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Sunderland freefall goes on

Sunderland failed to halt their slide towards the relegation quagmire after Stoke claimed a deserved point in an uninspiring goalless stalemate here on Monday.

The draw means Steve Bruce’s side, who started the season in such promising fashion they were being tipped as contenders for Europe, have now won only once in their last 14 league matches and they are just four points above the bottom three.

Stoke had the better of the chances, with former Sunderland player Dean Whitehead enjoying a couple of good chances, although the hosts could justifiably claim they had been denied a second-half penalty following an apparent handball by Robert Huth.

Whitehead had the best chance of a lacklustre opening period with less than three minutes on the clock.

The forward did well to get clear of the home side’s back line but his tame shot was comfortably smothered by Scotland goalkeeper Craig Gordon.

Kenwyne Jones forced Thomas Sorensen into his first save of the evening in the 10th minute but the Trinidad and Tobago forward could not generate enough power in his shot after Michael Turner had headed down Andy Reid’s free-kick invitingly.

Steed Malbranque was narrowly off target and it required a smart clearance from Ryan Shawcross to prevent Darren Bent from opening the scoring.

Bent then created an opening for Malbranque with a cute dummy but the Frenchman’s shot did not seriously test Sorensen.

Whitehead was fortunate that referee Howard Webb appeared to be in a lenient mood, dispensing only a booking after the Stoke player kicked out at Lee Cattermole following a robust challenge from Sunderland’s midfield enforcer.

Sunderland had just about edged the first half on points, but Stoke should have taken the lead after generating two good chances in quick succession in the opening minutes of the second half.

Mamady Sidibe almost converted following a chipped Glenn Whelan free-kick, then Whitehead attempted to drill home the loose ball only for John Mensah to deflect it over the crossbar.

Sunderland had a strong penalty appeal turned down just after the hour mark when Huth appeared to stop Bent’s lofted pass with his arm.

But Stoke might easily have emerged with all three points after Ricardo Fuller was sent clear with nine minutes left. The striker had only Gordon to beat but the Scots stopper stood firm to deny him, ensuring a result which was probably just about right.

SUNDERLAND (AFP)

Tags: Andy, andy reid, cattermole, Craig Gordon, Darren Bent, free kick, Howard Webb, john mensah, Jones, kenwyne jones, Lee Cattermole, less than three minutes, loose ball, Michael Turner, quagmire, Reid, ricardo fuller, robert huth, Ryan Shawcross, scotland, shawcross, steed malbranque, Steve Bruce, Sunderland, thomas sorensen, trinidad and tobago, uninspiring, whelan, whitehead

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Hughes on brink at City despite thrilling win

Roque Santa Cruz settled a seven-goal thriller as Manchester City beat Sunderland 4-3 at Eastlands here on Saturday, but the victory might not be enough to keep Mark Hughes in a job.

Hughes’s future as City manager has been the subject of intense debate since Wednesday’s 3-0 defeat at Tottenham, which meant that the club had won only once in 10 Premier League matches.

And even during Saturday’s amazing game the speculation continued, with reports coming out of Italy that the former Inter Milan manager Roberto Mancini is close to a deal to replace the Welshman.

During the match, City announced that they would be calling a news conference for 1930GMT on Saturday.

Hughes took the City job in June 2008 and last week said he was targeting Liverpool’s place in the top four.

But despite only seeing his side lose twice on the Premier League stage this season, it appears time is running out for him.

Hughes, who left out Emmanuel Adebayor and Robinho from his line up, has been here before.

After being held 1-1 by Hull City three weeks ago, City’s seventh successive draw in the league, there was widespread speculation about his future.

Yet back-to-back victories over Arsenal in the League Cup and Chelsea appeared to silence the doubters before the tame surrender at Tottenham turned the visit of Sunderland into a must-win match for the manager.

And for the first 15 minutes events appeared to be going well for Hughes as his side raced into a 2-0 lead.

The hosts went ahead in the fourth minute, Santa Cruz netting his first league goal in a City shirt following a sweeping move involving Carlos Tevez and Craig Bellamy.

