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Algeria first World Cup team to win in Angola

Algeria became the first World Cup qualifiers to win at the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations on Thursday while hosts Angola also took maximum points.

Nigeria lost to defending champions Egypt, Cameroon were shocked by Gabon and Ivory Coast could only draw with Burkina Faso as South Africa-bound teams found the going tough this week.

A 1-0 victory for Algeria over Mali in the first half of a Luanda double-header was followed by a 2-0 success for Angola against Malawi to set up an intriguing Group A climax next Monday.

All four countries can still finish among the top two on the final mini-league standings and reach the quarter-finals in the biennial African football showpiece.

Angola host Algeria at the 50,000-seat November 11 Stadium in the Angolan capital while Malawi and Mali fly north to the restive enclave of Cabinda where the Togo squad was ambushed last Friday for a Chiazi Stadium showdown.

The host nation finished the second series of group matches on top with four points, Malawi (plus one goal difference) and Algeria (minus two) have three points each and Mali one.

“This win has given the perfect answer to all our critics. We played like a team today and got the result we wanted,” said veteran Algeria coach Rabah Saadane as his team recovered from a three-goal drubbing by Malawi.

“It takes a long time to build a team of excellent players and I did not put any pressure on them today. I just told them to go out, enjoy themselves and defeat Mali.

“We started off this match on the wrong foot but managed to increase our confidence and the goal came at the perfect time,” said the coach who will guide Algeria at a third World Cup in South Africa this June.

Algeria will be in the same group as England, the United States and Slovenia and few outside the North African country give the ‘Desert Foxes’ a chance of making the second round.

Portugal-based defender Rafik Halliche starred against Mali, nodding in a free kick two minutes before half-time for the lone goal of a match that never caught fire.

Early second-half goals from Flavio Amado and Mateus ‘Manucho’ Alberto brought victory to Angola before a capacity 50,000 crowd that included President Jose Eduardo dos Santos.

The diminutive Flavio once more demonstrated his remarkable heading prowess by steering in a Djalma Campos cross on 48 minutes while slapstick Malawi defending gifted the second goal to Manucho soon after.

This time the Palancas Negras (Black Antelopes) defence stood firm to ensure no repeat of the remarkable collapse last Sunday when they surrendered a four-goal lead against Mali after 79 minutes and had to settle for a draw.

Malawi, lowest ranked of the 15 title contenders, stroked the ball about impressively in the first half and created a few half chances, but were starved of possession after the break.

LUANDA (AFP)

Tags: africa cup of nations, african football, algeria, Angola, angolan capital, burkina faso, cabinda, cameroon, desert foxes, double header, drubbing, Egypt, England, goal difference, host nation, intriguing group, Ivory Coast, kick two, league standings, lone goal, Luanda, Malawi, mali, maximum points, North African, perfect answer, portugal, President Jose Eduardo, quarter finals, Santos, showpiece, South Africa, Togo, United States, wrong foot

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Italy eliminates United States from U-17 World Cup

Jack McInerney missed a penalty and the United States finished with 10 men, falling to Italy 2-1 on Wednesday and exiting the Under-17 World Cup in the second round.

It was the fourth straight trip to the knockout rounds of the tournament for the United States, the only nation to have qualified for all 13 U-17 world championships.

Italy used goals by Giacomo Beretta in the 29th and Pietro Iemmello in the 56th to subdue the Americans, one of two teams from CONCACAF to advance past the group stage.

Nick Palodichuk scored the lone goal for the United States in the 51st minute, which equalized until Iemmello replied five minutes later for Italy.

McInerney, who had two goals during the group phase, had a chance to put the Americans ahead in the 17th minute after Italian defender Federico Mannini was called for a handball, but the 16-year-old from the Atlanta region was unable to capitalize on the penalty.

Reserve Italian goalkeeper Francesco Bardi, playing in place of injured regular Mattia Perin, was able to save the spot kick.

McInerney had another chance in the 49th, taking a ball after Luis Gil had worked past two defenders, but put his shot from eight meters off the crossbar.

The Americans were reduced to 10 men in the 93rd minute when Eriq Zaveleta was ejected after apparently elbowing Italy’s Felice Natalino.

Mexico, CONCACAF’s last remaining team will face Korea Republic on Thursday in its attempt to reach the quarterfinals.

