Reading hosted Newcastle Tuesday hoping they were still recovering from the celebration over their securing promotion back to the EPL. Well, they're still celebrating and two goals in the opening half by Kevin Nolan (20 & 42) kept the party going for the Magpies. The Royals pressure resulted in a spectacular OG in the 72nd as they battled to get back in it but they would get no closer in the 1-2 loss.

The Royals recovered nicely from the loss to the league leaders with a decisive 6-0 victory over the league's bottom side Peterborough United. The thoroughly dominant display lifted Reading to 9th in the table. A wonderful turnaround after being in the relegation zone at the halfway mark. Again the Royals flowing attack was led by a brace from Sigurdsson and another goal from Kebe, the two men that have been so instrumental in their revival.

The expansion Philadelphia Union took their show on the road to Toronto. Again they played well despite playing short handed for an hour eventually losing a match they should have won at least a point on a costly takedown by their keeper, Chris Seitz. De Rosairo converted from the spot for the winner (82). Seitz had mishandled the ball earlier allowing De Rosario's first goal of the night (35) on a free kick from 30 yards that was the result of an elbow to the face from their captain Danny Calif who saw red for the offense. A patient buildup led to a Roger Torres brilliant ball over the defense putting Jordan Harvey in on goal for the leveler just ahead of the break. Both of the Union's losses have been on the road and in both of them they have played shorthanded for an hour or more. In this one the Union were impressive again for an expansion side despite being shorthanded and their teenage sensation Roger Torres was tops among them. The Union have shown good organization and intelligent combination play and that was apparent even as they played so long with ten against 11.

Chelsea looked to extend their lead at the top on Tuesday when they welcomed Bolton to Stamford Bridge. Bolton, on three straight defeats that has seen them go scoreless are fading. One thing for certain Bolton proved SAF's prognostication about this one being “an easy game” for the Blues was just more of his mind games. It took the first goal for Anelka since January (42) to get them on top and two good shouts for handball (Terry and Drogba) to keep them there as Bolton were far more of a challenge than expected. And that would be all there was in it but the result is what mattered for the Blues who extend their lead at the top of the table. Yes, they won the points on the day, but the performance was certainly not inspiring or of the quality expected for a championship outfit.

The action continued on Wednesday with the big North London Derby with Spurs hosting the Gunners with a great deal on the line other than just the pride in defeating the arch rival. Spurs need the points to stay within touch of Man City in 4th while the Gunners look to jump past Man United into 2nd and striking distance of Chelsea. Arsenal got a big boost ahead of the match announcing the return from injury of Robin Van Persie who entered the match with the Gunners on the short end of a 2-0 scoreline. Spurs teenager Danny Rose making his debut scored on a brilliant volley (10) of an Alumnia punch from 30 yards that would remind many of Robben's goal that bounced United out of the Champions League. Another unlikely goal scorer, Gareth Bale, added the second for Spurs (47) who seemed well on their way to a clean sheet victory over their neighborhood rivals. Bendtner pulled one back for Arsenal (85) that ended a string of wonderful saves by Gomes to protect the Spurs lead and suddenly the mood at White Hart Lane changed. The Gunners hopes of rising to challenge for the title would end as they would get no closer. The 2-1 victory for Spurs, their first league win over Arsenal since 1999, moves them to just a point adrift of 4th placed Man City and leaves Arsenal six points down to the leaders in 3rd.

Other matches on Wednesday had Everton visting Aston Villa and Wigan entertaining Portsmouth.
Villa needing the points to regain some confidence and get back in the challenge for 4th and Everton would like nothing better than slipping ahead of their neighbors from the red side of Mersey and into a Europa League place. The makings of a draw? Everton's Tim Cahill had the Toffees headed for the points until Agbonlahor's glancing header knotted the score at 1 (72). Less than two minutes later Cahill did it again to regain the lead (74) for the visitors and it stayed that way into stoppage time when an unfortunate Jagielka OG resulted in the 2-2 deadlock. Villa now sits 7 points behind 4th placed Man City as any realistic chance of rising above their 6th placed finish of the past two seasons is quickly becoming little more than a dream.

