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This is not quite the World Cup, and Deccan’s dream run didn’t reach the final, but Bangalore – like South Africa – should have finished Deccan twice in the league stage. Now Deccan stand in their way of a Champions League slot

The Preview by Sidharth Monga23-Apr-2010 Match facts Deccan v Bangalore, third-place playoff, Mumbai
Saturday, April 24
Start time 2000 (1430 GMT)Adam Gilchrist has failed to fire with the bat, and has one final shot before the tournament concludes•Indian Premier League Big Picture Here we go again. Royal Challengers Bangalore and Deccan Chargers, face to face, one final time this year, to decide who will qualify for the Champions League. Although Bangalore mainly have themselves to blame for playing on Saturday, and not Sunday, Deccan have been an important part of their slide in the second half of the tournament.After Deccan’s choke against Rajasthan Royals in Nagpur, Adam Gilchrist said the tournament had become simpler for them. It was a straight equation: win each of the seven games to come. Quite similar to Steve Waugh’s words less than halfway through the 1999 World Cup, which were immortalised by his team’s ultimate success.Eleven years ago, in a Super Six match at Headingley, South Africa had Australia down, should have eliminated them, but left the job unfinished. And then on that unforgettable day at Edgbaston, Australia knocked their benefactors out en route to going unbeaten for seven matches. This is not quite the World Cup, and Deccan’s dream run didn’t reach the final, but Bangalore – like South Africa – should have finished Deccan twice in the league stage. Now Deccan stand in their way of a Champions League slot. Will DY Patil Stadium be Bangalore’s Edgbaston?The resemblance is made all the more striking by the foreign cores of these teams: Bangalore (Jacques Kallis, Dale Steyn, Ray Jennings) are predominantly South African, and Deccan (Gilchrist, Andrew Symonds, Ryan Harris, Darren Lehman) Australian.Form guide (most recent first)Bangalore Royal Challengers LLWLW
Deccan Chargers LWWWWTeam talkThe teams may have lost their semi-finals, but this is a match just as serious, and they should play their best XIs. The best XI for Deccan should be easier to choose: they have won five of their last six matches. Bangalore, though, have questions. The way they have played around with Manish Pandey’s place in the team, and with that his confidence and his form, has been one of their tactical blunders. Will they play him, and if they do, will they open with him?PreviouslyDeccan 4, Bangalore 2
Deccan are becoming a bogey opposition for Bangalore: Last year’s final, followed by two matches this year that Bangalore should have won. But Deccan hung on, much like they did for the majority of the tournament. In the first game, Suman played a responsible hand; in the second, Bangalore choked while chasing a small total.In the spotlight It all began going downhill for Jacques Kallis after Bangalore’s defeat against Deccan in Nagpur. His 37-ball 27, captain Kumble said, put pressure on the rest of the line-up. Since then Kallis’ scores have read 0, 14 and 11. He is threatening to end the tournament on a low after perhaps being the best player in its first half. Saturday’s match is one last shot at redemption.While many point to Adam Gilchrist as the inspiration behind Deccan’s success, Gilchrist the batsman has been their biggest failure, wasting an overseas player’s slot for an average of 19 runs per innings. His hitting has promised a lot, but he has rarely lasted the Powerplay overs. It’s not certain if Gilchrist gets a chance to play, or wants to play, in the next season, so this could be his last opportunity to set a few records straight.Prime numbers Robin Uthappa is the leading six-hitter of the tournament. With 27 sixes, he is three ahead of M Vijay, his closest rival still alive in the tournament. Suresh Raina has 19, Saurabh Tiwary 18. With 64 sixes in three years, Gilchrist leads the tally overall. Deccan have played three matches at DY Patil this year, and have lost all three while chasing.The chatter”We want to pick ourselves up for Saturday’s match. We would love to play in the Champions League again.”
“That [Champions League slot] would be a consolation for us, but the big prize is winning the IPL and we have missed out on that.”

Celtic coach Darren O’Dea is wanted by Championship side Ayr United after they parted ways with Jim Duffy earlier in the week, The Scottish Sun report.

The Lowdown: O’Dea’s promotion

After retiring as a player two years ago, O’Dea had been managing Celtic’s Under-18’s.

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The 34-year-old was given a promotion at Parkhead back in October, though, and is now a part of the Celtic B team working alongside manager Tommy McIntyre.

