Wednesday 21 April 2010

Viva Football to re-launch

As some of you may have noticed, it's all gone quiet over here.

Viva is currently hibernating until the pre-World Cup period, as the blog pulls together the skill and effort of a whole team of folks, and you can anticipate a glorious re-launch around June 1st.

Tuesday 23 March 2010

Tuesday night round-up

The Premiership:

Wolves picked up a crucial away 3-1 win at fellow strugglers West Ham to take them 7 points clear of the relegation zone.

The away side eased past The Hammers with goals from the tireless Kevin Doyle, Ronald Zubar and Matt Jarvis. Doyle and Wolves' first came just before the half hour mark. Welsh centre back James Tomkins attempted to play the ball back to 'keeper Rob Green, but succeeded only in scuffing the ball and leaves Kevin Doyle to run the ball into the box before applying a confident finish.

Wolves continued in strong fashion, with the hard working Kevin Doyle epitomising the ethos of Mick McCarthy's Wolves. On the hour mark, the travelling side put the game beyond the London side with two quick fire goals.

First, Ronald Zubar plundered in a tremendous finish from twenty yards before Matt Jarvis completed the victory for the visitors after a flowing move and a tidy finish.

In the 94th minute, Franco eluded the away side's offside trap to net a goal which will provide little consolation to either Gianfranco Zola nor the unsettled Upton Park support.


The Championship:
League leaders Newcastle extended their lead at the top to 5 points with a battling away win at playoff chasing Doncaster.

Andy Carroll scored the solitary goal of the match on the hour mark, his tenth goal in eleven games, which will prove a welcome distraction from stories of an alleged training-ground bust-up with teammate Steven Taylor. The result dented the home side's playoff hopes, leaving them 6 points off the pace, having played more games than some of their rivals.

Nottingham Forest kept up their automatic promotion charge to record their 12th consecutive home win. A rare wondergoal from Wes Morgan in first half stoppage time handed Forest the lead. Substitute Nathan Tyson was only on the field for 2 minutes when he made sure of the points for the home side in the 82nd minute. The win takes Billy Davies' home side 5 points shy of automatic promotion, and it is just Forest's patchy away form that stands between them and automatic promotion to English football's top flight. The away side however remain a point away from safety under the stewardship of newly appointed manager Paul Hart.

Playoff hopefuls Blackpool scored a fantastic 5-1 victory over fellow playoff contenders Swansea at a jubilant Bloomfield Road. The home side dominated the tie from start to finish, with first half goals from Brett Ormerod and Ian Evatt put Ian Holloway's side in charge. Blackpool's third came soon after the restart through Ben Burgess, Ormerod netted his second of the night to make it four and Gary Taylor-Fletcher completed the rout on 82 minutes. Cedric van der Gun pulled a consolation back for the visitors on 84 minutes. The win moves Blackpool 4 points behind 6th placed Cardiff City, and 7 points behind the defeated away side.

And Middlesbrough kept their playoff hopes alive with a 2-0 win over Darren Ferguson's Preston at The Riverside. Goals from Chris Killen and Jonathan Franks handed the home side the three points, and moved them to within 5 points of the playoffs.

Plymouth Argyle secured a surprise away win at Ipswich's Portman Road. Goals from Bradley Wright-Phillips and Joe Mason handed Paul Mariner an invaluable win in the club's bid for Championship survival. The result moves the visitors within 3 points of safety. Roy Keane's Ipswich remain in relative safety, 8 points away from the danger zone.

Beleaguered Peterborough succumbed to a crushing 4-0 defeat at the hands of Scunthorpe at Glanford Park. The visitors were three goals behind by half time, following goals from Paul Hayes, Garry Thompson and Sam Togwell. Thompson completed a brace just after the hour mark. The score leaves Peterborough needing a miracle if they are to play Championship football next season. Jim Gannon's side are 10 points from safety with only 7 matches to play. The win, however, was a massive result for Scunthorpe, moving Nigel Adkins' side 5 points away from the drop zone.

Neil Warnock's Q.P.R moved to 7 points clear of the relegation scrap with a 1-1 home draw with Derby. The home side took the lead just prior to half time, Lee Cook grabbing the goal following Adel Taarabt's through-ball. But Shaun Barker's equaliser on 67 minutes meant the sides would share the points. The result leaves Nigel Clough's Derby 6 points above the drop zone.

