Carling Cup Final

  Tottenham 2 - 1 Chelsea 

                              

                              Woody Wins at Wembley!

While Jonathan Woodgate will go down in Spurs lore as the man who delivered the Cup to Tottenham this victory belongs to the team. The Spurs started out the match like the club that truly wanted the silverware as they sent wave after wave of attack at the Chelsea goal. They went down a goal in the 40th through a sublime Didier Drogba free kick that left recent returnee Paul Robinson rooted to his spot (there’s a shock). Didier Zokora had fouled Drogba to give him his second free kick at goal in just minutes and the Ivornian striker made good on the second try.

 Tottenham continued the push and had some chances created by Robbie Keane and Dimitar Berbatov. In the 69th minute their persistence paid off when Tom Huddlestone and Aaron Lennon put pressure on Wayne Bridge in the Chelsea box and caused the Blues defender to handle the ball. Berbatov cooly let Petr Cech go right and slotted his shot to the left to knot the score at 1-1.

   

The Spurs kept up the pressure up on the final minutes with Zakora and Berbatov both having clear opportunities to win it in regulation. When the final whistle sent the match the two sides were definitely headed in opposite directions. Four minutes into extra time the defender that joined the Spurs in January paid huge dividends. Woody got his head to a Jermaine Jenas free kick. Cech got a fist to the ball and it rebounded off of Woodgate’s £8 million face and into the net. It wasn’t pretty, but it was effective.

   

Chelsea put on a push at the end of extra time and Tottenham stood tall to seal the victory. Good job Tottenham a well deserved victory.

Sunday Wrap Up February 24, 2008

  Reading 1 - 2 Aston Villa 

Villans roll at the Madejski. Reading’s woes continued today as their guests gave a good demonstration of dominance. James Harper got things off to a rousing start for Reading when he created a scoring opportunity in just thirty seconds. Scott Carson smothered the chance and set the tone for the rest of the match.

The Royals’ defense could have used some extra bodies as Ibrahima Sonko and Kalifa Cisse seemed confused in the centre of the defence. Cisse gave up an iffy penalty for handling the ball. But, karma came quickly when Gareth Barry sliced his shot wide. Ashley Young broke the stalemate at halftime as Gabriel Agbonlahor gave him the ball with yards of space and he slotted it home. Marlon Harewood drove the final nail in at the 83rd minute with a curling shot into the upper corner of the goal. Nicky Shorey got a consolation goal in the 90th from his free kick, but it was too little too late as the Villans came away with all three points.

    

  Blackburn 4 - 1 Bolton 

Wanderers penalized at Ewood. It’s hard to win a match when you give up two penalties. Blackburn was gifted the first penalty and Benni McCarthy took full advantage. As he did after Gary Cahill fouled David Dunn for the second in answer to Kevin Davies’ leveler. David Bentley’s header and Morten Gamst Pedersen’s injury time goal added to Bolton’s troubles.

Bolton played well they just couldn’t take advantage of their opportunities. Brad Friedel deserves full credit for keeping Bolton at bay with some great saves from El Hadji Diouf and Ricardo Gardner. Blackburn’s victory came at a good time, they needed the points and the confidence.

      

Saturday Wrap Up February 23, 2008

  Birmingham 2 - 2 Arsenal 

Travesty at St Andrews. Martin Taylor’s tackle on Eduardo can only be described as horrendous. Sadly the early information doesn’t bode well for his future. Taylor was sent off with a straight red card in the 3rd minute leaving the Blues to play the entire match with 10 men. The loss of their striker so early and having to watch him being treated for eight minutes definitely had an impact on the Gunners.

James McFadden gave City the lead in the 28th with a sublime free kick that Manuel Almunia just couldn’t get to. The goal seemed to spark the visitors and they stepped up the attack, but  they were unable to break through at the half. Theo Walcott finally got on the Premiership score-sheet when he poked home a Maik Taylor loose ball to knot the score at 1-1. Walcott doubled his league total with a weaving run that culminated with a fantastic shot to the corner of the net. Three points seemed to belong to Arsenal until Gael Clichy brought Stuart Parnaby down in the box. McFadden slotted home the penalty and stole a not necessarily earned point.

