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Manucho celebrates his brace with his Angolan team-mates

Manchester United-bound Manucho scored a brace to help Angola come from behind and take three points against Senegal in Tamale at the Nations Cup.

Senegal took the lead on 20 minutes when Abdoulaye Faye headed in a knock down from El-Hadji Diouf’s free kick.

But Manucho headed an equaliser before scoring from close range after Senegal keeper Tony Syla flapped at a corner.

With 14 minutes left Al Ahly striker Flavio put the result beyond doubt by nodding in Yamba Asha’s cross.

Angola play Tunisia in their final group game on Thursday in Tamale - with both teams on six points. A draw would be enough for both to qualify.

But Senegal, with just one point, need to defeat South Africa in their final game to have any chance of reaching the last eight.

Angola deserved their win over Senegal on Sunday after staging an excellent comeback in the second half.

The Palancas Negras (Black Antelopes) were the first to create an opening, with a 25-yard header from Ah Ahly’s Gilberto forcing Sylva to make the first save of the match.

But the Teranga Lions soon flashed their attacking teeth when Diouf fizzed a long-range effort over the bar.

Senegal threatened again on 18 minutes when Marseille striker Mamadou Niang crossed from near the halfway line to find captain Diouf free inside the area - only for the Bolton Wanderers man to head over from 10 yards out.

Two minutes later another deep free kick from Diouf had the intended effect - when Souleymane Diawara headed back across the face of goal to allow Abdoulaye Faye to nod in from close-range.

Despite Angola having much of the possession it was Senegal who remained more ruthless with the ball, and they went close again when Frederic Mendy missed a great chance to volley home at the far post.

Coach Henri Kasperczak’s men were proving a dominating physical presence in midfield, and a hefty two-footed tackle from Newcastle United’s Faye led to the goalscorer receiving a yellow card.

With four minutes remaining of the half, an inviting cross from Mendy forced Luis ‘Lama’ Joao to come flying out of his goal to deny an on-rushing Diouf.

Angola hit back after the break though, when the sprightly Nsimba ‘Ze Kalanga’ Baptista broke free on the right flank and crossed to Manucho, who powered a header past Joao to level, and claim his second goal of the tournament.

Ze Kalanga was becoming a threat prompting Senegal’s defensive enforcer Moustapha Bayal Sall picked up a yellow card for a high and dangerous tackle on the wing man.

With both teams pushing for a win Senegal went close next when great movement and interplay between Diouf and Kamara played in Niang, who blazed over.

Fulham’s Kamara then saw his daisy-cutter whistle past the post from thirty yards before Angola pressed with Maurito, who fired a blistering, dipping shot from 35 yards which forced Sylva to pull off a great reflex save.

The turnaround was on when Manucho capitalised on Sylva’s failure to punch clear a corner and slammed home from close range for his brace.

Al Ahly forward Flavio completed a great second-half performance by Angola, when he headed in his side’s third off a cross from Yamba Asha on 76 minutes.

Senegal: Sylva, Guirane (Sougou 84), Beye, Diawara, Abdoulaye Faye, Sall, Mendy (Gueye 63), Diop, Diouf, Niang, Kamara (Camara 70).
Subs Not Used: Ndiaye, Coundoul, Ba, Diatta, Ibrahima Faye, N’Doye, Papa Waigo, Sarr, Sonko.

Booked: Abdoulaye Faye, Sall, Beye, Diawara.

Goals: Abdoulaye Faye 20.

Angola: Lama, Airosa, Marques, Kali, Yamba Asha, Gilberto (Mateus 83), Macanga, Ze Kalanga, Manucho (Loco 88), Maurito (Dede 72), Flavio.
Subs Not Used: Nuno, Mario, Delgado, Edson, Figueiredo, Jamba, Love, Machado, Mendonca.

Booked: Flavio, Macanga.

Goals: Manucho 50, 67, Flavio 78.

Ref: Djamel Haimoudi (Algeria).

Source: Senegal 1-3 Angola

The Dallas Cowboys have received permission to talk with Jacksonville Jaguars’ assistant head coach Dave Campo about a job as secondary coach.

Campo is believed to be the front-runner to fill the vacancy created when Todd Bowles departed last week to join the Miami Dolphins’ staff as assistant head coach.

