Football

Alex Iacovitti’s 63rd-minute goal for Vale was cancelled out by Greg Leigh’s equaliser three minutes into time added on at the end.

That looked to be how the game would finish, with Oxford undoubtedly the happier with the result having had both Mark Harris and then Leigh sent off moments after his goal for a second yellow card.

However, in the game’s dying seconds, eight minutes into stoppage time, Fin Stevens fouled Ben Garrity and Devine stepped up to calmly convert the penalty to earn Vale a memorable victory.

Crosby said: “All credit to the players, it was a great response in the second half.

“In the first half we allowed a really good team to dominate the ball and couldn’t get out of that block.

“The sending-off of Harris allowed us to get a control of the game. We got ourselves in front from a set play, which we had spoken about pre-game, because we had looked to see if we could identify potential weaknesses they might have. We’re disappointed we couldn’t hold on to that.

“Their threat was mainly in transition and we knocked off a bit in the box, and then the game is looking like we have maybe lost two points.

“But then we find a great pass in the final third, Ben (Garrity) takes a lovely touch too when facing their goalie and gets brought down – and I’m thinking all three of our penalty takers have come off the pitch!

“I’m looking around and thinking ‘make a decision quick’ – and all credit to Alfie, to take that penalty in that pressurised situation says a lot about him and epitomises everything about my group.”

Oxford head coach Liam Manning admitted it was a difficult result to take, saying: “There’s huge frustration from my point of view.

“All credit to Port Vale for the win, but to me it was that we lost it.

“We have spoken a lot about behaviour and discipline and really that went out the window in the second half.

“I’ve seen the video of the Mark Harris incident and it does appear to be an elbow, so I’ve got no complaints about that. The ref’s performance, to my mind, contributed to all that.

“We showed spirit and intensity to get back into the game – you can’t then have another mad moment as we did.

“Let’s be honest, we don’t often train with nine men. It was an emotional afternoon for everyone.

“I was pleased with elements of the first half, when I thought we were in control, but in the second half we started too slowly.

“I’ve spoken with Mark (Harris) – we shouldn’t be giving the officials the opportunity to make those decisions. We shifted the momentum away from us with those sendings-off.

“Yes, you don’t want something like that, but it did happen and it’s then a question of how you respond. The main thing is that we stay focused.

“But let’s remember, we have had a terrific run of results and the biggest thing for me is remembering just how far we have come.”

Stags have now scored 19 goals in four games and Garner said: “We should have scored a few more today, to be honest. That’s not being over the top.

“It was an absolutely fantastic win and we’re just disappointed to concede one.

“We’ve won 5-1 but with the chances we had we should have had eight in all honesty, no disrespect to the opposition.

“But we did score five fantastic goals so we are delighted. There was no sitting back, even at 4-1. We want to score goals.

“We won’t get carried away going top, that’s for sure. This club will never do that. This management and our staff won’t allow that to happen – and the players won’t either.

“We have 13 games left so there is still a long way to go. But we are enjoying it at the moment.

Will Swan headed Mansfield in front in the 18th minute from Aaron Lewis’ cross.

Salford, unbeaten in eight games going into this match, levelled through a superb solo goal by Junior Luamba in the 42nd minute, only to see Baily Cargill restore the Stags’ advantage in first half added-time as he diverted a Davis Keillor-Dunn corner in off a defender at the far post.

In the 57th minute Stephen Quinn set up a tap-in for Keillor-Dunn on a breakaway and City hopes nosedived further when Theo Vassell was sent off as last man for bringing down Lucas Akins in the 73rd minute.

Akins made it 4-1 as he raced clear with nine minutes remaining, before Hiram Boateng poked home the fifth deep into stoppage time.

Salford boss Karl Robinson was left fuming over the red card and a string of decisions by the officials.

“It was shambolic at times and that’s not the team, that’s the officiating again,” he said.

“Referees don’t come to me and speak about things being fair. I don’t think some of the actions today were fair for my team.

“I had a go at them once and was booked – he just couldn’t wait.

“Matt Smith’s shirt is ripped. He was dragged about left, right and centre but the referee didn’t give a thing.

“We even had Theo Vassell’s shirt actually over his head and the referee gave it to them.

“For the sending-off the lad has stood in front of Theo and you will see there is no contact.”

He added: “We were good first half and went toe to toe with a side that is now top of the league.

“We got beaten 5-1 in the end, but that’s football. Sometimes it falls for you and sometimes against you, that’s the way we play.

“But I am baffled by some of the things that have gone on on that pitch today.”

