Spanish La Liga Round Twelve
Saturday 22nd November 2008
Real Madrid got back to winning ways, with an unconvincing 1-0 victory over Recreativo. Wesley Sneijder scored the only goal on 39 minutes, through a drilled shot which was deflected past Asier Riesgo in the Recreativo goal. Sevilla and Valencia played out a 0-0, in Seville. The teams are level on points in fourth and five with 24 points for the season.
Elsewhere Villarreal suffered a surprised home defeat to Valladolid. The visitors came away with a 3-0 victory. Valladolid opened the scoring on 22 minutes through Jonathan Sesma. Sesma then made it 2-0 after 42 minutes with a clever lob. Luis Prieto made it 3-0 on the stroke of half-time. Prietos free-kick went through keeper Diego Lopez and it has to go down as a goalkeeping error.
Sunday 23rd November
Atletico Madrid drew 1-1 with Numancia, after conceding in the last minute. Diego Forlan gave Atletico the lead after 34 minutes. Jose Barkero gave the home side a point with a last gasp goal from the penalty spot. Osasuna beat Almeria 3-1, to record only their second victory of the season. Alvaro Negredo gave Almeria the lead on 8 minutes, from the penalty spot. On 10 minutes Guilherme was sent-off for Almeria. Walter Pandiani equalised for Osasuna on 15 minutes. Hernan Pellerano scored an own goal after 71 minutes, to give Osasuna the lead. Krisztian Vadocz confirmed the three points for the home side in the 90th minute.
Racing Santander recorded a 3-0 home victory against Espanyol. Ivan Marcano scored in the 11th minute to give Racing the lead. Oscar Serrano doubled Racings lead after 26 minutes. Jonathan finished the scoring in the 59th minute to make it 3-0. Mallorca and Malaga drew 2-2. The visitors Malaga took the lead in the 12th minute, through an Ivan Barrios own goal. Jose Rey equalised for the home side on 18 minutes. Malaga regained the lead after 24 minutes through a Nabil Baha goal. Pierre Webo earned Mallorca the draw with a 67th minute equaliser.
Real Betis claimed a 2-1 victory at Sporting Gijon. Sporting took the lead after 25 minutes through Diego Castro. Real Betis equalised after 53 minutes through Luciano Monzon. The winner came from Achille Emana after 60 minutes. Barcelona could only manage a 1-1 draw with Getafe at Nou Camp. Getafe took the lead through an excellent strike from Manu after 19 minutes. Seydou Keita equalised for Barca in the 71st minute with a close range header. Barca pushed for a winner but couldn’t find one, as Getafe held on for a well earned point.
Deportivo beat Athletic Bilbao 3-1 at the Riazor. Ze Castro gave Depor the lead after 20 minutes. Depor midfielder Joan Verdu made it 2-0 from the penalty spot after 44 minutes. Bilbao got a goal back after 72 minutes through a Javi Martinez header. Andres Guardado secured all three points for the home side deep into injury time.
