New year, new venue, same old faces as the Speedway Grand Prix series got under way today. For the only the second time in its history, the series ventured outside of Europe and into the Southern Hemisphere. Western Springs in Auckland, New Zealand played host where Greg Hancock began his title defence with a 22-point haul and his first victory of the season.
Three time World Champion Nicki Pedersen overcame a hard fall in the heats to finish second with bookies' favourite, Jaroslaw Hampel, third and 2009 World Champion, Jason Crump, fourth. The 2010 World Champion, Thomasz Gollob, kicked his season off with four heat wins but could only manage third in the first semi-final. Hampel and Pedersen went through with Emil Sayfutdinov finishing fourth. The other semi-final saw Hancock finish second to Crump with dark horse for the season, Antonio Lindback, third and Freddie Lindgren, who hadn't won a heat, in fourth.
The meeting started with Gollob winning the opening heat with Hans Andersen making his GP series return in fourth. World number two, Andreas Jonsson, began his season with a win ahead of debutant Bjarne Pedersen in second and wildcard, Jason Bunyan, in fourth. Lindback won his opening heat ahead of Lindgren, Hampel and debutant Peter Ljung. The final opening heat was won by the defending champion with Crump in second.
The Australian returned for heat five and won it ahead of Kenneth Bjerre, Lindgren and Jonsson. Nicki Pedersen took heat six with Gollob winning his second heat in two rides in the seventh. The eighth heat was won by the other Australian rider, Chris Holder, Sayfutdinov finished second with Ljung finishing ahead of Bunyan.
Heat nine saw Bjerre's bike pack-up at the start, making it a three horse race. Hampel took it in front of Nicki Pedersen and Holder. Hancock then won his second heat of the night before Gollob took his third victory. Jason Crump finished fourth in heat 12 with Sayfutdinov taking the chequered flag.
Bjerre was once again forced to retire in heat 13 but his fellow Dane, Bjarne Pedersen, showed why he his one to watch this season with his first race win of the season. Hampel then took his second heat of the night ahead of Crump and Lindback did the same in heat 15 ahead of Gollob. The only incident of the night saw Nicki Pedersen suffer a heavy crash under contact from Sayfutdinov. Fortunately, Pedersen could race the restart with the Russian excluded, but the victory was taken by Hancock for the third time.
The American made it back to back heat wins in heat 17 before Hans Andersen rolled back the years with his first heat victory in three years. Gollob then also made it four heat wins with fellow Pole, Hampel securing his third victory in the final heat.
Saturday 31 March 2012
Friday 30 March 2012
2012 Premier League Darts: Week Eight
Cardiff was the destination for the beginning of the second half of the Premier League. The opening match of the night saw Adrian Lewis take on Andy Hamilton. The Hammer was due to face Gary Anderson but the Scot couldn't make it due to a family bereavement.. The pair traded a 7-7 draw in week three in Belfast and held their throw in the opening two legs. Hamilton was the first to break throw in the third leg after Lewis missed two darts at the double. Lewis then missed a two double-tops finish to allow Hamilton to break again to make it 4-1. The World Champion came back after the break and finally held his throw at 5-2. Andy Hamilton then took out 106 to avoid getting broken to guarantee himself at least a point at 7-3 before then rounding the match off at 8-4 to earn the win.
James Wade faced Simon Whitlock in the second match of the night. They met in week in two in Aberdeen where the Australian led 7-0 before eventually winning the match 8-4. Wade earned the first break of throw in the second leg of the night and soon charged into a 6-0 lead at the break, looking for revenge. Wade didn't hold back and went onto secure the first whitewash of the tournament and only the third in Premier League history.
Phil Taylor was next to the oche up against Kevin Painter. Taylor won 7-5 with a nine-darter included when they met in week two. The Power immediately broke the throw a launched into a 4-0 lead before Painter posted a leg on the board before then breaking the Taylor throw to make it 4-2 at the break. Taylor quickly regained his momentum following the break and went three darts away from another nine-darter on his way to leading 7-2. He followed that by going to within two darts of a nine-darter before then wrapping the game up to keep his undefeated record alive.
Adrian Lewis returned the stage, in Anderson's absence, to take on Raymond Van Barneveld. The pair ended up finishing 7-7 in week two despite Lewis taking a 5-2 lead. After his disappointment against Hamilton, the World Champion started the match off with a 160 check-out against the throw. He held his throw in the second leg but his over-exuberant celebration got to Barney and caused the Dutchman to start a slight altercation between the players. It didn't faze Lewis though and he extended his lead to three before Barneveld put his held down and fought back to 3-2. Lewis made a 106 check-out to once again break the throw and re-extend his lead to 5-2. Barney couldn't fight back a second time however and Jackpot took the next three legs, including a 110 check-out in the ninth leg, to win the match 8-2.
James Wade faced Simon Whitlock in the second match of the night. They met in week in two in Aberdeen where the Australian led 7-0 before eventually winning the match 8-4. Wade earned the first break of throw in the second leg of the night and soon charged into a 6-0 lead at the break, looking for revenge. Wade didn't hold back and went onto secure the first whitewash of the tournament and only the third in Premier League history.
Phil Taylor was next to the oche up against Kevin Painter. Taylor won 7-5 with a nine-darter included when they met in week two. The Power immediately broke the throw a launched into a 4-0 lead before Painter posted a leg on the board before then breaking the Taylor throw to make it 4-2 at the break. Taylor quickly regained his momentum following the break and went three darts away from another nine-darter on his way to leading 7-2. He followed that by going to within two darts of a nine-darter before then wrapping the game up to keep his undefeated record alive.
Adrian Lewis returned the stage, in Anderson's absence, to take on Raymond Van Barneveld. The pair ended up finishing 7-7 in week two despite Lewis taking a 5-2 lead. After his disappointment against Hamilton, the World Champion started the match off with a 160 check-out against the throw. He held his throw in the second leg but his over-exuberant celebration got to Barney and caused the Dutchman to start a slight altercation between the players. It didn't faze Lewis though and he extended his lead to three before Barneveld put his held down and fought back to 3-2. Lewis made a 106 check-out to once again break the throw and re-extend his lead to 5-2. Barney couldn't fight back a second time however and Jackpot took the next three legs, including a 110 check-out in the ninth leg, to win the match 8-2.
Wednesday 28 March 2012
2011/2012 CL QF 1st Leg pt.2
Barcelona have won every game so far in this season's Champions League, apart from the 2-2 draw at the San Siro in September. AC Milan have won every home game so far in this season's Champions League, apart from the same 2-2 draw against Barcelona. Tonight it was Milan Barca part three, but it wasn't as exciting as their previous two encounters. The pair traded blows but neither could break the deadlock. In theory it is advantage Barcelona going into the second leg, but Milan have become the first in the Champions League to prevent the Champions from scoring in two and a half years.
Bayern Munich have seemingly made it one step closer to the final which is on their home soil. They travelled to Marseille and Mario Gomez gave the German side the lead just before half-time. Arjen Robben doubled Munich's advantage after 69-minutes to give them two away goals as they go back to the Allianz Arena, potentially four games away from winning the Champions League at that very venue.
Bayern Munich have seemingly made it one step closer to the final which is on their home soil. They travelled to Marseille and Mario Gomez gave the German side the lead just before half-time. Arjen Robben doubled Munich's advantage after 69-minutes to give them two away goals as they go back to the Allianz Arena, potentially four games away from winning the Champions League at that very venue.
Tuesday 27 March 2012
2011/2012 CL QF 1st Leg pt1 & FA Cup QF Replay
The first two quarter final first legs took place as Apoel Nicosia hosted Real Madrid and Chelsea visited Benfica. There was no surprise to see Real Madrid take an advantage back to the Bernabeu but all credit to Apoel as it took 73-minutes before Karim Benzema finally broke the Cypriot hearts. Kaka then added a second nine minutes from time before Benzema added his second in the final minute of normal time. It looks very likely that Jose Mourinho's side have booked their place in the last four.
Chelsea will also take an advantage back home with them, although it's much tighter than Madrid's. The only goal of the game came with 16-minutes remaining, Salomon Kalou scoring a vital away goal for the English side. Chelsea could have potentially one foot in the semis but the job is definitely not complete just yet.
Back in England, there was the matter of two FA Cup quarter finals to be settled. Everton travelled to Sunderland to contest their replay with Tottenham once again hosting Bolton in the rearranged tie. Everton were very much the better team throughout the match with Martin O'Neill's men falling short in their defensive and creative capacities. Nikica Jelavic made it three goals in five starts, tapping home a Magaye Gueye low cross after 23-minutes. Substitute David Vaughan failed to clear a ball and as he trapped it with his attempted clearance, his trailing came through and somehow managed to put the ball into his own net to set up the Merseyside derby in the semis just 11-minutes into the second half.
It was an emotional White Hart Lane as Bolton returned to contest the quarter final after that shocking Fabrice Muamba collapse. Unfortunately, the heart didn't rule over the football and Tottenham took the lead 17-minutes from time, Ryan Nelsen heading a corner home for his first Spurs goal. Gareth Bale then made it 2-0, slotting a one-on-one past Adam Bogdan just three minutes later. Kevin Davies did pull a goal back for Bolton in the final minute of normal time, but any hopes of a miracle comeback were dashed when Louis Saha made it 3-1 in injury time. Tottenham now set up a London derby against Chelsea at Wembley.
Chelsea will also take an advantage back home with them, although it's much tighter than Madrid's. The only goal of the game came with 16-minutes remaining, Salomon Kalou scoring a vital away goal for the English side. Chelsea could have potentially one foot in the semis but the job is definitely not complete just yet.
Back in England, there was the matter of two FA Cup quarter finals to be settled. Everton travelled to Sunderland to contest their replay with Tottenham once again hosting Bolton in the rearranged tie. Everton were very much the better team throughout the match with Martin O'Neill's men falling short in their defensive and creative capacities. Nikica Jelavic made it three goals in five starts, tapping home a Magaye Gueye low cross after 23-minutes. Substitute David Vaughan failed to clear a ball and as he trapped it with his attempted clearance, his trailing came through and somehow managed to put the ball into his own net to set up the Merseyside derby in the semis just 11-minutes into the second half.
It was an emotional White Hart Lane as Bolton returned to contest the quarter final after that shocking Fabrice Muamba collapse. Unfortunately, the heart didn't rule over the football and Tottenham took the lead 17-minutes from time, Ryan Nelsen heading a corner home for his first Spurs goal. Gareth Bale then made it 2-0, slotting a one-on-one past Adam Bogdan just three minutes later. Kevin Davies did pull a goal back for Bolton in the final minute of normal time, but any hopes of a miracle comeback were dashed when Louis Saha made it 3-1 in injury time. Tottenham now set up a London derby against Chelsea at Wembley.
Monday 26 March 2012
Toon Level With Chelsea, United Scramble Three Points Clear
With eight games on Saturday, there was only one instalment of Super Sunday and an episode of Monday Night Football. Newcastle travelled to West Brom in a match that saw them go level on points with Chelsea, eight ahead of seventh place Liverpool and five behind fourth place Tottenham. Papiss Cisse continued his fantastic start to the Premiership by opening the scoring after just six minutes. It became two in 12 when Hatem Ben Arfa doubled Newcastle's advantage with Cisse adding his second 11-minutes before half-time. Shane Long made it 3-1 seven minutes into the second half but it wasn't enough to inspire what would have been a phenomenal comeback.
Old Trafford was the destination for Monday Night Football as Manchester United crept back to the top of the table. Fulham were the visitors and managed to grow into the game after the initial 20-minutes when United's possessional dominance began to subside. The only goal of the game came four minutes before half-time with Wayne Rooney making it 17 goals in 17 games, putting him just five goals behind Robin Van Persie in the Premiership. United failed to claw back the goal difference on Manchester City in the second half and could have had two of the three points taken, Michael Carrick looked to have bundled Danny Murphy over in the box in injury time but referee, Michael Oliver, didn't give it.
Sunday 25 March 2012
Tears in Sepang
When the chequered flag came down in Malaysia, both Ferrari and Sauber were shedding tears. This was because Fernando Alonso secured a shock victory and Sergio Perez secured second, the highest finish for a Sauber driver and the best finish for a Mexican in 41-years.
As typical in Sepang, the race was hampered by rain and it caused the usual havoc amongst the drivers. Lewis Hamilton managed to get away strongly this time around as Romain Grosjean squeezed into third going into the firs corner. But his dream start soon became a nightmare as he contacted Michael Schumacher during the next straight to send them both spinning. Schumacher continued but Grosjean had to retire on the next lap to make it two retirements from two races.
Then the rain came down heavier and the Safety Car was forced to emerge on lap seven before a red flag just two laps later. 50-minutes later and the race could resume under the Safety Car until lap-13 when normal racing resumed. A lap into the restart and the major drivers wanted to get onto the intermediate tyres. Lewis Hamilton slightly overshot his mark in the pits and was then released late due to the entering Felipe Massa. This ultimately cost him dear as it allowed Button and Alonso to get ahead with the other McLaren having pitted a lap earlier.
Next, it was Button's race to get hampered. He over-cooked an attempted overtake on Narain Karthikeyan, who hadn't pitted so was racing for position, the Briton came in too early and slice his front wing. This caused him to once again come into the pits and, with the pack being so tightly bunched due to the Safety Car, he resumed the race in 22nd.
There became a sense of deja vu when Sebastian Vettel suffered the same fate on the same HRT. Instead of losing his front wing, Vettel received a left-rear puncture which the German had to nurse back to the pits before continuing the race well out of the points.
This left Alonso and Perez to battle it out for the win as Mark Webber was hunting down Hamilton in the battle for third. The Sauber was constantly catching the Ferrari but a mistake on a corner cost Perez in the end. By the last lap, the Mexican had regained the lost and if the race had lasted a few more laps, the Sauber would have definitely won the race. The resurgent Williams team was dealt another devastating blow with Pastor Maldonado once again looking to be firmly in the points. But an engine failure caused the Venezuelan to once again retire on the final lap. Race result:
1.Alonso (Ferrari), 2.Perez (Sauber), 3.Hamilton (McLaren), 4.Webber (Red Bull), 5.Raikkonen (Lotus), 6.Senna (Williams), 7.Di Resta (Force India), 8.Vergne (Toro Rosso), 9.Hulkenberg (Force India), 10.Schumacher (Mercedes), 11.Vettel (Red Bull), 12.Ricciardo (Toro Rosso), 13.Rosberg (Mercedes), 14.Button (McLaren), 15.Massa (Ferrari), 16.Petrov (Caterham), 17.Glock (Marussia), 18.Kovalainen (Caterham), 19.Maldonado (Williams), 20.Pic (Marussia), 21.De La Rosa (HRT), 22.Karthikeyan (HRT) DNF: Kobayashi (Sauber), Grosjean (Lotus)
As typical in Sepang, the race was hampered by rain and it caused the usual havoc amongst the drivers. Lewis Hamilton managed to get away strongly this time around as Romain Grosjean squeezed into third going into the firs corner. But his dream start soon became a nightmare as he contacted Michael Schumacher during the next straight to send them both spinning. Schumacher continued but Grosjean had to retire on the next lap to make it two retirements from two races.
Then the rain came down heavier and the Safety Car was forced to emerge on lap seven before a red flag just two laps later. 50-minutes later and the race could resume under the Safety Car until lap-13 when normal racing resumed. A lap into the restart and the major drivers wanted to get onto the intermediate tyres. Lewis Hamilton slightly overshot his mark in the pits and was then released late due to the entering Felipe Massa. This ultimately cost him dear as it allowed Button and Alonso to get ahead with the other McLaren having pitted a lap earlier.
Next, it was Button's race to get hampered. He over-cooked an attempted overtake on Narain Karthikeyan, who hadn't pitted so was racing for position, the Briton came in too early and slice his front wing. This caused him to once again come into the pits and, with the pack being so tightly bunched due to the Safety Car, he resumed the race in 22nd.
There became a sense of deja vu when Sebastian Vettel suffered the same fate on the same HRT. Instead of losing his front wing, Vettel received a left-rear puncture which the German had to nurse back to the pits before continuing the race well out of the points.
This left Alonso and Perez to battle it out for the win as Mark Webber was hunting down Hamilton in the battle for third. The Sauber was constantly catching the Ferrari but a mistake on a corner cost Perez in the end. By the last lap, the Mexican had regained the lost and if the race had lasted a few more laps, the Sauber would have definitely won the race. The resurgent Williams team was dealt another devastating blow with Pastor Maldonado once again looking to be firmly in the points. But an engine failure caused the Venezuelan to once again retire on the final lap. Race result:
1.Alonso (Ferrari), 2.Perez (Sauber), 3.Hamilton (McLaren), 4.Webber (Red Bull), 5.Raikkonen (Lotus), 6.Senna (Williams), 7.Di Resta (Force India), 8.Vergne (Toro Rosso), 9.Hulkenberg (Force India), 10.Schumacher (Mercedes), 11.Vettel (Red Bull), 12.Ricciardo (Toro Rosso), 13.Rosberg (Mercedes), 14.Button (McLaren), 15.Massa (Ferrari), 16.Petrov (Caterham), 17.Glock (Marussia), 18.Kovalainen (Caterham), 19.Maldonado (Williams), 20.Pic (Marussia), 21.De La Rosa (HRT), 22.Karthikeyan (HRT) DNF: Kobayashi (Sauber), Grosjean (Lotus)
Saturday 24 March 2012
PL Round-Up 24/3/12
Bolton 2-1 Blackburn: Bolton showed amazing character in their first game since the collapse of Fabrice Muamba. The first goal of the Lancashire derby saw David Wheater head home from a cross on 28-minutes, his first Premiership goal for Bolton. Wheater then made it 2-0 with another header, this time from a corner ten minutes before half-time. Steven N'Zonzi replied with a header of his own, from a long throw 11-minutes into the second half. Bolton move three points clear of the relegation zone with that game in hand, Blackburn remain three points ahead of their Lancashire rivals.
Stoke 1-1 Manchester City: Man City move back on top of the table, on goal difference, despite dropping points. Peter Crouch set the Britannia alight with a tremendous volley from 25-yards 14-minutes into the second half. Yaya Toure matched it with a thunderous 40-yard strike that deflected off the head of Ryan Shawcross with 14-minutes left. Manchester United play on Monday against Fulham with that chance to go three points clear. Stoke remain twelfth, two points ahead of Fulham.
Liverpool 1-2 Wigan: Wigan move a point behind safety with a shock victory over Liverpool. Wigan earned a penalty on the half hour mark when Martin Skrtel's boot just missed Victor Moses' head, Shaun Maloney stepped up and placed into the bottom corner. Liverpool came out in the second half and Luis Suarez finished off a Steven Gerrard low cross within two minutes of the restart. Wigan's winner came from captain Gary Caldwell when he beat the offside trap on 63-minutes. Liverpool remain five points behind Newcastle in seventh with Newcastle playing West Brom tomorrow.
Arsenal 3-0 Aston Villa: Arsenal move three points ahead of Spurs and eight ahead of Chelsea with a win without a goal by Robin Van Persie. Kieron Gibbs put Arsenal ahead on 16-minutes before Theo Walcott doubled their advantage nine minutes later. The icing on the cake came in injury time with Mikel Arteta firing a beautiful free-kick past Shay Given. Villa are now eight points ahead of the relegation zone.
Sunderland 3-1 QPR: Sunderland move two points behind Liverpool as QPR remain one point from safety. Nicklas Bendtner headed home a James McLean cross four minutes before half-time to give Sunderland the lead. QPR's task got worse when Djibril Cisse received a second red card in only five Rangers games for a shocking two-footed challenge on Frazier Campbell ten minutes after the restart. McLean took full advantage by making it 2-0 with 20-minutes left with Stephane Sessegnon adding a third on 76-minutes. Taye Taiwo scored QPR's consolation three minutes later via a free-kick, the AC Milan player's first Rangers goal.
Norwich 2-1 Wolves: Wolves are now four points from safety with just eight games remaining. Their quest for survival looked to easing when Matt Jarvis turned in a low cross on 25-minutes. But their lead lasted less than a minute as Grant Holt chipped the ball over Wayne Hennessey before rolling the ball home. Norwich would then have the lead before half-time when Eggert Jonsson conceded a penalty for handball, Holt stepped up and converted the spot-kick. Holt's day would end sour however as he received a second yellow card four minutes from time.
Swansea 0-2 Everton: Everton move to within two points of their Merseyside rivals with a win over Swansea. Leighton Baines became Everton's top goalscorer this season with his fifth from a fantastic free-kick 14-minutes into the second half. Nikica Jelavic wrapped the points up 14-minutes from time turning in a Marouane Fellaini through ball.
Chelsea 0-0 Tottenham: The London pair played out a lunch-time goalless draw in the race for fourth. Chelsea's best chance came when Juan Mata hit the post from a second half free-kick. Tottenham arguably created the better chances, Gareth Bale came closest when he hit the bar nine minutes from time.
Stoke 1-1 Manchester City: Man City move back on top of the table, on goal difference, despite dropping points. Peter Crouch set the Britannia alight with a tremendous volley from 25-yards 14-minutes into the second half. Yaya Toure matched it with a thunderous 40-yard strike that deflected off the head of Ryan Shawcross with 14-minutes left. Manchester United play on Monday against Fulham with that chance to go three points clear. Stoke remain twelfth, two points ahead of Fulham.
Liverpool 1-2 Wigan: Wigan move a point behind safety with a shock victory over Liverpool. Wigan earned a penalty on the half hour mark when Martin Skrtel's boot just missed Victor Moses' head, Shaun Maloney stepped up and placed into the bottom corner. Liverpool came out in the second half and Luis Suarez finished off a Steven Gerrard low cross within two minutes of the restart. Wigan's winner came from captain Gary Caldwell when he beat the offside trap on 63-minutes. Liverpool remain five points behind Newcastle in seventh with Newcastle playing West Brom tomorrow.
Arsenal 3-0 Aston Villa: Arsenal move three points ahead of Spurs and eight ahead of Chelsea with a win without a goal by Robin Van Persie. Kieron Gibbs put Arsenal ahead on 16-minutes before Theo Walcott doubled their advantage nine minutes later. The icing on the cake came in injury time with Mikel Arteta firing a beautiful free-kick past Shay Given. Villa are now eight points ahead of the relegation zone.
Sunderland 3-1 QPR: Sunderland move two points behind Liverpool as QPR remain one point from safety. Nicklas Bendtner headed home a James McLean cross four minutes before half-time to give Sunderland the lead. QPR's task got worse when Djibril Cisse received a second red card in only five Rangers games for a shocking two-footed challenge on Frazier Campbell ten minutes after the restart. McLean took full advantage by making it 2-0 with 20-minutes left with Stephane Sessegnon adding a third on 76-minutes. Taye Taiwo scored QPR's consolation three minutes later via a free-kick, the AC Milan player's first Rangers goal.
Norwich 2-1 Wolves: Wolves are now four points from safety with just eight games remaining. Their quest for survival looked to easing when Matt Jarvis turned in a low cross on 25-minutes. But their lead lasted less than a minute as Grant Holt chipped the ball over Wayne Hennessey before rolling the ball home. Norwich would then have the lead before half-time when Eggert Jonsson conceded a penalty for handball, Holt stepped up and converted the spot-kick. Holt's day would end sour however as he received a second yellow card four minutes from time.
Swansea 0-2 Everton: Everton move to within two points of their Merseyside rivals with a win over Swansea. Leighton Baines became Everton's top goalscorer this season with his fifth from a fantastic free-kick 14-minutes into the second half. Nikica Jelavic wrapped the points up 14-minutes from time turning in a Marouane Fellaini through ball.
Chelsea 0-0 Tottenham: The London pair played out a lunch-time goalless draw in the race for fourth. Chelsea's best chance came when Juan Mata hit the post from a second half free-kick. Tottenham arguably created the better chances, Gareth Bale came closest when he hit the bar nine minutes from time.
