Ever since Carlos Tevez arrived onto the Premiership scene in that West Ham shirt, there has been nothing but controversy surrounding him. It all started with a goal against Manchester United to keep the Hammers in Premiership at Sheffield United's expense. Then there was the battle of Tevez's legality surrounding his agent Kia Joorabchian which Neil Warnock still resents to this day. Tevez then moved onto Manchester United and received a warm welcome from the United fans. Unfortunately the welcome wasn't so warm from Alex Ferguson and Tevez was shown the door after he discussed his discontent at not being handed a new contract and having Berbatov picked ahead of him.
Despite a last minute attempt to keep Tevez, the Argentine perhaps partially spitefully, partially financially or maybe for another reason, he moved across the city to Manchester City. That sparked the infamous Welcome To Manchester sign which got Alex Ferguson's back up and the Manchester rivalry kicked up a notch. But Tevez soon realised that the grass isn't always greener and this summer was surrounded in a huge transfer saga. Tevez has quite clearly expressed his want to move away from England, supposedly back home, and the love-hate relationship between Tevez and the board saw Man City try desperately hard to palm him off to Inter Milan in an exchange deal for Sneijder. That fell through as Inter didn't have the financial funds to make the deal. The there was the last minute drama of Brazilian giants Corinthians coming in with a big bid, City looked to have partially accepted although wanting a little bit more and Tevez was more than happy. But the transfer window in South America shut and the deal fell through.
With Tevez seemingly staying put and a truce in order, he played in a City shirt earlier this season. Things were looking civil between the two parties until Tuesday night when Tevez refused to play against Bayern Munich. This lead to Mancini exclaiming that Tevez would never be picked to play again and Tevez has since been suspended by City for two weeks. This has lead to the question, what is going to happen next? There has been suggestions that City should just terminate his contract, but because of the huge financial climate surrounding the game, that won't happen. The best result for the fans, although they do admire him on the pitch, will be for Tevez to publicly apologise to them for his antics and for City to get rid of him as soon as the January window opens. Hopefully Corinthians will come back in and the saga can be completed and the City fans can be finally certain of the outcome of their former captain and move on. But it's going to be a long three months with yet more flashpoints to come I'm sure.
Thursday 29 September 2011
Wednesday 28 September 2011
2011/2012 CL Round-Up: Matchday 2 Groups E-H
Group E: Bayer Leverkuesen earned their first win of the campaign as Genk are still to find a goal. Lars Bender gave Leverkuesen the lead just before the half hour mark and then substitute Michael Ballack sealed the win in second half injury time.
Chelsea remain top of the group despite being held by Valencia in the Mestalla. Lampard gave Chelsea eleven minutes into the second half but Valencia equalised three minutes before the end when Kalou conceded a penalty for handball. Roberto Soldado converted the penalty to give Valencia their second point in two games.
Group F: Arsenal squeezed past Olympiacos in a match with sloppy defending. Arsenal took the lead when Oxlade-Chamberlain produced a good run before finishing into the bottom corner only eight minutes into his full European debut. Andre Santos then scored his first Arsenal goal to make it 2-0 after twenty minutes. Olympiacos pulled one back seven minutes later through David Fuster to set up the nervy affair. Both teams had chances to score but Arsenal held on to secure their first win of the campaign.
Marseille made it two wins from two with an impressive display against Borussia Dortmund. It was a contrasting night for the two Ayews; Andre broke the deadlock after twenty minutes before making it 3-0 from the penalty spot after sixty-nine minutes after Loic Remy had made it 2-0 seven minutes earlier. But Jordan Ayew came on as a substitute and received a second yellow in injury time to earn a suspension.
Group G: Possibly the two shocks of the night came in this group. In the earlier kick-off Zenit beat Porto in Russia. Porto did take the lead after ten minutes through James Rodriguez but that was cancelled out by Roman Shirokov ten minutes later. Jorge Fucile earnt a second yellow card before half-time, leaving Porto a man down in the second half. Zenit took full advantage with Shirokov making it 2-1 after sixty-three minutes before Danny sealed the victory eighteen minutes from the end.
After Apoel's shock victory over Zenit, they travelled to Donetsk and secured another point. Apoel did the take the lead through Ivan Trickovski just after the hour mark. But parity was restored when Jadson equalised three minutes later to give Donetsk their first point of the campaign.
Group H: This group went exactly as expected. AC Milan didn't really have any trouble against Plzen. But it did take a penalty from Ibrahimovic to break the deadlock eight minutes into the second half. Cassano wrapped it up after sixty-six minutes to seal the ominous victory.
BATE were completely blown apart by Barcelona. It all started going wrong after just twenty minutes when Aleksandr Volodko gave Barcelona the lead via an own goal, Pedro then made it 2-0 just two minutes later. Messi then added the third seven minutes before half-time before then making it four ten minutes after the restart. David Villa rounded the rout off in the injury time to make it 5-0 to Barcelona.
Chelsea remain top of the group despite being held by Valencia in the Mestalla. Lampard gave Chelsea eleven minutes into the second half but Valencia equalised three minutes before the end when Kalou conceded a penalty for handball. Roberto Soldado converted the penalty to give Valencia their second point in two games.
Group F: Arsenal squeezed past Olympiacos in a match with sloppy defending. Arsenal took the lead when Oxlade-Chamberlain produced a good run before finishing into the bottom corner only eight minutes into his full European debut. Andre Santos then scored his first Arsenal goal to make it 2-0 after twenty minutes. Olympiacos pulled one back seven minutes later through David Fuster to set up the nervy affair. Both teams had chances to score but Arsenal held on to secure their first win of the campaign.
Marseille made it two wins from two with an impressive display against Borussia Dortmund. It was a contrasting night for the two Ayews; Andre broke the deadlock after twenty minutes before making it 3-0 from the penalty spot after sixty-nine minutes after Loic Remy had made it 2-0 seven minutes earlier. But Jordan Ayew came on as a substitute and received a second yellow in injury time to earn a suspension.
Group G: Possibly the two shocks of the night came in this group. In the earlier kick-off Zenit beat Porto in Russia. Porto did take the lead after ten minutes through James Rodriguez but that was cancelled out by Roman Shirokov ten minutes later. Jorge Fucile earnt a second yellow card before half-time, leaving Porto a man down in the second half. Zenit took full advantage with Shirokov making it 2-1 after sixty-three minutes before Danny sealed the victory eighteen minutes from the end.
After Apoel's shock victory over Zenit, they travelled to Donetsk and secured another point. Apoel did the take the lead through Ivan Trickovski just after the hour mark. But parity was restored when Jadson equalised three minutes later to give Donetsk their first point of the campaign.
Group H: This group went exactly as expected. AC Milan didn't really have any trouble against Plzen. But it did take a penalty from Ibrahimovic to break the deadlock eight minutes into the second half. Cassano wrapped it up after sixty-six minutes to seal the ominous victory.
BATE were completely blown apart by Barcelona. It all started going wrong after just twenty minutes when Aleksandr Volodko gave Barcelona the lead via an own goal, Pedro then made it 2-0 just two minutes later. Messi then added the third seven minutes before half-time before then making it four ten minutes after the restart. David Villa rounded the rout off in the injury time to make it 5-0 to Barcelona.
Tuesday 27 September 2011
2011/2012 CL Round-Up: Matchday 2 Groups A-D
The second round of Champions League group stage matches has arrived and for the second time, neither Manchester club could find a win:
Group A: The drama before the big match at the Allianz Arena was that Tevez refused to play for Manchester City against Bayern Munich. It was all over before half-time as Munich dominated the game. They broke the deadlock after thirty-eight minutes when Hart parried a shot straight into the path of Mario Gomez who quite simply couldn't miss. Gomez then made it 2-0 before half-time to leave City still in search of their first ever Champions League win.
Napoli go second with an impressive win over Villarreal in their first ever Champions League home match. Marek Hamsik put Napoli ahead after just fourteen minutes before Edinson Cavani doubled the score from the penalty spot three minutes later. Villarreal are still to accumulate a point this campaign.
Group B: After losing their first game against Trabzonspor, Inter needed to win in a tough away match against CSKA Moscow. Lucio gave Inter the lead after six minutes before Giampaolo Pazzini made it 2-0 after twenty-three. Alan Dzagoev pulled a goal back for CSKA just before half-time and Vagner Love then equalised with thirteen minutes left. But there was parity for less than minute as former Birmingham star Mauro Zarate won the match for Inter.
Trabzonspor remain unbeaten in their first two Champions League ties. Lille were the visitors and it took them half an hour before Moussa Sow gave them the lead. Gustavo Colman equalised from the penalty spot with fifteen minutes left to give the Turks a point.
Group C: There was an extremely topsy turvy affair at Old Trafford as Manchester United went from comfortably in the lead to being a minute away from losing to Basle. Danny Welbeck was chosen as the lone striker due to notable injuries and he gave United the lead after sixteen minutes before then making it 2-0 just a minute later. United let Basle in far too often throughout the match and their defensive errors were paid for when Fabian Frei made it 2-1 thirteen minutes into the second half and then Alexander Frei equalised two minutes later. Alexnader Frei then gave Basle a 3-2 lead by converting a penalty with fourteen minutes remaining, Valencia brought Frei down to concede the spot-kick, But United's blushes were saved in injury time when Ashley Young headed home a Nani cross. United still to win in this year's campaign as Basle remain top on four points.
Benfica joined Basle on four points with a win over minnows Otelul Galati. The only goal of the game coming five minutes before half-time with Bruno Cesar giving Benfica the victory.
