Today I can watch my lowest ranking team, Lewes Ladies, as they are live on TheFA Player against London Bees. I hope they produce some entertaining football.
Sunday 28 March 2021
Saturday 27 March 2021
WSL:Arsenal(A)Tottenham
Saturday 27th March
Tottenham Hotspur 0 Arsenal 3
always good against the old enemy
From the BBC Sport website:
Arsenal swept aside north London rivals Tottenham Hotspur to record a fourth successive Women's Super League win.
Caitlin Foord's composed finish and Vivianne Miedema's brilliant volley put the Gunners in command before the break at an empty Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Katie McCabe capped a dominant display in which Arsenal mustered 26 efforts on goal when she pounced on a second-half defensive error to slot home.
The Gunners remain fourth, three points adrift of Manchester United in third.
But victory over Spurs means Arsenal's hopes of sealing the third Champions League place is still in their own hands as they have a game in hand over United - and, just as crucially, a far superior goal difference.
Finishing in the top three had looked a long shot for Joe Montemurro's side at the beginning of February, but a run of three losses in four for United and Arsenal's own resurgence has put them back in the mix.
They looked back to near their best against their fiercest rivals, with Miedema producing a typically swaggering, influential display which culminated in her superbly guiding McCabe's corner into the roof of the net.
Foord had already put the away side in front by then, calmly finding the bottom corner after a clever one-two with Noelle Maritz.
England midfielder Jordan Nobbs was also twice denied by goalkeeper Becky Spencer from the edge of the area before the interval, while Danielle van de Donk tamely shot straight at Spencer from 10 yards out.
But, 16 months on from these two teams meeting in the WSL for the first time in front of a league record 38,262 fans at the same ground, McCabe eventually added further gloss to the scoreline with another cool finish.
Tottenham, who came closest to a consolation goal when Manuela Zinsberger kept out Angela Addison's close-range attempt, remain eighth in the table.
L1:Plymouth(A)Blackpool
Saturday 27th March
Blackpool 2 Plymouth Argyle 2
From the BBC Sport website:
Joe Edwards scored in injury-time as Plymouth Argyle came back from two goals down to draw with Blackpool.
The Seasiders looked set for all three points after Sullay Kaikai's strike and Jerry Yates' 17th goal of the season cancelled out Ryan Hardie's early opener.
But Je Edwards pegged them back with an equaliser in the first minute of time added on.
Argyle started strongly, with Niall Ennis hitting a post after eight minutes.
Former Blackpool forward Hardie scored his 50th career goal when he fired home a rebound in the 12th minute after Ennis had again hit the woodwork.
Hardie, Edwards and Conor Grant all saw chances go begging as the visitors kept up the pressure.
But the Seasiders came out after half-time with a point to prove and levelled when Kaikai bundled home after a ricochet dropped kindly for him after 47 minutes.
Yates put the hosts ahead with a 64th-minute penalty after Demetri Mitchell was bundled over by Adam Lewis.
But Argyle snatched a point when Edwards picked out of the bottom corner at the end.
L2:Exeter(H)SalfordCity
Saturday 27th March
Exeter City 1 Salford City 0
From the BBC Sport website:
Exeter halted a run of three successive defeats as Gary Bowyer's first game in charge of Salford ended in a 1-0 loss at St James Park.
Matt Jay netted the only goal of a game where chances were few and far between.
Salford started well and came close to scoring when Ian Henderson cut inside Alex Hartridge and fired against the underside of the crossbar. James Wilson turned the rebound goalwards but was denied by Rory McArdle's excellent goal-line clearance.
Exeter thought they should have had a penalty when Jay's cross appeared to be handled, but nothing was given.
However, City's top scorer broke the deadlock on 34 minutes when he followed in a blocked Jake Taylor shot and tapped in the loose ball.
The second half was more attritional with few chances at either end. Salford saw more of the ball but struggled to test Jokull Andresson in the Exeter goal, while the hosts seemed content to sit in, contain and play on the break.
Salford's Brandon Thomas-Asante did have one effort at goal, which Andresson saved with his foot, but Exeter defended superbly and were good value for an important win.
