Exciting prospect Letsbeclearaboutit could hand Gavin Cromwell a first Grade One win over fences in the Bar One Racing Drinmore Novice Chase at Fairyhouse.
The County Meath handler has Champion Hurdle and Stayers’ Hurdle triumphs on his ever-growing CV, but a top-level victory over the larger obstacles has eluded him so far.
However, he may have found the ideal candidate to land a telling chasing blow in the form of his scopey eight-year-old, who is unbeaten in two starts at the beginning of his fledgling career over the bigger obstacles, barely putting a foot wrong so far.
A taking fencing bow at Gowran was followed up by a facile 10-length victory in a Cork Grade Three and the handler holds the gelding in the highest regard, having always operated at a demanding level.
“He was a good bumper horse and a good hurdler and since he’s gone chasing, he’s taken his form to a new level, so hopefully we can maintain the upwards curve,” said Cromwell.
“He looks like a chaser and he’s scopey and he enjoys jumping fences. When they enjoy it, that can bring about some huge improvement.
“He’s right up there (with the best) and we will no more on Sunday, but he’s clearly been a good horse since the get-go and hopefully will run a big race on Sunday.”
Cromwell will also saddle Perceval Legallois, who was producing a fine display of jumping before falling three out in the Cork contest won by stablemate Letsbeclearaboutit and is now backed to outrun his odds in the colours of JP McManus.
“He was running a great race and for a horse that fell in a race, he jumps well,” continued Cromwell.
“They had just increased the pace in the race and it was just a novicey fall, but touch wood, he came home fine and was running a lovely race, so we’ll see how he goes on Sunday.”
Gordon Elliott has farmed this race in recent times, winning it a record seven times and using it as a stopping point for many of Cullentra House’s greatest alumni.
The likes of Don Cossack, Delta Work and Envoi Allen all have their names on the roll of honour and hoping to join them is Found A Fifty, who appeared to relish the switch to fences when an eight-length winner at Down Royal.
“Found A Fifty is a good horse,” Elliott told Racing TV. “I probably made a mistake last year by going to the well a couple of times too much with him – I put myself under pressure and made the wrong decisions.
“He was very good the last day over fences and we’re very happy with him, chasing is his game and he’s a lot more settled this year.
“Last year, he got very revved up and I should never have gone to Aintree with him, that was my fault.”
The final two runners belong to Willie Mullins, who saddles the 10-year-old veteran Grade One-winning hurdler Sharjah and Irish Grand National hero I Am Maximus.
Stable jockey Paul Townend will link up with the former, who has won both outings over fences to date and was a 12-length scorer in a Tipperary Grade Three in October.
He told Ladbrokes: “He’s two from two over fences so far and has shown a lovely attitude for it.
“My Irish Grand National winner, I Am Maximus, also runs here and he just qualifies for a novice as well, having not won a chase until the National last Easter. He probably wants a step up in trip.
“On what they have all achieved over hurdles though, Sharjah sets the standard and wouldn’t it be brilliant if he could win a Grade One over fences on top of all the Grade Ones he won over hurdles.”
Michael O’Sullivan will have a great chance of back-to-back victories in the Bar One Racing Royal Bond Novice Hurdle when he partners Fascile Mode for Tom Mullins at Fairyhouse on Sunday.
The young starlet of the weighing room picked up his first Grade One when coolly steering Marine Nationale to win this event 12 months ago, before establishing himself as a leading rider when following up on Barry Connell’s stable star at the Cheltenham Festival.
O’Sullivan successfully linked up with Fascile Mode on the five-year-old’s hurdling bow at Punchestown and the exciting prospect’s experienced handler is delighted to have retained his services as he now steps up in grade.
“All the big yards have their big jockeys and one thing and another, but Michael is a very talented man and a talented jockey,” said Mullins.
“When he has the horse, he will win with it. He was very good on Marine Nationale last year and he’s a really good jockey – we’re very happy to have him.”
That 12-length Punchestown success was a welcome return to form for Fascile Mode, who impressed on his rules debut at Leopardstown last Christmas before failing to land a telling blow in some stiff assignments during the rest of his bumper season.
“We’re happy here and everything has gone very well since he won at Punchestown,” said Mullins.
“He has a season under his belt now and is stronger and has definitely improved as much as I hoped he would. He did it nicely at Punchestown and won well in the end.
“It was great to get back on track you know, he went to Cheltenham (for the Champion Bumper) and he got a kick at the start from another horse and it kind of stopped our season then and there.
