Scott Murray's Blog, page 182
May 29, 2015
Football transfer rumours: Manchester United to sign Bacca and Gaitán?
The Rumour Mill is only taking an educated guess, but we’ll be bound that every morning, a large number of Liverpool fans click on to this page in the hope of finding out that their club is close to securing the services of Jürgen Klopp, or Carlo Ancelotti. But as things stand today, it looks like Brendan Rodgers will be hanging on to his job, James Milner will be staying at Manchester City, Edin Dzeko will be going to Roma, there will be no bid for Fiorentina goalkeeper Neto, Tottenham are in the box seat to land Danny Ings, Tim Sherwood will persuade Christian Benteke to stay at Aston Villa for another year and earn himself a move to Real Madrid – he’s that good, reckons Tim – and a risible £10m bid for Saints full back Nathaniel Clyne will be turned down. Still, there should be a few new seats in the main stand by 2016, so there’s that.
Related: Southampton reject £10m Liverpool offer for right-back Nathaniel Clyne
Continue reading...
May 25, 2015
Premier League 2014-15 review: signing of the season | Scott Murray
• Have your say in the other categories too
Welcome to theguardian.com review of the 2014-15 Premier League season . Now that the campaign has ended we would like you to help us choose your favourite goal, the best referee and the best manager, and other winners in a total of 10 categories.
We have nominated some contenders but this is just to get the discussion going: we would like your suggestions so that we can compile the best into final polls that you can vote on. The polls will be published at midday on Tuesday 26 May, so please tell us what you think. Thanks
Continue reading...Premier League 2014-15 review: referee of the season | Scott Murray
• Have your say in the other categories too
Welcome to theguardian.com review of the 2014-15 Premier League season . Now that the campaign has ended we would like you to help us choose your favourite goal, the best referee and the best manager, and other winners in a total of 10 categories.
We have nominated some contenders but this is just to get the discussion going: we would like your suggestions so that we can compile the best into final polls that you can vote on. The polls will be published at midday on Tuesday 26 May, so please tell us what you think. Thanks
Continue reading...May 22, 2015
Golden goal: Steven Gerrard for Liverpool v Milan (2005 Champions League final) | Scott Murray
Steve Gerrard, Gerrard, he slipped on his … well, everyone knows how it goes by now. So sing it up, belt it out, get it out of your system while you can. He’s off in a minute. And when these slightly bewildering levels of rage, schadenfreude and snark subside, everything will snap into focus soon enough. History will be kind to Gerrard.
Sure, he will never hold a Premier League winner’s medal and you don’t have to be a psychologist to realise how that will boil his soul for all eternity. Hopefully he’ll find a little inner peace; it really shouldn’t matter that much. Ryan Giggs has 13 of the things? Well, Phil Neal has eight, plus four medals for the European Cup. Shiny discs aren’t exactly the most reliable measure of greatness. Tom Finney never took home so much as a bronze centime, yet people are still in awe of the Preston Plumber 60 years down the line. Gerrard hasn’t done too badly. His legacy is assured.
Continue reading...Football transfer rumours: Barcelona move for Arsenal’s Aaron Ramsey?
Today’s tittle-tattle comes with a cast-iron guarantee: no mention of Raheem Sterling or your money back
Barcelona are hoping to sign the Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey. They’ll offer at least £50m for the Welsh international, money the Gunners will ringfence to launch a bid for … well, they’re bound to have their eye on someone, aren’t they. The Mill nearly fell at the first hurdle there.
Manchester United have already enjoyed plenty of success in the transfer market this summer, having wound up Liverpool by pipping them to Memphis Depay, and having wound up Liverpool by making an inquiry for He Who Shall Not Be Mentioned For We Are All So Very Tired. Now they’re looking to bolster their midfield for the first time since 2006 by signing Bastian Schweinsteiger from Bayern Munich. They’re also very interested in landing Dani Alves, who is leaving Barcelona to gently wind down his career in a slightly disappointing fashion. There’s no stopping United right now.
Continue reading...Football: 10 things to look out for this weekend
A classic play-off final is overdue, is this goodbye to Brendan Rodgers and who from Newcastle United and Hull will be heading down to the Championship
Norwich have sold their full allocation of 38,800 tickets for Monday’s play-off final, while Middlesbrough sold their initial 38,000 and then got a few more. Meanwhile Arsenal and Aston Villa get 25,000 each for the FA Cup final, meaning Wembley will contain some 27,000 fewer partisan fans for the season’s great showpiece. It’s the absence of the FA’s 20,000-strong army of “volunteers through the football family” that allows the Championship play-off final to create an explosion of noise and colour on a scale that is a distant memory for Cup final day (the Cup semi-finals, where the competing teams share around 60,000 tickets, are better).
Continue reading...May 16, 2015
Southampton v Aston Villa: Premier League – as it happened
Sadio Mane scored the fastest hat-trick in Premier League history as Southampton blitzed Aston Villa amid a carnival atmosphere at St Mary’s.
Click here for the match report2.38pm BST
Agbonlahor turns Yoshida on the right-hand corner of the Saints D, and looks for the bottom left. But Gazzaniga is down to stop the shot. And that’s that. It was a game of one half, all the serious action in that astonishing first period. What a performance by Southampton, and the record-breaking hat-trick hero Sadio Mane in particular. Their Europa League hopes are very much alive. As for Aston Villa ... they’re still not safe, and it’s the cup final against Arsenal in a couple of weeks. Time for a few training-ground drills, perhaps.
2.35pm BST
90 min: There will be three added minutes. The Villa fans don’t want to give the ball back. You’d require a heart of stone to blame them.
2.35pm BST
88 min: Hutton bursts down the right and enters the Saints box. He rolls a low ball into the middle, where Agbonlahor smacks a shot low and hard. Gazzaniga saves well, and Sinclair hoicks the rebound over. “The further the game proceeds, the sadder Sherwood’s eyes appear in your half-time photo,” observes Toby Stone. A heart-breaking thousand-yard stare.
2.31pm BST
86 min: Mane and Djuricic combine again, this time in the middle of the park, just outside the Villa box. Mane slides a heavy pass down the left channel to release Bertrand, who chases a lost cause and pulls the ball into the centre. Given smothers. Villa are desperate to hear the final whistle, but that’s been the case for well over an hour.
2.28pm BST
85 min: That’s Pelle’s last contribution to the match. But what a contribution he’s made, putting himself about with some purpose during that first half. The roof comes off as he makes way for Elia.
2.27pm BST
83 min: Pelle deserved to get on the scoresheet, having had that good goal ruled out in the early stages, with the score still 0-0. Remember when the score was still 0-0? Grealish is repalced by Sinclair. “What the heck is going on here?” wonders Magnus Lind. “Shane Long has two goals and two assists within the first half?! I’m no expert but I think the only logical reason is he found some magic shoes that used to belong to Puskas.”
2.26pm BST
Mane, down the right, plays a little one-two with Djuricic, flummoxing Lowton and sending the former into space. Mane crosses first time, where Pelle roofs home. So simple, but beautiful in its simplicity. On the touchline, Tim Sherwood’s lid continues to rattle.
2.24pm BST
80 min: The excellent Ward-Prowse is replaced by Djuricic. He’s earned the warm reception he’s getting.
2.23pm BST
2.23pm BST
78 min: Grealish is fouled for the 984th time. The free kick is hit long into the Saints box, clanking into the feet of Okore. The ball breaks to Cleverley on the edge of the area. He should have a first-time lash, but opts to embark on a pointless dribble instead. He’s crowded out easily enough.
2.20pm BST
76 min: Mane makes good down the right, Lowton all over the place. Okore sticks a leg out to block the cross, but only cushions a pass back to Clyne, who has a little time, just inside the box, to the right of goal. He blooters over. Okore, though.
2.18pm BST
74 min: Wanyama busies himself near the right-hand corner of the Villa six-yard box, latching onto a Clyne cross. His bustle earns a corner, which is hit long by Ward-Prowse. Yoshida, with his first touch, nearly buries a header at the far post, but his effort is blocked by the strong arm of Given. So close to Southampton’s sixth.
2.16pm BST
72 min: Yoshida replaces Davis.
2.15pm BST
71 min: Quite a few Villa passes, but nothing of note in the final third. So long as the scoreboard is no longer clicking around like the dial of a jiggered washing machine, eh?
