The Malaysian Insider :: Sports
The Malaysian Insider :: Sports |
| Ronaldo scores twice, hit by lighter as Real Madrid cruise into Cup final Posted: 11 Feb 2014 02:50 PM PST Any chance of Atletico recovering from their 3-0 defeat at the Santiago Bernabeu last week was extinguished after just seven minutes when Ronaldo opened the scoring after being upended by Manquillo. The Portuguese star doubled his tally nine minutes later from another penalty as this time Gareth Bale was felled by Emiliano Insua. Ronaldo's eventful evening continued as, moments after being booked for a clash with Manquillo, he was then hit by a lighter thrown by the Atletico fans as the players headed to the dressing rooms at half-time. The Ballon d'Or winner was however fit to continue at the start of the second-half before being substituted late on. Real will face either Barcelona or Real Sociedad in the final on April 19 with Barca holding a 2-0 advantage heading into the second leg of their semi-final today. Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti insisted that Ronaldo was fine after being struck and lauded his side's feat of reaching the final on the back of eight consecutive clean sheets in the Cup this season. "Cristiano is fine, he scored two goals and he doesn't have any problems," he said. "We are still alive in all competitions and whilst this is the least important of the three in comparison to La Liga or the Champions League, to get to a final is always a good thing for the team. "We have played well in all the Cup games. We have kept a clean sheets throughout and this speaks well of the mentality of the team." Atletico boss Diego Simeone appeared to have given up any hope of an unlikely comeback from the off as he rested Juanfran, Diego Godin, Arda Turan and captain Gabi, whilst four more first-team regulars missed out through injury and suspension. However, despite suffering three defeats in a week, Simeone is hoping for a positive reaction from his side as they too have La Liga and Champions League honours to fight for in the coming weeks. "You are never happy to lose or go out of a competition, much less in this manner losing 5-0. "Last year we managed to win this competition, this year we got to the semi-finals. You can always do better as a team, but now we will continue with the same desire as before and we want to remain competitive." Ancelotti named a strong side and was rewarded with the away goal that killed the tie off when Ronaldo converted from the spot after tumbling under Manquillo's clumsy challenge inside the area. Atletico briefly threatened a revival when Raul Garcia struck the post moments later. However, it was 2-0 after just 16 minutes as this time Bale went down under a challenge by Insua and Ronaldo again struck the resulting spot-kick low into the right-hand corner of Daniel Aranzubia's net. With the tie effectively over as a contest, the only spice was added by unfortunate events off the field as Ronaldo was struck as he headed towards the tunnel at half-time. The former Manchester United man did return for the second period, but he was unable to complete his hat-trick before being replaced by Jese Rodriguez 15 minutes from time. Bale and Isco both had efforts well saved by Aranzubia as Real continued to look the more likely to score after the break. Meanwhile, at the other end, Jose Sosa's drive that forced Iker Casillas into a flying save was the best that Atletico could muster as they slipped to their first home defeat of the season. – AFP, February 12, 2014. |
| Saints go marching on with victory over Hull Posted: 11 Feb 2014 02:43 PM PST A 69th-minute goal by Jose Fonte was enough to give the visitors the points and leave Hull's Steve Bruce to wait a little longer for his 100th win in the Premier League as a manager. Victory saw Mauricio Pochettino's attractive and talented side move above Newcastle – who host Spurs today – and to within two points of seventh-placed Manchester United, who are away at Arsenal today. Defeat halted Hull's mini-revival and leaves them only three points above the relegation zone. Pochettino, who forged his reputation as a coach at Spanish side Espanyol, said that it had been a complete performance by his side. "We put in an amazing shift. We dominated the entire game from start to finish. We're very happy with the performance," said the 41-year-old Argentinian. "The entire team always plays for each other. That's the Southampton way." Southampton dominated the early stages of the game, Rickie Lambert, who has eight goals to his name this season, going close in the third minute as he curled a shot inches wide from Adam Lallana's cross. Lambert was in again on goal soon afterwards this time trying to chip the ball over goalkeeper Steve Harper, but the former Newcastle netminder did enough with defender Paul McShane to clear the danger. However, it came at a cost as McShane – who had crashed into Harper in trying to clear the ball – had to be stretchered off and replaced by George Boyd. Boyd should have put the hosts ahead against the run of play after Republic of Ireland international striker Shane Long's header came back off the post but he could only miscue the rebound and minutes later sent a header wide. Having got away twice Saints came back at Hull with Lambert turning creator this time releasing Jay Rodriguez – their leading scorer in the Premier League with 10 goals – whose excellent effort from long range was only denied by the bar with Harper well beaten. The match was riveting no holds barred action as both sides threw caution to the wind. It was Hull who went close next as Long's strike partner Croatian international Nikica Jelavic, who had scored his first goal for his new club in the win over Sunderland on Saturday, got free but his shot was tame and no danger to Artur Boruc. Southampton were the livelier side after the break with Rodriguez always a threat as was Lambert, with both having shots saved by Harper. The Saints finally broke the deadlock with just over 20 minutes remaining, but it was no thing of beauty. Hull failed to clear the ball first from Fonte's header, then Rodriguez seized on the ball but his shot was blocked, Fonte had another go and then when it appeared it had not gone over the line Lambert made sure there was no debate by forcing it over. – AFP, February 12, 2014. |
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