By: Lynne
Soccer City FC
UEFA Cup – First Round – 17 July 2008
EB/Streymur 0 - Manchester City 2
@ Torsvollur Stadium (the National Stadium), Torshavn , Faroe Isles
(their own stadium, Við Margáir, holds just 1,000, hence the switch)
Att: 5,700 (capacity 6,000)
A great job done, by the fans as well as the team. The Faroe Islands is not an easy place to get to. 250 City mad (more so than our usual City fans) supporters made the trip, with four intrepid die-hards making an eight hour car journey (not a long trip according to North American standards, but believe me it is for British drivers, who consider anything over four hours a long trip!) to get to Aberdeen, North East of Scotland and the “Oil Capital of Europe”, to catch the overnight ferry to the Shetland Islands (phew! I’m exhausted just thinking about it). They had hired a fishing (what!) trawler to get them to the Faroe Islands, but, as all things connected with City goes (the recent, will he, won’t he signing of Ronaldinho – and, no he hasn’t, he’s gone to AC Milan, is typical), the trawler couldn’t make the journey because of stormy seas! All that way and not get to see the match! Think again, this is soccer at it’s finest. To the rescue came the Faroes national carrier, Atlantic Airways with free flights (Bill Clinton being one of it’s famous passengers), to make sure they got there – I hope the four lads weren’t afraid of flying! By contrast, it only took Mark Hughes and the team two hours on a charter flight!
They saw our new Brazilian striker, Jô make his debut appearance leading the attack for City and showing promise of things to come, almost scoring from a Petrov cross. On 74 minutes he was substituted by one of our fabulous City academy players, Ched Evans, who, close to the end of the match, almost scored. Returning to the first team squad are Micah Richards and Nedum Onuoha (crucial defenders alongside Richard Dunne (C)). Both making their long awaited returns to the first team after being injured early in 2008.
EB/Streymur have part-time players in their squad (a number of whom have been called up for the national team) and play in the top division. Currently they have a clear five-point lead in the Formuladeildin league, but have lost their last three matches (shades of City last season!). They are back-to-back national cup winners and are the current holders. For this match they are missing two players: Sorin Anghel and Mikkjal Thomassen.
Oh yes, and the match…..Two nil to City!! Petrov (9 minutes) a blast of a shot into the far top corner from a Vassell cross that Johnson stepped over. A much deserved goal for Petrov, throughout last season he was a niggling nuisance to defenders, giving them a horrible time and wearing a track in the turf with his constant, lightning quick runs up and down the left-wing (all the English Premier League clubs have been busy replacing their pitches!) and making pinpoint accurate passes to his forwards. Second goal came from Hamann (yes, I’ve got that right, our ‘spoiler’ scores a peach of a goal) on 28 minutes. A corner kick from Petrov (that man again, in the second half, he could have scored another) was only cleared to the edge of the box, where Hamann volleyed it with the outside of his left foot!
The second half saw a spirited EB/Streymur put City under pressure and Hart (goal keeper) called into action, but never seriously tested. The only booking of the match was a yellow card for Johnson.
A comfortable win, but not the score-line I wanted to see. We should’ve been able to put the ball in the net a few more times, after all, we did have seven shots on target and the majority of the play. Not finding the net was a great problem last year – some more shooting practice Mark.
MoTM: Martin Petrov – a constant nuisance to EB/Streymur and in particular their defender Barour Olsen.
Shots on Target: 3 - EB/Streymur 7 - Manchester City
Shots off Target 3 - EB/Streymur 16 - Manchester City
Corners 4 - EB/Streymur 9- Manchester City
Territorial Advantage 38.2 - EB/Streymur 61.8- Manchester City
Of note: referee’d by Nicole Petignat (of Switzerland ), and yes, her first name gives it away, a woman and about time too (hope to see her refereeing future UEFA matches and more).
Next leg (another away one for us Blues - the pitch at CoMS is being re-turfed): Barnsley's Oakwell ground, Thursday 31st July with an 8pm kick-off (MCFC are providing our fans with free coach travel!! where were you when they needed the private jet to get to the Faroes?)
Come on City
Image details: EB/Streymur v Manchester City - UEFA Cup served by picapp.com
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Fair Awld Game in the Faroe Islands
Friday, July 4, 2008
2008/09 UEFA Cup: PFC Cherno More vs. UE Sant Julià
The two clubs face off in the first qualifying round of the 2008-2009 UEFA Cup. The first leg will be played on July, 17 2008 and the second leg on July 31, 2008.
PFC Cherno More finished fifth in the Bulgarian A Professional Football Group, but but because the club made the Bulgarian Cup final, Cherno More earned a place in the UEFA cup. The club brought in several players for the 2008-2009 season including: 24-year-old midfielder Yordan Yurukov via CSKA Sofia, 26-year-old midfielder Georgi Iliev via CSKA Sofia, and retired Bulgarian international Milen Petkov who plays defensive midfield. The club also boasts Portuguese midfielder Ricardo Andre and midfielder Aleksandar Aleksandrov.
UE Sant Julià ended up in second place in Andorra's Campionat de Lliga last season. The outfit is primarily made up of Argentine players. Defender Cristian Roig Mauri also factors into the squad.
Image details: Milen Petkov served by picapp.com
For more UEFA cup coverage click below:
2008/09 UEFA Cup: Olimps vs. St Patrick's Athletic
The two clubs face off in the first qualifying round of the 2008-2009 UEFA Cup. The first leg will be played on July, 17 2008 and the second leg on July 31, 2008.
