{"id":322756,"date":"2011-03-19T14:35:14","date_gmt":"2011-03-19T14:35:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/2011\/03\/19\/premier-league-round-up\/"},"modified":"2011-03-19T14:35:14","modified_gmt":"2011-03-19T14:35:14","slug":"premier-league-round-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/19\/premier-league-round-up\/","title":{"rendered":"Premier League round-up"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\t\t \t<\/p>\n

Related links<\/h3>\n

Teams<\/h4>\n

Also see<\/h4>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

Manchester United left it late but extended their lead at the Premier League summit to five points as Dimitar Berbatov stepped from the bench to secure a 1-0 win over Bolton on a day that Arsenal had to come from two goals down to draw at West Brom.\n<\/p>\n

Tottenham were similarly frustrated at White Hart Lane as West Ham gave their bid for safety a shot in the arm with a goalless draw in North London, while Stoke were too powerful for Newcastle at the Britannia Stadium as they claimed an emphatic 4-0 win.<\/p>\n

Blackpool squandered a two-goal lead at Blackburn as they left Ewood Park with just a point, when three looked on the cards for long spells, while Wolves claimed a massive win at troubled Aston Villa.<\/p>\n

Wigan also left it late at the DW Stadium as Maynor Figueroa scored a last-minute winner against Birmingham to the delight of the home faithful.<\/p>\n

Manchester United<\/b> striker Berbatov has cut a forlorn figure of late but after coming off the substitutes’ bench at half-time there was not a bigger smile inside Old Trafford than his when he capitalised on Jussi Jaaskelainen spilling Nani’s shot to net an 88th minute winner.<\/p>\n

In what was a game of few genuine chances United had otherwise looked a little leg weary following their exertions against Marseille in midweek, while an enterprising Bolton<\/b> side contained them impressively.<\/p>\n

As frustrations boiled over in the second half, Jonny Evans was shown a straight red card for a reckless two-footed lunge on Bolton midfielder Stuart Holden, before Berbatov bagged his 20th goal of the season – moments after Matthew Taylor had missed a gilt-edged chance for Owen Coyle’s side.<\/p>\n

Arsenal’s<\/b> familiar Achilles heel of struggling to defend set-pieces flared in just the third minute at The Hawthorns as Steven Reid was left unattended at a corner kick to bullet a header past Manuel Almunia.<\/p>\n

Wenger’s side enjoyed plenty of possession as they searched for a leveller but again they looked blunt in attack in drawing a first-half blank against a West Brom<\/b> outfit who have improved defensively under Roy Hodgson.<\/p>\n

The same could not be said of Arsenal midway through the second half when Almunia had a rush of blood to his head as he hared from his goal but got nowhere near the ball as he got in a mix-up with Sebastien Squillaci to allow Peter Odemwingie to stroke the ball into the vacant goal.<\/p>\n

Andrey Arshavin has been suffering a crisis of confidence of late but there was nothing unsure about the emphatic finish that he lashed past Scott Carson, after exchanging passes with Marouane Chamakh to give Arsenal a ray of light with 20 minutes remaining.<\/p>\n

Arsenal have been criticised for lacking heart at times this season but overturning a two-goal deficit is no mean feat and that’s exactly what they did in the 78th minute when Robin van Persie nudged home from just a yard after Abdoulaye Meite got his feet in a calamitous mess when he should have cleared. Wenger, though, will know this is two points dropped for his side.<\/p>\n

Tottenham<\/b> endured an afternoon of acute frustration as West Ham<\/b> left White Hart Lane with the most hard fought of points following a goalless draw of pulsating pace and no little incident.<\/p>\n

Michael Dawson set the tone early on when he rattled the bar from range, Aaron Lennon then struck the post, before Gareth Bale’s free-kick was pushed onto the woodwork by the excellent Robert Green. <\/p>\n

In between, Jermain Defoe was guilty of profligacy on three separate occasions but it would be wrong to suggest it was all one-way traffic as West Ham, primarily through Carlton Cole, created and squandered chances of their own.<\/p>\n

