Blue air green grass

A stirring second-half comeback and the air turned blue, as Wayne Rooney found his shooting boots to gun down the Hammers and increase Manchester United’s lead at the summit of the Premier League to six points, as Arsenal stumbled to an unlikely goalless home draw to Blackburn.

Upton Park has always proved a troublesome travel spot for Manchester United, having lost the title there twice amongst other results. It looked very much as if history would repeat itself when West Ham raced into a two goal first half lead, chiefly down to another inept display from this unpredictable United side. Within eleven minutes, a long ball from Thomas Hitzlsperger caught Patrice Evra on his heels, and as he raced goalside of Carlton Cole, the England striker flicked the ball up onto the Frenchman’s raised arm for a penalty. Mark Noble coped with the pressure admirably, stroking the penalty expertly low into the corner of the net. West Ham looked confident, and when Carlton Cole deployed a double stepover, Nemanja Vidic’s legs turned to jelly and he reacted by lunging to bring down Cole right on the line of the penalty box. Noble netted one of the finest penalties you will ever see the second time, hitting the ‘postage stamp’ of the opposite corner. United finally came out of their daze, with Rooney firing in a low cross which Park Ji-Sung met fiercely from point-blank range, though Rob Green was in the right place to parry it brilliantly. The Hammers went in for the break two goals to the good, and United were not showing much to suggest a revival was on the cards. The second period saw Javier Hernandez sent on for Patrice Evra, and, incredibly, Ryan Giggs dropping to play at left-back. Being Ryan Giggs, he then proceeded to make the position his own. Nemanja Vidic continued as he left off, this time hauling Demba Ba down as last man. Fortunately for the big Serb, the ball’s bounce favoured Kuszcak rather than Ba, thus saving him from a sending off. He really tested Lee Mason’s resolve minutes later though, when he made another clumsy foul on Ba which a lot of referees would have cautioned. United were displaying more purpose after the introduction of Dimitar Berbatov, and within a minute of his arrival, Michael Carrick was scythed down on the edge of the box by penalty hero Noble. Wayne Rooney stepped up to whip the ball into the corner of Green’s net, though incredibly West Ham’s wall did not jump, which most likely would have prevented the goal. Berbatov was looking full of finesse, and his lithe trickery saw him almost profit, but for Green’s alertness, low at his near post. The waves of attack were mounting, and when Luis Antonio Valencia cut back onto his left foot and coaxed a low cross in, Wanye Rooney took an immaculate first touch to get the ball out of his feet and leave Da Costa and Upson reeling, setting himself for his second; a superb drive into the corner of the net for the equaliser. West Ham visibly sank, and when Matthew Upson stupidly went to ground in reaction to Fabio’s burst into the box, he got up just in time to see the ball strike his arm. A bit harsh, but Wayne Rooney thrashed home the spot-kick before indulging in some naughty language directly into the Sky Sports cameras. Didier Drogba eat your heart out. The final few minutes saw some West Ham resistance, but United ended the contest with five minutes to go. A languid Berbatov held the ball up until Giggs arrived on the scene, and when the makeshift veteran left-back drove into the box and thumped the ball across, Matthew Upson was nutmegged and Hernandez reacted in a split second to slide the loose ball in.

Arsenal dropped yet more crucial points and even failed to score at home against a Blackburn side in freefall. Theo Walcott nearly made a difference early on, being denied by Robinson and almost forcing Ryan Nelsen into an own goal. Samir Nasri then clashed heads with Nelsen and received a lump the size of an ostrich egg. Despite his painful injury, the toothy Frenchman was involved in an excellent move which culminated in a low cross which Jack Wilshere unbelievably put wide from the centre of the box with time and space. While you expect Arsenal to miss a shedload of chances, you are always also expecting Laurent Koscielny or Manuel Almunia to produce a howler at the other end. It was the Manuel show this time, as first he shovelled a routine catch from a nicked Olsson effort a fraction wide, and was then easily beaten to the punch from a Robinson clout by the towering Stephen N’Zonzi, which again dropped just wide of the post. Gunners fans were chewing their fingernails to the knuckle, until N’Zonzi got himself sent off for a stupid stamp tackle on Koscielny. At this point it seemed Rovers had surrendered their chance of a result, but despite Wenger throwing on the aerial threats of Bendtner and Chamakh, Arsenal couldn’t make a breakthrough. A Bendtner header found Salgado dutifully guarding his post, and Robin Van Persie leapt into Chamakh’s path to head a fantastic chance well over. And that was that.

