With an extra day in the calender year this year, there was an extra international football friendly fixture for the world to enjoy. Stuart Pearce's start as interim England manager began at Wembley against the Netherlands. The first half was a very tight affair with both teams creating opportunities, the closest came from Arjen Robben whose shot was smartly saved by Joe Hart.
There was a half-time substitute apiece as James Milner replaced Gareth Barry and Klaas-Jan Huntelaar came on for Robin Van Persie. This would be a potential game changer as Robben picked the ball up in his own half and made his way to the England goal. Huntelaar pulled Chris Smalling out of position with a diagonal run, this left space for Robben to run into before smashing a shot into the bottom corner 12-minutes into the second half. Before England knew what had hit them, they went 2-0 down when Dirk Kuyt's cross was headed in by Huntelaar a minute later. Unfortunately during the header, Huntelaar and Smalling had a clash of heads in which both players remained on the floor. Neither player could continue and Smalling had to be stretchered off.
This stoppage arguably killed Holland's momentum and the game became a little dull. The last time these two met, Holland took a 2-0 lead before Jermaine Defoe scored a brace to earn a draw. This time Gary Cahill found himself in the box in open play, Leighton Baines played the ball into him and the Chelsea man turned before shooting exquisitely to pull a goal back with five minutes left. With four minutes of injury time to be played, Phil Jones played a killer pass into the path of Ashley Young who slotted his fourth goal in five international appearances to seemingly give England a draw. But Holland went straight up the other end and poor marking allowed Robben to take a shot that deflected off Cahill before out-foxing Hart and giving the Dutch the win.
But across the border, football came second as the heroes of Welsh football all gathered together for the Gary Speed memorial. Cardiff's Ninian Park put on a fantastic pre-game show with many bands paying their tributes to the late Welsh manager. Costa Rica were Wales' opponents for Chris Coleman's first game in charge, the nation Speed played his Wales debut against. With the sombre atmosphere and the likes of Gareth Bale, James Collins and Aaron Ramsey missing from the squad, it was understandable why Wales may not have been fully up for it. The script was tore up on just seven minutes when Arsenal's Joel Campbell scored for the visitors. Wales tried their hardest to get back into it with Steve Morison coming closest but his first half header hit the bar. Unfortunately, it wasn't the result that Gary Speed deserved but the tributes and memorial service bids a fantastic farewell to a fantastic player and would-be manager who left us far too early.
Wednesday 29 February 2012
Sunday 26 February 2012
Derby Goals, Legendary Pairing and a Mid-Table Clash
Super Super returned with a triple bill that had everything to rival the Carling Cup final and much more. The day kicked-off with the North London derby. So far this season, the big games have featured a crazy amount of goals and this one was no different. The first goal rolled in after just four minutes when non-existent defending allowed Louis Saha in on goal, his shot took a deflection before looping over the goalkeeper. It got worse for Arsenal when Gareth Bale 'fell' under a Wojiech Sczcesny challenge, Emmanuel Adebayor stepped-up and converted the subsequent penalty to make it 2-0 on his 28th birthday. But Arsenal managed to fight back with Bacary Sagna heading a goal home on 40-minutes before Robin Van Persie fired them level three minutes later to make it 2-2 at half-time, the Dutchman scoring his 29th goal in all competitions this season.
The momentum was definitely in Arsenal's court following the break and a typical Arsenal attack ended with Tomas Rosicky tapping the ball home to give the hosts the lead six minutes after the restart, his first goal in over an year. It soon turned into a half Tottenham would want to forget as Van Persie played Theo Walcott in and the Englishman was only too happen to score past Brad Friedel in front on interim England Manager, Stuart Pearce. Walcott then added his second and Arsenal's fifth three minutes after his first on 68-minutes. To make Tottenham's day even worse, Scott Parker received a second yellow card three minutes before the end to rule him out of the clash against Manchester United. Van Persie received his fifth yellow card of the season, meaning he his potentially out of the clash with Liverpool. The victory also means that Arsenal move ahead of Chelsea into fourth on goal difference.
Meanwhile, at Carrow Road, Norwich entertained Manchester United. United needed to win to stay within two points of leaders Manchester City. It took the legendary pairing of Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs to squeeze the three points out of the surprise package of the season. Scholes headed home a Nani cross after just seven minutes to give United the lead. Giggs hit the crossbar in the second half that would have ended the game. Instead, Grant Holt broke David De Gea's fantastic resistance with an exquisite shot on the turn seven minutes from time, his tenth goal of the season. But Giggs' 900th appearance was to end with a win with the Welshman tapping home an Ashley Young cross in injury time.
The day's other game saw Stoke host Swansea in a game where the winner would go three points above the loser. The opening goal of the game after 24-minutes with Matthew Upson heading his first Stoke goal from a corner. The other goal of the game came via Ryan Shotton's Delap-esque throw was headed in by Peter Crouch just fifteen minutes later. Swansea's reserve keeper, Gerhard Tremmel, was making his debut and should have kept Crouch's header out instead of palming into his own net. Stoke sit 12th on 33-points with Swansea two places and three points behind.
The momentum was definitely in Arsenal's court following the break and a typical Arsenal attack ended with Tomas Rosicky tapping the ball home to give the hosts the lead six minutes after the restart, his first goal in over an year. It soon turned into a half Tottenham would want to forget as Van Persie played Theo Walcott in and the Englishman was only too happen to score past Brad Friedel in front on interim England Manager, Stuart Pearce. Walcott then added his second and Arsenal's fifth three minutes after his first on 68-minutes. To make Tottenham's day even worse, Scott Parker received a second yellow card three minutes before the end to rule him out of the clash against Manchester United. Van Persie received his fifth yellow card of the season, meaning he his potentially out of the clash with Liverpool. The victory also means that Arsenal move ahead of Chelsea into fourth on goal difference.
Meanwhile, at Carrow Road, Norwich entertained Manchester United. United needed to win to stay within two points of leaders Manchester City. It took the legendary pairing of Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs to squeeze the three points out of the surprise package of the season. Scholes headed home a Nani cross after just seven minutes to give United the lead. Giggs hit the crossbar in the second half that would have ended the game. Instead, Grant Holt broke David De Gea's fantastic resistance with an exquisite shot on the turn seven minutes from time, his tenth goal of the season. But Giggs' 900th appearance was to end with a win with the Welshman tapping home an Ashley Young cross in injury time.
The day's other game saw Stoke host Swansea in a game where the winner would go three points above the loser. The opening goal of the game after 24-minutes with Matthew Upson heading his first Stoke goal from a corner. The other goal of the game came via Ryan Shotton's Delap-esque throw was headed in by Peter Crouch just fifteen minutes later. Swansea's reserve keeper, Gerhard Tremmel, was making his debut and should have kept Crouch's header out instead of palming into his own net. Stoke sit 12th on 33-points with Swansea two places and three points behind.
Gerrards Missing In Action
Cardiff line-up: Heaton, McNaughton (Blake, 106'), Taylor, Hudson (Gerrard, 99'), Turner, Whittingham, Cowie, Gunnarsson, Miller, Gestede, Mason (Kiss, 91')
Liverpool line-up: Reina, Johnson, Enrique, Agger (Carragher, 86'), Skrtel, Gerrard, Henderson (Bellamy, 58'), Downing, Adam, Suarez, Carroll (Kuyt, 103')
Liverpool win the 2011/2012 Carling Cup via a penalty shoot-out in which both Gerrards missed their respective penalties. Liverpool came out stronger in the first half and Glen Johnson almost gave them the lead within the first five minutes, but his shot crashed off the bar and was cleared away.
Cardiff defended well throughout the game and after the initial quarter of an hour, they started to get on the ball. Joe Mason was then played in by Kenny Miller and the striker slotted under Pepe Reina to give Cardiff a surprise lead. From there Cardiff again had to defend for their lives as they went back to the dressing rooms with that slender lead.
The second half continued in the same vain as Liverpool had to search for that equaliser. It came on the hour mark with Martin Skrtel firing them level from a corner. From there, both teams were beginning to create chances to try and win the game for themselves. The best chance fell to Miller with less than ten minutes to go, he turned to find himself one-on-one with Reina but fired the ball over as Andy Carroll came sliding in.
The game fell into extra time and Liverpool thought they won it with 12-minutes to spare. Dirk Kuyt had only been on the pitch for five minutes but he managed to spike a returning ball in the net from 16-yards, catching Tom Heaton unaware as it flew into the bottom corner. Kuyt then did his best to prevent Cardiff coming back, he headed a ball off the line from Cardiff's first corner with only three minutes left. A second corner came in and the Dutchman couldn't get Ben Turner off the ball as the defender scrambled it into the net to make it 2-2 and took the game into the penalty shoot-out.
This was Cardiff's third penalty shoot-out in the tournament with Heaton providing heroics against Crystal Palace in the semi-final. The ever reliable Steven Gerrard stepped up for Liverpool's opening penalty, but it was expertly saved by a strong left hand. Cardiff's ever reliable, Kenny Miller, then also missed his spot-kick by hitting the post. Charlie Adam was next to take a penalty but blasted his effort over the bar, allowing Don Cowie to give Cardiff a 1-0 lead in the contest. Dirk Kuyt equalised before Rudy Gestede also hit the post to make it 1-1 after three penalties each. Stewart Downing and Peter Whittingham both converted to take it to the final penalties. Glen Johnson smashed his effort into the roof of the net, leaving Anthony Gerrard to force sudden death. Nerves got the better of him though and the cousin of the Anfield legend fired wide to hand Steven and Liverpool the trophy.
Saturday 25 February 2012
PL Round-Up: 25/2/12
Newcastle 2-2 Wolves: Terry Connor's first ever game as manager was almost a baptism of fire. Demba Papiss Cisse put the hosts ahead with a poacher's goal on just six minutes, his second in a Newcastle shirt. That was followed up by a Jonas Gutierrez rocket 12-minutes later, scoring for the third consecutive game against Wolves. Matthew Jarvis pulled one back with a heavily deflected shot five minutes into the second half. Kevin Doyle scrambled home an equaliser from a free-kick after 66-minutes, earning Wolves a point that moves them out of the bottom three.
Manchester City 3-0 Blackburn: City move five points clear at the top as they keep up their 100% home record, a record spanning twelve months. It took half an hour for City to take the lead; Mario Balotelli tapping home Aleksandar Kolarov's cross and stating 'I love you, Rafaella' on his under-shirt. After a decent first half performance, Paul Robinson parried a ball, he maybe should have caught, into the path of Sergio Aguero and the Argentinian was more than happy to place the ball home just seven minutes after the restart. The final nail came from substitute Edin Dzeko just minutes after coming on, heading home another Kolarov cross nine minutes from time. Blackburn now slide into the relegation zone on goal difference.
West Brom 4-0 Sunderland: West Brom move to within a point of Sunderland by taking their home goals tally to 13. Kamikaze defending allowed Peter Odemwingie to head home after just three minutes. James Morrison made it two goals from two headers to double West Brom's lead four minutes before half-time. Surprise England call-up, Frazier Campbell, came off the bench at half-time but couldn't do anything to change the outcome as Odemwingie made it three just three minutes into the second half. The rout was completed in injury time with Keith Andrews scoring his second goal in his second West Brom game.
Chelsea 3-0 Bolton: Chelsea may begin to regain their form after a win that sees Bolton sit 19th via goal difference. After a goalless first half, it took David Luiz three minutes to fire Chelsea ahead after the restart. Drogba headed Chelsea's second just after the hour mark before Frank Lampard became the first player to reach double figures in nine consecutive seasons, making it 3-0 with a sweet volley 11-minutes from time. His 150th goal helps Chelsea move to fourth with Arsenal playing tomorrow.
QPR 0-1 Fulham: QPR sit outside the relegation on goal difference following their latest defeat. Pavel Pogrebnyak scored his second Premiership goal in his first two games, scoring the only goal of the game by rounding Paddy Kenny after seven minutes. Samba Diakite's QPR debut lasted only 33-minutes after receiving a second yellow card, becoming the fifth Rovers player to be sent off at Loftus Road.
Wigan 0-0 Aston Villa: Wigan will just about be the happier of the two as their point moves them level with Bolton at the foot of the table. Villa's point sees them sit in 15th, eight points ahead of the relegation zone and four points behind Sunderland in ninth.
Manchester City 3-0 Blackburn: City move five points clear at the top as they keep up their 100% home record, a record spanning twelve months. It took half an hour for City to take the lead; Mario Balotelli tapping home Aleksandar Kolarov's cross and stating 'I love you, Rafaella' on his under-shirt. After a decent first half performance, Paul Robinson parried a ball, he maybe should have caught, into the path of Sergio Aguero and the Argentinian was more than happy to place the ball home just seven minutes after the restart. The final nail came from substitute Edin Dzeko just minutes after coming on, heading home another Kolarov cross nine minutes from time. Blackburn now slide into the relegation zone on goal difference.
