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Home , Charlie Austin, Chris Baird, Chris Brunt, Gareth McAuley, Graham Dorrans, Jonny Evans

MONDAY, DECEMBER 29, 2014 SPORTS Palace show fight in QPR stalemate

and composure in a scrappy opening and QPR striker Charlie Austin should have QPR 0 done better than shoot straight at Palace goalkeeper Julian Speroni. produced Palace’s first real moment of quality when he unleashed Crystal Palace 0 a powerful strike which Robert Green was at full stretch to keep out. The visitors went even closer in the 21st minute when Joe Ledley picked out Jason LONDON: Managerless Crystal Palace Puncheon and the Palace winger curled in responded to the sacking of boss Neil a first-time effort that beat Green but Warnock with a gritty display in a 0-0 draw rebounded to safety off the post. against fellow strugglers QPR yesterday. After failing to build any momentum in Palace chairman Steve Parish ended a drab first half, QPR went close to breaking Warnock’s five-month reign on Saturday the deadlock soon after the interval when after the south London club slumped into Leroy Fer’s volley flew just wide. the relegation zone, but Fer forced Speroni to show his athleti- caretaker manager Keith Millen convinced cism to get a hand to a powerful strike from his players to ignore the turmoil and they the Dutch midfielder as QPR finally found delivered an improved performance at some rhythm. Austin had a goalbound . header blocked from a corner soon after The Eagles, linked with moves for former and Puncheon’s shot was tipped over by Tottenham boss Tim Sherwood and ex- Green at the other end. Millen responded to Porto chief Vitor Pereira, remain in the bot- his side’s struggles by sending on Campbell tom three on goal difference, while QPR are for Zaha midway through the half. But Harry two points above the drop zone. Redknapp’s side went agonisingly close to Millen, in his third spell as caretaker, taking the lead in the 75th minute when made one change to the Palace team beat- Steven Caulker nodded goalwards from en by Southampton on Boxing Day, with Joey Barton’s corner, only for James Wilfried Zaha replacing McArthur to alertly head clear from under up front as the Eagles looked to register a the crossbar. And QPR spurned one last first win in seven matches. chance when Junior Hoilett failed to hit the Both teams looked short of confidence target with a clear sight of goal. — AFP

LONDON: Tottenham’s Mousa Dembele (right) competes for the ball with Manchester United’s during the English Premier League soccer match. — AP Spurs curb United’s title surge

occasion. Their defensive struggles, which have brought down Michael Carrick’s chipped pass. allowed goalkeeper David de Gea to shine, gave Then, in the final minute of the half, the Tottenham 0 Tottenham grounds for pre-match optimism, France international produced an acrobatic, full- particularly with in such good form. stretch save to tip Young’s curling cross-shot The 21-year-old striker had scored in his four around the post. previous appearances and quickly demonstrated The goalkeeper’s heroics had kept Spurs in it Man United 0 he was capable of unsettling United’s back three and his team-mates responded after the restart of Phil Jones, Paddy McNair and . by adopting a more ambitious approach. An excellent threaded pass from the recalled Townsend had been Spurs’ most dangerous Andros Townsend almost allowed Kane to get in attacking player and the England international LONDON: Manchester United’s efforts to force behind the visitors’ back-line, but McNair was became even more prominent as the game wore their way into the Premier League title race fal- alert enough to smother the danger. on, testing De Gea with a swerving 20-yard shot tered as they were held to a 0-0 draw at That, though, proved to be a rare example of that the Spaniard did well to hold. Tottenham Hotspur yesterday. the home side’s attacking threat as United The winger’s pace was troubling United and An outstanding display by Spurs goalkeeper assumed control to the extent that Tottenham he appeared to have caught out Young in the Hugo Lloris together with wasteful United finish- : Sunderland’s John O’Shea (left) and Aston Villa’s Christian Benteke battle would have been out of the game before half- 70th minute when he got behind the wing-back ing meant Louis van van Gaal’s side were denied for the ball during their English Premier League soccer match at Villa Park. — AP time had it not been for Lloris. only to be hauled back. an eighth victory in nine games. With Antonio Valancia and Ashley Young find- Young had been booked 15 minutes earlier Had United claimed three points, they would ing space on the flanks and Juan Mata and for a foul on Nacer Chadli, but although Spurs Ten-man Villa have increased the pressure on top two Chelsea Wayne Rooney buzzing around in midfield, coach Mauricio Pochettino and his players were and Manchester City. Instead they were left to United repeatedly opened up a route to Lloris’s convinced he should have received a second reflect on a missed opportunity, but Spurs, who goal, but neither Rademal Falcao nor Robin van caution, referee Jon Moss waved play on. hold Sunderland finished the game strongly, also had cause for Persie could find a finishing touch. Moments earlier, Mata had fired over from regret after failing to enhance their own chal- Mata came closest to breaking the deadlock Rafael da Silva’s cut-back, but that proved to be Joe Cole, Ashley Westwood, Philippe lenge for a top-four finish. Van Gaal’s decision to with a 22nd-minute free-kick that struck the United’s last clear chance as the momentum of Senderos and Nathan Baker were all out name an unchanged side for the first time since post and when the ball bounced towards the the game tipped in Spurs’ favour, with Christian he took charge at was a clear indica- Aston Villa 0 injured. goal-line, Vlad Chiriches hacked it away from the Eriksen and Federico Fazio threatening. The home side edged possession and tion of the manager’s growing satisfaction with feet of Falcao and Van Persie. Falcao saw an Van Gaal withdrew the unconvincing Evans in attempts on goal during a scoreless first- his team’s efforts after some good recent results. angled shot parried by Lloris, moments before favor of , while Luke Shaw half but Villa’s task was complicated three Results, however, have told only part of the the Spurs goalkeeper snuffed out an opportuni- replaced McNair, but although the visitors hung Sunderland 0 minutes after the restart when Fabian story, with United having failed to convince on ty for Van Persie after the striker had deftly on, it was amid a growing sense of panic. — AFP Delph was shown a straight red card for a reckless challenge. Villa also made it nine matches on the BIRMINGHAM: Ten-man Aston Villa held trot in which they have conceded one goal Diouf double keeps on for a 0-0 draw at home to Sunderland or less while Sunderland extended their yesterday as the two teams inched away unbeaten streak on the road to five games. from the Premier League relegation zone. Aston Villa climb to 21 points and five Villa extended their unbeaten run above Crystal Palace in the final relegation West Brom in trouble against the Black Cats to seven games but spot while Gus Poyet’s men are now on 20 suffered from the absence of joint top scor- points. Sunderland poured forward with er Gabby Agbonlahor, who was serving a their numerical advantage and rained one match suspension for picking up five down 15 shots on target with Jordi Gomez yellow cards. Kieran Richardson was also blasting a shot off the post from just out- Stoke 2 suspended for ’s side while side the box in the dying moments. — AFP

