N.E.C.’s effort for a berth in the Europa League hit a snag Sunday as they played fellow playoff hopefuls RKC Waalwijk to a 1-1 draw, honours even, at Goffert Stadion in match-day thirty-two of the Eredivisie. With the result the Nijmegen sit tenth in the table, three points shy of Roda who hold firm to the all-important eighth spot and a place in the Europa League playoffs with two weeks remaining in the campaign.

Coming off last weeks disappointing late loss to PSV, N.E.C. manager Alex Pastoor made two changes to his starting eleven with Rémy Amieux and Youri Loen entering for Ryan Koolwijk and Leroy George. With both sides eager for a spot in Europe the opening stages were intensely measured and opportunities to break the deadlock were low probability in nature. Following a early probing effort from Navarone Foor that drifted wide of Jeroen Zoet, N.E.C. squandered a quality chance near the half-hour when Kevin Conboy nodded Lasse Schøne free-kick from the left into the goalkeeper’s mitts.

After the break the complexion of the contest changed with both sides showing more eagerness going forward. Following a Mitchell Schet effort that was comfortably stopped by N.E.C. ‘keeper Gábor Babos the hosts took the lead via Melvin Platje at the fifty-seventh minute. Showing his predatorily skills after entering for Youri Loen barely two minutes earlier, the twenty-three year old attacker saw a corner from the right partially cleared to Zoltán Szélesi, with the follow-up effort coming his way to which he poked the ball into the net. The N.E.C. faithful had little time to celebrate as three minutes later a long ball took advantage of a defending lapse with Ricky ten Voorde accepted Sander Duits’ provision before finishing crisply past Gábor Babos. The final stages saw Gábor Babos loom large in the final score as he denied Ard van Peppen before Krisztián Németh pushed his effort off course and without further incident the final whistle sounded in a 1-1 draw, honours even.

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Spartak Moscow’s push for a berth in the Champions League met a roadblock as they fell 2-1 to rivals CSKA at Luzhniki Stadion in match-day forty-one of the Sogaz Championship of Russia. The result the Red-Whites ease to fourth in the table, a scant point behind Dynamo and CSKA.

Without change to his starting eleven from last weeks contacts against Anzhi Makhachkala, Spartak manager Valeriy Karpin saw his side show well in the opening stages before CSKA took the 1-0 lead at the twenty-fourth minute via an unfortunate own-goal. Coming via Zoran Tošić’s innocuous free-kick into the box from the right, the ball defected slightly off Ari’s chest to leave goalkeeper Artyom Rebrov only able to watch it crest into the net. The Red-Whites search from the leveller was answered one minute shy of the break with a tour de force goal from Artem Dzyuba. Leading an assault on the left, Aiden McGeady deftly fed the ball inside to the twenty-three year-old striker who displayed his vast promise as he out manoeuvred Vasili Berezutski before riveting the ball past Igor Akinfeev from an acute angle.

At the break the Spartak tactician summoned Rodri in for Nicolás Pareja and play continued at tight fisted pace. However disaster struck for Spartak at the fifty-seventh minute as a questionable foul just to the outside of the area saw CSKA awarded a free-kick from a highly dangerous position. From the ensuing effort, Zoran Tošić’s effort appeared to strike the elbow of Ari as he leapt in the wall and changed direction sufficiently to go beyond the reach of Artyom Rebrov. Ari narrowly missed the equaliser moments later as he nodded a cross a fraction wide of the post much to the dismay of the Spartak faithful. Just past the hour Mr. Karpin added Diniyar Bilyaletdinov for Rafael Carioca but opportunities were sparing. Spartak efforts were challenged further with nine minutes remaining as Dmitri Kombarov was excused with his second yellow card and following four minutes of uneventful added time the whistle sounded with Spartak on the wrong end of a 2-1 decision.

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SC Bastia all but guaranteed its return to Ligue 1 with a 2-1 victory over La Berrichonne de Châteauroux at Stade Armand Cesari. With the result, the Corsican side holds a commanding eleven point lead on second-place Reims with five weeks remaining in the campaign.

