November 19th, 2008
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Sssshhhh. I’m watching my DVR of the US-Guatemala match. Don’t tell me how it ends.
2007 USL-1 finalists Atlanta Silverbacks decide that playing in 2009 is not something they want to do [Our Sports Central]
Ronaldo the Fat to retire. Was anyone actually planning on him not doing so? [BBC]
The idea of Ze Roberto becoming a pastor seems the equivalent of Nigel Tufnel selling hats [Eurosport]
UK teen girls want to be WAGs instead of something useful. Thanks Posh [Telegraph]
Whatever happened to the 3-5-2? [Guardian]
And, finally:
Take note. This is not how one should celebrate a victory in the post-match press conference [Times Online]
Written by Darkvader on November 19th, 2008 with no comments.
Read more articles on Backpasses and ü75.
Welcome to our liveblog of USA vs. Guatemala, starting at 8 pm EST from Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Denver. Actually its in Commerce City next to a refinery, about 10 miles from downtown, but close enough. Since the USA has already qualified we are likely to see a predominately MLS side that I would categorize as somewhere between a C and D team. Guatemala, who still have a slim chance of qualification with a win and a T&T loss, will at least be thanking Bob Bradley for bringing such an understrength an inexperienced group. Hopefully we will at least Jozy and Freddy show a bit of spunk in the first half. Lineups and more, after the jump.
Photo credit: USMNT Blog
Random thought: Is Colorado the worst run MLS franchise?
7:51 - Hey, its fucking cold in NYC tonight. I need some scotch
7:51:30 - USA starting lineup:
Guzan; Thorrington, Goodson, Parkhurst, Bornstein; Mastroeni (c), Clark, Adu, Kljestan; Cooper, Altidore
I’m actually mildly excited to see Kenny Cooper back in action tonight with the Nats. Adu needs to do a better job creating chances in the midfield tonight than his shit performance during the T&T game last month.
7:55 - Is it just my TV or were these girls on old American Gladiators a lot beefier than the ladies of today?
8:00 - And we are live from the Dick. Brilliant. Lets see how ESPN spins this unimportant game
8:02 - No Carlos Ruiz for Los Chapines tonight. Flores, Noriega, Albizuris, Castrillo in the back. Didn’t see the rest.
8:06 - Anthem time. Guatemala players doing the El Tri salute here. The Dick looks to be rather flaccid tonight. Lots of empty seats.
8:07 - Guatemala players are all wearing Under Armor long sleeves under their jerseys. It probably feels like Lambeau Field to them in Denver tonight.
8:08 - This is the year that the MLS Cup is on the West Coast? I’ll put the O/U on Red Bulls fans in attendance at 500.
0 min - And we’re off.
2 min - Long ball to Jozy down the right but he falls over. Maybe should have been awarded the foul on the edge of the box. Adu turnover count = 1.
5 min- Gorgeous through ball from Sascha to Kenny Cooper, but he’s offside. Cooper looks beastly in full stride.
7 min- Freddy wins a corner after some good work down the right. Ball is whipped into the box but cleared. Harkes praising Adu for theatrics and getting on the refs early. I guess that’s why he’s in Monaco.
8 min - Long ball from Clark to Jozy, who almost executes a perfect side volley. Ball goes out off the keeper, but no corner is awarded. As PR notes, the Mexican ref is probably going to be less than generous tonight.
10 min - US continues to play long balls up to the Cooper/Altidore tandem. Kenny in particular looks very good so far. At some point on of those is going to result in a goal. Guatemala not looking particularly inventive so far. In fact they look pretty unenergetic so far.
13 min - Klesjian with a through ball to Altidore. Jozy tries to play it across the face to Kenny Cooper, but a defender clears it. He probably had the keeper beat near side. The ensuing corner comes to naught.
16 min - Great move starts with a turnover gathered in by Ricardo Clark. Adu rampages down the right, and a corner results. The ball comes to Freddy at the top of the box and he almost pulls off the wonderstrike from 25 yards out. That was close.
