Coventry stunned Premier League Wolves with two goals in injury time to seal an amazing 3-2 win and book a first FA Cup semi-final appearance since 1987.
The Sky Blues went on to win the competition that year in one of the most famous finals ever and they kept their hopes of another unlikely triumph this season alive after a remarkable climax at Molineux.
It looked like they would be leaving with broken hearts after two goals in the final 10 minutes from Rayan Ait-Nouri and Hugo Bueno overturned Ellis Simms’ opener and seemed to set a Wembley date for Wolves.
But the Championship side were not done and in nine minutes of time added on they turned the quarter-final tie around again, with Simms grabbing a second and then Haji Wright earning himself folklore by grabbing the winner.
It was a dramatic ending to a breathless derby, which the Championship side probably deserved to win.
Coventry survived a couple of early scares as Mario Lemina and Nelson Semedo missed chances, but having absorbed the pressure, the visitors missed a golden chance of their own to go ahead and Simms will not want reminding of it.
After Jose Sa had palmed Kasey Palmer’s shot into the path of Jake Bidwell, the wing-back set up a simple tap-in from close range after rolling the ball across goal, but Simms got his feet in a mess and somehow put his shot straight at Sa.
The momentum had suddenly switched and two more glorious chance came for Coventry before half-time as Simms played in Milan van Ewijk, who looked prime to score until Sa made a fine block and the Wolves keeper was grateful to an unmarked Palmer for cushioning the ball straight at him.
The Sky Blues finally made the breakthrough eight minutes after the restart as Simms made amends for his earlier howler.
Liam Kitching headed a free-kick back across goal to the far post where Simms appeared to bundle the ball in with his arm.
But it survived a lengthy four-minute VAR check to give the travelling supporters a second chance to celebrate.
They should have been celebrating another goal soon after as their side bombarded Wolves’ goal.
Sa had to make a double save, first keeping out Wright’s effort with his feet and then parrying away Josh Eccles’ effort from the rebound.
After Sa then rolled the ball to Matt Doherty, the Republic of Ireland wing-back was dispossessed in a dangerous area and Palmer put a shot agonisingly wide.
They could have done with one of those chances going in as the inevitable Wolves onslaught came in the final 20 minutes.
Joao Gomes saw a vicious effort tipped onto the post by Bradley Collins and then Ait-Nouri hit the other post with a header soon after.
But Wolves remained ragged at the other end and only a one-man show from Sa stopped Coventry from killing the tie.
The Portugal keeper pulled off three big saves to keep the score at 1-0, palming away efforts from Simms and Callum O’Hare and then denying Kitching at close range.
And he was rewarded as Wolves levelled in the 83rd minute when Joel Latibeaudiere could not clear a cross and Ait-Nouri slammed home the loose ball.
The writing appeared on the wall for Coventry as Ait-Nouri surged forward, playing in Bueno, who made no mistake.
But in the sixth minute of time added on Simms headed home at the far post after Bobby Thomas had flicked on Bidwell’s cross.
There was time for more drama as in the 10th minute Simms teed up Wright to steer Coventry to a famous victory.
Ace Trinidad and Tobago cyclist Nicholas Paul was involved a two-cycle crash in the Mens Keirin semifinals at the UCI Championships in Hong Kong, on Saturday.
Fortunately, Paul, 25, an Elite sprinter and World Record holder, only suffered minor bruises and will rest up for the Men's Sprint competition on Sunday.
“I am good. Just some track burns,” Paul told SportsMax.TV.
Though slightly disappointed by the fall, he remains focused on the task at hand, and is intent on making amends in Sunday's event.
The decorated Paul, whose accolades includes Pan American Games and Commonwealth Games Sprint gold medals, will be joined by his compatriot Kwesi Browne in Sunday’s men’s sprint competition.
Despite Paul’s fall, Browne pushed on to reach the finals of the keirin and had a creditable performance and finished sixth overall.
