City extends lead on dark day

Updated November 28, 2011 08:44:27

Manchester City went five points clear at the top of the English Premier League table after a 1-1 draw away to Liverpool on Sunday as British football mourned the shock death of Wales boss Gary Speed.

City grabbed the lead after the half-hour mark when captain Vincent Kompany glanced in a header from a David Silva corner.

But just two minutes later Liverpool was level when Kompany's clearance from the edge of the area found Dirk Kuyt and the Dutchman laid the ball into the path of the advancing Charlie Adam.

The Scotland international did not strike the ball cleanly but his shot took a huge deflection off City defender Joleon Lescott for an own-goal that left England goalkeeper Joe Hart wrong-footed.

City was reduced to 10 men with eight minutes left when striker Mario Balotelli was sent off for a second bookable offence.

Both sides had chances in the second half but neither could force a winner and in stoppage time Hart saved Liverpool substitute striker Andy Carroll's goalbound header.

Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini said Balotelli was unlucky to be sent off, questioning the second yellow card when the Italian clumsily jumped into Martin Skrtel.

"For me the second was not a yellow card," Mancini said.

Balotelli had words on the touchline with his manager following his red card but Mancini said: "We don't have any problems. He is young, I think he was disappointed for the yellow card."

Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish, whose side is now sixth in the table, said: "The performance was fantastic. I don't think they got what they fully deserved, they deserved all three points.

"We tried our very best to win it but we couldn't get it over the line. In both games against the Manchester clubs we played very well. We need to keep going and keep concentrating."

This result left City five points in front of local rival Manchester United after the reigning champions were held to a 1-1 draw by Newcastle on Saturday.

However, the City match was overshadowed by the announcement earlier in the day of the death of Wales manager Gary Speed at the age of 42.

Dalglish withdrew Craig Bellamy, the Wales striker and a close friend of Speed's, from his squad before kick-off.

"I felt that 'Bellas' - who was really close to Gary - would not be in the frame of mind to play," said Dalglish.

Dalglish, reflecting on Speed, added: "He was a smashing lad and was really well respected.

"It's at times like this that the football becomes a wee bit irrelevant.

"I signed Gary for five million [pounds] from Everton and he did a fantastic job for us at Newcastle, during the time I was there and after I'd left as well."

Both at Anfield and at the Liberty Stadium, where Swansea drew 0-0 with Aston Villa in the day's other Premier League match, a minute's silence in memory of Speed was observed before kick-off.

AFP

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

First posted November 28, 2011 06:52:09

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Man City posts record financial losses

Updated November 19, 2011 18:01:14

Premier League leader Manchester City has announced annual losses of 194.9 million pounds ($A309 million), the highest ever recorded in English football.

Whilst accepting the vast scale of the losses, City officials were adamant it marked a low point in their financial graph and from this point forward they would be embarking on a significant upward trend.

"Our losses, which we predicted as part of our accelerated investment strategy, will not be repeated on this scale in the future," chief operating officer Graham Wallace said.

Thankfully for City, the figures will not be taken into account as part of UEFA's Financial Fair Play regulations as they fall outside the accounting window.

Indeed, as "additional exceptional charges" of 34.4 million pounds have been added to a net loss of 160.5 million pounds for the 2010-11 financial year, it could be argued the club has been quite astute in its planning.

It is also easy to see why the club is so strong in defending its present position.

The mammoth sponsorship deal with Etihad Airlines, said to be worth 35 million pounds a year over the next decade, plus the riches on offer in this season's Champions League, will have begun to impact on City's accounts in 12 months' time.

The Blues are also pointing out that commercial revenue has risen 49.7 per cent to 48.5 million pounds.

TV rights, thanks to the club's third-place Premier League finish, winning the FA Cup to end a 35-year trophy drought and a run to the last 16 of the Europa League, have increased 27.4 per cent to 68.8 million.