18 - Well, Sunil Gulati needs his money, right? Holy Crap Freddy with a marauding diagional run down the center, puts a stinger off the keeper’s hands. Rebound comes to Kenny Cooper who is denied by a good save. Shots so far are 6 to 1 to the United States.
20 min - I think we paid like $50 at least for USA Argentina this summer at Giants Stadium. Then again, some serious star power was in attendance for both sides. Another great move results in Bornstein free on left down the box. Unfortunately his cross goes over everyone. Alitdore and Cooper looking very very good up top.
22 min - Wow. A stone cold penalty as Thorrington is taken down in the box. The Ref is becoming somewhat less popular. Harkes is livid. Anyone remember what happened to Brian Hall last year down in Mexico during a CCCF game? Needed a police escort out of the stadium after some bad calls.
24 min - USA! USA! USA! chants ring around the stadium. Needs more cowbell.
29 min - Ricardo Clark almost goes in free on goal, but cannot corral it. The US has had a lot of half to 3/4 chances, but Altidore’s was the best so far. Let’s not make this Arsenal-esque, boys.
31 min - Kenny Cooper hits the bar on a header. A nice ball from Clark. I’ll say it again for the twentieth time, but that Cooper is a beast. On the other end, Figueroa splits the defense and almost gets a ball across the box. Broken up nicely by Parkhurst.
34 min - Pace has slowed down a little bit. US is still keeping possession but continues to play an England circa 1987 hit and hope style.
37 min - Freddy, on the left now, crosses wide over to Cooper. ManBeast has trouble with his first touch, but somehow lobs the ball to Jozy. He falls down again in appeal for a penalty. You can guess what the call was.
40 min - ManBeast fouled in the middle. Harkes rather diplomatically says Guatemala play “physically.” Some might say dirty….At least El Pescador isn’t playing right now.
42 min - More possession from the US. After some nifty passing Adu is fouled 35 yards out. Freddy takes the kick, which swerves over the wall but is easily handled by the Guatemalan keeper.
45 min - Guatemala put a decent cross in which is headed just over the crossbar. The ensuing corner is cleared, and the whistle mercifully blows.
HT - So far its a typical Concacaf game. Guatemala doesn’t look particularly threatening, but the USA has been unable to convert on their ample possession. The US midfield can’t deal with the 11 men behind the ball and foul ‘em defense employed by Guatemala. Its games like this where you can see the the clear gap in class between the European based guys and MLS players.
HT2 - Random trivia. I was at the last game the USMNT played in Colorado. 80,000 at Invesco field in Spring 02 right before the World Cup against Mexico. The club level was all soccer moms and dads, and the lower and upper levels were chock full of rowdy Mexicans.
46 min - Second half starts with a nice cross from ManBeast that Altidore almost geads in. Ensuing corner is caught by the keeper.
49 min - Food update: Lamb Kebobs and hummus. Game Update: Zzzzzzzzzzzzzz.
54 min - Guatemala have a chance here. Its 0-0 in the Cuba T&T game. Wow. Kenny Copper scores on a nutmeg of the keeper. He got a great ball from Jozy and Cooper buried it! Your 2010 front line? 1-0 USA
56 min - Guatemala are on their heels a bit here. Freddy a decent chance from the top of the box saved by the keeper. Offensive subs on. Marco Pappa of the Chicago Fire comes into the game.
61 min - Adu and Altidore busting out some Joga Bonito on the give and go. Unfortunately Adu’s shot is saved by the keeper. FWIW, my 2010 starting XI as of right now is:
Howard, Cherundulo, Gooch, Bocanegra, Pierce, Bradley, Beasley, Donovan, Dempsey, Jozy, Cooper. Freddy the super sub off the bench.
63 min - Mastroeni unleashes a scorcher from 30 yards that nearly beats the keeper. The rebound unluckily bounces right off Jozy’s chest.