Premier League Round-Up Sun 23-11-08
Tottenham 1 Blackburn 0
Tottenham are still unbeaten at home under Harry Redknapp as they beat 10 men Blackburn at White Hart Lane. The match started with both team playing well with a good match in store but after only 10 minutes Spurs struck with the opening goal. Aaron Lennon took the ball of Martin Olsson at the half way line rushed down to the by-line & put in a great cut back to Pavlyuchenko who make no mistake & fired home. Blackburn could have got back into the game straight away but Benni McCarthy could only send his shot over the bar & that miss was made even worse after 30 minutes as Olsson was shown the red card for 2 bookable offences for two bad tackles on Lennon. Pavlyuchenko could have made it 2 but saw his header hit a post from a David Bentley cross & Ryan Nelsen had to clear off the line from Ledley King. The Brett Emerton had a chance when he lobbed the oncoming Heurelho Gomes but Woodgate got back to clear from McCarthy getting the loose ball & Samba almost got on the end of a Emerton free kick. The second half was just as good as Blackburn tried to get back in to the game Santa Cruz should have done better but headed a free kick straight at Gomes but that’s the best they got as Spurs where looking for a second. Tom Huddlestone curled a 30 yarder just over & Lennon & Bentley got more involved to try & make the 11 against 10 count. Woodgate should have got the second as he headed over Bentley’s free kick but for all the goal mouth action Tottenham could only win the game with the single goal to move them out of the bottom 3 but Blackburn & now fighting in their…
Sunderland 0 West Ham 1
West Ham got there first win in 8 games as they saw off Sunderland to move up to 13th place in the premiership but left Sunderland down in 16th. Sunderland started the game the better of the two & saw Cisse head over a Andy Reid cross & then Kenwyne Jones had his shot blocked by James Collins but for all the early pressure it was West Ham that took the lead in the 20th minute they had a free kick which was taken by Julien Faubert but it only got as far as Nyron Nosworthy who cleared only as far as Valon Behrami on the edge of the penalty area & his shot deflected on Jones & past the keeper Martin Fulop & into the net. Sunderland should have equalised almost immediately as Cisse again wasted a good chance from a Reid cross & then Reid himself curled a shot off the cross bar but they where left angry at the ref as James Collins got away with what looked like two blatant fouls one on Jones in the box & one on Cisse when he was clean through but got away with both!!. Even though Sunderland was dominating the match they could have bin two down just before half timer as Bellamy was clean through went round Fulop squared it to Behrami who smashed the ball onto the cross bar from 6 yards. The second half was all about Sunderland trying to get back into the match Cisse had 2 good chances but wasted them both Bardsley had a 20 yard shot that went just wide but for all their effort & play they didn’t really give Robert Green in the West Ham goal a severe test & they held on to win there first match in 8 where Sunderland have now lost 4 out of the last 5…
Premier League Round-Up Sat 22-11-08
Arsenal’s title hopes are over after being beaten by Man City, Man United where held by Aston Villa, Stoke won the battle with West Brom, Chelsea where held by Newcastle at home, Liverpool where also held at home by Fulham, Middlesbrough had there unbeaten streak ended by Bolton & Portsmouth where pegged back twice by Hull.
Arsenal’s title hope look all but over as they where handed a 3-0 defeat by Man City. The first half was very disappointing with both teams not really making any impression on the other but that all changed just before half time. Stephen Ireland couldn’t collect Benjani’s pass but Arsenal Defender Gael Clichy sliced his clearance straight to Ireland who then put the ball passed Almunia & into the goal. City went further ahead after half time when Wright-Phillips collected the ball in his own half put a delightful ball to Robinho who chipped it over the advancing Almunia but it was all over & it was final when Daniel Sturridge fired in a penalty after in had bin ruled that he was tripped in the box by Djourou to send Arsenal home with more stories to come…
Chelsea are having trouble scoring at home when they where held 0-0 by a stubborn Newcastle side. The only really piece of goal mouth action was in the first 10 minutes of the second half when Joe Cole stabbed the ball in from close range when Florent Malouda’s shot was parried by Shay Given but you could clearly see that Ashley Cole was offside in the replays. Newcastle defended really well & held there own & got a point for the hard work.
Liverpool had the chance to go top on there own but failed to do so with a 0-0 against Fulham. Liverpool never really threatened Fulham in the match as they held firm & didn’t look like conceding or being put under pressure. Liverpool had 2 chances to moan about one was when Robbie Keane was denied by the keeper in the first half & Dirk Kuyt was denied in the second but Fulham overall deserved their point..