Group D: Lyon scored their first goals of the campaign with a win over Dinamo Zagreb. Bafetimbi Gomis gave Lyon the lead after twenty-three minutes before Bakary Kone rounded the match off three minutes before half-time. Zagreb are yet to score a goal or a point this campaign.
Ajax are also yet to score after a 3-0 defeat to Real Madrid. Ronaldo broke the deadlock after twenty-five minutes before Kaka double the score four minutes before half-time. Benzema rounded it off four minutes after restart to ensure Madrid's 100% start to this campaign
Group A: The drama before the big match at the Allianz Arena was that Tevez refused to play for Manchester City against Bayern Munich. It was all over before half-time as Munich dominated the game. They broke the deadlock after thirty-eight minutes when Hart parried a shot straight into the path of Mario Gomez who quite simply couldn't miss. Gomez then made it 2-0 before half-time to leave City still in search of their first ever Champions League win.
Napoli go second with an impressive win over Villarreal in their first ever Champions League home match. Marek Hamsik put Napoli ahead after just fourteen minutes before Edinson Cavani doubled the score from the penalty spot three minutes later. Villarreal are still to accumulate a point this campaign.
Group B: After losing their first game against Trabzonspor, Inter needed to win in a tough away match against CSKA Moscow. Lucio gave Inter the lead after six minutes before Giampaolo Pazzini made it 2-0 after twenty-three. Alan Dzagoev pulled a goal back for CSKA just before half-time and Vagner Love then equalised with thirteen minutes left. But there was parity for less than minute as former Birmingham star Mauro Zarate won the match for Inter.
Trabzonspor remain unbeaten in their first two Champions League ties. Lille were the visitors and it took them half an hour before Moussa Sow gave them the lead. Gustavo Colman equalised from the penalty spot with fifteen minutes left to give the Turks a point.
Group C: There was an extremely topsy turvy affair at Old Trafford as Manchester United went from comfortably in the lead to being a minute away from losing to Basle. Danny Welbeck was chosen as the lone striker due to notable injuries and he gave United the lead after sixteen minutes before then making it 2-0 just a minute later. United let Basle in far too often throughout the match and their defensive errors were paid for when Fabian Frei made it 2-1 thirteen minutes into the second half and then Alexander Frei equalised two minutes later. Alexnader Frei then gave Basle a 3-2 lead by converting a penalty with fourteen minutes remaining, Valencia brought Frei down to concede the spot-kick, But United's blushes were saved in injury time when Ashley Young headed home a Nani cross. United still to win in this year's campaign as Basle remain top on four points.
Benfica joined Basle on four points with a win over minnows Otelul Galati. The only goal of the game coming five minutes before half-time with Bruno Cesar giving Benfica the victory.
Group D: Lyon scored their first goals of the campaign with a win over Dinamo Zagreb. Bafetimbi Gomis gave Lyon the lead after twenty-three minutes before Bakary Kone rounded the match off three minutes before half-time. Zagreb are yet to score a goal or a point this campaign.
Ajax are also yet to score after a 3-0 defeat to Real Madrid. Ronaldo broke the deadlock after twenty-five minutes before Kaka double the score four minutes before half-time. Benzema rounded it off four minutes after restart to ensure Madrid's 100% start to this campaign
Monday 26 September 2011
Norwich Leave Mackems Needing Mor, Villa Hadn't Dunne Enough
Norwich secured back to back wins with their first home victory of the season in tonight's edition of Monday Night Football. Sunderland were the visitors to Carrow Road and couldn't quite get their foot in the game during the first half. Norwich were able to take the lead just after the half hour mark when Leon Barnett finished off a slick attacking move. The second half was more of the same and Norwich pressed home their advantage by making it 2-0 just three minutes after the restart. Steve Morison heading home a lofted cross to open his Norwich account. Still Sunderland were sluggish to respond but Bendtner had a great chance to capitalise from a catalogue of defending errors but his narrow angled shot just clipped Ruddy before going well wide. Kieron Richardson did make it 2-1 with four minutes left to play when his diagonal long range effort nestled into the bottom corner. But Norwich held on with ten men as substitute James Vaughan was forced off with an ankle injury.
Meanwhile in yesterday's edition of Super Sunday, Aston Villa travelled to the capital to face QPR. Villa took the lead thirteen minutes into the second half when Bannan converted a dubious penalty. Agbonlahor went down easily from a slight Traore shirt tug and the referee gave it. QPR could have also had a penalty or two with Hutton looking seemingly guilty of handball on both occasions, but none were given. QPR did then get a slice of luck when Dunne put the ball in his own net in injury time to seal a draw. Traore was also then sent off in injury time for a second bookable offence and although Villa have drew more games than they've won, they still remain unbeaten.
Meanwhile in yesterday's edition of Super Sunday, Aston Villa travelled to the capital to face QPR. Villa took the lead thirteen minutes into the second half when Bannan converted a dubious penalty. Agbonlahor went down easily from a slight Traore shirt tug and the referee gave it. QPR could have also had a penalty or two with Hutton looking seemingly guilty of handball on both occasions, but none were given. QPR did then get a slice of luck when Dunne put the ball in his own net in injury time to seal a draw. Traore was also then sent off in injury time for a second bookable offence and although Villa have drew more games than they've won, they still remain unbeaten.
One Point Away
Sebastien Vettel secured another straight forward victory to put himself just one point away from winning the Drivers' Championship. It was virtually a repeat of Monza as the action behind Vettel was nail biting from start to finish. It could have slightly different as Button started to catch him towards the end but it was too little to late as traffic compromised any chances of a last lap shoot-out.
Not for the first time this season, Hamilton had the most eventful race. It had started in qualifying when by suffering a puncture in one of his super soft tyres, therefore losing a set for the race. The McLaren then had a poor start in the race as he dropped to eighth but was able to push past Schumacher and Rosberg a lot easier than in Monza. He then ended Massa's race, not for the first time, by cutting in to early and puncturing the Ferrari's right rear tyre, Hamilton suffered major front wing damage. Fortunately Massa was able to continue and finish in the points, but not as high as he would have liked.
Hamilton received yet another drive through penalty for his conduct and came back out in twentieth place. Hamilton was helped though on lap twenty-nine when Schumacher misjudged Perez's braking zone and flew over the top before crashing into the barrier. Fortunately no-one was injured and the Safety Car had to be deployed.
After the Safety Car, Vettel had soon rebuilt his impressive lead over the rest of the pack. Hamilton was able to make it back to fifth with Di Resta producing a fantastic race to finish sixth. Result in full:
1.Vettel (Red Bull), 2.Button (McLaren), 3.Webber (Red Bull), 4.Alonso (Ferrari), 5.Hamilton (McLaren), 6.Di Resta (Force India), 7.Rosberg (Mercedes), 8.Sutil (Force India), 9.Massa (Ferrari), 10.Perez (Sauber), 11.Maldonado (Williams), 12.Buemi (Toro Rosso), 13.Barrichello (Williams), 14.Kobayashi (Sauber), 15.Senna (Renault), 16.Kovalainen (Lotus), 17.Petrov (Renault), 18.D'Ambrosio (Virgin), 19.Ricciardo (Hispania), 20.Liuzzi (Hispania) DNF: Glock (Virgin, suspension failure lap 9), Schumacher (Mercedes, crash lap 28), Trulli (Lotus, mechanical failure lap 47), Alguersuari (Toro Rosso, crash lap 56)
Not for the first time this season, Hamilton had the most eventful race. It had started in qualifying when by suffering a puncture in one of his super soft tyres, therefore losing a set for the race. The McLaren then had a poor start in the race as he dropped to eighth but was able to push past Schumacher and Rosberg a lot easier than in Monza. He then ended Massa's race, not for the first time, by cutting in to early and puncturing the Ferrari's right rear tyre, Hamilton suffered major front wing damage. Fortunately Massa was able to continue and finish in the points, but not as high as he would have liked.
Hamilton received yet another drive through penalty for his conduct and came back out in twentieth place. Hamilton was helped though on lap twenty-nine when Schumacher misjudged Perez's braking zone and flew over the top before crashing into the barrier. Fortunately no-one was injured and the Safety Car had to be deployed.
After the Safety Car, Vettel had soon rebuilt his impressive lead over the rest of the pack. Hamilton was able to make it back to fifth with Di Resta producing a fantastic race to finish sixth. Result in full:
1.Vettel (Red Bull), 2.Button (McLaren), 3.Webber (Red Bull), 4.Alonso (Ferrari), 5.Hamilton (McLaren), 6.Di Resta (Force India), 7.Rosberg (Mercedes), 8.Sutil (Force India), 9.Massa (Ferrari), 10.Perez (Sauber), 11.Maldonado (Williams), 12.Buemi (Toro Rosso), 13.Barrichello (Williams), 14.Kobayashi (Sauber), 15.Senna (Renault), 16.Kovalainen (Lotus), 17.Petrov (Renault), 18.D'Ambrosio (Virgin), 19.Ricciardo (Hispania), 20.Liuzzi (Hispania) DNF: Glock (Virgin, suspension failure lap 9), Schumacher (Mercedes, crash lap 28), Trulli (Lotus, mechanical failure lap 47), Alguersuari (Toro Rosso, crash lap 56)
Forty Year-Old World Champion
Greg Hancock finalised his Wrold Champion status on Saturday in the 2011 Speedway GP series' penultimate meeting of the season. The tenth meeting was held in Gorican, Croatia and was won by Andreas Jonsson. If the Swede had started the season as well as he's finishing it, Hancock would have had a bigger challenge on his hands. Britain's Chris Harris finally had a decent meeting, making it to the final and scoring a point more than Jonsson. Lindgren also made it to the final despite only winning one of his heats but Hancock secured another final to guarantee his World Championship.
