Thursday, April 30, 2009

John O'Shea

Manchester United's John O'Shea, center, reacts after scoring a goal with teammate Darren Fletcher and Rio Ferdinand, top, during the first leg of the Manchester United Arsenal Champions League semifinal soccer match against Arsenal at Old Trafford Stadium, Manchester, England, Wednesday, April 29, 2009. (AP Photo/Scott Heppell):



The 1-0 win, courtesy John O'Shea, did not accurately reflect ManU's domination of the game and their many half-chances at the Arsenal goal. "We didn't let in any goals there and we will get to the final," said Cristiano Ronaldo. "We have one more game and we know if we win or draw we will go to the final. It's going to be very difficult, but Manchester have the opportunity to score everywhere. I look forward to scoring there (at Arsenal). Manchester are always favorites. We are the defenders of the Champions League and all the players are confident."

The second leg will be played at Arsenal's home ground of Emirates Stadium where United haven't won a game since 2005. Barcelona and Chelsea drew their first leg of the Champions League semifinals 0-0 at the Nou Camp on April 28.

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Rugby player assault

An Australian sports player in trouble. Former NRL star Greg Bird has been found guilty of assaulting his girlfriend and of making a false accusation to police.

The verdicts were handled down this afternoon in Sydney's Downing Centre Local Court after magistrate Roger Clisdell ruled earlier there was a case to answer. The 24-year-old footballer, who now plays in France, had denied hitting Katie Milligan (photo: Lee Besford) in the face with a glass.



SMH

Monday, April 27, 2009

Bahrain Grand Prix

After winning the opening Australian Grand Prix, Jenson Button of Brawn GP won Sunday's Bahrain Grand Prix and now has a 12-point lead in the World Championship over Brawn GP team-mate Rubens Barrichello.

"To achieve my third victory of the season is amazing, and we are going back to Europe with a strong lead in both championships," said Button. "We've now had four races, and they've been pretty important to us, especially at the start of the season when people have reliability issues or are making mistakes, so we've been able to pick up points."


Brawn GP driver Jenson Button takes the chequered flag to win the Bahrain Grand Prix in Manama yesterday - (Photograph: Reuters)

Saturday, April 25, 2009

Manchester United controversial penalty

A controversial penalty brought Manchester United back into their home game against Tottenham Hotspur. In the 57th minute Michael Carrick took the ball past the Tottenham defenders and into the D only to be brought down by the diving goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes. Refree Howard Webb ruled that Gomes had tackled Carrick instead of the ball and awarded a penalty, to the fury of the Spurs, and gave Gomes a yellow card. Cristiano Ronaldo took the penalty and easily converted it to a goal:



"It was a bit fortunate. Football is funny like that. Last week we were knocked out of the FA Cup by not getting a penalty kick," said United manager Sir Alex Ferguson on the controversial penalty. "It doesn't deflect from our second-half performance."

But the Spurs insist that without the penalty Manchester United could not have turned around the game, having gone down 2-0 in the first half. They don't realize that Michael Carrick would have scored anyway if he hadn't been felled by a diving Gomes, since there was nothing beween him and the goal.

In fact the change in energy with United came from the substitution of Nani by Carlos Tevez. And it was Tevez who set up the equaliser by Wayne Rooney in the 67th minute. Minutes later a diving Ronaldo headed in the third goal off a cross by Wayne Rooney, and celebrated by ripping off his shirt. The Spurs, who were in sight for their first win in 20 years at Old Trafford, were left reeling when Rooney tapped in goal number four from a pass by Ronaldo, and Dimitar Berbatov made it 5-2 in the 79th minute.

Thursday, April 23, 2009

Rajasthan Royals win thrilling tie

In the IPL cricket matches, being played in South Africa, the first game to end with a tie was decided by a "super over". The Rajasthan Royals led by Shane Warne faced off with the Kolkatta Knight Riders (KKR) captained by Brendon McCullum on Thursday night. Batting first the Rajasthan Royals scored 150 runs in their 20 overs with Yusuf Pathan scoring 42. For the KKR Chrisy Gayle scored a fiery 41 off 33 balls, and with former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly hitting 46 and still batting in the last over, with only 7 runs to get, the game seemed to be lost for the Royals.

