Sol y Futbol: Lanzarote draw at Corralejo

Post and photo, thanks to our man in Arrecife - Mr Ian Lane. You will of course notice, that the pictures featured this season are from the same game. Young Ian is on the case

CD CORRALEJO   0   LANZAROTE   0

The Conejeros ( Lanzaroteans´s) made the short 30 minute trip on the ferry to visit the second placed Majoreros ( Fuerteventurian´s) amidst blistering heat for a Saturday 5 pm kick off and will be a little disappointed to return with just a point.

Even at 5pm, the temperature was well into the 30´s which did not help to create this match into a spectacle. Undoubtedly the best chance of the match was for the Conejeros midway through the first half.
Centre back Kamara returning from injury fed Rosmen on the edge of the box and a Corralejo defender rashly upended the Lanzarote striker and the Ref had no hesitation in awarding the visitors a clear penalty. The ever reliable Jotha stepped up and placed his shot into the left hand corner but the keeper saved with his left hand and as Rosmen pounced the keeper recovered well just conceding a corner kick to the annoyance of the tall striker.

Chances were few though the Rojillos edged possession in the first period with Corralejo´s first shot on target coming at the end of the half which the Lanzarote keeper Marco Machín comfortably dealt with.
The home side came out much stronger early in the second half and after just three minutes had a great opportunity from midfielder Héctor to go in front but his header flew inches wide of the upright.
Just after the hour mark Rosmen was put through with just the keeper to beat but the goal shy striker took far too much time and a defender cleared the danger with a timely tackle.

Both sides had one more clear chance apiece. Héctor again came close heading just wide from a corner and Lanzarote sub Lolo could have claimed all three points for his side but his strike failed to hit the target.
Both teams seemed content with a point and for the Rojillos it is a good result away from home but already they are seeing Déjà Vu from last season as they again trail league leaders SD Tenisca by eight points after only five games.

Next Sunday Lanzarote will have the opportunity to climb the league table when they host 12^th placed Gran Canarian side San Pedro Mártir. Kick off time will be confirmed later in the week.

Front Row: Hoppa looks at Chinnor Rugby Club

The 'boy' Hoppa continues his trip around Rugby grassroots and settles at Chinnor Rugby Club this week. The following post is supplied by Chinnor Rugby Club by DaveWinpenny,www.pitchero.com/clubs/chinnor.

Chinnor’s long wait to play rugby at Kingsey Road this season was rewarded with a bonus point 38-14 victory against strugglers Barking.

With Mowbray back from injury, Chinnor gave a debut to back rower Evan Sawyer. The match also saw the return of hooker Alan Cawston, starting his 16th consecutive season of first team rugby for Chinnor.

Although Barking made a bright start, first points of the afternoon came from Chinnor’s James Cathcart on 5 minutes who slotted a penalty goal after a scrum infringement by the visitors from Essex. Chinnor were back on the scoreboard some 11 minutes later when a powerful midfield break from Goode allowed Stoop to canter under the posts for the opening try. Cathcart converted to give Chinnor a 10-0 lead.

Barking’s fullback Forrest kicked a penalty goal in the 22nd minute to open Barking’s account. Cathcart and Forrest then exchanged penalty goals to put the home side in at the break 13-6 ahead.

Chinnor attacked right from the restart and Seymour’s industry down the right was rewarded when number 8 Joe Kava powered over for Chinnor’s second try. Cathcart’s conversion now gave Chinnor a 20-6 lead. Minutes later, Cathcart dummied and scythed through the midfield and slipped what looked to be the perfect pass to Colver in acres of space. Unfortunately for Chinnor, a Barking hand managed to intercept to prevent a certain try. A similar thing happened minutes later when Kava, bursting through the visitor’s defence, passed the ball to the intercepting Barking full back Woollard, who was yellow carded for being offside. From the resultant scrum, quick ball was zipped along the back line to fullback Colver to touch down for Chinnor’s third the try of the afternoon. Cathcart converted on the 53rd minute to increase Chinnor’s lead to 27-6.

Barking then had a good period attacking the Chinnor line which resulted in a try for Sinfield on 55 minutes in from a smart inside pass to reduce Chinnor’s lead to 27-11. Chinnor then went vigorously in hunt of the fourth and bonus point try without result – caused by stout Barking resistance and some mishandling. The fourth try eventually came in the 75th minute from Liam Gilbert and, with the conversion from James Cathcart, Chinnor’s lead increased to 34-11. Barking did not give up and were rewarded with a last minute try from full back Woollard and Forrest’s conversion made the final score 34-18 to Chinnor.
Barking struggled at times in the match and looked underpowered in the scrum. However, their resilience made the score line respectable.

Chinnor had a mixed match and eschewed a number of scoring chances but will be happy to gain a bonus point victory for the first home match of the season.

Scorers:
Chinnor: Stoop T; Colver T; Kava T; Gilbert T; Cathcart 4C, 2PG
Barking: Sinfield T; Woollard T; Forrest C, 2PG

Chinnor team:
Colver, Seymour (Gray 58), Goode, Stoop, Corpe (Fielding 74), Cathcart, Jones, Winpenny (Whelan 68,) Cawston, Pickett (Berry 67), Mowbray, Smith (Wood 61), Gilbert, Sawyer, Kava
Replacements: Berry, Whelan, Wood, Fielding, Gray

The 2nd Annual Chinnor "Oktoberfest" Beer Festival is this weekend. please visit the Chinnor Rugby Club website for further details and download tasting notes. Go along and support your local club.

 

Kult & Punk: St Pauli lose at Frankfurt

The boys have reappeared after a couple of weeks on the missing list.  Zoe's Bar is being refurbished before the new Darts season gets under way, A new stage has been set up for Rock at Zoe's, with Ziggy and Rampant Nuns, I'm really not making this up - promise.

The boys, however, can only file a small snippet from the weekends game, as another defeat as left them somewhat deflated.

 FSV Frankfurt FC St. Pauli

FSV Frankfurt were in confident mood going into this game and took only seven minutes to find the net as Odise Roshi's effort beat Patric Klandt. The away side came storming back , however, and after missing a host of chances, deservedly drew level when Daniel Ginczek slotted into an empty net.

Parity wasn't restored for long, however, as Edmond Kapplani continued his good form by nodding FSV back into the lead. Despite a barrage of set-pieces and long balls, Pauli were unable to break the hosts' defence down. Frankfurt, meanwhile, move up to second in the table.

Tapes Up: Diamonds' Clinch Top Slot In Final Premier League

Thank you to George English and our friends at Diamonds Media Team for the following post and photo.

Plymouth Devils: 44
Newcastle Diamonds: 46

Premier League

A win at the Plymouth Devils would guarantee the Newcastle Diamonds pole position in the final Premier League and grant them the choice in opponent in the League Championship play-offs which gave last night's long-distance travellers to the Oak tree Arena all the drive they needed for success.

Even though Newcastle had the carrot dangling well Plymouth have the League's top rider in Ben Barker racing for them and he duly came out in Heat One and took a solid win from the gate in a shared 3-3.

But Claes Nedermark took Heat Two in equally an impressive gate to flag win with guest Paul Starke taking advantage of Jake Andersons' tape-touching offence which put him on a 15 metre handicap in a Newcastle 2-4 putting the Tynesiders into the lead, 5-7.

Christian Henry and Mark Lemon blasted Ben Reade and Cory Gathercole's offence out of the water in a huge Heat Three Newcastle maximum 1-5 before Plymouth's wild and woolly American Ryan Fisher kept Nedermark and Ludvig Lindgren well and truly at bay in a shared Heat Four taking the score onto 6-12.

Robson took a good Heat Five victory for three points and again with young Starke racing well for a point over Reade the 2-4 went to the Diamonds, but another Barker win in the sixth redressed the balance with a Devils' 4-2 moving the all-important score to a tight 15-21.