With just one meeting remaining, Hancock can relax while he currently stands on 154 points. Jonsson has now made it to second on 118 with Hampel just a point behind, making it an interesting final battle for second. Crump sits fourth on 104 while Gollob has now been caught up by Sayfutdinov as they both have 98 points. Bjerre is just a point behind and Harris has now made it into the top eight, which would secure him a place in next season's GP series, on 95 points.
With just one meeting remaining, Hancock can relax while he currently stands on 154 points. Jonsson has now made it to second on 118 with Hampel just a point behind, making it an interesting final battle for second. Crump sits fourth on 104 while Gollob has now been caught up by Sayfutdinov as they both have 98 points. Bjerre is just a point behind and Harris has now made it into the top eight, which would secure him a place in next season's GP series, on 95 points.
Sunday 25 September 2011
PL Round-Up 24/09/11
Man City 2-0 Everton: The lunch time kick-off was a very tight affair with Everton defending well for most of the match. Substitute Balotelli's shot deflected of Jagielka to break the deadlock after sixty-eight minutes. Another substitute, James Milner, finished the game off in the final minute of normal time.
Liverpool 2-1 Wolves: Roger Johnson gave Liverpool by inadvertently heading a Charlie Adam shot past his own keeper after eleven minutes. Suarez made it 2-0 after thirty-eight minutes before Steven Fletcher pulled one back for Wolves four minutes into the second half.
Arsenal 3-0 Bolton: Arsenal look to be back on track with this convincing win. Van Persie opened the scoring just a minute into the second half. Bolton were reduced to ten men when Wheater pulled Walcott back as last man in a goal scoring opportunity. Arsenal took full advantage and Van Persie scored his 100th Arsenal goal nineteen minutes from time, Song finished it off in the final minute.
Wigan 1-2 Tottenham: Spurs took the lead after just three minutes when Van der Vaart finished off a good passing move. Bale then made it 2-0 from a Modric corner after twenty-three minutes before Diame pulled one back five minutes into the second half. Any comeback hopes were dashed when Gohouri received his second yellow card after sixty-three minutes for tripping Bale.
Newcastle 3-1 Blackburn: Newcastle remain as one of four sides to be unbeaten this season. Demba Ba scored his first Toon goal after twenty-seven minutes before then making it 2-0 just three minutes later. Hoilett pulled a goal back for Blackburn after thirty-seven minutes before Ba scored his hat-trick nine minutes into the second half. Blackburn's Olsson received his marching orders after a second silly yellow card on sixty-nine minutes, his first was for dissent and his second was for an obvious trip.
Chelsea 4-1 Swansea: Torres made it two goals in two games to break the deadlock after twenty-nine minutes. Ramires made it 2-0 after thirty-six before Torres was shown a straight red for a two footed lunge. It didn't stop Chelsea as Ramires scored his second fourteen minutes from the end. Swansea scored their first away goal and a consolation through Ashley Williams four minutes from the end, but the three goal cushion was restored with a injury time goal from the returning Drogba.
Stoke 1-1 Man Utd: United's 100% start comes to an end in a feisty match at the Britannia. Rooney sustained a hamstring injury in training and Evans injured his foot in the warm-up. Hernandez was able to start despite last week's ankle injury but his night was over after three minutes when Woodgate pushed him in the box and the Mexican collided with Begovic. No penalty was given. Nani gave United the lead after twenty-six minutes with a brilliant piece of individual skill. Stoke equalised seven minutes into the second half when Jones lost Crouch, allowing the striker to head home from five yards. Crouch could have won the game with two fantastic chances, but United maybe should have had a penalty for handball but nothing was given. A draw was a fair result in the end.
West Brom 0-0 Fulham: Both teams hit the wood work but neither could break the deadlock in this decent 0-0 draw.
Liverpool 2-1 Wolves: Roger Johnson gave Liverpool by inadvertently heading a Charlie Adam shot past his own keeper after eleven minutes. Suarez made it 2-0 after thirty-eight minutes before Steven Fletcher pulled one back for Wolves four minutes into the second half.
Arsenal 3-0 Bolton: Arsenal look to be back on track with this convincing win. Van Persie opened the scoring just a minute into the second half. Bolton were reduced to ten men when Wheater pulled Walcott back as last man in a goal scoring opportunity. Arsenal took full advantage and Van Persie scored his 100th Arsenal goal nineteen minutes from time, Song finished it off in the final minute.
Wigan 1-2 Tottenham: Spurs took the lead after just three minutes when Van der Vaart finished off a good passing move. Bale then made it 2-0 from a Modric corner after twenty-three minutes before Diame pulled one back five minutes into the second half. Any comeback hopes were dashed when Gohouri received his second yellow card after sixty-three minutes for tripping Bale.
Newcastle 3-1 Blackburn: Newcastle remain as one of four sides to be unbeaten this season. Demba Ba scored his first Toon goal after twenty-seven minutes before then making it 2-0 just three minutes later. Hoilett pulled a goal back for Blackburn after thirty-seven minutes before Ba scored his hat-trick nine minutes into the second half. Blackburn's Olsson received his marching orders after a second silly yellow card on sixty-nine minutes, his first was for dissent and his second was for an obvious trip.
Chelsea 4-1 Swansea: Torres made it two goals in two games to break the deadlock after twenty-nine minutes. Ramires made it 2-0 after thirty-six before Torres was shown a straight red for a two footed lunge. It didn't stop Chelsea as Ramires scored his second fourteen minutes from the end. Swansea scored their first away goal and a consolation through Ashley Williams four minutes from the end, but the three goal cushion was restored with a injury time goal from the returning Drogba.
Stoke 1-1 Man Utd: United's 100% start comes to an end in a feisty match at the Britannia. Rooney sustained a hamstring injury in training and Evans injured his foot in the warm-up. Hernandez was able to start despite last week's ankle injury but his night was over after three minutes when Woodgate pushed him in the box and the Mexican collided with Begovic. No penalty was given. Nani gave United the lead after twenty-six minutes with a brilliant piece of individual skill. Stoke equalised seven minutes into the second half when Jones lost Crouch, allowing the striker to head home from five yards. Crouch could have won the game with two fantastic chances, but United maybe should have had a penalty for handball but nothing was given. A draw was a fair result in the end.
West Brom 0-0 Fulham: Both teams hit the wood work but neither could break the deadlock in this decent 0-0 draw.
Singapore Qualifying Result
1. Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull)
2. Mark Webber (Red Bull)
3. Jenson Button (McLaren)
4. Lewis Hamilton (McLaren)
5. Fernando Alonso (Ferrari)
6. Felipe Massa (Ferrari)
7. Nico Rosberg (Mercedes)
8. Michael Schumacher (Mercedes)
9. Adrian Sutil (Force India)
10. Paul Di Resta (Force India)
11. Sergio Perez (Sauber)
12. Rubens Barrichello (Williams)
13. Pastor Maldonado (Williams)
14. Sebastien Buemi (Toro Rosso)
15. Bruno Senna (Renault)
16. Jaime Alguersuari (Toro Rosso)
17. Kamui Kobayashi (Sauber)
18. Vitaly Petrov (Renault)
19. Heikki Kovalainen (Lotus)
20. Jarno Trulli (Lotus)
21. Timo Glock (Virgin)
22. Jerome D'Ambrosio (Virgin)
23. Daniel Ricciardo (Hispania)
24. Viantonio Liuzzi (Hispania)
2. Mark Webber (Red Bull)
3. Jenson Button (McLaren)
4. Lewis Hamilton (McLaren)
5. Fernando Alonso (Ferrari)
6. Felipe Massa (Ferrari)
7. Nico Rosberg (Mercedes)
8. Michael Schumacher (Mercedes)
9. Adrian Sutil (Force India)
10. Paul Di Resta (Force India)
11. Sergio Perez (Sauber)
12. Rubens Barrichello (Williams)
13. Pastor Maldonado (Williams)
14. Sebastien Buemi (Toro Rosso)
15. Bruno Senna (Renault)
16. Jaime Alguersuari (Toro Rosso)
17. Kamui Kobayashi (Sauber)
18. Vitaly Petrov (Renault)
19. Heikki Kovalainen (Lotus)
20. Jarno Trulli (Lotus)
21. Timo Glock (Virgin)
22. Jerome D'Ambrosio (Virgin)
23. Daniel Ricciardo (Hispania)
24. Viantonio Liuzzi (Hispania)
Apologies
The Internet at University is still not entirely fixed, this means that some updates may be missed. If this does happen then the sincerest apologies go out to anyone who reads this. The Internet should be working properly next week, sorry for any inconvenience caused and hopefully it hasn't put you off reading this blog.
Thursday 22 September 2011
Caling Cup Round Up: Wednesday's 3rd Round Action
The remaining six Carling Cup ties took place last night which included the holders being knocked out already.
Brighton 1-2 Liverpool: Brighton's great start to life in the Championship was no match for Liverpool's pretty strong side. Craig Bellamy scored his first goal his new Liverpool career after just seven minutes. Kuyt made it 2-0 with nine minutes to go before Brighton substitute Ashley Barnes scored a consolation penalty in injury time.
Cardiff 2-2 Leicester: 120 minutes couldn't separate these two but all the goals were scored in the ninety usual minutes. Don Cowie put Cardiff ahead after thirty three minutes but it was cancelled out just seven minutes later by Steve Howard. Leicester then took the lead through Lloyd Dyer six minutes after the hour but that was then cancelled out by Rudy Gestede eight minutes from time. They then needed extra time in penalties before Cardiff finally came out winners 7-6.
