Rangers manager Philippe Clement played down the significance of an early trophy win for himself as he prepares for the Viaplay Cup semi-final against Hearts on Sunday.
The Belgian is unbeaten in four games since taking over as Gers boss from Michael Beale last month and in general the early signs have been encouraging for Light Blues fans, who watched their side thrash Dundee 5-0 away in the cinch Premiership on Wednesday night.
A victory over the Jambos at Hampden Park would set up a Viaplay Cup final meeting in December against either Aberdeen or Hibernian, with the chance of winning the first available silverware of the season.
However, the former Genk, Club Brugge and Monaco manager insists he is not preoccupied with personal glory.
Clement said: “No, honestly I am totally not busy with that.
“I do this job because I love to do things with people together. I love to make players better, to guide them and to put my passion as a player into other people, because my body can’t do that on the pitch anymore.
“I’m not busy with my career and where I want to go. I have won trophies in my career, but the satisfaction is having this with the players and staff.
“I love the joy football can give people, like in Dundee after the final whistle you see all these people so happy.
“That is why I love to be a manager, with my players, staff and supporters. It’s about that, not my personal thing.”
Clement stressed the importance of football courage throughout his squad as he looked for further improvement on the back of a convincing win on Tayside.
He said: “I want my players to be ambitious, the medals will come if you do the correct things.
“We need to be brave and not be afraid to make mistakes – it is important how you react afterwards and that is what I want to give to my players.
“As a coach, you need to invest in your players and see the qualities they have and build on this.
“You need to see potential and give them the tools to develop themselves.
“I want my players to be ambitious to become better. It’s not like it was a perfect performance (in Dundee).
“We can do things better than this performance. But you see they’re starting to understand the story we want to do so it becomes more fluid.
“Also, more players stepping in and getting experience in how to move together, what to do with and without the ball. We need to strengthen the team and let them grow like this.”
England won the inaugural WXV title with a 33-12 victory over New Zealand in Auckland.
A year after a heartbreaking loss to the same side in the World Cup final, the Red Roses claimed a comprehensive win in the new international team competition.
England made the perfect start with Alex Matthews grabbing the first of five tries in the fourth minute, and the lead was soon increased by a second for Lark Atkin-Davies.
They crossed for a third in the 23rd minute, a simple finish from Sarah Bern, before Ellie Kildunne was denied when replays showed her foot in touch before she went over.
New Zealand got on the board two minutes before half-time, Kennedy Simon scoring their first try, and a second in the 49th minute from Katelyn Vahaakolo fuelled hopes of a comeback from the hosts as they made it 19-12.
But Morwenna Talling finished off a period of England pressure with a fourth try and Zoe Aldcroft made sure of the victory before the unlucky Kildunne had another effort chalked off.
The Golden State Warriors, Milwaukee Bucks and Brooklyn Nets were among the victors as the NBA’s inaugural in-season tournament began.
A last-second layup from Steph Curry was the difference for Golden State in their 141-139 group stage win over the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Curry finished with 30 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, while Lu Dort top-scored for the Thunder with 29.
It also went down to the wire in Portland, where the Trail Blazers eclipsed the Memphis Grizzlies 115-113 in overtime.
After a back-and-forth first half, neither side was able to gain much of an advantage through the final two quarters.
Shaedon Sharpe’s clutch free throws drew the Trail Blazers level with eight seconds left on the clock before he blocked Luke Kennard’s attempt from the corner on the other end to force overtime.
Both teams continued to trade baskets until Jerami Grant’s late three proved enough to get Portland across the line.
A late flurry from Damian Lillard lifted the Milwaukee Bucks over the New York Knicks 110-105.
He finished with 30 points, including two clutch threes in the dying minutes, while Giannis Antetokounmpo added 22 points and eight rebounds.
The Brooklyn Nets defeated the Chicago Bulls 109-107 on the back of 41 combined points from Dorian Finney-Smith and Mikal Bridges.
Elsewhere, the Miami Heat beat the Washington Wizards by seven points, Myles Turner scored 27 to lead the Indiana Pacers over the Cleveland Cavaliers 121-116, and the Denver Nuggets cruised past the Dallas Mavericks 125-114.
The in-season tournament sees each NBA team play a four-game group stage in November, with the group winners advancing to knockout rounds.
The winning team claims the NBA Cup, and its players earn 500,000dollars each, with the final to be played in Las Vegas on December 9.
