EPL Super Sunday: Reading vs Tottenham - LIVE Commentary

Hello and welcome to my LIVE Commentary of Reading vs Tottenham Hotspur from The Madjeski Stadium.

But first,

Yesterday's Evening Match:

Sunderland 1 Liverpool 1 

This match was played at The Stadium of Light as Sunderland hosted Liverpool. 
(MORE TO FOLLOW AFTER LIVE COMMENTARY)


This is the last match of the weekend, as both teams look for their first wins of the season.

Reading are expected to be in the relegation battle come the end of the season, so need to win points at the start where they can, especially at home. 

Tottenham are hoping for a Champions League spot this season, and a top 4 finish but they players need to gel together well with new manager Andre Villas Boas and quickly or they will drop even more points after draws against Newcastle, West Brom and Norwich.

Team Line-Ups:

Reading: McCarthy, Gunter, Pearce, Gorkss, Harte, McAnuff, Karacan, Guthrie, Leigertwood, McCleary, Pogrebnyak. 
Subs: Taylor, Shorey, Mariappa, Cummings, Robson-Kanu, Le Fondre, Hunt.

Tottenham: Friedel, Walker, Gallas, Vertonghen, Naughton, Sigurdsson, Sandro, Dembele, Lennon, Defoe, Bale.
Subs: Lloris, Dempsey, Huddlestone, Adebayor, Dawson, Townsend, Caulker.

Midfielder Gylfi Sigurdsson starts today against his former club Reading who he left in 2010 for German club Hoffenheim.

Back at Reading: Tottenham midfielder Gylfi Sigurdsson spent 5 years at Reading before leaving in 2010.

Hugo Lloris vs Brad Friedel continues, with the latter starting in goal.

Goalkeeping rivalry: Brad Friedel and Hugo Lloris talk during pre-match training.

Kyle Naughton replaces the injured Benoit Assou-Ekotto in the left-back position. 

£6million midfielder Clint Dempsey is on the bench, alongisde Tom Huddlestone (who despite a red card last week) appealed against a 3 match ban and won his case.

Reading vs Tottenham - LIVE Commentary

16:00: The match has kicked off at The Madjeski Stadium.
Reading are playing from left to right and Tottenham right to left. 

My prediction: Tottenham win, comofortably.

16:35:

Tottenham lead by 1 goal to nil, thanks to a great solo run by winger Aaron Lennon was finished off by striker Jermain Defoe inside the 18 yard box. 

On-form: Jermain Defoe scores his second goal for Spurs this season, after a good showing for England.

Deadlock broken: Defoe celebrates his 18th minute goal with creators Lennon, Sigurdsson and Walker.

They could be 2-0 up after a goalkeeping mistake by Reading's debutant keeper McCarthy was cleared off the line after a shot by Sigurdsson.

40:
Reading midfielder Jobi McAnuff has an ambitious shot from 20 yards out, it curls towards goal.... OVER THE BAR!!!

Nothing to trouble Friedel in goal.

Reading fans are starting to get excited, trying to motivate their players to get back into the match. 

43: Reading corner with Pogrebnyak probing inside the box, but Tottenham clear. 

45: The fourth official has signalled for two minutes of stoppage time to be added on.

45+2: Referee Howard Webb blows the whistle to end the first half at The Madjeski Stadium.

HALF-TIME SCORE:

Reading 0 Tottenham 1 

The home side are trailing by 1 goal to nil, with Defoe the goalscorer in the 18th minute.

Tottenham have played well in the first half, and Reading have struggled to trouble Brad Friedel in goal at all.
They have only had one shot, to Tottenham's 9 but they are not out of the match just yet.

Reading may feel hard done by because of a penalty shout which was not given by Howard Webb, after Tottenham right-back Kyle Walker handballed inside the penalty area from a free-kick.

Spurs may regret not taking more chances, if Reading get back into the match but the only danger man for Reading at the moment is srtiker Pavel Pogrebnyak. 

17:03: 
Referee Howard Webb blows his whistle to start the second half.

45: Reading kick off the second half. 

46: 1 minute into the second half, and you can already see that Reading have improved from the first half with a dangerous cross into the box, but no-one got to the ball.

48: Lennon runs into the box before a 1-2 pass with Sigurdsson is too powerful for him to latch onto and the ball goes out for a goal-kick.

54: Tottenham are probing for the second goal, but Reading are closing them down well.

