Global World Sport

Hampshire and Nottinghamshire are two sides who, on paper, can win the County Championship title. But this season, Shane Warne has abandoned his Hampshire team-mates and left them to fend for themselves. After 6 games, Hampshire currently sit in 6th place on 57 points. Sussex are in 5th place on 68 points. Nottinghamshire are currently doing better in 4th place and are only 7 points off the lead - definite title challengers. Durham currently lead the table.

With Hampshire already out of the Friends Provident Trophy and the Twenty20 Cup (only narrowly after a defeat to Essex in the final round of matches), the County Championship and the upcoming Pro40 League look like Hampshire's best bet for some silverware this season. But with Hants struggling in the County Championship, it looks like another trophyless season. With Shane Warne not coming back, Shane Bond and Ian Harvey both finishing their overseas stints and Shane Watson being called up for Australia, Hampshire are currently without an overseas player. Nantie Hayward, an old South African player, has been brought in recently on the Kolpak ruling to give some experience to the bowlers and the whole side.

(BBC Sport)

Hayward lined up for Hampshire on the first day of this important County Championship match. The teams are as follows:

Hampshire: Brown, Carberry, Crawley, Lumb, Ervine, Pothas (wk), Mascarenhas (c), Lamb, Tremlett, Tomlinson, Hayward.

Nottinghamshire: Jefferson, Wood, Wagh, Voges, Patel, Read (wk, c), Shafayat, Adams, Franks, Pattinson, Shreck.

Day 1

On a windy day down in Southampton, Hampshire's Brown and Carberry walked out to bat.

(cricinfo)

Brown and Carberry were looking good at the crease, hitting 12 fours between them. They put on a 58 run partnership before England Lions' Michael Carberry was out for 36 (c Read b Adams). Brown soon followed, out for 29 after being caught lbw by Andre Adams for his second wicket of the day.

Shreck, Nottinghamshire's most experienced bowler today, couldn't take any wickets in the morning so Pattinson was brought in. He soon picked up 2 wickets in the space of 5 minutes. Michael Lumb hit out to point and was caught by Wood for 5, while Sean Ervine was caught lbw for 0. Hampshire were left at 78-4. On 84-4, Notts missed their chance to pick up a 5th wicket after some calamatious running from Pothas and Crawley, but the run out never happened.

Pothas and Crawley soon soon recovered themselves and put on a 95 run partnership before Pothas was caught lbw by Patel for a decent 56. John Crawley soon notched up his 50 before being bowled by Adams. Hampshire were now on 179-6 and so far without any bonus batting points (for the actual table).

Greg Lamb, a middle order batsman and occasional spin-bowler (now Hampshire's main spin bowler now Warne isn't there!) and Hampshire captain Dimitri Mascarenhas were next at the crease. They put on a 65 run partnership until Lamb hit to mid-on and was caught by Franks, off the bowling of Patel, for 19. Mascarenhas stuck around longer and was eventually bowled out by Shreck for 55. Chris Tremlett was then bowled by Adams for 16, with Hayward being the last wicket to fall, bowled by Shreck for 7. Tomlinson ended on 12*. Hampshire ended on 293ao (nearly 3 bonus batting points!).

Andre Adams ended with impressive figures of 20 overs, 7 maidens, 4 wickets for 63. Based on this performance, he should have been in the New Zealand squad while they were here playing England! Shreck, Pattinson and Patel each got 2 wickets while Franks ended with 0.

With around 30 minutes left of the day, Nottinghamshire faced a tricky few overs. They ended on 13-0.

On Day 4, Nottinghamshire wrapped up the victory and won by 6 wickets.

Two struggling topteams were facing each other at the nationalday of football in Norway. And what a match we got to see, and later celebrate, in the crowd.

is a special day in Norway. The day before the nationalday of Norway. Somehow, it has become a traditional day for a round in Tippeligaen. Each year, whenever it's Monday, Wednesday or Saturday, a round of the league is being played. It's like Boxing day in England. All teams want to play at home and host one of the games. Usually, there are some good derbys at this day as well.

The tradition was made in Trondheim in 1981. Rosenborg's game against Fredrikstad was postponed and randomly played at the 16th of May. Many people came to watch, because 16th of May is also a day where everyone, especially youngsters, goes to party's and drink a lot. Celebrates the nationalday. After that, 16th of May has always been a date for football. Since 1981 has Tippeligaen just missed one round at the 16th of May. In 1998 were Norway in the FIFA World Cup, and FIFA had 16th of May as one of the dates for friendlies. So the round could not be played at the 16th. People were gutted and complained to FIFA. Strangely, tho, FIFA didn't move the date just because the Norwegians wanted to. *humpf*

When the fixtures for the league is being published, people always looks at the 16th of May round. Will we play at home?
Rosenborg and Brann always get to, because they have the best fans etc.. This is a source to anger for those who got to play away. However, the FA ignores them and keeps giving them the hostership.

Speaking of the FA, who has had tough days lately. First of all, Brann got to play Vålerenga at the 16th of May. Their fans always ending up in big brawls outside the stadium. The casualgroup is growing and espcially in Bergen and Oslo.

So why are the FA trying to ruin the 16th of May by putting them up against each other? And why did they set the match to 8:00, so the fans are getting even more time to drink before the game? Disaster!

The FA also ruined another day in football-Norway: HamKam-Strømsgodset was moved to Monday the 19th because the deal with the main channel TV2 says that TV2 should be allowed to show two games each round. So they moved HamKam-Strømsgodset away from the 16th of May. This is just the third time that Kamma got homegame at this day and now do they move it. Thanks a lot... And even worse: TV2 will not even show the game on their main channel, but on TV2 Zebra! So why did they move it at all!?

NFF og TV2 ødelegger fotballen!!!

If this was a normal round, Rosenborg-Lillestrøm would been moved. But TV2 and NFF are chickens, cos they knew that if they had a go on RBK, they'd be hated even more... The Norwegian FA has to be one of the most stupid in the world.

Strømsgodset 3, Rosenborg 2.... Rosenborg 1, Fredrikstad 2.... Rosenborg 0, Tromsø 1..... Stabæk 1, Rosenborg 0.....

Four defeats in six games, and only four points on the table. That made Rosenborg 13th before the 16th of May-round, which is the spot that gives you a play-off spot. Lillestrøm were not that better. They had to wait until the last round for their first win, over the mighty Viking. LSK were having the 12th place before this game...

Tom Nordlie, Lillestrøm's manager, is the manager with the best odds for being fired first. That would not been the first time. Nordlie was also fired in Odd Grenland in 1998, Vålerenga in 2001, Sandefjord in 2003, IK Start in 2006, before he went to Viking later that season. He was not fired there, but he went to Lillestrøm before the 2007 season. Will Nordlie be sacked again?

Rosenborg is well-known to handle their managers anything but good too. After Nils Arne Eggen's retire in 2002, and Åge Hareide's promotion from RBK to the Norwegian nationalteam in 2003, RBK has sacked four managers!
Ola By Rise in 2004 (in spite of taking them to another leaguegold and a new season in the UCL) Per Joar Hansen in the middle of 2005 (after their third loss in a row.)
Per Mathias Høgmo in 2006 (he was ill and needed a break. But the assistant Knut Tørum did so well that they didn't want him back!) Tørum was sacked one year later, after just a 5th place in the league. Ironicly enough, Tørum was sacked after a good 2-0 win over Valencia....

Trond Henriksen leaded RBK in his last homegame by the way, since Rosenborg has signed Erik Hamrèn from the Danish side Aalborg. The Swede is already popular in Trondheim, because he says that he won't care about Nils Arne Eggen's way of playing. One of Rosenborg's problems after the legend, is that all the managers have tried to copy him, instead of having their own styles.

The fact that Aalborg won the league one day earlier, after beating Brøndby with 2-0, did not make Hamrèn less popular as well. Aab's title was a big surprise in Denmark too! With other words, Hamrèn is a good manager... hopefully....

He used to be one of the fan favourites, this Vidar Riseth. A real hardworker and a true jackass. Gets lots of yellow cards due to his rough style and his whines against everyone. One of Tippeligaens most hated players. A true king of the pitch and a typical captain.

Until December the 12th 2007, he was one my favouriteplayers on Rosenborg. I loved how he pushed the limit and frustrated the opposites. A good example is the battle against Stabæk last season, where he kicked down Gunnarson and got booked. A smart thing, though, because Nannskog and all tried to copy him and do the same. It became a match with lots of duels and cards. Nannskog was clearly angry with him. You could see he wanted to kill him. And how Riseth, after the game, said that Daniel Nannskog was the idiot of the game. Rosenborg won 3-0 and Stabæk were sent home as big losers. He works like Gerrard and is more an idiot than Obi Mikel. Its not weird how RBK used to love him and the rest of Norway hates him. And who can ever forget how he fought in 2-0 over Valencia... A grey day in December was the epoch over. The defender changed status from hero to zero in Kjernen over the night.

We woke up to the most shocking news we could imagine: Riseth leaves RBK... and goes to Lillestrøm! What!?

It's not like we lost a young talent, but still. Riseth did not want to end the career in Trondheim. He pointed on the manager problems, and the bad leaders etc... And the fact that the wife wanted to move home to Oslo... When did the girlfriends started to choose clubs? And why the heck did he chose Lillestrøm? One of the main rivals!?

It's like Gerrard going to Manchester United. IT'S CRAZY! We thought he was a clubman, but he is just an idiot. You dont switch team in an age of 35. You end your career in the club in your heart. And you're not going to Lillestrøm...

The LSK fans were gutted as well. They did not want him wearing their kit. Vidar Riseth IS a true jackass, and he did not expect happy faces when he returned to his old homeground at the 16th of May....

Just like the visitors from Lillestrøm, I had to travel with far distances to find myself at Lerkendal. However, I could not miss this game: 16th of May against the main rivals from Luxemstrøm! My willingness to go was not less after the embarrasing 1-4 result in Lillestrøm last season. It was time to revenge!

11:50, Friday morning. School is over, and I am at the bus station in Elverum. Talking to some people I haven't seen for a while. Telling I'm going to Trondheim. I pretend that I want to celebrate the nationalday in Trondheim, but they dont believe me. "Wait... Isn't Rosenborg playing today? You're going to see them!" Cheeky bastards... Unmasked...

The game should take place at 6:00, and a normal trip to Trondheim takes about 5 hours. However, we will stop for 20 mins plus that we would stop at some places to let people off and on. According to the bus table, we would arrive Trondheim at 5:45. A bit too late, and I may not reach the game!

When I heard the speaker at the station in Elverum say that the bus is ten minutes too late from Oslo, I started to feel the nervousity. I tried to think positive, because Lerkendal is one of the places where the bus stops, and the stadium is about ten minutes from the station in Trondheim... This seemed to be a battle against the time, like Jack Bauer's days (lol...)....

345 kilometers, here we go....

After an hour in dreamland, I wake up by the message from the bus driver: The break in Hanestad will be ten minutes shorter, due to the retardation. Finally some good news!

After a tasty hamburger at the kiosk in Hanestad, the trip could continue, and Trondheim was now a few miles closer.

The trips from my place to Trondheim is pretty boring... It's just woods and woods and even more woods. No typical mountains like in West of Norway, or beautiful fjords... Just a lot of trees.... But I brought my computer, so I did some homework and stuff.

5:15, and we're now in Melhus, just outside Trondheim. The trip has gone surprisingly fast, so I'll get to reach the kick-off. But I will probably get a bad view of the match, though, since Kjernen's tickets are unnumbered and I will come straight before the match.

5:40, 20 minutes before the game. I left the bus and found my mother. She takes my bag, and I get my ticket. To spare time, she picked it up for me. My dog, Nitro, was there as well. He was wearing a Rosenborg scarf! :)

I went to the entrance, and saw a lot of fans still standing outside. Since Lerkendal is a stadium with four stands, we are able to see into the stadium from outside. We cant see the pitch, though, but I could see that many seats were still aviable. But thousands of fans were still waiting outside. They seemed angry as well, and I knew why when I came closer. The police were spending ages to check the people for fireworks, keys, coins etc... There are always more police at matches like these.

5:55, and the speaker plays the traditional pre-match song. "I will survive" by Hermes House Band. I could see one of the stands from my place in the line outside the entrance. Lots of flags, and all the fans were standing and clapping, like they always do during the pre-match song. There were still quite many people before me, so I supposed that I wouldn't come in before kick-off. The fans were pulling and pushing each other and many were angry and screamed against the police.

Straight after the pre-match melody was over, I showed my ticket to the ticketman, and surprisingly, I wasn't checked!

The police just sent me in. Probably because there were still houndreds of fans outside. I entered the crowd while the Tippeligaen song was being played, and while the teams came in. An electrical atmosphere.

The main stand showed the text "EVIG TROFAST" (Forever faithful), Kjernen were throwing white paper, while the guests from Lillestrøm covered the pitch with yellow confetti. I made it and would see the whole game! Not bad, even tho I had to stand in the stairs...

The teams came on the pitch to fight. A typical Lillestrøm derby. Not entertaiment, but duels. It's even more when they play at their place, but the two teams were not going on the pitch to entertain today, but fight for the points. The points that were even more important than earlier. In a match like this, the one who goes home as loser is in real trouble. Neither of the teams wanted to be used in sentences with words like "crisis" and "relegation" in the newspapers. The latest weeks have been tough for both Rosenborg and Lillestrøm...

In all of the six first matches, the opposite has scored first against Rosenborg. Even in the 2-1 victory over Lyn in the opener, Lyn scored first. Therefore were RBK working even harder into the box when the light-blue team came closer. LSK, who had red kits when they were here in 2005, black kits in 2006 and yellow in 2007. Why do they always change color of the away-kit?

Anyway, in spite of the low tempo in the match, Rosenborg had their first chance already after 40 seconds. Steffen Iversen who still has no goals so far in the league, turned around and shot from 15 meters. The much injured striker missed the target by a few meters, though.

Rosenborg had the initiative, since Lillestrøm came to Lerkendal with a 4-3-3/4-5-1 formation. But Riseth and Kippe worked hard in defence and gave RBK's strikers little time with the ball.

The only chance Lillestrøm created in the first half was a counter-attack that nearly became dangerous because of a bad pass by Rosenborg's Roy Miller, who has been struggling so far.

Oh Ah, Sapara!

Rosenborg continued their pressure, and it finally gave results after 22 minutes. The homeside got a great chance for a counter-attack and Per Ciljan Skjelbred turned up his speed and gave Fredrik Stoor the ball on the right side. The Swede who recently was included in Sweden's squad for Euro 2008 in Austria/Switzerland found Marek Sapara into the box. Sapara touched the ball with his knee, and it continued it's way into the nets. A funny and lucky goal that sent 22.000 homefans to heaven, and finaly, finaly were Rosenborg in the lead again! Kjernen celebrated with the traditional Sapara-dance while the Oh-Ah-Sapara song could be heard over Lerkendal again.

New chances for RBK, this time in the 35th minute. A new great attack with Skjelbred as the waiter, who found Kone alone at the side, but the Ivornian's shot was blocked just in time!

In the last hours before the match, Per Ciljan Skjelbred threw up and was uncertain for the Lillestrøm game. But he got rid of it in time, luckly for Rosenborg. Lillestrøm's Vidar Riseth was actually sick before the Valencia match last year as well. And who can ever forget Zidane's penalty against England, where the French superstar threw up before he sent the ball past David James? Maybe illness is a road to glory?

Skjelbred began the match great and he was all over the ground in the second half too. In fact, many topclubs are watching him again. Back in 2005, when he was young and very talentful, he was linked to clubs like Real Madrid and Manchester United. I don't know how serious they were, but Skjelbred was very good and got a lot of brag from David Beckham after his two brilliant games against Real Madrid. But in November 2005, Per was seriously injured after a bad tackle by Ieroklis Stoltidis from Olympiacos. The 18-year old was injured for ages and needed two seasons to come back to his 2005 level.
After a few great games against Valencia he was linked to top clubs again. And since then, Tottenham Hotspurs have been at Lerkendal several times to see him. They were here today as well, and they got to see what they wanted.

52 Minutes in, and the match has opened a little. Less duels and more football as we like it. LSK tried to come even, so Rosenborg got more space to play on. The first goalscorer of the match, Marek Sapara sent a great pass to Kone, who actually missed on the shot. The ball went out to Skjelbred, who got a great chance to score his first goal in the league since 17th of June 2007. The shot was hard, and it found its way to the goal via Jon Midtun Lie and the crossbar. 2-0 for the mighty Troillan!

Skjelbred celebrated as if he had scored the winner in a cupfinal. But when you have waited 11 months for this, then you are allowed to celebrate extra. A new lucky goal for Rosenborg, who has the wind in their way now.

"It was like orgasm" smiled Skjelbred to VG.

Two minutes later, and Skjelbred is not finished. Lillestrøm seemed to give up now and he 21-year old ran against Lillestrøm's penalty area once again. He seemed to have a go again, but instead, he sent the ball to Iversen, who sent Riseth away and the ball into the far post. 3-0 and Lillestrøm is so done! Iversen's first goal of the season, after a month as injured.

"I know Spurs are interesed, but I'll rather play three years here than spending three years at the bench in London. I have plenty of time" is Per Ciljan's comment to Tottenham's interess. I like his sense and I think he can go far in the football world. He is not a type of guy that goes to the first club that calls. Skjelbred will not flop out when the day comes.

For the first time since the move from Odd Grenland, Rune Almening Jarstein had an opportunity to keep the zero. But LSK kept Jarstein warm by two great chances after an hour on the pitch.

First out was Simen Brenne after a great run and shot, but Jarstein closed the goal and gave the visitors a corner.

Just a minute later gave Sundgot a great pass to Olivier Occean, and the Canadian matchwinner from last season's cupfinal was through. However, Jarstein came out and tackled him! A great tackle as well!

Lillestrøm fought hard against the end and showed amazing moral. Their fans are simply one of the best in Norway, and the team never give up. Even after Kone's 4-0 goal on a fine header, the visiting fans claped and supported teams as if it was 2-2, and not 4-0. Their fans and the soul of the club are one of the reasons of why LSK has been in the top league since 1975. 33 Years together with elite is impressive by a town with 6,000 inhabitans! Lillestrøm is just known for a train station and a great footballteam.

However, they are always in Tippeligaen. They have won the league a few times as well, and they were one of the dominating teams in the 1980's. They are rarely in the bottom zone, but 2008 CAN be a battle against relegation. I think they are too good for that, but this season will not be remembered with pleasure at Åråsen.

Time will tell, but right now are Lillestrøm dangerous placed on the play-off spot, two poor points over HamKam, who has the chance to pass them with a win over Strømsgodset at Monday.

RBK put John Pelu on for his first game since the move from Kongsvinger. The striker was fair, but did never get the big chances.

Jo Sondre Aas came on too, but the talented striker was invinsible during his time at the ground. It's just a question of time before he scores his first goal for the club...

Rosenborg won a good victory and sent Riseth home with 0-4, but the fans are still not happy in Trondheim. Three points is just good enough when the trip goes to Molde next weekend. Lillestrøm will have HamKam as guests in a clean bottom game.

For GWS: Marius Dahl, Trondheim

(c)rbkweb.com (pics)

HamKam wanted to revange the embarresing 1-5 loss when Stabæk visited Hamar at Sunday night. But Daniel Nannskog wanted it diffirently.

Having lost to England in the Test Series down in New Zealand earlier in the year, the New Zealand side came to England looking to avenge that defeat.

(Picture from cricinfo: How on his way to 50 against Kent) 

Their tour started with a draw against the MCC (no result), with a draw against Kent following. In their latest match, New Zealand beat Essex by 92 runs. The Kiwis next opponents would be the England Lions – the England ‘A’ side. The Lions feature the England reserve and fringe players, so this would be a perfect opportunity for them to show off their talent in front of the selectors.

The Line-ups: England

Michael Carberry

Robert Key (captain)

Owais Shah

Ravi Bopara

Matthew Prior (wicketkeeper)

Luke Wright

Adil Rashid

Graeme Swann

Chris Tremlett

Matthew Hoggard

Graeme Onions

New Zealand

How, Redmond, J. Marshall, Taylor, McCullum (captain and wicketkeeper), Flynn, Oram, Patel, Southee, O’Brien, Martin.

Day 4 from the Rose Bowl

Day 4 started with the England Lions already out for 280, New Zealand 273 all out, and England starting the day on 275-5.

Adil Rashid and Graeme Swann, two spinners batting at numbers 7 and 8, came out onto the pitch for the Lions, hoping to build on England’s current score of 275-5. Rashid lasted two overs before edging behind off Martin (c Southee b Martin) for 29. That brought Michael Carberry to the crease. He was hoping to add to the century he scored the day before – but had to retire injured after celebrating his century and coming back down to Earth with cramp. He didn’t last very long either, eventually getting out (c McCullum b Southee) for 108. This left Graeme Swann and Chris Tremlett at the crease. Swann hammered a quick half-century – 52 runs off 41 balls to be exact, with seven fours and one six to his name. With Tremlett on 20*, Rob Key declared on 360-8, leaving New Zealand 368 to win in over 70 overs. Carberry top scored with 108, with Swann’s 52, Prior’s 47 and Shah’s 43 the next highest scores.

(Picture from cricinfo: Swann hitting out)

How and Redmond came out to bat for the Kiwis in the final innings. In the first innings, How was out for a duck (0), whilst Redmond impressed with 146 – before being caught lbw to Onions.

The pair had no intention of going for the win, and it was evident that they would bat out the day. At lunch they were on 39-0. After lunch, they continued. Just out for batting practice, they were on 150-0 before the Kiwis lost their first wicket. Redmond fell for 64 after Rashid bowled him, with Hoggard getting the catch. A second wicket came shortly after, with How falling for 74. Prior took the stumping off Adil Rashid for his second wicket of the day. Ross Taylor, impressive in a one-day shirt for the Kiwis, was out for a duck with the score now on 170-3. With the first session of Kiwi batting a bore, the match was certainly now livened up with 3 quick wickets. Taylor was caught lbw to Rashid. The fourth wicket to fall was that of Justin Marshall, caught lbw by Chris Tremlett - on his home ground – for 15. It looked as if Hampshire needed him, as they were struggling up at Worcestershire.

(Picture from cricinfo: Redmond on his way to 64) 

The score was on 186-4 by this stage. Stand-in captain Brendon McCullum was next in with Flynn. They ended on 21* and 6* respectively before both sides agreed to an early finish, with a draw the obvious outcome.

The New Zealanders next face England in the actual Test Series at Lord’s on Thursday 15^th May. Matthew Hoggard, playing here, was recently recalled to the England squad despite picking up no wickets in the Kiwis’ second innings. Matthew Prior, the recently deposed wicket-keeper for England, looked solid in this match – so keep your eyes open for a recall for him.

(Picture from cricinfo: Hoggard has been recalled for England)

Red Kone: For the second time in two matches was a Rosenborg player sent off before half-time. But Yssouf Konè was highly disagreed and very dissapointed with the referee.

Trip to Oslo

Sunday, 20th of April 2008. Vålerenga to play Rosenborg at Ullevaal, the national stadium of Norway. A Rosenborg team that is expected to win, but yet without self-confidence after two defeats in row. However, the mighty Kjernen came powerful to Oslo, ready to contend against Vålerenga Klanen (The clan) and support Rosenborg to three points in one of the biggest derby's in Norway. Vålerenga v Rosenborg. Oslo v Trondheim. Klanen v Kjernen.

0-0 in 2006 and 2-1 in 2007. Thousands of "Troilonger" (Troll Kids) traveled the 400 kilometers with pleasure, searching for revange. So did I, even tho my distance was more like 116 km. 11:35 AM local time did I find my seat in Kjernen's second bus and I could finally look forward to Oslo, which came closer and closer. Typical enough, Kjernen decided to stop for a meal just 10 minutes away from Elverum. After waiting on the bus for like an hour home in Elverum, the first stop was 10 mins away. I suppose the hot dog was more needful for the travelers from Trondheim.

Two hours and 30 mins later drove the bus down to the Vålerenga tunel in the heart of Oslo. The steam of Rosenborg supporters left the bus and pointed their views against the pub "Two Dogs", that was the meeting point for the visitors from north. One of the funniest things about being a visitor, is the glare you get from the normal inhabitans. When 500 footballfans suddenly goes into a shopping center, screaming "Vål'enga er rævva" (Vålerenga is ass), you rarely get ignored. Luckly tho, we didn't face any homefans. That could have been ugly.

The time on Two Dogs was chill. Unfortunatly, I didn't have any friends going with me, so I couldn't leave the place. Or I could, but going around in Oslo alone is boring. So I placed my ass on a chair into the pub and ordered a coke, since my birth of date says I'm to young for having beer into my mouth. Even tho I had some funny convos with some fans, and the fact that there was being showed football on the pub, five hours were way too much. I saw Aston Villa-Birmingham, Newcastle-Sunderland, Atlanta-Juventus and the first half of Man.City-Portsmouth. I nearly got fed up with football, just a few hours before the big game!

18:00 PM, and I leaved the pub to find the road to Ullevaal. The bus stoped in the city of Oslo, but we had to go to the stadium by ourselfs. I've gone t to Ullevaal alone a few times earlier, so there was no problem. It's just to take train number 5 against Storo, which goes every 10th minute or something. I remember me and some friend going to Stabæk-Rosenborg last year. We took the right train, but not the right way. We had to take the same train back :|

Down in the underground station, I was a bit nervous, wearing my Rosenborg kit. You never know with underground people, and the station in the heart of Oslo is well known to be a place for drugs etc. And I went alone, so I could face some Vålerenga dudes. VIF fans are well known to be happy and cool, but out of 30,000 fans, there are a few bad people too... But the hooligan surroundings in Vålerenga are louder when they play local rivals like FC Lyn Oslo or Lillestrøm.

I actually had a short talk with a Vålerenga fan into the train. He was just a few years older than me, but he said that he had attented more than 100 games with his team. That gives respect as a supporter, in a young age. I'm not even close to 50. I live far away from Lerkendal, tho, so I have an excuse. humpf.

One and a half hour left to the match, and I find myself outside the awaystand. Policemen are trying to point visiting fans here and keep homefans away. They dont want to work overtime tonight, just because they have to bringing scuffling fans to the jails.

Imposing many Rosenborg fans came to Ullevaal, but many of them seemed to be students from Trondheim, living in Oslo.

Since the awaytickets aren't marked with seats, we could choose where to stand during the 90 breathtaking minutes. Since I came quite early, I had many opportunities. I found a great place, having a nice view to both sides of the pitch. However, I came into the core of Kjernen, so flags spoiled a lot of my view. The good thing is that I'd probably be seen on TV :| whay.

While the players warmed up for the TV broadcasted game, the fans could follow the other scores during the second half of the other games:

Aalesund 5-0 HamKam
Lillestrøm 1-1 Molde (The whole stadium cheered when Molde scored, even tho they are our no.1 rival)
Godset 2-1 FC Lyn (The roof of the stadium was getting three meters higher by the loud of the homefans when Godset scored into the overtime...)
Tromsø 0-1 Viking

Vålerenga's new superstar

One week earlier, Vålerenga trashed Lillestrøm with 3-0 at Åråsen. In the main role was VIF's new talent Mohamed Abdellaoue, coursey nicknamed "Moa". The 23 year old Norwegian was bought from Skeid in December 2007. Daniel Fredheim Holm, VIF striker and former teammate with Moa, was actually the one who got the talented player to the club.

Moa scored twice in the great 3-0 win over struggling LSK, and he got lots of pages in the Norwegian newspapers. His two first goals for the club, scored against the mighty rival. Now, that's a start.

No special formplayer on Rosenborg's lineup for the Vålerenga match. Keyplayers like Steffen Iversen and Marek Sapara were still injured, Abdou Traorè pushed Roy Miller out of the leftback spot. Kris Stadsgaard to play his first game from start since the move from Reggina in March. The Dane replaced Kvarme, who got sent off against Fredrikstad. He played so well that he will probably keep Kvarme out of the team for the rest of the season as well. Stadsgaard is better, and Kvarme is getting way too old now. Alejandro Lago took Demidov's spot in the central defence too, and Demidov was moved higher, to the midfield.

Vålerenga (4-4-2):
Troy Perkins
Freddy dos Santos - Kjetil Wæhler - Dan Thomassen - Allan Jepsen
Morten Berre (Zajic 58’) - Harmet Singh (Johnsen 73’) - Martin Andresen
Bengt Sæternes (Thorvaldsson 86’) - Mohammed Abdellaoue - Daniel Fredheim Holm

Rosenborg (4-4-2):
Rune Allmenning Jarstein
Fredrik Stoor - Alejandro Lago - Kris Stadsgaard - Abdou Razack Traoré
Roar Strand (Storflor 63’) - Vadim Demidov - Per Ciljan Skjelbred - Alexander Tettey
Didier Konan - Yssouf Koné


Moa strike

Nill points in the two latest games gave Rosenborg a hard starting point at Ullevaal, but the visitors from Trondheim started with a great counter attack in the opening minutes. VIF had a corner, that was cleared by Fredrik Stoor. Vadim Demidov sat up his speed and ran up against Perkins' goal, passed great to Tettey who shot on one touch alone with the American goalie. Just outside the left post. So close 0-1 after five minutes!

Vålerenga tried to control the game, but they dont have a typical goal getter who can score their goals. Honestly, I was not impressed by their attacks in the game.

However, after 26 minutes could Klanen celebrate the leadergoal: Norway's general and captain Martin Andresen, who is manager in Vålerenga, tricked and opened Rosenborg's defence. Moa was suddenly alone at the right side and Andresen passed great with the backside of his foot. Moa showed great technic and bent the ball beautifuly into the far corner. GOAL! 1-0! A superb goal by the new star in Tippeligaen, even tho he should share the goal with Rosenborg, who slept a second too much in this situation.

1-0 Down and possibly the third loss in a row. But the problems were not over for RBK...

Kone, the red


Vålerenga slowed down after the leader goal, and Rosenborg worked well back in the game. Nine minutes after Moa's goal were the homeside passing the ball in defence, and an impatient Yssouf Konè decided to win the ball back. He tackled clean first, but Vålerenga won it back. Konè raised and had a new go, this time on Kjetil Wæhler. The tackle was not even close the ball, and Svein Oddvar Moen had to book him. But the color of the card he took up surprised 25.000 Norwegians on the stand. The red card made Kjernen go crazy and stuff were being thrown down on the pitch. Vålerenga fans were going crazy too, but in a cheering way.Kone left the pitch and seemed unhappy, and with good reasons. A wrong decission, and he got sent off before half-time. A big disaster by Moen, and Rosenborg have to play 10 against 11, like against Fredrikstad last weekend.

The teams went into the stadium for halftime at 1-0, with Vålerenga having one more player for the second half. Oh dear...

Struggling Rosenborg
"We are sorry to say, but Rosenborg is history"

Vålerenga's fans put up a big banner while the players entered the pitch for the second half. Kjernen just laughed and told them to **** off. However, is there a truth behind the quote? Are Rosenborg history? It's not easy to play 10 against 11, but Rosenborg showed that you can dominate with one less player, when they outplayed Fredrikstad with ten men last weekend. They did well against Vålerenga too, and the equalaise was not far away after 48 minutes. Konan Ya sent a freekick into the box and Alejandro Lago was close to score, but Perkins saved the day for Vålerenga, just off the line.

Rosenborg continued creating stuff, but they really missed Konè in front of the target. They worked well, but there should been taken more offencive runs in the second half.

Vålerenga searched for the second goal, that probably would settle the match. 25 Minutes from time, and a corner was sent in front of Rune Jarstein's cage. Kjetil Wæhler, who was tackled when Kone got sent off, got to head from 7 meters into the penalty area, but it hit a player and went outside the goal.

Rosenborg again, but their attacks always end up with clumsy offisdes, uncompleted passes or bad shots. They seem to struggle from 25 meters and further.

76 Minutes, and substitute Øyvind Storflor sends the ball into the area, but it some arm on it's road. It's a blue kit... Penalty? No, Moen accept it and let it go. Kjernen goes mad of-course, but the replay tells the truth: It did not hit the arm, and no penalty.

Kjernen were very frustrated in this period, and so was I. We worked well, no doubt. but the chances we created did not scare any of the blues and reds in the homecrowd. I'm sure Kjernen burned more calories than the strikers while we sang and supported the guests. A Vålerenga fan I talked to after the match said that the Rosenborg fans actually were louder than Klanen in long periods during the game. However, singing has never given goals, and we wanted Trond Henriksen to put Jo Sondre Aas on. We had to be offencive now, with one goal down. "Jo Jo Jo Jo Jo!" was Kjernen's hints down to the bench, but it sounds more like a monkeys in the jungle. Henriksen never put Aas on.

African dance

Just when Vålerenga's banner actually started to make sense, Rosenborg showed why they beat Valencia 4-0 over two games this Champions League season. 80 Minutes in, and Fredrik Stoor sent the ball up and Storflor jumped up and the ball bounced into the penalty area. Didier Ya Konan smelt the situation and ran towards the goal. The Ivorian international was suddenly through, out of nothing, and could easly lift the ball over Perkins and into the goal in front of Kjernen. GOAL! EQUALAISED!
1-1! Thousands of visitors celebrated in the crowd and Konan Ya ran to the corner flag and made some moves that Africans are well known for. Some Kjernen members tried to copy it as well, but that was not pritty at all.

Both teams tried to get the winner while the time worked against full time, but neither of the teams forced to kick the famous ball past the keeper. Vålerenga and Rosenborg shared the points, like in 2004 and 2006. Rosenborg's 4th and Vålerenga's 7th point of the season.

To sum up, Rosenborg should be happy for a point. One man less and a late goal by Konan. Vålerenga were not very good, but they should have kept the lead to the end, against Rosenborg's ten players.

Lucky, but maybe deservly 1-1 at Ullevaal.

Bus problems

With one important point in the bag, we looked forward to getting home. My bedroom was just two hours away, while many had to spend their nights in the supporter bus. But my sleep was delaied too. The bus was supposed to leave Ullevaal stadion just 20 minutes after the whistle, but then a message poped up from nowhere: The trip home was postponed with two hours due to a bus driver rule which says that the driver need 10 hours off work between the trips. And he only had 8.

