Greening piles pressure on Pompey

February 4, 2010

Cash-strapped Portsmouth remained rooted to the bottom of the English Premier League after Jonathan Greening scored the winner for Fulham in a 1-0 victory at Craven Cottage here on Wednesday to end the hosts run of five successive league defeats.

Portsmouth, as has been the case in recent matches, created several good chances but could not finish and they were made to pay the price when Greening scored his first goal for Fulham 16 minutes from time to nudge the visitors nearer relegation.

Now Pompey, who are battling off the field against a winding up order from British tax authorities and have paid their players late several times this season, travel to Old Trafford to play champions Manchester United on Saturday with the south coast side five points adrift at the foot of the table.

“We played so good, we dominated the game and created a lot of chances, especially in the first half,” disappointed Portsmouth manager Avram Grant told Sky Sports.

“And then, from one mistake, we lost the game. It was very frustrating because we are not playing the football you’d expect at the bottom of the league but football of a team who deserve to be higher up the table,” the Israeli added.

“But this is football, football is a game of results. We need to learn to take our chances. The boys tried hard and created a lot of chances but we need to put the ball in the net.”

Asked if Pompey’s financial problems were affecting players’ performances on the field, Grant replied: “When they come on the pitch they are trying to do their best.

“Of course, it’s not easy but they try hard, they fight and play good football. Except the result, everything was good today (Wednesday).”

Grant’s own future at Fratton Park has been called into question by the cash crisis engulfing Portsmouth but he insisted: “I’m not the issue, the issue is the club, the issue is the fans.

“You see the fans today, they are great. It is a city that belongs to the club, the club belongs to the city and this is the life of the fans. The future of the club is what is important.”

Kevin Prince Boateng got Pompey off to a bright start against Fulham, testing Australia goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer with an angled drive.

Frederic Piquionne then threatened and had a fine chance in the 12th minute only for Schwarzer to make the save.

Prince Boateng then saw a shot from 20 yards fly just wide of Schwarzer’s right post.

But Pompey are not where they are for no reason and it needed a fine one-handed save from their England goalkeeper David James to prevent a header from Aaron Hughes crossing the line following a Fulham corner.

Stefano Okaka missed a fine chance to score on his Fulham debut when the on-loan Italian somehow missed at the far post from Greening’s header back across goal.

In the second half, Pompey nearly took the lead when Ivory Coast international striker Aruna Dindane’s far-post header was turned away by Schwarzer.

Midfielder Greening, who made his name at Manchester United, finally ended the stalemate in the 74th minute when he turned in Damien Duff’s centre across the six-yard box after the winger had dispossessed Algerian international Nadir Belhadj.

Pompey kept pushing forward but the 2008 FA Cup winners still suffered their 16th defeat in 23 league games so far this season.

LONDON (AFP)

Tags: Aaron Hughes, aruna dindane, Australia, cash crisis, craven cottage, Damien Duff, David James, English Premier League, five points, football football, Fratton Park, fulham, Ivory Coast, jonathan, jonathan greening, Kevin Prince, london, Manchester, manchester united, mark schwarzer, mistake, old trafford, pitch, pompey, Portsmouth, relegation, several times, Sky Sports, south coast, Stefano Okaka, tax authorities, winding up order

Fulham sign Shorey on loan

February 1, 2010

Fulham have completed the loan signing of Nicky Shorey from Premier League rivals Aston Villa.

The 28-year-old has recently returned to Villa Park after a successful loan spell at Nottingham Forest, but he has quickly left for a switch to Craven Cottage.

The Cottagers have lost regular left-back Paul Konchesky to injury, earlier this month and targeted Shorey.

Shorey is expected to go straight into the Fulham squad for next weekend’s game at Bolton and is the club’s second signing of the transfer window following the arrival of Stefano Okaka from Roma.

Tags: Bolton, craven cottage, fulham, game, league rivals, Nottingham, okaka, paul konchesky, premier league, Roma, Stefano Okaka, villa park

Fulham close in on Okaka

January 29, 2010

Premier League side Fulham are close to signing Roma striker Stefano Okaka after the player under went a medical at Craven Cottage.

