Wayne Rooney began his DC United reign with a dramatic comeback victory as two stoppage-time goals from his team secured a 2-1 victory over Orlando City.
The head coach watched on in a baseball cap as Chris Durkin and Taxiarchis Fountas struck late on, stunning an Orlando side who had led since the ninth minute after Junior Urso's sublime chipped finish.
Durkin fired DC level from close to the penalty spot in the first added minute after the regulation 90 was complete, finding the top-left corner with a first-time finish after meeting Ola Kamara's clever low cutback from the left wing.
A draw would have been a decent result for DC, who sit at the foot of the Eastern Conference, but it got even better as a superb goal won it. A volleyed cross from the left by Kimarni Smith was met 12 yards out by Fountas, and he deftly diverted the ball into the bottom-right corner. It was a team-leading 11th goal of the season for Fountas.
It meant that DC United won an MLS game after trailing at half-time for the first time since March 7 2020, when they did so against Inter Miami. That dismal 25-game barren run is over, with the Rooney impact already being felt.
The record goalscorer for Manchester United and England has joined DC – a team where he also had a two-season playing stint – after recently leaving English club Derby County.
Midfielder Ravel Morrison, recruited by Rooney, attempted 96 passes in the game, and that ranks as the highest total for a DC United player in MLS this season.
Orlando had not lost an away game in MLS when leading at half-time since September 22, 2019, the date they allowed a lead to slip against Houston Dynamo.
A crazy day in MLS saw two 4-4 draws, with Phil Neville complaining Inter Miami had "defended like little boys" as they were held by FC Cincinnati.
Inter required a 97th-minute equaliser from Christopher McVey to rescue a point, despite having led 3-2 entering the final 10 minutes thanks to a first-half Gonzalo Higuain hat-trick.
Brandon Vazquez scored twice to turn the game on its head, leaving Neville furious despite McVey's last-gasp intervention.
"We defended like little boys, we defended naively, we didn't compete, we lacked discipline and concentration," the former Manchester United and Everton defender said. "And that's unacceptable, unacceptable.
"Simple balls into the box we didn't deal with. Simple concentration bits we didn't deal with.
"We are in the stage of the season where concentration is the main thing, concentration will get you to win games of football, and it's not going to be easy; you've just got to defend and do the right things all the time, and defensively we were as poor as we have been all season."
Remarkably, it was not Saturday's first eight-goal draw, as Minnesota United and the Portland Timbers had earlier played out a thriller.
Sebastian Blanco got the scoring started in the first minute, but there was no late drama in this one, with all eight goals netted before the 70-minute mark.
This was the first time in MLS history two matches on the same day have seen both teams score at least four goals, but there was a chasm between the Philadelphia Union and the Houston Dynamo in Saturday's third high-scoring game.
The Union ran out 6-0 winners as Mikael Uhre continued his stunning run of form at Subaru Park, netting either side of half-time for his fifth and sixth goals in his past four home games.
Uhre had also scored twice in a 7-0 defeat of DC United earlier in July, making Philly the first team to win multiple games by a six-goal margin in a single MLS season.
Elsewhere, New York City FC lost ground on the Union in the East as they drew with CF Montreal, while Sebastian Druissi continued his MVP bid by inspiring Austin FC to a 2-0 win at Sporting Kansas City.
"He continues to demonstrate why he deserves that [award]," said Austin coach Josh Wolff.
Bahamian 400m world champion Shaunae Miller-Uibo is looking forward to the challenge of competing regularly in the 200m after officially hanging up her spikes for the 400m event.
Having added the World Championship title to two Olympic gold medals, at the Oregon World Champions last week, the 28-year-old sprinter has expressed a desire to break new ground. As such, Miller-Uibo has targeted trying her luck full-time over half the distance.
These days, however, the half-lap event is not for the faint of heart. Three of the fastest times in the event’s history have been recorded in the last year. Two Jamaicans, Olympic champion Elaine Thompson-Herah, and world champion Shericka Jackson have the world record in their sights. It's a competitive field.
Despite the fierce competition, however, the Bahamian is confident about making her mark.
“The plans for me are the 200 which has always been my first love and get back into that,” Miller-Uibo said.
“I have run 21.7 without proper training. Once we go at it, I think we can do better,” she added.
“They’re setting the stage pretty high. I’m so proud of the girls and I think that they’re really showing out right now and showing the world exactly what we can do. I can’t wait.”
The athlete will have her first test next Saturday when she faces Jackson in Poland.
Jamaican World 200m Champion Shericka Jackson got back to winning ways in the shorter sprint with victory at the Meeting Internazionale di Atletica Leggera in Italy on Saturday.
Jackson, who also took silver in the 100m at the recently concluded World Athletics Championships in Eugene, ran a modest, by her standards, 11.13 into a -0.2 m/s headwind to take the win ahead of fellow Jamaicans Natasha Morrison (11.31) and Shokoria Wallace (11.36).
