Ba double sinks 10-man Wigan

Updated December 04, 2012 10:10:14

Demba Ba helped injury-hit Newcastle United end a sequence of four successive English Premier League defeats by grabbing two goals in a 3-0 victory over 10-man Wigan Athletic on Tuesday morning (AEDT).

The Senegal striker's double blast took his tally to 10 league goals this season, putting him level with joint top scorers Robin van Persie of Manchester United, Luis Suarez of Liverpool and Swansea City's Michu.

Ba put Newcastle in front with a crisply-struck penalty into the bottom corner of the net after Wigan defender Maynor Figueroa was sent off for bringing down Papiss Cisse just inside the box in the 12th minute.

The home team made it 2-0 nine minutes later when Ba pounced on the rebound to score from close range after goalkeeper Ali Al Habsi could only parry a fierce 25-metre drive from full-back Davide Santon.

Substitute Gael Bigirimana added a third goal, his first for the club, in the 71st minute when the Zimbabwean beat Al Habsi with a curling left-foot shot from 20 metres.

"It's been a difficult time for the players and staff because we've had so many injuries," Newcastle manager Alan Pardew said post-match.

"It was nice to get an early break tonight. I'm not a lover of that rule," he said referring to the option referees have of sending a player off for stopping a goal-scoring opportunity, "but I did think it was a penalty".

Newcastle stayed 14th in the table with 17 points from 15 games, three points ahead of Wigan, which is fifth from bottom.

"It became very difficult for us after 21 minutes, 2-0 down and only 10 men on the pitch," said Wigan manager Roberto Martinez.

"The sending-off was a big decision. For me the ball was between the two players and Figueroa should have been allowed to make a shoulder-to-shoulder challenge.

"To me the intention was to go for the ball. I thought it was too much of a punishment and it was harsh."

At the other end of the table, Manchester United stretched its lead to three points with a 4-3 victory at Reading on Saturday and second-placed Manchester City was held to a 1-1 home draw by Everton.

Reuters

Tags: english-premier, soccer, sport, england

First posted December 04, 2012 10:08:00

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Stunning Victory for 10-man Melbourne

Updated November 24, 2012 23:25:46

Melbourne Victory coach Ange Postecoglou has said the signs were promising for his new side after the Victory scored a 2-0 win over Western Sydney despite playing with 10 men for most of the game.

The win on Saturday night takes Melbourne to joint third on the A-League ladder after losing three of their first four matches.

Postecoglou - who took Brisbane Roar to back-to-back titles before leaving to go to Melbourne for this season - told Grandstand he was enjoying the challenges of working with a new club.

"That's why I came here, to try and take the club back to the levels (where) it wants to be and should be," he said.

"We've still got a long way to go but the signs are promising."

At Parramatta Stadium the Victory played with 10 men for 74 minutes after defender Sam Gallagher was marched for a foul on Western Sydney's Dino Kresinger.

Gallagher stumbled while chasing Kresinger who was through on goal, and then grabbed Kresinger's arm as the last man in defence.

The home side could not make the man advantage count, however, and Melbourne took the lead just before half-time when a cross from the right led to a shot by Guilherme Finkler that was turned into the net by Wanderers defender Michael Beauchamp.

Western Sydney chased the game in the second half, but could not find a way through.

The Victory made certain of the points in the 60th minute when Marco Rojas found Archie Thompson near the far post for a cool right-foot finish.

Postecoglou said he was proud of his team's "massive collective effort".

"We showed character, not just in our working hard defensively which we did, but still being positive when we got the ball," he said.

For Western Sydney, coach Tony Popovic said it was frustrating to be on the wrong end of a 10-man victory after the Wanderers pulled off a similar effort to beat Perth Glory last week.

"The frustrating thing is that we started the game so well," he told Grandstand.

"The goal before half-time gave them (Melbourne) a real sense of belief in being able to hold on to the lead.

"I think psychologically we found things difficult in the second half, having the extra man, and trying to force things too often."

Melbourne Victory 2 (Beauchamp O.G. 44', Thompson 60')

Western Sydney Wanderers 0

Tags: soccer, sport, a-league, parramatta-2150, nsw, melbourne-3000, vic, australia

First posted November 24, 2012 22:13:03

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Phoenix deny 10-man Heart

Updated October 14, 2012 17:36:40

Understrength, but never overwhelmed, Wellington Phoenix churned out a gritty 1-1 draw against 10-man Melbourne Heart at AAMI Park on Sunday.

Minus seven players and their coach on international duty and with a team sheet stacked with debutants and no-names, the Phoenix confounded predictions they would be hammered by the Heart.

But Wellington's cause was greatly enhanced by the Heart being reduced to 10 men early in the second half when Simon Colosimo was sent off for deliberately handballing a goalbound shot.

Trailing 1-0 at the time after the Heart had the better chances throughout the first half, Paul Ifill banged home the resulting penalty to level the scores.

Then they withstood the Heart, and created several more chances of their own, to ensure a deserved share of the points.

The Heart looked on track to add to their opening week win in the first half, taking a 20th minute lead through a superb Matt Thompson goal.

Full-back Aziz Behich won a ball deep in defence, ran 70 metres and crossed to midfielder Fred, who laid the ball back for Thompson to drive home.

But the Heart were made to pay for squandering several good chances when Colosimo illegally played goalkeeper to push Alex Smith's certain goal over the bar.

Colosimo's sending-off altered the game markedly.

The Phoenix - with Louis Fenton and Ifill prominent - then took command and stretched the Heart.