Pilley will be sentenced next month after being convicted on four counts of fraud.

The 52-year-old was found guilty last week of two counts of fraudulent trading, fraud by false representation and being involved in the acquisition, retention, use or control of the proceeds of fraudulently mis-sold energy contracts.

Pilley was remanded in custody and he will be sentenced on July 3.

Also chairman of BES Utilities, Pilley had been involved in High Court litigation with Cheshire West and Chester Council, but lost a civil court fight over investigating allegations of mis-selling.

Pilley had been the chairman and owner of Fleetwood for 20 years and overseen the club’s rise from non-league status to the English Football League.

In announcing the boardroom changes, Fleetwood, who finished 13th last season, said it would be “business as usual” while working through the transition of ownership.

A statement on Friday afternoon read: “Fleetwood Town can confirm Andy Pilley has stepped down as chairman and director of the club.

“Steve Curwood, who has been the club’s CEO for 15 years, will be appointed interim chairman with current vice chairman Phil Brown to join the board as a director.

“The club have this week entered discussions with the EFL in relation to requirements surrounding a change of ownership and control.

“The club would also like to clarify there will be no other changes to the board before the planned change of ownership.

“In the meantime, the club will continue to operate business as usual and will make a further announcement in due course.”

The Accies trailed 2-0 on the day and 3-0 on aggregate in their semi-final before Winter’s heroics and a Dario Zanatta double saw them rally in remarkable fashion at New Douglas Park to go through 5-3 overall.

Hamilton had looked in danger of dropping to League One as Conor Sammon opened the scoring after only five minutes and Stefan Scougall added a second just after the half-hour from a penalty rebound.

Yet by then Alloa had already seen George Stanger sent off for two bookable offences and that was to prove costly.

Zanatta began the fightback on 37 minutes and four more goals followed in a blistering 15-minute spell either side of half-time.

Kane put the uncertainty over his future to one side to produce a classic display of predatory finishing in what could prove to be his final appearance in Spurs’ colours.

Bayern are reported to have lodged their latest offer for Kane on Friday and an apparent self-imposed deadline of midnight was set by the German club, but there has been no further news on the outcome of that bid and Kane grabbed a hat-trick in 55 minutes of a 5-1 friendly win over Shakhtar.

Kane added another goal in the 79th-minute before he left the pitch a minute later to a standing ovation following more chants of ‘he’s one of our own’ and at the conclusion of the clash the club’s record goal-scorer walked around the pitch to clap all four corners of the ground in what felt a significant moment.

“We know there’s one deadline and that’s the end of the transfer window,” Postecoglou pointed out.

“Beyond that, I’m in open dialogue with Harry and with the club on a regular basis. I’ve said to them that if the status quo changes then inform me.

“I don’t need to know about the comings and goings in between. I just want to deal with what’s in front of me because, irrespective of the outcome of that, I’m building a team here. I can’t wait (around) for a decision either way to get going.

“We don’t have the time or the luxury to do that. I’m working with what’s in front of me. You saw today that Harry certainly is invested in what we’re doing and we’ll keep on doing that unless something changes.”

Bayern have been public about their desire to sign Kane all summer, with their honorary president Uli Hoeness and president Herbert Hainer talking openly in the media last month about trying to sign the England captain.

Postecoglou added: “That’s up to Bayern to decide. If that’s the way they want to conduct things, it’s not up to me to judge that.

“It doesn’t affect me. I don’t sit there on a daily basis and worry about what other clubs are doing.

“I think what is factual right now is that he is a contracted player of our football club.

“I certainly wouldn’t talk about contracted players at other football clubs but I’m not at Bayern mate so they can go the way they want.”

While a lot of the focus on Sunday was on Kane, amongst the spectators at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium was Wolfsburg centre-back Micky van de Ven.

Netherlands defender Van de Ven is scheduled to have a medical at Spurs’ training ground on Monday.

But asked about Van de Ven, Postecoglou replied: “It hasn’t been done yet, so it’s not right for me to talk about but there’s no doubt we need some bolstering in that central defensive area.

“Hopefully we’ll get one or two done in the next couple of days to bolster us in that area.”

While Van de Ven’s future looks certain to be at Tottenham, Kane’s club for this campaign remains up in the air.

Postecoglou refused to be drawn into the significance of Kane walking alone to applaud all four corners of the stadium at full-time.

“You are reading something into it, aren’t you,” he added.

“I don’t even know what’s in Harry’s mind, let alone anyone else’s. I think all these things will obviously play out over the next period, we’ll deal with what happens from there.

