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Supersub ´Gedo´ the hero as Egypt retain African crown

Egypt entered the record books here on Sunday, beating Ghana 1-0 in the final of the Africa Cup of Nations with supersub Mohamed ‘Gedo’ Nagy lifting the Pharaohs to their third straight title.

Gedo, who has scored from the bench in Egypt’s last four games in Angola, came on in the 63rd minute and produced his magic with five minutes left on the clock to cement Egypt’s standing as the kings of Africa.

The win also gave veteran coach Hassan Shehata a history-making third championship after Cairo in 2006 and Accra in 2008 and extended Egypt’s unbeaten record in the competition to an astonishing 19 games.

Shehata’s assistant, Shawky Garib, said: “I’d like to congratulate Ghana for what they did today (Sunday).

“It’s important to take your chance, and today we took it. But we respect the Ghana team, they played a very good match today.

“We said we were the champions from the first day we arrived in Angola, and we would defend our title.

“We have won three titles in 2006, 2008 and 2010. This was the most difficult of all of them.”

Ghana coach Milovan Rajevic, who has worked wonders to put the World Cup qualifiers into their first continental final in 18 years with most of his top players injured, commented: “We are not so experienced, we wanted to win it so badly in our hearts but in the end Egyptian experience was crucial.”

Egypt were unchanged from the XI that crushed Algeria 4-0 in the semi-finals save for the absence of suspended defender Mahmoud Fatalla – former Spurs midfielder Hossam Ghaly started in his place.

Ghana named an identical line-up to their last four win over Nigeria, with captain Richard Kingson taking up residence between the posts despite a late fitness scare.

The Black Stars made it to the final playing pragmatic rather than beautiful football, but they began in enterprising fashion, matching the Egyptians for speed and dexterity.

In-form striker Asamoah Gyan had an early shot go high over the Pharaoh’s crossbar and Serie A-based Kwadwo Asamoah had a long range effort safely scooped up by Essam al-Hadary as the supposed ‘underdogs’ counter attacked with menace.

Towards the end of the first period both skipper Ahmed Hassan, on his 172nd international appearance, and Emad Motaeb, failed to connect with a floating 25m Egyptian freekick into the box.

Honours even it was as the sides re-emerged after the break with the 50,000 capacity Chinese-built stadium by now three-quarters full and the near 40 degree heat which greeted the players at kick-off cooling down as night fell.

Opoku Agyemang went into Mali referee Coulibaly Koman’s book for an ill-judged tackle on Ahmed al-Mohamady and not to be outdone Egypt’s Sayed Moawad picked up a yellow card seconds later for handball.

Koman had his hand in his pocket again to fish out a card for al-Mohamady after a collision with Opoku.

The game badly needed a goal but what it got was another booking, this time Ghaly for pulling Asamoah.

Shehata brought on supersub Gedo with 20 minutes left for Motaeb hoping the Al-Ittihad striker would repeat his magic.

Ghana’s best chance came in the 78th minute when al-Hadary did well to punch away Gyan’s lethal looking 28m freekick as Ghana’s youngsters had Egypt’s red shirts on the run.

Then unbelievably, with the game heading towards extra-time, Gedo conjured up the decisive goal with a sublime 1-2 with Zidan down the left to slot an angled shot past Kingson.

LUANDA (AFP)

Tags: ACCRA, africa cup of nations, captain richard, crossbar, dexterity, egyptian experience, four games, garib, gedo, ghaly, gyan, pharaohs, record books, semi finals, unbeaten record, veteran coach, world cup qualifiers

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Kuranyi proves his worth to fire Schalke second

Ex-Germany striker Kevin Kuranyi proved his worth by sealing Schalke 04’s 1-0 win over Nuremberg on Sunday, to put the Royal Blues second in the Bundesliga, despite nearly being sold over the winter break.

The 27-year-old, who notoriously walked out on the Germany team in October 2008, struck in the 48th minute with his ninth league goal of the season to put Schalke second, a point behind leaders Leverkusen.

Before the game, Schalke coach Felix Magath admitted he had wanted to sell the striker to English side Sunderland earlier this month for a reported four million euros to ease the club’s debts, but the player had scuppered the deal.

