Craig Levein was delighted that resurgent St Johnstone were able to mark 16-year-old Fran Franczak’s first start with a 1-0 victory over Hibernian.
The teenage midfielder became Saints’ youngest-ever player when he made his only previous appearance as a late sub away to the Hibees in September.
Levein pitched Franczak in at wing-back for the visit of Nick Montgomery’s in-form side and the manager watched the youngster deliver an accomplished display as Graham Carey’s second-half strike proved enough to lift Saints from 11th to eighth in the cinch Premiership.
“Fran’s performance didn’t surprise me,” said the Saints boss. “He’s been excellent in training, he’s been with the first-team squad since we came in.
“He’s competitive, he’s not a defensive player. He’s more of an attacker. He played that wing-back position like an attacker.
“He was super-cool in his head space, whatever he did. He didn’t get flummoxed or flustered at all.
“Everything that he did was really good. It was his starting debut and I asked the boys to try and make it a memorable one for him, and they certainly did.”
Levein – who took charge last month when Saints were bottom of the table – was pleased with the way his side secured their third win of his seven-game tenure, with Carey’s breakthrough following a misplaced pass from Dylan Levitt.
“We had quite a lot of control in the game, which was important in making opportunities,” he said.
“We scored one but Marsh (Hibs goalkeeper David Marshall) made four top, top saves. We scored one and defensively we were really good.”
Hibs failed to muster a shot on target as they slipped from fourth to sixth in the table and manager Montgomery rued the way his team’s threat was snuffed out by Saints.
“It was a disappointing performance in all,” he said. “I felt at half-time it would be a mistake that would probably result in a goal and we didn’t capitalise on the mistakes they made, especially in the first half.
“We had a couple of opportunities. That pitch was tough at times, people slipping over and missing the ball, but we didn’t deserve to win the game.
“Did we deserve to lose it? On reflection of the whole game, probably not. But we did, we lost the game, and at 1-0, you know they are going to fight for everything.
“What we didn’t have was enough going forward to create a real threat, and that sort of played into their hands.”
Motherwell goalkeeper Liam Kelly saved a penalty to help his side play out a hard-fought goalless draw in difficult conditions at St Mirren.
The Scotland international parried away Mark O’Hara’s spot-kick four minutes after half-time, and despite the visitors having four one-on-one opportunities after surviving a close escape, they failed to find the net.
Motherwell’s winless run in the cinch Premiership extended to 14 games and they now occupy the relegation play-off position, while St Mirren dropped to fourth in the table below Hearts on goal difference.
Both teams made one change from their last outing. For the hosts, Keanu Baccus replaced Caolan Boyd-Munce, who failed to make the squad, while Harry Paton returned to the Well starting line-up with Jon Obika dropping to the bench.
Blustery conditions looked set to play a major factor in proceedings and they were evident as Georgie Gent’s cross in the early exchanges swung across the St Mirren penalty box and out for a throw-in.
Saints passed up a glorious opportunity to break the deadlock after 12 minutes when Thierry Small’s low cross broke for Greg Kiltie who sliced an effort that sailed inches too high.
Just minutes later, Kelly, who took the blame for St Johnstone’s goal at Fir Park last weekend, looked uncertain when tipping Jonah Ayunga’s innocuous looking header over the crossbar.
The wind was drastically impacting the quality on show, with neither side quite able to get to grips with the difficult conditions in the opening 45 minutes.
St Mirren were awarded a penalty four minutes after half-time when Stephen O’Donnell was adjudged to have handled Ayunga’s cross.
O’Hara stepped up to take the resulting spot-kick but he was denied as Kelly parried his poor effort away before the Steelmen defence scrambled the ball clear.
Motherwell had yet to work the Saints keeper, though they did have a rare glimpse of goal as Paton’s strike from outside the box flashed wide of the target.
Zach Hemming was finally called into action after 58 minutes as Blair Spittal’s free-kick found Gent unmarked inside the box but he could only head the ball into the grateful arms of the home keeper.
The game was beginning to open up and it took a good save from Kelly to turn Small’s curling shot round the post, before the visitors somehow failed to take advantage of two glorious chances to break the deadlock.
Mika Biereth skipped through the Buddies midfield and released Spittal, who twisted past Alex Gogic before somehow firing wide.
The Arsenal loanee was involved again a minute later after slipping the ball through to Callum Slattery, but the midfielder hit the deck under pressure from Gogic and saw his claims for a penalty dismissed following a VAR check.