Henry again excelled with an untroubled win over Todd Kurtz in Heat Eight's Diamonds' 2-4 with Nedermark successfully holding Anderson well to the rear whilst following another share of the spoils in Heat Nine the home side, courtesy of Barker and Kurtz shocked the Lemon/Henry partnership with a home 5-1 to tighten things to a tantalising 28-32.

Robson's fine win in Heat 11 coupled with another well-battled third from Nedermark in Heat 11 extended Newcastle's lead once again to six wilst Nedermark's win over Gathercole and Anderson in Heat 12 held that gap going into the 13th race with the score 33-39.

But Robson and Fisher raced a little too close for comfort in that race with the Devil hitting the dirt and Robson being excluded from the re-start for being the cause of the stoppage in which the home side took the chance to haul some points back with a vital 5-1 of their own over the lone-Diamond Lindgren, and with three races to go the score was 38-40.

Nedermark and Henry took full notice of the situation and raced with the wind behind them in a stunning Heat 14, taking the full five points from James Holder and Reade, but to claim all four league points the last heat had to be won by the Diamonds 2-4 as the score entering the final race was 39-45.

Fisher and Barker however decided to spoil the party taking a solid 5-1 over Robson and Henry, but the three league points won by the Diamonds clinched the League's final top spot for themselves as they now progress in pole position towards the League Championship Play-offs taking place next month.

Team manager George English said: "We mentioned before this match that Plymouth were potentially worth a lot more than the League's last place and tonight's tight and tough contest really proved that with some good hard racing on the track. Now that number one place in the final league table is ours we can concentrate of securing the League Championship for our own in the forthcoming play-off series."

March to the Arch 4: Rocks triumph in Kingsmeadow thriller.

Thank you to our friends at Essex Enquirer for the following post. Sports Pulse representatives East Thurrock United travelled to Kingstonian for F.A.Cup 2nd Qualifying Round.

Kingstonian 2, East Thurrock United 3
EAST Thurrock ought to have put this FA Cup second qualifying round tie out of reach of Kingstonian inside the first 20 minutes, but even though they went on to establish a two goal lead, the tie wasn’t settled until excellent ref Gary Evetts blew the final whistle.

Rocks boss John Coventry could only watch and wonder as his side wasted a hatful of glorious chances in the opening stages but, as ever, the watchful and considered manager’s game plan came good in the end as his team dominated most aspects of play and continually applied pressure to Ks’ weak points.

Playing a new, narrow formation with twin strikers Sam Higgins and Hakeem Araba at its spearhead, Rocks continually unpicked their hosts’ defensive formation from the off. With Higgins and Araba posing a handful up top, Rocks played around them and an early burst from the effervescent Kye Ruel set up a shooting opportunity for midfielder Reiss Gilbey but the visitors’ captain chose to place, rather than blast and keeper Rob Tolfrey got a hand to his curling strike and pushed it wide.

Other openings were carved out as East Thurrock dominated the game, pegging Kingstonian back around their own box but none were taken until the ninth minute when Tolfrey could only get a soft hand to a cross and the ball fell in front of Ruel who stroked it home through a crowded six yard box.

The goal finally stirred Kingstonian into some attacking intent and Andrew McCollin headed wide and then got in a low shot that was gathered by Richard Wray. Dean Lodge’s shot soon after was blocked by defender Ryan Sammons, who was doing a great job of shackling one of Ks’ most potent weapons.
However, Rocks were quickly back on the attack and more fine play by Ruel, who was revelling in the freedom to plough a roving furrow, set up Araba who blazed high over the bar with the goal at his mercy.

More pressure followed and it seemed only a matter of time before Rocks would add to their lead, but none of the chances fell the way of Higgins, the club’s top scorer and the exasperation at a succession of missed half chances was showing in Coventry’s growing frustration on the sidelines until a glorious goal from Rocks’ mercurial striker turned the frown into a smile on 39 minutes. Compared to what had gone before, there wasn’t much of an opening when the ball fell to Higgins on the apex of the six yard box but from the tightest of angles and with players to thread the ball past he thumped home a powerful shot that rippled the back of the net before Tolfrey could even move. It was a class goal, the second in successive matches from a striker who may be getting back into his scoring grove.

With a two goal lead to chase it was to be anticipated that Kingstonian would come out fighting in the second half and they didn’t disappoint as the pattern of the game changed, with Rocks finally finding themselves under some sustained pressure.

They still posed a threat on the break and it was clear the game’s third goal would be pivotal. It almost came when Matt Somner crashed in a shot from the edge of the box but Wray was equal to it with a full stretch stop but it did arrive on 59 minutes when Lodge picked the ball up wide, for once shrugged aside young tenacious fill back Tom Stephen and delivered a curling shot. It didn’t have the power of Higgins’ strike but had the same deadly effect as Wray didn’t move as it flew past him.

A new tense element entered the game with the goal as Ks sensed a comeback but Rocks weathered the storm, with centrebacks Simon Peddie and Steve Sheehan holding firm and holding midfielder Ross Parmenter cool and calmness personified as he mopped up the ball and passed his way out of any possible trouble. As ever, the diminutive Gilbey was also a colossus in the centre, imposing a presence on the game far weightier than his stature.

The tide might have been going Ks’ way though but Rocks always threatened to deliver a counterpunch and Kris Newby came close to delivering it with a shot that rattled the crossbar.

But the third goal eventually came with 15 minutes remaining when Ruel once more slipped his way past defenders and was bearing down on goal with only Tolfrey to beat. Home skipper Tom Hutchinson made a desperate attempt to tackle from behind but only sent Ruel tumbling, leaving Mr Evetts little option but to send him off. It was as clear cut a decision as you could wish for but both the skipper and manager Alan Dowson raged against the ref, probably more out of frustration at the whole afternoon rather than the decision, but the protests made little difference and while Hutchinson was still walking and muttering on his way to the dressing room, Higgins thumped home the spot-kick.

That ought to have put the result beyond doubt, but it was not going to be that clear cut and two minutes later Kingstonian were back in it thanks to an uncharacteristic slip at the back when Peddie and Sheehan went for the same ball. With the strand of communication between them broken, Peddie attempted to clear but the ball sliced off his foot and as Sheehan tried to cover he slipped, allowing the ball and Matt Pattinson an unchallenged path into the box and Pattison slid the ball past Wray to set up a tense finish.
It was an exciting and pulsating final chapter to a hugely entertaining match. Ruel was withdrawn for the more defensively-minded Matt Hall to fill in the midfield but it was Newby, normally more acknowledged for his attacking flair, that caught the eye in the closing stages, winning several huge defensive headers and chasing and harrying across the pitch.

His enthusiasm and commitment to the cause mirrored the whole team effort of East Thurrock who certainly deserved the victory, that might well have been sealed a little earlier than the final whistle when Higgins had a glorious chance to claim a second successive hat-trick at Kingsmeadow. Ks were pushing for the equaliser and won a free-kick when Stephen felled Lodge. He was cautioned for the offence, with the home fans and the Ks' bench demanding even sterner punishment for the challenge, which left Lodge limping quite badly.

When the free-kick was eventually delivered Tolfrey came up to the halfway line to allow his side to push more men forward but the ball was cleared and found Higgins in a race with the keeper. Tolfrey was back- pedalling as fast as he could while Higgins was racing forward trying to get the ball fully under control. A long range lob seemed the most obvious option but he elected for the less difficult option of taking a low shot from closer range but the keeper held his position well and blocked the strike.

That left a couple of minutes to be played out – and a couple of anxious added minutes too. With both sets of fans on tenterhooks the action was frantic but Mr Evetts finally brought the curtain down on a memorable, and thoroughly deserved win for Rocks.

The draw for the 3rd Qualifying Round see's the Rocks entertain, Maidstone United on 6th October.

Front Row: Aviva Premiership Week 4 Round Up

Thank you to our friends at Aviva Premiership for the round up and photo.

 

Exeter Chiefs head coach Rob Baxter believes his troops are starting to build a platform for the season after inflicting a first Aviva Premiership defeat onto Saracens.