O’Dea recently labelled first-team manager Ange Postecoglou as ‘brilliant’ and works near the first-team at Lennoxtown, but it appears as if the Irishman is a wanted man ahead of the New Year.

The Latest: Ayr keen

The Scottish Sun’s Alan Potts shared a story on Monday afternoon, claiming Ayr are eyeing an ‘ambitious’ swoop for O’Dea after Duffy left the club following a short spell in charge.

Potts claimed that Ayr’s managing director Graeme Mathie is on the hunt for Duffy’s successor and it’s understood that O’Dea is on their radar.

The Verdict: Time to jump ship?

You’d expect that O’Dea has aspirations of managing at first-team level after Under-18 spells with Motherwell and now Celtic, so he may well jump at the chance to join the Championship side.

However, it would be a risk with Ayr struggling in the second tier and just three wins from 18.

Saying that, O’Dea will have seen that former Hoops man Shaun Maloney has recently jumped into management with Hibernian, so he could see Ayr as a step on the ladder when it comes to making his mark from the dugout.

In other news: ‘A lot of clubs’ tracking ‘unbelievable’ Celtic ace ahead of January, says BBC Radio 5 Live man. 

Interest in West Ham United centre-back Issa Diop is growing ahead of the January transfer window.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a claim made by Santi Aouna, with the Foot Mercato journalist revealing in a post on Twitter that the trio of AC Milan, Newcastle United and Watford have made contact with the Irons regarding a deal for the 24-year-old defender.

Meanwhile, manager David Moyes is believed to be interested in a number of centre-back targets of his own this winter, with Liverpool’s Nathaniel Phillips and LOSC Lille’s Sven Botman thought to be on the 58-year-old’s shortlist – something that the Daily Mail claim is down to the fact that there are ‘questions remaining over the reliability of Frenchman Issa Diop.’

Moyes can axe Diop with Botman signing

While Diop is undeniably a player who is an extremely useful squad member at the London Stadium, should Moyes have the chance to cash in on the former France U21 international this winter, and subsequently replace him with a centre-back of Botman’s ability, it is certainly a move that the Hammers boss must look to pull off.

Indeed, Diop has struggled to hold down a regular starting spot in the Hammers side since his then-club record £22m arrival in east London back in 2018, with the 24-year-old being typically used as a backup option under the management of Moyes.

This has been the case in the current campaign, in which the £10.8m-rated man has made just five Premier League appearances – which have come as a result of both Kurt Zouma and Angelo Ogbonna being sidelined due to injuries.

And, over these five league outings, the £61k-per-week defender dubbed a “colossus” by Stuart Pearce has hardly shone for the Hammers, averaging a disappointing SofaScore match rating of just 6.60 – ranking him as the club’s joint second-worst performer in the top flight.

Meanwhile, Botman has been in rather contrasting form over his 12 Ligue 1 appearances this term, helping his side keep two clean sheets, scoring one goal and providing his teammates with one assist, as well as making an average of 0.8 interceptions, one tackle, 51.5 passes and winning 68% of his duels per game.

These returns have seen the 21-year-old, who Kevin Phillips dubbed a “[Virgil] Van Dijk-like signing”, average an impressive SofaScore match rating of 7.02, ranking him as Jocelyn Gourvennec’s joint fourth-best player in the French top flight.

As such, should Moyes indeed have the chance to recoup a decent portion of the club’s initial £22m outlay on Diop next month, it would seem very wise for the 58-year-old to do so, before reinvesting the money in a move for the £27m-rated Netherlands U21 international.

In other news: Forget Bowen: £47k-p/w WHU monster who won 64% duels will be giving Watford nightmares

England’s cricketers needed just 18 overs on the final morning at Durban to wrap up a thumping innings-and-98-run victory in the second Test

