Los Angeles FC coach Steve Cherundolo said there can be "no more hiding" for Gareth Bale after the former Real Madrid star proved his quality against Real Salt Lake.
Bale scored his second MLS goal since moving to LAFC when he made it 4-1 in Utah late on during Saturday's match.
The 33-year-old, who had replaced Carlos Vela in the 64th minute, surged from inside his own half before skipping down the right flank, taking on a batch of defenders and drilling home to cap a fifth straight MLS win over RSL for LAFC.
All four of Bale's MLS appearances so far have come from the bench, with the Wales forward playing just 96 minutes in total, but Cherundolo hinted that now has to change.
"It's a great moment for Gareth, and for the team, he's a well-liked guy in the group," LAFC's coach told a news conference.
"It was a well-taken goal. We told Gareth after the game, now we all know he can run, and there's no hiding.
"Ecstatic for him, he feels healthier and more fit by the day and I'm sure we'll see more of that."
LAFC sit top of the Western Conference on 51 points from 23 games in 2022, and are well on course to beat the MLS single-season points record of 73, set by the New England Revolution last year.
Cherundolo, though, does not let such a potential feat concern him.
"RSL played well, they had a good gameplan, for sure," he added. "Every team shows up to play against us, usually plays particularly well.
"If you're in first place, there’s a target on your back, so we know that. As far as goals go, we're taking this game-to-game, sometimes half-to-half.
"We're not too concerned with records or the table at the moment. Obviously we like where we're at, we'd like to stay there, but we'll take this week-to-week."
Italy international Lorenzo Insigne netted his first goal in the MLS as Toronto won a seven-goal thriller 4-3 over Nashville on Saturday, while Gareth Bale was on the scoresheet again for LAFC.
The 31-year-old winger fired in Toronto's fourth goal to make it 4-2 in the 77th minute with a near-post strike from just outside the box.
Insigne, making his third MLS appearance for Toronto, showed his class to create a pocket of space for himself before opening up his body to fire past Nashville goalkeeper Joe Willis.
The goal headlined an entertaining contest which helped Toronto claim their seventh win of the season as they seek to mount a late-season charge.
Jonathan Osorio rifled Toronto in a 19th-minute lead but Hany Mukhtar's penalty squared it up in the 41st minute. Osorio restored Toronto's lead by tapping in Richie Laryea's low ball across goal, yet Nashville were level by half-time when Teal Bunbury glanced in off the post from a corner.
Filippo Bernardeschi put Toronto up again with an emphatic 54th-minute penalty before Insigne's moment with just under quarter of an hour to go. Walker Zimmerman headed in a late goal from Mukhtar's corner but Nashville could not find an equaliser as Toronto claimed their first road win in 378 days.
Bale, making his fourth appearance for his new club, netted his second MLS goal in LAFC's 4-1 victory against Real Salt Lake.
The Walsh international came on in the 64th minute with LAFC 3-1 up after Cristian Arango's double and added the fourth with a classy solo goal. Bale ran down the right flank, beating away two defenders, before tucking into the box and finding his favoured left foot for a trademark strike.
Cincinnati made a statement with a strong 3-1 home win against Eastern Conference leaders Philadelphia Union.
All three of Cincinnati's goals came in the second half, after Brenner had a first-goal strike disallowed by the VAR. Brandon Vazquez, Brenner and Alvaro Barreal netted for Cincinnati, who move up to sixth, while Paxton Aaronson scored a late consolation for Union.
Under-performing New England snapped their six-game winless run to revive their playoffs hopes with a 3-0 victory at Orlando City.
Matt Polster, Wilfrid Kaptoum and Henry Kessler got the goals, with Carles Gil grabbing his 12th assist of the season for the latter's strike.
New York City were unable to capitalise on Philadelphia's loss, going down 3-2 at Columbus Crew, for whom Lucas Zelarayan scored a brace.
Gonzalo Higuain got on the scoresheet as Inter Miami rallied from behind to twice to manage a 2-2 draw at Montreal.
Bottom club DC United held New York Red Bulls to a 0-0 draw, while Chicago Fire made it four wins in five games with a 3-2 victory at Charlotte.
In the west, Javier Hernandez netted a late double but it was not enough for LA Galaxy who went down 4-2 at Sporting KC.
