Sport
REVIEWING THE NEW YEAR’S PICK 15
On Sunday, 10,713 units welcomed in the New Year by playing the Pick 15 for £1,600,000.
Pool Openers
The pool began with the first Premier League game of 2017- Watford vs Tottenham. Harry Kane opened the scoring in the 27th minute, before doubling the lead six minutes later.
Four minutes before half time, Dele Alli made it 3-0. Shortly after the break, Alli scored his second of the game and Tottenham’s fourth. Younes Kaboul pulled back a consolation goal against his former employers, but Spurs came away with the 4-1 win.
In the second leg of the pool, many of the players into the pool were backing Arsenal to beat Crystal Palace. Olivier Giroud opened the scoring with a contender for goal of the season– a scorpion kick into the top left corner. The goal drew immediate comparisons with Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s goal against Sunderland.
Alex Iwobi scored in the 56th minute to make it 2-0 to the hosts and Arsenal ran out 2-0 winners.
10,713 units began the pool. Most of the units had selected these results and so 10,140 units remained in the pool.
Monday Fixtures
Monday saw a busy day of football across England. The day began with a game to forget. Leicester visited the Riverside to face Middlesbrough in a dull affair. Both defences were in control of a game with few chances. The full time whistle came to the delight of many watching as the game ended 0-0.
Everton played Southampton in a game with an uneventful first half. But, the game sprung to life in the 73rd minute when Enner Valencia opened the scoring. Eight minutes later Leighton Baines doubled the lead from the penalty spot.
Lukaku completed the scoring in the 89th minute to give Everton a 3-0 win.
West Brom faced struggling Hull at the Hawthorns. The first half ended with Hull leading from a Robert Snodgrass 21st minute goal. However, the Baggies came out stronger in the second half with goals from Brunt, McAuley and Morrison. The game ending 3-1 to West Brom, despite Hull’s winning start.
In the highlight of the Championship fixtures, Bristol City faced Reading. Two Tammy Abraham goals had Bristol cruising towards a win. Liam Kelly pulled one back in the 72nd to give the Royals hope. Yann Kermogant then scored in both the 86th and 92nd minutes to complete the turnaround. Reading coming away with all three points following a remarkable comeback.
Five more legs in the Pick 15 came from the Championship 15:00 matches.
- Joe Rall’s 16th minute finish was the only goal of the game as Cardiff beat Aston Villa.
- Fulham looked on course for a win, when Lucas Piazon scored in 55th minute. But goals in the 74th and 75th minute for Brighton, saw the Seagulls comeback and gain a 2-1 away win.
- A late goal from Nahki Wells was enough for the Huddersfield to overcome Wigan.
- Idrissa Sylla opened the scoring for QPR against Ipswich at Loftus Road. The away side drew level through a Tom Lawrence goal in the 48th minute. But Pawel Wszolek’s 83rd minute goal saw the home side retake the lead and come away with three points.
- A Nelson Oliveira hat-trick for Norwich saw off the challenge of Derby County. Norwich came away 3-0 winners and collected all three points.
8.07 units were still live following these results. They were now just four legs away from winning the pool.
There were some tempting cash out offers sent out! Such as one customer had a £4,905 offer for a ticket which cost only £9.60.
Tuesday Evening Legs
Tuesday night saw three legs from the Premier League in the Pick 15. First saw Bournemouth host Arsenal. Charlie Daniels opened the scoring early on, before Callum Wilson made it 2-0 in the 21st minute. Ryan Fraser then made it 3-0 in the 58th minute and the Cherries were cruising.
But, Arsenal were not to be beaten. Alexis Sanchez scoring in the 70th minute and Perez in the 75th to give the Gunners hope. In the 91st minute, after Simon Francis had already seen red for the hosts, Giroud equalised. The game finished 3-3 following another comeback in the Pick 15 pool.
New Swansea manager Paul Clement was on the sidelines, as Swansea visited Crystal Palace. The signs looked good as Alfie Mawson put the Swans ahead in the 42nd minute. Wilfried Zaha equalised for Allardyce’s side in the 83rd minute. But Angel Rangel responded five minutes later to restore Swansea’s lead. Swansea held onto this advantage and came away 2-1 winners.
In the final of the Tuesday Pick 15 legs, Stoke faced Watford. The actions in this game came around half time. In added time at the end of the first half, Ryan Shawcross scored for the Potters. Shortly after the break, Peter Crouch made it 2-0 to the hosts. This was the final goal of the game, as Stoke came away 2-0 winners.
Following these three results, no units remained live for winning the pool. However, 0.3 units were live for the 14/15 consolation prize of £4,000. 12.6 were also live for the 13/15 consolation prize.
Final Leg
The final leg saw Chelsea aim to extend their winning run. Tottenham were looking to end the run, as Chelsea visited White Hart Lane. Dele Alli made his presence known just before half time, giving Spurs a 1-0 lead. In the 54th minute, Alli doubled his return and made it 2-0 to Spurs. Chelsea’s run looked in serious threat. The game finished 2-0 to Tottenham.
Tottenham’s win caused no more units to be remaining in the 14 out of 15 consolation. However, 3.32 units won the 13 out of 15 prize of £3,000.
This Week
The Pick 15 runs again this weekend. The pool starts with West Ham vs Man City on Friday at 19:55. The jackpot stands at £1,600,000 and consolation prizes. Play the pool.
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