Overall turnover was 153.2 million, breaking through the 150 million barrier for the first time.

AFP

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

First posted November 19, 2011 09:51:31

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Heart make it two straight

Updated November 18, 2011 23:19:35

A horror week for Gold Coast coach Miron Bleiberg was made worse by a frustrating 2-1 loss on Friday night as Melbourne Heart enjoyed back-to-back wins.

Bleiberg arrived at Skilled Park looking for positives after a week in which he copped a $5,000 fine and suspended one-match ban from Football Federation Australia for comments made after a November 6 game.

Adding insult to injury, his team sat dead last on the A-League ladder.

Just when Bleiberg thought things could not get worse, Gold Coast slumped to its third straight loss for the first time in club history in front of just 4,031 fans who booed at full-time.

In contrast, Heart coach John van 't Schip was smiling after a solid start to a daunting run of four away games in five weeks.

The fact they did it without Olyroos representatives Mate Dugandzic, Aziz Behich and Jason Hoffman would have made van 't Schip even happier.

"I thought it would be the bounce-back game for the Gold Coast but it didn't happen," a solemn Bleiberg said.

"We are hurting but it can't get worse.

"The only thing that we can do is work harder and better."

Palmer put the heat on the squad before the kick-off by vowing to make "changes" in the January transfer window.

Bleiberg said he would again reassess his options in his young squad as he looks to counter the loss of Olyroos James Brown and Dylan McGowan and Ben Halloran (knee).

Meanwhile, van 't Schip was full of praise for his team after the gritty win.

"I think we have played better games than this evening and didn't get the points that we thought we deserved," he said.

A mid-week pep talk by captain Michael Thwaite and a pre-match directive to "step up" by billionaire owner Clive Palmer did not seem to have any affect as United trailed 1-0 by half-time thanks to Matt Thompson's fourth-minute strike.

But whatever Bleiberg said at the break worked as Gold Coast came alive in the second half.

United finally broke through in the 63rd minute when Maceo Rigters was felled outside the box and Peter Jungschlager's penalty kick went through the defensive wall and past a wrong-footed Clint Bolton.

But the deadlock did not last long - in the 68th minute Jonatan Germano pounced on a clever Thompson chip and cheekily lobbed the ball over keeper Glen Moss to score.

The visitors should have had the result in their keeping by half-time if not for poor finishing - Maycon being the worst culprit.

His biggest gaffe came in the 20th minute when his header at point-blank range sailed over the cross bar.

Not that United did not have its first-half chances - Dutch import Rigters was dangerous throughout but also unlucky.

His scorching 12th-minute effort burst through keeper Bolton's hands - only to ricochet off the crossbar.

Melbourne Heart: 2 (M Thompson 4', J Germano 68')

Gold Coast United: 1 (P Jungschlager 63')

AAP

Tags: a-league, soccer, sport, robina-4226, qld, melbourne-3000, vic, australia

First posted November 18, 2011 22:09:17

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Young Socceroos thrash Macau 12-0

Updated November 05, 2011 10:59:35

The Young Socceroos have waltzed through their second game at the Asian Football Confederation U-19 Championship qualifiers in Kuala Lumpur with a 12-0 thrashing of Macau.

The Australians scored twice in the opening seven minutes and led 7-0 at half-time, Anthony Proia finishing with four goals.

Outgoing coach Jan Versleijen said the game had served as a handy warm-up for the tougher tasks ahead.

"Now the tour really begins with games against the stronger Indonesia and China," he said.

"These will be the deciding matches."

The Young Socceroos top group G and next face Indonesia on Sunday.

The top two teams from each group progress to the AFC U-19 Championship 2012.

The AFC U-19 Championship 2012 will serve as the qualifying event for the 2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup which will be held in Turkey.