2.13pm BST
69 min: Delph goes on a scamper down the middle of the park, and is clipped in the centre circle by a sliding Wanyama. Delph goes down cheaply, but that’s a deserved booking nevertheless.
2.12pm BST
67 min: Grealish is putting himself about. He’s nudged in the back by Long, and this’ll be another free kick for Villa deep in Saints territory, in a central position. Before it’s taken, Lowton comes on for Bacuna. Then Delph looks for the head of Benteke, but doesn’t manage it. Southampton have taken their foot off the gas in attack, but they’re keeping the back door firmly shut.
2.10pm BST
66 min: Villa triangulate in the pretty style down the left wing. Saints get fed up, and Grealish is upended. A free kick just outside the area. Grealish floats it to the far post, where Gazzaniga punches out for a corner. The resulting set piece is half-cleared, and then cleared.
2.07pm BST
63 min: A corner down the right for Villa. Grealish lumps it straight over everyone. “Call me crazy but I like the look of Hutton at left back. You know, because that way he can cut inside to shoot with his dangerous right foot.” JR in Illinois, there, with some of the old satire.
2.06pm BST
61 min: Pelle very nearly scampers clear down the inside-right channel, but can’t take the ball in his stride. He recycles it, though, turning and curling a cross into the box where Long attempts to volley home from the edge of the area. He doesn’t connect properly, his effort dribbling wide right. But Villa looked open at the back again. I’m sure they’ve been given the task of winning this second half, and perhaps keeping a clean sheet, but that looks a pipe dream right now.
2.04pm BST
60 min: Ward-Prowse hoicks a free kick into the Villa box from the left. It’s a delightful teaser, trundling along the corridor of uncertainty. Fonte nearly gets on the end of it, at the right-hand post, but it’s flicked away by a white shirt, and that’s a corner. Nothing comes of the set piece.
2.02pm BST
58 min: Hutton nips in from the left and thinks about shooting. Then he actually does it, the ball finding the top-right corner of the stand behind the goal. You’ll have seen better efforts. He’s having something of a shocker for Villa today, though he’s hardly alone in that respect. See also: Given, Vlaar, Okore, Bacuna, Delph, Westwood, Cleverley, Grealish, Benteke, N’Zogbia.
2.01pm BST
57 min: Villa knock it around the back. Given nearly plays a pass straight to the buzzing Long. The keeper has been reduced to a bag of nerves.
2.00pm BST
56 min: Villa swap N’Zogbia for Agbonlahor.
1.56pm BST
53 min: A bit of Villa possession in the middle of the park. They’re not really going anywhere, but baby steps and all that.
1.55pm BST
51 min: Ward-Prowse curls a cross into the box from the left. Hutton mistimes his leap, but Long does as well. Given was off his line flapping around too. Villa are still all over the place at the back.
1.54pm BST
50 min: Alderweireld, deep on the left, sweeps a gorgeous diagonal pass to Long on the right. Long slips the ball down the flank for Clyne, whose deep cross is hacked out of play by a sliding Vlaar. That’ll be a corner on the left. Ward-Prowse whips it into the mixer, where it skims a Villa head. Long attempts to connect at the right-hand post. It’d have been Southampton’s sixth if he managed it, but he can’t. Another corner, from which the ball’s whipped in from the right. Given comes out to punch, but only finds Fonte, who screws a defender’s effort wide right from the edge of the D.
1.51pm BST
47 min: A free kick for Villa down the left. A chance to load the box. N’Zogbia curls it deep, but there’s nobody in white at the far post. Bacuna goes down, having clanked into an opponent, but the referee isn’t having any of it.
1.50pm BST
Tim Sherwood has sent his team back out early, to be laughed and pointed at. No changes. He doesn’t look very happy at all, though he has the good grace to shake the hand of a young Saints fan as he makes his way back to his seat. Villa get the ball rolling again. Within 17 seconds, a ball’s slipped down the Saints left, releasing Long on goal. You’d pay cash money to see Sherwood react to seeing one billowing the net now, but the flag goes up for offside, correctly.
1.47pm BST
“I’ve just spoken to Robbie Fowler, he’s back home crying his eyes out.” Steve McManaman on BT Sport there, playing it for laughs. Presumably. Poor old Liverpool suffer blow after blow. Is it not enough that Steven Gerrard is doing one later today?! Everything changes. “I’m taking advantage of being in Avila for the weekend - I thought the name sounded like my favorite football team,” reports Paul Flint. “I have just stopped off at the shrine of Santa Teresa to pray for a second-half miracle. She told me Delph should play deeper and Grealish pull his socks up.”
1.38pm BST
Half-time entertainment: Until this afternoon, Robbie Fowler had scored the fastest hat-trick in Premier League history, in four minutes and 33 seconds against Arsenal in 1994. Sadio Mane’s bettered that effort by a whole minute and 37 seconds! Still, it wasn’t half bad either ...
1.36pm BST
Tim Sherwood storms down the tunnel, powered by thick jets of smoke parping out of his lugs. He didn’t bother to celebrate Benteke’s header. Saints, it should be remembered, actually scored six good goals in that half. What a performance by the home team. What a dismal effort by the visitors. The second half should be rather interesting.
1.33pm BST
Bacuna is sent scampering into space down the right. He loops a gorgeous cross to the far post, where Benteke plants an unsaveable header into the top left. The comeback’s on!
1.32pm BST
45 min +2: I’m guessing Villa didn’t want to see three added minutes on the board. However...
1.32pm BST
45 min +1: There will be three added minutes. Pelle, chasing down the inside-right channel, prepares to hoof one goalwards from 30 yards, but Vlaar gets a boot in. Corner, which is cleared by Villa, after a fashion.
1.30pm BST
45 min: The first lull of the first half! “As a Bury supporter I’m slightly worried that our record FA Cup final win of 6-0 in 1903 may be beaten by Arsenal in two weeks time,” worries Bernard Walsh.
1.28pm BST
43 min: Wanyama whips a cross into the Villa box from the right. Pelle connects with purpose at the near post, but his shot is blocked by Okore, who was flailing around on the floor and knew nothing about it.
1.27pm BST
42 min: Hutton sends a dribbly daisycutter into the hands of Gazzaniga from 35 yards. It’s a shot on target, Villa’s first, give Hutton that at least.
1.26pm BST
40 min: “Are you Sunderland in disguise?” wonder the home supporters. Saints battered the Black Cats 8-0 earlier in the season, of course. On the Villa bench, Sherwood covers his face with his hands. He’s not sobbing yet, but there are still 50 minutes plus stoppages to go.
1.25pm BST
This is simply astonishing. Villa are a shambles. Bacuna passes the ball inside from the Villa right. Westwood dallies on the ball in the centre circle, and is robbed instantly by Long, who takes a stride forward and curls a stunning 45-yarder up and over Given, and into the top-right corner of the net. A brilliant, brilliant strike, take nothing away from the striker’s effort. But Aston Villa are a disgrace this afternoon.
1.22pm BST
37 min: Delph, striding down the inside-left channel, opens his body and looks to curl one into the top-right corner. It’s not a bad effort, but a little wide right and high.
1.21pm BST
35 min: A free kick for Villa down the left. They load the box. Grealish decides to slide a pass inside for Okore, who wasn’t expecting it. Villa’s heads are swimming. Even the simple stuff is descending into mild farce. This game is over already, but they desperately need to hear the half-time whistle, in order to lay some damage-limitation plans.
1.19pm BST
33 min: Bacuna and Okore are asleep. Pelle and Long snap away at their heels. Tackles are missed, and Long is sent scampering into the area from a tight angle on the left. He looks to float a chip over Given and into the top right, but it’s not quite on target. Also, he’s clipped the heels of Bacuna, who got away with that one. Villa’s defence is all over the shop, though that’s hardly news now.
1.17pm BST
31 min: Mane slides the ball down the right wing for Clyne, who whips a cross to the near post. Pelle shapes to swivel and batter a shot towards the bottom right, but his effort is blocked by Vlaar. The amount of space Saints have enjoyed down that flank! The recalled Alan Hutton might be the focus of some half-time discussion in the away dressing room.
1.15pm BST
28 min: Saints have actually scored five, of course. No wonder Tim Sherwood’s standing on the touchline, hands on hips, fuming, a perfect picture of impotent disbelief.
