Tuesday, July 31, 2012

CONCACAF Champions League: Striped Gang Starts Defense Of Title With Blowout Win At Home; Herediano Top RSL

The CONCACAF Champions League opened play Tuesday night with two games played in the group stage.


Group Two:


At San Jose, Costa Rica:


Elias Aguilar scored the only goal of the match in the 14th minute as CS Herediano defeated visiting Real Salt Lake 1-0.


GROUP TWO STANDINGS:


1. CS Herediano (GP: 1; GD: +1; PTS: 0)
2. Tauro FC (GP: 0; GD: 0; PTS: 0)
3. Real Salt Lake (GP: 1; GD: -1; PTS: 0)


Group Seven:


At Monterrey, Mexico:


Angel Reyna delivered a hat trick (45', 78', 88') as two-time defending champions Monterrey began another title defense with a 5-0 home demolition of Chorrillo FC of Panama.


GROUP SEVEN STANDINGS:


1. Monterrey (GP: 1; GD; +5; PTS: 5)
2. CSD Municipal (GP: 0; GD: 0; PTS: 0)
3. Chorrillo FC (GP: 1; GD: -5; PTS: 0)

UEFA Champions League Qualifying: Dynamo Kiev, Panathinaikos Win Series Openers

The third round of qualifying for the UEFA Champions League opened on Tuesday with the opening games to two two-game series.


At Kiev, Ukraine:


Ideye Brown scored the winning goal in the 69th minute as Dynamo Kiev came back from a one-goal deficit and defeated visiting Feyenoord Rotterdam 2-1 in the opening contest of their two-match series.  Ruben Schaken scored in the 49th minute to keep the Dutch club alive in the series.


At Motherwell, Scotland:


Lazaros Christodoulopoulos (14') and Charis Mavrias  (75') each delivered a goal as Panathinaikos defeated Motherwell (who had been awarded Scotland's second Champions League spot due to Rangers' financial woes) 2-0 on the road in their series opener.

Monday, July 30, 2012

Overpowering Season-Opening Win For Monaco

At Fontvieille, Monaco:

Yannick Ferreira Carrasco (30'), Andrea Raggi (37'), Ibrahima Toure (38'), and Valere Germain (44') each scored a goal during a first-half scoring barrage as AS Monaco hammered visiting Tours 4-0 in the French Ligue 2 season opener on Monday.

FH Top Fram On The Road In Reykjavik

At Reykjavik, Iceland:

Holmar Runarsson scored the only goal of the match in the 88th minute on Monday as FH Hafnarjordur defeated Fram 1-0 on the road in Icelandic Urvalsdeild action.

Home Win For Luduva

At Marijampole, Lithuania:

Povilas Luksys scored the only goal of the match in the 67th minute as FK Suduva Marijampole defeated visiting FK Siauliai 1-0 in Monday Lithuanian A Lyga  action.

Dominating Second Half Cracks Open Game For Cactus

At Tallinn, Estonia:

Valeri Minkenen scored twice (53', PK-69') as FC Flora Tallinn busted open what had been a scoreless stalemate and wound up dominating visiting FC Flora Paide 3-0 in Monday Estonian Meistriliiga action.

Slavia Erase Three-Goal Deficit To Gain Season-Opening Home Draw

At Prague, Czech Republic:

Jan Vosahlik (69', 90') scored twice and Karol Kisel once (88') as Slavia Prague came back from a three-goal second-half deficit to gain a 3-3 home draw with Vysocina Jihlava on Monday in the Czech Liga season opener for both clubs.  Lukas Vaculik (9'), Vaclav Kolousek (21'), and Stanislav Tecl (45') each tallied once for the newly-promoted guests.

Sunday, July 29, 2012

MLS: Late Heroics Carry Union To Home Victory

At Chester, Pennsylvania:


In the lone Sunday Major League Soccer contest, Freddy Adu (PK-59') and Jack McInerney (90') enabled the Philadelphia Union to come from behind and topple the visiting New England Revolution 2-1.


MLS STANDINGS:


EASTERN CONFERENCE:


1. New York (GP: 22; GD: +6; PTS: 38)
2. Houston (GP: 22; GD: +8; PTS: 37)
3. Kansas City (GP: 22; GD: +6; PTS: 37)
4. DC United (GP: 20; GD: +7; PTS: 33)
5. Chicago (GP: 21; GD: 0; PTS: 32)
6. Columbus (GP: 19; GD: 0; PTS: 28)
7. Montreal (GP: 24; GD: -10; PTS: 27)
8. Philadelphia (GP: 19; GD: 0; PTS: 23)
9. New England (GP: 21; GD: -1; PTS: 23)
10. Toronto FC (GP: 21; GD: -14; PTS: 19)


WESTERN CONFERENCE:


1. San Jose (GP: 23; GD: +17; PTS: 44)
2. Real Salt Lake (GP: 23; GD: +8; PTS: 42)
3. Seattle (GP: 21; GD: +5; PTS: 34)
4. Vancouver (GP: 23; GD: -2; PTS: 34)
5. Los Angeles (GP: 23; GD: +4; PTS: 33)
6. Chivas USA (GP: 20; GD: -7; PTS: 26)
7. Colorado (GP: 22; GD: -4; PTS: 22)
8. FC Dallas (GP: 23; GD: -6; PTS: 22)
9. Portland (GP: 21; GD: -17; PTS: 19) 

Winning Start To Clausura Campaign For Millonarios

At Bogota, Colombia:


Wason Renteria (13') and Humberto Osorio Botello (29') each delivered a goal on Sunday as Millonarios blanked visiting Independiente Santa Fe 1-0 in the Columbian Primera A Clausura campaign opener for both clubs.

Late Goal Carries Santos To Victory And Out Of Drop Zone

At Santos, Brazil:


Ezequiel Miralles scored the winning goal in the 86th minute on Sunday as Santos defeated visiting Ponte Preta 2-1 to climb up to 16th place in the Brazilian Serie A standings, one point and one place above the relegation zone.

Scoreless Sunday In Stockholm

At Stockholm, Sweden:


The Sunday Swedish Allsvenskan contest between Djurgarden and visiting Elfsborg ended in a 0-0 stalemate.

Roses Knock Off Olimpija At Ljubljana

At Ljubljana, Slovenia:


Sandi Arcon scored twice (18', 59') as ND Gorica defeated Olimpija Ljubljana 3-1 on the road in Sunday 1.SNL action.

Home Draw For Slovan Bratislava

At Bratislava, Slovakia:


Robert Pich delivered the equalizer in the 64th minute, carrying MSK Zilina to a 1-1 Sunday Slovak First League road draw with SK Slovan Bratislava.  Filip Sebo scored in the 45th minute for the hosts.

Snow Leopards Fall On Road

At Kazan, Russia:


In Sunday Russian Premier League action, Bibras Natcho scored twice (PK-18', 48') as Rubin Kazan defeated visiting FC Alania Vladikavkaz 3-1.

No Trouble For Red Dogs At Home

At Bucharest, Romania:


A four-goal performance from Marius George Tucudean (13', 22', 46', 48') held guide Dinamo Bucharest to a 5-1 Sunday home fist-beating of CSMS Iasi in Romanian Liga I action.

Triumphant Season Opener For Honved

At Siofok, Hungary:


Aleksandar Ignjatovic scored the only goal of the match in the 79th minute on Sunday as Budapest Honved FC defeated Siofok 1-0 on the road in the Hungarian NB I season opener for both clubs.

1-1 Draw Between Tromso And Trond Kids

At Tromso, Norway:


Zdenek Ondrasek equalized in the 69th minute to lift Tromso IL to a 1-1 Norwegian Eliteserien home draw with Rosenborg in a Sunday battle of two clubs preparing for the third round of Europa League qualifying.  Daniel Holm scored in the 10th minute for the visiting Trond Kids.

Liepajas Metalurgs On Winning Track

At Liepaja, Latvia:


FK Liepajas Metalurgs topped visiting FC Jurmala 3-2 in Sunday Latvian Virsliga action.

Easy Home Win For B36

At Torshavn, Faroe Islands:


B36 handily defeated visiting NSI 5-1 in Sunday Faroese Meistaradeildin action.

Stoppage Time Goal Deprives Colo Colo Of Road Win

At Quillota, Chile:


Leandro Benegas' second-half stoppage-time goal (90'+3) enabled Union La Calera to gain a 1-1 Sunday Chilean Primera Division home draw with Colo Colo. Carlos Munoz scored in the 36th minute for the guests.

Saturday, July 28, 2012

MLS: Impact, Dynamo, Galaxy, Crew, Sounders, Goats Pick Up Wins; Stoppage-Time Goal Rescues Home Draw For Quakes

Seven games were played in Major League Soccer on Saturday.


At Toronto:


Calen Carr (44') and Brian Ching (85') each tallied once as the Houston Dynamo ended Toronto FC's three-game league winning streak with a 2-0 road win over the Reds.


At Montreal:


Marco Di Vaio (48'), Davy Arnaud (49'), and Sanna Nyassi (73') each delivered a goal as the Montreal Impact knocked off the visiting New York Red Bulls 3-1.


At Frisco, Texas:


Mike Magee scored the only goal of the Los Angeles Galaxy's 1-0 road win over FC Dallas in the 62nd minute.


At Kansas City, Kansas:


Jairo Obando Arrieta scored twice (17', 34') as the Columbus Crew (despite ending the game with ten men) overcame an early deficit and topped home-standing Sporting Kansas City 2-1.


At Commerce City, Colorado:


Osvaldo Alonso scored the winning goal in the 64th minute as the Seattle Sounders defeated the Colorado Rapids 2-1 on the road.