“We reached an agreement with a club, but Kevin decided he wanted to stay and achieve something with Schalke this season,” said Magath.

Last December, Kuranyi became one of a select few players to have scored 100 goals in the Bundesliga and is out of contract in June.

On Saturday, VfB Stuttgart kept their unbeaten record under coach Christian Gross with a 3-1 victory over champions VfL Wolfsburg to seal their first Bundesliga win since September.

Former Tottenham boss Gross took over after Markus Babbel was sacked last December and having put his side in the Champions League’s last 16, Gross recorded his first Bundesliga win and it came against the defending champions.

This was Stuttgart’s first win in 11 games with goals by Robert Hilbert, Pavel Pogrebnyak and Timo Gebhart with a consolation from Edin Dzeko.

The win leaves Stuttgart 12th in the league while Wolfsburg are now ninth and will buoy Gross’s side with Stuttgart set to face defending European champions Barcelona in the last 16 of the Champions League next month.

Earlier, Bayer Leverkusen came from behind to beat mid-table Mainz 4-2 and reclaim top spot after Bayern Munich had temporarily taken charge.

Bayern’s 2-0 win over Hoffenheim on Friday night had briefly given them a one-point advantage, but Leverkusen regained pole position.

Bottom side Hertha Berlin got their 2010 off to a great start as they enjoyed a 3-0 win at Hanover in what was only their second win since the opening day of the season.

Polish midfielder Lukasz Piszczek netted in the 30th minute to get the capital club on the way before Brazil’s Raffael made it 2-0 after 33 minutes and Greek striker Theofanis Gekas hit the third with 10 minutes remaining.

Berlin are still three points from nearest rivals Nuremberg and eight points from escaping the bottom three, but the win will have boosted their confidence.

Hamburg are now fourth after their 2-0 win at home to Freiburg as Germany midfielder Marcell Jansen and Croatia striker Mladen Petric scored either side of half-time.

Werder Bremen are sixth after their 1-0 defeat at Eintracht Frankfurt – their fourth straight league defeat.

BERLIN (AFP)

Tags: Barcelona, bayer leverkusen, bayern munich, berlin, bottom side, Bremen, christian gross, croatia, edin dzeko, european champions, felix magath, gebhart, Germany, Hanover, hertha berlin, Hoffenheim, Kevin, Kevin Kuranyi, league goal, markus babbel, mid table, nuremberg, Pavel Pogrebnyak, point advantage, Raffael, robert hilbert, royal blues, schalke 04, stuttgart, Sunderland, Timo Gebhart, unbeaten record, vfb stuttgart

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Magath impressed by resilient Schalke

Schalke manager Felix Magath praised his team for finding the strength even he did not believe they had to come from behind and claim a draw against Bayer Leverkusen.

After recovering to draw 3-3 against Hamburg last weekend, the Royal Blues came from two goals behind to grab a 2-2 draw at the Arena AufSchalke and cement their position in the top four of the Bundesliga, earning possibly the first words of praise all season from their demanding coach.

“After we went 2-0 down, I had little hope of us being able to find such strength like last weekend and turn things around,” admitted Magath.

“Especially not considering we also played in the DFB-Pokal during the week.

“But the team was fantastic and fought with high morale.”

Nevertheless, Magath praised his opponents, who moved one point clear at the top of the table, saying they deserve to be where they are in the standings.

“Leverkusen are the best team we have played against so far,” he said.

However, Magath would not be Magath if he did not find something to complain about, and the performance of referee Michael Weiner left him perplexed.

He ruled out what appeared to be a fair goal scored by Jefferson Farfan on the hour mark, and that, in Magath’s opinion, was not all.

“He influenced the game,” said Magath. “He gave more in favour of Leverkusen than for us and that strengthened Bayer.”

Leverkusen director of sport Rudi Voller felt his team deserved to take more from the game.

He could not even be happy to boast the last remaining unbeaten record in German football.

“We are all totally disappointed,” he said. “This feels like a 2-2 defeat.”

