Brendan Rodgers ‘bitterly disappointed’ as Celtic lose to Lazio after late drama
Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers admitted their last-gasp 2-1 defeat by Lazio was a “devastating” blow after he felt they deserved to be in front.
Luis Palma thought he had given the Scottish champions an 81st-minute lead but it was ruled offside by a lengthy VAR check when the officials decided Daizen Maeda had helped on Alistair Johnston’s cross.
There was a bigger blow to follow five minutes into stoppage-time when Pedro robbed Cameron Carter-Vickers before spraying the ball out wide and running into the box to head home the resulting cross.
Kyogo Furuhashi’s early opener had been cancelled out by Matias Vecino following a 29th-minute corner.
Rodgers said: “I’m bitterly disappointed. I felt we totally deserved to take something from the game.
“We had a great start and scored a great goal. I’m disappointed with the goal we conceded, I felt we could do better with the corner.
“We were getting through them and it looked like a matter of time before we could score. We got a goal but unfortunately Daizen just got a touch on it and made it offside.
“I felt at that point we deserved to be in front, we had got into some good areas.
“To concede late on was harsh but there’s a learning there. You have to secure the ball late on. The learning is just managing the game at that late stage.
“We knocked on the door second half, if you can’t make the breakthrough just make sure in that late stage of the game that you are secure behind the ball.”
Carter-Vickers had come off the bench to make his comeback following seven weeks out with a hamstring injury.
Rodgers said: “There’s no blame on Cam, it’s one where they steal the ball from him but if we were in a better position, we deal with the cross.
“That’s the learning for the team – you can’t be coming out from the space unless you have good control of the ball.
“It was a devastating way to lose because we deserved something, but like every game there are learnings and when the Atletico game comes hopefully we can learn the lessons.”
Despite the finest of margins between potential victory and a ninth defeat in 11 Champions League group games at home, the facts remain that Celtic are on zero points from two games in Group E.
Rodgers said: “We were under no illusions at the beginning of the competition where we sat. I said at the beginning our idea was to qualify for European football, and that’s still the ambition and mentality.
“We have shown over the two games against good sides that we can compete. If we can just tidy up one or two moments and maybe get a bit of luck, we will still fight in every single game to get that qualification.”
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Many-time champions JC, STGC start Manning Cup on positive note
Many-time champions Jamaica College (JC) and St George’s College kicked off their Inter-Secondary Schools Sports Association/Digicel Manning Cup campaigns in a positive manner as they blanked Pembroke Hall and Holy Trinity High School 9-0 and 2-0, respectively, on Tuesday.
Jamaica College were led by striker Giovannie Taylor, who scored in the fifth, 45th and 80th minutes. Nashordo Gibbs (39th and 64th) had a brace, while Javaun Mills (72nd), Dujoni Thompson (78th), and substitutes Jamone Howell (87th) and Keshaun-Lee Chin (90th) got the others in the lopsided affair that pleased head coach Davion Ferguson.
“You always want to start with a win because nine goals in any game is a big win, and that was what we wanted to do. The performance, in some parts, I think, was good, but we want to continue to improve and try as best as possible to focus on ourselves and not really look outside, as the external is out of our control,” Ferguson said.
“The aim is to give of our best ever year, so once we give our best, wherever that takes us, we will be satisfied. Our players have matured well, and so I think they will have a really good season,” he added.
Meanwhile, Matthew Spence (10th) and Payton Larmond (61st) did the damage for St George’s College in their comfortable win over neighbours Holy Trinity at Winchester Park.
Assistant coach Marcel Gayle is also anticipating more improvements from his North Street-based team as the season progresses.
“Kudos to the guys; I thought they played well, but I thought we could have been a little more assertive in the final third. We created a lot of opportunities but we needed to be a bit more patient. Nevertheless, the objective was met with three points and the clean sheet,” said Gayle.
Tuesday’s results
Hydel 9, Ardenne 0
Clan Carthy 0, Eltham 5
Ascot 1, Bridgeport 0
St George’s College 2, Holy Trinity 0
Norman Manley 0, St Catherine 3 (St Catherine awarded win as Norman Manley was deemed to have forfeited the game as a result of an unprepared pitch)
Wednesday’s fixtures
Kingston Technical vs Camperdown
Calabar vs Haile Selassie
Vauxhall vs STATHS
*All games are scheduled for 3:30pm
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Kane not setting limits on England achievements after milestone appearance
Harry Kane insisted the sky is the limit for what he can achieve with England after marking his 100th Three Lions appearance with two goals against Finland.
Kane, who became the 10th England centurion on Tuesday, marked the milestone with a second-half brace after seeing a header ruled out for offside before the break.
The Bayern Munich striker has been directly involved in 85 goals (68 goals and 17 assists) since his England debut in March 2015.
He also netted his 26th and 27th goals at Wembley, the most that any Three Lions player has managed at the iconic venue.
Kane also became the third England player to score on his 100th appearance, after Wayne Rooney (2014) and Bobby Charlton (1970).
Having taken inspiration from Cristiano Ronaldo's 900th career goal ahead of kick-off, Kane has no signs of stopping yet as he eyes 100 goals for his country.
"I try never to set limits on what I can achieve," said Kane. "I know playing in this team, I am going to get chances and, if I get chances, I feel like I can score many goals.
"I am going to keep going as long as I can and who knows what we can achieve? Some of the top players in the world have scored more than I have, so there are targets there to try and achieve."
Kane's double also led England to consecutive victories in the Nations League for the first time since 2018, while helping them maintain their unbeaten record against Finland.
The Three Lions return to Nations League action next month when they welcome Greece to Wembley on October 10, before travelling to Finland three days later.
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Dom Rep, Bermuda victorious in Group D of League B; Belize, Barbados, St Kitts and Nevis remain perfect in League C
Dominican Republic maintained their positive start to the Concacaf Nations League campaign, while Bermuda is now on the board as both registered victories in the League B, Group D double-header at the ABFA Technical Center in Piggotts, Antigua and Barbuda on Tuesday.
The Dominican Republic defeated Dominica 2-0 in a top-of-the-table clash, and Bermuda clipped hosts Antigua and Barbuda 1-0 to end the September window on a positive note.
With the win, Dominican Republic moved up to six points, three ahead of Bermuda and Dominica, while Antigua and Barbuda will head into the next window without a point.
Dominican Republic vs. Dominica
Having won their opening encounters, this contest was expected to be a closely contested affair, but it was the Dominican Republic who proved the better team on the day.
Ronaldo Vasquez broke the deadlock with a cheeky finish in the 11th minute.
Dorny Romero doubled the lead with 25th-minute strike that secured the points for Dominican Republic to boost their promotion hopes.