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Agony for England as penalty pangs go on
Pirlo’s cheeky penalty sums up Italy’s mood
5-time champ Venus falls at first hurdle
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Pick of the day
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Gatlin, Gay ready to face Jamaicans
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Shootout glory for Italy
Kiev, June 25 Mario Balotelli, Andrea Pirlo "with an audacious slow chip-shot down the middle of the goal" and Antonio Nocerino also scored for Italy. "Tonight, we played with heart and character, but also with ideas," Italy coach Cesare Prandelli said. "Our idea of playing was extraordinary in my opinion, against a side that was difficult to play." Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon, who saved a penalty in the shootout, left the field blowing out his cheeks in a gesture of relief. The goalkeeper was in goal when Italy won the 2006 World Cup in a shootout, though he did not save any France spot kicks that night in Berlin. For England, it was yet another exit from a major tournament in the quarterfinals after a penalty shootout. England lost to Portugal in the same manner at Euro 2004 and the 2006 World Cup. "We have done the country proud but again we go home with heartbreak and it's difficult to take," said Gerrard, who played in both those previous shootout losses. England coach Roy Hodgson said he had faith in those selected for the shootout, and recalled Cole's cool finish to help Chelsea win the Champions League on penalties last month against Bayern Munich. "Penalties has become an obsession for us in English football and in training they have done extremely well," Hodgson said. "But you can't reproduce the tired legs. You can't reproduce the pressure. You can't reproduce the nervous tension. "(The Italians) stood up to it better than we did. Pirlo's penalty was the perfect example." England had briefly led the shootout after Riccardo Montolivo put Italy's second penalty wide of goalkeeper Joe Hart's right post and Rooney sent Buffon the wrong way. The momentum shifted after Pirlo's bold piece of skill leveled at 2-2. "I just saw that the goalkeeper was moving a bit earlier so I decided to play it the other way," Pirlo said. "It just comes to you at that moment and it went well." The first scoreless match at Euro 2012 was neither dull nor lacking good football as Italy often outclassed a determined England side and twice hit the post, but was also let down by poor composure in front of goal. Italy finished the match with 35 attempts on goal, compared to only nine for England. Daniele De Rossi hit the post in the third minute, and Buffon saved a shot from Glen Johnson in the fifth. It was England's first scoring chance and proved to be its best. "Had we won it, we wouldn't have been apologizing for the victory," Hodgson said. Balotelli took center stage for much of the match, but failed to find his target. The Italy forward hesitated and allowed John Terry to block his chipped shot in the 25th, then forced Hart, his teammate at Manchester City, to save an acrobatic shot. Balotelli kicked the goal post in frustration after he surged between England's central defenders but put a half-volley over the crossbar. Italy continued to attack in the second half and De Rossi, taking a ball over his shoulder, scuffed his shot wide. De Rossi sank to his knees in obvious exasperation, but more Italian anguish quickly followed. Three quick chances in the 52nd saw Hart beat away De Rossi's long-range shot, block Balotelli's follow-up and watch Montolivo lash the loose ball high. — AP |
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Agony for England as penalty pangs go on
Kiev, June 25 Since losing a World Cup semifinal against Germany in Turin in 1990, England have been eliminated on penalties in five more tournaments, including Sunday's exit at the hands of the Italians.
