MUNDIAL SOCCER UPDATES

ITALIAN SERIE A IS BACK TO TRACK: WEEK ONE RESULTS

2008-09-01T09:16:00.000-07:00

Sunday, 31 August 2008
AC Milan lost at home 1-2 to Bologna. Di vaio in the 18th minute open the score line for the visitors while Ambrosini in the 41st minute equalises for the home team.
Midfielder Valiani blasted the ball home from outside the box in the 79th minute after Massimo Ambrosini had cancelled out Marco Di Vaio's goal for Bologna in the first half.
Bookings: Pirlo 80, for the home team. Bombardini 43, Mingazzini 49, Mudingayi 90 for the visitors.

Atalanta at home beat Siena 1-0. thanks to padoin splendid goal in the 15th minute.
Bookings: Capelli 83, for the home team, Maccarone 54, Calaio 83, for the visitors. however in the 86th minute Maccarone was sent off and Siena was down to ten men on the pitch.

Cagliari also lost at home 1-4 to Lazio . Larrivey in the 32nd minute got the opening goal for the home team, while Zarate through a penalty kick in the 62nd minute got an opening for the visiting team. he also doubles it in the 72nd minute and in the 75th minute Foggia made it three while pandev in the 84th minute kills the match.
Bookings: Agostini 27, Larrivey 32, Cossu 57, Biondini 91 for the home team while Brocchi 30 got the only yellow card for the visiting team. Lopez was sent off in the 61st minute from the home side.

Catania at home beat Genoa 1-0. thanks to Mascara only goal in the 60th minute.
Bookings: Alvarez 8, Stovini 26, Paolucci 41 for the home team.while Biava 3, Rossi 54, Olivera 64 for the visitors.

Chievo also while at home beat Reggina 2-1. Corradi through a penalty kick scored for Reggina in the 72nd minute while Marcolini through the same process in the 76th minute got an equalizer. Italiano in the 88th minute claims the victory for the home side. Bookings: Mandelli 44, Cesar 71, D'anna 95,for the home team while Tognozzi 47 for the visitor. however, Langella was sent off from Chievo at the last minute before the whistle is blown.

Fiorentina played a 1-1 draw at home with Juventus. Nedved in the 38th minute open the scoreline for Juventus, thanks for Gilardino's late goal, Fiorentina could have also lost at home.
Bookings: Felipe Melo 33, Gilardino 89,for the home team while Grygera 22, Nedved 28
Camoranesi 64, Legrottaglie 83, for the visiting team. Felipe Melo was sent off in the 83rd minute from the home side.

Roma also played a 1-1 draw at home with Napoli. Aquilani in the 29th minute open the scoreline for the home team while Hamsik in the 55ft minute equalises for the visitors. Bookings: Aquilani 41, De Rossi 57, for the homeside while Vitale 39,
Santacroce 49 for the visiting team. Santacroce in the 54th minute was however sent off from the Visiting team.

Torino beats Lecce at home 3-0. Rosina in the 29th minute open the scoreline for the home team while Zanetti in the 33rd minutes doubles it and Bianchi in the 73rd minute killed the match.
Bookings: Corini 38, for the homeside while Munari 17, Giacomazzi 54, Diamoutene 29 for the visiting team.

Saturday, 30 August 2008
Sampdoria played a 1-1 draw with the italian champions Inter Milan. Delvecchio in the 67th minute open the score line for the home team while Ibrahimovic in the 33rd minute equalises for the visitors. Bookings: Muntari 15, Figo 52 for the visiting team.

Udinese in another match won at home by beatingh Palermo 3-1. Di Natale in the 9th minute open the score line for the home team. Di Natale got his second goal of the match in the 34th minute when he doubles it. Bresciano in the 69th minute got a consolatory goal for the visitor while Inler in the 70th minute kills the match.
Bookings: Coda 58, Isla 68, for the home side while Dellafiore 14, Nocerino 22
Dellafiore 63, Miccoli 83 for the visiting team.

SPANISH LALIGA IS BACK AND HOT:WEEK ONE RESULT.

