Premier League: Gunners pile on Jol misery

Two stunning long-range strikes from Cesc Fabregas and Emmanuel Adebayor saw Arsenal brush aside north London rivals Tottenham 3-1 at White Hart Lane to go top of the Barclays Premier League.

A trademark free-kick from Spurs' teenage star Gareth Bale gave the hosts the lead after 15 minutes before Adebayor equalised after 65 minutes.

Both sides had plenty of chances in a free-flowing derby but Fabregas continued his fine goalscoring record this season by drilling home a powerful drive from 30 yards.

That seemed to have sealed Tottenham's fate - and heaped more pressure on manager Martin Jol - but Adebayor's injury-time effort, a thunderous volley on the turn put daylight between the sides.

Manchester United had earlier briefly gone level on points with Liverpool at the top of the table but needed Nemanja Vidic to score a late winner against Everton at Goodison Park.

Sir Alex Ferguson's side, who have yet to show the form which saw them wrest the title from Chelsea last year, were heading for a goalless draw when the Serbian centre-half climbed highest to meet Nani's corner and break the deadlock.

That goal, in the 83rd minute, sealed the points but was unlucky on an Everton side who could have taken the lead when Andrew Johnson saw his goalbound effort cleared off the line by Paul Scholes.

The former England midfielder had earlier gone close but missed with a volley from 10 yards.

Liverpool, who lead United on goal difference, could not match their all-action display against Derby last time out and instead stuttered to a 0-0 draw with Portsmouth.

Fernando Torres, Steven Gerrard and Ryan Babel all started on the bench as Reds boss Rafael Benitez shuffled his pack.

Andriy Voronin went closer than anybody else, striking the crossbar with an opportunistic volley while Jose Reina saved his side at the other end, beating away Kanu's first-half penalty.

West Ham launched a second-half onslaught to condemn Middlesbrough to a 3-0 defeat at Upton Park.

Lee Bowyer's fine volley opened the scoring after 46 minutes after good approach work from Carlton Cole, who was a first-half replacement for the injured Craig Bellamy.

Cole then had a hand in the second, an unfortunate own goal from Luke Young who turned his cross past his own goalkeeper.

Dean Ashton then claimed his first goal since recovering from a punishing series of injuries which kept him out for the whole of last season.

Tuncay Sanli, on for the injured Jeremie Aliadiere, was unlucky to see his deft chip hit the woodwork but Boro were well beaten.

Clint Dempsey gave Fulham a half-time lead over Wigan at the JJB Stadium but Jason Koumas' penalty 10 minutes from time saw it finish 1-1.

Dempsey pounced in the 11th minute, turning the ball home left-footed from 12 yards but more worrying for the Latics was the sight of recalled England striker Emile Heskey limping from the pitch.

Hameur Bouazza was penalised for an 80th-minute foul on Mario Melchiot, allowing Koumas to equalise from 12 yards.

At the Stadium of Light, £5million signing Kenwyne Jones started to repay his transfer fee with one goal and one assist in the 2-1 win over Reading.

The former Southampton man gave the Black Cats the lead in the first period when he cut inside his man before smashing the ball left-footed past Marcus Hahnemann.

He started the second half just as brightly, playing in Ross Wallace 90 seconds after the restart and allowing the Scot to slot home before Dave Kitson headed the Royals' consolation.

Sunderland's fellow Premier League newcomers Birmingham also earned three points against strugglers Bolton.

Olivier Kapo grabbed his second of the season when he turned home Sebastien Larsson's teasing cross after 37 minutes, with the Swede later hitting the bar with a curling free-kick from the edge of the box.

Chelsea were made to settle for a point against Blackburn after a second half `goal' was controversially ruled out by referee Howard Webb. Chelsea looked to have sealed all three points when Salomon Kalou converted a cross from Juliano Belletti but Webb disallowed the goal for offside.

Chelsea had squandered a host of first-half chances but Blackburn, who lost defender Christopher Samba late in the game with a serious head injury, could have stolen the points if Petr Cech had not tipped Robbie Savage's late effort over the crossbar.