Abhimanyu Rajput

Tags: arena aufschalke, bayer leverkusen, Bundesliga, coach, dfb pokal, felix magath, game, german football, Hamburg, jefferson farfan, little hope, michael weiner, opponents, referee, royal blues, rudi voller, unbeaten record, words of praise

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Bloodied Bordeaux look to re-assert superiority

Bordeaux’s French crown slipped after a shock 3-1 defeat at Saint-Etienne in their last Ligue 1 outing and the champions will hope to make an immediate return to winning ways at Auxerre on Saturday.

The unexpected reverse against Alain Perrin’s resurgent side was Bordeaux’s first league defeat in 19 matches and allowed Lyon to go into the international break with a one-point lead at the summit.

Auxerre, meanwhile, have recovered from a three-game losing start that saw them sink to the bottom of the table, rising to 10th on the back of a five-match unbeaten run.

Bordeaux’s Brazilian midfielder Wendel attributed the Saint-Etienne defeat to tiredness brought on by the club’s exertions in both the domestic championship and the Champions League.

“I think there was a lot of fatigue,” he said. “The matches against Rennes and Maccabi (Haifa) took a lot of our energy; energy which we missed at Saint-Etienne.

“But we’re second in the league table and still on track. We’re going to Auxerre for the next match and we’re going to do what it takes to get the three points and stay at the top of the standings.”

Lyon are France’s in-form side with six wins and two draws to date and guard the only unbeaten record in the top flight.

They host 14th-placed Sochaux, who will be without striker Charlie Davies after the USA international was seriously hurt in a car accident that claimed the life of one of his female companions.

The 23-year-old, who featured in the USA’s 3-2 win over Honduras last Saturday, suffered multiple facial fractures, a badly broken right leg, a broken left elbow and a lacerated bladder in the crash in Virginia and could be out for the rest of the season.

Elsewhere, Didier Deschamps’s Marseille travel to Nancy still reeling from back-to-back league losses against Valenciennes and Monaco.

The Mediterranean club also went down to a humbling 3-0 defeat at Real Madrid in the Champions League group stage at the end of September and midfielder Benoit Cheyrou says they must respond in the right manner at Nancy.

“We’re not thinking about defeat at Nancy,” said the 28-year-old.

“We’ve had three consecutive defeats, we know that we’re expected to turn it around but we still have to get the three points.

“It’s at times like this when things aren’t going well that we really need to show togetherness and solidarity. That’s what we’re trying to do at the moment.”

In Saturday’s remaining fixtures, second-bottom Le Mans host Boulogne, surprise package Montpellier — three points behind Lyon in third — take on Saint-Etienne, Rennes visit Lille and Grenoble’s quest for a first point of the season continues at Valenciennes.

Monaco, who moved up to fourth on the back of their win against Marseille, play Lens on Sunday, with Lorient facing Nice.

Andre-Pierre Gignac contributed a stunning goal to France’s 3-1 World Cup qualifying victory over Austria on Wednesday and the Toulouse man will hope to continue his fine form at home to Paris Saint-Germain in the last match of the weekend.

Fixtures

Saturday (1700GMT unless otherwise stated)

Auxerre v Bordeaux, Le Mans v Boulogne, Lyon v Sochaux, Montpellier v Saint-Etienne, Nancy v Marseille, Valenciennes v Grenoble, Lille v Rennes (1900GMT)

Sunday (1500GMT unless otherwise stated)

Lorient v Nice, Monaco v Lens, Toulouse v Paris St-Germain (1900GMT)

PARIS (AFP)

Tags: Alain Perrin, Andre-Pierre Gignac, auxerre, benoit cheyrou, champions league group, Charlie Davies, energy energy, exertions, female companions, Germain, group stage, Honduras, Ligue 1, Lorient, Lyon, maccabi haifa, Mediterranean, Montpellier, saint etienne, sochaux, Toulouse, unbeaten record, valenciennes, winning ways

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Ronaldinho rescues point for Milan as Juventus crash

Substitute Ronaldinho popped up seven minutes from time to salvage a point for AC Milan in a 1-1 draw at 10-man Atalanta on Sunday but that might not be enough to save coach Leonardo from the chop.