KADUNA, Nigeria

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Tags: Atlanta, atlanta region, crossbar, Felice Natalino, Francesco Bardi, giacomo beretta, Goalkeeper, group phase, group stage, handball, jack mcinerney, Kaduna, korea republic, lone goal, Luis Gil, mattia, Mexico, natalino, Nick Palodichuk, perin, Pietro Iemmello, quarterfinals, straight trip, world championships, World Cup, zaveleta

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D.C. goes from winless to brink of quarterfinals

A year ago, D.C. United managed just one point in the CONCACAF Champions League group stage. Now it’s is on the verge of advancing to the knockout stage.

But to do so, it likely will need accomplish what no other Major League Soccer team has been able to – win in Mexico.

Tied with Marathon with nine points heading into the final round of the Group Stage, D.C. United heads to Estadio Nemesio Diez to face Group B leader Toluca on Tuesday. Los Diablos need a mere draw to become the fourth Mexican squad to advance to the quarterfinals.

D.C. could go through as long as it can equal whatever result Marathon gets against San Juan Jabloteh in Trinidad & Tobago.

D.C. United enters the pivotal match coming off a 1-0 win against the league-leading Columbus Crew Saturday at RFK Stadium, a result that kept D.C.’s playoff hopes alive. A few days being acquired on loan from the Portland Timbers of the United Soccer Leagues First Division, goalkeeper Steve Cronin made six saves to earn the shutout.

Luciano Emilio scored the game’s lone goal in the 10th minute for D.C., which is in a four-way tie for the eighth and final MLS Cup playoff berth.

“Steve did a great job. It’s always difficult coming into a new environment,” D.C. United coach Tom Soehn said. “Early in the week I recall him asking, ‘who’s he?’ and ‘who’s he?’ And you wouldn’t have guessed that today, because he really solidified things, made great decisions. He looks like he’s been with us all year.”

Toluca, comfortably atop Group 1 of the Mexican Apertura, played Tigres to a 1-1 draw on Saturday at home. Hector Mancilla put Toluca in front with a 66th-minute penalty kick, but Francisco Fonseca equalized with two minutes remaining.

“The team remains strong and is always looking to play good football and score goals,” Toluca coach Jose Manuel de la Torre said. “It was not easy against a team like Tigres, which also came to do their job.”

Marathon’s task is seemingly easier as it heads to Port-of-Spain on Thursday to face a Jabloteh side that is winless in the group stage. Marathon has enjoyed recent success in the Honduran Apertura, beating Real Juventud 3-2 on October 4 and winning 3-0 at home against Victoria three days later.

Jabloteh enter the match coming off a wild 5-4 win against Defence Force in the TT Pro League’s Big Six at Larry Gomes Stadium on Thursday.

Noel Williams, who opened his team’s scoring with a 14th-minute penalty kick, scored three more times in the last half hour –  twice in the last five minutes, as Jabloteh rallied from a 4-2 deficit.

The top two teams from Group B will advance to the quarterfinals. The knockout stage draw will take place on November 17 at CONCACAF’s headquarters in New York.

By Dylan Butler

Tags: champions league group, columbus crew, concacaf champions league, d c united, D.C., Dylan Butler, francisco fonseca, group stage, hector mancilla, jose manuel, knockout stage, Larry Gomes, lone goal, Major League Soccer, manuel de la torre, mexican apertura, Mexico, mls cup, Nemesio Diez, New York, Noel Williams, playoff berth, port of spain, Portland, portland timbers, rfk stadium, san juan, san juan jabloteh, score goals, Stage, steve cronin, Tobago, Tom Soehn, Trinidad, united soccer leagues, Victoria

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Algeria, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Tunisia target WC

Algeria, Cameroon, Ivory Coast and Tunisia could qualify for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa this weekend.

Ivory Coast need one point at bottom-of-the-table Malawi Saturday in Group E to clinch a second successive appearance at the quadrennial international football showpiece.

But the other three potential qualifiers need help if they are to realise the ultimate dream of every footballer and feature at the first World Cup hosted by Africa.

Algeria, who last played at the finals 23 years ago, can clinch top spot in Group C by securing a better result at home to Rwanda Sunday than African Nations Cup holders Egypt away to Zambia Saturday.

Cameroon, revitalised since the recent arrival of French coach Paul le Guen, will take an unassailable lead in Group A if they defeat Togo at home Saturday and Morocco triumph at second-placed Gabon the same day.