57: Tottenham midfielder Gareth Bale has a shot from 25 yards out.... JUST WIDE!!! Close by the Welshman.

FACT: Bale has not scored for Tottenham in 17 EPL matches.

61: A Reading corner is cleared away well by Tottenham defender Jan Vertonghen. 


64: Reading go on the counter attack with Le Fondre crossing the ball into the box for Pogrebnyak..... SAVED and HELD!! by Tottenham goalkeeper Brad Friedel.

65: Reading are starting to press Tottenham, and the worry signs are just creeping in for Tottenham who have lost 1-0 leads in their last few matches.

66: Bale runs down the wing for Tottenham before passing the ball inside the box towards Defoe who takes one touch before hitting the ball powerfully and high towards goal... OVER THE BAR!!!

Defoe should have at least hit the target, after Bale's skillful run at the Reading defenders.

67: Reading midfielder Danny Guthrie is clutching his face on the floor....


Replays show that he got caught by Tottenham defensive midfielder Sandro while they were both battling for possession of the ball.







68: The match continues, with Guthrie reciveing treatment on the touchline.

69: Cameras show that Andre Villas Boas is talking to substitute Tom Huddlestone.

70: Tottenham right-back Kyle Walker beats three defenders for pace and skill down the wing before puling the ball back for Gareth Bale inside the box.... he shoots... GOAL!!!!!

Bale doubles Tottenham's lead with 20 minutes to go!

71: Tottenham manager Andre Villas Boas can now make his substitution in peace:

Tottenham SUB:
Tom Huddlestone ON
Gylfi Sigurdsson OFF 

73: Reading passing the ball, before Defoe closes the defender down well... he then steals the ball off him and runs half the length of the pitch before unleashing a shot towards goal inside the box...

GOAL!!! And that wraps up the match surely?! 

75: Reading looked down after the second goal went in to be honest, and Tottenham have almost certainly sealed three points away from home.

78: Tottenham SUB:
Gareth Bale OFF
Clint Dempsey ON

Good decision by AVB to take Bale off, he has played a lot recently for Wales so Dempsey gets his first 10+ minutes for his new club.

80: 10 minutes left to play plus stoppages, and Tottenham are in total control.

Reading have improved since the first half, but have hardly had any shots and Spurs have been a class above their opponents today.


83: Reading SUBS:

Danny Guthrie OFF
Pavel Pogbrenyak OFF
Noel Hunt ON
Hal Robson-Kanu ON


85: 
SHOTS:
Reading 2, Tottenham 19.


That stat says a lot about the match in truth.... Reading could have made life harded for Tottenham, if they had more SHOTS


86: Adam Le Fondre has a shot cleared off the line by Tottenham defender William Gallas. 


That re-enforces my point that Reading have been unlucky and it they had more chances in-front of goal, the score-line would not be so one sided.


87: Tottenham SUB:
Aaron Lennon OFF
Andros Townsend ON



Townsend is coming on for a burst of pace. Lennon is being rested after a good performance, running down the wings all day long.


89: Adam Le Fondre runs down the wing for Reading on the counter attack before unleashing a chip over goalkeeper Brad Friedel's head towards the far post of the goal.

Substitute Hal Robson-Kanu is lurking there and sprints to reach the ball and tap in  into the net. 


3-1 and Reading get a consolation goal at home. If only...


90: The fourth official has signalled for three minutes of stoppage time.


90+2: Howard Webb brandishes striker Jermain Defoe with a yellow card for decent.



90+3: Howard Webb blows the whistle to end the match at The Madjeski Stadium, after defender William Gallas bodychecks a Reading midfielder inside the box and the Reading players scream for a penalty...


FULL-TIME SCORE:


Reading 1 Tottenham 3

Tottenham dominated and were in total control throughout the match.

Reading will have wished that they had taken more shots because the 1 out of 4 that they took was a goal.

My Man Of The Match: Jermain Defoe

He scored twice for Tottenham, and could have scored 4 or 5. 
Was always making runs and was a danger to Reading throughout the match. 


After that result:

Tottenham have moved up to 10th place, while Reading are stuck in 19th in the table.

The pressure is slowly but surely lifting for Tottenham's new manager Andre Villas Boas but there is still work to be done, after a late goal being conceded and consistency which is needed for a top 4 finish this season.