West Brom 4-0 Sunderland: West Brom move to within a point of Sunderland by taking their home goals tally to 13. Kamikaze defending allowed Peter Odemwingie to head home after just three minutes. James Morrison made it two goals from two headers to double West Brom's lead four minutes before half-time. Surprise England call-up, Frazier Campbell, came off the bench at half-time but couldn't do anything to change the outcome as Odemwingie made it three just three minutes into the second half. The rout was completed in injury time with Keith Andrews scoring his second goal in his second West Brom game.
Chelsea 3-0 Bolton: Chelsea may begin to regain their form after a win that sees Bolton sit 19th via goal difference. After a goalless first half, it took David Luiz three minutes to fire Chelsea ahead after the restart. Drogba headed Chelsea's second just after the hour mark before Frank Lampard became the first player to reach double figures in nine consecutive seasons, making it 3-0 with a sweet volley 11-minutes from time. His 150th goal helps Chelsea move to fourth with Arsenal playing tomorrow.
QPR 0-1 Fulham: QPR sit outside the relegation on goal difference following their latest defeat. Pavel Pogrebnyak scored his second Premiership goal in his first two games, scoring the only goal of the game by rounding Paddy Kenny after seven minutes. Samba Diakite's QPR debut lasted only 33-minutes after receiving a second yellow card, becoming the fifth Rovers player to be sent off at Loftus Road.
Wigan 0-0 Aston Villa: Wigan will just about be the happier of the two as their point moves them level with Bolton at the foot of the table. Villa's point sees them sit in 15th, eight points ahead of the relegation zone and four points behind Sunderland in ninth.
Thursday 23 February 2012
2012 Premier League Darts: Week Three
The oche moved across the sea this week as the Premier League headed to Belfast. Kevin Painter faced Simon Whitlock in the opening match and Painter surged into a 3-0 lead. The Australian fought back to within one before The Artist once again extended his lead. Whitlock did make it 5-3 but Painter was in top form and took the match 8-3, scoring four points in the opening three games.
World Champion, Adrian Lewis, is still yet to win (or lose) in this year's campaign after securing a draw against Andy Hamilton in a rematch of this year's World Final. It was Hamilton that started the better this time around and found himself 3-0 in front. Lewis managed to take out 130 before finding himself 4-1 behind. But The Jackpot fought back and was able to level the match at 4-4, making it anybody's game. Hamilton never went behind in the game as Lewis won the 14th leg to earn the 7-7 draw.
James Wade is still to find a point in this year's tournament after picking his third successive loss. The 2009 Premier League Champion took on the current Premier League Champion and found himself 2-0 ahead. The Machine then found a 107-check-out to make it 3-1 and it would then be 4-2 going into the break. Anderson came flying back from the break and managed to turn it around to lead 7-4. Wade was able to prolong the inevitable for a leg as Anderson took the game 8-5 to move to the top of the league.
Anderson's lead the top lasted all of 45-minutes as Phil Taylor soon replaced him. Raymond Van Barneveld was the unfortunate victim of a Taylor master-class and it began with a 131 check-out in the opening leg. It took five legs before Barney could get a score on the board and then posted a 145-check-out to make it 5-2. But Taylor wasn't to be undone and hit managed a Shanghai 120-check-out to extend his led further. The Dutchman averaged just under 109 and against anyone else he would have surely won the game. He did manage to claw his way back to 6-4 before Taylor finished the job. The Power ended the match two darts away from another nine-darter and a 112.91 average, the second highest in Premier League history.
World Champion, Adrian Lewis, is still yet to win (or lose) in this year's campaign after securing a draw against Andy Hamilton in a rematch of this year's World Final. It was Hamilton that started the better this time around and found himself 3-0 in front. Lewis managed to take out 130 before finding himself 4-1 behind. But The Jackpot fought back and was able to level the match at 4-4, making it anybody's game. Hamilton never went behind in the game as Lewis won the 14th leg to earn the 7-7 draw.
James Wade is still to find a point in this year's tournament after picking his third successive loss. The 2009 Premier League Champion took on the current Premier League Champion and found himself 2-0 ahead. The Machine then found a 107-check-out to make it 3-1 and it would then be 4-2 going into the break. Anderson came flying back from the break and managed to turn it around to lead 7-4. Wade was able to prolong the inevitable for a leg as Anderson took the game 8-5 to move to the top of the league.
Anderson's lead the top lasted all of 45-minutes as Phil Taylor soon replaced him. Raymond Van Barneveld was the unfortunate victim of a Taylor master-class and it began with a 131 check-out in the opening leg. It took five legs before Barney could get a score on the board and then posted a 145-check-out to make it 5-2. But Taylor wasn't to be undone and hit managed a Shanghai 120-check-out to extend his led further. The Dutchman averaged just under 109 and against anyone else he would have surely won the game. He did manage to claw his way back to 6-4 before Taylor finished the job. The Power ended the match two darts away from another nine-darter and a 112.91 average, the second highest in Premier League history.
Wednesday 22 February 2012
2011/2012 CL Round-Up: 2nd Round 1st Leg pt.2
Favourites Real Madrid haven't completed the job just yet over CSKA Moscow. Cristiano Ronaldo put the visitors ahead on 28-minutes. But Moscow will take a goal with them to the Bernabeu as Pontus Wernbloom equalised in the third minute of injury time. Real Madrid are still the strong favourites to go through with that crucial away goal.
England's Champions League hopes got even slimmer as Chelsea failed to get the desired result away to Napoli. Juan Mata did put Chelsea ahead on 27-minutes before Ezequiel Lavezzi equalised 11-minutes later. Edinson Cavani shouldered Napoli ahead just before half-time and Chelsea couldn't recover. Lavezzi then made it 3-1 on 65-minutes to give the Italians a big chance of making into the quarter finals in their debut campaign. But Chelsea do have an away goal which could prove to be an important factor.
Perhaps the biggest shock at the half-way stage came from Switzerland. Basel met Bayern Munich and it took 86-minutes before either team secured an advantage. Valentin Stocker scored the only goal of the contest to give Basel the slender lead. But Munich are still probably the favourites when the pair meet again in the Allianz Arena.
It took even longer in France for either team to give themselves an advantage. Under-fire Claudio Ranieri will have to work hard as Andre Ayew fired Marseille ahead in injury time to take a lead to the San Siro. Again, Inter should have the advantage in the second leg but have failed to get an away goal.
England's Champions League hopes got even slimmer as Chelsea failed to get the desired result away to Napoli. Juan Mata did put Chelsea ahead on 27-minutes before Ezequiel Lavezzi equalised 11-minutes later. Edinson Cavani shouldered Napoli ahead just before half-time and Chelsea couldn't recover. Lavezzi then made it 3-1 on 65-minutes to give the Italians a big chance of making into the quarter finals in their debut campaign. But Chelsea do have an away goal which could prove to be an important factor.
Perhaps the biggest shock at the half-way stage came from Switzerland. Basel met Bayern Munich and it took 86-minutes before either team secured an advantage. Valentin Stocker scored the only goal of the contest to give Basel the slender lead. But Munich are still probably the favourites when the pair meet again in the Allianz Arena.
It took even longer in France for either team to give themselves an advantage. Under-fire Claudio Ranieri will have to work hard as Andre Ayew fired Marseille ahead in injury time to take a lead to the San Siro. Again, Inter should have the advantage in the second leg but have failed to get an away goal.
Sunday 19 February 2012
FA Cup Quarter Final Draw
Liverpool v Stoke City
Chelsea or Birmingham City v Leicester City
Stevenage Borough or Tottenham Hotspur v Bolton Wanderers
Everton v Sunderland
Chelsea or Birmingham City v Leicester City
Stevenage Borough or Tottenham Hotspur v Bolton Wanderers
Everton v Sunderland
FA Cup Fifth Round
Chelsea 1-1 Birmingham: Andre Villas-Boas' position has become further in doubt with their latest disappointing performance. David Murphy put Birmingham ahead on 19-minutes to set up a possible shock. Juan Mata missed a first half penalty but Daniel Sturridge saved Chelsea's blushes with the equaliser just after the hour mark. Birmingham will still have a great opportunity for the upset at St. Andrew's in the replay.
Everton 2-0 Blackpool: The match was over before Blackpool knew it. Royston Drenthe opened the scoring within the first minute with Denis Stracqualursi making it 2-0 after just five minutes. Blackpool hit the crossbar but that was as close as they would come to scoring.
Millwall 0-2 Bolton: Many predicted a cup shock could have come from the New Den, but it wasn't to be. Ryo Miyaichi has started his on-loan Bolton career with a goal after three minutes. David N'Gog assured Bolton of the quarter finals 13-minutes into the second half.
Norwich 1-2 Leicester: Perhaps the biggest shock of the round sees Premiership Norwich ousted by Championship Leicester. Sean St Ledger put the visitors ahead after just four minutes. Wes Hoolahan equalised after initially missing a penalty on 22-minutes. But David Nugent sees Leicester through with the winner 20-minutes from time.
Sunderland 0-2 Arsenal: Arsenal's embarrassing week got worse following their 4-0 demolition against AC Milan. Kieran Richardson smashed Sunderland ahead six minutes before half-time before an Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain own goal on 77-minutes assured Arsene Wenger's position got a little weaker.
Crawley 0-2 Stoke: Stoke's day could have been so much once Rory Delap was shown red for a studs in challenge after 17-minutes. But a penalty from Jon Walters three minutes before half-time and a second from Peter Crouch seven minutes after half-time was enough to put last year's runners-up through.
Stevenage 0-0 Tottenham: Stevenage get the money spinning replay as they get to travel White Hart Lane. It does mean that neither team has conceded a goal so far in this competition this season.
Liverpool 6-1 Brighton: Brighton committed football suicide as they scored three own goals. Martin Skrtel headed Liverpool ahead on five minutes before Kazenga LuaLua equalised from a free-kick on 38-minutes. Liam Bridcutt scored the first own goal just before half-time to give Gus Poyet a very different team-talk. Andy Carroll put the hosts 3-1 ahead 12-minutes into the second half before two goals in in three minutes virtually killed the game off. Bridcutt netted his second own goal on 71-minutes with Lewis Dunk making 5-1 three minutes later. Luis Suarez would get the final say as he made it six with five minutes remaining, four minutes after he made a hash of a penalty.
Everton 2-0 Blackpool: The match was over before Blackpool knew it. Royston Drenthe opened the scoring within the first minute with Denis Stracqualursi making it 2-0 after just five minutes. Blackpool hit the crossbar but that was as close as they would come to scoring.
Millwall 0-2 Bolton: Many predicted a cup shock could have come from the New Den, but it wasn't to be. Ryo Miyaichi has started his on-loan Bolton career with a goal after three minutes. David N'Gog assured Bolton of the quarter finals 13-minutes into the second half.
Norwich 1-2 Leicester: Perhaps the biggest shock of the round sees Premiership Norwich ousted by Championship Leicester. Sean St Ledger put the visitors ahead after just four minutes. Wes Hoolahan equalised after initially missing a penalty on 22-minutes. But David Nugent sees Leicester through with the winner 20-minutes from time.
Sunderland 0-2 Arsenal: Arsenal's embarrassing week got worse following their 4-0 demolition against AC Milan. Kieran Richardson smashed Sunderland ahead six minutes before half-time before an Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain own goal on 77-minutes assured Arsene Wenger's position got a little weaker.
Crawley 0-2 Stoke: Stoke's day could have been so much once Rory Delap was shown red for a studs in challenge after 17-minutes. But a penalty from Jon Walters three minutes before half-time and a second from Peter Crouch seven minutes after half-time was enough to put last year's runners-up through.
Stevenage 0-0 Tottenham: Stevenage get the money spinning replay as they get to travel White Hart Lane. It does mean that neither team has conceded a goal so far in this competition this season.
Liverpool 6-1 Brighton: Brighton committed football suicide as they scored three own goals. Martin Skrtel headed Liverpool ahead on five minutes before Kazenga LuaLua equalised from a free-kick on 38-minutes. Liam Bridcutt scored the first own goal just before half-time to give Gus Poyet a very different team-talk. Andy Carroll put the hosts 3-1 ahead 12-minutes into the second half before two goals in in three minutes virtually killed the game off. Bridcutt netted his second own goal on 71-minutes with Lewis Dunk making 5-1 three minutes later. Luis Suarez would get the final say as he made it six with five minutes remaining, four minutes after he made a hash of a penalty.
Thursday 16 February 2012
2012 Premier League Darts Week Two
The oche moved across the border this week and into Aberdeen. The first match of the night saw Adrian Lewis and Raymond Van Barneveld both looking for their first win of the campaign. The Dutchman came out firing and quickly took a 2-0 lead. Lewis suffered an array of abuse last year in Aberdeen but regained his bearings and took out a ton on his way to taking a 5-2 lead. But then deja vu hit as Barney began to fight back like Phil Taylor did last week. Barneveld levelled the match and then took it to 6-6. Lewis was first to guarantee himself a point with a 140-checkout but Barneveld riposted with a 126 of his own, finishing on the bull to make it another draw.
Scotland's own Gary Anderson faced Andy Hamilton in the second match of the night. The debutant isn't used to a partisan crowd against him and it showed as he missed a bucketful of doubles. Anderson stormed into a 4-0 lead before Hamilton was able to halve the deficit. But any momentum Hamilton had gained didn't help him through as the Scot went onto win 8-2 in response to his poor display last week.