“We got him back at Punchestown and we were thrilled and we have been thrilled ever since. We just hope we get a nice clean run on Sunday and see what happens.”
Encanto Bruno made a winning start to life in the care of Gavin Cromwell at Cheltenham in October and will seek to continue his progress, dropping back to the minimum two miles.
“We’re going back to two miles from two-and-a-half-miles at Cheltenham the last day, but he travelled very well at Cheltenham, so hopefully that won’t be a problem to him,” said Cromwell.
“The soft ground is probably as soft as he would want it, but he will hopefully cope with it fine and he seems in good nick.
“He’s like a lot of good horses and he doesn’t really show you much at home, he’s a really likeable, simple and straightforward horse. He clearly produces it on the track and they are the ones that you want.”
Disputing matters at the top of the market is Henry de Bromhead’s An Tobar, who was a taking course-and-distance scorer on debut, while Gordon Elliott and Willie Mullins have traded blows in this race in recent history and between them are responsible for five of the eight declared runners.
Cullentra House stable jockey Jack Kennedy links up with Clonmel winner Farren Glory, with Elliott also saddling Gigginstown pair King Of Kingsfield and What’s Up Darling.
Hurricane Fly features among Mullins’ nine Royal Bond heroes and this time the Closutton master relies on the Rich Ricci-owned duo Bialystok and Horantzau D’airy.
Kevin Durant reflected on "a long journey" after entering the top 10 of the NBA's career scoring list.
The Denver Nuggets held off the Phoenix Suns with a 119-111 road victory on Friday.
That made it a mixed night for Durant, but still a memorable one.
The 35-year-old finished with 30 points but shot 8 of 25 from the field and missed all five shots in the fourth quarter, with Nikola Jokic having 21 points and 16 assists for the Nuggets.
A 30-point total was more than enough for Durant to move into 10th place on the scoring list.
He did so in the second quarter, driving the baseline for a layup to pass Moses Malone, who had 27,409 points, with Durant's total standing at 27,423 at the end of play.
"As a basketball player, I think it's our job to go back and know the history of the game and who paved the way for us," said Durant, per ESPN, as he labelled Malone one of the most underrated players in the sport.
"It's a long journey to be up there, mentioned with the greats.
"It takes a lot of work, a lot of preparation, a lot of people helping me get to this point."
Reggie Jackson added 20 points and Michael Porter Jr. had 19 with 10 rebounds as the Nuggets (14-6) won their fourth straight game with all five starters scoring at least 15 points.
"When we make shots like that, it's much easier for us to have a good game," said Jokic. "I think we create open looks — it's just a matter of if we're going to make it or not."
Denver played without Jamal Murray (ankle) and Aaron Gordon (heel), while Phoenix was without Devin Booker (ankle) and Bradley Beal (back).
The Suns dropped to 11-8 and are 4-5 in home games this season.
LeBron James tops the all-time scoring list with 39,124 points and is the only other active player in the top 25.
He was quick to congratulate Durant on social media.
Durant will have his sights set on moving further up the list. Carmelo Anthony (28,289 points) and Shaquille O’Neal (28,596) will be his next targets.
Suns forward Durant is a two-time NBA champion and two-time NBA Finals MVP, achieving those feats with the Golden State Warriors.
And the 13-time All Star was the NBA MVP in 2014 as a representative of the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Livingston’s Scottish Premiership match with Ross County was postponed as freezing conditions hit the football calendar in Scotland.
The top-division clash was due to take place at 3pm on Saturday but was called off after an early pitch inspection, with the playing surface at Almondvale Stadium frozen.
The Scottish Premiership club posted on X, formerly Twitter: “Following the pitch inspection, today’s game with Ross County has fell to the weather and has been postponed.
“Details for the re-arranged game will be released in due course.”
The rest of the fixture list was also decimated with eight games across the Scottish Championship, League One and League Two all falling victim to the sub-zero temperatures and snow.
In England, all 11 FA Cup second-round ties survived, with Blackpool’s clash with Forest Green postponed on Friday for non-weather related reasons.
Two National League matches were frozen off, though, with Altrincham against Dorking and Southend’s clash with Wealdstone falling foul of the weather.
Saturday’s horse racing meeting at Newcastle was postponed on Friday, but races at Doncaster, Bangor, Newbury and Fairyhouse went ahead.
In Germany, Bayern Munich’s Bundesliga clash with Union Berlin was postponed due to heavy overnight snowfall.
Harry Kane’s pursuit of more Bundesliga goals will have to wait after Bayern Munich’s game with Union Berlin was postponed due to snow.
