SportsNews
Why Mainoo’s goal was extra special

Published
1 year agoon
By
Ekwutos Blog
Manchester United fans just cannot stop watching Kobbie Mainoo’s brilliant winner against Wolves.
After the Reds had been pegged back to 3-3, due to Pedro Neto’s equaliser on the break, our newly crowned Player of the Month picked the ball up from substitute Omari Forson and tricked his way into a shooting position.
There was still much to do but he displayed exquisite technique to steer his finish wide of Jose Sa to send the away supporters crazy and clinch an eighth 4-3 victory of the Premier League era.
Although the strike came in the 97th minute, there was more injury time to be played out before three important points could be celebrated.
A goal in successive games for Kobbie kept him very much in the spotlight and manager Erik ten Hag explained afterwards why he is a role model for other youngsters in the Academy, as he is able to keep his feet on the ground.
“There can be a lot about him,”
admitted the boss in one of his post-match interviews with the official broadcasters. “He is a great kid. Only in his head is football.
”He wants to progress every day. He is really an example for a lot [of others] and he has abilities. He has talent but talent has to work hard to progress, and that is what he is doing.
“I hope and I wish push him to keep going.”
Opta also produced an interesting stat, stating that this was only the second goal since the formation of the league in 1992 to be both assisted and scored by teenagers.
With Forson’s pass leading to the strike, Opta revealed the other time this happened was back in January 2005.
That memorable occasion was at Anfield, when Wayne Rooney’s low shot beat Jerzy Dudek, from a Cristiano Ronaldo set-up, to earn a sweet 1-0 success against Liverpool.
Rooney was 18 at the time, with Ronaldo only a year older.
Everybody of a United persuasion was naturally buzzing, and it was nice to see Sir Alex Ferguson and David Gill’s reaction to the goal at Molineux from their seat in the stand.
Former midfielder Ander Herrera perhaps summed up the general mood when posting on Instagram: “What a player, what a future this Mainoo [has].”
Well done, and thank you, Kobbie – as we look ahead to seeing you at Old Trafford on Sunday, against West Ham United.
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SportsNews
FA Cup: 14 teams qualify for fifth round [Full list]

Published
4 days agoon
February 10, 2025By
Ekwutos Blog
Three more teams have qualified for the FA Cup fifth round following the completion of ties on Sunday.
In the first game, Wolves defeated Blackburn Rovers 2-0 at Ewood Park.
Joao Gomes and Matheus Cunha scored within two first-half minutes, to seal the win for Victor Pereira’s side.
Plymouth recorded the shock result of the round, sending Premier League leaders, Liverpool out, with a narrow 1-0 win at Home Park.
Ryan Hardie stepped up eight minutes into the second half to drill home a penalty kick in emphatic fashion.
Aston Villa held on to beat Tottenham Hotspur 2-1. The Midlands club had taken a two-goal lead, thanks to Jacob Ramsey and Morgan Rogers. But new boy Mathys Tel pulled one back late in the game.
FULL LIST OF TEAMS IN FIFTH ROUND:
Aston Villa, Bournemouth, Brighton, Burnley, Cardiff City, Fulham, Ipswich Town, Manchester City, Manchester United, Millwall, Newcastle United, Plymouth Argyle, Preston North End, Wolves
SportsNews
Champions League: UEFA to scrap extra time for knockout rounds

Published
4 days agoon
February 10, 2025By
Ekwutos Blog
UEFA is considering scrapping extra time from Champions League knockout rounds.
This is in a bid to reduce the number of minutes played by top clubs.
The Guardian reports that ties could now go straight to penalties.
However, a change midway through this TV rights cycle, which runs until 2027, is unlikely.
Extra time has long been a point of contention among European football’s stakeholders, amid arguments that players’ welfare need to be taken into consideration.
This season, UEFA has introduced the expanded group stage for the Champions League, with each team playing a minimum of eight games.
Later in the summer, while 12 European clubs will participate in an expanded FIFA Club World Cup in the US this summer.
Last season just three Champions League fixtures from the last 16 onwards went into extra time, while none at all required an additional period in 2022-23.
Four ties in the 2023-24 Europa League went the distance, down from six the season before.
SportsNews
Steve Smith rewrites record books during spin-tackling masterclass at Galle against Sri Lanka

Published
6 days agoon
February 8, 2025By
Ekwutos Blog
Galle [Sri Lanka], February 8 (ANI): Star Australian batter Steve Smith re-wrote record books with another brilliant century against Sri Lanka during the second Test at Galle.
On Friday, Smith put on a masterclass in playing spin, ending day two at 120* in 239 balls, with nine fours and a six, putting Aussies in a commanding position.
With his century, Smith surpassed legendary Australian batter and former captain Ricky Ponting to be the team’s leading run-getter in Asia. In 24 Tests in Asia, Smith has scored 1,983 runs at an average of 53.59, with seven centuries and eight fifties in 42 innings and best score of 178*.
Ponting slid down to second, with 1,889 runs in 28 matches and 48 innings, which includes five centuries and 10 fifties. His best score in Asian conditions is 150.
Smith is also the sixth Aussie to reach the 17,000 international runs mark. In 348 international matches, he has scored 17,016 runs at an average of 48.06, with 48 centuries and 80 fifties. His best score is 239. At the top of the run-scoring charts is Ponting, with 27,368 runs in 559 international matches and 667 innings at an average of 45.84. This included 7 centuries and 146 fifties, with the best score of 257.
With 36 Test tons, Smith has now joined England’s Joe Root and Indian legend Rahul Dravid as joint-fifth-highest century maker in Tests.
Also, this is Smith’s 17th Test century away from home, equalling with West Indies great Brian Lara and outdoing Indian batting icon Virat Kohli (16 centuries). Sachin Tendulkar (29) has most Test centuries away from home. This is his seventh century in Asia, joining New Zealand’s Kane Williamson and Root as the third-highest century-maker in Tests in Asia, with Alastair Cook, former England opener, at the top with nine tons in Asia.
Smith has centuries in four successive Tests now, starting from the fourth Test against India, a Boxing Day clash at Melbourne. Once sitting outside the top 10 of ICC World Test Championship 2023-25 run-getters, Smith is now at sixth spot. In 19 Tests, he has scored 1,313 runs at an average of 42.35, with five centuries and four fifties. His best score is 141.
Coming to the match, Sri Lanka won the toss and opted to bat first. Half-centuries from Kusal Mendis (85 in 139 balls, with 10 fours and a six) and Dinesh Chandimal (74 in 163 balls, with six fours and a six) took Sri Lanka to 257 in 97.4 overs.
Mitchell Starc (3/27), Matthew Kuhnemann (3/63), and Nathan Lyon (3/96) were top wicket-takers for Australia.
In their first innings, Australia lost Travis Head (21), Marnus Labuschagne (4), and Usman Khawaja (36) early, leaving the team struggling at 91/3. However, centuries from Alex Carey (139* in 156 balls, with 13 fours and two sixes) and Smith (120* in 239 balls, with nine fours and a six) took Australia to 330/3 at the end of day two, leading by 73 runs. (ANI)
Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info
).

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