This afternoon, we found out who went through to the quarter finals as the doubles matches took place. The format follows the first round with the teams racing to five legs. Northern Ireland and Denmark took to the oche first with the winner of the doubles match deciding the winner of the match. Jann Hoffmann secured the first double to take an early lead over the match favourites. But Brendan Dolan found the next two doubles for the seventh seeds to turn the match around. Denmark didn't lose touch and pushed Northern Ireland to the crucial deciding leg. Michael Mansell found double ten after Dolan's good scoring to give the Irish a 5-4 win in the doubles and a 3-1 win overall.
The situation was the same in the second match between Belgium and Sweden. The pair were locked at 1-1 after the singles matches, meaning another winner takes all doubles match. Kim Huybrechts found two double tens to give Belgium an early 2-0 lead after Magnus Caris missed three darts to level the match. Dennis Nilsson pulled a leg back after Caris found the first 180 of the match. Caris pulled another leg back for Sweden before Kurt Van de Rijck finished the match off at 5-2, giving Belgium the 3-2 win.
The third match of the afternoon saw Australia take on Republic of Ireland. Ireland needed to win the doubles to force a sudden death leg if they wanted to progress. Australia took a quick 2-0 lead before Mick McGowan pulled a leg back for Ireland. McGowan fired in a 102 check-out to make it 3-2 but it didn't deter the Aussies and Simon Whitlock secured the winning dart on the seventh time of asking, finishing 5-2 on the afternoon but 4-0 overall. Australia will face Belgium in the quarter finals.
Croatia were also in a must-win dilemma against Wales. Boris Krcmar looked impressive yesterday and he continued this by taking out 135 in the opening leg. But Richie Burnett found the double 16 then the double ten to turn the score around for Wales. Mark Webster followed that up with a 117 check-out to create daylight between the sides. From there, there was only going to be one winner and Burnett finished 41 to win the game 5-1 as Wales win the match 4-0.
Hosts Germany were locked in a winner-takes-all doubles match with USA. Bernd Roith was considerably the lesser player yesterday, but he began today with a 111 check-out for Germany. But USA were able to turn it around to take a 3-2 lead. But again the match turned on its head when Jyhan Artut hit the bull to make it 4-3 to Germany before Gary Mawson found double eight to push a deciding leg. Germany should have got to the double first but Artut made a mess of 64, this allowed Darin Young to hit tops to just about squeeze into the quarter finals.
South African were the next team who required a sudden death leg if they were to progress to face Wales in the quarter-finals. Gary Anderson's double troubles seemed to have left him, he took the first two doubles of the match before hitting tops and double ten on his way to checking-out 120, giving Scotland a 3-1 lead. But Anderson did miss a big 20 which allowed South Africa to level the match at 3-3, courtesy of Devon Petersen's 101 check-out. It was Peter Wright's turn to miss a double to allow Shawn Hogan to give South Africa the lead for the first time in the match. Hogan then checked-out 52 to win the match 5-2. This set up the deciding sudden death leg and Petersen hit the bulls-eye to win the throw. Petersen came a wire's length away from hitting 126 but Anderson failed to check-out 60, leaving Hogan to find double six to win the match.
After that huge surprise, Canada needed to hold onto their lead to make it two shocks in a row. England required a South Africa-esque recovery to get to face USA in the quarter-finals. The top two players found their form since last night and quickly found themselves 3-1 ahead. Canada pulled a leg back to make it 4-2 before Adrian Lewis finished the match at 5-3 to force the sudden death leg. Phil Taylor finally won the throw on the third time of asking to give England the throw. Lewis checked-out 15 to get out of jail and make it through to the quarter finals.
The final second round doubles match was another winner-takes-all between Holland and Austria. Mensur Suljovic managed a 121 check-out but that made the scoreline 3-1 in Holland's favour. Suljovic then found the bull to check-out 90 to make it 4-2. But Raymond Van Barneveld finished the match off to make it 5-2 on the afternoon and 3-1 overall.
Saturday, 4 February 2012
2012 World Cup of Darts: Round 2 Singles
With the round one matches having taken place in the afternoon, the second round began in the evening. The format splits the matches into two sessions. Each match consists of two singles matches which carry a point apiece followed by a doubles match which carries two points. The singles matches took place tonight with the doubles match taking place tomorrow.
