From Friday's game preview:

Prediction: 0-0 draw. I expect some ugly soccer tomorrow. One team is an expansion team and one team is missing up to 7 starters. There will be a lot of tentative, conservative play and no scoring.

OK, so I was way off on the scoreline, but I was right about the ugly soccer.

First bow

Hello to all and welcome. Not a great day so far? Well, let's try to cheer you up shall we. Jack Wilshere has completed his minor procedure surgery in Sweden and will now return to Arsenal to continue his rehabilitation. It's good that he has completed that and even tweeted a picture about it.

First bow

Hello to all and welcome. Not a great day so far? Well, let's try to cheer you up shall we. Jack Wilshere has completed his minor procedure surgery in Sweden and will now return to Arsenal to continue his rehabilitation. It's good that he has completed that and even tweeted a picture about it.

Flexibility wins games and the best way to get it is to blend energy with savvy. DC United Coach Ben Olsen put out a nicely blended squad against Toronto and its savvy members made the exact right adjustments to a hard working opposing side which had clogged the middle and kept the game mostly in United's end.

Flexibility wins games and the best way to get it is to blend energy with savvy. DC United Coach Ben Olsen put out a nicely blended squad against Toronto and its savvy members made the exact right adjustments to a hard working opposing side which had clogged the middle and kept the game mostly in United's end.

Flexibility wins games and the best way to get it is to blend energy with savvy. DC United Coach Ben Olsen put out a nicely blended squad against Toronto and its savvy members made the exact right adjustments to a hard working opposing side which had clogged the middle and kept the game mostly in United's end.

PSG beat Lorient on the final day of the Ligue 1 season, which meant Montpellier had to win or draw against last-place Auxerre to win their first top-flight title in the club's history.

In front of a bitter crowd in Auxerre, that task become much more difficult than it first seemed when the home side went up 1-0 in the 20th minute.

Fredericksburg Hotspur hold on for season-opening win
By Tom Leiss
FAIRFAX, Va.—The Fredericksburg Hotspur opened their 2012 Premier Development League season with a 3-2 win against the Northern Virginia Royals on Sunday at Fairfax High School.
Fredericksburg (1-0) jumped on top early with a goal in the fourth minute and built its advantage to 3-0 by the 51st minute, before having to fight to hang on for the victory in the closing minutes.

Fortuna Dusseldorf's Bundesliga promotion/relegation playoff against Hertha Berlin teetered on the edge of mayhem before eventually succumbing to a premature pitch invasion that probably helped them hold on for the victory.

Dusseldorf won the first leg 2-1 and took a quick lead in the second leg by scoring in the first minute.

There's no reason to pretend otherwise, the Seattle Sounders are not playing their best. If not for a defense that has so far been playing out of its mind, who knows where the Sounders would be.

Of course, where they are is pretty awesome. At 22 points through 10 matches, they are basically on pace for 75 points.

So, just how did Fulham finish ninth, their first ever back-to-back top 10 finish in the top flight?

Chances were, if we were winning at half, we'd win the game. And if we were losing, we had a better chance than most at getting something out of the match. And that's not all:

• Never lost a single match when winning at half (10-1-0)
• Conceded just 4 goals in the second half when winning; one behind leaders Stoke City
• Finished 2nd overall in total points gained when losing at halftime with 8
• Finished 18th overall in total points gained when drawing at halftime with 13
• Tied with United overall for least amount of points dropped with just 6
• Yet, somehow, conceded 17 goals in the final 15 minutes, more than in 2007-08

How did our home record stack up with our away record?

So, just how did Fulham finish ninth, their first ever back-to-back top 10 finish in the top flight?

Chances were, if we were winning at half, we'd win the game. And if we were losing, we had a better chance than most at getting something out of the match. And that's not all:

• Never lost a single match when winning at half (10-1-0)
• Conceded just 4 goals in the second half when winning; one behind leaders Stoke City
• Finished 2nd overall in total points gained when losing at halftime with 8
• Finished 18th overall in total points gained when drawing at halftime with 13
• Tied with United overall for least amount of points dropped with just 6
• Yet, somehow, conceded 17 goals in the final 15 minutes, more than in 2007-08

How did our home record stack up with our away record?

