Barcelona and Shakhtar Donetsk were joined by two more teams into the Champions League quarter finals yesterday and there was also Premiership action at Goodison Park. Tottenham returned to White Hart Lane last night with a 1-0 aggregate lead over AC Milan. After viewing Arsenal's departure from the night before, Harry Redknapp vowed to attack Milan and put the tie to bed. That wasn't quite the case although they did shoot more than Arsenal did (although that wasn't particularly hard). But, in truth, AC Milan looked the more dangerous and came very close in the first half but Robinho's deflected, scuffed shot was blocked off the line by Gallas. Despite Milan's countless attacks, Tottenham held on and managed to grind out a goalless draw to see that they progress into the quarter finals.
In Germany, Shalke hosted Valencia with the first leg finishing 1-1 in the Mestalla. Valencia equalled the away goal by breaking the deadlock with Ricardo Costa scoring after seventeen minutes, making it 2-1 on aggregate. Jefferson Farfan equalised on both accounts five minutes from half-time to produce the only scoreline that would bring extra time. But extra time wasn't going to be needed as Shalke took the lead seven minutes after the restart through Mario Gavranovic. Shalke guaranteed their quarter final slot in injury time with Farfan scoring his second of the night.
Back in the Premiership, Everton entertained Birmingham in the latest rescheduled match. Birmingham took the lead after seventeen minutes with Jean Beausejour heading the ball home. But Everton earned themselves a point and equalised ten minutes before half-time with Johnny Heitinga getting the goal. The draw sees Birmingham move out of the relegation zone by goal difference but still have a game in hand over the rest of their rivals, although it is against Chelsea. Everton move up to ninth, providing the meat in a Tyne-Wear sandwich, a point ahead of Newcastle but a point behind Sunderland.
Thursday, 10 March 2011
Wednesday, 9 March 2011
Three For Chelsea, Three For Barca and Three For Shakhtar
Monday Night Football returned this week with the action coming from Bloomfield Road where Blackpool entertained Chelsea. Chelsea were fresh from their big mid-week win over Manchester United and with the leaders slipping up to Liverpool, they were looking to close in further at the top. They got off to the best start with captain Terry heading from a corner after twenty minutes. Chelsea had to wait to seal the game with Lampard making 2-0 from the spot after 62 minutes, he then made it three just four minutes later. Blackpool did get a consolation via Puncheon four minutes from the end but it did little to dampen Chelsea's rejuvenation.
Tuesday saw the first couple of Champions League second round second legs. Arsenal nursed a 2-1 lead into the Nou Camp but Messi broke the deadlock just before half-time to make it 2-2 on aggregate with Barcelona going through via away goals. But Arsenal equalised eight minutes into the second half when a Nasri corner was headed by Busquets into his own net to make it 3-2 on aggregate. Barcelona nearly scored straight away but brave goalkeeping by substitute Almunia on Villa kept it at 1-1. News got worse for Arsenal though, Van Persie was flagged offside three minutes later and carried on to take a shot shortly after. The referee harshly judged it to be kicking the ball away and brandished a second yellow card to Van Persie to reduce Arsenal to ten men. They paid the price when Xavi made it 2-1 (3-3 on aggregate) after 69 minutes which would have forced extra time. But the tie was won in the allotted time when Koscielny lost his head and brought down Pedro in the box just two minutes later, Messi stepped up and converted the penalty to send Barcelona through, 4-3 on aggregate.
The other Champions League tie saw Shakhtar Donetsk protect a 3-2 lead at home to Roma. Shakhtar opened the scoring with Tomas Hubschman after eighteen minutes to extend their advantage to 4-2. Roma's chances of a comeback got even slimmer when Mexes received a second yellow four minutes before half-time. Shakhtar took full advantage with Willian making it 2-0 after 58 minutes and Eduardo finished the tie off three minutes from time. Shakhtar won 3-0 on the night and 6-2 on aggregate to progress into the quarter finals for the first time in their history.
