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In “Europa League” Fulham ( sostenitori in foto ), Everton e Celtic hanno ottenuto poco dai rispettivi impegni. I “Cottagers”, ridotti in nove, hanno ceduto di misura alla Roma che ha rimontato il vantaggio iniziale dei londinesi mentre i Celtic che dovevano vincere ad Amburgo per raddrizzare la difficile situazione nel girone si sono limitati ad un sofferto pareggio a reti bianche. I biancoverdi sono stati seguiti da circa 2500 tifosi mentre la tifoseria tedesca, gemellata con quella dei Rangers, li ha accolti con una coreografia che rappresentava la “Union Jack” in versione blu,bianca e nera con sotto esposto lo striscione “No surrender”. Sempre a proposito della metà protestante di Glasgow la UEFA ha aperto un inchiesta per indagare riguardo gli scontri tra i supporters della squadra campione di Scozia ed il servizio d’ordine dello stadio di Bucarest composto da agenti e stewards. Infine l’ Everton ha lasciato l’intera posta al Benfica corsaro  e vittoriso per due a zero.

 

Celtic look highly unlikely to progress in the Europa League after they endured a frustrating goalless draw in Hamburg, which leaves them bottom of the table.

Barry Robson blasted an early effort over the bar from 16 yards and twice striker Scott McDonald was denied by Hamburg’s alert goalkeeper Frank Rost.Lukasz Zaluska saved early from Marcus Berg and surpassed that when he tipped a David Rozehnal header over the bar.Celtic must win their final two games and hope Hamburg lose theirs.With fewer than 90 seconds on the clock Marcus Berg fired a shot at Lukasz Zaluska but Artur Boruc’s replacement did well to block with his feet.Incredibly, this was Celtic’s second scare of the match, Gary Caldwell blocking acrobatically a Jonathan Pitroipa volley from six yards in the first minute.Celtic drew breath and hit back instantly down the left, the ball falling kindly for Barry Robson who whacked a left-foot shot over the bar from 16 yards as the German defence rushed at him.A bursting run from Samaras had the Hamburg defence retreating as the match continued apace.The Greek’s pass to Scott McDonald was perfectly weighted and from inside the box the Australian fired a low shot too close to Hamburg’s goalkeeper Frank Rost, who got down well to save.As the game swung to the other end of the pitch Caldwell picked up a yellow card when a delicious flick by Jose Ze Roberto wrong-footed the Celtic captain for the night.Thankfully for Celtic, the Brazilian swept his free-kick wide.Marcell Jansen’s low shot in the 20th minute was parried by Zaluska and slack passing by Celtic in central areas threatened to undo their Europa League chances as first Pitroipa and then Jansen again kept Tony Mowbray’s side pinned back.McDonald, dropped by Australian coach Pim Verbeek for their match against Oman, was presented with another chance when a clever Aiden McGeady pass from the touchline saw him racing in from the left-hand side of the box.Like his first opportunity, McDonald’s shot had power but was directed straight at Rost.In a scrappy beginning to the second half, Hamburg came close to taking the lead when Joris Mathijsen leapt to meet a free-kick and the ball bounced off his back and on to the top of Zaluska’s crossbar.Landry N’Guemo had the 2,500 Celtic fans peering through their fingers in terror when his crossfield pass was cut out by the electric Eljero Elia, who sped forward and cracked a shot at goal.Zaluska parried into the path of Pitroipa, who was prevented from shooting from close range by a fabulous intervention by Caldwell.As the hour mark approached and with Hamburg pressing Celtic deep into their own half, Mowbray sent on Marc-Antoine Fortune and Lee Naylor, McGeady and McDonald making way.It was a brave move by Celtic, Naylor taking over Danny Fox’s left-back role as his team-mate moved into the left side of midfield vacated by McGeady.N’Guemo set Samaras racing through on goal with a delightful ball over the top of the Hamburg defence, but with only Rost to beat the Greek shot feebly and the game remained goalless.With Hapoel Tel-Aviv leading Rapid Vienna, a goal for Celtic was essential as stalemate at Hamburg’s Nordbank Arena would leave the Germans needing just one more point to make it impossible for the Scots to progress.Yet the Bundesliga side continued to apply the pressure and, when David Rozehnal escaped Glenn Loovens at a Ze Roberto free-kick, only a superb save by the impressive Zaluska prevented the Hamburg defender heading the opener.Celtic made a late surge as Hamburg appeared to tire, with final substitute Niall McGinn offering the visitors fresh legs in midfield.

