Daily Post

Football: Substitutes Changed Game - Curbishley

CHARLTON Athletic manager Alan Curbishley hailed the role of his substitutes in ending Everton's seven-match unbeaten run at the Valley yesterday afternoon. Both sides' 4-5-1 formation had produced a stalemate in the first half but Curbishley feels the fresh legs of Jason Euell and Paul Konchesky helped up the tempo to allow the Addicks to secure a 2-0 victory in the second half.

Football: Rovers Back to Their Best at the Bescot ; Walsall 0 Tranmere 2

TRANMERE ROVERS fashioned a positive finish to their up and down December with a polished Bank Holiday victory at the Bescot Stadium. Jason McAteer's second goal of the season and a late strike from man of the match Ryan Taylor secured Tranmere's fifth away win and put fresh impetus into their League One promotion challenge.

Football: Tactical Switch Pays Off for Little

MANAGER Brian Little was delighted to see a change of tactics pay handsome dividends for Tranmere Rovers in a 2-0 win over Walsall. Little reverted to a formation based around three centre-backs at the Bescot Stadium and heaped praise on his wing-backs and midfielders for giving Tranmere the initiative.

Football: Points Shared As County Launch Tykes Fightback ; League One Round-Up

ROCK-BOTTOM Stockport came from 3-0 down to rescue a point against Barnsley in Coca-Cola League One. Tony Vaughan's brace and Chris Shuker's goal saw the Tykes lead by three goals just 47 minutes into the game at Oakwell.

Football: Liverpool Shrug Off Ghost of Christmas Past to Look to Future ; Liverpool 1 Southampton 0

F MICHAEL Owen wanted reassuring about the decision to exchange the adulation of Anfield for a battle for recognition at the Bernabeu, then the return to his spiritual home was worth the journey yesterday. The Christmas fixture list has been kind to Liverpool this year with the Premiership's bottom two providing weak opposition for tired limbs and six welcome points.

Football: Owen Is Tipping Chelsea for Title

Football: Window a Pain for Souness - Wenger ; Newcastle V Arsenal 8pm

ARSENAL manager Arsene Wenger has every sympathy with his Newcastle counterpart Graeme Souness as he prepares for tonight's clash. Souness is already under pressure on Tyneside and the Geordie faithful will not stomach many more defeats.

Football: Job Delivers Double On Demand As Canaries Lose Concentration ; Middlesbrough . . . 2 Norwich . . . 0

MIDDLESBROUGH manager Steve McClaren praised Joseph-Desire Job's persistence after his double secured three vital points at the Riverside. Job hit a two-minute second-half double to sink Norwich in only his fourth Premiership start of the season. McClaren said: "It was a big game for Joseph because he has not had many opportunities. But he has always done well when called upon and today he got his opportunity, the pressure was on him and he delivered.

Football: Matchwinner Dickov Deserves the Plaudits Says Hughes ; Bolton . . . 0 Blackburn . . . 1

BLACKBURN manager Mark Hughes saluted Paul Dickov after his match winning effort against Bolton. Dickov, who has been a transfer target for Birmingham, eased the club's relegation worries with a superb volley in the sixth minute at the Reebok Stadium.

Football: Mourinho Admits Chelsea Rode 'Luck' ; Portsmouth . . . 0 Chelsea . . . 2

JOSE MOURINHO admitted Chelsea were "a bit lucky" to grab all three points with two goals in the last 10 minutes at Portsmouth but praised his Premiership leaders for a magnificent attitude to two games in three days. Late strikes by Arjen Robben - deflected off Matthew Taylor's knee - and substitute Joe Cole put Chelsea eight points clear at the top.

Football: Robson Hopes Fortune Will Smile Again On Baggies ; Manchester City . . . 1 West Brom . . . 1

BELEAGUERED West Brom manager Bryan Robson is hoping his luck has finally turned after his 10-man Baggies benefited from an outrageous slice of good fortune to earn a 1-1 draw at Manchester City. The visitors' rear guard battle after Thomas Gaardsoe's early red card had not won any sympathy from their long-suffering fans, who had turned on a team that had failed to manage a single corner or shot on goal when Paul Robinson launched a speculative 84th-minute punt deep into City territory.

