The Sport Review: “Kim Little brace helps Arsenal beat Doncaster Rovers Belles” plus 3 more

Kim Little brace helps Arsenal beat Doncaster Rovers Belles
Madrid Masters: Unbeaten Djokovic ends Nadal’s run
Turkish Grand Prix: Sebastian Vettel seals third win of 2011
Man Utd 2 Chelsea 1: We won’t muck it up, declares Sir Alex

Kim Little brace helps Arsenal beat Doncaster Rovers Belles

Posted: 08 May 2011 03:53 PM PDT

arsenal ladies celebrate

Arsenal Ladies continued their recovery from a home defeat by Birmingham City last week with a convincing 3-0 win over Doncaster Rovers Belles on Saturday.

England international Ellen White opened the scoring after just seven minutes, before two second-half goals from Kim Little sealed all three points for the Gunners.

The first half was a tight affair, but both teams had early chances. Belles captain Katie Holtham's goal-bound effort on five minutes was deflected into the arms of Arsenal keeper Emma Byrne after good work down the left from Precious Hamilton.

The deadlock was broken just two minutes later. Rachel Yankey supplied a superb ball into the box, and White rose above everyone to power a header past Helen Alderson.

Despite going behind, the Belles were still in the game in the first half, and were able to restrict Arsenal's fluid attack without ever really threatening Byrne.

Arsenal almost doubled their lead on 25 minutes when Danielle Carter was alone in the six-yard box, but she skewed the ball wide before having her blushes spared by the offside flag.

The Belles had their best chance to equalise just after the half-hour mark when a fantastic pass from Hamilton on the right sent O'Gorman through on goal, but her firm shot was well blocked by Byrne.

Then it was almost déjà vu time for the Belles as White came inches away from doubling the Arsenal lead just before the break, but she couldn't make contact with Yankey's cross.

The Belles had the first chance of the second half with Vicky Exley setting up O'Gorman, but the Irish international's low shot was well saved by compatriot Byrne.

Unhappy with their first half performance, Arsenal immediately responded as Byrne launched the ball into the Belles half.

The home side failed to deal with the kick, and Little pounced on the loose ball outside of the box to drive a half-volley past a helpless Alderson.

Julie Fleeting then headed a Yankey cross against the bar, but Little was in the perfect spot to head into an empty net for her second of the game.

Belles manager John Buckley said the second goal decided the outcome, as had been the case in their 4-1 defeat at home by Chelsea last month.

"I do believe that the second goal changed the game," he said. "It was like a child's goal you'd see in a park.

“The first centre back came in underneath it, then the second shouted, came in, and should have headed it. There's no point in playing there if you're not going to do that.

"The second goal disappointed me. I thought for the next 20-25 minutes they [Arsenal] ran the show. In the last 10-15 minutes we picked it up, and even with the opportunities we created, we never got the bodies forward, and that's something you can mark down to fitness.

"The reason obviously it was a bad goal was because people's heads dropped, we gave possession away, if you constantly give possession away you know you're in trouble. When we had control of the ball, and we were brave with the ball, we created things, and that is a mindset.

"We do have a lot of young players, but that's a learning curve for them."

Arsenal coach Laura Harvey was happy with her team's second-half performance after a tired first half showing.

"Second half I was more pleased,” she said. “First half we were sloppy, and lethargic, and we looked like we'd had six times in 14 days, which we have. Second half we actually got the ball down, and started playing more, and Kim Little showed her ability with her goals."

The Gunners return to London to prepare for Thursday's trip to Filton to take on Bristol Academy in a dress rehearsal of the FA Women's Cup Final.

Doncaster, meanwhile, prepare for their third home game in eight days as they host Everton Ladies in the second televised game of the season on ESPN on the same day.

Doncaster Rovers Belles

Alderson, Karlsson, Sjoman, Turner, Williams (Cunningham 83), Exley (Owen 78), Holtham (c), Lipka, O'Gorman, Hamilton, Hall (Cox 69). Subs Not Used: Earps (GK), Bright

Arsenal Ladies

Byrne, Beattie (Houghton 57), Fahey, Grant, Flaherty, Little, Chapman (c) (Coombs 84), Nobbs, Carter (Fleeting 50), Yankey, E. White. Subs Not Used: Spencer (GK), Tracy.