It would seem that Phil Taylor needs time to warm up in games before playing at his optimum best. Taylor took on Kevin Painter but soon found himself 3-0 down. Taylor posted his first leg with a 132-checkout but that was cancelled out by Painter's 127 making it 4-1. Taylor then moved to within one before Painter again retaliated with a 123-checkout on the bull to make it 5-3. But again Taylor fought back like last week and the game was turned when The Power nailed a nine darter to equalise. Taylor then hit two double tops to lead 7-5 and then went onto post his first victory of the campaign.
The final match of the evening was between Simon Whitlock and James Wade. Wade notoriously had a bad start to last year's league and found himself 5-0 down in double quick time. That lead was then stretched to 7-0 before Wade mounted a valiant comeback. The Machine was able to post four legs on the board to make the score a little more respectable, but he is now the only one of the eight yet to earn a point.
Scotland's own Gary Anderson faced Andy Hamilton in the second match of the night. The debutant isn't used to a partisan crowd against him and it showed as he missed a bucketful of doubles. Anderson stormed into a 4-0 lead before Hamilton was able to halve the deficit. But any momentum Hamilton had gained didn't help him through as the Scot went onto win 8-2 in response to his poor display last week.
It would seem that Phil Taylor needs time to warm up in games before playing at his optimum best. Taylor took on Kevin Painter but soon found himself 3-0 down. Taylor posted his first leg with a 132-checkout but that was cancelled out by Painter's 127 making it 4-1. Taylor then moved to within one before Painter again retaliated with a 123-checkout on the bull to make it 5-3. But again Taylor fought back like last week and the game was turned when The Power nailed a nine darter to equalise. Taylor then hit two double tops to lead 7-5 and then went onto post his first victory of the campaign.
The final match of the evening was between Simon Whitlock and James Wade. Wade notoriously had a bad start to last year's league and found himself 5-0 down in double quick time. That lead was then stretched to 7-0 before Wade mounted a valiant comeback. The Machine was able to post four legs on the board to make the score a little more respectable, but he is now the only one of the eight yet to earn a point.
Wednesday 15 February 2012
2011/12 CL Round-Up: 2nd Round 1st Leg pt1
The Champions League returned this week as the knock-out phase commenced. Favourites Barcelona will take three away goals with them for the battle at Camp Nou. Barca travelled to Germany to take on Bayer Leverkusen and took the lead five minutes before half-time through Alexis Sanchez. Michal Kadlec equalised six minutes after the restart but it was cancelled out by Sanchez's second just three minutes later. Lionel Messi put the icing on the cake with Barca's third three minutes before the end. Leverkusen have it all to do if they are to turn the 3-1 deficit around.
It'll be a little bit more tense in Cyprus when Apoel Nicosia host Lyon in their second leg. The pair are separated by just the one goal, Alexandre Lacazette giving Lyon a slight advantage 12-minutes into the second half.
It will be just as tense in Portugal, although Benfica will have two away goals to carry with them when they face Zenit St.Petersburg again. Maxi Pereira gave the visitors the lead after 20-minutes before Roman Shirokov equalised six minutes later. Sergei Semak then gave Zenit the lead with 20-minutes to go. Oscar Cardozo thought he'd rescued a point with Benfica's equaliser four minutes from time however, Shirokov returned to give Zenit the slender lead two minutes later.
Any hopes of an English winner may now fall onto Chelsea as AC Milan handed out a footballing lesson to Arsenal. The deadlock was broken in the San Siro after 14-minutes with Kevin Prince-Boateng firing a superb shot home. Robinho made it 2-0 when the ball was put on a plate by an originally offside Zlatan Ibrahimovic eight minutes before half-time. The Brazilian then added Milan's third just three minutes into the second half with Ibrahimovic finishing the job from the spot with 12-minutes remaining.
It'll be a little bit more tense in Cyprus when Apoel Nicosia host Lyon in their second leg. The pair are separated by just the one goal, Alexandre Lacazette giving Lyon a slight advantage 12-minutes into the second half.
It will be just as tense in Portugal, although Benfica will have two away goals to carry with them when they face Zenit St.Petersburg again. Maxi Pereira gave the visitors the lead after 20-minutes before Roman Shirokov equalised six minutes later. Sergei Semak then gave Zenit the lead with 20-minutes to go. Oscar Cardozo thought he'd rescued a point with Benfica's equaliser four minutes from time however, Shirokov returned to give Zenit the slender lead two minutes later.
Any hopes of an English winner may now fall onto Chelsea as AC Milan handed out a footballing lesson to Arsenal. The deadlock was broken in the San Siro after 14-minutes with Kevin Prince-Boateng firing a superb shot home. Robinho made it 2-0 when the ball was put on a plate by an originally offside Zlatan Ibrahimovic eight minutes before half-time. The Brazilian then added Milan's third just three minutes into the second half with Ibrahimovic finishing the job from the spot with 12-minutes remaining.
Sunday 12 February 2012
City Back Top, Wolves in Bottom Three
Super Sunday was hosted in the West Midlands with two games concerning both ends of the table. Molineux was the first destination as Wolves faced West Brom in the Black Country derby. Peter Odemwingie fired the visitors ahead on 34-minutes before Steven Fletcher equalised against the run of play just before half-time. Although Wolves played better in the second half, they still somehow managed to capitulate. Jonas Olsson made it 2-1 on 64-minutes before Odemwingie scored his second 13-minutes later latching onto a scrambled corner. Keith Andrews fired Albion 4-1 ahead with a deflected shot from outside the box on 85-minutes with Odemwingie getting his hat-trick to round off a sorry performance for Wolves with two minutes remaining. Wolves now fall into the relegation zone on goal difference.
Villa Park was the venue for the second instalment as Aston Villa hosted Manchester City. City dominated the game throughout as Villa's home form continued to diminish. The only goal of the game came from Villa's Achilles heel with Joleon Lescott scoring from a corner to put City back to the top of the table.
Villa Park was the venue for the second instalment as Aston Villa hosted Manchester City. City dominated the game throughout as Villa's home form continued to diminish. The only goal of the game came from Villa's Achilles heel with Joleon Lescott scoring from a corner to put City back to the top of the table.
The Heart Rules the Head
In 1994, the Zambian football team perished in a tragic plane crash in Libreville, Gabon. In 2012, the Zambian football team have beaten the odds to win the African Cup of Nations for the first time in their history. The favourites, Ivory Coast, finish runners-up without even conceding a goal in the tournament.
The best chance of the game fell to Chelsea's Didier Drogba. But he blasted his 70th-minute penalty over the bar. Zambia's best moment came in extra time when they hit the post and the match fell into the penalty shoot-out.
The sides couldn't be separated in the penalties as that also went into sudden death. Leicester's Sol Bamba had his penalty saved at 1-1, but the linesman ruled that keeper, Kennedy Mweene, had moved off his line before the kick was taken and a retake was forced. Bamba scored on the second time of asking and Drogba also stepped up again as the penalties went to 5-5. Kolo Toure then had his penalty saved before Rainford Kalaba hit his penalty over to keep the score at 7-7. Arsenal's Gervinho then smashed his penalty wide leaving Stophira Sunzu to score the winning goal to give Zambia their emotional victory.
The best chance of the game fell to Chelsea's Didier Drogba. But he blasted his 70th-minute penalty over the bar. Zambia's best moment came in extra time when they hit the post and the match fell into the penalty shoot-out.
The sides couldn't be separated in the penalties as that also went into sudden death. Leicester's Sol Bamba had his penalty saved at 1-1, but the linesman ruled that keeper, Kennedy Mweene, had moved off his line before the kick was taken and a retake was forced. Bamba scored on the second time of asking and Drogba also stepped up again as the penalties went to 5-5. Kolo Toure then had his penalty saved before Rainford Kalaba hit his penalty over to keep the score at 7-7. Arsenal's Gervinho then smashed his penalty wide leaving Stophira Sunzu to score the winning goal to give Zambia their emotional victory.
PL Round-Up 12/2/12
Manchester United 2-1
Liverpool: Anyone who expected the Luis Suarez – Patrice Evra saga to be
concluded today were horribly wrong. It began even before kick-off when Suarez
dismissed Evra’s attempts at a handshake, this provoked a reaction from Evra
and Rio Ferdinand subsequently snubbed the Uruguayan. As the half-time whistle
sounded, Suarez launched the ball into the crowd which again sparked a furore.
The teams went into the tunnel goalless and had to be separated by stewards and
police as they came together. United came out firing in the second half and
Wayne Rooney smashed a volley home from a corner just two minutes after the
restart. Rooney then made it two just three minutes later when he was put
through on goal by Antonio Valencia. Suarez wasn’t to be outdone however,
taking full advantage of a free-kick to make it 2-1 ten minutes from time.
David De Gea then smartly saved a Glen Johnson in shot in injury time to earn
the three points. Evra let his happiness shown as he celebrated all around the
ground, culminating in parading around Suarez’s direction as he made his way to
the Stretford End. This again provoked a Liverpool reaction and it was referee
Phil Dowd who made sure Evra was the last to go down the tunnel. Sir Alex
Ferguson branded Suarez a disgrace for what he did and said: ‘He’s let
Liverpool down and should never play for them again.’
Blackburn 3-2 QPR:
Blackburn go level on points with QPR with just goal difference keeping Steve
Kean’s men in the bottom three. Yakubu put Blackburn ahead with a smart
swivelled shot after just 15-minutes for his 13th goal of the
season. Steven Nzonzi doubled their lead on 23-minutes before a Junior Hoillet
strike took a horrible deflection off Nedum Onuoha to make it 3-0 on half-time.
Substitute Jamie Mackie pulled a goal back on 71-minutes before firing a second
goal past Paul Robinson in injury time.
Bolton 1-2 Wigan:
Wigan go a point behind Bolton and just points from safety with their third
away win of the season. Captain Gary Caldwell headed Wigan ahead two minutes
before half-time. Mark Davies hit a beauty past Ali Al-Habsi to equalise on
67-minutes before James McArthur won the match 11-minutes later.
Everton 2-0 Chelsea:
Chelsea fall to fifth as they fail to win in four games. Steven Pienaar scored
on his return to Goodison Park after just five minutes. Denis Stracqualursi
scored his first Premiership goal on 71-minutes to give Everton the three
points.
Fulham 2-1 Stoke:
Pavel Pogrebnyak started repaying his transfer fee with Fulham’s opener on
16-minutes. Clint Dempsey has hit full form and it was his shot that rebounded
off the crossbar before hitting Thomasz Sorensen a falling back into the net to
make it 2-0 on 28-minutes. Stoke came back into it in the last half hour and
Ryan Shawcross headed them back into it with 12-minutes left to play. Fulham
could have put the game beyond all doubt but Dempsey hit the post after
rounding Sorensen in injury time. It didn’t matter however as Fulham held onto
the win.
Sunderland 1-2
Arsenal: Thierry Henry bid a second farewell with the goal that sees
Arsenal move to fourth. James McLean scored again to give Sunderland the lead on 70-minutes. Substitute Aaron Ramsey equalised five minutes later with Henry scoring the winner in injury time.
Swansea 2-3 Norwich: Norwich move to eighth after winning this five goal thriller. Danny Graham put Swansea ahead on 23-minutes to give them the lead at half-time. Grant Holt equalised for Norwich just two minutes after restart. Anthony Pilkington then made it 2-1 Norwich four minutes later before Holt scored again on 63-minutes. Holt was then guilty of pulling Ashley Williams' shirt in the box and subsequently gave away a penalty. Graham stepped up and converted it with three minutes left to play.
Tottenham 5-0 Newcastle: Spurs gave Harry Redknapp five reasons why he should stay at the helm as they keep in touch with the Manchester sides. Benoit Assou-Ekotto fired an Emmanuel Adebayor cross home after just four minutes. Louis Saha scored his first goal for his new club just two minutes later to double the score. The Frenchman then made it 3-0 on 20-minutes before Niko Kranjcar made it 4-0 11-minutes before half-time. The fifth and final reason on 64-minutes when Adebayor bagged a goal for himself to complete the demolition of Newcastle.
Thursday 9 February 2012
2012 Premier League Darts Begins
Fifteen weeks of gruelling, arrow flinging contest began tonight with eight of the top darts players battling for the Premier League crown. Manchester hosted the opening night and it began with debutant Andy Hamilton against James Wade. Gary Anderson won the league last year in his debut year so Hamilton and fellow debutant Kevin Painter will look to do the same.
Commentator Sid Waddell was back behind the microphone after his recent cancer scare and witnessed Hamilton take a 1-0 lead with a 74-checkout. Hamilton then hit the first 180 of the 2012 Premier League, but it didn't prevent Wade from levelling the match. The Machine then hit a 121-checkout on the bull to again level the match at 2-2. Wade saved himself from having his throw broken by making a 126-checkout, again on the bull, to make it 3-3 going into the break. The first break of throw came straight after the interval with Wade taking a 4-3 lead with a 61-checkout but Hamilton instantly broke back to equalise. The Hammer finally broke daylight between the players by breaking Wade again to lead 6-4. Hamilton then held his nerve to make it four legs in a row and guaranteed himself at least a point. Hamilton completed a dream debut with double tops to beat Wade 8-5. Wade started lasted year with three losses and he will hoping that doesn't manifest itself again this time around.
