Sport
Southampton defeat West Brom 2 – 0
Southampton defeat West Brom 2 – 0. Moussa Djenepo opened the scoring with a clinical finish for the hosts before Oriol Romeu’s stunning strike sealed a deserved win. West Bromwich Albion boss Slaven Bilic said his players “have to learn” but that the Premier League “is not a school” after their disappointing start to the season continued with defeat at Southampton.
The loss means West Brom have managed to pick up just one point from their first four games on their return to the top flight. Asked whether it was a tough learning experience coming up from the Championship, Bilic said: “You have to learn, but this is not a school.
“You have to be competitive and do your best. We have to do more and show more determination and show a better mentality than we have shown. “Southampton were better in everything. I know the guys want it but there has to be so much more determination and desire.”
The Saints had lost their first two league fixtures of the season but have now recorded back-to-back league wins with this result.
Djenepo’s opener just before half-time, a clinical finish into the bottom corner, was just rewarded for an excellent first-half display in which only a string of fine saves by Sam Johnstone prevented Southampton from taking the lead earlier.
Johnstone kept out Ryan Bertrand’s curling effort before reacting quickly to prevent Semi Ajayi from diverting the ball into his own net and then stopped Che Adams from pouncing with the follow-up.
The Manchester United academy product dived at full stretch to deny Danny Ings’ header but could do nothing about Djenepo’s smart finish. West Brom were marginally better after the break but still did not trouble Alex McCarthy enough in the Southampton goal.
The hosts made sure of the points when Romeu superbly volleyed in Stuart Armstrong’s cross for his first goal in 20 months.
Southampton moved up to 10th before the rest of Sunday’s matches, while West Brom are 17th after collecting just one point from their first four games.
Saints strikers finally get support
Southampton have finally started to get into a gear after a slow start to the season and six points from their last two games will send them into the international break on a high before returning to action with two tough fixtures against Chelsea and in-form Everton.
This win will have been a relief in more ways than one for Saints boss Ralph Hasenhuttl as he finally saw players other than Ings score. Southampton have been far too reliant on the former Liverpool striker to come up with the goods, with their three goals in the Premier League prior to Sunday all scored by Ings.
In fact, goals from players other than strikers has been a problem with their previous nine in the league scored by either Ings or Adams, so it will have been pleasing for Hasenhuttl to see two different names on the scoresheet against West Brom.
“Hopefully we can continue this successful run,” said Hasenhuttl. “We need to work as a team together, whether you are a good team you have a good chance to win games. “We have six points now, it makes everything not easier but a little bit more comfortable. We have a tough fixture after the international break, let’s go.”
Defeat underlines Baggies’ shortcomings
It has been a tough return to the top flight for West Brom, who are still searching for their first league win of the season. Baggies boss Slaven Bilic has been vocal in his need for attacking reinforcements, having recently confirmed interest in Huddersfield forward Karlan Grant and Leicester City striker Islam Slimani. After Sunday’s game Bilic confirmed he was “hopeful” of getting a deal done for Grant soon.
But goals have not really been an issue for West Brom, having scored 10 in their previous five games in all competitions.
Instead, keeping them out of their own net is proving a cause for concern. The 11 goals they had conceded in their three previous games set a new Premier League record and if not for Johnstone this could have been a defeat by an even bigger margin.
All too often it was easy for Southampton to cut through the West Brom midfield and find space in the defence, while the visitors’ attacking players’ inability to keep the ball in the final third added to the burden on the Baggies backline.
Baggies’ lowest bounce since 1985 – the stats
- Southampton have only lost two of their last 11 Premier League games (W6 D3) and head into the international break on the back of consecutive victories.
- West Brom have taken just one point from their four games in the Premier League this season, their fewest at this stage of a top-flight campaign since 1985-86.
- Southampton have won each of their last nine games against promoted teams in the Premier League, conceding just four goals in total in this run (five clean sheets).
- Moussa Djenepo scored his first Premier League goal for Southampton at St Mary’s in his 13th home appearance, with his previous two in the competition both coming away from home.
- Southampton’s Oriol Romeu ended a run of 43 games without a goal in the Premier League, netting with his first touch in the opposition box in this season.
- West Brom’s Sam Johnstone is only the second goalkeeper to concede 13+ goals in his first four Premier League games, after Fraser Digby for Swindon in 1993-94 (14).
- Since the start of last season, no Southampton player has made more assists than Stuart Armstrong in the Premier League (four – joint-most along with Nathan Redmond).
What next?
After the international break Southampton travel to Chelsea on Saturday, 17 October (15:00 BST), while West Brom host Burnley at the same time.
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
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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.
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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
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