Burnley 1 Watford 0
Scott Arfield stepped out of the shadows to become Burnley’s latest match-winner as the Clarets continued their eye-catching Premier League campaign with a 1-0 victory over 10-man Watford.
Billed as a battle of wits between Sean Dyche and Marco Silva, two over-performing coaches who were heavily linked with the Everton job recently, it was the former who enhanced his growing reputation.
Marvin Zeegelaar’s 39th-minute red card for a studs-up challenge on Steven Defour played its part but it was Arfield, granted a first start since October 21st only because of Robbie Brady’s injury, who provided the decisive finish on the stroke of half-time.
Chris Wood and Ashley Barnes both saw efforts ruled out for offside as Watford stayed in the game, though two weak penalty appeals were as close as they came to nicking a point.
Crystal Palace 2 Bournemouth 2
A superb equaliser by Jermain Defoe and a last-minute penalty save by Asmir Begovic gave Bournemouth a 2-2 draw at Crystal Palace in the Premier League on Saturday.
Defoe put Bournemouth ahead after 10 minutes when Andrew Surman crossed from the right into the middle of the box and the former England striker beat Julian Speroni with a shot into the bottom corner.
Three goals in four minutes then saw the teams go in level on 2-2 at halftime after Palace had equalised in the 41st with a Luka Milivojevic penalty after Begovic brought down Wilfried Zaha.
Palace went in front in the 44th with a goal from close range by substitute defender Scott Dann but Defoe restored parity with a superb added-time equaliser, lifting the ball from a tight angle on the right over Speroni and into the top far corner.
Begovic saved striker Christian Benteke’s last-minute penalty to leave Bournemouth in 14th place on 16 points with Palace returning to the foot of the table on 11.
Huddersfield Town 2 Brighton & Hove Albion 0
Huddersfield Town forward Steve Mounie struck twice in the first half as his side coasted to a 2-0 Premier League win over Brighton and Hove Albion on Saturday.
The Benin-born striker, who had not scored since netting a brace on the opening day of the season, ghosted in at the far post to bundle the ball home from Huddersfield’s first corner of the game in the 12th minute.
The 23-year-old, who arrived at Huddersfield from French side Montpellier in July, made it two with a header just before halftime as Brighton failed to clear another set piece.
With Brighton barely threatening in attack, Huddersfield continued to dominate after the break, but wasteful finishing prevented them from adding to their goal tally.
Swansea City 1 West Bromwich Albion 0
Striker Wilfried Bony smashed home from close range with nine minutes left as Swansea City defeated fellow strugglers West Bromwich Albion 1-0 on Saturday for their first Premier League victory in nearly two months.
Ivorian Bony punished West Brom with an unstoppable drive after the visitors failed to clear a Swansea corner, ending Swansea’s seven-game run without a victory and lifting them off the bottom of the table.
Substitute Tammy Abraham nearly doubled Swansea’s lead in stoppage-time but the on-loan striker from Chelsea failed to find the target despite beating West Brom goalkeeper Ben Foster with a deft chip after a swift counter-attack.
Alan Pardew is still looking for his first win since taking charge of 17th-placed West Brom, who are winless in 14 games, with fixtures against Liverpool, Manchester United and Arsenal coming up.
