Scott Murray's Blog, page 176
August 24, 2015
Arsenal v Liverpool: Premier League – as it happened
A lovely, free-flowing game dominated by Liverpool in the first half and Arsenal in the second. How did it stay goalless? Not sure!
9.52pm BST
And that’s the very last act of the game! As good a goalless draw as you’ll see all season. A deserved result, with Liverpool the better side in the first half, Arsenal on top in the second. Highly entertaining, and if it’s not quite up there with the aforementioned classic clashes of yesteryear, it’s a result that will give both teams a boost. They both took turns to look impressive in attack and staunch in defence, though perhaps Arsenal shade the former, Liverpool the latter. Arsenal climb to ninth, while Liverpool move into third. There goes the visitors’ 100% record this season, but they’ve still to concede. To think, this was a team that shipped six goals at Stoke three months ago.
9.51pm BST
90 min +4: A snapshot from Oxlade-Chamberlain on the edge of the box. It’s turned round the right-hand post by Mignolet. The keeper as hero. And then nearly the keeper as zero, as he comes out to punch the resulting corner clear, misses, and watches in relief as Gabriel heads over the bar.
9.50pm BST
90 min +3: Moreno, latching onto a loose Arsenal pass in the Liverpool half, looks to recreate his astonishing goalscoring run at Spurs last season. He makes it to the edge of the area before losing possession. Ambitious, and so nearly spectacular.
9.49pm BST
90 min +2: Rossiter takes turn to steal the ball off Cazorla and then Sanchez. He looks a busy, tenacious player.
9.48pm BST
90 min +1: There will be four added minutes. And one of them has already elapsed without incident.
9.47pm BST
90 min: Oxlade-Chamberlain nearly bursts through down the right. Gomez steps in to steal. His ball upfield finds Benteke, who immediately gifts possession back. Oxlade-Chamberlain shoots wildly to relieve the pressure on Liverpool.
9.45pm BST
88 min: Monreal and Ramsey both seriously threaten down the inside-left channel, Liverpool sitting dangerously deep. A cross is then hooped into the area from the left. Mignolet punches clear under pressure from Oxlade-Chamberlain.
9.44pm BST
87 min: Benteke goes up with Chambers and accidentally plants his elbow in the defender’s eye. Ooyah oof. Then Coutinho is replaced by Moreno. Liverpool looking to keep hold of what they have.
9.42pm BST
86 min: Cazorla has a dig from 25 yards, cutting in from the left. Nope.
9.41pm BST
84 min: Oxlade-Chamberlain goes zipping down the right, then fizzes a low ball into the middle. Skrtel, sliding in ahead of Walcott, who was waiting to sidefoot home from six yards, nearly pokes the ball into the bottom left at high speed. Inches wide! So close to yet another Skrtel own goal. From the set piece, Oxlade-Chamberlain hoicks a shot wide. Mignolet is then booked for timewasting, as we always knew he would be.
9.39pm BST
83 min: Ramsey accelerates down the inside-right channel. He drifts further out to the wing, but then surprises Mignolet by lashing towards the bottom right. The keeper gets down to claim, but that very nearly beat him at the near post.
9.38pm BST
82 min: Oxlade-Chamberlain comes on for Coquelin.
9.38pm BST
81 min: Coutinho drops a shoulder to burst past Bellerin down the left. He batters a shot towards the bottom left, and it’s parried magnificently by Cech. Then Gomez works a cross in from the left, and Benteke claims to have been obstructed by Gabriel. It’d have been a soft penalty.
9.36pm BST
79 min: A booking for Gomez, who brings Bellerin down on the right touchline in midfield. That’s three in three matches for the young man, who is learning on the hoof.
9.35pm BST
78 min: A corner for Liverpool down the left. Chambers eyebrows it out for another on the right. Can tries to meet the second set piece, but fails. Arsenal clear this rare period of Liverpool pressure. “If this was any other manager than Wenger, the commentators would be talking about how the team had responded well to a rollocking,” writes Kári Tulinius. “But I bet that no one in the Premier League gives a better ‘I’m not angry, just disappointed’ speech.” And a cold stare that’s as good as 100 lines on a chalkboard.
9.32pm BST
75 min: Arsenal had 79% of the ball during the last ten minutes of play. This may explain why Brendan Rodgers has decided to replace Lucas with young Jordan Rossiter. Lucas ostentatiously applauds the travelling support, who return the favour. If the rumour mill is to be believed, this could be folk saying their goodbyes.
9.29pm BST
73 min: Benteke has a dig from 30 yards himself. It’s well over the bar. Giroud is replaced by Walcott.
9.29pm BST
72 min: Ramsey, the best part of 30 yards out and level with the left-hand post, looks to send a powerful curler into the top right. Mignolet, at full stretch, leaps to claim.
9.28pm BST
71 min: On a rare Liverpool sortie upfield, Milner creams one from a central position, 25 yards out. It’s a rare old skelp, but it’s straight at Cech and the keeper’s never letting that through.
9.27pm BST
69 min: Bellerin comes racing into the Liverpool box from the right. Instead of shooting, he slips the ball inside for Ramsey, but Giroud steps in on the penalty spot. Falling backwards - the crowd claim a penalty, but the players don’t - Giroud aims for the top left. But he can only scoop the ball forward, and Mignolet is able to claw it away when a goal looked certain. There might have been a little clip on Giroud’s heel by Lovren, there, you know. But there goes the danger.
9.24pm BST
68 min: Ozil sliderules the pass of the match down the left channel to release Monreal into the Liverpool area. Real danger here, and the low cross is dangerous, but again Giroud is close to connecting yet so far. Arsenal are beginning to seriously threaten now.
9.23pm BST
66 min: Ibe hesitates on the edge of the Arsenal area when he really should shoot. Possession’s lost, and Ramsey toddles off at pace down the right wing. Can chases back, and fairly clumpishly brings Ramsey to the ground. A no-brainer of a booking.
9.21pm BST
65 min: Giroud is inches away from converting a low Ramsey cross from the left. Liverpool hoick clear, and Benteke looks to break down the right. Gabriel is all over his back, on the halfway line, and is booked for his trouble.
9.21pm BST
64 min: Ramsey is in a little space down the inside-left channel. He enters the area but before he can shoot, the ball is half cleared by Skrtel. Liverpool are on the ropes, though, and after a bit of pinball, the ball breaks right for Bellerin, who has a dig from 20 yards. Not quite.
9.19pm BST
63 min: After the first booking of the evening, the first substitution. Firmino, still not quite match sharp after his post Copa America break, is swapped for Ibe.
9.18pm BST
61 min: More end-to-end nonsense. First Coutinho tries to thread a shot into the bottom left from 30 yards, but Cech is all over it. Then up the other end, Sanchez looks to tear past Skrtel down the left touchline, and is upended. Skrtel is booked. The free kick is a waste of everyone’s time. But Arsenal are beginning to turn the screw now.
9.17pm BST
60 min: Cazorla, down the left, slips the ball inside for Giroud on the penalty spot. Giroud, falling backwards, guides the ball to the left for Sanchez, who only has Mignolet to beat, albeit at a tight angle. His effort balloons unfortunately off the left-hand upright. The frame of that goal’s been sent shuddering three times now!
9.15pm BST
58 min: Mignolet is the recipient of a bollocking for faffing around at a goal kick. Any more obvious timewasting, and he’ll be going in the book you’d think.
9.14pm BST
57 min: Arsenal are on the front foot. Liverpool very deep. The Liverpool back line is holding firm right now - Giroud has a slapshot from the left-hand corner of the D, only for it to squirt harmlessly wide right - but they’re inviting pressure on themselves. Arsenal are only too happy to oblige.
9.12pm BST
55 min: Benteke looks to burn off Bellerin down the left, but his touch isn’t so great and Cech is able to come out to gather. This is shaping up to be another half of end-to-end entertainment.
9.10pm BST
54 min: Nothing from that corner either. Tiny acorns for Arsenal, though, and they’ve raised the tempo since the restart, and are looking more threatening.
9.09pm BST
53 min: This is better from Arsenal, as Cazorla is slipped into space down the right. Entering the box, he fires low to the near post, where Giroud’s effort is blocked out for a corner. Nothing comes of that set piece, but the home side are immediately coming back at their visitors, Monreal earning another corner down the left.
9.08pm BST
51 min: Coutinho nearly releases Can down the left with a dinky reverse pass. Can is clipped by Chambers, his boot flying off, but the referee gives the Arsenal defender the benefit of the doubt. Down comes the red mist, as Can rants a while.
9.06pm BST
49 min: Can and Coutinho take turns to jig around in the middle of the Arsenal half, probing down the left wing. Can takes too long to spread the ball wide to the impressive youngster Gomez, who is closed down quickly and ends up fouling in frustration. Liverpool are looking fairly fluid up front, though. It’s not quite Spring 2014 all over again, but it already looks more promising than anything they managed last season.
9.03pm BST
47 min: A bit of space for Monreal down the left. He loops a lovely cross into the middle, but just before Giroud can connect, Mignolet comes off his line to punch clear. Liverpool go up the other end, Firmino bustling down the left and forcing Chambers to hack into the stand for a throw, deep in Arsenal territory. Nothing comes from the throw, but Chambers has looked very shaky so far tonight.
9.01pm BST
We’re off again! The Arsenal team were sent back out early, presumably to think on. Then Liverpool came out to get the second half underway. No changes. Liverpool try one of their quick-breaking attacking kick-offs, but it all falls apart at Milner’s feet down the right.
8.51pm BST
Half-time entertainment: And if tonight’s first half wasn’t breathless enough, here’s that aforementioned first-ever Match of the Day, all the way from Beatlesville, 1964, between a “severely depleted” Liverpool and Arsenal (“This could be their year!”). Starring Kenneth Wolstenholme, Peter Thompson, Roger Hunt, Gordon Wallace, Don Howe, George Eastham, Geoff Strong, Joe Baker and a black cat skittering across the front of the Anfield Road end at some lick.
8.47pm BST
How has that stayed goalless? Arsenal have had a good goal ruled off for offside, while Coutinho has hit the frame of the goal twice, and Benteke has missed a sitter. That’s how. As entertaining a half of football as you’re likely to see without the scoreboard clicking round. More of this in the second half, please, everyone!
8.46pm BST
44 min: Coutinho hits the woodwork again! From near the left-hand corner flag, he drops a shoulder to twist Bellerin’s blood, enters the area, and sends what looks like an unstoppable curler towards the top right. It’s heading in, but Cech sticks his index finger out to feather the ball off line, enough so to send it crashing off the right-hand post. What a shot! What a save! Cech is keeping Arsenal in this right now.