But Kamran Khan dismissed Sourav Ganguly on his fifth ball, with two runs still left to win. Ishant Sharma swung at the last ball, which was stopped by Shane Warne, and got one run to tie the game but was run out while scampering for the second. In this T20 tied games are to be decided by the super over, each team to get one extra over to score as many runs as possible. For the KKR Chris Gayle took the bat while Kamran Khan of the Royals bowled at him; Gayle hit three successive fours and was caught off the last ball making their score 15 for 1.

For the Rajasthan Royals Yusuf Pathan (below with bat; photo AFP) smashed Sri Lankan spinner Ajantha Mendis for a huge 6, ran for two, lofted another 6, and with two more runs to win hit the ball to the boundary for a 4. Yusuf was named man of the match. With this thrilling win Rajasthan Royals move up in the table with 3 points in three games.

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Manchester United beat Portsmouth

Manchester United are three points ahead of their closest rivals Liverpool and Chelsea, in the Barclays Premier League, following a 2-0 win over Portsmouth at Old Trafford. United are inching closer to an 18th Premier League title, with a game in hand.

In the 8th minute a cross from Ryan Giggs was shot into the Portsmouth goal by Wayne Rooney (below photo AFP):



Wayne Rooney had two other chances to score but both tries were saved by Portsmouth goalie David James. The closest Manchester United came to securing the game was five minutes before half-time, when Cristiano Ronaldo took possession of the ball and sent a low cross from the right, which Ryan Giggs shot just wide of the Portsmouth goal.

Glen Johnson came close to scoring for Portsmouth, but with eight minutes left in the game Michael Carrick's goal put Manchester United on top of the league table.

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Cleveland Cavaliers beat Detroit Pistons

LeBron James (below) of the Cleveland Cavaliers scored 29 points and Mo Williams 21 points to give their team a 94-82 win over the Detroit Pistons. The Cavaliers now have a 2-0 lead over Detroit in the NBA playoffs.

LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers (in white) tries to get a shot off over Tayshaun Prince of the Detroit Pistons (photo AFP):

Sunday, April 19, 2009

IPL cricket matches

The second season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) of T20 cricket, started in South Africa on Saturday with a glittering opening ceremony, and opening matches between the two top and bottom teams. English cricketers also made their debut in the cash-rich tournament after the IPL cricket auction in February. Kevin Pietersen led the Bangalore Royal Challengers to a 75-run victory over last season's winners, the Rajasthan Royals. In the other match on Saturday last season finalist Chennai Super Kings (CSK), who had Andrew Flintoff playing, lost out to the Mumbai Indians in a close game.

In the matches on Sunday more of the previous season's top teams lost; the Kings XI Punjab lost to the Delhi Daredevils in a rain-affected match. The Kolkatta Knight Riders (KKR) were beaten by the Deccan Chargers in the other match late last night. Most of the matches have been low-scoring with the bowlers dominating; spin wizard Anil Kumble took an incredible 5 wickets for 5 runs for the Royal Challengers. Pictured below (left to right) are team owners Shah Rukh Khan (of the KKR), Preity Zinta (Kings XI), IPL chief Lalit Modi, and Shilpa Shetty (owner of the Rajasthan Royals):

Manchester United out of FA Cup

Without many top players like Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney, Ryan Giggs, Michael Carrick and goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar, Manchester United played a lacklustre semi-final game against Everton in the FA Cup. Compared to the earlier semi-final clash between Chelsea and Arsenal on Saturday, this game petered out to a 0-0 draw even with extra time, and the decision was left to a penalty shoot-out.

Dimitar Berbatov tried a soft kick, anticipating that Everton goalie Tim Howard (above) would dive the other way, but the former ManU player collected the ball to the delight of Everton fans. Howard also blocked a stronger kick from Rio Ferdinand, and only Nemanja Vidic and Anderson could score for United. For Everton Cahill kicked the opener over the goal, but Leighton Baines, Everton captian Phil Neville, James Vaughan, and Jagielka all hit the net to settle the score at 4-2 for Everton.

"It's one of the proudest moments of my career, to lead the team out at Wembley in the FA Cup final (on May 30)," said Phil Neville, also a former Manchester United player. "We've beaten the best side in the world. It's just a really proud moment."

Cristiano Ronaldo's quadruple dreams have ended, but his priority was always the Premier and Champions Leagues, and the side will be back to full strength in their final league game against Portsmouth on Wednesday.