2012 Malaysian GP Qualifying
1. Hamilton (McLaren)
2. Button (McLaren)
3. Schumacher (Mercedes)
4. Webber (Red Bull)
5. Raikkonen (Lotus)
6. Vettel (Red Bull)
7. Grosjean (Lotus)
8. Rosberg (Mercedes)
9. Alonso (Ferrari)
10. Perez (Sauber)
11. Maldonado (Williams)
12. Massa (Ferrari)
13. Senna (Williams)
14. Di Resta (Force India)
15. Ricciardo (Toro Rosso)
16. Hulkenberg (Force India)
17. Kobayashi (Sauber)
18. Vergne (Toro Rosso)
19. Kovalainen (Caterham)
20. Petrov (Caterham)
21. Glock (Marussia)
22. Pic (Marussia)
23. De La Rosa (HRT)
24. Karthikeyan (HRT)
2. Button (McLaren)
3. Schumacher (Mercedes)
4. Webber (Red Bull)
5. Raikkonen (Lotus)
6. Vettel (Red Bull)
7. Grosjean (Lotus)
8. Rosberg (Mercedes)
9. Alonso (Ferrari)
10. Perez (Sauber)
11. Maldonado (Williams)
12. Massa (Ferrari)
13. Senna (Williams)
14. Di Resta (Force India)
15. Ricciardo (Toro Rosso)
16. Hulkenberg (Force India)
17. Kobayashi (Sauber)
18. Vergne (Toro Rosso)
19. Kovalainen (Caterham)
20. Petrov (Caterham)
21. Glock (Marussia)
22. Pic (Marussia)
23. De La Rosa (HRT)
24. Karthikeyan (HRT)
Thursday 22 March 2012
2012 Premier League Darts: Week Seven
As the Premier League already hits the halfway stage, the oche moved to new horizons as Dublin hosted the Premier League for the first time ever. First to grace the Irish crowd was Andy Hamilton and Simon Whitlock who played out a thriller. The first seven legs all went with throw, Whitlock checking-out 152 was the highlight. Hamilton secured the first break to take a 5-3 lead but the Australian came back to level the match. Whitlock then checked-out 90 on the bull to level at 6-6 before managing the win the final leg to level draw the match 7-7.
Adrian Lewis won his first game of the campaign against Kevin Painter in formidable style. Painter secured the first break of throw before Lewis broke straight back to level at 2-2. The next three legs then went with throw before Lewis finally secured another break after a total of ten missed darts at the double. Missed doubles proved costly for Painter as the World Champion reeled off the next three legs to win the match 8-3.
Raymond Van Barneveld moves into second of the table with victory over reigning champion, Gary Anderson. The first five legs went with throw before the Dutchman moved into a 5-2 lead. The Scot managed to to pull it back to 5-4 which soon became 6-5. Anderson then missed three darts to level and that ultimately cost him as Barney went onto win 8-5.
Phil Taylor remains unbeaten at the halfway stage. James Wade was this week's opponent and found Taylor taking out 102 to make it 2-1 before then securing the first break of throw. This then transpired into a 6-1 lead before Wade finally managed to post a second leg. The Power then finished the match off with an impressive 110 on tops to win 8-2. Halfway table:
Phil Taylor 13
Raymond Van Barneveld 8 +2
Simon Whitlock 8 +1
Gary Anderson 6 +2
Kevin Painter 6 -3
James Wade 6 -9
Adrian Lewis 5
Andy Hamilton 4
Adrian Lewis won his first game of the campaign against Kevin Painter in formidable style. Painter secured the first break of throw before Lewis broke straight back to level at 2-2. The next three legs then went with throw before Lewis finally secured another break after a total of ten missed darts at the double. Missed doubles proved costly for Painter as the World Champion reeled off the next three legs to win the match 8-3.
Raymond Van Barneveld moves into second of the table with victory over reigning champion, Gary Anderson. The first five legs went with throw before the Dutchman moved into a 5-2 lead. The Scot managed to to pull it back to 5-4 which soon became 6-5. Anderson then missed three darts to level and that ultimately cost him as Barney went onto win 8-5.
Phil Taylor remains unbeaten at the halfway stage. James Wade was this week's opponent and found Taylor taking out 102 to make it 2-1 before then securing the first break of throw. This then transpired into a 6-1 lead before Wade finally managed to post a second leg. The Power then finished the match off with an impressive 110 on tops to win 8-2. Halfway table:
Phil Taylor 13
Raymond Van Barneveld 8 +2
Simon Whitlock 8 +1
Gary Anderson 6 +2
Kevin Painter 6 -3
James Wade 6 -9
Adrian Lewis 5
Andy Hamilton 4
Wednesday 21 March 2012
PL Round-Up 20-21/3/12
Manchester City 2-1 Chelsea: It was the battle of the 100% records as Manchester City came from behind to move to within a point of Manchester United. Gary Cahill put Chelsea ahead with a goal that deflected off Yaya Toure just before the hour mark. Michael Essien conceded a 77th minute penalty for hand-balling a Pablo Zabaleta shot, Sergio Aguero stepped up and smashed it into the bottom corner. The winner came six minutes from the end when the returning Carlos Tevez linked up with Samir Nasri to put the Frenchman through on goal and he made no mistake.
QPR 3-2 Liverpool: QPR also came from behind to gain a vital three points that lifts them two points clear of relegation, although Bolton have a game in hand. Sebastian Coates put Liverpool ahead eight minutes into the second half with a fantastic scissor kick to mark his first Reds goal with a screamer. Dirk Kuyt doubled their advantage 19-minutes from time, scoring the rebound from a Stewart Downing shot. The comeback began five minutes later with Shaun Derry riding above everyone to head home from a corner. Former Liverpool player, Djibril Cisse equalised with five minutes remaining heading a cross from Taye Taiwo past Pepe Reina. Jamie Mackie won the game in injury time, taking full advantage of a defensive mishap.
Tottenham 1-1 Stoke: An injury-time equaliser prevented Spurs from losing their fourth consecutive game. The teams and officials before the match wore shirts in support for Fabrice Muamba after that horrible incident four days ago. Cameron Jerome put Stoke ahead 15-minutes from time, tapping home a flick on from a Jermaine Pennant free-kick. Rafael Van der Vaart equalised in the third minute of injury time heading home a Gareth Bale cross. The point leaves Tottenham a point behind Arsenal in fourth.
Everton 0-1 Arsenal: Arsenal move a point clear of Spurs into third courtesy of a seventh minute header by Thomas Vermaelen header. Everton should have had an equaliser when Royston Drenthe was put through and scored past Wojiech Szczesny, but the linesman wrongly flagged for offside. Everton slip to tenth, five points behind rivals Liverpool in seventh.
Blackburn 2-0 Sunderland: Blackburn's resurgence sees them move five points clear of the relegation zone. Junior Hoilett put Rovers ahead 12-minutes into the second half before Yakubu sealed the vital victory five minutes from time.
QPR 3-2 Liverpool: QPR also came from behind to gain a vital three points that lifts them two points clear of relegation, although Bolton have a game in hand. Sebastian Coates put Liverpool ahead eight minutes into the second half with a fantastic scissor kick to mark his first Reds goal with a screamer. Dirk Kuyt doubled their advantage 19-minutes from time, scoring the rebound from a Stewart Downing shot. The comeback began five minutes later with Shaun Derry riding above everyone to head home from a corner. Former Liverpool player, Djibril Cisse equalised with five minutes remaining heading a cross from Taye Taiwo past Pepe Reina. Jamie Mackie won the game in injury time, taking full advantage of a defensive mishap.
Tottenham 1-1 Stoke: An injury-time equaliser prevented Spurs from losing their fourth consecutive game. The teams and officials before the match wore shirts in support for Fabrice Muamba after that horrible incident four days ago. Cameron Jerome put Stoke ahead 15-minutes from time, tapping home a flick on from a Jermaine Pennant free-kick. Rafael Van der Vaart equalised in the third minute of injury time heading home a Gareth Bale cross. The point leaves Tottenham a point behind Arsenal in fourth.
Everton 0-1 Arsenal: Arsenal move a point clear of Spurs into third courtesy of a seventh minute header by Thomas Vermaelen header. Everton should have had an equaliser when Royston Drenthe was put through and scored past Wojiech Szczesny, but the linesman wrongly flagged for offside. Everton slip to tenth, five points behind rivals Liverpool in seventh.
Blackburn 2-0 Sunderland: Blackburn's resurgence sees them move five points clear of the relegation zone. Junior Hoilett put Rovers ahead 12-minutes into the second half before Yakubu sealed the vital victory five minutes from time.
Sunday 18 March 2012
PL Round-Up: 17-18/3/12
With the FA Cup quarter finals taking place this weekend, it limited the Premiership to just four games. Fulham hosted Swansea and Gylfi Sigurdsson made it four goals in three games to keep Swansea's dream season going. He opened the scoring ten minutes before half-time before adding his second on 65-minutes. Joe Allen finished the game off 11-minutes later to seal a comfortable 3-0 victory.
Wigan have managed to move off the bottom of the table on goal difference with a crucial point against West Brom. James McArthur put Wigan ahead eight minutes into the second half before former Wigan player, Paul Scharner, prevented them from winning the three points 11-minutes later.
With Manchester City playing Chelsea on Wednesday, Manchester United used their game against Wolves to extend their lead and close the difference. As for Wolves, it means they now move to the bottom of the league on goal difference. Johnny Evans scored his first Manchester United goal when Michael Carrick headed a corner down to him on 20-minutes. Wolves' proverbial mountain went from the K2 to Mount Everest when Ronald Zubar received his second yellow card five minutes from half-time for a late challenge. United took full advantage with a counter attack that resulted in the returning Antonio Valencia smashing the ball home with two minutes of the half left. Valencia was then the player to pull the ball back to Danny Welbeck who made it 3-0 on half-time. There was no let up and Javier Hernandez was left in acres of room in the box, to easily head home a short corner 11-minutes after the restart. The annihilation was completed five minutes later when Hernandez was on hand to smash home a low cross.
Newcastle's European hopes continue to shine with a close fought victory over Norwich. The only goal of the game came on ten minutes with Papiss Cisse curling an effort past John Ruddy. Newcastle now move five points ahead of Liverpool and two points behind Chelsea in sixth with both teams playing in mid-week.
Wigan have managed to move off the bottom of the table on goal difference with a crucial point against West Brom. James McArthur put Wigan ahead eight minutes into the second half before former Wigan player, Paul Scharner, prevented them from winning the three points 11-minutes later.
With Manchester City playing Chelsea on Wednesday, Manchester United used their game against Wolves to extend their lead and close the difference. As for Wolves, it means they now move to the bottom of the league on goal difference. Johnny Evans scored his first Manchester United goal when Michael Carrick headed a corner down to him on 20-minutes. Wolves' proverbial mountain went from the K2 to Mount Everest when Ronald Zubar received his second yellow card five minutes from half-time for a late challenge. United took full advantage with a counter attack that resulted in the returning Antonio Valencia smashing the ball home with two minutes of the half left. Valencia was then the player to pull the ball back to Danny Welbeck who made it 3-0 on half-time. There was no let up and Javier Hernandez was left in acres of room in the box, to easily head home a short corner 11-minutes after the restart. The annihilation was completed five minutes later when Hernandez was on hand to smash home a low cross.
Newcastle's European hopes continue to shine with a close fought victory over Norwich. The only goal of the game came on ten minutes with Papiss Cisse curling an effort past John Ruddy. Newcastle now move five points ahead of Liverpool and two points behind Chelsea in sixth with both teams playing in mid-week.
