Ba brace lifts West Ham off bottom

PARIS (AFP)– Senegalese Demba Ba was the stand-out African footballer in weekend league action across Europe as his brace salvaged a point for West Ham and lifted them off the bottom of the English Premiership table.

West Ham appeared doomed when trailing 3-0 at half-time away to West Bromwich Albion only for Ba to score early in the second half and equalise seven minutes from full-time in a six-goal thriller.

Ghanaian Asamoah Gyan and Ivorian Steve Gohouri were other African scorers in England, Gervinho of Ivory Coast and Razak Boukari of Togo scored in France and Ivorian Didier Ya Konan and Tunisian Sami Allagui netted in Germany.

ENGLAND

ASAMOAH GYAN (Sunderland)

The Ghana striker scored his 10th goal of the season but couldn't prevent his side falling to a 2-1 home defeat against Tottenham. Gyan put Sunderland ahead in the 11th minute with a fine shot on the turn from Kieran Richardson's cross.

OBAFEMI MARTINS (Birmingham)

The Nigeria striker played for 75 minutes on his Birmingham debut in a 1-0 win over Stoke at St Andrews. Martins, who has joined the Blues on loan from Rubin Kazan, was off the pitch by the time Birmingham got their last-minute winner but made a confident start on his return to the Premier League.

STEVE GOHOURI (Wigan)

The Ivory Coast defender scored his first goal in English football to help Wigan earn a 1-1 draw at Liverpool. Gohouri had made 23 appearances without a goal since his pre-season move from Borussia Monchengladbach but he struck in the 65th minute by turning in Antolin Alcaraz's pass.

DEMBA BA (West Ham)

The Senegal striker scored twice as West Ham staged a stunning fightback to earn a 3-3 draw at West Bromwich Albion. West Ham trailed 3-0 at half-time but Ba started the revival with a close-range finish in the 50th minute and bagged the equaliser with a brilliant 83rd-minute strike. Thanks to Ba, West Ham moved off the bottom of the table.

JEAN MAKOUN (Aston Villa)

The Cameroon midfielder was sent off in the 70th minute for an ugly foul on Blackpool's DJ Campbell in a 1-1 draw at Bloomfield Road. Makoun's rash lunge brought a straight red card from referee Howard Webb.

YAYA TOURE (Man City)

The Ivory Coast midfielder was on the receiving end of Wayne Rooney's magic as City were beaten 2-1 by local rivals Manchester United at Old Trafford. City were level at 1-1 with 12 minutes to play but their title hopes were dented when Rooney scored with a sensational overhead kick.

FRANCE

GERVINHO (Lille)

Ivory Coast forward Gervinho scored one goal and made another as Lille beat Toulouse 2-0 to re-establish a five-point lead at the top of the table. Gervinho scrambled in the opener in the 38th minute after Moussa Sow had been denied by Toulouse goalkeeper Matthieu Valverde, before teeing up substitute Tulio de Melo for Lille's second in stoppage time.

MUSTAPHA BAYAL SALL (Saint-Etienne)

The Senegalese centre-back endured a nightmare in his side's 4-1 defeat at home to derby rivals Lyon, playing an unwitting role in two of the visitors' goals. Bayal scored an own goal in the 40th minute, inadvertently diverting a Cris header past his own goalkeeper to put Lyon 2-1 ahead, and it was from his weak backward header that Michel Bastos gave OL a two-goal cushion with just over 20 minutes remaining.

RAZAK BOUKARI (Rennes)

Togolese international Boukari, a January signing from Lens, was a constant menace in Rennes' 2-0 victory at home to Nice. Unfortunate not to win a penalty after being tripped by Renato Civelli in the first half, he claimed his side's second goal from the penalty spot in the 58th minute as Frederic Antonetti's team climbed to second in the table.

GERMANY

DIDIER YA KONAN (Hanover 96)

The Ivory Coast forward scored his 11th goal of the season when he netted in his team's 1-1 draw with Werder Bremen which ended honours even after Germany defender Per Mertesacker equalised.

ISAAC VORSAH (Hoffenheim)

The Ghana defender played the first half of his side's 4-0 defeat at defending champions Bayern Munich. Play-makers Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery dominated the guests defence with flying Dutchman Robben scoring twice to give him four goals from four games since he returned to football in January.

SAMI ALLAGUI (Mainz)

The Tunisia striker netted in Mainz's 4-2 defeat at Cologne as Germany striker Lukas Podolski scored twice as his team backed up last week's shock victory over Bayern Munich with another win.

ITALY

SAMUEL ETO'O (Inter Milan)

Not one of the Cameroon captain's most memorable evenings in the 1-0 defeat at Juventus despite looking his team's most serious threat throughout. After a quiet first period he was heavily involved after the break but missed Inter's best chance. It was a startling miss from Eto'o who arrived at the back post to crash a shot against the bar from five yards with an empty goal gaping. He had two more clear chances but was smothered by Juve goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon on the first and missed his volley completely with the second.

HOUSSINE KHARJA (Inter)

The Moroccan midfielder did not have one of his better games for Inter and was replaced early in the second period as coach Leonardo threw on forward Goran Pandev to try to salvage a result. Kharja had done little wrong but struggled to have an effect on proceedings.

MOMO SISSOKO (Juventus)

A substitute late on against Inter as Juve tried to hold on to their 1-0 lead, the Mali midfielder put himself around as expected. He picked up a booking for a foul on Wesley Sneijder but also provided vital cover for a defence increasingly coming under pressure, making some timely interceptions and tackles.

SPAIN

EMMANUEL ADEBAYOR (Real Madrid)

Togo striker Emmanuel Adebayor kept French forward Karim Benzema on the Real substitutes' bench once again as he helped 10-man Real Madrid win 1-0 at Espanyol. Adebayor, on loan from Manchester City, hit the crossbar and missed two good chances late on as Real survived playing with one man less for virtually the entire match to close within five points of league leaders Barcelona.

CARLOS KAMENI (Espanyol)

Cameroon goalkeeper Kameni had an inspired game for Espanyol, foiling Adebayor twice and also denying Cristiano Ronaldo, although it was not enough to prevent his side losing 1-0 at home to 10-man Real Madrid. Kameni kept his side in the game with two terrific point-blank saves from Adebayor in the closing stages.

SEYDOU KEITA (Barcelona)

Mali midfielder Keita was a second half substitute as Barcelona saw their record streak of 16 consecutive league wins come to an end with a 1-1 draw at Sporting Gijon. Keita replaced Gaby Milito as Barcelona pressed for an equaliser that arrived on 79 minutes through David Villa.

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