8.42pm BST
42 min: The home support are happier as they jeer Benteke, who is correctly flagged offside as he latches onto a clever diagonal sliderule pass by Coutinho, then dribbles a weak shot straight at Cech, who saves just because he can.
8.41pm BST
41 min: A free kick for Arsenal down the right, and a rare chance to load the box. Ozil floats one aimlessly into the area, and Mignolet rises to claim with ease. The home support not particularly happy.
8.41pm BST
40 min: From the corner, Firmino is given time to shoot from a tight angle on the right. He blasts goalwards, but again Cech is up to the task. The benefits of a world-class keeper, right here, right now.
8.39pm BST
39 min: What a miss by Benteke! Firmino closes Bellerin down on the left-hand corner of the Arsenal box. He slips the ball forward for Coutinho, who fires low into the six-yard box. Benteke is free, but sidefoots weakly towards the bottom right, and Cech is able to turn it round for a corner. That’s an astonishing save, but he should never have been allowed to make it.
8.37pm BST
36 min: Arsenal can’t get their rhythm going at all. Liverpool are snapping at their ankles, and disrupting their flow. They enjoy a little period of extended possession in the middle of the park, but go nowhere. The crowd have fallen a little quiet as the home heroes struggle.
8.35pm BST
33 min: Coutinho and Can one-two down the left, a little cheeky chip, header and spin down the channel. Coutinho’s ahead and free going into the area, but he’s bothered by the presence of Gabriel on his shoulder. It’s excellent defending, as it would have been easy to knock Coutinho over and concede a penalty kick. Instead, he simply lets him know he’s there, knocks him off his stride, then blocks out for a corner. From which Coutinho nearly breaks down the left again, but he runs out of space.
8.33pm BST
30 min: Benteke bullies Chambers down the inside-right channel, and nearly busts into the Arsenal area. Coquelin and Gabriel come to the rescue. Benteke looks a real threat tonight. “If you are going to defend half-and-half scarves,” begins Andy Gordon, “I’m going to up the ante and declare that with Mario leaving for Milan and One Direction announcing a sabbatical, today was the day that the entertainment industry died.” Works for me.
8.30pm BST
29 min: Bellerin, on the edge of his own penalty box, miscontrols. He doesn’t appear to be aware that Benteke is lurking, and very nearly lets him free into the area. He recovers just in time to hack clear. Arsenal are in a bit of a state right now. “Perhaps that fruit platter was inadvertently left there by an Arsenal academy player, who’s attending the London School of Art in his spare time,” suggests Justin Kavanagh. “Mind you, if he wanted to complete his still life assignment for the week, he should go hang out in Chelsea’s dressing room and just wait until John Terry gets sent off.” John Terry’s Fruit Bowl. Draw your own mental picture. No need to thank us.
8.27pm BST
27 min: Good work down the right by Clyne, and it’s another corner for Liverpool. The ball’s hung up for Benteke, who loses an aerial duel with Cech. It’s Liverpool who are threatening early on. But then they should have taken the lead here last season, too, and look how that panned out.
8.25pm BST
25 min: Coutinho slips a fine pass down the left channel for Milner, who breaks into the area and shoots goalwards twice. Neither effort has much fire behind it, and the first one’s blocked, the second turned round the near post by Cech. The resulting corner is a meek nonsense. But Liverpool are beginning to threaten here. The new-look Arsenal back line doesn’t look comfortable at all.
8.23pm BST
22 min: Benteke bombs down the inside-left channel and threatens to break into the box and shoot. Coquelin comes in to take ball and man from behind. Liverpool make a claim for that one, a free kick at least, a penalty maybe as it was right on the line. But they get neither. It’s a good decision, though, as Coquelin clearly gets his studs on the ball before Benteke goes to ground.
8.21pm BST
20 min: Another corner for Arsenal, this time down the right. Again it’s fired to Gabriel, but he misses his header and Milner is able to race clear and rake a long ball down the right for Firminho, who threatens to break clear for a millisecond or two, but can’t quite get away from Monreal. This continues to be wide open, with both teams going for it. Neither defence looks particularly enamoured with the way it’s panning out tactically, it should be said.
8.19pm BST
19 min: Milner comes sliding across the front of Monreal, as the left back goes on a run down his flank. He doesn’t get much of the ball and is lucky to escape a booking. But escape he does.
8.18pm BST
18 min: Coquelin busies himself up the other end now, winning a corner on the left. The ball’s slung into the centre, and met by the head of Gabriel, though in a fairly angelic manner. His effort flutters gracefully into the arms of Mignolet.
8.17pm BST
15 min: Arsenal only half clear the corner. Firmino, busying himself on the right, nearly finds Can with a pullback. Not quite. Meanwhile they’re showing replays of the Coquelin challenge on Coutinho. He was coming in from behind, and bundled the player over. Difficult to see on the replay, but he might have got more of the man than the ball, or indeed got no ball at all. A penalty, perhaps, though it should be noted that nobody in Liverpool black bothered to appeal, which may be illustrative.
8.15pm BST
14 min: Another poor pass out by Chambers, and Coutinho is very nearly sent clear into the Arsenal box down the inside-left channel. As he shapes to shoot, Coquelin comes in to bother him out of it. The ball breaks right to Milner, who earns a corner. Arsenal so close to conceding there. This could already be a preposterous goalfest.
8.14pm BST
13 min: Arsenal are enjoying the lion’s share of possession, though, as one would expect from the home team. Ozil is seeing an awful lot of the ball in the middle, playmaking to his heart’s content, though nothing’s quite coming off yet. A lovely floated diagonal ball nearly releases Giroud down the left, but it’s overhit by a smidgen. “I’m glad to hear that I’m not the only person less than impressed by the Arsenal fruit platter,” writes Greg Arens. “Growing up playing soccerball in the USA USA USA, I’ve come to expect sliced oranges. Our mothers wouldn’t send us out for the second half with anything less.”
8.11pm BST
10 min: And now, in this parallel universe, it’s nearly 2-2, sort of, as Benteke romps down the right and, from a fairly tight angle, lashes a low and hard shot towards the right-hand corner. Cech gathers it brilliantly. Someone’s going to score a goal soon. This is as open a game as you could be lucky to see. The teeming rain might have something to do with it. Lovely winter.
8.10pm BST
8 min: Liverpool are the beneficiaries of another favourable offside decision. Cazorla sliderules a pass down the inside-left channel, splitting Liverpool’s defence. Ramsey picks up possession and lashes into the net. But the flag goes up. However it looked like Ramsey was being played onside by Skrtel’s buttocks in the middle. The benefit should at least have gone to the attacker. Arsenal should be 2-1 up.
8.08pm BST
7 min: Another ping-ping passing move by Arsenal, and Ozil is suddenly bursting into the box down the inside-left channel. He should pull the trigger, but hesitates. Skrtel is able to get his foot in the way. The ball bounces back to Ozil, who then dribbles the slowest shot in the history of All Football towards the bottom left. Mignolet gathers.
8.06pm BST
5 min: Finally the home side get a few passes going. It’s hypnotic, this way and that. Then the ball’s slipped out wide left to Monreal, who whips a cross into the middle. Sanchez rises high and heads over from the edge of the six-yard box. He was leaning backwards, but should still have got that on target. A brilliant, patient move by the hosts, though. This is a superb start to the match, with both teams having gone very, very close. Wish it was 1-1, huh?
8.03pm BST
3 min: Liverpool so unlucky! Milner feeds Benteke down the right. Benteke bombs into the area and pulls the ball back for Coutinho, who rattles the crossbar from the edge of the area while looking for the top-right corner. Such a wonderful effort, and a very pretty flowing move from Liverpool. Arsenal haven’t got going yet at all.
8.02pm BST
2 min: Can embarks on a power skitter down the inside-left channel. Arsenal are all over the shop at the back - the move started with a misplaced Chambers pass - and the ball’s shifted inside for Benteke, who prods wide left from ten yards.
8.01pm BST
Liverpool get into a huddle, then into position, and we’re off! Arsenal get the ball rolling. Giroud tries to clip a pass down the middle for Sanchez, but Clyne steps in to head back upfield. Meanwhile the other big pre-match issue was
the impending transfer of Mario Balotelli
half-and-half scarves. “The scarf is not the sartorially offensive piece,” argues Paul Kanarek. “It’s the reckless presence of the man-purse that is so fundamentally disquieting.” Hey, nothing wrong with a man purse. As Jerry Seinfeld said: it’s European!
7.58pm BST
The teams are out! It’s a dirty old night in a dirty old town, a romantic early taste of winter in August. Welcome to London! A magnificent atmosphere as the teams line up and then shake hands. Arsenal are in their world-famous red-and-white-sleeved shirts, while Liverpool sport those black ones pictured below near the bowl of produce. Speaking of which... “I have to say I am slightly underwhelmed by the Arsenal fruit platter,” sighs Tim Woods. “As a well-known cosmopolitan club, I would have expected to see some kumquats, mangoes or passion fruit. But no, they’ve gone for the standard grapes, apples and banana combo. More what you’d expect from Barnsley.”
7.40pm BST
Tonight’s half-and-half scarf: Here’s a chap waving a brand-new 100% wool purchase above his head.
7.30pm BST
There was a lovely, warm moment on Sky Sports News earlier today, when Thierry Henry noted how “there are always goals” in Arsenal-Liverpool matches. Jamie Carragher’s wry, self-deprecating response: “Yeah, especially when us two are playing.” Much studio laughter. Some would call it banter, but it wasn’t tedious passive-aggressive nonsense, so no. Meantime there’s been more hot chat on Sky, with both managers having been interviewed, and questioned about the enforced changes to their teams. Arsene Wenger admitted that his central defensive pairing of Chambers and Gabriel “don’t have the same level of experience [as Koscielny and Mertesacker] but have similar quality”, while Brendan Rodgers talked Firmino up: “He’s played in Europe, has international experience, and as the days have gone on has looked sharper and brighter.” Everyone looking very cheery right now despite all the shuffling.
7.22pm BST
Arsenal: Cech, Bellerin, Chambers, Gabriel, Monreal, Coquelin, Ramsey, Ozil, Cazorla, Sanchez, Giroud.
Subs: Debuchy, Gibbs, Arteta, Ospina, Walcott, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Flamini.
Liverpool: Mignolet, Can, Lovren, Skrtel, Clyne, Milner, Coutinho, Lucas, Gomez, Firmino, Benteke.
Subs: Sakho, Moreno, Origi, Ings, Ibe, Bogdan, Rossiter.