Chelsea 0-0 Fulham: Chelsea managed to take Fulham to despite being reduced to ten men just two minutes into the second half. Alex was dismissed for a professional foul which resulted in a Fulham penalty but Kasami hit the bar and it turned out to be an unlucky omen. Bryan Ruiz would then go onto miss the final penalty in the shoot-out by hitting the bar, giving Chelsea the 4-3 win on penalties.
Man City 2-0 Birmingham: City knock the holders out with a side that included debutantes in the form of Savic and Hargreaves but also a comeback for Kolo Toure after his drugs ban. It was Hargreaves who scored on his City debut to give City the lead after seventeen minutes. Balotelli wrapped things up seven minutes before half-time.
Southampton 2-1 Preston: Southampton's great start to the season continued with progression into the fourth round. Jos Hooiveld put the Saints ahead after twenty seven minutes but Adam Barton equalised for Preston seven minutes into the second half. Adam Lallana won the game six minutes past the hour mark to secure a place in Saturday's draw.
Everton 2-1 West Brom: Everton continue their decent run of form with a win over West Brom after extra time. Chris Brunt had put West Brom ahead with a penalty twelve minutes into the second half. Fellaini forced extra time with an equaliser in the final minute of normal before Phil Neville won the game thirteen minutes into extra time.
Brighton 1-2 Liverpool: Brighton's great start to life in the Championship was no match for Liverpool's pretty strong side. Craig Bellamy scored his first goal his new Liverpool career after just seven minutes. Kuyt made it 2-0 with nine minutes to go before Brighton substitute Ashley Barnes scored a consolation penalty in injury time.
Cardiff 2-2 Leicester: 120 minutes couldn't separate these two but all the goals were scored in the ninety usual minutes. Don Cowie put Cardiff ahead after thirty three minutes but it was cancelled out just seven minutes later by Steve Howard. Leicester then took the lead through Lloyd Dyer six minutes after the hour but that was then cancelled out by Rudy Gestede eight minutes from time. They then needed extra time in penalties before Cardiff finally came out winners 7-6.
Chelsea 0-0 Fulham: Chelsea managed to take Fulham to despite being reduced to ten men just two minutes into the second half. Alex was dismissed for a professional foul which resulted in a Fulham penalty but Kasami hit the bar and it turned out to be an unlucky omen. Bryan Ruiz would then go onto miss the final penalty in the shoot-out by hitting the bar, giving Chelsea the 4-3 win on penalties.
Man City 2-0 Birmingham: City knock the holders out with a side that included debutantes in the form of Savic and Hargreaves but also a comeback for Kolo Toure after his drugs ban. It was Hargreaves who scored on his City debut to give City the lead after seventeen minutes. Balotelli wrapped things up seven minutes before half-time.
Southampton 2-1 Preston: Southampton's great start to the season continued with progression into the fourth round. Jos Hooiveld put the Saints ahead after twenty seven minutes but Adam Barton equalised for Preston seven minutes into the second half. Adam Lallana won the game six minutes past the hour mark to secure a place in Saturday's draw.
Everton 2-1 West Brom: Everton continue their decent run of form with a win over West Brom after extra time. Chris Brunt had put West Brom ahead with a penalty twelve minutes into the second half. Fellaini forced extra time with an equaliser in the final minute of normal before Phil Neville won the game thirteen minutes into extra time.
Wednesday 21 September 2011
Carling Cup Round-Up: Tuesday's 3rd Round Action
Firstly, apologies for missing last weekend's Premiership action, just moved into University and have been unable to get an internet connection until now.
Yesterday saw the Carling Cup third round start with half of the fixtures being played:
Arsenal 3-1 Shrewsbury: Arsenal fielded a somewhat young side alonside the experience of Chamakh, Park and Benayoun. But it was Shrewsbury who opened the scoring after sixteen minutes through James Collins. Arsenal responded after thirty-three minutes via Kieron Gibbs and the upset was avoided thirteen minutes into the second half when Oxlade-Chamberlain put the hosts ahead. Benayoun then rounded it off with his first Arsenal goal twelve minutes from the end.
Aldershot 2-1 Rochdale: Perhaps the shock of the night as League Two Aldershot beat League One Rochdale. Again it was the away side that actually took the lead, Ashley Grimes putting Rochdale ahead just before half-time. Aldershot equalised just two minutes after the restart with Michael Rankine scoring the leveller. Aldershot won the game twelve minutes from time with Danny Hylton putting Aldershot into the fourth round.
Aston Villa 0-2 Bolton: Bolton inflict Villa's first defeat of the season in front of Villa's own fans. Chris Eagles opened the scoring nine minutes into the second half before Chelsea loanee Kakuta made it 2-0 thirteen minutes from time.
Burnley 2-1 MK Dons: Again it was MK Dons who took the lead in this one, Daniel Power scored after just six minutes. Burnley equalised before the hour through Kieran Trippier and Andre Amougou put Burnley through in last minute of normal time.
Leeds 0-3 Man United: With United fielding two midfielders and a debutante youngster in defence, Leeds had the best chance early on. But United took the lead after a good passing move was finished deftly by Owen after quarter of an hour. Owen then made it 2-0 with a top corber blast from just inside the box after thirty-two minutes. Giggs wrapped the game up just before half-time with a run in from the wing before finishing with the outside of his foot past the keeper.
Nottingham Forest 3-4 Newcastle: Newcastle needed injury time in extra time to win this seven goal thriller at the City Ground. Peter Lovenkrands put Newcastle ahead six minutes before half-time but was ruled by Robbie Findley's equaliser a minute after the restart. Lovenkrands again gave Newcastle the lead on the hour after converting a penalty but Matt Derbyshire made it 2-2 six minutes later and the game went into extra time. Again Newcastle took the lead, this time through Danny Simpson just three minutes into the period. Forest equalised again through Marcus Tudgay six minutes from the end and with the game looking to be headed to penalties, Fabricio Coloccini won the match in the dying seconds to see Newcastle through.
Stoke 0-0 Tottenham: With neither team managing to break the deadlock after 120 minutes, the game went into penalties. It then took extra time in the penalty shoot-out before Stoke finally won the match 7-6 on penalties.
Wolves 5-0 Millwall: Wolves opened the scoring after just three minutes through David Edwards and then a rout ensued. Adam Hamill made it 2-0 after seven minutes before Elookbi virtually finished the game off seven minutes before half-time. Substitute James Spray made it 4-0 after seventy-seven minutes before Guedioura rounded it off two minutes from the end.
Blackburn 3-2 Leyton Orient: Blackburn had a nervy six minutes as they saw off Orient at Ewood Park. Jason Roberts gave Rovers the lead just before half-time via the penalty spot. Dave Mooney equalised four minutes after the hour mark before Rovers retook the lead through Ruben Rochina after seventy-one minutes. Simon Vukcevic then made it 3-1 four minutes later before Dean Cox pulled one back six minutes from time but Blackburn held out to progress.
Crystal Palace 2-1 Middlesborough: Palace took the lead after eighteen minutes through Wilfried Zaha. Calvin Andrew doubled their lead seven minutes into the second half before Boro pulled a goal back three minutes later via Merouane Zemmama. But Palace were able to hold on to make it into Saturday's draw.
Yesterday saw the Carling Cup third round start with half of the fixtures being played:
Arsenal 3-1 Shrewsbury: Arsenal fielded a somewhat young side alonside the experience of Chamakh, Park and Benayoun. But it was Shrewsbury who opened the scoring after sixteen minutes through James Collins. Arsenal responded after thirty-three minutes via Kieron Gibbs and the upset was avoided thirteen minutes into the second half when Oxlade-Chamberlain put the hosts ahead. Benayoun then rounded it off with his first Arsenal goal twelve minutes from the end.
Aldershot 2-1 Rochdale: Perhaps the shock of the night as League Two Aldershot beat League One Rochdale. Again it was the away side that actually took the lead, Ashley Grimes putting Rochdale ahead just before half-time. Aldershot equalised just two minutes after the restart with Michael Rankine scoring the leveller. Aldershot won the game twelve minutes from time with Danny Hylton putting Aldershot into the fourth round.
Aston Villa 0-2 Bolton: Bolton inflict Villa's first defeat of the season in front of Villa's own fans. Chris Eagles opened the scoring nine minutes into the second half before Chelsea loanee Kakuta made it 2-0 thirteen minutes from time.
Burnley 2-1 MK Dons: Again it was MK Dons who took the lead in this one, Daniel Power scored after just six minutes. Burnley equalised before the hour through Kieran Trippier and Andre Amougou put Burnley through in last minute of normal time.
Leeds 0-3 Man United: With United fielding two midfielders and a debutante youngster in defence, Leeds had the best chance early on. But United took the lead after a good passing move was finished deftly by Owen after quarter of an hour. Owen then made it 2-0 with a top corber blast from just inside the box after thirty-two minutes. Giggs wrapped the game up just before half-time with a run in from the wing before finishing with the outside of his foot past the keeper.
Nottingham Forest 3-4 Newcastle: Newcastle needed injury time in extra time to win this seven goal thriller at the City Ground. Peter Lovenkrands put Newcastle ahead six minutes before half-time but was ruled by Robbie Findley's equaliser a minute after the restart. Lovenkrands again gave Newcastle the lead on the hour after converting a penalty but Matt Derbyshire made it 2-2 six minutes later and the game went into extra time. Again Newcastle took the lead, this time through Danny Simpson just three minutes into the period. Forest equalised again through Marcus Tudgay six minutes from the end and with the game looking to be headed to penalties, Fabricio Coloccini won the match in the dying seconds to see Newcastle through.