Brendan Dolan and Michael Mansell are representing Northern Ireland, who set their stall out against Denmark. The better ranked player takes on the lower ranked player from the opposing team, this meant Dolan would take on Jann Hoffmann and Mansell would face Per Laursen. The matches were a race to four legs and Hoffmann took the opening leg against Dolan. Dolan turned it round to lead 2-1 and then 3-2 but Hoffmann fought back to win the game 4-3 and earn a surprise point.
The role reversal also happened in the second game as the lesser player overcame the higher player. Laursen did take the lead before Mansell found form to win the match 4-1. This levels the score at 1-1, meaning whoever wins the doubles match goes through to the quarter finals.
The success story of the World Championships, Kim Huybrechts, teamed up with Kurt Van de Rijck as Belgium took on Sweden. Dennis Nilsson faced Huybrechts and hit a wonderful 140 checkout to level the match up at 1-1. Huybrechts made it to the quarter finals in the Worlds and regained that form to take a 3-1 lead. Nilsson did pull a leg back before Huybrechts won the match 4-2.
The scoreline was matched in the other singles match as Van de Rijck faced Magnus Caris. Caris managed to get into a 2-0 lead and continued it to lead 3-1. Again Van de Rijck pulled a leg back before Caris won it 4-2. Again the doubles match will decide the victor of this match.
Second favourites, Australia, have Simon Whitlock and Paul Nicholson flying the flag. They took on Republic of Ireland in their second round match. Whitlock faced Mick McGowan and made short work of him. McGowan did make it 2-1 but Whitlock showed his class to win the match 4-1. Nicholson went one better and secured the first whitewash of the round against William O'Connor. This means Ireland must win the doubles match to force a deciding sudden death leg in order to make it through.
Mark Webster and Richie Burnett did a similar demolition job as Wales took on Croatia. Webster faced Tonci Restovic and wasted no time in whitewashing the Croat. Boris Krcmar was the most impressive in the first round and put up a better fight against Burnett. Krcmar did take a 2-1 then a 3-2 lead after initially finding himself 1-0 down. But Burnett isn't adverse to a battle and he levelled the match before taking the deciding leg to make it 2-0 to Wales.
Jyhan Artut and Bernd Roith are representing the hosts and they faced USA in their second round encounter. Artut took on Gary Mawson and managed to throw away a two leg lead. Artut led 2-0 and then 3-1 before Mawson fought back to force a decider. Mawson couldn't continue his momentum and Artut won the final leg in front of his home crowd.
Bernd Roith's participation has been a matter of some concern as questions have been raised as to why young Kevin Munch didn't make it. The questions may have got louder when Darin Young quickly took a 3-0 lead. But Roith did take a couple of legs back before Young completed the job to level the match up at one apiece.
Gary Anderson and Peter Wright are representing Scotland and they faced a decent South Africa duo in round two. Anderson produced the mother of all comebacks against a decent looking Shawn Hogan. Anderson completely dominated the scoring against Hogan but his trademark missed doubles saw him go 3-0 behind. But Hogan couldn't finish the job and Anderson came roaring back to win the match 4-3.
Perhaps the most impressive player in the first round, Devon Petersen, faced Wright in the following singles match. Petersen somehow managed to bust a score of 121, but he still ended up taking the leg to level the match at 1-1. But Wright showed why he is ranked much higher than Petersen and won the 4-1 to give Scotland the 2-0 lead.
Brendan Dolan and Michael Mansell are representing Northern Ireland, who set their stall out against Denmark. The better ranked player takes on the lower ranked player from the opposing team, this meant Dolan would take on Jann Hoffmann and Mansell would face Per Laursen. The matches were a race to four legs and Hoffmann took the opening leg against Dolan. Dolan turned it round to lead 2-1 and then 3-2 but Hoffmann fought back to win the game 4-3 and earn a surprise point.
The role reversal also happened in the second game as the lesser player overcame the higher player. Laursen did take the lead before Mansell found form to win the match 4-1. This levels the score at 1-1, meaning whoever wins the doubles match goes through to the quarter finals.
The success story of the World Championships, Kim Huybrechts, teamed up with Kurt Van de Rijck as Belgium took on Sweden. Dennis Nilsson faced Huybrechts and hit a wonderful 140 checkout to level the match up at 1-1. Huybrechts made it to the quarter finals in the Worlds and regained that form to take a 3-1 lead. Nilsson did pull a leg back before Huybrechts won the match 4-2.
