It's Hell For Hull As Devils Win In Overtime!

Last time out, Hull Wasps had a painful defeat to the Team Durham Wildcasts, at the time it was one of their most painful defeats of the season. It's likley that that defeat is now not the most painful defeat of the season as on Sunday Chris McKenna's men lost to the Bury Blue Devils in the second period of Overtime. Yes amazingly it took not one, but two periods of overtime to settle an amazing contest between the sides with the Devils coming out triumphant.

It was a neck-and-neck contest the whole way through, starting with the first quarter. Both sides scored all of their points inside the key or from the line to end the first period 21-22 to the visitors. It was much of the same for the second quarter with both sides scoring 17 points each to go in at half time 38-39. The third quarter saw the home side battle ahead and open up a 6 point advantage over their rivals and that continued into the final quarter which saw the Wasps as much as 10 points ahead before the Blue Devils gradually fought their way back to a nail-biting finish and tie the contest at 70-70. Bury's No. 11 Burns had the chance to give them the lead in the final minute of normal time but only scored 1 of his 2 free throws.

A 5-minute period of overtime was required. Hull fell behind almost immediately after Bury knocked down 5 points without reply, but the Wasps showed their character and resolve by fighting their way back into it and both sides finished the first overtime period tied at 78 points. This time, Wasps captain Jamie Goodwin had the chance to win the contest in the final minute, once again from the line, after being fouled while scoring inside the key. Goodwin unfortunately missed the free-throw and forced another extremely tense period of overtime.

Once again, Bury came out an immediately took the lead and 2 consecutive 3-pointers seemed to knock any final comeback efforts out of the Wasps and Bury took the game 91-100 - without question, the most exciting and tense game of the season so far. In fact it was probably one of the most exciting games of Basketball played in the UK in the last couple of years, yet alone at the Gemtec Arena.

It was a game that was well worth it's £4 price to get in! Hull's star players were centre's Jamie Goodwin and Michael Kucmierczyk who both scored 13 points each. Burns top scored for the visitors with 24 points. There will be More from the Wasps next week when we'll find out how they get on at home againgst the Tee Valley Sonics!

Kevin & Paddy On Rugby League. Issue 1

Welcome to the brand new feature 'Kevin & Paddy on Rugby League'. The two lads are with RLC Premier South club Hainault Bulldogs, who SportTrades will be following through their season. We asked the two lads what they thought about the coming 2010 season and a couple of predictions. There was no conferring during this exercise.

Kevin Reith (He's the one on the left in the photo)

Super League 2010 will be the best yet, the salary cap in Rugby League lets the smaller club stay on an even keel with the big 4 Leeds,Wigan,Bradford and St Helens.

This proved to be so when the likes of Huddersfield and Hull KR finished in the top 4 and deservedly so.

Well what is 2010 about to bring? Personally from a bias point of view, I think it is going to be a mammoth task for anyone to stop the Champs, Leeds Rhinos, winning the 4th consecutive title. They have only lost Lee Smith to union Club Wasps, but have replaced him with the very experienced, powerful centre Brett Delaney, who made a great try scoring debut, in Matt Diskins testimonial against bitter rivals Bradford Bulls. Also arriving, 12 months late, is the very powerful back rower Greg Eastwood he will be a handful and when he gets into his stride will take some stopping.

Their closest rivals I think will be Warrington Wolves. IF they keep injury free, then Tony Smith will do something special there. He showed that after a short time in charge last season what they could do, when he lead them to the Challenge Cup final victory against Huddersfield.
A lot of people are talking up Wigan with the arrival of coach Michael Maguire and yeah i think initially he will make a massive difference. He has replaced a coach in Brian Noble, who in my opinion is and always has been very overrated, his main success was at Bradford where he inherited a team full of winning superstars and they carried on winning.He went to Wigan and never set the world alight and won nothing hence his departure to Crusaders RL. Which brings me nicely onto a Welsh Super League club in the interim it has turned out to be a bit of a shambles, I am all for spreading the RL message throughout the whole world, but not at the expense of the clubs that have kept the sport and the game itself going for over a 100 years.

This was something that was rushed and because of that the problems have started hence the upheaval to Wrexham. This does really put into perspective how derisory the process for selecting the Super franchises were, because the Welsh outfit never had the financial backing and in fact nearly went bust, only for the move to Wrexham which has saved them in the short term.

You then look at the offer the Widnes chairman made in their super league application, which was he would put into the RFL account 1 million pounds and If they fell into financial problems he would surrender that money. Widnes one of the most successful clubs of the modern era turned down flat, bet they are saying very loudly in Widnes 'Told you So'.
Will Crusaders be in Super League after the next round of franchises happen, probably so, but for all the wrong reasons. I sincerely hope that it gets resolved and the sport can thrive in Wales, but me like the rest of the people in RL land, will have to wait and see.

My tips for 2010 :

Super League top 3 :

1. Leeds Rhinos
2. Warrington Wolves
3. Wigan

Grand Final - Leeds v Warrington (with a Leeds win)

Bottom 3 :

Bottom - Crusaders
2nd bottom - Quins RL
3rd bottom - Salford

Challenge Cup Final - Leeds v Wigan (Leeds Completing the double)

World Club Challenge - Leeds 26 Melbourne 12

Don't forget to tune in to Sky Sports Friday at 7.30pm for the opening fixture Crusaders v Leeds


Paddy Crowley (He's the one on the right in the photo - this is getting like Ant & Dec)

The Engage SuperLeague 2010 season kicks off this Friday with the clash between last years Minor Premiers and Grand Final Winners, Leeds Rhinos against the much changed Crusaders ( more about them later!).

For a summer season, it does seem to be an early start. Even though the first spring flowers haven't started blooming I am pleased to have some live action back on the TV after an indifferent Autumn International Series and Guinness Premiership in Rugby Union.

With World Cup final winner Eastwood joining a fit Danny Buderus, the Rhinos must be favourites to reach Old Trafford again in 2010. Although Lee Smith has left for Pastures new they have an ample replacement in Brett Delaney.

Who will be their main competition though? Although you can never write off a Saints side I think the chasing pack will be alot closer this year with a fitter Wigan side, coached by Michael Maguire, a Warrington Side rejuvenated after a Challenge Cup Victory and a Catalan side who have adjusted to Kevin Walters. An injury or dip in the form to the ever present James Graham could see these three sides leap frog Saint Helens in the League, regardless of any magic that Kyle Eastmond conjures. At the other end of table I can see it being a very close bottom 8 with only a few points separating ninth from Last. The only team i do see majorly struggling in 2010 will be the Salford Reds.

London-wise I see another strange season for Quins RL. With a full strength side they can beat anybody home or away. News from the Stoop that Rob Purdham may be out for a good few rounds, along with worries about Temata and Wells, suggest that they may struggle to recapture the great start they enjoyed last year. Brian Macs challenge this season will be to keep them all fit for as long as possible during a regular season campaign spanning seven months.

My predictions for the season are below, but before I do I will get my excuses in early! This promises to be the tightest season in SuperLeague so far with a mixture of teams who, in my opinion, will be there or there abouts come the play offs in September.

Play Off Positions

1. Leeds Rhinos

2. Wigan Warriors

3. St Helens

4. Catalan Dragons

5. Warrington Wolves

6. Bradford Bulls

7. Hull FC

8. Huddersfield Giants

Bottom team: Salford Reds

Man of Steel: Danny Buderus

Top Try Scorer: Ryan Hall

As already mentioned the season kicks off with the Rhinos playing the Crusaders at The Racecourse ground, Wrexham. It has been a turbulent off season for the Crusaders with their moves some 156 miles north of their base within Bridgend.

On the field, I see them being a much harder side to beat with new coach Brian Noble a seasoned Superleague Coach who has brought in some solid performers for 2010. Off the field it shall be interesting to see how the folk of Wrexham take to the team as I cannot imagine many will make their way up from their old fanbase.

Should the RFL have allowed the team to move ? I honestly don't think they had any choice in the matter. On the plus side, if this team and the Championship 1 side, the scorpions survive and thrive then Wales will have a SuperLeague Side, A championship 1 side as well as a thriving community club set up within the country. I am sure the RFL would've taken that when the Wales "crusade" was started off, even if it has happened in a less than orthodox way.

One things for sure, if the Crusaders can move over three hours away from their existing home I am looking forward to Leeds Rhinos making the Olympic Stadium in Stratford their home after the Olympics in 2012!!

For the Hainault Bulldogs I see a promising 2010, with a top four finish within the RLC Southern Premier a realistic expectation. We have some key players back in key positions as well as a new member joining Kevins coaching team who will add much value to the development and performance of the team.