British Horseracing Authority chief executive Julie Harrington has warned the dominance of Irish trainers at the Cheltenham Festival is “damaging” for the sport.
Irish handlers won 18 of the 27 races across the four days, with 12 of the 14 Grade One contests also going their way and Willie Mullins accounting for eight of those on his own among an overall tally of nine winners for the Closutton team – a total which also took him over 100 Festival winners.
Dan Skelton flew the flag for Britain by sending out four winners, including a memorable top-level double with Ryanair Chase victor Protektorat and Turners Novices’ Chase hero Grey Dawning on Thursday, with Ben Pauling, Paul Nicholls, Kim Bailey, Jeremy Scott and Fiona Needham also getting on the scoresheet.
While Harrington praised those achievements, she feels the Irish supremacy is “becoming more pronounced”.
She said: “I would like to offer my congratulations to every winner this week, and everyone connected with those horses. We again tip our hat to the Irish, and in particular Willie Mullins whose achievement in reaching 100+ Festival winners is truly remarkable.
“Congratulations also go to the British trainers who secured winners this week, in particular Dan Skelton for his impressive haul.
“I have no doubt that the men and women who train horses here in Britain are more than a match for their Irish counterparts. However, they need the ammunition and at present the balance of power and the best horses are going to our colleagues in Ireland, and in particular one yard.
“This is not a new issue. The direction of travel has been set for a number of years now. The sport has been alive to this and taken measures to seek to address it, through attempting to tackle funding issues associated with the sport, seeking increased investment, looking at the race programme, and more recently the delivery of the recommendations of the Quality Jump Racing Review.
“However, the Irish domination of the Grade One races this week has illustrated that the issue is becoming more pronounced and more damaging for the sport on both sides of the Irish sea.”
Following a nightmare Festival for the home side in 2021 which saw just five winners for British trainers, the BHA set up the review group which made a series of recommendations that were unveiled at the start of 2022, with further tweaks to the fixture list this term in an attempt to improve the upper tier of British National Hunt racing.
However, Harrington concedes more now needs to be done and at a faster pace to ensure no further ground is lost.
She said: “Put simply, the rate of decline of jump racing in Britain at the top end has outstripped the measures that have been put in place to tackle it. We must do more, more quickly, and in a more coordinated and decisive manner if we are going to restore British jump racing to the standing at which it belongs.
“Central to this is the delivery of the industry strategy. The strategy is all about growth. At the core of this is investment in the top echelons of our sport, with a view to incentivising the best horses to be bred, owned, trained and raced on these shores. An additional £3.8million in prize-money has already been earmarked for investment in 2024 across the top end of the sport in both codes.
“The strategy is also about much more than just investing in prize money. We need to grow our fanbase by encouraging new fans and retaining existing fans and owners, improve the experience of ownership and attending and viewing racing, and much more besides.
“To achieve this the sport must work together with urgency and clarity of purpose. The times of being reluctant to embrace change or new ideas, lack of transparency and focusing on narrow self-interest must be put firmly behind us.”
Talks are currently ongoing between the BHA and bookmakers on levy reform, which Harrington believes is another key factor in improving British fortunes in the future.
She concluded: “The very visible deterioration in British racing’s competitiveness with our international colleagues has also been at the heart of our discussions with the betting industry and DCMS around the levy, and our representations to Government around the risk of the damaging impact of affordability checks.
“We have seen great progress in the last 18 months and a spirit of collaboration is clearly developing. I am confident that if the sport and its allies work together around this shared goal then it can flourish once again. Not just across four days in March, but across the whole year. Jump racing’s popularity in Britain is immense and its potential limitless.”
Zion Williamson wants to take ownership of the situation as the New Orleans Pelican hunt down the fourth seed in the Western Conference.
Williamson finished with 34 points as the Pelicans beat the Los Angeles Clippers 112-104 on Friday.