7.13pm BST
Tonight’s team news. Problems for both sides, with major players missing through injury. Arsenal will have to make do with a new central defensive pairing, as both Per Mertesacker and Laurent Koscielny are out. Calum Chambers and Gabriel will be at the heart of it, either battering or getting battered by Christian Benteke. Meanwhile for Liverpool, their captain Steven Gerr... no, this still doesn’t seem quite right... Jordan Henderson is missing, as is Adam Lallana. Surely Lallana would have been dropped anyway, but there you have it. Coming into their midfield: Emre Can and Lucas Leiva. One other switch for the visitors: Jordan Ibe makes way for Roberto Firmino. Other than all that, it’s as you were for both teams. Games between Arsenal and Liverpool are quite often memorable, and there’s enough uncertainty in both ranks for this to be quite the event, one way or the other.
6.55pm BST
Tonight’s teams will be coming through soon enough. One man who won’t be featuring, though, is Mario Balotelli. He’s long out of favour at Liverpool, and now it would seem he’s off back to Milan on a season-long loan, with Liverpool still fronting half his wages. Chalk up another success for Ian Ayre and the Transfer Committee, which sounds like a literary-minded jangly indie band from the 1980s, doesn’t it. But I digress.
Related: Liverpool striker Mario Balotelli agrees to return to Milan on loan
6.15pm BST
Arsenal and Liverpool have spun quite a few yarns over the years. Here’s a brief flick through the storybook: Ted Drake and Ray Bowden scoring Highbury hat-tricks as the Gunners thump Liverpool 8-1 in their 1934 pomp; Jack Balmer inspiring Liverpool at the same venue in 1947, a crucial 2-1 win en route to the first post-war title; Arsenal lifting the 1950 FA Cup, Joe Mercer regal, Bob Paisley dropped, Laurie Scott attaching himself to Billy Liddell’s ankles; Ian St John, Peter Thompson, Alf Arrowsmith and Roger Hunt wrapping up Liverpool’s 1963-64 championship with a 5-0 rout at Anfield; a Gordon Wallace double giving Liverpool a 3-2 victory in the first-ever Match of the Day at the start of the following season; Charlie George lying there on the Wembley turf in 1971 to celebrate his extra-time screamer and the double; Brian Talbot – known to Bob Paisley as “Osborne, the lad from Ipswich” – settling a four-match FA Cup semi-final marathon in 1980; Michael Thomas, shimmying into a position that put the 1988-89 league up for grabs now; Robbie Fowler’s four-minute hat-trick, notched in 1994, when Sadio Mané was only two; Stephane Henchoz and Michael Owen’s 2001 FA Cup final grab and smash and grab; Thierry Henry repeatedly waltzing past Jamie Carragher to secure Arsenal’s invincibility in 2004; Andrey Arshavin hammering four nails into Rafa Benitez’s 2008-09 title coffin; Luis Suarez igniting that ill-fated but glorious championship charge of a couple of years ago. Yes, quite a few yarns, and there are many more. Hopefully we haven’t missed your favourite. So sorry if we have.
You never know, this one could end up being a tale for the ages, too. For tonight’s match has the potential to shape this season for both clubs in a big way. Absurdly early days, of course, but neither Arsenal nor Liverpool have particularly convinced yet this season. The Gunners lost their opening match of the season, miserably, at home to West Ham United, and were only fluid in patches at Crystal Palace. Liverpool have two wins under their belt, though the margins were desperately thin against both Stoke City and Bournemouth. On the flip side, Arsenal saw off Chelsea in a comfortably casual style in the Community Shield, and Santi Cazorla and Alexis Sanchez already appear to be working their way into a groove, while Liverpool are looking less shaky at the back, and their new striker Christian Benteke doesn’t seem to be taking much time to fit in. So it’s swings and roundabouts.
Related: Arsène Wenger: Arsenal must ‘play with good pace’ to beat Liverpool
Continue reading...
The Fiver | Best viewed in Netscape Navigator
ANYONE BUT CHELSEA: AN ‘ANYONE BUT UNITED’ FOR A NEW SUPERCLUB
The Fiver, despite its ultra-modern image as an electronic mail-out service also published daily at the football.guardian portal on the information superhighway and best viewed in Netscape Navigator, is older than it looks. Very much a child of the 1980s, in fact, which would explain all those oblique and frankly clapped-out references to long-forgotten cultural touchstones of the era such as Sting, Channel 4 afternoon cartoon character Murun Buchstansangur, and Liverpool FC. We’ve no time, kids, best ask mum or dad.
THE IMDB TALE HAS TO WAIT
Continue reading...August 20, 2015
Southampton v FC Midtjylland: Europa League play-off – as it happened
The Danish champions scored a precious away goal as they earned a deserved draw at St Mary’s.
9.54pm BST
Targett, deep down the left, clips a diagonal ball towards the far post. Yoshida rises, and thumps a header against the right-hand post. Dahlin might have got fingertips to that. So close to a dramatic winner! But that’s that. A draw, a fine result for the Danish champions, and a fair result: they were the better side in the first half, while Saints had the upper hand in the second. Saints have to score in Denmark next week if they want Europa League action this season. At the moment, Big Data is winning the battle with Koeman’s classicism for the very soul of football. Maybe we exaggerate a tad, but them’s the bare bones.
9.50pm BST
90 min +5: Happily Long is back on. He’s not moving particularly well, but for a horrible second that looked serious, so this is good to see. Olsson is booked for some more time-wasting.
9.49pm BST
90 min +4: Long is down in some pain, clutching his right knee. He was slipping over when Sparv came clattering into him. The pair were contesting a loose ball, it was a totally accidental collision. Long looks concerned for a while, but he’s able to limp off, so hopefully that’s just a bang and nothing serious.
9.48pm BST
90 min +2: Onuachu powers into the Saints box down the inside-left channel. He earns a corner off Fonte. Poulsen takes, but it’s headed purposefully out of the area by Wanyama.
9.46pm BST
90 min: But cynicism only gets you so far, and there will be six extra minutes of this. Saints appear to be immediately energised by this, and Long busts down the right. His cross isn’t up to much, though.
9.45pm BST
89 min: Onuachu replaces Rasmussen. This is text-book clock management.
9.44pm BST
88 min: Romer is booked for taking an age to take a throw.
9.44pm BST
86 min: Lauridsen goes into the back of Long, and falls heavily in doing so. He takes the opportunity to roll about for a while, a bit of old-school European time-wasting. The home crowd aren’t enjoying it, but hats off to Midtjylland for brazenly running down the clock, their medics trotting onto the field after their player is back up and about. The sort of thing that, if he’s watching, will have simultaneously annoyed and impressed Jose Mourinho.
9.41pm BST
84 min: But it’s Midtjylland who nearly get one. Hassan nearly gets onto a huge up and under, but Yoshida crowds him out down the inside-left channel. The ball breaks to Rasmussen, on the penalty spot. He takes a swing at the ball, but Fonte slides in to block brilliantly.
9.39pm BST
83 min: That was Ward-Prowse’s last kick of the game. He’s replaced by the former Malaga striker Juanmi. Southampton really could do with a goal.
9.38pm BST
82 min: Mane embarks on a diagonal run through the Midtjylland half, left to right. He’s tripped by Hassan. Free kick 35 yards out, just to the right of goal. Saints load the area. Ward-Prowse opts to go direct, though, and whips one towards the top right. It’s wide and high, but not by much, and the keeper wasn’t getting there. A lovely effort.
9.36pm BST
80 min: Sviatchenko, playing the ball out of the box, is scythed down by Romeu. Fortunately for the Saints midfielder, who has already been booked, the away side continue to flood upfield, so the referee waves play on. The move peters out, and Romeu avoids what would have been an awfully costly yellow card.
9.34pm BST
78 min: Another change for Midtjylland. Andersson is replaced by former Arsenal youngster Kristoffer Olsson.
9.32pm BST
76 min: Long comes on for a knackered Rodriguez, whose efforts are rewarded by a warm round of applause by the home faithful.
9.31pm BST
75 min: Ward-Prowse, cutting in from the right, belts a shot goalwards. Sviatchenko throws himself in its road. The ball balloons to the left, where Targett is unmarked. The young man smacks a fine low diagonal shot towards the bottom right, but it whistles an inch wide of the post. So close.
9.30pm BST
74 min: Rodriguez and Hansen battle for a Romeu up-and-under on the edge of the Danish box. They both fall over. The crowd fancy a penalty, but nope. Nobody in a red-and-white shirt makes the claim.
9.28pm BST
73 min: Sparv is yellow carded for a nothing tackle on Pelle. He dragged him down from behind, but the pair were contesting a throw on the halfway line. It’s a harsh punishment for Midtjylland’s goalscorer.
9.27pm BST
72 min: The first change of the night. The much-fancied Sisto has had a quiet evening, and he’s replaced by Hassan.
9.27pm BST
71 min: Wanyama one-twos with Pelle down the inside-left channel. He enters the area but blooters a shot from a tight angle into the stand.
9.26pm BST
70 min: A slight lull, which is in Midtjylland’s favour. As things stand, this is a much better result for the Danes than the Premier League side.
9.24pm BST
68 min: Mane in a little space down the right. He attempts a slide-rule pass down the inside-right channel for Pelle, and very nearly releases his man, but the astonishing Sviatchenko slides in to intercept.
9.22pm BST
65 min: Midtjylland so nearly hoist by their own petard. Ward-Prowse whips a glorious free kick into the area, right onto Caulker’s head, six yards out. Caulker batters a header goalwards, but it’s tipped over spectacularly by Dahlin. The corner comes to nothing, Sviatchenko unconventionally launching the ball clear from a crowded box by thrusting out his nipples.
9.20pm BST
64 min: Sisto needlessly clatters into Targett down the left wing. The young full back was going nowhere. A chance for Saints to load the box and give Midtjylland a taste of their own medicine.
9.18pm BST
61 min: Targett, on another determined gander down the left, whips a cross onto the head of Mane. The striker’s on the edge of the area, though, and can’t contort his neck muscles to Nicol-Suarez the ball into the net. It floats off harmlessly to the right of goal. But this is good stuff from Saints right now. The home side didn’t let the shock of Sparv’s late first-half strike unsettle them. If anything, they’ve looked inspired.
9.16pm BST
59 min: Midtjylland look to have responded well to conceding. A nice period of possession in the Saints half. But then a loose pass, and Saints go on the quick break. Mane makes good down the middle, and loops a pass forward for Rodriguez. Sviatchenko, who has been excellent tonight, steps in just as it looks as though the goalscorer is going to receive the pass and break clear into the box.
9.13pm BST
58 min: St Mary’s is bouncing after that equaliser.
9.12pm BST
Rodriguez sends the keeper the wrong way in whipping a shot into the left-hand portion of the net. Saints deserved that equaliser for their determined play since the restart.
9.11pm BST
55 min: Pelle, on the edge of the box, heads down a cross from the right. Ward-Prowse takes a touch into the box, and is upended by Hansen. One of the clearest penalty kicks you’ll see.