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Paul Spinelli/Getty Images

It appears the Jags won’t stand in the way of former Cowboys coach Dave Campo taking a job on Wade Phillips’ staff in Dallas.

If Campo accepts an offer from Dallas, it would spell a return to the franchise that fired him following the 2002 season after he went 15-33 as head coach.

But neither Campo nor Cowboys owner Jerry Jones seem to have much problem with such an unusual circumstance, so there is a relatively good chance the move will be consummated. The Cowboys lost three defensive assistants last week — Bowles, linebackers coach Paul Pasqualoni and line coach Kacy Rodgers — when their Dallas contracts expired and they accepted offers to join new coach Tony Sparano’s staff in Miami. Sparano had been the assistant head coach in Dallas, and it was well known that he intended to fill jobs with several Cowboys staffers.

Dallas last week hired former Cleveland defensive coordinator Todd Grantham to replace Rodgers, but is still seeking assistants for the secondary and linebackers positions.

Campo, 60, has been an assistant head coach in Jacksonville the past three seasons, working primarily with the secondary unit. Jags coach Jack Del Rio last week hired Donnie Henderson, a former defensive coordinator with the Detroit Lions and New York Jets, to an undefined role. Henderson could take over the secondary position, long his area of expertise, if Campo leaves.

Because the move does not include the prospect of a head coach job, Jacksonville could have denied the Cowboys’ request to talk to Campo. Apparently, Del Rio will not stand in Campo’s way if he wants to leave.

In 1989, Campo was hired by the Cowboys as their secondary coach; he served on the staffs of head coaches Jimmy Johnson and Barry Switzer in that capacity until being elevated to head coach in 2000. After three straight 5-11 seasons, Campo was fired.

Campo was then an assistant coach in Cleveland (2003-2004) before joining Del Rio’s staff in 2005.

Senior writer Len Pasquarelli covers the NFL for ESPN.com.

Source: Cowboys court Campo to be secondary coach

WASHINGTON — The Washington Redskins seem to have a whole lot of their coaching staff in place for next season — except for the head coach.

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Paul Jasienski/Getty Images

A few days ago Gregg Williams was considered a favorite to be the Redskin head coach. On Saturday, he lost his job as an assistant.

And that head coach won’t be Gregg Williams. Or Al Saunders.

As for the rest of the candidates, they’ll have to wait until the Super Bowl is done.

On a busy Saturday at Redskins Park, the team fired assistants Williams and Saunders, promoted Greg Blache to lead the team’s defense and formally announced the hiring of Jim Zorn to head the offense.

There was more. A person familiar with the coaching selection process told The Associated Press that linebackers coach Kirk Olivadotti has agreed to a new contract. Running backs coach Earnest Byner, the only other assistant whose deal was about to expire, has been in talks with Tampa Bay about a job but would be welcome to return as well.

The person said Al Saunders’ son, offensive assistant Bob Saunders, will not return next season. Less certain was the future of quarterbacks coach Bill Lazor. After initially deciding that Lazor will not be back next season, the Redskins instead will leave his fate to the new head coach.

Elias Says

The Redskins’ defense ranked 25th in 2003, the year before Gregg Williams arrived in Washington, then 3rd, 9th, 31st and 8th in his four seasons. The Buccaneers are the only other NFL team to rank in the top 10 in fewest yards allowed in three of the last four seasons.
• Read more Elias Says.

The person also said that most of the rest of the coaching staff was expected to remain with the team, which would lend credence to owner Dan Snyder’s stated desire to maintain a degree of continuity following the resignation of head coach Joe Gibbs on Jan. 8.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly on the subject.

As for the search for a head coach, the next interviews aren’t expected to take place until Feb. 4, the day after the New York Giants and New England Patriots play for the NFL championship, so that Snyder can talk to assistants from the two teams involved.

“The process of selecting a new head coach continues, although no hire is planned until after the Super Bowl so as not to distract from the championship game as well as to keep open all our options,” Snyder said in a statement, his first public comments on a coaching search that began more than two weeks ago.

Williams’ dismissal removes one of the early favorites to succeed Gibbs. Williams had been in charge of the Redskins defense for all four seasons under Gibbs and was popular among fans and many players, but his confrontational style and poor track record at his previous head coaching stint with the Buffalo Bills did little to help his chances for the top job.

