TOP 100 SOCCER SITES
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| Aston Villa tie with Liverpool key to proving club belongs in top four, says Stiliyan Petrov Stiliyan Petrov urges Aston Villa team mates to prove club can finish in top four this season with victory over Liverpool. telegraph.co.uk |
Chelsea target Sergio Aguero commits to Atletico Madrid The prospect of Chelsea signing Sergio Aguero from Atletico Madrid appears minimal after he commits himself to Spanish club. telegraph.co.uk |
Brian Laws confirmed as Burnley's new manager Brian Laws is confident he can keep Burnley in the top flight following his surprise appointment as manager on Wednesday. telegraph.co.uk |
Blackburn Rovers 2-0 Fulham Goals from centre-halves, Chris Samba and Ryan Nelsen, secured Blackburn Rovers' first league victory in two months and presented their manager Sam Allardyce with much-needed breathing space.After a run of nine winless games that marked his return from hospital, the Blackburn manager had been under pressure, although with his side in 12th, he will feel that bit more secure tonight. However, only in the second half could he claim to have managed the better side.Some of Fulham's football was slick, if slightly overelaborate, and had Clint Dempsey not struck the crossbar with a wonderfully judged overhead kick when his side was only one down, Fulham might have seized something from this game. As it is, they have followed up their emphatic dismissal of Manchester United with three straight defeats, although in none of them were they overwhelmed. Nevertheless the loss of Paul Konchesky after the broken collarbone sustained by Bobby Zamora at Stoke, was a significant blow.Allardyce made some significant changes from the side beaten at Ewood in Thursday's Carling Cup semi-final, paring Benni McCarthy with Nikola Kalinic for the first time. Mostly, it worked.And although Blackburn's opener came from a dreadfully scuffed McCarthy corner, that was only half-cleared by Damien Duff and then finished off by Samba in his 100th game for the club, it would not have been awarded had Mark Schwarzer not been forced to save brilliantly from the South African.Unlucky to be one down at the interval, Fulham's comeback never really materialised and some dreadful defending at another set-piece from McCarthy – this time a free-kick – allowed Nelsen a clear run and a free header to settle matters.Premier LeagueBlackburn RoversFulhamTim Richguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Allardyce cries foul after Villa defeat • 'The players grew up tonight' says Aston Villa manager• Allardyce says referee 'major part of us not going through'Martin O'Neill hailed Aston Villa's first appearance in a major final for a decade by claiming that their 6-4 second-leg victory over Blackburn Rovers was the evening his young team "grew up", after they had allowed two early goals.But the Blackburn Rovers manager, Sam Allardyce, was furious, claiming that Stephen Warnock's opener for Villa should not have been allowed. Allardyce strongly criticised the referee, Martin Atkinson, for failing to award a foul on Ryan Nelsen by Gabriel ÂAgbonlahor. According to Allardyce, Atkinson was a "major part of us not getting through to the final".O'Neill preferred to focus on his team's effort. Following their 7-4 aggregate win, the Ulsterman said: "It was an Âamazing game, no doubt. We started Ânervously and Âconceded two. All the great plans of Âclosing the game down lasted about a minute and a half." O'Neill had hoped simply to protect James Milner's goal at Ewood Park last week, which had given Villa the lead going into this second leg.O'Neill continued: "But we finally got a bit of life and when we got it back to 2-1 I always thought we could score more, I knew we were capable of getting back into the game. I'm genuinely delighted for the players. I think they grew up tonight. We made a lot of mistakes, even at 5-2, but I think it was the euphoria of the position. But this will give the players an enormous boost – we have some very good players, but very few have actually been in this position."Not too many nights like this have come along in the last 28 years," O'Neill said, referring to the time elapsed since Villa's European Cup Âtriumph in 1982.Nikola Kalinic's 10th- and 26th-minute strikes had hushed the home crowd, putting Blackburn 3-2 ahead on aggregate and giving them one foot in next month's final at ÂWembley, before Villa produced five goals in a row."They fought back brilliantly. ÂMilner was sensational," O'Neill said, referring to the man of the match, who scored a 40th-minute penalty and was influential in his new central-midfield berth. "He's a character and a half. His game's reached a new level, no doubt. He's seeing the pass. That's definitely his position."Milner said: "Obviously getting to a final's fantastic, we're moving Âforward. The fans were fantastic tonight, I don't know what they were thinking when we were 2-0 down but they kept shouting and it's great for them and for us as a Âfootball club – and hopefully we can go and win it."Allardyce admitted that he had to be careful of his words when Âcriticising Atkinson's performance. "It's a bit difficult to take that we scored four goals and we're not going to the final. The referee allowed a blatant foul on Ryan Nelsen to go unpunished," he said.Allardyce was also unhappy about Agbonlahor's goal, Villa's fourth, which arrived after Milner's shot appeared to brush his arm. But O'Neill countered by claiming that Villa had been denied "two penalty kicks" at Ewood Park in the first leg.Carling CupAston VillaMartin O'NeillBlackburn RoversSam AllardyceRefereesJamie Jacksonguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |