Results update 2007

[johntheclaret]

Arsenal 2 - 1 Fulham van Persie 84 (pen), Hleb 90: Healy 50 seconds
Arsenal left it late to snatch victory after falling behind after Jens Lehmann error gifted Fulham the opening goal. Man of the match, Fulham keeper Tony Warner pulled off a string of fine saves. A van Persie penalty and Hleb 90th minute wineer saved Le Gunniers blushes

Aston Villa 1 - 2 Liverpool
Manager Martin O'Neill unhappy at Villa's self belief after opening defeat as Gerrard scores winner for Pool.

Chelski 3 - 2 Birmingham Pizarro, Malouda, Essien: Forssell, Kapo.
Forssell opend the scoring for Brum before Pizarro equalised. Florent Maloude gave Chelski the lead before Kapo's sensational strike brought Birmingham level. Essien scored the winner with a 25 yard strike sealing Chelski's win. Chelski have set a top flight record of 64 home games without a defeat, beating the record held by Liverpool for more than 25 years.

Middlesboro 1 - 2 b4st4rds

Bolton 1 - 3 Newcastle.
Former Bolton boss Sam Allardyce returned to his former club on the 1st day of the season and grabbed all 3 points placing the Toon top of the permiership.

Sunderland 1 - 0 Tottenham Chopra 90
New boy and ex Bluebird sealed the win with an injury time goal. Keane pinpointed his teams hunger for victory as the key their their impressive win.

West Ham 0 - 2 Man City
Sven Goran Eriksson got City off to a flying start with a well earned 2 - 0 win at WHU. Hammers keeper Robert Green was named as the home sides man of the match, an indicationi of the pressure City put on West Ham.

Man U 0 - 0 Reading
Reading held on the gain a goaless draw at Old Trafford despite going down to 10 men when Dave Kitson was sent off 17 mins before the end. Utd threw everything but the kitchen sink, and lost Wayne Rooney to injury at half time. Rooney will be out for 2 months missing 10 united games and 3 England games, with a hairline fracture.

Table

Newcastle 3
Man City 3
Chekski 3
Arsenal 3
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b4st4rds 3
Everton 3
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Liverpool 3
Sunderland 3
Derby 1
Pompey 1
Man U 1
Reading 1
Birmingham 0
Aston Villa 0
Fulham 0
Middlesboro 0
Wigan 0
---------------
Spurs 0
Bolton 0
West Ham 0

CCC

Coventry 3
Palace 3
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Ipswich 3
Plymouth 3
Clarets 3
Watford 3
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Blackpool 3
Stoke 3
Bristol C 1
Colchester 1
QPR 1
Sheff U 1
Charlton 1
**** 1
Norwich 1
Preston 1
Hull 0
WBA 0
Wolves 0
Cardiff 0
Leicester
---------------
Barnsley 0
Sheff W 0
Southampton 0


Carling Cup

Peterboro 2 - 1 Southampton Rasiak og 21, Boyd 26: Rasiak 37
Rasiak scores at both ends as Posh dump CCC side Southampton out of the Carling Cup. A disasterous start to the season as Saints lose two on the bounce following Saturdays embarrassing defeat.

[Dirko]

What about Derbys solid start to the season JTC !!

Man City...mmm hope Sven is off with someones wife this weekend !!

[devilsadvocate]

Morning lads.

Just got back from my first Premier League game - Spurs v Everton at Whit Hart Lane.

At 8pm I was like a kid at Christmas. At 8:04 I was a touch worried, but still pumped to be sitting where I was. At 9:15 I felt like cutting my eyes out so I didn't have to watch any more! I stayed to the bitter end, unlike about 30,000 other fans!

Everton 3 - Spurs 1.

Very disappointing, but it was a fantastic experience. Will post some pics when I get a bit of time.

[devilsadvocate]

PS Go you Clarets! - I'm well on the bandwagon JTC!

[Dirko]

DA, What's goin on ? I've got Berbatov in both of my dream teams ! Tell him to pull his finger out !!

If Derby get some points this week, jump on the Rams wagon

[Start]

Very good display from Newcastle at Bolton, watch the game on Fox, Martins was very good early as was Rosenhnal at the back. I did however like Butt's game, as he was pretty much bossing the defence around with direction an leadership.

[devilsadvocate]

DA, What's goin on ? I've got Berbatov in both of my dream teams ! Tell him to pull his finger out !!

If Derby get some points this week, jump on the Rams wagon

Very lacklustre performance by Spurs. Our biggest problem is in defence. We are pouring in goals due to 5 first choice defenders being injured.

My question is though, what's the excuse for Spurs midfield being woeful, and what's the excuse for what is billed as the league's best strikeforce not scoring goals?