In the 400m, Junelle Bromfield produced 52.35 for a comfortable victory ahead of Ukraine’s Kateryna Karpyuk (53.10) and Slovakia’s Alexandra Bezekova (54.27).
Former national record holder Rusheen McDonald ran 46.56 for second in the men’s equivalent behind Canada’s Cole Austin (45.51). Italy’s Giuseppe Leonardi was third in 47.43.
West Indies captain Nicholas Pooran believes the team must be better at managing the game’s big moments following a 68-run loss to India in the first of five T20 internationals on Friday.
Despite switching formats, the Caribbean team failed to snap its losing streak against India after skipper Rohit Sharma's quickfire 64, from 44 deliveries, laid the platform for India to post a challenging 190. The team was also boosted by an unbeaten 41 off just 19 balls from Dinesh Karthik.
In pursuit of the target, the Windies failed to put any significant partnerships together and the highest individual total of 20 came from Shamarh Brooks.
Their struggles were in large part due to the efforts of India’s spin trio of Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, and Ravi Bishnoi who combined to stifle the Windies at the crease. In total, the trio picked up five wickets.
“We are going to have games like this where we are going to just get shut out. The batsmen did get starts but we didn’t capitalize on those starts. We didn’t win the big moments today and it’s as simple as that,” Pooran said following the game.
The team also made changes to its typical batting order, with all-rounder Jason Holder promoted to three. He was, however, dismissed without scoring by Ravindra Jadeja.
“It was good for us to come out here and experiment a bit. The guys did show up but we need to hold our nerve in big moments, especially when the pressure is on, we need to embrace it,” he added.
The Jamaica Anti-Doping Commission (JADCO) Board of Directors has accepted the recommendations of their disciplinary committee to issue sanctions to the persons involved in the matter of failing to test all four members of Jamaica’s Women’s U-20 4x100 World Record team at the CARIFTA Games in Kingston in April.
Jamaica’s team of Briana Lyston, Tina Clayton, Tia Clayton and Serena Cole sped to a time of 42.58 to break the under-20 world record, however, the time wasn’t ratified due to JADCO personnel failing to test all four members of the team.
In a press release on Friday, the commission announced the sanctions facing the personnel involved.
“All JADCO personnel who had responsibility and oversight for the testing and acted in accordance with internal practice rather than explicit instructions are to participate in a continuous education programme on in-competition testing through a WADA-approved facility as recommended by the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sports,” JADCO said in the statement.
The statement continued: “Failure to comply with this directive will result in further disciplinary action in accord with the Labour Relations Code. The current discontinuance of the internal practice which barred repeat testing of an athlete within 24 hours during competition, be made permanent. Each JADCO personnel is to be issued a written warning.”
The Board also explained that they took into account the fact that this was a first infraction for the persons involved.
Hydel High School has received a timely gift of sports gear that includes football boots and goalkeeper gloves courtesy of Champions Football Academy, a non-profit organization based in Atlanta, Georgia, that has been operating outreach programmes to Jamaican schools and communities for more than 14 years.
Ryan Foster, Chairman Hydel Group of Schools, received the donation on behalf of the school. The donation is a timely fillip for the Hydel Group of Schools that is about to embark on an ambitious football programme aimed at making the school among the best in Jamaica.
The school recently hired veteran coach Devon Anderson, who will lead the initiative.
"Hydel Group of Schools is extremely elated by the support given by Champions Football Academy. Both institutions have partnered through sport as a social tool used for nation building,” said Damion Howell, the Director of Sports at Hydel and a member of the new board of directors.
“These gears will go a far way in restarting the sport at the school since the pandemic and we see this as a good way to encourage the next generation of footballers by providing much needed resources."
Hydel Group of Schools is not only entity to benefit from the largesse of Champion Football Academy, whose mission it is to enhance the lives of children in safe and supportive environments by providing innovative training programs and plant-based nutrition that prepare and inspire them to succeed.
Champion Football Academy also dedicate their resources to ensuring that youth in under-served communities have greater access to quality programs and services that help promote healthy lifestyles, academic success, and strong leadership skills.
Driven by that mandate Champion Football Academy has provided year-round support in Payneland Jamaica. They also host annual football camps and make sizeable donations of gear and equipment donations tor primary and secondary schools, sports programs, and inner-city communities.
Gareth Bale is yet to start for Los Angeles FC, but already "life seems a little bit better" in MLS for the much-maligned former Real Madrid forward.
Bale has joined LAFC after leaving Madrid, where he won five Champions League titles but was criticised for appearing to prioritise his international career with Wales.
The 33-year-old will lead his country into the Qatar World Cup last this year, yet he is first having an impact at LAFC.
