Balloon Scores for Sunderland | SportsFilter (or sign up ) October 17, 2009 Balloon Scores for Sunderland : A large red balloon scored a goal for Sunderland in its historic 1-0 defeat of Liverpool Saturday. The balloon, which did not have a small child inside, deflected a hard Darren Bent shot past keeper Pepe Reina four minutes into the match. Sunderland hadn't beaten Liverpool at home for 50 years. See the shot and the live reaction on Sky Sports. "Pictures on Sky TV showed a young fan in the Liverpool section throwing the beach ball on the pitch and then looking particularly glum at halftime," the Times reported. posted by rcade to soccer at 04:59 PM - 21 comments The shot keeps getting removed from YouTube. If someone has a link to official Premier League highlights let me know. posted by rcade at 05:04 PM on October 17 Here and here . I'd say "beach ball" over "balloon", but Liverpool definitely had the wind knocked out of them by it (ka-dunk).

posted by etagloh at 05:44 PM on October 17 You thought the kid was glum at halftime? Think he's going to sleep tonight? This will probably stay with him for a long time. May want to keep him out of school for a few days -- you can imagine the kids' reaction. posted by jjzucal at 05:44 PM on October 17 at the start of the video of the boy throwing the ball onto the pitch, it looks like someone on playing level hands him the ball. Seems like that was a bad idea. posted by dviking at 07:45 PM on October 17 Bad luck but I watched the whole match and the Reds were never scoring. Rafa made a big mistake putting in three centerbacks and compounded problems by leaving Jay Spearing in so long. Spearing made so many bad passes he should have a tough time getting in the reserve side any time soon. Babel showed he is just not going to cut it up top and needs to be sold or loaned in January. I empathize with the kid who threw the balloon but the loss isn't on him.

posted by billsaysthis at 09:10 PM on October 17 The rules state the referee has the option to allow play to continue if a "second ball" goes on to the field but should call a halt if it interferes with the action. It also states he should stop the game in the case of "any kind of outside interference" but in reality matches are routinely allowed to continue with items like balloons on the pitch. Former FIFA referee Graham Poll told the BBC the referee should have stopped the game and given a drop ball. I could understand why play wouldn't be stopped if the ball was at midfield, against the sidelines or away from the play. But this seems like a perfect opportunity for the official to exercise his option to award a drop ball. That is interference, right? And if not in this case, then when it is proper to? Maybe I don't watch enough soccer. posted by BoKnows at 09:46 PM on October 17 Reminds me of this incident from a few years ago (with both incidents being the fault, so to speak, of their own overzealous supporters).

posted by holden at 10:00 PM on October 17 Former FIFA referee Graham Poll told the BBC the referee should have stopped the game and given a drop ball. Graham Poll can bugger off. And Danny Baker has an obvious lead-in next week. I want to hear about park games with in-off-the-dog goals. posted by etagloh at 11:15 PM on October 17 This picture and this one give a sense of what happened since the videos aren't sticking. With the beachball considered an "outside agent" it should have been a drop ball, but the referee Mike Jones, who appeared to have a sound view of the incident, awarded the goal. "I thought it was a deflection off a player," said the Sunderland manager, Steve Bruce. "If anyone knew that rule, that it should have been a drop ball, then you are one saddo. I didn't know." posted by rumple at 03:01 AM on October 18 "I'd say "beach ball" over "balloon", but Liverpool definitely had the wind knocked out of them by it (ka-dunk)." Etagloh will be here at the SportsFilter Cabaret all week!

posted by jjzucal at 06:13 AM on October 18 I'm a saddo then, Steve. Pretty common sense rule really - outside interference, drop ball. posted by owlhouse at 09:51 AM on October 18 football, corner pocket; 3 ball, opposite corner. posted by bluemagpie at 12:46 PM on October 18 holden, that video looked like they were playing in a garbage pit, so much junk on the pitch. Clearly, given the size of the ball this should have been a situation in which play was stopped. When you don't score any points it makes it hard to win in any case, but tough to lose on a goal scored off of a beach ball. posted by dviking at 12:59 PM on October 18 Looks like the defender kicked away the beach ball and deflected the football into the goal in one move. posted by JButton at 01:43 PM on October 18 "If anyone knew that rule, that it should have been a drop ball, then you are one saddo.

I didn't know." I find it hard to believe that no one would know if there was a defined rule involving anything thrown onto the field and how it affects play. posted by BoKnows at 08:59 PM on October 18 Bet you Steve Bruce would have been quoting the rule chapter and verse if the goal had been scored at the other end. I eagerly await the first psychology papers based on this incident about how a goalkeeper will always go for the larger object propelled towards him, or red is a danger colour, so he went for the beachball. posted by JJ at 05:54 AM on October 19 The ref is being "rested" this coming weekend. Meditation good for the judgment? posted by billsaysthis at 01:27 PM on October 19 When I read the headline "Balloon Scores for Sunderland", I thought it was going to be yet another joke at Andy Reid's expense :) posted by phreakydancin at 10:43 PM on October 19 The ref is being "rested" this coming weekend. Meditation good for the judgment?

That's the sound of a stable door being bolted when the horse has disappeared over the horizon. I'm sure that every other Premier League ref is thinking, without admitting it, that they'd have let the goal stand too. And Gallagher, Poll and the other ex-refs, none of whom covered themselves with glory in their careers, are guffing when they say otherwise. I certainly believe that players or ex-players like Bruce had no idea of that rule in the book: the general rule of thumb has been to use natural stoppages to clear out any crap from the goalmouth. I can't even remember it being a game-stopper during the odd craze for inflatables in the late 80s. More amusingly, LFC's entire stock of 'holiday beach sets' has been bought up, with suspicions falling on Evertonians, or the Man Utd fans visiting Anfield this coming weekend. posted by etagloh at 02:02 AM on October 20 There is also likely to be much singing of this from the Utd fans this weekend. I've always preferrred the German version (of the song, not of Utd fans ).

posted by JJ at 05:20 AM on October 20 Anfield staff will be searching ManU supporters Sunday and confiscating balloons and similar ;) posted by billsaysthis at 11:47 AM on October 20 Liverpool Deflated After 1-0 Loss To Red Beach Ball and Sunderland - World Soccer Talk Liverpool Deflated After 1-0 Loss To Red Beach Ball and Sunderland Liverpool Deflated After 1-0 Loss To Red Beach Ball and Sunderland Christopher Harris October 17, 2009 General , Leagues: EPL 20 Comments It’s been quite a week for balloons. First there was the ridiculous coverage of the Balloon Boy in Colorado, and now another inflatable object has stolen the headlines. Can it get any worse for Liverpool? The club played one of their worst first-half performances against Fiorentina in the Champions League a few weeks ago and lost 2-0, which was followed by a very unconvincing display in the 2-0 loss against Chelsea. In addition, the club has already lost to Aston Villa and Tottenham Hotspur in the league.

