Petit proves ace with a gem winner

Bergkamp limps off after missing penalty as Arsenal edge close

Arsenal 1 - Derby County 0

by Bill Pierce
ARSENAL moved four points clear at the top of the Premiership and within three points of the title after Frenchman Emmanuel Petit scored a scorching 35th minute goal.
But the Gunners were left with a major worry over injured Dutch ace Dennis Bergkamp who, having missed a penalty, limped off with a hamstring injury after just past the half hour.
Arsene Wenger's team clung on through a nervous last five minutes to set up a Sunday special against Everton when another win will leave Manchester United helpless to prevent the Gunners taking the crown.
But the big worry is now over 22-goal Bergkamp who looked in severe discomfort as he hobbled off at a dramatic moment in a rugged clash with Jim Smith's wound up Derby team who battled for their pride but in the end collected only five bookings.
Petit's decisive strike came five minutes after Bergkamp's exit, a thunderous 20-yard drive to lift the sagging spirits of the home crowd as they began to suspect there could be a disaster in the offing
The ponytailed Frenchman landed his second strike in successive home games having failed to figure at all as a marksman previously since his £3.5million move from Monaco in the summer.
But Petit was also the best and cleverest player on the pitch as Wenger looked to him for their inspiration in the absence of Bergkamp's silky touch.
The loud whistle from the 38,000 plus crowd accurately reflected Arsenal's anxiety at the end but really they should have wrapped it up easily against a poor Derby side who have now been beaten six times in their last eight games and seen a European place disappear over the horizon.
Nobody told them, however, about the script which should have dictated they were a mere stepping stone in Arsenal's quest for the top prize.
Smith team battled with a will and a pride which sometimes took them over the border of legality.
Lee Carsley, stand in for injured captain Igor Stimac, was lucky that referee Neal Barry did not see his outrageous assault on Ray Parlour after he had already been booked for a foul on Nicola Anelka.
But Derby could have sworn referee Barry was on Arsenal's side when he gave them a spot kick in the 11th minute.
It seemed no more than a stumble by big teenager Anelka when he went over Chris Powell's challenge inches from the dead ball-line
But Bergkamp amazingly let Derby off the hook, missing a penalty for the first time for Arsenal with a tame effort that allowed Poom a comfortable save diving to his left.
The omens looked very bad for the Gunners at that stage, Ian Wright having missed a penalty at Derby earlier in the season when they suffered one of only four league defeats this season.
But Petit quickly lifted the mood of gloom with a truly magnificent goal which proved the winner .
Anelka knocked the ball down on the edge of the box for Overmars and Rory Delap's sliding tackle took it away.
But Overmars, never renowned for his physical commitment, bit back with a toe in challenge that slipped the ball into Petit's path and the midfielder needed no more invitation to rocket home an unstoppable drive.
Arsenal should have had one or two more in a second half that almost became a non event. Derby could not muster anything of invention and, until the closing minutes of unexpected mayhem, it seemed just a matter of how many Arsenal would win by.
Petit powered a 25 yard free kick which came back off Poom but the big Estonian was alert quickly enough in his recovery to stop substitute Chris Wreh from stabbing home the rebound.
Poom distinguished himself yet again with a flying leap to claw away another blockbuster by Petit from even longer range and Overmars twice dallied over chances in the area when he seemed to want to walk the ball into the net.
But the final whistle was like music to Arsenal's ears and the bookmakers have now suspended betting against them singing a celebration tune when they meet relegation-haunted Everton with the title on the line at Highbury next Sunday.

ARSENAL: Seaman, Dixon, Winterburn, Vieira, Adams, Anelka (Platt 82), Bergkamp (Wreh 30), Overmars, Keown, Parlour, Petit.
DERBY: Poom, Rowett, C. Powell, D. Powell (Burton 74), Sturridge, Wanchope, Delap, Bohinen (Solis 82), Laursen, Carsley, Dailly.

