Mancini praise for Leicester

Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini admitted Leicester City’s 2-2 draw in their third-round FA Cup clash was a worthy result.

Despite Leicester taking an early lead, goals to James Milner and Carlos Tevez saw City take edge in front.

But a brave second-half performance from the Championship outfit led to Andy King’s equaliser – a goal which was well-deserved according to Mancini.

“Leicester played very well. They did not deserve to lose this game,” Mancini said.

“Now we understand that if we want to win the FA Cup, we have to play at 100 percent. When you play against a team in the Championship, it is never easy.”

“It’s important we understand the competition, and to win it we must be better.”

King’s goal – his 10th of the season for Leicester – came from a Joe Hart mistake, but Mancini defended his shot-stopper.

“Joe made a mistake but this can happen. He saved us in the first half and he has saved us in a lot of games,” he said.

Mancini said it was ‘important’ his side have another chance to progress when they host the replay and is looking forward to new signing Edin Dzeko, who cost 27 million pounds from Wolfsburg, making an impact with the club.

“Dzeko will be an important player, he is very different from the other strikers we have here. He will be important for the rest of the season. He will play next weekend and be available against Wolverhampton,” he said.

Leicester manager Sven-Goran Eriksson praised the impact of defender Sol Bamba, after he starred in his debut since joining from Hibernian.

Bamba scored in the first half and forced Hart into a terrific save, leading to praise from his boss.

“Sol Bamba is very dangerous at set-pieces – I knew that from when I was in charge of the Ivory Coast for the World Cup,” Eriksson said.

“He scored in a practice match and that was when I saw how good he can be. I hope he continues to perform like that for the rest of the season.”

Eriksson was proud of the way his side, 12th in the Championship, took the game to their more-fancied opponents.

“I must be pleased with the performance and it was a good football match. I’m very proud of my players and they should be proud of their display,” he said.

“We stood up to Manchester City, one of the best teams in the country. All the players were brilliant.”

“You could not see much difference between the teams although, of course, it will not be easy up there for the replay.”

Spurs´ second-half blitz pleases Bond

Tottenham assistant manager Kevin Bond was pleased with his side’s second half as they overpowered Charlton 3-0 in the FA Cup on Sunday.

Bond saw his side go into the half-time break deadlocked with the League One outfit, with Charlton causing problems for Spurs in a London derby.

But Tottenham scored three second-half goals in an 11-minute hot streak, with 19-year-old Andros Townsend netting his first ever goal for the North London side before Jermaine Defoe converted a quick-fire double.

“The second half was a good performance,” Bond said.

“I think we upped the tempo in the second half. We were a little bit slow and deliberate in our passing; it allowed them to get them back behind the ball.”

“They made it extremely difficult for us, I don’t think we really troubled the keeper in the first half but we upped the tempo in the second half.”

Bond hailed the impact of half-time substitute Luka Modric, claiming the Croatian made a ‘big difference’, while he also praised the teenage Townsend.

“I certainly like Andros Townsend. The way he played today would have given the manager something to consider,” he said.

“We know what his strengths are. He has come into the side today and done himself no harm at all and certainly has given the manager something to think about in terms of another option for him. I thought it was a terrific performance for somebody making their debut.”

Bond also believes that England midfielder David Beckham will link up with the club as rumoured, but not in a playing position.

“I am led to believe that he will come here in a training capacity. He is not going to sign for us to play. He is going to be here for a short time to train which should be interesting,” he said.

“I think everyone will be looking forward to seeing him and seeing how he conducts himself, he how he trains. I am sure a lot of people could take a lot from him and seeing about he goes about his work.”

Charlton’s caretaker manager Keith Peacock was impressed with his side’s performance despite the loss.

“I had a lot of pride in the way the players performed,” Peacock said.

“Obviously I would have been happier if we had managed to get a goal or two but I was very proud of the way we got together and performed exceptionally well in the first half.”

“After that terrible little patch, from our point of view where they undid us, we kept going right until the end.”

Peacock said it would be wrong to comment on Charlton’s search for a new boss, adding that there is no time scale for a new appointment, but was more willing to speak on the performance of Modric, who he said changed the match.

“Modric is a player I like very much and he is a player who you like to see on the ball when you are watching but not when he is against you,” he said.

“We found it difficult to negate his influence in the first 15-20 minutes of the second-half.”

Liga Sagres wrap: Benfica cruise, Naval break long drought

Benfica won their fifth league game in succession with a 3-0 away triumph at Uniao de Leiria in the highlight of Sunday’s Liga Sagres action.

The result sees Benfica five points ahead of third-placed Sporting Lisbon and Jorge Jesus’ side will be hoping to continue their current run of form in the chance of a slip-up from Porto, who are aiming for the seventh title in the last nine seasons and are already eight points clear at the top of the table.

Both sides entered the game in good form, with Uniao de Leiria unbeaten in six league matches, but the hosts were quickly on the back foot.

Argentine forward Javier Saviola gave his side a 27th-minute lead to notch his seventh goal in as many matches.

With the home side pressing, Benfica managed a second 10 minutes from time with Saviola’s compatriot, Nicolas Gaitan, securing the result with his finish, before Oscar Cardozo also got his name on the scoresheet in injury time.

Bottom side Naval 1 de Maio won just their second match of the season and snapped a 14-match winless streak with a 2-1 away win at fifth-placed Vitoria Guimaraes.

