Ferguson a chip off the old block as Peterborough frustrate Albion
January 3, 2009
BIRMINGHAM, England (AFP) – Darren Ferguson underlined his growing managerial reputation as his League One side Peterborough held top flight West Bromich Albion to a 1-1 draw in the FA Cup third round on Saturday.
Peterborough boss Ferguson is the son of Manchester United boss Sir Alex and he looks increasingly like a chip off the old block.
After leading Peterborough to promotion from League Two last season, Ferguson has masterminded Posh surge into the League One play-off places.
Now they can look forward to hosting Premier League Albion in a replay at London Road thanks to Craig Mackail-Smiths equaliser with three minutes to play at the Hawthorns.
It was no more than Fergusons side deserved for a battling display.
Mackail-Smith hit the woodwork in the first half and then missed a golden opportunity to equalise after Jonas Olsson had headed Albion in front after 64 minutes.
But in the 87th minute he grabbed his 18th goal of the season when converting a low cross from Aaron McLean.
Baggies boss Tony Mowbray had fielded his strongest available side and looked on their way to the fourth round when Olsson broke the deadlock with a header from skipper Jonathan Greening.
But Mackail-Smith had been a handful throughout and his dynamic performance kept Albion on the back foot.
George Boyd had the ball in the net after 76 minutes but the Posh forward had strayed offside. However, with three minutes left Mackail-Smith forced a replay when he turned home a cross from Aaron McLean.
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Bristol City deny Adams Cup relief
January 3, 2009
PORTSMOUTH, England (AFP) – FA Cup holders Portsmouth were unable to lift the pressure on manager Tony Adams after they began the defence of the trophy with a goalless draw at home to Bristol City on Saturday.
Second-tier Championship side City were well worth the replay they achieved for themselves at Pompeys Fratton Park home and might have snatched a win had not England goalkeeper David James denied Bradley Orr with a fine save.
The draw meant Pompey had not won their last four games in all competitions and added to the anxieties of Adams, who was without ill, want-away striker Jermain Defoe.
In the absence of the England forward, his fellow strikers David Nugent and Defoe international colleague Peter Crouch both went close while French defender Sylvain Distin forced City keeper Adriano Basso into a good save on the half-hour mark.
But the morale-boosting win Adams and Pompey so badly needed would not come and they now face a tricky replay at Citys Ashton Gate ground.
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Van Persie double sinks Plymouth
January 3, 2009
LONDON (AFP) – Arsene Wengers wish for a more upbeat start to the new year was fulfilled as his Arsenal side booked their place in the FA Cup fourth round with a 3-1 victory over Plymouth thanks to two goals from Robin Van Persie on Saturday.
The victory may not have been as slick as Wenger would have liked but anxious to avoid an embarrassing slip, the result at the Emirates Stadium was all that mattered to the Gunners manager.
Wenger admitted before the game that 2008 had been a miserable year for Arsenal. Serious injuries to key players reports of dressing room in-fighting and a failure once again to challenge for the Premier League title have created an air of uncertainty to the club
And Wengers growing list of problems increased this week when he was forced to admit experienced defender Kolo Toure is unsettled whilst denying the centre-back is set to join Manchester City.
Toure was missing, reportedly with a groin injury, fuelling speculation he could yet leave but Wengers concern against Plymouth was simply that Arsenal retain interest in a competition they last won in 2005 – their last trophy triumph.
The way Samir Nasri tormented Plymouth left-back Chris Barker in the opening couple of minutes suggested Wengers side would make light work of what was on a paper a routine tie.
That view was reinforced when Aaron Ramsay set up Van Persie and Emmanuel Eboue who were both denied by excellent saves from Argyle keeper Roman Larrieu.
In fact it was largely due to Larrieus impressive start that the Championship side grew in confidence and began to make inroads of their own.
Wenger had handed a first start to the season to second choice keeper Lukasz Fabianski having 24 hours earlier denied comments made by Shay Givens representative that the Gunners were interested in signing the Newcastle number one.
But Fabianski did little to justify his managers faith when he spilled an early cross that gifted Plymouth midfielder Chris Clark a chance that could have given the visitors a shock lead.
The Pole later went on to make a much bigger gaffe in the build-up to Karl Duguids goal.
But any fears of an upset were quickly removed as Wengers side sped into a two-goal lead within three minutes of the restart.
The manner in which the home side took the lead will have been particularly infuriating for Argyle manager Paul Sturrock who looked on as his side completely lost concentration at a 46th minute corner and allowed Van Persie – captain for the day in the absence of Manuel Almunia – a free header just six yards out.
And worse was to follow two minutes later when Van Persies low cross was turned into his own goal by David Gray under pressure from the lurking Nicklas Bendtner.
