Sports

Luton promoted to Premier League after shootout victory against Coventry

Published

1 year 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

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Billiat makes u-turn, available to play for warriors

Published

2 weeks ago

August 28, 2024

VicFallsLive

BY WANDILE TSHUMA

Yadah star Khama Billiat has announced that he is coming out of international retirement and is now available for Warriors selection.

The 34-year-old former Mamelodi Sundowns and Kaizer Chiefs star quit the Warriors in November 2021 under unclear circumstances.

However, Billiat has had a change of heart, stating that he feels he still has something to give to Zimbabwean football.

“This season has been among the best phases of my football career. I have played on grand stages, but nothing beats expressing myself in front of my people. Every time I step on the turf, I am motivated to do my best for my team and the thousands who love this sport.” Billiat said.

Billiat expressed his love for his country and his desire to serve, saying “I love my country and stand ready to serve if afforded a chance.”

The midfielder’s announcement has been met with excitement from fans, who are eager to see him don the Warriors jersey once again.

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Letsile Tebogo stuns Noah Lyles to win men’s 200m gold

Published

4 weeks ago

August 9, 2024

VicFallsLive

BY SEAN MCALISTER

As Letsile Tebogo crossed the finish line as the new 200m Olympic champion at Paris 2024, he slapped his hand against his chest.

The rising star from Botswana stormed to victory in an African record of 19.46 secondsin front of a roaring Stade de France crowd on Thursday (8 August), denying pre-race favourite Noah Lyles the coveted sprint double.

Lyles, who won the Olympic 100m title in dramatic fashion on Sunday, was not able to live with the impressive pace of the 21-year-old and finished third behind fellow American Kenneth Bednarek (19.62) to take bronze in 19.70.

Immediately after the race, Lyles revealed that he tested positive for COVID. The track superstar had to be helped off the track in a wheelchair.

Tebogo dedicated his country’s first-ever Olympic gold to his mother Elizabeth Seratiwa, who passed away last May. He showed his spikes, displaying her date of birth into the cameras and had the initials of her name painted on his fingernails.

“I believe she could be one of the happiest people on the planet” said an emotional Tebogo who had won 200m bronze at last year’s world championships.

Tebogo also paid tribute to the people of Africa, as the first sprinter from the continent to ever claim an Olympic gold medal in the men’s 200m.

“It means a lot to the African continent because now they see Africa as a sprinting home,” he said. “So we just had to make sure that the message is loud and clear.”

“It didn’t take so long, they were just waiting for me to step up.”

The new African star is one of more than 600 IOC scholarship-holders at Paris 2024.

LETSILE TEBOGO: FROM FOOTBALL HOPEFUL TO OLYMPIC CHAMPION

As a youngster growing up in Botswana, Tebogo was a talented athlete with a love for football. However, while speed was unquestionable even back then, his ability with a ball at his feet was less obvious.

“I used to run past people and won medals. I also played football. Every time though I went to play football I was being benched,” he explained in an interview with Runblog.com.

So football’s loss turned out to be track & field’s gain, as the sprinter went from strength to strength, becoming the second U-20 athlete ever to break the 10-second barrier in the 100m with a world record run of 9.96 seconds aged just 18.

At last year’s World Athletics Championships in Budapest, he continued his dramatic rise, winning silver to become the first-ever African runner to reach the 100m podium at the Worlds.

While this was an incredible moment for his country, Tebogo was already thinking about the wider significance of the medal. This was not just a victory for a nation but a continent so famous for its distance runners that was now producing sprinters to compete with the traditional powerhouses of the USA and the Caribbean.

“This medal isn’t for me, it’s for Botswana, for Africa,” he said at the time. “Because Africa has been short of medals in men’s sprints.”

While this year began with hope and promise, tragedy struck when Tebogo’s mother passed away earlier in May. For the young sprinter, with his first Olympics in front of him, this competition would not be just a chance to represent Africa, it would be an opportunity to honour his mother.

In the 100m final last Sunday, Tebogo was one of the athletes most fancied for the podium. However, in the closest final in history, he was edged out of the medal positions, finishing the race in sixth.

Small margins, he would learn, can be the difference between glory and deep-cutting disappointment.

But just four days later, flanked by the world’s most feared sprinters, Tebogo took the race by the scruff of the neck, recording his greatest victory and with it paying a memorable tribute to his mother.

“She’s watching up there, and she’s really, really happy,” he said.

PARIS 2024 ATHLETICS: MEN’S 200M PODIUM

Gold: Letsile Tebogo (Botswana)

Silver: Kenneth Bednarek (USA)

Bronze: Noah Lyles (USA)

SOURCE: PARIS2024

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Paris Olympics: Zimbabwean duo shines in 200m heats

Published

1 month ago

August 8, 2024

VicFallsLive

BY NOKUTHABA DLAMINI

In a thrilling display of speed and determination, Zimbabwean sprinters Tapiwanashe Makarawu and Makanakaishe Charamba have qualified for the finals of the 200m race at the Paris Olympics, joining an elite group of just three Zimbabweans to have ever achieved this feat.

As the crowd held its collective breath, Makarawu and Charamba blazed through their respective heats, finishing third but securing their spots in Wednesday’s finals as non-automatic qualifiers.

They’ll face off against the world’s best sprinters, including Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo and USA’s Noah Lyles, in a battle for a historic podium finish.

Charamba, the first Zimbabwean on the track in Heat 1, clocked an impressive 20.31 seconds, just behind Tebogo’s blistering 19.96 seconds and Lyles’ 20.08 seconds.

Makarawu, meanwhile, competed in Heat 3, which was won by American Erriyon Knighton in 20.09 seconds.

Makarawu’s time of 20.16 seconds earned him a spot in the finals as one of the fastest losers, ensuring Africa’s strong representation in the final.

As the nation holds its breath, Makarawu and Charamba are poised to give their best performance yet.

Their qualification has sent shockwaves of excitement through the athletic community, with fans eagerly anticipating the final showdown.

Back in Zimbabwe, supporters from all walks of life are rallying behind the duo, celebrating their incredible achievement.

As the world watches with bated breath, Makarawu and Charamba will step onto the track today at 20:30 hours, carrying the hopes and dreams of a nation.