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| April 20, 2003 | Sunday | Safar 17, 1424 |
United, Arsenal triumph but Hammers face drop
LONDON, April 19: Manchester United and Arsenal’s Premiership title race edged closer to a photo finish on Saturday as the two rivals followed up their midweek draw with wins over Blackburn and Middlesbrough.
At the bottom, a stunning Jay Jay Okocha goal was enough to give Bolton a win over West Ham that leaves the Hammers facing the drop and also condemned West Brom to first division football, despite their win at Sunderland.
David Beckham celebrated his return to the Manchester United team by providing the cross that enabled Ruud van Nistelrooy to claim his 38th goal of the season with a back post header after 20 minutes.
But the England skipper blotted his copybook by conceding a freekick that was curled in for former United defender Henning Berg to put Blackburn level.
Paul Scholes restored United’s lead three minutes before the break and secured an ultimately comfortable victory just after the hour.
Things might have been very different however if Ricardo, a second half substitute for the injured Fabien Barthez, had not saved a penalty from David Dunn that would have put Blackburn level early in the second period.
Middlesbrough rarely put Arsenal under any kind of pressure but they might have had a major say in the destiny of the title if Malcolm Christie had not sent a free header wide of the upright with what was their first attack of the match midway through the first half.
Having survived that let-off, Arsenal gradually began to take control and their dominance finally yielded a goal three minutes after the break, when Sylvain Wiltord fired home from close range.
Thierry Henry then curled in a free-kick eight minutes from time to ensure there was no nervous finale for the Gunners’ fans.
Okocha’s 38th-minute winner showed exactly why the Nigerian playmaker has been dubbed ‘the Magician’ by Bolton’s fans.
Picking up a loose ball 15 yards inside his own half, he was allowed to run to within 25 yards of the West Ham goal before unleashing a superb strike into the top corner to secure three points that leave Bolton six points clear of their opponents with just four games left.
Danny Murphy reignited Liverpool’s challenge for a Champions League place with a 25-yard drive that secured a 2-1 victory in the Merseyside derby against Everton, who finished the match with nine men after both David Weir and Gary Naysmith were sent off.
Michael Owen had put Liverpool ahead with a superb solo effort. Cutting in from near the left touchline, the England striker skipped past Joseph Yobo and advanced into the box before driving low and hard past Richard Wright.
David Unsworth equalised for Everton with a 58th-minute penalty after Jamie Carragher had pulled down Naysmith.
But Murphy popped up six minutes later to give Liverpool three points that lifted them above Everton and to within two points of Chelsea, the side currently occupying the fourth and final qualifying spot for a place among the European elite next season.
With Everton losing, Chelsea could have opened up a five-point cushion in fourth place but they blew their chance as a Marcus Allback double gave Aston Villa a well-deserved 2-1 win. John Terry scored a late consolation effort for Chelsea.
Like their crosstown rivals Villa, Birmingham also look to have secured their top flight status after a 2-0 win at Charlton courtesy of French World Cup winner Christophe Dugarry’s second goal in two matches and a Robbie Savage penalty.
Fulham, who had lost three in a row, stopped the rot with a 2-1 win over Newcastle. Alan Shearer had headed the visitors in front but Fulham took full advantage of Andy Griffin’s sending off by claiming victory through two long-range efforts from Sylvain Legwinski and Lee Clark.
Leeds are also still not out of danger after a 3-2 defeat at Southampton.
Brett Ormerod, James Beattie and Anders Svensson put Saints in control before Leeds’ misery was compounded by Alan Smith being sent off for a second yellow card offence.
Ironically, Leeds made more of a fight of it with ten men, Harry Kewell and Nick Barmby scoring in the last ten minutes to give the scoreline a more respectable air.
West Brom went down fighting with Scotland midfielder Derek McInnes scoring his first two goals of the season in the space of four minutes shortly before the break to secure a 2-1 win over already-relegated Sunderland.
Marcus Stewart pulled one back for Sunderland 20 minutes from the end but the home side were unable to get the goal they needed to prevent an 11th consecutive defeat.
Saturday’s results:
Aston Villa 2 Chelsea 1
Bolton Wanderers 1 West Ham United 0
Charlton Athletic 0 Birmingham City 2
Everton 1 Liverpool 2
Fulham 2 Newcastle United 1
Manchester United 3 Blackburn Rovers 1
Middlesbrough 0 Arsenal 2
Southampton 3 Leeds United 2
Sunderland 1 West Bromwich Albion 2
Played on Friday:
Tottenham Hotspur 0 Manchester City 2
—AFP/Reuters
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