| Andy Carroll signs five-year contract with Newcastle United Newcastle striker Andy Carroll has signed a new five-year contract with the Barclays Premier League club. telegraph.co.uk |
Flores out with hamstring injury In-form Adelaide United midfielder Marcos Flores is likely to be out of action for up to two weeks after scans confirmed a slight hamstring tear. foxsports.com.au |
Aberdeen 4-2 Hibernian | SPL match report At least Colin Calderwood cannot claim to be in any way unaware of Hibernian's deficiencies after their trip to Aberdeen. The former Scotland defender's first match in charge highlighted the defensive flaws that undermined the tenure of his predecessor, John Hughes, to such damaging effect. The Hibs players made absolutely no attempt to pull the wool over Calderwood's eyes.Hibs had arrived in the north-east looking to prolong the suffering of another manager, Mark McGhee, but left in the knowledge Calderwood has his work cut out in trying to revive fortunes at Easter Road. Bluntly, he has taken over an insipid bunch. Hibs are not particularly short of attacking touch, even if that has been diminished by the sale of Anthony Stokes to Celtic. Yet their lack of commanding defenders, or an effective midfield spoiler, makes them a soft touch to play against. It has also taken them closer to the SPL's relegation zone than its upper echelons.Calderwood can take at least some solace that the majority of his first‑team squad are in the final year of their contracts. The new manager, once a defender of some repute, will not have much trouble identifying shortcomings.McGhee will have enjoyed this win, though; and how he needed it. Aberdeen's manager entered the game with a record of 12 wins from 46 matches in charge, with a single point taken out of the last possible 18. An attendance of 7,587 highlighted local disenchantment.McGhee's colourful, often confrontational, justification of Aberdeen's form has proved essential viewing and listening in recent weeks. At least now he need not seek excuses. Tuesday's League Cup visit of Falkirk to Pittodrie no longer looks so threatening to the manager.Despite Aberdeen dominating the early exchanges, it was the visitors' Colin Nish who had passed up the best chance to open the scoring. Chris Maguire proved more lethal, the Aberdeen forward accepting a fine pass from Sone Aluko before delivering an equally impressive, angled finish.If the Hibs defence was only partly at fault for that strike, they were blatantly culpable as a Scott Vernon goal doubled the Aberdeen lead. Sol Bamba completely missed an attempt at a header as the ball entered his penalty area, an error that was compounded as the Ivorian defender crucially deflected Vernon's shot beyond the stranded Mark Brown.Hibs' best hope of first-half salvation fell to John Rankin, who wastefully fired straight at Mark Howard when one-on-one. In Rankin's defence, the chance had fallen to his weaker foot, his right.Vernon, who has proved one of McGhee's better signings, turned home a Maguire cross five minutes after the interval to finish the contest. It was the much-travelled striker's sixth goal in a red shirt, a decent return at this formative stage of the campaign.Salt was rubbed into an ever-widening Hibs wound by the identity of Aberdeen's fourth scorer: Paul Hartley, once a cult hero in a Hearts shirt, took great delight in notching his latest penalty, awarded after Chris Hogg had hacked at Aluko.Nish limited the embarrassment with a header from Paul Hanlon's cross. It was the striker's last action of the match, as he had to depart with an ankle injury. That moment rather summed up Hibs' forgettable afternoon.Bamba's stoppage-time goal, also a header, was rather irrelevant. Calderwood would rather the defender popped up usefully in another penalty area – his own – where his services are badly needed.Scottish Premier LeagueAberdeenHibernianEwan Murrayguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Liverpool's new owners put their men on club board Liverpool's new owners have appointed two of their officials to the board of the Premier League club. rssfeeds.usatoday.com |
Liverpool 2-1 Blackburn Rovers Fernando Torres released the pressure valve above Roy Hodgson this afternoon as his first goal in seven appearances gave Liverpool a precious win over Blackburn Rovers. Before the watching Tom Werner, chairman of New England Sports Ventures, the Spain international and Sotirios Kyrgiakos ended a run of five league games without a victory for the Liverpool manager.The Liverpool manager overlooked those fringe players who had impressed in Naples on Thursday in favour of the same starting XI that was easily beaten at Everton in the previous league game. As in the Europa League tie there was a marked improvement in the Liverpool performance as they dominated a Blackburn side missing its first-choice central defence, Chris Samba and Ryan Nelsen, to suspension and injury respectively, and without Steven Nzonzi once the central midfielder pulled up with a hamstring strain on the half-hour.Liverpool were in no position to offer sympathy and only an understandable lack of confidence in front of goal denied them a more comfortable victory. Paul Robinson once again demonstrated the folly of England's World Cup selection this summer with a resolute display that commenced with an early reaction save from Joe Cole at close range. Raul Meireles, an assured figure in central midfield, prodded a glorious chance wide from the rebound.Kyrgiakos ensured himself a permanent place in Hodgson's affections when he lost Phil Jones at a Steven Gerrard corner to head beyond the exposed Robinson, although Michel Salgado got the final touch.A calamitous own-goal brought Blackburn level three minutes later when Paul Konchesky cleared off the line from El-Hadji Diouf only for the clearance to cannon off Jamie Carragher's chest and in. With the pantomime villain of Anfield still savouring his part in the equaliser, however, Rovers switched off at another Gerrard corner, Kyrgiakos flicked on a cross from Cole and Torres was left with the freedom of the visitors' penalty area to side-foot into the corner.Premier LeagueLiverpoolBlackburn RoversAndy Hunterguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |