Eddie Nketiah dedicated his first Premier League hat-trick to his recently deceased aunt after his treble sank Sheffield United.
The newly-capped England striker put the Blades to the sword, scoring the opening three goals before a Fabio Vieira penalty and a first Arsenal strike for Takehiro Tomiyasu wrapped up a convincing 5-0 win.
The result takes the Gunners two points off the top of the table, with Mikel Arteta’s side unbeaten in their first 10 league games of the campaign.
Nketiah, who has started eight of those matches, had not scored since August but topped a special day by finishing the game wearing the captain’s armband.
“To do it at Emirates Stadium, in the Premier League, in front of my family and friends is an amazing feeling,” the 24-year-old said of his hat-trick.
“I lost my aunt not too long ago and I just want to dedicate that to her and her family.
“I can’t tell you how many times I’ve dreamt of this moment – to get three goals in a Premier League match.
“I’m a childhood supporter of the club, so to do it in front of the fans, my friends, my family and my teammates is an amazing feeling. It’s a day I’ll remember forever.”
There could another goal for Nketiah after he picked the ball up to take a late penalty, given after a lengthy VAR check for a foul on substitute Vieira.
Instead, the Portugal midfielder asked to take the spot-kick himself to mark a special moment in his life.
“I was going to take it – I wanted to take it,” explained Nketiah.
“I always want to get more goals. Fabio came to me and he wanted to take it. He won the penalty as well. He’s expecting a little one and it was a really good moment for him to get on the scoresheet and dedicate it.
“I’m a team player – I’d scored a hat-trick and I could allow other players to get in on the act. He took the penalty and scored, so we’re happy.”
Captain Oliver Norwood conceded the penalty as Sheffield United slumped to another defeat that leaves them bottom of the table and with just one point from 10 games.
He was bullish when asked about the performance in north London.
“It is very disappointing,” he said.
“We go in at half-time 1-0 down. Second half it’s difficult to really come and speak and say too much other than it’s not acceptable to keep losing the way that we are.
“It is easy to stand and say ‘we stick together through the hard times’, it’s easy to say that, but now we’ve got to show it.
“We’ve got to really dig in, have a look in the mirror at ourselves individually, because it’s not good enough.”
Former Barbados midfielder Kent Hall takes over as head coach of Barbados senior men’s national team
Former Barbados midfielder, Kent Hall, has taken over as head coach of the Barbados senior men’s national football team, the Barbados Football Association announced on Thursday.
The 45-year-old represented Barbados in 17 matches from 2003-2006 and previously served as an assistant coach for the national team as well as head coach of the Under-20 team.
Hall takes over from BFA technical director and former Wigan Athletic and Crystal Palace defender Emmerson Boyce, who also made 12 appearances for the Bajan Tridents.
Boyce took charge of the final two matches of Barbados’ 2023–2024 Concacaf Nations League campaign versus Montserrat and Nicaragua.
They lost 0-4 to Nicaragua at home on November 17 before being beaten 4-2 in Montserrat on November 20.
The Tridents are gearing up for the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Curacao on Wednesday, June 5, 2024 and Sunday, June 9, 2024.
They have been drawn in Group A of League C of the 2024/2025 Concacaf Nations League and will take on Bahamas and US Virgin Islands in September.
Toronto v New York City FC: Progress does not happen without ‘taking punches’ – Cushing
Nick Cushing believes you have to “take the punches” in order to make progress as his New York City side prepare for a trip to Toronto FC in MLS on Saturday.
NYCFC were on a five-game unbeaten run in MLS, winning three matches in a row, before they lost 2-0 to the Colorado Rapids last weekend.
They currently sit seventh with 14 points, but things are tight in the Eastern Conference and another defeat could see NYCFC slip further down the table.
"When you win a three-game homestand, you feel like you're on top of the world," Cushing said.
"And then you lose one, and you feel like you fell off the edge of a cliff.
"This team is on a journey, and it's making progress. I said three, four weeks ago that progress is disheartening, right?
"Progress is demotivating, progress is disappointing. You have to take the punches and go back and figure out how you continue to progress and improve a young team, a new team, to continue to win football games."
Toronto are flying high in the East, sitting third with 19 points after putting together a three-match winning run, and are just five points behind leaders Inter Miami.
Federico Bernardeschi scored twice as they beat FC Dallas 3-1 last time out in MLS, leaving head coach John Herdman to sing the Italian's praises.
