PSV jump to top in Eredivisie

January 20, 2010

PSV Eindhoven are the new leaders in the Dutch Eredivisie following a narrow win at Roda JC on Tuesday.

As FC Twente dropped two points at FC Utrecht two days earlier, PSV knew that a win would allow them to jump into shared first place.

And Fred Rutten’s men needed just one goal to achieve just that, with Danny Koevermans netting the winner in the last minute before the interval.

PSV now have the same amount of points at Twente, but their goal record is significantly better.

Tags: danny koevermans, Dutch, dutch eredivisie, Eindhoven, Eredivisie, fc twente, fc utrecht, Fred Rutten, interval, last minute, new leaders, PSV, psv eindhoven, Roda, rutten, twente, utrecht

Kayserispor jump to top in Turkey

December 7, 2009

Kayserispor are the surprising new leaders in the Turkish Super Lig, following a 3-0 win over Bursaspor on Sunday.

After Fenerbahce’s 2-1 defeat at Eskisehirspor a day earlier, several clubs had a chance to jump into first place.

Galatasaray were the principal candidates to do so but were held to a 1-1 draw by Istanbul BB in a city derby. A goal from Harry Kewell in the 56th minute seemed to be enough for Galatasaray to secure the points, but Hasan Durtuluk silenced the home crowd with a 90th-minute equaliser.

Bursaspor were next in line to threaten Fenerbahce’s lead, but instead lost 3-0 to Kayserispor who now occupy the top spot based on goal record.

Omer Sismanoglu put the home side ahead after nine minutes, and goals from Ariza Makukula in the 32nd and 55th minute gave Kayserispor a comfortable win.

Kayserispor, Fenerbahce and Besiktas all have 31 points from 15 games, but Kayserispor’s goal record is the better of the three.

Tags: bb, besiktas, bursaspor, fenerbahce, galatasaray, harry kewell, hasan, Hasan Durtuluk, home crowd, Istanbul, kayserispor, makukula, new leaders, Omer Sismanoglu, principal candidates, Turkey

Anderlecht jump to top in Belgium

November 9, 2009

Anderlecht are the new leaders in the Belgian Pro League following a 0-2 win at Gent, while Club Brugge crashed to a 3-1 defeat at defending champions Standard Liege.

Ondrej Mazuch put Anderlecht in the lead after 23 minutes at Genk, and Romelo Lukaku added a second and final goal in the dying minutes.

As Brugge lost their match at Standard, Anderlecht surpass their traditional rivals and are now two points ahead.

Milan Jovanovic scored two goals in the first 15 minutes to lead Standard to a comfortable lead over Brugge, and Axel Witsel added a third with about ten minutes left in the first half.

Club’s Karel Geraerts pulled one back in the 78th minute, but it wasn’t nearly enough for his team to avoid the defeat.

Jonathan Roorda

Tags: 15 minutes, anderlecht, Axel Witsel, Belgium, border, brugge, club brugge, defeat, gent, jonathan, Jonathan Roorda, Jovanovic, jump, karel geraerts, Liege, Lukaku, match, Milan, milan jovanovic, new leaders, Ondrej Mazuch, team, traditional rivals

UAE beat Honduras and advance to round of sixteen

October 1, 2009

The United Arab Emirates are the new leaders in Group F of the World Youth Championship and secured a spot in the next round thanks to Wednesday’s 1-0 win over Honduras.

Honduras went into this game with a 3-0 win over Hungary in the pocket, and looked to secure qualification for the round of sixteen against UAE.

Things went quite different at Alexandria Stadium however. UAE were awarded a free kick in the 41st minute and 18-year-old Ahmed Khalil directed it past keeper Reyes for what turned out to be the only goal.

For Honduras, things got worse in the fifth minute of extra time when Reinieri Mayorquin conceded a second yellow card. The midfielder will therefore miss Saturday’s crucial match against South Africa.

Jonathan Roorda

Tags: Ahmed, Ahmed Khalil, alexandria, Alexandria Stadium, extra time, free kick, game, Honduras, Hungary, jonathan, match, midfielder, new leaders, Reyes, roorda, South Africa, UAE, united arab emirates, world youth championship, yellow card

Sivasspor lose Turkish lead to Besiktas

May 10, 2009

with three matches to play in the Turkish league, Besiktas are the new leaders as Sivasspor crashed to a 1-2 defeat by Istanbul BB.

Sivasspor had a one-point lead over Besiktas to defend but couldn’t live up to expectations in their home match with Istanbul. Gokhan Kaba scored in the 8th and 17th minutes to give the away side a comfortable lead and although Herve Tum got one back on 75 minutes, it wasn’t enough for the hosts to earn even one point.

Besiktas visited BB Ankaraspor and took the lead through Filip Holosko in the 29th minute. Ediz Bahtiyaroglu levelled in the 62nd but Besiktas went on to score through Ibrahim Toraman, Bobo and Rodrigo Tello for a comfortable 1-4 win.

As a result, Besiktas are now two points ahead of Sivasspor who have three games left to reconquer their lead.

Written by: Jonathan Roorda

Tags: ankaraspor, bb, besiktas, bobo, Filip Holosko, gokhan, Herve Tum, home match, hosts, ibrahim toraman, Istanbul, Jonathan Roorda, kaba, new leaders, rodrigo, rodrigo tello, sivasspor, Turkcell Süper Lig, turkish league

Besiktas come back from behind to beat Kocaelispor

April 11, 2009

Besiktas are the new leaders in the Turkish league, at least for a day, following a 1-3 victory at Kocaelispor on Friday.

