Qpr's disastrous attempts at finishing continued to spread from game to game, this goal drought has prevented them from a chance of climbing out of the drop zone.
Questions are being asked about the Rangers forwards, almost leaving recently appointed manager Mark Hughes with no choice but to splash the cash on strikers that can actually win them games. The so-called goal scoring exploits of summer signing Jay Bothroyd have left little to be desired.
On the other hand, Newcastle's amazing season shows no sign of stopping as they only needed the one goal to see out the victory which puts them up to 6th in the table, ahead of Liverpool. A great solo goal from Leon Best was worthy of winning any game. Alan Pardew will be relieved to see the toon pick up the three points without key players Cheick Tiote and Demba Ba, plus another key player Yohan Cabaye picked up a nasty looking injury early on in the game.
However in the early minutes of the game, just after Cabaye's injury, QPR were taking a hold of the game as they had two very close opportunities to take the lead. Shots from underfire Bothroyd and winger Wright-Phillips hitting the post and the bar respectively.
After this, Newcastle had a chance of their own with Ryan Taylor shooting from distance forcing Kenny to parry it out wide. Then came the breakthrough, Leon Best receives the ball on the edge of the area, glides past Young and places it into the far corner of the net.
In the second half, QPR's frustration to finish in front of goal continued with more wasted chances by Bothroyd with one chance sailing over and the other straight at Krul.
Then Newcastle had the chance to make it 2-0, with Gabbidon clearing off line after Kenny was left exposed after Guttierez took the shot goal bound. For the rest of the game Newcastle were at ease in keeping the QPR wave of hopeless attacks at bay thanks to the ever impressive back four and Krul in goal who has been acceptional all season. In the end, Newcastle held out with their trusted defence and were thanked by QPR's lacklustre attack.
Teams
Newcastle Utd: Krul 8, Simpson 8, Coloccini 8, Williamson 8, Santon 8, Taylor 9 (Gosling 81 min), Guthrie 9, Cabaye 6 (Ben Arfa 23 min), Guttierez 8, Sh Ameobi 7, Best 9 (Perch 77 min)
Goal: Best 36
QPR: Kenny 7, Young 6, Ferdinand 7, Gabbidon 7, Hill 6, Mackie 7, Derry 5, Buszaky 6 (Macheda 75 min), W.Phillips 7, Helguson 7 (Smith 64 min), Bothroyd 5
Man of the match: Danny Guthrie (Newcastle Utd)
Referee: Chris Foy (Merseyside)
Friday, 20 January 2012
Thursday, 5 January 2012
Magpies torn by Blades
Sheffield United's brilliant run of form continues with a 2-1 win at home against play off contenders Notts County. It was always going to be a tight and eagerly awaited clash as both sides were positioned in the healthier part of the table with the Blades looking to grab 2nd place from there bitter rivals Sheffield Wednesday.
Questions were asked beforehand whether Notts Countys organised back four will be able to handle one of the divisions red-hot strikers in the shape of Ched Evans. Both sides fielded some of their strongest assets to their team and went all out believing they have a good chance of winning the game.
The game started brightly with United coming out the traps quickly aiming to surprise the visitors, after two minutes Dangerman Evans bursts inside from the wide right and played a low cross along the face of goal, but no one was there to convert.
After constant United pressure, Notts County created a rare chance and against the run of play...they scored a free kick, Judge played in the free kick which was misjudged by Simonsen and sailed all the way into the back of the net.
Then a quarter of an hour later, the Blades got their just desserts with an equaliser, the ball was half cleared by the Notts County defence to Cresswell picking out the run of Flynn whos shot left Nelson with no chance. Sustained United pressure followed on for the rest of the half with untesting shots from Evans and a bursting break from Lowton.
Five minutes into the second half, Sheffield United got what proved to be their winner. A quick throw in to Quinn which gets crossed into Cresswell who deflects it onto Sheehan and tucks it into the back of the net. The blades carried on their sustained pressure with plenty of chances including a free header by Collins which sailed wide and Evans again showed his class with a run inside but could only shoot at Nelson.
Then in the desperate minutes County started to take a foot on the game and they had a vital chance fluffed with a bicycle kick by the sub Hawley which went straight into the keepers arms.
