Friday 25 February 2011

Loan Sharks, Issue 4

Newtown 4-4 Haverfordwest

     Newtown threw away a four goal lead against fellow relegation candidates, Haverfordwest. 
     Sean Highdale came on for Sam Bailey, in the 68th minute before seeing the lead reduced to nil. 
     Newtown still remain rooted to the bottom of the Welsh Premier League along with Haverfordwest. 

Hartlepool 0-1 MK Dons

     Six games unbeaten sees MK Dons into the playoff positions, sitting pretty at sixth.
     David Amoo was, again, an unused sub. 

MK Dons 0-0 Oldham

     David Amoo was left on the bench yet again in a dreary draw that sees MK Done remain in the playoff position on sixth with 49 points.

Charlton 1-3 Exeter

     Nathan Ecclestone played 87 minutes in the loss to Exeter, that saw them drop out of the playoff places. Three second half goals took the wind out the sails of Charlton before a late concession goal was scored by Wright-Phillips.
     Charlton now sit outside the playoff positions with 47 points whilst MK Dons slip into sixth with 48 points.

Nottingham Forest 2-1 Cardiff 

    Paul Konchesky played a full 90 minutes for Forest and what a game it was. Konchesky himself almost created a goal and also made an excellent goal line clearance. 
     The win propels Forest into second and the automatic promotion positions. They are five points behind league leaders QPR with a game in hand more than the teams around them. 

Nottingham Forest 2-2 Preston 

     Paul Konchesky played 67 minutes in a highly charged match. Forest, chasing promotion and Preston, battling almost certain relegation, were both well up for the match. 
     Konchesky played playmaker a few times, to no avail as shots were saved. However, nine minutes after the break a rebounding ball gave Konchesky a window of opportunity as he drilled home from 12 yards to equalise.
     However, in the 96th minute the visitors levelled the scores and took away a valuable point.
     Forest drop from second place and automatic promotion to fourth, yet they still have a game in hand which could see them move back into the top two.

Manchester City 5-0 Notts County

     Notts County were well and truly beaten in the second half of this FA Cup tie as City ran riot. In the first half, County gave a solid and impressive performance with one shuddering shot deflecting off the bar. 
   But the talent of City showed in the end and County took another four goals. However it did take the emergence of Tevez off the bench to really kickstart the City performance.
    Stephen Darby played a solid and decent 60 minutes but a collision with Dzeko saw him limp away. Eventually in the second half he was substituted. Probably to save him for a vital League One match against Charlton on Friday, against fellow Red Loanee Nathan Ecclestone.

CSKA Moscow 1-1 PAOK Salonikia (2-1 agg)

     Nabil El Zhar was an unused sub against the Russian outfit in the draw. PAOK go out of the Europa League on aggregate. 
     In the domestic league, PAOK sit fourth jointly on 34 points with AEK Athens. They play Kavala next who sit immediately below them in the table. PAOK also has a game in hand which could get them to third. 

VfB Stuttgart 0-2 Benfica 

     The Europa League clash saw Phillip Degen dropped from the side. The loss forces Stuttgart out of the competition as their season goes from bad to worse.
     They remain second from bottom on 19 points and are fighting for their top flight status. The next three games against Frankfurt, St Pauli and Shalke are all must wins for the German side.

Lecce 2-0 Juventus

     Aquilani played the full, dreadful 90 minutes of this match, which saw Champions League chasing Juventus crash and burn to a shock defeat by a Lecce who are battling relegation from Serie A. 
     Both sides had a man sent off, in Juventus' case, it was their goalkeeper, Buffon. 
     After the game, Del Neri described his players as not working up a sweat. Ouch. Juventus now sit seventh and seven points behind the Champions League places.

Galatasaray 1-0 Bucaspor

     Emiliano Insua was an unused sub against lower table Bucaspor. The win lifts Galatasaray to seventh, yet the club is well adrift of the Champions League places with 16 points between them and the ultimate European competition. 
     
Anderlecht P-P Genk

     Chris Mavinga was unable to play due to poor weather. Saturdays match against KSV Westerlo is also abandoned.

Wednesday 16 February 2011

Loan Sharks, Issue 3

     This edition is pretty small as some of our players played in League One last night. There will also be a small European roundup with Aquilani in action with Juventus.