Thank you for reading my EPL Blog.
I truly appreciate all of the support by daily views and my followers. If you have not already, do not forget to follow me for updates everytime a blog post is completed.
I will be back later next week with a UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League 1st Group Match update.

But before I leave you;

Here are next week's European matches (involving EPL sides):

UEFA Champions League (19:45pm):

Tuesday:

Group B:
Montpellier vs Arsenal

Group D:

Real Madrid vs Manchester City

Wednesday:

Group E:

Chelsea vs Juventus

Group H:

Manchester United vs Galatasaray

 

UEFA Europa League (18:00pm unless stated)

Thursday:

Group A:
Young Boys vs Liverpool

Group D:
Maritimo vs Newcastle

Group J: 
Tottenham vs Lazio - LIVE at 20:05pm

5 points clear with 7 matches to play, Race for a European place is hotting up:

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson is surprised that his side are 5 points clear of 2nd placed rivlas City.

After Monday night's 2-0 late win against Blackburn with goals from Valencia and Young.



Midfielder Luis Antonio Valencia celebrates breaking the deadlock for United against Blackburn in the 82nd minute.



Winger Ashley Young hits the ball past the Blackburn defence to double the lead, 2-0.

5 points ahead of City: Young celebrates his goal against Blackburn.

But to be honest, we knew that they would have the advantage ever since:

Tuesday 31st of January, when they lost 1-0 to Everton away from home.

Manchester United on the other hand, beat Stoke at home 2-0.

On Sunday the 11th of March, City lost 1-0 to Swansea away from home thanks to Luke Moore's header in the 83rd minute.

Meanwhile, Manchester United beat West Brom 2-0 at home.

On Saturday the 24th of March, City drew 1-1 with Stoke City at home after Peter Crouch's screamer was over-ruled by Yaya Toure's fierce 25-yard shot.


And on the other side of Manchester on Monday,
Fulham were beaten 1-0 away from home against United.


Why City CAN win the title:
They are unbeaten in the League at home.
They have deadly strikers


Why City CANNOT win the title:
They have not got any experience, and have not won the League since 1968.
Their away form has been dodgy this season.
The players are all having bust-ups with each other and fights.
Mario Balotelli and Nigel De Jong at the forefront.


Why United CAN win the title:
They have lots of experience, with 71 EPL winner's medals between the whole squad.
They have top-class strikers in Berbatov, Welbeck, Rooney and Hernandez.
Manager Sir Alex Ferguson has the knowledge to win it, having won it 12 times and being involved in the last 20.


Why United CANNOT win the title:
They are without key defender and captain Nemanja Vidic who bolsters the defence every time he is on the pitch.
Their form has been unpredictable, with losses against Newcastle (3-0), Blackburn (3-2) and a 6-1 thrashing from rivals City.

Race for a European place:

Liverpool have already sealed a place in the Europa Lerague, after their recent success in the Carling Cup.

Chelsea are the only English club still in the Champions League, facing Barcelona in the semi-final, while North London rivals Arsenal and Tottenham are fighting for 4th place..

Current EPL positions:

3rd: Arsenal with 58 points

4th: Tottenham with 58 points

5th: Chelsea with 53 points

6th: Newcastle with 53 points

8th: Liverpool with 42 points

As you can tell by the EPL table positions, it is very tight between 3 and 6th (with only 5 points between Champions and Europa League)

Liverpool will want to move as high up in the table as possible (as top 4 is not possible anymore, and they already have qualified for EL)

Newcastle are in great form having won 15 matches so far this season, losing only 8 (with most coming from top 4 sides)

FACT: Newcastle could leapfrog Chelsea into 5th place with a win today against Swansea City.

Arsenal have won 7 out of their last 8 EPL matches, and face Manchester City on Sunday in a crunch match for a top 4 spot.

FACT: Arsenal have not failed to qualify for the Champions League since the 1997-98 season.

Tottenham won their 1st match in 6 against Swansea (3-1) last weekend, and are back and ready to fight for a Champions League place next season.

Thank you for reading my EPL Blog.
If you like what you are reading and you have not already, then follow me for updates for every post.
I widely appreciate all the support from daily views and followers.
Spread the word to your friends and family (who are interested in football!).

I will speak to you all in the next post.

EPL/FA Cup Quarter Final Replay Round Up plus EPL News:

EPL Round Up:

These fixtures were the last two matches in the EPL, from Round 30 which were not played on Saturday.