Saturday, April 18, 2009

Didier Drogba

The 31-year old Ivorian gave a 2-1 victory to Chelsea in the dying minutes of their FA cup semi-final game against Arsenal at Wembley Stadium on Saturday. Chelsea dominated most of the game even though Arsenal's Theo Walcott scored first. Florent Malouda tied the scores in the 32nd minute.

Didier Drogba jumps over Arsenal's goalkeeper Lukasz Fablanski, during their FA Cup semi-final soccer match at Wembley Stadium, London, Saturday, April 18, 2009. (AP Photo/Tom Hevezi):



And it was a huge mistake by Lukasz Fablanski, coming out of the box to tackle the lightning quick Didier Drogba, which cost Arsenal the game. After Frank Lampard cleared the ball from Chelsea's half, Didier Drogba seized the ball and charged into the Arsenal defense. Drogba weaved past Mikael Silvestre and easily dribbled off the challenge from Fablanski to shoot the ball into the empty net. The Arsenal goalie gave away the advantage of using both hands and feet by rushing out and trying to tackle Didier.

Chelsea will play the winner of the Everton-ManU semi-final game on Sunday; Alex Fergusson says he will not play the same team that saw Manchester United through to the Champions League semi-finals.

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Shawn Johnson top athlete

American gymanst Shawn Johnson has been named the winner of the 79th Sullivan Award as last year's top US amateur athlete. Shawn Johnson took the balance beam gold at the Beijing Olympics and got three silver medals for her floor exercise, team, and all-around performances. Voting for the top athlete award was by the US Olympic Committe, union officials, and college sports information directors. On-line fan ballots counted for one-third of the final tally.

Shawn Johnson became only the third gymnast to claim the top athlete honor, joining Kurt Thomas in 1979 and Paul Hamm in 2004. Fellow gymnast Nastia Liukin, who took the gold in the all-around performances at Beijing, was one of the four other finalists. Shawn Johnson already endorses Coca-Cola, Adidas, GK/Elite, Ortega, and McDonald’s, and this top athlete honor may get her some more lucrative deals.



4'9" Shawn Johnson in Fitness Magazine (photo: Tom Rafalovich). Despite intense training and competitions, her pretty feet have not suffered from all the jumps and landings. "I have been remarkably injury-free my whole career," says the 90-pound Shawn.

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Manchester United Arsenal through

FC Porto had history would be on their side...no outside team had beaten them in their own backyard in Portugal. They were also looking for a repeat of their performace last week at Old Trafford when they drew 2-2 with Manchester United in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals. But ManU had restored their defense with Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand reunited, and the only time FC Porto came close to a scoring chance in the first-half was when a 30-yard free-kick by Bruno Alves narrowly missed the goalpost.

It was Manchester United who stunned their hosts when in the sixth minute FIFA World Player of the Year, Cristiano Ronaldo (photo AFP) scored from a 35-yard kick into the top left-hand corner of Porto's goal. "That was maybe one of my best strikes," conceded Ronaldo. "Anderson gave me the ball and when I turned I knew I was going to go for a shot. It was intentional."



With a 1-0 win, Manchester United are through to the Champions League semi-finals on an aggregate score of 3-2. Meanwhile Arsenal defeated Villarreal 3-0 at Emirates Stadium to go through 4-1 on aggregate, making it three English clubs in the semifinals. Walcott chipped the ball over goalkeeper Diego Lopez in the 10th minute to give Arsenal the lead, while the other two goals were scored by Emmanuel Adebayor and Robin van Persie. In the first leg of the semifinals, Manchester United will play Arsenal at Old Trafford on April 29, and then travel to London for the second leg on May 5.

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Liverpool out of Champions League

After losing 3-1 to Chelsea at Anfield last week, in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals, Liverpool were on fire taking a 2-0 lead in the first 30 minutes of the game at Stamford Bridge. Fabio Aurelio scored off a free kick while Xabi Alonso got a penalty when he was tackled by Branislav Ivanovic in the Chelsea box.

Chelsea got its first goal in the 51st minute when Liverpool goalie fumbled in trying to stop Didier Drogba's shot. The scores were level when Alex scored off a free kick and Liverpool seemed on the way out of the Champions League when Frank Lampard scored for Chelsea in the 76th minute. Even two late goals by Michael Essien and Dirk Kuyt could not change the aggregate scores; Liverpool were sent out with a final equaliser by Frank Lampard in the 89th minute, which gave Chelsea (below Photograph: Paul Ellis/AFP/Getty Images) an aggregate 7-5 win and entry into the Champion League semi-finals.



"I think, clearly, when you lose you have to be disappointed but when you lose in this way you have to be proud and have your head up," Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez said. "Thinking about the Premier League, maybe it's positive because if we can score four goals here at Stamford Bridge, we can do the same in any stadium. We can win a lot of games with this mentality."

At Munich's Allianz Arena Spanish club Barcelona drew 1-1 with Germany's Bayern Munich, advancing to the Champions League semi-finals on an aggregate score of 5-1. Barcelona and Chelsea will meet in the first leg of the semifinals at the Nou Camp on April 28.

Monday, April 13, 2009

Women’s World Tour surfing

Silvana Lima became the first Brazilian to win Australian surfing's most famous event, the Rip Curl Pro at Bells Beach on Sunday. An ecstatic Lima said, "This is the first world tour event I've ever won, and to win it at Bells Beach is like a dream. To be the first winner from Brazil to ring the bell, it's amazing. I hope everyone in Brazil stays up and parties big." Silvana also stopped Australia's Stephanie Gilmore record quest of becoming the first in women's surfing to win this event three successive times.


Surfer babe Stephanie Gilmore though retained her number one ranking in the ASP Women’s World Tour with 2172 points. Silvana Lima is ranked number two with 1560 points, while the third spot in the women's world tour is shared by New Zealand's Paige Hareb and Peru's Sofia Mulanovich with 1308 points each.

Saturday, April 11, 2009

Premier League win

Manchester United's Nemanja Vidic looks on as captain Wayne Rooney hugs Federico Macheda after the young Italian striker scored the winning goal against Sunderland (photo: AFP).



With their 2-1 win ManU are back on top of the premier league table with a game in hand over their closest rivals Liverpool.

Earlier in the day Liverpool topped the premier league with a 4-0 win over Blackburn; Fernando Torres scoring two goals. Chelsea who beat Liverpool in the first leg of the champions league quarter-finals, had a close game against Bolton but managed a 4-3 win. Tottenham beat West Ham 1-0. Arsenal got a 4-1 win over Wigan but Newcastle could ponly manage a 1-1 draw with Stoke. Middlesbrough had a comfortable 3-1 win over Hull while Portsmouth drew 2-2 against West Brom.

Portland Trail Blazers

Brandon Roy scored 24 points with eight assists as the Portland Trail Blazers defeated the Los Angeles Lakers 106-98 in a National Basketball Association contest. The Lakers, who lead the Western Conference, fell one game behind the Cleveland Cavaliers for the best record in the league. The Cavs beat Philadelphia 102-92 earlier Friday.



Pau Gasol of the Los Angeles Lakers goes up for a shot (AFP)

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Chelsea beat Liverpool

Branislav Ivanovic scored his first goals for Chelsea and Didier Drogba added a third to lead the Blues over Liverpool 3-1 Wednesday night in the first leg of the quarterfinals. The second leg will be played Tuesday at Stamford Bridge, where Liverpool hasn’t scored more than twice in a match since May 9, 1987.

Barcelona routed visiting Bayern Munich 4-0 in Wednesday’s other quarterfinal as Lionel Messi scored twice to raise his season total to 32 in all competitions, and Samuel Eto’o and Thierry Henry also got goals.

Houston Chronicle

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Manchester United shocked

In the first leg of the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals, Manchester United were shocked in their game against FC Porto when Cristian Rodriguez intercepted a poor clearance and put the Portuguese club on top with a goal in the 4th minute. Wayne Rooney equalized for United in the 15th minute by pouncing on a lax backpass from Bruno Alves.

85 minutes into the second half, Carlos Tevez put United ahead 2-1 to the delight of the spectators at Old Trafford. But Lucho Gonzalez (above right) helped Mario score the equaliser just four minutes later. "Getting the goal the way they did we should really have defended that. It was a bad goal to lose," United manager Sir Alex Ferguson said. "It will be a difficult game now over in Porto without question."

Meanwhile at Villareal Emmanuel Adebayor scored in the second half to give Arsenal a 1-1 draw.

