31 JANUARY 2002
Bolton (0) 0
Manchester United (2) 4 (Solskjaer 15, 39, 64, Van Nistelrooy 84)
United shrug off two consecutive defeats to tear Bolton apart at the Reebok and
remain top of the Premiership, largely due to a fine Ole Gunnar Solskjaer hat
trick. The Norwegian opened the scoring after Ryan Giggs was sent clear down the
left, his square ball well controlled by Solskjaer before slotting into the
corner. He then provided a superb near post header from a David Beckham corner
to double the lead, before heading home again, this time from a Beckham free
kick, to complete his treble. Late on, Ruud van Nistelrooy helped himself to a
tap in after good work again from Giggs.
Charlton (0) 1 (Bart-Williams 79)
Derby (0) 0
A dull game which was decided when loan signing Chris Bart-Williams curled in a
free kick late on. Derby remain in the bottom three and will hope that newly
installed boss John Gregory can turn the tide.
Sunderland (0) 0
Middlesbrough (1) 1 (Whelan 14)
RED CARD: Festa (Middlesbrough) 52
Middlesbrough moved out of the bottom three as Sunderland continue to struggle.
Noel Whelan scored the only goal early on, drilling into the net after an
excellent run by Phil Stamp, however the headlines were made by Gianluca Festa
who was red carded for spitting in the face of Kevin Phillips - with the referee
just yards away!
Aston Villa (0) 0
Everton (0) 0
No goals and not much excitement as managerless Villa were held at home by
inconsistent Everton. Paul Merson came the closest with a fine run and shot
which cracked against the bar.
Blackburn (2) 2 (Jansen 31, 39)
Arsenal (2) 3 (Bergkamp 14, 75, Henry 21)
RED CARD: Luhzny (Arsenal) 59
Arsenal stay second, a point behind Man United, after an eventful clash at
Blackburn. Dennis Bergkamp gave the Gunners the lead, firing into the net after
Martin Taylor deflected Sylvain Wiltord's cross into his path, before Thierry
Henry doubled it minutes later, slotting across Brad Friedel having been sent
clear by Robert Pires. Enter Matt Jansen with two goals in eight minutes to
restore parity. Firstly he glanced in Craig Hignett's near post cross, and then
equalised when Oleg Luhzny slipped to allow Damien Duff in to cross for him to
sweep the ball home. Arsenal were reduced to ten men when Luhzny was sent off
for a second bookable offence, a foul on Tugay, although contact looked to be
minimal, however Bergkamp clinched the win with fifteen minutes to go when he
shot under the keeper after Pires had put him through. The headlines again could
be made for the wrong reasons as both Bergkamp and Martin Keown appeared to
get away with elbowing incidents during the second half.
Chelsea (2) 2 (Gudjohnsen 2, Dalla Bonna 31)
Leeds United (0) 0
Sixth beat fifth as Chelsea deservedly saw off Leeds at Stamford Bridge. The
hosts began well as Eidur Gudjohnsen crashed home from the edge of the area
after good work by Stanic and Petit. The lead was doubled on the half hour when
Sam Dalla Bonna bobbled an effort into the corner, although Leeds felt that he
had handled in the scramble which led to the goal.
Ipswich (1) 1 (Bent 10)
Fulham (0) 0
Ipswich move out of the bottom three with a tight victory over Fulham. Marcus
Bent scored the sole goal, bundling the ball in from almost on the line after
Zak Knight had partially blocked a cross from Alun Armstrong.
Liverpool (0) 1 (Heskey 57)
Leicester (0) 0
Liverpool stay in touch with the leaders as an Emile Heskey goal pushed former
club Leicester closer to division one. The striker struck just before the hour
mark, chipping over Ian Walker having been sent clear by Dietmar Hamann, who
blocked an attempted pass by Matthew Jones in midfield.
Southampton (1) 2 (Davies 43, Fernandes 66)
West Ham (0) 0
Southampton ease their relegation fears and increase that of the Hammers after
a comfortable win at St Marys. Kevin Davies broke the deadlock just before half
time when Hammers keeper David James punched the ball against him and into
the net, and then Fabrice Fernandes doubled the lead, ripping a free kick into
the top corner.
Tottenham (1) 1 (Iversen 17)
Newcastle (0) 3 (Acuna 67, Shearer 69, Bellamy 78)
Newcastle stay in the title race after coming from behind to beat Spurs, whose
defence let them down badly. Steffan Iversen gave Spurs an ideal start, firing
home at the near post after Dean Richards diverted a header toward him,
however the second half was a different matter. Clarence Acuna equalised
midway through the second period, heading Laurent Robert's free kick home
from almost on the line and two minutes later, Alan Shearer turned the game
around, sliding in at the far post to convert Craig Bellamy's cross. Bellamy
wrapped it up late on, slotting in at the near post from Aaron Hughes' cross.