 

Baxter's troops claimed their second victory of the new season with a 14-12 win over Sarries - Sireli Naqelevuki scoring the sole try of the game in the second half.
That was while Chris Ashton was in the sin bin for reckless charging however hooker Chris Whitehead's own yellow card almost denied Exeter victory.

Luckily for them Owen Farrell, who recorded all of Saracens points, missed the resulting penalty as they travelled away from a wet and windy Sandy Park with just a losing bonus point.

Ignacio Mieres' three successful penalties also aided Exeter's cause and Baxter stressed the importance of the win with Leicester Tigers away and Harlequins at home their next two fixtures.

"We are all very aware that it is points on the board at this time of year that give you a bit of a cushion to push on and look higher up the table and not over your shoulder all the time," he said.

"That is the key to allow you to develop your game and allow the guys to feel comfortable around the place. I am very happy and even happier by the characteristics that we showed."

Meanwhile defending Aviva Premiership champions Harlequins maintained their unbeaten start to the season with a historic 22-9 win over Leicester Tigers at Welford Road.

A Tom Williams try, a Danny Care drop goal and 14 points from the boot of Nick Evans sent the Tigers tumbling to their first home defeat for 11 months.

All Leicester could muster were three penalties from Toby Flood but it doesn't get any easier for Harlequins with Saracens next up - something not lost on director of rugby Conor O'Shea.

"It's only game four out of 22. Once you've won its game five and it's Saracens - it doesn't get any easier does it?" said O'Shea. "You have to fight every inch of the way for the guy beside you."

Freddie Burns was one of three players during Aviva Premiership round four to record 19 points - his haul helping Gloucester Rugby defeat London Wasps 29-22 at Kingsholm.

Gloucester also dotted down tries from James Simpson-Daniel and Sione Kalamafoni to record their second victory of the season and move up to sixth in the Aviva Premiership table.

Wasps meanwhile drop down to eighth but didn't go down without a fight at Kingsholm - Elliot Daly's try and 11 points from Stephen Jones making Gloucester work for the win.

Elsewhere Northampton Saints join Harlequins in having a 100 per-cent record after Luther Burrell's double inspired them to a 37-31 win over Worcester Warriors.

The Saints wrapped up a try bonus point inside the hour thanks to Burrell's double and scores from
Vasily Artemyev, Courtney Lawes and Mike Haywood.

However Worcester came back fighting thereafter and made the score respectable thanks to tries Jonny Arr, Josh Matavesi, Josh Drauniniu and Ollie Hayes.

But Northampton director of rugby Jim Mallinder admitted he wouldn't be reading too much into Worcester's comeback, he said: "Without a doubt the positives outweigh the negatives.

"The positives were that we had a cracking 60 minutes where we totally dominated Worcester. We played really well and got the bonus point within that."

London Irish grabbed their first win of the new Aviva Premiership season with a 29-22 victory over Bath Rugby - Steven Shingler the second player to grab a 19-point haul.

Shingler converted Jonathan Joseph and Halani Aulika's tries as well as kicking five penalties to just about better Olly Barkley's haul of 17 points for Bath.

He converted Kyle Eastmond's try as Bath fell to seventh and the Exiles leapfrogged Sale Sharks to move off the bottom of the Aviva Premiership table.

Sale Sharks ended up bottom after slipping to their fourth successive defeat against - the Sharks losing 29-19 to London Welsh on Friday night.

Welsh came into the clash on a high after recording their first ever Aviva Premiership win over Exeter last weekend and fly-half Gordon Ross was on form for them.

He kicked five penalties and converted Jon Mills and Ed Jackson's tries as Sale touched down just once through wing Tom Brady.

Get Your Kit On: England Rugby 2012/2013

Thank you to the RFU and Canterbury for the following post and picture.

Canterbury and the Rugby Football Union today unveiled the new England Rugby home and change kits, which will be worn by England’s Men and Women’s teams in both XVs and Sevens international programmes this season. 

Revealed at Drybrook RFC in Gloucestershire, a club that embodies community rugby, the new kit marks the beginning of a four-year partnership with the RFU.

Combining the traditional styling that has been the mark of England Rugby since 1871, together with the technical construction that Canterbury is known for, the new home shirt provides a classic look that can withstand the very toughest of tackles.

The shirt demonstrates a ‘back-to-basics’ feel with an all-white design, complete with the iconic red rose emblem applied to the chest.

To enhance the traditional look, the kit also features midnight blue socks, which return by popular demand for the first time since England’s summer tour of 2007.

The shirt represents the dreams not just of those who wear it but the millions who support England. This is reflected on the inside of the sleeve of the Seniors, Women’s and Sevens shirts with the slogan ENGLANDCONNECTED, acting as a reminder of the rugby family.

Sol y Futbol: Lanzarote lose 12 month home record

We are back on track with UD Lanzarote reports. Ian Lane provides the match details from Arrecife as Lanzarote lose at home.

UD Lanzarote 1  Las Palmas 'B' 3

UD Lanzarote: 1-3 Vladi 74 min
Las Palmas B: 0-1 Asdrúbal 1 min, 0-2 Cristian Herrera 41 min, 0-3 Asdrúbal 59 min

The Rojillos lose at home for the first time in just under a year as the Gran Canarian side deservedly claimed all three points and moved into second spot in the table.

For the second home game running Lanzarote got off to a worst possible start by conceding within the opening minute. One had barely sipped the froth of the first 1.50 Euro large beer when the Rojillo defence were torn apart. A cross from the left wing caught the defence napping and midfielder Asdrúbal first touch gave his side a 0-1 lead.

The Rojillos seemed on edge and Las Palmas wanted to bury this game early. In the 17^th minute striker Cristian Herrera beat his defender and his powerful shot was blocked by the Lanzarote keeper Marco Machín.

Four minutes later and the same player had another opportunity but this time his finishing was clinical. From close range his strike beat the Lanzarote keeper firing into the left hand corner. The visitors went into the break with a comfortable 2-0 lead.

At the beginning of the second half the home side was more aggressive and captain Jotha came close with a shot which whipped across the face of goal just lacking a touch, a few minutes later and Vladi forced the keeper into a good save.

With the home side pushing to get back into the game Las Palmas broke with pace and on both flanks they were stretching the Rojillos defence. In the 59^th minute great passing and quick movement from the visitors with a mixture of poor defending from the home side saw man of the match Asdrúbal claim his second goal and put his side into a commanding 0-3 lead.

Lanzarote heads were low but the experienced Jotha and Vladi rallied their troops and were the two players responsible for Lanzarote´s goal in the 74^th minute. Jotha crossed from the left and a neat headed flick from Vladi gave the keeper no hope and reduced the deficit by 1-3.

The Rojillos pressured and in the 81^st minute Rosmen finally got the better of his defender but the ball just wouldn’t drop, nevertheless the tall striker did well to wrap his foot around the ball but his stunning volley grazed the crossbar and that ended the comeback.

Late on striker Asdrúbal received the red card for some retaliation but the visitors held out and were worthy winners on a cloudless boiling hot day in Arrecife.

Another difficult game lies in wait for the Rojillos next week. A trip across the water to our friends in Fuerteventura and play third placed C.D. Corralejo. The game is confirmed this Saturday at 5pm so if anyone fancies the trip you can catch the ferry at 11am or 3pm and return on the 8pm. Let me know if you’re up for it?

Tapes Up: Diamonds Back On Top Of Premier League By Defeating Lively Edinburgh

Thank you to George English and the Diamonds Media Team for the following post and photo.

Newcastle Diamonds 53
Edinburgh Monarchs 39
Premier League

Top Scorers:

Newcastle Diamonds - Claes Nedermark 14 2, Christian Henry 14

Edinburgh Monarchs - Theo Pijper 12 1, Andrew Tully 9

At the third time of trying the Newcastle Diamonds finally took on the Edinburgh Monarchs at Brough Park last night, albeit still on a wet track thanks to afternoon showers as the side desperately tried to get the points required to regain the League's top slot.