AAP

Tags: soccer, sport, australia, macao

First posted November 05, 2011 10:59:35

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Unbeaten Roar still feel like losers

Updated November 06, 2011 17:35:56

Even Brisbane Roar's worst performance of the A-League season so far increased their buffer at the top of the table and taught valuable lessons.

The Roar had to make do with a 2-2 draw with the Victory on Saturday night in a dramatic clash at Docklands.

Brisbane spent the last hour on the attack - with the home side eventually reduced to nine men - but rarely came close to penetrating the Victory's packed defensive area.

"It certainly feels like a loss," Roar skipper Matt Smith said.

"The boys are very disappointed, they're very very upset that we didn't get the three points and take advantage."

But coach Ange Postecoglou took solace in his men being made painfully aware of some aspects to work on, while stretching their unbeaten streak to 33 matches.

They also increased their gap on second place from three to four points.

"That's football. We're not the perfect team, we're far from it and as I keep saying, we need to keep improving," Postecoglou said.

"We'll keep improving and keep getting better as a football team and learning lessons along the way.

"But I've always found it more fruitful when you learn lessons and you don't lose. I like it that way."

Postecoglou said his players should have been more positive and creative to capitalise on Victory's reduced numbers.

"The main lesson for us was that we just lost focus in that first half, when really we should have at that time been able to capitalise," Postecoglou said.

"We just got carried away, we let the emotions get carried away with what was happening."

"We lost our composure a little bit and we struggled to regain it for the rest of the night."

AAP

Tags: a-league, soccer, sport, brisbane-4000, qld, australia, melbourne-3000, vic

First posted November 06, 2011 17:35:56

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Barca, Milan lead the way to last 16

Updated November 02, 2011 10:56:09

AC Milan and defending champions Barcelona both reached the last 16 of the Champions League on Wednesday morning (AEDT), but Premier League giants Arsenal and Chelsea were made to wait to secure qualification.

Arsenal, 5-3 victors at Chelsea over the weekend, needed victory at home to Marseille to book its place in the knockout phase but was held to a goalless draw.

The hosts enjoyed the best of the first half, with Marseille goalkeeper Steve Mandanda saving well from Theo Walcott and Gervinho, while Aaron Ramsey volleyed over from close range.

Arsenal could not sustain its momentum after the interval, however, and even the introduction of in-form captain Robin van Persie as a substitute was unable to illuminate the path to goal.

"It's difficult to be at your maximum three days after a big match," explained Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger.

"Marseille played a good, very solid match and I think their point was not undeserved."

The result preserved Arsenal's one-point lead over second-placed Marseille in Group F, while Borussia Dortmund resurrected its qualifying hopes with a 1-0 win at home to Olympiakos that took them to within three points of Marseille.

Chelsea was held to a 1-1 draw at Belgian champions Genk, although Valencia's 3-1 defeat of Bayer Leverkusen meant the Blues' would not have been able to qualify in any case.

Ramires put Chelsea ahead in the 26th minute, arrowing home from a narrow angle from Fernando Torres' pass, before David Luiz saw a penalty saved by Laszlo Koteles.

Chelsea had thrashed Genk 5-0 in their previous encounter at Stamford Bridge but the visitors were made to rue Luiz's miss just after the hour when Jelle Vossen swept home the equaliser from Fabien Camus' cut-back.

"At the moment, it's not happening for us," said Chelsea coach Andre Villas-Boas.

"It's a fixture I wanted to win. With a draw, not everything is negative but we could have done better."

Valencia scored the second-fastest goal in competition history against Leverkusen, with Jonas netting after 10.6 seconds at the Mestalla - 0.3 seconds slower than Roy Makaay's effort for Bayern Munich against Real Madrid in 2007.

Stefan Kiessling drew the German side level on the half hour but Roberto Soldado flicked home Jeremy Mathieu's cross to restore Valencia's lead in the second half before Adil Rami made it 3-1 with 15 minutes to play.

