Europa League: Semi Final Round Up

Fulham's Europa League fairy-tale is still going, as they come back from a

goal down to knock-out Hamburg and reach the final.

Liverpool, though, will be licking their wounds this morning, having been beaten on away goals by Spaniards Atletico Madrid, with ex-Manchester United striker Diego Forlan striking the decisive blow.

Having taken a 0-0 draw from their away leg in Germany, Fulham knew they were going to have to give everything to overcome German giants Hamburg.

And their challenge became even greater, when Croatian striker Mladen Petric scored a wonderful 30-yard free kick after just over 20 minutes. With the goal having come against the run of play, Fulham would have been fair to feel hard done by. And the game looked like it was petering away for them, Fulham knew they would need something special to turn the tide.

Cue Simon Davies, the welsh winger popping up to score a magnificent solo goal, turning away from the Hamburg defence before finishing. With 20 minutes to go, it was game on.

And then, seven minutes later, came a moment that will live with all Fulham fans at the ground for a long, long time. As Davies swung in the corner, the ball fell for Zoltan Gera, who turned and fired it into the net. Craven Cottage went into party time.

As the Londoners held on, and the final whistle blew, wild celebrations shook the ground, and Fulham manager Roy Hodgson, the man who has masterminded their success calling the result "a major piece of history in a very special atmosphere."

With celebrations sweeping south-west London, Merseyside was in a very different mood, with a poor season now being confounded with a semi-final exit.

Having been 1-0 down from the first leg in Spain, Liverpool knew they needed to pull perhaps their best performance of a disappointing season to reach the final. And it seemed to be going well for them when Alberto Aquilani, their star summer signing who has failed to fire so far this season, scoring the opener to put his side ahead.

And as the tie went into extra time, Liverpool scored the second goal they thought would be enough to take them to the final, Yossi Benayoun firing in the second.

But Atletico Madrid weren't finished just yet, Diego Forlan popping up to volley home the winner and take Atletico to the final.

As Liverpool's mediocre season already seems to be over, Fulham are still on the journey of a lifetime.

See you at the final then, in Hamburg, on the 12 May. Will Fulham's magical journey continue, or are Atletico Madrid ready to break another English team's heart?

Jose's Inter hold on against mighty Barcelona to reach Champions League Final

Inter Milan managed to hold off Lionel Messi and his Barcelona teammates to cling on for a 3-2 aggregate victory and book a place at the Santiago Bernabau Stadium for the Champions League Final.

Jose Mourinho's Inter Milan team put in a sterling effort to reach the final at the expense of last years' winners. The Italian team provided a defensive masterclass, and played the majority of the match with just 10 men, having had influential midfielder, and former Barcelona player himself, Thiago Motta, sent off with over an hour left.

Having shocked the holders with a magnificent performance to win 3-1 in the first leg at the San Siro, Inter Milan would have expected to be kept under the cosh from the word go.

So it turned out, though for much of the match, Barcelona's performance seemed to be uncharacteristically sluggish and slow.

With 30 minutes on the clock, came one of the main talking points of the entire match. Thiago Motta, already on a yellow card, seemed to hand-off Barcelona midfielder Sergio Busquets in the face, and the Spaniard's over-reaction certainly seemed to fool the referee, as the Inter man was given a straight red card. The incensed Motta then went back over to Busquets, fuming, and grabbed him again, only to be escorted off the pitch by the other players. An angry Jose Mourinho on the touchline applauded the Barcelona fans, seeming to say that they were the ones who had had his man sent off.

Even a man up though, Barcelona never seemed to reach the highest gears they are known to be so capable of. Lionel Messi was one again outplayed by the magnificent Inter Milan defence, and Zlatlan Ibrahimovic again failed to fire against his old team, adding fuel to the fire of those who say he is unable to perform on the biggest stage.

As the second half wore on, Inter looked set to see out the draw to put them through. The drama though, was far from over.

Young substitute striker Bojan had a golden chance to put Barca ahead, only to miss his header from yards away.

With six minutes remaining however, Gerard Pique, a centre-back playing as an extra striker to help find a goal cleverly slotted into the bottom corner to put the home side 1-0 up on the night, though still behind on aggregate.

Cue mayhem from the already vociferous Nou Camp crowd of 98,000, who went into frenzy mode as their team surged forwards in search of the winner.

And in injury time, with seconds left to play, Barcelona thought they'd won it, when Bojan again popping up, this time slamming a shot into the roof of the net. Barcelona thought they had stolen the victory, but the referee had other ideas, ruling the goal out for a handball earlier in the move. This was one of a number of strange decisions from the officials on a night when neither manager would have been particularly pleased with their performance.

Jose Mourinho leapt onto the pitch as the final whistle blew, hands aloft, celebrating what he later called the "greatest win of his career".

Inter Milan will now go on to the final on 22 May in Madrid to play German giants Bayern Munich, who dispatched of Lyon 3-0 on Tuesday night thanks to an Ivica Olic hat-trick, sealing a 4-0 victory on aggregate.

