Falconets Beat Tunisia 4-0.

Nigeria’s Falconets emerged 4-0 winners of their first leg FIFA 2014 Women’s U-20 World Cup second round qualifier against Tunisia on Saturday in Abuja.

Captain Okaeme Helen opened scoring for Nigeria and Uchechi Sunday followed suit with a hat-trick.

The first half ended scoreless as the North Africans decided to pack their bus inside the main-bowl of the Abuja National Stadium.

The Falconets teared their defence apart seven minutes after the break before Rivers Angels striker Sunday completed her hat-trick four minutes to the dead.

Read More

Steve Clarke Gets the Boot at West Brom.

West Bromwich Albion boss, Steve Clark, has lost his job following a fourth straight defeat.

The ‘Baggies’ released a statement after Saturday’s 1-0 defeat by Cardiff, which happened to be the 50-year-old’s last game in charge, that the Scotsman has been placed on gardening leave with immediate effect, along with his other assistant, Kevin Keen.

Joint-assistant head coach Keith Downing will take charge of the first-team in the meantime while the search for a new head coach begins.

“We have reluctantly come to the decision to relieve Steve of his duties after very careful consideration,” West Brom sporting and technical director Richard Garlick said.
Albion have won only seven of their 34 Premier League games in 2013.

Read More

Iheanacho, Awoniyi, Headline Eagles 4-1 Win Over Prison FC.

Kelechi Iheanacho.

Super Eagles Team B defeated Prisons FC of Abuja 4-1 in their first friendly match ahead of the 2014 African Championship (CHAN) in South Africa on Friday.

Head coach Stephen Keshi, who was returning to the squad since the final World Cup draw a week ago, made some few changes from the side which lost 1-0 to Lebanon in Amman last month.
He preferred to blood the newly invited players like Isah Danladi in goal, Bright Esieme, Aliyu Abubakar, Gbolahan Salami, Ezekiel Mba and Golden Eaglets star Kelechi Iheanacho among others.
Nonetheless, the home-based Eagle were 2-0 up at half-time, giving the faithful crowd at the Fifa Goal Project site of the National Stadium in Abuja something to cheer on. Salami opened scoring from the spot after Iheanacho’s clever chip for goal was handled by a Prisons player inside the box.
The second goal was a masterpiece to behold following a clever inter-play between substitute Barnabas Imenger and Mohammed Ajia, which unsettled the defence of the Abuja-based side, only for the onrushing Abubakar to smash home from about 30 yards.
Keshi introduced Team B regulars in the second-half and,

Read More

Mourinho Is Not Worth It – Ronaldo

Cristiano Ronaldo has refused to speak about Jose Mourinho following recent comments in the press from the former Real Madrid boss, suggesting that his compatriot is “not worth it”.

The new Chelsea manager struck a nerve with the forward when he said that the Blancos star was not the “real” Ronaldo earlier in August, with the Santiago Bernabeu icon subsequently ruffled but wanting to stay out of a public slinging match.

Read More

Drogba, Eboue face fines over Mandela tributes

The two Ivory Coast internationals unveiled their personal messages after Galatasaray’s game against Elazigspor on Friday, their first game after the death of South African icon Mandela.

Chelsea legend Drogba peeled off his shirt at the 2-0 win to reveal a tribute which said: ‘Thank you Madiba’ and former Arsenal defender Eboue’s vest said: ‘Rest in Peace Nelson Mandela’.

The Turkish FA (TFF) are planning to summon the Galatasaray pair to appear before the Professional Football Discipline Committee because they had not sought prior permission to display their messages.
It is in contrast to England where games this weekend have been preceded by a minute of applause in celebration of Mandela’s life and his role in ending apartheid in South Africa and transforming the international profile of Africa.

Read More

Emenike Now Fires On All Cylinders at Fener

Emmanuel Emenike grabbed one of Fenerbahce’s goals in weekend’s 3-2 win over Bursaspor.

Emenike guided home a superb header from an accurate corner-kick in the 83rd minute to increase his goal tally in the ongoing Turkish League season to four.
The 26-year-old has now scored on three consecutive match days following an early goal-barren start on his return to Istanbul.