There was a heavy downfall in the Munich area overnight and it is expected to continue throughout the day, meaning the decision was made to call the game off.
Kane has been insatiable for Bayern, bagging 18 goals in 12 games and last week became the highest-scoring Englishman in a single season in the Bundesliga.
Bayern were looking to regain top spot in the table ahead of Bayer Leverkusen, who play Borussia Dortmund on Sunday.
A statement from Bayern read: “Bayern’s Bundesliga game against Union Berlin, originally scheduled for 15:30 CET today at the Allianz Arena, has been postponed due to heavy snow overnight.
“The snowfall is also not forecast to end until Saturday evening. Even if it had been possible to get the pitch at the Allianz Arena in a condition that would have allowed the match to go ahead by the afternoon, safety risks and the traffic situation made cancellation unavoidable.
“Snow falling from the roof at the Allianz Arena poses an incalculable risk for spectators. In addition, it is almost impossible to get to the stadium.
“Countless buses and trains are cancelled, many roads and motorways are completely closed, the underground line U6, which runs to Frottmaning and the Allianz Arena, has been suspended.
“The Munich police recommend that people do not leave their homes. Under these conditions, it cannot be guaranteed that the necessary security personnel will be able to reach the Allianz Arena.”
Liverpool summer signing Wataru Endo has found the Premier League more difficult than he expected but is confident he can improve and contribute more.
The 30-year-old Japan international, a £12million arrival from Stuttgart, was viewed as something of a stop-gap solution to the club’s lack of defensive midfielders following Fabinho’s unexpected departure to Saudi Arabia.
Of his 15 appearances so far, only two have been Premier League starts (against Newcastle and Brentford), with manager Jurgen Klopp preferring to utilise Argentina World Cup winner Alexis Mac Allister in an unfamiliar holding role.
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Endo has gained most of his game time in the Europa League and Carabao Cup and his late arrival – he was signed in mid-August – did not help his integration.
“Yes, it’s harder than I thought, but I’m very happy to be here,” he said when asked about his experience of the Premier League so far.
“Physically, it’s speedy, so it’s very hard to adapt but it’s the Premier League and I keep trying and keep playing and I’ll get better.
“I’m already 30 years old but I feel I have a chance to grow as a football player so I’m so happy to be here and I can improve.
“After I got here I had a talk with the boss about how Liverpool play. After that I just try to do that and he talks a lot with me about it.
“Every time I try to help Liverpool play and of course I always watch what they do from the bench. I think it is an important thing and I am getting better and better.”
Endo’s start to life at Anfield was not helped by the fact as the only holding midfielder there was a lot of attention on him to slot straight into the side and perform a similar role to the one that 30-year-old Fabinho did for five years.
In addition, Liverpool’s midfield underwent a complete overhaul in the summer with Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai and Ryan Gravenberch now looking like the established first choices.
But with nine matches to come this month, Endo is likely to get more opportunities.
“I’m always ready to play every game, that’s the most important thing. We need all the players so I try to be ready every game and try to win every game,” he added.
“Liverpool has a very winning mentality so we always need to win, need to get three points, and it’s a very difficult thing but that’s why I came here. I’m enjoying the pressure.
“I’m a defensive midfielder so I have to make a difference in defence but also to take up good positions and play good football. I’m enjoying playing with amazing players.”
Ange Postecoglou is excited to welcome Yves Bissouma back into the fold for Sunday’s trip to Manchester City, but admits Tottenham must improve their discipline.
Bissouma is available again after serving a one-match ban against Aston Villa for receiving five yellow cards before the halfway point of the Premier League season.
The former Brighton midfielder enjoyed a superb start to the new campaign but has only played three times since being sent off for two bookings at Luton in early October.
Bissouma is not alone in missing matches due to suspension, with Cristian Romero and Destiny Udogie also seeing red this term.
“Really pleased to get Biss back. He is such an important part of our set-up with the way he plays in that role,” Postecoglou said.
“If you look at the first third of the season, from a results perspective I reckon we are still on the positive side of the ledger.
“Performance-wise, I still think we are on the positive side of the ledger, even though we’ve had some disappointments, but an area we need to improve is discipline. He is part of that.
“That has let us down in this first half of the year. Not just in terms of cards, but being really focused in our approach and these are the things we need to learn as a team.
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“I am sure Biss probably feels himself a bit frustrated with the fact he had such a great start and now it’s been disrupted, but great to have him back. Particularly against a team like City, he is going to be really important for us.