Fulham stun Juventus with brilliant comeback...

Fulham have made it through to the Europa League Quarter Finals after completing a stunning comeback against Italian giants Juventus at Craven cottage.

Already 3-1 down from the first leg, Fulham conceded another early goal, but showed incredible resilience to come back and win 4-1 on the night, 5-4 on aggregate.

The tie looked over for The Cottagers when French star David Trezeguet put Juventus 4-1 up on aggregate after just two minutes. But Fulham proved more resilient than many would have expected, equalizing almost immediately through man-of-the-moment star striker Bobby Zamora.

Then came what many would argue was the turning point in the whole tie, with Juventus centre back Fabio Cannavaro sent off for a professional foul on Fulham midfielder Zoltan Gera. The Hungarian then went on to put Fulham in the lead with a neat finish, before leveling the tie overall with a penalty.

Fulham fans may have expected their team to hang on for extra time from there on in, but their night was about to get even better, as a delicate chip from American star Clint Dempsey put Fulham ahead for the first time in the whole tie, and sealing their victory.

Just to make Juventus’ night all the worse, defender Jonathan Zebina was given a straight red card for kicking out at Damien Duff in frustration.

Manager Roy Hodgson was clearly thrilled with his Fulham side, admitting he was “on top of the world” after his team’s magnificent performance. He continued: “I don’t know if it is the biggest night in the club’s history but it must come close. It’s a remarkable achievement that the boys have done so well.”

Clint Dempsey completes a magical night for Fulham with a fantastic chip

(Picture courtesy of The Guardian; Video courtesy of ESPN & YouTube)

Varsity 2010 - Rugby 2s hold onto title for second year in a row!

Varsity is, quite simply, the biggest event of the year for all of the Canterbury Christ Church University sports teams. This year, it has been incredibly tight between Christ Church Sport and their rival, the University of Kent, and the Rugby 2^nds were one of the victorious squads. I caught up with first year winger Joe Purvis to find out how he felt the day after.

So, Joe, how does it feel to be a Varsity winner?

Yeah it feels fantastic, to get one over on UKC, and accomplishing everything I wanted to achieve when I signed up for rugby. It was such a good team effort as well – we stuck together, didn’t let our heads drop, and we thoroughly deserved the win.

The celebrations must have been pretty special afterwards!?

It was great, you could see that it means so much to everyone, and it’s a great feeling knowing that you were a part of it.

Was the feeling afterwards more one of excitement or relief?

It was relief because you don’t want anyone to feel let down by you, but then excitement when you realise what you’ve achieved as a team.

And how has the season gone overall?

Yeah, really well, one or two slip ups at the start of the season, but we’ve bonded as times gone on and now we know what we’re capable of, and I think we’ve got excellent prospects for next season.

What tips would you give to someone thinking about joining up to play rugby next year?

Just to relax and enjoy it, you won’t ever experience much like this, so just enjoy it and make the most of it. Everyone is welcome to come along, and it’s as much about meeting new people and having fun as it is about the rugby. Everyone’s really friendly and does as much as they can to help us settle in and bond as a squad.

Unfortunately you didn’t actually play in the match, but the squad ethic seems great as everyone can enjoy the victory so much. Were you still disappointed you weren’t selected for the match though?

I would have loved to have played and I felt ready and pumped up, but this year wasn’t my year. Hopefully though, I can make the most of the next two years and take my chance when it comes.

Terry Defends Shaky Form

Under-fire Chelsea and England defender John Terry believes he proved a point to his critics in the victory over Egypt at Wembley.

The centre-back recently hit the headlines after allegations of an affair with Vanessa Perroncel, a former girlfriend of Wayne Bridge, and his form has come under the spotlight as a result.

In past weeks, Terry was at fault for both Everton goals in Chelsea's defeat at Goodison Park, and then allowed Inter Milan striker Diego Milito to score inside three minutes in their UEFA Champions League clash at the Giuseppe Meazza.
Chelsea then conceded four goals against Manchester City last weekend, but Terry believes he bounced back to his best in England's 3-1 win on Wednesday.

"It's a couple of bad results," said Terry.

"A couple of bad results sometimes means a bad performance from me, surprisingly.

"I was pleased with my performance against Egypt. It was important to come out and play the way I did."

Meanwhile, Chelsea playmaker Joe Cole believes full-back Branislav Ivanovic should be the club's player of the year, even though Didier Drogba has 25 goals so far this season.

"You look at a lot of full-backs in teams at the moment and they play like wingers," said Cole.

"Just look at Ashley Cole and Branislav Ivanovic in our team. They are as good at attacking as most wingers and I admire a good footballer.

"I think Ivanovic for us is fantastic. If I am going to give someone a mention I am going to give it to Ivanovic.

"He is a great player for Chelsea. I think he has been our player of the year to be honest."