The second game of the night saw Simon Whitlock face Raymond Van Barneveld. The pair last week in the World Cup with Whitlock winning it 4-2. The first two legs went with throw before Barney broke Whitlock to take a 2-1 lead at the fourth time of asking. The fourth leg saw five 140s between the players but they then both hit the wrong double before Barney took a 3-1 lead. The pair then both held their throws to make it 4-2 going into the adverts. Whitlock levelled the match courtesy of a couple of 180s to put the match back on throw. The Australian then took the lead for the first time since the opening leg as he was able to hold his throw. Whitlock then made it 6-5 on the sixth time of asking after Barney missed a crucial dart a double-16. It was the same double that prevented Barney from equalising as Whitlock guaranteed himself at least a point at 7-5. The Dutchman then managed to hold his throw before hitting double eight to secure the first draw of this year's Premier League. It does end Barney's 100% record at the MEN Arena but the draw was fully deserved.
Defending champion, Gary Anderson, began his defence against debutant Kevin Painter. Painter's first darts of his Premier League scored 180 and went on to win the leg courtesy of a 74-checkout and then broke Anderson to lead 2-0. The Artist then hit a 134-checkout to take remarkable 4-0 lead over a disappointing Scotsman. Anderson missed his first two doubles of the match in the fifth leg as Painter took out 144 to almost certainly give Painter his dream debut. Anderson finally took his first leg, after eleven attempts to make it 5-1 as they headed off stage. The break looked to have been kind to Anderson as he managed to pull it back to 5-3. But the Scot again missed darts at the double as Painter extended the lead again. Painter's nerves finally got the better of him and Anderson was able to come back to level at 6-6, with two doubles ones, two doubles twos and a double five. But The Artist guaranteed himself a debut point with a fantastic 128-check-out before sealing the match with a 50-checkout. This means that both débutantes won their games to be at the top of the table.
This time last year, newly crowned World Champion, Adrian Lewis, thrashed Phil Taylor 8-2. This time around, the pair are fresh off the back of winning the World Cup last week. The current back-to-back World Champion took out 138 to secure an early break of throw against Taylor. Lewis then found an easier tops to secure a second break of throw to make it 4-0 against a good playing Taylor. The Power finally held his throw with his second double of the match, after having previously missed his first in that leg, making the score 5-1 going into the break. But Taylor was able to pull it back to 6-4 as the momentum began to shift before levelling the match up. Lewis stopped the five leg rot to guarantee himself at least a point but Taylor deserved a point for participating in a fantastic match and that's exactly what he got on the third time of asking.
Commentator Sid Waddell was back behind the microphone after his recent cancer scare and witnessed Hamilton take a 1-0 lead with a 74-checkout. Hamilton then hit the first 180 of the 2012 Premier League, but it didn't prevent Wade from levelling the match. The Machine then hit a 121-checkout on the bull to again level the match at 2-2. Wade saved himself from having his throw broken by making a 126-checkout, again on the bull, to make it 3-3 going into the break. The first break of throw came straight after the interval with Wade taking a 4-3 lead with a 61-checkout but Hamilton instantly broke back to equalise. The Hammer finally broke daylight between the players by breaking Wade again to lead 6-4. Hamilton then held his nerve to make it four legs in a row and guaranteed himself at least a point. Hamilton completed a dream debut with double tops to beat Wade 8-5. Wade started lasted year with three losses and he will hoping that doesn't manifest itself again this time around.
The second game of the night saw Simon Whitlock face Raymond Van Barneveld. The pair last week in the World Cup with Whitlock winning it 4-2. The first two legs went with throw before Barney broke Whitlock to take a 2-1 lead at the fourth time of asking. The fourth leg saw five 140s between the players but they then both hit the wrong double before Barney took a 3-1 lead. The pair then both held their throws to make it 4-2 going into the adverts. Whitlock levelled the match courtesy of a couple of 180s to put the match back on throw. The Australian then took the lead for the first time since the opening leg as he was able to hold his throw. Whitlock then made it 6-5 on the sixth time of asking after Barney missed a crucial dart a double-16. It was the same double that prevented Barney from equalising as Whitlock guaranteed himself at least a point at 7-5. The Dutchman then managed to hold his throw before hitting double eight to secure the first draw of this year's Premier League. It does end Barney's 100% record at the MEN Arena but the draw was fully deserved.
Defending champion, Gary Anderson, began his defence against debutant Kevin Painter. Painter's first darts of his Premier League scored 180 and went on to win the leg courtesy of a 74-checkout and then broke Anderson to lead 2-0. The Artist then hit a 134-checkout to take remarkable 4-0 lead over a disappointing Scotsman. Anderson missed his first two doubles of the match in the fifth leg as Painter took out 144 to almost certainly give Painter his dream debut. Anderson finally took his first leg, after eleven attempts to make it 5-1 as they headed off stage. The break looked to have been kind to Anderson as he managed to pull it back to 5-3. But the Scot again missed darts at the double as Painter extended the lead again. Painter's nerves finally got the better of him and Anderson was able to come back to level at 6-6, with two doubles ones, two doubles twos and a double five. But The Artist guaranteed himself a debut point with a fantastic 128-check-out before sealing the match with a 50-checkout. This means that both débutantes won their games to be at the top of the table.
This time last year, newly crowned World Champion, Adrian Lewis, thrashed Phil Taylor 8-2. This time around, the pair are fresh off the back of winning the World Cup last week. The current back-to-back World Champion took out 138 to secure an early break of throw against Taylor. Lewis then found an easier tops to secure a second break of throw to make it 4-0 against a good playing Taylor. The Power finally held his throw with his second double of the match, after having previously missed his first in that leg, making the score 5-1 going into the break. But Taylor was able to pull it back to 6-4 as the momentum began to shift before levelling the match up. Lewis stopped the five leg rot to guarantee himself at least a point but Taylor deserved a point for participating in a fantastic match and that's exactly what he got on the third time of asking.
Wednesday 8 February 2012
2012 ACN: Semi-Finals
Zambia will face an emotional return to Libreville where their team of '93 sadly lost their lives in a plane crash. Now they will head back to participate in their first African Cup of Nations final since 1994 after a surprise victory over Ghana. The Ghanaian side were very much the favourites and were awarded a penalty after six minutes when Kwadwo Asamoah was allegedly tripped. Asamoah Gyan stepped up but his spot-kick was expertly saved by Kennedy Mweene. Both teams had chances throughout the match but the game was won 12-minutes from time, substitute Emmanuel Mayuka's spectacular effort hitting off the post for his third goal of the tournament. Ghana's chances of an equaliser suffered greatly when Derek Boateng received his second yellow card with six minutes remaining. Zambia held on to an historic victory and will travel to the emotional pasture of Libreville on Sunday.
Zambia will face a tough task if they are to win their first African Cup of Nations. They will face pre-tournament favourites Ivory Coast who are still yet to lose a game in this campaign, qualifiers included. Ivory Coast faced Mali in the other semi-final and the two teams were also separated by the single goal. Arsenal's Gervinho hasn't been full of goals at The Emirates, but he has put Ivory Coast through with the goal just before half-time.
Zambia will face a tough task if they are to win their first African Cup of Nations. They will face pre-tournament favourites Ivory Coast who are still yet to lose a game in this campaign, qualifiers included. Ivory Coast faced Mali in the other semi-final and the two teams were also separated by the single goal. Arsenal's Gervinho hasn't been full of goals at The Emirates, but he has put Ivory Coast through with the goal just before half-time.
Monday 6 February 2012
Debut Goal, Comeback and Draws
The latest Super Sunday and Monday Night Football programme may have had a big say on the battle for the league and the battle for fourth place. The Sports Direct Arena was the stage of the the first instalment of Super Sunday. With Senegal receiving an early exit from the African Cup of Nations, Demba Ba and Papiss Cisse returned to Newcastle to face Aston Villa. Villa will be wishing Senegal had made it past the group stage as Ba put the hosts ahead on the half-hour mark. Robbie Keane netted his third goal for his new club to equalise just before half-time. But there was to be a winner and it came 19-minutes from time, Cisse scoring a fantastic volley on his debut to become an instant hit in front of the Toon Army.
The point puts Newcastle just one point behind Chelsea in fifth but it could have been so different. Chelsea were in action in the second part of Super Sunday, facing Manchester United. Gary Cahill made his debut in the absence of John Terry and it could have possibly ended prematurely when he brought Danny Welbeck down just outside the box in the first half when the striker was through on goal. But Howard Webb didn't even deem it as a foul and despite United having the better possession in the first half, Chelsea would go into the break 1-0 ahead. Danny Sturridge out-foxed Patrice Evra in the box and his powerful pull back saw David De Gea get a toe to it, the ball then rebounded off Johnny Evans and fell into the United net, nine minutes before half-time.
United then failed to come out for the second half and a Fernando Torres cross was met by a Juan Mata volley just 26-seconds into it to put Chelsea 2-0 ahead. It got even better for the hosts when David Luiz met a corner and his header came off Rio Ferdinand to make it 3-0 with only five minutes of the second half played out. United felt that they had a penalty claim in the first half when Ashley Young was allegedly having his shirt pulled, well they finally got their penalty two minutes before the hour mark when Evra turned into Sturridge and fell to the floor. Wayne Rooney stepped up and sent his spot kick crashing into the top corner. United were then handed another penalty when Welbeck was tripped by a slipping Branislav Ivanovic. Again Rooney stepped up and went the opposite way to make it 3-2 on 69-minutes. The comeback was completed six minutes from time through a substitute Javier Hernandez header. The point was nearly in doubt again but De Gea made a fantastic stop to prevent Mata from winning the game. United go to two points behind Manchester City at the top.
Monday Night Football witnessed the return of Luis Suarez as Liverpool took on Tottenham at Anfield. There was no goals and the highlight of the first half was possibly an interference from a cat. Suarez came off the bench for the first time since his suspension but just in case he felt he wouldn't be in the papers tomorrow, he received a yellow card just four minutes later for a high challenge on Scott Parker. Liverpool are now a point behind Arsenal in seventh and Spurs go five points behind Manchester United in third. Suarez's first away game will be on Saturday where faces none other than Patrice Evra again at Old Trafford, fireworks are guaranteed to fly.
The point puts Newcastle just one point behind Chelsea in fifth but it could have been so different. Chelsea were in action in the second part of Super Sunday, facing Manchester United. Gary Cahill made his debut in the absence of John Terry and it could have possibly ended prematurely when he brought Danny Welbeck down just outside the box in the first half when the striker was through on goal. But Howard Webb didn't even deem it as a foul and despite United having the better possession in the first half, Chelsea would go into the break 1-0 ahead. Danny Sturridge out-foxed Patrice Evra in the box and his powerful pull back saw David De Gea get a toe to it, the ball then rebounded off Johnny Evans and fell into the United net, nine minutes before half-time.
United then failed to come out for the second half and a Fernando Torres cross was met by a Juan Mata volley just 26-seconds into it to put Chelsea 2-0 ahead. It got even better for the hosts when David Luiz met a corner and his header came off Rio Ferdinand to make it 3-0 with only five minutes of the second half played out. United felt that they had a penalty claim in the first half when Ashley Young was allegedly having his shirt pulled, well they finally got their penalty two minutes before the hour mark when Evra turned into Sturridge and fell to the floor. Wayne Rooney stepped up and sent his spot kick crashing into the top corner. United were then handed another penalty when Welbeck was tripped by a slipping Branislav Ivanovic. Again Rooney stepped up and went the opposite way to make it 3-2 on 69-minutes. The comeback was completed six minutes from time through a substitute Javier Hernandez header. The point was nearly in doubt again but De Gea made a fantastic stop to prevent Mata from winning the game. United go to two points behind Manchester City at the top.
Monday Night Football witnessed the return of Luis Suarez as Liverpool took on Tottenham at Anfield. There was no goals and the highlight of the first half was possibly an interference from a cat. Suarez came off the bench for the first time since his suspension but just in case he felt he wouldn't be in the papers tomorrow, he received a yellow card just four minutes later for a high challenge on Scott Parker. Liverpool are now a point behind Arsenal in seventh and Spurs go five points behind Manchester United in third. Suarez's first away game will be on Saturday where faces none other than Patrice Evra again at Old Trafford, fireworks are guaranteed to fly.
Sunday 5 February 2012
England Claims the Darting Ashes
The World Cup of Darts reached its climax as England faced Australia. Since it was the final, all the the games were now the best 13 legs. Up first was Phil Taylor against Paul Nicholson. Taylor took the initial leg before hitting a 116 check-out to take a 2-1 lead. But Taylor's finishing almost proved costly as Nicholson turned it around to lead 3-2. The game went to 4-4 before Taylor finally found a breakthrough, from there Nicholson couldn't keep in touch as he lost the game 7-4. England lead 1-0.