Stoke finally put up a fight against Chelsea at the Britannia Stadium, and could quite feasibly have come away with a win. They took the game to Chelsea and opened the scoring with a magnificent goal completely outside the normal Stoke handbook. Jonathan Walters nicked a loose ball away from a statuesque Luis on halfway, and galloped the length of the half, before showing composure in cutting outside the challenge of Essien and firing low past Terry and Cech inside the near post. It was a special moment, and typically the Potters faithful erupted. Predictably there came a response, and Asmir Begovic had to be at his best to deny a diving header from Ashley Cole, though he was wrongly judged onside. The goalkeeper brilliantly kept out a Lampard volley, while Nicolas Anelka couldn’t readjust in time to convert the rebound. The Frenchman made amends before half-time by coaxing in an inviting cross which Didier Drogba dived to head in at Begovic’s near post. The second half swung one way then the other. First Jermaine Pennant was denied at the near post by the long legs of Cech, before Ramires set Drogba through. The Ivorian coaxed a shot across Begovic, only to see it clip the foot of the post and come away. If fans thought this was the signal for one way traffic they couldn’t have been more wrong. A Stoke free-kick most would have expected to be clipped high into the box was laid off to Mark Wilson, whose blockbusting effort had to be tipped onto the crossbar by a full-length Cech; a world class save which was incredibly bettered from the resultant corner. The dead ball was clipped in and attacked from point-blank range by Robert Huth, but his belting header once again saw a superlative reflex save from Cech; lunging an arm out to once again help a certain goal onto the crossbar and away. After these two incidents, it was inevitable that Chelsea went up the other end and almost won it, with a corner falling for Drogba retrieving and spinning to thunder a shot against the crossbar and away again, though the move eventually led to Essien getting away a shot well dealt with by Begovic. Both teams within a whisker of grabbing the victory, but the best chance was last, when a lovely stood-up Etherington cross saw Cech fail to reach and find Ricardo Fuller with the whole goal to aim at a few yards out, but the big Jamaican somehow nodded back across goal rather than in. This game was seemingly destined to be a stalemate.

Mancitti strengthened their grip on a Champions League berth with a five goal demolition of a hapless Sunderland. Adam Johnson exchanged passes with Yaya Toure and scored an excellent opener, before Carlos Tevez proved too elusive for Phil Bardsley, who fouled him for a penalty which the Argentinian duly converted, despite Simon Mignolet’s best efforts. Sunderland finally mustered a form of resistance when Asamoah Gyan flicked the ball up and volleyed narrowly wide from the edge of the box. Headcase Mario Balotelli skinned John Mensah and tested the reflexes of Mignolet once more, before a lovely Tevez ball to Balotelli was blocked, only for the loose ball to be stabbed past Mignolet by the lurking Silva. City’s fourth was borne of a bit of a scramble, with the ball eventually driven across by Kolarov and slid in with his thigh by Patrick Vieira, despite Mignolet’s astonishing agility almost preventing it crossing the line. Balotelli’s swerving, dipping effort was then beaten out by the Belgian to deny him again, but City were not to be denied. Lee Cattermole was harried into playing a ludicrous backpass across his box, and Yaya Toure strode between centre-backs to finish assuredly. There was still time for Elmohamedy to somehow head a Zenden free-kick wide when it looked easier to score, and for Mignolet to win his ongoing duel with Balotelli by superbly tipping the Italian’s glorious free-kick safely over the crossbar. No goal for Balotelli, but a supreme performance from City to worry Tottenham fans particularly.