We are pleased to have a very tight, happy relationship in place with Dagenham RFC and are looking forward to the season ahead which kicks off in March for our Junior Sides.

As well as our Senior First Team, we will be running a London League Side for players who are looking to enjoy the greatest game for maybe the first time, as well as Our Under 12, 14 and 16s competing in the London Junior League. As well as a strong training ethic we pride ourselves on being a welcoming club to Player and supporters of our team as well as visitors with a fully stock, reasonably priced bar.

If anyone is thinking of giving the sport a go over the summer I'd say "why not!" Get in touch, come down for a run about and see if you enjoy it, most people do!

Two New Features From SportTrades covering Rugby League

The Super League 2010 kicks off on Friday when the Leeds Rhinos take on the Crusaders. SportTrades are excited to announce two features that will appear during the season. 'Who let the Dogs Out' will follow RLC Premier South Club, Hainault Bulldogs. Hainault play their league games at Central Park, Dagenham, they are a friendly club who had a dramatic rise up the leagues after formation. Last year was a season of consolidation but 2010 will be a year when they can push on further. At present the club still have a number of sponsorship opportunities available,so please contact us.

Hainault Bulldogs, Kevin Reith and Paddy Crowley will feature on and off during the season with their thoughts on Rugby League. This section took some thinking through, but will be titled 'Kevin and Paddy on Rugby League' - catchy eh! Their first installment will be very soon.

Bill McLaren

Yesterday saw the funeral of Bill McLaren - the voice of Rugby. I never had the honour of meeting the great man, but in the the days since his death have read about his life. Some stories I knew, some brought back memories and some I was reading for the first time. The era of commentators whose voices became synonymous with the sports they covered. The love of language that made the analysis entertaining and intelligent, that become part of sporting folklore and everyday sayings that even transcended sports. I enjoyed, like millions, his commentary of matches, they are very much a memory of my youth and bring back many happy images. His sayings were included in many team talks for the School Rugby team, as I'm sure they were for thousands of clubs up and down the country. There is something special that he was also such a generous, kind and warm human being as well as an Icon - they don't always go hand in hand. So, I will not be the first to use this line, they will be dancing in the streets of Hawick, in memory and celebration of Bill McLarens life. Bill McLAREN - Thank You.

Sol y Futbol: Guadalajara End Rojillos Winning Streak

A dejected Ian Lane reports, as the recent winning streak of the Rojillos comes to an end. Even Super Barnsley Robbo can’t save us, always next week.

GUADALAJARA 4 LANZAROTE 0

25th January 2010

U.D Lanzarote´s three match winning streak came to an abrupt end in the space of 16 second half minutes against second placed side, Guadalajara.

New signing Moncho made his debut and Ian Robinson partnered Rosmen up front in the absence of the injured Jonathon Torres. The Rojillos got off to a steady start and didn’t allow their opponents any time to dwell on the ball.

The best opportunities for the Rojillos came from set pieces in the opening 45 minutes as well as Englishman Robbo who beat his defender but the keeper somehow managed to smother his strike. The Madrid side came close from an effort by striker Marcos Navas in the 37th minute which was well saved by Lanzarote keeper Vilches and three minutes later the same player shot high and over inside the six yard box.

Lanzarote came out for the second half believing that they could win this game and looked the more capable team in possession. Less than 10 minutes into the second half and the game turned upside down for Lanzarote with the temperamental winger Toñito picking up his second yellow card in the space of five minute forcing his team mates to play the remainder of the match with 10 men.

Over 3000 home fans roared their team to attack the 10 man Lanzarote and they obliged with 16 minutes of deadly finishing.

Barnsley boy Ian was sacrificed and replaced with midfielder Maikel Padrón as Guadalara smelt blood and looked for the kill. In the 65th minute the home side went in front when Marcos Navas blasted in from close range following a goal mouth scramble.

In the 73rd minute winger Alain got round the back of the Lanzarote defence and chipped the advancing keeper to make the score 2-0. Four minutes later and midfielder Iván Moreno added a third and the rout was completed in the 81st minute when Sub Manzano stuck away the fourth.

There will certainly be another inquest regarding the red card from local boy Toñito. The 24 year old has been gifted a talent with his feet which could easily be playing in a higher division but his poor attitude is only worthy of the lower leagues of pub football. Sent off for the umpteenth time when the game was at stalemate will not impress his manager Carmelo Hernández.

Lanzarote still remain four points adrift of safety and have a mouth watering home clash next Sunday when they entertain league leaders Alcorcón. The Madrid outfit is riding high on confidence following their mauling of Real Madrid 4-0 a few weeks ago in the Copa Del Rey. They were knocked out of the cup in the following round by Primera Liga side Racing Santander 3-2 over two legs.

Their league form is also immense with five successive wins under their belt and 24 points out of a possible 27 over the last nine matches.

SportTrades F.A.Cup Tracker - Stage 10 - EXACTLY

Congratulations to Fulham who finally ended the run of Accrington Stanley. Stanley made four appearances in the F.A.Cup this season, which makes them leaders of the Tracker Merit Table. Fulham took the lead through Erik Nevland, only for Michael Symes to bring Stanley level with the Cottagers. Then after 41 minutes Darren Kempson got his marching orders, that made Acrringtons route to the next round almost impossible to navigate. Goals from Zoltan Gera and Duff ended Stanleys participation in the F.A.Cup for this season as Fulham ran out as 3-1 winners.

The F.A.Cup carries on and the SportTrades F.A.Cup Tracker reaches Stage 11. We follow the Cottagers through to the 5th Round, with a tie versus Wigan or Notts County, will Sven still be there? At the draw from Wembley it was great news to hear about the new charities supported by the F.A . It brings it home when Stephanie Moore, Geoff Thomas made the draw and John Hartson was sharing his knowledge, all who have been touched by illnesses these worthwhile organisation are campaigning for. Personally pleased to see involvement of the British Heart Foundation but guys don't forget C.R.Y (Cardiac Risk in the Young.)Come on the Cottagers - There's only one F in Fulham.

Chelmsford weekend of excitement

The Iceman, Pete Lewis, was busy for Sporttrades this weekend as the Chelmsford ice hockey teams were all over the south of England. Here is his reports on the weekend's action:

A second period demolition job was done by the Chieftains in south London on Sunday night with 6 unanswered goals coming in the 20 minutes of play. An early goal from Blaho Novak on the powerplay gave the travelling Chieftains side a 1-0 lead heading into the first break. Novak had an eventful period as he also picked up a straight 10minute misconduct penalty for an incident after the whistle with Russell Stevens of the Redskins. For the majority of the period the Chieftains had the upper hand but the Redskins always looked like they had another level to go to to match up with the Chieftains, yet struggled to find that extra gear.

Will Sanderson held the Chieftains at bay in the Redskins net up until 6 and a half minutes into the second session until he was beaten by Ross Brears (Pictured, by Helen Fryer) notching the first of a hat trick. Just over half way through the game and Adam Copland notched a goal for the visitors and this seemed to open the floodgates. 4 goals in just over 5 minutes from Brears with his second, Jerry Pavlus, Darren Brown and Danny Hammond gave the Chieftains a 7-0 lead heading into the third and final period.

It was only 19 seconds old when Ross Brears stepped up and scored his 3rd of the night, much to the acclaim of his teammates. The game seemed to slow down a bit as time wound down, but there was still time left for Novak to round out the scoring at 53:57 to end the game at 9-0 after a good all round team performance.

Slovak Rudi Dzurko picked up the man of the match award for the Chieftains side after an impressive display on the blueline for the Essex side.

Head coach Dean Birrell said after the game "I was glad to get the scoring touch back again in the team. We did struggle before Christmas to find the net but to now have scored 31 goals in 5 games is quite pleasing and I am sure the fans are a lot happier. It's disappointing for me tonight to see my old team beaten like this, but I am coaching the Chieftains now and we can only play what's in front of us. I understand they picked up some injuries tonight and were missing a few players, but credit to the Redskins though as they made us work for the whole game and barring a bad patch in the middle period, they were making it tough for us"

Down in Avon on Saturday night, saw the Chelmsford Warriors in a tough game, made even more tougher with a shortened bench. However the team did themselves and their club proud by battling to a 6-4 defeat. With only two officials on the ice, the game was always going to be on tenterhooks and this game was no different as incidents were happening off the puck all over the ice and by the end of the first period Sean Martin and Ben Osborne were just about classifiable as 'walking wounded'. Ashlee Cave had also been ejected from the game for mixing it up with the Pitbulls.