Goals: White 7, Little 47, 68

Attendance: 424

Madrid Masters: Unbeaten Djokovic ends Nadal’s run

Posted: 08 May 2011 03:25 PM PDT

novak djokovic

An inspired Novak Djokovic finally defeated Rafael Nadal on clay and maintained his unbeaten record in 2011 as he won the Madrid Masters 7-5 6-4.

The Serb had failed to beat the world No1 in nine previous clay-court encounters but managed to end Nadal's 37-match winning streak on the dirt, which dated back to Roland Garros in 2009.

This impressive victory continues Djokovic’s blistering form in 2011. The world No2 has now recorded 32 consecutive victories – the second-best start to a season behind John McEnroe's 42 back in 1984.

In fact the 23-year-old has not been beaten since the semi-finals of the ATP World Tour Finals in November 2010. Since then he has won the Davis Cup with Serbia and has taken titles at the Australian Open, Dubai, Indian Wells, Miami, Belgrade and now in Madrid.

After Sunday's final Djokovic said: “I stepped onto the court today believing I could win. I needed to be aggressive and it was a great match.

"Under the circumstances, I've played probably the best match of my life on clay against the world No1 and the player to beat on this surface.

"The way I played was just fantastic. I'm definitely satisfied with the performance and the overall tournament."

Nadal, meanwhile, was typically gracious in defeat. "I came up against a great player obviously – he’s having a monster year,” said Nadal. “He was better, you have to accept that.”

Djokovic started the match today in explosive fashion, racing to a 4-0 lead and silencing the Caja Mágica.

He was forcing errors from a frustrated Nadal. Against the Spaniard on the clay you have to find the lines and Djokovic was doing just that with consummate ease.

Nadal responded with some punishing forehands and used his athleticism to grind down the Serb in a series of punishing rallies

Back level at 5-5 the momentum was with the Spaniard but Djokovic stepped up with some outrageous backhands down the line, and 2011's man of the moment seized his opportunity to break to take the first set 7-5.

A moment of pure genius followed. Nadal looked to break Djokovic immediately at the start of the second and was helped by a sumptuous winner. The Spaniard hit an incredible winning lob between his legs while running back to retrieve a Djokovic lob.

The crowd was sent into raptures but the resilience Djokovic has displayed this season was once again on display when he broke straight back.

Despite several chances the set stayed on serve until 5-4, when the Djokovic hit three consecutive winners to break Nadal's resolve and grab the title.

Victory edges Djokovic closer to the summit of the rankings, with the Serb having to defend very few points in the clay-court season.

And Nadal admits his reign as number one is almost over. “The number ranking is not in danger – it’s finished,” said the 24-year-old. “Let’s not lie to ourselves, that’s the reality.

"Nobody likes to lose. I have to see what’s missing and working with a cool, open mind to decipher things and find the solutions to try to do a little better next time.”

Turkish Grand Prix: Sebastian Vettel seals third win of 2011

Posted: 08 May 2011 11:29 AM PDT

turkish grand prix podium

Sebastian Vettel cruised to his third win of 2011 as Red Bull secured their first one-two of the season after Mark Webber finished ahead of Ferrari's Fernando Alonso.

It is a triumph in stark contrast to last year’s infamous race when Vettel and Webber collided while on course for an easy one-two finish to gift victory to McLaren's Lewis Hamilton.

"It was a great result today, especially after I gave the team so much work on Friday,” said Vettel, who had damaged his Red Bull in a crash during Friday practice. “I hope giving a victory back goes some way to help them forget it.

"Saturday morning was crucial. When I walked into the garage everyone gave me the impression that nothing is wrong and there was nothing to worry about.

“The whole team was working so hard to get the car back together and times like these are important.

"In the race we had a very good first stint and got a gap and you can always benefit from that cushion. At the end I did two short stints, which was the right thing to do, it was seamless today.”

After a disappointing start to the season Alonso sealed his first podium finish, just 10 seconds behind Vettel and comfortably in front of Hamilton.

The Spaniard said: "The car performed a bit better than what we did in the first three races of the championship, so finally we enjoyed racing again and we enjoyed a race fighting for the podium positions, changing position through the race. Finally we can enjoy racing again."

