Football

The Robins were gifted the lead after 19 minutes in farcical circumstances as Scott Robertson tried to play the ball back to his keeper but it hit the post and rebounded for Aaron Drinan to score.

In the 73rd minute, Sam Slocombe came out of his goal and attempted to thread a pass into midfield but played it straight to Paul Glatzel, who had earlier headed against the bar and this time could not believe his luck as he put the ball into the empty net.

In stoppage time a County corner found substitute Alassana Jatta at the far post and he sent the ball back across goal and into the net.

But they could not find the unlikely equaliser and Maynard said it was a tough defeat for him to take after dominating play for the majority of the match.

He said: “If you look at the two errors they are horrendous – really bad, really bad errors that cost us.

“I think they had one effort in the first half that they hit the crossbar and it was good play from them – they got down the side and crossed it.

“But I think we had the best moment in the first half right at the start of the game (David McGoldrick’s shot saved after a three-on-three breakaway) and I think if you go 1-0, it’s a different game. But yes, it’s a tough one to take.

“Obviously, it’s tough for the fans, and I feel their frustration. We’re all frustrated.

“If we were getting opened up and outplayed, then you can kind of accept it.

“But it’s unforced errors that we’re making at the minute and it’s been that trend since I’ve been here really, if you look at the goals that we’ve conceded.”

Gavin Gunning credited his Swindon players with carrying out their game plan to perfection.

He said: “I was so pleased with how we played, we subdued them in what they were able to do where the game counts in and around the penalty area.

“They went from side to side and backwards to stack passes and never really had any clear-cut chances.

“It worked really well and the shape was fantastic, the communication was key.

“And then when we got on transition when the ball turned over, we looked like we were going to score every time.

“We have had a lot more clear chances than them today and they had all of the ball.”

The Staggies believed they had broken the deadlock but the counter was ruled out with an offside Jordan White adjudged to have been interfering with play.

Referee Colin Steven was asked to review the decision on the trackside monitor and he stuck by the original call to the frustration of the County manager, with the game ending goalless.

Mackay said: “I have had a look at it again and I have spoken to Colin.

“It appeared VAR were wanting Colin to have a look to see if he felt it was subjective enough that there was interference with play.

“Which he obviously did.

“I have looked at it again and again and again and I see Jordan White and Joe Shaughnessy coming across. But they are coming across a fair distance away from the goalkeeper.

“So for that to be catching the eyeline…and I’ve seen plenty of them given in the last six months.

“I think it was strange that the keeper mishandled it and we put it into the net. The linesman did the right thing putting his flag up and letting it go to VAR and then VAR passed it on to Colin to say ‘it is up to you’.

“So the pictures he is looking at are the ones I have seen, I think it is strange that the goal was not given tonight.”

Dundee boss Tony Docherty admitted he was disappointed his team could not take all three points from the game but he was still pleased that the Dark Blues remain unbeaten at home this season.

He said: “It feels like a missed opportunity. There were signs that the team hadn’t played for a few weeks. We got sucked into the type of game we didn’t want to play.

“The overriding feeling is disappointment because we didn’t win the game. I know this league. We’re still unbeaten at home and that’s really important. Whether we did enough to win it, we had a wee flurry at the end.

“We could have nicked it but it’s important when it’s in the balance you don’t lose it.

“It’s another clean sheet for Trevor Carson and the back three. You have to focus on some positives.”

Evans guided Boro to the third tier last term and his side are well in the mix for back-to-back promotions after a sixth win of the season.

It was a chaotic affair, with a total of 28 minutes of stoppage time and a red card apiece, but Aaron Pressley’s first-half penalty proved the difference between the sides.

When quizzed on speculation linking him with the Owls job, Evans said: “My agent, the club and I have made it quite clear I’m here and that I’m not going anywhere.

“I’m not aware of Sheffield Wednesday doing anything. We’ve got a tough enough job to keep focused on what we’re trying to do here without me worrying about what’s happening in South Yorkshire.”

After two consecutive defeats, Stevenage were in need of a victory to stay within touching distance of pacesetters Portsmouth and Oxford United.

They had to contend with the loss of Luther James-Wildin to a serious head injury late in the first half and Alex MacDonald to a straight red card in the second, but held on for a gritty three points.

Evans said: “The main thing after Tuesday was getting back on the horse in terms of points on the board.

“Today we found a way to win a game when we needed to on the back of two defeats.

“One of the first chairmen I ever worked for, a man called Patrick Malkinson, once said to me: ‘good teams can lose two games, Good teams very seldom lose three in a row’.

“That was very much at the forefront of my mind when we addressed the players on Thursday.”

Evans’ opposite number Shaun Maloney directed his ire at the decision-making of referee Alan Young after his side suffered a fourth successive defeat.

He saw star striker Callum Lang sent off for two yellow cards after 34 minutes shortly after a contentious penalty decision went against his side.

Maloney said: “Unfortunately, he had a big impact on the game – for us it was negative, for Stevenage it was obviously positive.

“It wasn’t a game that was overly physical, there weren’t a lot of bad tackles – apart from the one at the end – and the referee just got it very, very wrong in the majority of what he did today.

“Anyone can make a mistake at any time, we saw that the other week against Portsmouth, when we should have had a penalty.

“But today it was just the full performance that was a struggle for the referee.”

Alexander, a well-known figure in Trinidad and Tobago football circles with coaching experience in the T&T Premier Football League (TTPFL) for MIC Matura ReUnited, was detained on November 15 at Norman Manley International Airport in Kingston. His arrest followed an extradition request by United States authorities.