Tuesday saw the first couple of Champions League second round second legs. Arsenal nursed a 2-1 lead into the Nou Camp but Messi broke the deadlock just before half-time to make it 2-2 on aggregate with Barcelona going through via away goals. But Arsenal equalised eight minutes into the second half when a Nasri corner was headed by Busquets into his own net to make it 3-2 on aggregate. Barcelona nearly scored straight away but brave goalkeeping by substitute Almunia on Villa kept it at 1-1. News got worse for Arsenal though, Van Persie was flagged offside three minutes later and carried on to take a shot shortly after. The referee harshly judged it to be kicking the ball away and brandished a second yellow card to Van Persie to reduce Arsenal to ten men. They paid the price when Xavi made it 2-1 (3-3 on aggregate) after 69 minutes which would have forced extra time. But the tie was won in the allotted time when Koscielny lost his head and brought down Pedro in the box just two minutes later, Messi stepped up and converted the penalty to send Barcelona through, 4-3 on aggregate.
The other Champions League tie saw Shakhtar Donetsk protect a 3-2 lead at home to Roma. Shakhtar opened the scoring with Tomas Hubschman after eighteen minutes to extend their advantage to 4-2. Roma's chances of a comeback got even slimmer when Mexes received a second yellow four minutes before half-time. Shakhtar took full advantage with Willian making it 2-0 after 58 minutes and Eduardo finished the tie off three minutes from time. Shakhtar won 3-0 on the night and 6-2 on aggregate to progress into the quarter finals for the first time in their history.
Sunday, 6 March 2011
Liverpool High As A Kuyt As Molineux Sees Six
Super Sunday lived up its name today with both games serving up a treat as Dalglish and Ferguson went head to head and Tottenham travelled to Wolves.
The half one kick-off saw the rivalry that is Liverpool and Manchester United, it was dubbed earlier as England's Old Firm and is even more so now that Dalglish is back in charge. Andy Carroll was poised to make his debut from the bench with Suarez picked to play up front with Kuyt. United brought Brown in for the suspended Vidic and Rafael replaced O'Shea at right back. Liverpool started the brighter and troubled United's defence early on. United steadily grew into it and made their first warning with Berbatov hitting the post following his hat-trick against Liverpool at Old Trafford earlier in the season. A touch of brilliance occurred eleven minutes from half-time when Luis Suarez took advantage of United's poor defence by dancing through five of them, he then fizzed the ball along the goal-line and Kuyt was on hand to tap it in. It got worse for United just five minutes later with another defensive calamity; a Liverpool cross looked to have been wasted when it was going straight to Nani. But the Portuguese winger somehow managed to head the ball back towards his own goal where a delighted Kuyt could head home from four yards. Nani was unable to make amends because just before half-time Jamie Carragher went in two-footed on him, Carragher was lucky to escape with a caution and Nani was stretchered off. That ignited the tie and just a minute later Rafael committed the same sort of tackle and was also lucky to escape with a yellow card.
Javier Hernandez was brought on in place of Nani just before half-time but the three pronged attack failed to deliver any meaningful chances. There were a couple of touches from set pieces that caused Meireles to clear off the line but it was looking much like it wasn't going to be United's day. Liverpool rounded the match off 65 minutes into it when Van Der Sar spilled a stinging Gerrard free-kick, Kuyt was there to graciously accept another tap in from all of three yards for his hat-trick. United managed to get a consolation in the depths of injury time with Hernandez heading home from a corner.
The four o'clock kick-off followed with the same amount of drama as Tottenham travelled to Wolves. The games was dedicated to the memory of Dean Richards who sadly passed away last weekend at an early adult age. It was Wolves who broke the deadlock after twenty minutes when Kevin Doyle headed past Gomes who was standing in no man's land. But Spurs equalised ten minutes later when Defoe curled one past Hennessey for his first goal in the league this season. Just like buses, Defoe found a second five minutes later with another curler into the top corner from the edge of the box. But Wolves were awarded a penalty five minutes from half-time when Hutton hauled down Doyle, Hutton was lucky to escape a red when it looked to be a goalscoring opportunity but referee Mark Halsey brandished only a yellow. Doyle stepped up and converted the penalty to equalise. Tottenham regained the lead just three minutes into the second half with Pavlyuchenko providing another great strike past Hennessey. But Wolves deserved at least a point and squandered many chances. Wolves also had a goal disallowed for a foul on Gomes but it looked very tedious as goalkeepers seem untouchable these days. Wolves did, however, find their deserved equaliser with Steven Fletcher heading into the bottom corner to make it 3-3 at full time.
