Monday, 15 July 2013

Euro 2013: England Women 1-1 Russia Women

picture: zimbio.com
A stoppage time equaliser against Russia, from substitute Toni Duggan, means England Ladies remain within a faint chance of progressing from Group C.

The Everton Ladies forward netted in the dying moments of the game cancelling out Russia's first half goal from Nelli Korovkina.

Duggan had been denied moments earlier by the woodwork but her first goal for her country means a win against France on Thursday will see the Lionesses progress to the quarter-finals.

England had started the game the better of the sides as Ellen White saw her shot on the swivel sail over the Russian goal.

Karen Bardsley was called into action moments later as she was forced into a smart save, diving to her right to palm a Petrova header away from the goal.

England's bright start continued early on as Jill Scott was brilliantly denied a goal by Russian keeper Todua who tipped her effort onto the woodwork.

Despite being on the backfoot, Russia looked dangerous on the counter and nearly took the lead as Korovkina's 30 yard dipping effort sailed agonisingly wide of Bardsley's right hand upright.

At the other end, England were creating more chances as Steph Houghton headed wide when well placed, as well as Alex Scott, whose left footed shot drifted wide of the post.

With England's inability to take the lead, it was Russia who broke the deadlock in the 38th minute of the game.

A left wing cross from Elena Morozova was poorly defended by the England back line, allowing Korovkina to head past Bardsley from close range.

The goal knocked England's confidence and gave them 45 minutes to keep themselves in the competition.

They could have been level early on in the second half, but Ellen White was unable to guide a Karen Carney cross into the goal.

As time began to disappear, Hope Powell introduced the injured Kelly Smith, who replaced Houghton as a last gasp attempt to save the game.

The change paid dividend as a deflected cross from Smith fell to the foot of fellow sub Duggan who stroked the ball home from 12 yards, to give England a small chance of progressing.

Friday, 12 July 2013

Euro 2013: England Women 2-3 Spain Women


A late goal in stoppage time meant England women were left disappointed in their opening group game against Spain.

picture: UEFA.com
An own goal from goalkeeper Karen Bardsley late on meant that England’s lionesses began their European campaign with a 3-2 defeat in Linkoping.

England had thought they had salvaged a draw as Laura Bassett and Eniola Aluka had cancelled out Spanish goals from Veronica Boquete and Jennifer Hermoso. 

The game got off to a flyer as the Spanish typically dominated possession leading them to score the opening goal.

With four minutes on the clock, the ball fell to Sonia whose through ball to Boquete who slid the ball past the advancing Bardsley.

Despite the set back, England hit back immediately as well timed ball from Jill Scott found Eniola Aluko who finished well in the bottom corner.

England could have been leading moments later as Fara Williams 25 yard effort was brilliantly tipped over by Spain’s keeper Tirapu Ainhoa

The game began to calm down after the frantic start with either sides canceling each other with little being created.

The game sprung to life again just before half time as Karen Bardsley did well to tip a Sonia shot round the post before Ellen White was denied well by a last ditch tackle from Parades.  

The second half began at a slow pace with both teams once again finding it difficult to break each other down.

Spain’s number ten saw a snap shot go wide, while at the other end, Rachel Yankey’s effort was well blocked by a Spanish defender. 

The game did begin to liven up with 15 minutes remaining as a misjudgment by Bardsley saw the ball loop over the keeper who could only watch as Vicky Losada somehow hit the crossbar from three yards out. 

With only five minutes to go, the game looked like it would end level, however after England failed to clear from a corner, Jennifer Hermoso slammed the ball home.

Again just like in the first half, England hit back straight away, as a well worked corner saw Laura Bassett scoop the ball home after receiving an Anita Asante header.

With only seconds left, Spain crossed the ball from the left which struck the unfortunate Bardsley who could only watch helplessly as the ball rolled into the net. 