If Plymouth were to have any chance of salvaging something from the tie it was imperative they forced their way back into the game quickly.
That was exactly what they did thanks to Fabianskis failure to deal with a floated free kick three minutes later that allowed Gray to pull the ball back for Duguid who finished left-footed from ten yards out.
That, though, was the beginning and the end of Argyles fightback and Van Persie wrapped things up after rounding Larrieu six minutes from time.
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Southend fight back stuns Chelsea
January 3, 2009
LONDON (AFP) – Luiz Felipe Scolari was given a dramatic introduction to the FA Cup as his Premier League giants were held to a 1-1 draw by League One side Southend at Stamford Bridge here Saturday.
The Blues, second in the top flight, had looked to be cruising into the fourth round until Peter Clarke headed the Shrimpers, who play in the third-tier of English football, level in injury time.
Chelsea, who had lost ground to Liverpool in the Premier League in recent weeks after draws with West Ham, Everton and Fulham, took a first half-lead thanks to Saloman Kalous header.
And they squandered chance after chance to leave manager Scolari nursing another headache.
Scolari was without suspended captain John Terry, who watched this match from the stands while he serves the final game of his ban. But the Brazilian, did field a strong side for his first taste of FA Cup action.
With Terry and Michael Ballack suspended, Scolari recalled Ricardo Carvalho for his first start since October after recovering from a knee injury, while Juliano Belletti was preferred in midfield.
Only goalkeeper Petr Cech was rested as Carlo Cudicini took the Czech internationals place between the sticks for what was Chelseas opening match of this seasons FA Cup.
Alex and Florent Malouda missed out with hamstring injuries and Nicolas Anelka had to settle for a place on the bench.
It was Chelsea who had the first shot at goal through Frank Lampard but the England midfielders free-kick was way off target.
But it proved to be an early warning sign for Southend of things to come as Joe Cole incisive pass almost played in Didier Drogba.
The France striker was then denied a clear shot at goal in the ninth minute by an excellent recovery tackle from Osei Sankofa.
Joe Cole and Lampard had further chances to break the deadlock, all within the opening 15 minutes.
Chelsea, however, continued to squander their chances.
Ashley Cole had a clear shot at goal yet fired at Steve Mildenhall, while Drogba poked another effort wide of the post from eight yards.
It was only a matter of time before the pressure told and Salomon Kalou made it count when he headed in from Lampards corner in the 31st minute.
In the second-half Southend continued to work hard and enjoyed a good spell of possession.
The passed the ball around neatly at times but too often lost their
concentration at the crucial time.
While their attackers could be accused of losing their focus, the same could not be said of Southends defence.
Wave after wave of Chelsea pressure would have taken its toll on Premier League defenders, but still the Shrimpers – led by captain Adam Barrett – kept them at bay.
Belletti must have thought hed finally doubled Chelseas advantage in the 67th minute when he connected with Lampards corner. Yet he was denied by teenager Johnny Herd who clear off the line at the near post.
Southend manager Steve Tilson made three changes all at the same time to boost his battle weary side as they pressed for an equaliser.
Despite the introduction of veteran striker Dougie Freedman, it was Clarke who was the unlikely goal hero.
The defender came close when he connected with Herds cross in the 84th minute but his header agonisingly dropped onto the crossbar and bounced over.
Chelsea failed to heed that warning and minutes later Clarke was on target with a header to earn Southend a replay and leave Chelsea regretting their missed opportunities.
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Osman edges Everton past minnows Macclesfield
January 3, 2009
MACCLESFIELD, England (AFP) – Leon Osman put Macclesfield Towns hopes of an FA Cup giant killing into cold storage for another season with the winning goal in Evertons 1-0 victory over the League Two minnows at Moss Rose on Saturday.
Osman conjured up a brilliant fourth goal of the season to make sure that boss David Moyes avoided more FA Cup embarrassment – following last seasons red-faced exit to League One Oldham Athletic in the third round.
The FA Cup has not been much of a friend to Moyes since he moved to Goodison Park and this was only his fifth win in the competition in the last five years, after also being turfed out of the competition by Shrewsbury Town.
And he will be glad that he did not get his way on Friday, when referee Peter Walton declared the game fit to go ahead, after an early inspection, when the Everton boss was not happy at all with the playing surface.
Around 40 volunteers worked into the early hours of Friday morning to ensure the pitch, which had been covered all week, was playable after all the freezing weather had left the playing surface rock hard.
Huge covers had hot air blown under them by the Macclesfield fans, who worked in shifts, starting early on Saturday morning, but all their hard work was in vain as Keith Alexanders side were frozen out by their Premier League rivals.
Macclesfield had only ever ventured to this stage of the competition on eight occasions and once again they were left wondering what it must be like to make the fourth round, having never reached that stage in their history, and they certainly deserved more after giving their illustrious opponents a few first half scares.