1.13pm BST
Villa can’t get anything going. Hutton swings a ball into the Saints box from the left, but it’s headed clear by Fonte with a yawn. Saints burst upfield. Mane slaloms down the right, and rolls a ball down the channel which releases Pelle on goal. Given, who has done little wrong so far but had no luck whatsoever, comes off his line to block the shot, but the ball squirts wide right to Long, who slips the ball into the unguarded net. It’s taken Saints 13 minutes and 12 seconds to rack up their goals, and quite a few Villa fans are leaving in a huff already. Really?
1.09pm BST
24 min: Olé! Olé! Olé! Olé! Olé! Olé! No prizes for identifying which set of fans. And the response? “We’re gonna win 4-3.” This earns a round of applause which rings around St Mary’s. A strange mix of carnival atmosphere and gallows humour.
1.07pm BST
22 min: A free kick for Villa, and a chance to load the Saints box. And so it’s easily cleared, Mane racing through the midfield, with Villa light at the back. Westwood has no choice but to clip his heels in the centre circle, and take one for the team. A booking.
1.06pm BST
20 min: Tim Sherwood wasn’t very happy when Christian Benteke attempted that overly engineered shot on 11 minutes. He’s properly seething now. That was an astonishing goal blitz by Southampton, but Villa didn’t help themselves. Their defence has been a risible shambles.
1.04pm BST
18 min: Pelle is sent on a scamper down the inside-right channel. Upon reaching the edge of the box, he aims for the top right, but Given claims this one. Told you this wasn’t going to end goalless. Wow. Sadio Mane!
1.03pm BST
Long is sent scampering down the left wing, in acres of space. Villa are back-tracking, in an awful panic. Long waits and rolls a pass inside, across the front of the area. Mane opens his body and lashes a shot into the top-right corner! Robbie Fowler scored his famous hat-trick against Arsenal in 4 minutes 33 seconds. Mane has scored his in 2 minutes 56 seconds! It’s the fastest hat-trick in Premier League history!
1.00pm BST
Another tap-in for Mane! Long, pressing down the right, panics Vlaar into a terrible back-pass. Given rushes out in another futile attempt to smother. The ball squirts past him, and Mane lashes into the unguarded net!
12.59pm BST
Yep, a goal had been coming. A long ball pumped down the middle by Gazzaniga. Pelle wins the header. Mane bursts through the middle. Given comes out to smother, but only manages to ricochet the ball off the striker, who taps into an empty net. Charles Reep would take his hat off.
12.57pm BST
11 min: Delph caresses a lovely ball down the left-hand channel to release Benteke into the Saints area. He’s got to hit the target, battering the ball with his left boot, but he opts to flick a clever ball towards the bottom-left corner with the outside of his right. Not clever enough; it’s slapped into the side netting.
12.56pm BST
10 min: Grealish is upended by Wanyama down the inside-left channel. The free kick’s hit long towards Bacuna at the right-hand post, but Davis is there to avert the danger. There’s no way this will end goalless, surely. Both teams are very much on the front foot.
12.55pm BST
9 min: Well this has been a breezy start. Bertrand strokes a lovely ball down the left wing to release Pelle into the area. No flag this time, but the finish isn’t as good either. Cutting into the box from the left, he looks to curl a sidefoot into the bottom right, but it’s straight at Given, who smothers.
12.52pm BST
6 min: Bacuna goes on a drive down the right. He looks to cross, but his effort is deflected wide right of the goal for a corner. N’Zogbia loops the set piece to the far post. Gazzaninga claims, then drops the ball, but he gets away with the flap because Grealish has gently brushed his shirt. Nat Lofthouse wouldn’t have been happy with that decision. Or Alan Shearer. But this is where we are.
12.50pm BST
4 min: The free kick is useless. It’s easily cleared. But the ball finds Wanyama out on the right wing. He loops the ball into the middle, where Pelle strides clear and batters a first-time low shot into the bottom right! It’s a lovely finish, with the inside of his right boot, passed into the net from 12 yards. A good goal, but the flag goes up for offside, as Long was a yard in front of the last Villa defender, standing around doing nothing. That’s a terrible decision. Saints should be in the lead.
12.48pm BST
3 min: A fine atmosphere at St Mary’s. This is no end-of-season faff-about. Much riding on the result. Delph goes on a slalom down the inside-left channel but is bustled off the ball. Saints flood upfield, Long making good down the inside-right channel. Grealish clumsily bowls him over from behind and is fortunate to avoid a booking. This is a free kick for Saints in a dangerous position, 35 yards up the inside-right channel.
12.46pm BST
Saints get the ball rolling. Alderweireld gives the ball away cheaply with a loose pass in the general direction of Benteke, but the big man can’t keep control, and a combination of Alderweireld, Clyne and Gazzaniga clear up the mess. That’s a brisk start by Villa, and a sloppy one by the Saints.
12.45pm BST
The teams are out! Saints are wearing their famous red-and-white stripes - not the new version yet - while Villa sport their rather classy white-with-claret-pinstripe away number. A lot of white on display out there. Do football kit designers, or those working in marketing departments, ever think things through? Nope. No they don’t. We’ll be off in a minute!
12.18pm BST
Two changes for the Saints, with James Ward-Prowse and Shane Long replacing Harrison Reed and Eljero Elia. Goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga retains his place, first-choice Fraser Forster out with the old knee knack. Aston Villa meanwhile make one change to their winning line-up, Alan Hutton coming in for Kieran Richardson. It’s a lovely day at St Mary’s.
11.50am BST
Southampton: Gazzaniga, Clyne, Fonte, Alderweireld, Bertrand, S Davis, Wanyama, Long, Ward-Prowse, Mane, Pelle.
Subs: K Davis, Yoshida, Gardos, Djuricic, Elia, Reed, Targett.
Aston Villa: Given, Bacuna, Okore, Vlaar, Hutton, Cleverley, Westwood, Delph, N’Zogbia, Benteke, Grealish.
Subs: Guzan, Sinclair, Weimann, Agbonlahor, Senderos, Sanchez, Lowton.
11.45am BST
[MBM reporter rummages around in large sack. Pulls out Bumper Book of Sporting Clichés. Ah yes, that’ll do. Flicks through book. Sticks pin in page of book. Ah yes. It’s a game of two halves; sub-section, a season of two halves.]
It’s been a season of two halves for Southampton and Aston Villa. The first portion of the campaign was super for the Saints. At the start of November, a run of eight wins in nine games shot them up to second in the Premier League. Champions League football looked a distinct possibility for a team sparkling in attack and parsimonious in defence. Villa meanwhile were in the middle of a nine-game winless streak, at one point losing six in a row, and were scrabbling around ominously at the foot of the table.
Continue reading...May 12, 2015
Getting shirty: how classic strips and winning teams go hand in hand | Scott Murray
Easy to say it now, of course, but the destination of the 2014-15 Scottish Championship title should have been obvious from the get-go. Heart of Midlothian travelled to Rangers back in August for the first match of the season, and there it was, for all to see, in plain sight. Not that it was anything to do with the quality of football on show, exactly, though Hearts did outplay their hosts that day, sashaying around Ibrox with a dip in their collective hip and a glide in their stride.
They deservedly won 2-1, but here’s the rub: the Jam Tarts looked the part. The team were draped in the most beautiful kit worn by any club in many a year: plain maroon, unobtrusive badge, no sponsor, polo collar, a flattering straight hang. A gentle nod to the late 70s and early 80s, it’s a case study in bringing popular retro styles subtly up to date, a brazen switcheroo from Umbro diamond to Adidas stripe the only glaring concession to modernity.
Continue reading...May 9, 2015
Crystal Palace v Manchester United: Premier League – as it happened
David de Gea and Ashley Young were United’s star turns, while Marouane Fellaini was the goalscoring hero, as Louis van Gaal’s side edged ever closer to Champions League qualification.
7.26pm BST
And that’s that! A tale of two goalkeepers, really. David De Gea was his usual magnificent self, the platform on which United built their victory. They’d have lost without him. Julian Speroni, meanwhile, gifted United their winner. A sense that United have got away with one there, but they’re remembering to do what the great Manchester United teams always did: turn average performances into victories. They’re on the verge of Champions League qualification now. Over the entire piece this season, they’ll deserve it. Palace were a shade unlucky today, though. Ah well, they’ll always have December 1972.