Chasing an elusive victory, Motherwell began to look the much more likely to find an opener and it took some smart goalkeeping from Hemming to deny the onrushing Biereth, who had sprung the home offside trap.
Motherwell manager Stuart Kettlewell introduced Theo Bair and Oli Shaw in search of a winner and Bair almost made an instant impact when he found himself bearing down on goal, only for his powerful shot to be kept out.
It was the fourth one-on-one opportunity for the away side and yet again they were unable to find the net as they had to settle for their fifth draw in seven league matches.
Luton’s Premier League match at Bournemouth has been abandoned following a medical incident involving Hatters defender Tom Lockyer.
Lockyer was attended to by paramedics and staff in the second half, when the score was 1-1 with the clock paused at 65 minutes.
The defender was removed from the field of play on a stretcher surrounded by the medical team, and there was a standing ovation from the crowd.
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After the players were taken off, the Premier League confirmed the match had been abandoned.
A statement from the Premier League read: “The Premier League match between AFC Bournemouth and Luton Town FC has been abandoned due to a player medical incident.
“Our thoughts are with Tom Lockyer and all players involved in today’s match.”
Wales defender Lockyer had surgery to correct an atrial fibrillation in June after collapsing during Luton’s Sky Bet Championship play-off final win against Coventry.
The Hatters captain returned to action for the start of the new season and had made 15 appearances so far in all competitions before Saturday’s match.
Wales posted on X, formerly known as Twitter: “Our thoughts are with Tom Lockyer.”
Seventeen-year-old Lewis Miley’s first senior goal set Newcastle on their way to a seventh successive Premier League win at St James’ Park as they beat 10-man Fulham 3-0.
The midfielder, thrust into the action as a first-half substitute after Fabian Schar and Joelinton had been added to head coach Eddie Howe’s lengthy casualty list, fired the Magpies into a 57th-minute lead and saw Miguel Almiron and Dan Burn follow suit to clinch a hard-fought victory.
Fulham, who had striker Raul Jimenez sent off with just 22 minutes gone after needlessly careering into and flooring midfielder Sean Longstaff, frustrated the hosts for long periods but eventually succumbed in front of a crowd of 52,035.
Howe had insisted in advance there could be no hangover from Wednesday night’s Champions League exit and his players set about their task with relish in a bid to end a run of three consecutive defeats.
In the absence of the suspended Kieran Trippier, defender Schar took charge at a fifth-minute free-kick and after tapping the ball short to Anthony Gordon, he whipped a curling shot just wide of Bernd Leno’s left post.
However, the visitors, who had scored five without reply in each of their last two matches, had arrived intent on taking advantage of any weariness among the black and white ranks and repeatedly stretched the home defence on the counter.
Bruno Guimaraes fired high over from Gordon’s 17th-minute pull-back after Jamaal Lascelles had muscled Jimenez off the the ball with the striker needing treatment after being caught by a flailing arm.
The frontman was even more aggrieved five minutes later when, after referee Sam Barrott had been invited to review his ugly challenge on Longstaff, the official upgraded the yellow card he had originally awarded to a red.
Newcastle came desperately close to the opening goal on the half-hour when Gordon controlled substitute Emil Krafth’s cross and smashed a left-foot shot against the underside of the bar before Callum Wilson headed straight at Leno from Gordon’s cross.
Burn then did just enough to put Alex Iwobi off as he shot having run on to Joelinton’s loose pass with Martin Dubravka having earlier fielded Joao Palhinha’s long-range attempt.
Leno denied Longstaff after he had run on to Tino Livramento’s through ball and the half-time whistle arrived with the sides still locked together.
Guimaraes drilled a speculative effort straight at Leno as the home side resumed on the front foot but lacking the necessary invention or precision to fashion genuine opportunities until Gordon sent Leno full-stretch from Wilson’s lay-off seconds before Miley tested him with a rising drive.
However, it was the academy graduate who finally made the breakthrough with 57 minutes gone when, after Guimaraes had driven into the penalty area, he fired low across Leno and inside the far post.
The second goal arrived within seven minutes when Gordon’s through ball evaded Wilson and defender Antonee Robinson and fell nicely for Almiron to slot into an empty net.
It was three with eight minutes remaining, Burn bundling home at the far post after Leno had repelled his initial header.