Meanwhile, the last unbeaten record in Serie A disappeared as Juventus were beaten 2-0 at Palermo to drop to third in the table.

Milan may have come from behind to earn a draw but their hosts played almost an hour with 10 men and it took the seven-time European champions 45 minutes to break down their lowly opponents with a numerical advantage.

It was also only Milan’s fourth goal in seven league matches in which the struggling giants have managed just two wins.

In Europe and at home they have failed to win in their last four matches, a bleak statistic which has piled the pressure onto Leonardo.

But centre-back Alessandro Nesta insisted the Brazilian boss should not be blamed for the club’s woes.

“These are two points dropped. We put our heart into this match but if it seemed as if we weren’t trying it’s because we’re not working well. We’re not managing to cover all areas of the pitch,” he said.

“It’s a difficult moment but we’re right behind Leonardo. You win and you lose all together. It’s not one single person’s failure.”

Atalanta deservedly took the lead on 21 minutes as Simone Padoin’s cross from the right caused confusion in the Milan backline.

Centre-backs Nesta and Giuseppe Favalli were both drawn to Cristiano Doni at the neat post, leaving Simone Tiribocchi free behind them as Ignazio Abate had failed to cover from right-back.

When Doni missed the ball it fell to Tiribocchi, who had time to pick his spot and beat Marco Storari in the Milan goal.

Serbian midfielder Ivan Radovanovic then made the hosts’ hopes of holding out for victory look decidedly tougher as he was sent off six minutes before the break for a needless second booking, pulling Pato’s shirt when the forward was practically on the halfway line.

Milan were expected to come out firing after the break as Leonardo replaced French midfielder Mathieu Flamini with Ronaldinho.

The former European champions did fashion an early chance as Thomas Manfredini over-committed himself in trying to reach an Andrea Pirlo cross leaving Pato free to shoot from 10 yards but Consigli came to the rescue, making a point blank stop.

Atalanta then survived a double scare 17 minutes from time.

Following a slick Milan passing move, Consigli saved well from Ronaldinho before Pato’s volleyed follow-up bounced into the ground and over the goalkeeper, only to come back off the bar.

Milan played much of the second half just in front of Atalanta’s penalty box and the 10 men finally cracked on 83 minutes when Nesta lifted the ball over the backline and Ronaldinho volleyed home in one brilliant movement.

Juve could have gone top if they had won in Sicily but that never looked likely in a game in which they were clearly second-best.

First half goals from Brazilians Edison Cavani and Simplicio within five minutes of each other gave Palermo a deserved 2-0 lead at the break after dominating the first half.

Juve’s Brazilian playmaker Diego came closest for the visitors, hitting the woodwork with a free-kick.

Sampdoria failed to take back top spot from Inter Milan, who beat Udinese 2-1 on Saturday, as they were held to a 1-1 home draw by Parma.

Francesco Totti scored a brace in AS Roma’s 2-1 victory over Napoli that saw him move level with former Argentina, Roma and Fiorentina striker Gabriel Batistuta in eighth place on the all-time top Serie A goalscorers list.

ROME (AFP)

Tags: ac milan, Alessandro Nesta, andrea pirlo, Argentina, atalanta, backline, chop, Diego, doni, Edison, Europe, francesco totti, Gabriel Batistuta, Giuseppe Favalli, Ignazio Abate, ivan radovanovic, leonardo, Marco Storari, Mathieu Flamini, Milan, napoli, nesta, numerical advantage, Palermo, Roma, ROME, salvage, Simone Padoin, Simone Tiribocchi, six minutes, statistic, storari, Thomas Manfredini, unbeaten record, woes

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Ten-man Rangers draw at Kilmarnock

Rangers held on for a goalless draw at Kilmarnock on Saturday after Pedro Mendes and boss Walter Smith were sent off.

Portuguese midfielder Mendes saw red for two bookings before half-time and Ibrox manager Smith was sent to the stands for protesting too aggressively against the decision.

But despite playing for 45 minutes with 10 men, the Scottish champions – who have now drawn their last two league matches – were able to withstand severe Kilmarnock pressure to maintain their unbeaten record.

Their cause was helped when Killie’s Manuel Pascali was dismissed for a second booking nine minutes from full-time.