9.09pm BST
53 min: Saints have the wind in their sales. Rodriguez zips down the left and floats a cross into the area. Pelle twists in mid-air and guides a header goalwards, but not with the required amount of power. The St Mary’s faithful are appreciating Southampton’s ratcheting up of the tempo.
9.08pm BST
51 min: Saints look determined. Pelle turns on the edge of the area and has a fine shot deflected out on the left. From Ward-Prowse’s corner, Caulker rises on the edge of the six-yard box and heads down and into the goal. But it’s disallowed - amid some confusion, it must be said - for a spot of pushing. Probably the correct decision, though the referee needs to be a wee bit more demonstrative, because nobody knew what was going on for a minute there.
9.06pm BST
49 min: It’s an end-to-end start to the half. Hansen throws another long one into the Saints area from the left. Sviatchenko nearly gets a header on target, but Caulker heads clear. Mane goes up the other end, and is in acres down the right, but his cross is dismal.
9.05pm BST
47 min: From the set piece, a bout of head tennis. Rodriguez, level with the right-hand post, hoicks one over his own head towards the top left, but Rasmussen heads behind for a third corner in quick succession. Fonte is over-excitable as he battles for that one, and the referee blows up for a free kick. Before the first corner, as Yoshida crossed, there was a coming together of Hansen and Pelle in the area. A small shout for a penalty that didn’t look like much; the claim wasn’t sustained.
9.02pm BST
We’re off again! Saints get the ball rolling for the second half. No changes. Mane makes good down the right. He pulls the ball back up the wing for Yoshida, who curls a cross into the box. Sviatchenko hammers out for a corner on the left, then eyebrows the set piece out for another Saints corner on the right.
8.54pm BST
Half-time entertainment:
8.49pm BST
That’s the very last act of the half. Sparv made a point of not celebrating the goal, even though he was clearly fairly happy with the sweetest of strikes. He never played for the Southampton first team, but to be fair spent plenty of time at the club as a youth-team player, so it’s not such a ridiculous non-celebration. And it’s a crucial away goal for the Danish champs. At least Ronald Koeman can get to his team immediately, and build up their spirit again. That’s stunned St Mary’s. It’s going to be an interesting second half now.
8.47pm BST
Jo Inge Berget for Malmo at Celtic last night; Tim Spav tonight. Lauridsen crosses from the left. It’s no good. Fonte heads clear. But it’s met by the former Saint youth player Sparv, who takes one touch and arrows a heatseeker into the bottom left! Stekelenburg had no chance!
8.45pm BST
43 min: Targett again makes good down the left. His curling cross is headed out for a corner by the spectacularly diving Sviatchenko. From the set piece, taken short, Ward-Prowse curls a dangerous ball in from the left wing. It’s headed clear, but only to Romeu, who takes a touch, shifts the ball inside, and looks to curl one into the top right. It’s a decent effort, but gathered by Dahlin.
8.43pm BST
41 min: Young Targett has gone on a few determined attacking runs down this left flank. He’s playing well. He wins a throw right by the corner flag, and finds Pelle, who dinks the ball on to Mane. Mane’s shot is on target, but not particularly powerful, and deflected away from danger. But this is better from Saints, who are soon coming back at the visitors. Wanyama whistles a shot straight down Dahlin’s throat.
8.40pm BST
39 min: Wanyama hustles in the middle of the Midtjylland half, and wins a ball he never should have won. He feeds the ball forward for Romeu, who takes a snap shot on the edge of the area. It takes a wicked deflection off Romer, and for a second looks like looping absurdly over Dahlin and into the top right. But the keeper is able to gather.
8.39pm BST
37 min: Targett goes on a romp down the left. It’s a beautifully direct run, and he reaches the byline, pulling a dangerous ball back into the area. It’s deflected out of the area by a panicked Midtjylland leg. Wanyama, rushing to the edge of the D, lashes a shot goalwards. It just about stays in the stadium. A good run by Targett there, but Saints need to up their collective game.
8.37pm BST
35 min: Rasmussen turns Caulker with ease down the right. Andersson takes up possession and runs at pace towards Fonte, who doesn’t know whether to retreat or close his man down. He retreats, with not much conviction, and Andersson enters the box. Will he shoot, or return the favour to Rasmussen, who has kept up with play and is in space to his left, with Saints once again light at the back? He does neither. He falls over. What a stroke of luck for Southampton, who were all over the place there.
8.34pm BST
33 min: Yoshida gets on the end of a Pelle head-down. He flays a shot miles wide right from 25 yards. Meanwhile our old pal Charles Antaki is - oh sweet serendipity - in central Jutland this evening. “On Danish TV the commentary is admirably understated. Admittedly I’m not understanding a word of it, but the tone and timbre remains me, oddly enough, of Richie Benaud in his prime. A moment here of a Midtjylland shot on goal… then back to calmness and restraint. Is Alan Green watching?”
8.33pm BST
32 min: Sisto embarks on a speed ramble down the left. He leaves Fonte for dead. He’s got folk to find in the middle, but seems to forget what it is he’s trying to achieve, and runs the ball out of play just to the left of the goal. Southampton have enjoyed most of the possession, but it’s Midtjylland who have looked the more dangerous.
8.32pm BST
31 min: Another corner for Midtjylland down the right. Andersson takes, whipping into a packed box. Ward-Prowse does well to flick a header out on the other side. The corner from the left causes a mild scramble in the Saints six-yard box. Romeu wallops clear.
8.29pm BST
27 min: Sviatchenko puts a stop to Ward-Prowse’s gallop down the inside-right channel. It’s a fairly obvious body check, but he’s not getting booked. Ward-Prowse takes the free kick, lumping into the mixer. Wanyama rises on the penalty spot, but can only weakly head over.
8.28pm BST
26 min: Romeu has a belt from the best part of 35 yards. It’s absurdly optimistic, but it’s absurdly good, too, nearly whistling into the top-right corner. The keeper was out of the game, but the ball’s just a touch to the right and high.
8.27pm BST
24 min: Romer wanders down the right wing, and wins a corner off Targett. It was fairly obvious that Romer was far more interested in earning the set piece than beating his man or whipping a cross in. Sisto takes the set piece, and it’s eyebrowed away from danger by Fonte. But only at the cost of a throw on the other side. Hansen goes over and flings it in. Ward-Prowse clears. And then it’s another throw. A short one. Midtjylland mixing it up there, quite the entertainers. But it’s working. A fourth throw, and this one finds the head of Sviatchenko, ten yards out, after a flick on by Sparv. He powers a header towards the top right, but it’s clawed away by Stekelenburg.
8.22pm BST
22 min: Saints are still enjoying the lion’s share of possession, but they’re not doing an awful lot with it.
8.21pm BST
19 min: Pelle flips a ball down the left channel to release Rodriguez, and appears to have done so. But Rodriguez miscontrols, and he’s offside anyway. The visitors go up the other end, Poulsen in plenty of space down the inside-right channel. He’s got Rasmussen on his inside, with only Caulker anywhere near the action. A good pass, and the striker’s in. Saints in trouble. But Poulsen’s pass is a risible nonsense, slipped straight to Stekelenburg, too pacy and in the wrong direction. Rasmussen doesn’t bother to hide his displeasure. That was a great chance for Midtjylland to take the lead.
8.19pm BST
17 min: Wanyama and Stekelenberg confuse each other on the edge of their own area. Another chance for Hansen to loop a long throw into the area. Saints are palpably nervous, having failed to deal with the earlier throw. But this one causes no bother, Sparv penalised for shoving Yoshida in the six-yard box before the throw can come back down from the sky.
8.16pm BST
14 min: And having said that, Sisto shows a lovely turn of pace down the left and is upended by Romeu, crashing in from behind. That’s a no-brainer of a yellow card. And a free kick for the Danes. Royer curls it in. Stekelenburg punches out, but only to Hansen out on the right. Hansen curls it back in. Caulker heads out, but only to Andersson on the left of the D. He volleys the dropping ball, and connects sweetly, his shot only just fizzing wide of the left-hand post. Not sure Stekelenburg was getting to that one. Midtjylland very close to a precious away goal there.
8.14pm BST
13 min: Saints stroke it around the middle of the park awhile. After that bright start, the Danish champs haven’t done much lately. They’re struggling to gain any sort of meaningful possession.
8.12pm BST
10 min: Hansen shoves Pelle in the back as the pair contest a ball in the middle of the Midtjylland half. The tables turned, let’s see how well Midtjylland deal with a set-piece lifted into a loaded box. And it’s not particularly well. Ward-Prowse pitching-wedges one straight down the middle of the pitch, the ball dropping towards the man near the penalty spot. It’s Caulker, heads and shoulders above everyone else. He guides a decent looping header towards the top right, but it’s a little high and wide. Not a bad effort though. Had that been on target, it’s not clear Dahlin would have got back to claw it out.
8.08pm BST
7 min: But Saints are beginning to find their rhythm. Rodriguez, operating down the inside-left now, flicks a clever reverse pass down the channel to send Mane into space. Mane, from the edge of the box, just to the left of the D, skelps his shot straight at the keeper Dahlin. A lovely, brisk move by the Saints.
8.07pm BST
6 min: Rodriguez races after a long hoick down the right by Fonte. With one touch to control and a turning on of the jets, he’s clear! He strides into the area and looks to lash one into the bottom left. It’s well wide of the left-hand post. A poor effort, truth be told.
8.06pm BST
5 min: Lauridsen is booked for pressing his studs into Ward-Prowse’s chest. That’s a pretty agricultural lunge, and he’s lucky the referee isn’t in a bad mood. It’d have been a harsh red, but you’ve seen them given.
8.05pm BST
3 min: Hansen flings it long, to the near post, and it causes Saints a little trouble. The ball’s inexplicably allowed to bounce in the six-yard box, and with Rasmussen lurking, Pelle sticks another leg out. It deflects into Stekelenburg’s chest, and the keeper can snaffle. That’s not a backpass, a total shank.
8.03pm BST
2 min: This is a brisk start by Midtjylland. A ball looped down the inside-right channel. Andersson nearly bursts clear into the area. Fonte comes across to slice the ball out of play on the right, near the corner flag. The first chance for Hansen to Delap one into the box.
8.02pm BST
And we’re off! The visitors get the ball rolling. It’s a rare old atmosphere in St Mary’s tonight. A promising start for the Danish champions, too, as they spend 40 seconds passing up and down the right wing, Sisto threatening at one point to blaze past Targett. But eventually possession is lost and the hosts get their first touch of the ball.
7.59pm BST
The teams are out! Southampton are in their famous red-and-white stripes. Midtjylland are in their first-choice black strip. Not such a well-known shirt, but then let’s be fair, the club are only 16 years old. We’ll be off in a minute!
