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Auxerre coach Fernandez gets head for heights

Auxerre coach Jean Fernandez was finding it hard to come to terms with seeing his side take control of the French first division at the weekend.

Auxerre capitalised on slip-ups by Lyon and Bordeaux to move into a clear lead on Saturday.

Lyon were held to a 1-1 draw at Grenoble while champions Bordeaux were downed 1-0 at home by Valenciennes.

That left the stage clear for Auxerre to leapfrog this duo with a result against Monaco in the evening game and the former titleholders duly produced the goods with a 2-0 win.

Mali international Adama Coulibaly gave the Burgundy side the lead in first half injury time and Delvin Ndinga put the result beyond reach of Monaco two minutes from the whistle.

That lifted Auxerre up from third to first with 26 points, with Bordeaux edging Lyon for second on goal difference on 25 points.

Former Marseille coach Fernandez has endured a tough couple of seasons at the helm of Auxerre, but with this result it appears the club is being repaid for showing their faith in him when the going was tough.

“At the end of the match I almost had to pinch myself because I didn’t know if we would go top or not,” said Fernandez, who has also spent time coach clubs in Saudi Arabia and Tunisia.

“But that’s not the important thing. We still had to come out and get the job done against Monaco, who have quality both at the individual and collective levels.

“Being league leaders suits us fine. We’ve got a team that’s confident, tight and our main objective is just to keep collecting the points.”

It was Monaco coach Guy Lacombe who informed Fernandez of Auxerre’s jump up to first spot, but Lacombe had less kind words for his side.

“I’m not happy at all with the match, or my players,” he said.

“Although we played better in the second half we didn’t live up to my expectations.”

Despite recent setbacks, Monaco are only three points behind champions Bordeaux, who fell behind to a seventh minute strike from French-born Mali international Mamadou Samassa.

Laurent Blanc’s side failed to overcome that early shock, which left them with their first defeat at the hands of Valenciennes on home turf since 1976.

The northern side’s reward was a jump up to sixth.

On Sunday Lorient’s 2-0 away win at Saint Etienne put them fourth, with Nice, 1-0 winners over Toulouse, 1-0, ninth.

Sunday’s late match saw Montpellier dish out a 2-0 beating at home to Lille to move up three places to fifth.

On Saturday although Grenoble’s Laurent Courtois was sent off in the 70th minute Lyon were unable to make the most of their numerical advantage.

Argentina winger Cesar Delgado put the former multiple champions into a 66th minute lead only for Danijel Ljuboja to level seven minutes later.

Both Bordeaux (Juventus) and Lyon (Florentina) are in Champions League group action this week with qualification to the next round already assured.

On Friday a first-half goal from Gabriel Heinze vaulted Marseille back into the French title race, securing a 1-0 win at the Stade Velodrome over Paris St Germain.

That put Didier Deschamps men in seventh on 22 points, four shy of Auxerre.

PARIS (AFP)

Tags: adama coulibaly, auxerre, burgundy, collective levels, delvin, goal difference, Grenoble, Guy Lacombe, injury time, jean fernandez, league leaders, main objective, mamadou, monaco coach, saudi arabia, setbacks, slip ups, time coach, ups, valenciennes

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PSG duo tested for swine flu

Two players of Paris St Germain have undergone tests for swine flu, football officials said on Saturday casting doubts over Sunday’s league game at Marseille.

Winger Ludovic Guily and defender Mamadou Sakho have been been unwell with fly symptoms for the last two days and they were tested on Friday afternoon.

“We should have the results on Saturday morning and we will decide how to proceed with the match during the afternoon,” the French Football League said in a statement.

There have been isolated cases of swine flu among professional footballers in France but as yet no top level game has been called off as a precautionary measure.

PARIS (AFP)

Tags: doubts, flu, fly, football officials, France, french football league, friday afternoon, Germain, guily, league game, level game, Ludovic Guily, mamadou, Marseille, match, PARIS, paris st germain, precautionary measure, professional footballers, psg, saturday morning, swine flu, winger

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Marseille suffer in shock defeat

Marseille’s build-up to their crucial Champions League assignment at mighty Real Madrid in midweek suffered an embarrassing setback on Saturday when they slumped to a 3-2 defeat at humble Valenciennes, twice surrendering a lead.

The defeat also cost Didier Deschamps’s team the chance to take over top spot in the French first division.

They remain in third place, two points behind leaders and champions Bordeaux, who tackle Rennes on Sunday while Lyon can go top later Saturday with victory over Toulouse.

Former Real Madrid and Liverpool striker Fernando Morientes started his first match for Marseille since his summer switch from Valencia and the former Spanish international star opened the scoring in the 13th minute after good work by Lucho and Brandao.

