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James scores 38 Sherwood as Heat hold off replaces sacked Hawks18 in overtime Spurs manager WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2013 19 Blackhawks too much for the Devils Page 17 LONDON: Chelsea’s Andre Schuerrle (right) fends off the tackle of Arsenal’s Bacary Sagna during their English Premier League soccer match between Arsenal and Chelsea at the Emirates stadium on Monday, Dec 23, 2013. — AP Gunners frustrated in goalless stalemate Arsenal, Chelsea serve up bleak midwinter draw Arsenal to second with 36 points, behind lead- ing rain might have wished they had stayed at ments and reassert themselves before a busy ers Liverpool on goal difference, while Chelsea home to wrap up the Christmas presents. holiday program. Chelsea were in Scrooge-like EPL TABLE returned to the top four with 34 points, above Many home fans booed at the final whistle and mood, though. The visitors, with the creative Arsenal 0 LONDON: English Premier League table after yes- Everton also on goal difference. It could have their frustrations were shared by Wenger, who talents of Brazilian Oscar and Spaniard Juan terday’s match (played, won, drawn, lost, goals been even better for Chelsea had Frank felt his side should have been awarded a first- Mata left to get a soaking on the bench, for, goals against, points): Lampard’s first-half volley hit the back of the half penalty when Theo Walcott was caught on worked tirelessly to stifle Arsenal’s attacking Liverpool 17 11 3 3 42 19 36 net rather than the underside of the crossbar. the ankle by Brazilian midfielder Willian. “I think verve. Chelsea 0 Arsenal 17 11 3 3 33 17 36 Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho, who has nev- it was a penalty, honestly. If I am wrong I apol- Chelsea had the better chances in a tepid Man City 17 11 2 4 51 20 35 er lost to Arsene Wenger in 10 meetings after ogise but from outside it looked a penalty,” he first half, the best of which saw Lampard crash Chelsea 17 10 4 3 32 18 34 Monday’s draw, appeared quite content to said. a volley against the bar after being beautifully Everton 17 9 7 1 29 16 34 Newcastle 17 9 3 5 24 22 30 maintain his hold over the Frenchman. “Chelsea defended well, they were well- teed up by Hazard’s chipped pass. Arsenal then Tottenham 17 9 3 5 18 23 30 LONDON: A fixture billed as a pre-Christmas “We controlled the game very well. There organized and we didn’t find our zippy move- screamed for a penalty when Willian left Man Utd 17 8 4 5 28 20 28 cracker was more ‘In the Bleak Midwinter’ than was one big chance for us and lots of half ments to play through the lines as we can do. Walcott in a heap, seconds after Chelsea mid- Southampton 17 6 6 5 22 18 24 ‘Jingle Bell Rock’ as Arsenal’s hopes of regain- chances and for them one big chance and no “But I think in the second half there was room fierlder John Obi Mikel clattered into Arteta Stoke 17 5 6 6 17 21 21 ing top spot in the Premier League fizzled out half chances,” Mourinho told reporters. “It was a to win the game. Overall they were happy with with what initially looked like a dangerous Swansea 17 5 5 7 23 23 20 Hull 17 5 5 7 14 20 20 in a turgid 0-0 draw with Chelsea. Nine days tactical match. A match that Arsenal wants to a point, we were not happy with a point.” tackle but video replays showed was hard but Aston Villa 17 5 4 8 17 23 19 after losing 6-3 at Manchester City and having win but doesn’t want to lose and Chelsea Despite a cast list featuring the likes of interna- fair. Chelsea’s Fernando Torres ploughed a lone Norwich 17 5 4 8 15 29 19 seen their title rivals steal a march on them at wants to win but doesn’t want to lose,” tionals Mesut Ozil, Eden Hazard and Walcott, it furrow up front, forcing Wojciech Szczesny into Cardiff 17 4 5 8 13 25 17 the weekend, Arsenal found themselves stifled Mourinho told Sky Sports. “The (Chelsea) goal- was a night for the defenders’ union to re- a comfortable save, while Arsenal counterpart West Brom 17 3 7 7 18 23 16 by a defensive Chelsea side and hardly man- keeper (Petr Cech) was not in the game, we establish their authority after a flurry of high- Olivier Giroud was also scavenging for scraps. West Ham 17 3 5 9 14 22 14 Crystal Palace 17 4 1 12 11 27 13 aged