In injury time, County's chances were offically blown as Demontagnac's stupidity in throwing the ball at Maguire's face led to a straight forward red card from the Referee.
Sheff Utd: Simonsen 8, Lowton 9, Maguire 7, Collins 8, Lescinel 7, Quinn 7, Doyle 8, Mcdonald 8 (Ertl, 82 min), Flynn 8, Evans 9, Cresswell 8 (Beattie, 88 min).
N. County: Nelson 8, Kelly 6, Sodje 6, Pearce 7 (Hawley, 74 min) Sheehan 5, Bishop 7, Judge 8, J.Hughes 7, Allen 6 (Demontagnac, 69 min (r)) L.Hughes 7, Burgess 7.
Man of the match: Ched Evans (Sheff Utd)
Questions were asked beforehand whether Notts Countys organised back four will be able to handle one of the divisions red-hot strikers in the shape of Ched Evans. Both sides fielded some of their strongest assets to their team and went all out believing they have a good chance of winning the game.
The game started brightly with United coming out the traps quickly aiming to surprise the visitors, after two minutes Dangerman Evans bursts inside from the wide right and played a low cross along the face of goal, but no one was there to convert.
After constant United pressure, Notts County created a rare chance and against the run of play...they scored a free kick, Judge played in the free kick which was misjudged by Simonsen and sailed all the way into the back of the net.
Then a quarter of an hour later, the Blades got their just desserts with an equaliser, the ball was half cleared by the Notts County defence to Cresswell picking out the run of Flynn whos shot left Nelson with no chance. Sustained United pressure followed on for the rest of the half with untesting shots from Evans and a bursting break from Lowton.
Five minutes into the second half, Sheffield United got what proved to be their winner. A quick throw in to Quinn which gets crossed into Cresswell who deflects it onto Sheehan and tucks it into the back of the net. The blades carried on their sustained pressure with plenty of chances including a free header by Collins which sailed wide and Evans again showed his class with a run inside but could only shoot at Nelson.
Then in the desperate minutes County started to take a foot on the game and they had a vital chance fluffed with a bicycle kick by the sub Hawley which went straight into the keepers arms.
In injury time, County's chances were offically blown as Demontagnac's stupidity in throwing the ball at Maguire's face led to a straight forward red card from the Referee.
Sheff Utd: Simonsen 8, Lowton 9, Maguire 7, Collins 8, Lescinel 7, Quinn 7, Doyle 8, Mcdonald 8 (Ertl, 82 min), Flynn 8, Evans 9, Cresswell 8 (Beattie, 88 min).
N. County: Nelson 8, Kelly 6, Sodje 6, Pearce 7 (Hawley, 74 min) Sheehan 5, Bishop 7, Judge 8, J.Hughes 7, Allen 6 (Demontagnac, 69 min (r)) L.Hughes 7, Burgess 7.
Man of the match: Ched Evans (Sheff Utd)
Thursday, 22 December 2011
Privateer teams struggling to keep pace
It was always a gamble introducing 7 new privateer teams into next seasons moto gp. They were mainly introduced to add more riders and teams into the campaign as they felt last season lacked in depth of riders.
So seven more teams and riders have been introduced to the fray with a majority of them having been promoted from the moto 2 class. Teams such as Keifer racing, Marc VDS, Interwitten, BQR Blusens, Forward racing and Speed master have all been promoted with a completely new brand called Paul Bird Motoracing making the 7th team. A majority of them have already signed on riders for the oncoming campaign with experienced faces such as Anthony West, James Ellison and Colin Edwards joining this new and extraordinary project thats aiming to blow Moto GP completely out of the water.
But however these new teams are already well off the pace in practice test times at Jerez. Edwards spoke out about its lack of power and needs major development as he was only allowed to ride it at 60%, therefore not allowing it to reach its full potential. He blasted saying at this rate he's going to finish dead last in the condition the bike is in, but he did go on to say the bike's got alot of potential to do well towards the end of the season even if he's predicting one way traffic for the season starters. His best test lap was a whole 4 seconds off the pace from leader Dani Pedrosa and it was even slower than the fastest Moto 2 rider which was Brit Scott Redding. Which clearly signals that the Forward team still have a mountain to climb in terms of development and ironically take massive steps forward.