On the night, it was clear that Italy were striving to end the contest in normal time by creating a stream of chances, but they were unable to beat England's solid defence in which goalkeeper Joe Hart and central defender John Terry were outstanding. In the end, it came down to penalties again and this time, with Andrea Pirlo dinking one in with icy aplomb, Italy took full advantage of England's shredded nerves as Ashley Young slammed his shot against the bar. That turned the pressure up for Ashley Cole, scorer of a fine penalty shootout goal for Chelsea in last month's European Cup final triumph over Bayern Munich, but this time he placed a weak effort within reach of Gianluigi Buffon. Captain Steven Gerrard and striker Wayne Rooney had both scored to give England a 2-1 spot-kick advantage after Riccardo Montolivo had shot narrowly wide, but the Italians suddenly turned from jittery kittens into masters of their destiny. Alas for Young and Cole, their failures will go down in the miserable annals of England's penalty pain, joining such wretched memories as Chris Waddle's kick sailing over the bar in Turin and Gareth Southgate's scuffed effort, easily saved by Andreas Koepke, that sealed another German semi-final triumph at Euro 96. England, in that tournament on home soil, had at least managed to beat Spain on spot-kicks in the last eight to claim their place in the semis. Italy also suffered penalty miseries of their own in the same period, but it was nothing compared to England's succession of heartbreaks which continued in 1998 when Paul Ince and David Batty failed from the spot as Argentina prevailed in the World Cup second round following a 2-2 draw. The English nightmares returned at Euro 2004 with a shootout defeat by hosts Portugal in the quarter-finals when David Beckham skied his kick way up into the Estadio da Luz and blamed a dodgy penalty spot. Portugal were again England's nemesis two years later at the World Cup with another quarter-final defeat on penalties as Wayne Rooney was sent off and Jamie Carragher missed his twice-taken kick in a 3-1 shootout loss following a 0-0 draw. Those 2006 finals in Germany were, of course, a crowning glory for Italy with Fabio Grosso confidently striking in a winning penalty when Marcello Lippi's men scored all five spot-kicks to edge out France after a 1-1 draw. England, after serial misery in 1990, 1996, 1998, 2004, 2006 and 2012, could be excused if they are escorted home this week by men in white coats. — Reuters
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Pirlo’s cheeky penalty sums up Italy’s mood
Krakow, June 25
Pirlo is 33 but is in the running to be player of the tournament after scoring or setting up all of Italy's goals in Ukraine and Poland while his spot kick in the 4-2 shooutout win had Tweeters and fans raving about his outrageous ability. "I saw that the goalkeeper was really hyped and I thought I'd do it like that, it was easier to take it like that," Pirlo told reporters after England's Joe Hart had bounced up and down on the line and made funny faces. It created a bit of pressure on the keeper." The difference in class between his spot-kick - reminiscent of Antonin Panenka for Czechoslovakia against West Germany in the 1976 final - and Hart's antics was mirrored throughout a game which Italy dominated in terms of possession and chances. Daniele De Rossi, who came off with a niggle and could be a doubt for Thursday, struck the post early on with a swerving long range drive while substitute Alessandro Diamanti also hit the woodwork before netting the decisive kick in the shootout. Right back Ignazio Abate also came off with injury and his replacement Christian Maggio was booked, meaning he will miss the Warsaw semifinal, but for now Italy are enjoying their unexpected last four berth. Cesare Prandelli's side came into the tournament with low expectations after a string of friendly defeats and another domestic match-fixing scandal which deprived the squad of left back Domenico Criscito, who denies wrongdoing. Quiet man Prandelli even changed formation for the confidence-boosting 1-1 draw with holders Spain in their opening group game and although he has since reverted back to a four-man defence, his tactical mastery has many Italy fans purring. Popular daily Gazzetta dello Sport was wildly enthusiastic on Monday with a front page headline of "A winning Italy, come on!" in the wake of the national team's win and Ferrari's Fernando Alonso triumphing in the European Formula One Grand Prix. Italians know they will struggle to motor past the flowing Germans but their rousing 2006 World Cup semi-final win over the hosts en route to the title amid another match-fixing affair gives them hope. — Reuters
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5-time champ Venus falls at first hurdle
London, June 25