So we had to stay outside the stadium for two more hours. Fair enough, but it's not a lot to do outside an arena, and my father will be pissed when he has to pick up me on the bus staion at 01:00 AM. Luckly, tho, he wasn't mad.

Luckly, there was a Burger King place open straight behind Ullevaal, so we got a meal at least. And when I first was outside the stadium, I could go and meet the players as well. They never came out to us, but I got to greet Vadim Demidov, who actually lives in Oslo and went out for a taxi. He is three days here, before he goes to Trondheim for trainings with the rest of the team. I also get to see Martin Andresen, Vålerenga's manager and Norway's captain, doing interviews into the media room, that is just into the building.

After a well tasty hamburger and two boring hours at Ullevaal, we could finally drive against north. To sum up the trip itself, there was way too much chill time. Next time I goes on a trip like this, I gotta join some friend(s)...

Petersfield Town FC are celebrating 100 years of being alive. And to celebrate, they are playing Chelsea. At least that's what the signs around the town said! It was in fact the Chelsea Old Boys, 45-60 year old players running around a pitch for 90 minutes.

Pre-match it was told there would be such legends as Ray Wilkins, Kerry Dixon and Graeme Le Saux playing. Instead, the likes of Paul Turner, Bumstead, Dublin and Aylott turned up. For Petersfield Town their old boys turned up too, but current goalkeeper Patilla was to start the game.

With a crowd of over 1,000 down at Love Lane, we were underway. The Chelsea Old Boys started the brighter, despite being old men. Walker dribbled his way past a few Petersfield defenders and shot, but with Patilla not holding it, Aylott slid in to give Chelsea a 1-0 lead. A few minutes later, Aylott scored again with a decent header into the top right corner after a cross from the right. Chelsea were 2-0 up early on and Petersfield looked out of it already.

Petersfield got a goal back after a player ran down the wing and shot past Paul Turner in the Chelsea net. Chelsea restored their two goal cushion thanks to another fine run from Walker, who dribbled past the 'keeper and slotted it into the net. Chelsea were 3-1 up at half-time.

Immediately in the second half Chelsea had a penalty shout turned down, much to the annoyance of the Chelsea fans. Chelsea then camped inside the Petersfield half for a while, keeping possession. Bray, a striker for Petersfield, managed to get the ball back and counter-attack, only for his shot to go wide. Dublin, of Chelsea, gave Chelsea a 4-1 lead after a mazy run in the penalty area before firing into the net.

Petersfield got a goal back soon after. Following a penalty area scrap, Ryan's shot wasn't saved fully by Turner, with Bray firing into the bottom corner to make it 4-2. Bray completed his hat-trick after a one-on-one with Chelsea goalkeeper Turner to make it 4-3. Surely they wouldn't level the match after Chelsea led 4-1 at one stage? Petersfield did just that after Burley, a bulky left-back, shot into the top corner of then net. "An unlucky goalscorer there" the man on the tannoy literally said. With the game at 4-4, Petersfield had 3 more chances to win it, but couldn't find the back of the net. Penalties it was. Chelsea won 7-6 and took the Challenge Cup, denying Petersfield the celebrations on their 100th birthday.

Two penalties, matchwinner saves and red card. It was a dramatic night in Trondheim when Fredrikstad visitied Lerkendal.

Fredrikstad v Statistics

Trondheim, Saturday the 12th of April. A sunny, but yet cold day. Only 4+ celius in the air that 22 players gotta breathe in for 90 minutes. The players that was opening the third round of the Norwegian Tippeligaen 2008. Rosenborg-Fredrikstad. A golden ditch for gamblers of football. Norwegian Betting gave 5.50 in odds for away victory in this liquidation, a present for those with sharp insight in gambling. Okeyokey, it's Rosenborg at Lerkendal. They rarely lose here and Fredrikstad are one of the weakest sides away, while speaking of the last season. While RBK only lost to Strømsgodset (!) at home, were Fredrikstad only celebrating once as visitors. However, FFK had impressed so far in the league. The redshorts were unlucky against Brann in the first round. Brann, who is defending champions, needed 87 minutes to score the winner, two minutes after FFK missed an unbelievebal chance. On the other hand, Rosenborg were lucky and won 2-1 over Lyn, after a late goal in a match where Lyn should have had two more penalties than the one they already had. Norway's Champions League exponent for 2007-08 also lost 3-2 to Strømsgodset last weekend.

The list of injuries also spoke against the homeside's chances for three points: Keyplayers like Marek Sapara (mf) and Steffen Iversen (fw) were not ready to play, and Alexander Tettey (mf) was also not quite there yet.

Rosenborg (4-4-2):
Rune Almenning Jarstein
Fredrik Stoor - Bjørn Tore Kvarme - Vadim Demidov - Roy Miller (Stadsgaard 22')
Roar Strand (Savolainen 72') - Per Ciljan Skjebred - Alexander Tettey - Abdou Razack Traoré
Didier Konan - Yssouf Koné (Aas 82')

Fredrikstad (4-4-2):
Lasse Staw
Jan Tore Ophaug - Raio Piiroja - Patrick Gerrbrand - Fernando Wallace
Hans Erik Ramberg - Ardian Gashi - Kasey Wehrman - Raymond Kvisvik
Gardar Johannsson (Tegstrøm 71') - Tarik Elyounoussi (Martinsen 90')

Early shower for Kvarme
Fredrikstad did not enter the pitch for defending in a 0-0 result, and they showed Lerkendal no respect in the first quarter. Their number one formplayer Tarik Elyounussi passed great to his teammate Wallace, who shot just outside the post. Yssouf Kone, who has scored in the five latest games for the homeside, replied just a minute later, but he was too slow and the African never got to finish.

The Norwegian referees got lots of review in the two first rounds of Tippeligaen 2008, and some experts said that they were the reason of why no visiting teams had won yet. Rosenborg, Vålerenga, Lillestrøm and Brann, four of the biggest favorites for the season, all had the referees at their side in the first round. And yes, them all played at home. Aalesund did not get a penalty against Vålerenga, even tho their ball carrier was held and kicked down into the area. Tromsø had the same problem in Lillestrøm, while Rosenborg handsed against Lyn without being awarded with a penalty courage. Brann were also lucky with the arbiter. Azar Karadas pushed and pulled players seconds before he sent the defending champions 2-1 up against the visitors for the night, Fredrikstad. Are the Norwegian refs really the hometeam's 12th player?

Well, after grey and boring minutes in Trondheim, Brage Sandmoen decided to prove the contrast. Hans Erik Rambarg made use of a crappy Rosenborg defence and came through with Rune Jarstein. The former Sociedad-player Bjørn Tore Kvarme couldn't do anything but grabbing his shirt. Penalty. But the card award was not over. Sandmoen took up his pocketbook while pointing at the penalty spot. Up from the pocket, he picked up a red card. Kvarme sent off the ground after 20 minutes, and Fredrikstad were getting a possibility from 11 meters.

With thousands of mad fans behind the goal, screaming "dommerjævel!" (ref bastard), Kasey Wehrman placed the ball at the whitemarked spot. The Australian was a surprising choice as a penalty taker, but since their normal first choice at the bench, the rough player got the responsibility. Sandmoen blew, Wehrmann turned around, looked down in the ground, and hammered the ball in the middle of the goal. Jarstein had a go at right, and the ball hit the nets. 0-1. Kasey Wehrman.

Goalgetter Kone
Rosenborg needed a CB and put Kris Stadsgaard onto the pitch, for his second perform since the transfer two weeks ago. The former Reggina player from Denmark struggled in Serie A, and needed a new start here in Norway. The other new player, left back Roy Miller from Costa Rica, had to leave his spot. New formation: 3-4-2.

Surprisingly enough, RBK did better with one man down. But the passings were horrible and never reache hr. Konè in front. FFK had some counter-attacks, but Tarik Elyounussi & co didn't handle being one man more well. Maybe they need to practice more 11 to 10 on their trainings... They actually scored the winner against Molde with ten men last round as well...

The time worked against half-time, like so many other footiegames, and the RBK players were preparing for a new round of mad calls from the stands while going into the dressing rooms. But Rosenborg worked well and that gave results straight before the whistle. Abdou Traorè, who recently got booked for a stupid tackle, sent the ball hard in front of the goal. Kone dived and got a foot on the ball, that swished into the target. Equalized!

Matchwinner saves
The last minute goal made optimism in the crowd during the break. Fans that I talked to meant Fredrikstad would struggle to keep the lead. It can be psychich difficult to play with one more player. That makes you to a loser if you dont win, even tho one player dont have to make the huge difference. Could Rosenborg turn and win, like in the first homegame over FC Lyn?

They started well, and a Fredrik Stoor with fresh energy ran up on his right side and targeted Kone in front of the goal. The Ivornian striker won the duel, but the header went far over the bar. But a great start, after just one minute of the second half.

Rosenborg had a new motivation and played with full willingness, but that also has some grey sides. When playing with too much adrenaline you often get booked. Vadim Demidov used unlawful tools to stop a counter-attack from the guests, but the go ended up in the referee's book.

Thinking of entertaiment, the second half was far better than the first. Both teams used short time when attacking, and they got to create more than in the first 45. After 57 minutes was Johansson close to give the away side the lead again, after a great one-touch play by Ramberg and Ophaug. However, Johansson's shot from 7 meters was closer egress C, than Jarstein's goal.

63 Minutes in, and Skjelbred was loaded for a run. The fans favourite came into the box, and was about to search for Kone when he suddenly fell down. We all behind the goal saw that he was pushed down, but no way Brage Sandmoen would give a penalty for that. Or? He would, and he did. Players from the Fredrikstad team were running up to the man wearing black clothes, but Sandmoen just sent them away. He had no doubt. Kone lay the ball on the spot for the second time of the season. Actually, Kone completed the turn-around against Lyn with a kick from 11 meters, after a penalty goal by the opposite in the first half. As always, Kone just used one step to the penalty. Pretty presumptous, and it looks foolish when you miss. He scored sucsessfully against Odd and Lillestrøm last season, but missed on the second go in Lillestrøm. But his goal two rounds ago showed that he can be Iversen's stand-by.

Yssouf Kone v Lasse Staw. One step to the ball, and some African moves. Can he score his second of the match? Kone looked safe, but the attempt was poor. Staw went the right way and saved the bad shot. Penalty miss!

Lasse Staw was in the impossible corner. A great day on work. Sewen minutes later had the teammate, also from Ivory Coast, Didier Konan Ya, a shot from good possition. He was also free, and even in a better possition. Once again, Skjelbred created it by running down the left side, and the pass was hard and precise. Konan teased a defender, but the shot from 10m was saved with the elbow. The homefans couldn't believe it. What a save by Staw again! Maybe he is the solution on Norway's keeper troubles?

Ramberg winnergoal
Penaltymiss and an elbowsave from 10 meters. But if you thought Rosenborg's problems was over, then think again. Cos Fredrikstad has match winners in both sides of the pitch. Hans Erik Ramberg, who made FFK's penalty, secretly ran behind Rosenborg's defending line and tricked the offside fell. Ramberg was suddenly through. I couldn't see if it went on the right side of the post, but when hearing a big roar and celebrations, and all the players running were towards the cornerflag where the awaystand is, then I may have realaised that it went in. 1-2, and Kone is getting more unpopular in the homecrowd.

Rosenborg tried to get a new equalaize by putting Jo Sondre Aas on, ten minutes from time, but they never got the real chances. FFK could celebrate the first away win in Tippeligaen 2008.

all the pictures belongs to rbkweb.no (c)

For Global World Sport: Marius Dahl, Norway

 
Braith Anasta with a broken nose

Match: Sydney Roosters v Brisbane Broncos, 2008 National Rugby League Round 2, Sydney Football Stadium, Australia

Reporter: hughgeta (Sydney, Australia)

The Sydney Roosters and the Brisbane Broncos, meeting Grand Finalists in 2000, had been of similar circumstances of late. Disappointing 2007s for both teams had been forgotten with excellent first round wins in 2008, and many were beginning to suggest that these two teams would be the ones to challenge Melbourne Storm for their NRL title. Yet they met in Round 2, an early clash of the titans, and something had to give.

The Roosters easily disposed of rivals South Sydney the week before to kick off the NRL’s 100^th year anniversary celebration. Brisbane had thrashed the hapless Panthers, and had not lost at the Sydney Football Stadium since 2003, so had reason to be confident. Broncos’ master coach Wayne Bennett was entering his final year of a 21-year reign at Brisbane, and was keen to get one over the young Roosters coach Brad Fittler, entering his first season as a full-time coach. Both teams were at full-strength, with Brisbane playmaker Darren Lockyer, considered the best rugby league player in the world, sure to have an impact off the bench.

A healthy 18,000 strong crowd saw on the two teams to the field. Sydney kicked off via five-eighth Braith Anasta, before referee Jared Maxwell killed all the post match momentum by awarding a penalty in Brisbane’s first set. Sending it upfield, Brisbane almost scored through halfback Peter Wallace after a darting run, but was held up just short of the line. Sure enough, however, Brisbane did score first not long after, after an innocent grubber kick into the ingoal was fumbled by Craig Fitzgibbon to hand Ashton Sims no doubt his easiest first grade try. The kick was converted for a 6-0 scoreline.

The ease at which Brisbane asserted their dominance at such an early stage threatened to be frightening, yet the Roosters sound found their way back into it just five minutes later. A deep attack from the Sydney-side reached the fifth tackle and an excellent chip kick from halfback Mitchell Pierce allowed Anasta to run onto the ball and plant it just before the dead ball line. The depth of the kick was perfection, a surprising move that no doubt caught Brisbane off-guard. The game had barely warmed up and the score was 6-6.

The Roosters were full of confidence now and their strong pack, led by new recruits Willie Mason and Mark O’Meley, gained excellent metres. On an attack soon after, Anasta ran at the line, slipping just before Karmichael Hunt’s shoulder charge, and his head connected brutally with the Brisbane fullback’s shoulder. Anasta’s mangled face left the field, until half time at least.

Taking an 8-6 lead, the Roosters were inspired by their missing five-eighth and dominated play. Though Brisbane equalised for 8-8, Sydney had the next say off an excellent blind-side set play which put Shaun Kenny-Dowall over the line. Former Roosters back Justin Hodges had misread Mitchell Aubusson’s decoy, yet controversially, the video referee ruled that there had been an obstruction. The Roosters had legitimate claims for the try, yet these were forgotten on 31 minutes as Anthony Tupou broke through the line to score the Roosters’ second try. Converted, the score was now 14-8, and for the meantime the previous disallowed try had been forgotten. Yet by the end of the match it would have large repercussions.

The Tri-Colours continued to dominate to dominate the remainder of the half, yet were unrewarded for their good play and could only go into the sheds with a 6 point lead.

Brisbane were clearly out to better their first 40 during the second period. Anasta was back on the field, with his head heavily taped up, yet was ineffectual for the majority of the rest of the game. This allowed Brisbane to equalise just into the second half, with Wallace again orchestrating the try, hitting Tonie Carroll with a short ball just before the line for the forward to barge over.

Minutes later, Brisbane should have taken the lead, as interchange forward Greg Eastwood surprisingly found himself with the ball on the last tackle, chip kicking it through for himself. Rebounding off the post, Eastwood regathered it, only to drop it over the line as he was about to put it over for a try. A let off for the Roosters and a warning until next time: the Broncos had vastly improved and were now hitting hard metres and winning the forwards battle. Another Wallace penalty gave Brisbane an 18-16 lead soon after.

Though Lockyer was not playing at his best, young Wallace was more than making up for it as he was playing the Sydney team round the park. The contest was heating up with about 25 minutes to go, as heavy forward clashes from both teams interrupted only by traded penalties.

Yet it was Brisbane to get the next advantage, albeit off another controversial and deciding decision in the match. Wallace put a perfectly weighted grubber through as Darius Boyd chased it down. Just as it looked like he would get there to score the try, Roosters fullback Anthony Miniciello scrambled the ball clear with a lunging kick. Signalling to the video ref, replays were inconclusive, but the try was awarded: an equally controversial decision which denied the Roosters a try in the first half.

The Broncos six point lead with twenty minutes left would prove decisive. Sydney started throwing the ball around in a desperate effort to score a converted try and level the match, but were unable to unlock the Broncos resolute defence. The Roosters had the better of the play in the last quarter, and thought they had found a try with 10 to go, but Kenny-Dowall was ruled to have put a foot into touch just before diving over for a try in the corner.

This would be the final chance for the Roosters. Brisbane could have sealed the points with two attempted field goals in the final stages, yet they didn’t need it. A solid win for the Broncos took them to the top of the table and the Roosters around mid-table with a win and a loss. Though the game certainly hinged on the two decisions which seemed to go against Sydney, there was no bad blood between the teams and the fans acknowledged a good performance from two good teams. It was still early in the season, yet these two teams showed enough promise to suggest they will still be around come the latter stages of the season.

Match Facts

Sydney Roosters v Brisbane Broncos 14-20 (14-8)
2008 National Rugby League Round 2, Sydney Football Stadium, Australia
Friday, 21^st March, 2008, 7.30pm (AEDT)
Crowd: 18724

Brisbane Broncos 20 (D Stagg, T Carroll, D Boyd tries; P Wallace 4 goals) def. Sydney Roosters 14 (B Anasta, A Tupou tries; C Fitzgibbon 3 goals)

Cork v Westmeath

Allianz National Football League

Division Two

Date: 15^th March 2008
Venue: Páirc Uí Rinn, Cork
Throw In: 7.00 p.m

Match Preview:

This is the rebel county’s first game at home after their 4 month controversial ban that cancelled Cork’s hurlers participation in the Waterford Crystal pre-season cup, postponed the county’s mission for National League Glory for two games, which were awarded to Meath and Dublin respectively, and at one stage put the county’s participation in the Championship in doubt.

The players took action after the Cork GAA Board decided that they chose the selectors, not the manager. It was the manager Teddy Holland who took much of the blame instead of the county board, most think unfairly, after his reluctance to join the players in the strike. Somehow the County Board got away with murder so to speak, after Holland resigned and they appointed a new manager Conor Counihan to take the reigns, this time with his own selectors.

Cork did manage to win their first game of 2008, beating Connaught’s Roscommon 1-14 to 0-15 in Kiltoom, Roscommon.

Westmeath come into this game big underdogs, they have long been under the shadow of their eastern neighbours Meath, and do not have a very good GAA pedigree, and not even tactical genius
Paúdí O’ Sea could steer Iarmhí into

Conor Counihan has been appointed to take charge this year 

Division 1 for the first time. They carry immense form into the game though, they’ve beaten traditional powerhouses Armagh and even Meath in their last two games, narrowly losing to Dublin by 2 points in their first game at Parnell Park in the capitol county.

It should be an interesting contest with both sides fielding good teams, Cork have a slight handicap, they are missing all their Nemo Rangers players, which include one James Masters because the Douglas side are due to play in the AIB Club Championship finals on St. Patrick’s Day. They still have string players such as Graham Canty, John Miskella and Nicholas Murphy.

Match Report:

A rain sodden Páirc Uí Rinn was the venue for the game, Cork looking to make up for lost time and Westmeath looking to topple yet another big name.

Cork drew first blood when Michael Cussan shot over in the first minute. Miskella and Gouldiing added two more before Alan Mangan got Westmeath’s first point after 5 minutes. Both sides battled hard in the rain and muck, scrapping for every bit of posession before Kevin O’ Sullivan restored Cork’s 3 point lead in the 12^th minute.

Right Full-Forward Denis Glennon put over a free in the 15^th minute after a well worked move, but John Mikella fired straight back 2 minutes later for Cork. Martin Flanagan got himself booked after indiscipline from a Cork free and then opened his account and closed Westmeath’s for the first half in the 19^th minute when he kicked an excellent point.

Cork then went on a run before half time with O’ Sullivan and Goulding getting their second. Iarmhí’s Michael Green injured himself and had to be taken off, replaced by Dessie Dolan, Cork then scored the last point of the half 5 minutes from the end, Kieran O’ Connor scoring from the right after a flowing move coming from the back.

Half Time: Cork 0-08

               Westmeath 0-03

Second Half:

Cork started well after the break with Kevin McMahon scoring after 6 minutes, and there was a rare point for full-back and fan’s favourite Graham Canty, Canty kicking a brilliant point after a mazing run from just outside Cork’s parallelogram all the way to Westmeath‘s 20 metre line before blasting the ball over the Leinster county‘s bar.

But that was as good as it got for Cork in the second half, Denis Glennon came into his own in the second half, fighting for every blade of grass on the bog of a pitch. He played out of his skin in conditions that were so bad, players were unable to bounce the ball because it would just get stuck in the mud and Cork seemed to have no answer to the Ballydesmond man. He kicked 5 points in a row, including a 45 metre bomb.

But it wasn’t all good for Westmeath though. Martin Flanagan was shown his marching orders after what can only be described as dissent, Flanagan hurling an attack of abuse at referee Mangan, and the Kerryman had no choice but to send the Tyrellspass native off.

Down to 14 men Westmeath carried on tenaciously, getting to within a point of the Leesiders when Mangan scored his second point a minute into stoppage time. Then came the controversial moment of the game, Tommy Cleary was celebrating bringing his team level at the stroke of full time, but the umpire begged to differ, signalling the effort wide, Cleary and the Westmeath team were incensed, and surrounded referee Aidan Managan to voice their frustrations.

Managan then went to the second umpire on the left side and consulted him to verify the situation, and finally after an anxious wait for both sets of players and supporters before to the Rebels relief, Alan Quirke in the Cork goal placed the ball for a goal kick.

Cork snatched the last point of the game after Glennon was booked for a strong tackle, substitute Condan McCarthy slotted the last point of the game. A very rusty Cork win by 2 points. They were pushed to the very limit by Westmeath and especially Denis Glennon, who was outstanding in the game.

Full Time: Cork 0-11

               Westmeath 0-09

Man of the Match: Denis Glennon (Westmeath)

Yeovil went into their home game with Southend with a big point to prove, they had the worst record of any team in the English league system in 2008 with just 7 points. This has seen the Glovers go from 7th place and hunting a play-off place, to them now in 15th position in league 1. A loss against Southend would mean a few tense months at the end of the season fearing relegation for Me, and all other Yeovil Town fans

Yeovil started brightly with Andy Kirk testing Darryl Flahavan in the opening minute with a left footed shot. Liam Bridcutt broke with the ball on the right wing and played a neat cross into Marvin Williams on the penalty spot who blasted the ball just wide of the Flahavan's left hand post. Andy Kirk had another great chance when he ran onto a long ball from Mark Lynch had another left footed shot that hit the side netting. In the 19^th.minute assistant referee Eamonn Smith gave a bizarre throw in to Southend deep in their half when it seemed obvious that the ball came off of Shrimper's player Charlie Mulgrew.

From this throw in Southend pumped the ball to the other end of the pitch and a cross from Tommy Black was met by former Tottenham player Lee Barnard who placed the ball into the top corner of the goal. A furious Lloyd Owusu was lucky to get away without punishment when he remonstrated fiercely with Mr Smith about his decision. Southend built on their lead as Yeovil's new formation left them with a lack of bodies in their defending third. Mark Gower's shot from outside the box was headed over by Terrell Forbes who was back in the side after an injury kept him out of the Glovers last three games.

GOAL: Yeovil 0 - Southend 1

Southend were close to making it two when Gower bundled the ball wide from a yard out following a skilful run by former Yeovil loanee James Walker. In the 34^th minute Yeovil conceded a harsh free kick by the 18-yard box. An unmarked Peter Clarke headed Charlie Mulgrew's dangerous cross in powerfully to double Southend's lead.The second half closed to boo's from the far from happy Huish Park crowd directed towards the match officials and the teams lacklustre performance.

Yeovil emerged in the second half with the same team and same formation, with Russell Slade presumably wanting his side to push on and get a result.

The second half began slowly with neither side carving out any clear cut chances. A Liam Bridcutt free kick that looped just over Darryl Flahavan's goal was the closest Yeovil came. Mark Lynch gave his side a scare by dallying on the ball in front of James Walker who would have been in on goal and Lynch's persistence not paid off. An hour into the game, Mark Gower found himself free on the front post to head in a Simon Francis cross and make the score 3-0. Our keeper Scott Flinders got a hand on the ball but could not keep the ball from going into the net.

GOAL: Yeovil 0 - Southend 3 

Yeovil's first real chance of the second half fell to Andy Kirk who's volley was deflected over the bar after Lloyd Owusu's deft flick fell to him in the box. The resulting corner led to captain Terry Skiverton heading the ball straight to Shrimper's keeper Flahavan who held on to the ball comfortably. Yeovil threatened again in the 82^nd minute as Andy Kirk's acrobatic volley fizzed inches over the bar. Charlie McDonald went close to making it 4-0 into injury time as his effort bounced off of the crossbar. Russell Slade said of the defeat; "We have to turn it around and players need to roll their sleeves up an extra inch and start digging in for this football club."

FULL TIME: Yeovil Town 0 - Southend 3 

After a disappointing season, this is depressing. 

Report by Edward Dyer - (Lee Vilenski) Resident Yeovil Town fan!

Viola celebration: Adrian Mutu didn't need drugs to score the easiest goal in the world,  when Fiorentina visted Rosenborg and Trondheim in the UEFA-cup Thurday night.

Purple domination
There was no doubt who were the favorites before the first leg of the knockout round. The 4th placed Serie A team against a Norwegian team in pre-season. In fact, Rosenborg have never advanced from an European Cup after christmas. On 12 goes, Troillan have only made one win, 2-1 against Benfica in 2004. You may say unlucky, and difficult opposits, but the statistic says itself: Norwegian teams are chanceless in pre-season.

Fiorentina, who returned to Serie A a few years back after their bankrupt in 2000, did not talk that much about the odds. The Italians knew that RBK had made great results last year, at Stamford Bridge and Mestalla, but the purple side missed Christin Vieri for this game, and the winter weather is always a source to fear in the foreign newspapers.

A special match it was, for Yssouf Kone, who terryfied Norwegian keepers last season with his superb finishes. The Ivornian striker floped out in Lecce a few years back, like many other brilliant players in Tippeligaen have done earlier. No need to sum up, but Daniel Braaten is a good example. Kone has not only showed class here neither, but in top form, he can do very well. There were not many centimeters which separated him from a hat-trick at Mestalla last year, and according to Daily Mirror were Chelsea interested in the 23 year old. Just crap, of-course, but at least it showed that he had done well. Kone was searching for reavnge against Italy anyway, and the target was the proud of Firenze: Fiorentina.

Troillongan expected Martin Jørgensen and Adrian Mutu to be the biggest challenges. Martin Jørgensen was one of the older players in the line-up, among many Italian talents. Fiorentina have grown many great talented players, no need to show off Luca Toni, one of the greatest players in Germany at the moment. The other well known player, Adrian Mutu, with a past time in Chelsea, was the player Gazzeta del sport warned Rosenborg for. One of the top scorers in Serie A. The Romanian player is back after a few years at the sideline, and the 29 year old is ready to fight for a Champions League spot for Fiorentina, and play for Romania in EURO 2008.

Empty Lerkendal
Only 10,000 fans found the road to Lerkendal stadium, which was shocking and embarresing for the Norwegian club. RBK have the third best average on spectators in Scandinavia, and the stadium is always sold out in Tippeligaen and Champions League. For some weird reason, the UEFA-cup have never been popular in Trondheim. Fair enough, Champions League is far more prestigious, but teams like Fiorentina and Benfica is yet more attractive than HamKam and Aalesund...
The surprising thing is, that the ticket prize for this game was lower than normal! Rosenborg sat the prize down to 100 NOK (£14), which is twice as few as normal. But when Rosenborg are in pre-season and the pitch is terrible, is not a 4th placed Serie A team good enough to get people to the most apprehended arena in Scandinavia.

However, the 10,000 people who usually walk through the ticket gates at Lerkendal did not miss a game full of action and entertaiment. Actually, the supporters who left the crowd after the game said that 100 NOK was wasted. And they were right.

Knee injured matchwinner
The beginning of the match was lively, though, but just for the visiting fans from Italy. Giampaolo Pazzini, who played his 100th match for Viola, was never the big danger, but his two mates Adrian Mutu and Franco Semioli kept a high level at the Norwegian pitch. A bad touch by Bjørn Tore Kvarme gave the Italians a great chance after 7 minutes, and Semioli should have scored, but the striker sent the ball just outside the post of Rosenborg's keeper Rune Jarstein. Jarstein was one of three players who had their debut on the Rosenborg team. Andreas Nordvik (LB) and Vadim Demidov (CB) did also wear the kit in an official game for the very first time.

Back to the game, and Fiorentina had the pressure. And they only used 15 minutes to score. Semioli had a new go at the left side, and the shot was not from a long distance. Jarstein saved, but he sent the ball to Mutu's feets, straight in front of an empty goal. 0-1. For some reason, Rune Jarstein was blamed after the game for the situation, and VG called it a blunder by Norway's second choice in the goal. Fair enough, he should have punched the ball to a corner or something, but the shot was hard and from a short distance, and it was not an easy situation. And how could the defending line let Mutu be alone straight in front of the goal? A defender blunder in my opinion, but Mutu did not care. He could cheer a great away goal with his purple friends behind the goal.

The rest of the half was a typical Italian style. Rosenborg acquired the commando, but they did not create a lot. Simply because Kone and Iversen were on two diffirent planets, and also because Fiorentina did great in the defencive work.

Rosenborg's manager Trond Henriksen, who will have the charge until 1st of June, when the Swede Erik Hamrèn arrives Lerkendal, sent Steffen Iversen off the ground for the second half. The former Spurs- and Wolves player said that he was only 80 % ready for the match. Iversen is known to use long time to get into his top form, which is very annoying. RBK should maybe loaned him out to Wolverhampton, who wanted him in January. A few months with hard match fixtures would maybe got Iversen in top form. Anyway, Didier Ya Konan came on, and the English referre could set the game in motion. Mark Clattenburg, the boss of the match, if there was any wonder.

Rosenborg were better in the second part of the game, and they created more. But there was always just a little thing that missed. A bad pass by some player etc.. The only players who did well in 90 minutes were Per Ciljan Skjelbred and Vadim Demidov. The 21 year old Demidov was bought from the 1st Division club Hønefoss, and his father is actually the manager for Nordstrand. A great team in the womens handball league. Small country, eh. Demidov has a Russian father, and he used to play for the Russian national team in handball. He was one of the greatest as well. Vadim Demidov is luckely Norwegian, though, and the very talented player will probably play for Norway soon.

Vadim Demidov became the man of the match, in his first match for Rosenborg.

"I'm happy, cus I think I played great. I had a few fights with Pazzini and he was obviously unhappy with my rough conduct. He became more and more angry with me.

"No, but he complained and whined against the referee. I hate that" said Demidov to VG after the great match.

Demidov's helper and teacher, Bjørn Tore Kvarme, was also impressed by the 21 year old, but not surprised.

"He has done well on the trainings this winter. I'm not surprised. He is strong in the duels, strong and he has a golden touch" said Kvarme.

Demidov came to the club in December, as a midfielder. But with players like Tettey, Skjelbred, Sapara and Traorè will he probably have to wait for a future as CB in Rosenborg.

Rosenborg lost 0-1, and will get a hard job to get through in the next game. Konan was closest the goal, with his shot in the post just 13 minutes from time. The second half prooved that Rosenborg can play well in February, and Fiorentina are actually a greater team away than at home. A 2-1 result in Firenze will send RBK through. Time will tell, but Viola is yet the favorites. 21th of February is the date.

The winner will play Everton in the the round of 16. The Tofees beat Brann 2-0 in Bergen earlier, which ruins the chances for a Norwegian derby in the next round. No way Brann wins by two goals at Goodison Park. Norway should be happy if they get one team through.

Teams:
Rosenborg (4-3-1-2): Rune Jarstein - Fredrik Stor, Bjørn Tore Kvarme, Vadim Demidov, Andreas Nordvik - Per Ciljan Skjelbred, Roar Strand (Øyvind Storflor, 81.), Abdi Traoré - Marek Sapara - Steffen Iversen (Didier Ya Konan ,46.), Yssouf Koné.
Fiorentina (4-3-3): Sebastien Frey - Tomas Ujfalusi, Alessandro Gamberini, Per Krøldrup, Massimo Gobbi (Manuel Pasqual ,46.) - Zdravko Kuzmanovic (Mario Alberto Santana fra 85.), Martin Jørgensen, Riccardo Montolivo - Franco Semioli, Giampaolo Pazzini (Daniele Cacia ,72.), Adrian Mutu.

No revange: Kone is still a flop in Italian eyes

Thousands of fans went to Lillehammer at Sunday night, to support their teams in the final of handball EURO 2008. The Croatians, who lost by ten goals to Denmark in the main round, against the Danes that opened the tournament with a one goal loss against Norway.

The road to the Final
No-one expected these teams to go that far, like a final. Croatia are a great side, and were runner ups in the last Euro, but with opposits like Germany, France, Spain and an inspired hosting nation, would the former Yugoslavian republic probably need a bunch of luck too. Denmark were absolutley not predicted as a finalist, well not even a semifinalist. The Danes are a great handball nation, but the friendlies before the championship showed that Denmark probably had to wait for the big break. Manager Ulrik Wilbek had other plans, though...

Denmark were drawn with Norway, Montenegro and Russia in the groupstage. A stunning comeback made them one goal behind in the final seconds of the opening game against Norway, but a great save by the Norwegian keeper Steinar Ege ruined the Denmark point. The reds and white came back and trashed Montenegro in the next match, though, and when Russia were beaten by six goals in the last round, could Wilbek & co cheer for a spot in the next round.

Croatia showed class from the first throw of the groupstage, and opened with a five goals win against the hard side from Poland. Czech rep. were no scale for the Croatians neither, and after beating Slovenia in  the last round were the runnerups from Euro 2006 qualified too.