7.54pm BST
Let’s quickly pop into the club megastore before kick off. And what-ho! Here’s a young fan with a brand-new purchase!
7.34pm BST
Southampton make four changes from the weekend, then. Oriol Romeu makes his first start for the Saints, replacing Steven Davis in the middle of the park, while Steven Caulker comes in for Cedric Soares at right back having recovered from a sinus infection. Meanwhile James Ward-Prowse and Jay Rodriguez step into the shoes of Shane Long and Dusan Tadic. No great surprises for the visitors. In their midfield, the raking Finn Tim Sparv, once of the Saints youth set-up and presumably hoping to play the role of Jo Inge Berget to Southampton’s Celtic.
7.20pm BST
Southampton: Stekelenburg, Yoshida, Caulker, Fonte, Targett, Wanyama, Ward-Prowse, Romeu, Mane, Rodriguez, Pelle.
Subs: K Davis, Cedric, Long, S Davis, Tadic, Martina, Juanmi.
Midtjylland: Dahlin, Romer, Hansen, Sviatchenko, Lauridsen, Sparv, Sisto, Poulsen, Royer, Andersson, Rasmussen.
Subs: Andersen, Pusic, Urena Porras, Olsson, Banggaard, Onuachu, Hassan.
7.00pm BST
This Europa League qualification play-off promises to be quite the clash of styles. In the red-and-white corner, Southampton, who on their day play some of the prettiest and most expansive football in the Premier League. In the grey corner, Midtjylland, the Danish champions who scored nearly half of their goals last season from set pieces, and whose main attacking threat is a defender with a long throw.
Stoke City used to get pelters for this sort of carry-on back in the day. See also, to varying degrees of abuse through the years: Charles Reep, Wimbledon, Watford, Gary Neville. But this is happening in the Danish Superligaen, and the backroom staff keep banging on about parsing data and identifying transfer-market inefficiencies, so it’s all being presented as a vision of a bright and radical tomorrow. Perhaps it is. Though here’s another picture of the future: imagine an Excel spreadsheet scrolling in front of a hipster’s face - forever.
Continue reading...A brief guide to … Didier Drogba, the biggest of big-game players
Montreal Impact’s new signing was Chelsea’s main man in their golden era – and he took care of business when it really mattered
English football has been blessed with quite a few big-game players down the years, the guy who always shows up when it really matters. Ian Rush scored five goals in three FA Cup finals for Liverpool, an all-time record. John Robertson played in two European Cup finals for Nottingham Forest, scoring the winner in one and setting up the winner in the other. Bobby Charlton scored the goals that sent his country to a World Cup final, and another two for his team in a European Cup final. Steven Gerrard has notched in every major club final possible. Eric Cantona’s FA Cup final report reads played two, took care of business in two. The same goes for Roberto di Matteo. Alan Kennedy decided two European Cup finals. As a self-confessed bog-standard left-back for Liverpool.
But none of these figures – legends all, in their many different ways – can hold a candle to Didier Drogba. The big Ivorian’s record in the biggest matches has been simply astonishing. Second to none. The ultimate big-game player.
Related: Didier Drogba’s glory may have faded, but for Chelsea he’ll always be glorious | Barney Ronay
Continue reading...August 19, 2015
Celtic v Malmo: Champions League play-off – as it happened | Scott Murray
Jo Inge Berget came back to haunt Celtic with a couple of potentially priceless away goals.
9.39pm BST
And that’s that. Berget - formerly of Celtic, albeit briefly - puts a very different complexion on this tie with the last kick of the match. The home side had put themselves in control of this tie, but while they have the lead going into next week’s second leg in Sweden, Malmo have two away goals. And the momentum. They’ll certainly be the happier of the two sides after that dramatic conclusion. Still, Celtic have the win, and therefore the advantage going into the second leg. That match promises to be a cracker. It’s a tough tie to call all right.
9.38pm BST
The corner’s hoicked into the six-yard box. Carvalho rises highest to knock down towards the right-hand post, where - who else? - Berget is on hand to lash home!
9.37pm BST
90 min +4: Yotun breaks down the left and whips a dangerous ball into the middle. Van Dijk is forced to slice the ball out for a corner on the left. From which ...
9.36pm BST
90 min +3: Djurdic drops a shoulder to make a little space down the right, but his low ball into the box is hacked clear.
9.35pm BST
90 min +2: Yotun swings the free kick into the mixer from a deep position on the right. Gordon comes out to claim, and is clattered - accidentally, as he’s come through a thicket of players. Brilliant keeping that takes the pressure off Celtic, and runs down the clock to boot.
9.34pm BST
90 min +1: Ciftci is booked for bowling Rodic over on the right touchline. That was beyond pointless, a witless shove in the back.
9.33pm BST
90 min: So that’s the 90 up, but there have been enough stoppages in this half for an extra five minutes to be added to the game.
9.31pm BST
87 min: Bitton is down taking a bit of a breather. A knock to his leg, but nothing too serious by the looks of it. Celtic seem more than happy to run down the clock. They’d have taken this result at the start of the evening. Of course, 2-0 would have been better than 3-1, the away goal and all that, but they were looking extremely shaky in the wake of Berget’s goal. A comfortable 3-1 victory certainly didn’t look on the cards at that point.
9.27pm BST
84 min: Djurdic strongarms himself a little space down the inside-right channel, but can only lash a useless shot miles wide right of the goal. It’s not happened for him tonight, and that was the effort of a desperate, frustrated man.
9.26pm BST
82 min: The stretcher’s only just made it to Lustig, who is slumped on the far side of the pitch, away from the dugouts. The guys carrying it around the field of play could only have looked more insouciant if one of them had a fag on! A proper amble. A medical meander.
9.23pm BST
81 min: Rakip is replaced by Sana.
9.23pm BST
80 min: Poor Lustig is in tears. Ambrose comes on in his stead. “Has Rod Stewart showed up at Celtic Park tonight with a Britt Ekland lookalike, perchance, just for old times sake?” wonders Justin Kavanagh. “Malmo, the seventies, and all that?” Sadly not. Billy Connolly hasn’t arrived wearing banana boots, either.
9.21pm BST
78 min: Lustig is on the floor, having stopped abruptly while tearing down the right wing. He’s holding his hamstring. It doesn’t look like he’ll be able to continue.
9.18pm BST
75 min: Rakip and Brown are both booked for acting like they’re six years of age, after some common-or-garden tussling down the right wing. From the resulting free kick - Rakip had obstructed Brown to kick it all off - Van Dijk heads weakly wide of the left-hand post.
9.15pm BST
73 min: Celtic’s two-goal hero Leigh Griffiths, 25 tomorrow, is replaced by Ciftci.
9.14pm BST
72 min: Malmo make a change, replacing Eikrem with Felipe Carvalho.
9.14pm BST
70 min: Forrest goes on a ramble down the right and earns Celtic another corner. Johansen curls it into the six-yard box. Arnason heads clear. Possession’s recycled by Celtic and Forrest tears down the right wing again. He’s crowded out this time, but has been a busy nightmare for Malmo this evening.
9.11pm BST
68 min: Forrest looks to burn Tinnerholm down the left wing. The full back shoulder charges the winger towards the stand. He goes in the book, quite rightly so. It’s not been a good few minutes for Tinnerholm, who was at fault for the goal. He looks rather deflated.
9.09pm BST
67 min: The wily Griffiths further disrupts Malmo’s flow by sitting down and feeling his boot for a little while.
9.09pm BST
65 min: Well that goal came against the run of play. Malmo have had the wind taken out of their sails. The passes, which had started sticking, aren’t quite finding their range any more.
9.06pm BST
63 min: It’s tipping down in Glasgow. Armstrong, who has a tight hamstring, is replaced by Mackay-Steven.
9.05pm BST
Bitton and Forrest combine well down the right. Malmo can’t get the ball off them. Eventually Forrest bursts inside. The ball balloons into the air. Tinnerholm, level with the left-hand post, heads it straight back up again. Griffiths is the first to the dropping ball, and loops a slow-motion header into the top-right corner, Wiland scampering back to no effect. How Celtic needed that!
9.02pm BST
58 min: Armstrong plays a clever reverse pass down the left to release Griffiths into the box. Griffiths decides to give it the full blooter from a tight angle. The ball’s deflected out for a corner. That could have gone anywhere. The set piece comes to nothing, but at least Celtic are up the right end of the park again. They should use the time upfield to clear their heads.
9.00pm BST
57 min: Rodic romps down the right wing and nearly busts past Izaguirre, who isn’t having a particularly good match tonight. Van Dijk comes across to mop up just before things get tricky for the home side.
8.58pm BST
55 min: The away goal has put a completely different complexion on this tie. Malmo have a spring in their step now. And the passes are sticking. Djurdic takes a pass down the inside-right channel, turns, and from the edge of the area belts an absolute beauty towards the top left. Gordon, at full stretch, punches away wonderfully. But Celtic are rocking all of a sudden. Parkhead is rocking too, but now it’s the away support making the racket.
8.56pm BST
Berget, with something to prove, proves it. It’s a Celtic corner, but Malmo stream upfield from it. Eikrem is in some space down the inside-right channel. He scoops a cross to the far post, where Berget is in acres of space. He meets the ball and strokes a gorgeous rising shot across Gordon and into the right-hand portion of the net. A lovely finish. Jo Inge Berget. It was always going to happen, wasn’t it.
8.54pm BST
50 min: The free kick comes to nothing.
8.54pm BST
48 min: Johansen steals the ball off Rakip in the middle. Forrest is sent skittering down the right at speed. He cuts inside and is checked fairly cynically by Yotun. Brown bursts into the box before the referee can blow for a free kick, so play moves on. Brown can’t get a shot away, nor can he find a man. Eventually Johansen is taken down on the right-hand touchline. At which point Brown and Yotun get involved in a gloriously childish staring match. Nobody’s blinking. Straight out of Big Train. Eventually Lustig steps in to separate them. Lustig and Yotun take turns to lightly stroke each other on the chops. The referee reminds them how old they are - grown men! - and we move on.
8.49pm BST
And we’re off again! Malmo get the second half underway. No changes, it’s as you were. Nobody can get the ball under control in the first minute of the half. Izaguirre slides in recklessly on Djurdic. That was probably worth a booking, but he gets away with it. He’ll need to watch himself, because a yellow card will see him miss the second leg of this tie.
8.33pm BST
Half-time advertisement: Perhaps the least aspirational car ad of all time. If Don Draper did Nordic noir.
8.32pm BST
And that’s that for the first half. Celtic were brilliant in the opening exchanges, blowing Malmo away with a couple of goals. They could have had at least one more before the visitors slowly found their feet. An away goal would change the look of this tie, so there’s still a job of work to be done. No flipping!
