Steve Evans embracing underdog mentality as Stevenage win again
Stevenage boss Steve Evans is hoping to use doubters as motivation after seeing his side defeat Shrewsbury 2-0 at the Lamex.
In Boro’s first home game in League One since 2014, new signing Aaron Pressley struck his first goal for the club with a sweeping finish before Jamie Reid secured the three points in the 87th minute when he poked home at the back post.
But Evans did not let himself get carried away after a second straight league win.
“Our mission is really tough,” said Evans. “I heard one of the Shrewsbury lads say to one of my staff, ‘Good luck staying up’.
“That’s probably where people see us in the league. So we have that as a bit of an incentive for ourselves.
“We have to be, if nothing else, the hardest working team in this league, because we can’t spend the money that Shrewsbury spent, for example.”
Having already welcomed a host of fresh faces, with six new arrivals in the starting 11 against the Shrews, Evans said he expects to announce another signing imminently.
“We’ve got players really battling hard to cement a starting place. I said to them we’ll hopefully strengthen in the next 24 hours,” he said.
“I’ve been asking his manager all summer if we can get him and when I spoke to him yesterday, he was like most of the lads we’ve already got in the door.
“He said, ‘I want to come, I want to be part of it. When can I sign?’.”
Meanwhile, new Shrewsbury boss Matt Taylor questioned whether an already busy schedule contributed to a below-par performance in Hertfordshire.
The Shrews travelled to Elland Road on Wednesday evening, where a spirited performance was not enough to prevent a 2-1 loss to Leeds.
Taylor said: “Was there the fact that the players haven’t had a day off this week? They’ve trained, they’re tired? Maybe.
“I’m not looking for excuses. I’m just telling you the truth. We’ve had a tough week in terms of fixtures. Has that had something to do with it? I don’t know.”
And while Taylor felt it was important to analyse what went wrong, the 41-year-old was equally determined to make amends against Burton on Tuesday.
“I think it’s important to go back and digest without emotion what happened today,” said Taylor.
“But I felt we never really got going in terms of the way I want the team to play and the way we have been playing for the last two games.
“But why football is such a great game is that regardless of the result, we’ve got an opportunity in three days’ time to make sure we can put that right.”
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Howe lauds Slot's impact at Liverpool but insists title race not over
Eddie Howe lauded the impact of Arne Slot with Premier League leaders Liverpool, though insists the title race is far from over ahead of Newcastle United's meeting on Wednesday.
Liverpool are nine points clear at the summit heading into the midweek action, having dispatched Manchester City with a 2-0 win at Anfield on Sunday.
That opened up an 11-point gap between the Reds and Pep Guardiola's defending champions, yet Howe believes the title battle is far from over in December.
"No, I think nothing is ever secure or done until it's done," said Howe. "The Premier League is known for twists and turns, so who knows what's going to happen.
"I think they're a team at the moment playing with full confidence, they've still got the hallmark of Liverpool under Jurgen Klopp.
"But Arne has now had his time with the team and tweaked certain things, that makes them a very difficult proposition because they've added new strengths."
Newcastle were defeated 2-0 at home by West Ham before a 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace last Saturday.
Slot believes travelling to Newcastle will pose a tougher test than facing Real Madrid, however, having defeated Los Blancos last week in the Champions League.
"We know we have a difficult week coming up again," Slot said.
"We thought Madrid and City were very difficult teams to face, which they actually were as well. I think it’s even harder going away to Newcastle.
"We're not even halfway through the season yet."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Newcastle United – Alexander Isak
Fitness permitting if Alexander Isak can shake off a knock suffered at Palace, the Sweden striker will be key to any home hopes here.
The Newcastle forward has 21 goals in 30 home Premier League appearances, although he has only scored twice from 18 attempts at St James' Park this season.
Liverpool – Mohamed Salah
Mohamed Salah stole the show once more against City, scoring from the penalty spot and assisting Cody Gakpo's opener.
The Liverpool star has also been involved in 14 Premier League goals against Newcastle (eight goals, six assists), with these coming in his last 13 appearances against them.
MATCH PREDICTION – LIVERPOOL WIN
Liverpool are firm favourites for this one considering they have won each of their last six meetings with Newcastle in the Premier League.
The Magpies are winless in the last 15 top-flight meetings overall (D4 L11), while Liverpool have won five of their last six league visits to St. James' Park.
Indeed, the Reds' three-match winning streak on the road against Newcastle is their longest such streak against Wednesday's hosts in the competition.
Expect drama, too, given Liverpool have won 11 Premier League games in which they have trailed against Newcastle, the most comeback wins one side has against another in the competition's history.
To make matters worse for the hosts, they have won just one of their last 26 Premier League meetings against sides starting the day top of the table (D7 L18), a feat which could continue here.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Newcastle United win – 26.2%
Draw – 23.6%
Liverpool win – 50.2% -
Saints go marching in: St Catherine High to contest first-ever Manning Cup final after penalty shootout win over Jamaica College
St Catherine High School will contest their first-ever ISSA/Digicel Manning Cup final, as they prevailed 5-3 in a dramatic penalty shootout against many-time champions Jamaica College (JC) at the National Stadium on Tuesday.
In a semi-final game defined by determination and resilience, the teams played out a tense 1-1 draw in regulation time before the St Johns Road-based school held their nerve from 12 yards to edge past their storied opponents.
Romaine Walters (11th) for St Catherine and Nashordo Gibbs (40th) for Jamaica College got the goals in open play.
The victory was met with jubilation from the St Catherine camp as players, staff, and supporters celebrated their school’s historic feat, which left an almost emotional Head coach, Anthony Patrick, at a loss for words.
For Patrick, it was not just a victory over one of the competition’s giants but a testament to their grit, belief, and teamwork throughout the season.
“Words alone can’t explain how I feel. I must say kudos to the youngsters because they fought hard and dug deep. I must also laud our goalkeeper [Omarion Brown]. He came up big for us, and we know once it gets to penalties, it will work out in our favour. We asked them to stick behind the ball and force Jamaica College to play the long ball so our goalkeeper can come into play because we know once it got to penalties, it would be difficult for them,” Patrick said post-match.
St Catherine began brightly and took an early lead in the 11th minute when Walters calmly converted a penalty after Gentles' shot struck the hand of Jamaica College’s defender Javaun Mills inside the box. The goal marked Walters’ third of the season and gave his team the momentum, despite Jamaica College dominating the early exchanges.
However, the lead did little to deflate Jamaica College, who quickly regrouped and pushed for an equalizer. Their relentless probing eventually paid off in the 40th minute when Giovanni Taylor delivered a precise pass across the box for Nashordo Gibbs to tap home from close range.
Jamaica College almost took the lead on the stroke of halftime when Gibbs broke free and crossed for Taylor, who squandered the opportunity, as the score remained unchanged at the break.
On the resumption, Jamaica College had opportunities to win the contest but failed to find the decisive breakthrough due to a combination of faulty shooting, poor decision-making, and good glove work by Omarion Brown in goal for St Catherine.
In fact, their best chance to steal victory came in the 87th minute when Jamoy Dennis found himself in behind the defence with time and space but somehow fired his effort wide, much to the relief of St Catherine’s supporters.
St Catherine then delivered a flawless display from the spot, with Walters, Nathel Ellis, Dwight Gentles, Josh Reid, and Kadean Young all converting their kicks.
Jamaica College, the tournament’s most successful team, saw Dontae Logan, Dyllan John, and Javaun Mills find the back of the net. However, the pivotal moment came when Jahmarly Bennett’s effort cannoned off the crossbar, sealing the Old Hope Road school’s fate.