2008-09-01T03:58:00.000-07:00

Sunday, 31 August 2008
Athletic Bilbao lost to the visiting Almeria 1-3. Pellerano in the 7th minute open the score line for the visitor, Negredo doubles it in the 33th minute while Juanma Ortiz in the 50th minute killed the match, however the home team got a consolation price in the 56th minute when Ion Velez score their only goal.
Bookings: Llorente 33, Ion Velez 91, for the home team.Diego Alves 29, Bruno 67, Uche 86, Crusat 89 for the visiting team.

Atletico Madrid on the other hand whirl their visitor(Malaga) 4-0. Aguero opens the score line for the home team in the 26th minute. Former Villareal hitman Forlan doubled and trippled it in the 38th and 44th minute (through a penalty respectively).
Sinama Pongolle killed the game finally in the 81st minute.
Bookings: Seitaridis 76, for the home team. Arnau 43, Lolo 51 for the visitors.

Deportivo La Coruna defeated the spanish champions 2-1 at home.
OH! WHAT A MATCH
Mista and Lopo in the 27th and 52nd minute were both on parade for the home team, as they dangled through the defense of the spanish champion and put in through two goals respectively, while Van Nistelrooy in the 47th minute got the only goal for the spanish hitteam.
Bookings: Lopo 31, Mista 35, Pablo Alvarez 75, Aranzubia 79, for the home team; Guti 55, Sergio Ramos 71, Marcelo 86; for the visitor.

Numancia in another encounter got a 1-0 victory over their visiting Barcelona.
Mario in the 13th minute got the only goal for the home team. bookings: Puyol 42
Eto'o 80

Osasuna played 1-1 draw with Villarreal at home. Senna in the 54th minute got the only goal for the visiting team while Nekounam through a penalty kick in the 70th minute equalized for the home team.
Bookings: Azpilicueta 18, Roversio 53, for the home team; Rodriguez 69, for the visitor.however, two men were both sent off on either side.
Miguel Flano was sent off in the 78th minute for the home team while Godin in the 68th minute was sent off from the visitor.

Racing Santander also played a 1-1 draw with sevilla. Luis Fabiano in the 71st minute got the only goal for the away team while Juanjo in the 76th minute equalized for the home team. Bookings: Colsa 14, Lacen 93.

Real Betis lost at home 0-1 to Recreativo Huelva .Adrian Colunga in the 36th minute got the only goal for the visiting team. Bookings: Capi 59, Fernando Vega 84.

Sporting Gijon also lost at home 1-2 to Getafe. Albin in the 14th minute open the score line for the visiting team while Diego Castro in the 35th minute equalized for the home team. Casquero in the 86th minute finishes it.
Bookings: Matabuena 56, Jorge 64, Luis Moran 81, Michel 89, for the home team while Albin 65 and Casquero 69 for the visiting team.

Saturday, 30 August 2008
Espanyol at home beat Valladoid 1-0. Luis Garcia got the only goal of the match for the home team in the 49th minute.
Bookings: Beranger 41, Luis Garcia 89 for the home team. Ogbeche 77, Vivar Dorado 87
Kike 90 for the visitors.

Valencia trashed Mallorca 3-0 at home.Villa in the 35th minute open the score line for the home team, Mata in the 38th minute doubbles it while Vicente finishes it in the 82nd minute.
Bookings: Silva 13, Moretti 20, Albelda 53, Alexis 80. for the home team.

ENGLISH PREMIERSHIP RESULT: WEEK THREE

2008-09-01T03:05:00.000-07:00

SUNDAY 31st, 2008
Aston Villa played goaless draw with Liverpool in a match that earned skrtel a yellow card in the 13th minute an Dossena in the 66th minute.

Chelsea on the other hand almost lost at home to visiting Tottenham hotspur as they played goal draw, ending the match 1-1. belletti got a yellow card in the 28th minute while Bent of Tottenham got painted yellow in the 46th minute.joining the yellow team are Deco in the 10th minute, J Cole in the 45th minute and Bosingwa in the 86th minute.

Sunderland also lost at home 0-3 to manchester city. Ireland open the scoring for manchester city at 46th minute, while the former chelsea hitman wright shawn phillips got the other two goals in the 50th and 58th minute respectively. in that match, the following were also painted yellow:Kompany in the 33rd minute,Bardsley in 60th minute, Healy in 66th minute, Richardson and 74th minute and chimbonda in the 77th minute.