The scoreline was matched in the other singles match as Van de Rijck faced Magnus Caris. Caris managed to get into a 2-0 lead and continued it to lead 3-1. Again Van de Rijck pulled a leg back before Caris won it 4-2. Again the doubles match will decide the victor of this match.
Second favourites, Australia, have Simon Whitlock and Paul Nicholson flying the flag. They took on Republic of Ireland in their second round match. Whitlock faced Mick McGowan and made short work of him. McGowan did make it 2-1 but Whitlock showed his class to win the match 4-1. Nicholson went one better and secured the first whitewash of the round against William O'Connor. This means Ireland must win the doubles match to force a deciding sudden death leg in order to make it through.
Mark Webster and Richie Burnett did a similar demolition job as Wales took on Croatia. Webster faced Tonci Restovic and wasted no time in whitewashing the Croat. Boris Krcmar was the most impressive in the first round and put up a better fight against Burnett. Krcmar did take a 2-1 then a 3-2 lead after initially finding himself 1-0 down. But Burnett isn't adverse to a battle and he levelled the match before taking the deciding leg to make it 2-0 to Wales.
Jyhan Artut and Bernd Roith are representing the hosts and they faced USA in their second round encounter. Artut took on Gary Mawson and managed to throw away a two leg lead. Artut led 2-0 and then 3-1 before Mawson fought back to force a decider. Mawson couldn't continue his momentum and Artut won the final leg in front of his home crowd.
Bernd Roith's participation has been a matter of some concern as questions have been raised as to why young Kevin Munch didn't make it. The questions may have got louder when Darin Young quickly took a 3-0 lead. But Roith did take a couple of legs back before Young completed the job to level the match up at one apiece.
Gary Anderson and Peter Wright are representing Scotland and they faced a decent South Africa duo in round two. Anderson produced the mother of all comebacks against a decent looking Shawn Hogan. Anderson completely dominated the scoring against Hogan but his trademark missed doubles saw him go 3-0 behind. But Hogan couldn't finish the job and Anderson came roaring back to win the match 4-3.
Perhaps the most impressive player in the first round, Devon Petersen, faced Wright in the following singles match. Petersen somehow managed to bust a score of 121, but he still ended up taking the leg to level the match at 1-1. But Wright showed why he is ranked much higher than Petersen and won the 4-1 to give Scotland the 2-0 lead.
The favourites of the tournament, England, took on Canada in
a match that has a combined total of 20 World Championships. World number one
and fifteen times World Champion, Phil Taylor, faced Ken MacNeil. World number
two and reigning double World Champion, Adrian Lewis, took on three times World
Champion Jon Part.
MacNeil took a surprise lead over Taylor with a 111
check-out in the first leg. Taylor returned the compliment by taking a 2-1 lead
but MacNeil stayed in touch by levelling the score before retaking the lead.
Taylor did force a deciding leg but Ken MacNeil provided what could already be
the shock of the tournament, hitting double 19 to win the match 4-3.
Part and Lewis was definitely billed as the match of the
night. Lewis looked like he meant business but didn’t start on song as Part
took the first leg. Lewis missed countless doubles and Part moved to a 3-1
lead. But Lewis found his World Championship form and forced a decider but Part
came up with a 140 check-out to win the match. Canada lead 2-0, probably the
most surprising score-line yet.
The reigning World Champions, Holland, began their defence
against Austria. There has been a member change as Co Stompe has been replaced
by Vincent Van Der Voort. Raymond Van Barneveld kicked the match off against
Dietmar Burger. Barney continued his deteriorating form and soon found himself
2-1 down after taking the first leg. But the Dutchman did manage to pull
himself out of the mire to force a deciding leg and it was enough to propel him
through to win the match 4-3.
The final contest of the night was a bit of a miss-match as
one of the fastest throwers, Van der Voort, took on one of the slowest
throwers, Mensur Suljovic. Van Der Voort managed a 140 check-out to take a 2-1
lead. But Suljovic wasn’t perturbed and made the Dutchman force a deciding leg and
the Austrian won it, just as the fable states. The match remains nicely poised
at 1-1.
Friday, 3 February 2012
2012 World Cup of Darts Begins
Hamburg welcomes 24 nations as the second Cash Converters World Cup of Darts got under-way today. The Friday afternoon session saw the start of the first round which featured the unseeded sides. The first match saw Canada take on Hungary. Three-time World Champion John Part teamed up with Ken MacNeil to take on the Hungarian pairing, Nandor Bezzeg and Kristian Kaufmann. The first round consists of a doubles format in a race to five legs.
