Category Archives: SPORTS

Top man: Ange Postecoglou arrives at Newcastle Airport for the Asian Cup semi-final. Photo: Max Mason-Hubers

As far as the Socceroos coaching job is concerned, Ange Postecoglou has always been the right man in the right place at the right time.

Now he gets the chance to leave a lasting legacy. Reaching the semi-finals of the Asian Cup renders any speculation about his future redundant. The Postecoglou era can begin in earnest, and there’s no limit to what he might achieve.

Postecoglou was never one of the Socceroos’ greats as a player, but he could well become our greatest coach. If he were a careerist, he would never have accepted Frank Lowy’s invitation 13 months ago given the parlous state of the team. But he’s not.

And so we come to the seminal moment, the quarter-final against China, and what do we see? A team in perfect harmony with their coach, a complete vindication of his vision and strategy. Now it can be said, without a shred of doubt, that Postecoglou has indeed worked a miracle in just 13 months.

A tired, creaking, team corrupted by a sense of entitlement has been transformed into a hungry, much younger, collection of players who understand it’s not the name on the back of the shirt that counts, but the shirt itself. Even two-goal hero Tim Cahill isn’t sure whether he’ll start in Newcastle on Tuesday night. Brilliant. It’s back to the future in terms of team culture, and the best is yet to come.

Fired up at the after-match press conference in Brisbane, Postecoglou slammed suggestions his job had been on the line. Maybe it was, maybe it wasn’t. Only Lowy knows the answer to that. Either way this result liberates the atmosphere around the team, and watch the reaction.

The Socceroos are on a roll, now just two games short of winning a major trophy for the first time. There hasn’t been a better team left behind them, nor is there a better team left in front of them. The goals are flowing, and the clean sheet against China hints that the defensive frailties are beginning to diminish.

That the two players who came into the side – Jason Davidson and Alex Wilkinson – slipped seamlessly into the breach underlines how well the squad has been motivated, and prepared. What the China match also proves is that the team is becoming much tougher mentally. The pressure may have been on before kick-off, but it was white-hot at half-time after a scoreless 45 minutes. Which way would it go?

Not for the first time, Cahill provided the release valve, but what the commanding second-half performance revealed was a team visibly growing in stature, and confidence. That’s what important wins do. Vindicate.

The Asian Cup is the biggest tournament we’ve ever hosted, and playing on home soil leaves many players with relatively limited international exposure with nowhere to hide. They might have wilted, but there’s been no sign of that. Credit the leadership of the senior players like Cahill, Mile Jedinak, Mark Milligan and Mark Bresciano for calming any nerves. And – as Postecoglou has constantly argued – the World Cup experience has ultimately proved to be invaluable. We’re now seeing the results.

With an extra day’s recovery time, the Socceroos are looking good for the semi-final. They’d look even better if the Asian Football Confederation had the common sense to ditch the rule book and open up both ends of Hunter Stadium. Robbing the stadium of 30 per cent of its capacity because of all-seater restrictions is typical AFC intransigence.

The biggest game in Newcastle’s long and proud footballing history loses some of its lustre as a consequence, but either way you can’t take any shine off the Socceroos right now. Are they on the verge of making history?

You can feel it.

source:smh.com.au

THE Socceroos declared they have no issue playing their historic Asian Cup semi-final on Tuesday night at a reduced Hunter Stadium.

The Australian team flew into Williamtown Airport on Friday afternoon to begin preparations for their first match in Newcastle since 1995.

Since the Socceroos lost 1-0 to South Korea last Saturday night, which dictated they would play their semi-final at Hunter Stadium, the merits of hosting the game at the Broadmeadow venue have been hotly debated.

Due to Asian Confederation Football rules, tickets cannot be sold for non-seated sections of host venues.

This subsequently reduced Hunter Stadium’s capacity from 33,000 to 23,000 for the game.

Some critics have called for the semi-final to be moved to Sydney’s Stadium Australia, which has a capacity of 83,000, but Socceroos coach Ange Postecoglou said his side were happy to be playing in Newcastle.

