Munro College handed STETHS their first loss of the season in the ISSA/Digicel daCosta Cup on Tuesday.
In the game played at Munro, the hosts got a vital 1-0 win over the Zone E leaders to move to 16 points from nine games, eight points adrift of the five-time champions and level on points with second placed B.B Coke who beat Maggotty 2-0 at STETHS. Lacovia beat Sydney Pagon 1-0 at home in Tuesday’s other zone game.
A Zone A double-header at Cornwall College saw the hosts and Irwin High come out as winners over St. James High and Anchovy, respectively.
Irwin secured a 5-1 win over Anchovy to move to 21 points from their nine games to lead the zone by six points ahead of Cornwall who stretched the gap between them and third-placed Green Pond to four points with a crucial 1-0 win over St. James. Green Pond and Maldon played out a 0-0 draw at Green Pond in the other game.
In Zone B, Frome remained perfect after seven games with a 3-1 home win over Green Island on Wednesday. Hopewell and Merlene Ottey played out a 2-2 draw at the Orchard Sports Complex in the zone’s other Wednesday game whereas on Monday, Rusea’s beat Green Island 2-1 at home to move to 18 points from seven games, trailing the leaders by three points.
William Knibb hammered Cedric Titus 6-0 in a Zone C top-of-the-table clash at William Knibb on Wednesday. Entering the game, both teams had 16 points from six games but now William Knibb have 19. Spot Valley are third in the zone with eight points after a 4-0 away win over Muschett.
In a clash of the top two teams in Zone D, Manning’s and Petersfield played out a 1-1 draw at Petersfield. Manning’s now have 23 points from their nine games while Petersfield trail them by seven while playing one less game. Godfrey Stewart moved to 12 points from nine games in third thanks to a 4-1 win over Grange Hill while Belmont Academy lost 0-1 away to Black River in the other game.
Zone F may be the most evenly poised in the first round as three teams have 19 points. Manchester leads the zone with 19 points from eight games with a goal difference of 23 after a 7-0 win over May Day at Kirkvine. They also beat May Day 8-0 at May Day on Monday. DeCarteret College and Belair are the other two teams with 19 points and have goal differences of 15 and 12, respectively. They played out a 0-0 draw at Belair on Wednesday. Both DeCarteret College and Belair have played one more match than Manchester. Wednesday’s other match saw Bellefield and Mt. St. Joseph play out a 2-2 draw at Bellefield.
Christiana and Mile Gully both moved within three points of leaders Holmwood in Zone G after a 0-0 draw at Christiana. They both have 11 points from six and seven matches, respectively. Mile Gully trail Christiana by three on goal difference.
Clarendon College have seven wins from as many games after an 8-0 hammering of Thompson Town at Turner’s Oval on Wednesday to lead Zone H. In the day’s other game, Lennon High moved to 13 points after eight games with a 1-0 win over Kellits High at Morant Housing Scheme. Also at the Morant Housing Scheme, Edwin Allen beat Kellits 4-1 on Monday to move within seven points of Clarendon College. They’ve also played seven games.
York Castle moved eight points clear in Zone I after a 2-0 win over Oracabessa at Clemhard’s Park on Monday. They now have 19 points from seven games. Browns Town beat Marcus Garvey 2-0 at home to second in the zone.
Paul Bogle rebounded from back-to-back losses with a 3-2 home win over Morant Bay to remain at the top of Zone L with 21 points from nine games. Yallahs have played the same number of games as Paul Bogle and moved within four points of the leaders with a 2-1 win over St. Thomas Tech at the Eastern Banana Complex.
Glenmuir got their fifth win in as many games to move to the top of Zone M. They beat Old Harbour 5-0 at home to move level on points with Central High who have played one more match and trail them by 11 on goal difference. Denbigh hammered Tacius Golding 8-0 at home in the zone’s other match on the day.
Zone N’s top two teams, defending champions Garvey Maceo and Vere, both were in the win column once again. Garvey Maceo moved to 19 points from seven games after a 2-1 win over Foga Road at Foga Road while Vere moved to 13 points from their seven outings after claiming a 3-1 away win over Kemps Hill.
Hurtig the hero after late goal sends Arsenal into Champions League quarters
Lina Hurtig's 89th minute winner ensured Arsenal progressed to the quarter-finals of the Women's Champions League after edging Juventus 1-0 on Thursday.
After being frustrated for large parts of the encounter, Hurtig bundled home from close range after Martina Lenzini's poor clearance to book the Gunners' place in the last eight.
