 Match Report: Birmingham 0 Portsmouth 2 – Blues in Trouble as Pompey Win
Managerless Birmingham’s week just got worse. After losing Steve Bruce to Wigan, it was hardly surprising they lost against high-flying Portsmouth, which helps keep the visitors in touch with the top teams.
Birmingham’s caretaker boss, Eric Black, decided to give Richard Kingson his debut in goal and he had a reasonable game under his blunder gave Pompey the lead. And in the end, the south coast side ran out fairly comfortable winners.
Portsmouth went to St Andrews looking for their first ever Premiership goal on the ground. With Kanu failing to recover from injury to make the starting line-up, his place was taken by Papa Bouba Diop as Harry Redknapp looked to extend his team’s unbeaten run to nine games.
Portsmouth looked the more comfortable side early on and they made it look more comfortable as the game progressed. Niko Kranjcar hit a good shot from distance and the goalkeeper kept it out with an acrobatic save, which it was hoped would give him confidence as he replaced Maik Taylor between the posts.
At the other end, Mikael Forssell was denied by a good one-handed save from David James as the hosts looked to make a mark against one of the Premier League’s in-form sides.
And it wasn’t too surprising when Sulley Muntari gave Portsmouth the lead, but it was hard luck on the debutant goalkeeper whose effort gifted Pompey the goal. With what appeared to be a simple shot to save, it crept under the goalkeeper’s body in only the second shot he really had to deal with. Muntari ran through the defence and his shot should’ve been well saved but the inexperienced keeper made the mistake, just as Scott Carson did for England in midweek.
Birmingham tried to force their way back into the game and David James saved at the second attempt as Forssell went down too easily under the challenge of Sol Campbell.
Noe Pamarot kept his side’s lead intact when his last-ditch tackle against Liam Ridgewell prevented the Birmingham player from ending a good run with an equalising goal. The hosts felt they should’ve been awarded a penalty but the referee waved away the appeals.
Shortly afterwards, Ridgewell also had a goal ruled out for offside again as Birmingham pressed for an equaliser.
Portsmouth looked the better side and appeared to be fairly comfortably in the lead as the game progressed. Birmingham didn’t create enough chances, with Ridgewell’s efforts the main ones of the game for the home side.
Niko Kranjcar rounded off a good week for club and country when his stunning free-kick put the result beyond doubt with eight minutes to go. From a rather innocuously placed free-kick, the Croatian hit an unstoppable shot which flew past the keeper and into the top corner.
The result leaves Birmingham perilously close to the relegation zone after their ninth defeat in 14 Premiership games. And with no manger and an uncertain future after January, their future in the top flight is by no means certain.
Harry Redknapp’s side keep up their impressive record this season and show that last season’s finish within touching distance of Europe isn’t likely to be a one-off. They looked strong, well-organised and worthy of another victory.
Birmingham: Kingson, Ridgewell, Kelly, Djourou, Schmitz, Muamba, Nafti, Forssell, McSheffrey (O’Connor 74), De Ridder, Kapo.
Subs Not Used: Taylor, Parnaby, Queudure, Larsson.
Goals: Yakubu 12, Cahill 17, Pienaar 43, Cahill 62, Yakubu 73, Johnson 80, Osman 85.
Portsmouth: James, Pamarot, Distin, Campbell, Johnson, Muntari, Davis, Kranjcar, Diop, Utaka (Taylor 81), Mwaruwari.
Subs Not Used: Ashdown, Hreidarsson Mendes, Nugent.
Booked: McShane.
Goals: Yorke 45.
Att: 38,594
Ref: Phil Dowd (Staffordshire).
Match Report: Derby 0 Chelsea 2 – Chelsea Stroll to Victory
Derby suffered their tenth league defeat of the season as Chelsea notched up a comfortable victory to move back into fourth place. The day’s late kick-off saw a very one-sided match as again the hosts failed to make inroads up front, despite the fairly respectable score line taking recent results into consideration.