Bale has made three appearances from the bench for a total of 71 minutes, scoring against Sporting Kansas City last week.
The former Tottenham man's latest 28-minute shift against the Seattle Sounders on Friday was his longest yet, helping LAFC to see out a 2-1 win courtesy of Carlos Vela's goal shortly before half-time.
After the game, in which Kwadwo Opoku cancelled out an early Jesus Murillo own goal, Bale told FOX Sports: "I think any player will tell you if they have a smile on their face, they enjoy football more, you play better, a bit more enthusiastically, and life seems a little bit better.
"I want to get back to enjoying my football, and I feel like I am on the road to do that, and I'm looking forward to what lies ahead."
LAFC have won all three games in which Bale has featured, but he is no stranger to success. The warm welcome he has received in the United States is slightly less familiar.
"It's hard to pinpoint [why he is enjoying his football], but a happy environment, the fans are so welcoming," he explained. "Even in the away stadiums, they are not so bad, I guess.
"It's just a family, friendly environment, and it's what football should be, the place where you bring your kids. It's not hostile, and it just seems like a great environment in MLS."
LAFC can afford to ease Bale in, as they lead the Supporters' Shield race by six points following this latest victory.
Coach Steve Cherundolo described Bale as "in week three of pre-season" and "probably around a 45-minute range".
The final 18-member squad to represent Jamaica at the Concacaf U15 Girls’ Championship, a developmental tournament, has been selected by coach Tashana Vincent and her staff.
The Championship starts on Sunday and ends on August 7 in Tampa, Florida.
There will be 19 Concacaf Member Associations and one invited nation, Wales, at the Hillsborough County Tournament Sportsplex in Tampa, Florida, playing a total of 44 matches among teams split into two leagues.
Two groups will make up League A, with Mexico, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic and Wales slotted in Group A, while the United States, Canada, Jamaica and Puerto Rico will feature in Group B.
Jamaica will play Canada on Monday at 9:00am and then tackle the USA on Tuesday at the same time. They have a day’s rest on Wednesday and then return to face Puerto Rico at 11:00am on Thursday.
The remaining 12 teams will occupy League B, beginning with Bermuda, Belize, Anguilla and Martinique in Group C.
Honduras, Bahamas, US Virgin Islands and Aruba will form Group D, while Nicaragua, Guyana, Turks and Caicos Islands and Cayman Islands will compete in Group E.
A round robin group stage will take place July 31-August 3, followed by a single elimination knockout round. In League A, the group winners and second-place finishers will advance to the semi-finals, while in League B will see the three group winners and the best second place finisher advancing to a semi-final stage.
The teams that do not advance to the knockout round will be slotted into an additional match to determine final placement. The tournament’s format ensures that every team will have a minimum of four matches played.
The reigning champions of the Concacaf U15 Girls’ Championship is the United States, who claimed their second crown in the 2018 Final with a 3-0 win over Mexico.
Full Squad
West Indies captain Nicholas Pooran insists the team will relish the challenge against India and is determined to be more successful as the tour shifts to the T20 format.
The regional team is coming off a difficult run of matches in the ODI format where it lost its last nine in a row. Recent history suggests the Windies will, however, be far more competitive in the T20 format. The team is in fact coming off a 3-0 sweep of Bangladesh in 20 overs, before experiencing a reversal of fortunes in the ODIs.
The team has also typically competed well against India in the format, but it is the Indians who have ended up with the lion's share of the victories in recent years. Pooran is hoping that particular statistic will be changed.
“The guys are always up for the challenge against India, they want to show the world what they are made of as well,” Pooran told members of the media on Thursday.
“For some reason, we just turn up and perform well, unfortunately, we haven’t been getting the series wins and that is something that we need to happen. We don’t want to perform as players and the team is still losing. So, the only thing on our mind is to find a way to be successful.”
The West Indies and India will square off for five matches beginning on Friday.
West Indies coach Phil Simmons has backed the One Day International (ODI) team to eventually pull things together after a number of discouraging recent results.
The ODI format has been the team’s least productive over the last few years, having won just 9 of 51 series played in the last 10 years, which amounts to a 17 percent win rate. In the last three consecutive series, the regional team has failed to win a game after being swept aside 3-0 by Pakistan, Bangladesh, and India.
In three of the last four matches against Bangladesh and then India, however, the team at least managed to put in strong batting performances despite losing the match.
“The first two games we batted the 50 overs and looked like we understood what batting 50 overs was about. I think that’s a step forward and we will just have to keep trying to move forward with that,” Simmons told members of the media on Wednesday.
“The bowlers have been doing it in a few games and not the batsmen. Now it’s turned around. So, we’ve got to get everything together. The one plus is that the fielding keeps getting better and better, so we have to put everything together,” he added.
“Everything takes time, the guys have been playing together more and more and we are having a squad play together more and more. That’s what happened with the Test team, the guys played together for a while and now we are seeing the fruits of that. Let’s see what happens with the ODI team.”