That victory moved them to within two wins of the Clippers, who occupy fourth spot in the West.
Williamson was drafted by the Pelicans as the first overall pick in 2019, though has so far been unable to deliver in big games, in large part due to injuries. He wants that to change now.
"It's just getting to that part of the season," he said.
"Just trying to let my teammates know, 'I'm here. I with y'all.
"Whether it's diving on the floor on defense, passing or scoring."
Pelicans coach Willie Green added: "It's great to have him on the floor, playing as well as he's playing."
Williamson has scored 99 points across the Pelicans' four meetings with the Clippers this season, a series New Orleans lead 3-1.
"All three games they've won this year, he [Williamson] dominated," Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said.
"We did some good things to come back and make it a game but our margin for error was very slim at that point.
"I like our fight. I like the way we competed. We just came up short."
The Clippers have now lost three of their last four games, while the Pelicans have won six of their last eight.
Jamaica’s former World Boxing Association (WBA) Super featherweight champion Nicholas “Axe man” Walters is set to continue his comeback later this month, when he squares off with American Joseph Adorno, at the White Sands Events Center in Plant City, Florida.
Walters, who went into retirement shortly after he lost his unbeaten record to former pound for pound king Vasiliy Lomachenko in a seven-round bout in November 2016, will be hoping to extend his winning momentum on return to the ring for his 2024 debut on Wednesday, March 27.
The 38-year-old Walters had comeback victories over Luis Marmol in Colombia February 2023, and Reynaldo Esquivia, nine months later, and another against Adorno would certainly add impetus to his charge going forward.
Although he doesn’t have a particular opponent that he craves, Walters hopes to get in the mix for big fights after this rust-shedding exercise.
“My plan is to go down to 135, where the real warriors are fighting – all the big names. Being a world champion at 135 and a double-world champ [is the goal],” Walters said in a previous interview.
The Panama-based Walters boasts a ring record of 28 wins (22 kos) against one loss and one draw, while Adorno has 18 wins (15 kos) against three losses and two draws.
Walters had turned pro in 2008 after an amateur career that included bronze at the Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games and two gold medals at the Caribbean Championships in 2005 and 2006. Within a few years he became one of the world’s most exciting fighters of the lower weight divisions after defeating big names like Nonito Donaire and Vic Darchinyan.
Originally from Montego Bay on Jamaica’s north coast, Walters became the first Jamaican ever to win a world boxing title at home when he defeated Daulis Prescott via a seventh round TKO to cop the WBA World Featherweight title in December 2012.
The female employee suspended by Red Bull has appealed against the decision to clear team principal Christian Horner of controlling behaviour, the PA news agency understands.
Red Bull’s investigation dismissed the complainant’s grievance earlier this month but she has lodged a formal appeal with the Formula One team’s parent company GmbH.
The employee is understood to have been suspended on full pay as a direct result of Red Bull’s inquiry, which concluded at the end of last month.
The complainant was told she had acted dishonestly and received a legal letter, which gave her five working days on receipt of the letter, to appeal against the outcome of the investigation.
Horner, 50, who has always denied the claims made against him, was allowed to continue in his role when GmbH cleared him of any wrongdoing.
When asked about the matter before the recent Bahrain Grand Prix, Horner said: “There was a grievance that was raised, it was dealt with in the most professional manner by the group – not by Red Bull Racing but by the owners of Red Bull Racing, Red Bull GmbH – that appointed an independent KC, that is one of the most reputable KCs in the land, and he took time to investigate fully all of the facts.
“He interviewed all of the people involved as well as others of interest. He looked at everything and he came to the conclusion where he dismissed the grievance.
“As far as I am concerned, and as far as Red Bull are concerned, we moved on and we look to the future. The time now is to draw a line under it.”
The PA news agency has approached Red Bull Racing and its parent company GmbH for comment.