Man United where also held at home by a fighting Aston Villa 0-0. There where very few chances in the match but Wayne Rooney had the best opportunity when he lashed his shot over the bar after being put in by Michael Carrick. Villa never really got the keeper into trouble either but should have had a penalty in the 58th minute when Agbonlahor was having his shirt tugged at in the penalty area but the referee failed to spot the incident so it ended all square…
Portsmouth where pegged back at home by never say never Hull City as it ended 2-2. It looked like Portsmouth had taken the lead after only 2 minutes as Papa Bouba Diop sent a header goal wardsfrom a Glen Johnson cross but it smacked the crossbar & bounced on the goal line with the Portsmouth players thinking it was a goal but it was ruled otherwise. But on 21 minutes they did take the lead from a Peter Crouch header from a Younes Kaboul cross. It stayed like that until the second half when Hull came out fighting & where level 10 minutes into the half from a Michael Turner header from a corner but Portsmouthth got there noses in front again on 65 minute from a stunning strike from Glen Johnson who brought the football under control from a Hull clearance & smashed it past keeper Boaz Myhill & into the net all this from 30 yards. But Hull got there rewards in the last minute when Ian Ashbee’s shot was deflected into the air & as it came down it hit Noe Pamarot’s head & bounced into the goal past David James…
Middlesbrough’s five match unbeaten run came to an end when they where beaten at home by Bolton 3-1. Middlesbrough where left stunned when they where behind by two gaols in the first 10 minutes of the match the first was a Steinsson header from a Matt Taylor free kick that actually deflected of Kevin Davies & into the net & the second was Steinsson put in a low winged cross that was superbly controlled by Taylor & he fired it passed Ross Turnbull in off the post. It stayed that way until the 77th minute in the second half when Middlesbrough got themselves back in it from a corner that was sent in & it seemed to ping about the penalty area until it fell to Pogatetz who fired his shot past Jaaskelainen. But it didn’t last long about 60 seconds in fact & it was Johan Elmander who brought the ball under control & smashed a great shot past Turnbull & into the net to seal all 3 points for Bolton…
Stoke got another win under their belts at home with a 1-0 win over West Brom. The game was a very tight affair as it would be for two promoted clubs that are trying to survive in the premiership & it remained that way right up to the 84th minute when Danny Higginbotham played a one two with Michael Tonge & he sent in a swinging cross which was meet by Mamady Sidibe’s head & into the net at the far post to give Stoke all three valuable points…
Spanish La Liga Round Eleven
Saturday 15th November 2008
Title challengers Valencia and Real Madrid were both surprisingly beaten, in the first games of round eleven. Valladolid beat Real 1-0 thanks to a Fabian Canobbio strike on 49 minutes. This defeat has increased the pressure on Real manager Bernd Schuster, who is looking increasing unlikely to be in his job much longer.
Valencia suffered a 3-2 defeat against Sporting Gijon at the Mestalla. Luis Moran gave Sporting Gijon the lead after 20 minutes. It got even better for the visitors on 52 minutes, as David Barral doubled their lead. David Villa made it 2-1 from the penalty spot in the 69th minute. Sporting then made it 3-1 after 79 minutes, through a Diego Castro wonder strike. Juan Mata scored a second goal for Valencia in injury time, but it was too late for Los Ches.
Sunday 16th November 2008
Villarreal missed the chance to get closer to Barcelona at the top of the table, after they drew 2-2 with Malaga. Giuseppe Rossi opened the scoring after 8 minutes for the Yellow Submarines, only for Duda to equalise for Malaga on the half hour mark. Joseba Llorente gave Villarreal a 2-1 lead. Helder Rosario scored a dramatic 90th minute equaliser for Malaga to make it 2-2. Sevilla managed a 2-0 away victory at Getafe. Luis Fabiano scored the first in the 36st minute and Tom De Mul ensured a victory with a second goal in injury time.