Saturday, 30 August 2008
Arsenal beat visiting Newcastle 3-0 in the match in which Van Persie through a penalty kick earned the home team their first goal in the 18th minute, Van Persie got the second of the match in the 41st minute and Denilson trippled it in the 59th minute.
Bookings: Fabregas 52, Nasri 90+2, Coloccini 28, Given 52

Bolton wanderers played goaless draw with West Brom at home. Bookings: Nolan 34, McCann 41, Robinson 63, MacDonald 90+2

Everton lost at home 0-3 to visiting portsmouth. Defoe in the 12th minute open the score line for portsmouth, Johnson in the 40th minute doubles it while Defoe 69th minute got his second goal in the match that earned Baines a yellow card in the 87th minute.

Hull lost 0-5 at home to the visiting Wigan athletics; Ricketts o.g. in the 5th minute open the score line, while Valencia in the 13th minute doubles it. Zaki killed the match in the 63th minute when he too booked his goal against the home team. Heskey in the 68th minute put in the fourth goal of the match and Zaki again in the 81st minute finishes it.
Bookings: Ashbee 40.

Middlesbrough beat the visiting Stoke 2-1. Alves in the 37th minute open the score line while Hoyte o.g in the 71st minute got the equalizer, however, Sanli killed the match with a dazzling finish in the 85th minute.
Bookings: O'Neil 78, Huth 81, Griffin 28, Fuller 52, Lawrence 64, Wilkinson 89.
Faye was however sent off through a red card in the 36th minute.

West Ham trashed the visiting Blackburn 4-1. Davenport open the scoreline in the 12th minute, Samba o.g. doubles it in the 20th minute. Roberts did pulls one back in the 22nd minute creating hope of revival for Blackburn, however, Bellamy kills the game in the 93rd minute and Cole finishes it all at the last minute of the encounter(95ft). Bookings: Grella 7, Roberts 27, Ooijer 30, Emerton 52, Bellamy 92,Nelsen 95.

AFRICAN CHAMPION LEAGUE AND CONFEDERATION CUP RESULTS

2008-08-31T10:18:00.000-07:00

MTN CAF Champions League
Dynamos FC lost to El Ahly 0-1 while the match between Asec Mimosas and Zamalek is yet to be determined by 15H:30

Coton Sport defeated el-hilal of sudan , while the people's elephant lost scandalously to TP mazembe of Dr congo 0-3.

Confederation Cup
Club Africain played goaless draw with CSS,
Ashanti Kotoko of ghana beat El-merrikh 1-0 while JSK vitiate the hope of ESS to the semi final when they beat them 1-0.
the match between Interclube and Haras el Hodoud is yet to be determined at 19h00.

ZENIT TRASHED MANCHESTER UNITED TO CLAIM THE SUPER CUP

2008-08-31T10:12:00.000-07:00

FC Zenit St. Petersburg produced a fine display of passing football to claim the UEFA Super Cup for the first time, a goal in each half from Pavel Pogrebnyak and debutant Danny securing victory against Manchester United FC in Monaco.

Pogrebnyak, who missed both the UEFA Cup final and UEFA EURO 2008�?� through suspension and injury respectively, headed the first a minute before half-time, while Danny the man of the match marked his first game with a goal in the 59th minute. Although Nemanja Vidi�? halved the deficit, United had left themselves too much to do and lost Paul Scholes to a late red card as Zenit held on to add another trophy ahead of their maiden UEFA Champions League campaign.

Also United lost Owen Hargreaves to a long-standing knee injury earlier in the day while Zenit left Andrei Arshavin, so influential in their UEFA Cup triumph and the inspiration behind Russia's run to the UEFA European Championship semi-finals, on the bench. One player who did start was Pogrebnyak, keen to impress after a summer of frustration and the striker could have broken the deadlock as early as the seventh minute only to lash Aleksandr Anyukov's low right-wing cross over. The right flank provided a promising avenue for Zenit to explore in the early stages yet the Russian champions were unable to find a way through.

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE QUALIFIER UPDATES!