At Santa Clara, California:


Steven Lenhart's stoppage-time equalizer (90'+8) enabled the San Jose Earthquakes to salvage a 1-1 home draw with the Chicago Fire.  Chris Rolfe scored for the visitors in the 37th minute.


At Portland, Oregon:


Danny Califf scored the only goal of the match in the 68th minute as Chivas USA handed the Portland Timbers their fifth straight league setback, 1-0 on the road.

Tigres Top Iron Colts At Home

At San Nicolas de los Garza, Mexico:


Lucas Lobos (PK-76') and Hugo Ayala (85') provided the scoring as Tigres came from behind to overtake visiting Atlante 2-1 in Saturday Liga MX (Mexican Primera Division [Apertura]) action.

World Football Challenge: Rossoneri Knock Off Chelsea; DCU and PSG Battle To 1-1 Draw

Two games in the World Football Challenge were contested on Saturday.


At Miami:


Urby Emanuelson scored the only goal of the match in the 68th minute as AC Milan defeated Chelsea 1-0.


At Washington:


Dwayne De Rosario's penalty kick in the 33rd minute lifted DC United to a 1-1 draw with Paris Saint-Germain in a match that was suspended for 45 minutes by a lightning delay.  New acquisition Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored for PSG in the third minute.

It's A Victorious Saturday For Dinamo Zagreb

At Zagreb, Croatia:


Jerko Leko (PK-35') and Duje Cop (62') each scored a goal as Dinamo Zagreb defeated visiting Cibalia 2-1 in the lone Saturday 1.HNL contest.

Home Draw For Grasshoppers Against Defending Champs

At Zurich, Switzerland:


With goals from Nassim Ben Khalifa (29') and Mergim Brahimi (83'), Grasshoppers gained a 2-2 Saturday Swiss Super League home draw with FC Basel, whose goals came from Alexander Frei (15') and Gilles Yapi Yapo (47').

Late Goal Salvages Home Draw For Metalist

At Kharkiv, Ukraine:


Jonathan Cristaldo's equalizer in the 83rd minute enabled FC Metalist Kharkiv to salvage a 1-1 Saturday Ukrainian Premier League home draw with Metaluhr Zaporizhya.  Andriy Tsurikov scored for the guests at 13 minutes.

3-3 Saturday Road Draw For FC Seoul

At Seogwipo, South Korea:


Dejan Damjanovic scored twice (40', 49') and Mauricio Molina scored once in the 31st minute as FC Seoul gained a 3-3 Saturday K-League road draw with Jeju United.  Santos Junior (4'), Il-Hwan Bae (26'), and Jair (64') each tallied once for the hosts.

HJK Beaten By Honka; Blow Chance To Move To Top Of Veikkausliiga Standings

At Espoo, Finland:


Tim Vayrynen scored the only goal of the match in the 80th minute as FC Honka prevented HJK Helsinki from moving past Inter Turku up to the top of the Finnish Veikkausliiga standings with a 1-0 win over the visiting club from the capital.

Late Goal Carries Red Bulls To Victory

At Wals-Siezenheim, Austria:


Gonazalo Zarate scored the winning goal in the 77th minute as FC Red Bull Salzburg recovered from blowing a two-goal lead and defeated visiting SV Mattersburg 3-2 in Saturday Austrian Bundesliga action.

Easy Home Win For The Lions

At Copenhagen, Denmark:


Andreas Cornelius (40'), Cesar Santin (60'), and Mostafa Abdellaoue (90'+3) each delivered a goal for FC Copenhagen on Saturday as the Lions dominated visiting Aalborg BK 3-0 in Danish Super League action.

Late Equalizer Salvages Season-Opening Draw For Anderlecht

At Kortrijk, Belgium:


Olivier Deschacht's equalizer in the 81st minute enabled RSC Anderlecht to gain a 1-1 road draw with Kortrijk as they guests began defense of their Belgian Pro League championship on Saturday.  Ervin Zukanovic scored in the 21st minute for the hosts.

FC Tokyo Blanked At Home

At Chofu, Japan:


Yuta Mikado (32') and Alan Mineiro (67') each scored once on Saturday as Albirex Niigata, fighting to avoid relegation from the Japanese top flight, blanked home-standing FC Tokyo 2-0 in J.League action.

Friday, July 27, 2012

MLS: Home Win For RSL

At Sandy, Utah:


In the lone Friday Major League Soccer contest (as the league re-emerged from its' All-Star break), Alvaro Saborio scored twice (PK-34', 58') as Real Salt Lake defeated the visiting (and ten-man) Vancouver Whitecaps 2-1.

Scoreless In Cork

At Cork, Ireland:

The Friday League of Ireland Premier Division contest between Cork City and visiting Shelbourne, a battle of the two clubs who won promotion from the second tier last year, ended in a 0-0 stalemate

UEFA Champions League Matchups (Third Qualifying Round)

Here are the match-ups for the third qualifying round for the UEFA Champions League with the opening contests to take place either on Tuesday or Wednesday (indicated by an asterisk) of next week and the return matches set for August 7 or 8 (indicated by two askerisks).

