Rob Smyth's Blog, page 152

Women's Ashes second ODI: Australia beat England by 75 runs (D/L) – as it happened

The captain Rachael Haynes struck an outrageous 89 not out to inspire Australia to a big victory over England in the second ODI

12.51pm BST

12.12pm BST

That was a thumping win for Australia, inspired by an outrageous innings of 89 not out from 56 balls from the captain Rachael Haynes. There were also fifties for Ellyse Perry, Nicole Bolton and Alyssa Healy, and then Megan Schutt bowled superbly to take four for 22 and undermine England’s run chase.

England have three problems - batting, bowling and fielding; thanks Martin Johnson -and surely need to win here on Sunday if they are to have a realistic chance of regaining the Ashes. Thanks for your company, bye!

12.10pm BST

WICKET! England 209 all out (Ecclestone c Blackwell b Beams 3) It’s all over. Ecclestone slog sweeps Beams high in the air, and Blackwell takes the catch. Australia lead 2-0 in the ODIs and 4-0 in the Ashes!

12.08pm BST

42nd over: England 209-9 (Ecclestone 3, Hartley 0)

12.06pm BST

Nine down, one to go. Shrubsole clouts Jonassen towards long on, where Elyse Villani takes a fine running catch.

12.04pm BST

41st over: England 207-8 (Shrubsole 21, Ecclestone 1) Shrubsole hits consecutive boundaries off Beams, the second a beautiful strike over extra cover. SHe has 21 from 13 balls.

12.01pm BST

Jenny Gunn goes too far across and is bowled by Kristen Beams. Australia are two wickets away from a big victory.

11.56am BST

39th over: England 191-7 (Gunn 7, Shrubsole 8)

11.53am BST

38th over: England 186-7 (Gunn 6, Shrubsole 4) It’s a long way back from 4-0 down for England, especially as Australia only need to draw the series to retain the Ashes.

11.51am BST

Game over! Megan Schutt gets her fourth wicket when Brunt walks across her stumps and misses an attempted ramp shot.

11.48am BST

37th over: England 180-6 (Brunt 50, Gunn 6) Brunt reverse heaves Jonassen for four, and a swept single takes her to a maiden ODI fifty from 50 balls. It’d been an admirably defiant innings, though it is likely to be in vain.

11.46am BST

36th over: England 175-6 (Brunt 45, Gunn 6) Brunt muscles Schutt just over the leaping Haynes at extra cover, and a single takes her level with her highest ODI score, that crucial unbeaten 45 against Australia at the World Cup. England need 110 from 10 overs. Arf!

11.42am BST

35th over: England 171-6 (Brunt 42, Gunn 5) Gunn crashes Jonassen through the covers for four to get off the mark, and then Brunt sweeps six behind square. She is going down fighting, having made 42 not out from 42 balls.

11.39am BST

34th over: England 159-6 (Brunt 35, Gunn 0) That was the last ball of the over.

11.38am BST

Ellyse Perry may be banned from bowling but she has played her part in the field with a superb running catch. Wilson lifted Schutt high into the leg side, and Perry charged in from deep midwicket to take a beautifully judged low catch. She fields with such unobtrusive brilliance.

11.34am BST

33rd over: England 157-5 (Wilson 36, Brunt 35) Wilson’s chipper innings continues when she nails a reverse sweep for four off Beams. England need 128 from 13 overs, the next five of which will form the batting powerplay.

11.31am BST

32nd over: England 149-5 (Wilson 31, Brunt 32) In isolation this has been a really good partnership of 58 in 11 overs, but in context it isn’t enough. In other news, it turns out Ellyse Perry was unforunate to be taking out of the attack. The playing regulations for the women’s championship are slightly different to the laws, and suggest a bowler should only be taken out of the attack if, in the opinion of the umpire, the beamer was likely to inflict physical injury. As Perry’s second beamer was very wide, that probably wasn’t the case. Oh well, it’s not going to affect the result.

11.24am BST

31st over: England 144-5 (Wilson 30, Brunt 28) A big LBW appeal from Beams against Brunt is turned down. It might have been missing leg.

“Hey,” says Don. “Why are youse scoring in Pommie fashion. It should be wickets then runs not runs then wickets. Geez.”

11.18am BST

30th over: England 136-5 (Wilson 24, Brunt 26) Tahlia McGrath returns to the attack and restricts England to five singles. That’s more than good enough for Australia, who have been very impressive in this match.

11.15am BST

29th over: England 131-5 (Wilson 21, Brunt 24) Wilson and particularly Brunt are full of attacking intent but they can’t just get after the spinners. Another economical over from Beams leaves England need 154 from 17 overs. Slim just left town.

“Oi,” says Ravi Nair. “You can have my ‘gun bowlers’ when you pry them out of my cold, dead hands.”

11.11am BST

28th over: England 128-5 (Wilson 19, Brunt 23) Wilson survives an appeal for caught behind after making a mess of a reverse sweep off Jonassen. At first it looked like she gloved it up in the air but replays showed it hit her on the arm. The required rate has zoomed up to 8.72 per over.

11.08am BST

27th over: England 125-5 (Wilson 15, Brunt 23) Rachael Haynes mades a like-for-like, leggie-for-leggie change, with Beams replacing Wellington. Just three from the over, which is not enough. England’s chase is petering out. It’s dying on the vine.

“Both teams’ gun bowlers are proving to be much more valuable with the bat, this match,” says Ravi Nair.

11.04am BST

26th over: England 122-5 (Wilson 14, Brunt 22) Wilson, aiming to leg, slices Jonassen not far short of Perry at short third man. England essentially need to drive at 120mph without any risk to their own safety. Good luck with that.

11.01am BST

25th over: England 119-5 (Wilson 12, Brunt 21) Brunt is batting forcefully, as if affronted by the match situation. She dances down to drive Wellington over mid-on for four, a really good stroke, and flogs a low full toss for four off the next ball as well.

10.59am BST

24th over: England 111-5 (Wilson 12, Brunt 13) Just three from a good over by Jonassen. England need 184 from 22 overs.

10.55am BST

23rd over: England 108-5 (Wilson 11, Brunt 11) It’s hard to see how England can get out of this. They have some good lower-order hitters - as Brunt reminds us with a defiant swipe over mid-on for four - but asking them to score at eight an over for almost 25 overs is probably pushing it. Rachael Haynes’ spectacular innings earlier in the day has surely won this match for Australia.

10.51am BST

22nd over: England 101-5 (Wilson 10, Brunt 5) Replays show Heather Knight got an under-edge when she was given out LBW, which explains why she was so aggrieved. It was pretty hard to spot and, although you can understand Knight’s disappointment, her reaction was unusually petulant.

10.49am BST

21st over: England 91-5 (Wilson 5, Brunt 0) It was definitely the decision that Knight was aggrieved about. When she was given out she looked down at the umpire as if to say “Really?” I still think it looked out, certainly in a post-DRS world.

“Greetings, Rob,” says Richard Woods. “c Healy b McGrath is just about as scary evocative as it gets, don’t you think?”

10.46am BST

This is turning into a rout. Heather Knight tries to sweep Wellington, misses and is given out LBW. She shakes her head as she walks off the field, though I’m not sure whether that’s because of the decision or the shot. It looked pretty plumb, in truth.

10.44am BST

20th over: England 86-4 (Knight 35, Wilson 1) Australia are surely going to go 4-0 ahead in the series. They only need eight points to regain the Ashes. This series could become one beautiful anticlimax for Australian players and fans.

10.42am BST

Jess Jonassen is on, with instructions to continue the steady asphyxiation of England’s hopes and dreams. And she has struck with her fifth ball! Nat Sciver tried to go down the ground but dragged straight to mid-on. That’s a huge wicket, because Sciver’s power was England’s main hope of victory.

10.37am BST

19th over: England 80-3 (Knight 34, Sciver 1) Sciver survives an LBW appeal when she bottom-edges an attempted sweep onto the pad. England have a troublingly good view from the precipice; they need 205 from 27 overs.

10.34am BST

18th over: England 77-3 (Knight 32, Sciver 0) Nat Sciver is in at No5.

10.33am BST

That’s a huge breakthrough! Tahlia McGrath takes her first wicket for Australia thanks to a great catch from Alyssa Healy. Taylor tried to glide the ball to third man and got a slight deflection that was beautifully held by Healy standing up to the stumps.

10.30am BST

17th over: England 73-2 (Taylor 24, Knight 30) Knight survives a big LBW appeal when she tries to lap Wellington. The umpire got the right answer with the wrong working: the run was given as leg byes, though replays showed Knight got a bottom-edge. That’s an excellent over from Wellington, who is giving it plenty of air and getting enough turn to worry England.

10.27am BST

16th over: England 69-2 (Taylor 23, Knight 29) Knight and Taylor are playing nicely but it feels like something will have to give pretty soon - especially as McGrath, who replaced Ellyse Perry, has been thriftily effective with her wicket-to-wicket medium-pace.

10.24am BST

15th over: England 67-2 (Taylor 22, Knight 28) Here comes Amanda-Jade Wellington, the brilliant young legspinner. It’ll be interesting to see if England dare to go after her. They don’t have much chouce with a required rate of seven an over. Knight makes a good start, belting a low full toss behind square on the leg side for four.

10.21am BST

14th over: England 58-2 (Taylor 21, Knight 21) “Perry’s own fault in my opinion,” says Rob Walker. “She knows the rules, she should make sure the ball is dry and her hand is dry after the first one and then it doesn’t happen.”

10.19am BST

13th over: England 54-2 (Taylor 20, Knight 18) Sarah Taylor survives a spandex-tight runout referral. It was incredibly close; the third umpire must have looked at that 20 or 30 times. Knight tried to steal a single after a misfield at mid-on, and Wellington collected the loose ball before throwing to the striker’s end. Taylor, who was originally slow to react, just got her bat down in time.

10.12am BST

12th over: England 50-2 (Taylor 18, Knight 17) Knight clips McGrath classily through midwicket for a couple. They might have got three there as the ball was only just stopped on the boundary edge by the sliding Bolton.

“Hi Rob,” says Vinny Raghavan. “The umpires don’t have any discretion with beamer laws. If they deem it deliberate they have to suspend the bowler immediately. If not deliberate then they have to suspend after the second occurrence.”

10.10am BST

11th over: England 46-2 (Taylor 17, Knight 13) The legspinner Kristen Beams comes into the attack. Her first over is a good one, with no trouble gripping the ball, and Taylor is lucky to survive when she misses a ramp stroke and the ball zips just past the off stump. She might have been out stumping, too, with the ball ricocheting off Healy onto the stumps. Taylor had her back foot in the air for a split-second but it was grounded by the time the bails were broken.

10.06am BST

10th over: England 42-2 (Taylor 16, Knight 10) After her dramatic introduction, McGrath has started to settle into her work. Just three runs from a good over. The required rate has already risen to 6.75 per over.

10.05am BST

9th over: England 39-2 (Taylor 15, Knight 8) Schutt has bowled a high-class new-ball spell, mixing big inswingers with skiddy tempters outside off stump.

“It is my contention that Sarah Taylor’s cheeky grin, along with Ian Bell’s cover drive (or Taylor’s too, for that matter), needs to be declared by the UN to be a Monument of Outstanding Cultural Significance, and preserved forever,” says Ravi Nair. “It makes you feel about 10 degrees happier just to see it.”

9.58am BST

8th over: England 36-2 (Taylor 13, Knight 7) Knight drags McGrath assertively through midwicket for four. That Ellyse Perry controversy seems to have given England a bit of impetus, though they still have a huge job on: they need 249 from 38 overs.

9.56am BST

7th over: England 31-2 (Taylor 13, Knight 2) Rachael Haynes is not happy with that decision and you can understand why. The ball is pretty wet and that’s why the two full tosses slipped out. I have precisely no idea how much flexibility the law allows the umpire in this situation.

“Evening Rob,” says Phil Withall. “I’m a simple soul and try not to avoid things that cause me unnecessary confusion. Would you be so kind as to explain why England’s target was reduced by three runs an over when the required rate was so much more? I get the concept that the scoring rate tends to increase as the innings progresses but I prefer my more simplistic methods. (This may be redundant now but took me ages to type due to a badly cut thumb and predictive correction delaying the process).”

9.53am BST

6th over: England 30-2 (Taylor 13, Knight 1) Ellyse Perry has been taken out of the attack by the umpire Claire Polosak. She bowled consecutive beamers to Knight, a consequence of the wet ball, but the umpire Claire Polosak applied the law rigidly and Perry cannot bowl again in the innings. That feels pretty harsh. Tahlia McGrath completes the over, with Taylor swiping a free hit to long on for four. Australia have a problem now, especially as they have two leg-spinners and a wet ball.

9.46am BST

5th over: England 20-2 (Taylor 6, Knight 0) The new

batter batsman
person is the captain Heather Knight.

9.45am BST

Another one for Megan Schutt! That was pretty similar to Lauren Winfield’s dismissal, a big inswinger that pinned Tammy Beaumont in front as she tried to work it across the line. England are in the malodorous stuff and no mistake.

9.41am BST

4th over: England 18-1 (Beaumont 8, Taylor 5) Beaumont gets the first boundary of the innings, cuffing an excellent pull stroke off the last ball of the over. That tarnished what had been a fine over from Perry.

9.36am BST

3rd over: England 10-1 (Beaumont 1, Taylor 5) Megan Schutt bowls the last two deliveries of the over she started before the rain. Nothing happens. Nothing.

9.35am BST

Play is about to resume. England have a revised target of 285 from 46 overs.

9.29am BST

“Batter?” sniffs Huw Swanborough. “Batsman is the term I believe. Batter is reserved for fish and Americans.”

Unsubscribe.

9.25am BST

Since the start of 2014 Ellyse Perry has scored 1834 ODI runs at an average of 83.36 runs per dismissal. #WomensAshes

9.22am BST

This should only be a short delay. Geoff Lemon, who is at the ground, says it has almost cleared. The umpires are out in the middle and the groundstaff are poised for action.

9.18am BST

“The lightning in the background makes it look as though Thor is going to land in the middle of the pitch any second now,” says Ravi Nair. “(If so, of course, he should be red carded because the man has no respect for lawns.) More importantly in these ‘epic’ conditions, any chance of Beaumont and Taylor repeating this? No hope otherwise, I think.”

When the only hope is a tenuous precedent, you know you’re in trouble. I agree though; England’s best hope is the weather, because if Australia go 4-0 ahead they will take some catching.

9.15am BST

2.4 overs: England 10-1 (Beaumont 1, Taylor 5) Taylor drives Schutt nicely through extra cover for three before Beaumont gets off the mark with a single from her ninth delivery. Ach, and now it’s raining again.

9.11am BST

2nd over: England 5-1 (Beaumont 0, Taylor 2) Ellyse Perry, having scored the usual half-century, will take the new ball. She starts with a wide, though it wasn’t far from Taylor’s outside edge, and then Beaumont survives a huge LBW shout. I suspect it was just sliding down. There’s no DRS, so the umpire’s word is gospel. Beaumont is struggling to time it at the start of her innings; she has nought from seven balls.

9.05am BST

1st over: England 3-1 (Beaumont 0, Taylor 1) The new batter is the little genius, Sarah Taylor. England are in some trouble, in both the match and the series. That’s an excellent start from Schutt.

9.03am BST

No overs have been lost, despite the rain, so England still need 297 from 50 overs. And they are already in trouble! Lauren Winfield has gone third ball for two, whipping around her front pad at a big inswinger from Megan Schutt. That was plumb LBW.

8.49am BST

Play will restart at 7pm (9am BST). Hurrah!

8.46am BST

The umpires are inspecting as I type. Geoff tells me the groundstaff have cleared a lot of water off the covers, but the drainage is apparently pretty good.

Pretty, pretty good.

8.40am BST

Some news is good news: the umpires hope play will resume within the next half hour or so.

8.31am BST

The weather is looking a bit better. Scratch that, it’s looking a lot better. The sun has re-emerged and the groundstaff are going to work.

8.30am BST

Alex Hails. pic.twitter.com/Ctj32eWWRe

8.17am BST

Thanks Geoff, hello folks. For the last hour or so I’ve been wondering whether Rachael Haynes has ever batted better. What an eejit. Instead of ranking and rating her innings, I should have been enjoying and experiencing a mini-masterpiece of imagination, mischief, selflessness and clean hitting: 89 not out from 56 balls, with nine fours and three sixes. It was spectacular.

Eighty-nine is the magic number for Australia today; that’s also how many runs they smashed off the last nine overs of the innings to turn a good score into a formidable one. England’s target is 297, which would be the highest successful run-chase in women’s ODI history. Their best hope might be the weather: some malevolent clouds have gathered over the ground and, as Geoff said, it has started raining.

8.14am BST

Well, what a knock from the new Australian captain. Haynes said she was nervous in the first game, and she came in at a difficult time, needing to steady things with a conservative knock. Today, having settled, she expressed herself. Hits all around the ground, some creative strokeplay, some classical shots, and luck in the form of that dropped catch only came at the end of her innings.

But a pretty even contribution across the board as well, with fifties to Healy, Perry, and Bolton, the latter the anchor and the others at a quick rate.

8.13am BST

The scene at Coffs Harbour.

Sunshine, lights, apocalypse skies, and a slight rainbow. Welcome to Australia. #WomensAshes pic.twitter.com/LhgLkYNkfm

8.00am BST

50th over: Australia 296-6 (Haynes 89, Wellington 0)

Amanda Wellington comes to the middle, but McGrath had already crossed to get Haynes on strike. One ball to go. All she can do is watch and run. Haynes to finish it off drives down the ground hard for two more runs, sneaking back in despite a third-umpire review. She deserves the red ink today, after one hell of an innings, and she ends up on 89 not out.

7.57am BST

Tahlia McGrath emerging with four balls to go. She didn’t get going the other day in Brisbane, so it’s interesting they’ve sent her out here. Perhaps thinking that it doesn’t matter at this stage off the innings, but they may as well give her the confidence by not bumping her. It doesn’t work, any rate, as she sweeps and top edges down to backward square and a sliding Hartley.

7.54am BST

No surprises at this stage - a big slog and a top edge.

7.54am BST

49th over: Australia 291-4 (Haynes 85, Blackwell 8)

Shrubsole bowling the second-last. Good tight death bowling from the attack leader, giving up just a single each ball. Just slows that charge a touch.

7.53am BST

48th over: Australia 285-4 (Haynes 82, Blackwell 5)

She can’t be stopped. Gunn the bowler, Haynes lifts the ball over mid-off for yet another boundary. Blackwell finally gets strike, and slices another over cover. Fran Wilson was belting around hoping for a catch, but that ball kept tailing away from her in the air. Another dozen from the over.

7.48am BST

47th over: Australia 273-4 (Haynes 75, Blackwell 1)

More like Rachael Pains. That’s what England have, as they drop another catch. Brunt the bowler, Haynes flicks off her pads high in the air to the midwicket fence. Beaumont is under the steepling catch, but somehow let’s it through her hands. Not just dropped, but it rolls back for four runs.

7.42am BST

46th over: Australia 252-4 (Haynes 52, Blackwell 1)

Jenny Gunn: 8 overs, 2 for 37. Been important today, even if she’s flinching like a Labrador every time the sky speaks.

7.40am BST

Finally, England get their breakthrough. Gunn bowls super wide of off, Perry was already advancing looking to attack, but didn’t bank on the line of the ball. She had a doomed attempt at making some contact with the bat, but Taylor was well positioned outside the sticks, and had the bails off in one smooth movement. I’ll bet that was a plan from bowler and keeper - Taylor was well wide of the sticks, but she still had the wicket broken before Perry had even turned around.

7.36am BST

45th over: Australia 246-3 (Perry 66, Haynes 51)

More thunder, this one rolling back and forth like a full rack of billiard balls. More Katherine Brunt. Haynes has a wild swipe and misses it, and Taylor makes another brilliant take. She’s keeping up to the stumps to England’s fastest bowler. Haynes and Perry trade singles, then Haynes is able to round out a counter-attacking 50 from 35 balls.

7.31am BST

44th over: Australia 241-3 (Perry 64, Haynes 48)

Another one in the slot for the Pez dispenser! Jenny Gunn bowls just outside off. Perry shuffles forward and makes it a half-volley, then gives it everything she’s got down the ground. Long-on is back, but Winfield doesn’t have a stepladder. There’s thunder rumbling in the hills, and other ominous signs for England. “Jenny Gunn is actually really scared of thunderstorms,” says Lisa Sthalekar on ABC radio. “The non-striker should be asking her if she heard that.” Jenny Gunn should be scared of Perry, on this evidence. Another double-figure over for Australia.

7.28am BST

43rd over: Australia 231-3 (Perry 56, Haynes 46)

Haynes tries again, clearing the front leg and giving it everything, but she doesn’t hit it properly. Just as well for the Aussie skipper, as the ball falls short of long-on. Perry does the same in mirror-image, right-hander replacing left. Haynes realises the can’t find the gap straight, so goes a bit more across the line, and hits the gap at midwicket for four. There are two outfielders on that side of the stumps, but space between them. Ok, that’s the spot, says Haynes. Next ball, same direction, but longer and stronger. Six to the coastal side of the ground. What a knock from Haynes. 46 off 30.

7.24am BST

42nd over: Australia 218-3 (Perry 54, Haynes 35)

Ecclestone’s last over. Haynes tries the ramp again, but misses it. Then tries a pull, but plays over the top of it. Slight bottom edge, leaving Taylor no chance as it bashed into her thigh and slipped away between her legs. Enough cute stuff, says Haynes, and thumps a full ball over long-on for six. There’s a catcher back there, but she can only wave to the ball as it goes by. Wide outside off for the next ball, and Haynes stands up tall and plays it off the face behind point. Good over, 11 from it. 48 balls to come.

7.21am BST

41st over: Australia 207-3 (Perry 52, Haynes 26)

Coshed. Shrubsole bowls wide outside the southpaw’s off stump, and Haynes drives it for four. It was very full, she slammed it into the ground, but angled the bat just so, and like Rudyard Kipling’s stories, it worked. England have point and cover, but Haynes split them to the fence.

7.17am BST

40th over: Australia 202-3 (Perry 50, Haynes 22)

A pull shot, a single, and an absolutely freakish set of numbers continues.