Since Denmark were in group B and Croatia in A, did the teams play each other in the main round. Denmark advanced to this groupstage with two points only. In handball, you bring the sum of points you grabbed in the first round, with you to the next. But only the points you got against the other advaned team. So the two points Denmark won against Russia were the only points they brought. Croatia got full score and advanced with 4 points, like Norway from group B. The first match of Main round group 1 was the derby between Croatia and Denmark, the match which a few days later was going to be the final. Seing as Denmark were two points behind, they simply needed a win. And the Danish dynamite played greeeeat. They could not stop scoring and won 30-20! Should Denmark follow Norway to the semi finals? Norway were particular al ready through according to the foreign newspapers. But what happend? Slovenia shocked and beat Norway by four goals, which sent the hometeam behind. Both Croatia and Denmark won their second match, which meant that Norway had to beat Croatia in the last round. Denmark won their last game against Slovenia, and the last spot was a battle between the others. They drew 23-23, which meant that the hosting nation were elimated, one poor goal from the semis...

Germany and France advanced from group 2. Sweden shocked and won over Spain, which sent the Spanish team out. The nations involved in the Napoleon War in the 1800's were probably playing each other in the final. But the semifinals became a late second drama which the handball world hoped for.

Denmark were seeded and played the Germans. The teams followed each other to the final seconds. But only two seconds from time, should Denmark score the late late winner. On a penalty throw. Denmark to play France in the final? No, Croatia shocked Europe as well, in a match which also was won by one poor goal. Two goals separated the teams from the final in Lillehammer. Croatia and Denmark had the margins. Should Denmark copy their great win in the main round or were Croatia going to revange it?

Good Croatian start
Denmark won by 10 in the main round, but it was the South European side who got the best start in the hall which hosted the Ice Hockey Olympic Final in 1994. The Croatian goalie was everywhere and stoped all the Danish rockets. And they were good offencive as well. 4-0 Before 7 minutes were played.
Joachim Boldsen and Denmark needed 7,5 minutes to find the road to the nets. And while Denmark just wasted and wasted chances, Croatia used all their chances right. Kasper Hvidt, who had been amazingly good for Denmark, had a bad day in the goal. Not the best timing, eh.
But after 20 minutes started Hvidt and Denmark, slowly, the turn-around, and Croatia lost position. A great Danish period made it 13-10 to Denmark at halftime. What happend, Croatia?

Low referee standard
The referees in the championship have been bad and annoying. Handball is supposed to be a rough sport for athletics, but for some of the yellow men have made decissions like if it was chess. It should not be possible to dive in handball, but it is. Just a little hit and you get a penalty. Especially, referees from good nations like France and Spain have been awful. And they never gave penalties when defenders had a foot into the penalty area. That they could do, but not touch a player...

In the second half
both Hvidt and the rest of the Danish team showed their best abilities and served the affection of the supporters. They started to dominate and carried out fast breaks to score goal after goal. With Ivano Balic playing with passion, the Danes had to wait with the celebration. At the end it was 24-20 for the Scandinavian red and whites.

This was Denmark’s first major trophy, which will help the men step out of the shadow of the so successful women`s team.

Kasper Hvidt became the hero again, when he saved a penalty two minutes from time. The last minute, was spent by celebrations by the Danes.

Accursed Cervar

The Croatian coach Lino Cervar was unhappy with the referees, and he really let them know during the last half of the final. He did not like the 2 mins suspensions, so the Spanish referee gave him the red card and Cervar had to see the rest of the match with the crowd.

"He ruined the match by giving suspenions for nothing. I think Denmark deserved to win, but not like this." said the little gunpowder.
"The result say it all. Congratulations to Denmark, they won deservedly. We made mistakes in defence in the first half. Though we improved by the second, it was not enough."

"We played once against Croatia already when we won by ten goals. We knew that it would be more difficult today, but it is always good to play against Croatia. They are always fair and they have many stars in the team." said Ulrik Wilbek.

The Danish coach said that the gold medal was in their mind all ready on the plane to Norway.

"We had control, even when we were 0-4 down. Even though it didnt seem so."

Happy fans
4.000 Danes cheered and celebrated in the Håkons Hall, and thousands of people met the players in the city of København Monday night.
This is the first major title for the Danish handball team at the mens side, so it might be looking at as the big break for Denmark.
Ulrik Wilbek told the fans to celebrate all night long, but the players just wanted to sleep after 11 days with rough games.

Congratulations to France too, who won 36-26 over Germany, which gave the Frenchmens the third place. Sweden ended fifth after their
extra time win against Norway.

Therefore, Norway have to qualify for the Bejing Olympics in August.

Michael Zullo down after a tough tackle

Match: Sydney FC v Queensland Roar, Hyundai A-League 07/08 Minor Semi Final First Leg, Sydney Football Stadium, Australia

Reporter: hughgeta (Sydney, Australia)

Sydney FC and Queensland Roar had played 3 times already in the 2007/08 season, with only one goal being produced. That was all the way back in Round 5, when Patrick scored the winner for Sydney, still under Branko Culina. Much has changed since then; John Kosmina has successfully taken over as FC coach, while Queensland surged to the top of the table with league-leading form, only to dip slightly at the conclusion of the season. These two teams met two weeks ago, with the winner being almost assured of first place on the table. However, a dour 0-0 ensued, and both teams would later end the season in 3^rd and 4^th, difficult to swallow for the fans who justifiably saw them as the two best sides in the A-League.

This semi-final was played at Sydney’s Football Stadium, as the Roar’s home ground was being used for a Police concert. This contributed to Sydney’s favoritism coming into the game. Queensland had not won in 2008, key man Danny Tiatto was suspended for both legs, first-choice goalkeeper Liam Reddy was injured, while there were fitness concerns for Craig Moore, Hyuk-Su Seo and Matt McKay. Sydney however had a full-strength team to pick from. Michael Bridges had returned unnoticed to England, but Patrick was back after a long injury lay-off to take a place on the bench. Kosmina chose to start with Brendan Renaud at left-back as opposed to Olyroo Ruben Zadkovich.

Last week, a record 33 000 had turned out for Sydney’s final round match against Melbourne. This week, only 23000 took their seats, disappointing for the club. The two teams strode out onto the turf for the first leg of their elimination semi-final, both confident within their own right.

It took some time for the match to liven up, with Queensland’s Reinaldo air-swinging a volley in the opening minutes the only real chance. A real plus for Sydney existed in Juninho, his recovery from injury well and truly complete as he began to control the ball. On twenty minutes, avoiding trailing legs and trips, he ran through three Queensland players and opened up space on goal. His last touch let him down as the Brazilian gained a corner for the home side. Sydney had numerous corners throughout the first half but could not cleanly connect with any of them.

Queensland also posed an attacking threat in the opening period. Marcinho forced a save out of Clint Bolton from a great free-kick, before he and Sasa Ognenovski again tested the home keeper with stinging shots.

Sydney rode on the runs of Juninho the keep in an increasingly physical game. Sydney midfielder Robbie Middleby was forced off with injury in the 26^th minute, while young Roar winger Michael Zullo was hammered by Tony Popovic and Iain Fyfe in one confrontation. Juninho kept well in midfield from great physical pressure, often putting long balls through to Alex Brosque to chase. Brosque was struggling in the lone strikers role, and never reached the desperate passes that were put through to him. Reserve keeper Griffin McMaster, however, came dangerously off his line on numerous occasions. Just before the end of the half, he cleared a ball from outside the area which fell to Juninho. Roughly 40 metres out, Juninho volleyed the ball acrobatically but could not reach the goal. The little maestro, still waiting for his first FC goal, rounded out of half.

It was not long into the second half that Sydney had a real chance on goal, unsurprisingly due to the vision of Juninho. On 51 minutes, the speedy Brosque burned Andrew Packer and zeroed in on goal. Despite on his favored left boot, he embarrassingly sprayed the shot a long way high and wide; Socceroos coach Pim Verbeek would not have been impressed.

Another one-on-one opportunity arose barely six minute later. A counter attack of sorts, Juninho brilliant put through Brosque once again with an outside-in pass. However it was not Brosque’s night. His shot was not strong and McMaster saved it. Cracking under pressure.

Sydney, though playing better in the second half, could not crack the undermanned yet resilient Roar defence. McMaster showed signs on inexperience as he almost dropped a cross into his own net. Sydney were now pushing forward and sniffing a goal. Patrick came on for the injured Steve Corica and Brendon Santalab followed soon after.

In a promising substitution for Queensland, Tahj Minniecon came on with immediate impact. The fresh midfielder injected pace into the Roar attack, almost outrunning Tony Popovic down the right hand side, only to force a corner. During this time, Reinaldo and Marcinho sprayed wild shots which missed horribly. Queensland’s two Brazilians were not two footed.

It took until late in the game for it to liven up again. Brosque wasted his third one-on-one chance, an easier save for McMaster this time after another Juninho pass. Finally, defender Mark Milligan found himself playing striker as he dribbled past two defenders into the box, but his cross flashed across the face with a desperate Patrick unable to reach the ball.

A goalless first leg was an odd result for both sides. Queensland had not scored an away goal, yet had not conceded any ground the Sydney, and had the second leg in Brisbane, a definite advantage. Sydney had kept a clean sheet but could not capitalize on their home leg. And after all, they were undefeated away from home, and had no reason not to be confident travelling to Suncorp Stadium, given they opened up Queensland on several occasions this match.

So after four matches throughout the year, one goal was produced, and the tie was still well and truly alive for both these sides. Four sides left, and it would soon become three.

Sydney FC v Queensland Roar 0-0 (0-0)
Hyundai A-League 07/08 Minor Semi Final First Leg, Sydney Football Stadium, Australia
Friday, 25th January, 2008, 9.00pm (AEDT)
Crowd: 23450

Click here for all highlights

New Zealand vs. Bangladesh
First Test – Day One
University Oval
Dunedin, New Zealand

Reporter: José Pedro

Match Preview:

It was a match that had been widely talked about long before it began. There was a lot riding on all parties ahead of this match. The venue was Dunedin's University Oval in its test debut as the 96^th test venue in the world. It is a stunning, picturesque cricket ground which has taken over from Carisbrook as Dunedin's main cricket venue. However, the ground staff were put under great pressure only a few weeks ahead of the test. Local side, Otago were playing a four-day match against Auckland. The match ended in only two days as 35 wickets fell to give Otago an easy win. This raised nervous questions about the pitch, whether or not it was up to the standard of international test cricket. Expert 'pitch doctors' were called in to help with the situation as the pitch was restored back to test cricket quality. Many saw the Otago vs. Auckland match as a blessing in disguise to highlight the problems in time for the debut test.


A pitch inspection by the Bangladesh players

The city of Dunedin was also hoping for the best as international makes its return to the southern city. The last test match to be scheduled in Dunedin was in 1998 against India. Most of the match was rained off. The final day was turned into a friendly one-day exhibition match. Dunedin's unpredictable weather patterns made it difficult to schedule test cricket. The main ground at the time, Carisbrook, was also considered sub-par as a test venue.

Both teams were also under pressure to perform in the first test of the two test series. After being crushed 3-0 in the ODI series, Bangladesh had a big mountain to climb if they were to give the home side a challenge. It was a young squad selected to play in Bangladesh's 50^th test. The tigers brought in Habibul Bashar, the experienced batsman who has played in 48 of Bangladesh's 50 tests. They still have a big climb ahead of them to become a competitive test-playing nation.

New Zealand was also under pressure following a disastrous tour of South Africa and Australia. The Blackcaps have not been meeting the standard in test cricket in recent years, and are in great need of improvement. Despite finding some form in the ODI series, Jamie How was dropped from the squad and replaced by Craig Cumming, the local opening batsman who was just starting to find form in South Africa before getting struck in the cheek from a bouncer by Makhaya Ntini. He was taken to hospital where he had seven metal plates inserted into his cheek. He was cleared to play in the first test and was looking to impress at his home ground. Another opener, Matthew Bell, was brought into the squad after finding great form with Wellington in the four-day domestic games. The pressure was on him for his first test match in six years. Scott Styris was dropped for poor form and Wellington bowler, Iain O'Brien, was called in to replace the injured Mark Gillespie.

The teams:

New Zealand: Matthew Bell, Craig Cumming, Peter Fulton, Stephen Fleming, Mathew Sinclair, Jacob Oram, Brendon McCullum (wk), Daniel Vettori (capt), Kyle Mills, Iain O'Brien, Chris Martin.

Bangladesh: Tamim Iqbal, Junaid Siddique, Habibul Bashar, Mohammad Ashraful (capt), Shahriar Nafees, Aftab Ahmed, Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Mashrafe Mortaza, Shahadat Hossain, Enamul Haque jnr, Sajidul Islam.

Day One

A stunning day in Dunedin for day one of the first test. Sun in the blue sky with only a few clouds dotted around the ground. However it was bitterly cold early this morning, which won't favour the Bangladeshi team. The sun is out though, and it should heat up the ground in no time. The crowd is starting to fill up nicely, I wouldn't be surprised to see it full today.

Vettori one yet another toss and decided to bowl first, as promised in a press conference the day before. The pitch looked like a bowler's pitch that would flatten out later on, making it ideal to bowl first and bat on later.

With respect to Dunedin's predominantly Scottish heritage, a thirteen year old on bag pipes lead the umpires onto the field, soon followed by Daniel Vettori and the New Zealand team and also the openers for Bangladesh, Tamim Iqbal and Junaid Siddique, both on debut. Chris Martin had the new ball for New Zealand.

The match commenced at 11am. Tamim Iqbal started well with a boundary in the first over. His partner wasn't quite as fortunate, edging a Chris Martin delivery to first slip for an easy catch for Fleming in the third over. The experienced Habibul Bashar was the next man on the pitch. He started off nervously. Martin was bowling a series of high bouncers at him. He tried to play a cut shot to one of them, but ended up getting a top edge and the ball went behind him for six. The boundaries at each end of the University Oval are very short by most standards. This was an early sign of what role the shorter boundaries would play in this match.

Bangladesh soon built a good score of 43/1. However, Chris Martin finally broke this partnership, getting Bashar to edge the ball to be caught behind for 23. Bangladesh captain, Ashraful, was next in. He was out LBW on his first ball. Shahriar Nafees Came in and lifted the score to 82/3 before losing his wicket by being bowled by Daniel Vettori. It could've been worse for Bangladesh if Craig Cumming hadn't dropped an easy catch at backward short leg to hand Tamim Iqbal a lifeline. The players broke for lunch Bangladesh on 88/4.

Tamim managed to get his fifty shortly after lunch, but was quickly running out of support as Aftab Ahmed was dismissed for a duck. Martin eventually claimed the prize wicket of Tamim Iqbal for 53, a good score for his first ever test match, but this wasn't quite enough to save Bangladesh from an embarrassing first innings total. Mushrafe Mortaza gave the tigers some hope, enduring a fierce contest of Chris Martin's bouncers to hit five boundaries, but didn't last long enough to boost the team's total. Jacob Oram and Kyle Mills soon wrapped up the Bangladesh innings, getting them all out for 137.

Newly recalled Matthew Bell and local batsman Craig Cumming came on to open for New Zealand. Cumming was hoping to impress at his home ground after coming back from injury, but he was out LBW for just one run early in the innings. New Zealand ended the session on 17/1 as the players broke for tea. Shortly into the third session the blackcaps were in trouble when Peter Fulton was bowled. This left New Zealand in a similar situation as Bangladesh, with one batsman adding runs and all the others faltering. Former captain Steven Fleming played one or two good shots, but was soon out leaving New Zealand at 58/3.

Matthew Sinclair joined Matthew Bell and together they started to build a solid partnership. Bell soon made his half century and the two batsmen pushed their way to a score of 121/3 until Sinclair was out LBW to the bowling of Mortaza. Jacob Oram came to the crease. New Zealand ended day one of the first test with a score of 156/4, with a lead of 19 runs.

Day Two

The weather was perfect ahead of play on day two. There was no cloud in the sky and it was much warmer than the day before. It was a successful morning session for New Zealand. Matthew Bell got to a well earned hundred while Jacob Oram also pushed his way to fifty in the background. They worked the score to 260/4 before Mohammad Ashraful finally dismissed Bell, who made a great return to test cricket with a score of 107. Brendon McCullum showed off some magic by blasting a huge six over midwicket. This was short lived as he was caught in the slips the very next ball.


New Zealand opener, Matthew Bell, made a great return to test cricket

Not long after the lunch break, Jacob Oram brought up his century and the total shot up to 320/6. Bangladesh took the new ball after 80 overs. This tactic paid off straight as Mortaza claimed two wickets in the first two balls. New Zealand soon found themselves at 340/9, with New Zealand's last two batsmen, Iain O'Brien and Chris Martin, at the crease. Martin is famous in New Zealand for being a very poor batsman. Having recognised this, the crowd let out a huge cheer every time Martin faced a delivery without going out. The atmosphere was amazing around the ground as Martin pushed his way to 12 not out; his highest ever test score, including two boundaries. Bangladesh wicketkeeper, Mushfiqur Rahim, made a great diving catch to finally get Ian O'Brien out to end the New Zealand innings on 357, a first innings lead of 220.

The Bangladesh openers made a great start to the second innings, playing some great strokes and frustrating the New Zealand bowlers. Tamim Iqbal and Junaid Siddique both made half centuries as they powered on to a score of 148/0 at the end of day two. This broke the record for Bangladesh's highest opening partnership in a test match. Not bad for two young men on debut. Though they still trail by 72 runs, they have made a solid start and put on some great pressure early on. The New Zealand bowling attack was highly criticized in the media that evening. At least the crowd had seen some good cricket today.

Day Three

Things didn't look quite so good on the morning of day three, but the early cloud soon cleared and we were in for another beautiful day of cricket. The Bangladeshi openers continued pushing up the total, until Mills claimed the wicket of Tamim Iqbal. Siddique went out not long afterwards. Things started to go badly for Bangladesh from here. They quickly lost another three wickets before lunch. It was a much better session for the New Zealand bowlers as five wickets fell for just 58 runs, leaving Bangladesh still 14 runs away from making New Zealand bat again.

The second session began with wickets continuing to fall. Bangladesh were all out for 254 runs, leaving New Zealand a target of just 35 runs to win. The New Zealand bowlers answered their critics as Bangladesh were in a fantastic position but threw it all away. The poor first innings total of 137 dragged the team down to their 44^th test defeat.

The New Zealand batsmen came onto the pitch hoping to claim a ten wicket victory. This wasn't achieved however, as Craig Cumming was yet again dismissed LBW early on, this time for only 4 runs. Peter Fulton came onto the pitch and started playing some extravagant shots including a final pull shot for six to guide the blackcaps home by nine wickets. Jacob Oram was announced man-of-the-match for his batting score of 117 and overall bowling figures of 4-54.

Result: New Zealand win by 9 wickets

Rangers - Motherwell

26th of December 2007

SPL

Ibrox Park

Buffel makes his 1st appearence today.

Maxwell Drive a usual spot for Gers fans to park was not busy at 2pm this afternoon. Spaces in the street are hard to get any other days but this week was different. A quiet street except for locals driving past or a dog or two barking. The moterway isn't as busy as usual but the traffic is picking up minutes after minutes. After stopping off at a fast food place to grab a Sausage Supper I made my short walk down to Ibrox Stadium, with the programme sellers and loto sellers out and about shouting out Ibrox became busier. I entered the Broomloan Rear end to go to my seat just in time for the teams and Leon Jackson coming out to the pitch. Andy Cameron came out onto the pitch holding the team news and a Rangers strip signed by all the players. He then shouted out Leon's name and out Leon came as if he was warming up. They both stood in the centre circle and Andy asked Leon what he thought of the team and can they win the league this season. Afterwards He gave Leon the shirt and wished him all the best and then read out the Rangers team which was:

McGregor, Hutton, Cuellar, Weir, Whittaker, Burke, Ferguson, Thomson, Adam, Naismith and Cousin. Naismith came off for Buffel after 64 minutes. Cousin came off for Boyd after 75 Minutes

Motherwell: Graeme Smith, Quinn, Craigan, Reynolds, Paterson, McGarry (Darren Smith 64), Hughes, O'Donnell, McCormack, Porter, Clarkson (Murphy 83).

By this time, Ibrox was busier.

So kick-off came and Rangers were to get us under-way for a great match. There wasn't many chances in the first half of the game but from then onwards there was plenty of chances to talk about. Burke ran from the halfway line to find that his curling shot from 18 yards go over the bar. McGregor was then tested when a cross came in and found Ross McCormack diving header from 10 yards found McGregor's knees and bounced away. Burke then had another chance which was curling away of the kepper had not been there and tunred it away for a corner. The corner came in and Cuellar was there only to find his header come off the bar and Naismith put it wide from 5 yards out! Rangers finally scored with 3 minutes to go with Cousin who hasn't scored since the Lyon game in France. Motherwell thought that they had a corner when Rangers kept the ball in play and broke free. Ferguson had a shot but it was cleared off the line and straight to Whittaker who crossed the ball to Cousin who out the ball away nicely! 1-0 Rangers.

Hafl Time came and as usual for the half time entertainment was some nice young looking Cheerleaders.

Motherwell came out of the break and Ross McCormack, a former Rangers striker, nearly equilized twice but McGregor denied him. First he tried to square it but it found the keepers feet instead and the second time he was taken down by a clean Alan Hutton challenge.

Thomas Buffel then came on for Naismith after a long period of absence due to injury but before he could get a touch, Quinn put the ball in the net with his head to make it 1-1 but Rangers' response was a header from Cousin from Burke's cross off the bar. The deadlock only lasted for a few more minutes until Rangers got a corner and Porter put it in his own net! 2-1 Rangers!

Kris Boyd added the third when Hutton made a great run, shot, hit the bar and came back to Boyd who tapped it in for 3-1 Rangers!

Mariners keeper Danny Vukovic after being sent off

Match: Central Coast Mariners v Sydney FC, Hyundai A-League 07/08 Round 15 (rescheduled), Bluetongue Central Coast Stadium, Australia

The Marinators sat at one end. The Cove sat at the other. From then on in, it was on for young and old. Never would any of those 17 514 fans who packed into Bluetongue Central Coast Stadium have expected what was about to proceed in front of them. They all paid their cheap tickets, but got far more than a cheap football match. The A-League’s motto, ජ minutes, 90 emotions", could not have been advertised to a greater extent within this game. Sydney FC v Central Coast Mariners: The greatest game in the history of the Hyundai A-League.

On a weekend of otherwise no football, this lone match was a postponement from Round 15. Three weeks ago the fixture had been delayed because of a rained out pitch, and ironically a flash downpour welcomed all visitors to Gosford jut an hour before kick-off. The rain did clear, dampening no one’s spirits in the wake of away chants and home anticipation.

Central Coast still held top spot in the league, as they had all season long. Consistent performances paid well for a team with little stars, in a season where one team was out of form one week and winningly stunningly the next. At virtually full-strength, the Mariners were understandable favorites for this match.

Sydney FC were coming off an embarrassing 4-2 home loss to bottom club Perth Glory, which put their finals aspirations temporarily on hold. They had probably banked on three points in that match to put themselves into the important fourth spot; however the loss made this game so much more important. Yet their team suggested otherwise. Mark Rudan had just played his last match for the club, Mark Milligan and Clint Bolton had sustained injuries midweek, Ruben Zadkovich was suspended and Juninho was still out. These circumstances thrust new signing Mark Robertson into the starting 11, while reserve keeper Ivan Necevski would make his debut as Bolton missed only his second match in the history of Sydney FC.

The sun was well and truly out for kick off, prompting an early promotion of attacking football. With the rain gone, the players were eased as well, and they were obviously able and willing to hit the ball round the park. This was displayed with full force in only the third minute. Matthew Breeze awarded the Mariners a free kick within range, which was asking to be hit but just far enough out to turn someone off. Not hit directly, a clever play moved the ball sideways to put the wall out of play, and Mile Jedinak thrashed the ball into straight into the goal. Necevski could not do anything, disheartening none the less within the first two minutes of his debut.

The strong Mariners crowd was excited so early on, and were willing their team forward. Only a few minutes later they thrust down the right, putting a beautiful ball in to former Sydney striker Sasho Petrovski. The chance was fluffed, and the pressure eased. Yet on 15 minutes they were at it again. The ball found Tom Pondeljak after some poor defending, who put in a low cross. John Aloisi lost his man and turned it in like the killer striker he is. Aloisi’s fifth goal of the season put Central Coast 2-0 ahead.

Sydney were shocked and could only lump the ball forward. However a minute later this reaped rewards. Mariners keeper Danny Vukovic had earlier rushed out of the goal and bravely headed it out; this time he ran out to meet a long ball but misjudged the bounce, hitting his hand on the way through, just outside the box. The crowd knew what was coming: Breeze brandished the red and Vukovic was off. Striker Petrovski was immediately sacrificed for reserve keeper Matthew Trott.

Trott was in the thick of the action, almost straight away making a flying save off an Iain Fyfe header.

Sydney suddenly gained an ascendency which they could never have imagined. The passes were hit round like a pinball machine; the 10-man Mariners defence was at the mercy of every Sydney move. The game had changed so dramatically due to the sending off as Sydney pushed for a goal to get back in the game. Aerial ascendency proved fruitful; consecutive corners before half time eventually resulted in a positive outcome for the visitors. Fyfe got his head to the ball and superbly placed it in the top corner. At 2-1, Sydney was back in the game and raring to go.

Though they could not find the equalizer before half-time, they had enough confidence to push on with it after half time. Corners, it seemed, were Sydney’s favored option to equalize. Tony Popovic seemed an imposing figure in the penalty area, and when Nik Tsatallios swung one in only four minutes after the restart, Popovic directed his powerful header down, forcing Trott to parry the ball away. Scrambling around, Terry McFlynn was quickest to react as he hit the ball into the top of the net from a tight angle. The score was 2-2.

The Mariners were now in a difficult position. Sydney forced more corners and looked threatening off each one. Yet this enabled the Central Coast to amount counter-attacks with Sydney’s defence short. Aloisi was substituted off with a knee injury, meaning Matt Simon went into the lone striker’s role. Five minutes after coming on, he collected the ball with space in front of him and cut inside the retreating Popovic. One-on-one, he shot straight at Necevski, who blocked the ball back into his path. A lunging tackle from behind by Popovic felled Simon and Breeze pointed to the penalty spot. Though guessing the right way, Greg Owens’ perfect penalty was too much for Necevski and Central Coast were back in the lead.

Just before the goal to regain the Mariners lead, winger Adam Biddle came on for the young Tsatallios. Switching Robbie Middleby from the right to the left to accommodate him was an excellent move by Sydney coach John Kosmina, as Biddle was willing to run at defenders in a dire hope of saving the game. Biddle put in a beautiful ball for which Alex Brosque could not quite reach, and minutes later set on another run down the right with acres of space. The experienced Dean Heffernan was forcing Biddle wider, before the right-footer cut back in and left Heffernan for dead. Running straight in on goal, Biddle superbly finished the individual move and slotted the equalizer between Trott’s legs.

Central Coast were again having to hold on desperately. On rare occasions they forayed forward but with fifteen minutes left, they could only waste chances, such as an embarrassingly failed free kick move where they were too clever for their own good. The ten man outfit tried to play to Simon’s strengths in the air, but were too often let down.

Sure enough, Sydney pushed forward enough to finally force another goal. Not long after Biddle’s equalizer, quick striker Brendon Santalab came on and immediately had an impact. He and Brosque were often two-on-two with the Mariners defence only to be unluckily denied a clean chance on goal. Forcing a corner, the ball was hit in and rebounded out to Santalab, who superbly turned to fake his defender and fired a great volley into the goal. Arguably the best goal of the game had surely now won the match for the visiting side in a see-sawing affair.

Tempers had been threatening to boil over for some time as the pressure environment got the better of some players. Alex Wilkinson was yellow carded for the Mariners and Talay curled in a perfectly placed free-kick, only to see Trott deny it with an even better save. A late penalty shout from Brosque had Sydney players crowding round the referee but to no avail.

One could see the despondency within the Central Coast side. They had to chase the match now, yet they had so little going forward it was difficult for them to do so. However, they were not leading the league for nothing, and as Sydney absorbed the large home pressure, the Mariners somehow found a 4-4 equalizer on 86 minutes. A long free kick was lumped forward and was unable to be cleared, eventually falling inside the penalty box to an open Adam Kwasnik waiting to pass the ball into the net. A simple tap in for the substitute sent the Mariners fans wild. Somehow, with barely a chance, Central Coast had fought to find an amazing equalizer.

The emotion of this amazing match was all but drained from fans of all parties. The players as well were tired; Sydney hastily kicked-off but looked dejected after sacrificing their amazing fight back. More drama was yet to come.

Sydney had one final shot as a goal line scramble was hit by Corica in a reflex action. Unluckily, it rebounded off the post, and with only a minute left the game was surely now settled. Central Coast left-back Heffernan was forced off with what would turn out to be a broken leg, and the Mariners were forced to finish the 3 minutes stoppage time with 9 men.

Time ran out as FC had one last chance off a corner. Deep into injury time, Talay hit the final ball in to a packed box. Not one of the 17 000 spectators could have predicted what was next. With Central Coast defending for their lives, they were expected to clear it easily, but Santalab lunged at the ball with his head and found contact. Kwasnik, standing on the goal line, clearly stopped the ball with his hands to prevent it from going in. Breeze had no option but to award a penalty and send Kwasnik off.

^{The eight Mariners players who finished the match should have felt proud of their performance. They contributed as much to the game as the 11 Sydney FC players. Though their heads hung low, as time passes they would soon realise they had been involved in the greatest match the A-League has ever witnessed. As any one of the fans who went to Bluetongue Stadium on that Saturday night, they will tell you that it was the best match they have ever seen. The record crowd also contributed to the great atmosphere inside the almost full stadium. They cheered every tackle, every card, every goal, and jeered every mistake, every miss, and gasped at every amazing, emotion-wrenching incident throughout the 90 minutes. The match was a great advertisement for the A-League, and for the game in Australia. This was football.}

^{Match Facts}

^{1-0 (Jedinak 3’)
2-0 (Aloisi 15’)
2-1 (Fyfe 33’)
2-2 (McFlynn 49’)
3-2 (Owens 63’pen)
3-3 (Biddle 71’)
3-4 (Santalab 76’)
4-4 (Kwasnik 86’)
4-5 (Talay 90+5’pen)}

Sydney FC:
Necevski; Fyfe, Popovic, Robertson, Tsatallios (Biddle 59’); Middleby (Renaud 90’), Talay, McFlynn, Corica; Brosque, Bridges (Santalab 73’)

^{Click Here For All Goals}

Mark Rudan Farewells The Cove

Match: Sydney FC v Perth Glory, Hyundai A-League 07/08 Round 17, Sydney Football Stadium, Australia

Reporter: hughgeta (Sydney, Australia)

“Mark Rudan is a big blue man, try and catch him if you can, try and do a trick and he’ll make you look a dick, big Mark RUDAN!” Mark Rudan, inaugural captain of Sydney FC, was playing his last game for the club as he headed to Japan to reunite with Season One coach Pierre Littbarski with Avispa Fukuoka. Finals series, Premierships, Oceanian and Asian Champions Leagues, World Club Cups; Mark Rudan had seen it all in less than three seasons at Sydney FC and had been there the whole way as a consistent and hard working central defender. Now, it was his final match in the sky blue, and the ‘Big Blue Man’ was adamant in finishing off a victor against Perth Glory. He deserved all the praise and chants he got before, during and after the game.

Following Adelaide’s loss to Central Coast, Sydney could now win and for the first time in some while, take a place in the finals. It was in their hands. Undefeated under John Kosmina, there was no reason to say they couldn’t against bottom club Perth Glory, who had no finals hopes to play for, and had top scorer Jamie Harnwell and former Sydney left-back Nikolai Topor-Stanley suspended, as well as their captain Simon Colosimo injured. Hayden Foxe had returned for the Glory last week and his form was a plus for the visiting side, but anything less than three points for Sydney would be a disaster.

Sydney were missing Ruben Zadkovich, suspended for two games, but the injection of holding midfielder Terry McFlynn was sure to balance his absence.

The opening periods however did nothing to balance Zadkovich’s absence. Of course Juninho was still injured, so Steve Corica was left with the playmaking duties, however McFlynn failed to impose on the Glory midfield as his game style suggests. Perth opened the match with style and poise, controlling the ball with ease, particularly down the left hand side through Nick Rizzo. The opening ten minutes was played all in Sydney’s half and a scare went through the home crowd as Bolton cleared a backpass straight into Glory winger Leo Bertos, the rebound falling just over the crossbar.

As the match began to even out, the best opportunity fell to Alex Brosque off a Corica cross. Though the long ball tactic was not encouraging, Corica found space down the right and perfected a cross to Brosque, who headed it wide. The distance out, and the imposing figure of Tommi Tomich in goals, suggests that the chance wasn’t as clear cut as it first seemed.

Corica again was involved in the next chance as he began to take wrestle the game into Sydney’s hands. Ufuk Talay put through a similar long pass to Corica on the right, who volleyed it perfectly into (this time) Michael Bridge’s path. Aiming to keep the superb move going, Bridges hit the ball first time as it flashed over the goal. A spectacular move nonetheless, Bridges could have controlled the ball before setting himself up, yet was ruled offside anyway.

Rudan himself gained a chance off Sydney’s first corner, his far post header unable to hit the mark from a tight angle.

In between these chances, Robbie Middleby was injured and forced off, leaving Kosmina short staffed on the left in a squad already devoid of left sided players. David Zdrilic went into Left midfield but the striker was clearly out of his depth.

Perth were still fighting, and arguably dominating through the first half. Billy Celeski was playing excellently, the central midfielder holding up the ball and putting through some excellent passes, one particular through ball to Jerry Karpeh, whose first touch let him down on a clear run to goal. Bolton gathered it up, and rolled it to Mark Milligan. Milligan then hit a brain explosive pass, straight to Celeski, who ran the ball superbly through Milligan’s legs, gathered it up, and with a clear sight on goal, buried to chance to put Perth on the scoreboard.

Barely a minute later Perth were at it again. McFlynn gained the ball inside FC’s half, only for it to be taken cleanly away by Celeski, who had a mirror chance again and struck it home for a two goal lead. Disaster for Sydney FC and elation for Perth, who barely had anything to celebrate this season.

Desperation crept in for Sydney as a forty metre shot from Talay was easily taken by Tomich, rounding out the half.

Earlier this season, Sydney had come from 3-1 down to draw entertainingly 3-3 in Perth, so all was not lost for the home fans. The start of the second half promised a fight back, with a beautiful cross coming in from the right as Zdrilic’s shot flashed across goal.

