Dundee United ease past ´Dons to book place in final

Dundee United demolished Aberdeen 4-1 in their Scottish League Cup semi final at Tynecastle on Tuesday to set up a Hampden Final against Rangers on March 16.Goals from Darren Dods, Norwegian Christian Kalvanes, Craig Conway and Frenchman Morgaro Gomis cancelled out Andrew Considine's early opener for the Dons.And Aberdeen's miserable night was compounded when former Dundee United striker Lee Miller was sent-off for two bookable offences in the second half. The match had started promisingly for Jimmy Calderwood's Dons after they took a 19th minute lead.Considine reacted first when United's Polish goalkeeper palmed out Zander Diamond's header and rammed the ball home from six-yards. But only four minutes later United restored parity.Christian Kalvanes' inswinging free-kick found Dods and his glancing header beat Aberdeen keeper Jamie Langfield.Dundee United took the lead for the first time in the 59th minute when Kalvanes launched himself at Conway's corner to send a diving header beyond Langfield.And only six minutes later United moved a huge step closer to a place in the final with a third goal. Former Hearts' Dutch striker Mark De Vries, making his debut since signing from Leicester, headed the ball into the path of Conway who smashed the ball home from six-yards.Any chance of a dramatic comeback for the Dons all but disappeared in the 68th minute when Lee Miller received a second yellow card for a late challenge and was sent-off by referee Ian Brines.And the emphatic victory was completed when a poor back pass from Aberdeen's Scott Severin put Gomez clean through on goal and he sent a left-foot shot past Langfield.

Pato fires Milan closer to Champions League

Teenage Brazilian star Pato fired a late winner in a 1-0 win at Fiorentina on Sunday to boost AC Milan's hopes of qualifying for next season's Champions League.The victory moved the reigning European champions up to fifth in the table, just four points behind the Viola in fourth, and with a game in hand.City rivals Inter, however, stayed on course to retain their title after a 1-0 win over Empoli allowed them to open up an eight-point gap at the top.Second-placed Roma slumped to a miserable 3-0 defeat at lively Siena to undo all the good work they managed last weekend in cutting the gap at the top from seven to five points.Despite the victory, Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti is worried about his attacking resources as Pato injured ankle ligaments and faces a spell on the sidelines while Alberto Gilardino will be suspended next week."Now we have an attacking emergency, Gilardino and Pato won't play next Sunday. We hope to get Ronaldo and (Filippo) Inzaghi back," said Ancelotti.

Ivory Coast coast into semi finals

Ivory Coast overwhelmed Guinea in the closing stages to triumph 5-0 in an African Nations Cup quarter-final Sunday and equal the record winning margin for the tournament. The 'Elephants' led 1-0 at half-time thanks to a Kader Keita goal and captain Didier Drogba, Salomon Kalou (twice) and Bakary Kone were on target as Guinea fell apart. Ivory Coast thrashed Ethiopia 6-1 in the group phase of the 1970 Nations Cup in Sudan and although strongly fancied to defeat Guinea, they could hardly have imagined winning so comfortably. Next up for Ivory Coast are either defending champions Egypt or dark horses Angola in the semi-finals on Thursday with the odds favouring a second consecutive appearance in the final for Drogba and his stars. Ivorian fears that they would be without defensive kingpin Kolo Toure from English Premiership leaders Arsenal materialised as he failed to recover from a groin injury sustained in a group match against Benin.

Roma and Juventus losing hope of catching Inter

Title chasers Roma and Juventus both lost hope in their quest to overhaul Inter Milan in the Serie A race as they dropped points against supposedly weaker opposition on Sunday. Roma, who had won their previous four games to cut Inter's lead to five points before the start of play, suffered a dreadful 3-0 drubbing at the hands of Siena to allow Inter, who beat Empoli 1-0, to stretch the gap at the top to eight points. Juventus lost further ground as well as they were held to a third draw in a row, 1-1 at home to rock-bottom Cagliari, to see their gap open up to 12 points. Juve are now more concerned by the teams creeping up behind them rather than catching those ahead.

Defoe makes dream debut to frustrate Chelsea

Jermain Defoe marked his Portsmouth debut with an equaliser that earned a 1-1 draw against Chelsea and denied the London club their tenth successive win on Saturday.Chelsea led through Nicolas Anelka's first Premier League goal for the Blues, but Portsmouth showed great determination to prevent Avram Grant making a happy return to Fratton Park.Grant spent a year with Portsmouth as technical director before becoming Chelsea manager but he can have no complaints about the outcome of a tense and close match.It was the fourth time in his career that the 25-year-old England international had scored on his debut having done the same for Bournemouth, West Ham and Spurs.Pompey's point was the first they have taken from Chelsea in ten Premier League matches and the first time they have managed a goal against the Blues.