Source: Soccernet.com

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Heskey metatarsal blow to end England return?

Emile Heskey's England recall could prove to have been painfully brief after the striker was whisked to hospital today with a suspected broken fifth metatarsal.

Heskey limped out of Wigan's 1-1 draw with Fulham at the JJB Stadium after just nine minutes and it initially appeared the striker had simply turned his right ankle.

But it is now feared Heskey could have suffered a more serious injury which could lead to more than a month on the sidelines - and rule him out of England's Euro 2008 matches against Estonia and Russia next month.

While Wigan officials privately feared the worst, boss Chris Hutchings said: 'Emile has gone to hospital to have an X-ray and obviously we will just have to wait and see how bad it is.

'He just came down and rolled his ankle and whether he has also broken anything we don't know. He tried to carry on but it was too painful.

'It is very disappointing for Emile. He didn't want to come off because everyone who knows, Emile knows if he can stay on he will stay on. But we didn't want to do any more damage and think long-term.'

Source: Soccernet.com

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Chelsea 0-0 Blackburn, Blues 'goal' denied

	Chelsea 0 - 0 Blackburn
0		0

Chelsea were forced to settle for a 0-0 draw against Blackburn after a second-half `goal' was controversially ruled out by referee Howard Webb.

Chelsea looked to have sealed all three points when Salomon Kalou converted a cross from Julian Belletti, but Webb disallowed the goal for offside.

Chelsea had squandered a host of first-half chances, but Blackburn could have stolen the points themselves if Petr Cech had not tipped Robbie Savage's late effort over the crossbar.

However, Blackburn's point was overshadowed by a serious head injury to defender Christopher Samba.

The opening 15 minutes failed to produce clear-cut opening, although Blackburn keeper Brad Friedel was called on to hold a tame header from Chelsea skipper John Terry.

Blackburn, one of the teams identified by Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho, as adding strength to the Barclays Premier League, proved they were worthy of his praise with some clever attacking play.

However, Rovers were thwarted on numerous occasions by the last-ditch efforts of Terry and Ashley Cole as the goalscoring threat from Benni McCarthy and Roque Santa Cruz threatened to puncture the home defence.

Chelsea were bidding to take their unbeaten home run in the top flight to 66 games, but without the driving force of the injured Frank Lampard in midfield and the strength of Didier Drogba in attack, the Blues struggled to gain control of the game.

Drogba's absence was underlined in the 22nd minute when Juliano Belletti broke free down the right flank.

But his perfectly-flighted cross was headed over the bar by the unmarked Andriy Shevchenko - making his first start of the season in Mourinho's side.

It was a poor effort from the Ukrainian striker who should have at least hit the target from eight yards.

In the 27th minute Chelsea were prevented from taking the lead by a superb acrobatic save from Friedel.

Joe Cole's mazy run ended with his attempted pass to Salomon Kalou falling at the feet of Michael Essien on the edge of the penalty area.

The Ghanaian midfielder sent a powerful half-volley towards the top corner, only to see the American keeper fly to his left to tip the ball over the crossbar.

Two minutes later the foraging Belletti burst into the penalty area and send a right-foot shot into the arms of Friedel as Chelsea increased the pace of their game.

Shevchenko's touch let him down when Essien put him through on goal moments later. The Ukrainian failed to control the pass adequately enough and that allowed Friedel to gain the advantage he needed as Shevchenko failed to lift the ball over his advancing frame.

Shaun Wright-Phillips was the next Chelsea player to try his luck, but he too failed to find the target with a 20-yard low drive.

Joe Cole was unlucky with a curling shot in 35th minute, but Friedel had already spotted the danger and moved swiftly to clutch the ball to his chest.

Morten Gamst Pedersen wasted a good chance for Blackburn three minutes before the break when he fired into the side netting at the far post.

A sign of Mourinho's displeasure with his team's failure to break down Rovers saw him make a double substitution in the 54th minute - Florent Malouda replacing Wright-Phillips and Mikel John Obi taking over from Steve Sidwell.

