Thursday, 30 September 2010

Champions League Round-Up: 29/9/10

Yesterday saw the other four Champions League groups partake in their second round of games, which contained just as much entertainment as Tuesday did:
Group A: This group saw a hat ful of goals and a great start to European life at White Hart Lane as Tottenham beat FC Twente 4-1. Rafael Van Der Vaart had a particularly eventful night as he first missed a penalty, then scored the opener two minutes into the second half and then got himself sent off after 61 minutes. Roman Pavlyuchenko doubled the lead three minutes later from the penalty spot before substitute Nacer Chadli pulled one back six minutes after that. Pavlyuchenko then got his second after 64 minutes, again from the penalty spot. Gareth Bale rounded off the night with Tottenham's fourth five minutes from time. This leaves Harry Redknapp's side on four points from two games with Twente only on one point.

An Eto'o hat-trick helped Inter Milan see off Werder Bremen 4-0; he scored his first two within six minutes of each other after 21 and 27 minutes. Wesley Sneijder added a third after 34 minutes before Eto'o rounded off his first ever Inter hat-trick with nine minutes remaining. This also puts Inter on four points and Bremen on just one.

Group B: Israel witnessed two penalties of there own as Hapoel Tel-Aviv lost 3-1 to Lyon; Michel Bastos scored the opener after just seven minutes for the French side from the spot. He then doubled Lyon's advantage after 36 minutes. Nigerian goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama pulled one back for Hapoel from their penalty but substitute Miralem Pjanic put the game beyond all doubt in stoppage time. This gives Lyon six points out of six whereas Tel-Aviv are still searching for their first.

Former PSV Eindhoven teammates gave Shalke a 2-0 victory over Benfica; Jefferson Farfan opened the scoring after 73 minutes, Huntelaar then doubled Shalke's lead with only fives minutes to go. This result leaves both teams on three points from two games.

Group C: Manchester United escaped from the Mestalla, somehow, with all three points. Neither goalkeeper was especially busy but Valencia created all but a few of the chances in the game. Substitutes Macheda and Javier Hernandez combined to give the Mexican his first European goal and the win to United with five minutes left. United are now joint top of the group with four points and Valencia are currently on three.

Rangers also nicked a 1-0 win at home to Bursaspor; Steven Naismith settled the score after just 18 minutes as Ranger continued their defensive set-up. It leaves the Scottish side joint top with Manchester United but Bursaspor are yet to gain a point in the debut season in the Champions League.

Group D: The shock result of the night came from the early game in Russia as Rubin Kazan managed a 1-1 draw against Barcelona. Again two penalties were awarded in the game and both were converted; first Rubin took the lead on the half hour mark thanks to Christian Noboa, then David Villa equalised on the hour mark from the same twelve yard marker. Barca now are on four points whereas Rubin have gained their first point.

This leaves FC Copenhagen top of group D after beating Panathinaikos 2-0 to give themselves six points out of six. Dame Ndoye scored his second goal in as many European games after 28 minutes. Martin Vingaard doubled their lead nine minutes later before Gilberto Silva received a second yellow card four minutes into the second half. This now leaves Panathinaikos without a point after two games.

Wednesday, 29 September 2010

Champions League Round-Up: 28/9/10

Yesterday saw the first half of the second round of group games take place in the Champions League. This time it was groups E-H to play their matches first and here's how they got on:
Group E: Last year's runners-up Bayern Munich continued their shows as a 89th winner from Bastian Schweinsteiger was required to see off FC Basle in Switzerland. Alexander Frei put the home side ahead just 17 minutes before Schweinsteiger equalised from the penalty spot after 53 minutes. The win means Munich have a 100% start whereas Basle have a 0% start after losing to Cluj in the last game.

Roma also managed to win at home to CFR Cluj, with the same score in Switzerland. Defender Phillipe Mexes put Roma ahead after 69 minutes, substitute Marco Borriello doubled their lead two minutes later. Cluj pulled one back thanks to Ionut Rada twelve minutes from time. This both team on three points from two games.