The Pitbulls went 2-0 up before the end of the first period and the Warriors looked to be out of this feisty game, but the second period scoring was slightly unevenly split with the Pitbulls getting 3 more and the Warriors picking up 2 through Blaho Novak and Tom Foskett who were playing down from the Chieftains.

The third period was anyone's game, but the Pitbulls sneaked another goal and Novak got his second along with young Max Bennett to end the game 6-4 to the home side. Gary Brown took the honours for a man of the match performance for the Warriors. The small travelling band of Warriors fans were certainly not downhearted on their journey back from Bristol.

Back in Essex on Sunday night and it was another outstanding performance from the Warriors as they took on the Basingstoke Buffalo, who had come to Chelmsford full of confidence. The Warriors showed great mettle the night before in Bristol as they went down just 6-4 to one of the favourites for the title, but Lee Hounslow and his teammates made sure that the Warriors fans went away happy as he picked up both goals in a 2-1 win. The Warriors were leading for most of the game and it was only thanks to a third period goal from the Buffalo that made the final few minutes a tense affair.

The Warriors looked solid throughout and gave a good account of themselves, despite a lot of pressure from the Basingstoke side. The Buffalo were determined to snatch something from the game and battled right to the end, but to no avail as the Chelmsford second side held on for the two points.

A Cyclist In France: Introduction To Andrew Phillips!

Cycling is now getting more coverage than ever. With the success of the GB Olympic Cycling Squad in Beijing as well as recent glory in the Tour de France for Mark Cavendish and Bradley Wiggins the sport is now fully in the mainstream.

On our blog we already follow the new British Cycling team Team Sky and we will be giving you updates on them throughout the year and beyond. However there is more to cycling than the big teams and those famous faces and SportTrades are delighted to announce that we will be following a amateur cyclist next season.

His name is Andrew Phillips and after living in France for the last couple of years, decieded in an attempt to get fit to buy a bike and join a cycling club. Last year after much training he raced as a category 3 rider in the Poitou Charente Region in the South-West of France. Throughout the season, which starts around the beginning of April we will be hearing from Andrew and we think it’s a brilliant chance for cycling fans to hear a different perspective to the sport. Here's Andrew’s first post for us which describes how he got into becoming an amateur cyclist and what his hopes are for the 2010 season...

Andrew: Do you know I am racing against guys who spend more money on their cycling shoes than I did on my bike? Well thats the truth and my journey into cycling is something that even suprises me.

When I was 43 I saw an advert in the local super market for a bike for sale. The price was 250 Euros. Included in the price was a spare set of wheels, a turbo trainer, a pair of cycling shoes my size and a suit case to put the bike in. A bargain I should say. So I bought the bike and as I was unloading it from the car one of my French neighbours saw me and said “you can come training with us if you like we go Tuesday and Thursday evenings".

That was the start. I only bought the bike to do some riding and to get fit. Instead in May 2008 I started training with some French guys in a proper cycling club. They have been great and have been very patient with me. They have made me suffer and I have been put through hell and back. I have always been quite fit but I have never been in such shape as I am in now. Within a few weeks i was able to ride about 80 kms and by August I was occasionally coming back from the training rides smiling.

There was talk of me participating in a race towards the end of the season but I decided that I would continue with my training throughout the winter and start racing in 2009. I trained hard throughout the winter. As I had not raced I just kept going when everyone else was having a rest. I got stronger and stronger and teamed up with some other guys who had different ideas on training to the guys that I had started riding with. It really took me to a different level and I ended up being caught in the middle of people all offering me different advice on how I should train. Even arguments about the size of my front chain ring. Help! This was all getting too technical, but i learnt quickly that thats what the sport is.

I signed up to race for 2009. As I had never raced before I automatically was placed as a category 3 rider. In the UFOLEP organisation there are 4 categories and a separate category for people over 60 or 65. I did quite well in my 1st season. I achieved three 2nd places, one 3rd and a 5th. I obtained enough points to go up a category but have yet to win a race, though four podiums in my first season was more than i could have dreamed of! Towards the end of the season I bought a frame which a friend spotted on Ebay. With the help of some other friends and by begging, borrowing and not quite stealing I now have a proper racing bike which I will be using for the 2010 season. This will definitely be a great help!

My objectives for next season are to win a race, to obtain enough points to go up to category 1 (should be tough as there are a lot of very strong 20 year olds and younger) and to obtain a podium position in the Departmental Championship. This is definitely possible as in the championship I will be racing with people the same age as me, though'll it will be just as tough as these guys will have more experience than me.

Hopefully you’re hear more from me over the next couple of months when i can let you guys know how my training goes on. Aside from my training it will be also a big couple of months as I am currently in the process of moving house with my family. If you want to support me please become a fan of ‘The English Cyclist In France’ on facebook or just join the facebook group ‘Help me Win in France’. I can also be found on twitter @http://twitter.com/cyclistinfrance Hope you enjoyed my first post.

SportTrades Report Manager Adam Dennehey is delighted to have got this link up with Andrew. "As a cycling fan, i think it will be good for people intrested in the sport to remember that just like football, the sport is more than just the big names. It should be intresting to see how Andrew builds on his success from last season and how he can go wheel to wheel with the french cyclists and hopefully build on Wiggo and Cav's success from last year". There will be more from Andrew over the coming months.

SportTrades F.A.Cup Tracker - Stanley through to F.A.Cup 4th Round

F.A.Cup SportTrades Tracker is back. During the week Accrington Stanley overcame Gillingham 1-0 in the 3rd Round to set up a mouth watering tie against Premiership Fulham in the 4th Round - Stage 10 to those tracker followers. That puts Stanley on top of the Merit League above Farnborough, but crossing the white line will set them out alone with their 4th Appearance in the competition.

Below is a refresher regarding information about the tracker and a reminder of results so far and the current Merit Table. From the results we have created a Merit Table. The Table is based on competition appearances, based on rounds competed in. If the appearances are equal they will be processed in number of Away wins, Replays, Goal difference and then goals scored, If still level then positions are tied. 1 bonus point will be added to the appearance number corresponding to the F.A.Cup winners in May.

The Story so far

Stage 1 Barkingside 1 Bowers & Pitsea 4
Stage 2 Windsor & Eton 3 Bowers & Pitsea 1
Stage 3 Thamesmead Town 1 Windsor & Eton 2
Stage 4 Windsor & Eton 0 Farnborough 1
Stage 5 Heybridge Swifts 0 Farnborough 0
Replay Farnborough 3 Heybridge Swifts 0
Stage 6 Farnborough 0 Salisbury City 0
Replay Salisbury City 4 Farnborough 2
Stage 7 Accrington Stanley 2 Salisbury City 1
Stage 8: Accrington Stanley 2 Barnet 2
Replay Barnet 0 Accrington Stanley 1
3RD ROUND
Stage 9 Accrington Stanley 1 Gillingham 0

In Stage 10 or FA Cup 4th Round, Stanley entertain the might of Fulham. Just by crossing the white line Stanley will be out alone at the top of the SportTrades F.A.Cup Tracker, Merit table

SportTrades F.A.Cup Tracker – Merit Table

TEAM APP A/W R G/D G/S
ACCRINGTON STANLEY* 3 1 1 3 6
FARNBOROUGH 3 1 2 2 6
WINDSOR & ETON 3 1 0 2 5
BOWERS & PITSEA 2 1 0 1 5
SALISBURY CITY 2 0 1 1 5
BARNET 1 0 1 -2 2
HEYBRIDGE SWIFTS 1 0 1 -3 1
THAMESMEAD TOWN 1 0 0 -1 1
GILLINGHAM 1 0 0 -1 0
BARKINGSIDE 1 0 0 -3 1

App – Appearances
A/W – Away wins
R – Replays
G/D – Goal Difference
G/S – Goals Scored
* Still active in Competition

England's Bangladesh Tour - Squad Thoughts

After gaining a decent draw in the test series against South Africa, England now has to move forward into 2010 and continue the fine work that Andy Flower and Andrew Strauss have put into the team last year. Their success in the Ashes was a pleasant surprise considering the state the team was in after the Pietersen/Moores debacle at the start of the year.

The tour to Bangladesh on paper will look like a formality for England and considering the gap between the two sides, it should be. However, the tour represents a good challenge for several players. Alastair Cook has been given a chance to show that he's got material to be captain and it shall be intresting to see how he manages the daily duties of being captain. Cook has experience of captaining the U19 team when they reached the semi-finals of the U19 World Cup in West Indies held in Bangladesh in 2004.

Ever since coming into the England team in India in early 2006, Cook was touted as a future England captain and for him it will be a real test of character to see how he gets on. England will be expected to win the three one-dayers and two tests that they are playing against Bangladesh, so there will be a lot of pressure on the young Essex opener to achieve this. He will also be expected to bat responsibly and once in, to really score big runs.