Eric Ramsay believes Manchester United have all the ingredients to go to the next level under Ineos – but Erik ten Hag’s former coach felt he had to leave for a dream first managerial job at Minnesota United.
The 32-year-old swapped Uniteds following March’s derby defeat at Manchester City, with his move to the Twin Cities seeing him become the youngest permanent manager in Major League Soccer history.
It is an exciting new chapter in an impressive coaching journey that led Ramsay to Swansea, Shrewsbury and Chelsea before joining Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s coaching set-up in June 2021.
Initially focused on individual players and set-plays, the Welshman’s remit broadened over time and he is looking forward to putting his experiences into practice as Minnesota’s second-ever head coach.
“I have never been desperate to be a head coach by a certain age or a certain point,” Ramsay told the PA news agency ahead of his first match in charge against Los Angeles FC this weekend.
“But I felt naturally I was sort of gravitating toward that opportunity coming.
“I’ve had some opportunities over the course of the last two years to go into the Championship or League One and for whatever reason haven’t pursued those.
“The club itself is phenomenally well set up. The ownership is really stable. I think that’s incredibly attractive for a first-time head coach.
“From a club perspective, the league and the wider US context, in terms of the competitions being held here in the coming years, the general feel around the sport, I think it’s as perfect an opportunity as I’ll get.”
Ramsay also had a stint working with Wales during his time at United, where he felt like he squeezed in a lot at an institution that garners “endless attention” and “feels like no other club”.
The 32-year-old never got caught up in the background noise – “if you as a coach were to be too drawn into that then you’d lose focus on what you’re there to do” – and enjoyed his time there despite the difficult spells.
“To have the opportunity to be one step removed from three managers and Michael Carrick, working at Man United over two-and-a-half years, I don’t think you’re getting better preparation for your own role as head coach because it’s a really trying set of circumstances with a lot of intensity,” Ramsay said.
“(Erik) is obviously incredibly focused, has real conviction as to how he wants the team to play, how he feels the group should be managed, as you’d expect of anyone who hits that level as a manager.
“Obviously, he’s had some difficult circumstances to deal with this year, so hopefully once that gets cleaned up then we’re going to see the trajectory recaptured that we saw last year.”
Injuries have proven the main difficulty in a bumpy season and Ten Hag is under the spotlight heading into Sunday’s FA Cup quarter-final against rivals Liverpool.
But Ramsay is confident better times lie around the corner at Old Trafford, having been impressed by new co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his Ineos team.
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“As has been presented in the media and as I’m sure you’ve heard lots of people say, the Ineos vision for Man United is really exciting,” Ramsay said.
“They, as well, have a lot of conviction in how elite sports teams should look and feel.
“There is a genuine Ineos way that I think the combination of that and the way in which Erik wants to operate, it could be a really exciting combination.
“I think you’ve got some phenomenally bright people now attached to the club, through the likes of Dave Brailsford and the people that they will inevitably bring in to wrap around the existing structure.
“So, I do think all the ingredients are there for the club to really move on to the next level.
“I said this to the Ineos guys as I was leaving, I’m loathed in some senses (to go) because I think I was probably a nice fit for the way in which they wanted to go about things.
“I felt like it would take a lot from them and their way of working.
“But, personally, I felt like this opportunity from my individual perspective was one that I couldn’t turn down in spite of all that positivity around the club.”
Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk believes Joe Gomez’s England recall is fully deserved as the team’s popular utility man continues to impress.
It was not that long ago that speculation was linking the defender with a move away as he dropped down the pecking order at Anfield.
However, this season he has taken over the mantle of the veteran James Milner, who left for Brighton in the summer, in terms of being a reliable performer in a number of positions.
His 40 appearances have come across the back four, with a couple as an emergency holding midfielder, as injuries piled up in February and that versatility is something which appeals to Gareth Southgate, who included him in his squad for the first time since 2020 for next week’s friendlies against Brazil and Belgium.
