Melbourne Victory Win Another A-League Crown At Adelaide United's Expense

At Melbourne, Australia:

Tom Pondeljak notched the only goal of the match (60', he's seen here celebrating in the Getty Images photo) as Melbourne Victory locked up their second A-League grand final triumph in three years on Saturday, 1-0 over Adelaide United, the club the Victory ransacked in the title match two years ago.

Wins For Estudiantes (Home) and Libertad (Road) On Thursday

Thursday group stage play in the Copa Libertadores:


Group Five:


At La Plata, Argentina:

Juan Manuel Salgueiro's goal (16') was the lone score of the match as Estudiantes defeated visiting Bolivian club Universitario de Sucre 1-0.

GROUP FIVE STANDINGS:

1. Cruzeiro (GP: 2; GD: +3; PTS: 4)
2. Estudiantes (GP: 2; GD: -2; PTS: 3)
3. Deportivo Quito (GP: 2; GD: 0; PTS: 2)
4. Universitario de Sucre (GP: 2; GD: -1; PTS: 1)



Group Eight:

At San Luis Potosi, Mexico:

Luis Alberto Ramirez provided the only goal of the match at 16 minutes, lifting visiting Club Libertad of Paraguay to a 1-0 win over San Luis.

GROUP EIGHT STANDINGS:

1. Libertad (GP: 2; GD: +2; PTS: 6)
2. San Lorenzo (GP: 2; GD: +2; PTS: 3)
3. Universitario (Peru) (GP: 2; GD: 0; PTS: 3)
4. San Luis (GP: 2; GD: -4; PTS: 0)

Islanders Edge Marathon In Game One

The first half of the quarterfinal round of the CONCACAF Champions League concluded Thursday.

At Bayamon, Puerto Rico:

Thanks to goals from Nicholas Addlery (74') and Kendall Jagdeosignh (80'), the Puerto Rico Islanders came from behind to take game one of their two match set with Club Deportivo Marathon of Honduras at home 2-1. Jerry Palacios kept the visitors alive in the series with what may have been an important road goal at 41 minutes.

UEFA Cup: Horses Eliminate Villa; Spurs Lose; Citizens Win; Werder Comeback Stuns Milan; PSG, Saint-Etienne, Marseille All Advance; AaB and Zenit Too

The UEFA Cup Round of 32 concluded Thursday:

At Kharkov, Ukraine:

Goals courtesy of Serhiv Valyeyev (30'), and Jaja (40') powered FC Metalist Kharkiv to a 2-0 home win in game two of their two-match series with Sampdoria, enabling the Yellow-Blue to take their two-match series 3-0 on aggregate.

At Valencia, Spain:

Thanks to Artem Kravets' double (34', 73') Dynamo Kiev gained a game-two 2-2 road draw with Valencia, enabling them to take the two-match set on away goals, though the two clubs each scored three goals on aggregate. Next up for Dynamo, a Round-of-16 two-match encounter with fellow Ukranian club Metalist.

At Moscow:

Powered by tallies from Yuri Zhirkov (61') and Vagner Love (90'+3), CSKA Moscow defeated Aston Villa 2-0 at home in game two to take the two-match set 3-1 on aggregate.

At London:

Fernardinho's 86th-minute tally enabled Shakhtar Donetsk to gain a 1-1 game-two road draw with Tottenham Hotspur. The Ukranian club took their two-set series 3-1 on aggregate and earned the right to take on CSKA Moscow in the Round-of-16.

At Hamburg, Germany:

Ivica Olic scored the only goal of match two (9') as Hamburg blanked visiting NEC Nijmegen 1-0 to finish off the Dutch club on aggregate 4-0.

At Istanbul, Turkey:

After a scoreless opening match in France last week, game two provided a goalfest as Galatasaray defeated Bordeaux 4-3 at home to take the series on aggregate by the same goal. Arda Turan scored twice (43', 65'), Harry Kewell tallied once (45'), and Sabri Sarioglu, at 90 minutes, provided the game---and series---winner for Galatasaray, who will next face Hamburg in the eighthfinals.

At Enschede, Netherlands:

After Hatem Ben Arfa's goal at 24 minutes deadlocked the series (1-1, with each team scoring once on the road) to force what proved to be a scoreless half-hour of overtime, Marseille won the penalty-kick shootout 7-6 to advance to the Round-or-16 at FC Twente's expense.

At Amsterdam:

Leonardo scored the series-winning goal at 88 minutes as Ajax gained a 1-1 home draw in game two with Fiorentina to win their two-match set 2-1 on aggregate and set up a Round-of-16 encounter with Marseille.

At Wolfsburg, Germany:

Peguy Luyindula's double (PK-38', 73') helped propelled Paris Saint-Germain to a 3-1 road win in game two, which allowed the club from the French capital to win their two-match set with VfL Wolfsburg on aggregate, 5-1.

