Newcastle 1-1 Sunderland

 

Super-sub Shola Ameobi equalised in stoppage time to secure Newcastle a point in a feisty encounter at the Sports Direct Arena.

It looked like it would be a game of two penalties as Sunderland scored theirs in the first half and Newcastle failed to convert one of their own in the final ten minutes until Ameobi popped up with the winner in the 91^st minute.

Sunderland were forced to have their backs to the wall as Newcastle spared no expense in the search for an equaliser.

Referee Mike Dean awarded Sunderland a penalty after Mike Williamson was found guilty of shirt pulling in the box on Michael Turner and Sunderland broke the deadlock.

Nicklas Bendtner, on loan from Arsenal, hit the back of the net from the penalty spot giving Sunderland the lead in the first half and meaning there are not the only team yet to score a penalty in the Premier League anymore.

Tempers flared throughout the match, between the players and the managers, and the slick, slippery surface did not help the wild challenges flying in.

Patience did snap in the second half and Stephane Sessegnon was shown red for raising his arm against Cheick Tiote in the 58^th minute. Neither player had the ball but Sessegnon’s left elbow was raised and push backwards into Tiote’s chest.

Tiote’s reaction was delayed and he lay clutching his face despite being caught in the chest but you can’t raise your hands and the red card was justified.

There was much made beforehand of these sides’ disciplinary records namely, Tiote and Lee Cattermole who have their share of 46 yellow cards and four reds between them. Three of those reds are contributed by Cattermole and 19 yellows by Tiote.

Both players received yellow cards today for fouls against each other. Cattermole’s came after just 30 seconds and he followed it up by getting a red two minutes after the final whistle for verbally abusing Mike Dean.

Both teams had their fair share of chances with Sunderland looking the more likely to score before half time.

Alan Pardew made one change after the break which saw Hatem Ben Arfa for Davide Santon. Ben Arfa’s first contribution got his side a corner which almost resulted in a Demba Ba equaliser.

He then almost made the different late in the game as Newcastle put the pressure on Sunderland but his shot was hit straight at Simon Mingolet.

McClean came agonisingly close to doubling Sunderland’s lead but the tame shot was scrambled away by the leg of Tim Krul. Firstly, Krul kept out Bendtner’s low shot then recovered quick enough to stop the follow up from McClean. Superb goalkeeping and it shows why the ‘keeper was offered a new five-year deal earlier this week.

Newcastle felt they were denied a penalty of their in the final 15 minutes as the ball looked to have hit the had of John O’Shea but contact was minimal.

They were finally given one of their own when Frazier Campbell, who came on in the 71^st minute to replace Nicklas Bendtner, took down Ameobi. Demba Ba stepped up to convert the kick but his effort was heroically saved by Mignolet.

As Newcastle hearts looked as if all hope was gone, the pressure eventually paid off against the ten men of Sunderland and Ameobi grabbed a winner as he smashed his shot past Mingolet in stoppage time.

Despite a fantastic effort by Sunderland to hold their lead for the last half an hour the Magpies finally broke the deadlock to share the spoils.

AC Milan 4-0 Arsenal

ROBINHO: Two goals for Milan

Former Manchester City man, Robinho, struck twice to to put an end to Arsenal’s Champions League dreams as AC Milan ended Arsenal's unbeaten run against Italian sides to an embarrassing end.

Former Tottenham man Kevin-Prince Boateng’s stunning strike in the 15^th minute put the Rossonieri ahead before Robinho doubled and then trebled their lead.

Ibrahimovic scored a penalty in the 79^th minute to kill off the game beyond doubt and in doing so ensured that he has scored in every Champions League game he’s played in this season. Ibrahimovic made a nuisance of himself from the kick-off and looked every bit the player he says he is, creating and scoring goals tonight.

Arsenal had a good chunk of the possession in the opening ten minutes but their good spell ended there. Boateng’s strike of the night from the right-hand side rattled the underside of the bar and then the bottom of the net, leaving Szczesny helpless and Arsenal were 1-0 down before they knew it.

The pitch didn’t do either team any favours but it could be suggested that the wide-flanks, where the worst of it was, would affect Arsenal’s play more than the home side.

Arsenal’s defence were at their poorest since the start of the season and Milan’s front three of Ibrahimovic, Boateng and Robinho ran them ragged.

If things couldn’t get worse for the Gunners’ back line, Laurent Koscielny, who was their best defender by far and away with Vermaelen having a torrid time, had to be replaced with Djourou just before the break.

AC Milan were troubled by their own injury problems and manager, Allegri found himself having to bring on Urby Emanuelson for the injured Clarence Seedorf just after the 10 minute mark.

Robinho made it 2-0 before half time heading home a perfectly chipped ball from Ibrahimovic from five yards out.

Half time saw changes made from Arsenal and a final Champions League appearance for Thierry Henry who replaced the lacklustre Theo Walcott.