And now, to make matters even worse, their Premier League title aspirations were deflated after Sunderland’s Darren Bent scored on a shot that deflected against a red beach ball and into the net for a 1-0 victory. It’s one thing for a beach ball to get in the way, but when the bal was thrown on to the pitch by a Liverpool teenager, you can only imagine how much stick this young fella is going to get on Merseyside. Possibly only the other person on Merseyside who is less popular than the kid is one Rafa Benitez. Without Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard, Liverpool looked very ordinary and they were continually on the backfoot against a hard-working but hardly world-class Sunderland side. If anything, Sunderland could have easily won this game 2-0 or 3-0 such were their clear-cut chances, but they failed to put the decisive ball away. The list of problems for Liverpool continues to grow. Martin Skrtel and Jamie Carragher looked shakey in the back for Liverpool, once again. Babel and Kuyt aren’t traditional strikers and they played like it. They’re more providers than creators. They need someone to latch their passes or knock-ons to.

Liverpool still needs a better striker from the substitute’s bench than Andriy Voronin (what does Benitez see in him?). And their midfield of Lucas Leiva, Jay Spearing, Fabio Aurelio was completely outplayed by Sunderland’s midfield of Steed Malbranque, Lee Cattermole, Lorik Cana and Andy Reid. This was a Liverpool side that didn’t look like winning. They’ve been relying too much on Gerrard and Torres to rescue them out of trouble for way too long. And without those two players who can turn the games on a dime, they looked like a bottom half of the table team. To make matters even worse for Liverpool, their next league game is against Manchester United on Sunday, October 25 where Sir Alex Ferguson will be licking his chops at the prospect of pouring even more pressure on Liverpool and Rafa Benitez. Regarding the red beach ball, it was in the back corner of Reina’s net when the game kicked off and was there as late as minute 1:30 on the clock. But after that, the ball must have blown on to the pitch. Reina will definitely be regretting that he didn’t burst the ball before it came on the pitch.

In tribute to the red balloon goal, here’s the video for Nena’s “99 Red Balloons”: The Liverpool Beach Ball | Uncyclopedia | Fandom powered by Wikia The Liverpool Beach Ball Jump to: navigation , search Liverpool Beach Ball is currently in a relationship with the WAG above. The Liverpool Beach Ball (born 2009) is a bright red beach ball with the crest of Liverpool Football Club on one side. Contents edit Sunderland Born in Beijing , China , the beach ball joined Sunderland as a 3-month-old in 2009. His agent, football supreme Stephen Westgarth(OBE), spotted him in pound land just hanging about the aisles and immediately knew he had something special. Mr Westgarth’ or "The Oracle" as he is known around the PFA offices had many offers from some of the premier league’s top 4. After careful consideration they both agreed that Sunderland was the place to start his premier league career.It's made one appearance for Sunderland in the Premier League. It is famous for having a 100% goal scoring record and for getting the game winner against Liverpool on October 17th, 2009, with an assist from Darren Bent.

It made its appearance after being tossed onto the pitch by a Liverpool fan, who was allegedly reported to have gone to the hospital to have the ball removed from his rectum. edit Controversy There was some controversy surrounding the beach ball's goal, seeing as the rules of football state that beach balls are not allowed to score goals. However, in a decision that reflected the quality of the refereeing this season, Mike Jones allowed the goal to stand. Jones allegedly found numerous flaming bags of dog poo on his front porch after the incident. There was controversy over who (or what) scored the beach ball's goal. Some have claimed that the goal was scored by Glen Johnson, Darren Bent, Liverpool's poor defending, Xabi Alonso's move to Real Madrid, Rafael Benitez's shittastic managing, or Gary Neville.

There were also arguments over whether the beach ball was, in fact, a beach ball or a large red balloon, a very small planet, Liverpool's title hopes, Rafael Benitez's future at Liverpool, the FA's corruption, Iker's beard, Bosingwa's unibrow, Fabregas' eventual move to Barcelona,the chances of Steven Gerrard AND Fernando Torres ever managing to keep themselves fit long enough to play a game together, the chances of Celtic and Rangers joining the EPL, the number of years since Arsenal's won anything, the likelihood of Manchester United getting extra injury time when the score is tied, or England's World Cup aspirations. There was also controversy as to whether the beach ball was offside or not, fueling fan's screams for instant replay. Already being linked with a world record transfer to Manchester City in January. After all this Liverpool will not win the title. edit International career The Liverpool Beach Ball has yet to make an international appearence, but by making more headlines than any other Chinese player before him, things are looking good for the beach ball.

Premier League clockwatch - as it happened | Football | The Guardian Premier League Premier League clockwatch - as it happened An absurd goal sent Liverpool to defeat at Sunderland, while Manchester United went back to the top with a nervy victory over Bolton Darren Bent scores for Sunderland - via a balloon deflection. Photograph: Mike Hewitt/Getty Images Saturday 17 October 2009 08.13 EDT First published on Saturday 17 October 2009 08.13 EDT Share on Messenger Close Preamble Afternoon. So this is a rarity these days: a person who doesn't really, really, really, really, really want to flush Jan Mohr's head down the nearest toile decent set of 3pm fixtures. Liverpool have a trip to Sunderland that looked tricky even before they lost Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres to knack. There is an illicit frisson about Harry Redknapp's first return to Portsmouth, where he is going to learn cusswords he didn't know existed. Arsenal will probably be armed with a sense of vengeance because of what happened to Eduardo the last time they played Birmingham.

Manchester United start a league game without Wayne Rooney for the first time this season, and also without their talisman Darren Fletcher, but will go top of the table if they win at home to Bolton. Everton, bang in form, should win at home to Wolves, while West Ham, bang out of form, should be physically overwhelmed at Stoke. These are the fixtures, with predictions you'd do well to completely ignore: Arsenal 5-0 Birmingham While you wait, why not revisit Scott Murray's minute-by-minute report on Aston Villa 2-1 Chelsea . Manchester United v Bolton Wanderers team news, culled lovelessly from the news wires Goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar was named in the Manchester United starting line-up for the first time this season as the Barclays Premier League champions took on Bolton at Old Trafford. After recovering from the broken fingers he suffered in a pre-season game in Munich, Van der Sar's inclusion was one of eight changes to the United side that faced Sunderland last time out, with Nemanja Vidic missing due to an ankle injury. Bolton, unbeaten in five games, had Kevin Davies up front on his own as Gary Megson's men looked to resume after the international break in solid form.