Berby was held very close all night. Hats off to Everton, they're a very well organised team.

Oh, and I'll let the Rams wagon pass, but thanks for asking!!!

[dinglinga]

START - last season bolton took all points against newcastle ... looks like BIG SAM knows newcastle's weaks points and turned them

[johntheclaret]

What about Derbys solid start to the season JTC !!

Man City...mmm hope Sven is off with someones wife this weekend !!

Sorry Steve. Posted them a bit late. Mrs JTC was nagging me, think it was about 12:30am
No offence intended.

See Billy has just been offered and accepted an extension to his contract. Just don't think the Rams have enough quality depth and with no real funds available (in comparision to Pool, Man U etc), I not so sure they will make the distance

[johntheclaret]

EPL

Spurs 1 - 3 Everton
They don't learn at White Hart Lane, do they? Perhaps they never will.
And they were made to pay last night as Everton made it two out of two to go top and send Spurs to the bottom.Forget about talk of Martin Jol's "Fantastic Four" strikers, this was more reminiscent of Ossie Ardiles' "Famous Five" - a team that was supposed to be all about attack but ignored the basics of defending.
Ardiles walked the plank within weeks of the season starting in 1994 and as horrible goals from Joleon Lescott, Leon Osman and Alan Stubbs made a mockery of Spurs's top four ambitions and left Everton looking far more likely challengers, Jol was suddenly a sitting target.
Tottenham have started the season short in defence in the absences of Ledley King and Michael Dawson.
Younes Kaboul and Anthony Gardner are a partnership made in hell and last night, all the frailties were exposed after three minutes.
Paul Stalteri's foul on Mikel Arteta was unnecessary and when the Spaniard delivered from wide on the right, Lescott took advantage of Kaboul's ballwatching to plant a downward header past Paul Robinson from six yards.
A shocking start but one that committed Spurs, with Robbie Keane on the right as Jol paired Dimitar Berbatov and Darren Bent, to attack and on 10 minutes they nearly levelled. Bent read Pascal Chimbonda's pass behind Lescott and his shot brought a save from Tim Howard. Robinson had to match it soon afterwards, foiling Victor Anichebe's strike after great work by Andy Johnson, whose burst of pace also accounted for Kaboul's pulled hamstring.
The injury meant an introduction for Ricardo Rocha, increasing Spurs' fragility.
However, on 26 minutes, Lescott made the same error that allowed him to open the scoring, ball-watching from a corner as Gardner planted home a header. Yet Tottenham's defending remained a shambles, and eight minutes before the break, they were behind again.
Rocha's desperation to prevent Anichebe getting on the end of another Arteta cross saw him clatter into Robinson, allowing Osman to score.
And in stoppage time bad went to worse for Spurs. Didier Zokora's foul on Anichebe was exacerbated by a deflection to Stubbs' 30-yard free-kick which diverted the ball past Robinson. Jol's reaction was to go 3-4-3, pushing Chimbonda wide and moving Keane up but there was no real belief in the home side.
Jermain Defoe was introduced on the hour, hoping to make more of an impression on Steve McClaren than Bent.
Yet Spurs remained poor, easily cut open by an Everton side who merely had to be competent to win at a canter.

Carling Cup

Grimsby 1 - 1 Burnley
Clarets win 4 - 2 on penalties after leaving it late to pull back from a goal down in extra time. Andy Gray made it 2 goals in 2 games to force the game to be decided from the spot after Danny North had put Alan Buckleys side ahead on the 11th minute.
James O'Connor scored the winning penalty aftere Ciaran Toner blazed over the top and Brian Jensen saved from Nick Fenton Burnley manager Steve Cotterill praised Grimsby saying "they played some pretty good football and made it very difficult for us".

Swindon 0 - 2 Charlton
Alan Pardew backed Andy Reid to fire Charlton back to the Premier League after his first goal in eight months in a 2-0 win at Swindon.
Hamstring trouble ruled Reid out of the final five months of Charlton's relegation from the top flight - but he marked his return by converting a penalty.
Pardew said: "Reidy is quality and we're delighted he's back fit. He was big loss for us last season but hopefully this is a new beginning for him and the team."
Darren Ambrose had opened the scoring in the 52nd minute before Reid sealed the win.

Bristol Rovers 1 - 1 Palace
Crystal Palace crashed out 4-1 on penalties at Bristol Rovers after a 1-1 draw. Dougie Freedman put Palace ahead on 31 minutes, but Craig Disley levelled just after the hour.

