DIVISION 4 ROUND 6 REVIEW
Morning Guys, I assume we are all suffering withdrawal symptoms after that free day in the World Cup yesterday, I ended up talking to my family…strange bunch they are.
 |
| Some great fixtures to come in last 16
Just looking at the games, Today’s two matches jump out, France v Argentina is a match where both need improvement after poor starts, and Uruguay v Portugal promises to be full of shithousery which is fantastic.
So on to the review of round 6 of Division 4.
FC BASEL 2 CRUZEIRO 1
Fc Basel are the new leaders in Division 4 after seeing off Cruzeiro despite playing 80 minutes with 10 men. They took just 2 minutes to take the lead, Joe Allon playing a delightful ball over to Aspas who took a touch and drew the keeper out before deftly lobbing Marinato. The perfect start was ruined after 10 minutes when Kalou took leave of his senses and elbowed Stuani leaving the ref with no option but to send him off. Stuani must of been feeling the effects of the elbow as he missed 2 golden opportunities to draw Cruzeiro level and his was made to pay for his misses when Capa put Basel 2 up on 27, receiving Jorgensen’s knock down to curl a shot past the keeper. Aspas had chances to extend the lead as Cruzeiro struggled with the extra man. Dom latouche got into his side and his HT team talk had an effect as on 53 as Lodeiro smashed a shot into the top corner giving Sirigu no chance. Stuani again missed chances to bring Cruzeiro level as Basel held out for a huge win which leaves them top of the pile.
LEVANTE 1 MONACO 2
Levante dropped off the top as they were victims of a smash and grab performance from Monaco who continued their rise up the table. Monaco enjoyed the best of the first half but were unable to test Koubek in the Levante goal. Fred put the Spanish side ahead on 54 with an unstoppable free kick leaving Reina helpless to grab his 2nd goal of the season. Reina then pulled off a great save to prevent Monaco going further behind from Milik. Monaco were level on 68 minutes when Mustafi struck a hopeful shot from distance which Koubek should really of done better with. Reina again kept Monaco level after 2 further saves from Diego and Gignac and Monaco took advantage on 76 minutes when Garcia grabbed what turned out to be the winner and again Koubek will not want to see this goal again, Garcia hit an early shot which caught the keeper flat footed and unable to reach the shot. Reina then earned his MOTM award with a fantastic save low down to deny Milik.
TORINO 0 ESPANYOL 1
Espanyol returned to winning ways ending Torino’s unbeaten start in the process. The first half was a frustrating watch as Negredo left his shooting boots at home, 3 times in the first 20 minutes he fluffed his chance to give Torino the lead and 3 times he found Handanovic instead of the back of the net. The second half belonged to Espanyol as they sought to return to winning ways, Alcacer was denied by Zieler and then the crossbar as the game looked to be heading for a draw. Zieler also saving from Rebic and Kjaer before the deadlock was finally broken and Alcacer turned provider, he brought the ball down well and laid it off to Hubner who hit a low drive from just outside the box which creeped into the bottom corner to give Espanyol the 3 points.
COLOGNE 0 CELTA VIGO 2
Celta Vigo won their first match in 4 games to lift themselves to 4th in the table, taking advantage of Cologne who slumped to their 4th defeat in 5. Arnautovic tested Arrizabalaga 3 times in the first half as Vigo set their stall out to attack their out of form opponents. Loftus-Cheek tried to drive Cologne from midfield but let himself down with poor finishes when well positioned. Santini really should of put Cologne ahead on 58 after great work form Portillo who beat 2 defenders and sent Santini clear on goal, he scuffed his effort though and despite it beating Cech it clipped the outside of the post. It was to prove costly as just 6 minutes later Fonte let rip with a powerful drive from 30 yards to put Vigo ahead. Denilson wrapped up the win on 81 minutes with a sweet half volley from 15 yards which again give Arrizabalaga no chance. Neil Frankland obviously has seen enough to concern him with his start to the season and has already promised to shake things up, Keeper Arrizabalaga leaving to WBA in a multi player deal will hopefully give him the reaction he demands.
BOCA JUNIORS 0 PARTIZAN 3
Partizan now have the only unbeaten run in Division 4 after a convincing win over rock bottom Boca. It only took 9 minutes before Partizan had the lead as Baier drove powerfully past Moya. Both sides then traded fouls and yellow cards as the battle to take control heated up. Reine-Adelaide, playing in an unfamiliar cf position, hit the bar from a free kick as Boca at least tried to respond in the first half. Quagliarella got Partizan’s 2nd on 26 as Kruse sent over a deep free kick, Quagliarella rose highest the thunder a header right into the top corner. That goal seemed to knock the stuffing out of Boca and it was 0-3 just after the break as Kruse again provided the assist, this time playing a defence splitting ball for Chiesa to slot past Moya. It could and should of been more but Moya turned in a determined performance to keep the score down.