7.23pm BST
90 min +3: United are running the clock down.
7.22pm BST
90 min +2: Palace load the box. McNair clears. Palace come back at United, through Souare down the left. The left-back’s cross is plucked calmly from the sky by De Gea.
7.21pm BST
90 min +1: Fellaini concedes a needless free kick down the Palace left. A chance for the home side to load the box.
7.21pm BST
90 min: Falcao, 20 yards out, passes to his left where Herrera attempts a sidefooter into the top right. A brilliant effort, and a brilliant save. The corner comes to nothing. There will be four added minutes of this marvellous, marvellous game.
7.20pm BST
89 min: Replays of Fellaini’s goal shows Falcao giving Delaney a gentle nudge in the back as the ball comes over. Still not sure why Speroni clattered into everyone, mind.
7.18pm BST
88 min: United are pinging it around in the middle, taking the sting out of this game.
7.17pm BST
86 min: A desperate Palace shout for a penalty kick, as the ball hits Fellaini in the chest. Nope!
7.16pm BST
85 min: A last roll of the dice for Palace: Zaha is sacrificed for Chamakh. Murray has a batter from 15 yards, spinning McNair brilliantly down the inside-right channel. Guess who’s up to it, parrying clear with his knees? What a keeper David De Gea is!
7.14pm BST
84 min: Before the free kick, a couple of changes. Palace swap Jedinak for Lee, while United replace an ailing Smalling with McNair. The free kick’s a waste of time.
7.14pm BST
83 min: Puncheon is still Palace’s best hope. He’s a livewire playmaker. He rolls the ball down the inside-left channel for Bolasie, who looks to spin Valencia. He’s upended. That’ll be a free kick, and a chance for Palace to load the box.
7.12pm BST
80 min: A bit of possession for Palace, and a good response to falling behind to that risible goal. Zaha nearly breaks clear down the right. He’s got men in the middle to find, but opts to embark on an elaborate dribble instead. Wrong decision. He recovers well, though, and slips the ball through Evans’s legs before pulling the ball back for Jedinak, on the right-hand corner of the United box. Leaning back, he gets his shot all wrong. But that was a decent chance.
7.09pm BST
The excellent Young twists and turns down the left. He loops a cross into the area. The keeper should collect, but he buffoonishly clatters into Dann and Delaney, leaving Fellaini with the simplest of headers! He pops it into the empty net from a couple of yards. What a farce! United have been under all sorts of pressure since the start of the second half, but they’ve weathered the storm, and now look!
7.07pm BST
77 min: And then Young tears down the left wing, and cuts a ball inside for Mata, who blasts over from ten yards! He should have made Speroni work there.
7.06pm BST
76 min: This is relentless! Palace go up the other end and win a corner. The set piece ends up at the feet of Delaney, on the edge of the area. His shot is a defender’s shot.
7.05pm BST
74 min: After that, a United goal would be the perfect narrative twist. And it nearly comes. Young cuts in from the left, past the hapless Ward, and sees his low shot clank off Dann’s ankle and inches wide of the right-hand post. From the resulting set piece, Fellaini’s found free at the right hand post. He takes the ball down, twists, and loses control. Mata slots the ball away from a tight angle, but the big man was offside.
7.03pm BST
72 min: And here he is making another, as McArthur, on the right, sprays a delicious diagonal ball to Zaha, six yards out and level with the left-hand post. Zaha creams the ball towards the bottom left, where the keeper gathers. He’s something special, is De Gea.
7.02pm BST
71 min: What a save by David De Gea! Dann brings the ball down, gloriously, in the United area. Running to the left and taking white shirts with him, he taps it back inside for Murray, free on the penalty spot. He’s got to score, and dinks a fine effort towards the left-hand side of the net. But De Gea sticks out his big right hand, and the fingertips keep the ball out! That could be the save that sends Manchester United into next season’s Champions League!
7.00pm BST
69 min: Mata drops a shoulder and shimmies down the inside-left channel. He draws three Palace defenders, then flicks the ball to his left for Young, who has Falcao waiting in the middle to head home, but wangs a dreadful cross into the stand behind instead.
6.58pm BST
67 min: This is hilarious, hectic, end-to-end entertainment. Valencia curls one into the Palace area from the right. The cross finds Fellaini, who stoops to send an uncharacteristically weak header goalwards. Palace flood up the other end, and Murray is very unfortunate to see his reverse flick clatter into an unwitting Smalling. Had he avoided the United defender, Bolasie would have been tearing clear on goal. Again, good luck in calling how this will end up.
6.56pm BST
65 min: United need to clear their heads. They’re a total mess right now. They allow Zaha to spring clear of a couple of half-arsed challenges down the right. If the former United player had kept his cool, he’d have threaded a pass down the right-hand channel to release Bolasie, clear on goal. But giddy after his run, he hoofs the ball straight out of play for a goal kick. You wonder whether Palace will rue not taking proper advantage of United during this period since the restart.
6.54pm BST
64 min: Murray flicks on for Bolasie, who is in acres down the left. United really are all over the shop. Jedinak’s in the middle, and Bolasie looks for him with the outside of his boot, but the pass is overcooked and misdirected. It’s awful, in other words. Goal kick.
6.53pm BST
61 min: Smalling has a rush of blood in the centre circle and falls over his own feet. McArthur goes tearing towards the United area, down the inside-left channel. He’s got Murray totally free to his right, but opts to go it alone, making rococo roads into the area, then screwing a very average shot, meant for the bottom-right corner, wide of goal. Palace should be ahead. This is a highly entertaining game, and good luck calling which way it’s going to go.
6.51pm BST
60 min: But Palace have their tails up, and Murray powers down the right. He nearly breaks into the box, but Smalling stays strong and clears. Then a long ball’s lumped into the United box. Jedinak goes up with Valencia, then flops to the floor. That’s not too clever. No penalty. Come off it.
6.49pm BST
58 min: United respond to the equaliser well, winning a corner down the right. Mata hoicks it straight through the area and out of play on the other side.
6.48pm BST
Puncheon has been lively since he’s come on. Smalling wrestles Murray to the floor, just to the left of the United D. Puncheon takes the free kick, and curls it to the left of the United wall and into the top-left corner! But what was Blind doing? The ball went over his head, by inches, but he didn’t move it at all! Palace are deservedly level.
6.46pm BST
55 min: Herrera, who looks like a sweet lad but enjoys putting himself about, is hellishly late on Souare, and goes into the book. He can have no complaints, but makes one all the same, as footballers do. No real drama.
6.45pm BST
54 min: Puncheon diddles Mata down the inside-left channel, in the area. He reaches the byline, then checks back. Mata sticks a foot out, there’s contact, and Puncheon launches himself to the floor. The exaggerated fall costs Palace a penalty. It’s the only reason the referee doesn’t give it, surely. A terrible decision, and now Palace really do have something to moan about.
6.43pm BST
51 min: Fellaini fells Jedinak with what is either a sly, or purely accidental, elbow to the chin. A slightly unnecessary final movement ensured connection between elbow and coupon there. Fellaini can count himself lucky not to be in some sort of bother for that. Jedinak will be thankful for that spongy beard. He’s up and about again soon enough.
6.41pm BST
50 min: It’s a bright start to the second half for Palace. Souare comes down the left wing and whips a low cross to the near post. Murray, rushing in, flicks one meant for the bottom-left corner into the side netting. Half a chance, there, though it’d have been some finish to diddle De Gea at his near post.
6.39pm BST
48 min: Bolasie goes after a long ball down the left. He cuts back, sends Smalling off the wrong way, and crosses. The ball deflects out for a corner, off Herrera’s upper arm. That’s not a penalty either, as the players were very close, Herrera’s back was turned, and his arms were by his side. But imagine how the already-incensed home faithful react. The corner comes to naught.
6.37pm BST
46 min: Something to further increase the ire of Palace fans: Evans takes an age to tie a shoelace, causing De Gea to keep hold of the ball. Marvellous pantomime stuff. “Yer man PB brings back terrible memories for me of watching Turkish television,” writes Mike in Berlin. “In a previous life I was an in-play bookie in Leeds, forced to watch mid-afternoon Turkish Cup ties and give odds on them. I got so bored I began to count the adverts that pop up on the screen and counted that it happens about once every 90 seconds. Even more bored, I began to count the fouls, and lost interest after hitting 50 before half time. I’d never previously considered how many fouls are in a game, but I know now. I rarely complain about the Premier League now, because I’ve seen through the looking glass.” The Premier League: no longer the best in the world, but still better than the pop-up adverts on Turkish television. Richard Scudamore can have that one for free.