That's Welsh for Friendly News and we got a big piece of news today. On July 24th Swansea City of the EPL will be facing the Rapids in a friendly at the Dick. Game time is 7pm and tickets go on sale to season ticket holders on Tuesday. The general public will be able to buy tickets starting on Sat.

Well, it's not the end of the world losing tonight but I'm not impressed by the fact the Dynamo are regressing a bit. There are some legitimate reasons for that tonight (adjusted lineup, injuries, end of a long roap trip), but I'll probably just end up sounding like I'm making excuses. Let's be honest though, the New York Red Bulls won tonight because they capitalized on yet another defensive mistake by Houston.

In a few previous posts from this season, I had written Pappa off. His lackluster performance in the season opener seemed to be a continuation of the 2011 season where Pappa never really seemed to find a rhythm, and his only consistency was his inconsistency. In the following match against Philly, he showed improvement, and since that match, he's been putting in quality minutes for the Fire.

Who would've thought that San Jose losing would be the story nine weeks into the season, but they did and it is. The Earthquakes couldn't come up with an equalizer against Vancouver at BC Place, falling 2-1 to a late goal like they'd usually score. It was the usual for San Jose to start, taking the lead 15 minutes in through Chris Wondolowski.

This is the one football question on everyone's lips throughout the world who is better, Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo? Now, before I look over these two massively talented footballers careers, you should note that personally I think its very hard to compare Lionel Messi vs Cristiano Ronaldo.

When your son-in-law is playing a vital role in the Manchester Derby, you're allowed to turn up and sit next to Giannina at the VIP stands, even if you had spent the whole time opposing his move to the club and whispering "Real Madrid" softly into his ears.

Such exceptions only apply in England because a) he's Maradona, b) no one can stop him from walking into any room and c) Pele is not around.

Benny Feilhaber put in a solid performance off the bench in a losing effort. (Photo: Chris Aduama/aduama.com)

HARRISON, N.J. There may have been a few puzzled looks when the Revolution's starting lineup against the Red Bulls failed to include Benny Feilhaber.

Although the 27-year-old midfielder missed three games before coming on for the final half hour two weeks ago in D.

If MLS matches were only 75 minutes long, the Portland Timbers just might be a first-place team. Unfortunately for the Timbers, playing well for 90 minutes has proven to be impossible.

Montreal scored a pair of goals in the final 15 minutes to send Portland to another defeat in a match where John Spencer's team looked capable of earning a point or three.

By Alan Duffy

Swansea City Wolverhampton Wanderers Premier League 28th April 2012

They may already be relegated, but Terry Connor's Wolves side staged a magnificent comeback at the Liberty Stadium on Saturday.

Alan Pardew got it right when he said that Newcastle just couldn't match Wigan's intensity today, especially in the first half. Wigan players celebrating Di Santo's superb goal just before half time Wigan started this game like the players' lives depended on winning it, and Newcastle were 2-0 down after just 15 minutes, after conceding only one goal in the last six games.

It was an embarrassing display by Newcastle United today, a shocking display in fact, and they were 4-0 down against 4th bottom Wigan Athletic at the half. Victor Moses after scoring second goal after 15 minutes today While Newcastle improved a little after the break and Cisse hit the bar twice, it was an awful display by the Magpies, and there's something about this [.

Despite being in a lower league position than their opponent, Atletico Madrid, managed to show their superiority against Valencia in the Semifinal of Europa League as Diego Simeone's side eliminated Unay Emery's boys with two victories.

Having already taking a 4-2 lead in the first leg, Atletico picked up another victory at Mestalla thanks to a lovely striker from their young striker, Adrian Lopez, which simply ended the home team's effort.

By THOMAS FLOYD

Zac MacMath is nothing if not resilient.

After all, his first season as the Philadelphia Union's starter in goal didn't exactly get off to a splendid start, as the club kicked off the year with three consecutive losses, during which the 20-year-old experienced some notable growing pains.

By Alan Duffy

Super Michael patiently waits for his moment of glory...

Manchester United fans worried that your beloved team's grip on the Premier League trophy may be loosening? Well don't fear, because boy wonder Michael Owen is here.

Goals:
Odemwingie 75'
If you don't laugh, you're gonna cry.
Countless chances unbelievably missed? Check. Contentious non-penalty decision? Check. Hitting the woodwork? Double check. A defensive mistake leading to Liverpool unconscionably conceding against The. Run. Of.