At Liege, Belgium:

Luis Aguilar's goal at 88 minutes helped gain a 1-1 game-two road draw for Sporting Braga, who won their two-match set with Standard de Liege 4-1 on aggregate. The Portuguese club (who won the Intertoto Cup by lasting the longest in the UEFA Cup among survivors from that now-defunct competition) will next face PSG.

At Milan, Italy:

Claudio Pizarro's second-half double (68', 78') enabled Werder Bremen to come back from a two-goal deficit to gain a 2-2 road draw in game two against AC Milan. The German club won the series because of the away goals (2-1) rule even the two clubs each scored three goals in the two-match set.

At Saint-Etienne, France:

Goals from Dimitri Payet (45') and Ilan (58') lifted Saint-Etienne to a 2-1 home win in game two over Olympiacos, thus enabling the French club to win their two-match set on aggregate, 5-2. Up next for Les Verts: Werder Bremen.

At Stuttgart, Germany:

Zenit Saint Petersburg racked up a second 2-1 win in game two of this series, this time on the road over VfB Stuttgart as the Russian club won the series 4-2 on aggregate. Igor Semshov (42') and Viktor Fayzulin (86') provided the defending UEFA Cup holders with the goals.

At Udine, Italy:

Udinese won their two-match set with Poland's Lech Poznan 4-3 on aggregate, this, after claiming game two at home 2-1. Simone Pepe (57') and Antonio Di Natale (90'+1) provided the Little Zebras with the goals that sent them into a Round-or-16 matchup with Zenit Saint Petersburg.

At Manchester, England:

Craig Bellamy's double (73', 80') lifted Manchester City to a 2-1 home win in game two over FC Copenhagen, enabling the Citizens to capture their two-match series 4-3 on aggregate.

At La Coruna, Spain:

Thanks to goals from Luton Shelton (41'), Andreas Johansson (45'), and Thomas Enevoldsen (45'+1), all in the first half, Aalborg BK completed their two-game dismemberment of Deportivo La Coruna, winning game two 3-1 on the road, and the series 6-1 on aggregate. AaB would become the second straight Danish club to face Manchester City, this time in the Round-of-16.

Wednesday Copa Action

Four group stage contests in the Copa Libertadores were played on Wednesday:

Group Five:

At Quito Ecuador:

Geovanni Caicedo Banner Quinones scored the equalizer at 90 minutes to enable Deportivo Quito to salvage a 1-1 home draw with Cruzeiro of Brazil.

Group Six:

At Caracas, Venezuela:

Jose Manuel Rey (47'), Dario Damian Figueroa (49'), and Rafael Castellin (72') provided the second-half firepower to lift Caracas FC to a 3-1 home win over Argentina's Lanus.

At Guadalajara, Mexico:

Chivas de Guadalajara put on a scoring exhibition as Sergio Amaury Ponce (17'), Ramon Morales (PK-21'), Alberto Medina (31'), Marco Fabian De la Mora (36'), and Javier Hernandez Balcazar (76', 87') provided the scoring that propelled the Goats to a 6-2 home triumph over Chile's Everton de Vina del Mal.

GROUP SIX STANDINGS:

1. Chivas of Guadalajara (GP: 2; GD: +4; PTS: 4)
2. Caracas FC (GP: 2; GD: +1; PTS: 3)
3. Everton de Vina del Mar (GP: 2; GD: -2; PTS: 3)
4. Lanus (GP: 2; GD: -2; PTS: 1)



Group 7:

At Porto Allegre, Brazil:

Gremio was held to a 0-0 home stalemate by Universitad de Chile.

Game One Home Wins For Impact and Cruz Azul

Quarterfinal round action in the CONCACAF Champions League continued Wednesday:

At Montreal:

Eduardo Sebrango scored both goals (5', 77') as the Montreal Impact took game one of their two-match set 2-0 at home against Mexico's Santos Laguna.

At Mexico City:

Jaime Lozano's 5th-minute tally held up as Cruz Azul topped local rivals UNAM Pumas 1-0 in the home match of the clubs' two-match series.

ESPN Soccernet Scoreborad

ESPN Soccernet

UCL Series Openers: Blues Top Juventus At Home; Panathinakos Get Road Draw; Reds Top Real Madrid On Road; Bayern Spank Lions In Lisbon

The four remaining series from the UEFA Champions League's Eighthfinals opened Wednesday.

At London:

Didier Drogba 12th-minute goal was the only score of match one as Chelsea defeated visiting Juventus 1-0. Here's the Ivory Coast star celebrating the game winner tally.