“We’re excited to have qualified for the semi-final and looking forward to feeling the support of the people of Newcastle on Tuesday night and in the lead-up to the game,’’ Postecoglou said.

“The Newcastle region has a long and rich football history and it’s great that the Socceroos will play such an important match in front of what is a football-mad public.

“A lot has been made of the location of the match but as far as I’m concerned the Socceroos represent all Australians, so to have a game in Newcastle is great for football in the area and allows more people to see this team play in their own yard”.

They were sentiments echoed by in-form midfielder Massimo Luongo, whose star has risen during the Asian Cup.

‘‘I don’t think anyone is too bothered about it [not being in Sydney or Melbourne],’’ Luongo said.

‘‘If we get a full stadium, 23,000 or whatever, it will be nice. It’s a nice compact stadium and the fans are right behind us.

‘‘We’re from all over the place in Australia.

‘‘As long as the fans are behind us it doesn’t matter where we play”.

Meanwhile, soccer fans who miss out on the hottest tickets in town will likely get the next best thing when a free public broadcast arrangement is finalised.

Under Asian Cup broadcast rules, the big screen ‘Livesite’ at Honeysuckle has been unable to broadcast any of the games played in Newcastle because match tickets haven’t sold out.

If Tuesday’s Socceroos match sells out as expected, Newcastle council and the local organising committee will be free to broadcast the match live at the Honeysuckle ‘fan zone’.

The council’s manager of tourism and economic development services Jan Ross said on Friday that about 1000 final seats will go on sale early on Saturday. The last-minute tickets for the historic match are expected to sell quickly.

‘‘We’ve spoke to the tournament organisers today and there will be no problem with the live broadcast once the stadium is a sell-out,’’ she said. ‘‘I think we’ll able to make that call around lunchtime on Saturday.’’

source: theherald.com.au

O Ολυμπιακός συνεχίζει αήττητος στο TOP 16 της Euroleague, καθώς ούτε η Λαμποράλ Κούτσα κατάφερε να σταματήσει τη ξέφρενη πορεία των Πειραιωτών.

Πιο συγκεκριμένα η ομάδα του Σφαιρόπουλου επιβλήθηκε με 76-64 των Ισπανών στο ΣΕΦ και έκανε το «4 στα 4» στον 3ο όμιλο, πραγματοποιώντας ακόμα ένα βήμα για την κατάληψη μία εκ των δύο πρώτων θέσεων του 6ου ομίλου, που δίνουν το πλεονέκτημα της έδρας στα πλέι οφ.

Ο Ολυμπιακός (4-0) βρέθηκε στο -11 στην αρχή της τρίτης περιόδου, ωστόσο ο Βασίλης Σπανούλης στα επόμενα 9′ πέτυχε 15 πόντους, συμβάλλοντας τα μέγιστα στην επικράτηση της ομάδας του.

Τα δεκάλεπτα: 17-18, 28-37, 54-53, 76-64

Πηγή:zougla.gr

The FA Cup dominates the fixture sheets in England this weekend, with most Premier League sides drawing lower-tier teams.

There are a pair of matchups between Premier League teams. Tottenham Hotspur and Leicester City will do battle at White Hart Lane. It could be a great momentum builder for either side, or an acceleration governor for the losing side. Each comes into this game in good league form, with Spurs looking to build on a pair of wins in the league, while Leicester has two in its last three.

Spurs has been tripped up at this point in each of the last two seasons, falling to Arsenal and Leeds in consecutive third rounds. Meanwhile, the Foxes have also not reached further than this point since 2012, when they made it to the sixth round before succumbing to eventual winners Chelsea. Spurs won the Premier League meeting between these two sides earlier this year by a 2-1 score at King Power Stadium.

Meanwhile, Southampton and Crystal Palace will face off at St. Mary’s. This season has seen a surprising surge from Southampton, and they will likely look to turn that into more than just a solid league table finish. The cup could be a good place to score some silverware if Southampton can make a run, but they’ll need to get by a scrappy Crystal Palace side that could be distracted, with saving its top flight status likely taking priority.

