Saturday Wrap Up February 23, 2008

  Birmingham 2 - 2 Arsenal 

Travesty at St Andrews. Martin Taylor’s tackle on Eduardo can only be described as horrendous. Sadly the early information doesn’t bode well for his future. Taylor was sent off with a straight red card in the 3rd minute leaving the Blues to play the entire match with 10 men. The loss of their striker so early and having to watch him being treated for eight minutes definitely had an impact on the Gunners.

James McFadden gave City the lead in the 28th with a sublime free kick that Manuel Almunia just couldn’t get to. The goal seemed to spark the visitors and they stepped up the attack, but  they were unable to break through at the half. Theo Walcott finally got on the Premiership score-sheet when he poked home a Maik Taylor loose ball to knot the score at 1-1. Walcott doubled his league total with a weaving run that culminated with a fantastic shot to the corner of the net. Three points seemed to belong to Arsenal until Gael Clichy brought Stuart Parnaby down in the box. McFadden slotted home the penalty and stole a not necessarily earned point.

  Liverpool 3 - 2 Middlesbrough 

Torres’ pays off at Anfield.£20 million 21 goals. Definitely showing that he is well worth the money. If Rafa Benitez would play the young Spaniard more, Liverpool might be challenging for the title. Middesbrough played well throughout the match and could have added to the domestic woes of the Merseysiders. Tuncay Sanli found the net early with a fine header for Boro. But, Fernando Torres fired off two quick goals two minutes apart. Boro could have done some damage as the Reds showed some lack of concentration and opened the door a couple of times.

Torres fired home his third early in the second half which should have put an end to the match. Middlesbrough didn’t get the memo though as Stewart Downing kept his side in it with a late goal at the 83rd minute mark. But, the wheels came off as Jeremie Aliadiere smacked Javier Mascherano after an altercation. Liverpool won the game, however they could have easily lost. Benitez is living with uncertainty and I’m concerned that with the whinging that has hit the media from the changing room recently is showing in their performance.

  Newcastle 1 - 5 Man Utd 

Ron and Roo thump Toon at St James’. Manchester United took a little bit of time to hit their stride, but when they did it was amazing. Wayne Rooney has been a terror in the pitch lately. Today was no different. The Tynesiders had an equal share of possession they just couldn’t come through defensively. Rooney volleyed in a beautiful cross from Ronaldo for the first goal of the night. The Portugese winger turned from provider to finisher at the half from a Michael Carrick pass. He did it again at the start of the second half when he slid around Steve Harper and popped in United’s third of the match.

Newcastle winger Damien Duff and Charles N’Zogbia gamely both fought on and came close to netting for the home side. Abdoulaye Faye was the one who finally broke through the Red Devil defense and put Kevin Keegan’s lads on the board in the 79th. In a display that showed who was the boss of this match, Rooney calmly scored a minute later to restore the three goal margin. Louis Saha finished the job at the end of the match with a well directed shot from a Rooney square.

Newcastle is still looking for their first victory under King Kev and unless they pull out of their free fall they could be challenging for the 18th position in the league when all is said and done. Manchester United moved to within 3 points of Arsenal with today’s demolition of Newcastle.

             

Other Saturday results- Fulham 0-1 West Ham; Portsmouth 1-0 Sunderland; Wigan Athletic 2-0 Derby County.