BPL : Fulham frustrate Villa with draw

Aston Villa 0 - 0 Fulham

Martin O'Neill voiced his frustration after Aston Villa blew a golden opportunity to consolidate their place in the top four by failing to overcome a battling Fulham side. But the Villa boss insisted his side had not "choked" against one of the Premier League's minnows after taking four points from their previous matches, against Arsenal and Manchester United.

With none of the teams above them in action, Villa had the chance to leapfrog Manchester United into third place in the table, for 24 hours at least. But a goalless draw with Roy Hodgson's well-organised side means that they could lose their place in the top four if Arsenal beat leaders Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.

Villa's goalkeeper Brad Friedel set a Premier League record by making his 167th consecutive league appearance, overtaking the previous mark set by England No. 1 David James. But Friedel's team-mates failed to ensure the landmark day ended on a high with Ashley Young, who shot wide from close range, and Stiliyan Petrov, who headed an equally good chance over the bar, squandering good chances before Gareth Barry had a late effort brilliantly saved by Fulham's Australian goalkeeper, Mark Schwarzer.

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Sunderland 1 - 4 Bolton Wanderers

Sweden striker Johan Elmander claimed an opportunist's double as Bolton humiliated Sunderland, 4-1, in front of their own supporters on Saturday and piled the pressure on to Black Cats boss Roy Keane.

An afternoon that started with Djibril Cisse firing the home side into the lead ended with them dropping into the relegation zone after goals for Matt Taylor and Gary Cahill were followed by Elmander's strikes either side of half-time.

Both the Swede's goals were the result of defensive blunders with Danny Collins and Dean Whitehead the culprits, respectively,. Elmander should have completed his first hat-trick in English football when Kevin Davies sent him clear with quarter of an hour left. On that occasion, the Swede pulled his shot just wide but Sunderland were well beaten by that stage and had to endure a cacophony of jeers from the home support at the final whistle.

Middlesbrough 0 - 0 Newcastle United

Mark Viduka was unable to inspire Newcastle United to victory as they were forced to settle for a point in a Premier League stalemate at North-East neighbours Middlesbrough.

Joe Kinnear celebrated his first game since signing a new contract until the end of the season by guiding his side out of the bottom three with a hard-earned 0-0 draw in an uncompromising Tees-Tyne derby at the Riverside Stadium. But the interim manager left fans baffled by hauling off the impressive Obafemi Martins midway through the second-half to hand Viduka his first taste of action in more than six months.

Martins left Kinnear in little doubt as to his feelings at his unexpected exit despite being Newcastle's most potent attacking threat, the Nigerian international storming off straight down the tunnel without so much as a glance towards the bench. Australian international Viduka looked understandably off the pace in a 25-minute cameo on his return from a career-threatening Achilles injury against his former club. But the 33-year-old still came close to claiming a dramatic winner shortly after his introduction, when his close range shot was only prevented from finding the net by defender David Wheater's desperate late block. fifa

Other results;

Aston Villa 0 - 0 Fulham
Middlesbrough 0 - 0 Newcastle United
Stoke City 1 - 1 Hull City
Sunderland 1 - 4 Bolton Wanderers
Wigan Athletic 2 - 1 West Bromwich
.......
Manchester City ? - ? Manchester U.
Portsmouth ? - ? Blackburn Rovers
Tottenham ? - ? Everton
Chelsea ? - ? Arsenal