Despite Arsenal dominating the early exchanges, it was Juventus who had the first sight of goal, though Eva Schatzer's effort was easy for Daphne van Domselaar to gather.
In a first half that saw just two shots on target, both coming from the visitors, Renee Slegers' substitutes proved to be the difference for Arsenal.
Slegers introduced Beth Mead, Stina Blackstenius and Hurtig late on, with the latter somehow putting Kim Little's cross over the bar from five yards out.
However, the Swede would atone for her earlier error, combining with fellow substitute Blackstenius to net against her former club and send them out of the competition with two group games remaining.
Meanwhile, in Group D, Barcelona edged closer to the quarter-finals of the competition with a convincing 4-1 victory over St. Polten at the Generali Arena.
The reigning champions are still three points behind Manchester City following their 2-1 win over Hammarby, and know a win against the Swedes next month will see them progress.
Kika Nazareth opened the scoring in the 20th minute after capitalising on a mistake by Kamila Dubcova, notching her second nine minutes later from close range.
Barca found themselves three goals up at the break when Vicky Lopez netted her first goal in the competition to put the result beyond doubt.
There was also a landmark moment for Alexia Putellas, who netted her 200th goal for the club with a well-taken effort into the far corner.
Valentina Madl took some of the shine off an otherwise impressive display from the visitors, who have now taken their tally to 20 goals from their four matches in the competition.
Guardiola agrees two-year contract extension with Man City
Pep Guardiola will be Manchester City manager for at least two more seasons after 2024-25, after he signed a two-year contract extension on Thursday.
The 53-year-old was coming to the end of his City deal, which was due to expire at the end of the current campaign, but he has opted to remain at the Etihad Stadium.
The deal itself will take Guardiola's tenure at the club to over a decade, making him City's longest-serving manager since Les McDowall in 1963.
There had been suggestions that he may leave at the end of the season following the announcement that director of football Txiki Begiristain was on his way out.
Guardiola was strongly linked with the England job after Gareth Southgate resigned in the wake of their Euro 2024 final defeat, but the Football Association appointed Thomas Tuchel last month.
“Manchester City means so much to me," Guardiola said. “This is my ninth season here; we have experienced so many amazing times together. I have a really special feeling for this football club.
“That is why I am so happy to be staying for another two more seasons.
“Thank you to everyone for continuing to trust and support me – The Owner, The Chairman Khaldoon, Ferran, Txiki, the players and, of course, the fans… everyone connected to Manchester City. It has always been an honour, a pleasure and a privilege to be here.
“I have said this many times before, but I have everything a manager could ever wish for, and I appreciate that so much.
“Hopefully, now we can add more trophies to the ones we have already won. That will be my focus.”
Having been appointed in 2016, Guardiola is by some distance Manchester City's most successful manager of all time, having won 18 major trophies during his time at the club.
That list includes their first-ever Champions League triumph in 2023 and six Premier League titles, including an unprecedented four on the spin.
He also boasts a 72.04% win percentage across all competitions, which is unsurprisingly the highest of any full-time City manager in history.
Shaw at the double as Man City progress in Champions League
Khadija Shaw scored twice as Manchester City beat Hammarby 2-1 to seal their place in the Women's Champions League quarter-finals.
Gareth Taylor's team entered Thursday's game with a perfect record in Group D, and their fourth win in as many European matches ensured they finished in the top two.
Shaw—the leading scorer in the Women's Super League this season with eight goals—put them ahead in the 31st minute, driving into the area after taking in Yui Hasegawa's pass before seeing her shot deflect into the top corner.
Shaw was booked for celebrating in front of the home fans despite appearing to have objects thrown at her from the stands, and Hammarby should have levelled when Julia Blakstad fired wide 10 minutes later.
The hosts did draw level three minutes into the second half as Ellen Wangerheim tapped home while City's Laura Blindkilde Brown was down appealing for a free-kick.
That parity was short-lived, though, as Shaw blasted into the top corner from 25 yards out, taking her overall tally for this season to 12 goals in all competitions.
In Group C, meanwhile, Bayern Munich lost their perfect record as they played out a 1-1 draw with Valerenga, boosting Arsenal's hopes of topping the pile.
Jovana Damnjanovic came off the bench to put Bayern ahead 15 minutes from time in Norway, but Elise Thorsnes headed home following an 88th-minute corner to snatch a point for the hosts.
Arsenal could now move within a point of Bayern when they face Juventus in Group C's other match later on Thursday.
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