Cameroon seal AYC final spot

 

Cameroon beat Egypt 4-2 on penalty shoot out to get to the finals of the Orange Africa Youth Championship after a long and action packed game at the Dobsonville Stadium in Johannesburg.

This win sends Cameroon to the finals where they will play against the Flying Eagles of Nigeria. This leaves a repeat of the Group B second match which was won by Cameroon by 1-0.

The last semi final match between Cameroon and the Young Pharaohs’ started with both teams at each others neck. It was a game of two halves and two determined sides.

Both teams looked desperate to get the goal that will put them in the lead in this thrilling encounter.

---

At the 18th minute Mohammed Ghaly of Egypt forced a spectacular save from Cameroon’s Thierry Tangouatio.

Cameroon’s Ohandza Franck took a promising free kick that was tipped over the posts by the Young Pharaoh’s Ahmed Shanawy.

After thirty good minutes of play it was not clear who will emerge victorious. Nonetheless only one team can make it through to the final to face the Flying Eagles.

Cameroon’s Haman Jacques was a remarkable player to watch as he persistently tried his luck at goal but was met with the determined efforts of Egypt’s goal stopper. The game went to half time with a goal less draw yet an entertaining game.

The teams came back from half time showing the very same ambition but the Young Pharaohs’ dominated the second half; technically frustrating Cameroon.

Both teams showed their hunger as they started firing shots from every angle.

Mohammed Sobh took a convincing shot that went over the post (59th). Both teams failed to optimize on their chances.

The game dragged on to extra time, which came as no surprise since both teams were on fire. The first half of extra time did not yield any fruits.

The Egyptians were harassing Cameroon in the last 3 minutes of the second half but yet failing to find the back of the net. 

The game ended on penalties where Diaar El Sayed’s boys lost to the Flying Eagles by 4-2.

Egypt missed the first two penalties and scored the consecutive two penalties that followed, while Cameroon scored their all four which saw them cement a place in the CAF Orange African Youth Championship.

Egypt will battle it out with Mali for the third position on the 1st of May at 12h00 at Dobsonville stadium, while the pièce de resistance will be between Cameroon and Nigeria on the same day at 15h00.

Source: African Soccer
PIX:Ambroise Oyongo of Cameroon challenges Omar Gaber of Egypt

Nigeria book's place in the AYC final

Nigeria have booked a place in the 2011 African Youth Championships final after a comprehensive 2-0 victory over Mali at the Dobsonville Stadium on Thursday afternoon.

The Flying Eagles were always in control of the game and earned their victory via goals from Uche Nwofor, his third of the tournament, and Stanley Okoro (penalty).

Mali looked toothless in attack, though they did have one golden chance with the score at 1-0, but Ibrahima Diallo missed with a point-black header would he could only guide the ball onto the post.

---

There was an element of good fortune about the Nigerian opener on 22 minutes as Olanrewaju Kayode looked to have used his hand at the near post to flick on a cross, before Nwofor steered home the ball at the back post.

The Mali players were furious and protested against the goal, but it stood and Nigeria had a deserved lead.

Amara Malle struck the post with a shot from 18-yards as Mali looked to get back into the game, while just before the break Nwofor should have grabbed his second as his point-blank header was brilliantly saved by Cheick Sy in the Malien goal.

Ibrahima Diallo should have leveled up the game with that header that struck the woodwork with 16 minutes on the clock, but the win was finally made safe for Nigeria eight minutes into injury-time as Kayode was felled in the area and Okoro kept his nerve to score the spot-kick.

Source: African Soccer

PIX: Amara Konate of Mali tackles Chidi Osuchukwu of Nigeria

T.T Brothers fetes SOS Village kids in Tema

T.T. Brothers Ghana Limited, on Monday, feted over a 100 children from the SOS Village in Tema after which he presented items worth $12,000 to the forster home for the upkeep of the home.
The items included bags of rice, cooking oil, biscuits and assorted products of T.T brothers.

