Sport
Michail Antonio again as West Ham beat Leicester City
Michail Antonio again as West Ham beat Leicester City 3 – 0. Boss David Moyes was again absent from the touchline as he continues to recover from coronavirus, but as in last weekend’s 4-0 victory, it did not hamper the Hammers, who offered an excellent balance of graft and guile. West Ham picked up where they left off against Wolves last weekend with another impressive display to end Leicester’s 100% winning start to the season.
Ruthless on the break, they did a similar job on Leicester to the one the Foxes did in their brilliant 5-2 win at Manchester City seven days prior. Michail Antonio scored the first, heading in at the back post from Aaron Cresswell’s pinpoint cross from deep after the striker had himself found his team-mate with a quickly-taken free-kick.
Cresswell also assisted the second, but the credit was due more to a wonderful first touch and calm finish from Pablo Fornals, than the defender’s long ball forward.
But for a solid block from Caglar Soyuncu to repel a Jarrod Bowen shot, and a sliding Jonny Evans intervention to stop the ball finding an unmarked and well-placed Antonio, the Foxes would have been further behind before half-time.
In the second half, the brilliant Declan Rice struck the crossbar with a shot from inside the box following a driving run from deep before Bowen sealed the win with a neat finish after collecting a through-ball from Fornals.
For all their possession and territory, Leicester failed to produce a single shot on target, with their misery compounded when Jamie Vardy was flagged offside to rule out a Harvey Barnes finish in added time.
City remain second in the table, but could lose that spot with Liverpool still to play this weekend, while West Ham are up to eighth.The hunters become the hunted
Last Sunday, Leicester pulled off arguably the most shocking result of a season that has already witnessed a month packed with goals, drama and the unexpected.
Forgoing much of the possession on that occasion to vastly-talented opponents City, they were disciplined, unshaken after falling behind to an early goal and utterly destructive when attacking moments presented themselves.
Seven days later, with the onus on them to be on the ball and break down a stubborn, well-drilled opponent, they were ponderous, imprecise and vulnerable when countered.
City can point to the absence of the injured Dennis Praet and James Maddison in midfield as a mitigating factor, but the main reason is down to the performance of the visiting side.
Jamie Vardy was given little space in which to operate by a compact and well-drilled West Ham defence, who were quick to spot and snuff out the threat of the busy Harvey Barnes and Ayoze Perez.
After years of persisting with expensive but ineffective attacking players, the Hammers appear to have hit upon a winning formula in Antonio, Fornals and Bowen – a potent combination of speed, skill, intelligence and willing pressing.
Their energy on the pitch was matched by Stuart Pearce, who cut a path from stand to touchline as the designated middle man between the home-bound Moyes and his assistant Alan Irvine.
Moyes should return after the international break and thanks to a supreme team effort from his staff and players, will be able to pick up with a team very much on the up.
‘West Ham need to be looking up, not down’
West Ham assistant boss Alan Irvine to BBC Sport: “From start to finish the players did a fantastic job in and out of possession. It was everything we asked for. It is all well and good to do this on the training ground but they have to make it happen [in the game]. Everyone did a fantastic job.
“This club needs to be looking up rather than down. Too often we have been looking over our shoulder. I’m not saying we are there yet but we are making steps towards that. “We should have got something at Arsenal and [the result at] Wolves was great, but it doesn’t matter much if you don’t follow it up.”
Leicester boss Brendan Rodgers to BBC Sport: “Everything was missing – it was poor. We started the season well and scored goals but we lacked aggression in our defending and West Ham have shown they are a good side.
“We rushed the game and then gave away two poor goals, it gave us a mountain to climb. They deserved to win, they were good defensively and on the counter-attack.
“We didn’t see the performance coming from us. We have nine points from 12 and we will take that, but today is what can happen in football. “Dennis [Praet] and James Maddison [both injured] give us extra quality and we lacked precision in our passing. We couldn’t get our front players involved and didn’t give the back line a chance to get up the pitch.”
West Ham beat one of top two for first time since 2017
- West Ham have won against a side starting the day in the top two of the Premier League for the first time since May 2017, previously losing nine and drawing two since then.
- West Ham have won successive Premier League games while keeping a clean sheet for the first time since May 2019.
- Leicester failed to record a shot on target in a Premier League home game for just the third occasion since 2003-04 (also, v Liverpool in December 2019 and v Man City in November 2017).
- Leicester City manager Brendan Rodgers has lost consecutive home games in all competitions for the first time since October 2012 when he was Liverpool boss (three matches).
- West Ham’s Pablo Fornals scored and assisted in a league game for the first time since September 2018 for Villarreal v Athletic Club.
- After no assists in his last 36 Premier League appearances, West Ham full-back Aaron Cresswell provided two against Leicester City; it was the first time he had assisted twice in a top-flight game (192nd appearance).
- No player has scored more headed goals in the Premier League than West Ham’s Michail Antonio since he made his debut in the competition in September 2015 (18).
- Antonio is the first West Ham player to score in five successive Premier League away games, with the forward netting eight goals in this run.
Source – BBC News
Soccer fans in Nigeria have expressed their confidence that the Super Eagles will win the Africa Cup of Nations tournament.
The Nigerian team qualified for the finals after defeating South Africa in the semi-final round of the competition. They face hosts Ivory Coast for the last game of the tournament today.
