Pre-Season Friendlies 2009/2010

[johntheclaret]

I thought we could have a thread for the pre-season friendlies. All in one pot so to speak.


Steven Gerrard was on target for Liverpool on Friday as they were held at local rivals Tranmere Rovers. The England international played from the start at Prenton Park, on the day he was cleared of affray, but was unable to help the Reds past plucky Rovers. Rafa Benitez's men needed a last minute penalty from Adam Hammill to rescue a 2-2 draw, prolonging their wait for a victory in pre-season.

Sunderland kicked off their Amsterdam Cup campaign against Portuguese giants Benfica, but Steve Bruce's men found themselves on the wrong end of a 2-0 scoreline.

West Ham were 3-2 victors at Thurrock, with new recruit Frank Nouble grabbing the winner in the final minute.

Fulham proved too strong for League Two outfit Aldershot in their latest outing, securing a narrow 1-0 win at the EBB Stadium.

Freddie Sears was among the scorers for Crystal Palace as they eased to a comfortable 3-0 success at Bristol Rovers.

The Eagles' Championship rivals West Brom were unable to replicate the heroics of the men from Selhurst Park as they could only muster a 2-2 draw at Kidderminster.

Queens Park Rangers were also at the centre of a four-goal thriller, being held 2-2 at Oxford United.

Hartlepool, though, endured an evening to forget at York City as they slipped to a 2-0 defeat.

Lincoln City were held 1-1 at neighbours Lincoln United, while Chesterfield hit the heights as they crushed Matlock 5-2

[johntheclaret]

Michael Owen scored twice and Ryan Giggs slotted home a second-half hat-trick as Manchester United ended their Asian adventure by beating Hangzhou Greentown 8-2.

It was maybe not the strenuous test Sir Alex Ferguson would have wanted but, in maintaining a 100 per cent record in four games so far, at least United are heading towards their quest to land an unprecedented fourth consecutive league title in confident mood.

Dimitar Berbatov, Zoran Tosic and Nani bagged the other three goals for the Premier League champions.

[johntheclaret]

Al Ahly 1 Barcelona 4
Hangzhou 2 Man United 8
Singapore 0 Liverpool 5
River Plate 1 Everton 0
Portland 2 Burnley 2 (2-4)
Malaga 1 Aston Villa 0
Basingstoke 0 Portsmouth 0
Borussia M'bach 1 Bolton 1
Bristol City 2 Wolves 0
Chelsea 2 AC Milan 1
Dundee 1 Aberdeen 1
Glentoran 0 Hibernian 2
Kaizer Chiefs 1 Man City 0
Leeds 1 Blackburn 1
Leyton Orient 6 Newcastle 1
Notts C 2 Nottingham F 1
Oldham 1 Sunderland 2
Peterborough 3 Fulham 3
Preston 2 Stoke 1
Sheffield Wednesday 0 Hull 0
Southampton 3 Hearts 0

[johntheclaret]

Here's the wrap of some of this week end's friendlies

Emmanuel Adebayor made his debut for Manchester City as they lost 1-0 to the Kaizer Chiefs in the Vodacom Challenge final.After Jeffrey Ntuka's poke put the Chiefs ahead Adebayor had two good chances in the second half, but lashed a left-footed shot over and then forced a good save from the goalkeeper with a header.
Of greater concern for City boss Mark Hughes were injuries that forced Richard Dunne, Nedum Onuoha and youngster Javan Vidal off early, with Vidal's appearing the most serious.

Substitute Paul Gallagher netted a last-minute penalty to earn Blackburn a 1-1 draw against Leeds at Elland Road. Jermaine Beckford put Leeds ahead five minutes into the second half, pouncing from close range after Luciano Becchio had nodded on a Robert Snodgrass corner.

Two goals in five first-half minutes from Danny Haynes and Nicky Maynard were enough for Bristol City to see off Premier League new-boys Wolves 2-0 at Ashton Gate.

Striker Neil Mellor bagged a first-half brace as Preston beat Stoke 2-1 in a pre-season friendly at Deepdale. Richard Cresswell scored for the Potters with 12 minutes left.

George Boyd scored twice in the last five minutes to earn Peterborough a 3-3 draw against Fulham at London Road. Clint Dempsey and Bobby Zamora (2) scored for the Premier League outfit with Aaron Mclean bagging the other goal for the home side.

