16 May

A

y

e niv rsar n

Years

MONDAY, MAY 16, 2011

S P ORT S

Chelsea’s misery worsens Chelsea 2

Newcastle 2

LONDON: Arsenal’s Aaron Ramsey (left) and Aston Villa’s Stewart Downing vie for the ball during their English Premier League soccer match at the Emirates Stadium. — AP

Arsenal undone by Bent Arsenal 1

Aston Villa 2

LONDON: Arsenal were jeered off the pitch at the end of their final home game of the season after Darren Bent’s double earned a 2-1 victory for Aston Villa at the Emirates Stadium yesterday.

Many fans had left well before the final whistle when the boos started, then some who stayed made their feelings clear during what should have been a lap of appreciation from Arsene Wenger’s team.

The Gunners had pulled a goal back through Robin van Persie but defeat opens the door for Manchester City to finish above them, with fourth place bringing with it a tricky Champions League qualifier in pre-season, and the home supporters were far from happy with the latest defeat in a miserable second half of the campaign.

The hosts were dealt a blow before kickoff when Cesc Fabregas, their skipper, was ruled out with a thigh injury and France midfielder Samir Nasri was also sidelined as he had not recovered from a hamstring complaint.

Centre-back Thomas Vermaelen did make his first appearance since September following an Achilles injury but his presence in the Arsenal defence hardly stabilised them as Villa, now completely safe from relegation danger, raced into an early lead.

The opening goal came after 11 minutes from a ball over the top of the defence by England full-back Kyle Walker, with Bent peeling away from Sebastien Squillaci.

Bent still had work to do but he executed his finish by controlling the ball on the chest and steering a volley beyond Wojciech Szczesny and into the top corner.

It got worse for Arsenal four minutes later when Bent doubled the lead for his ninth

goal since arriving at Villa from Sunderland during the January transfer window.

James Collins played a free-kick forward and Vermaelen slipped to allow Ashley Young time to threat his pass through the Arsenal defence. Bent had raced in front of Bacary Sagna and finished through Szczesny’s legs.

Arsenal would inevitably see more of the ball as they looked for a goal to get back in the game. Villa tried to close them down quickly and it led to Nigel Reo-Coker getting booked when he was late on Jack Wilshere.

The hosts felt they should have had a penalty when Aaron Ramsey was played through by Wilshere. The Wales midfielder just had goalkeeper Brad Friedel to beat but Richard Dunne raced back and put his opponent off his stride while also missing the ball.

Ramsey protested but referee Michael Oliver waving play on. Arsenal’s frustrations grew shortly after the penalty appeal when Van Persie hit the frame of the goal.

The Holland striker, captain for the day in Fabregas’s absence, received Wilshere’s pass and tricked his way around Collins before beating Friedel with his finish but the ball hit the post.

Wenger’s team were jeered off at the break and the Arsenal manager took drastic action in an attempt to change the game. With France manager Laurent Blanc watching in the stands, Squillaci was taken off at the break, with striker Marouane Chamakh coming on in his place.

With Alex Song dropping to centreback, Villa had a chance with less than a minute of the second half gone when Bent got behind the Arsenal defence again, but Szczesny was down to save.

Andrey Arshavin fired a shot straight at Friedel, the veteran goalkeeper also saved bravely when Kieran Gibbs was sent through, while Van Persie fired over from the edge of the area. Chamakh had a goal ruled out for a push on Walker, before Van Persie finished from close range in the 89th minute. — AFP

LONDON: Wigan Athletic’s Charles N’Zogbia (right) fights for the ball against West Ham’s Scott Parker during their English Premier League soccer match. — AP

N’Zogbia revives Wigan as West Ham go down Wigan 3

West Ham 2

WIGAN: West Ham United were relegated from the Premier League at the DW Stadium here yesterday as they squandered a two-goal lead to allow Wigan Athletic to pull off an incredible 3-2 victory.

Avram Grant’s side needed a victory if they were to stand any mathematical chance of avoiding the drop and looked to be on their way to attaining it thanks to two Demba Ba headers in the first half.

But two goals from Charles N’Zogbiathe second an injury-time winner-and a Conor Sammon effort condemned the London side to the Championship.

Victory meant Wigan could yet stay up if they get a draw or better at Stoke City on the final day of the season next weekend.

A fraught opening saw Wigan dominate the early stages but that all changed after 12 minutes when Ba bril-

liantly headed in from Thomas Hitzlsperger’s whipped-in cross. Wigan’s biggest fault this season has been their inability to really penetrate and threaten opposition teams when it matters most and that problem was in evidence again in the first half.

And it did not take visitors West Ham long to punish them even further as they doubled their advantage after 26 minutes, prompting some Wigan fans to leave before half-time was even in sight.

After a period of sustained Wigan pressure, West Ham raced to the other end and again made the most of Wigan’s sloppy defending as Hitzlsperger’s cross was flicked on by James Tomkins at the near post, with Senegal striker Ba in the right place to bundle in with his head.

