Howard Wilkinson
Liverpool 2 – Leeds 0 – Liverpool back to winning ways as Howard Wilkinson gets booed by Leeds fans
A day earlier Premier league saw Manchester City fans stage a protest in favour of their sacked manager Peter Reid but just a day later, Leeds manager Howard Wilkinson was booed by his own supporters when he took Roy Wallace off. The night didn’t get better for Wilkinson whose Leeds, lost 2-0 on the day and fell into the bottom five.
Liverpool took the lead against the run of play when Ian Rush somehow scored the goal with his face. The home side then got a penalty that Molby converted. This allowed Liverpool to stay close to the leader Manchester United but the Leeds manager defended his selection after the game.
Howard Wilkinson said “We all know the supporters are entitled to their view and I’ll have a lot of letters this week. What can I do – play 4-4-4 with Rocastle as centre half? I can’t drop Gary McAllister, can i? He’s done nothing wrong. But we’ve either got to get things right or get someone else to do it. I’m not saying if I’m not in the mood to make changes. It is the wrong time, just after a match, to have the right judgement on that.”
West Ham 0 – Queens Park Rangers 4 – Les Ferdinand brace gets Rangers the London Derby win
Les Ferdinand gave England manager Graham Taylor a timely reminded that he was a man in form with two opportunistic goals in the rout of West Ham at Upton Park. Ferdinand’s first strike came two minutes after the interval when he darted onto a long through ball from the defense, evaded a tackle inside the box and scored with a low shot that Ludk Miklosko partially blocked but could not prevent from going into the net.
Then, in the 71st minute, Ferdinand scored Rangers’ fourth when he outpaced Collin Forster and took the ball clear of Miklosko before netting another low drive. Rangers had taken the lead after only 12 minutes when, following early West Ham pressure, Darren Peacock headed home from Ray Wilkins corner.
Peacock also had a hand in goal number three, in the 53rd minute, when he headed a Wilkins free-kick back into a crowded goalmouth and Gary Penrice turned and scored from close range.
Aston Villa 1 – Tottenham Hotspur 0 – Staunton Penalty gave a crucial win for Struggling Villa
Hungry Aston Villa ended a run of three matches without a win with a second-half Steve Staunton goal against Tottenham at Villa Park. But it needed a penalty from Staunton to settle the issue as Villa struggled to find a way through.
Three of the four previous clashed between the clubs had ended in a goalless draw and this game appeared to be heading in the same direction. But then the Villa skipper Kevin Richardson was brought down in the area by Dean Austin that gave the home side the spot-kick.
England manager Graham Taylor was at the game to watch Teddy Sheringham but all he could manage was see the striker pick up a yellow card after preventing Richardson from taking a free-kick.
Chelsea 1 – Sheffield Wednesday 1 – the Owls finally score a goal but had to settle for a point
Mark Bright finally ended Wednesday’s barren start to the season with their first goal after 371 minutes of fruitless Premiership action. Bright, drafted in for his first start following injuries to David Hirst and Paul Warhurst, put them in front but Trevor Francis’s men still had to settle for a point at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea had the better chances and it was an eventful day for substitute David Lee. The 23-year-old was on as early as the eighth minute when Andy Myers hobbled off after taking a knock. Lee produced Chelsea’s equaliser after 34 minutes, was booked 10 minutes later for a foul and sent off after 73 minutes for his second bookable offence, when he kicked the ball away.
Wednesday broke their duck after 12 minutes when Nigel Worthington crossed low and Bright saw his first effort blocked by Dmitri Kharine but made no mistake with the second. Tony Cascarino had a close-range effort blocked by Chris Woods after 21 minutes but Chelsea finally drew level when Gavin Peacock chested the ball down to Lee, shot low past the England keeper.
Cascarino should have done better when he shot weakly on the turn but was unlucky two minutes later when he struck the bar with a superb volley. Peacock had the ball in the net after 65 minutes but the effort was disallowed for a push on Woods.