30 JANUARY 2002
Aston Villa (0) 0
Everton (0) 0
No goals and not much excitement as managerless Villa were held at home by
inconsistent Everton. Paul Merson came the closest with a fine run and shot
which cracked against the bar.
Blackburn (2) 2 (Jansen 31, 39)
Arsenal (2) 3 (Bergkamp 14, 75, Henry 21)
RED CARD: Luhzny (Arsenal) 59
Arsenal stay second, a point behind Man United, after an eventful clash at
Blackburn. Dennis Bergkamp gave the Gunners the lead, firing into the net after
Martin Taylor deflected Sylvain Wiltord's cross into his path, before Thierry
Henry doubled it minutes later, slotting across Brad Friedel having been sent
clear by Robert Pires. Enter Matt Jansen with two goals in eight minutes to
restore parity. Firstly he glanced in Craig Hignett's near post cross, and then
equalised when Oleg Luhzny slipped to allow Damien Duff in to cross for him to
sweep the ball home. Arsenal were reduced to ten men when Luhzny was sent off
for a second bookable offence, a foul on Tugay, although contact looked to be
minimal, however Bergkamp clinched the win with fifteen minutes to go when he
shot under the keeper after Pires had put him through. The headlines again could
be made for the wrong reasons as both Bergkamp and Martin Keown appeared
to get away with elbowing incidents during the second half.
Chelsea (2) 2 (Gudjohnsen 2, Dalla Bonna 31)
Leeds United (0) 0
Sixth beat fifth as Chelsea deservedly saw off Leeds at Stamford Bridge. The
hosts began well as Eidur Gudjohnsen crashed home from the edge of the area
after good work by Stanic and Petit. The lead was doubled on the half hour when
Sam Dalla Bonna bobbled an effort into the corner, although Leeds felt that he
had handled in the scramble which led to the goal.
Liverpool (0) 1 (Heskey 57)
Leicester (0) 0
Liverpool stay in touch with the leaders as an Emile Heskey goal pushed former
club Leicester closer to division one. The striker struck just before the hour
mark, chipping over Ian Walker having been sent clear by Dietmar Hamann, who
blocked an attempted pass by Matthew Jones in midfield.
Southampton (1) 2 (Davies 43, Fernandes 66)
West Ham (0) 0
Southampton ease their relegation fears and increase that of the Hammers after a
comfortable win at St Marys. Kevin Davies broke the deadlock just before half
time when Hammers keeper David James punched the ball against him and into
the net, and then Fabrice Fernandes doubled the lead, ripping a free kick into the
top corner.
Tottenham (1) 1 (Iversen 17)
Newcastle (0) 3 (Acuna 67, Shearer 69, Bellamy 78)
Newcastle stay in the title race after coming from behind to beat Spurs, whose
defence let them down badly. Steffan Iversen gave Spurs an ideal start, firing
home at the near post after Dean Richards diverted a header toward him, however
the second half was a different matter. Clarence Acuna equalised midway through
the second period, heading Laurent Robert's free kick home from almost on the
line and two minutes later, Alan Shearer turned the game around, sliding in at
the far post to convert Craig Bellamy's cross. Bellamy wrapped it up late on,
slotting in at the near post from Aaron Hughes' cross.
29 JANUARY 2002
Charlton (0) 1 (Bart-Williams 79)
Derby (0) 0
A dull game which was decided when loan signing Chris Bart-Williams curled in a
free kick late on. Derby remain in the bottom three and will hope that newly
installed boss John Gregory can turn the tide.
Sunderland (0) 0
Middlesbrough (1) 1 (Whelan 14)
RED CARD: Festa (Middlesbrough) 52
Middlesbrough moved out of the bottom three as Sunderland continue to struggle.
Noel Whelan scored the only goal early on, drilling into the net after an
excellent run by Phil Stamp, however the headlines were made by Gianluca Festa
who was red carded for spitting in the face of Kevin Phillips - with the referee
just yards away!
Ipswich (1) 1 (Bent 10)
Fulham (0) 0
Ipswich move out of the bottom three with a tight victory over Fulham. Marcus
Bent scored the sole goal, bundling the ball in from almost on the line after
Zak Knight had partially blocked a cross from Alun Armstrong.
Bolton (0) 0
Manchester United (2) 4 (Solskjaer 15, 39, 64, Van Nistelrooy 84)
United shrug off two consecutive defeats to tear Bolton apart at the Reebok and
remain top of the Premiership, largely due to a fine Ole Gunnar Solskjaer hat
trick. The Norwegian opened the scoring after Ryan Giggs was sent clear down
the left, his square ball well controlled by Solskjaer before slotting into the
corner. He then provided a superb near post header from a David Beckham corner
to double the lead, before heading home again, this time from a Beckham free
kick, to complete his treble. Late on, Ruud van Nistelrooy helped himself to a
tap in after good work again from Giggs.
Gary Dowden
Chief Editor SoccerAge UK
http://www.soccerage.com
gary@soccerage.com
garydowden@blueyonder.co.uk
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