Manchester United drew the lowest remaining team in League Two side Cambridge United, and they will play the only Friday fixture this afternoon. Hopefully, for the people in this bar, Cambridge can put a few past the Premier League giants. Not too many, though.

Chelsea has League One’s sixth placed team Bradford City, who made it to the final of the League Cup in 2012, taking down Arsenal and Aston Villa on their way. Liverpool pulled mid-table Championship side Bolton, while Sunderland will welcome a much-improved Fulham team to the Stadium of Light. The Whites have climbed from the cellar of the Championship up to 14th since the departure of mercurial German manager Felix Magath.

West Brom face a tough draw with in-form Birmingham, in the middle of the Championship table but winners of four of their last six league games, losing just one over that span. Manchester City also have a tougher road ahead as they get Middlesbrough, in a promotion position of second in the Championship table. The Boro has conceded just a single goal across all competitions since Christmas.

On Sunday, a trio of Premier League teams will take on lower division foes. Arsenal travels to Brighton Hove & Albion, who sit 19th in the Championship table but have distanced themselves from the relegation zone with three wins in its last four. Aston Villa will host Championship leaders Bournemouth, a tall task for the Claret & Blue to be facing a team they very well may see in Premier League play next season. Finally West Ham will visit third tier Bristol City, who sit second in the League One table.

Other fixtures:

Cardiff City vs. Reading (Saturday)
Preston North End vs Sheffield United (Saturday)
Derby County vs Chesterfield (Saturday)

source:nbcsports.com

United Arab Emirates has set up an Asian Cup semi-final with Australia after a shock penalty shootout win over Japan at Sydney’s Olympic stadium.

Two of Japan’s biggest stars missed penalties as the defending Asian Cup champions were dumped out at the quarter-final stage by United Arab Emirates on Friday.

The Sydney fixture was forced into extra-time when the sides ended 90 minutes tied at 1-1 and, after the additional half-hour failed to produce another goal, Keisuke Honda and Shinji Kagawa missed their respective spot-kicks to cost Japan a place in the last four.

After Kagawa’s effort had struck the left-hand post, Ismail Ahmed stepped up to seal the win for UAE.

Ali Mabkhout had given UAE the lead after seven minutes with a stunning strike, with Japan struggling to shift out of first gear for much of the encounter.

Javier Aguirre’s side stepped up their game somewhat in the second half, and pulled level through Gaku Shibasaki nine minutes from time.

However, it was UAE who came out on top after the shootout went to sudden death.

The victory sees Mahdi Ali’s side progress to face hosts Australia for a place in the final, while Japan suffer their earliest elimination since 1996, when the tournament was held in UAE.

That tournament was also the last time UAE – eventual runners-up – reached the last four.

Mabkhout fired a warning signal when he carried the ball into the Japanese box only to get a heavy touch at the crucial moment, but the Al Jazira frontman did put his side ahead in the seventh minute.

The 24-year-old expertly brought down an inviting ball over the top, before rifling his fourth goal of the tournament across Eiji Kawashima into the bottom-left corner.

Inui looked to be Japan’s biggest threat early on and should have netted a leveller 11 minutes later, but headed straight at Majed Naser from a Gotoku Sakai cross.

With the winners of the fixture going on to face hosts Australia in the semi-finals, it was little surprise to hear the lower-ranked UAE enthusiastically supported in Sydney, and Ali’s men looked assured in preserving their unexpected lead.

Yasuhito Endo blasted over and Honda disturbed the side-netting before the half was out, but Japan looked a shadow of their usual selves.

Yoshinori Muto was introduced in place of Inui at the interval, but squandered two great opportunities to pull Japan level – drilling wide left before sending a header off target just short of the hour mark.

There was no questioning Japan’s improved attacking threat in the second half, and their persistence paid off when Shibasaki found the net with a sublime finish nine minutes from time.

The substitute was teed up by Honda just outside the box and found the net with a perfectly judged curling strike.

Only some desperate defending prevented Japan snatching the win in normal time, with Naser punching clear from a Kagawa effort late on before pushing over from a Honda free-kick.