Group F: The night's early game in Russia saw Spartak Moscow win 3-0 against MSK Zilina; two goals from Ari after 34 and 61 minutes was rounded off by Baretto Ibson in the final minute. This leaves Moscow with a 100% record so far with Zilina yet to pick up a point.

Chelsea also maintained their 100% record with a win against French champions Marseille; captain Terry gave Chelsea an early lead after seven minutes before a cool penalty from Nicolas Anelka sealed the points after just 28 minutes.

Group G: A late goal, nine minutes from time by Angel Di Maria was all that Real Madrid could muster up against Auxerre in France. This still leaves Madrid on six points from a possible six but they're not exactly doing it in style. Auxerre are still without a point.

Ajax and AC Milan shared the spoils at the Amsterdam Arena; Mounir El Hamadoui put the hosts ahead after 23 minutes. Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored his third goal of the tournament fourteen minutes later to grab a point for Milan. This leaves Ajax with that solitary point whereas Milan are now on four.

Group H: Blunderous keeper Lukasz Fabianski actually had a superb game in Serbia which included saving a penalty, as Arsenal won 3-1. Andrei Arshavin put the Gunner after a quarter of an hour before Cleo did convert a penalty after 33 minutes. FK Partizan had Marko Jovanovic sent off four minutes before the hour and the extra man helped see Arsenal home. Marouane Chamakh made it 2-1 after 71 minutes before defender Squillaci sealed the win with eight minutes to play.

Monday, 27 September 2010

Gollob Becomes Speedway World Champion

Saturday saw the penultimate Speedway Grand Prix and Gollob used it to become World Champion. He started the night in Terenzano, Italy on 141 points, with Crump on 122 and Hampel on 121. Gollob needed to lead by 25 points by the end of the meeting to guarantee his first Championship title.

Hampel was first out in heat 2 but could only manage second, taking his score up to 23. Crump had a miserable start in heat 3 finishing fourth in what was a interesting meeting for the Aussie. After his perfect ride in the last meeting, Gollob could manage third in heat 4 to take him to 142. Heat 6 saw the first drama of the night as Holta and Andersen collided, causing Andersen to be excluded and Hampel could only manage third in the restart, taking him to 124. Crump overtook Hampel in heat 7 as he won the heat to take him to 125. However Gollob followed up with a win of his own in heat 8 taking him to 145.

The three then clashed in heat 9 with Crump lucky not to be excluded after a jump start. However Crump's bike packed up in the restart so finished fourth anyway. Golllob beat Hampel to first meaning he stretched his lead to 22 on the night. Heat 10 saw Chris Holder suffer a nasty crash as he lost control of his bike and was swept into the air fence before landing on his fallen bike. Luckily he was okay to continue later on in the meeting.

Crump was involved in the drama again as a crash from Hancock in heat 14 caused him to lose his bike himself. However Hancock was excluded and Crump could only manage second in the restart, taking his points total to 127. Gollob extended his lead with another heat win in the following heat putting Crump all but out of the running. Hampel also lost ground in the 16th heat finishing third and levelling points with Crump. Gollob then won his final heat in the 18th and Hampel kept as much pressure on as he could by winning the 19th heat. Crump's fate was sealed when he finished second in the final heat and out of the semi-finals.

So it was down to two and Gollob stormed into the final with a win in his semi-final against Nicky Pedersen (who scored 11 points overall) in second, Rune Holta (who scored 9 points overall) in third and Andreas Jonsson (who scored 8 points overall. The second semi-final was won by Greg Hancock (who scored 14 points overall). However second was between Chris Harris and Hampel, it was so close it had to go to a video replay, which in itself looked inconclusive. The referee gave the place to Harris which meant Gollob was crowned World Champion there and then. Hans Andersen finished fourth in the second semi-final (scoring 8 points overall).

With Gollob crowned World Champion he deservedly went on to win the final in Terenzano to celebrate in style. Brit Chris Harris finished second, with Greg Hancock in third and Nicky Pedersen fourth. All eyes will now be on who can make the final eight to be guaranteed a place in next season's Grand Prix Championship as Speedway enters its final event of the season.

