Arsenal roughed up by Stoke goal hero Fuller

January 25, 2010


Ricardo Fuller was the scourge of Arsenal as Stoke finally ended their long wait for an FA Cup triumph over the Gunners with a 3-1 win in the fourth round on Sunday.

Fuller scored twice to punish Wenger’s decision to field an inexperienced side at the Britannia Stadium and hand the Potters their first victory over Arsenal in this competition in eight attempts, stretching back to 1928.

Jamaican forward Fuller took only 70 seconds to stun the visitors and although Denilson levelled, the Stoke star nodded in a 78th minute goal to guide Tony Pulis’s men through to the fifth round, with Dean Whitehead’s late third completing a memorable day.

The last meeting of these side at the Britannia a little over a year ago was something of a shock to Arsenal as Stoke bloodied their noses with a 2-1 defeat.

While last season’s bruising encounter created controversy, Stoke supporters of an older persuasion are probably still harbouring the painful memories of 1971 and 1972 when Arsenal beat them in successive FA Cup semi-finals.

Wenger has made no secret of his need to lift some silverware, after five years without a trophy, but his team selection was very similar to a youth team, with out captain Cesc Fabregas and Denilson surviving from the side that beat Bolton on Wednesday.

Jay Emmanuel-Thomas made his debut, while Francis Coquelin, Carlos Vela and Craig Eastmond were among the youngsters thrown into the starting line-up.

And hardly a minute had elapsed before the home side stunned an Arsenal defence including Sol Campbell, making his second debut for the club.

While Rory Delap’s gargantuan throws are no longer a surprise to anyone, Arsenal could not handle the first exocet. Lukasz Fabianski flapped and Fuller stole ahead of the Polish goalkeeper to find the net with a header.

That early setback clearly unruffled Arsenal and their first half performance was littered with stray passes and errors of judgement.

Stoke could have been awarded a penalty ten minutes before half-time when Fuller appeared to collapse under a desperate lunge from Mikael Silvestre.

But Arsenal finally levelled in the 42nd minute through Denilson. Fabregas played a free kick outside the box across to the Brazilian midfielder and he arrowed a low drive past Thomas Sorensen, with the aid of two deflections off Stoke defenders.

The second half saw Stoke dominant, with Fabianski under siege for most of the 45 minutes from an aerial bombardment.

Fabregas tested Sorensen with a long-range drive but Stoke pressed for a winner, with Coquelin almost turning Mamady Sidibe’s cross into his own net.

Wenger simply had to make changes and with 22 minutes remaining introduced Andrey Arshavin, Eduardo and Aaron Ramsey in a desperate bid to avoid a replay.

He did avoid one, though not in the way he wanted. Sidibe’s excellent work down the right ended in an inch perfect cross for Fuller to nod past a stranded Fabianski.

Visibily stunned, Arsenal’s exit from the FA Cup was confirmed when the excellent Etherington crossed for Whitehead to put the icing on the cake with his first goal for the club in the 86th minute.

STOKE, England (AFP)

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Malawi books surprising victory

January 12, 2010


Malawi stunned Algeria in their first group match in the African Cup of Nations. The Flames booked a suprising win (3-0), their first victory ever on the African Cup of Nations.

World Cup bound Algeria pushed forward in the beginning of the match and Malawi goalkeeper Swadic Sanudi had to pull off some great saves to keep the Algerians from scoring.

Malawi responded excellent after sixteen minutes of play. Russel Mwafulirwa put the ball in the net after a mix up between Algerian ‘keeper Fawzi Chaouchi and Madjid Bougherra: 1-0.

Elvis Kafoteka’s fine header lifted the score to 2-0, ten minutes before half time and Davie Banda secured the win just after the break: 3-0.

Considering the fact that Malawi’s best result in the competition was a 2-2 draw with Nigeria, this is a wonderful win for a deserving Malawi side.

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AZ, Feyenoord win in Eredivisie

December 20, 2009


Temporary AZ Alkmaar manager Dick Advocaat earned his first victory at the club on Saturday, a 3-0 win over ADO Den Haag in the Eredivisie.

AZ dominated from the start and Rasmus Elm put the reigning champions ahead after just ten minutes.

Sebastien Pocognoli made it 2-0 on the half hour, and Maarten Martens netted the third and final goal near the full time whistle. Ari came close as well, but his effort ended up on the crossbar.

Feyenoord defending their fourth spot with a 1-0 win over Willem II. The only goal came from Sekou Cisse in the 12th minute.

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Lazio plot the great escape

December 12, 2009


If SS Lazio’s season has taken the unexpected wrong turn, then their next league fixture of hosting striking powerhouse Genoa at the Stadio Olimpico was not what coach Davide Ballardini would want, during this time of the season.