“I’m very happy for him. To be honest, me and Ibou (Ibrahima Konate) have been saying for quite a while he definitely shouldn’t book any holidays in this international period as he will definitely be in it,” said Van Dijk.
“Still, it’s been such a long time for him. The work he has put in day in, day out – him and his family – not many people see but he has been outstanding the whole season and I’m delighted.
“Let him get his chance and then he will show he should stay in the squad.”
Gomez could be deployed in either full-back position or as Van Dijk’s partner for Sunday’s FA Cup quarter-final against Manchester United at Old Trafford.
It is a credit to him that his performances have not dropped despite being shifted around the pitch and the fact he is still only 26 means his best years are still ahead of him.
Asked what had changed, Van Dijk added: “Playing more helps, of course, but it’s the confidence he plays with as well in any position across the back line and a couple of games as a holding midfielder.
“He’s doing great, he’s a fantastic player.”
Manager Jurgen Klopp trailed Gomez’s selection after last weekend’s 1-1 draw with Manchester City, when he praised his performance and suggested it was a simple decision for Southgate.
“I don’t think my comments had a lot of influence. Wasn’t necessary really, Joey deserves it, absolutely,” said the Reds boss.
“The season he has played so far is absolutely exceptional. We would not be where we are without Joey. He’s played so many different positions. Really happy for him.
“I saw on his face he was very happy about it so it’s good news. Now, let’s play the (United) game, he can go there, and hopefully comes back healthy and we can play the rest of the season.”
Maria Sakkari fought off a Coco Gauff fightback to book a place in the final of the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells.
She will face top seed Iga Swiatek after beating the American third seed 6-4 6-7 (5) 6-2 in a lengthy, rain-interrupted battle which finished after 1am.
Gauff broke the Greek ninth seed early, but Sakkari fought back to take a first set interrupted by a short rain delay 6-4.
A lengthy break for the weather delayed the start of the second set, Sakkari settling quickest on the resumption and breaking the American twice to lead 5-2.
But she could not serve out the match, despite having a match point, as Gauff broke back and took the set on the tie break.
Gauff broke again at the start of the third set, but Sakkari dug in and rattled off four games in a row to take control again.
And this time she was able to complete the job, breaking Gauff again to complete the win after two hours, 41 minutes on court.
Swiatek’s path to the final, in which she has lost just 20 games, was more straightforward as she saw off Martya Kostyuk 6-2 6-1.
The world number one needed little more than an hour to see off the 31st seed without facing a break point.
West Ham and Sheffield United reached an out-of-court settlement over the long-running Carlos Tevez affair on this day in 2009.
The Blades had demanded compensation of up to £45million following their relegation from the Premier League in 2007 – a demotion they insisted would not have occurred had Tevez not excelled for the London club.
West Ham had breached rules over third-party ownership when signing Tevez and his fellow Argentina international Javier Mascherano the previous summer.
The pair had arrived at Upton Park in a surprise, headline-grabbing move from Brazilian club Corinthians but it later emerged the rights to the players were partially owned by their agent Kia Joorabchian’s company, Media Sports Investment.
This contravened Premier League regulations and the club were fined a record £5.5million.
This did not go far enough for some clubs, however, who felt the relegation-threatened Hammers should have been deducted points.
The Blades went on to pursue their own claim after it was they, and not West Ham, who went down after a dramatic battle for survival went down to the wire.
Exacerbating the issue for them was the fact that Tevez was outstanding. After a quiet start to the season, the forward burst into life in the run-in. He scored seven goals in the Hammers’ final 10 games of the campaign, including the winner at Manchester United on the last day of the season to clinch survival.
The Yorkshire club were relegated after losing 1-0 to Wigan in their concluding game, a result which – just to add to the theatre – ensured Latics stayed up.
Two years of legal wrangling followed as the Blades sought some form of redress. Final details of the settlement were not revealed at the time but Sheffield United reportedly received a sum of around £20million. This was way below their initial demand but they declared it a “satisfactory settlement”.