Mr. Isaac Tetteh, Chief Executive Officer of the company who donated the items on behalf of the company said the donation forms part of his commitment to support the home some years ago and assured of his continued support to the Village as part of contribution to the development of society.

Mr Tetteh who doubles as a board member of Accra Hearts of Oak as well as Pure Joy Star stated that the donation formed part of his company's social and corporate responsibility of assisting the community in which it operates added that if everything goes on well the home will benefit from bigger packages in the coming years.

“I am happy to see the kids happy during the yuletide and the Easter season’s as well as it makes them not feel rejected by society during these periods which also serves as a family reunion and homecoming for Christians the world over.”
He commended his family, staff of his company and friends for the support towards the programme over the years.

He later feted over 100 children a party for the children of the Tema SOS Village.
On her part, Ms Esther Anagbano commended Mr. Isaac Tetteh and staff of T.T Brothers Limited for their kind gesture towards the upkeep of the children.

She asked for God’s guidance and blessings for Mr. Tetteh and his company for remembering them at such a crucial time whilst appealing to other institutions and companies to emulate his shining example .

We have to go back to drawing board - Preko

World and African champions Ghana are out of the Orange African Youth Championship South Africa 2011 contest following a 2-1 defeat by Nigeria, and a 1-1 draw with Gambia and Cameroon respectively.

Following this, Ghana assistant coach, Preko Yaw, who was a member of Ghanaian Olympic bronze medal team in 1992 and the U-17 World Cup winning team in Italy 1991, gave an audience to cafonline.com.

Cafonline.com: What went wrong with your team in this competition?

Preko Yaw: I strongly believe it was overconfidence. Being the World and African Champions, the boys thought they could walk away easily with 3 points in every game.

---

They just couldn’t replicate what their predecessors did. This is a lesson for us and in future, we just have to put things in order.

Cafonline.com: Was Ghana missing some players in this tournament?

Preko Yaw: This is the best we have. The point is that when your best don’t perform as expected, one now feels that those players dropped may have done better.

Cafonline.com: What is the impact of this early exit on Ghanaian youth football?

Preko Yaw: It will have enormous effect because this is a generation set up to build the national team. With this, we may experience big gap from now in racing future players for the national team. However or fortunately, we still have many players from the previous junior team in the national team.

Cafonline.com: What plans to you have to correct this?

Preko Yaw: We have to go back to the drawing board. Take a proper check on our selection of players; looking at their character and ability to withstand tournament pressure. Some players can only perform on home soil. We just have to take this, among other characteristics, into consideration.

Cafonline.com: As World and African Champions, what is your advice to the semi finalists:

Preko Yaw: They just have to believe in themselves. With the elimination of Ghana, it is now an open contest. For the World Cup in Colombia, they just have to be well prepared because it is not going to be easy. All eyes will be on them since Africa is the defending champions. Also, the absence of Ghana shows that the best teams qualified. Note that it was a surprise to many that Africa could be world champions in junior level.

Cafonline.com: How do you evaluate the competition so far?

Preko Yaw: I saw a lot of potentials. Individually, the boys were very good. Egypt, South Africa and Lesotho gave a good account of themselves. It is a competition that will continue to attract world attention and produce great talents.

Cafonline.com: What is your advice to people at home after this exit?

Preko Yaw: They have to be patient.  We are sorry for what happened. At the same time, it is a part of football that is difficult to swallow. We just have to move on, make sure that the mistake we made is corrected and forge ahead with how best to move youth football forward again.

 

 

 

Poor Ghana exit AYC

Cameroun and Ghana shared the spoils yesterday at the Dobsonville stadium in Johannesburg in an intriguing 1-1 encounter .

With nothing much at stake and parading some new faces having won two of their last matches to become the first team to qualify in Group, Cameroon took the game on a lighter note.

It was a different approach for Ghana who with a better ball possession were more businesslike but could not breakdown the Cameroonian defence.

In the 6th minute, Nsor Kwame collected a through ball in the midfield, beating his man comfortably, raced down the left flank but a Cameroonian defender managed to block his shot before Boakye could make contact.