2011/2012 FA Cup Quarter Finals and Semi Final Draw
There are times where football comes second and unfortunately the FA Cup quarter finals was one of these times. Bolton took on Tottenham at White Hart Lane in the 5:30pm Saturday slot. The teams were level at 1-1 before disaster struck. 23-year old Fabrice Muamba suddenly collapsed in the middle of the pitch. Play was stopped instantly as everyone realised the severity of the issue and medics came onto the pitch within a minute. Muamba required CPR as his heart had stopped and remained on the pitch for six minutes. Once he had been put on a stretcher, he was wheeled down the tunnel still receiving CPR and a defibrillator had also been used. He was escorted, via ambulance, to London's heart hospital where he remains in a critical condition and anaesthetised. Shortly after Muamba had left the pitch, referee Howard Webb had no other choice but to abandon the match with players from both teams in a state of shock. Bolton's Premiership game against Aston Villa has also been postponed as Bolton and the rest of the world of football continue to pray for Fabrice Muamba.
Earlier that day, Everton hosted Sunderland in the first of the quarter finals. Phil Bardsley put Sunderland ahead after 11-minutes with a thunderous strike that found the bottom corner. Tim Cahill headed Everton level ten minutes later to set up a replay at the Stadium of Light.
Both Sunday quarter-finals took place with a minute's applause in hope for the stricken Muamba. Chelsea hosted Leicester and Roberto Di Matteo was able to keep hold of his 100% start. Gary Cahill scored his first Chelsea goal after 11-minutes before Salomon Kalou made it 2-0 five minutes later. Fernando Torres ended his goal drought with Chelsea's third on 66-minutes with Jermaine Beckford pulling one back ten minutes later. Torres then found himself on the score-sheet once again six minutes from time before Ben Marshall made 4-2 three minutes later. Raul Meireles had the final say in injury time to give Chelsea the comprehensive 5-2 victory.
Liverpool hosted last year's runners-up Stoke City in the final quarter final. Luis Suarez opened the scoring on 22-minutes with a fantastically placed shot into the bottom corner. That lead only lasted three minutes when Peter Crouch headed home from a corner that was actually a goal kick. The winning goal came 11-minutes into the second half when a flue one-two between Stewart Downing and Steven Gerrard resulted in the winger scoring only his second goal in a Liverpool shirt.
The winner of Everton against Sunderland will face Liverpool in the semi-final which could potentially set-up a Merseyside derby at Wembley. Chelsea await the winners of Tottenham and Bolton which could potentially set-up a London derby in football's capital.
McLaren vs Red Bull
Jenson Button led from the first corner to give McLaren the first victory of the season. Defending Champion, Sebastian Vettel, finished second with Pole sitter Lewis Hamilton in third and Mark Webber fourth. Performances of the day go to Pastor Maldonado, who was challenging Fernando Alonso for fifth until he crashed out on the last lap, and Sergio Perez, who finished eighth after starting on the back row and held the same pace as the leaders. The news before the race was that both HRTs were not allowed to race due to their slow qualification pace.
The race started with Button overtaking Hamilton going into the first corner. Vettel had got himself ahead of Webber into fifth and Alonso put himself eighth. The surprise of qualifying, Romain Grosjean, couldn't keep third and immediately found himself sixth. The big contact from the start saw Daniel Ricciardo hit Bruno Senna who was trying to re-emerge onto the track, the Brazilian span but was able to continue.
Vettel began his charge from the off and overtook Nico Rosberg to move into fourth on the second lap. It was this lap that saw Nico Hulkenberg's return to racing end prematurely after not being able to recover from damage sustained from the first corner. Grosjean's debut F1 race also ended abruptly when Maldonado hit the Lotus, causing the front wheel shaft to break.
Vettel continued to charge and managed to overtake Michael Schumacher on lap-11. The Mercedes car looked to have suffered a failure which allowed Vettel an easy pass and Schumacher was then forced to retire from the race. Another big winner was Kimi Raikkonen who came from 18th to sit eighth.
The first pit window arrived around lap-19 and Button played the strategy much better. He was able to get the undercut against Hamilton to retain his lead. But Hamilton ended up getting stuck behind Perez until lap-21 which allowed Button to gain an 11-second lead.
Massa's Ferrari was suffering in contrast to Alonso's and he lost places to Raikkonen and Kamui Kobayashi to end up in ninth after 27-laps. Ten laps later, Vitaly Petrov's Caterham broke down by the start-finish straight which caused a Safety Car. Vettel used this window as an opportunity to pit and it allowed him to come out ahead of Hamilton.
Petrov's teammate, Heikki Kovalainen suffered steering problems which forced him to retire a lap before the Safety Car came in on lap-41. Massa's weekend got even worse when he and Senna collided, both cars suffered punctures but Senna made it back to the pits whereas Massa had to retire with 11-laps remaining.
Senna's damage turned out to be terminal and he too had to retire two laps before the end. The final incident came on the lap when Maldonado drove onto the astroturf which caused him to spin into a wall and end his race despite still being classified. It was a shame as the vastly improved Williams car was sitting comfortably in sixth and even challenging Alonso's Ferrari for fifth. Post-race analysis has seen Heikki Kovalainen receive a five place grid penalty next week for illegally overtaking during the Safety Car period. Race result:
1.Button (McLaren), 2.Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull), 3.Hamilton (McLaren), 4.Webber (Red Bull), 5.Alonso (Ferrari), 6.Kobayashi (Sauber), 7.Raikkonen (Lotus), 8.Perez (Sauber), 9.Ricciardo (Toro Rosso), 10.Di Resta (Force India), 11.Vergne (Toro Rosso), 12.Rosberg (Mercedes), 13.Maldonado (Williams), 14.Glock (Marussia), 15.Pic (Marussia) DNF: Hulkenberg (Force India), Grosjean (Renault), Schumacher (Mercedes), Petrov (Caterham), Kovalainen (Caterham), Massa (Ferrari), Senna (Williams) DNS: De La Rosa (HRT), Karthikeyan (HRT).
The race started with Button overtaking Hamilton going into the first corner. Vettel had got himself ahead of Webber into fifth and Alonso put himself eighth. The surprise of qualifying, Romain Grosjean, couldn't keep third and immediately found himself sixth. The big contact from the start saw Daniel Ricciardo hit Bruno Senna who was trying to re-emerge onto the track, the Brazilian span but was able to continue.
Vettel began his charge from the off and overtook Nico Rosberg to move into fourth on the second lap. It was this lap that saw Nico Hulkenberg's return to racing end prematurely after not being able to recover from damage sustained from the first corner. Grosjean's debut F1 race also ended abruptly when Maldonado hit the Lotus, causing the front wheel shaft to break.
Vettel continued to charge and managed to overtake Michael Schumacher on lap-11. The Mercedes car looked to have suffered a failure which allowed Vettel an easy pass and Schumacher was then forced to retire from the race. Another big winner was Kimi Raikkonen who came from 18th to sit eighth.
The first pit window arrived around lap-19 and Button played the strategy much better. He was able to get the undercut against Hamilton to retain his lead. But Hamilton ended up getting stuck behind Perez until lap-21 which allowed Button to gain an 11-second lead.
Massa's Ferrari was suffering in contrast to Alonso's and he lost places to Raikkonen and Kamui Kobayashi to end up in ninth after 27-laps. Ten laps later, Vitaly Petrov's Caterham broke down by the start-finish straight which caused a Safety Car. Vettel used this window as an opportunity to pit and it allowed him to come out ahead of Hamilton.
Petrov's teammate, Heikki Kovalainen suffered steering problems which forced him to retire a lap before the Safety Car came in on lap-41. Massa's weekend got even worse when he and Senna collided, both cars suffered punctures but Senna made it back to the pits whereas Massa had to retire with 11-laps remaining.
Senna's damage turned out to be terminal and he too had to retire two laps before the end. The final incident came on the lap when Maldonado drove onto the astroturf which caused him to spin into a wall and end his race despite still being classified. It was a shame as the vastly improved Williams car was sitting comfortably in sixth and even challenging Alonso's Ferrari for fifth. Post-race analysis has seen Heikki Kovalainen receive a five place grid penalty next week for illegally overtaking during the Safety Car period. Race result:
1.Button (McLaren), 2.Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull), 3.Hamilton (McLaren), 4.Webber (Red Bull), 5.Alonso (Ferrari), 6.Kobayashi (Sauber), 7.Raikkonen (Lotus), 8.Perez (Sauber), 9.Ricciardo (Toro Rosso), 10.Di Resta (Force India), 11.Vergne (Toro Rosso), 12.Rosberg (Mercedes), 13.Maldonado (Williams), 14.Glock (Marussia), 15.Pic (Marussia) DNF: Hulkenberg (Force India), Grosjean (Renault), Schumacher (Mercedes), Petrov (Caterham), Kovalainen (Caterham), Massa (Ferrari), Senna (Williams) DNS: De La Rosa (HRT), Karthikeyan (HRT).
Saturday 17 March 2012
F1 2012 Begins
The new season of F1 began this weekend and there is already a question asking whether it is to be the end of the Red Bull era. Their dominance in qualifying last season, hasn't been matched in the year's Australian qualifying session with McLaren managing a one-two. Lewis Hamilton has continually praised the new McLaren car and eased into Pole position with Jenson Button half a second behind. The performance of the day goes to debutant Romain Grosjean, who managed to place his Lotus into third place on his first F1 qualifying session. Mercedes have made waves during the practice sessions and Michael Schumacher will start fourth ahead of Mark Webber and defending champion Sebastian Vettel in the disappointing Red Bull, with Nico Rosberg seventh. Williams had a season they would rather forget last campaign but Pastor Maldonado has defied the odds and qualifies eighth ahead of the returning Nico Hulkenberg in a Force India. Daniel Ricciardo was the last to make it into Q3 and didn't make a run, therefore he will start tenth in the Toro Rosso.
The big news from Q2 saw the struggling Ferrari begin their season how many had feared. Fernando Alonso was sitting in fifth until he span off the track and was beached in the gravel. That made him a sitting duck and he will start 12th behind debutant Jean-Eric Vergne in the other Toro Rosso. Kamui Kobayashi sits 13th in the Sauber with Bruno Senna making an ominous return in a Williams car in 14th. Paul Di Resta was last year's surprise package but could only manage a 15th place with Felipe Massa already showing why Ferrari were thinking of letting him go in 16th. The last person to make it into Q2 was Sergio Perez in the other Sauber and he will begin the race in 17th place.
Q1 saw the usual six plus one from last season. Former World Champion, Kimi Raikonnen, had a dismal return to the sport. He was the surprise exit from Q1 in the Lotus and starts 18th. Heikki Kovalainen was the dominant driver last season for Lotus and begins this season in the newly named Caterham team ahead of new team-mate Vitaly Petrov. Virgin has been changed to Marussia and Timo Glock out-qualifies his new team-mate, debutant Charles Pic. It was deja vu for the Hispania team, they failed to make the 107% time last year and were subsequently disqualified from the race. This year, both Pedro De La Rosa and Narain Karthikeyan have failed to make the 107% time and will be a doubt for tomorrow's race.
Friday 16 March 2012
2012 PL Darts: Week Six
The oche once again went across the border as the Premier League headed to Glasgow. World Champion Adrian Lewis once again faced the partisan crowd as he took on James Wade. The first three legs went with throw before Wade secured the first break on his way to lead 4-1. Wade hit a 114 check-out before Lewis responded with a 108 to make it 5-3. Lewis was then able to secure that break to move within a leg but couldn't hold his own throw, allowing Wade to make it 6-4. The final three legs went with throw to ensure that Lewis will head to the halfway stage next week without a win. Final score: 8-5.
Scotland's own, Gary Anderson, once again appeared to suffer under his overwhelming support. Simon Whitlock was Anderson's opponent this week with the first two legs going against throw. Whitlock then missed a hat full of doubles on Anderson's throw but did manage a 164-checkout to make it 2-2. Because of these missed doubles, Anderson was able to be level at 3-3 going into the break. Whitlock was finally able to secure a second break of throw to move into a 5-3 lead courtesy of a 104-finish. Whitlock moved into a 7-5 lead and missed another three darts to allow Anderson one more leg in front of his home crowd. The Australian then hit tops in the deciding leg to move him into second with a 8-6 victory.