Leicester grab lifeline West Brom 0 from outside the box was a worthy winner as it flashed into the bottom left corner. STOKE-ON-TRENT: Senegal’s Mame Biram Hull 0 The strike sent the small away support wild, as they smelled the possibility of only a third Premier Diouf scored twice as Stoke City sharpened the League win all season for the cash-strapped newly focus on West Bromwich Albion manager Alan promoted side. The win leaves Leicester City on a Irvine with a 2-0 win in the Premier League meagre 13 points, but lifts them to within just yesterday. Leicester 1 three of safety with Hull, Crystal Palace and Former Manchester United striker Diouf Burnley all level on 16 points above the, It was a struck twice in 15 second-half minutes at the happy return to Hull for former player Nigel Britannia Stadium to give Stoke back-to-back Pearson, now the Leicester coach, but his oppo- wins for the first time this season after Friday’s HULL: Leicester City claimed their first win in 14 site number Steve Bruce is coming under increas- 1-0 success at Everton. It was a third defeat in a Premier League matches to give their survival ing pressure in his own hot-seat as the Tigers slide row for West Brom, who have won only once in hopes a boost with a 1-0 success at Hull City yes- down the table. Both sides actually ended a bad terday. The Foxes were crafty enough to win a tempered game with ten men, Leicester’s Paul nine games, and follows Irvine’s admission that game in which they were thoroughly dominated, Konchesky getting sent off for a violent tackle on he feared for his job at . bagging the winner just after the half-hour 87 minutes while already on a yellow card, while The defeat saw Irvine’s side fall one place to through Algerian winger Riyad Mahrez. It was a Hull’s Stephen Quinn was sent off in stoppage 16th and left them just a point above the rele- timely boost for the 23-year-old who went out to time for a deliberate hand ball. And if Leicester gation zone ahead of a trip to high-flying West Brazil with Algeria this summer, playing once, will have something to smile about, Bruce and his Ham United on New Year’s Day. have one eye on the African Cup of Nations finals men will be left to reflect on their poor finishing, While Stoke manager made starting in mid-January. With his hair slicked back having managed 18 attempts on goal compared only one change, replacing and sporting black gloves, his left-footed stinger to Leicester’s two. — AFP with , Irvine drafted Brown Ideye, , and into his starting XI. The visitors enjoyed the best of the first half but it was Stoke who went closest to breaking the deadlock, with Bojan Krkic fizzing a shot narrowly wide in the 14th minute. Bojan has been one of Stoke’s most impres- sive performers in recent weeks and he was the catalyst for the home side’s opening goal in the 51st minute. The former Barcelona forward sprayed a pass wide to Erik Pieters on the Stoke left and the Dutch full-back’s low cross was in turned in by Diouf via a slight deflection off Joleon Lescott. Irvine responded with a double change, sending on Saido Berahino and Silvestre Varela, and saw his side hit the wood- work when Gareth McAuley stabbed a shot against the post following a goal-mouth scramble. But in the 66th minute Diouf claimed his second goal when he fortuitously deflected a LONDON: Hull City’s (left) grimaces after he is tackled by shot from Marko Arnautovic past to Leicester City’s Jeff Schlupp (below) during their English Premier League soccer LONDON: Stoke City’s Peter Crouch (left) controls the ball ahead of West Bromwich Albion’s match. —AP leave Irvine cursing his luck once again. —AFP Gareth McAuley during their English Premier League soccer match. — AP