Veteran defender David Weir returned to the Rangers line-up after he missing the midweek Champions League draw in Stuttgart through injury, while midfielder Lee McCulloch was deployed at centre-half in place of the suspended Madjid Bougherra.

Kilmarnock had the first sight of goal when Craig Bryson picked out Conor Sammon, but the big striker’s close-range effort was kept out by Rangers goalkeeper Allan McGregor.

Mendes then picked up a harsh yellow card for clipping the heels of Bryson as Rangers struggling to get going.

There was a lack of cohesion about their play which was summed up when Steven Naismith shot wildly over after John Fleck’s free-kick rebounded into his path.

Naismith wasted a much better chance moments later when a point-blank shot was blocked by the legs of Kilmarnock goalkeeper Mark Brown.

With half-time fast approaching, Naismith was threatening again, this time running on to a Steven Davis ball only to be denied by Brown, who raced off his line to claim.

The game erupted two minutes from the interval when Mendes picked up a second yellow card for another foul on Bryson and Smith was sent to the stand for his reaction in the dug-out.

Danny Invincibile wasted a golden opportunity to open the scoring soon after the break when his close-range header was blocked by McGregor. Invincibile pounced on the rebound but hooked his shot over the crossbar.

The hosts were turning the screw now and only the woodwork denied Jamie Hamill, when his swerving effort crashed off the inside of the post and back into play.

With nine minutes to go, Kilmarnock were also reduced to ten men when Pascali picked up a second yellow card for a foul on Davis.

But Killie could still have snatched a winner at the last when McGregor did well to parry a close-range volley from Sammon.

KILMARNOCK, Scotland (AFP)

Tags: Allan McGregor, Brown, champions league draw, close range, Craig Bryson, crossbar, Danny Invincibile, David Weir, Davis, free kick, golden opportunity, invincibile, Jamie Hamill, John Fleck, kilmarnock, Lee McCulloch, madjid bougherra, manuel pascali, Mark Brown, mcculloch, pedro mendes, pounced, sammon, scotland, scottish champions, Steven Davis, steven naismith, stuttgart, time veteran, unbeaten record, walter smith, yellow card

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Trochowski penalty puts Hamburg top

A late penalty from Hamburg winger Piotr Trochowski put Hamburg top of the Bundesliga on Sunday and sealed a 3-1 win over Cologne.

Goals either side of half-time by Peru striker Jose Paolo Guerrero had put Hamburg 2-0 ahead, but Germany winger Trochowski’s late spot kick made sure of the win to put the north German team ahead of Bayer Leverkusen.

With Bayern Munich’s new signing Arjen Robben scoring twice in the 3-0 win over champions Wolfsburg on Saturday, Hamburg took their chance to keep their unbeaten record and go top.

The opening goal at Hamburg’s HSH Nordbank Arena came after just 19 minutes when Guerrero was the first to react to a mistake in the Cologne defence.

With 66 minutes played Guerrero scored again while Cologne’s super sub Adil Chihi hit a consolation goal on 76 minutes just two minutes after coming off the bench, but Trochowski hit a penalty with time running out.

Hamburg’s victory means winless Cologne stay rooted to the foot of the table.

Earlier Werder Bremen went third after a 3-2 win over Hertha Berlin.

Second-half goals by Germany pair Mesut Oezil and Tim Borowski put Werder 2-0 up in the German capital before Berlin’s Poland midfielder Lukasz Piszczek pulled a goal back on 77 minutes.

Bremen made sure of the three points when Oezil then turned provider by setting up Brazilian defender Naldo on 83 minutes, only for Berlin’s Patrick Ebert to hit his side’s second at the Olympic Stadium in injury time.

“We had already had superiority in the first half, but we didn’t show enough purpose,” said Bremen coach Thomas Schaaf.

“I am happy about the result, we applied some good pressure and got the rewards.”

The defeat leaves Hertha Berlin third from bottom of the table after their third straight league defeat in four games while Bremen are behind Hamburg and Leverkusen with seven points.

On Saturday, Robben celebrated his Bayern Munich debut in sensational style when his two second-half goals sealed a 3-0 win over Wolfsburg.