Kagawa then put the ball agonisingly wide of the left-hand post from close range with the final kick of regulation time to force an extra 30 minutes.

The first period of additional time passed without incident – much to the relief of UAE, who came under immense pressure towards the end of the 90 – and the pace barely picked up in the second, with a late Honda free-kick sneaking just wide of the target to leave the sides to contest a shoot-out.

Honda ballooned the opening penalty to give UAE the advantage, before Khamis Esmaeel also cleared the crossbar to restore parity.

Kagawa’s strike against the base of the post at 4-4 opened the door for Ahmed to seal a famous victory, and the substitute made no mistake from 12 yards.

source:goal.com

After seeing out a draw after 120 minutes of playing time, spot-kicks were needed to separate the two sides.

Defender Salam Shakir held his nerve to score the winning penalty and give Iraq a thrilling 7-6 shoot-out win over a 10-man Iran, after the two teams were locked at 3-3 following 120 minutes of their Asian Cup quarter-final.

Iraq – winners of the tournament in 2007 – will now play South Korea on Monday, with a spot in this year’s final up for grabs.

Friday’s match in Canberra was impacted significantly by referee Ben Williams, but the stunning nature of the encounter ensures it will be remembered as one of the best ever played at the tournament.

Both sides made a stuttering start to the shoot-out, as Iran’s Ehsan Hajsafi and Iraq’s Saad Abdulameer missed the target.

The next 12 penalties were scored, though, including a Panenka from Iraq captain Younis Mahmoud at 4-3 when a miss would have eliminated his side. Mahmoud’s bravery was made more amazing by the fact he missed a similar penalty in his side’s 2-0 win over Palestine on Tuesday.

Iran’s Vahid Amiri then hit the inside of the post, allowing Shakir to slot to his right and secure Iraq’s progression.

Earlier, Sardar Azmoun’s header gave Iran a 24th-minute lead, before Williams, who was criticised heavily by Iran boss Carlos Queiroz earlier in the tournament – leading to the ex-Real Madrid coach being fined – sent Mehrdad Pooladi off in bizarre circumstances just two minutes before half-time.

Pooladi, earlier booked for a late challenge on Ahmed Yasin, made minor contact with Iraq goalkeeper Jalal Hassan Hachim when chasing a loose ball. The keeper then shoved Pooladi, who theatrically fell to the ground holding his face, leading to another booking from Williams.

The Australian official forgot that he had already carded Pooladi, but upon being reminded by several Iraq players, produced a red card that seemed incredibly harsh.

Iraq made the man extra count in the second half, when, after a spell of pressure, Yasin fired in from a tight angle 11 minutes after the restart, and after an additional 30 minutes was forced, Mahmoud headed them in front.

Iran climbed off the canvas, though, with Morteza Pouraliganji’s thumping header bringing them level in the 103rd minute, but the defender then brought down Yaser Kasim in the area to concede a penalty – scored by Dhurgham Ismail in the 116th minute.

The drama, amazingly, did not end there, as an Iran corner – which was initially cleared off the line, before Andranik Teymourian fired against the crossbar – was finally nodded in by substitute Reza Ghoochannejhad in the 119th minute.

That brought about penalties but it was to be Iraq’s night in the Australian capital.

Pooladi was booked for the first time in the 22nd minute, before Azmoun opened the scoring with a bullet header from Vouria Ghafouri’s cross.

Williams then gave Pooladi his marching orders, leading Queiroz needing to be restrained by his players at half-time as tensions threatened to boil over.

Yasin levelled for Iraq early in the second half, thrashing in a low and hard effort from an acute angle – via a slight Pouraliganji deflection – after Alaa Abdul-Zahra’s teasing ball across the face of goal.

A string of fouls, substitutes and injury concerns stopped the flow of the game, but once extra time arrived, Iraq quickly had their second goal.

Ismail and substitute Ali Adnan linked well down the left, allowing the former to storm into the box, and his shot took a pair of deflections before falling kindly for Mahmoud – with Hajsafi helpless on the line.

Iran dug deep, though, and equalised when Teymourian’s swinging corner was powerfully headed in by defender Pouraliganji.

