Weekend at the park
by briandtw on Sunday, February 25th, 2007 at 12:59pm
Robbie Keane is back in form. The Irish striker scored twice and set up a third goal as Tottenham spanked Bolton 4-1. Of course, he was later sent off with a red card for handling the ball. Cheeky or cheater? The Spurs win puts them into the top half of the table.
Middlesborough slowed down Reading’s recent run with a 2-1 win. It was a good day for pie lovers as Mark Viduka scored on a clever back-footed goal before Ayegbeni Yakubu put away a screamer. The game was never really in question, as Boro dominated play throughout.
A huge home win for Wigan against Newcastle. This game could have gone either way, but Ryan Taylor was the difference-maker with a world class free kick. He licked the postage stamp and put it in the top corner, leaving Shay Given with no chance whatsoever. And he would have clearly been man of the match were it not for 37 year-old back-up keeper John Filan. Not only did he save a well-struck penalty by Nobby Solano, but he and Given took turns making splendid saves throughout the match. The penalty was questionable (unfortunately the cameras never gave us a clear replay). And it was quite the disappointing game for Obafemi Martins, who made a mess of a number of chances. Even more disappointing was the way he disappeared from the game later in the match. The Magpies might as well have been playing with 10 men for his efforts.
The game was evenly played and tied at 1-1 when Cristiano Ronaldo decided it was time for some magic. He took a ball inside his own half that looked like any other ball, and proceeded to fly by numerous Fulham defenders to score one of the prettiest goals you’ll see all year, lifting his side to a 2-1 victory at Craven Cottage. Ronaldo looked like a Ferrari on the highway with a bunch of Yugos, weaving in and out of the Fulham defense at will. This was the rare day when Manny U actually needed the extra effort. The back line looked shoddy and Edwin Van der Sar looked like a rookie keeper when he allowed Brian McBride’s goal in. Ronaldo’s goal was all the more remarkable given the brutal injury he suffered earlier in the match. It was unclear how he suffered the injury, maybe a bad pocket of air, but he writhed around the ground in severe pain before the miraculous recovery.
Liverpool predictably dominated and outclassed Sheffield United in their 4-0 win. It looked like the Reds couldn’t help but win the game, and I was waiting for a United defender to ask Steven “David” Gerrard for his autograph as he dribbled by them. Javy Mascherano made his debut, and Tonya Bellamy got the day off, as he wasn’t even on his bench. Rafa probably let the lad take some time to work on his short game. The utter dominance was clouded by an awful dive by Gerrard. Credit Gerrard for being his own man though. He’s not following the lead of Cristiano, but rather tried his own more manly style of a flop. Instead of tripping over air, Stevie G. decided to dive into his Blades defender and tackle him. Of course, the foul was called against the defender – you were in the way of greatness, boy – and Robbie Fowler put away the ensuing penalty with ease.
Everton and Blackburn solidified their chances at Europe with strong 3-0 thumpings of Watford and Portsmouth, respectively.