Yet on the 48^th minute, Sydney were again caught short on defence. Rizzo was found with acres of space on the right, his low cross coming in just at the six yard area, and with Bertos beating his marker, he duly converted the chance for his first A-League goal and with it gave Perth an unassailable 3-0 lead.

Two minutes later, the action continued, this time at the other end. With little hope, Sydney had to be ruthless, in front of goal, and this was clearly displayed as Bridges flicked on a long ball, straight into Corica’s path, who volleyed it excellently over Tomich’s head and into the goal. Suddenly, the scoreline was 3-1, and Sydney, barely with a chance of coming back, restored some hope.

Clearly FC had gained momentum, for the next few minutes they pushed forward with increased fervor in attack. This was a crucial time for Perth, as conceding now when Sydney were strong would put the home side right back in it. Brosque was put through off a great ball but his shot flashed across the face and wide. This was their chance, and eventually, the wind blew out of their sails and the result became undoubted.

Perth put everyone behind the ball in an attempt to frustrate the Sydney attack, as Iain Fyfe and Brosque were both forced to shot from long range. Time was running out and Sydney had no real answers. On the 74^th minute, the match was sealed as Fyfe fouled James Downey in the box, and Celeski converted his hat trick for an 4-1 lead.

If most of the crowd hadn’t left at this stage it was purely because of Mark Rudan. Seeing him off well was the only thing left in a lackluster last ten minutes, where the fans were quiet and there was no time or point left for a Sydney comeback.

Substitute David Zdrilic was embarrassingly substituted for Adam Biddle, who put on a nice cameo. First he put a shot just wide of the near post, before setting up Bridges with a long, low pass which the classy striker finished in the 89^th minute.

The game was over, however Rudan had almost capped his last match with a header off the cross bar just minutes earlier. Rudan’s centre-back partner, Mark Milligan, was called off after a horrible performance for new signing Mark Robertson. It was an unfortunate match for the Olyroos captain who had hoped to put on a good show with new Socceroos coach Pim Verbeek watching from the stands.

It was the worst defensive performance of the season in an ironic farewell to Sydney’s most celebrated defender. Perth deserved all three points when they were undermanned and with really nothing to play for. Still on the bottom, the Glory are increasingly becoming a banana skin for the finals hopes of teams like Sydney, who lie two points out of fourth and make the upcoming match against Central Coast all the more important.

Rudan was given a guard of honour as he said goodbye to the Cove for the last time. Despite the loss, the chants went on and ‘The Big Blue Man’ will not be quickly forgotten.

Match Facts

Sydney FC v Perth Glory 2-4 (0-2)
Hyundai A-League 07/08 Round 17, Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney
Saturday, 15th December, 2007, 7.00pm (AEDT)
Crowd: 12402

0-1 (Celeski 34’)
0-2 (Celeski 35’)
0-3 (Bertos 49’)
1-3 (Corica 50’)
1-4 (Celeski 77’pen)
2-4 (Bridges 90’)

Sydney FC:
Bolton; Fyfe, Popovic, Milligan (Robertson 81’), Rudan, Middleby (Zdrilic 22’ (Biddle 64’)); Corica, Talay, McFlynn; Brosque, Bridges

Perth Glory:
Tomich; Simpson, Coyne (Micevski 90’), Djulbic, Foxe, Downey; Rizzo (Sekulovski 74’), Celeski, Bertos; Karpeh (Rukavytsya 64’), Robinson

Click Here For All Goals

Yeovil Town vs Hartlepool

Hartlepool United were welcomed by a wet Huish Park after making their longest league journey of the season to Yeovil Town, however, manager Russell Slade was forced to make one change to the starting line-up against Bournemouth, with Nathan Jones serving a one-game suspension for a red card.

Hartlepool took three minutes more to open the scoring with a goal of sublime skill. Mackay turned inside Scott Guyett and unleashed a curling shot from 25 yards that crept past a despairing Steve Mildenhall that he looked sure to have covered, however, it wove round the Yeovil out-of-form 'keeper!

Yeovil reacted positively and were denied by the Crossbar after 11 minutes! James Walker was teed-up by Terry Skiverton, in the box and the Charlton Athletic striker's strike was deflected agonisingly against the post by Anthony Sweeney.

Despite the scoreline neither side were enjoying periods of extended possession, with both defences looked shaky with Mackay and Walker looking threatening for Hartlepool and Yeovil, but, Yeovil's defence looked much shackier when they tried to attack and were caught on the counter numerious times.

Shortly before the half hour mark scores were levelled as a Phenominal Stieber corner lead to a second goal in as many games. Captain Terry Skiverton met the inch-perfect set piece with a towering header that left Budtz with little chance. The Huish Park faithful including me were all on their feet again three minutes later when the Hartlepool back four were again tested by a probing cross. Marcus Stewart rose the highest to Peltier's deep ball heading home on the day his two sons were mascots.




Hartlepool could have equalised after 36 minutes but former Sheffield Wednesday attacker Ritchie Humphreys could only blast over a snapshot unmarked ten yards from goal. The visitors came close moments later when Mildenhall snatched the ball at the feet of a striker.

Heroics from the Yeovil 'keeper Mildenhall maintained his team's advantage five minutes beforehalf time when a rasping Humpreys free kick was kept out by a dive to his left. The referee's whistle brought an entertaining first half to a close with the Glovers still ahead. Both sides had shown their attacking prowess, but also demonstrated defensive instability.

Half Time: Yeovil Town 2 Hartlepool United 1

Yeovil Town came out guns-blazing for the restart and were unlucky not to score a third two minutes in. Walker tried his hardest to get on the end of a Glovers attack, only for the ball to creep wide in a 50:50 clash with Budtz. Budtz was in the thick of it three minutes later. Stieber's free kick was glanced on by Stewart and the giant shot-stopper clung to the ball above his head.Man Of The Match in my opinion Stieber's trickery down the left and from set-pieces was causing Hartlepool difficulty and twice in three minutes the away defence were forced to hack away corners.

In a game that was still Definatly end-to-end, Yeovil were enjoying the better of the play. Walker and Stewart were linking well in attack operating in front of a midfield showing purpose and cohesion often lacking previously in the season. Walker made way for Lloyd Owusu after 70 minutes as Slade tried to give the Hartlepool defenders a different test.

The strong Ghanaian nearly made the score sheet with his second touch of the game. Warne's powerful drive after cutting in from the right fizzed across goal with Owusu narrowly missing out. After 75 minutes Darren Way jinked inside two Hartlepool players and with a clear sight at goal unselfishly crossed towards the penalty spot. With Stewart advancing Budtz did well to claim the ball.

Hartlepool responded by missing a golden opportunity to get a second before Owusu extended the gap between the teams. After being put clear by Stewart, the substitute had his first effort one-on-one clawed away.

The Yeovil player regained his composure to delicately chip the ball into the net for his ninth of the season. Stieber and Way were both given deserved standing ovations when they were substituted in the 80th minute to be replaced by Ritchie Jones and Anthony Barry. Two wins on the bounce will have given Slade's squad confidence ahead of the Christmas period, as well as momentum.

Yeovil were made to fight after falling behind to a first class strike but came from behind and showed they were capable of creating goal-scoring chances. Stieber's class shone through and whereas he still has a lot to offer the Glovers will benefit from his time at the club. Across the field Yeovil played as a unit and comprehensively beat one of the better sides in League One.



By Lee Vilenski! - The God Of Blogs.

Mark Rudan Celebrates the late, late Winner

Match: Sydney FC v Newcastle Jets, Hyundai A-League 07/08 Round 16, Sydney Football Stadium, Australia

Reporter: hughgeta (Sydney, Australia)

With Sydney FC still unbeaten under Coach John Kosmina, the time was theirs to make a play for the finals. Always keeping abreast of Newcastle for the last couple of weeks, but never overtaking them, this match was a direct competition for what could turn out to be the fourth finals spot. Newcastle had last week snatched a late winner against in-form Queensland while at the same time playing quite atrociously. Admittedly, they themselves had not been playing well in the last few weeks but were doing just enough to hold onto their fourth position. They welcomed Mark Bridge back into the striking position to replace the disaster that is Mario Jardel. Bridge would play a vital role alongside Joel Griffiths who was almost single-handedly doing enough to keep the Jets afloat.

FC were also playing competently without actually losing. Their momentum was somewhat halted last weekend when their match against Central Coast was washed out, however this was arguably a blessing in disguise following their midweek trashing of LA Galaxy 5-3. This washout would mean star marquee Juninho would most likely not miss any competition matches after another injury setback, but complications arose during the week and the Brazilian would be out until after Christmas. Fellow attacking midfielder Steve Corica was thankfully welcomed back into the side to generate some creativity. The pleasing thing for Sydney was the consistency of their two forwards, Michael Bridges and Alex Brosque, who both scored the winner in the previous 2 meetings with Newcastle this season. Sydney were now aiming for an unprecedented 3^rd win in a season against Newcastle, however avoiding defeat, which would leave them 7 points adrift of the Jets’ finals position, was a must.

A flash storm about 2 hours before kickoff significantly depleted the Sydney crowd who had been steadily increasing. This was somewhat unfortunate given the momentum Sydney FC had gained out of the 81 000+ people who attended the Galaxy match.

With the sky a disturbingly eerie red, the match kicked off with little fanfare. Playing a transposable 5-3-2/3-5-2 formation, the blues held a lot of possession without really creating anything, clearly Juninho was missed. However this sort of game style had been indicative of the A-League throughout the 16 weeks of the season – the 8 teams were becoming more and more competitive, and because anyone could beat anyone else on the day, many were frightened to lose. Although the standard of play in the league had increased dramatically, the entertainment factor was not always evident, particularly in this game with so much on the line.

Not that Newcastle were much better. Striker Griffiths had a header fly over from Bridge’s cross, but it was only a half chance. They also appealed for a penalty as Tarek Elrich flew down the right hand side only to be stopped in a great tackle by Robbie Middleby. Minutes later Middleby crunched Elrich in a less convincing fashion, just outside the box, however the delivery from Adam D’Apuzzo was uninspiring. Middleby would go on to get a yellow card for a separate incident later in the half.

Sydney had legitimate concerns shortly afterwards however. With a great ball being put through, the aggressive Ruben Zadkovich ran through and only his heavy touch stopped him from making a better shot on Jets keeper Ante Covic. A save was forced, and the ball fell to Middleby who half-volleyed it into the net, however almost simultaneously the ref called Zadkovich back for offside, which replays suggested was incorrect.

With neither keeper being particularly worked inside the first half an hour, suddenly Brosque broke through down the left as he angled in on goal. Taking the unselfish option, he cut the ball back as Bridges honed in. Unfortunately, the Englishman put in a weak shot as Covic dived to his left to pull off an excellent save. This rounded off an otherwise chanceless first half.

The second period started with the definite sense of a goalless draw. With no spark in the opening 45, there was not much encouragement to suggest otherwise.

Yet within 5 minutes of the restart another incident threatened to change the game. With Adam Griffiths collecting the ball, Zadkovich lunged in and with studs up. Though cleanly collecting the ball, Griffiths went down in pain as Zadkovich’s legs trailed through and brought down the defender. It was an arguable decision, but Matthew Breeze (who has made a name out of knee-jerk reactions) pulled out the red card straight away.

Despite this, Sydney actually sprung to life. A great chance presented itself off a brilliant Ufuk Talay through ball. Brosque brought it down well and tried to chip the large Covic, unsuccessfully. Collecting the rebound, Brosque turned and cut it across the Bridges. Much like the chance in the first half, Bridges placed it but was cleared off the line by Andrew Durante.

Wasting no time, Kosmina brought off Bridges and put in holding midfielder Terry McFlynn in what turned out to be a game deciding decision. It was only a few weeks ago that Sydney faced a similar 10-man conundrum against Melbourne. On that night, they were expectantly dominated after the send off and fell to a late winner against the Victory. However, this was different.

As McFlynn came on, Sydney suddenly controlled the midfield far better. They gained a definite territorial ascendency as half-chances presented themselves. Newcastle were surprisingly unable to amount anything despite their mathematical advantage.

The game also became physical, no more evident than when Mark Rudan was involved in an off-the-ball incident in bringing down Joel Griffiths. The striker was down for several minutes, requiring medical attention, and the confrontation is likely to draw attention from the match review committee midweek.

The crowd was still not expecting of any result as Sydney had ten men. Yet they created heavy pressure with several consecutive corners. Rudan had a free header with 5 minutes left but could not aim it on goal.

Newcastle were generally resorting to long rage shots as the solid Sydney defence was impenetrable. Specifically, two embarrassing efforts from Bridge and Griffiths summed up their performance. They brought on Jardel in an effort to create a chance, and on 89 minutes fellow substitute Noel Spencer drove a shot which Clint Bolton could only parry into Jardel’s path. With the goal at his mercy, Jardel did everything he could to miss as the ball flew over the bar with an open net from 3 yards. Saving his embarrassment, the chance was ruled offside nevertheless.

The fourth official signaled 3 added minutes. There was time for either team, but the whole game had produced little excitement as many were exiting the ground. Suddenly, centre-defender Mark Rudan chased down the ball on the right flank (not unlike he did to rescue a late draw in Perth several weeks back) and found space. Running in uncharted territory, the Sydney Football Stadium went up in final anticipation. Cutting across to Terry McFlynn in the box, the Northern Irishman was off balance and with his back towards goal, and thus unable to put in a shot. Instead, he deftly chipped a cross towards the far post, where Steve Corica appeared alone to head in the dramatic winner. The clock read 91:48.

With a trifecta of 1-0 wins over Newcastle throughout the season, FC were now 1 point off the Jets’ important fourth spot with a game in hand. Importantly, it was the gritty nature of their win which pleased Kosmina the most, and in the race towards the finals, Sydney were now well and truly in the hunt. The Novacastrians, on the other hand, were looking extremely shaky as they ventured back up the F3 for the trip home.

Match Facts

Sydney FC v Newcastle Jets 1-0 (0-0)
Hyundai A-League 07/08 Round 16, Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney
Friday, 7^th December, 2007, 8.00pm (AEDT)
Crowd: 10732

1-0 (Corica 90+2’)

Sydney FC:
Bolton; Fyfe, Popovic, Milligan, Rudan, Middleby; Corica, Talay, Zadkovich; Brosque, Bridges (McFlynn 63’)

Newcastle Jets:
Covic; A. Griffiths, North, Durante, Thompson (Jardel 83’); Wheelhouse (Spencer 51’), Musialik; Elrich, D’Apuzzo, J. Griffiths; Bridge

Click Here For All Highlights

Longford Town v

Cork City FC
                
Venue: RDS (Royal Dublin Society)

Sunday 2nd December 2007

Kick Off: 15.30
By: Kevin Galvin

Match Preview:
The glamour day in the Irish domestic football calendar. The FAI Cup Final is never an ordinary game. Longford have a good history in the cup. This is their third final in 5 years and they have won 2 out of 3, beating Shamrock Rovers and Waterford United and losing to Bohemians in the outings to Dublin.
They will be rank outsiders though after their relegation from the eircom League Premier Division following a six point deduction at the start of the season. But they have a dangerous weapon in the shape of this year’s top scorer Dave Mooney, who notched up 19 goals this season in the league alone, and he, when in form, can change the course of a match with one magical touch.
This is a big match for Longford, hoping to end on a good note after a depressing season for the midland team.

City will be looking for their 2nd FAI Cup title in four finals, after a brilliant and an unexpected 2-0 win away to Bohemians in the semi-final in which Liam Kearney scored two. Their first title, in 1998, was secured by a powerful header by Derek Coughlin in a replay with Shelbourne. After two disappointments against Bohemians and Derry City in which both went to replays, and lest not forget their loss to Drogheda United 2-0 in 2005 that, arguably, was the reason behind the Rebel Army’s sharp decline from league greatness to European place strugglers in only a couple of months. The omens aren’t good for City. In 2005 their centre back,  Alan Bennett was suspended, they played in Lansdowne Road, a pitch that was used for a rugby international the previous weekend, also recently on the same pitch, there was a Red Hot Chilli Pepper’s concert, and they changed their strip from the 2005 familiar green to the current 2006 green and white striped kit.

Now, in 2007, right back Neal Horgan is suspended, they’re playing in the RDS, 9 days after a Leinster Magners league game, and only 4 days after a Kings of Leon concert in which they played 2 nights due to “Popular Demand” and City have officially announced that they are playing in a special cup final kit to celebrate the team‘s new kit sponsor Hummel.
 There is unrest amongst the city faithful after a very poor league campaign in which the southerners  finished 5th, their lowest since way back before the advent of ’Summer Soccer’ way back in the 2001/02 season, and the speculation amongst the supporters is that if City end the season with no silverware, heads will roll.
City haven’t have a great run into the final, losing their only warm up game on Sunday the 25th of November to 1st division champions and neighbours Cobh Ramblers 2-1. With Captain Dan Murray getting the only City goal and cancelling out Conor Meade’s goal. But Cobh got their second thanks to a goal from Kieran O‘Riely, but what must be said that Damien Richardson was playing the first string squad and many players were saving themselves for the final the week later.

Wednesday saw the two captains Dan Murray, and Longford Town captain Damien Brennan meeting for a photo shoot with the cup for sponsors Ford at the RDS.
This final has been one of the most controversial in many years. With the match threatened to be cancelled after Cork City officials said they were going to pull out of the final due to the FAI’s decision to take all the gate receipts from the match, two days of talks with both clubs and the FAI, ended with both teams getting compensation for the cost of the match, but nothing more and the match going ahead as planned.

This years game is being played in the RDS, after host for the last 5 years, Lansdowne Road, is being renovated into a 65,000 all-seated stadium. This venue is a little bit short of that, only 20,000, although not many more seats are needed. This ground is very rarely used for soccer. It plays host to Leinster Rugby’s home matches in the Magners League and the Heineken Cup. But it is mainly an equestrian and conference centre, hosting the Royal Dublin Horse Show in the international show jumping calendar, and a number of indoor events, including the ‘Young Scientist of the Year awards’ and ’Toys for Big Boys’. Soccer was played here in the 90’s though when it played host to Irish league Shamrock Rovers from 1990 to 1995.
In fact Rovers won their only league title since the 80’s in the RDS when they beat Shelbourne in 1994, which denied Cork City their second league title. It has also hosted an Irish International against Wales in 1992 in which the Republic of Ireland won 1-0.  

Cork City is expected to win this game comfortably and collect their second title. But City’s fans are all too familiar with giant killings and disappointment in cup finals.
In fact it was Longford that knocked City out of the cup last year, winning 2-1 at home in the second round with a late late goal from Danny O’ Connor, Longford went past the next round after a win after a replay with Waterford United. But their luck ran out in the quarter final when they got comprehensively beaten 4-1 by St. Patrick’s Athletic. Will they go all the way this year?
Or will Cork City avenge the defeat of last year and take the cup for the second time in its history?

These questions will be answered on December 2nd   
 
Cork City’s Road to the Final:
2nd Round: Shelbourne 0-1 Cork City
3rd Round: Cork City 5-1 Kilkenny City
Quarter Final: Waterford United 1-1 Cork City
Quarter Final Replay: Cork City 4-0 Waterford United
Semi-Final: Bohemians 0-2 Cork City
 
Longford Town's Road to the Final:
2nd Round: Longford Town 1-0 Celbridge Town (Non-League)
3rd Round:  Longford Town 2-0 Fanad United (Non-League)
Quarter Final:  Longford Town 3-1 Limerick 37
Semi-Final: University Collage Dublin 0-1 Longford Town



Match Report:
Cork City v Longford Town, this is a huge game for both teams with Longford relegated and City with no European or Setanta Cup place unless they win today.

Longford started brightly with Dessie Baker putting the ball just over the bar from the free kick that Dave Mooney won. Neither team could retain possession long enough to mount a serious attack. Dave Mooney was run into the ground chasing after the high balls in with the breeze behind Longford in the first half. Baker almost had his first when another long ball found the feet of the league top scorer on 11 minutes, but he couldn’t find the finishing touch when he put the ball wide and right off his shin.

Longford pushed ahead and a minute later a shot from Dessie Baker on the left flank forced a sharp save off Micheal Devine, punching the ball to the ground and collecting it second time.

Then on 14 minutes, Cathal Lordan cleared the ball out for a throw deep in the City half, from the resulting throw Mark Rutherford out in a dangerous low cross which Jamie Duffy got a foot on, and only an excellent reflex save from Micheal Devine denied Longford their first.

In the 18th minute, Dennis Behan conceaded a free kick 30 yards out. Pat Sullivan took a 10 yard run up, didn't connnect with the ball well, but it deflected off the foot of Mooney but Devine gathered easily

City had the best chance of the first half in the28th minute, Pat Sullivan fouled Gamble, and from the resulting free-kick the ball was given to McSweeney, he sent a long ball that looked like it was gouing nowhere before it took a wicket deflection off Kevin Dotherty from the boot of Longford Town captain Damien Brennan, it fell to the feet of Dennis Behan who found himself one-on-one with Longford Town net-minder Seamus Kelly; he had his shot deflected to Liam Kearney’s feet. But with the ball at his feet and an open goal, rather than shoot, Kearney tried to be clever and tried to chip it in, but he miscued the ball and the ball sailed over O’ Flynn’s despairing head and wide.

Then, straight from the goal kick Dan Murray won the header, Colin Healy picked up the ball, slid in Behan who was on a charging run, Behan beat Pat Sullivan but Sullivan tracked back to deflect Behan's shot over the bar from 13 yards, the momentum seemed to be changing in favour for the Southeners.
But City failed to convert the pressure, and after  2 minutes of added time, Pat McKeon put whistle to mouth to signal the end of the first half


HT: Cork City FC 0-0 Longford Town FC

The second half was one way traffic with Longford seeming unable to play their aerial game without the wind behind their backs. In fact it was the lack of wind that fuelled the free flowing second half.
Cork City were pressing from the start. Dennis Behan had an early shot in but it didn't trouble Seámus Kelly in the Longford net
Liam Kearney was getting into great positions but was not supplying good crosses.

In the 48th minute City had a really good chance.Billy Woods had a free kick in a good position on the left hand flank, he put in a low ball that caused a lot of problems, the ball came in low, avoided all the bodies in the box, Kelly was stranded in 'De Town's' net and the ball missed the post by inches.

Meanwhile Robbie Martin was in a spasam of pain on the pitch after the caterlage popped out his knee, but he incredibly the medical staff popped it back in, he braved the pain and played on.
Dessie Baker was not so lucky, he was replaced by Ian Wexlor after a challenge from Joe Gamble in the first half that was too much for his right leg. Longford lost their main threat and it showed
City kept pressing and getting into good positions but lacked the final touch.                                     


In the 59th minute from a long ball from Michael Devine that was headed back to Dan Murray, he played a long through over the shoulder of John O’ Flynn who steamed onto it, leaving his marker in his wake and with his left foot, he put in a great low cross for Dennis Behan to dive onto and nod the ball past Kelly into the back of the Longford net.

The City fans were ecstatic and a sigh of relief was heard from the City faithful.
Behan scoring his 5th and defitnatley his most important in this years competition to make give Cork City the advantage, 1-0 City
In the 65th minute a standing ovation was given for City’s left back Billy Woods, he played immensely in what’s more than likely his last game. He looks to be retiring at the end of the season and ran himself into the ground, fighting tooth and nail, he injured himself in a flying tackle on Pat Sullivan, he deserved the applause more than anybody else. After joining the club in 1994, Billy had a brief spell at Shamrock Rovers, he joined back in 2003 where he played a huge part in the winning league campaign. He is one of only two semi-pro playing staff working in a car dealership in Middleton in the outskirts of the City.

The rebel army didn’t stop after the goal though; in the the 80th minute a ball from Gamble released a piercing run down the right channel from winger Leon McSweeney was capped in with a stinging low cross to the feet of Dennis Behan, 10 yards out, the Abbeyfeale man almost broke the bar with a cannonball but the ball somehow stayed out of the goal.
Then a minute later O’ Flynn found himself in the same situation, and he did the same, the crossbar getting some harsh treatment from a blaster from the native Cork striker after a ball along the ground from McSweeney, who collected a long ball from the back from Brian O' Callaghan to start the move.
City fans were getting nervous with 8 minutes of normal time still to go and the team hitting the bar twice in as many minutes; it looked like it mightn’t be their day after all.

But their fears were extinguished in the 89th minute when the ‘Town’s’ frustration boiled over, defender Pat Sullivan was sent off when he received his second yellow card from referee David McKeon for a late and two footed tackle on McSweeney.
After 4 minutes of added time the full time whistle was blown to confirm Cork City as the FAI Ford Cup Champions 2007 and you can be sure they partied into the night with the cup in the hotel.

Stats:
Cork City: 4-4-2: Devine, Lordan, O’ Callaghan, Murray, Woods, McSweeney, Gamble, Kearney, O’ Flynn, Behan.
Substitutions: O’ Brien for Woods (65), Farrelly for Kearney (85)
Scorers: Behan (59)

Longford Town: 4-4-2: Kelly, Sullivan, Brennan, Doherty, Prunty, Duffy, Martin, Doyle, Rutherford, Mooney, Baker.    
Substitutions: Wexler for Baker (55), O’ Reilly for Duffy (77)

Yellow Cards: Kevin Doherty (75), Pat Sullivan (81)
Red Cards: Pat Sullivan (89) (Second Bookable Offence)

Officials: Referee: Dave McKeon
Assistant Referees: Fran Cunningham, Damien McGrath
4th Official: Pat Whelan





Fans View (My Story):

Friday 30th November
GMT: 15:25

Here I am, stuck in English class, waiting for the bell to ring, yeah yeah ok, 3 pages of homework. Finally it rings, like a shot I’m out the door. Oh god, I can’t wait. 2 days, exactly to go until kick-off. I pause briefly in town to price check my birthday present for Monday. Pro Evolution 2008 for the Xbox 360 in GameStop
€64.99. Right, go home and get the homework done. Looked at the cup final jersey, looks horrible, all white with green and white stripes. We got the tickets on Wednesday, sitting in the grandstand. I made sure the camera is ready. My special Michael Devine jersey primed and ready, my Dad bought me a cup final scarf, a memento that will spend little time in my shoulders come Sunday. I’ve been waiting for 4 weeks. Now I have only 2 days to go. I’ve heard the stories about the contracts. It’s not looking good; I fear we’ll go down the same path as in 2005. Too many distractions for the players, this year it has to be about winning the trophy and nothing else, like all city supporters I‘ve been scouring the official site for news. I’ve found out that the squad should be announced tomorrow, the new jersey was announced, and the Irish deadline for the club shop for Christmas is the 17th December. Saturday’s nights sleep won’t be a good one for sure.  
“When it gets too much, I live for the rush
Got some money to spend, live for the weekend, live for the weekend”
Living for the Weekend - Hard-Fi

 

Saturday December 1st
GMT: 19:32

Just one day to go, got up, had a big breakfast and went straight onto the site. They announced the ‘official advertising partners’ but no squad list. I did a FIFA 08 preview to try and reassure myself that we would win. That didn’t go to plan, I went 1 down, but I rallied back, O’ Flynn and Behan scoring to make it 2-2. Dan Murray gave Dave Mooney the chance to equalise from the spot and he took it. On virtually the last kick in the game, Longford delivered a sucker punch and won the virtual FAI Cup Final.
So I got no closure from that, and the lack of squad lists is driving me crazy!!!! I tried my hand at Handball manager to waste some time. At the moment I’m watching highlights of the Premiership on RTÉ, but this is at the back of my mind in terms of football. Need to get my stuff ready, up early tomorrow. Half eight tomorrow morning. I won’t be tired, although sleep will be at a minimum.
“I need some sleep, tried to put the old horse down
I’m in too deep, and the wheels keep spinning round”
Need Some Sleep - The Eels    

Sunday December 2nd GMT: 07:30                                             
D-Day


I was woken by my mom, the day had come, for her it was just like every other away match, the boys went off and she had the day to herself. But we knew it would be different. My Dad, I and my brother of 21, who hadn’t seen a match since he was my age. He was at the 1998 cup final, when we won against Shelbourne, after a replay a powerful header by recently retired centre-back Derek Coughlan won us our only FAI Cup. I hope it won’t still be our only FAI Cup tomorrow. I got everything ready. New scarf, Michael Devine signed jersey (Which he gave to me the night we beat Derry 1-0 to book our place in the cup final two years ago). Mp3 player (Updated with Sultans of Ping tracks) PSP, gloves, hat, shoes….
Where are my shoes?   Ok, got them, jacket, let’s go. My brother had brought a ton of cd’s to be played in the car. Everything from Foo Fighters to Wheezer to Mark Ronson.

We set off on our journey. From Cork onto the N7 and through the toll in Watergrasshill. Then onto Fermoy into Mitchelstown in north Cork It was a comfortable enough journey, with a lot of motorway put in and old  roads updated We got up to Cahir, a menace most of the time, but a new stretch of motorway. 
It wasn’t all easy though, as we were only 30 seconds on the motorway and passing the convoy of supporter buses and trucks when car suddenly braked in front of us, my Dad jammed on the brakes. We all thought that it was just bad driving, when we see a traffic cone in the fast lane!! My Dad swerves to avoid it, almost hits into the coach on the slow lane and then scraps the crash barrier on the right. It was a major effort to keep the car on the road! Plus the fact that it was a wet day and slippery roads with the clouds slow to clear it was a piece of skilled driving.
"Why does it always rain on me?
Is it because I lied when I was 17?"
Why Does It Always Rain On Me - Travis



We stopped before the motorway at Portlaoise and had something to eat. A Fanta and a doughnut was the order of the morning in Midway food court just off the M50. To recharge the batteries and a stretch  
We turned back onto the motorway as the sun came back out to complete our leg to Dublin.
We finally reached the red cow roundabout that onto the red cow road. The main road that greets           
the Corkonians, those that dare to go behind enemy lines! With the luas in the centre of the road, car showrooms on the right hand side, and factories on the left.
We got into Dublin and got onto the streets, destination Ballsbridge, Dublin 4. Heading through the little avenues and streets along the canal. In fact there were Sunday league games going on in the parks around the capital as we were to find out when we passed one park
 
We finally reached Ballsbridge and found my uncle and aunt Robbie and Ger. Die hard city fans, there the only people I know that go to not only every home game, but every single away game, despite the fact that they live in Clonmel, County Tipperary! Robbie, my fathers brother, he was raised on Cork soccer, first Hibs, then United and now City. We had soup in the Dubliner pub in the Jury’s hotel a hundred yards from the ground.
We hung around the pubs opposite the stadium, the perfect meeting place for friends. I found the St. Anne’s Boys in the local Spar; they confidently predicted a 2-0 win. The older group were not so sure, some going as far as to say a 3-0 reverse.
The three of us came into the ground. The Royal Dublin Society, the home of Leinster Rugby with the temporary stands for the Heineken Cup matches.
  

It had a permanent stand though, the Anglesey Stand, the only stand in the stadium. With new seats installed in the stand. With the cold and rain of the day the stand was full pretty quickly, not many people wanting to chat in the harsh December weather. The Anglesey Stand was the main base for the Longford Town support and some City seats were allocated.
But the North Stand was the hub of the City base with it being used as the temporary shed. The seats started to fill up as people started to arrive in the centaury old venue.

GMT: 15:35

The game kicked off 5 minutes late with the rain pelting down as customary in December in Ireland. The pitch held up well though, unusual for a rugby pitch.
They had a chance early and missed it, then we had a chance and Kearney missed it. Half time went; it was pretty uneventful although the rain cleared.

The second was all us. Kearney found himself in great positions but failed to capitalise, he’s so frustrating as a fan. He can’t cross his legs, never mind the ball and yet he         
always gets the ball in important situations. Behan was not with the pace at all, he never jumps for the ball and is so slow to turn and also has no pace.

We didn’t mind that though after 66 minutes

GMT: 16:46
The Goal

We were pushing and pushing but getting no luck, until John put in a perfect ball for Dennis and he nodded the ball in. We were in delirium and went bananas.
The shed went crazy, we finally scored. We are actually playing well in a cup final. We have never done this in our history. It looks like we have won our second final in 23 years. We can’t believe it.
But we weren’t finished yet, John had a brilliant chance when he hit the crossbar, and Behan also hit the underside of the crossbar, but we weren’t worried, we knew it was our day and we were determined to celebrate it like this was our first trophy. Flares and smoke-bombs light the cold dark Dublin sky

"Woohoo!!!"
Song 2 - Blur
GMT: 17:08
“We are the Champions!!!”

The final whistle blew. The stage came and got assembled and the players started to celebrate
 We left to the sound of “Championess, championess, olé olé olé”                                 
The 4 hour journey seemed much shorter, with only a short break for a roll at subway back in Midway where we “Stopped, Revived and Survived” before heading back to Cork to reminisces and recuperate until my birthday tomorrow.

"No time for losers,
'caus we are the champions"
We are the Champions - Queen

No, No, No, No: It was like a late christmas eve for the small childrens.

The assistant duel
18th of September 2007. Two months and ten days earlier. A strugling Rosenborg team goes to London, for their biggest challenge of the season. Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. Two shaky managers with no thoughts of who their employer is tommorow. Norwegian newspaper says that Knut Tørum is about to go. In England were everyone talking about the cold air between Mourinho and his rich uncle Roman Abromovitsj. Mourinho talked about eggs and omelets at the press conference. That a perfect omelet depends on the quality on the eggs. The well honoured manager wanted more from Abromovitsj. The Russian seemed very confident, even when Miika Koppinen gave the visitors the lead. While footballfans all over the world cleaned their glasses one more time did Abromovitsj prepare the goodbye speech for the special Portugeese. Shevshenko stoped the absolute embarresement, but the Bluesfans woke up to the headlines next morning: Mourinho got the sack.

Tørum survived the tsunami at Stamford Bridge and went back to Norway as a hero. But the problems in the domestic league did not stop. 1-4 In Lillestrøm one month later was enough for Rosenborg boss Knut Thorbjørn Eggen. Tørum got the sack after the legendary 2-0 match against Valencia at home. The fans sang Tørum all over the match. In fact, Knut Thorbjørn Eggen was the scapegoat of the fans.