Milan Bisevac levelled for Valenciennes seven minutes later after Marseille goalkeeper Steve Mandanda could only parry a sharp drive from Rafael.

Mamadou Niang restored Marseille’s lead in the 22nd minute after a corner from Benoit Cheyrou wasn’t cleared.

In the 28th minute Valenciennes, who thumped Sochaux 5-2 last weekend, were level for the second time with David Ducourtioux planting a diving header past Mandanda.

The match looked to be heading for a draw until Brazilian defender Rafael headed Valenciennes’ winner seven minutes from time.

Unheralded Montpellier share third spot with Marseille after Nenad Dzodic headed a 78th-minute winner at home to promoted Boulogne for a 1-0 win.

Paris St Germain, held to a home 1-1 draw by Lyon last week, lost further ground in the title race when they drew 1-1 at Lorient.

Arnold Mvuemba gave Lorient a 40th-minute lead but Guillaume Hoarau levelled for PSG in first-half injury-time.

Monaco are just behind PSG in seventh place on goal difference after losing 2-1 at home to Saint Etienne for whom Argentine striker Gonzalo Bergessio scored a last-minute goal.

Hapless Grenoble suffered their seventh defeat in seven outings and are rooted to the bottom of the table without a point.

PARIS (AFP)

Tags: benoit cheyrou, brandao, didier deschamps, fernando morientes, goal difference, injury time, international star, Lucho, mamadou, minute goal, minute winner, paris st germain, psg, real madrid, saint etienne, sochaux, Steve Mandanda, summer switch, valenciennes

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Ghana qualify for 2010 World Cup finals

Chelsea midfielder Michael Essien scored as Ghana defeated Sudan 2-0 in Accra Sunday to become the first African qualifiers for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

Inter Milan midfielder Sulley Muntari gave the ‘Black Stars’ an early lead and Essien added a second soon after half-time, unleashing a drive that flew into the net at the near post.

The result coupled with closest challengers Benin and Mali drawing 1-1 in Cotonou a few hours earlier left a Ghana side boasting a 100 percent record with an unassailable seven-point Group D advantage.

“It was so important to win, regardless of how we achieved the result. It is still special for us professionals to return home and bring joy to the people of Ghana,” Essien told reporters.

“Teamwork brought us success as in previous qualifiers. The side did not feel under pressure because we are used to playing in front of packed crowds like the one in Accra tonight.

“The people of Ghana wanted us to win and we did not let them down. What a fantastic feeling to be the first African country to qualify for the first World Cup to be staged in Africa.”

Serbia-born coach Milovan Rajevac said: “It is a priceless honour for my players to represent their country and qualify for the World Cup.

“This team is very hungry to go to the finals again. My players are aware of what they can achieve and have the quality to go far. I always believed we would qualify and am very confident about the future.”

It will be the second successive World Cup appearance for Ghana, who did best of the five African teams in Germany three years ago by reaching the knockout second round before losing 3-0 to defending champions Brazil.

A quarter of the 32 qualifiers for the first World Cup are known with Ghana joining Australia, Brazil, Japan, Netherlands, North Korea, South Korea and hosts South Africa.

Mali had threatened to put the Accra celebrations on hold by taking the lead through former France youth international Mamadou Samassa on 71 minutes only for Mohamed Aoudou to equalise three minutes from full-time.

Tunisia snatched a 2-2 draw in Nigeria thanks to an 90th-minute Oussama Darragi goal in a top-of-the-table Group B clash and maintained a two-point advantage with two rounds left in October and November.

A capacity 60,000 crowd saw Osaze Odemwingie fire the ‘Super Eagles’ into the lead via a close-range shot midway through the first half only for Nabil Taider to level soon after.

Tunisia-based Michael Eneramo poked a a cross into the net 10 minutes from full-time to put the home team ahead again only for club mate Darragi to fire a Haitham Mrabet pass into the net from an acute angle.

Mozambique edged Kenya 1-0 in the same mini-league courtesy of a goal midway through the second half from veteran South Africa-based striker Manuel ‘Tico Tico’ Bucuane.

Tunisia have eight points, Nigeria six, Mozambique four and Kenya three with the leaders chasing a fourth consecutive appearance at the quadrennial showcase of international football.

Adel Taarabt scored two minutes into stoppage time as Morocco were rewarded for some enterprising second-half play with a 1-1 draw away to Togo in a Group A clash.

Togo led from the fourth minute through Moustapaha Salifou as they returned to Lome after a three-match ban following post-match violence at a 2008 African Nations Cup qualifier.

Gabon have six points, Togo five, Cameroon four and Morocco three although the ‘Indomitable Lions’ have a chance to go top Wednesday when they host the surprise pacesetters in Yaounde.