Wigan were booed off at half-time and that prompted manager Rober to Martinez into bringing Sammon and Victor Moses off the bench for the second half in a bid to rescue thee Latics’ seasonand that is exactly what Wigan did. They were given the first glimmer of hope just before the hour when N’Zogbia curled home a marvellous free-kick from 20yards, and that gave Wigan the encouragement to keep attacking with wonderfully exciting consequences. —AFP

LONDON: Chelsea’s pain at losing their Premier League title to Manchester United was compounded by Steven Taylor’s addedtime header that secured a 2-2 draw for Newcastle United at Stamford Bridge here yesterday.

This result threw open the race for second place and ensured Chelsea, who finish the season away to Everton next weekend, failed to end their home campaign on a high.

Blues manager Carlo Ancelotti, whose position will be reviewed at the end of the season, had urged his side to bounce back after the disappointment of losing their title to United, who secured a record 19th English championship with a 1-1 draw away to Blackburn on Saturday.

But Chelsea were twice pulled back after taking the lead with Jonas Gutierrez deflecting in a Ryan Taylor free -kick to cancel out Branislav Ivanovic’s second minute opening goal and Steven Taylor replying after Alex had put the home side ahead in the 83rd minute.

United’s success had removed any lingering doubt about the outcome of the title race and ensured there would be a distinct end of season atmosphere at Stamford Bridge, where Chelsea returned after last weekend’s 2-1 defeat by Sir Alex Ferguson’s side.

Ancelotti gave Fernando Torres another chance to finally kick-start his Blues career in place of Didier Drogba. The Spain striker, who has

LONDON: Newcastle United’s goalkeeper Tim Krul (right) punches the ball away from Chelsea’s Branislav Ivanovic (second right) and Alex (third right) during their English Premier League soccer match. — AP scored just once for his new club since his Januar y move from Liverpool, could at least claim an assist, heading on Frank Lampard’ s corner at the near post before Ivanovic bundled the ball home from close range.

With club owner Roman Abramovich watching from the stands, it looked for a brief while as though Chelsea would take the opportunity to end their home campaign in style.

The early momentum quickly disappeared, however, as Newcastle forced their way back into the game, albeit fortunately, and then settled to nullify the home side’s threat.

The visitors were helped on their

way by another costly defensive error from Chelsea, mirroring their problems against United.

Alex, in for Luiz, attempted to find John Terry but underhit his pass and the Chelsea captain was forced to foul Peter Lovenkrands after the Newcastle striker nipped in, collecting a caution in the process.

Taylor lined up the resulting free kick 25 yards out and his shot found its way into Petr Cech’s net after a deflection off Gutierrez’s back wrong-footed the keeper.

Newcastle were now level with 10 minutes on the clock and they almost scored a second six minutes later when Cech spilled the ball under pressure from striker Shola

Ameobi.

But neither side was able to create another first half chance of note with Chelsea’s lack of cutting edge highlighted by the laboured efforts of Torres and Nicolas Anelka.

The second half was little better although a 61st minute Taylor freekick forced Cech to react smartly.

Ancelotti had seen enough and three minutes later the Italian made a triple substitution, introducing the old guard of Drogba, Michael Essien and Florent Malouda but to little effect until Alex headed home from Lampard’s free k ick. But Taylor ’s header brought Newcastle back level and added to the pressure on Ancelotti. —AFP

Spurs sink Liverpool to take control of race for Europe LIVERPOOL: Tottenham are within touching disLiverpool 0 tance of qualifying for the Europa League after moving above Liverpool with a 2-0 win at Anfield yesTottenham 2 terday.

It was meant to be a day of celebration for the Reds after Kenny Dalglish on Thursday signed a new threeyear deal to become permanent manager of Liverpool for the second time.

But Tottenham didn’t read the script with goals in either half from Rafael Van der Vaart and a controversial Luka Modric penalty sealing a win that took them back into fifth spot.

With one game remaining, Tottenham’s fate is in their own hands after a result few saw coming as Liverpool’s five-match unbeaten run came to an end.

Tottenham now know that a win on the final-day at home to relegation-threatened Birmingham will be enough to confirm their place in Europe for next season.

Dalglish has transformed the club’s fortunes since taking over in January, with Liverpool’s new owners having been fortunate to stumble upon a winning formula they could scarcely have imagined after replacing Roy Hodgson.

Yet Tottenham, who knew they had to win to keep alive their hopes of leapfrogging their Merseyside hosts, began like a side throwing caution to the wind.

As Liverpool struggled to get out the blocks, Tottenham surged into an early lead through van der Vaart in the ninth minute. Anfield was silenced as Modric’s corner was partially cleared and the Dutch midfielder, via a slight deflection off Glen Johnson, saw 20-yards shot sail past Pepe Reina.

Liverpool’s frustration was evident, with Luis Suarez even fortunate to escape with just a yellow card after striking Michael Dawson while the defender was on the floor.