PNE 1 - 2 Morecambe
Championship side Preston were humbled 2-1 at home by League Two new boys Morecambe.
Jim Bentley's early opener for the Shrimps was cancelled out by Danny Pugh, but David Artell struck six minutes from time. The keepers drop for the 2nd shrimpers goal is gold

Macclesfield 0 - 1 Leeds
Leeds avoided further misery by edging out Macclesfield 1-0 thanks to an Ian Westlake volley in the 79th minute.

Watford 3 - 0 Gillingham
Tamas Priskin set Watford on their way to a 3-0 win over Gillingham with a superb header.
But his blushes were earlier spared by Hornets keeper Richard Lee, who saved an Andrew Crofts penalty awarded when Priskin fouled Mark Bentley.
Douglas Rinaldi doubled Watford's lead and Alex Campana sealed the win on 71 minutes.

Norwich 5 - 2 Barnet
Barnet found a gap of two divisions too much to handle with a 5-2 thrashing at Norwich, the Championship side scoring all their goals within the opening 31 minutes.

QPR 1 - 2 Leyton Orient
QPR manager John Gregory refused to lay into his side despite an abject performance as they went down 2 - 1 at home in the first round of the Carling Cup.
Rangers left the field to chants of "what a load of rubbish" after goals from Jason Demetriou and Adam Boyd secured victory for League One Orient. "I'm not happy with the outcome. We didn't use the ball well and we gave it away too easily," said Gregory.
"But everyone ran around and tried their best. I don't get too excited when we win and I won't when we lose. There will be no knee-jerk reactions from me, although we have lost a Carling Cup match and it hurts. We've got injuries but we should have had more than enough to win that tonight. I wanted to be in the hat and I'm disappointed."
Boyd chased down a hopeful up-andunder from defence on the edge of the Rangers box and his heavy touch fell to Demetriou, who made no mistake from 10 yards for the opener.
And the visitors went 2-0 up when Danny Cullip brought down Wayne Gray in the area and Boyd stepped up to send Lee Camp the wrong way for his second goal of the season.
Martin Rowlands, easily Rangers' best player on the night, slid in to pull one back after 68 minutes but the O's held out to spring a surprise.
Visiting boss Martin Ling, whose side won at Southend on the opening day, said: "That's two good performances now, and it's something to build on, but that's all.
"But it's pleasing so far, it's important to get off to a good start with so many new players and so far so good."

Acc. Stanley 0-1 Leicester City
Fuming Leicester owner Milan Mandaric is ready to axe boss Martin Allen.
Mandaric has already sounded out senior players after a disastrous start to the season.
And James Wesolowski's fourth-minute winner against Accrington Stanley in the Carling Cup last night may not be enough to save Allen.
Mandaric may bring in a senior figure to work with Allen or possibly replace him in the leading role - with veteran Brian Little the favoured option. Little was a huge success at Leicester in his previous spell, but has been out of work since leaving Tranmere a couple of years ago.
Allen and Mandaric are also at loggerheads over the signing of Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink.
Mandaric set up the transfer and agreed terms, but Allen then asked the Dutchman to come on trial.
It is an embarrassment for Mandaric who claimed last night he was "backing his manager" but behind the scenes there are growing problems.

EPL Table

Pos Team........... Pld W D L.. F A Diff Pts
1 Everton.......... 2 2 0 0 5 2 3 6
2 Man. City........ 2 2 0 0 3 0 3 6
3 Chelsea.......... 2 2 0 0 5 3 2 6
4 Sunderland...... 2 1 1 0 3 2 1 4
---------------------------------------
5 Newcastle....... 1 1 0 0 3 1 2 3
6 Arsenal........... 1 1 0 0 2 1 1 3
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7 Blackburn......... 1 1 0 0 2 1 1 3
8 Liverpool.......... 1 1 0 0 2 1 1 3
9 Fulham............ 2 1 0 1 3 3 0 3
10 Wigan............ 2 1 0 1 2 2 0 3
11 Portsmouth..... 2 0 2 0 3 3 0 2
12 Man. Utd........ 2 0 2 0 1 1 0 2
13 Birmingham.... 2 0 1 1 4 5 -1 1
14 Derby........... 2 0 1 1 2 3 -1 1
15 Reading........ 2 0 1 1 1 2 -1 1
16 Aston Villa..... 1 0 0 1 1 2 -1 0
17 Middlesbrough 2 0 0 2 1 3 -2 0
---------------------------------------
18 West Ham ..... 1 0 0 1 0 2 -2 0
19 Bolton.......... 2 0 0 2 2 5 -3 0
20 Tottenham.... 2 0 0 2 1 4 -3 0

[johntheclaret]

EPL Results

Birmingham 2 - 2 Sunderland McShane og 28, O'Connor 82 : Chopra 75, John 90
Stern John struck in the last minute to earn Roy Keane's Sunderland a dramatic draw last night.
Wallace took a free-kick from the right which was parried by Birmingham keeper Colin Doyle and Stern headed into the bottom left of the goal with a minute left.
It looked like Garry O'Connor had stepped out of the Russian wilderness to bring Steve Bruce his first victory back in the bigtime.
The Scotland international showed superb presence of mind to grab the lead eight minutes from time after Keane's Black Cats had clawed their way back into a game that seemed beyond them.
O'Connor, signed from Lokomotiv Moscow for £2.65m during the summer, profited when selfless work from Mikael Forssell and Kapo ended with him working a shooting chance. With Paul McShane haring in to block, he cut inside before slamming a low shot into the bottom corner.
It seemed to have rescued Bruce's Blues after Michael Chopra had looked to have caused a wobble with an equally brilliant strike just seven minutes earlier. The £5million striker smashed a shot into the top corner to equalise McShane's firsthalf own goal.
And in the final reckoning, there was little doubt that Birmingham deserved their draw after the wholesale changes Bruce has made during the close-season.

Fulham 2 - 1 Bolton Healy 23, Smertin 26: Helguson 12
Tony Warner, Fulham's stand-in goalkeeper, put a marker down for save of the Premier League season last night.
Totally shrugging off a first-half howler, when he presented former Fulham striker Heidar Helguson with Bolton's opener, he somehow stopped a goalbound effort from Nicolas Anelka on 62 minutes to keep his team in front.
Anelka looked certain to score as he curled the ball towards the right corner only for Warner to take off to his left and turn the ball past the far post, and ensure Bolton remain pointless under Sammy Lee.
It was an astonishing save on a night when both sides went at it through the driving rain and there were remarkably few errors.
Lee was already feeling the pressure as he faced a second straight defeat after goals from David Healy, his second in two games, and Alexei Smertin gave the Londoners the advantage.
In the early stages both sides traded long balls but Bolton settled the quickest.
However, even they couldn't have expected the gift that came their way on 12 minutes, asWarner looked to have gathered Nicky Hunt's long throw. But he bumped into his central defender Zat Knight and let the ball slip from his grasp. It fell to Helguson who knocked it into the empty net.
Bolton looked to press home their advantage, and Carlos Bocanegra was called on to block efforts from Gary Speed and Anelka.
Fulham redoubled their efforts to get back into the game, butWarner had to redeem himself when El-Hadji Diouf, restored to Bolton's starting line-up, cut in from the right to shoot, but the Fulham keeper went down to his right to turn the ball away for a corner. And he was rewarded on 23 minutes as Fulham equalised.
Simon Davies swung a corner in from the right, Knight got in a firm header and Helguson could only help the ball towards his own goal, where Healy swivelled to plant it into the top right corner of the net.
And three minutes later, Fulham were in front after Diouf fouled Davies and then was booked for protesting at the decision. The Fulham wide man took the free kick himself and Bolton only half cleared. The ball fell for Smertin to drive from 20 yards, and deflected off the boot of Bolton central defender Gerald Cid into the corner of the net, as keeper Jussi Jaaskelainen dived the other way.

Man City 1 - 0 Derby Johnson 43
Manchester City broke a 780-minute Premier League scoring drought at Eastlands as Sven-Goran Eriksson's honeymoon period continued with a 1-0 win over Derby.
Newly-promoted Derby, full of enthusiasm and fresh from collecting a point against Portsmouth on the opening day, presented a rather different problem to West Ham, who Eriksson's side beat 2-0 on Saturday.
Indeed, had Kasper Schmeichel not shown the reactions of his dad Peter in racing off his line to smother after Stephen Pearson had wriggled clear of the home defence, City would have found themselves behind.
Schmeichel was only playing because of Eriksson's failure to secure a more experienced goalkeeper. With the Swede still on the hunt for new blood in addition to the eight fresh faces he has already acquired, a similar argument could be made about Johnson.
The England Under-21 international had already sent one drive searing over the Derby bar when he picked up possession just inside the visitors half and went past three challenges before laying off a pass to Stephen Ireland, collecting the return ball and effectively toe-punted home.
It might have been an unorthodox finish but it was certainly effective and ensured Eriksson took just 42 minutes to achieve what City had been attempting to do under Stuart Pearce for the previous 738.
Rolando Bianchi might have bagged a second straight goal after the re-start but his effort lacked power.
City continued to look more likely to increase their lead than Derby were to equalise, although Steve Howard was not far away with a header and Schmeichel slid out to palm Craig Fagan's cross out of harm's way.
Bulgaria international Valeri Bojinov was eager to make an impression too after replacing Rolando Bianchi, but his penalty appeal was turned down as he crashed a cross into Tyrone Mears' chest.

