Day 2 of Olympic Soccer Review

Group A

Senegal 2 vs. Uruguay 0

Senegal shocked the soccer olympic world when the shorthanded squad was able to walk away victorious. Senegal got things started with an early goal in the 10th minute by forward Moussa Konate. Then in the 30th minute Senegal would go down a man after Abdoulaye Da was red carded and forced off the field of play. Uruguay would try to answer before Senegal could recover from the man down, but after a couple great saves by Ousmane Mane, Moussa Konate would connect again with a goal in the 37th minute. Despite control possession for most the game, Uruguay was unable to ever create much of an opportunity, and Senegal walked away with the 3 points.

Yellow Cards:

Senegal- Abdoulaye Da(27′), Cheikhou Kouyate(44′), Mohamed Diame(46′), Stephane Badji(61′)

Uruguay- Gaston Ramirez(64′), Emiliano Albin(68′)

Red Cards:

Abdoulaye Da(30′)

Great Britain 3 vs. United Arab Emirates 1

Great Britain was able to take the lead of Group A after a nice victory by the host country. The scoring got started when Ryan Giggs become the oldest played in Olympics history after a goal in the 16th minute. Great Britain was dominating the first half and were upset to not be up more after the first half. UAE showed some fight left in them with a goal by Rashed Eisa in the 60th minute. Things looked as though it was going to be a repeat of Thursday’s result against Senegal, but Great Britain was able to break out and score 2 goals in 3 minutes. Great Britain got a goal from Scott Sinclair in the 73rd minute, and Daniel Sturridge just minutes later in the 76th minute. Great Britain was able to walk away with 3 points, and the countries first victory since the 1960 olympic games.

Yellow Cards:

Great Britain- none

UAE- Khamis Esmaeel(63′), Omar Abdulrahman(83′)

Group A Standings

1. Great Britain  4 points +2
2. Senegal        4 points +2
3. Uruguay       3 points -1
4. UAE             0 points -3

Group B

  Mexico 2 vs. Gabon 0

Mexico dominates to get their first win of the 2012 Olympics, and are now in first place of Group B. Mexico dominated possession throughout the entire game, yet it took a substitute to get Mexico on the board. Gabon was never able to get anything developed yet their defense was keeping them in it until the 63rd minute. Substitute Giovani Dos Santos scored Mexico’s first goal just 17 minutes into the game after coming into the game in the 46th minute. Dos Santos was then able to score on a penalty kick in the 90th minute due to a red card from Gabon’s Henri Ndong. Mexico gets the 3 points.

Yellow Cards:

Mexico- Diego Reyes Rosales(41′)

Gabon- Muller Kambambela Dinda(43′), Henri Ndong(50′)

Red Cards:

Gabon- Henri Ndong(90′)

South Korea 2 vs. Switzerland 1

South Korea battled through a hard fought victory over Switzerland get the 3 points needed to stay at pace with Mexico in the group. Korea had the advantage in the first half as it ended in a 0-0 tie between the two teams. It was not until the 57th minute where the scoring started, and it started in bunches. 3 goals in 7 minutes between the two teams would be the outcome of this game. South Korea got things started in the 57th minute with a goal from Park Chu-Young. Switzerland answered back immediately with a goal in the 60th minute by Innocent Emeghara. The game would remain tied for just 4 minutes when South Korea’s Kim Bo-Kyung became the star of the match with a goal in the 64th minute. South Korea would take a 2-1 lead and never look back to get the 3 points.

Yellow Cards:

South Korea- Jong-Woo Park(68′), Park Chu-Yung(71′)

Switerzland-  Pajtim Kassami(1′), Michel Morganella(67′), Innocent Emeghara(88′), Drmic Josip(90′)

Group B Standings

1. Mexico              4 points +2
2. South Korea   4 points  +1
3. Switerzland    1 point    -1
4. Gabon               1 point   -2

 

Group C 

Egypt 1 vs New Zealand 1

Egypt came out on fire dominating the first 15 minutes down in New Zealand’s zone. Then in the 17th minute New Zealand counter attacked and took away all momentum from Egypt with a goal by Chris Wood. New Zealand would keep the lead for most of the first half until Egypt was able to even things up with a goal from Mohamed Salah in the 40th minute. The second half was a close fought battle with neither team being able to get the lead and 3 points in the group. The game would end in a 1-1 tie with each team getting a point.