Hughes, who spent the entire game standing in his technical area, expressed no emotion whatsoever and he again had a blank look when Tevez doubled the lead from the penalty spot nine minutes later after Nyron Nosworthy clipped Bellamy just inside the area.

Tevez had pleaded with the club’s owners before the game to keep faith with Hughes, the Argentina international insisting he is “100 percent” behind the manager.

And, after a short delay, the striker did his bit by keeping his composure to beat keeper Marlon Fulop, Tevez’s ninth goal for the club.

Seemingly cruising towards three points, City saw goalkeeper Shay Given fishing the ball out of his net after John Mensah’s header went unchallenged following a 16th minute cross by Andy Reid.

Suddenly, the confidence seeped from City and Sunderland drew level in the 24th minute.

Once again City only had themselves to blame after a mistake by Kolo Toure allowed Jordan Henderson to rifle in an equaliser.

Hughes was furious and even Bellamy’s sixth goal for his club this season, which made it 3-2 in the 35th minute, failed to change his mood.

Bellamy, one of Hughes’s most loyal lieutenants, restored the lead with a crisp shot after a low cross by Shaun Wright-Phillips.

City piled forward in an attempt to kill the game but another chaotic piece of defending allowed Sunderland to make it 3-3 in the 62nd minute.

Substitute Kenwyne Jones was allowed to ghost in and head past Given from close range from Henderson’s cross.

Fortunately for the hosts Sunderland’s defence was as porous as City’s and in a crazy game, played amid falling snow, Santa Cruz stabbed home after good work by substitute Pablo Zabaleta and Gareth Barry.

Sunderland finished with 10 men after Michael Turner was shown a straight red card for elbowing Barry in stoppage time.

MANCHESTER, England (AFP)

Tags: andy reid, Argentina, carlos tevez, city job, craig bellamy, Eastlands, emmanuel adebayor, Gareth Barry, goal thriller, hull city, intense debate, inter milan, john mensah, jordan, league goal, league stage, Liverpool, manchester city, manchester england, Mark Hughes, Marlon Fulop, Michael Turner, nosworthy, Pablo Zabaleta, premier league, roberto mancini, roque santa cruz, santa cruz, Shaun Wright-Phillips, Sunderland, welshman

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Gunners crash at Sunderland

Arsenal failed to score for the first time this season as Darren Bent maintained his impressive record against the top teams in the Premier League to earn Sunderland a 1-0 victory.

Bent has already opened the scoring for Sunderland this season in matches against the rest of the so-called elite – Liverpool, Manchester United and Chelsea.

Here, his 71st minute header earned Steve Bruce’s team their first victory in five matches and showed his goalpoaching qualities.

It had been a frustrating match for Bent until he headed a corner against team-mate Fraizer Campbell and reacted quickest to lash in the rebound.

It was only Arsenal’s third defeat of the season – an outcome that appeared unlikely after the opening stages of a game that brought Sunderland their first win in five outings.

Cesc Fabregas, who had scored on his previous two visits to the Stadium of Light, was at the heart of most of their best moments as Sunderland soon found themselves stretched.

His persistence enabled him to set up a fifth minute chance for Tomas Rosicky, whose well-struck shot was blocked by the legs of Hungarian goalkeeper Marton Fulop.

Fabregas also went close with two efforts from outside the area in an immensely encouraging start for Arsenal, who were deprived of half-a-dozen of their first team squad through injuries.

However, they possessed enough depth to include players such as Theo Walcott, Denilson and Andrey Arshavin among their substitutes.

Sunderland were also without first-team regulars Craig Gordon, Kenwyne Jones, Michael Turner and Lee Cattermole because of injuries and suspensions.

Turner’s absence brought a recall for Ghana international John Mensah, the defender on loan from Lyon.

But Mensah, chosen ahead of Anton Ferdinand, found it difficult to adapt to the pace and mobility of Arsenal’s attack.

The same was true of several Sunderland’s players, particularly in midfield, but they did finally create two opportunities for Steed Malbranque.

The former Tottenham player, still without a goal this season, twice wasted opportunities after Arsenal failed to cut out crosses from Andy Reid.

They were rare interruptions to Arsenal’s control and Wenger’s side almost went ahead through the best move of the half in the 33rd minute.