Williams often said that he had learned under Gibbs how better to deal with people, but his short fuse remained on full display for players and reporters all four years in Washington. He committed a major breach of protocol — and created an embarrassing moment for Gibbs — when he failed to tell the head coach that he was going to send only 10 men onto the field on the first play of the first game following the death of Sean Taylor in November.

Williams met four times with Snyder to discuss the head coaching job, but it quickly became clear that the owner was more focused on other candidates, including former Giants head coach Jim Fassel, current Giants defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo and Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels. Snyder also has interviewed Indianapolis Colts defensive coordinator Ron Meeks and Tennessee Titans defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz.

The Redskins will conduct a second interview with Meeks on Tuesday in Indianapolis.

The person familiar with the selection process said the Redskins have granted the St. Louis Rams permission to interview both Williams and Saunders for coordinator positions. The person said the Rams had to seek permission because, even though Williams and Saunders were told they were being dismissed, the team hasn’t formally terminated their contracts.

The person also said Saunders, who ran the offense the past two seasons, was never a candidate for the head coaching position and was told several days ago that he was not in the team’s plans. Saunders, like Williams, was considered a possible heir-apparent to Gibbs when he arrived in Washington, but he was never able to generate the type of consistent, high-yardage attack he had during his long stint as an offensive coordinator in Kansas City.

Saunders’ fate was sealed when Zorn, the Seattle Seahawks quarterback coach since 2001, agreed to a three-year deal Friday. Zorn also is expected to coach the quarterbacks, which would seem to make Lazor’s job redundant.

Snyder lived up to his goal of keeping staff turnover as a reasonable level by promoting Blache, who has coached the defensive line and has held the title of defensive coordinator — in name only, because the job was actually Williams’ — since 2004. Blache was previously the defensive coordinator for five seasons for the Chicago Bears.

The moves mean that the new head coach — whoever he is — will find his staff essentially in place when he takes over. In his statement, Snyder expressed confidence in making the moves now because Zorn, Blache and the other Redskins assistants were highly regarded by the candidates he has interviewed.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

Source: Redskins fire assistant, coach candidate Williams

TENNIS hot property Novak Djokovic broke through for his first grand slam triumph with a dramatic four-set victory over unseeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, from France, at the Australian Open.

The 20-year-old No. 3 seed became the first Serb to win a tennis grand slam event, coming from behind to register a 4-6 6-4 6-3 7-6 (7/2) victory over the tournament bolter in three hours six minutes.

Djokovic’s victory was the first grand slam final since the 2005 Australian Open not won by Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal, with the top-ranked pair dominating the game with the last 11 Majors between them.

"I am so proud of myself and to be the first Serbian who won the Grand Slam title," Djokovic, who eclipsed Jim Courier as the youngest men’s winner at Melbourne Park, said.

"I think it will be a crazy house back in Serbia in my country, I love you guys.

"I know the crowd wanted him to win but I don’t mind, no worries."

Djokovic and Tsonga rocked the established order by dumping Federer and Nadal out in the semi-finals to set up a decider unimaginable at the start of the tournament.

The Serb went on to claim his first Major title in his 13th grand slam, after losing to Federer in last year’s US Open final and also reaching the semi-finals at the French Open and Wimbledon.

The victory stretched his winning streak to 11 matches, beating his previous best unbeaten run.

Tsonga, bidding to become France’s first Grand Slam winner in 25 years, started well and took the only set off Djokovic in the tournament but could not go with him in the remaining sets.

"I thank Novak for a good fight and for me it was a good moment. I’ll be back," Tsonga, who blasted Nadal out of the tournament in straight sets, said.

Djokovic appeared to tweak his left hamstring in stretching for a volley at 0-30 on Tsonga’s service in the fourth game of the fourth set and sought treatment from the trainer at the next changeover.

But he held on to take the championship in the fourth-set tiebreaker.

Djokovic will remain at number three in rankings behind Federer and Nadal after his win, but Tsonga is projected to climb to No. 18 from No. 38.

Both players exchanged service breaks in the opening two games, but the young Serb came under pressure on serve towards the end of the opening set.