And Tunisia could qualify a record-equalling fourth consecutive time for an African team by beating Kenya in Rades Sunday if Nigeria do not collect maximum points when hosting Kenya in the other Group B fixture at the same time.

The other slot allocated to Africa has been filled by Ghana with Chelsea midfielder Michael Essien scoring the first goal in a 2-0 home victory over Sudan that assured an unassailable Group D advantage.

South Africa, who play friendlies in Norway Saturday and Iceland Tuesday, qualify automatically as hosts, giving Africa six finalists out of 32 for the first time.

Ivory Coast have been hard hit by injuries ahead of their match at the Kamuzu Stadium in Blantyre, losing Manchester City defender Kolo Toure, midfielder Cheik Tiote and strikers Kader Keita and Boubacar Sanogo.

But Chelsea strikers Didier Drogba and Salomon Kalou are available and the ‘Elephants’ should take at least one point off rivals they beat 5-0 last March in an Abidjan game marred by 20 overcrowding-related fatalities.

Hassan Yebda, scorer of the lone goal at Wolves last weekend that gave Portsmouth a first English Premiership victory of the season, and fellow midfielder Djamel Abdoune have received first call-ups from Algeria.

The France-born duo are the latest to benefit from a FIFA ruling allowing footballers to switch national allegiance after representing their country of origin at age-limit level.

Le Guen, who guided Lyon to four French titles in a row before experiencing less success with Glasgow Rangers and PSG, took Cameroon from the bottom to the top of Group A with home and away victories over Gabon last month.

His bold moves included demoting veteran defender and skipper Rigobert Song to the bench, giving Inter Milan star and three-time African Footballer of the Year Samuel Eto’o the armband, and recalling Spain-based striker Achille Webo.

Tunisia stayed two points ahead of Nigeria after snatching a 2-2 draw in Abuja last month and Portuguese coach Humberto Coelho has brought back France-born strikers Lassaad Nouioui and Jamel Saihi.

Germany-born coach Antoine Hey, who has managed just one win 10 2010 World Cup qualifiers with Liberia and Kenya, omitted best known striker Dennis Oliech for the match in Rades.

The final round of African fixtures is scheduled for Saturday November 14 and after tense climaxes to the last few World Cup qualifying tournaments, it would be a shock if all five places had already been filled.

While the five group winners go to South Africa for the June 11 to July 11 World Cup, the top three in each mini-league secure places at the 2010 African Nations Cup from January 10-31 in Angola.

JOHANNESBURG (AFP)

Tags: african nations cup, boubacar sanogo, city defender, coach paul, consecutive time, Drogba, french coach, home victory, international football, Ivory Coast, kader keita, lone goal, maximum points, Michael Essien, paul le guen, rades, recent arrival, revitalised, Salomon Kalou, showpiece

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Five CCL quarterfinal berths to be decided in last round

With three berths already clinched, the final five CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinal spots will be decided on the final matchday of the Group Stage.

Joining Cruz Azul in the knockout stage are fellow Mexican squads Pumas and Pachuca, while Toluca missed an opportunity to claim its place by losing 2-0 to Marathon in San Pedro Sula Thursday night.

Pumas, which sits atop Group D, advanced with a 2-1 win against W Connection Wednesday night in Mexico City. Paco Palencia and Oscar Rojas scored second-half goals for Pumas, which has earned a seeded quarterfinal berth as a result of winning the group.
The race for the second berth from Group D is wide open. Comunicaciones and Real Espana are level with six points apiece after five matches and W Connection has four points. On October 21, the Savonetta Boys host Real Espana, which snapped a three-game losing streak by beating Comunicaciones 2-0 on Wednesday night in San Pedro Sula.

Fredy Thompson’s own-goal and Carlos Pavon’s fourth goal of the tournament kept the Honduran side alive. Comunicaciones is home for Pumas on October 22.

In its first win against the Houston Dynamo at Robertson Stadium, Pachuca sealed a knockout stage berth with a 1-0 victory Wednesday night. Edgar Ramirez scored the lone goal for Los Tuzos, which leads Group A with 12 points.

“I am satisfied with my team’s performance tonight,” Pachuca coach Guillermo Rivarola said. “The team was smart and was able to dictate the rhythm of the game and that gave us a chance to take home the three points.”