For other players it's a chance to continue their good work. Ian Bell and Paul Collingwood were unfairly criticized during the Ashes series for not getting enough runs. This was despite the fact Collingwood's vital knock in the second innings helped save the first test match in Cardiff and Bell's knock of 72 helped England gain a good first innings score in the final match at the Oval. Both players batted well in the recent tour of South Africa with Collingwood seemingly back at his best. Bell showed great mental strength in scoring his century at Durban and he'll be expected to knuckle on now and get back to being in the batsmen that England and the media want him to be.

Kevin Pietersen, Jonathan Trott and Matt Prior will all need to do well in this series. The last of those names Prior has kept well since coming back into the team at the end of the summer of 2008. He is a classy aggressive batsmen but needs to bat more responsibly in the future. He had a couple of half centuries in the South Africa tour but had too many low scores for his liking.

In the last match of the series held at Cape Town, the way he got out was very disappointing, getting out twice on the pull. First innings he received a good ball but in the second innings he looked nervous and it was a shot that no international cricketer should have played. Keeping against spinners is never easy, but he's built up a good relationship with Graeme Swann and will need to go back to batting the way he knows he can.

Pietersen and Trott, meanwhile, will know that they need to bounce back. Trott was not the worst of England's batsmen in the test series, but looked scratchy at times. The best thing for him would be to go back and watch how he batted at the Oval against Australia when in difficult situations he batted with responsibility and a calm head and made sure he got himself in before playing his shots. Trott has the talent to overcome this and it should not be forgotten he's still early into his international career and even the greats had problems early on.

Pietersen, meanwhile, perhaps should almost go back to the basics. The great Geoffrey Boycott has said countless times over the decades that sometimes what a struggling batsmen needs to do is to just be happy with taking singles and the odd two, before the bad balls come along. From watching how Pietersen has played in South Africa this appears to be something that he just can't do. He has the ability to end up scoring 25 test match centuries for England and to score really big centuries. I am sure that once he is fully recovered from his injury and when his confidence starts coming back he'll be back to himself.

England need a fully physically and mentally fit Kevin Pietersen ready for a tough year ahead in which he'll need to score runs at home againgst Pakistan (and Bangladesh) before the Ashes come along in November. A model player that Pietersen should look at is Jaques Kallis who has the ability to get to around 20-30 runs and look odds-on (at least in the eyes of viewers) to score a big century which sets the team up for a big first innings score.

The tour to Bangladesh also gives new players to the squad a chance to prove themselves. With Andrew Strauss taking a much deserved well-timed rest, there is a position available for another batsmen to come into the team.

Hampshire's Michael Carberry has rightly been called up by the selectors and after doing well for the England Lions when he has played for them, it is a great chance for the top order batsmen to solidify his place in the squad. Carberry has worked hard to earn this chance and was the third highest run scorer in County Cricket last season. He should open alongside Cook and will look to bat well to make sure he's the next batsmen in waiting when a place comes up.

In the bowling department with James Anderson taking a rest due to a dodgy knee, it's a chance for some bowlers to grab their chance. Kent's James Tredwell has been selected as the second spinner on the tour ahead of the young Adil Rashid from Yorkshire. With Swann the number one spinner, I think the selectors have missed a chance to show their faith in Rashid.

After performing well in the One Dayers versus Australia last summer, the selectors have overlooked this because of one bad over against South Africa in a Twenty20 game where Graeme Smith and Loots Bootsman were whacking the ball all over the park. With a turning wickets in Bangladesh it would have been a good chance to give Rashid more experience. I can understand why they have picked Tredwell as if they are concerned about Rashid's confidence. It will be important to keep him in check with the Lions and make sure that the second spinner in Bangladesh is confident, considering the amount of overs he's likely to bowl.

The real interesting selection was of Ajmal Shahzad from Yorkshire. Shahzad was the first British born Asian to play for the county and at 24 has emerged as a real talent after a good 2009 season. The England selectors have clearly noticed him and he's been part of the England Performance Programme over the last couple of months in South Africa. In a way it's good for Shahzad that England have a good crop of bowlers as the selectors can give him experience whilst making sure he still plays for his county, getting games and overs under his belt. They only need to look at someone like Saj Mahmood, who after a bright start for England was not given the chance to play regularly for his county and now looks unlikely of adapting at the international level sadly.

The last real taking point of the squad was whether Andrew Strauss should have been selected. With a big 18 months of cricket ahead with the Ashes and the World Cup it's vital the captain gets a rest and keeps refreshed going into big stressful series. There is time before the tour for Strauss to rest, however it's vital that England continue to move forward and that when opportunities arise that young players get it.

It is the only way that the selectors can shape the future of the team and ensure that there are no panic selections in the future ahead. With that reason in mind it's a tour that should be well worth watching, plus Bangladesh have a few talented players looking out for as well. What be your starting XI for the tour?

More On Partnership With Girls In Football

A while ago SportTrades announced good news about a partnership we have got with the organisation Girls in Football, headed by Polly Courtney. The partnership's aim was to help increase the investment within the women's game and make sure that women of all levels of football would get the support and funding that they needed to keep going. We are very close to agreeing a deal with a major worldwide company and brand who will help fund this investment into women's football, and we will reveal who this brand is when the deal is finalised.

The Women's game has a vast amount of potential and England and the Football Association need to give the game support so it can fulfill it's potential. Our women have done fantastic in recent years reaching the Quarter Finals of the last women's World Cup in 2007 when the tournament was held in China. They also grabbed much attention last year when Hope Powell's girls were runners up to the mighty German side at the European Championships. It was a great achievement for the team and the first time our girls have reached a major final in 25 years, which is good considering the men have not done that in 44 years this summer.

It shouldn't be forgotten that 4 years before that England had hosted a successful European Championships themselves, although the girls went out in the first round the attendences at the stadiums and viewing figures on television were excellent. 2011 should be a great year for women's football as that summer will see the launch of the Women's Super League. The league is going to run over the summmer and will be made up of 16 clubs. That alone would be good, but there is a deal in prinicple with a major broadcaster which will see games shown on television giving great exposure for the league, the standard of the game and showcase what great talented women footballers we have. At the same time it will inspire girls all over the country to get involved with football and sport in general and give them proper role models to look up to unlike some of the tasteless stars on Big Brother, etc.

Our partnership with Girls in Football supported with the investment we are getting will help many clubs around the country. Our ambition is to help these girls and clubs get the funding they need to have their own kit and buy the equipment that they need to keep operating. It is a very positive motive for women's football and it is intended to boost the game at a national, regional and local level. If you would like to know more about this partnership head over to http://girlsinfootball.co.uk// to find out more information and see how we can help you.

Sol y Futbol: Lanzarote Winning Streak Continues

Sol y Futbol’s Ian Lane, braves the warmth to bring SportTrades more fantastic news. That boy will go out in all weather.

LANZAROTE 2 TOLEDO 1

18th January 2010

The weather is the best way to describe Lanzarote´s form of late; Hot! Four wins out of the last five games has pushed Lanzarote into relegation contenders rather than relegation certainties and they are now within four points of safety.

The opening few minutes were played mainly in the midfield as both teams seemed to be looking for weaknesses in each other. In the 9th minute a quick clever throw by Rúben Rodriguez to Captain Vladimir, who had lost his marker, drilled in a cross from the byline through a crowd of players and striker Rosmen was inches away from a tap in. The ball eventually fell to Toñito but the talented winger lost his composure and blasted the ball high and hard towards the midday sun.

Five minutes later and from a similar situation Rúben Rodriguez curled a cross at the far post for Rosmen. The striker dived in and nodded home only for the official to wave his flag for a dubious offside.

The first opportunity for the Madrid side was in the 17th minute. Winger Joaqui found himself with a free strike on the edge of the box with only the Lanzarote keeper Vilches to beat but his scuffed effort went horribly wrong as the ball bobbled away for a goal kick.

In the 22nd minute some delightful football involving Vladimir and Rúben Rodriguez led to the opening goal. The latter curled a deadly cross in from the left wing. Rosmen arriving with precision timing and with no flag from the official stuck the ball home from close range sending the Rojillos into a 1-0 lead.

Lanzarote were now dominant and looked dangerous on every attack. Five minutes before half time and Lanzarote scored that crucial second goal. The Impressive new signing Juachi looks to be a real find. Pushing up from his left back role he fed Rúben Rodriguez who curled in another trademark beauty that had Toledo’s defence in disarray. The ball struck the bar from the cross come shot. Whether the attempt was intentional is up for debate but the way he shaped his body was evidence enough for me. Toñito pulled the ball back from the byline and found Rosmen who struck home from six yards for his and his teams second of the day.