  Liverpool 3 - 2 Middlesbrough 

Torres’ pays off at Anfield.£20 million 21 goals. Definitely showing that he is well worth the money. If Rafa Benitez would play the young Spaniard more, Liverpool might be challenging for the title. Middesbrough played well throughout the match and could have added to the domestic woes of the Merseysiders. Tuncay Sanli found the net early with a fine header for Boro. But, Fernando Torres fired off two quick goals two minutes apart. Boro could have done some damage as the Reds showed some lack of concentration and opened the door a couple of times.

Torres fired home his third early in the second half which should have put an end to the match. Middlesbrough didn’t get the memo though as Stewart Downing kept his side in it with a late goal at the 83rd minute mark. But, the wheels came off as Jeremie Aliadiere smacked Javier Mascherano after an altercation. Liverpool won the game, however they could have easily lost. Benitez is living with uncertainty and I’m concerned that with the whinging that has hit the media from the changing room recently is showing in their performance.

  Newcastle 1 - 5 Man Utd 

Ron and Roo thump Toon at St James’. Manchester United took a little bit of time to hit their stride, but when they did it was amazing. Wayne Rooney has been a terror in the pitch lately. Today was no different. The Tynesiders had an equal share of possession they just couldn’t come through defensively. Rooney volleyed in a beautiful cross from Ronaldo for the first goal of the night. The Portugese winger turned from provider to finisher at the half from a Michael Carrick pass. He did it again at the start of the second half when he slid around Steve Harper and popped in United’s third of the match.

Newcastle winger Damien Duff and Charles N’Zogbia gamely both fought on and came close to netting for the home side. Abdoulaye Faye was the one who finally broke through the Red Devil defense and put Kevin Keegan’s lads on the board in the 79th. In a display that showed who was the boss of this match, Rooney calmly scored a minute later to restore the three goal margin. Louis Saha finished the job at the end of the match with a well directed shot from a Rooney square.

Newcastle is still looking for their first victory under King Kev and unless they pull out of their free fall they could be challenging for the 18th position in the league when all is said and done. Manchester United moved to within 3 points of Arsenal with today’s demolition of Newcastle.

             

Other Saturday results- Fulham 0-1 West Ham; Portsmouth 1-0 Sunderland; Wigan Athletic 2-0 Derby County.

Gazza!

When he played he was one of the best that England has ever produced. I was lucky to see him play numerous times throughout his career (mostly for England) and he was phenomenal when he had the ball at his feet. Gazza has always been the “Clown Prince” of football, famous for pranks he pulled on friend and foe alike, but that never detracted from his great talent. His flick over Colin Hendry in the EURO 96 match against Scotland was just one of many great moments in his career. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzPjlnQEkps

The news broke Thursday that Paul Gascoigne was sectioned under the Mental Health Act for behavior detrimental to himself and others. This is another sad step for the great man. Ian Wright said it best on his radio show – it is time for the FA to step forward and help this man. I agree and this is why: Gascoigne came up at the time when everything changed in football. Salaries skyrocketed and pressure mounted on players on and off the pitch. Media exposure became rabid. No one knew how to handle all of these new difficulties. Paul was a young lad without someone to guide him. So he handled the spotlight the way he had always handled things, by going out and having a good time. And the world of English football shunned him as a buffoon. All players of that era faced the same problems and not everyone went down the same path, but some did and all of them deserve to get help.

Give something back to a man that has given so much to England. He lives and breaths football. This isn’t a cliche, it’s fact. I’ve heard many accounts of his love for the game and how he lives in the world of football 24/7. He is a good man who needs to be brought back into the fold. He needs to pass along his knowledge of the sport to those young lads who need to know.

GET WELL SOON GAZZA!