Such was Liverpool’s lethargy, it took until the 34th minute before the home side had their first serious effort on goal. And then Jay Spearing’s shot wide from 20 yards out summed up their showing. Andy Carroll, back in the Liverpool team after injury, drew groans around the ground as he mistimed his header following Martin Skrtel’s cross. Liverpool were finding their feet though and in Suarez they had a player capable of turning the game. The Uruguayan was a menace for the visitors in the first half and his free-kick on the stroke of half-time flew inches wide of Carlo Cudicini’s right-hand post.

Van der Vaart’s 14 goals following his arrival from Real Madrid have made him one of the most astute signings of the season. But his injury woes show no sign of ending and he limped off moments after the restart.

Despite the loss of their playmaker, Tottenham increased their lead within minutes thanks to Modric’s controversial penalty in the 56th minute.

John Flanagan appear to go shoulder to shoulder with Steven Pienaar, but referee Howard Webb incensed the home fans by pointing to the spot, with Modric slotting home the penalty. —AFP

LONDON: Tottenham Hotspur’s Danny Rose (top) takes a tumble over Liverpool’s John Flanagan, during the English Premier League match. — AP

EPL Results/Standings Arsenal 1 (Van Persie 89) Aston Villa 2 (Bent 11, 15); Birmingham 0 Fulham 2 (Hangeland 5, 49); Chelsea 2 (Ivanovic 2, Alex 83) Newcastle 2 (Gutierrez 10, Taylor 90); Liverpool 0 Tottenham 2 (Van der Vaart 9, Modric 56-pen); Wigan 3 (N’Zogbia 57, 90, Sammon 68) West Ham 2 (Ba 12, 26).

Played Saturday Blackburn 1 (Emerton 20) Manchester United 1 (Rooney 73-pen); Blackpool 4 (Campbell 9, 45, Puncheon 19, Adam 63) Bolton 3 (Davies 6, Taylor 24, Sturridge 53); Sunderland 1 (Sessegnon 34) Wolverhampton 3 (Craddock 22, Fletcher 54, Elokobi 78); West Brom 1 (Mulumbu 10) Everton 0.

English Premier League table after yesterday’s matches (played, won, drawn, lost, goals for, goals against, points): English Premier League table

Man Utd

37 22 11 4

Chelsea Arsenal Man City Tottenham Liverpool Everton Fulham Stoke

37 37 36 37 37 37 37 36

21 19 19 15 17 12 11 13

8 10 8 14 7 15 15 7

74 35 77 — champions 8 69 32 71 8 70 41 67 9 55 33 65 8 53 45 59 13 59 43 58 10 50 45 51 11 47 41 48 16 46 44 46

Bolton 37 West Brom 37 Newcastle 37 Aston Villa 37 Sunderland 37 Blackburn 37 W’hampton 37 Birmingham 37 Blackpool 37 Wigan 37 West Ham 37

12 12 11 11 11 10 11 8 10 8 7

10 10 12 12 11 10 7 15 9 15 12

15 15 14 14 15 17 19 14 18 14 18

52 54 46 53 68 46 53 54 45 47 59 45 42 56 44 43 57 40 44 63 40 36 56 39 53 74 39 39 61 39 43 67 33 — relegated

Birmingham in deep trouble Birmingham 0

Fulham 2

BIRMINGHAM: Birmingham’s bid to avoid relegation from the Premier League will go down to the final day of the season after Brede Hangeland’s double gave Fulham a 2-0 win at St Andrew’s yesterday.

Alex McLeish’s side produced a woeful display in their last home

game of the season and remain above the bottom three only on goal difference heading into next Sunday’s match at Tottenham.

The League Cup holders are level on points with third bottom Blackpool and second bottom Wigan, setting the stage for a nerve-shredding finale. Blackpool are away to Manchester United in their last match, while Wigan travel to Stoke. Only poor finishing prevented Fulham from at least doubling the final victory margin as Bobby Zamora, Andy Johnson and Clint Dempsey tormeted the Birmingham defence. To add to

Birmingham’s woes, Lee Bowyer, Stuart Parnaby and Martin Jiranek all had to be substituted through injury and then Alexander Hleb limped off to leave them playing with 10 men for the final 13 minutes. Dempsey missed a great chance to put Fulham ahead after two minutes. Johnson sent a low ball across the six-yard area and Dempsey spooned his shot over the bar with the goal at his mercy.

Blues looked nervous and Ben Foster had to parry aside a massive clearance from Fulham goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer at full stretch.

But from the resulting corner

defender Hangeland put the Cottagers in front from Jon Greening’s corner. Fulham were threatening to score every time they ventured forward and Johnson glanced a header wide from Greening’s cross.

The Cottagers came close to doubling their lead after half an hour when Zamora crashed a header against the post from a Greening free-kick. City almost levelled after 34 minutes when Jiranek’s flick grazed the outside of a post from Parnaby’s left-wing centre. But Fulham were soon back on top as Zamora missed two great chances. —AFP