But Stuart Robson and Paul Starke were woefully slow off the gate in Heat One as Kevin Wolbert and Mason Campton jetted away from them, but coming off bend two on the second lap Robson took a hard dive under Campton to turn the visitors 1-5 into a 2-4 as the Diamonds started a game of catch-up rather early.

Claes Nedermark made easy work of Heat Two in a shared race, but following a share in Heat Three Nedermark threw away a heat advantage when he fell in third place on the first bend of lap three in Heat Four to end up with yet another shared 3-3 taking the score to 11-13.

Christian Henry and Mark Lemon made short shrift of Helfer in Heat Five as Wolbert's bike packed in on the opening bend to record the first Newcaslte 5-1 of the night to push the home side into the lead 16-14.

Robson and Nedermark did likewise to Andrew Tully and Campton in Heat six to solidify the home lead to a more comfortable 21-15, and following another shared 3-3 in the seventh before Henry again took a massive untroubled win in Heat Eight with Nedermark taking a solid second in another home maximum to put Newcastle 10-up.

Tully, on a tactical ride for double points could make no inroads into the Newcastle maximum from Lemon and Henry which put the Diamonds 34-20 up, but come Heat 12 with the Monarchs' Pijper growing ever more comfortable on the Brough shale he took the three points easily in a Monarchs' 2-4 followed up by another share in 13 to move the score on to 45-35.

The final two races sealed the win for the Diamonds and shot them back to the top of the Premier League table on 48 point.

Team manager George English said: "This sets us up nicely for the play-off for the League Championships and now all we need to guarantee ourselves pole position for that event is to get a draw at Plymouth on Friday night for two points."

World Twenty20: Team-by-team guide

The fourth edition of the tournament kicks off in Sri Lanka today, when the host country take on Zimbabwe. Twelve nations will contest the three-week competition.  Thank you to our friends at Guardian Sport for this team by team guide.

 

 

Group A

AFGHANISTAN

Coach: Kabir Khan

Captain: Nawroz Mangal

Twenty20 World Cup Ranking: 10th

Twenty20 World Cup record: 2007 dnq; 2009 dnq; 2010 1st rd

Squad: Nawroz Mangal, Asghar Stanikzai, Dawlat Zadran, Gulbodin Naib, Hamid Hassan, Izatullah Dawlatzai, Javed Ahmadi, Karim Sadiq, Mohammad Nabi, Mohammad Shahzad, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nasim Baras, Samiullah Shenwari, Shafi qullah Shafiq, Shapoor Zadran

Prospects: Their presence still seems novel but this is their second appearance, and after being crushed by India then roughed up by Morne Morkel in the Caribbean in 2010, they may feel that facing England in subcontinental conditions offers them a best opportunity yet of a shock.

Player to watch: Hamid Hassan, the distinctly slippery quick bowler. Such a shame no English county has given him a crack.


ENGLAND

Coach: Andy Flower

Captain: Stuart Broad

Twenty20 World Cup Ranking: 2nd

Twenty20 World Cup record: 2007 Super 8; 2009 Super 8; 2010 winner

Squad: Stuart Broad, Jonny Bairstow, Ravi Bopara, Tim Bresnan, Danny Briggs, Jos Buttler, Jade Dernbach, Steven Finn, Alex Hales, Craig Kieswetter, Michael Lumb, Eoin Morgan, Samit Patel, Graeme Swann, Luke Wright

Prospects: Holders and favourites, according to their position at the top of the ICC's world T20 rankings, but it doesn't quite feel that way, given general unease in subcontinental conditions, and the absence of the man of the 2010 tournament.

Player to watch: Eoin Morgan becomes the key batsman in the absence of Kevin Pietersen, and the scalp that opponents will most prize.


INDIA

Coach: Duncan Fletcher

Captain: MS Dhoni

Twenty20 World Cup Ranking: 7th

Twenty20 World Cup record: 2007 winner; 2009 Super 8, 2010 Super 8

Squad: MS Dhoni, Gautam Gambhir, Ravichandran Ashwin, Lakshmipathy Balaji, Piyush Chawla, Ashok Dinda, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Virat Kohli, Irfan Pathan, Suresh Raina, Virender Sehwag, Rohit Sharma, Manoj Tiwary, Yuvraj Singh

Prospects: The winners of the first World T20 in South Africa in 2007 have not even made the semi-finals in two tournaments since, and certainly have the potential to do better than that. Might still be questions over their athleticism in the field.

Player to watch: Yuvraj Singh's presence is a terrific story, after he underwent chemotherapy this year for a rare form of cancer, and he might bring Stuart Broad out in a cold sweat after that famous over in 2007 which cost the new England captain 36.

Group B

AUSTRALIA

Coach: Mickey Arthur

Captain: George Bailey

Twenty20 World Cup Ranking: 9th

Twenty20 World Cup record: 2007 semi-final; 2009 first round; 2010 runner-up

Squad: George Bailey, Shane Watson, Daniel Christian, Pat Cummins, Xavier Doherty, Ben Hilfenhaus, Brad Hogg, David Hussey, Michael Hussey, Clint McKay, Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Starc, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Cameron White

Prospects: Sadly, the line about them going into the tournament below Ireland in the official world T20 rankings no longer holds true. They have sneaked above the Irish to ninth, and are breathing down the necks of Bangladesh. But they will field brilliantly, and the rest of the tournament will be wary of the Aussie underdogs.

Player to watch: Dan Christian. Probably still Dan Who? to a fair proportion of cricket followers, but he is an explosive all-rounder who is proud of his Aboriginal roots .


IRELAND

Coach: Phil Simmons

Captain: William Porterfield

Twenty20 World Cup Ranking: 11th

Twenty20 World Cup record: 2007 dnq; 2009 super 8; 2010 1st round

Squad: William Porterfield, Alex Cusack, George Dockrell, Trent Johnson, Nigel Jones, Ed Joyce, Tim Murtagh, Kevin O'Brien. Niall O'Brien, Boyd Rankin, Max Sorensen, Paul Stirling, Stuart Thompson, Andrew White, Gary Wilson

Prospects: An intriguing draw, giving them two opportunities to claim another prize scalp to add to those of England and Pakistan in the last two 50-over World Cups.

Player to watch: George Dockrell, the hard-hitting Paul Stirling and Kevin O'Brien aside it is the Somerset spinner who could be key.


WEST INDIES

Coach: Ottis Gibson

Captain: Darren Sammy

Twenty20 World Cup Ranking: 4th

Twenty20 World Cup record: 2007 first round; 2009 semi-final; 2010 super 8

Squad: Darren Sammy, Dwayne Bravo, Samuel Badree, Darren Bravo, Johnson Charles, Fidel Edwards, Chris Gayle, Sunil Narine, Kieron Pollard, Denesh Ramdin, Ravi Rampaul, Andre Russell, Marlon Samuels, Lendl Simmons, Dwayne Smith

Prospects: A truly formidable batting line-up on paper, headed by Chris Gayle, with Kieron Pollard, Dwayne Smith and Andre Russell for big-hitting support. But as England showed in defeating them at Trent Bridge this summer, that does not necessarily make them unbeatable.

Player to watch: Sunil Narine's much-hyped mystery spin was a bit of a flop when he finally arrived in England, having sparkled in the IPL, but he should be much happier in Colombo.

Group C

SOUTH AFRICA

Coach: Gary Kirsten

Captain: AB de Villiers

Twenty20 World Cup Ranking: 1st

Twenty20 World Cup record: 2007 super 8; 2009 semi-final, 2010 super 8

Squad: AB de Villiers, Hashim Amla, Farhaan Behardien, Johan Botha, JP Duminy, Francois Du Plessis, Jacques Kallis, Richard Levi, Albie Morkel, Morne Morkel, Justin Ontong, Wayne Parnell, Robin Peterson, Dale Steyn, Lonwabo Tsotsabe

Prospects: There won't be any of the usual chortling about South African choking in England going into this tournament, after Graeme Smith's team knocked them off the top of the world Test rankings. The T20 squad have a different captain, AB de Villiers, but on the evidence of their limited-overs performances in recent weeks they will be equally meticulously prepared.