8.29pm BST
43 min: Some nice rat-a-tat triangulation down the right by Malmo. Eikrem slips Rodic into space. Rodic’s deep cross is headed behind by Van Dijk for a corner. From which, a second corner. And from that, Rakip has a rap from 25 yards, but that’s wild and not bothering Gordon in the slightest.
8.26pm BST
40 min: Forrest, on the edge of the D, slips a ball to the left for Griffiths. The striker decides the angle’s too prohibitive to shoot, so crosses low. But there’s no juice on the pass, and it’s easily intercepted by Bengtsson. Forrest, rushing in for the return, sticks out a hopeful leg anyway, but only manages to concede a foul.
8.25pm BST
39 min: Celtic take a little of the sting from the game by stroking it around the back awhile. Malmo don’t press them too much, and that’s 180 seconds of our lives gone in a flash. Smart play by the hosts, though, as the game had been getting stretched.
8.23pm BST
36 min: Rodic, 30 yards out and a little bit to the left of centre, attempts a strange long-distance diagonal scoop into the top right. It doesn’t come down quickly enough, dropping over the bar for three rugby points, but wasn’t that far away. Celtic go straight up the other end and manage something even more spectacular, Armstrong cutting in from the left and belting a rising effort towards the top right. He’s got Wiland beaten all ends up, but it whistles an inch or so wide of the post. That was a superlative effort. He’s a player in form.
8.21pm BST
34 min: The former Celt Berget dances in from the left. He does the Steve Nicol Shuffle for a couple of seconds - a kind of slow, hypnotic shimmy - and aims for the bottom-left corner. The shot’s deflected, and easily gathered by Gordon. “Not wishing to rain on Celtic’s parade, but The Rangers are 1-0 up at Ayr in the Petrofac Training Cup South Section,” reports Simon McMahon.
8.18pm BST
31 min: But the away side are slowly getting into this, spending some time now in the Celtic half. They earn a free kick down the right. Rodic whips it into the box, deep. Lewicki rises at the far post and cushions an aimless header miles over the bar, the ball eventually floating down onto the top of the net.
8.16pm BST
29 min: Djurdic has a face on again, and no wonder this time. Brown dallies in the centre circle, and loses the ball to Eikrem. Celtic are light at the back - in fact only Van Dijk is there - and in a bit of trouble. A good pass would release Djurdic through the middle. But the ball is poor, and Van Dijk is able to intercept. Parkhead held its collective breath for a second there.
8.14pm BST
28 min: Djurdic, 30 yards out, goes for goal. A full-on shank. He’s looking frustrated.
8.13pm BST
27 min: Celtic break that lull as Bitton encourages Lustig to romp down the right by pushing an insistent pass down the wing. Lustig gets there ahead of Yotun, and skelps a fine low cross through the six-yard box. But he was the only Celt who had responded to Bitton, and there’s nobody there to convert.
8.11pm BST
26 min: A relative lull, with both teams indulging in some aimless midfield faffing.
8.11pm BST
23 min: And so, having said that, Malmo get something going. It doesn’t look like much at first, as Djurdic tussles with Van Dijk on the edge of the Celtic area, to the left of the D. But his pressure causes the defender to hack clear in a very uncertain fashion, and the ball breaks to Rodic, who from a central position, 25 yards out, wheechs a daisycutter towards the bottom right. It’s heading in, and it’s brilliantly turned round the post by Gordon, at full stretch. The corner comes to nothing, but a warning to Celtic there. An away goal would curdle the mood a little.
8.08pm BST
21 min: A good couple of minutes for Scott Brown. The Celtic captain miscontrols in the middle of the park, but tenaciously wins the ball back, then releases Armstrong down the left. Armstrong’s low cross causes a little bother before Malmo hack clear. Then Djurdic goes romping down the left. For a second it looks like he’ll be breaking clear into the box, but Brown hunts him down and steals possession. Malmo can’t get anything going at all.
8.05pm BST
19 min: Rodic arrived here with good notices, and he shows what he can do for the first time. He zips past Izaguirre on the right, reaches the byline, and pulls a dangerous ball back into the centre. He’s got two team-mates waiting near the penalty spot, ready to pull the trigger, but the telescopic leg of Boyata intervenes at the last millisecond to poke the ball clear. Magnificent play all round.
8.03pm BST
17 min: Griffiths is confidence personified. There’s not much on, but he busies in from the right wing and, upon reaching the corner of the box, whistles a low fizzer towards the bottom-right corner. That was only inches wide, rippling the side netting. Wiland would probably have got there to save had it been on target, but it wasn’t certain. That was one of those lovely, picturesque efforts where the player strikes the ball with both feet off the ground. Cream! Ping!
8.01pm BST
15 min: Forrest takes down a high ball on the right touchline. Yotun comes sliding in and cleans him out. Late and clumsy. Yotun should go in the book for that, but the referee clearly decides to take pity on the visitor. He and his pals are in an awful muddle right now.
7.59pm BST
13 min: Malmo are a rabble. Griffiths has the ball in a central position 25 yards out. He slips a pass down the inside-right channel for Johansen, who is in space in the area. He’s in a similar position to Griffiths for the first goal, but his poke towards the bottom left is denied by the outstretched leg of Wiland. The ball’s hacked out for another corner, which the keeper punches clear. Celtic were so close to a three-goal lead there.
7.57pm BST
Johansen loops the corner into the six-yard box. Bitton rises highest, and heads down. Not particularly powerfully, but powerfully enough for the ball to bounce past the flapping keeper and a couple of spinning defenders on the line. So simple! Malmo’s defence was a shambles there, but full marks to the ever-excellent Bitton for taking advantage!
7.55pm BST
9 min: Bitton slides a pass down the left wing for the busy Armstrong, who drops a shoulder and tears past Tinnerholm. He whips a fine high cross through the six-yard box, and it’s eyebrowed out by Bengtsson for a corner on the right. From which ...
7.53pm BST
7 min: Malmo are a little shell-shocked. They can’t string anything together. Luckily their offside trap is working OK at the moment. Boyata sprays a long ball down the right and releases Griffiths into the area, but Malmo’s back line had pushed up effectively. Up goes the flag.
7.51pm BST
5 min: Celtic aren’t messing around here. Forrest again bombs down the right, and so nearly wins another corner. But how about that goal? A fifth of the season already for Griffiths, and the manager’s decision to pick him ahead of Nadir Ciftci is immediately vindicated. It’s fair to say Parkhead is bouncing, but then it was before anything had happened too. It’s bedlam in Paradise.
7.49pm BST
What a start by the Scottish champions! Armstrong cuts inside from the left with purpose. He reaches the left-hand edge of the D and plays a square pass inside for Johansen, who slide-rules a pass down the inside-right channel to find Griffiths. That’s majestic playmaking, and Griffiths’ finish isn’t bad either. He opens his body and sidefoots confidently past the outrushing Wiland and into the bottom left. Lovely goal!
7.47pm BST
2 min: Johnansen hits the set piece long. Van Dijk causes a little bother at the far post. He can’t quite get an effort on target, though. Armstrong tries to get involved, but after a wee scramble he’s eventually flagged for offside. A brisk start by Celtic.
7.46pm BST
Coins are tossed, hands are slapped - nobody shakes these days - and photos are taken. And we’re off! A simply stunning atmosphere here. A huge roar as Griffiths and Johansen get the ball rolling. Is there a stadium anywhere in Europe that does this competition any better than Parkhead? And there’s more to cheer about early doors, as Forrest makes good down the right to win a corner. A chance for Celtic to load the box and put some pressure on Malmo immediately.
7.42pm BST
The teams are out! It’s a belting atmosphere at Parkhead. Celtic sport their world-famous green-and-white hoops ...
7.15pm BST
Malmo’s team is pretty much as expected. The free-scoring Djurdic, on loan from Augsburg, leads the line, hoping to add to his tally of four goals in his six games at the club. Vladimir Rodic will be a danger on the right, while on the other side Jo Inge Berget returns to Parkhead, where he briefly shone last year. Celtic boss Ronny Deila had a couple of big decisions to make. He prefers Leigh Griffiths - four goals already this season - up front to Nadir Ciftci, while out on the right James Forrest gets the nod ahead of Gary Mackay-Steven. The new boy Scott Allan doesn’t even make the bench. So much for the rumours of being thrown in at the deep end, then.
7.00pm BST
Celtic: Gordon, Lustig, Boyata, Van Dijk, Izaguirre, Brown, Bitton, Forrest, Johansen, Armstrong, Griffiths.
Subs: Bailly, Ambrose, Ciftci, Commons, Mackay-Steven, Rogic, Mulgrew.
Malmo: Wiland, Tinnerholm, Arnason, Bengtsson, Yotun, Rodic, Lewicki, Rakip, Berget, Eikrem, Djurdic.
Subs: Andersson, Konate, Molins, Mehmeti, Sana, Carvalho, Vindheim.
6.45pm BST
They might not be the biggest club in the world, but Malmö Fotbollförening will always be guaranteed their chapter in the rich history of the Champions League and European Cup. The Swedes famously reached the final in 1979, a feat that was beyond some of the biggest clubs in European football that year: Liverpool, Juventus, Real Madrid, Köln, Dynamo Kyiv, Rangers, Porto. Bob Houghton’s team - a mix of professionals and part-timers which included a travel agent, a fireman and a student - were beaten in the big game by Nottingham Forest. But who knows? Maybe if Sweden’s 1974 World Cup stars Bo Larsson and Staffan Tapper had remained fit - the legendary Larsson didn’t play, while Tapper lasted only 34 minutes - Malmö would have become champions of Europe.
Sweden is still waiting for its first European Cup win. Sometime soon, maybe. But this year, Malmö will settle for getting into the groups for the second season in a row. They made it there for the first time last season, only to be dealt with fairly abruptly by fellow losing 1970s finalists Juventus and Atletico Madrid. In their way this season, yet another unsuccessful finalist from that gloriously unpredictable decade: Celtic, who went into the 1970 final assuming the hard work had been done in the semis by beating Leeds United, only to be rudely shocked by Feyenoord. Times change, and the 1967 champions would settle for a place in the groups this season too, after missing out last year. This is a huge clash.
Continue reading...August 18, 2015
Another long-awaited return to Uefa’s premier bloated cash cow
EPOCH II
In 1993, Manchester United competed in Big Cup for the first time since 1969. It was the romantic denouement to an epic saga of hope and yearning, an old club finally reconnecting with the competition that had become intertwined with its very identity. They beat the famous Honved 3-2. These were giddy, emotional and epochal times. And tonight, younger supporters will be able to experience for themselves just how it felt for their forefathers to scratch an itch that had been nagging for the best part of a quarter of a century. For United haven’t played a game in Big Cup for nearly 17 months now, which is a similar sort of wait for modern fans, really, isn’t it, when you factor in the pace of life in the information age, everyone’s raging sense of entitlement, and other self-centred vileness. But tonight their success-starved fanbase will be rewarded for their infinite patience as United make another long-awaited return to Uefa’s premier bloated cash cow. Let the good times roll! Again!