British racing driver Susie Wolff announced on this day in 2015 she would retire from motor sport at the end of the season.
Wolff, aged 32 at the time, had become the first female to take part in a Formula One race weekend in more than two decades in first practice at the 2014 British Grand Prix with Williams.
The Scot had also taken part in practice for the German Grand Prix that year as well as sessions in Spain in 2015 and again at Silverstone – but expressed her belief as she announced her retirement that F1 having a competitive female driver was something that was not going to happen soon.
Wolff – married to Mercedes boss Toto Wolff, who was a minority shareholder in the Williams team – said: “My progression into Formula One came to represent so much more than a racing driver simply trying to reach the pinnacle of the sport.
“It was also the hope that finally there may again be a female on the starting grid.
“I rode the wave, was energised by all the support and fought hard. There were those who wanted it to happen. Those who didn’t.
“I can only tell you, I gave it my all. Do I think F1 is ready for a competitive female racing driver that can perform at the highest level? Yes. Do I think it is achievable as a woman? Most definitely. Do I think it will happen soon? Sadly no.
“We have two issues – not enough young girls starting in karting at a young age and no clear role model. Sometimes you just have to see it to believe it. My gut feeling tells me it is time to move on.”
Wolff, who competed in Formula Renault, Formula Three and the German DTM series before her stint in F1, was appointed as Williams development driver in 2012 before being promoted to the role of test driver.
But her hopes of becoming the first woman to start an F1 race since Lella Lombardi in 1976 suffered a huge setback when Adrian Sutil was signed up by Williams after Valtteri Bottas sustained an injury in qualifying for the 2015 Australian Grand Prix, a move that appeared to scupper any long-term hope she had of competing for the team in a race.
Wolff added: “At 13, the dream and the goal became Formula One. I got oh so close.
“I wanted and fought very hard to make it onto that starting grid but the events at the start of this year and the current environment in F1 the way it is, it isn’t going to happen.”
In March of this year, Wolff was appointed managing director of the all-female F1 Academy series.
The series aims to develop and prepare young female drivers to progress to higher levels of competition.
Nikola Jokic scored 33 points and fell an assist shy of a triple-double as the Denver Nuggets sent the Dallas Mavericks to their first loss of the season, 125-114 on Friday in the inaugural In-Season Tournament.
Michael Porter Jr. had 24 points and nine rebounds and Jamal Murray added 18 points and 13 assists to help Denver bounce back from its first loss of the season.
Jokic shot 14 of 16 and grabbed a season-high 14 boards, coming up an assist short of his 108th career triple-double.
Luka Doncic also just missed a triple-double with 34 points, 10 boards and eight assists and Kyrie Irving scored 22 points for Dallas, which opened the season 4-0.
The Mavericks were without coach Jason Kidd, who didn’t make the trip due to a non-COVID-19 illness. Top assistant Sean Sweeney took his spot on the bench.
Dallas' loss leaves 4-0 Boston as the league’s lone remaining unbeaten team.
Curry’s last-second layup lifts Warriors
Stephen Curry scored 30 points and made the winning layup with 0.2 seconds left to propel the Golden State Warriors to a 141-139 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder in the teams’ first In-Season Tournament game.
Curry’s basket was initially waved off because of offensive goaltending, but it was overturned, and the Warriors notched their second straight last-second win. Klay Thompson hit a jumper with less than a second remaining in Wednesday’s win over Sacramento.
Dario Saric had 20 points and Andrew Wiggins added 17 to help Golden State win its fifth straight since a season-opening loss to Phoenix.
Lu Dort led the Thunder with 29 points – including 6 of 6 from 3-point range - and Chet Holmgren had a career-high 24 on 7-of-9 shooting with eight rebounds and five assists.
Oklahoma City played without leading scorer Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who sat out with a sprained knee.
Bucks overcome Brunson, Knicks
Damian Lillard scored six straight points down the stretch on his way to 30 points and the Milwaukee Bucks got past the New York Knicks, 110-105 to open the inaugural In-Season Tournament.
Milwaukee survived Jalen Brunson’s 45 points and blew a 14-point lead before Lillard sank a 3-pointer to give the Bucks a 104-103 lead with 1:03 left.
Lillard converted a three-point play 25 seconds later to make it 107-103 and sealed the win with two free throws in the waning seconds.
Giannis Antetokounmpo had 22 points, eight rebounds and six assists for Milwaukee, which has alternated wins and losses in each of its five games this season.