Tsonga pulled off a terrific forehand winner off a Djokovic smash to bring up set point and then a desperate lob volley just floated inside the baseline to break the Serb and take the set in 49 minutes of tense tennis.

Djokovic picked up his game in the second set, grabbing the crucial break in the seventh when Tsonga’s forehand was wide.

He served out to level the final with three set points in the 10th.

Djokovic looked in command of the match, breaking Tsonga in the third and ninth games to hit the front in the third set.

He needed seven set points to get his second break and the third set after the Frenchman fought a desperate rearguard battle.

Tsonga fought back and had a break point on Djokovic in the 11th game of the fourth set but the young Serb held serve.

Djokovic dominated the fourth set tiebreaker to take the championship on the first of his four match points. 

Agence France-Presse

Source: Djokovic wins first slam

Stanford’s 7-foot Lopez twins showed that they are arguably the Pac-10’s top tandem in the post.

Brook Lopez had 23 points, four rebounds and two blocks, all in the second half after sitting 15 minutes of the first in foul trouble, and the 20th-ranked Cardinal held on to beat California 82-77 on Saturday for their third straight victory.

Robin Lopez added nine points, 14 rebounds and four blocked shots.

Filed under California

Source: Lopez twins dominate for No. 20 Stanford

Totti

ROME, Italy - Amantino Mancini scored for AS Roma to beat 10-man Palermo 1-0 in the Serie A on Saturday.

Mancini leapt over Siena goalkeeper Alberto Fontana to score with a header in the box from a corner in the 59th minute, two minutes after Palermo defender Leandro Rinaudo received a red card for a foul.

Roma is second in the standings with 45 points, four less than leader Inter Milan, which plays Udinese Sunday.

"Inter has a tough game tomorrow against Udinese and they know they have to worry about us," Mancini said. "Roma won’t give up, we will fight to the end."

Roma dominated the first half as Palermo hung back and absorbed Roma’s attack led by captain Francesco Totti, who returned after missing last week’s game and a midweek Italian Cup match with the flu. Roma’s defence also neutralized Palermo striker Amauri, who has scored eight goals this season.

Palermo came out strong in the second half, but lost its rhythm after Rinaudo’s expulsion.

Roma defender Philippe Mexes hit the post in second-half injury time, but Roma had few other good chances.

In Saturday’s other game, Sampdoria won 1-0 at home over Siena in Genoa.

Antonio Cassano scored in the 44th minute on a shot from outside the area that hit a post before going into the net.

Sampdoria has 28 points in Serie A, six behind Fiorentina in fourth place and the last Champions League qualifying berth. Siena is fourth last in the 20-team Serie A.

Cassano hit the crossbar in the third minute, while Siena striker Thomas Locatelli shot just wide in the 12th and teammate Massimo Maccarone came close on a shot from far outside the area in the 36th.

In Sunday’s other games, it’s: Livorno versus Juventus; Atalanta versus Reggina; Cagliari versus Napoli; Catania versus Parma; Empoli versus Fiorentina; AC Milan versus Genoa; and Torino versus Lazio.

Source: ITA: AS Roma defeats Palermo 1-0

Djibril Cisse

PARIS - Djibril Cisse scored three goals to help Marseille rally to beat Caen 6-1 Saturday and move up to eighth place in the French league.

Cisse scored in the 28th, 56th and 58th minutes to tally eight goals in the league this season.

Julien Toudic scored first for Caen off a cross from Yoan Gouffran in the second minute. But Cisse levelled in the 28th, slotting in a pass from Juan Angel Krupoviesa.

Mathieu Valbuena gave Marseille a 2-1 lead in the 41st with a curling shot from 25 yards, before adding his second goal in the 44th with a chip over Caen goalkeeper Benoit Costil.

Cisse shot past Costil in the 56th and then outpaced the defence two minutes later to score again.

Samir Nasri added a sixth goal in the 80th, dribbling down the left before cutting inside to shoot.

In Saturday’s other games, it was: Auxerre 0, Nancy 0; Toulouse 1, Nice 1; Le Mans 1, Monaco 0; Sochaux 1, Valenciennes 0; Metz 1, Rennes 1; Lille 0, Paris Saint-Germain 0; and Lens 2, Strasbourg 2.

