Int Football - Around the world in 80 goals

Eurosport - Mon, 22 Sep 11:10:00 2008

An exhaustive round-up of everything, everywhere, as Rubin Kazan close in on their first Russian title.

2008 Rubin Kazan - 0

RUSSIA

Premier league leaders Rubin Kazan beat Spartak Moscow 1-0 to close in on their first national title.

A 15th-minute strike by Serhiy Rebrov proved decisive. The former Ukraine striker also scored the only goal in Kazan's 1-0 victory over Dynamo Moscow a week ago.

Rubin, on 48 points from 22 matches, lead second-placed Dynamo, who beat bottom-of-the-table Shinnik Yaroslavl 2-0 on Saturday, by nine points with eight games remaining.

Spartak, who lost Czech defender Martin Jiranek to a leg injury early in the game, dropped to sixth place with 33 points.

In St Petersburg, champions Zenit suffered a 3-1 home defeat by CSKA Moscow that all but ended their already slim chances of retaining their title.

The 18-year-old Alan Dzagoyev, who has caught the eye of Russia coach Guus Hiddink with his ball control, pace and vision, scored twice while Brazil striker Vagner Love added another for the army club from the spot.

Russia international Pavel Pogrebnyak scored a consolation goal for Zenit, who are in seventh place and trail Rubin by 17 points, although with a game in hand.

Zenit captain Anatoly Tymoshchuk conceded his team's title hopes. "We must now concentrate on the Champions League," the Ukraine midfielder said after the loss to CSKA.

Amkar Perm, 1-0 winners over Krylya Sovietov Samara, and CSKA remained in third and fourth place respectively with 38 points each, a point behind Dynamo.

NETHERLANDS

Jon Dahl Tomasson converted an 86th-minute penalty to salvage a point for Feyenoord in a 2-2 draw against arch rivals Ajax.

Sloppy defending by Tim de Cler gave Luis Suarez the opportunity to set up Jeffrey Sarpong to open the scoring for Ajax with a well placed shot at the near post six minutes before the interval.

Tomasson equalised on 50 minutes, heading a rebound into the net after goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg blocked a shot from winger Diego Biseswar.

Klaas-Jan Huntelaar scored his first league goal of the season from close range in the 69th minute after another Feyenoord defensive blunder to restore the lead.

With more passion than good football, Feyenoord fought back again to hand Tomasson the chance to score his fourth goal of the season after Urby Emanuelson fouled Michael Mols.

Groningen, who drew 1-1 at Heracles Almelo on Saturday, are top with seven points from three matches, ahead on goal difference of Heerenveen, who won 2-1 at home to NEC Nijmegen. ADO Den Haag follow on six points, joined by PSV Eindhoven, NAC Breda, Willem II Tilburg and Graafschap Doetinchem.

Feyenoord and Ajax are 10th and 12th with four points.

AZ Alkmaar handed champions PSV their first defeat of the season with a 1-0 home win.

Alkmaar, previously without a point, dominated but had to wait until eight minutes before time when Mounir El Hamdaoui set up Maarten Martens to settle the match.

Danijel Pranjic struck after 48 minutes to give Heerenveen the lead against NEC Nijmegen and Tarik Elyounoussi added a second midway through the second half before Jhon van Beukering pulled one back from the penalty spot in the last minute.

NAC Breda registered their second win of the season, beating Roda JC Kerkrade 3-0 with Kees Kwakman, Donny Gorter and Matthew Amoah all on target in the second half.

Jason Oost put Graafschap ahead one minute before the interval from the penalty spot, while Joep van den Ouweland sealed victory with 20 minutes remaining against ADO Den Haag.

Steve McClaren's Twente Enschede won their first match after two draws, beating bottom side Volendam 2-1. Second-half goals from Theo Janssen and Eljero Elia gave Twente a two-goal lead before Rowin van Zaanen pulled one back.

PORTUGAL

Promoted Rio Ave held Portuguese champions Porto to their second league draw of the season while leaders Sporting beat Belenenses 2-0 to maintain their 100 percent record.

Sporting, who won at home on Saturday, have nine points from three matches. Porto, who drew 0-0, are in sixth place with five.

Porto, who beat Fenerbahce 3-1 in their opening Champions League Group G match on Wednesday, missed a great chance when defender Bruno Alves hit the post from a freekick after 80 minutes.

Benfica seek their first league win of the season at Pacos de Ferreira on Monday.

GREECE

Olympiacos continued their winning start to the Super League season with a 4-1 victory over Panserraikos at the Karaiskakis Stadium.