Pompey 1 - 1 Man U Mwaruwari 53 : Scholes 15 Sent off Muntar1 Ports 83: Ronaldo Man U 85
Cristiano Ronaldo was sent off last night as Manchester United's stuttering start to the season continued with a 1-1 draw at Portsmouth.
Pompey's £7million new boy Sulley Muntari was also dismissed after a second yellow card in a stormy finish and Ronaldo soon followed for butting Richard Hughes. The straight red for violent conduct will lead to a minimum three-match ban.
When it comes to playing in the Premier League, drama seems to remain a close companion of Carlos Tevez.
Early in this match, in which Portsmouth's Sulley Muntari and Cristiano Ronaldo were sensationally sent off, there was not a hint of the controversy that followed Tevez when he represented West Ham.
After all, his last appearance prior to this saw him score the goal against United that kept his club in the top flight and almost brought down two of the game's leading administrators amid a bitter legal dispute that rumbles on.
But Tevez was part of a United side that suffered yet another unexpected setback.
That, for the second game in succession, saw them fail to capitalise on their considerable advantage and drop another two points.
And they will also lose the services of winger Ronaldo who faces a ban after butting Richard Hughes in an ugly melee as frustrations boiled over late in the game.
Even if Fratton Park has become a difficult venue for Sir Alex Ferguson's side, here was an opportunity to ease the sense of loss that coincided with that injury to Wayne Rooney and an opening-day draw with Reading.
They were a goal in front, thanks to a 15th-minute strike from Paul Scholes that was typical of the midfielder, and they had more than enough chances to increase their advantage. Nani missed from close range, as did Tevez.
Yet Tevez played rather well. He provided Scholes with the chance to score United's first goal of the new campaign and he worked tirelessly for his new team.
In matching his creative contribution with a composed, combative display, he went a long way to convincing his audience that he could stand in for the unfortunate Rooney.
But a lack of conviction that undermined United at Old Trafford last weekend remained in evidence here and when Matthew Taylor guided a cross into the United box in the 53rd minute, Benjani was there to beat Edwin van der Sar with a terrific header.
Tevez is a grafter as well as a scorer of great goals and the combative spirit that so impressed Ferguson, and proved so valuable to West Ham, was quick to reveal itself.
He wrestled the ball off Noe Paramot with a surge of aggression before attempting to guide a pass into the path of Ryan Giggs. Tevez did not have the monopoly on desire, however.
There was an urgency in United's play that was probably missing last weekend. Nani burst into action, Scholes sent Sean Davis crashing to the ground, Michael Carrick tracked back impressively.
There was no doubting United's work ethic but they were all puff with no end product.
Until, that is, Scholes delivered the kind of finish that has been his trademark. He owed much to Tevez's vision and touch, the South American setting up his new teammate beautifully, but the shot that then flew past diving David James was classic Scholes.
With Sol Campbell missing because of a groin injury — an injury that might have ended any hope he had of an England recall tomorrow — United could sense Portsmouth were slightly vulnerable.
A second goal would have been welcome, given United's more recent record of three defeats in four visits to Fratton Park.
Encouraged by those results and what remained an excellent campaign for Harry Redknapp's side last season, Portsmouth were in no mood to concede defeat; in no mood to curse their luck after discovering that in their first six games they would have to meet United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool.
Tevez continued to show flashes of his skill and spirit. Indeed, one overhead chip that was launched in the direction of Giggs was almost perfect.
United continued to ooze class going forward, a stinging shot from Ronaldo proving impossible for James to hold and almost offering Tevez the chance to score. As it was, Portsmouth's defenders just about recovered to clear.
When Portsmouth did threaten, United were alert to the danger.
Benjani must have thought he had the chance to equalise when a loose ball fell to him in the United box but Rio Ferdinand was quick to respond and make the clearance.
Nani should have scored when a clever dribble left him with only James to beat, but the former England goalkeeper made an excellent save.
And when Scholes then guided a chip towards Tevez, the Argentine international controlled the ball on his thigh only to then blast his volley over the bar.
As Benjani then proved, it was a costly miss and one that really could have been punished had David Nugent not then squandered an excellent chance.
But in the closing stages both sides had a man sent off, Muntari for a second booking and then Ronaldo for that butt.