With French international Jérôme Rothen wearing the captain’s arm-band and in a packed stadium ready to celebrate, Bastia withstood an early advance by the visitors before taking the 1-0 lead at the eighteen minute. Coming via Toifilou Maoulida’s brilliant cross from the right to the back post, twenty-one year old Wahbi Khazri volleyed his ninth goal of the campaign into the opposite corner of the net. Seven minutes shy of the break, Toifilou Maoulida shifted from provider to goal-scorer as he latched onto a long cross from the left by Sadio Diallo that skipped over Rémi Fournier before rifling it past goalkeeper Vincent Fernandez. Châteauroux pulled to within one three minutes later as Rémi Fournier made up for his miscue with a looping header of a free-kick from the right but that would be as close as it would get as Frédéric Hantz’s side withstood the visitors challenges to claim the 2-1 victory.

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In a perplexing contest rife with missed opportunities for the hosts, Spartak Moscow fell 3-0 to Anzhi Makhachkala at Luzhniki Stadion in week forty of the Sogaz Championship of Russia. With the result the Red-Whites slide one point behind Dynamo to third in the table ahead of next weeks Derby clash against CSKA.

From last weeks starting eleven that defeated Rubin Kazan, Spartak manager Valeriy Karpin made a single change with Alexsandr Zotov entering for Ari and was quickly impressed with his sides attacking spirit. From referee Vladislav Bezborodov whistle, the Red-Whites pulsed with attacking venom but as the score so indicates the final touch was lacking. The opening quarter-hour saw the grounds buzz with activity as Spartak appeared to be on the cusp of breaking the deadlock. Following Artem Dzyuba’s close range effort that bounded off the underside of the cross-bar and appeared over the bar, Aiden McGeady narrowly missed as he lashed the ball just wide of the left post. Slowly Anzhi began to edge forward but advances were modest and Red-White goalkeeper Artyom Rebrov was up to the challenge. Eight minutes shy of the break Emmanuel Emenike showed confidence as he raced onto a ball on the right and from an impossible angle near the by-line lofted an effort that nestled into the roof of the net. However as these situations can be, missed opportunities are the undoing and at the thirty-ninth minute Samuel Eto’o accepted Mehdi Gonzalez’s well crafted provision through the centre of the area and powered the ball into the net. Spartak quickly riposted with Aiden McGeady surging on the right before delivering a cross that was just beyond the reach of supporting attackers and without further incident the Red-Whites went to the break with the one goal deficit.

At the re-start the Red-Whites continued a bold approach but with each passing minute the threat of squandered opportunities weighed heavily on the outcome and just before the hour the margin was doubled. Coming via a lofted cross from the left into the box, the ball spilt from Artyom Rebrov mitts where Shamil Lakhiyalov quickly pounced on the opportunity and ripped it into the net. Down by two, Mr. Karpin added Jano Ananidze for Rafael Carioca but the run of the play clearly had shifted in the visitors favour. Following Samuel Eto’o’s free-kick rasped off the cross, Anzhi added the third goal of the day as Nicolás Pareja’s attempted clearance from the edge of the area managed to roll to the opposite corner of the net. Through remaining time Spartak continued for a way back into the contest but with the final whistle would rue miss opportunities in a disheartening 3-0 decision.

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N.E.C. came within minutes of earning a draw against PSV in its visit to Eindhoven but via a late strike from Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink they fell 2-1 to match day thirty-one of the Eredivisie. With the result the Nijmegen side drifts to eleventh in the table, four points off Roda in the all-important eighth position and a spot in the Europa League table.