NL:Weymouth(A)Chesterfield
Saturday 27th March
Chesterfield 1 Weymouth 0
From the BBC Sport website:
Tom Whelan scored the winner against his former club as Chesterfield saw off Weymouth 1-0 in the National League.
Weymouth goalkeeper Ethan Ross turned an early Akwasi Asante shot onto the post before Chesterfield lost captain Laurence Maguire, brother of England defender Harry, to injury.
Ross denied Asante once more but the Spireites took a half-time lead through Whelan's 38th-minute strike.
Weymouth were denied as they claimed the ball had crossed the line from Ben Thomson's header off the underside of the bar, while Ollie Harfield cleared a Chesterfield effort off the line in a goalmouth scramble at the other end.
Chesterfield substitute Liam Mandeville went close to creating a second, for George Carline, or scoring one himself but a solitary goal proved enough as they moved into seventh.
L2:Exeter(A)OldhamAthletic
Tuesday 23rd March
Oldham Athletic 2 Exeter City 1
From the BBC Sport website:
Keith Curle presided over his first win as Oldham boss as his side hung on to beat League Two promotion hopefuls Exeter 2-1.
The visitors piled on the pressure in the latter stages, but ultimately slid to a third straight defeat.
Exeter went close early on when Matt Jay rose to meet Jake Taylor's cross only to glance a header over the top.
Just before the half-hour mark Exeter midfielder Nigel Atangana planted a free header over the top.
Oldham had been second best but they went in front in the 35th minute.
Skipper Nicky Adams swung over a super cross for defender Kyle Jameson and he powerfully headed home his first league goal.
Shortly after the restart Oldham goalkeeper Laurie Walker produced a brilliant save to push Archie Collins' shot onto the crossbar.
The hosts then went two clear when Alfie McCalmont volleyed home from 20 yards after Adams' cross was not cleared.
Exeter halved the deficit when Jack Sparkes swept home Robbie Willmott's cross, before substitute Ben Seymour's strike hit a post.
However, Oldham hung on to seal a first win in seven matches.
PL:Arsenal(A)WestHamUnited
Sunday 21st March
West Ham United 3 Arsenal 3
From the BBC Sport website:
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said his side's performance will "give me nightmares" after the Gunners came from 3-0 down to draw with West Ham in the Premier League.
The Hammers raced into a three-goal lead at London Stadium through Jesse Lingard, Jarrod Bowen and Tomas Soucek, who touched in a Michail Antonio header.
But forward Alexandre Lacazette headed a late equaliser after own goals from Soucek and Craig Dawson set up an unlikely comeback.
"This game is going to give me a few nightmares because it is really difficult to stop some of the things we have been doing to hurt ourselves." Arteta told BBC Sport.
The result leaves the Hammers fifth, two points behind fourth-placed Chelsea, while Arsenal move above Aston Villa into ninth.
'We cannot have two faces'
Arteta was full of praise for his side's second-half performance, declaring it "the best [Arsenal have] played all season".
At 3-0 down, Arsenal looked almost certain to lose further ground in the race for European places.
Lacazette gave the Gunners hope when found the net with a volley which took a deflection off Soucek for Arsenal's opener just before the break.
And Dawson turned in Calum Chambers' cross in the 61st minute to further cut the deficit, before the France striker rose highest to level the game late on after good work from Nicolas Pepe.
"That is the level we can show," Arteta added. "We could have scored six or seven goals and won the game, but we cannot have two faces.
"We stuck to the plan we had because we were getting further away from it. We had the belief we could do something."
A defeat would have opened up a 10-point gap between the two sides and arguably ended Arsenal's hopes of qualifying for a European competition through a top-six finish.
And while questions will be asked about their poor first-half performance, Arteta will take heart from his side's superb reaction against a disciplined West Ham.
'Still a good point'
When they led 3-0, David Moyes' West Ham looked certain to finish the day level on points with Chelsea.
"It's still a good point," Moyes told BBC Sport. "It would have been nice to take another two points but we haven't lost too much ground today."
Manchester United loanee Lingard opened the scoring with a stunning volley and just 98 seconds later set up Bowen with a quick free-kick, as the winger's strike went through Arsenal keeper Bernd Leno.
Soucek seemed to have given West Ham total control but even as Arsenal's comeback picked up steam, the hosts created regular openings.