The Bulletin by Andrew Miller30-Dec-2009England 574 for 9 dec (Bell 140, Cook 118) beat South Africa 343 (Kallis 75, Smith 75) and 133 (Swann 5-54) by an innings and 98 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsGraeme Swann – nine wickets in the match•Getty ImagesEngland’s cricketers needed just 18 overs on the final morning at Durban to wrap up a thumping innings-and-98-run victory in the second Test, as South Africa’s tail crumbled under the sheer weight of scoreboard pressure bearing down on them following the team’s desperate performance on the fourth evening. Graeme Swann and Stuart Broad were once again the stand-out performers, as they shared nine of the ten wickets in the innings, with Swann claiming the spoils with 5 for 54 in 21 overs.South Africa resumed their fight on 76 for 6, with Mark Boucher and Morne Morkel entrenched in a 26-run stand for the seventh wicket, and though Morkel pulled Broad with some confidence through midwicket for the first boundary of the day, he was unable to deal with the wiles of Swann, who continued once again his extraordinary penchant for striking early in a spell.In total, Morkel faced three deliveries from Swann, and might have been dismissed by the lot. The first was tossed up from round the wicket and spun sharply past his edge. The second was snicked to slip, where Andrew Strauss – deputising in that position for the injured Paul Collingwood – couldn’t get a hand on the chance. The third, however, was the perfect follow-up. Fuller, flatter, and faster, and Morkel barely moved his pad before he’d been pinned lbw for 15.Paul Harris was the next man in, and he received a rough reception from Broad in particular, who sensed a vulnerability to the short ball, and tested it to the max with a barrage of lifters that struck him variously on the chest, ribs and armpit. But he did his best to endure as he anchored himself on the back foot, and each of his first three fours came from steers through point off Broad, only one of which was genuinely involuntary.The real body blow for South Africa’s faint hopes occurred at the other end, however. Boucher is one of the best scrappers in world cricket, but the magnitude of this particular task proved to be beyond him. On 29, Broad fizzed a lifter down the leg-side, and there was an audible snick as the ball flew through to Matt Prior behind the stumps. Umpire Aleem Dar initially turned down the appeal, but Strauss and his team-mates were convinced, and the referred decision showed a clear deflection off the glove.Harris did his best to hang in there, edging Swann through third man before cracking him more emphatically down the ground for another boundary, at which point Strauss decided it was time for a change. James Anderson entered the attack from the Umgeni End, and he needed only four balls to make the breakthrough, as Harris was deceived by late swing from a full length, and Broad – though denied a shot at a five-wicket haul – nevertheless made good ground at mid-off to scoop a low catch.Instead the honour of the five-for went to Swann, the man who had set the collapse in motion before tea on the fourth day. Dale Steyn propped forward in front of off and was instantly sent on his way lbw for 3, and England’s fielders hurtled from the field to begin their celebrations. The final Test of the decade had finished as a remarkable innings victory for England, their first in South Africa since 1964, as they set off to Cape Town with their spirits soaring and the series seemingly theirs to lose.

يرى هشام يكن لاعب الزمالك السابق، أن كفة الكتيبة البيضاء هي الأرجح أمام إليكت بطل التشاد، في المباراة التي ستجمع بينهما بدوري أبطال إفريقيا.

ومن المقرر أن يلتقي الزمالك مع نظيره إيلكت، غدًا الأحد، في تمام الخامسة مساءً بتوقيت القاهرة، على ملعب أحمدو اهيدجو، في ذهاب الدور التمهيدي الأول من المسابقة القارية.

وقال هشام يكن في تصريحاته عبر برنامج “الريمونتادا” على قناة “المحور”: “نثق في الزمالك ببداية مشواره الإفريقي أمام إليكت التشادي، والمعنويات مرتفعة منذ التتويج بلقبي الدوري وكأس مصر”.

طالع أيضًا.. مصدر يوضح لـ”بطولات” موقف صفقات الزمالك الجديدة من المشاركة في دوري أبطال إفريقيا

وتابع: “خبرات الزمالك الإفريقية واسمه وبطولاته السابقة سوف تساعده في تخطي عقبة بطل التشاد”.

واختتم: “أسماء نجوم الزمالك سترعب إليكت في المباراة التي ستجمع الفريقين بمستهل دوري أبطال إفريقيا”.

ويعقد في الثامنة مساء اليوم السبت الاجتماع الفني للمباراة بحضور أحمد حسني المدير الإداري لفريق الزمالك ومصطفى ميلا مسؤول المهمات بجانب مندوب من فريق إيليكت وطاقم تحكيم المباراة.

Crystal Palace extended their unbeaten run in the Premier League to six games after seeing off Wolves 2-0 at Selhurst Park this afternoon.

The Eagles took a deserved lead just after the hour mark when talisman Wilfried Zaha finished well following a James McArthur through ball. Although it was initially disallowed for offside against the Ivory Coast international, he was eventually awarded his third goal of the season by the video assistant referee (VAR).