So seven more teams and riders have been introduced to the fray with a majority of them having been promoted from the moto 2 class. Teams such as Keifer racing, Marc VDS, Interwitten, BQR Blusens, Forward racing and Speed master have all been promoted with a completely new brand called Paul Bird Motoracing making the 7th team. A majority of them have already signed on riders for the oncoming campaign with experienced faces such as Anthony West, James Ellison and Colin Edwards joining this new and extraordinary project thats aiming to blow Moto GP completely out of the water.
But however these new teams are already well off the pace in practice test times at Jerez. Edwards spoke out about its lack of power and needs major development as he was only allowed to ride it at 60%, therefore not allowing it to reach its full potential. He blasted saying at this rate he's going to finish dead last in the condition the bike is in, but he did go on to say the bike's got alot of potential to do well towards the end of the season even if he's predicting one way traffic for the season starters. His best test lap was a whole 4 seconds off the pace from leader Dani Pedrosa and it was even slower than the fastest Moto 2 rider which was Brit Scott Redding. Which clearly signals that the Forward team still have a mountain to climb in terms of development and ironically take massive steps forward.
Wednesday, 14 December 2011
Engines roaring and ready to go!
Its only been a month ago since the 2011 Moto gp season was completed and yet everyoens raring to go ready for the new season which kicks off on the 8th of April at the traditional season opener in Qatar.
Testing for the 2012 campaign has already kicked off with several changes in store for the season ahead. For example, in Moto GP they will revert back to 1000cc engines rather than the 800cc engines they had last year, there will also be more privateer team entries with some moto 2 teams being promoted to the top tier on new chassis. Plus the late 125cc class will make its long awaited change to moto 3 with new 250cc bikes being run and newer chassis and teams being run in this new class.
The expected front runners for the new Moto GP season will be current world champion Casey Stoner, team-mate Dani Pedrosa, Jorge Lorenzo and 9 time world champion Valentino Rossi. Rossi's fate will depend on whether Ducati have finally compiled a new bike which will actually be able to compete with the title contenders, last season Rossi's bike was surprisingly nowhere near competative enough to keep up with the very best. The dark horse for next years crown will be Ben Spies, he had a few moments of magic during last season and if he can keep these moments consistant then he could be there or thereabouts. He has the bike to do it and he just needs to keep injury free for the season. It will be interesting to see how last years Moto 2 champion Stefan Bradl fares on being promoted to the top tier on the LCR honda, if he's able to re-capture his form from last year then he could go places in his rookie season.
In the Moto 2 class, there's a vast range of riders who could win the championship this year round. The favourite for the title will be Marc Marquez, the young 19 year old rider who in his rookie season came so close to winning another title, a year after he won the 125 title but injury prevented him from sustaining a challenge. Other main front runners include Toni Elias te 2010 Moto 2 winner, Andrea Iannone, Nico Terol and Brit Bradley Smith. But the exciting prospect to next year is that almost anyone can win it. Plus this will potentially be the best chance for Brit's Bradley Smith and Scott Redding to really come of age this year. They have both been electric in testing for next year and Redding has fallen in love with his new Kalex frame and he's topped both Jerez and Valencia testings. Nico Terol will be the dark horse of the class as he finally got round to winning the last ever 125cc series and he's now teamed up with the ever reliable Mapfre Aspar team alongside Toni Elias, which should be a very hard team to beat in this category.
Testing for the 2012 campaign has already kicked off with several changes in store for the season ahead. For example, in Moto GP they will revert back to 1000cc engines rather than the 800cc engines they had last year, there will also be more privateer team entries with some moto 2 teams being promoted to the top tier on new chassis. Plus the late 125cc class will make its long awaited change to moto 3 with new 250cc bikes being run and newer chassis and teams being run in this new class.