Arabe Unido thrashed winless Metapan 6-0 Tuesday night to move a step closer to the quarterfinals. Orlando Rodriguez scored three goals and Camilo Aguirre added two for the Panamanian squad, which is three points ahead of the Houston Dynamo heading into the final day of the group stage.

The second berth will be decided on October 21 when Arabe Unido and Pachuca meet in Estadio Hidalgo, while Houston travels to El Salvador to take on Metapan.

“Overall I was happy with the way the guys played,” Houston coach Dominic Kinnear said. “[The loss] puts us in a difficult position. We know what we have to do now, go to El Salvador and win and hope that Pachuca beat Arabe Unido.”

The Columbus Crew was minutes away from clinching a berth in the quarterfinals, but Alexander Robinson scored a dramatic second-half stoppage time equalizer for Deportivo Saprissa in a 1-1 draw at Crew Stadium Tuesday night.

“It was live or die,” Saprissa coach Jeaustin Campos said. “We tried to move forward and made substitutes to try to score and we gave them a lot of space. Sometimes we showed some weakness in the defense but that’s what we had to do to play for the tie.”

The Crew is second in Group C with seven points, two in front of Saprissa while the Puerto Rico Islanders, a surprise semifinalist a year ago, was eliminated from advancement with a 2-0 loss at Estadio Azul Tuesday night.

On Oct.ober20, Columbus can advance with a draw against Puerto Rico in Bayamon, while Saprissa is home for Cruz Azul.

“We still have a chance,” Columbus coach Robert Warzycha said. “It’s going to be an important game in Puerto Rico. The guys know that.”

Toluca is three points clear of both D.C. United and Marathon in Group B, but failed to become the fourth Mexican team to
advance to the knockout stages when Marathon handed Diablos Rojos its first loss of the group stage on Thursday.

Walter Martinez and Carlos Mejia scored first-half goals for Marathon, which travels to Trinidad to take on winless San Juan Jabloteh on October 22. Christian Gomez and Boyzzz Khumalo scored two goals apiece and Fred scored the other goal to lead D.C. United to a 5-1 thumping of Jabloteh on Wednesday night at RFK Stadium.

D.C. heads to Nemesio Diaz to take on Toluca on October 20 and could potentially go through as long as they match Marathon’s result. A year ago, the Major League Soccer team had just one point from six group stage matches.

“This year we’ve treated the game very importantly, no matter who is on the field,” D.C. coach Tommy Soehn said. “We’ve taken the time to make sure we understand what the games are about. It’s never easy with all the travel, but still understanding that we’re looking to qualify and now we’ve put ourselves in a good way to do that.”

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Tags: Carlos Pavon, concacaf champions league, cruz azul, fredy thompson, game losing streak, houston dynamo, lone goal, los tuzos, matchday, night in mexico, oscar rojas, pachuca, Paco Palencia, pumas, rivarola, robertson stadium, san pedro sula

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Toluca, Marathon battle for Group B lead

It’s still early in the CONCACAF Champions League group stage, but a battle for Group B supremacy will take place at Nemesio Diaz as Toluca host Marathon on Thursday night.

Both teams have won their first two matches and are two of four teams among the final 16 to have secured the full six points from their first two matches.

Toluca comes into the match off a 1-0 victory against Indios in Ciudad Juarez in the Mexican Apertura on Saturday. Chilean Hector Mancilla scored the game’s lone goal, heading in Antonio Naelson’s cross two minutes before halftime.
Indios, which was reduced to 10 men in the 63rd minute when Juan Ramon Curbelo was sent off for a late challenge on Naelson, had an equalizer disallowed by the referee in the second half.

Toluca is eight points clear of San Luis in Apertura’s Group 1 and is atop the entire league with six wins in its first eight matches.

But Los Choriceros also received a bit of bad news Saturday when goalkeeper Hernan Cristante was replaced in the final quarter hour after suffering a dislocated patella in his left knee.

Marathon also sits atop the Honduran Apertura, two points clear of rival Olimpia after 10 rounds. Mitchell Brown struck for a pair to lift Marathon to a 2-0 win at Hispano on Saturday, stretching his team’s league unbeaten streak to four straight.

In what is essentially an elimination match, D.C. United travels to Trinidad & Tobago to take on San Juan Jabloteh in a meeting of winless teams in Group B at Hasley Crawford Stadium Tuesday night in Port-of-Spain.

