Man. United keeps its lead

Press, 2 December 1985, Page 34

Man. United keeps its lead

NZPA-Reuter London Manchester United, which has assumed the haggard look of a hunted man in recent weeks, stayed one step ahead of the posse during the weekend in the English soccer first division. United has led since the opening day of the season in August but its one-time 10point lead over Liverpool had been whittled down to just two at the start of the day. The position remains the same—the two leaders were both held to draws at home—but West Ham and Chelsea are in hot pursuit. United could manage only a 1-1 draw against Watford while Liverpool was also held to a surprising 1-1 score by Chelsea which, despite taking a point from Anfield, slipped to fourth place behind West Ham. With 19 games played, United has 43 points, but it is still closely tracked by Liverpool (41), West Ham (38) and Chelsea (37).

Fittingly on St Andrew’s day, United’s scorer was a Scottish striker, Alan Brazil, who finally broke through Watford’s spirited resistance in the 67th minute at Old Trafford. But Watford hit back through Colin West in the last minute.

With Mark Hughes and Frank Stapleton in outstanding form this season, Brazil has been unable to force his way into the United attack and

tends to spend most Saturday afternoons sitting forlornly on the substitutes’ bench. But as Watford threatened to keep the league leaders at bay, the transfer-listed Brazil was called into action and his goal and over-all display must have impressed the clutch of clubs who are interested in his signature. United also enjoyed the assistance of another Scot, the Chelsea winger Pat Nevin, who scored his side’s equaliser two minutes from time at Anfield.

An enthralling game produced an exciting finish when a Danish midfielder, Jan Molby, put Liverpool ahead from the penalty spot in the 86th minute only to have his effort cancelled out by Nevin’s late intervention.

West Ham produced the most impressive performance of the afternoon against the bottom club, West Bromwich, winning 4-o—even without the services of the new scoring sensation, Frank McAvennie, who is on World Cup duty with Scotland in Australia.

West Ham, which has now gone 15 games without defeat, made light of McAvennie’s absence and took the lead through Tony Cottee after 12 minutes.

The West Bromwich defence, which had conceded 43 goals in their previous 18 games, simply caved in after that and Ally Robertson contributed to his team’s downfall by netting

an own goal before the interval. Former England midfielder, Alan Devonshire, added the third two minutes into the second half and Neil Orr completed the rout in the 66th minute. West Bromwich is now firmly anchored at the bottom of the first division with just seven points from 19 games, five points behind Ipswich who beat Sheffield Wednesday 2-1 at home. With Scotland preparing for its World Cup play-off second leg in Melbourne on Wednesday, there was just one game in the premier league. Hearts maintained its unbeaten home record by beating Clydebank, 4-1. Results were:— ENGLISH DIVISION ONE Arsenal 0, Birmingham 0; Aston Villa 1, Tottenham 2; Ipswich 2, Sheffield Wednesday 1; Liverpool 1, Chelsea 1; Luton 2, Manchester City 1; Manchester United 1, Watford 1; Newcastle 2, Leicester 1; Queens Park Rangers 0, Coventry 2; Southampton 2, Everton 3; West Ham 4, West Bromwich 0. ENGLISH DIVISION TWO Barnsley 2, Millwall 1; Brighton 3, Hull 1; Charlton 3, Carlisle 0; Fulham 2, Oldham 2; Grimsby 5, Blackburn 2; Leeds 0, Norwich 2; Middlesbrough 3, Shrewsbury 1; Sheffield United 0, Crystal Palace 0; Stoke 1, Sunderland 0;

Wimbledon 2, Huddersfield 2. ENGLISH DIVISION THREE Blackpool 1, Plymouth 1; Bristol City 2, Bolton 0; Bury 2, Walsall 1; Cardiff 1, Wolverhampton 1; Chesterfield 1, Bristol Rovers 1 (abandoned at half-time); Derby 1, Reading 1; Gillingham 4, Doncaster 0; Notts County 3, Swansea 0; Wigan 3, Lincoln 2; York 1, Brentford 0. ENGLISH DIVISION FOUR Aidershot 1, Peterborough 0; Cambridge 2, Northampton 5; Exeter 3, Preston 0; Mansfield 3, Rochdale 2; Orient 1, Swindon 0: Scunthorpe 1, Burnley 1.

SCOTTISH PREMIER DIVISION Hearts 4. Clvdebank 1. SCOTTISH "DIVISION ONE Airdrieonians 1, East Fife 2; Alloa 1, Forfar 2; Kilmarnock 3, Brechin 1; Montrose 0, Clyde 0; Morton 0, Hamilton 1; Partick 1, Falkirk 2. SCOTTISH DIVISION TWO Cowdenbeath 1, Stirling 2. GOLA LEAGUE Bath I, Dagenham 1; Cheltenham 1, Runcorn 1; Dartford 1, Frickley 2; Enfield 1, Altrincham 1; Nuneaton 1, Telford 1; Stafford 2, Maidstone 1; Wealdstone 2, Barnet 0.