Hartlepool 2-1 Charlton Athletic

     Nathan Ecclestone played for 90 minutes and scored an equaliser only to see his team sink to a 2-1 defeat. 
     This leaves Ecclestone and Charlton in fifth place, six points behind the automatic promotion spot of second place. 

MK Dons 2-3 Leyton Orient

     David Amoo spenangus third game as an unused substitute at the MK Stadium. A narrow defeat to Orient will sting The Dons as they sit just outside the playoff positions in eight place. Only 3 points separate them and fourth placed Southampton. 

Notts County 2-0 Colchester

     Stephen Darby once again proved a good loan choice as he played a full 90 minutes and helped keep a vital clean sheet for the Magpies.
     This win lifts Notts County out of the precarious positions above the relegation zone and gives them some momentum. The bottom of the table is congested so another win could lift them into the middle of the table. 
     

Tuesday 15 February 2011

Loan Sharks, Issue 2

   We take another look at the Liverpool players on loan to various European clubs in the second edition of 'Loan Sharks' brought to you by Gasps From The Kop.

QPR 1-1 Nottingham Forest

     Paul Konchesky played a full 90 minutes for a Nottingham Forest side who have barely stopped winning recently. 
     The deciding moment, a high challenge by Majewski on Taraabt, which produced a straight red, left the Reds battling for 70 minutes with 10 men. 
     QPR remain top of the Championship with Forest firmly entrenched in the playoff positions with only one point separating them from second place and automatic promotion.

Notts County 0-2 Exeter

     Stephen Darby played a full 90 minutes for the Magpies as they slumped to a lacklustre defeat, giving Exeter their first away points of the season. 
     The loss leaves Notts County one point above the relegation zone in a tough League One.

Charlton Athletic 3-2 Peterborough 

     Nathan Ecclestone played a full 90 minutes for the Latics in their highly charged win against Posh. New boy Wright-Phillips once again scored to go ahead at 2-1, whilst a Posh own goal sealed the loss for the visitors. 
     This leaves Charlton in 5th place with 47 points, just 9 behind League One leaders Brighton, who have played one game more.

MK Dons 1-1 Brentford

     The Dons opened the scoring on the 48th minute by Marsh-Brown. Two minutes later, the visitors equalised. David Amoo came on for the goalscorer in the 75th minute.
     This draw leaves The Dons in 7th place with 45 points, just one point outside the playoff positions. However a leaky defence means that they trail with a minus two goal difference, having played up to three games more than those occupying the playoff places.

Panionios 1-0 PAOK 

     Nabil El-Zhar came on in the 60th minute for Dorvalino Lino, a bold attacking swap for a defender due to the stalemate. 
     The deciding goal was a Balaban penalty in the 73rd minute to deny El-Zhar, and PAOK, a win.
     PAOK Salonika remain in 3rd with 34 points, 23 points behind league leaders Olympiakos. 

Juventus 1-0 Internazionale

     Alberto Aquilani played the full 90 minutes in the Derby D'Italia. The game might have had only the one goal, Matri's third in two games, but it had more missed chances than normal from Inter. Eto'o missed three clear chances as Inter slipped to only their second defeat of the season. 
     The Bianconeri now leapfrog Palermo and Roma to go into sixth place, 11 points behind league leaders AC Milan. However the top of the table is congested and a good run of wins could see Juventus surge into the top four and the Champions League positions.

Stuttgart 1-4 Nurnberg

     Phillip Degen was not on the bench and did not start for the German side as they slumped to another defeat. VfB Stuttgart are firmly rooted in a dog fight for survival as they sit second from bottom of the Bundesliga with only 19 points from a possible 66, losing thirteen of their twenty two games.

Gazientaspor 1-0 Galatasaray

     Emiliano Insúa did not appear for the Turkish giants but stayed on the bench for the match. Unfortunately Galatasaray lost another match to a lone goal and, with only three matches of the season left, they look to be in a mid table slump. 
     In tenth position, Galatasaray look to have traded European nights with a declining squad and slip ever slowly into obscurity. 

Standard Liege 0-2 Racing Genk

     Chris Mavinga came on as a late substitute, in the 88 minute, in the two nil win over mid table Standard Liege. 
     The Belgian outfit are in perfect contention to win the league. They have three games left and one of them is against the league leaders, Anderlecht, who are only three points ahead of Genk. 