Line ups:

England: Bardsley, A. Scott, Stoney, Bassett, Houghton, Williams, J. Scott, Asante, Yankey (Clarke 90') Aluko (Carney 73') E. White

Spain: Ainhoa, Garcia, Torrejon, Paredes, Bermudez (Putellas 74') Meseguer, Ibarra, Hermoso, Boquete, Martin, Calderon (Losada 61')

Monday, 1 July 2013

Capital One Cup 13/14: First Round Draw

picture: telegraph.co.uk
With the new season just over a month to go, the draw for the first round of the Capital One Cup was made. Although this competition plays second fiddle to the FA Cup, last years competition proved there is still as much entertainment as the FA Cup provides. It was Bradford City who stunned everyone last season as a mesmerising run saw them make the final having beaten Arsenal and Aston Villa on their route to Wembley. The fairytale was ended by Swansea as the Premier League side ran out comfortable 5-0 winners.

This years first round draw sees relegated QPR travel to Exeter while Football League new boys Mansfield and Newport County will face Tranmere and Brighton respectively. Runners up from last year Bradford face a tricky tie as they travel to Championship side Huddersfield Town.

Teams from the Championship down to League Two will compete from the first round with 14 teams from the Premier League entering at the second stage of the competition. The remaining six teams: Man Utd, Man City, Chelsea, Arsenal, Spurs and Swansea will come in at the third stage as they are competing in Europe and to avoid fixture congestion. Wigan Athletic of the Championship will also enter at the third stage due to European commitments following their FA Cup final win. Reading will come in at the second round.

All first round ties will be played the week commencing the 5th August while the final will be held at Wembley on March 2nd 2014.

Keep up to date on EnglishFootball4U as we follow each round of the competition.

First Round Fixtures:

Bury v Crewe Alexandra
Shrewsbury v Bolton
Middlesbrough v Accrington Stanley
Doncaster v Rochdale
Preston v Blackpool
Barnsley v Scunthorpe Utd
Tranmere v Mansfield
York City v Burnley
Notts County v Fleetwood Town
Sheffield United v Burton Albion
Oldham Athletic v Derby County
Carlisle v Blackburn Rovers
Morecambe v Wolves
Notts Forest v Hartlepool Utd
Leeds Utd v Chesterfield
Huddersfield Town v Bradford City
Rotherham v Sheffield Wednesday
Port Vale v Walsall
Gillingham v Bristol City
Bournemouth v Portsmouth
Wycombe v Leicester City
Brentford v Dag & Red
Exeter v QPR
Charlton v Oxford Utd
Southend v Yeovil Town
Millwall v AFC Wimbledon
Swindon v Torquay
Birmingham City v Plymouth Argyle
Stevenage v Ipswich Town
Cheltenham v Crawley Town
Bristol Rovers v Watford
Northampton Town v MK Dons
Leyton Orient v Coventry City
Colchester Utd v Peterborough Utd
Brighton and Hove Albion v Newport County


Monday, 10 June 2013

He's back: Mourinho's top five mad moments

After much anticipation Jose Mourinho was finally unveiled as the manager of Chelsea which sees him begin his second spell as boss of the London club. Having spent only three years with Chelsea in his first spell, Mourinho was a man who was loved and disliked by football fans all over the world. To celebrate his return to the Premier League, we take a look at his top five moments which have caused a storm in the football world over the past 10 years.

1# Touchline celebration:
The famous knee slide celebration
The moment that made the football world take serious notice of the Portuguese manager, and a moment that introduced the man to England football fans. With seconds to go in the Champions League round of 16 second leg against Manchester United, Mourinho's Porto were seconds away from an away goals defeat. But a goal from Costinha with only 30 seconds to go meant that Porto snatched the win and progressed to the quarter finals. It was Mourinho's celebration that made the headlines as after witnessing the late goal, he ran down the length of the Old Trafford touchline jumping for joy, showing his complete jubilation at what had just happened. His side would go on to win the competition beating Monaco in the final, before taking the manager's hot seat at Stamford Bridge.