Stoke 0-0 Tottenham: With neither team managing to break the deadlock after 120 minutes, the game went into penalties. It then took extra time in the penalty shoot-out before Stoke finally won the match 7-6 on penalties.
Wolves 5-0 Millwall: Wolves opened the scoring after just three minutes through David Edwards and then a rout ensued. Adam Hamill made it 2-0 after seven minutes before Elookbi virtually finished the game off seven minutes before half-time. Substitute James Spray made it 4-0 after seventy-seven minutes before Guedioura rounded it off two minutes from the end.
Blackburn 3-2 Leyton Orient: Blackburn had a nervy six minutes as they saw off Orient at Ewood Park. Jason Roberts gave Rovers the lead just before half-time via the penalty spot. Dave Mooney equalised four minutes after the hour mark before Rovers retook the lead through Ruben Rochina after seventy-one minutes. Simon Vukcevic then made it 3-1 four minutes later before Dean Cox pulled one back six minutes from time but Blackburn held out to progress.
Crystal Palace 2-1 Middlesborough: Palace took the lead after eighteen minutes through Wilfried Zaha. Calvin Andrew doubled their lead seven minutes into the second half before Boro pulled a goal back three minutes later via Merouane Zemmama. But Palace were able to hold on to make it into Saturday's draw.
Thursday 15 September 2011
2011/2012 CL Round-Up: Matchday 1 Groups A-D
The four 'red' groups started their Champions League campaign yesterday which included both Manchester teams failing to win, the first penalty to be scored and another big shock:
Group A: Manchester City's 100% start to the season ended as they drew at home to fellow Champions League debutantes Napoli. Napoli took the lead through Uruguayan international Edinson Cavani after 69 minutes. A free-kick from Kolarov with fifteen minutes left gave City their first European point.
Group favourites Bayern Munich started off by beating Villarreal, which is their first home defeat in the Champions League. The 2010 runners-up took the lead after just seven minutes through Toni Kroos. Rafinha wrapped the game up fourteen minutes from the end with Munich's second.
Group B: Lille let a two goal lead slip as they drew at home to CSKA Moscow. Lille took the lead a minute before half-time when Moussa Sow tapped in a low cross, Benoit Pendretti doubled Lille's lead twelve minutes after the restart. Seydou Doumbia pulled a goal back for Moscow after 72 minutes before equalising in injury time.
The shock of the night came from the San Siro as the 2010 champions Inter Milan lost to Turkish league runners-up Trabzonspor. Trabzonspor had originally been eliminated in the first qualifying stage but were reinstated after Fenerbache were evicted. Despite having much the better chances, Inter lost when Ondrej Celustka scored from a rebound fourteen minutes from time.
Group C: Manchester United's 100% start to the season also ended after they drew at Benfica. United opted for a more experienced line-up and almost paid a heavy price when Oscar Cardozo put Benfica ahead after 28 minutes. United equalised three minutes before half-time via a superb long-range finish from Giggs, becoming the tournament's oldest scorer and also scoring in the competition for a record sixteen consecutive seasons.
FC Basel started their campaign with a close victory over debutantes Otelul Galati. Basel took the lead through Fabian Frei six minutes before half-time but it was cancelled out by Marius Pena's 58th minute equaliser. Adrian Salageanu was shown a straight for a challenge which conceded a penalty, the ever present Alexander Frei converted it to give Basel the win six minutes from time. Basel were also reduced to ten men with three minutes left when Benjamin Huggel received a second yellow card.
Group D: Real Madrid squeezed past Dinamo Zagreb in Croatia in their opening match. Angel Di Maria finally put Madrid ahead just eight minutes into the second half. Jose Mourinho was banned for the touchline for this game and will be joined by Marcelo in the next after he received a second yellow card for diving in the 73rd minute.
Ajax and Lyon started their campaigns with a 0-0 draw in the Amsterdam ArenA.
Group A: Manchester City's 100% start to the season ended as they drew at home to fellow Champions League debutantes Napoli. Napoli took the lead through Uruguayan international Edinson Cavani after 69 minutes. A free-kick from Kolarov with fifteen minutes left gave City their first European point.
Group favourites Bayern Munich started off by beating Villarreal, which is their first home defeat in the Champions League. The 2010 runners-up took the lead after just seven minutes through Toni Kroos. Rafinha wrapped the game up fourteen minutes from the end with Munich's second.
Group B: Lille let a two goal lead slip as they drew at home to CSKA Moscow. Lille took the lead a minute before half-time when Moussa Sow tapped in a low cross, Benoit Pendretti doubled Lille's lead twelve minutes after the restart. Seydou Doumbia pulled a goal back for Moscow after 72 minutes before equalising in injury time.
The shock of the night came from the San Siro as the 2010 champions Inter Milan lost to Turkish league runners-up Trabzonspor. Trabzonspor had originally been eliminated in the first qualifying stage but were reinstated after Fenerbache were evicted. Despite having much the better chances, Inter lost when Ondrej Celustka scored from a rebound fourteen minutes from time.
Group C: Manchester United's 100% start to the season also ended after they drew at Benfica. United opted for a more experienced line-up and almost paid a heavy price when Oscar Cardozo put Benfica ahead after 28 minutes. United equalised three minutes before half-time via a superb long-range finish from Giggs, becoming the tournament's oldest scorer and also scoring in the competition for a record sixteen consecutive seasons.
FC Basel started their campaign with a close victory over debutantes Otelul Galati. Basel took the lead through Fabian Frei six minutes before half-time but it was cancelled out by Marius Pena's 58th minute equaliser. Adrian Salageanu was shown a straight for a challenge which conceded a penalty, the ever present Alexander Frei converted it to give Basel the win six minutes from time. Basel were also reduced to ten men with three minutes left when Benjamin Huggel received a second yellow card.
Group D: Real Madrid squeezed past Dinamo Zagreb in Croatia in their opening match. Angel Di Maria finally put Madrid ahead just eight minutes into the second half. Jose Mourinho was banned for the touchline for this game and will be joined by Marcelo in the next after he received a second yellow card for diving in the 73rd minute.
Ajax and Lyon started their campaigns with a 0-0 draw in the Amsterdam ArenA.
Wednesday 14 September 2011
2011/2012 CL Round-Up: Matchday 1, Groups E-H
The Champions League is back and the road to the Allianz Arena, Munich began yesterday as the 'blue' groups (television purposes) played their opening group fixtures. Half of which ended in draws:
Group E: Chelsea kicked off their Champions League campaign with a 2-0 win over Bayer Leverkuesen at Stamford Bridge. David Luiz started his first game of the season after an injury and scored the opener after 67 minutes. Juan Mata played in last year's campaign with Valencia and kicked off his European career at Chelsea with the second goal in injury time. Genk drew 0-0 at home to Valencia.
Group F: Arsenal's stuttering start to the season continued as they could manage a draw away to the German champions Borussia Dortmund. Robin Van Persie gave Arsenal the lead three minutes before half-time but it was cancelled out by a fantastic free-kick by substitute Ivan Perisic two minutes from the end. Arsenal gave Arteta, Mertesacker and Benayoun their European debuts whereas fellow new signing Andre Santos made an appearance later on in the game.
Olympique Marseille kicked their campaign off with a win away at Olympiacos. Lucho Gonzalez scored the only goal of the game six minutes into the second half. Rod Fanni only lasted eight minutes as the Marseille substitute was shown a straight red in injury time.
Group G: The shock of the night came from Cyprus as Apoel Nicosia beat Zenit St. Petersburg in their G S Pancypria stadium. Konstantin Zyryanov actually gave Zenit the lead three minutes after the hour mark. Apoel equalised through Jorge Manduca after 73 minutes before Ailton made it 2-1 just two minutes later. Zenit were the reduced to ten men with fourteen minutes remaining when Dani Alves was shown a second yellow card.
Europa League Champions, Porto, started their Champions League campaign by beating nine men Shakhtar Donetsk. Adriano had given Donetsk the lead after thirteen minutes but Hulk equalised for Porto after 28 minutes. Then Yaroslav Rakitskiy became the first player to be sent off in this year's tournament five minutes before half-time. Porto took full advantage with Pinheiro Kleber making it 2-1 for Porto six minutes into the second half. Donetsk were reduced to nine when Dmytro Chygrynskiy received a second yellow card ten minutes before the end.
Group H: This group had the both the most alluring tie and the poorest sounding tie of the night. Defending Champions Barcelona hosted AC Milan in the most alluring tie of the night. Alexandre Pato gave Milan the lead inside the first minute but Barca regained composure before Pedro equalised nine minutes before half-time. David Villa then gave Barcelona the lead five minutes after the restart leaving Milan the require a last minute equaliser from Thiago Silva to rescue the point.
The poorest sounding tie of the night saw Viktoria Plzen take on BATE Borisov in Czech Republic. Plzen took the lead through Marek Bakos in first half injury time. BATE equalised through Renan Bressan after 69 minutes to earn a point against the Champions League debutantes, plus it will be the only time both Plzen and BATE can say they've earned as many points as Barcelona and AC Milan in European competition.
Group E: Chelsea kicked off their Champions League campaign with a 2-0 win over Bayer Leverkuesen at Stamford Bridge. David Luiz started his first game of the season after an injury and scored the opener after 67 minutes. Juan Mata played in last year's campaign with Valencia and kicked off his European career at Chelsea with the second goal in injury time. Genk drew 0-0 at home to Valencia.
