Sports

Luton promoted to Premier League after shootout victory against Coventry

Published

2 years ago

May 27, 2023

BY BEN FISHER

This time Rob Edwards could celebrate. The Luton manager had hared off down the touchline with four minutes of extra time to go to celebrate what he thought was the winning goal in front of the Luton supporters, eating up 45 yards of Wembley turf, only to retreat to his technical area ashen-faced after glancing up at the big screen confirming Joseph Taylor’s strike, which would have been his first for the club, had been disallowed for handball. Jonathan Panzo, on cold as a substitute, dawdled on the ball and Taylor, a 20-year-old on his sixth appearance, nicked it from the Coventry defender, but surged through on goal with the help of his right hand.

Edwards covered his face in embarrassment but an agonising penalty shootout followed and Fankaty Dabo missed the crucial spot-kick as Luton won promotion to the Premier League at Coventry’s expense, winning 6-5 on penalties. Up in the stands, there were tears of joy for Luton’s chief executive, among many at the club who have been on their journey from non-league until this point. Until Dabo’s miss, the penalties had been immaculate. Dabo was inconsolable.
Mark Robins, in a Coventry polo shirt, smiled wryly into the camera as the teams lined up before kick-off. This stadium was a picture, one end a shade of sky blue, the other a blanket of orange. Rob Edwards, hands on hips, swivelled to survey the scene one last time before the referee, Michael Oliver, got things under way. Luton had two first-half goals disallowed, the first inside five minutes with Gabriel Osho ruled offside after squeezing the ball in against a post; a determined Tom Lockyer had powered a header towards goal but what would have been a scruffy opener was chalked off. On 41 minutes Luton had the ball in the net once more but Elijah Adebayo was penalised for handball after Callum Doyle’s panicked clearance smacked him on the arm. Luton could have been out of sight.

There were eight minutes of first-half stoppage time, much of which was because of a freakish incident. Lockyer appeared to collapse when back-pedalling to read an early Coventry attack. Lockyer received five minutes of treatment and was carried off on a stretcher wearing an oxygen mask. Luton later confirmed the Wales defender was taken to hospital for further tests. Luton’s supporters shielded their eyes from the sun and Edwards pulled his concerned players away from Lockyer to give them an impromptu on-pitch team talk. Pelly Ruddock Mpanzu, whose first game for Luton was in non-league 10 years ago, took the armband. Both teams were unchanged from their last match
The incident did not disrupt Luton’s flow and they scored on 23 minutes. Fifteen yards or so from the Luton goalline Alfie Doughty, the Hattters’ left wing-back, sent a long ball upfield towards Adebayo. Kyle McFadzean was one-on-one with the striker and Adebayo’s twists and turns led the Coventry centre-back a merry dance. Clark’s run was not tracked and after Adebayo chopped inside one last time he located his teammate on the edge of Coventry’s 18-yard box. The Luton midfielder took a brilliant first touch with his right boot and lashed in with his left with his next touch.

Luton’s centre-forwards, Carlton Morris and Adebayo, caused Coventry’s three-man central defence no end of problems. Coventry were rattled and Luke McNally shanked a routine pass out to his right straight out for a throw-in on halfway. Morris bullied Doyle, the defender on loan from Manchester City, and his knockdown laid the ball on neatly for Mpanzu but his shot was tame and comfortably gathered by Ben Wilson in the Coventry goal. Coventry were frozen for much of the first half and did not fashion a meaningful attack until minutes before the interval. The bustling Gustavo Hamer met Jake Bidwell’s hanging cross at the back post but sent his shot over.Coventry roused before half-time but nevertheless it was no surprise Robins changed shape. Matt Godden, a striker, replaced Jamie Allen, the midfielder who had failed to bring Viktor Gyökeres into the game. Liam Kelly, the Coventry captain and only player in the starting lineups to play in this fixture when they were in League Two five years ago, skied a shot after a neat move on the edge of the box. The Arsenal loanee Brooke Norton-Cuffy went on a rampaging run in the first half and his willing was a positive for Coventry to cling on to. Ten minutes into the second half Norton-Cuffy sent a devilish cross in from the right but Amari’i Bell was on hand to clear.

