List of All Articles with Tag 'ot'

Toothless Northern Ireland were stunned as Kazakhstan substitute Abat Aimbetov struck at the death to snatch a 1-0 Euro 2024 qualifying victory at Windsor Park. As Northern Ireland had been piling forward in search of a late winner themselves, Aimbetov broke from his own half, riding Craig Cathcart’s challenge and capitalising when a sliding Paddy McNair got in the way of Ciaron Brown, slotting the ball past Bailey Peacock-Farrell to stun the home crowd. Michael O’Neill had said he was not thinking about qualifying for next summer’s finals in the wake of Friday’s 1-0 defeat in Denmark, and this result is another huge blow as they have only three points, earned against minnows San Marino, from their opening four games. When Northern Ireland left Copenhagen after Friday’s 1-0 defeat there was optimism about the way they had battled, only denied a late equaliser by a marginal offside, but the mood was very different here as the final whistle was greeted with boos. Northern Ireland’s inability to overcome a side 50 places below them in the rankings at home showed the limitations of this young squad, robbed of experience by injuries to senior players. Another blank means Northern Ireland have only scored two in their last nine home matches in qualifying campaigns, with the lack of quality in the final third thwarting their ambitions. O’Neill had spoken about the difficulty of adjusting his side’s mindset from the predominantly defensive outlook they had in Copenhagen on Friday to playing on the front foot at home, but even though they kept Kazakhstan pegged back for long patches, there were only occasional threats. Cathcart returned from the back injury that kept him out on Friday but there was no Conor Bradley, sidelined after hyperextending his knee in Copenhagen, and his attacking threat was missed. Trai Hume, switched to right back in place of Bradley, sent an early shot over from the edge of the box before Dion Charles, back in ahead of Shayne Lavery, failed to keep a shot down after being played in by Shea Charles. But arguably the best chance of the half belonged to Kazakhstan as Maxim Samorodov raced away from McNair and turned inside Hume, only to drag his shot wide of the post from eight yards with just Peacock-Farrell to beat. Northern Ireland responded well. Isaac Price’s shot from the edge of the box deflected off Abzal Beysebekov, looping away from the goalkeeper and heading just wide of the post. From the resulting corner, McNair headed back into the danger zone but Cathcart could not keep it down from only four yards out. The tempo soon dipped, Northern Ireland seemingly struggling for new ideas, and they did not threaten again until the 44th minute. Dion Charles stood the ball up for George Saville but the Millwall midfielder, still without an international goal after 46 caps, headed over from close range. The half ended with Baktiyor Zainutdinov flashing a shot wide while surrounded by Northern Ireland defenders. Northern Ireland’s frustrations continued after the break. Saville flashed the ball across the face of goal early in the half – the cross only needed a touch but there was nobody there to add it. Price had the chance to release Dion Charles as Northern Ireland tried to break from a Kazakhstan corner, but he played the ball behind the Bolton forward when there was half a pitch to run in to. The Windsor Park atmosphere was flat, the tiny pocket of Kazakhstan fans audible over the murmurs coming from the Kop. Conor McMenamin replaced Jonny Evans, soon seen with an ice pack on his shoulder, and more attacking reinforcements came in the shape of Lavery and Dale Taylor, but besides an angled McMenamin shot tipped over by Igor Shatskiy, there was little to excite the crowd before Aimbetov’s killer late blow. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Mikey Johnston helps Republic of Ireland to much-needed win over Gibraltar Ten-man Wales’ Euro 2024 qualification hopes further dented by defeat in Turkey I’ve been there – Nathan Lyon feels for Moeen Ali over finger problem

Bukayo Saka scored a jaw-dropping first career hat-trick as rampant England roared to a 7-0 victory against North Macedonia in Monday’s memorable Euro 2024 qualifier. Gareth Southgate’s side are all but assured of making it to Germany having reached the halfway point of qualification with four wins from their four Group C games. Harry Kane struck twice in an Old Trafford annihilation that also saw Marcus Rashford and Kalvin Phillips get in on the act, but ever-improving talent Saka was the star of the show with his tremendous treble. The 21-year-old is at the heart of a catchy new chant about England going to Berlin and showed just why he is considered one of the world’s best young talents. Saka slammed home from a tight angle after Kane’s opener – the sixth straight game he has scored in – and before Rashford’s goal at his home ground. The young forward left the 70,708 in attendance stunned immediately after the break when scoring a sensational left-footed strike from a similarly impressive pass by Trent Alexander-Arnold. Saka soon completed the first hat-trick of his senior career with a cool finish that was complemented by substitute Phillips’ tap-in and a Kane spot-kick. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live

The Cincinnati Reds have had a good time lately, but the good times are about to get even better with one star coming off the IL.The Cincinnati Reds could mess around and win the NL Central. Sure, that's in part because the division is full of teams who can't seem to figure out how to ...