Emmanuel Emenike Scored for Fenerbahce Again.

His match winner against Kayseri Ericiyesspor on October 20 at the Kadir Has Sehir Stadi, came in the wake of a brace against Gaziantepspor on October 25.

The ex-Spartak Moscow and Karabukspor marksman, who also got a brace for Nigeria against Ethiopia in a 2014 Fifa World Cup qualifier in Addis Ababa on Ocober 13, has 18 international caps and has scored 10 times.

Read More

Arsenal Proved Cynics Wrong By Winning Liverpool- Wenger

Arsene Wenger says Arsenal has rightly hit back at its critics with Saturday’s 2-0 win over Liverpool.

Goals from Santi Carzola and Aaron Ramsey helped the Gunners increase their lead to five points after Chelsea surprisingly lost 2-0 at Newcastle in the early kick-off.
“It was important to respond to convince people that we can win these big games,” said Wenger.
“To win it in a convincing way is even more important.”
Wenger’s side had lost two of their previous home matches prior to Saturday’s win. They lost 2-1 to Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League and last week’s 2-0 loss to Chelsea in the League Cup.
But when the two top sides in the Premier League table clashed, Arsenal showed resilience and quality to maintain their fine start to the season.
Santi Carzola opened scoring with a fine first-half strike after his header struck the post and Aaron Ramsey scored his 10th goal of this campaign with a spectacular long-range effort on the hour.

Aaron Ramsey Scored His Tenth Goal of the Ongoing Season Against Liverpool.

The defeat puts Liverpool’s preparedness for a title challenge into perspective as Luis Suarez could only hit the post late on.
“Our defensive performance was outstanding,” Wenger added.

Read More

Enyeama Denies Falcao et al as Lille Ends Monaco’s Unbeaten Run

Super Eagles goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama inspired his French Ligue 1 side Lille Metropole to a 2-0 victory over Monaco, which brought an end to Claudio Ranieri’s men’s unbeaten run on Sunday.

Nolan Roux’s two goals at the Stade Pierre-Mouroy won the match and dealt a blow to the principality club’s hopes of battling Paris St Germain (PSG) for the championship but special recognition for Enyeama, 31, who made some absolutely crucial saves.
Sunday’s clean sheet was Enyeama seventh successive league games without conceding since Christopher Glombard of Stade de Reims scored against him on August 17.
The result sees Rene Girard’s men climb above their opponents in the table, two points behind league leaders PSG and a point ahead of the third-placed Monaco.
Roux opened scoring midway through the first-half when he poked a Marka Basa goalward header beyond the visitors’ goalkeeper Danijel Subasic, who had already committed himself in the direction of Basa’s initial leap.
Monaco were the better team throughout the second-half but Lille looked dangerous on the break and the second came from a swift counter through Solomon Kalou, who slipped in Rio Mavuba and the hosts captain unselfishly squared Roux to tap in.

Vincent Enyeama has Only Conceded Four Goals in 1080mins of Ligue 1 Football.

Read More

I was not referring to Victoria Beckham, says Naomi Campbell

As controversy continues to trail supermodel Naomi Campbell’s comments on racism on the runway, the model insists she never tried to “pinpoint” Victoria Beckham as racist when she criticised the former Spice Girl for using just one non-white model in her London Fashion Week Show. Campbell launched a campaign to expose racial discrimination in the fashion industry last month and published an open letter with a list of fashion houses “accused of being guilty.”
However, the 43-year-old model insists she meant nothing personal against Victoria and even called her directly to discuss the problem in the industry as a whole.

Read More

List For World Footballer Of The Year Released

The List for the 2013 World’s best player has been released by FIFA with also the list for the Coach of the year.

Will Messi be crowned again or will Christiano stop him from making it 5 times in a row or will outsider Ribery steal the spotlight off these two?
(1) Gareth Bale (Real Madrid/Wales)
(2) Philipp Lahm (Bayern Munich/Germany)
(3) Thomas Muller (Bayern Munich/Germany)
(4) Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich/Germany)
(5) Bastian Schweinsteiger (Bayern Munich/Germany)

Read More

Arsene Wenger: Arsenal confidence intact after cup exit

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger said a Capital One Cup fourth-round defeat by Chelsea will not hamper his side's momentum ahead of a tough fixture list in November.