Man Utd (4-4-2) Van der Sar; Neville, Ferdinand, Evans, Evra; Valencia, Carrick, Anderson, Giggs; Owen, Berbatov. Subs: Kuszczak, Brown, Nani, Scholes, Welbeck, O'Shea, Macheda. Bolton (4-1-4-1) Jaaskelainen; Ricketts, Knight, Cahill, Samuel; Muamba; Lee, Cohen, Gardner, Taylor; K Davies. Subs: Al Habsi, Robinson, Steinsson, M Davies, Klasnic, McCann, Basham. Referee Mark Clattenburg (Tyne & Wear) Portsmouth v Tottenham Hotspur team news Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp made his return to Fratton Park after leaving Portsmouth last season, with Jermain Defoe and Niko Kranjcar also facing their former club. Redknapp left Pompey as FA Cup holders and in a healthy position in the Barclays Premier League - but their struggles since have seen him targeted by supporters.

Redknapp has since raided his old club for Defoe and Kranjcar as well as Peter Crouch, who was on the bench despite his two goals for England this week against Belarus. Ledley King returned from a hamstring injury and replaced Wilson Palacios, while Heurelho Gomes was back in goal instead of Carlo Cudicini. Jamie O'Hara, on-loan from Spurs, was ineligible to play against his parent club so Aaron Mokoena replaced him. Portsmouth (4-1-2-1-2) James; Finnan, Kaboul, Wilson, Ben-Haim; Mokoena; Brown, Yebda; Boateng; Smith, Dindane. Subs: Ashdown, Mullins, Piquionne, Williamson, Utaka, Webber, Belhadj. Tottenham (4-4-2) Gomes; Corluka, King, Bassong, Assou-Ekotto; Lennon, Jenas, Huddlestone, Kranjcar; Defoe, Keane. Subs: Cudicini, Hutton, Bentley, Pavlyuchenko, Palacios, Crouch, Dawson.

Referee Phil Dowd (Staffordshire) Everton v Wolverhampton team news Everton (4-2-3-1) Howard; Hibbert, Yobo, Distin, Baines; Heitinga, Rodwell; Osman, Cahill, Bilyaletdinov; Saha. Subs: Nash, Jo, Gosling, Yakubu, Neill, Fellaini, Coleman. Wolverhampton (4-4-2) Hennessey; Zubar, Berra, Craddock, Elokobi; Kightly, Edwards, Henry, Halford; Doyle, Ebanks-Blake. Subs: Hahnemann, Stearman, Keogh, Jarvis, Milijas, Maierhofer, Castillo. Referee Stuart Attwell (Warwickshire) Arsenal v Birmingham team news, culled etc Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger kept faith with youngster Vito Mannone in goal for this afternoon's Barclays Premier League clash against Birmingham at Emirates Stadium. Experienced Spaniard Manuel Almunia was fit again following six weeks out with a chest infection, but only made the bench.

England Under-21 left-back Kieran Gibbs came in for Gael Clichy (ankle), while there was also a first start of the season for Theo Walcott as Russian playmaker Andrey Arshavin was among the substitutes following a busy international schedule. Captain Cesc Fabregas played after missing Spain's midweek match because of a family matter. Former Gunner Sebastian Larsson faced his old club, and Blues forward Cameron Jerome returned from two months out with an ankle injury. Arsenal (4-2-1-3) Mannone; Eboue, Gallas, Vermaelen, Gibbs; Song Billong, Diaby; Fabregas; Walcott, van Persie, Rosicky. Subs: Almunia, Sagna, Ramsey, Silvestre, Wilshere, Arshavin, Traore. Birmingham (4-5-1) Hart; Carr, Roger Johnson, Dann, Ridgewell; Larsson, Ferguson, Bowyer, Carsley, McFadden; Jerome. Subs: Maik Taylor, O'Connor, Phillips, McSheffrey, Damien Johnson, Bent, O'Shea.

Referee Lee Probert (Wiltshire) Stoke v West Ham team news West Ham manager Gianfranco Zola made three changes for his side's match against Stoke at the Britannia Stadium. One was enforced because of suspension to Scott Parker, who was replaced by Radoslav Kovac. Zola, who played 4-4-2 in the 2-2 draw to Fulham before the international break, opted to go with one up front as the fit-again Valon Behrami and Jack Collison started instead of Luis Jimenez and Zavon Hines. Stoke boss Tony Pulis named the same line-up which earned a 1-1 draw at Everton two weeks ago. Stoke (4-4-2) Sorensen; Huth, Abdoulaye Faye, Shawcross, Collins; Delap, Diao, Whitehead, Etherington; Fuller, Beattie. Subs: Simonsen, Higginbotham, Whelan, Lawrence, Kitson, Sanli, Wilkinson.

West Ham (4-5-1) Green; Faubert, Tomkins, Upson, Ilunga; Behrami, Kovac, Noble, Collison, Diamanti; Cole. Subs: Kurucz, Franco, Jimenez, Spector, Da Costa, Hines, Stanislas. Referee Martin Atkinson (W Yorkshire) Sunderland v Liverpool team news Jay Spearing, 20, makes his league debut for Liverpool. I'm not entirely sure of the Liverpool system: is Carragher playing at left-back, or has he gone to three centre-backs with Babel and Kuyt up front? Is Rafa on one? Sunderland are 4-4-2 and proud of it, quite rightly in view of their palpable improvement under the still underrated manager and author, Steve Bruce. Sunderland (4-4-2) Gordon; Bardsley, Turner, Ferdinand, McCartney, Malbranque, Cana, Cattermole, Reid; Bent, Jones. Subs: Fulop, Nosworthy, Zenden, Campbell, Henderson, Da Silva, Healy.

Liverpool (4-2-3-1) Reina; Johnson, Agger, Skrtel, Carragher; Lucas, Aurelio; Babel, Spearing, Benayoun; Kuyt. Subs: Cavalieri, Voronin, Riera, Mascherano, Insua, Ngog, Kelly. Referee Mike Jones (Cheshire) 2.47pm So, Chelsea have been rolled by Villa, their second defeat of the season to go with three for Liverpool, two for Arsenal and one for each of the Manchester clubs. This league is dangerously close to being part-competitive this season. 2.50pm "Agger in central midfield," says Ian Copestake. "No, really." He can play football, I suppose, but it all looks hideously lopsided. It has the whiff, as Scott Murray has just slurred across the desk, of a deliciously petulant two fingers in the direction of the owners.