2# Hushing the Liverpool fans:
Mourinho's first success and trophy with Chelsea came at the Millennium Stadium as his side overcame Liverpool 3-2 after extra time in the Carling Cup final. Chelsea went a goal down early on in the game after an exquisite John Arne Riise volley. But with only eight minutes to go, Steven Gerrard flicked a floated free kick in his own net with his head to level the game up. At the time, the Liverpool skipper had been strongly linked with Chelsea and looked likely to move to Stamford Bridge in the summer. Mourinho had been continually taunted by the Liverpool fans throughout the game, and after his side had equalised, he put his finger to his lips imitating a hushing gesture. This didn't go down well with the away fans, and Mourinho was subsequently sent to the stands where he watched the remainder of the game from the stands.

3# Mourinho v Wenger:
Throughout his three years in the Premier League Mourinho's relationships and rivalries with other managers was always well publicised. In particular the rivalry with Sir Alex Ferguson was always in the spotlight and the news. However one moment that stands out is his relationship with Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger. Their rivalry reached a new low as in 2005 Mourinho had a dig at the Frenchman for his 'obsession' with Chelsea. Mourinho said: "I think he is one of these people who is a voyeur. He likes to watch other people. There are some guys who, when they are at home, have a big telescope to see what happens in other families. He speaks, speaks, speaks about Chelsea." Having made the comments, Wenger threatened legal action against Mourinho who later apologised and retracted what he had said. 

4# Mourinho v Barcelona:
During his time at Stamford Bridge, Mourinho came up against Spanish giants Barcelona on a number of occasions. One of these came before a Champions League game between the sides, Mourinho told press the side he was to play in the game on the following day. As well as this, he predicted the Barcelona team that would play as well. To everyone's surprise, Mourinho played the side he had said and was correct about the team that was selected for Barcelona. Despite the mind games and the effort to get into then Barca manager Frank Rijkaard's head, his Chelsea side were beaten. Onto the pitch and Mourinho was centre of attention once again as he produced another remarkable celebration. In a Champions League group game at the Nou Camp in 2006, Chelsea found themselves 2-1 down. However a late strike from Didier Drogba set the Portuguese man off into a knee slide celebration down the touchline. 

5# 'I am the Special One'
Fresh from his Champions League final success with Porto, Jose Mourinho was introduced as Chelsea manager in 2004. In his first press conference Mourinho said: "I'm not a defender of old or new football managers. I believe in good ones and bad ones, those that achieve success and those that don't. Please don't call me arrogant, but I'm a European champion and I think I'm a special one." Since this moment, Mourinho was known in the media and the footballing world as the 'special one'. His witty arrogance in interviews and press conferences made him difficult to like, but having produced so much success on the field, there's no questioning how good a manager he is.

Premier League 2012/13: Season review

It was always going to be difficult to follow up the events of last season, but despite this, we were still treated to some exciting football throughout the season of 12/13 in the Premier League. This season has also seen some of the finest players to grace the Premier League hang their boots up and retire. Jamie Carragher, Michael Owen, Paul Scholes alongside PSG's David Beckham the most notable. They were joined by Sir Alex Ferguson who after 26 years as manager at Manchester United, decided it was his time to retire from the game.

It was Ferguson's side that won the race for the title taking it back from rivals City making it 20 league titles for the Scot. United finished 11 points clear of Mancini's men making it the perfect send off for Sir Alex. City were far from the side that pinched the league title last year, with significant injuries and poor signings in the transfer window to blame. Games they would have coasted a year ago were lost and drawn with players putting in far too many inconsistent performances. The signing of Robin Van Persie was particularly crucial with the former Arsenal man the Premier League's top goalscorer for United with 26 league goals to his name. City's top marksman in the league was Sergio Aguero who only managed the 12 league goals.