The expected front runners for the new Moto GP season will be current world champion Casey Stoner, team-mate Dani Pedrosa, Jorge Lorenzo and 9 time world champion Valentino Rossi. Rossi's fate will depend on whether Ducati have finally compiled a new bike which will actually be able to compete with the title contenders, last season Rossi's bike was surprisingly nowhere near competative enough to keep up with the very best. The dark horse for next years crown will be Ben Spies, he had a few moments of magic during last season and if he can keep these moments consistant then he could be there or thereabouts. He has the bike to do it and he just needs to keep injury free for the season. It will be interesting to see how last years Moto 2 champion Stefan Bradl fares on being promoted to the top tier on the LCR honda, if he's able to re-capture his form from last year then he could go places in his rookie season.
In the Moto 2 class, there's a vast range of riders who could win the championship this year round. The favourite for the title will be Marc Marquez, the young 19 year old rider who in his rookie season came so close to winning another title, a year after he won the 125 title but injury prevented him from sustaining a challenge. Other main front runners include Toni Elias te 2010 Moto 2 winner, Andrea Iannone, Nico Terol and Brit Bradley Smith. But the exciting prospect to next year is that almost anyone can win it. Plus this will potentially be the best chance for Brit's Bradley Smith and Scott Redding to really come of age this year. They have both been electric in testing for next year and Redding has fallen in love with his new Kalex frame and he's topped both Jerez and Valencia testings. Nico Terol will be the dark horse of the class as he finally got round to winning the last ever 125cc series and he's now teamed up with the ever reliable Mapfre Aspar team alongside Toni Elias, which should be a very hard team to beat in this category.
Sunday, 4 December 2011
Paid tributes towards a born leader
Its been a week now since the tragic death of the late welsh manager Gary Speed. Proud, professional and passionate were three words that were typical of his overall personality.
Its only just kicked in to the footballing world that we have lost not only a footballing hero but a genuine guy. He was one of the most recognisable faces in football and was known by almost everyone around the world for his leadership on and off the field of play.
He played and scored in every season in the Premier League up until he dropped down a level to finish his playing career at Sheffield United which was where he kickstarted his managerial career. Then only three months later, he became the Welsh national team manager which seen a rapid rise in fortune within a short space of time. Bringing out the new found confidence in the welsh team signify's the type of effect he gave as a whole. He is still the all-time appearance maker in the premier league after having playing spells at Leeds Utd, Everton, Newcastle Utd and Bolton Wanderers.
Over this weekend there has been either a minutes silence or a minutes applause in memory of this great man over every major footballing fixture which shows what impact this hard hitting news has given us. There have been tributes pouring in from ex team mates and current football players. In yesterdays Tottenham - Bolton game, when Gareth Bale scored he took off his boot which had Gary Speeds name engraved into and showed it to the fans who then applauded his gesture. His ex clubs are also laying wreaths in memory of him and there has been scarfes, shirts and flags left by the stands to pay their respects.
Its only just kicked in to the footballing world that we have lost not only a footballing hero but a genuine guy. He was one of the most recognisable faces in football and was known by almost everyone around the world for his leadership on and off the field of play.
He played and scored in every season in the Premier League up until he dropped down a level to finish his playing career at Sheffield United which was where he kickstarted his managerial career. Then only three months later, he became the Welsh national team manager which seen a rapid rise in fortune within a short space of time. Bringing out the new found confidence in the welsh team signify's the type of effect he gave as a whole. He is still the all-time appearance maker in the premier league after having playing spells at Leeds Utd, Everton, Newcastle Utd and Bolton Wanderers.
Over this weekend there has been either a minutes silence or a minutes applause in memory of this great man over every major footballing fixture which shows what impact this hard hitting news has given us. There have been tributes pouring in from ex team mates and current football players. In yesterdays Tottenham - Bolton game, when Gareth Bale scored he took off his boot which had Gary Speeds name engraved into and showed it to the fans who then applauded his gesture. His ex clubs are also laying wreaths in memory of him and there has been scarfes, shirts and flags left by the stands to pay their respects.
Sunday, 27 November 2011
Magic Maynard Marvels Millwall
Nicky Maynard's brace helps Bristol City record a vital away win at Millwall. This win proves pivotal for City in their quest to move out of the relegation zone. It now leaves the robins two points from safety and keeps Millwall marginally above it. This game was always going to be tough and a hard fought battle in which they came out 2-1 winners.
