Swans on song

Monday, 16/01/2012

by Ger McCarthy

Swansea 3 Arsenal 2

Brendan Rodger’s Swansea City caused the Premier League upset of the weekend with a fully deserved 3-2 defeat of Arsenal at the Liberty Stadium. The Gunners lost their third league game in four despite taking an early lead through Robin van Persie. The award of a controversial penalty saw Scott Sinclair level matters for Swansea and that goal was no more than the hosts deserved for their enterprising play. Nathan Dyer made it 2-1 with a neat finish but Arsenal fought back to equaliser through a fine Theo Walcott effort. Swansea were back in front 60 seconds later when Danny Graham finished off a flowing move.

Newcastle 1 QPR 0

Mark Hughes' reign as new manager of QPR began with a narrow 1-0 defeat at Newcastle United. Republic of Ireland striker Leon Best scored in the opening half and helped Alan Pardew’s side leap-frog Liverpool into sixth. The defeat sees QPR drop into the bottom three but there was still plenty to admire in Hughes’ first game in charge suggesting the London club may yet avoid relegation.

Aston Villa 1 Everton 1

Aston Villa’s poor home form continued following a 1-1 draw with Everton. Alex McLeish’s side failed to win on home soil for the eighth time this season while the Merseysiders picked up their 14 point on the road. Darren Bent broke the deadlock after 56 minutes with a close range finish and looked set for victory until the introduction of second half substitute Victor Anichebe resulted in an Everton equaliser after good approach play from Landon Donovan. Fellow MLS player Robbie Keane made a late cameo appearance as a substitute.

Blackburn Rovers 3 Fulham 1

Ewood Park was the venue for one of the surprise result of the Premier League weekend with Steve Kean’s side climbing out of the bottom three at the expense of Fulham. Things started badly for Blackburn with the dismissal of striker Yakubu for a high challenge on Danny Murphy. Despite being down to ten men, Rovers hit the front when Morten Gamst Pedersen's free-kick found the bottom corner of the net. David Dunn doubled the hosts' lead before Fulham finally mounted a comeback with Damien Duff reducing the deficit. A 79th minute strike from Mauro Formica secured the points for a delighted Blackburn as Fulham fell to their fifth away defeat of the campaign.

Chelsea 1 Sunderland 0

Andre Villas-Boas’ seventh home win of the Premier League season ended Sunderland’s recent resurgence under new manager Martin O’Neill. A fortuitous goal from Frank Lampard after 13 minutes proved sufficient to earn Chelsea victory despite both sides wasting a plethora of opportunities before the full time whistle. Fernando Torres’ stunning volley cannoned back off the crossbar and the rebound hit Lampard before rolling over the line to win it for the Pensioners. The result leaves Chelsea six points off third placed Tottenham while Sunderland remains in the comfort of mid-table.

Liverpool 0 Stoke City 0

A seventh Anfield draw of the 2011-12 campaign saw Liverpool and Stoke City end scoreless. Kenny Dalglish utilised three centre-backs for the visit of the Potters and a stalemate ensued in which Liverpool wasted the best chances to grab all three points. Dirk Kuyt and Martin Skrtel came closest to breaking the deadlock for the hosts but Dalglish’s side’s failure to win resulted in Newcastle leapfrogging the Anfield club into sixth. Stoke stay eighth, five points behind Liverpool.

Manchester United 3 Bolton Wanderers 0

Paul Scholes marked his Premier League return with a goal in Manchester United’s 3-0 win over Bolton. Sir Alex Ferguson’s side ended a run of two consecutive Premier League defeats with Scholes opening the scoring in first half injury time after Adam Bogdan has earlier saved a Wayne Rooney penalty. United survived numerous scares from a dogged Bolton side before Danny Welbeck doubled the hosts lead in the 74th minute. Michael Carrick put an unfair gloss on the final score with a rasping drive late on as United joined rivals Man City at the summit. Wanderers remain in the relegation zone.

Tottenham 1 Wolves 1

Harry Redknapp’s in-form Spurs missed out on the opportunity of joining Manchester United and City at the top following a 1-1 draw at home to Wolves. The visitors hit the front just past the 20 minute mark when a disputed corner resulted in Steven Fletcher stabbed home from close range. Spurs levelled in the 51st minute when Luka Modric fired home from distance. Wolves stay one point clear of the drop zone while Tottenham remain third.

West Brom 1 Norwich 2

Norwich City’s third away victory of the season came courtesy of a deserved 2-1 win at the Hawthorns. Roy Hodgson’s saw his side lose for the third consecutive game and the Baggies are now sixth from bottom following a dreadful run of form. The home side dominated much of the opening half but were caught on the counter-attack by Andrew Surman two minutes before half time. Substitute Shane Long converted a penalty to equalise but Steve Morison’s header 11 minutes from the end secured the points.

Follow Ger on Twitter: @offcentrecircle

• 

• Have your say