Portsmouth may be the anchor of the table but the newly minted FA Cup finalists aren't about to lay down for anyone. Wigan, on the other hand, have slid down the table and find themselves just above the bottom three in very real jeopardy. The Latics dominated but couldn't take their chances in a disappointing 0-0 draw. Pompey made 8 changes to the side that appeared in the FA Cup semi over the weekend using academy players to fill in the squad who did well enough to prevent a Wigan victory.

The weekend kicks off with one of the most anticipated games in recent memory as in form Man City hosts their crosstown rivals Man United. SAF had this to say ahead of the match: "In over 23 years at United it is the first time we have played City when they have a chance of actually achieving something," he said. While that may indeed be the case it is also true that anything less than a United win here would essentially end their hopes of a 4th straight title if the Blues should produce a win at Spurs.

As expected the press were promoting the confrontation as a Rooney v Tevez affair. While both men are keys for their repective clubs and are certain to have an impact on the outcome it is also likely that the match will be won, if indeed there is to be a winner, by the club that gets a great effort from the supporting cast. That measure favors United, like it or not, with men such as Valencia, Nani, Giggs or Scholes more likely to win the day. That said, this could be the day when we see peripheral players at City raise their game and stand side by side with those on their rivals roster. Does City take that “next step” and rise above their status as a mid-table side or does Man United's mastery and dominance in the league, and of course the City of Manchester, continue? Individual players aside, that is what is at stake here. In no way is this just another Manchester Derby.

Man City, despite all the spending fell short (again) as the unmarked Scholes drifted into wide open space in the center of the area and headed home the match winner in stoppage time for the 1-0 Man United win. Both sides created few chances with United doing a bit better in that regard throughout. United managed to defeat City in stoppage time again to keep their hopes alive.

While the big Manchester Derby attracted a lot of attention around the world Spurs hosted Chelsea at White Hart Lane for yet another London Derby that could determine the title winner. A win by the Blues here could settle the issue while a Spurs victory could put them back to 4th and leave the title up for grabs too. Few games get more pivotal than this one and both sides knew the result in that big derby in the northwest before a ball was kicked. That in itself added to the significance of the outcome of this contest and Spurs were the team that rose to the occasion.

Spurs indicated their intent from the off and ran out to a two goal lead in the opening half via a Defoe penalty (Terry handball, 15) and a Gareth Bale strike (44). Credit Spurs as the Blues had trouble the entire match and seemed to sputter, unable to get in full stride. Lampard notched a consolation in stoppage time that truly was too little, too late. Spurs rise to 4th and Chelsea's lead over United is again only a single point.

Terry had a miserable outing and was dismissed for his second bookable offense in the 67th hurting his team's chances of getting back in the contest. I've held my tongue long enough on this guy's negative impact on his team this season. It seems as if Terry, trying too hard to regain his stature with his mates has become the rotten apple that ruins the barrel. His verbal abuse of officials and his teammates too is decidedly negative. He became one of the keys to Chelsea's success by leading by example, and his example and attitude this season has been very negative and at times poisonous.

While much has been written about him, much of which has been vicious and probably a good deal of it untrue, attempting to recover from it has brought out a side of John Terry that has not been positive for him or his team. This match was an example of that. From a human perspective it is easy to understand his anger after having a good deal of his personal life exposed openly in the press. But it also seems to be the case that his struggles to get over it all and get back on level terms with life, his club and the game itself has been a bit much for him to deal with. I hate to see that happening but I do believe he has become a net negative for the team. The very best thing that could happen for John Terry would be for the Blues to hang on and win the title and the FA Cup too. That would surely end his season of despair and go a long way to repairing John Terry too. That could end up being a big deal for England as well.

With the really big games gathering the attention of fans everywhere Hull City visited Birmingham in a match that could determine their fate and earned a point in a scoreless draw at St Andrews. “Earned” is the operative word here as the venue has proved a difficult place to play for all comers this season. That said, Hull remains the only team in the league that has not won a match away from home and their last chance will be their visit to Wigan. The positive part of the schedule that remains is that they have 3 games at home.

Blackburn entertained Everton at Ewood Park and Ryan Nelsen presented them an early gift with a foul in the area and Arteta converted the penalty (4) for the lead. It stayed that way for well over an hour as both clubs slugged it out. Then, 4 goals were scored in the final 20 minutes, the first got the match level via Nzonzi's 30 yarder that eluded Howard (69). Yakubu came on ten minutes later and within 30 seconds bungled in to take the lead again. Two minutes later Jason Roberts blasted another shot from distance that got past Howard setting the stage for that man again, Tim Cahill, who poked in the match winner in stoppage time. The victory lifts Everton to within 2 points of their neighborhood rival Liverpool.