2008-08-27T18:26:00.000-07:00

The angry gunners beat the twente 2-0 away and 4-0 at emirates, ending the aggregate 6-0 in favour of arsenal.

liverpool on the other hand managed to beat Standard 1-0 at home after a goaless draw away. thanks to kuyt late goal

ACF Fiorentina took a significant step towards the UEFA Champions League group stage as goals in either half from Adrian Mutu and Alberto Gilardino earned the Italian side a 2-0 home victory against SK Slavia Praha. FLORENTINA DEFEATED SLAVIA 2-0 ON aggregate.

sparta in their first leg lost at home to Panathinaikos:1-2, and in the return leg it was a compounding woes as they lost 0-1 to the host team. this means that Panathinaikos FC sealed their return to the UEFA Champions League group stage for the first time in three years with a 1-0 win against AC Sparta Praha. Rodrigo Souza scored the only goal four minutes into added time as Henk Ten Cate's side advanced 3-1 on aggregate.

Juventus emerged from the UEFA Champions League third qualifying round first leg against FC Artmedia Petržalka with one foot in the group stage after a dominant performance in Turin.
Juventus walops Artmedia 4-0 at home, FC Artmedia Petržalka's dream of repeating their UEFA Champions League adventure of 2005/06 died as Juventus completed a comfortable aggregate victory over the Slovakian titleholders by drawing 1-1 in Bratislava. taking the aggregate to be 5-1 in favour of juve

Samuel Eto'o scored twice as FC Barcelona overwhelmed Wis�?a Kraków to all but assure their passage to the UEFA Champions League group stage. The Cameroon striker and Xavi Hernández give the Catalan side a two-goal advantage at half-time, a lead extended within four minutes of the restart by Thierry Henry. Eto'o claimed his second of the night seven minutes from time to give coach Josep Guardiola a fine start to his Camp Nou tenure. Four minutes after the break Henry finished off a move involving Andrés Iniesta and Eto'o, and with a comfortable lead, Barcelona eased off for a while. Midway through the second period, Xavi and then moments later summer signing Seydou Keita, were denied by defensive blocks as Wis�?a sought to limit the damage. However, despite their efforts, the Polish champions could not deny Guardiola's side a fourth on 82 minutes as Eto'o received an Iniesta pass and fired beyond Pawe�?ek from inside the penalty area.The first leg ends 4-0 in favour of barca. in the return legs FC Barcelona stumbled slightly in losing by a single Cléber goal at the home of the Polish champions but still marched into the group stage at Wis�?a Kraków's expense. the aggregate remains 4-1 in favour of barca.

FC Dynamo Kyiv are on course to reach the UEFA Champions League group stage after a comfortable win against old rivals FC Spartak Moskva at the venue for last season's final, the Luzhniki Stadium. Spartak went ahead early on but two goals apiece for Ismaël Bangoura and Artem Milevskiy tilted the balance in Dynamo's favour ahead of the Kiev return in a fortnight. It made up for their previous UEFA Champions League visit to the stadium, when a 1-0 defeat helped end the Ukrainian side's 1994/95 campaign in the group stage. They looked on course for more misery when they fell behind on four minutes tonight when Nikita Bazhenov put Spartak ahead with a cool finish into the top corner. The advantage was nearly doubled soon after but Olexandr Shovkovskiy was equal to Vladimir Bystrov's shot from close range. Dynamo slowly found their rhythm and had the majority of possession but rarely threatened Stipe Pletikosa's goal. the equaliser was out of nothing. Mozart's back-pass to Pletikosa was misdirected and Bangoura pounced to tap the ball into an empty net. The visitors were buoyed and Bangoura looked to double his tally after a delicate pass from Milevskiy just missed the target. However, in first-half added time Miloš Ninkovi�?'s cross found Bangoura, whose shot was parried by Pletikosa only for Milevskiy to escape the marking of Roman Shishkin and turn in the rebound; Suddenly things looked bleak for Spartak and it got worse soon after the interval when Bangoura pounced on a defensive slip and, one-on-one with Pletikosa, made no mistake. Only a fine reflex save from the Croatian goalkeeper denied Bangoura his hat-trick after the Guinean striker beat three defenders, but Spartak were on the defensive and only a solo run and shot just past the goal from Bystrov lifted the home fans. They were soon down again, however, as five minutes from time it was 4-1 when Bangoura robbed Martin Jiránek and teed up Milevskiy, who put Dynamo ever closer to a third successive group stage campaign. in the return leg FC Dynamo Kyiv defeated former Soviet rivals FC Spartak Moskva 4-1 for the second time in two weeks to confirm their place in the UEFA Champions League group stage. Holding a three-goal advantage from the first leg, Dynamo were firm favourites to progress and they rubber-stamped their ticket for Thursday's draw thanks to two goals in each half. Olexandr Aliyev and Ismaël Bangoura extended Dynamo's lead, and while Spartak's Artem Dzyuba briefly reduced the arrears just after half-time, Artem Milevskiy repeated his first-leg feat of scoring twice. Soon after Bangoura wasted an opportunity to claim his second when he sprung the offside trap but stumbled when one-on-one with Stipe Pletikosa and the chance was gone. Spartak did gain something of a foothold in the game, if not the tie, two minutes after the restart as substitute Ivan Saenko found space on the left and delivered a ball to Dzyuba who held off the attentions of Taras Mikhalik to delicately place the ball beyond Bogush. with all these, the match remains the one with the highest aggregate of the week as it ended 8-2 in favour of FC Dynamo Kyiv.