Last night' results:

Nationwide Football League, Division One:
Middlesbrough 1 Wolverhampton 1.
Scottish League, Division Three:
Albion 0 Arbroath 2

Shearer in the dock after angry outburst

Leicester City 0 - Newcastle Utd 0

ALAN SHEARER will grab the unwanted headlines from a drab Premiership encounter at Filbert Street, after appearing to kick Leicester midfielder Neil Lennon in the face in a touch-line bust-up.
England captain Shearer seemed to react angrily at being challenged by the Northern Ireland international in the 58th minute, before kicking out in his opponent's direction. It left the former Crewe player lying in a heap and needing treatment but referee Martin Bodenham took no action apart from awarding a throw-in to Newcastle.
Apart from the Shearer-Lennon flare-up in a game which saw tempers become increasingly frayed, there was little to get excited about, with only two saves worthy of the name in the whole 90 minutes. Newcastle's Shay Given did well to keep out an Emile Heskey header, and City's Kasey Keller was alert enough to deny a dipping volley from Robert Lee. The Magpies will be happiest with a point to inch them nearer to safety and four points clear of third-from-bottom Bolton.
But the draw is a massive blow to Leicester's UEFA Cup hopes, which are now looking increasingly remote.
Newcastle boss Dalglish made three changes from the side beaten 2-0 at Tottenham on Saturday, with Lee, Steve Howey and Temuri Ketsbaia back in the starting line-up.
Leicester captain Steve Walsh blocked a close-range shot from Howey, and Gary Speed gained a fortunate rebound off Matt Elliott but drilled his effort over the bar when well placed.
The normally impressive Nikolaos Dabizas had one of his shakier games for the visitors and in the 41st minute he was booked for hauling down Heskey, with Speed also cautioned on the stroke of half-time for fouling his Greek compatriot Zagorakis.
After the Shearer incident, Leicester thought they had broken the deadlock when Guppy's cross picked out Heskey only for Given to go full length and parry the header. Then came Keller's fine save to keep out Lee's fierce volley. But there was little more posed in the way of a threat at either end — and the whistle went with the name of Shearer on everyone's lips.

LEICESTER: Keller, Savage, Guppy, Walsh, Elliott, Kaamark, Izzet, Lennon, Zagorakis (Ullathorne 78), Marshall (Cottee 82), Heskey.
NEWCASTLE: Given, Barton, Batty, Howey, Lee, Shearer, Speed, Pearce, Ketsbaia, Pistone, Dabizas.

Coventry 0 - Wimbledon 0

Wimbledon guaranteed their Premiership future for next season despite stretching their remarkable goal drought to almost seven hours.
Only a maximum six points from Bolton's last two games and a miracle run of results can deny the Dons top-flight safety for another year.
But this was a scoreline that was always on the cards, because although Joe Kinnear's side have been unable to find the net, they have also been keeping them out at the other end.
Their sixth clean sheet in seven League games — champions-elect Arsenal's 5-0 thrashing the only blot on their copybook — has also probably denied Coventry their chance of a UEFA Cup spot for next term. They could have moved to within two points of seventh-placed West Ham with a victory, but their sixth draw in eight Premiership matches leaves them four adrift with just two games to play.
Gordon Strachan's side rarely looked like ending a barren home spell against Wimbledon which has now seen them fail to win in their last eight meetings at Highfield Road.
Wimbledon's best chance came in the seventh minute, when the Coventry back line could only half-clear a corner to Michael Hughes. His pass over the top sprung City's offside trap and gave leading scorer Jason Euell the simplest of opportunities, but Sweden keeper Magnus Hedman spread himself superbly to block the shot.
Within three minutes Coventry conjured up their best moment of the game and this time it was Wimbledon's failure to clear a Paul Telfer corner which set up the opportunity.
Gary Breen flicked the ball on for Dion Dublin to fire in a spectacular overhead kick which only just cleared the bar — and that was as good as it got in a dire advert for top-flight English football.
Kinnear's side then suffered another blow in the 16th minute with Dublin again involved. City's leading scorer jumped for a high ball with Dean Blackwell and the Dons defender came off worst after a clash of heads. He was eventually led off with double vision and replaced by Brian McAllister.
The second period was even worse, but one in which Wimbledon confirmed their 13th season in the top flight.

COVENTRY: Hedman, Shaw, Burrows, Breen, Huckerby, Whelan, Dublin, Telfer, Soltvedt (Moldovan 78), Boland, Nilsson.
WIMBLEDON: Sullivan, Kimble, Blackwell (McAllister 15), Thatcher, Roberts, Perry, Hughes, Ardley, Euell (Ekoku 76), Leaburn, Kennedy (Fear 81).