Kocaelispor did take an early lead as Akeem Agbetu scored in the second minute, but Besiktas fought themselves back late in the second half.

Tomas Zapotocny scored from the spot to level on 75 minutes and Deivson Bobo put the Istanbul outfit ahead ten minutes later. Yusuf Simsek made it 1-3 on 89 minutes.

Besiktas now have two more points than Sivasspor, who host Antalyaspor on Saturday.

Written by: Jonathan Roorda

Tags: Agbetu, Akeem, antalyaspor, bobo, Deivson, Istanbul, kocaelispor, new leaders, second half, sivasspor, Tomas Zapotocny, Turkcell Süper Lig, turkish league, victory, Yusuf Simsek

Anderlecht stay on top as Standard lose

March 23, 2009

RSC Anderlecht remain in first place in the Belgian league as Standard de Liege crashed to a 1-0 defeat by Charleroi SC this Sunday.

The winning goal was scored in the 42nd minute and came from Abdelmajid Oulmers.

Anderlecht beat Germinal Beerschot a day earlier and are the official new leaders as result. The Brussels outfit have two more points than Standard with seven matches to go.

It does seem likely that both these side are to secure a Champions League preliminary round ticket, as third-place Brugge trail Standard by eight points.

Written by: Jonathan Roorda

Tags: Abdelmajid, belgian league, Belgium, brugge, brussels, champions league, charleroi, Germinal, goal, Liege, minute, new leaders, official, Oulmers, RSC, side, Standard, standard de liege, Sunday, ticket, trail

Belgium: Standard Liege take the lead

March 16, 2009

Standard de Liege are the new leaders in the Belgian league following Sunday’s 2-0 win over Genk. Previous leaders Anderlecht lost to KV Mechelen on Friday.

As Anderlecht failed to live up to expectations at Mechelen and lost 2-1, Standard had a perfect opportunity to move into first position.

Against KRC Genk, Standard needed 45 minutes for Axel Witsel to open the score and Ivan de Camargo made it 2-0 shortly before the end. Genk’s Davino Verhulst was sent off in the 75th minute.

Club Brugge were handed yet another major blow, losing 1-4 to KAA Gent. Maric, Ljubijankic (2) and Ruiz scored for the away side, while only Akpala did so for the hosts.

With eight matches to go, Standard have one point more than second-placed Anderlecht. Brugge follow at another ten points and are practically out of contention for the championship.

Written by: Jonathan Roorda

Tags: Akpala, anderlecht, Axel Witsel, belgian league, Belgium, brugge, camargo, club brugge, contention, davino, first position, hosts, ivan, Ivan de Camargo, KAA, kaa gent, krc genk, kv mechelen, mechelen, new leaders, Ruiz, score, standard de liege, take the lead, verhulst

Hamburg go third behind new leaders Hertha

February 16, 2009

BERLIN, Germany (AFP) – Hamburg enjoyed a 2-0 win over Arminia Bielefeld on Sunday to go third in the Bundesliga and knock Bayern Munich down into fourth following their defeat at new leaders Hertha Berlin.

A goal from a free-kick by Germany winger Piotr Trochowski and a strike from Peru forward Jose Guerrero sealed the win for Martin Jol-coached Hamburg who climb up from fourth to third behind second-placed Hoffenheim and Hertha.

With just four points separating the top five, this is the closest the title race has been since 1995.

"Of course, we want to become German champions," said Hamburg defender Michael Gravgaard.

"There are still plenty of games to go and we have to pick up as many points as possible."

Bielefeld had the chance of a late consolation goal against Hamburg, but Poland striker Artur Wichniarek missed the penalty.

Ten-man Borussia Dortmund were held to a 1-1 draw by Energie Cottbus and had South Korean Lee Young-Pyo sent off in the last few moments when he kicked an opponent.

On Saturday, Hertha’s Ukrainian striker Andrey Voronin fired his side to the top of the Bundesliga with both goals which sealed the 2-1 win over Bayern.

With Hoffenheim suffering their first defeat at the Rhein-Neckar-Arena when Bayer Leverkusen hammered them 4-1 on Friday, the way had been paved for the winner of the Bayern-Hertha clash at Berlin’s Olympic Stadium to take over.

Hertha’s utter joy at the final whistle, in front of 74,000 fans, was in stark contrast to Bayern’s misery as they missed another chance to go top.

Even without star striker Marko Pantelic, who has a knee injury, Hertha made the brightest of starts and deservedly took the lead after Patrick Ebert fired in a long ball and Bayern defender Christian Lell gave Voronin too much space.

The Ukrainian fired his header past stranded Bayern goalkeeper Michael Rensing to make it 1-0 after 38 minutes.

Germany striker Miroslav Klose equalised with a header on 61 minutes, but the winning goal came when Brazilian midfielder Raffael split the Bayern defence before Voronin slid his shot past Michael Rensing for the winner on 77 minutes.

Germany midfielder Thomas Hitzlsperger scored an 88th minute goal to seal a 3-3 draw for Stuttgart at Hanover as his side drop to seventh.

Wolfsburg are up to sixth after their 2-0 win at Eintracht Frankfurt, while Werder Bremen’s dreadful run of results continue as they drew 1-1 with bottom side Borussia Moenchengladbach.

Mid-table Cologne and Karlsruhe ground out a 0-0 draw, while Schalke 04 striker Kevin Kuranyi put last week’s internet prank behind him as he scored for the Royal Blues in their 2-1 defeat at Bochum which leaves them ninth.

Written by: AFP