Reading 1 - 2 Chelski Bikey 30 : Lampard 47, Drogba 50 Sent off Cisse Read 72
Jose Mourinho made a raft of changes over the summer, but the old guard came to Chelsea's rescue at the Madejski Stadium last night.
Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba both scored more than 20 goals last season and they opened their accounts to send Chelsea heading towards the top of the Premiership.
They recovered from a shocking first-half performance, when Petr Cech gifted Reading the lead when he failed to deal with an innocuous ball into the area, to seal the points in a devastating three-minute spell.
It took Cech 100 days to recover from the fractured skull he suffered on this ground last October and the nightmare continued when Andre Bikey put Reading in front after Cech failed to catch a looping ball.
Reading had been in complete control during the first half, but Steve Coppell's side capitulated after a slick performance in the opening 45 minutes.
During that period they attacked at will. Stephen Hunt, cast as villain when Cech suffered a fractured skull here last season, was behind their bullish approach.
Hunt was fortunate to escape without a booking when he stopped Shaun Wright-Phillips in his tracks, but it is his work outside that box that is more beneficial — his deft touches keep this Reading team ticking over.
The winger, abused by the Chelsea supporters stationed behind Cech's goal, threatened every time he was on the ball. It was certainly a more adventurous performance by Coppell's team after they closed ranks at Old Trafford last Sunday, but Reading cut their cloth accordingly.
Manchester United is no place for a mauling on the opening day of the season, but Mourinho's side remain vulnerable without John Terry.
Tal Ben Haim and Ricardo Carvalho do not have the same aerial presence and they received a let-off when Ivar Ingimarsson headed wide of the target from Hunt's penetrating corner.
That set the tone for rampant Reading. With Marcus Hahnemann patrolling his penalty area, Reading were given licence to roam.
With James Harper and Kalifa Cisse hounding Lampard at every opportunity, Reading ran the show in the first half. Steven Sidwell, who received a warm welcome on his return to Reading, was full of running, but he gave away the free-kick that led to Reading's goal.
Sidwell will feel hard done by that the outstretched leg that tripped Hunt cost Chelsea a free-kick, but Reading took full advantage. Nicky Shorey, who continues to improve, launched a deep free-kick and Chelsea's defence did the rest.
Ingimarsson headed into the area unchallenged and when Cech failed to punch clear, Bikey applied the finishing touch by tapping the ball into an empty net.
The Reading defender had only been on the pitch a matter of seconds after coming on as a substitute for injured Michael Duberry, but what an impact.
Chelsea were falling apart at this point and when Carvalho succumbed through injury 15 minutes before the interval, Mourinho's side were simply hanging on.
Glen Johnson, axed from the starting line-up after his inept performance against Birmingham last Sunday, was pressed into an emergency role at centre half.
That was all the incentive Coppell's team needed and they went for broke before the break. They showed no remorse as Chelsea attempted to ride out the storm and they should scored from another of Hunt's searching passes.
Cech was beaten again when John Oster arrived from the right wing, but he hit the post with neat volley and the Chelsea keeper was relieved when Harper sent the follow- up over the bar.
It was stirring stuff from Reading and even when their defence was breached, Chelsea could not find the finishing touch.
Drogba, recovered from a knee injury to start ahead of Claudio Pizarro, skewed an effort over the crossbar and Sidwell should have turned in a corner deep into firsthalf injury time.
Mourinho attacked after the break. He sacrificed Sidwell and Ferreira, shifted Wright-Phillips to right back and sent Mikel John Obi into battle alongside Lampard. The response was immediate and within two minutes of the restart, Chelsea were level. Pizarro's header was touched on to Drogba and he headed into the path of Lampard who brushed off the challenge of Ingimarsson before burying the ball beyond Hahnemann.
That was the start of the onslaught and three minutes later Chelsea were in front. Drogba had been quiet in the first half, but there was no stopping him after the break. The Chelsea striker exchanged passes with Salomon Kalou on the edge of the area before bending the ball home.
Reading played the last 17 minutes with 10 men after Cisse was sent off for a second booking. The Reading midfielder was cautioned in the first half for a foul on Wright- Phillips and he was harshly dismissed for nipping Pizarro's ankle.

Wigan 1 - 0 Middlesboro Sibierski 55
Mido took his seat in the stands after finally completing his £7.5million move to Middlesbrough last night, and may well now be having second thoughts after witnessing an unconvincing performance from his new team-mates.