Newtown AFC 1-0 The New Saints

     Sean Highdale starred for the welsh outfit in a draw against champions The New Saints. Highdale scored his first goal for Newtown after only eight minutes, the lead was doubled before The New Saints  scored twice to earn a draw. 
     Newtown remain firmly rooted at second from bottom, due to goal difference. They only hold 15 points and have a massive relegation battle with Haverfordwest on Saturday, as the joint bottom teams meet. Having shipped more than 34 goals this season, you have to wonder if Newtown are going to stay up. 

     That concludes this weeks edition of 'Loan Sharks'.  

Monday 7 February 2011

Loan Sharks

Welcome to a brand new feature at Gasps From The Kop. Every fortnight we will take a look at all the players on loan from Liverpool FC. So without further introducton, here we go, 

Nottingham Forest 1-0 Watford

     Paul Konchesky started his second match with the reds and linked up with Cohen and Earnshaw to provide Tudgay with the only goal of the day. Forest now sit 7 points off league leaders QPR.

Sheffield Wednesday 2-2 MK Dons

     David Amoo didn't feature for the draw at Hillsborough, being an unused sub on the bench. 

Yeovil 0-1 Charlton 

     Nathan Eccleston came on in the 81st minute for Anyinsah, in the one nil win over Yeovil, with fellow new boy Bradley Wright-Phillips providing the only goal.

PAOK 0-1 Panathinaikos

     Nabil El Zhar was an used substitute for the Greek clash.

Notts County 1-1 Walsall

     Stephen Darby starred for a side that dropped two points from a one nil lead. Coming from a tough match against Manchester City on Sunday, in which Darby was very good, they were always going to be tired. 

Genk 1-0 Club Bruges 

     Chris Mavinga didn't feature for the Belgian club's win but was on the bench as an unused sub.

Cagliari 1-3 Juventus
 
     Alberto Aquilani started in a plucky, gritty game away from home. He was booked for a nasty kick out, which is not typical of the Italian, he received a yellow for his lashing out.

Borussia Möengladbach 2-3 VFB Stuttgart

     Phillip Degen did not feature for the highly dramatic Bundesliga game. He was an unused sub.

Galatasaray 4-2 Eskişehirspor

     Emiliano Insúa was an unused sub in the Turkish match.

Saturday 5 February 2011

Chelsea v Liverpool Match Preview

I don't mean to presume that this match is any more important for Liverpool than the next one, but there is always something titanic about matches with Chelsea. Something almost gargantuan and monolithic, the matches sometimes frighten me. The intensity and the ability to shock in terms of the result has always been my favourite part of this fixture.
     With Fernando Torres leaving Liverpool for Chelsea, there was always going to be a massive point to make. Liverpool is the club that made him, he grew in stature at this club, he was absorbed into it's history. Now he is a Chelsea player and we would do well to remember how to contain his explosive pace and powerful shooting. 
     Many Liverpool fans will be bitter and enraged by seeing him in a blue shirt, I'm sure Chelsea fans will have a new grin on their faces over the whole transfer saga. I believe that all the Liverpool fans need to think of is a buoyant Suarez and Carroll, grinning wildly and clearly awed by the prospect of playing for Liverpool.
     With Carragher's injury, it looks likely he may be a late substitution for Skrtle. I predict that Kenny will go for a 4-3-2-1. Probably, Reina: Kelly, Skrtle, Agger, Johnson: Lucas, Maxi, Gerrard: Kuyt, Meireles: Suarez. This allows a decently packed midfield with the ability to break away and charge the wings whilst getting men in the box, vital for any trip to Stamford Bridge.
     I would be very surprised if Ancelotti didn't start Torres alongside Drogba, with a Lampard, Malouda, Zhirkov, Essien diamond and a back four of Cole, Terry, Ivanovic, Ferreira. This will allow a certain degree of wing play against Liverpool's fullbacks.
     With Liverpool's resurgence and Chelsea's unpredictability this makes for a very tasty game. The added spice of a 'grudge' match with seemingly every Liverpool fan and player against Torres, just makes a boiling match even more fever pitch.
     So I'll give this game a 10 out of 10 rating for it's attraction and go for a 3-2 scoreline, with Liverpool to win of course!