Sunday, 26 September 2010

Barclay's Premier League Round-Up

With Chelsea losing to Manchester City in the Saturday lunchtime kick-off, Arsenal had a great opportunity to seize ground by beating West Brom at the Emirates. However it wasn't to be as Peter Odemwingie continued his fine form, scoring five minutes into the second half. Gonzalo Jara doubled the lead just two minutes later to create the shock result of the day. It got even worse for Arsenal when Jerome Thomas made it 3-0 after 75 minutes. Samir Nasri got one back two minutes later before grabbing a second in stoppage time but West Brom still won 3-2.

St. Andrews and Craven Cottage both witnessed 0-0 draws as Birmingham had Craig Gardener sent off in the last minute in their draw against Wigan. Whereas Fulham drew with Everton, meaning Everton went bottom of the table with just three points to their name.

Blackpool's interesting season continued at home to Blackburn in a Lancashire derby. Captain Charlie Adam scored an own goal after twenty minutes to give Blackburn the lead. Ian Holloway's men thought they secured a point when substitute Matt Phillips equalised with five minutes to go. However Brett Emerton gave Blackburn the win with a goal in stoppage time.

Liverpool's poor form continued as they drew with Sunderland at Anfield. A shocking decision from referee Stuart Atwell lead to Dirk Kuyt giving Roy Hodgson's men the lead after just five minutes. Bent then equalised from the spot in another controversial incident after 25 minutes, Bent then went onto take the lead for Sunderland just three minutes into the second half. Captain Gerrard came to rescue with an equaliser for Liverpool after 64 minutes to give them a point in what has been a dreadful season so far.

The final Saturday game saw West Ham beat Tottenham 1-0 at Upton Park; Frederic Piqiuonne scored the solitary goal just under the half hour mark.

Sunday's second installment of the triple bill saw Wolves host Aston Villa in a Midlands derby. Stewart Downing gave Villa the lead after 25 minutes however a spirited second half saw Wolves dominate the game, they got their deserved equaliser after 61 minutes when a cross from Jarvis was met by no-one and fooled Friedel into letting the ball trickle into the net. The rejuvenated Heskey scored his second goal in as many games two minutes from time to give Gerrard Houllier his first League win under Villa in his first League game.

The final game of the weekend saw Newcastle host Stoke. Newcastle took the lead two minutes from half time when Huth stupidly brought down Carroll in the box, Nolan converted the spot kick. It was a tale of two halves again for Stoke as they were poor in the first but much better in the second. Kenwyne Jones found an equaliser for Tony Pulis after hitting the woodwork twice previously. Then an own goal from James Perch eighteen minutes later and five minutes before the end saw Stoke gain another three points. The bad news is that Ricardo Fuller looks to have dislocated his shoulder.

Singapore Grand Prix Result

Due to the football, I was unable to watch the Formula One but here's the result:
1. Alonso (Ferrari), 2. Vettel (Red Bull), 3. Webber (Red Bull), 4. Button (McLaren), 5. Rosberg (Mercedes), 6. Barrichello (Williams), 7. Kubica (Renault), 8. Sutil (Force India), 9. Hulkenberg (Williams), 10. Massa (Ferrari), 11. Petrov (Renault), 12. Alguersuari (Toro Rosso), 13. Schumacher (Mercedes), 14. Buemi (Toro Rosso), 15. Di Grassi (Virgin) Retired: Kovalainen (Lotus), Glock (Virgin), Heidfeld (Sauber), Hamilton (McLaren), Klien (Hispania), Kobayashi (Sauber), Senna (Hispania), Trulli (Lotus), Liuzzi (Force India)

The second consecutive race win for Alonso puts him on 191 points, second just eleven points behind leader Webber. Hamilton drops to third with 182 after another DNF, Vettel has closed the gap on him to just one point with Button on 177 in fifth. Red Bull now extend their lead for the constructors championship to 24 with McLaren second on 359. Ferrari's latest win puts them on 316 clear out in third place.