Antonio diverted Said Benrahma's cross on to the base of the post and Arsenal defender Kieran Tierney blocked a goal-bound effort from Bowen with the score at 3-2.
"We were playing a really good team," added Moyes. "Sometimes people forget what we're up against. We had chances to move out of sight but we weren't able to take them."
West Ham have not finished above Arsenal in the league since 1985-86, but remain seven points ahead of the Gunners.
A European place in any form would be a significant achievement for a club that finished only five points clear of the relegation zone last season. Despite the disappointment of dropping two points on Sunday, a top-four finish remains a possibility with nine games to go.
Another own goal double benefits Arsenal - the stats
- West Ham failed to win after being three goals ahead in a Premier League game for the first time since September 1998 (4-3 defeat against Wimbledon).
- This was the third time in the Premier League this season a team has led by three goals and failed to win (also West Brom 3-3 Chelsea and Spurs 3-3 West Ham) - the most instances in a single Premier League campaign since 2010-11 (also three).
- West Ham have only won one of their past 11 games against Arsenal in the league (D3 L7), failing to win any of their four meetings in the past two campaigns (D1 L3).
- This match against Arsenal (32 minutes) was the earliest from the start of a Premier League match that West Ham have scored three goals since May 2007 against Bolton (29 minutes).
- Jesse Lingard scored his fifth goal against Arsenal in all competitions - the most he has netted against any opponent in his professional career.
- West Ham are the first team to score two own goals in a single Premier League game since Swansea in January 2017, which was also against Arsenal.
What's next?
West Ham travel to Wolves on Monday, 5 April (20:15 BST) after the international break in the Premier League, while Arsenal host Liverpool on Sunday, 4 April (16:30 BST).
CH:Brentford(H)NottinghamForest
Saturday 20th March
Brentford 1 Nottingham Forest 1
From the BBC Sport website:
Brentford missed the chance to make ground on the Championship's automatic promotion places after Nottingham Forest deservedly gained a point.
The draw at the Brentford Community Stadium leaves the Bees seven points behind Watford in second, who beat Birmingham 3-0 later on Saturday.
Ivan Toney rolled in the opener nonchalantly from the penalty spot, his 28th league goal of the season, after Gaetan Bong dragged down the Bees striker in the box.
It came in a half in which the hosts had the better of the chances, with Bryan Mbeumo dragging wide, but Forest dominated possession despite their inability to truly test David Raya.
The second half continued in a similar theme, with Thomas Frank's promotion chasers having less of the ball but coming closest, particularly when Mbeumo was only denied a tap-in by Bong's block.
Their luck eventually ran out as Forest got reward for consistent pressure when Filip Krovinovic stroked in an equaliser, after Brentford defender Winston Reid failed to clear Bong's cross, despite Cafu seeming to bundle over Mathias Jensen in midfield in the build-up.
Substitute Saman Ghoddos cracked a shot just wide as the Bees sought a winner, while Cyrus Christie's deflected half-volley had Raya scrambling and stretching but it soared just wide.
Christie denied Brentford a winner with a stunning last-gasp block to foil Tariqe Fosu in the final minutes.
Forest are now 10 points clear of Rotherham in 22nd place, although the Millers do have a number of games in hand on sides above them after Covid-19-related postponements.
Brentford have now dropped 18 points from winning positions this season and for the second time in the week, after Derby came back from 2-0 down on Tuesday to draw.
Even with Toney stretching his lead as the Championship's top scorer, Brentford could not break down the Forest defence from then on.
They seemed to lack some of their early-season swagger, although the movement of their fluid front line of Toney, Mbeumo and Sergi Canos caused problems for the visitors' defence when they did get the ball in dangerous areas.
Forest's goalscoring troubles have been a root cause of their struggles with just 29 to their name before today and that blunt-edged attack looked like it might cost them after a wealth of possession.
James Garner was impressive as the anchor in midfield and Alex Mighten was a threat out wide, but Lewis Grabban - up top on his own - at times looked isolated.
Krovinovic's goal was no less than Chris Hughton's side merited, but their focus moving forward will be to add a potent threat to their patient play.