Avram Grant, Mourinho,s less known assistant became Chelsea,s new first choice. No-one thought he would be for long, and that the replace was near. But Grant has done a fair job, and the Blues seems to come back in the battle against the rivals Manchester United and Arsenal.

The new boss at Lerkendal, Trond Henriksen, took charge after the departure of Tørum. Henriksen know them well after many years in the club. The former right back nicknamed Rambo lead Rosenborg to two victories in the league and a new surprise in the Champions League. 0-2 at Mestalla!

28th of November 2007. Both Grant and Henriksen are not first choices, and no-one knows for how long they will stay. But one thing was sure. They were leading their teams in matchday 5 of the UEFA Champions League. Chelsea needed a win to celebrate advance. Rosenborg too, and they had to trust Valencia as well.

Sky Sports came to Trondheim earlier this time, to cover Chelsea,s oppsite Rosenborg. The famous sport channel was talking about the Norwegian winter weather. White, cold, snow covered the pitch before the group final. Rosenborg, who were one poor point behind Chelsea, were spoken about as the favorite. Earlier lost games to Tromsø (3-2 1997) and Viking (4-2 2002) was also topics from the British channel. However, the snow rained away during the final hours and the snow did never come back. The God must be English thought Lerkendal.

Early strike by frozen Drogba
Even though the snow were gone, was the air yet too cold for Didier Drogba. The superstar who was mentioned as the biggest threat. A strong player with goalgetter skills is often a reason to be shaky. The Ivornian is actually a good friend of Rosenborg,s two stars from Ivory Coast. Didier Ya Konan shares first name and born place with Chelsea,s top scorer. Yssouf Konè is also Ivornian, and he was by the way connected to Chelsea before this top match. But as Avram Grant said at the press conference:

"In the last two months there have been 487 players connected to us. Now its 488..."

Thousands of Norwegian and English Chelsea fans came to Trondheim, hoping for a sing contest against Kjernen. They did well, but when the whole stadium sang the Rosenborgsong and raised their scarfs, then were the Bluesfans chanceless.

Ashley Cole, John Terry, Frank Lampard, Michael Essien, Joe Cole... The offical Champions League banner... the hymn... A top top game was about to start. The semi final decission of group B, one of the best leveled groups along with group A and E. Captains John Terry and Vidar Riseth handshaked and the Portugeese referee could set the game in motion. Steffen Iversen vs John Terry. Vidar Riseth vs Didier Drogba. Alexander Tettey vs Frank Lampard. Michael Essien vs Per Ciljan Skjelbred.

Rosenborg took kick-off and started to move against their own goal. The central forwards Kvarme and Riseth seemed a little scary and Chelsea knew that RBK were afraid. The Norwegian side are rare in this company, not the Champions League however, but being in this position. Second placed. For the first time on years, they really had something to lose. Drogba didnt use many seconds to win his first duel with Riseth, and the Premier League star sent a rocket of a shot which went far outside the post. But Drogba showed class by create a chance out of nothing, and this was just the beginning of a show produced by Joe Cole. Played by Didier Drogba, who shot just over the bar a few minutes later.

Seven minutes into the match, and the luck coursed out. The English national wing Joe Cole seemed to have a drink in the final minutes before the kick-off, because the former West Ham-player had a lot of energy. The 26-year old,s shot was hard and Hirscfeld had to give Drogba a new opportunity from a difficult angle. He smashed it home, though, and Chelsea were ahead. The goalscorer ran down to the corner flag and shaked with his arms as if he was at the North Pole. The spectators smiled and laughed by the stunt.

Drogba double
Rosenborg,s backline kept a low standard and the second goal was not far away. Michael Essien catched up a bad pass by Bjørn Tore Kvarme, but the Ghanese international had a bad touch. The situation ended with total chaos into the box. Drogba had the best reaction time again and 0-2 was scored. 20 Minutes into the game and RBK have had the worst start they could possibly got. No entertaiment, no will. The Chelsea fans enjoyed the time at Lerkendal now.

Chelsea show
After a grey start of the match did RBK finaly wake up. But Chelsea were yet the only team at the pitch. Eight minutes after the second goal did Lampard try his luck. Frank Jr. had a go with a chip, and it was a class try too. The ball would gone in via the bar if it hadnt been for a good save by the Canadian, who played well.

Rosenborg should used their runs better, but Alexander Tettey sent a lot of bad passes. Per Ciljan Skjelbred was the only midfielder who played well for the hometeam. Traorè sucked and Sapara did never turn on his masterly right foot.

After 39 minutes did RBK create a good chance. Sapara chiped the ball into the box and Iversen tried to score and get a goal back. The striker with 13 goals in the Norwegian league did not hit the ball well and the chance was wasted away.

Straight before the halftime did Chelsea have a freekick from 30 yards. A dangerous position for a good foot, and the Blues seemed to have a go. The Brazilian defender Alex, who visited Norway with the Brazilian national team in August 2006, got to try. The shot was bad, but the ball went in, quite amazingly. First it looked alike a keeper mistake, but Traore/Dorsin were the scapegoats. Abdoulrazak Traorè jumped up and tried to clear the chance with a overhead kick. A weird thing to try in an important match in the UEFA Champions League. Traorè was bad in the rest of the match too. Mikael Dorsin, the Swedish leftback who played great against Valencia and who is sold to the Romanian club Cluj did also try to kick the ball gone, but he missed! Lars Hirscfeld in the goal was very dejected for his teammates. 0-3 Before halftime has never been a way for glory (exept one time in Istanbul).

The Chelsian show continued in the second half. 53 Minutes were played when Rosenborg lost the ball again. Chelsea used few seconds to create a chance, and Shaun Wright-Phillips ended the attack with a shot in the bar. Lampard sat the return in Hirscfeld,s hands.

Joe Cole got to end the goalshow by Chelsea. 17 Minutes from time and the English nationalplayer was at the right place to the right time on a new return. Vidar Riseth started their attack by losing the ball. The fourth was reality, and even with a quarter to go, people left the stadium. The biggest loss for the hometeam was no more exiting for the fans. AC Milan kept the last record with their 4-1 win in 1996.

The Portugesee referee blown twice and ended the match as a 4-0 win for Chelsea. Not the match we expected at all, but the visiting fans didnt care. They were now celebrating a advancement to the last 16. And even better: Victory of the group.

Lerkendal celebration of goalless Mestalla
The homefans were looking for a reason to celebrate, which they found at Mestalla. The match between Valencia and Schalke04 ended 0-0, and Rosenborg were yet second after the match. Neither the Spanish- nor the German side has found the road to the nets since matchday 2.

Rosenborg manager Trond Henriksen noticed and liked the result at Mestalla, but he told Lerkendal that he didnt want to smile after a 0-4 defeat. But one thing is for sure: Rosenborg are at least secured a spot in the UEFA-cup! And with a draw in Gelsenkirchen in the last round, will Rosenborg go through to the round of 16. Valencia must go for the UEFA-cup spot by winning at Stamford Bridge, probably against a weaker Chelsea team who dont have anything to play for.

Michael Essien believes on a Norwegian advancement in spite of the bad match.

"Yeah, they have played some lovely football and they managed a point at Stamford Bridge, so why not?" said the great midfielder. His boss Avram Grant does also think that Trondheim will have a team in the next round.

-He is the best player Ive ever met
"He is the best" did Vidar Riseth reply on VG,s question. The routined defender with history in Luton, 1860 Münich, LASK Linz and Celtic talked about Didier Drogba, the man of the match.
"We didnt have control when he came, and that ruined the match. Drogba killed the match on an early stage."

Joe Cole signed at the goalscorer list too, and he played well. He was assisting the first goal and he ran a lot. He must be the second matchwinner in my opinion.

Per Ciljan Skjelbred, Rosenborg player of the day, was nothing more than decent, but players like Essien and Lampard liked what they saw from the talented 20-year old. The bright haired midfielder can go far in his career. Skjelbred was unhappy with the match and result.

"We were not on top, and Chelsea were very good." said Per Ciljan to RBKTV after the match.
"We tried, but no, we didnt make it. But we can smile however. We ended in a very hard group and we are through to some Europeen Cup this winter."

One matchday is still to come and Rosenborg goes to Germany. The Norwegian Champions of 2006 are through with a point, against a team who have scored only two goals so far.

PS: See pictures from the match at the Complex.

Rosenborg BK vs Chelsea FC 0-4 (0-3)
UEFA Champions League, matchday 5
Lerkendal Stadion, Trondheim
Wednesday 28th of November, 8:45 PM, Local time

0-1, Didier Drogba, 7
0-2, Didier Drogba, 20
0-3, Alex, 40
0-4, Joe Cole, 73

Rosenborg (4-4-2):
Lars Hirscfeld
Fredrik Stoor, Bjørn Tore Kvarme, Vidar Riseth, Micke Dorsin
Per Ciljan Skjelbred, Alexander Tettey, Abdoulrazak Traorè
Marek Sapara
Steffen Iversen, Yssouf Konè

Chelsea (4-5-1):
Carlos Cudini
Julio Belletti, Alex, John Terry, Ashley Cole
Claudio Makelele
Shaun Wright-Phillips, Michael Essien, Frank Lampard, Joe Cole
Didier Drogba

Subs:
Roar Strand -----> Abdoulrazak Traore, 56 (Rosenborg)
Didier Ya Konan -------> Yssouf Konè, 63 (Rosenborg)
Andrej Shevshenko -----> Didier Drogba, 68 (Chelsea)
Salomon Kalou --------> Shaun Wright-Phillips 69 (Chelsea)
Claudio Pizarro ------> Frank Lampard, 76 (Chelsea)
Christer Basma -----> Mikael Dorsin, 86 (Rosenborg)

Olyroos captain Mark Milligan heads in the second goal

Match: Australia U-23s v Iraq U-23s, 2008 Beijing Olympic Qualifier Matchday 5, Bluetongue Central Coast Stadium, Australia

Reporter: hughgeta (Gosford, Australia)

Australian coach Graham Arnold labelled it “the most important Australian match since the qualifier v Uruguay”. This match, Australia versus Iraq, would almost certainly decide who would qualify for the Beijing Olympics in 2008. With both teams level on points, there were two match days left for Australia to make up a 3 goal differential. A draw was not a possibility for the home side. It was a must win encounter. The two sides had earlier met in Qatar, playing out a 0-0 draw.

The Olympic rules stipulate that the competition is strictly for Under-23s. As such, the Australian team, nicknamed the ‘Olyroos’, consisted of a majority of A-League players, headed by captain and Sydney FC defender Mark Milligan, but also with a selection of overseas based Australians, including Fulham’s Adrian Leijer, Newcastle’s James Troisi and Nurnberg’s Dario Vidosic. The Iraq team was also strong, boasting players from their recent Asian Cup victory, who would no doubt have experience in their 3-1 victory over the Socceroos back in July. Ironically, it was Iraq who knocked Australia out the of 2004 Athens Olympics at the Quarter Final stage.

This time, however, the Australian team was prepared for the rigours of Asian football. The lineup was a confidencet 4-5-1 formation, with Newcastle Jets’ Mark Bridge leading the attack, turning sharply after 4 minutes and having a shot saved by Iraqi goalkeeper Kadhum. It was a reflection of things to come; the Australian side looked sharp in skills and were thriving off the strong atmosphere, though from the majority 13000 Iraqi crowd.

James Troisi was particularly influential on the left hand side, exploding with speed on numerous occasions working well with Sydney FC players Ruben Zadkovich. Zadkovich played a strong midfield role and aggressed out any early Iraqi attacks. Combining these factors, it was not long before the Olyroos scored their first goal.

A lofted free kick came in from Adelaide’s dead ball specialist Kristian Sarkies, which was knocked down by Nikolai Topor-Stanley, before it deflected into the path of Leijer to scramble home the goal. Running to the substitutes bench to celebrate, irate Iraqi fans littered the area with bottles and other missiles to provide a sour note to the otherwise deserved goal.

However, it was at this point that Iraq started to play, as Australia retreated into a defensive shell to hold onto their lead. The Iraqi team began to move the ball around quicker and particularly targeted the left back, Topor-Stanley, with their quick number 8. He created a great chance in being played through down the right, and from a tight angle struck a shot which Danny Vukovic could only parry in front of goal. Luckily, Trent McCleneham was there to volley it off the goal line and save the team until at least half time.

Iraq continued to scramble to pressure, without creating any definite opportunities. Although Australia were under fire, they were composed and more than able to quash any Iraqi attacks without chance. However, danger was signalled just into the second half when Milligan attempted a short pass just outside his goal, which was intercepted by an Iraqi striker. Running in on goal, he delayed his shot just enough for centre-back Leijer to rush back and clear away the chance.

Another chance presented itself when Iraq broke away down the left and cut back off the bi-line. With keeper Vukovic beaten, Topor-Stanley scrambled the ball away before Iraq could shoot into the open net. His pressure on the Iraqi attacker would prove instrumental in holding the lead.

It was clear that although Australia was sitting back, they had superior skill and attack and their passing game was often too much for the Iraqis to handle. The Olyroos gradually started to play more freely, and gained a corner shortly after half time. The ball landed too deep as Milligan stretched above an Iraqi defender in a vain attempt to reach it. Gaining disapproval, the defender and the goalie hassled Milligan before the Sydney player let out an elbow to the goalkeeper’s neck.

The Singapore ref, having an otherwise fine game, let off all perpetrators with warnings, when Milligan arguably should have been sent off. Almost straight after the incident, Sarkies again gained an attacking free kick, and crossed it in for Milligan to head home the cushioned second goal. The turnaround was enormous in terms of the qualification stage.

The Iraqi heads dropped, and the crowd noise died down. The visiting side had now little chance of coming back against a confident Australian side. The Olyroos pushed forward in order the plan their expansive game, which reaped the benefits of possession and territorial dominance. The game petered out as Australia confidently held out an increasingly feeble Iraqi attack.

A dramatic post-script to the match occurred when three players and a coach of the Iraqi team deserted their team, seeking asylum in Australia. This would no doubt hinder their now slim chances of qualification, needing a win against Lebanon in the final group match, while Australia travelled to North Korea the following Wednesday knowing a point will have them qualify for the Olympics. Though playing in freezing temperatures and on an artificial pitch, the Olyroos had every reason to be confident as their put on a superb performance against a strong Iraqi team. Qualification to Beijing was now more than likely, as long as the team keep their heads as composed as they did in Gosford.

Rangers - Inverness

3/11/07

SPL League Match

Reporter: Cammy25

A must win game for Rangers to make sure they don't go 6 points behind Celtic after 12 games in the League. A great atmosphere for the game and all the fans got right behind the team. After the slip up at Dundee last week, Walter Smith changed the line-up.

Rangers kicked off the game and they looked for a goal straight away. Nacho novo picked up the ball and was causing problems the second he touched the ball and managed to win a Freekick after 10 seconds. Barry Ferguson took the freekick quickly and found Novo down the middle. Novo turned and played a wonderful ball staright into the feet of Kris Boyd who culdn't miss from 10 yards out! 1-0 Rangers!

Rangers came close yet again a few minutes later when DaMarcus Beasley got on the end of A lob over the top who then lobbed it right over the keeper to make it 2-0 Rangers! Or it should of been 2-0 Rangers but the linesman flagged Beasley offside.

David Weir then stepped up for a chance from a corner when his Deflected strike went just wide! Rangers were looking to kill Inverness early on.

Dennis Wyness had Inverness's first chance of the game when the ball came over the top. As he was about to take it for a half-volley, Carlos Cuellar stepped in and put it out for a corner. The corner came to nothing 

But from then on Rangers' were on the attack again and again when Kris Boyd fired over the bar, again, after Novo had set him up again. Carlos Cuellar then had a chance but he then realised he broke away a yard to early.

Lee McCulloch almost made it 2-0 Rangers when his shot was played along the face of goal but just saw it going wide.

Half Time then came with Beasley and McCulloch coming close to putting it away for Rangers. The two teams came back out with no changes but it was Inverness who nearly got an Equlizer.

Bayne had an 18 yard lob and David Weir done a backward header which just saw it going past McGregor but McGregor showed his skill and recovered well after David Weir's headers.

Jean-Claude Darcheville came back on after an injury along with Cousin after the hour mark for Boyd and Novo.

The fans could feel the tempo rise the second they two came on and two minutes later the doubled thier lead! Darcheville played a header from Hutton's cross straight across to Carlos Cuellar who headered it straight into the back of the net! 2-0 Rangers!

It should of been 3-0 when Beasley finished off a fine move but the Linesman flagged it offside... Again!

Darcheville could't belive his luck when he saw his header come back off the crossbar!

Full Time! Rangers 2 Inverness 0

Bridges, Brosque and Zadkovich Celebrate

Match: Sydney FC v Central Coast Mariners, Hyundai A-League 07/08 Round 10, Sydney Football Stadium, Australia

Reporter: hughgeta (Sydney, Australia)

The downfall of Sydney FC was more farcical that it was sad. The glorious club of the first season of the A-League, sweeping all before them with marquee signings, titles, and record crowds, had faced one of their toughest weeks with a fourth home loss, a new coach and a sacked old one. Branko Culina was fired unceremoniously, and some would say harshly, on the Tuesday before the Mariner’s game. On Thursday, former Adelaide man John Kosmina was appointed in a move that disgruntled many fans. However, despite not being a tactical genius, there was one thing Kosmina instils in any of his teams: toughness and confidence. This was lacking in Sydney FC’s season so far.

On the plus side, new English striker Michael Bridges was set to debut after his work permit was cleared. As well as this, Steve Corica would renew his partnership with Juninho, as would Ruben Zadkovich, who both returned from suspension, keeping them out from last week’s disastrous 1-0 home loss to Adelaide. However, defender Mark Rudan was out after picking up his fourth yellow card last week. Interestingly, he would spend the match both on the sideline and in the coaches box communicating with Kosmina, who was still to serve his four-game touchline ban carrying over from his time at Adelaide.

Much interest was also generated from the arrival of John Aloisi into the Central Coast Mariners frame. A national team legend in his own right, the Mariners had picked up the club-less striker on a season-long injury replacement for Matthew Osman - meaning his salary would not fit under the cap. He was a perfect replacement for Nik Mrdja, whose combination with Sasho Petrovski was ended as he suffered a lengthy injury. Meanwhile, captain Alex Wilkinson surprisingly made the bench for his return from injury.

All this combined for what was a highly-anticipated match. Central Coast were still top, and had been since their Round One 1-0 victory at this very ground. Sydney were floundering, but their season was not over. So on a beautiful Sydney afternoon, almost 18 000 spectators turned up to the SFS from around the city and up the coast to watch this match, expecting excitement from new faces in both clubs.

It was clear from the outset that Sydney FC was lively. Their passing game quickly gained ascendency over the flat Mariners; the blues had clearly come to play. Inside 5 minutes Juninho found space on the right before his low shot was saved. Zadkovich, always lively, continued the onslaught with another saved attempt, before Corica had a goal ruled out for offside. The majority Sydney crowd began to gather anticipation for what was to come, as their team was playing unlike it had played before.

Michael Bridges gathered excitement as his quick feet and touch put pressure off the usual striking workload on Alex Brosque. It was the Englishman’s quick throw on 16 minutes which gave Juninho space to thread a beautiful pass to Corica, who was suddenly angled in on goal. A left footed drive to the far post was destined to go in, before rebounding back into the box. Brosque was first to react a passed it into the open net.

The crowd was buzzing from the early goal, and it was not too long before Sydney were at it again. The terrific pace of Sydney controlled the match tempo, and their midfield were dominating. Captain Tony Popovic received the ball just inside the Mariners half and pushed a beautifully weighted pass with all his experience, cutting open the short Mariners defence for Brosque to slide the finish through. The crowd was wild as their team was suddenly two goals ahead.

However, barely a minute later, the Mariners ventured inside the FC half for practically the first time in the match. Tom Pondeljak gathered the ball, and struggled to square it to John Hutchinson. However, with just an inch of space, Hutchinson rifled a shot from just outside the area which hammered the bottom side of the cross bar and rebounded into the top of the net. A quality goal from the midfielder, and suddenly Central Coast were back into the match.

The crowd, though impressed from the early excitement, was shocked. More shocked than their team it seemed, as not long after, Sydney gained a corner after good pressure from Bridges. Juninho swung it in and Popovic diver low to header the ball into the net. After 30 exciting minutes, it was 3-1 to the home side. Half time finally came as an end to a wonderful first half.

There was some excuse for a drop off in tempo in the Second Half, yet within five minute more drama was to come. Dean Heffernan brought down Bridges in the area, and Mark Bridge pointed to the spot. Broqsue, eager to complete his hat trick, stepped up to take the penalty, as the usual converter Ufuk Talay stepped aside. Although Danny Vukovic went the wrong way, Brosque’s penalty hit the post and rebounded away from the area. It was a lost opportunity for Sydney.

As it often turns out, Sydney were punished for the miss. Four minutes later, Central Coast again attacked slowly into Sydney’s half, though struggling to amount any serious challenge. Yet, again, a square ball came across the edge of the box to Hutchinson, who this time struck it with his favoured left foot. A sweet shot blasted straight into the top corner for a great goal. From a possible 4-1, it came to 3-2, and Sydney were in a vulnerable position.

The remainder of the match showed a different, yet equally capable Sydney from the first half. Though under pressure, they held firm as the flat Mariners failed to exert serious pressure. Though the visitors were more in the match, and they started to gain a share of possession, this was merely a result of Sydney sitting on their lead. FC did control most of the rest of the match through the midfield, however no definite chances were created. Nevertheless, the excitement of the crowd was at a point unseen for some time in the stadium as the home fans loved what they were seeing.

For the Mariners, their new man John Aloisi failed to make an impact. He had a half chance in the first period as a ball came across goal, but his weary legs could not reach it. Having only arrived in the country on Monday, it was an otherwise gallant effort from the journeyman. A premise of potential was shown late on, as he cut past the young Nik Tsatallios before his shot went dangerously across the face of goal.

Late chances by Central Coast did not dent the result, or Sydney’s pride. A long effort from Gumprecht went wide of the post, while young substitute Matt Simon was a target man in more ways than one as a cross failed to meet the target, however Sydney keeper Clint Bolton came out as he punched the ball clear while also collecting the striker with his shoulder. Concussed for some time, the player was unable to carry on.

A late flurry of chances finished the match as Central Coast pushed forward unconvincingly. Deep into stoppage time, keeper Vukovic sprinted up the field to give number on an attacking free kick. The dead ball landed short of the box, and it fell to substitute David Zdrilic with Vukovic caught at the wrong end of the field. From 70 metres out, the out of favour striker shot to an open goal, hoping he could score a game-topping goal. Zdrilic himself hadn’t scored a goal for Sydney for some months and even started as a right-back in Perth in Round 8. However, though his shot had the distance, Pondeljak raced back to clear the ball off the line. The final whistle went shortly after.

Though close, the deserved team won, as Mariners coach Lawrie McKinna describe his side’s performance as “the worst of the season”. New coach Kosmina, on the other hand, was understandably delighted with the match, as it was no doubt one of Sydney’s best performances in their history. They stayed in sixth spot, yet only two points off the important fourth spot. In hindsight, it was an important win for Sydney as a loss would have seen them lose touch with the finals race. And if that performance is anything to go by, then they may well feature heavily come the end of the season.

Sydney FC v Central Coast Mariners 3-2 (3-1)
Hyundai A-League 07/08 Round 10, Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney
Sunday, 28th October, 2007, 3.00pm (AEDT)
Crowd: 17652

1-0 (Brosque 16’)
2-0 (Brosque 25’)
2-1 (Hutchinson 27’)
3-1 (Popovic 31’)
3-2 (Hutchinson 56’)

Cork City FC v St. Patrick’s Athletic

    v

Venue: Turners Cross

Monday 22^nd October

Reporting: Kevin Galvin

A very important game for both teams. City, 2 points behind Pats have 51 points, Pats have the advantage, and if they won tonight, second place would all be theirs; if they lost it would be down to third. If City won, they would be up into second and the UEFA Cup places, if they lost and Bohemians won, it would be back to fourth. Pats had the form, after beating fellow European place challengers Shamrock Rovers 5-0 at home in Inchicore the previous Friday.

City had lost to Drogheda 2-1 that same Friday, courtesy of an injury time winner from Guy Bates to hand United the premier league title.

The game started nervously with neither team wanting to make a mistake in a high pressure match. But something had to give and it was City, a cross from Mark Quigley was chested in from six yards by Gary O’ Neill on 20 minutes.

6 minutes later though the Rebel Army almost had an equaliser, Colin Healy found himself one-on-one with Pats keeper Brendan Clarke, but Clarke bravely dived at the feet of the former Celtic and Sunderland player to deny him. Dennis Behan had a go at long range, but Clarke again came across his goal and made a sharp save. Pats could have had a second with O’ Neill creating space for himself to shoot, but he squandered a good chance, Devine having no trouble as the ball limped into his arms.

With that came half time

HT

Cork City 0-1 St Patrick’s Athletic

The second half played out like a game of backs and forwards, with City pushing of an equaliser and Pats not letting anything past them. John O’ Flynn had the best chance in the second half, Billy Woods ran down the left flank, crossed the ball in for O’ Flynn but he could only head the ball wide.

 With City unsuccessfully trying to go for a second, and Pats with a solid defence, the game, and the atmosphere, went flat, and when Alan Kelly blew the final whistle, chants of “Rico Out!” heard from the Shed End, it was a disappointing City performance, and a poor second half after what was a promising first, but St. Patrick’s Athletic will take the win and with it, a hand firmly on the priceless second place, and with that €100,000

FT Cork City FC 0-1 St. Patrick’s Athletic

Other scores:

Bohemians 2-0 UCD

Galway United 1-0 Derry City

Longford Town 1-0 Bray Wanderers

Shamrock Rovers 0-0 Sligo Rovers

Waterford United 1-1 Drogheda United

Nemo Rangers v Ilen Rovers

Reporting: Kevin Galvin

In a hot-headed encounter Nemo came away with their 16^th Cork County final. They were strong favourites coming into the game but had to work hard for their win. The game got off to a slow start, the first point going to Rangers on 5 minutes. Points were exchanged and after 11 minutes the score was 4 points to 3 in favour of Ilen, then the game evolved into a scrappy game. Off the ball punches were thrown and not even a booking of Nemo player Paul Kerrigan in the 22^nd minute by Ger Sweeney could stop the bitterness continued up to the half, but Rovers finished the half the better, leading 6 points to four at the break.

HT Nemo 0-04

Ilen 0-06

In the second half Ilen picked up where they left off. Scoring three more points in ten minute that seemed to put the game beyond all doubt before a heavy tackle by Maurice McCarthy put the Ilen favroute blond-pony tailed Connor O’ Driscoll on the deck and when he was stretchered off Ilen didn’t seem half the outfit that they were.

Nemo battled back, scoring three quick fire points, that left the game well poised, Ilen’s 9 points to Nemo’s seven and the Douglas side with the momentum. With 5 minutes left a Paul Kerrigan free put Nemo level and they closed out the game with a string of points from play. Leaving the Ilen players in tears.

Rangers FC - FC Barcelona

UEFA Champions League - Matchday 3 - Group E

Ibrox Stadium

23/10/07 - Reporter: Cameron White

Fernando Morientes and Santiago Canizares came to Trondheim with a wish of revange. The Spanish internationals lost 2-0 with their Real Madrid in 1997, and ten years later did they come back for revange, this time with Valencia. Rosenborg wanted to show class after that embarresing 1-4 defeat against Lillestrøm last week.

Reporter: Marius Dahl, Norway

The expectations by the homefans were not big. Rosenborg lost their eight match in the league last weekend, 4-1 against Lillestrøm. RBK are currently 6th in the league and the manager does not have a safe job. Actually, he didnt know if he was the manager during the Valencia match, but Tuesday night came the message: He is yet the boss at Lerkendal. But the newspapers were unsure and they meant that this match would be his last. They thought so before the Chelsea match as well, but the 1-1 draw saved him. Instead of Tørum, did the special one, Josè Mournho go.

Rosenborg needed a win to yet hang into the top of the group. The Norwegian side were last after the bad 0-2 match against Schalke04 last round. Valencia lost to Chelsea, but were yet second because of their strong win in Gelsenkirchen in the first round. Chelsea played Schalke04 at home in the other match of the round.

Joaquin, Morientes, Helguera, Silva, Marchena... They were all here, expeting three points. The Spanish team who lost to Champions League finals in the beggining of the century won the UEFA-cup and the Primera Division in 2004. Valencia, who had a Norwegian in front for a few seasons. John Carew was bought from Rosenborg in 1999 for 12.000.000 Euro. Bjørn Tore Kvarme came back after a few months as injured. The central back was in Sociedad for a few seasons, and they were close to be the champions too. Kvarme was great and he ended on the team of the season 2002-2003!

Rosenborg had nothing to lose and they surprised the fans with some lovely football during the first 45 minutes. Even tho David Villa and Vicente didnt play for Valencia, did the visitors keep the favorite status. But the orange/blue team seemed to play for 0-0. Per Ciljan Skjelbred was everywhere. He ran, tackled and made a good presure on Valencia, like a 30 year old. But Skjelbred is 20, and obviously a man for the future. So is Alexander Tettey, who has been great this season. The Ghana born Norwegian seems to get his second match for Norway soon, after the debut against Argentina earlier.

For the first time this season did the hometeam find each other well and they stole the ball easier. Valencia were not creative at all and Morientes did never get through the defending line. Dorsin got his revange as well, after the poor match in Lillestrøm.

"Valencia thought they faced a defencive team when they saw our formation, 4-5-1, but we used a 4-4-2 when we attacked. We sat Sapara in a new role too, where he kept the ball longer, so we could follow him, which fit him well, said Vidar Riseth after the match" Riseth, who played in the central back with two very fast players at the sides. Per Ciljan Skjelbred and Traorè ran a lot, and it worked well. Valencia did never keep the ball for long and Rosenborg kept the pressure, even tho they didnt score. Alexander Tettey had the best chance, when he shot just outside the post from 20 meters. Rosenborg tried to get a penalty as well, but instead got Traorè a yellow card for acting.

The teams went into the dressing rooms at 0-0. According to the messages from London, were Chelsea 1-0 up against the Germans.

Valencia CF tried to get control in the second half, and the 21.000 spectators thought that the visitors from Spain were going to have the initiative in the rest of the match. They started well, and Joaquin had a great chance when he was free inside the penalty box. The shot hit Hirscfeld, who had to give them a corner. The third place of La Liga did finally wake up!

However, Rosenborg carried on to make pressure on the orange team and five minutes were played of the second half, when a Swedish left back showed class. Dorsin, who has been poor for a while, caught Valencia at the left side, and sent the ball into the penalty area. Kone did not hit the ball well, and it creeped over the line via the hand of Canizares. 1-0, and Kone, Rosenborg and Lerkendal exploded in violent celebrations. The Ivornian goalscorer ran straight to Tørum who got a bright moment in a grey period. Rosenborg are in the lead at home! And it was not undeservly. Rosenborg had created a lot, and the visitors from Valencia were not inspired at all.

In the halftime, while Tørum trimed the tacticts for the second half, spent Riseth his time at the bathroom, throwing up the food he ate for dinner.
"Yes, Tørum asked if I was OK, and if he should do a substitute. But I felt OK, so I played the last 45"
Rosenborg had plainly self confidence now. Skjelbred continued to be the king of the ground and suddenly did Lerkendal raise up and claped for the young, talented midfielder, who according to the rumours is going to play against Turkey in the important Euro qual match. He deserves to be in the first 11, no doubt. "Litj-Per" showed great international class, and he was also involved when the sick defender doubled the lead:
Skjelbred and Rosenborg stole the ball at the midfield and they were majority. Albiol had to give RBK a new corner.
Marek Sapara, the Slovakian David Beckham, sent the ball into the area. Canizares kept an eye on Riseth, but the former Real Madrid keeper was paralyzed. Riseth jumped up and headed the ball home. 2-0 After 62 minutes! The fans, who has waited for six years, since the 2-0 win against Celtic in 2001. Rosenborg were inside to the next round now, thanks to Chelsea, who went up in 2-0, in company with the Norwegians.
Roar Strand, Rosenborg captain, who played his 69th Champions League match, was poor in the opening minutes, but the 37 year old raised up and he catched control. The atmopshere was great and 21.000 fans sang the Rosenborg song again and again. Iversen and Kone were both close to score the third too, but Canizares closed the goal.

Valencia knew that they had to do something, and they tried and tried the last 15 minutes. But Morientes and Joaquin did never come closer than a few passes inside the penalty area. Rosenborg were about to keep the zero!

The Scottish referee ended the match as a 2-0 win for the Norwegians, who climbed 2nd of group B. Are Rosenborg going through?

He ran, tackeled, and he was creative. His name is Per Ciljan Skjelbred.
"How many Skjelbred are there? He was recently at the left side, but after my coffee, he is at the other side!" Norwegian commentator.

The best match for ages. The fans left the stadium, proud and happy. Traorè screamed that he was fine, while 21.000 celebrated for long after the whistle. No-one wanted to go home. Knut Tørum smiled at the side line. He became the new manager in July 2006, when the actual manager got very ill. Rosenborg were 6th. Eight matches later were Rosenborg first. They couldnt stop winning. After 3-1 against Brann and 4-1 against Viking did the fans celebrate the 20th title in 2006.
The 2007 season was a season with many great moments - at home. Rosenborg lost to Stabæk, Vålerenga, Tromsø, Lyn, Brann, Start, Fredrikstad and Lillestrøm, and they are currently 6th again. Tørum has the responsibilty, and he got the sack after the match. He quit when he was on top - after taking his team to a legend 2-0 win against Valencia. He was about to go after the 4-1 loss to Lillestrøm, but he stayed. But the fans could hear that Tørum was nearly over.

The fans woke up at Thursday morning, to headlines which told that Tørum has left. "Bragd i går - går i dag" said VG. "Feat yesterday, leaves today". The reason is that they have not taken out their potential in the league. Vidar Riseth means that Tippeligaen reminds about the Championship in England, with more rough style than good football. Thats the reason of why Rosenborg are better in Europe.
Knut Tørum is not unpopular in the crowd, and he cried at the press conference. The manager, who actually is born and grown up in Bergen (hometown for SK Brann, champions of 2007), got a lot of friends in Trondheim, and when Tørum talked about his best friend, Trond Henriksen, he started to cry. Tørum left the place for a while, but he came to back to end it well, while he smiled.
"I,ve had a great time here in Trondheim, and Ive learned a lot. I,ll remember many memories when I look back, but the last weeks has been hard."

