Fantasy Football Management

Middlesbrough Squad: Bradley Jones 6, Dan Petrescu 6, Taribo West 6, Jason Gavin 6, Stanislav Varga 6, Mark Summerbell © 6 (Mark Wilson 6), Luke Wilkshire 6, Stewart Downing 6, Lee Sharpe 6, Shaun Bartlett 6 (Andy Campbell 6), Arturo Bernhardt 6.
Subs Not Used: Chris Bennion, Stuart Parnaby, Alpay Ozalan.

Arsenal Squad: Richard Wright 5, Liam Chilvers 5, Giovanni van Bronckhorst © 6, Sebastien Svard 5, Stathis Tavlaridis 6, Danny Landzaat 5, Scott Parker 6, Kevin Nolan 6 (Darren Fletcher 5), Daniel Osorno 5, Jeremie Aliadiere 6, Ricardo Pierre-Louis 5 (DaMarcus Beasley 6).

Subs Not Used: Stuart Taylor, Moritz Volz, Gavin McCann.

Bookings: None

Attendance: 8,568

Referee: S. Dunn

Derby County vs Leicester City

In a competition that is notorious for boring games, this Reserve League match between Derby and Leicester nearly took the cake. The Foxes managed to snatch a late winner, but they hardly deserved it as both sides struggled to come to grips with the fact they were playing a game of football. Both sides missed whatever chances they created until substitute striker Corrado Grabbi got on the end of a cross to give his side a win. To make matters worse for both sides, they both had some injury concerns to come from the game - Leicester lost winger Lionel Scaloni with a suspected broken toe, while Derby will have to be without Mart Poom for a while after he tore a hamstring.

Derby County 0 Leicester City 1 (Grabbi '87)

Derby County Squad: Mart Poom 7 (Lee Grant 6), Antonio Benarrivo 6, Rigobert Song 5, Matei Mirel Radoi 6, Olivier Bernard 6, Nolberto Solano 5, Alex Aguinaga 6, Roberto Palacios 6, Kristoffer Weckstrom 7, Roman Tyce 6, Fabrizio Ravanelli 6.

Subs Not Used: Ian Evatt, Marcus Tudgay, Paolo Di Canio, Dabodi Dixon.
Leicester City Squad: Rustu Recber 6, Joseph Yobo 6 (Djimi Traore 6), Bastin Verweij 6, Matt Heath 6, Enrique De Lucas 6, Lionel Scaloni 7, Michael Tonge 6, Papa Bouba Diop 6, Davor Vugrinec © 6 (Corrado Grabbi 7), Hasan Sas 6 (Matthew Piper 6), Andreas Dahl 6.
Subs Not Used: Simon Cole, Vampeta.
Injury Report: Poom (Derby) 2 months out with a torn hamstring; Scaloni (Leicester) 3 weeks out with a broken toe.

Bookings: Song

Attendance: 7,703

Referee: P. Prosser

Coventry City vs Bradford City

For all their recent improvements, Coventry City looked lost today as they threatened to self-destruct against a confidence Bradford side. The Bantams were wasteful in front of goals though, and could only win the match 2-1 despite dominating it completely. They deservedly took an early lead when Brazilian star Juninho Paulista expertly curled a free kick into the top corner from 25 yards out, and made it 2-0 just moments into the second half when Roman Pavlyuchenko slid home a fine Sylvain Wiltord cross. Magnus Hedman hit some form after this goal though, denying the Bradford attacks, before his side got themselves on the scoresheet deep into injury time when Julian Joachim prodded in from close range.

Coventry City 1 (Joachim '90) Bradford City 2 (Juninho '11, Pavlyuchenko '52)

Coventry City Squad: Magnus Hedman © 8, Marc Edworthy 6, Kolo Toure 7, Gary Rowett 6, Richard Spong 6, Craig Pead 6, Keith O'Neill 6, David Ginola 7, Youssef Chippo 6, Julian Joachim 7, Tomasz Radzinski 6.

Subs Not Used: Andy Marshall, Gary Breen, Callum Davenport, Tobias Linderoth, Roy Makaay.

Bradford City Squad: Thomas Sorensen 6, Simon Colosimo 7, Luciano Zavagno 6 (Mikael Dorsin 6), Daniel Van Buyten 7, Jaime Valdes 7, Matt Oakley 7, Sylvain Wiltord 8 (Klever Manuel Chala 7), Juninho Paulista 8, Roman Pavlyuchenko 7, Alex Farnerud 7 (Paulo Wanchope 6), Gary Speed © 7.