Yellow Cards:

Egypt- Mahmoud Alaa Eldin(60′)

New Zealand- Shane Smeltz(81′) 

Brazil 3 vs Belarus 1

Brazil was able to take a demanding lead in the group with a big win after an early scare. Belarus got a 1-0 lead early after a goal in the 8th minute by Renan Bressan. It looked early as this could become a nice upset but that lasted for just 7 minutes as Brazil’s Alexander Pato scored in the 15th minute.  The first half would end in a 1-1 tie as Belarus was a able to keep up a hard fight. Brazil took the lead with a beautiful set piece goal by Neymar in the 65th minute. Brazil never looked backed as they added yet another goal in the 90th minute by Oscar to secure a 3-1 victory.

Yellow Cards:

Brazil- none

Belarus- Aleksei Kozlov(14′), Stanislov Dragun(80′)

Group C Standings

1. Brazil                     6 points +3
2. Belarus                 3 points -1
3. Egypt                    1 point -1
4. New Zealand      1 point -1

 

Group D

Japan 1 vs Morocco 0

Japan gets into the quarter finals in a hard fought victory over Morocco. The first half was a back and forth battle with each team having opportunities to take the lead, yet neither were able to get that momentum changing goal in the first half as it was tied 0-0 after 45 minutes. The second half remained the same and with 20 minutes left in the match it was still 0-0. Then in the 84th minute Kensuke Nagai became Japan’s hero with a late goal to give the Japan squad a 1-0 late lead. Morocco tried to respond late but no luck came out of it as Japan gets the 3 points and lead in the group.

Yellow Cards:

Japan-none

Morocco- Driss Fettouhi(29′), Abdelatif Noussir(90′)

Spain 0 vs Honduras 1

Spain was shocked again and will be going home after round play is done after losing their second straight match, this one to Honduras.  Honduras came out aggressive early and scored in the 7th minute with a goal from Jerry Bengston. Spain down early and hopes fading tried desperately to get a tying goal throughout the whole match, yet they could never find the back of the net. Honduras played very well and knocked Spain out of the Olympics early and got the 3 points.

Yellow Cards:

Spain- Javier Martinez(31′), Martin Montoya(39′), Iker Muniain(78′), Juan Mata(89′), Alberto Botia(90′)

Honuras- Roger Espinoza(5′), Arnold Peralta(24′), Jose Mendoza(45′), Luis Miguel Garrido(59′), Johnny Leveron(78′), Alfredo Mejia(86′)

Group D Standings

1. Japan             6 points +2
2. Honduras    4 points +1
3. Morocco      1 point    -1
4. Spain             0 point   -2

 

Day two is over and things are looking a little bit more clear for the round of 8. Japan and Brazil have clinched their way to the quarter finals with 1 game left. The shock of the tournament is Spain going out early without a win so far in the Olympics. Great Britain has a chance to make it to the round of 8 in their first appearance at the Olympics since 1960. 

 

Coach Tom

Men’s Soccer 2012 Olympics Review

Group A

United Arab Emirates 1 vs. Uruguay 2

Uruguay used second half to fuel a 2 goal comeback in their opening round game of the 2012 London Olympics.

UAE shocked Uruguay by taking a early 1st half lead with a goal by forward Ismaeil Matar in the 23rd minute. Uruguay went down 1-0 looking like a shaken team. Uruguay did not take long to respond thanks to a goal by Gaston Ramirez in the 42nd minute. Uruguay took control in the second half scoring 11 minutes in with a goal from Nicolas Lodeiro in the 56th minute. Uruguay gets 3 points in a 2-1 victory. 

Yellow Cards: UAE-Mohamed Ahmad(37′)    Uruguay- German Rolin(9′)

Great Britain 1 vs. Senegal 1

 The host country Great Britain found themselves in the Summer Olympics since 1960 and had a hard fought 1-1. Great Britain maintained control for the main part of the first half and took a 1-0 lead thanks to a goal from Craig Bellamy in the 20th minute. All looked good for the host country to get a win as they were dominating throughout the first 60 minutes of the game. They never got that 2nd goal to put Senegal away and around the 70th minute Senegal began a push for momentum. Then in the 82nd minute Moussa Konate to make it a 1-1. The final 15 minutes were back and forth and Great Britain had a shot go off the cross bar with just minutes remaining. In the end both teams get 1 point.

Yellow Cards:

Great Britain- Craig Bellamy(47′)  

 Senegal- Papa N’Diaye Souare(36′), Sadio Mane(45′), Papa Gueye(86′)

Group A Standings

• Uruguay         3 points. +1
• Great Britain   1 point 0
• Senegal         1 point  0
• UAE              0 points -1

Group B

Mexico 0 vs. South Korea 0

In a hard fought draw South Korea maintained the momentum for most of the first half yet were never able to get a shot on goal which makes it difficult to score. Mexico showed some promise yet still there was nothing to show for the match. Both teams get 1 point in a 0-0 tie.

Yellow Cards:

Mexico- Hector Herrera Rubio.