Chelsea recovered from a dour first-half showing to beat Sheffield United 2-0 at Stamford Bridge and claim back-to-back Premier League home wins for the first time in over a year.
Cole Palmer continued his fine start to life in west London and was the difference for Mauricio Pochettino’s side, knocking in the opening goal from Raheem Sterling’s cut-back early in the second half before crossing for Nicolas Jackson to make it two.
The first half was instantly forgettable as Chelsea laboured without invention when in possession, before the summer signing from Manchester City enhanced his reputation as a match-winner in a team that remains maddeningly inconsistent in the final third.
Pochettino named Christopher Nkunku amongst his substitutes for the first time, and his return to fitness could not have come at a more opportune moment for misfiring Chelsea. Despite the game being effectively won with 30 minutes to play, home fans were made to wait for a glimpse of the player they hope will be their saviour in front of goal.
Chelsea dominated early but carried little threat. Their first sight of goal was a half chance, Conor Gallagher flattening Gustavo Hamer to win possession in midfield and hitting a swinging effort that was fielded with ease by Wes Foderingham.
The visitors were content for the game to be played in front of them, leaving little to no space behind for Sterling and Mykhailo Mudryk to exploit on Chelsea’s flanks.
Mudryk summed up a turgid opening 20 minutes with an audacious nutmeg on Jayden Bogle before spooning a ballooned effort that pitched somewhere near the corner flag.
Djordje Petrovic, on his full Premier League debut, was the first goalkeeper to look truly concerned, the summer arrival from New England Revolution flinging himself at full stretch at Cameron Archer’s ambitious 20-yard effort as it whistled inches wide of the post, as Blades warned of their threat on the counter.
Chelsea had won just once since their buccaneering 4-1 victory at Tottenham in early November, but goals have dried up lately and against Blades in the first half they found their every avenue to goal blocked.
Their preferred route was out wide via Sterling and Mudryk, but when the ball arrived into the box it rarely found a blue shirt. In the centre, Palmer toiled and hunted for the killer pass, yet in the first period was far from his mercurial best with the ball at feet.
Jackson had his side’s best moment of the half, cutting in off the left and beating two defenders before aiming a low shot fractionally wide from the edge of the box. Chelsea had had 80 per cent possession in the opening 45 minutes, from which they mustered a single shot on target.
The goal nine minutes after half-time was greeted more with relief than elation.
Palmer started it, collecting the ball centrally and threading it in to Sterling who stood up his man and, with a burst of acceleration, dashed beyond him.
His cross into the box had pace and whip, and there to meet it was Palmer, continuing his run to knock it past Foderingham for his sixth goal of the season.
Five minutes later it was two, and Palmer again was the architect. A flighted ball in towards the penalty spot caused chaos at the back for Blades, as first Sterling then Gallagher got a touch, the ball spun towards Foderingham who failed to gather, and Palmer cut it back for Jackson to sweep into an empty goal.
Petrovic saved from a Hamer free-kick, diving low to his left to turn the ball behind, that after Sterling had been denied one on one by Foderingham.
Gallagher, influential throughout as the heartbeat of Chelsea’s midfield, drilled one over the bar as the hosts asserted their dominance.
Armando Broja came off the bench and staked a claim for miss of the season, whacking the ball into the Matthew Harding Stand from barely a yard out.
But they had already done enough, as home fans witnessed a victory in the league for just the fifth time in 2023.
Manchester City dropped points once again as a stoppage-time Michael Olise penalty saw the Premier League champions held 2-2 by Crystal Palace at the Etihad Stadium.
City had dominated possession and appeared in complete control after Jack Grealish put them ahead in the 24th minute and Rico Lewis added a 54th-minute finish.
But Palace fought back to reduce the deficit via Jean-Philippe Mateta with just under a quarter of hour of normal time to go, and Olise subsequently converted from the spot in the fifth minute of stoppage time to secure a point for the visitors.
It is the fifth time in six league games that Pep Guardiola’s men have dropped points, having also drawn with Chelsea, Liverpool and Tottenham and lost to Aston Villa prior to last Sunday’s 2-1 win at Luton.
In what was their last match before heading to Saudi Arabia for the Club World Cup, the result leaves them fourth in the table, three points behind leaders Liverpool, who host Manchester United on Sunday.
Dave Chisnall sent Cameron Menzies back to the day job after knocking him out of the World Championship on day two at Alexandra Palace.