“It is kind of a lesson for him and us as a group. If you want things to run a bit more smoothly, you have to be really disciplined in your approach and really focused in what you do.
“Hopefully he comes out of this knowing for him to maintain becoming a really important part of our team, he needs to have that discipline and focus.”
The return of Bissouma is welcome for Postecoglou, who remains without Pape Sarr (hamstring) and this week discovered Rodrigo Bentancur (ankle) will be out until February
Spurs’ list of absentees has now reached double figures, which contributes towards the visitors being long odds to upset City on Sunday.
Nevertheless, Tottenham boast an excellent record against the Premier League champions, albeit previously playing in a pragmatic way, and Postecoglou knows his markedly different attacking approach will bring questions.
He added: “That’s not a bad thing. That’s a good thing. We need to be scrutinised. I need to be scrutinised, I need to be questioned. That’s what tests my resolve.
“I ain’t gong to change, but bring it on. It doesn’t just test me, it tests the players, it tests the club. How resolved are we about doing this?
“Look at all the top teams, they’ve all been through the process, through the tough times. They’ve all got questioned, they’ve all got scrutinised, they’ve all had criticism.
“How did they handle it, the ones that are through the other side? The ones who handled it differently, where are they now?
“I have a real strong belief in what I do and where the team is heading and I’m just not going to waver from it.
“There’s a reason I’m sitting here and the reason is the end game is not to beat City. If that’s the end game, that’s been done.
“It’s a hell of an achievement to knock them off, absolutely, but it’s not why I’m here.
“I’m trying to set up a team to be successful.”
Pep Guardiola expects Tottenham to come at his Manchester City side at full throttle this weekend.
Spurs caught the eye playing dynamic and attacking football in a strong start to the Premier League season under new manager Ange Postecoglou.
The Londoners have come unstuck in recent weeks, losing their last three games and suffering injuries to key players, but their Australian manager has determinedly stuck to his principles.
“He’s been there from day one, from the first game of the Premier League,” said City boss Guardiola, whose treble winners host Spurs at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday.
“I have the feeling it doesn’t matter the result, it doesn’t matter the opponent, home or away – they do what they have to do.
“I like that. I think that is so incredible an advert for our game, for our sport. When two teams (decide it) doesn’t matter what happens, I do my game, I go forward, there are always nice things to watch, all the time.
“It’s impossible you don’t see an interesting game where both teams want to try to do it.”
City midfielder Mateo Kovacic is back in contention after injury and John Stones, and unused substitute for the last games, is also close to returning to action.
Kyle Walker, who has taken over the City captaincy so far this season with Kevin De Bruyne out injured, will face his old club.
“I’m really, really pleased about what he’s doing,” said Guardiola of the 33-year-old right-back.
“He’s the same guy who was involved before, when he wasn’t captain, but now the players decided to pick him, so he now has a little more responsibility.
“When there’s some problems in the locker room or whatever, captains tend to solve it.”
This afternoon’s Coral Gold Cup card at Newbury will go ahead as planned following a precautionary inspection.
The entire track was covered again after racing on Friday and was reported to be frost free underneath at inspection time.
Officials will, however, continue to monitor conditions with a further drop in temperatures expected before day break.
It was positive news too from Fairyhouse, too, where day one of the track’s Winter Festival also passed an inspection.
The Orlando Magic beat the Washington Wizards 130-125 on Friday to match a franchise record with their ninth straight win behind strong games from Franz Wagner and Paolo Banchero.
Wagner scored 31 points for his third straight game with at least 30 and Banchero had 28 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists.
Orlando has had four nine-game winning streaks, previously in 1994, 2001 and 2010-11. The Magic are one of only two NBA franchises without a double-digit win streak. The Indiana Pacers’ longest win streak is also nine games.
Jalen Suggs and Banchero combined for 10 straight points midway through the third quarter to give Orlando an 86-79 lead.
The Magic did not pull ahead for good until Wagner’s layup with 7:06 remaining opened a 7-0 run.
Kyle Kuzma led Washington with 27 points and Daniel Gafford had 18 and 11 rebounds. The Wizards have lost 11 of 12.
Tatum ejected but Celtics get past depleted 76ers
Jayson Tatum scored 21 points before he was ejected and the Boston Celtics defeated the short-handed Philadelphia 76ers, 125-119 to remain unbeaten on its home court.
Tatum was tossed near the end of the third quarter for arguing a foul call after he had already received a technical in the first half.