The favourites were Canada with Part expected to carry them through. But it was a slow to start to the match with 14 missed doubles before Part hit double one to take the lead. It took Kaufmann just two darts to level the match with an 84-checkout. The next two legs followed suit with Part taking the double to make it 2-1 before Kaufmann again equalised. The format states that the loser of the previous leg throws first in the next, this will prove matches to be close which was why Bezzeg was able to equalise again for Hungary at 3-3. Part's class came through to checkout 117 to win the match 5-3 and progress to face tournament favourites England in the next round. Hungary scouting report: Bezzeg the better scorer but Kaufmann finished more consistently.
The second match of the afternoon saw William O'Connor and Mick McGowan of the Republic of Ireland take on Lee Choon Peng and Amin Bin Abdul Ghani of Malaysia. The Irish pairing were the favourites with O'Connor supposedly destined for an illustrious career. Choon Peng kicked the game off, against the throw, with an impressive 120-Shanghai checkout. Ghani secured the first 180 of the tournament before following it up with a 140 on his next throw, Choon Peng hit double four to take a 2-1 lead. O'Connor found a 107 checkout to turn the match around, taking a 3-2 lead. From there, there was only going to be one winner and Ireland wasted no time in winning the match 5-2 to go onto face Australia in round two. Malaysia scouting report: both players had sparks of quality with Choon Peng looking slightly better, but neither player had enough consistency to cause any real problems.
USA faced Philippines in the third match of the first round. Darin Young and Gary Mawson are the representatives from across the pond with Christian Perez and Lourence Ilagan representing the Asian nation. It took the Philippines until the back end of the second leg to register a score of over 100 but they did remain level at 1-1. They improved from there and managed to keep level at 2-2 with Perez scoring well. But the USA's experience shone through to take a 4-2 lead and Mawson secured the final double top to win 5-2, they will face hosts Germany in round two. Philippines scouting report: again both players showed glimpses of quality after taking a while to get into it.
Perhaps one of the closest matches on paper, Mensur Suljovic and Dietmar Burger of Austria faced Warren French and Preston Ridd of New Zealand in game four. Austria were probably just about favourites courtesy of Suljovic but he couldn't prevent French from taking the first leg after countless missed doubles. Suljovic did take a 112 checkout to turn it around to give Austria a 2-1 lead. French managed to find a ton checkout to pull the score back to 3-2 when it looked like Austria were going to run away with it. This was followed up by a 126 by Burger to put Austria just one leg away. The Kiwis did keep the fight up but Austria went onto win 5-3 and will face reigning champions Holland in round two.
Morihiro Hashimoto became a crowd favourite when he appeared at the World Championships two years ago. His Japanese team-mate, Haruki Muramatsu, faced Swedish opponent, Dennis Nilsson, in this year's World Championship preliminary round with the Japanese winning 4-2. Nilsson's team-mate, Magnus Caris, started the first leg with a 180 and finished it with double eight. But Japan weren't perturbed and remained level at 2-2. But once again experience prevailed, Sweden going onto win 5-2 to face Belgium.
The surprise package of last year's World Cup, Spain, took on South Africa in the best looking tie of the first round. Devon Petersen was one of the unknown quantities at the World Championships and he teamed up with Shawn Hogan to face semi-finalists Antonio Alcinas and Carlos Rodriguez. There was nothing between them as they were locked at 2-2. Alcinas and Petersen were well matched but Hogan appeared to play a lot better then Rodriguez and this helped the South Africans to win 5-2 and will face Scotland in the second round.
The penultimate match of the afternoon saw Finland take on Croatia. Petri Korte was arguably the most well-known name of the quartet as he and Marko Kantele took on Croatia's Boris Krcmar and Tonci Restovic. Krcmar came flying out of the blocks as he secured a 135 check-out to win the first leg. The Croatians then took a surprise 3-1 lead before Finland fought back to force the first deciding leg of the tournament. Both teams missed doubles throughout the match and the final was no different, but Croatia managed to get that all important double to go through to face Wales.