Free signing Antoine Sibierski, so many times the saviour for Newcastle last season, clinched Wigan's first win of the season with a prod from close range after Mark Schwarzer spilled a routine shot from Antonio Valencia in the 55th minute.
Two sides that many predict will have a season-long struggle against the drop, provided an entertaining game in front of 14,007 fans, including a sparsley populated away end.
Before Sibierski followed his debut goal at the weekend, Jason Koumas produced the highlight of the game, a teasing long range free-kick that required Schwarzer's full attention.
But despite fielding three strikers, including new signings Tuncay Sanli and Jeremie Aliadiere, Boro barely troubled Chris Kirkland in the opposite goal and their slack passing must be a real concern for manager Gareth Southgate.
Both teams started with attacking intent and went close in the first 10 minutes.
Sibierski, one of five Wigan players making his home debut, wasted an excellent opening in the fourth minute, shooting over Schwarzer's bar.
Tuncay and Aliadiere then combined well down the Boro right, only for Kirkland to comfortably gather the former Arsenal striker's cross.
Wales midfielder Koumas almost broke the deadlock with a sweetly struck free-kick from 25 yards that required a touch from Boro keeper Schwarzer to guide the ball to safety.
Heskey created another opening for Valencia before the break but the Ecuador midfielder dragged his shot wide of goal. Valencia then reciprocated for Heskey but the striker's shot on the turn was blocked by David Wheater.
At the other end, Turkey midfielder Tuncay had two rare sights of goal when he was played through by Julio Arca but he failed to hit the target on both occasions.
Apart from their dreadful passing, another concern for Southgate before the break was an injury to Stewart Downing.
The England winger clutched his hip after Valencia's clumsy challenge and limped off at half time but he emerged unscathed after the break.



Champs League Qualifiers

SP Prague 0 - 2 Arsenal Fabregas 72, Hleb 90
SP Moscow 1- 1 Celtic Pavluch'o 42 : Hartley 21
Toulouse 0 - 1 Liverpool Voronin 43
Liverpool's players shed pounds in the searing mid-afternoon heat at the Stadium Municipal yesterday, but were at least spared having to sweat over their Champions League future after Andriy Voronin marked his full debut with a stunning winner.
Rafael Benitez hailed the "wonderful goal" by Andriy Voronin that put Liverpool within touching distance of the Champions League group stages.
The Liverpool manager watched as his free signing from Bayer Leverkusen netted the only goal in the away leg of their qualifying tie against Toulouse.
Benitez said: "Andriy scored a wonderful goal, it summed up his qualities as a very fine striker.
"He is clever, has great game awareness and gives us so many more options in attack. He can play behind a main striker, lead the line himself, or come into the attack from the flanks. And of course he can score truly great goals like that. But we must not think this tie is over. We did a very professional job in a match played in difficult conditions. It was so hot for the players and we were having to give them water continually. But the referee stopped us throwing the bottles onto the pitch. The players had to come to the sidelines to drink, which was a little strange considering the conditions."
Liverpool will now be expected to secure their passage through to the last 16 at Anfield in a fortnight - even if Benitez was predictably cagey about the second leg.
The Spaniard added: "We must not think we are already through. This tie is not yet over, it is just one goal. We know they are a very good side who like to hit teams on the counter-attack, which is what they will try to do at Anfield."
The only worry for Benitez could be skipper Steven Gerrard's reaction to a heavy second-half tackle that saw him limp away with an ankle problem.
Benitez said: "We shall have to wait and see about that, I do not know yet whether it is a problem."
Toulouse coach Elie Baup conceded that his team found the searing heat and the quality of the opposition a problem.
He said: "In those conditions it is hard to keep running and trying to create things when you are playing against a side with such experience and quality. Our players lack the experience of playing in this competition and they found Liverpool's ability and technical quality hard to cope with out there."



Carling Cup

Crewe 0 - 3 Hull Bridges 44, Garcia 55, McPhee 70
Wolves 2 - 1 Bradford Eastwood 45, Craddock 49 : Nix 77

[Dirko]

Excellent wrap JTC...

[redden whites]

JTC................. can we have more detailed reports please

DA.........I feel your pain

[johntheclaret]

Sorry fellas'. Not been around much these past few days. Mum is seriously ill in hospital at the mo and have no time by the time I get back from visiting.

Will try to do a proper wrap at the week end.

[JK]

JTC, all the best with your ma mate, I hope she makes a speedy recovery, thoughts are with ya!!

[Dirko]

Sorry fellas'. Not been around much these past few days. Mum is seriously ill in hospital at the mo and have no time by the time I get back from visiting.

Will try to do a proper wrap at the week end.

Look after Mum JTC...Hope she is soon back up and running...

[johntheclaret]

Thanks fella's.

She is 81 and suffering from senile dementia, which has now brought on a serious bout of depression. bit worried cos it doesn't look to good at the mo. Looks like she weighs about 5 stone wet through. Off topic, I know but I never really thought about how hard it is coping with someone in her condition. visiting hours are awful. You can't have a conversation, terrible mood swings interdispersed with bouts of crying. Already, sometimes she has no idea who I am.

Back on topic. Am on a visit day off, so watching ingerlund playing Germany at Wembley.

[Dirko]

Looked like a good game Engerland maybe a bit unlucky !!