United Round Off A Poor Weekend For The Big Three


Bolton line-up: Jaaskelainen, Steinsson, Robinson, Knight, Ricketts, Muamba (M.Davies, 63'), Holden, Petrov (Taylor, 92'), Lee (Blake, 93'), Elmander, K.Davies
Manchester United line-up: Van Der Sar, O'Shea, Vidic, Evans, Evra, Nani, Scholes, Fletcher (Owen, 71'),Giggs (Park, 53'), Berbatov, Rooney (Macheda, 61')

With both Chelsea and Arsenal losing yesterday, Manchester United had a great opportunity to gain some ground at the Reebok Stadium against Bolton. Which for the first three minutes they looked like they were going to take it. However Bolton got back into the game and Manchester United became sloppy in their possession and even sloppier in their defence, echoing their previous three Premier League outings. United have been giving away late goals so far this season, but toady they gave away an early goal; Zat Knight flicking the ball, unmarked, from a corner into the bottom corner where Evra should have been on the post. United were creating chances but again, as has been the case so far this season, the final ball just couldn't materialise or the set piece was wasted. Bolton themselves were looking good in possession and Elmander and Davies were both creating chances for themselves. United did equalise after 23 minutes thanks to a fantastic solo run by Nani, which started from inside his own half beating five players before slotting the ball into the bottom corner. Manchester United then started to dictate terms as Bolton looked to tire towards the end of the half.

The second half continued in the same vain as United were dominating in possession but not creating chances from the final ball. Corners were especially poor today with none of them reaching further than the near post. That would be crucial as Bolton again successfully cleared a corner to Petrov and a counter attack ensued, this lead to Petrov being given the ball on the edge of the box and thanks to a deflection off Fletcher, Bolton were back in the lead after 67 minutes. Worse news for United was that Giggs (hamstring) and Rooney (ankle) had been taken off beforehand and are doubts for Wednesday's Champions League tie at Valencia. With Park and Macheda on in replace of the injured duo, the last throw of the dice came in the form of Michael Owen, and boy did it pay dividends. Three minutes after coming on Nani whipped in a free-kick and Owen flicked the ball into the net with his first touch of the match, this brought United level and gave Owen his 200th career goal. The final score finished 2-2 putting United to within a point of Chelsea and remain unbeaten so far this season. Bolton are now twelfth in the table.


Saturday, 25 September 2010

Alonso Keeps Ferrari Dream Alive

The glitz and the glamour of the Formula 1 met the even bigger glitz and glamour of the Singapore nightlife, Asia's equivalent to Monaco except with the race being held in the night. The big news before any racing had started was that Pedro De La Rosa of Sauber had been dropped and veteran Nick Heidfeld was in to replace him. Hispania's controversy continued as Yamamoto was apparently ill and unable to race so to replace him they didn't decide to choose Chandhok (the original Hispania driver), they called upon a Christian Klien who hadn't raced since 2006. Hulkenberg was also faced with a five place penalty for an engine change so needed to qualify high.

The shock of Q1 saw Felipe Massa witness a gearbox failure which meant he was out of the session and will start last on the grid tomorrow. The usual suspects then followed: Senna in 23rd won't be happy that new boy Klien finished ahead of him in 22nd. 21st was Trulli of Lotus followed by Di Grassi of Virgin. Trulli's teammate Kovalainen qualified 19th with Glock of Virgin winning the battle of the new constructors in 18th.

Q2 saw Hulkenberg qualify 12th which means he will start 17th on tomorrow's grid. Force India won't be happy with their qualifying as Liuzzi and Sutil finished 17th and 16th respectively but get pushed up a place thanks to Hulkenberg. Nick Heidfeld's return to racing saw him finish 15th but will start 14th and Toro Rosso's Buemi finished 14th, therefore starting 13th tomorrow. The other driver to be pushed up a place is Renault's Petrov who failed to finish the session but posted a time worthy of finishing 13th. Toro Rosso's Alguersuari was the other driver to fall from Q2 in eleventh.

The results in Q3 are as follows: 10. Kobayashi (Sauber), 9. Schumacher (Mercedes), 8. Kubica (Renault), 7. Rosberg (Mercedes), 6. Barrichello (Wiliams), 5. Webber (Red Bull), 4. Button (McLaren),3. Hamilton (McLaren), 2. Vettel (Red Bull), 1. Alonso (Ferrari). So Alonso keeps his championship dreams alive with pole position and current leader Webber has it all to do starting from fifth to keep his lead from Hamilton and the rest.