The game-one hosts are listed first

CHAMPIONS ROUTE:

NK Maribor (Slovenia) vs. F91 Dudelange (Luxembourg)

FC BATE Borisov (Belarus) vs. Debrecen (Hungary)

CFR Cluj (Romania) vs. Slovan Liberec (Czech Republic)

Slask Wroclaw (Poland) vs. Helsingborg (Sweden)

FC Sheriff (Moldova) vs. Dinamo Zagreb (Croatia)

Celtic (Scotland) vs. HJK Helsinki (Finland)

Molde (Norway) vs. FC Basel (Switzerland)

Ironi Kiryat Shmona (Israel) vs. Neftchi Baku (Azerbaijan)

AEL Limassol (Cyprus) vs. Partizan Belgrade (Serbia)

LEAGUE ROUTE:

Fenerbahce (Turkey) vs. FC Vaslui (Romania)

Motherwell (Scotland)* vs. Panathinaikos (Greece)

FC Copenhagen (Denmark) vs. Club Brugge (Belgium)

Dynamo Kiev (Ukraine)* vs. Feyenoord Rotterdam (Netherlands)**

The winners will advance to the playoff round and will be joined by Sporting Braga (Portugal), Spartak Moscow (Russia), Udinese (Italy), LOSC Lille Metropole (France), Malaga (Spain), and Borussia Monchengladbach (Germany) for the right to advance to the group stage (for which Chelsea, by winning this past May's Champions League final, have automatically qualified).  The losers from the Champions League's third qualifying round will participate in the Europa League's playoff round.

Europa League Matchups (Third Qualifying Round)

Here are the match-ups for the third qualifying round for the Europa League with the opening contests set to be played next Thursday and the return matches set for August 9, with the game-one hosts listed first.

Videoton FC (Hungary) vs. KAA Gent (Belgium)

AIK Solna (Sweden) vs. Lech Poznan (Poland)

Eskisehirspor (Turkey) vs. Marseille (France)

Red Star Belgrade (Serbia) vs. Omonia (Cyprus)

FK Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina) vs. FK Zeta (Montenegro)

Admira Wacker Modling (Austria) vs. Spart Prague (Czech Republic)

Kalmar FF (Sweden) vs. BSC Young Boys (Switzerland)

Dundee United (Scotland) vs. Dynamo Moscow (Russia)

Arsenal Kiev (Ukraine) vs. ND Mura 05 (Slovenia)

Bursaspor (Turkey) vs. KuPS (Finland)

Steaua Bucharest (Romania) vs. Spartak Trnava (Slovakia)

FC Gomal (Belarus) vs. Liverpool (England)

SV Ried (Austria) vs. Legia Warsaw (Poland)

St. Patrick's Athletic (Ireland) vs. Hannover 96 (Germany)

Servette (Switzerland) vs. Rosenborg (Norway)

Athletic Bilbao (Spain) vs. Slaven Koprivnica (Croatia)

Anzhi Makhachkala (Russia) vs. Vitesse Arnhem (Nethelands)

Asteras Tripolis FC (Greece) vs. CS Maritimo (Portugal)

Rapid Bucharest (Romania) vs. SC Heerenveen (Netherlands)

Ruch Chorzow (Poland) vs. FC Viktoria Plzen (Czech Republic)

AC Horsens (Denmark) vs. IF Elfsborg (Sweden)

APOEL FC (Cyprus) vs. Aalesund (Norway)

Inter Milan (Italy) vs. Hajduk Split (Croatia)

FK Vojvodina (Serbia) vs. Rapid Vienna (Austria)

KRC Genk (Belgium) vs. FC Aktobe (Kazakhstan)

Tromso IL (Norway) vs. Metaluhr Donetsk (Ukraine)

FC Twente (Netherlands) vs. FK Mlada Boleslav (Czech Republic)

Bnei Yehuda Tel Aviv FC (Israel) vs. POAK FC (Greece)

Dila Gori (Georgia) vs. Anorthosis (Cyprus)

The winners would advance to the playoff round and would be joined by nineteen clubs who would enter the competition at this point and the 14 losers from the UEFA Champions League's third qualifying round.

Thursday, July 26, 2012

Santos Fall To League Leaders, Fall Back Into Drop Zone

At Belo Horizonte, Brazil:


Danilinho (43') and Rever (65') each delivered a goal on Thursday as Brazilian Serie A-leading Atletico Mineiro blanked visiting Santos 2-0, dropping the 2011 Copa Libertadores champs back into the relegation zone in 18th place.

Europa League Qualifying

Forty games were played on Thursday as the second round of Europa League qualifying concluded.