D.C., which secured just one point in last year’s group stage, will be playing its third match in six days. On Wednesday, United defeated the Kansas City Wizards 1-0 with Luciano Emilio scoring his ninth goal of the year.

On Saturday,however , D.C. fell to the Seattle Sounders FC for the second time in 10 days at RFK Stadium with Colombian Fredy Montero striking the decisive goal six minutes from full time. Montero also scored the winning goal in a 1-0 victory in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup final, a win that clinched the Sounders FC berth in next year’s CONCACAF Champions League.

It was D.C.’s first Major League Soccer home loss of the season.

Jabloteh is currently second in the Digicel Pro League, two points behind Joe Public. The two sides played to a goalless draw on Tuesday. Jabloteh bolstered its defense by adding Glenton Wolfe from W Connection, where he was used mostly for the Savonetta Boys reserves.

However, having been listed on W Connection’s roster as far back as the Preliminary Round, he is ineligible to play for Jabloteh in the Champions League this season.

“I want to be more active,” Wolfe told the Digicel Pro League website. “I wasn’t getting that at Connection.”

By Dylan Butler

Tags: Antonio Naelson, champions league group, ciudad juarez, concacaf champions league, Crawford Stadium, curbelo, decisive goal, dislocated patella, Dylan Butler, entire league, group stage, hasley crawford, hector mancilla, joe public, juan ramon, Juan Ramon Curbelo, Kansas City, kansas city wizards, Lamar Hunt, lone goal, luciano emilio, mexican apertura, mitchell brown, nemesio, Nemesio Diaz, ninth goal, port of spain, rfk stadium, san juan, san juan jabloteh, seattle sounders, Tobago, Trinidad, U.S., W. Connection

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US and T&T move in opposite directions

Two teams going opposite directions will meet in a World Cup qualifier in Port of Spain Wednesday night.

On one side, the United States comes to Trinidad & Tobago off a come-from-behind victory against El Salvador in Sandy, Utah, Saturday night, a win that puts the Americans level on points with Honduras atop the final hexagonal group. Los Catrachos, though, have the edge on goal differential.

Clint Dempsey and Jozy Altidore struck late in the first half for the United States after Christian Castillo put El Salvador in front on 32 minutes, capitalizing on a defensive miscue at Rio Tinto Stadium.

While the United States is all but a lock to advance to a sixth straight World Cup, the Soca Warriors dreams of returning to the tournament are all but dashed after a 4-1 loss to Honduras on Saturday night in San Pedro Sula.

Kerry Baptiste scored the lone goal for T&T, which is tied with El Salvador with five points from seven matches, alone in last on goal differential.

While their spirits are low, Trinidad coach Russell Latapy said his team’s goals have not changed.

“We know that we’re in a very difficult situation right now, but again, we have to represent our country with pride and desire,” Latapy told the media following Monday night’s training session at Hasely Crawford Stadium. “In saying that, we want to win the last few games that we have.”

A loss to the United States would mathematically eliminate the Soca Warriors.

“We’re in a situation (where) in order to qualify we have to win our three games and we have to depend on other results from the other teams, so it makes it very difficult,” Latapy said. “Again, we’re playing at home and we’re going to play to win and we’re going to look at the other results and play all the games to win and see where that leads us.”

United States goalkeeper Tim Howard isn’t sure what to expect from the Soca Warriors or the home fans Wednesday night.

“I don’t think anybody gives up, but obviously it’s deflating for them,” he said. “It’s still a home game and you wonder how their crowd will react to them. Will they get on their backs or will they give them a lift? It’s tough to say. I think the best thing for us is to go down there with the right focus and the right mindset.”

Indeed, the sole focus for the Americans is on securing three points and moving atop the group.

“They’re playing at home so they’ll have some pride,” Altidore said. “It’s hard to know what to expect, but we can’t really worry about that. We have to go and try to win the game.”

By Dylan Butler

Tags: Christian Castillo, Clint Dempsey, coach russell, Crawford Stadium, defl, Dylan Butler, El Salvador, hasely crawford stadium, home fans, Honduras, jozy altidore, Kerry, lone goal, miscue, playing at home, port of spain, Rio, rio tinto, russell latapy, san pedro sula, Sandy, sandy utah, soca warriors, straight world, t amp, three games, tim howard, Tobago, U.S., United States, Utah, world cup qualifier

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Ching lifts Dyanmo past Metapan 1-0

Second half substitute Brian Ching scored the lone goal in the 68th minute to lift the Houston Dynamo to a 1-0 victory against Metapan of El Salvador in a Group A CONCACAF Champions League match Wednesday night at Robertson Stadium.