Football transfer rumours: Manchester United and Arsenal in for Zlatan Ibrahimovic?
Paris Saint-Germain are to put Zlatan Ibrahimovic up for sale. Arsenal and Manchester United are already said to be vaguely interested, which is a start. Still a couple of weeks before the transfer window closes, so plenty of time for that interest to firm up into mild enthusiasm, and then blind panic when they fail to land Karim Benzema or Thomas Müller.
Everton are considering a bid for the Dynamo Kyiv winger Andriy Yarmolenko. His buy-out clause is £17.5m, though the Goodison giants reckon a £10m offer will suffice. If this one goes through, neighbours Liverpool may need to have a good think, seeing they’ve been after Yarmolenko since Bob Paisley was in short trousers, but have never been able to close the deal. Time to send Ian Ayre on a negotiation skills course.
Related: Chelsea raise offer for Everton’s John Stones to £30m after poor start
Continue reading...August 16, 2015
US PGA Championship 2015 – final round! | Scott Murray
4.55pm BST
Emiliano Grillo, on his major-championship debut, dropped a stroke at the opening hole but has bounced back well with birdies at 3, 5 and 6. He’s -2 overall, and this has been an impressive and very promising week from the 22-year-old Argentinian. Louis Oosthuizen, who came so close at both the US Open and Open, has birdied 2 and 5.; he’s -3. Marcel Siem has birdied the opening hole to move to -4. And Lee Westwood follows up birdie at 2 by bumping a lovely approach into 4, then knocking in the five-foot uphill putt he’d left himself. He’s -4. This will be the first year since 2007 that he’s not finished in the top ten of at least one major. At 42, a dreadful feeling that Westwood’s time has passed. If the window of opportunity hasn’t quite slammed shut yet, then it’s at least trapped his fingers, and a large splinter from the frame has worked its way under his thumbnail.
4.45pm BST
Ryan Moore reaches the turn in 30! He birdies 9, having whistled his approach to six feet. That’s his sixth of the day. So the wind’s up a bit, and the pins have been tucked away in the trickiest positions possible, but that isn’t necessarily going to be a barrier to low scoring. Moore’s shown the way. He’s -4 overall right now, having sprung halfway up the leaderboard and into the top 30. The local lad Steve Stricker has started well, too, with birdies at 2 and 3. He joins Moore at -4. Already there’s an atmosphere of anticipation bubbling up at Whistling Straits, and it’s still over three hours until Day and Spieth tee off!
4.35pm BST
No amateur players in the PGA Championship of course. But it is a week when the club professionals get rewarded for their work. Twenty places are set aside for the men who don’t let their real feelings show on the range when they’re looking at our sorry swings. These people really earn their money. Only one of them made it to the weekend: Brian Gaffney of Quaker Ridge Golf Club, where George Gershwin (handicap 10) was once a member. He shot a superlative 71 on the Thursday, and a steady 73 on Friday ensured he survived the cut. Congratulations to him. Anything after that is a bonus, I guess, though he’d have been disappointed with his 78 yesterday. But thanks to the antics of the aforementioned JJ Henry, as well as Carl Pettersson, who came so close in 2012 only to be undone by a leaf in a lateral hazard and Rory McIlroy, in that order, he’s on course to avoid bottom position. He’s level par for his round today through 13 holes, and at +6 a shot ahead of Pettersson and three clear of Henry. With apologies to Pettersson and Henry, here’s hoping Gaffney finishes above them. They’re touring pros, they can take it.
4.20pm BST
Some other early scoring to give the leaders succour as their nerves eat away at their clubhouse serenity. Kevin Chappell has reached the turn in 33 strokes, as has Troy Merritt. Kevin Streelman is two under for his round through 7. It’s not quite going to plan for 40-year-old US journeyman JJ Henry, mind you. He reached the turn in 42, having carded four bogeys and a double, having visited the water at the par-five 5th. He props up the entire field at +9.
4.10pm BST
The main prize up for grabs today is, obviously, Rodman Wanamaker’s famous outsized pot. But it’s not the only thing up for grabs today. Jordan Spieth could depose Rory McIlroy as world number one. To make sure of doing that, he needs to win. If Spieth lifts the Wanamaker Trophy over his head - and please be careful when doing that - Rory can only deny him No1 status by coming second all on his own. As he’s tied for 17th right now, nine behind the leader, that seems unlikely. A Spieth win would almost certainly do it. If Spieth comes second on his own, he’ll need McIlroy to finish outside the top six. If Spieth ties for second with one other player, he’ll need McIlroy to finish outside the top 13. And if there’s a three-way tie for second, McIlroy would need to finish outside the top 33. It’s just possible I’ll forget all of this during the heat of battle, and let’s be honest, the PGA Championship’s the important thing here. We can all talk rankings tomorrow morning. But it’d be remiss of me to ignore this situation altogether. So there it is.
4.00pm BST
So here’s what the players clap eyes on when they reach the first tee. It’s the Wanamaker Trophy. Look at the size of it! Imagine filling the thing with champagne or, as the heroic Jason Dufner did upon winning in 2013, 49¢ tacos from Taco Bell.
3.00pm BST
Has there ever been a more exciting Moving Day in the recent history of the majors? Yesterday’s play was joyously dramatic. Jason Day shot 66. Jordan Spieth and Martin Kaymer shot 65s. Branden Grace shot a 64. Justin Rose and Tony Finau stood firm in the birdie whirlwind and shot 68 and 69 respectively, rounds that in normal circumstances would be heralded for their sheer brilliance. Rose played one shot with his shoes and socks off, standing in the water. Matt Jones creamed one greenside from the carpet of a beer tent. It had everything. No, there’s never been a more exciting Moving Day in the recent history of the majors.
There’s a fair chance we’re going to get a final round to match. The 97th PGA Championship has been mesmeric from the get-go, and there’s no reason to suspect holes 55 through 72 will be any different. For a start, history could be made today. If the relentless genius Jordan Spieth adds the PGA to the Masters and US Open titles he’s won this season, he’ll become the first player in history to land all three US-based majors in the same calendar year. He’ll also join Ben Hogan and Tiger Woods in a super-elite club of players to land three majors in one season. Not bad company. And to think he was a turn of the ball away from making the play-off at the Open Championship too. Holy snap hooks!
Continue reading...August 15, 2015
US PGA Championship 2015 – day three!
Email scott.murray@theguardian.com with any thoughts
3.30pm BST
Here are the tee times for today’s delayed third round ...
9.15am CDT (3.15pm BST): Morgan Hoffmann
9.24am CDT (3.24pm BST): Keegan Bradley, Carl Pettersson
9.33am CDT (3.33pm BST): Nick Taylor, Victor Dubuisson
9.42am CDT (3.42pm BST): Nick Watney, Jason Dufner
9.51am CDT (3.51pm BST): JJ Henry, Koumei Oda
10am CDT (4pm BST): Marc Warren, Tyrrell Hatton
10.09am CDT (4.09pm BST): Mikko Ilonen, Danny Lee
10.18am CDT (4.18pm BST): Boo Weekley, Bill Haas
10.27am CDT (4.27pm BST): Phil Mickelson, Jason Bohn
10.36am CDT (4.36pm BST): Lee Westwood, Francesco Molinari
10.45am CDT (4.45pm BST): Thomas Bjorn, Vijay Singh
10.54am CDT (4.54pm BST): Brian Gaffney, Chesson Hadley
11.03am CDT (5.03pm BST): Troy Merritt, Danny Willett
11.12am CDT (5.12pm BST): Patrick Reed, Kevin Streelman
11.21am CDT (5.21pm BST): Rickie Fowler, Kiradech Aphibarnrat
11.30am CDT (5.30pm BST): Bubba Watson, Jim Furyk
11.39am CDT (5.39pm BST): Louis Oosthuizen, Ryan Moore
11.48am CDT (5.48pm BST): Sergio Garcia, James Morrison
11.57am CDT (5.57pm BST): Sangmoon Bae, Robert Streeb
12.06pm CDT (6.06pm BST): Brendon de Jonge, Steve Stricker
12.15pm CDT (6.15pm BST): Emiliano Grillo, Sean O’Hair
12.24pm CDT (6.24pm BST): Charl Schwartzel, Ernie Els
12.33pm CDT (6.33pm BST): Brooks Koepka, Rory McIlroy
12.42pm CDT (6.42pm BST): Luke Donald, Henrik Stenson
12.51pm CDT (6.51pm BST): Webb Simpson, Cameron Smith
1pm CDT (7pm BST): YE Yang, Justin Thomas
1.09pm CDT (7.09pm BST): Kevin Chappell, Brandt Snedeker
1.27pm CDT (7.27pm BST): Martin Kaymer, Branden Grace
1.36pm CDT (7.36pm BST): Paul Casey, Hunter Mahan
1.45pm CDT (7.45pm BST): Charles Howell III, Matt Kuchar
1.54pm CDT (7.54pm BST): Marcel Siem, Hideki Matsuyama
2.03pm CDT (8.03pm BST): Hiroshi Iwata, Billy Horschel
2.12pm CDT (8.12pm BST): Dustin Johnson, JB Holmes
2.21pm CDT (8.21pm BST): Russell Henley, Harris English
2.30pm CDT (8.30pm BST): Brendan Steele, George Coetzee
2.39pm CDT (8.39pm BST): Jordan Spieth, Scott Piercy
2.48pm CDT (8.48pm BST): Tony Finau, Anirban Lahiri
2.57pm CDT (8.57pm BST): Justin Rose, David Lingmerth
3.06pm CDT (9.06pm BST): Matt Jones, Jason Day
3.13pm BST
And while we’re wrapping things up from the second round, here’s a selected list of big names joining Tiger Woods on the bus home, having also missed the cut: the current Open champion Zach Johnson; former PGA champs Shaun Micheel, Padraig Harrington, Rich Beem, Davis Love III, David Toms, John Daly and Mark Brooks; last week’s WGC-Bridgestone winner Shane Lowry; the 2010 US Open champ Graeme McDowell; the 2006 US Open champ Geoff Ogilvy; the 2013 Masters champion Adam Scott, anchoring his long putter for the very last time; the 2011 Open champion Darren Clarke; and Ian Poulter. “Perhaps Tiger could use the services of Stan the Caddy (in the spirit of Seinfeld, you know...),” suggests Steve Buist. Perhaps, though remember his advice scuppered Kramer’s lawsuit against Sue Ellen Mischke, much to the displeasure of his eternally put-upon attorney Jackie Chiles. But Tiger does need to make some changes. His performances in the majors recently have been outrageous, egregious, preposterous.