Player to watch: Jacques Kallis has played in five World Cups since 1996, and the last two World Twenty20s, without any joy. Now 36, could this be his time?


SRI LANKA

Coach: Graham Ford

Captain: Mahela Jayawardene

Twenty20 World Cup Ranking: 3rd

Twenty20 World Cup record: 2007 super 8; 2009 runner-up; 2010 semi-final

Squad: Mahela Jayawardene, Angelo Matthews, Dinesh Chandimal, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Shaminda Eranga, Rangana Herath, Nuwan Kulasekara, Lasith Malinga, Ajantha Mendis, Jeev an Mendis, Dilshan Munaweera, Akila Dananjaya, Thisara Perera, Kumar Sangakkara, Lahiru Thirimanne

Prospects: Home advantage would seem to offer a huge opportunity to add a first World T20 title to the World Cup they won in 1996. But it could also add to the pressure on a team who have lost six of nine previous home T20 internationals

Player to watch: Lasith Malinga has been the most spectacular sight in world cricket for years now, and T20 is his game having enjoyed huge success in the IPL and Champions League.


ZIMBABWE

Coach: Alan Butcher

Captain: Brendan Taylor

Twenty20 World Cup Ranking: 14th

Twenty20 World Cup record: 2007 first round; 2009 withdrew; 2010 1st round

Squad: Brendan Taylor, Elton Chigumbura, Graeme Cremer, Craig Ervine, Kyle Jarvis, Hamilton Masakadza, Stuart Matsikenyeri, Chris Mpofu, Forster Mutizwa, Richard Muzhange, Ray Price, Vusi Sibanda, Prosper Utseya, Brian Vitori, Malcolm Waller

Prospects: Some encouraging recent signs of improvement are likely to count for little given the toughest possible draw, although they did beat a South Africa team captained by Hashim Amla twice in three meetings in Harare in June. Coached by Alan Butcher, the former Surrey and England batsman.

Player to watch: Brendan Taylor, the 26-year-old captain who will also keep wicket inspired their shock win against Australia in the first world T20 in 2007.

Group D

BANGLADESH

Coach: Richard Pybus

Captain: Mushfi qur Rahim

Twenty20 World Cup Ranking: 8th

Twenty20 World Cup record: 2007 super 8; 2009 first round; 2010 first round

Squad: Mushfi qur Rahim, Mohammad Mahmudallah, Abdur Razzak, Abul Hasan, Elias Sunny, Farhad Reza, Jahurul Islam, Junaid Siddique, Mashrafe Mortaza, Mohammad Ashraful, Nasir Hossain, Shafi ul Islam, Shakib Al Hasan, Tamim Iqbal, Ziaur Rahman

Prospects: Have found more success in 50-over cricket than the shortest form, failing to qualify from their group in the last two world T20 tournaments. Have the ability to improve on that, but recent defeats by Scotland and the Netherlands suggest they probably will not.

Player to watch: Tamim Iqbal could make the same sort of impact in this tournament as a swashbuckling opener as Sanath Jayasuriya did for Sri Lanka back in that 1996 World Cup. But he remains frustratingly hit and miss.


NEW ZEALAND

Coach: Mike Hesson

Captain: Ross Taylor

Twenty20 World Cup Ranking: 5th

Twenty20 World Cup record: 2007 semi-final; 2009 super 8; 2010 super 8

Squad: Ross Taylor, Doug Bracewell, James Franklin, Martin Guptill, Ronnie Hira, Brendon McCullum, Nathan McCullum, Kyle Mills, Adam Milne, Rob Nicol, Jacob Oram, Tim Southee, Daniel Vettori, BJ Watling, Kane Williamson

Prospects: The draw has been kind to a Black Caps team under new management in Mike Hesson, a little-known Otago stalwart who was appointed to succeed John Wright this year. The sort of efficiency with the odd surprise that they usually produce at world tournaments should be enough for them to make the super eights, possibly as group winners. Anything after that would be a bonus.

Player to watch: Brendon McCullum, who will always have a special place in T20 history after scoring 158 off 73 balls in the first ever IPL fixture. Some would say he played a key role in creating a monster.


PAKISTAN

Coach: Dav Whatmore

Captain: Mohammad Hafeez

Twenty20 World Cup Ranking: 6th

Twenty20 World Cup record: 2007 runner-up; 2009 winner 2010; semi-final

Squad: Mohammad Hafeez, Abdul Razzaq, Asad Shafiq, Imran Nazir, Kamran Akmal, Mohammad Sami, Nasir Jamshed, Raza Hasan, Saeed Ajmal, Shahid Afridi, Shoaib Malik, Sohail Tanvir, Umar Akmal, Umar Gul, Yasir Arafat

Prospects: Making any predictions for them has always been a preposterous exercise. Many have them down as dark horses for this tournament, which they won so memorably in England in 2009, pointing to their bowling attack of varied brilliance led by Saeed Ajmal. But the fact that Kamran Akmal is wicketkeeping reinforces the proviso that things could go either way.

Player to watch: Shahid Afridi is back again, now 32, and epitomising the unpredictable nature of the Pakistan team. Will test the captaincy skills of Mohammad Hafeez, the opener and off-spinner known as "the Professor".

FRONT ROW: West Hartlepool is our first stop

We started life in our feature, Front Row, in the National League 3 North Division at West Hartlepool.

Thank you El Pedro for the Percy Park match report and photo. Report and photo taking in full from our friends West Hartlepool Rugby Club website.

West Hartlepool 17  Percy Park 41

Three tries in a ten minute second-half spell saw Percy Park run away with this game and keep up their perfect start to the season.  

Up until that point it had been a closely contested, tight game which we led 12-9 just after half time thanks to a try from Andrew Rollins. Unfortunately after that we were never really in it and were left contemplating our biggest home defeat since April 2010.

As ever Percy Park were well organised and from a foundation of skipper John Scott at scrum-half and Ashley Smith outside him they took control of the game in the second period and never looked back.

Three first half penalties from Smith had helped Park to a 9-5 half-time lead, our try having come on 28 minutes through a rolling maul with Adam Coates touching down. Aside from that there had been little goal-line activity with both teams creating half-chances but a combination of errors and the referee’s whistle bringing most to an end.

Rollins bustled over in the right corner with David Heckles converting 5 minutes into the second half and at that point it looked like being nip-and-tuck all the way to the end. Our lead only lasted until the 52 minute mark though when Scott broke down the right to set up a good position for his side. We looked to have cleared the danger back up towards half-way but as the ball moved over to the left, full-back Phil Morse sped clear up the touchline and stepped inside Colin Cheslin to score.

Smith converted and shot through a gap for a try of his own on the hour mark, again adding the conversion and all of a sudden the 3 point lead had become an 11 point deficit. Things were about to get worse - the restart didn’t go 10 metres and from the resulting scrum Scott and Smith combined once again to release winger Liam Blackburn for the try.

Andrew Foreman pulled one back in the 73rd minute, slipping through from short range but a drop goal and penalty nudged the visitors further away. The decision to go for goal in the last minute of normal time seemed an odd one with only three tries scored but in the end it didn’t matter as Howard Stock got the bonus point try in the right corner with the last play of the game, 7 minutes into injury time.

After such a promising performance first up against Birkenhead Park we have been brought back down to earth in the last two games but early form shows Percy Park as one of the top teams in the league and despite an unflattering scoreline we were more than competitive and can come away with some encouragement. Injuries have already had an effect with five starters from the opening game missing today and with the season still young there’s plenty of time to turn things around.

West: Cheslin, Armstrong, Edwards, Watson, Butcher, Heckles, Foreman, Pinchen, Rollins, Coates, Davies, Hogan, D Boatman, Myers, J Boatman.
Reps: A Dixon, Moss, Baggs

Tries: Coates, Rollins, Foreman
Con: Heckles

YC: J Boatman, Davies, Watson
Percy Park: Morse, Stock, Blair, Morton, Blackburn, Ashley Smith, Scott, Wafer, Dunn, Blakey, Fidler, Langlands, Bell, Davidson, Sylph.
Reps: Aaron Smith, Baldwin, Ponton

Tries: Morse, Ashley Smith, Blackburn, Stock
Cons: Ashley Smith 3
Pens: Ashley Smith 4
DG: Morton

YC: Wafer, Sylph, Scott


Referee: Brendan McGaffney [Liverpool]

Sol y Futbol: Lanzarote lose at Tenerife

Thank you to Ian for providing match report and photo.