But the change didn’t rectify the problems and Robinho doubled his tally for the night after an unfortunate Vermaelen slip on the edge of the box allowed him the space to pick his spot and smash his effort towards goal.

Arsenal very nearly got one back just after the 60^th minute when Henry and Van Persie teamed up to create a rare Arsenal chance which forced a save from ‘keeper Marco Amelia.

The French maestro flicked the ball up with his heel for the prolific Van Persie to strike it on the volley but Amelia did well to tip the shot round the post.

Szczesny’s first save came in the third minute of stoppage time when he was forced to stop a later strike from Pato. Four Milan shots hit the back of the net and the other ten were off-target.

Arsenal have an important couple of weeks ahead with the FA Cup game then Tottenham and Liverpool in the league. If they continue to perform the way they did tonight then their season will be over sooner rather than later.

Liverpool 0-0 Tottenham

Gareth Bale missed a late chance to snatch all three points for Tottenham, despite missing their manager, in what was far from a classic at Anfield.

Spurs managed to keep Liverpool at bay and neither team really deserved the victory although the home side marginally had the better of the chances but could not find a way through a resolute Spurs defence.

Redknapp failed to make the journey north, due to court commitments, no doubt, but he would have been proud of the discipline his team showed.

SUAREZ: Return spiked with controversy

The return of Luis Suarez, who came on to rapturous applause from the Kop, saw him almost make the headlines but he fluffed his header from 6 yards with under ten minutes to go but Bale definitely had the pick of the bunch with his chance.

The Welshman was through on goal after making a bursting sprint for Pepe Reina only to fire his shot straight at the ‘keeper.

A rare sliced shot from Gareth Bale near the six yard box sent a Spurs chance begging just ten minutes after the break.

The first half was also a  particularly uneventful affair with a cat making most of the half time headlines. Yes, a moggy ran onto the pitch and caused the game to stop while various stewards, and Brad Friedel, tried to catch the poor animal who was trespassing on the pitch.

Liverpool tried two free-kick takers in the first half, first up Gerard and then Bellamy both with the same outcome; the ball went straight into the wall from a promising position.

The game was scrappy all round actually with both teams struggling to maintain any prolonged period of possession with Jay Spearing and Andy Carroll looking particularly woeful.

Man of the match, Scott Parker, said: “When you come to Anfield it’s difficult, we’ve come here and got a point and that’s the most important thing.”

Suarez’s comeback was not without controversy when he kicked Parker in the box by accident, of course. He protested his innocence but I’m not sure his eyes were on the ball. Maybe the balls more like. Parker confirmed to Andy Burton that his ‘crown jewels’ are in one piece.

The one manager who was present, Kenny Daglish, said: “We are really pleased with the way that the team kept our shape, we have played the top sides and we’ve done really well.”

Despite Liverpool having the lowest conversion rate of chances to goals in the league Daglish insisted that he had nothing to worry about and a cup final to look forward to.

He remained characteristically defiant on the Suarez subject, he said: “Fantastic for us to get him back, he should never have been out in the first place.”

Macclesfield Town 1-2 Torquay United

Macclesfield were served up a defeat sandwiched in between their FA Cup ties with Bolton and now have more injuries to contest with after George Donnelly limped off with a groin strain.

The manager, Gary Simpson, was left disappointed with his team’s ability to cope with set pieces, from which they shipped two goals.

Donnelly

“The most disappointing thing is that we have conceded again from two corners. I wanted my big players and my big defenders to come and deal with stuff and at the minute we’re not doing it,” he said.

Torquay broke the deadlock from a set piece through Ian Morris who headed home a looping header for The Gulls in the 52^nd minute to score his first goal for the club.

Macclesfield’s defence were caught out again from a set piece giving Mark Ellis the time to position himself correctly and fire an overhead kick into the back of the net less than 20 minutes later.

Simpson was sympathetic, he said: “I think sometimes it’s just how it goes and we struggled today. We have one or two struggling from injuries.

“I can’t fault the endeavour to try and get back into the game and we kept going and kept going,” said Simpson.

“We’ve got a few injuries, George had to go off because he’s got a groin strain and Sam [Wedgbury] is still struggling and we have had to cancel his operation,” he explained.

Super-sub Ian Morris

Macclesfield managed to claw one back through an arrowed header from Shaun Brisley after a cross from Elliot Hewitt on right hand side as The Silkmen pushed for a point from the game late on.

Torquay have now managed four league games unbeaten now and move up to 8^th place on 41pts, worthy of a play-off place.

Gulls’ Boss Martin Ling was pleased with his sides’ tough performance, he said: “It was pleasing to show that we have got a lot of credentials going forward and a lot of character.

“They’re strong, they get it forward quickly and we had to match that but you could just see that the gaps were starting to appear and we were always likely to pick them off.”

Ling was left with a potential selection problem in the wake of Ian Morris’ good form, he said: “I’m really pleased for Ian he puts it in day in and day out in training and he certainly does the job when he’s given the chance.”