Around One – Blades on top

Last updated : 28 September 2003 By Tony Scholes

Dean Windass - scored and then sent off against his former club
It was another case of players scoring against their former clubs at Bradford with Dean Windass opening the scoring after enduring some stick from the visiting fans. Sheffield United were level within a minute and went on to win it with former Bradford favourite Stuart McCall scoring the winner.

There was just time for Windass to get himself sent off against his former club in the very last seconds of the game but he wasn’t the only player to see red this weekend.

Previous leaders Wigan ended their game at Coventry a man short but only the referee will ever know how Coventry kept all eleven players on the field. Peter Kennedy saw red after he received a second yellow card with just nine minutes to go but all the drama came in stoppage time after the game had looked to be ending in a 0-0 draw.

It was then that Coventry took the lead with Andy Morrell scoring in his fourth successive league game but amazingly Wigan went straight down and equalised with a goal that owed everything to Coventry keeper Scott Shearer.

Shearer failed to hold the simplest of balls and Matt Jackson was able to knock the ball into the empty net. Shearer took his frustration out on Jackson and in aiming a kick at him succeeded only in tripping him up, and right in front of referee Mike Thorpe. It was a clear red card but incredibly Thorpe took no action other than to reprimand the Wigan players for over celebrating.

But if it was red cards you wanted then it was West Brom’s Hawthorns you needed to be at and Whitley Bay referee Graham Laws. Last week he wrongly sent off Rotherham’s Shaun Barker but this week he went on overtime and showed his red card three times.

The game between West Brom and Stoke was only five minutes old when both sides were reduced to ten men. Albion’s Andy Johnson and Stoke’s John Eustace both received their marching orders as they jostled in the box as Albion were about to take a penalty.

Andy Johnson - one of three players sent off by Graham Laws
Laws said he had sent them both off for violent conduct but nobody could quite believe that and Gary Megson’s reaction on the touchline was not for viewing before he watershed for anyone that can lip read.

Megson described it all as a nonsense and said after the game, "I’ve seen a replay of the double sending off and in my view it is a nonsense. To send two people off for something as innocent as that is beyond belief. I’m sure once he sees it again the referee will realise he is gone over the top."

Both clubs will be appealing against the red cards but for Stoke it was even worse. They lost the game 1-0 to a Scott Dobie goal, his first of the season and they also finished with nine men with Marcus Hall also seeing red for a professional foul, this being a correct decision.

The win sees the Baggies stay in third place and there were also home wins for Norwich and Sunderland who are both in the top six. Norwich had to come from behind to beat Crystal Palace after Shaun Derry scored for the visitors in the second minute.

On a day of red cards the division’s red card experts Palace managed to keep all their players on the pitch although they did collect four yellow cards in a three minute spell late in the first half.

A penalty decision was the cause of the first two, one for dissent, and that allowed loan striker Darren Huckerby to equalise from the spot. It was a late, late goal though from central defender Malky Mackay that won it.

At the Stadium of Light Sunderland won a tricky match against Reading and one that won’t have done Kevin Dillon’s chances of keeping the manager’s job at Reading much good.

The home side were always on top, Reading seem to be reeling since Pardew walked out, and goals from Julio Arca with another spectacular effort and John Oster won the day.

David Connolly - gave West Ham the lead
West Ham make up the top six but they were very fortunate indeed to win a point in their first derby against Millwall for ten years. They were in front through David Connolly but Tim Cahill’s equaliser for the Lions was the least Millwall deserved.

They dominated the game and only the performance of England keeper David James prevented them returning to The Den with all three points.

Ipswich were bottom a couple of weeks ago but three successive wins have seen them climb out of the danger area. The wins have all come against struggling teams though and the latest was at Watford.

It was Watford who went in front with a Scott Fitzgerald goal but new loan player Shefki Kuqi from Sheffield Wednesday equalised on his debut before Jim Magilton won it with a superb goal.

