MANCHESTER, Oct 16, (Agencies): Sir Alex Ferguson’s decision to bench Wayne Rooney backfired after Manchester United threw away a 2-0 lead to allow West Bromwich Albion a 2-2 at Old Trafford. A Patrice Evra own goal and a howler from Edwin Van der Sar which let in Somen Tchoyi enabled West Brom to cancel out first half goals from Javier Hernandez and Nani which had left United in control. It was a fifth draw in eight Premier League matches for United, and the third time this season that Ferguson’s men have had to settle for a draw after holding seemingly unbeatable leads. After conceding late goals to draw 3-3 at Everton, it was also the second time this season they have given up a two-goal lead to drop points. It had looked like United returned to form when Hernandez scored his first Premier League goal after just four minutes and Nani doubled the lead midway through the first half. But Evra’s own-goal reduced the deficit after half time and Tchoyi completed the job.

After the midweek disagreement over the nature of Rooney’s previous absence — the striker contradicted Ferguson’s claims that he had an ankle injury — the England man started on the bench. Owen Hargreaves was also omitted from the squad after Ferguson rejected Dr Richard Steadman’s claims that the midfielder was ready to make a first start in two years after a knee injury. But United showed they could cope without Rooney with less than five minutes on the clock. Hernandez showed great anticipation to follow up a Nani free kick, which was blocked feebly by Scott Carson, and the Mexico forward touched in. West Brom should have pulled level when a Marc-Antoine Fortune cross split the United defence, only for Chris Brunt to miss the target from just a couple of yards out. Dimitar Berbatov was full of confidence after a fine start to the campaign, sending a fine flick through for Nani and also just missing with a long-range effort.

But he should have doubled the lead when he was picked out by a cross from Michael Carrick, who was making his first league start off the season, only to turn his shot wide off the near post from about five yards out. Brunt shot wide from distance as he tried to make for his early error. But another mistake from the visitors allowed United to move further ahead. Nicky Shorey slipped on half-way, allowing Nani to drive towards goal, swap passes with Berbatov and then guide a shot past Carson. Giggs limped off just before half time but Ferguson chose to bring on Darron Gibson rather than Rooney. Just after the restart, fine work from Nani resulted in him cross for Nemanja Vidic, whose header came back off the post.

Chelsea 0, Villa 0
In Birmingham, Carlo Ancelotti missed a golden opportunity to pile on the misery for Sir Alex Ferguson as Chelsea were held to a 0-0 draw At Villa Park on Saturday. The rampaging Premier League leaders had the chance to send a chilling warning to Old Trafford — just hours after United squandered more points at in front of their own fans. But Ancelotti’s Blues were unable to punish the carelessness of their main title rivals and departed Villa Park after extending their poor run to just one win in their last 12 visits.
Nicolas Anelka will spend the majority of the next 48 hours — ahead of the Champions League tie with Spartak Moscow — wondering how he failed to stretch Chelsea’s lead at the top to seven points.
The French striker somehow sent a downward header from Ashley Cole’s cross over the bar from six yards and that summed up a disappointing day for the double winners. Villa manager Gerard Houllier’s plans to upset his good friend Ancelotti were ruined by Emile Heskey’s calf injury 24 hours before kick-off.
Much of the French manager’s battle plan centred around using the retired England striker — who he believes can be Villa’s own version of Chelsea’s absent Ivorian talisman Didier Drogba.

Arsenal 2, Birmingham 1
In London, Arsenal came back from a goal down to beat Birmingham 2-1 on Saturday, easing pressure on manager Arsene Wenger as his team tries to play catch-up in the English Premier League title race.
Birmingham took the lead in the 33rd minute, when towering forward Nikola Zigic rose above the Arsenal defense deep in the area and met a cross from Keith Fahey to beat goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski at his far post. Arsenal won a penalty before halftime when striker Marouane Chamakh was brought down in the box by Scott Dann. Samir Nasri converted from the spot in the 41st. Chamakh put the Gunners ahead in the 47th, rounding Birmingham goalkeeper Ben Foster to slot the ball home. It was Arsenal’s first win in the Premier League since Sept 11, and the win took them to second on the table.

