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By Philip O’Connor

VIBORG, Denmark, June 19 (Reuters) - The Czech Republic scored two late goals to knock England out of the European Under-21 Championship and Spain beat 10-man Ukraine 3-0 to top Group B on Sunday.

Striker Danny Welbeck looked to have headed England into the semi-finals when he powered home a cross from Daniel Sturridge 11 minutes from time but substitute Jan Chramosta equalised for the Czechs in the 89th minute.

A draw would have been enough for the Czechs but as England poured forward in search of a winner Chramosta turned provider, setting up Tomas Pekhart for a simple finish into an empty net to seal a 2-1 win for his side.

The reward for the Czechs is a semi-final meeting with Switzerland on Wednesday, while Spain, who comfortably beat Ukraine courtesy of two goals from Mata and one by Adrian, will face Belarus on the same day.

(Writing by Philip O’Connor in Stockholm) (Editing by Ed Osmond)

Labels: Cruise, Czechs, England, Reuters, Spain, strike

Even if you are one of those famously self-assured Germany midfielders, it can be a nervous time waiting to make your debut. Thomas Hitzlsperger had to hang around six months before finally making his first West Ham appearance last night, having suffered a thigh injury while playing for Germany against Denmark in August.

But good things do indeed come to those who wait. The midfielder took less than 25 minutes of his West Ham debut to conjure a 30-yard wonder goal. It sent the London club on their way to an FA Cup quarter-final place against Stoke.

Hitzlsperger's strike quietened critics who feel he might prove an unfortunately injudicious signing because of his injury problems. The 28-year-old even added an assist, supplying Winston Reid for West Ham's fourth goal. That margin gave West Ham manager Avram Grant the luxury of substituting the German midway through the second half and the player left to a well-deserved ovation.

"I thought the fans might have forgotten about me," joked Hitzlsperger afterwards. "But they didn't."

Carlton Cole had taken the game out of the Championship side's reach with two goals in the space of a minute early in the second half, making it 3-0. However, it was still Hitzlsperger's night.

He will be an important figure in West Ham's Premier League run-in. "He was one of our best players in pre-season," said Grant. "What you saw here is not even half of what he can do."

Before kick-off, club sources rubbished reports that West Ham will be without injured centre-back Matthew Upson for the rest of the season. That was encouraging for the home side as their defence looked uneasy early on.

Burnley made a positive start but they were deflated when Hitzlsperger produced his powerful, swerving, long-range strike in the 23rd minute. That breakthrough allowed West Ham to rediscover some swagger, but Burnley had still been competitive and, at half-time, looked capable of a comeback.

Then the two Cole goals changed the game. "The result could have been very different," said Burnley's manager Eddie Howe. "We had a bad start to the half, looking shaky and West Ham took advantage."

Within three minutes of the re-start, Mark Noble created Cole's first. He lofted the ball over the top of Burnley's defence to his team-mate on the edge of the 18-yard box. Cole's first shot was blocked by goalkeeper Lee Grant but he let the ball slip out of his fingertips, allowing the West Ham striker to steer it in at the second attempt.

The game was effectively over when Cole added his second. The England striker had been lucky with his opening goal, as his first touch was not ideal, but there were no such problems this time. He sent in a powerful, long-range effort out of Grant's reach.

Then it was just a question of how many West Ham would score. The fourth came in the 59th minute when Reid took advantage of some slack marking to head in from Hitzlsperger's corner.

Grant's pleasure was temporarily tainted by a terrible mix-up between Wayne Bridge and Green. Bridge sloppily rolled the ball back for Green, whose poor clearance struck Tyrone Mears and then reached Jay Rodriguez, who headed in a 71st-minute consolation.

West Ham had the final say, though. In injury-time, Jonathan Spector chested the ball down on the edge of the box, allowing Freddie Sears to latch on to it and score with a powerful finish.

West Ham United (4-4-2): Green; Jacobsen, Reid, Tomkins, Bridge; Sears, Parker, Noble, Hitzlsperger (Barrera, 67); Cole (Spector, 73), Ba (Piquionne, 82). Substitutes not used Boffin (gk), Boa Morte, Da Costa, Hines.