Barcelona followed Real Madrid's path in the Champions League as just like Jose Mourinho's boys, the Catalan also got beaten in their first leg meeting against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

It can be considered a bitter defeat for Pep Guardioal's men as despite dominating and creating lots of chances, they still ends up losing 1-0 through Didier Drogba's only goal.

Diving is a blemish on the game, plain and simple. It's a difficult issue though because so many players dive yet those same players would say that there's no part of diving in the game.
The bad thing is, diving works. Players dive and continue to dive because it helps them get calls.
Now, this isn't something new of course.

A cagey first half in which Spurs had the better chances. Rafa had a header cleared off the line by Terry, and hit the post a bit later on after Ade failed to turn in the simplest of crosses.
Then all of a sudden Chelsea hoof the ball up to Drogba who holds off Gallas, turns him easily and lashes it past Cudicini into the top corner.

By Walter Broeckx

What could have been a banana skin game turned out to be a very comfortable win. Arsenal started the game well on top and we took our early chances. Before we realised it the game was well won and we hadn't even played 15 minutes.

Walcott started as if he was on [..

On the way out of the main stand of Starfire tonight I caught a glimpse of Sounders Women GM Amy Carnell, and she looked delighted. It's easy to understand why. Though we never got official attendance numbers, the stadium was clearly at capacity, with the stands on both sides of the field full and more people spilling onto the surrounding grassy hills or watching from behind fences.

"Manchester United do not look absolutely irresistible," said Wenger. "But they know how to deal with the money time. That means the last 15 minutes when it is 0-0. They have won so many titles because they are not nervous."

This season, our squad has been ravaged with injuries. Our captain and most important defender, Nemanja Vidic, has been ruled out since December.

Barca Day 5

Day five commenced much the same as the previous day with Barca B training. Rondos for 10 minutes then some warm up exercises and straight to 11 v 11 action to prepare this weekends game against Nastic. Coach would pause and rehearse certain scenarios of what to expect on defense and offense.

Real Betis Balompié play their home games at the over 50,000 capacity Estadio Benito Villamarín. The stadium has gradually been developed since 1929.
From 2000-2010 the stadium was called Estadio Manuel Ruiz de Lopera after the President of the football club at the time. However, after a popular vote, the ground reverted to its previous name.

Patrick Vieira launched a bizarre attack on Manchester United last week, claiming we must be desperate to bring Paul Scholes out of retirement and that we wouldn't have lost our young stars, like Ravel Morrison, in the past. In just the few months since Scholes returned, he's already scored more goals than he did last season, and Morrison getting shipped off to a Championship club where he doesn't get a game after we didn't offer him a new contract is hardly "losing out" on our young players.

Real Madrid's awareness over the strength of their opponents in the Champions League, APOEL Nicosia, reaps its reward as they shut down the Cyprus representatives 3-0 with Karim Benzema bagging a brace, while Ricardo Kaka adding another one.

It wasn't actually a ride in the park for Los Blancos, although the were totally dominating the match, but the goals didn't arrive until the last 15 minutes into the game.

Manchester United's manager, Sir Alex Ferguson is pretty content with the victory that his team picked up against Fulham on Monday, although he admit that he last 15 minutes wasn't actually a pretty sight at Old Trafford.

Although wasn't all pleased especially with the rather nervy last few minutes, Ferguson overall is pleased with his team's performance, stating that they deserved the victory, while praising the performance of Antonio Valencia.

By Chris Wright

Ruben Negredo (older brother of Sevilla's Alvaro) had a busy old afternoon at work in the Spanish third tier last week, putting in a double-shift for Gimnastica de Torrelavega in their Segunda Division B league tie with Burgos.

At one-nil down, having started the game in his favoured position up top, Negredo bought Gimnastica back level with an equaliser on the hour mark, only to find himself press-ganged into service as an auxiliary goalkeeper 15 minutes later when first-choice stopper Ivan Crespo was dismissed for tripping a Burgos player in the area.

By Alan Duffy

Swansea City 0-2 Everton Premier League 24th March 2012

Swansea's form on home soil this season has been superb, but against a well-drilled Everton side on Saturday, Brendan Rodgers' charges struggled to breach the opposition defence.