At Villarreal, Spain:

Giuseppe Rossi's successful penalty kick at 67 minutes (he's seen here celebrating) enabled Villarreal to gain and salvage a 1-1 home draw in their opening match with Panathinaikos. Giorgos Karagounis did provide the Greek club with a precious away goal at 59 minutes.

At Lisbon:

Doubles from Franck Ribery (42', PK-63', he's pictured here celebrating his second tally) and Luca Toni (84', 90'+1) helped Bayern Munich as they delivered a 5-0 road brassknuckling to Sporting in the opening of the clubs' two-game series.

At Madrid:

Yossi Benayoun provided the lone goal of game one (82', pictured here) as Liverpool took the match 1-0 on the road against Real Madrid.


All Photos © Getty Images

Singaporean Club Reaches Group Stage: Sharjah FC Likewise

At Singapore:

Ahmad Latiff scored the game-winning goal in overtime (99') as the Singapore Armed Forces Football Club defeated Indonesia's PSMS Medan 2-1 on Wednesday to lock up a group stage berth in the AFC Champions League. The official soccer club of Singapore's armed forces will be placed in Group G alongside Mainland China's Shanghai Shenua, Japan's Kashima Antlers, and South Korea's Suwon Bluewings, who recently defeated the Los Angeles Galaxy to capture the Pan-Pacific championship this past Saturday.

At Sharjah, United Arab Emirates:

Goals from Anderson (12'), Jean Carlos (34'), Salem Saif (55') enabled Sharjah FC to overpower India's Dempo 3-0 on Wednesday night to reach the AFC Champions League's group stage. The club from the UAE will be placed in Group B alongside Persepolis FC (Iran), Al-Shabab (Saudi Arabia), and Al-Gharafa (Qatar).

Here are the other six groups:

Group A:

Al-Hilal (Saudi Arabia), FC Pakhtakor Tashkent (Uzbekistan), Al-Ahli (United Arab Emirates), and Saba Qom (Iran)

Group C:

Al-Jazira (United Arab Emirates), Esteghlal FC (Iran), Al-Ittihad (Saudi Arabia), and Umm-Salal (Qatar)

Group D:

FC Bunyodkor (Uzbekistan), Al-Shabab Al-Arabi (United Arab Emirates), Sepahan FC (Iran), Al-Ettifaq (Saudi Arabia)

Group E:

Ulsan Hyundai Horang-i (South Korea), Newcastle Jets (Australia), Beijing Guoang (Mainland China), Nagoya Grampus (Japan)

Group F:

Gamba Osaka (Japan; defending champions); FC Seoul (South Korea), Sriwijawa FC (Indonesia), Shandong Luneng (Mainland China)

Group H:

Central Coast Mariners (Australia), Tianjin Teda FC (Mainland China), Kawasaki Frontale (Japan), Pohang Steelers (South Korea)

Group stage action begins Tuesday, March 10 and will run until Wednesday May 20. The top two teams in each group would advance to the knockout stage.

Late Goal Gains Road Draw For Iron Colts At Houston

The quarterfinal round of the CONCACAF Champions League commenced on Tuesday night:

At Houston:

Gabriel Pereyra's equalizer at 82 minutes enabled Atlante to gain a 1-1 road draw with the Houston Dynamo in the opening match of their two-game home-and-away series. Bobby Boswell had put the Dynomo ahead in the 34th minute.

Tuesday Copa Action

Group stage action continued Tuesday in the Copa Libertadores.

Group Two:

At Cuenca, Ecuador:

Goals from Rodrigo Teixeira (44'), Jose Eduardo Granda (61'), Ismael Villalba (74'), and Cristian Cordero (82') powered Deportivo Cuenca to a 4-0 home fistbeating of Paraguay's Guarani.

Group Four:

At Medillin, Colombia:

Independiente Medillin was held to a 0-0 home stalemate by Uruguay's Defensor Sporting.

Three Draws And A Gunners Home Win Over Roma

The knockout stage of the UEFA Champions League commenced on Tuesday, starting with the opening matches of the two-match Round-of-16 series.

At Madrid:

Lisandro's double (22', 72', he's seen here celebrating one of his tallies) enable FC Porto to gain a game-one 2-2 road draw with Atletico Madrid. The hosts got goals from Maxi Rodrigues (3') and Diego Forlan (45'+2).



At Lyon, France:

Thierry Henry's 67th-minute equalizer enabled Barcelona to gain a 1-1 road deadlock against Lyon in the two clubs' series opener. That's Thierry celebrating after leveling the score. The reigning French champs the opening goal of the match from Juninho Pernambucano at 7 minutes.



At London:

Robin van Persie's successful penalty kick (37', he's seen here celebrating) was the only goal of the only Tuesday match that did not wind up deadlocked as Arsenal topped visiting AS Roma in match one 1-0.



