Rangers face St Mirren in Scottish Cup 5th round tie

February 6, 2010

Rangers have been handed an injury boost as they prepare to take on St Mirren in their Scottish Cup fifth round tie.

The match will be the first of three games between the clubs in a month with the sides meeting in the League Cup final on March 21 as well as the Scottish Premier League.

Cup holders Rangers are on a great run of form lately and are unbeaten in their last 12 matches despite a horrendous injury list since the turn of the year.

Club manager Walter Smith has had to do without top-scorers Kris Boyd and Kenny Miller as well as American winger DaMarcus Beasley and his international teammate Maurice Edu.

However Smith was given a lift when Miller declared himself fit for the match against the ‘Buddies’ as Rangers aim to get to their sixth cup final in a row.

“I will join the boys for training today (Thursday) and hopefully come through that unscathed and be back in the plans for the St Mirren game,” Miller said.

“I feel fine and I just want to kick on for the rest of the season.

“It’s a fantastic achievement to have reached five cup finals in a row and it says a lot about the squad.

“To be that consistent in cup competitions is a big feat and hopefully we can take one step closer to reaching another one when we face St Mirren on Saturday.

“It will be another very tough match but we will go in to it with confidence.”

On Sunday Celtic face a tricky away tie to Dunfermline at East End Park.

Tony Mowbray’s side were dealt a midweek blow when they saw their title aspirations torn to shreds after a defeat to relegation-threatened Kilmarnock and the Scottish Cup could be their only realistic chance of silverware.

The Hoops boss brought in eight new players in the transfer window, including Spurs captain Robbie Keane, as he shipped a similar number out.

And after such a disappointing defeat he warned his stars – new and old – that they need to fight for their place in his side.

“You don’t see it sometimes, but apathy does creep into football, players who expect to be on the teamsheet every game,” Mowbray said.

“I’d like to think we’ve created a situation where nobody in the team now can expect to see their name on the sheet unless they are performing and contributing to a winning team.”

SPL high fliers Hibernian take on the country’s worst performing team at Easter Road in the form of Montrose.

Hibs, who sit third in the top division, should have no problems against a side that sit bottom of Division Three with just nine points from 20 games.

There is an all-SPL clash as St Johnstone face Dundee United at McDiarmid Park. Derek McInnes has urged his side to use the hurt of their midweek loss to Rangers in the League Cup semi-final to drive them in their clash against the SPL’s fourth-placed clash.

First Division side Raith Rovers host Aberdeen at Starks Park. The Dons will be glad to get away from Pittodrie after losing their last two league games there as they look to progress to the quarter-finals.

Buoyed by their midweek win over Celtic in the league Kilmarnock will look to put their relegation worries behind them as they face Terry Butcher’s Inverness Caledonian Thistle.

Elsewhere on Saturday First Division leaders Dundee take on league strugglers Ayr United and in-form Ross County face Second Division Stirling Albion.

Fixtures (1500 GMT unless otherwise stated)

Saturday

Dundee v Ayr, Hibernian v Montrose, Kilmarnock v Inverness Caledonian Thistle, Raith Rovers v Aberdeen, Ross County v Stirling Albion, St Johnstone v Dundee United, St Mirren v Rangers (1230)

Sunday

Dunfermline v Celtic (1215)

GLASGOW (AFP)

Tags: Aberdeen, apathy, Boyd, captain Robbie Keane, cup competitions, damarcus beasley, Derek McInnes, Dundee, east end park, Easter Road, Glasgow, hoops, Kenny, kenny miller, Maurice, McDiarmid Park, premier league, realistic chance, Robbie Keane, Ross County, scottish cup, Scottish Premier League, shreds, spurs, st mirren, Starks Park, Stirling Albion, terry butcher, three games, title aspirations, tony mowbray, top scorers, walter smith

Mancini tells City to keep up United standard

January 31, 2010

Roberto Mancini has urged his Manchester City players to put their midweek League Cup disappointment behind them when Premier League strugglers Portsmouth visit Eastlands on Sunday.

Mancini and his squad have been licking their wounds since Wednesday’s crushing semi-final defeat to Manchester United at Old Trafford, but the Italian has been making a good job of hiding his hurt in the hope that this will give his players the lift they need.

