The Other Weekend Matches

West Brom v West Ham (3-3)

Great goal by Dorrans to open the scoring and get West Brom rolling, a good passing move and some confident attacking play led to West Brom going in at half time 3-0 up. Second half West Ham came out flying after Scott Parker gave an inspirational team talk. They soon got their first goal which gave them the momentum to go further and pull out a 3-3 draw at full time. Either team could have won this match in the end but a draw was probably a fair scoreline. Both teams had defensive nightmares!

Arsenal v Wolves (2-0)

Arsenal were in control of this game from the off. The first real chance that Arsenal had was converted by Van Persie volleying in to the bottom corner from a Fabregas cross. Walcott had plenty of chances to increase Arsenal's lead including what should have been a simple tap in after a magical run by Jack Wilshire. Arsenal's second goal was a perfect example of how to break quickly, though there was a slight hint of offside it was a fantastic counter attack. Wolves didn't have many good chances to talk about other than a shot late on by Sylvan Ebanks-Blake which flew over the crossbar. Great play from Arsenal and hopefully they can play like this against Barcelona in the Champions League midweek.

Liverpool v Wigan (1-1)

Just when Liverpool look to be turning a corner under new manager Kenny Daglish they slip up to miss out on arguably easy points at home. However things could have been different with Wigan's equalizer clearly being offside after a flick header in the box. Luis Suarez looked very promising for Liverpool being a huge attacking threat. He had a decent penalty claim early on, a curling shot bounce off the back post and a free kick that slammed against the bar. Mereiles was Liverpool's goalscorer with a powerful volley after a cross took a heavy deflection, he has been getting a very good taste for goal recently. Wigan had limited chances and can count themselves lucky that they came away from Anfield with any points at all.

Sunderland v Tottenham (1-2)

Sunderland went ahead in this game with the help of William Gallas being off the pitch replacing his bright yellow boots! Gyan picked up the ball in the box and struck a brilliant turning volley into the bottom corner. The game was pretty level at this stage with both sides having chances and battling in the midfield. Tottenham then grabbed an equalizer just before half time with Michael Dawson jumping well and hitting a powerful header through the legs of the Sunderland keeper. The second half stayed just as competitive with both teams having decent chances but it was not to be Sunderland's day. A brilliant through ball by Corluka gave Sandro acres of space to run into, he then chipped a cross in towards the middle, Mensah got a head to it but set it up perfectly for Kranjcar to expertly volley in from the edge of the box. Hopefully he manages to keep his place in the 1st team, a great player who could definitely help Tottenham achieve silverware this season.

Blackpool v Aston Villa (1-1)

A lively start to this match, Blackpool as always were pressing but they were the team to concede first. A good tackle by Makoun on Charlie Adam gave Villa possession, some quick passing then set Agbonlahor in on goal, he went round the keeper and placed his ball into the back of the net. However the lead was short lived. Charlie Adam who has been an amazing corner taker for Blackpool whipped in a great cross to the front post which was headed in by Grandin for his first goal at the club. Both teams continued to create great chances but neither team managed to convert them. Howard Webb then had to make a big decision as Makoun went in with a ridiculous lunge tackle on DJ Cambell getting none of the ball and a lot of the player. The referee rightly pulled out the red card. The last incident in the game was another big decision for Howard Webb though this time I feel he got it wrong as Ashley Young was shoved to the ground. This game was also a welcome return to the female lineswoman Sian Massey who (in my opinion) should never have been taken away. She also received the backing of both managers after the game who were happy with the job she did.

Birmingham City v Stoke City (1-0)

A very dull game with not many decent chances. A draw would have been a fair result but in injury time a Begovic fumble lead to Cameron Jerome stealing it away, chipping it back infront of goal and Zigic heading home in a goal mouth scramble. The only other action worth mentioning was a good claim for a Birmingham City penalty as the ball hit Huth's hand in the box and he went down pretending the ball hit him in the face. He had me fooled on 1st viewing.

Blackburn Rovers v Newcastle United (0-0)

Newcastle were much the better team in this game. Jose Enrique was absolutely terrific for them, taking on defenders, doing skillful dribbles and providing some fantastic crosses and through balls. Outstanding! Due to this Paul Robinson was being kept busy and had to pull off a few dramatic saves through the game. There was a little scuffle between Dunn and Nolan at one point in the game but I think once Samba arrived, nobody was going to risk causing any more trouble! Newcastle unlucky to not get 3 points from this.

SUNDAY

Bolton v Everton (2-0)

After this match David Moyes came out and said it was one of Everton's worst defeats. In a way I would agree with this, not due to the fact they weren't in the game but they were sloppy and missed a handful of good chances. Also both goals they conceded could have prevented if the defense had been more organised. However Bolton looked very positive and like a team that is looking to fight for a Europa League spot perhaps. The loan signing of Sturridge has brought life to their attack and the whole team seems to be working well together. Gary Cahill is proving how good he could become in the future for Bolton and perhaps England with a nice goal and a clean sheet.