During the break, Rojillos manager Carmelo Hernández must have been aware that his side has won all matches in which they have scored first however his defence has let in more goals than any other team in Spain’s top four divisions.

The Conejeros did come out for the second half with the mentality not to lose what they have and began to play deeper. Toledo held the possession but again Lanzarote looked the more threatening on the break.

On the hour the Madrid side was back in it. A through ball found striker Rufino. The official gave the striker the benefit of the doubt with offside and he neatly chipped the advancing keeper Vilches to reduce the deficit to 2-1.

A free kick in the 73rd minute was well saved by the new Lanzarote number one as the visitors went in search of a point.

In the 82nd minute a fast counter attack led to Rosmen with a chance for a hat rick. The striker rounded a defender and had a clear strike on goal. Unselfishly he fed sub Sixto for a tap in when a strike was the much better option and a defender running on the sprint cleared in the nick of time.

The last moment of drama occurred five minutes from time. A cross from the left was punched clear by Keeper Vilches. The ball landed at the feet of midfielder Pulga and his powerful strike was destined for the bottom left hand corner only for man of the match Rosmen to clear at full stretch.

The signs look good. Both front men of Torres and Rosmen have been in superb goal scoring form. Englishman Ian Robinson who was out with a calf strain has also looked like a player possessed and when you know your team is always capable of scoring that confidence will bring results.

The Rojillos still remain bottom but only on goal difference and with three consecutive wins under the belt they will have a belly full of confidence when they travel to face fourth placed side Guadalara next week.

Chieftains Overcome Thunder To Win

As ever last weekend saw SportTrades's Iceman Pete Lewis at the Ice Hockey. He was there to see the Chelmsford Chieftains face off againgst the MK Thunder ice hockey game. There were also apperances from 2 wrestlers from LDN wrestling, the Wrestling Compnay that the Chieftains have linked up within the last month.

The game itself began in the way games against Milton Keynes normally do and they were tough to break down, but once the Chieftains broke through their lines it was only thanks to Mark Woolf having a blinder in the MK net that kept the score down. Danny Hammond broke the deadlock at 5:27 of the first period with a fairly simple tap in at the back post. Jerry Pavlus then scored an excellent goal as he went through the MK defence and slotted the puck high into the top corner all thanks to an excellent pass from man of the match Danny Wright.

A couple of moments later it was 3-0 when a blue line shot from Sean Easton looped in over Woolf's shoulder while the Chieftains had a man advantage. MK then pulled a goal back six minutes before the end of the period, when Jamie Holland's shot pinged in off the post and it was a 3-1 lead going into the first break.

As a special promotion, in association with LDN wrestling, Travis (adorned in a Chieftains shirt, much to the home crowd's delight) came onto the ice to talk to the fans but was rudely interrupted by Steve Preston, sporting an MK Thunder shirt. Things quickly heated up and a pushing and shoving match ensued between the two, with only Frizzy on hand to break them up, but he too took a few pushes from Preston to really get the crowd wound up.

The second period began with an early goal to the Thunder as Harrison Goode finished off a nice move from Ross Horsley. Blaho Novak quickly hit back for the Chieftains, restoring their 2 goal advantage with thanks to his linemates Hammond and Pavlus. The period was a bit back and forth, but the Chieftains began to take further advantage, but Woolf was playing an outstanding game and continued to deny the Chieftains.

Into the third period and things were still going the Chieftains way, but MK were finding ways back into the game and Ben Clements was called upon more times than perhaps he would have liked to pull off some nice saves. Back down the other end and the usual agitation tactics of Novak and Ross Brears were paying off as the MK defence began to get a bit hot under the collar and started to take some silly penalties, including a 2+10 minute penalty to Bernie Bradford for a check from behind. Paul Jamieson and Ross Brears had words and things were getting close to boiling point now, but referee Rene Ross kept control of things and it was the Chieftains who rounded out the scoring with 20 seconds left with a second goal to Hammond, assisted by Pavlus. Final score 5-2 Chieftains.

The man of the match awards were presented by Travis (The reigning LDN Wrestling Champion) and the fans were encouraged again to attend the LDN wrestling event at the Riverside on the 30th of January. Man of the match for the Chieftains was Richard Whiting, who as you can see in the picture was delighted to pick up his award.

Speaking after the game Dean Birrell, head coach of the Chieftains said "I wouldn't say tonight we were unconvincing in our victory, but there were some times out there I felt frustrated by our performance. We created lots of chances and outshot them, but we must start the majority of our chances".

Birrell continued in the same vein as he did earlier in the week with praise for GB Under-18 call ups in James Ayling and Aaron Connolly on the reserve list "It's fantastic for those boys, it's not only this year but we've got some other lads coming on and with the ice time they are getting with the Warriors now I wouldn't have thought it would be too long before the GB selectors are in touch with those lads too. On top of that in the junior system there are some special talents coming on and it really is testament to development they receive in the Chelmsford system".

Speaking of the Warriors, they didn't have as good a weekend as the Chieftains. Invicta Mustangs were too much for the Chelmsford's second string side winning 3-1 at the Ice Bowl in Gillingham. Dan Raven was on target for the Warriors with Andy Brummitt grabbing the man of the match award, after several key saves stopped the hosts winning by more.

Wasps Sting Clawed By Wildcats

It's been abit of a while since we heard from the Hull Wasps, but fear no more as we have a full round up from SportTrades favourite basketball team this week. Firstly in shocking news, the Merseyside Spartans whom you may recall had their game againgst the Wasps last month called off due to a faulty scoreboard have withdrawn from the league. It's a shame for the Spartans and theif fans and obviously like in any sport it's sad when a team cannot fulfill their league requirements. Rightly all league points won over the Spartans have been taken away.

Sadly for the Wasps as a result of this as they now lose what was to be their last regular league fixture at home on March 14th. This is a slight blow considering they've now lost their expected gate for that game, which of course the other teams in the league who have hosted the Spartans have got. However due to this being out of the Wasps control, it's not something that'll worry them.

Now to good news surrounding the Wasps. Firstly last week it was announced that they've appointed a new club physio in Ciara Morrissey. Ciara, who has come to Hull from Limerick in Ireland, works for Hull And East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust as a junior physiotherapist. She qualified from the University of Huddersfield in 2009, with B.Sc.(Hons) in Physiotherapy. While studying, she was physiotherapist for the university's Gaelic football team and recently started assissting the Hull Ionians rugby union team.

Ciara also starred for the University of Huddersfield's girls' basketball team and said she was happy to be getting back involved with the sport. She said: "I am delighted to be working with the team for the rest of the season." Wasps captain Jamie Goodwin said: "We are very lucky to be getting the help of someone with Ciara's knowledge of both physiotherapy and basketball. I am sure she will prove a valuable addition to the team and will be a big help in both the prevention and treatment of any injuries."

Ciara's first game as club physio was on saturday as the Wasps faced off Team Durham Wildcasts at Hull's Gemtec Arena . The Wildcats beforehand were below the Wasps in the league standings, so it was a chance for Chris McKenna's side to widen that gap between the teams in the table if the the Wasps could earn a win. Sadly that wasn't to be the case as the Wildcats condemned the hosts to their 5th defeat of the season, after overpowering the Wasps in the third period.

A close opening first period produced some good end-to-end basketball with Hull Wasps producing a more dominant display in attack but some sharp shooting from the Wildcats, particularly from John Morgan, allowed the visitors to take a narrow 20-17 lead at the end of the quarter. It was more of the same in the second period which saw the Wasps regularly at the free throw line. Some sharper shooting from the spot would have allowed a closer scoreline at the half-time interval but finished 32-36 to the visitors.

After the break Team Durham came out strong and rattled the Wasps with some hard defense. More sharp sooting, this time from their captain Ian Hewitt, allowed the visitors to open up a 12 point lead heading into in the final period.All was not lost however after a good rally from Hull brought them back to within 5 points, but after a scuffle between both sets of players, momentum seemed to swing back in favour of the visitors.

A lack of field scoring from the Wasps allowed Team Durham to increase the margin from the free throw line to take the game 82-63.Hull were missing 6'10 centre Michael Kucmierczyk and forward Jason Munro through injury. Captain Jamie Goodwin top scored with 20 points for the Wasps with Durham's Sam Chambers top scoring with 24 points for the visitors.

Wasps' head coach, Chris McKenna believed that the Wildcats simply outmuscled his side, but was optimistic his side would bounce back. "The Wildcats were a very physical side on Saturday and we have to learn to deal with that. Many teams higher in the National League all have the ability to get tough when it's needed and Team Durham did that very well. If we are to progress we need to learn from these teams and we will.

