Sunday, January 6, 2008

Rangers 2-0 Dundee United 05/01/2008

Rangers 2-0 Dundee United

Rangers went a point clear of inactive Celtic at the top of the Scottish Premier League with an efficient victory over Dundee United.

Slack marking allowed Steven Naismith to head home from eight yards after nine minutes from a Chris Burke cross.

A Burke drive flew just wide and an Alan Hutton header struck the bar.

But the second came via a Barry Ferguson head flick just before the break and Rangers could afford a late missed penalty from Kris Boyd.

Those two first-half strikes were enough to ensure that Rangers went ahead of Celtic at the top of the SPL with a game in hand.

And they did so without United forcing a save from goalkeeper Allan McGregor.

Fit-again Charlie Adam and Nacho Novo had to make do with places on the bench for an unchanged Rangers, while Lee McCulloch missed out despite being free from suspension because of a calf strain.

Euan McLean replaced the injured Grzegorz Szamotulski in United's goal, while on-loan Leicester striker Eric Odhiambo made his first start at the expense of David Robertson.

It was a cagey start as both sides attempted to find their feet on the sodden Ibrox surface.

But Rangers burst into life with a superb passing movement that led to the opening goal.

However, United ought to have had Naismith more closely marked as the forward headed home from eight yards following Burke's cross.

The match became scrappy, with United having the better of the possession until Burke fired in a 20-yard drive that McLean turned wide for a corner from which Alan Hutton sent a header off the top of the crossbar.

Rangers' second eventually arrived after 39 minutes when Ferguson flicked on a Burke cross into the penalty box and the ball flew into the far corner.

There appeared to be a suspicion of offside as Naismith and Daniel Cousin were between Ferguson and goalkeeper McLean.

But, after consulting his assistant, referee Mike McCurry allowed the goal to stand.

Rangers started brightly after the break and a flowing move gave Cousin a chance to extend the lead.

But the big striker took the ball too far wide after trying to round the goalkeeper and the chance was lost.

Substitute Boyd was denied when his drive struck his own captain, Ferguson, who then had an effort blocked by McLean.

Boyd also had a penalty saved by McLean after a push on fellow replacement Novo by Willo Flood.

McLean produced two more fine stops to deny Boyd and Ferguson as Rangers finished in impressive style in the Ibrox mud.

But two goals were enough to give manager Walter Smith a happy start to the new year.

Southampton 2-0 Leicester 05/01/2008

Southampton 2-0 Leicester

Andrew Surman and Gregory Vignal scored in the first half to book Southampton's passage into the FA Cup fourth round.

Steve Howard twice went close for the Foxes either side of Surman's strike from the edge of the penalty area.

And Vignal crashed home a free-kick from similar distance to put Saints in control, which they never let go of.

Bradley Wright-Phillips almost made it 3-0 and though Howard and Alan Sheehan forced saves from Kelvin Davis, Saints were comfortable winners in the end.

It was the second time in three years that Leicester fell to the same opposition in the Cup and their defeat continues the struggles they have been enduring in the Championship.

New Foxes signing Howard saw an early effort pushed aside by goalkeeper Kelvin Davis but his team went a goal down when Jason Euell laid the ball off to Surman and he found the bottom right corner.

Howard somehow cleared the bar when he connected with Sheehan's inswinging corner and it was 2-0 when Patrick Kisnorbo brought down Grzegorz Rasiak just outside the area, and Vignal slammed the set-piece hard and low past Paul Henderson into the bottom left corner.

Euell and Adam Hammill headed wide after the break, before Howard tested Davis again the Southampton keeper produced a better save to deny Sheehan when he met Iain Hume's cross.

Saints still created the better chances and Wright-Phillips saw an effort kept out by Henderson as they eased home.

Everton 0-1 Oldham 05/01/2008

Everton 0-1 Oldham

League One Oldham stunned Premier League high-fliers Everton with a deserved FA Cup third-round win.

Gary McDonald's spectacular 25-yard strike seconds before half-time capped a superb display of resilience and effort from John Sheridan's side.

James Vaughan and James McFadden wasted early chances to put Everton ahead.

Oldham held Everton at bay with relative ease after the break, although substitute Yakubu hit the post with only seconds remaining.

Everton boss David Moyes made a host of changes and arguably could take a large share of responsibility for this massive shock.

Moyes's men started brightly, but their early attacking endeavours soon faded in the face of Oldham's stubborn resistance.

Steven Pienaar played in Vaughan in the opening minute, but the vastly experienced Oldham keeper Mark Crossley plunged at his feet to save.

McFadden then shot narrowly wide after a good link with Vaughan as Everton, sixth in the Premier League, pressed for an early advantage.

But Oldham played their way into the game and Craig Davies should have done better than mis-kick in front of goal after 27 minutes as Everton's reserve keeper Stefan Wessels struggled to collect a cross.