Having only signed a four-year deal with the German giants on Friday from Real Madrid, the Dutch star came on just after half-time and made an early impact when fellow second-half substitute Franck Ribery put him clear.

Robben beat Wolfsburg defender Andrea Barzagli to curl his shot wide of goalkeeper Diego Benaglio on 68 minutes. Ribery then set up Robben again on 80 minutes as the defending champions were comprehensively out-played.

Robben, who cost Bayern 26 million euros, and Ribery gave their club their first win of the season in four attempts after Bayern were humiliated 2-1 at minnows Mainz the previous weekend.

The victory at Bayern’s Allianz Arena lifts the Bavarians up to eighth and eases the pressure on coach Louis van Gaal who took over in July.

The win was also sweet revenge after Wolfsburg humbled Bayern 5-1 in April.

The defeat leaves Wolfsburg seventh after their second consecutive defeat while Bayer Leverkusen kept up the pressure at the top thanks to Germany reject Steffan Kiessling hitting a second-half winner to seal a 2-1 win over Bochum.

Germany coach Joachim Loew has found no place for Kiessling in his squad for next Saturday’s friendly against South Africa or the World Cup qualifier against Azerbaijan on September 9, but the Leverkusen star responded in style with an 68th-minute strike.

Schalke 04 went down without a fight as they were shocked 1-0 at home to minnows Freiburg.

Nuremberg held Stuttgart to a 0-0 draw while Dortmund drew 1-1 with Frankfurt.

On Friday, Mainz were brought down to earth after their Bayern triumph when they slumped to a 2-0 defeat at Borussia Moenchengladbach.

BERLIN (AFP)

Tags: Adil Chihi, Andrea Barzagli, bayer leverkusen, Bayern, bayern munich, berlin, Bremen, coach thomas, cologne, diego benaglio, four games, FRANKFURT, german capital, german team, Germany, Hamburg, hamburg 2, hertha berlin, hsh nordbank arena, injury time, joachim loew, jose paolo guerrero, LEVERKUSEN, louis van gaal, lukasz piszczek, Naldo, north German, nuremberg, olympic stadium, Patrick Ebert, peru, piotr trochowski, Poland, robben, South Africa, straight league, stuttgart, Thomas Schaaf, tim borowski, unbeaten record, werder bremen

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Brown hands Celtic Old Firm blow

GLASGOW (AFP) – Scottish international midfielder Scott Brown will miss the last Old Firm game of the season after picking up a booking in Celtic’s 4-0 victory over Falkirk at Parkhead.

Brown was handed his sixth yellow card of the season against the Bairns for a two-footed tackle on Thomas Scobbie, triggering an automatic suspension.

He will start a two-match ban following the Hoops game against Aberdeen on April 18 which means he misses Celtic’s first two games after the Scottish Premier League split.

One of these games is likely to be a potential title-deciding clash against Rangers and his manager Gordon Strachan says they will have to cope without him.

“That’s the way it goes – that’s life. I think his discipline has been good this year and to be punished for something that went on years ago is wrong,” Strachan said.

“We have come through a difficult section in the season for us and it is all right for us. The points are the most important things.”

Dutchman Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink scored his second goal in two games in the match against Falkirk.

After not finding the net for nearly six months Strachan hopes his scoring run can continue as the Hoops face a crucial away match to Hearts on Saturday.

“That happens in life when you step down a level. He has played terrifically tonight but that does not mean he will play well on Saturday,” Strachan said.

“He could go to bed every night and sleep soundly because he is doing everything he can to be a good player and you can’t fault that.”

Celtic maintained their three point lead at the top of the Scottish Premier League with their convincing win.

A first-half goal from Gary Caldwell sent the Hoops on their way before second-half goals from Vennegoor of Hesselink, Aiden McGeady and Darren O’Dea made sure of the win.

In Paisley, Rangers brought St Mirren’s unbeaten record at their new home to an end with a 2-1 win.

Kris Boyd fired in Sasa Papac’s neat cut-back to give Rangers the lead before Maurice Edu scored his first goal for the club with a bullet header from Pedro Mendes’ corner.

