Liverpool reach League Cup semis

The Jakarta Post | Wed, 11/30/2011 6:46 AM

Liverpool raided Chelsea for the second time in 10 days to reach the semifinals of the League Cup on Tuesday, while Manchester City also grabbed a victory against a Premier League title rival in London to qualify for the last four.

Craig Bellamy set up goals for Maxi Rodriguez in the 58th minute and Martin Kelly in the 63rd as seven-time competition winner Liverpool won 2-0 at Stamford Bridge to pile the pressure on Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas, whose team has now lost five of its last nine matches in all competitions.

It was an emotional night for Bellamy, who returned to the Liverpool team two days after missing its 1-1 draw with Manchester City in the Premier League because he was too upset to play following the death of former Wales teammmate Gary Speed on Sunday.

The striker held back the tears prior to kickoff on Tuesday as fans and players from both sides conducted a moving one minute's applause at Stamford Bridge in honor of Wales'national team manager, before going on to play a key part in Liverpool's dismantling of the home side.

"Speedo was regarded as his mentor," Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish said of Bellamy. "To come back and play like that speaks volumes."

City, which is five points clear at the top of the Premier Leaue, transferred its form to England's second-ranked club competition, beating Arsenal 1-0 thanks to an 83rd-minute goal by Sergio Aguero.

The Argentina striker, who came off the bench midway through the first half, met a pass from Adam Johnson with a thumping shot past Arsenal goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski as Ciy eliminated Arsene Wenger's side in the quarterfinals for the second time in three seasons.

Second-tier Cardiff reached the last four for the first time since 1966 by beating Premier League struggler Blackburn 2-0.

Manchester United looks to become the third northwest power to make the semifinals when ithosts Crystal Palace in Wednesday's only match.

Chelsea was unfortunate to lose 2-1 to Liverpool in the league on Nov. 20 but was outclassed 10 days later, even though Liverpool was playing just 48 hours after a gruelling match against City.

"It's a pity for us," Villas-Boas said. "We had a good chanceto progress at home but Liverpool were far superior."

Andy Carroll wasted a glorious chance to put Liverpool ahead, blasting a 22nd-minute penalty straight at Chelsea goalkeeper Ross Turnbull after Alex was penalized for handling the ball in his own box.

Rodriguez made no mistake from close range just beore the hour, though, tapping home at the far post after running onto a inch-perfect cross by Bellamy, who had broken the offside trap on the right wing.

Bellamy was again the provider five minutes later when he swung in a great free kick from the left that was glanced in by England under-21 defender Kelly.

Chelsea's defeat - its third in a 10-day span in three different competitions - will be another tough pill to swallow for Villas-Boas, who had to deal with chants from Liverpool's vocal fans of "You're getting sacked in the morning" in the second half.

With the Blues 10 points off the lead in the Premier Lague and facing possible elimination from the Champions League, their best chance of silverware may have been the League Cup.

They were poor throughout, with their midfield totally dominated and striker Fernando Torres - a 50 million pounds ($81 million) signing from Liverpool in January - anonymous.

Arsenal's hopes of making the semifinals for the fifth time in seven seasons were dashed by a City team containing two former Gunners - playmaker Samir Nasri, who joined in the summer for 25 million pounds, and defender Kolo Toure.

Every time Nasri touched the ball, he was booed and the France international was also on the receiving end of a number of chants, including "You only quit for the money."

Arsenal officials were also forced to reject rumors that punches were thrown between Nasri and Arsenal midfielder Emmanuel Frimpong in the tunnel after the match, saying that only words were exchanged. There appeared to be tensions between the two during the match.

City is looking to add another cup to its trophy haul after winning the FA Cup last season to end a 35-year wait for major silverware.

"It's better to win here in the Premier League," Mancini said. "But it's a good feeling because we're in the semifinals of this competition."