On November 30, the Jamaica Observer reported that Alexander appeared in a Corporate Area court, where he provided written consent to be extradited to the United States to face trial.

Gateway Athletics addressed the situation in a November 30 statement, revealing that Alexander had stepped aside from his duties to address the allegations.

"Mr Alexander has taken a voluntary leave of (absence) as the managing director at Gateway Athletics in order to focus on treating the allegations before him. Mr Alexander has maintained his innocence in all of the allegations levelled against him and is eager to fully ventilate the issue in the right forum when the time is appropriate,” the statement said.

The organization emphasized the principle of presumed innocence.

“The same natural justice that applies to all also applies to Mr Alexander, that is, the presumption of innocence until proven otherwise. There is no further information we can give at this time, but we will update as necessary as information becomes available,” the statement added.

Alexander has been a significant contributor to Trinidad and Tobago's football development. He previously managed St Augustine Secondary's football program and has played a key role in shaping youth football through his leadership at Gateway Athletics.

Under his stewardship, Gateway has overseen the last three editions of the Republic Cup National Youth Football League, one of the nation's most prestigious youth tournaments.

Additionally, Gateway has facilitated showcase events through the Republic Cup, giving young footballers an opportunity to perform before college coaches and scouts from abroad with the goal of earning scholarships.

Midfielder David Brooks fired Wales into an early lead and Nottingham Forest full-back Neco Williams clipped in a well-worked free-kick before Finland pulled a goal back ahead of the break from Teemu Pukki.

Wales, though, restored their advantage at the start of the second half through Tottenham winger Brennan Johnson with substitute Daniel James racing clear to add a fourth on the break.

Poland were 5-1 winners over Estonia in the other Path A semi-final.

Page knows a much sterner test awaits from Robert Lewandowski and co when Wales return to the Cardiff City Stadium on Tuesday night.

“It goes to show how far we have come but the message is, it is half-time,” Page said on S4C.

“We have a massive effort to go again on Tuesday and we can’t wait.”

Page added: “We are disappointed with the goal we conceded. It made for an uncomfortable few minutes, but to start the second half in the way that we did was credit to the lads again, I thought they were excellent.

“We are going to enjoy the win, but we are going to build on this again and take it into Tuesday.

“These supporters, they are immense and they have helped us again tonight.”

Williams added: “We came into this game with a game plan, and I think it worked out as good as it can go.

“(It was) an excellent performance all round and a good stepping stone for Tuesday.

“We don’t stop here now, we have one more game to go. Hopefully we put in a good performance to go to the Euros.”

Chaplin scored the only goal of the game at the end of the first half and only a good performance from goalkeeper Devis Vasquez saved the home side from suffering a heavier defeat.

McKenna said: “I loved the game, the performance and of course the result. I thought this was a big one for us today and the season, not having managed to win here in the last couple of visits. It’s a barometer for us as a team.

“I thought it was an excellent performance in the first half. Coming back from international duty, I thought we imposed ourselves on the game and dominated the game.

“We created some big opportunities, pressed well and didn’t give them anything. It was an excellent performance.

“Probably on 65 minutes, we should have been 2-0 or 3-0 up.

“The last 20 minutes was really pleasing as well because when you don’t get the second goal, you have to see the game out in a different way and defend with organisation and resilience.

“To do that for the last part of the game, against Sheffield Wednesday and this crowd is a terrific thing for the boys to go through as well.

“I thought we had a couple of absolutely picture-perfect moves for us on what we like to do, going through the pitch quick and getting through teams and behind teams.

“It’s great that we got the goal before half-time because to go in at half-time 0-0 would have been really disappointing with some of the opportunities and positions that we got in.

“There was lots to enjoy about the performance, on and off the ball, really. We gave away very little.”

The result leaves Wednesday still searching for their first Sky Bet Championship win of the season and the players were booed off the pitch at the final whistle.

Manager Xisco Munoz issued an apology to the supporters after being disappointed with his team’s first-half performance in particular.

Munoz said: “All I can say is sorry because I’m very, very disappointed about the first 45 minutes.

“It is important the first 45 minutes. After that, the team had a good reaction, but not enough. I am very disappointed about the first half.

“We can speak about the positive things. It is true. We can speak about the reaction in the second half, but I don’t like what I see in the first half because we did not play at the level we are.

“This is one of the problems we have right now about the situation. We need to try and find a balance.

“We need to stay 90 minutes in the game, 90 minutes with the personality, 90 minutes with the concentration, 90 minutes with ambition.

“For me, we need to give for 90 minutes the same level and the same intensity.

“I can say ‘so sorry’ to the fans today because I was very, very frustrated about the first half.

“If we don’t change, it is impossible to take the points because the Championship is a very, very, very high level.”

Asmir Begovic, the former Chelsea, Bournemouth and Stoke goalkeeper, and ex-Wolves shotstopper Ruddy – both 36 – produced a string of saves as Birmingham missed the chance to climb into the Sky Bet Championship’s top six overnight.

But Birmingam keeper Ruddy’s late stop to deny Lyndon Dykes’ downward header from Albert Adomah’s cross was the pick, after Begovic denied Scott Hogan in a one against one.

“I thought there were some fantastic blocks from us, two magnificent saves from Asmir – the one where he came out and smothered (from Hogan) was world class, and it was,” said Ainsworth.

“But then John Ruddy at the other end – it was Gordon Banks-esque; he put the ball up in the air and away from people.

“When Lyndon headed it, you’re hoping it’s going into the side of the net. It was further out than I thought and a great cross and great header.

“I’ve said Lyndon is going to get double figures this season and it’s going to be his biggest haul.

