THE GOALS CAME late and in a trickle more than a flood but fans of Norwich, Newcastle and Stoke will not care a jot.
The three sides secured 1-0 wins over, respectively, Southampton, Fulham and West Ham. Cardiff failed to repeat the heroics of last weekend, when they beat Manchester City, but will be satisfied with the steel they showed in their scoreless draw with Roberto Martinez’ Everton.
At Carrow Road, Canaries midfielder Nathan Redmond cut in from the left and drove a low shot past Artur Boruc in the Southampton goal. The Saints, who were denied a penalty in the first half, pushed for an equaliser but it was Redmond who went closest to scoring again before full-time.
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Newcastle United boss was met with a chorus of boos from large sections of the Toon support when he came out for his team’s match with Fulham at St James’ Park. The home fans’ mood lightened in the closing stages when Hatem Ben Arfa launched a rocket past David Stockdale.
1-0 was a familiar scoreline and Stoke repeated it after Jermaine Penant curled in a beautiful free kick on 82 minutes against West Ham. The Hammers piled forward but their Plan A of lofting airborne crosses was well met by Stoke’s rangy defenders. Mark Hughes’ men played a crisp, passing game for long spells of the game and are up to fifth in the league.
Here is Pennant’s winner:
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There were no goals between Cardiff and Everton but plenty of feisty clashes and noteworthy incidents. Malky Mackay’s side were effective at closing the Toffees down in attack but were lucky not to concede a first-half penalty when Leighton Baines was tripped in the box.
There was a moment of controversy, too, when Marouane Fellaini clashed with Frazier Campbell. The striker hit the deck clutching his face and there were accusations of an elbow but the referee took no action. The best chance of the game fell to Arouna Kone but his strike was well saved by David Marshall in the Cardiff goal.
Earlier today, Manchester City climbed to second in the league when they defeated Hull City 2-0.