Newcastle were looking for a vital three points in the race for Europe against West Brom, while Manchester United could move three points clear at the top of the table with a win over 13th placed Fulham, who are only 6 points away from 7th placed Liverpool.

Sunday:

West Bromwich Albion 1 Newcastle United 3

This match was played at The Hawthorns as 14th placed West Brom hosted 6th placed Newcastle in an important match for both teams.

Striker Papiss Demba Cisse got the away side a perfect goal after 6 minutes to break the deadlock.

Striker Papiss Cisse beats 'keeper Ben Foster to open the scoring for Newcastle against WBA, after 6 minutes.

Midfielder Hatem Ben Arfa tucked the ball into the net in the 12th minute to make it 2-0 after a great pass-and-move from Ba and Cisse was finished clinically.

Midfielder Hatem Ben Arfa celebrates his 12th minute goal making it 2-0 to Newcastle against West Brom at The Hawthorns.

Cisse scored again to make it 3-0 before half-time in the 34th minute, to show total domination from the visitors.

£10million man: Cisse scores past Foster for his 5th goal for Newcastle since moving from Freiburg in late January. 

Shane Long scored a goal for The Baggies in the 53rd minute after captalizing on a Newcastle defensive mistake, but it was eventually a consolation.

Consolation prize: Striker Shane Long gives the hosts something to shout about despite their 3-1 loss at home.

Newcastle are now level on points with 5th placed Chelsea, and only 5 points of Tottenham (who are in 4th).

West Brom stay in 14th place, only 4 points away from 8th placed Sunderland, but only 4 points away from relegation trouble also.

This shows how tight mid-table is at the moment, with 4 points seperating the teams between 8th place and 14th place.

If I were Alan Pardew, I would be thanking Liverpool right now...

£35million, well spent (and he has not even spent it all yet!).

Monday:

Manchester United 1 Fulham 0
This match was played at Old Trafford, as 2nd placed Manchester United had the chance to move back into 1st place and three points ahead of rivals City as well if they beat Fulham, at home.
Striker Wayne Rooney opened the scoring in the 42nd minute, after Fulham failed to clear Ashley Young's cross which fell to defender Johnny Evans who set him up at the far post for an easy tap-in.

Striker Wayne Rooney places the ball past the Fulham defence into the net from inside the 16-yard-box.

Lethal: Striker Wayne Rooney has now scored 17 goals in his last 17 matches, and 28 for the season.

This was the only goal of the match, however United had many chances at goal which were saved well by Mark Schwarzer.

In the 90th minute, midfielder Michael Carrick tackled Fulham midfielder Danny Murphy inside the penalty area, and he could have scored. The referee did not give the away side a penalty, athlough several replays showed that they was contact and it should have been awarded.

Controversy: Carrick brings down Murphy inside the box in the last minute, but no penalty is awarded.

Now, United are three points clear of 2nd placed rivals City, while Fulham stay in 13th place.

EPL News:

Roberto Mancini has laughed off Sir Alex Ferguson's attempts at playing mind games.

Arsenal are ready to battle Fulham and Newcastle for Southampton youngster Calum Chambers.


Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko is wanted by German side Borussia Dortmund to boost their strikeforce.

Midfielder Mario Gotze has stopped all transfer speculation for now, after signing a new contract until 2015, which will deter Mancini from a fee plus trade for the youngster.


Sir Alex Ferguson will open talks over a new Manchester United deal for Rio Ferdinand in the summer - to kill off interest from teams in America, Russia and China.

Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson last night admitted he got it wrong in Europe, but vowed to make amends by winning his most satisfying Premier League title yet.


Goalkeeper Petr Cech says Chelsea will have a "lost year" if they fail to qualify for the Champions League.

They are currently in 5th place, and if they do not qualify for the CL, Abramovich will be fuming.
He has always wanted the CL, but imagine how humilating will it be to not even be in it???

Midfielder Gareth Barry believes Manchester City must win all eight of their remaining EPL matches, if they are to pip rivals United to the title.
Even that might not be enough to win the title. Lack of experience could be their downfall, as well as mounting pressure from Roberto Mancini and the board.

Midfielder Darren Fletcher believes that he can complete his comeback to the Manchester United squad next season. The Scotsman has had a serious bowel condition.

Spainish side Real Sociedad are lining up for a £3.5million bid for Arsenal striker Carlos Vela who is currently on loan with them.