Ghana continued to pile pressure, another close opportunity was thwarted by the Cameroonian goalkeeper, Ngana Eric in the 13th minute when Masahudu Alhassan’s shot was almost in.

Cameroon relied on counter attacks, with Ella Armand operating from the left flank and Tagueu Joel with some support finding it difficult to dazzle the Ghanaian defense.

Ghana’s constant pressure paid off in the 20th minute, the lanky Nsor Kwame took his height advantage head in the ball and gave his team the lead.

The Ghanaians made several unsuccessful attempts to increase tally before the break but Cameroon never sat back to watch.

Action continued in the second half Ghana still pressing for another goal while Cameroon still employs the tactics of taking advantage of every opportunity to rattle the Ghanaian defense.

As the clock runs down, it became a battle for Ghana to increase their standing and Cameroon determined to maintain a clean record in Group B.

What seemed like a Ghanaian dominance began to fade gradually as Cameroon gathers more momentum as Mbongo Emmanuel finally game his team a fought for equalizing in the 90th minute.

Source: AFRICAN SOCCER

PIX: Christian Toko of Cameroon battles for the ball with Ghana's Paul Aidoo

Barcelona’s Lionel Messi creates Spanish football history by scoring 50 goals in single season

Messi outwit Osasuna' s Iranian midfielder Javad Nekounam (L) and midfielder Alvaro Cejudo Carmona (C) enroute to scoring the historic goal

Barcelona forward Lionel Messi has created yet another record by becoming the first player in Spanish football history to score 50 goals in a single season.

The 23-year-old etched his name in the record books on Saturday evening in round 32 of La Liga against Osasuna at Camp Nou when he scored in the 86th minute after coming on as a second half substitute.
The Argentine bagged his landmark goal when he raced onto a through ball from Dani Alves in between two defenders before slotting the ball under opposition goalkeeper Ricardo.

                     Barcelona's Brazilian defender Dani Alves carry's  Messi up high after his goal

This is the first time in the history of Spanish football that a player has scored 50 or more goals in a single season. On April 12 against Shakhtar Donetsk in Barca's second-leg Champions League quarter-final tie in Ukraine, Messi scored his 48th goal of the 2010-11 campaign to equal a Spanish record set by Athletic Bilbao legend Telmo Zarra in 1950-51 and overtook Ferenc Puskas (Real Madrid) and Ronaldo’s (Barcelona) tally of 47 goals in 1959-60 and 1996-97 respectively.
Last Saturday against Real Madrid in La Liga's Clasico, Messi netted his 49th of the season when he slotted a penalty past Iker Casillas in a match that ended in a 1-1 draw.
However, the Argentina international, who won the 2010 FIFA Ballon d’Or award, is not the first player to score 50 or more goals in a single European season. Here is the list of players who have achieved this feat.

                         Messi being congratulated by his teamate Daniel Alves after the goal

Torres breaks duck as Chelsea cruise

After 734 minutes, Fernando Torres finally scores his first goal for Chelsea since £50m move from Liverpool. 
On a rainy day in London, the Spaniard ended his goal drought with a composed finish to complete a 3-0 victory over West Ham and lift the roof off Stamford Bridge

Fernando Torres scored his first goal for Chelsea. He struck in the 84th against West Ham United at Stamford Bridge, turning sharply in the box to swivel and shoot low into the left corner of Robert Green's goal.

Chelsea won the game 3-0, after Frank Lampard opened the scoring in the first half and then Florent Malouda completed the scoring in stoppage time, with Torres providing the assist.
   
It brings to an end a sorry spell for the Spaniard, who had also failed to score for his country since moving to Chelsea from Liverpool in a £50 million deadline day move in January.

Egypt through, hosts bow out

Egypt defeated host South Africa 1-0 to pick the second spot in Group A of the African Youth Championships played on Saturday at Dobsonville stadium in Johannesburg.

Mali picked the first spot earlier after winning their first two matches against Egypt and South Africa.