'Well what do you expect me to do without Gerrard and Torres?' 2.59pm "West Ham's fans at a rowdy Britannia Stadium are crammed into one end in the shadow of an enormous black and white sign with the word 'CHLAMYDIA' on it," says Barney Ronay, who has been excitedly talking about his trip to Stoke all week. "They don't seem that bothered by it - no obvious signs of irritation." I'll honk to that. 3.01pm Well Sky have gone to a break, and with all Guardian employees being RIGHT-THINKING PERSONS and therefore not watching illegal internet feeds, I have absolutely no idea what's going on! Already, this is a triumph. 3.04: Man Utd 1-0 Bolton (Knight own goal 4) Michael Owen makes a dog's dinner of a header in front of goal, but Zat Knight shows him how to do it by lumping the loose ball into his own net. I am paraphrasing from Charlie Nicholas on Sky Sports News, but apparently it definitely wasn't Owen's goal - his header was off target until Knight diverted it.

3.05pm: Sunderland 1-0 Liverpool (Balloon 5) Darren Bent's shot deflects off a balloon to give Sunderland the lead. Oh my, my, my. Can we just fast-forward now to Rafa's post-match interview? 3.07pm Jussi Jaaskelainen pushes a shot/header from a Man Utd player/balloon onto a post. Sorry, I missed the details on Sky Sports News because I was too busy researching previous balloon goals. A bloody balloon. A balloon. 3.08pm "Chelsea are currently starring in 'Big Phil II', Liverpool WILL get done by Sunderland, Arsenal will spontaneously combust at some point and United will win the title by default," says Julian Menz. "Again." There's a new team in town this year. I think City have a genuine chance of winning the league this year. 3.09pm Jermain Defoe hits the post for Spurs at Fratton Park. At least I think that's what happened: the man doing the game for Sky Sports News is Phil Thompson, who has hardly been able to get his words out since that balloon farce.

3.11pm "Before this season I would have assumed when you said it was scored by a balloon that Sunderland's goal had in fact been scored by Andy Reid," honks Gerry Scott. "But now I am just hoping that (in the interests of my fantasy football team) it is credited to Bent." I'm pretty sure not even the Fun Police/Dubious Goals Panel will be able to take this one off him. 3.12pm Apparently it was a Liverpool balloon that caused the goal. All we need now is to hear that it was thrown by Gillett or Hicks. Here, incidentally, is the last major balloon goal , as far as we're aware. 3.14pm Here's Tim Rich, our man at Old Trafford. "Just as the Bolton fans are letting rip with a chorus of 'Rio for England' to remind Ferdinand of his errors in Ukraine, one of their own central defenders, Zat Knight, makes an utter hash of clearing Michael Owen's soft header to steer it past Jlloyd Samuel on the line. United one up and cruising, although Owen will be interested in whether it is given as an own goal.

Since referee fitness will be an issue here, Mark Clattenburg is mostly jogging around following Manchester United's relentless attacks. The latest sees a falling volley from the new dad, Dimitar Berbatov, whistling past Jussi Jaaskelainen's post." 3.15pm: Stoke 1-0 West Ham (Beattie pen 11) No surprise here. Stoke, by all accounts, are all over West Ham, and James Beattie has scored his first of the season from the penalty spot. 3.16pm "This," says Richard Whittall, "has been a bad week for balloons ." 3.17pm: Arsenal 1-0 Birmingham (Van Persie 16) Oh, that's a surprise. Song's excellent pass finds Van Persie, who finishes expertly, as he usually does. 3.18pm "Not a balloon, but I do remember Derby thrashing Forest with the help of a massive deflection of a plastic coffee cup," says Thomas Hopkins.

"Said cup is, I believe, now on display at Pride Park – which, to be clear, in no way makes Derby look ridiculous." 3.19pm: Arsenal 2-0 Birmingham (Diaby 19) Diaby slaps a screamer into the top corner with his left foot. This one is going to get messy, isn't it? 3.20pm Aruna Dindane produces one of the all-time great misses at Fratton Park, where the score is still 0-0. 3.21pm "I seem to remember that if, during the game, the ball is touched by outside interference that directly has s bearing on play, such as a fan running on and kicking the ball or a flare, then the match was to be stopped and restarted with a drop ball," says Pete Marland. "And what about Sunderland, pretty poor sportsmanship to just take it as a fluke and carry on. Cheating almost." I look forward to a minute's silence for the death of sportsmanship at Liverpool's next home game. 3.22pm Kevin Davies misses a simple header for Bolton at Old Trafford. United could, says Charlie Nicholas on Sky, be 4-1 up.

So, to get this straight: you're reading some eejit telling you what another man is saying about a match he's not even watching at the ground. And this is progress? 3.23pm "That was a lovely little backheel by Fuller that put in Etherington for the foul that led to Stoke's penalty," coos Barney Ronay at the Britannia Stadium. "Only moment of invention so far but it was a treat. And Beattie absolutely buried the kick. It made a 'whump' noise as he hit it." He has always taken cracking penalties, hasn't he? 3.25pm Here's Louise Taylor at the Stadium of Light: "Darren Bent has scored for Sunderland courtesy of a hefty deflection off a big red balloon - actually it looked more beach ball than your bog-standard party balloon.......Andy Reid heavily involved in build up - eat your heart out Trapattoni......" 3.26pm And here's Stuart James at the Emirates: "Welcome to the Premier League, Carson Yeung. The new Birmingham president had just looked up from glancing at his watch when Van Persie drilled Arsenal in front. Two minutes later it was 2-0.

This could be a long afternoon for the new regime. Did no one tell them a visit to Arsenal was not the best place to start?" 3.27pm And here are the latest scores: Arsenal 2-0 Birmingham Aston Villa 2-1 Chelsea (result) Everton 0-0 Wolverhampton Stoke 1-0 West Ham Sunderland 1-0 Liverpool 3.28pm "It is unsporting of Sunderland not to have delayed this fixture until Liverpool have their first team fit or not asleep," says Ian Copestake. 3.30pm A balloon. 3.31pm Liverpool are slowly turning the screw, by the sounds of things. Meanwhile, we've just found a sensational picture of John Terry losing it with a post after Aston Villa's winner earlier in the day. Oh, Johnny. 3.32pm: Portsmouth 0-1 Tottenham (King 29) Ledley King's first goal of 2009 gives Spurs the lead and, you suspect, the points. 3.33pm Have anyone of you actually seen the balloon goal?