Atletico Madrid beat Deportivo 4-1 and jumped above them into sixth in the table. Johnny Heitinga gave Atletico the lead on 26 minutes. Diego Forlan then scored in the 53rd and 82nd minutes to give Atletico a 3-0 lead. Maxi Rodriguez added a fourth in the 68th minute. Luis Filipe gave Deportivo a consolation on 88 minutes but it was too little too late for Depor. Athletic Bilbao beat Osasuna 2-0, to claim only their second victory of the season. The goals came from Joseba Garmendia in the 16th minute and a Fernando Llorente strike in the 88th minute.
Numancia beat Espanyol 4-3 in a goal bonanza. It was a good away win for Numancia. Txomin Nagore gave Numancia the lead after 15 minutes. Hurtado hit back for Espanyol in the 35th minute. Antonio Guayre then put Numancia back in the lead in the 53rd minute. Daniel Jarque put Espanyol back on level terms after 64 minutes, before Raul Tamudo put Espanyol ahead. Numancia came back with two late goals to steal the game 4-3. The goals came from Jose Barkero in the 86st minute and a 90th minute winner from substitute Carlos Bellvis.
Almeria beat Mallorca 2-1 to climb to eighth in the league. Alvaro Negredo gave Almeria the lead just before half time, in the 44th minute. Negredo doubled Almeria’s lead from the penalty spot in the 67th minute. Alhassane Keita gave Mallorca a consolation goal in injury time. Almeria held on, however to claim a 2-1 victory. Real Betis claimed a 3-1 home victory against Racing Santander. Sergio Garcia scored a double with goals in the 29th and 72nd minutes. Sandwiched in between those strikes was a 38th minute goal from Achille Emana. Racings goal came from Pedro Munitis in the 86st minute. Barcelona had to work hard for a 2-0 victory away at Recreativo. Barca took the lead through Lionel Messi in the 51st minute, after a cleverly taken free-kick by Xavi put him through on goal. Victory was ensured in the 86st minute when Seydou Keita tapped in from close range.
Premier League Round-Up Sun 16-11-08
Everton could only manage a draw with Middlesbrough & Hull came back to draw with Man City.
Everton had to come from a goal down to earn a draw with Middlesbrough at Goodison Park. Everton seem to struggle at home this season & it showed from the kick off as passes went astray & they were made to pay for it after 8 minutes when they had a counter attack with Stewart Downing breaking down the left pulled the ball back into the box to Gary O’Neil who had plenty of time & space to slot the ball past a diving Tim Howard. Everton could have got back into the game only 5 minute later but Ross Turnball made a good save from Yakubu & Lescotts cross hitting a post. It wasn’t until midway through the second half that Everton got back on terms it was a Arteta free kick into the six yard box & Yakubu tried to back header it into the goal but it actualy hit his back & went it they could have won it later on as Saha nodded down for Yakubu but he dragged his shot well wide & Middlesbrough could have won it at the death but Tuncay Sanli failed to make any use of the opportunity…
Hull City came from behind to earn a 2-2 draw with Man City at the KC Stadium. Hull started the better & pressured City & it paid off as they were gifted the opening goal Tal Ben Haim back pass to the keeper was a little short & Daniel Cousin nipped in to slot the ball under Joe Hart & into the net. But Hull repaid the favour in the 37th minute when Kamil Zayette for some reason not letting the ball run through to the keeper tried to dribble the ball but he put it to far in front of him & it went to Stephen Ireland who then put the ball into the back of the net. It was Ireland again just before half time when he collected the ball on the edge of the area & curled a great shot round Boaz Myhill & into the net to give City the lead. Hull pressed in the second half & got their rewards when Geovanni’s free kick hit Vincent Kompany & it wrong footed Kasper Schmeichel (on for the injured Joe Hart) & into the net to give Hull the equaliser. They nearly took the lead moments later but Cousin brought a smart save out of Schmeichel Hull then had 3 20 yard free kick in a row but could only find the wall every time & there was a scare at the end as they nearly lost the match when Vassell broke clear & he sent in a fierce shot only for Myhill beat the ball away from his near post to end the match in a draw..
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