“From my perspective, I’ve got a team to build here. Today showed me that we’ve made some progress but there’s still a lot of work to do.

“There were areas today I wasn’t delighted with, so we need to make sure we focus on getting this team right. We’ll see what happens after that.

“He’s a fantastic striker, one of the world’s best. I think the way the team plays will help him as well. He loves scoring goals and you saw today we created a load of chances and he was the beneficiary of that.”

Son’s nation exited the tournament in the semi-final stage after a 2-0 loss to Jordan, which resulted in Jurgen Klinsmann being sacked on Friday.

A report this week revealed Son dislocated his finger the day before the last-four clash after the Spurs skipper was involved in an altercation with younger members of the South Korea squad, who had allegedly left a team dinner early to play ping-pong.

Son returned to club duty last Saturday with a key role off the bench in a 2-1 victory over Brighton, where his right fingers were taped up and Postecoglou talked up his leadership.

“From what I know of the incident, and I haven’t asked too much about it, it was Sonny being Sonny. Being a leader and when you’re a leader, sometimes you get in the firing line,” Postecoglou said.

“That’s what leadership is all about. Leadership is not about being popular and trying to make everybody happy, it’s about when you see something that you don’t feel is right then you stand up for it because it’s the best thing for the group. I see that in Sonny.

“Sometimes people are mistaken about Sonny because he’s such a positive guy, who whenever you see him is smiling and everyone has a real affection for him, but he wants to win.

“He doesn’t like standards slipping and I’ve seen him do that around here. If something is not right, he will say it.

“Sometimes it is not the popular thing to do. Sometimes that puts you in the firing line with the playing group and with coaches or the club, but as a leader if you think this is the right thing to do, then you should go strongly on it.

“Sonny by nature is a nice guy. He is very polite and very respectful but that doesn’t mean he can’t be a real winner and a guy who has high standards.

“There is a real discipline you need to last this long, especially in the Premier League, and that drive to have high standards transfers to leadership. The best (leaders) are the ones who are themselves because people respect that. When you try and be somebody else people see through that.”

Son will aim to keep Spurs out in front in the race for Champions League qualification at home to Wolves and should be back in the starting XI after his cameo against Brighton.

Postecoglou has lost full-backs Pedro Porro (muscle) and Destiny Udogie (knee) to minor injuries but has boosted options in midfield and attack.

Yves Bissouma, who started Tottenham’s first eight league fixtures, is primed to make his first club start since December 15 after missing the past two months through suspension and international commitments.

Postecoglou added: “It’s fair to say with Biss, he’s probably a little bit frustrated with the way the season has gone.

“Really early on I could see the way we played really suited him. He really thrived in that responsibility in that role.

“Look, he’s ready to go. He’s had a good week of training. Looking forward with him, Rodri (Bentancur), Madders (James Maddison) is now back, Lo Celso is now available, Skippy and Pierre (Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg).

“We’re looking really strong through there. Not just to start games; the ability for us to change games. I think that’s going to be a really big part of us having a strong finish to the season.”

Postecoglou has enjoyed an excellent start at Tottenham and they are joint-leaders of the Premier League after eight matches going into this month’s international break.

Optimism is rife at Spurs but their 58-year-old manager remains pessimistic about the state of football in Australia, despite his nation co-hosting a successful Women’s World Cup this summer where the Matildas finished fourth.

Postecoglou spent four years in charge of the Socceroos and – despite achieving plenty – he has given up hope of the sport cracking life Down Under with subtle digs aimed at governing body Football Australia ahead of Friday’s friendly clash in London.

Asked about his Asian Cup win on home soil in 2015, Postecoglou replied: “It didn’t make an impact back there and that was kind of my frustration.

“I don’t think that anything they can achieve… when you look at what the Matildas did at the World Cup, unbelievable but you still won’t see an influx of resources to the game. You won’t. I guarantee it.

“They’ll build stadiums and other codes will use them. I just don’t think the nation as a whole has that inside them to understand you can make an impact on the world of football but it requires a kind of nationalistic approach that I just don’t think Australians – at their core – are really interested in.

“There’s a couple of things. One of them is obviously the sporting landscape, where there’s some pretty strong codes there that have generationally dominated the landscape.

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“There’s Aussie Rules, that’s the indigenous sport of Australia. It’s kind of unique to them and they take great pride in protecting as their code. The rugby codes dominate.

“It’s very hard for football to make an impact in that space and I guess then the flipside of that is just how global the sport of football is.