Chelsea controlled the game from the start as the travelled to the Midlands on the back of a six game unbeaten run. In contrast, Derby were weak and lacked confidence in front of their home crowd, something which will have a devastating effect on the team unless they can start picking up results soon.
The visitors took the lead when Steve Sidwell played a neat through ball for Salomon Kalou and the striker finished calmly past Stephen Bywater after 17 minutes. As the home side stood off, Chelsea were awarded plenty of space to pass the ball around and create the goal.
Chelsea pushed forward and could’ve increased their lead numerous times. Wright-Phillips easily beat the weak challenges he faced on left before seeing Bywater make a good save to deny him a goal.
A dreadful mistake by Claude Davis also nearly gifted Chelsea a goal. When a cross came in from the left, he inexplicably headed the ball back across his own goal but the loose ball was blasted over from just a few yards out.
Derby’s Fagan found himself in a good position on the right but saw his shot saved by goalkeeper as the Rams showed they can occasionally get forward. But in general they displayed their usual ineffective impotence up front as they looked a clear second-best to the London side.
Chelsea found the game all too easy and hardly had to draw breath all match. Despite their England stars being booed by the visiting supporters in the early stage of the game, the likes of Lampard and Wright-Phillips bossed the game and highlighted Derby’s lack of quality throughout the team.
With the score still at 1-0, Derby were denied a way back into the game after a mistake by the linesman. Kenny Miller was unlucky to have been adjudged offside as he ran on to a through ball. He timed his run perfectly and finished well, but despite replays showing he was at least a yard onside, the whistle had already ruled the goal out.
And to make it worse, Chelsea scored a second goal to put the result beyond doubt. With 17 minutes to go, Frank Lampard strolled through the defence again and patiently made space for himself, only to see his effort hit a post. But Shaun Wright-Phillips was unmarked in the centre and he sealed the points when he followed-up to score from a close range tap-in.
Meanwhile, Derby were still protesting about Shevchenko’s tackle from behind on Giles Barnes which won Chelsea possession from which they scored the goal. But the referee hadn’t blown for a foul and waved away protests as Chelsea celebrated.
Michael Essien was sent off unnecessarily in injury time after he raised his arm following a touchline challenge with Derby’s Kenny Miller but by this time the result was already well beyond doubt.
The victory keeps Chelsea’s title push alive and tightens up the gap at the top of the table after Manchester United’s defeat to Bolton. It also maintains Avrum Grant’s good record as manager as this match was all too easily, with the final result really flattering Derby’s performance.
Derby’s defeat means that they are rooted to the bottom of the table, as much by their negative goal difference as by their lack of points. It was another game in which they failed to shine on their home ground and although this score line was better than previous results at Pride Park, it hides the real gulf between them and the rest of Premiership.
Derby: Bywater, Griffin, Davis, Moore, Leacock, McEveley, Fagan (Earnshaw 86), Oakley (Feilhaber 84), Jones, Miller, Barnes (Howard 75).
Subs Not Used: Price, Mears.
Chelsea: Cudicini, Belletti, Terry, Ben-Haim, Ashley Cole, Obi, Lampard (Pizarro 90), Sidwell (Essien 75), Wright-Phillips, Shevchenko, Kalou.
Subs Not Used: Hilario, Joe Cole, Alex.
Sent Off: Essien (90).
Booked: Ashley Cole.
Goals: Kalou 17, Wright-Phillips 73.
Att: 32,789
Ref: Andre Marriner (W Midlands).
Match Report: Everton 7 Sunderland 1 – Everton Thrash Woeful Sunderland
Everton destroyed Sunderland with a blistering display which shows their top six credentials, while condemning the Black Cats to a place in the relegation zone.
They welcomed Sunderland to Goodison Park buoyed by their current six game unbeaten run and boosted by the return of Andrew Johnson to the bench after injury.