Liverpool midfielder Charlie Adam is set to miss the rest of the season after suffering lateral ligament damage in his right knee.

FA Cup Quarter Final Round-Up:

Tuesday:

Tottenham Hotspur 3 Bolton 1

This match was played at White Hart Lane as Bolton looked to move into the Last 4 of the FA Cup, especially for midfielder (and) cardiac arrest victim Fabrice Muamba who is currently in intensive care (in hospital).
During the pre-match warm-ups etc, every player and supporter in the ground had Muamba in their thoughts, after he collapsed during the scheduled match two weeks on Saturday.

Bolton captain Kevin Davies wears the 'Uniting for Fabrice' t-shirt during the warm-up, as support for his fellow team-mate.

Clap 4 Muamba: Tottenham Hotspur players applauding before the replay kicked off.

Along with us: Bolton players show their support for their midfielder and team-mate.

The match was a stalemate, until the 74th minute when defender Ryan Nelsen broke the deadlock for the hosts from a powerful header.

Ryan Nelsen's header opens the scoring for Spurs against Bolton at White Hart Lane in the 74th minute.

Winger Gareth Bale doubled their lead, three minutes later to make it 2-0.

Winger Gareth Bale fires Spurs 2-0 ahead, three minutes later against Bolton.

Captain Kevin Davies halved the lead in the last minute, to give Bolton faint hope of going to the semi-finals, before striker Louis Saha killed off the match in the same minute to make it a comprehensive 3-1 victory for Spurs.

Tottenham celebrate moving into the semi-finals of the FA Cup to face Chelsea, where they could win their first piece of silverware since 2009.

Highlights from the match (Bogdan vs Spurs):

 

Sunderland 0 Everton 2
This match was played at The Stadium of Light as Sunderland hosted Everton in a quarter-final replay.
Nikica Jelavic and a Mark Vaughan own goal send Everton into the semi-final at Wembley, against fierce rivals Liverpool.
Watch highlights from the match here:

Thank you for reading my EPL Blog.
I appreciate all the support from views and followers.
This inspires me to do better by posting more often and better and longer content.
If you like what you are reading and want to continue by reading all my posts, do not forget to follow me.
I will speak to you all on Friday, where it will be an EPL Preview and European Round-Up Blog post!

Saturday FA Cup and EPL Special LIVE:

Saturday FA Cup and EPL Special LIVE:

The quarter-finals of the FA Cup and Round 30th of this season's EPL, merged into a Super Saturday!

FA Cup:

Sunderland vs Everton: LIVE

Defender Phil Bardsley put the home side in-front after only 12 minutes, after a short free-kick was hit by him from 25 yards out into the net.

Phil Bardsley and Sunderland celebrate taking the lead against Everton after 12 minutes at The Stadium of Light.

Midfielder Tim Cahill equalised for The Toffees after taking a shot after Nikica Jelavic's header fell to him into the net from a corner - to score his second goal in 41 matches for Everton!

Midfielder Tim Cahill scores an equaliser for Everton in the 23rd minute to keep the away side in the FA Cup tie.

Halfway through the second half (65 mins), 1-1.

Tottenham Hotspur vs Bolton Wanderers: LIVE from 17:30pm

Team news from White Hart Lane at 17:00pm...

EPL:

Fulham vs Swansea City: LIVE at 15:00pm

10th placed Fulham host 11th placed Swansea in a mid-table battle at Craven Cottage. If either team wins, they could move up to 8th place. 

Swansea will have high morale after their 1-0 home win against 2nd placed Manchester City last Sunday, while Fulham lost late on at Villa Park against Aston Villa.

Wigan Athletic vs West Bromwich Albion: LIVE at 15:00pm

Bottom club Wigan host 14th placed WBA at the DW Stadium.

Wigan will be looking to push out of the relegation zone today provided that they win, while West Brom could be 8th at the end of the day (if the result at Craven Cottage goes their way).

The Stadium of Light,

FA Cup Quarter-Final,

Sunderland vs Everton:

Team line-ups:

Everton: Howard, Neville, Heitinga, Distin, Baines, Coleman,Fellaini, Osman, Drenthe, Cahill, Jelavic. Subs: Hahnemann, Hibbert, Jagielka, Stracqualursi, McFadden, Gueye, Anichebe.