Derrick White also had 21 points and Jaylen Brown and Al Horford each added 20 for Boston, which has won three straight overall and improved to 9-0 at home.
The 76ers, who were without leading scorers Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey, were led by Patrick Beverley’s season-high 26 points.
Jokic lifts Nuggets as Durant moves up scoring list
Nikola Jokić had 21 points and 16 assists to help the Denver Nuggets hold off the Phoenix Suns, 119-111 on the night Kevin Durant moved into 10th place on the NBA’s career scoring list.
Reggi Jackson added 20 points and Michael Porter Jr. had 19 with 10 rebounds as the Nuggets won their fourth straight game.
Durant finished with 30 points but shot 8 of 25 from the field and missed all five shots in the fourth quarter.
He moved into 10th place on the scoring list in the second quarter, driving the baseline for a layup to pass Moses Malone with 27,411 points.
Denver played without Jamal Murray (ankle) and Aaron Gordon (heel), while Phoenix was without Devin Booker (ankle) and Bradley Beal (back).
Formula One’s newly crowned world champion Nico Rosberg announced his retirement from the sport on this day in 2016.
Mercedes driver Rosberg had claimed his maiden title at the season-deciding race in Abu Dhabi just five days earlier – and then made the shock revelation at a press conference in Vienna ahead of the FIA’s official prize-giving awards ceremony.
The German, 31, confirmed he took the final decision to walk away from the sport in the hours after his championship triumph.
Rosberg began his grand prix career with Williams in 2006 and competed in more than 200 races.
He joined Mercedes in 2010 and partnered compatriot Michael Schumacher, the seven-time champion, before Lewis Hamilton, his long-term rival, joined the team from McLaren in 2013.
Hamilton beat Rosberg to the drivers’ championship in both 2014 and 2015, with the German finally ending his long-running losing streak by claiming the 2016 title at the Yas Marina Circuit.
Following his shock revelation, Rosberg later posted a message on Facebook giving more details behind the decision.
“Since 25 years in racing, it has been my dream, my ‘one thing’ to become Formula One World Champion,” he said.
“Through the hard work, the pain, the sacrifices, this has been my target. And now I’ve made it.
“I have climbed my mountain, I am on the peak, so this feels right. My strongest emotion right now is deep gratitude to everybody who supported me to make that dream happen.
“I pushed like crazy in every area after the disappointments of the last two years, and they fuelled my motivation to levels I had never experienced before.
“Of course that had an impact on the ones I love, too – it was a whole family effort of sacrifice, putting everything behind our target.”
The German later returned to motorsport after establishing Rosberg X Racing to compete in the all-electric off-road racing series Extreme E, with the team winning both the 2021 constructors’ and drivers’ titles.
Jacob McDonald and Anthony scored two goals apiece and the San Jose Sharks defeated the New Jersey Devils 6-3 on Friday for their first road win of the season.
Kaapo Kahkonen matched a season high with 44 saves and Mikael Granlund had a goal and two assists for the league-worst Sharks, who entered 0-10-0 away from home with just six goals in those games.
Dawson Mercer, Jack Hughes and Ondrej Palat scored as New Jersey had a three-game winning streak snapped.
Akira Schmid stopped just 12 of 17 shots one day after making 44 saves in a 4-3 overtime win at Philadelphia.
Timo Meier returned for the Devils to face his former team after missing seven games with a lower-body injury.
Merzlikins leads Blue Jackets over Senators
Elvis Merzlikins turned aside 41 shots and the Columbus Blue Jackets scored four unanswered goals in a 4-2 victory over the Ottawa Senators.
Goals by Claude Giroux and Brady Tkachuk gave Ottawa a 2-0 lead midway through the first period, but Patrik Laine scored on a power play with 5:07 left in the period and Dmitri Voronkov tallied less than a minute later to tie it.
Adam Fantilli and Boone Jenner scored in the second period and Merzlikins was perfect on 16 third-period shots to help the Jackets improve to 4-2-0 in their last six games.
Joonas Korpisalo made 19 saves for the Senators in his first game against the team where he spent the first 7 ½ seasons of his career.
England boss Sarina Wiegman maintained full faith in her side to stage the stunning second-half comeback that lifted the Lionesses to a 3-2 win over the Netherlands in their penultimate Women’s Nations League group-stage clash at Wembley.
Needing a victory to remain in contention to finish top in group A1 and advance in the tournament, which serves as a qualifier for next summer’s Olympics in Paris, England quickly dug themselves a hole after Lineth Beerensteyn netted twice before the break.