On Sunday, leader Lyon visits Saint-Etienne while second-place Bordeaux takes on Lorient.

Lyon has 45 points, three ahead of Bordeaux, seven more than Nancy and eight in front of Nice. Monaco and Caen are next with 34, followed by Le Mans on 33 and Marseilles and Valenciennes with 32.

Nancy is still winless in its last nine games after its match with Auxerre was delayed by 30 minutes because of fog.

In Toulouse, Dominique Arribage deflected in a corner in the 33rd. But Brazilian midfielder Ederson equalized for Nice in the 88th with a header off a corner as it stretched its unbeaten streak to 13 games.

In Le Mans, Japan midfielder Daisuke Matsui took advantage of an error from Monaco goalkeeper Flavio Roma in the 23rd to help his team snap a four-game losing streak.

In Sochaux, Jeremie Brechet headed in a cross from Stephane Dalmat in the 22nd. But Sochaux remains in the relegation zone with 23 points, while Valenciennes dropped two spots.

In Metz, Olivier Thomert volleyed a goal on the turn for Rennes in the 27th, before substitute Momar N’Diaye jumped over the defence in the 80th to nod in a cross from Switzerland forward Daniel Gygax.

In Lens, Colombia forward Wason Renteria pounced on a poor clearance to score from close range in the third for Strasbourg.

Lens rallied in the fifth minute when Olivier Monterrubio converted a penalty kick after Toifilou Maoulida was tripped inside the area.

Strasbourg took the lead again in the 77th as Alvaro Santos headed in a free kick from Renaud Cohade. But Monterrubio equalized for Lens in the 82nd with a free kick into the top corner.

Source: FRA: Cisse nets three in Marseille win

Saturday was packed full of FA Cup fourth-round action, and as was the case in the third round, things didn’t come easy - and for some, at all - for several Premier League sides.

I’ll leave the full Liverpool-Havant & Waterlooville recap to Kyle, but I can’t go far without commending the Hawks for not only hanging with Liverpool for more than a half, but taking the lead twice, before the Reds’ class eventually showed.

Who knows - had Yossi Benayoun not equalized right before halftime, things may have gone a little differently at Anfield.

Elsewhere, things went somewhat according to form.

After their 5-1 Carling Cup debacle at Tottenham on Tuesday, Arsenal got off to a slow start against Newcastle, and could have very well been in for an uphill battle if the Magpies had taken full advantage of a couple of early chances.

In the other all-Premiership tie, Nicolas Anelka opened his Chelsea account, and Shaun Wright-Phillips scored again to help lead the cup holders to a 2-1 win at Wigan.

After one goal in his first 28 appearances this season, Wright-Phillips has three goals in his last five matches, and validating a regular place in Chelsea’s starting XI.

As for Wigan’s fellow relegation strugglers Derby, a home tie against Preston, who’s in much the same position in the Championship, seemed like a golden opportunity to get a win, which has been a rarity for the Rams in any competition this season.

However, Karl Hawley and the Lilywhites had other ideas, piling onto Paul Jewell’s misery with a 4-1 thumping, with Hawley netting two of the four strikes.

Mansfield, who find themselves 23rd out of 24 in League Two, should have provided little resistance to visiting Middlesbrough, but victory came a little harder than expected for Gareth Southgate’s side. In the end though, the outcome and not the scoreline isn’t what’s important, and Boro advanced to the fifth round with a 2-0 win. Korean striker Lee Dong-Gook likely bought everyone drinks last night, after scoring only his second goal in 11 months for Boro to put them on their way to the win.

In the other tie involving a top-flight side, Portsmouth fell behind to Plymouth inside five minutes at Fratton Park, but Lassana Diarra (34) and Niko Crank-car (45) put Pompey in the lead going into the dressing room, and the tie would finish 2-1 to send Harry Redknapp’s side through to the fifth round.

They’ll be joined there by south coast rivals Southampton, who dispatched of Bury 2-0, at their stadium that has a name that I used to know when they were still in the Premier League. Oh, St. Mary’s, that’s right. My memory’s not what it used to be, sadly.

