xabi Alonso, after which the ball passed by the goal.

The main action took place in the second half. Exactly an hour after Jermaine Pennant's pass from the right flank, "Reds" forward Peter Crouch left no chance for the Finnish goalkeeper J.Jaaskelainen with an acrobatic shot from a few meters out. A few moments later, Dirk Kuyt passed the ball to team captain Steven Gerrard, who, without stopping, sent it into the top corner of the goal.

The dominant hosts continued to trouble J.Jaaskelainen, as P.Crouch and Sami Hyppia's attempts to head the ball were inaccurate. At the end of the match, Luis Garcia made a successful pass to D.Kuyt, who defeated J.Jaaskelainen and added another point for his team in this match.

After this victory, Rafael Benitez's wards surpassed their opponents "Bolton" and are in third place with 40 points, while Sam Allardyce's "Trotters" drop one step down to fourth place.

In another match between this year's English Premier League debutant "Reading" and the struggling "West Ham," the hosts' team managed to perform much better than expected.

The onslaught began in the 12th minute of the match when defender Brynjar Gunnarsson scored the first goal in the Premier League after Nicky Shorey's penalty kick. A few minutes later, Stefen Hunt easily doubled the advantage after a pass from Steve Sidwell.

Half an hour in, the third goal came when defender Anton Ferdinand directed the ball into his own net after another N.Shorey cross. Six minutes later, the scoreline became pretty embarrassing for the visitors, as after a combination between N.Shorey and James Harper, the ball found its way to the team's top scorer Kevin Doyle, who once again sent it into the back of the net.

At the beginning of the second half, Leroy Lita made his mark with a goal after S.Sidwell's pass. In the 78th minute, after a corner kick lifted by N.Shorey into the "West Ham" "hot zone," K.Doyle scored his second goal, the team's 10th in the match. With two minutes left to play, the visitors also had a chance, but Bobby Zamora's shot soared over the crossbar.

After this resounding victory, "Reading" remains in 9th place, while Alan Curbishley's "West Ham," who suffered their third consecutive defeat, stay in the 18th position.

In Manchester, "Man City" clashed with Liverpool's "Everton" team. The match started fairly intensely, and the shot from "Toffees" defender Joseph Yobo was deflected by "City" goalkeeper Nicky Weaver. In the 15th minute, "Everton" players appealed for a penalty not given when "Man City" captain Richard Dunne brought down Liverpool's leader Andrew Johnson in the penalty area.

At the end of the first half, the shot from "City" defender Micah Richards missed the target, and then attackers Bernardo Corradi and Darius Vassellas wasted several opportunities. "City" coach decided to replace B.Corradi with Greek forward Georgios Samaras at halftime.

In the 49th minute, G.Samaras scored the opening goal after a pass from DeMarcus Beasley. In the 70th minute, T.Howard fouled D.Vassell in the penalty area, resulting in a penalty kick. G.Samaras, who took the shot, didn't make a mistake this time either, sending the ball into the bottom right corner of the goal, marking the end of his 17-match goal drought.

83 minutes in, "Everton" managed to restore hope of a draw when Phil Neville's pass from the right flank was converted by Leon Osman. However, that was all the "Toffees" could do in the remaining minutes, and after this setback, they sit in 8th place, while "Man City" secured their first home win since November, staying in 10th place.

In the match between "Middlesbrough" and "Sheffield United," the hosts celebrated a 3-1 victory. Mark Viduka scored the opener in the 36th minute after dispossessing the "Sheffield" defenders. Towards the end of the first half, "Boro" defender Emanuel Pogatetz's mistake on Rob Hulse in the penalty area led to a penalty kick, converted by defender Phil Jagielka.

In the 69th minute, Nigerian forward Aiyegbeni Yakubu restored the lead for Middlesbrough, and shortly after, he converted another penalty after a foul by Sheffield United captain Chris Morgan. "Middlesbrough" climbed to 15th place, while "Sheffield United" dropped to 16th position.

"Portsmouth" and "Tottenham" ended in a 1-1 draw. Benjani Mwaruwari scored from distance for the hosts, while Steed Malbranque found the net for the visitors following a pass from Danny Murphy. "Pompey" moved to 6th place, one step below the "Tottenham" team.

Wigan, coached by Paul Jewell, also struggled and couldn't resist the Mark Hughes-led "Blackburn" team. In the 37th minute, after a pass from Norwegian Morten Gamst Pedersen, "Wigan" forward Emile Heskey directed the ball into his own net.

In the 58th minute of the second half, Matt Derbyshire, who came on as a substitute, doubled the lead for the visitors. In the 76th minute, "Wigan" defender Fitz Hall handled the ball in the penalty area, with Benni McCarthy converting the penalty kick to seal another victory for the team. Following this win, "Blackburn" climbed to 11th place, while "Wigan" is close to the relegation zone, occupying the 17th position.

The match between "Fulham" and "Watford" ended in a goalless draw. "Fulham" occupies 12th place, while "Watford" remains the league's bottom side.

In the evening games, the "Newcastle" and "Man Utd" clubs faced each other. The match was more active from the start by the league leaders' "Man Utd" players, with Louis Saha's shot flying beside Shay Given's guarded goal. Soon after, Sh.Given reacted well to a Frenchman's shot after a pass from Cristiano Ronaldo.

A little later, following a pass from Ryan Giggs, L.Saha's header was cleared off the goal line by the "Newcastle" defenders, but the Frenchman had to leave the field due to injury. The golden football rule was repeated: "If you can't score, they will." This was confirmed in the 33rd minute by "Magpies" defender James Milner, who sent the ball into the top corner of Edwin van der Sar's goal from a distance of 22 meters.

But for the nth time this season, the "Newcastle" team had a defensive failure. In the 40th minute, "Red Devils" veteran Paul Scholes broke through several opponents and made a long shot into the net, and at the start of the second half, the same player scored from about the same spot to put the "Red Devils" ahead.

It seemed that Glen Roeder's players were heading for a loss, but that didn't happen - in the 74th minute, Canadian youngster David Edgar, who came on as a substitute, scored from the distance, and after a slight rebound from P.Scholes, deceived goalkeeper E.van der Sar and scored into the net. "Man Utd" could have grabbed the victory, but after C.Ronaldo's header, "Magpies" defender Nolberto Solano managed to clear the ball off the goal line.

After these high-scoring draws, "Man Utd" increased their lead to 7 points over the "Chelsea" team, who have played one game less, while "Newcastle" remains in 13th place.

Monday's English Premier League results:

"Liverpool" 3 – 0 "Bolton"

"Reading" 6 – 0 "West Ham"

"Man City" 2 – 1 "Everton"

"Middlesbrough" 3 – 1 "Sheffield United"

"Portsmouth" 1 -1 "Tottenham"

"Wigan" 0 – 3 "Blackburn"

"Fulham" 0 – 0 "Watford"

"Newcastle" 2 – 2 "Man Utd"

Top scorers:

1. Didier Drogba ("Chelsea") – 13 goals

2. Cristiano Ronaldo ("Man Utd") – 12