Sir Alex claimed his 20th league title
With the title decided before the close of the season, all eyes were on the race for the final Champions League position. With Chelsea filling the third place, it was North London sides Arsenal and Spurs who were battling for the final position. It came down to the final game of the season with Arsenal holding the advantage. Spurs needed to better Arsenal's result to stand a chance, but with both sides winning their games, it was Arsenal who took the place, leaving Spurs in fifth and playing in the Europa League next year.

Down at the other end of the table, Wigan Athletic once again found themselves in another relegation battle. However it wasn't to be for them as they couldn't make another miraculous escape. Roberto Martinez's men will now play in the Championship having had eight years in the top flight. They were  joined by QPR and Reading, with the latter making an immediate return to the Football League. Just like the battle for the top four, there were several sides battling to keep their place in the Premier League. Most notably Newcastle United, who having finished sixth last season, found themselves in contention for the drop. Like them, Stoke City were also hovering dangerously as having had one win in 13 games during the second half of the season meant that Tony Pulis' men were dragged into the battle.

In the domestic cups, there was plenty of drama. In the Capital One cup, Swansea emerged as winners, as they overcame surprise finalists Bradford City, who had a cup run to remember. In the FA Cup, there was more surprises with Wigan Athletic the winners having beaten Manchester City in the final with a late goal. There was success for English clubs in Europe as Chelsea, under interim manager Rafael Benitez, were crowned winners of the Europa League winning 2-1 against Benfica.

The fixtures for the 2013/14 Premier League season will be released on Wednesday 19th June at 9am.

Look out for an in depth Premier League season preview on EnglishFootball4U in August as we look ahead to the 2013/14 season.

Wednesday, 5 June 2013

Championship 2012/13: Season Review

Moving on from League's One and Two, focus turns to the Championship and a time to reflect on a brilliant season in the top division of the Football League.

The craziness on the final day of the season was one that will take some beating, and as for the play-offs, the level of entertainment will be difficult to match. Automatic promotion, the play-off positions and relegation all needed sorting on the final day of the season with the majority of the sides in the league having something to play for.

The race for the title was settled fairly quickly as Cardiff finally secured promotion after a number of unsuccessful attempts in previous seasons. Under the management of Malky Mackay, the Bluebirds finished eight points clear of second place. It was the battle for second place though that caught the eye throughout the year as it went down to the final moments of the last game of the season. Watford and Hull had it all to play for as the latter at one point were six points clear of Watford. However after a poor run in their final few games, Hull managed to better Watford's result on the final day of the season to finish second and give Steve Bruce another chance to manage in the Premier League.

Malky Mackay guided Cardiff to the Premier League
For Watford and Gianfranco Zola, it was the play-offs. The drama continued for the Hornets as they overcame Leicester in the semi finals to reach Wembley and be 90 minutes away from the Premier League. The drama came as Leicester were awarded a late penalty in the second leg of the semi final which if scored, essentially sent them through to the final. However a heroic double save from Manuel Almunia allowed Watford to break up the field and score themselves sending their fans wild and putting them through to the final. They faced Crystal Palace in the battle for the final promotion spot, with an extra time penalty from Kevin Phillips making sure it was Ian Holloway's men who made a return to the top flight, after an eight year absence. They had beaten Brighton 2-0 over two games in their semi final.

Moving down to the other end of the table, and the fight for survival also went down to the final day of the season. Bristol City had already been relegated before the final day, as six teams went head to head to avoid the drop. Having already been relegated from the Premier League in the previous season, Wolves faced another relegation as they were beaten by Brighton to send them down to League One. They were joined by battling Peterborough United who threw away a 2-1 lead away at Palace to lose 3-2, and saw Barnsley draw at Huddersfield to end their time in the second tier of English football. The results on the final day meant that looking at the final league table, just the seven points separated third bottom Peterborough with tenth place Derby County.

Looking forward to the 2013/14 season, six new teams join the Championship. Coming from the Premier League will be QPR, Reading and Wigan Athletic, with all three teams looking to make an immediate return to the top flight. From League One, Doncaster, Bournemouth and Yeovil will join the division making up the 24 teams.