Burnley (4-3-3): Grant; Mears, Duff, Carlisle, Fox; Marney (Alexander, 72), Cork, Elliott; Rodriguez, Wallace (Iwelumo, 73), Eagles (Thompson, 84). Substitutes not used Jensen (gk), Edgar, Bikey, Easton.

Referee M Atkinson (West Yorkshire).

Labels: debut, Hitzlspergeraposs, Independent, strike

Yet in his first game in charge of West Bromwich Albion Hodgson showed he has a quality that is even more valuable. Napoleon once said he preferred neither courageous nor brilliant generals but lucky ones, and, in his latest managerial reincarnation at least, Hodgson looks like being one of those.

He might claim his decision to send on Carlos Vela and James Morrison, who combined to cancel out Jamie O’Hara’s goal and draw the first Black Country derby ever fought out at Premier League level, was a managerial masterstroke.

But Vela’s strike two minutes into stoppage time came from a rebound when an otherwise impressive Wayne Hennessey spilled Morrison’s speculative shot. This was not planned or preordained, but really, really lucky for West Brom and their new manager, and the Hawthorns celebrated it as though they had just dealt Wolverhampton Wanderers a death blow.

Mick McCarthy, the Wolves manager, was left licking his wounds and said he was satisfied with a mere point, but it all seemed a bit false. Like overcooked pasta, Wolves remain stuck to the bottom of the Premier League, and West Brom are within touching distance of the relegation zone.

“When you equalise late in the game you feel happy, but when I look back on this in a few days I won’t feel so good,” Hodgson surmised.

The reality is that both teams demonstrated the kind of limitations which are sure to see at least one of them sent back to the Championship at the end of the season – a failure to convert the simplest of chances and the type of incompetent defending which creates them. West Brom have not kept a clean sheet since August.

Three training sessions are not enough to sort out such defensive shortcomings even for a coach of Hodgson’s experience, and Wolves found a way through just before the break when Kevin Doyle was body-checked outside the area by Gabriel Tamas.

Nenad Milijas had the wherewithal to use the free kick to square the ball to O’Hara, who struck first time with his left foot from the edge of the area into the top corner.

Hodgson said that one of his players – he would not name names – should have been level with the ball to cut off Milijas’s pass, but vaguely explained that Wolves, “through their organisation, managed to get rid of that player”. But he added that “there is not a goal scored where there is not a mistake”.

By rights Wolves should have taken a two-goal lead. Quite how Matt Jarvis did not provide Wolves with their second soon after the interval, only he knows. Tamas tried to head back to Boaz Myhill and failed spectacularly, leaving Jarvis to nip in for the simple task of volleying home. He scuffed wide.

If that was bad, Marc-Antoine Fortuné’s attempt to equalise soon after was pitiful. Peter Odemwingie found his team-mate just yards from goal and Fortuné only had to smack the ball from point-blank range past Hennessey. Instead the striker ended up hitting nothing but clean air. You don’t get much more incompetent than that.

Hodgson shook his head in disgust, and introduced Vela and Morrison. The latter sent a low shot at Hennessey, and the Welshman spilled the ball straight to Vela, who tapped in. The away support lobbed a smoke bomb – apparently smuggled into the ground inside a cuddly toy — into the Millennium corner, but the Hawthorns erupted in relief. Their new man has lady luck on his side.

Labels: Albion, Bromwich, Carlos, gives, grounds, Hodgson, lucky, strike, Telegraphcouk, Velaaposs

Liverpool produced a stunning defensive display to record only their second victory in seven years at Stamford Bridge courtesy of a Raul Merieles strike midway through the second half.

The Reds were dogged and determined- they were certainly not going to let Fernando Torres steal all the limelight- Jamie Carrager made sure of that. There performance was epitomised when the striker was substituted on 69 minutes.

Moments later Merieles who is on a great run himself scored with a strike from close range giving Dalglish's men an unlikely victory.

This match was eagerly anticipated with all the focus on one man in particular. Torres started for the Blues after his £50 million English transfer record breaking move from Liverpool.

The Spaniard had perhaps burnt bridges with Liverpool fans after announcing he had moved to a bigger club but promised that he would not celebrate if he scored maybe as a way of appeasing his former fans- but they would not have to worry about it.