Everton slipped to a 1-0 defeat against River Plate.An impudent lob from veteran Argentine Ariel Ortega gave the South American side victory over David Moyes' men in Edmonton. Jo and Tim Cahill had the best chances for the Toffees - and James Vaughan also had a penalty appeal turned down - while Matias Abelairas struck the woodwork for River.

Burnley beat Portland Timbers on penalties in the last match of their pre-season mini-tour of America. Goals from captain Steven Caldwell and striker Steven Thompson saw the Clarets draw 2-2 with their hosts, who have never lost to English opponents in three outings. And Brian Jensen was the hero in the shoot-out as he saved two penalties, allowing Wade Elliott to slot home the winner.


Gavin McCann was on target as Bolton began their tour of Germany and Holland with a 1-1 draw against Borussia Monchengladbach. Raul Bobadilla scored an equaliser for the German side.

Portsmouth and Hull both struggled for goals as they drew 0-0 against Basingstoke and Sheffield Wednesday respectively.

A youthful Sunderland XI claimed a 2-1 victory over Oldham at Boundary Park. Individual mistakes cost Oldham dear as first new boy Andy Holdsworth gifted a goal to Adam Reed before team-mate Reuben Hazzell did likewise in allowing David Dowson to double the Black Cats' advantage before the break. Pawel Abbott's second half penalty proved nothing more a consolation for Oldham.

Newcastle endured a miserable afternoon at Brisbane Road as they were thumped 6-1 by Leyton Orient. Jimmy Smith, Sean Thornton, Scott McGleish, Tamika Mkandawire and Ryan Jarvis scored for the League One outfit with Joey Barton on target for the Magpies.

Sven-Goran Eriksson was in the stands for the first time at Notts County as goals from new signings Luke Rodgers and Lee Hughes helped his new side beat rivals Nottingham Forest 2-1.

Leigh Bromby and Jordan Robertson (2) were on target as Sheffield United continued their preparations for the Championship season with a comfortable 3-0 win at Bury.

Luke Moore made it three goals in four pre-season games as West Brom came from behind to snatch a 2-2 draw at Walsall after Dwayne Mattis and Matt Richards put the home side 2-0 up at the end of the opening period.

Goals from Adam Johnson and Rhys Williams earned Middlesbrough a 2-0 friendly victory at Carlisle.

Paul Green returned from injury to score twice as Derby won 3-1 at Exeter. Steven Davies was also on target for the Rams with Richards Logan striking for the League One new boys.

Leicester hit four goals before the break from Jack Hobbs, Lloyd Dyer (2) and Dany N'Guessan to see off Shrewsbury in a comfortable 4-0 win.

James Hayter was the star of the show as his two goals helped Doncaster stroll to a 4-0 success at near neighbours Rotherham. Sam Hird and trialist Jason Walker also struck for the Championship side.

Coventry were held to a goalless draw by Huddersfield at the Galpharm Stadium.

Aberdeen were held to a 1-1 draw by Dundee in their final warm-up game before next week's Europa League clash with Sigma Olomouc. Sone Aluko gave Aberdeen the lead inside the first minute, but Eric Paton's free-kick earned Dundee a draw.

Hearts slumped to a 3-0 defeat at St Mary's as Alan Pardew enjoyed a successful start to his career as Southampton manager thanks to goals from Adam Lallana and Grzegorz Rasiak (2). However, their Edinburgh rivals enjoyed a better afternoon as goals from Merouane Zemmama and Derek Riordan helped Hibernian beat Glentoran 2-0 at the Oval Showgrounds in Belfast.

[johntheclaret]

Monday 27th July

Eastleigh 1 Portsmouth 6
Szombathely 0 Arsenal 5

Eduardo impressed on his first appearance of Arsenal's pre-season campaign as he bagged a brace to help the Gunners beat Hungarian outfit Szombathely 5-0.

Nicklas Bendtner, who has recently been linked with a move to AC Milan, also struck a double and he opened the scoring as he headed home Armand Traore's cross from the left flank.

Eduardo grabbed the next two goals and Bendtner beat Szombathely goalkeeper Daniel Rozsa with a low shot just before the break to make the score 4-0 to Arsenal.

Gunners boss Arsene Wenger made eight changes at the interval with Robin van Persie and Andrey Arshavin both being introduced to give the home side more to worry about.