Gyasi Zardes scored a hat-trick as Colorado Rapids edged Minnesota United 4-3, Austin and San Jose Earthquakes drew 3-3 and Portland Timbers and Dallas both scored late in a 1-1 draw.
The Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) announced on Saturday that it has joined forces with sportswear giants Adidas.
“The Jamaica Football Federation is proud to announce that sportswear giant Adidas will equip all Jamaican National Football teams beginning in January 2023. The partnership, which is built on cultivating and supporting talent and the joy that football can bring, will include major tournaments such as the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, 2024 Summer Olympics and the 2026 FIFA World Cup,” the JFF said in a statement.
President of the JFF Michael Ricketts said, “We are incredibly proud to announce this unprecedented partnership with Adidas and are looking forward to achieving great things together.”
“The partnership will support the JFF’s effort to develop Jamaica’s football at all levels and will facilitate further success at the professional level in the years to come. The JFF is now a part of the Adidas portfolio of international federations, joining giants such as The DFB (Germany), RFEF (Spain), AFA (Argentina), FIGC (Italy) and the RBFA (Belgium),” Ricketts added.
General Manager of Adidas Global Football Nick Craggs said “We are delighted to be announcing this long partnership with the Jamaica Football Federation.”
“The country’s potential on the pitch-of which the consecutive World Cup qualifications of the Women’s team is a testament-along with the richness and global relevance of its culture, which resonates far beyond football and Jamaica’s borders, make it a great fit to join our Adidas International Federations family. We look forward to celebrating many achievements together while contributing to the progress and future of Jamaican football at all levels of the game,” he added.
“The past doesn’t equal the future, and the future of Jamaican football is looking bright,” said CEO of Business 2 Sports Group Marlon Gilbert-Roberts who, alongside sports lawyer Jonathan Himpe and Fitzroy Simpson, was one of the architects of this historic deal.
The Vancouver Whitecaps produced a miraculous comeback to treat their fans to a 2-1 home win against the Houston Dynamo on Friday.
With both sides desperately needing the three points to stay in touch with the Western Conference playoff picture, it was Houston striking first through a corner in the sixth minute.
After the initial corner was cleared, Sam Junqua's floating ball back into the box beat the goalkeeper after it bounced, although Fafa Picault was credited with the goal after claiming he got a toe on it.
Houston controlled 63 per cent of the possession in the first half and were good value for their lead, leading the shot count six-to-three and the pass count 358-to-199.
But the longer the game went, the more passive the visiting side became, and instead of dictating the play, they sat back and looked to protect their lead.
Barbados and West Indies captain Hayley Matthews has said she had no indication that Deandra Dottin was planning to retire from international cricket midway through the Commonwealth Games, and is planning to discuss the matter with her team-mate now that their campaign in Birmingham is over.
Matthews, who was appointed as West Indies captain in June, said she was as surprised as anyone by Dottin's shock announcement via Twitter on Monday, citing concerns over the team environment.
"Thankful to Deandra for everything she's done for West Indies cricket," said Matthews said when asked about her reaction to Dottin's decision.
"She's obviously been a wonderful player for us over the last couple of years, and it's sad to see her go, but at the same time if it's something that she's ready for, then supporting her 100%," she added.
Matthews said she hadn't spoken to Dottin before the announcement and that she had "no interpretation" of Dottin's comments about the team culture and environment.
"I'm obviously down here representing Barbados and everything, so probably not looking to speak too much on that at the moment," the skipper said on Wednesday after her side suffered a 100-run defeat against India in their final Group A game. "But yeah, I definitely would have a chat with her and see how things go," she added.
Barbados won their opening match of the Commonwealth Games against Pakistan by 15 runs before losing by nine wickets to gold-medal favorites Australia on Sunday.
The following day, Dottin published a letter addressed to Cricket West Indies on Twitter announcing her "formal retirement from the senior women's West Indies team effective 1st July 2022".
The 37th running of the Caribbean Senior Squash Championship will take place in Jamaica, August 21 - 27 at the Liguanea Club in Kingston.
Barbados, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Guyana, St Vincent & the Grenadines, Trinidad & Tobago and host country Jamaica are the eight countries who will field approximately 140 participants for the one-week tournament.
Chris Binnie who is currently ranked #1 in the region is among the top Jamaica players who have won Senior CASA titles. Binnie is a 9-time All Jamaica and Caribbean Senior Men’s Champion.
Meghan Best, defending champion in the female section from Barbados has registered to participate. The tournament will also feature 13-time All Jamaica Senior Women’s Champion, Karen Anderson.
Fierce competition is expected from Adrian Grant, former world #9 playing for Jamaica in his first CASA, young national champion, Shomari Wiltshire from Guyana, Chayse McQuan from T&T and Adam Murrils from the BVI. Teams will start arriving from August 19.
Corporate support includes title sponsors Wisynco through their brand, WATA; Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF); Jamaica Olympic Association (JOA); Sports Development Foundation (SDF); Ernst & Young; Fleetwood; Levy Cheeks and Best Dressed Chicken.
Montreal scored twice in the final two minutes to rally from behind to claim a 2-1 victory away to Columbus Crew in the MLS on Wednesday, in a game delayed by inclement weather.
Lucas Zelarayan had fired the Crew into a 14th-minute lead with a low shot but Montreal hit back late, to help them move into third in the Eastern Conference.
Kei Kamara nodded in Alistair lex Johnston's 89th-minute corner, before Joel Waterman got in behind the defence from Lassi Lappalainen's lofted pass to squeeze home the winner in the 94th minute.
Inter Miami breathed life into their season with a 1-0 road win over San Jose Earthquakes to move up to eighth in the Eastern Conference.
Juan Mota's spectacular left-foot strike in the 12th minute was the difference, while Gonzalo Higuain's skill went unrewarded after a mazy run early in the second half.
Charlotte stayed ahead of Inter with a 3-0 home victory over DC United moving them up to seventh in the east.
Steven Birnbaum's 13th-minute own goal separated the sides, before second-half strikes from Karol Swiderski and Quinn McNeil within four minutes settled the contest.
Portland Timbers and Nashville drew 1-1 keeping both sides in the middle of the Western Conference standings.
Gaga Slonina has joined Chelsea on a six-year contract before returning to the Chicago Fire on loan until January.
The 18-year-old has established himself as the most exciting young goalkeeper in MLS since making his Fire debut last August.
Then 17, Slonina became the youngest goalkeeper to start a match in MLS history as he kept a clean sheet in a draw with New York City FC.
Slonina has gone on to keep 13 clean sheets in 34 appearances and is Chicago's first-choice keeper, playing every minute of the 2022 campaign.
The United States youth international, who rejected a senior call-up from Poland in May, will play out the rest of the season in Illinois ahead of joining a pool of Chelsea goalkeepers that includes Edouard Mendy.
Chelsea have reportedly paid an initial £8.2million ($10m) for Slonina, although that fee could increase to £12.3m ($15m).
Fire sporting director Georg Heitz said in a statement: "We're very proud and happy to see Gaga reach this milestone moment in his career.
"Since joining the club, Gaga has embodied what it means to be a Chicago Fire player.
"In addition to his incredible talent, he is mature beyond his years, extremely hard-working and a fantastic team-mate.
"Gaga is a role model to many young aspiring footballers in Chicago, and this transfer demonstrates that a player can progress to the first team from our academy before joining one of the biggest clubs in the world."
Slonina added: "I joined this club [the Fire] with ambitions of playing at the highest level, and it's been a dream come true to wear the Chicago Fire jersey.
"This club has become my second home, my second family, and there are so many people that have played a big role in helping me get to where I am today.
"I'm so thankful for all the support that I've received from my family, coaches, team-mates and everyone associated with the club. It's been an incredible honour to work alongside each one of you."
The Colorado Rapids came from behind on the road to defeat the New York Red Bulls 5-4 in a thriller on Tuesday.
Within 10 minutes New York led by two goals, with Dru Yearwood finding the back of the net first when his shot from outside the box caught a deflection to wrong-foot the goalkeeper, before Aaron Long headed home Lewis Morgan's indirect free kick.
A costly mistake deep in defence gifted a goal back to the Rapids in the 21st minute, with Diego Rubio curling his right-footed effort into the far post, but the Red Bulls seemed to have all the answers, with Morgan scoring from the penalty spot seven minutes later to lead 3-1 after a half-hour.
Colorado ensured they would go into the break only trailing by one after a well-worked move from a throw-in resulted in a powerful low drive from outside the box by Keegan Roseberry in the 38th minute.
There were over 30 minutes of scoreless action to start the second half, before the Rapids seized control of the contest with two quickfire goals. Collen Warner equalised in the 77th minute, before substitute Michael Barrios put the visiting side in front three minutes later off a Rubio assist.
