England Weekend Review

by Alex Abnos - September 23, 2007

 
▪ Netherlands Weekend Review

Frank Simek and Wednesday finally got off the mark, Fulham battled to another six-goal home draw and Blackburn suffered a slim loss to Pompey.

▪ Germany Weekend Review
▪ DeMerit: Hornets Are Buzzing
 

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GUNNERS STEAMROLL HELPLESS RAMS
The Premier League's top v. bottom clash went just as advertised on Saturday as league leaders Arsenal demolished a woefully outclassed Derby County 5-0 at the Emirates Stadium.

Eddie Lewis started and played the full 90 for the Rams, while Benny Feilhaber was brought on for captain Matt Oakley in the 56th minute.

However, neither player could help in what was a shocking performance by the Derby midfield, as the team struggled to maintain any kind of possession throughout the game while frequent turnovers and bad passes led to nearly all of Arsenal's goals.

It was Abou Diaby that got things started off for the home side, casually dribbling around the edge of the Derby penalty area before rifling a perfectly placed right-footed shot past Rams keeper Stephen Bywater.

Emanuel Adebayor added another in the 25th minute, before striking again from the penalty spot early in the second half after Matt Oakley was judged to have tugged the shirt of Arsenal striker Eduardo just a little too tightly.

Fabregas added another with a long range rocket shot in the 70th minute, while Adebayor completed his hat trick just nine minutes later.

Scoring
ARS - Abou Diaby 1 10'
ARS - Emmanuel Adebayor 4 (Cesc Fabregas) 25'
ARS - Emmanuel Adebayor (PK) 5 50'
ARS - Cesc Fabregas 4 (Eduardo) 70'
ARS - Emmanuel Adebayor 6 (Denílson) 79'

Line-ups
DC - Stephen Bywater; Tyrone Mears, Dean Leacock, Claude Davis, Andy Griffin, Gary Teale, Matt Oakley (Benny Feilhaber 56'), Stephen Pearson, Eddie Lewis, Steve Howard (Giles Barnes 75'), Kenny Miller (James McEverly 84')

ARS - Manuel Almunia; Bacary Sagna, Kolo Touré, Philippe Senderos, Gael Clichy, Theo Walcott (Lassana Diarra 72'), Francesc Fabregas (Denílson 71'), Mathieu Flamini (Alexandre Song 77'), Abou Diaby, Eduardo, Emmanuel Adebayor

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KANU STRIKE EDGES ROVERS
Blackburn's hot start to the season looks to be cooling off as the midlands club followed up their shock 2-0 loss to AE Larissa in the UEFA Cup with a 1-0 home loss to Portsmouth.

Brad Friedel served as captain for Rovers in the absence of the injured Ryan Nelsen, and made several key stops throughout the game to keep the score from getting any worse.

However, Blackburn really should have had two before Portsmouth even scored in the first place. First, it was a Roque Santa Cruz header that hit the crossbar, then a wide open chance for Benni McCarthy that the South African somehow managed to put high and wide from 10 yards out.

After a pair of stunning Friedel saves, Rovers were punished for their early mistakes in the 25th minute as Kanu received a long ball in the box, beat the onrushing American and slotted the ball into the back of the net through the legs of Christopher Samba.

It was a goal that went completely against the run of play, and Blackburn would spend the rest of the game trying to reverse it to no avail.

Scoring
POR - Kanu 2 (Papa Bouba Diop) 25'

Line-ups
BLA - Brad Friedel; Brett Emerton, Christopher Samba, Andre Ooijer, Stephen Warnock, David Bentley, Robbie Savage, David Dunn (Tugay 56'), Morten Gamst Pedersen (Jason Roberts 79'), Roque Santa Cruz, Benedict McCarthy (Matt Derbyshire 56')

POR - David James; Glen Johnson, Sol Campbell, Sylvain Distin, Hermann Hreidarsson, Sulley Muntari, Dean Davis, Papa Bouba Diop, Niko Kranjčar (Matthew Taylor 86'), Kanu (Benjani Mwaruwari 69'), John Utaka (Noe Pamarot 90')

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N'ZOGBIA LEADS TOON PAST WEST HAM
Jonathan Spector came on as a substitute and played the last 10 minutes in West Ham's 3-1 away loss to Newcastle United.

The Hammers were behind almost from the outset, as Newcastle survived a Carlton Cole chance direct from kickoff before mounting their own attack that led to a headed goal from Mark Viduka in the second minute.

West Ham continued to pressure after the goal, and were rewarded in the 32nd minute as a flick-on header from Cole gave Ashton the ball right where he needed it to volley the ball past Steve Harper and a slew of Newcastle defenders.

Newcastle refused to be counted out, however, as Charles N'Zogbia and Viduka hooked up once again just before halftime to put the Magpies up 2-1 at the break.