Renault SA laid out financial goals for its electric vehicle arm Ampere — including breakeven on an operating

Grayson Allen (Photo by John Fisher/Getty Images)NBA rumors: Bucks exploring Grayson Allen trades ahead of NBA DraftThe Milwaukee Bucks are openly exploring the trade market for that one guy everybody hates. Grayson Allen is the NBA's lingering homage to the grimy toughness of 1990s basketb...

Venezuela’s inflation sped up in May, snapping a three-month slowdown despite signs of economic weakness and declines in

Gareth Southgate will likely rotate his England squad when they take on North Macedonia in a Euro 2024 qualifier at Old Trafford tonight. England romped to a 4-0 win against Malta on Friday to keep up their 100% winning run in qualifying. They sit top of Group C ahead of North Macedonia’s visit. The Three Lions can now claim a fourth successive win in Euro 2024 qualifying having already beaten Italy and Ukraine too. Questions remain over Bukayo Saka’s fitness, after he left the field at half-time against Malta, and there are a number of squad players hoping to start this evening’s game. Marcus Rashford is one, but he faces competition from Jack Grealish and James Maddison, while Gareth Southgate must decide whether to utilise Trent Alexander-Arnold in midfield once again after his superb performance in Malta last time out. Follow all the action as England take on North Macedonia at Old Trafford: Read More Marcus Rashford’s complicated England relationship could be at turning point Gareth Southgate sees a tougher test for his team at Old Trafford Midfield role my best shot of becoming England regular – Trent Alexander-Arnold

Sheffield Wednesday manager Darren Moore has left the club by mutual consent just three weeks after leading the Owls to promotion from League One. Moore, 49, who guided the Owls to the Sky Bet Championship via the play-offs last month, departs Hillsborough after just over two years in the job. His backroom staff have also left, the club have announced. Owls chairman Dejphon Chansiri told the club’s official website: “Both parties believe that now is the right time we go our separate ways. “The journey of Sheffield Wednesday with Darren has been in many ways unique and always as a team. In the football industry, journeys come to an end and now is that time, which we both agree. “The mutual respect we have for each other is immense on a personal and professional basis and I offer my sincere thanks for the dedication and commitment Darren has given to our club. Darren will always be welcome at Hillsborough.” The club said the search for a new manager to lead them in the second tier next season was under way. Former West Brom and Doncaster boss Moore said: “I would like to take this time to acknowledge the chairman, Mr Chansiri, for giving me the opportunity to manage this great football club in Sheffield Wednesday, it’s been a journey in every sense. “Both the chairman and myself have been determined to get this club back into the Championship. “I’m delighted this has been achieved, and I hope the football club continues to develop and will soon fulfil the dream of mine, which was to take them back to the Premier League where they belong.” Moore steered the Owls to a 1-0 win over Barnsley after extra time in the League One play-off final 21 days ago after they had overcome an unprecedented 4-0 first-leg deficit in their semi-final against Peterborough. He said he wanted to thank all Wednesday fans “from the bottom of my heart” for their passion and support. Moore added: “This was most apparent during the second leg of the play-offs at Hillsborough when so many people around the country thought it wasn’t possible, we rallied together to achieve the impossible. “The scenes I witnessed from the technical area at Wembley, especially for the winning goal, will be images I will never forget.” The Owls were in the Championship’s bottom three when Moore replaced the sacked Tony Pulis in March 2021 and were relegated at the end of that season. They lost to Sunderland in the League One play-off semi-finals in 2022 and returned to the Championship via the play-offs last season having set a new club record of 23 league games unbeaten before defeat to Barnsley in March. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Tom Watson calls for answers from PGA Tour commissioner over new partnership England set Australia target of 281 on day four of thrilling first Ashes Test A closer look at Rory McIlroy’s long wait for a fifth major crown

The New Orleans Pelicans are reportedly open to at least considering a Zion Williamson trade. What would motivate them to get a deal done?Zion Williamson has been frequently involved in trade chatter over the last couple of weeks as the New Orleans Pelicans look to potentially move into the top-...

Four US lawmakers will travel to Detroit Tuesday to press the chief executives of Ford Motor Co. and

According to Bill Simmons, it seems like Zion Williamson may have played his last game in New Orleans. There have been tons of rumors saying that Williamson will end up being traded this off-season. What does this mean for the Pelicans? How likely is this situation?Appearing on his podcast, he s...

Let’s get into two Monday night first inning bets to kick off our week of gambling. No need to wait for any games on the 10-game baseball slate to finish up before cashing our first bet of the new week. We can win after just six outs with No Run First Inning and Yes Run First Inning bets.H...