Gabon 1 vs. Switzerland 1

Switzerland got off to a very early lead as they got a goal from Admir Mehmedi in the 5th minute in the style of a penalty kick. Switzerland looked as though they could cruise to an easy victory until a shocking game tying goal in the 45th from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. No goals would be scored in the second half as Gabon held on to a hard fought point. 

Yellow Cards:

Gabon- Allen Nono(18′), Merlin Tandjigora(49′)

Switzerland- Timm Klose(14′), Oliver Bluff(32′)

Red Card: Switzerland- Oliver Bluff(78′)

Group B Standings

• Mexico          1  point 0
• South Korea  1  point 0
• Gabon          1  point 0
• Switzerland   1  point 0

Group C

Belarus 1 vs. New Zealand 0

In one of the biggest upsets of the day, Belarus scored late in the first half with a header off a corner by Dmitry Baga in the 45th minute. Belarus shockingly dominated the entire game and if it wasn’t for New Zealand’s keeper, the game could have easily been 3 or 4 to nothing. Belarus gets a shocking 3 points

Yellow Cards:

Belarus: Sergei Politevich(56′)

New Zealand- Tommy Smith(1′), Kosta Barbarouses(60′)

Brazil 3 vs. Egypt 2

The first half was completely dominated by Brazil as they scored 3 consecutive goals from Rafael in the 16th minute, Leandro Damiao in the 26th minute, and from  Neymar in the 30th minute. Brazil looked as though they would cruise to an easy first match victory after the first half. Egypt did not go down without a fight as they came back to score 2 goals just to fall short in the 2nd half. Egypt score in the 52nd minute with a goal from Mohamed Aboutrika, and Mohamed Saha in the 76th minute. Egypt could not find the last goal to get that needed 1 point in a draw. Brazil gets 3 points in the victory.

Yellow Cards:

Brazil- Hulk(60′)

Egypt- Saleh Gomaa(33′), Mohamed Alaa Eldin(71′), Eslam Ramadan(87′)

Group C Standings

Brazil              3 points +1

Belarus           3 points +1 

New Zealand    0 points -1

Egypt              0 points -1

Group D

Honduras 2 vs. Morocco 2

In a back and forth battle that ended up in a well deserve tie got both teams a point in their opening match of the 2012 Summer Olympics. Morocco got the scoring started with a goal from Abdelaziz in the 39th minute. Morocco took a 1-0 lead going into the 2nd half before an explosion of scoring began. Honduras started off the second half with a goal from Jerry Bengtson in the 56th minute. Bengston then quickly scored again in the 65th minute in the form of a penalty kick and Honduras took a 2-1 lead. The second half was very physical as 4 yellow cards and a red card were handed out. Morocco came back to score in the 67th minute with a goal from Zakaria Labyad. Both teams get a point    out of a hard fought match.

Yellow Cards:

Honduras- Jose Velasquez(32′), Roger Espinoza(87′), Arnold Peralta(90′)

Morocco- Soufiane Bidaoui(51′), Houssine Kharja(54′)

Red Card: Morocco- Zakara Bergdich(72′)

Spain 0 vs. Japan 1

In the most shocking match of the day, and quite frankly the biggest upset of the day, Japan managed to sneak by with a 1-0 victory. Japan scored midway through the first half in the 34th minute from a goal by Yuki Ostu. Japan then went into defense mode and managed to keep Spain from scoring and stole 3 points away from the groups favored team.

Group D Standings

• Japan        3 points +1
• Honduras   1 point  0
• Morocco    1 point  0
• Spain        0 points -1

So there ya have it. the rap up of the first day of the 2012 Summer Olympics from London. The upsets of the day have to go to Japan over Brazil, and Belarus over New Zealand. Spain and New Zealand’s next matches could be very important for their futures in the Olympics.

Coach Tom

Thierry Henry Goal

Far post and in! Blouses! (Credit to Mikey 2 Times)

Amazing MLS Goal

Darren Mattocks must have some of the worst hand-eye coordination ever. With ups like this you know a basketball or football coach must have come along and seen what this kid can do. A dribble off the shin and a pigskin between the hands to the nuts later and Darren Mattocks found himself jumping over five-foot-something white guys in Major League Soccer in Vancouver.

OK, actually Mattocks was the second overall pick in the 2012 MLS SuperDraft and was an All-American at the University of Akron. He is 21-years old and from Jamaica.

I guess they look ok…

Euro 2008, World Cup 2010, Euro 2012…pretty safe to call this Spanish National Team the greatest football team ever

Balotelli Goes H.A.M.

Who enjoys this more, the announcer or Balotelli?

Welbeck Spin Cycle

The prettiest goal of the Euro 2012.

Messi Amazing Goal

Amazing Shot