The final first round match was between Gibraltar and Denmark. Per Laursen was by far the most experienced of the players and along with Jann Hoffmann, this made the Danes the favourites. But Dylan Duo and Dyson Parody didn't let that affect them as they took a 2-0 lead. Denmark quickly levelled and another deciding leg was forced. Gibraltar were the first to get to the final double but couldn't capitalise, Laursen picked off double tops to win the game for Denmark without ever taking the lead during the match. They will face Northern Ireland in the second round.
The favourites were Canada with Part expected to carry them through. But it was a slow to start to the match with 14 missed doubles before Part hit double one to take the lead. It took Kaufmann just two darts to level the match with an 84-checkout. The next two legs followed suit with Part taking the double to make it 2-1 before Kaufmann again equalised. The format states that the loser of the previous leg throws first in the next, this will prove matches to be close which was why Bezzeg was able to equalise again for Hungary at 3-3. Part's class came through to checkout 117 to win the match 5-3 and progress to face tournament favourites England in the next round. Hungary scouting report: Bezzeg the better scorer but Kaufmann finished more consistently.
The second match of the afternoon saw William O'Connor and Mick McGowan of the Republic of Ireland take on Lee Choon Peng and Amin Bin Abdul Ghani of Malaysia. The Irish pairing were the favourites with O'Connor supposedly destined for an illustrious career. Choon Peng kicked the game off, against the throw, with an impressive 120-Shanghai checkout. Ghani secured the first 180 of the tournament before following it up with a 140 on his next throw, Choon Peng hit double four to take a 2-1 lead. O'Connor found a 107 checkout to turn the match around, taking a 3-2 lead. From there, there was only going to be one winner and Ireland wasted no time in winning the match 5-2 to go onto face Australia in round two. Malaysia scouting report: both players had sparks of quality with Choon Peng looking slightly better, but neither player had enough consistency to cause any real problems.
USA faced Philippines in the third match of the first round. Darin Young and Gary Mawson are the representatives from across the pond with Christian Perez and Lourence Ilagan representing the Asian nation. It took the Philippines until the back end of the second leg to register a score of over 100 but they did remain level at 1-1. They improved from there and managed to keep level at 2-2 with Perez scoring well. But the USA's experience shone through to take a 4-2 lead and Mawson secured the final double top to win 5-2, they will face hosts Germany in round two. Philippines scouting report: again both players showed glimpses of quality after taking a while to get into it.
Perhaps one of the closest matches on paper, Mensur Suljovic and Dietmar Burger of Austria faced Warren French and Preston Ridd of New Zealand in game four. Austria were probably just about favourites courtesy of Suljovic but he couldn't prevent French from taking the first leg after countless missed doubles. Suljovic did take a 112 checkout to turn it around to give Austria a 2-1 lead. French managed to find a ton checkout to pull the score back to 3-2 when it looked like Austria were going to run away with it. This was followed up by a 126 by Burger to put Austria just one leg away. The Kiwis did keep the fight up but Austria went onto win 5-3 and will face reigning champions Holland in round two.
Morihiro Hashimoto became a crowd favourite when he appeared at the World Championships two years ago. His Japanese team-mate, Haruki Muramatsu, faced Swedish opponent, Dennis Nilsson, in this year's World Championship preliminary round with the Japanese winning 4-2. Nilsson's team-mate, Magnus Caris, started the first leg with a 180 and finished it with double eight. But Japan weren't perturbed and remained level at 2-2. But once again experience prevailed, Sweden going onto win 5-2 to face Belgium.
The surprise package of last year's World Cup, Spain, took on South Africa in the best looking tie of the first round. Devon Petersen was one of the unknown quantities at the World Championships and he teamed up with Shawn Hogan to face semi-finalists Antonio Alcinas and Carlos Rodriguez. There was nothing between them as they were locked at 2-2. Alcinas and Petersen were well matched but Hogan appeared to play a lot better then Rodriguez and this helped the South Africans to win 5-2 and will face Scotland in the second round.
The penultimate match of the afternoon saw Finland take on Croatia. Petri Korte was arguably the most well-known name of the quartet as he and Marko Kantele took on Croatia's Boris Krcmar and Tonci Restovic. Krcmar came flying out of the blocks as he secured a 135 check-out to win the first leg. The Croatians then took a surprise 3-1 lead before Finland fought back to force the first deciding leg of the tournament. Both teams missed doubles throughout the match and the final was no different, but Croatia managed to get that all important double to go through to face Wales.