Menzies had booked his place in the second round on Friday night after working a half-day as a plumber where he had to fix a burst pipe and repair a kitchen sink.
He was back in action on Saturday afternoon, having at least had the morning off, but could not repeat the trick and 11th seed Chisnall came from a set down to win 3-1 and give himself a happy Christmas.
Menzies, who is hoping to make the transition to become a full-time darts player, will be back at the Palace on Monday to support his girlfriend Fallon Sherrock, but his fun at this year’s tournament is over.
Lee Evans reckons it would not be a major shock if he beats Luke Humphries in the second round.
The 35-year-old marked his Ally Pally debut with a 3-0 win over Sandro Eric Sosing to set up a date with his former playing partner Humphries, who is the favourite to win the tournament.
“What a draw. Good job I know him very well,” he said. “I know his game very well, he knows me, we played pairs years ago, played in the same teams, I will need to play my best game without a doubt,” Evans said.
“It is a free shot. If he goes to that A place, I think I have got the A place to match but he is a level above everyone at the moment.
“I reckon I can push him close if I can play my best. If I beat Luke Humphries I think there will be bigger shocks. For me I don’t think it would be a shock, everyone else might, but I wouldn’t.”
Connor Scutt also enjoyed an impressive first outing at the home of darts as he beat Krzysztof Kciuk 3-0.
The Pole was playing his first World Championship match since 2010 and his first visit to the oche was a 180, but Scutt took control winning all three sets to arrange a second-round meeting with Gerwyn Price.
Darren Penhall beat American Jules van Dongen 3-1 in the other first-round match of the afternoon session.
Sa Fureur profited from the final fence exit of red-hot favourite Hunters Yarn to open his account over fences in the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Beginners Chase at Fairyhouse.
The top-class pair of Blue Lord and El Fabiolo had landed the last two runnings of the extended two-mile contest for trainer Willie Mullins, jockey Paul Townend and owners Simon Munir and Isaac Souede, and Hunters Yarn was a 1-3 shot to make it a hat-trick for all concerned on his chasing bow.
A three-time bumper winner and twice successful over hurdles, Hunters Yarn looked to have victory in the bag after cruising to the front but blundered badly and crashed out at the last obstacle.
Gordon Elliott’s Sa Fureur, who had fallen on his fencing bow behind Mullins-trained star Facile Vega at Navan four weeks ago, was left in splendid isolation following Hunters Yarn’s tumble and came home with 40 lengths in hand over the eventual runner-up Byker under Jack Kennedy.
“He was a fortunate winner, but he was going to be a nice second and was running a good race,” Elliott said afterwards.
“I just hope the faller is okay, we had a bit of luck on our side – if you haven’t luck at this game, you have nothing.
“Jack said he showed a good attitude. We’ll probably look at one of those rated novice chases, or we could step him into a handicap.”
Elliott and Kennedy doubled up in the Hytech EQ Ultra 3-Y-O Maiden Hurdle, with Pacini justifying 5-4 favouritism with relative ease.
The three-year-old set the standard on jumping form, after finishing fifth and fourth respectively on his first two attempts, and he made it third time lucky with a six-and-a-half-length verdict.
Elliott added: “It looked like a grand opportunity and he did it well.
“He’s been working well at home and we fancied him the first day, he just got a fright. He jumped a lot better there today and he stayed going well. He’s going to win his races.”
Kennedy ended the afternoon with a treble after steering Ted Walsh’s 10-1 shot Pictures Of Home to a head victory in the Tote Always SP Or Better @Fairyhouse Handicap Hurdle.
Henry de Bromhead and Rachael Blackmore combined to land the Lacey’s Plumbing & Heating Supplies Maiden Hurdle with 7-2 chance Chigorin.
O’Moore Park, the 4-6 favourite to make a winning comeback after 596 days off the track, was ultimately a little disappointing in finishing third.
De Bromhead’s assistant, Robbie Power, said of the winner’s display: “We’re delighted with that. He stepped forward nicely from Naas, we thought he wanted three miles and he’s proved us right.
“He’s still learning, the penny is only starting to drop with him now, so hopefully he can keep improving.
“He’s an out-and-out stayer and you won’t see the best of him until he goes chasing. He’s a fine, big, strong horse and he’ll be a nice one to look forward to next season.”
Ben Godfrey was delighted to repay the faith put in him by Forward Plan’s connections as he rode the biggest winner of his career in the bet365 Handicap Chase at Doncaster.