Group F: Arsenal's stuttering start to the season continued as they could manage a draw away to the German champions Borussia Dortmund. Robin Van Persie gave Arsenal the lead three minutes before half-time but it was cancelled out by a fantastic free-kick by substitute Ivan Perisic two minutes from the end. Arsenal gave Arteta, Mertesacker and Benayoun their European debuts whereas fellow new signing Andre Santos made an appearance later on in the game.
Olympique Marseille kicked their campaign off with a win away at Olympiacos. Lucho Gonzalez scored the only goal of the game six minutes into the second half. Rod Fanni only lasted eight minutes as the Marseille substitute was shown a straight red in injury time.
Group G: The shock of the night came from Cyprus as Apoel Nicosia beat Zenit St. Petersburg in their G S Pancypria stadium. Konstantin Zyryanov actually gave Zenit the lead three minutes after the hour mark. Apoel equalised through Jorge Manduca after 73 minutes before Ailton made it 2-1 just two minutes later. Zenit were the reduced to ten men with fourteen minutes remaining when Dani Alves was shown a second yellow card.
Europa League Champions, Porto, started their Champions League campaign by beating nine men Shakhtar Donetsk. Adriano had given Donetsk the lead after thirteen minutes but Hulk equalised for Porto after 28 minutes. Then Yaroslav Rakitskiy became the first player to be sent off in this year's tournament five minutes before half-time. Porto took full advantage with Pinheiro Kleber making it 2-1 for Porto six minutes into the second half. Donetsk were reduced to nine when Dmytro Chygrynskiy received a second yellow card ten minutes before the end.
Group H: This group had the both the most alluring tie and the poorest sounding tie of the night. Defending Champions Barcelona hosted AC Milan in the most alluring tie of the night. Alexandre Pato gave Milan the lead inside the first minute but Barca regained composure before Pedro equalised nine minutes before half-time. David Villa then gave Barcelona the lead five minutes after the restart leaving Milan the require a last minute equaliser from Thiago Silva to rescue the point.
The poorest sounding tie of the night saw Viktoria Plzen take on BATE Borisov in Czech Republic. Plzen took the lead through Marek Bakos in first half injury time. BATE equalised through Renan Bressan after 69 minutes to earn a point against the Champions League debutantes, plus it will be the only time both Plzen and BATE can say they've earned as many points as Barcelona and AC Milan in European competition.
Tuesday 13 September 2011
WBA Earn First Win, Draw at the Cottage and Barton Gets a Warm Reception
Super Sunday returned this weekend as West Brom faced Norwich and Fulham hosted Blackburn. There was also Monday Night Football as Joey Barton returned to St. James' Park with his new side QPR. The match at Carrow Road was decided after just three minutes when a defensive mistake allowed Peter Odemwingie to score after just three minutes. It was a tight affair and Norwich battled to hard to try and find an equaliser. But West Brom could have wrapped it up when Steve Morison was adjudged to have fouled Steven Reid, Odemwingie stepped up to convert the penalty but it was a poor one and Declan Rudd saved it. The flash point in the match came in stoppage time when Gabriel Tamas elbowed Norwich substitute James Vaughan in the box, the referee clearly didn't see it and play continued while Vaughan had to be treated for blood. Tamas has been given a three match ban by the FA for violent conduct but West Brom still take their first win of the season.
Fulham met Blackburn in the second installment of Super Sunday. With Blackburn yet to earn a point this season, they really needed to get a result here. They started off well and took the lead through Ruben Rochina after thirty-two minutes. This was cancelled out though six minutes later when Bobby Zamora equalised to give Fulham a point. Neither team was won a match in the league so far this season which isn't a good sign for either of the two clubs.
QPR made a statement on this week's Monday Night Football by instantly giving new boy Joey Barton the captain's armband against his former employers. It didn't really do enough to stoke the fire as the Newcastle fans applauded their one-time hero throughout the match. The game petered out into a 0-0 scoreline. This means that QPR are yet to score after their first two away games, whereas Newcastle have earned eight points from their first four games.
Fulham met Blackburn in the second installment of Super Sunday. With Blackburn yet to earn a point this season, they really needed to get a result here. They started off well and took the lead through Ruben Rochina after thirty-two minutes. This was cancelled out though six minutes later when Bobby Zamora equalised to give Fulham a point. Neither team was won a match in the league so far this season which isn't a good sign for either of the two clubs.
QPR made a statement on this week's Monday Night Football by instantly giving new boy Joey Barton the captain's armband against his former employers. It didn't really do enough to stoke the fire as the Newcastle fans applauded their one-time hero throughout the match. The game petered out into a 0-0 scoreline. This means that QPR are yet to score after their first two away games, whereas Newcastle have earned eight points from their first four games.
Monday 12 September 2011
Hancock Has It
Greg 'Herbie' Hancock is now just one round away from securing the Speedway GP Championship after winning round nine in Vojens, Denmark. Hancock won six of his seven rides, including the final, to earn another twenty-two points, taking his tally to 139 which is thirty-one points ahead of second placed Jaroslaw Hampel.
Jason Crump and Andreas Jonsson both move ahead of Thomasz Gollob in the overall standings after the reigning Champion once again looked to have given up for this season, accumulating a mere five points. Crump came second in the final with fellow Australian, Holder, in third and Freddie Lindgren fourth.
Hancock won his semi-final with Holder second ahead of third placed Nicky Pedersen and fourth placed Emil Sayfutdinov. The other semi-final was won by Crump with Lindgren second, Kenneth Bjerre finished third and the biggest shock saw Laguta progress to the semis but finished fourth. Laguta's highest points tally in one meeting was seven before Vojens, his second highest was two, but he showed us why he qualified for this year's GP series and accumulated nine points.
There was drama in the opening heat of the night when Holta hit the floor, he was able to get back up and move off the track to allow the heat to continue. Linback won the heat ahead of Jonsson and Gollob. Hancock won his opening heat after a restart due to Nicky Pedersen causing the wildcard Bjarne Pedersen to fall and was subsequently disqualified. Kenneth Bjerre was impressive during the heats and won heat three ahead of Hampel, Laguta and Harris. Holder took heat four ahead of Lindgren, Crump and Kolodziej.
Hancock made it two heats from two in the fifth heat with Gollob bringing up the rear. Andreas Jonsson won heat six with Sayfutdinov making it back to back second places. Nicky Pedersen came back from his disqualification to win heat seven and Hampel kept the pace with Hancock by winning heat eight ahead of Crump.
Bjerre won his second heat of the night in heat nine with Gollob again finishing fourth, Crump finished second for the second consecutive heat. Hampel made it to wins in a row with Hancock finishing third, meaning Hampel lead Hancock in the meeting at this stage. Laguta continued to impress in this meeting and won heat eleven. Nicky Pedersen also made it two wins in a row by winning heat twelve.
Gollob looked to have turned his night around with a win in heat thirteen, Hampel finished fourth to leave the door wide open for Hancock. Bjerre won his third heat of the night in heat fourteen and Hancock followed suite in heat fifteen to move ahead of Hampel on the night. Lindgren took heat sixteen with Laguta in second.
Chris Harris had had a miserable night taking just two points from his first four rides, but he ended the night on a high with a win in heat seventeen, Gollob ended the night third to end his miserable outing. Crump won his only heat of the night after originally false starting, causing a restart and Laguta finished second. Sayfutdinov won his only heat of the night in heat nineteen to book his place in the semis, Hampel finished fourth to fail to qualify for the semis and virtually give the title to Hancock. The American made all the more certain by winning the twentieth heat.
Hancock won the meeting and took the most points, Crump came second with seventeen points. Despite not making the final, Bjerre earned thirteen points as did Lindgren. Holder finished with eleven points with Nicky Pedersen on ten and Laguta and Sayfutdinov both picked up nine points. Gollob ended the night with five points and Hampel had eight.
This means that with two meetings left, Hancock has that thirty-one point lead over Hampel and can secure the Championship in the penultimate meeting in Croatia. Hampel has 108 points with Jonsson also hitting the century mark in third. Crump is on 96 while Gollob has slipped to fifth on 93. Holder and Sayftudinov are on 88 with Bjerre on 85 all looking to qualify for next year's GP series.
Jason Crump and Andreas Jonsson both move ahead of Thomasz Gollob in the overall standings after the reigning Champion once again looked to have given up for this season, accumulating a mere five points. Crump came second in the final with fellow Australian, Holder, in third and Freddie Lindgren fourth.
Hancock won his semi-final with Holder second ahead of third placed Nicky Pedersen and fourth placed Emil Sayfutdinov. The other semi-final was won by Crump with Lindgren second, Kenneth Bjerre finished third and the biggest shock saw Laguta progress to the semis but finished fourth. Laguta's highest points tally in one meeting was seven before Vojens, his second highest was two, but he showed us why he qualified for this year's GP series and accumulated nine points.
There was drama in the opening heat of the night when Holta hit the floor, he was able to get back up and move off the track to allow the heat to continue. Linback won the heat ahead of Jonsson and Gollob. Hancock won his opening heat after a restart due to Nicky Pedersen causing the wildcard Bjarne Pedersen to fall and was subsequently disqualified. Kenneth Bjerre was impressive during the heats and won heat three ahead of Hampel, Laguta and Harris. Holder took heat four ahead of Lindgren, Crump and Kolodziej.
Hancock made it two heats from two in the fifth heat with Gollob bringing up the rear. Andreas Jonsson won heat six with Sayfutdinov making it back to back second places. Nicky Pedersen came back from his disqualification to win heat seven and Hampel kept the pace with Hancock by winning heat eight ahead of Crump.