At Gyumri, Armenia:


Shalev Menashe scored the only goal of the match in the 31st minute as Bnei Yehuda blanked FC Shirak 1-0 on the road in game two and took out the hosts 3-0 on aggregate.


At Almaty, Kazakhstan:


Borek Dockal scored the game and series-winning goal in second-half stoppage time (90'+4) as Rosenborg defeated Ordabasy 2-1 on the road in game two and won their two-match series 4-3 on aggregate.


At Tbilisi, Georgia:


Mate Vatsadze scored twice (62', 83') as FC Dila Gori defeated visiting AFG 3-1 in game two and took out the Danish club 5-2 on aggregate.


At Yerevan, Armenia:


Tibert Pont scored twice within a four-minute span in the second half (64', 68') as Servette FC knocked off Gandzasar FC 3-1 on the road in game two and won their two-match series 5-1 on aggregate.


At Kumanovo, Macedonia:


Lukasz Janoszka (9'), Gabor Straka (15'), and Arkadiusz Piech (63') each scored once as Ruch Chorzow dominated FK Metalurg Skopje 3-0 on the road in game two and finished off the Macedonian club 6-1 on aggregate.


At Niksic, Montenegro:


With Danilo (15'), Junior Moraes (54'), Oleksandr Volovyk (72'), and Ze Soares (84') each delivering a goal, Metaluhr Donetsk doubled up Celik Niksic 4-2 in game two and won their two-match series 11-2 on aggregate.


At Kuopio, Finland:


Despite being blanked 1-0 at home in game two by Maccabi Netanya, KuPS, with the aggregate score at 2-2, still won their series with their Israeli opponents, thanks to the away goals rule.


At Gomel, Belarus:


Despite dropping game two 1-0 at home to FK Renova, FC Gomel still won their two-match series with the Macedonian club 2-1 on aggregate.


At Aktobe, Kazakhstan:


Marat Khayrullin (39') and Alexander Geynrikh (50') each scored a goal for FC Aktobe, but an own goal from FC Milsami's Valentin Furdui in second-half stoppage time (90'+3) not only concluded the 3-0 game-two victory for the hosts but iced the series 5-4 on aggregate against the Moldovan side.


At Turku, Finland:


Leroy Fer (4', 37') and Nacer Chadli (77', 89') each scored twice as FC Twente demolished Inter Turku 5-0 on the road in game two and broke open what had been a hotly contested two-match series as the Dutch club won 6-1 on aggregate.


At Boras, Sweden:


Lars Nilsson scored twice in the first half (9', 40') as Elfsborg bounced back from their 1-0 road defeat of last week with a 2-0 home triumph over FC Dacia Chisinau in game two and won their two-match series 2-1 on aggregate.


At Marijampole, Lithuania:


With Almami Moreira (4'), Petar Skuletic (37'), Miroslav Stevanovic (40'), and Aboubakar Oumarou (48') each delivering a goal, FK Vojvodina demolished FK Suduva Marijampole 4-0 on the road in game two and won their two-game series 5-1 on aggregate.


At Kouvola, Finland:


Romeo Surdu (19') and Baze Ilijoski (42') each scored a goal as Rapid Bucharest blanked home-standing MYPA 2-0 in game two and won their two-match series 5-1 on aggregate.


At Budapest, Hungary:


Former Barcelona star Samuel Eto'o scored twice (7', 81') as FC Anzhi Makhachkala scored pummeled Bucharest Honved FC 4-0 on the road in game two and finished off the Hungarian club 5-0 on aggregate.


At Alesund, Norway:


Leke James scored twice (64', 77') as Aalesund more than overturned their game-one home defeat with a 5-0 game-two home demolition of KF Tirana and finished off the Albanian club 5-1 on aggregate.


At Larnaca, Cyprus:


Anorthosis, with Toni Calvo (13'), Ioannis Okkas (41'), and Ricardo Laborde (62') each delivering a tally, dominated visiting FC Levadia Tallinn 3-0 in game two and finished off the Estonian club 6-1 on aggregate.


At Kalmar, Sweden:


Kalmar FF, with goals from Abiola Dauda (25'), Ivan Ibriks (OG-45'+1), and Emin Nouri (90'+3), smothered visiting NK Osijek 3-0 in game two and eliminated the Croatian club 6-1 on aggregate.


At Sofia, Bulgaria:


Nusmir Fajic scored the series-winning goal in the 76th minute as ND Mura 05 gained a 1-1 game-two road draw with CSKA Sofia, and with the two-game aggregate score at 1-1, won their two-match series and advanced on away goals.


At Tripoli, Greece:


After a 1-1 draw in game two, which squared the two-match series at 2-2 on aggregate, and after 30 scoreless minutes of overtime, Rayo, Fernando Usero, Juanito, and Emanuel Perrone all converted their penalty kicks as Anteras Tripolis FC won their PK shootout with visiting Inter Baku 4-2 to advance.


