24/08/09
By Mark Carter
It was another weekend of action-packed Barclays Premier League football, and I will be looking back to see how my earlier predictions faired.
Arsenal thrilled their fans with another goal-fest in their 4-1 drubbing of Portsmouth.
The south-coast club in crisis were punished by a clinical Arsenal side and fell behind after 18 minutes. Abou Diaby powered the ball into the top corner to send the Emirates into raptures, and followed the effort with his second three minutes later.
Pompey grabbed a goal back before the break through former Spurs defender Younes Kaboul, and felt hard done by following referee Steve Bennett’s decision not to award a foul on Utaka and subsequent red card to William Gallas.
Shortly into the second-half, it was Gallas that reaffirmed Arsenal’s dominance – scoring his third goal in as many games!
The rout was completed by Welsh starlet, Aaron Ramsey, who finished superbly in the 68th minute.
It was impossible to predict anything other than a home win, and the Gunners duly obliged.
Man City followed up the opening-day win by beating Wolves at Eastlands.
I expected a home win and City, at times, attacked with great fluidity and purpose. Unfortunately against my prediction, Tevez did not get on the score-sheet, he did, however, play Adebeyor in with a fantastic first-time lay-off for City’s winning goal.
Wolves struck the bar in the second-half and were not overrun by the home side, but the result was a fair reflection of the game.
I backed Martinez’s Wigan to hold Manchester United to a draw, and was proved right…for 45 minutes anyway!
United – disappointing in the first-half – demolished the Latics with five second-half goals.
Rooney headed his side into the lead, closely followed by Berbatov’s scrambled effort, and by then the game was beyond Wigan.
Rooney bagged his brace on 65 minutes and to please Ferguson further, Michael Owen (a second-half substitute) opened his Red Devils account by chipping the ball left-footed in off the far post as Kirkland rushed to meet him. A goal synonymous of a younger Owen.
Nani wrapped the game up, scoring a free-kick at the death.
Bolton travelled to the KC stadium for what was to prove a tight battle against Phil Brown’s Hull.
I thought this game would be settled by a single goal and was right, except it went to the men in orange rather than those in white.
It was summer-signing Jozy Altidore that came off the bench to provide Ghilas with the opportunity to score, and the Algerian smashed the ball home to give Hull a vital three points.
I tipped the encounter between Birmingham City and Stoke to end in a draw and was proved correct in my assumption, unfortunately, the game failed to produce the goals I expected.
Sunderland hosted Blackburn at the Stadium of Light in a game that I believed would end in a home victory.
Sunderland won the game thanks to two wonderfully taken goals from Kenwyne Jones.
Blackburn took the lead via defender Givet’s expert finish, but failed to hold on to it as Jones physical presence proved too much for the Lancashire side.
It was the first game Darren Bent has failed to score in this season, but I’m confident he will put that right next weekend at Stoke.
The first of Sunday’s fixtures saw West Ham battle Spurs in a London derby.
Carlton Cole went from hero to villain at Upton Park as Spurs got off to their best start since winning the top-flight title in 1961.
The Hammers striker scored an absolute stunner of a goal from all of 30 yards then proceeded to make a sloppy back-pass straight into the path of Defoe, who continued his hot streak of form by blasting the ball home.
In a fast paced game it was the man with the fastest pace that scored Spurs’ winner. Aaron Lennon – a threat throughout the game – cut inside and curled a great strike on his weaker foot out of Green’s reach and into the net.
I backed Tottenham for the win and they managed to confirm my beliefs with, perhaps, a bit of luck on the way.
Chelsea continued their winning ways with victory over Fulham at Craven Cottage.
I thought the Chelsea strike-force would prove too much for a tired Fulham side, and was proved right.
In a tight game, it was Didier Drogba that put his side into the lead in the 39th minute and his strike partner, Anelka, got off the mark for the season; scoring Chelsea’s second with 15 minutes to go.
Burnley took on Everton at fortress Turf Moor and went one better than my prediction of a score-draw by claiming six points out of nine for the season.
Wade Elliot bagged Burnley’s winner with a neat finish, but Everton had the chance to draw the game level on 75 minutes.
Referee Dowd – who had turned down two just penalty claims on the opening-day at White Hart Lane – pointed to the spot following phantom contact on Tony Hibbert as he drove into the box.
Justice was done after Louis Saha dragged the ball dreadfully-wide and made it two missed penalties in less than a week at Turf Moor.
Liverpool were aiming to reaffirm their title credentials following criticism levied at the sale of Xabi Alonso and an apparent lack of squad depth with a convincing win over Aston Villa.
The Reds failed – and in dramatic style.
Aston Villa went in two goals ahead at half-time. Hapless Brazilian Lucas glanced an attempted headed clearance into his own net and, just seconds before the break, Curtis Davis headed in at the near-post from a Villa corner.
Liverpool were reeling after what was a bright start to the game – Gerrard failing at close-range to beat Friedel after a goalmouth melee on six minutes – and faced a daunting task to muster a point from the game in the second-half.
After the break, Liverpool raised their tempo and Villa defended a barrage of attacks throughout the half.
Torres reignited the Kop’s hopes after hitting an expertly controlled side-footed volley into the roof of the net, but only minutes later, Gerrard – who looked strangely disinterested and detached from midfield – slid in rashly on an advancing Reo-Coker inside the penalty box.
Villa were awarded the penalty and Ashley Young duly sent Reina the wrong way and placed the ball into the opposite corner – restoring his side’s two-goal lead.
I expected a home win for last season’s runners-up and for Gerrard and Torres to get on the score-sheet. Unfortunately, only the latter obliged and Liverpool’s 31-match unbeaten home record was brought to an abrupt end.
For more of Mark Carter’s insightful views check out http://markcarteramatteroflifeordeath.blogspot.com/.