Bjerre won his second heat of the night in heat nine with Gollob again finishing fourth, Crump finished second for the second consecutive heat. Hampel made it to wins in a row with Hancock finishing third, meaning Hampel lead Hancock in the meeting at this stage. Laguta continued to impress in this meeting and won heat eleven. Nicky Pedersen also made it two wins in a row by winning heat twelve.
Gollob looked to have turned his night around with a win in heat thirteen, Hampel finished fourth to leave the door wide open for Hancock. Bjerre won his third heat of the night in heat fourteen and Hancock followed suite in heat fifteen to move ahead of Hampel on the night. Lindgren took heat sixteen with Laguta in second.
Chris Harris had had a miserable night taking just two points from his first four rides, but he ended the night on a high with a win in heat seventeen, Gollob ended the night third to end his miserable outing. Crump won his only heat of the night after originally false starting, causing a restart and Laguta finished second. Sayfutdinov won his only heat of the night in heat nineteen to book his place in the semis, Hampel finished fourth to fail to qualify for the semis and virtually give the title to Hancock. The American made all the more certain by winning the twentieth heat.
Hancock won the meeting and took the most points, Crump came second with seventeen points. Despite not making the final, Bjerre earned thirteen points as did Lindgren. Holder finished with eleven points with Nicky Pedersen on ten and Laguta and Sayfutdinov both picked up nine points. Gollob ended the night with five points and Hampel had eight.
This means that with two meetings left, Hancock has that thirty-one point lead over Hampel and can secure the Championship in the penultimate meeting in Croatia. Hampel has 108 points with Jonsson also hitting the century mark in third. Crump is on 96 while Gollob has slipped to fifth on 93. Holder and Sayftudinov are on 88 with Bjerre on 85 all looking to qualify for next year's GP series.
Sunday 11 September 2011
Forget Vettel, The Rest Is Exhilarating
Did Sebastian Vettel win today's Monza Grand Prix? Yes. Has Sebastian Vettel won the driver's championship? More than likely. Is Formula One still worth watching this season? Absolutely. Why? Because the rest of the field produced an entertaining race full of incident and battles.
The start was unbelievable enough, Daniel Ricciardo had stalled on the starting grid but was somehow allowed to continue the race numerous laps later. Alonso also overtook Vettel to take the lead going into the first corner and Michael Schumacher had moved up to third. But the big drama came in the shape of Hispania's Liuzzi who ended up going onto the grass during the starting straight and span sideways into Petrov, Rosberg, D'Ambrosio and Barrichello. All but Barrichello were out of the race and Kobayashi had also suffered damage to his front wing in another incident before the Safety Car was released.
The Safety Car came in on lap four and a lap later Vettel had virtually won the race after overtaking Alonso. Webber clashed with Massa on the same lap, causing the Red Bull to lose the front wing. Unfortunately for Webber, the front wing was stuck underneath the car which caused the front wheels to lock and the car contacted the barrier, becoming the fifth retiree in just six laps. Adrian Sutil was the next to retire on lap eleven.
One of the best battles of the day was between Hamilton and Schumacher in a great duel of minds. The McLaren Mercedes had the DRS when in the activation zones but the Mercedes engine was set up for ultimate down force speeds, making Schumacher faster on every straight. The battle was nearly cut prematurely when Hamilton looked to have overtaken Schumacher on lap thirteen but the speed of the Mercedes allowed Schumacher to reverse it and remain third.
Jenson Button played the silent assassin during this battle in fifth place. Hamilton tried another overtaking move but ended up slightly on the grass on lap sixteen. This allowed to Button to sneak in and pass his teammate before then overtaking Schumacher with the minimum of fuss. Schumacher pitted that lap, leaving the McLarens to gain some ground. Button pitted a lap later and suffered no ill effects but Hamilton pitted another lap later and found himself behind Schumacher yet again, allowing the intriguing battle to head into round two.
Lap twenty-four saw Kobayashi retire due to a gearbox failure and his teammate Perez suffered the same problem ten laps later. The battle between Hamilton and Schuamcher lasted for another nine laps before Hamilton finally over-took Schumacher on lap twenty-eight to earn fourth place. The other action at the top saw Button overtake Alonso for second but there were still plenty of battles in the middle order; Maldonado and Alguersuari had a battle for seventh at one stage whereas Senna and Buemi nealry contacted during their battle for ninth and tenth. Just a couple of reasons why, despite Vettel's obvious championship win, Formula One is still a sport to be watching with intent. Race result:
1.Vettel (Red Bull), 2.Button (McLaren), 3.Alonso (Ferrari), 4.Hamilton (McLaren), 5.Schumacher (Mercedes), 6.Massa (Ferrari), 7.Alguersuari (Toro Rosso), 8.Di Resta (Force India), 9.Senna (Renault), 10.Buemi (Toro Rosso), 11.Maldonado (Williams), 12.Barrichello (Williams), 13.Kovalainen (Lotus), 14.Trulli (Lotus), 15.Glock (Virgin) Not Classified: Ricciardo (Hispania) DNF: Liuzzi (Hispania), Petrov (Renault), Rosberg (Mercedes), D'Ambrosio (Virgin), Webber (Red Bull), Sutil (Force India), Kobayashi (Sauber) Perez (Sauber)
The start was unbelievable enough, Daniel Ricciardo had stalled on the starting grid but was somehow allowed to continue the race numerous laps later. Alonso also overtook Vettel to take the lead going into the first corner and Michael Schumacher had moved up to third. But the big drama came in the shape of Hispania's Liuzzi who ended up going onto the grass during the starting straight and span sideways into Petrov, Rosberg, D'Ambrosio and Barrichello. All but Barrichello were out of the race and Kobayashi had also suffered damage to his front wing in another incident before the Safety Car was released.
The Safety Car came in on lap four and a lap later Vettel had virtually won the race after overtaking Alonso. Webber clashed with Massa on the same lap, causing the Red Bull to lose the front wing. Unfortunately for Webber, the front wing was stuck underneath the car which caused the front wheels to lock and the car contacted the barrier, becoming the fifth retiree in just six laps. Adrian Sutil was the next to retire on lap eleven.
One of the best battles of the day was between Hamilton and Schumacher in a great duel of minds. The McLaren Mercedes had the DRS when in the activation zones but the Mercedes engine was set up for ultimate down force speeds, making Schumacher faster on every straight. The battle was nearly cut prematurely when Hamilton looked to have overtaken Schumacher on lap thirteen but the speed of the Mercedes allowed Schumacher to reverse it and remain third.
Jenson Button played the silent assassin during this battle in fifth place. Hamilton tried another overtaking move but ended up slightly on the grass on lap sixteen. This allowed to Button to sneak in and pass his teammate before then overtaking Schumacher with the minimum of fuss. Schumacher pitted that lap, leaving the McLarens to gain some ground. Button pitted a lap later and suffered no ill effects but Hamilton pitted another lap later and found himself behind Schumacher yet again, allowing the intriguing battle to head into round two.
Lap twenty-four saw Kobayashi retire due to a gearbox failure and his teammate Perez suffered the same problem ten laps later. The battle between Hamilton and Schuamcher lasted for another nine laps before Hamilton finally over-took Schumacher on lap twenty-eight to earn fourth place. The other action at the top saw Button overtake Alonso for second but there were still plenty of battles in the middle order; Maldonado and Alguersuari had a battle for seventh at one stage whereas Senna and Buemi nealry contacted during their battle for ninth and tenth. Just a couple of reasons why, despite Vettel's obvious championship win, Formula One is still a sport to be watching with intent. Race result:
1.Vettel (Red Bull), 2.Button (McLaren), 3.Alonso (Ferrari), 4.Hamilton (McLaren), 5.Schumacher (Mercedes), 6.Massa (Ferrari), 7.Alguersuari (Toro Rosso), 8.Di Resta (Force India), 9.Senna (Renault), 10.Buemi (Toro Rosso), 11.Maldonado (Williams), 12.Barrichello (Williams), 13.Kovalainen (Lotus), 14.Trulli (Lotus), 15.Glock (Virgin) Not Classified: Ricciardo (Hispania) DNF: Liuzzi (Hispania), Petrov (Renault), Rosberg (Mercedes), D'Ambrosio (Virgin), Webber (Red Bull), Sutil (Force India), Kobayashi (Sauber) Perez (Sauber)
PL Round-Up 10/09/11
Sunderland 1-2 Chelsea: Chelsea remain unbeaten despite not looking at their sharpest. Torres started on the bench and with Drogba out, Sturridge was able to make his first start of the season. Chelsea took the lead after eighteen minutes when a corner wasn't cleared, it fell to Terry who smashed it home, with a little help from a Sunderland defender. Sturridge then made it 2-0 six minutes into the second half with an audacious touch past Mignolet and Brown couldn't prevent it from trickling into the net. Sunderland did pull one back through debutante Ji Dong-Won in injury time but Chelsea go to ten points from four games.
Arsenal 1-0 Swansea: Arsenal secured their first win of the season after some good business on transfer deadline day. But it was one of Arsenal's senior players who scored the winner in fortunate circumstances. Swansea keeper Vorm had hold of the ball and ran to throw it to a defender, instead the throw hit the legs of the nearest defender in calamitous fashion before falling to Arshavin and the Russian tapped home five minutes before half-time. Swansea had chances to equalise but they are still yet to score in the Premiership.