Godfrey partnered Anthony Honeyball’s seven-year-old to three wins last season but none came close to matching the £26,000 first prize on offer on Town Moor.
Punters who had backed him at 6-1 never had a moment of worry in truth, as Godfrey cruised into contention as Mister Coffey and Whistleinthedark kicked on.
As soon as Forward Plan drew level, the race was as good as over, and he put it to bed in a matter of strides – possibly helped by the fact there were no fences in the straight, with them having been omitted due to the low sun.
Forward Plan had finished sixth behind stablemate Blackjack Magic in the Badger Beer Chase at Wincanton on his return and Godfrey felt that put him spot on for this.
“He travelled really well, he’s only a little horse but he’s been holding his own in some nice races,” said Godfrey.
“He ran a really nice race in the Badger Beer and back down to three miles today, as opposed to the extended three, was a big help.
“I knew with the fences out he’d have a big turn of foot. I think that helped him, as he’s a nifty little horse, so when I pressed the button, he put the race to bed. He idled a little but stuck on gamely in the end.
“That’s my biggest win to date. He’s taken me to some nice Saturday races. We all need horses like that and he’s been great for me – and to win a big one on him feels good to be able to repay the faith the owners have in me and Anthony.”
AC Milan head coach Stefano Pioli will do his best to make amends for their disheartening Champions League exit by guiding the Rossoneri back into the competition through Serie A once again.
Milan are keen to get over the disappointment of their failure to progress to the knockout stages – Wednesday’s victory at Newcastle was only enough to secure third in their group and Europa League football – with a home win against Monza that will help them maintain their pursuit of second-placed Juventus, currently eight points clear.
Back-to-back league successes against Fiorentina and Frosinone were followed by a frustrating last-minute defeat at Atalanta last weekend and Pioli wants a response to both setbacks in Sunday’s lunchtime kick-off.
Pioli said at a press conference: “My big regret is that the team are not making the most of their potential right now, in Europe and in the league, so that’s what I must work on trying to change.
“This squad has so much potential, we created so many chances especially in the Champions League and lacked that bit of determination and quality. With that, we would have been here celebrating Champions League progress.
“Clearly, we can only now try to consolidate third place in Serie A and then try to do more. Our minimum objective is to qualify for the Champions League again, that is the very least we can aim for.”
Davide Calabria is suspended for the Monza clash after his dismissal in Bergamo so Theo Hernandez will be captain as Pioli tries to reckon with a defensive crisis.
Pierre Kalulu, Mattia Caldara, Marco Pellegrino and Malick Thiaw are all out injured, along with goalkeeper Marco Sportiello, and only one of academy product Jan-Carlo Simic and Simon Kjaer is likely to be fit enough to slot into the backline.
For Monza, Argentinian midfielder Alejandro Gomez is only two months into a two-year doping ban, with on-loan Torino defender Armando Izzo and Hellas Verona loan forward Gianluca Caprari among the key injury absentees.
Sunday’s visitors snapped a poor run of three games without a win by beating Genoa 1-0 last time out but away wins have been hard to come by so far for the mid-table side from the Stadio Brianteo.
Monza boss Raffaele Palladino said at his Saturday press conference: “We are satisfied so far but must keep our feet on the ground and improve on many aspects, such as being more effective in front of goal.
“Playing at San Siro is a source of pride. I believe Monza can do well and put Milan in difficulty. We are set up for this, to compete with anyone, anywhere. We must not be afraid of anybody.”
Broadway Boy continued his steep upward trajectory over fences with a determined victory in the Favourite From The Sun Now Daily Handicap Chase at Cheltenham.
The Nigel Twiston-Davies-trained five-year-old had won two of his first three starts since having his attentions switched to the larger obstacles, his only defeat coming at the hands of dual Stayers’ Hurdle hero Flooring Porter at this track in October.
Having since returned to Cheltenham to win a Listed novice event by 20 lengths, Broadway Boy was a heavily supported 11-8 favourite stepping into a £100,000 handicap that featured a Betfair Chase winner and Gold Cup third in Protektorat – and the Twiston-Davies runner proved more than up to the task.
Given an attacking ride from the front by the trainer’s son Sam, the Malinas gelding did make a couple of jumping errors along the way but was always doing enough on the run-in to see off his long-time challenger Threeunderthrufive by a length and a quarter.