Simon Whitlock had to level the match up against Adrian Lewis in the second singles match. Whitlock missed darts at the double to go 2-1 ahead but still managed to take a 3-2 lead after Lewis missed double tops for a 106 check-out. The pair in touch throughout the match and they were locked together at 5-5. Lewis then produced a 161 check-out before taking the twelfth leg to win the match and give England a 2-0 lead.
Whitlock had to again try to bring Australia back into the contest against Taylor. It looked like a good possibility when The Wizard went 3-0 ahead. Taylor fought back with 142 check-out followed by a 170 finish on his way to levelling to game at 4-4. Whitlock again took the lead before Taylor again came back to make it 6-5 in his favour. Whitlock managed to force a decider but Taylor took it to put England just one win away from the World Cup.
It all rested on Nicholson to pull Australia out of the mire, all he had to do was beat the World Champion. The match was extremely tight to begin with, Lewis just kept ahead 3-2 going into the adverts. But the game changed just after the break and Lewis needed a 161 check-out to make it 4-4. But Nicholson found an edge over Lewis and managed to take the next three legs to keep Australia alive with the doubles match remaining.
Australia looked to level the match up as they took a 3-0 lead in the doubles match. But England pulled it back to 3-2 going into the interval. Australia were able to extend that lead to 5-2 before winning it 7-4 to force a deciding sudden death leg. It took five attempts between Taylor and Whitlock to decide who would throw first in that crucial leg. Taylor finally hit the bull when Whitlock hit the 25 to give England that all important throw. Both teams hit the double at the same time, but both Taylor and Nicholson missed three darts to win it. Adrian Lewis hit the double five to take the leg and earn the World Cup for England.
Simon Whitlock had to level the match up against Adrian Lewis in the second singles match. Whitlock missed darts at the double to go 2-1 ahead but still managed to take a 3-2 lead after Lewis missed double tops for a 106 check-out. The pair in touch throughout the match and they were locked together at 5-5. Lewis then produced a 161 check-out before taking the twelfth leg to win the match and give England a 2-0 lead.
Whitlock had to again try to bring Australia back into the contest against Taylor. It looked like a good possibility when The Wizard went 3-0 ahead. Taylor fought back with 142 check-out followed by a 170 finish on his way to levelling to game at 4-4. Whitlock again took the lead before Taylor again came back to make it 6-5 in his favour. Whitlock managed to force a decider but Taylor took it to put England just one win away from the World Cup.
It all rested on Nicholson to pull Australia out of the mire, all he had to do was beat the World Champion. The match was extremely tight to begin with, Lewis just kept ahead 3-2 going into the adverts. But the game changed just after the break and Lewis needed a 161 check-out to make it 4-4. But Nicholson found an edge over Lewis and managed to take the next three legs to keep Australia alive with the doubles match remaining.
Australia looked to level the match up as they took a 3-0 lead in the doubles match. But England pulled it back to 3-2 going into the interval. Australia were able to extend that lead to 5-2 before winning it 7-4 to force a deciding sudden death leg. It took five attempts between Taylor and Whitlock to decide who would throw first in that crucial leg. Taylor finally hit the bull when Whitlock hit the 25 to give England that all important throw. Both teams hit the double at the same time, but both Taylor and Nicholson missed three darts to win it. Adrian Lewis hit the double five to take the leg and earn the World Cup for England.
2012 ACN: Quarter Finals
Zambia found it relatively against Sudan to place themselves into the semi-finals. 22-year-old Stophira Sunzu put Zambia ahead after 14-minutes. Christopher Katongo has probably been Zambia's best player of the tournament so far and he scored their second on 65-minutes, a minute after Ali Idris Farah received a red card for Sudan. The win was ensured five minutes from time with James Chamanga scoring Zambia's third.
Co-hosts Equatorial Guinea couldn't produce another shock over favourites Ivory Coast. Didier Drogba did miss have a first half penalty saved before he took full advantage of a defensive error to give Ivory Coast the lead ten minutes before half-time. Drogba was on the score-sheet again on 68-minutes with Manchester City's Yaya Toure scoring a fantastic free-kick to make it 3-0 with ten minutes left.
The other co- hosts Gabon suffered major heart-break at the hands of Mali. The dream looked like it was going to come true when Eric Mouloungui put them ahead nine minutes into the second half. But Cheick Diabate rescued Mali six minutes from time. Abdoulaye Maiga then received a red card a minute later to force Mali to ten men for the extra time period. Gabon couldn't capitalise and it went to the dreaded penalty shoot-out. The penalties went just as close with Mali winning it 5-4 to scrape through.
The final quarter-final also went into the extra period as Ghana faced Tunisia. Jon Mensah came back from suspension and put Ghana ahead after just eight minutes. Evian's Saber Khelifa equalised four minutes before half-time and extra time ensured. But Andre Ayew scored dead on 100-minutes to put Ghana into the semi-finals.
Co-hosts Equatorial Guinea couldn't produce another shock over favourites Ivory Coast. Didier Drogba did miss have a first half penalty saved before he took full advantage of a defensive error to give Ivory Coast the lead ten minutes before half-time. Drogba was on the score-sheet again on 68-minutes with Manchester City's Yaya Toure scoring a fantastic free-kick to make it 3-0 with ten minutes left.
The other co- hosts Gabon suffered major heart-break at the hands of Mali. The dream looked like it was going to come true when Eric Mouloungui put them ahead nine minutes into the second half. But Cheick Diabate rescued Mali six minutes from time. Abdoulaye Maiga then received a red card a minute later to force Mali to ten men for the extra time period. Gabon couldn't capitalise and it went to the dreaded penalty shoot-out. The penalties went just as close with Mali winning it 5-4 to scrape through.
The final quarter-final also went into the extra period as Ghana faced Tunisia. Jon Mensah came back from suspension and put Ghana ahead after just eight minutes. Evian's Saber Khelifa equalised four minutes before half-time and extra time ensured. But Andre Ayew scored dead on 100-minutes to put Ghana into the semi-finals.
2012 Darts WC: Semi-Finals
The ante was upped for the semi-finals as the format reverted back to the last World Cup. The matches consisted of four singles matches and a final doubles match which still carried two points with it. Australia faced Holland in the first semi-final with Simon Whitlock first up against Vincent Van der Voort. Van der Voort initially took the lead before finding himself 3-1 down. The Dutchman rallied round and was able to force a deciding leg, but Whitlock won it to give Australia the first point of the night.
Raymond Van Barneveld returned to his best against Paul Nicholson. Barney didn't drop a leg against The Asset to win the game 4-0 and level the overall score up at 1-1. But Barney couldn't repeat his form against fellow Premier League representative Whitlock. Whitlock charged into a 3-0 lead before Barney came back to within a leg but Whitlock was able to get the job done.
This meant Van der Voort had to beat Nicholson to avoid needing to win the doubles match and a sudden death shoot-out. The Dutchman again took the lead before having to level the match at 2-2. But Nicholson took the following two legs to win the match 4-2 and put Australia in a commanding position. Whitlock was the star in the doubles match, managing check-outs of 105 and 110 to win the game 4-0 and win the match 5-1.
England took on neighbours Wales in the second semi-final of the night. For the third day in a row, Phil Taylor lost a singles match. He opened the match against Richie Burnett and managed a 111 check-out to make it 2-1 in the Welshman's favour. But Taylor couldn't take that forward and Burnett took the next two legs to put Wales ahead.
Current Premier League star, Adrian Lewis, took on former Premier League entrant, Mark Webster. The World Champion finally found his clinical darts to whitewash Webster and level the match up. Taylor then managed his first singles win of the tournament against Webster. After being 2-0 down, the Welshman missed a dart at the double to level the game and found himself 3-1 behind. Taylor took the next leg to finish the game off and give England a 2-1 lead.
The final singles game could have gone either way as it twisted and turned throughout. Lewis took the lead before Burnett turned it around to lead 2-1. Lewis again fought back to re-take the lead but Burnett forced a seventh leg out of the game. Lewis took the final leg to give England a 3-1 lead and another commanding position. The doubles match was level a 1-1 before England took a 3-1 lead and one leg away from the final. It took two attempts, but the World's Number One and Two got that winning leg to set up a tie against Australia in the final.
Raymond Van Barneveld returned to his best against Paul Nicholson. Barney didn't drop a leg against The Asset to win the game 4-0 and level the overall score up at 1-1. But Barney couldn't repeat his form against fellow Premier League representative Whitlock. Whitlock charged into a 3-0 lead before Barney came back to within a leg but Whitlock was able to get the job done.
This meant Van der Voort had to beat Nicholson to avoid needing to win the doubles match and a sudden death shoot-out. The Dutchman again took the lead before having to level the match at 2-2. But Nicholson took the following two legs to win the match 4-2 and put Australia in a commanding position. Whitlock was the star in the doubles match, managing check-outs of 105 and 110 to win the game 4-0 and win the match 5-1.
England took on neighbours Wales in the second semi-final of the night. For the third day in a row, Phil Taylor lost a singles match. He opened the match against Richie Burnett and managed a 111 check-out to make it 2-1 in the Welshman's favour. But Taylor couldn't take that forward and Burnett took the next two legs to put Wales ahead.
Current Premier League star, Adrian Lewis, took on former Premier League entrant, Mark Webster. The World Champion finally found his clinical darts to whitewash Webster and level the match up. Taylor then managed his first singles win of the tournament against Webster. After being 2-0 down, the Welshman missed a dart at the double to level the game and found himself 3-1 behind. Taylor took the next leg to finish the game off and give England a 2-1 lead.
The final singles game could have gone either way as it twisted and turned throughout. Lewis took the lead before Burnett turned it around to lead 2-1. Lewis again fought back to re-take the lead but Burnett forced a seventh leg out of the game. Lewis took the final leg to give England a 3-1 lead and another commanding position. The doubles match was level a 1-1 before England took a 3-1 lead and one leg away from the final. It took two attempts, but the World's Number One and Two got that winning leg to set up a tie against Australia in the final.
Saturday 4 February 2012
PL Round-Up 4/2/12
Arsenal 7-1 Blackburn: Arsenal have waited four games for this and boy did they make sorry Blackburn pay. Robin Van Persie began the demolition after just two minutes, although Morten Gamst Pedersen did equalise just after the half-hour mark. Van Persie was on the score-sheet again seven minutes before Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain made it 3-1 with five minutes still play of the first half. If Blackburn's second half task wasn't tough enough, Gael Givet received a straight red two minutes from half-time to just make Steve Kean's team-talk just that bit harder. Mikel Arteta continued Arsenal's rampant mood with the forth just six minutes after the restart. Oxlade-Chamberlain scored his second of the match just three minutes later with Van Persie securing his hat-trick on 62-minutes. Blackburn's embarrassment was completed in injury time with Thierry Henry scoring his first Premiership goal since his return.
Norwich 2-0 Bolton: Norwich move into the top half of the table as Bolton slide into the relegation zone. Andrew Surman gave Norwich the lead with 20-minutes left to play. Anthony Pilkington ensured Norwich of the points with five minutes remaining.
Wigan 1-1 Everton: Everton slip out of the top half of the table as Wigan move to within two points of Blackburn. Phil Neville put the ball past Tim Howard on 76-minutes to give Wigan the lead. Victor Anichebe saved his captain's blushes with the equaliser seven minutes from time.
West Brom 1-2 Swansea: Swansea leapfrog West Brom after coming from behind to win at The Hawthornes. Marc-Antoine Fortune gave West Brom the lead nine minutes into the second half. But their jubilance was short lived as Gylfi Sigurdsson scored his first Swansea goal just one minute later. Danny Graham made it 2-1 just before the hour mark to secure the three points.
QPR 1-2 Wolves: Mick McCarthy's side finally move out of the relegation zone with a crucial away win. Bobby Zamora put the hosts in front on his debut after 16-minutes. Djibril Cisse also scored on his debut last week but found himself sent off on his first home appearance 11-minutes from half-time. Wolves took full advantage as Matt Jarvis equalised just a minute into the second half with Kevin Doyle scoring the winner with 19-minutes left.
Stoke 0-1 Sunderland: Martin O'Neill's fantastic spell continues as Sunderland go five points behind Liverpool. Robert Huth was sent off on half-time for the hosts and the young talent, James McClean, won the game on the hour mark.
Manchester City 3-0 Fulham: City throw the gauntlet down to United with the Red Devils facing Chelsea tomorrow. Sergio Aguero put City ahead after just ten minutes with a penalty. Chris Baird then deflected the ball into his own net to make it 2-0 on the half-hour mark, Edin Dzeko rounded the match off on 72-minutes.
Norwich 2-0 Bolton: Norwich move into the top half of the table as Bolton slide into the relegation zone. Andrew Surman gave Norwich the lead with 20-minutes left to play. Anthony Pilkington ensured Norwich of the points with five minutes remaining.
Wigan 1-1 Everton: Everton slip out of the top half of the table as Wigan move to within two points of Blackburn. Phil Neville put the ball past Tim Howard on 76-minutes to give Wigan the lead. Victor Anichebe saved his captain's blushes with the equaliser seven minutes from time.