It was van Persie who bagged the final goal of the game as he fired home a penalty after Bendtner had been bundled to the ground by Rozsa in the box. The Dutchman thought he had added a sixth with a header, but it was ruled out.

David Nugent grabbed a hat-trick as Portsmouth secured a 6-1 success at non-league Eastleigh.

Younes Kaboul, Paris Cowan-Hall and Danijel Subotic were also on target for Paul Hart's side as they bagged a big victory at the Silverlake Stadium. Brett Williams scored for the hosts.

[Bully]

Monday 27th July

Eastleigh 1 Portsmouth 6
Szombathely 0 Arsenal 5

Eduardo impressed on his first appearance of Arsenal's pre-season campaign as he bagged a brace to help the Gunners beat Hungarian outfit Szombathely 5-0.

Nicklas Bendtner, who has recently been linked with a move to AC Milan, also struck a double and he opened the scoring as he headed home Armand Traore's cross from the left flank.

Eduardo grabbed the next two goals and Bendtner beat Szombathely goalkeeper Daniel Rozsa with a low shot just before the break to make the score 4-0 to Arsenal.

Gunners boss Arsene Wenger made eight changes at the interval with Robin van Persie and Andrey Arshavin both being introduced to give the home side more to worry about.

It was van Persie who bagged the final goal of the game as he fired home a penalty after Bendtner had been bundled to the ground by Rozsa in the box. The Dutchman thought he had added a sixth with a header, but it was ruled out.

David Nugent grabbed a hat-trick as Portsmouth secured a 6-1 success at non-league Eastleigh.

Younes Kaboul, Paris Cowan-Hall and Danijel Subotic were also on target for Paul Hart's side as they bagged a big victory at the Silverlake Stadium. Brett Williams scored for the hosts.

cheers mate. Thanks for the info on this game

[RoosterMarty]

Man Utd beat Boca 2-1. Anderson FINALLY scored a goal, from a free kick... and Valencia scored on debut.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYkU1OHJ2Sw

Arsenal beat Hannover 1-0 thanks to Fabregas goal but van Persie's ball set it up.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5pRRm5AiJY

[Bully]

saw the valencia goal , not to bad

[johntheclaret]

Manchester United suffered a penalty shoot-out defeat to hosts Bayern Munich after a goalless final of the Audi Cup.

Bayern held their nerve in front of a sell-out crowd of 69,000 at their Allianz Arena after United strikers Wayne Rooney and Michael Owen missed great chances in the second half to win the match.

Bayern enjoyed the better of the first half, in which Mario Gomez and Dimitar Berbatov both hit the woodwork, but United then had the better opportunities after the interval - only for Rooney and Owen to fail to beat Bayern goalkeeper Michael Rensing in one-on-one situations.

Rensing proved to be Bayern's hero as he made saves from Patrice Evra and Jonny Evans in the shoot-out before Daniel van Buyten stroked in the winner.

The third-place play-off was also decided on penalties, with Boca Juniors piling the misery on AC Milan by extending the Rossoneri's streak of defeats to five.

Thiago Silva gave Milan the lead in the 27th minute and the Serie A side looked on course for victory until Lucas Viatri equalised three minutes from the end.

Roberto Abbondanzieri then saved the decisive penalty from Pato to earn the Argentinians the win after Andrea Pirlo and Federico Insua had also seen spot-kicks saved.

Elsewhere, Derby boss Nigel Clough made a losing return to Burton Albion as the Coca-Cola Championship side lost 1-0 to their League Two opponents at the Pirelli Stadium.

Clough won the pre-season Bass Charity Vase three times as Burton coach and saw his old side continue that winning streak thanks to Shaun Harrad's 15th-minute goal.

Clough was able to give Kris Commons 55 minutes as he continues to come back from a hamstring niggle, while Giles Barnes and Jordan Stewart also featured in an otherwise unfamiliar Rams XI.

Crystal Palace ran out 1-0 winners in their friendly encounter at Bromley, with Allesane N'Diaye grabbing the only goal of the game.

New signing Stern John started for Palace alongside on-loan West Ham forward Freddie Sears.

**** won a penalty shootout 4-3 in their Senior Cup meeting with Lincoln.

The game finished 1-1 after 90 minutes, Ben May equalising after Andy Hutchison fired the Imps ahead, before Kevan Hurst scored the decisive spot-kick.