Watford had Al Bangura in the starting lineup for the first time since August for their home tie against Wolves, but Andrew Keogh’s brace propelled Wolves to a 4-1 win, which means the Hornets will fall a few rounds short of matching their semifinal run of last term. On top of their cup defeat, Watford were bumped out of second place in the Championship by Bristol City, who beat Blackpool 1-0 in league action.

While one promotion hopeful was getting thrashed, the Championship leaders were handing out one, as West Brom dismissed Peterborough 3-0, with the final tally being struck home by Kevin Phillips, who is going strong at 34 and finding the net as regularly as he did with Sunderland.

Coventry’s Michael Mifsud has been pouring in the goals this season, and added another to his total on Saturday, producing the winner as Coventry knocked off Millwall 2-1 to move on.

Bristol Rovers didn’t have much time to celebrate Tuesday’s penalty shootout win over Fulham, as they had a trip to Barnet, but maybe they can take some time to celebrate having made it to the fifth round, after a 1-0 win. Rovers keeper Steve Phillips came up big against the Cottagers, and he came up big once again, saving a late first-half penalty by Jason Puncheon to keep the tie goalless. Shortly after the restart, Richard Lambert produced the only goal of the match to lift the League One strugglers into the final 16.

League One foes Oldham and Huddersfield, who both knocked off Premier League opposition in the third round, tangled at Boundary Park, and a 10th minute goal by Luke Beckett was enough to send Huddersfield into the fifth round.

With Derby and two other top-flight sides getting shown the exit door on Saturday, that means only seven Premier League sides, at most, will be in the round of 16.

Today, Manchester United welcomes Tottenham into Old Trafford, so one of those teams will see their cup run end, may it be today or in a replay, and Sheffield United looks to keep spreading the upset bug when they host Manchester City.

So, the chances of a side outside of the top flight making the final are looking pretty good as of now, with the Premier League sides knocking each other out and getting knocked out. We’ll see what today holds, and then what Monday’s draw holds, but if you’re a fan of the little guys, then you’ve got plenty of reason to cheer right now.

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Source: FA Cup Roundup: Liverpool get a fright, Arsenal get it right, Pompey play it tight, and for Derby, it’s goodnight

It might have been just the Carling Cup where Arsene Wenger tests out his future stars. Yet the midweek loss to great rivals Tottenham at their own backyard by an unthinkable margin did hurt the Emirates faithful, no matter how loyal one could be towards the Gunners.

It doesn’t matter that Spurs have broken the North London hoodoo in such devastating style against one of the Premiership contenders. Well, it had to happen someday. What has shaken the belief at Ashburton Grove is the very sight that two Arsenal teammates going against each other to make fools of themselves in front of the laughing White Hart Lane fans.

Emmanuel Adebayor and Niclas Bendtner are young and must have got a mouthful from their manager after the game who prides himself in managing a tremendously disciplined team. To be fair, as an Arsenal fan I have never seen or heard of such ridiculous on-field incidents and the club’s history under Wenger reveals impeccable team bonding under difficult circumstances. Maybe this bunch of talented youngsters needs to be and surely would be taught the very essence of on-pitch harmony within the team.

FA Cup fourth round clash against Kevin Keegan’s Newcastle side (who themselves had fair share of on-field team indiscipline over the years) at home on Saturday was Arsenal’s chance to answer the critics who have doubted the club’s title charge after Tuesday’s thrashing. Arsene Wenger made several changes from the side that went down at White Hart Lane with Emmanuel Adebayor starting to redeem himself and how well the tall Togolese responded.

Two high-class finishes after a vulnerable first period gave Arsene Wenger’s men a hugely moral boosting 3-0 win over the Geordies. Some say the scoreline is flattering and they have points to back themselves. But the bottomline is that the Gunners needed the win for the club and the fans and let us accept, it had come the hard way.

Kevin Keegan is a brave manager and he tried to unleash an entertaining attacking football that his illustrious French rival is famously known for. That’s understandable. The highly revered former England manager knew that Newcastle’s chance in this fixture laid in attack and he took the gamble. The side from the North East did worry the Gunners on several occasions and the defense looked understandably fragile.

