Monday 20 October 2014
isl opening match
Cristiano Ronaldo leaves it late to give Portugal win over Denmark
A headed goal in injury time by Cristiano Ronaldo gave Portugal a much-needed 1-0 win over Denmark in their Group I Euro 2016 qualifier.
Ronaldo rose to meet Ricardo Quaresma’s cross and bury his header past Kasper Schmeichel to secure all three points after the referee, Felix Brych, played five minutes of stoppage time at the end of the game.
Denmark’s best chance came when Pierre Hojbjerg muscled his way through and fed Christian Eriksen, who teed up Michael Krohn-Dehli to fire in a shot that came back off the far post.
Ronaldo’s goal lifts Portugal off the bottom of the table and into third place in the five-team group on three points. Denmark remain second, level on four points with the leaders, Albania.
Euro 2016 qualifying: Germany held; Ronaldo rescues Portugal
Copenhagen: World champions Germany stumbled again in their Euro 2016 qualifying campaign on Tuesday, drawing 1-1 with the Republic of Ireland on a night where Cristiano Ronaldo and a flying drone made headlines elsewhere.
Ronaldo`s late header gave Portugal a 1-0 win in Denmark to kickstart their qualifying campaign, but the meeting between Serbia and Albania in the same Group I was abandoned after crowd trouble in Belgrade.
Germany had suffered their first qualifying defeat since 2007 at the weekend, losing 2-0 in Poland in Group D, but the World Cup winners were greeted by a huge fan mosaic at one end of the stadium in Gelsenkirchen which read simply `Thank You`, proving that such a defeat could not overshadow their heroics of July.Borussia Dortmund`s Erik Durm, who went to the World Cup but did not play, smashed a shot off the bar in the first half before a precise Toni Kroos strike in the 71st minute gave Joachim Loew`s men the lead.
But Ireland stunned their hosts by equalising in the fourth minute of added time with their first effort on target from veteran defender John O`Shea.
The result means Poland are top of Group D from Ireland on goal difference, with Scotland and Germany three points further back, while Georgia beat Gibraltar 3-0 to record their first points.
"We`re all disappointed. I think that was Ireland`s only chance of the game and they scored from it," said Loew. "In the last few minutes, we were simply naive."
Ireland`s hero O`Shea added: "We have a fantastic spirit, we didn`t want to come off having lost with people thinking we just did ok."
In Warsaw, Poland took the lead against Gordon Strachan`s side through Krzysztof Maczynski, but Shaun Maloney and Steven Naismith found the net for Scotland, leaving the hosts requiring a magnificent Arkadiusz Milik goal to earn a 2-2 draw in a thrilling match.
"We were brave enough to come here and play with a lot of forwards and a draw was probably the right result," admitted Strachan.
In Copenhagen, Cristiano Ronaldo headed in Ricardo Quaresma`s cross in the fifth minute of injury time to score his 51st international goal and give Portugal victory against their Danish hosts in their first competitive game under new coach Fernando Santos.
Ronaldo said: "I want to congratulate the team for always believing. We knew it was going to be a difficult game but we showed confidence right to the end."Meanwhile, Albania, who won away in Portugal in Group I last month to precipitate the departure of Portuguese coach Paulo Bento, saw their match with Serbia in Belgrade abandoned after trouble started just before half-time with the score goalless.
A drone sporting the Albanian flag was flown over the stadium, sparking fury among Serbian fans and players and leading to clashes between the two teams on the pitch.
Serbian fans hurled smoke bombs and other missiles onto the pitch in protest in a game from which Albanian fans had been barred because of the sensitive relations between the two countries.
Meanwhile, Northern Ireland made it three wins from three in Group F with a remarkable 2-0 victory away to Greece in Piraeus, Jamie Ward and Kyle Lafferty finding the net either side of half-time for Michael O`Neill`s side.
The result leaves Claudio Ranieri`s Greece side, European champions in 2004, lagging behind with just one point so far, while a brace from Bogdan Stancu gave Romania a 2-0 win in Finland and Adam Szalai`s solitary effort handed Hungary a 1-0 triumph in the Faroe Islands.
In England`s Group E, Switzerland recorded their first points with a 4-0 victory away to hapless San Marino, with Haris Seferovic scoring twice and Blerim Dzemaili and Xherdan Shaqiri also on target.
The next round of qualifiers will be played over the weekend of November 14 to 16.