C.D. TENERIFE B   1   LANZAROTE   0

Tenerife B make it three wins out of three whilst the Rojillos have only managed a single point in the last two games and have slipped down to mid table in this fledgling league. Whilst three teams are still on maximum points Lanzarote remain five points adrift of top spot.

The first half of the match didn’t offer too much in the way of entertainment as the majority of play was in the centre of the pitch. The home side headed by ex Lanzarote manager Quico de Diego created the best chances of the opening period with midfielder Alberto´s header falling straight into the arms of the Lanzarote keeper Marco Machín and a shot from defender Jaime which was well saved by the Rojillos number one.
Just like last week Lanzarote conceded a goal in the final play of the first half. Striker Saúl latched onto a long pass and his powerful strike gave his side a deserved 1-0 lead.

Lanzarote came out with much more determination in the second period and despite dominating possession could not find a way through a stubborn Tenerife defence. The Rojillos could only muster up a few long range efforts which rarely worried the Tenerife keeper.

To make matters worse Toñito picked up his second yellow deep into injury time as the Rojillos disappointingly suffered their first defeat of the season. There is no easy task next Sunday as Lanzarote are at home to fourth placed side Las Palmas B.

GOALS
1-0 min 45 Saúl

FRONT ROW: Aviva Premiership Round Up Week 3

We have combined our Aviva Premiership Round Up and our annual feature following an individual team, into a brand new feature called 'Front Row'. In fact one further change is that we will be following different teams each week,  playing in League 3 and below. We also welcome any Rugby stories you have, please send them to sportspulse@sporttrades.co.uk.

Welcome to Aviva Premiership Round Up, week 3, brought to you from our friends at Aviva.

London Welsh recorded their first ever victory in the Aviva Premiership by beating Exeter Chiefs 25-24 on Sunday and head coach Lyn Jones praised his side's guts and determination in coming back from a poor start to the game.

 

The Exiles were 14-0 down after 11 minutes at the Kassam Stadium as Chiefs full-back Luke Arscott and wing Matt Jess both scored converted tries.

 

But amazingly the Exiles were ahead 15-14 by half-time thanks to a penalty try, awarded from a rolling maul, and a 70-metre interception score from wing Nick Scott as well as two goal kicks from Gordon Ross.
Exeter re-took the lead in the second half through No. 8 Richard Baxter but Welsh weren't to be denied in front of their home fans and in the dying minutes Ed Jackson barged his way over to score the crucial try leaving Welshman Jones ecstatic at the final whistle.

"We shelled 14 points in the first 10-15 minutes having played so well and it didn't feel like a fair reflection and Exeter took some opportunities that we gave them," said Jones, whose side now lie in ninth.
"But we didn't fold, we stuck in there and we've fought, we came back and we took our opportunities as and when they came.

"We've shown good character to come back and I think 25-24 was a fair result and I think where we are, it's important to get something out of every game"

At the top of the table Harlequins enlarged their gap over the chasing pack with a 37-14 victory against Sale Sharks at the Stoop and director of rugby Conor O'Shea insists he will not be reining in his players' attacking instincts for any side this season.

Full-back Mike Brown scored the bonus-point try in the final play of the game, adding to efforts from wing Ugo Monye, centre Jordan Turner-Hall and lock George Robson, while Nick Evans kicked 17 points.
O'Shea said: "The players play what they see and that's the way they want to play."

"We are always going to make the odd mistake too many because we are trying to play the whole time.
"We have to tighten that up but we don't want to rein them in, we just want them to make better decisions the whole time because, as I say, live by the sword, die by the sword."

On the other side of London at Wembley Stadium, Saracens locked horns with Leicester Tigers but neither side came out on top in a 9-9 draw.

Sarries fly-half Owen Farrell spurned four of his five goal kicks in the first half leading to his substitution in the 52^ndminute for Charlie Hodgson.

His England rival Toby Flood was in better form with the boot and scored all of Leicester's points but Saracens director of rugby Mark McCall insists 20-year-old Farrell will soon back to his best.

"Owen's not had much practice recently, he's had a small groin injury which has stopped him practicing as much as usual and it's very rare he has a day like this one," said McCall.

"He's a magnificent player for us but every man has the odd bad day at the office and I know he has the strength of character to come back."

Honours were also even at Sixways where Worcester Warriors nearly ended their six-month run without a win in the Aviva Premiership only for Gloucester Rugby to sneak a 16-16 draw thanks to a late Freddie Burns penalty.

Worcester fly-half Andy Goode looked to have won it for the home side when he kicked his second penalty with just seconds remaining to add to a James Currie try and five points from the boot of centre Joe Carlisle.
Cherry & Whites centre Henry Trinder crossed for the visitors and fly-half Billy Twelvetrees struck two penalties before Burns replaced him and dashed Worcester's hopes of a maiden win of the season.

Winger Tom Varndell scored two tries to help London Wasps to a 43-14 victory over London Irish at Adams Park but it was Stephen Jones who took most of the plaudits kicking 23 points in an accomplished display.

Scrum-half Joe Simpson and replacement prop Zak Taulafo also crossed for the hosts while wing Marland Yarde scored the Exiles' only try and fly-half Steven Shingler kicked three penalties.

England full-back Ben Foden suffered apparent ligament damage to his right ankle as he helped Northampton Saints record a 18-14 win over Bath Rugby at the Rec.

Foden, 27, limped out of the match in the second half but fly-half Stephen Myler's five penalties and a drop goal from Premiership stalwart Tom May secured victory.

Bath scored the game's only try via Foden's opposite man, and England rival, Nick Abendanon while fly-half Olly Barkley kicked three penalties.

Tapes Up: Diamonds Engulf Two-Man Plymouth Devils To Go Back Into 2nd Place In The Table

Thank you to the Diamonds Media Team for the match reports. After the report from the meeting with Plymouth is the report for the Berwick Bandits ,eet the previous evening.

Newcastle Diamonds 64
Plymouth Devils 30
Premier League
Top Scorers:

Newcastle Diamonds - Ludvig Lindgren 15, Claes Nedermark 13 4

Plymouth Devils - Ryan Fisher 12 1, Cory Gathercole 12

The Newcastle Diamonds arrived back at Brough Park buoyed by their fine point won at Berwick the night before, determined to take a big win and got off to a fine start against the Plymouth Devils in Heat One with three points from Stuart Robson in a shared 3-3.

The string of maximums started in Heat Two with Claes Nedermark and Paul Starke taking a huge lead over the Devils reserves for the 5-1 pushing Newcastle into the lead for the first time 8-4.

Two more untroubled maximums followed going in to Heat Five with the Diamonds 12-up before Todd Kurtz demolished the starting tapes before they rose to receive an exclusion as the Diamonds duo of Mark lemon and Christian Henry walked all over the Devils in a fourth 5-1 taking the score to 23-7.

Ryan Fisher forced his way round both Robson and Nedermark in Heat Six to make for the best race of the night and took three well deserved points in the share of the spoils but come heat seven Cory Gathercole was nominated as a tactical ride for double points.

The start for the all-important tactical ride was ragged to say the least with several riders moving with tactical Gathercole the worst offender, but the referee saw no reason to stop and call a re-run as Lindgren dived round his Devils' counterpart who could not get back on the Swede and only scored a doubled four in a shared 4-4.

Another maximum in Heat Eight for Henry and Nedermark took the score to a dominant 35-15 before the half-time interval after which Fisher went as a tactical ride and raced the race of the season battling with Lemon ahead and Henry in third who three times passed the American Devil in the 4-4 share.