Subs Not Used: Gary Walsh, Nikos Dabizas.

Bookings: Rowett, Joachim; Van Buyten

Attendance: 7,670

Referee: A. Wiley

Newcastle United vs Wolverhampton Wanderers

Wolves picked up an incredible point in this match as they managed a 1-1 draw with mighty Newcastle at St James' Park. Dafydd Williams' men stormed into an early lead thanks to former Newcastle youngster Pedro Dimas, who showed his left winger potential by going on a 35 yard run before finishing with a fine shot across the face of Shay Given's goal. Newcastle were unable to break down the resilient Wolves defence until the second half, when they were awarded a debatable penalty from a Paul Butler handball. Alan Shearer converted it nicely, but neither side could add another one as Wolves picked up their first point of the competition.

Newcastle United 1 (Shearer '47(p)) Wolves 1 (Dimas '3)
Newcastle United Squad: Shay Given 6, John Arne Riise 7, Mark Iuliano 7, Jaap Stam 6, Philipe Christianval 7, Julius Aghahowa 7, Juan Sebastian Veron 7, Neil Lennon 7 (Michael Carrick 6), Craig Bellamy 6 (Matt Jansen 6), Alan Shearer © 7, Laurent Robert 6.
Subs Not Used: Hugo Viana, Claudio Reyna, Maik Taylor.

Everton Squad: Matthew Murray 8, Ryan Green 7, Garry Monk 6 (Paul Butler 6), Ronny Johnsen © 7, Thomas Hitzlsperger 7, Temuri Ketsbaia 6, Alex Nyarko 6 (Kader Camara 6), Patrik Berger 7, Lilian Laslandes 7, Kurniawan 6 (Craig Dargo 6), Pedro Dimas 7.
Subs Not Used: Bobby Mimms, Keith Andrews.

Bookings: Christanval; Hitzlsperger, Kurniawan, Berger

Attendance: 20,965

Referee: D. Elleray

Watford vs Aston Villa

The Hornets finally recorded their first victory of the PFM Reserve League as they delivered a 3-0 hammering to a poor Aston Villa side. Watford, managed expertly by Christian Hjulsgaard, completely dominated the first half of the match, and were 2-0 up at the break. Teenage midfielder David Noble was inspirational, netting himself after 17 minutes when he volleyed home an Allan Nielsen cross. He then set up defender Javier Margas in the 38th minute, the Chilean international charging forward unmarked to knock home Noble's low cross. The second half couldn't quite live up to the standards of the first, but Watford goalie Espen Baardsen played well to stop Villa's young attackers. The Hornets got their third in the 77th minute when supersub Eyal Berkovic bent in a free kick to round off the scoring in a fine London day for the home club.

Watford 3 (Noble '17, Margas '38, Berkovic '77) Aston Villa 1

Watford Squad: Espen Baardsen 7, James Panayi 7, Olof Mellberg 7, Javier Margas 8 (Jerel Ifil 6), Jacob Laursen 7, Jesper Blomqvist 7, Stephen Hughes 8, Gary Fisken 7, Allan Nielsen © 8, David Noble 9 (Eyal Berkovic 8), Morten Rasmussen 8.

Subs Not Used: Richard Lee, Kevin Street, Jamie Hand.

Aston Villa Squad: Peter Enckelman 8, Andrew Wells 5, Des Byrne 6, Liam Ridgewell 5, Vlatko Djolonga 6, Marco Brancati 7, John McGrath 6, Adam Murray 5, Phil Jagielka 6, Duong Thach 6, Bosko Balaban © 5.

Subs Not Used: Wayne Henderson, Wes Brown, Chris Riggott, Adrian Ilie, Peter Crouch.

Bookings: None

Attendance: 5,340

Referee: L. Cable

Ipswich Town vs Manchester United

The Red Devils sprinted to a 3-0 lead inside the opening 35 minutes in this match, and held on for a 4-2 victory as they continued Ipswich's early reserve league woes. Ani Palat's men were ahead after just 6 minutes, when an optimistic Ryan Giggs cross was missed by Ipswich defender Simo Valakari, giving Emile Heskey an easy tap in. Then the Welshman made it 2-0 from the penalty spot, although he missed his first effort from the dot, referee Neale Barry ordering a retake after the defence encroached on the penalty area. A third came when Darius Vassell nodded in from close range from a corner, but Ipswich managed to pull one back early in the second half thanks to an unstoppable long Darren Ambrose shot. It was 3-2 soon after when Roy Carroll made a horrible mistake in goals, flapping at a cross to allow Richard Logan an easy finish. The comeback wasn't to be though, United taking control again before killing off the game late, Ronaldinho thumping in a low drive to round off a good game for the Red Devils.