The second half was relatively even, but the result was all but assured for Newcastle when N'Zogbia added a goal to his two assists on the night.

Scoring
NEW - Mark Viduka 2 (Charles N'Zogbia) 2'
WHU - Ashton 2 (Carlton Cole) 31'
NEW - Mark Viduka 3 (Charles N'Zogbia) 40'
NEW - Charles N'Zogbia 3 (Obafemi Martins) 75'

Line-ups
NEWC - Steve Harper; Habib Beye, Caçapa  (Steven Taylor 77'), David Rozenhal, Charles N'Zogbia, Geremi, Nicky Butt, James Milner, Mark Viduka (Jose Enrique 72'), Michael Owen (Obafemi Martins 50'), Alan Smith

WHU - Robert Green; George McCartney, Lucas Neill, Matthew Upson, Anton Ferdinand, Lee Bowyer, Mark Noble, Hayden Mullins (Frederik Ljungberg 61'), Matthew Etherington (Jonathan Spector 80'), Dean Ashton, Carlton Cole (Henri Camara 67')

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HARPER LIFTS READING LATE
Reading snatched three points at the death as James Harper broke free in the 90th minutes to give the Royals a win at home against Wigan Athletic.

Marcus Hahnemann kept his usual place between the sticks for Reading, while Bobby Convey came on as a substitute in the 63rd minute.

It was a game that the Royals dominated from the outset, though they failed to capitalize on a wealth of scoring chances.

Finally, the breakthrough came in the 30th minute as Wigan goalkeeper Christopher Kirkland bumbled a weak shot from Kevin Doyle, which allowed Dave Kitson to slot the ball home quite easily.

The visitors fought back almost immediately, creating several key chances at the close of the first half, though none of them would come to fruition. Lady luck would be a bit kinder to the Latics after the break, though as Marcus Bent headed in a corner from Jason Koumas only five minutes after the interval.

However, it would ultimately be Reading's day as Harper latched on to a beautiful reverse pass by Kitson before finishing past Kirkland in the 90th minute.

Scoring
REA - Dave Kitson 2 29'
WIG - Marcus Bent 1 (Jason Koumas) 50'
REA - James Harper 1 (Dave Kitson) 90'

Line-ups
REA - Marcus Hahnemann; Graeme Murty, Michael Duberry, Ivar Ingimarsson, Nicky Shorey, Liam Rosenior (Bobby Convey 63'), Brynjar Gunnarsson, James Harper, Stephen Hunt, Dave Kitson, Kevin Doyle (Andre Bikey 90')

WIG - Chris Kirkland; Mario Melchiot, Titus Bramble, Andreas Granqvist, Kevin Kilbane, Jason Koumas, Michael Brown, Josip Skoko, Paul Scharner, Marcus Bent, Antoine Sibierski (Julius Aghahowa 79')

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FULHAM CLAIM SEESAW DRAW
Fulham needed a late Danny Murphy strike to take all a point from Manchester City in a hugely entertaining 3-3 game at Craven Cottage.

Carlos Bocanegra and Clint Dempsey both started and played the full 90, while Kasey Keller was on the bench backing up Antti Niemi.

Fulham got started early on, as Simon Davies got his head to a nice cross from Hameur Bouazza, flicking the ball past City keeper Kasper Schmeichel at the difficult angle to put the Cottagers out in front.

City would equalize in the 36th minute through Martin Petrov, who strode easily past Chris Baird before firing a shot that was just a little too hot for Fulham goalkeeper Antti Niemi to handle.

Bouazza would once again give Fulham the lead with a rocket free kick from 20 yards out, before Emile Mpenza took advantage of a parried ball by Niemi to level the scores just two minutes later.

Before long, Manchester City would find themselves in the lead for the first time as Elano and Petrov combined nicely before the Bulgaria star beat Niemi at the near post for his second.

Fulham refused to be beaten, however, as Danny Murphy latched on to a flick-on header from Seol Ki-Hyon and finished coolly past Schmeichel with his right foot in the 75th minute.

Fulham had multiple chances after Murphy's equalizer to snatch all three points, but all of them were left wanting as time expired.

Scoring
FUL - Simon Davies 1 (Hameur Bouazza) 13'
MANC - Martin Petrov 1 36'
FUL - Hameur Bouazza 1 48'
MANC - Emile Mpenza 2 50'
MANC - Martin Petrov 2 (Elano) 60'
FUL - Danny Murphy 1 (Seol Ki-Hyeon) 75'

Line-ups
FUL - Antti Niemi; Chris Baird, Carlos Bocanegra, Aaron Hughes, Paul Konchesky, Hameur Bouazza (Seol Ki-Hyeon 67'), Alexey Smertin (Diomansy Kamara 46'), Simon Davies, Steven Davis, David Healy (Danny Murphy 67'), Clint Dempsey

MC - Kasper Schmeichel; Verdan Corluka, Micah Richards, Richard Dunne, Javier Garrido, Steven Ireland (Sun Jihai 83'), Dietmar Hamann, Michael Johnson, Martin Petrov, Elano (Geovanni 80'), Emile Mpenza (Rolando Bianchi 80')

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HORNETS SLIP AGAINST 10-MAN QPR
Watford FC couldn't take advantage of 10-man QPR as the Hornets could only manage a 1-1 draw with Rangers at Loftus Road.