If the Aquile lose on Sunday, it will be the first time this season which will see them drop into the Serie A relegation zone.

After a narrow 1-0 lose against city rivals Roma last weekend, the side has now extended their winless run to 13 games.

That series of dismal results has left them in 16th, two places and one point clear of the bottom three.

However, Lazio’s performance against Roma gave under-fire coach Davide Ballardini a glimmer of hope.

“My team gave a convincing performance at Roma,” said Ballardini.

“Of course, it didn’t help us in terms of the standings, but I’m sure if we continue to play like this good results will come our way.

“We have to come out of this difficult situation and we must do this by showing the same determination and character my players displayed at Roma.

“We have two games left to play before the Christmas break and we have to give everything to improve our current position in the standings, starting on Sunday.”

Biancoceleste captain Tommaso Rocchi knows his team-mates must get their act together if they wish to succeed at the Stadio Olimpico and clinch their first victory since August 30.

“We are aware that only through work, sweat and sacrifice we will be able to come out of this difficult situation,” he said.

“We have the potential to do it but from now on, each game for us is a final.

“We face Genoa on Sunday but it doesn’t matter who we face because our only aim is to come out triumphant on Sunday.”

Ballardini will be desperate for attacking duo Rocchi and Mauro Zarate to deliver, with Lazio having failed to find the back of the net in their last three league games.

Fortunately for Lazio, Genoa have struggled on the road of late. The Grifoni have claimed just one point in their last three outings.

Gian Piero Gasperini’s side go into the encounter in Rome on the back of a 2-2 draw to Parma which saw the team climb to seventh in the standings.

Genoa will need little extra motivation to beat Lazio with a Champions League spot now within their grasp.

The Grifoni are one point and three spots behind fourth-placed Parma.

“We are playing against a team desperate to bounce back,” said Genoa goalkeeper Marco Amelia. “But we are in good form and we travel to the Stadio Olimpico looking to bring home three points.”

Ballardini will be forced to make some changes to the team that lost to Roma with Matuzalem having joined Sebastiano Siviglia, Christian Manfredini and Stefano Mauri in the injury list.

To add to Ballardini’s woes, Stefano Mauri, Roberto Baronio and Julio Cruz serve a one-match ban this weekend.

Genoa welcome back defenders Giuseppe Biava and Sokratis Papastathopoulos from suspension.

However, the visitors will be without Bosko Jankovic, Houssine Kharja and Andrea Esposito, who are still sidelined through injury.

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Gunners crash at Sunderland

November 22, 2009


Arsenal failed to score for the first time this season as Darren Bent maintained his impressive record against the top teams in the Premier League to earn Sunderland a 1-0 victory.

Bent has already opened the scoring for Sunderland this season in matches against the rest of the so-called elite – Liverpool, Manchester United and Chelsea.

Here, his 71st minute header earned Steve Bruce’s team their first victory in five matches and showed his goalpoaching qualities.

It had been a frustrating match for Bent until he headed a corner against team-mate Fraizer Campbell and reacted quickest to lash in the rebound.

It was only Arsenal’s third defeat of the season – an outcome that appeared unlikely after the opening stages of a game that brought Sunderland their first win in five outings.

Cesc Fabregas, who had scored on his previous two visits to the Stadium of Light, was at the heart of most of their best moments as Sunderland soon found themselves stretched.

His persistence enabled him to set up a fifth minute chance for Tomas Rosicky, whose well-struck shot was blocked by the legs of Hungarian goalkeeper Marton Fulop.

Fabregas also went close with two efforts from outside the area in an immensely encouraging start for Arsenal, who were deprived of half-a-dozen of their first team squad through injuries.

However, they possessed enough depth to include players such as Theo Walcott, Denilson and Andrey Arshavin among their substitutes.

Sunderland were also without first-team regulars Craig Gordon, Kenwyne Jones, Michael Turner and Lee Cattermole because of injuries and suspensions.

Turner’s absence brought a recall for Ghana international John Mensah, the defender on loan from Lyon.

But Mensah, chosen ahead of Anton Ferdinand, found it difficult to adapt to the pace and mobility of Arsenal’s attack.

The same was true of several Sunderland’s players, particularly in midfield, but they did finally create two opportunities for Steed Malbranque.

The former Tottenham player, still without a goal this season, twice wasted opportunities after Arsenal failed to cut out crosses from Andy Reid.

They were rare interruptions to Arsenal’s control and Wenger’s side almost went ahead through the best move of the half in the 33rd minute.

Alex Song surged forward and exchanged passes with Eduardo before the striker’s chip drifted past the post.