Sunderland: Mignolet, Bardsley, O'Shea, Turner, Bridge, Larsson, Colback, Gardner, McClean, Campbell, Bendtner. Subs: Gordon, Wickham, Kilgallon, Vaughan, Meyler, Kyrgiakos, Elmohamady.

70: Header by striker Nikica Jelavic from 12 yards out..... COMFORTABLE SAVE!! by Simon Mignolet...

72:

Everton SUB:

Seamus Coleman OFF

Magaye Gueye ON

73:

Sunderland SUB:

Fraizer Campbell OFF

David Vaughan ON

79: 5 yellow cards in this match, 27 fouls...... Dangerous and stuck-in game. I predicted that it would either be a slender win or a replay. I should (but won't) be a betting man... :)

Let's digress for a few minutes, and look at some news:.

Manchester United striker Dimitar Berbatov is reportedly on his way back to Germany due to a lack of first-team action, with Hannover 96 leading the race.

Berbatov is actually under-rated at United... They need to give him a chance because every match he has played for them this season, he has at least scored once....

Dimitar Berbatov: Lack of first team action for the striker at Manchester United, means that he WILL leave in the Summer.

Anderlecht want Arsenal flop Chu-Young Park to join them to boost their strikeforce.

Chu Young Park: Leaving Arsenal after only one season at The Gunners?

£2million is in the works...

Harry Redknapp has confirmed Tottenham are ready to smash their record transfer fee to land £35million Lille wonderkid Eden Hazard.

Eden Hazard: The Lille winger is wanted by up to 6 different EPL clubs.... including Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal and Manchester United.

Sunderland have a big fight on their hands to hang onto key midfielder Stephane Sessegnon, who is struggling to settle in the North-West.

Should I stay or should I go? Sessegnon is wanted by PSG and Arsenal....

EPL LIVE Line-ups:

Wigan v West Brom:

Wigan: Al Habsi, Alcaraz, Caldwell, Figueroa, Boyce, McCarthy, McArthur, Beausejour, Moses, Di Santo, Maloney. Subs: Kirkland, Crusat, Ben Watson, Gomez, McManaman, Diame, Stam.

West Brom: Foster, Jones, McAuley, Ridgewell, Shorey, Thomas, Morrison, Mulumbu, Scharner, Brunt, Long. Subs: Daniels, Andrews, Dorrans, Dawson, Tamas, Cox, Fortune.

Fulham v Swansea City:

Fulham: Schwarzer, Kelly, Senderos, Hangeland, John Arne Riise, Ruiz, Dembele, Diarra, Dempsey, Johnson, Pogrebnyak. Subs: Stockdale, Baird, Murphy, Duff, Hughes, Etuhu, Frei.

Clint Dempsey and Pavel Pogrebnyak both start for the home side, along with Bryan Ruiz and Moussa Dembele.

Very strong Fulham side....

FACT: Mahamadou Diarra is going to start his first match for Fulham since moving from a free agent when he left Real Madrid last Summer.

Swansea: Vorm, Rangel, Caulker, Monk, Taylor, Allen, Britton, Sigurdsson, Routledge, Graham, Sinclair. Subs: Tremmel, Tate, McEachran, Lita, Moore, Gower, Richards.

Danny Graham and Scott Sinclair both start in strike for The Swans along with in-form goalkeeper Michel Vorm and striker Gylfi Sigurdsson. 

Michel Vorm: Has to be on top-form to prevent players such as Clint Dempsey and Pogrebnyak from scoring at Craven Cottage this afternoon...

FULL-TIME:

Sunderland 1 Everton 1

This means that the quarter-final, will go to a replay.

Replay will be played on the 27th of March at 19:45pm.

15:00:

The two 3oclock EPL kick-offs have started at Craven Cottage and the DW Stadium...

15:10:

DW Stadium,

Wigan vs West Brom:

Wigan have had four shots at goal, and it is still goaless.... 

This is the difference between relegation and mid-table....

Although I give them credit for coming out of the starting blocks quick against a tough WBA side.

15:13:

Craven Cottage,

Fulham vs Swansea City:

Full-back/midfielder John Arne Riise takes a shot from 20 yards out.... OVER THE BAR!!

Unlucky by Riise, who used to score from over 20 yards a LOT in his Liverpool days... still looking for his first Fulham goal since moving last Summer.

Goals clip at Liverpool:

15:16:

DW Stadium,

Wigan vs WBA:

Defender Emmerson Boyce takes a shot from 6 yards out... HITS THE POST!