The immaculate William Gallas and the versatile Gael Clichy prevented Arsenal from falling behind while Phillipe Senderos and Justin Hoyte showed why Kolo Toure is such a prized asset for the club. Both Senderos and Hoyte are emerging players and fantastic professionals but class does matter. Their lack of confidence at the back meant full-back Clichy and captain Gallas had to come up with some match-saving tackles and interceptions. Clichy made a tremendous goal line clearance to deny Alan Smith from giving Newcastle a deserved lead and the pacy French full-back underlined his importance at the club when he made Shay Given pull off a smart save moments later.

The North London side did not have an ideal start with Tomas Rosicky making an untimely exit after just nine minutes, which saw Eduardo come in his place. Newcastle looked a different side from the one that drew with Bolton last weekend during ‘King Kev’s’ first game in charge and the men in black and white displayed an attacking mentality that made Arsenal work hard through the first-half. Having said that the Gunners were no less threatening and displayed the usual creativity only to be thwarted by some organized defending and the excellent Shay Given.

The second half saw Arsenal’s leading scorer take the match away from Kevin Keegan’s men with two sumptuous finishes. Five minutes into the second period the deadlock was broken. Brazilian-born Croatian Eduardo saw his effort hit the post but the rebound fell to Adebayor who showed fantastic skill to get past Claudio Cacapa before smashing the ball into the net. Keegan’s dream(his team’s first half display made it a genuine reality) of taking the tie back to St.James’ Park suddenly looked far away as the Arsenal midfield, led by Fabregas and the impressive Abou Diaby, called all the shots after being lifted by the goal.

The match was put beyond the reach of Tyneside when Adebayor made a purposeful run before firing past Given giving a desperate Steven Taylor no time to put the ball out of safety. An unfortunate Nicky Butt own goal made sure that the scoreline looked terribly undeserved on Newcastle’s part. But that tells you Arsenal’s permanent class. Flattering it may be but credit to a young team’s resilience in picking themselves up from a midweek mauling. Champions are made of such steel and they do script fantastic comebacks.

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Tags: Arsenal, FA Cup, Newcastle United, Match Reports

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Source: Arsenal bounce back from midweek misery to beat Newcastle

For the inaugural Breakaway Challenge at this year’s NHL All-Star Game skills competition, the league had high hopes for its dipsy-doodling superstars.

A best-case scenario last night in Atlanta would have seen Alexander Ovechkin, Ryan Getzlaf, or Pavel Datsyuk deliver a moment of individual brilliance that would have topped Vince Carter leaping over that French guy at the 2000 Olympic basketball tournament. It would have blown away Doug Flutie’s 1984 Hail Mary pass that lifted Boston College to a 47-45 victory over Miami in the Orange Bowl. It would have topped sportscasts across North America, even eclipsing Sidney Crosby’s game-winning shootout goal versus Buffalo at the outdoor Winter Classic on New Year’s Day.

But it didn’t happen. The best we got was Ovechkin gamely juggling the puck on his stick and then demonstrating he hadn’t played much baseball during his misspent youth in Russia.

So why didn’t we see any truly crazy moves that actually led to goals?

Some have suggested it’s the innate modesty of NHLers that makes it difficult for them to fully embrace this format.

Nah.

It’s more like, when do you set aside time to practice these kinds of moves?

The first goal of the Breakaway Challenge came from a nifty set of dekes by Datsyuk, and normally the 29-year-old Russian would have been hailed with Play of the Night honors for what he pulled off—if it was a regular shootout.

That’s what players put their energies toward practicing. There are real rewards for pulling off something that works when points are on the line.

But can you imagine the kind of flak Ovechkin would have gotten if he’d attempted his puck-up-in-the-air stunt and missed in a must-win game, say, versus Carolina on April 1?

If Marek Malik had tripped instead scoring when he pulled his famous between-the-legs move versus Washington on November 26, 2005, his career as a New York Ranger might have come to a standstill a lot longer ago (as it appears to have done now after his behind-the-scenes snub of head coach Tom Renney).

Also, let’s not forget that unlike the NBA’s slam-dunk competition, NHL snipers have to confront a goalie here, not a wide-open scoring target like a basketball hoop.

The idea is great, but the players will need more time and incentive to come up with jaw-dropping moves if the Breakaway Challenge is to become an All-Star Game fixture.

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Source: The problem with the Breakaway Challenge