Keith Alexanders League Two bunch of promising kids and experienced heads certainly gave Everton plenty to think about and could easily have take the lead on two occasions in the opening 15 minutes, when Everton still seemed to have reservations about the playing surface.
Terry Dunfield fired over the bar after a mistake by Phil Neville in his own penalty area. And Nat Brown headed over the cross bar after Dunfield and James Jennings combined cleverly from a short free kick to catch Evertons defence napping.
Those wasted chances came back to haunt them two minutes before the break.
Everton had barely mustered an attack, apart from a weak effort by Tim Cahill and a Leighton Baines cross that fizzed through the six yard box avoiding Osman and Victor Anichebe, but they showed their class on the stroke of the interval.
Mikel Artetas cross was only half cleared by Sean Hessey, but there was still plenty for Osman to do to control on his chest before unleashing a venomous shot that Macc keeper Jon Brain could only help into his own net.
It was a rare moment of quality – although Anichebe did come close to adding a second with a wonderful curling shot from the corner of the box – and no matter how hard they tried, Alexanders side could not get within striking distance of Tim Howards goal, despite their promising spells of possession.
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Forest embarrass City in Cup upset
January 3, 2009
MANCHESTER, England (AFP) – The heat is back on Mark Hughes after Manchester City made an embarrassing exit from the FA Cup following a 3-0 defeat to Championship strugglers Nottingham Forest at Eastlands on Saturday.
City players were booed off the pitch after a shocking third round defeat which left them without a win in eight of their last nine league and cup games.
Goals by Nathan Tyson, Robert Earnshaw and substitute Joe Garner earned Forest, struggling in 21st place in the second-tier Championship table, a famous win and left Hughes to ponder another below-par display by his players.
Having already signed Wayne Bridge, Hughes is desperate to add Roque Santa Cruz, Shay Given and Craig Bellamy to his team.
Yet it will require more than that to put right the wrongs at City, just above the Premier Leagues relegation zone.
City never recovered after falling 2-0 behind in front of their own fans during the first half.
The last time a team trailed after a poor first-half performance at Eastlands, the manager delivered his half time team talk on the pitch.
Yet Hughes opted against following in the footsteps Phil Brown even though City were just as bad as Hull had been Boxing Day.
The hosts were without Robinho, Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha, who were all nursing knocks, yet that was no excuse for a tepid, disorganised and error-strewn display in the opening 45 minutes.
They were jeered off by their own fans after a shocking first-half performance which allowed a team lying fourth from bottom in the Championship table to march into a commanding 2-0 lead.
Despite their lowly position which had resulted in the dismissal of manager Colin Calderwood, Forest arrived at Eastlands unbeaten in their previous seven away games.
And they once again looked comfortable on their travels as they made a determined start before Tyson opened the scoring with a stunning finish after 37 minutes, his left-foot volley from 25-yards leaving Joe Hart grasping at thin air.
Forests 6,000-strong travelling supporters could not believe it and they were in dreamland four minutes later when former West Brom striker Rob Earnshaw doubled the lead after Chris Cohen had dispossessed Pablo Zabaleta.
Hughes looked stunned as well as ashen-faced. Even a message from Bridge, the new 12 million pounds signing from Chelsea, which was broadcast over the big screen at Eastlands at half-time, failed to cheer Citys fans.
They saw their side produce a brief rally at the start of the second-half, Daniel Sturridge and Felipe Caicedo thwarted by two excellent stops from recalled Forest keeper Paul Smith.
Yet Citys disastrous afternoon was complete when Garner, who had replaced Earnshaw two minutes earlier, made it 3-0 with a low finish after he had intercepted Dietmar Hamanns throw-in to Richard Dunne.
Armed with millions of pounds from Citys new oil-rich owners, Hughes will look to strengthen his side in the coming days.
Yet a league defeat at Portsmouth next Saturday could leave his position as manager at the club under serious threat.
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Non-league Forest Green denied FA Cup giant-killing
January 3, 2009
LONDON (AFP) – Non-league Forest Green missed out on a famous FA Cup giant-killing as Championship club Derby snatched a late 4-3 win in the third round on Saturday.
Jim Harveys Conference side, playing at this stage of the competition for the first time in their history, looked on course for a shock victory when they stormed into a two-goal lead through Jonathan Smith and Alex Lawless at The New Lawn.
But Derby, who host Manchester United in the League Cup semi-final first leg on Wednesday, fought back from behind twice to avoid an embarrassing exit.
Rob Hulse threw the Rams a lifeline by pulling a goal back five minutes before the break and Martin Albrechtsen restored parity on the stroke of half-time.
