Manchester City, Fulham in dull draw

Fine finishes from Balotelli and Duff only highlights in an otherwise dire contest between Manchester City and Fulham.

MANCHESTER: Fine finishes from Mario Balotelli and Damien Duff were the only highlights in an otherwise dire contest as Manchester City and Fulham shared the points in a 1-1 draw at the Eastlands.

This was Mark Hughes’ first game back at City following his dismissal in December 2009 and he had been pleased with his side’s hard earned point – even if he appeared to argue with Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini on the final whistle.

Mancini was dealt a blow before kick off when Vincent Kompany failed to recover from a hip problem, while Nigel De Jong remained on the sidelines.

David Silva has been in incredible form recently but he was also missing with an ankle problem although City’s embarrassment of riches meant Mancini still played with three fine attackers in the form of Balotelli, Carlos Tevez and Edin Dzeko.

City may have an intriguing FA Cup encounter later this week but a top-four finish is a must for the club this season and this game was massively more important for Mancini.

It was of course the Italian who replaced Mark Hughes at Eastlands 14 months ago and if he does not manage to get them a Champions League qualification position then he too could be heading for the exit in the summer.

West Ham climb off the bottom

Liverpool’s unbeaten run of eight matches under Kenny Dalglish came to an end as West Ham earned a deserved 3-1 victory over them to move off the bottom of the Premier League table.

Scott Parker was again West Ham’s inspiration, defying a shoulder injury to deliver a great performance and score the opening goal.

“Scott Parker was a big doubt. We didn’t know if he could play,” said West Ham manager Avram Grant. “He came and said he wanted to play and I don’t know many players would have done so with his type of injury.”

West Ham went ahead after 22 minutes with a superb goal by Parker, the England midfielder playing a one-two with Thomas Hitzlsperger before placing a shot beyond Pepe Reina.

They doubled their lead at the end of the first half when Demba Ba headed in a Gary O’Neil cross. Liverpool struggled to get control and though they pulled one back through Glen Johnson after 86 minutes West Ham had the final say when Carlton Cole blasted home in stoppage time.

The victory took West Ham to 28 points and above Wigan Athletic and West Bromwich Albion and behind Wolverhampton Wanderers only on goal difference.

It completed a good week for the Londoners after they thrashed Burnley 5-1 on Monday to reach the quarter-finals of the FA Cup.

Liverpool remain sixth on 39 points, six behind fifth-place Chelsea.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 28^th, 2011.