Wessels was then forced to dive to his left to save from Deane Smalley as Oldham enjoyed a period of supremacy.

But they survived an escape three minutes before the interval when McFadden's shot was smuggled away as Everton threatened.

And they took advantage in spectacular style on the stroke of half-time, when McDonald found time and space to send a dipping left-foot shot over Wessels.

Everton were making few inroads into the Oldham defence after the break and it was no surprise when Moyes made a double change on the hour.

Yayubu and Victor Anichebe replaced Vaughan and the disappointing Thomas Gravesen.

And it was Yakubu who came closest to rescuing Everton, firing against an upright with virtually the final kick of the game.

Sunderland 0-3 Wigan 05/01/2008

Sunderland 0-3 Wigan

Wigan boss Steve Bruce fielded a much-changed side but knocked former Manchester United team-mate Roy Keane's Sunderland out of the FA Cup.

Paul Scharner was left unmarked to give the visitors a half-time lead when he headed in Josip Skoko's free-kick.

Jonny Evans's poor back-pass let in Julius Agahowa and as he ran through on goal, Paul McShane tried to clear but put the ball past his own goalkeeper.

Dave Cotterill later made it 3-0 with a beautifully struck effort.

Keane had pledged to field his strongest possible side, but still made five changes after his squad were hit by injuries and suspensions.

But Bruce rang the changes even more, only naming four of the players from the midweek 1-1 draw with Liverpool in his starting line-up - and two of those, Ryan Taylor and Emile Heskey, went off injured during the game.

Scharner's opener was one of very few first-half chances, as Sunderland's inexperienced front pairing of Daryl Murphy and Martyn Waghorn were left isolated up front.

But soon after McShane and Nyron Nosworthy had collided with each other when they tried to clear the same ball, the Black Cats' defence was called into question once more as Evans played his team-mates into trouble.

Substitute Andy Cole set up Murphy who went close to pulling one back for the Wearsiders, but his deflected shot sailed wide.

There was no way back for the home side after Wales international Cotterill's third, and although Roy O'Donovan clipped the bar with a late overhead kick, it will have been little consolation for four-time FA Cup winner Keane.

West Ham 0-0 Man City 05/01/2008

West Ham 0-0 Man City

West Ham and Manchester City must replay their FA Cup third round match again on Wednesday week.

City had claims for an early penalty when Anton Ferdinand brought down the impressive Martin Petrov, while Robert Green superbly denied Stephen Ireland.

Joe Hart kept out Matthew Etherington's shot and palmed away a Mark Noble free-kick as the Hammers responded.

Ireland came close with another volley after the break, while Hart tipped over Dean Ashton's header near the end.

Neither side will relish the prospect of having to play another game but, after a week in which the tournament's importance was again debated, it was refreshing to see two strong line-ups approach this match with real gusto.

No-one epitomised that more than Petrov, who cut inside in the 16th minute and was clumsily brought down by Ferdinand, only for referee Rob Styles to wave away surprisingly muted claims.

Petrov's deep cross then found its way to the far post, where Ireland unleashed a powerful volley that Green brilliantly palmed over.

At the other end, Ashton was well marshalled by in-form City skipper Richard Dunne, leaving energetic duo Etherington and Mark Noble to produce most of West Ham's best moments.

Etherington, who was returning after two months out with a groin problem, came desperately close to a breakthrough when Hayden Mullins's cross was flicked on by Carlton Cole, only for Hart to tip his effort around the near post.

Hart then palmed away a free-kick Noble whipped in as the Hammers enjoyed a good spell but Petrov was never far from the action.

His cross would have been converted by Mexican striker Nery Castillo, who looked bright on his debut, but for a last-ditch interception from Ferdinand.

Lucas Neill, who had been tormented by Petrov, was replaced by Jonathan Spector and West Ham did nearly all the pressing at the start of the first half.

City appeared to have lost their first-half fluency but their threat on the break was illustrated when another Ireland volley was kept out by Hart.

Although a raft of substitutions affected the flow of the game in the latter stages, it remained an absorbing spectacle.

After a quiet spell, Petrov was again at the heart of some intricate passing moves from the away team, while West Ham were by no means overshadowed.

One of their replacements, Kyel Reid, delivered a good centre which Ashton made decent contact with but Hart made sure there would be no late drama by helping it over the bar.

Tottenham 2-2 Reading 05/01/2008

Tottenham 2-2 Reading

Stephen Hunt's late equaliser for Reading set up a replay at the Madejski Stadium on Tuesday week for a place in the FA Cup fourth round.

A bizarre Paul Robinson error from Hunt's free-kick gave Reading the lead, but Dimitar Berbatov's lashed finish and penalty put Spurs ahead.