6.36pm BST
And we’re off again! Wayne Rooney was out early, trying to run off some sort of injury. Without success. He admits defeat, and is substituted for Falcao before Palace get the ball rolling. The home side, by the way, made a more ordered change: Puncheon has replaced Ledley.
6.27pm BST
Half-time advertisement: As anyone who has ever attempted to play golf will know, a round is an 18-step journey into the heart of darkness. Here’s our man Ewan Murray on everyone’s favourite golfing Kurtz:
To say Sergio Garcia was not best pleased with a second-round 72 which, he estimated, included the missing of “10 putts from eight or nine feet”, would be something of an understatement. On completing his Friday media duties the Spaniard asked where the nearest bin was, promptly walked towards said trash can with his putter, snapped it over his knee and made a deposit. Regardless of opinion towards Garcia, this was a snapshot of emotion with which amateur golfers the world over can only sympathise.
6.22pm BST
And that’s that. The referee is booed off the park. The penalty decision was correct, but that doesn’t really matter: there’s a lovely atmosphere of righteous indignation at Selhurst. Should make for a cracking second half. No flipping!
6.19pm BST
45 min +3: Corner for United down the left. It’s delivered straight into Speroni’s hands. “Have you ever watched footy on Turkish tv?” asks PB. “Well I am right now and it’s like the tv’s been infested with spam: pop up ads all over the place. I guess it’s how you pay for such top product and at the same time obscure the product a bit so everyone doesn’t realise the Prem’s a bit hoofy really. Good honest hoofy.” It’s like 1972 every year in England.
6.17pm BST
45 min +2: Bolasie, in space down the right, swivels a low cross into the area. Not for the first time in this half, Palace would have been celebrating a goal had the ball not just landed behind Murray, standing in prime position to score. He can’t readjust and get an effort away. Small margins, and all that.
6.16pm BST
45 min +1: There will be four added minutes of this first half, thanks to the Shaw injury. The first 60 seconds passes without incident.
6.15pm BST
45 min: Another corner for Palace, down the right. It’s looped into the box, and there’s a spot of head tennis in the six-yard box. United are in panic. All bar De Gea, that is; he gently leaps into the air to claim and calm the whole situation down.
6.14pm BST
43 min: A strange one, as Herrara whips a cross into the Palace box from the right. It misses everyone, and falls to Fellaini, by the left-hand post, six yards out. He must score, but he doesn’t really react. The ball clanks off his thigh, and into the hands of Speroni. He might have been offside there, but the flag didn’t go up. Probably for the best that things panned out as they did.
6.13pm BST
41 min: Fellaini rakes a long ball down the left. Young skitters into space. He whips a cross into the middle. Rooney meets it with his right instep, 12 yards out, but the ball hits Delaney’s hip, then his arm. Rooney claims a penalty, but that one’s not given, and it’s another correct decision. The players were very close to each other, and the handling was totally accidental. Rooney looks incensed, of course, because you sense he enjoys fuming.
6.10pm BST
40 min: Poor Shaw departs, and Evans takes his place.
6.09pm BST
38 min: Shaw is down receiving attention, having taken a whack in the face from McArthur’s arm while challenging the player from behind. It looked totally accidental. There’s a fair bit of blood dripping from Shaw’s nose, and he looks very, very groggy indeed. He’ll not be continuing, as first the doctor, then the stretcher, comes on.
6.07pm BST
35 min: Bolasie makes off down the right. He kicks the ball onto his other leg, and falls over. Goal kick. He has the good grace to smile in good humour as he picks himself up off the floor.
6.05pm BST
33 min: Murray, in a tight position on the right, slips a gorgeous ball inside, through a forest of United legs, to release Ward into the box. Ward battles with Fellaini, tracking back, and is outmuscled. The Palace fans, more than the players, scream for a penalty kick. The decisions aren’t going their way, but unfortunately for those supporters, the decisions have all been correct so far.
6.02pm BST
32 min: Young is getting pelters every time he touches the ball. The Palace fans aren’t letting the penalty decision go, correct though it was. The away support hit back with a chorus of Ooh Ah Cantona.
6.00pm BST
30 min: Another free kick for Palace, this time out on the right. Ward balloons it into the area, allowing De Gea an easy catch.
5.59pm BST
28 min: Palace are creating chances now. A free kick in the middle of the United half, just to the left of goal. It’s looped into the area, towards the right. Dann rises and heads down to the penalty spot, where Murray awaits. He’s in acres of space - United’s back line is in tatters! - but the header goes just behind him, and neither he nor Zaha can rescue the situation. A training-ground set piece which nearly came off in spectacular style.
5.57pm BST
26 min: And this was nearly 1-1. Corner for Palace down the right, after Jones confuses himself. Jedinak meets the set piece, coming in from the left, rising above Blind to send a stunning header towards the top-right corner. If it was on target, it was breaking the net, but it’s a tad high and wide. Not missed by much, though.
5.55pm BST
25 min: Palace are being bossed in the midfield right now. Jones strides through it, practically unchallenged, and rolls a pass straight down the middle for Mata. The Spaniard looks to twist and guide the ball into the bottom right, from the edge of the area. He doesn’t get enough purchase on the ball. Otherwise that could have been 0-2.
5.53pm BST
23 min: Rooney, on the right, hoicks the ball to the left-hand post, where Fellaini lurks. The big man cushions a header down for Young, but it’s not accurate enough for his team-mate to get a shot away. United are well on top now.
5.52pm BST
21 min: Young is all over Ward. He twists the full-back’s body and blood yet again, then whacks a deep cross to Rooney at the far past. Rooney heads down for Herrera, who meets the ball near the penalty spot with a volley. Not a particularly sweet one, the ball sailing into the top-right corner of the stand behind the goal. That’s a dismal end to a lovely move. Palace are reeling.
5.50pm BST
Penalty to United! Young makes off down the left. He crosses into the area. Dann misreads it, and leans down into the ball, with his right arm stuck out. It clanks off his upper arm. Penalty. The correct decision, though Palace are livid. Mata steps up, and rolls it into the bottom left, albeit without much conviction, Speroni getting very close to it.
5.48pm BST
17 min: Bolasie robs a dithering Young on the right-hand edge of the United area. He bursts clear into the box, then shanks a hilariously poor shot into the side netting, while falling over. Young’s given the free kick, which is both unnecessary and incorrect. What a business all round.
5.47pm BST
15 min: Well that’s jinxed everyone, hasn’t it. Murray rolls the ball to McArthur’s feet, on the penalty spot. He’s just got to knock it a little bit to his left, then lash it in, rather like Género Zeefuik did for Hearts against Rangers the other week. Yes, that one. But he doesn’t. He fannies around, and the chance is gone. Apologies to Palace.
5.45pm BST
14 min: Herrera comes in from the right and sends a woeful long-distance effort well wide left of the target. This won’t stay goalless long, I’ll be bound.
5.44pm BST
13 min: Ward, deep on the right, rakes a diagonal ball into the box for Zaha, who just inside the box on the left, has a chance to Di Canio a volley into the top right. He opts for the safe rather than the spectacular. Shame. Taking it down gets him nowhere.
5.42pm BST
11 min: Young in a lot of space down the left. Space he earned by powering past Ward, in fairness. But the resulting cross is an abject waste of time. Guardian disclaimer: Much Improved doesn’t mean Perfect.
5.41pm BST
9 min: Bolasie bothers Shaw a bit, as the pair chase a ball down the Palace right. Shaw stays ahead of his man, which is just as well as there was no cover. But that was close.
5.39pm BST
8 min: Blind, the best part of 30 yards out, decides to take a shot. He’s lined up with the left-hand post, and goes for the bottom-right corner. His blistering daisycutter is going in, but then Speroni fingertips it onto the post. Corner, which is a non-event. What a shot from Blind, though. He’s a marvellous player. “And, sadly, no tonsorial stylings and no 1-11 for the teams either,” adds Lou Roper. Aye. God I miss being young.