JFK Olimps Rīga finished 8th in Latvia's LMT Virslīga, but because the club made the Latvian Cup final it earned a place in the UEFA cup. Latvian defender Jevgeņijs Kazura is the squad's captain. The club also has Brazilian forward Enrike Mendez. The club's home venue, Daugava Stadium, seats 5,000 in the capital of Riga.
St. Patrick's Athletic ended second last season in the Eircom League. 22-year-old forward Mark Quigley lead the club with 14 league goals in '07. Forward Gary O'Neill complimented Quigley with 8 goals. American Ryan Guy is also part of the forward corps.
Image details: Riga latvia served by picapp.com
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2008/09 UEFA Cup: Legia Warsaw vs. FC Gomel
The two clubs face off in the first qualifying round of the 2008-2009 UEFA Cup. The first leg will be played on July, 17 2008 and the second leg on July 31, 2008.
FC Gomel finished second in the 2007 Belarusian Premier League. Forward and Belarusian national team member Roman Vasilyuk has scored over 50 goals since his arrival at the club in 2005. 19-year-old Brazilian midfielder Renan is a wild card and could make things interesting for Legia Warsaw if he sees action.
Legia Warsaw also finished second in the Polish Orange Ekstraklasa last season. 25-year-old Zimbabwean forward Takesure Chinyama paced the outfit with 15 league goals. Fellow Zimbabwean Dickson Choto has been solid in defense since his arrival in 2003. Captain Aleksandar Vuković is a strong player in the midfield. He recently became a citizen of Poland. Spanish forward Mikel Arruabarrena Aranbide is one of the more notable transfers this offseason.
The best player on the Polish club, winger Roger Guerreiro, has the potential to lead Legia Warsaw deep into the tournament. The Brazilian-turned-Polish international competed at a high level during Euro 2008. He finished last club season with five league goals.
Image details: Austria v Poland - Group B Euro 2008 served by picapp.com
For more UEFA cup coverage click below:
2008/09 UEFA Cup: Red Bull Salzberg vs. FC Banants
The two clubs face off in the first qualifying round of the 2008-2009 UEFA Cup. The first leg will be played on July, 17 2008 and the second leg on July 31, 2008.
Red Bull Salzburg finished second last season in the Austrian Bundesliga with 63 points. The club is paced by Croatian defender Niko Kovač, Austrian midfielder René Aufhauser, Swiss forward Johan Vonlanthen, and German forward Alexandre Zickler.
FC Banants finished second in the 2007 Armenian Premier League with 52 points. The club is lead by Armenian defender Yegishe Melikyan, Ugandan midfielder Noah Babadi Kasule, and Armenian midfielder Aram Bareghamyan. A pair of young Armenian forwards, 18-year-old Norayr Gyozalyan and 20-year-old Semion Muradyan, could see action in the either of the two legs.
Image details: Red Bulls Cup 2007- Red Bull Salzburg v Bayern Munich served by picapp.com
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Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Rosenborg BK Earning Respect Back
Earlier this season, Soccer City FC profiled Rosenborg's fall into the lower tier of the Tippeligaen. The Norwegian giant is now in third place after today's 3-1 victory over Aalesunds FK. Midfielder Alexander Banor Tettey started Rosenborg's tab and forward Steffen Iversen added a brace to complete the score sheet.
Is the club going to keep this pace up? Unlikely, especially with UEFA Cup matches on the horizon.
Rosenborg is back in the top three.
Image details: Valencia v Rosenborg - UEFA Champions League served by picapp.com
Manchester City: Setting Sail for the Faroe Islands
By: Lynne
Soccer City FC
UEFA Cup competition first qualifying round sees the Blues playing EB/Streymur (Faroe Islands - 250 miles North of Scotland) at the Vio Margair on 17th July. City are in good shape then - no. The team are only just arriving at the training ground (Carrington) and no doubt, still feel the effects of losing the last manager, Sven-Goran Eriksson (SGE) under stressful circumstances and adjusting to the new manager, Mark Hughes and his backroom team (all change again - a re-run of the 2007/2008 season!).
What team will Mark send on the 'island hopping' trip, ones with sea legs I hope? Joking aside: Richard Dunne (captain, Player of the Year for the last four years and stalwart of the team) is expected to sign a new contract with City (it's been a, will he won't he few weeks - sign it Dunnie, just sign it!). Portsmouth, Tottenham and Newcastle have all shown interest, with Portsmouth being the most resilient; due to injuries early in the season, a few first team players didn't really get a chance to show us what they could do, so Mark may be keen to give them try out; then there's the young guns from the City Academy (not least of all those players that won the 2007/2008 FA Youth Cup); and any new signings, there's been plenty of rumours ie João Alves de Assis Silva alias Jo and Ronaldinho being the most mentioned. Man City should be making an imminent announcement about Jo's signing, Ronaldinho, who knows what's happening. I wouldn't be surprised if we had other new signings before the season starts. But, everyone will be watching this first game, of what could turn-out to be, the many different teams of our beloved Blues. Mark can't waste time getting the team to gel, our owner wants to see results now or else it's goodbye Mark, hello???
So, you see, it's plain sailing (pardon the pun). Welcome to another typical Blues start to the season and an adventure into the great unknown. Where's the blood pressure pills?
City: setting sail for the Faroe Islands this July.
Image details: Coastal settlement faroe islands served by picapp.com
Friday, May 16, 2008
Manchester City Reaches Europe
City will vie for the UEFA Cup next season.
The club has qualified for European play -- one year earlier than expected in reference to owner Thaksin Shinawatra's initial blueprint. City finished sixth in the English Fair Play table. The five teams above Manchester City have already qualified for Europe.
The begin qualifying in July. One minor snag, American rock band Bon Jovi will force the club away from Eastlands for their first-round tie.