At Ried im Innkreis, Austria:


The 1-1 road draw in Belarus in game one proved precious for SV Ried as the Austrian club, with their 0-0 game-two home draw with FC Shakhtyor Salihorsk, and with the two-game score at 1-1 on aggregate, advanced to the third qualifying round on away goals.


At Tromso, Norway:


After a scoreless opening match in Slovenia and a scoreless regulation in game two at home, Tromso IL, with Mika Koppinen scoring the only goal of the series in overtime (109'), won their two-game series with Olimpija Ljubjana 1-0 on aggregate.


At Chisinau, Moldova:


Thanks to Akhmet Barakhoev's goal in the 42nd minute, FC Zimbru took game two at home 1-0 and squared their two-game series with BSC Young Boys at 1-1 on aggregate.  However, after 30 scoreless overtime minutes, Christoph Spycher, Emmanuel Mayuka, Alain Net, and Moreno Costanzo all converted their spot kicks as the Swiss club took the penalty-kick shootout 4-1 to advance to the third qualifying round.


At Ghent, Belgium:


Melli, Ibrahima Conte (63'), and Rodgers Kola (73') each delivered a goal as KAA Gent outlasted  visiting FC Differdange 03 3-2 in game two and won their two-game series 4-3 on aggregate.


At Senica, Slovakia:


Helio Pinto scored the only goal of the match in the 73rd minute as APOEL FC blanked FK Senica 1-0 on the road in game two and took the series 3-0 on aggregate.


At Poznan, Poland:


Alexandar Toney scored the only goal of the match in the 16th minute as Lech Poznan shut out visiting Khazar Lankaran 1-0 in game two and won their two-match series 2-1 on aggregate.


At Podgorica, Montenegro:


Boris Doslijak scored the series-winning goal in the 82nd minute as FK Zeta downed visiting JJK 1-0 in game two, and with the aggregate score at 3-3, advanced on away goals.


At Arnhem, Netherlands:


Thanks to goals from Marco van Ginkel (25'), Patrick van Aanholt (45'+2), and Wilfried Bony (48'), Vitesse Arnhem downed visiting Lokomotiv Plodiv 3-1 in game two and won their two-match series 7-5 on aggregate.


At Plzen, Czech Republic:


Michal Duris (7') and Vladimir Darida (10') each scored an early goal as FC Viktoria Plzen blanked visiting Metalurgi Rustavi 2-0 in game two, helping to salt away their two-match series 5-1 on aggregate.


At Sligo, Ireland:


Peter Cvirik scored in the 70th minute as FC Spartak Trnava gained a 1-1 game-two road draw with Sligo Rovers, enough for the Slovakian club to take out the Irish side 4-2 on aggregate.


At Riga, Latvia:


Despite dropping a 1-0 road decision in game two against Skonto, Hajduk Split still won their two-game series 2-1 on aggregate.


At Belgrade, Serbia:


Filip Kasalica (9'), Milos Dimitrijevic (15'), and Marko Vesovic (90'+1) provided the scoring as Red Star Belgrade gained a 3-3 game-two home draw with Naftan Novopolotsk and won their two-match series 7-6 on aggregate.


At Szekesfehervar, Hungary:


A 0-0 home draw in game two with SK Slovan Bratislava proved good enough for Videoton FC as the Hungarian, with the aggregate score at 1-1, won their two-match series on away goals.


At Warsaw, Poland:


Marek Saganowski delivered a hat trick (4', 39', 79') as Legia Warsaw ran roughshod over visiting FK Liepajas Metalurgs 5-1 in game two and eliminated the Latvian club 7-3 on aggregate.


At Perth, Scotland:


Veysei Sari scored in the 52nd minute as Eskisehirspor gained a 1-1 road draw with St. Johnstone in game two, good enough for the Turkish club to win their two-match series 3-1 on aggregate.


At Portadown, Northern Ireland:


Martin Saban scored twice (62', 64') as Slaven Koprivnica doubled up Portadown 4-2 in game two on the road and handily finished off their Northern Irish opponents 10-2 on aggregate.


At Dublin, Ireland:


After a second 1-1 deadlock in game two which deadlocked the two-match series at 2-2 on aggregate, Christy Fagan scored the series-wining overtime goal (105') as St. Patrick's Athletic defeated visiting NK Siroki Brijeg 3-2 on aggregate to advance.


At Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina:


Said Husejinovic scored twice (12', 69') and Asmir Suljic added another tally in the 14th minute as FK Sarajevo recovered from their 1-0 road defeat from last week with a 3-1 game-two home win over Levski Sofia and knocked out the Bulgarian club 3-2 on aggregate.


At Maria Enzersdorf, Austria:


Patrik Jezek scored twice (PK-14', 52') as Admira Wacker Modling hammered visiting Zalgiris Vilnius 5-1 in game two and broke open what had been a competitive two-game series with the Austrian club winning it going away 6-2 on aggregate.