Cleared away by the WBA defence...

Wigan are really pushing for the first goal here... That is their 5th shot of the game.

15:27:

Craven Cottage,

Fulham vs Swansea:

Midfielder Clint Dempsey takes a shot from 25 yards out... MISS!!!

15:29:

Craven Cottage:

Fulham vs Swansea:

Gylfi Sigurdsson takes a shot from 18 yards out... MISS!!

Fulham vs Swansea:

30: Cross by Riise to Bryan Ruiz who takes a shot from 25 yards out... SAVED! by Michel Vorm.

31: Shot by Swansea striker Scott Sinclair from 6 yards out... PARRIED OUT!! by Mark Schwarzer!

36: Cross delivered into the box by Scott Sinclair, finds Sigurdsson who takes a header from 6 yards out... GOAL!! 

Swansea are ahead at Craven Cottage!

Striker Gylfi Sigurdsson heads Swansea ahead at Craven Cottage against Fulham after 36 minutes.

Swansea celebrate their opening goal of the match against Fulham, courtesy of striker Gylfi Sigurdsson.

15:49:

HALF-TIME:

Fulham 0 Swansea 1

Gylfi Sigurdsson scored his 4th goal in 8 matches for the away team to put The Swans ahead at Craven Cottage. Fulham have to step up in the second half if they want to win this match against a tough Swansea side.

Wigan 0 WBA 0

10 chances for Wigan, to West Brom's 4 but no-one has been able to convert so far in this match-up.

Surely this will not be the final scoreline?

16:02:

The second halves have started in the EPL....

No substitutions at Craven Cottage or the DW.

16:08:

DW Stadium,

Wigan vs West Brom:

Striker Shaun Maloney takes a shot from 25 yards out.... SAVE (caught)!! by goalkeeper Ben Foster...

Still goalless...

16:14:
DW Stadium,
Wigan vs WBA:
The deadlock has finally been broken here!
Midfielder James McCarthur scores for the home side with a sweet finish from 6 yards out after winger Victor Moses crossed the ball to him. 1-0.

Scrappy goal: Midfielder James McCarthur puts Wigan in-front against West Brom.

As it stands: Wigan are out of the bottom three, into 17th place.
You cannot say that this was not coming... Wigan have been pressing since the first whistle...


16:17:
Craven Cottage,
Fulham vs Swansea:
Fulham SUB:
Bryan Ruiz OFF
Damien Duff ON


16:23:
DW Stadium,
Wigan vs West Brom:
Corner whipped into the box by Chris Brunt, finds defender Paul Scharner who heads the ball goalwards from 6 yards out.... GOAL!! Scharner equalises for WBA, against his old club Wigan. 1-1.

Sign of respect: Defender Paul Scharner equalises for West Brom against Wigan, but refuses to celebrate against his old club.

16:25:
DW Stadium,
Wigan vs WBA:
There has been a heated argument between both sets of players here, after a late tackle by Wigan midfielder James McCarthur on West Brom's Youssouf Mulumbu. 
Mulumbu, Jerome Thomas and Emmerson Boyce have all been booked for descent and their part in the argument. 


16:26:
Craven Cottage,
Fulham vs Swansea City:
Winger Wayne Routledge finds striker Gylfi Sigurdsson with a precise pass who shoots from 12 yards out... GOAL!!  Sigurdsson doubles Swansea's lead and his tally for the afternoon!


16:39:
Craven Cottage,
Fulham vs Swansea:
Scott Sinclair with a pass to midfielder Joe Allen who takes a shot from 20 yards out... GOAL!!! Swansea have surely sealed three points away from home after this latest goal!?




16:53:
FULL-TIME:
Fulham 0 Swansea City 3
Sigurdsson scored twice and Joe Allen also scored for the away side as The Swans move up into  place with an impressive 3-0 victory over Fulham.


FACT: Today is only the third time that Swansea have scored 3 goals in an away match in the EPL - in their history.


Wigan 1 West Bromwich Albion 1
Midfielder James McCarthur gave the hosts the lead in the 54th minute, before defender Paul Scharner equalised for The Baggies in the 65th minute, which means that the two teams have to settle for one point each.






Analysis:


Wigan will feel disappointed that they did not win and get out of the bottom three, as they took lots of goal-scoring chances but only converted 1 out of 20 taken.