"We know we have the ability to compete with the best in our league but our performance let us down in that game. We have a tough contest in 2 weeks when Bury come to play us. They are the team to beat right now. They have only lost once all season so we need to be at our best if we are to get something out of the game."

Tour Of Britain Team Up With Prostate Cancer Charity

As if giving you guys news about Team Sky wasn't enough, here's some very intresting news about a partnership between The Tour of Britain organisers and a more than worthy cause, The Prostate Cancer Charity.

Following a successful entry into the world of sportives last year, Prostate Cancer Charity, in partnership with The Tour of Britain, is pleased to announce they will stage a further three events in 2010. Cyclists will have the unique opportunity to measure themselves against the pro riders, taking on one or more stages of The 2010 Tour of Britain, going the full distance of 150km, or taking on a challenging 70km. The Prostate Cancer Charity's Tour Rides, which will all take place in September, will offer amateur cyclists the chance to ride three full stages of Britain’s national cycle tour in 2010.

1) In a brand new event for 2010, cyclists will be able to tackle a tough route which traverses the scenic South West, travelling 150km from Minehead to the South Devon coast or covering part of the route over a distance of 70km, on Sunday 5 September.

2) Stoke-on-Trent, which saw 1,300 riders participate in the inaugural Tour Ride last year including British Road Race Champion Kristian House, will again play host to cyclists, offering a gruelling 145km route which starts and finishes in Stoke-on-Trent in the City’s centenary year, as well as a 70km challenge event, on Sunday 26 September.

3) There will also be an event on the London stage of the event, which will take cyclists on a route past some of the most iconic landmarks in the capital, on Saturday 18 September, prior to the final stage of The Tour of Britain. This will no doubt prove popular and all concerned are hoping it will be a success.

The Prostate Cancer Charity Tour Rides are part of the Charity’s commitment to get people on their bikes to raise awareness of the disease, under its ‘Unite ByCycling’ initiative. In both the South West and Stoke-on-Trent, there will also be 20km family rides, as well as other cycling-related activities at the event sites, so that people of all ages and cycling abilities can take part. John Neate, The Prostate Cancer Charity's Chief Executive, said: "Last year’s events proved hugely successful and we received extremely positive feedback from participants about the organisation of the day and the fact that they could take on a leg of the actual Tour of Britain for the first time."

"Of course, everyone who takes part, as well as completing a personal challenge, will be helping the Charity to raise awareness of prostate cancer and helping us to raise funds to fight the disease, which kills one man every hour in the UK. We are delighted to be entering into the second year of our successful partnership with The Tour of Britain.Places are limited for the event, so we are urging cyclists to ensure they are at the start line by signing up early."

The Prostate Cancer Charity Tour Ride, the first event of its kind in Great Britain, provided members of the public with a unique opportunity to get on their bikes and ride the official Stoke-on-Trent stage of The 2009 Tour of Britain race, all in support of a fantastic cause," said Hugh Roberts, CEO of The Tour of Britain. The inaugural event in Stoke-on-Trent proved to be a huge success and this year we are pleased to be extending the number of Tour Rides to include a new ride in the South West."

The Prostate Cancer Charity Tour Rides cost £40 for the full stage distances, £30 for the 70km distances and £20 for a family of four to do the 20km Family Rides, in both Stoke-on-Trent and the South West. Entries close on 1 September 2010 but as places are limited and expected to fill up fast, riders are encouraged to sign up as soon as possible.

The Tour Rides have got full backing from all the Councils involved in staging them. Cllr David Huxtable, Somerset County Council’s Cabinet Member for Resources, said: "Somerset County Council is thrilled that The Tour Ride will be coming to the region. It’s a great triumph for Somerset and Devon to be hosting both The Tour of Britain and The Tour Ride in 2010. "The fact that The Tour Ride offers cyclists of all abilities a chance to experience some, or even an entire South West stage of The Tour of Britain will hopefully encourage thousands of residents and tourists to take part in the mass participation event."

Cllor Stuart Hughes, Devon County Council Cabinet Member for Highways and Transportation, said: "To be chosen to host one of this year's Tour Rides is a great reward for all of the hard work put in by Devon and Somerset County Councils with The Tour in recent years, and we're proud to again be hosting two stages with Somerset. The Ride is an exciting opportunity for people in the region, and from right across the country, to see what the professionals on The Tour will be put through on this stage. At a slightly more leisurely pace than the pro riders, they'll also get the chance to sample Devon and Somerset's breathtaking scenery, which can only be good news for our local economy."

Stoke-on-Trent City Cllor Derek Capey, cabinet member for sport and leisure, for Stoke-on-Trent City Council, said: "It is excellent news that The Tour Ride is coming back to Stoke-on-Trent after the success of the event last year. Almost 1500 people of all ages and abilities took part in the ride in September and I would think even more will come along this year.

"Stoke-on-Trent is a city that is committed to cycling and sport in general. This event provides people with the opportunity to take part in a superbly organised, mass participation ride, that has health, social, tourism and economic benefits. We very much look forward to the day."

Prostate cancer is of course the most common cancer diagnosed in men in the UK. Every year in the UK 35,000 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer. Alarmingly One man dies every hour of prostate cancer in the UK. The Prostate Cancer Charity is striving for a world where lives are no longer limited by prostate cancer. The Charity is fighting prostate cancer on every front - through research, support, information and campaigning. For more information go www.prostate-cancer.org.uk/. The Tour of Britain's organisers should take great credit for teaming up with this great cause and hopefully many people turn up for the Tour Rides on the stages mentioned above and support the cause.

Sol y Futbol: Lanzarote Turn Up Heat On Universidad

Ian Lanes, was there, he reports from Gran Canaria.

UNIVERSIDAD 1 LANZAROTE 3

11th January 2010

Can you Adam and Eve it? The league leaders played off the park by bottom club Lanzarote. Striker Jonathon Torres marks his return with a hat trick as the Rojillos make it nine points out of a possible twelve and emphasize their intent to steer clear of relegation.

The four new signings, Goalkeeper Vilches, defenders Richard and Juachi and of course Jonathon Torres all made a stunning impact on their debuts.

With a back four oozing with confidence with the knowledge that behind them is a goalkeeper with nine years experience of playing his football in Spain’s Bronze league, a confident Rojillos team pulled off the days shock win.

It took the Rojillos less than two minutes to stamp their authority. A ball crossed in was flicked on by the ever improving Rosmen and the prodigal son Jonathon Torres fired in a volley from the edge of the box to put the Rojillos into an early 0-1 lead.

Five minutes later and the man who had spent the first half of this season with Alicante Jonathon Torres was at it again. An outrageous overhead kick flew inches over the Universidad bar. The boy was on fire!

In the 13th minute a precise pass from Torres was received by Ayoze Pérez and his strike beat keeper Lampón but was cleared off the line by a defender.

An injury in the 15th minute for Santi Torres saw an eager Toñito coming on as a sub. Moments later and his impact was almost deadly as he saw his strike thundering off the bar.

The league leader’s only threat came from dead ball situations and the Rojillos new goalkeeper Vilches looked in complete control.

A minute before the break and a rampant Lanzarote had doubled their lead. A corner swung in from Rúben Rodriguez was met powerfully by the head of Torres and even though the keeper got a hand on the ball it was not enough as the Rojillos went into the half time break with a surprise but well deserved 0-2 lead.

Tactical changes from the Gran Canarian side were inevitable. With two up front and two just behind their intentions were obvious. Nevertheless, Lanzarote persisted and looked the more dangerous. The pain of conceding a goal just before half time did not relent as the Rojillos outclassed their opponents in all departments.

In the 55th minute Torres found himself on a one on one with the Universidad keeper. His goal bound effort was flicked away by the toes of the advancing keeper.

Just before the hour was up Universidad had their best chance of the match. Striker Cristo Marrero ran at speed through the Lanzarote defence passing several defenders and unleashing a strike that struck the post and away for a goal kick.

With 10 minutes remaining the Rojillos sealed their victory. A great run down the left wing by new boy Juachi whose inch perfect cross found the head of Torres and the Lanzarote striker nodded home completing a magnificent return to his home club with a classy hat trick.

Lanzarote were certain of their first away win of the season but unfortunately could not achieve their first clean sheet. On the counter attack and with the last kick of the match midfielder Ariday scored a consolation but nothing was going to dampen the spirits of a rejuvenated Rojillo side.

This was a great start to the second half of the season but Lanzarote are still bottom of the league and five points adrift of safety. Next week CD Toledo are the visitors. They too are on form with consecutive wins but their game last week was called off due to snow.