in the other matches played, Levski lost at home to BATE (0-1) and drew 1-1 on away, making the aggregate to be 1-2 in favour of Bate.

shakhtar donesk also made impact when they trashed dinamo zagreb 2-0 at home and repeated the same victory away, beating Zagreb 3-1 in front of their own fan.

Anorthosis also beat olympiacos 3-0 at home, olympiacos, on the return leg them 1-0 to end the aggregate 3-1 in favour of the Anorthosis.

Aab triumph over kaunas 2-0 at home and on the return leg kaunas lost to them again by 2-0 ending the aggregate at 4-0 in favour of AaB.

Galatasaray AS drew steaua bucharest 2-2 at home and on the return leg they lost 0-1making their aggregate to be 2-3 in favour of steaua bucharest.

Brann lost to olympic marseille 0-1 at home and on away, they were trashed 2-1 to end the aggregate at 3-1 in favour of the french.

Schalke 04 won at home beating Atletico madrid in a pyrrohic victory which later on their away match brought about their bashing. Atletico won 4-0 in the return leg, ending the aggregate to be 4-1 in favour of madrid.

Partizan drew at home 2-2 with Fenerbahce and lost in Fenerbahce 1-2. of course, Fenerbahce carry th cake with 4-3 on aggregate.

Guimaraes played a goaless draw with Basel at home, while Basel trashed them 2-1 in their home. the aggregate remains 2-1 in favour of Basel.

PREMIERSHIP UPDATE: WEEK TWO!

2008-08-25T16:20:00.000-07:00

MANY a match was played across england this weekend and lots of shocking result were seen across the league.
the most surprised of the match being the match between newly promoted stokes city and aston villa. stokes city white washed the pillar 3-2. also the match between Arsenal and Fulham is another surprise as Fulham trashed the gunners 1-0 to carry the cake.
in other matches played, chelsea struggled to beat wigan athletics (wigan being at home)1-0 through a free kick taken by deco.
also the reds, manchester united struggled to beat portsmouth by a lone goal. well it was their first win and an away win for that matter.
liverpool also crucified the boro 2-1, while newcastle defeated the wanderers by a lone goal as well.

OH NO!!! ARGENTINA STOLE THE CAKE

2008-08-24T11:01:00.000-07:00

It was on the afternoon in China around 12:00pm though 5:00am Nigerian time that the match took place.
From the Bed, many a patriotic Nigeria woke up to watch the match with greater enthusiasm only to discover that their dream of ruling the world again postponed.

the Nigerian played very well with all their strength and skills but the climate itself played against them big time as both the team keeps on drinking water within short intervals.
the heat on the field topped a punishing 107 degrees, and the referee twice stopped play because of the sizzle, Argentina proved itself a champion again.

Angel di Maria provided the finish to another piece of magic from Lionel Messi, helping Argentina defeat Nigeria 1-0 for its second straight gold medal in Olympic soccer.