Sunderland also welcomed Dean Whitehead back from a seven game absence as they looked to move away from the danger area at the bottom of the table.
Mikel Arteta’s skills dominated the beginning of the game for Everton and after making space for himself on right, Cahill shot was eventually blocked by two defenders
But Everton didn’t have to wait long for the first goal. Yakubu opened the scoring after 12 minutes with a powerful drive which also deflected off Danny Higginbotham. McShane missed the ball through and as it bounced, it fell well for Yakubu and he took it in his stride, hitting the shot with enough power to overcome Higginbotham’s challenge.
Tim Cahill’s turn and shot five minutes later doubled the lead thanks to some good work by Arteta and Neville on the right. Arteta again provided a cross from the right and a lovely dink into the box by Neville was collected by Cahill before he made a yard for himself and scored on the turn.
Sunderland created little and Leadbitter hit the side netting after Tim Howard could only palm a cross towards him.
But it was Everton who always looked likely to score and Osman saw a shot from 20-yards well saved by the goalkeeper before Steven Pienaar scored Everton’s third to put the home side well in control a couple of minutes before the break. After being involved earlier in the move, Nuno Valente’s cross from the left was met by Pienaar’s right foot at the near post and he directed it across the goal and into the far side of the net.
Sunderland were given a lifeline in first-half stoppage time when Dwight Yorke pulled a goal back for the visitors after Everton failed to clear the ball.
And the visitors had their best spell of the game in the opening 15 minutes of the second-half. Their passing looked more assured and the team looked more confident, giving fans an inkling that they might force their way back into the game.
But then the game fell apart for the visitors as Tim Cahill scored his second when he slid in the Toffee’s fourth. The Sunderland defence was easily beaten and from this moment, things went from bad to worse for the Black Cats.
Michael Chopra missed a sitter from six-yards to bring Sunderland back into the game. But the goalkeeper gave them hope when he pulled off a good save with his legs from a deflected shot.
Sunderland had hardly recovered from this when Yakubu scored his second of the game to put the result beyond doubt. He latched on to a loose ball after the Sunderland defence stood and watched after they didn’t clear a corner from the right.
Substitute Andrew Johnson marked his return from injury with a goal 10 minutes from time when he raced clear and even what looked like a miss-control didn’t put him off as he dinked the ball over Gordon for Everton’s sixth.
Despite the time running out, Everton kept pushing for more goals. Gordon made a couple of good saves and the home side were even denied a penalty when the referee decided the defender had won the ball rather than chopped down the man. But Sunderland couldn’t hold out for ever and Leon Osman rounded off a magnificent display when he danced through the vacant Sunderland defence to score a brilliant solo goal and round off the rout with just five minutes to go.
It was certainly Everton’s game. They were impressive, with Cahill and Arteta showing how well they work for the team and how clinical they are in front of goal. They were strong and powerful and probably deserved even more goals than this confident performance showed.
Sunderland defended like a team deep in a relegation battle. The defence had more holes than a sieve and they just couldn’t keep up with an Everton side desperate to maintain their winning streak. The final score just showed the gulf between the two sides in this game and it’s something which will give Roy Keane plenty of things to think about before their next game.
Everton: Howard, Neville, Yobo (Jagielka 81), Lescott, Nuno Valente, Arteta, Carsley, Osman, Pienaar, Cahill (Anichebe 74), Yakubu (Johnson 74).
Subs Not Used: Wessels, Gravesen.
Goals: Yakubu 12, Cahill 17, Pienaar 43, Cahill 62, Yakubu 73, Johnson 80, Osman 85.
Sunderland: Gordon, Whitehead, McShane, Higginbotham, Harte, Edwards, Etuhu (Wallace 46), Yorke (Collins 46), Leadbitter, Chopra (Cole 67), Jones.
Subs Not Used: Ward, O'Donovan.
Booked: McShane.
Goals: Yorke 45.