7.13am BST

39th over: Australia 195-3 (Perry 48, Haynes 18)

Haynes! She’s come out in a very different vein this game. Sees a shorter length from Brunt, doesn’t rush, waits back and drop-kicks the pull shot over backward square for four.

7.10am BST

38th over: Australia 189-3 (Perry 47, Haynes 13)

Sophie Ecclestone is back, with her left-arm tweak. Perry takes a single to cover. Haynes finds the field, then again. Ecclestone has landed the ball well today, really well. Just a couple of runs from the over.

7.06am BST

37th over: Australia 187-3 (Perry 46, Haynes 12)

Ohhh dear, another simple one for England. Another caught and bowled spurned. Another one that could hurt. This time it’s Brunt, and she’s dropping ... Ellyse Perry. Nearing yet another 50. Perry smashed the drive straight at Brunt, it hit her high up on the hands, but she got both hands to it. Just too slow to respond. Brunt throws her head back in frustration.

7.00am BST

36th over: Australia 178-3 (Perry 41, Haynes 8)

Lovely stuff from Haynes. Left-hander, gets width from Gunn, and opens the face to glide it away through backward point for four. Next ball, it’s fuller but still wide, and she drives that away off the open face. It doesn’t have the speed to reach the fence, but she gets a couple. Then runs a single off the open face. I may have spoken too soon on the Haynes velocitator.

6.57am BST

35th over: Australia 170-3 (Perry 40, Haynes 1)

Pressure on Perry to make the running, given Haynes didn’t exactly fly along in her innings of 30 in the first ODI. Perry backs away from Hartley looking to make room, but Hartley follows her. Perry is able to scoop it over mid-on rather inelegantly, falling away, but gets enough on it to reach the rope.

6.54am BST

34th over: Australia 164-3 (Perry 35)

I’ve said it before - Elyse Villani ain’t a top-order bat. At least not for Australia. Gets a wide ball, has a throw at it, but doesn’t get it cleanly. It rather loops up behind point, and that gives Heather Knight time to move to her left and dive, getting both hands to the ball. Great catch, but that ball shouldn’t have been in the air.

6.50am BST

33rd over: Australia 161-2 (Perry 33, Villani 0)

A good start for Australia, but still plenty of opportunity for England to drag them back with some tidy bowling. The prime slogger Elyse Villani is at the crease. Let’s see what happens.

“@GeoffLemonSport” https://t.co/HtnW2lchc4 By the look of the radar Aus has about 40 minutes left before Coffs gets very wet

You may be in luck, Adam. Radar seems to suggest most of the rain will pass just to the South. pic.twitter.com/cDMj7gPWnn

6.48am BST

She’s started opening up in the last few overs, but that was too open. Just after playing a legitimate switch-hit for a single, Bolton goes way outside her off stump, tries to thump one over the leg side, and loses her leg stump.

6.41am BST

32nd over: Australia 159-1 (Bolton 65, Perry 32)

Bolton is fancying deep midwicket. Thuds Sciver in that direction for four, then tries again for two more. Sciver hits back by thudding a length ball into Bolton’s thigh, but the next shot makes contact for another single worked to the leg side.

6.38am BST

31st over: Australia 151-1 (Bolton 58, Perry 31)

Consider this Bolton making up ground. She steps into Anya Shrubsole and utterly lashes the straight drive back underneath the bowler and straight for four. Powerful shot. This after Perry had chipped a couple of lucky runs over midwicket, trying to bang Shrubsole down the ground. As India found out in the World Cup, she’s not the easiest to blast.

6.35am BST

30th over: Australia 141-1 (Bolton 52, Perry 27)

Sciver back to bowl, and Bolton brings up her fifty with two runs to third man. Taken her 90 balls to get there, she’ll want to make up a bit of ground in the back half.

6.30am BST

29th over: Australia 136-1 (Bolton 48, Perry 26)

A big no-ball to start Shrubsole’s over. Bolton gets a single, so Perry has strike. The field can therefore change. Everyone goes back in the positions straight down the ground. Shrubsole produces a beauty, nails into the pads. Perry glides a run next ball, then Bolton dashes a very quick single to mid-on, complete with a dive. Gets in. Very tidy from Shrubsole, considering the start.

6.26am BST

28th over: Australia 133-1 (Bolton 47, Perry 25)

Sydney Sixer! Perry sees one float up from Ecclestone, leans back a touch, and dumps it waaaay over midwicket onto the hill on the coastal side of the ground. That sailed over the rope, fence, and footpath. There’s a big banner out there saying #BeatEngland, which is the apparently inspiring slogan that CA marketing has devised, and Perry is trying to do that. She’s up at a run a ball.

6.23am BST

27th over: Australia 125-1 (Bolton 45, Perry 19)

“Bring me a shrubbery!” says Heather Knight, and lo, Shrubsole appears. No great threats, she’s worked around for five runs. Perry 19 off 24, outpacing Bolton easily on 45 off 83.

6.21am BST

26th over: Australia 120-1 (Bolton 43, Perry 16)

Ecclestone with a quiet, two-run affair.

6.18am BST

25th over: Australia 118-1 (Bolton 42, Perry 15)

That’s ordinary from Hartley. Dropped a catch off her own bowling in Brisbane, and that turned out to be crucial. Here she fumbles a take from a hard Perry drive, and it gets through her hands for four. Straight down the ground.

6.15am BST

24th over: Australia 112-1 (Bolton 41, Perry 10)

Another fine shot from Perry, on the back foot to late cut Sophie Ecclestone. Picks up a couple.

6.14am BST

23rd over: Australia 109-1 (Bolton 40, Perry 8)

Perry away quickly, with a flicked boundary from the first ball of Hartley’s over. Lovely early stuff. Takes pressure off Bolton.

@GeoffLemonSport what's your thoughts re best route for truncated first innings with D/L to set the total? Fine balancing act required here

6.11am BST

22nd over: Australia 103-1 (Bolton 39, Perry 3)

Big shout from Ecclestone against Bolton. That looked pretty out, as she dropped to one knee to sweep. Maybe it just struck outside the line. Just. Maybe. Looked good though.

6.07am BST

21st over: Australia 100-1 (Bolton 38, Perry 1)

Hartley cashes in with a quiet over, two singles from it. Perry at the crease. The Aussie hundred up.

6.03am BST

20th over: Australia 98-1 (Bolton 37)

Finally the Ashes debutante gets through. Healy had already smacked a cover drive through the field for a couple of runs, then tried another that just may have been grassed by Nat Sciver at cover, or landed just in front of her. Those deliveries had flight. For the final ball of the over, coming around the wicket, Ecclestone angled one very fast and flat. Healy went back to cut, didn’t realise it was coming on quickly and straight, and her attempted cut shot was easily beaten, costing her off stump.

5.58am BST

19th over: Australia 94-0 (Bolton 36, Healy 53)

That’s a good stroke from Bolton at last. They always say, once you nail your first reverse sweep, you’ve got your eye in. Hartley have enough width, and the left-hander is quick to swap her bat around and send the ball fine. Seven off Hartley’s over, and 50 runs from the last six overs.

5.56am BST

18th over: Australia 87-0 (Bolton 31, Healy 51)

Great innings from Healy, she’s breathed life into this team knock. Brings up the fifty with a single through midwicket. Bolton gets an unconvincing boundary forcing through backward point. Ecclestone the bowler.

5.55am BST

17th over: Australia 80-0 (Bolton 26, Healy 49)

Left-arm spin twins: another double change as Alex Hartley comes on. She’s much smaller and neater than Ecclestone, an exercise in contrast within disciplines. Healy has had enough of waiting around though, and skips down to a well shaped delivery to smack it over cover. It barely clears the potential catcher, but does. That puts off Hartley, who bowls an absolute trash follow-up, short and flat and going down leg. Healy clubs that through backward square for four more.

5.50am BST

16th over: Australia 69-0 (Bolton 26, Healy 41)

Drinks, drinks, drinks. Sorry, that was just my interior monologue. The players are having some water as well. Now it’s time for an Ashes bowling debut for Sophie Ecclestone. A somewhat oxidised start for the tall left-armer, dropping a full toss on leg stump that a startled Healy can only dink away for a single to deep square. Better with the second ball! A huge appeal for caught behind as Bolton has a big drive.

5.40am BST

15th over: Australia 66-0 (Bolton 25, Healy 39)

Healy needs her breath back. Taps a single from Gunn to get off strike, but gets it back faster than she might have expected. Oh well, says she, guess I’ll try to slap another four over midwicket. But they’re harder to hit from Gunn. This one hangs in the air like an awkward silence, and Lauren Winfield is tracking around from deep square leg. The ball pitches and spins back sharply, meaning it could have dinked through Winfield for four, but she anticipated that magnificently and slapped down the ball as it tried to pass her. Only two runs, in the end. Another single to Healy, then a big appeal against Bolton ends the over. Not out.

5.37am BST

14th over: Australia 61-0 (Bolton 24, Healy 35)

Six! Finally Healy says it’s time to go. Length ball from Sciver, and the Aussie keeper drives through the line with elbow high, catches the downground breeze, and it carries the rope straight. Brings up Australia’s 50th run. Two balls later, Healy gets a similar delivery and goes squarer, flicking over midwicket for four. A brace towards midwicket as well, then it’s a juicy full toss and she slaps it dismissively the same direction for four more. Sciver has been rattled. A single to end the over, and it’s worth 17.

5.33am BST

13th over: Australia 44-0 (Bolton 24, Healy 18)

Healy works the gap at cover for another single. Best they can get. Another classic Jenny Gunn over worth three runs.

5.29am BST

12th over: Australia 41-0 (Bolton 23, Healy 16)

Sciver short and wide, and Bolton gets a streaky four. “Shot,” says the gentleman down the row from me, but that’s generous. The Hot Spot shows that wasn’t just the top edge, but also the toe. It clipped the upper corner of the horizontal blade as Bolton tried to cut. That was enough to take it through a fine third man.

5.26am BST

11th over: Australia 36-0 (Bolton 19, Healy 15)

This OBO is supposed to be about you, you know. Get me on Twitter at @GeoffLemonSport, or email geoff.lemon@theguardian.com, to give me your thoughts on this game, your stories of Coffs Harbour, your fear of supercell storms, whatever you want to share.

5.23am BST

10th over: Australia 34-0 (Bolton 18, Healy 14)

Some more very medium pace in another change. As Coldplay almost said, don’t you Natalie Sciver, Sciver, Sciver.

5.19am BST

9th over: Australia 29-0 (Bolton 17, Healy 10)

Change in the bowling, Jenny Gunn is on. She’s one of those deceptive, Chris Harris type bowlers, usually slow but very hard to hit. Gunn does exactly what she aims to do, here - just bowls very straight, Australia can’t get her away, and the infielders at cover and mid-off get a workout stopping each shot. There’s only a Bolton single to deep square leg from the last ball. 17 off 36 for Bolton.

5.15am BST

8th over: Australia 28-0 (Bolton 16, Healy 10)

Brunt is coming around the wicket to Bolton, bat face coming from third slip and then straightening in the final twitch as the opener awaits. With that angle in, Brunt first nails Bolton’s front pad, but is told by Claire Polosak that the ball is going down leg. Then Brunt gets an inside edge into the pad that could have snuck through onto the stumps. She ends with a very wide full ball that draws an awkward drive. Only a single from the over. Bolton brought to you by S. T. Ruggle.

5.11am BST

7th over: Australia 27-0 (Bolton 15, Healy 10)

Bolton is struggling to get going here. A few more dots from Shrubsole, a wide, and finally Bolton flails at one and edges four through the slips. Some might call that a cut shot, but I’m not entirely sure it was intended or controlled. Takes a single thereafter. But there is English pressure building.

5.03am BST

6th over: Australia 21-0 (Bolton 10, Healy 10)

They’re running this single well, another quick one as Wilson dashed across to midwicket to slide and stop the ball, but Bolton ran with the stroke and so was through safely to the non-striker’s end. Healy drives nicely, on the rise through cover, and will get another two runs. Brunt is going red with the heat and effort, and looking even less impressed than usual. Comes back with an effort ball, back of a length and into the pads, and Healy can only shovel it to mid-on, not a timed stroke at all.

5.00am BST

5th over: Australia 18-0 (Bolton 9, Healy 8)

Some good ground fielding at mid-on, as Healy cracks the ball along the ground to Shrubsole but can’t get the drive through. Lovely shot for nada. Gets another single to cover, then Bolton plays cleverly, crouching low and reaching for a wide full ball to guide it through slips and down to third man. There’s a fielder in the deep, so only a single results.

4.57am BST

4th over: Australia 16-0 (Bolton 8, Healy 7)

Brunt continuing, and Healy plays tap-and-run into the covers for a single. Ah, the beauty of intimate grounds - there’s another ball too straight to Bolton, and you can clearly hear Brunt go “Awwww shit!” as she watches Bolton punch two runs through midwicket. Not exactly a dominant start from four overs, though, no need to despair.

4.54am BST

3rd over: Australia 13-0 (Bolton 6, Healy 6)

Oh, yes. This pitch is playing really nicely. Bolton gets a full ball on the pads from Shrubsole and flicks it delightfully, away behind square. That’s the only score from the over.

4.48am BST

2nd over: Australia 9-0 (Bolton 2, Healy 6)

Healy. First ball, four. Brunt bowls full, Healy cracks the cover drive. She has, I reckon, the best first 10 balls of any player in the world. Always hits them beautifully. And then usually gets out for a gorgeous 12 or a rollicking 16. Would love to see what she can do if she can break through that barrier. The pitch looks good in terms of pace coming through, though the outfield really does look lush. As well as Healy timed that drive, it was still slowing considerably by the rope. Healy shovels a couple more runs through midwicket.

4.44am BST

1st over: Australia 2-0 (Bolton 2, Healy 0)

Here we go. Shrubsole to start from the.... Giant Tree End? Wait, that’s both ends. Decent crowd in filling the pavilion, but the hills and grassy banks are for the brave, under the afternoon sun. Shrubsole starts full and straight, except for one delivery that slips wide, and Bolton the leftie is able to slap is through cover for two. The outfield looks pretty lush, it might take a bit of pace off some shots.

4.41am BST

Apparently there’s a free stream of this game in England, via Martin Davies. It’s also, remarkably, legal and legitimate.

Free livestream of today's 2nd Aus v Eng ODI for UK should be here...https://t.co/FDjUHC8Dcv

4.39am BST

Coffs Harbour really is a lovely spot. On the coast, between the Pacific Ocean and the rolling green hinterland toward Dorrigo. Sub-tropical, swathes of forest and national park. Where the flame trees will blind the weary driver. Where the Big Banana stands proud. Phil Hughes country, Macksville, Nambucca. Yes, this part of Australia. It really is good to be here.

Coffs Harbour scenes 1 #WomensAshes pic.twitter.com/9J9u3LCJ4F

Coffs Harbour scenes 2#WomensAshes pic.twitter.com/6uIgYFvLEt

And this is our work spot for the day. Not too shabby. #WomensAshes pic.twitter.com/eMvAKUonmB

4.20am BST

Australia: Bolton, Healy, Perry, Villani, Haynes, Blackwell, McGrath, Wellington, Jonassen, Schutt, Beams.

England: Beaumont, Winfield, Taylor, Knight, Sciver, Wilson, Brunt, Gunn, Shrubsole, Ecclestone, Hartley.

4.17am BST

With that potential rain around, England want the vengeful gods of Duckworth and Lewis on their side. Team management will be burning a pile of pocket calculators in offering.

Adam is at 50-50 on his John Edward routine: Ecclestone will play for Marsh, while Gardner’s replacement is Kristen Beams.

4.15am BST

Big news - Ashleigh Gardner is out. She sealed the game with the bat in Game 1, after taking another three wickets with the ball. She’s had a great run. But she also top-edged a sweep from Katherine Brunt into her helmet at one stage, and she now has mild concussion.

Adam Collins has been down at ground level reading the body language of the players in the warm-ups - he is the Cricket Whisperer. He says that Laura Marsh is not going to play for England, and Sophie Ecclestone will come into the side. For Australia, his replacement tip for Gardner is Lauren Cheatle. Gardner has been batting at eight, so Australia will need another bowler.

4.14am BST

What ho, fox fanciers. Welcome to El Blog from a gorgeous, sunny, gentle Coffs Harbour. At least for now. The sun may be shining, the breeze may be playful, the surf may be so close that you can smell the salt. But there’s also a potential super-cell storm brewing over south-east Queensland, which may send some ancillary thunderstorms down to northern New South Wales later this afternoon, local time.

Why do they even bother playing cricket in this country, et cetera, et cetera.

11.50pm BST

Geoff will be here shortly. In the meantime, here’s Mel Jones on the young women giving the tourists sleepless nights.

View more on Rob Smyth's website »

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Published on October 26, 2017 04:13

Women's Ashes 2017: Australia set England 297 to win second ODI – live!

Updates from the second match of the series in Coffs HarbourMessy Ashes TV deal could be missed chance for women’s game Get in touch by emailing rob.smyth@theguardian.com

9.29am BST

“Batter?” sniffs Huw Swanborough. “Batsman is the term I believe. Batter is reserved for fish and Americans.”

Unsubscribe.

9.25am BST

Since the start of 2014 Ellyse Perry has scored 1834 ODI runs at an average of 83.36 runs per dismissal. #WomensAshes

9.22am BST

This should only be a short delay. Geoff Lemon, who is at the ground, says it has almost cleared. The umpires are out in the middle and the groundstaff are poised for action.

9.18am BST

“The lightning in the background makes it look as though Thor is going to land in the middle of the pitch any second now,” says Ravi Nair. “(If so, of course, he should be red carded because the man has no respect for lawns.) More importantly in these ‘epic’ conditions, any chance of Beaumont and Taylor repeating this? No hope otherwise, I think.”

When the only hope is a tenuous precedent, you know you’re in trouble. I agree though; England’s best hope is the weather, because if Australia go 4-0 ahead they will take some catching.

9.15am BST

2.4 overs: England 10-1 (Beaumont 1, Taylor 5) Taylor drives Schutt nicely through extra cover for three before Beaumont gets off the mark with a single from her ninth delivery. Ach, and now it’s raining again.

9.11am BST

2nd over: England 5-1 (Beaumont 0, Taylor 2) Ellyse Perry, having scored the usual half-century, will take the new ball. She starts with a wide, though it wasn’t far from Taylor’s outside edge, and then Beaumont survives a huge LBW shout. I suspect it was just sliding down. There’s no DRS, so the umpire’s word is gospel. Beaumont is struggling to time it at the start of her innings; she has nought from seven balls.

9.05am BST

1st over: England 3-1 (Beaumont 0, Taylor 1) The new batter is the little genius, Sarah Taylor. England are in some trouble, in both the match and the series. That’s an excellent start from Schutt.

9.03am BST

No overs have been lost, despite the rain, so England still need 297 from 50 overs. And they are already in trouble! Lauren Winfield has gone third ball for two, whipping around her front pad at a big inswinger from Megan Schutt. That was plumb LBW.

8.49am BST

Play will restart at 7pm (9am BST). Hurrah!

8.46am BST

The umpires are inspecting as I type. Geoff tells me the groundstaff have cleared a lot of water off the covers, but the drainage is apparently pretty good.

Pretty, pretty good.

8.40am BST

Some news is good news: the umpires hope play will resume within the next half hour or so.

8.31am BST

The weather is looking a bit better. Scratch that, it’s looking a lot better. The sun has re-emerged and the groundstaff are going to work.

8.30am BST

Alex Hails. pic.twitter.com/Ctj32eWWRe

8.17am BST

Thanks Geoff, hello folks. For the last hour or so I’ve been wondering whether Rachael Haynes has ever batted better. What an eejit. Instead of ranking and rating her innings, I should have been enjoying and experiencing a mini-masterpiece of imagination, mischief, selflessness and clean hitting: 89 not out from 56 balls, with nine fours and three sixes. It was spectacular.

Eighty-nine is the magic number for Australia today; that’s also how many runs they smashed off the last nine overs of the innings to turn a good score into a formidable one. England’s target is 297, which would be the highest successful run-chase in women’s ODI history. Their best hope might be the weather: some malevolent clouds have gathered over the ground and, as Geoff said, it has started raining.

8.14am BST

Well, what a knock from the new Australian captain. Haynes said she was nervous in the first game, and she came in at a difficult time, needing to steady things with a conservative knock. Today, having settled, she expressed herself. Hits all around the ground, some creative strokeplay, some classical shots, and luck in the form of that dropped catch only came at the end of her innings.

But a pretty even contribution across the board as well, with fifties to Healy, Perry, and Bolton, the latter the anchor and the others at a quick rate.

8.13am BST

The scene at Coffs Harbour.

Sunshine, lights, apocalypse skies, and a slight rainbow. Welcome to Australia. #WomensAshes pic.twitter.com/LhgLkYNkfm

8.00am BST

50th over: Australia 296-6 (Haynes 89, Wellington 0)

Amanda Wellington comes to the middle, but McGrath had already crossed to get Haynes on strike. One ball to go. All she can do is watch and run. Haynes to finish it off drives down the ground hard for two more runs, sneaking back in despite a third-umpire review. She deserves the red ink today, after one hell of an innings, and she ends up on 89 not out.

7.57am BST

Tahlia McGrath emerging with four balls to go. She didn’t get going the other day in Brisbane, so it’s interesting they’ve sent her out here. Perhaps thinking that it doesn’t matter at this stage off the innings, but they may as well give her the confidence by not bumping her. It doesn’t work, any rate, as she sweeps and top edges down to backward square and a sliding Hartley.

7.54am BST

No surprises at this stage - a big slog and a top edge.

7.54am BST

49th over: Australia 291-4 (Haynes 85, Blackwell 8)

Shrubsole bowling the second-last. Good tight death bowling from the attack leader, giving up just a single each ball. Just slows that charge a touch.

7.53am BST

48th over: Australia 285-4 (Haynes 82, Blackwell 5)

She can’t be stopped. Gunn the bowler, Haynes lifts the ball over mid-off for yet another boundary. Blackwell finally gets strike, and slices another over cover. Fran Wilson was belting around hoping for a catch, but that ball kept tailing away from her in the air. Another dozen from the over.