Trond Henriksen, nicknamed Rambo, right back for many seasons, has been ass. manager for two years. He,ll take charge until the end of 2007, against Lyn and Aalesund in the league, and against Valencia, Chelsea and Schalke in the UEFA Champions League.

Match facts:
Rosenborg BK vs Valencia CF
UEFA Champions League, matchday 3, group B
24th of October 2007, 8.45 PM (Local time)
A: 21.119

Two penalties, annuled goals, hooligans and fireworks. A typical derby it was, when Rosenborg traveled to Lillestrøm.

Preview:
Lillestrøm had visitors from Trondheim in the 24th round of Tippeligaen 2007. The Cup Finalists against the Champions League team. A classic derby. Rosenborg and Lillestrøm have hated each other since the middle of the 1980,s, when those two were the best teams in Norway. Who can ever forget that last round match in 1985 where Rosenborg won 1-0 and passed Lillestrøm, or the Cup Final in 1992 when Stig Inge Bjørnebye scored at overtime and became the matchwinner. The Lillestrøm fans are called Kanarifuglene, which means canaries in Norwegian. Rosenborg are called Trollungan, or Troillongan in the Trondheim dialect, which means the Troll kids.
This match was out of two derbys in this round. Lyn and Vålerenga battled about being the best of Oslo.
A friend of me and I went to Oslo at Sunday afternoon and we were chillin in the streets of Oslo for three hours. The capital of Norway was covered by flags from Lyn and Vålerenga and there were lots of guys from the police. Even tho the level on Norwegian football is bad at the moment, the feeling of being best in the nation, or the city, is yet strong.
Lillestrøm and Rosenborg are not a local debry, its just two teams that hate each other a lot. Lillestrøm is not even a city, its a little place just outside Oslo. A girl in my former class moved here this summer and we did actually see her at the train station. Luckely, cus we didnt know the road to the stadium. She knew, of-course, and she brought us to the stadium.

Lillestrøm are, once again, out of the title battle. SK Brann has been outstanding in this season, but they have not secured the title yet. They could done it this round, but they lost 2-1 against Aalesund! However, they seems to win. They have to lose twice, while Stabæk must win their last games. No-one believes that Stabæk can win it, not even the biggest fans. Lillestrøm are in the Cup Final, tho, after their lucky 2-0 win against Stabæk in the semi final. Their first goal was scored with the hand, like a Maradona. If Lillestrøm lose, then this is their 18th season without a title. Their last title was in 1989, when they won the league.

Rosenborg were the champions in 2006, but the 2007 chapter has been dark. RBK had to win if they even wanted to think about the medals. Their last win away was in June, when they won 2-1 against Odd Grenland. In the round after, did Rosenborg and Lillestrøm draw 1-1 at Lerkendal. It was time for revange...

Hooligan trouble

The security in Oslo was well, but the guardians at Åråsen was quite bad. Many fans from Rosenborg, Kjernen, walked through the control and brought lots of fireworks into the stadium. While the Lillestrøm fans covered the stands with yellow and black balloons and some banners, did our fans throw stuff at the ground. I bet the Norwegian FA will give Rosenborg a penalty for this. The policemen saw some of the guys and they arrested them and drove them to the police station. We sat at the Kjernen bus at our way home from the trip, and we got to hear lots of stories from the guys, who didnt seem to care. They sang Rosenborg songs at the cell while their favorite teams were trashed by a set of birds...

Lillestrøm dominance
The match setup was perfect, but the visitors from Trondheim seemed to think about their next match against Valencia. The ball spent its time at RBK,s part of the pitch, even tho Lillestrøm didnt create that much either. Lillestrøm took the lead by a confidence. A freekick was sent into the box and Yssouf Kone came to late, and Pål Steffen Andresen headed the birds 1-0 up.
Rosenborg tried to reply straight after the leader goal, and Konè searched for Storflor into the box. Marius Johnsen scored own goal, but the referre annuled the goal because Storflor was in offside. Kjernen were disagreed with the referee,s decission. Tom Henning Øvrebø, who is the referee at Santiago Bernabèu next Tuesday, when Real Madrid play Olympiacos in the Champions League.
36 minutes were played when Storflor and Rosenborg were hunting for an equalaise. One of LSK,s keyplayers, Espen Søgård stoped the pass with his hand, and Øvrebø pointed at the penalty spot. Yssouf Konè walked to the penalty box, and for a golden possibilty to get a goal. The African scored and the teams were equal! 1-1!
The game was not ful of chances, but mostly of duels at the midfield. Rosenborg were defencive, which slowed the match a little. However, Rosenborg did not play well and the fans could celebrate again. Minutes from halftime did Simen Brenne find Espen Søgård, who handsed when Rosenborg got the penalty. Søgård turned without problems and scored easy. Lillestrøm were 2-1 up at halftime.

Goodbye Rosenborg
At the beggining of the second half said LSK goodbye to Rosenborg in the medal battle. Simen Brenne, who assisted their second goal, got the ball into the box. Three players were around him, but like earlier this season, were Rosenborg sloopy. Mikael Dorsin did not hit the ball when he tried to clear and Brenne scored the third goal for the hometeam. The match seemed to be over, but ten minutes later got Rosenborg a great chance to come a goal back. Øvrebø meant that Pål Steffen Andresen pulled Dorsin down and for the second time went Øvrebø to the penalty spot. The Lillestrøm players were furios. Rosenborg got their fourth penalty in two matches. Steffen Iversen is injured, and he always take our penalties, and he always score. Maybe he lost four goals in his go for the top scorer title.

Yssouf Konè took the responsibilty again. His fourth penalty in the kit. He scored against Odd Grenland in 2006, against Odd Grenland in the latest game, and he scored earlier this night. Konè danced to the spot and shot, but Otto Fredikson went the same way. SAVED! The penalty was taken straight in front of us, and the fans made a high sigh.

Super substitue
13 Minutes from time, and Tom Nordlie wanted to do a substitue. The top scorer Arild Sundgot left the ground and Magnus Myklebust went on. He used 30 seconds to give the birds a new reason to sing. The substitue shot from 18 meters and Lars Hirscfeld was chanceless. Myklebust completed the night for the hometeam while Knut Tørum got more opposits in the crowd.

Olivier Occean tried to give LSK the fifth as well, but the match ended 4-1 to the hometeam, and the trip home became darker than we were hoping for. Some of the fans showed their ass to the LSK fans at the bus after the match while they drank beer to cover the loss. We had to go to the police too, to catch up the fans who threw fireworks.

Man of the match
Simen Brenne. He assisted the second and scored the third in a very decideful period of the match.

Match facts:
Lillestrøm SK - Rosenborg BK, Åråsen
Norwegian Tippeligaen, matchday 24
Sunday, 21st of October 2007, 8:00 PM
A: 10.001

1-0, Pål Steffen Andresen, 24
1-1, Yssouf Konè (p), 36
2-1, Espen Søgård, 45
3-1, Simen Brenne, 49
4-1, Magnus Myklebust, 78

Reporter: Marius Dahl

Rosenborg second team and FK Mjølner played an important match in the level 3 league in Norway at Friday afternoon. Mjølner were last before the match and needed three points against RBK B, who were five points a head. 30 Fans met up at Rosenborg,s training ground.
In equality with the first team, did Rosenborg B tear to create goal chances against the hard working team from the city of Narvik. However, they scored two goals by a confident. Arton Ademi hit the ball perfect after 35 minutes, on a shot from 25 meters. The ball went between the posts and the hometeam went 1-0 up. Mjølner needed points to survive, and their situation did not become better when the left back from the A team, swedish Fredrik Stoor doubled the lead four minutes later. Stoor did also hit the ball perfect, and it went in via the crossbar from 20 meters.

The tackle that ruined the match

Match: Sydney FC v Newcastle United Jets, Hyundai A-League 07/08 Round 7, Sydney Football Stadium, Australia

Reporter: hughgeta (Sydney, Australia)

Sydney and Melbourne, the two biggest cities in Australia, have held some great rivalries over the years. Dating back to federation in 1901, Sydney and Melbourne fought over being the capital of the country. Of course, they built Canberra in the middle to solve that problem, but nevertheless it did not ease the tension between the two states. Back in 2005, Sydney had claims to have wrestled the ‘Sporting Capital of Australia’ title off the Victorians, with the Sydney Swans (AFL), Wests Tigers (NRL) and Sydney FC all claiming the football titles. However, it has all changed. Melbourne Victory are now the A-League champions, and Victoria collected an unprecedented double with the Geelong Cats and the Melbourne Storm picking up the AFL and NRL titles only the weekend before. The sporting rivalry was reinvigorated. This new ‘soccer’ rivalry dates back only a few years, but how it has progressed. In Round 8 of the inaugural season, Sydney travelled to Melbourne for the first time and were on the back of a 5-0 thrashing. Though FC went onto win the title that season, no fan of either team would ever forget it.

Today, the rivalry has strengthened, and it was about to be re-written with the first meeting of the two sides this season. Sydney were on the back of a two-match winning streak, and had as such claimed to be ‘back in form’. Melbourne, however, were not playing particularly well, however they were surprisingly the only team without a loss. Their first win came late last week against the Queensland Roar, who might have considered themselves unlucky. Sydney entered the match at full-strength, Juninho and Steve Corica were leading the midfield creativity while captain Tony Popovic was back in the side to replace Brendon Santalab. Brazilian striker Patrick had again been left on the bench, with Alex Brosque now the only man up front. Melbourne, though, were able to keep consistency in their lineup as well. The front three of Thompson, Allsopp and Leandro Love was extremely effective, and aptly supported by Kevin Muscat and Grant Brebner in behind. Though Ljubo Milicevic was still missing in defence, it was a very strong Victory lineup.

The atmosphere at the ground sensed a tight contest. A large contingent of aggressive Victory fans, as always, filled the away end unlike any other team had this season. Sydney FC’s ‘Ultras’ - the Cove - had to be partially moved due to overcrowding, and as such they were reinstalled right next to the Victory fans. There would be fireworks.

The teams customarily shook hands but it would be anything but friendly. The opening minutes were fraught frantic, as Adam Casey cropped the crossbar and Love hit a low strike straight to Sydney keeper Clint Bolton. It would be, however, the most action in any part of the match as dangerous tackles and hard-fought midfield battles dominated the affair. Both Brebner and Muscat attempted to control the park as opposed to Juninho and Corica, and for the first 20 minutes that is how the match played out. Yet after 25 minutes, the balance turned in Melbourne’s favour. Corica went late for a high ball with his studs up on Steve Pantelidis - a harsh challenge and a free kick was called. However, Mark Shield, the ‘best’ and most experienced referee in the Asian confederation, produced a game-destroying red card in a reactory decision - something which incensed the strong Sydney crowd.

Sydney had lost, apart from Juninho, their most influential player. They now knew that winning this game would be beyond their reach. Although that’s not how it turned out. Melbourne had the mathematical advantage, but they slowed the play right down until half-time, eager not to over-play their hand and allow Sydney chance to counter. It was wise tactics from Victory coach Ernie Merrick, who kept the same shape to balance the game out.

Melbourne continued to apply the midfield pressure, particularly on Juninho, and in that sense they dominated the play. Few chances were created however, and Sydney weren’t completely out of the game. They won two free kicks in strong positions by the end of the first half, yet Zadkovich and Juninho wasted them both. Shield again tried to control the tense game as he dealt out yellow cards to Brebner and Englishman Joseph Keenan, and for the rest of the game he continued to act as the hard line of justice - it was overkill on both teams.

The two teams went into half time with vastly different perspectives. Sydney hoped to hold on, yet Melbourne hoped to gain greater ascendency. As such, both teams played out the second half in similar fashion. Sydney created some decent chances, with Adam Casey crossing for Juninho who just couldn’t reach it in his ageing speed. Not long after, Juninho put Zadkovich through, who cut it back to McFlynn, yet the distance from the goal was always going to make it difficult and he blasted it high and wide.

Melbourne needed a spark, and they got it when winger Adrian Caceres came on just after the hour mark. He immediately began tearing up the left hand side as Sydney struggled to deal with his pace, yet his effect would be most felt later on. Things went from bad to worse for the home side, as a strong challenge on Juninho, again going unnoticed by referee Shield, left him limping and unable to play on. Dynamis striker Patrick came on, hoping to relieve the well-marked Alex Brosque, however the Brazilian was ineffective, barely touching the ball. However, this was probably a result of his team playing with ten men, and clearly losing the midfield battle. Earlier, Juninho’s frustrations had boiled over as he argued over the placement of a free-kick but received a yellow card instead.

Sydney then found themselves with their best chance. They countered, and received a free kick just outside the area. With regular marksman Ufuk Talay on the bench, and Juninho and Corica both off for varying reasons, Sydney’s free kick takers were scraping the barrel. With three players over the ball, Brosque stepped up, and his favoured left boot swung away from keeper Theoklitos and just shaved the post on the way past. Unlucky, one might say, but this was al Melbourne needed. As always, it was only a few minutes later when the Victory had the ball, outnumbered Sydney, and shifted it wide to the danger man Caceres. Putting in a wonderful cross, Allsopp appeared at the far post to unconvincingly volley it home right in front of the Sydney fans. One would argue that Bolton should have done better to save it, but it was a quality, if not lucky, finish from a quality striker.

Thrusting on Talay and Santalab did not create any chances for Sydney in the final ten minutes, as they were nullified by the now extremely pedestrian Melbourne side. Deep into stoppage time, Melbourne had an attacking throw, which Thompson slowly took, getting a yellow card for his time wasting. This would be how the match ended.

It was disappointing to see such a passionate game eventuate as it did - very few chances and a referee destroyed encounter. Shield in the end handed out eight yellow cards and one red card. Despite his police escort at the end of the game, bottles were thrown at him as he exited the ground, leading Sydney coach Branko Culina to remark, “It’s not a good sign when the police are helping you off the field”. The match was also marred by spectator clashes after the Melbourne goal - a direct result of placing the two teams most ardent fans right next to each other. Melbourne waltzed back home extremely happy, understandably. Sydney however were extremely disappointed. Travelling to Perth next was no easy task. Corica was suspended, Juninho was injured, and 5 players were missing with the national Under-23s. Lying in sixth position, it was still a close competition, by Sydney needed to get some more points on the board.

Match Facts

Sydney FC v Melbourne Victory 0-1 (0-0)
Hyundai A-League 07/08 Round 7, Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney
Saturday, 6^th October, 2007, 7.00pm (AEST)
Crowd: 18463

0-1 (Allsopp 81’)

Sydney FC:
Bolton; Fyfe, Milligan, Popovic, Rudan; Zadkovic, Casey (Talay 82’), McFlynn (Santalab 82’), Corica, Juninho (Patrick 71’); Brosque

Melbourne Victory:
Theoklitos; Kemp, Pentelidis, Vargas, Keenan (Patafta 76’); Muscat, Brebner, Hernandez (Caceres 62’); Leandro Love, Thompson (Ryall 90+4’), Allsopp

Click Here For All Highlights

Norwegian Tippeligaen, matchday 23

Reporter Marius Dahl

Rosenborg (4-3-3):
Lars Hirschfeld
Roar Strand (Stoor 84') – Christer Basma (Nordvik 76') – Miika Koppinen – Abdou Razack Traoré
Marek Sapara – Vidar Riseth (Storflor 25') – Alexander Tettey
Didier Konan – Yssouf Koné – Per Ciljan Skjelbred

Odd Grenland (4-4-2):
Rune Allmenning Jarstein
Espen Ruud - Torjus Hansén (Hagen 57') - André Muri - Tuomo Könönen
Petter Bruer Hanssen (Berlin 18') - Morten Fevang - Tommy Svindal Larsen - Jacob Sørensen
Fernando De Ornelas (Akabueze 45') - Zbynek Pospech

Match highlights: http://webtv.tv2.no/webtv/?progId=192878

SPL League Match

06/10/07

Reporter: Cameron White

Rangers Went into this SPL League Match after a wonderful 3-0 victory against Lyon in France. The French have not had the best of luck these past couple of Months with Scotland winning 1-0 through James McFadden and Rangers Beating Lyon 3-0. Rangers making a few tweaks to the squad that won 3-0 in France which are: Kris Boyd, Steven Whittaker, Charlie Adam and Brahim Hemdani coming in. Hemdani playing his 2nd league match since the opener against Inverness Caley Thistle.

The starting 11 are: McGregor, Papac, Cuellar, Weitr, Hutton, Adam, Hemdani, Ferguson, Thomson, Whittaker and Boyd.

Playing a 4-5-1 at home against the Hibs.

50,440 Fans from all around Glasgow and Edinburgh came to watch this cracker of a game, the 2nd placed team VS the 3rd placed team.

Kenny Clark is the ref for this match.

Dull 15 Minutes:

Nothing much happened until 16th minute when Barry Ferguson lashed a strike on Target. Great link up play from Hemdani and Ferguson lead to the shot on Target, Hemdani chested a wonderful ball from hutton straight to Ferguson who walloped it but in the end saw the ball fly straight to the keeper!

Cagey last minutes:

It was a few nervous minutes for the Hibs fans when Steven Whittaker whpped in a cross which swopped away from the keeper, who managed to get the slightest of touches onto the ball but it wasn't enough. After adam scoring a cracker against Stuttgart he felt confident that he was going to put the ball into the empty net when He blasted it over the bar! He couldn't bealive it and niether could his team mates who were shouting and balling for the ball being passed to them!

Boring 1st Half:

The first half ended with both teams tied at 0-0. It was a big midfield battle from both sides but not any real chances from both sides. Hibs were doing a neat job of keeping Boyd and co. frustrated after all the young guns in the green and white ran back to help out in Defence. At half time the Rangers fans went up in a roar when "The Hammer", Jorg Albertz, came back onto the pitch to do the Rangers Lotto.

Boyd Freekick:

Alan Hutton won Rangers a freekick in a nice position after being taken down by Hogg just after the re-start. 8 Rangers players stood over the ball wanting to take the freekick but in the end it was only 3 of them. Adam tapped the ball slightly to Ferguson who stopped it for boyd to run up and shoot. It looked as though the defender blocked it from where I was sitting bu instead it went right past the defender and the Hibs keeper getting down low enough to save the freekick! Unlucky freekick from Rangers there.

Goals Nearly Coming:

It looked as though the goals were going to come sooner or later but It looked as though Hibs would score first. Murphy whipped in a cross from the right and Steven Fletcher rose to put the ball away but it wet over the bar from 8 yards out! The it was Rangers' turn to have another pop at goal. Alan Hutton with his amazing run all the way down the right managed to get the cross in. Charlie Adam was there at the back post just to shoot but his deflected effort was taken away by the hibs keeper.

Hibs's Effort and Goal:

Rangers were then put under pressure when Hibs counter attacked Rangers' effort a couple of minutes ago. Cuellar defended well and put the ball out for a corner kick. The hibs players took their places, so did the Rangers players and some how, out of no where Hibs score from it. The ball came flying into the 6 yard box and Murphy got infront of McGregor to nod the ball in the net! 0-1 Hibs!!!

         Murphy Celebrating after the goal

Rangers Wonder Chance:    

Rangers wasted a glory chance when Carlos Cuellar headered the ball across goal when David Weir should of placed the ball in the net, instead he was under pressure and hit it over the cross-bar. Murphy was the Hibs hero yet again when Carlos Cuellar had a open header and Murphy headered it off the line!

Full time at Ibrox: Rangers 0 Hibs 1

Venue: Turners Cross

This was a crunch match for both teams. Cork City, on a good run of results, on the back of an FAI cup quarter-final win over Waterford 4-0 and a 3-2 league win over Longford Town, both at Turners Cross. There last game 2-1 away to Derry was the first time they had won in the Brandywell in years.

Rovers on the other hand, had lost their last two games to struggling teams. Beaten by bottom club Longford 1-0 at their temporary home Tolka Park and a 3-0 reverse to Bray which Rovers finished the game with 9 men. As ever the Rovers had their fanatical away fan base with them. Notorious for trouble, they are advised to be avoided if at all possible, by players and fans alike. An excellent crowd of 5,000 saw this game. The Shed packed to the rafters. It was a big game for both sides, City were 3 points behind both Rovers and Pats (who were playing 5^th place Bohemians the same night) but had a game in hand on UCD the following Monday. The difference between were City (4^th) and Rovers (2^nd) was immense, €100,000 and a European place rewarded the team that were runners up at the end of the season and €25,000 and no European place was the compensation for fourth place.

The opening half an hour was uneventful besides a shot by Ger Rowe forced and excellent diving save by Michael Devine in the City net. The game opened up though after a cross in by Liam Kearney found the head of Dennis Behan, was stopped by Rovers keeper Stephen O’ Brien but the spin on the ball caused it to roll underneath the gap between arm and body and send the City fans wild. It was Behan’s eight in five games, Behan starting to find his form. 1-0 to Cork city after 34 minutes

Rovers were bright and threatening in the first half but never managed to have a killer instinct in front of goal. City almost capitalised late in the first half after an attempted clearance only managed to balloon into the air, and if Farrelly had shown more bravery instead of shying out of an aerial challenge City could have been two goals up by half time.

HT: Cork City 1-0 Shamrock Rovers

The second half was a more open affair with Rovers needing the win. Many chances were squandered but when Tadgh Purcell found himself one on one with Devine, he pulled his shot across the goal and agonisingly for the away support, rolled past the left post. From there on in and City shut up shop and had at least eight men behind the ball at any one time. They only conceded a couple of corners and the game limped to a 1-0 win for City

FT

Cork City 1-0 Shamrock Rovers

So only a Dennis Behan header separated the sides in a pretty uneventful game. Cork City will gladly take it and are now level on 48 points with Rovers and St. Pats who lost to Bohemians 2-1 at Dalymount Park. They have two games next week, away to UCD on Monday and away to Bray on Friday. If they win both games and Pats and Rovers fail to pick up a point. They will find themselves 6 points ahead with only four games to play. The race for second place is really hotting up…

Match highlights here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gce__AF0qn4

Reporter: Marius Dahl, Norway

Finnaly. A dark night atmosphere, cold weather and the stadium lights gets turned on. A break from the horrible matches we have done lately in the league, and back to the competition that everyone are talking about. The UEFA Champions League. The first homegame in the 11th season since the first qualification in 1995. AC Milan, Real Madrid, Dortmund, Juventus, Arsenal, Bayern Münich, Lyon, Celtic... You name it. They have all been trashed and sent home in shame from Lerkendal earlier. A few years ago, tho, but Rosenborg has still a very good connection to this tournament. Even tho they have only one win during the last 13 homegames in the groupstage.

The 2007 season back in Norway has not been a time of glory. Terrible games, especially away, and a currently 7th place in Tippeligaen. Luckely, they drew easy teams in the qual to the UCL. Astana were beaten 10-2 and Tampere 5-0. And they made a 1-1 draw in London in a few weeks back. A result that made shock waves over Europe and the rest of the world, and the match which resulted in one less manager in the Premiership. The special one, Josè Mourinho, left Stamford Bridge, even after two Premier League titles and three semifinals in the Champions League.

FC Schalke04 were the next team up. The German side from the city of Gelsenkirchen, and the team that became the runner up in Bundesliga 2006/07. Schalke started with a decent 0-1 loss to Valencia from Spain, but we didnt underrated them. They are unbeaten so far in their domestic league and they have kept the zero the three last times. They drew 0-0 against Bayern Münich as well. Bayern, who have been here twice. Them both ended as a draw, 1-1. Borrusia Dortmund were here in 1999, and drew - 2-2.
21.316 people came to see the second match of the 11th chapter in Rosenborg,s Champions League book. There could have been lots more, but the capacity is too low. However, when 21.000 people sang the Rosenborg song and everyone (yes! everyone!) raised their scarf, then no-one can critize the attendance. Many people came from Germany too, about 900 fans from Ultras Gelsenkirchen. The players came on, and the UCL anthem is always a moment you cant forget. The party was about to start...

I dont know why, but the German side were more hungry than the hometeam. Schalke created four corners inside the first two minutes. Even though they didnt result in any chances, four corners says itself. Rosenborg were slow in the attacking part and they did horrible mistakes in the backline. Dorsin was poor, and Christer Basma and Roar Strand are not 25 years anymore. The fans are very frustrated of why we didnt buy a new defender during the last transfer window.

Roar Strand was OK, but in one situation, he falled and Kevin Kuranyi brake through. Luckely, seen from the homefans side, Lars Hirscfeld saved masterly. Schalke04 catched control, but their keeper showed poor skills a few minutes later. Heiko Westerman tried to head the ball back to their keeper, but the head was a little to high. The keeper reached the ball which went in the post. A funny situation that made the visitors a little more careful.

The teams calmed down a little after that, and the teams didnt create a lot. Traorè, Rosenborg, had a shot which went just over the bar, in a situation where he should tried to get the ball into the box instead. Schalke04 had the biggest chances of the half, both from Kevin Kuranyi. The German national player missed on a volley from 14 meters, and he had a big chance from the penalty spot where he seemed surprised to get the ball, which went up at the visitor fans area.

The homefans sang "go home like in 1945" to Schalke, but the revange was at their side. This war did not result in nazism luckely. But if Steffen Iversen had scored on the first chance straight after the half time, could the match type been diffirent. A Schalke04 touched him while he jumped up, but a penalty would been too hard.
62 Minutes were played. Schalke got a freekick at the midfield, and it was taken fast. The backline sleeped for one second, and a well timed run by their left wing Jones gave them a chance that they couldnt waste. The left back Mikael Dorsin was too far behind, so it was not offside. Schalke went 0-1 up.
Yssouf Konè came on for a tired Skjelbred to try to get an equalaise. But when Rosenborg, for once, came through without a bad pass, did the Ivornian miss. Konè found Iversen who had an open goal in front. But the angle was too hard, so he had to send it back to Konè on one-touch. He was in offside, but he wouldnt scored anyway. However, a very good chance.
Five yellow cards were given out, and each of them were stupid. Riseth and Sapara used some bad words against the Polish referee, and goalscorer Jones and Rafinha did the same. Their keeper, Neuer, wasted time and he was booked by the boss at the pitch.
The overtime came closer and closer, but Rosenborg didnt create a lot. And when Kevin Kuranyi scored in the 89th minute, did the spectators go home. Schalke04 did also go home, with three important points in their bags. They won the match which no-one could lose.

The group of death is still open, but a loss against the worst rated team at home is too bad. Chelsea were taking a well revange in Valencia at the same time, after a good turn around by the Brits. Chelsea are in the lead with 4 points, followed by Valencia and Schalke on 3 points. Rosenborg has one poor point, but there are still chances left, if they start to play football now. The next round will be played here against Valencia, while the Schalke must go on a new trip, this time to England.

"After the match our chances in the group are simmer but we can still win some points and hope to finish third in the group". Rosenborg manager Knut Tørum to uefa.com.
"We wanted to win, we had to win, and Im very glad we were able to do so" Schalke04 manager Mirko Slomka to uefa.com.

Match facts:

Rosenborg BK vs FC Schalke 04
UEFA Champions League, groupstage, matchday 2, group B
Lerkendal stadion, Trondheim
A: 21.316

0-1, Jermaine Jones (61)
0-2, Kevin Kuranyi (89)

Teams:

Rosenborg (4-5-1):
Lars Hirscfeld
Roar Strand, Christer Basma, Miika Koppinen, Mikael Dorsin
Marek Sapara, Vidar Riseth, Alexander Tettey, Per Ciljan Skjelbred, Abdoulrazak Traorè
Steffen Iversen

Subs:
Yssouf Konè (came on for Per Ciljan Skjelbred in the 68th minute)
Didier Ya Konan (came on for Dorsin in the 79th minute)

Schalke (4-1-2-1-2):
Manuel Neuer
Rafinha, Heiko Westermann, Marcelo Bordon, Benedikt Höwedes
Fabian Ernst
Jermaine Jones, Zlatan Bajramovic
Ivan Rakitic
Kevin Kuranyi, Peter Løvenkrands

Subs:
Gerald Asamoah (came on for Løvenkrands in the 64th minute)
Carlos Grossmüller (came on for Rakitic in the 75th minute)
Gustavo Varela (came on for Jones in the 84th minute)


(c) Pictres taken from rbkweb.com

HamKam B were slightly more effective than the guests from Elverum at Monday night. The level 4 match at Børstad kunstgress (artifical grass), the training ground for HamKam, ended with a homewin, 2-0. With this result goes HamKam B to the top of the table, which might get a play-off spot in the end of the season.

Elverum didnt find this match so decideful. Stange, the rivals who were two points a head, drew with the relegation batteling team Hadeland, so Elverum can beat them in the last round. No-one expected Elverum to win against HamKam B, who has been outstanding with Kongsvinger B at the top of the standings.

The winner of the group will face another winner to play for a promotion to league 2. But HamKam B cant play the play-off before their first team promotes to Tippeligaen. HamKam A seems to do that, with a five points lead to Bodø/Glimt. Elverum has a hope:
1.They must end third. If they win against Stange in the last round, they,ll end third.
2.HamKam A must be passed by Bodø/Glimt in league 1.
3.HamKam A must lose they play-off match.
4.Elverum must beat the other groupwinner to play league 2 in 2008.

A point would not been enough, so if Elverum would passed Stange, they would have to beat Kamma,s second team. But the visitors from east were not effective. Elverum started well and had a good chance in the opening minutes. Kamma replied, but our keeper had a good day at work. However, when Elverum,s backline missed a pass, then Kamma were through. 1-0, minutes before halftime.
They doubled their lead in the second half as well, and with a 0-2 result away, Elverum had to do something.
They started to late, and HamKam were never afraid, even tho Elverum hit the post at overtime.
HamKam 2 won 2-0 and will play play-off unless HamKam A fail to promote to Tippeligaen.

For Global World Sport: Marius Dahl :|

Goal Scorer & Goal Creator: Alex Brosque & Juninho

Match: Sydney FC v Newcastle United Jets, Hyundai A-League 07/08 Round 6, Sydney Football Stadium, Australia

Reporter: hughgeta (Sydney, Australia)

Sydney FC came into this Round 6 Hyundai A-League match coming off their first win last week in Queensland. It was a dogged affair, with the Roar dominating possession and territory, and forcing back in form goalkeeper Clint Bolton into several fine saves. However, Sydney took the points after a fine lead up to set up new Brazilian striker Patrick for his first goal of the season - barely two minutes after coming off the bench.

Newcastle as well were hitting form. After a slow start, they had defeated Wellington and Adelaide before coming from behind to snatch 2-2 against Melbourne. Due to the influx of draws, the Jets actually sat in second place on the ladder.

As such, the match was sure to be tight. Looking for their first home win, Sydney welcomed back Juninho, who was rushed straight into the starting XI, for the first time since Round 2. Other than that, it was an unchanged line up from the win in Brisbane - meaning Patrick would once again get a chance off the bench.

Newcastle, on the other hand, made several changes. Midfielder Stuart Musialik was controversially suspended for ‘dissent’ earlier in the week, meaning Paul Kohler took his place, while winger Tarek Elrich also came into the side. However, the most notable inclusion was that of Mario Jardel - the three time European top-scorer was welcomed into the side for the first time this season. Glimpses had been seen off the bench over the last fortnight, and while he clearly still struggled with his fitness, Jets owner Con Constantine, who was personally financing his pay check, personally requested his game time. Not to make comparisons, but it seemed similar to Shevchenko and Abramovich at Chelsea.

That’s how each team took the field. A warm night in Sydney ensured a healthy 13000 crowd turned out at the Sydney Football Stadium.

Sydney looked to take the ascendency from the opening whistle. It was their home match, and therefore the points were there to be taken. However, it would take hard work to break down the solid Newcastle defence. Sydney had been seen to lack the creative edge, but with Juninho back into the side, his combination with Steve Corica was sure to create chances. The Brazilian maestro was straight into the action, blasting a shot from way out within two minutes. Though never to trouble the goalkeeper, it was a signal of intent.

The game, in a sense, lacked the edge of a really entertaining encounter. The match was tense, which often detracted from genuine chances being created. Nevertheless, it was the Sydney midfield controlling the game, and a chance fell to Ruben Zadkovich on 26 minutes. Never one to take a backwards step, he lashed a shot from way out which only just missed the post. Yet overridingly, it was Juninho’s influence which seemed to allow Sydney the greater hold on the game. Often creating space, particularly through the wings, one always felt as if something could happen when he was supplying the ball. On a particular occasion, he got the ball, and with his back to the defender, deftly chipped it over his and the Newcastle player’s head, into the almost unsuspecting path of Zadkovich.

On the other hand was Mario Jardel. In a similar predicament to Sydney, Brazilian Jardel had been a superstar of the game in the 1990s and early 2000s before being washed away with age and rumoured drug problems. He was brought out to Australia as a marquee signing to bring back crowds - yet his age, weight and fitness were clearly on display as he struggled to do much of anything. His arrogance was even displayed on several occasions as he backheeled passes and flicked the ball through his legs, yet it was clear that ‘Super Mario’ was extremely ineffective. In complete contrast to Juninho, who entered then game with brilliant, clever, touches only when it was needed, a sign of his humble nature. Jardel missed a chance over the bar with poor movement on the 35th minute, and he was eventually substituted off at half time.

Sydney’s dominance eventually created a goal, and it was unsurprising who crafted it. Taking a non descript ball in the centre of the park, Junihno looked up to find the short Newcastle defence and Alex Brosque streaming through. Putting a perfectly placed long pass through, Brosque gathered the ball on his unfavoured right foot, before turning between defenders Jade North and Steve Laybutt and slotting it into the far post. A superb goal, masterfully assisted and expertly finished. The potential that Brosque has to finish goals, so often wasted with inconsistency, was on show.

With Sydney dominating play and with the lead, the second half threatened to be a lacklustre affair. Newcastle offered very little in attack, apart from a half chance wasted by Adam Griffifths with a header over the bar.