Phil Taylor continued his fantastic form this year with two nine-darters at the weekend. He met Andy Hamilton this week and was able to carry his momentum forward. Hamilton hit a 150-checkout to level the match at 1-1 with the next two legs then going against throw. But Taylor secured another break of throw to crucially lead 4-2 going into the break. Hamilton did hold his next throw to make it 5-3 but Taylor motored on and secured a 104-checkout to win the match 8-3.
Kevin Painter was the next player to fall fowl of the partisan crowd as he faced fan favourite, Raymond Van Barneveld. The first two legs went against throw before Painter hit a 157-checkout to again level the match at 2-2. The next two legs once again went against the throw to make it 3-3 at the break. Once again, the two legs following the interval went against the throw before Barney finally managed to hold it to lead 5-4. This followed by another break by the Dutchman but again Painter broke back to make it 6-5. But the Dutchman used the crowd to take the next two legs to secure his second win of the competition, winning 8-5. This means that Anderson, Van Barneveld, Wade and Painter are all on six points in the race to get top four.
Scotland's own, Gary Anderson, once again appeared to suffer under his overwhelming support. Simon Whitlock was Anderson's opponent this week with the first two legs going against throw. Whitlock then missed a hat full of doubles on Anderson's throw but did manage a 164-checkout to make it 2-2. Because of these missed doubles, Anderson was able to be level at 3-3 going into the break. Whitlock was finally able to secure a second break of throw to move into a 5-3 lead courtesy of a 104-finish. Whitlock moved into a 7-5 lead and missed another three darts to allow Anderson one more leg in front of his home crowd. The Australian then hit tops in the deciding leg to move him into second with a 8-6 victory.
Phil Taylor continued his fantastic form this year with two nine-darters at the weekend. He met Andy Hamilton this week and was able to carry his momentum forward. Hamilton hit a 150-checkout to level the match at 1-1 with the next two legs then going against throw. But Taylor secured another break of throw to crucially lead 4-2 going into the break. Hamilton did hold his next throw to make it 5-3 but Taylor motored on and secured a 104-checkout to win the match 8-3.
Kevin Painter was the next player to fall fowl of the partisan crowd as he faced fan favourite, Raymond Van Barneveld. The first two legs went against throw before Painter hit a 157-checkout to again level the match at 2-2. The next two legs once again went against the throw to make it 3-3 at the break. Once again, the two legs following the interval went against the throw before Barney finally managed to hold it to lead 5-4. This followed by another break by the Dutchman but again Painter broke back to make it 6-5. But the Dutchman used the crowd to take the next two legs to secure his second win of the competition, winning 8-5. This means that Anderson, Van Barneveld, Wade and Painter are all on six points in the race to get top four.
2011/2012 CL: Quarter Final & Semi Final Draw
Apoel Nicosia v Real Madrid
Olympique Marseille v Bayern Munich
Benfica v Chelsea
AC Milan v Barcelona
Marseille/Munich v Nicosia/Madrid
Benfica/Chelsea v Milan/Barcelona
Olympique Marseille v Bayern Munich
Benfica v Chelsea
AC Milan v Barcelona
Marseille/Munich v Nicosia/Madrid
Benfica/Chelsea v Milan/Barcelona
Wednesday 14 March 2012
2011/2012 CL: 2nd Round 2nd Leg pt2
Anything Barcelona can do, Bayern Munich can do better as they smashed seven past Basel to book their place in the last eight. Basel did have a 1-0 lead going into the second leg but that was cancelled out after 11-minutes when Arjen Robben broke the deadlock. There was quiet between the two until Thomas Muller made it 2-0 three minutes before half-time with Mario Gomez adding a third two minutes later. Gomez then went into riot mode, scoring Munich's fourth five minutes into the second half then scoring his hat-trick just after the hour mark and then scored his fourth six minutes later. Basel's embarrassment was completed nine minutes from time when Robben scored his second to make it 7-0 on the night and 7-1 on aggregate.
There was drama in Italy as two injury time goals ended up causing Inter Milan to exit the competition. Marseille had a 1-0 lead going into the San Siro but Diego Milito levelled he score when he put Inter ahead on 75-minutes. But Inter's hopes of progressing were dashed when substitute Brandao equalised in the second minute of injury time. Steve Mandanda then conceded a penalty for bringing substitute Giampaolo Pazzini down and subsequently received his second yellow card. Pazzini dispatched the penalty to win the game for Inter but with the aggregate at 2-2, Marseille go through on away goals.
Real Madrid faced a tough task against CSKA Moscow but ended the night with a comfortable victory. It was 1-1 going into the Bernabeu and the Russians had several chances to take the lead. It didn't happen and Gonzalo Higuain put Madrid ahead on 26-minutes. Cristiano Ronaldo hit a 35-yard shot that Sergei Chepchugov didn't deal with and palmed it into the net, making it 2-0 ten minutes into the second half. Karim Benzema came off the bench and within two touches, Madrid were three ahead courtesy of the Frenchman. Zoran Tosic arguably scored the pick of the bunch for Moscow 13-minutes from time which did cause Madrid to become nervous. But again Moscow couldn't take any chances which allowed Benzema to play the ball across to Ronaldo and the Portuguese rolled the ball home for his second in injury time.
There will be an English representative in the quarter finals as Chelsea required extra time to overcome Napoli. The Italians had a 3-1 advantage to take to the Bridge but Roberto Di Matteo was able to continue his 100% to his managerial term. Didier Drogba headed Chelsea ahead just before the half-hour mark. John Terry then scored with his head from a corner three minutes into the second half to make it 3-3 on aggregate, a scoreline which would put Chelsea through. Gokhan Inler looked to destroy Chelsea's hopes with a goal seven minutes later to make it 4-3 to Napoli. Chelsea were then awarded a penalty when Andrea Dossena was perceived to have handballed it. Frank Lampard stepped up and smashed it past Morgan De Sanctis to make it 3-1 with 15-minutes left. This meant the game would go into extra time with the aggregate and away goal scores level. The winner came just before half-time when Branislav Ivanovic smashed home Drogba's cut-back, putting Chelsea into the quarter finals.
There was drama in Italy as two injury time goals ended up causing Inter Milan to exit the competition. Marseille had a 1-0 lead going into the San Siro but Diego Milito levelled he score when he put Inter ahead on 75-minutes. But Inter's hopes of progressing were dashed when substitute Brandao equalised in the second minute of injury time. Steve Mandanda then conceded a penalty for bringing substitute Giampaolo Pazzini down and subsequently received his second yellow card. Pazzini dispatched the penalty to win the game for Inter but with the aggregate at 2-2, Marseille go through on away goals.
Real Madrid faced a tough task against CSKA Moscow but ended the night with a comfortable victory. It was 1-1 going into the Bernabeu and the Russians had several chances to take the lead. It didn't happen and Gonzalo Higuain put Madrid ahead on 26-minutes. Cristiano Ronaldo hit a 35-yard shot that Sergei Chepchugov didn't deal with and palmed it into the net, making it 2-0 ten minutes into the second half. Karim Benzema came off the bench and within two touches, Madrid were three ahead courtesy of the Frenchman. Zoran Tosic arguably scored the pick of the bunch for Moscow 13-minutes from time which did cause Madrid to become nervous. But again Moscow couldn't take any chances which allowed Benzema to play the ball across to Ronaldo and the Portuguese rolled the ball home for his second in injury time.
There will be an English representative in the quarter finals as Chelsea required extra time to overcome Napoli. The Italians had a 3-1 advantage to take to the Bridge but Roberto Di Matteo was able to continue his 100% to his managerial term. Didier Drogba headed Chelsea ahead just before the half-hour mark. John Terry then scored with his head from a corner three minutes into the second half to make it 3-3 on aggregate, a scoreline which would put Chelsea through. Gokhan Inler looked to destroy Chelsea's hopes with a goal seven minutes later to make it 4-3 to Napoli. Chelsea were then awarded a penalty when Andrea Dossena was perceived to have handballed it. Frank Lampard stepped up and smashed it past Morgan De Sanctis to make it 3-1 with 15-minutes left. This meant the game would go into extra time with the aggregate and away goal scores level. The winner came just before half-time when Branislav Ivanovic smashed home Drogba's cut-back, putting Chelsea into the quarter finals.
Tuesday 13 March 2012
Arsenal a Point Away, Merseyside Derby Hat-Trick
Monday Night football returned this week as Arsenal hosted Newcastle and there was also the small matter of a rearranged Merseyside derby for a Tuesday helping. The Emirates were treated to yet another game full of drama as Arsenal move to within a point of rivals Tottenham. It was actually Newcastle who took the lead though, Hatem Ben Arfa smashing the ball past Wojiech Szczesny at his near post after 14-minutes. But the hosts went straight up the other end and Theo Walcott played Robin Van Persie through and the Dutchman made it 28 goals in his last 30 games. The winning goal came in the 95th minute; Thomas Vermaelen heading Arsenal to victory. This means that the Gunners are the first team to come from behind to win four consecutive games.
With Liverpool being involved the Carling Cup final last month, the Merseyside derby had to be postponed until today. David Moyes made six changes to the side that beat Tottenham on his 10th anniversary, it was a move that ultimately didn't pay off and he later hinted he was favouring the FA Cup at the weekend than the derby itself. The opening goal came 11-minutes before half-time when a blocked shot fell into the path of Steven Gerrard, who carefully placed the ball into the top corner. Gerrard was then on target again to cut all of Everton's second half momentum just six minutes after restart. The Liverpool captain then played Luis Suarez through on goal in injury time but the Uruguayan unselfishly laid the ball back across the goal for Gerrard to tap home his hat-trick, moving the Reds five points ahead of Everton.
With Liverpool being involved the Carling Cup final last month, the Merseyside derby had to be postponed until today. David Moyes made six changes to the side that beat Tottenham on his 10th anniversary, it was a move that ultimately didn't pay off and he later hinted he was favouring the FA Cup at the weekend than the derby itself. The opening goal came 11-minutes before half-time when a blocked shot fell into the path of Steven Gerrard, who carefully placed the ball into the top corner. Gerrard was then on target again to cut all of Everton's second half momentum just six minutes after restart. The Liverpool captain then played Luis Suarez through on goal in injury time but the Uruguayan unselfishly laid the ball back across the goal for Gerrard to tap home his hat-trick, moving the Reds five points ahead of Everton.
Sunday 11 March 2012
Change at the Top, Bottom Tightens Up
There were three games today with both Manchester clubs in action as well as bottom side Wigan. Manchester City travelled to the Liberty Stadium to face a Swansea side that has been more than competent at home. Swansea were awarded a penalty after just five minutes when Joe Hart brought Wayne Routledge down. Scott Sinclair stepped-up and dispatched a poor penalty that Hart easily saved, it was Sinclair's first missed penalty of the season. The hosts were more than in the match throughout and Roberto Mancini brought Gareth Barry off for Sergio Aguero after just 37-minutes, showing his concern at City's performance.
It was alleged that Yaya Toure and Mario Balotelli had a half-time bust-up in the tunnel but it didn't get brought onto the pitch as the pair continued as normal. The leader improved in the second half as they began to dominate possession. But Swansea fought back and a header from Luke Moore via a Routledge cross gave Swansea the win seven minutes from time. City tried to find an equaliser but Michel Vorm was equal to them until he came for a cross that he didn't catch. Luckily for him, Micah Richard's headed goal was disallowed by Sian Massey who correctly flagged for offside. Swansea held on to see Brendan Rodgers' side move up to eleventh on goal difference.
Meanwhile at Old Trafford, Manchester United hosted West Brom with United needing to recover from their disappointing European performance against Bilbao. West Brom started the game off better with Keith Andrews missing a great chance. But United soon found their stride and began to sting the hands of former Old Trafford keeper, Ben Foster. The opening goal of the game came ten minutes before half-time with Wayne Rooney converting a Javier Hernandez shot past Foster. West Brom thought they had a penalty when Peter Odemwingie fell under the challenge of Patrice Evra. But nothing was given and United went up the other with Hernandez hitting the post.