Alex Song surged forward and exchanged passes with Eduardo before the striker’s chip drifted past the post.

Bruce’s team proved to be more effective in closing down Arsenal’s midfielders in a second-half that produced few opportunities for either side.

Andy Reid, becoming more influential as the match progressed, was narrowly wide with a 58th minute free-kick.

And, with Arsenal struggling to make progress as Fabregas’s influence waned, Sunderland stunned them by taking the lead in the 71st minute.

Bent’s goal was a reward for the former Tottenham player’s persistence on a day when his supply line was generally poor.

And it was a reward for Sunderland’s ability to recover from such a poor start and pull off a victory that will mean so much to Bruce.

It was a victory that Arsenal rarely threatened to snatch away with the exception of one moment where they forced substitute Ferdinand to clear from in front of the Sunderland goal.

SUNDERLAND, England (AFP)

Tags: anton ferdinand, Craig Gordon, denilson, fabregas, first victory, Goalkeeper, half a dozen, impressive record, kenwyne jones, manchester united, Marton Fulop, Michael Turner, midfield, minute chance, minute header, steed malbranque, team mate, theo walcott, third defeat, tomas rosicky

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Turner: Hull players respect Brown

Former Hull City defender Michael Turner has denied that Tigers boss Phil Brown lost the respect of his squad with his infamous half-time team talk at Manchester City.

Brown gave his side a very public dressing down on the field at Eastlands on Boxing Day last year with Hull chasing shadows and 4-0 down against the rampant hosts.

Some critics have claimed that was a turning point in the Tigers’ season, with a dismal second half of the campaign following and relegation only avoided on the very last day.

But Turner, who moved away from the KC Stadium in the summer when he joined Sunderland in a big-money move, claims the players accepted the events of last December.

Turner told the Daily Mail: “There’s no way he lost the dressing room. I’m not sure it actually had that much of an impact on the dressing room. The week before we’d lost badly to Sunderland, and we were taking another tonking.

“I know how I felt that day, dazed. We were 4-0 down. I wasn’t thinking: “What the hell’s he doing keeping us on the pitch?” I was more worried about what the hell had just happened.

“I had my head between my knees. I can hardly remember what the manager said. There probably was a bit of bitching about it but Phil Brown’s the manager and the players respected that. He makes the decisions. There’s no way he lost the dressing room.

“We were a team that was new to the Premier League and you get swings in form like that. We started well but then we struggled, and yet did enough to stay up. Phil Brown’s a good coach and he was a good manager for me.”

One of the greatest learning curves of Turner’s career came when he was a 16-year-old with Charlton and spent six months in Italy with Inter Milan as part of a player exchange programme between the two teams.

The young defender was then handed the task of marking Christian Vieri as Inter organised a game between their academy and the first-team.

He added: “It was brilliant. Vieri and Recoba up front, Seedorf in midfield, Zanetti. Great players, great day. We got absolutely hammered. We lost 7-0.

“I forget how many goals Vieri scored. Six I think. He was a beast. I remember ringing home and telling my mates about it.

“I learned so much out there. The Italians do a lot of things differently. At the academy we’d study in the morning and train in the afternoon. And a few times we got to train with the first team. Just amazing.”

Abhimanyu Rajput

Tags: boxing day, charlton, chasing shadows, christian vieri, city defender, daily mail, dressing room, Eastlands, HULL, hull city, inter milan, Italy, kc stadium, learning curves, manchester city, Michael Turner, Milan, money move, phil brown, premier league, public dressing, recoba, seedorf, six months in italy, Sunderland, time team

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Defoe treble helps five-star Spurs turn on style

Tottenham striker Jermain Defoe scored a hat-trick as his side turned on the style to crush Hull 5-1 at the KC Stadium on Wednesday.

Defoe has made an impressive start to the campaign after notching a double for England in last week’s friendly against Holland and he tore Hull’s defence to pieces.

After Defoe had opened the scoring, Tottenham midfielder Wilson Palacios claimed his first goal in English football.

Stephen Hunt pulled one back for Hull, but Defoe struck again, then Robbie Keane underlined’s Tottenham’s dominance before Defoe completed his treble.