Cricket West Indies (CWI) Men’s Senior Selection Panel on Thursday named 16 players for the upcoming Goldmedal T20I Cup, powered by Kent Water Purifiers against India and for the three-match T20 International (T20I) Series against New Zealand.
The West Indies and India Men’s teams will go head-to-head in the five-match series starting Friday, July 29, with the first-ever West Indies Senior Men’s team match to be played at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy. The five-match series runs until August 7 with games being played in Trinidad, St Kitts and Florida.
The same pool of 16 players will then travel to Jamaica for the three-match T20I Series against New Zealand at Sabina Park from August 10-14.
An official squad of 13 players will be nominated ahead of each match.
The Selection Panel recalled left-handed batter Shimron Hetmyer. Left-arm fast bowler Sheldon Cottrell is recovering from injury and unavailable for selection, while allrounder Fabian Allen is also unavailable for personal reasons.
“We welcome back Hetmyer and it is good to see him again in West Indies colours. He will fortify the batting group and with his experience and adaptability we have a ‘finisher’ who can add value and win matches for the team and delight the supporters,” said lead selector, The Most Hon Dr Desmond Haynes.
“Everything we do, we have to take into consideration we have a big tournament coming up later this year, which is the ICC T20 World Cup, so we are planning and gearing up towards that event. It is good to give the players some exposure to the international stage and look to find the right combinations,” Haynes added.
FULL SQUAD
Nicholas Pooran (Captain)
Rovman Powell (Vice Captain)
Shamarh Brooks
Dominic Drakes
Shimron Hetmyer
Jason Holder
Akeal Hosein
Alzarri Joseph
Brandon King
Kyle Mayers
Obed McCoy
Keemo Paul
Romario Shepherd
Odean Smith
Devon Thomas
Hayden Walsh Jr.
Rohit Sharma returns to lead India when a five-match Twenty20 International series against West Indies starts on Friday.
India's captain was rested for the 3-0 one-day international whitewash of the Windies, but will be back in action at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy,
Shikhar Dhawan skippered the tourists as his fellow opener was given a rest for the 50-over contests.
Rohit will expect India to maintain their momentum when the series gets under way in Tarouba, Trinidad, with the T20 World Cup in Australia on the horizon.
India have won five and drawn one of their past six series in the shortest format, beating England most recently.
They are top of the rankings and have shown their strength in depth amid a hectic schedule.
Jasprit Bumrah and Yuzvendra Chahal have been rested for this series along with out-of-sorts former captain Virat Kohli, but the likes of Ravichandran Ashwin and Kuldeep Yadav are back.
West Indies beat Bangladesh 2-0 in their last T20I series, but India consigned them to a 3-0 clean sweep in February.
Nicholas Pooran has endured a difficult start to his tenure as Windies white-ball skipper and his side face another big challenge in a series that includes two matches in Florida.
Yadav primed for more heroics
Suryakumar Yadav made a match-winning 117 when India beat England in the T20I decider at Trent Bridge.
With fierce competition in the middle order and Kohli absent, Yadav will see this series as another opportunity to cement his spot.
Windies batters must show consistency
Despite being beaten by India in all three ODIs, West Indies twice posted over 300.
They must show a consistency that has been lacking as they build towards the World Cup, led by Pooran, who has certainly not been short of runs as skipper and was man of the series in the T20I series success over the Tigers.
West Indies captain Nicholas Pooran and Brandon King each fell short of a half-century as the team failed to halt the momentum of India who completed a 3-0 ODI sweep over the West Indies on Wednesday.
In the rain-affected fixture, India triumphed by a massive 119-runs via the Duckworth Lewis method, after Shubman Gill’s 98 anchored the team’s first innings effort of 225 for 3, in a reduced 36 overs.
In pursuit, the West Indies never really got things out of first gear. As early as the second over, Mohammed Siraj dealt the men in maroon an early blow, after getting rid of Kyle Mayers and Shamarh Brooks in the same over, which left the team struggling at 0 for 2.
King and Shai Hope put on a 47-run stand to give the team a fighting chance. Yuzvendra Chahal struck to end the partnership, however, after Hope was stumped for 22. King then partnered with Pooran to keep the recovery going, but that momentum was ended when Axar Patel's arm-ball bowled King for 42, leaving the team at 5-103.
With a climbing run rate the struggles of Keacy Carty, who was next at the crease, put pressure on Pooran to keep up with the run rate. Carty was put out of his misery after going down the pitch to Shardul and edging the ball onto the stumps, making a total of 5 from 17 balls.
With the rate needed climbing to 10 an over Pooran was dismissed for 42 when he was caught at mid-on off by Prasidh Krishna. Chahal ended with the best figures for India after taking 4 for 17.
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