Joao Alves’ gave Vitoria the lead after 13 minutes to get the hosts on their way and they looked like there would only be one winner when Naval defender Carlitos was given a straight red card on the hour mark in what was a spiteful contest.

But Fabio Junior silenced the Estadio Dom Afonso Henriques in Guimaraes with 19 minutes remaining, grabbing an equaliser against the run of play.

If Naval getting a point was a shock, getting a win was unbelievable – but Marinho made it a reality with his goal three minutes from time to secure a terrific come-from-behind victory.

Olhanense won their first match in five with a 1-0 away win at strugglers Rio Ave, with Mauricio’s 22nd minute goal good enough to secure victory for the visitors, while Nacional and Beira-Mar and Academica and Pacos de Ferreira played out goalless draws.

Draw frustrates Zaccheroni

Japan manager Alberto Zaccheroni was disappointed his side could only manage a 1-1 draw with Jordan in their opening Asian Cup match on Sunday.

It was a poor start for Japan – one of the favourites for the tournament – as they were frustrated by their opponents who defended resolutely and packed men behind the ball after they took the lead on the stroke of half-time courtesy of Hassan Abdel Fattah.

Maya Yoshida’s injury-time winner saved the day for Japan and was enough to avoid an embarrassing defeat but Zaccheroni said it was still not good enough.

“I am not satisfied with the result. Japan controlled the match over the 90 minutes while Jordan played defensively,” Zaccheroni said.

“It was the opening match and I knew it would be difficult. I knew we did not have much space on the pitch, so to cope with that we needed to speed up our play. We could not get a goal despite the fact we had chances and we conceded a goal through our own doing.”

“We had plenty of shots so whenever we played the ball around each other we had a chance to get a goal.”

The draw sees Japan needing a win on Thursday when they face Syria, a side who are also likely to pack men behind the ball, which won’t surprise Zaccheroni, who said his side ‘always play to win matches’.

“They (Jordan) scored first and from that they gained confidence against us. That goal influenced the match,” he said.

“But for me I was not satisfied with the first half and the second half was only so-so. I imagine that other teams, and not just Jordan, will play like this also.”

Jordan boss Adnan Hamad was pleased with the spirit shown by his players, but admitted he was disappointed at the fact they failed to hold on for all three points, despite 75 places separating the two countries in the world rankings.

“This was a good match and I would like to extend my thanks to my players for their good discipline on the field,” Hamad said.

“They played with confidence and victory was possible. With regards to the result it is not as good as it could have been and though it is not a bad result it is a sad one for us.”

“The final score perhaps makes sense but the goal in the last minute was something we did not expect. We had high hopes of getting three points.”

Hamad also said the result will give his side ‘a boost for coming matches’ in their bid to qualify from the group.

Macheda delight at Serie A debut

Sampdoria loan signing Federico Macheda was pleased with his first appearance at the Serie A club in their 2-1 win over Roma on Sunday.

The Manchester United forward was substituted on in the final 20 minutes with the score at 1-1, and although he did not score the winner, the 19-year-old was thrilled to be involved in the win.

“The team played well. We have won after making a good recovery and this is really important. I’m very satisfied with my debut. It would have been even better if I scored a goal, but for now it’s okay. What is important is that the team wins and we achieve good results as we have done today,” Macheda said.

“Well, I had a chance (on goal), but it didn’t end up at best. I’m happy since it was important for us to win the match and I’m happy to have contributed to this.”

The Italian starlet said he was impressed with the welcome he received by his colleagues at the Stadio Comunale Luigi Ferraris.

“I have to say that this is a good team and they’re all good guys. I was very impressed since it’s not so simple to find team-mates that support you from the very first minute. I’m happy to have found such good guys as they are,” he said.

Macheda said he hoped his six-month stint in Italy would help him grow as a player to help United’s assault on the Premiership trophy next season.

“I hope I’ll achieve the best results, since I came here with the willingness to improve both professionally and personally, since these are two important aspects. I hope I’ll have the chance to improve in any aspect during these six months,” he said.

Sampdoria moved to ninth in the league with the win on Sunday, closing to within six points of fourth-placed Roma.

Ranieri refuses to blame Juan for loss

Roma manager Claudio Ranieri admitted his team had paid the price for two errors from defender Juan as they lost 2-1 to Sampdoria.

Roma had taken the lead through Mirko Vucinic at the Stadio Comunale Luigi Ferraris, but after visiting goalkeeper Julio Sergio was sent off, Sampdoria rallied with a penalty from Nicola Pozzi and Stefano Guberti.

The Brazilian centre-back was at fault for both goals but Ranieri refused to be too critical of the defender.

“The match has been decided by those mistakes. It’s a pity since we were winning and playing a good match. They were two mistakes made by a champion. He has never made such mistakes before and I don’t think he will make them again in his career,” Ranieri said.

“He was so sorry, but these things can happen. Of course we’re disappointed because we were playing a good match but it doesn’t matter.”

The Italian boss said his side’s away form was a worry entering the second half of the season.

“We know that we have difficulties away from home. We’re top of the league when it comes to home matches but we have difficulties in the away matches. We wanted to change this situation and we came close today but it ended up in this way,” he said.

“We don’t give up and we should keep on battling up to the very last second and we should do our best in order to be able to compete when it comes to the final battle.”

The loss leaves Roma in fourth place, eight points behind league leaders AC Milan after 19 games.