Seven Sisters Love Football: January 2012

Man United join beaten City at Premier League summit

Manchester United's Javier Hernandez celebrates after scoring during their English Premier League match against Stoke City at Old Trafford in Manchester on January 31, 2012. (Reuters Photo)

MANCHESTER: Javier Hernandez and Dimitar Berbatov each claimed a penalty as Manchester United's 2-0 victory over Stoke drew them level with Manchester City at the top of the Premier League.

With injury and illness to Anders Lindegaard and David de Gea, respectively, forcing United to hand a league debut to 21-year-old deputy Ben Amos, the penalty decisions ensured the defending Premier League champions enjoyed a comfortable evening.

United took the lead after 38 minutes when Jermaine Pennant was judged to have tripped United's South Korean international midfielder Park Ji-Sung in the area.

In the absence of regular penalty taker Wayne Rooney, who has failed on four of his last eight attempts, Hernandez strode up and calmly beat Thomas Sorensen with a shot into the bottom left-hand corner.

Seven minutes into the second half, Antonio Valencia surged into the area with Jon Walters tugging at him from behind, a move which referee Mike Jones instantly deemed worthy of a penalty.

This time, surprisingly given Hernandez's earlier success, Berbatov strode up to the mark and scored just as convincingly as his team mate had, low into the bottom right.

The opening goal was inevitable in a game in which Stoke's primary aim appeared to be to test United's rookie goalkeeper with long-range shots.

Walters chanced his arm from 25 yards and Kenwyne Jones volleyed wide from outside the box inside the opening 10 minutes.

But the bulk of the first period was spent with United patiently trying to break down Stoke's dogged resistance.

Paul Scholes teed up Michael Carrick for a promising early shot which was charged down by Ryan Shawcross and another Carrick strike won a 21st minute corner.

That resulted in Scholes shooting from outside the area sending a fierce strike just wide of the post and into the advertising hoardings.

Patrice Evra appealed in vain for a penalty after his run into the area was halted by slight contact from Dean Whitehead and Berbatov's telling pass then freed Valencia down the right but his cross was too close to Sorensen who parried the ball to safety.

Carrick then linked intelligently with Park and Berbatov before rolling a left-foot shot inches wide, a miss followed moments later by the opening goal.

Even after taking the lead from the penalty, United might have had a second spotkick when a Hernandez cross struck Shawcross's hand although referee Jones clearly viewed the infringement as accidental.

After Chris Smalling created an early second half opening for Berbatov, which was charged down by the visiting defence, Jones finally decided United merited a second penalty and, thereafter, the game looked well beyond Stoke.

Pennant's free-kick almost presented Jones with a chance and the Stoke winger also crossed well for substitute Cameron Jerome whose header was first fumbled, then saved on the line, by Amos.

Amazingly, it appeared that United should have had a third penalty decision after Evra appeared to be brought down by Whitehead after 70 minutes following another flowing passage of play.

With Jeje possibly ruled out of the Challenge Cup, which striker could replace him in the starting lineup?

With the Pune FC striker injured for up to eight weeks, Ayush Srivastava has a look at the options Savio Medeira has upfront to replace the Mizo striker....

By Ayush Srivastava

AIFF

The moment it was revealed that the injury Jeje Lalpekhlua suffered in the clash against Air India might leave him out of India’s squad for the Challenge Cup to be held in March in Nepal, it left the Indian fans sweating over the options that the national team has to replace the Mizo striker.
While concern over the Pune FC player’s injury speaks volumes about the progress the forward has made over the last year, it also exposes the fact that the Indian cupboard is bare of options upfront.
Behind Sunil Chhetri and Jeje in the pecking order is Shillong Lajong’s new recruit Sushil Kumar Singh. The Manipuri striker has not exactly lived up to the promise he showed in his earlier years, and while successive Indian coaches have kept faith in the striker, his performances on the pitch have shown their confidence in him as being misplaced. As much as the coaches claim that he is a class act in the training sessions, the number of chances he misses only goes to highlight the lack of finishing skills in the player.
He often completely disappears in vital games and needs to beef up both physically and mentally if he is to be considered as a viable option upfront in the long-term. Hopefully for him, playing regularly for Shillong Lajong in the coming few weeks might help him regain his form and confidence.

Abranches Has The Talent, But Is In Dreadful Form....

The other two strikers who have featured in Savio Medeira’s recent plans are C.S Sabeeth and Joaquim Abranches.
The former has not really had a vintage season for Pailan Arrows this campaign, having signed from Chirag United Kerala in the summer with the club management hoping he would be an effective replacement for Jeje this season.
However the Keralite, who was so impressive for the erstwhile Viva Kerala last season, has often been marooned upfront all alone for the Arrows. With the ultra defensive tactics employed by the club, even when Sabeeth does manage to hold on to the ball, he is often several yards away from the nearest team-mate and ends up losing possession. With the Arrows not able to create enough chances, Sabeeth has scored a paltry 4 goals this season, which seems to have dented his confidence. And if he continues to play for Arrows, his confidence in front of goal shall go further down.
That though, is twice as many goals as Joaquim Abranches has managed this season. The Goan is known to have the quality to play at the highest level, but form and fitness seems to desert the player at key moments during the season.
The above mentioned duo definitely have the talent to represent India on the international stage, but with their struggles this season, it is debatable whether they can take Jeje’s place in the starting line-up.

Baljit And Robin Singh Have Been Too Inconsistent...