Scotland striker Kenny Miller gave Cardiff the lead in the 19th against Blackburn before Anthony Gerrard - the cousin of Liverpool midfielder Steven Gerrard - wrapped up the win five minutes after the break for the team currently third from top in the League Championship.

Holloway: 'Premier League has never helped me'

The Jakarta Post | Mon, 05/23/2011 8:41 AM | Sports

 Ian Holloway accused the Premier League of undermining Blackpool's attempts to stay in England's top division after his club was relegated.

Holloway said "the fat lady has finished singing and I do not like the tune" after Blackpool's 4-2 defeat at champion Manchester United on Sunday, adding that the Premier League "have never helped me."

Holloway was angry because he was forced to tell players by the third Saturday in May whether options on their contracts were being taken up. In the instances of Richard Kingson, Marlon Harewood and Brett Ormerod, the answer was no.

Others - Ian Evatt and Keith Southern - are being retained but condemned to vastly reduced terms due to Blackpool's relegation to the League Championship.

Barcelona, Shakhtar advance in Champions League

The Jakarta Post | Wed, 03/09/2011 7:23 AM | Sports

Barcelona overwhelmed Arsenal with a 3-1 victory following Lionel Messi's double and Shakhtar Donetsk reached the Champions League quarterfinals for the first time after beating AS Roma 3-0 on Tuesday.

While Barcelona outclassed Arsenal for the second successive season, the match tuned in the Spanish champions' favor in a three-minute spell at the start of the second half.

Barcelona defender Sergio Busquets' own goal canceled out Messi's first-half strike to put the Gunners back in control after having won 2-1 in the first leg.

But Arsenal striker Robin van Persie was sent off inthe 56th after being shown a second yellow card by referee Massimo Busacca for shooting - the only visiting player to do so all night - having already been given offside.

"It's a total joke," Van Persie said. "I tried to explain there were 95,000 people jumping up, how can I hear the whistle? He's beenbad all evening, whistling against us. I don't know why he's here tonight.

"We feel betrayed a bit, when it was 1-1 it was all to play for, and in my opinion this referee killed the game."

Xavi Hernandez made it 2-1 in the 69th minute after completing a flowing Barcelona move, before Messi converted 71st-minute penalty to clinch the 4-3 aggregate win.

Shakhtar's victory was more emphatic, the Ukrainian champions advancing 6-2 on aggregate after goals from Tomas Huebschmann, Willian and Eduardo da Silva.

While Barcelona's victory margin was slender, the statistics suggested otherwise. Pep Guardioa's side had 19 shots to Arsenal's none and outpassed the visitors 738-199.

"Arsenal defended very, very well but they didn't make more than three passes (in succession)," Guardiola said. "We created a lot of chances, we played a perfect game. We're s, so happy about our performance. Over the two legs, we were better than them."

Arsenal surrendered first-leg advantage from Emirates Stadium in first-half stoppage time after former Barcelona youth player Cesc Fabregas had conceded possession.

An attempted back heel when trying to clear not far from is own box only succeeded in allowing Andres Iniesta to slip a pas through to Messi, who flicked the ball over the onrushing Manuel Almunia and smashed it into the net.

Almunia was called into the Arsenal goal in the 19th minute after Wojciech Szczesny was forced off with a dislocated finger.

But Arseal was back in control on away goals when Busquets headed into his own net from Samir Nasri's corner in the 53rd.

No sooner had Arsenal turned the tide than Van Persie was sent off.

"I just spoke to UEFA people and they are shocked as well," Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said. "You promise a fantastic football match, but what for? How he did it, frankly it's embarrassing for the game."

Barcelona pulled level when Iniesta powered through the defense before finding David Villa, who sent Xavi through to knock the ball past Almunia.

And there was no way back when Messi beat a static Almunia two minutes later from the penalty spot after Laurent Koscielny had tripped Pedro Rodriguez.

"We lost against a good team," Wenger said. "There are regrets when you see how we went out. The way we did, it is very difficult to accept."