Bruce’s team proved to be more effective in closing down Arsenal’s midfielders in a second-half that produced few opportunities for either side.

Andy Reid, becoming more influential as the match progressed, was narrowly wide with a 58th minute free-kick.

And, with Arsenal struggling to make progress as Fabregas’s influence waned, Sunderland stunned them by taking the lead in the 71st minute.

Bent’s goal was a reward for the former Tottenham player’s persistence on a day when his supply line was generally poor.

And it was a reward for Sunderland’s ability to recover from such a poor start and pull off a victory that will mean so much to Bruce.

It was a victory that Arsenal rarely threatened to snatch away with the exception of one moment where they forced substitute Ferdinand to clear from in front of the Sunderland goal.

SUNDERLAND, England (AFP)

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West Ham on the up: Zola

November 5, 2009


Gianfranco Zola believes his struggling West Ham side can pull away from the relegation zone after claiming their first victory since the opening day of the season.

A 2-1 defeat of Aston Villa on Wednesday evening was also the Hammers’ first home win of the season and Zola believes the gutsy performance from his players could represent a turning point in what has been a tough campaign so far.

An injury-time winner from substitute Zavon Hines sealed the points after Villa’s Ashley Young had cancelled out a Mark Noble penalty.

“The team is playing better and this may well be the turning point,” Zola said. “We demonstrated desire and belief and that’s what we wanted. Everything else is there. It was a fantastic game to win.”

As well as firing the winner, England under-21 striker Hines won the penalty that allowed his side to take the lead and he could now be be set for a run in the team after England striker Carlton Cole suffered a hamstring strain.

“Every time I play Hines he’s been very good,” Zola enthused. “He just needs to keep working the way he is doing. I am very pleased for him and for us. But he deserves to be in the spotlight.”

Villa boss Martin O’Neill was bitterly disappointed by the manner of a defeat which cost the Birmingham club the chance to move into the top four in the Premier League.

“I think we did enough to get something out of the game,” the Villa boss said. “We were in the ascendancy in the first half and their goalkeeper made some good saves.

“We looked a very good threat and thought we would go on to win it. You can lose a goal at any stage but it is disappointing to lose at that stage.

“We looked tired in the last 15 minutes but it is not an excuse.”

LONDON (AFP)

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Ancelotti expects Chelsea to respond to Wigan setback

September 27, 2009


Carlo Ancelotti has promised Chelsea will provide a response when they travel to Apoel Nicosia after suffering their first defeat under the Italian.

The Blues head to Nicosia for Champions League duty on Wednesday hoping to make up for a miserable 3-1 defeat at Wigan on Saturday.

It was the first time they have been beaten since March and the first time they had lost since former AC Milan coach Ancelotti took over at Stamford Bridge in the close-season.

The concern for the Italian is that Ashley Cole and John Obi Mikel could both miss the Champions League match after sustaining injuries at the DW Stadium.

Cole picked up a knee injury that forced him to be carried off while midfielder Mikel suffered an ankle problem.

Ancelotti is also facing up to the fact that Henrique Hilario will have to fill in for Petr Cech against Liverpool next Sunday, after the Czech goalkeeper was sent off in the defeat to the Latics.

Manchester United’s 2-0 win at Stoke meant that Sir Alex Ferguson’s team moved above Chelsea on goal difference.

But while Ancelotti wants to see more from his team in Nicosia, he expects to fight United all the way in the title race.

He said: “I think that there will be a lot of competition until the end of the season.

“I don’t know why we lost at Wigan because we prepared very well and we knew what was important.

“This can happen after a lot of victories and we have to accept this loss and fix it in the next match in the Champions League.

“I don’t think we were over-confident. In football it can happen that one day it?s not good and now we have to look forward.”

Titus Bramble opened the scoring against the Londoners before Dider Drogba equalised a minute after the restart.

But after Cech was sent off for tripping Hugo Rodallega, the Colombian converted the resulting spot-kick before Paul Scharner added Wigan?s third in the closing stages.

Latics manager Roberto Martinez felt Wigan have shown how to play against Chelsea after picking up a first victory over a ‘big four’ team in 35 attempts.

He said: “The only way that you can upset Chelsea a little bit is to not allow them the ball, not allow them to feel themselves and they found it difficult in that respect but the moment you switch off you’re going to be punished.

“All the positive things we did were backed up by the concentration levels at the back and it was a complete performance.

“When you are a team like Wigan and you’ve got Chelsea at home, you’ve got two options. You can be brave and beat them or you can get hammered.