5.36pm BST
5 min: Palace fanny around, conceding a needless corner. The set piece sees Smalling and Dann come together under the ball. Neither of them connect properly. The away support make a half-arsed claim for a penalty kick, but their heart’s not really in it. A nice open start to this game, though, and the atmosphere reflects that; it is wonderful, as it always is at Selhurst.
5.34pm BST
3 min: McArthur, in the middle of the park, rolls a delicious pass down the inside-right channel to release Bolasie on goal. Bolasie was a yard offside, though. But United’s back line doesn’t look totally sure of itself. They’re all over the shop less than 60 seconds later, as Jedinak strides into space down the same channel. That’s stride as opposed to run: had Jedinak any pace, United would have been in a lot of trouble there.
5.33pm BST
2 min: Ward tries to usher a long Jones hoof out of play down the left. Young battles hard, and wins a ball he had no right to win. Nothing much develops. But Young’s a shoo-in for Most Improved Player this season, isn’t he?
5.31pm BST
And we’re off! United get the ball rolling. “Can we please have the Selhurst pitch from those 1972 highlights, evidently having been attended by a team of oxen and a plough beforehand, for tonight?” asks Lou Roper. Sadly, no old-school horticultural stylings this evening: the grass is shimmering under Selhurst sun this evening. But it’s not exactly a bowling green.
5.26pm BST
The teams are out! Palace are wearing their red-and-blue-striped kit, while United are in their change strip of white. A classic look.
5.00pm BST
The hosts make three changes. Pape Souare, captain Mile Jedinak and Glenn Murray have been brought in. United also ring the changes. Phil Jones and Luke Shaw start, with Paddy McNair and Robin van Persie making way. In fact, van Persie doesn’t even make the squad, though perhaps the most notable absentee from United’s matchday beano is Angel di Maria. What a player, yet what a farce his signing has become.
4.56pm BST
The most jaw-dropping match to be contested by Crystal Palace and Manchester United is ... the six-goal 1990 FA Cup final? Nope. The night Eric Cantona flew into the crowd to dispatch spectacular justice into the startled coupon of some loud-mouthed eejit? Nope! It’s this old-school offering from December 1972, in which Palace administer an awful thrashing to a club who were European champions a mere four years earlier, only to end the season relegated. United themselves were in relegation bother at this point, though they’d avoid the drop, a stay of execution that’d only last 12 months. Don Rogers, though, what a player!
4.40pm BST
Crystal Palace: Speroni, Ward, Dann, Delaney, Souare, Jedinak, Ledley, McArthur, Zaha, Bolasie, FFS Murray.
Subs: Hennessey, Kelly, Puncheon, Mutch, Lee, Chamakh, Campbell.
Manchester United: De Gea, Valencia, Jones, Smalling, Shaw, Blind, Herrera, Mata, Fellaini, Young, Rooney.
Subs: Valdes, Evans, McNair, Pereira, Januzaj, Falcao, Wilson.
4.30pm BST
Selhurst Park is no place to go when you’re desperate for a result. Just ask Liverpool last season. Or Chelsea, for that matter. Or Manchester City this time round. Three title-chasing teams who came a cropper at the most atmospheric ground in the country. Manchester United, watch out!
Not that United are chasing a title, of course. But they could do with making sure of fourth place, which will guarantee them some Champions League football next season. Attaining that goal - a modest one for a club like United - looked a shoo-in a couple of weeks ago, with nearest rivals Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur and Southampton all taking turns to fanny about. But three defeats in a row, the last a shock 1-0 reverse at home to a very average West Bromwich Albion side, have got Louis van Gaal’s team looking over their shoulder.
Continue reading...Everton v Sunderland: Premier League – as it happened
Sunderland rode their luck, but earned every break with a display of battling brilliance to give themselves a huge boost in the battle to avoid the drop.
2.37pm BST
That’s a smash-and-grab win for Sunderland! They rode their luck at times, and got the benefit of a couple of crucial decisions. But they earned every lucky break: Dick Advocaat’s men fought like cornered dogs, defended staunchly, pounced into attack when they could, and ultimately earned a priceless three points. A deserved win, which takes them up to 14th place in the Premier League table! Another victory next week at home to Leicester City should - should - be enough to keep them up. And they celebrate accordingly. A lot of gleeful prancing going on across the Goodison turf. Everton are booed off, which is a little unfair; they attacked relentlessly, but Sunderland appear to have been destined to win this one. They’re now ahead of Hull City, Leicester City, Aston Villa - and Newcastle United. Worth turning up 30 minutes late for, huh?
2.34pm BST
90 min +3: Goodison is bouncing. The Sunderland end is making an awful lot of noise. And no wonder.
2.34pm BST
90 min +2: A replay of the second goal shows the ball pinging off Defoe’s thigh and onto his hand before going in! The football gods have smiled on Sunderland today. Their performance deserves it, though.
2.33pm BST
90 min +1: Coleman has a shot from the right-hand corner of the area, but it’s dragged across the face of goal and out on the left.
2.32pm BST
90 min: There will be four added minutes of this.
2.32pm BST
88 min: Garbutt is booked for a fairly agricultural lunge on Johnson. The Sunderland fans wonder whether supporters of Newcastle United are watching this. You can bet they are, because as things stand, Sunderland are now above them - and Aston Villa - in the table. What a result this will be. If they can hold on, of course.
2.30pm BST
86 min: Defoe disappeared into the Sunderland support in celebration of that goal. He could easily have been booked for a second time there. But everything’s going Sunderland’s way this lunchtime. In many ways, they deserve it, because they’ve fought so hard. McGeady comes on for Lennon.
2.29pm BST
A double change for Sunderland, and what an instant effect! Larsson and Wickham off, Fletcher and Bridcutt on. Fletcher goes on a baroque ramble into the Everton area down the right. He cuts inside, and looks to shoot. Then he slips. But flicks the ball wide left to Johnson, who shoots. His effort clangs off Coleman’s hip, flies across the face of goal, and in off Defoe! What good fortune! And what a result this will be for Sunderland!
2.26pm BST
83 min: A huge penalty shout as Lukaku whips a ball across the face of goal from the left. Coleman’s coming in at the far post, but goes down before he can connect with his boot. Defoe’s standing just behind him. He’d tapped the full-back’s boot. Ever so lightly, but he tapped it. That should have been a penalty. But at full speed it didn’t look clear, and was an understandable oversight. Who’d be a referee?
2.23pm BST
81 min: Lennon bears down on the Sunderland box, making good along the inside-right channel with extreme prejudice. He’s about to shoot, but is barged off it by Gomez at the last. Brilliant last-ditch challenge!
2.22pm BST
80 min: Space for Coleman down the right. He whips a ball towards the near post, and it’s deflected, spinning wildly. Pantilimon drops to the floor to gather brilliantly, and makes sure he doesn’t concede a corner. A fine time for sticky gloves. Great keeping.
2.21pm BST
79 min: Barkley and Mirallas exchange a one-two down the middle, then the ball’s slipped to Lukaku, eight yards out. He’s in on goal! But Sunderland breathe again, again: Lukaku clumsily hacks over, and in any case he’s offside. This is fingernail-bothering stuff for the Black Cats.
2.19pm BST
77 min: Sunderland’s away support, robbed of the opening half hour of this game by The Man, are certainly getting their money’s worth now. They’re a quarter of an hour from a precious victory. And they’re belting out their favourite numbers right now. A long, long, long way to go. Still, you’ve got to enjoy it while you can.
2.18pm BST
75 min: In the last five minutes, Everton have enjoyed 90% possession. 90%! Sunderland can’t carry on like this. And they’re nearly undone again, this time by McCarthy, who embarks on a high-speed slalom down the inside-left channel, eventually getting himself one on one with Pantilimon. He should score, but the head’s suddenly full of bubbling-hot blood, and he blasts over. A slightly tight angle on the left, but no excuse really. Sunderland breathe again.
2.16pm BST
74 min: Phew. How did Sunderland survive all that?! Some respite as Defoe skitters down the right wing, and is upended by Coleman, who’s booked. Then the breather continues with a couple of subs: Graham is swapped for Johnson, while Baines, who has picked up a knock, is replaced by Garbutt.