After beating Liverpool on Sunday, Harry Redknapp’s side have now won their opening two matches of the season for only the second time in 14 years to go top of the table, while Hull are without a win in 12 league matches dating back to their dismal end to last season.

With Ledley King unable to play two games in a week due to his degenerative knee problem, Redknapp moved Vedran Corluka to centre-back and brought in Alan Hutton at right-back.

Even without King, Redknapp’s team looked full of confidence after their win over Liverpool and ripped into Hull in the early stages.

Defoe opened the scoring in the 10th minute as he took Tom Huddlestone’s pass and drove a typically clinical strike past Boaz Myhill.

Before Hull had a chance to regroup, Tottenham increased their lead four minutes later as Keane picked out Palacios and the former Wigan midfielder calmly slotted home.

There was a blow for Tottenham when goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes, who had hurt himself stretching for a high ball moments earlier, had to be replaced by Carlo Cudicini.

Tigers boss Phil Brown responded to Hull’s problems by hauling off striker Daniel Cousin and sending on Brazilian midfielder Geovanni after 21 minutes.

In the 24th minute Geovanni won a free-kick on the right touchline and Hunt, a scorer on his debut at Chelsea on Saturday, floated in a cross that bounced past Geovanni and into the net as Tottenham’s defence stood flat-footed.

Brown’s team thought they had equalised when Caleb Folan fired past Cudicini but referee Chris Foy blew for a foul on Sebastien Bassong.

Just as the Tigers were starting to dominate, Defoe broke clear on the stroke of half time to lash home his second goal after Michael Turner was wrong-footed by Keane.

Hull appealed for a penalty in the second half after Geovanni went down in the area but Foy was unmoved and referee turned down more Tigers penalty protests for hand ball soon after.

Geovanni looked to be Hull’s most likely hope of an equaliser and he shot straight at Cudicini before testing the Italian keeper with a powerful header.

But Spurs wrapped up the points in the 78th minute after breaking following a Hull corner.

The ball was worked wide to Aaron Lennon and the England winger lofted a perfect cross for Keane to head in.

There was still time for Defoe to have the final word when he drilled home a fierce left-footed shot in injury-time.

Tags: Aaron Lennon, Alan Hutton, Boaz Myhill, Brown, caleb folan, carlo cudicini, Chris Foy, daniel cousin, England, free kick, geovanni, Harry Redknapp, hat trick, heurelho gomes, Holland, jermain defoe, kc stadium, knee problem, Liverpool, Michael Turner, midfielder, phil brown, play two, Robbie, Robbie Keane, s pass, Stephen Hunt, tom huddlestone, touchline, Wilson, wilson palacios

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No further exits from Liverpool, says Benitez

Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez has said thtat he will not approve any further sales of Liverpool players as his team struggles to cope with a growing injury list.

The Spaniard has dismissed speculation that winger Albert Riera and striker Andriy Voronin could be leaving, with Barcelona and Hertha Berlin, respectively, showing interest.

Riera, who was left out of the squad that lost 2-1 at Tottenham last Sunday, was left out because of his lack of training last week due to a minor injury according to Benitez

Voronin, who came on as substitute at White Hart Lane, was on loan to Hertha last season and there have been suggestions the German club are preparing a £3million bid.

But the Spaniard’s current squad is hit by injuries and it has been revealed he has not been able to spend the transfer budget this summer he was expecting.

Benitez said: “Nobody will be sold because we need all our players. We can’t afford to lose anyone else.

“The Premier League is very difficult and we have to keep everyone we have at the moment.”

Both players are expected to be in the squad on Wednesday night to face Stoke at Anfield.

Liverpool are, however, closing in on a deal to sign AEK Athens centre-back Sotirios Kyrgiakos.

Benitez has been denied the funds needed to compete for the likes of Hull’s Michael Turner and Stoke’s Ryan Shawcross as well as Athletic Bilbao’s Fernando Amorebieta.

But Liverpool can table a £1.5m bid for former Rangers defender Kyrgiakos and are hopeful of landing the 30-year-old Greece international.