“In the the last two games (against Manchester United and Arsenal) we lost 5-0 and 4-0 and the only reason that we won against Chelsea was that we maintained our standards, we learned our lessons and we were brave from the first second.”

WIGAN, England (AFP)

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Pumas beats Comunicaciones 1-0 to end slide

August 19, 2009


Luis Fuentes converted a 71st-minute corner and Pumas beat Comunicaciones 1-0 on Tuesday night to open the CONCACAF Champions League Group Stage, its first victory in five tries this season.

Fuentes leapt to side volley Jehu Chiapas’ corner from inside the penalty area, only Pumas’ second goal this season. Comunicaciones goalkeeper David Guerra made a handful of dramatic saves and appeared have Comunicaciones on track for an away draw.

Comunicaciones, similarly with only one win in four games in the early going of the Guatemalan league season, struggled to create any offense, while Pumas – employing a secondary lineup – had the better possession but had previous few chances itself.

Before Fuentes’ goal, Pumas’ best opportunity came in the 63rd when Arturo Rodriguez took a swipe a loose ball in the six-yard box that struck the crossbar before bounding away. Guerra tapped his left post in a sign of thanks as the chance seemed to invite a flurry of ac

Neither goalkeeper was challenged much early, but Rodriguez’s near miss seemed to invite a flurry a chances.

Pumas, the Mexican Clausura champion, has lost its first four league matches by a combined 9-1 score and used a second-choice starting squad against Comunicaciones.

Both teams had only one legitimate chance each in the first half, but Pumas started the second half quickly, threatening Comunicaciones’ three times in the first seven minutes and forcing Guerra to athletic saves to deny Oscar Rojas and Fuentes.

The result gives Pumas the lead in Group D with Real Espana to host Trinidad’s W Connection on Thursday in the other match.

Pumas will host Real Espana next on August 27, while Comunicaciones will travel to Trinidad to face W Connection the same day.

MEXICO CITY

Source

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Keogh ruins Martinez´s Wigan return

August 19, 2009


Wolverhampton forward Andrew Keogh ruined Wigan boss Roberto Martinez’s first home match in charge of the Latics as his early goal clinched a 1-0 win on Tuesday.

Former Wigan midfielder Martinez saw his side win 2-0 at Aston Villa in Saturday’s Premier League opener, but his homecoming at the DW Stadium ended in disappointment thanks to Keogh’s header.

Wigan pressed hard for an equaliser but the visitors battled gamely to hold onto their first victory since promotion from the Championship last season.

Wolves boss Mick McCarthy was without former Manchester United striker Sylvan Ebanks-Blake, who had a hamstring injury, while captain Jody Craddock made the 500th start of his club career.

But Keogh filled in nicely for Ebanks-Blake. He was close to putting McCarthy’s men ahead in the second minute when he cut back onto his right foot to curl a shot which struck the far post.

Keogh didn’t have to wait long to open the scoring. In the sixth minute the Republic of Ireland international rose above Paul Scharner to glance Nenad Milijas’s free-kick past Chris Kirkland and in off the post.

It was Wolves’ first Premier League goal since 2004 and they should have had another soon after. This time Keogh was the provider as his flick found Greg Halford, only for the unmarked midfielder to shoot over.

Wigan gradually began to exert some pressure of their own. Martinez’s team had the ball in the net when Jordi Gomez headed in Charles N’Zogbia’s free-kick but the effort was ruled out for offside.

Latics defender Titus Bramble headed wide from a corner, then N’Zogbia squandered a glorious chance when he ran on to Hugo Rodallega’s flick only to shoot tamely at Wayne Hennessey.

Wolves appealed for a penalty when Keogh was caught by Bramble’s out-stretched foot, but referee Mick Jones booked the forward for diving.

Martinez made a double substitution in the 61st minute, sending on striker Jason Scotland and on-loan Chelsea winger Scott Sinclair for Michael Brown and Jason Koumas.

Sinclair headed Gomez’s cross agonisingly wide at the far post and Scharner fired over in the last chance of the game as Wolves survived.

WIGAN (AFP)

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Al-Hilal beat Zesco in CAF Champions League

August 1, 2009

Sudanese club Al-Hilal Omdurman moved into first place of their CAF Champions League group thanks to a 1-0 win over Zesco United of Zambia.

Al-Hilal had drawn their opening game 0-0 with local rivals Al-Merreikh, but one goal at Khartoum Stadium was enough to earn their first victory and move top in Group A.

The goal that led the hosts to victory was scored by defender Usama Altawon, whose powerful shot from a corner left the opposing goalkeeper beaten.

Kano Pillars of Nigeria and Al-Merreikh face on Sunday, with possibly the top spot at stake.

Jonathan Roorda

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