Sports Blog #3
Kevin-Prince Boateng
Wowee! What a weekend for football! I’ve had time to take breath, think rationally and give some thoughts on some of the talking points.
First up were the League games on Saturday. Massive wins for Burnley and West Ham. I’ve given Burnley a bit of stick of late about them not being a “proper” team and now they deserve some praise. I didn’t think it was in them to pull out a result like that at Hull and didn’t they do well. They got a bit of luck with the first penalty but after that they seemed to want it more. I have to say that with Burnley winning as well as West Ham I think it all but relegated Hull and Burnley but at least we’ve got a fight on. West Ham battled to a 1-0 win over Sunderland in a game that was always going to be edgy and tight for the Hammers. Sunderland are now one of them teams who have not a lot to play for. They do have a striker up top that is playing out of his skin to be at the World Cup though. His slip when through on goal could prove to be massive in the relegation battle this season. Carlton Cole ironically is fighting for the same spot in the England side and he did his chances no harm. His flick for Ilan to score was superb. It’s that kind of play/player that Capello likes alongside Rooney.
Now then, FA Cup Semi #1. Chelsea deservedly won but the 3-0 scoreline flattered them slightly. I have to say i’ve been a bit annoyed by Martin O’Neill’s reaction to the game. He’s acting like a bit of a baby in my opinion. I would say it was a definite penalty. Not too sure why Howard Webb didn’t give it but to cry about that when they pretty much didn’t create anything else is a bit rich. He’s also bleating on about the Terry tackle on Milner which wasn’t great but the referee got that spot on. It was not a malicious tackle, he went for and got the ball. Also, Milner’s touch was poor and the ball was there to be won. Fortunately Milner wasn’t hurt. I wouldn’t say that Villa were fully dealt a shit sandwich, only the penalty was unlucky for them. They were dealt with more of a shit canapé. O’Neill’s side didn’t create enough and Chelsea absorbed their pressure well. Mr O’Neill said himself that these things even themselves out when they got a huge slice of luck against Palace, maybe they just did.
Sunday had a lot more football to feast on! The league games were nearly all a borefest before Man City demolished Birmingham. They’re scoring goals for fun right now and this only makes it more interesting for the Manchester derby. Blackburn managed to frustrate United who look toothless up front without Rooney. Sir Alex made a very clever remark afterwards though, stating that Bolton will be easy for Chelsea. He’s trying to motivate Bolton. Very clever words indeed. If Chelsea beat Bolton on Tuesday it opens up a 4 point gap on United whilst Arsenal go to Spurs on Wednesday. Huge week ahead. I think it’s still all to play for for United though. Chelsea could easily pick up no points from their games at White Hart Lane and Anfield so it’s nowhere near over. Liverpool have no chance of getting 4th spot now in my opinion. They need to fight for 5th now really. Their draw with Fulham highlighted their reliance on Torres once more.
Then we had the game of the weekend – FA Cup Semi #2. This was a football romantics’ dream. Relegated and troubled Portsmouth Vs high flying Spurs. As will be the same in the final, everyone but the Spurs fans and the Southampton fans wanted Pompey to win and they did. A superb game that tapped into all of the emotions. It was a shame that the terrible pitch played its part on the first Pompey goal but they had the better of the chances on the counter anyway. Portsmouth also had a bit of luck with the Spurs disallowed goal but we don’t care. Superb stuff. The Portsmouth fans have suffered no end this season and they’ve got some deserved joy. After that performance and with a couple of players coming back I don’t think it’ll be straight forward for Chelsea either. Pompey were 9-1 to win that Semi and are currently 11-1 to win the final. Might be worth a little flutter!
