Marlon Harewood and Shola ameobi fired newcastle ten points clear at the top of the Championship. Harewoods 16th- minute strike and ameobis (pictured) 59th-minute header were enough to see off derby rivals Middlesbrough, who now trail newcastle by 20 points after just one win in nine games since Gordon Strachan became manager. 22 METROSPORT Monday, December 21, 2009 D GOLF sOuth aFrican Open (Pearl Valley Golf Estates, Paarl, Western Cape) Final rnd (Gbr & Irl unless stated, par 72): 275 Richie Ramsay 67 75 68 65 (Richie Ramsay won at the first play- off hole), Shiv Kapur (Ind) 71 68 69 67. 276 Anders Hansen (Den) 66 69 72 69. 277 Edoardo Molinari (Ita) 68 69 69 71, Fredrik Andersson Hed (Swe) 71 68 68 70. 278 Pablo Martin (Spa) 65 68 72 73, Darren Fichardt (Rsa) 73 71 68 66. Others: 283 Damien McGrane 69 72 71 71 286 Gareth Maybin 75 68 72 71, Michael Hoey 70 70 70 76. 287 Gary Murphy 75 69 71 72 ruGby uniOn heineKen cup pOOL 1 Treviso ............ 18 Northampton.. 21 Perpignan ....... 14 Munster.......... 37 p W D L F a pts Munster 4 3 0 1 129 78 15 Northampton 4 3 0 1 95 92 13 Perpignan 4 1 0 3 74 83 6 Treviso 4 1 0 3 55 100 5 pOOL 2 Newport-G D .... 8 Biarritz............ 26 Gloucester...... 19 Glasgow........... 6 p W D L F a pts Biarritz 4 4 0 0 139 54 18 Gloucester 4 2 0 2 64 98 8 N-Gwent D 4 1 0 3 60 108 5 Glasgow 4 1 0 3 71 74 5 pOOL 3 Leicester......... 20 Clermont A..... 15 Ospreys .......... 45 Viadana.......... 19 p W D L F a pts Ospreys 4 3 1 0 164 82 16 Leicester 4 2 1 1 128 98 12 Clermont A 4 2 0 2 115 93 12 Viadana 4 0 0 4 55 189 0 pOOL 4 Edinburgh ......... 9 Bath ................. 6 Stade Francais 29 Ulster.............. 16 p W D L F a pts Stade Francais 4 3 0 1 102 73 13 Edinburgh 4 2 0 2 42 66 9 Ulster 4 2 0 2 78 71 9 Bath 4 1 0 3 61 73 6 pOOL 5 Toulouse ......... 23 Cardiff Blues .... 7 Sale................. 21 Harlequins...... 17 p W D L F a pts Toulouse 4 3 0 1 91 58 14 Sale 4 3 0 1 94 98 13 Cardiff Blues 4 2 0 2 68 65 9 Harlequins 4 0 0 4 61 93 2 pOOL 6 Leinster........... 39 Scarlets............ 7 London Irish.... 34 Brive............... 13 p W D L F a pts Leinster 4 3 0 1 116 39 15 London Irish 4 3 0 1 107 52 15 Scarlets 4 2 0 2 65 108 8 Brive 4 0 0 4 41 130 0 amLin cup pOOL 2 Connacht........ 19 Worcester......... 7 Olymp Madrid... 6 Montpellier..... 42 p W D L b F a pts Connacht 4 4 0 0 1 113 53 17 Montpellier 4 3 0 1 3 140 69 15 Worcester 4 1 0 3 3 83 72 7 O Madrid 4 0 0 4 0 41 183 0 barclays premier league arsenal ............3 hull ................. 0 Denilson 45 Att 60,006 Eduardo 59, Diaby 80 aston Villa ......1 stoke .............. 0 Carew 61 Att 35,852 blackburn .......0 tottenham ...... 2 Att 26,490 Crouch 45, 83 Fulham ............3 man utd ......... 0 Murphy 22 Att 25,700 Zamora 46, Duff 75 man city .........4 sunderland .... 3 Santa Cruz 4, 69 Mensah 16, Jones 62 Tevez 12 (pen) Henderson 24 Bellamy 35 Att 44,735 portsmouth ....2 Liverpool ........ 0 Belhadj 33 Att 20,534 Piquionne 82 yestreday everton ...........1 birmingham ... 1 Bilyaletdinov 5 Larsson 22 Att 33,660 West ham .......1 chelsea .......... 1 Diamanti 45 (pen) Lampard 61 (pen) Att 33,388 Wolves ............2 burnley ........... 