“If I can compare that to a country like Japan, who also have the tyranny of distance and baseball’s pretty strong, they plant a lot of resources into football and you can see that’s making an impact. I don’t see Australia down that road.”

Japan was Postecoglou’s next destination when he walked away from the Socceroos job after he helped his country qualify for the 2018 World Cup.

The ex-Yokohama boss had managed Australia at the 2014 edition, but his departure seven months out from the global showpiece was a surprise and at the time he described the job as “taking a toll” both personally and professionally.

Postecoglou has been involved in coaching since 1996 and while he has taken the Premier League by storm so far, he does not expect his time at Tottenham to change the landscape of football in Australia.

“I don’t. I don’t know and maybe that’s just me, not being cynical, but I gave up that fight,” he explained.

“It’s a much easier space for me to live in because I was so frustrated for so long. It was my biggest frustration. One of my major drivers for doing what I did was to do that – to change football in Australia and that’s the reason I left.

“I felt I hadn’t made an impact at all. That’s easier for me to deal with than to think maybe I still can now with what I’m doing. I just think I’d be disappointed, so I’d prefer to think it’s not going to happen.

“I walked away from a World Cup. We qualified and I walked away. The reason I walked away was I just didn’t enjoy what I was doing.

“It’s not just doing the job and winning games of football, it’s got to be a higher purpose. My higher purpose in Australia was to change the game. I just don’t think that will happen.

“It was the right decision for me (to leave), it was the right decision for where I saw the next stage of my career and if I didn’t make that decision at that time, if I had waited until after the World Cup, I’ve got no doubt I wouldn’t be sitting here now.”

Postecoglou replied no when asked if he would manage Australia again and laughed off talk of replacing England chief Gareth Southgate.

He added: “England? Oh, come on mate. They’ve got a fantastic manager and I’m eight games into a Tottenham career. That’s how I think.”

A coaching journey spanning nearly three decades has taken the Australian from Melbourne to London via spells in Yokohama and Glasgow.

Success has followed the 57-year-old, but he is now tasked with a sizeable rebuilding job at Spurs, who have not won a trophy since 2008 and finished eighth in the Premier League last season.

“All I know is I love winning,” Postecoglou said during his first press conference in his new role. “I don’t do any job unless I think I can win. That’s going to be my intent.

“I’ve been fortunate in the past because I’ve had success but whenever I reflect on any job I’ve had, it’s not the success that I look back on, it’s the build that I look back on because I know it’s not always going to be smooth.

“There’s going to be plenty of doubters, which is when your belief and resolve gets doubted. Not just for me personally, but the whole club, the whole group and I love working through that, getting out the other side.

“That’s the biggest attraction for me in this position. Aside from being in a massive football club and the premier competition in the world… the opportunity to do something that people will see in many respects as insurmountable. I love that.”

Postecoglou struck all the right notes a month on from his June 6 appointment, having guided Celtic to five trophies in his two seasons in Scotland despite a rocky start to life in Glasgow.

He is now in charge of a club in desperate need of direction and a cultural reset after the spells of Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte saw Tottenham move away from the attractive, attacking football often associated throughout their history.

Postecoglou recalled memories of watching Ricky Villa’s 1981 FA Cup winner and admitted the challenge of trying to bring back the glory days to Spurs was too great to turn down.

He added: “My wife knows better than anyone, I can’t resist a challenge.

“I’ve always gone with my gut on these things. I know when I’m at my best and I’m at my best when the challenge is the biggest. I thought this was a challenge that would fit all the things I’m looking to achieve.

“For me to come from where I’ve come from and be sitting here, I needed to have that instinct inside me to know when to move on because I’ve had to be faultless in my career to get to this point.

“That’s because no-one’s going to rate an Australian manager, are they? So, if I had any significant failures along the way, I was never going to get here. Part of that process is knowing that I need to keep moving to be at my best.

“Even if I’d stayed at a club for five years, I’d never be satisfied with where we’re at. I’d be looking to improve all the time.

“The key factor was there was an opportunity here to again make an impact at a football club, which I’ve tried to do at every club I’ve been at.”

Asked to recall his memories of Spurs teams, Postecoglou said: “I remember Ricky Villa and Ossie Ardiles, absolutely. I remember that FA Cup final.

“They were my best childhood memories, I’ve said it before, because it was me and my dad, 2am. That’s me as a young boy, sitting on a couch watching a game of football.

“Glenn Hoddle, an absolute master and those kind of players resonate around the world.

“There are plenty of teams and Tottenham players through that era that I have strong memories of in my childhood.

“I’ve had a lot of success in my career but it’s also been done on the back of playing a certain way.

“I dare say that was probably part of one of the biggest factors in the club appointing me, was that they saw that. That’s what I’m going to try and deliver.

“That seems to be the right fit for this club in terms of the fans’ expectations. We call it entertainment but also win games of football, score goals, be exciting. They don’t want to see their team sit back.

“There are different ways of winning but the intent for us will be to try and make sure this football club’s a compelling watch for everybody.”

Postecoglou has become the odds-on favourite to take over at Tottenham with one report claiming he will meet Spurs chairman Daniel Levy on Monday.

The Celtic manager batted away questions over his future on Thursday as he bids to avoid distractions ahead of Saturday’s Hampden clash with Inverness and O’Riley claims the players will not be sidetracked.

“It’s not hard, to be honest,” the 22-year-old said. “There is always so much noise in football. Even with players, with managers, all sorts.

“There is a lot of stuff in the media all the time but I personally don’t believe most of the things I see, just because I know how football works.

“I’m sure he is very happy where he is because we are doing very well.

“It’s just part of football. Media-wise, there is always something going on and I’m sure there will always be the odd surprise that gets thrown in, someone leaves that you don’t expect, someone joins that comes out of nowhere. You just have to be ready for whatever comes.”

Postecoglou has been linked with numerous Premier League jobs throughout the season and Celtic have shown the focus to stay on course for a treble.

“It comes from, first of all, the hierarchy, the manager and staff setting the foundation of what can we do today to improve and taking it day by day,” O’Riley said.

“If you think too much about the future or stuff that has happened before, that’s when problems start to occur because you are probably in your head a bit too much.

“As long as we are focused on the day-to-day basics of trying to improve one another then I don’t think it should be a problem.”

However, the former MK Dons midfielder understands why many Celtic fans are anxious about the future amid the growing speculation over Postecoglou.

“He has provided so much success to the club, and hopefully that continues, and naturally fans are attached to someone who brings so much success,” he said.

“The same goes for the players in the group right now, everyone had good seasons for the most part, so naturally there is going to be interest in players, but hopefully we can keep as many together and push on even more next season.”

Postecoglou is odds-on favourite to take over at Tottenham and refused to give any indication on whether he would be departing Celtic Park after making it five trophies in two seasons with a 3-1 Scottish Cup win over Inverness.

Many Celtic fans fear their manager is London-bound and he would not give any assurances to the contrary.

“I will say to them what I said to the players, let’s enjoy this,” he said. “I deserve to enjoy this, the people around me deserve to enjoy this.

“Whatever other people want to focus on and talk about, I am not going to miss enjoying this moment with this group of people but also I owe it to my family, my friends, all of those closest to me.

“Everyone works hard and makes sacrifices to enjoy these moments. I understand that other people who aren’t invested in it want to ask these questions but for me, right now, the most important thing is that we reflect and just be in the moment of creating something special.”

When it was pointed out that fans who are heavily-invested in Celtic are among those asking the questions, the 57-year-old said: “Yeah, but they deserve to enjoy this moment because, irrespective of what happens in the future, why would you not want to enjoy this moment just for what it is? It’s something historic.”

When asked if he anticipated being in Glasgow next season, the former Australia head coach said: “I anticipate enjoying this moment for the next 24-48 hours, as long as I can, before someone drags me away and takes my attention away from enjoying something that’s been hard-earned.

“The reality is, there’s probably players in that dressing room who won’t be here next year. That’s the nature of football.

“But I want them to enjoy it, I am going to enjoy it, and that’s all I am going to focus on until someone grabs me by the collar and tells me that I have to answer certain questions.”

Caley Thistle have knocked Celtic out of the Scottish Cup three times in seven meetings this century and the Hoops needed to come from behind in two of their triumphs.

Inverness beat Celtic 3-1 at Parkhead as a First Division club in the first encounter between the teams in February 2000 in a result that cost John Barnes his job as manager.

They also beat Martin O’Neill’s side in 2003 four days after the Hoops had won at Anfield on their way to the UEFA Cup final.

Ronny Deila also fell foul of Caley Thistle in the 2015 semi-finals in a result that cost Celtic the chance of a treble.

When told some people were predicting a walkover when the Scottish champions face a side who finished fifth in the cinch Championship, Postecoglou told Celtic TV: “The people at this club don’t tell me about that, they tell me about the past results against them, which makes you realise that if you are not on it on the day you can be beaten and there’s consequences to that.

“I can assure you that no-one in the building here is going into it with anything other than the approach that we have to be at our absolute best on the day.”