Di Maria collected Messi�??s expertly timed pass in the 58th minute Saturday and nonchalantly lobbed it over the goalkeeper. Nigeria, the 1996 champions, settled for the silver medal.

�??This group deserved this,�?? Messi said. �??We knew coming in that we may never have this experience again, so we are lucky that everything went well and we got what we wanted.�??

Brazil, which has never won Olympic gold, earned the bronze medal Friday by beating Belgium 3-0 in Shanghai. After the final, Ronaldinho and his teammates stood on the field to collect their bronze medals and see the title go to their biggest rivals.

Messi almost didn�??t play in the tournament because FC Barcelona won a ruling that it could pull him from the tournament. The Spanish team allowed him to play.

�??I think he has played very well in the Olympic tournament,�?? Argentina coach Sergio Batista said. �??He�??s played very well today as he normally does in his position and I knew that he could probably be the deciding factor.�??

The final began at noon in the Bird�??s Nest, and the referee took the rare step of twice allowing players to stop and take drinks.

�??Maybe the heat was a factor,�?? Batista said. �??I think it the game had been played in another part of the day it would have been very different.�??

The game was the only one to be played in Beijing�??s main Olympic stadium, and it was watched by a crowd of 89,102 that included former Argentina great Diego Maradona. But the fans had to wait a long time to be entertained.

Not surprisingly, the searing heat made for poor quality in the first half�?? mistakes, misplaced passes and slow movement to conserve energy.

�??We tried to make sure that we didn�??t get uptight, just too play our own game,�?? Batista said. �??We wanted to play with intelligence and move the ball around and not run around so much. We wanted the ball to do the work.�??

After Peter Odemwingie�??s free kick forced Argentina goalkeeper Sergio Romero to make a diving save in the sixth minute, Juan Roman Riquelme sent one over the bar.

Messi had a penalty appeal turned down when he tumbled over Dele Adeleye�??s challenge.

Nigeria almost went ahead shortly after the first drink break when Odemwingie crossed from the left and Promise Isaac just missed the ball in front of goal. The ball came back and Isaac�??s looping header was saved by Romero.

�??No team has actually played at noon since we started this tournament,�?? Nigeria coach Samson Siasia said. �??It affected both countries and most players didn�??t perform to their level because of the heat. But we didn�??t make the rules. They said play the game at 12 o�??clock which I don�??t think wasn�??t a good idea.�??

Argentina, and Messi in particular, were disappointed in the first half, but Di Maria almost made the breakthrough with a 30-yard shot that goalkeeper Ambruse Vanzekin pushed around the post.

Messi produced one of his special moments in the 50th minute when he spun past a defender just outside the penalty area and sent a left-footed drive Vanzekin punched away.

Victor Obinna had a chance to even the score in the 63rd minute with a clear shot, but he sent it straight at the goalkeeper.

Ebenezer Alijore also had a shot at the goal, but it rolled wide of the post and then Sani Kaita shot over the bar from the edge of the penalty area.

ITS NIGERIA ARGENTINA FOR FINAL

2008-08-19T15:54:00.000-07:00

WHAT A SUPERB MATCH!!!
Argentina crushed Brazil in one of football's most combustible rivalries Tuesday to reach the Olympic final where they will play African giants Nigeria who sauntered past minnows Belgium.

The defending champions, inspired by Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi who outshone AC Milan's Ronaldinho, upset their South American neighbours with a brace from Sergio Aguero and penalty by captain Juan Riquelme.

It means that Brazil, despite being five-time World Cup winners, must wait another four years for a chance to win their first Olympic gold after coming up short twice before in final appearances in 1984 and 1988.

Atletico Madrid's Aguero broke the deadlock seven minutes after the interval when Angel Di Maria's pass appeared to strike his upper arm and flew into the net.

Aguero scored his second five minutes later when Messi released defender Pablo Zabaleta on the right and his pass was slotted home from close range.

Riquelme killed off the game with a 76th minute penalty after Aguero was brought down by Bayern Munich defender Breno.

It was wretched night for the Brazilians with Liverpool midfielder Lucas and substitute Thiago Neves both sent off for ugly fouls on Javier Mascherano late in the second half.