Gallacher puts Blackburn back on track for UEFA Cup place

Chelsea 0 - Blackburn 1

BLACKBURN striker Kevin Gallacher brought his club's wayward season back to life at Stamford Bridge with a second-half winner over Chelsea that had their fans dreaming of Europe again.
Blackburn arrived in London having taken just four points out of a possible 24 in their last eight games. After being seen as title contenders around Christmas, they had dropped to sixth place, with the chasing pack of West Ham, Aston Villa, Derby and Leicester poised just behind them for the UEFA Cup spot.
At least they had Colin Hendry, Garry Flitcroft and Billy McKinlay back from suspension and could boast a proud record against the Blues, with this season's Coca-Cola Cup third round defeat on penalties being the only time they had lost to Chelsea since the 1988 play-offs.
And they kept that record going as Gallacher struck in the 48th-minute from short-range following a terrible error by French defender Frank Leboeuf.
Chelsea were well below their imaginative and free-flowing best form yet still had chances to score late on - with Mark Hughes hitting the outside of the post with just six minutes left and Leboeuf rattling the woodwork with a thunderous freekick in the dying seconds.
Blackburn were perhaps lucky to survive by the end yet they had produced a brave backs-to--the-wall defensive performance in the last half-hour as Chelsea pressed.
Hendry and Stephane Henchoz were at the heart of only their second clean sheet in almost three months and centre-forward Chris Sutton was regularly called back to help out as an emergency defender. Earlier, they had matched Chelsea in an uninspiring first-half. Gallacher came the closest to opening the scoring in the opening period when he was put away through the middle after just two minutes.
The Scottish striker kept looking round, expecting the offside flag to go up, but when it did not, he gathered the ball, advanced on keeper Kharine and placed his shot low to the Russian's right only to see him fling himself across to block the ball.
Chelsea, with Andy Myers and Tore Andre Flo in for Michael Duberry and Gianfranco Zola, continued to apply pressure and Dan Petrescu headed just too close to keeper John Filan when Graeme Le Saux found him in space in the penalty box.
Yet for all Chelsea's possession, Kharine also had to push a shot from Sutton around the post and then, after the break, Blackburn took the lead.
Winger Damien Duff crossed low from the left but Leboeuf looked to have a simple job in clearing the ball until he took his eye off it, lost his bearings and allowed it slip through his legs.
Gallacher swooped to smash the ball past Kharine from short-range and Leboeuf was left to hang his head. Sutton shot narrowly wide soon afterwards but the rest of the match belonged to Chelsea as they piled forward in search of an equaliser.
Flo saw a shot blocked, keeper Filan produced a flying save to deny Hughes after a wonderful dummy from substitute Vialli, while Gustavo Poyet wasted a header. In the closing stages, Hughes hit the outside of the post as he blasted a shot from 10 yards that had Filan well beaten, Leboeuf had a penalty appeal turned down after falling over McKinlay and the Frenchman almost knocked down the goalposts with his freekick from the edge of the area.

CHELSEA: Kharine, Petrescu (Charvet 57), Leboeuf, Clarke, Poyet, Hughes, Le Saux, Di Matteo, Myers, Flo (Vialli 57), Newton (Morris 71).
BLACKBURN: Filan, Kenna, Sherwood (Croft 48), Hendry, Gallacher, Sutton, Flitcroft, McKinlay, Valery, Henchoz, Duff (Broomes 85).

Lombardo out of Palace job

Attilio Lombardo will continue to play for the Eagles.

by Mark Bradley
CRYSTAL PALACE chairman Ron Noades yesterday took over control of first-team affairs at the club until the end of the season, as Attilio Lombardo stepped down from his position as player-manager.
Noades and coach Ray Lewington will be in charge and pick the team for the Eagles' last three games following confirmation of their relegation after Monday night's 3-0 home defeat by Manchester United.
Lombardo, who was not Noades' choice as player-boss when Steve Coppell moved aside to become director of football development, has been criticised by the chairman for his team selection but had been expected to stay on until the end of the season.
But the club said that he felt there was "no point in him carrying on in the management role" in the light of relegation. The Italian will revert to being simply a player.
The move was just the latest in a series of extraordinary developments that have taken place at the club this season.
Businessman Mark Goldberg is still attempting to complete his planned £30 million takeover after several delays and former England coach Terry Venables has been lined up to take charge of team affairs next season.
But Venables will not come in unless Goldberg completes the deal — and Noades has publicly doubted whether the Kent-based businessman can find the financial backing in time.
The stop-gap appointment of Lombardo, who speaks little English, with Tomas Brolin — the Swedish international dismissed as a troublemaker by Leeds — as his interpreter and assistant, raised further doubts as to Palace's credibility.
And the departure of the Italian international with three games still left to play will now no doubt only add fuel to the critics' fires.
Palace said in a statement: "Attilio Lombardo is no longer in charge of first-team affairs at Crystal Palace. The Italian stood down from this role at lunchtime today and first-team affairs for the remaining three games of the season will be directed by Ron Noades and Ray Lewington.
"Lombardo was given the role in an endeavour to avoid relegation but of course that reality came into being on Monday evening with the Selhurst Park defeat at the hands of Manchester United.
"He now feels that in the present situation, there would be no point in him carrying on in the management role and will continue with the club as a player."