Danny Welbeck had a great opportunity to double their advantage but missed an open goal from a tight angle. West Brom's chances got slimmer when Jonas Olsson received a second yellow card for a foul on Hernandez. United were then awarded a penalty when Ashley Young was tugged down by Keith Andrews. Rooney stepped-up and converted to give United the win with 19-minutes remaining. This puts Manchester United top of the Premiership by a point.
The final game of the day came from Carrow Road where Norwich took on Wigan. The pair shared a point in a 1-1 draw on the first day of the season and that was reciprocated today. The deadlock was broken after just ten minutes when a quick throw bamboozled the Wigan defence. Wes Hoolahan scored on the opening day against Wigan and it was he who was on the of the throw today.
From there, Wigan were arguably the better side but their poor finishing showed why they currently sit at the bottom of the league. They had plenty of chances but couldn't convert any of them despite John Ruddy being stretched. Wigan's breakthrough finally came on 68-minutes when Victor Moses rounded Ruddy before rolling the ball into the net.
With the scores level, both teams nearly won the game. Mohamed Diame missed two guilt-edged opportunities; blazing a shot from a pull-back over the bar and then smashing a shot wide from a break. Norwich's chance to win it saw Steve Morison's power header brilliantly saved by Ali Al-Habsi. The point sees Wigan move three points from safety.
It was alleged that Yaya Toure and Mario Balotelli had a half-time bust-up in the tunnel but it didn't get brought onto the pitch as the pair continued as normal. The leader improved in the second half as they began to dominate possession. But Swansea fought back and a header from Luke Moore via a Routledge cross gave Swansea the win seven minutes from time. City tried to find an equaliser but Michel Vorm was equal to them until he came for a cross that he didn't catch. Luckily for him, Micah Richard's headed goal was disallowed by Sian Massey who correctly flagged for offside. Swansea held on to see Brendan Rodgers' side move up to eleventh on goal difference.
Meanwhile at Old Trafford, Manchester United hosted West Brom with United needing to recover from their disappointing European performance against Bilbao. West Brom started the game off better with Keith Andrews missing a great chance. But United soon found their stride and began to sting the hands of former Old Trafford keeper, Ben Foster. The opening goal of the game came ten minutes before half-time with Wayne Rooney converting a Javier Hernandez shot past Foster. West Brom thought they had a penalty when Peter Odemwingie fell under the challenge of Patrice Evra. But nothing was given and United went up the other with Hernandez hitting the post.
Danny Welbeck had a great opportunity to double their advantage but missed an open goal from a tight angle. West Brom's chances got slimmer when Jonas Olsson received a second yellow card for a foul on Hernandez. United were then awarded a penalty when Ashley Young was tugged down by Keith Andrews. Rooney stepped-up and converted to give United the win with 19-minutes remaining. This puts Manchester United top of the Premiership by a point.
The final game of the day came from Carrow Road where Norwich took on Wigan. The pair shared a point in a 1-1 draw on the first day of the season and that was reciprocated today. The deadlock was broken after just ten minutes when a quick throw bamboozled the Wigan defence. Wes Hoolahan scored on the opening day against Wigan and it was he who was on the of the throw today.
From there, Wigan were arguably the better side but their poor finishing showed why they currently sit at the bottom of the league. They had plenty of chances but couldn't convert any of them despite John Ruddy being stretched. Wigan's breakthrough finally came on 68-minutes when Victor Moses rounded Ruddy before rolling the ball into the net.
With the scores level, both teams nearly won the game. Mohamed Diame missed two guilt-edged opportunities; blazing a shot from a pull-back over the bar and then smashing a shot wide from a break. Norwich's chance to win it saw Steve Morison's power header brilliantly saved by Ali Al-Habsi. The point sees Wigan move three points from safety.
Saturday 10 March 2012
PL Round-Up: 10/3/12
Bolton 2-1 QPR: The first of two six-pointers took place at the Reebok, with plenty of controversy. Clint Hill though he taken the lead after 20-minutes when his header looked to have crossed the line despite Adam Bogdan's attempt to save it. But the linesman, Bob Pollock, ruled that the ball hadn't crossed the line and the goal was wrongly disallowed. To make it worse, Darren Pratley headed Bolton into the lead 17-minutes later to infuriate QPR even more. They say all decisions even themselves out and it turned out to be the case when Djibril Cisse equalised three minuted into the second half, but he was clearly offside when the ball was played. The winner came four minutes from time when Ryo Miaichi played substitute Ivan Klasnic through on goal, the Croatian slotted it into the corner to give Bolton the crucial three points. Bolton are now a point ahead of the relegation zone with QPR taking their place.
Wolves 0-2 Blackburn: These two met on the last day of the season in a relegation battle and it was another six-pointer today. The opening goal of the game two minutes before half-time when Junior Hoilett smashed home a poor defended throw from Morten Gamst Pedersen. Junior Hoilett ensured Blackburn of all three points with a 25-yard shot into the bottom corner. The result sees Blackburn three points clear of the relegation zone with Wolves a point from safety in 19th. It's the first clean sheet for Blackburn in over 30-games.
Everton 1-0 Tottenham: With David Moyes celebrating his tenth year in charge in four days time, it was fitting that he should succumb Harry Redknapp to his third league defeat in a row for the first time at Tottenham. Nikica Jelavic made his full debut and marked it with a great goal that came off the post on 22-minutes. The result sees Everton move up to ninth with Tottenham remaining four points ahead of Arsenal.
Chelsea 1-0 Stoke: Roberto Di Matteo makes it two wins from two on his first league game in charge. Ricardo Fuller made Stoke's chances a lot slimmer when he stamped on Branislav Ivanovic after 25-minutes, leaving the Potters to defend with ten men for the remainder of the game. Didier Drogba scored his 100th Premiership goal after rounding Asmir Begovic to give Chelsea the win after 68-minutes.
Sunderland 1-0 Liverpool: Sunderland move to within two points of Liverpool after this victory. Nicklas Bendtner decided the game when Frazier Campbell's shot came back off the post before being turned in by the Dane 11-minutes into the second half.
Aston Villa 1-0 Fulham: Villa finally end their terrible home form with their first win in four months against a Fulham side that looked to be the form team in recent games. It was a nip and tuck game throughout with the winner coming in second half injury time. Substitute Andreas Weimann crawled in a parried Gary Gardner shot for his first ever Premiership goal. Villa now move 11-points clear of the relegation zone and should really be safe.
Wolves 0-2 Blackburn: These two met on the last day of the season in a relegation battle and it was another six-pointer today. The opening goal of the game two minutes before half-time when Junior Hoilett smashed home a poor defended throw from Morten Gamst Pedersen. Junior Hoilett ensured Blackburn of all three points with a 25-yard shot into the bottom corner. The result sees Blackburn three points clear of the relegation zone with Wolves a point from safety in 19th. It's the first clean sheet for Blackburn in over 30-games.
Everton 1-0 Tottenham: With David Moyes celebrating his tenth year in charge in four days time, it was fitting that he should succumb Harry Redknapp to his third league defeat in a row for the first time at Tottenham. Nikica Jelavic made his full debut and marked it with a great goal that came off the post on 22-minutes. The result sees Everton move up to ninth with Tottenham remaining four points ahead of Arsenal.
Chelsea 1-0 Stoke: Roberto Di Matteo makes it two wins from two on his first league game in charge. Ricardo Fuller made Stoke's chances a lot slimmer when he stamped on Branislav Ivanovic after 25-minutes, leaving the Potters to defend with ten men for the remainder of the game. Didier Drogba scored his 100th Premiership goal after rounding Asmir Begovic to give Chelsea the win after 68-minutes.
Sunderland 1-0 Liverpool: Sunderland move to within two points of Liverpool after this victory. Nicklas Bendtner decided the game when Frazier Campbell's shot came back off the post before being turned in by the Dane 11-minutes into the second half.
Aston Villa 1-0 Fulham: Villa finally end their terrible home form with their first win in four months against a Fulham side that looked to be the form team in recent games. It was a nip and tuck game throughout with the winner coming in second half injury time. Substitute Andreas Weimann crawled in a parried Gary Gardner shot for his first ever Premiership goal. Villa now move 11-points clear of the relegation zone and should really be safe.
Thursday 8 March 2012
2012 Premier League Darts Week five
The darts moved to the seaside this week as Brighton hosted this week's Premier League Darts. The two débutantes faced each other in the opening game of the night. Hamilton broke the throw on the first leg and the players then missed five darts at the double before Painter instantly broke back. The third leg also went against throw but The Hammer finally held throw to take a 3-1 lead which then turned into 4-2 as the players headed off at the break. Painter came back on stage and broke the throw once again and was then able to level the score. Painter then hit a couple of ton-plus finishes to assert his authority and soon found himself 7-4 ahead with Hamilton missing countless doubles. Painter then took the game 8-5 to take his points tally to six.
It was first against second next as Phil Taylor faced Gary Anderson. The first three legs went with throw before Taylor secured the first break of throw to lead 3-1. Anderson then squandered his throw again to trail 5-1 at the break. Anderson missed the darts to pull a leg back and Taylor punished the Scot by taking out 107 to lead 7-1. The Power then held his throw to win the game and extend his lead at the top.
James Wade and Raymond Van Barneveld both won their first games of the campaign last week and faced of in the third game of the night. Just like the previous game, the first three legs went with throw until Wade broke to lead 3-1. The Machine then hit 110 to extend his lead further and bettered that with a 154-checkout to lead 5-1 at the break. Barney began to fight back but Wade cut the momentum by guaranteeing himself at least a point at 7-4. The Dutchman again attempted to come back and forced the game into a final leg, but Wade took it to win the match 8-6.
The final match of the night saw Simon Whitlock take on Adrian Lewis. Lewis started the match with a 180 but Whitlock won the leg with a 118-checkout. The first break of throw came in sixth leg when Whitlock managed to take a 4-2 lead. The Australian then missed five darts at the double to give Lewis a leg back and a break of throw. But Lewis failed to hold onto his throw and the two leg advantage was restored. Whitlock then broke the Lewis throw to ensure himself a point and leave the World Champion still without a win this campaign. Jackpot was able to pull a leg back before Whitlock completed the job with an 8-4 victory.
It was first against second next as Phil Taylor faced Gary Anderson. The first three legs went with throw before Taylor secured the first break of throw to lead 3-1. Anderson then squandered his throw again to trail 5-1 at the break. Anderson missed the darts to pull a leg back and Taylor punished the Scot by taking out 107 to lead 7-1. The Power then held his throw to win the game and extend his lead at the top.
James Wade and Raymond Van Barneveld both won their first games of the campaign last week and faced of in the third game of the night. Just like the previous game, the first three legs went with throw until Wade broke to lead 3-1. The Machine then hit 110 to extend his lead further and bettered that with a 154-checkout to lead 5-1 at the break. Barney began to fight back but Wade cut the momentum by guaranteeing himself at least a point at 7-4. The Dutchman again attempted to come back and forced the game into a final leg, but Wade took it to win the match 8-6.
The final match of the night saw Simon Whitlock take on Adrian Lewis. Lewis started the match with a 180 but Whitlock won the leg with a 118-checkout. The first break of throw came in sixth leg when Whitlock managed to take a 4-2 lead. The Australian then missed five darts at the double to give Lewis a leg back and a break of throw. But Lewis failed to hold onto his throw and the two leg advantage was restored. Whitlock then broke the Lewis throw to ensure himself a point and leave the World Champion still without a win this campaign. Jackpot was able to pull a leg back before Whitlock completed the job with an 8-4 victory.
Wednesday 7 March 2012
Chelsea and Tottenham Squeeze Through
Chelsea and Tottenham have both managed to make it to quarter finals of the FA Cup by overcoming tough replays. Chelsea travelled to St. Andrews to face Birmingham City in Roberto Di Matteo's first game in charge. Birmingham had arguably the better chances in the first half but it was Juan Mata who added to his third and fourth round goals with the opener nine minutes into the second half. Raul Meireles then added a second four minutes later to almost secure their passage. Mata had a brilliant opportunity to put the tie beyond all doubt but, just like at Stamford Bridge, he had a penalty saved by Colin Doyle. Birmingham again couldn't convert any chances, despite creating many, and Chelsea will now face Leicester at home in the next round.
