Wolves beat Fulham to go top
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Shanghai Daily, August 22, 2011
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Fulham goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer (left) fails to block a shot by Wolverhampton Wanderers' Kevin Doyle (unseen) for the first goal during their English Premier League match at the Molineux Stadium in Wolverhampton yesterday. |
Wolverhampton Wanderers moved to the top of the English Premier League table, at least until later yesterday, when they beat Fulham 2-0 at the Molineux Stadium, the first time they have won their opening two games in the top flight since 1979.
Wolves went ahead when Kevin Doyle finished clinically after riding two challenges after 42 minutes and they doubled their lead through Matt Jarvis just before halftime when he cracked the ball in as it came back off a post.
It was Fulham's first defeat in nine matches since Martin Jol took over at Craven Cottage, following seven unbeaten games in the preliminary rounds of the Europa League and an opening 0-0 draw in the league against Aston Villa last week.
Fulham looked set to pull a goal back in the 79th when a rebound fell to the feet of Clint Dempsey, but Stephen Ward made a last-ditch tackle.
Wolves have six points from their two games. Bolton Wanderers and Manchester City, who both have three points from their opening games, were meeting later.
In the day's other match, 10-man Norwich City was denied its first win of the season when Stoke City's Kenwyne Jones headed in a stoppage-time equalizer at Carrow Road to secure a 1-1 draw.
Ritchie de Laet had scored against his old club to put the Canaries in front in the 37th.
Stoke missed a chance to equalize when Norwich's Leon Barnett was sent off for a foul on Jon Walters who took the resulting penalty which was saved by Norwich goalkeeper John Ruddy.
It was the second straight draw for both teams to start the league campaign.
On Saturday, Arsenal's woes deepened with a 0-2 defeat by Liverpool, while substitute Florent Malouda spared Chelsea's blushes with a late winner in a 2-1 comeback home win over West Bromwich Albion.
A 78th-minute Aaron Ramsey own goal and a late Luis Suarez strike gave Liverpool a win that piled on misery in a bad week for Arsenal, which ended with 10 men for a second league game in a row after Emmanuel Frimpong was sent off 20 minutes from time.
"It's very difficult to take on the chin that defeat, because with the effort we put in I don't think we deserved to lose the game," Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger told the BBC after his team left the pitch to boos after Liverpool's first ever win at the Emirates.
"We cannot say at the moment we are very lucky."
Fortune was, however, with Chelsea in manager Andre Villas-Boas's first league match at Stamford Bridge.
The hosts trailed from the fourth minute, when Alex lost the ball to West Brom striker Shane Long, who scampered through and wrongfooted stand-in keeper Hilario to claim his second goal in two games.
Chelsea pulled level when Nicolas Anelka's low shot took a deflection off defender Jonas Olsson in the 53rd and Malouda completed the rescue mission when he arrived at the back post to sidefoot home a Jose Bosingwa cross on 83 minutes.
Elsewhere, the first EPL match in Wales ended 0-0, as lively Swansea City held firm in the face of a late Wigan Athletic onslaught, while Villa marked manager Alex McLeish's first home game with a 3-1 win over Blackburn Rovers while Newcastle United beat Sunderland 1-0 away.
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