Dantouma Toure completed the comeback by making it 5-3 in the 89th minute, with a stoppage-time penalty to Tom Barlow providing the game's ninth goal.
Meanwhile, it was a very different contest at Lumen Field where the Seattle Sounders defeated Dallas FC 1-0 at home.
The only goal of the contest came from a first-half penalty, with captain Nicolas Lodeira calmly slotting it past the Dallas keeper in the 39th minute.
Cristian Roldan was at the centre of everything for the Sounders. Only two players completed more than 50 passes, and Roldan separated himself from the rest with 76 completed passes at an accuracy of 93 per cent.
With the win, the Sounders jumped up to sixth in the Western Conference, still three points behind fourth-placed Dallas, but with a game in-hand.
A shot-filled half-century from Kyle Mayers was not enough to prevent a 7-wicket loss for the West Indies as India, pushed on by an equally forceful reply from Suryakumar Yadav, won the third T20 international with an over to spare.
After losing the toss and being put in to bat, Mayers and Brandon King got the team off to a solid start, in the power play, after a 57 partnership for the first wicket. Although by taking 20 deliveries to make his 20, King somewhat slowed down the scoring rate.
Hardik Pandya got the breakthrough for India when King, deceived by a slower ball, dragged onto the stumps. Mayers then joined forces with captain Nicholas Pooran for another 50 partnership pushing the team to 107. Pooran was then undone by a delivery from Bhuvneshwar Kumar, which he miscued before being gobbled up by Pant. The Windies captain used 23 balls for his 22 runs.
The same pair, Kumar, and Pant, combined to finally account for Mayers, as well, as he top-edged to Pant from a slower ball. Rovman Powell and Shimron Hetmyer made brief cameos of 23 and 20, and briefly accelerated the scoring but were kept in check by India’s bowling line-up.
In pursuit, India got off to a flyer despite Rohit Sharma retiring hurt in the second over and Shreyas Iyer struggling after coming in next at the crease. The innings was fueled by Yadav’s aggression with his 76 runs off 44 balls putting the match out of reach for the West Indies. India now leads the five-match series 2-1 after three games.
Jamaica’s Under-15 reggae Girlz suffered a 0-5 defeat at the hands of Canada to kick off their CONCACAF U-15 Girls Championship at the Hillsborough County Sportsplex Field 2 in Florida.
Nikolina Istocki got a double while Keira Martin, Annabelle Chukwu and Taegan Stewart got the goals for the Canadians.
In the other Group B match on the day, defending champions the USA hammered Puerto Rico 12-0.
Jamaica’s next game will be against the dangerous Americans on Tuesday while Canada will take on Puerto Rico.
The Cricket West Indies (CWI) Senior Men’s Selection Panel today announced the squads for the West Indies “A” Team series against Bangladesh “A” Team to be played at the Daren Sammy Cricket Ground in Saint Lucia from 4 to 20 August. The two teams will play two four-day first-class matches followed by three 50-over matches.
Joshua Da Silva, the wicket-keeper/batter, will lead the team in both formats, with Andre Coley as the Head Coach. The squads feature several players with international experience, as well as others who have graduated from the CWI Rising Stars U19 and CWI Emerging Players teams.
Speaking ahead of the series, Lead Selector the Most Hon. Dr Desmond Haynes said: “We stated from very early that we would look to give the opportunities to players and broaden the pool. The ‘A Team’ programme is a very good thing for West Indies cricket and CWI must be complimented for ensuring that we have these matches back up and running and arranging these games in Saint Lucia.”
Haynes added: “The squad is selected for us to have a closer look at the players in the longer format and also 50-over format as we have a lot of international cricket around the corner. We want to give the players exposure and the chance to play ‘A Team’ cricket and President’s XI matches as we had earlier this year as it is vital and much needed.
“Joshua has done quite well so far in his Test career, and we believe he will be a good leader for both formats. We also have a few others in the squads who have played at the international level and performed reasonably well, so we want to see them grow even more and this series against the visitors from Bangladesh will present that golden opportunity.”
The four-day matches will start at 10am (9am Jamaica Time) and the limited-overs matches will start at 9:30am (8:30am Jamaica Time). LIVE ball-by-ball scoring of each game will be available through the www.windiescricket.com match centre while CWI will be LIVE streaming via the Windies Cricket YouTube channel.