7.48am BST

47th over: Australia 273-4 (Haynes 75, Blackwell 1)

More like Rachael Pains. That’s what England have, as they drop another catch. Brunt the bowler, Haynes flicks off her pads high in the air to the midwicket fence. Beaumont is under the steepling catch, but somehow let’s it through her hands. Not just dropped, but it rolls back for four runs.

7.42am BST

46th over: Australia 252-4 (Haynes 52, Blackwell 1)

Jenny Gunn: 8 overs, 2 for 37. Been important today, even if she’s flinching like a Labrador every time the sky speaks.

7.40am BST

Finally, England get their breakthrough. Gunn bowls super wide of off, Perry was already advancing looking to attack, but didn’t bank on the line of the ball. She had a doomed attempt at making some contact with the bat, but Taylor was well positioned outside the sticks, and had the bails off in one smooth movement. I’ll bet that was a plan from bowler and keeper - Taylor was well wide of the sticks, but she still had the wicket broken before Perry had even turned around.

7.36am BST

45th over: Australia 246-3 (Perry 66, Haynes 51)

More thunder, this one rolling back and forth like a full rack of billiard balls. More Katherine Brunt. Haynes has a wild swipe and misses it, and Taylor makes another brilliant take. She’s keeping up to the stumps to England’s fastest bowler. Haynes and Perry trade singles, then Haynes is able to round out a counter-attacking 50 from 35 balls.

7.31am BST

44th over: Australia 241-3 (Perry 64, Haynes 48)

Another one in the slot for the Pez dispenser! Jenny Gunn bowls just outside off. Perry shuffles forward and makes it a half-volley, then gives it everything she’s got down the ground. Long-on is back, but Winfield doesn’t have a stepladder. There’s thunder rumbling in the hills, and other ominous signs for England. “Jenny Gunn is actually really scared of thunderstorms,” says Lisa Sthalekar on ABC radio. “The non-striker should be asking her if she heard that.” Jenny Gunn should be scared of Perry, on this evidence. Another double-figure over for Australia.

7.28am BST

43rd over: Australia 231-3 (Perry 56, Haynes 46)

Haynes tries again, clearing the front leg and giving it everything, but she doesn’t hit it properly. Just as well for the Aussie skipper, as the ball falls short of long-on. Perry does the same in mirror-image, right-hander replacing left. Haynes realises the can’t find the gap straight, so goes a bit more across the line, and hits the gap at midwicket for four. There are two outfielders on that side of the stumps, but space between them. Ok, that’s the spot, says Haynes. Next ball, same direction, but longer and stronger. Six to the coastal side of the ground. What a knock from Haynes. 46 off 30.

7.24am BST

42nd over: Australia 218-3 (Perry 54, Haynes 35)

Ecclestone’s last over. Haynes tries the ramp again, but misses it. Then tries a pull, but plays over the top of it. Slight bottom edge, leaving Taylor no chance as it bashed into her thigh and slipped away between her legs. Enough cute stuff, says Haynes, and thumps a full ball over long-on for six. There’s a catcher back there, but she can only wave to the ball as it goes by. Wide outside off for the next ball, and Haynes stands up tall and plays it off the face behind point. Good over, 11 from it. 48 balls to come.

7.21am BST

41st over: Australia 207-3 (Perry 52, Haynes 26)

Coshed. Shrubsole bowls wide outside the southpaw’s off stump, and Haynes drives it for four. It was very full, she slammed it into the ground, but angled the bat just so, and like Rudyard Kipling’s stories, it worked. England have point and cover, but Haynes split them to the fence.

7.17am BST

40th over: Australia 202-3 (Perry 50, Haynes 22)

A pull shot, a single, and an absolutely freakish set of numbers continues.

7.13am BST

39th over: Australia 195-3 (Perry 48, Haynes 18)

Haynes! She’s come out in a very different vein this game. Sees a shorter length from Brunt, doesn’t rush, waits back and drop-kicks the pull shot over backward square for four.

7.10am BST

38th over: Australia 189-3 (Perry 47, Haynes 13)

Sophie Ecclestone is back, with her left-arm tweak. Perry takes a single to cover. Haynes finds the field, then again. Ecclestone has landed the ball well today, really well. Just a couple of runs from the over.

7.06am BST

37th over: Australia 187-3 (Perry 46, Haynes 12)

Ohhh dear, another simple one for England. Another caught and bowled spurned. Another one that could hurt. This time it’s Brunt, and she’s dropping ... Ellyse Perry. Nearing yet another 50. Perry smashed the drive straight at Brunt, it hit her high up on the hands, but she got both hands to it. Just too slow to respond. Brunt throws her head back in frustration.

7.00am BST

36th over: Australia 178-3 (Perry 41, Haynes 8)

Lovely stuff from Haynes. Left-hander, gets width from Gunn, and opens the face to glide it away through backward point for four. Next ball, it’s fuller but still wide, and she drives that away off the open face. It doesn’t have the speed to reach the fence, but she gets a couple. Then runs a single off the open face. I may have spoken too soon on the Haynes velocitator.

6.57am BST

35th over: Australia 170-3 (Perry 40, Haynes 1)

Pressure on Perry to make the running, given Haynes didn’t exactly fly along in her innings of 30 in the first ODI. Perry backs away from Hartley looking to make room, but Hartley follows her. Perry is able to scoop it over mid-on rather inelegantly, falling away, but gets enough on it to reach the rope.

6.54am BST

34th over: Australia 164-3 (Perry 35)

I’ve said it before - Elyse Villani ain’t a top-order bat. At least not for Australia. Gets a wide ball, has a throw at it, but doesn’t get it cleanly. It rather loops up behind point, and that gives Heather Knight time to move to her left and dive, getting both hands to the ball. Great catch, but that ball shouldn’t have been in the air.

6.50am BST

33rd over: Australia 161-2 (Perry 33, Villani 0)

A good start for Australia, but still plenty of opportunity for England to drag them back with some tidy bowling. The prime slogger Elyse Villani is at the crease. Let’s see what happens.

“@GeoffLemonSport” https://t.co/HtnW2lchc4 By the look of the radar Aus has about 40 minutes left before Coffs gets very wet

You may be in luck, Adam. Radar seems to suggest most of the rain will pass just to the South. pic.twitter.com/cDMj7gPWnn

6.48am BST

She’s started opening up in the last few overs, but that was too open. Just after playing a legitimate switch-hit for a single, Bolton goes way outside her off stump, tries to thump one over the leg side, and loses her leg stump.

6.41am BST

32nd over: Australia 159-1 (Bolton 65, Perry 32)

Bolton is fancying deep midwicket. Thuds Sciver in that direction for four, then tries again for two more. Sciver hits back by thudding a length ball into Bolton’s thigh, but the next shot makes contact for another single worked to the leg side.

6.38am BST

31st over: Australia 151-1 (Bolton 58, Perry 31)

Consider this Bolton making up ground. She steps into Anya Shrubsole and utterly lashes the straight drive back underneath the bowler and straight for four. Powerful shot. This after Perry had chipped a couple of lucky runs over midwicket, trying to bang Shrubsole down the ground. As India found out in the World Cup, she’s not the easiest to blast.

6.35am BST

30th over: Australia 141-1 (Bolton 52, Perry 27)

Sciver back to bowl, and Bolton brings up her fifty with two runs to third man. Taken her 90 balls to get there, she’ll want to make up a bit of ground in the back half.

6.30am BST

29th over: Australia 136-1 (Bolton 48, Perry 26)

A big no-ball to start Shrubsole’s over. Bolton gets a single, so Perry has strike. The field can therefore change. Everyone goes back in the positions straight down the ground. Shrubsole produces a beauty, nails into the pads. Perry glides a run next ball, then Bolton dashes a very quick single to mid-on, complete with a dive. Gets in. Very tidy from Shrubsole, considering the start.

6.26am BST

28th over: Australia 133-1 (Bolton 47, Perry 25)

Sydney Sixer! Perry sees one float up from Ecclestone, leans back a touch, and dumps it waaaay over midwicket onto the hill on the coastal side of the ground. That sailed over the rope, fence, and footpath. There’s a big banner out there saying #BeatEngland, which is the apparently inspiring slogan that CA marketing has devised, and Perry is trying to do that. She’s up at a run a ball.

6.23am BST

27th over: Australia 125-1 (Bolton 45, Perry 19)

“Bring me a shrubbery!” says Heather Knight, and lo, Shrubsole appears. No great threats, she’s worked around for five runs. Perry 19 off 24, outpacing Bolton easily on 45 off 83.

6.21am BST

26th over: Australia 120-1 (Bolton 43, Perry 16)

Ecclestone with a quiet, two-run affair.

6.18am BST

25th over: Australia 118-1 (Bolton 42, Perry 15)

That’s ordinary from Hartley. Dropped a catch off her own bowling in Brisbane, and that turned out to be crucial. Here she fumbles a take from a hard Perry drive, and it gets through her hands for four. Straight down the ground.

6.15am BST

24th over: Australia 112-1 (Bolton 41, Perry 10)

Another fine shot from Perry, on the back foot to late cut Sophie Ecclestone. Picks up a couple.

6.14am BST

23rd over: Australia 109-1 (Bolton 40, Perry 8)

Perry away quickly, with a flicked boundary from the first ball of Hartley’s over. Lovely early stuff. Takes pressure off Bolton.

@GeoffLemonSport what's your thoughts re best route for truncated first innings with D/L to set the total? Fine balancing act required here

6.11am BST

22nd over: Australia 103-1 (Bolton 39, Perry 3)

Big shout from Ecclestone against Bolton. That looked pretty out, as she dropped to one knee to sweep. Maybe it just struck outside the line. Just. Maybe. Looked good though.

6.07am BST

21st over: Australia 100-1 (Bolton 38, Perry 1)

Hartley cashes in with a quiet over, two singles from it. Perry at the crease. The Aussie hundred up.

6.03am BST

20th over: Australia 98-1 (Bolton 37)

Finally the Ashes debutante gets through. Healy had already smacked a cover drive through the field for a couple of runs, then tried another that just may have been grassed by Nat Sciver at cover, or landed just in front of her. Those deliveries had flight. For the final ball of the over, coming around the wicket, Ecclestone angled one very fast and flat. Healy went back to cut, didn’t realise it was coming on quickly and straight, and her attempted cut shot was easily beaten, costing her off stump.

5.58am BST

19th over: Australia 94-0 (Bolton 36, Healy 53)

That’s a good stroke from Bolton at last. They always say, once you nail your first reverse sweep, you’ve got your eye in. Hartley have enough width, and the left-hander is quick to swap her bat around and send the ball fine. Seven off Hartley’s over, and 50 runs from the last six overs.

5.56am BST

18th over: Australia 87-0 (Bolton 31, Healy 51)

Great innings from Healy, she’s breathed life into this team knock. Brings up the fifty with a single through midwicket. Bolton gets an unconvincing boundary forcing through backward point. Ecclestone the bowler.

5.55am BST

17th over: Australia 80-0 (Bolton 26, Healy 49)

Left-arm spin twins: another double change as Alex Hartley comes on. She’s much smaller and neater than Ecclestone, an exercise in contrast within disciplines. Healy has had enough of waiting around though, and skips down to a well shaped delivery to smack it over cover. It barely clears the potential catcher, but does. That puts off Hartley, who bowls an absolute trash follow-up, short and flat and going down leg. Healy clubs that through backward square for four more.

5.50am BST

16th over: Australia 69-0 (Bolton 26, Healy 41)

Drinks, drinks, drinks. Sorry, that was just my interior monologue. The players are having some water as well. Now it’s time for an Ashes bowling debut for Sophie Ecclestone. A somewhat oxidised start for the tall left-armer, dropping a full toss on leg stump that a startled Healy can only dink away for a single to deep square. Better with the second ball! A huge appeal for caught behind as Bolton has a big drive.

5.40am BST

15th over: Australia 66-0 (Bolton 25, Healy 39)

Healy needs her breath back. Taps a single from Gunn to get off strike, but gets it back faster than she might have expected. Oh well, says she, guess I’ll try to slap another four over midwicket. But they’re harder to hit from Gunn. This one hangs in the air like an awkward silence, and Lauren Winfield is tracking around from deep square leg. The ball pitches and spins back sharply, meaning it could have dinked through Winfield for four, but she anticipated that magnificently and slapped down the ball as it tried to pass her. Only two runs, in the end. Another single to Healy, then a big appeal against Bolton ends the over. Not out.

5.37am BST

14th over: Australia 61-0 (Bolton 24, Healy 35)

Six! Finally Healy says it’s time to go. Length ball from Sciver, and the Aussie keeper drives through the line with elbow high, catches the downground breeze, and it carries the rope straight. Brings up Australia’s 50th run. Two balls later, Healy gets a similar delivery and goes squarer, flicking over midwicket for four. A brace towards midwicket as well, then it’s a juicy full toss and she slaps it dismissively the same direction for four more. Sciver has been rattled. A single to end the over, and it’s worth 17.

5.33am BST

13th over: Australia 44-0 (Bolton 24, Healy 18)

Healy works the gap at cover for another single. Best they can get. Another classic Jenny Gunn over worth three runs.

5.29am BST

12th over: Australia 41-0 (Bolton 23, Healy 16)

Sciver short and wide, and Bolton gets a streaky four. “Shot,” says the gentleman down the row from me, but that’s generous. The Hot Spot shows that wasn’t just the top edge, but also the toe. It clipped the upper corner of the horizontal blade as Bolton tried to cut. That was enough to take it through a fine third man.

5.26am BST

11th over: Australia 36-0 (Bolton 19, Healy 15)

This OBO is supposed to be about you, you know. Get me on Twitter at @GeoffLemonSport, or email geoff.lemon@theguardian.com, to give me your thoughts on this game, your stories of Coffs Harbour, your fear of supercell storms, whatever you want to share.

5.23am BST

10th over: Australia 34-0 (Bolton 18, Healy 14)

Some more very medium pace in another change. As Coldplay almost said, don’t you Natalie Sciver, Sciver, Sciver.

5.19am BST

9th over: Australia 29-0 (Bolton 17, Healy 10)

Change in the bowling, Jenny Gunn is on. She’s one of those deceptive, Chris Harris type bowlers, usually slow but very hard to hit. Gunn does exactly what she aims to do, here - just bowls very straight, Australia can’t get her away, and the infielders at cover and mid-off get a workout stopping each shot. There’s only a Bolton single to deep square leg from the last ball. 17 off 36 for Bolton.

5.15am BST

8th over: Australia 28-0 (Bolton 16, Healy 10)

Brunt is coming around the wicket to Bolton, bat face coming from third slip and then straightening in the final twitch as the opener awaits. With that angle in, Brunt first nails Bolton’s front pad, but is told by Claire Polosak that the ball is going down leg. Then Brunt gets an inside edge into the pad that could have snuck through onto the stumps. She ends with a very wide full ball that draws an awkward drive. Only a single from the over. Bolton brought to you by S. T. Ruggle.

5.11am BST

7th over: Australia 27-0 (Bolton 15, Healy 10)

Bolton is struggling to get going here. A few more dots from Shrubsole, a wide, and finally Bolton flails at one and edges four through the slips. Some might call that a cut shot, but I’m not entirely sure it was intended or controlled. Takes a single thereafter. But there is English pressure building.

5.03am BST

6th over: Australia 21-0 (Bolton 10, Healy 10)

They’re running this single well, another quick one as Wilson dashed across to midwicket to slide and stop the ball, but Bolton ran with the stroke and so was through safely to the non-striker’s end. Healy drives nicely, on the rise through cover, and will get another two runs. Brunt is going red with the heat and effort, and looking even less impressed than usual. Comes back with an effort ball, back of a length and into the pads, and Healy can only shovel it to mid-on, not a timed stroke at all.

5.00am BST

5th over: Australia 18-0 (Bolton 9, Healy 8)

Some good ground fielding at mid-on, as Healy cracks the ball along the ground to Shrubsole but can’t get the drive through. Lovely shot for nada. Gets another single to cover, then Bolton plays cleverly, crouching low and reaching for a wide full ball to guide it through slips and down to third man. There’s a fielder in the deep, so only a single results.

4.57am BST

4th over: Australia 16-0 (Bolton 8, Healy 7)

Brunt continuing, and Healy plays tap-and-run into the covers for a single. Ah, the beauty of intimate grounds - there’s another ball too straight to Bolton, and you can clearly hear Brunt go “Awwww shit!” as she watches Bolton punch two runs through midwicket. Not exactly a dominant start from four overs, though, no need to despair.

4.54am BST

3rd over: Australia 13-0 (Bolton 6, Healy 6)

Oh, yes. This pitch is playing really nicely. Bolton gets a full ball on the pads from Shrubsole and flicks it delightfully, away behind square. That’s the only score from the over.

4.48am BST

2nd over: Australia 9-0 (Bolton 2, Healy 6)

Healy. First ball, four. Brunt bowls full, Healy cracks the cover drive. She has, I reckon, the best first 10 balls of any player in the world. Always hits them beautifully. And then usually gets out for a gorgeous 12 or a rollicking 16. Would love to see what she can do if she can break through that barrier. The pitch looks good in terms of pace coming through, though the outfield really does look lush. As well as Healy timed that drive, it was still slowing considerably by the rope. Healy shovels a couple more runs through midwicket.

4.44am BST

1st over: Australia 2-0 (Bolton 2, Healy 0)

Here we go. Shrubsole to start from the.... Giant Tree End? Wait, that’s both ends. Decent crowd in filling the pavilion, but the hills and grassy banks are for the brave, under the afternoon sun. Shrubsole starts full and straight, except for one delivery that slips wide, and Bolton the leftie is able to slap is through cover for two. The outfield looks pretty lush, it might take a bit of pace off some shots.

4.41am BST

Apparently there’s a free stream of this game in England, via Martin Davies. It’s also, remarkably, legal and legitimate.

Free livestream of today's 2nd Aus v Eng ODI for UK should be here...https://t.co/FDjUHC8Dcv

4.39am BST

Coffs Harbour really is a lovely spot. On the coast, between the Pacific Ocean and the rolling green hinterland toward Dorrigo. Sub-tropical, swathes of forest and national park. Where the flame trees will blind the weary driver. Where the Big Banana stands proud. Phil Hughes country, Macksville, Nambucca. Yes, this part of Australia. It really is good to be here.

Coffs Harbour scenes 1 #WomensAshes pic.twitter.com/9J9u3LCJ4F

Coffs Harbour scenes 2#WomensAshes pic.twitter.com/6uIgYFvLEt

And this is our work spot for the day. Not too shabby. #WomensAshes pic.twitter.com/eMvAKUonmB

4.20am BST

Australia: Bolton, Healy, Perry, Villani, Haynes, Blackwell, McGrath, Wellington, Jonassen, Schutt, Beams.

England: Beaumont, Winfield, Taylor, Knight, Sciver, Wilson, Brunt, Gunn, Shrubsole, Ecclestone, Hartley.

4.17am BST

With that potential rain around, England want the vengeful gods of Duckworth and Lewis on their side. Team management will be burning a pile of pocket calculators in offering.

Adam is at 50-50 on his John Edward routine: Ecclestone will play for Marsh, while Gardner’s replacement is Kristen Beams.

4.15am BST

Big news - Ashleigh Gardner is out. She sealed the game with the bat in Game 1, after taking another three wickets with the ball. She’s had a great run. But she also top-edged a sweep from Katherine Brunt into her helmet at one stage, and she now has mild concussion.

Adam Collins has been down at ground level reading the body language of the players in the warm-ups - he is the Cricket Whisperer. He says that Laura Marsh is not going to play for England, and Sophie Ecclestone will come into the side. For Australia, his replacement tip for Gardner is Lauren Cheatle. Gardner has been batting at eight, so Australia will need another bowler.

4.14am BST

What ho, fox fanciers. Welcome to El Blog from a gorgeous, sunny, gentle Coffs Harbour. At least for now. The sun may be shining, the breeze may be playful, the surf may be so close that you can smell the salt. But there’s also a potential super-cell storm brewing over south-east Queensland, which may send some ancillary thunderstorms down to northern New South Wales later this afternoon, local time.

Why do they even bother playing cricket in this country, et cetera, et cetera.

11.50pm BST

Geoff will be here shortly. In the meantime, here’s Mel Jones on the young women giving the tourists sleepless nights.

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Published on October 26, 2017 01:29

Tottenham Hotspur 4-1 Liverpool: Premier League – as it happened

The unstoppable Harry Kane scored two and made one as Spurs punished some appalling Liverpool defending to win again at Wembley

9.45pm BST

6.13pm BST

Amy Lawrence’s match report from Wembley:

5.51pm BST

Peep peep! Spurs beat Liverpool for the first time since 2012 with a rousing performance full of of ruthless counter-attacking. Liverpool suffered death by deja vu, defending desperately for all four goals, with Dejan Lovren having a particular shocker. Thanks for your company, goodnight!

5.49pm BST

90 min Harry Winks has had another fine game in midfield, both with and without the ball. He looks a player.

5.48pm BST

89 min Kane might be a doubt for Spurs’ trip to Old Trafford in six days’ time.

5.47pm BST

88 min Harry Kane is going off. He has his hand on his left hamstring, though he is not limping. Fernando Llorente replaces him. Kane was, and is, utterly magnificent.

5.42pm BST

83 min Can, who has had a stinker, is replaced by Marko Grukic.

5.39pm BST

81 min Alli nutmegs Can with an outrageous piece of Playstation skill, moving the ball one way before dragging it in the opposite direction through Can’s legs. You’ll be seeing that one a few times. Moments later, the ever excellent Eriksen is replaced by Eric Dier.

5.37pm BST

78 min Oxlade-Chamberlain robs Aurier in a dangerous position and cuts the ball back to Salah, whose shot is saved by the feet of Lloris. Oxlade-Chamberlain has made some eye-catching contributions since coming on as sub.

5.35pm BST

77 min Liverpool bring on Daniel Sturridge to replace Roberto Firmino. An eventful game is starting to peter out.

5.33pm BST

74 min This result leaves Liverpool 12 points behind Manchester City. Even after nine games, their title challenge looks over.

5.32pm BST

73 min Coutinho tries one of his trademark long-range curlers from the inside-left channel, and Lloris leaps to make a comfortable save.