The 20-year-old is due to join the Cottagers on loan for the rest of the season as boss Roy Hodgson is keen to bolster his attacking options after losing Clint Dempsey to injury.

“The deal is on. It was never really off but there have been a lot of problems to iron out,” said Hodgson

“At the moment he’s finishing off a medical. Barring any problems with the medical I expect him to join us from Monday.

“He won’t be in line to play against Aston Villa tomorrow as Roma want him available for their game on Sunday.”

Tags: boss, Clint Dempsey, craven cottage, fulham, game, okaka, premier league, Roma, roy hodgson, Stefano Okaka

De Rossi strike helps Roma into semis

January 27, 2010

Roma entered the semi-finals of the Coppa Italia on Tuesday night. A goal from Daniele De Rossi was enough to knock Catania out of the Cup: 1-0. The Sicillians ended the match with nine men after Giuseppe Bellusci and Blazej Augustyn saw red.

Roma, who faced Catania with a weakened attack due to the absence of the injured Luca Toni, Mirko Vucinic and Francesco Totti, dominated the match from start to finish.

Just before half-time it looked like De Rossi broke the deadlock. The Italian midfielder side-stepped his way past two defenders, his shot beat Catania goalkeeper Andrea Campagnolo, but it shaved the upright as the rampant Lupi continued to press forward.

Campagnolo continued to be the hero after the break as he denied De Rossi’s low-driven free kick with his feet. He then pulled off a majestic double save from Simone Perrotta and Stefano Okaka to keep hopes alive.

Roma finally took the lead after Augustyn’s red card. De Rossi’s measured strike in the bottom corner left Campagnolo without a chance.

The Giallorossi are set to face Milan or Udinese in the semi-final.

Tags: Andrea Campagnolo, attack, Blazej Augustyn, bottom corner, campagnolo, catania, coppa italia, daniele de rossi, deadlock, francesco totti, free kick, giallorossi, giuseppe, Giuseppe Bellusci, Goalkeeper, luca toni, lupi, midfielder, Milan, Mirko Vucinic, okaka, perrotta, Roma, semi finals, Simone Perrotta, Stefano Okaka, Toni, tuesday night, udinese

Hodgson unsure about Okaka arrival

January 16, 2010

Fulham boss Roy Hodgson insists he is still unsure whether Roma striker Stefano Okaka will join his team on loan this month. The Cottagers have been tipped to sign the 20-year-old, but Hodgson says Okaka’s arrival is still uncertain.

Hodgson has confirmed the West Londoners are continuing to monitor Okaka’s situation, but the Fulham boss stated that he cannot yet confirm a deal will happen.

“If it was to happen it would be a loan, but as I say we’re looking into the situation,” Hodgson told Sky Sports News.

“At the moment I can’t give you a definite answer on whether we will be loaning him or whether we will not be.

“There’re lots of things to consider. One of the things to consider is that we’ve got front players at the club who are doing well and working hard.

“If I was going to take a loan player then it would be someone who’s really desperate to come here and really anxious to use Fulham and show us what a great player he is and how keen he is to play and they are the things we need to look into.”

Tags: definite answer, fulham, londoners, Roma, roy hodgson, Sky Sports, sky sports news, Stefano Okaka, striker, west Londoners

Roma late show shocks Fulham, Celtic face Europa League exit

November 6, 2009

Fulham compromised their hopes of advancing in the Europa League on Thursday when Roma came from behind to win 2-1 in Italy, the English Premiership side ending the Group E contest with nine men, while Everton slumped 2-0 at home to Benfica.

Diomansy Kamara shocked the Stadio Olimpico by netting a spotkick on 19 minutes after Marco Andreolli brought him down but everything went downhill for the visitors thereafter as substitute Erik Nevland was dismissed within three minutes of coming on for a heavy challenge on Daniele De Rossi.

Former Liverpool man John Arne Riise then levelled after 69 minutes with a deflected effort and Stefano Okaka headed the clincher a quarter of an hour from the end before defender Paul Konchesky fouled Rodrigo Taddei to leave Fulham two men down.

The loss means Roy Hodgson’s side, who had held the Romans on their own turf, suffered their first reverse in the group and they now stand third, two points behind Roma with two games remaining.