Fulham and Wolves struggled in what you'd have to call a dour scoreless draw as Fulham managed only 1 shot on goal and Wolves none, but the point is a valuable one for Wolves who are now 6 above the zone.

Bolton, on a horrid run of four straight where they've failed to score a goal faces a tough day at Stoke.
After going down a goal to a Dave Kitson strike (13) Bolton finally got on the board via Matt Taylor in the 85th on a well placed free kick. Taylor then hit the winner three minutes later that lifts Bolton to seven points above the relegation zone all but ensuring their survival.

Sunderland, safe from relegation, entertained a desparate Burnley who won their first match on the road last time out in emphatic fashion and need to do it again if they have any realistic chance of survival. The Black Cats, led by Frazier Campbell, blitzed Burnley in the opening half. Campbell converted the a cross from Hutton (25) then assisted on Bent's goal (41) with a nice headed pass for a 2-0 lead at half time. Steve Thompson would pull one back for the Clarets (82) as relegation now seems certain.

Wigan entertained Arsenal and held them at bay until the 41st minute when Theo Walcott ended the stalemate with a fine finish. Silvestre doubled the advantage heading home a corner in the 48th as the Gunners looked to take advantage of the results earlier on the weekend that gave them an opportunity to get back in the mix at the top end of the table. The Latics finally finished a chance in the 80th minute (Ben Watson) and Titus Bramble headed in (89) a bobble by Fabianski to level. The match winner came from a strong drive from N'Zogbia in the first minute of stoppage time as Wigan rallies for the 3-2 victory that may have ensured their survival.

Bottom side Portsmouth faced off against Aston Villa and their fading hopes of meeting their goals for the season. As the end draws ever closer it looks as if Villa may find it beyond them to again finish in 6th as they have done for the past two seasons under Martin O'Neill. In fact, over the past decade Villa have never finished the season higher than 6th. To be fair to O'Neill they have produced the highest point totals in over a decade (62 & 60) in his two seasons in charge but they may not even reach those totals this time out. In other words Villa is stuck in place and simply have not significantly improved their final position or points won under his guidance. Ahead of this match they are 7th on 55 points and with a strong finish they do have a chance to better their recent record and earn a higher finishing place. Would they take that chance?

Pompey, playing far better than a bottom side already relegated outfit, froze Villa's defense on several occasions in the early going which led to Michael Brown's opening goal in the 10th minute. Carew would get Villa back on level terms in the 16th with a dandy run and quality finish after getting on the end of Warnock's long ball. David James would save a Carew penalty to keep the score even at 1. For long periods of the second half Villa had Pompey pinned in their own end resulting in multiple corners and crosses all with no payoff. Finally, in the 82nd minute Heskey headed one of them wide but Delfouneso was there to poke it in at the back post as the two subs combined for the match winner. Villa prevails with a deserved and hard won 2-1 victory and slips into 6th above Liverpool ahead of the Monday game.

Liverpool's newly adjusted goal of hanging on to a Europa League place welcomed West Ham looking for a point to enhance their chance of avoiding relegation. News of the hated American owners looking to sell the club dominated the sports media ahead of the match and took the spotlight off Benitez. Reds fans around the world would rather see him be the one to go but the ire is still directed at the owners instead of the failures brought to Liverpool by Rafa and the money he's wasted. The fans hatred of the American owners blinds them to the reality of Rafa's reign and the real reason the club has fallen from its Big Four status.

Now Rafa is out there yet again and saying that the expectations for success ahead of the season AND the injuries that limited especially Fernando Torres were the keys to his failure to deliver. Ok, let's look at the actual facts behind Rafa's latest deception, and make no mistake, that is precisely what this is. Examining the first 11 EPL games of the season Rafa must have forgotten that his team lost 5 of them (the first 11 games take us to the end of October). Of those 11 games Torres missed only 1 and that was the infamous “beachball” game, a 1-0 loss at Sunderland. In fact, as of the end of October Torres had already scored 10 goals in those 11 games!