“For everyone concerned, the time was right to draw a line under this whole episode,” the clubs said in a joint statement.
Zion Williamson scored 34 points to lead the New Orleans Pelicans to a 112-104 win over the slumping Los Angeles Clippers on Friday that tightened the race for the Western Conference's No. 4 seed.
The surging Pelicans moved within two games of Los Angeles for fourth place in the conference and improved to 14-5 since Jan. 31, tied with the Oklahoma City Thunder and Denver Nuggets for the best record in the West over that span.
Los Angeles was dealt a third loss in four games despite 26 points from Paul George and 23 from Kawhi Leonard. The Clippers played a second straight game without starting point guard James Harden due to a left shoulder strain.
Williamson recorded 16 of his points during a dominant third quarter in which he went 7 of 7 from the field. The star forward closed out the period with a layup that snapped an 80-80 tie and ignited a 12-3 run that put the Pelicans ahead for good.
Trey Murphy and Naji Marshall each had 3-pointers during the spurt, which Murphy capped with an alley-oop dunk that gave New Orleans a 92-83 lead with 10:24 remaining.
Leonard's hook shot with two minutes left brought the Clippers within 107-102, but Los Angeles came up empty on its next three possessions as New Orleans scored the next five points to put the game out of reach.
The Clippers trailed by 11 points early in the third quarter before putting together a 12-3 run that trimmed the Pelicans' lead to 65-63 with five minutes left in the period.
Heat handle Pistons to end four-game skid
Bam Adebayo recorded 22 points and nine rebounds to help the Miami Heat end a four-game losing streak with a 108-95 win over the lowly Detroit Pistons.
Terry Rozier scored 10 of his 18 points in the second half as Miami pulled away in the final two quarters to get back on track and remain 2 1/2 games behind first-place Orlando in the Southeast Division. The Magic also won on Friday, earning a 113-103 victory over the Toronto Raptors.
After Adebayo's floater in the closing seconds gave Miami a 56-54 lead at the half, the Heat dominated the final six minutes of the third quarter to stretch their advantage.
Miami broke things open with a 15-0 run, which began with six straight points from Rozier and ended with three consecutive 3-pointers by Duncan Robinson. The last of those baskets increased the margin to 83-65 with 2:29 to go in the third quarter.
The Heat maintained a double-digit cushion over the entire fourth quarter to end Detroit's modest two-game winning streak.
Simone Fontecchio led the Pistons, who own the NBA's second-worst record at 12-54, with 24 points. Jalen Duren compiled 15 points and 17 rebounds in the loss.
Jokic outduels Wembanyama, Nuggets top Spurs to stay hot
Nikola Jokić put up 31 points as the Denver Nuggets continued their strong recent stretch with a 117-106 victory over the San Antonio Spurs in a game played in the Texas capital of Austin.
Jokic finished 13 of 19 from the field while adding seven rebounds and five assists to outshine Spurs rookie sensation Victor Wembanyama, who was held to 17 points on 4-of-12 shooting.
Jamal Murray accumulated 15 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists to help Denver improve to 11-1 since the All-Star break. The defending NBA champions have won five straight games.
Jokic and the Nuggets imposed their will early on, as Denver closed out the first quarter on an 18-4 run to take a commanding 37-18 lead into the second. The two-time NBA MVP finished the period with 15 points.
The Spurs shot 60 per cent in the second quarter to close the gap to 58-49 at half-time, and got Denver's lead down to four when Zach Collins' jumper with 16.7 seconds left in the third quarter made the score 83-79.
Denver's Justin Holiday ended the third with a 3-pointer, however, and had another during a 9-1 run in the fourth that put the Nuggets up 101-84 with seven minutes to play.
The game drew a crowd of 16,223, the largest attended sporting event in the history of Austin's Moody Center.