Dan Skelton can rightly take plenty of heart from the performance of Protektorat, who bounced back from a disappointing defence of his Betfair Chase crown at Haydock last month to finish an honourable third under the welter burden of 12 stone.
Of the winner, Twiston-Davies senior said: “His jumping was brilliant on the whole, but he made three mistakes down the back and if it wasn’t for those, he would have won quite easily. He is very tough and really good.
“After the last day, this race came onto the agenda. We are always looking for big money and this race was worth a lot of money.
“We certainly do like pitching novice chasers against experienced horses when we get the chance. We have done all our lives, and we have earned a lot of money doing that.
“I was delighted when Protektorat was declared to keep the weights down – it meant the world to us.
“He could go for either the National Hunt Chase or the Brown Advisory come the Festival. We will just have to see what the opposition looks like before making those decisions.”
Jonjo O’Neill senior and junior combined to land the John Wyke Memorial Novices’ Limited Handicap Chase with 5-1 shot Are U Wise To That.
The six-year-old travelled like the best horse in the race for much of the extended three-mile-one-furlong contest, but looked set to come off second best when Irish raider Midnight Our Fred kicked a couple of lengths clear between the final two fences.
To his credit, though, Are U Wise To That gritted his teeth to stay in the fight and finished the stronger of the pair up the hill to prevail by a length and three-quarters.
“When he missed the second-last, I thought he was beaten, to be honest,” said the winning trainer. “Then he jumped the last okay, but he stuck to his guns well, to be fair, so we are happy.
“His jumping was average, but he has got around. He does it in his own fashion, but he won nicely.
“It is nice to know that he can get around Cheltenham and you would have to look at the Ultima at the Festival with him.”
The Sophie Leech-trained Madara secured top honours in the two-mile Quintessentially Handicap Chase.
Favourite backers will have been getting excited after In Excelsis Deo moved to the front, but 9-1 shot Madara proved too strong on the run-in and passed the post with three and a quarter lengths in hand.
Leech said: “I’m absolutely delighted. He is a lovely young horse to have and he is very straightforward. He is just a joy really.
“We really felt after his last run that he needed further, and we were really keen to run in the December Gold Cup, but because of his four-year-old allowance, Fakir D’Oudairies put us so far out of the weights it just wasn’t worthwhile.
“Hopefully, he will be back here in March somewhere.”
The concluding Virgin Bet Every Saturday Money Back Mares’ Handicap Hurdle went to 11-2 shot Nurse Susan, trained by Dan Skelton and ridden by his brother Harry.
Shanagh Bob produced a determined performance to maintain his unbeaten record in the Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle at Cheltenham.
Bought for £200,000 after winning an Irish point-to-point 12 moths ago, the five-year-old began to repay that hefty price tag when making a successful debut under rules at Plumpton recently.
Nicky Henderson’s charge was a 15-8 favourite stepping up in trip and class for this three-mile Grade Two – and while Nico de Boinville had to get to work from before the home turn, Shanagh Bob did respond generously to his urgings to keep him in contention.
The experienced Destroytheevidence, winner of three of his five previous outings over hurdles, stuck to his guns to make a race of it in the straight, but he was ultimately unable to resist Shanagh Bob’s finishing kick, with a length and a quarter separating them at the line.
Moon D’Orange also ran with credit in third, as did the fourth placed Kerryhill.
Henderson said of the winner: “He has come from one ordinary novice hurdle at Plumpton into a Grade Two. I was looking for a three-mile race for him and stumbled across this.
“You always felt as if he was learning. He looked like he kept finding ways to get beaten. He is a really lovely, honest, hardy person that has got his whole life in front of him.
“He just needs to learn a bit. He doesn’t know what he is doing yet, and I don’t think he knew what he was doing there, to be honest with you.
“Nico said he doesn’t think he is there yet, but he tries very hard. It is a long way from Plumpton to here in one step. I’m pleasantly surprised.”
On whether the Albert Bartlett at the Festival in March is a likely target, the Seven Barrows handler added: “This is the road to it, but let’s see how things go before we jump into that water, as there is a long way to go before that.
“I thought this was a crazy step, but it has worked and he has got to stay in this company from here on in. If he can make the Albert Bartlett, that would be lovely. I know Joe (Donnelly, owner) would like to, and so would I.”
Ipswich manager Kieran McKenna declared the long-awaited East Anglian derby with Norwich as a “great occasion” and claimed that his team were better by a “considerable margin” in spite of them drawing 2-2.