66 min - Sascha Klesjian just had a great chance but it was saved. This game could easily be 3-0. Random thought since we are talking about the MNT player pool. Where on earth is Benny Feilhaber? Jozy, meanwhile, gets fouled on the edge of the 18. A yellow that could have been a red.
67 min - Holy Shit! The ensuing free kick is curled beautifully by Freddy into the top corner. His first goal for the USA. Beckham quality right there. 2-0 USA!
71 minutes - Dwight Yorke has scored for T&T. The Fat Lady is warming up for Los Chapines.
89 min - Sorry lads, just had to chat with the GF on the phone. The Ching/Casey duo is not quite as hot as the Jozy/Kenny one eh?
92 min - Mexico are down to nine men, trailing 1-0. But I don’t think its enough with Jamaica only up 3-0 to Canada.
93 min - I think Mexico is through here. Although Honduras has a corner. Excitement differential is massive. That stadium looks like its going to explode.
Final - 2-0 USA. Great work up front by Jozy and Cooper. Adu sort of went in an out of the game, but he had some good chances. Midfield was ok, although Mastroeni picked up a card which will rule him out of the next round of qualifying. Defensively, the backs pushed up quite a bit, but Guatemela didn’t really have much attacking threat. Parkhurst is defintiely useful, though, as the #4 or #5 CB in the US pool. Thanks for hanging out.
Written by Darkvader on November 19th, 2008 with no comments.
Read more articles on Bob Bradley still stucks and Ian and Live Blogs and USMNT.
CHILE is a good side. Full of illusion, class players, pride & were an
excellent sparring partner tonight althought they lost 3-0 against
SPAIN.
However, Spain are on another level, they played with class, passing the
ball around as if on a billiard table. Young At.Bilbao player Fernando
Llorente debuted in the 2ºhalf, Torres was back & scored, Xavi was
sublime, Villa is just there, Riera was solid, Cesc magic, Ramos - good
to see you back, Capdevila the man, Senna the wall, Alonso vision…
& on & on.
DAVID VILLA scored the penalty in the 36th min to become the 5th
highest scorer in the National Team History…he will score more.
FERNANDO TORRES came on for Villa in the 2º half & scored from
a brilliant Xavi start up, all in the 69th min. Then CAZORLA scored
Spain´s third in the 86th min taking a deflection from Chilean Carmona
Excellent result for Spain, undefeated in 28 straight games retaining the Nº1
World ranking & showing magic all night. Chile should be proud, they have
a team that can qualify for the World Cup if things go their way.
Written by STRIKER on November 19th, 2008 with no comments.
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A while ago I accused Man City’s speedy Brazilian goal banger of being ‘tight’ and a ‘penny pincher’ after he lined up for 25 minutes to save some money in a department store. It seems that maybe I was wrong and Robinho is UNLIKE every other superstar footballer. Intrigued?
How refreshing… Robinho takes the bus. THE BUS.
But not only does he take the bus, he takes his bird on the bus. The Daily Mail reports that the Brazilian has been on regular shopping trips with his missus to the Trafford center in Manchester by public transport. How down to earth, how… incredibly normal.
In a world of fancy cars, chauffeurs, expensive clothes and overpriced luxuries, the story should focus on the highest-paid footballer in England being fiscally responsible. Lets hope that ‘keeping it real’ becomes a trend in the football world.
I can see it now…Ronaldo shopping at H&M. Defoe riding a bike to training in Sketchers. Lampard strap-hanging on the Circle line home, Bellamy driving a Ford Fiesta for a meal at TGI Friday’s. Somehow I think that Robinho will be alone with his real world sensibilities.
Robinho, here at UF we take our hats off to you sir. Robinho ladies and gentlemen… keeping it real.
-Bigus
Written by Darkvader on November 19th, 2008 with no comments.
Read more articles on Bigus Dickus and Man City and down to earth and robinho.