Rams caretaker manager Chris Hutchings, who took over from sacked boss Paul Jewell last week, must have feared his first game in charge of the former English champions would end in defeat when Paul Stonehouse put Forest Green ahead with 18 minutes to play.
However, Paul Green equalised four minutes later and Steve Davies sent Derby through with an 87th minute penalty after Lawless was sent off for a professional foul on Kris Commons.
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Veteran German striker Neuville extends at Monchengladbach
January 3, 2009
MONCHENGLADBACH, Germany (AFP) – Veteran German international striker Oliver Neuville is extending his contract at Borussia Monchengladbach till 2010, the Bundesliga club said on Saturday.
The 35-year-old Neuville, who has 69 caps and scored 10 times for his country, has been at Gladbach since 2004 but the club lie bottom of the league on their return to the top flight.
Neuville, born in Italian-speaking Switzerland, has previously played for Spanish first division side Tenerife, Hansa Rostock and Bayer Leverkusen.
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Samaras double not enough to see off United
January 3, 2009
GLASGOW (AFP) – A Georgios Samaras double was not enough for Celtic to get 2009 off to a winning start as they shared the points with Dundee United in a thrilling 2-2 draw at Parkhead.
With Rangers not playing until Sunday Gordon Strachans men knew they had they had a chance to pile the pressure on their rivals and Greek international Samaras put them two ahead with goals either side of half-time.
But an excellent Paul Dixon free-kick followed by substitute Warren Feeneys equaliser gave United a deserved share of the points for their superb second-half showing much to the frustration of the Celtic support.
The draw sees Celtic go eight points clear at the top of the table with Rangers taking on Inverness Caledonian Thistle on Sunday.
Celtic carved out the best opportunities in the opening exchanges. Scott Brown and Scott McDonald played a nice one-two which saw the midfielder race clear into the box but his shot went well wide.
A minute later Japanese international Shunsuke Nakamura slid a delightful pass into the path of Samaras and his angled lob from the right of the box wasnt far away from opening the scoring.
Samaras opened the scoring in the 13th minute after a mistake from defender Lee Wilkie. The United captain was bundled off the ball in the box by Brown who cut the ball back for Greek striker Samaras to sidefoot home past the helpless Lukasz Zaluska.
Wilkie nearly made amends for his error minutes later when his pass played in Scott Robertson but his low angled drive went inches wide of the post.
The energetic Brown was putting on an impressive display and after robbing a United player on the half-way line the midfield dynamo created a chance for Barry Robson but the former United player effort was just turned round the post by Zaluska.
United came out transformed after the break and were soon piling the pressure on the Celtic defence but they failed to create any chances on target.
Celtic increased their lead in the 58th minute when Samaras got his second of the game.
The giant Greek striker jumped highest to connect with an inswinging Nakamura free-kick from the right and head it into the net.
United struck back two minutes later with a stunning free-kick from Dixon. The full-back curled a superb effort past the flapping Boruc from 25 yards into the top corner of the net.
Celtic came close to increasing their lead in the 63rd minute but Dixon and Sean Dillon combined to block Browns powerful drive on the line.
United should have equalised two minutes later when Willo Flood intercepted a poor Mark Wilson pass back and rounded Boruc but his soft shot was cleared off the line by Celtic captain Stephen McManus.
The Arabs piled forward and Jon Daly was unlucky to see his header from a Flood cross trundle past Borucs post in the 68th minute.
United got back on level terms in the 77th minute through substitute Feeney. A long ball up the park was headed on by Daly into the path of Feeney who stretched to toe poke it past Boruc under pressure from Caldwell.
n Saturdays early kick-off match an exciting Edinburgh derby ended in a goalless draw. Hearts hit the woodwork three times as they dominated although keeper Janos Balogh had to be at his best to deny Hibernian striker Stephen Fletcher a late winner.
A Simon Mensing penalty and a Richard Offiong strike sealed a 2-0 win for Hamilton over Aberdeen to send Inverness bottom of the SPL.
Stevie Lovell put Falkirk in front before David Fernandez equalised for Kilmarnock in their 1-1 draw. St Mirren final game at Love Street ended with a goalless draw against Motherwell.
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Schneider returns after long absence
January 3, 2009
LEVERKUSEN, Germany (AFP) – Veteran German international Bernd Schneider resumed training with his Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday after being out for eight months with a back injury.
The 35-year-old, capped 81 times by his country and a part of the side that reached the 2002 World Cup final, said that he was keen to return to his previous form despite not having played since April 24 last year.
"It was really nice to be back in training," said Schneider, who is still keen to be part of the squad for the 2010 World Cup finals in South Africa.
"The most important thing for me is to now rediscover my best physical condition," added Schneider, who underwent an operation on a herniated disc at the end of April.
Leverkusen have not wilted despite his absence and are fifth in the title race, which resumes on January 30 after their winter break.
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