Did Ballack play or is he still injured?

Lehmann had a ripper, better than waht he's been pulling out in the EPL !

[RoosterMarty]

In the important game of the night Wales defeated Bulgaria 1-0 with gun striker Freddy Eastwood scoring the only goal. He has played one Coke game, one League Cup match and now an International and scored in each game.

[johntheclaret]

Chelski 1 - 0 PortsmouthFrank Lampard's 31st minute strike was enough to extend Chelsea's record unbeaten home league run to 65 matches and move them on to 10 points from four matches. It was Portsmouth's first defeat of the season.
It was the fourth successive match in which Lampard had scored, including England's goal against Germany on Wednesday, and manager Jose Mourinho praised his performance.
"When he plays well he is the best, when he doesn't play well he is the second best, he is a fantastic player," Mourinho told BBC TV. "But I want my team to play better," he added, "the weather didn't help, it was very, very hot and it cost us a bit. It was not a great performance - but a good result."

Arsenal 1 - 0 Man City
Manchester City goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel saved a 66th minute penalty from Robin van Persie but had no chance of stopping a shot from Cesc Fabregas 14 minutes later which was enough to secure the points for the Gunners and end City's perfect start to the season.
They have nine points from four games, but Schmeichel, taking a leaf out of his father Peter's book, nearly saved a point for City just before the end.
Like his father used to do for Manchester United, Schmeichel joined the City attack for a corner and forced Arsenal goalkeeper Manuel Almunia into saving his header.
City manager Sven-Goran Eriksson, told Sky Sports News after his side conceded their first goal of the season: "Kasper could do nothing about the goal, he had no chance of saving it. "Now and then we played really well, but now its time to see the reaction to our first defeat of the season, but I am sure it will be OK and we will go on."I can't complain about the performance. We stood up to Arsenal and I am rather proud of the way the players played."
Arsenal moved on to seven points, along with Wigan Athletic, who drew 1-1 at West Ham United, and Liverpool, who beat Sunderland 2-0 in a lunchtime kickoff.

Sunderland 0 - 2 Liverpool
Mohamed Sissoko scored his first goal after 75 matches at Liverpool - the 7,000th in their league history - to put them ahead while Andriy Voronin added the second three minutes from time.

Bolton 3 - 0 Reading
Bolton picked up their first points after three straight defeats with goals from Gary Speed, Nicolas Anelka and substitute Daniel Braaten giving them a 3-0 win over Reading.
A relieved Bolton manager Sammy Lee told Sky: "There were a lot of positives to be taken from the defeats and I did not get too carried away because we were losing. Now I am not going to get carried away because we have won."

Aston Villa 2 - 1 Fulham
Aston Villa beat Fulham 2-1 at Villa Park for their first win of the season with substitute Shaun Maloney's goal in the final minute securing the points.
Clint Dempsey had given Fulham an early lead but Villa equalised when a shot from Ashley Young deflected off Zat Knight and past debutant keeper Kasey Keller after 51 minutes.
Fulham's away-day woes continued when defender Chris Baird was sent off after 69 minutes for a second bookable offence.

Derby County 1 - Birmingham City
Cameron Jerome scored twice to give Birmingham City a 2-1 win at Derby County, promoted with the Blues, but now languishing in bottom place with one point from their opening four matches.
They are in good company however, with champions Manchester United, who play Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford on Sunday, one point and one place above them.

Pos Team Pld W D L F A Diff Pts
1 Chelsea 4 3 1 0 7 4 3 10
2 Man. City 4 3 0 1 4 1 3 9
3 Wigan 4 2 1 1 6 3 3 7
4 Liverpool 3 2 1 0 5 2 3 7
-------------------------------------
5 Everton 4 2 1 1 6 4 2 7
6 Arsenal 3 2 1 0 4 2 2 7
-------------------------------------
7 Portsmouth 4 1 2 1 6 5 1 5
8 Blackburn 3 1 2 0 4 3 1 5
9 Newcastle 2 1 1 0 3 1 2 4
10 Aston Villa 3 1 1 1 3 3 0 4
11 Birmingham 4 1 1 2 6 7 -1 4
12 West Ham 3 1 1 1 2 3 -1 4
13 Reading 4 1 1 2 2 5 -3 4
14 Sunderland 4 1 1 2 3 7 -4 4
15 Tottenham 3 1 0 2 5 4 1 3
16 Middlesbrough 3 1 0 2 3 4 -1 3
17 Bolton 4 1 0 3 6 8 -2 3
---------------------------------------
18 Fulham 4 1 0 3 5 7 -2 3
19 Man. Utd. 3 0 2 1 1 2 -1 2
20 Derby 4 0 1 3 3 9 -6 1