At Milan, Italy:

Goalkeeper Julio Cesar is pictured here making a brilliant save, helping Inter Milan maintain a 0-0 game one home draw against Manchester United.



All images © Getty Images

Suwon Tops Galaxy For Pan-Pacific Crown

At Carson, California:

South Korea's Suwon Bluewings defeated the Los Angeles Galaxy on Saturday night to capture the Pan-Pacific championship. The Bluewings took the penalty-kick shootout 4-2 after the two clubs battled to a 1-1 regulation-time draw. Earlier Saturday, Japan's Oita Trinita won the third-place game 2-1 over mainland China's Shandong Luneng.

More Copa Action

Group stage action in the Copa Libertadores continued Thursday:

Group Five:

At Belo Horizonte, Brazil:

Cruzeiro smothered visiting Estudiantes (Argentina) 3-0.

GROUP FIVE STANDINGS:

1. Cruzeiro (GP: 1; GD: +3; PTS: 3)
2. Deportivo Quito (GP: 1; GD: 0; PTS: 1)
Universitario de Sucre (GP: 1; GD: 0; PTS: 1)
4 Estudiantes (GP: 1; GD: -3; PTS: 0)

Group Eight:

At Lima, Peru:

Nolberto Solano's successful penalty kick at 21 minutes proved to be the only goal of the match as Universitario defeated visiting San Lorenzo of Argentina 1-0.

UEFA Cup: More Round Of 32 Action

The five remaining two-match Round of 32 sets in the UEFA Cup began on Thursday:

At Poznan, Poland:

Two late goals from Hernan Rengifo (81') and Manuel Arboleda (84') enabled Lech Poznan to erase a two-goal deficit and salvage a 2-2 home draw with Italy's Udinese in game one of the two clubs' two-match series.

At Shakhtar, Ukraine:

Yevgen Seleznov (79') and Jadson (88') provided the late scoring punch that lifted Shakhtar Donetsk to a 2-0 home triumph in game one at Tottenham Hotspur's expense.

At Copenhagen, Denmark:

Martin Vingaard scored the game-tying goal (90'+1), to go along with Ailton Almeida's 56th-minute tally, thus enabling FC Copenhagen to salvage a 2-2 game-one home draw with Manchester City. The Citizens, though, have the advantage because of two big road goals in the match, scored by Nedum Onuoha (29') and Stephen Ireland (61').

At Marseille, France:

Marko Arnautovic scored the only goal of the match (2'), lifting FC Twente to a 1-0 series-opening road win over Marseille.

At Florence, Italy:

Kennedy Bakircioglu's goal at 60 minutes was the lone score of game one, which saw Ajax Amsterdam register a 1-0 road win over Fiorentina.

No David Beckham? No Landon Donovan? No Problem!

At Carson, California:

The Los Angeles Galaxy defeated Japan's Oita Trinita 2-0 Wednesday night to advance to the final of the Pan-Pacific tournament. Edson Buddle (44') and Jovan Kirovski (PK-53') provided the goals for the Galaxy, who will face South Korea's Suwon Bluewings, who because of Cho Yong-tae's goal at 81 minutes, defeated Mainland China's Shandong Luneng 1-0 in the other semifinal.

Copa Tuesday Play: Uruguayan Club Wins Battle Of Nacionals; Sao Paulo Salvage Home Draw; Things Didn't Go Better With Colo Colo

Tuesday Copa Libertadores group stage play:

Group One:

At Santiago, Chile:

Goals from Ciro (6') and Wilson Rodrigues Fonseca (44') enabled Sport Recife of Brazil to hold off Colo Colo 2-1 on the road.

GROUP ONE STANDINGS:

1. LDU Quito (GP: 1; GD: +1; PTS: 3)
2. Sport Recife (GP: 1; GD: +1; PTS: 3)
3. Palmeiras (GP: 1; GD: -1; PTS: 0)
4. Colo Colo (GP: 1; GD: -1; PTS: 0)

Group Three:


At Asuncion, Paraguay:

Alvaro Fernandez (9'), Nicola Lodeiro (38'), and Marcos Mondaini (63') provided the scoring as visiting Nacional of Uruguay overpowered Paraguay's Nacional 3-0.

Group Four:

At Sao Paulo, Brazil:

Humberlito Borges Teixeira's second-half stoppage time equalizer (90'+1) enabled Sao Paulo FC to salvage a 1-1 home draw with Independiente Medillin of Colombia. Luis Carlos Arias had put the visitors up 1-0 on his 79th-minute goal.

