16 April 2005

Birmingham 0
Portsmouth 0

No goals at St Andrews as two members of the 'struggling, but almost
safe' brigade earned a point each. Birmingham's best chance fell to
Walter Pandiani whose shot was blocked by the feet of the keeper,
however Portsmouth almost snatched a win late on when Patrik Berger's
long range effort was well saved by Maik Taylor. Largely uneventful
though.

Attendance : 28,883
Assists : n/a


Charlton 1 (Hierro og 29)
Bolton 2 (Okocha 7 pen, Diouf 58)

Bolton moved into fifth place after a narrow win at Charlton, whose end
of season collapse continued. The visitors went ahead early on when Jay-
Jay Okocha slotted home a penalty after Hermann Hreidarsson had handled
in the area, however Charlton were level when a free kick from Danny
Murphy found Francis Jeffers in the area and his shot found the net via
two deflections. Bolton secured the win in the second half when Stelios
Giannakopolous crossed for Gary Speed to nod the ball across the area
and El-Hadji Diouf looped a header into the net.

Attendance : 26,708
Assists : n/a, n/a, Speed


Crystal Palace 3 (Kolkka 5, Hughes 73, Johnson 83 pen)
Norwich 3 (Ashton 22, 46, McKenzie 53)

Dramatic stuff at Selhurst Park as the bottom two shared six goals,
although Crystal Palace will be the happier having come from 3-1 down as
Norwich took command after the interval. Palace began strongly and went
ahead when a free kick from Michael Hughes found Joonas Kolkka unmarked
at the far post and he crashed the ball into the roof of the net.
Norwich were level after a fine run into the area by Damien Francis led
to him crossing for Dean Ashton to finish from close range and it was
Ashton again who put the visitors ahead within ten seconds of the second
half starting. He latched onto a long ball and slotted crisply home from
the edge of the area. A third soon followed as Darren Huckerby crossed
for Leon McKenzie to tap in at the near post and the game looked over,
however Palace battled back and pulled a goal back when Andy Johnson
crossed for Hughes to power in a superb header. Seven minutes from time,
Johnson was bundled over in the area by Jason Sheckle and although it
looked a soft award, the ref pointed to the spot and Johnson got up to
convert his tenth penalty of the season and earn a vital point for his
club.

Attendance : 25,754
Assists : Hughes (fk), Francis, n/a, Huckerby, Johnson, Johnson (won pen)


Fulham 1 (Boa Morte 76)
Manchester City 1 (Reyna 20)

Honours even at Craven Cottage, although Fulham will still not feel
totally safe from relegation despite a point against Man City. The
visitors went ahead when Antoine Sibierski's routine header was spilled
by Edwin Van Der Sar, allowing Claudio Reyna to tap in the rebound,
however Fulham were level in the second half when Brian McBride's
cutback was converted by Luis Boa Morte.

Attendance : 21,796
Assists : n/a, McBride


Liverpool 2 (Garcia 44, Hyypia 63)
Tottenham 2 (Edman 12, Keane 55)

Liverpool's Champions League hopes took a further blow as they were held
at home by Spurs whose own UEFA Cup aspirations continue to look good.
The visitors were twice ahead, originally thanks to a stunning 35-yard
strike from Erik Edman who found the top corner with the keeper totally
stranded after Spurs had made a hash of a short corner. It was his first
goal for Spurs and will be a Goal Of The Season contender easily.
Liverpool were level just before half time when Steve Finnan found Luis
Garcia who curled in a beauty from the edge of the area, however after
the interval, Spurs regained the lead when Robbie Keane thumped home a
header from Freddie Kanoute's cross. Two minutes later, Steven Gerrard
was tripped in the area by Michael Carrick, however he then went for
power from the penalty spot and blazed the kick wide! The second
equaliser eventually came when Gerrard's cross was cleared to the edge
of the area where Sami Hyypia volleyed the ball home.

Attendance : 44,029
Assists : n/a, Finnan, n/a, n/a


Southampton 2 (Phillips 4, Crouch 13)
Aston Villa 3 (Cole 55, Solano 70, Davis 72)

Southampton remain in the bottom three, however it should have been so
different after they blew a two goal lead at home to Aston Villa. It
started in sensational fashion for the strugglers as Peter Crouch robbed
J.Lloyd Samuel as he looked the sheppard the ball out and then crossed
for Kevin Phillips to side-step his marker and fire home. Ten minutes
later, Crouch added the second himself with a cool finish having been
sent clear by Jamie Redknapp, however it was only after half time when
Saints capitulated. The jitters began when Lee Hendrie and Nol Solano
set up Carlton Cole to side foot home, however two goals in a three
minute spell left the home side - and their fans - stunned. The
equaliser came after Cole flicked a corner on for Solano to control the
ball and the far post and score with a shot back across goal and while
Saints tried to recover, Ulises De La Cruz crossed for Steven Davies to
fire in via the keepers legs. If Southampton do go down, they'll surely
look back on this game as one that they should have won!

Attendance : 31,926
Assists : Crouch, Redknapp, Solano, Cole, De La Cruz


Gary Dowden - Joint Admin Topica Premier-L list
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Leeds United and Scotland and proud of it

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