Liverpool fans always seem to be quick to scorn Roy Hodgson, but he came back to haunt them at the Hawthorns, where has now presided over a 5-match unbeaten run since his arrival, compensating somewhat for the West Brom board’s appalling lack of loyalty displayed to Roberto Di Matteo. Despite the taunts from the away end, and the fact that the dream duo of Carroll and Suarez were unleashed from the start together for the first time, West Brom did not play like a team about to be potentially relegated. Nor did they play anything like as negatively as Hodgson’s Liverpool were oft-accused of. Liverpool did make the early running, and when Andy Carroll nodded down to Dirk Kuyt just four yards out, former Liverpool goalkeeper Scott Carson earned his corn with a great reflex stop, before Kuyt’s follow-up could only clip the bar on its way over. At the other end, a teasing Jerome Thomas centre was dangerously backheaded by the clumsy Skrtel; bringing a fine diving catch from Jose Reina. Reina then saved well from Cox, but Liverpool were clearly unsettled by losing both Glen Johnson and Daniel Agger early on to injury. Despite this, they took the lead early in the second half from a set-piece, with Skrtel heading into the unguarded corner. West Brom did not let their heads go down, and Reina was forced into action again, after a goalmouth scramble saw Chris Brunt fire straight at the Liverpool goalkeeper. Just after the hour the pressure told, when Sotirios Kyrgiakos made a pig’s ear out of holding off Odemwingie as he chased a long ball, bringing the Nigerian down for a blatant penalty, converted expertly by Chris Brunt. Odemwingie began to run riot, and thumped in a shot parried at Reina’s near post. The next time he went shoulder-to-shoulder with Kyrgiakos, the Greek once again turned it into a tragedy, this time collapsing under an aerial challenge for the bouncing ball as Odemwingie took control before expertly turning back away from Reina’s hopeless lunge and being wiped out. This time Brunt even more emphatically belted the penalty in to send the Hawthorns faithful into delirium. Evil Egg Skrtel missed a sitter of a header before Luis Suarez drew a cracking save from Carson. Minutes later, with the game in the balance, Suarez again found a route to goal and deftly lobbed Carson, only for Jara to heroically head off the line, even with his own player sending him careering into the net.

The most common fixture in the English top flight ended in an entertaining, if unsatisfying, draw. Incredibly, Everton did not possess a minute of Premier League experience on their bench. They could have taken the lead early on when Kyle Walker’s dopey backheader let in Jermaine Beckford, but his shot just forced an excellent save from Brad Friedel. Tony Hibbert’s brilliant lunge blocked a goal-bound shot from Nigel Reo-Coker, before Everton took the lead. Diniyar Bilyaletdinov won the ball in midfield and played in Leon Osman, who zipped past James Collins and nudged the ball past Friedel. Villa equalised when Stewart Downing creeped down the right and was unforgiveably allowed to cut back on his left foot, before sliding the ball across to the lurking Bent, who crashed it into the roof of the net. Kyle Walker continued his bad afternoon when he skied a glorious chance from close-range, and Osman did likewise at the opposite end from a deep Bilyaletdinov cross. The most contentious moment came on 66 minutes, when Jermaine Beckford beat a tight offside trap to thunder the ball against the underside of the crossbar and in. The linesman didn’t have a hope of judging it accurately of course, which is why for the millionth time we point out that goal-line technology is the only way forward. Brad Friedel was of course more than happy to play on, and, while Everton were still feeling sorry for themselves, Ashley Young played a delightful ball through to Bent, who tucked it away as Howard careered out to meet him. If that was a harsh injustice on the Toffees, they salvaged a draw through a harsh injustice themselves, as Phil Jagielka shamelessly threw himself over as Jean Makoun pulled out of an attempted tackle inside the penalty area. Leighton Baines penalty could not have been directed closer to the goalkeeper, but went in for a probably fair draw.