The change almost brought instant results when Belletti's cross was turned in by Kalou but was controversially ruled out by referee Howard Webb for offside.

The decision sparked uproar on the bench, with Mourinho and assistant Steve Clarke berating the fourth official Peter Walton and remonstrating with him to look at the touchline TV screen.

It ended with Webb having to ask Mourinho to calm down, but TV replays suggested the Chelsea manager had a good case for the goal looked to be perfectly legal.

The controversial moment brought the game to life, with Chelsea fans making clear their dislike of Webb's decision with constant abuse and barracking.

Savage took advantage of some sloppy Chelsea defending to force Cech into a fine one-handed save in the 76th minute, but moments later Kalou sent a shot inches wide of the target at the opposite end.

Then, six minutes from time, a Shevchenko header from a cross by Malouda was brilliantly saved by Friedel. However, the Ukrainian striker's boot met the head of Samba as he tried to control the rebound and the Rovers player was stretchered off with a serious injury.

Shevchenko's effort was to be Chelsea's last real effort of the game as stubborn Rovers held on for a point.

Full Report: Soccernet.com

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Wigan 1-1 Fulham

	Wigan 1 - 1 Fulham 11' 0 - 1 Clint Dempsey 80' Jason Koumas (pen) 1 - 1
1		1

Emile Heskey completed his swift return from international redemption to the harsh reality of domestic life as Wigan and Fulham played out a scrappy 1-1 draw at the JJB Stadium.

Heskey limped off with an apparent ankle injury after just nine minutes of a match which saw Jason Koumas' late penalty cancel out Clint Dempsey's opener for the visitors.

It was dreadful luck for Heskey, who had been given a rousing reception from both sets of supporters for his recent England exploits during the warm-up.

But he will have been heartened by the way his side finished the match, with Paul Scharner and Julius Aghahowa both missing chances to steal the points late on.

But he will have been heartened by the way his side finished the match, with Paul Scharner and Julius Aghahowa both missing chances to steal the points late on.

Wigan had only briefly looked like a side defending a 100% home record against opposition who were yet to glean a single point from their travels this season.

Koumas won a free-kick in a dangerous position on the right and sent his well-judged free-kick into the Fulham box, where Paul Konchesky headed clear.

But Wigan were far too wasteful in possession. Lawrie Sanchez's men had fewer chances but seemed more determined to make them count with Hameur Bouazza particularly impressive.

Bouazza had the visitors' first chance, nipping in between Latics defenders David Cotterill and Melchiot but firing his eventual shot just wide of target.

Antoine Sibierski had the first shot on the target with a low drive from replacement Marcus Bent's cross, which was easily saved by Antti Niemi in the Fulham goal.

Referee Rob Styles infuriated the home fans by awarding a questionable free-kick to the visitors deep in their own half in the 11th minute.

That anger increased seconds later when Dempsey finished off a swift attacking move by wriggling onto the end of a Diomansy Kamara cross in the Wigan box and firing home the opener.

Fulham came close to extending their lead in the 25th minute when captain Carlos Bocanegra got on the end of a Simon Davies corner but could only bounce his header over the crossbar.

Hutchings' men gradually began to take something of a grip on the proceedings, but dreadful final balls ensured Niemi was never seriously tested.

By contrast, Fulham continued to threaten. In the 37th minute Davies unleashed a curling effort which crashed straight into Kirkland's arms.

Kirkland was a busy man after the break, parrying another Davies free-kick and then performing a fine reflex save after Aaron Hughes fired in the rebound.

The goalkeeper saved the Latics again in the 56th minute when Dempsey surged into the home half, playing a neat one-two with Kamara, but seeing his shot blocked by the onrushing keeper.

Wigan responded through Koumas, who turned Chris Baird and drilled a low shot just wide in the 63rd minute, and Sibierski, whose ambitious overhead kick came to nothing.

When Wigan substitute Josip Skoko wriggled into a good position in the box before shooting tamely at Niemi in the 71st minute, it was a move which seemed to sum up the home side's day.