South Africa started the game on a fast pace, taking complete control of the first ten minutes and launching attacks from the midfield and the right flank. Leading the attack for South Africa was Nguzana Lucky who came closer to scoring in the 12th minute but failed to make contact with the ball.

---

Despite the pressure, Egypt which relied on counter attacks gradually came back into the game and restored confidence in themselves and forcing the South Africans to be more cautious.

A miscalculation from Egypt’s Mohamed Ghaly in the 30th minute with only one man to beat derailed their chance of taking advantage. Few minutes later, another chance through a free kick was wasted by Ahmed Hegazi whose low shot was not on target.

South Africa’s closest chance was in the 44th minute when Lucky’s strong header from Ramabu Lee long cross was parried over the bar by the Egyptian goalkeeper.

The deadlock was broken in the 45th minute as Egypt’s Mohamed Hamdy Zaky took advantage of a goal month melee to put Egypt ahead.

The second half began with both sides not ready to commit any errors, pushing forward and falling back quickly.

The side bar denied South Africa an equalizer in the 58th minute. Egypt responded with counter attack as Mohamed Ibrahim with only the keeper to beat shot wide.
South Africa fought effortlessly for an equalizer but lady luck was on the side of Egyptians, losing some chances.

With few minutes left, both teams put pressure on each other but South Africa had better chances that never yielded any dividend for the host.

With this result, Egypt has qualified for both the Orange African Youth Championship semis and a place for the FIFA World Youth Championship in Colombia.

Source: AFRICAN SOCCER
PIX: Jabulani Ncubeni of South Africa challenged by Ramy Rabiea of Egypt 

Lesotho picks a point home

Lesotho missed a chance to go home with maximum points as they were held on a 1-1 by the Eaglets of Mali in group A’s third and last game, played at the Millpark Stadium in Johannesburg.

The Eaglets of Mali came into this game already qualified and the pressure was on the young Crocs of Lesotho to win and save their honour by scoping the three points.

However, the regional giants got off on a very slow start letting the Eagles dictate the pace at their expense.

The lacklustre Eagle team kept dominating the young Crocs till the end of the first 45 minutes of play.

---

The second half kicked-off in the same style. The Crocs showing no ambition, falling back into their own area most of the time to defend and rarely pushing forward.

It seemed like Lesotho came to this game to obtain a draw, but that would not be the case as Mali’s pressure paid off, when an Eaglet was fouled into inside the penalty box.

Baholo Sefatsa, the Crocs keeper was up to task as he saved the Crocs from going down.
However, the Boys from the kingdom will succumb at the 70th minute from a Malian offensive which saw Ballo Drissa hit home to put the Eaglets ahead.

Mali’s goal would be a wake-up call for Lesotho and they fought hard to come back into the game with sporadic attacks.

They kept questioning the Malian defence till the 82nd minute when Mosiuda Bosioka stroke to level for Lesotho.

It is on a 1-1 score line that the referee blew his final whistle much to the satisfaction of the coach of Mali.

Lesotho has just played its last and final game in this tournament and goes home with a point.

Source: AFRICAN SOCCER

PIX: Tsebang Lebata of Lesotho challenged by Abdoulaye Coulibaly of Mali

Ghana earn late draw to stay alive in AYC

Defending champions Ghana scored late to earn a 1-1 draw with Gambia in their 2011 African Youth Championships at the Dobsonville Stadium on Thursday.
The Black Satellites were two minutes away from elimination from the tournament before Richmond Boakye popped up to equalise and leave Orlando Wellington’s side with a slim chance of reaching the semifinals.
Gambia took the lead through Baboucarr Jammeh midway through the first half and looked as though they would hold on for a famous win.
But the draw means they now have just one point from their two matches to date and they must now beat Nigeria in their final game on Sunday and hope that Cameroon get at least a draw against Ghana at the same time.
Ghana must get a big win against Cameroon and hope that either Nigeria and Gambia draw, or that Gambia get a narrow win.
The positions in the group stages are determined by goal-difference first, then greater number of goals scored and finally a head-to-head.

