Reuters
London, Jan 13: Aston Villa beat Crystal Palace 1-0 to win a Premier League match for the first time since August while a late goal from Paul Dummett earned a 3-3 draw for Newcastle United against Manchester United in EPL matches played Tuesday night. It was important points for both the teams as they are facing relegation.
Joleon Lescott’s second half header, fumbled in by keeper Wayne Hennessey, handed Villa manager Remi Garde a first victory in charge, the bottom club’s first in the league at home this season, and ended a run of 19 games without a win.
Wayne Rooney’s 79th-minute strike, his second goal of the game, put United 3-2 up at Newcastle but Dummett struck in the last minute for the relegation-threatened hosts who had battled back from 0-2 down.
West Ham United moved above Manchester United into fifth place after coming from a goal down to win 3-1 at Bournemouth, Enner Valencia netting twice for the London side.
In spite of getting a point against the Red Devils, Newcastle remained in the relegation zone, one point behind 17th-placed Swansea City, but manager Steve McClaren was delighted his side had shown ‘what we are about’.
McClaren’s side trailed 2-0 after Rooney converted a ninth-minute penalty and laid on the second for Jesse Lingard following a swift counter attack.
Aleksandar Mitrovic nodded down for Georginio Wijnaldum to pull a goal back just before half time. Serb Mitrovic then leveled from the spot after 67 minutes when Chris Smalling was penalised for pushing.
Rooney’s neat finish put United back in front but Dummett lashed the ball in from the edge of the box to earn his side a point.
“People said Manchester United were boring and we lacked character but we kept fighting until the end and we have got a goal that feels like a winner,” McClaren said. “People thought it would be a 0-0 and it was a classic at 3-3.”
In spite of having more than 60 per cent of possession, United were punished because of their slow moving defenders. Rooney aptly summed up the feelings of the team and said: “We failed to hold on to our advantage and if a team can’t do that, it has no right to win. We are to be blamed for what happened today (Tuesday).”
Manager Louis van Gaal was brusque. “We did not deserve to win, there was no shape in defence,” said the Dutchman. “But what can I do sitting on the sidelines. At least I am happy that we scored three goals.”
Meanwhile Rooney with his brace equalled Thiery Henry’s 175 goals for a single club. Henry had netted 175 goals for Arsenal, the highest individual tally for any footballer playing in the EPL. Rooney touched that record Tuesday and now is all set to emerge the highest scorer for a single club.