5.30pm BST

72 min Salah produces an ingenious flick behind his standing leg to find Milner, whose low shot from a tight angle is kicked away by Lloris.

5.29pm BST

71 min “There’s no shame in losing to Tottenham,” says Niall Mullen. “Yet somehow Liverpool have all of the shame that has ever existed.”

5.28pm BST

70 min The aggregate score from today’s matches is North London 9-3 Merseyside.

5.27pm BST

69 min Spurs make a change, with Moussa Sissoko replacing the superb Heung-Min Son.

5.26pm BST

67 min Lloris makes a spectacular save, springing to his right to palm Coutinho’s rising drive onto the bar. It was a brilliant effort from Coutinho, raked with his left foot from the edge of the box. Lloris went with his wrong hand, the left, and pushed it up onto the underside of the bar.

5.25pm BST

66 min Spurs’ work rate is phenomenal, even at 4-1. They are such an admirable team in almost everything they do.

5.23pm BST

65 min Kane surges thrillingly into the box, using Eriksen’s off-the-ball run by not using him, before hitting a low shot that is crucially blocked by Gomez. I think that was going in.

5.22pm BST

63 min Son has had a fine game today, shredding Liverpool with his pace on the counter-attack.

5.21pm BST

62 min Trippier’s corner is headed up in the air at the near post and comes to Sanchez, who mis-hits a volley from 15 yards. That was a presentable chance.

5.19pm BST

61 min This feels like a significant day for Spurs, when Wembley started to feel like home.

5.17pm BST

59 min Although Spurs have been ruthless with their finishing, all four goals have come from defensive howlers.

5.15pm BST

Kane storms down the right and is fouled by Matip. He is such a handful - and now he has his second goal! Mignolet came for Winks’s free-kick and mistimed a desperate punch straight to Vertonghen. Firmino did brilliantly to clear his shot off the line but Kane was there to sweep up from six yards. He is simply magnificent.

5.11pm BST

53 min Oxlade-Chamberlain makes Trippier look silly with a lovely piece of skill on the left. He stands up a deep cross that just evades the leaping Salah at the far post.

5.09pm BST

51 min Eriksen’s left-wing corner is headed wide by Kane, under pressure from Matip.

5.06pm BST

47 min Some early pressure from Liverpool, sparked by a brilliant cross from Oxlade-Chamberlain on the left. The problem for Liverpool is that every attack comes with a big risk of Spurs scoring on the break.

5.03pm BST

46 min Peep peep! Spurs begin the second half. This game is so open that it could end with any scoreline from 7-1 to 3-5.

4.56pm BST

Half-time chit-chat

Bill Hargreaves “With Mou, Klopp, Pep, Poch, Conte and Arsène, the premiership has become so theatrical. Never quite sure whether it is a Shakespearian tragedy or a European farce, who is Malvolio or Puck, Falstaff or Shylock, but it rarely fails to entertain.”

4.50pm BST

That was great entertainment, though Liverpool’s defending put the dire in diabolical. In fairness to Matip, I can see why he decided to head that Eriksen free-kick, as he couldn’t be certain of the position of Kane behind him. But it was a poor header, straight onto the right foot of Dele Alli.

See you in 10 minutes for a few more goals.

4.48pm BST

Eriksen’s long free-kick was going to drift out of play, but Matip decided he needed to put his head on it. He could only divert it towards the edge of the area, where Alli arrived to bobble an accurate volley into the corner.

4.47pm BST

Another mistake from Liverpool!

4.47pm BST

45+2 min Can is booked for a cynical foul on Dele Alli.

4.47pm BST

45+1 min Kane, spotting Mignolet off his line, has a shot from inside his own half that is blocked by a Liverpool player. It’s a reflection of his stratospheric confidence that he even tried it.

4.45pm BST

45 min It’s been a breathless half, great fun to watch. There will be two added minutes.

4.43pm BST

42 min The match is lurching from end to end. Trippier’s cross flashes across goal; moments later he heads Moreno’s cross behind for a corner at the other end. It’s half cleeared to Henderson, whose sweet long-range volley is headed away by Vertonghen near the penalty spot. I think Lloris would have saived it anyway.

4.40pm BST

40 min Coutinho’s corner, the first of the match for either side, is headed wide by Gomez. The referee gives another corner to Liverpool. Nothing happens. Jurgen Klopp is almost foaming at the mouth on the touchline.

4.39pm BST

38 min There was a dizzying piece of skill from Kane before he shot wide a minute ago. He pushed the ball away from one defender, dragged it back to evade a second and then instantly pushed it forward again to beat the third.

4.37pm BST

37 min After a superb run from inside his own half, Kane drags a weary shot wide from just outside the box.

4.36pm BST

37 min Liverpool are right back in this game, and you can sense the unease around the ground. Moreno stands up a dangerous cross that is headed clear at the far post, and Can’s long-range follow-up is blocked.

4.35pm BST

36 min The more you see the Salah goal, the more it looks like Firmino may have fouled Kane in the build-up. It could have gone either way.

4.32pm BST

32 min The dangerous Salah skins Aurier and waves a low cross into the six-yard area towards Oxlade-Chamberlain. Lloris plunges to his right to claim.

4.31pm BST

31 min Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain replaces poor old Dejan Lovren. Joe Gomez will move to centre-back, with Can at right-back. Coutinho has gone into midfield, with Oxlade-Chamberlain on the left of the front three.

4.30pm BST

30 min Lovren, who is about to come off because of injury, makes a brilliant block to deny Kane another goal after a lofted ball in behind the defence.

4.29pm BST

29 min Alli angles a sensational through pass to Son, who runs behind Lovren and mis-hits a first-time shot that is blocked by the left foot of Mignolet. Son should probably have scored.

4.28pm BST

28 min Coutinho drives a long cross towards Salah, who heads towards goal from a tight angle beyond the far post. It’s a comfortable save for Lloris.

4.26pm BST

25 min Spurs wanted a free-kick for a foul on Kane just before the goal. I don’t think it was a foul. It was certainly a misjudgement by Lloris, who is usually such a good sweeper and had plenty of time to come out before Salah got to the ball.

4.25pm BST

I told you this would be a cracker. Kane is robbed on the halfway line and the loose ball falls to Henderson, who curls a penetrative pass behind the defence. Lloris stays on his line, a strange mistake, and Salah scoots onto the loose ball before bobbling a right-footed shot in off the far post.

4.23pm BST

22 min “I’m currently entertaining friends (being a grown-up, or something), which means I’m not watching the game,” says Matt Dony. “It might be a blessing in disguise. I have received 6 texts about Lovren in the last 3 minutes. I hate football.”

4.20pm BST

20 min Can considers a bouncing ball 25 yards from goal, and smashes it into orbit.

4.19pm BST

18 min Another devastating break from Spurs. Kane’s wonderful touch frees Son and gives Spurs a two-against-one attack. Son vrooms past the halfway line and eventually tries to play a return pass to put Kane through on goal. It’s blocked by Matip, whose positioning was perfect.

4.17pm BST

16 min Son hits the bar! Spurs are savaging Liverpool on the counter-attack. Eriksen, on the right, curled a sumptuous pass in behind the defence to find Son, who took the ball in his stride and then, as it bounced up, cracked a fine shot off the underside of the bar.

4.14pm BST

The move started with Lloris, who threw the ball towards Kane on the halfway line. Lovren ran straight past the ball, allowing Kane to surge into space down the right. He curled an excellent low pass around the last defender Matip to find Son, who rattled a first-time shot through Mignolet with his left foot. It was beautifully worked by Spurs but it all stemmed from that horrible misjudgement by Lovren. He tried to nip in front of Kane to meet Lloris’s throw and was left saying a hail mary as it whooshed over his head.

4.11pm BST

Dejan Lovren is having a beast.

4.11pm BST

11 min Coutinho plays a good pass to the overlapping Moreno, whose low cross flashes across the area. There’s a lovely, open feel to this game, even more so since the goal.

4.09pm BST

8 min On Sky Sports, Gary Neville has nailed both Lovren and Mignolet for their part in the goal - Lovren for playing offside, Mignolet for coming so far from his line and making Kane’s mind up for him.

4.05pm BST

The game came out of nothing. Tripper’s throw-in on the right came back to him and he dinked a speculative golf shot in behind the defence. Lovren dithered, looking for offside, and Kane got there first before moving inside the outrushing Mignolet. Although Kane was off balance he was able to push the ball into the net from 12 yards. It looked inelegant but it was a deceptively accomplished finish from the magnificent Kane. It was also wretched defending from Lovren.

4.04pm BST

Harry Kane gives Spurs the lead!

4.03pm BST

3 min Liverpool have started smartly. Firmino turned Sanchez and stabs a pass to Salah, who is well challenged by the stretching Aurier. The ball rebounds off Salah for a goalkick.

4.02pm BST

2 min Spurs are playing an unusual formation, a kind of 3-3-2-1-1 with Winks in front of the defence and Son just behind Kane.

4.00pm BST

1 min Peep peep! Liverpool, in red, get the match going. Spurs are in white.

3.53pm BST

The math A win would take Spurs to within five points of Manchester City. Liverpool start the match in eighth, 12 points behind City.

3.51pm BST

Save The Crew! “This has nothing to do with the match,” says Graham Randall, “but if you could share this link that would be great.”

It looks like a very worthy cause. If you want to know more, here’s a bit of backstory.

3.37pm BST

Pre-match plugs

1. Nessun Dorma, a new podcast about 80s and 90s football.

3.18pm BST

Liverpool fans won’t be devastated to hear that Everton are being thrashed by Arsenal in the early game. You can get the latest here.

3.08pm BST

Pre-match reading

3.06pm BST

Tottenham Hotspur (3-3-2-2) Lloris; Alderweireld, Sanchez, Vertonghen; Trippier, Winks, Aurier; Eriksen, Alli; Son, Kane.
Substitutes: Davies, Rose, Dier, Nkoudou, Sissoko, Llorente.

Liverpool (4-3-3) Mignolet; Gomez, Matip, Lovren, Moreno; Milner, Henderson, Can; Salah, Firmino, Coutinho.
Substitutes: Karius, Klavan, Alexander-Arnold, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Grujic, Solanke, Sturridge.

10.51am BST

Hello. October is no time for a must-win game, but Spurs and especially Liverpool don’t have much choice. If they don’t take three points today they will need binoculars to catch sight of Manchester City. That and the attacking intent of both sides mean this should - should - be a cracker. It’s odd that Jurgen Klopp’s first game as Liverpool manager was a 0-0 draw at Spurs, because it’s hard to imagine a dull match between teams managed by him and Mauricio Pochettino.

Both sides are talented yet insecure. Spurs still haven’t settled at Wembley while anything is possible with Liverpool, who have already won 7-0 and lost 5-0 away from home this season. This is a significant part of the season for Spurs: in the next month they visit Manchester United, Arsenal and Dortmund and play at home to Liverpool and Real Madrid. A first win over Liverpool since 2012 would be a timely boost.

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Published on October 22, 2017 09:51

Ipswich Town 0-1 Norwich City: Championship – as it happened

James Maddison scored a superb winning goal as Norwich continued their hold over Ipswich with a confident performance at Portman Road

2.46pm BST

1.53pm BST

Norwich are still the Pride of Anglia! There wasn’t much in the game but Norwich’s superior class told in the second half, particularly when the brilliant James Maddison scored a memorable winning goal. Thanks for your company, bye!

1.53pm BST

90+4 min Ipswich get one last corner, with the keeper Bialkowski coming forward for it. Waghorn swings it out towards the near post and Knudsen heads wide. It wasn’t much of a chance.

1.50pm BST

90+1 min What an effort from Waghorn! He nicked the ball off Reed on the edge of the area and floated a gorgeous left-footed chip across Gunn that drifted this far away from the top corner. I thought it was in.

1.49pm BST

90+1 min There will be four minutes of added time.

1.48pm BST

90 min Norwich have done so well to take the heat out of this derby, and for most of the second half Ipswich have been reduced to futile huffing and puffing.

1.47pm BST

88 min Norwich’s final substitution: Mario Vrancic replaces James Maddison.

1.45pm BST

86 min Skuse’s long-range shot takes a slight deflection off Hanley and is comfortably held by Gunn.

1.43pm BST

84 min Knudsen’s long throw is headed to the edge of the area, where Celina mishits a difficult volley into the ground and through to Gunn.

1.42pm BST

83 min A big lump forward falls nicely for Waghorn, who can’t get any power on his shot from the edge of the area. Gunn makes a comfortable save.

1.41pm BST

82 min Sears cuts in for the right and plays a cute pass into the area for Waghorn, who miscontrols the ball under pressure from Trybull.

1.39pm BST

81 min Ipswich have really struggled to trouble this excellent Norwich defence in the second half.

1.36pm BST

78 min Wes Hoolahan, who has had a superb second half, is replaced by James Husband.

1.35pm BST

77 min A double change for Ipswich: Sears and Celina replace Nydam and Garner.

1.35pm BST

76 min A fine pass from Stiepermann sends Jerome clear, but Bialkowski hares from his line to get to the ball a fraction before the striker.

1.32pm BST

74 min Ipswich haven’t had a shot on target in this match, although Knudsen hit the post in the first half.

1.30pm BST

72 min The substitute Downes is booked for a late, overzealous tackle on Trybull.

1.29pm BST

71 min Chambers is booked for hacking Maddison. Ipswich are having plenty of the ball, with Norwich content to play on the counter, but they look less threatening that at any stage inthe match.

1.27pm BST

69 min Wildschut tries to run the last man Chambers, who stretches to make a crucial tackle.

1.26pm BST

67 min Ipswich have offered little since the goal. They look like a team suffering the effects of deja vu.

1.25pm BST

66 min Now Ipswich make a change, with Tom Adeyemi replaced by Flynn Downes.

1.24pm BST

65 min A Norwich substitution: Grant Hanley replaces the injured Christoph Zimmermann.

1.21pm BST

62 min Hoolahan, anonymous in the first half, has been electric since the break.

1.20pm BST

61 min Ipswich win a corner on the right. Waghorn swings it in and Jerome heads it away.

1.18pm BST

That was a lovely goal. Hoolahan led a fine Norwich break and found Stiepermann, who played a square pass to Maddison just inside the box. He got the ball out of his feet and placed a lovely curling shot into the far corner. He is a serious talent, this lad.

1.17pm BST

James Maddison stamps his class all over the East Anglia derby!

1.17pm BST

58 min A half-chance for Norwich. Hoolahan plays a fine pass through the middle for Jerome, whose low shot from the edge of the box is too close to Bialkowski.

1.15pm BST

56 min Adeyemi and Klose are warned by the referee after a bit of a contretemps. Ipswich are bullying Norwich with increasing success and Norwich look rattled for the first time.

1.12pm BST

54 min Good play from Ipswich. Waghorn plays a nice pass down the right to Spence, who drills a flat cross towards the penalty spot. McGoldrick gets in front of Zimmerman and flicks a header just wide of the far post. That was a really good effort.

1.11pm BST

52 min A good break from Pinto leads to a corner on the left for Norwich. It’s taken short to Maddison, who is fouled just outside the area by Waghorn. Maddison clips the free-kick into the area and Garner heads away.

1.07pm BST

49 min Garner drags an ambitious volley well wide from 25 yards. It’s been a scruffy, hectic start to the second half, which suits Ipswich more than Norwich.

1.03pm BST

46 min Peep peep! Norwich begin the second half. No substitutions on either side.

12.48pm BST

Half-time reading

12.47pm BST

Peep peep! That was an interesting if relatively uneventful 45 minutes. Ipswich had the better chances; Norwich played the better football. See you in 10 minutes for the second half.

12.47pm BST

45+1 min ... Waghorn’s free-kick is headed away by a Norwich defender, and that should be it for the first half.

12.46pm BST

45 min Zimmerman fouls Garner just outside the area. It’s a fair way to the left, probably too far for a direct shot...

12.42pm BST

40 min This is an excellent spell for Ipswich, who have pinned Norwich back in the last 10 or 15 minutes. They really should be ahead, for all Norwich’s pretty football.

12.41pm BST

39 min Hoolahan foulds Nydam down the Ipswich left. Waghorn curls the free-kick to the far post, where the unmarked McGoldrick thumps a header over the bar from six yards. What a chance! That was the best opportunity of the match by a distance.

12.39pm BST

38 min McGoldrick, picked out on the edge of the box by Waghorn, sprays a volley into orbit.

12.37pm BST

36 min Garner clips a lovely ball towards Waghorn at the far post, forcing Stiepermann to concede a corner. That was a vital interception.

12.36pm BST

35 min “Afternoon Rob,” says Matt Loten. “Delighted to see Adam Webster back in the Ipswich team after his injury troubles. I haven’t had many chances to watch him in action for the Tractor Boys, but he is one of the classiest centre-halves I have seen play for Portsmouth. I also think he’s a brilliant example of how much of a role luck plays in a football career. When he came through the ranks at 16 or 17, he was played out of position at right-back, he hadn’t grown into his body, and his confidence was brittle. It was only when Gary Waddock took over as caretaker manager at the end of 2014/15 that Webster was given a run at centre-half - a run of games which incoming permanent manager Paul Cook admitted convinced him not to release Webster as he overhauled the squad during the subsequent summer. Webster played nearly 40 games the next season, impressed against Ipswich in the FA Cup, earned his move, and has since been linked with switches to Premier League clubs. And he’s still only 22; I have no doubt he’ll end up in the big time sooner or later.”

It’s scary how important luck can be, in football as in life. Even silly things like a foreigner rule can change a person’s life.

12.35pm BST

33 min Wildschut slithers past Chambers into the area, where the teenager Nydam comes across to make a tremendous tackle. Moments later, Jerome mistimes his leap and heads Reed’s cross miles over the bar. That was a decent chance too.

12.33pm BST

31 min Spence is booked for a lunge at Skuse. That was a poor tackle.

12.29pm BST

28 min A deep corner from Waghorn is headed just wide from six yards by Garner. That was a decent chance, though he was under a lot of pressure as he headed the ball.

12.27pm BST

26 min Norwich will probably be slightly happier with the first 26 minutes. They have certainly been the more composed, confident team.

12.26pm BST

25 min “Little known fact,” says Phil Withall. “Hans Zimmer co-wrote History of the World with punk legends the Damned. In other news, I need to be up for work on six hours and yet can’t look away.”

12.25pm BST

24 min Maddison makes room on the left of the box and tries to whip a curler into the far top corner. He doesn’t get enough bend and it drifts a few yards wide.

12.24pm BST

23 min Norwich are starting to threaten. Jerome moves infield from the left and tees up Stiepermann, who drags a low shot from 17 yards that is held to his left by the plunging Bialkowski.

12.23pm BST

20 min Maddison plays a sharp cutback from the left towards Hoolahan, who is superbly tackled by Adeyemi. The ball comes to Wildschut, whose curling shot from 20 yards is comfortably saved by the diving Bialkowski. Maddison has been so impressive; there is such swagger in his play.

12.20pm BST

18 min Maddison makes space 30 yards out to whistle a low shot a few yards wide. Bialkowski had it covered.

12.17pm BST

16 min Norwich have had 59 per cent poossession, a fair reflection of the game so far. That said, Ipswich have come closest to scoring and they do look dangerous on the counter-attack.

12.16pm BST

15 min The second corner comes to nothing.

12.15pm BST

14 min Maddison turns smartly and plays a lovely angled pass through to Wildschut on the left of the area. His low cross deflects behind for a corner, which leads to another corner. Maddison looks a player.

12.14pm BST

13 min Hoolahan sprays a nice pass out to Stiepermann, who has lots of space in the left. He tiptoes into the box, moves the ball onto his right foot and slices a low shot miles wide.

12.13pm BST

11 min A right-wing corner from Waghorn leads to a game of head tennis in the Norwich box. Eventually Chambers heads it dangerously across his own area to Waghorn, who slashes the bouncing ball just over the bar. That was a decent chance.

12.11pm BST

9 min There’s an endearing clash of styles in this match. Ipswich are direct and speedy, particularly on the break, while Norwich like to keep possession and probe. The 20-year-old James Maddison, playing behind Jerome, has been heavily involved in the first 10 minutes.

12.09pm BST

7 min “Seeing Christoph Zimmermann starting for the Canaries today got me thinking of other well known Zimmermanns,” says Kevin Ryan. “I came up with Nicky and Simone (dress designers), Kurt , (the artist), Zimmerman the piano maker, Robert (though only one ‘n’- some geezer who knocked out a decent song or two) and, most important of all, Harry Zimmermann who featured in the excellent murder novel ‘Lady Don’t Fall Backwards’ which Tony Hancock was reading. Hancock (and Sid James) had him down as the chief suspect until they realised he been bumped off in Chapter 5. Just thought I’d mention it. I thought Hancock was great....”

There’s a joke in there somewhere about cultured stoners who loves the music of Hans Zimmer, man.

12.06pm BST

5 min Knudsen hits the post with a brilliant effort! The chance came when Pinto tried a fancy turn just outside his own box and bounced off Knudsen. He collected the ball, moved infield from the left and struck a brilliant rising drive that flew across Gunn before clattering off the inside of the far post.

12.04pm BST

3 min Garner slashes a brilliant crossfield pass to Waghorn, who is allowed far too much time and space to move infield from the right and hit a low shot that is comfortably held by the sprawling Gunn.

12.02pm BST

2 min Ipswich have started really aggressively, harassing Norwich whenever they have the ball. The atmosphere is tremendous.

12.01pm BST

1 min Peep peep! Ipswich kick off from left to right. They are in blue; Norwich are wearing yellow.

11.47am BST

Daniel Farke speaks! “There are no favourites in a derby: it’s a special game, like a cup game. I have experienced Dortmund v Schalke, so I know what to expect from a derby. We wanted to start Nelson Oliveira but he is not fully fit so that’s why he’s on the bench.”

11.37am BST

Mick McCarthy speaks! “We have to be as competitive as we can. They’re a good team but when we play with intensity we’ve had some great results here. I hope the formbook gets ripped up. It’s a huge boost having Joe Garner back; he’s a very, very good footballer and he’s impressed me no end.”