United will bounce back, vows Fergie

by David Anderson
ALEX FERGUSON has vowed Manchester United will bounce back next season if Arsenal take away their championship crown.
The Gunners can claim the title before United play their next game against Leeds on Monday if they beat Everton on Saturday. But the United manager claims he is not scared by the prospect of finishing a season empty-handed for only the second time in the 1990s.
Instead Ferguson has already turned his thoughts towards planning for next season as demonstrated by the imminent arrival of the club's record £10.5million signing Jaap Stam from PSV Eindhoven. And he hinted that the Dutch international defender may not be the only big-name signing made by the club.
"I've no problem with not winning anything this season," he said. "Handling failure is something you get used to in management.
"The important thing is how you recover and how you use it and we will use it. This summer will be very interesting."
Ferguson admits he is surprised by how well Arsene Wenger's side have done in overhauling his champions thanks to an eight-match winning streak in the league. He also paid tribute to the Gunners who are on course to emulate United and win a second Double.
"Arsenal have surprised me and their run has been fantastic," he said. "You've got to hold your hands up and we've no problem with that at Manchester United.
"We don't like what Arsenal have done to us, but we recognise what champions are."
Ferguson was speaking on Carlton TV's Late Tackle programme, which is due to be broadcast tonight. He feels Wenger's French signings, such as Nicolas Anelka, Patrick Vieira and Emmanuel Petit, have made the difference for Arsenal this season and he intends to follow his lead. "We have some catching up to do in that market," he admitted.
United defender Phil Neville agreed with his manager that credit must go to Arsenal for what they have done.
"If we don't win it isn't the end of the world," he said. "We have got to give credit to Arsenal. I don't think they've lost a game since Christmas and the run they have been on is championship form."
Meanwhile, Benfica have been given 30 days by FIFA to pay Manchester United the missing £2million transfer fee for Karel Poborsky.

FIFA power battle hotting up

THE battle for the FIFA presidency between UEFA president Lennart Johansson and former FIFA general-secretary Sepp Blatter gained momentum yesterday — the eve of the UEFA Ordinary Congress in Dublin.
UEFA general secretary Gerhard Aigner said it was the right procedure not to invite Blatter, who has officially given up his post as he fights for the presidency.
Blatter, who complained to UEFA for not being invited with the votes of 51 European federations at stake, continues to sign his name as if he is still in the FIFA post.
And Johansson confirmed he was unaware of a UEFA document officially criticising Blatter's manifesto, which has been revealed to various journalists.
Johansson is rumoured to be facing certain defections to the Blatter camp, such as Denmark and France, but the Swede is refusing to recognise any such speculation. He says that he has no reason for concern and would even accept a televised debate from Blatter under certain conditions.
Current FIFA president Brazilian Joao Havelange is due to step down on June 8, two days before the World Cup kicks-off in France.
The vast majority of UEFA members have said they will back Johansson as Havelange's replacement.
The electioneering is very much underway in Dublin with Johansson claiming that Blatter was an "excellent official and administrator" — but also a "behind the desk man".
Johansson said: "My situation is that I have always been a football man, in charge of a club, in charge of a league, in charge of a national association and now in charge of UEFA."
Havelange arrived in Dublin on Tuesday night where he was presented by Johansson with an "order of merit award from UEFA for his services to football over the past 24 years".
But the Brazilian was staying aloof from the internal wrangles of international football.
However, it is believed that Blatter would be his preference as successor as opposed to the Swede.

