D Tuesday, September 29, 2009 METROSPORT 23 barclays premier league Man City .........3 West Ham ...... 1 Tevez 5, 61 Cole 24 Petrov 32 Att 42,745 P W D L F A Pts Man Utd 7 6 0 1 17 6 18 Chelsea 7 6 0 1 16 6 18 Liverpool 7 5 0 2 22 10 15 Tottenham 7 5 0 2 17 10 15 Man City 6 5 0 1 14 7 15 Arsenal 6 4 0 2 18 8 12 Aston Villa 6 4 0 2 9 5 12 Sunderland 7 4 0 3 14 11 12 Everton 6 3 0 3 8 10 9 Wigan 7 3 0 4 7 13 9 Burnley 7 3 0 4 5 15 9 Stoke 7 2 2 3 5 9 8 Bolton 6 2 1 3 8 9 7 Birmingham 7 2 1 4 4 6 7 Blackburn 6 2 1 3 6 9 7 Wolverhampton 7 2 1 4 7 13 7 Fulham 6 2 0 4 4 8 6 West Ham 6 1 1 4 6 9 4 Hull 7 1 1 5 6 19 4 Portsmouth 7 0 0 7 3 13 0 league of ireland premier diVision Bray .................0 St Pats ........... 1 OBrien 28 P W D L F A Pts Shamrock Rs 29 17 9 3 41 21 60 Bohemians 28 18 4 6 46 17 58 Derry City 28 15 5 8 40 21 50 Cork 28 14 6 8 32 19 48 Dundalk 29 12 4 13 37 38 40 Galway Utd 29 10 4 15 27 44 34 St Patricks 29 10 3 16 23 38 33 Drogheda Utd 29 6 9 14 24 37 27 Sligo 28 6 8 14 28 44 26 Bray 29 5 8 16 24 43 23 FIXTURES pREmIER lEagUE mANCHESTER CiTy continued their fine start to the season and piled more misery on West Ham after an entertaining encounter at Eastlands. Two goals from former Hammers favourite Carlos Tevez and a martin Petrov free-kick were enough to hand City a win that sees them move into fifth place in the Premier League and leave the Hammers rooted in the bottom three after just one win from six matches. The victory was little more than mark Hughes side deserved after a excellent first-half display that saw them take the lead after just five minutes. Shay Givens long clearance found its way to Petrov, who squared the ball for Tevez to fire into the roof of the net from six yards out. However, despite having the best of the opening exchanges, City found themselves back on level terms in the 24th minute as Carlton Coles cheeky backheel evaded Given. The goal briefly took the wind from Citys sails but they regained their advantage eight minutes later as Petrov fired a free-kick beyond Robert Green in the Hammers goal. Scott Parker looked to have bagged a second equaliser just before the break only to see his effort harshly ruled out by referee Chris Foy. The visitors started the second period brightly but any hopes of a point were dashed after Tevez slipped his marker to head home Craig Bellamys 61st-minute free-kick. MiLLWALL have expressed their disbelief after being hit with three disciplinary charges by the FA over the crowd violence which marred their Carling Cup tie at West Ham last month. The Hammers were also issued with four charges while both clubs have been charged with failing to prevent racist behaviour by fans and could be forced to play matches behind closed doors. Millwall said in a statement: [We] are shocked and disappointed charges have been issued against us in respect of events...at West Ham. Our question for the FA is: What can Millwall do to control individuals actions once inside our opponents stadium? NiCkLAS BeNDtNer will miss Arsenals Champions League game against Olympiakos tonight after being involved in a minor car accident on Sunday. the 21-year-olds Aston Martin left the road and collided with the hard shoulder fence and a tree. Boss Arsene Wenger said: Fortunately, there was no real long-term damage but he was bruised and we thought it better he did not train. He should be back for Sundays game [against Blackburn]. theo Walcott is expected to return by the weekend but Denilson is set for up to two months on the sidelines with a fracture to his back. CHELSEA have left Michael Ballack and John Obi Mikel behind for tomorrows Champions League clash with Apoel Nicosia in Cyprus. Mikel is struggling with an ankle problem while Germany captain Ballack is out with a calf strain. But Ashley Cole, forced out of the 3-1 defeat by Wigan on Saturday with an ankle injury, did make the flight as did Deco and Joe Cole. Meanwhile, Didier Drogba has urged the Blues to bounce back from their first loss of the season. We didnt play well, he said. We lost all the battles, all the duels. This is the worst game i have played in at Chelsea. We need to correct what was wrong and try to go again. Accident: Bendtner FOOTBALLDigest HULL chairman Paul Duffen insists speculation over the future of boss Phil Brown is mischief-making. the tigers crashed 6-1 at Liverpool on Saturday to leave them one place off the foot of the Premier League table. Hulls poor start to the season and shocking 2009 overall they have won just twice since the turn of the year has resulted in Browns position coming under scrutiny. But Duffen said: there is no speculation about the managers position. its just mischief- making in the media. At the moment, we are seven games into a new campaign and we are right in the mix. man cITy ...3 wEST ham...1 SOCCer (7.45pm unless stated) UeFA Champions League Group e Fiorentina v Liverpool ....................... Debrecen v Lyon............................... Group F Rubin Kazan v inter Milan.......... 5.30 Barcelona v Dynamo Kiev ................ Group G Unirea Urziceni v VfB Stuttgart......... Rangers v Sevilla.............................. Group H Arsenal v Olympiacos....................... AZ v Standard Liege......................... Coca-Cola Championship Barnsley v West Brom...................... Bristol City v Blackpool .................... Cardiff v Derby.................................. Crystal Palace v Sheff Wed .............. Doncaster v Swansea....................... Middlesbrough v Leicester............... Peterborough v Plymouth................. Preston v Reading............................ Sheff Utd v ipswich .......................... Watford v Coventry........................... Coca-Cola League One Brentford v Southend ....................... Colchester v Charlton....................... Exeter v Swindon ............................. Leeds v Carlisle ................................ Millwall v Yeovil................................. Norwich v Leyton Orient................... Oldham v Milton Keynes Dons......... Southampton v Bristol Rovers ......... Stockport v Hartlepool ..................... Walsall v Huddersfield...................... Wycombe v Tranmere....................... Coca-Cola League two Barnet v Dag & Red.......................... Burton Albion v Macclesfield............ Cheltenham v Shrewsbury ............... Crewe v Bury.................................... Darlington v Rochdale...................... Hereford v Bournemouth.................. Lincoln City v Notts County.............. Morecambe v Bradford .................... Northampton v Rotherham............... Port Vale v Accrington Stanley......... Torquay v Aldershot.......................... League of ireland Premier Division Derry City v Bohemians.................... Cork v Sligo...................................... League of ireland First Division Waterford Utd v Longford Town ....... RESUlTS l oF IREland Pats lifted by OBrien Declan OBriens first league goal for St Pats greatly eased their relegation fears as they won for the first time in six games. The victory, new boss Pete Mahons first in charge, moves Saints six points above the play-off places and ten points clear of bottom side Bray who look in real trouble now. Bray enjoyed much of the ball throughout but conceded to a route one attack on 28 minutes. a long ball from Dave Partridge caught the home defence out and OBrien lobbed keeper chris Oconnor with a superb first-time effort. bRay wdRS.................... 0 ST paTRIckS............. 1 star duo still hold key, admits rafaBy DAviD keNNeDy Understanding: torres, left, and Gerrard SoccER CHAMPiONS LeAGUe RAFAEL BENiTEZ has reiterated Liverpools Champions League hopes rely on the partnership between Ste- ven Gerrard and Fernando Torres. The Reds are in italy for tonights game with Fiorentina eager to build on their opening-day 1-0 win over Hungarian side Debrecen at Anfield. But, after Spain striker Torres was blighted by injuries last season, he is now looking back to his best, under- lined by a hat-trick in Saturdays 6-1 demolition of Hull. midfielder Gerrard, who plays fur- ther forward for his club, also scored in that victory and there are hopes the duo can lead Benitezs side all the way to next years final in madrid. The pair have 11 goals between them so far this term Torres has eight of those and Liverpool boss Benitez said: The main thing is that these two are good players with qual- ity and intelligence. Gerrard is very quick passing the ball and Torres is very quick to run into space. if you analyse the goals they have scored together over the past couple of seasons you would be amazed. The understanding between the pair, with Torres up front and Ger- rard in space behind him, has been the real difference for us. Playing Steven further forward means he can link well and be a real partner for Torres. He still has to help in midfield but does not have to go back 40 metres, only 15, no more. And the resurgent Torres claims he is an improved player since leaving Atletico madrid in 2007. i am a better player now than when i was, he added. Under Rafa ive started to play more in the middle. ive scored a lot of goals from this position, rather than out wide. Javier mascherano and yossi Be- nayoun have been ruled out of to- nights game. Argentina midfielder mascherano is ill while israel international Be- nayoun picked up a leg injury against Hull, meaning Benitez may stick with winger Albert Riera in a more attacking formation than expected. MATCH FACTS Man City: Given, Zabaleta, Toure, Lescott, Bridge, Wright-Phillips (Santa Cruz 80), De Jong, Barry (Johnson 89), Petrov, Tevez, Bellamy. Booked: Bridge. West Ham: Green, Faubert, Da Costa, Tomkins, Ilunga, Diamanti, Kovac (Stanislas 71), Parker, Noble, Jimenez (Hines 71), Cole. Booked: Diamanti. referee: Chris Foy High kick: Citys Shaun Wright-Phillips battles with West Hams Carlton Cole Picture:ActionImages impressive city keep pace with top four index.html2.html3.html4.html5.html6.html7.html8.html9.html10.html11.html12.html13.html14.html15.html16.html17.html18.html19.html20.html21.html22.html23.html