Man United holds course, QPR wins at last

Updated December 16, 2012 11:19:05

Manchester United re-established its six-point advantage at the top of the Premier League by sweeping Sunderland aside 3-1 at Old Trafford on Sunday morning (AEDT).

Manchester City had trimmed United's lead to three points by winning at Newcastle United earlier in the day, but Alex Ferguson's men reasserted its authority with a convincing display against the Black Cats.

Robin van Persie broke the deadlock in the 16th minute, deftly guiding a shot into the top-left corner after an enterprising run down the left flank from winger Ashley Young.

Tom Cleverley's fine finish, following a one-two with Michael Carrick, made it 2-0 three minutes later, before van Persie teed up strike partner Wayne Rooney for United's third just before the hour.

United captain Nemanja Vidic made his return following a long-term knee injury as a second-half substitute and even a 72nd-minute header by Sunderland's former United striker Fraizer Campbell could not spoil the hosts' day.

"For an hour, we were fantastic," United manager Ferguson said.

"Some of our football was very good and we could have scored lots of goals. But I don't know what happened after that because Sunderland could have had two or three towards the end. It could have been embarrassing."

Defending champions City had returned to winning ways with a 3-1 victory at Newcastle.

Beaten 3-2 by its cross-town rivals in a fiery Manchester derby last weekend, the champions showed no ill-effects in the early stages at St James' Park and took the lead in the 10th minute with a beautifully crafted goal.

Stand-in captain Yaya Toure split the home defence with a delicately weighted pass down the inside-right channel and Samir Nasri showed excellent awareness to roll the ball square for Sergio Aguero to tap into an empty net.

Javi Garcia claimed City's second in the 39th minute with a header from a left-wing corner, although Newcastle full-back Davide Santon made a complete hash of his attempt to clear the ball.

Newcastle hit back six minutes into the second half, Demba Ba beating City goalkeeper Joe Hart to Fabio Coloccini's hooked cross to head home, but Toure touched in Pablo Zabaleta's 78th-minute centre to make the points safe.

"The performance against (Manchester) United was fantastic," said City manager Roberto Mancini.

"We were disappointed by the result but today was difficult because after the defeat against United, we needed to restart quickly.

"We had a very difficult game against Newcastle but I think the guys today were really, really good.

"It could have been six or seven - I don't know how many chances we missed."

Queens Park Rangers ended their long wait for victory at the 17th attempt, winning 2-1 at home to Fulham to climb off the foot of the table at the expense of Reading.

Adel Taarabt's deflected shot broke the deadlock seven minutes after half-time and the mercurial Moroccan then scored a superb second goal in the 68th minute, before Mladen Petric replied for Fulham.

Liverpool was brought down to earth in a 3-1 loss at home to Aston Villa.

The Reds were gunning for a third straight win in the league but Belgian striker Christian Benteke scored twice and set up a goal for Andreas Weimann to lift Paul Lambert's side three points clear of the bottom three.

Steven Gerrard claimed a consolation for the hosts.

Liverpool's Merseyside rival Everton remains fourth after drawing 1-1 at Stoke City.

The visitors went ahead when Ryan Shawcross put through his own goal in the 36th minute but Stoke levelled through Kenwyne Jones and Everton was fortunate not to have Marouane Fellaini sent off for an apparent head-butt on Shawcross.

"He deserves to get the punishment," said Everton coach David Moyes of the Fellaini incident.

"I've seen it. It's a terrible thing to do and I expect him to be punished. It's down to the FA (Football Association)."

Norwich City, meanwhile, has now gone 10 games unbeaten in the Premier League after winning 2-1 at home to Wigan Athletic to climb to seventh.

Wes Hoolahan's 64th-minute header gave Norwich the three points after Anthony Pilkington's opener for the hosts had been cancelled out by Wigan midfielder Shaun Maloney.

AFP

Tags: english-premier, soccer, sport, england

First posted December 16, 2012 06:44:57

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TV mic holds no fears for Miron

Updated January 14, 2012 16:34:28

Miron Bleiberg has no fears of dropping F-bombs or spoiling Gold Coast's tactics at Skilled Park, but admits he is under extra pressure to entertain an interested television audience.

Bleiberg has agreed to wear a microphone which will allow pay TV viewers to hear his pre-game and half-time addresses as well as his thoughts during Sunday's match against Wellington Phoenix.

The A-League's most colourful and quotable coach admitted he felt obliged to be part of the innovation as it would help the code, especially when competitor Twenty20 cricket was doing the same.

But he knows it will bring an extra challenge on matchday.

"There's also an obligation on me to keep it interesting and make it entertaining," Bleiberg said.

"That's another burden but I'm not a shy guy so hopefully it will work well."

Renowned for producing some of the best one-liners in sport, the former Israeli naval officer should not have much trouble there.

Bleiberg also trusts himself to mind his Ps and Qs to ensure the coverage will be family friendly.

"I don't think I would ever lose my temper in the dressing room," he said.

"You can see a lot of coaches who are very nice off the field but when it comes to match day they are like an animal in the cage but that is not me."

And while Phoenix officials could well be listening in, Bleiberg has no concerns about spilling team secrets.

"I think we coaches like to make the public and the media think that there are a lot of secrets and we're in control of a puppet show, pulling the strings," he said.

"But basically football is a simple game; that's why so many stupid people and uneducated people who can kick the ball become coaches.

"It depends (more) how you prepare the team physically and mentally."

Last-placed Gold Coast will be boosted by the return of striker Dylan Macallister from a hamstring injury to take on his former side.

Wellington has its own inclusion looking to prove a point with Alex Smith set to replace an injured Vince Lia (knee) in the midfield.

Smith was released by Gold Coast preseason after it signed Dutchman Maceo Rigters but found his way to the Phoenix as an injury replacement for Lucas Pantelis on the recommendation of United and All Whites goalkeeper Glen Moss.

Moss' New Zealand keeping rival Mark Paston is in line to make a welcome return for fourth-placed Wellington, replacing English import Tony Warner, after three months on the sidelines.

AAP

Tags: a-league, soccer, sport, robina-4226, qld, australia, new-zealand

First posted January 14, 2012 10:55:58

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Palace holds semi edge

Updated January 11, 2012 10:12:23

The winner of this tie will contest the final at Wembley Stadium against either Premier League leader Manchester City or Liverpool, which play their last-four match on Thursday morning (AEDT).

A close-range header from central defender Anthony Gardner shortly before half-time gave South London club Palace a slender advantage for the second leg in south Wales in two weeks.

The first league Cup semi-final not to feature a top-flight club since 2000 was a lively contest and Cardiff, FA Cup runner-up in 2008, will still feel confident of booking another trip to Wembley.

It enjoyed plenty of possession and created the better chances, especially before the break, most notably when Ben Turner's header narrowly cleared the bar.

Kenny Miller should have scored for the visitors, roared on by a large travelling contingent, but his low curled shot crept just wide of the post.

Gardner, who was capped for England during his days at Tottenham Hotspur, broke the deadlock in the 43rd minute.

He nodded home at the far post after Cardiff keeper Tom Heaton failed to intercept a whipped-in free kick by Darren Ambrose and the ball flicked off the head of Kagisho Dikgacoi.

Palace, which shocked Manchester United in the quarter-finals, was content to play on the counter-attack in the second half as Cardiff searched in vain for an equaliser.

Reuters

Tags: soccer, sport, united-kingdom

First posted January 11, 2012 09:55:34

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