In the second-half, Andy Dorman latched on to Craig Dargo’s excellent threaded pass to pull one back for St Mirren but Walter Smith’s side held on to claim all three points.

Tags: Aberdeen, aiden mcgeady, Andy Dorman, automatic suspension, bairns, Boyd, Brown, Craig Dargo, Darren O'Dea, dutchman, Falkirk, Gary Caldwell, Glasgow, gordon strachan, important things, Jan Vennegoor, jan vennegoor of hesselink, Maurice, midfielder, parkhead, pedro mendes, sasa papac, scobbie, Scott Brown, scottish international, Scottish Premier League, st mirren, Thomas Scobbie, two games, unbeaten record, vennegoor of hesselink, walter smith, yellow card

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Spurs check Chelsea title charge

LONDON (AFP) – Chelsea missed a gilt-edged chance to pile pressure on Manchester United in the English Premier League title race as they slumped to a 1-0 defeat to Tottenham on Saturday.

Luka Modric’s superb strike early in the second half consigned Guus Hiddink to his first defeat since assuming control at Stamford Bridge on an interim basis, but while the Dutchman will be piqued at losing his unbeaten record, his real annoyance will be at failing to capitalise on United’s surprise defeat at Fulham.

Instead, Sir Alex Ferguson’s side retain their four-point lead over Chelsea – a lead that could be stretched to seven if they win their game in hand – and Hiddink might well come to see this as the day his hopes of restoring the league championship to west London were snuffed out.

Ferguson, a close friend of Harry Redknapp, will be feeling even better disposed towards the Tottenham manager after this result, which should also extinguish any lingering relegation fears at White Hart Lane.

Instead, Redknapp can start looking up towards the seventh place that will guarantee a place in next season’s Europa League, the successor to the UEFA Cup.

For Hiddink, however, this defeat represented the most painful of reality checks and the Dutchman will have plenty to ponder on his flight to Moscow on Sunday, as he prepares for Russia’s World Cup qualification double-header against Azerbaijan.

It was not simply the result which will have dismayed him, but Chelsea’s limp performance. There was no energy or zip to the visitors’ football and not even the most one-eyed observer could claim that Tottenham did not deserve their triumph.

The only consolation, of sorts, was that Chelsea are not the first of the Premier League’s established elite to come unstuck in these parts. Spurs can now boast that in home league games against Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea they have collected eight points and conceded just one goal.

Kick-off may have been delayed by half an hour due to traffic problems caused by a security alert, but Spurs still began at a rattling pace, thanks largely to the energetic Wilson Palacios and Jermaine Jenas, who refused to grant any of Chelsea’s advanced midfield trio a moment’s peace.

Chelsea’s rhythm was wrecked. The visitors produced just two long-range shots from Michael Essien and Nicolas Anelka – both comfortably saved by Heurelho Gomes – in a toothless first-half performance and while Petr Cech, the Chelsea goalkeeper, was hardly under siege, Spurs still looked the likelier scorers.

In the 18th minute, Gomes’s long downfield punt was horribly misjudged by Alex, the ball bouncing over him and into the path of Robbie Keane. The Ireland striker’s half-volley was cleanly struck but Cech proved equal to it at his near post.

Keane was a persistent menace, and he forced Cech into another smart save six minutes later, firing off a shot from 12 yards after a storming run from Vedran Corluka.

Hiddink must have been baffled at his team’s lethargy, especially as news had filtered through of Manchester United falling behind at Fulham, but if the Dutchman hoped that the interval would shake Chelsea out of their stupor, he was mistaken.

They started the second period in the same ponderous fashion they had finished the first and this time they were punished. After Aaron Lennon had wriggled into space on the right, the England winger squared to the top of the penalty area, where Modric was lurking with intent. One swish of his right boot sent the ball scudding into the bottom corner, and Spurs had a deserved lead.

Not even falling behind was enough to spark a Chelsea revival and it took until the final 15 minutes for Hiddink’s side to generate any meaningful momentum.

Gomes was finally forced into serious action in the 78th minute, when John Terry rose highest to meet Frank Lampard’s inswinging free-kick and the England defender’s header was clawed behind.