The half one kick-off saw the rivalry that is Liverpool and Manchester United, it was dubbed earlier as England's Old Firm and is even more so now that Dalglish is back in charge. Andy Carroll was poised to make his debut from the bench with Suarez picked to play up front with Kuyt. United brought Brown in for the suspended Vidic and Rafael replaced O'Shea at right back. Liverpool started the brighter and troubled United's defence early on. United steadily grew into it and made their first warning with Berbatov hitting the post following his hat-trick against Liverpool at Old Trafford earlier in the season. A touch of brilliance occurred eleven minutes from half-time when Luis Suarez took advantage of United's poor defence by dancing through five of them, he then fizzed the ball along the goal-line and Kuyt was on hand to tap it in. It got worse for United just five minutes later with another defensive calamity; a Liverpool cross looked to have been wasted when it was going straight to Nani. But the Portuguese winger somehow managed to head the ball back towards his own goal where a delighted Kuyt could head home from four yards. Nani was unable to make amends because just before half-time Jamie Carragher went in two-footed on him, Carragher was lucky to escape with a caution and Nani was stretchered off. That ignited the tie and just a minute later Rafael committed the same sort of tackle and was also lucky to escape with a yellow card.
Javier Hernandez was brought on in place of Nani just before half-time but the three pronged attack failed to deliver any meaningful chances. There were a couple of touches from set pieces that caused Meireles to clear off the line but it was looking much like it wasn't going to be United's day. Liverpool rounded the match off 65 minutes into it when Van Der Sar spilled a stinging Gerrard free-kick, Kuyt was there to graciously accept another tap in from all of three yards for his hat-trick. United managed to get a consolation in the depths of injury time with Hernandez heading home from a corner.
The four o'clock kick-off followed with the same amount of drama as Tottenham travelled to Wolves. The games was dedicated to the memory of Dean Richards who sadly passed away last weekend at an early adult age. It was Wolves who broke the deadlock after twenty minutes when Kevin Doyle headed past Gomes who was standing in no man's land. But Spurs equalised ten minutes later when Defoe curled one past Hennessey for his first goal in the league this season. Just like buses, Defoe found a second five minutes later with another curler into the top corner from the edge of the box. But Wolves were awarded a penalty five minutes from half-time when Hutton hauled down Doyle, Hutton was lucky to escape a red when it looked to be a goalscoring opportunity but referee Mark Halsey brandished only a yellow. Doyle stepped up and converted the penalty to equalise. Tottenham regained the lead just three minutes into the second half with Pavlyuchenko providing another great strike past Hennessey. But Wolves deserved at least a point and squandered many chances. Wolves also had a goal disallowed for a foul on Gomes but it looked very tedious as goalkeepers seem untouchable these days. Wolves did, however, find their deserved equaliser with Steven Fletcher heading into the bottom corner to make it 3-3 at full time.
Barclay's Premiership Action 5/3/11
Yesterday saw seven Barclay's Premiership games with a lunch-time and tea-time kick-off. Manchester Untied don't play until later on today, meaning that Arsenal and Manchester City could apply the pressure.
The lunch-time kick-off a Midlands derby between Carling Cup champions Birmingham and West Brom. Birmingham had to make changes following their Wembley triumph but were still looking rather lethargic. The first half was goalless but West Brom broke the deadlock just two minutes after the restart when a poor clearance from Foster was intercepted in mid-field, this lead to substitute Odemwingie finding the ball through to Mulumbu and the striker put it away. West Brom's lead only lasted a minute when Jean Beausejour scored his first Premiership goal with a tap in. West Brom came again and ten minutes later James Morrison found a superb strike past Foster to make it 2-1, Birmingham nearly equalised straight away again but West Brom defended it. The game was sealed when Paul Scharner headed the ball from the tightest of angles which Foster could only manage to palm into his own net, it was a close call but the officials didn't need goal line technology to award the goal and the 3-1 win for West Brom.
Arsenal were also looking lethargic from their Wembley showdown at home to Sunderland. In truth it was another one of those days for Wenger where the goalkeeper was on top form. Mignolet produced some excellent saves but Sunderland were lucky not to concede a penalty when Bramble looked to have pushed Arshavin in the back. Arshavin did also put the ball in the net but was wrongly flagged offside, leaving the game to finish goalless.
West Ham had scored three goals in each of their previous two Premiership games, plus the five against Burnley in the FA Cup. The run continued here as Stoke proved no match for the rejuvenated Hammers. Demba Ba continued his scoring form by breaking the deadlock against the team he nearly signed for after 21 minutes. Manuel Da Costa made it 2-0 just eight minutes later and Thomas Hitzlsperger rounded the match off seven minutes from time.