Coventry were a different beast now and levelled on 66 minutes after Gyokeres and Hamer dovetailed to devastating effect. Gyokeres gladly took a bump from Osho to help Coventry retain possession inside their own half and then was fed in down the left channel. He drove forward and calmly spied the advancing Hamer to his right. Hamer side-footed the ball in first time and pandemonium followed in one half of the ground. McFadzean endeavoured to have a quiet word with Robins pitchside. The Coventry fans made sure that was a tricky task.

No sooner were the Coventry supporters swooning over Hamer than the midfielder was forced off with injury after landing awkwardly. Hamer attempted to carry on but was grounded and then replaced by Kasey Palmer, a substitute when Huddersfield won promotion here on penalties six years ago. Hamer’s afternoon ended with an ice pack strapped around his right ankle and Palmer back on the bench, with Robins substituting the substitute in extra time.

It seemed the biggest talking point of added time arrived when Clark was deemed to have dived after Wilson rushed from his goal. Up in the stands Howard Webb, the head of the PGMOL, bit his nails. That was nothing compared with the intoxicating drama that would follow. SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN

National

Bosso CEO Sihlangu Dlodlo dies

Published

1 month ago

October 29, 2024

VicFallsLive

BY FUNGAI MUDERERE

Highlanders Football Club chief executive officer Sihlangu Dlodlo has died.

According to The Chronicle newspaper, he was found dead at his Nketa 9 home in Bulawayo Monday evening, one of his close friends, Allan “Ripper” Mpofu, confirmed last night.

Dlodlo’s body was discovered after close associates forced entry into his premises.

He had not been seen since Saturday.

“It seems like my friend passed on over the weekend. He was alone at his place,” said a shaken Mpofu with sobs.

“After the alarm was raised that he had gone missing, with the help of his relatives we had to force open the gate at his place to gain entry.

“After peeping through the window, I could not believe my eyes. I saw the lifeless body of my close friend. This is so disheartening; it’s really sad.

“We discovered this around 6.45pm. I cannot speak further because I have to respect his (Sihlangu) family.”

Highlanders chairman Kenneth Mhlophe said Sihlangu’s death was a huge loss to the Bosso family and that they were waiting for the Dlodlo family to give the green light to comment more.

“It’s sad. We are disturbed. It’s a big loss to us but we have been advised by our board chairman (Luke Mkandla) to first have the green light from the Dlodlo family to comment further,” said Mhlophe.

Ex-Highlanders chief executive Nhlanhla Bahlangene Dube said he was devastated.

“Just look at my WhatsApp status; It’s a picture of him and me watching the Highlanders Royals game on Saturday. My mind is all over. Maybe I can only comment tomorrow (today). I’m not okay. I cannot find the right words now,” said Dube.

One of Bosso’s popular followers Duduzu “Teekay” Sibanda was at a loss for words.

“What a loss. I was with him on Saturday when the Emgwanwini Chapter hosted a tournament. We also watched the Highlanders Royals in action against a team from Mutare together.

“He also gave me his address. We spent the whole day with him. This is sad,” said Sibanda.

While finer details could not be obtained on what happened to the late Sihlangu, social media was already abuzz about his untimely death.

At around 8.20pm yesterday, the body of the late Sihlangu was yet to be taken to a mortuary.

The late Dlodlo was appointed Bosso head of secretariat in April to replace Ronald Moyo who opted against renewing his contract with the Bulawayo giants.

Dlodlo is a former Premier Soccer League secretary-general and ex-Bantu Rovers general manager.

Before his appointment at Highlanders, he was the general manager at Kings and Queens Funeral Services, a position he held from November last year, and had also been a sales and marketing executive at the company.

The late Dlodlo, who also worked at Innscor Africa as a sales marketing manager, was also a veteran arts administrator who enjoyed a good working relationship with the late Cont Mhlanga at Amakhosi Cultural Centre.

He was also praised for many breakthrough strategies that led to Amakhosi’s emergence as a powerhouse on the arts scene in the 90s.

The late Dlodlo will also be remembered for his service in the private sector, taken as proof by some that artistes could lead and thrive even beyond the arts.