The five group winners qualify for the World Cup in South Africa between June 11 and July 11 and the top three finishers in each mini-league secure places at the Nations Cup five months earlier with hosts Angola.

JOHANNESBURG (AFP)

Tags: black stars, challengers, crowds, drawing 1, inter milan, knockout, korea south, mamadou, Michael Essien, midfielder, mohamed, North Korea, people of ghana, point group, seven point, south korea, sulley muntari, taking the lead, world cup appearance

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Nantes striker Bagayoko suspended for six weeks

PARIS (AFP) – Nantes striker Mamadou Bagayoko has been suspended for six weeks by the French football league disciplinary commission for pushing the referee in their weekend match at home to Monaco, it was announced on Thursday.

In the 77th minute of Saturday’s match, Bagayoko tussled with referee Eric Poulat while he was trying to give the player a yellow card for dissent. The official then brought out his red card to send the player off.

Pascal Garibian, president of the disciplinary commission, said: "The commission has looked into the facts of the incident and whether there was physical contact with the referee, either pushing, manhandling or making him fall over.

"Contact was established, the push was established and the player has been suspended for six weeks, starting from Monday. The player will be able to play again on March 2."

Written by: AFP

Tags: AFP, disciplinary commission, dissent, Eric Poulat, football, french football league, Ligue 1, mamadou, mamadou bagayoko, match, Monaco, Nantes, PARIS, pascal, Pascal Garibian, referee, six weeks, striker, yellow card

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Gourcuff magic for Bordeaux heats up title battle

PARIS (AFP) – Magical Yoann Gourcuff led Bordeaux to a 4-0 thrashing of Paris Saint Germain on Sunday night to open their 2009 league programme on a high and give warning to French league leaders Lyon.

Bordeaux now lie just one point behind the seven-time reigning champions after controlling a match which was peppered with classy goals to inflict PSG’s first defeat since losing to Rennes at the end of November.

First off was Souleymane Diawara who got on the end of a Gourcuff freekick on the left after 10 minutes to glance home a header into the top right hand corner leaving PSG keeper Mickael Landreau no chance.

Laurent Blanc’s men, exuding confidence, mustered another touch of excellence when Fernando Cavenaghi beat defender Zoumana Camara to a Mathieu Chalme long ball to fire home left-footed inside Landreau’s right hand post in the 35th minute.

Bordeaux’s impressive performance for their fourth consecutive league victory stood in contrast to their 1-0 home defeat to St Etienne in the French Cup last weekend.

From then on, it was all Bordeaux who rounded off the scoring in the 70th and 87th minutes through Gourcuff and Fernando though PSG’s Stephane Sessegnon had hit the post midway through the second half.

Bordeaux’s match played in cold but not freezing conditions contrasted with Saturday’s action which saw two matches cancelled because of the wintry weather.

Marseille president Pape Diouf had even wanted his match at Auxerre postponed just before kick-off, making his views clear in front of television cameras, but was surely appeased when Mamadou Samassa and Mathieu Valbuena scored either side of the break for a 2-0 victory.

Before the match, Diouf told Auxerre president Jean-Claude Hamel that he did not want to play on a frozen pitch.

"You can’t play on this pitch. If you want the three points, I give them to you," Diouf told Hamel in front of TV cameras.

Nancy versus Nice and Le Mans against Lille were called off on Saturday while Valenciennes versus Caen was postponed on Friday following a week-long controversy over the kick-off times of 2000GMT on a weekend where temperatures plunged below freezing.

Six fixtures were played on Saturday however and leaders Lyon maintained their lead following a 1-1 draw at home to Lorient, with Honorato Ederson scoring an early goal for the champions though Fabrice Abriel equalised minutes before the break.

Moussa Sow’s goal earned Rennes a 1-0 victory over Grenoble to propel them into provisional second spot before Bordeaux upstaged them to regain the position 24 hours later.

And Toulouse beat nine-man Le Havre 1-0, Nantes won 2-1 at Monaco and Sochaux had a 1-0 victory over St Etienne.

Written by: AFP

Tags: AFP, Bordeaux, consecutive league, diawara, Diouf, Fabrice Abriel, Fernando, Fernando Cavenaghi, freekick, french cup, french league, Germain, Grenoble, impressive performance, Jean-Claude, laurent blanc, Le, Le Havre, league leaders, league victory, Ligue 1, Lille, Lorient, Lyon, mamadou, Mans, Marseille, Mathieu Chalme, Mathieu Valbuena, mickael landreau, Monaco, Nancy, Nantes, Nice, pape diouf, PARIS, paris saint germain, Rennes, sochaux, st etienne, stephane sessegnon, television cameras, Toulouse, tv cameras, valbuena, wintry weather, yoann gourcuff, Zoumana

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