TOP 100 SOCCER SITES
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| Aston Villa boss Martin O'Neill won't tempt fate with talk of finishing in the top four Martin O'Neill, echoing the fans' fears, cautions that it is worth remembering last season when Aston Villa's season imploded. telegraph.co.uk |
A-League round 22 preview Fox Sports football commentator Paul Trimboli offers his thoughts and predictions for round 22 of the 2009-2010 A-League season. foxsports.com.au |
Togo withdraw and head home Togo's national football team, still reeling from a rebel attack that killed two of their squad, headed home against the players wishes as the Africa Cup of Nations kicked off in Angola. foxsports.com.au |
Accrington Stanley 1-3 Fulham | FA Cup fourth round ACCRINGTON STANLEY's dreams of injecting some much-needed extra Ârevenue into the club via another appearance in the Cup went down the pan as Fulham won 3-1 at the Crown Ground. Stanley, the lowest-ranked club left in the Cup, did not go without a fight though, and were difficult to break down as they held the visitors to a 1-1 draw up to the 59th minute.Fulham chose to dodge the facilities, arriving and leaving in their kit. The wonkiest pitch in League football awaited them, scarred from excavations for repairs on the drains earlier this season and studded with divots. Mounds of snow lay piled up against the hoardings, cleared from the pitch using shovels and wheelbarrows by players and staff.Around the stadium, kids and pensioners trundled along the gangways with chips and mushy peas, lashings of gravy spilling over the sides of the Âpolysterene trays from the burger van with the slogan "eat out in style". As kick-off approached, the mist descended from the hills, and even with the floodlights turned on the bloke leaning out of the window on the nearby housing estate could not have seen much action. At the Clayton end, the "Stanley Ultras" kept up the noisy support for a full hour after the game had finished.Supporters have to be passionate here. They have been through it all, several times over. Everybody knows the story of the famous exit from League football back in 1962. When, in 2006, the club finally regained their league status, the fans must have dreamt their troubles would be over. Not by a long shot.Last year the club's main sponsor went into liquidation, pulling £100,000 off the books, and Stanley were left to find a replacement just as six of their players were charged with match fixing. This season they have already been subject to two winding-up orders as HM Revenue & Customs demanded repayments of debts of over £300,000. Twice the new chairman and local hero, Ilyas Khan, bailed out the club he grew up watching, but a transfer embargo remains in place until a £50,000 debt to the Professional Footballers' Association is cleared.The statistics alone show why this fixture meant so much. With £90,000 on offer to the winners, what must be pocket money to Fulham would have been a lifeline for Stanley. But it was not to be. As Stanley's team – average age "21.27 years recurring" says manager John Coleman – filed on to the pitch, they looked like kids compared to the brawn of their opposition, even with Roy Hodgson's side missing five first-team regulars through injury. Still, Stanley had a go.Afterwards Hodgson moaned about "long balls", but in truth Stanley had been the better side over 45 minutes. Fulham were first to score, after a Âcorner from Damien Duff was headed on by Zoltan Gera and a scramble in the goal led to a tap-in from Eric Nevland.Stanley levelled before half-time. James Ryan shot, and as Schwarzer spilled the save Sean McConville was there to put the ball back in for Michael Symes to net his 14th of the season.A second yellow card for defender Darran Kempson, scything through the back of Gera just before half-time, left the home team with an uphill task. Despite the handicap, Stanley maintained a lively attack. But just when Fulham looked as though they might give up, Duff bounded through the home defence and scored to burst the Accie bubble. Gera finished the job with a ball caught on the volley to secure a rare away victory for the club.Still, Coleman would not be fooled by the scoreline. "Their class showed in the end, but I'd like to think our class would show against 10 men in a Unibond team." Either way the £67,500 won for beating Swindon, plus £6,750 worth of highlights money from ITV, will come in handy for a club whose supporters will be happy just to live another day.FA CupAccrington StanleyFulhamAnna Kesselguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Bolton get the jump on Burnley Lee Chung-yong helped Bolton Wanderers manager Owen Coyle silence the taunts from fans of former club Burnley, the Korea Republic midfielder sealing a 1-0 win over the Clarets. foxsports.com.au |