Even as modern life takes over, history is everything in the FA Cup. The competition’s newfound disdain for replays allowed Nottingham Forest to become the first team to win three consecutive FA Cup penalty shootouts. History was made, novelty was witnessed, but in a setting that emphasised the traditions of the grand old Cup. After … Read more
Gout Gout stood near his blocks, and 10,000 fans – boisterous just moments earlier – fell silent. The act was a collective show of respect, an acknowledgment they were in the presence of greatness. “It’s so quiet,” one whispered. They didn’t have to be told, this mass that had packed into Lakeside Stadium on Saturday, … Read more
Aryna Sabalenka further cemented her status as the best player in the world as she closed out a dominant fortnight with an imperious performance to win the Miami Open for the first time in her career with a 7-5, 6-2 win over the fourth seed Jessica Pegula. With another formidable victory, Sabalenka has now won … Read more
The door to history cracked open for Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson on Saturday afternoon. For a heartstopping moment in the kiss-and-cry area, it looked like they might not step through. After Italy’s Charlène Guignard and Marco Fabbri delivered a solid but beatable free dance – scoring 123.42 points, nearly five below their season best … Read more
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