His opposite number at Carrow Road, David Wagner, meanwhile, said his first ‘Old Farm’ clash between the two sides – the first for nearly four years – was “exciting” and was what was expected.
Jonathan Rowe struck twice either side of the break for City while Nathan Broadhead and Wes Burns were the Ipswich scorers.
Ipswich dominated the first half and should have been ahead by at least three goals but failed to capitalise on their superiority.
Broadhead spurned two chance to put the Town ahead. The first came when he danced round a couple of tackles to leave him one on one with Angus Gunn in the Norwich goal but he put his shot narrowly wide of the left-hand post.
Moments later he picked up a cross from Wes Burns but fired the ball just the wrong side of the same post.
Town then spurned their third good opportunity to take the lead when Burns smashed his shot over the bar.
McKenna said: “It was a great occasion in terms of the build up and the supporters did the club proud in terms of the atmosphere they created.
“I thought it was a really good performance and we were the better team by a considerable margin, created lots and lots of chances, give away very few chances and there was lots of things that we can build on from the performance.
“Of course the frustration is conceding two goals from hopeful balls that ricochet around in our box, but beyond that there’s so many positives that we can take from the performance.
“Of course, only a point and we would have loved to have given the supporters the victory, but I think the team can certainly take a lot from that game.
“We have been so clinical at home and I think that’s a 3-0 performance in the first half if I’m honest and we go in at 1-1.
“The goals we gave away were disappointing, it’s two moments of concentration in our penalty box and a little bit of fortune in both which can happen.”
Opposite number Wagner felt the game had gone as he anticipated.
He said: “It was exciting and more or less what you expect, what you like to have… a lot of battles, a lot of energy.
“The lead changes during the game as well and I’m absolutely delighted about the shift my players put on the pitch, great togetherness, great working attitude, super fighting spirit and this the reason why it’s a deserved point for me.
“Obviously if you can’t win it you make sure you can’t lose it and this is what the players have done. We take this point.
“You have seen why Ipswich is so good at home and so good in the season in general. This was their first draw, every other game they have won and this makes it a good result for us.
“It was deserved because of the fighting spirit and of the effort which they players bought the pitch and they always believed going and fighting and close the yards in between the lines.
“Technically it was a very, very good game, they are a good side. We take the draw and this is why it was a deserved point for me.”
Bayern Munich boss Thomas Tuchel insists his side will “give everything” to earn victory over fellow high-flyers Stuttgart in the Bundesliga on Sunday.
Munich bounced back from their humiliating 5-1 defeat to Eintracht Frankfurt with a 1-0 win over Manchester United in the Champions League on Tuesday thanks to a second-half strike from Kingsley Coman and Tuchel’s side will be looking to set the record straight in the league again.
Stuttgart sit just one place beneath Munich in the table and could leapfrog the German champions with victory at the Allianz Arena.
Tuchel thinks Sebastian Hoeness’ team deserve their lofty placing due to consistent performances.
He told a press conference: “They’re very consistent. Together they’re greater than the sum of their parts. They deserve to be up where they are. They’re very homogeneous, tactically very flexible.”
“It’s impressive how Stuttgart play. You can see Sebastian’s mark on the team. I think Stuttgart have had a consistent over performance, so there must be good unity between the team and the coach.
“It’s completely deserved, so we’ll give everything our greatest respect and recognise that.”
Coman and Noussair Mazraoui both featured at Old Trafford in midweek but picked up injuries and were subsequently substituted which will rule them out of the clash on Sunday.
The pair will join Serge Gnabry on the sidelines but Tuchel will be hoping to have top scorer Harry Kane in his ranks after an illness.
Tuchel continued: “We’ve got tough games. The fixture list is how it is, we know it beforehand.
“The two injuries on our right side hurt us. They were both in good form. King has had a very good season so far. Nous too.
“It came out of nowhere and hurts because both are important players.
“Harry Kane is a bit ill. We hope he can train again tomorrow. Jamal Musiala is fine.”
Bayern will be looking to extend their unbeaten run at home with a return to winning ways but Tuchel thinks his side need to be at their best to earn a result.
He added: “Everyone wants minutes. It’s even more important now we don’t have as much competition for places that the intrinsic motivation is high.
“We showed that at Old Trafford. It needs to be there again on Sunday. If we won’t match that with the same spirit as Stuttgart show every game, then we won’t win.”
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