Brunson was 17 of 30 from the field and fell three points shy of his career high, set against Cleveland on March 31.
World number two Iga Swiatek and world number three Coco Gauff have both secured their spots in the semi-finals of the WTA Finals in Cancun, Mexico.
Poland’s Swiatek confirmed her position with a 6-1 6-2 win over world number six Ons Jabeur.
Earlier, Gauff claimed a victory for US tennis fans in a battle of two of the major champions from this year.
She defeated Marketa Vondrousova 5-7 7-6 (4) 6-3 in the final round of group play on Friday night, ending the Czech player’s chances of advancing to the semi-finals.
The win was another feather in the cap for Gauff, making her the first teenager to make the final four of the year-end championships since Caroline Wozniacki in 2009.
She will now face Jessica Pegula while Swiatek takes on Aryna Sabalenka.
The New Jersey Devils lost star center Jack Hughes to an injury and Kevin Hayes scored twice in the St. Louis Blues’ 4-1 victory.
Hughes, who entered with an NHL-leading 15 assists and 20 points, left after awkwardly crashing into the boards following a slight hook by Blues defenseman Torey Krug. No penalty was called on the play.
New Jersey was already playing without center Nico Hischier, who missed his third straight game with an upper-body injury.
Jake Neighbours and Robert Thomas had the other goals and Jordan Binnington made 34 saves to prevent the Blues from a third consecutive loss.
Curtis Lazer scored for the Devils, who had won three in a row.
Ersson leads Flyers past Sabres
Samuel Ersson turned away 22 shots and Bobby Brink had a goal and an assist as the Philadelphia Flyers snapped a three-game losing streak with a 5-1 win over the Buffalo Sabres.
Scott Laughton, Louie Belpedio, Travis Konecny and Garnet Hathaway also scored for the Flyers, who had allowed 15 goals during the three-game skid, including a 5-2 loss to the Sabres on Wednesday.
Henri Jokiharju had the lone goal for Buffalo, which failed in a bid for a three-game winning streak.
Sabres defenseman Mattias Samuelsson left the game in the first period with a lower-body injury.
Aidan O’Brien admitted his disappointment after River Tiber was ruled out of the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf at Santa Anita.
The Wootton Bassett colt was expected to be a major player in the mile contest after claiming third in the Middle Park Stakes on his most recent run, but River Tiber was scratched on vets’ advice just hours before his intended engagement.
Stablemate Bolshoi Ballet was also taken out of Saturday’s Breeders’ Cup Turf and O’Brien was pragmatic in his response.
He told ITV Racing: “He (River Tiber) was being checked all week, he seemed OK and the vets have checked him this morning and weren’t happy with him, so that’s the way it is. Obviously that’s the rules and I suppose there’s no more to say about that.
“We’re visitors here and we’re very grateful to be here, rules are rules and they just weren’t happy with him today.
“Obviously they’re athletes and they don’t pull out the same way every day, like we don’t get out of bed every day the same, and he might have been slightly stiffer today than he was yesterday.
“When you’re training horses that does happen and every athlete in the world will tell you the same, it’s very fractional and I suppose it’s opinion. I suppose there was a different panel of vets checking them all week and just a different vet checked him this morning and he wasn’t happy, so that’s the way it was.
“Obviously when we came here we were happy to abide by whatever rules were going to be set in this state by the Breeders’ Cup.
“We’re disappointed for the lads (owners) really, they put a lot in but that’s that way it is.
“Whatever decision the authorities make in any sport, you just have to stand by it, you don’t always agree with it but somebody has to make the decision, sometimes it will fall for you, sometimes it won’t. With these horses today, it didn’t fall for us.”
Of River Tiber’s future plans, he added: “I’d say he’ll have a break – this obviously would have been his last run and he will be trained for the Classics next year.”
The Ballydoyle handler still won the Juvenile Turf, with Unquestionable taking the prize under Ryan Moore.
O’Brien’s runners were not the only horses scratched, with the Jessica Harrington-trained Givemethebeatboys taken out of the Juvenile Turf Sprint.
The handler admitted the experience could make her think twice about bringing horses to the fixture in the future.
She said: “He has not had a single issue all week – he has been examined at least three times a day, he has been out on the track, he has galloped, he’s done stalls, there are vets on the gallops.
“He went out this morning as usual, did a little trot to come back in and the vets came to have a look at him and they decided he was not entirely level on his off fore.