At Hafnarjordur, Iceland:


Martin Lorentzon scored the only goal of the match in the 40th minute as AIK Solna defeated FH Hafnarfjordur 1-0 on the road in game two and won their two-match set 2-1 on aggregate.


At Akureyri, Iceland:


Lukas Magera scored the only goal of the match in the 31st minute as FK Mlada Boleslav again shut out Thor Akureyri, this time 1-0 on the road in game two, en route to eliminating the Icelandic club 4-0 on aggregate.

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Eddie Johnson's Stoppage-Time Tally Carries MLS All-Stars To Victory Over Chelsea

At Chester, Pennsylvania:


Eddie Johnson (Seattle Sounders) scored the winning goal in second-half stoppage time (90'+1) as the Major League Soccer All-Stars came from behind to defeat Chelsea 3-2 on Wednesday night in the MLS  All-Star Game.  Chris Wondolowski (San Jose Earthquakes, 21') and Chris Pontius (DC United, 73') also scored for the All-Stars while John Terry (32') and Frank Lampard (58') each tallied once for the reigning European club champions.

UEFA Champions League Qualifying

Five games were played on Wednesday as the second round of qualifying for the UEFA Champions League came to a close.


At Helsingborg, Sweden:


Following last week's scoreless series opener, Walid Atta (8'), Thomas Sorum (27'), and Alvaro Santos (89') each scored a goal as Helsingborg dominated The New Saints 3-0 at home in game two and took out the Welsh Premier League champs by that same score on aggregate.


At Skopje, Macedonia:


A 0-0 road stalemate in game two was good enough for FC BATE Borisov as the Belorussian club, who in the third qualifying round will face Hungary's Debrecen, won their two-game series with FK Vardar 3-2 on aggregate.


At Belfast, Northern Ireland:


A 0-0 game-two road draw with Linfield proved more than sufficient as AEL Limassol took out the Northern Irish club 3-0 on aggregate.  The Cypriot club will next take on Partizan Belgrade in the third qualifying round for a two-match series that starts next week.


At Zagreb, Croatia:


Ante Rukavina scored twice (33', 60') and Domagoj Vida scored the game and series-winning goal deep into second-half stoppage time (90'+8) as Dinamo Zagreb came from behind to upend visiting (and nine-man) Ludogorets 3-2 in game two and took out the Bulgarian club 4-3 on aggregate.  Moldova's FC Sheriff will try to arrest the Croatian champions in the third qualifying round.


At Wroclaw, Poland:


Despite a 1-0 home defeat in game two of their two-match series with FK Buducnost Podgorica, Slask Wroclaw still won their two-game series 2-1 on aggregate and earned a shot at Helsingborg in the third qualifying round.

Road Win For FC Seoul

At Daejeon, South Korea:


Mauricio Molina (33') and Dejan Damjanovic (57') each tallied once on Wednesday as FC Seoul, currently in second place in the K-League standings, blanked basement-occupying Daejeon Citizen 2-0 on the road.

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

UEFA Champions League Qualifying: Red Bulls Knocked Out By F91 Dudelange; FC Basel, Partizan Belgrade, FC Sheriff Also Advance; Shamrock Rovers Eliminated; HJK To Get Crack At Bhoys

Twelve games were played as the second qualifying round for the UEFA Champions League continued on Tuesday.


At Karagandy, Kazakhstan:


After Zhambyl Kukeyev's penalty kick in the 40th minute enabled Shakhter Karagandy to gain a 1-0 game-two home win to square at 1-1 on aggregate their two-match series with visiting Slovan Liberec, Jan Blazek scored the series-winning overtime goal (120') for the Czech club as they won the series two goals to one and advanced to the third qualifying round, setting up a match-up with CFR Cluj of Romania.


At Venspils, Latvia:


Magnus Eikrem's goal in the 37th minute proved more than enough for FK Molde as the Norwegian club gained a 1-1 road draw in game two of their two-match series with FK Ventspils, enabling them to win the series 4-1 on aggregate.


At Salzburg, Austria:


With goals from Thierry Steinmetz (26', 57') and Aurelien Joachim (48'), F91 Dudelange, despite dropping a 4-3 game-two road decision to FC Red Bull Salzburg (and finishing the game with ten men), still advanced to the third qualifying round due to the away goals rule (4-4 on aggregate).


At Haifa, Israel:


Ahmed Abed (70') and Shimon Abuhatzira (77') delivered the scoring as Ironi Kiryat Shmona overturned their 1-0 game-one road defeat with a 2-1 home win in game two over MSK Zilina and knocked out the Slovakian club 2-1 on aggregate.


At Panevezys, Lithuania:


FK Ekranas, with Marko Andelkovic (45'+1) and Zilvinas Kymantas (63') each scoring once, held off visiting Shamrock Rovers 2-1 in game two and took the series by that same score on aggregate.  Next up for the Lithuanian club in the third qualifying round will be RSC Anderlecht from Belgium.