Kerr calls in teenage terrors Duff and Keane for vital UEFA play-off

by Noel Spillane
TEENAGE sensations Robbie Keane of Wolves and Damien Duff of Blackburn Rovers have been named in manager Brian Kerr's Irish U-18 squad for their big UEFA European Championship play-off, second leg with Greece in Dublin on Thursday, May 14 (k.o. 7.30pm).
And the inclusion of both cross-channel stars is certain to make for a sell-out 10,500 crowd to what will be an all-ticket fixture at Tolka Park.
Ireland hold a one-goal advantage from the first leg at Varia on March 25 thanks to a goal from Middlesbrough's Ronnie O'Brien as they bid to make the finals once again in Cyprus in July.
The incentives are there for the Irish boys — who won the bronze medals in Malaysia last year — to reach the eight-nation tournament on the Mediterranean island with kicks-off after the World Cup finals in France.
If Ireland finish in the top six they will automatically qualify for the World U-20 finals again in Nigeria in 1999.
Kerr, who had 16-players in Greece, has now named an 18-man squad for the Dublin return and is obviously boosted by the inclusion of Keane and Duff who missed the Varia match after they were named by Mick McCarthy in the senior squad that played against the Czech Republic in Olomouc.
"There is no conflict between me and Mick McCarthy when it comes to naming my squads," said Kerr. "Robbie and Damien are in again now and it's nine days before the seniors play Mexico in another friendly in Dublin but I don't see that as a problem."
Four players, Sean Flannery of Sligo Rovers, Dean Delaney of Everton, George O'Callaghan of Port Vale and David Freeman of Nottingham Forest have all been omitted from the squad for the return leg but Alex O'Reilly, Jason Gavin, Alan Quinn and Ryan Casey have been included by Kerr.
• Tickets for the game, priced at £5 for adults and £1 for schoolboys will go on sale tomorrow.

Republic of Ireland under-18 squad: James Gallagher (Celtic), Alex O'Reilly (West Ham United), Thomas Heary (Huddersfield Town), Keith Doyle (St. Patrick's Athletic), Gary Doherty (Luton Town), Richard Dunne (Everton), Jason Gavin (Middlesbrough), Paul Donnelly (Leeds United), Barry Quinn (Coventry City) captain, Stephan McPhail (Leeds United), Gerry Crossley (Celtic), Alan Quinn (Sheffield Wednesday), Damien Duff (Blackburn Rovers), Ryan Casey (Swansea City), Richard Partridge (Liverpool), Robbie Keane (Wolverhampton Wanderers), Liam George (Luton Town), Ronnie O'Brien (Middlesbrough).

Irish Youths put on red alert for European clash with Spain

by Noel Spillane - Stirling
SCOTLAND manager Ross Mathie has issued a warning to group leaders the Republic of Ireland in advance of tonight's big showdown with the defending champions, Spain.
Mathie, whose side drew 0-0 with Ireland in the opening fixture of this UEFA Youths European Championships and drew 1-1 with Spain on Tuesday night, has said that the Spaniards have the potential to win the title outright.
"The Spanish are a brilliant team and some of the stuff they produced, especially, in the first half was a joy to watch. Ireland will be up against it tonight and they will have to be at their best if they are to qualify for the quarter-finals," said Mathie.
But his Irish counterpart Brian Kerr remains upbeat about his team's chances of making the knock-out stages at the weekend.
He said: "Our boys have been excellent in the two games so far. It seems strange, though, that we've only scored two goals in two matches and yet we're top of the group.
"It's surprising given the way we've played and the number of chances we've created. In fact, I don't think it would have mattered if we had beaten Finland by 10-0 on Tuesday because it was not going to affect whether we qualified or not. It's all going to go down to the actual results of tonight's matches and not the scorelines.
"The number of goals are not going to change anything. It's all down to us getting a point against Spain and seeing whether or not Scotland win their match against Finland."
Kerr said that he did not need the Scottish boss to forewarn him about the dangers of playing the slick and skilful Spaniards because he had his own man, Pete Mahon of St. Francis, at the Spain/Scotland match in Perth.
"Pete went to the match for me and he's said that Spain are a smashing side," Kerr said. "They were super and the Scottish manager was quoted as saying that they could go on and win the tournament. He said they would definitely be in the final and it seems they played some amazing stuff for the opening 45 minutes. They played some beautiful one-touch football but they have to play us now and we will put it up to them."
Ireland's only injury doubt is to unlikely starter Des Byrne of Cherry Orchard, whose inflamed big toe prevented him from training.
Kerr said he will probably opt for a fluid 4-3-3 set-up that will revert to 4-5-1 whenever Ireland lose possession. The signs are that right-back John Thompson will start, having come on at half-time against Finland.
"He did well for me when we introduced him the other night and I think he will start against the Spanish. Graham Barrett's inclusion added to the overall strength of the team and he looks set to stay put. He gave us a bit more zip up front as well and that was important.
"The urgency for us to have a go is not quite the same as was the case against the Finns and a draw might be good enough to see us both into the last eight."

Ireland's probable (4-3-3) team: Murphy (Tranmere); Thompson (Home Farm), Goodwin (Celtic), O'Shea (Waterford Bohs), Foy (Nottm Forest); Barrett (Arsenal), Miller (Celtic), S. Byrne (West Ham) capt; McGill (Rivervalley Rangers), McMahon (Newcastle), Reid (Nottm Forest).