"This was like a final for us," said goal-hero Aguero. "Beating Brazil is the best thing."

Liverpool's Mascherano, the captain, added that while the win was fantastic nothing had been achieved yet.

"It was the greatest game for everyone and fortunately we managed to win it," he said.

"We haven't achieved anything yet, but beating Brazil with a result like this is wonderful."

In Shanghai, Atlanta Olympic champions Nigeria proved too big a hurdle for Belgium, comfortably winning 4-1.

Olubayo Adefemi opened the scoring in the 17th minute and Chinedu Ogbuke Obasi netted a brace before Chibuzor Okonkwo hammered the final nail in Belgium's coffin.

Substitute Laurent Ciman pulled one back in the dying minutes but it was too little too late.

"It was unbelievable. You just have to look at the scoreboard," said Nigeria's ecstatic coach Samson Siasia. "We are going for gold."

The Nigerians, with the inherited experience of six Olympics, pressed the attack and a sustained pressure resulted in the opener.

The Belgian defence was at fault, failing to clear the ball and it fell to Adefemi inside the box and he slotted it underneath the diving Logan Bailly.

Hertha Berlin forward Solomon Okoronkwo almost made it 2-0 ten minutes before the break when his pace took him past a defender but his drive whistled past the post.

At the other end, Ajax midfielder Jan Vertonghen struck a beautiful volley after connecting perfectly with a lofted corner kick, only to see Nigerian keeper Ambruse Vanzekin somehow keep it out.

The Africans got the all-important second goal after 59 minutes, but they were fortunate as Ogbuke Obasi looked to be offside when Everton's Victor Anichebe fed him the ball.

He put it in the net with the outside of his left boot and Chilean referee Pablo Pozo allowed it to stand.

The match was put beyond doubt with 18 minutes remaining when Obinna laid off the ball to a rampaging Ogbuke Obasi who hit a powerful strike from 25 yards that gave Bailly no chance.

A long-range effort from Okonkwo in the 78th minute added to Belgium's misery.

"We deserved it," said Odemwingie. "We have the confidence to win a gold medal for Africa."

PREMIERSHIP IS BACK AND HOT!

2008-08-18T16:30:00.001-07:00

Many a match were played across England between 15th and 17th, August, 2008. the star match of which was the match between chelsea and portsmouth. the blues whirl portsmouth 4-0.
J. Cole in the 12th minutes fires his own trigger to clinch the first goal for the blues. Anelka in the 26th minutes doubles it, while Frank Lampard through a penalty kick in the 46th minutes trippled it and to make the day worse, Deco in the 89th minutes killed the game. james in the 46th minute got a yellow card for a misdeed.
In the other results, Aston Villa beats Manchester City4-2, John Carew in the 47th minute open the score line, in the 69th minute Agbonlahor; the Nigerian superstar doubles it. in this same match it was so overwhelming to discovers that Agbonlahor scores a hat trick as he trippled it in the 74th minute and finally killed it two minutes later. Manchester city also fought back for at least to get a consolation price and in the 64th minute through a penalty kick Elano pulled one back while Corluka in the 89th minute doubles it.
Newcastle draws Manchester United by 1-1. Obafemi Martins; the Nigerian striker commonly called the Weapon of mass destruction opens the goal scoring while Fletcher in the 24th minute pulls one back to level the match. Campbell in the 78th minute got booked while Brown in the 82th minute also got booked and Wayned Rooney in the 90th minute also received a yellow card.
Arsenal; The gunners beat west Brom 1-0 through Nasri in the 4th minute.
Bolton Wanderers beat visiting Stokes 3-1. Steinsson in the 34th minute open the goal scoring for Stokes, while in the 41st minute Davies pull one back to levelled the match. Elmander in the 46th minute doubles it and Fuller in the 91st minute finishes it for the wanderers to carry the cake.

other results are:
Everton 2-3 Blackburn
scorers: Arteta 46 Yakubu 64 Dunn 22 Santa Cruz 66 Ooijer 91
Bookings: Yobo 75 Yakubu 91
Bookings: Warnock 45 Ooijer 59

Hull 2-1 Fulham
scorers: Geovanni 22 Folan 81 Ki-Hyeon 8
Bookings: Ricketts 29 Dawson 44 Fagan 90