SOURCE: African Football

 PIX: Rashid Sumaila of Ghana battles with Alasanna Camara of Gambia

Cameroon book's U-20 World Cup ticket

Cameroon this morning became the second African country to book a place at the World U-20 Championships in Colombia when they posted a 1-0 victory over Nigeria
 The victory also sees them into semifinals of the 2011 African Youth Championships.
The only goal of the game was scored in first-half injury-time by Franck Ohandza and the result leaves Cameroon on top of the pool with six points.
Ohandza had the ball in the back on the net on 35 minutes but the flag was rightly raised for offside. He did make a chance count just before the break though as he scored with a superb 25-yard shot that left Flying Eagles keeper Paul Dami with no chance.
It was just reward for the Young Lions as they had been by far the better side in the opening stanza.
The Cameroonians should have won by a wider margin but Banana Yaya headed over just yards from the line for the Young Lions, while Edgar Salli struck the crossbar with a free-kick.
Nigeria Keeper Dami did brilliantly to deny Jacques Haman when the Cameroonian was clear on goal and seemed certain to score, but the keeper stuck out a hand to save his shot at point-blank range.
Nigeria just never got going in a match they might have expected to win, especially after they beat defending champions Ghana in their opening encounter on Monday.
Nigeria now have to beat Gambia in their final Group B match on Sunday to have any chance of making the final four.

PIX; Franck Ohandza of Cameroon (9) celebrates his goal with teammates

Copa del Rey trophy broken in Madrid celebrations

MADRID—Real Madrid waited nearly three years for a trophy and immediately broke it. Madrid defender Sergio Ramos dropped the Copa del Rey from the top of the team bus during celebrations early Thursday morning and the bus then ran over the trophy.
Emergency services gathered up the broken pieces and returned them to the bus, but the trophy did not reappear at the club's traditional celebration spot at the Plaza de Cibeles in central Madrid.
"The cup fell, it fell," Ramos said, according to Europa Press agency. "But the cup is OK."

Madrid beat rival Barcelona 1-0 in the Copa del Rey final on Wednesday, with Cristiano Ronaldo's extra-time goal giving the club its first domestic cup in 18 years.
Spanish reports placed 60,000 fans at Cibeles as Madrid celebrated winning its first silverware under coach Jose Mourinho and first since a Spanish league trophy in 2008.
"After two complicated years, winning the Copa del Rey is a relief," Madrid captain Iker Casillas said before following the tradition of wrapping a Madrid insignia and club scarf around the Roman goddess that marks the square.

SOURCE: The Associated Press

Agbeko collapses. Fight with Mares off....

Saturday night's bantamweight tournament main event between Joseph Agbeko and Abner Mares is off.

This was after Agbeko collapsed on Monday night after his flight with "sudden onset sciatica ." The next day (yesterday) Agbeko saw Dr. Richard S. Gluckman in Los Angeles, who immediately ruled him out of the fight.
Press-related activities for all fighters have continued but an official announcement is expected soon.
There is no word yet from Don King Promotions on whether or not the consolation fight between Vic Darchinyan and Yonnhy Perez will still take place.
Eric Gomez of Golden Boy Promotions says that they're trying to get Tomoki Kameda (18-0, 12 KO) in for a fight with Mares, and that the assumed best available option, Golden Boy's Eric Morel, is not available. Kameda is young (19) and has been fighting mostly in Mexico, and has been training as he had a TBA date set for May 7 in Japan. We'll update further with more developments.
Either way, this is a big blow to boxing fans who were looking forward to this show. The tournament was a hit in the semifinals and had built up a lot of good press going into this weekend
Sciatica (or sciatic neuritis) is a set of symptoms including pain that may be caused by general compression and/or irritation of one of five spinal nerve roots that give rise to each sciatic nerve, or by compression or irritation of the left or right or both sciatic nerves. The pain is felt in the lower back, buttock, and/or various parts of the leg and foot. In addition to pain, which is sometimes severe, there may be numbness, muscular weakness, pins and needles or tingling and difficulty in moving or controlling the leg. Typically, the symptoms are only felt on one side of the body. Pain can be severe in prolonged exposure to cold weather.
Although sciatica is a relatively common form of low back pain and leg pain, the true meaning of the term is often misunderstood. Sciatica is a set of symptoms rather than a diagnosis for what is irritating the root of the nerve, causing the pain. This point is important, because treatment for sciatica or sciatic symptoms will often be different, depending upon the underlying cause of the symptoms.