Fortunately for them, a sustained spell of pressure ended with Bouazza being hauled down by Melchiot, allowing Koumas to salvage their unbeaten home record.

And it might have been even better two minutes from time when Emmerson Boyce flung in a cross from the left and Scharner's flicked effort from point-blank range was held on the line by Niemi.

Source: Soccernet.com

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West Ham 3-0 Middlesbrough

	West Ham 3 - 0 Middlesbrough 46' Lee Bowyer 1 - 0 51' Luke Young (og) 2 - 0 62' Dean Ashton 3 - 0
3		0

Dean Ashton put his injury nightmare behind him with his first goal in 16 months as West Ham roared to their first home win of the season against Middlesbrough.

The 23-year-old striker added to second-half goals from Lee Bowyer and Luke Young's own-goal as the Hammers secured back-to-back 3-0 successes.

Ashton, who missed all of last season with a broken ankle, last found the net in the 2006 FA Cup final, but he was on hand to finish a flowing 62nd-minute move to put the gloss on a fine performance from the hosts.

For Boro, Jeremie Aliadiere hit a post and Tuncay Sanli rattled the crossbar, but despite being on top for periods of the first half, the visitors were simply blown away after the interval.

West Ham, with James Collins recalled to the defence in place of Anton Ferdinand in the only change to the side which beat Reading 3-0, were on top from the start.

Matthew Etherington, the two-goal hero at the Madjeski Stadium, was quickly into the action with an early cross which was cleared by George Boateng, before Bowyer burst through the midfield, only to be halted by ex-Leeds team-mate Jonathan Woodgate on the edge of the area.

Collins then headed harmlessly wide from Etherington's corner and Mark Noble linked well with Ashton before hitting a 20-yard shot which was deflected the wrong side of the post.

Ashton this week admitted he was out to catch the eye of England manager Steve McClaren, and with his bright red boots and bleached blond hair, he was hard to miss.

And the striker had the ball in the net after 12 minutes, only to be denied by a linesman's flag after he had latched on to Craig Bellamy's through-ball.

Boro almost broke the deadlock with their first attack in the 18th minute when Mido skilfully turned and sent Aliadiere racing clean through, but the Frenchman's shot hit Robert Green's left-hand post.

Bellamy's afternoon came to a premature end in the 26th minute when the in-form Wales striker pulled up sharply and was replaced by Carlton Cole.

Boro also had to reshuffle their strikeforce when former Hammers loan player Aliadiere limped off, with Tuncay coming on.

He almost had an instant impact when he sprung West Ham's offside trap and crossed towards the unmarked Stewart Downing, but Green dived forward to clear the danger.

Noble fizzed a shot narrowly wide with Mark Schwarzer in no-man's land in stoppage time at the end of the first half.

The Hammers had to wait just 25 seconds after the break to find the net, when Bowyer started and finished a swift move.

The midfielder headed the ball infield to Hayden Mullins and sprinted forward to get on to Cole's one-touch pass and dispatch the ball confidently past Schwarzer for his second goal of the season.

And five minutes later the hosts doubled their advantage when Cole shrugged off the attentions of Downing and aimed a precise angled pass towards Mullins, only for Luke Young to steer the ball past Schwarzer with his out-stretched right boot.

Boro should have pulled one back just before the hour when Julio Arca's long ball sent Tuncay clear.

Green came charging out to narrow the angle and Tuncay lobbed the ball over the Hammers keeper, only to see it bounce off the top of the crossbar.

Tuncay was then put through by Mido, with Collins and Matthew Upson suddenly playing like strangers, but Green pulled off a fine save at his near post.

Ashton's big moment came two minutes later, again courtesy of another superb flowing move.

Mullins swept the ball out left to Etherington, who skipped past Young and crossed for Ashton to tuck home at the far post to prompt rapturous celebrations from fans and players.

Tuncay was left red-faced when put clean through again, this time opting to shoot low past Green, only to see his effort roll tamely wide of a gaping net.

His afternoon was summed up when his shot from 16 yards was cleared off the line by Lucas Neill.