11.12am BST

Ipswich (4-4-2) Bialkowski; Spencer, Chambers, Webster Knudsen; Waghorn, Skuse, Adeyemi, Nydam; McGoldrick, Garner.
Substitutes: Gerken, Iorfa, Celina, Connolly, Ward, Sears, Downes.

Norwich (4-2-3-1) Gunn; Pinto, Zimmermann, Klose, Stiepermann; Reed, Trybull; Hoolahan, Maddison, Wildschut; Jerome.
Substitutes: McGovern, Husband, Vrancic, Oliveira, Murphy, Franke, Hanley.

10.41am BST

Hello there. Mick McCarthy is the longest serving manager in the championship, which makes it even more frustrating for Ipswich fans that he has never beaten Norwich. It’s eight and a half years since Ipswich’s last victory in the East Anglia derby, when they shoved Norwich towards relegation. It’s a damn long time between brags.

The teams may be 40 miles apart but they are neighbours in the league table at the moment. Norwich, in ninth, started poorly under Daniel Farke but are unbeaten since August. Ipswich (10th) are more up and down, with no draws in the last 20 games. You can become the Pride of Anglia both on derby results and league position. A win for either team today would tick both boxes.

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Published on October 22, 2017 05:53

Chelsea 4-2 Watford: Premier League – as it happened

The substitute Michy Batshuayi scored twice to grab victory for Chelsea in a highly entertaining game against an excellent Watford side

4.56pm BST

2.29pm BST

Still want more? Well here you are.

2.28pm BST

That was such an enjoyable game. Both sides deserve enormous credit for their attitude and attacking ability, if not necessarily their defending. Watford will have regrets, particularly those missed opportunities at the start of the second half, but when the dust settles they will be proud of their performance. Chelsea will certainly be proud of the defiance they showed to recover from a quite abysmal start to the second half. By the end, Antonio Conte was back to his infectious, passionate best on the touchline. Thanks for your company, bye!

2.25pm BST

90+5 min Nobody will accuse Chelsea of lacking cojones after this game.

2.24pm BST

Batshuayi seals the win, lobbing Gomes from close range. Britos’ scoop out of defence was headed back towards the area by Bakayoko, and Batshuayi held off Kabasele to lift the ball over Gomes with his ankle.

2.22pm BST

90+3 min Hazard kicks the ball away and is not booked, unlike Femenia earlier. I think the referee had his back turned. The Watford players aren’t happy.

2.20pm BST

90+1 min There will be five minutes of added time.

2.19pm BST

90 min Watford make their last change, Andre Gray for Mariappa.

2.18pm BST

88 min The score is a bit harsh on an admirable Watford side. It does, however, show how much resilience Antonio Conte’s teams have, because Chelsea were a shambles for the first first 25 minutes of the second half.

2.17pm BST

The goal came from another right-wing cross, this time by Willian. It skimmed off the head of the leaping Kabasele at the near post and came to Azpilicueta, who mistimed his header and shouldered the ball into the net!

2.16pm BST

Chelsea have won it!

2.15pm BST

87 min Davide Zappacosta replaces Pedro and almost creates a goal within two seconds with a fine cross that just evades Batshuayi at the near post.

2.15pm BST

86 min Richarlison and Doucoure work the ball across the box to Femenia, whose deep cross skims the head of the diving Carrillo and flashes well wide. That was another decent opportunity for Watford. Richarlison’s response to those hideous misses has been absolutely outstanding.

2.12pm BST

82 min Another chance for Batshuayi! Chelsea had a free-kick 40 yards from goal in a central position. Everybody expected a lofted ball to the far post but Fabregas fed a clever pass into the feet of Batshuayi, who shifted the ball to the side of Kiko Femenia and whacked a shot over the bar from 15 yards. Having done the hard part by making space for the shot, he might well have scored.

2.10pm BST

81 min In fact Watson has gone into midfield, with Cleverley moving left and Richarlison up front.

2.09pm BST

80 min Batshuayi cuts into from the left and curls a fine effort just wide of the far post. Watford make another change, with Ben Watson replacing Troy Deeney. That suggests a switch from 3-4-3 to 3-5-2.

2.07pm BST

78 min Kiko Femenia is booked for kicking the ball away.

2.06pm BST

77 min The game is much more even now, with Chelsea having a lot of the ball.

2.03pm BST

73 min Chelsea continue to defend like a bunch of amateurs. Cleverley’s curling free-kick to the far post finds the unmarked Kabasele, who heads straight at Courtois from eight yards. That was a poor effort.

2.01pm BST

The substitute Michy Batshuayi equalises with a superb header! Pedro on the right curled a standard cross towards the near post, where Batshuayi got in front of Britos and flicked a powerful header from 12 yards that beat the desperate dive of Gomes and swirled into the net.

1.58pm BST

69 min “Mourinho should manage both Man Utd and Chelsea at the same time,” says Ian Copestake. “He will then be the Rick Wakeman of football, surrounded by banks of keyboards under his Prospero-like control.”

1.57pm BST

68 min Another Chelsea change: Willian replaces Marcos Alonso, with Azpilicueta moving across to the left.

1.56pm BST

67 min “The DVD of Watford’s season will be called ‘Keeping up with the cojones’,” honks Niall Mullen.

1.56pm BST

66 min Chelsea played well in the first half but that goal in injury time changed everything and they are a bag of nerves now. Carrillo surges away from Pedro down the right and crosses low towards Richarlison, whose shot deflects behind for a corner.

1.54pm BST

65 min A Watford corner is half cleared to Carrillo, who mishits a snapshot from just inside the area. That wasn’t a bad chance.

1.54pm BST

65 min The goalscorer Pereyra is limping off with what appears to be a knee injury. Andre Carrillo replaces him.

1.50pm BST

61 min A Chelsea substitution: Michy Batshuayi replaces Alvaro Morata.

1.49pm BST

60 min Hazard has started to get on the ball for the first time since the break. Chelsea need him now.

1.49pm BST

59 min “Chelsea’s recent performances (post Atleti) have been reminiscent of 2015-16 minus Mou poisoning the well,” says Chris Ross. “A few more ropey performances and I fear Conte’s for the inevitable exit. If that means Tuchel, I fancy a three-manager season. Or, failing that, a new manager by the start of next season. Richarlson looks fantastic. He’ll soon be taking tumbles in the Champions League.”

With Watford, hopefully #daretodreamyeah

1.48pm BST

58 min It’s nice to note that Richarlison is still demanding the ball at every opportunity, despite those two horrible misses. Watford have battered Chelsea since half-time; it could easily be 4-1.

1.46pm BST

57 min “Don’t blame Richarlison for failing to score,” says Charles Antaki. “It’s well known that he suffers from a vestibular condition which affects his balance, especially when his visual system registers that he’s in the penalty box.”

Charles Antaki may or may be an Arsenal fan. (It was a dive, mind.)

1.45pm BST

56 min Watford are rampant. Pereyra plays a nice return pass to Deeney, whose stinging shot from the edge of the box is well blocked by David Luiz. Moments later, Morata is booked for a petulant foul on one of the Watford defenders.

1.44pm BST

54 min Richarlison misses another sitter from six yards! This is crazy. Holebas’s inswinging cross from the right dipped over the head of David Luiz and Richarlison headed well wide of the right-hand post. He may have been unsighted but it looked a great chance, if not quite as good as the first.

1.42pm BST

53 min The next goal is huge - not just in this game but in Chelsea’s season. Rudiger, already booked, has a petulant kick at Richarlison. Some referees would have sent him off for that, though I don’t think it was quite enough for a second yellow.

1.41pm BST

52 min Chelsea are all over the show. This is starting to feel like that infamous Southampton game two years ago.

1.39pm BST

50 min On reflection, I think Richarlison might have been trying to find Deeney. It doesn’t matter because the ball ran through to Pereyra, who lifted it over Courtois from 10 yards.

1.39pm BST

Richarlison redeems himself with a fine pass across the box to Pereyra, who finishes coolly over Courtois. Watford are ahead!

1.38pm BST

49 min Richarlison misses an open goal from six yards! Kiko Femenia surged down the right and put in a beautiful low cross to the far post, where Richarlison got behind Azpilicueta and inexplicably sliced the ball wide with his left foot. How did he not score there?

1.37pm BST

47 min It’s been a cracking start to the half. Watford break through Pereyra, whose pass to Deeney in the box is splendidly intercepted by David Luiz.

1.36pm BST

46 min Chelsea almost score after 32 seconds of the second half. Mariappa, facing his own goal, has no option but to swing his foot at Azpilicueta’s stunning cross and the ball loops onto the roof of the net. Morata was behind him waiting to score.

1.34pm BST

46 min Peep peep! Watford begin the second half.

1.33pm BST

Shameless plug

This week’s episode of Nessun Dorma, the new 80s and 90s football podcast, includes Neil Ruddock and a bacon sandwich, Sir Alex Ferguson’s traumatic start at Old Trafford and the 1995-96 PFA Team of the Year. What’s not to love? Oh.

1.23pm BST

Half-time chit-chat

Ian Copestake “With crisis everywhere you look it’s almost as if Premier League football embodies some sort of capitalist model in which crisis is the desired state, where markets change and progress is based on constant adaptation. In short,comrade, all that is solid melts into air.”

1.19pm BST

Half-time reading

1.19pm BST

Peep peep! That was a really smart finish from Doucoure. There were so many players between him and the goal, so he cut across the ball to swerve it away from all of them and into a tiny gap at the near post.

1.18pm BST

Abdoulaye Doucoure equalises on the stroke of half-time! A long throw from Holebas on the right ricocheted around the box and bounced up towards Doucoure, who adjusted his feet smartly to clip a shot with the outside of the right foot that flashed past the unsighted Courtois.

1.17pm BST

45+2 min Holebas’s free-kick from the left bounces right across the face of goal, with no Watford player able to stick a boot on it.

1.14pm BST

44 min “What really is London?” asks Daniel Friedman. “An urban disaster inside the M25? A state of mind? The people served by the tube? From Elland Road everything from Luton to Brighton is London. But what do the people of Watford say?”

1.14pm BST

43 min A Chelsea goal is coming on the break, if not before half-time then certainly after. Watford are still passing it around nicely but they keep hitting a wall on the edge of the Chelsea area.

1.12pm BST

41 min “Although all football-related debate has of course been ended by the introduction of goal-line technology and VAR, famously leaving pubs up and down the country devoid of conversation and custom every Saturday and Sunday, I was wondering if you had a take on Troy Deeney’s comments after last week’s match against Arsenal?” says Matt Loten. “Alan Pardew seems to think that Deeney’s inflammatory, distracting, and humiliating assessment of Arsenal’s lack of stomach for the fight were unnecessary and deserving of his manager’s, and the PR department’s, opprobrium. Personally, I think it was a pleasant change to hear a footballer put across an eminently sensible opinion, and come off as very affable human being in the process.”

I didn’t see the

incident
interview, but generally speaking I really like Deeney. He’s a normal bloke who has a paunch and a great attitude and, as you say, hasn’t been media-trained to within an inch of his personality. He’s a gift from the past.

1.11pm BST

40 min Hazard moseys around a bit and finds Fabregas, who thwacks a rising drive from 25 yards that is palmed behind by the diving Gomes.

1.09pm BST

39 min Watford continue to dominate possession, though they haven’t created much. Antonio Conte teams are formidable when they take the lead.

1.07pm BST

36 min “So will there be the days of media inquest into the dubious corner decision, like there was about the Richarlison penalty last week?” says Matt Ballantine. “Hmm. I’m imagining not.”

Not true. Our sports editor has already commissioned an eight-page supplement on The Ghost Corner of Stamford Bridge.

1.05pm BST

35 min Fabregas drives a fine long pass to Pedro, who dances around a bit and then makes such a balls of his cross that I wish I hadn’t bothered with this entry.

1.03pm BST

33 min “I have a question: what on Earth has happened to Eden Hazard?” says Norrie Hernon. “He was just below that perpetual-good-form platform of Messi and Ronaldo - and currently occupied by Mertens and De Bruyne - then kind of went... meh.”

Isn’t he just taking a while to get going after injury? Either that or it’s 2015-16 all over again and he’ll be back to inspire Chelsea to the title next season.

1.01pm BST

31 min Cleverley does go for the shot and Courtois dives to his right to punch it away. It was a decent effort but a relatively comfortable save.

1.01pm BST

30 min The slippery Richarlison is fouled just outside the area by Pedro. The free-kick is just infield from the left edge of the area, but I think Cleverley might go for the shot.

12.59pm BST

29 min Watford are right in this game. At the moment Doucoure and Cleverley are dominating Bakayoko and Fabregas, while Richarlison is a major threat on the left. Chelsea look very dangerous on the counter-attack though.

12.58pm BST

28 min A hanging cross from Holebas is superbly headed clear by Cahill, under pressure from three Watford players on the six-yard line.

12.56pm BST

26 min “Was I the only one irritated by the praise Troy Deeney received for his BT interview last week,” says Niall Mullen. “Essentially he said that Arsenal don’t like it up ‘em & you can find that out by getting stuck in early doors. Apart from being twaddle it’s such a tedious cliché it hurts my brain to hear it.”

12.54pm BST

25 min “We shouldn’t be surprised Conte is having a season of discontent,” says Hubert O’Hearn. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but since Alex Ferguson has any title-winning manager lasted 18 months at their club after Happy Happy Joy Joy day?”

Pellegrini lasted two more years didn’t he? Mind you, most of those were spent walking while dead. Well done football!

12.54pm BST

24 min Pedro, given an intravenous injection of confidence by the goal, tries again from long range. This one isn’t as well struck and bounces a few yards wide of the near post. Gomes probably had it covered.

12.53pm BST

23 min Another excellent run from Richarlison is ended by a foul from Rudiger, who is booked. Richarlison has been the best player on the pitch so far.

12.51pm BST

21 min There’s an admirable confidence to Watford’s play. Even away to the champions, there’s no sign of anything resembling an inferiority complex.

12.49pm BST

18 min Richarlison is fouled 25 yards from goal from Fabregas, but Holebas’s free-kick from the left is poor and easily clearted. Richarlison looks very lively.

12.48pm BST

16 min Fabregas misses a great chance to make it 2-0. Hazard led a superb counter-attack and found Morata on the left. He slid a lovely angled pass through the defence to put Fabregas clear on the right of the box. As Gomes came out, Fabregas tried a gentle chip over him. He didn’t get enough on it and Gomes reached up to paw it away. It might not hae gone in anyway, such was the lack of pace on the chip.

12.44pm BST

14 min That was such a good goal, although Watford have legitimate cause for complaint: the corner that led to the goal should have been a goalkick. Hazard tried to drag the ball back inside Britos and accidentally backheeled it out of play.

12.42pm BST

Pedro gives Chelsea the lead with a belting goal! A right-wing corner was played short to Hazard, who fed a slow pass back to Pedro 25 yards from goal. He hit a big, right-footed curler that swirled onto the inside of the far post and rebounded into the net. Gomes didn’t move.

12.41pm BST

11 min “I was a bit gutted about that second Longpigs album,” writes Simon Sylvester. “They were my favourite band, growing up, and my first gig too. Second album was a little flimsy. Sad times. Watford 2-1.”

Me too, though it had its moments, especially the Frank Sonata. The first album set the bar impossibly high.

12.40pm BST

10 min This is an enjoyable, open game, with Chelsea starting to enjoy their work after a slow start.

12.39pm BST

8 min Fabregas drives an extremely good 60-yard pass inside Holebas towards Azpilicueta, forcing Holebas to concede a corner. It’s played showed to Pedro, who floats it into the six-yard box, where it bounces off the shin of the unsighted Morata and into the hands of Gomes.

12.37pm BST

7 min “Watford in London?” sniffs Nathan Eyland. “My geography must be bad, or London moved.”

If it’s on the tube line, it’s in London. At least I assume that’s how my subconscious was thinking when it ushered me towards that geographical howler. Watford is indeed in Hertfordshire.

12.36pm BST

5 min “Without taking anything away from Watford’s start, might it not be a little premature to say that they have ‘found stability’?” says Shaun Wilkinson. “Given Watford’s recent history and the state of football in general, I would suggest we need to see what happens when they have a bad run before lauding their stability. Leicester looked pretty stable just over a year ago.”

I only said they might have found it, which is surely fair enough based on the obvious brilliance of Marco Silva. I’d be surprised if they ever sack him, put it that way.

12.34pm BST

3 min Watford have started confidently. Pereyra flicks the ball mischievously around David Luiz, takes the return from Deeney and hits a low cross that is put behind for a corner by Rudiger.

12.32pm BST

1 min Bakayoko gives the ball away to Deeney, who moves it on to Richarlison. He surges into the box and is expertly slide tackled by Rudiger. Kabasele produces an even better tackle on Morata at the other end. It would have been a goal-saving tackle, had Morata not been flagged offside.

12.30pm BST

1 min Peep peep! Chelsea kick off from right to left. They are in blue; Watford are wearing their red away kit.

12.24pm BST

The last time Watford beat Chelsea was September 1999, when the world was eagerly anticipating/panciking about the Blair Witch Project/the Millennium Bug/the new Longpigs album (delete as appropriate). Nice goal, too.

12.22pm BST

If Watford win today they will be the top London club, for 24 hours at least. I do fancy Chelsea though, maybe 3-1 or 3-0.

12.14pm BST

Pre-match entertainment

When you thought you'd seen every hilariously bad Graeme Souness tackle for Rangers, there always seems to be one more pic.twitter.com/2KPxV5lpMl

11.34am BST

Chelsea (3-4-3) Courtois; Rudiger, David Luiz, Cahill; Azpilicueta, Fabregas, Bakayoko, Alonso; Pedro, Morata, Hazard.
Substitutes: Caballero, Zappacosta, Christensen, Musonda, Willian, Ampadu, Batshuayi.

Watford (3-4-3) Gomes; Mariappa, Kabasele, Britos; Femenia, Cleverley, Doucoure, Holebas; Pereyra, Deeney, Richarlison.
Substitutes: Karnezis, Janmaat, Wague, Capoue, Watson, Gray, Carrillo.

10.54am BST

Hello. Meet Chelsea, a debonair playboy from, erm, Chelsea. No matter how hard he tries, or how much money he spends, he just can’t settle down. In the last decade he’s had a string of briefly euphoric yet ultimately poisonous relationships. It doesn’t matter how exciting the relationships are in the beginning. After a while little things just start to grate on Chelsea: the training sessions, the man-management or HOW MANY TIMES HAVE I TOLD YOU, THE 2 UNLIMITED CDS SHOULD BE FILED UNDER ‘T’, NOT BEFORE ‘A’. Now, it seems, his tumultuous fling with Antonio Conte is coming towards the end.

How the flip has it come to this? It’s barely five months since Chelsea completed a monstrously impressive title win yet they are in a familiar mess, with stories being leaked to the press about the usual. It would be wrong to accuse modern footballers of stabbing managers in the back; they have somebody else to do that for them.

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Published on October 21, 2017 06:28

Internazionale 3-2 Milan: Serie A – as it happened

Mauro Icardi completed a stunning hat-trick with a controversial 90th-minute penalty to settle a thrilling Milan derby

9.41pm BST

That was such an enjoyable game. Mauro Icardi produced two devastating finishes and then calmly scored a 90th-minute penalty to complete his hat-trick. Milan played brilliantly in the second half, with Suso scoring a lovely goal of his own. Thanks for your company, goodnight!

9.39pm BST

That’s it! Inter move 10 points clear of Milan after a highly entertaining derby.

9.37pm BST

90+3 min Icardi gets a standing ovation as he is replaced by Santon. The BT commentators think the penalty award was harsh. I’m not so sure; he had his arms around D’Ambrosio’s chest.

9.36pm BST

90+1 min There will be three minutes of added time. You have to feel for Milan, who have performed admirably in the second half, but Mauro Icardi’s genius for goalscoring looks to have settled this match.

9.34pm BST

Icardi completes his hat-trick with a lovely penalty!

9.34pm BST

89 min An Inter corner flashed across goal, and Rodriguez - who saved a goal moments earlier with that block - as penalised for manhandling D’Ambrosio. It’ll be taken by Icardi, on a hat-trick, to win the derby.

9.33pm BST

88 min Wonderful play from Inter! Vecino makes a tremendous run from the halfway line into the area before finding Icardi. He flicks the ball behind him to the substitute Eder, whose shot is brilliantly blocked by Rodriguez. And now Inter have a penalty!

9.29pm BST

84 min “Never seen the like of Icardi’s second goal?” says Geoff Wignall. “Young man, you never saw Law: that much is clear.”

Ah, I should have been clearer - I meant the way he seemed to deliberately slice it with the outside of his shin.

9.25pm BST

Milan have equalised again! Borini’s inswinging cross from the left somehow evaded a bunch of players in the middle of goal, but Bonaventura appeared from nowhere beyond the far post to slide the ball in! Handanovic managed to push the ball onto the post, a brilliant save, but it rebounded onto his knee and into the net. Technically that’s an own goal, which is a bit harsh on Handanovic and Bonaventura.

9.24pm BST

79 min Perisic is booked for a hand-off into the face of Andre Silva. That looked a bit harsh.

9.22pm BST

78 min Another change for Milan: Locatelli on, Romagnoli off.

9.21pm BST

77 min Borja Valero’s big, dipping corner is won emphatically in the air by Perisic, and Donnarumma makes a decent save to his right.

9.20pm BST

76 min A smart run from Joao Cancelo, whose cross deflects behind for a corner.

9.17pm BST

73 min An Internazionale substitution: Joao Cancelo replaces the excellent Candreva.

9.16pm BST

71 min Suso’s long-range shot deflects to Romagnoli, who runs out of time waiting for the ball to drop and eventually stabs it over the bar.

9.14pm BST

70 min The timing of that goal seems to have winded Milan, who have been relatively subdued in the last few minutes.

9.11pm BST

66 min Gagliardini is booked for a foul on Borini. You don’t see many unique goals in football, but I can’t remember anything quite like that second from Icardi.

9.08pm BST

The magnificent Icardi does it again! This has been some second half. Icardi led an Inter counter-attack and played the ball wide to Perisic on the left. He ran at Musacchio, got to the byline and cut the ball back into the area. It came at a really awkward height for Icardi, who had both feet off the ground as he deliberate sliced a volley across Donnarumma and into the corner. That was a tremendous piece of improvisation. I think he hit it with the outside of his shin, never mind the outside of his foot.