But a weakened Reading team hit back when Robinson spilled Leroy Lita's shot and Hunt netted the rebound.

Spurs substitute Tom Huddlestone was sent off late on for a head-butt.

Reading boss Steve Coppell, who prioritises league survival over the world's oldest cup competition, sprang no surprises by essentially fielding a reserve side.

He made eight changes from the team which lost 6-4 to Spurs at White Hart Lane in the Premier League seven days ago.

Spurs manager Juande Ramos fielded his strongest line-up, with skipper Ledley King back in the heart of defence.

The game soon burst into action when in the fifth minute Berbatov's square pass found Robbie Keane but, completely unchallenged, the Republic of Ireland international managed to steer the ball wide of the open goal from seven yards out.

That howler was nothing compared to what happened on 25 minutes.

From 45 yards out and near the touchline, Reading midfielder Hunt drifted a free-kick towards Robinson's goal and with no Reading players able to make contact, the Spurs keeper claimed a simple catch.

His momentum, however, carried him backwards into his goal and though Robinson eventually pushed the ball away, the linesman judged that he had carried it behind the line in his outstretched arms and a goal was awarded.

Spurs hit back immediately when Aaron Lennon's clever dinked pass found Berbatov in space in the penalty area.

With Reading's static back-line wrongly claiming for offside, the Bulgarian striker simply controlled the ball and lashed it past Adam Federici into the top corner.

Spurs took the game to Reading after the break and took the lead on 55 minutes.

Michael Dawson floated a long ball over the top for the energetic Keane to run on to and, as he steadied himself to shoot, Reading full-back Liam Rosenior hacked at his legs.

Referee Mark Clattenburg pointed to the spot without hesitation and in typical fashion, Berbatov coolly guided the ball past Federici's dive to the right for his sixth goal against Reading in the space of seven days.

Keane then had a goal disallowed for Pascal Chimbonda's push in the build-up and Berbatov could have claimed a hat-trick, and effectively sealed the game, when Lennon delivered a wicked cross but he trod on the ball just 10 yards out.

Yet with the clock ticking towards full-time, Reading made a rare foray into Spurs half of the pitch and grabbed an unlikely equaliser.

Peeling in from the left, Lita jinked in between Spurs defenders to hit a shot which Robinson could only parry.

As he lay prone and the ball squirmed from his grasp, Hunt followed up and tucked the ball into the net from a tight angle.

With both teams pressing for a late victory, the action became heated and second-half substitute Huddlestone was sent-off for butting his head towards Bobby Convey in an off-the-ball incident.

Aston Villa 0-2 Man Utd FA Cup 05/01/2007

Aston Villa 0-2 Man Utd

Wayne Rooney scored under the watchful eye of new England coach Fabio Capello as Manchester United ruined Aston Villa's FA Cup chances once more.

Rooney inspired United after coming on as substitute with 20 minutes left.

He fired just over seconds before Cristiano Ronaldo turned home Ryan Giggs' cross with nine minutes left.

Rooney then provided a superb finish with a minute left, firing across Scott Carson from 20 yards as United sealed a place in the FA Cup fourth round.

This was the fourth time in the past seven seasons Villa have been paired with United at the third round stage - and they have lost each time.

Nine players eligible to play for England were included in the two starting line-ups as Capello took his seat alongside the Football Association's chief executive Brian Barwick in the stands at Villa Park.

Rooney was not on display from the start in front of Capello, being kept on the bench after missing two games with a virus, but he had a massive impact when he finally emerged.

There was little for impassive new England coach Capello to get excited about in a poor first 45 minutes.

Giggs had the best chance on the stroke of half-time, when Villa keeper Carson palmed out Ronaldo's shot and the veteran star could only steer the rebound wide.

Rooney indulged in a lengthy warm-up routine at the start of the second-half, much to the delight of United's travelling fans.

United almost broke the deadlock without him after 56 minutes when Nemanja Vidic glanced Giggs' corner just off target via a deflection.

Villa made the first change seven minutes later, sending on Luke Moore for John Carew, who looked to be struggling for fitness throughout.

Rooney was finally introduced with 20 minutes left of what had been a dismal encounter, replacing Ji-Sung Park.

Villa occasionally posed a threat when they broke on United, but Ashley Young shot wastefully wide from 20 yards.

Rooney had a glorious chance to open the scoring after 79 minutes when he played a long pass to Ronaldo before taking the return and firing over the top.

But United did not have to wait long to take the lead, Ronaldo scoring seconds later.

Giggs' cross went through Curtis Davies' legs and Ronaldo forced his way in front of the flat-footed Wilfred Bouma to score.

Carson then made a fine double save from Michael Carrick as United threatened to hit Villa again on the break.

And Rooney completed a brilliant cameo with a low drive beyond Carson as United sealed the win.