Yet within a few minutes Sydney had sprung into life. Zadkovich lashed a volley wide, and this seemed to enterprise Sydney into creating greater chances. Brendon Santalab came more into the game on the right as his crosses first met Iain Fyfe to header back across goal, before he tried to score with a bullet header just wide. Santalab later set up Steve Corica with a cut back pass, but his shot was blocked.

The Newcastle defence struggled to clear the ball out of defence as Sydney would frequently win it in the attacking third. On one occasion, Santalab took it off Laybutt, and set up Juninho, but his angled shot went wide of the post. The final chance of this attacking period fell to defender Rudan, who found himself in unfamiliar territory as his scissor kick was unsuccessful.

It was then surprising to remember that Newcastle were in fact still in this game, and although they had few chances, a late free kick threatened to snatch a point as Brazilian Denni’s flick came dangerously close, before Clint Bolton gathered up the ball.

Last week’s game winner Patrick came on for five minutes to much applause, showing enterprising skill as he took on defenders with ease, yet with little reward.

The way Sydney FC played would have pleased coach Branko Culina and the fans. It was a convincing win, in the sense that they were never in danger of losing. It would also ensure a bumper match at home to Melbourne Victory next Saturday - with the two teams now tied on eight points after Melbourne’s first victory of the season over Queensland. Newcastle, meanwhile, faced a tough derby match against yet unbeaten Central Coast, and coming off their first loss, the Jets wouldn’t be favoured to take much from that game either.

Sydney FC v Newcastle United Jets 1-0 (1-0)
Hyundai A-League 07/08 Round 6, Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney
Saturday, 29th September, 2007, 7.00pm (AEST)
Crowd: 13755

Sydney FC:
Bolton; Casey, Rudan, Milligan, Fyfe; Zadkovich, McFlynn, Corica (Talay 74'), Juninho (Patrick 86'); Brosque, Santalab

Newcastle Jets:
Covic; D'Apuzzo, Laybutt, North, Thompson; Elrich (Hoffman 63'), Griffiths, Kohler, Wheelhouse (Denni 75'); Jardel (Hearfield 45'), Bridge

Norwegian handball league, matchday 2
Reporter: Marius Dahl

Elverum lost a very evenly match against Sandefjord in the second round of the Norwegian handball league at Sunday night. Some horrible periods during the match did the match very hard for Elverum, who showed class in the end.

Good comeback
924 Spectators came to the hall in Elverum to see the first homegame of the Norwegian handball league, season 2007-08. Between 1.000 and 1.500 were expected to come, but the 924 people who were there made a lot of noise.

Sandefjord were the favorites, seing as they were the runner ups from last season. The visitors used to be the best as well, and they have been in the Champions League many times. Elverum were a top team in the late 90,s, but after the grey relegation year in 2000, did Elverum lose their status as a top team. They came back in 2005 and they survived twice in the top league. They have bought some talents, so they were expected to fight in the middle of the table this year.

The new players gave a 33-31 result in the first game in Bodø. Even tho our keeper made a lot of class saves, were Sandefjord early 4-1 up. The hometeam were wasting chances, and the visitors from the city in south east of Norway could been in a far better lead if it hadnt been for our keeper, who saved two penalties in the opening minutes! However, Sandefjord were always two or three goals in front because of their good attack style.
But in the end of the first half came a kind of miracle. Elverum scored six goals in a row, the last goal on a penalty throw, and suddenly were the white and black team from the woods in a four goal lead. The comeback was a very big shock for Sandefjord who added two goals in their score before the whistle.

Scary movie II
The first half was like a horror film for the thousand spectators, even tho it didnt get an Oscar. The second part of the movie started in the second half. This part was even longer and Sandefjord catched control.
According to Stig Rasch, the handball legend who used to play in Bundesliga, didnt Elverum have a good attack style. The only player on Elverum who impressed the former Elverum midfielder was the keeper Morten Nergaard. But, like in football, you cant win games if you dont score goals.
In spite of a new good comeback, did the red team from Sandefjord leave Elverumshallen with two points, after a 27-26 win.
Geir Jommas (Sandefjord) meant that Elverum were harder last season, and that he doubt they,ll be in the medal battle.

-The referees ruined the entertaiment
Kristoffer Kleven Moen, left back on Sandefjord, meant the referee,s decissions were horrible.
"He was not at the other side, but he stoped the match a lot of times. I doubt people enjoyed it. The spectators does not pay money to watch referees"
Steffen Stegavik, Elverums talented playmaker was not happy with his team mates, who got 7 x 2 mins.
"Some of us gets sent off for nothing. It does not help neither us nor the referees that we blame them during the match. Its hard to play with six players in two minutes"
"We are not good enough in the decideful situations. Sandefjord tried to calm down the match and they did it sucsessfully," said the ass. manager in Elverum, Tomas Johannsen to ostlendingen.no after the match.

Elverum face the hard team Haslum in the next game, and with a good mix of the attack style against Bodø and the defending style against Sandefjord can Elverum be able to go home with points from Nadderudhallen (next to Nadderud, where Stabæk play their homegames in the football league).

The standings
This is the scores during the match:
6th minute: 1-1
11th minute: 1-4
16th minute: 3-6
21st minute: 5-9
26th minute: 10-9
Halftime: 14-12
36th minute: 14-16
41th minute: 16-18
46th minute: 18-21
51st minute: 20-24
56th minute: 23-27

Red Bulls New York 2-2 New England Revolution

Report by: Ligue1marseille - September 22nd, 2007 - Giants Stadium

It's rare that I catch a Red Bull game in good weather but when I do, I enjoy it. Today was one of the biggest rivalries in the East and possibly in the MLS - New York against New England. There's similar rivalries like New York Rangers against the Boston Bruins in hockey or the Yankees against the Red Sox in baseball but I'm not interested in those as I am in this match. It had rained earlier, so the pitch would surely prove a bit of a test for the players no doubt. In the Red Bulls lineup: there was Ronald Watterus, Chris Leitch, Jeff Parke, Dave van den Bergh, Seth Stammler, Dane Richards, Claudio Reyna, Dema Kovalenko, Joe Vide, Francis Doe, annnnnd Juan Pablo Angel. I'd be watching Watterus for the first time I think, I was hoping he'd have a good game.

 There was also his countryman, Dave van den Bergh, who can be a big help in attack but interestingly he was playing in defence today. It's always great to have Richards in the lineup, his speed can scare the hell out of defences, no doubt he'd be doing that today! Kovalenko is also in, he had a face mask on, I wonder what happened to him.. Francis Doe is another player I'd be seeing for the first time. He came from a club in Greece(according to MLSNet: Atromitos FC). His experience there should definitely be a big help and maybe help himself to a few goals. He'd be alongside Angel - who would be looking to add to his account tonight.

After the singing of the national anthem and the presentation of both teams, the match kicked off. New York was surprisingly the better of the two teams. I say surprisingly because usually New England would be all over them from start to finish. The Red Bulls made their presence felt right from the start when Doe had a sight of goal that went wide - nothing that would cause problems though. If there was anything Juan Pablo Angel needed to improve on, it was his temper. He got a yellow card in the 18th for a foul but he wouldn't keep his mouth shut, thankfully the referee didn't give him a second yellow on the spot. New England started to wake up and got their first goal of the game from a free kick that was headed in by Taylor Twellman in the 22nd.

 The band of New England supporters were making themselves heard loud and clear but New York made it clear that the match wasn't over yet: 2 minutes later, Francis Doe headed just wide. Soon after that, a string of passes in midfield would find Dema Kovalenko, who would force Matt Reis to push it away for a corner. The corner kick would find Seth Stammler, whose shot was cleared off the line. Red Bull fans wouldn't have to wait any longer though. Just a minute after that, Dane Richards would send in a cross that found Doe, who tapped it past Reis for the equalizer. After all of the commotion, it was about time. They wouldn't have anymore real action until the end of the first half, where Doe scored but it was called for offside. A bad decision that was - the referee had been crap all night, making stupid calls. Another reason why the referees in the USA need to be improved.

New York came out firing in the 2nd half, showing no signs of letting up. Claudio Reyna would have the first chance of the half: a header over the cross bar in the 53rd minute. Francis Doe had another attempt for his second but his effort was tipped away by Reis in the 64th. Twellman would score again due to a defensive mistake, curling it past Waterrus. Bruce Arena brought on Jozy Altidore and Clint Mathis in his search for the equalizer. For those who thought Angel wouldn't score tonight, guess again. He was sent free on goal and made no mistake with his shot in the 84th. 2-2 with about 5 minutes remaining, it was now time to try and put the game away. They had a free kick in the 90th but Angel's effort bounced off the wall. That was it - 2-2. A great performance by New York - they are now back on track. Currently 3rd in the Eastern Conference, they'll need to keep up these kinds of performances to pass on through to the playoffs - I'm confident they could.

All-Ireland Final 07
Croke Park Dublin. Sunday 16th September

Reporting: Kevin Galvin

Kerry v Cork , one of the greatest Irish Sporting rivalries, two neighbour counties battling for supremacy in their respective sports
Cork, traditionally dominated Hurling, along with Kilkenny, have the most All-Irelands.

Kerry, the footballing giants, ahead of the pack in All-Irelands by 12 leading into this game. But these sides never have met in an All-Ireland final!

                Pride was on the line heading into this game, Kerry were the clear favourites, Cork only winning 6 All-Irelands in their long GAA history.


           The first 10 minutes were physical play as neither team settled as expected, the teams only scoring 2 points between them.

The first half seemed to be a touch and go half when Colm Cooper made the most of a mix up between goalkeeper Alan Quirke and Full Back Kieran O’ Connor to punch into an empty net from a high ball from midfield. It seemed that O’ Connor was under it before Quirke came out of goal to clear, misjudged the flight, jumped up on O’ Connors back to punch the ball clear, missed it completely and in the tangle in the air, Cooper managed to punch the ball into a now vacant net.
 4 points ahead, Kerry never surrendered the lead before half time. Kerry 3 points up at half time.
    

                        Cork couldn’t have had a worse start to the second half. Cork hand passing it round their own area, the Cork left corner back Ger Spillane was looking for Quirke, who had positioned himself 20 years to the right to receive the pass.

Before half time sub Kieran Donaghy crept up behind and ripped the ball out of Spillane’s hands to slot home into yet another empty Cork net.

 That put Kerry ahead by 6 points, and there was no looking back. Kerry added 3 more points before yet another defensive collapse this time between Quirke and Michael Shields left another empty net for Donaghy to score his second. Kerry now 12 points ahead and would have been forgiven for thinking this was an early Christmas, Quirke just wanted to buy his head underneath the snow.

Not even a well taken goal by Daniel Goulding on 53 minutes could ease the rebels pain. The final whistle after 70 minutes of Kerry onslaught was only to confirm what everybody knew after the second goal. Declan O Sullivan be only the second captain to lift the Sam Maguire Cup twice in a row. Kerry fourth in five years.


FT:
Kerry: 3-13
Cork:  1-09

Match: Hampshire v Gloucestershire, Pro40 League, Rose Bowl

Reporter: Chris, UK

Hampshire were missing some key names in their fight to keep their Pro40 title hopes alive. Daren Powell was away with the West Indies at the ICC Twenty20 World Cup in South Africa, while Mascarenhas and Tremlett were with England in the same tournament as Powell. John Crawley wasn't named in the team, with Chris Benham - a bit off-colour this season - taking his place. Gloucestershire had the impressive Hamish Marshall in their side, as well as Spearman, Gidman and Kadeer Ali. This match would be the Friends Provident Trophy runner's up facing the Twenty20 Cup runner's up - that sounded like a tasty matchup. This match was also live on Sky Sports TV. The teams:

Hampshire: Lumb, Benham, Ervine, Carberry, Adams, Pothas (wk), Warne (c), Udal, Tomlinson, Bruce, Taylor.

Gloucestershire: Kadeer Ali, Marshall, Gidman, Spearman, Taylor, Hardinges, Adshead (wk), Lewis (c), Fisher, Greenidge, Kirby.

Hampshire were in bat first, and it wasn't long before the first wicket fell. Michael Lumb, who was impressive in the last televised match, was out for 9. A 141 run partnership followed for the Hawks, before Sean Ervine was out for an impressive 74. He could have gone on to make a century... Adams was next out, falling for 21.  Hampshire were now 182-3, and looked on course for a good score. Michael Carberry, who was in the England 'A' squad at the start of the season against Bangladesh, was out for 18. In the 38th over, Chris Benham was eventually out - bowled by Kirby - for a great 111. The crowd stood to applaud the batsman, who scored 128 against Glamorgan in last season's play-off at the Rose Bowl. Nic Pothas and legend Shane Warne would play out the final overs, with Warne cheekily hitting a bouncer over his head for 4. He ended on 11*, with Pothas on 12*. Hampshire totalled 274/5 thanks to 6 penalty runs (Gloucestershire's over-rate was slow). Could Gloucestershire chase that down in front of the cameras?

Gloucestershire started off slowly, before getting into their stride. The Hampshire bowlers were finding it impossible to get the two opening batsmen out. It wasn't until the 24th over, when Gloucestershire were on 162-0, for a wicket to fall. Hamish Marshall was out for 76 after being caught LBW by Shaun Udal. The reaction from Udal showed that they needed that wicket desperately. Soon after that wicket fell, more came. 10 runs later, Spearman was out for 9 (lbw Warne), with Chris Taylor following him to the changing rooms soon after - out for 3. Alex Gidman, the talented batsman, could only muster 9 runs. Adshead was out for 12, before Kadeer Ali was out in the closing stages. He scored a good knock of 114, before being bowled by a beauty from Shane Warne. He even had to have a runner due to cramp...

The game went down to a tight and tense finish, with everyone on the edge of their seats. Gloucestershire needed 19 from the last over. Their Twenty20 Cup performances showed that they could chase that down...

Straight away Gloucestershire hit a 4, and Hampshire fans were wondering if they really could win this game. But after some great bowling, Hampshire came out on top, winning by 14 runs.

Chris Benham was the man-of-the-match after his 111, but according to BBC Sport, "he was so dehydrated afterwards he was unable to pick up his champagne. "

Hampshire are still in the title race, but need to beat Lancashire at Old Trafford next Friday, and hope Worcestershire lose their final two games. Worcestershire are the favourites to take the trophy from Essex, but you never know...

Norwegian 3.divisjon avd.. 7, round 18
Sentralidrettsplassen, Elverum

Reporter: Marius Dahl

Elverum are still involved in the promotion battle after their 3-1 win against Flisa. This is their 7th match without loss, and their third win in three matches. However, their 3-1 win against Flisa was not that impressive.

Elverum trashed Flisa 6-1 and 7-1 in 2005, but lost 1-2 and 2-3 in 2006. And the match in Flisa earlier this year, ended with a 4-2 win for Flisa. A loss today would been decently for Elverum, who were nine points behind HamKam,s second team before this round. The winner of the division get a play-off spot, and the winner of the play-off will be promoted. Kongsvinger B are in the lead, but they cant promote, because their first team are two divisions higher. And there must be three. HamKam B can promote, cus their first team seems to promote to Tippeligaen.

PS: Six of Flisa,s players has played for Elverum earlier. Jørgen and Anders Helland (twins) were two of them. And Marius Krokhaug, who lives in Elverum, and is a teacher at my school! One of his pupils, Vegar Hedenstad played for Elverum. Hedenstad is one of the biggest talents in the region and he plays for the U-16 national team!

Three minutes were played when Erik Røsvik gave the 241 homefans a reason to celebrate. He layed the ball in the other side of the goal, and sent Elverum 1-0 up. Elverum did not play offencive and they gave Flisa too many opportunities. However, they went 2-0 up after a corner. Håvard Henset the goal scorer.

Many chances were wasted in the second half. Elverum did not get used of the big area Flisa gave away when they had many players at the wrong side of the pitch. But after 65 minutes found Elverum another road to the net. Vegar Hedenstad scored on a penalty and secured the three points.

His teacher, Marius Krokhaug, scored in the final minutes, but Elverum won 3-1 and seems to be unbeaten in the breath taking final rounds.

Match: Hampshire v Warwickshire, Pro40 Division One League

Reporter: Chris Eastwood, UK

This game was chosen to be live on Sky Sports TV, so with the cameras down at the Rose Bowl, both sides were looking for a good victory in front of a wide audience. Hampshire recently reached the Friends Provident Trophy Final, where they lost to Durham by 125 runs at Lord's. Warwickshire was the team Hampshire beat in the semi-final this year, and they beat them in the 2005 Cup Final! Hampshire were looking to add another victory over Warwickshire in front of the cameras.

With legendary bowler Shane Warne injured, Hampshire named 17 year old Liam Dawson - making his home debut after impressing in the away game at Northamptonshire - in their side. Nic Pothas took over the reigns as captain. Warwickshire fielded a strong batting line-up, with Darren Maddy, Jonathan Trott, Kumar Sangakkara, Alex Loudon and Tim Ambrose all in the side. They game debuts to Vaughn Van Jaarsveld also.

The Teams

Hampshire:  Lumb, Crawley, Ervine, Carberry, Pothas (wk, c), Adams, Dawson, Udal, Powell, Taylor, Bruce.

Warwickshire: Maddy (c), Trott, Sangakkara, Troughton, Loudon, Ambrose (wk), Streak, van Jaarsveld, Gronveldt, Anyon, Thomas.

The Match

Warwickshire won the toss and decided to bat. Their first 4 overs were good, scoring 22. Daren Powell, Hampshire's West Indian, gave away 20 runs in his first two overs. Powell got less expensive however, and in the 14th over, a wicket finally came: Darren Maddy - in England's Twenty20 World Cup squad - was out for 30 (b Bruce). A 64 run partnership followed for Warwickshire before Kumar Sangakkara fell for 19. After such a bright start from Warwickshire, their runs came more slowly, with wickets coming quicker. Tim Ambrose fell next for 5, with Trott getting out shortly after for 90. His good innings finally came to an end.  Debutant van Jaarsveld fell 20 runs later, out for an unlucky 13. The wickets came fast... Gronveldt was out for 7, Troughton was out for 9 and Heath Streak fell for 4. Alex Loudon, normally used at the top of the order for Warwickshire, surprisingly came in towards the end, and was not out for 4, while Alfonso Thomas ended on 1*. Bruce ended with 1 wicket, Udal 2, Ervine 2 and Taylor 3.

Hampshire's innings started slowly, and were well behind Warwickshire's run rate. But, Hampshire upped the tempo and hit out regularly. Michael Lumb did most of the damage at the start, before his partner John Crawley was out for 14. Sean Ervine was in next, and it took him 15 balls to score 1 run. Then, he joined in the action too. A 147 run partnership followed between Lumb and Ervine, with Michael Lumb eventually falling for 82. Michael Carberry was next in, and he ended the match on 5*, as Hampshire wrapped up an 8 wicket thrashing of Warwickshire. Sean Ervine finished on 80*.

Sasho Petrovski revels scoring the winner against his former club

Match: Sydney FC v Central Coast Mariners, Hyundai A-League 07/08 Round 1, Sydney Football Stadium, Australia

Reporter: hughgeta (Sydney, Australia)

The opening match of A-League ‘Version 3’ threw up a host on anticipation from fans of both Sydney FC and Central Coast Mariners. Once meeting in a Grand Final, these two teams were looking to now recover from the disappointing seasons they both last had. Sydney FC was largely short of players and match-practice, which forced the underdone Marquee signing Juninho to start on the field. Central Coast, on the other hand, had an almost full strength squad to choose from, and with powerful forwards Nik Mrdja and former FC striker Sasho Petrovski up front, they boasted a powerful lineup. Interestingly, Lawrie McKinna decided on playing young stopper Nigel Boogaard ahead of retired Socceroo Tony Vidmar. Sydney FC had a strong midfield, with Juninho combining playmaking duties with Steve Corica and both Mark Milligan and Ufuk Talay holding the shape. However, the lack of width in the side soon became clear.

At home, Sydney felt a need to control the tempo early on. However, this plan was reliant on their ability to hold out the Mariners, which, after only even minutes, backfired. Goalkeeper Clint Bolton made a customary distribution to Iain Fyfe – yet the out of position defender was caught short, the ball was intercepted, and, finding it’s way to Petrovski, he calmy slotted it from the edge of the box. Retribution for the striker who had been a victim of Terry Butcher’s infamous regime.

Sprung into action, Sydney pushed forward, with Juninho and Corica combining beautifully to create a host of chances. Defender Tony Popovic even found himself with a clear shot on goal, yet he fired over the bar. Not that it stopped the Mariners from attacking, Adam Kwasnik and John Hutchinson playing excellently before the Mrdja hit the post off an angled shot.

The influence of Juninho was clear, late in the hald he cut through the Central Coast defence to be clear with the keeper, yet arrogance took an extra touch, and attempting to run around Danny Vukovic, he ran out of space with the goal at his mercy.

The second half continued with Sydney wasteful with their chances in what was becoming an increasingly entertaining match. Attacking players David Zdrilic, Ruben Zadkovic and Robbie Middleby came on as Sydney took control of the tempo of the match. Juninho ran out of energy and unfortunately was reduced to only a minor role, yet he still created chances. On 74 minutes, Vukovic came screaming off his line to collect a through ball, however Juninho met it first, and with an open goal in front of him, he could only hit his shot over from 30 metres.

The greater depth of Central Coast was evident as they were able to rely on seasoned professionals such as Tom Pondeljak and Greg Owens to steady the ship off the bench. Nevertheless, the match finished excitingly, with Juninho free kick just slipping past the far post while defender Mark Rudan had his shot cleared off the line from the young Boogaard.

At the final whistle, their were positives to be gained for both sides, as the third season A-League got off to an excellent start as it was clear the standard of play was forever increasing.

Norwegian Tippeligaen, matchday 18, Lerkendal stadion, Trondheim

Reporter: Marius Dahl

Preview:
The school has started up again and Ive moved back to my homeplace. But a good supporter I am, so I went to Trondheim to see Rosenborg play an important game against Vålerenga. Vålerenga,s new manager Harald Aabrek ment that relegation battle is boring and he said that they could go to top 4. Rosenborg were unhappy with the current table situation, and they had to win. Mikael Dorsin (LB), Roar Strand (RB), Miika Koppinen (CB) and Steffen Iversen (LF) couldnt play because of injuries and bookings. Rosenborg had reserves, but we were nervous to see Traorè as a left back.

The rainy weather stopped just before the match, which had this statistics before the match:

2006, league: 3-2
2005, league: 2-3
2005, Royal league: 0-1
2004, league: 1-4
2003, league: 1-0

Teams:
Rosenborg (4-3-3):
Lars Hirscfeld
Fredrik Stoor, Christer Basma, Bjørn Tore Kvarme, Abdoulrazak Traorè
Marek Sapara, Vidar Riseth, Alexander Tettey
Didier Ya Konan, Yssouf Konè, Øyvind Storflor

Rangers - Falkirk

SPL Legaue Match

18.08.07

Reporter: Cameron White

Preview:
I went to Ullevaal stadion, Oslo, straight after the school to see Norway play an international against Leonel Messi, Javier Saviola, Maxi Rodriguez, Javier Zanetti, Diego Milito and  Javier Macherano. Argentina,s second visit in Norway. The first visit, in 1986, ended with a 1-0 win for the Norwegians after a great goal by Kjetil Osvold. Diego Maradona and Argentina won the World Cup a few months after the amazing match. The new Maradona, Leonel Messi, has copied the legend the last season. His brilliant solo run against Getafe and his handball goal in the last round of La Liga. All the tickets were soled according to the rumours, even though artists like Cambiasso, Crespo, Heinze, Riquelme and Tevez didnt play. Argentina,s players ment that internationals in August is a bad idea because players are in late pre-season or in the start of a new season. However, they were looking forward to the match.

Teams:

Norway 4-3-3:

Håkon Opdal
Jarl Andrè Storbæk, Ronny Johnsen, Brede Hangeland, John Arne Riise
Bjørn Helge Riise, Martin Andresen, Kristofer Hæstad
Daniel Braaten, John Carew, Morten Gamst Pedersen

Rune Jarstein (came on for Opdal in the 46th minute)
Lars Iver Strand (came on for Gamst Pedersen in the 71st minute)
Alexander Tettey (came on for B.Riise in the 71st minute)
Jan Gunnar Solli (came on for Carew in the 84th minute)
John Anders Bjørkøy (came on for Braaten in the 90th minute)

Argentina 4-1-3-2:

Oscar Ustari
Javier Zanetti, Ezequiel Garay, Nicolas Burdisso, Gabriel Milito
Javier Mascherano
Luis Gonzàlez Leonel Messi, Maxi Rodriguez
Ezequiel Lavezzi, Diego Militio

Federico Insua (came on for Gonzàlez in the 46th minute)
Javier Saviola (came on for Lavezzi in the 46th minute)
Fernando Gago (came on for D.Milito in the 79th minute)

King Carew:
Argentina were supposed to have the initiative, but the Norwegians kept it from the start to the end of the first 45 minutes. Carew won the duel with Garay after 10 minutes and made a corner. John Arne Riise got the ball in his feets and went into the box. His teammate from Liverpool, Javier  Mascherano, lay him down and gave away a penalty. John Carew pasted the ball in the goal.

1-0, John Carew, 11!

And Norway didnt let Messi play his game and just carried on creating chances. Bjørn Helge Riise and Daniel Braaten got through at the right side, but the pass did not find Carew in the penalty area. Bjørn Helge had a good possibility minutes later, but the luck was not at his side.

The guests from South America used 32 min to create something. Messi saw Zanetti, and Zanetti found Diego Milito in the box, but the Zaragoza player didnt hit the target when he tried to head in the equalaizer. Milito was close giving Norway a 2-0 lead just before halftime. He passed back but sent the ball in Carew, who tried to take a Maradona/Messi. He didnt make it, but he was close. A funny situation which enjoyed the 24.000 spectators in Oslo.

(photo: VG)

Håkon Opdal kept the zero, but Norway changed keeper in the half time. Rune Jarstein came on for the keeper who seems to be Norwegian League champion with SK Brann. Jarstein couldnt started better: A superb shot by the substitue Insua, but an even more superb save by Jarstein. What a chance.

The Slovenian refree set the second half in motion, which was a good time for John Carew. The newspapers from Argentina called him Caradonna, which is an OK nickname. And Carew didnt use long time to get his second: John Arne Riise, who made the penalty, found Carew in a freekick situation, and the Villa forward used his head to score the second. Norway seemed to win against the second best team in the world!

2-0, John Carew, 53!

Carew seemed to be happy and played like seal just after the goal. Messi was in the shadows, but the stars from the World Cup winner in 1978 and 1986 seemed to be more motivated after the 2-0 goal. They hate to lose.
But the blue/white team didnt get through, and were trashed in the duels. Their playing style is hard against a rough team like Norway. Daniel Braaten was also funny to watch. Sammy Lee must be happy with the transfer from Rosenborg.


Braaten vs Messi

John Arne Riise was very good in the first hour, but instead of doing 3-0, he could done 2-1 in the 66th and 69th minute. Riise got through in the 66th minute and was totaly alone with Ustari, but he was not fast enough. However, Braaten came from behind, so he should passed. But Riise is Riise, and he shot instead. Unsucsessfully.
Argentina made a corner kick in the 69th minute, which was of a bad sort. But Riise didnt hit the ball when he should cleare, and Rodriguez had the ball into the goal area. The Atletico Madrid player did not score, tho, but what a chance of getting a goal back...

The South Americans created some dangerous death balls and played better in the last minutes. They dont like to lose...
John Carew left the ground in the 84th minute, while Argentina had a freekick.  Norway forgot to indicate Rodriguez. Bang.

2-1, Maxi Rodriguez, 84!

The goal was a motivation for Argentina, who played us out in the final minutes. The substitutes Jan Gunnar Solli and Lars Iver Strand were close giving Norway the third goal tho. But when the refree gave us the final whistle, did we just raise up and sang Carew Carew. What a player.

Man of the match
John Carew. He was the king at the ground. He is strong, he score goals and he was always there. Leonel Messi was agreed, the media in Argentina were agreed. John Carew is the man of the match.

Match facts:
Norway vs Argentina, 2-1 (1-0):
Friendly, Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo
Wednesday, 22nd of August 2007, 7:00 PM (Local time)
A: 23.900

1-0, John Carew (p), 11
2-0, John Carew, 53
2-1, Maxi Rodriguez, 84

Match: Hampshire v Durham, Friends Provident Trophy FINAL

Reporter: Chris Eastwood, UK

Preview

Hampshire were the favourites according to the media. Durham are in their first final, and Hampshire were in their 4^th. In those 4 finals, Hampshire has won all 4. The most recent Final victory for Hampshire was in 2005, when they beat Warwickshire by 18 runs, after a fine century knock from Sean Ervine.

Both Durham and Hampshire have good teams, full of great players. Hampshire have the legendary Shane Warne, who is the World’s leading wicket-taker, John Crawley (ex-England), Sean Ervine (ex-Zimbabwe), Dimitri Mascarenhas (England), Kevin Pietersen (England), Nic Pothas, Daren Powell (West Indies), Chris Tremlett (England) and Shaun Udal (ex-England). Durham have the impressive Dale Benkenstein as captain, Shiv Chanderpaul (the man England could never get out in the recent Test series), Paul Collingwood (England ODI captain), Michael Di Venuto (Australia), Ottis Gibson (who took all 10 wickets in one innings against Hants in a County Championship game), Harmison (England), Liam Plunkett (England) and Paul Wiseman (ex-New Zealand).

This all pointed to one thing: an exciting final.

The Teams

(Hampshire)

Crawley

Lumb

Pietersen

Ervine

Carberry

Pothas (wk)

Mascarenhas

Warne ©

Tremlett

Powell

Bruce

(Durham)

Di Venuto

Mustard (wk)

Coetzer

Chanderpaul

Collingwood

Benkenstein ©

Breese

Gibson

Plunkett

Killeen

Onions

The Match

Durham opened the match with 5 runs coming from the first over. Di Venuto and Mustard opened the innings for Durham. It wasn’t until Durham were on 44 when they lost their first wicket – Di Venuto fell for 12 (c Carberry b Powell). That brought Scotsman Coetzer to the crease.

Mustard’s fine innings of 49 eventually came to an end after he was LBWed by Powell. Next came a great partnership from Coetzer and Chanderpaul (the man England could never get out in the recent Test series against the West Indies). They put on a 111 run-partnership before Coetzer was out (c Warne b Ervine) for 61. A 40 run partnership followed, between Collingwood and Chanderpaul…

Finally, someone got Chanderpaul out – he was run out by Shane Warne for a good 78. He could have made a century after his performance.

Collingwood was eventually out for a slow 22, after a great catch from Mascarenhas (and b Powell).

That was the last of the wickets as Durham piled on the runs at Lord’s. In the end, Benkenstein ended on 61* and Gibson 15* as they smashed 315/5 – a record score at Lord’s in a Final.

Hampshire started their innings knowing they’d need a massive total to win the Friends Provident Trophy. The worst happened.

Incredibly, and amazingly, Hampshire were 0-2 after 2 balls, and with the Durham fans roaring in the corner and the players going wild on the pitch, Hampshire immediately looked like losing the Final. Michael Lumb and Sean Ervine lost their wickets in identical fashion, both bowled by Gibson and caught by Di Venuto. The fans in the Hampshire area had their heads in their hands, and couldn’t believe what they were seeing.

Kevin Pietersen, England’s star batsmen, was in next with the weight of expectation on his shoulders. He needed to get a big score after the loss of the two early wickets. He fell for 12 after being LBWed by Gibson.

The Hampshire runs were coming slowly. Carberry’s wicket fell soon after Pietersen’s, while the score was on 75-3. Carberry was bowled by Onions for 23.

A decent 61 run partnership followed for Crawley and Pothas. Crawley got out for 68 – a slow knock from 93 balls – after being bowled by Paul Collingwood. Collingwood’s reaction after the wicket was played for all to see on the big screen’s, with Hampshire fans planning the journey home.

The rain came with an hour left of the game, with the game being delayed until Sunday…

The game continued the day after, with Durham odds-on favourites to lift the trophy. In front of a sparse crowd, with loads of white seats, the game continued.

Pothas was eventually out for 47 (c Onions b Collingwood), with Mascarenhas following 3 runs after for 12 (b Plunkett). The tail was now in. One run later, Chris Tremlett fell for 0 (c Di Venuto b Collingwood). Hampshire’s hopes were all but gone, and Durham would be lifting the trophy. Powell eventually went for 1 (c Collingwood b Plunkett). Captain Warne was the last to go, trying to score the mass of runs needed for victory – he was out for 5 after being bowled by Plunkett. Bruce ended the innings on 4*.

Durham win the Friends Provident Trophy Final after a 125 run thrashing of Hampshire.

Rangers FC - Red Star Belgrade

UEFA Champions League Qualifying Round 3 1st leg

Ibrox Park, Reporter: Cameron White

Rangers: McGregor, Hutton, Cuellar, Weir, Broadfoot, McCulloch, Ferguson, Hemdani, Thomson Beasley, Darcheville.

Subs: Carroll, Boyd, Novo, Adam, Murray, Whittaker, Cousin

Red Star Belgrade: Randjelovic, Bronowicki, Gueye, Tutoric, Andjelkovic, Koroman, Castillo, Lucas Milijas, Raskovic, Dordevic.

Subs: Radivojevic,Pantic, Barcos,Bajalica, Molina, Salas, Milovanovic

Referee: Martin Hansson 

Attendence: 35, 364

Rangers went out to play Red Star Belgrade, an unknowen force, in the third Qualifying round of the Champions League but a good nights was enough for the Light Blue's.

The Red Star Belgrade's defence was well Organised in defence and was really good at the Counter Attacks with Rangers finding it tough early on.

Darcheville was lively through the middle of the park on his own and signelled his intentions early on when he beat 4 Red Star players down the left side of Midfield and then broke into the box. Yet again after this dangerous attack, Darcheville found himself being marked by a couple of Defenders.

Red Star had 7 players booked in the full match and were clearly out to play Hard Ball trying every dirty tricks in the book. No rangers players were booked in the full match.

39 Minutes gone with no real chances, Red Star came very close to getting that cructial Away Goal. Filip Dordevic hit a fantastic volley 30 yards out but it just dipped over the crossbar!

Half Time. Rangers 0 Red Star Belgrade 0

After half time Rangers kept getting closer and closer to taking the lead with Lee McCulloch tried a looping header but the keeper took it with ease.