Manchester City 3-0 Wigan: Man City went top of the table for a couple of hours with another convincing win, this time over Wigan. Dzeko had scored six goals so far this season but somehow started on the bench as Tevez was brought back into the squad. But it was Aguero who grabbed the headlines with a hat-trick, his first coming on thirteen minutes. City were then given a penalty when Lopez fouled Silva but Tevez produced a simply awful penalty which Al-Habsi easily saved. Nasri came on for Tevez in the second half and made immediate impact as he set up Aguero for his second after sixty-three minutes. Aguero scored his third just five minutes later after a Silva run created the path for Aguero to score.
Stoke 1-0 Liverpool: Stoke remain unbeaten after a hard fought victory against Liverpool. The only goal of the game came from the penalty spot when Walters threw himself to the ground, but he was being held by Carragher. Walters took the penalty and slotted home after twenty-one minutes. Liverpool had numerous chances to equalise including Suarez missing a open target. They did have a penalty shout twice turned down, the first one came in the first half when the ball struck Delap's hand. His hand was out but it was too close for him to move it, although it was still a dangerous thing to do. The second came in second half injury time when Suarez hit the arm of the sliding Upson and again the defender couldn't get out of the way and the penalty was correctly not given.
Wolves 0-2 Tottenham: Tottenham secured their first win of the season with both Parker and Adebayor making their debuts. The two debutantes linked up with Adebayor putting Spurs ahead after sixty-eight minutes. Defoe wrapped the game up ten minutes from time to stop Wolves' decent start to the season.
Everton 2-2 Aston Villa: Everton fans protested before this match about the lack of funds going into the club after their minimal appearance in the transfer window. But it was Everton who took the lead via Osman after nineteen minutes. Petrov equalised after sixty-three minutes with a screamer into the bottom corner. But Everton again took the lead six minutes later when Delph stupidly climbed over Osman and conceded a penalty, Baines stepped up and converted. Villa equalised again seven minutes from time with Agbonlahor retaining Villa's unbeaten run.
Arsenal 1-0 Swansea: Arsenal secured their first win of the season after some good business on transfer deadline day. But it was one of Arsenal's senior players who scored the winner in fortunate circumstances. Swansea keeper Vorm had hold of the ball and ran to throw it to a defender, instead the throw hit the legs of the nearest defender in calamitous fashion before falling to Arshavin and the Russian tapped home five minutes before half-time. Swansea had chances to equalise but they are still yet to score in the Premiership.
Manchester City 3-0 Wigan: Man City went top of the table for a couple of hours with another convincing win, this time over Wigan. Dzeko had scored six goals so far this season but somehow started on the bench as Tevez was brought back into the squad. But it was Aguero who grabbed the headlines with a hat-trick, his first coming on thirteen minutes. City were then given a penalty when Lopez fouled Silva but Tevez produced a simply awful penalty which Al-Habsi easily saved. Nasri came on for Tevez in the second half and made immediate impact as he set up Aguero for his second after sixty-three minutes. Aguero scored his third just five minutes later after a Silva run created the path for Aguero to score.
Stoke 1-0 Liverpool: Stoke remain unbeaten after a hard fought victory against Liverpool. The only goal of the game came from the penalty spot when Walters threw himself to the ground, but he was being held by Carragher. Walters took the penalty and slotted home after twenty-one minutes. Liverpool had numerous chances to equalise including Suarez missing a open target. They did have a penalty shout twice turned down, the first one came in the first half when the ball struck Delap's hand. His hand was out but it was too close for him to move it, although it was still a dangerous thing to do. The second came in second half injury time when Suarez hit the arm of the sliding Upson and again the defender couldn't get out of the way and the penalty was correctly not given.
Wolves 0-2 Tottenham: Tottenham secured their first win of the season with both Parker and Adebayor making their debuts. The two debutantes linked up with Adebayor putting Spurs ahead after sixty-eight minutes. Defoe wrapped the game up ten minutes from time to stop Wolves' decent start to the season.
Everton 2-2 Aston Villa: Everton fans protested before this match about the lack of funds going into the club after their minimal appearance in the transfer window. But it was Everton who took the lead via Osman after nineteen minutes. Petrov equalised after sixty-three minutes with a screamer into the bottom corner. But Everton again took the lead six minutes later when Delph stupidly climbed over Osman and conceded a penalty, Baines stepped up and converted. Villa equalised again seven minutes from time with Agbonlahor retaining Villa's unbeaten run.
Two Hat-Tricks In A Roo
Bolton line-up: Jaaskelainen, Robinson, Boyata, Knight, Cahill, Reo-Coker, Eagles (Pratley, 60'), M.Davies, K.Davies (c) (Ngog, 65'), Klasnic (Tuncay, 74'), Petrov
Manchester United line-up: De Gea, Jones, Ferdinand, Evans (Smalling, 60'), Evra (c), Nani, Anderson, Cleverley (Carrick, 5'), Young (Giggs, 6'), Rooney, Hernandez
Bolton's physicality was no match for Manchester United's flamboyancy and United keep up their 100% start to the season. Bolton's tactics was clear before the game as Kevin Davies publicly told everyone he was going to target the vulnerable De Gea. This turned into Bolton trying to kick United off the pitch with Petrov sliding in late on Jones and Kevin Davies catching Cleverley, both within five minutes. Unfortunately it left Cleverley with a broken foot and had to substituted immediately. But it didn't deter United and they took the lead with ten men, Cleverley hadn't been replaced yet, Nani produced the cross and the returning Hernandez used some great movement to tap it past Jaaskelainen. Kevin Davies did then go into the book on thirteen minutes for another heavy this time on Ashley Young and was possibly lucky to still be on the pitch. It was soon two yellow cards as Mark Davies slid in on Nani when a counter attack looked on, Davies took one for the team. United then went two ahead on twenty minutes when Rooney toe-poked another cross into the net. Phil Jones then made a fantastic run into the box and when his shot was parried, Rooney was on hand to make it three-nil after just twenty-four minutes and some of the Bolton fans were already leaving the ground. It was nearly four when Hernandez again tapped home a Nani cross but it was rightly disallowed for offside but Bolton just couldn't find any stimulus for attack. The only real chance Bolton had was a Klasnic shot that De Gea acrobatically punched away. There was a little worry for United when Jones jumped for the same ball as Nani and the defender caught the winger, there was a blood injury but Nani was able to get patched up and continue.
Bolton started better in the second half and began playing some decent football. Their end shots didn't really trouble De Gea but did force him into action to prevent a Bolton consolation. Hernandez should have made it four when De Gea's long kick forced Jaaskelainen to control it outside the box, Hernandez tackled him but took too long to shoot and it was cleared for a corner. The resulting corner went short and Nani made a burst into the box before theatrically hitting the floor, the ball fell to Carrick whose shot deflected into the path of the unmarked Hernandez and this time he did make it four after fifty-eight minutes. Bolton almost got their consolation a minute later when Reo-Coker hit the bar but that was the closest Bolton would get to scoring. It was then five-nil after sixty-seven minutes when another Nani run down the wing allowed him to cut back the ball to where Rooney was waiting to score his second successive hat-trick. There were chances for United to score a sixth but Bolton refused access as United remain on top of the league with twelve points from twelve and a goal difference of plus fifteen.
No Surprises At Monza
Qualifying at Monza yesterday didn't throw up any surprises, but we still should be in for a fantastic race on arguably the quickest circuit. Vettel again took Pole but the McLarens were both close behind, Hamilton second and Button third. The likes of Fabio Capello and the Ferrari chief executive were there and managed to see Alonso sneak into fourth after poor performances during the practice sessions. Webber decided to keep his old engine whereas his rivals have all opted for the new engine, it seems that Webber may suffer for this decision as he starts fifth with Massa sixth. Petrov will start seventh with the two Mercedes' side by side, Schumacher ahead of Rosberg. Bruno Senna will be driving with Renault for the rest of the season and he will start tenth after not posting a time in Q3.
Paul Di Resta was eliminated in Q2 in the final seconds for the second time in a row and will start eleventh ahead of Sutil in twelfth. The two Williams' also line up alongside each other with Barrichello out qualifying Maldonado, Maldonado looked like he was going to miss out after he crashed in Q1. But with ten and a half minutes remaining, Maldonado was able to post a time to make it to Q2. Buemi sits sixteenth in a Sauber sandwich with Perez ahead of him and Kobayashi behind.
It was the usual six plus one to leave qualifying in Q1, although it wasn't a surprising plus one. Not for the first time, Alguersuari failed to make the grade and will start eighteenth. But, so far this season, those who have started down there tend to score points which Alguersuari has done before. Trulli managed to out-qualify Kovalainen into nineteenth, Glock again out-qualified D'Ambrosio into twenty-first and Ricciardo out-qualified Liuzzi for the first time into twenty-third.
Paul Di Resta was eliminated in Q2 in the final seconds for the second time in a row and will start eleventh ahead of Sutil in twelfth. The two Williams' also line up alongside each other with Barrichello out qualifying Maldonado, Maldonado looked like he was going to miss out after he crashed in Q1. But with ten and a half minutes remaining, Maldonado was able to post a time to make it to Q2. Buemi sits sixteenth in a Sauber sandwich with Perez ahead of him and Kobayashi behind.
It was the usual six plus one to leave qualifying in Q1, although it wasn't a surprising plus one. Not for the first time, Alguersuari failed to make the grade and will start eighteenth. But, so far this season, those who have started down there tend to score points which Alguersuari has done before. Trulli managed to out-qualify Kovalainen into nineteenth, Glock again out-qualified D'Ambrosio into twenty-first and Ricciardo out-qualified Liuzzi for the first time into twenty-third.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)