Sunday Mercury

Derby Is Lacking in Desire ; Blunt Baggies Hit by Boo-Boys

From CHRIS LEPKOWSKI at The Ricoh Arena MORE than 4,000 West Bromwich Albion fans were subjected to 90 minutes of their lives which they will never retrieve thanks to a desperately poor derby clash at Coventry City. Some of the visiting fans even booed their side following a dire show at the Ricoh Arena, with Jonas Olsson involved in a heated exchange with a small group of hecklers as the players trooped off.

First Taste of Defeat for Leeds

AN 83rd-minute winner from Millwall substitute Gary Alexander sent leaders Leeds to their first defeat of the season. Neil Harris opened the scoring for the home side after only three minutes, but Leeds were back on level terms nine minutes later through defender Patrick Kisnorbo.

Wasps Wallop Off-Form Gloucester

GLOUCESTER 6 WASPS 35 GLOUCESTER head coach Bryan Redpath pulled no punches as he opened up on the frustrations of his squad after they were crushed at home by Wasps. The Cherry and Whites dropped two places down the Guinness Premiership table after the bonus point loss to the London side who are now up to second with five victories in six league games.

Flying Ryan Stuns Tigers

LONDON IRISH 18 LEICESTER 12 RYAN Lamb kicked London Irish to the top of the Premiership with a superb six penalty goals on a bad day for reigning champs Leicester. As well as suffering defeat, Tigers were forced to hear that prop Julian White has been ruled out of England's autumn internationals after tearing a hamstring in the early stages of the clash.

Poor Stour's 'Dale of Woe

WHARFEDALE 31 STOURBRIDGE 16 STOURBRIDGE suffered a disappointing defeat at the hands of their Yorkshire hosts who cruised to a fivetry victory. A tight first half saw the visitors make the perfect start when Jon Higgins kicked a third-minute penalty.

Blake's Heaven ; 24 Pages Packed with All the Weekend's Action

WOLVES boss Mick Mc-Carthy is backing Sylvan Ebanks-Blake to score goals at Barclays Premier League level after the striker broke his top-flight duck in the home draw with Aston Villa. Ebanks-Blake was a prolific goalscorer in helping Wolves gain promotion back to the Premier League last season.

Wolves Back On Prowl ; We're Getting Better by the Game - Mccarthy

MICK McCarthy believes that with over a quarter of the season gone his Wolves side are getting better. The Yorkshireman paid tribute to his players following their deserved draw against Villa and insisted life in the Premier League should hold few fears should they replicate that performance.

O'neill Let Down by Sluggish Start

MARTIN O'Neill admitted that offcolour Villa failed to reach the heights they set against Chelsea in yesterday's "disappointing" derby draw with Wolves. Despite a below-par performance, Villa took a late lead against Mick McCarthy's battlers through Gabby Agbonlahor's sixth goal of the season on 79 minutes.

Rob Hails His Smiling Assassin!

BURNLEY 1 WIGAN 3 WIGAN boss Roberto Martinez praised the smiling Hugo Rodallega for the clinical finishing that ended Burnley's proud Turf Moor record. Two goals from the Colombian gave the Latics a 3-1 win, their first on the road since the opening day of the season, and he is becoming something of a lucky charm for Martinez's side.

Carson's Hart All a Flutter ; New Owner Sees Blues Hold On

BLUES survived a late Hart attack to ruin Steve Bruce's St Andrew's homecoming after a nerve-jangling finale. The hosts looked to have been cruising and on course for a thoroughly deserved victory during Carson Yeung's first home game as Blues owner.

Chelsea Run Riot Against Sad Rovers

CHELSEA 5 BLACKBURN 0 CHELSEA gave Carlo Ancelotti a perfect tonic as they soared back to the top of the Premier League with a 5- 0 demolition of Blackburn at Stamford Bridge last night. Ancelotti, back in the dugout after visiting his seriously ill father in Italy in midweek, watched his side produce a fabulous performance against ragged Rovers to go two points clear at the summit. Chelsea destroyed Sam Allardyce's side with two goals from Frank Lampard, one a penalty, plus others from Didie...

Twitt Jozy Is Rapped by Brown

HULL CITY 0 PORTSMOUTH 0 HULL City manager Phil Brown has disciplined striker Jozy Altidore after the youngster revealed the reason for his omission from the side on Twitter. The USA striker was left out for this dismal goalless draw with fellow strugglers Portsmouth at the KC Stadium after arriving late and he then compounded the error by revealing all.

Glenn Sends Harry Potty ; Super-Sub Whelan's Late Show Sinks Spurs

From MIKE McGRATH at White Hart Lane STOKE substitute Glenn Whelan snatched a late winner at White Hart Lane to ruin Harry Redknapp's first anniversary as Tottenham manager. With Jermain Defoe suspended, Spurs could not unlock a Stoke defence assembled by boss Tony Pulis, who was a player under Redknapp at Bournemouth.

Kev's Late Strike Puts Toon Top

TEN-MAN Newcastle returned to the top of the Coca-Cola Championship with a hard-fought 2-1 win over Doncaster at St James Park. Chris Hughton saw his side avoid a third straight defeat despite falling behind to Dean Shiel's 18th-minute strike.

Bosses Have Beef After 'Elbow' Ko

CRYSTAL PALACE 1 NOTT'M FOREST 1 BILLY Davies and Neil Warnock were locked in an angry war of words after Crystal Palace defender Clint Hill floored Nottingham Forest winger Paul Anderson in the 1- 1 draw at Selhurst Park. Darren Ambrose's 40th minute free-kick gave Palace a lead that was cancelled out by David Mc-Goldrick's leveller three minutes after the break.

Rams Raided by Deadly Rangers

DERBY COUNTY 2 QPR 4 QPR came from two goals down to claim an impressive 4-2 victory over Derby at Pride Park and move into the Coca-Cola Championship play-off places. Veterans Paul Dickov and Robbie Savage gave the Rams an early 2-0 lead in a game that Jim Magilton's Rangers controlled for long periods. Adel Taarabt pulled a goal back before half-time and the former Tottenham player was a constant thorn in Derby's side as secondhalf goals from Gavin Mahon, Jay Simpson and a late Akos Buzsaky...

Robins Catch Vale Cold to Snatch Point

PORT VALE 1 CHELTENHAM 1 From ANTHONY MUNDAY at Vale Park VALE boss Micky Adams was happy to take a point after several of his players climbed off their sick beds to give their all. Almost half of Adams' first-choice line-up had been affected by a sickness bug which swept through the camp in the past week.

Shrews Get Shots In!

SHREWSBURY 3 ALDERSHOT 1 SHREWSBURY shrugged off the shock of falling behind after only four minutes to end a run of three defeats in a row. Alarm bells were ringing for the Shrews when skipper Graham Coughlan failed to clear a cross and Louie Soares swept the Shots ahead.

Ace Skinner Is a Real Winner

PILKINGTON XXX stay top after a 3-1 victory at Racing Club Warwick where Brett Skinner scored the goal of the game. Lawrence Martin put the Gasmen into the lead only for Racing Club to level with a penalty before the break with Kevin Brooks restoring Pilkington's lead in the second period.

Delight at Stour Cup Sensation ; Awesome Glassboys Make History

FOURTH ROUND QUALIFYING Buxton.......................................0 Stourbridge................................ 4 STOURBRIDGE sensationally made club history after progressing to the first round of the FA Cup for the first time in their history courtesy of a wonderful victory away at Buxton. Despite playing up the slope against a strong wind, the Glassboys controlled the first half and deservedly took the lead on 20 minutes when Ryan Rowe found space to head home to the delight of the visi...