GROUP FOUR STANDINGS:

1. Defensor Sporting (GP: 1; GD: +1; PTS: 3)
2. Sao Paulo (GP: 1; GD: 0; PTS: 1)
Independiente Medillin (GP: 1; GD: 0; PTS: 1)
4. America de Cali (GP: 1; GD: -1; PTS: 0)

UEFA Cup Knockout Stage Starts

Eleven of the two-match home-and-away series that make up the Round of 32 in the UEFA Cup commenced Wednesday:

At Kiev, Ukraine:

David Silva scored a precious away goal at 8 minutes, enabling Sevilla to gain a 1-1 road draw in game one of their two-match set with Dynamo Kiev.

At Saint Petersburg, Russia:

First-half tallies courtesy of Szabolcs Huszti (2') and Anatoliy Tymoshchuck (45+3') enabled Zenit Saint Petersburg to hold off visiting VfB Stuttgart 2-1 in game one.

At Athens, Greece:

Powered by goals from Ilan (12'), Geoffrey Dernis (43'), and Bafetimbi Gomis (90'+1), Saint-Etienne picked up a big opening-match win, 3-1 on the road over Olympiacos.

At Birmingham, England:

CSKA Moscow and hosts Aston Villa battled to a 1-1 game-one draw. Vagner Love put the Horses up 1-0 with his 14th minute goal, but Villa's John Carew tied the game at 69 minutes.

At Breman, Germany:

Diego's 84th-minute tally enabled Werder Bremen to salvage a game-one 1-1 home draw with AC Milan. The Rossoneri got on the scoreboard first Filippo Inzaghi's goal at 36 minutes.

At Genoa, Italy:

To go along with their relegation battle domestically, Sampdoria came up on the short end of a 1-0 game-one battle with visiting FC Metalist Kharkiv. Denys Oliynik scored the game's only goal during first-half stoppage time (45'+3)

At Nijmegen, Netherlands:

Goals from Piotr Trochowski (41'), Alex Silva (45'), and Ivica Olic (75') enabled Hamburg to overpower NEC Nijmegen 3-0 on the road in the two clubs' opening match.

At Paris:

A late second-half double from Guillaume Hoarau (80', 83') powered Paris Saint-Germain to a 2-0 home one win in game one against VfL Wolfsburg.

At Bordeaux, France:

Visiting Galatasaray and Bordeaux battled to a 0-0 stalemate in game one.

At Aalborg, Denmark:

Anders Due scored twice (53', 71') and Michael Jakobsen added a successful penalty kick at 90 minutes as Aalborg BK cruised past Deportivo La Coruna 3-0 at home in game one.

At Braga, Portugal:

Renteria (17'), Andre Leone (27'), and Luis Aguiar (84') each tallied once as Sporting Braga belted visiting Standard de Liege 3-0 in match one of the clubs' two-match set.

Singapore Armed Forces Take Qualifying Match

At Bangkok, Thailand:

The Singapore Armed Forces Football Club scored three times in overtime to defeat Provincial Electricity Authority 4-1 on the road to advance to next Wednesday's match against Indonesia's PSMS Medan, which would determine who would qualify for the group stage of the 2009 AFC Champions League, Asia's biggest club soccer tournament. Therdsak Chaiman scored twice in overtime (PK-97', 116') for the club that represents Singapore's armed forces.

Copa Wins For LDU, Boca, and Everton (Not THAT Everton)

Group stage play in the Copa Libertadores resumed Tuesday:

Group One:

At Quito, Ecuador:

LDU launched their defense of their South American club championship with a 3-2 home win over Brazil's Palmeiras. Walter Calderon scored twice (24', 54') and Damian Manso knocked in the game winner at 58 minutes for the defending champs.

Group Two:

At Buenos Aires:

Rodrigo Palacio's goal at 12 minutes was the only score of the match as Boca Juniors held off visiting Deportivo Cuenca of Ecuador 1-0.

GROUP TWO STANDINGS:

1. Deportivo Tachira (Venezuela) (GP: 1; GD: +1; PTS: 3)
2. Boca Juniors (GP: 1; GD: +1; PTS: 3)
3. Guarini (Paraguay) ( GP: 1; GD: -1; PTS: 0)
4. Deportivo Cuenca (GP: 1; GD: -1; PTS: 0)

Group Six:

At Vina del Mar, Chile:

Roberto Gutierrez provided the game's lone score at 46 minutes as Everton de Vina del Mar blanked visiting Caracus FC (Venezuela) 1-0.

GROUP SIX STANDINGS:

1. Everton (Chile) (GP: 1; GD: +1; PTS: 3)
2. Lanus (Argentina) (GP: 1; GD: 0; PTS: 1)
Chivas de Guadalajara (GP: 1; GD: 0; PTS: 1)
4. Caracus FC (GP: 1; GD: -1; PTS: 0)

CAF Champions League: First Round Matchups

The preliminary round leading into the first round proper of the CAF Champions League, Africa's big club competition, concluded over the weekend. Here are the matchups for the first proper round, which is slated to start on March 13. The home team for the opening match of the respective two-match, home-and-away series, will be listed first. The clubs that played and won their preliminary round two-match sets will indicated with an asterisk.