“I don’t agree with them – I see where they trot our horses up is not a level place, you trot on some mats and then you’re on sand.
“It would definitely (deter me from bringing horses back). I brought out what I thought was a very sound horse, I know they have to be careful but being careful or over the top are two different things.”
Aidan O’Brien enjoyed a one-two in the Prevagen Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf as Unquestionable led home Mountain Bear in the Grade One race.
There was a change of plan when stablemate River Tiber was unable to compete in the contest on veterinary advice, meaning Ryan Moore took the ride on Unquestionable in place of Frankie Dettori.
The former horse was expected to be a contender, but in his absence it was Unquestionable who strode to a decisive success as Mountain Bear was steered to the runner-up spot by Dylan Browne McMonagle.
Sheppey United boss Ernie Batten was proud of his side despite their 4-1 FA Cup first-round exit at the hands of League Two Walsall.
The eighth-tier side were the lowest-ranked club in the first-round proper of the longest-running cup competition in the world.
Batten’s Ites were competing in the first round for the first time in their history.
And hopes of a huge cup upset were high after James Bessey-Saldanha’s stunning first-half strike at a capacity-packed Holm Park.
Douglas James-Taylor levelled in the first-half before Tony Knowles, Ross Tierney and Isaac Hutchinson did the damage in the second period.
After reaching this stage for the first time in 105 attempts, Batten said: “I’m extremely proud of this group of players.
“I’ve lived on the island most of my life and it’s been a wonderful moment for myself.
“They’ve achieved something this club hasn’t done in its 130-year existence.
“I couldn’t be happier for them. I’ve said to them that they’ve got to use this for the rest of the season.
“We’ve got all to play for in the league and it puts you in a good mood.
“I’m really pleased for James because he found a really good goal for us to give us a great start.
“I think this experience is massive for us, absolutely massive. We’re so pleased to get this far and hopefully it’s a catalyst for the football club.
“The exposure we’ve had has really highlighted us as a football club that’s going places.”
Tree surgeon goalkeeper Aiden Prall, the penalty hero against Billericay, produced a player-of-the-match performance with 12 saves – just hours after cutting logs.
But a dream second-round berth was just a step too far for the Isthmian League South East outfit.
Walsall boss Mat Sadler was full of plaudits for the non-league side after their big night out in front of the TV cameras.
“It was a really professional performance,” admitted Sadler.
“We knew it was going to be a tough night, everyone was charged up for the game and rightly so because they’ve done so well to get this far.
“Credit to them to get to the first round. When they scored you think ‘Jesus Christ’.
“It was a really good performance for us. I’m delighted in a way that they got their goal and can go away happy because they deserve it.
“Fair play to them because it was a great goal, I thought it was brilliant.
“I was desperate to win this game for a number of different reasons.
“For us we’re building as a football club and a group at the moment. We’ve got a very young squad out there and I think at times that enthusiasm got us through.
“I’m pleased for Ross because he’s a lad who wears his heart on his sleeve and works hard for the team. He does a lot of unsung stuff for the team and for him to get on the scoresheet. I’m really pleased for him.
“Their keeper rightfully got the man-of-the-match award because I thought he had a fantastic game.”
Horsham manager Dominic Di Paola heaped praise on his team after they twice came from behind to draw 3-3 at Barnsley and force a replay in the Emirates FA Cup first round.
Tom Richards scored the second equaliser to take the tie back to Woodside Road and Di Paola hailed a monumental effort.
“I thought the boys were absolutely phenomenal,” he said. It was just an incredible performance.
“You could see at the end, I don’t think there was anyone without cramp. For us to put in that performance, away from home against a side as good as them, is just incredible.
“There’s been a bit of controversy around the FA stuff and there’s been some issues here. I noticed there wasn’t any police, which is quite ironic considering that was the reason the game was supposedly moved (from Saturday to Friday night).
“I do feel that justice has been done. I never understood the decision in the first place.
“It’s just so pleasing that we can bring them back to our place. We can bring the town out and be allowed to let our supporters actually watch us in such a high-profile game.”
Richards converted after the ball was squared to him by fellow substitute Lucas Rodrigues and Di Paola said: “It’s a massive credit to all of our players. The subs who came on changed the game.
“We’ve worked so hard this week, mainly on the tactics board. I didn’t feel like we parked the bus. I felt that we had an attacking threat.