The East Midlands derby between Forest and Derby ended all square at the City Ground. Former Walsall striker Junior gave Derby the lead but Forest were level three minutes later through Andy Reid. The Forest midfielder, so impressive at Burnley just over a week ago, is very much in goal scoring form at the moment.

Colin Lee must have been relieved to see his Walsall side win for the first time since the opening day of the season. They beat Preston 2-1 and they must have been much the better side because even Weary Whinger said Preston deserved to lose. He did add though that they should have had two first half penalties when the score was 0-0.

Neil Emblen and Vinny Samways scored the Walsall goals and Ricardo Fuller pulled one back for Preston who have still only picked up one away point all season.

A 1-1 home draw against Gillingham was not enough to see Rotherham climb out of the bottom three and they were thankful for a Darren Byfield penalty ten minutes from time to cancel out Danny Spiller’s first half goal.

The biggest disappointment was the pitiful attendance of 5,501. Just a few more and the Franchise farce would still have been the lowest.

Apart from our point there the division’s other game saw Cardiff win easily at home to Crewe. The 3-0 scoreline didn’t flatter the Welsh club as Crewe found life without Dario Gradi a little difficult.

Gradi will be away for around six weeks after heart surgery and Neil Baker has stepped up until the country’s longest serving manager is fit to return.

The win allowed Cardiff to climb above the Clarets although Crewe fell below us. And with Stoke’s defeat at West Brom it means we move up one place to 11th.

This week sees another full midweek fixture list. The week’s fixtures are as follows with all midweek games kicking off at 7:45 p.m. and all weekend games at 3:00 p.m. unless otherwise shown.

Monday 29th September

Walsall v Gillingham (8:00 p.m.)

Tuesday 30th September

Bradford City v Derby County
Cardiff City v Wigan Athletic
Franchise v Sheffield United
Norwich City v Reading
Rotherham United v Stoke City
Sunderland v Ipswich Town (8:00 p.m.)
Watford v Burnley
West Bromwich Albion v Millwall

Wednesday 1st October

Coventry City v Crewe Alexandra
Nottingham Forest v Preston North End
West Ham United v Crystal Palace

Saturday 4th October

Burnley v Walsall
Crewe Alexandra v Watford
Crystal Palace v Cardiff City
Derby County v West Ham United (5:35 p.m.)
Gillingham v West Bromwich Albion
Ipswich Town v Rotherham United
Millwall v Coventry City
Preston North End v Franchise
Reading v Bradford City
Sheffield United v Sunderland
Stoke City v Nottingham Forest
Wigan Athletic v Norwich City

Leading Goal Scorers (League Only)

9: Robert Earnshaw (Cardiff)
8: Peter Ndlovu (Sheff Utd)
7: Marlon Harewood (Nottm Forest)
6: Robbie Blake (Burnley)
6: Ricardo Fuller (Preston)
5: Patrick Agyemang (Franchise)
5: David Connolly (West Ham)
5: Dougie Freedman (Crystal Palace)
5: Rob Hulse (West Brom)
5: Andy Reid (Nottm Forest)
4: Carl Asaba (Stoke)
4: Nathan Ellington (Wigan)
4: Shaun Goater (Reading)
4: Lee Hughes (West Brom)
4: Andy Morrell (Coventry)
4: Mark Rivers (Norwich)
4: Marcus Stewart (Sunderland)
4: Peter Thorne (Cardiff)
3: Dean Ashton (Crewe)
3: Darren Byfield (Rotherham)
3: Michael Branch (Bradford City)
3: Luke Chadwick (Burnley)
3: Jermain Defoe (West Ham)
3: Andy Johnson (Crystal Palace)
3: Junior (Derby)
3: Marlon King (Gillingham)
3: Paul Merson (Walsall)
3: Scott Murray (Reading)
3: Gifton Noel-Williams (Stoke)
3: Bob Peeters (Millwall)
3: Steven Sidwell (Reading)
3: Matthias Svensson (Derby)
3: Ian Taylor (Derby)
3: Noel Whelan (Millwall)