Pool fall down

As the two underdogs reached the FA Cup final, the Premier League saw little movement at the top, but much at the bottom.

Wigan Athletic grasped the survival bull by the horns and rode it to temporary safety with a crucial win against fellow relegation candidates Blackpool, who were well and truly gored. The Bloomfield Road faithful were desperate to see Blackpool stop the rot and put some daylight between them and the bottom of the table, but instead it was the Latics who finally lifted themselves from the foot of the table and indeed out of the danger zone, however temporarily. Ian Holloway would surely have instilled the importance of defensive discipline in his players, but you just can’t legislate for the kind of slapstick buffoonery displayed by Ian Cathcart within a couple of minutes of kick-off. With a free-kick just inside Wigan’s half, there was absolutely no danger, until Cathcart played the ball away from all nearby team-mates, and watched in horror as Charles N’Zogbia pounced and bombed into the Blackpool half with half the opposition in his wake. Cathcart then completed his comedy masterclass by slipping on his backside in retreat, allowing Hugo Rodallega to make a diagonal run through the heart of the Blackpool defence, receive a slide-rule pass from N’Zogbia and drill across the advancing Gilks for the opening goal. Wigan got away with a slip up themselves, when a Crainey cross saw Alcaraz take a tumble as Campbell got a touch, but not a potent enough one to send it into the net as it drifted just wide. A tidy Wigan Athletic move saw Diame feed Charles N’Zogbia, who could only find the side netting, and Ian Holloway must have thought he would be making a half-time speech on how to recover from a goal down, before his talk got a lot tougher. It was another comedy of errors when a throw-in that should have been sent up the line found Charlie Adam short, who bizarrely surrendered what should have been a comfortable pass, to Charles N’Zogbia scenting blood. The French winger galloped forward and had both retreating Blackpool centre-backs with twisted blood as he made his way into the box, before brilliantly poking the ball wide of a stunned and flat-footed Gilks for a magnificent individual goal. You could almost hear the Tangerine despondency. Blackpool’s attempts to recover before the half ended were foiled when Al-Habsi dealt with a Grandin header comfortably. The second half saw the usually composed Gilks flap at an N’Zogbia cross-shot, and it was 3-0 when Diame was allowed to find room on the edge of the box to strike a shot that cannoned in off the luckless Neil Eardley. Blackpool continued their enviable home scoring record late on after Charlie Adam’s free-kick fell to Matty Phillips, who sent in a lovely low cross converted ahead of Gary Caldwell by the predatory DJ Campbell. Hot prospect Phillips later had a jinking run culminate in a decent shot, but Al-Habsi covered it, and Blackpool now suffer the inevitable consequence of their appalling run, as they sink down among the dead men. Can their insatiable optimism see them out again?

A ludicrous finale to this match saw Arsenal throw away yet another lead, as their long-suffering fans accepted they cannot win the title. The game began with such Arsenal dominance that it was difficult to foresee such a climax. Abou Diaby had already flicked a Nasri free-kick narrowly wide when Laurent Koscielny beat Jose Reina to a Van Persie corner; seeing his header bounce back off the crossbar. Van Persie himself was denied a superb volleyed goal by the linesman’s flag, while at the other end Luis Suarez bobbed and weaved an opening, but lost control at the point of shooting. When Fabio Aurelio was forced off with injury, Liverpool were forced into having two teenagers; John Flanagan and Jack Robinson; at full-back, a position which the Liverpool academy seems to produce for in abundance. The two seemed to be coping well, but in the second half the veteran Jamie Carragher suffered from heading the top of Flanagan’s head and knocking himself unconscious. This long stoppage led to the injury time which saw both goals. Suarez and Kuyt cut Arsenal’s defence to ribbons, but Suarez’s shot was well saved by Szczesny. An intricate Arsenal move saw Van Persie put in, but his shot was superbly dealt with by Reina. Finally, six minutes into stoppage time, Fabregas performed a drag-back inside the Liverpool box, bought hook line and sinker by the facially-challenged Jay Spearing, who took him down. Van Persie executed the perfect penalty, and the Gunners hoardes were in raptures. Little were they to know that a moment of foolishness from Emmanuel Eboue would surrender their short-lived lead in the eight minute of stoppage time. After Dirk Kuyt had almost caught out Sczczesny from the kick-off, the ball found its way into the Arsenal half . Lucas was fouled, and from the resultant free-kick, the same player chased a loose ball going away from goal, and Eboue stupidly barged into him as the Brazilian cynically stopped and bought the foul. Kuyt bagged the penalty, and Wenger got in a spat with Dalglish, as the game ended in farce. The Gunners fire blanks once again.