I haven't, because iraqgoals.com is down I'm a RIGHT-THINKING PERSON and don't use illegal feeds, but those of you who live overseas may have seen it. Well? 3.34pm: Man Utd 2-0 Bolton (Valencia 33) Antonio Valencia gets the first goal of his Manchester United career, rattling one past Jaaskelainen at the near post. United are going back to the top of the table. 3.36pm This will cheer Rafa Benitez up even more: the Sunderland goal should not have stood. "Hi Rob," says Harold Dyson. "From your You Are The Ref series, we have : '3) Stop play and award a drop ball from where the ball made contact with the plastic bag. If the contact took place inside the goal area (six-yard box), then the drop ball is on the six-yard line that is parallel to the goal-line at a point nearest to where the contact occurred. This is not the same as question one.

The plastic bag is an outside agent – the moment the ball makes contact with it, play is dead – so the fact the keeper subsequently picked the bag up is irrelevant.'" 3.37pm: Stoke 1-1 West Ham (Upson 34) I'm guessing a set piece and some semi-erotic noggin-on-pig's-bladder action for this one. 3.38pm: Arsenal 2-1 Birmingham (Bowyer 38) A handling error from Vito Mannone allows Lee Bowyer to smash Birmingham's first first-half goal of the season. 3.40pm "So Antonio Valencia just scored his first Manchester United goal (off a left-footed Gary Neville assist, no less!) and acts like he's had a balloon full of urine popped in his face," theme-varies Jon Cummins. "I have no idea what to make of it. It was VERY odd.

Balloon goal was awesome, btw, Reina tried to save the balloon instead of the ball." 3.42pm "The plastic bag rule does cast light retrospectively on why Barca fans threw a pig's head on the pitch back in the day," says Ian Copestake, a remarkably chipper Liverpool fan in the circumstances. 3.43pm The referee in the Liverpool game is Mike Jones, and you won't be seeing him in the Premier League for a while. Amusing as it obviously is, it's also an appalling decision. 3.44pm Thanks to all who have sent links to the goal. What a farce. The best thing, as Jon Cummins said, is that Reina actually moves to save the balloon rather than the ball. 3.46pm: Portsmouth 0-2 Tottenham (Defoe 45) Defoe gets ahead of Steve Finnan to score against his old club. As things stand, Spurs will be only three points off the top tonight.

3.47pm "So either the entire officiating crew missed the balloon strike, which means they are oblivious, or none of them knew the rules of the game, which means they are incompetent," says Andrew Siegler. "Either way it's a grand statement about the quality of English refereeing." Where's the RESPECT? What do you mean RESPECT needs to be earned? 3.48pm "Stoke have four centre halves in their team, all at least 6'3"-ish, but nobody was standing anywhere near Matthew Upson when he scored direct from a corner," says our man Barney Ronay. "Tony Pulis will be winding up Peter Reid for a half time sort-out about that. Also Rory Delap has just hurled a throw at least a metre over the West Ham bar." 3.49pm "Not good news for Arsenal or Fabio Capello," says Stuart James at the Emirates. "With the match only 33 minutes old, Theo Walcott has limped off, having failed to recover from a crunching Liam Ridgewell challenge.

Ridgewell actually got the ball, though his follow-through left Walcott, who has making his first Arsenal start of the season, in a heap." 3.50pm So these are the half-time scores: Arsenal 2-1 Birmingham Aston Villa 2-1 Chelsea (result) Everton 0-0 Wolverhampton Stoke 1-1 West Ham Sunderland 1-0 Liverpool 3.52pm An update from Tim Rich from Old Trafford, the relative lateness of which is entirely my fault. (And yours, for sending in some emails - any more than five and I can't cope.) "The game is 30 minutes old when for the first time Old Trafford realises that Edwin van der Sar is making his first appearance of the season as a Matt Taylor free kick is punted rather tamely into his arms. This is only a respite in what is already threatening to become a slaughter as an unlikely one-two with Gary Neville is finished off emphatically by Antonio Valencia. Chelsea have lost, Liverpool are suffering balloon-inflicted horrors at Sunderland and Clattenburg has given one decision against United.

Fergie is enjoying the sunshine." 3.55pm "I understand all the controversy behind the balloon goal, but could you imagine the vitriol if Mike Jones had disallowed the goal because a bit of Liverpudlian paraphernalia deflected Bent's strike?" says Richard Whittall. "I'm sure you'd be receiving just as many pompous, exegetic emails on the Almighty and Everlasting Laws of the Game from the other side if that had happened." Good point. I think the fairest solution would be for the FA to insist that the result stands and that Patrice Evra gets a five-match ban. 3.57pm "Having had a proper look at the Sunderland goal via half-time replay, I thought I'd pass along an observation that seems to have gone undiscussed thus far," says Jesse Ziter. "It's not really a BALLOON, is it? Based on the sheer physics on display, it looks like it was something more akin to a beach ball, or else some mutant, industrial strength balloon. You can really get a sense of the weight of the object from the trajectory of it's bounce after having been struck, let alone from the severity of the deflection it caused.

Lord knows what the thing was even doing in the stadium, never mind on the pitch." 4.03pm "The best part of the goal is watching the video and seeing the balloon creeping into the camera shot, lingering there on the edge of the six-yard box with everyone oblivious," says Niall Donegan. "Chekhov's balloon if you will." That's a Dawson's Creek reference, right? 4.06pm Here's Rob Betts. "After 1:37 of the following link . Coffee cup becomes Derby's 12th man. 4-2 in 2004." 4.07pm For those who have asked about the Everton game, I can't remember one mention on Sky, and of course we have no footage of the game. Sorry. 4.08pm "Zonal defences really are a liability - had anyone man-marked the balloon, Liverpool would still be in that game," says Gary Naylor. 4.10pm "Fox just ran slo-mo of the Sunderland goal, and, first, it was a beach ball, second, it appears that the soccer ball did not hit it," says Jeffrey Knight.

"Johnson lunged to block the shot, hit the beach ball, and then the shot deflected ever so slightly off his shin, although didn't seem to change direction much; I think Reina was distracted by the beach ball - which he should have cleared well before this event." A few people have emailed in the last few minutes to say that the ball didn't hit the balloon. I've no idea what's going on now. It's like who shot bloody JR around here. 4.11pm "During the highlights of the first half, Fox showed a moment from two minutes in...and the beach ball was already in Reina's goal!" says Tony Ling. "Surely he must have seen it there, and in lieu of perhaps popping it or having it disposed of, he let it drift back out of the goal and onto the pitch. That's all Reina's fault, right there." You don't get this in La Liga or Serie A. Best league in the world! 4.13pm It's been a pretty quiet second half so far, or so it seems.