Hamilton finished fourth despite a good getaway at the start, dropping to sixth after running wide at Turn Three on the opening lap.

The McLaren man was hampered by too much front wing, forcing him to switch to a four-stop strategy to deal with the increased rear tyre wear.

And to make his afternoon even more disappointing, a threaded wheel nut on his third pit stop ended any hopes of finishing on the podium.

"It was a disappointing day on my behalf," Hamilton admitted. "Not one of my best races. I got a pretty decent start but then lost a lot of ground at Turn Three.

"I got stuck behind Jenson and damaged my tyres trying to get past so I pitted. I had to pit way too early at my first pit stop I think, and then at one of the stops we lost a lot of time.

"Obviously when I was trying to get past Jenson I had so much pace, but by the time I did get past I had nothing left in my tyres and that pushed me into a four stopper.

“But considering we had a bad pit stop as well we did well to get back up to fourth place. But the battle was good and Jenson was fair all the way through it–we look forward to the next race."

Team-mate Jenson Button continued on a three-stopper but with fresher tyres Hamilton and Rosberg had too much pace and left the 2009 world champion to finish sixth.

Renault continued their run of picking up points as Nick Heidfeld and Vitaly Petrov were seventh and eighth, while Sébastien Buemi rose from 16th on the grid to take ninth for Toro Rosso.

Sauber's Kamui Kobayashi, starting from the back of the grid after failing to set a time in qualifying, rounded out the top 10 with an impressive performance after promising to get points for owner Peter Sauber.

Vettel's 13th win in F1, and sixth in his last eight races, takes him to 93 points in the drivers' standings, well ahead of Hamilton on 59, and Webber on 55.

Red Bull's dominance increases their lead at the top of the constructors' championship to 148, ahead of McLaren on 105, with Ferrari in third with 65.

Man Utd 2 Chelsea 1: We won’t muck it up, declares Sir Alex

Posted: 08 May 2011 10:57 AM PDT

Goalscorer Nemanja Vidić was thrilled with Manchester United’s “deserved” win over Chelsea to all but guarantee a 19th league title for Sir Alex Ferguson’s men.

Javier Hernández gave United the perfect start after just 36 seconds when he coolly slotted home Park Ji-sung’s slide-rule pass following a mistake from David Luiz.

And captain Vidić doubled the home side’s lead mid-way through the first half as United ran riot, the Serbia international turning in Ryan Giggs’ cross from the left.

Frank Lampard’s poached goal after the break halved United’s lead but Ferguson’s men held firm to seal a win which leaves them needing only a point at Blackburn on Saturday to secure the title.

“We played some good football, especially in the first half and the first 20 minutes,” said Vidić afterwards. “The goals reflected how we played.

“We knew we had to go for the win today. We defended properly and like a team and I think we deserved this win.”

United boss Ferguson is certain his side will now go on to claim their 19th title and overtake Liverpool’s tally, with the Red Devils now needing a just a draw from their remaining two fixtures to be crowned champions.

“The players won’t muck it up,” said Ferguson. “They’ll get the point. It’s fantastic to say we are the most successful team in the country regarding championships.

“It took time to get the foundations of the club right and after we got the first title we improved, improved and improved.

“We could have scored about six in the second half. You expect a tough game against Chelsea and we got that.”

The United manager added: “We got a great start. It was a good team performance. Credit to the players because they deserved it.”

Veteran midfielder Giggs, meanwhile, was pleased by the attacking prowess shown by his side.

He said: “We know we are capable of playing good football and we knew we had to keep attacking as one goal is not enough against a team like Chelsea.

“It was a great start and it would have been easy for us to take our foot off the pedal but we didn’t.”

The 37-year-old added: “It’s a massive step forward for us. Mathematically we have not won the title but we are nearly there.”

Chelsea boss Ancelotti admitted his side’s poor start effectively cost them the game. “In the first minute we lost the game,” said the Italian. “We started so bad, it was difficult after that to come back and win.

“The second half was better but in general United played better and deserved to win. We took a lot of time to clear our heads [after their first goal] because we didn’t want to start the game by conceding a goal.”

“Today they were better than us and in the season as well. Now they are comfortable to win the title and they deserve it.”