The fixtures for the 2013/14 Championship season will be released on Wednesday 19th June 2013 at 9am.

Friday, 31 May 2013

League One & Two 2012/13: Season Review

It has come to that time of the year again where we have completed yet another season in League's One and Two.

We begin in League Two where it was Barnet and Aldershot Town who were relegated and ends their time in the Football League, as they now face at least a season in the Blue Square Bet Premier. Barnet, now under Edgar Davids, have escaped relegation numerous times over the past few seasons, but not this year. The former Dutch midfielder has vowed to continue as manager at Barnet as they play in the non-league for the first time in eight years. Aldershot, another former non-league side join Barnet in the top tier of non-league, as they make a return to the BSBP for the first time since 2008. The Shots entered administration in early May with players being unpaid. The situation has yet to be resolved with 13 players being made redundant as they begin to prepare for the up and coming season in the non-league. Replacing Barnet and Aldershot will be Mansfield, who won the BSBP title, and Welsh side Newport County who were promoted after beating Wrexham in the Conference play-off final.

At the other end of the table, it was Gillingham who claimed the league title and made a return to League One alongside Rotherham and Port Vale who also achieved automatic promotion. Perhaps the surprise of the season was Northampton Town who finished in a play-off position. The Cobblers had escaped relegation the previous season and under Aidy Boothroyd this year, finished in sixth. Unfortunately it wasn't their year as they were beaten by Bradford City in the play-off final 3-0 at Wembley. Cheltenham Town and Burton Albion were the other two teams who made it to the play-offs but were beaten in their respective semi finals.

Player of the season: Tom Pope
Port Vale striker Tom Pope finished the season with an excellent 31 goals in League Two. Voted League Two player of the year, Pope's excellent goal scoring was one of the main reasons Vale earned automatic promotion to League One. His excellent exploits didn't go unnoticed by other clubs, but Pope was rewarded by Vale with a new contract during the season that will see him stay at Vale Park till 2015. Having played in the non-league, Pope will have another step up next season as he looks to prove himself at League One level. At 6ft 3' Pope is excellent in the air, and as a target man brings others into the game. As well as this he is a natural finisher and certainly knows where the goal is.

Port Vale's Tom Pope
Moving onto League One, and the final day of the season proved to be as dramatic as football can get. With seconds to go, Brentford were awarded a penalty in the dying moments of their final game of the season against promotion rivals Doncaster. A draw or win for Brentford would've seen them go up automatically. But having seen Marcello Trotta crash the penalty against the bar, Doncaster went up the other end to score and win the game, meaning they made an immediate return to the Championship at the expense of Brentford. The Bees made it to the play-off final but were beaten 2-1 by Yeovil Town, meaning more play-off heartache for Brentford and their fans. Sheffield United and Swindon were beaten in the semi-finals and face another season in League One. Bournemouth were the final team to go up to the Championship as they finished second to gain promotion automatically.

At the bottom of the table, four teams made the drop to League Two. Relegated from the Championship last year, Portsmouth were deducted ten points at the start of the season making it very difficult for them to remain in League One. It was exactly that, and the South Coast side finished rock bottom of the league and will play League Two football next season. They were joined by Hartlepool, Scunthorpe and Bury who were also relegated. 

Player of the season: Patrick Madden
The Yeovil striker from Ireland ended the season as the leading goal scorer in League One. With 25 goals to his name, Madden helped his side achieve promotion to the Championship. His exquisite finish with the outside of his boot in the play-off final summed up what a clinical season the forward had. Madden only joined Yeovil in October 2012 in a one month loan deal which saw him score once in three appearances. The one month loan was extended a further two months and on January 1st, Madden made his loan spell permanent by signing a two and a half year deal to stay at Huish Park. 

Paddy Madden
Fixtures for the 2013/14 season for League's One and Two will be released on 19th June 2013 at 9am