Monday, April 6, 2009

Dario Franchitti comeback

The popular 2007 series and Indy 500 champion Dario Franchitti shocked the Indy world when he left the Andretti Green Racing to give the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series a try last year with the Target Ganassi team.

Scotland's Dario Franchitti made his comeback in the IndyCar Series season-opening Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. With his Target Chip Ganassi Racing team Dario finished fourth while teammate Scott Dixon finished 16th after contact on lap 80 of the 100-lap race. Scott Dixon's inclusion in the Ganassi team had been considered a racing dream since he finished runner-up to Franchitti for the 2007 title, and got an Indy 500 win and championship last year.

Dario Franchitti the champion in 2007 with actress/activist girlfriend Ashley Judd:

Dario Franchitti Ashley Judd

The winner of the Honda Grand Prix was Australian Ryan Briscoe driving for Penske.

Sunday, April 5, 2009

Horse beats 100-1 odds

The 2009 Grand National horse race in Aintree was won by a horse named Mon Mome beating 100-1 odds! Mon Mome's trainer, Venetia Williams, became the second woman to win the race since Jenny Pitman landed the prize with Corbiere and Royal Athlete. Mon Mome had finished a weary eighth a year ago and nothing he achieved in the past 12 months had suggested he could emerge victorious this time.

Mon Mome's rider, 23-year-old Liam Treadwell, was tackling the Grand National for the first time. "How could you expect to win a race like this?" asked a delighted Venetia Williams. "But I told Liam just to make sure that he had light in front of him and that, if he did, it would prove to be absolute gold dust. It was only when he was four lengths clear over the last that I was confident he would win."

Treadwell said, "This is an absolutely unbelievable feeling. We had the best possible run through the race and I had a super horse to win it for me. A couple of times loose horses came upsides me but, if I am honest, Mon Mome gave me a brilliant ride. He is so genuine and just stays and stays."

2nd place went to a horse named Comply Or Die with 14-1 odds while 3rd place My Will beat 8-1 odds. From the Daily Mail.

Federico Macheda

Liverpool had reached the top of the Barclays Premier League table after their 1-0 victory over Fulham, but Manchester United reclaimed the top spot with a thrilling 3-2 win over Aston Villa. Two goals were scored by Cristiano Ronaldo, but the hero of the game was a very young Federico Macheda.

Ronaldo scored his first goal from a free kick in the 15th minute of the game, and just 15 minutes after that John Carew equalized for Aston Villa. Manchester United went 2-1 down after Gabriel Agbonlahor headed in a goal in the second half. United were under intense pressure till the 80th minute of the game when the brilliant Ronaldo scored the much needed equalizer.

17-year old Federico Macheda of Italy was sent in as substitute for Nani in the 61st minute. As the game entered the finishing stage five minutes of stoppage time was added on. Federico was dribbling the ball with his back to the goal and two Villa defenders, when he half-turned to kick it back in a beautiful curve that slipped past the defenders, and Villa goalie Brad Friedel, to enter the top-right corner of their goal!

Federico Macheda
Manchester United's Federico Macheda, above right, scores the winning goal against Aston Villa during their English Premier League soccer match at Old Trafford Stadium, Manchester, England, Sunday April 5, 2009. Manchester United won the game 3-2. (AP Photo/Jon Super)

"This is a day of my dreams," said young Macheda whose winning goal put ManU back on top with 68 points, one more than Liverpool. Chelsea are four points behind, and in third place, after their 2-0 win over Newcastle.

Saturday, April 4, 2009

Fabian Hambüchen

Two-time German Olympian Fabian Hambüchen won the men's all-around title Saturday at the European Gymnastics Championships in Milan. Despite a fall on parallel bars, Hambüchen defeated top qualifier Daniel Keatings of Great Britain, and Russia's Yuri Ryazanov who finished third.

Fabian Hambüchen

The gold medal is 21-year old Hambüchen's first major international title, and the first European all-around championship for the German men. Hambüchen finished third all-around at the 2006 World Championships, and second all-around at both the 2007 European Championships and 2007 World Championships. He was a medal favorite at the 2008 Olympics, but errors dropped him to seventh in Beijing. The European Championships conclude Sunday with the event finals for both men and women.