Cesar Azpilicueta and Juan Mata goals marked a second successive home defeat.
The Gunners lead the Premier League and face Liverpool and Manchester United in their next two domestic fixtures.
Asked if his side's confidence had been dented, Wenger said: "No. It's a different competition."
Since losing to Aston Villa in their first game of the season, Arsenal recorded 11 wins in 12 matches before losing to Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League a week ago.

Mourinho continues fine run against Wenger

Read More

Arsenal 0-2 Chelsea: Mata magic helps Blues overcome below-par Gunners

The Blues' No.10 drilled a right-footed shot past Lukasz Fabianski to seal the win after Cesar Azpilicueta had seized upon a Carl Jenkinson mistake to open the scoring

By Peter Thompson

47

Comments

9 Awesome

7 Dislike

Getty Images

Jose Mourinho maintained his hoodoo over Arsene Wenger as Chelsea beat Arsenal 2-0 to reach the quarter-finals of the Capital One Cup.

Arsenal boss Wenger had failed to secure a victory over a Chelsea side managed by Mourinho in eight attempts before Tuesday night's clash between the top two in the Premier League at the Emirates Stadium.

Don't Miss

• Player Ratings: Arsenal 0-2 Chelsea

Read More

5 Conclusions From The Premier League Last Weekend

The Premier League weekend kicked off with a 2-0 win that saw Arsenal and Crystal Palace assume their respective positions at the top and bottom of the table.
It was a good weekend for Merseyside teams—while Romelu Lukaku was in a starring role for Everton at Villa Park, Luis Suarez stole the show at Anfield, where Liverpool thumped West Bromwich Albion 4-1.
David Moyes’ blushes were spared at Old Trafford as Manchester United twice came from behind to beat Stoke.

Read More

Toure, Ozil, Bale Make Ballon d’Or Shortlist.

Manchester City and Ivory Coast international Yaya Toure is among five Premier League players named in the 23-man shortlist for the FIFA Ballon d’Or award.

All the players nominated for the 2013 award, given annually by FIFA to the player considered to have performed the best in the previous year, currently ply their trades in Europe.
Treble-winning Bayern Munich were rewarded for their record-breaking feat last season with six players- Franck Ribery, Philipp Lahm, Thomas Muller, Manuel Neuer, Arjen Robben and Bastian Schweinsteiger- listed.
Real Madrid winger Gareth Bale, who stood out for Tottenham Hotspur last season, and teammate Cristiano Ronaldo- World’s Best Player in 2008- were among the players from the Spanish La Liga.

Yaya Toure of Ivory Coast.

Lionel Messi, who has won the award in the past four years, alongside three other Barcelona players- Xavi, Andres Iniesta and summer signing Neymar- are among the candidates.

Read More

Eaglets Will See Off Iran Within Regulation Time

Golden Eaglets coach, Manu Garba, is not expecting Tuesday’s second round tie against Iran to enter into penalty shootout nevertheless, but has charged his team to ensure they leave no stone unturned as they look to book the ticket for the quarter-finals of the ongoing FIFA U-17 World Cup.

Garba’s men will look to break down the compact and solid defence of Team Melli at the Khalifa Bin Zayed Stadium in Al Ain today (Tuesday) as the Eaglets tactician remains optimistic of Nigeria’s chances of reaching the next round.
“We would ensure that we win this game within the regulation time and we are looking at the possibility of not allowing the game to be dragged into a penalty shootout,” said the Eaglets boss.

Coach Manu Garba and His Assistant Inside the Dressing Room.

Read More

Bale is Only Adapting to His New Club and He Needs Time- Ancelotti.

Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti has urged club faithful to be patient with Gareth Bale, who is yet to impress at the Bernebeu following his record-breaking summer move.

