Nuno Espírito Santo paid tribute to goalkeeper Matz Sels and his Nottingham Forest team after they beat Brighton in a penalty shootout to reach the semi-finals of the FA Cup for the first time in more than 30 years. Having seen off Exeter and Ipswich in rounds four and five, Sels consulted notes on his … Read more
The first time Bournemouth played in an FA Cup quarter‑final was 1957 when they faced Manchester United. They were still called Bournemouth and Boscombe Athletic in those days and played in the Third Division (South). They had put out Wolves and Tottenham in the previous two rounds, the excitement enticing a record crowd of 28,799 … Read more
This season just keeps getting better for Nottingham Forest. A third successive penalty shootout victory in this season’s FA Cup thanks to the heroics of goalkeeper Matz Sels booked a place in the semi-final for the first time since 1991 as Nuno Espírito Santo’s side showed all their fighting spirit that has served them so … Read more
It is about six miles from Twickenham to Ealing as the ball flies, but the gap felt a good stretch longer than that on Saturday. Two days after the Rugby Football Union’s chief executive, Bill Sweeney, faced down a vote of no confidence at a special general meeting, two of the rebel clubs involved in … Read more
An explosion of sheer joy following a lifetime’s worth of disappointment? A not so subtle expression of soft Saudi Arabian power? A wonderful example of the synergy between a city and its football club? Or a Sunderland supporter’s worst nightmare? Saturday’s celebrations on Newcastle’s Town Moor staged to commemorate Eddie Howe’s team’s Carabao Cup triumph … Read more
Ellie Kildunne scored a whirlwind hat-trick in the space of nine minutes on her 50th England cap as England thumped Wales in front of a record crowd in Cardiff. The full-back, who won her first cap in 2017, has now scored 39 tries for the Red Roses and at 25 years old there is a … Read more
Daizen Maeda took his season’s tally to 30 goals with a first-half double as Celtic recovered from their derby defeat with a 3-0 win against Hearts. Maeda scored either side of Jota’s strike as Celtic moved towards their fourth consecutive title. Much of the early play was in the Celtic half but a penetrating move … Read more
Not even a hairdryer blast technique learned first-hand from Sir Alex Ferguson himself could fire up Watford’s strikers enough to breathe life into the club’s flickering playoff hopes. Watford’s manager, Tom Cleverley, still recalls the time the Manchester United manager came after him all heat-settings blazing at half-time during an FA Cup quarter-final replay against Chelsea … Read more
Imagine the heightened interest in this fixture had the outcome properly mattered. The Premiership’s bottom two sides scrapping for survival, the losers set to face an end-of-season playoff against the ambitious champions of the Championship? Let’s just say the flat atmosphere around the stadium would have been instantly enhanced. The attendance of under 10,000 would … Read more
FC United of Manchester and The 1958, a Manchester United fan group, held a joint action against United’s 20-year Glazer ownership, with The 1958 announcing they will stage a sit-in at next Sunday’s derby with Manchester City at Old Trafford. Around 200 FC and United supporters gathered at Broadhurst Park before FC’s hosting of Stockton … Read more