(MENAFN- Arab Times) LONDON Dec 28 (AFP): Manchester United's efforts to force their way into the Premier League title race faltered as they were held to a 0-0 draw at Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday. An outstanding display by Spurs goalkeeper Hugo Lloris together with wasteful United finishing meant Louis van van Gaal's side were denied an eighth victory in nine games. Had United claimed three points they would have increased the pressure on top two Chelsea and Manchester City.
Instead they were left to reflect on a missed opportunity but Spurs who finished the game strongly also had cause for regret after failing to enhance their own challenge for a top-four finish. Van Gaal's decision to name an unchanged side for the first time since he took charge at Old Trafford was a clear indication of the manager's growing satisfaction with his team's efforts after some good recent results. Results however have told only part of the story with United having failed to convince on occasion. Their defensive struggles which have allowed goalkeeper David de Gea to shine gave Tottenham grounds for pre-match optimism particularly with Harry Kane in such good form. The 21-year-old striker had scored in his four previous appearances and quickly demonstrated he was capable of unsettling United's back three of Phil Jones Paddy McNair and Jonny Evans. An excellent threaded pass from the recalled Andros Townsend almost allowed Kane to get in behind the visitors' back-line but McNair was alert enough to smother the danger. That though proved to be a rare example of the home side's attacking threat as United assumed control to the extent that Tottenham would have been out of the game before half-time had it not been for Lloris. With Antonio Valancia and Ashley Young finding space on the flanks and Juan Mata and Wayne Rooney buzzing around in midfield United repeatedly opened up a route to Lloris's goal but neither Rademal Falcao nor Robin van Persie could find a finishing touch. Mata came closest to breaking the deadlock with a 22nd-minute free-kick that struck the post and when the ball bounced towards the goal-line Vlad Chiriches hacked it away from the feet of Falcao and Van Persie. Falcao saw an angled shot parried by Lloris moments before the Spurs goalkeeper snuffed out an opportunity for Van Persie after the striker had deftly brought down Michael Carrick's chipped pass. Then in the final minute of the half the France international produced an acrobatic full-stretch save to tip Young's curling cross-shot around the post. The goalkeeper's heroics had kept Spurs in it and his team-mates responded after the restart by adopting a more ambitious approach. Townsend had been Spurs' most dangerous attacking player and the England international became even more prominent as the game wore on testing De Gea with a swerving 20-yard shot that the Spaniard did well to hold. The winger's pace was troubling United and he appeared to have caught out Young in the 70th minute when he got behind the wing-back only to be hauled back. Young had been booked 15 minutes earlier for a foul on Nacer Chadli but although Spurs coach Mauricio Pochettino and his players were convinced he should have received a second caution referee Jon Moss waved play on. Moments earlier Mata had fired over from Rafael da Silva's cut-back but that proved to be United's last clear chance as the momentum of the game tipped in Spurs' favour with Christian Eriksen and Federico Fazio threatening. Van Gaal withdrew the unconvincing Evans in favour of Chris Smalling while Luke Shaw replaced McNair but although the visitors hung on it was amid a growing sense of panic. Cisse prolongs Everton's bleak mid-winter Newcastle 3 Everton 2 In Newcastle Senegalese striker Papiss Cisse kept up his impressive scoring record to inspire Newcastle United as they came from behind to beat Everton 3-2 in the Premier League on Sunday. Cisse's fifth goal in six games sparked the recovery after Arouna Kone had found the net on his full Premier League debut for Roberto Martinez's Everton an injury-ravaged 18 months after joining from Wigan Athletic. Cisse levelled before the interval and second-half goals from Ayoze Perez and Jack Colback enabled Alan Pardew's men to end a four-game losing streak. Substitute Kevin Mirallas gave Everton hope by reducing the arrears in the 84th minute from Leighton Baines's through-ball but it was not enough to prevent Everton sliding to a third straight defeat. The Merseyside club have won just once in their last seven league games losing five. Martinez made seven changes to the team beaten 1-0 by Stoke City on Boxing Day notably handing a top-flight debut to England youth defender Luke Garbutt and saw Everton take a fifth-minute lead. Aiden McGeady's channel ball cut out Yoan Gouffran and found Seamus Coleman making progress down the right. The Irishman sent over an inviting low cross and Kone swept home confidently from six yards. It was the Ivory Coast international's first goal since May 2013 his Goodison Park career having stalled after he suffered a serious knee injury that ruled him out for most of last season. Moussa Sissoko spurned a clear opening to draw Newcastle level a heavy first touch allowing keeper Joel Robles to block as the midfielder bore down on goal from a Cisse flick. But the hosts drew level 11 minutes before the break as their increasing pressure finally told. Cheick Tiote swapped passes with Colback and sent over a deep cross that Mike Williamson hooked back to Cisse who made no mistake from close range. Cisse was perhaps fortunate to still be on the field at that point having earlier caught Coleman in the throat with a flailing arm in an off-the-ball incident that went unseen by the match officials. Pardew's side ended the half in the ascendency and it took a fine block from Sylvain Distin to deny Daryl Janmaat as the Dutch international latched onto Paul Dummett's knock-down from a Perez centre. Robles produced a fine save low to his left to keep out a Gouffran effort early in the second half but Newcastle did not have to wait long before taking a 51st-minute lead. As with the first goal Tiote was prominent in the build-up finding Perez on the edge of the Everton area. The Spaniard turned and threaded a low shot through the legs of his marker Coleman and into the bottom-left corner past a rooted Robles. Samuel Eto'o should have equalised just after the hour but the former