The battle of the Clarets ended with West Ham once again spilling into the gutter like a cheap bottle of plonk, while like a fine vintage, Villa get better as the season progresses, picking up vital points which should see them clear of danger. The Hammers were definitely happy after a couple of minutes, when a scramble from a corner culminated in Hitzlsperger nodding the ball back in for Robbie Keane, who spun and fired in from close range, after being played onside by the sluggish man on the post. Carlton Cole then took an awkward ball superbly on his chest, before swivelling and forcing a low save from Friedel. Darren Bent was aggrieved when he was denied a well-taken equaliser for an alleged push on Jakobsen, though it appeared as if the West Ham defender just failed to get off the ground early enough. David Dunne was then fortunate to get away with a typically clumsy last-man foul on Carlton Cole sans red card, and this looked a vital decision when Villa did equalise. Mark Noble fatally dithered in clearing inside his own box and was dispossessed. Ashley Young worked an opening and whipped in a peach of a cross which was dispatched via the head of Darren Bent. Bent then forced Rob Green into an excellent near post save, while Green had to be even more agile to tip a superbly bent free-kick from Ashley Young wide of the mark. Darren Bent then contrived to miss his usual sitter, when he made a pig’s ear out of a Kyle Walker cross. Carlton Cole had a chance when the ball bounced over Richard Dunne, but the England striker couldn’t convert. Villa looked to have earnt a draw, but they got their just rewards for attacking intent when Stewart Downing advanced in the last minute, cut inside his man and drilled at goal. Green saved but could only parry, and the ball was eventually picked up, turned and crossed by Ashley Young for Gabriel Agbonlahor to score a priceless last minute winner which lifts Villa as high as ninth; ending their relegation fears and renewing West Ham’s.

Sunderland continue to plummet, as they lost to a Birmingham side who are edging towards safety. Cameron Jerome was foiled in a one-on-one, before Sunderland almost scored. The tenacity of Lee Cattermole won the ball in the Birmingham box, and a scramble ensued, before the loose ball was hammered towards goal by Sessegnon, only to see Roger Johnson manipulate his body to block on the goal-line. Birmingham’s goal was a sucker-punch few saw coming, as the normally excellent Simon Mignolet boobed big time. Jerome flicked on a Foster hoof, and Mignolet clearly called for the ball as Bardsley attempted to shield. Mignolet did not get to the ball in time, and allowed Larsson to steal in and poke under his body as Bardsley chastised his goalkeeper. Asamoah Gyan curled a shot which was expertly tipped wide by Foster, while Jordan Henderson bent a shot just wide. Lee Cattermole forced a low save, and Barry Ferguson was forced to make another goal-line clearance as Turner attempted to force a corner in. The Sunderland pressure looked intolerable as Danny Wellbeck headed another corner narrowly over, but it was Birmingham who notched a second against the run of play, as Craig Gardner picked up a pass on the edge of the box and unleashed a swerving left-foot drive past Mignolet’s despairing dive. This appeared to knock the stuffing out of the Mackems, and Birmingham could have had a third as substitute Alexander Hleb broke and slipped a lovely through-ball to Matt Derbyshire, who showed the advantage of looking up, as he failed to and scuffed an embarrassing effort well wide.

West Brom finally lost under Roy Hodgson, to a Chelsea side who look most clinical when their season has already faded into obscurity. The Baggies began bravely, after Morrison laid back to Mulumbu, who cleared the crossbar. An intricate set of passes under pressure saw Jerome Thomas fend off three defenders and play through John Terry for Peter Odemwingie, who dinked the ball lovingly over the advancing Cech for a cracking opener. Unfortunately for the home fans, Scott Carson was in one of those moods where an inexplicable clanger is just around the corner. Cashley Cole stabbed the ball wide for Salomon Kalou on the overlap, and his low cross should have been dealt with, though Carson misjudged it spectacularly, missing it even at full stretch, and when a desperate Shorey’s attempted clearance only fell invitingly for Didier Drogba, the writing was on the wall. West brom’s lead had lasted less than five minutes. Less than five minutes after that goal, Chelsea were in front. Perhaps the Baggies were caught feeling sorry for themselves, as Drogba rode a challenge and fired in a shot which was spilled by Carson, who then did not cover himself in glory as Kalou struck the loose ball across him and in. Carson finally did something right when he dealt with a stinging Lampard free-kick, but when a Chelsea break saw Florent Malouda lay back to Frank Lampard, this time the England midfielder took a touch and drilled in before two defenders could challenge. Didier Drogba then proved his worth at the opposite end by clearing off the line, while Salomon Kalou went from the fantastic to farcical, when his attempt at a diving header failed miserably. He almost returned to fantastic with a lovely swivel and shot, but the effort incredibly bounced into the ground off a defender, and back up onto the crossbar. Everyone’s favourite target of mockery came on, and immediately had to deal with the derision that follows when you think you have finally broken your scoring duck, only to look up and see the linesman’s flag taunting you. Chris Brunt could only direct a fantastic headed chance straight at Petr Cech in reply, before it got even more embarrassing for Fernando, as his team-mates were obviously doing everything to get him a goal. A Malouda free-kick was laid to Torres in space as West Brom went to sleep, but the Spaniard completed his afternoon with a horrendous miskick.

The injury-crippled Everton keep on trucking, as they picked up another fantastic victory at home to relegation candidates Blackburn. Beckford and Neville had both seen efforts saved, before French youngster Magaye Gueye cracked an effort just over. The Toffees’ hero of the hour has recently been Leon Osman, and the diminutive midfielder received a short corner, beat a statuesque Emerton and drove a well-placed shot across Robinson, which took a nick off Samba’s toes as it flew in. Everton’s second arrived when young Phil Jones foolishly whipped Seamus Coleman’s leg away inside the box, and Leighton Baines converted the penalty adeptly. Blackburn looked poor throughout, and their best chance was thrown away, when Baines and Jagielka crashed into each other and the ball fell invitingly to Morten Gamst Pedersen, who somehow volleyed wide with the goal at his mercy. Rovers continue to drop, Everton continue to rise.