Manchester United 1 – Newcastle United 1 – Andy Cole Rescues a Point to give first point of the season to Kevin Keegan’s side
Kevin Keegan had asked Alex Ferguson to be wary of his Newcastle United when the Tyneside club won the promotion a season earlier. But 70 minutes into the match at Old Trafford it looked like Newcastle United would start the season with three back to back losses and the defending champions were steamrolling them without providing the killer blow.
United had gone ahead via Ryan gigs in the first half and considering that they had not conceded any goal this season, the result looked beyond doubt as Paul Ince and Bryan Robson went close time and again to get the crucial second goal. But United couldn’t put the finishing touches to their attacks and Andy Cole scored a fine goal to give Newcastle their first point of the season.
Blackburn Rovers 1 – Oldham Athletic 0 – Veteran Defender Kevin Moran wins Blackburn the Lancashire Derby
A superb ninth minute header by veteran defender Kevin Moran decided the Lancashire derby at Ewood Park. There was precious little else on offer in a match which saw a remarkable lack of invention from both teams. Not even the introduction of Blackburn’s England striker Alan Shearer for the last 20 minutes could make any difference.
Moran’s goal came when Tim Sherwood’s clever free-kick found the Republic of Ireland defender who times his run perfectly to send a soaring header into the next from 10 yards. Stuart Ripley produced a perfect chip over the Oldham defence but Kevin Gallacher could only steer the chance straight at Paul Gerrard, wasting Ripley’s effort.
Ipswich Town 1 – Chelsea 0 – Ian Marshall gives all three points to Ipswich
Ian Marshall maintained his goal a game start to the season with Ipswich’s 34th-minute winner against Chelsea at Portman road. The £750000 signing from Oldham, who wanted to prove himself as a striker rather than a defender, collected a through ball from Steve Palmer and fired past Dmitri Kharine.
A couple of minutes later, Palmer sent Mick Stockwell through on the right, but he was denied by the woodwork. In the 69th minute of the game, Marshall himself suffered a recurrence of an ankle injury but Ipswich defender their single goal lead impressively to take all three points.
This meant that Chelsea had grabbed only a single point in their opening three games and Glenn Hoddle had a lot to think to turn the ships around at Stamford bridge.
Coventry City 1 – West Ham United 1 – Wegerle Saves Sky Blues as West Ham earn first point of the season
Roy Wegerle spared Coventry’s blushes with a second-half equalizer in a game that looked to be heading towards West Ham’s first win since gaining promotion back into the premier league. Dale Gordon opened the West Ham’s premier league account in the second minute of first-half injury time. He nipped in after Tim Breackner’s shot had cannoned off Jonathan Gould.
But Coventry equalized on 57 minutes when Peter Ndlovu worked his magic in the penalty area and crossed for Wegerle to supply the finishing touch.