Not that these things are dragged out or anything, but almost eight months after the ‘Battle of the Bridge’, a date has finally been set for the hearing into the bust-up between Manchester United’s Patrice Evra and Chelsea groundsman Sam Bethell.
Yes, that’s right, this one’s still going on. Whilst bans can be swiftly arranged for both Drogba and Ferguson for their recent charges, the ‘Chelseagate’ affair has been going on since Chelsea’s 2-1 win over United in April.
So what’s taken them so long? Well, for a start there was the apparent cock-up with Bethell’s contract, with Chelsea failing to include the fact that their groundsman was subject to the governing body’s rules and regulations. So, despite charging Bethell with improper conduct and the use of racially aggravated language, a quick peek at his contract showed the FA didn’t actually have the authority to do so and whilst Bethell seemingly got a let-off, the FA did an about-turn and brought charges against Chelsea instead.
Meanwhile in the red corner, Patrice Evra has denied his charge of improper conduct and although he apparently isn’t going to say Bethell racially abused him – United are. Because, during the brawl which was caught on cameras inside Stamford Bridge, it’s alleged Bethell was heard calling Evra a “f***ing immigrant” within earshot of United assistant manager Mike Phelan. Not only that, but Paul Scholes, Park Ji Sung, John O’Shea, Danny Welbeck and Gary Neville were all in the vicinity as well. So, even if Evra’s planning to play it down and say he just lost his rag because the groundsmen were on a bit of a wind-up, there might be plenty who could say they heard different.
Not that Bethell is worried about that of course, because not only has he always shrugged off his behaviour as ‘handbags’ but he also seems to have the support of his employers despite it seeming to be pretty poor PR on their part. You see, no doubt advised by the PR nightmare that is Peter Kenyon, on the charges of failing to ensure Bethell conducted himself in an orderly fashion and failing to include the necessary provisions in his contract – both of which aren’t really disputable – Chelsea have decided to deny them anyway.
Not exactly the club’s brightest idea really but then again neither is their insistence that they would never condone racist behaviour if the evidence against Bethell really is that overwhelming and they’ve failed to deal with him in the past eight months.
The two day hearing is set for December 4th and 5th and this time, there could be some serious punishments dished out.
Written by Jackson Ng Ghim Pheng True Blue Chelsea Fan on November 19th, 2008 with no comments.
Read more articles on Football-Player.
Chelsea youngster Slobodan Rajkovic has successfully appealed against a one-year suspension from football, although the on-loan FC Twente defender will still be banned for international games.
Rajkovic was handed the punishment after being seen to spit at referee Abdullah Al Hilali during an Olympic tie between Serbia and Argentina in Beijing on August 19.
A trip to Zurich to appeal against the ruling has been successful though and Rajkovic is now eligible to feature in FC Twente’s Eredivisie games.
The defender, who agreed to join Chelsea from OFK Belgrade in November 2005, has welcomed the decision although he is still disappointed at being prevented from playing for his country.
“I am very pleased with this ruling,” Rajkovic told the club’s official website. “I look forward to playing in competitions for FC Twente.
“It is good that I have always been training in recent months and can now join the group.
“I want to express my heartfelt thanks to everyone at the club for their support at this difficult time.
“It remains, of course, extremely annoying that I have no matches to play next year for Serbia.”
Rajkovic made 13 appearances whilst on loan with PSV Eindhoven last season and FC Twente coach Steve McClaren is now keen to hand him his long-awaited debut in Enschede.
“First of all I am obviously very happy for Slobodan personally,” said McClaren. “He has put a very difficult and unpleasant time behind him.
“FC Twente can now have this talented defender again.”
Pompey send striker Sahar back to Chelsea after unsuccessful loan spell
Ben Sahar will return to Chelsea in January after Portsmouth decided not to extend the striker’s six-month loan agreement at Fratton Park.
The Israel international arrived during the summer but has failed to appear in a competitive match for Portsmouth.
Sahar has not even been included in the squad for most matches. With Jermain Defoe, Peter Crouch, Kanu and David Nugent ahead of him Sahar has been unable to break into the team.