The match seemed surely over when Pouraliganji brought down Kasim, and 20-year-old Ismail showed nerves of steel to score, yet somehow, Iran conjured up another equaliser as Ghoochannejhad nodded in to end a goalmouth scramble.

An on-field scuffle broke out as penalties approached, after Marwan Hussein was booked for fouling Haghighi, but that mattered little in the end, as Iraq celebrated a truly famous win.

source:goal.com

Η πρώτη σημαντική έκπληξη στο ΟΠΕΝ της Αυστραλίας, που διεξάγεται στην Μελβούρνη, σημειώθηκε την Παρασκευή.

Στο πλαίσιο του Γ` γύρου για το φημισμένο τουρνουά, ο Ρότζερ Φέντερερ ηττήθηκε 3-1 σετ (6-4, 7-6, 4-6, 7-6) από τον Ιταλό, Αντρέας Σέπι (Νο 46) και αποκλείσθηκε από την συνέχεια της διοργάνωσης.

Αξίζει να σημειωθεί, ότι είναι η πρώτη φορά από το 2001, που το Νο 2 της παγκόσμιας κατάταξης, αποκλείεται από τα προημιτελικά του Αυστραλιανού ΟΠΕΝ, όπως επίσης και πως ο Ελβετός πρωταθλητής, έχει κατακτήσει τέσσερις φορές (2004, 2006, 2007 και 2010) το συγκεκριμένο τουρνουά.

Εκτός και ο Παγδατής…

Στον Β` γύρο σταμάτησε η πορεία και του Μάρκου Παγδατή, στο ΟΠΕΝ της Αυστραλίας. Μετά από συγκλονιστικό αγώνα, ο Κύπριος πρωταθλητής, ηττήθηκε 3-2 σετ (4-6, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-3) από τον Βούλγαρο, Γκριγκόρ Ντιμιτρόφ και έμεινε εκτός συνέχειας.

Πηγή:in.gr

Socceroos captain Mile Jedinak has vowed to bounce back to his best for Australia’s Asian Cup semi-final after struggling in his comeback from an ankle injury that saw him miss the tournament’s last two group matches.

Jedinak admitted he was well below par against China, and with Mark Bresciano also not at his best, the Socceroos’ midfield wasn’t quite as fluid as coach Ange Postecoglou might have hoped after recalling the pair. The captain said his game suffered from being too “rusty”.

“It is a little bit of that. I was working my way into the game, of course, it’s part and parcel of the game – if you try and force the issue, you’re going to make mistakes,” he said. “I think what was more important was the way we reacted, even under a little bit of pressure in that first half. The way some of the boys defended, and our organisation was really really positive.

Asked how his ankle held up on the much-maligned Suncorp Stadium surface, the Crystal Palace midfielder said he “felt great”.

But while he didn’t quite hit the heights in his return match for the Socceroos, Jedinak insisted he was going to be better for the run.

“It goes without saying [that I’ll improve] – I was happy to get out there tonight and get the 90 minutes under my belt,” he said. “It’s all about recovery now, doing the right thing with travel and things like that. It is what it is, but it’s something we’ve all been used to and all been doing really well at.”

The Socceroos dominated the possession stats against China but hardly looked likely to break through in a flat opening 45 minutes. Jedinak said they just needed to think a little bit more about how to utilise their territorial advantage, something they did better in the second half, where Tim Cahill scored twice.

“[In the] first half maybe we were a little bit sluggish. They did really well sitting and blocking up the space, they denied us that. Maybe we tried to force it a little bit too much,” he said. “We addressed that at half time, be a little bit patient and keep making them spend the energy. We got the goal probably earlier than we expected but we took our chances today and, if it wasn’t for their keeper, it could have been a lot more.”

“We took that up a notch in the second half and some individual brilliance from Timmy. But overall, the team performance was very, very disciplined – something I think we’ve been crying out for, and something I think we thoroughly deserved.”

Jedinak described Cahill as being “right up there” with the all-time greatest Socceroos, although many have gone a step further since and declared him alone as the best.