Middlesbrough 2-1 Tottenham
scorers: Wheater 71 Mido 86 Huth o.g. 91
Bookings: Digard 91
Bookings: Jenas 61 Bentley 76

Sunderland 0-1 Liverpool
scorer: Torres 83
Bookings: Arbeloa 56 El Zhar 90

West Ham 2-1 Wigan
scorers: Ashton 3 Ashton 10 Zaki 47
Bookings: Parker 39 Davenport 49
Bookings: Palacios 68

ITS NIGERIA BELGIUM FOR S'FINAL

2008-08-18T16:07:00.000-07:00

Nigeria on Saturday 16th August, 2008 defeat Their cote d'ivoire counterparts just as the Cameroun lost to Brazil in their quater final encounter.

it was on the 44th minutes in the first half when Osaze Odemwinge put Nigeria ahead. The cote d'ivoire tried all their best to pull one back, But their dream was chattered when, towards the end of the second half, from a penalty Kick Obinnar Nnsofor made his third goal of the tournament.

ivory coast crashed out losing to Nigeria 0-2.

the cameroun on the other side fought relentlessly against Brazil. although they tried as much as possible to the extent that the match went on an Extra time and it was in the second half of the extra time that Brazil was able to have a goal in their pocket.
Cameroun lost to brazil also with the same margin.

The italians were so favoured against the belgian, but, it was indeed painful as they lost 2-3 to Belgium.

argentina also booked their S'final ticket against the Netherlands.
although the match remains one of the most crunchy match of the day, it was the argentina who leads the pack.
Lionel Messi in the first half put the Argentine in front, until almost the end of the first match when the Netherlands equallised through bartley.
well at the end of the day, it was the argentine who carries the day.
the Argentines will Now have to face the Brazillians on the same day as the Nigerian Belgium match.

ALSO, On the 18th, in the women counterparts, the USA women defeated the Japanese women 4-2 to book a place in the Final. Brazil also plummel Germany 4-1.
its Now USA versus Brazil in the Final of the women championship.

OLYMPICS UPDATES! DREAM TEAM IV PERFORMANCE

2008-08-13T21:23:00.001-07:00

the U-23 eagles after a massive impression, from the outset of the game, later made it to the quarter finals of the 2008 Beijing olympics in China.

the team on leaving the country was not given any chances of survival, but has now demonstrated their prowessness, and made all to come to the knowledge that victory is not only in preparation, but also in determination, favour and grace.

against the Nethelands, they were very impressive, to the extent that the Netherlanders got a red card against them. although the match ends goaless, the boys still proves to the world that they could rule.

Against Japan, the team perform excellently, missing a lot of goal opportunity, but thanks to Obinna Nsofor goal and Anichebe's that separated the men from the boys.
although Japan fought back, but their bird is not strong enough to cage the eagle.

against USA, it was so massive. the USAens got a red card just as the netherlands, but this time it was so early, but thanks to Isaac promise sagacious and Nsofor thunderous strike that gave the eagle victory over the hard fighting USA team.

the USA also fought back and capitalised on Ambrose Vanzekin error (just like the Japanese), and they pull back a goal through a Penalty kick.

the team will now meat cote d'ivoire in the quaterfinal clash.

THE PERFOMANCE OF AFRICAN TEAMS IN THE BEIJING OLYMPIC GAMES

2008-08-13T21:21:00.000-07:00

LOOKING at the three countries that represented africa in the ongoing beijing olympic games, one may conclude that some team are better than the other, and that their is an improvement in the soccer development in africa. other, may conclude that the african teams are substandard.

our female team, the falcons being the only team to go to the olympic from africa were defeated and sent packing without winning a match. yet they do not lose shamefully, rather, honourably. that is an indication that in the nearby future, african female team could still rule the world.

the male cote d'ivoire team lost their opening match against the argentines when the were defeated 2-1, they went on to meet serbia and they showed the spirit of loyalty to their mother nation when they defeated them 4-2.

cameroun on the other hand draw their first match, and they went on to defeat honduras in their second game.their third match is a repetition of the first match as they played draw with italy. among all the three, the surety team remain the dream team IV piloted by samson siasia.