Club Deportivo Primeiro de Agosto* (Angola) vs. Canon Yaounde* (Cameroon)

The Angolan club won their prelim series with CARA Brazaville (Republic of Congo) 7-3 on aggregate, while the Cameroonian club edged Burundi's AS Interstar 2-1 on aggregate.

AS Douanes* (Senegal) vs. Kano Pillars FC* (Nigeria)

AS Douanes overpowered Sierra Leone's Ports Authority 4-1 on aggregate, while their Nigerian opponents defeated Chad's Elect-Sport 2-0 on aggregate.

Club Africain* (Tunisia) vs. Djoliba AC* (Chad)

Club Africain won a free pass to the first round thanks to the withdrawal of their scheduled prelim round opponents Sporting Club de Bafataf (Guinea-Bissau), as for their opponents from Chad, they topped Senegal's Casa Sports on aggregate, 4-1.

Kampala City Council* (Uganda) vs. Supersport United FC* (South Africa)

The Uganandan club defeated Mozambique's Ferroviario Maputo 3-2 on aggregate in the preliminary round while their South African counterparts took care of business at the expense of Curepipe Starlight of Mauritius 8-2 on aggregate.

Heartland FC*(Nigerian) vs. FAR Rabat* (Morocco)

Both clubs had their way in the preliminary round with the Nigerian club annihilating Liberia's Monrovia Black Star Football Club 10-1 and the Moroccan club manhandling Cape Verde's Sporting Clube de Praia 6-2, both on aggregate.

TP Mazembe (Democratic Republic of the Congo) vs. Atletico Petroleos Luanda* (Angola)

The club from Angola defeated Swaziland's Royal Leopards 5-1 in the prelim round on aggregate.

ASEC Mimosas (Ivory Coast) vs. Etoile Filante Quagadougou* (Burkina Faso)

The club from Burkina Faso defeated Ghana's Heart of Lions in a tight prelin series, holding off the Ghananian club 4-3 on aggregate.

JS Kabylie (Algeria) vs. Al Ahly Tripoli* (Libya)

The club from Libya thumped Niger's AS Police 7-2 on aggregate.

Asante Kotoko (Ghana) vs. Ittihad Khemisset* (Morocco)

The Moroccan club received a free pass to the first round when The Gambia's Wallidan Football Club withdrew.

Etiole Sportive du Sahel (Tunisia) vs. ASO Chlef* (Algeria)

The Algerian club defeated Guinea's Fello Star 3-1 on aggregate.

Cotonsport (Cameroon) vs. AS Mangasport* (Gabon)

AS Mangasport defeated DC Motemba Pembe (DRC) 3-1 on aggregate.

Ajax Cape Town (South Africa) vs. Monomotapa United FC* (Zimbabwe)

The Zimbabwean club held off Zanzibar's Miembeni in the prelim round 3-2 on aggregate.

Al Ahly (Egypt; defending champions) vs. Young Africans* (Tanzania)

The Tanzanian club buried Etoile d'Or from Comoros 14-1 on aggregate. The Young Africans will get their shot now against the defending (and six-time) club champions of Africa.

Al Hilal Odmurman (Sudan) vs. US Stade Tamponnaise* (Reunion)

The club from French-held Reunion won what turned out to be a one-game series against Madagascar's Academie Ny Antsika, taking that one game 6-0. That was to have been the second game of the scheduled two-game series, but the first match was cancelled due to political violence in Madagascar.

Africa Sports (Ivory Coast) vs. ZESCO United FC* (Zambia)

The Zambian club defeated Kenya's Mathare United on aggregate, 5-1.

Al Ittihad Tripoli (Libya) vs. Al-Merreikh* (Sudan)

The Sudanese club won a hard-fought two-match set with Rwanda's ATRACO FC 2-1 on aggregate.

O-League: Auckland City Crush Port Vila; PRK Hekari United Pop Ba FC

Group stage play in the Oceania Champions League resumed Saturday:

Group A:

At Auckland, New Zealand:

Chad Coombes' hat trick (22', 47', 77') and doubles from Paul Urlovic (9', 71') and Milos Nikolic (PK-30', 81') powered Auckland City FC to a 8-1 annihilation of visiting Port Vila Sharks (Vanuatu), eliminating the visitors from O-League contention.