Spurs hosted Stevenage after playing out a 0-0 draw in the initial tie. The shock was on the cards when Joel Byrom converted a penalty after just three minutes, Tottenham's first concession this tournament. Stevenage became the only team not to concede a goal so far in the FA Cup this season, but only lasted until the 26th minute when Jermain Defoe chested a long ball down before lashing his shot home. Tottenham were then awarded a penalty of their own ten minutes into the second half which Emmanuel Adebayor converted to give the hosts the lead. Gareth Bale hit the crossbar before Mark Roberts did the same for Stevenage at the other end. The game was then wrapped up when Defoe netted for a second time to set up a tie against Bolton in the next round.
Spurs hosted Stevenage after playing out a 0-0 draw in the initial tie. The shock was on the cards when Joel Byrom converted a penalty after just three minutes, Tottenham's first concession this tournament. Stevenage became the only team not to concede a goal so far in the FA Cup this season, but only lasted until the 26th minute when Jermain Defoe chested a long ball down before lashing his shot home. Tottenham were then awarded a penalty of their own ten minutes into the second half which Emmanuel Adebayor converted to give the hosts the lead. Gareth Bale hit the crossbar before Mark Roberts did the same for Stevenage at the other end. The game was then wrapped up when Defoe netted for a second time to set up a tie against Bolton in the next round.
2011/2012 CL: 2nd Round 2nd Leg pt.1
If Arsenal were to be in the draw for the Champions League quarter finals, they would have pulled off one of the most dramatic comebacks in sporting history. AC Milan were so confident of their progression, Massimiliano Allegri named two goalkeepers on the bench. But Milan's confidence may have been misplaced as Laurent Koscielny headed the opener from a corner after just seven minutes. Milan's performance was extremely underwhelming and Arsenal created a whole host of chances. Tomas Rosicky has been in great form as of late and made it 2-0 with a beautifully placed shot on 26-minutes. Milan may have began having flashbacks to that infamous Liverpool comeback when Djamel Mesbah brought Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain down in the box. Robin Van Persie stepped up and made it 3-0 with two minutes of the first half left. Unfortunately for Arsenal, they couldn't find that elusive goal in the second half as Milan stumble into the quarter finals.
Zenit travelled to Portugal to protect a 3-2 advantage over Benfica. The Russians' resistance only lasted 45-minutes however as Maxi Pereira broke the deadlock. As it stood, Benfica would go through on away goals but they weren't content with that. Substitute Nelson Oliveira netted a second in second half injury to ensure the Portuguese giants their passage into the last eight.
Lionel Messi once again made history as Barcelona destroyed Bayer Leverkusen. The Spaniards had a 3-1 lead to protect at Camp Nou, but they weren't going to sit back and defend. Messi opened the scoring after 24-minutes with an audacious chip over Bernd Leno. The Ballon D'Or winner then made it 2-0 with a curling left footed strike three minutes before half-time. The little Argentine was in again just four minutes after the restart and, with another little chip, he bagged his eighth hat-trick of the season. Barcelona then brought on their latest youth product, Cristian Tello, within a minute of coming on he found himself on the score-sheet to make it 4-0. Shocking defending allowed Messi to get between two defenders and score his fourth on 58-minutes via an acute angle. Tello hit a second just four minutes later to make it six although Leno will be extremely disappointed that he didn't save it. History was then made five minutes from time when Messi became the first player to score five in a Champions League match with another left footed curler from outside the box. Leverkusen did score an injury time consolation with substitute Karim Bellarabi scoring a Barcelona-esque goal but it only made the aggregate score 10-2.
History was also made in Cyprus as Apoel Nicosia became the first Cypriot team to make it into the quarter finals. Lyon held a 1-0 aggregate lead going into the second leg but that was wiped out after just nine minutes with Gustavo Manduca scoring the goal. The game then fell into extra time and Manduca received a second yellow card with five minutes remaining. But Lyon couldn't take advantage and the teams had to be decided by penalties. Lisandro Lopez hit the post with his penalty but it rebounded off Dionissis Chiotis and into the net. Alexandre Lacazette scored Lyon's goal in the first leg but failed to convert his spot kick to give Apoel a 4-3 advantage. Michel Bastos had his penalty saved to earn Apoel's spot in the quarter finals.
Zenit travelled to Portugal to protect a 3-2 advantage over Benfica. The Russians' resistance only lasted 45-minutes however as Maxi Pereira broke the deadlock. As it stood, Benfica would go through on away goals but they weren't content with that. Substitute Nelson Oliveira netted a second in second half injury to ensure the Portuguese giants their passage into the last eight.
Lionel Messi once again made history as Barcelona destroyed Bayer Leverkusen. The Spaniards had a 3-1 lead to protect at Camp Nou, but they weren't going to sit back and defend. Messi opened the scoring after 24-minutes with an audacious chip over Bernd Leno. The Ballon D'Or winner then made it 2-0 with a curling left footed strike three minutes before half-time. The little Argentine was in again just four minutes after the restart and, with another little chip, he bagged his eighth hat-trick of the season. Barcelona then brought on their latest youth product, Cristian Tello, within a minute of coming on he found himself on the score-sheet to make it 4-0. Shocking defending allowed Messi to get between two defenders and score his fourth on 58-minutes via an acute angle. Tello hit a second just four minutes later to make it six although Leno will be extremely disappointed that he didn't save it. History was then made five minutes from time when Messi became the first player to score five in a Champions League match with another left footed curler from outside the box. Leverkusen did score an injury time consolation with substitute Karim Bellarabi scoring a Barcelona-esque goal but it only made the aggregate score 10-2.
History was also made in Cyprus as Apoel Nicosia became the first Cypriot team to make it into the quarter finals. Lyon held a 1-0 aggregate lead going into the second leg but that was wiped out after just nine minutes with Gustavo Manduca scoring the goal. The game then fell into extra time and Manduca received a second yellow card with five minutes remaining. But Lyon couldn't take advantage and the teams had to be decided by penalties. Lisandro Lopez hit the post with his penalty but it rebounded off Dionissis Chiotis and into the net. Alexandre Lacazette scored Lyon's goal in the first leg but failed to convert his spot kick to give Apoel a 4-3 advantage. Michel Bastos had his penalty saved to earn Apoel's spot in the quarter finals.
Sunday 4 March 2012
A Derby Brawl, A Rout and A Lucky Escape
There was a triple bill today in the Premiership full of the usual thrills and spills. Nine yellow cards, two red cards, two penalties and a half-time bust-up was the story of the first game. It was the Tyne-Wear derby at St. James Park and it all kicked off after just 30-seconds when Lee Cattermole was booked for a challenge he may well have been sent off for. Mike Williamson became a Toon villain when he pulled on Michael Turner's shirt to concede a penalty. Nicklas Bendtner stepped-up and narrowly avoided Tim Krul's diving hand to give Sunderland the lead after 24-minutes. The closest Newcastle came to an equaliser in the first half was Demba Ba hitting the woodwork close to half-time.
After a half-time bust-up in the tunnel, the teams came out and continued their tempestuous battle. It threatened to boil over a few times and Stephane Sessegnon let his emotions get the better of him when he elbowed Cheick Tiote. He was shown a straight red card and Sunderland had over half an hour to keep the game in their hands. To their credit, Sunderland defended extremely well although Hatem Ben Arfa caused Kieron Richardson a plethora of problems. The had a great chance to equalise when substitute Frazier Campbell slid in on fellow substitute Shola Ameobi. Ba stepped-up but Simon Mignolet superbly saved it to deny Newcastle yet again. But the hosts would make the man advantage count with Ameobi snatching his seventh derby goal in injury time to earn the point. Even though the final whistle had gone, the game wasn't over; Cattermole had far too much to say and found himself sent off despite the game already being finished. Newcastle now move to within two points of Chelsea.
Fulham faced Wolves in game two and Pavel Pogrebnyak became the first Fulham player in 54-years to score in each of his first three games, but bettered that by scoring a perfect hat-trick. Wolves never really came out of the blocks and despite setting up defensively, didn't particularly defend very well at all. They managed to hold on until nine minutes before half-time when Pogrebnyak headed home from a corner. But Wolves failed to keep it at 1-0 at half-time as Pogrebnyak turned in a low cross with his right foot after poor defending allowed Fulham the chance to break.
It was 3-0 11-minutes into the second half when Clint Dempsey was able to round Wayne Hennessey and put the ball into the net. Steven Fletcher came on at the hour mark but it was already too late and a minute later Pogrebnyak used his left foot to tap in Fulham's fourth. The final goal of the game came seven minutes from time when a 22-pass move was fantastic finished off by Dempsey to make it 5-0. The result sees Fulham move into eighth whereas Wolves slip into the relegation zone on goal difference.
The final game of the day saw Tottenham host Manchester United. It would be one of those games where United didn't play well but somehow managed to get a result. Tottenham bossed the possession throughout the game and could have been 1-0 up but Emmanuel Adebayor's goal was ruled out for handball on the goal-line after initially blocking Aaron Lennon's shot accidentally. But United would take the lead just before half-time with Wayne Rooney heading home from a corner.
It was a lead they probably didn't deserve and remained on the back foot for most of the second half. But the visitors managed to break and a Nani cross was deflected into Ashley Young's path, the midfielder was able to stab the ball home from a tight angle to doubled United's advantage. With the big games resulting in quite unbelievable score-lines this season, United were still in a dangerous position despite being 2-0 up and still on the ropes. But Ashley Young found himself in space about 25-yards from goal and managed to hit a perfect shot into the top corner to make it 3-0 and arguably game over. Spurs were able to get a consolation when substitute Ryan Giggs played a poor ball which landed into the path of fellow substitute Jermaine Defoe. Defoe hit the shot early which completely caught David De Gea unaware and rippled the net to make it 3-1. A result that may flatter United based on their performance but a result that keeps them two points behind City. Tottenham nay have to begin looking over their shoulders as they are only four points behind Arsenal in third.
After a half-time bust-up in the tunnel, the teams came out and continued their tempestuous battle. It threatened to boil over a few times and Stephane Sessegnon let his emotions get the better of him when he elbowed Cheick Tiote. He was shown a straight red card and Sunderland had over half an hour to keep the game in their hands. To their credit, Sunderland defended extremely well although Hatem Ben Arfa caused Kieron Richardson a plethora of problems. The had a great chance to equalise when substitute Frazier Campbell slid in on fellow substitute Shola Ameobi. Ba stepped-up but Simon Mignolet superbly saved it to deny Newcastle yet again. But the hosts would make the man advantage count with Ameobi snatching his seventh derby goal in injury time to earn the point. Even though the final whistle had gone, the game wasn't over; Cattermole had far too much to say and found himself sent off despite the game already being finished. Newcastle now move to within two points of Chelsea.
Fulham faced Wolves in game two and Pavel Pogrebnyak became the first Fulham player in 54-years to score in each of his first three games, but bettered that by scoring a perfect hat-trick. Wolves never really came out of the blocks and despite setting up defensively, didn't particularly defend very well at all. They managed to hold on until nine minutes before half-time when Pogrebnyak headed home from a corner. But Wolves failed to keep it at 1-0 at half-time as Pogrebnyak turned in a low cross with his right foot after poor defending allowed Fulham the chance to break.
It was 3-0 11-minutes into the second half when Clint Dempsey was able to round Wayne Hennessey and put the ball into the net. Steven Fletcher came on at the hour mark but it was already too late and a minute later Pogrebnyak used his left foot to tap in Fulham's fourth. The final goal of the game came seven minutes from time when a 22-pass move was fantastic finished off by Dempsey to make it 5-0. The result sees Fulham move into eighth whereas Wolves slip into the relegation zone on goal difference.
The final game of the day saw Tottenham host Manchester United. It would be one of those games where United didn't play well but somehow managed to get a result. Tottenham bossed the possession throughout the game and could have been 1-0 up but Emmanuel Adebayor's goal was ruled out for handball on the goal-line after initially blocking Aaron Lennon's shot accidentally. But United would take the lead just before half-time with Wayne Rooney heading home from a corner.