Tottenham will see this as two points lost in their quest for a top-four finish but for an at times bright West Ham side it was most definitely a point gained towards their goal of top-flight safety.<\/p>\n

Wigan<\/b> were caught cold in their six-pointer with Birmingham<\/b> as Martin Jiranek’s nod into the box exposed a suspect backline as Liam Ridgewell ignored calls for offside to poke home a smart early finish from close range.<\/p>\n

It was a lead that would not last long though, as Tom Cleverley levelled before the break when he finished from a close range a smart move that saw Ben Watson play in Emmerson Boyce down the right flank.<\/p>\n

A stalemate seemed a fair enough result but in the final minute Figueroa had other ideas as his drive from distance with his weaker right foot took a slight deflection on its way past Ben Foster.<\/p>\n

Charlie Adam put in a performance worthy of Captain Marvel but Blackpool<\/b> failed to hold onto a two-goal lead as they could only draw with Blackburn<\/b>.<\/p>\n

The talismanic Scot was a model of composure from the penalty spot in the 25th minute when Gary Taylor-Fletcher was contentiously brought down in the box, before just minutes later he showed all his class with a sumptuous dipping free-kick that beat Paul Robinson all ends up.<\/p>\n

There was nothing pretty about Christopher Samba’s goal early in the second half but credit the Rovers defender for showing composure amid a game of pinball in Blackpool’s box, as his low drive beat a flapping Richard Kingson.<\/p>\n

With just seconds left on the clock and Blackburn in almost complete control, David Hoillett, who impressed throughout, got his head to a set-piece to rescue his side a point.<\/p>\n

Jon Walters justified Tony Pulis’ faith in starting him from the off at the Britannia against Newcastle<\/b> as he ghosted in front of Sol Campbell to nod in Jermaine Pennant’s devilish delivery from the right just shy of the half-hour mark.<\/p>\n

Stoke<\/b> doubled their advantage just a minute after the restart when Newcastle were guilty of a comedy of errors. Steve Harper was the chief suspect in a cast of more than a few in black and white as he dallied on the ball when dealing with a backpass, leaving it to Matthew Etherington to cross from the left as Pennant worked his way in from the other flank to poke in from just a few yards.<\/p>\n

It only got worse for Newcastle as in the 49th minute, when Danny Higginbotham put his foot through a free-kick from around 25-yards to register a thumping third for Stoke.<\/p>\n

In the dying moments, Ricardo Fuller put gloss on a polished display when he finished smartly Walters’ flick-on into his path.<\/p>\n

Matthew Jarvis continues to catch the eye for Wolves<\/b> and it was his scorching first-half volley after Aston Villa<\/b> failed to clear a set-piece that silenced those clad in clad in claret and blue. <\/p>\n

Villa pushed for a leveller after the interval but Mick McCarthy’s side held on for a three-point haul that not only improves their standing but drags Gerard Houllier’s side well and truly into the relegation mix.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

See the rest here:
\nPremier League round-up<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Related links Teams Also see Manchester United left it late but extended their lead at the Premier League summit to five points as Dimitar Berbatov stepped from the bench to secure a 1-0 win over Bolton on a day that Arsenal had to come from two goals down to draw at West Brom. Tottenham were similarly frustrated at White Hart Lane as West Ham gave their bid for safety a shot in the arm with a goalless draw in North London, while Stoke were too powerful for Newcastle at the Britannia Stadium as they claimed an emphatic 4-0 win. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-322756","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard"],"yoast_head":"\nPremier League round-up - Ghanamma.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/19\/premier-league-round-up\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Premier League round-up - Ghanamma.com\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"Related links Teams Also see Manchester United left it late but extended their lead at the Premier League summit to five points as Dimitar Berbatov stepped from the bench to secure a 1-0 win over Bolton on a day that Arsenal had to come from two goals down to draw at West Brom. 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