And despite having the option of extending the loan, both parties have decided a parting of the ways is best.
Pompey executive chairman Peter Storrie confirmed: ‘Ben will go back in January. It has been a mutual decision.
‘He’s not been involved but the coaches feel he’s not at that level and that he will be better in the Championship. He’s had injuries and needs to play somewhere but I think at the moment that would be in the Championship.’
John Terry is the complete footballer, says his Chelsea team-mate Deco
Chelsea midfield ace Deco has hailed skipper John Terry as the ‘complete footballer.’ And he believes the timing of his arrival in London has been perfect because he’s mature enough to have settled in quickly.
The Portuguese star said: ‘For me Chelsea have the strongest midfield in the world. That is the strongest area of the team.
Terry’s gold: The Chelsea captain is football’s most complete player, according to Deco.
‘However, the player that has impressed me most is John Terry because he is a strong character, he is a great footballer and a very complete footballer.’
He added: ‘I have found it easy to adapt despite the difference in the Spanish and English styles of play.
‘I think that’s because I came here at a stage of my career when I already had a lot of experience.
‘I accepted the differences and was more mature about my surroundings.’
Deco gave an insight into Jose Mourinho’s managerial style as opposed to Phil Scolari, having of course played under both.
He said: ‘Scolari talks more to the players on a daily basis whilst Mourinho prefers to concentrate on match preparation and will only speak to you personally when it is necessary to do so.’
MM has first-team future - Blues
Chelsea’s latest England star, 20-year-old defender Michael Mancienne, has been told he has a first-team future at Stamford Bridge.
Mancienne, who is in England’s squad to face Germany on Wednesday, had recently hinted he might have to quit the club in order to gain regular first-team football.
He is currently on loan at Wolves having spent much of the previous two seasons at QPR.
But Chelsea chairman Bruce Buck said: “He is a very good young player and we look forward to him at some point making it into the first team.
“Unfortunately, we have lots of good players who play in the same position so in the last couple of years we’ve sent him out on loan to gain experience.”
Written by Jackson Ng Ghim Pheng True Blue Chelsea Fan on November 19th, 2008 with no comments.
Read more articles on Football-Player.
I know you’re angry and scared, Fabio. An England midfield without Gerrard is a truly frightening thought
No, the November Friendlies isn’t the name of a new band from Ohio and we’re not Pitchfork. It’s time for international duties at the worst possible time, and in a period where everyone is so gripped by the league in full swing, or the Mickey Mouse Cup, or the early rounds of the FA Cup, or the Champions League, or the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, or Gentlemen’s Clubs or… well, you get the idea.
So many England regulars have handed in sick notes, and they’re facing ze Germans in Deutschland this evening, while some permed Argentine with a runny nose is prepping a team to play up in Scotland. No clue what that’s all about.
Talk about it all here. Will Maradona quit by half-time? Will England’s B team do anything worth paying attention to in Germany? How many of your team’s players will get hurt tonight (please, I beg you Daniel Agger, stay out of any nasty challenges)?
Quote BBC live-texter Caroline Cheese (yes, her real name):
I’ve just been in the United States of America for a couple of weeks, which is an utterly brilliant country except for the chronic lack of proper sport. I mean, the bombshell news about Aidy Boothroyd’s departure from Watford did not warrant a mention in a single newspaper. Not a single one. Unbelievable. It was all Obama this, Obama that. So personally I couldn’t be more excited about this evening’s action, my first taste of soccer… ahem, football, for fully 21 days. You?
Ouch. Still, she’s ready (and her sarcasm’s working nicely), and so are we. To the comments section!
Tonight’s Today’s games:
Denmark vs. Wales (kicked off at 2.15pm ET… nothing of note thus far)
Germany vs. England
Northern Ireland vs. Hungary
Scotland vs. Argentina
Other notables:
Oh, who am I kidding, there are none. Serbia beat Bulgaria 6-1 earlier, in case you bet the under by mistake.