Ipswich Town 2 (Ambrose '49, Logan '57) Manchester United 4 (Heskey '6, Giggs '17(p), Vassell '35, Ronaldinho '88)

Ipswich Town Squad: James Pullen 6, Lee Beevers 6, Ashley Nicholls 5, Simo Valakari 5, Wayne Brown 6, Phil O'Donnell 6, Nabil Abidallah 6, Matthew Bloomfield 6, Darren Ambrose 8, Richard Logan 6, Colin Cameron © 6.

Subs Not Used: Ian Feuer, Jamie Clapham, David May, Curtis Woodhouse, Antonio De Nigris.

Manchester United Squad: Roy Carroll 6, Gareth Southgate 7, John O'Shea 7, Mikael Silvestre 7, Gary Neville 7, Lee Hendrie 7, Ronaldinho 8, Ryan Giggs © 9, Emile Heskey 8, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer 7, Darius Vassell 7.

Subs Not Used: Paul Rachubka, Roberto Ayala, Trevor Sinclair, Seth Johnson, Ruud van Nistelrooy.

Bookings: Valakari, Cameron; Vassell, O'Shea

Attendance: 10,111

Referee: N. Barry

Chelsea vs Everton

In what many saw as the biggest game of the round, Everton adjusted to a revamped tactic to beat a tough Chelsea outfit 2-1 at Stamford Bridge. The return of talismanic striker Mark Viduka lifted the Toffees, as they grabbed the only goal of the first half, the Australian forcing a quality save from Carlos Roa, but the rebound came out for Sebastian Deisler to bundle it home. Chelsea equalised early in the second half when the Everton defence gave Roberto Baggio too much room, the Italian curling a fine effort from outside the box past Mark Bosnich's desperate dive. The action went from end-to-end following this goal, but Everton grabbed the winner in the 79th minute when Chelsea's teenage defender Joel Kitamirike slipped to allow Viduka in for a goal on his return. Carlton Cole missed an open net shot in injury time as Everton held on for a hard-fought 2-1 victory.

Chelsea 1 (Baggio '51) Everton 2 (Deisler '39, Viduka '79)
Chelsea Squad: Carlos Roa 7, Celestine Babayaro 6, Marcel Desailly © 7, Joel Kitamirike 6, Paul Boertien 6, Graeme Le Saux 6, Emmanuel Petit 7, Frank Lampard 8, Geremi 6 (Jurica Vranjes 7), Carlton Cole 6, Roberto Baggio 7.

Subs Not Used: Rhys Evans, Kenny Cunningham, Bruno Cheyrou, Eidur Gudjohnsen.

Everton Squad: Mark Bosnich 7, Tony Hibbert 7 (Nick Chadwick 6), Lucas Neill 7, Alan Stubbs © 7, Michael Duberry 6, Thomas Gravesen 7, Brett Emerton 6 (Alan Mahon 6), Sebastian Deisler 8, Mark Viduka 8 (Steve Watson 6), Jon Dahl Tomasson 7, Marcelo Gallardo 7.

Subs Not Used: Mattias Asper, Richard Johnson.

Bookings: Kitamirike, Le Saux, Cole; Duberry, Gallardo

Attendance: 24,415

Referee: G. Poll

Blackburn Rovers vs Southampton

Southampton were sent back to St Mary's with their tails firmly between their legs after they were thumped 4-2 by Blackburn Rovers. It was the Diego Alonso show for the home side, as he scored three and set up the opener for Duncan Ferguson, the Spaniard crossing into the box for Ferguson to head powerfully past Neil Moss. Alonso got his first in the 27th with a left footed volley from just inside the area, and his second ten minutes into the second half when he got on the end of a Damian Duff cross. His third followed soon after, just before he was substituted, when he tucked in a rebound after his markers went missing. Southampton managed to reply with two late goals, to Jason Euell and Jay Lucas, but they were never really in the hunt as Blackburn shut them down for a neat victory.