3.06pm BST
Justin Rose, who came close to the WGC-Bridgestone last week, is clearly in form. Tucked in behind the leading Aussie duo in third spot, he made sure of his 67 this morning by getting up and down from the best part of 90 feet on 18 to par the only hole he had to play. He’s -8. Going the wrong way this morning: Russell Henley, who bogeyed 9 and dropped to -5; JB Holmes, who bogeyed 8 and finishes at -5; and Harris English, who is also at -5 after dropping shots at 7 and 8.
2.56pm BST
Jason Day came out this morning holding a share of the lead, and quickly grabbed it all to himself with birdie at 16. But he three-putted from distance on the Dyeabolical 18th, settling for a fine 67 to go with the 68 he shot on Thursday. He’s -9, but that’s not good enough for the lead at the halfway stage, because his compatriot Matt Jones carded birdies at 6 and 8, signing for a 65 that has only been equalled this week by George Coetzee, and bettered by Hiroshi Iwata with his record-equalling 63. Jones, at 35 and with no real record in the majors to speak of, is something of a journeyman. But he’s had a decent-enough season on tour, with a couple of third-place finishes to his name, and won his maiden tour event last year at the Shell Houston Open. A late bloomer, it’s fair to say. He’s come good early on in this tournament, though. Here’s how the leaders stand at the 36-hole mark:
-11: Jones
-9: Day
-8: Rose
-7: Lingmerth, Finau, Lahiri
-6: Spieth, Piercy, Steele
-5: Coetzee, Henley, English, D Johnson, Holmes
-4: Iwata, Horschel, Siem, Matsuyama, Howell III, Kuchar, Casey, Mahan, Kaymer, Grace
2.47pm BST
As for the business end of the leaderboard? The big stories of the morning concerned Anirban Lahiri, Tony Finau, Jason Day and Matt Jones. Lahiri first. The 28-year-old Indian has been making a name for himself this season, with decent showings at the Masters and particularly the Open. He goes again here. Three birdies in a row, at 5, 6 and 7, propelled him up the leaderboard to -7, where he finished after signing his name at the bottom of a 67. Finau, meanwhile, a superstar in the making, had been going great guns yesterday. Six under for his round when the klaxon went, he came out this morning and birdied 8 too. But a three-putt bogey at 9 saw him sign for a 66. He’s -7 for the tournament, too, in a tie for fourth at the halfway mark with Lahiri and David Lingmerth. A mighty impressive trio there, all threatening to make the breakthrough this weekend. As for the aforementioned Australians ...
2.41pm BST
So Tiger made it to the weekend after all. He’d got yesterday’s storm to thank for his Saturday involvement. But that involvement was destined to be brief. He was last spotted yesterday evening down the back of 14, with a face on, marking his ball as the weather klaxon went off. He couldn’t get up and down, and the bogey dropped him back to +5. Birdie at 17 was never going to be enough to save him, with the cut sending those at +3 or worse off home. That’s three missed major-tournament cuts in a row. Uncharted waters for Tiger. The only way is up in 2016.
2.33pm BST
Some storm tearing across Whistling Straits yesterday afternoon, huh. Such a shame the second day came to a close prematurely, before all second-round business had been completed. Still, the golf that did get played was something else. Hiroshi Iwata’s 63, for a start. The first 63 at a major since Jason Dufner carded one at this event two years ago, and only the 27th since Johnny Miller first managed it at the US Open in 1973. Iwata is the 25th name on an elite list - Greg Norman and Vijay Singh both did it twice - and only the second Japanese player to card one after Isao Aoki.
Then there was David Lingmerth’s absurd two-under 70: eight birdies, four bogeys, a double bogey and just five pars. Not to mention some serious charges up the leaderboard by Jordan Spieth, George Coetzee, Henrik Stenson, Tony Finau, Justin Rose, Matt Jones and Jason Day. All that already, plus another hour or two’s worth of second-round action this morning before Moving Day begins in earnest.
Continue reading...August 14, 2015
US PGA Championship 2015: second round – live!
2.52pm BST
Spieth can only flash the ball straight past the flag and up against the collar on the left-hand side of the green. He’s facing a 25-footer with huge right-to-left break over a bank for his par. Good line, but he doesn’t hit it. He’ll drop back to -1. Rory’s putt from the fringe at the front is always breaking left, but the pace is decent and that’s another par. Finally the man of the moment: Zach Johnson strokes his birdie putt into the left-hand side of the cup. A third birdie in a row! And suddenly, at level par, he’s only one shot behind his playing partners - and six behind his namesake Dustin. But seven off the lead, because ...
2.45pm BST
Par for the co-leader Lingmerth at 2. He remains at -6 alongside Dustin, who goes out this afternoon. Lingmerth’s playing partner Sangmoon Bae sinks a 30-foot eagle putt, and he’s suddenly -3. Up on 12, a stroke of luck for Spieth, who pushes his 9-iron dangerously close to the OB by the cliffs on the right. His ball stays in the bunker. Rory finds the front right of the par-three green, though he was flirting with trouble down that side too. Zach Johnson, on the other hand, is on fire: he lands his tee shot pretty much pin high, on the bank to the left of the green, his ball kicking onto the putting surface and resting eight feet from the flag. Three birdies in a row? He’s got a chance. This is a blistering start by the Open champion.
2.40pm BST
Rory can only land his ball onto the fringe from up the bank. He teases a little chip to a couple of feet, the ball never looking like dropping for birdie. So that’s a par. He stays at -1. Spieth races a chip out from the rough to the side of the green and clatters his ball into the flagstick. It’s going at some pace, though, and races 20 feet past the flag. But it’s a straight putt coming back, and it’s slotted away without fuss. He’s -2. Johnson rolls his 15-footer straight into the cup. Never missing. No messing. That’s a birdie-birdie start. He’s +1, and inside the cut line already. A fast start by the two American double-major winners. Rory still needs to find a little something. Meanwhile George Coetzee of South Africa is off to a flyer: birdies at 1, 2 and 5, and he’s -1 overall. His compatriot Brendon de Jonge has started well, with birdies at 12 and 14; he’s -2 for his round, and for the championship. YE Yang drops a shot at 4; he’s -2 again.
2.31pm BST
Spieth sends his second way left, onto the side of a large tufty hill running down the hole. Rory follows him. Spieth’s ball bounds down off the slope and nearly onto the green, but snags in thick rough near the fairway. Rory’s ball stays up on the bank, in slightly less tangled grass. It’s really difficult to know if someone got a lucky break there, or not. Johnson lays up from the rough on the right, then wedges to 15 feet. He’s just off the green, but the flag’s near the left-hand edge, so he’ll at least have a look at birdie. Will Rory or Jordan get a look at one? Much depends on their lies. Chips coming up.
2.27pm BST
But Zach’s big problem yesterday was his driving. It repeatedly got him in all manner of trouble, and once again he’s flaying it into deep bother, this time down the right of the par-five 11th. This hole is a big birdie opportunity, possibly eagle, and he’ll not be reaching in two from there. Rory’s big boomer drifts into the first cut down the left, but he’ll be OK from there. And finally Spieth, who yesterday, and rather magnificently, exclaimed “Holy snap hooks!” while winging a tee shot into nonsense. Very possibly the nicest and sweetest tantrum in the history of professional sport. Today he screams something which to the untutored British ear sounds a bit like a more earthy “Jesus!” but in fact on second hearing was almost certainly “Be good!” The ball obeyed. He’s right by Rory. Spieth is brilliant at finding fault with his tee shots milliseconds after making contact, only for the ball to nestle just by the hole, or in the middle of the fairway. High standards, huh. He’s not putting up with nonsense.
2.19pm BST
The best wedge into 10: Zach Johnson’s. He’s got the benefit of being a little shorter from the tee than the other two lads, and so can get a little bit more spin on the ball. More control. He’s not super-close - 12 feet from the hole - but the first approaches of the day by the world numbers one and two are distinctly average by comparison. They have to make to with two-putt pars from 20 feet, and remain at -1. But Johnson sinks his birdie putt, and his bid to escape the cut starts perfectly: he’s +2. Though all of this is kind of by the by right now, as here’s the big early news: David Lingmerth sinks a 25-footer on the 1st, and joins Dustin in the lead.
-6: Lingmerth (1), D Johnson
-4: Henley, Kuchar, English, Holmes, Day, Lee, Jones, Piercy
-3: Yang (3), Steele, Bjorn, Morrison, Rose
2.10pm BST
The morning marquee group is out. Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth and Zach Johnson start out at 10. McIlroy up first, and he belts a fairway wood down the track. Then it’s Spieth, who does exactly the same. And finally the Champion Golfer of the Year, Zach ‘Not Dustin’ Johnson. He makes it three perfect tee shots out of three. Johnson needs to shoot something low today. A three-over 75 yesterday wasn’t good enough. It certainly wasn’t good enough with the cut in mind: right now that’s sending those at +2 and over back home. Other big names in danger as things stand: Geoff Ogilvy, Danny Willett, Kevin Na, Ian Poulter, Adam Scott, Henrik Stenson, Kevin Kisner, Keegan Bradley, Camilo Villegas, Padraig Harrington, Miguel Angel Jimenez, Shane Lowry and of course Tiger.
2.00pm BST
Here we go, then. Another hot day in Wisconsin, with temperatures up to 90 degrees, humidity rising, and a chance of thunderstorms during the afternoon matches. Which doesn’t sound great, but we were promised a few peals and crackles of the dangerous stuff yesterday, and nothing materialised. So here’s hoping. The early scoring seems to suggest that, like yesterday, there are shots out there to be picked up in the morning. The 2009 winner YE Yang, fresh off his 70 yesterday, has birdied the opening hole: he’s -3 overall. Steve Stricker began with birdies at 10 and 11 before dropping a shot at 12; he’s -2. Justin Thomas eagled 11 to move to -2. The 2012 US Open champ Webb Simpson follows yesterday’s 71 with a birdie at 10; he’s -2. And the hottest property out there right now is Koumei Oda, with birdies at 10, 12 and 13. How he’ll be ruing yesterday’s 79, huh.
1.30pm BST
David Lingmerth is quickly building something of a reputation as a fast starter. Last month, he played the first nine holes of this year’s Open Championship in 29 strokes. Then yesterday, he played the first nine holes of his PGA bid in 31. This is not normal behaviour. Out in the high winds of the afternoon, the 28-year-old Swede’s eventual 67 was unquestionably the performance of the first day. Dustin Johnson, who leads having shot 66, may demur. But he was out in the benign early conditions, so that’s the way it surely is.
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