“But when you come up against someone as good as Ruddy it’s tough to get past him – as Birmingham saw with Begovic.”

Only a desperate, acrobatic goalline clearance from QPR midfielder Sam Field prevented Blues taking a 21st-minute lead, after Lee Buchanan’s fierce cross flicked off centre-back Steve Cook and looped over Begovic.

Ruddy denied Paul Smyth and Field before his late heroics to prevent Dykes’ heading home, while Begovic matched him by foiling Cody Drameh, Krystian Bielik and Jay Stansfield.

Birmingham head coach John Eustace agreed the two goalkeepers were on top in a game of chances at both ends.

“I think that’s why John won Player of the Year last season. John’s a very good experienced goalkeeper,” he said.

“He’ll be disappointed with a couple of goals he’s conceded this season but tonight he showed his class and that’s what top goalkeepers are all about.

“So to not concede is also very good and very encouraging because we’ve had two very tough away games and to keep our levels of concentration in difficult moments was very pleasing.”

Birmingham’s Hogan missed the game’s other standout chance when Begovic denied him.

“You’d have to ask Scott (about his confidence) but what is pleasing is his workrate and his effort is still there,” said Eustace.

“He’s still working his socks off and we have to create more chances for him as well – he can’t just be having one or two.

“We have to create more opportunities for our front players. But Scott will score goals as long as he keeps going and keeps believing.”

As Cavalier prepare for Tuesday’s decisive second leg against Cibao FC in Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic, Auvray is embracing the magnitude of the moment and the opportunity to etch his team’s name in the annals of Caribbean football history.

“Being part of such an exciting match, such as the Caribbean Cup final, it's really an honor,” said the Trinidad and Tobago native, who has been a pivotal figure for Cavalier throughout the competition.

“I think this title would mean everything, honestly. I know that last year we came close to winning it, so this year, [we] just want to go one step further and bring it home,” he added.

The two clubs were evenly matched in the opening leg in Kingston, Jamaica, where Cavalier claimed a narrow 1-0 victory. Shaquille Stein’s decisive strike extended his tournament-leading tally to eight goals, setting the stage for a tantalizing conclusion at Cibao FC Stadium.

Auvray has played an instrumental role in Cavalier’s road to the final, notably contributing in the semifinals with a multi-goal performance alongside Stein. His creativity and attacking instincts will be critical as Cavalier aim to protect their slender advantage and secure the club’s first Concacaf Caribbean Cup title.

Despite the first-leg setback, Cibao FC remains confident in its ability to overturn the deficit in front of its passionate home crowd.

The Dominican club had been unbeaten in the competition until the loss in Kingston and will look to its leading scorer, Rivaldo Correa, to inspire a comeback.

Correa, who has netted five goals in the tournament, led Cibao’s charge in the first leg with seven shots on goal. His determination to deliver for the home fans was evident in his pre-match comments.

“We are going to give our all. The team's spirit is that we are very focused, that we are going to turn it around, that we are going to do things in the best way. We are going to be very concentrated to turn this match around and take us to the championship.”

With the aggregate winner set to be crowned 2024 champions, every moment of the second leg promises to be high-stakes.

Should Cibao win 1-0, the match would proceed to extra time and potentially penalties to determine the victor. Away goals serve as the first tiebreaker, adding another layer of intrigue to the contest.

For Auvray and Cavalier, this is a chance to solidify the club’s place among the Caribbean elite and bring a sense of pride to their supporters.

“This is about going one step further. We’re ready to give it everything we’ve got,” Auvray emphasized.

Infantino, who met Real Madrid’s Vinicius Junior to discuss the problem after the Brazil international spoke out after being targeted this season, labelled the racists “criminals” and said football authorities had to “shoulder responsibility”.

Last month Real Madrid filed a complaint with the Spanish State Attorney General’s Office claiming the racist abuse of Vinicius constituted a hate crime after the player was targeted during the LaLiga defeat at Valencia.

“It’s very important not just to talk about racism and discrimination, but to take action in a decisive and convincing manner – zero tolerance,” Infantino said after meeting Vinicius and the rest of the Brazil squad in Barcelona.

“There is no football if there is racism – so let’s stop the games.

“The referees have this opportunity in FIFA competitions as we have this process for stopping the game, and actions have to be taken at every level, at national level as well.

“It’s a football-related problem and we mustn’t look for excuses like: ‘It’s society’s problem, therefore, it’s fine in football.’ In the world of football, we must act in a very forceful way.

“We want to identify racists in stadiums and across social media. They are criminals. They have to be banned from stadiums across the globe.

“The authorities need to take these people to court and we will say this to all of them. Racism is a crime.”

Infantino said FIFA would set up a task force, with Vinicius taking a prominent role, to make specific recommendations.

The 2023 World Cup is currently being co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand and FIFA is scheduled to announce the hosts for the 2027 finals in May next year.

Andrew told the PA news agency: “I would really be looking forward to the day when we can host a World Cup. It’s a matter of when not whether.”

Four bids remain in the race to host the 2027 World Cup – a joint bid from Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium, a second joint bid from the USA and Mexico, plus separate bids from South Africa and Brazil.

When asked if the UK is considering to apply to host the tournament finals in 2031, Andrew said: “We’ll have to wait and see.

“We’ve got a lot of bids in for a lot of events at the moment. The thing I think that makes us a really good country at hosting these is we know that when we’ve got them we’ll do it right.

“The perfect timing is just as important as actually securing the bid. So that will be part of our considerations.”

England hosted a successful Euro 2022 last summer when the Lionesses captured the hearts of a nation by winning their first major trophy.