Coming off the disappointing loss to Heerenveen last week, N.E.C. manager Alex Pastoor knew his side had a “mountain to climb” in Eindhoven and without a change to his starting eleven was rewarded with the shock lead at the seventh minute. Coming via Lasse Schøne’s booming free-kick from distance, the ball spilt from the mitts for PSV goalkeeper Przemysław Tytoń to which Navarone Foor showed his predatorily skills and nodded the rebound into the net. Down by one, PSV poured forward in hunt for the equaliser but found the N.E.C. dug in well to defend with yeoman’s work from Bram Nuytinck pulling one goal-bound effort off the line and goalkeeper Gábor Babos withstanding the assault, including a sublime stop of nineteen year-old Zakaria Labyad in the final tens minutes prior to the break.

Tension was rife at the re-start as PSV continued to press forward without success before seeing momentum shift in favour of N.E.C. but were unable to build upon their lead. Six minutes past the hour Mr. Pastoor summoned Rémy Amieux for Navarone Foor as N.E.C. sought to maintain the lead but moments later those hopes perished as Jetro Willems played a practice ground overlapping run on the left with Dries Mertens before receiving the ball from the latter and finishing to the low near corner from five metres. Much to their credit N.E.C. did not back-down and play for the draw with Lasse Schøne and Kevin Conboy forcing Przemysław Tytoń into action. In the final quarter-hour the N.E.C. tactician added Nathaniël Will and Pavel Čmovš for Leroy George and Lasse Schøne and just when it looked like their hosts had run out of petrol disaster struck as veteran Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink sent in a loose ball from close range to provide PSV the 2-1 victory.

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Olympique de Marseille’s woeful season of infamy added yet another chapter to story with a 2-1 loss to Bordeaux at Stade Chaban-Delmas in week thirty-three of Ligue 1. The result extends les Olympiens winless run in league competition to twelve and sees them tipping towards the bottom half the table at the tenth spot, whilst Bordeaux’s thin hopes for a spot in Europe has them at eighth.

Coming off their mid-week draw to Caen, l’OM manager Didier Deschamps made four adjustments to his starting eleven with Jérémy Morel, Alou Diarra, André-Pierre Gignac and Jordan Ayew for César Azpilicueta, Charles Kaboré, Brandão and Loïc Remy in hope to reverse the trend that has seen Marseille without a win in Bordeaux since 1977. Any thoughts les Olympiens manager had of a solid start ended in less than a minute as Bordeaux took the 1-0 lead after a poor turnover led Jussiê to finish Yoan Gouffran’s provision after the twenty-five year old attacker had been played through on the right by Ludovic Obraniak. Shy of the quarter-hour M. Deschamps called upon César Azpilicueta for Stéphane M’Bia as his centre-back was forced out due to injury. Showing little going forward, l’OM’s deficit doubled at the twenty-ninth minute as Jaroslav Plašil’s effort bounded off Rod Fanni to Jussiê with the Brazilian showing no hesitation in drilling the ball to the back of the net. Spotting the two goal handicap, les Olympiens began to show some spark with the beleaguered André-Pierre Gignac the centre of the storm, first with a top notch effort denied by the host ‘keeper and later a slide rule provision from the by-line that Jordan Ayew somehow managed to spoon over the bar with open net beckoning. Marseille continued to dictate the run of play but could not manager to breakthrough and went to the break behind 2-0.

Frustrated by their sides play, 800 travelling Marseillais departed Chaban-Delmas at the break leaving their corner completely vacant. The story on the pitch continued to be Bordeaux keeper Cédric Carrasso as he stopped André Ayew’s booming effort at the fifty-third minute but moment’s later brother Jordan would exact from revenge and give hope for a comeback. Coming via Mathieu Valbuena corner on the left, the ball careened off André-Pierre Gignac before Jordan Ayew lashed a close range volley into the net. After André Ayew flirted with the equaliser, Bordeaux was in prime position to restore their two-goal advantage after Steve Mandanda was adjudged a penalty for bringing Jussiê down in the area but the l’OM goalkeeper dove to his left to deny Benoît Trémoulinas’ effort from the spot. With Brandão and Charles Kaboré now in for Benoît Cheyrou and André Ayew, les Olympiens continued their assault but with each turn Cédric Carrasso was foreboding. Deep into added-time Mathieu Valbuena tested the goalkeeper with a teasing free-kick from twenty-three metres but after being parried to safety Bordeaux laid claim to the 2-1 victory.