These are the latest scores: Arsenal 2-1 Birmingham Aston Villa 2-1 Chelsea (result) Everton 0-0 Wolverhampton Stoke 1-1 West Ham Sunderland 1-0 Liverpool 4.16pm "Bizarre switch round for Sunderland at half time," says Louise Taylor at the Stadium of Light. "Left back George McCartney is off and replaced by Jordan Henderson. In the resulting reshuffle, Henderson moves into central midfield, thereby relocating Lorik Cana to centre half and Anton Ferdiand to left back. Is Steve Bruce offering Rafa a lifeline and attempting to revive Liverpool's title hopes. Bolo Zenden, who can play left back, is on the Sunderland bench.......maybe he's not quite fit enough to debut there though?" 4.17pm Pepe Reina makes a fine save, from Darren Bent I think, to keep Liverpool in the match and, maybe, the title race. If Liverpool lose this game, they will drop to eighth in the table . 4.18pm "Dindane!" growls Phil Thompson, following up quickly with, "Noooooo." It sounds like Portsmouth have missed a few really ghances this afternoon.

As filthy as their current position is, there is no way they are going down. 4.19pm: Portsmouth 1-2 Tottenham (Boateng 59) Kevin-Prince Boateng scores against his old club, thanks to an iffy piece of goalkeeping from Gomes - who, according to Phil Thompson, has been "caviar and cabbage today". WHAT THE HELL DOES THAT MEAN? WHAT THE HELL HAS HAPPENED TO THIS COUNTRY? 4.20pm "You could do with mentioning that Mickey Owen is having a shocker," says Ben Penin. "It's like his feet have been swapped round. Sad." 4.21pm: Jermain Defoe sent off Defoe gets an apparently deserved straight red for a retaliatory stamp on that old charmer Aaron Mokoena. With half an hour to go, Portsmouth could even win this now. 4.23pm The latest: it definitely did hit the balloon/beach ball; I feel really, really sorry for the Liverpool fan who was caught on camera punching it on the pitch, and not only because said fan is ginger; and I still can't remember who shot JR.

4.25pm Darren Bent hits the post from an acute angle - he should have scored - and now Steve Bruce and Rafa Benitez are having a real slanging match. It kicked off to such an extent that the fourth official had to intervene, with Benitez goading Bruce by giving him Harry Enfield-style 'calm down gestures'. If Liverpool lose this, Rafa's press conference is going to be a gem. 4.26pm "Lee Cattermole stretchered off and Bolo Zenden on to partner Jordan Henderson in central midfield," says Louise Taylor. "Zenden, once of Liverpool, hasn't played for a while since leaving Marseille but, judging by the ripped torso on view when he changed shirts before coming on, he should not be lacking too much in the fitness department. The Daily Express journalist sitting next to me informs me he looks exactly the same when takes his top off but not sure if believe him.

Zenden's first few passes pretty good too." 4.27pm "I feel like one of those people who spend their lives studying every frame of the Zapruder film to determine the truth about who shot John F Kennedy," says Dave Mooney, using another Dawson's Creek reference, "but using freeze frame shows that the ball very definitely did hit the beachball. For Glen Johnson to have deflected the ball in the direction that it went, it would have had to go off the back of his leg, whereas in reality he wasn't even able to get a toe onto it." 4.28pm "Stoke now have not one but two angry men in shellsuits pacing about in the technical area doing the double-teapot and pointing and shouting,' says Barney Ronay. "Peter Reid is out there with Pulis. They're fuming at each other and shaking their heads together. It's quite sweet." Talking of sweet; Barney and Paul Doyle travelled up to the game together today, and will be travelling home together. Straight-to-video buddy movies have had less to work with. 4.30pm It's days like these when you wish Saint & Greavsie were still on the TV.

Greavsie would have a field day with this. 4.32pm "Finally after 55 minutes Mark Clattenburg has a contentious decision to make - Valencia and Samuel clash in the Bolton penalty area, the Ecuadorean goes down and the referee refuses United's call for a penalty," says Tim Rich at Old Trafford. "Still looking up to Fergie's fitness standards although if he sat on the Bolton 18 yard line he'd be well placed to cover 89 per cent of the action." 4.33pm "Bolo Zenden is very much from the Dutch School of Total Football," says Gary Naylor, tapping his Zendenish torso. "It doesn't matter which position he plays, he's always crap." Good pundit though. 4.33pm: Stoke 2-1 West Ham (Beattie 69) West Ham have played well by all accounts, but there was a certain inevitability to this. 4.34pm: Man Utd 2-1 Bolton (Taylor 75) Moments after having a goal disallowed, Matt Taylor towers above Patrice Evra to head a fine goal for Bolton.

He's such an underrated player, Taylor, and Bolton might have a sniff here, because they finish games very strongly. 4.35pm Everton 0-0 Wolves has been so uneventful that Chris Kamara, covering it on Sky, has not used the word "unbelievable" once. Meanwhile, at Stoke, Robert Huth has got away with landing a right-hander on a West Ham player (not sure who), but will surely get a three-match ban from the FA for that. 4.36pm Here's Tim Rich at Old Trafford. "Might be an interesting last 15 minutes at Old Trafford as a woeful clearance from Gary Neville sends the ball straight back to Kevin Davies, from whose cross Matt Taylor heads into an unguarded net. However, judging from the lack of noise from the away support at Old Trafford, Bolton fans don't quite believe it's going to happen." With Gary Neville and Rio Ferdinand on the pitch, they could win it yet. 4.37pm "Whilst not a fan, I'm sure I'm not alone in hoping Portsmouth stay up," says Neill Brown.

"Many of us have worked for companies who've been in turmoil at the top but still knuckled down and done our best, for professional pride (well, money). The players will likely gel shortly. Admirably there's no delusions of grandeur about Hart, nor excuses, unlike David O'Leary at Leeds when in a comparable situation. If Portsmouth get at least a point today, they'll not be relegated." 4.38pm: Everton 0-1 Wolves (Doyle 76) Blimey. Kevin Doyle runs onto a huge punt from the back to put Wolves ahead at Goodison. 4.40pm I hate clockwatches. There's too much going on. And the real downer is you can't actually see the thing you're attempting to describe. 4.41pm "Is this year's title race, in any sense, a donkey derby?" asks Tom Hopkins. They are all seriously flawed, aren't they? I reckon we will see the lowest title-winning points total since the 90s. 4.42pm Vito Mannone, at fault earlier in the day, makes a superb save to keep Arsenal 2-1 ahead at home to Birmingham.