GROUP A STANDINGS:

1. Auckland City FC (GP: 3; GD: +9; PTS: 7)
2. Waitakere United (GP: 2; GD: +3; PTS: 4)
3. Port Vila Sharks# (GP: 3; GD: -12; PTS: 0)

#Eliminated from contention

Group B:

At Ba, Fiji:

Goals from Kema Jack (PK-17'), Joachim Waroi (34), and Benjamin Mela (37') enabled visiting PRK Hekari United of Papua New Guinea to coast to a 3-1 win over Ba FC, thus staying alive in the race to win the group and advance to the two-match final.

GROUP B STANDINGS:

1. Keloale FC (GP: 2; GD: +2; PTS: 4)
2. Ba FC (GP: 3; GD: -1; PTS: 4)
3. PRK Hekari United (GP: 3; GD: -1; PTS: 3)

Hey, Dave, Forget About Staying In Milan

It was confirmed on Friday that David Beckham will return to the Los Angeles Galaxy as soon as his loanout to AC Milan expires next month.

River Plate Claim Copa Opener

Group stage play continued Thursday in the Copa Libertadores.

Group Three:

At Montevideo, Uruguay:

Club Nacional de Football doubled up visiting Universidad San Martin de Porres (Peru) 2-1.

At Buenos Aires, Argentina:

River Plate blanked Paraguay's Club Nacional 1-0.

GROUP THREE STANDINGS:

1. Club Nacional (Uruguay) (GP: 1; GD: +1; PTS: 3)
2. River Plate (GP: 1; GD: +1; PTS: 3)
3. Universidad San Martin de Porres (GP: 1; GD: -1; PTS: 0)
4. Club Nacional (Paraguay) (GP: 1; GD: -1; PTS: 0)

Group Five:

At Sucre, Bolivia:

Deportivo Quito (Ecuador) gained a 1-1 road draw with Univeritario de Sucre.

Wednesday Copa Action

Group stage action in the Copa Libertadores continued Wednesday:

Group Six:

At Lanus, Argentina:

Jose Sand scored a late equalizer (90+3') to enable hosts Lanus to salvage a 1-1 home draw with Mexico's Chivas de Guadalajara. Sergio Avila provided the Goats' goal at 33 minutes.

Group Eight:

At Buenos Aires, Argentina:

San Lorenzo hammered visiting Mexican club San Luis 4-1. Andres Silvera doubled (3', 16') for the hosts.

At Asuncion, Paraguay:

Manuel Marciel (42') and Samudio (83') provided the scoring as Club Libertad held off visiting Universitario de Deportes of Peru 2-1.

GROUP EIGHT STANDINGS:

1. San Lorenzo (GP: 1; GD: +3; PTS: 3)
2. Club Libertad (GP: 1; GD: +1; PTS: 3)
3. Universitario (GP: 1; GD: -1; PTS: 0)
4. San Luis (GP: 1; GD: -3; PTS: 0)

Michael Bradley Double Paces Team USA Triumph Over Mexico

The fourth and final round of qualifying for the 2010 FIFA World Cup from the CONCACAF region commenced on Wednesday:

At Columbus, Ohio:

Michael Bradley provided both goals (43', 90+2') as the United States blanked visiting (and ten-man) Mexico 2-0. The Americans are now unbeaten (nine wins and two draws) in their last eleven matches against their archrivals.

At San Salvador, El Salvador:

El Salvador came back from a two-goal deficit to gain a 2-2 home draw with Trinidad and Tobago, thanks to William Osael Romero's double (79', 90+4'). Carlos Edwards (7') and Dwight Yorke (PK-27') provided the first-half scoring for the Trinidians.

At San Jose, Costa Rica:

Andy Furtado provided both tallies (48', 59') as Costa Rica blanked visiting Honduras 2-0.

Standings:

1. Costa Rica (GP: 1; GD: +2: PTS: 3)
United States (GP: 1; GD: +2; PTS: 3)
3. Trinidad and Tobago (GP: 1; GD: 0; PTS: 1)
El Salvador (GP: 1; GD: 0; PTS: 1)
5. Honduras (GP: 1; GD: -2; PTS: 0)
Mexico (GP: 1; GD: -2; PTS: 0)

The top three teams qualify for next year's FIFA World Cup while the fourth place team would fact the fifth place team from South America (COMNEBOL) in a two-match home-and-away playoff the right to go to South Africa.

Copa Libertadores: Group Stage Play Commences

Group stage play in the 2009 Copa Libertadores began Tuesday:

Group Two:

At Asuncion, Paraguay:

Goals from Gerzon Chacon (41') and Engelberth Perez (79') enabled Venezuela's Deportivo Tachira to come from behind and post a 2-1 road win over Club Guarani.

Group Four:

At Montevideo, Uruguay:

Pablo Gaglianone's goal at 37 minutes was the only tally of the match as Defensor Sporting defeated visiting America de Cali of Colombia 1-0.