Fulham entertained Blackburn at Craven Cottage in a game where referee Mark Clattenburg was hoping for a quiet game. Fulham took the lead with former Blackburn man Damien Duff getting the goal that Robinson probably should have saved eight minutes from half-time. Blackburn equalised on the stroke of half-time when a Hanley shot badly deflected off Hangeland into the Fulham net. Duff regained Fulham's lead just before the hour but again Blackburn equalised with Hoilett scoring just six minutes later. Adam Johnson should have won a penalty in the dying minutes of normal time when Hanley fouled him, but Clattenburg said no and Fulham had a corner. As the corner came in Clattenburg did blow for a penalty when Hanley was adjudged to be holding his marker, which he was so the right decision. Bobby Zamora stepped up and converted the penalty to give Fulham the 3-2 win.
Newcastle hosted the injury stricken Everton at St. James' Park. Newcastle were looking to take full advantage of David Moyes' injury woes and took the lead after 23 minutes with Leon Best getting the goal. Mikel Arteta is priceless for Everton and had to be even more instrumental without Cahill and Fellaini, he made a run own the wing before cutting inside and playing the ball back to Osman on the edge of the box, Osman struck it and found the net to equalise just after the half hour mark. Everton then took the lead five minutes later when an Arteta cross was met by Phil Jagielka to give Everton the 2-1 win.
There were a further five goals at the Reebok where Bolton played Aston Villa. Questions were asked about whether Houllier was right to make so many changes in the FA Cup in mid-week. It looked as if those questions might have been answered when Bent gave them the lead after fifteen minutes. Former Villa man Gary Cahill equalised for Bolton on the stroke of half-time with a goal from a badly defended corner. After missing a whole host of chances, Villa finally regained the lead with Albrighton getting the goal after 64 minutes. Villa were then awarded a controversial penalty when Baker had looked to have played the ball out of play, however play continued and Young was fouled in the box and the penalty was given. Young stepped up with Jaaskelainen playing mind games by leaving a big gap to his right before stepping back into the middle. Young fell for it and took the penalty to the the keeper's right and Jaaskelainen saved it. Bolton then equalised with Gary Cahill scoring his second against his former employers with fifteen left. Bolton then stole the points after Villa missed more chances, Ivan Klasnic scored the goal with yet more bad defending four minutes from time.
The tea-time kick-off saw a Lancashire derby between Manchester City and Wigan. Only one goal separated the sides but it was an absolute howler. David Silva fired a shot which Ali Al-Habsi looked for all the world like he was going to save it. But somehow it went through his hands and his open legs to roll into the net. Wigan fought hard and were unlucky not to have gotten at least a point but City apply the pressure at the top with the win.
The lunch-time kick-off a Midlands derby between Carling Cup champions Birmingham and West Brom. Birmingham had to make changes following their Wembley triumph but were still looking rather lethargic. The first half was goalless but West Brom broke the deadlock just two minutes after the restart when a poor clearance from Foster was intercepted in mid-field, this lead to substitute Odemwingie finding the ball through to Mulumbu and the striker put it away. West Brom's lead only lasted a minute when Jean Beausejour scored his first Premiership goal with a tap in. West Brom came again and ten minutes later James Morrison found a superb strike past Foster to make it 2-1, Birmingham nearly equalised straight away again but West Brom defended it. The game was sealed when Paul Scharner headed the ball from the tightest of angles which Foster could only manage to palm into his own net, it was a close call but the officials didn't need goal line technology to award the goal and the 3-1 win for West Brom.
Arsenal were also looking lethargic from their Wembley showdown at home to Sunderland. In truth it was another one of those days for Wenger where the goalkeeper was on top form. Mignolet produced some excellent saves but Sunderland were lucky not to concede a penalty when Bramble looked to have pushed Arshavin in the back. Arshavin did also put the ball in the net but was wrongly flagged offside, leaving the game to finish goalless.
West Ham had scored three goals in each of their previous two Premiership games, plus the five against Burnley in the FA Cup. The run continued here as Stoke proved no match for the rejuvenated Hammers. Demba Ba continued his scoring form by breaking the deadlock against the team he nearly signed for after 21 minutes. Manuel Da Costa made it 2-0 just eight minutes later and Thomas Hitzlsperger rounded the match off seven minutes from time.