“It’s just so pleasing that we did that. I’m really pleased.”
After falling behind to a Max Watters goal, the visitors took a 2-1 lead through Shamir Fenelon and a James Hammond penalty.
Goals from Fabio Jalo and Mael de Gevigney put Barnsley back in front but Lewis Carey’s triple save prevented John McAtee, Callum Styles or Luca Connell from putting the game to bed before Richards levelled in the closing stages.
Barnsley boss Neill Collins praised Horsham, saying: “I think, first of all, credit to Horsham.
“They came super organised, didn’t just sit back, had a good game plan so credit to them. Their fans should be proud of them, which I’m sure they are.
“I think we put in all the ingredients of a performance that gives the result that we got – sloppy mistakes, not doing the basics well, didn’t take chances and gave up.
“We earned the replay that we didn’t obviously want with the performance that we gave.
“I didn’t see it coming. The players’ attitude has been good and we’ve been in good form.
“That’s what this competition can do to you. If you don’t start well, it can quickly descend into what it did.
“I thought we’d get out at 3-2 – we should have made it 4-2 – and then without being over-happy, we’d have taken the win and moved on.
“A couple of mistakes and Horsham deserved the replay. There’s a chance for us to go and put it right.”
Trinidad & Tobago and Jamaica were fourth and sixth, respectively, in the final of the Men’s 4x100m relay at the Pan Am Games in Santiago, Chile on Thursday.
The Trinidadian quartet of Eric Harrison Jr, Judah Taylor, Kyle Greaux and Jerod Elcock combined to run 39.54, narrowly missing out on the bronze medal won by Argentina in 39.48.
Jamaica’s quartet of Michael Sharpe, Andrae Dacres, Odaine McPherson and Jevaughn Whyte ran 39.81 in sixth.
The gold medal was won by Brazil in 38.68 while Cuba ran 39.26 in second.
Novak Djokovic silenced a partisan crowd with a 7-5 6-7 (3) 6-4 win over Holger Rune to march into the semi-finals and take another step towards a seventh Paris Masters crown.
In a repeat of the 2022 showpiece, Djokovic was able to brush off boos and a heated exchange with the umpire to edge out the Danish youngster in another three-set thriller in Bercy.
Victory for Djokovic extended his winning streak to 16 matches and helped avenge last year’s loss to Rune in the ATP 1000 tournament.
The first set was extremely hard-fought and it was not until deuce in the 12th game that a break point was fashioned, but world number one Djokovic showed his class by taking full advantage with a volley at the net to edge the opener.
It was a different story in set two with early breaks exchanged before Djokovic forced a match point at 5-4 only for Rune to hold his nerve in front of new coach Boris Becker.
Djokovic came to blows with umpire Renaud Lichtenstein during the same service game over a challenge by Rune, which resulted in boos from the Paris crowd at the end of the second set after Rune had taken the tie-breaker.
View this post on InstagramThe 24-time grand-slam champion regrouped in impressive fashion though and clinched an early break in the third set to move 3-1 up before the top seed closed out a gutsy victory in two hours and 54 minutes.
Djokovic appeared to mimic England and Real Madrid’s Jude Bellingham in his celebration with his arms outstretched before he looked around at the Accor Arena crowd.
Hard To Justify was a tough winner of the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf for Flavien Prat and Chad Brown.
The bay came into the race with two races and two victories under her belt and showed a great will to win when when surrounded by horses during the turn for home.
She put her head down in the home straight and pushed through in the middle to retain her unbeaten record.
European trainers provided plenty of interest in the mile contest with Simon and Ed Crisford’s Carla’s Way well fancied after her Rockfel Stakes win, with Aidan O’Brien fielding Content and his son Donnacha sending his Cheveley Park winner Porta Fortuna.
It was the last-named filly who fared best of the raiders, with jockey Oisin Murphy going for a run up the inside rail in the straight before eventually having to settle for second.
Murphy felt the race had not gone in his mount’s favour and said: “I was unhappy with the pace. They went very steady and I would have liked to find more space down the inner where it got a bit congested.”
Content finished with a flourish in fourth having been sat near the rear of the field, but Carla’s Way was unplaced after racing on the outside of the pack and dropping away in the straight.
James Doyle rode Carla’s Way and thought the filly failed to produce her best effort.
He said: “She jumped like her usual self but was keen all the way down the back. On the bend she lugged out and I feel we can draw a line through it.”
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