The final first round match was between Gibraltar and Denmark. Per Laursen was by far the most experienced of the players and along with Jann Hoffmann, this made the Danes the favourites. But Dylan Duo and Dyson Parody didn't let that affect them as they took a 2-0 lead. Denmark quickly levelled and another deciding leg was forced. Gibraltar were the first to get to the final double but couldn't capitalise, Laursen picked off double tops to win the game for Denmark without ever taking the lead during the match. They will face Northern Ireland in the second round.
Wednesday, 1 February 2012
PL Round-Up 1/2/12
Aston Villa 2-2 QPR: The worst recent home form played against the worst away form, so no surprises it finished as draw. It might have different though, Djibril Cisse scored on his debut to give QPR the lead on 12-minutes before Stephen Warnock headed into his own net to make it 2-0 just before the half-hour mark. But Darren Bent brought Villa back into the game just before half-time and Charles N'Zogbia rescued the point 11-minutes from time.
Blackburn 0-2 Newcastle: Blackburn's inconsistent form continues as Newcastle take advantage of Chelsea and Arsenal's slip-ups. Scott Dann returned to Blackburn after a long bout of injury and marked it by scoring an own goal after just 12-minutes. Gabriel Obertan made it 2-0 in injury time to ensure Newcastle of the three points.
Bolton 0-0 Arsenal: What happens when you pit the team with the fewest home goals against the team with the fewest away goals? A goalless draw. Arsenal were wasteful and have wasted a chance to keep in touch with their nearest rivals. Bolton will see this as a big point gained in their battle for survival.
Fulham 1-1 West Brom: The big news yesterday saw Bobby Zamora move away from Craven Cottage. It didn't seem to disrupt Fulham and their talisman, Clint Dempsey, was on hand to give the hosts the lead after 69-minutes. But Somen Tchoyi equalised with eight minutes to play to continue Fulham's inconsistent season.
Sunderland 3-0 Norwich: Frazier Campbell returned to put Sunderland ahead with a fantastic goal on 21-minutes. Stephane Sessegnon made it 2-0 seven minutes later before a Daniel Ayala goal wrapped things up for Sunderland nine minutes into the second half.
Blackburn 0-2 Newcastle: Blackburn's inconsistent form continues as Newcastle take advantage of Chelsea and Arsenal's slip-ups. Scott Dann returned to Blackburn after a long bout of injury and marked it by scoring an own goal after just 12-minutes. Gabriel Obertan made it 2-0 in injury time to ensure Newcastle of the three points.
Bolton 0-0 Arsenal: What happens when you pit the team with the fewest home goals against the team with the fewest away goals? A goalless draw. Arsenal were wasteful and have wasted a chance to keep in touch with their nearest rivals. Bolton will see this as a big point gained in their battle for survival.
Fulham 1-1 West Brom: The big news yesterday saw Bobby Zamora move away from Craven Cottage. It didn't seem to disrupt Fulham and their talisman, Clint Dempsey, was on hand to give the hosts the lead after 69-minutes. But Somen Tchoyi equalised with eight minutes to play to continue Fulham's inconsistent season.
Sunderland 3-0 Norwich: Frazier Campbell returned to put Sunderland ahead with a fantastic goal on 21-minutes. Stephane Sessegnon made it 2-0 seven minutes later before a Daniel Ayala goal wrapped things up for Sunderland nine minutes into the second half.
2012 ACN: Group D Game Three
The final group saw Guinea and Mali battle it out to join Ghana in the knock-out phase. Mali took on the already eliminated Botswana while Guinea had the unenviable task of getting something against the co-favourites.
The first goal of the night saw Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu hit a fantastic volley into the top corner to give Ghana the lead on 27-minutes. Guinea levelled just before half-time when Abdoul Camara miss-hit a cross that lobbed the Ghanaian keeper into the net. It got better for Guinea when Botswana took a surprise lead in the other game, Mogakolodi Ngele scoring four minutes into the second half.
Mali stared elimination in the face until Garra Dembele equalised six minutes after going behind. Guinea remained level against Ghana but it wasn't enough as Seydou Keita made it 2-1 to Mali 17-minutes before the end to knock Guinea out of this year's tournament. Table:
Ghana 7
Mali 6
Guinea 4
Botswana 0
The first goal of the night saw Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu hit a fantastic volley into the top corner to give Ghana the lead on 27-minutes. Guinea levelled just before half-time when Abdoul Camara miss-hit a cross that lobbed the Ghanaian keeper into the net. It got better for Guinea when Botswana took a surprise lead in the other game, Mogakolodi Ngele scoring four minutes into the second half.