( BBC Sport )

 

 

Nine-man Fulham will blame a harsh red card for Erik Nevland for a Europa League Group E defeat by Roma.

Diomansy Kamara picked himself up from a Marco Andreolli foul to put Fulham ahead from the penalty spot.But Nevland was sent off for a 49th minute tackle on Daniele de Rossi before John Arne Riise equalised with a shot that deflected off two players.Stefano Okaka Chuka nodded in Roma’s winner before Paul Konchesky was also red-carded for Fulham late on.But it was the dismissal of Nevland that had changed the course of the game and, while Fulham had a measure of control beforehand, they were forced into a rearguard action after the dismissal.Nevland had only been on the pitch for four minutes when he was sent back to the changing room for clipping the back of De Rossi with a sliding challenge.

Referee Kevin Blom’s decision had given Roma an impetus to take the game to their opponents following a lacklustre performance up until that point.Fulham had beaten Liverpool last Saturday and were a team high on confidence, while Roma showed the struggle for form their 14th place in Serie A indicated.The difference in both teams were plain to see as the visitors passed the ball around with an authority and threat which did not take long to materialise into a goal.Zoltan Gera slid a pass into the Roma box for Clint Dempsey and he cut the ball back for Kamara, who was tripped by Marco Andreolli – the scorer of Roma’s equaliser in the reverse fixture two weeks ago.Kamara stroked home the spot-kick with the kind of calmness and composure being epitomised by Fulham as he sent keeper Doni the wrong way.Roma briefly raised their game and Philippe Mexes should have levelled only to steer a header wide from an invitingly whipped in Cicinho cross.The home side were also denied what appeared a good shout for a penalty when a Mexes shot from a corner seemed to be blocked by the arm of defender John Pantsil.But it was Fulham whose play carried the greater danger and Kamara, Dempsey and Gera were combining well in attack with an assured looking defence behind them.An unmarked Kamara headed wide at the far post before Dempsey angled a shot wide after being set up by Gera.Nevland’s red card then proved decisive as Marco Cassetti headed wide at the far post wide and Stefano Guberti had a left-foot shot tipped over for the home sideFulham eventually buckled when John Arne Riise’s shot took deflections off Gera and his brother Bjorn on the way past wrongfooted Cottagers keeper Mark Schwarzer.Schwarzer was soon beaten again and, despite getting a hand to Okaka-Chuka’s header in, he could not stop it going in.Fulham pushed centre-back Brede Hangeland up into attack late on but could not stop falling to a defeat, with Konchesky’s dismissal for a tackle on Taddei rubbing salt into their wounds.The defeat leaves Fulham third behind leaders Basle and second-placed Roma in Group E with two games to go.

( BBC Sport )

 

Cardozo extended Benfica’s lead despite a suspicion of offside

Javier Saviola and Oscar Cardozo scored as Benfica deservedly defeated a dogged Everton in the Europa League.

Saviola opened the scoring with a low finish early in the second-half before Cardozo finished in the bottom corner.Cardozo appeared to be in an offside position but Benfica’s attacking play was superb and earlier he hit the post and Tim Howard superbly denied Saviola.An unmarked Sylvain Distin had a chance for Everton from six yards late in the game but was denied by Julio Cesar.Benfica were full value for their victory, with Cardoza, Saviola and Angel Di Maria interchanging passes with great skill and understanding.

 

 

