4 October 2011 11:30

England boss Fabio Capello says his side will be going all out for a win in their Euro 2012 qualifier with Montenegro on Friday.

Although England only need a point to secure qualification for the tournament, Capello said his team would be looking to take home all three from their trip to Podgorica.

“We are going to win this game, not for the draw,” Capello told FATV.

“If you play for a draw it is a big mistake. You are not focused on the game. You are playing to defend the result.”

“When you do that you make some silly mistakes. You need to play the same style as all the other away games.”

Montenegro will be keen to take something out of the game as they hold just a three-point buffer over Switzerland in the race for second and the play-off berth.

Montenegro defender Milan Jovanovic said his side will be up for the clash, hailing it as Montenegro’s biggest game of the past 10 years.

“Although it may not be the decisive match in the qualifiers, the clash with England is the game of the decade for us because we don’t play teams at that level very often,” Jovanovic said.

“We are all confident that we can get a result which would leave us in contention for a play-off berth.”

“We know it’s likely it will go down to the wire, meaning our last game away to the Swiss, so we are taking it one game at a time aware that we have to produce our best football in both encounters.”

There is plenty of attacking prowess in the Montenegrin line-up, with Juventus front man Mirko Vucinic expected to partner Fiorentina striker Stevan Jovetic up front.

1 October 2011 01:21

Rio Ave remain winless in Liga Sagres after suffering a disappointing 2-1 loss to Vitoria Setubal on Friday.

On-loan forward Yazalde had given the visitors hope of snapping their poor run when he opened the scoring in the 21st minute at the Estadio do Bonfim.

But their lead only lasted two minutes before forward Joao Silva – on-loan from English Premier League side Everton – equalised.

Veteran midfielder Hugo Leal struck the winner for Bruno Ribeiro’s side in the 81st minute.

Rio Ave, who finished eighth last season, have collected just two points from their opening seven games this campaign.

They are two points from safety, while Vitoria Setubal have moved into seventh on the back of the win.

27 September 2011 19:26

Queens Park Rangers midfielder Joey Barton says he still hopes to represent England, despite not playing for his country in over four years.

The outspoken 29-year-old’s sole international cap came in February 2007, during a friendly match against Spain.

“It would be great to play for England again,” Barton told the London Evening Standard.

“I feel really sharp, as I should do having just turned 29 and I’m enjoying my football.”

“I think I’ll play until I’m about 38 or 40 because my game is not based on pace or power, it’s all about knowledge of football and manipulating the ball.”

“So I’m confident I can play for a long time. If I decide to coach or manage in the future, it would be quite prudent to have experienced a different culture or philosophy of football.”

“Or even just experiencing how the approach changes when you manage players from different backgrounds or cultures.”

Barton also revealed he would be open to the possibility of plying his trade abroad should the right chance come up.

“If the opportunity arose to play abroad in the future I’d definitely consider it,” he said.?

24 September 2011 14:10

Leaders Gamba Osaka were stunned 2-0 at home by relegation-threatened Ventforet Kofu on Saturday.

Gamba came into the match with one loss in their past 18 matches, which coincidentally, also came against Ventforet Kofu.

And the visitors, who sit third-bottom, pulled off another shock to stun the home crowd at the Expo ’70 Commemorative Stadium.

Brazilian Paulinho found the back of the net for the second match in succession on 62 minutes, but the result was not sealed until Mike Havenaar’s stoppage time goal.

Vegalta Sendai recorded an impressive 3-1 away win at fourth-placed Yokohama F. Marinos in an exciting encounter.

Yuzo Kobayashi’s goal after three minutes put the hosts in front, but Makoto Kakuda and Atsushi Yanagisawa responded almost immediately for the visitors.

Shingo Akamine finished off the match with his 55th goal which extended the visitors’ unbeaten streak to seven.

In other matches, the Kashima Antlers were held to a goalless draw against the Urawa Red Diamonds while Tomoyuki Arata got the only goal in Jubilo Iwata’s 1-0 win over Albirex Niigata.

Australian international Alex Brosque got the opener in his side’s 1-1 draw at Kawasaki Frontale, with Juninho scoring the second-half equaliser to give his side a point.

21 September 2011 06:37

Toronto FC climbed to second place in CONCACAF Champions League Group C on Tuesday after a 1-0 win over Panamanian club Tauro.

Dutch striker Danny Koevermans scored the only goal of the game for the hosts five minutes before the break, leading Toronto to their second win in the competition.

The MLS outfit now sit within one point of group leaders FC Dallas, who play Mexican side Pumas UNAM on Wednesday.

In Group D, Seattle Sounders saw their perfect start to the campaign come to halt following a 1-0 loss at home to Costa Rican club Herediano.

Jorge Arias’ 25th-minute goal was enough to give Herediano their first points for the campaign, and keep all four teams in the group alive with two matches to play.

Group D’s other mach saw Mexican side Monterrey post a 3-1 win over Guatemalan club Comunicaciones at the Estadio Tecnologico.

Sergio Santana gave the hosts the lead just after the half-hour mark, and a Luis Perez striker doubled their advantage in the 68th minute.

Carlos Mejia pulled a goal back for the visitors seven minutes from the end, but Humberto Suazo made sure of all three points for the Mexican side in the 86th minute.