"I really enjoy working with Fede; there are so many different layers to him," Herdman said.
"I asked him to stay focused on his leadership. As I keep telling him, if you keep focusing on shaping your leadership, good things happen to good leadership, and the universe turns, and that's what happened."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Toronto – Federico Bernardeschi
Bernardeschi (two goals, one assist) was involved in all three of Toronto’s goals against Dallas last Saturday, making him the first Reds player to record three goal contributions in a match since Jacob Shaffelburg in September 2021.
NYCFC – Mounsef Bakrar
NYCFC lead all MLS teams for touches in the opponent's penalty area per match this year, averaging 30.2.
Among players, Bakrar is second in the league behind only Denis Bouanga (9.5), with 8.1 touches in the opponent’s box per 90 minutes this season (minimum 400 minutes played).
MATCH PREDICTION: DRAW
NYCFC have won three straight meetings with Toronto, including a 2-1 home win on March 16. It is the first time either team have won three straight meetings in the history of the sides' head-to-head series (26 matches in all competitions).
However, NYCFC have won just one of their 23 away matches in all competitions (nine draws, 13 losses), dating back to the start of last season, though that win came in Canada – a 1-0 victory at CF Montreal last July.
Meanwhile, Toronto have won four straight matches in all competitions after winning four of their previous 29 in all competitions dating back to May 2023. With a win on Saturday, Toronto can equal their points total from the entire 2023 season (22). However, Cushing's visitors are likely to be competitive.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Toronto – 32%
Draw – 29.5%
NYCFC – 38.5%
Eve, Shabazz welcome two-match friendly to gauge players readiness
Trinidad and Tobago's Head coach Angus Eve and his Guyanese counterpart Jamaal Shabazz welcomed the upcoming two-match friendly international series as a window to not only give new players an opportunity to strut their stuff, but also to gauge their overall readiness for the World Cup qualifiers.
The senior Soca Warriors and their Jaguars counterparts will lock horns on May 13 and 15 at the Hasely Crawford Stadium in Mucurapo, as they kick start preparations for the FIFA World Cup qualifiers in June, as well as the Concacaf Nations League campaign in September.
Eve pointed out that a handful of new players will be given the opportunity in the two matches owing to their good form in the ongoing 2023/24 T&T Premier Football League (TTPFL) season.
Defenders Sheldon Bateau, Josiah Trimmingham and Andre Raymond, who became a regular fixture at left back toward the backend of the Soca Warriors' 2023/24 Nations League campaign, have completed their respective club seasons and are expected to be involved in the friendlies. Daniel David, Ezekiel Kesar, Isaiah Lee, Matthew Woo-Ling and the Miscellaneous Police FC pair of Simeon Bailey and Josiah Wilson, will also be in the mix to stake a claim on a spot in the squad for the major tournaments.
"We see these games as a very important cog in the wheel of our preparations going into the World Cup campaign for 2026," Eve said, via a T&T Football Association release.
"It's an ongoing programme that we have started since I have come on board where we get some international games to get the locally based players up to speed to see how they perform against international opposition,” he added.
Guyana, guided by Shabazz, a former T&T coach, gained promotion for the upcoming Nations League A campaign after topping their Nations League B group, which included Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas and Puerto Rico. This represents their competitiveness and quality which Eve is expecting to see on show against his team.
"Guyana is also in the League A of the Nations League so it's not slouches we will be playing. It gives the local players a final opportunity to be seen outside of their league against international opposition so that we can pick the final squad. That is what these exercises are about,” Eve noted.
That said, the tactician explained that meetings with recently-elected TTFA president Kieron Edwards, have been fruitful.
"The TTFA president has been in the media saying how positive the meetings were and we think they were also positive from our end. He and his new board are committed to helping us and the country to qualify for another World Cup,” Eve shared.
Meanwhile, Shabazz believes the Soca Warriors are formidable opponents, as he praised the TTFA and the Guyana Football Federation for their huge investments with the staging of the friendly matches.
"Of course, whether it is football, cricket, hockey or rugby, when Guyana plays T&T, we want to win so it's also going to be a title fight. Trinidad and Tobago are formidable opponents, and it will provide a stern test for the home-based players vying for a spot in the final squad for our FIFA World Cup qualifiers in June,” Shabazz said.
The last meeting between the two teams at the same venue ended in a 1-1 stalemate two years ago.
Kick-off will be 7 pm on both days, with tickets priced at $75 (covered section) and $50 (uncovered section).
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