Jay DeMerit started the game for the Hornets, but only played 45 minutes before being taken out at halftime in favor of Adrian Mariappa as a precaution for his calf knock.

The first half was nothing to write home about, as both teams failed to create any meaningful scoring opportunities. Watford took the lead in the 49th minute when Adam Johnson headed Lee Williamson's cross into the back of the net.

Rangers would fight back, however, and would have an equalizer within 10 minutes of going down. Dexter Blackstock was the impetus, as his shot from outside struck the post, allowing Stefan Moore to tap in the resulting rebound.

Watford had every chance to get a win out of the match after Mikele Leigterwood was sent off with 10 minutes remaining, but the Hornets couldn't find a way to goal and would have to settle for a point away from home.

Scoring

WAT - Adam Johnson 1 (Lee Williamson) 49'
QPR - Stefan Moore 1 59'


Line-ups
QPR - Lee Camp; Sampsa Timoska, Damion Stewart, Danny Cullip, Chris Barker, Gareth Ainsworth (Stefan Moore 46'), Mikele Leigterwood, Adam Bolder, Martin Rowlands, Dexter Blackstock, Daniel Nardello (Hogan Ephraim 41')

WAT - Mart Poom; Lloyd Doyley, Dan Shittu, Jay DeMerit (Adrian Mariappa 46'), Jordan Stewart, Tommy Smith (Jobi McAnuff 73'), Lee Williamson, Gavin Mahon, Adam Johnson, Marlon King, Darius Henderson (Nathan Ellington 73')

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WEDNESDAY BREAKS SEASON DUCK
Sheffield Wednesday finally got their first victory of the season under their belts with a 1-0 win over Hull at home.

Frank Simek started and played the full 90 for Wednesday, who needed a victory not only for confidence but also to lift them out of the Championship cellar.

Francis Jeffers was the hero for the home side, rifling an upper 90 strike past Hull Goalkeeper Boaz Myhill after a nice bit of passing with Deon Burton in the 40th minute.

Scoring
SW - Francis Jeffers 1 (Deon Burton) 40'

Line-ups
SW - Lee Grant; Richard Wood, Steve Watson (Wade Small 78'), Michael Johnson, Tommy Spurr (Richard Hinds 46'), Frank Simek, Graham Kavanaugh, Etienne Esajas, Glenn Whelan, Francis Jeffers (Marcus Tudgay 78'), Deon Burton

HULL - Boaz Myhill; Michael Turner, Wayne Brown, Damien Delaney, Samuel Ricketts, Ian Ashbee, Richard Garcia, Dean Marney (Stephen McPhee 67'), Bryan Hughes (David Livermore 85'), Jay-Jay Okocha, Michael Bridges (Henrik Pedersen 59')

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DONS CLIMB TO FIFTH
Jemal Johnson came on as a 69th minute substitute in Milton Keynes Dons' 1-0 victory over Darlington.

It was a match that Dons dominated throughout, though it took a last-gasp header from Drissa Diallo to bring all three points to the Milton Keynes side.

The victory is the Dons' third in a row as they continue to move up the League Two standings.

Scoring
MKD - Drissa Diallo 1 (Jude Stirling) 89'

Lineups
MKD - Willy Gueret; Drissa Diallo, Sean O'Hanlon, Danny Swailes, Dean Lewington, Jude Stirling, Keith Andrews (Keith Andrews 86'), Alan Navarro, Lloyd Dyer (Bally Smart 76'), Leon Knight (Jemal Johnson 69'), Aaron Wilbraham

DAR - David Stockdale; Ian Miller, Alan White, Stephen Foster, Tim Ryan, Julian Joachim, Michael Cummins, Richard Ravenhill, Robert Purdue, Pawel Abbott (Gregg Blundell 69'), Tommy Wright (Clark Keltie 87')

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ON THE SIDELINE
Injured keeper Tim Howard was not named to squad for Everton's 2-0 loss to Aston Villa.

Johann Smith was not in the Bolton squad that drew 1-1 with Tottenham at The Reebok Stadium.

Cory Gibbs was still recovering as Charlton won 2-0 over Leicester.

Zak Whitbread was not in the squad for Millwall's 0-0 draw with Crewe.

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