The introduction of Argentine Pablo Aimar after the break only served to illustrate the difference in options between the visiting team and injury-hit Everton.David Moyes’s team – who were thrashed 5-0 at Benfica two weeks ago – have not won in any competition since they defeated BATE on 1 October.But they remain second in their Europa League group and qualification remains in their own hands with two games left to play.Everton started at a high tempo, with Diniyar Bilyaletdinov industrious on the left and Jack Rodwell impressing from his deep midfield position.But there was a lack of composure to their play at times and the home team were guilty of wasting promising positions by looking for a killer pass too early.They did create a few openings and Marouane Fellaini forced an early save from Cesar with a long-range strike, Leighton Baines had a shot blocked, Yakubu shot wide from a tight angle and Tim Cahill headed straight at the Benfica keeper.However, Everton created a problem of their making when Baines and Howard collided as they attempt to clear a hopeful cross into the box, but the keeper was able to gather at the second attempt before any Benfica players could capitalise.And it was the away team who came closest to breaking the deadlock in the opening half.A precise Fabio Coentrao cross from the left was met by Cardozo but his header hit the base of the post and rebounded towards Saviola.The Argentine shot crisply at goal with his right foot and it took a superb reaction save from Howard to ensure the home team reached the break on level terms.Benfica scored three goals in quick succession at the start of the second-half in Portugal and almost took the lead after 57 minutes at Goodison Park.Cardozo pierced the Everton defence with a brilliant curved through ball that sent Angel Di Maria through on goal but he shot over from 20 yards.Di Maria almost atoned for his miss with an audacious long-range shot from a wide position that the alert Howard tipped over his crossbar.Benfica had started to find their range with some precise attacking football and unsurprisingly took the lead through Saviola.The visiting team broke with a sweeping move that culminated as Saviola fortuitously gathered a ricochet off Di Maria before slotting the ball beyond Howard.Benfica looked even more assured in possession after taking the lead, while Everton adopted an increasingly deep defensive line as they tried to nullify their opponents attacking threat.But the match was put beyond Everton when another scintillating attack culminated with Amorim’s shot deflecting into the path of Cardozo for the Paraguayan to slot the ball across Howard and into the bottom corner.Howard appealed for offside and he had a strong case as replays suggested Cardozo was beyond the last Everton defender as Amorim shot.Distin should have ensured a dramatic finish after a partially blocked shot fell invitingly to him but he failed to convert from six yards.

( BBC Sport )

 

Rangers have been charged with the improper conduct of their supporters following the disturbances during their Champions League tie in Romania.

The Glasgow club’s supporters were involved in half-time scuffles at the match against Unirea Urziceni at Ghencea Stadium in Bucharest.Fans were seen on TV destroying seats and challenging match stewards during the 1-1 draw on Wednesday.Uefa’s control and disciplinary body will deal with the case next Thursday.European football’s governing body had waited on its delegate’s report into the Champions League Group G game before deciding whether to launch an investigation into the trouble.Responding to the charge, chief executive Martin Bain said: “We have been informed by Uefa that disciplinary proceedings have been instigated in relation to the throwing of missiles and crowd disturbances.”As already stated, I am not for a moment condoning the action of some supporters to the unfolding of events within the stadium.

“But, as a club, the preparations which were agreed and insisted upon in advance were not adhered to and this, in turn, we feel jeopardised the safety of our supporters.”We are fully aware of the indiscriminate use of CS gas and the difficulties experienced by our fans accessing the stadium.”All these factors will be presented fully by the club to Uefa in our submission.”The trouble in the stands has overshadowed the game itself, Unirea Urziceni’s Marius Onofras scoring in the 88th-minute to force a 1-1 draw in the match after Lee McCulloch’s shot had put the visitors ahead 11 minutes from time.In a statement the previous evening, Bain, describing the behaviour of some fans as “unacceptable”, had been critical of the shortage of entry access for spectators at the stadium, which is the home of Steaua Bucharest.”Rangers came to this stadium with representatives from Uefa and Unirea a number of weeks ago and arranged for the four turnstiles to be open to give access to our supporters,” said the chief executive.”When they arrived this evening, there were only two turnstiles open, which caused difficulty gaining access, and for fans then to be sprayed with CS gas is totally unacceptable.”

A half-time announcement threatened an abandonment of the match and Uefa head of communications Rob Faulkner insisted this was made at the request of the match delegate in a bid to quieten down the atmosphere.”We take any incident like this seriously, but we have to get all the facts,” he said of something described by Rangers Supporters Assembly chief Andy Kerr as a “minor incident”.“As far as we can establish at the moment, it seems there were a number of Rangers supporters who came late into the stadium and we need to find out why.”Then there was an issue about where they were going to sit as apparently there were banners already placed there, which resulted in the request to remove some banners, which seems to have ended in a clash between stewards and some supporters.”If we need to discuss with people who were there on site, we will do that and obviously we’ll take action after that.”The game had been moved to Steaua’s stadium as Unirea’s own ground, 25km away and with a 7,000 capacity, had been deemed unfit to host a Champions League tie. However, problems arose before the match as Rangers fans tried to enter the ground.It is as yet unclear exactly what triggered the clash between a section of the visiting support and stewards at half-time.Seats and punches were thrown by fans and television pictures showed stewards spraying tear gas at close range.At one point, the fans surged forward to recover a supporter who had been grabbed by the Romanian stewards.

( BBC Sport )

Tag:calcio, casuals, celtic, europa league, fulham, inghilterra, rangers, roma, scozia