Fulham entertained Blackburn at Craven Cottage in a game where referee Mark Clattenburg was hoping for a quiet game. Fulham took the lead with former Blackburn man Damien Duff getting the goal that Robinson probably should have saved eight minutes from half-time. Blackburn equalised on the stroke of half-time when a Hanley shot badly deflected off Hangeland into the Fulham net. Duff regained Fulham's lead just before the hour but again Blackburn equalised with Hoilett scoring just six minutes later. Adam Johnson should have won a penalty in the dying minutes of normal time when Hanley fouled him, but Clattenburg said no and Fulham had a corner. As the corner came in Clattenburg did blow for a penalty when Hanley was adjudged to be holding his marker, which he was so the right decision. Bobby Zamora stepped up and converted the penalty to give Fulham the 3-2 win.
Newcastle hosted the injury stricken Everton at St. James' Park. Newcastle were looking to take full advantage of David Moyes' injury woes and took the lead after 23 minutes with Leon Best getting the goal. Mikel Arteta is priceless for Everton and had to be even more instrumental without Cahill and Fellaini, he made a run own the wing before cutting inside and playing the ball back to Osman on the edge of the box, Osman struck it and found the net to equalise just after the half hour mark. Everton then took the lead five minutes later when an Arteta cross was met by Phil Jagielka to give Everton the 2-1 win.
There were a further five goals at the Reebok where Bolton played Aston Villa. Questions were asked about whether Houllier was right to make so many changes in the FA Cup in mid-week. It looked as if those questions might have been answered when Bent gave them the lead after fifteen minutes. Former Villa man Gary Cahill equalised for Bolton on the stroke of half-time with a goal from a badly defended corner. After missing a whole host of chances, Villa finally regained the lead with Albrighton getting the goal after 64 minutes. Villa were then awarded a controversial penalty when Baker had looked to have played the ball out of play, however play continued and Young was fouled in the box and the penalty was given. Young stepped up with Jaaskelainen playing mind games by leaving a big gap to his right before stepping back into the middle. Young fell for it and took the penalty to the the keeper's right and Jaaskelainen saved it. Bolton then equalised with Gary Cahill scoring his second against his former employers with fifteen left. Bolton then stole the points after Villa missed more chances, Ivan Klasnic scored the goal with yet more bad defending four minutes from time.
The tea-time kick-off saw a Lancashire derby between Manchester City and Wigan. Only one goal separated the sides but it was an absolute howler. David Silva fired a shot which Ali Al-Habsi looked for all the world like he was going to save it. But somehow it went through his hands and his open legs to roll into the net. Wigan fought hard and were unlucky not to have gotten at least a point but City apply the pressure at the top with the win.
Thursday, 3 March 2011
Premier League Darts: Week Four
Week four of the Darts Premier League was in the Westpoint Arena in Exeter. All four games had high entertainment levels but none were real contests. First onto the stage was Jenkins as he took on the birthday boy Whitlock. Both players had won one of their opening three games but Jenkins hadn't won since the opening week whereas Whitlock beat Wade last week. the Aussie clearly had the momentum and stormed into a 2-0 lead after a shaky first leg. Jenkins pulled a leg back in the third but from there Whitlock just kicked through the gears. For the first time this league Whitlock was finally hitting consistent doubles and went onto win 8-1, meaning that Jenkins has only three of his last nineteen legs.
Webster knows how Jenkins feels after being thrashed 8-1 by Anderson last week, Webster's opponent this week was the world champion Adrian Lewis. Webster set the tone of the match with a checkout of 101 in the opening leg. Lewis hit back with a cocky two double tops but that only spurred Webster on further. The third leg saw the Welshman checkout 120 and then a 124 in the fifth leg to make it 3-2. Webster's doubles was unbelievable as he didn't drop a leg from there to win 8-2, he only missed two darts at the doubles to leave Lewis way behind.
The man to beat at the minute is Gary Anderson and Wade was the latest to try and do it. Anderson was having none of it however and stormed into a 4-0 lead with Wade looking well off his game. He pulled two legs back before the break and made 5-3 after eight legs. But Anderson strolled to the finish line to make it four wins from four with an 8-3 scoreline.