Group Seven:

At Cochabamba, Bolivia:

Colombia's Boyaca Chico FC blasted Club Aurora 3-0 on the road. Anthony Tapia scored twice (44', 79') for the visitors.

ESPN Soccernet

Phil Canned

Chelsea gave embattled manager Luiz Felipe Scolari the boot on Monday.

Avram Grant, the man Scolari replaced, has emerged as one of the candidates on Chelsea's shortlist to replace the World Cup-winning manager. The other name thought to be on Chelsea's list is Russia's national team coach, Guus Hiddink.

Ray Wilkins replaces Scolari on a temporary basis until a full-time replace can be appointed.

A statement on the Chelsea website read: "Luiz Felipe Scolari has been dismissed as manager of Chelsea Football Club today (Monday) with immediate effect. The Chelsea board would like to place on record our gratitude for his time as manager.
"Felipe has brought many positives to the club since he joined and we all feel a sense of sadness that our relationship has ended so soon.
"Unfortunately the results and performances of the team appeared to be deteriorating at a key time in the season.

Portsmouth also gave their mangager the ax today.

Home Draw Sends Nacional To Copa Group Stage

At Asuncion, Paraguay:

Another double from Jorge Nunez (8', 15') helped Nacional salvage a 3-3 home draw in game two of their two-match set with Ecuador's El Nacional. This was more than good enough to send the Paraguayan club (who won 8-3 on aggregate) into the group stage of the 2009 Copa Libertadores, where they will be placed in Group Three along with Argentina's River Plate, Nacional of Uruguay, and Universidad San Martin de Porres of Peru.

As for the two groups that did not gain survivors from the now-concluded preliminary round:

Group Six:

Lanus (Argentina)
Corporacion Deportiva Everton de Vina del Mar (Chile)
Caracus FC (Venezuela)
Chivas de Guadalajara (Mexico)

Group Eight:

San Lorenzo (Argentina)
Club Libertad (Paraguay)
Universitario de Deportes (Peru)
San Luis FC (Mexico)

Estudiantes, Palmeiras, and Universidad de Chile Clinch Spots In Copa Group Stage

Three more teams on Wednesday claimed berths in the 2009 Copa Libertadores group stage:

At La Plata, Argentina:

Ramon Lentini's s 77th-minute goal was the only score of game two as Estudiantes defeated Sporting Cristal 1-0 to win their two-match set thanks to the fact that the Argentinian club scored the only away goal of the series last week in Peru. The score after two games was level at 2-2 but Estudiantes advanced because of the away goals rule. They will join Group Five, along with Cruzeiro (Brazil), Universitario de Sucre (Bolivia), and Deportivo Quito (Ecuador).

At Potosi, Bolivia:

In game two of a two-match set that really wasn't in doubt, Palmeiras blanked Real Potosi on the road 2-0 to finish off the Bolivian club 7-1 on aggregate. Cleiton Xavier (32') and Keirrison de Souza Carneiro (73') provided the added scoring punch for the Brazilian club, who will joined in Group One by defending champs LDU Quito (Ecuador), Colo-Colo (Chile), and fellow Brazilian club Sport Recife.

At Pachuca, Mexico:

Despite losing 2-1 on the road against Pachuca in game two of their home-and-away set, Universitad de Chile still advanced to the group stage because of the away goals rule. Each team scored twice during the series, but the Chilean club still advanced as the goal they scored Wednesday in Mexico was the only road goal scored in the two-match set. Los Chunchos will be playing in Group Seven alongside Brazil's Gremio, Bolivia's Aurora, and Colombia's Boyaca Chico.


For the record: Los Chunchos means The Owls.

Independiente Medellin and Deportivo Cuenca Win Passage To Copa Group Stage

Two teams clinched berths in the group stage of the 2009 Copa Libertadores on Tuesday:

At Montevideo, Uruguay:

Despite being held to a 0-0 draw on the road in game two, Colombia's Indepeniente Medellin advanced to the group stage as they took the opening match 4-0 at home last week, enabling them to take their two-match preliminary round series 4-0 on aggregate. They will be joining fellow Colombia club America de Cali, Uruguay's Defensor Sporting and Brazil's Sao Paulo in Group Four.

At Cuenca, Ecuador:

Goals from Rodrigo Teixeira (28', 69') and Ismael Villalba (74') enabled Deportivo Cuenca to overcome their 2-0 road setback of last week as they defeated visiting Deportivo Anzoategul of Venezuela 3-0 in game two to take their two match set 3-2 on aggregate. It's group stage play for the victorious club from Ecuador, who will be in Group Two, alongside longtime Argentinian powerhouse (and 2007 Copa winners) Boca Juniors, Guarani of Paraguay, and Venezuela's Deportivo Tachira.