ZoltaR
15 Dec 2005, 02:09 AM
OM 2-1 Bucharest: OM confirm top billing
A goal apiece to Cesar and Delfim allowed Olympique de Marseille to finish the UEFA Cup group stage as top dog of Group F. OM will now play one of the third-placed teams in the last 32 of the competition.
OM 2-1 DINAMO BUCHAREST
1-0: Cesar (39)
2-0: Delfim (45+1)
2-1: Niculescu (52)
Even if the Marseille players had one eye on Sunday's final league match of the year against Strasbourg, they declared that only victory would suffice to be sure of top spot in Group F of the UEFA Cup.
And win they did, in front of a half-full Stade Velodrome and confronted by freezing temperatures.
Even though several regular names were missing, the Marseille starting XI still looked good on paper. Ferreira and Andre Luis in defence, Delfim in midfield and Gimenez up front, were all handed rare starts alongside the likes of Barthez, Taiwo, Lamouchi and Ribery...
http://s.om.net/om/file/200512/om_dinamo_02.jpg
Both sides seemed to make a tentative start to the match and after an opening 15 minutes of testing the water, it was the Romanians that fired the first shots in anger as Barthez was forced to turn Niculescu's effort behind for a corner, before the Marseille shot-stopper denied Munteanu, one-on-one. It didn't take long for Lorik Cana and co. to launch their own attacks on Gayev's goal.
The Olympians quickly seized control of the match and dominated every facet of the play and the chances duly followed; Gimenez, a Nasri free-kick and a Lamouchi header all went close. And then came the goals: Cesar placed an unstoppable header in off the bar of the hapless Gayev. Then, in stoppage time, the Velodrome witnessed a moment of true magic and emotion that only a great club is capable of producing: from a Ribery corner, the ball made its way through to the back post, one and then two ricochets, before Jose Delfim blasted the ball into the back of the net with a thunderous finish. The same Jose Delfim that so many people wrote off just a few short years ago... The Portuguese midfielder exploded with joy as his teammates jumped all over him to congratulate him - even Barthez ran half the length of the field to share in the moment. The entire stadium than paid tribute to the player by chanting his name as the two sides made their way to the changing-rooms for half time.
http://s.om.net/om/file/200512/om_dinamo_03.jpg
The Olympians started that second half in a much less impressive manner than they finished the first. Without dominating proceedings Dinamo found themselves back in the game at 2-1 thanks to Niculescu's free-kick. The game quickly became a very tight and nervous affair. Long range efforts, centres and saves filtered through but most notably, the referee denied a Christian Gimenez goal for a Marseille foul off the ball. The same Spanish referee then denied the Romanian side a goal right at the death, a goal that wouldn't have changed much for OM but which would have qualified the Romanians for the knockout stages of the competition. Unfortunately, Mr Santiago blew for full-time just moments before Chiaia chipped the ball past Barthez... The Dinamo protests fell on deaf ears and OM won their third match from four in the group phase to tie up top spot while in the other match, Heerenveen beat Sofia 2-1.
http://s.om.net/om/file/200512/om_dinamo_06.jpg
GROUP F: FINAL STANDINGS
1 - Marseille: 9 pts
2 - Levski Sofia: 6 pts
3 - Heerenveen: 5 pts
4 - CSKA Moscow: 4 pts
5 - Dinamo Bucharest: 4 pts
A goal apiece to Cesar and Delfim allowed Olympique de Marseille to finish the UEFA Cup group stage as top dog of Group F. OM will now play one of the third-placed teams in the last 32 of the competition.
OM 2-1 DINAMO BUCHAREST
1-0: Cesar (39)
2-0: Delfim (45+1)
2-1: Niculescu (52)
Even if the Marseille players had one eye on Sunday's final league match of the year against Strasbourg, they declared that only victory would suffice to be sure of top spot in Group F of the UEFA Cup.
And win they did, in front of a half-full Stade Velodrome and confronted by freezing temperatures.
Even though several regular names were missing, the Marseille starting XI still looked good on paper. Ferreira and Andre Luis in defence, Delfim in midfield and Gimenez up front, were all handed rare starts alongside the likes of Barthez, Taiwo, Lamouchi and Ribery...
http://s.om.net/om/file/200512/om_dinamo_02.jpg
Both sides seemed to make a tentative start to the match and after an opening 15 minutes of testing the water, it was the Romanians that fired the first shots in anger as Barthez was forced to turn Niculescu's effort behind for a corner, before the Marseille shot-stopper denied Munteanu, one-on-one. It didn't take long for Lorik Cana and co. to launch their own attacks on Gayev's goal.
The Olympians quickly seized control of the match and dominated every facet of the play and the chances duly followed; Gimenez, a Nasri free-kick and a Lamouchi header all went close. And then came the goals: Cesar placed an unstoppable header in off the bar of the hapless Gayev. Then, in stoppage time, the Velodrome witnessed a moment of true magic and emotion that only a great club is capable of producing: from a Ribery corner, the ball made its way through to the back post, one and then two ricochets, before Jose Delfim blasted the ball into the back of the net with a thunderous finish. The same Jose Delfim that so many people wrote off just a few short years ago... The Portuguese midfielder exploded with joy as his teammates jumped all over him to congratulate him - even Barthez ran half the length of the field to share in the moment. The entire stadium than paid tribute to the player by chanting his name as the two sides made their way to the changing-rooms for half time.
http://s.om.net/om/file/200512/om_dinamo_03.jpg
The Olympians started that second half in a much less impressive manner than they finished the first. Without dominating proceedings Dinamo found themselves back in the game at 2-1 thanks to Niculescu's free-kick. The game quickly became a very tight and nervous affair. Long range efforts, centres and saves filtered through but most notably, the referee denied a Christian Gimenez goal for a Marseille foul off the ball. The same Spanish referee then denied the Romanian side a goal right at the death, a goal that wouldn't have changed much for OM but which would have qualified the Romanians for the knockout stages of the competition. Unfortunately, Mr Santiago blew for full-time just moments before Chiaia chipped the ball past Barthez... The Dinamo protests fell on deaf ears and OM won their third match from four in the group phase to tie up top spot while in the other match, Heerenveen beat Sofia 2-1.
http://s.om.net/om/file/200512/om_dinamo_06.jpg
GROUP F: FINAL STANDINGS
1 - Marseille: 9 pts
2 - Levski Sofia: 6 pts
3 - Heerenveen: 5 pts
4 - CSKA Moscow: 4 pts
5 - Dinamo Bucharest: 4 pts