Friday, April 3, 2009

Horseback riding

Horseback riding is a moderate aerobic exercise which also works out the muscles in the legs, buttocks, and stomach. New Era describes the fundamentals of Horseback Riding, better known as Equestrian Show Jumping. The riding event (equestrian show jumping) included in the modern pentathlon competition involves jumping over obstacles of up to 120 cm in height.

The obstacle course is between 350 - 450 m in length and includes 12 obstacles with one double and one triple for 15 jumps. Athletes compete on horses provided by the organizers, which are selected from a random draw 20 minutes prior to the event. For warm-up and preparation purposes, athletes are allowed to ride their allocated horse for 20 minutes and have up to five trial jumps in the warm-up arena provided for the purpose.



After two refusals to jump, the rider must try to jump the next obstacle whilst the rider loses 200 points for every obstacle not jumped. The event of a fall or both rider and horse hitting mother gravity, will result in a 40-point penalty. After two falls, the riding will be terminated, while the rider will have a further 300 points deducted. Each second over the limit means a deduction of four points.

John Whitaker MBE has over 35 years experience of competing at the top level in show jumping and has represented Great Britain 20 times in Olympic, World and European Championships competitions. He won the show jumping gold at the Beijing Olympics.

Thursday, April 2, 2009

Lewis Hamilton stripped

Lewis Hamilton, and his McLaren racing team, have been stripped of their third place podium finish at the Australian Grand Prix. They had actually finished fourth in the race, but were promoted to third after Toyota's Jarno Trulli was penalized for overtaking Hamilton under safety-car conditions. But now the stewards and the race director Charlie Whiting have found Lewis Hamilton and his team manager, David Ryan, guilty of a breach of Article 151c of the International Sporting Code. From the transcript of the radio communication between Lewis and his team it was clear that there had been an instruction given to Hamilton to allow Jarno Trulli to overtake:

Lewis Hamilton: The Toyota went off in a line at the second corner, I overtook him, is that OK?

Team: Understood, Lewis. We'll confirm and get back to you.

Lewis Hamilton: He was off the track. He went wide.

Team: Lewis, you need to allow the Toyota through. Allow the Toyota through now.

Lewis Hamilton: OK....He's slowed right down in front of me.

Team: OK, Lewis. Stay ahead for the time being. Stay ahead. We will get back to you. We are talking to Charlie.

Lewsi Hamilton: I let him past already.

Team: OK, Lewis. That's fine. That's fine. Hold position. Hold position.

Lewis Hamilton: Tell Charlie I already overtook him. I just let him past.

Team: I understand Lewis. We are checking. Now can we go to yellow G 5, yellow Golf 5.

Lewis Hamilton: I don't have to let him past I should be able to take that position back, if he made a mistake.

Team: Yes, we understand Lewis. Let's just do it by the book. We are asking Charlie now. You are in P4. If you hold this position. Just keep it together...

...Team: OK, Lewis, this is the last lap. At the end of the lap the safety car will come in, you just proceed over the line without overtaking, without overtaking. We are looking into the Trulli thing, but just hold position.



Lewis Hamilton (photo: Mark Horsburgh/Reuters) has been stripped of his podium finish and has been docked all his points. The FIA has not ruled out taking further action against the driver and his McLaren team.

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

John Terry scores

A late goal by captain John Terry gave England a 2-1 victory over Ukraine in the World Cup qualifying match in London on Wednesday. Terry's 84th-minute goal ensured Fabio Capello's squad reached the half-way stage in their campaign to reach South Africa with five wins out of five in Group Six, and maintained their five-point lead over Croatia, 2-0 winners over Andorra earlier in the day.

England scored the opening goal in the 29th minute. Wayne Rooney, in his 50th appearance for England, jumped for a Aaron Lennon cross and headed the ball towards the goal, which was fended off resulting in a corner kick. Lampard's delivery was floated to the back post where Terry outjumped Mykhalyk to nod down for the unmarked Peter Crouch, who hooked in a volley from three yards out.

Ukraine got the equalizer late in 74th minute of the game, when a free kick hit England defender Glen Johnson, and Ukraine's Shevchenko reacted faster than anyone around him to kick the ball past goalie James from ten yards out. England though were to have the last word and when just ten minutes later Steven Gerrard knocked down a Beckham free-kick, And John Terry was on hand to force the ball over the line.

John Terry

Captain John Terry celebrates after scoring the winning goal for England as the dejected Ukrainian players look on. Photo text AFP

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