0 Milijas 15 Att 27,410 Doyle 50 p W D L F a pts Chelsea 18 13 2 3 43 15 41 Man Utd 18 12 1 5 37 17 37 Arsenal 17 11 2 4 44 20 35 Aston Villa 18 10 5 3 29 14 35 Tottenham 18 10 3 5 40 22 33 Man City 17 7 8 2 33 27 29 Birmingham 18 8 4 6 19 18 28 Liverpool 18 8 3 7 34 25 27 Fulham 17 7 5 5 23 17 26 Sunderland 18 6 3 9 25 28 21 Stoke 17 5 6 6 15 20 21 Wolverhampton18 5 4 9 17 31 19 Blackburn 18 5 4 9 17 32 19 Burnley 18 5 4 9 21 37 19 Everton 17 4 6 7 23 31 18 Wigan 17 5 3 9 20 38 18 Hull 18 4 5 9 17 37 17 Bolton 16 4 4 8 23 33 16 West Ham 18 3 6 9 26 35 15 Portsmouth 18 4 2 12 17 26 14 coca-cola championship blackpool ...... p West brom .....p Postponed - due to frozen pitch. bristol city ......1 reading .......... 1 Hartley 13 (pen) Church 90 cardiff ............ p Leicester ........p Postponed - due to frozen pitch. crystal p .........1 barnsley ......... 1 Moses 51 Bogdanovic 19 Derby ..............0 Doncaster ...... 2 Sharp 21 Coppinger 90 nottm F ...........3 preston ........... 0 McKenna 16 Adebola 25 McGugan 81 peterboro ......2 Watford .......... 1 Frecklington 9 Eustace 49 Geohaghon 78 plymouth ........0 coventry ......... 1 Eastwood 72 Qpr .................1 sheff utd ........ 1 Leigertwood 2 Cresswell 8 scunthorpe .... p ipswich ...........p Postponed - due to frozen pitch. sheff Wed .......0 swansea ........ 2 Pratley 5, 36 yestreday newcastle .......2 middlesbro ..... 0 Harewood 16 Ameobi 59 p W D L F a pts Newcastle 22 15 4 3 37 12 49 West Brom 21 11 6 4 43 21 39 Nottm Forest 22 10 9 3 32 18 39 Cardiff 21 11 3 7 38 22 36 Swansea 22 9 8 5 20 18 35 Leicester 21 9 7 5 26 23 34 Sheff Utd 22 8 8 6 33 31 32 Blackpool 21 8 7 6 33 25 31 Bristol City 22 7 10 5 26 25 31 QPR 22 7 9 6 36 32 30 Doncaster 22 7 9 6 29 26 30 Crystal Palace 22 7 9 6 25 26 30 Watford 22 8 6 8 31 35 30 Middlesbrough 22 8 5 9 30 27 29 Preston 22 7 8 7 26 28 29 Barnsley 21 7 6 8 27 33 27 Coventry 22 6 7 9 25 33 25 Derby 22 7 4 11 24 33 25 Scunthorpe 21 6 5 10 24 38 23 Reading 22 5 7 10 24 34 22 Ipswich 21 3 12 6 22 30 21 Sheff Wed 22 4 6 12 23 37 18 Peterborough 22 3 8 11 27 37 17 Plymouth 21 4 3 14 16 33 15 league one charlton ..........4 millwall ........... 4 colchester ..... p carlisle ...........p exeter ..............1 southend ........ 0 Gillingham ......3 stockport ....... 1 hartlepool .......1 yeovil .............. 1 Leeds ..............1 southampton . 0 mK Dons .........0 brentford ........ 1 norwich ..........3 huddersfld ..... 0 swindon ..........2 brighton ......... 1 tranmere ........2 bristol rs ....... 0 Walsall ............2 Leyton O ......... 2 Wycombe ........2 Oldham ........... 2 p W D L F a pts Leeds 21 15 5 1 38 10 50 Charlton 22 13 7 2 43 24 46 Norwich 22 12 6 4 48 27 42 Colchester 21 11 6 4 35 19 39 Huddersfield 22 10 5 7 45 28 35 Swindon 20 9 7 4 26 26 34 Bristol Rovers 22 11 1 10 32 34 34 Millwall 22 8 9 5 33 26 33 MK Dons 22 10 3 9 29 31 33 Walsall 22 8 7 7 32 29 31 Hartlepool 22 7 6 9 29 29 27 Carlisle 21 7 6 8 28 30 27 Southend 22 7 5 10 25 29 26 Brentford 22 6 8 8 20 25 26 Southampton 22 9 8 5 38 26 25 Gillingham 22 7 4 11 28 32 25 Yeovil 22 5 10 7 28 32 25 Exeter 22 6 7 9 24 31 25 Oldham 22 6 7 9 19 27 25 Leyton Orient 22 6 5 11 27 39 23 Brighton 22 5 5 12 25 41 20 Tranmere 22 6 2 14 21 43 20 Wycombe 22 4 6 12 22 36 18 Stockport 21 3 5 13 18 39 14 league Two Friday Grimsby ..........1 morecambe ... 1 hereford ......... p Lincoln city ....p saturday accrington ..... p barnet ............p aldershot ....... p bradford .........p bury ................ p macclesfld .....p cheltenham ... p burton alb ......p crewe ............. p torquay ..........p Darlington ...... p nhampton .....p port Vale ........ p chesterfld ......p rochdale ........4 shrewsbury .... 