Both sides entered the fray with contrasting formations and playing styles, with Millwall's standard 4-4-2 and their dogged, hard working and committed style being employed in front of their home crowd. Whereas Bristol City's new found confidence showed with their newly designated manager Derek McInnes playing 4-3-3 with key man Maynard spearheading the City attack and Albert Adomah and Neil Kilkenny operating the flanks.
The game commenced with a quick and edgy tempo when after one minute had gone Millwall claimed for a penalty after Henderson was to have allegedly been shirt pulled in the box but the Referee had none of it. The flow of the game then quickly turned and City began to take command of the game and within good time they broke the deadlock, the move started with some good keep ball which was then played to Kilkenny who picked out dangerman Maynard on the snapshot to fire it past Forde into the bottom corner.
Shortly after, the game took another twist and Millwall were back on the front foot with a variety of close chances which were only denied by good defending and poor end product.
This was the tale for the rest of the first half until Millwall finally pulled a goal back through Jay Simpson. There was some debate over a suspected handball in the build-up to the goal by Henderson who then played it to Trotter and then passed out to an open Simpson who would of found it harder to miss than score.
It then took a matter of moments before City got another one back, Albert Adomah performed another amazing run cutting into the box to play a pass back into the path of Maynard who pounced on it and scored from 8 yards. This then proved to be City's winner and a winner like that was very un-Millwall like as they are renowned for their excellent defending at home. But they found themselves undone by City's impressive forward line and new found confidence that has been injected into the team by Derek McInnes himself.
Teams:
Millwall: Forde 6 (Mildenhall 5), Dunne 5, Robinson 6, Ward 6, Smith 7, Feeney 7, Abdou 5, Trotter 6, Howard 6 (Henry 6) Simpson 6, Henderson 7 (N'guessan 6)
Bristol City: James 7, Skuse 7, Fontaine 8, Nyatanga 8, Mcgivern 6, Elliott 6, Cisse 7(Woolford 6), Pearson 8, Kilkenny 8, Adomah 9 (Bolasie 6), Maynard 9 (Pitman 7)
Man of the Match: Maynard (Bristol City)
Both sides entered the fray with contrasting formations and playing styles, with Millwall's standard 4-4-2 and their dogged, hard working and committed style being employed in front of their home crowd. Whereas Bristol City's new found confidence showed with their newly designated manager Derek McInnes playing 4-3-3 with key man Maynard spearheading the City attack and Albert Adomah and Neil Kilkenny operating the flanks.
The game commenced with a quick and edgy tempo when after one minute had gone Millwall claimed for a penalty after Henderson was to have allegedly been shirt pulled in the box but the Referee had none of it. The flow of the game then quickly turned and City began to take command of the game and within good time they broke the deadlock, the move started with some good keep ball which was then played to Kilkenny who picked out dangerman Maynard on the snapshot to fire it past Forde into the bottom corner.
Shortly after, the game took another twist and Millwall were back on the front foot with a variety of close chances which were only denied by good defending and poor end product.
This was the tale for the rest of the first half until Millwall finally pulled a goal back through Jay Simpson. There was some debate over a suspected handball in the build-up to the goal by Henderson who then played it to Trotter and then passed out to an open Simpson who would of found it harder to miss than score.
It then took a matter of moments before City got another one back, Albert Adomah performed another amazing run cutting into the box to play a pass back into the path of Maynard who pounced on it and scored from 8 yards. This then proved to be City's winner and a winner like that was very un-Millwall like as they are renowned for their excellent defending at home. But they found themselves undone by City's impressive forward line and new found confidence that has been injected into the team by Derek McInnes himself.
Teams:
Millwall: Forde 6 (Mildenhall 5), Dunne 5, Robinson 6, Ward 6, Smith 7, Feeney 7, Abdou 5, Trotter 6, Howard 6 (Henry 6) Simpson 6, Henderson 7 (N'guessan 6)
Bristol City: James 7, Skuse 7, Fontaine 8, Nyatanga 8, Mcgivern 6, Elliott 6, Cisse 7(Woolford 6), Pearson 8, Kilkenny 8, Adomah 9 (Bolasie 6), Maynard 9 (Pitman 7)
Man of the Match: Maynard (Bristol City)
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