Mancini says he was proud of his side and believes City will have no trouble in securing Champions League qualification for the first time if they can maintain the same levels that saw them push Sir Alex Ferguson’s men to the very limit.

Mancini said: “That game is now in the past, but after the game on Wednesday we still feel that we are strong.

“United scored late and won the game, but we still think we played very well. For us, the most important thing is that we did well and showed that we can win. I’m happy about that, but disappointed for the players.

“But now it’s in the past and we must think about the next game. We need to keep up the same level of performance. If we can do this and win the next three games in front of us then we know we have a good chance of getting fourth place.

“If we continue to play like we did against United then we will be fine. Okay, we lost to United but that is football. We played well.

“The important thing was that in two games we played at the same level as United. I am pleased with that. Now we have to focus on the game on Sunday, which is very important. We want to win and we must win.”

Mancini welcomes back Kolo Toure from African Cup of Nations duty, while Emmanuel Adebayor could be in line for his first start since his ill-fated departure for the same tournament with Togo.

Former Arsenal midfielder Patrick Vieira remains sidelined with a calf injury, however, but Mancini believes he will be fit to make his debut against Hull next weekend and bring an end to supporters’ fears that his signing might have been a gamble that has backfired.

Portsmouth could well represent cannon fodder to City as the club’s financial troubles show no sign of easing. It was not even certain that Avram Grant would still be their manager for Sunday’s match, such is the depth of the turmoil at Fratton Park.

The players have once again been forced to wait for their wages for the fourth time in succession, while Grant and chief executive Peter Storrie have accused the club of trying to sell players without consulting them both.

Storrie has decided against walking out on the club but admits he and Grant have plenty of cause to consider their futures.

He said: “We are both angry, frustrated and fed up, but neither of us are quitters. I don’t intend to quit now I’ve slept on it and although I cannot speak for Avram, from what we have talked about I don’t think he will quit either. And, let’s face it, we both have good reason to walk out.

“I am no longer involved in the finances, I am not involved in the transfer negotiations and Avram doesn’t know what players are being sold.”

The duo’s anger surfaced when Portsmouth opened negotiations with Tottenham to sell defender Younes Kaboul and goalkeeper Asmir Begovic without their knowledge.

It is understood the club are waiting to receive payment from Tottenham for the Kaboul deal before they can cover this month’s staff wages.

In the meantime, Grant will welcome midfielder Jamie O’Hara back into his side for the trip to Eastlands.

O’Hara has returned to Fratton Park on-loan from Tottenham until the end of the season, although Grant is still waiting for Kanu, Nadir Belhadj and Hassan Yebda to return from the African Cup of Nations.

MANCHESTER, England (AFP)

Tags: african cup of nations, alex ferguson, calf injury, champions league, cup disappointment, emmanuel adebayor, Fratton Park, good chance, good job, Manchester, manchester city, manchester united, old trafford, patrick vieira, Peter Storrie, Portsmouth, premier league, roberto mancini, sir alex ferguson, three games, Togo, Toure

Stuttgart and Dortmund ready for ‘in-form’ test

January 30, 2010

Sunday’s Bundesliga clash of VfB Stuttgart and Borussia Dortmund appears to be a test of preserving form when the in-form duo meet at the Mercedes-Benz Arena.

The Swabians have won their last three games and are unbeaten since Christian Gross took over from Markus Babbel in December.

Meanwhile, the Westphalians have not lost since September, winning nine and drawing three of their last 12 matches.

But their coach Jurgen Klopp has lost every time he has visited Stuttgart, be it with Dortmund or his former club Mainz. Nevertheless, he says that negative record is there to be broken.

“The probability of a streak ending increases the longer it goes on,” he said.

“We want to play a really good game there.”

A win for Dortmund could take them as high as second in the table, should results elsewhere go their way, while Stuttgart could break into the top half of the table with victory.

But Gross, who took over the Stuttgart reins with the team stuck in the relegation zone, has not forgotten his prime objective for the season.

“Dortmund are the clear favourites in my eyes,” he said.

“They want to qualify for Europe while we are still concentrating on avoiding relegation.”

