|
zake201
|
May 19 2014, 01:12 PM
Post #1
|
|
Administrator
- Posts:
- 918
- Group:
- Admins
- Member
- #1
- Joined:
- Mar 17, 2014
|
Group D is back in action today, with one of the co-hosts looking to delight the home fans and advance to the knockout stage. TSNs coverage of Euro 2012 begins at 11:30am et/8:30am pt with Ukraine vs. France followed by Sweden vs. England at 2:15pm et/11:15am pt. Watch both matches live on TSN, TSN.ca pay-per-view and TSN Mobile TV or listen to the matches live on Bell Media Radio. Co-host Ukraine will try to move into the second round with a win when they battle France. After falling behind just after halftime, Andriy Shevchenko brought the home fans to their feet by scoring in both the 55th and 62nd minutes, earning three points for his side. Shevchenko beat Olof Mellberg to a cross for his first goal and then met a corner to head the ball inside the near post for the second. Before his second half double, Shevchenko showed his intentions by starting a quick counterattack in the 23rd minute and got the ball back as he broke into the right side of the area, but his shot from a tight angle rolled wide. "We showed today our character, our good football," Shevchenko said. "We have very good chances to qualify." Interestingly, Shevchenko played into the 81st minute before being replaced, despite the fact that the 35-year-old forward has previously stated that he doesnt think he can play three games in nine days. After falling behind England in their opening match, France used one of the tournaments best goals to equalize and earn themselves a very important point. Florent Malouda, Patrice Evra and Franck Ribery flicked the ball around the left side of Englands penalty area to free up space for Samir Nasri, who put in a low shot before England goalkeeper Joe Hart could react. In the final seconds of the match, Hart pushed away Karim Benzemas goal-bound strike. Moments before, the Real Madrid forwards curling effort was heading for the top corner until it was headed clear and Yohan Cabayes controlled shot in the 80th minute beat Hart but was deflected away just before it reached the bottom corner. France might have felt hard done by the draw as offensively, they controlled the action, firing 19 shots at the English net, putting 15 of them on target. The draw means France has still not won a match at a major tournament since the 2006 World Cup. Following a competitive draw against France, England will face a Sweden side that opened the tournament with what could prove to be a costly loss to co-host Ukraine. Zlatan Ibrahimovic fired Sweden into the lead in the match and provided the focal point of their attack as he struck the post with a header in the first half before putting his team ahead. Kim Kallstrom collected a long cross at the left side of the area and picked up Ibrahimovic in front of the net, and the Swedish striker calmly slotted the ball past Ukraine keeper Andriy Pyatov and into the net. Unfortunately for Sweden, Ukraine would strike back twice to claim the victory. According to the Swedish goal scorer, his team was wasteful of their opportunities. "I feel sad. We had more chances to score," said Ibrahimovic after the loss. "It wasnt supposed to happen. The situation is as it is. There are still two games left and we still have the two games to get a result. " Sweden coach Erik Hamren opted for an attack-minded lineup with Markus Rosenberg playing up front with Ibrahimovic behind him and with fellow striker Ola Toivonen on the left wing. England may also feel they were wasteful of scoring chances in their opening game draw with France. They should have taken the lead in the 15th minute when James Milner ran onto Ashley Youngs perfectly weighted pass behind the defence, got around French keeper Hugo Lloris but then hit the side netting. The English side did eventually surge ahead in the 30th minute when captain Steven Gerrard curled in a free kick and defender Joleon Lescott was able to nod the ball past Lloris and into the back of the net. Keeper Joe Hart was not able to defend his near post on the French equalizer, which came screaming at the net after a nice passing play just outside the box. Hart was actually called into action often in the opener, making six saves over the course of the match but perhaps his best save of the game occurred in the final seconds to preserve the draw. England striker Wayne Rooney will be serving the final game of the two-game suspension he carried into the tournament. Wholesale Jerseys From China . Benneteau broke twice in each set despite Troicki serving 14 aces. The other local winners were Gilles Simon and Benoit Paire. Simon beat 2006 Australian Open finalist Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus 7-5, 6-1, and Paire defeated Pablo Andujar of Spain 6-3, 6-4. Cheap Jerseys . "Im very excited about joining a great Bandits team," said Wilson. "With the quality of players the team has in place right now, there is no reason why we cant win the Champions Cup. http://www.wholesalechinajersey.us.com/ . It had been thought that Richards would be sidelined for just six to eight weeks, but he revealed after the operation that he is likely to be out twice as long. "The positive thing is that the injury has been repaired so the knee will be as good as new," Richards told the clubs official website. Cheap Jerseys From China . Kelly was the third college coach Philadelphia interviewed since firing Andy Reid on Dec. 31. The person, speaking on condition of anonymity because he wasnt authorized to release the information, said the Eagles met with Kelly on Tuesday. Wholesale Jerseys Free Shipping . -- New England Revolution midfielder Zak Boggs is retiring and will accept a Fulbright Scholarship to study medical sciences at Englands Leicester University beginning this fall. OAKLAND, Calif. -- The Oakland Athletics exercised their $4.5 million contract option for closer Grant Balfour on Monday, while the AL West champions declined their half of a $10 million mutual option for shortstop Stephen Drew. Drew receives a $1.35 million buyout, though assistant general manager David Forst said the team would continue to negotiate with his representatives and try to sign him. Balfour would have been due a $350,000 buyout if the As had turned down the option. General manager Billy Beane all but said when the season ended in a five-game division series loss to the Detroit Tigers this month that he would keep Balfour and do all he could to maintain the current roster. "Its great," Balfour said. "I would like to stay longer. Hopefully we can work something out. I believe we are young and have a lot of good times ahead for the Oakland organization and the fans." Balfour, the 34-year-old Australian right-hander, went 3-2 with a 2.53 ERA, 24 saves and 75 appearances spanning 74 2-3 inniings during his second season with Oakland and ninth in the majors.ddddddddddddHe began the season as the closer, lost the job, then earned it back again down the stretch as the As returned to the playoffs for the first time since 2006. Oakland swept the Texas Rangers in the final three games of the season to capture the AL West in surprising fashion. Drew, acquired in an August trade with Arizona, batted .250 with five homers and 16 RBIs in 39 regular-season games for the As. Drew took over at shortstop and Cliff Pennington shifted to second base. Beane has since moved Pennington to the Diamondbacks in an Oct. 21 trade that brought outfielder Chris Young to Oakland. Beanes plan is for Scott Sizemore -- out all season following a knee injury that required surgery after he was injured on the first day of full-squad spring training workouts -- to return to his natural spot at second, so there is a hole to fill at shortstop for now. Oakland had the lowest payroll in the major leagues at $59.5 million. ' ' '
|