But the former world number one -- the champion in 2000, 2001, 2005, 2007 and 2008 -- believes she can still compete at the top level despite her ranking having slipped to 58 after a six-month absence fighting serious illness. Top seed Djokovic, opening business on Centre Court, reached the second round with a 6-3, 6-3, 6-1 win over Spanish veteran Juan Carlos Ferrero. Sharapova, who completed a career Grand Slam with victory at the French Open, was second-up on Centre Court and eased past Australia's Anastasia Rodionova 6-2, 6-3. Sharapova, the 2004 champion, has now beaten Rodionova five times in five meetings without dropping a set. US Open champion Samantha Stosur and ex-French Open winner Li Na also reached the second round. Stosur, the fifth-seeded Australian, had the honour of being the first woman into the last 64, cruising past Spain's 40th-ranked Carla Suarez Navarro 6-1, 6-3. Chinese 11th seed Li Na, the 2011 French Open winner, enjoyed an emphatic 6-3, 6-1 victory over Ksenia Pervak of Kazakhstan. — AP
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Li Na, Morita lead Asian challenge London, June 25 Li became the first Asian to win a Grand Slam singles title when she lifted the French Open trophy in 2011 and the 30-year-old is hoping to emulate that historic achievement at the All England Club this year. After a frustrating clay court campaign, which saw her surrender the French Open crown in the fourth round, the world number 11 looked right at home on Wimbledon's lush lawns. She was far too strong for Ksenia Pervak of Kazakhstan and brushed aside the 21-year-old 6-3, 6-1 in little more than an hour on Court 12 to set up a second round meeting with Romania's Sorana Cirstea, who defeated France's Pauline Parmentier. While Li is regarded as a decent outside bet for the title, the 22-year-old Morita would be happy just to make it past the second round for the first time in five visits. Morita had lost in the first round in three of her four previous appearances, but she improved that dismal record by defeating Australia's Jarmila Gajdosova 6-4, 6-3. Morita, who has never been past the third round of any Grand Slam, will face China's Peng Shuai or Polish qualifier Sandra Zaniewska in the second round. Djokovic eases into 2nd round
Djokovic began his Wimbledon title defence in cruise control as he blasted Spain's Juan Carlos Ferrero off court to win 6-3, 6-3, 6-1 in the first round on Monday. The number one seed endured an edgy start and was broken in the third game of the first set but he struck back immediately and closed out the opener with his usual combination of rugged defence and consistently accurate groundstrokes. —
Agencies |
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Gatlin, Gay ready to face Jamaicans
Gatlin lowered his own season best from the 9.87 he ran to win last month in Doha and served notice he was aiming at reigning Olympic champion and world record-holder Bolt. "I don't think I would come back to a sport where I'm OK getting second or third," Gatlin said. — Reuters |
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Galle, June 25 After the pair were removed, Mohammad Ayub (22) and Adnan Akmal (40 not out) continued to frustrate the Sri Lankan bowlers. When the extra half-hour started Pakistan were 279 for eight but Suraj Randiv snapped up the last two wickets to finish with figures of three for 86 in the second innings and seven for 99 in the match. Shafiq hit 13 fours in an attractive innings before edging a catch to Mahela Jayawardene at slip off Rangana Herath. Former captain Younis struck seven fours to thwart the home attack until he was finally undone by the second new ball after tea, caught behind by Prasanna Jayawardene off Nuwan Kulasekara. — Reuters
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The agony and the ecstasy of the first penalty shootout at Euro 2012 was settled in the most predictable fashion on Sunday when England extended their hopeless record.
Five-time Wimbledon champion Venus Williams suffered her worst All England Club defeat in 15 years here today, but top seeds Novak Djokovic and Maria Sharapova powered into the second round.
Alessandro Diamanti scored the decisive penalty to give Italy a 4-2 shootout victory last night after a 0-0 draw, setting up a semifinal match against three-time champion Germany on Thursday in Warsaw, Poland.
Steven Gerrard and Wayne Rooney scored England's penalties, briefly giving their team a 2-1 lead in the shootout. But Ashley Young hit the crossbar with England's third, and Ashley Cole's attempt was then saved by Buffon diving to his left.
or England and Italy, a shootout was a nightmare scenario they wished to avoid as both nations have dreadful records overall with the Azzurri's 2006 World Cup final triumph against France a rare bright spot. 
In 120 goalless minutes against a poor English side Italy wasted chance after chance on Sunday but the fact they were creative and always tried to win the game bodes well for a nation with a sometimes unjustified reputation for dull play.
illiams lost 6-1, 6-3 to 79th-ranked Russian Elena Vesnina in what was the 32-year-old's first opening round loss since her 1997 debut.
Eugene, June 25