2.14pm BST
72 min: It’s two banks of four in front of the Sunderland area. Everton need something special to break them down. Coleman curls a shot from the right, but it’s headed clear by a stooping Brown. Then Mirallas has a lash from the left-hand corner of the D. That’s deflected out for a corner - from which McCarthy, 20 yards out down the inside-right channel, rattles the bottom of the left-hand post!
2.12pm BST
70 min: Another corner for Everton, this time down the left, Lukaku having busied himself with purpose. This is the home side’s 14th corner of the afternoon. Nothing comes of it. But this can’t end 0-1, can it?
2.10pm BST
68 min: It’s end-to-end excitement now. Sunderland win a corner down the right. Graham goes in bravely at the near post, but Everton sweep upfield, Baines swinging a ball in from the left, Lennon so nearly getting on the end of it in the middle. Coates slides in to concede a corner, which leads to Mirallas skelping hopelessly over the bar from distance. Sunderland are desperate, and this is leading to some desperately entertaining football.
2.09pm BST
66 min: From the corner, some pinball nonsense in the box. The ball breaks to the edge of the area for Stones, who takes a spectacular fresh-air swipe. Another corner is eventually earned. Before it’s taken, it’s Defoe’s turn to receive a booking for some rash behaviour. The corner’s a non-event.
2.07pm BST
65 min: van Aanholt isn’t the only full back with silky skills out there today. Coleman juggles the ball as he cuts in from the right, Jim Baxter on speed. His keepie uppies earn space for a shot, which is deflected wide. Gomez is booked for some nonsense in the build up.
2.05pm BST
63 min: Barry is sacrificed for Mirallas. Play resumes, and Coleman comes in from the right to have a shot. He blooters it straight into Gomez’s startled coupon. Ooyah! Brave defending there. How desperately Sunderland will fight to keep hold of this precious lead.
2.04pm BST
61 min: Baines swings it into the area from the left. It’s headed clear, but only to Osman, whose first-time snap header goes wide right.
2.03pm BST
60 min: Cattermole upends McCarthy as the Everton man goes on a slalom down the inside-left. He’s down receiving treatment, but it doesn’t look serious. A pause, and this will be a free kick in a very dangerous position.
2.01pm BST
57 min: A Garrincha-esque dribble by van Aanholt down the left. He diddles Coleman and Lennon with an outstanding ball-on-string dragback, and suddenly he’s clear on goal! But he’s coming in at a very tight angle, and can only shank the ball well wide left. In the middle Defoe has a face on, as he was waiting for a tap in. But you can’t blame the left-back - who has been magnificent in both defence and attack so far today - for shooting there. He’d earned the right, and that would have been a sensational goal.
1.59pm BST
55 min: Everton try to respond immediately. Lennon breaks down the right and crosses. The ball hits Gomez’s arm, and the home side claim a penalty, but they’re not getting it, the players were standing right next to each other. Barry tries a curler towards the top left, but it’s easily claimed by Pantilimon.
1.57pm BST
Larsson breaks down the right. His cross is half cleared, but only to Gomez, 25 yards out, down the inside-left channel. His shot flies into the box, but it’s heading wide right. But it balloons off the inside of Graham’s left leg - the striker’s facing away from goal - and loops over Howard, onto the base of the right-hand post, and into the net!
1.55pm BST
52 min: Sunderland have been clinging on, and yet they could easily have been ahead here. A ball’s swung into the Everton box from a deep position down the Sunderland right. Graham breaks into the box and meets it first time, but it’s a dreadful hoick, well wide right of the target. No matter, though, because in Sunderland’s next attack ...
1.53pm BST
51 min: Sunderland are being pressed right back. Baines whips a low ball into the area from the left. It’s hacked out for a corner. From the set piece, Lukaku should plant a header on goal, but though he meets the ball eight yards out, level with the left-hand post, he does so with his shoulder, and his effort, such as it is, flies harmlessly out to the left of the target.
1.52pm BST
49 min: ... Everton come this close to scoring. Jagielka flicks on from the right, and Lukaku lurks with a view to nutting home from a couple of yards. But Cattermole rises to get his eyebrows on the ball, sending it inches wide of the right-hand post. Nearly an own goal, and yet that was a brilliant intervention. From the next corner, Everton nearly score again! Jagielka meets this one at the far post, and his header’s going into the top-left corner. But Pantilimon palms it over the bar. Sunderland finally clear their lines. But they can’t keep on like this.
1.50pm BST
48 min: A loose ball from Stones, and for a second Defoe and Graham look threatening on the edge of the Everton box. But Howard comes out to deal with the situation. Coleman goes up the other end and wins a corner off van Aanholt down the right. Barry is found at the near post. He twists and turns, and earns another corner. From which ...
1.48pm BST
46 min: Sunderland are on the front foot early doors, with van Aanholt threatening to break clear into the Everton box from a tight position near the corner flag. He’s crowded out of it.
1.47pm BST
It’s the 30th anniversary of Everton’s great European triumph, the 1985 Cup Winners Cup. Or it will be come Friday. Accordingly, the famous duo of Howard Kendall and Colin Harvey, midfield marvels turned managerial geniuses, were on the pitch at half time waving the trophy about. To great cheers, let the record state. Will that spur the home side on to great things in this second half? We’ll soon find out, because Sunderland have set the ball rolling again! No changes.
1.42pm BST
Half-time entertainment: “Thought you might enjoy some half-time reading,” begins Steve Mogan. “I recently re-started my Subbuteo-aping football comic at thepitifulgame.com (twitter: @thepitifulgame). I’m really rubbish at self-promotion so the only hook I have is that Iain Macintosh once called it ‘charming’ and if that doesn’t convince you to have a look then literally nothing will.” Hey, if it’s good enough for Macintosh, it’s good enough for us. Story number five, Woof, is magnificent.
1.33pm BST
... but there’s no time to take it. Frustration for Everton, who have sparkled intermittently in attack. But Sunderland would take this at full time. It’d be a priceless point for them as they battle relegation. It’s all set up for a fascinating second half. No flipping!
1.32pm BST
45 min +1: There’s one minute of added time, and Everton nearly get their reward. Barkley slides a pass straight down the middle for Lukaku, who turns in the area and shoots, only to see his shot blocked the second it leaves his boot by Jones. Corner ...
1.31pm BST
44 min: Wickham has a little time and space down the inside-left channel. He slides a pass inside for Larsson, who should shoot from the edge of the box but shifts it back wide to the striker. Wickham makes a little room for himself then sends a weak shot towards the bottom-left corner, where Howard gathers. That situation could, indeed should, have bothered the Everton keeper more than it eventually did. Larsson strangely shot-shy. That would have been one of the great sucker punches, because Everton have been dominant in this first half.
1.29pm BST
42 min: They’re nearly opened up here, though. Osman has been brilliant today, and he nearly sets one up, then nearly scores one. He slides a ball down the inside-left channel for Lukaku, who looks to dink one over Pantilimon as he enters the area. The keeper saves brilliantly. The ball breaks to Osman to the right of the D. His shot is heading into the bottom right - but that one’s parried by the keeper too! Sheer brilliance by the keeper. Brown is booked for a disgraceful lunge on McCarthy in the middle of all that. Clumsy more than malicious, but he clanked the Everton midfielder’s standing leg. Ooyah, oof.
1.26pm BST
40 min: Larsson with a free kick to the right of the centre circle. It’s blootered upfield sans wit, and plucked from the sky by a yawning Howard. Sunderland are doing bugger all in attack. But they’re well organised at the back.
1.24pm BST
39 min: Coleman wins a corner off Wickham down the right. Perhaps that’s what happened on 31 mins. Anyway, this one’s looped to the back post, where Barry battles with Wickham. Another corner, this time on the left. That one’s dealt with by Sunderland’s offside trap, Everton trying to work something down the left, the flag going up.
1.22pm BST
37 min: It’s gone a bit scrappy, this. Dick Advocaat would take the point. A long way to go for that, though.
1.22pm BST
35 min: Sunderland’s away support has turned up, having been conned out of half-an-hour’s football by The Man. The BT Sport camera pans across them. One young gentleman stares right into the lens, unblinking, and flicks several Vs to the nation. No aggressive jabs, he’s got a smooth, insouciant, almost gentle stroke. There’s a strange beauty in that.
1.19pm BST
33 min: Some lovely one-touch stuff by Everton down the right. Coleman slips the ball inside for Lennon, who spins on a sixpence to make room on the edge of the box, then slides a pass forward for Osman. Osman shoots, but he falls backwards as he does so, no danger on Pantilimon’s goal. But that was a very pretty move.