West Brom 1-2 Swansea: Swansea leapfrog West Brom after coming from behind to win at The Hawthornes. Marc-Antoine Fortune gave West Brom the lead nine minutes into the second half. But their jubilance was short lived as Gylfi Sigurdsson scored his first Swansea goal just one minute later. Danny Graham made it 2-1 just before the hour mark to secure the three points.
QPR 1-2 Wolves: Mick McCarthy's side finally move out of the relegation zone with a crucial away win. Bobby Zamora put the hosts in front on his debut after 16-minutes. Djibril Cisse also scored on his debut last week but found himself sent off on his first home appearance 11-minutes from half-time. Wolves took full advantage as Matt Jarvis equalised just a minute into the second half with Kevin Doyle scoring the winner with 19-minutes left.
Stoke 0-1 Sunderland: Martin O'Neill's fantastic spell continues as Sunderland go five points behind Liverpool. Robert Huth was sent off on half-time for the hosts and the young talent, James McClean, won the game on the hour mark.
Manchester City 3-0 Fulham: City throw the gauntlet down to United with the Red Devils facing Chelsea tomorrow. Sergio Aguero put City ahead after just ten minutes with a penalty. Chris Baird then deflected the ball into his own net to make it 2-0 on the half-hour mark, Edin Dzeko rounded the match off on 72-minutes.
2012 Darts WC: Quarter Finals
Australia faced Belgium in the first quarter final of the night. Simon Whitlock took on Kurt Van de Rijck in the first singles battle. It wasn't really much of a contest at the Premier League entrant showed his superiority, winning it 4-0. The other singles match was a rematch from the World Championships between Paul Nicholson and Kim Huybrechts. Huybrechts got the better of Nicholson in that match, although The Asset complained about the crowd's reaction to Kim's girlfriend, Dana, getting shown on screen. This time Dana was nowhere to be seen but Nicholson still found himself 3-2 down after being level at 1-1. Again Huybrechts got the better of Nicholson with a 4-3 victory, setting up a winner-takes-all doubles match. The Aussies took a 2-0 lead before it was cut down to 3-2 but Australia still won the match 4-2 to progress into the semi-finals.
The was big drama in the second match as Wales took on South Africa. Wales were the definite favourites and Mark Webster set their stall out with a 4-0 victory over Shawn Hogan. But the second match between Richie Burnett and Devon Petersen was much closer. Petersen took the first leg and never went behind despite having to win the deciding leg to win the game. The doubles match also went all the way and Wales went from 2-0 ahead to 2-2. Petersen then found a 105 check-out to give South Africa the lead before it Wales' turn to level the match. Petersen then thought he won the game when he hit seven double 16 before realising he made a huge mistake, he needed 49 not 39 and therefore still had ten. With Petersen almost inconsolable, Richie Burnett had no choice but to take the gift of double eight to win the match and scrape through to the semis.
England have scraped through at every stage so far and this was no exception. They faced USA and Phil Taylor needed to recover from his defeat yesterday against Gary Mawson. Taylor led throughout but Mawson still managed to force a decider at 3-3. Then history was made as Mawson actually took the seventh leg to ensure Taylor's second defeat in just two days. It was just as close as Adrian Lewis took on Darin Young. It went exactly the same way, except this time it was Darin Young that led throughout until Lewis took the final leg to steal the victory. England took the first leg before finding themselves 2-1 behind. Taylor was still rather off but Lewis helped him through as England again regained the lead and won the match 4-2 to again squeeze through.
The final quarter final saw Holland battle it out against Northern Ireland. Vincent Van der Voort opened the match up against Brendan Dolan. Dolan took a 3-1 lead with Van der Voort wasteful until the Dutchman regained some form and managed to set up a deciding leg. A sloppy final leg saw both players miss doubles before Van der Voort hit double three to take the match 4-3. Raymond Van Barneveld took on Michael Mansell in the other singles match. Barney found himself 1-0 then 2-1 behind before the Dutchman fired back to lead 3-2 and took the sixth leg to give Holland a 2-0 lead. The doubles match kicked off a with a sloppy opening leg in which both teams missed darts at the double. Holland finally took it and then went 2-0 up. Belgium did fight back to 3-2 but couldn't prevent Holland from taking the doubles and winning the match 3-1.
The was big drama in the second match as Wales took on South Africa. Wales were the definite favourites and Mark Webster set their stall out with a 4-0 victory over Shawn Hogan. But the second match between Richie Burnett and Devon Petersen was much closer. Petersen took the first leg and never went behind despite having to win the deciding leg to win the game. The doubles match also went all the way and Wales went from 2-0 ahead to 2-2. Petersen then found a 105 check-out to give South Africa the lead before it Wales' turn to level the match. Petersen then thought he won the game when he hit seven double 16 before realising he made a huge mistake, he needed 49 not 39 and therefore still had ten. With Petersen almost inconsolable, Richie Burnett had no choice but to take the gift of double eight to win the match and scrape through to the semis.
England have scraped through at every stage so far and this was no exception. They faced USA and Phil Taylor needed to recover from his defeat yesterday against Gary Mawson. Taylor led throughout but Mawson still managed to force a decider at 3-3. Then history was made as Mawson actually took the seventh leg to ensure Taylor's second defeat in just two days. It was just as close as Adrian Lewis took on Darin Young. It went exactly the same way, except this time it was Darin Young that led throughout until Lewis took the final leg to steal the victory. England took the first leg before finding themselves 2-1 behind. Taylor was still rather off but Lewis helped him through as England again regained the lead and won the match 4-2 to again squeeze through.
The final quarter final saw Holland battle it out against Northern Ireland. Vincent Van der Voort opened the match up against Brendan Dolan. Dolan took a 3-1 lead with Van der Voort wasteful until the Dutchman regained some form and managed to set up a deciding leg. A sloppy final leg saw both players miss doubles before Van der Voort hit double three to take the match 4-3. Raymond Van Barneveld took on Michael Mansell in the other singles match. Barney found himself 1-0 then 2-1 behind before the Dutchman fired back to lead 3-2 and took the sixth leg to give Holland a 2-0 lead. The doubles match kicked off a with a sloppy opening leg in which both teams missed darts at the double. Holland finally took it and then went 2-0 up. Belgium did fight back to 3-2 but couldn't prevent Holland from taking the doubles and winning the match 3-1.
2012 Darts WC: Round 2 Doubles
This afternoon, we found out who went through to the quarter finals as the doubles matches took place. The format follows the first round with the teams racing to five legs. Northern Ireland and Denmark took to the oche first with the winner of the doubles match deciding the winner of the match. Jann Hoffmann secured the first double to take an early lead over the match favourites. But Brendan Dolan found the next two doubles for the seventh seeds to turn the match around. Denmark didn't lose touch and pushed Northern Ireland to the crucial deciding leg. Michael Mansell found double ten after Dolan's good scoring to give the Irish a 5-4 win in the doubles and a 3-1 win overall.
The situation was the same in the second match between Belgium and Sweden. The pair were locked at 1-1 after the singles matches, meaning another winner takes all doubles match. Kim Huybrechts found two double tens to give Belgium an early 2-0 lead after Magnus Caris missed three darts to level the match. Dennis Nilsson pulled a leg back after Caris found the first 180 of the match. Caris pulled another leg back for Sweden before Kurt Van de Rijck finished the match off at 5-2, giving Belgium the 3-2 win.
The third match of the afternoon saw Australia take on Republic of Ireland. Ireland needed to win the doubles to force a sudden death leg if they wanted to progress. Australia took a quick 2-0 lead before Mick McGowan pulled a leg back for Ireland. McGowan fired in a 102 check-out to make it 3-2 but it didn't deter the Aussies and Simon Whitlock secured the winning dart on the seventh time of asking, finishing 5-2 on the afternoon but 4-0 overall. Australia will face Belgium in the quarter finals.
Croatia were also in a must-win dilemma against Wales. Boris Krcmar looked impressive yesterday and he continued this by taking out 135 in the opening leg. But Richie Burnett found the double 16 then the double ten to turn the score around for Wales. Mark Webster followed that up with a 117 check-out to create daylight between the sides. From there, there was only going to be one winner and Burnett finished 41 to win the game 5-1 as Wales win the match 4-0.
Hosts Germany were locked in a winner-takes-all doubles match with USA. Bernd Roith was considerably the lesser player yesterday, but he began today with a 111 check-out for Germany. But USA were able to turn it around to take a 3-2 lead. But again the match turned on its head when Jyhan Artut hit the bull to make it 4-3 to Germany before Gary Mawson found double eight to push a deciding leg. Germany should have got to the double first but Artut made a mess of 64, this allowed Darin Young to hit tops to just about squeeze into the quarter finals.
South African were the next team who required a sudden death leg if they were to progress to face Wales in the quarter-finals. Gary Anderson's double troubles seemed to have left him, he took the first two doubles of the match before hitting tops and double ten on his way to checking-out 120, giving Scotland a 3-1 lead. But Anderson did miss a big 20 which allowed South Africa to level the match at 3-3, courtesy of Devon Petersen's 101 check-out. It was Peter Wright's turn to miss a double to allow Shawn Hogan to give South Africa the lead for the first time in the match. Hogan then checked-out 52 to win the match 5-2. This set up the deciding sudden death leg and Petersen hit the bulls-eye to win the throw. Petersen came a wire's length away from hitting 126 but Anderson failed to check-out 60, leaving Hogan to find double six to win the match.
After that huge surprise, Canada needed to hold onto their lead to make it two shocks in a row. England required a South Africa-esque recovery to get to face USA in the quarter-finals. The top two players found their form since last night and quickly found themselves 3-1 ahead. Canada pulled a leg back to make it 4-2 before Adrian Lewis finished the match at 5-3 to force the sudden death leg. Phil Taylor finally won the throw on the third time of asking to give England the throw. Lewis checked-out 15 to get out of jail and make it through to the quarter finals.
The final second round doubles match was another winner-takes-all between Holland and Austria. Mensur Suljovic managed a 121 check-out but that made the scoreline 3-1 in Holland's favour. Suljovic then found the bull to check-out 90 to make it 4-2. But Raymond Van Barneveld finished the match off to make it 5-2 on the afternoon and 3-1 overall.
The situation was the same in the second match between Belgium and Sweden. The pair were locked at 1-1 after the singles matches, meaning another winner takes all doubles match. Kim Huybrechts found two double tens to give Belgium an early 2-0 lead after Magnus Caris missed three darts to level the match. Dennis Nilsson pulled a leg back after Caris found the first 180 of the match. Caris pulled another leg back for Sweden before Kurt Van de Rijck finished the match off at 5-2, giving Belgium the 3-2 win.
The third match of the afternoon saw Australia take on Republic of Ireland. Ireland needed to win the doubles to force a sudden death leg if they wanted to progress. Australia took a quick 2-0 lead before Mick McGowan pulled a leg back for Ireland. McGowan fired in a 102 check-out to make it 3-2 but it didn't deter the Aussies and Simon Whitlock secured the winning dart on the seventh time of asking, finishing 5-2 on the afternoon but 4-0 overall. Australia will face Belgium in the quarter finals.
Croatia were also in a must-win dilemma against Wales. Boris Krcmar looked impressive yesterday and he continued this by taking out 135 in the opening leg. But Richie Burnett found the double 16 then the double ten to turn the score around for Wales. Mark Webster followed that up with a 117 check-out to create daylight between the sides. From there, there was only going to be one winner and Burnett finished 41 to win the game 5-1 as Wales win the match 4-0.
Hosts Germany were locked in a winner-takes-all doubles match with USA. Bernd Roith was considerably the lesser player yesterday, but he began today with a 111 check-out for Germany. But USA were able to turn it around to take a 3-2 lead. But again the match turned on its head when Jyhan Artut hit the bull to make it 4-3 to Germany before Gary Mawson found double eight to push a deciding leg. Germany should have got to the double first but Artut made a mess of 64, this allowed Darin Young to hit tops to just about squeeze into the quarter finals.
South African were the next team who required a sudden death leg if they were to progress to face Wales in the quarter-finals. Gary Anderson's double troubles seemed to have left him, he took the first two doubles of the match before hitting tops and double ten on his way to checking-out 120, giving Scotland a 3-1 lead. But Anderson did miss a big 20 which allowed South Africa to level the match at 3-3, courtesy of Devon Petersen's 101 check-out. It was Peter Wright's turn to miss a double to allow Shawn Hogan to give South Africa the lead for the first time in the match. Hogan then checked-out 52 to win the match 5-2. This set up the deciding sudden death leg and Petersen hit the bulls-eye to win the throw. Petersen came a wire's length away from hitting 126 but Anderson failed to check-out 60, leaving Hogan to find double six to win the match.
After that huge surprise, Canada needed to hold onto their lead to make it two shocks in a row. England required a South Africa-esque recovery to get to face USA in the quarter-finals. The top two players found their form since last night and quickly found themselves 3-1 ahead. Canada pulled a leg back to make it 4-2 before Adrian Lewis finished the match at 5-3 to force the sudden death leg. Phil Taylor finally won the throw on the third time of asking to give England the throw. Lewis checked-out 15 to get out of jail and make it through to the quarter finals.
