New boy Seb hails dream Spurs debut to stun Reds August 16, 2009 NEW signing Sebastien Bassong hailed his “perfect debut” after earning Tottenham a dream Premier League start against title contenders Liverpool. Just ten days after completing his £8m move from Newcastle, Bassong met Luka Modric’s free-kick for his first goal in English football to ensure his side claimed a prized early-season scalp. Full-back Benoit Assou-Ekotto gave [...]
Trott gets green light for an England debut as Ashes axe falls on Bopara August 16, 2009 UNCAPPED Jonathan Trott was yesterday given the nod to star in England’s Ashes decider with Australia at The Oval this week. The Warwickshire batsman will bat at No4 for the crucial final Test on Thursday with county colleague Ian Bell moving up the order to three at the expense of the axed Ravi Bopara. Trott [...]
Rooney set 20-goal target to fire United August 16, 2009 SIR ALEX FERGUSON backed Wayne Rooney to fire 20 goals for Manchester United this season after his solitary first-half strike put paid to brave Birmingham at Old Trafford. The England striker got the champions up and running with a 34th minute winner from close range after seeing a header hit a post. His 99th goal [...]
Radcliffe back with a bang August 16, 2009 ATHLETICS: Paula Radcliffe is still undecided on whether to compete in next week’s World Championships despite enjoying a winning return in the New York Half Marathon. The Briton, 35, was competing for the first time in 10 months following bunion surgery and a broken toe but coasted to victory in an impressive time of 1.09:45. [...]
Rossi pounces on Lorenzo error August 16, 2009 MOTO GP: Valentino Rossi extended his lead at the top of the championship to 50 points after winning the Czech MotoGP at Brno. Rossi, inset, led from pole only to be overtaken with six laps to go by Fiat Yahama team-mate Jorge Lorenzo. But the Spaniard then crashed out, thus handing victory to the reigning [...]
Palace receive apology August 16, 2009 FOOTBALL: Referees’ chief Keith Hackett has apologised to Crystal Palace boss Neil Warnock over their disallowed goal in Saturday’s 1-0 defeat by Bristol City. Freddie Sears’ strike was ruled out by match official Rob Shoebridge despite the ball clearly crossing the line and bouncing back out off the stanchion. Warnock claimed his side had been [...]
Leaders Saints crash again August 16, 2009 RUGBY LEAGUE: In-form Hull KR inflicted a second defeat of the week on leaders St Helens as they all but secured a play-off place. Seven days after crashing to Huddersfield in the Challenge Cup, the Saints went down 26-12 at New Craven Park and now only lead the Super League table from Leeds on points [...]
Chelsea can stop United’s historic four-in-a-row bid August 13, 2009 THE Community Shield is never of major significance to the top managers, but it’s one-nil to Carlo Ancelotti after his first tussle with likely title rival, Sir Alex Ferguson. The sides looked very evenly matched, but Cristiano Ronaldo is a huge loss for United and if they get a couple of injuries to big players, [...]
Draw looks the safest bet in White Hart Lane clash August 13, 2009 TOTTENHAM vs LIVERPOOL SUNDAY 4.00PM – SKY SPORTS 1 THIS is a huge season for both Harry Redknapp and Rafa Benitez and they will know that they can send out a big message to their rivals with a win here. Liverpool have the edge in recent league encounters, winning five of the last seven meetings, [...]
Clubs vying for capital gains August 13, 2009 LAST YEAR might have been a bad one for the City, but for London’s clubs it was a boom time of sorts. Although Chelsea were the only side to finish with silverware, all five of the capital’s outfits claimed top 10 places, and most have reasonable hopes of improving this season. But on the eve [...]