But the Lionesses battled back after the restart on a frigid night in London, Georgia Stanway and Lauren Hemp stoking the crowd back into a frenzy by the hour mark before substitute Ella Toone sealed a dramatic victory in stoppage time.
Wiegman said: “I was actually pretty calm. I was very disappointed they scored the second goal because I didn’t think we played bad. The second goal we were a little bit unlucky, it was an unnecessary goal. We didn’t play bad but we needed some more. We truly believed we could turn it around. We never lost trust.
“At half-time we said the game was absolutely not over and that if we score a goal they can become a bit shaky.
“They were struggling with the defence with how we played in attack. We also did a tactical thing we needed to do better in defence. We said everyone needed to step up and bring something extra. You could tell the players gave everything because they were really tired.”
It leaves England in second place in the group, level on points with the Netherlands and one in front of Belgium, ahead of concluding their group matches by playing Scotland at Hampden Park on Tuesday. Belgium drew 1-1 with Scotland in Friday’s other Group A1 contest.
England and the Dutch are level in terms of head-to-head record, with the latter – who face Belgium at home next week – having a goal difference superior by three, while England will finish their group stage away at relegated Scotland on Tuesday.
Despite the victory, England’s keeper Mary Earps was left in tears as she spoke post-match about the two goals the Lionesses conceded, the second of which saw her get her glove to the ball only to see it slip past her and trickle in – something that left the Manchester United stopper beating the turf in frustration.
Knowing England needed to win by two goals to take over at the top of the group, Earps told ITV: “I thought the girls were unbelievable to come back into the game. I thought they were unbelievable, the subs that come on impacted the game.
“I am just sorry that my performance has cost the team tonight.
“That [second goal] will haunt me for a long time today, I am really gutted because it could have been a really special night.
“The team were unbelievable, don’t get me wrong, the goals are unbelievable, the way that they played and moved it around showed great patience at times, real tenacity, real intensity to the play.
“I am a competitor but when it is not good enough, it is not good enough and I can only apologise to my team-mates and to the fans, I take that fully with my whole chest.”
The apology was utterly unnecessary for Wiegman, who said: “I spoke to her very shortly and I don’t want her to talk like that.
“We win as a team and lose as a team. That is part of the game. Of course she didn’t like the team down, everyone does her best. You only let the team down when you don’t put effort into the game and we never don’t put effort in.
“Everyone stepped up. We needed to step up as a team. I think everyone did that.”
Wigan manager Shaun Maloney admitted he was determined to reach the third round of the FA Cup for chairman Mike Danson following a 1-0 win at York.
Maloney, who was a member of the Latics’ 2013 FA Cup final-winning team, is desperate to repay Danson with a money-spinning run in this season’s competition after he saved the club from financial ruin when he took over in the summer.
The Latics had to start their League One campaign with an eight-point deduction due to the off-pitch issues Danson inherited, meaning a good cup run would prove a perfect fillip given the handicap they were given in the league.
After Stephen Humphrys’ goal sealed victory at the National League outfit, Maloney said: “I am very happy to be in the third-round draw.
“The chairman literally saved the club so I want to repay him for that and I know, with what happened in the summer, how important the finance you can get from this competition can be.
“We wanted to be at our best in this tie which I showed with my team selection,” added the former Scotland forward, who picked an unchanged starting XI following Tuesday’s 3-0 home win against Fleetwood, “and I was reasonably happy with the performance, although the last three or four minutes were a bit nervy.
“It was a brilliant finish by Stephen, though, to win the game and he’s got so much talent in one-on-one situations with his speed.
“I’m always confident that our attacking players will take a chance at some point in a game. The only criticism I would have in this game is that we could have been more clinical but, to be fair to York, they had a couple of good chances as well.”
York boss Neal Ardley was left to reflect on what might have been after a mistake by defender Tyler Cordner led to Humphrys’ goal and captain Lenell John-Lewis missed two great chances to force a replay late on.
“I thought our game-plan went really well,” Ardley said. “We wanted to still be in the tie after 70 minutes and then look to bring the two wingers off the bench.
“But the outcome has been settled by one mistimed header. It just came down to that one moment and, then, Lenny (John-Lewis) had two great chances that haven’t gone in and, if we were going to get through tonight, we had to be mistake free and take our chances when they came.
“But the effort of the players and their execution of the game-plan was really good because a team who are causing problems for a lot of teams in League One struggled to break us down.
“We nearly nicked an equaliser after throwing caution to the wind and people will say why didn’t you start like that? But it doesn’t work like that.”
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