West Brom will feel good that they took a point away from home and are now in 12th place, but could have taken all three today against a Wigan side who did not take their chances. You would have thought that they would capitalize on their opponent's poor run of form, but it is hard to do without key player Peter Odemwingie who was missed today.


The match was dirty towards the end with both teams getting frustrated and there were 18 fouls, and 6 yellow cards.


Fulham will also feel upset that they could not impress their home supporters and get the result that they needed today, despite taking 14 shots and not scoring. Plus, they had a very strong team meanwhile Swansea's team was just above average; with the pace of Scott Sinclair and the clinical finishing of Gylfi Sigurdsson.


Swansea will feel good, after winning 2 in a row against very decent opposition (City and now Fulham), and now will push for a top 10 finish.


17:10:
Now onto the last football action today with the 2nd of 4 FA Cup Quarter-Finals this weekend:

Tottenham v Bolton:

Tottenham: Cudicini, Walker, Nelsen, Gallas, Assou-Ekotto, Van der Vaart, Parker, Modric, Bale, Defoe, Saha. Subs: Friedel, Kaboul, Giovani, Kranjcar, Rose, Livermore, Sandro.

Carlo Cudicini starts in-between the sticks for Spurs, defender Ryan Nelsen comes back into the squad.

Emmanuel Adebayor is out of action due to a hamstring injury so Louis Saha takes his place, while central defender William Gallas starts his first match for 10 weeks.

A strong Spurs side, that should be easily able to get the job done.

Bolton: Bogdan, Alonso, Boyata, Knight, Ricketts, Pratley, Muamba, Reo-Coker, Petrov, Miyaichi, Klasnic. Subs: Jaaskelainen, Eagles, Sanli, Kevin Davies, Ngog, Ream, Vela.

Ivan Klasnic and Ryo Miyaichi both start for Bolton, which will strengthen their strikeforce and attacking flair against a strong Spurs side.

17:30:

White Hart Lane, 

Tottenham vs Bolton:

The referee blows the whistle to start the first half.

17:36:

A Bolton corner, whipped into the box by Martin Petrov, falls to defender Darren Pratley who heads the ball towards goal... hits Gareth Bale and falls into the net past Cudicini. 1-0 to Bolton after only 6 minutes, with Gareth Bale scoring an own goal.

17:41:

Gareth Bale speeds past the Bolton defence, before whipping a cross into the box for full-back Kyle Walker to put his head onto.... GOAL!! Spurs are level in less than 5 minutes after conceding! Bale repays Tottenham after his own goal and it is 1-1.

17:43:

Striker Louis Saha takes a shot from 20 yards out towards goal... SAVE! (caught) by Bolton 'keeper Adam Bogdan. 

17:53:

Full-back Benoit Assou-Ekotto crosses a ball into the Bolton 16-yard box for Bale, who heads the ball towards the net.. MISS!!

17:58:

Shot by Bolton midfielder Martin Petrov from 18 yards out....

MISS!

18:04:
Spurs corner, crossed into the box by winger Rafael Van Der Vaart to defender Ryan Nelsen who heads the ball towards goal..... MISS!!


18:13-18:55: Bolton midfielder Fabrice Muamba is down in agony.... Both sets of medical staff rush onto the pitch now to treat him...
This looks VERY serious...., now the supporters around the ground are gobsmacked and are chanting his name.
He collapsed near the half-way line, on his own without any physical contact from anyone else.
CPR is being performed.... but I think he needs more.
He is not breathing, and is being rushed to hospital.
Referee Howard Webb has called off the match.
Smart decision...

Bolton midfielder Fabrice Muamba recieves CPR from the medical staff after collapsing on the pitch in the 42nd minute against Tottenham.

Tottenham winger Gareth Bale comforts striker Jermain Defoe who is distressed by what is being seen.

Horror show: Tottenham players Assou-Ekotto, William Gallas, Carlo Cudicini and Bolton manager Owen Coyle are in absolute shock at what they have seen regarding midfielder Fabrice Muamba.

Get well soon Muamba, stay with us please.
I will pray for you.


A distressing end to a Saturday.....
I hope his family are ok and he gets better soon in hospital.


See you tomorrow everyone.
Please continue to support me by viewing frequently and following my EPL Blog
I am sure that you all will pray for Fabrice Muamba and his family at this disturbing time.
Thank you.