LINEUPS:
Germany: Germany: Adler, Friedrich, Mertesacker, Westermann, Compper, Schweinsteiger, Rolfes, Jones, Trochowski, Gomez, Klose.
Subs: Wiese, Hinkel, Tasci, Helmes, Podolski, Marin, Hitzlsperger, Schafer, Weis.
England: James, Johnson, Terry, Upson, Bridge, Wright-Phillips, Carrick, Barry, Downing, Defoe, Agbonlahor.
Subs: Carson, Robinson, Lescott, Richards, Mancienne, Davies, Parker, Bullard, Young, Crouch, Bent.
—
Northern Ireland: Taylor, Duff, Evans, Baird, McGivern, Gillespie, Clingan, O’Connor, Brunt, Lafferty, Healy.
Subs: Mannus, Tuffey, McGinn, Feeney, Shiels, Paterson, Thompson.
Hungary: Babos, Bodnar, Rudolf, Juhasz, Vanczak, Halmosi, Toth, Vadocz, Huszti, Gera, Torghelle.
Subs: Fulop, Vermes, Feczesin, Horvath, Dardai, Dzsudzsak, Szalai.
—
Scotland: McGregor, Hutton, Caldwell, McManus, Broadfoot, Brown, Hartley, Ferguson, Commons, McFadden, Iwelumo (how he keeps his place is beyond me).
Subs: Marshall, Alexander, Naysmith, Maloney, Clarkson, Berra, Miller, Robertson, Barr, McAllister.
Argentina: Carrizo, Zanetti, Demichelis, Heinze, Papa, Rodriguez, Mascherano, Gago, Gutierrez, Lavezzi, Tevez.
Subs: Romero, Coloccini, Denis, Cata Diaz, Villagra, Burdisso, Sosa, Lopez, Montenegro, Gonzalez.
—
Denmark: Denmark: Sorensen, Bogelund, Agger, Rasmussen, Kroldrup, Kristensen, Norregaard, Nordstrand, Krohn-Delhi, Bendtner, Rommedahl.
Subs: Andersen, Mtiliga, Jorgensen, Andreasen, Retov, Vingaard, Ilso, Larsen.
Wales: Myhill, Gunter, Williams, Collins, Bale, Edwards, Ramsey, Nyatanga, Collison, Bellamy, Evans.
Subs: Hennessey, Tudur-Jones, Blake, Ricketts, Morgan, Eardley, Vokes.
—
Written by Darkvader on November 19th, 2008 with no comments.
Read more articles on Diego Maradona and England needs you and Lingering Bursitis and Open Thread and friendlies.
No dodgy celebrations this week. Disgraced bin man David Norris tastes defeat. Loooooooooser!
No I didn’t forget about the Colaship this week, but it has taken me 4 days to recover from the depressing defeat my Canaries suffered last Saturday. That’s why this edition of the Colaship review will be the shortest EVER. I am still reeling and cannot bear to spend more than 5 minutes dwelling on the league this week!
Wolves are going great guns. They are 6 points ahead of West Midlands rivals Bongo FC and the Wolverhampton express is showing no signs of slowing down as they beat Southampton 2-1 at St Mary’s. Birmingham won a 5-goal thriller at Charlton while Reading had a HUGE win at Sheffield United. The Royals are now just one point behind Bongo and looking tasty.
At the bottom Ip..Ip..Ip…that lot, lost at Doncaster. Ha ha ha ha. Doncaster! Even my pathetic under-achievers beat basement boys Doncaster! Watford continued to suck. This time at Barnsley as they went down 2-1.
Bloody Burnley are still on the high from doing Chelsea at the Bridge. They handed QPR interim Gareth Ainsworth a defeat in his last game in charge. He has been replaced today as the Hoops announced the appointment of former Portuguese international Paulo Sousa. Sousa played 51 times for his country and recently held the post of assistant coach with the Portuguese national team.