Seven minutes after replacing Adi Akinbiyi, the United States international struck for the game’s lone goal. The Hawaiian pushed a well-timed through ball by Stuart Holden, who came on at halftime, past charging Metapan goalkeeper Alvaro Alfaro.

Holden injected much-needed life in the attacking third for the Dynamo, which had nothing to show for their dominance in first-half possession. The midfielder, who had a breakout performance for the United States at the CONCACAF Gold Cup, replaced Brad Davis at halftime.

Houston will head to Panama to take on Arabe Unido on the second day of the group stage next Wednesday, while Metapan head to Mexico to face Pachuca on Tuesday night.

HOUSTON

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Tags: adi, brad davis, breakout performance, brian ching, concacaf champions league, concacaf gold cup, dominance, El Salvador, Goalkeeper, group stage, holden, Houston, houston dynamo, houston source, lone goal, metapan, Mexico, midfielder, pachuca, Panama, Stuart Holden, tuesday night, United States, united states international, wednesday night

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Beckham ready to turn other cheek to abusive fans

David Beckham says after two clashes with abusive football fans just days apart, he’s ready to turn the other cheek and walk away if it happens again.

“He insulted my wife,” Beckham said of a spectator at recent MLS game in Kansas City. “If you insult my family members I am going to stick up for my wife and family.

“But if it happens again I wouldn’t even look at him. It is not worth the time and energy.”

Beckham was speaking following the Galaxy’s 2-1 international friendly loss to FC Barcelona in front of a crowd of 93,137 at the Rose Bowl stadium. It was the largest crowd to watch a football match in America in 15 years since the United States hosted the World Cup.

The booing of Beckham by Los Angeles Galaxy fans continued at Saturday’s match as large sections of the sold out crowd jeered him from the opening introduction.

They continued in the second half despite his strong play and Beckham having scored the lone goal for the Galaxy against the Spanish powerhouse Barcelona.

Beckham has incurred the wrath of Galaxy fans who feel he is overpaid and don’t like his sidetrips to Europe to play for other teams.

Beckham downplayed the booing on Saturday, saying just a small percentage of the fans at the Rose Bowl were making most of the noise.

Still it was enough to cause MLS commissioner Don Garber to feel the need to speak out in his defence.

“It has got to be an emotional time for David,” said Garber, who fined Beckham 1,000 dollars for the first incident with fans. “The opposite of love is not hate. It is indifference.

“I don’t support the way they (Galaxy fans) have treated him. We need to start to put all this behind us.”

Said Beckham, “Quite a few are still reacting the way they react. But out of 93,000 people you have 95 or 97 percent who are incredible. Then you have the odd minority but that is life.”

Beckham’s goal on a free kick just before half pulled the Galaxy even at 1-1.

“I hit the sweet spot. When you know it is going in, it’s a good feeling,” Beckham said.

The boos continued in the second half but by then the pro-Beckham side at the Rose Bowl had started to make their voices heard. Beckham came out of the game in 87th minute to mixture of boos and cheers.

Despite the run ins with American fans and the difficulty of travelling back and forth between continents, Beckham said Saturday he would return to the Galaxy for another season.

“I am contracted to the Galaxy and the MLS and I will be here next year,” he said.

This is not the first time Beckham had drawn the wrath of football fans. After England’s 1998 World Cup elimination game, he was blasted after receiving a red card in the second round loss to Argentina.

“Back in 1998 it was 100 times worse and it affected me 100 times worse. This is nothing,” Beckham said.

LOS ANGELES (AFP)

Tags: Argentina, Barcelona, booing, clashes, David, David Beckham, don garber, emotional time, England, football fans, football match, free kick, indifference, Kansas City, lone goal, Los Angeles, los angeles galaxy, opening introduction, other cheek, powerhouse, rose bowl, rose bowl stadium, spectator, sweet spot, United States, World Cup, wrath

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W Connection routs Bath Estate 12-1 to advance in Caribbean club championship

NEW YORK – Andre Toussaint and Matthew Bartholemew scored three goals each to lead W Connection of Trinidad to a 12-1 victory over Bath Estate of Dominica on Wednesday and place in the second round of the Caribbean Club Champions Cup.