Newcastle finally laid to rest the 3pm home kick-off winless hoodoo with a 4-1 demolition job of a toothless Wolves. Kevin Nolan made a brilliantly anticipatory run off of Shola Ameobi, and got his reward when he received the target man’s knockdown and finished for 1-0. Ameobi proved his physical worth again when Lovenkrands stood a cross up to the back post, and the striker outjumped the hulking Elokobi to head home. The second half continued in much the same vein, with Lovenkrands rounding Hennessey but only able to hit the outside of the post from an acute angle. Fabricio Coloccinni showed a touch of class coming forward and setting up Barton to cross for a close-range Lovenkrands finish, while new England boy Matt Jarvis provided his usual assist, this time for Sylvain Ebanks-Blake to score for a potential grandstand finish. Unfortunately for Mick McCarthy it proved a false dawn. Stephen Fletcher ruined their big chance of a comeback, when he met O’Hara’s peach of a free-kick, only to head it against the foot of the post with the whole goal to aim at. Still Wolves pressed, but James Perch cleared another Ebanks-Blake effort off the line, and Jonas Gutierrez took the pressure off once and for all when he strode forward almost unopposed, and bent a cracking shot inside the post to seal a resounding victory for the Toon.

Every neutral in the country is surely feeling a little tense as every man’s second favourite team Blackpool continue their slide to oblivion. The Premier League has rarely welcomed such an entertaining and goal-laden team as the Tangerines, but despite their rip-roaring first half of the season, they have now won just once in eleven matches, and that is Hull City 2009 all over again. But Hull did just stay up, which could be the best omen they have. ‘Ollie deployed James Beattie up front but probably wished he hadn’t when his braindead backpass let in Bobby Zamora, who strode past defenders as if they weren’t there and launched a rising drive with his weaker foot that nearly took the net out of the ground. Damien Duff had already had an effort pushed against the post, and the Irishman created a simple second, when his deadly free-kick was delivered onto the head of Zamora, who duly dispatched it into the corner. A brief Blackpool retort was thwarted, when Mark Schwarzer was beaten to the punch by Brett Ormerod, only to see line defender extraordinaire Chris Baird once again mop up at the last. A rare Hangeland error was seized upon by James Beattie, but he could only find the outside of the woodwork. Fulham made the game safe in the 72^nd minute, when a Danny Murphy free-kick was headed onto the post by Clint Dempsey, turned back by Hangeland and bundled home by Dickson Etuhu. Blackpool missed even the chance of a consolation, when Gary Taylor-Fletcher seized on a Schwarzer spill, only to slide it wide of the post.

Birmingham eased their relegation fears slightly with a timely win over Bolton, courtesy of the timeless predatory nous of Kevin Phillips. It’s been a mystery to most outside St Andrews as to why McLeish seems reticent to play Phillips, as he clearly still has it, and the one thing Birmingham are shortest of is goals. Cameron Jerome might run a lot, but you don’t stay up by covering the most blind alleys. Phillips chested down an awkward bounce from a corner, and spun to fire home after four minutes. This was added to by an excellent finish from Craig Gardner, arriving on cue as ever. In between these, Daniel Sturridge was denied thrice by Ben Foster’s excellence, though he did concede when Johan Elmander superbly adjusted to volley in a Kevin Davies knockdown. Birmingham then got the jitters, but had Foster to save once more at the death, when he displayed supreme athleticism in throwing his hands up to send Steinsson’s bullet header over the bar.

Tottenham scored nine in one game against Wigan last season, and yet this season they have scored none in either match. The Latics took advantage of Spurs’ minds clearly being on other things, as Victor Moses threatened throughout. One of his crosses found Rodallega, but a combination of Dawson and Bassong blocked the Colombian’s effort. The other bright spot for Wigan was another promising cameo from Connor Sammon, who forced a good save from Gomes, and then sent in a delicious cross fractionally shy of being converted by Franco Di Santo. Wigan will kick themselves once again though for not finishing any chances; a habit which may put paid to their Premiership stay.