9 SEPTEMBER 2001

Charlton (1) 1 (Melville (og) 33)
Fulham (1) 1 (Boa Morte 37)

Honours even In the second London derby of the weekend, although
Fulham can perhaps count themselves unlucky as they were by far the
better team, especially in the first half. The hosts took the lead,
totally against the run of play, when Andy Meville sliced into his
own net from three yards out after Shaun Bartlett had headed Chris
Powell's cross back across goal. Fulham earned a well deserved point
four minutes later when Legwinski broke through the middle and
although Dean Kiely saved his effort, he could nothing as Luis Boa
Morte volleyed home the rebound.


Tottenham (0) 2 (Ziege 77, Davies 86)
Southampton (0) 0

Spurs left it late to see off Southampton and register their first
victory of the season. Christian Ziege broke the deadlock late on
when he latched onto Simon Davies' long ball, cut into the area from
the left and found the bottom corner with the outside of his foot.
Davies completed the victory himself, collecting a neat flick by
Teddy Sheringham and slotting home after breaking through the
middle.


8 SEPTEMBER 2001

Chelsea (1) 1 (Hasselbaink (pen) 32)
Arsenal (1) 1 (Henry 18)
RED CARD : Hasselbaink (Chelsea) 72

Honours even in the big London derby of the weekend, however we did
have the customary fireworks as Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink was sent off
having earlier equalised for the hosts. Arsenal went ahead early on
when Thierry Henry shot home after De Goey had only parried Robert
Pires's originally effort. The points were shared when Hasselbaink
levelled from the spot after Martin Keown tripped Gianfranco Zola.
However in the second half, joy turned into anguish for the Dutchman
as he was dismissed after catching Martin Keown with a wayward
elbow.


Derby (0) 0
West Ham (0) 0

No goals and not too much excitement at Pride Park as both clubs
record their second successive goalless draw. Freddie Kanoute came
as close as anyone when he hit the bar from a tight angle.


Leeds United (0) 0
Bolton (0) 0

Scoreless also at Elland Road as Bolton lose their 100% record but
stay two points clear at the top. Leeds were largely held at bay by
a tight visiting backline and only late on did they really exert any
major pressure. Mark Viduka wasted a good chance when he sent a free
header wide, Robbie Keane was denied by a fine save from Jusski
Jaaskelainen whilst clean through and Ian Harte fizzed a free kick
inches wide with the last kick of the game.


Leicester (0) 1 (Sturridge 89)
Ipswich (1) 1 (Stewart 13)
RED CARDS : Sereni (Ipswich) 63, Marshall (Leicester) 84
MISS PENALTY : Izzet (Leicester) 64

Dean Sturridge struck a late equaliser for Leicester that may have
earned under fire boss Peter Taylor a stay of execution. The former
Derby striker latched onto a quickly taken free kick by Muzzy Izzet
and although his first effort was saved, he was sharp enough to
score from the rebound. Earlier, Marcus Stewart scored his first
goal of the season, blasting home from Matt Holland's header - and
then the fun began! Ipswich keeper Sereni was sent off for an off
the ball incident that saw Robbie Savage go down as though he'd been
hit by a missile, after what was little more than a bodycheck. A
penalty was also awarded, only for Izzet to fire the kick over the
bar. With time running out for Leicester, Lee Marshall was also
dismissed after a clash with Martin Reuser, before Sturridge scored
the first goal and won the first point of the season for Leicester.


Liverpool (0) 1 (Gerrard 46)
Aston Villa (1) 3 (Dublin 30, Hendrie 53, Vassell 85)
RED CARD : Gerrard (Liverpool) 70

Liverpool slumped to a surprise home defeat against an Aston Villa
side who totally deserved the points, and to add salt to Liverpool's
wounds, Steven Gerrard was sent off for an awful tackle. Dion Dublin
put Villa ahead on the half hour when he thumped home a header from
Paul Merson's free kick. Gerrard levelled matters early in the
second half with a close range header that was clearly over the
line, despite Dublin's attempts to clear. Within seven minutes, Lee
Hendrie restored Villa's lead, firing home after Dublin miskicked in
front of goal. Gerrard then launched into a studs-first, knee-high
tackle on George Boateng, that rightly earned him a straight red
card. Liverpool's second successive defeat was confirmed late on
when Darius Vassell wrapped up the points, breaking away to beat two
men to fire a deflected effort past Dudek.


Manchester United (2) 4 (Veron 21, Cole 39, Fortune 46, Beckham 88)
Everton (0) 1 (Campbell 66)

Normal service was resumed at Old Trafford after two away draws,
they crushed Everton. Man of the match Juan Veron opening the
scoring, firing home after a delightful one-two with Roy Keane on
the edge of the area. Andy Cole doubled the lead shortly before half
time when he made no mistake after good work by Luke Chadwick, and
Quinton Fortune added a third early in the second half, clipping
over Gerrard after being sent clear by Dwight Yorke's header. Kevin
Campbell pulled a goal back after being set up by Scot Gemmill, his
shot was half blocked but dribbled over the line, however the stage
was set for sub David Beckham to fire home the final goal, his shot
from the edge of the area finding the net via the post. Although
United remain unbeaten, they are still yet to keep a clean sheet
this season.


Middlesbrough (1) 1 (Cooper 4)
Newcastle (1) 4 (Shearer (pen) 33, 78, Dabizas 59, Robert 61)
RED CARD : Schwarzer (Boro) 32
MISSED PEN : Greening (Boro) 41

A somewhat eventful game at the Riverside that saw Alan Shearer
return to the starting line up with two goals. Boro began well and
took the lead early on when Colin Cooper headed home from a free
kick. The game changed on the half hour when home keeper Mark
Schwarzer was sent off for bringing down Laurent Robert in full
flight. Shearer scored from the spot to level matters. Within ten
minutes at the other end, Newcastle keeper Shay Given brought down
Paul Ince, however unlike Schwarzer, Given was only booked and
subsequently saved Jonathon Greening's penalty. The second half was
one way traffic as Lauren Robert inspired Newcastle to victory.
Nikos Dabizas gave the visitors the lead, scrambling home after Boro
allowed a cross to bounce right across the six yard box. Within two
minutes, Robert increased the lead, latching onto Steve Vickers
underhit back pass to round the keeper and slot home, and with time
running out for Boro, Shearer hammered the final nail in the coffin,
crashing home after a fine run by Robert. Boro remain bottom with a
played four, lost four record.

Sunderland (0) 1 (Quinn 80)
Blackburn (0) 0

Niall Quinn came off the bench to score a late winner for Sunderland
to earn all three points against Blackburn. Quinn netted with ten
minutes to go, heading home at the far post from Stefan Schwarz's
cross.


Gary Dowden
Chief Editor SoccerAge UK
http://www.soccerage.com
gary@soccerage.com
garydowden@blueyonder.co.uk