After three rounds, the reigning champions are the only side with a 100 per cent record after Ergotelis were held to a 1-1 draw by Levadiakos.

There were wins also for AEK Athens and Asteras Tripolis, while Panionios and OFI Crete drew 1-1.

Olympiacos enjoyed a comfortable afternoon once Serbian striker Darko Kovacevic had turned superbly in the penalty area to put them ahead after 23 minutes.

Four minutes later, Luciano Galletti made it 2-0 when he attacked down the right, stepped inside a defender and calmly swept the ball past the keeper.

Olympiacos had to wait until the 81st minute for the third goal when Diogo rose unmarked to head home a Vassilis Torosidis cross.

After Bozidar Tadic had pulled one back from the penalty spot, Oscar played a delightful one-two with Fernando Belluschi to complete the win.

AEK had to work hard for a 1-0 win over Iraklis but they got it thanks to a 14th minute goal from Ignacio Scocco.

They now have seven points along with PAOK and Ergotelis, who made a great start in their game as Dimitris Orfanos put them 1-0 up against Levadiakos in just the second minute.

The visitors came back to level in the 37th minute through Eduardo Montoya.

Bennard Koumordzi gave Panionios the lead in their home game against OFI Crete in the 61st minute. But former Panathinaikos striker Dame N'Doye got his second goal of the season four minutes later to give the Cretan side a share of the points.

Asteras Tripolis, meanwhile, picked up their first win of the campaign as they beat Thrasyvoulos Filis 2-0.

Both goals came in the second half through Jean Carlos in the 59th minute and Danijel Cesarec six minutes later.

EASTERN EUROPE

Croatian champions and leaders Dinamo Zagreb suffered their first league defeat of the season when they went down 2-0 to rivals Hajduk Split at home.

In Serbia, Champions Partizan Belgrade stretched their perfect start to five games after a Zoran Tosic brace following Lamine Diarra's opener handed them a 3-0 win at Rad Belgrade.

Second-half goals from Drago Gabric and Senijad Ibricic gave Hajduk their first away win over Dinamo in five years and slashed the Zagreb side's advantage to three points.

Dinamo have 19 points from eight matches, Hajduk 16 and Cibalia Vinkovci in third have 14 after their 1-0 home victory over bottom team Zadar.

Gabric fired Hajduk ahead when he blasted the ball into the roof of the net with a fierce shot and Ibricic finished a flowing team move in the closing stages to reward Hajduk's most inpressive recent performance.

Serbia winger Zoran Tosic took his tally to seven goals in as many matches in all competitions to keep Partizan in the driving seat, three points ahead of Vojvodina Novi Sad.

He rifled in a piledriver from 35 metres and steered in a looping header after Senegalese striker Lamine Diarra had fired the champions ahead with a crisp low shot from 12 metres.

Former European Cup winners Red Star Belgrade chalked up their first win of the season after two goals from captain Nenad Milijas and a third by Branimir Subasic helped them to a 3-0 home success against Jagodina on Saturday.

Red Star climbed four places up the 12-team league to seventh after Milijas netted with a penalty and a spectacular long-range shot either side of a clinical finish by Azerbaijan striker Branimir Subasic.

ARGENTINA

Champions River Plate and their arch-rivals Boca Juniors slumped to shock defeats against modest opposition.

Boca, Argentina's most popular club, lost 3-2 at home to Tigre in a game where all the goals came in a remarkable first 32 minutes.

Carlos Luna pounced on a poor clearance and Martin Morel curled in a free kick to put Tigre 2-0 ahead after only 12 minutes at the Bombonera.

Boca pulled level when Sebastian Battaglia scored from close range in the 22nd minute and Jonathan Blanco put through his own goal, only for Morel to put Tigre back in front in the 32nd minute.

Battaglia then turned villain when he was sent off in the 39th minute for a tackle from behind.

River lost 3-1 at promoted San Martin-Tucuman despite taking an 11th-minute lead through Omar Merlo following a corner.

Gustavo Ibanez equalised in the 34th minute before Daniel Vega and Enzo Bruno scored in the last 15 minutes for the hosts.

Boca, who have 11 points from six games, dropped to fifth in the table, one point and one place behind San Martin, while River, who have only won once, slumped to 17th with six points.

Tigre went second with 14 points, two behind leaders San Lorenzo who beat Colon 3-0 on Friday.

MEXICO

Guadalajara, Mexico's most popular club, managed only their second win in nine championship outings when they beat Chiapas 1-0.

Ramon Morales converted a penalty five minutes into the second half of Saturday's game as they recovered from a 5-2 thrashing at Pachuca the week before.