FULL SQUADS
Four-day “Tests”
Joshua Da Silva (Captain)
Colin Archibald
Alick Athanaze
Yannic Cariah
Keacy Carty
Tagenarine Chanderpaul
Bryan Charles
Justin Greaves
Tevin Imlach
Shermon Lewis
Jeremiah Louis
Marquino Mindley
Anderson Phillip
Jeremy Solozano
One-Day 50-overs
Joshua Da Silva (Captain)
Alick Athanaze
Teddy Bishop
Yannic Cariah
Tagenarine Chanderpaul
Justin Greaves
Tevin Imlach
Shermon Lewis
Jeremiah Louis
Preston McSween
Marquino Mindley
Anderson Phillip
Kevin Sinclair
Shamar Springer
West Indies Women all-rounder Deandra Dottin has announced her shock retirement from international cricket in a post on Twitter on Sunday.
“Please accept this letter as my formal retirement from the senior Women’s West Indies team effective 1st July 2022,” she wrote in a letter to Cricket West Indies.
Dottin, one of the most destructive players in world cricket, cited mainly the environment around the team for her sudden retirement.
“This announcement has come with much contemplation as cricket has always been a passion of mine. However, when the fire burns out, one has to take time to reassess their commitment,” said the 31-year-old.
“There have been many obstacles during my cricket career that I have had to overcome, however, the current climate and team environment has been non-conducive to my ability to thrive and reignite my passion,” she added.
The Barbadian then expressed gratitude towards Cricket West Indies, saying “I am appreciative of the opportunities afforded to me and I have ruminated on my decision over a period of time. Playing for the West Indies and representing the region has been an honor.”
“During my 14 years as a player, I have trained at my best and grown as a player physically, mentally and emotionally. It is the combination of this growth that has assisted me in reflecting on what is truly important to me. With much sadness but with out regret, I realize that I am no longer able to adhere to team culture and team environment as it has undermined my ability to perform excellently.”
Dottin ends her international career having played 143 One-Day Internationals and 126 T20 Internationals since her debut in 2008.
She scored 3727 runs at an average of 30.54 with three hundreds and 22 fifties in ODIs and 2697 runs at an average 25.93 with two hundreds and 12 fifties in T20Is.
Wayne Rooney kept his belief in his DC United team as his coaching reign in MLS started in familiar fashion, with a dramatic late win over Orlando City.
Several highlights of Rooney's playing career with DC had come against Orlando.
The former England captain had five goal involvements in three meetings with Orlando, netting in both matches in 2019 – including a stunning strike from his own half.
But the most iconic moment of Rooney's MLS stint came in his first clash with the Lions in 2018.
The forward provided two assists, including a remarkable intervention to snatch a 3-2 win in the 96th minute, with Rooney tracking down a counter-attack – as Orlando's Will Johnson raced towards an open goal – and then crossing for Luciano Acosta's decisive header.
Sunday's coaching bow was similarly sensational, as DC still trailed to Junior Urso's early strike entering second-half stoppage time.
But a pair of late goals from Chris Durkin, in the 91st minute, and Taxi Fountas, in the 95th, ensured a winning start for Rooney, who had been confident the chances would come.
"I told them they'd win the game," Rooney said of his half-time message to the MLS strugglers. "I believed we'd win the game.
"But the one thing we had to do was up the tempo. We were moving the ball across the back and with the goalkeeper side to side, and it was too slow. We were allowing Orlando to shift across and not really making them run as hard as we wanted them to.
"That was the big difference second half, the tempo with which we moved the ball and really made Orlando suffer and work and run.
"When a team's doing that, then gaps appear. We have to take advantage of those gaps, and we did."
It was just the 10th instance in MLS history of a team trailing at the start of stoppage time and still winning, with DC accounting for three of those.
Rooney acknowledged the nature of the victory could be vital for confidence moving forward.
"'Character' is a big word I've used over the last couple of weeks with the team," he said. "We need to be a team which shows a lot of character and fight and togetherness."
Rooney added: "I think [it is important] for the players, more than myself. I think the players needed that.
"This season has to start now. They've had some bad results in the first half of the season, and I think tonight the fashion we won the game – coming from a goal behind, scoring two late goals, the subs who came on were excellent...
"But we've got another tough game on Wednesday. We can't rest and think we've won a game; we have to be consistent, we have to go on a run."
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