Despite that incredible strike rate from Torres Liverpool's record as of October 31 was: 6-0-5, and yet here is Rafa saying the reason he failed this season is that Torres wasn't there. Excuse me? The man scored 10 goals in those first 11 games of the season and yet Liverpool lost 5 of them. What does that tell you about what Rafa is peddling? It is pure nonsense that's what it tells you.

Plus, at that stage they had already lost the first to Fiorentina in Champions League. Oh, Rafa must have forgotten that Torres played in that first loss to Fiorentina too I suppose but the real message is by November 1 his team had lost 5 EPL games and was already out of the running for the title. That is in stark contrast to the previous season where they finished 2nd place only 4 points down to United. In that entire season they lost only 2 of 38 league games hence Rafa's mention of what he called expectations for the season that were “too high” yet there he was after 5 losses before November saying they could still win it.

Yes, sure Rafa. Here is an excerpt from the article that appeared here ahead of their pivotal match with Man United (the 10th EPL game of the season for the Reds, which they did win by the way, and yes, Torres played in that one too despite what Rafa says and he scored his 9th goal of the season as well in Liverpool's 2-0 win):

“The headline match of the weekend in the EPL, even for neutrals, has to be the contest at Anfield with Man United. Can Liverpool rally and put an end to their longest string of losses (4) in over 20 years and challenge the table toppers and reigning champs or will their slide continue? A note on the potential debacle facing Rafa and his Reds is that this match is truly huge and will be followed by a Carling Cup confrontation with the in form Gunners” (they did lose that one too).

“Who would have expected the Reds to be on the verge of falling out of the title race before November 1 after their best ever result in the league last season? Last season at this stage Liverpool were at the top; a loss in this match would put them 10 points down to United after only 10 games. That, and they could be out of the league cup too within the week, on top of their poor start in the Champions League where they will now be hard pressed to make the knockout round after two losses.”

And of course, the rest is history as they say and yes, they did fail to make the knockout round of the Champions League when they lost the second match to Fiorentina. Those four straight losses mentioned above were: Fiorentina, Chelsea, Sunderland and Lyon and they did actually win the big week ten match with United then lost at Fulham (3-1) and yes, Torres played and scored in both of them. It was in that 5th loss of the season at Fulham where Torres went lame (October 31) and he appeared only once in the month of November in their 1-1 draw at Lyon.

You have to excuse Rafa, his memory isn't quite what it used to be I suppose. Blowing smoke at the media is one thing but one thing that shouldn't be accepted is outright lies and deceit and that is what Rafa is doing here. As of November 1 Liverpool's chance of winning the title was over. They had already lost 5 in the league, were bounced out of the League Cup and had gotten off to a shaky start in the Champions League too. It was not until all that had transpired that Torres was unavailable for an extended period (essentially the entire month of November, but they had already lost those 5 games in the league before then). And that my friends is the truth.

Enough of all that. West Ham were simply overwhelmed by Liverpool and it was surprising the score wasn't more than the 3-0 final. Goals from Benayoun (hint of handball), Ngog and a Kyrgiakos shot found the net but only after deflecting off Robert Green accounted for the final scoreline.

Can you believe this? Edson Buddle did it again scoring twice in the Galaxy's 2-1 win over Real Salt Lake avenging the loss in a small way in the MLS Cup last year. By the way it was Buddle who missed the penalty kick that gave Real the victory. His goal tally now is 7 in four games and he has scored all of LA's goals leading them to 4 straight victories. Will Bob Bradley call him? Buddle has had some experience with Bradley when he competed for the USA in both the U20 and U23. He also has 1 cap for the senior team. Some rumours have also bubbled up suggesting he's under the watchful eye of a few Premier League clubs, Blackburn Rovers being one of them.

At the same time can you believe what is happening in DC? Four straight defeats for United!

A bit closer to Ocean City fans one of my favorite clubs in United Soccer Leagues, the Charleston Battery, won their opener on the road 3-2 over Charlotte Eagles. The match marked the Battery's first game as a USL2 side. And, of particular interest is that the winning goal was scored by a rookie, Levi Coleman, who was picked out of the crowd by the Battery staff in their PDL Showcase back in February. Coleman played in the PDL in both of his final two college seasons at U of Missouri-Kansas City.