Mali stared elimination in the face until Garra Dembele equalised six minutes after going behind. Guinea remained level against Ghana but it wasn't enough as Seydou Keita made it 2-1 to Mali 17-minutes before the end to knock Guinea out of this year's tournament. Table:
Ghana 7
Mali 6
Guinea 4
Botswana 0
2012 ACN: Group C Game Three
If the fact that Gabon qualified for the knock-out phase was
one thing, then the fact that they have gone onto win their group and will
almost certainly avoid Ghana is another. Gabon faced Tunisia in the battle for
the top spot with only one goal separating the sides. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
scored his second goal of the tournament to see Gabon finish ahead of their
North African counterparts with three wins out of three.
Morocco faced Niger with the Moroccans looking not to follow
in Senegal’s footsteps. Again only one goal separated the teams in the battle
for third. It came from Montpellier’s 21-year-old Younes Belhanda to see Morocco
finish above Niger. Table:
Gabon 9
Tunisia 6
Morocco 3
Niger 0
PL Round-Up 31/1/12
Everton 1–0 Manchester
City: Everton are quickly becoming Manchester City’s bogey side at Goodison
Park. The first half saw Joleon Lescott clear a ball off the line before Samir
Nasri hit the bar at the other end. The most unusual thing of the night saw a
member of the crowd handcuff himself to a goalpost as the opening period
remained goalless. The only goal of the game came on the hour mark when a
Landon Donovan lay-off was met by former Manchester United man, Darron Gibson.
Gibson’s shot took a slight deflection before flying past Joe Hart, his first
goal of the season to ensure Everton’s first win in four matches.
Manchester United 2–0
Stoke: United go level on points with Manchester City at the top. Both
goals came from twelve yards as Stoke lost their heads at times. The first
penalty came seven minutes before half-time when Jermaine Pennant brought Ji-Sung
Park down. Javier Hernandez stepped-up ahead of the absent Wayne Rooney and
converted it, his first goal since November. The second penalty came eight
minutes into the second half, this time Jonathan Walters cynically pulled
Antonio Valencia back in the box. This time Dimitar Berbatov stepped up and
also converted into the bottom corner. Ben Amos made his debut in the United
goal as Anders Lindegaard injured an ankle and David De Gea fell ill, the young
keeper didn’t have too much to do as United sealed the three points.
Wolves 0–3 Liverpool:
Liverpool come back to the Premiership on the back of the two cup wins over the
Manchester clubs and comprehensively beat Wolves. Liverpool had a first half
penalty shout turned when Emmanuel Frimpong looked to have obstructed Charlie
Adam. Wolves were very much in it with Michael Kightly coming closest. But
Liverpool pressed home their momentum in the second half and Andy Carroll broke
the deadlock by tapping in an Adam low cross seven minutes into it. Wayne Hennessey
made various good saves throughout the match but his poor effort allowed Craig
Bellamy to claim his sixth goal in seven, making it 2-0 just after the hour
mark. Dirk Kuyt then finished it off after a one-two with Adam with twelve
minutes to go. Wolves move nine games without a victory.
Tottenham 3–1 Wigan: Tottenham
keep in touch with the Manchester sides courtesy of fantastic performances by
Luka Modric and Gareth Bale. Spurs
took the lead just before the half-hour mark when a Modric cross was chested down
by Bale before the Welshman half-volleyed it past Ali Al-Habsi, his tenth of
the season. Modric then made it 2-0 with
an exquisite shot on the turn five minutes later. Bale found half a yard to get
another shot away on 64-minutes and found the bottom corner to make it 3-0. Wigan
did pull a goal back when substitute Gary McArthur lobbed Brad Friedel but it
wasn’t enough to spring a comeback with ten minutes to play.
Swansea 1–1 Chelsea: Chelsea
lose further ground on the top three, although it could have been a lot worse.
Swansea had much the better game and could have taken the lead earlier on but
Branislav Ivanovic and David Luiz both made goal-line clearances. Former
Chelsea youngster, Scott Sinclair, found a great shot that hit the top corner
to give the hosts the lead six minutes before half-time. It was a heated affair
throughout and Ashley Cole received his second yellow card four minutes from
time. Swansea could have wrapped it up but Jose Bosingwa saved Chelsea’s
blushes in injury time on his 100th start at the club.
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