At Zestafoni, Georgia:


A 2-2 draw on the road in game two proved more than good enough for Neftchi Baku as the Azerbaijani club won their two-match series with FC Zestafoni 5-2 on aggregate. Julius Wobay (22') and Rashad Sadigov (PK-52') each delivered a tally for the visitors as they will next take on Ironi Kiryat Shmona in the third qualifying round.


At Tiraspol, Moldova:


Miral Samardzic's 66th-minute penalty kick was good enough as FC Sheriff delivered a second straight 1-0 triumph over Ulisses FC, this time at home, and took out the Armenian club 2-0 on aggregate.


At Basel, Switzerland:


Jacques Zoua scored twice in the first half (9', 31') as FC Basel dominated visiting FC Flora Tallinn 3-0 in game two of their two-match series and took out the Estonian club 5-0 on aggregate.  Basel (who last season reached the Champions League's Round of 16) will next take on FK Molde in third-qualifying-round action.


At Nyiregyhaza, Hungary:


Adamo Coulibaly scored twice (12', 87') as Debreceni VSC overturned their 1-0 series-opening defeat from last week with a 3-0 home win over Skenderbeu Korce and eliminated the Albanian club 3-1 on aggregate.


At Belgrade, Serbia:


Nemanja Tomic scored twice (10', 67') as Partizan Belgrade defeated visiting Valletta 3-1 in game two and finished off the Maltese club 7-2 on aggregate.


At Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina:


With Agim Ibraimi (20') and Marcos Tavares (86') each delivering a goal, NK Maribor downed Zeljeznicar 2-1 on the road in game two and won their two-match series 6-2 on aggregage, setting the stage for the Slovenian club encounter in the third qualifying round with Luxembourg's F91 Dudelange.


At Reykjavik, Iceland:


HJK Helsinki, with goals from Berat Sadik (66') and Mathias Lindstrom (72'), defeated KR Reykjavik 2-1 on the road in game two and completed their two-match 9-1 demolition.  Next up for the Finnish club, a two-match third-qualifying-round encounter with Celtic, with the opening match next week in Glasgow, Scotland.



Monday, July 23, 2012

Late Goal Spoils Hopes Of Road Win For Struggling DIF

At Norrkoping, Sweden:

Imad Khalili's goal in the 80th minute enabled IFK Norrpoking to gain a 1-1 Monday Swedish Allsvenskan home draw with struggling Djurgarden.  Peter Nymann scored in the 28th minute for the visitors.

1-1 Home Draw For The Trond Kids

At Trondheim, Norway:

In the lone Monday Norwegian Eliteserien contest, Per Ronning's 55th-minute equalizer enabled Rosenborg to salvage a 1-1 home draw with relegation-threatened Lillestrom.

Sunday, July 22, 2012

World Football Challenge: Chelsea And PSG Battle To 1-1 Draw At Yankee Stadium

At New York City:


In the first soccer match to take place at the new version of Yankee Stadium, Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain battled to a 1-1 draw as the World Football Challenge continued.  Nene scored for PSG in the 30th minute, but Lucas Piazon equalized for the Blues in the 82nd minute.

MLS: Caps Top Quakes At BC Place

At Vancouver, British Columbia:


Goals from Dane Richards (20') and Barry Robson (62') carried the Vancouver Whitecaps to a 2-1 home victory over the San Jose Earthquakes in the lone Sunday Major League Soccer match.


MLS STANDINGS:


EASTERN CONFERENCE:


1. New York (GP: 21; GD: +8; PTS: 38)
2. Kansas City (GP: 21; GD: +7; PTS: 37)
3. Houston (GP: 21; GD: +6; PTS: 34)
4. DC United (GP: 20; GD: +7; PTS: 33)
5. Chicago (GP: 20; GD: 0; PTS: 31)
6. Columbus (GP: 18; GD: -1; PTS: 25)
7. Montreal (GP: 23; GD: -12; PTS: 24)
8. New England (GP: 20; GD: 0; PTS:23)
9. Philadelphia (GP: 18; GD: -1; PTS: 20)
10. Toronto FC (GP: 20; GD: -12; PTS: 19)


WESTERN CONFERENCE:


1. San Jose (GP: 22; GD: +17; PTS: 43)
2. Real Salt Lake (GP: 22; GD: +7; PTS: 39)
3. Vancouver (GP: 22; GD: -1; PTS:34)
4. Seattle (GP: 20; GD: +4; PTS: 31)
5. Los Angeles (GP: 22; GD: +3; PTS: 30)
6. Chivas USA (GP: 19; GD: -8; PTS: 23)
7. Colorado (GP: 21; GD: -3; PTS: 22)
8. FC Dallas (GP: 22; GD: -5; PTS: 22)
9. Portland (GP: 20; GD: -16; PTS: 19)