Raymond Van Barneveld has been suffering a darting condition known as 'Tayloritis', this is where, for some unknown reason, no matter how good you've been playing you just cannot find the darts against Taylor. It happened again tonight as Taylor took a 2-0 lead, Barney should have made it 2-1 but missed darts to allow Taylor to take the 'Snooker' 147 checkout, making it 3-0. It was soon 6-0 at the break with the highlight being a 106 which again came after Barney missed doubles. But Van Barneveld showed some resurgence following the adverts and won the following three legs to make it 6-3, with a 111 checkout in the eighth. It should have been 6-4 but this time both players missed doubles and it resulted in Taylor getting double one to make it 7-3. The eleventh leg followed suit with Barney missing the double, allowing Taylor to take the win 8-3.
The table sees Anderson still lead the pack with a 100% success rate. Taylor is now just a win away on six points and the top two meet next week. Van Barneveld has now been caught up by Webster and Whitlock with them all having four points. Jenkins, Lewis and Wade are propping up the table with just one win apiece, resulting in two points each.
Webster knows how Jenkins feels after being thrashed 8-1 by Anderson last week, Webster's opponent this week was the world champion Adrian Lewis. Webster set the tone of the match with a checkout of 101 in the opening leg. Lewis hit back with a cocky two double tops but that only spurred Webster on further. The third leg saw the Welshman checkout 120 and then a 124 in the fifth leg to make it 3-2. Webster's doubles was unbelievable as he didn't drop a leg from there to win 8-2, he only missed two darts at the doubles to leave Lewis way behind.
The man to beat at the minute is Gary Anderson and Wade was the latest to try and do it. Anderson was having none of it however and stormed into a 4-0 lead with Wade looking well off his game. He pulled two legs back before the break and made 5-3 after eight legs. But Anderson strolled to the finish line to make it four wins from four with an 8-3 scoreline.
Raymond Van Barneveld has been suffering a darting condition known as 'Tayloritis', this is where, for some unknown reason, no matter how good you've been playing you just cannot find the darts against Taylor. It happened again tonight as Taylor took a 2-0 lead, Barney should have made it 2-1 but missed darts to allow Taylor to take the 'Snooker' 147 checkout, making it 3-0. It was soon 6-0 at the break with the highlight being a 106 which again came after Barney missed doubles. But Van Barneveld showed some resurgence following the adverts and won the following three legs to make it 6-3, with a 111 checkout in the eighth. It should have been 6-4 but this time both players missed doubles and it resulted in Taylor getting double one to make it 7-3. The eleventh leg followed suit with Barney missing the double, allowing Taylor to take the win 8-3.
The table sees Anderson still lead the pack with a 100% success rate. Taylor is now just a win away on six points and the top two meet next week. Van Barneveld has now been caught up by Webster and Whitlock with them all having four points. Jenkins, Lewis and Wade are propping up the table with just one win apiece, resulting in two points each.
FA Cup Wednesday
Yesterday saw an FA Cup fifth round tie and an FA Cup fifth round replay, although neither score was close. The replay was at the Emirates where Arsenal hosted Leyton Orient. It finished 1-1 in the original after a late Orient equaliser, but you felt their chance of an upset had already gone now the replay was the Emirates. It wasn't long before we were proven right when Chamakh put Arsenal ahead after just seven minutes. Nicklas Bendtner told how he'd dreamed of scoring the winner in the Carling Cup final, that didn't materialise (not for the first time has that happened!) but the Dane made it 2-0 on the half hour mark. It was all but over as a contest before half-time when Bendtner scored his scored two minutes before the break. There was no let up in the second half and Bendtner scored his hat-trick after 62 minutes with a converted penalty kick. Gael Clichy rounded the rout off with fifteen minutes left to make it 5-0 and set up the tie of the quarter finals against Manchester United at Old Trafford.
The proper fifth round tie saw Manchester City take on Aston Villa with Reading awaiting in the quarter finals. Villa put out a massively changed squad which saw Michael Bradley make his full debut, Chris Herd, Ciaran Clark and Fabian Delph joined Dunne in defence. City also took the lead early on from a corner; Vieira headed it on which hit hit Clark on the arm before falling to Yaya Toure who scored his first ever FA Cup goal after just five minutes. Villa showed resurgence but were hit with a sucker punch after being caught on the counter attack, Mario Balotelli finished the move after 25 minutes. Villa still battled back but just couldn't find that breakthrough goal and City finished the game off with David Silva making it 3-0 with twenty minutes remaining.