Kyrgiakos began his career at Panathinaikos before joining Rangers on loan in January 2004.

The 6ft 4in defender’s switch to Scotland was made permanent but he was released after his contract expired in July 2006.

Two seasons at Eintracht Frankfurt followed before he signed a five-year contract with AEK Athens last year.

Abhimanyu Rajput

Tags: abhimanyu, aek athens, albert riera, amorebieta, andriy voronin, anfield liverpool, athens, athens centre, athletic bilbao, Barcelona, berlin, Bilbao, eintracht frankfurt, Fernando Amorebieta, former rangers, FRANKFURT, german club, greece, Hart Lane, Hertha, hertha berlin, HULL, last sunday, Liverpool, Michael Turner, panathinaikos, premier league, rafael benitez, Ryan Shawcross, scotland, Spaniard, striker, white hart lane, winger

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Benitez reveals interest in Hull defender Turner

Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez admitted on Saturday that he has held talks with Hull boss Phil Brown over a bid for defender Michael Turner.

Benitez desperately needs a centre-back after Jamie Carragher limped off with an ankle injury early in the first half of Liverpool’s 2-1 friendly defeat to Atletico Madrid at Anfield.

The Spanish coach is short of defenders as Daniel Agger and Martin Skrtel are also nursing injuries, while Sami Hyypia and Alvaro Arbeloa joined Bayer Leverkusen and Real Madrid respectively during the close-season.

Benitez is believed to have offered six million pounds for Turner, with Hull demanding closer to 12 million pounds.

“I was talking with (Hull manager) Phil Brown, but I will not talk about figures. But maybe I was just talking to Phil about the weather!” Benitez said.

There was another injury scare for Benitez ahead of next Sunday’s Premier League opener at Tottenham as Spain striker Fernando Torres limped off with an ankle problem late on against Atletico.

Benitez said: “Carragher twisted his ankle, and because we have problems with injuries to our centre-backs, we decided to take him off as a precaution.

“We will have to wait to see how the injured players improve, but I feel they will be ready for our next game.

“We have two options. One is to bring in someone at the back and the other option is to keep working with the young players we have.

“We have three centre-backs to get fit and will need one more as a fourth. We have to decide what to do, but the one solution we can achieve is to work with the youngsters.

“Jamie will come in for treatment, and we will assess the situation then.

“For a twisted ankle you need two or three days to see how the injury settles down. I do not believe he will need a scan.

“Fernando Torres also came off with an slight injury on his ankle, but he also came off as a precaution because this was only a friendly.”

Sergio Aguero scored one for Atletico and created a second for Diego Forlan in the first half, with Lucas Leiva replying for Liverpool in the final minutes.

LIVERPOOL, England (AFP)

Tags: alvaro arbeloa, anfield, ankle injury, atletico madrid, bayer leverkusen, daniel agger, diego forlan, England, Fernando Torres, HULL, Jamie, jamie carragher, Liverpool, Lucas Leiva, MADRID, martin skrtel, Michael Turner, Phil, phil brown, precaution, premier league, rafael benitez, real madrid, sami hyypia, Sergio Aguero, Spain, spanish coach, striker, youngsters

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Hull survive despite United defeat

HULL (AFP) – Hull City avoided relegation from the Premier League despite losing 1-0 to an under-strength Manchester United on Sunday as Newcastle’s defeat kept the Tigers out of the bottom three.

Phil Brown’s side knew a victory would secure their safety whatever the results elsewhere, but Darron Gibson’s stunning first half strike at the KC Stadium put the pressure on.

It could have been enough to condemn Hull to the Championship but, despite winning just two of their last 29 games, they avoided the drop after Newcastle lost at Aston Villa, while Middlesbrough crashed at West Ham.

Never had a team sheet been so eagerly anticipated all season considering all the speculation surrounding who United boss Sir Alex Ferguson would pick.

There was little doubt Ferguson named a weakened team, irrespective of the fact the visitors side still contained six full internationals, including the experienced duo of Gary Neville and Wes Brown in defence, while Nani returned to midfield and Federico Macheda was given a rare start in attack alongside Danny Welbeck.

