Showing posts with label beats. Show all posts
Showing posts with label beats. Show all posts

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Malaysia beats Cambodia 4-1

The Jakarta Post | Sun, 11/13/2011 8:25 PM

Malaysia beat Cambodia 4-1 in the 2011 SEA Games Group A soccer match on Sunday to top the group at least until the end of the Indonesia-Thailand match later the same day.

Malaysia scored three goals in the first half, but only found the net once in the second half.

Cambodia scored a consolation goal in the second half.

Malaysia now has seven points from three matches, while Indonesia was second with six points from two matches.

Saturday, January 29, 2011

Li Na beats Wozniacki, reaches Australian Open final

The Associated Press, Melbourne | Thu, 01/27/2011 12:49 PM | Sports

Li Na became the first Chinese player to reach a Grand Slam singles final, recovering from a set and a break down and saving a match point before beating No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki 3-6, 7-5, 6-3 Thursday in the Australian Open semifinals.

Wozniacki, playing at a major for he first time with the top ranking, had match point at 5-4 and 40-30 in the second set before Li rallied. An hour and six minutes later, she served out on her first match point.

Li, who lost to Serena Williams in two tiebreak sets in the semifinals here last year, will meet either Kim Clijsters or No. 2 Vra Zvonareva in the final.

Li beat Clijsters in the final of the leadup event at Sydney earlier this month, becoming the first Chinese woman to win a WTA premier event. It was just another first for Li, who was the first Chinese player to win a tour-level titl and the first to enter the top 10.

She is also the first Asian player to reach at Grand Slam final.

"I'm so happy I can be the first Chinese player to come to a final - I always do the first one!" she said in a lighthearted interview after the match in which she joked about losing sleep on the evef the match because her coach-husband Shan Jiang was snoring.

Asked what motivated her comeback, she deadpanned: "Prize money."

Li looked down and out after the first set, when she made 17 unforced errors and struggled for consistency. She finished with 51 unforced errors, but that was a reflection of her pushing Wozniacki to the extremes.

Wozniacki could have ended the match in 1 hour, 29 minutes, but Li hit a forehand down the line to save match point. It sparked a revival. She broke Wozniacki in that game to get the sets back on serve and then broke her Danish rival again.

They traded breaks twice in the third set before Li finished it off.

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

City beats Leicester 4-2 to reach FA Cup 4th round

The Associated Press, Manchester | Wed, 01/19/2011 7:29 AM | Sports

Carlos Tevez's 16th goal of the season helped Manchester City earn a 4-2 win over second-tier Leicester in a FA Cup third-round replay on Tuesday.

The Argentina striker set City on its way in the 15th minute with a stunning individual effort and although he later missed a second-half penalty, the hosts had too much for Leicester as they set up a match at Notts County in the fourth round.

Patrick Vieira and Adam Johnson scored in the space of 77 seconds to put Roberto Mancini's side 3-1 up at the break and Aleksandar Kolarov's late finish saw off the plucky visitors, coached by former City manager Sven-Goran Eriksson.

Premier League struggler Wolverhampton thrashed Doncaster 5-0 to progress and will next play Stoke, which beat Cardiff 2-0 thanks to two extra-time goals by striker Jon Walters.

Arsenal travels to Leeds, which plays in the second-tier League Championship, on Wednesday in the other third-round replay.

Eriksson was making his return to Eastlands for the first time since he was fired by City at the end of the 2007-08 season, after just one year at the club.

Since then, things have changed a lot at a club which is second in the Premier League and trailing neighbor Manchester United only on goal difference. A group of wealthy Abu Dhabi investors has taken over the club and its four scorers against Leicester were all signed after the ex-England manager's departure.

The first match between the teams ended 2-2 at Leicester on Jan. 9, but the second-tier side battled just as gamely nine days on.

Tevez opened the scoring when he barged his way into the penalty box before unleashing a powerful shot that flew into the net.

Paul Gallagher equalized from the penalty spot after holding midfielder Vieira, one of four changes made by City from the 4-3 win against Wolves in the Premier League at the weekend, brought down Lloyd Dyer.

However, the hosts, four-time winners of the competition and one of the favorites this season, netted twice in the space of a little more than a minute to kill the game off.

Vieira made amends by tapping in from close range in the 37th after Spain winger David Silva's shot was cleared off the line, and Johnson ran onto a pass from Silva before slotting home a neat finish.

Tevez missed a chance to double his tally for the evening when his poor 57th-minute penalty, awarded after the Argentina international was fouled by Jack Hobbs, was easily saved by Leicester goalkeeper Chris Weale.

With City almost playing at walking pace, Dyer set up a tense finish by scoring with eight minutes left but Leicester was unable to snatch an equalizer and Serbia left back Kolarov claimed City's fourth following a late counterattack.

Off-season signing Steven Fletcher met Stephen Hunt's cross in the fifth minute to put Wolves ahead at Molineux, before three goals in the space of 13 second-half minutes put paid to second-tier Doncaster's chances.