Att: 38,594
Ref: Phil Dowd (Staffordshire).
Match Report: Newcastle 0 Liverpool 3 – Reds Storm Past Sorry Magpies
Liverpool kept the pressure on the top four with a convincing victory at St James Park against a Newcastle side whose defence looked decidedly shaky and attack looked almost non-existent.
Newcastle went into the game with just one point from the last nine. With Michael Owen out injured, his place was taken by Obafemi Martins.
Harry Kewell started his first game for Liverpool for 18 months in a side which saw six changes from their last Premiership game.
Steven Gerrard overcame the boos from the home crowd to help steer his side to victory and keep the pressure on the sides above them as he controlled the midfield and was a constant threat going forward. And he was under fire from the St James Park faithful as he took some of the backlash from England’s midweek failure to qualify for Euro 2008.
Liverpool started the brighter side and had the better of the opening stages of the game. And it was no surprise when Gerrard gave the visitors the lead after 28 minutes when he smashed in a 30-yard free-kick, going some way to silencing the crowd who had taunted him in the early part of the game.
Alan Smith came close to equalising when his volley from 20-yards flashed wide of the post. But the game belonged to the visitors who hardly moved out of first gear against a very disappointing Magpies.
Liverpool upped the pressure and Fernando Torres was doubly unlucky as the Reds surged forward again. Newcastle keeper, Shay Given, raced out of his goal and blocked an initial shot from the Spaniard. But the officials failed to notice he managed to block it with his arm when he was outside the area and caught in no-man’s land. Then Torres pounced on the loose ball and followed-up with another shot but was unlucky to hit the post. He probably should’ve done better, with an open goal in front of him, but in his defence he did shot from an angle from a fair distance.
Dutchman Dirk Kuyt bundled in Liverpool’s second goal on the stoke of half-time. But he seemed to know little about it. A corner from Liverpool‘s left was flicked on at the near post by Sami Hyypia and it bounced on Kuyt’s knee and into the net from just a few yards.
The second-half was all about Liverpool. Torres saw a shot go narrowly wide of the post as the Newcastle defence stood and waited for a foul to be given.
And it was no shock when Ryan Babel slid in Liverpool’s third goal to seal the points half way through the second 45 minutes after linking up well with Gerrard. The England midfielder raced into space on the right as Babel played it out wide and pulled the ball back for Babel to sweep the ball across Given and into the far corner.
It could’ve been a lot worse for the hosts had Torres converted another couple of chances, but as it was the victory was comfortable enough. Babel also could’ve grabbed another as Liverpool threatened to run riot with the Newcastle defence not tight enough on them.
The game ended without Newcastle having a shot on target. The best chances fell to Viduka who was denied both times by the offside flag and by a good Jose Reina save with the first effort as well.
After starting the game focused on Steven Gerrard, the boo boys turned on their own side as Newcastle slipped to another devastating defeat in front of their home crowd. They remain in eleventh position but hardly looked impressive and didn’t deserve to get anything out of the game.
The result moved Liverpool up to third until victories by both Manchester City and Chelsea saw them keep the fifth spot where they began the day. It was a strong and convincing performance against a Newcastle side who have failed to live up to early expectations under Sam Allardyce.
Newcastle: Given, Geremi, Beye, Rozehnal, Jose Enrique (Carr 78), Smith, Butt, Emre (Barton 51), N'Zogbia (Milner 59), Viduka, Martins.
Subs Not Used: Harper, Edgar.
Booked: Butt, Beye, Smith.
Liverpool: Reina, Finnan, Carragher, Hyypia, Arbeloa, Gerrard (Crouch 80), Lucas, Sissoko, Kewell (Babel 58), Torres, Kuyt (Riise 76).
Subs Not Used: Itandje, Mascherano.
Booked: Sissoko.
Goals: Gerrard 28, Kuyt 46, Babel 66.
Att: 52,307
Ref: Alan Wiley (Staffordshire).
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