Macho Novo and Daniel Cousin came on after 66 minutes for DaMarcus Bealey and Jean-Claude Darcheville.

72 Minutes played and still goal less, Daniel Cousin had a shot deflected wide of the goals, before having a wonderous strike going inches over the bar.

10 minutes left on the clock and Barry Ferguson thought he had wrapped it up. He broke through the defence and tried a wonderful strike just to watch it hit the side netting!

It just delayed the Joy for the home side, however, as Novo did finally score with only 40 seconds remaining of Injury time! Lee McCulloch whipped a low cross in for Novo to meet and bury it in the bottom right corner! 1-0 Rangers!

Full Time!

Rangers 1 Red Star Belgrade 0

Novo 90 - Tutoric (Y) 13

----------- Andelkovic (Y) 29

----------- Koroman (Y) 35

----------- Raskovic (Y) 67

----------- Djordjevic (Y) 69

----------- Molina (Y) 82

----------- Castillo (Y) 90+2

As UEFA Rules state that if you get 5 or more players booked, then you get fined and Red Star Belgrade have been fined 5250 Swiss Francs which is £2000 in pounds

Reporter: Marius Dahl, Norway

Our defending line was good, but we were bad for some seconds. That was enough to give Astana a good
possibility. Alexandr Suchkov was the man for the blue team from Kazaksthan. 3-1 after 22 minutes! 11 Minutes later, and Kone was there again. An Astana defender was too far behind and Kone could run through the line without being in offside. Their keeper thought he was in offside (again) and he didnt do anything to stop the African. A strange goal and 4-1, which was the halftime result.

Murat Suyumagambeton (came on for Suchkov in the 46th minute)

Norwegian Tippeligaen, matchday 16, Lerkendal stadion, Trondheim

Reporter: Marius Dahl, Norway

Rangers FC - FK Zeta

UEFA Champions League 2nd Qualifying Round

Reporter: Cameron White, Hamilton

For a 20:05 kick off time in Glasgow for this 2nd Round Qualifying 1st leg game, 33,000 Rangers fans turned up for this leg and 0 Keta fans showed up. The Line ups were as follows:

Rangers:

Allan McGregor

Alan Hutton

David Weir

Carlos Cuellar

Sasa Papac

Lee McCulloch

Barry Ferguson

Brahim Hemdani

Charlie Adam (off 45)

Kris Boyd (off 63)

Jean Claude Darcheville (off 83)

Subs:

Nacho Novo (on 45)

DaMarcus Beasley

Filip Sebo (on 83)

Kevin Thomson

Kirk Broadfoot (on 63)

Andy Webster

Roy Carroll

Zeta:

Sasa Ivanovic

Blazo Igumanovic

Miroslav Kaludjerovic

Milan Vuckovic

Milan Radulovic (off 78)

Janko Tumbassovic

Marco Cetkovic (off 84)

Darko Markovic

Bojan Ivanovic

Zarko Korac

Slaven Stjepanovic

Subs:

Zarija Pelicic

Vladimir Boljevic (on 84)

Danilo Culafic

Mirko Marinkovic

Vladen Pelicic

Nenad Djurovic (on 78)

Dejan Mustur

Rangers looked as though Kris Boyd would score only after 10 seconds on the clock when Hutton played a long ball to Boyd with Boyd smashing a left-foot shot off the post!

He came close again 2 minutes on the clock when he redirected a powerful cross by Adam but saw it go inches wide!

Bojan Ivanovic had a chance to trouble McGregor but he put it well wide after 16 minutes.

Zeta's defence continued to fight with purpose and their back 4 looked determined to stop the gers strikers getting any clearcut chances, It looked as though this tactic was paying off for them when they counter attacked a Rangers attack to win a Freekick 20 yards out. Bojan Ivanovic steped up for the freekick but sent it Inches wide with McGregor rooted in his spot.

The rest of the first half was basicly a Midfeild battle and Eventually the half time whistle went with the score still deadlocked.

Walter Smith made one change at Half Time which was Adam for Novo. He put McCulloch on the left and Novo on the right hoping Novo can use his speed to cause the defence some trouble.

48th minute and Rangers should of went one-nil up! Novo crossed for the right wing to find Sasa Ivanovic cleared the ball out 25 yards to find Ferguson, Sasa Ivanovic Failed to hold on to the ball again and then Boyd, somehow put the ball sky high from 5 yards out! 

6 minutes later and Rangers finally broke the deadlock! Novo crossed from the right from a corner to find it being cleared out to David Weir. David Weir then lofted it back in the box. Sasa Ivanovic flapped at it but Darcheville put the keeper under pressure and the ball bounced in the net! 1-0 Rangers!

The game went all Silent after Alan Hutton got sent off moments later after the goal. Hutton got booked for complaining about his tackle on Zarko. He then got his second yellow for breaking from the wall before the whistle was blowen for the freekick to be taken. Rangers down to 10 men!

72nd minute came and Rangers scored again! Ferguson played a high freekick in the danger area, Sasa Ivanovic came off the line but Darcheville beat him to the ball in the air and Lee McCulloch scrambled it in the net! 2-0 Rangers!

Full Time Finally came and Rangers go to Monterago with a 2-0 advantage!

Match: Hampshire v Essex (Pro40 League, Division 1)

Reporter: Chris Eastwood, UK

Due to the rain the day before, the game was delayed and was limited to 25 overs per side. This mean't a near Twenty20 situation - and Hampshire finished bottom of the group in that competition. Things didn't look good from the start.

Hampshire batted first, with John Crawley and Michael Lumb opening. The first over went slowly - only 3 runs scored. But straight away, the Hawks upped the pressure on the defending League champions and had 13 after the second over. The 3rd over went even better, with the score on 28-0. In the fifth over, with Hampshire on 49-0, they lost a wicket. John Crawley was out (c Ahmed b Bopara) for 10. In came the talented Sean Ervine.

Michael Lumb and Sean Ervine put on a good partnership. With the score on 109-1, Michael Lumb was run out for 62. A good innings, which came from just 40 balls. Sean Ervine followed 7 overs later, falling for 57 after being run out. His entertaining 57 came off just 38 balls.

With the off-form Chris Benham and new England player Dimitri Mascarenhas at the crease, the Hawks started to lose wickets. Benham was out (c Napier b Bichel) for 24 with Mascarenhas following shortly after for 8 (c ten Doeschate b Bopara). Nic Pothas was the next wicket to fall 37 runs later, out for 17 (c Ahmed b Palladino). Michael Carberry and Shane Warne ended the innings, with Carberry on 35* and Warne on 5*. Hampshire scored a great total of 224. Why couldn't they do this in the Twenty20 Cup...

The Essex innings

It was Essex's turn in bat now, with captain Pettini and Middlebrook opening the innings. It wasn't long before the first wicket fell, as Pettini (c Carberry b Bruce) was out for 7. Middlebrook fell shortly later, after James Bruce bowled him for 14. Hampshire new-boy Daren Powell, from the West Indies, started his Pro40 season off with a bang after getting Chopra out, LBW, for 1. Essex were now 25-3, and Hampshire looked to be in control. England's Ravi Bopara was out for 21 (c Bruce b Ervine) shortly after. A 103 run partnership followed, and the Eagles looked to be back in the game. Grant Flower was eventually out for 54 (c Powell b Udal) with Foster out after for 61 (c Mascarenhas b Powell). Dutchman ten Doeschate followed 3 runs later, out for 21 after being caught LBW by Powell.

With the game entering the closing stages, Napier was out (c Pothas b Powell) for 5 and Palladino was run out for 0. Essex needed 5 off the last ball - which never happened. Hampshire won by 2 runs in a thrilling encounter, with the Hawks taking 2 points and the defending champions leaving with 0.

Hampshire: Carberry, Crawley, Lumb, Benham, Udal, Pothas (wk), Mascarenhas, Ervine, Warne (c), Powell, Bruce
Essex: Pettini (c), Chopra, Bopara, Flower, Ahmed, Foster (wk), ten Doeschate, Middlebrook, Bichel, Napier, Palladino

Rangers FC Vs Chelsea FC

Ibrox Stadium, Glasgow

Reporter: Cameron White

Rangers Fc Starting XI:

McGregor, Hutton, Weir, Papac, Ferguson, Hemdani, Boyd, Adam, Darcheville, Cuellar and McCulloch.

Subs that came on: Carroll (McGregor 45), Murray (Hutton 45), Webster (Weir 45), Broadfoot (Papac 45), Novo (Boyd 45), Burke (Adam 81), Beasley (Darcheville 45), Sebo (McCulloch 62)

Subs not used: Smith, Thomson, Sionko, Gow

Chelsea Starting XI:

Cech, Johnson, Terry, Tal Ben Haim, Diarra, J. Cole, Lampard, Sidwell, Malouda, Shevchenko and Drogba.

Subs that came on: Cudicini (Cech 45), Cole (Johnson 62), Carvalho (Diarra 45), Mikel (J. Cole 46), Malouda (Wright-Phillips 45), Pizzaro (Shevchenko 45), Sinclair (Drogba 70)

Subs not used: Hilario, Ferreria and Hucthison.

50,380 fans turned up for the show at Ibrox for a 3 o'clock kick off. The game was live on Chelsea TV and Rangers TV.

Chelsea were the one's to get the match under way and almost scored after 20 seconds! Shevchenko picked the ball up on the left and played a lovely square ball to new boy Steve Sidwell, who's shot went well wide.

After the three minute mark, Rangers should of went 1-0 up. David Weir played a long ball over the top to Kris Boyd, who beat the Defensive line but he took a bad touch and Cech picked the loose ball up.

The match was quiet all the way up to the 25th minute, when Barry Ferguson brought down Malouda and then Drogba pushed away the captin before being booed by the Rangers fans.

The match got exciting again when 35 minutes was played, Malouda got his Revenge on Ferguson with a late challenge.

With 3 minutes left of the first half, Malouda shot from 25 yards out but just went wide.

Half Time came and the entertainment for the fans was really nice cheerleaders  lol

When Sebo came on, after his first minute on, he got clobbered by John Terry and the Referee had to issue a Yellow Card for Terry.

Sebo was in the mood for finishing but when Novo set him up he scuffed it well wide, What a Sitter!

Wright-Phillips picked up the ball up on the right side of the 18 yard-box and his cutback found Pizzaro. His shot was blocked by Webster but then Roy Carroll made a stop to John Obi Mikel's scorching 20 yard strike.

Novo who then shot from 20 yards out with 5 minutes to go, found its way past Cudicini like a bullet! 1-0 Rangers!!! 

Sebo then scored again 1 minute after Novo with an aid of deflection found its self in the top bag! What and Goal and 2-0 Rangers!!!

The Full Time Whistle went and the Rangers celebrated a really good win

Reporter: Marius Dahl, Norway

I was late and didnt go into the stadium before 30 seconds were played. And I didnt have to wait for long for the first goal. I had just founded my seat when Didier Ya Konan, one of the heroes against Viking, scored a strange goal. A beautiful attack ended up with a bad shot by the African, but Norways second keeper Rune Jarstein let the ball go past him.

Rosenborg went on creating chances, but Odd defended well, even though the start was bad. Rosenborg did a few mistakes in the defending line which gave Odd a few possibilities. But the men dressed in black couldnt get the ball between the posts. Rosenborg,s chances were not that big either. Skjelbred had a nice shot from distance, but the ball didnt hit the target. Øyvind Storflor, who played instead of a tired Braaten, impressed in his wing role. I would say that he was better than Braaten too. Braaten, who according to Daily Mirror said no to a contract with the Premiership team Bolton. Hearts, Hibernian and Lens does also watch the 25 year old striker whos a bit unpopular in Trondheim after his bad games lately. Therefore does many fans hope for a transfer so we can get some money for him. Cause if he stay, he will go for free in January 2008.

The first half was not that good. Odd defended well but didnt create chances. The team whos very involved in the
relegation battle has many cup titles from earlier. They won a lot before the second world war, but they did only win one title after the war, in 2000 against Viking.

5.165 Spectators saw the game in the rainy weather. The early cup rounds is not that popular in Norway. Rosenborg has usualy 20.000 people at every game in Tippeligaen.

The 5.000 people saw an undeservly equalaize at the begging of the second half. Odd Grenland needed a death ball to score at Lerkendal. Morten Fevang was the man for the guests.

-We have played bad in the cup this year. Even today, when we have an early lead, said a sad manager Knut Tørum to RBKTV.
-The first 20 minutes were good, but later on we just got more and more bad. We were agreed of being better in the half time, but the things that we did better in the second half were very sporadic.

Rosenborg should decided the match in the first half. Instead of doing that, they were now equal with them. So they started a bit faster during their attacks, but neither Marek Sapara,s freekicks nor corners reached the head of Steffen Iversen. Mikael Dorsin and Øyvind Storflor did play well also, but their passes did never ended up with a dangerous chance. Therefore, did they have to shoot from distance, which ended up in the hands of Jarstein, or at the seats behind the goal. It didnt help with the fact that Daniel Braaten came on either. His lazy style made the attacks even worse.

At least one substitute was good. A another talented Ivornian, Abdulrazak Traorè, who has had an injury for a while, made some color and ideas in the attack, but Rune Jarstein closed the goal. You should not be surprised if you find this player in a bigger club later.

The biggest chance from the hometeam was by Steffen Iversen. He got through once, but his lob did not go over Jarstein, who catched control and saved the cup dream for Oddrane.

Odd Grenland did not create a lot either, just a few death balls which ended up without any sucsess.

-Rosenborg were best in the first half, but they let us have the ball more in the second half. Then we got more self-confidence, said Odd Grenlands manager Arne Sandstø, who has been in the club since 1998.

We did expect extra time now. Three mins were added. But then did Odd complete the bad day for the Core. An Odd player ran through the midfield at the right side and found Jacob Sørensen. The Danish found the road to the net and made our reality even more grey than the weather. We did raise up and go when he scored, but we had a little hope, seeing as three minutes were added. But Steffen Iversen did not hit the ball in the last seconds, so the whistle by the refree made the fans going crazy. This team will not qualify for the Champions League, they said, and the words did not lie.

Odd Grenland leftTrondheim with a ticket for the quarterfinals.

-We were not motivaited for this match, we didnt have intention and guts. I miss players that does the team better when the team mates are going down, players who collects the team, said Tørum. 

Rosenborg BallKlub - Odd Grenland, Lerkendal stadion, Trondheim, 25th of July 2007
               2                -         1
Konan, 2                           Fevang, 61
                                         Sørensen, 90

Rangers FC - AFC Ajax

Reporter: Cameron White, Hamilton 

Fans from both Teams gathered in Ibrox for this Freidnly Clash between the both sides. Ibrox was completly bathed in Sunlight and the Pitch was in Perfect Condition. 32, 770 Fans turned up for this match between the two sides.

Line up for Rangers (4-4-2):

McGregor

Hutton               Weir                Cuellar               Papac

McCulloch        Hemdani           Ferguson           Adam

Darcheville        Boyd

Subs: Broadfoot (Came on for Papac after 50 minutes),

Beasley (Came on for McCulloch after 60 minutes),

Burke (Came on for Darcheville after 60 minutes),

Sebo (Came on for Boyd after 75 minutes),

Carroll, Novo, Webster, Murray, Gow and Sionko

Line up for Ajax (3-5-2):

Stekelenburg

Colin             Maduro            Vermaelen 

Kennedy       Ogararu         Heitinga      Sneijder         Emanuelson

Goosens          Huntelaar                          

Subs: Anita (came on for Maduro after 80 mins),

Rommedahl (Came on for Ogararu after 45 mins),

Donald (Came on for Sneijder after 73 mins),

Delorge (Came on for Goosens after 62 mins),

Jeijbolk, Stam, Van Der Weil and Gentenaar

The game kicked off and Straight away Rangers attacked. Adam played a long Diagonal ball staraight to the feet of  McCulloch and the Rangers attack was on. Darcheville made a super run down to the box, McCulloch saw the run and passed it straight to Darcheville. Darcheville took it first time but saw it soaring over the bar after 9 seconds.

Emanuelson skipped past three Rangers players and saw the run by Kennedy and played a great ball over the top. Kennedy played a low cross into the box for Huntelaar but Cuellar read it well and cleared it away.

Rangers were awarded a Freekick after 18 minutes and Hemdani made use of a quick freekick and played the long ball to McCulloch. McCulloch with his skills, jinked a defender, tried to get the cross in but the defender recovered well and deflected it out for a corner kick. Adam put the corner in to the box, The ball soared to the back post, where Cuellar was there to notch his first goal for Rangers on his home Debut!

1-0 Rangers!

Rangers could of made it 2-0, three minutes later, when McCulloch had flashed a low shot from the right angle of the post.

McGregor was finally called into action after 39 minutes when Kennedy curled one from the edge of the box and McGregor punched it away to deny Huntelaar the rebound.

Darcheville, who hasn't netted for Rangers yet, got a booking after an unfairly challenge on him when he went for a shoulder barge against Ogararu. Ogararu over-reacted and started a little fight between him and Darcheville. Ogararu went for Darcheville but the french man saw it coming and he then over-reacted too.

Half Time came and the two teams went in to the dressing rooms with the score 1-0 Rangers

Boyd was at the centre of Rangers' opening chance of the second half, when Hutton collected throw in 25 yards out and played a cross over the top for Boyd. Boyd headered it but the Ajax keeper tipped it over the bar for a corner.

Ajax eventually brought them selves into the game when Kennedy powered down the right to drill a low cross into the box for Heitinga to stab home!

DaMarcus Beasley and Chris Burke came on and Beasley made an almost impact on the game when he set up Kris Boyd. After Beasley was played into the box, Ajax's keeper was out to him already and Beasley evaded a challenge from the keeper to take it out wide to the touchline. Boyd was at the back post waiting for the cross to come but the keeper got a finger-tip on the ball to put it out for what should of been a corner.

McGregor kept Rangers in the match with 11 minutes left on the clock when Kennedy was through. Kennedy shot but McGregor was down in a flash with the ball in his arms .

The rest of the match was a midfield battle but overall it was a great match!

Norwegian Tippeligaen, matchday 14, Lerkendal stadion, Trondheim

Reporter: Marius Dahl, Norway

Preview:
Rosenborg began the 2007 season deceptive and needed a win against the form team Viking FK from Stavanger at Sunday night. Those two teams opened the season with a 1-1 draw at Viking Stadium at 9th of April, but this time wouldnt a draw been good enough for the fans.

Viking were bad in the begining, but won six games in a row before the holiday. Rosenborg didnt do well at all in the end. Two draws at home, include a 2-2 match against Aalesund (see report). Therefore were the fans hungry for three points, which would been relaxing for the team whos going to the Champions League about two weeks. Rosenborg were doing it bad last year too, but after winning 10 by the last 12 games, Rosenborg won the league again. The team who were beaten in the last match was Viking actually, so Rosenborg were celebrating their 20th title after a 4-1 win. Viking were close going down after that match, but luckely (for Vikings part) did HamKam lose to Stabæk, so they went down instead. The Viking fans demaned a better sort of Viking a head of this season, so they got the German Uwe Rösler as their new coach. Rösler got the sack in Lillestrøm a few weeks later, but the former Manchester City player was good enough for them however.

While Viking were 4th before this game, were Rosenborg 6th. And after SK Brann,s 3-0 defeat against Stabæk earlier that night, were Brann in the lead, 10 points a head of Rosenborg, 5 a head of Viking.

Last five matches in Trondheim:
2006: 4-1
2005: 0-2
2004: 0-0
2003: 4-1
2002: 0-2

Lars Hirscfeld
Roar Strand, Christer Basma, Bjørn Tore Kvarme, Mikael Dorsin
Marek Sapara, Alexander Tettey, Per Ciljan Skjelbred
Didier Ya Konan, Steffen Iversen, Daniel Braaten

Substitues:

Øyvind Storflor (came in for Braaten in the 85th minute)
Fredrik Stoor (came in for Strand in the 67th minute)

Iven Austbø
Børre Steenslid, Peter Abelson, Ragnvald Soma, Thomas Pereira
Jone Samuelsen, Nicolai Stokholm, Andrè Danielsen
Søren Berg, Peter Ijeh, Allan Gaarde

Substitutes:

Razak Pimpong (came in for Abelson in the 81th minute)
Hannes Sigurdsson (came in for Berg in the 75th minute)
Alexander Ødegaard (came in for Gaarde in the 46th minute)

Refree: Tom Henning Øvrebø


For my own part, was this a special match. Im now a official member of Kjernen (the Core), which is Rosenborg,s supporter club. I met up 1 hour before the game, and many people were all ready there. The weather was a bit rainy, but that was good because I had a little head ache because of all the sun earlier. 19.000 were coming to Lerkendal this night, not a lot from Viking, tho. Three points were needed...

Boring first half:

The Core were expecting a hungry Rosenborg team, but it was the guests from Stavanger who had the biggest chances. As always, words like lazy and slow were usen about Steffen Iversen. He didnt do well, and many of our supporters means that talents should play instead of him. Viking were the best team at the ground, after some good shots. Rosenborg had many corners, but they didnt result in goals. Exept one.
Steffen Iversen was taking the ball down to the Ivoran Didier Konan, who scored a beauty. Rosenborg were 1-0 up at halftime, a bit undeservly.

But that was not important. This sport count goals.

Iversen show:

The Rosenborg defenders cathed control in the second half and they started to attack faster and better. The top scorer of the league, Peter Ijeh from Nigeria, was chanceless against Basma and Kvarme and he lost each duel. And the 2-0 goal was not far away. A new corner from the Slovakian Marek Sapara was headed in the net by Steffen Iversen, who showed muscels against the defender. A fine goal by Iversen, who had a great time in the second half. Rosenborg were better, but Viking had a big chance in the second half too. A corner ended up on Ijeh,s head, but the ball hit the post, in a situation where Rosenborg didnt have control at all. But luckely, for us, we went out of the situation without a goal against us. Viking were a bit frustrated, while Braaten and Iversen finnaly woke up. Braaten, who was seen by a French top team tonight, stole the ball from Ragnvald Soma and gave Iversen a big chance. But the lob went over the target.

And Iveren was not finished: A new great attack, produced by Marek Sapara, ended up in the penalty area. And who else than Steffen Iversen sent the ball into the top corner. A beauty which made us going bananas.
3-0 and beautiful goals. What a perfect time. Iversen was the leading role, and Marek Sapara was the producer.

Amazing substitute:
15 Minutes left. 0-2. Something has to be done. So Uwe Rösler takes out a tired Søren Berg and takes in Hannes Sigurdsson. The Icelandic used to be a goal scorer for the club, but after a goal less period did he find his seat at the bench. But he seems to be back now. Because while Rosenborg were celebrating, did Hannes find the road to the goal twice. Even tho both of them was a result of lazy defending by RBK, it was a good time for him. 15 Minutes and two goals! Didier Konan did also score his second for the night, so the end result was 4-2. Six goals and three goal scorers.

Man of the match:
No doubt. He is the playmaker at Rosenborg. He runs, tackles, shoots, and his right foot is made of steel and silk. He is Slovakian. The fans sings "Oh ah Sapara" and they loves his dance when he scores. His name is Marek Sapara. With players like him, Im surprised of the low quality at the Slovakian national team. Even tho he didnt score, he was the producer of three of the goals. His freekicks and corners does always end up in a goal or a good chance. He is Rosenborg,s key player. He is the number one. Oh Ah Sapara!

Another good player at Rosenborg was Didier Konan. A good techinc and some good goals. Steffen Iversen scored twice, but he didnt do anything else. Roar Strand and Mikael Dorsin worked like the old Egyptian slaves.
And of-course Hannes Sigurdsson. But he didnt play that long.

-It was OK:
Steffen Iversen knows that this win wont count if they goes on losing points. So he was not in heaven, even tho he scored twice and even tho his team won.
"It was OK", said the player with 9 goals this season. Even tho he had a typical Iversen smile while he said it, he mean it. This win is not good enough yet. They gotta look forward to the next game, which is Tromsø away.
"We were good in the second half. Fast and good attacks. We used to be too fast earlier".

Rosenborg manager Knut Tørum was unhappy for the two goals for Viking, and he said that they let them score:
"In its entirety we were good. We combines with a defencive security which makes us stronger. The two goals we got against us were unecessery, but it happends when the match was over", said the manager.

Viking,s manager, Uwe Rösler, does not take self-critisicm because he didnt let Sigurdsson play from the begging.
"My line ups has sent us to the 4th place. We had six wins in a row before this game. My tactics couldnt been that bad", said the German who was happy for the team anyway. Hannes Sigurdsson was not unhappy either.
"I wanna play, of-course, but I have to support Rösler,s decissions. He is the boss."

Rosenborg BK - Viking FK 4-2
1-0, Didier Konan, 22
2-0, Steffen Iversen, 49
3-0, Steffen Iversen, 82
3-1, Hannes Sigurdsson, 86
4-1, Didier Konan, 87
4-2, Hannes Sigurdsson, 90

Place: Lerkendal stadion, Trondheim
Time: 8:00 PM (Norwegian time)
Spectators: 18.893
Chances: 9-6

Norwegian Tippeligaen matchday 13, Lerkendal stadion, Trondheim (Norway)

Reporter: Marius Dahl, Norway

Adin Brown and Aalesund stole a point from Lerkendal. Steffen Iversen is confused. (Photo: VG.no)
The Norwegian top league match between Rosenborg and Aalesund ended in a special way. Aalesund,s keeper Adin Brown scored and gave Aalesund a 2-2 draw in Trondheim.

Preview:
The Norwegian Leagues are taking a break for two weeks, so the match between Rosenborg BK and Aalesund FK was the end of the 13th round, which is the round that completes the spring part of the season. A good, sunny weather might been the reason of why so many people went to the match. It was not a top game at all. Rosenborg were doing it bad during the 12 first rounds and they are now 10 points behind the leader of the league, Stabæk. Aalesund did also lose a lot of points at the begging, but they were expecting it, seing as they were promoted. Aalesund were having the play-off spot before this game, which was supposed to be the hardest of the season. Even though Rosenborg were losing many points, they were still the favourites a head of this game, which was seen by 20.320 spectators, many of them from Aalesund. The orange supporters had a good level on the sound during the match, and the half part of the ground was covered by orange paper.

Rosenborg are about to play Champions League again, so everything is normal in Trondheim, altough 10 points behind the leader makes the reality more grey.
But Rosenborg has showed many comebacks earlier, and with a win against Aalesund could Rosenborg take a holiday with 7 points up to Stabæk. There was also some injuries a head of this game. Captain Roar Strand (midfield) is injured, and so is Vidar Riseth (defender) and Michael Jamtfall (striker, substitute) too.That did not make the supporters scared, tho, because Rosenborgs squad is still good, and even better than Aalesunds one. Their manager Knut Tørum said that Rosenborg would have focus on being fast in the attacking play.

A point in Trondheim would been a present for Aalesund, in their battle of another year in the Norwegian Tippeligaen. Aalesund are tired of getting down, so this year might be a key year for the club and for the fans. The fans does never give up, and there was thousands of fans from Aalesund. Stormen ("The Storm") is actually one of the better supporter clubs in Norway. And the player that The Storm had to trust in Trondheim, was the keeper Adin Brown. The American is a very good keeper and has saved many important points for AaFK. Their tall striker Tor Hogne Aarøy was also a key player for the night. He is 204 cm and the tallest footballer in the world!

Rosenborg (4-3-3):
Lars Hirscfeld
Fredrik Stoor - Christer Basma - Alejandro Lago - Mikael Dorsin
Marek Sapara - Alexander Tettey - Per Ciljan Skjelbred
Didier Ya Konan - Steffen Iversen - Daniel Braaten

Substitutes:
Øyvind Storflor (came in for Didier Konan in the 89th minute)
Abudl Traorè (cam in for Per Ciljan Skjelbred in the 88th minute)

Aalesund (4-4-2):
Adin Brown
Enar Jääger - Benjamin Kibebe - Haraldur Freyr Gudmundsson - Gustave Bahoken
Magnus Kihlberg - Karl Oskar Fjørtoft - Amund Skiri - Jeffrey Aubynn
Joakim Austnes - Tor Hogne Aarøy

Substitutes:
Lasse Olsen (came in for Gustave Bahoken in the 81th minute)
Diego Silva (came in for Jeffrey Aubynn in the 69th minute)
Trond Fredriksen (came in for Karl Oskar Fjørtoft in the 69th minute)


Rosenborg,s goal problem:
Rosenborg needed a win and were starting to attack from the begging. The hometeam were close the leadergoal after 12 seconds. Aalesund were taking kick-off and sent the ball up against the right corner. Rosenborg,s left back Mikael Dorsin stole the ball and gave Steffen Iversen a good chance. Iversen was totaly alone against Adin Brown, but the American saved masterly. And so went the half on: Rosenborg were wasting chances. Daniel Braaten were through a coupple of times, but the much-coveted striker couldnt outwit Adin Brown. However, Braaten was the best player of the ground in the first half, with his good techinc and his good runs, he was a constant threat. His shots was of a high class as well, but Adin Brown stopped them all. Another good player at Rosenborg was the Slovakian Marek Sapara. His rightfoot has to be made of something special. He had the biggest chance of the first half, with a freekick that Adin Brown had to do a corner of. The teams went into the dressing room at 0-0, which is a result that Rosenborg supporters hates at Lerkendal.

Effective Aalesund:
The second half couldnt started better for Aalesund: Joakim Austnes ran up against Rosenborg,s left side and sent the ball to Jeffrey Aubynn, who could score easy. The goal was his first for Aalesund, in his first match! And what a time for doing it. 0-1 and the Rosenborg fans imagine a new bad result. Rosenborg tried to get a fast equalaize, but they didnt get through Aalesund,s defending line, who had even more self-confidence. However, the equalaize was not far away; Steffen Iversen used his head and made 1-1 in the 55th minute. A good pass by Fredrik Stoor made the goal that calmed their supporters down a little. Rosenborg went on creating chances, and 7 minutes later were the 2-1 goal a reality. Steffen Iversen takes the ball down to Daniel Braaten, who runs the ball into the goal. Rosenborg has turned the game. The rest of the half was owned by Rosenborg, but they never had the 3-1 goal, unbelievebal. Once again had Braaten an amazing chance: The ball ended up in front of him after a great attack, but instead of taking the ball down and go closer, he just shot. The shot was a bad sort too, so Adin Brown didnt have any problems. And they were even closer at the stoppage time: Aalesund had a corner and Adin Brown was in the penalty area to help his team mates. But they failed and Rosenborg were having an open goal in the other side. Aalesund had to stop them, but Rosenborg got a freekick. Marek Sapara was taking it fast, but shot outside of the target from 50 meters. Anyway: 2-1 and three points for Rosenborg. But then...
Watch Aalesunds leader goal here: http://webtv.tv2.no/sumo/?treeId=250&progId=182621
Watch Iversen,s 1-1 goal here: http://webtv.tv2.no/sumo/?treeId=250&progId=182622
Watch Braaten,s 2-1 goal here: http://webtv.tv2.no/sumo/?treeId=250&progId=182623

Daniel Braaten (from behind) does 2-1 after a good pass by Iversen (14). (Photo: rbkweb.com)

Keeper goal:
Throw in for Aalesund, from the left corner flag. This is the last chance. Rosenborg fans is screaming because they can see an open goal at the other side of the pitch. 3-1! But Adin Brown has other plans: The long throw in from substitute Lasse Olsen ended up on Adin Browns head. 2-2, an extremely undeservly goal.
But that didnt care Adin Brown nor their fans. Their fans were celebrating like if they had win a million dollar. And Adin Brown could celebrate his first goal in Tippeligaen-at Lerkendal. What a feeling. While the Rosenborg fans were starting to leave the stadium, and while Aalesund were celebrating an important point, were Rosenborg players around the refree. They ment that keeper Lars Hirscfeld was prevented by a Aalesund player. The refree, Terje Hauge (Champions League final in 2006), got a lot of protests, especialy from Steffen Iversen, who got a yellow card for some swearing words against Hauge. The whistle for full time came while I was in the floor, angry as ****.

"Should been annuled":
Rosenborg manager Knut Tørum and keeper Lars Hirschfeld had no doubt: The goal should been judged as a freekick for Hirscfeld.
"Aalesunds Kibebe ran into me so I couldnt get out. It is a freekick. Just watch the situation self," said a very angry Hirscfeld to TV2 after the match.
"Its a freekick, but its unnecessary to give Aalesund that chance at stoppage time," was Tørum,s comment to TV2.
Aalesund,s managaer Per Joar Hansen (former Rosenborg actually) had a another view:
"I,ve seen that other refrees has judged goals in such a situations like that earlier"
Are you agreed with Lars Hirscfeld? Watch the goal here: http://webtv.tv2.no/sumo/?treeId=250&progId=182628

0-1, J.Aubynn, 46

1-1, S.Iversen, 55

2-1, D.Braaten, 62

2-2, A.Brown, 93

See highlights of the game: http://webtv.tv2.no/webtv/?progId=182639

Match: Hampshire v Sussex (Twenty20 Cup; South Conference. Rose Bowl)

Reporter: Chris Eastwood, UK

Sussex easily beat Hampshire by 9 wickets in a match reduced to 13 overs a side.

Hampshire batted first and started very slowly. They scored 2 in the first over. Hampshire were slowly scoring all match, eventually hitting 103. Adam Voges, signed from Western Australia for the Twenty20 Cup, scored 66* after previous low scores for the Hawks. Michael Lumb, his opening partner, got 1, Ervine scored 12 and Chris Benham finished on 10*.

Sussex started off badly, with Chris Tremlett bowling Murray Goodwin for 0. Hampshire fans started dreaming of a victory, but with Chris Adams and Luke Wright hitting 4s and 6s all over the place, the end result was obvious. Chris Adams ended on 56*, off just 27 balls with Luke Wright hitting 49* off 29 balls. Sussex won by 9 wickets.

Hampshire:  Voges, Lumb, Benham, Carberry, Lamb, Adams, Pothas (wk, cpt), Ervine, Tremlett, Bruce, Taylor
Sussex: Smith, Goodwin, Wright, Adams (cpt), Hopkinson, Rayner, Martin-Jenkins, Hodd (wk), Naved-ul-Hasan, Ahmed, Kirtley