It was a lead they probably didn't deserve and remained on the back foot for most of the second half. But the visitors managed to break and a Nani cross was deflected into Ashley Young's path, the midfielder was able to stab the ball home from a tight angle to doubled United's advantage. With the big games resulting in quite unbelievable score-lines this season, United were still in a dangerous position despite being 2-0 up and still on the ropes. But Ashley Young found himself in space about 25-yards from goal and managed to hit a perfect shot into the top corner to make it 3-0 and arguably game over. Spurs were able to get a consolation when substitute Ryan Giggs played a poor ball which landed into the path of fellow substitute Jermaine Defoe. Defoe hit the shot early which completely caught David De Gea unaware and rippled the net to make it 3-1. A result that may flatter United based on their performance but a result that keeps them two points behind City. Tottenham nay have to begin looking over their shoulders as they are only four points behind Arsenal in third.
Saturday 3 March 2012
PL Round-Up: 3/3/12
Liverpool 1-2 Arsenal: Another big match, another dramatic game. After an initial Theo Walcott shot, Liverpool had much the better first half. The drama began in the 17th minute when Luis Suarez theatrically went over from a Wojiech Szczesny challenge. After a little thinking, referee Mark Halsey pointed to the spot, although it could be seen as harsh. Dirk Kuyt stepped up and Szczesny saved it before expertly saving Kuyt's rebound from the other side of the goal. Liverpool then took the lead on 23-minutes when Laurent Koscielny sliced a clearance into his own net from a Jordan Henderson cross. Suarez then hit the post before Arsenal found an equaliser from out of the blue; Bacary Sagna finding a cross straight onto Robin Van Persie who headed his 30th goal of the season just after the half hour mark. Liverpool showed why they've hit the wood work the most this season as Kuyt hit the post in first half injury time. Liverpool again arguably had the better chances in the second half but the winning goal came in second half injury time, of which there was eight minutes due to Mikel Arteta suffering concussion. Alex Song launched a ball into the path of that Dutchman and Van Persie volleyed it home to move three points clear in fourth place.
West Brom 1-0 Chelsea: Andre Villas-Boas' position seems to be getting worse and worse each week. The latest result sees Chelsea fall three points behind Arsenal in the race for fourth. Before today, Chelsea hadn't dropped a single point against West Brom in the Premiership and they had chances to keep that record up. But their strikers seemed to all be missing in action and the hosts came back into the game in the second half. The only goal of the game came eight minutes from time when Gareth McAuley stabbed home a Chris Brunt shot, his second goal in an Albion shirt.
Manchester City 2-0 Bolton: Manchester City move five points clear again as they also maintain their 100% home record. The leaders bossed most of the game and the opening came when Gael Clichy's shot came off Gretar Steinsson on 23-minutes, the goal went down as an own goal as it completely wrong-footed Adam Bogdan. Who else, Mario Balotelli, secured the three points by tapping the ball home when Adam Johnson's back heel trickled into his path. Bolton remain 19th but only on goal difference.
Wigan 0-2 Swansea: Wigan remain at the bottom of the pile on goal difference thanks to Roberto Martinez's former club. Gylfi Sigurdsson is quickly proving to be quite the signing with a screamer to end the first half. Sigurdsson did it again just nine minutes after the restart with a superb free-kick that out-foxed Ali Al-Habsi. There wouldn't be a relegation battle without controversy and Nathan Dyer would be shown a red card for a high, studs showing challenge just after the hour mark. But Wigan couldn't make the man advantage count as Swansea move to 14th.
Blackburn 1-1 Aston Villa: Without Darren Bent, it's becoming slightly difficult to find where Villa's goal will come from. But Blackburn have failed to keep a clean sheet this season so it wasn't too much of a surprise to see Charles N'Zogbia smash in his second Villa goal after 24-minutes. With Alex McLeish at the helm, maybe it also wasn't too much of a surprise to see a former Blue rescue a point for Blackburn and haunt Villa. Substitute David Dunn headed home a Bradley Orr cross five minutes from time to see them remain in the relegation zone on goal difference. Villa remain eight points clear but are only three points behind tenth.
QPR 1-1 Everton: QPR remain above the relegation on goal difference after securing a point against Everton. An Adel Taarabt mistake allowed Everton in and Royston Drenthe made him pay just after the half hour mark. But Everton's lead only lasted five minutes as a free-kick was touched home by Bobby Zamora . Everton remain tenth but have a certain Merseyside derby in hand.
Stoke 1-0 Norwich: Stoke are the fourth member of the 33-point club, sitting twelfth but only on goal difference from Sunderland in ninth. Norwich sit a further two points ahead in eighth but four points behind Liverpool who have that game in hand. The only goal of the game came after 72-minutes with Matthew Etherington scoring a fabulous goal from a tight angle.
West Brom 1-0 Chelsea: Andre Villas-Boas' position seems to be getting worse and worse each week. The latest result sees Chelsea fall three points behind Arsenal in the race for fourth. Before today, Chelsea hadn't dropped a single point against West Brom in the Premiership and they had chances to keep that record up. But their strikers seemed to all be missing in action and the hosts came back into the game in the second half. The only goal of the game came eight minutes from time when Gareth McAuley stabbed home a Chris Brunt shot, his second goal in an Albion shirt.
Manchester City 2-0 Bolton: Manchester City move five points clear again as they also maintain their 100% home record. The leaders bossed most of the game and the opening came when Gael Clichy's shot came off Gretar Steinsson on 23-minutes, the goal went down as an own goal as it completely wrong-footed Adam Bogdan. Who else, Mario Balotelli, secured the three points by tapping the ball home when Adam Johnson's back heel trickled into his path. Bolton remain 19th but only on goal difference.
Wigan 0-2 Swansea: Wigan remain at the bottom of the pile on goal difference thanks to Roberto Martinez's former club. Gylfi Sigurdsson is quickly proving to be quite the signing with a screamer to end the first half. Sigurdsson did it again just nine minutes after the restart with a superb free-kick that out-foxed Ali Al-Habsi. There wouldn't be a relegation battle without controversy and Nathan Dyer would be shown a red card for a high, studs showing challenge just after the hour mark. But Wigan couldn't make the man advantage count as Swansea move to 14th.
Blackburn 1-1 Aston Villa: Without Darren Bent, it's becoming slightly difficult to find where Villa's goal will come from. But Blackburn have failed to keep a clean sheet this season so it wasn't too much of a surprise to see Charles N'Zogbia smash in his second Villa goal after 24-minutes. With Alex McLeish at the helm, maybe it also wasn't too much of a surprise to see a former Blue rescue a point for Blackburn and haunt Villa. Substitute David Dunn headed home a Bradley Orr cross five minutes from time to see them remain in the relegation zone on goal difference. Villa remain eight points clear but are only three points behind tenth.
QPR 1-1 Everton: QPR remain above the relegation on goal difference after securing a point against Everton. An Adel Taarabt mistake allowed Everton in and Royston Drenthe made him pay just after the half hour mark. But Everton's lead only lasted five minutes as a free-kick was touched home by Bobby Zamora . Everton remain tenth but have a certain Merseyside derby in hand.
Stoke 1-0 Norwich: Stoke are the fourth member of the 33-point club, sitting twelfth but only on goal difference from Sunderland in ninth. Norwich sit a further two points ahead in eighth but four points behind Liverpool who have that game in hand. The only goal of the game came after 72-minutes with Matthew Etherington scoring a fabulous goal from a tight angle.
Thursday 1 March 2012
2012 Premier League Darts: Week Four
Exeter hosted the fourth week of breathtaking darts as the world's best eight players took to the oche once again, with two previous World Championship finals taking place. Up first was pointless James Wade against Kevin Painter who has won two out of his three first Premier League matches. Wade outscored Painter in the opening three legs but it took until the third leg for The Machine to hit a 118 check-out to lead 2-1. Painter kept himself in touch will an 81-checkout on the bull to make it 3-2 in Wade's favour, but Wade hit a 117 check-out to make it 4-2 at the break. The Artist was given a great chance to level the match but neither player could take out 60, but Painter followed that up with a 118-checkout of his own to make it 5-4. But Wade wasn't to be outdone and he secured his second 117-checkout to maintain his two leg lead. Wade was able to assure himself of his first point in the league before Painter forced a deciding leg. Wade was able to hold his throw to ensure he earned his first win of the tournament.
The second match of the evening saw Raymond Van Barneveld take on Andy Hamilton. The Dutchman hasn't won a game so far this tournament but would perhaps take some solace from the fact he has beat Hamilton in the 14 previous occasions these to have met. However it was The Hammer who secured the first break of throw in the third leg. Hamilton made sure he took a 4-2 lead going into the break with the pair having a 100% record on the doubles. That break of throw was looking like it would be enough until Barney levelled at 6-6 despite missing the game's first two darts at the double. Barneveld then took the lead for the first time since the opening to guarantee himself a point. Hamilton then lost his nerve and missed four darts at the double to allow the Dutchman his first win on the tournament.
The penultimate match was a rematch of the 2010 World Final between Phil Taylor and Simon Whitlock. The 2010 World Champion kicked the night off with a break of throw. Whitlock managed to hold throw on the second time of asking to make it 2-1 in Taylor's favour. The pair continued to hold throw with Taylor taking a 4-2 lead going into the break. Whitlock kept in touch until he missed double-16 after hitting two bulls for a 132 check-out, Taylor stepped up to take a 7-4 lead and The Power subsequently ended the match with setting a new three dart average of 117.35 on his way to the 8-4 scoreline.
This was followed by the 2011 World Final as Adrian Lewis faced Gary Anderson. It was also the reigning World Champion against the reigning Premier League Champion and it was the Scot who secured the first break of throw to lead 2-0. This soon transpired into a 5-0 lead after Lewis missed five darts at the double to put a leg on the score. The World Champion finally pulled a leg back as the players headed into the break at 5-1. Lewis missed a further four darts at the double in the eighth leg as Anderson again cashed in to make it 7-1 and the Scot was assured of a point. He then held his throw to make it 8-1 and three wins in a row, just has the easy task of facing Phil Taylor next week. Lewis is still awaiting his first win of the league and faces Whitlock next week.
The second match of the evening saw Raymond Van Barneveld take on Andy Hamilton. The Dutchman hasn't won a game so far this tournament but would perhaps take some solace from the fact he has beat Hamilton in the 14 previous occasions these to have met. However it was The Hammer who secured the first break of throw in the third leg. Hamilton made sure he took a 4-2 lead going into the break with the pair having a 100% record on the doubles. That break of throw was looking like it would be enough until Barney levelled at 6-6 despite missing the game's first two darts at the double. Barneveld then took the lead for the first time since the opening to guarantee himself a point. Hamilton then lost his nerve and missed four darts at the double to allow the Dutchman his first win on the tournament.
The penultimate match was a rematch of the 2010 World Final between Phil Taylor and Simon Whitlock. The 2010 World Champion kicked the night off with a break of throw. Whitlock managed to hold throw on the second time of asking to make it 2-1 in Taylor's favour. The pair continued to hold throw with Taylor taking a 4-2 lead going into the break. Whitlock kept in touch until he missed double-16 after hitting two bulls for a 132 check-out, Taylor stepped up to take a 7-4 lead and The Power subsequently ended the match with setting a new three dart average of 117.35 on his way to the 8-4 scoreline.
This was followed by the 2011 World Final as Adrian Lewis faced Gary Anderson. It was also the reigning World Champion against the reigning Premier League Champion and it was the Scot who secured the first break of throw to lead 2-0. This soon transpired into a 5-0 lead after Lewis missed five darts at the double to put a leg on the score. The World Champion finally pulled a leg back as the players headed into the break at 5-1. Lewis missed a further four darts at the double in the eighth leg as Anderson again cashed in to make it 7-1 and the Scot was assured of a point. He then held his throw to make it 8-1 and three wins in a row, just has the easy task of facing Phil Taylor next week. Lewis is still awaiting his first win of the league and faces Whitlock next week.
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