9.06pm BST

62 min Great save from Handanovic! A cross from the right fell nicely beyond the far post for Bonaventura, who opened his body to shoot low across goal. Handanovic, who had almost no reaction time, plunged spectacularly to his left to stop the shot.

9.05pm BST

60 min That was a great chance for Inter on the break. Candreva on the right wing fizzed an excellent low ball into the the path of Vecino, who sidefooted a first-time shot just wide from 18 yards. He probably should have scored.

9.04pm BST

59 min Milan are rampant. This turnaround verges on the bizarre, because they were hopeless in the first half.

9.02pm BST

58 min “Matt Dony, you should have practiced being taken out cynically and violently from behind also,” says Simon Frank. “Garden practice apparently worked out for Matt Le Tissier- he used to bounce a ball off his wall and volley it against a 3-paneled shed. No points for hitting the middle panel.”

9.02pm BST

Milan are deservedly level thanks to a beautiful goal from Suso. He came infield from the right onto his left foot, helped by Musacchio’s selfless off-the-ball run, and placed a precise curling shot into the far corner from 22 yards. There was hardly any pace on the shot but the placement was excellent.

8.59pm BST

54 min Milan continue to create chances. Rodriguez crosses low towards the near post, where Cutrone gets ahead of Skriniar and hooks a shot into the side netting. His movement to get in front of Skriniar was excellent.

8.57pm BST

53 min Milan look much livelier in attack since the introduction of Cutrone.

8.56pm BST

51 min The corner comes to Borini, who drags a left-footed shot from 15 yards that Handanovic saves down to his left.

8.55pm BST

50 min Suso hits a sweet, dipping strike from 30 yards that is tipped over by the leaping Handanovic. It was straight down the middle which made it a relatively comfortable save.

8.54pm BST

49 min Milan have a goal disallowed for offside. Andre Silva struck a low shot onto the inside of the far post, with Musacchio gleefully roofing the rebound. The flag went up against Musacchio, and replays showed he was clearly offside when Silva had the shot.

8.52pm BST

48 min Vecino, found by Perisic, drills a low shot a few yards wide from 25 yards. Donnarumma had it covered.

8.50pm BST

47 min “Liam Brady was my idol growing up too,” says Justin Kavanagh. “But I wonder if nostalgia isn’t what it used to be? Would he get into most top-notch sides today, now that everything is so much faster and the playmaker role is such a thing of the past?”

He’s a rich man’s Granit Xhaka isn’t he?

8.49pm BST

46 min Peep peep! Inter begin the second half.

8.49pm BST

Milan have made a half-time change, with Patrick Cutrone replacing Franck Kessie. That suggests a switch to 3-4-1-2.

8.36pm BST

Some half-time reading

8.34pm BST

Peep peep! Inter lead, deservedly so, through a high-class goal from Mauro Icardi. See you in 10 minutes for the second half.

8.33pm BST

44 min Milan almost equalise on the stroke of half-time. Kessie turns Gagliardini neatly and slips a pass through to Borini, who gets behind Nagamoto and smashes a low first-time shot across goal. Handanovic gets down very smartly to his right to save, and Borini can only head the follow-up into the side netting from a tight angle.

8.30pm BST

42 min Vecino rakes a left-footed shot from the edge of the box that is comfortably held by Donnarumma.

8.30pm BST

41 min Skriniar, the young Inter centre-half, looks an impressive, dominant defender. He hasn’t given Andre Silva a kick, which may be why Andre Silva has just given him a very late kick. He might have been booked for that.

8.27pm BST

39 min Suso’s increasing frustration manifests itself in a petulant foul on the influential Borja Valero.

8.25pm BST

37 min Milan haven’t had a shot on target. There’s been an obvious difference in class in this first half.

8.24pm BST

36 min The voarcious Icardi shoots straight at Donnarumma from 25 yards.

8.22pm BST

33 min “I’m still some way short of 40, Simon Frank, but I initially fell in love with football thanks to S4C’s welsh language Sgorio in 1990-ish, hero-worshipping Van Basten,” says Matt Dony. “ Thanks to him, I spent hours and hours and hours practicing volleys in my garden, before accepting I’m a clodhopping defender and getting on with my life. Everything was better in the 90s.”

Even nostalgia?

8.20pm BST

32 min Perisic’s stinging shot from the left of the box is blocked by Musacchio. Milan are under all kinds of pressure at the moment.

8.19pm BST

30 min That goal was so classy: the quick passing down the right, Candreva’s beautiful cross and Icardi’s finish.

8.16pm BST

Mauro Icardi gives Inter the lead with a fine goal. After some snappy passing down the right, Candreva curled a superb first-time ball into the corridor of uncertainty, and Icardi got between two defenders to help it into the far corner. That was such a good finish because the bounce was awkward and he had to take it first time.

8.13pm BST

25 min Vecino is the latest man to be booked, this time for a foul on Bonaventura. Inter are angry because Biglia appeared to get away with handball a few seconds earlier.

8.10pm BST

23 min Borja Valero’s excellent free-kick from the right skims off the head of a Milan defender and goes out to Perisic on the left. He hits a deep, swirling cross that is thumped just wide by the head of Miranda. That was close.

8.09pm BST

22 min Romagnoli is booked for a deliberate block on Candreva, who was about to go past him on an Inter break.

8.07pm BST

20 min Suso has a pop from 25 yards, and screws it well wide.

8.06pm BST

19 min That corner comes to nothing. I don’t know why I bother sometimes.

8.06pm BST

18 min Bonaventura runs at D’Ambrosio in the box and wins a corner for Milan, who are slowly familiarising themselves with the concept of ‘attack’. Bonaventura’s corner leads to another corner, this time on the right-hand side.

8.04pm BST

17 min It hasn’t been the most entertaining game so far, that sweet strike from Candreva aside. A scruffy match, as Chris Perry points out on BT Sport, suits Milan a lot more than Inter.

8.04pm BST

16 min “Everyone talking about the 90s but for me Liam ’Chippy’ Brady was one of the greatest to grace Serie A in the 80s & was unfairly jettisoned by Juve for some French lad Platini who was tidy enough,” says John McEnerney. “He won 2 Serie A titles in his 2 seasons with The Old Lady. Legend.”

Didn’t he score a penalty to win Serie A in his final game, knowing he was going to be sold? That’s the definition of class.

8.03pm BST

15 min Miranda is booked for a hack at Andre Silva.

8.01pm BST

13 min Candreva hits the bar! It was a lovely effort, floated with his right foot from 20 yards, and it twanged off the top of the bar as Donnarumma leapt desperately to his left. He may have had it covered; either way it was a superb effort.

7.59pm BST

12 min The corner is worked short to Suso, whose ball into the box is hopeless.

7.59pm BST

11 min Rodriguez does excellently to retrieve Borini’s overhit pass and win a corner for Milan.

7.57pm BST

10 min It’ll be a long night for Milan if they continue like this. They have hardly crossed the halfway line in the first 10 minutes.

7.54pm BST

7 min It’s still all Inter, though they haven’t yet created anything of note.

7.52pm BST

4 min “I always felt Andrea Silenzi and Ruggiero Rizzitelli never got enough credit,” says Simon Frank. “They were lethal for Torino back in the days when Torino were an underperforming giant. Maybe it’s because Silenzi went on to have such a great career with Forest, their partnership got overshadowed.”

You’re nothing if you haven’t proved yourself in This League™. See also the wildly overrated Shevchenko.

7.51pm BST

3 min A lot of early possession for Inter, who are the home side tonight. Icardi is just offside as he runs through on goal onto a long pass from Gagliardini.

7.49pm BST

1 min Peep peep! AC Milan kick off from right to left.

7.28pm BST

“Favourite 90s Serie A player, Rob?” asks Shaun Wilkinson. “Trying to avoid the super-obvious names, I am undecided between Faustino Asprilla and, partly because I was present at his final Serie A game, Beppe Signori.”

Bloody hell, what a question. My head has started spinning. I think I’m about to suffer a fatal attack of happy memories. I really have no idea, so I’ll do the modern thing of answering a different question to the one I was asked. Well, Shaun, my favourite Serie A 90s team were undoubtedly Sampdoria’s 1990-91 champions. This thing has never felt less like work than when I was researching this article.

7.16pm BST

An email! “For those of us in our mid-40s, this game will always be Gullit, Rijkaard, Van Basten versus Klinsmann, Matthaeus, Brehme; Holland v Germany,” says Simon Frank. “So I assume under that logic we are all Milan fans.”

I just want humanity to be the winner, Simon. (And I love that West Germany side, perhaps the most underrated World Cup winners.) Somebody should write a book on the golden age of Serie A in the late 80s and early 90s. Domestic football will never get better than that. It was immense. You could write a whole book just on Sunday 5th May 1991.

6.55pm BST

Pre-match reading

6.51pm BST

Internazionale (4-2-3-1) Handanovic; D’Ambrosio, Skriniar, Miranda, Nagatomo; Gagliardini, Borja Valero; Candreva, Vecino, Perisic; Icardi.
Substitutes: Padelli, Berni, Dalbert, Santon, Ranocchia, Cancelo, Karamoh, Eder, Pinnamonti.

Milan (3-5-1-1) Donnarumma; Musacchio, Bonucci, Romagnoli; Borini, Kessie, Biglia, Bonaventura, Rodriguez; Suso; Andre Silva.
Substitutes: A. Donnarumma, Storari, Calabria, G. Gomez, Abate, Zapata, Paletta, Montolivo, J. Mauri, Locatelli, Cutrone.

1.41pm BST

Hello there. Internazionale and AC Milan have had a disappointing time in recent years, but that hasn’t reduced the status of the Milan derby - or, as I call it when I want to hint at an ocean of cosmopolitan metrosexuality just below the surface, the Derby della Madonnina.The two teams could be playing in Promozione Lombardy rather than Serie A and this match would still merit use of Donald Trump’s favourite superlative.

Inter, like the publicity for each of R.E.M’s last six albums, are promising a return to form. They have won six of their opening seven games, and would be top were it not for those pesky Neapolitans. A win would take Inter to within two points of Napoli - and 10 clear of AC, who seem to be stuck in a never-ending transition.

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Published on October 15, 2017 13:41

Derby County 2-0 Nottingham Forest: Championship – as it happened

Matej Vydra scored after 24 seconds before David Nugent sealed an ultimately comfortable victory for Derby against their local rivals

3.06pm BST

Derby retain the Brian Clough Trophy with an ultimately comfortable win. Matej Vydra scored after 24 seconds and, though Forest dominated the rest of the first half, David Nugent’s accomplished 50th-minute goal killed the game. Thanks for your company, bye!

3.02pm BST

90 min There will be four minutes of added futility for Forest.

3.02pm BST

89 min This win will lift Derby to 13th, one place above Forest. They have so much class and expeience in their team that you’d expect them to at least challenge for a play-off place.

2.59pm BST

87 min Forest know this is over. The timing of the second goal killed them.

2.57pm BST

86 min Martin miscontrols Forsyth’s low pass but the ball runs across to Lawrence, whose fierce shot is excellently blocked by Smith.

2.56pm BST

86 min “Good grief, I may even get to be happy all day at this rate,” sniffs Louise Wright. “I wish I’d gone to the pub to watch the darn thing now.”

2.55pm BST

83 min Martin’s excellent flick allows Russell to surge into the area on the left. He can’t decide whether to pass or shoot and eventually his shot is deflected behind for a corner.

2.54pm BST

82 min A lofted ball into the Derby area almost falls nicely for Walker, who stretches to toe-end the ball towards goal. The ball hits Carson and rebounds to safety.

2.51pm BST

80 min David Nugent, whose accomplished second goal seems to have settled this match, is replaced by Chris Martin.

2.51pm BST

79 min Bridcutt is back on, though he’s struggling to run. It looks like a thigh injury.

2.50pm BST

78 min Bridcutt has limped off, so Forest are down to 10 men.

2.50pm BST

77 min There’s a long delay while Bridcutt receives treatment. He fell awkwardly after a strong challenge from Nugent. Forest have used all three substitutes.

2.46pm BST

74 min Forest make their final change, with Tyler Walker replacing Jason Cummings.

2.45pm BST

72 min Forest will feel they are unlucky to be behind in this game; Derby will feel they’ve done a job on Forest. There’s a bit of truth in both arguments.

2.42pm BST

70 min The excellent Vydra, who scored one and made one, is replaced to huge cheers by the fit again George Thorne.

2.41pm BST

69 min Lawrence’s left-wing cross is bundled wide at the far post by Russell. He may well have scored had the ball not taken a slight touch off the head of Traore just in front of him.

2.40pm BST

68 min Lawrence’s free-kick from the left wing dips onto the top of the crossbar! I think it was meant to be a cross. Either way, it curled wickedly over Smith and onto the bar.

2.38pm BST

66 min There’s an increasing resignation in Forest’s attacking. Fox’s frustration manifests itself in an absurd hack at Russell for which he is rightly booked.

2.35pm BST

63 min Derby win a free-kick 25 yards from goal, a long way to the right of centre. With everyone expecting a crossl Lawrence smacks a stinging effort towards the near post that Smith pushes behind for a corner.

2.33pm BST

61 min Traore’s low ball from the left sneaks through to Cummings, who slices an optimistic shot on the turn well wide of the near post.

2.31pm BST

60 min A double change for Forest: Jamie Ward, once of Derby, replaces the impressive Barrie McKay, and Zach Clough is on for Kieran Dowell.

2.30pm BST

58 min Derby are content to sit in and hit Forest on the break, a tactic that worked so well for the second goal. Forest have dominated possession throughout this game.

2.28pm BST

57 min That’s a better save from Carson, who leaps to his left to palm McKay’s 25-yard shot over the bar.

2.26pm BST

55 min Dowell’s long-range curler is too close to Carson, who palms it up and grabs it at the second attempt.

2.26pm BST

54 min Traore combines well with Dowell and hammers a low cross that is crucially cleared by Davies on the six-yard line.

2.22pm BST

It could have been 1-1; instead it’s 2-0. This is another expertly taken goal from Derby. Vydra moves away from Bridcutt and slides a lovely angled pass into the path of Nugent, who calmly places the ball into the far corner.

2.21pm BST

49 min Another excellent chance goes begging for Forest. McKay on the left plays a classy pass infield to Osborn, whose low ball across the six-yard line is stabbed over by Cummings. He was under pressure from Davies but it was still a big chance.

2.20pm BST

47 min “Greetings from Nassau, where Caribbean sports channel SportsMax are screening the game, incredibly,” says Simon Frank. “So the Bahamas NFFC supporters club (membership: 1) are happy in spite of the score. istened to your Nessun Dorma podcast on the way to the footy this morning, and you are quite right - Des Walker would make an all-time England XI. Admit it, you’ve got a thing for the Garibaldi.”

I just hope humanity is the winner, Simon. (But I do love Clough’s late-era Forest sides, even though, as a Man Utd fan, only puberty caused me more pain between 1989 and 1992.

2.17pm BST

46 min Peep peep!

2.16pm BST

Half-time chit-chat

“Although I turned the telly on expecting to watch Brighton and Everton slog out a 0-0 draw (any idea why that’s been scheduled for half one on a Sunday despite Sky and BT wisely passing on the fixture?) I’m quite enjoying the opportunity to catch up with some former Next Big Things and Didn’t Quite Make Its,” says Matt Loten. “I’d completely forgotten Michael Mancienne existed, and as a Portsmouth fan, I’ll always have a soft spot for David Nugent. The man should never have got anywhere near an England shirt, but he’s a trier, damn it, and scored the odd cracker. And despite his antics today, I met him at an autograph signing in a shopping centre shortly after he moved down south (I was after his autograph, not the other around), and he seemed a thoroughly personable chap.”

2.01pm BST

Peep peep! Derby lead through Matej Vydra’s 25th-second goal. Barrie McKay hit the post and missed a one-on-one for Forest, who were the better side for the last 44 minutes 35 seconds of the half. See you in 10 minutes!

1.58pm BST

43 min There’s a lot to like about Forest, particularly how patient they are in possession. They probably deserve to be level in this game.

1.55pm BST

38 min The more I see that McKay chance the more it looks like a good save from Carson. His positioning was immaculate and he didn’t go down, so McKay didn’t have that much space to aim for. You still expect class players to score one-on-ones but Carson deserves a fair bit of credit.

1.53pm BST

37 min “We haven’t scored too early,” says Louise Wright. “This way I get to be happy, rather than tense & nervy, for 103 minutes before the inevitable late Forest double strike. The report’s shaping up nicely too.”

We need new lyrics for Everyday Is Like Sunday (Louise Wright remix).

1.51pm BST

35 min McKay misses a great chance to equalise for Forest! He timed his run perfectly to move onto Bridcutt’s pass over the top, and made his way into the area before sidefooting a low shot that was kicked behind for a corner by Carson. It was as much a poor miss as it was a good save, I think. McKay almost had too much time to think about what he was going to do.

1.50pm BST

34 min McKay hits the post! He twisted away from Wisdom 25 yards from goal and raked a left-footed shot that deflected off the stretching Wisdom and whooshed onto the outside of the near post.

1.48pm BST

33 min Lawrence’s cross is partially cleared by Fox and eventually comes back to Lawrence, who wafts an attempted curler into orbit.

1.46pm BST

31 min That’s better from Forest. Cummings attacks Forsyth down the right and clips a flat cross that just evades the diving Murphy at the near post.

1.44pm BST

30 min This has, despite the best efforts of David Nugent, been a very nice game so far.

1.42pm BST

27 min This is a good spell for Derby. Lawrence’s long-range shot hits Fox, prompting appeals for a penalty from the crowd. I’m pretty sure it hit him on the chest, though we haven’t seen a replay yet.

1.39pm BST

22 min Lawrence wins a corner on the break for Derby, which almost leads to a second goal. When the ball is half cleared, Huddlestone slides it into Keogh on the right of the box. He carefully picks out Vydra, whose first-time shot is brilliantly blocked by the stretching Lichaj.

1.37pm BST

21 min There’s an argument that Derby scored too early here, and that as a result they have given the initiative to Forest. Derby are having the old stick/twist dilemma.

1.33pm BST

18 min Forest are struggling to pick up Vydra, who is taking up some lovely positions in the hole. If Derby get better service into him he could do plenty of damage.

1.32pm BST

16 min Forest continue to dominate possession, though Derby look pretty comfortable in defence. Dowell’s chip, which drifts a few yards wide, sums up Forest’s strange kind of dominance.

1.30pm BST

12 min There’s been a notable absence of needle early on. Nugent address that by bumping Mancienne towards an advertising hoarding and using his fingers to apprise the Forest fans of the scoreline. Either that or his right hand was being used to impersonate Donald Trump.

1.25pm BST

10 min Vydra plays a fine pass inside Mancienne that invites Russell to charge into the box from the right. Mancienne recovers well to consider a corner, from which bugger all accrues.

1.23pm BST

7 min Forest have responded excellently to going behind. Lichaj puts in another dangerous cross from the right that is flicked towards goal by Cummings and deflects behind for a corner.

1.21pm BST

5 min “I was hoping to listen to the Radio Derby coverage of this whilst rewriting a fairly uninteresting report (I type better whilst listening to biased indignation) but I’ve been thwarted as it’s not broadcasting on t’internet so you’re all I’ve got,” says Louise Wright. “Do you have a preferred team in this one or do you want football to be the winner? Because I fear you may be disappointed if it’s the latter.”

I have no allegiance. I just hope humanity is the winner.

1.19pm BST

4 min Another half chance for Murphy, who heads Lichaj’s cross wide from 15 yards.

1.18pm BST

2 min Murphy almost equalises straight away with a low shot that is saved to his left by Carson. The chance came from a beautiful angled pass into the area from McKay. Murphy dragged the ball towards goal on the turn but the covering Davies took most of the sting out of the shot and it was a comfortable save for Carson.

1.17pm BST

Madon, what a start. It was an excellent goal from Vydra. He found himself in a bit of space 25 yards from goal, ran along the line of the area and drove a superb left-footed shot back across Smith and into the corner.

1.16pm BST

Matej Vydra has given Derby the lead after 24 seconds!

1.15pm BST

1 min Peep peep! Derby get things going. They are in white, Forest are in red.

1.14pm BST

The players are ready, the atmosphere is tremendous. Let’s do football!

12.24pm BST

Derby County (4-2-3-1) Carson; Wisdom, Keogh, Davies, Forsyth; Huddlestone, Ledley; Lawrence, Vydra, Russell; Nugent.
Substitutes: Mitchell, Baird, Pearce, Thorne, Weimann, Winnall, Martin.

Nottingham Forest (4-3-3) Smith; Lichaj, Mancienne, Fox, Traore; Dowell, Bridcutt, Osborn; Cummings, Murphy, McKay.
Substitutes: Clough, Ward, Darikwa, Henderson, Bouchalakis, Walker, Worrall.

12.12pm BST

Pre-match reading

11.07am BST

Hello. The challenge is to get through this preamble without mentioning Brian Clough. I’ve failed already, so now we can relax and digest this match better. It’s the 100th East Midlands derby (not counting the

mezzanine
Anglo-Italian Cup), a primal affair between two clubs who are not entirely enamoured of the other’s existence.

Derby have had a surprisingly modest start to the season, and defeat today would put more pressure on Gary Rowett. That’s pretty ridiculous – he and the Forest manager Mark Warburton should be judged after two years rather than seven months – but we all know that’s the game.

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Published on October 15, 2017 07:06

Watford 2-1 Arsenal: Premier League – as it happened

Tom Cleverley’s injury-time winner lifted Watford to fourth in the table and gave them their first home victory over Arsenal since 1987

11.10pm BST

And Wenger’s reaction to the penalty decision …

7.24pm BST

Watford are fourth in the Premier League after beating Arsenal at home for the first time since 1987. The introduction of Troy Deeney changed the match, though Arsenal will be royally hacked off at the dodgy penalty that allowed Watford to equalise. Thanks for your company, goodnight!

7.23pm BST

90+3 min The Watford staff and substitutes went absolutely mad when that goal went in. They might be the biggest celebrations on this ground since Troy Deeney’s epic goal against Leicester in 2013.

