Barclays Premier League & FA Cup Final Recap (May 14-17)
Blackburn 1-1 Manchester United
Well all they needed was a point and that’s what they got. Wayne Rooney scored on a penalty in the 72nd minute to equal Brett Emerton’s first half goal. Blackburn looked quite good in this game but it was always going to be Manchester United’s day. Title 19 all wrapped up.
Blackpool 4-3 Bolton
Bolton was safe in the middle table but the team they were visiting was anything but. This game would prove to be a thriller at Bloomfield Road. Kevin Davies scored the opener for Bolton before DJ Campbell came right back to level the match for Blackpool. Then after some nice movement Jason Puncheon gave Blackpool the lead but this time it was Bolton’s turn to score as Matt Taylor tied it. Still before halftime, Charlie Adam picked out DJ Campbell for another goal, 3-2 Blackpool. In the second half, Danny Sturridge made it 3-3 when he headed home from a Chung Yung Lee cross. But of course, the scoring wasn’t over and Charlie Adam led a great counter attack that led to him getting the winner and keeping Blackpool alive for now.
Sunderland 1-3 Wolves
Wolves were yet another team desperately in need of three points and they would get it while netting three goals. The first came from Joey Craddock on a volley but Sunderland would score to make it 1-1 through Sessegnon. Steven Fletcher gave Wolves the lead again before Elokobi sealed the win with a gaol of his own.
West Brom 1-0 Everton
With both of these teams easily safe, it was just a battle of positioning at the Hawthornes. Yusef Mulumbu got the only goal West Brom needed for the win.
Manchester City 1-0 Stoke- FA Cup Final
Well it was a Blue Moon Rising at Wembley. Man City has finally done, after 35 years they have won a trophy. They came out strong and looked like the best team for most of the 90 minutes. A Yaya Toure second half goal was all they needed to claim the prize. It was a total team effort and even Mario Balotelli even played for the badge. Stoke never looked ready for the occasion and City took advantage. City fans don’t care that United won the title earlier in the day because this is their trophy and they went through their red counterparts to get it.
Chelsea 2-2 Newcastle
The Blues were ever so close to charging in and winning the title and we know how that went last week. They were ever so close to finishing their home season with a win, but just as the commentator said, Chelsea was just not quite good enough. Ivanovic got them off to a great start, scoring from a set piece but Newcastle would equalize just eight minutes later through a Jonas Guttierez deflection. Chelsea took the lead through an Alex header in the 83rd but again just seven minutes later Newcastle tied it, this time it was Steven Taylor. It was a good point for Newcastle and it should keep Chelsea in second place.
Birmingham 0-2 Fulham
A somewhat meaningless game in Birmingham saw Fulham secure a top half finish with a 2-0 win. Brede Hangeland got the both goals for the London club.
Liverpool 0-2 Tottenham
Conventional wisdom said that based on the form of these two teams, Liverpool would throttle Tottenham. Conventional wisdom and it being wrong is why we love sports. Spurs came out ready and Liverpool seemed surprised by that. Rafa van der Vaart hit a beautiful shot that gave Spurs the lead and Liverpool just couldn’t find the net. Tottenham then were given a controversial penalty that Luka Modric converted. It was 2-0 and it would stay that way as Tottenham would leap frog Liverpool for 5th place.
Arsenal 1-2 Aston Villa
Oh ya, Arsenal lost again. Darren Bent gave Villa the lead and then doubled it within the first 15 minutes. Marouane Chamakh had a goal disallowed but Robin van Persie got one back but that was it as the Emirates faithful booed the team off the pitch as the game ended.
Wigan 3-2 West Ham
With both of these teams sitting in the relegation zone, each club badly needed a win. Demba Ba got the desperate Hammers off to a good start when he headed home for 1-0 and then again for 2-0. West Ham looked like they were going to get it done until Wigan started peppering the away side’s goal. Finally, in the second half it was a Charles N’Zogbia free kick that got WIgan on the board before they eventually equalized through Sammon to make it 2-2. Both teams were obviously going for it and with the game on a knife’s edge it was Charles N’Zogbia who would score again and officially send West Ham to the Championship.
Manchester City 3-0 Stoke
The teams that met for the FA Cup on Saturday met in the league on Tuesday. Man City took the lead through a world class goal where he weaved between Stoke defenders before burying his shot into the top left corner. Stoke again looked outclassed and Joleon Lescott doubled the lead with a header from and Adam Johnson free kick. All City needed to pass Arsenal for third in the league was three points and they locked that up with a third goal, Carlos Tevez again, this time on a brilliant free kick. Not a bad three days for Man City.
The penultimate weekend in the English football season was a wild one and saw teams that needed to win do so and saw two Manchester clubs claim major prizes. United are champions of the league and congratulations to them on that. Arsenal has fallen so far and Robin van Persie seems to be the only guy who tries to do anything about it. There were plenty of relegation questions left to be answered and next weekend by about 1:00 EST we will all know exactly where every team has finished. I can’t wait.
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