The proper fifth round tie saw Manchester City take on Aston Villa with Reading awaiting in the quarter finals. Villa put out a massively changed squad which saw Michael Bradley make his full debut, Chris Herd, Ciaran Clark and Fabian Delph joined Dunne in defence. City also took the lead early on from a corner; Vieira headed it on which hit hit Clark on the arm before falling to Yaya Toure who scored his first ever FA Cup goal after just five minutes. Villa showed resurgence but were hit with a sucker punch after being caught on the counter attack, Mario Balotelli finished the move after 25 minutes. Villa still battled back but just couldn't find that breakthrough goal and City finished the game off with David Silva making it 3-0 with twenty minutes remaining.
Wednesday, 2 March 2011
Monday & Tuesday Night Football
Monday Night Football returned this week with Stoke hosting West Brom at the Britannia. After a goalless first half, Stoke broke the deadlock with Rory Delap scoring eight minutes into the second half. West Brom equalised left it late, just like last week against Wolves, with the same player getting the goal; Carlos Vela scored his second goal in as many games to earn the draw three minutes from time. The point sees West Brom leapfrog Wolves and West Ham into seventeenth with Stoke moving ahead of Everton and Villa in tenth.
Last night saw the most anticipated rescheduled match with Chelsea taking on Manchester United at the Bridge. All the talk was about Rooney escaping a ban after his elbow on James McCarthy and Ashley Cole escaping punishment for shooting an intern with an air rifle. So the script was set up for one of them to controversially score, and it was Rooney. After a inside pass from Nani, Rooney turned into space and shot into the bottom corner from outside the box just before the half hour mark. It stayed that way until half-time but that was only due to some heroic goalkeeping from Van Der Sar off Ivanovic. Chelsea equalised eight minutes into the second half with David Luiz also firing a bottom corner shot. But the Brazilian was lucky to stay on the pitch after receiving a yellow in the first half and then came in late on Rooney. Referee Martin Atkinson gave nothing and two minutes later Chris Smalling was adjudged to have fouled sub Zhirkov in the box and a penalty was awarded. Frank Lampard stepped up and converted it with ten minutes left. Vidic did receive red though in injury time for a second yellow which sees him miss the Liverpool trip on Sunday. United stay four points clear of Arsenal but have now played a game more, Manchester City are still ten behind but Chelsea close the gap to twelve with a game in hand over United.
There was a big shock in the FA Cup as Everton entertained Reading in the fifth round. Only one goal was needed to settle the tie and it came from Matthew Mills after 26 minutes. Reading will face either Manchester city or Aston Villa who play their tie tonight. Worse news for Everton however is that Fellaini is out for the rest of the season and Cahill is out for three weeks after both sustained injuries in the game.
Last night saw the most anticipated rescheduled match with Chelsea taking on Manchester United at the Bridge. All the talk was about Rooney escaping a ban after his elbow on James McCarthy and Ashley Cole escaping punishment for shooting an intern with an air rifle. So the script was set up for one of them to controversially score, and it was Rooney. After a inside pass from Nani, Rooney turned into space and shot into the bottom corner from outside the box just before the half hour mark. It stayed that way until half-time but that was only due to some heroic goalkeeping from Van Der Sar off Ivanovic. Chelsea equalised eight minutes into the second half with David Luiz also firing a bottom corner shot. But the Brazilian was lucky to stay on the pitch after receiving a yellow in the first half and then came in late on Rooney. Referee Martin Atkinson gave nothing and two minutes later Chris Smalling was adjudged to have fouled sub Zhirkov in the box and a penalty was awarded. Frank Lampard stepped up and converted it with ten minutes left. Vidic did receive red though in injury time for a second yellow which sees him miss the Liverpool trip on Sunday. United stay four points clear of Arsenal but have now played a game more, Manchester City are still ten behind but Chelsea close the gap to twelve with a game in hand over United.
There was a big shock in the FA Cup as Everton entertained Reading in the fifth round. Only one goal was needed to settle the tie and it came from Matthew Mills after 26 minutes. Reading will face either Manchester city or Aston Villa who play their tie tonight. Worse news for Everton however is that Fellaini is out for the rest of the season and Cahill is out for three weeks after both sustained injuries in the game.
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