DNIPRO 1 ATALANTA 0
Dnipro heaped the pressure on comedy club Atalanta with a straightforward win. Subasic was MOTM for Atalanta as he stopped the result being far worse. The only surprise here was that it took Dnipro 64 minutes to take the lead, Andre drilling home from Bebou’s inch perfect ball. 4 defeats on the bounce for Atalanta with only 1 goal being scored in last 5 league games. I’d give a more in depth analysis of this game but it would only depress me more, so i wont!!
CRYSTAL PALACE 2 AZ ALKMAAR 0
Crystal Palace continued their rise up the table with a fine win here against AZ. The first half was short on real action with the only moment of quality bringing the goal on 24 minutes for Palace, Cresswell broke from defense and run 50 yards down the left, he cut inside and played a ball to Soldado who held off Conti before returning the ball to Cresswell who cracked a stunning curling effort from 25 yards into the corner of Romero’s goal. The second half started with Tom Heaton protecting the lead with saves from both Masina and Smolov. Those saves were rewarded on 54 as a set piece straight off the training ground worked. Silva linked up with Townsend to provide a better crossing angle to deliver a fine ball into the box which Defour arriving from a designated deep run drove home. Chances came and went for both sides but Palace saw out without any real danger to record a hard fought win.
DINAMO ZAGREB 1 SWANSEA 0
Dinamo secured a narrow 1-0 win over Swansea to record their 3rd win in 4 games to move into the top 10. A poor first half lacked which lacked any urgency from either side which only shot of note came when Hozdic hit a shot which Marchesin somehow got his fingers to and tipped it onto the post. The 2nd half sprung to live on 66 minutes when VAR denied Adriano. Rico had played a lovely ball to Adriano who scuffed his shot in off the post, no flag from the officials but Protests from Zagreb encouraged the ref to check with VAR and he judged Adriano just offside much to Joe Jordan’s disgust who took his big right boot to the VAR monitor and was dismissed for his reaction. The game was drifting after that controversy until Eysseric pounced with just 5 minutes left to steal the points, Dirar’s shot was deflected into Eysseric’s path and he fired in off the crossbar for the points.
STOKE 2 OLYMPIAKOS 1
Stoke made it 5 unbeaten with a narrow win over Olympiakos with all the goals came in an action packed first half. Stoke were ahead on 18 when Bou crossed for Goulart to kill and finish the ball in one movement, a great piece of skill by the Brazilian. Olympiakos were level just after the half hour as Tevez whipped in a great free kick which Selnaes tapped home at the near post. Knoche had the potteries jumping just before the break with what turned out to be the winner, Castillejo did all the hard work holding off a couple of despairing tackles before setting up Knoche for a easy finish. The second half was a more stop start affair with fouls from both sides in a fiesty atmosphere. Guedes had already been carded by the ref for a cynical challenge on Selnaes before he lunged into a wild challenge on Vela, the challenge sparked a melee between the benches as Anthony Maddison and Dale Bowers had to be seperated. Tevez missed a couple of chances to get Olympiakos back level as Stoke held on with their 10 men.
ASTON VILLA 1 MARSEILLE 1
Marseille finally ended their goal duck here at Villa Park but it wasn’t enough to take home the points. Just 39 seconds on the clock when the goalless run ended, Babacar playing in Bolasie who went past Fosu-mensah’s weak challenge to put the ball through Strakosha’s legs. Relief at last for Walter Gogh who celebrated wildly on the touchline.Both sides went for it but lacked that killer touch in front of goal. The second half again was an even affair and Villa were level on 74 as Gray, back in the side after his red card against Atalanta, started making amends to his manager by finishing Karamoh’s superb cross. Babacar thought he had secured Marseille the vital 3 points they wanted but his smart finish was ruled offside, TV replays showing the officials made the correct decision. A point apiece just about the right result but positives to take for both managers.
So another round completed, another round of defeats for Boca and Atalanta to deal with and the table has another new leader…
 Sunday’s fixtures are below…
 A lot of teams playing against teams at the other end of the form table, I’m already praying ahead of Atalanta’s home game against Basel.
Till next time thanks for reading
Norman
|
Top 100 
Leave a comment