QPR’s new boss Paulo Sousa.
Last weekend’s results:
Blackpool 1, Preston 3
Barnsley 2, Watford 1
Bongo FC 3, Charlton 2
Bristol City 2, Nottingham Forest 2
Cardiff 2, Palace 1
Coventry 0, Plymouth 1
Derby 3, Sheffield Wednesday 0
DONCASTER 1, IPSHIT 0
Norwich 2, Swansea 3
QPR 1, Burnley 2
Sheffield United 0, Reading 2
Southampton 1, Wolves 2
Click HERE for the full table.
-Bigus
Written by Darkvader on November 19th, 2008 with no comments.
Read more articles on Bigus Dickus and bad week and coca cola championship.
An article popped up in my inbox the other day that made me contemplate that which I would rather not think about. I would think it rather obvious that anyone who goes into officiating a sport, especially professionally, is a fan of the sport. And, summarily, when one grows up as a fan of the sport, they have teams that they support. In a country like Scotland, which has half of its population centered around a city with two major teams, that support is likely to go to one of those clubs. Hence, it is entirely possible that a large portion of Scotland’s referees support either Celtic or Rangers and that, subconsciously (one hopes, at best) decisions are made that support these clubs.
I bring this up, and tacitly accept it as something that does occasionally happen, because of this past weekend’s Hamilton-Celtic match. Right before halftime, with Celtic down 1-0, a Hamilton defender gets beaten by a long ball and lets his mark in behind him. The defender clips the attacker’s heels and, last man back being what it is, gets a red card. That’s not the problem. The problem is that the foul occured about 2 yards outside of the box, and Celtic were awarded a penalty kick. In the video below, you can catch the foul at about 3:25 and see the replays thereafter (also, check out Hamilton’s early goal. Quite impressive).
Either the referee or the linesman is at serious fault here. Was one of them wearing green-hooped glasses when deciding to award a PK?
Celtic, to their credit, took full advantage of the call to even the match before halftime. In the waning minutes of the second half, Paul Hartley scored (7:20 of the video) and Celtic secured all three points in a scrappy match. That’s ten wins on the trot for Celtic, who look very much in control of the league.
Since the last Scotland update on here, three rounds of fixtures have been played. Rangers, of course, are fighting to keep up with Celtic, and did well the Saturday previous to destroy Kilmarnock away 4-0. However, in a midweek tussle last Wednesday, Rangers failed to score and drew Motherwell away 0-0. Saturday, with their team sitting four points back of Celtic (who were to play on Sunday), Rangers needed three points and got them with a 2-1 win over St. Mirren. Rangers appeared to ice the game pretty early, scoring twice in the first 10 minutes in front of the home crowd. St. Mirren pulled the one back in the 81st minute, but were unable to get any more.
Before Saturday’s match, Dundee United seemed to be sitting well in third place, while on a good run of form. Unfortunately for them, they crashed out against Kilmarnock 2-0. One would not have guessed the result considering that Killie had lost five straight, but that’s why they play the games, right? A goal on either side of halftime sent United down a spot into fourth.
Hearts were the beneficiary of the Terrors loss. Hearts took the long trip up to Inverness on Saturday and came away with a lackluster, but important 1-0 win. Bruno Aguiar scored the lone goal for the visitors, who now lead Dundee United by one point.
The match of the weekend, yes I’m biased, was Hibernian hosting Aberdeen. Hibernian had a stranglehold on the offense for most of the game, but Aberdeen stymied them time and again. In the 40th minute, Aberdeen took advantage of a mistake on a free kick to score. Hibs defender and captain Rob Jones ducked out of the way to allow his keeper to collect the ball. Darren Mackie nipped in behind him and nodded the ball past Andrew McNeil. Zander Diamond doubled the Dons’ lead in the 53rd, freely heading in a Sone Aluko corner. Hibs continued to attack, something they have done a lot os this year while playing a 4-3-3, and broke through in the 62nd. Rob Jones, he of the earlier mistake, knocked in a corner from close range. Hibernian, who outshot Aberdeen 18-6, continued to press for an eqaulizer and got one with the last kick of the game. Steven Fletcher proved the point-saving hero when he squeezed the ball into the net after a goal mouth scramble. It was a wild game where both teams could feel aggrieved for not taking all three points.