Two other strikers who could and perhaps should be part of the Indian caravan are Baljit Sahni and Robin Singh of East Bengal. While they have the talent, they are equally frustrating to watch as they often mix the brilliant with the ridiculous. Who can forget Sahni's bicycle-kick against Churchill Brothers on matchday one when he cleared the ball for the opposition after Robin had flicked it for him inside the box!
This has especially been the case this season, where lack of form and injuries has seen them score a measly five goal between themselves, which makes it difficult for anyone to project them as starters for the national team.
The most promising striker on the Indian scene at the moment is perhaps Air India’s promising young striker Manandeep Singh.
The youngster was a part of the Indian Arrows setup last season and has hit the ground running with his new employers Air India this term, scoring six goals and impressing with his all-round game.
He is rated highly by fans and pundits alike, and with his former Arrows team-mate being injured, Manandeep might be given a chance to prove his mettle at the highest stage, provided he continues in his present rich vein of form.

Victorino Fernandes Could Be The Wildcard Up Medeira's Sleeve....

Other players who might have an outside chance of a call-up are Sporting Clube de Goa’s Victorino Fernandes, who has been impressive upfront for the promoted Goan outfit and Ashim Biswas, who once broke through onto the international scene with much promise, only to lose his way. He has chipped in with four goals for Mohun Bagan this season, but it would be a real surprise if the striker got re-called into the national team after more than half a decade out of the reckoning.
Jeje’s club colleague, Subash Singh too might be in with an outside chance, if he manages to grab the opportunity that shall be handed to him thanks to his team-mate’s injury with both hands.
Two other players who have prior experience with the national team are Mohammed Rafi of Churchill Brothers and Abhishek Yadav of Mumbai FC. However neither player has produced anything of note for their respective teams this season and it seems highly improbable that either would get the call to board the flight to Nepal in March.
So what is abundantly clear is, that while the country has enough number of strikers at the top level, the quality that Jeje brings into the team is clearly missing amongst his likely replacements. So the fanatic Indian supporters will have to hope for a miraculous recovery for the Mizo striker, or for another domestic talent to rise to the forefront, pretty much like the Pune FC lad grabbed the limelight at this time of the season last year, for the country to have any chance of qualifying for the 2015 Asian Cup.

Liverpool hold on to beat City 3-2 on aggregate

Spurred by goals from Steven Gerrard and Craig Bellamy, Liverpool came back twice from behind to earn a 2-2 draw (3-2 agg) against Manchester City to take them to the final of the Carling Cup against Cardiff City.
Nigel de Jong had put City ahead on the half hour mark with a superb curling effort from 25 yards out after David Silva had teed him up. But Micah Richards’ handball in the box allowed Steven Gerrard to score from the spot for the second time in the two-legged tie.
Roberto Mancini was furious with the referee’s decision to give a penalty when the ball struck Richards’ arm.
“It was impossible that it was penalty. Micah can’t cut off his arm because the ball touched his leg before. It’s impossible to concede a penalty like this and not give one with Edin Dzeko. For Edin, I am 200% sure it was a penalty.”
It looked like Edin Dzeko had done enough to take City to Wembley on away goals after he tapped in Aleksander Kolarov’s cross on the back post, but ex-Citizen Craig Bellamy had the final say with a cracking goal following a quick exchange with Glen Johnson.
The Welshman was in fantastic form all match, troubling the City defence with his raw pace.
“The omens were not looking good going into tonight. Last night I saw Cardiff go through and I was pleased for them. It couldn’t be a better final for me. It’s funny how football can work out at times. To get to the final is big for us,” he told the BBC.
Maybe the gap could have been a lot more if it wasn’t for Joe Hart in the City goal. The English international was the only difference in long spells of Liverpool‘s dominance.
The match could have been well before the final whistle if the goalkeeper had not made brilliant saves to deny Jose Enrique, Martin Skrtel and Stewart Downing.
The victory also means that Liverpool will play a final at Wembley after a 16 year wait and its importance was plain at the final whistle when Dalglish couldn’t hide his joy with a fist-pump.
The Reds will take on Cardiff City in the finals on 26th February.

Lajong keen to sign on N-E players

Shillong, Jan 25 : Shillong Lajong FC is working towards making the team a formidable side “of the Northeast and by the Northeast” to compete in the national circuit and the latest soccer biggie to join the outfit is India striker Sushil Kumar Singh of Manipur.

Singh, 26, who had also featured in the recent friendly against Bayern Munich in Calcutta, was signed on today and is expected to strengthen the conversion rate of Lajong, which has so far squandered several opportunities in the ongoing I-League campaign.

Singh had also played for Mahindra United from 2008-10 and East Bengal during 2010-11 before joining United Sikkim last year.

He has been a member of the Indian squad from 2008 onwards.

With 10 more matches remaining in the current I-League season, Singh is the latest player to be recruited by Lajong.

Last week, the outfit signed in two strikers — India vice-captain P. Renedy Singh of Manipur and Mathew Osvaldo Mayora of Australia.

Lajong can also sign on one more player to complete the 30-player squad.

“I am very happy to join Lajong and I will definitely give my best to the team,” the striker told a press conference today in the presence of Lajong general secretary Larsing M. Sawian and coach Pradhyum Reddy.

The Lajong coach said the last week has been very positive for the team.

“Our aim is to bring in the best players from the Northeast to play for the team,” Reddy said.

On Singh, he said a player of his calibre should be given the opportunity to showcase his talent. “We are very fortunate that he (Singh) preferred Lajong over other teams. His presence will provide more balance to the side,” Reddy added.

He also said while the midfield and forward lines of the team have been well balanced, the only worry for the team has been the defence line.

“But we are trying to improve our defence as well,” Reddy added, while refusing to disclose whether Singh would feature in the Saturday home clash against Pune FC.

Spelling out the vision of the team, Sawian said, “We will work towards strengthening the team as the Northeast deserves a better representation in the I-League circuit. We are not leaving any stone unturned to build the team, and in the next season, more big names will be engaged by the club.”