Brentford boss Thomas Frank told BBC Radio London:
"I like to put what was right, this was close to a spotless performance in every aspect, we defended well, created chances, pressed forward and first half we should have been 2-0 up.
"We learned from the last game (against Derby) in midweek, we always say 'win or learn' and we learned. We came out more aggressive and created huge counter-attacking chances and opportunities.
"But we didn't score, and they got the equaliser and there are a few bits we need to do better. The second ball dropped perfectly for Krovinovic whereas when the ball dropped for Henrik Dalsgaard at the other end he put it wide. We need to look at the performance and that was spot on today.
"We have to say calm, the reality is this game if we played it nine more times we'd probably win."
Nottingham Forest boss Chris Hughton told BBC Radio Nottingham:
"I'm pleased with the reaction to conceding when we did, against a very good side and also the reaction to midweek.
"The most pleasing thing was that we were a side today that knew we had to do the work off the ball, but I thought we were good in possession as well.
For a team to come here and have the possession we had speaks volumes for the character of the team."
Responding to the penalty award: "I've been asked and from the angle we've seen there are numerous times where that will happen and it's not given. Whether there's a thought that it should be given in favour of the attacking team or not.
"For me it's soft still, only because I've seen numerous circumstances where they [incidents] are not given."
L1:Plymouth(H)BristolRovers
Saturday 20th March
Plymouth Argyle 2 Bristol Rovers 0
From the BBC Sport website:
Niall Ennis scored twice in the first half for Plymouth as Ryan Lowe's side ended a five-match League One losing streak with a win over Bristol Rovers.
The former Wolves striker finished off a sleek Argyle move to put them 1-0 ahead on seven minutes.
Playmaker Conor Grant's defence-splitting pass enabled recalled Adam Lewis to spin a cross over from the byline to Ennis, who coolly finished at the far post.
Lewis also teed up Ennis for his second goal on 45 minutes, crossing for the striker to swivel and fire home to give the Devon side a 2-0 half-time lead.
Rovers central defender Ed Upson was denied by a goal-line clearance by home skipper Joe Edwards and Argyle keeper Michael Cooper made a superb reflex save to keep out Luke McCormick's deflected goal-bound strike.
Ennis came close to completing his hat-trick just after the hour but his angled drive smashed off the bar with Jordi Van Stappershoef beaten.
Joey Barton's Rovers remain just above the bottom four.
L2:Exeter(A)Tranmere
Saturday 20th March
Tranmere Rovers 2 Exeter City 1
From the BBC Sport website:
Tranmere scored two penalties to beat promotion rivals Exeter 2-1 in a fiery contest at Prenton Park.
David Nugent and substitute Danny Lloyd scored either side of Joel Randall's equaliser to give Keith Hill's men a crucial win.
Rovers should have led on 13 minutes when Liam Feeney's pinpoint cross picked out Kaiyne Woolery who headed a glorious chance wide.
Minutes later the hosts did lead when Peter Clarke was needlessly bundled over by Rory McArdle, allowing veteran Nugent the chance to blast his spot-kick high to Jokull Andresson's left.
The lead lasted just two minutes as Tranmere were split wide open by Matt Jay's through ball and Randall scampered clear to convert low past Scott Davies. The Exeter man pulled a hamstring in the act of shooting and was stretchered off.
The Grecians looked the more likely winners after the break until Lewis Page was adjudged to have handled Otis Khan's cross and Lloyd sent Andresson the wrong way from the spot.
NL:Weymouth(H)Wealdstone
Saturday 20th March
Weymouth 4 Wealdstone 0
From the BBC Sport website:
Weymouth boosted their hopes of avoiding relegation from the National League with a dominant 4-0 win over fellow strugglers Wealdstone.
The Terras took the lead midway through the first half thanks to Josh McQuoid, who headed home Sean Shields' cross from close range.
McQuoid almost doubled his tally for the day in the 35th minute but he dragged his shot a yard wide of the target.
Weymouth made it 2-0 after 58 minutes, with Shields again the provider. This time his cross was deflected into the path of Brennan Camp, who smashed home a volley.
The impressive Shields deservedly got himself on the scoresheet in the 83rd minute with a delightful finish.
Shields then rounded off the scoring moments later after McQuoid's shot was cleared off the line.
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