Newcastle 0-1 Arsenal: Arsenal managed to hold on to fourth place after an extremely tight match against Newcastle. The Champions League earning goal came seven minutes in to the second half when a free-kick was headed forward for Laurent Koscielny to swivel and volley on to the forehead of Steve Harper before it glanced in from four yards. The game was an extremely nervy one, but one Arsenal managed to see out. Theo Walcott did have a chance to put the game to bed but he ended up hitting the post and Arsenal had to continue to hold on. Newcastle end the season by saying goodbye to Harper who will be leaving the club after 20-years of service for The Toon.
Tottenham 1-0 Sunderland: Tottenham did what they could to try and steal fourth from Arsenal. Spurs were livid in the first half when Sebastian Larsson pushed Gareth Bale in the box, but Andre Marriner booked the Welshman for diving, meaning that Spurs would end the season without winning a league penalty. After blocking countless shots off the line and even having their post hit, Sunderland eventually tried to help Tottenham on 75-minutes when David Vaughan was given a second yellow card. Spurs did put Arsenal to the test late on when Bale scored another fantastic goal from outside the box, with a wicked curling shot, in injury time, but it just wasn't enough for them to take fourth.
West Brom 5-5 Manchester United: It's 1500 and out for Sir Alex Ferguson and his last game will be one that won't be forgotten in a hurry. It started brilliantly after just six minutes when Javier Hernandez's cross was headed home by Shinji Kagawa. It was 2-0 after nine minutes when Antonio Valencia's cross was diverted home by Jonas Olsson in to his own net. United grabbed a sensational third on the half hour mark when Tom Cleverley fed Alexander Buttner who smashed it in to the bottom corner from just inside the box. West Brom managed to pull one back five minutes before half time when Graham Dorrans' low cross was sent home by James Morrison. It became 3-2 five minutes in to the second half when substitute Romelu Lukaku guided a shot from outside the box in to the bottom corner despite Anders Lindegaard getting a hand to it. Robin Van Persie made it 4-2 three minutes later with his 30th goal of the season after Valencia pulled the ball back to him. Javier Hernandez re-established United's three goal lead on 63-minutes when substitute Ryan Giggs played a low ball in for the Mexican to tap home from two yards. Paul Scholes would also make his final appearance as a footballer late on in the second half and he managed to earn his 97th yellow card of his career. There were two goals in the space of a minute when Lukaku first broke through to score his second of the game. That was followed by Youssouf Mulumbu scoring from a pull back to make the score 5-4. Unbelievably, West Brom managed to to find an equaliser four minutes from the end when Mulumbu's shot back across goal was tapped home by Lukaku at the second attempt to become only the third player to score a Premier League hat-trick against Manchester United. Lukaku leaves West Brom on an extreme high while the footballing world say goodbye to Sir Alex Ferguson and Paul Scholes.
Chelsea 2-1 Everton: A fixture that, next season, will see both teams with a different manager at either helm. Chelsea managed to confirm third without the possibility of a play-off match and it began after seven minutes when Juan Mata tapped home a parried shot. Everton equalised on 14-minutes with Steven Naismith getting a rare goal after being put through by Victor Anichebe. The winner came on 76-minutes when Victor Moses chested the ball down for Fernando Torres to score his first Premier League goal in over nine hours. Rafa Benitez leaves Chelsea with a victory and a Europa League trophy, David Moyes leaves Everton with his head held extremely high.
Manchester City 2-3 Norwich: Managerless Manchester City end their season with defeat in Mark Halsey's last game as a referee. Norwich took the lead on 26-minutes when Wes Hoolahan's tenacity saw the ball the fall to Anthony Pilkington who finished neatly past Joe Hart. Their lead lasted just three minutes when a good interchange between Samir Nasri and Edin Dzeko saw the ball go to Jack Rodwell for the Englishman to score his first goal for the club. Norwich managed to retake the lead nine minutes in to the second half when Robert Snodgrass' ball across the box was tapped home by Grant Holt. This time their lead lasted for five minutes as City broke and Rodwell scored his second after Yaya Toure fed a long ball through for him. But Norwich weren't to be denied and it was third time lucky on 65-minutes when Jonny Howson stole the ball on the halfway line and ran all the way through the City team before finishing well past Hart.
West Ham 4-2 Reading: Reading's final match in the Premiership for now saw another typical comeback, but this time without any points. The deadlock was broken after 23-minutes when Alex McCarthy's clearance was straight at Andy Carroll, the loose ball was pounced upon by Kevin Nolan to roll it home. It was 2-0 on 34-minutes when Carroll controlled a cross before pulling the ball back for Ricardo Vaz Te to smash in to the corner. Reading pulled one back eight minutes in to the second half when Garath McCleary's deflected shot found the net. It was 2-2 two minutes later when Nick Blackman's cross was tapped home by Adam Le Fondre, perhaps Reading's best player this season. Nolan managed to make it 3-2 11-minutes before half time when Carroll played the ball over the top for Nolan to score his second. Nolan would end up getting his hat-trick three minutes from time by heading home from Modibo Maiga's cross. Despite not scoring, Carroll put in a great performance to end his loan spell at The Hammers.
Swansea 0-3 Fulham: Swansea end up holding the record of scoring this season's first goal and conceding this season's last. Way before that, Alex Kacaniklic had put Fulham ahead after 22-minutes. Dimitar Berbatov was on hand to add to his great tally this season by rounding Michel Vorm to make it 2-0 on 77-minutes, his 15th of the season. The final goal of the season came form the on loan Urby Emanuelson who tapped home after a parried shot.
Liverpool 1-0 QPR: Liverpool said goodbye to Jamie Carragher who bid a tearful farewell to the only club he's ever loved and played for. The only goal of the game came on 23-minutes when Philippe Coutinho drilled a shot in to the bottom corner from long range. It would have been extremely fitting for Carragher to end his career with a rare goal but he came extremely close when he smashed the post from a 35-yard shot. But Carragher has had a great career and he will be a big miss for Liverpool.
Wigan 2-2 Aston Villa: Wigan's last match in the Premiership comes with a draw against Aston Villa in what could have been a proper basement battle had results been different. The forgotten man, Darren Bent, had put Villa ahead after just five minutes after Gabriel Agbonlahor played him through. Emerson Boyce equalised for Wigan on 21-minutes, heading powerfully home from Roger Espinoza's cross. Wigan took the lead just before half-time when Ben Watson's shot was blocked on the line before it hit Nathan Baker and and went in. But Villa earned a point just after the hour mark when Ron Vlaar controlled a free-kick before sublimely half-volleying the ball home. It was a poignant final match of the season for Villa as Stilian Petrov had announced his full retirement from football earlier in the week.
Southampton 1-1 Stoke: Michael Owen says goodbye to his playing career after coming off the bench at St. Mary's. Stoke took the lead just two minutes in to the second half when Peter Crouch headed home from a cross against his former employers. Southampton equalised ten minutes later when Rickie Lambert tapped home from a parried shot. Unfortunately, Owen couldn't sign off with a goal but it is the end of a fantastic career.
No comments:
Post a Comment