STOKE, England - Mame Biram Dioufs second-half double gave Stoke a 2-0 win over West Bromwich Albion in the Premier League on Sunday to put more pressure on
visiting manager Alan Irvine.
New Balance 574 Red Suede .Diouf slotted home in the 51st minute before a lucky deflection off the Senegal forward from Marko
Arnautovics shot 15 minutes later took the ball past Ben Foster once again.West
Brom had put in a creditable away performance up to that point without being
able to convert it into goals, and came close to scoring between Dioufs two
efforts as Gareth McAuley hit the post.But with the Baggies falling to their
seventh loss in nine matches, speculation about Irvines future is likely to
increase.West Brom is now 16th, just a point clear of the relegation zone.
Things look far better for Stoke, which 10th having registered back-to-back
league wins for the first time this season.
New Balance 574 Light Blue .com) - Even on the day his New Hampshire football team became the nations top-ranked team two
weeks ago, coach Sean McDonnell conceded something about the team they replaced
at No.
Cheap New Balance 574 Mens . With a victory seemingly slipping away late in the third quarter, his quick scoring flurry
helped Golden State regain control early in the fourth.LONDON -- Lukas Podolski
scored a brace in the first half on Friday to help give Arsenal a routine 4-0
victory over third-tier Coventry in the fourth round of the FA Cup. In a game
that Arsenal dominated from the start, Podolski put the hosts ahead in the 15th
minute by slotting home a cool finish after being set up by Mesut Ozil. He then
doubled the lead with a close-range header from a corner in the 27th. The win
was never in doubt after that and Arsenal added two late goals as substitute
Olivier Giroud struck in the 85th after replacing Podolski five minutes earlier,
before Santi Cazorla slotted in the fourth. In Fridays only other FA Cup game,
Nottingham Forest was held to a 0-0 draw at home against Preston. Playing in a
steady drizzle in north London, it was the kind of comfortable victory Arsenal
had hoped for as it looks ahead to facing Bayern Munich in the Champions League
knockout round, while trying to protect its slim lead atop the Premier League.
Despite playing at home against third-tier opposition, manager Arsene Wenger
named a surprisingly strong starting lineup with both Mesut Ozil and Jack
Wilshere in midfield -- perhaps worried about another upset after going out to
Blackburn last season. And with Wenger contemplating buying a striker in the
January transfer window, Podolski showed off his scoring touch by deciding the
game in the first half. Podolski was first sent clear by Ozil on the left side
of the area and calmly rounded goalkeeper Joe Murphy before slotting a
left-footed shot into an empty net. The second came from a corner that Per
Mertesacker met at the near post and headed on across the goal, with Podolski
waiting at the far post to nod it into the net. "Podolski can score goals and
when you have a goal chance you want him to have it," Wenger said. "He is very
accurate in his finishing." Coventry was more enterprising after the break,
enjoying several spells of pressure, but Leon Clarke wasted tthe teams two best
chances for a goal.
New Balance 530 90s. Clarke raced clear down the right flank in the 50th but got too close to the byline before firing a low
shot from a tight angle that Fabianski parried. He then hit the right post with
a first time effort from just inside the area as Arsenal seemed content to sit
back and protect its lead. "I know it was 4-0 but when you consider the
difference in resources of both clubs, I know its a hard luck story, but my
players should take so much confidence from that performance," Coventry manager
Steven Pressley said. Giroud took his only chance in front of goal by slotting
in a finish inside the near post and Cazorla continued his scoring streak from a
similar position for his third goal in two games. Arsenals talented 16-year-old
midfielder Gedion Zelalem had also come on as a substitute, as Wenger for the
first time gave a debut to a player who was born after the Frenchman became
manager of the team. "That is more damaging for me than for him," Wenger joked.
Zelalem has been touted as perhaps the clubs biggest talent since Cesc Fabregas
and was given a rousing reception when he came on. Coventry is a former Premier
League club and the 1987 FA Cup winner but has struggled both on and off the
field in recent years. The team is 11th in League One this season and has been
forced to play all of its home games at Northampton because of a rent dispute
with the owners of Ricoh Arena. The contingent of about 6,000 Coventry fans
protested the situation during the game, holding up signs in the 35th and 61st
minute. Arsenal had its own stadium problems, with some of the floodlights at
the Emirates going out just before halftime. The game continued without
interruption, with hundreds of fans making fun of the situation by lighting up
their mobile phones in the stands in mock efforts to illuminate the pitch. It
was about the only thing that went wrong for Arsenal on the night.
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