With the weather forecast over the next week looking excellent in Lanzarote with clear skies and temperatures in their mid 20´s a sudden shock of heat will be a welcome relief for the team based in central Spain.

Why not get away from the cold and hop on a plane and four hours later you will be basking in wonderful sunshine. What can be better than watching football whilst getting a sun tan?

Chieftains Win Overshadowed By Injury

After their 8-5 defeat away to the Invicta Dynamos, the Chelmsford Chieftains needed to bounce back and grab a win over the Haringey Greyhounds. That was achieved by Dean Birrell's men, but nobody will have been pleased by the conclusion of the game, which was far more important than just sport.

As ever The 'Ice Man' Pete Lewis reports on the action for us, on the sport that if the weather continues as it is at the moment could very well could be all the rage in schools and parks up and down the country.

The Chieftains dominated this game right from the start, scoring three times in the first period. Goals from Danny Hammond, Ross Brears and a remarkable finish from Sean Easton (Pictured) from the halfway line which went past Haringey netminder James Tipple, which set the tone for the rest of the game. The second period continued in the same vein with Brears getting his second of the game and then Blaho Novak, Rich Whiting, Alex Green and Jerry Pavlus all scoring to give the Chieftains a convincing 8-0 lead going into the second break.

Ben Clements in the Chieftains net had barely been tested up until this point, having only faced around 12 shots in 2 periods, but when called upon he pulled off some solid saves and along with Brears, Green and James Ayling, he was in contention for the man of the match award. At the other end Tipple had been subjected to a staggering 40 shots, emphasising the sheer dominance of the Chieftains over their north London rivals. The Greyhounds decided to change goalies at the end of the period and changed Tipple for Laura Saunders.

Saunders had only been on the ice for just over 2 minutes when a Pavlus shot went just wide and as she turned to see where it had gone she was caught 100% accidentally by Hammond and she went down with a suspected spinal injury. Play was stopped immediately and an ambulance called and after she was treated on the ice for around 20minutes the officials took the correct decision to award the game as 8-0 to the Chieftains and end the game early. Laura left the ice in a conscious state, but strapped to a stretcher with her head and neck held in place.

SportTrades would like to send their best wishes to Laura, her family and the Haringey organisation and hope for a full and speedy recovery. A post on the Chieftains forum from a member of the Haringey management has stated that Laura has been released from hospital this evening with tissue damage only and looks like she will be fine.

Women players are allowed to play in the English National Ice Hockey Leagues, but Laura is one of only five female players that are playing this season. The other four for anyone wanting to know are Robyn Maby, Ruth Cattel and Angela Taylor who play for the Lea Valley Lions, who are in division 2, and Laura Price who plays for the Streatham Redskins. An incredible fact is that Taylor, the captain of the Great Britian Ladies team scored FIVE goals on her debut for the Lions against the Streatham Bruins this season.

In other Chelmsford related news, the Warriors won 5-2 at Romford Fury after a fine performance. Warriors scored early on and romped into a 4-0 lead before being pegged back late by the hosts to 4-2 in the final period. There was to be no nervous finale as Sean Martin sealed the win and send the home fans trudging sadly out of the Arena at the end of the game.

High Scoring Encounter For The Chieftains

After last week's great victory over the Peterborough Islanders at the Riverside, the Chelmsford Chieftains travelled to rivals Invicta Dynamos looking for a win to get their season back on track. The match at the Gillingham Ice Bowl was always going to be a tough one for the Dean Birrell's men, but they had played well there last month when they drew 2-2.

As ever SportTrades Iceman Pete Lewis was there to report on the game for us, here's his take on the game:

Andy Smith got the Dynamos of to a great start when he slotted past Andy Moffat in goal for the visitors after four minutes. It was a lead that was then doubled when Nolan Boike put away his first of the night to make it 2-0 but Chelmsford fought back to level terms by the break.

Ross Brears and James Ayling combined well to give Brears a simple finish. Brears (pictured) was hard-working all night and was a real thorn in the Dynamos side and was unlucky to miss out on the man of the match award, which went to Cheiftains hard man BT Williams. The game was tied moments later when Mark Williams made a howler of a clearance from the Dynamos zone and passed the puck straight to Danny Hammond who shot the puck past Joe White to level the game.

Early in the second the hosts went ahead once more with Boike getting his second of the game. Moments later a large scuffle gathered at centre ice with Jerry Pavlus and Mark Williams exchanging new years wishes, followed by large numbers of both teams also joining in the festivities, or so it looked!

Once Williams left the penalty box for his roughing penalty he rifled home a goal thanks to Boike winning a face off in the Chieftains zone. It was 5-2 just over the half way mark when Boike netted his hat-trick goal. The Chieftains were in disarray now and the rampaging Dynamos were going at full force and it became 6-2 thanks to Elliot Andrews netting on the 37:43.

As the players left the ice at the end of the period, there was some words exchanged in the locker area and the next thing the fans knew were that announcement’s were made for security to attend the changing area as there were scuffles breaking out between players outside the locker rooms. Things were diffused though by cooler heads and the officials stepping in and both sides returned the ice for the third period with no further incident.

The third period started well for the Dynamos as they made it 7-2 two minutes into the half. Andrews netting his second of the game following good work from Boike who skated past his marker before laying off a great pass which set up the goal. The large numbers of travelling fans were silenced by the 5 goal deficit and it appeared that it was a case of damage limitation. Thankfully Darren Brown was having none of it though and brought the score within 4 goals with a nice finish minutes later. With around ten minutes left the home side switched net minders and Shane Kemp came in for the Dynamos.

Kemp has been known to struggle and it showed early on as the Chieftains took the game by the scruff of the neck and 2 quick goals from Brears and Danny Hammond brought the scoreline to 7-5 with just under a minute to play. Coach Dean Birrell made the decision to pull Moffat for the extra skater to try and get a sixth goal for the Chieftains but it backfired as Andy Smith netted in the unguarded goal to make it 8-5 with around thirty seconds to go.

After the game Birrell said “We had a bad second period and that’s what cost us. We competed at times, in the third particularly, but that’s not taking anything from Invicta. There were some good individual performances tonight, particularly from Nolan Boike who scored 3 and set up at least 4 others. Games like that from imports will always make it tough for any side to compete. From our side there were some poor performances from individuals tonight”. Next up for the Chieftains is an away trip to Haringey Greyhounds who have struggled towards the foot of the table for much of the season.

Meanwhile back in Essex, the Chelmsford Warriors hit 10 goals past a lacklustre Lee Valley Lions in a 10-3 drubbing of the East London club. Adrian Woodyard was amongst the scorers again and deservedly picked up the man of the match award.

In other news, the Chieftains have announced a a mutual partnership agreement with LDN Wrestling. The agreement will see both sides promote each other. LDN Wrestling is one of the UK’s fastest growing wrestling promotions and are intent on bringing back the “Golden age of British wrestling” when people like Big Daddy, Giant Haystacks and Kendo Nagasaki ruled the squared circles up and down the country. They are based in London and the south east and the promotion regularly pulls in 300+ fans at their events.

Sol y Futbol: Barnsley Boy Robbo's Happy New Year

LANZAROTE 3 VECINDARIO 1

Ian Lane reports from Arrecife, as Lanzarote start the New Year with a bang.

4th January 2010

Lanzarote got off to a terrific start to the New Year with an excellent performance against the Gran Canarian side Vecindario. This will put the Rojillos in a positive frame of mind for the battle that lies ahead. Two penalties from Rubén Rodriguez and a first strike for Englishman Ian Robinson gave Lanzarote a vital three points.

The Rojillos looked on form from the start. In the ninth minute Toñito put through the overlapping right back Kamara who fired in a shot but the keeper just got a hand to the ball and pushed it wide for a corner.

Rojillos Manager Carmelo Hernández has already broken his New Year resolution about not conceding first. In the 27th minute and against the run of play Vecindario broke with winger Jony who squared the ball to ex Rojillo Yeray Ortega. One of the home crowds past favourites simply passed the ball into the empty net and yet again Lanzarote were 0-1 down.

Heads did not drop and within two minutes all hell broke loose. Always at the centre of things was winger Toñito. His strike hit the post but the ball was then handled on the line and as the Referee ordered a penalty for the Rojillos. The linesman then waved his flag and to the surprise of everyone awarded an offside decision against Toñito.

Nevertheless the Rojillos were not to be denied. In the 35th Lanzarote were awarded a penalty for a shove on Toñito. Rubén Rodriguez who has undeniably the sweetest left foot on the island blasted the ball home to level the scores at one apiece.

Just after half time Ayoze Pérez replaced Sixto and Captain Vladimir moved into the centre to give the Rojillos more width. A tactic from the Rojillos Mister, (gaffer) that was to prove dividends.

