England round-up: Late joy for Arsenal

Two goals from Robert Pires, the second in the last minute, secured a narrow 2-1 win for English Premiership leaders Arsenal FC against Fulham FC on Saturday.

Headed goal
The champions were not at their fluent best, but took the lead in the 17th minute when Pires found space in the Fulham penalty area to head Thierry Henry’s cross into the net. However, Fulham struck back 12 minutes later, as French midfield player Steed Malbranque continued his recent goalscoring run, striking a loose ball into the net from just inside the Arsenal area.
  
Late winner
Arsenal came back strongly after the half-time interval, and created several clear chances, with Sylvain Wiltord having a goal disallowed for offside before Gilberto Silva’s shot hit the post. However, in stoppage time, Pires finished off good work from substitute Francis Jeffers, tapping into the net.

Comfortable win
Manchester United FC took advantage of Newcastle United FC’s inactivity to move back into second place, keeping up the pressure on the leaders with a comfortable 2-0 win at Southampton FC. The only worry for United is goalkeeper Fabien Barthez, who was stretchered off midway through the first period.

Fine goal
Southampton began brightly and both sides had chances in the opening stages, before Ruud van Nisttelrooij opened the scoring in the 15th minute, rounding off a four-man move with an emphatic finish. The home side continued to push forward, but Ryan Giggs made it 2-0 seven minutes later, bursting on to Ole Gunnar Solksjær’s pass to score at the second attempt and effectively secure the three points for Sir Alex Ferguson’s side.

Chelsea lose ground
Chelsea FC lost further ground on the leaders as they were held to a 1-1 draw at home by Tottenham Hotspur FC. Teddy Sheringham gave the away side the lead, but Gianfranco Zola equalised with a fine free-kick five minutes before half-time. Meanwhile, Everton FC secured their third successive league win, defeating Leeds United AFC 2-0 at Goodison Park, thanks to a David Unsworth penalty and a Tomasz Radzinski goal.

Important victory
West Bromwich Albion FC moved off the bottom of the table with a crucial 2-1 win at Manchester City FC. Neil Clement gave the away side the lead in the 17th minute, but they were pegged back by an own goal from Phil Gilchrist five minutes later. However, Darren Moore restored West Brom’s advantage 19 minutes from time, and they held on for the win despite losing striker Jason Roberts to a late red card.

Sunderland slip to bottom
Sunderland AFC slipped to the bottom of the table with a 3-1 home defeat at the hands of Charlton Athletic FC. Mark Fish opened the scoring for Charlton, before two own goals in quick succession from Sunderland’s Michael Proctor put them in complete control. Sunderland had only Kevin Phillips' second-half penalty to show for their efforts.

Late joy for Bolton
Elsewhere, Bolton Wanderers FC also secured an important win, defeating Birmingham City FC 4-2 at home. Bolton twice took the lead, through a Kenny Cunningham own goal and Henrik Pedersen, but were pegged back by two equalisers from Robbie Savage and Clinton Morrison. However, two goals in the last ten minutes from Youri Djorkaeff and Delroy Facey sealed the win for Bolton.

Match postponed
The game between Middlesbrough FC and Newcastle was postponed on police advice as the recent bad weather meant that the safety of spectators could not be guaranteed.