SOURCE: THE CHRONICLE

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ZOU hosts sports gala

Published

1 month ago

October 28, 2024

VicFallsLive

BY NOTHANDO DUBE

It was a colorful and action-packed day at Mkoba Teachers college as Zimbabwe Open University held its Sports Gala on weekend, bringing together students from its ten regional campuses across the country.

A total of 130 students from all regional campuses participated in a variety of sporting activities.

The list of games included athletics, soccer, netball, volleyball, days, javelin and high jump.

Zimbabwe Open University is an Open and distance and e-learning (OdeL) institution that has ten regional campuses and one virtual campus totaling to 11 campuses.

Most of the learning is done online and events like these give students a platform to share the experience and environment enjoyed by their counterparts from conventional tertiary institutions.

A total of 13 students from each region represented their regional campuses across the sporting areas outlined.

The wellness and interaction event was attended and graced by The Dean of Students, Thandiwe Chivasa together with staff from the national Centre and 10 Student advisors from the ten regional campuses.

Volleyball and athletics drew much excitement from all teams as regions cheered for their teams.

The winning teams walked away with medals and trophies for excelling.

The event was a resounding success after a long six years break from such games by the institution.

Students living with disabilities were part of the fun and excitement throughout the day.

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5 games that counted against Erik ten Hag after Manchester United sacking

Published

1 month ago

October 28, 2024

VicFallsLive

BY STAFF REPORTER

Erik ten Hag has been sacked as Manchester United manager.

United’s new ownership have made the move after a poor start to the season, which continued at West Ham on Sunday when they slipped to their fourth Premier League defeat of the campaign.

They sit in 14th place and have won only one of their last eight games in all competitions.

Here, the PA news agency looks at five games that counted against the former Ajax boss in his final 12 months in charge.

A 2-1 win over Chelsea in early December was arguably United’s best performance of the season to that point and should have been something to build on.

Instead, just three days later they were embarrassed by Andoni Iraola’s Cherries as Bournemouth enjoyed a first victory at Old Trafford – and in some style.

Dominic Solanke opened the scoring five minutes in and then hit a post before further goals from Philip Billing and Marcos Senesi led to boos from many of the United fans that stuck around until the end.

Manchester United 1 Fulham 2 – Premier League, February 24, 2024

Confirmation of Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s investment into United, and the overhaul of football operations it would bring, had brought a sense of optimism to Old Trafford.

But it took only a few days for United to puncture it with yet another home defeat.

Harry Maguire thought he had earned a point with an 89th-minute equaliser only for United to switch off and allow Alex Iwobi to strike a dramatic stoppage-time winner.

Coventry 3 Manchester United 3 (United won 4-2 on penalties) – FA Cup, April 21, 2024

Even in victory there were alarm bells ringing at Wembley as United reached a second successive FA Cup final.

United were firm favourites against Championship opposition and duly took a 3-0 lead, apparently cruising to victory.

But Coventry scored three goals in the last 20 minutes to force extra-time and even thought they had won it through Victor Torp in the last minute of that period before VAR intervened with an offside decision.

United came through the penalty shoot-out but it was a victory without much honour.

Crystal Palace 4 Man Utd 0 – Premier League, May 6, 2024

Perhaps United’s worst day of the season came at Selhurst Park as Palace completed their maiden Premier League double over the Red Devils.

Michael Olise scored twice as Palace overwhelmed a patched-up United defence manned by Jonny Evans and Casemiro.

Defeat left United with only two wins from 10 league games, a run which would ultimately cost them any chance of finishing in the European places.

Man Utd 0 Tottenham 3 – Premier League, September 29, 2024

United had been swept aside by bitter rivals Liverpool and dropped points in the Europa League against lowly-ranked Dutch side FC Twente in their two previous games at Old Trafford.

The mood worsened within three minutes of the Premier League clash with Tottenham as centre-back Micky van de Ven dribbled 70 yards through the heart of the United team before crossing for Brennan Johnson to open the scoring.

United captain Bruno Fernandes then saw red before the interval, after which further goals from Dejan Kulusevski and Solanke were the least Spurs deserved in a dominant display as the pressure on Ten Hag intensified.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT (UK)