This will be the second match between both teams. The elephants of Ivory Coast suffered a 1- 0 defeat in their encounter with the Super Eagles at the group stage. Nigerian soccer fans say they are confident that the team will also win the final game.
Moshood Olatunji says, “We’re taking the cup. We’re not bragging and we’re not being pretentious and we’re not underestimating any group. But I think the Nigerian team started slow and they really worked as a team. The thing they had that I could see was the teamwork. They play for each other, they’re not playing for the coach, they’re actually playing for each other as a team. And I think if they carry that attitude into the finals, there’s no stopping us.”
Maxwell Ogbaje says, “I’m not surprised that we got to where we are today. We actually have a strong team. We have been at our best. It’s not just by chance, people see it that the one zero, one zero has always been a lucky thing, but it’s not. There’s actually good effort from the team that has brought that success.”
“Let them keep doing what they are doing especially the back 5. It’s a fantastic tactic that the coach Peseiro has been able to knock the boys with, so they should do what they do. They should be tight behind and they should take their chances. They should hit them on the counter and I believe if they are able to do that and they stay together, then Nigeria will be able to carry the day,” says Sam Maimagani.
It’s the eighth time Nigeria has made it to the finals in the Africa Cup of Nations and the 4th for Ivory Coast.
Nigeria is already a three-time winner of the Africa Cup of Nations and a triumph in today’s encounter will make it the 4th in 10 years.
A win for Ivory Coast will make them a three-time champion of the AFCON. Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu is expected to be at the game today to cheer the Super Eagles to victory.
Source: SABC
In other news – Phelo Bala’s father has passed away
His death was announced by his stepson and musician Loyiso Bala on Saturday, 10 February on his social media platforms. Jafta died this morning in the hospital.
The Bala Family is deeply saddened to announce the passing of our beloved father, Sebenzile Jafta. He departed this morning. Read more
Bayern Munich leapfrogged rivals Borussia Dortmund to clinch their 11th consecutive Bundesliga title in a last-day drama in German football on Saturday, May 27.
In a climactic season finale, Bayern Munich ended up celebrating an unexpected title win while Dortmund’s dream of their first league trophy since 2012 was left in tatters following a 2-2 draw with Mainz.
Dortmund were leading by two points before their last match for the season but were held to a 2-2 draw at home by Mainz on Saturday, allowing Bayern to finish in first place with a goal difference.
RB Leipzig and sensational Union Berlin are third and fourth respectively and will also compete in the Champions League next season.
Hertha Berlin and Schalke 04 have been relegated, while VfB Stuttgart will go into the relegation playoff.
In other news – Celine Dion cancels 2023-2024 shows over health
Last year Celine Dion revealed that she was suffering from a rare neurological disorder. The Pop icon on Friday canceled all her remaining shows scheduled for 2023-2024, saying she was not strong enough to tour as she battles a rare neurological disorder.
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India is looking to a new generation of talented young cricketers led by teenage batter Shafali Verma to propel them to a first Women’s T20 World Cup title this month. Long-serving skipper Mithali Raj and record-breaking fast bowler Jhulan Goswami, trailblazers for women’s cricket in India, both retired last year.
New captain Harmanpreet Kaur said both players are still on hand to give advice, but it is time to look forward. Whenever we need they are always available to us, that’s what you expect from senior players,” the 33-year-old told a recent press conference.
“Nobody can fill their places, but the young girls who are getting the chances are doing well. One of the players who has grabbed her chance is Verma, an attacking opening batter who led India to victory in the inaugural U19 T20 World Cup in South Africa last month.
The 19-year-old will be back on familiar ground for the T20 World Cup, which is again in South Africa. It starts on February 10 and India are chasing a breakthrough first title, having been runners-up behind hosts Australia in the last edition, in 2020. Their first match is against arch-rivals Pakistan on February 12 in Cape Town.
Verma made her international debut at the age of just 15 and was in the team that reached the T20 World Cup final in 2020.
She also played in the one-day World Cup and was a member of the Indian side which took silver at last year’s Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
The youngster looks up to big-hitting England batsman Liam Livingstone for inspiration and considers Indian great Sachin Tendulkar a role model. After captaining India to victory in the U19 World Cup, Verma said: “This is just the beginning.”
“When I entered the Under-19s, I only focused on winning the Under-19 Cup and we have won that today,” ESPNCricinfo quoted her as saying. I will look to take this winning confidence with me and win the senior World Cup.”
Besides Verma, the India team also includes Smriti Mandhana, Richa Ghosh, Deepti Sharma and Renuka Singh. The women’s game is making inroads in the cricket-mad country, with the inaugural Women’s Premier League set for March, ahead of the men’s IPL.
Last month, India’s cricket board auctioned off five women’s IPL teams for $572.5 million. The new generation “are ready to be the representatives of the modern generation of women’s cricketers”, cricket journalist Sharda Ugra told AFP.
“The women’s IPL is going to start and they are the perfect representation of the kind of Indian women cricketers that belong to the T20 generation. They have the right mindset and they are very, very talented.
Source: eNCA
In other news – Idols SA canceled after 21 years
Idols SA is reportedly coming to an end after 21 years of entertainment. Phil Mphela, an entertainment commentator announced the latest development about the show on Twitter.
After 21 years, #IdolsSA will be bowing out of our screens. The show has been renewed for a 19th season, which will be the show’s final season,” he wrote. Learn more