Cameroon striker wasted some determined approach play from Baines by firing the defender's low cross wastefully over. They were made to pay with 23 minutes left as Newcastle stretched their advantage through Colback's first goal for the club. Janmaat's ball into the Everton area should have easily been cut out by Ross Barkley. But the substitute allowed the pass to reach Colback a close-season signing from neighbours Sunderland who rolled a left-foot shot past Robles. Cisse almost made it four soon after only to be denied by Robles but despite Mirallas giving the visitors hope it was to prove immaterial. Stoke 2 West Brom 0 In Stoke-On-Trent Senegal's Mame Biram Diouf scored twice as Stoke City sharpened the focus on West Bromwich Albion manager Alan Irvine with a 2-0 win in the Premier League on Sunday. Former Manchester United striker Diouf struck twice in 15 second-half minutes at the Britannia Stadium to give Stoke back-to-back wins for the first time this season after Friday's 1-0 success at Everton. It was a third defeat in a row for West Brom who have won only once in nine games and follows Irvine's admission that he feared for his job at the Hawthorns. The defeat saw Irvine's side fall one place to 16th and left them just a point above the relegation zone ahead of a trip to high-flying West Ham United on New Year's Day. While Stoke manager Mark Hughes made only one change replacing Jonathan Walters with Peter Crouch Irvine drafted Brown Ideye Chris Brunt Graham Dorrans and Chris Baird into his starting XI. The visitors enjoyed the best of the first half but it was Stoke who went closest to breaking the deadlock with Bojan Krkic fizzing a shot narrowly wide in the 14th minute. Bojan has been one of Stoke's most impressive performers in recent weeks and he was the catalyst for the home side's opening goal in the 51st minute. The former Barcelona forward sprayed a pass wide to Erik Pieters on the Stoke left and the Dutch full-back's low cross was in turned in by Diouf via a slight deflection off Joleon Lescott. Irvine responded with a double change sending on Saido Berahino and Silvestre Varela and saw his side hit the woodwork when Gareth McAuley stabbed a shot against the post following a goal-mouth scramble. But in the 66th minute Diouf claimed his second goal when he fortuitously deflected a shot from Marko Arnautovic past Ben Foster to leave Irvine cursing his luck once again. Villa 0 Sunderland 0 In Birmingham Ten-man Aston Villa held on for a 0-0 draw at home to Sunderland on Sunday as the two teams inched away from the Premier League relegation zone. Villa extended their unbeaten run against the Black Cats to seven games but suffered from the absence of joint top scorer Gabby Agbonlahor who was serving a one match suspension for picking up five yellow cards. Kieran Richardson was also suspended for Paul Lambert's side while Joe Cole Ashley Westwood Philippe Senderos and Nathan Baker were all out injured. The home side edged possession and attempts on goal during a scoreless first-half but Villa's task was complicated three minutes after the restart when Fabian Delph was shown a straight red card for a reckless challenge. Palace 0 QPR 0 In London Managerless Crystal Palace responded to the sacking of boss Neil Warnock with a gritty display in a 0-0 draw against fellow strugglers QPR on Sunday. Palace chairman Steve Parish ended Warnock's five-month reign on Saturday after the south London club slumped into the Premier League relegation zone but caretaker manager Keith Millen convinced his players to ignore the turmoil and they delivered an improved performance at Loftus Road. The Eagles linked with moves for former Tottenham boss Tim Sherwood and ex-Porto chief Vitor Pereira remain in the bottom three on goal difference while QPR are two points above the drop zone. Millen in his third spell as caretaker made one change to the Palace team beaten by Southampton on Boxing Day with Wilfried Zaha replacing Fraizer Campbell up front as the Eagles looked to register a first win in seven matches. Both teams looked short of confidence and composure in a scrappy opening and QPR striker Charlie Austin should have done better than shoot straight at Palace goalkeeper Julian Speroni. Yannick Bolasie produced Palace's first real moment of quality when he unleashed a powerful strike which Robert Green was at full stretch to keep out. The visitors went even closer in the 21st minute when Joe Ledley picked out Jason Puncheon and the Palace winger curled in a first-time effort that beat Green but rebounded to safety off the post. After failing to build any momentum in a drab first half QPR went close to breaking the deadlock soon after the interval when Leroy Fer's volley flew just wide. Leicester 1 Hull 0 In Hull Leicester City claimed their first win in 14 Premier League matches to give their survival hopes a boost with a 1-0 success at Hull City on Sunday. The Foxes were crafty enough to win a game in which they were thoroughly dominated bagging the winner just after the half-hour through Algerian winger Riyad Mahrez. It was a timely boost for the 23-year-old who went out to Brazil with Algeria this summer playing once will have one eye on the African Cup of Nations finals starting in mid-January. With his hair slicked back and sporting black gloves his left-footed stinger from outside the box was a worthy winner as it flashed into the bottom left corner. The strike sent the small away support wild as they smelled the possibility of only a third Premier League win all season for the cash-strapped newly promoted side. The win leaves Leicester City on a meagre 13 points but lifts them to within just three of safety with Hull Crystal Palace and Burnley all level on 16 points above the It was a happy return to Hull for former player Nigel Pearson now the Leicester coach but his opposite number Steve Bruce is coming under increasing pressure in his own hot-seat as the Tigers slide down the table. Both sides actually ended a bad tempered game with ten men Leicester's Paul Konchesky getting sent off for a violent tackle on 87 minutes while already on a yellow card while Hull's Stephen Quinn was sent off in stoppage time for a deliberate hand ball. And if Leicester have something to smile about Bruce and his men will be left to reflect on their poor finishing having managed 18 attempts on goal compared to Leicester's two.
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