At Goodison Park, Everton were outclassed for the second time by Benfica, the Portuguese winning with strikes from Javier Saviola after good work by highly-rated Angel di Maria, then an acrobatic volley from Oscar Cardozo to leave the Portuguese three points clear at the top of Group I.

The win meant a happy return to Merseyside for Benfica legend Eusebio, who scored six of his nine goals at Goodison in the 1966 World Cup, including two in a win over Brazil and four more in the memorable 5-3 success over North Korea.

“Today for me, for my family, it’s a good day, for Benfica to play here. This stadium for me is the best stadium in my playing life,” Eusebio told Channel Five television before the game.

The top two teams from each group will join the third-placed sides from the eight Champions League groups in the last 32.

Shakhtar Donetsk, who won the final UEFA Cup competition last season before the competition morphed into the Europa League, are through after they made it four wins in four games, beating French side Toulouse 2-0 in Group J.

Werder Bremen of Germany are through after seeing off Austria Vienna 2-0 in Group L.

French veteran Robert Pires was twice on target for Villarreal in Group G group in a 4-1 home romp over Lazio to join the Italians on six points.

Celtic’s hopes of advancing hang by a thread after they could only manage a goalless draw in Hamburg, to whom they had lost at home in Group C.

Celtic, just one win now in 25 European away ties, prop up the group with Thursday’s point only their second to date after striker Scott McDonald missed two good chances to secure maximum points at the Nordbank Arena.

The Germans lie second in the group on seven points with Israeli outfit Hapoel Tel Aviv out in front after the latter moved onto nine points following a 3-0 romp at Rapid Vienna.

Elsewhere, Ajax are as good as through after they won 2-0 away to nine-man Dinamo Zagreb with Marko Pantelic and Demy de Zeeuw on target.

Dinamo had Leandro Cufre and Adrian Calello dismissed in a match played behind closed doors owing to recent crowd trouble.

Anderlecht are also looking set fair for the next phase after a 3-1 home success over Romania’s Timisoara left them and their Dutch rivals six points clear.

In Group B, veteran Hernan Crespo was on target as Genoa edged out Lille 3-2 while Valencia, twice Champions League finalists, let slip a two-goal lead to draw 2-2 at Slavia Prague.

Lille are still a point ahead of Valencia and Genoa.

Turkish side Galalatasary are through from Group F after Aussie striker and former Leeds and Liverpool forward Harry Kewell netted the opener in a 3-0 win at Dinamo Bucharest.

PARIS (AFP)

Tags: Adrian Calello, C. Celtic, cup competition, daniele de rossi, english premiership, Erik Nevland, four games, four wins, french side, Goodison Park, Harry, I. The, Italy, J. Werder, javier saviola, john arne riise, L. French, Liverpool, man john, Maria, Merseyside, morphed, North Korea, oscar cardozo, PARIS, paul konchesky, premiership side, robert pires, rodrigo taddei, roy hodgson, saviola, scott mcdonald, shakhtar donetsk, stadio olimpico, Stefano Okaka, UEFA Cup

Blatter slams European clubs for under-20 World Cup no-shows

September 24, 2009

FIFA president Sepp Blatter on Thursday slammed Europe’s top clubs for refusing to free their young players to compete in the under-20 World Cup in Egypt.

“It’s not right that the big European clubs don’t free up their young players for the World Cup, when they don’t have any obligations and are not first team. When they aren’t playing they can’t gain experience,” said Blatter.

“It’s better for them to enjoy the second major world competition than to stay at home warming the substitutes bench.”

The under-20 World Cup event, which takes place from September 24 to October 16, will be without many up-and-coming stars as European clubs have been reluctant to let their players leave for nearly a month at the height of the season.

Favourites Germany and Italy arrived in Egypt without most of their stars.

The German clubs in August refused to release their players after a meeting with the German football Federation (DFB), while the Football Association (FA) was similarly understanding with English clubs.

Italy are without the likes of Roma’s Stefano Okaka Chuka, who scored a Serie A goal at just 16, as well as Genoa’s Silvano Raggio Garibaldi and Inter Milan’s Davide Santon.

ALEXANDRIA, Egypt (AFP)