At Old Trafford, Bolton are all over Manchester United, who have brought on John O'Shea to replace Patrice Evra because of the aerial bombardment. 4.43pm "Upson was quite clearly spanked on the ear by Huth at a corner a few minutes ago," says Barney Ronay. "Upson did fall over and roll around a lot but the ref missed it and it would have been a red card if he'd seen Huth's girl-ish slap." Bah. It sounded like a proper right-hander on Sky. If you're going to get a three-match ban, as Huth surely will, at least chin someone properly. Guardian.co.uk simply cannot condone that kind of conduct. 4.44pm: Arsenal 3-1 Birmingham (Arshavin 84) The substitute Arshavin's extremely accomplished finish seals the points for Arsenal in a game that was much tighter than many of us expected. 4.45pm I can smell Ralgex. Is this what nu-Guardian smells like?

4.46pm "Sammy Lee going frantic by Liverpool bench, Rafa looking pensive in technical area, David N'Gog coming on, Babel off," says Louise Taylor. "Babel apparently wants to be 'new Thierry Henry' but today's impersonation didn't prove too hot." 4.47pm A few minutes left. These are the scores: Arsenal 3-1 Birmingham Aston Villa 2-1 Chelsea (result) Everton 0-1 Wolverhampton Sunderland 1-0 Liverpool 4.48pm "I hate clockwatches," says Phil Sawyer. "They remind me that I have no life." 4.49pm With a minimum of four minutes' added time to play, Manchester United are hanging on grimly against Bolton. Klasnic has been denied by Van der Sar, while Knight has missed a very good chance. Whatever happened to Europe's best defence? They have been a total effing shambles all season. 4.50pm: Everton 1-1 Wolves (Bilyaletdinov 88) Watching Sky's Chris Kamara attempt to name the scorer of this goal was one of the most ridiculous things I've ever seen.

He hardly even got the 'Bily' out. 4.51pm "I love clockwatches," says Chris Thomson. "My girlfriend has gone out with her mate for lunch and shopping whilst I lie on the sofa in my pants. Great stuff." 4.52pm Bolton miss yet another chance with the last touch of the game, Gary Cahill planting a header straight at Edwin Van der Sar. This has been outstanding stuff from Bolton, reminiscent of their comeback from 4-0 down at Chelsea last year, but it ends Manchester United 2-1 Bolton and United, somehow, are top of the table. If they are there at the end of the season, the rest of the league should be ashamed of themselves, because United are playing from memory. 4.53pm What a shock: Michael Brown is sent off for Portsmouth against Tottenham. And the Sunderland keeper Craig Gordon has just made an outstanding double save from first Kuyt and then Ngog at the Stadium of Light. 4.55pm It has finished Arsenal 3-1 Birmingham, and Wolves' Stefan Maierhofer has been sent off for being thumped around the back of the head by Everton goalkeeper Tim Howard.

That's what Chris Kamara said, seriously. Maierhofer was late on Howard and got a second yellow, but Howard got away with landing one on him after that. It has also finished at Fratton Park: Portsmouth 1-2 Tottenham. 4.58pm It's over at the Stadium of Light: Sunderland 1-0 Liverpool. So that's it for a thoroughly shambolic day, which included a goal scored via a beach ball/balloon, John Terry having a spectacular tantrum, and Manchester United's defence showing what happens when you pick Gary Neville. These are the final scores: Arsenal 3-1 Birmingham Sunderland Vs Liverpool - the balloon goal! - CPFC BBS Sunderland Vs Liverpool - the balloon goal! User Name Notices Hey there! It looks like you're enjoying the forums but haven't created an account yet. Why not take a minute to register for your own free account now? As a member you get free access to all of our forums and posts plus the ability to post your own messages, communicate directly with other members and much more. Register now! Already a member? Login at the top of this page to stop seeing this message.

World of Football All non Palace football talk - includes latest scores on Internationals and matches that affect palace. Page 1 of 3 The Premier League season in numbers – statistics, records and trivia | Football | The Guardian Premier League The Premier League season in numbers – statistics, records and trivia Opta's number-crunchers reveal faults with Wayne Bridge's radar, why Liverpool curse the woodwork and a glut of own goals Chelsea's Frank Lampard responds to the question: "How many Premier League penalties did you score this season?" Photograph: Henry Browne/Action Images Opta Monday 10 May 2010 13.05 EDT First published on Monday 10 May 2010 13.05 EDT Share on Messenger Close 0 West Ham United were the only London team not to win a game against a capital rival this season. 3 Had the league started on 1 January, Everton would be third; three points behind first‑placed Manchester United. 3 Burnley were the only side to have as many as three players play in all 38 games for them this season (Tyrone Mears, Wade Elliott and Brian Jensen).

4 The last team to score seven or more goals in four different games in a season in the English top flight (as Chelsea did) was Arsenal in 1934-35. They are only the seventh side to do this. 4 Rob Green made four errors leading to a goal this season, more than any other player in the division. 6 Kevin Davies has conceded the most fouls in six of the last seven Premier League campaigns. Davies's total of 121 this season is his highest ever. 7 Richard Dunne has now scored more own goals than any other Premier League player in the history of the competition. 8 More red cards were given out on 31 October 2009 than ever before on a single day of Premier League action. 9 Sunderland became the first side to have nine players sent off in a single Premier League campaign. 9 Andre Marriner showed the most red cards of any referee, nine. 10 Frank Lampard scored 10 Premier League penalties. Only Andrew Johnson for Crystal Palace in 2004‑05 (11) has scored more in a single Premier League season.

10 No team scored more goals in the first 15 minutes of matches than Darren Bent (10). 12 Own goals was Manchester United's joint second top scorer after Wayne Rooney. No side have ever previously benefitted from more than six own goals in a Premier League season. 12 Birmingham City also named an unchanged line-up in 12 consecutive Premier League matches, the longest-ever such run in the competition (21 November to 7 February). 14 Frank Lampard recorded the most assists this season, one more than Cesc Fábregas. 15 Arsenal substitutes contributed 15 goals, more than at any other side. Hull's substitutes scored only one goal all season. 16 Everton and Chelsea both scored a league-high 16 headed goals in 2009-10. 17 Burnley became the first team in Premier League history to lose 17 away games in a season. 17 Mike Dean awarded 17 penalties in 30 matches this season. 19 Spurs had 19 different goalscorers, the most ever for a club in a single season in the Premier League. Relegated Hull City had 18.