A 5-1 in Heat 11 was followed Lemon's third win of the night, stretching out an ever-growing lead from the front over Gathercole and Jake Anderson who kept Starke out at the rear in the 3-3 taking the score, with three races left to an unassailable 51-25.

Team manager George English said: "We know Plymouth would not be the strongest of opposition tonight but I have to say thanks to Ryan Fisher, Cory Gathercole and James Holder the match was a lot more entertaining that it could have been as those three put in some excellent moves as we romped to another big home victory."

As promised the report from the previous evening.

Berwick Bandits 46
Newcastle Diamonds 43
Premier League
Top Scorers:

Berwick Bandits - Sebastian Alden 12, Robin Aspegren 9
Newcastle Diamonds - Stuart Robson 11 1, Mark Lemon 9 1

The Newcastle Diamonds travelled to the Shielfield Park last night to tackle the Berwick Bandits in the Premier League with the aim to achieve at least one league point from the match to maintain their press for the top slot and succeeded admirably with a massive 1-5 in the last race.

It started as many expected with two tight races, Stuart Robson nipping fast round David Bellego off bend two to take a big lead whilst Klaus Jakobsen found an unexpected burst of speed to shoot round Paul Starke on the third lap of heat two to tip the balance into the Bandits hands with a 4-2.

Christian Henry chased Robin Aspegren hard from the gate in Heat Three to shoot round the Swede at high speed with Lemon in third for a Diamonds' 2-4 to tie them match again at 9-9.

Sebastian Alden chased magnificently behind Ludvig Lindgren throughout all four laps of the fourth, and despite his effort the Newcastle man took the win in a shared 3-3 to maintain the equilibrium at 12-all in the hard fought meeting.

Nicki Barrett found himself in the wrong place on bend one in Heat Five to be stuck at the back and just could not get back round Starke as the race was well won by Aspegren by a mile in another shared 3-3.

And again after a superb Heat Six where Nedermark forced his way round Nick Morris off bend two but the Bandit guest Aussie came back hard round the Dane again on bend three to take a massive win.

Speedway's unpredictability reared its head in Heat Seven when Alden took a big lead off bend one whilst Jakobsen amazingly joined his partner up front and held out Lemon and Henry for all four laps to bring the house down and project the Bandits into the lead 23-19.

Bellego's last ditch effort saved a shared race in Heat Eight and he shot round Nedermark on the last bends to steal a point whilst Heat 10 had to be re-run when Christian Henry went down hard at the back of the field when trying to pass Bellego but in the re-run the Frenchman's engine packed up as the tapes went up with Morris again inning well in the 3-2 taking the score to 33-26.

Dyer was severely balked in a bunching incident on bend one of Heat 12 which sent him to the rear of the field with his retirement from the race on the second lap as Lemon went well clear to take the three points comfortably in a Diamonds' 2-4 taking the score to 38-33.

The match was clinched for the Bandits with a great win for Aspegren in the penultimate race as both Henry and Nedermark managed to pass Jakobsen in the 3-3 progressing the score to 45-38 with one race to go.

Team manager George English said: "Well we took another league point and that helps with our aim to finish as high as possible before the championship play-offs, but we rode better tonight than I suspect many people expected and despite the loss we came away with positives."

March to the Arch 4: F.A.Cup 2nd Qualifying draw and update.

East Thurrock United carried the hopes of Sports Pulse into the draw for the F.A.Cup 2nd Qualifying Round.  The Rocks will travel to fellow Ryman Premier League outfit Kingstonian, match to be played 22nd September.  East Thurrock face a tough battle, as Kingstonian are currently sitting in the league Play-Off places. Come on You Rocks.

Away from March to the Arch, a stand out fixture of the round, has to be between Blue Square South new boys, Billericay Town v AFC Hornchurch.

So how are we going in March to the Arch 4. We started, as always, at Barkingside in the Extra Preliminary round. Barkingside faced Great Yarmouth Town from Eastern Counties Division One, a group below the'side in Sports Pulse classifications. After a 1-1 draw the Great Yarmouth brought Barkingside home(ish), and comfortably beat them 3-0 and also earned a MttA bonus point.

The Preliminary Round saw Great Yarmouth entertain Witham Town, from Ryman League Division One North. More bonus points were available to the Bloaters if they secured victory. Not to be, as Witham Town hammered them 8-1.

In the 1st Qualifying Round Witham travelled to East Thurrock United from the Ryman Premier League. Witham were obviously underdogs, but were riding high on the previous rounds result. A well fought match saw East Thurrock win 2-0 and the Rocks now face Kingstonian.

The Merit Table as from today as follows:

1 - Witham Town    10 points
2 - Great Yarmouth Town    7 points  ( 2 Apps)
3 - East Thurrock United    7 points  (1 App)
4 - Barkingside    1 point

Below is a reminder of the Merit Table points rules and classifications.

March to the Arch (MttA 4) Points & Classifications.

Merit Points are awarded after each round. The MttA winner will be the team who have accumulated the most points over the competition. There are 15 Rounds between the Extra Preliminary Round and the Final.

If teams are level on points at the end of the tournament the winner will be:
1) The team with the most appearances in the tracker.
2) The head to head result between the teams if applicable.
3) Goal Difference over the competition
4) Goals scored
5) If still level after the above, position will be shared.

Merit Points are awarded as follows

8 points Away win
7 points Home win
6 points Away win after replay
5 points Home win after replay
4 points Away defeat after replay
3 points Home defeat after replay
2 points Away defeat
1 point Home defeat

Semi Final
8 points for a win
3 points for defeat
1 point deducted each team, if tie goes to extra time.
2 points deducted each team, if tie goes to penalties.

Final
10 points for win
5 points for defeat
1 point deducted each team, if tie goes to extra time.
2 points deducted each team, if tie goes to penalties.

Bonus Points

Divisions will be split into 11 groups. 1 point will be awarded to teams that beat a club above their group (1 point per group above the lower team). For example if Harpenden Town, from the South Midlands League, beat Premier League Manchester United, they will receive 9 bonus points.

The groups are split as follows

Group 1: Premier League
Group 2: Championship
Group 3: League 1
Group 4: League 2
Group 5: Blue Square Premier
Group 6: Blue Square North and South
Group 7: Regional Premier Leagues (e.g Ryman Premier etc)
Group 8: Regional 1st Divisions (e.g Ryman 1st Divisions North and South etc)
Group 9: County Leagues (Essex Senior League etc)
Group 10: County League feeder divisions (e.g South Midland League 1st Division etc)
Group 11: General leagues.

Firkin & Stumps: Reed CC triumph in National Village Cup

Thank you to our friends at the Cricketer for the following post. The boys Firkin and Stumps were there, but enjoying Pimms and cucumber sandwiches.

Reed CC were today crowned the Yorkshire Tea Village Cup champions after beating five-times finalists Woodhouse Grange by six wickets in a thrilling final at Lord’s.

Tom Greaves was the hero of the day, leading Reed’s pursuit of 185 with a blistering 51 from 49 balls that included seven fours. Earlier he had claimed 2 for 22 in nine probing overs of offspin, including a wicket first ball.

Though Greaves was bowled by Andrew Horner one ball after bringing up his fifty to give Woodhouse a chance, Chris Jackson made 37 and Stuart Smith 22 not out, before Mitchell Cooper struck the winning runs with 16 balls remaining.

The result sparked delirious scenes among the massed ranks of Reed supporters who had made the journey down from Hertfordshire and were rewarded with idyllic conditions on their big day out at the Home of Cricket.

Reed captain Sean Tidey won the toss and elected to field first, but openers Mike Hattee and Nick Hadfield started strongly for Woodhouse, scoring 52 from the first 10 overs before Lee Johnson had Hattee caught behind for the day’s first breakthrough.

55 for 1 soon became 60 for 2 when Greaves had Chris Bilton caught at slip with his first delivery in a Lord’s final, but from a precarious 109 for 6, Tom Young and Chris Suddaby, with a combined age of 39, hauled their team to respectability with 42 and 32 respectively.