The final second round doubles match was another winner-takes-all between Holland and Austria. Mensur Suljovic managed a 121 check-out but that made the scoreline 3-1 in Holland's favour. Suljovic then found the bull to check-out 90 to make it 4-2. But Raymond Van Barneveld finished the match off to make it 5-2 on the afternoon and 3-1 overall.
2012 World Cup of Darts: Round 2 Singles
With the round one matches having taken place in the afternoon, the second round began in the evening. The format splits the matches into two sessions. Each match consists of two singles matches which carry a point apiece followed by a doubles match which carries two points. The singles matches took place tonight with the doubles match taking place tomorrow.
Brendan Dolan and Michael Mansell are representing Northern Ireland, who set their stall out against Denmark. The better ranked player takes on the lower ranked player from the opposing team, this meant Dolan would take on Jann Hoffmann and Mansell would face Per Laursen. The matches were a race to four legs and Hoffmann took the opening leg against Dolan. Dolan turned it round to lead 2-1 and then 3-2 but Hoffmann fought back to win the game 4-3 and earn a surprise point.
The role reversal also happened in the second game as the lesser player overcame the higher player. Laursen did take the lead before Mansell found form to win the match 4-1. This levels the score at 1-1, meaning whoever wins the doubles match goes through to the quarter finals.
The success story of the World Championships, Kim Huybrechts, teamed up with Kurt Van de Rijck as Belgium took on Sweden. Dennis Nilsson faced Huybrechts and hit a wonderful 140 checkout to level the match up at 1-1. Huybrechts made it to the quarter finals in the Worlds and regained that form to take a 3-1 lead. Nilsson did pull a leg back before Huybrechts won the match 4-2.
The scoreline was matched in the other singles match as Van de Rijck faced Magnus Caris. Caris managed to get into a 2-0 lead and continued it to lead 3-1. Again Van de Rijck pulled a leg back before Caris won it 4-2. Again the doubles match will decide the victor of this match.
Second favourites, Australia, have Simon Whitlock and Paul Nicholson flying the flag. They took on Republic of Ireland in their second round match. Whitlock faced Mick McGowan and made short work of him. McGowan did make it 2-1 but Whitlock showed his class to win the match 4-1. Nicholson went one better and secured the first whitewash of the round against William O'Connor. This means Ireland must win the doubles match to force a deciding sudden death leg in order to make it through.
Mark Webster and Richie Burnett did a similar demolition job as Wales took on Croatia. Webster faced Tonci Restovic and wasted no time in whitewashing the Croat. Boris Krcmar was the most impressive in the first round and put up a better fight against Burnett. Krcmar did take a 2-1 then a 3-2 lead after initially finding himself 1-0 down. But Burnett isn't adverse to a battle and he levelled the match before taking the deciding leg to make it 2-0 to Wales.
Jyhan Artut and Bernd Roith are representing the hosts and they faced USA in their second round encounter. Artut took on Gary Mawson and managed to throw away a two leg lead. Artut led 2-0 and then 3-1 before Mawson fought back to force a decider. Mawson couldn't continue his momentum and Artut won the final leg in front of his home crowd.
Bernd Roith's participation has been a matter of some concern as questions have been raised as to why young Kevin Munch didn't make it. The questions may have got louder when Darin Young quickly took a 3-0 lead. But Roith did take a couple of legs back before Young completed the job to level the match up at one apiece.
Gary Anderson and Peter Wright are representing Scotland and they faced a decent South Africa duo in round two. Anderson produced the mother of all comebacks against a decent looking Shawn Hogan. Anderson completely dominated the scoring against Hogan but his trademark missed doubles saw him go 3-0 behind. But Hogan couldn't finish the job and Anderson came roaring back to win the match 4-3.
Perhaps the most impressive player in the first round, Devon Petersen, faced Wright in the following singles match. Petersen somehow managed to bust a score of 121, but he still ended up taking the leg to level the match at 1-1. But Wright showed why he is ranked much higher than Petersen and won the 4-1 to give Scotland the 2-0 lead.
Brendan Dolan and Michael Mansell are representing Northern Ireland, who set their stall out against Denmark. The better ranked player takes on the lower ranked player from the opposing team, this meant Dolan would take on Jann Hoffmann and Mansell would face Per Laursen. The matches were a race to four legs and Hoffmann took the opening leg against Dolan. Dolan turned it round to lead 2-1 and then 3-2 but Hoffmann fought back to win the game 4-3 and earn a surprise point.
The role reversal also happened in the second game as the lesser player overcame the higher player. Laursen did take the lead before Mansell found form to win the match 4-1. This levels the score at 1-1, meaning whoever wins the doubles match goes through to the quarter finals.
The success story of the World Championships, Kim Huybrechts, teamed up with Kurt Van de Rijck as Belgium took on Sweden. Dennis Nilsson faced Huybrechts and hit a wonderful 140 checkout to level the match up at 1-1. Huybrechts made it to the quarter finals in the Worlds and regained that form to take a 3-1 lead. Nilsson did pull a leg back before Huybrechts won the match 4-2.
The scoreline was matched in the other singles match as Van de Rijck faced Magnus Caris. Caris managed to get into a 2-0 lead and continued it to lead 3-1. Again Van de Rijck pulled a leg back before Caris won it 4-2. Again the doubles match will decide the victor of this match.
Second favourites, Australia, have Simon Whitlock and Paul Nicholson flying the flag. They took on Republic of Ireland in their second round match. Whitlock faced Mick McGowan and made short work of him. McGowan did make it 2-1 but Whitlock showed his class to win the match 4-1. Nicholson went one better and secured the first whitewash of the round against William O'Connor. This means Ireland must win the doubles match to force a deciding sudden death leg in order to make it through.
Mark Webster and Richie Burnett did a similar demolition job as Wales took on Croatia. Webster faced Tonci Restovic and wasted no time in whitewashing the Croat. Boris Krcmar was the most impressive in the first round and put up a better fight against Burnett. Krcmar did take a 2-1 then a 3-2 lead after initially finding himself 1-0 down. But Burnett isn't adverse to a battle and he levelled the match before taking the deciding leg to make it 2-0 to Wales.
Jyhan Artut and Bernd Roith are representing the hosts and they faced USA in their second round encounter. Artut took on Gary Mawson and managed to throw away a two leg lead. Artut led 2-0 and then 3-1 before Mawson fought back to force a decider. Mawson couldn't continue his momentum and Artut won the final leg in front of his home crowd.
Bernd Roith's participation has been a matter of some concern as questions have been raised as to why young Kevin Munch didn't make it. The questions may have got louder when Darin Young quickly took a 3-0 lead. But Roith did take a couple of legs back before Young completed the job to level the match up at one apiece.
Gary Anderson and Peter Wright are representing Scotland and they faced a decent South Africa duo in round two. Anderson produced the mother of all comebacks against a decent looking Shawn Hogan. Anderson completely dominated the scoring against Hogan but his trademark missed doubles saw him go 3-0 behind. But Hogan couldn't finish the job and Anderson came roaring back to win the match 4-3.
Perhaps the most impressive player in the first round, Devon Petersen, faced Wright in the following singles match. Petersen somehow managed to bust a score of 121, but he still ended up taking the leg to level the match at 1-1. But Wright showed why he is ranked much higher than Petersen and won the 4-1 to give Scotland the 2-0 lead.
The favourites of the tournament, England, took on Canada in
a match that has a combined total of 20 World Championships. World number one
and fifteen times World Champion, Phil Taylor, faced Ken MacNeil. World number
two and reigning double World Champion, Adrian Lewis, took on three times World
Champion Jon Part.
MacNeil took a surprise lead over Taylor with a 111
check-out in the first leg. Taylor returned the compliment by taking a 2-1 lead
but MacNeil stayed in touch by levelling the score before retaking the lead.
Taylor did force a deciding leg but Ken MacNeil provided what could already be
the shock of the tournament, hitting double 19 to win the match 4-3.
Part and Lewis was definitely billed as the match of the
night. Lewis looked like he meant business but didn’t start on song as Part
took the first leg. Lewis missed countless doubles and Part moved to a 3-1
lead. But Lewis found his World Championship form and forced a decider but Part
came up with a 140 check-out to win the match. Canada lead 2-0, probably the
most surprising score-line yet.
The reigning World Champions, Holland, began their defence
against Austria. There has been a member change as Co Stompe has been replaced
by Vincent Van Der Voort. Raymond Van Barneveld kicked the match off against
Dietmar Burger. Barney continued his deteriorating form and soon found himself
2-1 down after taking the first leg. But the Dutchman did manage to pull
himself out of the mire to force a deciding leg and it was enough to propel him
through to win the match 4-3.
The final contest of the night was a bit of a miss-match as
one of the fastest throwers, Van der Voort, took on one of the slowest
throwers, Mensur Suljovic. Van Der Voort managed a 140 check-out to take a 2-1
lead. But Suljovic wasn’t perturbed and made the Dutchman force a deciding leg and
the Austrian won it, just as the fable states. The match remains nicely poised
at 1-1.
Friday 3 February 2012
2012 World Cup of Darts Begins
Hamburg welcomes 24 nations as the second Cash Converters World Cup of Darts got under-way today. The Friday afternoon session saw the start of the first round which featured the unseeded sides. The first match saw Canada take on Hungary. Three-time World Champion John Part teamed up with Ken MacNeil to take on the Hungarian pairing, Nandor Bezzeg and Kristian Kaufmann. The first round consists of a doubles format in a race to five legs.
The favourites were Canada with Part expected to carry them through. But it was a slow to start to the match with 14 missed doubles before Part hit double one to take the lead. It took Kaufmann just two darts to level the match with an 84-checkout. The next two legs followed suit with Part taking the double to make it 2-1 before Kaufmann again equalised. The format states that the loser of the previous leg throws first in the next, this will prove matches to be close which was why Bezzeg was able to equalise again for Hungary at 3-3. Part's class came through to checkout 117 to win the match 5-3 and progress to face tournament favourites England in the next round. Hungary scouting report: Bezzeg the better scorer but Kaufmann finished more consistently.
The second match of the afternoon saw William O'Connor and Mick McGowan of the Republic of Ireland take on Lee Choon Peng and Amin Bin Abdul Ghani of Malaysia. The Irish pairing were the favourites with O'Connor supposedly destined for an illustrious career. Choon Peng kicked the game off, against the throw, with an impressive 120-Shanghai checkout. Ghani secured the first 180 of the tournament before following it up with a 140 on his next throw, Choon Peng hit double four to take a 2-1 lead. O'Connor found a 107 checkout to turn the match around, taking a 3-2 lead. From there, there was only going to be one winner and Ireland wasted no time in winning the match 5-2 to go onto face Australia in round two. Malaysia scouting report: both players had sparks of quality with Choon Peng looking slightly better, but neither player had enough consistency to cause any real problems.
USA faced Philippines in the third match of the first round. Darin Young and Gary Mawson are the representatives from across the pond with Christian Perez and Lourence Ilagan representing the Asian nation. It took the Philippines until the back end of the second leg to register a score of over 100 but they did remain level at 1-1. They improved from there and managed to keep level at 2-2 with Perez scoring well. But the USA's experience shone through to take a 4-2 lead and Mawson secured the final double top to win 5-2, they will face hosts Germany in round two. Philippines scouting report: again both players showed glimpses of quality after taking a while to get into it.
Perhaps one of the closest matches on paper, Mensur Suljovic and Dietmar Burger of Austria faced Warren French and Preston Ridd of New Zealand in game four. Austria were probably just about favourites courtesy of Suljovic but he couldn't prevent French from taking the first leg after countless missed doubles. Suljovic did take a 112 checkout to turn it around to give Austria a 2-1 lead. French managed to find a ton checkout to pull the score back to 3-2 when it looked like Austria were going to run away with it. This was followed up by a 126 by Burger to put Austria just one leg away. The Kiwis did keep the fight up but Austria went onto win 5-3 and will face reigning champions Holland in round two.
Morihiro Hashimoto became a crowd favourite when he appeared at the World Championships two years ago. His Japanese team-mate, Haruki Muramatsu, faced Swedish opponent, Dennis Nilsson, in this year's World Championship preliminary round with the Japanese winning 4-2. Nilsson's team-mate, Magnus Caris, started the first leg with a 180 and finished it with double eight. But Japan weren't perturbed and remained level at 2-2. But once again experience prevailed, Sweden going onto win 5-2 to face Belgium.
The surprise package of last year's World Cup, Spain, took on South Africa in the best looking tie of the first round. Devon Petersen was one of the unknown quantities at the World Championships and he teamed up with Shawn Hogan to face semi-finalists Antonio Alcinas and Carlos Rodriguez. There was nothing between them as they were locked at 2-2. Alcinas and Petersen were well matched but Hogan appeared to play a lot better then Rodriguez and this helped the South Africans to win 5-2 and will face Scotland in the second round.
The penultimate match of the afternoon saw Finland take on Croatia. Petri Korte was arguably the most well-known name of the quartet as he and Marko Kantele took on Croatia's Boris Krcmar and Tonci Restovic. Krcmar came flying out of the blocks as he secured a 135 check-out to win the first leg. The Croatians then took a surprise 3-1 lead before Finland fought back to force the first deciding leg of the tournament. Both teams missed doubles throughout the match and the final was no different, but Croatia managed to get that all important double to go through to face Wales.