Ashton left the field to a standing ovation 10 minutes from time to be replaced by Freddie Ljungberg, who has been out since the opening-day loss to Manchester City, a result which now seems light years away.

Cole should have capped his rare appearance with a goal at the death after being played in by Ljungberg, but got stage fright in front of goal and shot horribly wide, before Schwarzer saved well from Bowyer in stoppage time.

Source: Soccernet.com

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Sunderland 2-1 Reading

	Sunderland 2 - 1 Reading 29' Kenwyne Jones 1 - 0 47' Ross Wallace 2 - 0 85' 2 - 1 Dave Kitson
2		1

Sunderland marked the passing of FA Cup hero Ian Porterfield in fitting style to end a run of four defeats with a confident 2-1 victory over Reading.

On an afternoon when minds were cast back to 1973 - 10 of the Wembley heroes were at the Stadium of Light - the class of 2007 served up a commanding display to see off last season's Barclays Premier League surprise package with relative ease.

Eyebrows were raised when manager Roy Keane paid Southampton £6million for striker Kenwyne Jones, but he capped a fine home debut with a superb 29th-minute strike to set his side on their way, and then provided the cross from which Ross Wallace made it 2-0 two minutes after the break.

The margin of victory would have been more comfortable had either Jones or Wallace made the most of gilt-edged chances which came their way either side of half-time.

However, after going four games without a single goal, two were more than enough to kill off a poor Royals side on the day despite Dave Kitson's late consolation effort.

In the run-up to the game, Keane had insisted the best possible tribute his players could pay to Porterfield would be to secure three points, and they set about their task with relish.

The loss of wide men Kieran Richardson and Carlos Edwards through injury had robbed the Irishman of two of his most creative forces, but the men he selected to plug the gaps proved more than capable as Sunderland dominated the first half.

Local boy Grant Leadbitter lined up on the right, while Wallace added the width on the left and both were to be heavily involved.

Indeed, much of the Black Cats' better play was channelled through Leadbitter and it was he who forced a fine 13th-minute save from keeper Marcus Hahnemann with a swerving right-foot volley after Danny Higginbotham's cross had been only half-cleared.

However, if it was Leadbitter calling the shots in midfield, Jones was making a big impression ahead of him as he made life intensely difficult for Ivar Ingimarsson and Andre Bikey at the heart of the Reading defence.

He had already drilled in a long-range effort which caused Hahnemann some discomfort when he opened his Sunderland account with a superb 29th-minute strike.

Leadbitter was the architect as he served the ball up on the edge of the area for the former Saints hitman to smash a left-foot shot past the keeper and into the bottom corner.

Jones might have doubled his tally with a header which he directed just wide two minutes later, but should have done four minutes before the break.

Wallace twisted and turned his way into space on the left to pick out Jones at the far post, but with the goal at his mercy, he headed firmly into the ground and saw the ball rear up and over the bar.

Reading created little of any note during the opening 45 minutes, but were almost handed a way back into the game in injury time when Kitson just failed to get on the end of Andre Bikey's header back across goal.

Jones took little time to atone for his earlier miss when, less than two minutes after the restart, he danced into space on the right before drilling in a cross which eluded Michael Chopra, but arrived at Wallace's feet with perfect timing for the Scot to make it 2-0.

Wallace, who was twice booked for removing his shirt after scoring last season, risked the wrath of his manager for doing exactly the same once again.

However, Keane had more pressing concerns on 53 minutes when the Royals finally started to cause problems inside the home penalty area, debutant Leroy Rosenior and Stephen Hunt both having shots blocked in a real melee.

But Hahnemann continued to see more of the ball than he would have liked, and was a relieved man to see Chopra's right-foot shot fly past the post six minutes later.

The Reading keeper handed Wallace a glorious opportunity to collect his second goal of the afternoon on 61 minutes when he could only deflect another Jones cross to his feet, but Graeme Murty got in a vital block to keep his side's fading hopes alive.

The former Celtic midfielder was replaced by Anthony Stokes three minutes later and the Irishman might have cemented the victory instantly, only to shoot straight at Hahnemann after being picked out by Chopra.

