Premier League wrap: Begovic scores, Sunderland see red twice, Palace lose again
Hull City could only beat a nine-man Sunderland one-nil, West Brom defeated Crystal Palace, and Southampton were held to a draw at Stoke as Asmir Begovic scored in the rest of the Premier League’s action.
A game that will live long in the memory and in pub quizzes for years to come, for the simple reason that in the first minute, Asmir Begovic scored for Stoke. The Bosnian keeper's long punt downfield was misjudged by Artur Boruc, who allowed it to bounce over his head and into the net.
Southampton levelled before half-time with a fine headed finish from Jay Rodriguez after being picked out by James Ward-Prowse, and despite penalty claims for a Ryan Shawcross handball, that was as close as Southampton got to winning the game in what was a fair result for both sides.
Crystal Palace continued their poor form as they were fairly comfortably beaten by West Brom at the Hawthorns. Youngster Saido Berahino opened the scoring for the hosts with a fine low finish. Palace battled on, but couldn't find a way through, and it was no surprise when Gareth McAuley put the game beyond them by scoring from a set-piece late on to give all three points to Steve Clarke's men.
West Ham 0-0 Aston Villa
Aston Villa were in the midst of a long goal drought coming into this game, and so it continued as they struggled to provide much of an attacking threat. Andreas Weimann looked dangerous, but was forced off through injury in the first half.
Christian Benteke had been quiet for most of the game but exploded into life at the end, first hitting the crossbar and then being denied by Jussi Jaaskelainen. Still no goals for Villa, and new questions for Paul Lambert after a promising start to the league.
Hull City 1-0 Sunderland
Few teams can come away from a one-nil loss to Hull City feeling positive, but most teams don't get themselves reduced to nine men in the first half. Sunderland did, Lee Cattermole most predictably but slightly harshly for a foul on Ahmed Elmohammady, before a far more warranted tackle from Andrea Dossena on David Meyler saw the Italian rightly sent off.
All that came after a Carlos Cuellar own goal had put Hull in front, but Sunderland managed to regroup in the second half and hold firm, while Hull were woeful. Adam Johnson even went close to a remarkable equaliser for the visitors, requiring a superb save from Steve Harper to save Hull from embarrassment. Neither side covered themselves in glory here, but there was a fight and discipline to Sunderland that has long been absent.
