Daily Post

Anxiety Hanging in Goodison Air After yet Another Misstep

Everton 1 Wolverhampton W 1 IT wasn't too long ago that a late equaliser would have been met with widespread euphoria at Goodison. Yet any elation at the weekend among the Blue faithful was soon surpassed by relief that quickly made way for an overwhelming sense of disappointment. That their Wolverhampton Wanderers counterparts headed home with similar disgruntlement said much about an afternoon in which the fears of David Moyes again rang worryingly true.

Melchiot Left Disappointed by Petrov's 'Sucker-Punch' Leveller

Wigan Athletic .......... 1 Manchester City......... 1 MARIO MELCHIOT admitted Wigan were left reeling by Martin Petrov's second- half equaliser that secured Manchester City a 1-1 draw. Charles N'Zogbia put Wigan ahead moments before the interval but City levelled through Petrov just 63 seconds after the break.

Friend and Defoe As Harry Enjoys Win but Rues Red Card

Portsmouth ...............1 Tottenham Hotspur ......2 HARRY REDKNAPP'S belief that Tottenham can qualify for the Champions League was strengthened against Portsmouth but his perfect return to Fratton Park was marred by Jermain Defoe's dismissal. Redknapp was pleased with the reception he received from the Pompey fans he left nearly a year ago, and he was encouraged by a performance inspired by recalled keeper Heurelho Gomes - but Defoe's red card for a stamp on Aaron Mokoena left him furious.

Allardyce Full of Praise for Dunn

Blackburn ...........3 Burnley ..............2 BLACKBURN manager Sam Allardyce lauded local hero David Dunn after the derby victory against Burnley at Ewood Park. The midfielder picked up the man-ofthe-match award by capping an impressive performance with his fifth goal of the season.

Young Is Ideal Wing Commander - Dunne

Aston Villa ....................... 2 Chelsea ........................... 1 RICHARD DUNNE believes his Aston Villa teammate Ashley Young is a certainty for Fabio Capello's 2010 World Cup squad. Winger Young suffered a setback when he was left out by Capello for England's recent qualifiers with Ukraine and Belarus.

No Hard Luck Story As Li Iverpool Self-Destruct

Sunderland 1 Liverpool 0 NOT for the first time this season, Liverpool's wounds were self inflicted. The rogue red beach ball which was tossed into Pepe Reina's penalty area by a visiting supporter played a starring role in inflicting a demoralising third successive defeat on Rafael Benitez's side. Darren Bent's fifth-minute shot was heading straight into Reina's grateful arms before it took a wicked deflection off what the laws of the game define as an "outside influence" and flew past the g...

Burscough Miss Out in Trophy Encounter

Brigg Town..............3 Burscough...............2 THERE will be no FA Trophy run or money for Burscough this season, as they defended poorly in a manic last half-hour at Brigg's Hawthorns ground.

Motormen Don't Make Eastwood's Day!

Vauxhall Motors...........3 Eastwood Town............2 VAUXHALL recorded their first league win since August with an impressive comeback against promotion-chasing Eastwood Town.

Everton's Recovery a Way Off yet for Moyes

DAVID MOYES admits Everton will take longer to regain their top form after their inconsistent start to the season continued. The Goodison outfit were held to a home draw for the second successive home game on Saturday when they drew 1-1 with Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Price Is Right Against Memishi

DAVID PRICE doubled his professional tally at the weekend when after teeing off against Liridon Memishi for two rounds the German quit on his stool at Sunderland's Seaburn Centre. The Liverpudlian heavyweight -who claimed super-heavyweight bronze in Beijing last year - managed to get two rounds under his belt having not fought since a third-round stoppage of David Ingleby on debut back in March. His 19-year-old German opponent had battled gamely but by the end of the second the writing was we...

Froch Scrapes Past Dirrell

CARL FROCH is relishing a war with fellow world champion Mikkel Kessler after beginning his Super Six World Boxing Classic campaign with an "unsatisfying" splitdecision win over elusive American Andre Dirrell. The 32-year-old retained his WBC supermiddleweight title for the second time in Nottingham with a close-fought but ultimately uninspiring win.

Ex-Referees Hit Out at Decision

FORMER Premier League referees have slammed the decision to allow Sunderland"s winner against Liverpool at the Stadium of Light. Referee Mike Jones let the goal stand despite the fact that Darren Bent"s shot deflected off a beach ball and flew past Pepe Reina.

Benitez Refuses to Use Freak Goal As an Excuse

LIVERPOOL manager Rafael Benitez refused to blame Darren Bent's controversial goal for Saturday's 1-0 defeat at Sunderland. The striker's fifth-minute strike deflected off a beach ball thrown on to the pitch by a visiting supporter and flew past Pepe Reina.

Fildes the Hero As His Brace Seals Win

PAUL FILDES proved to be Runcorn Linnets' hero in their Vodkat League Premier Division clash at Abbey Hey who have registered only one victory this season. The Manchesterbased side grabbed a second minute lead before Fildes pounced with a second-half double to ensure the Linnets got the points.

Classy Sandgrounders Too Strong for Telford

SOUTHPORT issued a message of intent to the rest of the Blue Square North with victory at AFC Telford United on Saturday. The Sandgrounders mounted a highly-classy firsthalf performance to take a two goal lead, first through Chris Simm"s neat finish on 19 minutes and Ciaran Kilheeney"s penalty on 23, his 12th goal in all competitions this season.

Away Day Blues Cured As Beesley Hits Winner

CHESTER CITY turned in their best display of the season to record their first away win of the campaign, and more importantly give the travelling supporters a glimmer of hope for the rest of the season. City were superior in practically every department to Gateshead, and they showed a far more positive approach to the proceedings than has been shown at any stage in previous matches so far this season.

Cables Pulled Back As They Concede Late Equaliser

PRESCOT CABLES threw away a much-desired three points against a team similarly positioned in the lower half of the UniBond Division One North. Prescot's almost handed the visitors the advantage as Blacker had only Paxton to beat when he was tackled from behind by Tobin in the penalty area.

Golden Girl Tweddle's Greatest Achievement

BRITAIN'S Beth Tweddle hailed her gold medal at the Gymnastics World Championships in London on Saturday as the biggest achievement of her career. The 24-year-old from the City of Liverpool Gymnastics Club bounced back from her failure to reach the final in her strongest event on the uneven bars with a superb display in the floor exercise to win her second world title.

'We Were Outplayed' Admits Retiring Langer

DEPARTING Somerset captain Justin Langer admitted his side had not deserved to reach the semi-finals of the Champions League Twenty20 after their campaign ended with a convincing six-wicket defeat to New South Wales in Hyderabad. Somerset's top order again failed to fire as they limped to an uncompetitive 111 for seven, a total the Blues eased past with 49 balls to spare. It was Somerset's third defeat in a row in a tournament which they had started with a thrilling last-ball victory over the...

Westwood Joy at Returning to Winning Ways

AFTER three play-off defeats, two near misses in majors and an amazing 26 top-10 finishes since his last victory, Lee Westwood was finally back lifting a trophy last night. Westwood ended more than two years without a title by capturing the Portugal Masters by two shots from Italian Francesco Molinari and four from Padraig Harrington.