In the remaining game for the weekend, Falkirk defeated Motherwell 1-0, bringing the home side’s unbeaten streak to six in all competitions. The goal was scored by Michael Higdon, his third in the last three games, and came in the 37th minute. For Motherwell, it was the end of a week that saw the high of drawing Rangers diluted by two losses.
Current table (Team, points, goal differential)
Celtic, 37, +22
Rangers, 33, +21
Hearts, 23, -2
Dundee United, 22, +3
Kilmarnock, 19, -6
Aberdeen, 18, -1
——————-
Motherwall, 17, -3
Falkirk 16, -2
Hibernian, 16, -6
Inverness CT, 14, -6
St. Mirren, 12, -7
——————-
Hamilton, 10 -13
If there is anything surprising in this table, it’s that the gap from second to third is less than that of the EPL. Maybe Scotland’s southern neighbors should work on getting a league that isn’t so Top 2 heavy, huh?
Written by Darkvader on November 19th, 2008 with no comments.
Read more articles on Dodgy Refs and SPL and Scotland and ü75.
It’s not often that I stay in-country to make fun of a shirt. It’s like shooting fish in a barrel–it’s just too easy. All you have to do is go back to the ’80s and ’90s when everyone involved was trying so hard to be edgy and hip while attempting to make the average American care. It was a colossal miscalculation and a giant waste of time.
One of the ways that was supposed to lure the average American sports fan was to increase scoring. “But the field is so big, how can someone ever score quickly?” someone (probably) whined. America’s solution? Cut the field size by three-quarters and put it inside. With walls. Boom, indoor soccer was born.
Major Indoor Soccer League (the first one) started up in 1978, just as the Cosmos reached their heights. It was moderately successful, just enough for a competing league to form in 1984–the National Professional Soccer League (initially known as American Indoor Soccer Association). In that secondary, USFL-like league, Buffalo Blizzard plied their trade.
Buffalo started up their team in 1992 and made a run of it until 2001, when the league shut down. Needless to say, that was the apex of the stupid soccer jersey era in the US. Thankfully, the Blizzard followed the rest of America in this trend. Just as thankfully, someone bought a replica, got tired of it and put it up for sale on eBay.
I have no background info on when exactly this shirt was from. If I had to hazard a guess, based on the Adidas design, I’d say about 1993-94, give or take.
Boy Howdy, is that a looker. Adidas sure did (and do) love their three stripes, didn’t they. I would bet that, if one had to count how many stripes actually are on this shirt, the count would end up in the–wait for it–triple digits. Sublimated print for company logos makes my heart hurt.
What’s that on the sleeve anyway? In early, edgy ESPN2 graphic font, it says “It’s you turf”.
Awesome. It’s a progenitor of Under Armor’s “We must protect this house” campaign, all started on this team’s shirt. Boo yah, indeed.
What’s that I said above? Oh yeah, this is an eBay special. Unsurprisingly, it’s from in country, so no need to pay those inflated UK postage rates this time. As a plus, within the item description, there is a line that will appeal to two sets of online purchasers. The first half of the line states that the item is “gently worn”. Hey, that’s great for collectors. The second half reads “(by a girl)”. Perv Heaven!
Anyway, right now, the shirt will set you back about $10 with postage. There are just under three days left, so you had better get your money together as soon as possible. You don’t want to miss out on this one.
Written by Darkvader on November 19th, 2008 with no comments.
Read more articles on Buffalo Blizzard and Ebay and Indoor Soccer and The Good The Bad The WTF and ü75.
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Sssshhhh. I’m watching my DVR of the US-Guatemala match. Don’t tell me how it ends.