“What do you want me to say that hasn’t been said? Obviously at the crucial moment he stepped up again. He thrives on that. He was probably a bit quiet before that but Timmy’s Timmy – if he gets half a sniff of the goal, he’s going to take that opportunity,” Jedinak said. “He’s been doing it for much longer than I’ve been involved with the national team and it’s a credit to him.

“He’s as hungry as ever, you can see that, and it’s the right reward for a guy who’s been an absolute legend for football in this country.”

Cahill’s international goal tally rose to 39 with his two strikes, putting him 10 ahead of the Socceroos’ next highest scorer, Damian Mori, on the team’s all-time scoring record.

“That’s not a mean feat and he’s ahead by some way now. You look at all the achievements and stuff, he is right up there. That’s full credit to him,” Jedinak said. “I’m just glad that everyone else was able to feed off that and really provide Timmy with some great chances.

“I thought some of the way that the boys got through in that second half, we made a good Chinese team look quite ordinary at times, and that’s something we can take a lot from.”

source: brisbanetimes.com.au

Real Madrid outran and outplayed Panathinaikos from then on, stretching its lead to 60-44, then 69-50 and 81-59, with the result coming with an 18-point margin.

A depleted Panathinaikos suffered a comprehensive 83-65 defeat at group favorite Real Madrid, its second in four games at the Euroleague top-16.

Thursday’s match in Spain was never the prime target for Panathinaikos in this ever-so-tough second-round group, but the Greens stayed close to their host for two thirds of the game.

The Spaniards were 10 points ahead at half-time (39-29) but Panathinaikos reduced its arrears to four points in the third quarter (46-42) through eight unanswered points. That was about the end of the Greeks’ challenge in the game.

Real Madrid outran and outplayed Panathinaikos from then on, stretching its lead to 60-44, then 69-50 and 81-59, with the result coming with an 18-point margin.

The highlight of the game, though, came on the last minute, when Real’s Facundo Campazzo performed a judo move on Panathinaikos captain Dimitris Diamantidis to floor and enrage him.

Esteban Batista was the top scorer for Panathinaikos with 15 points. AJ Slaughter notched up 12.

On Wednesday PAOK lost 82-78 at home to Khimki for the Eurocup.

Source: Kathimerini

Photo: Australia’s Tim Cahill scores a goal from an overhead kick during their Asian Cup quarter-final soccer match against China at Brisbane Stadium last night. (Reuters: Edgar Su)

Newcastle Socceroos legend Ray Baartz says he is ecstatic the city will be hosting Australia in next Tuesday’s Asian cup semi-final.

The Socceroos arrive in Newcastle today and will train in the city tonight after making it through to the final four of the Asian Cup with a two-nil win over China in Brisbane last night.

Australia and China were locked at nil-all at half-time, but forward Tim Cahill brought the crowd to its feet when he found the back of the net off a bicycle kick in the 48th minute.

He then headed home a Jason Davidson cross to score his second.

Ray Baartz was a striker for the Socceroos in the 1960s and 70s, scoring 18 goals for the national team.

He said the city will be in for a treat if Japan makes it through to play Australia in Tuesday’s semi.

“And we’re presuming Japan are going to get through,” he said.

“They’ve got to play their game tonight, but the games I had against Japan were exciting and tough, and I don’t see this game being any different.

“Both teams are quality teams, Australia’s playing exceptionally well, it’s going to be a game that’s going to be mouth-watering, to coin a phrase.”

And there will be one last opportunity tomorrow for fans to purchase tickets to the game.

AFC organisers released an extra 2,000 tickets yesterday, which have already sold out, and a small number are also set to be released tomorrow.

But Hunter Stadium’s full capacity of more than 30,000 will not be reached, with organisers ruling out putting in extra seating in the stadium’s grassed areas.

Baartz said despite criticism of the size of the local stadium, he is certain the city will do the game proud.

“Football in Newcastle has such a strong heritage, and goes back well over 100 years, and some of the oldest clubs in Australia were formed in the Newcastle area,” he said.

“I think the atmosphere and support the Socceroos will get in Newcastle will be second to none.”

source: abc.net.au