[johntheclaret]

Tottenham 0 Celtic 2:

Harry Redknapp's defensive woes underlined after Bhoys loss

Celtic's second-string side warmed up for this week's Champions League qualifier by defeating Tottenham in the Wembley Cup and highlighting the problems facing Harry Redknapp.

Victory, courtesy of goals by Chris Killen and Georgios Samaras, means Tony Mowbray's men won the friendly tournament ahead of Wednesday's clash against Dinamo Moscow and they have still not conceded a goal in four pre-season matches.

Spurs boss Redknapp, who has watched his side getting outplayed by two reserve sides during the tournament, has major worries at the heart of his defence as Ledley King, Jonathan Woodgate and Michael Dawson are sidelined, leaving no recognised centre-back.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/footba ... z0MmgjS8PV

[johntheclaret]

Friday 31/07

Eindhoven 2 Bolton 2
Aston Villa 2 Porto 1
Tottenham 3 Hull 0
West Ham 2 Beijing G 0

TOWN TRIBUTE TO ROBSON IN FRIENDLY WIN

Ipswich players and fans paid tribute to the club's former manager Sir Bobby Robson before their 3-1 friendly win over Spanish visitors Real Valladolid at Portman Road on Friday night. The club held a minute's silence and players wore black armbands, while the club announced all profits from the game would be donated to the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation. Ipswich came from behind to claim victory with Pim Balkestein levelling on the hour before further goals from Connor Wickham and an own goal served as a fitting tribute to Robson.

Tributes were also paid to Robson in Holland before Eindhoven took on Bolton at the Jan Louwers Stadium in a match which ended 2-2. Kevin Davies and Tamir Cohen were on target for the visitors although Cohen's night would end in controversy as he was sent off in the final minute for a bad challenge.

Aston Villa booked a place in the final of the Peace Cup, after seeing off Porto 2-1. Both of Villa's goals were scored in the first half, Emile Heskey breaking the deadlock after 14 minutes and Steve Sidwell doubling the advantage eight minutes before half-time. Villa had to play out the final 23 minutes with only 10 men after Heskey was sent off following a confrontation with Porto defender Maicon. The Portuguese champions pulled a late goal back through Hulk's penalty, but Martin O'Neill's side had done enough to get through.

West Ham's new signing Frank Nouble continued to impress with the 17-year-old grabbing two goals in a Hammers reserve side's 3-0 win at Kingstonian. Matt Fry opened the scoring for the visitors.

Notts County, who have installed former England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson as their director of football, held a Liverpool XI to a 2-2 draw at Meadow Lane while Paul Gallagher hit a hat-trick as Blackburn beat Accrington Stanley 3-0 at the Crown Ground.

[johntheclaret]

Monday 3rd Aug

Bristol Rovers 4 - 3 Liverpool XI
Sheffield 1 - 3 Chesterfield
Garforth Town 0 - 4 Hartlepool
Enfield 2 - 2 Dag & Red
Dundee 3 - 3 Antwerp

[johntheclaret]

Tuesday 4th Aug

Hearts XI 1 - 0 Partick
Brigg Town 3 - 4 Doncaster
AFC Emley vs Rotherham
Hearts 1 - 1 Bolton
Nantwich Town vs Port Vale
Ramsbottom Utd vs Bury
Marlow 1 - 0 Wycombe
Crewe 4 - 1 Birmingham
Blackpool 2 - 1 Everton
Peterborough 0 - 2 Sunderland
Scun.thorpe 2 - 4 Wolverhampton
Colwyn Bay vs Tranmere
Stocksbridge P S vs Sheff Utd XI
Oxford Utd 2 - 0 Aston Villa
Welling 2 - 3 Millwall
Altrincham 0 - 2 Man Utd XI

[johntheclaret]

Wed 5th aug

Man u 1 villarral 0
Liverpool won in Oslo ?
Rangers beat man city 3 - 2

[johntheclaret]