Anze Kopitar scored two of Los Angeles' four first-period goals as the Kings rolled to a 5-0 win over the Chicago Blackhawks on Friday to boost their playoff hopes.
Cam Talbot notched his third shutout of the season by stopping all 28 shots he faced from a Chicago team that had scored seven goals in each of its previous two games, both victories.
Pierre-Luc Dubois, Alex Laferriere and Jordan Spence each contributed a goal and an assist to help the Kings move two points clear of the Vegas Golden Knights for third place in the Pacific Divison.
The Kings dominated the first two periods and wasted no time getting on the scoreboard, as Dubois rocketed a rebound past Chicago goaltender Arvid Soderblom on a power play just 3:10 in.
Laferriere redirected a shot from teammate Matt Roy into the net a mere 2:23 later for a 2-0 lead, and Kopitar added his 19th and 20th goals of the season to cause the Blackhawks to pull Soderblom for Petr Mrazek after a little over 14 minutes.
Spence made it 5-0 with his first goal of 2023-24, a shot that trickled by a screened Mrazek 2:31 into the second period.
Soderblom stopped just 10 of 14 shots before being removed, while Mrazek finished with 22 saves.
Toffoli, Brossoit lead Jets' blowout of Ducks
The Winnipeg Jets, meanwhile, created a three-way tie atop the Central Division by cruising to a 6-0 rout of the floundering Anaheim Ducks.
Tyler Toffoli scored two goals to back a 21-save shutout for Laurent Brossoit as Winnipeg joined Colorado and Dallas in first place in the Central. All three teams have 89 points, though the Jets hold a game in hand on the Avalanche and two on the Stars.
Dylan DeMelo added a goal and an assist and Josh Morrissey recorded three assists as the Jets bounced back from Wednesday's 4-2 loss to the Nashville Predators.
The Ducks were shut out for a second straight game and now have lost five straight, all in regulation.
Kyle Connor got the Jets on the board with 3:40 left in the first period and Nate Schmidt extended the lead to 2-0 with a power-play goal in the second.
Winnipeg then put the game out of reach with a four-goal third, with DeMelo starting the barrage 4:59 into the period.
Toffoli, playing his third game since being acquired by the Jets from the New Jersey Devils at last week's trade deadline, then netted his first two goals with his new team within a span of less than three minutes to increase the margin to 5-0.
Mason Appleton closed out the scoring with a power-play goal with 5.5 seconds left.
John Gibson made 32 saves for Anaheim, which was outshot by a 38-21 margin.
Peter O’Mahony insists further Guinness Six Nations glory means “absolutely everything” to Ireland and stressed his countrymen would have metaphorically sacrificed limbs for such success in the recent past.
Retaining the championship crown has been touted as an anti-climax for Andy Farrell’s side after the holy grail of historic back-to-back Grand Slams was extinguished by last week’s agonising 23-22 loss to England.
Ireland are on the verge of a fifth title in 11 years going into Saturday evening’s Dublin showdown with Scotland, having endured a drought of more than two decades between 1985 and 2009.
Captain O’Mahony, who contributed to each of those successes, remembers the barren era and dismissed the suggestion current expectations have devalued the achievement of winning the tournament without a 100 per cent record.
“No, I don’t think so because it’s so rare,” said the 34-year-old.
“I know we’ve had a few in our most recent history but going back over a long period, we’re way down the list of championships won.
“You’re talking about back-to-back Grand Slams and no one has done it because it’s so hard, that’s why.
“You’ve got to win 10 Six Nations games in a row, win five away from home. It’s unbelievably difficult to win a game away from home in this championship, if you look at the stats across the board.
“So it’s everything to us tomorrow. Absolutely everything to us, another championship.
“It’s probably a manner of the Irish psyche, ‘Jesus, another championship’, you know what I mean? When all of a sudden a few years ago you’d have taken your arm and your leg off for one.