That drew gasps from the home crowd and, when Alex’s downward header deep into stoppage time bounced up and struck the crossbar, Redknapp placed his head in his hands, hardly able to watch. He need not have worried; instead, it was Hiddink left nursing regrets.

Written by: AFP

Tags: Aaron Lennon, alex ferguson, double header, dutchman, England, English Premier League, Ferguson, fulham, goal kick, Harry Redknapp, Hart Lane, hiddink, interim basis, john terry, league games, Liverpool, london, luka modric, Manchester, manchester united, Nicolas Anelka, Petr Cech, reality checks, Robbie Keane, sir alex ferguson, stamford bridge, surprise defeat, UEFA Cup, unbeaten record, white hart lane, world cup qualification

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St Mirren hand Celtic cup shock

GLASGOW (AFP) – Celtic’s dreams of a domestic treble are over after St Mirren sent them crashing out the Scottish Cup with a 1-0 quarter-final win Saturday.

A second-half Billy Mehmet penalty was enough to seal the win, their first over Celtic in nearly 20 years and just a week after the Buddies has been on the wrong side of a seven-goal mauling by the Parkhead side in the league.

The win sends St Mirren into the semi-finals of the Scottish Cup for the first time since 1987, the year they last won the competition, and keeps their unbeaten record at the New St Mirren Park intact.

It means Old Firm rivals Rangers, who take on Hamilton at Ibrox on Sunday, are the only team who can now complete a clean sweep of domestic trophies.

With a point to prove after last weekend’s thrashing in the league St Mirren started strongly with Garry Brady the first to test Artur Boruc in goal after just 90 seconds.

The midfielder fired in a vicious shot from the right which the Polish keeper managed to beat out and Steven Thomson’s follow-up was blocked by Stephen McManus.

But it only took a few minutes for Celtic to adapt to the blustery conditions before they had their first chance in the sixth minute.

Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink was at full stretch when he connected with an Andreas Hinkel cross at the back post but he fired his shot well over the bar from an awkward angle.

Scott McDonald thought he had given Celtic the lead in the 14th minute when he glanced home a header from Shunsuke Nakamura’s cross from the right but the Australian’s effort was ruled offside.

St Mirren’s defence looked to have learned lessons from their heavy defeat at Parkhead and when Nakamura fired in an in-swinging free-kick from the left in the 43rd minute defender Mo Camara was there to clear the danger.

Celtic started the second-half with more purpose going forward and in the 51st minute Aiden McGeady fired in a long-range effort which keeper Chris Smith had covered as it went wide of the post.

Two minutes later Darren O’Dea sent his header from a Nakamura corner well over the bar under no pressure.

But it was St Mirren who took the lead in the 55th minute through a Mehmet penalty. Craig Dargo’s mazy run took him past McManus but the Celtic captain then hauled the forward down in the box, which earned him a booking.

Mehmet took the resulting penalty and he calmly sent Boruc the wrong way to make it 1-0.

In the 73rd minute Dargo’s acrobatic volley at the far post from a Brady corner was cleared off the line by Spaniard Marc Crosas. Dargo was presented with another chance with five minutes remaining when Mehmet found him in the box but he shot straight at Boruc.

A minute later McDonald found himself with space in the box and sent in a low shot through a number of St Mirren defenders but the keeper got down to make the save.

Vennegoor of Hesselink nearly equalised for Celtic in the 88th minute when he connected well with a Nakamura corner from the right but his bullet header was straight at Smith, who did well to hold on to it.

Despite pressure from Celtic the Buddies held on to record a famous victory over the Old Firm giants.

Written by: AFP

Tags: andreas hinkel, Artur Boruc, awkward angle, Billy Mehmet, blustery conditions, Brady, chris smith, clean sweep, Craig Dargo, Darren, first chance, free kick, garry brady, Glasgow, Hamilton, jan vennegoor of hesselink, learned lessons, marc crosas, mcmanus, Mehmet, Mirren Park, Mo Camara, offside, scott mcdonald, scottish cup, Scottish Premier League, semi finals, shunsuke nakamura, st mirren, Stephen McManus, Steven Thomson, unbeaten record

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