Brown must have have been relieved not to see the name of Rio Ferdinand, however. The England centre back has been struggling to overcome a calf problem and had been expected to be involved, but he was left out altogether to raise doubts about his participation in this week’s Champions League final against Barcelona.

Ferguson also handed a debut to defender Ritchie De Laet. The Belgium-born left back whose only previous action this season had been three games for Wrexham in the Conference.

Darren Fletcher, ineligible for the final in Rome, was made captain. Hull, meanwhile, had no such luxury.

Brown named the same team which earned a crucial draw at Bolton Wanderers, with the exception of Dean Marney coming in for Manucho, who was ineligible due to the terms of his loan move from Old Trafford.

Hull made a bright start and looked to take the initiative, but Craig Fagan failed to control Michael Turner’s long pass with just Tomasz Kuszczak to beat before Fagan narrowly missed a dangerous cross from Geovanni.

It took United a while to get into their stride but once they did a goal seemed inevitable. Nani tested Bo Myhill with a free kick before De Laet missed Rafael Da Silva’s cross by inches.

The breakthrough came in stunning fashion on 24 minutes when Gibson rifled an unstoppable drive past Myhill and into the top corner to stun home fans into silence.

Brown’s men could have fallen further behind but Macheda failed to convert Lee Martin’s cross a minute later before Welbeck burst past four defenders on a 60 metre run only to drag his shot wide.

Macheda followed suit two minutes later as the home defence threatened to crumble.

Andy Dawson drew a fine save from Kuszczak and Neville almost headed into his own goal but it looked increasingly likely that Hull’s fate would be decided at Villa Park, where the news was good.

Nick Barmby saw his header from a tight angle well blocked by Kuszczak as Hull looked to launch the kitchen sink at United’s defence and snatch the goal that would mean they were not reliant on events elsewhere.

It wasn’t to be but it didn’t matter as Villa handed them one of the biggest favours possible.

Tags: andy dawson, Barcelona, Bo Myhill, bolton wanderers, captain. Hull, Craig Fagan, Danny Welbeck, darren fletcher, darron gibson, de laet, dean marney, English Premier League, fagan, federico macheda, Ferguson, gary neville, HULL, hull city, kc stadium, kuszczak, Lee Martin, manchester united, Michael Turner, nani, NEWCASTLE, nick barmby, phil brown, Rafael da, Rio, rio ferdinand, Ritchie De Laet, sir alex ferguson, villa park, welbeck, wes brown, west ham, wrexham

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Watson fires Wigan´s European challenge

WIGAN, England (AFP) – Wigan boosted their bid for European football as Ben Watson’s late goal sealed a 1-0 win against Hull on Sunday.

Steve Bruce’s side moved into seventh place in the Premier League thanks to Watson’s fine strike at the JJB Stadium and their dreams of continental action in the Europa League – next season’s revamped UEFA Cup – are looking more realistic by the week.

While Wigan look up, Hull’s players are nervously glancing over their shoulders towards the relegation zone after a defeat which kept them just four points from safety,

Hull boss Phil Brown made five changes to the team beaten at Arsenal in the FA Cup in midweek as Matt Duke, Michael Turner, Kevin Kilbane, Bernard Mendy and Dean Marney returned.

South Korea midfielder Cho Won-hee was given his first taste of English football with a place on the bench for Wigan, although in the end he didn’t get to come on for his debut.

The Latics started well and Duke had to tip Charles N’Zogbia’s long-range cross-shot over via the crossbar.

Watson forced Duke into a low save with a 25-yard shot before Mido was guilty of wasting the best opportunity after Hugo Rodallega and Paul Scharner exchanged quick passes to bypass the Hull midfield.

Rodallega pulled the ball back to Egypt forward Mido on the right angle of the penalty area but he blazed over.

Mido squandered another chance in the 28th minute after Scharner had outjumped the defence to head Maynor Figueroa’s long ball down to Rodallega in the six-yard area.

Rodallega had a chance of his own to give Wigan the lead when he raced on to Scharner’s through-ball, but with only the keeper to beat his shot was too close to Duke.

Having spent long periods with little to do Wigan goalkeeper Chris Kirkland had to be alert to tip over Manucho’s flashed header from Marney’s 50th-minute corner.

