- HT 1-0
Germany produced a dominant display to sweep past a limited Greece side and set up a possible Euro 2012 semi-final with England.
Germany wasted a host of early chances before captain Philipp Lahm fired them ahead in spectacular fashion.
Greece threatened a scare when Celtic striker Georgios Samaras levelled on the counter-attack, but Sami Khedira and Miroslav Klose soon responded.
Marco Reus thumped home a fourth before Dimitris Salpingidis netted a penalty.
Germany will now take on England or Italy in the last four in Warsaw next Thursday.
German coach Joachim Loew raised eyebrows before kick-off with his decision to rest his first-choice strike trio of Mario Gomez, Thomas Mueller and Lukas Podolski.
But his decision was vindicated as young replacements Reus and Andre Schurrle turned in energetic performances either side of the vastly experienced Klose, who saw an early strike ruled out for offside.
Reus in particular could have had a couple of goals in a first 45 minutes completely controlled by Loew's side, with the coach growing visibly frustrated as the half wore on and his team wasted a flurry of openings.
The breakthrough came just before the break when Bayern Munich full-back Lahm cut inside from his station on the left and thrashed a right-footed shot from 20 yards which bent wickedly past goalkeeper Michalis Sifakis and into the corner.
Greece coach Fernando Santos made two changes at the break as he attempted to offer some sort of attacking outlet and, despite the opening 10 minutes continuing the pattern of German ascendancy, Samaras then struck against the run of play.
Real wins eleventh GFA League title
- Thursday, 21 June 2012
- Written By Modou Lamin Beyai
Real wins league title
Real de Banjul have won the GFA First Division League for the first time in five years following an impressive 3-1 win over Young Africans in the final game of the season played at the KG5 Mini-Stadium on Sunday.
The city boys came into the game needing only a win and were at their best on the night, dominating play from start to finish and scoring three successive goals before their opponents pulled one back in the closing minutes of the game.
With their nearest challengers Gambia Armed Forces taking a quick two-goal lead at the Independence Stadium, Real knew they had their work cut out, with Bubacarr Jallow alias Meles firing in a neat finish for the opener. Real continued dominating in the second half.
Dimingo Manneh had a chance to double the lead after beating the offside trap with only the keeper to beat but he instead laid a pass to Modou Njie-Sarr that was too much for the league’s leading goal scorer.
Njie-Sarr eventually put his name on the score sheet as he doubled his side’s lead in the 66th minute from the penalty spot. After he was fouled inside the Young Africans box, he redeemed himself by scoring the penalty kick.
Real added a third goal two minutes later when Sarr teed up Bubacarr Jallow to score his second goal of the game. Young Africans scored a consolation goal through Yusupha Sarr in injury time with a near post shot that Assan Jallow should have dealt with.
The win lead Real de Banjul to victory and then to their eleventh title in the history of the club.
Thursday 21 June 2012, 17.20CET
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France needed to let it all out
Three weeks away from home is a long time. Three weeks in a Donetsk hotel room, eating the same food at the same places and working with the same people is a very long time. Three weeks of disjointed conversations on Skype with your wife is just too long.
Now, before I'm accused of being an ungrateful whinger, please bear with me. I am delighted to be working at this fantastic tournament, and reporting on this wonderfully unpredictable France team has been a brilliant experience. The hospitality in Donetsk is first class and I've loved getting to know a great city. It's just that at some point the routine and the tiredness gets the better of you; you crack.
My breaking point came yesterday. I felt jaded and a tad homesick, and was in a bad mood. I was unfriendly – even moody – with the lovely waitresses at breakfast and rude to the receptionist who told me the taxi would take 20 minutes to come.
After three weeks of waiting for my perpetually late colleague (sorry Fred), I decided to spend a day away from his otherwise delightful company. Fortunately, I was able to get this pent-up frustration out of my system with a night on the Donetsk tiles – an activity I highly recommend doing once in a while. I'm now as fresh and enthusiastic as I was when I arrived all those moons ago.
Browsing through the French press, it seems Les Bleus hit their breaking point on Tuesday night in the dressing room after the Sweden defeat. More than a few voices were raised. Depending on which newspaper you read, Laurent Blanc shouted at Hatem Ben Arfa, Alou Diarra at Samir Nasri, Alain Boghossian at Philippe Mexès and so on.
©AFP/Getty ImagesFrance are put through their paces in training
I can fully understand Boghossian's claim that the lively discussions had a cathartic affect. The night the players subsequently spent with their wives and girlfriends in Kyiv probably helped too. Boghossian was asked if testosterone levels in the camp had fallen in the last 24 hours. He didn't know. I'm pretty sure mine are still high, but I'm nevertheless feeling re-energised and ready to attack the remainder of the competition. Blanc will be hoping France are too