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Monaco continued its mercurial ascension up the table with its fifth consecutive victory as they defeated Le Havre 1-0 at Stade Louis II in match day thirty-three of Ligue 2. With the result les Monégasques, once teetering upon the realm of relegation to the third tier, appear to be a team of destiny as they pushed to eighth in the table and now a meagre five points away from promotion ahead of next weeks clash against Clermont.

In the most unlikely turn of events ASM has found itself in the midst of a miraculous turn of events and without a loss in their last ten encounters, which includes eight victories, the thought of promotion is very true as they head to the final eight weeks of the campaign. Buoyed with confidence the les Rouge et Blanc dominated much of the proceedings against their relegation threatened visitors with a score not indicative of the run of play.

After a quick start to the proceedings with the Normandy side pushing forward the pace settled levelled before Ludovic Giuly began to stir the counter offensive midway of the half. Near the half-hour mark Ibrahima Touré, via Gary Coulibaly, flirted a fraction wide of the left post but it would not be long until the Senegalese attacker would adjust his sights. Following a modest flurry of activity play returned to a box-to-box affair and the sides adjured to their respective change rooms with the deadlock intact at the break.

At the re-start, les Rouge et Blanc came out with a vengeance and only three minutes in Ibrahima Touré added to his remarkable output with his eighth goal of the campaign as he volleyed Tristan Dingomé’s lofted cross from left flank provision over the outstretched arms of Le Havre goalkeeper Johnny Placide. The goal sparked ASM’s attacking vision with Greek international Georgios Tzavelas narrowly missing doubling the margin with free-kick from the left at fifty-third minute that rasped off the cross-bar. Opportunities continued to mound for Monaco but with each the final touch was off but Le Havre’s attack was rarely a worry and les les Rouge et Blanc eased to the 1-0 victory.

The final five contests of the campaign is a vicious stretch of scheduling for ASM that sees them face fellow promotional hopefuls Clermont, Istres, Stade de Reims and Troyes in successive weeks before the final test against relegation threatened Boulogne that will be remembered for either Marco Simone’s side miraculous finish or promise for next year.

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Olympique de Marseille’s floundering domestic campaign continued as they played relegation threatened Caen to a 1-1 draw at Stade Vélodrome in week thirty-two of Lique 1. The result extends les Olympiens winless run in league play to eleven and sees them on the tipping point of the bottom-half of the table at the tenth position.

From Saturday evenings triumph over Lyonnais in the Coupe de la Ligue final, l’OM manager Didier Deschamps made two changes to his line-up with Charles Kaboré and Brandão for Alou Diarra and Morgan Amalfitano. The Marseillais were shocked at the eleventh minute as the visitors took the 1-0 lead on a highly controversial play as Nicolas N’Koulou’s attempted pass was blocked by M’Baye Niang, possibly with his hand, before the seventeen year old virtuoso sped down the right and delivered a sublime cross that Frédéric Bulot redirected into the path of ‘keeper Steve Mandanda but managed to steer the rebound into the net. After André Ayew drew a hushed whisper with a narrow miss of the equaliser, l’OM got the break they were waiting for as Loïc Rémy connected from the spot after referee Philippe Kalt adjudged Alexandre Raineau a handball.

The first quarter-hour both sides had ample opportunity to break the deadlock with Loïc Rémy failing to capitalise after being played in alone on Caen ‘keeper Aléxis Thébaux whilst on the other end of the pitch Steve Mandanda made a stunning stop on veteran Pierre-Alain Frau. Just past the hour, M. Deschamps called upon Jordan Ayew and André-Pierre Gignac for Loïc Rémy and Brandão but les Olympiens advances were meagre. In the latter stages the l’OM tactician added Jérémy Morel for César Azpilicueta but the needed strike could not be found as the match concluded as a 1-1 draw, honours even.