Midtable sides Bristol City and Barnsley played out a thrilling 5-3 result in favour of the home side at Ashton Gate. And it was they who opened the scoring after just 2 minutes following a goal from Danny Haynes. The visitors made an immediate response, Hugo Colace netting the equaliser just a minute later. And Alex Bogdanovic gave the travelling Tykes the lead on 25 minutes before City's Nicky Maynard restored parity on the stroke of half time. After the break both Maynard and Haynes doubled their individual tally for the night, making it four for the hosts. A 76th minute Paul Hartley penalty settled the tie. Andy Gray's 81st minute goal, however, gave the travelling Barnsley hope of an unlikely comeback.

League One:

Southend secured a massive three points in their quest for League One survival this season.

Dogged with off-field problems, an on-field improvement would be welcome at Roots Hall. Franck Moussa made himself the hero for the home side, bagging a brace. Moussa opened the scoring after 18 minutes, following which Walsall's Clayton Donaldson was dismissed for a wreckless challenge. Southend doubled their lead after the break through with a Scott Spencer headed goal before Franck Moussa completed his brace on 89 minutes sending the home fans into delirium. The win moves Southend to within a point of safety.

Elsewhere Southampton secured a 3-2 home win over Hartlepool to keep their slender playoff prospects alive. It wasn't easy going for the hosts, and they fell behind to a tenth minute goal from Andy Monkhouse. A Lee Barnard header restored parity just three minutes later, however. Seven minutes before the break Rickie Lambert scored his 30th goal of the campaign to put his side into the lead before Papa Waigo seemed to have secured the win for the St. Mary's side. The visitors, however, replied immediately, Neil Austin scoring from the edge of the box to bring the Hartlepool back into the match. The home side held on, however, and the three points leaves them 11 points off 6th spot with just 9 games left to play. The away side remain in serious threat of relegation. The defeat leaves them just 2 points above Southend following their invaluable home win.

Colchester will regard their 3-3 draw with Brentford as a point gained rather than two points dropped following an eventful draw at The Colchester Community Stadium. The away side took a surprise 2-0 lead over playoff chasing Colchester with goals from David Hunt and Leon Legge inside twenty minutes. The U's pulled level as Hunt put through his own net before Anthony Wordsworth levelled the tie on the stroke of half time. But the away side started the second half well, Charlie MacDonald restoring their lead on 57 minutes. A 76th minute David Prutton equaliser settled the tie. The point leaves the home side 3 points clear inside the playoffs as Brentford are left all but safe from relegation in 13th place.


League Two and Blue Square Premier updates to follow...

Spurs swoop to sign combative Brazilian Sandro

Harry Redknapp has delved into the transfer market to sign long term target 21 year old Brazilian midfielder Sandro Ranieri.

The Spurs boss has been tracking the movements of the young holding midfielder for some time following a failed 14 million pound transfer bid last summer. Sandro, whose full name is Sandro Ranieri GuimarĂ£es Cordeiro, will add some resolve to a Spurs midfield that is largely built upon its attacking merits, and fill the void of left by the departure of Dider Zokora. Sandro made his full international debut for ten man Brazil in September 2009, coming off the bench to to replace Julio Baptista in a 4-2 World Cup Qualification win over Chile.

Whilst primarily a defensive player, the six foot one Internacional player harbours many of the ball-playing skills that we have come to expect from Brazilian footballers. His finishing appears decent too, as demonstrated in this video of his goal against Sporting Recife:



Prior to his move to north London, Sandro had been linked with moves to many of Europe's top clubs. It was rumoured that both the Spanish giants Real Madrid and Barcelona were interested in the young midfielder, whilst the main Italian interest appeared to be Fiorentina. However, it is the persistance of Spurs that has led to something of a coup for Redknapp's side.

It would be understandable for Spurs fans to have reservations, however. The last time their side splashed out on a Brazilian, they ended up with the mercurial 'keeper Heurelho Gomes. But early indications are promising on the prospects of the internationally decorated Sandro. Harry Redknapp has a strong pedigree in the transfer market, and doesn't often make mistakes, particularly when large fees are involved.

The Brazilian will join up with Spurs at the conclusion of this year's Copa Libertodores in July, subject to a medical, for a fee believed to be around £10 million.