Zigic earns Birmingham vital victory at West Ham
Nikola Zigic gave Birmingham City a 1-0 away to West Ham that moved them out of the relegation zone.
LONDON:
Nikola Zigic gave Birmingham City a 1-0 away to West Ham that moved them out of the relegation zone and dropped their fellow strugglers to the foot of the Premier League table.
The giant Zigic secured a precious three points for the Blues, now 16th in the standings, when he headed in powerfully from close range after getting on the end of Sebastian Larsson’s free-kick midway through the second-half.
Defeat for West Ham manager Avram Grant on his 56th birthday is bound to increase the speculation surrounding the Israeli’s position at Upton Park.
Wolves stun United
Manchester United crashed to their first defeat of the season in a shock 2-1 loss at bottom club Wolves as their lead at the top of the Premier League was reduced to four points over Arsenal.
Nani had fired United ahead on three minutes but Wolves equalised through fullback George Elokobi. Five minutes before half-time Kevin Doyle put Wolves 2-1 up.
“We’re disappointed obviously. The players have done us all proud but today in the second half we didn’t really get going,” said Ferguson. “It was an opportunity for us to continue the great run we are on.”
Arsenal held by Newcastle
Arsene Wenger admits the psychological scars caused by Arsenal’s traumatic meltdown in their sensational 4-4 draw against Newcastle could damage the Gunners’ title challenge.
“Psychologically, dropping two points like this is very damaging. I cannot measure how angry I am,” said Wenger. “The damage is a bit bigger because everybody is, of course, very, very disappointed in the dressing room,” he added.
Tevez scores treble
Carlos Tevez chose the occasion of his 27th birthday to claim a 19th-minute hat-trick against West Brom, taking his season tally to 20 goals, in Manchester City’s 3-0 victory.
Victory for City was also the perfect response after manager Roberto Mancini was highly critical of his team following the midweek draw at Birmingham.
In other matches, Wigan secured a thrilling 4-3 victory over Blackburn while Tottenham snatched a dramatic 2-1 victory over Bolton. Meanwhile, Stoke defender Robert Huth bagged a dramatic late double to clinch a 3-2 victory over Sunderland while Everton came from behind to beat Blackpool 5-3 at Goodison Park. Elsewhere, Fulham twice came from behind to grab a share of the points in a 2-2 draw away to Aston Villa.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 7th, 2011.
Nikola Zigic gave Birmingham City a 1-0 away to West Ham that moved them out of the relegation zone and dropped their fellow strugglers to the foot of the Premier League table.
The giant Zigic secured a precious three points for the Blues, now 16th in the standings, when he headed in powerfully from close range after getting on the end of Sebastian Larsson’s free-kick midway through the second-half.
Defeat for West Ham manager Avram Grant on his 56th birthday is bound to increase the speculation surrounding the Israeli’s position at Upton Park.
Wolves stun United
Manchester United crashed to their first defeat of the season in a shock 2-1 loss at bottom club Wolves as their lead at the top of the Premier League was reduced to four points over Arsenal.
Nani had fired United ahead on three minutes but Wolves equalised through fullback George Elokobi. Five minutes before half-time Kevin Doyle put Wolves 2-1 up.
“We’re disappointed obviously. The players have done us all proud but today in the second half we didn’t really get going,” said Ferguson. “It was an opportunity for us to continue the great run we are on.”
Arsenal held by Newcastle
Arsene Wenger admits the psychological scars caused by Arsenal’s traumatic meltdown in their sensational 4-4 draw against Newcastle could damage the Gunners’ title challenge.
“Psychologically, dropping two points like this is very damaging. I cannot measure how angry I am,” said Wenger. “The damage is a bit bigger because everybody is, of course, very, very disappointed in the dressing room,” he added.
Tevez scores treble
Carlos Tevez chose the occasion of his 27th birthday to claim a 19th-minute hat-trick against West Brom, taking his season tally to 20 goals, in Manchester City’s 3-0 victory.
Victory for City was also the perfect response after manager Roberto Mancini was highly critical of his team following the midweek draw at Birmingham.
In other matches, Wigan secured a thrilling 4-3 victory over Blackburn while Tottenham snatched a dramatic 2-1 victory over Bolton. Meanwhile, Stoke defender Robert Huth bagged a dramatic late double to clinch a 3-2 victory over Sunderland while Everton came from behind to beat Blackpool 5-3 at Goodison Park. Elsewhere, Fulham twice came from behind to grab a share of the points in a 2-2 draw away to Aston Villa.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 7th, 2011.