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Top 3 pull ahead in tight Premiership race

February 16, 2011

By Staff Reporter

The biggest concern for the Irish at Newcastle was that Andrew O’Brien was on the bench. In the 3rd minute, Alan Shearer rose above everybody to head just over the bar.
But then in the 6th minute, Danny Murphy broke through the middle, found Shay Given off his line and the ball went into the net.
Newcastle seemed gutted by the goal and could not get it going. But in the second half the stripes were all over the Reds.
Shearer once again showed he is not finished. His movement off the ball was as usual very good. He also gave the Liverpool defense some trouble with his passing as he laid the ball off in textbook fashion.
Given chipped in here and there sending some very good long balls into the Liverpool goal area. He made some good saves to make up for the goal against him earlier on. He gets better every time he plays. He is getting quicker off his line. His kicking has improved immensely and it’s accurate, very accurate. Things happened for Newcastle but not for Liverpool.
The Reds lacked in imagination and creativity more than ever. They were boring, but they got a result. Newcastle deserved more as Shearer did miss a couple of chances and on anther day he would convert.
However, the comeback was on the shoulders of Shearer. He crashed his penalty into the roof of the net keeping Newcastle in the hunt.
At Elland Road, Leeds winger Jermaine Pennant weaved his way through the Chelsea defense after he caught Makelele in possession. Leeds went in at the half growing in confidence while Chelsea looked frustrated. New Leeds manager Andy Gray, a legendary player with the club during its glory days, looked focused. Alan Smith was putting in an energetic performance as Ireland’s Damien Duff struggled.
However Chelsea equalized through Duff, and it seemed they were okay with just that. Leeds were happy with the tie, as Gray made clear by calling from the line, “Nearly there.”
Not losing was key for Leeds as they climb back up the table under Gray.
Stephen McPhail started for Leeds alongside Gary Kelly and Ian Harte. McPhail came close with a fine effort as Mark Viduka laid the ball off. The Whites have a fresh look about them with Gray not afraid to give fringe players a start. It’s working, so far.
Chelsea’s sharing points with Leeds let Manchester United get an extra two, beating Aston Villa 4-0. Arsenal also fell short with a single point, drawing with Leicester City. The top three are tightly bunched after 15 games apiece, pulling away from the field. Chelsea have 36 points, Arsenal 35 and United 34. In fourth place is Fulham, on 25.
Discipline is a problem that Arsene Wenger still needs to sort out. On this occasion, Ashley Cole was sent off after he lunged in on top of City’s Ben Thatcher.
There’ve been quite a few reds for Arsenal now — not a good sign. In the final stretch of the game the Gunners were unable to hold onto their 1-0 lead.
During the dying seconds, Leicester punished the 10-man Arsenal. Wenger will have to address discipline on a weekly basis if his Arsenal is going to win the title. Once back to a full squad they are going to be tough to beat if they get their composure right. However some United fans have question marks over Arsenal.
Ronan Wise from New York believes the Red Devils will win the title. “After the 1-1 draw Arsenal were jumping around with the result. It meant a lot to them to get that result. For United it did not mean as much. They know they should have done better. They will be a better team when Paul Scholes comes back in full swing. Les Brown will also help,” said Wise.
“If Alex Ferguson keeps using Roy Keane for big games and if Keane keeps playing the up the form he’s in, he’s still the best. We do not see what Keane does off the ball on TV. His passing is good. Rarely does he lose the ball,” Wise concluded.
Arguably, though, the battle at the top has only just begun. Liverpool has not gone away just yet and Newcastle looks like they are ready to play some attacking football. The holiday season, as usual, will test the depth of the top three sides.
The struggle at the bottom of the table is also taking shape. Villa was humiliated with two late goals by Diego Forlan. Ruud van Nistelrooy poached the other couple of strikes. A big win for the Red Devils given the slip ups by Chelsea and Arsenal. But Villa and David O’Leary are in survival mode.
Despite Villa’s desperation, O’Leary did have a few words to say about the top teams.
“There is little to choose between United, Chelsea and Arsenal after playing all three teams. They are all good footballing teams. That’s the nice thing,” continued the Villa manager. “It will be very tight.”
That’s the last of O’Leary on the table toppers. He has to start getting his players to believe now. He has already told them that they are not quite there. How about just winning a game Mr. O’Leary?
“We didn’t deserve anything today,” O’Leary said. “My players are a wonderful bunch who try to do their best on the training ground. They are honest but against United we weren’t good enough. I couldn’t ask any more from them in terms of effort.”
We expect O’Leary to take some of the blame here on this one. We are sure he does. The Villa boss admitted his agenda was to survive as he enters the relegation zone.
The Irish are very much involved on both ends of the table with Pat Rice still tapping away behind the scenes for Arsenal. Duff, who eventually scored for Chelsea against Leeds, and Roy Keane are doing exceptionally well while critical eyes are on O’Leary as his EPL challenge has materialized.
But one story that grows steadily is the progress of Robbie Keane’s career. In the 28th minute, the Irish striker opened up against his old club Wolves. Then in the 74th and 82nd minutes Keane hit a hat-trick, prompting David Pleat to say he was delighted. And that’s exactly what Keane is: a delight to watch.

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