“We’re still in the same boat, it matters a massive amount to us. It’s what we’re here for, that’s the be all and end all of it, we’re here to win a championship for our country and it couldn’t mean any more to us.”
Ireland will be crowned champions by avoiding defeat to Gregor Townsend’s side or claiming two losing bonus points, while a single bonus point is also likely to be sufficient.
However, a pointless defeat would leave Farrell’s men sweating on the outcome of England’s clash with France in Lyon.
Ireland are seeking a 10th-successive win over their rivals, while Scotland have a slim chance of snatching the title but are realistically aiming for a first Triple Crown since 1990.
Munster flanker O’Mahony anticipates another feisty affair following last year’s fiery Rugby World Cup pool-stage clash in Paris, which the Irish won 36-14 to eliminate the Scots.
“It’s a competitive game and both teams always get stuck in and that’s what you want, isn’t it? You want both teams flat out,” he said.
“We’re not playing tennis or golf, you know what I mean? It’s a physical game and you’ve got to get stuck in and you’ve got to be on the edge – and that’s rugby.
“It will be very special if we win it.”
Rory McIlroy’s bid for a second Players Championship victory suffered a potentially fatal blow as Scottie Scheffler played through the pain barrier to keep his hopes of an historic title defence alive.
McIlroy held a share of the overnight lead following an opening 65 at Sawgrass, but could only add a second round of 73 to slump eight shots behind US Open champion Wyndham Clark.
An erratic start saw McIlroy card three birdies and three bogeys in the first six holes and, after reaching the turn in 35 with a birdie on the ninth, the world number two bogeyed the 12th, birdied the 13th and double-bogeyed the next in a frustrating inward nine of 38.
Scheffler had earlier received treatment from a PGA Tour physio during a second round of 69 which left him six behind Clark, who reached halfway at 14 under par thanks to a second-consecutive 65.
“I hit a shot on my second hole today and I felt a little something in my neck,” Scheffler, who had started from the 10th hole, explained.
“Then I tried to hit my tee shot on 12 and that’s when I could barely get the club back. So I got some treatment, maybe it loosened up a tiny bit, but most of the day I was pretty much labouring to get the club somehow away from me.
“I did what I could to kind of stay in the tournament today and hopefully it’ll loosen up and then I’ll be able to make somewhat normal swings tomorrow.
“The way I was getting around the course, the way my neck was feeling, I didn’t know if I was going to be able to continue playing, so yeah, good fight out there.”
Scheffler, who won the Arnold Palmer Invitational by five shots on Sunday, is bidding to become the first player to successfully defend the Players Championship title in its 50-year history.
Clark made eight birdies – including five in six holes around the turn – to end the day four shots clear of Olympic champion Xander Schauffele and Canada’s Nick Taylor, with Matt Fitzpatrick and Maverick McNealy another stroke back.
“My iron play’s been very solid, I’ve rolled in a handful of putts and then I’ve really been mentally strong so I’d say all of those things are why I’m sitting where I am right now,” Clark said.
England’s Fitzpatrick held the outright lead when he carded his fifth birdie of the day on the third, his 12th hole, to reach 10 under par, only to find the water with his approach from the rough on the next to run up a double bogey.
“I felt the lie was good enough to kind of hack it on to the right side (of the green),” said Fitzpatrick, who birdied his final hole of the day to add a 69 to his opening 66.
“I was aiming at the right bunker, which if you kind of go back there, you realise how far right it was. It just kind of snagged me and went left.
“Otherwise I felt like I did everything well. Just felt like I played solid overall. Made a couple of putts when I needed to, drove the ball well and my approach play was good as well.”
Asked about trailing Clark by five shots, Fitzpatrick added: “Anything can happen over the weekend, there’s still two days, so you never know.
“Another couple of six-under rounds over the weekend and you never know what can happen. So, for me it’s just about trying to stay patient, just keep doing what I’m doing and go from there.”
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