a shot on target. The home fans chanted controlled the game defensively. We let scoring Premier League matches in recent If anything the second half was more Fulham 17 4 1 12 17 34 13 “Boring, Boring Chelsea” on a rain-lashed night (Arsenal midfielder) Mikel Arteta play the ball weeks. tedious than the first as the match descend- Sunderland 17 2 4 11 12 30 10 in north London but the visitors actually had from side to side, we were completely under With Liverpool, Manchester City, Everton ed into a tetchy midfield battle that briefly the better of what few chances there were and control.” and improving champions Manchester United boiled over when Chelsea defender Branislav Frenchman Giroud sliced a left-foot shot hor- will take greater satisfaction from a spirit- ratcheting up the pressure on long-timer Ivanovic caught Ozil in the face with his ribly wide from inside the penalty area, the dampening encounter. CAST LIST league leaders Arsenal, it was a chance for studs. It took Arsenal nearly 80 minutes to cue for many fans to head for the exits on a Both sides moved up a place in the table, Fans who braved a howling gale and driv- Wenger’s side to shrug off recent disappoint- engineer their best chance of the game but cold and night. — Reuters 49ers down Falcons SAN FRANCISCO: On a night they cheered “The Falcons got the ball back and were driving for a touchdown catch that tied it at 10 with 12:03 left in Catch” and all the San Francisco greats of old, the cur- potential go-ahead score when San Francisco (11-4) the third, and Kaepernick ran for a score early in the rent 49ers looked ready to move that success right capitalized with one of its biggest takeaways yet. fourth. This rematch of the NFC championship game into the future at a flashy new stadium. In one “When we got the onside kick at the end, we had featuring teams headed in opposite directions was emphatic finish, NaVorro Bowman, Colin Kaepernick a great opportunity to win but it wasn’t meant to be,” another thriller. The 49ers won 28-24 last January in and the Niners sealed their postseason berth in a cer- Ryan said. “Sometimes the ball bounces in the other Atlanta to return to the Super Bowl for the first time in emonious regular-season farewell for Candlestick direction. That’s been the case for us.” Kaepernick ran 18 years. Park. Bowman returned an interception 89 yards for a for a 4-yard touchdown and threw a 10-yard TD pass Boldin caught six passes for 72 yards and went touchdown with 1:10 remaining, and the 49ers to Anquan Boldin, and Frank Gore scored on a 1-yard over 1,000 yards receiving for the sixth time in his clinched a playoff spot with a wild 34-24 victory touchdown run as the 49ers used a big second half to career and first since 2009. With the future of the against the Atlanta Falcons on Monday night in the clinch a third straight playoff season and fifth consec- 49ers on display, there were plenty of glimpses to the likely final game at The Stick. utive victory. They put up 169 yards in the third quar- past - and five Super Bowl titles. “There’s a lot of histo- “That’s been the best thing I’ve ever seen happen ter after managing just 113 in the first half as the sell- ry in this stadium,” Bowman said. “For this to be the in a football game,” coach Jim Harbaugh said. out crowd fell momentarily quiet. last game, we cannot leave it with an L. So I’m glad we “Might’ve been close to ‘The Catch.’” Tramaine Brock San Francisco still has a slim chance at winning a got the W.” Joe Montana’s winning touchdown pass to broke up a pass intended for Harry Douglas and third consecutive NFC West crown and earning a first- Dwight Clark - dubbed “The Catch” - was celebrated at Bowman got his hands on the ball and took off. He round bye if St. Louis wins at Seattle and the 49ers halftime as the No 1 moment during a top-10 count- was joined in the end zone by his teammates for a beat Arizona on the road. They can win the NFC’s top down during each home game this year. jubilant dog pile. “I always say a lot of plays are made seed with the same scenario, plus a Carolina loss at The special spot in the right corner of the north when you run to the ball,” Bowman said. “That’s all I Atlanta. During an evening of fanfare and famous end zone was marked with a gold dot.