Wigan forward Amr Zaki, on as a replacement for Mido, rose highest in a crowd to head Daniel De Ridder’s cross against the foot of a post with Duke beaten.

The hosts were finally rewarded for their pressure in the 84th minute.

Duke’s weak punch didn’t clear the penalty area and Watson looped a perfect lobbed volley over the goalkeeper and in at the far post despite Kilbane’s best efforts to keep it out.

Written by: AFP

Tags: Ben Watson, bernard mendy, Charles, Cho Won-hee, chris kirkland, crossbar, daniel de ridder, dean marney, England, english football, English Premier League, figueroa, first taste, hugo rodallega, HULL, jjb stadium, Kevin Kilbane, latics, long periods, Matt Duke, maynor, Michael Turner, Paul Scharner, phil brown, relegation zone, right angle, south korea, Steve Bruce, wigan england

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Gunners take revenge on Hull

HULL (AFP) – Late goals from Samir Nasri and substitute Nicklas Bendtner kept Arsenal’s recent revival going with a 3-1 win over Hull here on Saturday.

Daniel Cousin looked to have denied Arsenal victory with an equaliser on 65 minutes to cancel out Emmanuel Adebayor’s opening goal before half time.

But Wenger’s men came good at the death with two goals in the final eight minutes to increase the gloom for fast-sliding Hull.

Adebayor, who has been strongly linked with a move to AC Milan or Barcelona in the transfer window, had notched his 12th goal of the season in the 30th minute with a clinical header.

The latest defeat for Hull has left supporters wondering where their side’s next win is coming from.

Phil Brown’s men appear to be in terminal decline following just one victory in their last 13 games and they now look increasingly like they could be heading for a relegation battle.

Brown made six changes from the side that beat Newcastle United in the FA Cup third round in midweek, the most notable being a debut to new signing Kevin Kilbane following his arrival from Wigan.

Manchester United striker Manucho had to settle for a place on the bench after joining on-loan until the end of the season.

Opposite number Wenger named an unchanged side, resisting the temptation to promote Bendtner despite his winning goal against Bolton last weekend.

The Gunners were still without William Gallas and Cesc Fabregas, yet remained determined to gain revenge for their humbling at the hands of the same opponents at the Emirates back in September, one of the lowest moments of Wenger’s time in charge.

It was Hull who made the brightest start, however. Geovanni’s corner flashed across Manuel Almunia’s goal in the first minute before Nathan Doyle shot straight at the Arsenal goalkeeper.

Geovanni almost caught Almunia unawares with a curling free kick in the 19th minute but when Wenger’s side began to get a grip on proceedings the signs looked ominous for Hull.

Robin Van Persie’s deflected free kick shaved the Hull upright before the Dutchman went even closer in the 28th minute, demanding a world class save from Boaz Myhill with a blistering free kick which the Hull goalkeeper somehow managed to tip onto the crossbar.

Two minutes later the breakthrough eventually came when Adebayor rose high above Michael Turner to head Van Persie’s corner back across goal and into the open net.

His 12th goal of the season was harsh on the home team yet rewarded Arsenal’s growing dominance of a game they simply had to win to keep on the coat-tails of those above them.

That didn’t look likely when Cousin levelled matters with 25 minutes remaining.

But Wenger’s men found an extra gear when they needed one most.

First Nasri collected a pass from Van Persie in the inside left channel and beat Myhill with a superb left-foot finish into the opposite corner.

Then substitute Bendtner combined with the Dutchman before finishing from close range to kill the contest and ensure Arsenal remain three points adrift of fourth-placed Aston Villa.

Written by: AFP

Tags: ac milan, AFP, Boaz Myhill, Brown, cesc fabregas, daniel cousin, emirates, emmanuel adebayor, English Premier League, equaliser, FA Cup, free kick, gunners, HULL, Kevin Kilbane, Manchester, manchester united, Manuel Almunia, Michael Turner, Milan, nasri, Nathan Doyle, NEWCASTLE, newcastle united, opposite number, phil brown, relegation battle, robin van persie, Samir Nasri, terminal decline, Wenger, William Gallas

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