Soccer Arsenal relishes life at top

Press, 22 December 1986, Page 26

Soccer Arsenal relishes life at top

NZPA-Reuter London The English league soccer leader, Arsenal, is clearly intent on making its manager, George Graham, eat humble pie after stretching its unbeaten run to 15 games’ with a 3-0 win against Luton on Saturday. Early in the season Graham was adamant that his squad was not strong enough to mount a serious title challenge. Since then the London club has picked up 32. points out of a possible 36. Three goals in the final 20 minutes from Niall Quinn, Tony Adams and Martin; Hayes, his twelfth of the season, ensured that Arsenal will celebrate its centenary on Christmas day with a healthy five-point lead in the first division. While Arsenal continued to relish life at the top, its nearest challengers Nottingham Forest and the defend-; ing champion, Liverpool, laboured to goal-less draws. Forest, the first division’s leading scorer, was unable to breach a Southampton defence which had conceded 39 goals in 18 league outings, and Liverpool, missing several key players and its usual fluid approach, failed to get the better of Charlton, even though the London side was : reduced to 10 men for the' last half hour when the substitute, Robert Lee, limped off with an ankle injury. Forest was fortunate to' keep its unbeaten home record intact. During a hectic five-minute period in the second half Danny Wallace, had a shot brilliantly saved and Colin Clarke, Southampton’s top scorer, drove a shot against the post. Both Liverpool and Forest

could have done with the services of Tottenham’s prolific marksman, Clive Allen. He took his tally for the' season to 24 with both goals in his side’s 2-0 win over the bottom club, Chelsea, which has not won in its last nine league appearances. Everton, beset by injuries during the first three months of the season, continued to : look one of the teams best equipped to deny Arsenal its first league title since 1971. It swept aside Wimbledon’s' challenge, winning, 3-0, with goals by Trevor Steven, Kevin Sheedy and Adrian Heath. Quinn, with his fifth goal in seven games, ended Luton’s stout resistance at Highbury when he climbed well to head into the bottom corner of the net. Another Quinn header set up Arsenal’s second goal eight minutes from time. His goal-bound header came back off the underside of the bar and the centre half, Adams, bundled the ball home. Hayes completed Luton’s misery two minutes from time when his speculative shot was fumbled into the net by the goal-keeper, Les Sealey. Frank Stapleton, a former darling of the Highbury fans, helped Manchester United to inch itself further away from the basement of the table by scoring within a minute of substituting for the debutant, Liam O’Brien, midway' through the second halfagainst Leicester. United’s other marksman in its 2-0 win was Colin Gibson, who was making his first league appearance since August. In Scotland, Celtic had its lead in the premier league cut to four points when it was held to a 1-1 home draw by Aberdeen.

Alan Mclnally gave Celtic the ideal start with a goal in the second minute, but the champion flattered only to deceive and Aberdeen’s Joe Miller made amends for fluffing a fourteenth minute penalty by equalising three minutes before half-time.

The second-placed Dundee United took the wind out of Heart of Midlothian’s sails by scoring three times in the last 10 minutes through Paul Stur-’ rock, Eamonn Bannon and lain Ferguson, for a 3-1 win. | English league Division one: Arsenal 3, Luton 0; Charlton 0, Liverpool 0; Chelsea 0, Tottenham 2; Everton 3, Wimbledon 0; Manchester United 2, Leicester 0; Nottingham Forest 0,

Southampton 0; Oxford 2, Aston Villa 2; West Ham 1, Queen’s Park Rangers 1; Watford 1, Norwich 1. Division two: Huddersfield 1, Crystal Palace 2; Portsmouth 2, Barnsley 1; Birmingham 2, Sheffield United 1; Ipswich 3, Plymouth 0: West Bromwich 1, Reading 2. Division three: Bristol City 4, Bolton 1; Bury 4, Walsall 0; Newport 1, Rotherham 2; York 1, Fulham 1; Chester 1, Chesterfield 1; Darlington 3, Port Vale 2; Gillingham 4, Bristol Rovers 1. Divison four: Aidershot 1, Crewe 0; Cambridge United 3, Rochdale 0; Preston 1, Orient 0; Swansea 1, Colchester 2; Wolverhampton 1, Southend 2; Burnley 1, Cardiff 3; Hali-

fax 2, Hereford 1; Scunthorpe 3, Exeter 1; Stockport 2, Wrexham .1; Tranmere 0, Hartlepool 0 (abandoned after 27 minutes because of floodlight failure), Scottish league Premier division: Celtic 1, Aberdeen 1; Dundee United 3, Hearts 1; Hamilton 0, Rangers 2; Hibernian 0, Motherwell 1; St Mirren 3, Clydebank 1. Division one: Brechin 1, Morton 3; Dunbarton 0, Forfar 1; East Fife 0, Airdrieonians 0; Kilmarnock 1, Montrose 0. Division two: Arbroath 2, Raith 1; Meadowbank 2, Ayr 2; Queen’s Park 2, East Stirling 1; St Johnstone 1, Stenhousemuir 0.