Football: Dowie Lays Down Gauntlet to Johnson to Emulate Henry ; Tottenham . . . 1 Crystal Palace . . . 1

CRYSTAL PALACE manager Iain Dowie has challenged striker Andrew Johnson to emulate the achievements of Thierry Henry and Ruud van Nistelrooy. Johnson's 10th goal of the season - a low, 22-yard shot into Paul Robinson's right corner - earned Palace a 1-1 draw in the Premiership at Spurs and thwarted the home side's attempt to claim a sixth successive league victory.

Football: There's No-One Better Than Heskey - Bruce ; Fulham . . . 2 Birmingham . . . 3

BIRMINGHAM manager Steve Bruce has revealed he has made a pounds 1. 3 million bid for Burnley striker Robbie Blake. After watching his side coast to a fourth straight win by beating struggling Fulham, Bruce admitted he had spoken to the Championship side about the highly-rated player.

Football: Ferguson Relieved to Overcome Villa Hurdle ; Aston Villa . . . 0 Manchester United . . . 1

BY JOHN CURTISMANCHESTER UNITED manager Sir Alex Ferguson was pleased to get his side's trip to Aston Villa out of the way this season. United won 1-0 at Villa Park last night, with title-chasing rivals Chelsea and Arsenal yet to face David O'Leary's side away from home.

Football: Vics Hit and Miss ; Northwich Vics . . . 1 Stevenage Borough . . . 1

A Nationwide Conference game that had started slowly - with only two spurned chances by Stevenage's Elding and the visitors' over zealous approach to talk about - burst into life in the 40th minute. Northwich's Brayson raced on to a perfectly weighted pass from Quayle but was dragged down by defender Brady in the penalty area. It seemed a simple decision for referee Aimee Raynor to award a penalty and show the offender a red card.

Football: Chester Drawing Comfort From a Festive Fillip ; Rochdale . . . 2 Chester City . . . 2

CHESTER secured their second successive draw of the festive period at Rochdale in this Coca-Cola League Two encounter. They took the lead early on, but had to come from behind and equalised with a superlative goal from Michael Branch. In their last two matches, City have shown a performance level far superior to that witnessed earlier this month and with a little more luck they could have gleaned six points rather than the two they have obtained.

Rugby League: Leeds Target Millard Staying at Widnes Insists Coach ; Warrington . . . 6 Widnes . . . 12 Coach

WIDNES coach Frank Endacott revealed that hooker Shane Millard would definitely be staying with the club after his man of -the- match performance in the 12-6 friendly win over Warrington at the Halliwell Jones Stadium. Millard has been a target for Super League champions Leeds, who tabled a pounds 35, 000 bid for the hooker, but Endacott insisted Millard would remain at the club this season.

The Final Word: Win the Only Trimming for Anfield Turkey ; the Alternative View of the Holiday Action

F it was entertainment Michael Owen was after on his first return to Anfield, then boy was he disappointed. After Liverpool's stuffing of West Brom on Boxing Day, yesterday's encounter with Southampton was the proverbial turkey, so bad that it at times drew comparison to the darkest days of recent Anfield vintage.

View From the Stands: Title Challenge Is Losing Its Steam ; Supporters' Views of the Weekend's Games

WE might have to wait another season for the league title, chaps. Everton's relative success so far this season has been built on a backbone of doing the simple things well, concentrating for 90 minutes and remaining professional at all times. We fell short on all three counts at Charlton and paid the price.

View From the Stands: This Wasn't Good Value for Money ; Supporters' Views of the Weekend's Games

I FELT like a spoilt child at Anfield yesterday. Like some youngsters who immediately turn to the back of the Christmas present to see what other dolls, figures or games they need in the series rather than open the one they have been given, I immediately wanted more than I got from Liverpool.