Zaha’s effort sparked the game into life, producing an entertaining final half-hour which saw Odsonne Edouard test Jose Sa in the Wolves goal on several occasions before VAR overturned a penalty awarded to the visitors.

Summer signing Conor Gallagher then wrapped up the three points for Vieira’s side 12 minutes from time after his heavily-deflected strike left Sa with no chance of making a save.

The 21-year-old has been in fine form for the Eagles in the opening weeks of the season, netting four league goals already, and today he stole the show once again, catching the eye of Palace reporter Mark Wyatt.

“Had a lively first half and got the ball forward when he got the chance to drive at Wolves,” wrote Wyatt after awarding Gallagher a nine out of 10 in his player ratings for football.london.

“Was rewarded for his hard work in the second half with his goal – his fourth of the campaign. Was fortunate to take a deflection but he won’t care – another excellent display from the loanee.”

The midfielder’s underlying numbers certainly back up Wyatt’s assessment. As per SofaScore, Gallagher produced four key passes for his teammates throughout the 90 minutes, picked out a teammate with four of his five attempted crosses and successfully completed his only attempted dribble.

The England Under-21 international was equally as impressive in his defensive work. As per SofaScore, he made three tackles and two interceptions and won five duels as he dominated the midfield engine room in south London this afternoon.

With a relatively kind run of fixtures coming up for Palace, Vieira will be hoping that his hero against Wolves can reproduce this kind of performance on a regular basis in the weeks ahead and help the Eagles to maintain their splendid autumn form.

In other news… £10.1m in the bank: Parish sealed dream CPFC deal over “quality” £29k-p/w beast

أعلن الاتحاد الإفريقي لكرة اليد، نتائج قرعة بطولة دوري أبطال إفريقيا للرجال، المزمع إقامتها في تونس خلال الشهر المُقبل، بمشاركة الأهلي والزمالك.

وتقام منافسات البطولة في نسختها الـ43 بتونس، خلال الفترة من 30 سبتمبر حتى 9 أكتوبر المقبلين.

ويشارك في البطولة القارية 10 أندية، وهي الزمالك والأهلي (مصر) الأهلي تريبولي (ليبيا) وج.س.ك (الكونغو)، وفلورز (بنين) والإفريقي والترجي الرياضي (تونس)، وفاب (الكاميرون)، ونادي أ.س عين توتة (الجزائر). وأسفرت القرعة عن وقوع الزمالك في المجموعة الأولى، والتي تضم:
الزمالك

الأفريقي التونسي

فاب الكاميروني

ريد ستار كوت ديفوار

مولودية الجزائر. مجموعة الأهلي:

الترجي التونسي

فلاورز البنيني

عين توته الجزائر

جاسك الكونغولي

Reliable reporter Fabrizio Romano shared an update on Saturday in regards to Aston Villa defender Matty Cash.

The journalist shared an image of the 24-year-old, revealing that he was in London at the Polish embassy, with his process to switch nationalities underway. As to be expected, a number of Villa fans on Twitter were quick to react to the development.

Cash kept up his record of starting every Premier League game of the current campaign in a 3-1 defeat to Arsenal on Friday night. Less than 24 hours later in the capital, the Villa right-back began the process to switch from England to Poland at international level.

Romano claimed that the defender is open to playing for Poland, although time is still required for his new official passport to go through.

Villa fans react

Here is what these Villa supporters had to say in reply to Romano’s tweet, with one labelling it as ‘great news’ about Cash.

“Cannot wait to get the Poland shirt”

Credit: @Naathan_lowe

“Oh man”

Credit: @yougowego26

“Great news”

Credit: @jmxavfc

“POLISH CAFUUUU.”

Credit: @avfcIewis

“Matthew Cashowski is almost complete”

Credit: @Josh_Dodd1

“Good for Cashy!”

Credit: @ClaretVillans

In other news: Stinging 3/10 verdict for Villa star who lost the ball 15 times v Arsenal

MatériaMais Notícias

As duas semanas sem jogo do Corinthians têm sido importantes para o elenco descansar e recuperar jogadores, como o meia Jadson. Em um caso específico, a comissão técnica adota ainda mais cuidado neste período: com o lateral-esquerdo Guilherme Arana.

Não à toa que Arana apresenta desgaste físico e não participou do treino em campo na última quarta-feira por conta de dores musculares. Ele, inclusive, já havia deixado a atividade mais cedo na terça. O lateral teve apenas nove dias de férias no fim do ano passado e já soma 46 jogos na temporada – 40 pelo Corinthians e seis pela Seleção Brasileira Sub-20.

