Sunday 18 November 2012

Fulham 1-3 Sunderland


Sunderland recorded only their second league victory this season against 10-man Fulham after Brede Hangeland's red card at Craven Cottage.
 
This was an incredible (and vital) win for Martin O'Niell's side, who sat dangerously above the relegation zone with only goal difference keeping them out. Meanwhile Fulham looked to rise up to seventh, just behind Arsenal on goal difference.
 
The game was a dour stalemate for the first 30 mintues with Sunderland mainly keeping out Martin Jol's men. Despite Dimitar Berbatov and Steve Sidwell missing decent chances neither Mark Schwarzer or Simon Mingolet were seriously tested in the opening stages.
 
The match eventually sprang into life with the only talking point of the first half when Hangeland slid into Black Cats captain Lee Cattermole with two feet off the ground. Despite it being an arguably controlled challenge, without a moment of hesitation the referee instantly produced a red card.
 
Even with a man down, Fulham still looked the more dangerous team in the closing moments of a largely forgettable first period.
 
Following half time with the score at 0-0, the game kicked off with an enthralling 45 mintues to follow.
 
After Fulham came incredibly close to scoring themselves by hitting the crossbar, Sunderland provided a perfect counter attack with Adam Johnson setting up Steven Fletcher to score his sixth of the season; having now scored six out of their eight top flight goals .
 
Fulham deservedly levelled on 62 mintues when Mladen Petric fired the ball in past Mingolet from close range just seconds after coming off the bench.
 
However, any Fulham fans' hopes of Petric being an inspiration for a victory were quickly gone. Just minutes later, the visitors hit back with the Cottagers breifly down to nine men as Carlos Cuellar headed the ball in from a corner.
 
And then five mintues afterwards, Stephane Sessegnon scored in spectacular fashion with his first goal in 19 league games with an unstoppable shot from just outside the penalty area, coming off the post in the process.
 
To credit Fulham, even with 10-men and at 3-1 they refused to give up and had two really good chances, both of which Mingolet stopped well from close range to preserve his side's lead.
 
But in the end they were unable to break down Sunderland, who will hope this merited victory will kick start their season.

Sunday 4 November 2012

Liverpool 1-1 Newcastle


A brave display from Newcastle earned them a deserved draw against dominant Liverpool in a thrilling encounter at Anfield.
The magpies went ahead on the 43rd minute through a magnificent strike from French international Yohan Cabaye not long before half time.
Liverpool deservedly got their equaliser midway through the second period when Suarez broke away from Fabricio Coloccini (who had a hard time dealing with him all afternoon) and produced a moment of individual brilliance to give the home fans hope of finding a winner.
But Brendan Rodgers' team could not find the decisive second goal which would have been cruel on the toon as they were outstanding man to man.
The hosts set their intentions right from the first whistle by inflicting bombardment on the visitor’s net, pinning them in their own half.
Gerrard had an ambitious, if not unintentional, effort from near the half way line which was off target. The closest the reds came to a goal was a shot from Suarez from a tight angle which was easily saved by the largely untroubled Tim Krul.
But as we have seen so often this season Liverpool have been very lacklustre in front of goal and are often dominating teams without drawing first blood.
After bravely absorbing their host’s constant pressure, Newcastle, slightly against the run of play, took the lead in fine style just before the interval.
Fellow Frenchman Hatem Ben Arfa twisted and turned around the Liverpool defence with the ball finding Cabaye. From just outside the six yard box, he turned on the spot and fired a wonderful curler past Brad Jones and into the right corner of the goal.
Liverpool started the second half in similar fashion to how they played in the first. But despite their dominance in territory, they struggled to really test the visiting defence.
However on the 65th minute a long ball from former toon Jose Enrique found the Uruguayan striker Suarez who did well to keep his cool and slot the ball past helpless Krul and into the empty net.
The equaliser had been coming but  afterwards Liverpool were still not creative enough to take the three points.
However they should have gone ahead when after some brilliant skill from Suarez in the penalty area the ball found Jonjo Shelvey who somehow tapped the ball straight into the hands of the Dutch keeper.
Colocini got himself a red card a few minutes from time with a debatably reckless challenge on Suarez, narrowly avoiding contact with his boot held high.
The red card could have inspired the home side who attempted to break down Newcastle. Rahim Sterling took a shot from close range in the closing stages but a heroic block from Steven Taylor sent it out for a corner.
But the terrifically defensive effort from Alan Pardew’s side left them definitely the happier of the two teams at full time.