Chelsea now leads Leverkusen by two points at the top of Group E, while Valencia's qualification hopes have been rekindled as it is now just a point beneath the top two ahead of a home game with Genk on November 23.

Messi masterclass

Lionel Messi sent fresh landmarks tumbling as he netted another superb hat-trick in a 4-0 success for Barcelona at 10-man Czech champions Viktoria Plzen.

The Argentine broke the deadlock from the penalty spot in the 24th minute, after Marian Cisovsky had been sent off for bringing him down.

The spot-kick took Messi's tally for the club to 200 goals and his second goal, in first-half injury time, was his 50th goal for club and country in 2011.

Cesc Fabregas headed home in the 72nd minute, with Messi completing his second hat-trick in the space of four days - after Saturday's triple against Real Mallorca - in injury time.

The win sent Pep Guardiola's side two points above Milan in Group H, after the Italian champions' earlier 1-1 draw at BATE Borisov, but means that both the heavyweights in the group can now look forward to the round of 16.

"We're very happy with the result today," said Guardiola.

"We'll try to win at Milan (on November 23) to stay at the top."

Surprise package APOEL Nicosia preserved its lead in Group G by beating Europa League champions FC Porto 2-1 in dramatic last-gasp fashion.

Hulk appeared to have rescued a point for the Portuguese side with an 89th-minute penalty, only for Gustavo Manduca to restore the hosts' advantage just a minute later.

Zenit Saint Petersburg is a point behind APOEL in second place after a 1-0 win at home to Shakhtar Donetsk.

AFP

Tags: champions-league, soccer, sport, spain, czech-republic, italy, england, united-kingdom, germany

First posted November 02, 2011 09:57:41

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Glory out to avenge Mariners spanking

Updated October 27, 2011 21:36:17

On October 30 last year, Perth Glory coach Ian Ferguson watched on helplessly as his newly-acquired side was humiliated 5-0 by Central Coast in Gosford.

On Saturday night - almost a year on from that capitulation - Ferguson will have the chance to gain a slice of revenge when the two teams meet at Bluetongue Stadium.

Central Coast came within an inch of snaring the title last season.

But after collecting just one point from three games to start this season, Graham Arnold's charges are under pressure to regain their winning mojo.

In contrast, Perth sits equal top of the pile and has the chance to make it a club record four A-League wins on the trot when it confronts the Mariners.

Ferguson is not one to dwell too heavily on past failures, but the former Rangers star also knows it is important to learn lessons from those disappointments.

In nine trips to Bluetongue Stadium, the Glory have come away with just one draw and eight losses.

But with his new-look side oozing confidence following three straight wins to start the season, Ferguson is not expecting another capitulation like the one seen a year ago.

"We did go there last year and we did get beat ridiculously. These are painful reminders," Ferguson said on Thursday.

"We'll try to make sure that doesn't happen again.

"I don't like dwelling too much on the past, but we've got to keep our feet grounded and we've got to bring these things up.

"If we don't learn anything from last year, then we shouldn't be here.

"The great thing for us at the moment we've played three and won three, so confidence is high in the camp and long may that continue."

Former Socceroos striker Mile Sterjovski is set to again miss out on selection despite being named as part of a 20-man squad for the two-game trip against Central Coast and Newcastle.

With Ferguson set to make few - if any - changes to his senior side, 32-year-old Sterjovski is likely to again feature for the Glory Youth team.

"I don't like sending players like that to youth team, but it's the only way I can get them fit and keep them fit when opportunities come," Ferguson said.

"Mile's opportunity will come.

"There's another 10 players out there that are not playing either.

"Everybody's in the same boat.

"It's not just because Mile is an ex-Socceroo or marquee player, everybody's in the same boat where they need to try and compete and do well when they get their opportunity and if he does that then Mile will stay in."

AAP

Tags: a-league, soccer, sport, perth-6000, wa, gosford-2250, nsw, australia

First posted October 27, 2011 21:36:17

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