Kitson saw an 80th-minute shot deflected over the bar as Reading sought consolation and that duly arrived five minutes later when he glanced home a Nicky Shorey cross to set up an anxious conclusion for the home side.

Source: Soccernet.com

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Birmingham 1-0 Bolton

	Birmingham 1 - 0 Bolton 37' Olivier Kapo 1 - 0
1		0

Olivier Kapo earned Birmingham their first home win of the season in the Barclays Premier League bottom-six battle with Bolton at St Andrews.

The former Juventus striker settled the issue eight minutes from half-time when he turned home a cross from Sebastian Larsson for the only goal of the game.

Blues deserved their second success of the season and Bolton now remain anchored in the relegation zone after losing for the fifth time in six matches.

A near full house of 28,000 responded to a performance of full-blooded commitment and passion from the home side.

City held the edge for long periods and posed the greater threat through the runs and crossing of Larsson and the pace of Cameron Jerome.

The midfield duo of Mehdi Nafti and Fabrice Muamba worked tirelessly for the 90 minutes and at the back Liam Ridgewell and Johan Djourou kept a tight rein on Nicolas Anelka.

The Totters' biggest threat was posed by El-Hadji Diouf, who enjoyed his customary love-hate relationship with the opposing fans, but he lacked sufficient support.

Jerome came close to giving Birmingham the lead after only two minutes.

A long clearance from Maik Taylor caused confusion between Bolton central defenders Abdoulaye Meite and Andy O'Brien and keeper Jussi Jaaskelainen.

Jerome took advantage but failed to make proper contact on his shot which dribbled wide of the post.

Blues were looking to stretch the Bolton defence and a pass from Muamba picked out Larsson on the left flank.

The former Arsenal player cut inside and his fierce shot looked goal-bound, only to strike the back of Meite.

The home side appealed in vain for a penalty after a challenge by Jlloyd Samuel on Larsson after he had cut into the area, but referee Phil Dowd waved play on.

Bolton had their first half-chance when skipper Kevin Nolan scuffed his shot wide from 15 yards out after Ridgewell's clearing header had fallen into his path.

But City were looking the more likely to break the deadlock and Jaaskelainen was forced to turn a glancing header from Muamba around the post from a skidding Larsson free-kick.

Bolton started to come more into the game and the impressive Diouf spotted the surging run of Samuel into the Birmingham area with his fiercely-struck shot parried out for a corner by Maik Taylor.

An inswinging corner from Diouf found its way through a posse of players to O'Brien at the far post. But the former Portsmouth player seemed to be surprised the ball had reached him and headed over the bar.

Nolan became the first player to be booked after 34 minutes for a challenge on Larsson who needed treatment before being able to resume.

Then after 37 minutes Birmingham broke the deadlock through Kapo's second goal of the campaign.

Larsson sent over a deep superb left-footed ball towards the far post and Kapo stuck his foot out and steered it past Jaaskelainen, who tried in vain to prevent it from crossing the line.

Blues opened the second half promising and a poor clearance from Jaaskelainen fell straight to Jerome, but he took two or three touches when the first-time shot was on and his eventual drive went well wide.

Home stand-in skipper Ridgewell was yellow-carded for a challenge on Diouf and Gary Speed followed him into the notebook for dissent after complaining for being penalised for a challenge on Nafti.

Nafti was winning several crunch tackles and produced an excellent challenge on Diouf in the box after he had created some space for himself with a neat turn.

Larsson had the beating of Samuel and forced Jaaskelainen into a superb save away to his left from a thumping drive.

Kelly came to City's rescue with a superb last ditch tackle to block the shot of substitute Daniel Braaten, who had made a 40-yard run into the box to meet Diouf's well measured pass.

Samuel was stretchered off with what looked like a hamstring injury after being caught by Larsson.

Nicky Hunt was booked for bringing down Jerome on the edge of the box and Larsson crashed the resulting free-kick against the crossbar.

Djourou then had a header cleared off the line by Gavin McCann from Larsson's centre.

Source: Soccernet.com

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