The Welshman is yet to find his peak since joining the ‘Los Blancos’ for £85m (100 million euros) from Tottenham Hotspur. He has not been able to complete a full game for his new club as he battles to return to full fitness.
Having started for the Madrid giants in Saturday’s 2-1 loss at the Camp Nou, a yellow card was all the 24-year-old winger had to show before he was replaced an hour into the match.

Image AFP: Gareth Bale Being Showed a Yellow Card During Saturday’s El Clasico.

Ancelotti accepts the fact that Bale has not unleashed his predatory form on the Spanish Primera Division but












pointed out that new players need to be allowed some reasonable period of time to acclimatise to a new club and culture.
“It’s true that in the last few games he hasn’t done extraordinary things, but a player who arrives at a new team, in a new culture, needs time to adapt,” Ancelloti told Spanish radio Cadena Cope.
“The problem the player has is of adaptation. It’s not the same to play in Spain as in England.”
There has been notions that Bale’s price tag played a part in the boss’ decision to start him ahead of Karim Benzema in Saturday’s ‘El Clasico’.

Read More

Manchester United Need To Win – Sir Alex Ferguson

Former Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson says new manager David Moyes will never be able to escape expectation at Old Trafford.

Life after Ferguson at Old Trafford has not got off to the start Moyes would have hoped for as some stuttering performances in the Premier League have left them eighth in the table, eight points behind leaders Arsenal.
Famously Ferguson also had a testing start to his reign and he was not following an icon who had just enjoyed a near-27-year trophy-laden spell.
“The thing about coming to a club like United is you can never get away from the expectation and I learned about that quickly,” said Ferguson at a question and answer session for a 1,700-strong audience at The Lowry Theatre in Manchester to coincide with the publication of his autobiography and Moyes was a guest.
“I spent a lot of stupid time looking at history, getting out early results from the 10 previous seasons and it was doing me no good, I was getting nowhere with that.

Read More

Cape Verde Appeals World Cup Playoff Disqualification.

Cape Verde has lodged an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) over the world football governing body, FIFA’s, ruling that ruled them out of the 2014 FIFA World Cup African Zone third round playoffs.

The Lausane-based tribunal said on Tuesday it had registered the protest, although it could not yet give a date for the hearing and decision.
FIFA discovered that the Island nation had featured an ineligible player (Fernando Varela) in their final Group B 2-0 win over Tunisia. They were made to forfeit the victory by FIFA and the match was instead awarded 3-0 to Tunisia, which sent the Northern Africans through to the playoffs as group winners.

Cape Verde Celebrates 2014 World Cup Playoff Slot.

The Tunisians have already played the first leg of the playoff round, drawing goalless at home to Cameroon last Month.

Read More

Jordan end Eagles’ unbeaten record

Nigeria’s impressive four-match winning streak was on Monday punctured as the home-based Super Eagles squad were defeated 1-0 by Jordan in an international friendly match which took place at the Amman International Stadium.
Before yesterday’s defeat, Nigeria had enjoyed straight wins over South Africa, Malawi, Burkina Faso and Ethiopia, with the last defeat being far back in June at the Confederations Cup in Brazil against world champions Spain.
Monday’s friendly match is the first international football meeting between Nigeria  and Jordan at any level  and Jordanians will be happy to score a win over the African champions albeit it was second string side players playing in the Nigeria League.

Read More

Supersport promises live coverage as NBA dunks off

As the 2013/14 National Basketball Association (NBA) season officially tips off on Tuesday, October 29, basketball fans across Africa will not have to wait long for the action as two days later, last season’s runners-up, the San Antonio Spurs and the Memphis Grizzles will tip off SuperSport International’s three-year broadcast of the NBA.
The 30-franchised club (29 in the USA and 1 in Canada) league will be available across multiple platforms on SuperSport including online, where Supersport.com will host the leagues’ official Africa website, NBA.com/Africa.
SuperSport is the NBA’s official broadcast partner in the Pan-Africa region and is available in 47 countries across Sub-Saharan Africa.
The World of Champions will broadcast 71 regular season matches on SuperSport 1HD and 9 between October 31st 2013 and April 16th 2014.

Read More