Gross will welcome Jens Lehmann back into his goal this weekend after his three-game suspension came to an end following last weekend’s win over Freiburg. He replaces Sven Ulreich.

Klopp has to do without Sven Bender, who has played in the last 11 unbeaten matches, due to a knee infection. Tamas Hajnal is a candidate to replace him in the centre of midfield.

Tags: bender, Borussia, borussia dortmund, Bundesliga, christian gross, clash, dortmund, Europe, favourites, game suspension, good game, hajnal, jens lehmann, jurgen klopp, markus babbel, mercedes benz, prime objective, probability, reins, relegation zone, stuttgart, Sven Bender, Sven Ulreich, swabians, three games, vfb stuttgart

Canada, United States head into semis as favorites

January 29, 2010

It looks like another North American grudge match could decide the CONCACAF Under-20 Women’s title.

Both the United States and Canada advanced to the semifinals unbeaten and untied through the group stage, dominating their opponents and only allowing one goal each in three games.

However, both have to get through the knockout semis on Thursday, which will be a repeat of two years ago in Mexico, when the United States beat Costa Rica 4-0, and Canada edged Mexico 2-1.

The United States will face Costa Rica in the first semifinal at 1:30 p.m. (2:30 p.m. U.S. Eastern) with Canada against Mexico following at 4:30 p.m. (5:30 p.m. U.S. Eastern).

“Costa Rica is an excellent team and I think it will be very challenging game for us,” U.S. coach Jill Ellis said. “We know they have some wonderfully skilled players and they play an attractive style so we are definitely going to have to be prepared. Hopefully, we’ll get our legs back with a couple of days of rest and then we’ll be ready to go.”

The United States has won two World Cups, but has lost to Canada two of the three times they faced off in the CONCACAF final.

The United States doesn’t want to appear like it’s looking past Costa Rica, realizing that a win Thursday qualifies it for the Under-20 Women’s World Cup in Germany in July.

“We’re excited to be in the semifinals,” said striker and co-captain Sydney Leroux, who leads all scorers with five goals. “We are definitely going to be ready and bring our ‘A’ game. That’s all I can ask of my teammates.”

With three teams qualifying for the World Cup, a semifinal loss won’t preclude a trip to Germany, but will require a victory in Saturday’s third-place game.

The United States has been, so far, the most impressive team, outscoring Jamaica, Trinidad and Mexico 12-1, allowing its only goal in second-half injury time of its finale against its southern neighbor.

“It’s fairly obvious that they are physically stronger than us,” Costa Rica coach Randal Chacon said. “They are strong and tall, but we have to take advantage of our strengths. We will work to maintain our shape when we don’t have the ball.”

Mexico and Costa Rica have split their two meetings in the third-place game, and Mexico may feel it’s time to avoid the uncertainty of World Cup qualification in a consolation match.

It benched forward Charlyn Corral, instrumental in El Tri’s victories over Trinidad and Jamaica, when Mexico played the United States. It apparently was looking to prevent her from picking up a second yellow card and having her miss the semifinals. Accumulated yellow cards are not waived after the first round.

“This is the most important game…we can’t keep anything in,” Corral said. “We have to give more than our 100 percent and we have to plat intelligently because we know that in the physical aspect, the height, and in the air battle we may have a disadvantage.”

Canada coach Carolina Morace feels her side has improved each game, but forward Adriana Leon noted she thinks the side needs to improve its finishing.

While the four semifinalists were not unexpected, the Caribbean’s three representatives teams went home disappointed – mostly notably Jamaica.

The “Reggae Girlz” – which reached the semifinals four years ago, returned to their country without a goal and having been outscored 9-0. Along with Cuba and Trinidad. the three Caribbean sides did not win any of the eight games against non-Caribbean opponents and finished with an aggregate goal difference of minus-18.

Conversely, Guatemala, which was playing in its first Under-20 Women’s Championship, managed a victory (over Cuba 2-1) and was the only team to score a goal against the defending and two-time champion Canadians.

GUATEMALA CITY

Concacaf

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Canada, United States head into semis as favorites

January 28, 2010

It looks like another North American grudge match could decide the CONCACAF Under-20 Women’s title.