Chelsea made their intentions very clear from the beginning with a very attacking line up that would make any defence quiver but in a strikeforce that promised so much it produced so very little.

Didier Drogba, Torres and Nicholas Anelka failed to force Pepe Reina into any real save of note the whole game but it was largely thanks to the back three of Martin Skrtel, Carragher and Daniel Agger.

Luis Suarez who came on and scored on his debut for the Reds against Stoke City ¬had to remain content with starting on the bench as Dalglish kept faith with his winning formula which has seen Liverpool creep up the table into seventh with three consecutive wins and clean sheets to boost entering this game.

But if history was anything to go by, a Reds victory at Stamford Bridge seemed unlikely with only one win since 2004.

Inevitably the first chance fell to Torres.

Maxi Rodriguez clearly had not heard the news that he had moved to Stamford Bridge as he slipped a pass into the former team mates path.

However the finish from the World Cup winner uncharacteristically lacked composure but it was an early scare for the visitors.

If this was an indicator that chances in this match were going to come thick and fast the next twenty minutes put pay to that notion.

Liverpool were happy to contain Chelsea and counter attack when possible if Dirk Kuyt’s pass had been more accurate into Raul Meireles the away side might have created their first real opportunity.

Torres was struggling to find any joy through the middle and drifted out onto the wing where Daniel Agger unceremoniously blocked his run- much to the delight of the travelling away support- and gave away a free kick in a dangerous position.

But nothing could be made of the chance which epitomised the opening half hour.

The game was screaming out for a goal and it nearly came through Torres after Drogba threaded a lovely through ball to him- it was first time the Blues had managed to penetrate the Reds defence but Jamie Carragher was there to put an excellent block in.

Liverpool should have been ahead moments later as the game suddenly sparked into the life.

Perhaps it was fortuitous that the ball kindly fell to Steven Gerrard in the box but the captain took advantage of the good fortune and drilled a low ball across goal; Rodriguez will still be wondering how he managed to hit the bar from a few yards out with the goal gaping.

The first half was brought to a close but not before Branislav Ivanovic and Petr Cech displayed the kind of tension which was surging through the game.

A lovely cross by Martin Kelly on the right caused confusion between the pair as they went for the same ball resulting in the defender and goal keeper squaring up to each other in a heated debate.

After the interval Chelsea had a flurry of half chances as they tried to find that elusive opener. Anelka had a couple of pot shots at goal and a Ivanovic header failed to test Reina.

The visitors looked reasonably comfortable as the Blues struggled to create any clear cut opportunities. Torres’s face cut a frustrated figure as he was marshalled out of the game by Carragher who was outstanding at the back for Liverpool.

It signalled the end for Torres who was replaced by Salomon Kalou on 65 minutes.

Anelka sitting slightly deeper found some space and his twenty yard shot was fired agonisingly wide but it told the story of the match for the Blues having failed to register a shot in target in 67 minutes of play.

And inevitably they were made to pay as Liverpool took the lead on 69 minutes. Gerrard ran down the wing and put in a brilliant cross which again caused confusion in the Chelsea box and Meireles was on hand to fire home from close range grabbing his fourth goal in five games.

Torres off and a goal behind it was not an image  many had envisioned before the game.

Florent Malouda nearly found a equaliser moments later but he was foiled by Reina who was forced into his first real save of the match.

Liverpool looked threatening on the counter attack and with 10 minutes to go they nearly doubled their lead.

Substitute Fabio Aurelio orchestrated some space in the Chelsea box he jinked onto right foot and fired a powerful shot at Cech but the Blues shot stopper was on hand to make the save.

A Frank Lampard strike with just a few minutes to go summed up Chelsea's day as he blazed high and wide leaving Stamford Bridge disappointed and subdued.

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Labels: Blues, Chelsea, Crucial, Debut, defeat, Disappointing, Fernando, Goalcom, Hands, Liverpool, Makes, Meireles, strike, Torres

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Labels: rugby, strike, Toryaposs, WalesEngland, warning

Labels: boost, Deportivo, force, Reuters, strike, Xisco

Labels: boost, Deportivo, force, Reuters, strike, Xisco