Belgian midfielder Geoffrey Mujangi Bia smashed in his first goal for the Midlanders to make it 2-0 in the 61st and further goals by Kevin Doyle and substitute Matt Jarvis made it 4-0. David Jones added gloss to the scoreline with the team's fifth in second-half stoppage time.

After a low-standard period of normal time at the Cardiff City Stadium, Walters got Stoke off to the perfect start in extra time by heading in Michael Tonge's cross after just one minute.

The same player ended Cardiff's hopes by finishing from an acute angle in the 115th to seal the midtable Premier League team's progress.

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Pedro scores twice as Barcelona beats Levante 2-1

The Associated Press, Barcelona | Mon, 01/03/2011 7:27 AM | Sports

Pedro Rodriguez scored twice in the second half to give Barcelona a 2-1 win over Levante on Sunday, its 11th consecutive victory in the Spanish league.

Both goals were set up by Dani Alves, who provided the second-half spark that energized a Barcelona attack missing Lonel Messi, who was watching from the stands.

Levante succeeded in stifling the home side throughout the first half but at the start of the second, Alves slipped the ball to Pedro, who calmly slotted a shot through a wall of Levante defenders to put Barcelona ahead in the 47th.

Twelve minutes later, te Brazil right back centered low for Pedro to volley into the Levante goal.

Christian Stuani, who had just come on to the pitch, halved the visitors' deficit with a sharp strike with ten minutes to play.

Spain midfielder Xavi Hernandez played in his 549th game for Barcelona, tying Miguel Bernando for te club record.

"They defended deeply and it was difficult to find space," Xavi said. "It is an honor not for the record but for being able to defend these colors."

Also, a 10-man Valencia beat Espanyol 2-1 from a late goal by Juanma Mata, Deportivo La Coruna beat Athletic Bilbao 2-1, Sevilla defeaed Osasuna 1-0 and Malaga rallied to down Sporting Gijon 2-1.

Messi, who returned from his winter holidays on Sunday, was replaced in the team by striker Bojan Krkic. And with Carles Puyol and Gerard Pique unavailable because of injury and suspension, respectively, Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola experimentedwith midfielder Sergio Busquets alongside Eric Abidal in the center of his defense.

Early on, Levante showed few of the frailties that last week saw it lose 8-0 to Real Madrid, and made it difficult for Barcelona to deploy its crisp passing attack.

In one of the Catalan club's few clear scoring chance in the first half, Bojan dribbled to the edge of the six-yard box, but Levante goalie Manolo Reina quickly cut off his angle and smothered his shot. Two minutes later, Andres Iniesta crossed to Bojan, whose blocked shot fell to Alves, who then shot high.

Barcelona came out in the second half looking for a breakthrough, and it soon came through Pedro's seventh and eighth league goals, all of which have come in the last eight games.

Guardiola compared Pedro to Barcelona's absent star.

"Near the goal, (Pedro) is almost like Messi, he has the goal in his sights," Guardiola said.

The Spain forward almost had a hat trick in the 67th when substitute Thiago Alcantara put him through on goal, but his shot hit the crossbar.

Despite the miss, Barcelona held on for the victory.

Barcelona's 11-game league winning streak, in which it has outscored its opponents 44-5, is four shy of Spanish record, set by Real Madrid in 1960-61. The Catalan side also extended unbeaten streak in all competitions to 24 matches.

The loss left Levante two points above the relegation zone.

At Mestalla stadium, Valencia struck first when Aritz Aduriz headed in his seventh goal of the season in the 29th minute. But teammate Ricardo Costa scored an own-goal when he headed in a cross from Espanyol's Jose Callejon in the 47th.

Valencia played the last half hour a man down after Aduriz was sent off for elbowing Javier Chica. Mata headed in the winner in injury time to push his team three points clear of fifth-place Espanyol.

Earlier, Adrian Lopez scored twice to give Deportivo La Coruna a 2-1 win at Athletic Bilbao with both teams having a man sent off.

The Deportivo striker hit the first from the penalty spot in the 22nd minute and scored the second with a long-range strike in the 52nd.

After missing various chances earlier, Fernando Llorente pulled one back for Bilbao with a header in the 86th for his 11th goal of the season.

Bilbao defender Mikel San Jose was sent off in the 34th minute, with Deportivo midfielder Juan Rodriguez being dismissed in the 47th.

"Football is about maximum effectiveness," Bilbao coach Joaquin Caparros said. "The beginning of the game was one of the best we have had, but we just weren't lucky."

Deportivo's second away win provisionally lifted it into 12th place and ended eighth-place Bilbao's five-match winning streak at San Mames stadium.

Sevilla ended a five-game losing streak with its win over Osasuna to rise to ninth place, three points from the Europa League spots.

Sevilla winger Jesus Navas, who returned after missing his team's last 20 matches with a leg injury, took the free kick from which Frederic Kanoute headed in the 35th-minute goal.

At El Molinon stadium, Diego Castro put Sporting in front from the penalty spot in the 42nd, but Weligton equalized for Malaga three minutes later, and Antonio Galdeano scored a penalty in the 59th for the victory.