Caley Thistle have only played once since their semi-final win over Falkirk, losing to Ayr on May 5 in a late defeat which cost them a place in the Premiership play-offs.

“It’s a bit of a weird one for them, they won’t have had a game for close to a month by the time the cup final comes around,” Postecoglou said. “I’m sure they have been working away and had bounce games when they can.

“It’s a different opponent for us but, irrespective, it’s a cup final. Who the opponent is becomes secondary to the fact that you know you need to perform on the day and if you do there is a massive reward at the end of it.”

Kane left Spurs on the eve of the season to join Bayern Munich in a deal that could rise to £120million in add-ons and which had been expected to derail a club that only managed to finish eighth in the Premier League last term.

The opposite has occurred with Postecoglou able to mastermind an unbeaten start in the top flight that has sent Tottenham to the summit and posed the question are the north London club better without their ex-talisman Kane, who scored 278 times in 430 appearances for his boyhood team.

Postecoglou cited Kane’s final outing in Lilywhite – a four-goal salvo in a friendly against Shakhtar Donetsk on August 6 – as evidence against the aforementioned rhetoric, although acknowledged the sale of the England captain has changed the dynamic of his attack, which is now led by the likes of Son Heung-min, Richarlison, Dejan Kulusevski and new signing Brennan Johnson.

“What I’ve been trying to explain is that individuals change the way you play,” the Spurs boss said ahead of a Friday night clash at Crystal Palace.

“I’m not into this commentary that we’re a better team without Harry because the last game Harry played for us, he did alright in our system when he scored four goals.

“It’s fair to say we would have been able to squeeze him in somewhere – and I’m being sarcastic there – but him not being there just allows us to bring different individuals into the team and they change the dynamic.

“Again, while the way I want my teams to play has a really clear structure, what I try to do is create a balanced squad where individuals can change the dynamics of it.

“Having Sonny as our nine is different from having Harry or even Richy as our nine. Having Deki as a winger or having Brennan Johnson as a winger changes it even if the structure is the same.

“Not having Harry there does change us as a team because we’re using different individuals, but if Harry was still here the structure would be the same and we’d have the same fundamentals of trying to dominate opposition, press the opposition, all those kind of things would still be there.

“Ultimately, I don’t want to suppress the qualities they have, I want to bring out the best of them within the structure we have.”

Tottenham captain Son has shouldered the burden in Kane’s absence with seven goals, while new number 10 James Maddison has immediately hit the ground running in N17.

Maddison scored for the third time on Monday night against Fulham and has also provided five assists to quickly become the team’s fulcrum.

Postecoglou said of the former Leicester playmaker: “He’s very intuitive around the game and at understanding the game.

“For all the players we try to provide a framework of education where we give them information to improve them as individuals, but some of them take them in a more broader concept of the team aspect and Madders is one of those.

“He takes the information but not just from an individual aspect but how it can help the team. The goal he scored the other night came not from his individual ability but just from him working hard.

“He pressed two or three times. That’s a conscious thing he has to do. That’s not just about him being a good footballer, that’s him as an individual saying I need to do this because I think the team will benefit and ultimately, he benefitted from it because he scored the goal.

“But if he didn’t someone else would have, like we did for Sonny’s goal, so I think he’s one of these players that looks at it from a broader perspective, not just how it can help him as an individual but how it can help the team evolve into the team we want to be.”

Balanta fired home after Chris Bush had headed across goal in the 14th minute.

Woking rallied after Lee Ndlovu was sent off just before the interval following a clash with Dion Kelly-Evans.

Jayden Luker, Lewis Walker, Max Dyche and Ricky Korboa all had chances but could not beat Nathan Ashmore in the Boreham Wood goal.

Luis Enrique's side did the damage in the first half at Stade Raymond Kopa, with Lee Kang-In and Bradley Barcola both scoring twice to extend their unbeaten start to the season.

PSG broke through in the 17th minute through Lee, who doubled his and the visitors' tally when he turned in Marco Asensio's low cross three minutes later.

Asensio was the provider again as the Ligue 1 leaders made it 3-0 just after the hour mark, with his centre diverted in by Barcola.

The latter grabbed his second just before half-time when he headed in from Lee's cross.

Angers made the scoreline more respectable in stoppage time, with Esteban Lepaul and Emmanuel Biumla halving the deficit for the hosts.

Data Debrief: PSG make it 30 unbeaten on the road

Now unbeaten in 30 away Ligue 1 matches, PSG are the first team in the top five European leagues to reach that mark since Napoli in 2018.