“I think we’ve got a great reputation of holding major events,” said Andrew in Sydney, where he is currently following the Lionesses.

“I’m open to thinking about all these sorts of things. What I’ve seen here is amazing. We obviously think about these things in the spending rounds, we’ll have to give that consideration.

“But of course it will be something that we would give careful consideration to.”

Following the Lionesses’ Euro 2022 triumph, the squad wrote an open letter to the government urging them to ensure “every young girl” can play football at school.

The government announced in March plans to invest £600million so that girls and boys in English schools will have equal access to sports.

Andrew said one of his “key jobs” was to work closely with the Department of Education “because making sure that sport and physical activity is available to everyone is really important”.

“Schools have an amazing role to play in that,” he said. “That’s why we’ve given the £600m, secured that for the next two years, that’s going to be really important. As we go forward we want to ensure that we’re delivering the best sport and PE.

“We’re announcing the school sports strategy that’s coming out and then we’ll have our own sports strategy as well. All of this is government working closely together with stakeholders and with other departments to ensure that we’ve got the best facilities for everybody who wants to be active.”

Andrew, openly gay, wore a OneLove armband at the men’s World Cup finals last winter in Qatar, but had no misgivings that it was not available at the women’s tournament in Australia and New Zealand.

“Here this is, you know, a different situation,” he said. “Australia has great legislation and laws for protection of the LGBT+ community.

“And I think what we need to do is continue that journey that is happening, so that actually all sport is open and inclusive for everyone because it benefits us all at the end of the day.”

Former Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson, a vocal figurehead on issues of diversity and the LGBTQ+ community, has faced criticism following his move to Al-Ettifaq in Saudi Arabia, where being gay is illegal.

Andrew said he would continue in his role as sports minister to ensure British values and human rights were allowed to be expressed on and off the pitch.

He added: “We recognise that sport is independent. It has to be. Government shouldn’t be interfering, but yes, when we have those meetings, when we have those discussions, of course we will raise those issues. We want to ensure everything is being considered.

“I actually did, when I was in Qatar, that gave me a voice. That gave me an opportunity.

“And we have seen some progression. We see a whole host of armbands that are now available, and I think that is a good step forward. Let’s see if we can go all the way now.”

The league leaders came to Gillingham after sustaining back-to-back losses at the hands of Crewe and Tranmere.

Struggling in both defence and attack in recent weeks, Challinor is hopeful that keeping a clean sheet against Gillingham can renew confidence for his team after conceding seven goals in their previous two outings.

Having scored only once in three games since their 3-1 win over Grimsby at the start of February, Challinor’s next hope for his side is that they rediscover their touch in front of goal as they look to confirm automatic promotion to League One by the end of the season.

Challinor said: “After the last two games, we got back to where we were defensively and I thought we were really good there today.

“I’ve been critical of the team and they’ve been critical of themselves at times; we’ve got to be better and we were tonight and that gives us a platform to go on and get a result. If you’re not going to defend properly and to the level consistently then you’re going to struggle to win games.

“Before the game, would I have taken the point? No because I want to win, but will I have taken a clean sheet as a minimum? Absolutely.

“We needed to find that moment of quality. In fact, we found moments of quality but not moments of quality that gets us the goal, if that would have been the case it would have been the perfect away performance, but we’ll take that point.”

Each team had their chances at Priestfield Stadium but neither team were able to find the cutting edge to end the encounter with three points in hand.

Stockport did have a late opportunity to return to the north-west as winners, although Paddy Madden’s shot was blocked by Gills defender Shadrach Ogie.

A point has now put Challinor’s team two points ahead of second-place Mansfield, who have a game in hand and will welcome Salford to One Call Stadium this Saturday.

Thanks to Crawley beating AFC Wimbledon 1-0, Gillingham have now moved to eighth in League Two and are level on points with Harrogate, with only goal difference separating Stephen Clemence’s team from a playoff berth.

Clemence said, in a video interview posted by Gillingham on X: “It’s a very difficult game, they’re the top scorers in the division so we knew we had to be spot on defensively.

“They tested us at times but I don’t think they threatened us too much – one or two shots, and they hit the post with a wide free-kick that was probably a cross.

“Defensively we were very, very sound and we had to work hard for the clean sheet so I’m really proud of the boys’ efforts tonight.

“Yeah, we didn’t create enough ourselves, but we were better in the second half than the first and that’s a good point there today.”

The champions sold Palmer, one of their highly-rated academy prospects, to Chelsea last summer.

The 21-year-old, a member of City’s treble-winning squad last season, has shone since the switch and been the London club’s standout player this term.

Guardiola admits he did not give the youngster, who faces City at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday, the minutes he wanted and understands his reasons for moving.

The City manager said: “For young players, we always want them to stay but this is normal. After two or three seasons he wanted more minutes than he had the last season. I understand completely.

“If Palmer had the minutes I gave to Phil (Foden) from the beginning, Cole Palmer would be here – but I didn’t give them to him. That is my responsibility.

“Why? Because of Bernardo (Silva), Riyad (Mahrez), Phil. In that moment, I chose the other ones.

“After one season it is nice, and the second season, but the third season it is, ‘Oh guys, I want to play, I don’t want to sit on the bench’.

“It’s normal. We understand as a club. We got an offer from an incredible top club like Chelsea and I’m really happy for him. In all clubs these types of things happen.”

Palmer scored Chelsea’s late equaliser against City from the penalty spot when the sides met at Stamford Bridge in November.

He is Chelsea’s leading scorer this season with 12 goals in all competitions and their top assist-maker with nine.