They came closest to a second when Ifill was put through on goal, but lofted a good chance over.

Then defender Michael Boxall turned Phoenix's hero, clearing a Dylan Macallister chance off the line with 13 minutes left - the Heart's best chance of a winner.

It was yet another addition to the perennial finalists' long history of confounding A-League expectations.

Both the Phoenix and Heart have a win and a draw from their opening two matches of the season.

Heart: 1 (Thompson 19')

Phoenix: 1 (Ifill 47')

AAP

Tags: sport, soccer, a-league, melbourne-3000, new-zealand

First posted October 14, 2012 17:11:05

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Jets draw with 10-man Glory

Updated January 01, 2012 12:06:50

Perth Glory fought for most of the match a man down but held on for a 1-1 draw in their with the Jets in Newcastle.

The Glory had striker Billy Mehmet sent off in the 33rd minute after he opened the scoring in the ninth minute, with the Jets taking until almost the hour to equalise.

Mehmet earned the Glory's early lead after leaning all over Jets skipper and centre-half Tiago Calvano.

Mehmet's joy was short-lived however, as he was banished with a straight red card by referee Strebre Delovski for a two-foot challenge on Calvano.

The Glory were lucky not to be a man down earlier after a challenge by the last man in Perth's defence Todd Howarth on the Jets' advancing striker Ryan Griffiths, who was in a goal scoring position just centimetres outside the area.

But Delovski waved play on much to the anguish of the Jets players and bench.

The home side found the equaliser soon after the hour through Kasey Wehrman's incisive run into the box.

The midfielder's cross, from the corner of the six-yard mark, was duly dispatched past the Glory's custodian Danny Vukovic by the head of substitute Francis Jeffers, who had replaced defensive midfielder Ben Kantarovski five minutes earlier.

Glory coach Ian Ferguson was not a happy man after the match, having again watched his side hobbled by a red card.

"In the last four games now it's cost us dearly," Ferguson said.

"We keep talking about the same things with referees and red cards and send offs ... these decisions are hurting us."

But Ferguson was pleased with his players' resolve.

"I just said to the boys how proud I was of the effort they gave us," he said.

"Even how they played the game out. I thought they took the game to them (Newcastle) in the second half.

"I always knew we were going to be under pressure. They had the spare man and they were pushing forward."

Jets coach Gary van Egmond was disappointed his side could not seize the initiative after Mehmet's dismissal.

"They go down to 10 men and we should take full advantage of that," van Egmond said.

"But again we had a lapse in concentration for their goal.

"I think we panicked, I think we didn't keep to the game plan."

Newcastle Jets: 1 (Jeffers 62')

Perth Glory: 1 (Mehmet 9')

AAP

Tags: soccer, sport, a-league, newcastle-2300, perth-6000

First posted December 31, 2011 18:01:14

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Dempsey buries 10-man Liverpool

Updated December 06, 2011 10:05:36

Clint Dempsey pounced for an 85th-minute winner as Fulham beat Liverpool 1-0 in a dramatic Premier League match at Craven Cottage after a rare mistake from keeper Pepe Reina.

The pulsating game, in which Liverpool was reduced to 10 men when Jay Spearing was sent off after 72 minutes, appeared to be heading for a draw when Reina spilled a shot from Danny Murphy and American international Dempsey scored from close range.

Fulham, outplayed in the first half, came back strongly in the second but Liverpool was on the wrong end of three decisions which might have cost it the game.

Fulham defender Philippe Senderos was lucky not to concede a penalty after 59 minutes when he clattered into Charlie Adam inside the box.

The officials also ruled that Luis Suarez was offside putting the ball in the Fulham net when he looked level with the last defender, and Spearing was shown a red card for a foul on Moussa Dembele when he caught the Fulham player with his trailing leg after playing the ball first.

"It's frustrating because no-one ever tells us what the level of acceptance (from referees) is," Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish said.

"Jay had it in his mind to win the ball and he did win it, but the referee didn't think so.

"I don't think we were going to get anything tonight were we?

"The goal that Luis scored could have gone either way and we could have got a penalty when he got pulled down.

"We did not play as well as we have been playing, but it was enough to win the game.

"But we never got it, we will just have to brush ourselves down and get on with it."

Fulham manager Martin Jol thought Spearing should have been sent off.

"It was a bad challenge," he said before concentrating on his team's first league win since the end of October.

"It was a very welcome three points, we needed that.

"We had more space after the sending-off and Clint had a good game, got us a much-needed win and I am very pleased.

"We had the rub of the green tonight, it was an even game but we took the chance."

Liverpool, unbeaten in its previous 11 matches in all competitions, came to Craven Cottage seeking to equal a club record run of seven successive away wins which included two at neighbouring Chelsea in the Premier League and League Cup.

In contrast, Fulham was looking to improve a poor home record in the league in which it had won just one of eight matches since Liverpool won 5-2 at Craven Cottage at the end of last season.

Liverpool went closest to a goal after 28 minutes when a lofted shot from Jordan Henderson beat Fulham keeper Mark Schwarzer before hitting the inside of the post and bouncing away.

Substitute Stewart Downing also hit the post for Liverpool in the second half and Dempsey struck the crossbar before scoring.

The win lifted Fulham to 13th in the table on 15 points from 14 games while Liverpool stayed seventh on 23 points, three behind Newcastle United.

Manchester City leads the standings with 38 points.

Reuters

Tags: sport, soccer, english-premier, england, united-kingdom

First posted December 06, 2011 09:33:23

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