7.22pm BST

Watford have won it! Holebas choked a long-range shot that was deflected into the six-yard box. Deeney’s flick forced a brilliant save from Cech and then Capoue’s was blocked by Mertesacker, possibly with his arm. No matter because the ball rebounded perfectly for Cleverley to sweep it over the diving Cech and into the roof of the net.

7.21pm BST

Oh my goodness!

7.20pm BST

90+1 min There will be four minutes of added time. Deeney’s low drive is blocked by Mertesacker. Arsenal are hanging on for a point in a match they dominated.

7.19pm BST

90 min “England v Romania was Euro 2000 not 98,” says Tekin Sahan. “Get your fucking facts straight.”

Oh yeah. My bad.

7.17pm BST

89 min Monreal sprays an outstanding long pass to Bellerin, whose cross is headed behind for a corner. Xhaka’s inswinger is headed clear to Monreal, who smacks one into orbit from long distance.

7.16pm BST

87 min Carrillo, in a surprising amount of space on the edge of the area, gets the ball out of his feet smacks a wild drive over the bar. Watford have really dominated since the equaliser.

7.14pm BST

85 min Arsenal make their last change, with Rob Holding replacing Laurent Koscielny. Jack Wilshere was going to come on until they realised Koscielny was injured.

7.12pm BST

83 min Capoue hits the post! Deeney played an inviting pass back to him and he sidefooted a first-time shot from 20 yards that took a double deflection, wrongfooted Cech and hit the far post.

7.10pm BST

81 min Deeney has made an impact since coming on, harassing the Arsenal defenders constantly and scoring the equaliser. He’s such a likeable player.

7.09pm BST

80 min Watford make their last substitution, with Pereyra replaced by Etienne Capoue.

7.06pm BST

77 min At the moment Watford look the team most likely to score a winner. Mind you, so did England against Romania in 1998.

7.04pm BST

75 min Richarlison rattles a shot into the side netting at the near post from a tightish angle. Cech had it covered.

7.03pm BST

74 min That was Watford’s first shot on target. Arsenal have good reason to feel aggrieved.

7.00pm BST

A good penalty from Deeney, who sends Cech the wrong way to bring Watford level.

7.00pm BST

I don’t think that should have been a penalty. It was no different to the Welbeck/Holebas incident at the other end. Richarlison ran at Bellerin on the left side of the box, and when the two bumped shoulders Richarlison went flying. That looked like a dive.

6.59pm BST

Richarlison goes over after a challenge from Bellerin, and Watford have a controversial penalty.

6.59pm BST

70 min A superb break from Arsenal. Kolasinac plays it down the line to Iwobi, who charges infield and plays an angled pass to put Ozil clear on goal. He looked offside, wasn’t flagged, and hit a low shot that was well saved down to his left by Gomes. He should have scored.

6.58pm BST

70 min “Into how many Premier League first teams would Mertesacker and Giroud make their way, I wonder?” wonders Bill Hargreaves.

Giroud is an interesting case, because specialist subs are so underappreciated. He’s one of the best in the world.

6.56pm BST

68 min Olivier Giroud replaces Alexandre Lacazette for Arsenal.

6.55pm BST

64 min Kabasele is booked for something or other.

6.53pm BST

63 min That’s a fine save from Gomes. Ozil teased a gentle through pass for Iwobi, who zipped infield from the left and shaped an Henry-ish curler towards the far corner. Gomes plunged to his left to tip it round the post.

6.51pm BST

62 min A double change for Watford; Troy Deeney and Andre Carrillo replace Andre Gray and Adrian Mariappa, which means a switch to a back four.

6.49pm BST

60 min Holebas’s deep cross is is palmed behind for a corner by Cech. Before the corner can be taken, the luckless Danny Welbeck limps off to be replaced by Mesut Ozil.

6.47pm BST

58 min Welbeck goes over in the area after a challenge from Holebas. It was shoulder to shoulder and Neil Swarbrick waved play on.

6.46pm BST

57 min Arsenal look in control at the back, despite a marginally improved performance from Watford. There are opportunities for Arsenal on the counter-attack as well, though their final pass has been poor.

6.42pm BST

52 min That’s a bit better from Richarlison. He runs at Bellerin on the left, uses the overlapping Holebas by not using him and then curls a shot a few yards wide of the far post.

6.40pm BST

51 min Watford break four on four, only for Richarlison to blunder straight into Monreal’s tackle. Ach!

6.39pm BST

50 min After a numbingly tedious start to the second half, Arsenal win a corner on the left.

6.35pm BST

46 min Peep peep!

6.19pm BST

Half-time reading

6.19pm BST

Peep peep! Arsenal lead through Per Mertesacker in a slightly subdued match. See you in 10 minutes for more subdued entertainment!

6.14pm BST

44 min Another long-range strike from Xhaka is comfortably held by Gomes. Xhaka has had a fine half.

6.13pm BST

43 min Two chances in a minute for Arsenal. Xhaka’s crisp long-range strike is palmed away by the diving Gomes, and then Bellerin screws a left-footed shot wide from 12 yards. Bellerin’s was an excellent chance.

6.10pm BST

40 min That’s Arsenal’s first away goal in the Premier League this season, and a nice way for Mertesacker to mark his first league appearance for 18 months.

6.09pm BST

Tiki-taka my foot. Arsenal take the lead with a delightfully old-fashioned goal. Xhaka curls a fine corner onto the six-yard line, where Mertesacker gets away from Cleverley to thump a header into the net. Gomes had no chance.

6.08pm BST

38 min Cleverley’s flat cross is headed wide from 15 yards by Richarlison. Cech watched it go past the post at about 2mph.

6.05pm BST

34 min Lovely play from Lacazette, who dinks the ball over the sliding Mariappa to make some space in the inside-left channel. Then he scoops the ball over three defenders towards Iwobi, who is about to volley at goal from close range when Holebas appears on his blind side to clear.

6.02pm BST

31 min Lacazette plays a one-two with Iwobi and finds Welbeck in the area. He tries to wriggle away from Mariappa, who stands tall and nicks the ball off him.

5.58pm BST

29 min At the other end, Elneny swishes an excellent long-range shot just over the bar. I don’t think Gomes would have got to it had it been on target.

5.58pm BST

28 min Richarlison gallops 40 yards down the left and then into the area, beating Koscielny for speed. Bellerin does very well to cover and clear the danger.

5.57pm BST

28 min Please may I retract the entry after 4 minutes.

5.56pm BST

27 min Iwobi plays a through pass towards Bellerin, and Gomes comes 30 yards from goal to clear.

5.55pm BST

26 min “Oh, Rob,” says Mac Millings. “Wouldn’t you know it. More than 20 years after I left my hometown for good, Watford McDonald’s finally corrects the disgraceful lack of service that drove me away in the first place. If I discover there is now adequate parking space at the Harlequin Centre, I’ll be on the next flight back.”

5.54pm BST

24 min Femenia’s bouncing cross from the right just evades the stretching Richarlison at the near post. Koscielny did well to ensure Richarlison couldn’t get a clear run at the ball.

5.51pm BST

21 min This is Watford’s best spell of the game. Pereyra turns Monreal superbly and then makes a mess of a simple pass to Gray.

5.50pm BST

19 min Holebas slaps a pass down the left to Doucoure, who rumbles past Bellerin and smashes the ball towards the six-yard line. Pereyra has a reaction time of 0.0000a seconds and can only head the ball further across goal.

5.44pm BST

14 min At the other end, Richarlison beats Bellerin easily on the left of the box and drives a low cross that is crucially intercepted by Mertesacker.

5.43pm BST

13 min Arsenal are missing a lot of players but they look sharp and confident in possession. Xhaka flips an insouciant pass over the top of the defence for Kolasinac, whose cushioned volley across goal is just behind Welbeck at the near post.

5.41pm BST

11 min Richarlison is back on the field and almost sneaks behind Koscielny to meet Gray’s flick. Koscielny was alert and played the ball back to Cech.

5.39pm BST

9 min Richarlison’s problem is actually with his wrist, which is being strapped. Iwobi accidentally trapped Richarlison’s wrist against the ground as he tried to wriggle away from him.

5.37pm BST

8 min Arsenal are having more of the ball, as you’d expect. Richarlison is down, though I think he’s just winded.

5.34pm BST

4 min It’s been a busy start from both sides. I know this phrase invites Dame Fortune to do her worst, but I’ll be really surprised if this ends 0-0.

5.33pm BST

2 min Watford have matched up Arsenal’s 3-4-2-1 formation. A few years ago the back three was an antiquated formation; now it’s the height of fashion. It’s almost as if everything’s cyclical and everyone’s winging it!

5.30pm BST

1 min Peep peep! Watford get the match going. They are in yellow; Arsenal are wearing their jaunty blue away strip.

5.25pm BST

The players are in the tunnel. It’s a brisk evening in Hertfordshire. Let’s football!

5.25pm BST

A shameless plug for my new podcast

What the world needs now is not, in fact, love, sweet love but a podcast about 80s and 90s football. It’s called Nessun Dorma, and the first episode is mainly about Italia 90: Gazza, Roger Milla, Benjamin Massing and, of course, Jack Charlton threatening to chin Frank Rijkaard.

5.14pm BST

Some match reports from the earlier games

4.35pm BST

Watford (3-4-2-1) Gomes; Mariappa, Kabasele, Britos; Fermenia, Cleverley, Doucoure, Holebas; Pereyra, Richarlison; Gray.
Substitutes: Karnezis, Janmaat, Wague, Capoue, Watson, Deeney, Carrillo.

Arsenal (3-4-2-1) Cech; Koscielny, Mertesacker, Monreal; Bellerin, Elneny, Xhaka, Kolasinac; Iwobi, Welbeck; Lacazette.
Substitutes: Ospina, Holding, Ozil, Coquelin, Wilshere, Giroud, Walcott.

11.32am BST

Hello. It’s a great time to live in Watford, and not only because McDonald’s have just rolled out a home-delivery service for those who live within 1.5 miles of either of the two participating locations at Watford High Street and Watford Parade. It’s an exciting time to be a Watford fan too, with Marco Silva building what might become the best Watford team since the days of Graham Taylor. They have had a fine start to the season, with three good wins away from home, and today they are seeking a) their first home victory under Silva and b) their first big scalp under Silva.

A win would take Watford into the top four. It’s been 30 years since they last beat Arsenal at home. The away fans didn’t take that too well, and are unlikely to be particularly sanguine if they lose today. They have had a good run since being embarrassed at Anfield but are already nine points behind this ridiculous Manchester City side. If they have realistic ambitions of winning the title, victory is a must. Anything less than the best is a felony.

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Published on October 14, 2017 11:30

Liverpool 0-0 Manchester United: Premier League – as it happened

David De Gea’s awesome save was the highlight of a dull game in which Liverpool were dominant without creating many clear chances

2.42pm BST

And here’s Daniel Taylor’s match report from Anfield.

2.21pm BST

It’s hard to know what to make of that. Liverpool were much the better team but only forced one admittedly miraculous save from David De Gea; United were diabolical going forward but got a good point. Thanks for your company, a match report will appear here shortly. Bye!

2.19pm BST

Your life is precious, my friend, and you have just wasted two hours of it.

2.19pm BST

90+4 min ... and Matip heads it over.

2.19pm BST

90+3 min Moreno wins one last corner for Liverpool...

2.18pm BST

90+3 min F**k me it’s Victor Lindelof! He comes on to make his Premier League debut, replacing Ashley Young, who did his job as defensive winger pretty well.

2.17pm BST

90+1 min Another corner for Liverpool, who are ending the match on top. Oxlade-Chamberlain’s dipping outswinger is nutted over from 12 yards byu Lovren. Jones did enough to ensure he didn’t have a clear header.

2.16pm BST

90 min Gary Neville gives Joe Gomez the Man of the Match award. Liverpool have a corner, as we approach three minutes of added time.

2.15pm BST

89 min “I wonder what Ferguson and Bobby Charlton make of away days against the top six these days,” says Paul Fitzgerald, who may have forgotten United’s performances at Anfield in the mid-2000s.

2.14pm BST

88 min Gomez, who has had a fine game in defence and attack, does excellently to dispossess Rashford during a rare United attack.

2.13pm BST

87 min Ashley Young’s afternoon of suffering ends with the inevitable yellow card for a high foot. Liverpool make their final change, with Dominic Solanke replacing Roberto Firmino.

2.12pm BST

87 min You know what I was saying about these games only being boring with hindsight...

2.11pm BST

86 min Matic isn’t really a highlights player, so he’s never mentioned in MBMs, but he’s been excellent today. He’s probably the only United player, with the occasional exception of Martial, who has been calm enough to put his foot on the ball.

2.10pm BST

84 min Can surges down the inside-left channel, a fine run that takes him into the area. He’s torn between a cross and a shot and ends up dragging a low ball that is claimed on the stretch by De Gea.

2.09pm BST

84 min You couldn’t accuse the United players of being an unprofessional bunch of clowns. They have given their all, they’ve just played badly going forward. It happens.

2.08pm BST

83 min Darmian kicks his team-mate Matic in the head while stretching for a high ball. As he foot falls it hits Can on the back of the neck. Darmian now has cramp. It’s been a long afternoon of the soul for him, the poor bloke.

2.07pm BST

82 min “United have been absolutely hopeless today,” says Justin Kavanagh, “but might this have John O’Shea written all over it?”

Well it might. Or it might not.

2.06pm BST

80 min That’s a decent statement of intent from Oxlade-Chamberlain, who roasts Darmian thrillingly before his dangerous cross is cleared at the near post.

2.05pm BST

79 min As Gary Neville says, Jurgen Klopp is obviously worried about being mugged on the break so he wants to keep a tight midfield three. The front three is now Firmino left, Sturridge central and Oxlade-Chamberlain right.

2.04pm BST

78 min A double Liverpool change: Daniel Sturridge and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain replace Mohamed Salah and Philippe Coutinho. That’s interesting.

2.02pm BST

76 min Whatever the result, this has been a desperately disappointing attacking performance from United. They have defended very well for the most part, with De Gea only having to make that one extraordinary save, but they have been so poor in possession.

2.00pm BST

74 min Smalling is penalised, and booked, for going through Coutinho to win the ball on the halfway line.

1.59pm BST

73 min I’d bring Sturridge on for either Can or Wijnaldum and move Coutinho into midfield. There’s no sign of that happening yet, however.

1.58pm BST

71 min This half has been a training session: Liverpool attack v United defence. Coutinho clips a high-class pass over the defence to find Firmino on the left of the box. He chests it down and lobs a cross fractionally over the head of Salah at the far post. Firmino bangs the ground in frustration; a fractionally softer cross would have given Salah an open goal.

1.56pm BST

70 min Wijnaldum gets away with a really late tackle, with his studs plunging into the side of Herrera’s leg.

1.55pm BST

69 min On 19 September 2004, Jose Mourinho coined the phrase “park the bus” to criticise Spurs’ tactics after a 0-0 draw at Stamford Bridge. Alanis Morissette would be amused by that.

1.54pm BST

68 min The impressive Gomez curves a fine pass out to Firmino on the left. He tries to cross low to Wijnaldum and Smalling gets a slight touch to divert the ball to De Gea.

1.53pm BST

67 min Salah beats Herrera with ease 25 yards from goal but screws his rising shot well wide of the far post. Salah and Coutinho have been really good for Liverpool.

1.51pm BST

65 min Liverpool have been much the better team in this half, though they will still fear a mugging. Manchester United have made their second change, with Marcus Rashford replacing the diligent and sporadically dangerous Martial.

1.49pm BST

63 min Lingard replaces the disappointing Mkhitaryan.

1.49pm BST

62 min The replay suggests Herrera was perhaps lucky to get away with that. He seemed to knock Coutinho’s left leg onto his right. It would have been a soft penalty but that doesn’t necessarily mean it would have been an incorrect decision. You can make a case both ways.

1.48pm BST

61 min Coutinho falls over a challenge just inside the area, prompting an appeal for a penalty that is turned down. It was a little clumsy from a couple of United players, thourh whether it was enough for a penalty I’m not sure.

1.46pm BST

60 min Liverpool break through Salah, who runs at Darmian and forces a corner. That was good defending from Darmian actually.

1.46pm BST

59 min United have a little respite with an extended spell of possession in the Liverpool half.

1.44pm BST

57 min Jesse Lingard is about to come on, presumably for either Martial or Mkhitaryan.

1.44pm BST

56 min An outstanding cross from Gomez, lofted from a deep, narrow position on the right, drops over Jones and is volleyed over from six yards by Can at the near post. It was a very good chance, although he was probably unsighted as it came over Jones’s head and he had to go at it with the outside of the left foot. It was such an imaginative ball from Gomez.

1.41pm BST

55 min Darmian adds depth to an increasingly poor performance with a foul throw.

1.39pm BST

53 min Coutinho surges forward from midfield and stabs a gorgeous through pass for Firmino, who is a couple of yards offside. De Gea saved his shot anyway.

1.38pm BST

52 min I don’t think it’ll be long before Mourinho makes an attacking change. He could hook any of them but I suspect it’ll be Mkhitaryan, who hasn’t been able to get in the game at all.

1.37pm BST

51 min United aren’t just stuck in their own half; they’re stuck in their own third. It’s been a brilliant start to the half from Liverpool, full of intent and energy.

1.36pm BST

50 min Another 50/50 decision goes against Ashley Young. Bom bom bom...

1.35pm BST

49 min Liverpool have started this half much faster than they did the first. Firmino whacks a shot from the left edge of the box that takes a deflection and hits the side netting at the near post. De Gea had it covered but it’s a corner for Liverpool...

1.34pm BST

47 min Jones plays a poor pass to Firmino, who finds Coutinho on the left. A promising attack ends instantly when Firmino is given offside from Coutinho’s return pass. I thought he looked onside but it was close.

1.31pm BST

46 min Peep peep! United begin the second half. I’m sure they would take 0-0 now, even if it would mean falling two points behind City. Liverpool can’t, won’t, shouldn’t settle for a draw.

1.30pm BST

That Lukaku flick at Lovren The more you see it, the harder it becomes to say with any certainty that he meant it. He may well have done, given the mood he’s in, but the tangle of legs was such that it certainly could have been an accident. Innocent collisions can often look bad, as Alan Shearer will confirm.

1.28pm BST

In defence of Lukaku “Rob,” says Francis Mead. “I’m not sure why you’re having a go at Lukaku (I’m sure you’ll clarify further but he’s feeding of absolute scraps - and I think he’s done well, playing almost on his own and unsupported - yes he could
have done better on his shot - but can you name a striker that never
missed a shot?”

Carlos Kaiser. As for Lukaku, I did say it wasn’t just his fault – Mkhitaryan has been anonymous, the service has been poor - but this is a huge game for him given the perception that he is a flat-track bully, and so far he hasn’t been good. When you do as little as he does in general play you need to take the big chances.

1.19pm BST

A shameless plug for my new podcast

What the world needs now is not, in fact, love, sweet love but a podcast about 80s and 90s football. It’s called Nessun Dorma, and the first episode is mainly about Italia 90: Gazza, Roger Milla, Benjamin Massing and, of course, Jack Charlton threatening to chin Frank Rijkaard.

1.18pm BST

That was a lively end to a fairly quiet half. David De Gea made the 4234213948345634254th awesome save of his career to deny Joel Matip, while Romelu Lukaku - who should certainly have been booked and might have been sent off - and the otherwise excellent Mo Salah missed good chances. See you in 10 minutes!

1.16pm BST

45+1 min On reflection, Lukaku should have scored there - his shot was too close to Mignolet and at a good height for the keeper as well.

1.16pm BST

45 min Lovren falls over as he challenges Lukaku, who then catches him in the face with his heel. It’s hard to know on first viewing whether it was deliberate, but my instinct is that he might get a three-match ban for that. He has been on edge in the last 20 minutes and should have been booked earlier.

1.14pm BST

43 min Mignolet makes a terrific save from Lukaku! Out of nothing, United sliced through Liverpool with some brilliant one-touch passing from Martial and Lukaku on the edge of the area. Lukaku whacked a shot across goal from 15 yards and Mignolet flew to his left to palm it away. I think it was more a good save than a bad miss, though I’d like to see it again.

1.12pm BST

42 min Lovely play from Coutinho, who sits Herrera down before dancing into the area on the left. Eventually a defence takes the pace off his cross and it goes through to De Gea.

1.11pm BST

41 min Salah’s snapshot from the edge of the area is straight at De Gea, who holds on comfortably. Salah has been the best attacker on the pitch, albeit in the face of some cold competition.

1.09pm BST

39 min Games of this significance are usually only boring with hindsight. Even tedium can be engrossing when you are lost in the moment. All of which is to say that we’ll probably reflect on this as an intriguing but essentially dull half of football.

1.06pm BST

36 min Lukaku’s increasing frustration manifests itself in a poor tackle on Gomez, for which he’s exceptionally lucky not to be booked.

1.05pm BST

34 min De Gea makes a sensational save! When a Liverpool corner was half cleared, Firmino twisted Darmian inside out on the left of the box and crossed low to Matip at the near post. He adjusted his feet excellently to sidefoot towards goal from six yards, and De Gea adjusted his feet astonishingly to kick it away with his left foot. The ball came to Salah, who drove just wide of the far post. He should probably have scored. That is a ridiculous save from De Gea. Truly, I have never seen a goalkeeper with better reflexes.

1.04pm BST

33 min “Rob,” says Stephen Webb. “I recently bought a Mourinho-wool jumper. Looks stylish, but frays easily and completely unravels after three seasons...”

Does the jumper unravel, or does the wearer? Eh? Eh?

1.01pm BST

32 min Coutinho plays a poor pass straight to Mkhitaryan, whose 25-yard shot is blocked by Matip.

1.00pm BST

31 min Sadio Mane and Marcus Rashford are having excellent games.

1.00pm BST

30 min Young’s right-wing cross is half-cleared to Matic, who carefully watches the ball bounce across him and swishes a terrific shot that beats Mignolet and just clears the bar.

12.59pm BST

29 min You don’t hear this phrase so often these days, but this might be a day for Daniel Sturridge.

12.58pm BST

28 min After a good first, er, five minutes, United have been really poor on the counter-attack. It’s easy to blame Lukaku but it’s not just his fault.