Guardiola said: “We knew the quality he has and the impact he has shown this season is enormous.

“It is not just goals and assists, it is the quality. He is an incredible threat for Chelsea.”

While Palmer may be excelling elsewhere, City have hardly missed him as they have moved into a strong position to retain all three of the major trophies they won last season.

Their consistency and dominance in games led pundits including Gary Neville, the former Manchester United defender, to debate recently whether City are actually a boring team to watch.

Guardiola is pleased his side have reached a level where this is being discussed.

“Thank you for the compliment,” he said. “What can I say? It’s fine.

“Everything is so difficult in football. You have to do so many things to try to win games and what these players have done for many years, and this season as well, is admirable.

“Hats off to my players. It’s just unbelievable the way that my players are consistent and take seriously our opponents.”

Guardiola does not feel such debates suggest he or his team do not get due credit for their achievements.

He said: “Of course we have credit. We are admired, I am pretty sure of that.

“People in the world of football know how difficult it is, being there for six or seven years in all competitions.

“In the future you will not forget. It looks easy, but it’s not.”

In a frenetic encounter, North End rode their luck and were grateful Arnor Sigurdsson’s volley came back off the crossbar before skipper Alan Browne gave Preston the lead with a terrific left-foot finish.

Rovers hit the woodwork again before half-time and equalised just after through Sammie Szmodics’ 10th Championship goal this season.

It felt as though the hosts would go on to win but Duane Holmes struck a post for Preston, who dramatically secured a 2-1 victory when Liam Lindsay’s low header gave them a 90th-minute winner.

Preston are fourth after a second consecutive win at Ewood Park and Lowe felt his side gave ‘everything’.

He said: “When you win derbies, you’re always going to enjoy it.

“I thought the lads were fantastic. They had to deal with large parts of their pressure and how they play. They’re a good footballing team but we withstood all that.

“Disappointed with the goal but again, the lads showed that real character and desire, never-say-die attitude. To score the winner in front of our fans, it probably can’t get much better.

“The players gave us everything. The players coming on the pitch, the players starting, the bench behind. They’re fantastic, and that’s what I say to them all the time.

“We are a strong, resolute team that can overpower some teams. I think you see that with the goal. They give us everything, and as long as they keep giving me everything, and the staff, and the football club, then we’ll win a lot of games.

Blackburn have lost four of their last five at home and though manager Jon Dahl Tomasson felt defeat was harsh, he accepted Rovers did not create ‘clear’ chances.

He said: “We are of course extremely disappointed to lose the game. I don’t think we deserved to lose the game.

“If you look at the overall performance, we were the better team, created chances, more than the opponent. We were probably lacking a bit of clear chances in the final third, we were missing runs in behind. When we did that, we created chances immediately.

“We know Preston are extremely good at passing long, winning second balls, crossing, set-plays and transition. There were two occasions where we didn’t deal with those and it cost two goals.

“This young group gave everything so (I’m) disappointed to concede that late in the game.

“You need to deal better with those situations. I think with the possession we had, we should probably have created a little bit more clear chances in my opinion. But still there were plenty of good opportunities to win this game.”

Posh, who snuck into the top six on the final day, put the shell-shocked Owls to the sword at the Weston Homes Stadium.

Cameron Dawson’s howler from Jack Taylor’s strike before Joe Ward’s shot took a cruel deflection saw the hosts go 2-0 up before half-time.

Kwame Poku and Jonson Clarke-Harris, with his 29th goal of the season, finished the job and left Wednesday with an absolute mountain to climb in the return fixture next week.

“It’s 4-0, but we’re not going to get ahead of ourselves,” insisted Ferguson, who is bidding for a fifth promotion with the club.

“There will be no complacency from us going to Hillsborough.

“We want to go to Hillsborough and try to win the game, that’s the attitude that we’ve got.

“I felt we couldn’t go there after losing the game tonight, it’s been a great night for us.

“I have to say that Will Norris has made a big save for us (from Michael Smith) at 0-0. That was a really big save. That would have changed the course of the day.

“It was a really, really top performance. Overall it was a very pleasing performance, but it’s only halfway.

“I’ve been in this game long enough to know anything can happen, but it was a really good night for us. I have to say that.

“It’s not about me, the players have got to take all the credit after a performance like that. They have to get the credit. It was a very good performance against a good team.

“The fans were outstanding. I’ve had it before here in the play-offs, it was amazing again.”

The Owls’ bid for a Championship return has already had chapters of heartache.

Last season they lost in the play-offs to eventually promoted Sunderland.

And this term their 96 points was the highest total ever in the Football League without earning promotion after they finished third.

Punch-drunk Owls’ boss Darren Moore reflected: “It’s a bad night for us tonight.

“It’s a huge task, we know that. They’ve got the four-goal advantage, but all we can do is reflect on the game and get ready for next week. It is a big uphill task.

“I can totally understand the disappointment and frustration because there was real hope. There was vigour among the boys and our supporters.

“It’s a disappointing night, but as manager you’ve got to try and keep your composure and get the lads ready for next week.”

On Dawson’s mistake for the first goal, Moore added: “There’s a lot of negativity when mistakes happen in games. Nine times out of 10 Cameron deals with that situation.

“On a night like that when your emotions are a little bit more flared it’s probably a lapse in concentration.

“It’s normally a routine save and the other one’s a deflected shot and then we’re two down.”

Nakhid was quick to point out that he has no sympathy for Wallace because the deposed official “did several things subsequent to his appointment without consulting the board.”