The win took Guadalajara off the bottom of Group Two in the Apertura championship and briefly lifted the pressure on club president Jorge Vergara and coach Efrain Flores.

Guadalajara, the only first division club who do not field foreign players, have 10 points from nine games.

In another of Saturday's games, Morelia produced a shock 4-0 win away to Ricardo La Volpe's Monterrey with Chilean midfielder Hugo Droguett scoring twice in the first half.

Wilson Tiago was also on target before the break and Ever Guzman added a fourth in the second half.

Champions Santos Laguna scored in the 89th minute but were still denied a win at Cruz Azul when Mexican midfielder Gerardo Torrado replied in the fourth minute of stoppage time to give the hosts a 1-1 draw.

Argentine-born Mexican international Matias Vuoso was on target for Santos who lead Group One with 13 points.

AFRICAN CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

David Shoko scored two minutes from time to hand Dynamos a place in the semi-finals with a 1-0 victory over Egyptian giants Zamalek.

Shoko's late strike ensured second place in Group A for the Zimbabwean team, who will now meet Coton Sport of Cameroon in next month's semi-finals.

Dynamos, beaten finalists in the same competition a decade ago, effectively needed only a draw to ensure their progress but Zamalek had to win away from home to stand any chance of reaching the last four.

Egypt's Al Ahli kept up their unbeaten run in the league phase despite being held to a 2-2 draw by ASEC Abidjan in the last Group A match in Cairo.

Al Ahli, who finished top of Group A with 12 points, meet Enyimba of Nigeria in the other semi-final.

Mohamed Aboutrika gave Al Ahli a fifth minute lead but the hosts held it for just 45 seconds before Michael Akuffu equalised, getting first onto a long ball through the middle of the field.

Al Ahli substitute Mahmoud Samir scored his first goal in continental competition with a 75th minute shot that the ASEC goalkeeper Daniel Yeboah dived over the top of.

The lead was again short lived as Bi Cyriac Gohi produced some fine individual skill to bring ASEC level within four minutes.

The first legs of the semi-finals will be played on the weekend of October 3-5 with the return game two weeks later.

Reuters

Comment 1 - 7 of 7

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  1. blah blah blah....whoever started this "bloc" talk should've thot of sutin better to say... anyways, the world made a mistake overating Pavluchenko (who's from an Eastern bloc nation; correct me if I'm wrong) and deceiving Spurs (so far to my delight) to buying him. So now I'd really love d real Russian striker; Progrebnyak that is, gets the rating he deserves... he's the one that needs to gerrout of Zenit, not d other "Eastern Bloc" lad Arshavin...

    From Adeleke, on Mon 22 Sep 1:12PM
  2. My prediction for the African Champions League semi-finals game between, Coton Sport of Gaoura, Cameroon and Dynamos of Zimbabwe is: Coton Sport of Cameroon 2, Dynamos of Zimbabwe 0. Jojo Anang. Coton Sport 4ever.

    From joe, on Mon 22 Sep 12:46PM
  3. johnathan, wtf is CZ? and if Serbia and Croatia aren't in Eastern Europe, where are they?

    From aleksicn93, on Mon 22 Sep 12:41PM
  4. First of all, Yugoslavia was not under Soviet rule (apart from strong soviet influence from 1945 to 1948) and was never in Warsaw pact (don't confuse communist regime with either of those things). I understand that people think that these countries (and a few others) are in eastern europe because of some historical facts, but that does not mean that it is true. And I don’t see any reason for media to facilitate ignorance.
    Btw. I’m not Croatian or Serbian so I don’t have any personal issues about this.

    From korosec_samo, on Mon 22 Sep 12:32PM
  5. Not wanting to be associated with the old 'Eastern bloc' thing any more then? Dont forget this site's customers are mostly western europe so calling former Warsaw Pact countries 'central europe' is going to confuse people.
    To them (rightly or wrongly) central europe is Switzerland, Austria, Italy etc. People equate former Yugoslavia coutries as 'eastern' europe, because of their former Soviet rule.
    I have family in CZ and they get huffy when its referred to as 'eastern' europe but youll have to get used to it for a few years.

    From JONATHAN, on Mon 22 Sep 10:52AM
  6. samo dont get above your station! croatia and serbia are and always will be eastern europe!!

    From Jamie, on Mon 22 Sep 10:50AM
  7. Croatia and Serbia are not located in Eastern Europe. I would expect some basic geographical knowledge from someone who is supposedly covering international football.

    From korosec_samo, on Mon 22 Sep 10:30AM
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