FIFA Updates

LONDON (AP)—Ilan scored a late equalizer as relegation-threatened West Ham
ended its six-game losing run with a 2-2 draw at Everton on Sunday while
Liverpool was held 1-1 by Birmingham to lose ground in the race for fourth place
and the final Champions League spot.

West Ham looked to be heading for another defeat when Ayegbeni Yakubu nodded
Everton 2-1 ahead in the 85th minute but Brazilian striker Ilan headed the
leveler as West Ham moved a point clear of the relegation zone.

“All the team decided to fight until the end and today was a clear
demonstration that we kept our performance because we never gave up,” said West
Ham manager Gianfranco Zola. “After the 2-1 it could have been a massive blow
but I was very pleased with my team for what they did today.

“It is important after a long spell of defeats to have this point. I think
it will give a lot of confidence to the players. I feel they found extra spirit
today.”

Everton went ahead in the 24th minute when Diniyar Bilyaletdinov guided a
finish home with his head after Tim Cahill had flicked the ball across the
six-yard box.

West Ham should have equalized in the 37th when Everton defender Sylvain
Distin was adjudged to have pushed Carlton Cole over inside the box but Mido’s
tamely hit penalty was pushed round the post by Tim Howard.

Seconds after West Ham midfielder Mark Noble had hit the bar with a lob, his
team equalized from a corner, Manuel da Costa scrambling the ball in from close
range in the 60th minute.

The draw puts West Ham on 28 points from 33 games. Hull has one point fewer
in 18th but has a game in hand. If West Ham had won at Everton, last-place
Portsmouth, which has only 14 points, would have been relegated but it survives
another week.

Steven Gerrard fired Liverpool ahead in the 47th minute when a shot from
Glen Johnson came to the England midfielder on the left of the area and he drove
the ball into the far corner.

The lead lasted only nine minutes before Liam Ridgewell was left unmarked to
collect a cross from James McFadden and score from close range.

Liverpool is now four points behind fourth-place Manchester City having
played a game more.

“We didn’t have any margin for error beforehand and now we have less margin
in terms of coming fourth,” said Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez, whose
sixth-place team is in danger of finishing in its lowest position since 1999,
when it was seventh.

“But it depends on the other teams and how they do as well. We have to
believe we can win all our remaining games and have confidence the other sides
will lose. We just have to keep going because there are still a lot of points to
play for.”

Fulham beat Wigan 2-1 in Sunday’s other match.

Jason Scotland gave fifth-bottom Wigan a 34th-minute lead at Craven Cottage
but Stefano Okaka equalized in the 47th and Brede Hangeland headed home a corner
in the 58th for the winner.

In Saturday’s games, Chelsea replaced Manchester United at the top of the
standings with a 2-1 victory over the defending champion at Old Trafford and
third-place Arsenal stayed in contention by edging Wolves 1-0 at home thanks to
a goal in the fifth minute of injury time by Nicklas Bendtner.

In the midst of a relegation battle, Wolves desperately needed all the points they could get last week. American Marcus Hahnemann came up big for the club at Molineux Stadium on Saturday, halting 10 shots en route to a tough 0-0 draw against Everton. The keeper stopped early efforts from Leon Osman and Louis Saha before controlling a long strike from Leighton Baines. Everton nearly claimed a winner in the end, but Hahnemann boldly dove at the feet of Dan Gosling, smothering the ball to calm the rush.

Wolves’ manager Mick McCarthy heaped praise on the Seattle native after game, calling his performance “terrific” and “workmanlike.”

Hahnemann was also impressive earlier in the week, producing eight saves as Wolves defeated West Ham United at Upton Park. Alessandro Diamanti tested the stopper with a 25-yard smash but the 37-year-old was equal to it, saving comfortably. The four points for the club proved to be crucial, as they now sit five points clear of the drop zone with six contests remaining. Read the rest of this entry »

Although Landon Donovan may be just weeks away from returning to MLS, there is no doubt the impact he’s had in England has been eye-opening. In just 12 games for the Merseyside club, Donovan has chipped in two goals and three assists. On Sunday, Donovan came on in the 70th minute and scored 12 minutes later with a strong finish after a poor clearance from Hull. Just three minutes later, Donovan teed up Jack Rodwell, who put in Everton’s fifth goal of the match.

Tim Howard had a pretty easy time handling the Tigers. Apart from Tom Cairney’s first half strike, Howard wasn’t troubled too much, keeping out a pair of shots en route to a convincing victory. The Toffees sit seven points out of the sixth spot and with 10 games remaining, can surely push for a European place.

Read the rest of this entry »

By GEOFF McALLISTER STATS European Football Writer=

LONDON (SE) – Mikel Arteta’s double, his first Premier League goals for more than a year, fired Everton to an emphatic 5-1 victory over relegation-threatened Hull at Goodison Park.

Spanish midfielder Arteta, who has only just battled back from a long-term knee injury, claimed his first with a scorching volley before teenage Hull midfielder Tom Cairney equalised in style.

Everton striker Yakubu missed a first-half penalty but Arteta’s second, a Richard Garcia own goal and further strikes from Landon Donovan and Jack Rodwell ensured a comfortable three points for David Moyes’ side.