Villa left stunned as Pulis inspires late Stoke show September 13, 2010 STOKE CITY (2) vs ASTON VILLA(1) WINGER Matthew Etherington admitted the shock appearance of boss Tony Pulis at half-time inspired Stoke to a dramatic late comeback. Pulis, inset, was expected to miss the game following the death of his mother but made a surprise appearance just after the restart to rejuvenate a Potters side looking [...]
US OPEN FINAL DELAYED AGAIN BY THUNDERSTORMS September 13, 2010 RAFAEL NADAL moved one step closer to etching his place his history last night – only to be denied once again by the rain. The world No1 is looking to become only the seventh player in history to hold all four Grand Slam events. But he was made to wait for his chance after rain [...]
KP will be firing for Ashes, says Flintoff September 13, 2010 ANDREW FLINTOFF has backed his former team-mate Kevin Pietersen to rediscover his form and fire England to Ashes glory. Without a Test century in 18 months, Pietersen is going through the worst run of his career, culminating in him being dropped from England’s one-day squad. As a result, Pietersen is attempting to play his way [...]
Bad weather blows title race wide open September 13, 2010 PROMOTION and relegation issues in the County Championship may well be determined by the lottery of the weather after heavy rain decimated the opening day of the final round of matches yesterday. Division one pace-setters Nottinghamshire need 22 points to be assured of a first title since 2005, but were limited to just one over [...]
‘I should have stood up to Richards’, admits physio September 13, 2010 THE physiotherapist at the centre of the “Bloodgate” scandal says he wish he’d ignored the pleas of shamed ex-Harlequins chief Dean Richards as he battles to save his job. Steph Brennan handed a fake blood capsule to winger Tom Williams during Quins’ Heineken Cup defeat to Leinster in April 2009. Brennan admitted all but one [...]
Wales U21 coach Flynn handed audition to succeed Toshack September 13, 2010 WALES have appointed Under-21 boss Brian Flynn as temporary coach of the senior team following John Toshack’s resignation. Flynn, who also leads the Welsh Under-19s and Under 17s, has two Euro 2012 qualifiers, against Bulgaria and Switzerland, to earn the job on a permanent basis. He said: “I realise that initially it is only for [...]
Captain Monty’s smiling with Euro six-shooters September 13, 2010 ONLY one smile would have beamed broader than that of Martin Kaymer after the German cruised to a third title of the season at the KLM Open – Colin Montgomerie’s. Since Ross Fisher won at the Irish Open on 1 August, Monty’s 12-man team for the Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor in a little over [...]
ANGLO-SCOTTISH MEETINGS: THE LAST THREE September 13, 2010 Arsenal v Celtic, 2009-10 Champions League qualifying round The Gunners all but wrapped up the tie with a 2-0 first-leg win in Glasgow, but the most memorable incident occurred at the Emirates Stadium, when a tumble from Eduardo (above) prompted a penalty, a ban for diving, then a Uefa U-turn and, all in all, quite [...]
Mistakes like that could cost me the title, admits Hamilton September 12, 2010 LEWIS HAMILTON admitted his Monza mistake could cost him the world championship after Fernando Alonso and Ferrari leapt back into title contention with victory in the Italian Grand Prix. McLaren star Hamilton crashed out in the very first lap after damaging his car when trying to pass the Ferrari of Felipe Massa. As a result, [...]
Strauss lets his bat do the talking September 12, 2010 ANDREW STRAUSS proved his doubters wrong once again as his magnificent century helped England go 2-0 up in the one-day series with Pakistan. It has been suggested that Strauss’s batting style is not suited to the limited-overs game, leading many to question whether he is the man to lead England into the World Cup on [...]