SOURCE: Scott Christ with additional files from Ziray

 

PIX: Agbeko in a pose with Mares at a press conference

Wenger refuses to throw in towel....

Arsene Wenger refused to concede defeat in the Premier League title race after a 3-3 draw at Tottenham saw Arsenal slip to third.

The Gunners again showed their fragility under pressure, conceding a 3-1 lead as a 70th-minute Rafael van der Vaart penalty gave Spurs a draw at White Hart Lane.

The result leaves them six points behind leaders Manchester United, signalling yet another lost opportunity as the North London club failed to capitalise on dropped points from the table-toppers. Worse, it saw them slip behind a resurgent Chelsea on goal difference.

But Wenger remained positive, putting on a brave face as his side failed to win for the fifth time in six league games.

"It's not over... we'll fight," the Frenchman told Sky Sports. "In the second half we dropped physically because we had a difficult game on Sunday (at home to Liverpool). We've had two games in three games, our recovery was a bit short.

"We suffered physically in the second half and were very unfortunate to concede the penalty.

"Maybe the (Tottenham) second goal was decisive because we wanted to get to half-time with a two-goal lead, but we had an outstanding spirit and we have to keep battling to the last day.

"Tottenham are a good team and we have to accept they can score goals as well. Both sides could have won the game tonight but I didn't see any failure in our attitude.

"We came here to score goals and played a team who are very good going forward. (Tom) Huddlestone's was an amazing goal.

"It was difficult to assess the penalty, I'll have to see it again.

"Our mental strength is outstanding. We have faced criticism but this team deserves much more."

Spurs boss Harry Redknapp enjoyed the match, even if it saw his team sit two points behind fourth-placed Manchester City.

"It was one of the great games... a real classic. We showed fantastic character to come from 3-1 down.

"Arsenal were top class in the first half , they had us at full stretch and were hard to live with.

"But in the second half the best chances were going our way, we just couldn't get the winner.

"We came back from an almost impossible position and had chances to win it. Anyone who watched that match tonight must have loved it.

"I can't ask any more. Both teams wanted to win and needed a win.

"(City) were favourites at the start of the year because of their squad.

"We finished a couple of points above them last year and they've spent about £150million to get above us.

"But I can't ask for any more. The season's still going and the spirit we've got is fantastic. We never give up."

SOURCE: Eurosport

Ronaldo delivers' Copa del rey for Madrid

An extra-time header from Cristiano Ronaldo proved decisive as Jose Mourinho's Real Madrid clinched their 18th King's Cup from the jaws of Barcelona.

The combative Pepe deployed in midfield was doing an excellent job to break-up Barca's play although he had to be cautious after picking up a yellow card.

In an all action display he went within inches of opening the scoring with a fine diving header which came back off the post early in the game.

Real had the better of the first half before Barcelona took control but they were unable to find a way through.

Xavi had a shot from distance but Barca were unable to play their usual quick-passing game and both sides looked close to losing their composure in the frenetic atmosphere.

Pedro Rodriguez and Messi both shot wide while Madrid brought on Emmanuel Adebayor as they tried to change the direction of the game.

It was keeper Iker Casillas who kept Madrid in the match with several vital saves against from Messi and Pedro before an excellent save to deny Iniesta.

Di Maria just had time to see a shot tipped over by Pinto before the referee signaled 30 minutes more.

In extra time Ronaldo seemed to find another gear as he first fired narrowly wide and then went on to score the winner.

Di Maria and Marcelo combined well down the left wing before the Argentine crossed for Ronaldo to head home at the back post to deliver him his first cup in Spain and his sides’ first trophy since 2008.