In reply, Reed were quickly on course adding 42 for the first wicket before Tom Quinn struck with an excellent caught-and-bowled catch removing captain James Heslam, who had been looking dangerous on 28. Greaves’ hard hitting ensured they did not relinquish their advantage.

World in Union: Aviva Premiership round up week 2

Thank you to our friends at the Aviva Premiership for the round up and pictures. Aviva Insurance, competitive prices not available on comparison price sites.

 

Leicester Tigers director of rugby Richard Cockerill believes there is huge room for improvement despite seeing his side continue their perfect start to the Aviva Premiership season with a bonus point victory over Worcester Warriors at Welford Road.

 

England centre Manu Tuilagi ran in two early spectacular tries for the Tigers while additional scores from Fijian wing Vereniki Goneva, Graham Kitchener and a penalty try, as well as nine points from the boot of Toby Flood handed the nine-time champions a 34-26 win.

 

Cockerill's men didn't have things all their own way however and the Warriors refused to throw in the towel, hitting back through tries from David Lemi and Alex Grove but they returned home with nothing having failed to get within seven points.

The Tigers sit second in the table with ten points, having cruised past newcomers London Welsh last weekend and it's a far cry from last season when Leicester struggled at the start of the season with a host of players on World Cup duty - but Cockerill is still not completely satisfied.

"It's a perfect start if you look at the table but it was far from perfect performance-wise," said Cockerill.
"We did some really good things and we are creating a huge amount of opportunities but we also turned the ball over too much. We just played ourselves into trouble. It's easily fixed but our mindset needs to be better than that.

"Every time we recycled the ball properly there were opportunities for us. But we were sloppy at times and put ourselves under pressure and that cost us points. We need to be better than that."

Elsewhere, defending champions Harlequins maintained their place at the top of the Aviva Premiership with a thumping six-try victory over London Welsh as lock George Robson and wing Ugo Monye ran in two tries apiece.

Centre George Lowe and replacement Ben Botica also got in on the act with fly-half Nick Evans pulling the strings, and Quins director of rugby Conor O'Shea paid tribute to the in-demand New Zealander.
"You can't score six tries to nil and not be relatively happy. To get off to two bonus-point wins is a nice way to start the season," said O'Shea.

"Everyone at Harlequins wants Nick Evans and hopefully he will still be here. But we will do our talking behind the scenes."

Meanwhile, Gloucester Rugby won a thrilling encounter with London Irish as fly-half Freddie Burns was the star of the show, kicking 25 points at the Madejski Stadium.

"Freddie [Burns] was fantastic," said Cherry & Whites director of rugby Nigel Davies. "He's still young although he appears to have been around for a long time. He's really enthusiastic and it's great to work with somebody like that."

Saracens kept up their pursuit of the leading pack as ex-Sale fly-half Charlie Hodgson ruined his old club's first match at their new home, kicking 18 points in a 23-16 win at the Salford City Stadium.

On Sunday Luther Burrell scored his first Premiership try in Northampton Saints colours as his new side survived two comebacks by Exeter Chiefs to edge to a narrow 24-21 win - their second of the season.

And rugby league convert Kyle Eastmond scored his first ever Aviva Premiership try as Bath Rugby sealed a 30-23 win over London Wasps, Nicky Robinson nicking a late bonus point for the visitors.

Sol y Futbol: Lanzarote last gasp equaliser

Thank you to Ian for this report from Arrecife. We're a week behind in reports, but don't worry we'll catch up. Thanks Ian for the following post and picture.

LANZAROTE   3   ATLÉTICO GRANADILLA   3

The last time Lanzarote were beaten at home was on the 30^th October 2011 but to maintain that fine record a converted penalty by Captain Jotha was needed three minutes from full time.

Judging by the football on display both sides will be fighting for promotion places come the end of the season. It was the Tenerife side who were off the blocks instantly and stunned the home crowd in the opening minute. A cross from the right flank by midfielder Juan Ramón was met by striker Amray who reacted quicker than any of the defenders and he tidily tucked the ball home to give the visitors a shock 0-1 advantage.

Immediately the Rojillos sprung into action and only good saves from former Lanzarote keeper Marino kept Rosmen and Jotha restoring parity. In the 16^th minute a cross to the far post was headed home by striker Miguel Yunes to even up the score at one apiece.

The Rojillos were looking dangerous in every attacking move. In the 26^th minute a short corner to the edge of the box was met cleanly by a first time strike from Jotha, his shot took a deflection on route which flat footed the Granadilla keeper and crept into the right hand corner of the goal giving Lanzarote a 2-1 lead.

Shortly before the break the Lanzarote manager Adolfo Pérez was forced into a substitution when centre back Kamara injured himself winning the ball in a tackle. The Rojillos began to dominate possession and looked as though they would increase their lead when in added on time the Tenerife side shocked the hosts again by creating something out of nothing when striker Airam pounced on a loose ball in the box and shot low past the Lanzarote keeper Machín to even up the score at 2-2.

The Rojillos began the second half the better of the two sides but the visitors were not going to surrender and restricted Lanzarote to long range efforts. Midway through the second period sub Yosimar who had brought a new freshness to his side was upended in the box by Alex Yunes and the Ref had no hesitation in awarding a penalty. Iván Martin dispatched the spot kick to put Atlético Granadilla back in the driving seat with a 2-3 lead.

The final 25 minutes were pulsating with Lanzarote throwing everything at their opponents. The Rojillos introduced Taja in a midfield attacking role on the left and immediately he became the danger man running at defenders and creating the best chances. Jotha in midfield was orchestrating matters and with his never say die mentality along with his wealth of experience Lanzarote were never going to be buried until that whistle blew.

With three minutes left on the clock right back Ángel darted down the wing and delivered a good cross, Striker Rosmen went to meet the ball but was pushed by defender Faruk and the Ref pointed straight to the spot. The ex Lanzarote defender received his second yellow card of the afternoon as Jotha coolly sent the keeper the wrong way to bring the score back at level pegging 3-3.

It was a red attack for the final minutes and with just seconds left on the clock Miguel Yunes fired the ball low and hard across the goal but Sub Echedey was beaten by the pace of the cross and could only glance the ball wide. He held his head in his hands realising he had spurned a glorious opportunity to claim all three points.

The signs look good for the Rojillos. Last season winning on their travels was rare and their shyness in front of goal definitely lost them points away from home but this season Rosmen is joined up front with Miguel Yunes who seems dangerous every time he receives the ball. The pairing combines well and an exciting season may lie ahead.

Next week Lanzarote are away and will face Tenerife B who are one of only three teams to still have a 100% record.

LDN 2012: To all the Emily's, Andrew's and Molly's.

Well that's that. The Paralympics has ended with a fantastic closing ceremony. Off to Rio.

David Weir and Sarah Storey, our quadruple Gold medal winners, carried the Union flag into the stadium. Ellie and Jonnie extinguished the flame to reignite torches of hope that were sent to all parts of the stadium, so the spirit of the games continue to burn within.  We will miss you paralympics for the inspiration you provided and the fun and amazement you created.

Lord Coe shared two stories of Games Makers he had met on the tube. Andrew, a Doctor, who had been on duty on 7/7. He had travelled from despair to hope on his journey through humanity and along the way had experienced London's capacity to regroup, carry on and be victorious. Lord Coe had also found Emily, whose experience of wheelchair basketball had also inspired her and overcome the perception of what we can and can't do.

We also had  brief words of wisdom from Jimmy Carr. He likened Paralympics to the Weather it was now the topic of conversation - the ice breaker of interaction between strangers. Some close friends of ours have a baby, 10 months old, called Molly. She has Downs, we were at dinner today and talking about what events she may participate in at the 2028 Paralympic Games - now that's progression.

Thank you to all the Games Makers, Armed Forces, Emergency Services, spectators and credit where it is due to LOCOG for an amazing games. For their super human efforts, thank you to all athletes.

Sports Pulse would like to thank Paralympic GB for providing the posts and pictures, we will be following the paralympic athletes throughout the journey to Rio.