There was also a sending off in Ukraine. Roma defender Philippe Mexes was dismissed in the 41st after being shown two yellow cards for fouls on Luiz Adriano.

But Huebschmann had already put Shakhtar ahead on a freezing evening in the 18th, flicking the ball into the net from Willian's cross to build on his team's 3-2 lead from the first leg in Italy.

Willian curled in a second goal in the 58th and Eduardo intercepted a poor back-pass and slid the ball into the net in the 87th to round off an impressive victory for Shakhtar, which hasn't lost at home for more than two years.

"We had a very good preparation for this match," Shakhtar coach Mircea Lucescu said. "We were well organized and after we've scored the first goal, Roma didn't exist for us anymore. We won the match because we deserved it."

Longest European League Winning Streaks

The Associated Press | Sun, 02/06/2011 10:51 PM | Sports

Longest league winning streaks in European club football, according to UEFA:

29-Benfica, Portugal, 1971-73

28-Dinamo Zagreb, Croatia, 2006-07

25-Celtic, Scotland, 2003-04

22-PSV Eindhoven, Netherlands, 1987-88

18-Hafnarfjoerdur, Iceland, 2004-05

17-Steaua Bucharest, Romania, 1988

17-Dinamo Bucharest, Romania, 1988

17-Inter Milan, Italy, 2006-07

17-Valur Reykjavik, Iceland, 1978

16-Olympiakos, Greece, 2005-06

16-Barcelona, Spain, 2010-11

15-Benfica, Portugal, 1963

15-Real Madrid, Spain, 1960-61

15-Bayern Munich, Germany, 2005

15-Sparta Prague, Czech Republic, 1999-00

15-Bangor City, Wales, 2010

RI Premier League set for Jan. 8 kick off

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Thu, 01/06/2011 11:26 AM | Sports

Indonesian Premier League (LPI) organizers are optimistic they will be allowed to begin the tournament this Saturday, despite the fact police have yet to issue a permit for them to hold matches, pending the resolution of a rift between its organizers and the Indonesian Soccer Association (PSSI).

League spokesman Abiayasa Santoso told Elsinta radio on Thursday that the organizers would stick to their original schedule for the game.

Abiayasa insisted that the organizers had not violated prevailing regulations and would go ahead with the tournament.

Earlier on Tuesday, police said they would reject the league’s application if LPI could not end its dispute with the PSSI.

"As long as there is conflict [between LPI and PSSI], the police do not have to issue a permit," Insp. Gen. Anton Bachrul Alam said Tuesday in Jakarta.

The 2005 Law on the National Sporting System stipulates that sport organizers holding an event that would attract crowds must gain recommendations from the sport’s main association.

“For soccer, the main association is the PSSI, so they should ask the PSSI for a recommendation first. We hope that they can discuss the matter between themselves, so that everything will go well," Anton said.

The PSSI has threatened to take LPI to court for failing to request a recommendation.

PSSI threatens to sue league, clubs

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Tue, 01/04/2011 9:50 AM | Sports

The Indonesian Soccer Association (PSSI) threatened to take the Indonesian Premier League (LPI) to court for alleged violations of the national sports law, if the league continues to hold soccer matches.

According to association's secretary-general, Nugraha Besoes, LPI and the three soccer clubs that pulled out of the Indonesian Super League (ISL) had violated the 2005 Law on the National Sports System.

“Anyone who holds a sports competition without receiving a recommendation from the related sports association is liable to a maximum of two years’ imprisonment and / or fines of up to Rp 1 billion (US$ 111, 000)," Nugraha said Monday, as quoted by tribunnews.com.

The clubs that have pulled out of the ISL are PSM Makassar from Sulawesi, Persibo Bojonegoro and Persema from Malang.

He added that the PSSI would also impose sanctions on the three clubs and would request overseas soccer associations to not send members to matches other than those held by PSSI.