Monday 29 September 2014
Atletico de Kolkata
Kolkata: Showcasing his football skills, Sourav Ganguly struck three goals from the spot as he urged fans to turn up in huge numbers and support the city's newest team Atletico de Kolkata when the ISL kicks off here on October 12.Kolkata: Showcasing his football skills, Sourav Ganguly struck three goals from the spot as he urged fans to turn up in huge numbers and support the city's newest team Atletico de Kolkata when the ISL kicks off here on October 12.
The former India cricket captain might have left football to make cricket his career, but the left-hander showed he was a powerful footballer as well, after beating 'goalkeeper' Alvito d Cunha thrice from five attempts under the bar at the Vivekananda Yuva Bharati Krirangan in Saltlake.
"You have turned up in huge numbers for East Bengal and Mohun Bagan matches. Now I urge you to come and support Atletico in the same way and watch some quality football," the ATK co-owner said during the half time of the title deciding East Bengal-Tollygunge Agragami local league clash.
While the former India captain hoped that the franchisee football league would be successful like that of the hugely popular Indian Premier League.
"Every team is quite competitive. There will be legends like Zico (Goa coach) and we will have Luis Garcia. The standard will be very high and we will have the opportunity to see high quality football of speed and agility. Football in India will get a huge boost."
He further hoped that the franchisee football league would be successful like that of the hugely popular Indian Premier League.
"When IPL was launched, nobody knew it would be so successful. ISL has potential and we are keeping our fingers crossed," he said.
Ganguly said all are welcome including kids as he promised wholesome entertainment for the family during ATK's home outings.
"We will make arrangements so that kids can enjoy the whole day. Ticket prices will also be kept reasonable," he said adding there would be about 30,000 bucket seats and arrangements to watch the game from near the sidelines.
The city team will return on September 26 after their month-long training in Spain and will play friendly matches against Tollygunge Agragami and either East Bengal or Mohun Bagan before the ISL.
The former India cricket captain might have left football to make cricket his career, but the left-hander showed he was a powerful footballer as well, after beating 'goalkeeper' Alvito d Cunha thrice from five attempts under the bar at the Vivekananda Yuva Bharati Krirangan in Saltlake.
"You have turned up in huge numbers for East Bengal and Mohun Bagan matches. Now I urge you to come and support Atletico in the same way and watch some quality football," the ATK co-owner said during the half time of the title deciding East Bengal-Tollygunge Agragami local league clash.
While the former India captain hoped that the franchisee football league would be successful like that of the hugely popular Indian Premier League.
"Every team is quite competitive. There will be legends like Zico (Goa coach) and we will have Luis Garcia. The standard will be very high and we will have the opportunity to see high quality football of speed and agility. Football in India will get a huge boost."
He further hoped that the franchisee football league would be successful like that of the hugely popular Indian Premier League.
"When IPL was launched, nobody knew it would be so successful. ISL has potential and we are keeping our fingers crossed," he said.
Ganguly said all are welcome including kids as he promised wholesome entertainment for the family during ATK's home outings.
"We will make arrangements so that kids can enjoy the whole day. Ticket prices will also be kept reasonable," he said adding there would be about 30,000 bucket seats and arrangements to watch the game from near the sidelines.
The city team will return on September 26 after their month-long training in Spain and will play friendly matches against Tollygunge Agragami and either East Bengal or Mohun Bagan before the ISL.
Former Arsenal player Andre Santos joins FC Goa of the Indian Super League
Panaji, Sep 29 (IANS) Indian Super League (ISL) franchise FC Goa Monday signed on itssecond former Arsenal player and Brazilian international Andre Santos, according to an official statement issued here.
Santos will be joining the club's training sessions shortly and will be the second Arsenal player after midfielder Robert Pires to be roped in by the Goa-based team.
FC Goa, is one of the eight teams which is part of the much trumpeted ISL that kicks off next month and is jointly owned by three club owners, namely Anirudh Dhoot, a director with Videocon, Srinivas Dempo chairman and managing director of the Dempo Group of Companies and Dattaraj Salogaocar, Managing director of V M Salgaocar and co. The latter two businessmen hail from Goa.A youth product of Figueirense in Brazil, Santos, who favours the left-back position was in the Brazilian team which won the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup.
He joined EPL team Arsenal from Fenerbache in 2011 and eventually moved to Brazil to play with Gremio followed by Flamengo. Andre, who is currently in Brazlil, will be moving to Goa soon. The club had also roped in two of Dempo Sports Club's foreign imports - Australian Tolgay Ozbey and Haroon Amiri of Afghanistan - for the inaugural edition of the Indian Super League (ISL). FC Goa will face Chennaiyin FC in their opening game slated for Oct 15.
Thursday 25 September 2014
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