W Connection was joined by Inter Moengo Tapoe of Suriname, which despite a 1-0 loss at home to CSD Barber of the Netherlands Antilles on Wednesday, advanced to the second round on a 3-2 aggregate score.

Jonathan Frias scored twice in the first seven minutes for W Connection, which won the first leg in Dominca 5-0 and advanced on a 17-1 aggregate.

W Connection next plays the winner between SA Cavaly of Haiti and SV Britannia of Aruba. Cavaly won its home leg 5-0 on Sunday and will play the second leg in Aruba on Monday.

Inter advances to play San Juan Jabloteh of Trinidad, which was seeded into the second round by virtue of reaching the semifinals the last time the tournament was held in 2007.

Besides Toussaint, who is a member of the Trinidad & Tobago national team player pool, Bartholemew and Frias, W Connection also got goals from Gerard Williams, Christian Viveros, Eder Aras and Kerron Smith.

Kurlson Benjamin had Bath Estate’s lone goal in the 26th after W Connection already had built a 3-0 lead.

In Suriname, Vaylison Lake gave CSD Barber hope with a goal in the 14th minute, and the Dutch Antilles’ club’s prospects improved further with the 21st-minute ejection of Inter’s Brayon Damba. But it failed to generate another goal and was eliminated.

Three first-round series remain undecided. Besides Cavaly-Britannia, Sevilla FC of Puerto Rico heads to Antigua to face the Greenbay Hoppers on Sunday after they two drew their first leg 3-3, and Tempete FC of Haiti hosts Alpha United of Guyana, also on Sunday, after they drew their first leg 1-1.

The second-round matches are set for April 13 and April 20, with the single-game semifinals scheduled for May 15 in Trinidad and the championship and third-place match two days later in Trinidad.

The CFU Club Champions Cup will qualify three teams for next season’s CONCACAF Champions League.

CFU Club Champions Cup

Results and Schedule

First Round

First Leg

Wednesday, March 18

Bath Estate (Dominica) 0, W Connection (Trinidad) 5

CSD Barber (Netherlands Antilles) 1, Inter Moengo Tapoe (Suriname) 3

Saturday, March 21

Alpha United (Guyana) 1, Tempete FC (Haiti) 1

Sevilla FC (Puerto Rico) 3, Greenbay Hoppers (Antigua) 3

Sunday, March 22

SA Cavaly (Haiti) 5, SV Britannia (Aruba) 0

Second Leg

Wednesday, March 25

W Connection (Trinidad) 12, Bath Estate (Dominica) 1

(W Connection advances on 17-1 aggregate)

Inter Moengo Tapoe (Suriname) 0, CSD Barber (Antigua) 1

(Inter advances on 3-2 aggregate)

Sunday, March 29

Tempete FC (Haiti) vs. Alpha United (Guyana)

Greenbay Hoppers (Antigua) vs. Sevilla FC (Puerto Rico)

Monday, March 30

SV Britannia (Aruba) vs. SA Cavaly (Haiti)

Second Round

First Leg: April 13

Second Leg: April 20

*San Juan Jabloteh (Trinidad) vs. Moengo Tapoe (Suriname

*Greenbay-Sevilla winner vs. Tampete-Alpha United winner

*W Connection (Trindad) vs. Cavaly-Britannia winner

*hosts first leg

Semifinal winners and the Puerto Rico Islanders will be drawn for single-game semifinals after the second round is complete. The semifinals will be played May 15 in Trinidad, which also will stage the final and third-place match two days later.

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Tags: aggregate score, Alpha United, Andre Toussaint, Antigua, aras, Aruba, bartholemew, Benjamin, britannia, Caribbean, caribbean club, CFU, champions cup, Christian Viveros, club champions, CONCACAF Champions' Cup, damba, dutch antilles, frias, gerard williams, Guyana, Haiti, home leg, hoppers, Jonathan Frias, lone goal, Matthew Bartholemew, Netherlands Antilles, New York, player pool, Puerto Rico, san juan, san juan jabloteh, SEVILLA, sevilla fc, Suriname, Tobago, toussaint, Trinidad, viveros, W, W. Connection

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