Archive for April 2005
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Chelsea and Liverpool in first-leg deadlock
LONDON:
Chelsea and Liverpool played to a 0-0 draw in the first leg of the Champions League semifinals on Wednesday, with scoring opportunities limited amid a tough midfield battle.
Chelsea had the better possession, but Didier Drogba and Frank Lampard wasted good opportunities to score and Liverpool goalkeeper Jerzy Dudek didn’t have a save to make.
The Reds also had the stronger chances, with only a reflex save by Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech stopping Milan Baros’ header.
The first half set the tone for Wednesday’s match — a fast-paced midfield duel, with end-to-end play, but strong defence on both sides.
Drogba let a good chance slip in the 14th minute when he chose to pass across the face of goal to Eidur Gudjohnsen rather than shoot. The ball went wide.
Lampard also missed a strong chance in the 23rd, sidefooting the ball over the bar from close range after Joe Cole had headed down a William Gallas cross into the box.
Liverpool had the best chance of the first half, with Cech diving to his right to make a one-handed block on Baros’ 38th-minute header.
Cech also shepherded another shot from Baros to safety and blocked an attempt by John Arne Riise with his chest.
Chelsea midfielder Tiago, playing in place of the injured Damian Duff, failed to connect with a John Terry cross in the box close to halftime. Chelsea had more of the ball early in the second half, but failed to finish attacks, even when Arjen Robben came on for Tiago in the 59th.
Dudek nearly let in an embarrassing goal — racing to his line to clear a forward ball by Cole which took an unexpected bounce.
Djibril Cisse sent a powerful shot over the bar in the 68th, just minutes after he had replaced Baros. Cole, one of Chelsea’s most creative players, was replaced by Mateja Kezman in the 78th minute. Seconds later, Kezman was shown a yellow card for a foul on Dimi Traore.
In front of goal in the 82nd, Kezman kicked the ball into the air while being closed down by Liverpool defenders Jamie Carragher and Traore. — AP
Hindu On Net
SINGAPORE : Geylang United beat the Young Lions 1-0 in an S.League match on Tuesday.
Midfielder John Wilkinson scored the only goal in the 17th minute, much to the delight of the 3,700 crowd at Bedok Stadium.
Yellow cards were handed out by referee M. Ganesan to Geylang’s Fathi Yunus in the 59th minute and Syed Fadhil in the 63rd minute.
With the latest victory, Geylang has moved up to fourth spot in the table with nine points, while the Young Lions is lying in sixth position with seven points. – CNA
Channel News Asia
Newcastle Posts Win
Posted on: April 9, 2005
Newcastle posts win
LONDON,
APRIL 8
Newcastle, CSKA Moscow and AZ Alkmaar picked up victories on Thursday in the first leg of the UEFA Cup quarterfinals.
Alan Shearer gave Newcastle the only goal it needed in a 1-0 victory over visiting Sporting Lisbon. AZ won 2-1 at Spain’s Villarreal, handing the Spaniards their first home loss this season in the competition.
In the landslide of the night, CSKA Moscow overpowered Auxerre 4-0.
In the fourth quarterfinal, Austria Vienna rallied to draw 1-1 with Parma. The second legs are next Thursday with the semifinals set for April 28 and May 5.
The final of Europe’s No. 2 club competition is May on 18 in Lisbon.
At Newcastle, England, Shearer’s first-half goal lifted Newcastle over Sporting. Shearer scored with a header in the 37th minute, his 19th goal of the season, off a free kick from Laurent Robert.
It was Shearer’s 192nd goal for the club. The 34-year-old striker has scored in every European match he has played this season.
Newcastle coach Graeme Souness started midfielder Kieron Dyer, but left fellow midfielder Lee Bowyer on the bench. In the 63rd, Bowyer came on when Dyer picked up a leg injury.
The two got into a fight with 10 minutes remaining in the club’s 3-0 loss to Aston Villa last weekend. Bowyer was apparently angry that Dyer didn’t pass the ball to him enough.
Bowyer was banned for four domestic games, and Dyer was banned for three. Bowyer was also fined six weeks wage, about 210,000 pounds .
Landzaat scores
At Villarreal, Spain, Denny Landzaat and Robin Nelisse scored in each half to lead AZ Alkmaar over Villarreal 2-1. Juan Roman Riquelme scored for the host, but also missed a penalty which could have averted Villarreal’s first home defeat in the competition.
It was also the first home game in the competition in which the Spaniards have given up a goal.
Villarreal, the only Spanish team to reach the last eight of either the UEFA Cup or the Champions League, fell behind in the 11th when Landzaat scored from the edge of the penalty area.
Lacking ineligible leading scorer Diego Forlan, Villarreal levelled three minutes later. Nelisse scored the winning goal in the 74th minute, following Jan Kromkamp’s run and low pass from the left.
At Moscow, Yuri Zhirkov set up two goals and Sergei Ignashevich converted a penalty kick to lift CSKA Moscow to a 4-0 win over Auxerre, giving the Russians a big edge going into next week’s second leg.
CSKA dominated early and had several more chances to score before taking the lead when Chidi Odia’s shot from inside the box deflected in off Auxerre midfielder Lionel Mathis in the 21st minute.
Ignashevich doubled the lead, converting a penalty attempt in the 62nd. Nine minutes later, Vagner Love made it 3-0 from close range, and Zhirkov set up the final goal, working to the line and rolling it across to Rolan Gusev, who scored in the 78th.
Reduced to 10 men
The visitors were reduced to 10 men when Pascal Mignot was sent off in the 83rd on his second yellow card.
At Vienna, Austria, Sebastian Mila equalised in the 60th minute to help Austria Vienna hold Parma to a 1-1 draw. Mila scored at the near post after a pass from Stepan Vachousek.
Andrea Pisanu gave the Italian team the lead — and an important away goal — in the 34th minute. Pisanu beat goalkeeper Szabolcs Safar with a deflected shot.
Austria Vienna dominated much of the match in front of 40,000 fans, the largest crowd the club has attracted in 19 years.
The results:
At Newcastle : Newcastle (ENG) 1 (Shearer 37) bt Sporting Lisbon (POR) 0.
At Vienna: Austria Vienna (AUT) 1 (Mila 61) drew with Parma (ITA) 1 (Pisanu 34).
At Villareal: Villarreal (ESP) 1 (Riquelme 14) lost to Alkmaar (NED) 2 (Landzaat 12, Nelisse 74)
At Moscow: CSKA Moscow (RUS) 4 (Odiah 21, Ignashevich 63-pen, Vagner Love 71, Gusev 78) bt Auxerre (FRA) 0.— AP
Hindu On Net
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