12.57pm BST

27 min “I think I caught a glimpse of Copestake’s tome,” says Bill Hargreaves. “It’s called ‘Fifty Shades of ManU Away Strip Grey’, a lively fictional work based around domination and scapegoating, co-penned with Sir Alex.”

12.56pm BST

26 min Salah and Firmino are constantly changing positions, with Salah really dangerous in the centre of the pitch. United break promisingly through Young, who seems to be tripped by Lovren and is furious when Martin Atkinson disagrees. A few 50/50 decisions have gone against Young today, and he is stomping round with Larry David levels of affronted confusion.

12.54pm BST

25 min “Stripped of Bailly et al, have there been many other games between two teams with so many great players, but with such pants defences?” says Matt Dony. “No matter how dull it is, there’s no way it can end 0-0, purely because of defensive ineptitude/hilarity. (Although, admittedly, it would be funnier if the ineptitude swung more in United’s direction.)”

12.54pm BST

24 min Lukaku has a few more touches, skinning Lovren on the right wing before overhitting his cross. That was much better, the final ball excepted.

12.53pm BST

24 min Romelu Lukaku has touched the ball once.

12.52pm BST

23 min Martial is fouled by Gomez just outside the area, in line with the left edge of the box. Young’s free-kick is poor and headed away by the first man Salah.

12.51pm BST

21 min “Big Rom looks bigger than ever in that kit and is doing his ‘digging a narrow trench down the middle of the pitch with his heat map’ routine - something familiar to Everton fans,” says Gary Naylor. “He’ll have the fewest touches on the pitch, complete the fewest passes... and score the winning goal. Old school numbernining.”

12.50pm BST

20 min Salah sparks another attack with a great run from the centre of the pitch. He finds Coutinho, who tries to take on Valencia in the area and is expertly dispossessed. Moments later, Moreno’s cross is half cleared by Jones and put back into the area by Firmino on the right. It deflects off Darmian and just escapes Salah at the near post. Liverpool are well on top at the moment. United can’t get out at all.

12.49pm BST

19 min United started this game up high up the pitch but now they are on the edge of their own area, often with Young and Martial as part of a back six.

12.48pm BST

18 min Salah beats Jones on the edge of the area with a Zidane roulette and then goes over a challenge from Darmian I think. Martin Atkinson says play on.

12.46pm BST

16 min Firmino plays a fine angled pass to Gomez, whose low cross-shot is blocked by the recovering Martial. Liverpool are starting to pin United back. United need a bit more from Lukaku.

12.45pm BST

14 min Salah zips away from Matic and Herrera like a lizard between rocks before finding Wijnaldum, who shapes a left-footed curler towards goal from 20 yards. De Gea plunges to his right to make a comfortable save.

12.43pm BST

13 min Gary Neville makes the excellent point that Liverpool’s passing so far has been a bit sluggish, certainly by their standards. Louis van Gaal is at Anfield today, and he’ll be enjoying the Liverpool performance.

12.42pm BST

12 min United have had a few promising counter-attacks, though they have lacked concentration in the final third. It’s cagey interesting rather than cagey crap.

12.40pm BST

10 min After an open start the match is starting to settle down, with Liverpool having a lot of the ball. Matip marches forward from the halfway line like Alan Hansen only to drive high over the bar from 25 yards.

12.38pm BST

8 min “Great close-up footage of crowd singing ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone,’” says Dean Kinsella. “Really giving the feeling of being there. Well done Sky.”

This is the thing with the modern world. Half the time I genuinely don’t know whether somebody is being sarcastic.

12.36pm BST

6 min Young plays an early low cross to Lukaku that is cut out well by the sliding Lovren. Liverpool break through Wijnaldum, who finds Firmino down the left and continues his run. Firmino crosses low towards the near post and Wijnaldum, under a lot of pressure from Smalling, stabs straight at De Gea. It was only a quarter-chance.

12.35pm BST

5 min Liverpool enjoy their first extended spell of possession. Coutinho has already wandered infield a lot. Believe it or not, this is fascinating tactically.

12.33pm BST

4 min United have started positively, pressing much higher up the pitch than many expected.

12.32pm BST

3 min “I am having to miss this game due to a hamstring injur ... because I have a big book deal to land at the Frankfurt Book Fair!” says Ian Copestake. “So could you keep it quiet and not announce the result all over the internet till I get home? Thanks, mate.”

Don’t just tease us like that, Copestake. What’s the book? 101 Nadirs to Do Before You Die?

12.32pm BST

2 min Valencia surges down the right to win an early corner for United. Just before that, Young was unhappy with a tackle from Henderson. Mkhitaryan’s corner is put behind for another by Wijnaldum. It’s cleared to Darmian, who shoots well wide from 35 yards.

12.30pm BST

1 min United have started in a 4-2-3-1 formation, with Young on the right wing and Darmian at left back.

12.30pm BST

1 min Peep peep! Liverpool, in red, kick off. United are in their grey away strip.

12.28pm BST

The players emerge from the tunnel, all with their business faces on. The atmosphere is pretty great.

12.27pm BST

“Don’t swim Paul!” says Nuwan Alahakoon. “It should be fun. I can’t imagine better stand-up comedians than Smalling and Jones. I am gonna bet $100 that a fly will go inside Jones’ open mouth.”

12.26pm BST

Another plug

“The New Wolsey Theatre in Ipswich has launched a crowdfunding campaign to support a show (a musical, no less) to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Ipswich Town’s most, er, recent FA Cup win,” writes Philip Genochio. “Called “Our Blue Heaven”, the show will use people’s stories and recollections of the momentous day to create something befitting Bobby Robson’s flying team of blue-shirted footballing geniuses.

12.16pm BST

“I subscribed to your pod, Rob,” says Paul Neilan. “First impression: In the 45 seconds it took, I confirmed my humanity and that I was not a robot, something Blade Runner and 2049 struggled with for four and a half hours of film and three decades of hand-wringing. Promising.”

Also, Gary Naylor and I are marginally hunkier than Ryan Gosling, so it’s a win-win.

12.06pm BST

A shameless plug for my new podcast

What the world needs now is not, in fact, love, sweet love but a podcast about 80s and 90s football. It’s called Nessun Dorma, and the first episode is mainly about Italia 90: Gazza, Roger Milla, Benjamin Massing and, of course, Jack Charlton threatening to chin Frank Rijkaard.

12.03pm BST

Down the years, this fixture has had everything: darts, CS gas, cigars and even a bit of creative genius from Gary Neville.

11.42am BST

There is a suggestion that United will play 3-4-2-1: De Gea; Smalling, Jones, Darmian; Valencia, Herrera, Matic, Young; Mkhitaryan, Martial; Lukaku.

11.35am BST

An email! “All set to watch the game in Brazil,” says Paul Moody, “but do I take a swim in the ocean before or after or both.”

If it’s anything like last season’s game at Anfield, I’d say during the game is your best option. But it really should be better this year. Should.

11.32am BST

The Liverpool team is as expected. The United team isn’t: Eric Bailly is injured, while the defensive ability of Matteo Darmian and Ashley Young means they have been selected. Anthony Martial also starts, with Juan Mata and Marcus Rashford on the bench. It seems Rashford isn’t fully fit.

Liverpool (4-3-3) Mignolet; Gomez, Matip, Lovren, Moreno; Can, Henderson, Wijnaldum; Salah, Firmino, Coutinho.
Substitutes: Karius, Alexander-Arnold, Klavan, Milner, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Sturridge, Solanke.

11.24am BST

Some pre-match reading

10.35am BST

Liverpool v Manchester United requires no preamble. My future job prospects do, however, require a smidgin more than a one-line introduction, so here goes.

Liverpool v Manchester United has been the biggest game in England for most of the last 50 years, yet it has rarely been the best. The last great game between the sides was probably the 3-3 draw in 1994, and there’s no real expectation of a classic today. Some things are just too important for anyone to have fun.

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Published on October 14, 2017 06:21

Ecuador 1-3 Argentina: World Cup 2018 qualifier – as it happened

A stunning hat-trick from Lionel Messi ensured Argentina qualified automatically for the World Cup with victory in Quito

2.29am BST

That was quite a night of hot Conmebol action. Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina and Colombia have qualified for the World Cup, while Peru will meet New Zealand in a two-legged play-off. If they win they will reach the World Cup for the first time since 1982. Oh, and Lionel Messi is a genius, but you knew that already. Thanks for your company, night.

2.26am BST

The final scores

2.24am BST

It’s all over in Quito. Lionel Messi scored a superb hat-trick to ensure he will get one last crack at winning the World Cup next summer.

2.22am BST

There isn’t much scope for late drama now. Peru are going into a play-off against New Zealand, and Argentina and Colombia will qualify automatically. Paraguay must be desperately disappointed - a win at home to Venezuela would have put them into the play-off.

2.21am BST

Brazil 3-0 Chile Gabriel Jesus gets his second, with Claudio Bravo out of his goal after going up for a corner, and Chile’s last hope has gone.

2.17am BST

There are two minutes of normal time remaining in Sao Paulo, and Chile are on the brink of elimination. Roberto Firmino should have finished them off just then, but his shot was superbly saved by Claudio Bravo.

2.13am BST

The latest scores

2.13am BST

Venezuela have taken a surprise lead in Paraguay, which surely ends Paraguay’s chances of qualifying. So now it’s between Peru and Chile for the play-off place. Chile need one goal, for them or Colombia.

2.10am BST

81 min Argentina are cruising now. Bolivia have pulled one back in Bolivia. Chile are 2-0 down in Brazil but I think - I think, I haven’t a clue - a 2-1 defeat would put them into the play-offs as things stand.

2.09am BST

Peru have scored! It’s Peru 1-1 Colombia. That means Chile will miss out if it stays like this.

2.08am BST

79 min The substitute Estrada misses a decent chance for Ecuador, heading Ramirez’s cross over the bar.

2.07am BST

78 min A goal for either Paraguay or Peru would lift them above Chile into the play-off place. Like the very best spandex, it’s exquisitely tight.

2.06am BST

Make that Uruguay 4-1 Bolivia.

2.06am BST

The latest scores

2.05am BST

76 min Mauro Icardi comes to replace Benedetto.

2.04am BST

74 min The tireless left-back Ramirez wins a corner for Ecuador and decides to take it himself. It’s headed away at the near post and Di Maria, who has been outstanding, leads another Argentina break.

2.01am BST

73 min Ecuador’s race is run. They know it, and Argentina know it.

1.59am BST

71 min Paraguay are still drawing 0-0 at home to Venezuela. If they win that game they will almost certainly leapfrog Peru and Chile into fifth place.

1.58am BST

68 min That third Messi goal was entirely ridiculous. He was on the edge of area, off balance because a defender was trying to sit on him, and he still managed to chip a keeper who was only a few yards off his line. It was genius.

1.55am BST

66 min It looks like Argentina will qualify automatically, unless Ecuador score twice or Chile score thrice in Brazil.

1.53am BST

The latest scores

1.51am BST

There goes the fear, let it go. Argentina are going to the World Cup thanks to Lionel Messi, who has completed a famous hat-trick with a glorious chip! A loose ball came to him 35 yards out and he made straight for goal. Benedetto made a fine off-the-ball run, and Messi used him by not using him before darting to the left and flipping the ball majestically over Banguera.

1.51am BST

Uruguay lead Bolivia 3-1. They are going to finish second in the group.

1.50am BST

61 min Biglia is booked for a cynical foul on the marauding Renato Ibarra.

1.49am BST

60 min Ecuador have done most of the attacking in this half. Argentina are playing a dangerous game, though at the moment they have a bit of breathing space because of the other scores.

1.48am BST

The latest scores

1.48am BST

Colombia have taken the lead in Peru, which pushes Chile back up to fifth, Colombia to third and Argentina to fourth. I think.

1.47am BST

58 min Since you asked nicely, Paulinho and Gabriel Jesus scored for Brazil.

1.46am BST

Brazil now lead 2-0, which pushes Chile down to sixth place. My head hurts and there’s still half an hour to go. The upshot is that, at the moment, a draw is enough for Argentina to stay alive.

1.45am BST

As things stand Peru and Chile are level on points, goal difference and goals scored. But Chile have the better head-to-head record so they would, I think, take fifth place.

1.43am BST

Brazil have taken the lead against Chile, which means... I’ll let you know what that means.

1.41am BST

53 min Ecuador are putting Argentina under a lot of pressure at the moment. It does feel like Argentina need a third goal if they are to win this game, maybe even a fourth.

1.40am BST

51 min At the moment Argentina are third in the group, but an Ecuador equaliser would push them down to sixth. Acuna is booked for a foul on Intriago.

1.39am BST

50 min Mercado is lucky not to be booked for flattening Romario Ibarra.

1.37am BST

48 min The excellent Di Maria wins an early corner for Argentina. It comes to nothing.

1.34am BST

46 min Peep peep! After taking an age to emerge from the dressing-room, Argentina begin the second half.

1.19am BST

The half-time scores

1.17am BST

Martin Caceres and Edinson Cavani have scored to put Uruguay 2-1 up at home to Bolivia. They will be going to Russia next year.

1.16am BST

That was pretty lively. Romario Ibarra gave Ecuador the lead after 40 seconds; then Lionel Messi gave Argentina the lead with two fine goals. See you in 10 minutes for the second half.

1.14am BST

43 min I know it’s human nature to ease off when you take the lead, but Argentina were rampant when Messi put them 2-1 up. It could be 4-1 by now. Instead they sat back and that has allowed Ecuador back into the match. At the moment they look likelier to score the next goal.

1.11am BST

41 min An early substitution for Ecuador: Enner Valencia replaces Cevallos, which suggests a switch to dear old 4-4-2.

1.10am BST

39 min This game has been on the manic side of frenetic. Ecuador’s intent has been admirable given they have nothing to play for, even if some of their play has been a little rough around the edges.

1.08am BST

38 min “Could Ronaldo score two goals, right on cue, for Argentina?” asks Gary Naylor. “Of course he couldn’t. He’s Portuguese.”

HONK!

1.07am BST

36 min As things stand, Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina and Chile will qualify automatically, with Colombia going into a play-off against New Zealand.

1.06am BST

35 min Romario Ibarra wins another corner for Ecuador in this crazily open game. Romero ends up palming the ball behind for another corner, which is eventually cleared. Both sides are fifty shades of shambles in defence.

1.03am BST

32 min Messi plays a delicious return pass through to Di Maria, whose close-range shot is excellently blocked by Banguera. Messi and Di Maria have been almost telepathic tonight.

1.01am BST

30 min Argentina have been far too defensive since going ahead, which has allowed Ecuador back into the match. If they concentrate on attacking they could have the game wrapped up by half-time.

1.00am BST

29 min This match is getting very niggly. Enzo Perez seems to over the ball on Intriago, though the referee gives just a free-kick.

12.59am BST

Bolivia have taken the lead in Uruguay. That’s unlikely to have any impact on the group, however, as Uruguay already have nine toes in Russia.

12.58am BST

27 min Cevallos’s free-kick is headed behind for an Ecuador corner. Nothing comes of it, except a blast of heat towards the referee from Aimar when he is penalised for a challenge on Benedetto.

12.54am BST

The latest scores

12.53am BST

23 min Messi and Di Maria have been so good in the first quarter of the match. In a way it highlights the absurdity of Argentina being in such a precarious position, but they won’t care about that so long as they get through. At the moment that looks likely as they are in complete control.

12.51am BST

Lionel Messi gets his second! He slithered through a woolly challenge just outside the area and then, as defenders converged, smashed a rising drive past Banguera at the near post.

12.50am BST

19 min Argentina’s greater class - and greater need - are starting to tell.

12.48am BST

17 min As things stand Argentina are out, but I suspect things won’t be standing like this for long.

12.47am BST

16 min Messi is crackling with menace every time he gets the ball. He moves away from a couple of defenders on the left of the box before hitting a fierce shot that is beaten away by Banguera.

12.44am BST

14 min Cevallos is booked for a late tackle on Enzo Perez.

12.44am BST

That’s a fine equaliser from Argentina. Messi played the ball out to Di Maria on the left and hared towards the area. Di Maria eased a superb return pass into his path and Messi stabbed the ball past the outrushing Banguera.

12.42am BST

11 min This is a very open game. Ramirez leathers one from 35 yards and Romero holds on at the near post.

12.41am BST

10 min Di Maria flashes another superb cross into the six-yard area that beats everyone and drifts past the far post. He and Messi look sharp.

12.40am BST

9 min Argentina are a mess at the back. Ramirez beats his man far too easily down the left before his cross is headed away. At the other end, Di Maria’s long-range shot deflects onto the roof of the net. Banguera didn’t seem particularly perturbed.

12.39am BST

The latest scores

12.38am BST

7 min That was better from Argentina. Messi played a pass wide to Di Maria, who sidefooted a superb first-time ball that flashed across the face of goal and wide.

12.36am BST

5 min As it stands, Argentina are in the malodorous stuff. They need to score at least one and probably two if they are to avoid humiliation. Ecuador are looking dangerous on the break, with Renato Ibarra’s cross almost falling for Ordonez at the far post.

12.34am BST

3 min “Riquelme and Veron on the bench?” asks Jamie O’Sullivan. “It seems to have gone under the radar that Argentina will be able to call upon not one but two midfield maestros from yesteryear tonight, and therefore stands to reason that this should be an easy win for the Albiceleste.”

Seba has unfinished business at the World Cup. You know it and I know it.

12.32am BST

Oh my giddy God. Ecuador took the lead almost straight from the kick-off. Romario Ibarra played a neat headed one-two with Ordonez on the edge of the box before thumping the ball past Romero with his left foot.

12.31am BST

Ecuador have scored after 40 seconds!

12.31am BST

1 min Peep peep! he game is under way. Ecuador are in yellow, Argentina are in blue and white.

12.30am BST

The feed’s working! It’s really small!

12.27am BST

Five minutes to kick-off and my (legal) feed of the game isn’t working. This could be a triumph.

12.25am BST

I’d like to apologise in advance for tonight’s coverage. Specifically:

all of it
I probably won’t have chance to check my emails that often, as I’m too old for this multi-game/permutations lark. It’s not you, it’s bloody well me!

12.23am BST

“The Universal is a great song,” says Simon McMahon. “Although when it comes to Scotland, it really really really couldn’t happen.”

12.16am BST

“Howdy from Austin, Texas,” says Michael Sciortino. “Think all these permutations are getting sports statisticians a little hot and bothered? They must love this.”

This? This is a tingle compared to the life-changing orgasm that was the last day of the 1983-84 season in Romania’s Divizia C, Seria VIII.

12.12am BST

The magic of the World Cup, with Matt Dony

“After Wales reverted to type and tamely threw away a play-off place to Ireland/Wimbledon c1988, I’ve lost investment in the World Cup. It’s hilarious that the Netherlands have blown it yet again, I kind of hope Argentina fail in some amusing way (a red card for Messi would be magnificent), and I hope some stodgy, boring team Greece their way to the trophy, boring hundreds of millions of people around the world. Bah, humbug.”

12.08am BST

“Hey Rob, I live in Ecuador and follow the selección closely,” says Matthew Carpenter-Arevalo. “My take on this game: the Ecuador team is broken after not qualifying. The dressing room disintegrated and a number of key players either quit or were told not to come back. The team you’ll see tonight is full of young people getting their international debut. A lot of fans are staying away from the stadium, even though Messi himself is a huge draw and the game still means something for Argentina. Lastly, the altitude hasn’t been much of a benefit for Ecuador: they lost to both Peru and Paraguay at home. A motivated Argentina have a decent chance.”

12.06am BST

“I’d avoid calling Messi the world’s second best player,” says George Ritchie. “You might alienate core parts of your audience tonight.”

I was just going on last year’s Ballon d’Or. I should have learned my lesson in 1990, when I was widely ridiculed at school for regularly describing Robby Langers as the joint 26th best player in Europe.

11.58pm BST

“Hey Rob,” says Paul Cockburn. “This last round of games in S America has garnered a fair bit of interest in NZ, especially here in Wellington where the first leg will he held. Opinion is mixed. Last time we had one of these play-offs, we got spanked by Mexico. It’s hard to see any of the S American teams being too scared of the All Whites, but, hey, against Paraguay, maybe…? Realistically, then, what we want is for Argentina to finish fifth, so Messi can come to Aotearoa and sign for Wellington Phoenix while he’s here…”

I can’t see them beating a South American team over two legs but stranger things have happened – see 2010 World Cup, only unbeaten team.

11.57pm BST

An email! “Hi Rob,” says Simon Frank. “Greetings from the very much at sea level Bahamas. A propos of not very much, I spent six months in Quito back in 1993 where I took in a load of Nacional games at the Estadio Atahualpa. Great stadium. They used to have an enormous bottle of Guitig (local mineral water) at the entrance. Is it still there?”

While I find your faith in the Guardian budget quite touching, I’m not actually in Quito. But we do have a watercooler in the MBM dungeon, if that helps?

11.51pm BST

A number of scripts have been written for this game, and the most obvious involves Lionel Messi taking Argentina to the World Cup single-footedly. It’s hard to imagine a World Cup without the world’s second-best player, especially as it would almost certainly be his last chance to emulate Diego Maradona and win the thing.

11.42pm BST

Ecuador (4-5-1): Banguera; Velasco, Aimar, Arboleda, Ramirez; Intriago, Orejuela, Romario Ibarra, Cevallos, Renato Ibarra; Ordonez.
Substitutes: Ortiz, Piedra, Johnson, Israel Murillo, Plata, Uchuari, E Valencia, Garces, Lopez, Arreaga.

Argentina (3-4-2-1) Romero; Mercado, Mascherano, Otamendi; Salvio, Enzo Perez, Biglia, Acuna; Messi, Di Maria; Benedetto.
Substitutes: Guzman, Marchesin, Fazio, Pezzella, P Perez, Icardi, Casco, Rigoni, Riquelme, Veron, Banega, Paredes, Dybala, Gomez.

1.54pm BST

A World Cup without Argentina? Yes it really, really, really could happen. If they fail to win in Ecuador tonight, they may well miss out for the first time since 1970. This is the table going into the last round of fixtures. It’s all desperately complicated, with something riding on all of these games:

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Published on October 10, 2017 18:29