My Sporting Weekend: Summer Blues

My Sporting Weekend 3-4^th of June 2011:

Warm-Up's:

Engage Super League (Rugby League):

St Helens V Leeds Rhinos, The 1st half was a tight, and tense, low scoring affair with Leeds leading, after Kevin Sinfield scored 2 penalty goals, until Saints got the 1st try just short of of the half-hour mark when James Graham burst through the Leeds goal-line defence after a flat pass from James Roby. Both defences put in good performances, but neither team really had any sustained periods of pressure within their opponents 20 meter line.

Saints made a good start to the 2nd half with Roby going over after a brilliant offload from Jonny Lomax, and they extended their lead 10 minutes later when Francis Meli intercepted a Sinfield kick, broke down the left hand-side, and went over. Leeds problems then got worse with Lomax and Scott Moore going over in quick succession, followed by a Paul Wellens try on 64 minutes that virtually sealed the game for the Saints.

Leeds had a late rally with Jamie Jones-Buchanan and Lee Smith going over, but the game had already gone, and the match ended with Saints Lee Gaskell completing the scoring at 42-16 after intercepting the ball from an attempted cut out pass across the Leeds back line.

Saints winger Jamie Foster had another good game with the boot, scoring all 7 of his kicks, as did the other youngsters in the Saints team, including Gaskell and Thomas Makinson, who were virtually unknown at the start of the season. For a 20 minute spell in the 2^nd half Leeds just fell apart as they just let Saints run riot, apart from that period they didn't play that bad, but they need to increase their concentration levels, especially with goal-line defence.

International Friendly (Football):

USA V Spain, Spain started well with David Silva having a disallowed for supposed offside, before Alvaro Negredo hit the underside of the bar, and it was Santi Cazorla who got the opening goal, after a good run and cut back from Silva, on 28 minutes. 4 minutes later Negredo doubled the Spanish lead after getting in behind US defence from a ball straight down the centre by Gerard Pique.

The US found it hard to keep the ball and it took until nearly the 40^th minute before they had their 1^st shot and their dismay continued when Cazorla got his 2^nd goal just before half time, with Silva pulling the ball back across the goal for David Villa, who couldn't get a shot off, and the ball ran through to Cazorla who slotted in. The US defence needed to be more organised as their were too many players stood still in, and around, the box with no one was tracking Cazorla's run, but the speed of the Spanish play would probably been too much for even the top defences.

Spain dominated the 1^st half and as the inexperienced US team dropped deeper and deeper this gave Silva enough space to create numerous chances for his team. At half-time the US made 5 changes, including bringing on Clint Dempsey and Michael Bradley, and during the 2^nd half they played a lot better, having more of the ball and creating some good attacking moves, as well as breaking up Spanish play higher up the pitch. But against the run of play 2^nd half sub Fernando Torres slotting past Tim Howard after a good through ball from Borja Valero on 73 minutes to complete the scoring at 4-0.

WBC Super-Middleweight title/Super Six semi-final (Boxing):

Carl Froch V Glen Johnson, The fight started slow and was pretty even until the 6th round with both fighters landed good head shots and in the 7th Johnson got a few more head shots in with his high right overhand shot. Froch came out fighting in the 8th, but as the round went on Johnson took control and landed some big shots of his own, but Froch responded well and had a good 9th round. Johnson seemed to tire over the final rounds, as Froch took control, but he didn't really pick up the pace and look to end the fight early, and it went to points to decide the winner as the crowd gave both fighters a standing ovation on the final bell. The Japanese judge scored the match even, with the other two judges going with Carl Froch, by a 4 and 6 round majority to give him the victory. The fight didn't really come to life until the 6th round, but when it did both fighters put on a good performance with some big hitting and Froch did brilliant to absorb Johnson's big right handed shots, and he looked unfazed as he responded with some of his own good counter-punching. Froch now progresses into the final of the Super Six tournament against WBC Super-Middleweight title holder Andre Ward for a unification fight.

Main Event:

Euro 2012 Qualifier, Group G (Football):

England V Switzerland, This was the final game of the English season (for the full internationals anyway), but their didn't seem to be much of a build up to it, although their was a full week between it and the Champions League final. As soon as the squad was originally announced players were pulling out to start their summer holidays early demeaning playing for their national team which surely, from an outsiders point of view, is a great honour and privilege. But then again this argument comes up every time an England squad is announced and players pull out, its just a shame that players find an easy way out with international retirement.

England made a bright start, creating a couple of chances, but Switzerland settled and with their increased possession they created their own chances and on 32 minutes got the opening goal when Tranquillo Barnetta hit a high looping free-kick, from just left if the centre of the pitch, that went in unopposed, with Joe Hart not being able to get across. Then only 3 minutes later Barnetta got his 2nd with another free-kick, that crept in the near post from out wide on the left wing, again Hart was at blame for not covering his near post, but it was James Milner breaking away from Theo Walcott in the wall that let the ball through towards goal, and he has to take most of the blame. Jack Wilshire then got England back in the game, after winning the ball ball he made a good run into the box and drew the foul from Johan Djourou to win England a penalty, which Frank Lampard converted.

Tactically England, who were supposedly playing 4-3-3, were a bit poor in the 1st half with Milner and Walcott being too wide and deep, leaving Darren Bent isolated up front, also, as a team, England didn't hold onto the ball long enough to build pressure on the Swiss defence.

Lampard went off at half time, for Ashley Young, with England switching to 4-4-2, and this switch paid off, after some quick play and good movement Young got England level on 51 minutes with a shot from the edge of the area. England then dominated pretty much the rest of the game but never looked like scoring and were unable to get the winner.

England's performance was lack-lustre and lethargic, with only the introduction of Ashley Young giving the game any real excitement, although Leighton Baines did play well after coming on for an injured Ashely Cole in the 1st half, but it is a shame he can't play on the right as Glen Johnson was virtually non-existent going forward as well as giving away the foul that led to the 2^nd Swiss goal. Ashley Young probably should have started, playing in a forward 3 with Bent and Walcott, with either Milner or Lampard missing out, as neither really contributed anything to the match.

Apart from the result the sad thing about this match is that the press will say that England are better playing 4-4-2 as it was that formation that got the equaliser, but playing 4-3-3 can allow you to involve the full-backs, which England want to do, without crowding the wings as the forwards and midfielders would be tuck inside, and this also gives England the opportunity to play 3 central midfielders, which they have seemed obsessed to do over the last 5 years or so.

Cool Downs:

Yorkshire made a poor start to the Twenty20 tournament with 2 pretty convincing losses, and with a televised game coming up on Friday against Lancashire hopefully they can turn it around and put on a good performance.

My Sporting Weekend

Monday, 6 June 2011

Summer Blues

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