0 rotherham .... p Dag & red ......p p W D L F a pts Rochdale 22 15 2 5 47 20 47 Bournemouth 21 12 4 5 25 21 40 Rotherham 21 11 6 4 33 21 39 Dag & Red 21 10 7 4 36 26 37 Chesterfield 21 11 2 8 35 30 35 Notts County 21 9 7 5 43 20 34 Morecambe 22 8 10 4 40 31 34 Aldershot 21 9 6 6 34 28 33 Bury 21 9 5 7 27 30 32 Shrewsbury 22 8 7 7 30 28 31 Accrington S 20 9 3 8 31 28 30 Burton Albion 21 8 5 8 33 30 29 Crewe 21 9 2 10 35 33 29 Bradford 21 7 8 6 31 33 29 Barnet 21 7 6 8 24 25 27 Port Vale 21 5 11 5 23 23 26 Hereford 21 6 7 8 26 31 25 Macclesfield 20 5 8 7 22 30 23 Torquay 21 5 7 9 30 31 22 Northampton 21 5 7 9 30 35 22 Cheltenham 21 4 8 9 25 37 20 Lincoln City 21 5 4 12 13 28 19 Grimsby 22 3 8 11 16 35 17 Darlington 21 2 2 17 10 45 8 clydesdale bank premier league aberdeen ........0 hibernian ....... 2 hamilton ........ p Dundee utd ....p Kilmarnock .....1 Falkirk ............ 2 rangers ..........6 motherwell ..... 1 Miller 5, 58 Hutchinson 67 Boyd 53 Att 44,291 Lafferty 75, 88 Beasley 84 st Johnstone ..1 st mirren ........ 0 yestreday hearts .............2 celtic .............. 1 Stewart 32 (pen) Samaras 21 Bouzid 76 Att 16,223 p W D L F a pts Rangers 16 11 4 1 35 10 37 Celtic 16 10 3 3 34 18 33 Hibernian 16 9 5 2 24 10 32 Dundee Utd 15 7 6 2 21 15 27 Motherwell 16 4 8 4 20 25 20 Aberdeen 16 4 6 6 12 18 18 Hearts 16 4 5 7 15 19 17 St Johnstone 16 4 4 8 21 29 16 Hamilton 15 4 4 7 15 24 16 St Mirren 16 3 5 8 18 25 14 Kilmarnock 16 3 4 9 12 22 13 Falkirk 16 2 6 8 14 26 12 weekend results MANCHESTER United boss Sir Alex Ferguson admits the injury-ravaged champions are at risk of losing their grip on the Premier League title. A crisis which has deprived United of seven defenders finally caught up with them as a makeshift three-man rearguard was shown up 3-0 by in-form Fulham at Craven Cottage. It was their fifth defeat of the campaign, one more than they endured throughout last season, and Ferguson said: The way the league is at the moment I hope this result is not too damaging and doesnt cost us the league. Well have to get our defenders back to give us a proper chance of going for the league, theres no question of that. But if we get them back well be back in it. The quicker theyre back the better. Theyre doing their best. The medical team are working overtime to get them back. There was a fragility at the back [at Fulham] and we couldnt do anything about that. Flying magpies add to their lead newcastle ....................................2 middlesbrough ........................0 Wasteful Everton miss out everton...................... 1 birmingham ............. 1 DAvID MoyES was left to rue missed chances as his Everton side were held at Goodison Park. Diniyar Bilyaletdinovs fifth-minute strike was all the hosts had to show for their early dominance, although Louis Saha had a goal wrongly ruled out for offside minutes after the Russian had opened the scoring. And they were caught cold when Sebastian Larsson equalised with the visitors first shot of the match midway through the first half. Im frustrated as we had opportunities in a game which I feel we were in control of and should have won, said Everton manager Moyes. But Birmingham counterpart Alex McLeish admitted: To come to Goodison, not play that great and get a point is a fantastic bonus. everton: Howard, Hibbert, Heitinga, Neill, Baines, Pienaar, Osman (Vaughan 90), Cahill, Bilyaletdinov (Yakubu 70), Fellaini, Saha. birmingham: Hart, Carr, Roger Johnson, Dann, Ridgewell, Larsson, Bowyer, Ferguson, McFadden (Fahey 69), Jerome, Benitez (Vignal 82). booked: Larsson, Hart, Jerome. ref: Stuart Attwell MATCH FACTS Opener: bilyaletdinov, left championship soccer premier LeaGue Defensive crisis has Ferguson concerned Frank holds his nerve as blues escape with a point West ham: Green, Faubert, Gabbidon (Tomkins 19), Upson, Ilunga, Noble, Kovac, Parker, Collison, Franco, Diamanti. booked: Franco, Parker, Noble, Upson. chelsea: Cech, Ivanovic, Carvalho, Terry, A Cole, Ballack, Lampard, Malouda (Mikel 46), J Cole (Zhirkov 75), Drogba, Kalou (Sturridge 46). booked: Carvalho, A Cole, Terry. ref: Mike Dean west ham ..................... 1 chelsea ......................... 1Frank laMpard showed the nerve which has made him one of the Barclays premier leagues finest players to rescue a point which takes Chelsea four points clear at the top of the table at Christmas. lampard, once hailed but now rou- tinely jeered inside the Upton park ground he graced as a youngster, slot- ted home a penalty in the second half which he was forced to take three times. Some players might have been thrown by that. lampard simply kept rippling the back of west Ham goal- keeper robert Greens net until refe- ree Mike dean finally signalled the goal which cancelled out a first-half penalty by alessandro diamanti. But if it signalled two dropped points for Chelsea in their quest for the title, then for west Ham manager Gianfran- co Zola perhaps this was the corner he has been waiting to turn. a corner which means the Hammers will not be bottom on Christmas day, which is usually a prelude to relegation. west Ham opened the scoring with their own spot-kick, which was fired home in the first half by alessandro diamanti after ashley Cole had brought down Jack Collison. The Blues second-half equaliser came from the spot when Matthew Upson was adjudged to have fouled daniel Sturridge, a decision which angered Hammers boss Zola. Television replays revealed Upson had made a sound tackle but the as- sistant referee waved his flag and per- suaded dean to change his original decision. Zola said: The referee got it right in the first place then the lines- man put his flag up and the referee changed his mind. His first impression was the right one. pity he did not stay with that. The players were disappointed. The linesman put the flag up and thats why he gave it. Zola was delighted with the battling performance, adding: I am happy be- cause the attitude, the passion and the courage of my players was remarka- ble. It was a good starting point and it will affect everyone from now on. carLO anceLOtti insisted he had confidence in John terry following allegations the defender took secret cash payments to lay on a tour of the clubs training ground. a sunday newspaper claimed terry accepted 10,000 in cash within yards of ancelotti at the clubs cobham training hQ to arrange the visit for an undercover reporter. ancelotti said: this is not correct. this is not true. the club, me, the players, have a lot of confidence in John terry and John terry did nothing wrong. i have a lot of confidence in my captain. Carlo defends skipper Terry standing tall: Lampard defied penalty pressure Picture:ActionImages by marK curtis index.html2.html3.html4.html5.html6.html7.html8.html9.html10.html11.html12.html13.html14.html15.html16.html17.html18.html19.html20.html21.html22.html23.html