Newcastle United's hopes of a top-four finish in the Premier League took another knock on Saturday when they were held to a goalless draw at St James' Park by Swansea City and failed to win for the fifth successive game Newcastle were the only side in the top six in action in the afternoon kickoffs, but their 11-match unbeaten run at the start of the season, which ended a month ago, seemed a distant memory as they squandered several chances against the promoted Welsh team. The only other top-six club in action on Saturday were third-placed Chelsea, who were playing at Wigan Athletic in a 1730GMT kickoff. Apart from Newcastle, the focus was on the other end of the table, where bottom-placed Bolton Wanderers lost for the fifth straight match, beaten 2-0 at Fulham, where Clint Dempsey and Bryan Ruiz, with an audacious lob, scored twice in two minutes in the first half. Second-from-bottom Blackburn Rovers lost 2-1 at home to West Bromwich Albion, their sixth home defeat in eight, to put manager Steve Kean under more pressure. Everton and Norwich City played out a 1-1 draw at Goodison Park. Manchester City, who play Arsenal on Sunday, lead the table with 38 points from their 15 matches, two clear of Manchester United, who play at Queens Park Rangers on Sunday. Bolton remain bottom on nine points, with Blackburn one place above them on 11 and Wigan in 18th place on 12. Wolves slipped to 17th, one place above the relegation zone, after a 2-1 home defeat to Stoke City, who won for the fourth straight league match. (For more sports news and updates, follow Ahram Online sports on Twitter: @AO_Sports)
