Spain 2-0 England
There is arguably no shame in being beaten by the Euro 2008 winners, but this match was a bit of a one sided affair. If England eventually meet the same opposition in the 2010 World Cup, their aims might be quickly extinguished. It is true that England were without such stalwarts as Gerrard, Rooney, and Walcott, but that is a situation that could befall any side. In the big competitions you need to have more than a handful of players who can do the business.
On the plus side, this was England's first defeat in nine games, but it will remind all concerned that there is much work to do, and no room for complacency. The Spanish team remain a power to be reckoned with, and the way they move the ball is a pleasure to watch. They are totally unafraid of passing the ball to players who are tightly marked, demonstrating their justified belief in their own technical ability.
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There is an element of luck in any game, and if Agbonlahor's volley had put England in front early in the game, it might have instilled a measure of confidence. As it happened it was just wide, and their position wasn't helped when Heskey was fouled when he in a good scoring position.
If England started off best, their early promise soon evaporated, as Spain confidently took command. They kept possession passing the ball from man to man, and there was precious little the visitors could do about it. In the 36th minute, Euro Golden Boot winner, Villa, put his side in front with an exquisite piece of football. He danced past Jagielka and Terry, before placing the ball past James in the coolest manner possible.
Spain's continuing attacks only served to show that England are a bit lacking in this respect. The midfield too seemed to be controlled by Spain and England's first half goalkeeper James was having a bit of an off day.
Capello introduced five substitutes at half time, including the redoubtable Frank Lampard, and crowd favourite David Beckham, celebrating a record 108 midfield caps, only equalled by the great Bobby Moore. It is not difficult to see why Beckham still represents his country. His accurate passes are something that many of his team-mates should learn from, because you can't score unless the ball is in the right place! He set up Wright-Phillips and Reina needed two attempts to keep him out.
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Eight minutes before time Llorente headed home a second to make Spain's lead unassailable. The game was essentially good spirited but Beckham received a yellow card for dissent just before the end. He was being a bit churlish but there is no doubt that he likes to win, and for all of his thirty-three years, he played at least as well as others in the team.
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Spain 2-0 England
soccer and football
Spain 2-0 England
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Monday, February 09, 2009
Portsmouth 2-3 Liverpool - Tony Adams Sacked
This was a game that Portsmouth could and should have won. They played well enough but surrendered at the end, to something of a sucker punch, when Fernando Torres introduced late as a not so secret weapon, headed a missile past goalkeeper James.
Most of the action, and all of the goals came in the second half, with Nugent opening the scoring for Pompey in the 62nd minute, targeting the ball under Reina's body. The lead was short lived, as Aurelio levelled the scores with a superb free kick that resulted from a suicidal back pass from Peter Crouch, which may have cost his side the game.
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Portsmouth went ahead again in the 78th minute, when Hreidarsson headed home a peculiar goal which Reina, perhaps, ought to have saved. It seemed all the home side needed to do was hold on, against what appeared to be a lack lustre Liverpool performance. Unfortunately the visitors were not done with.
Liverpool began to look dangerous, and in the 85th minute substitute Dirk Kuyt put them level for the second time, in a seesaw sort of game. Manager Tony Adams seemed to be feeling the pressure, as he lashed out with his foot at a seat or something else nearby. It had looked as though his side were going to get all the points but the pendulum was swinging.
In the dying second Torres won the game for Liverpool with a fine header from an accurate pass by Benayoun. The Anfield squad had won the day, seemingly against the odds, although a relieved Benitez might claim that it was all part of a clever plan! As for the luckless Tony Adams it was subsequently announced that he is to be replaced. The writing was on the wall as a result of a string of poor results since the departure of Harry Redknapp. It will be a stiff job for a successor to steer Pompey out of the relegation zone.
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Portsmouth 2-3 Liverpool Tony Adams Sacked
soccer and football
Portsmouth 2-3 Liverpool Tony Adams Sacked
Most of the action, and all of the goals came in the second half, with Nugent opening the scoring for Pompey in the 62nd minute, targeting the ball under Reina's body. The lead was short lived, as Aurelio levelled the scores with a superb free kick that resulted from a suicidal back pass from Peter Crouch, which may have cost his side the game.
Please Click Here to visit the Worldsoccer-Online Web Site
Portsmouth went ahead again in the 78th minute, when Hreidarsson headed home a peculiar goal which Reina, perhaps, ought to have saved. It seemed all the home side needed to do was hold on, against what appeared to be a lack lustre Liverpool performance. Unfortunately the visitors were not done with.