Ao contrário da maioria dos jogadores, Arana não teve férias após o fim do Brasileirão de 2016. Ele se apresentou à Seleção Sub-20 para a preparação para o Sul-Americano da categoria. Os jogadores ganharam apenas nove dias de férias, de 24 de dezembro até 1ª de janeiro.

Logo que voltou ao Corinthians, Arana assumiu a titularidade. Apesar de ter retornado da Seleção na segunda metade de fevereiro, o lateral é o quinto jogador que mais participou de jogos pelo Timão temporada, atrás de Cássio (49 partidas), Gabriel (47), Jô (47) e Balbuena (42). Agora com essas duas semanas sem jogo, a comissão técnica pôde dar descanso aos atletas mais desgastados.

– A gente vinha em uma sequência muito intensa. Essas duas semanas são muito importante, primeiro para recuperar os atletas, e depois para treinar algumas variáveis. Por conta dos muitos jogos, acabamos tendo tempo apenas para recuperar e não fazer trabalhos de condicionamento. Então essas duas semanas servem para recuperar e depois trabalhar essas variáveis – explicou o fisiologista Antonio Fedato, na semana passada.

Embora não tenha trabalhado em campo na última quarta, Arana treinou nesta quinta e não deve desfalcar o Corinthians no sábado, contra o Vitória, pela 21ª rodada. O lateral tem sido um dos destaques do líder do campeonato, com oito assistência e dois gols. Isso que ele só teve nove dias de férias!

continua após a publicidadeRelacionadasCorinthiansGabriel não leva cartão há quase dois meses: entenda a nova fase no TimãoCorinthians16/08/2017CorinthiansArana não treina, e Corinthians segue com dúvidas para enfrentar o VitóriaCorinthians16/08/2017CorinthiansJadson treina sem restrições e deve reforçar Corinthians: ‘Estou zerado’Corinthians16/08/2017

Tudo sobre

BrasileirãoCorinthiansGuilherme Arana

Manchester United are reportedly set to make a move for a new right-back in the January window after missing out on first-choice target Kieran Trippier over the summer.

What’s the story?

The Red Devils were heavily linked with a move for Trippier, but Atletico Madrid refused to accept a bid below the 30-year-old’s £34m asking price, putting an end to any negotiations.

As a result, United’s hierarchy has drawn up a shortlist of alternative options as they look to add cover and competition for Aaron Wan-Bissaka, with Rangers pair James Tavernier and Nathan Patterson potential candidates, according to 90min.

However, another name on Solskjaer’s wishlist is believed to be Norwich City’s highly-rated full-back Max Aarons.

The report states that: “Another player on United’s radar is Norwich City’s Max Aarons, who neighbourhood rivals Manchester City have been following closely for a long time.

“United’s scouting team already put a dossier together on him, which reads very positively for the England Under-21 international.”

Manchester United must swoop

Aarons has established himself as one of English football’s most exciting young full-backs over the last couple of campaigns after rising through the ranks at boyhood club Norwich.

Since making his debut for the Canaries back in 2018, the £19.8m-rated beast has made 137 appearances in all competitions, scoring five goals and providing 13 assists along the way.

His outstanding displays at club level has earned Aarons 12 caps for Englands U21 side, and he’s long been linked with a transfer away from Carrow Road, but his former national team boss Aidy Boothroyd revealed the speculation has not affected the youngster.

“He’s an unassuming guy,” said Boothroyd. “All the speculation would get to most people, but it hasn’t to him. He gives 100 percent in training and matches, in all the games I’ve seen him at Norwich he’s been outstanding and had a real energy and go about him.

“So that transfer talk hasn’t affected him or appears not to have, and he’s been great here. He just gets on with it. I think he’s a really big talent and again, like a lot of the players here, he’s nowhere near finished in his development.”

Although United’s current right-back Wan-Bissaka is extremely competent in a defensive sense, the 23-year-old has often struggled in the final third of the pitch, producing just managed 0.2 shots and 0.7 key passes per match in his career so far.

As a result, the Old Trafford outfit must swoop for Aarons over the winter window ahead of their domestic rivals, providing Solskjaer with an extra attack-minded option at full-back.

And, in other news…Murtough must sanction Man Utd swoop for £114k-p/w dynamo, he has “incredible quality”