The final first round match was between Gibraltar and Denmark. Per Laursen was by far the most experienced of the players and along with Jann Hoffmann, this made the Danes the favourites. But Dylan Duo and Dyson Parody didn't let that affect them as they took a 2-0 lead. Denmark quickly levelled and another deciding leg was forced. Gibraltar were the first to get to the final double but couldn't capitalise, Laursen picked off double tops to win the game for Denmark without ever taking the lead during the match. They will face Northern Ireland in the second round.
The favourites were Canada with Part expected to carry them through. But it was a slow to start to the match with 14 missed doubles before Part hit double one to take the lead. It took Kaufmann just two darts to level the match with an 84-checkout. The next two legs followed suit with Part taking the double to make it 2-1 before Kaufmann again equalised. The format states that the loser of the previous leg throws first in the next, this will prove matches to be close which was why Bezzeg was able to equalise again for Hungary at 3-3. Part's class came through to checkout 117 to win the match 5-3 and progress to face tournament favourites England in the next round. Hungary scouting report: Bezzeg the better scorer but Kaufmann finished more consistently.
The second match of the afternoon saw William O'Connor and Mick McGowan of the Republic of Ireland take on Lee Choon Peng and Amin Bin Abdul Ghani of Malaysia. The Irish pairing were the favourites with O'Connor supposedly destined for an illustrious career. Choon Peng kicked the game off, against the throw, with an impressive 120-Shanghai checkout. Ghani secured the first 180 of the tournament before following it up with a 140 on his next throw, Choon Peng hit double four to take a 2-1 lead. O'Connor found a 107 checkout to turn the match around, taking a 3-2 lead. From there, there was only going to be one winner and Ireland wasted no time in winning the match 5-2 to go onto face Australia in round two. Malaysia scouting report: both players had sparks of quality with Choon Peng looking slightly better, but neither player had enough consistency to cause any real problems.
USA faced Philippines in the third match of the first round. Darin Young and Gary Mawson are the representatives from across the pond with Christian Perez and Lourence Ilagan representing the Asian nation. It took the Philippines until the back end of the second leg to register a score of over 100 but they did remain level at 1-1. They improved from there and managed to keep level at 2-2 with Perez scoring well. But the USA's experience shone through to take a 4-2 lead and Mawson secured the final double top to win 5-2, they will face hosts Germany in round two. Philippines scouting report: again both players showed glimpses of quality after taking a while to get into it.
Perhaps one of the closest matches on paper, Mensur Suljovic and Dietmar Burger of Austria faced Warren French and Preston Ridd of New Zealand in game four. Austria were probably just about favourites courtesy of Suljovic but he couldn't prevent French from taking the first leg after countless missed doubles. Suljovic did take a 112 checkout to turn it around to give Austria a 2-1 lead. French managed to find a ton checkout to pull the score back to 3-2 when it looked like Austria were going to run away with it. This was followed up by a 126 by Burger to put Austria just one leg away. The Kiwis did keep the fight up but Austria went onto win 5-3 and will face reigning champions Holland in round two.
Morihiro Hashimoto became a crowd favourite when he appeared at the World Championships two years ago. His Japanese team-mate, Haruki Muramatsu, faced Swedish opponent, Dennis Nilsson, in this year's World Championship preliminary round with the Japanese winning 4-2. Nilsson's team-mate, Magnus Caris, started the first leg with a 180 and finished it with double eight. But Japan weren't perturbed and remained level at 2-2. But once again experience prevailed, Sweden going onto win 5-2 to face Belgium.
The surprise package of last year's World Cup, Spain, took on South Africa in the best looking tie of the first round. Devon Petersen was one of the unknown quantities at the World Championships and he teamed up with Shawn Hogan to face semi-finalists Antonio Alcinas and Carlos Rodriguez. There was nothing between them as they were locked at 2-2. Alcinas and Petersen were well matched but Hogan appeared to play a lot better then Rodriguez and this helped the South Africans to win 5-2 and will face Scotland in the second round.
The penultimate match of the afternoon saw Finland take on Croatia. Petri Korte was arguably the most well-known name of the quartet as he and Marko Kantele took on Croatia's Boris Krcmar and Tonci Restovic. Krcmar came flying out of the blocks as he secured a 135 check-out to win the first leg. The Croatians then took a surprise 3-1 lead before Finland fought back to force the first deciding leg of the tournament. Both teams missed doubles throughout the match and the final was no different, but Croatia managed to get that all important double to go through to face Wales.
The final first round match was between Gibraltar and Denmark. Per Laursen was by far the most experienced of the players and along with Jann Hoffmann, this made the Danes the favourites. But Dylan Duo and Dyson Parody didn't let that affect them as they took a 2-0 lead. Denmark quickly levelled and another deciding leg was forced. Gibraltar were the first to get to the final double but couldn't capitalise, Laursen picked off double tops to win the game for Denmark without ever taking the lead during the match. They will face Northern Ireland in the second round.
Wednesday 1 February 2012
PL Round-Up 1/2/12
Aston Villa 2-2 QPR: The worst recent home form played against the worst away form, so no surprises it finished as draw. It might have different though, Djibril Cisse scored on his debut to give QPR the lead on 12-minutes before Stephen Warnock headed into his own net to make it 2-0 just before the half-hour mark. But Darren Bent brought Villa back into the game just before half-time and Charles N'Zogbia rescued the point 11-minutes from time.
Blackburn 0-2 Newcastle: Blackburn's inconsistent form continues as Newcastle take advantage of Chelsea and Arsenal's slip-ups. Scott Dann returned to Blackburn after a long bout of injury and marked it by scoring an own goal after just 12-minutes. Gabriel Obertan made it 2-0 in injury time to ensure Newcastle of the three points.
Bolton 0-0 Arsenal: What happens when you pit the team with the fewest home goals against the team with the fewest away goals? A goalless draw. Arsenal were wasteful and have wasted a chance to keep in touch with their nearest rivals. Bolton will see this as a big point gained in their battle for survival.
Fulham 1-1 West Brom: The big news yesterday saw Bobby Zamora move away from Craven Cottage. It didn't seem to disrupt Fulham and their talisman, Clint Dempsey, was on hand to give the hosts the lead after 69-minutes. But Somen Tchoyi equalised with eight minutes to play to continue Fulham's inconsistent season.
Sunderland 3-0 Norwich: Frazier Campbell returned to put Sunderland ahead with a fantastic goal on 21-minutes. Stephane Sessegnon made it 2-0 seven minutes later before a Daniel Ayala goal wrapped things up for Sunderland nine minutes into the second half.
Blackburn 0-2 Newcastle: Blackburn's inconsistent form continues as Newcastle take advantage of Chelsea and Arsenal's slip-ups. Scott Dann returned to Blackburn after a long bout of injury and marked it by scoring an own goal after just 12-minutes. Gabriel Obertan made it 2-0 in injury time to ensure Newcastle of the three points.
Bolton 0-0 Arsenal: What happens when you pit the team with the fewest home goals against the team with the fewest away goals? A goalless draw. Arsenal were wasteful and have wasted a chance to keep in touch with their nearest rivals. Bolton will see this as a big point gained in their battle for survival.
Fulham 1-1 West Brom: The big news yesterday saw Bobby Zamora move away from Craven Cottage. It didn't seem to disrupt Fulham and their talisman, Clint Dempsey, was on hand to give the hosts the lead after 69-minutes. But Somen Tchoyi equalised with eight minutes to play to continue Fulham's inconsistent season.
Sunderland 3-0 Norwich: Frazier Campbell returned to put Sunderland ahead with a fantastic goal on 21-minutes. Stephane Sessegnon made it 2-0 seven minutes later before a Daniel Ayala goal wrapped things up for Sunderland nine minutes into the second half.
2012 ACN: Group D Game Three
The final group saw Guinea and Mali battle it out to join Ghana in the knock-out phase. Mali took on the already eliminated Botswana while Guinea had the unenviable task of getting something against the co-favourites.
The first goal of the night saw Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu hit a fantastic volley into the top corner to give Ghana the lead on 27-minutes. Guinea levelled just before half-time when Abdoul Camara miss-hit a cross that lobbed the Ghanaian keeper into the net. It got better for Guinea when Botswana took a surprise lead in the other game, Mogakolodi Ngele scoring four minutes into the second half.
Mali stared elimination in the face until Garra Dembele equalised six minutes after going behind. Guinea remained level against Ghana but it wasn't enough as Seydou Keita made it 2-1 to Mali 17-minutes before the end to knock Guinea out of this year's tournament. Table:
Ghana 7
Mali 6
Guinea 4
Botswana 0
The first goal of the night saw Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu hit a fantastic volley into the top corner to give Ghana the lead on 27-minutes. Guinea levelled just before half-time when Abdoul Camara miss-hit a cross that lobbed the Ghanaian keeper into the net. It got better for Guinea when Botswana took a surprise lead in the other game, Mogakolodi Ngele scoring four minutes into the second half.
Mali stared elimination in the face until Garra Dembele equalised six minutes after going behind. Guinea remained level against Ghana but it wasn't enough as Seydou Keita made it 2-1 to Mali 17-minutes before the end to knock Guinea out of this year's tournament. Table:
Ghana 7
Mali 6
Guinea 4
Botswana 0
2012 ACN: Group C Game Three
If the fact that Gabon qualified for the knock-out phase was
one thing, then the fact that they have gone onto win their group and will
almost certainly avoid Ghana is another. Gabon faced Tunisia in the battle for
the top spot with only one goal separating the sides. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
scored his second goal of the tournament to see Gabon finish ahead of their
North African counterparts with three wins out of three.
Morocco faced Niger with the Moroccans looking not to follow
in Senegal’s footsteps. Again only one goal separated the teams in the battle
for third. It came from Montpellier’s 21-year-old Younes Belhanda to see Morocco
finish above Niger. Table:
Gabon 9
Tunisia 6
Morocco 3
Niger 0
PL Round-Up 31/1/12
Everton 1–0 Manchester
City: Everton are quickly becoming Manchester City’s bogey side at Goodison
Park. The first half saw Joleon Lescott clear a ball off the line before Samir
Nasri hit the bar at the other end. The most unusual thing of the night saw a
member of the crowd handcuff himself to a goalpost as the opening period
remained goalless. The only goal of the game came on the hour mark when a
Landon Donovan lay-off was met by former Manchester United man, Darron Gibson.
Gibson’s shot took a slight deflection before flying past Joe Hart, his first
goal of the season to ensure Everton’s first win in four matches.
Manchester United 2–0
Stoke: United go level on points with Manchester City at the top. Both
goals came from twelve yards as Stoke lost their heads at times. The first
penalty came seven minutes before half-time when Jermaine Pennant brought Ji-Sung
Park down. Javier Hernandez stepped-up ahead of the absent Wayne Rooney and
converted it, his first goal since November. The second penalty came eight
minutes into the second half, this time Jonathan Walters cynically pulled
Antonio Valencia back in the box. This time Dimitar Berbatov stepped up and
also converted into the bottom corner. Ben Amos made his debut in the United
goal as Anders Lindegaard injured an ankle and David De Gea fell ill, the young
keeper didn’t have too much to do as United sealed the three points.
Wolves 0–3 Liverpool:
Liverpool come back to the Premiership on the back of the two cup wins over the
Manchester clubs and comprehensively beat Wolves. Liverpool had a first half
penalty shout turned when Emmanuel Frimpong looked to have obstructed Charlie
Adam. Wolves were very much in it with Michael Kightly coming closest. But
Liverpool pressed home their momentum in the second half and Andy Carroll broke
the deadlock by tapping in an Adam low cross seven minutes into it. Wayne Hennessey
made various good saves throughout the match but his poor effort allowed Craig
Bellamy to claim his sixth goal in seven, making it 2-0 just after the hour
mark. Dirk Kuyt then finished it off after a one-two with Adam with twelve
minutes to go. Wolves move nine games without a victory.
Tottenham 3–1 Wigan: Tottenham
keep in touch with the Manchester sides courtesy of fantastic performances by
Luka Modric and Gareth Bale. Spurs
took the lead just before the half-hour mark when a Modric cross was chested down
by Bale before the Welshman half-volleyed it past Ali Al-Habsi, his tenth of
the season. Modric then made it 2-0 with
an exquisite shot on the turn five minutes later. Bale found half a yard to get
another shot away on 64-minutes and found the bottom corner to make it 3-0. Wigan
did pull a goal back when substitute Gary McArthur lobbed Brad Friedel but it
wasn’t enough to spring a comeback with ten minutes to play.
Swansea 1–1 Chelsea: Chelsea
lose further ground on the top three, although it could have been a lot worse.
Swansea had much the better game and could have taken the lead earlier on but
Branislav Ivanovic and David Luiz both made goal-line clearances. Former
Chelsea youngster, Scott Sinclair, found a great shot that hit the top corner
to give the hosts the lead six minutes before half-time. It was a heated affair
throughout and Ashley Cole received his second yellow card four minutes from
time. Swansea could have wrapped it up but Jose Bosingwa saved Chelsea’s
blushes in injury time on his 100th start at the club.
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