Liverpool began to look dangerous, and in the 85th minute substitute Dirk Kuyt put them level for the second time, in a seesaw sort of game. Manager Tony Adams seemed to be feeling the pressure, as he lashed out with his foot at a seat or something else nearby. It had looked as though his side were going to get all the points but the pendulum was swinging.
In the dying second Torres won the game for Liverpool with a fine header from an accurate pass by Benayoun. The Anfield squad had won the day, seemingly against the odds, although a relieved Benitez might claim that it was all part of a clever plan! As for the luckless Tony Adams it was subsequently announced that he is to be replaced. The writing was on the wall as a result of a string of poor results since the departure of Harry Redknapp. It will be a stiff job for a successor to steer Pompey out of the relegation zone.
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Portsmouth 2-3 Liverpool Tony Adams Sacked
soccer and football
Portsmouth 2-3 Liverpool Tony Adams Sacked
Monday, February 02, 2009
Liverpool 2-0 Chelsea
Fernando Torres bagged a pair of late goals, to keep Liverpool in touch with Manchester United at the top of the Premiership. A draw would have been a better result for Sir Alex but his side still look comfortable at the top, and it will possibly be a case of 'catch us if you can' for the rest of the season.
In this particular game a better name for Chelsea, would be 'All at sea', because they don't seem to be playing with the fervour that used to be there. They will need to pull their socks up if they want to threaten the top two. However, in this instance it must be said that the sending off Frank Lampard, for a dubious foul on Alonso, did not help their case. For many spectators it was as much Alonso who was at fault. Although playing with ten men was part of the problem there is little doubt that Liverpool deserved their win, and the outcome would probably have been the same without the referee's assistance.
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Benitez would be rightly proud of his side's strong finish, with two goals in two minutes from Torres, rounding off a determined team effort. That they both came nearing the end of play, in the 89th minute and in extra time, when a draw had seemed likely, would be even more of a fillip. But Liverpool had dominated the game and they deserved to finish up with three points.
Petr Cech made a few good saves, otherwise the score line would have been higher, but for all that he didn't look quite so sharp as he used to be. He is still a first class goalkeeper but no longer the best in the world as many previously thought. You could not really judge Pepe Reina's performance at the other end because he had so little to do, and little to save from a non-existent Chelsea attack.
Deco and Drogba, were substituted for Malouda and Anelka, after 69 minutes, and that seemed to instil some urgency into the game, with Kalou having a shot at goal. However, it was a tame effort, easily collected by Reina. Then Torres decided enough was enough with two fine goals in the dying minutes, to suggest to United that at least they won't have things all their own way.
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Liverpool 2-0 Chelsea
soccer and football
Liverpool 2-0 Chelsea
In this particular game a better name for Chelsea, would be 'All at sea', because they don't seem to be playing with the fervour that used to be there. They will need to pull their socks up if they want to threaten the top two. However, in this instance it must be said that the sending off Frank Lampard, for a dubious foul on Alonso, did not help their case. For many spectators it was as much Alonso who was at fault. Although playing with ten men was part of the problem there is little doubt that Liverpool deserved their win, and the outcome would probably have been the same without the referee's assistance.
Please Click Here to visit the Worldsoccer-Online Web Site
Benitez would be rightly proud of his side's strong finish, with two goals in two minutes from Torres, rounding off a determined team effort. That they both came nearing the end of play, in the 89th minute and in extra time, when a draw had seemed likely, would be even more of a fillip. But Liverpool had dominated the game and they deserved to finish up with three points.
Petr Cech made a few good saves, otherwise the score line would have been higher, but for all that he didn't look quite so sharp as he used to be. He is still a first class goalkeeper but no longer the best in the world as many previously thought. You could not really judge Pepe Reina's performance at the other end because he had so little to do, and little to save from a non-existent Chelsea attack.
Deco and Drogba, were substituted for Malouda and Anelka, after 69 minutes, and that seemed to instil some urgency into the game, with Kalou having a shot at goal. However, it was a tame effort, easily collected by Reina. Then Torres decided enough was enough with two fine goals in the dying minutes, to suggest to United that at least they won't have things all their own way.
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Liverpool 2-0 Chelsea
soccer and football
Liverpool 2-0 Chelsea
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