Five minutes into the second half and Rosmen hit the bar when he was one on one with the Vecindario keeper, moments later and Ayoze Pérez found himself in a similar situation but the ball just ran away from him and the opportunity went begging.

As the game past the hour mark there was clearly only one team searching for the win and that was the red and blue of Lanzarote. Jotha came close from a long range effort in the 63rd minute and four minutes later a beautiful curling shot from Toñito was brilliantly saved by the Gran Canarian keeper Javi Ortega.

In the 75th minute and with the Barnsley boy Robbo, only being on the park for five minutes, he pretended to volley a shot but just touched the ball in front of himself which left the defender flat footed and was clearly brought down by his opponent. Rubén Rodriguez converted the resulting penalty and Lanzarote were 2-1 up.

Eight minutes from time and the game was wrapped up. A long throw from Kamara was flicked on by striker Rosmen and coming in just wide of the penalty spot was Robbo who volleyed into the top right corner to make the score 3-1. All of the Rojillos team, bench and management joined in celebrating the hard working and popular Englishman. The Barnsley boy has this ability to come off the bench and create an extra stride for his team mates with his positive play as well as terrifying defenders with his incredible pace. He certainly proved the difference in this match winning a penalty and scoring a goal all within 20 minutes.

With the first round of games now complete Lanzarote are still bottom and seven points from safety. Lanzarote travel to Gran Canaria next week to face league leaders Universidad. In the opening match of the season Lanzarote beat Universidad 2-1 but since then the Gran Canarian side have been in scintillating form and beat Real Oviedo 3-0 Sunday which was their third win on the bounce.

Swift Move For Team Sky

After much talk about the move in the last couple of weeks, it was announced on the 3rd of January that Team Sky, the new British Pro-Cycling team had finally signed the young and talented British rider Ben Swift. There was originally controversy as Sky named him in their squad for the Tour Down Under last month while he was still, allegedly under contract to Katusha. On January 3rd 2010, the day before the official Sky launch, photos appeared on the web showing Swift in the new Team Sky kit, confirming the speculation.

In 2009, 22-year old Swift enjoyed a debut professional season that many riders would dream of; he finished a Grand Tour and the Giro d'Italia, and he scored a win and a string of top ten placings, including a top three finish in a stage of the Giro.

Commenting on his debut season, Swift said; "I’m really pleased with my first season. But I think I’m more surprised than pleased. I never expected to ride the Giro, then to get placings there, and to finish - that's what I was most happy about."

At the same time, Swift gave credit to Katusha for allowing the Brit the chance to race with Sky and for the opportunity that the Russian outfit gave him. "I'm massively grateful to Katusha for the opportunities they gave me," says Swift, "but coming to Team Sky feels like coming home because I know so many of the support staff and riders. I will be in the perfect environment to grow as a rider with Team Sky."

For Team Principal Dave Brailsford, Swift is a valuable addition to an already impressive line-up. He said; “Ben is a real talent and his future looks bright because he ticks all the boxes that it takes to make it in this sport. He’s extremely serious, skilled on bike, he can climb and sprint and I really believe he can go far with us. We’ve worked quite some time with him on the track and I think the next years could be a massive breakthrough for him on the road as well”.

Swift's arrival means that Team Sky have now completed their 26-man roster for the 2010 UCI tour. The full compliment of riders is as follows:

Bradley Wiggins, Geraint Thomas, Steve Cummings, Pete Kennaugh, Chris Froome, Ian Stannard, Russell Downing and Ben Swift [Great Britain] Davide Vigano, Dario Cioni, Morris Possoni [Italy], Edvald Boasson Hagen, Kurt Arvesen, Lars Petter Nordhaug [Norway], Chris Sutton, Simon Gerrans, Mathew Hayman [Australia], Sylvain Calzati, Nicolas Portal [France], Thomas Löfkvist [Sweden], Kjell Carlstrom [Finland], John Lee Augustyn [South Africa], Juan Antonio Flecha [Spain] Michael Barry [Canada], Greg Henderson [New Zealand] and Serge Pauwels [Belgium].

Remember as always, that throughout the cycling season SportTrades Report will be bringing you the latest news to do with Team Sky, as soon as we get it.

Shout! Issue 2 - Happy New Year

Hello and welcome to 2010 and the 2nd posting of Shout. I hope you had a restful break and all the batteries are recharged for the year ahead.

As we enter the new decade, debate featured as to what we will name it, we had the Noughties what will this decade be called? The decade of sport (or the sporties) is upon us, when the worlds greatest sporting events return to our shores. The Olympics are already here in 2012, a rugby World Cup, world championships covering a host of sports and (fingers crossed) the FIFA World Cup in 2018.

Football, will be top of the agenda as the new decade starts with a World Cup. The Stadia being prepared in South Africa look stunning, and the draw in December brings with it a sense of reality. We will hear technical terms for injuries that will after years of obscurity become household names, disappointment when players miss out, opinions from the public of who should go the excitement and debate builds, sport is great.

Shout 2 will concentrate on Football on this posting.

December brought us many talking points, not least Mick McCarthys decision to field a below strength team. My initial belief was that your strongest available team should be selected for each match. That is, however, too simplistic in the modern game. Players energy levels are saved for Premier League and European matches mainly at the expense of early rounds of F.A.Cup and League Cup games. Some Managers in the League Cup at least maintain playing fringe players throughout the competition. I now accept that top clubs at the top level of the League prioritise, their squads are good enough to take them through to latter stages of any tournament by playing fringe players. It benefits the club and also the players, the club get ideas of the players ability and the players get experience. The other end of the League, what is the difference, why was Mick hounded so much. Wolves away to Man U followed by a game with Burnley, save the stronger players for the match against Burnley where you can have reasonable chance of winning all the points. We are at a disadvantage of this being posted the day after Leeds get a fantastic result at Old Trafford, but in truth how often does that happen. Was Mick right, yes, 3 points were gained at Burnley,arguably a more important game than Manchester United.

The Sack Race has begun. Bolton had never warmed to Gary Megson and the position that the Lillywhites are in at present, his sacking could not of surprised any one. Mark Hughes a different matter. His record at Man City has been superb, but that is not the issue, new owners, new agenda the writing was on the wall. The issue is the nature of the sacking. I am not stupid enough to think that clubs don’t approach other managers regarding appointments behind the incumbents back, to have him at the ground for the last game was somewhat of a slap in the face. Then the charades played by the board was just farcical. I am sure that Roberto Manchini will do well at the club, but keep looking over your shoulder Bob.

A message of support for the Portsmouth fans and back room staff. Your club is going through a period of astonishing mismanagement. A club with that tradition and history should not be treated in such a way. Players not being paid is wrong and bad enough, but the back room staff at the club is a disaster, these guys are not on the same wages as the club stars. Play up Pompey, you have our support.

This brings us onto foreign ownership. Notts County, Portsmouth and to Manchester City have had millions pumped into them. City have a financial structure that appears to be secure. Other teams just seem to have the initial hope of escape from the financial doldrums by an injection of cash, only to find the situation worse. Owners Tests by the F.A, I agree with and understand the logic, but where do we go from here. Clubs unable to pay staff, internal spats. Football is now big business and even the teams in the lower leagues appear to be regarded as vehicles of dreams and ego’s. What is the answer? Do we initiate that a percentage of the clubs ownership is held by Supporters trusts as some sort of safety net and a representive elected to the main board, would allowing a Chairman a 3 year term and then elections, with a cap on the number of terms he can serve as Chairman/President, work. Do we cap wages for players or go down the Rugby League model of each club being giving a wage structure to adhere to each season. I hope somebody has the answer, because we will continue to suffer the problems of Portsmouth, the ambiguity of Notts County and the personality clashes of Liverpool. The commodities of each club is not just the players and fittings but also the supporters, tradition and history, that's what makes it unique to own one of our football clubs.

The question regarding sponsorship when sport stars receive negative publicity has risen again. The Gillette Curse as we will call it has seen high profile stars being doubted. Thiery’s was professional and Tigers, well personal. Tiger seems to be affected more in terms of loss of sponsorship, with many companies dropping him like a hot potato. Does it really affect a brand, set aside the moral issues, do products receive more exposure with the possibility that you might ‘drop your star’ than actually doing so. There is no doubt that errors of judgement have been made and a strong call for those in the public domain to come clean, with immediate effect, at the slightest sign of a true story breaking. The argument is that the face of a brand should be pure, but are their customers? Surely potential clients will be more confident of a product when it is marketed as being for everyone in everyday life, especially the talented and tormented. If you can get that within one person so much the better.