Lee scored his first brace for the club, while Asensio assisted two goals in the same league match for the first time since doing so for Espanyol against Real Betis in October 2015 (three).

Although, it was not all plain sailing for PSG, who conceded two goals in second-half stoppage time for only the second time in their history (also against Barcelona in the 2016-17 Champions League).

As for Angers, they have become the first team in Ligue 1 history to lose 15 successive matches against the same opponent.

The Gills started the afternoon in League Two’s final play-off place but, despite taking a half-time lead through George Lapslie’s header, succumbed to second-half replies from Anthony O’Connor, Matty Daly (two), Jack Muldoon and Abaraham Odoh.

It was the first time the Kent outfit had lost a game after scoring first since January 2022 and saw the club drop to ninth in the standings, with Clemence fuming: “I want to apologise to all of our fans because what I saw in the second half from the players was not acceptable one little bit.

“We put ourselves in a really good position, but the individual errors that we made in the second half were disturbing and I don’t normally say that. We made a couple of mistakes and then got rattled.

“I don’t want to swear, so I’ll just say we were not very good at all after that and we need a reaction now in the next game, because I’m very angry. People’s heads went and we left too much space on the pitch and I don’t ever want to see that again and the players have been told that.

“I accept that people make mistakes, but you can’t follow one mistake with another and another and another, because you end up with a result like that. The plan was to give the players two days off, but they will be in now for both of them.”

In contrast, home boss Simon Weaver confirmed his players would be given a two-day break as the Sulphurites moved to within four points of a top-seven spot.

“We just want to be fighting until the last ball is kicked,” Weaver declared. “We’ve only gone up one place but we’ve also made up a point and, at this stage of the season, that’s huge for us.

“We’ll have two days off now to rest minds, as well as bodies, to come back refreshed and looking forward to another big game at a big ground against Notts County.

“Hopefully, we can have a repeat performance. I can’t promise the same scoreline, but I’ll be looking for another whole-hearted and positive display.”

Praising his players’ response to trailing at the interval, Weaver added: “I really enjoyed the second half after the first had been a bit of a struggle.

“At half-time, we just asked for a positive reaction and that’s what the lads delivered. We got straight on to the front foot and the subs then gave us fresh legs.

“We got some good momentum going and scored some good goals. Everybody stepped up and, while I don’t think the win was as easy as the scoreline suggests, we were very clinical.”

Trinidad and Tobago's chances of claiming one of two spots from Group A evaporated thanks to goals from Demarai Gray (14th and 28th), Leon Bailey (17th) and Dujuan Richards (90+2). Andre Rampersad (49th) pulled one back for the twin island republic.

Angus and his team still have a glimmer of hope of progressing to the knockout stages, but it will require an unlikely win or draw against powerhouse and favourites United States in their final group fixture on July 2, while hoping newcomers St Kitts and Nevis also pull off an unlikely win over Jamaica by a wide margin.

United States, who hammered St Kitts and Nevis 6-0 currently heads the group on four points, same as Jamaica but with a healthy six-goal difference to Reggae Boyz three. Trinidad and Tobago are third on three points, while the Sugar Boys on their Gold Cup debut are yet to earn a point.

"We just have to pick the guys up, the dressing room is very dejected this is the first match we have lost in about nine for the season and we don't normally concede goals but I thought that the second half when we came back on I thought that we were really in the game and we created a lot of chances," said Angus, who rued what he thought was a handball against Jamaica's defender Damion Lowe.

In real time, it seemed the ball did in fact come off Lowe's hand and Mexican referee Fernando Guerrero thought so too when he initially awarded the penalty. However, by the VAR, the replay showed that the ball came off Lowe's head.

"I think the handball should have been a penalty. Unfortunately, we don't get to see it (replays) on the pitch anymore, at one point we had a tablet where we could see it. From where we were, the hand was in an unnatural position, but it was a penalty and then it wasn't a penalty, we didn't get any explanation as to why not," Angus argued.

Going into the second contest with a 5-4-1 defensive formation after a comprehensive 3-0 win over St Kitts and Nevis in their opener, Trinidad and Tobago seemingly had all their bases covered, but things didn't pan out as Angus expected.

Their defence was easily and consistently broken down by the Jamaicans who were quick to press the ball and the Soca Warriors were at times caught ball watching. In fact, Gray was left unmarked on both occasions when he scored and the one attempt Trinidad and Tobago made at pushing a high line, they were beaten by a timely run from Bailey who went on to beat Nicklaus Frenderup in a one-one-one situation.