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Under the watchful guidance of Jean-Guy Wallemme, Auxerre’s great escape effort continued with 1-1 draw, honours even, against championship contender Paris Saint Germain at the Stade Abbé-Deschamps in match-day thirty-two of the Ligue 1 campaign. With the result, PSG sits two points shy of leader Montpellier, whilst Auxerre sits at the bottom but continues to show vast promise under their forty-four year old leader.

Languishing deep in the Ligue 1 basement and seemingly looking like their thirty-two year run in the top flight was about to come a bitter end, Jean-Guy Wallemme’s arrival in Auxerre has quickly seen the club turnaround. Coming off their solid victory over Valenciennes, the Burgundy side lost a hard fought battle to Olympique Lyonnais and knew they would need to be at their best against the title contenders.

The Parisians were in clear control in the early stages with Nenê giving his side the lead midway of the half as he accepted Kevin Gameiro’s seeing-eye provision before curling the ball past goalkeeper Olivier Sorin and into the back of the net.

Whilst AJA’s efforts forward were modest shy of the break, the second half was an entirely different affair. After a booming effort from Kamel Chafni ratched off the woodwork at the fifty-third minute Denis Oliech forced PSG ‘keeper Salvatore Sirigu into a top shelf stop. Auxerre’s persistence was rewarded with three minutes remaining in regulation time as Omar Kossoko’s effort on the left spilt from the goalkeeper’s mitts before bounding off Denis Oliech and the post with Anthony Le Tallec turning the rebound into the net to bring the contest to a 1-1 draw, honours even.

With four points in its last three results, Auxerre is showing strong signs the mightiest of great escapes is not out of question. Though challenged with a difficult remaining schedule that concludes with Bordeaux, Olympique de Marseille and Montpellier, the next three weeks against Nice, Brest and Dijon will decide their fate.

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With diamond-cutter precision Spartak Moscow overcame Rubin Kazan 2-0 at Luzhniki Stadion in match-day thirty-nine of the Sogaz Championship of Russia. With the result the Red-Whites surge past capital city rival CSKA into second place and trail leader Zenit Saint Petersburg by twelve points as the elongated campaign moves to its final five weeks of play.

Coming off the confident inspiring victory over Kuban Krasnodar, Spartak manager Valeriy Karpin made a single change to his starting eleven with Artem Dzyuba entering for Kirill Kombarov. To the surprise of no-one Spartak was met with a heavily defensively motivated Rubin who kept much of play tightly bottled up and more inclined to look for a long ball opportunity rather than be exposed at the back. The opening forty-five minutes saw chances of the rarest vintage with the deadlock intact as both sides went to the change-rooms at the break.

The re-start saw the Red-Whites press forward with opportunities slowly beginning to materialise. At the fifty-third minute Dmitri Kombarov’s free-kick from twenty-one metres squeezed under the leaping wall before trailing just wide of the woodwork. Despite the missed chance, Spartak was decidedly dictating the run of play and narrowly missed the opener five minutes past the hour when Ari raced onto the end of a long diagonal pass before firing his effort from the edge of the area into the mitts of Rubin goalkeeper Sergei Ryzhikov. With nineteen minutes remaining in regulation time, Mr. Karpin called upon Jano Ananidze and Rafael Carioca in what would prove to be an instrumental decision as the teenaged play-maker played a key role in the outcome. Four minutes after entering the contest Jano Ananidze swung a low corner from the right that Artem Dzyuba deftly flicked to Marek Suchý, with the former Slavia Prague man dutifully drilling the ball into the roof of the net. Applying petrol, Spartak doubled the margin seven minutes later as Emmanuel Emenike shuttled the ball to Ari on the right side of the Ari before surging forward and heading the return cross into the net for his twelfth goal of the campaign. With the result now effectively fait accompli, Spartak went to the task of professionally killing off remaining time and following the introduction of Vladimir Obukhov and Soslan Gatagov for Artem Dzyuba and Ari the final whistle sounded with the 2-0 result in their favour.

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