 “A situation like this calls for compromise, it calls for mediation, it calls for some level of consultation between parties and we never had that,” Nakhid said in an interview with the SportsMax Zone.

“What we had was a lot of hotspot meetings and disjointed efforts by parties here and parties there,” he added.  In the mind of the former Soca Warriors captain, however, Wallace was far from the only one deserving of criticism. 

As such, he also turned his attention to the world governing body FIFA, for whom he had some particularly strong words.  He accused the global football organisation of being ‘hypocrites’ and seeing the Caribbean region as just part of a voting bloc and not much else.

“FIFA has always been an organisation that has the Caribbean and by extension Latin America as just a voting bloc.  Basically, we are still indentured labourers to them," he said.

The former Caribbean Footballer of the Year was also critical of leaders of the Caribbean Football Union (CFU), past and present, who he accused of leaving no legacy for the Caribbean and ensuring that the region did not have a genuine voice on the world stage.

 Nakhid launched a longshot bid for the FIFA presidency in 2015 but was disqualified from the race after receiving a double nomination.  At the time, his proposed candidacy never received wide support across the Caribbean, garnering a total of five votes.

On Thursday, FIFA suspended the Trinidad and Tobago Football Association (TTFA) for its failure to withdraw a case that is currently before the High Court of Trinidad and Tobago, within the prescribed timeframe that came after a previous extension.  The ruling will see the twin-island republic immediately deprived of all its rights as a member of FIFA, which comes with other consequences.

On what proved to be a disappointing first night for new Shrimps boss Ged Brannan, goals from Will Evans and Seb Palmer-Houlden either side of the break earned the Exiles a comeback win after Michael Mellon had given the home side an early lead.

Coughlan said: “That was a brilliant performance from our lads.

“You saw a different side to us tonight. It wasn’t glitzy or glamorous and it wasn’t tippy-tappy, it was sheer character, grit and determination and that’s what you have to do in this league.

“Against West Ham a few weeks ago we made 550 passes and didn’t win the game. We didn’t have too many passes tonight but we won the match and that is what football is all about.”

Mellon gave Morecambe the lead on 12 minutes with a fine turn and shot from the edge of the area that squeezed into the bottom right corner of Nick Townsend’s goal.

After a sluggish start the visitors hit back on 29 minutes when the home defence failed to clear a corner and Evans hammered home the rebound.

JJ McKiernan hit the crossbar with a close-range header for the home side on 44 minutes and Adam Mayor was within inches of sliding home a Tom Bloxham cross two minutes into the second half but it was the Exiles who went ahead on 57 minutes.

Morecambe keeper Adam Smith and midfielder Eli King failed to deal with a bouncing ball in the Morecambe box and Palmer-Houlden took advantage of the gift to score from close range.

Mellon forced Townsend into a late save with a shot from 12 yards but the visitors held on to make it two wins from two.

Shrimps boss Brannan said: “I’m disappointed with the result obviously but I’m not disappointed with the performance.

“I thought the first 20 minutes or so was the best I’ve seen us play in the three months I’ve been here as a coach and now manager. We passed it superbly and the move for our goal was brilliant and it’s a shame we couldn’t build on that.

“They came back into it when we didn’t defend a corner well enough and they made it hard for us from there and we then gave away another really sloppy goal and couldn’t pull it back.”

The Argentinian will be the fifth coach to lead the team in a Premier League match since Todd Boehly’s Clearlake Capital consortium bought the club last May and is tasked with picking up the pieces of a disastrous campaign that saw Chelsea finish 12th last season.

As with Boehly’s first two transfer windows, there has been a significant turnover of players this summer, with 10 first-team players released or sold and a further six brought in.

That flux has been a feature of the American’s time at the helm, with a sweeping clearout of both playing staff and personnel behind the scenes during his first 12 months in control.

The previous manager appointed by the ownership, Graham Potter, was sacked just seven months and 31 games into a five-year contract, with the club insisting up until days before he was removed that his job was safe.

Pochettino pointed to the path taken by three of Chelsea’s Premier League rivals – Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool – all of whom had to wait for success to arrive under their current managers.

Since their appointments, Pep Guardiola, Jurgen Klopp and Mikel Arteta have helped their respective clubs recover from states of relative uncertainty, but the Chelsea coach accepted it will ultimately not be up to him whether he is afforded the same window of time.

“I celebrate that these managers can be in place for a long period,” he said. “I was explaining my situation in Paris St Germain and how I knew that we weren’t going to be there the next season (after losing to Real Madrid in 2021), because it was all about winning the Champions League.

“It was difficult, because it was a different pressure. We knew about that. I’m not going to complain. We need to work and then it’s not my decision if Chelsea want to be in a similar situation like Liverpool or Arsenal or Manchester City.

“I need to work, we need to give our best. Then if the owner is happy with us, then everyone is happy. But it’s not my decision.

“But I celebrate when I see coaches like Arteta, Klopp and Pep have a very good run, a nice process at the same club, even when they finish a cycle and they have the opportunity to restart the cycle.

“There’s no doubt they are fantastic coaches, it’s only that sometimes you need to renew the team. If they believe in you, fantastic.”

Pochettino was asked whether he agreed with the impression of Chelsea as a club in chaos that had been created by a tumultuous last year.

The team’s league finish was their worst since 1994, while their goal return was the lowest by a Chelsea side in almost a hundred years.

Eliminated from the FA Cup by Manchester City in the third round, they were soundly beaten over two legs by Real Madrid in the quarter-finals of the Champions League, an exit confounded by Boehly’s ill-judged declaration that the team would beat the then-European champions 3-0.