Sat 8th August

Villa 1 0 Fiorentina
Bolton 0 0 Hibs
Liverpool 1 2 Ath Madrid
Man C 2 1 Celtic
Pompey 2 0 Rangers
Wigan 3 1 St Mirren
Wolves 0 2 Real Valladolid
Birningham 0 0 Sporting gijon
St johnstone 1 0 Burnley
Dundee Utd 2 0 b4st4rds

the wrap

Liverpool have experienced a pre-season to forget and they lost 2-1 to Atletico Madrid at Anfield in their final game before the new Premier League campaign. Sergio Aguero, who Reds boss Rafa Benitez opted not to sign in 2006 when offered the then Independiente player, and ex-Manchester United striker Diego Forlan gave Atletico a half-time advantage.
Brazil midfielder Lucas Leiva grabbed a late consolation for Liverpool but it was not enough to avoid defeat ahead of travelling to Tottenham next weekend.
Jamie Carragher was substituted for the Reds in the first half after sustaining an ankle injury, however, it is understood the change was only a precautionary measure.

Ambitious Manchester City have also failed to impress in their preparations for the new term but they earned a 2-1 win over Celtic at Eastlands.
Gareth Barry opened the scoring with his first goal since joining Mark Hughes' side, but Celtic hit back through Chris Killen.
Former Bhoys player Craig Bellamy, though, scored a 53rd minute winner to boost his chances of a place in City's first team.

Piquionne made a dream start to his Portsmouth career as the on-loan Lyon forward scored twice on his debut in a 2-0 win over SPL champions Rangers at Fratton Park.

Bent marked his maiden appearance for Sunderland in style as the former Spurs player scored an equaliser in a 1-1 draw at Hearts, who had taken the lead through David Obua.

Aston Villa defeated Fiorentina 1-0 thanks to an Emile Heskey header in the first half at Villa Park.

Wigan recorded a 3-1 success over St Mirren as Jason Koumas put the Latics in front before Craig Dargo equalised in the first half.
Hugo Rodallega then helped Roberto Martinez's troops regain the lead after the interval and defender Mario Melchiot wrapped up the win.

Wolves lost 2-0 to Real Valladolid as Jose Martin and Haris Medunjanin scored for the Spanish side.

Bolton and Birmingham were held to 0-0 draws against Hibernian and Sporting Gijon, respectively.

West Ham manager Gianfranco Zola saw his side defeated by Napoli, a team the Italian represented for four years as a player, as Fabio Quagliarella scored the only goal of the game in the 78th minute.

Burnley lost 1-0 at St Johnstone as an 83rd minute Paul Sheerin penalty ensured Clarets boss Owen Coyle suffered defeat against his former club.

Blackburn lost 2-0 to Dundee United in an early kick-off as Andis Shala opened the scoring in the first half at Tannadice before Zurab Khizanishvili netted at the wrong end with 19 minutes remaining.
Centre-backs Ryan Nelsen and Christopher Samba both limped off in the first 30 minutes to create further anxiety for Blackburn boss Sam Allardyce ahead of the visit of City next Saturday.

[johntheclaret]

Valencia 2 Arsenal 0

Arsenal's pre-season programme ended in disappointment as Arsene Wenger's troops suffered a comprehensive 2-0 defeat against Spanish outfit Valencia.

Michel and David Villa were on target for the hosts at the Mestalla, while Villa also saw a penalty saved by substitute goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski.

After a tight first half played for the most part in driving rain, the home side came alive after the break with Villa - still in the Valencia ranks despite a summer of transfer speculation linking him with a move away - combining well with fellow Spain international Joaquin. The pair came close to breaking the deadlock after 56 minutes when Villa's cheeky backheel into Joaquin's path ended with the winger drilling in a rasping shot that was smartly parried by Fabianski, a half-time replacement for Manuel Almunia.

Fabianski was again called into action midway through the half after Mikael Silvestre conceded a penalty for a foul on Michel, the young custodian guessing correctly to save Villa's penalty diving to his right. Cesc Fabregas was called into action to clear a header off the line as Valencia began to dominate, and the deadlock was finally broken 15 minutes from time.

Michel claimed the goal, the midfielder following up to score after Villa's initial effort from a low right-wing free-kick had been blocked by the Gunners' defence. The hosts made it 2-0 at the death, although they were helped by an injury to Fabianski, who appeared to have a calf problem. There was no mercy from the Valencia players, though, and when Villa got in behind the defence to latch onto Joaquin's through ball there was only going to be one outcome, the striker firing through the legs of the ailing Fabianski to seal the win.