The Soca Warriors did come into their own in the second have and looked threatening in open play, though they were unable to get anymore that Rampersad's cheeky heel finish.

Aside from possibly being star-struck, Angus believes there was some positives to work with which he is hoping they can improve on ahead of Sunday's encounter.

"I thought the second half we were way more positive it seems like we settled down better credit to Jamaica, the type of players that they have and the quality that they have in the team, we don't have that type of quality, so it was always going to be a struggle.

"But when you give away soft goals...I thought we gave away a lot of soft goals very early and we had to dig ourselves out of a hole. I think we also started really slow, but as I said I take full blame for it, the aim was to keep the game as tight as possible in the first half so we could go out and express ourselves a little bit more in the second half, but we just didn't defend well," Angus explained.

That said, the tactician gave some insight to his decision not to start three of his best players in what was a vital fixture.

"Triston Hodge had a tight hamstring, Kevin Molino is just coming back into football, and he complained that he was really tired so he didn't feel like he could start and then Auvray had some little knocks and bruises. So, we made the three changes, we were trying to keep the game a little bit tight in the first half so we could probably get those players on. 

"So, we had the plan from the time they got the goals, unfortunately we seem to be a bit nervous, I think big name (players) probably scare us and we made some bad mistakes. But I take full blame for the result because I am the coach of the team," he ended.

The 49-year-old Eve will, according to sources, have Reynold Carrington as his assistant coach, Clayton Ince as his goalkeeper’s coach and Adarayll John as team trainer. Richard Piper will be the team manager. He replaces Terry Fenwick, who was fired on Friday, a week after Trinidad and Tobago’s 2022 FIFA World Cup campaign ended with a goalless draw against the Bahamas.

However, Eve and his staff will have to hit the ground running as he will only have the CONCACAF Gold Cup qualifying matches to prove his mettle. His contract runs until August 31, 2021.

"I am really honoured and privileged to have this opportunity to continue to represent my country," Eve said. "I'm committed to provide a lift to Trinidad and Tobago, especially in this time where we are battling so many different adversities at the same time."

Normalisation Committee Chairman Robert Haddad expressed his gratitude to the outgoing coaching staff.

"We thank the previous coaching staff for their commitment and efforts. We now look forward to the Gold Cup competition and wish Angus all the best. We will do our very best to support him and the team."

Under Fenwick, Trinidad and Tobago, playing in Group F in World Cup qualifying, defeated Guyana 3-0, drew 1-1 with Puerto Rico and then 0-0 with the Bahamas before rebounding to defeat St Kitts & Nevis 2-0. However, it was not enough for Trinidad and Tobago to advance to the next round of CONCACAF World Cup qualifying.

Prior to taking the head coaching job, Eve was coaching at Club Sando in the TT Pro League and at Naparima College in the SSFL.

Eve represented his country 117 times between 1994 and 2005 scoring 34 goals.

Benjamin Luissint’s double cancelled out Olly McDonald’s opener to earn a 2-1 second-leg win on Friday and send Peter Murphy’s fourth-tier side up for the first time, while Clyde drop into League Two.

Annan, who finished third in League Two, saw their 3-1 first-leg lead cut 50 seconds after the break when McDonald scrambled in a corner.

But midfielder Luissint converted from close range with 13 minutes left to level and he netted in the third minute of stoppage time to wrap up promotion.

Peter Murphy’s side finished 11 points behind their second-placed opponents in the end-of-season table but thoroughly outclassed them on the night, with striker Tommy Goss paving the way for a thumping success at Galabank.

Goss took his tally to 29 for the campaign as he put his side in control with two goals in the first 24 minutes.

A red card for Kalvin Orsi left Dumbarton with a mountain to climb but they went into freefall, with Tommy Muir making it 3-0 by half-time.

Annan refused to let their momentum fade against opponents who have beaten them three times in 2022-23, putting the tie beyond doubt in the second period as Aidan Smith, Dominic Doherty and substitute Benjamin Luissint all added their names to a crowded scoresheet.

Following a first half devoid of openings, Jack Lambert was the first to have a sight of goal midway through the second half but his effort was blocked and Caleb Richards steered a shot wide as the ball rebounded to him.

Maidenhead, who came into the game eighth with just one defeat from their opening five National League games, immediately responded but Casey Pettit fired over Lewis Kinsella’s cross.

Nathaniel Knight-Percival headed wide from a corner for the hosts, before Lambert was played in on goal before being denied by Maidenhead goalkeeper Craig Ross.

The result dropped both sides down two places, with Kidderminster now 18th and Maidenhead 10th.