He was also criticised for entering the dressing room to address the players after defeats, most notably immediately after the loss to Brighton in April when he described the season as “embarrassing”.

“If that (chaos) is the impression people have on social media or the fans or people outside of Chelsea, then we need to change the impression,” said Pochettino. “My impression from the outside was that this is a club with the capacity to win.

“We talk about Chelsea and Manchester United in the last 10, 15 years. Winning the Premier League, the Champions League. That was my (view).

“But of course, (there has been) a difficult situation for the people here, for the fans, for the players, when there is a big change. They need time to settle here. People need time to settle in a big club like this.

“For me now it’s about work. We need to create a different vision and for people to trust the club again, to get the result and to try to play good football for the fans. We are selling entertainment.

“(The owners) didn’t say to me, ‘If you don’t win the Premier League, we will sack you’. What I want to achieve is everything. To fight for the three competitions we are going to play, the Premier League and the cups.

“We need to create this good environment for the players to perform in the best way and then I’m not going to spend energy thinking, ‘If we don’t achieve this…’.

“After many years working in different clubs, I’m more relaxed, more mature, more experienced. We’ve improved a lot. One of things we’ve improved in is to be more relaxed. It’s not to think too much when you cannot affect the decision of the people.”

The Peterborough manager’s only frustration would have been that his team did not rack up a more emphatic scoreline as a host of other chances went begging in another dominant performance at London Road.

First-half goals from Joel Randall and Ephron Mason-Clark put the hosts in cruise control, then a Cole Stockton own goal and Kwame Poku’s close range finish completed the rout after the break.

Dino Maamria’s patched-up Brewers side were on the rack for most of this one-sided encounter, although Stockton nearly capitalised on a mistake from Posh goalkeeper Nicholas Bilokapic, only to see his first-half stoppage time volley headed off the line by Josh Knight.

It was a rare moment of panic for fifth-placed Peterborough, who have dropped just two points from their last six home matches – a run which includes a 5-0 derby day demolition job on local rivals Cambridge.

Ferguson said: “When you’re a manager and you enjoy watching your team play, that’s always a good sign.

“In the last two home games I’ve seen a different level of maturity. Especially when we’re 3-0 up to Cambridge at half-time, they’ve gone on and been really professional. And today, the same again.

“The quality has always been there for me. It’s just getting it on a consistent basis now.

“These games are never easy. Burton are a decent team. We spoke about how to match them in every area, and we did that.

“These games are better results for me than when we play against your Portsmouths and your Derbys. Those game just take care of themselves. These are the games you’ve got to have the correct mentality in, and make sure you do the basics right.

“We started really strongly and were aggressive. We spoke about that in terms of having the correct mentality in a game that everyone on the outside would expect us to win. That’s not always the case so we had to make sure we were correct from the first minute, and we were.”

Burton manager Maamria was forced to field his second year scholar Will Tamen, aged just 17, as a centre-half against one of the highest-scoring teams in the league.

Maamria admitted: “It was a difficult afternoon, and we expected that. It’s a tough place to come and they score a lot of goals.

“We knew it would be difficult with our best team but, with our back four all out, and our holding midfielder out, they are our five best players. If you take five of Manchester City’s players out they will suffer.

“A club like ours, we’ve got what we’ve got when you come up against a team like these with half of your team out.

“To pick up points against teams like Peterborough you’ve got to disturb their rhythm and manage the tempo of the game. You’ve got to show controlled aggression as they have good players if you allow them to play.

“This afternoon we didn’t show enough passion to compete in terms of duels, and that’s the biggest disappointment.”

Despite leading on two occasions against the Villans, the Eagles have just one victory in the Premier League this season (D5 L6); their joint-fewest after 12 games of a single campaign in the competition.

While Palace have failed to replicate the form they showed at the start of Glasner’s tenure at Selhurst Park, he is confident that they can build on their latest result when they welcome Newcastle United to south London this weekend.

"I’m very proud of the team's performance. We’re missing some key players in attack, but we still scored two amazing goals,” Glasner said.

"I’m very proud how they played together, worked together, fought together and believed in getting a point here. Overall, it was a good performance for us, and we go home very pleased with the point.

“I think we're on the right pathway, getting a point here at Villa is a good result for us. And now we want to improve our performance to take the win against Newcastle, because this will be necessary.”

The latest round of fixtures concluded at St. James’ Park, though Newcastle faltered at home to West Ham, with Tomas Soucek and Aaron Wan-Bissaka on target either side of half-time.

The Magpies have now lost two of their last three Premier League home games (W1), as many defeats as in their previous 20 league matches (W13 D5), leaving them 10th in the table and four points behind the top four.

And Newcastle boss Eddie Howe lamented his side’s inability to put away their chances against the Hammers, while also citing the manner in which his side conceded both goals.

"I don't think anything takes me by surprise in the Premier League. We know every team has qualities. We were the dominant team at half-time and the game would have been very different if we had equalised before the end of first half,” Howe said.

"We know we made individual mistakes for both goals. It was disappointing from our perspective. Very uncharacteristic from us because we've defended well in recent weeks.

"At the end we had players out of position, so I didn't like the way we looked at the end. But up until that 60-minute mark, I thought we were the dominant team.”

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Crystal Palace – Jean-Philippe Mateta

While Mateta has failed to hit the heights of last season for the Eagles so far this term, the Frenchman’s assist against Aston Villa will give him confidence about returning to home soil.

All five of his goals for Crystal Palace in all competitions this season have come in home games. Since Glasner’s first game in charge of the Eagles in February, Mateta has scored 16 goals in just 13 starts at Selhurst Park in all competitions.

