The Hindu : Sport / Football : Chelsea overcomes West Ham United

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Sunday, Dec 02, 2007
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Chelsea overcomes West Ham United

LONDON: Joe Cole maintained Chelsea’s drive towards the top of the Premier League as his goal secured a hard-fought 1-0 win over West Ham United in the English Premier League on Saturday.

The Blues have settled into an ominous rhythm under Avram Grant and this latest triumph allowed them to leap-frog Manchester United into second place.

Chelsea had to sweat for its success. West Ham was a valiant opponent which looked capable of storming Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge citadel until Cole, helped by a generous linesman, swiped the points with a lovely goal with just 14 minutes remaining.

Cole appeared fractionally ahead of the play when Kalou flicked on Mikel’s header, but he showed admirable composure to round Green and crunch a shot high into the net from a tight angle. A deflated West Ham could not respond.

Blackburn posts win

A double from David Bentley and a late strike by Tugay Kerimoglu saw Blackburn Rovers bounce back from its midweek reversal to see off Newcastle United 3-1 at Ewood Park.

The host ended its run of four league games without a win and claimed its 50th Premier League victory under Mark Hughes, just three days after its 4-0 rout at home to Aston Villa.

The results:

Blackburn Rovers 3 (David Bentley 54, 67, Tugay Kerimoglu 90+3) bt Newcastle United 1 (Obafemi Martins 47); Portsmouth 0 drew with Everton 0; Reading 1 (Dave Kitson 54) drew with Middlesbrough 1 (Tuncay Sanli 83); Sunderland 1 (Anthony Stokes 90) bt Derby County 0; Wigan Athletic 1 (Paul Scharner 25) drew with Manchester City 1 (Geovanni 1); Chelsea 1 (Joe Cole 76) bt West Ham United 0. — Agencies

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