1.17pm BST
31 min: A corner for Everton. I’m not sure how it was won, and it’s easily cleared by Sunderland. Pulitzer, please!
1.16pm BST
29 min: Wow, this would have been some goal. A Sunderland throw down the left wing, 30 yards from goal. Wickham turns to meet it, and whips a diagonal effort towards the top-right corner. That’s a sizzling effort. In fairness, it’s a few feet wide of the right-hand post, but hit so cleanly and with such venom that it still looked pretty impressive, and drew the breath from plenty of onlookers as it left his boot.
1.13pm BST
27 min: Sunderland need all the luck they can get right now. But they’re not getting it. Defoe decides to take a dig from 20 yards, looking for the top-right corner from a central position. It might be heading in, it might be going just wide, but it doesn’t matter once it balloons off the back of his team-mate Graham, who made a futile attempt to get out of the way from close range. Goal kick.
1.11pm BST
25 min: Plenty of Everton possession, most of it sterile. Osman works a little space down the left, but his cross is way too deep. “On the subject of midtable teams slacking off,” begins Shaun Wilkinson, bringing up the subject of midtable teams slacking off, “BT Sport co-commentator Michael Owen just said: ‘It’s pretty hard to go onto a football pitch and just not try.’ Cue thousands of raised eyebrows from Newcastle supporters across the land.”
1.08pm BST
22 min: Larsson cuts in from the right and has a pop from 25 yards. The ball deflects off Barry’s toe, back onto Larsson’s shin, and out for a goal kick, many yards to the right of goal. It’s as close as Sunderland have come.
1.07pm BST
20 min: McCarthy releases Coleman down the right. Coleman slides a lovely ball into the six-yard box, where Lukaku prepares to slot home. Coates slides in brilliantly to block. The ball hits his arm, accidentally, as he zips around on the floor. It’d have been a harsh penalty to award, though you’ve certainly seen them given. The referee errs on the generous side, and Sunderland clear their lines after a fashion. “Do you think that Ross Barkley was looking for a yellow card for diving there, as part of the plan to get out of next season’s Europa League?” wonders John
Carver
Barry.
1.04pm BST
18 min: Sunderland have weathered that particular Evertonian storm. For now, anyway. It’s allowed them to launch a couple of experimental balls upfield, in the hope of releasing first Wickham down the right, then Graham down the left. Neither comes off. But it’s a little better from the away side, who have been on the back foot for the most part.
1.02pm BST
15 min: A determined run by van Aanholt down the left. He’s threatening to break into the box, and is shouldered in the back by Coleman. That’s a free kick. Or it should be. The referee waves play on. Coleman wasn’t last man or anything, it wouldn’t have even been a booking, but Sunderland deserved a free kick and a chance to load the box.
1.00pm BST
13 min: Osman snaffles a loose ball in the midfield, and plays a stunning first-time pass straight down the middle to release Lukaku. Call it a long ball if you like, but it’s perfectly weighted, a beautiful ball. Lukaku should score, really, but he attempts to round the onrushing Pantilimon on the right, and the keeper Schmeichels a save. Everton recycle the ball, Osman looking for the bottom-left corner from the edge of the D, but that’s wide enough for Pantilimon to throw some had-it-covered shapes. Osman looks in the mood this lunchtime.
12.57pm BST
11 min: Barkley earns a free kick for Everton, diving over Coates’ outstretched leg as the pair challenge for a 50-50 ball. That’s outrageous. The free kick’s shuttled out to the right, Coleman whipping the ball into the area. Wickham, back to put in a defensive shift, heads clear with confidence. But the home side are knocking at the door here.
12.55pm BST
10 min: Everton are pushing Sunderland back here. Baines scuttles around on the left flank. He gets his ankles clipped, ridiculously so, by an over-eager Defoe. Free kick, to the left of the box. Baines takes it himself, and loops it to the far post. Stones would have met it with his head, were he 19 feet tall.
12.53pm BST
8 min: Baines in a little space down the left. He slides a ball inside for Lukaku, who attempts a snapshot from six yards, but Coates blocks brilliantly. Everton come straight back at Sunderland, with Osman picking up possession on the left, dropping a shoulder to nudge the ball inside, and curling an exquisite effort towards the right-hand portion of the goal. If it’s on target, it’s in, because Pantilimon is rooted to the spot, never getting across, but the ball sails just wide of the right-hand post. Lovely effort.
12.51pm BST
6 min: Cattermole plays an awful ball through the centre circle for Coates. The big man’s got a lot of talent, but he’s never the most mobile, and can’t retrieve the situation. Everton stream forward through Lukaku, and he’s got options ahead of him, but control’s lost pretty quickly. Scrappy play all round, with a few nerves betraying Sunderland already.
12.49pm BST
4 min: This game has started at 100 miles per hour. A lot of rat-a-tat passing in the middle of the park, by both sides, several attempted one-twos with nothing quite coming off. Still, here’s to their ambition.
12.47pm BST
2 min: An early chance for Sunderland, with Wickham finding space in the Everton area down the left, reaching the byline, and pulling the ball back into the centre. Everton are light at the back, but luckily for them, Wickham’s pull-back is behind Defoe, and the home side can hack clear.
12.46pm BST
And we’re off! Everton get the ball rolling, kicking towards the Park End. Baines chases a long ball down the left, but can’t quite keep it in. Shame for Everton, because Sunderland were all over the shop at the back there.
12.44pm BST
The teams are out! Phil Jagiekla and Lee Cattermole lead their pals out, the theme to Z Cars blasting as always from the stadium speakers. A fine atmosphere at Goodison despite quite a lot of away supporters being grifted by The Man. We’ll be underway in a minute!
12.38pm BST
Sunderland won’t have a full set of fans to cheer them on today. There’s been an accident on the motorway, and many of them are stuck in traffic. However nobody can be bothered to delay the kick-off, which seems a bit rum. What difference would it make? Ah, it’s on television isn’t it, and BT Sport have some rugby to show after. The folk who pay the piper demand a coruscating jazz solo. Dance, travelling supporters, dance! Move those tootsies double-quick!
12.29pm BST
Sunderland really going for it, as they have to, with three up front. Ostensibly, anyway; no doubt tactical jiggery-pokery will lead to players dropping back in the ad-hoc fashion. Their back line is boosted by the continued presence of the SNP’s Seb Coates, and the dropping to the bench of music-hall turn Santiago Vergini. Everton name a pretty strong line up, too, so this promises to be a great match. And everyone will look good as well, classic aesthetics very much the watchword. Everton wear their famous blue shirts (pictured here in black and white) ...
12.12pm BST
Everton: Howard, Coleman, Stones, Jagielka, Baines, McCarthy, Barry, Lennon, Barkley, Osman, Lukaku.
Subs: Robles, Garbutt, Besic, McGeady, Mirallas, Naismith, Kone.
Sunderland: Pantilimon, Jones, Coates, Brown, van Aanholt, Larsson, Cattermole, Gomez, Wickham, Graham, Defoe.
Subs: Mannone, Reveillere, Vergini, Bridcutt, Johnson, Buckley, Fletcher.
11.45am BST
Just for a while back there, it looked like Everton might be in a wee spot of bother. A woeful run of form stretching from late November until early March saw them drop disconcertingly close to the relegation stragglers. But no worries: just before it got too hairy, they stepped on the gas. Roberto Martinez’s side are in excellent form. They’ve won five of their last seven, a run which has included four home wins on the bounce without a single goal being conceded. The Blues are safe and snug in mid-table, with the metaphorical cigar on, the symbolic feet on the illustrative desk, the allegorical beachtowels spread out on the connotative sun lounger.
Sunderland are in reasonable nick right at this moment, too, having taken seven points from the last 12 available. Decent form in anybody’s book. Problem is, they’ve been a pitiful mess for most of the rest of the season, and firefighter Dick Advocaat may have arrived on the scene too late to avoid yet another Premier League relegation. (If they go down this season, they’ll join record-holders Crystal Palace on four relegations from this particular division. Quite an eye opener, that, especially as Sunderland are still, in terms of English league titles won, the sixth most successful club in the country.)
Continue reading...Scott Murray's Blog
- Scott Murray's profile
- 3 followers