Newcastle – Anthony Gordon

After failing to make the desired impact against West Ham last time out, Gordon will be keen to add to his two Premier League goals this season.

The England international has created more chances (24) than any other Newcastle player this season, and has two goals in six appearances against Crystal Palace, one for the Magpies and one during his time at Everton.

MATCH PREDICTION: NEWCASTLE WIN

While Newcastle are favoured by Opta’s data-led simulations, after winning their first four Premier League away games against Crystal Palace, they have won just one of their last nine visits to Selhurst Park in the competition (D5 L3).

After being unbeaten in eight Premier League away games against London sides between October 2022 and October 2023 (W4 D4), Newcastle have also now lost six of their last eight visits to the capital (W2), shipping at least two goals in seven of those games.

Newcastle have lost three of their last five Premier League games (W2), as many as they had in their previous 17 combined (W9 D5).

However, the Magpies have kept 14 clean sheets in their 26 Premier League games against Crystal Palace. Only against Aston Villa (19) and Arsenal (15) have they recorded more in the competition, while it’s their highest percentage of clean sheets against sides they’ve faced 20 or more times (54%).

Crystal Palace won this exact fixture 2-0 in April, last winning consecutive league meetings with Newcastle between 1971 and 1972 (a run of three).

But the Eagles have just one win and eight points from their 12 Premier League games this season, their lowest points haul at this stage since 2018-19 (also eight), and fewest wins since 2017-18 (also one). This will be the first time they’ve played a Premier League match while starting the day in the bottom two of the table since December 2017 (2-1 v Watford).

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Crystal Palace – 33.6%

Draw – 26%

Newcastle – 40.4%

Forest earned victories over Crystal Palace and rivals Leicester City last month along with claiming a point against Chelsea, starting November with a 3-0 win over West Ham.

Nuno, along with in-form striker Chris Wood, scooped the Manager and Player of the Month awards, with the Tricky Trees sitting in the top four ahead of their meeting with Newcastle on Sunday.

However, the Forest boss insisted that his side’s success went beyond two individuals, saying: "I'm very proud of the way we've been doing things. All of us - starting from the owner to the staff in the training ground.

“Everybody has been working very hard, and it's very nice to be recognised. I think it's an effort from the club.

"Very pleased also for Chris. It reflects the hard work, but it's more important you remain humble. He's much more than the goals. It's what he represents and what he means to us.

“He puts everybody together, his presence in the dressing room, his voice, his experience. We are delighted."

Eddie Howe, meanwhile, also showered praise on one of his Newcastle players after Lewis Hall earned a first senior England call-up for the Three Lions’ upcoming Nations League fixtures.

Hall has been in impressive form for the Magpies this season, with the left-back’s 11 successful crosses and 15 chances created are totals only bettered by Anthony Gordon (15 and 20) in the Premier League for Newcastle.

Howe expressed his delight for the 20-year-old, but believes there is still more to come from the Magpies' youngster this season.

"I am delighted for him. He has a had a really good start to the season. He's very consistent, [has produced] really mature displays,” Howe said.

“There is still a lot to come from him, we are seeing him evolve week in, week out. He is adding layers to his game all the time. It’s a great achievement for someone so young, and we are delighted for him.”

Howe did, however, expect a tough test against Forest, who are four points ahead of them in the table after 10 games this season.

"Yeah, they are [having a great season]. Nuno deserves credit for the job he has done. They have recruited very well in recent transfer windows,” he added.

"They are very tough to play against. What a test that's going to pose for us to score against them. They have a solid defensive base, really good pace in wide areas and threats in the forward positions."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Nottingham Forest – Chris Wood

Having already scored against one of his employers in Leicester last month, Wood will be confident of striking against the Magpies, a side he scored five times for in 39 outings.

He has netted eight goals from just 21 shots for Forest in the Premier League this season – no player to have had at least 20 attempts has a better conversion rate than the New Zealander (38.1%) in the competition this term.

Newcastle United – Alexander Isak

Isak has scored three goals in his two Premier League games against Forest, only netting more against Tottenham and West Ham (five each).

He’s looking to score in three or more consecutive Premier League appearances for the fourth time since the start of last season, which would be the most different such runs of any player in that time.

MATCH PREDICTION: DRAW

Forest have won each of their last three Premier League games, last winning four in a row in the top-flight in April-May 1995, a season that saw them finishing third in the table.

Only Liverpool (six) have conceded fewer goals than Nottingham Forest (seven) in the top-flight so far this term, with only Brighton managing to score more than once against them in a league match. It’s the fewest goals they’ve conceded after 10 games of a top-flight campaign since their title winning season of 1977-78 (also seven).

With Nuno’s side sitting pretty in third, this is the first time Forest are facing Newcastle in a top-flight match while above them in the table since March 1989, when they drew 1-1 at the City Ground (Forest 5th, Newcastle 19th). 

However, Forest have won just one of their 12 Premier League games against Newcastle (D3 L8), picking up a 3-1 win at St James’ Park last season with Wood netting a hat-trick.

Newcastle’s 1-0 win over Arsenal last time out ended a five-game winless run for the Magpies in the Premier League (D2 L3). All four of their league wins this term have been by a single goal – 67% of their victories last term were by a margin of at least two goals (12/18).

But Howe’s men will arrive in the East Midlands with confidence. Against no side have they played more Premier League away games without ever losing than Forest (six – W3 D3). Their last top-flight defeat at the City Ground was in May 1987 (W4 D4 since).

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Nottingham Forest – 35.4%

Draw – 27.4%

Newcastle United – 37.2%