20 Liverpool hit the woodwork 20 times this season, more than any other side. They also hit it the most last season (26 times). 22 Different players to be booked for Hull City in the Premier League this season – a league high. 25 Rooney was the first Englishman to score 25 or more goals in one Premier League season since Kevin Phillips 10 years ago. 25 Rory Delap created 25 goalscoring chances from long throws, four more than in 2008‑09. But Bolton scored the most goals, six, from throw-ins. 26 Wigan Athletic conceded 26 goals in their five Premier League matches in London this season. 31 David Dunn had the highest goals-to-shots percentage (31) of any player to have at least 25 efforts on goal this season. 33 Portsmouth used 33 different players in the league this season – more than any other team. 37 Stilian Petrov had more shots without scoring than any player in the Premier League this season. 43 Burnley became the 43rd side to play in the Premier League since it began in 1992-93.

43 Own goals to have been scored this season in the Premier League – more than in any other season. 47 Wayne Bridge made 47 crosses this season without seeing a single one reach a team-mate. 63 Chelsea conceded the highest percentage of their goals from set-pieces this season. Last season no side conceded more than 38% of their goals from set plays. 67 Spurs have still not won at Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool or Arsenal since August 1993 – a run of 67 games. 79 Before this season, no side had ever conceded more than 70 goals in a Premier League campaign and avoided relegation: Wigan conceded 79. 81 Edwin van der Sar managed the highest saves-to-shots percentage of any goalkeeper this season. 86 No side took more points than second-placed Liverpool managed last season. Chelsea equalled this total following their 8-0 final‑day win over Wigan. 86 Only in 2006-07 (87) were there more goals from the penalty spot than this season (86).

100 Manchester United's Wayne Rooney, Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs scored their 100th Premier League goals this season, meaning that 19 players have now reached this landmark. 103 Chelsea are the first side to score more than 100 goals in an English top-flight season since Spurs hit 111 in 1962‑63. 834 Chelsea had 834 shots in total (including blocked) this season, 140 more than any other team. They also had the most shots last season (797). 1,000 Portsmouth scored both the 500th and 1,000th Premier League goals of the season. 1,053 There were 1,053 goals in the Premier League this season, seven short of the record number in a 20‑team season, set in 1999-2000. 1,971 Tottenham finished above Liverpool in the league for the first time since 1971. 2,169 Birmingham's Barry Ferguson attempted the most passes this season.

Arsène Wenger has been told he will be offered a contract extension by Arsenal and transfer funds for the summer Published: 11 May 2010 Sunderland 1 Liverpool 0: match report - Telegraph Liverpool Sunderland 1 Liverpool 0: match report Read a full match report of the Premier League match between Sunderland and Liverpool at the Stadium of Light on Saturday, Oct 17 2009. Image 1 of 2 Lucky break: Darren Bent's shot took a deflection off a large red balloon and deceived Pepe Reina to fire Sunderland infront Photo: REUTERS Image 1 of 2 Caught out: the deflection took the ball past Reina to put Sunderland 1-0 up Photo: GETTY IMAGES By Duncan White at the Stadium of Light 8:30AM BST 18 Oct 2009 Three straight defeats and another title challenge in tatters. It did not help the despondent mood in the Liverpool camp that this loss came down to an incident tinged with comedy. Darren Bent’s winner hit a beach ball as it went into the net, leaving Liverpool goalkeeper Pepe Reina baffled, then furious.

As it turned out, an obscure rule states that play should have been restarted with a dropped ball. Life’s a beach. At least Steve Bruce didn’t give it the man of the match award. “Did any of you know that rule?” Bruce asked to general press box bemusement. “If you know that rule, that it had to be a dropped ball, you have to be one saddo. They got the guy on telly who threw it on. It’s got Liverpool crests all over it. What a shame.” Sunderland might have got lucky with the goal but their performance was deserving of victory. The only downside were the worrying injuries sustained by Lee Cattermole (twisted knee) and Kenwyne Jones (ankle). “That’s like losing our Gerrard and Torres,” Bruce said. Related Articles Premier League fixtures 07 May 2012 Benítez came into this game swamped by injury problems of his own. Not only had Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres picked up injuries on national duty, but Javier Mascherano and Emiliano Insua were so late back from helping Argentina qualify for the World Cup that they went straight to the team hotel in Sunderland on landing and were only ready for the bench.

That meant Benítez sent out a strange starting line-up. With all three centre-halves on the field - Jamie Carragher, Daniel Agger and Martin Skrtel - it wasn’t initially clear what Liverpool’s formation was - not least to the players themselves. Jay Spearing, at 20, came into central midfield for his first Premier League start while Dirk Kuyt played on his own up front. It looked like a scratch side and, for most of this game, played like one. If Benítez thought the injuries, travel delays and jet lag that had weakened his squad was the end of his bad luck he was mistaken. In the fifth minute Sunderland took the lead with an inflatable assist. Cattermole came charging forward with the ball on the counter-attack and worked it out to Andy Reid on the right. The Irishman crossed and it was flicked to the far post by Steed Malbranque. Bent was there, in plenty of space, and struck the ball cleanly. However, it struck a red beach ball thrown on from the away end, wrong-footing Reina before nestling into the back of the net.

The keeper had been further confused by Glen Johnson accidentally booting the beach ball as he tried to block Bent’s shot. Reina and Johnson protested volubly to the referee and his assistant referee, to no avail. Having taken that - admittedly fortunate - lead, Bruce’s team never looked back, led to victory by their inspiring captain, Lorik Cana, who played the first half in central midfield and the second at centre-back. The hard-tackling Albanian must surely be one of the most astute signings of the summer. “On days like this you don’t want to single out individual players,” Bruce said, “but with that I’ve witnessed one of the exceptional performances from a centre-back. And I’ve seen some good ones.” The in-form Bent had four good chances to kill the game, two in the first half, two in the second, but couldn’t quite capitalise on them. When Reid floated a cross to the far post on 22 minutes, Bent could not get enough power on his header while, 15 minutes later, the man desperate to force his way into Fabio Capello’s World Cup squad could only glance Phil Bardsley’s cross wide, with Reina stranded.

After the break, Bent hit the outside of the post after rounding Reina and then was denied by the goalkeeper after appearing to have wriggled round him after Jones had played a clever through ball. The pressure was getting to Bruce and he had a touchline bust-up with Benítez when the Spanish manager asked for the clock to be stopped when Jones was injured. “It was on the spur of the moment and I think I made a prat of myself,” Bruce said. Liverpool struggled to make more than half-chances but as the game drew out, Sunderland grew nervous. To the home support’s horror, the fourth official held up a Fergie-esque seven minutes of stoppage time. A supporter who had been lovingly preparing a celebratory cigar pulverised it in frustration. He shouldn’t have been so rash. For Sunderland, this was a victory to savour.

Question: Who were Liverpool playing when a red balloon scored the only goal?
Answer: SUNDERLAND