Blackburn Rovers 4 (Ferguson '3, Alonso '27 '55 '68) Southampton 2 (Euell '79, Lucas '85)

Blackburn Rovers Squad: Brad Friedel 6, Danny Higginbotham 7, Andy O'Brien 7, Henning Berg 7, Abel Xavier 7, Keith Gillespie 6, Garry Flitcroft © 8, Sebastien Kehl 7, Damian Duff 9, Duncan Ferguson 8, Diego Alonso 10 (Marcus Bent 6).
Subs Not Used: Amir Karic, Tony Vidmar, Faustino Asprillia, Ryan Robinson.
Southampton Squad: Neil Moss 5, Wayne Bridge 7, Jason Dodd 6, Chris Perry 6, Paul Ritchie 6, Dani Rodrigues 5, Stuart Ripley 6, Matt Le Tissier 6, Tim Sherwood © 7, Jason Euell 7, Jay Lucas 7.
Subs Not Used: Paul Jones, Steve Finnan, Jesper Gronkjaer, Scott McDonald, Mark Draper.

Bookings: Ferguson

Attendance: 10,066

Referee: A. D'Urso

Sheffield Wednesday vs Wimbledon

Both of these sides have struggled in the reserve league so far, but they produced an interesting game at Hillsborough. The home side eventually triumphed 2-1, thanks to a brace to Finnish striker Jonatan Johansson, but Hugo Boss' side did trouble them a little. Johansson grabbed his first in the 33rd minute when he got on the end of a Tony Thorpe cross, while his second arrived in the second half, when he squirmed past three markers before drilling a shot low past Thorgeirsson. The Dons pulled one back though, Robbie Winters receiving a great defence-splitting pass from Marinelli before slashing the shot high past Pressman. The Wednesday defence held on though to three valuable points.

Sheffield Wednesday 2 (Johansson '33 '54) Wimbledon 1 (Winters '71)

Sheffield Wednesday Squad: Kevin Pressman © 6, Ian Hendon 7, Derek Geary 7, Adam Quinn 6, Warren Barton 8, Rob Lee 7, Tony Thorpe 7, Marc Degryse 6, Owen Morrison 7, Michele Di Piedi 6, Jonatan Johansson 8.

Subs Not Used: Chris Stringer, Greg Young, Lawrie Wilson, Nick Montgomery, Dean Ashton.

Wimbledon Squad: Fjalar Thorgeirsson 7, Youl Mawene 6, Ivan Guerrero 7, Jonathan Fortune 6, Pierre Issa 6, Carlos Arturo Marinelli 7, Anders Svensson © 6, Fatih Dincer 6, Par Karlsson 6, Robbie Winters 7, Daniel Guiza 6 (Diphethogo Selolwane 5).

Subs Not Used: Sergei Pareiko, Simon Rodger, Richard Dunne, Nico van Kerckhoven.

Bookings: Geary; Guiza, Karlsson

Attendance: 7,301

Referee: K. Hill

Fulham vs Norwich City

This match ended in the most amazing of circumstances, as Norwich overcame a torrid display to put two past Fulham in injury time to win the match 2-1. Fulham had completely dominated the game, but were unable to beat an inspired Abi Baruwa in the Norwich goals. They did manage to after just 2 minutes, when Elvis Hammond got a looping header over the top of the Nigerian goalkeeper, but the young striker was to blame for missing two chances when he should've scored. The Cottagers were made to pay when, in the opening seconds of second half injury time, substitute Norwich striker Paul Hayes dinked in a rebound from close range. Then, in the 4th minute of injury time, another substitute in James McFadden scored an absolute cracker from just inside the area to round off a great Norwich finish.

Fulham 1 (Hammond '2) Norwich City 2 (Hayes '90, McFadden '90)
Fulham Squad: Glynn Thompson 5, Peter Atherton 7, Chris Makin 6, Andrew Melville © 7, Martin Taylor 6, Matthew Collins 6, Sylvain Legwinski 6, Adriano Adrianinho 7, Eddie Lewis 6, Elvis Hammond 6, Richard Naylor 5.

Subs Not Used: Sebastiano Rossi, Mark Hudson, Robbie Elliott, Mario Stanic, Clinton Morrison.

Norwich City Squad: Abi Baruwa © 9, Lewis Blois 7, Radostin Kishishev 7, Malky Mackay 8, Jason Shackell 7, Jeff Strasser 8, Gary Holt 6, Chris Shuker 6 (Ian Taylor 6), Robbie Mustoe 6, Modeste M'Bami 7 (James McFadden 7), Daniel Fonseca 6 (Paul Hayes 7).
Subs Not Used: Mark Brown, Marinko Galic.

Bookings: Melville; Fonseca, Shuker, Kishishev

Attendance: 13,946

Referee: M. Dean