Spurs 2, Fulham 1
In London, Tom Huddlestone scored a second-half winner Saturday as Tottenham rallied for a 2-1 victory over Fulham in the Premier League. Huddlestone’s hard shot in the 64th minute was initially waved off by the linesman because William Gallas was in an offside position. But the decision was overruled by referee Mike Dean as the ball never touched the defender. Diomansy Kamara had given Fulham the lead in the 30th after meeting a cross from Clint Dempsey, although replays showed a clear handball in the buildup. But Roman Pavlyuchenko equalized just a minute later, converting a rebound after Rafael van der Vaart hit the crossbar.

Wolves 1, West Ham 1
In Wolverhampton, the battle of the Premier League basement finished 1-1 here on Saturday after a Mark Noble penalty handed West Ham a share of the points to frustrate Wolves at Molineux. A blunder from West Ham keeper Robert Green had allowed Wolves to get off to a strong start after only 10 minutes, the England international miscuing a punched clearance only as far as Matthew Jarvis. Jarvis made no mistake to rifle home his volley from eight yards to leave Wolves dreaming of three points that would have lifted them out of the relegation zone. However, Mick McCarthy’s men were unable to add to their tally and soon after the restart the Hammers hauled themselves back into contention from the penalty spot after Kevin Foley clattered into Victor Obinna.

Bolton 2, Stoke 1
In Bolton, Bolton striker Ivan Klasnic nicked a late goal to clinch a 2-1 win over Stoke and then got his marching orders in a dramatic finish at the Reebok Stadium on Saturday. Owen Coyle’s side looked likely to be held to a draw when Stoke’s Rory Delap ended a 21-month goal drought in the second half to cancel out South Korea winger Lee Chung-yong’s first-half opener. But substitute Klasnic buried the winner in the final moments before being dismissed for two bookable offences soon after his first goal in the league this season. It was a chaotic finish to a game that also saw rival fans clash in one corner of the stadium before police and stewards intervened. Stoke looked a side on the rise after a run of three wins and a draw from their previous four league matches and they should have taken the lead when Matthew Etherington shot straight at Jussi Jaaskelainen with only the Bolton goalkeeper to beat.

Newcastle 2, Wigan 2
In Newcastle, Fabricio Coloccini headed a goal in the fourth minute of added time to salvage a 2-2 draw for Newcastle against Wigan at St. James’ Park. Charles N’Zogbia scored two goals in two first-half minutes against his former club to put Wigan in control. The France winger, who left Newcastle last year, headed in Franco di Santo’s deflected cross on 22 minutes before sending a fierce drive into the top corner from outside the box a minute later. Newcastle got one back through substitute Shola Ameobi’s header from Jonas Gutierrez’s 72nd-minute cross, and equalized seconds before the final whistle when Coloccini headed in after Gutierrez’s corner. Before Coloccini’s late intervention, Newcastle were heading for a third straight defeat after making an encouraging start on its return to the Premier League.

Manager Chris Hughton restored striker Andy Carroll to his starting lineup as he sought an upturn in the club’s home form. Having not been defeated at St. James’ Park in the second tier last season, Newcastle had lost two of their first three home games before Saturday. The trend looked like continuing when N’Zogbia answered the boos from Newcastle fans still upset by his departure with a quickfire double. Newcastle struggled to create anything of note in the first half, but finally showed signs of life before half time when Carroll had a header cleared off the line by Wigan defender Emmerson Boyce. There was little sign of a Newcastle recovery at the start of the second half but Ameobi’s header gave the hosts hope. Carroll had already headed a good chance wide when he flicked on Gutierrez’s cross for Coloccini to score at the death.