Daniel Farke was left fuming after Leeds United had a goal disallowed in their play-off semi-final first leg at Norwich on Sunday.
The game at Carrow Road ultimately ended 0-0, with both sides failing to seriously trouble the opposition goalkeeper as the teams combined for just 0.8 xG (expected goals).
It leaves the tie finely poised ahead of Thursday's second leg at Elland Road, but despite his side heading back to home turf with a clean sheet and level in the tie, Farke was left frustrated by a first-half incident which saw Junior Firpo put the ball in the net following a mix-up between Shane Duffy and Angus Gunn, only for the offside flag to be raised.
Farke believes the goal should have stood and bemoaned decisions that have gone against his side this season, telling reporters: "I can just recommend everyone should have a look on the scouting feed, it's not offside.
"I'm annoyed. I have to make sure I'm not too much in a rage. Small details make a difference, if you go in the lead it changes the picture. In the end, everyone speaks about Wembley, a £100m game. At this level, all the decisions have to be spot on.
"Perhaps [the linesman] was a bit scared the whole stadium is moaning if he doesn’t give offside. No, in doubt you give it in favour to the attacker. It's definitely not offside.
"If you want to be in charge of such a game you have to be spot on. I have 12 letters apologising already this season. We have to make sure we find a way even though this crucial decision went against us."
Despite his annoyance at the disallowed goal, Farke remained content with his side's display as they bounced back from a challenging end to the regular season with a clean sheet.
"When you play a play-off semi-final with two legs, an away draw and a clean sheet at a difficult ground is always a good and solid result," Farke continued.
"The last games in the regular season were not great, we conceded too many goals and in away games especially. We wanted to be rock solid today against the ball.
"Overall I have to say I'm pretty happy. We have a massive game on Thursday evening. It's just half-time."
Though David Wagner's Norwich side now face the daunting task of a trip to Elland Road, the Canaries boss feels his players are capable of overcoming the raucous home atmosphere to reach the final at Wembley.
Wagner is also looking to draw upon his experiences during his time at Huddersfield, where his Terriers team beat Sheffield Wednesday on penalties at Hillsborough before going on to win another shoot-out at Wembley against Reading to clinch Premier League promotion.
"Every single second we are in the game at Elland Road, it is a minute in our favour," Wagner stated at his post-match news conference.
"I said beforehand we are the underdogs. The expectation is on Leeds. We know this.
"I have experienced being the away team in the play-offs."
Norwich captain Kenny McLean echoed his manager's belief that the Canaries can go and win at Elland Road, telling Sky Sports: "We know how good Leeds can be at home and they'll fancy their chances, but we’re a very good team as well."
Mona, Hillel kickstart 2024 Canopy Insurance/JISA Alberga Cup season quest with impressive victories
The 2023 Canopy Insurance/JISA Under-12 Alberga Cup finalists, Mona Preparatory and Hillel Academy kickstarted their quest for victory on Saturday when they played opening matches against St. Hughs Preparatory and American International School of Kingston (AISK) at the National Water Commission’s (NWC) Mona field and the AISK field respectively. The 2023 Cup finalists were 2 of 17 matches played across 5 zones set for both Kingston & St. Catherine.
Mona, who played in Zone 4, won their opener against St. Hugh’s and were in high spirits as they believe they have a chance to repeat history. Coached by Vivian Nelson they clocked 11-0; while unsure if his team is ready, he is looking forward to them playing some good football.
"I’m not sure if we’re ready but the season [already] started so we’ll just play. At 11-0, they’re just showing that they picked up from where they left off so, it was a good game, the first game; we just want to see where they are after the pre-season, so [it] never really looked bad, the playing is okay, but I think as we go along we expect some improvement.”
Nelson said that compared to last year, it’s more or less the same results from the first match.
“If we judge by that [match] then, the season is the same; we’re hoping to get there [on the top spot] again. We have an ongoing program plus some of these youngsters play football right round [the year] so when they’re not with me they’re with the Dare to Dream Football Academy; we put in some work in pre-season; expect youngsters [to be] youngsters and score. [But] I’m looking at how they play the position, their discipline and how they control the game.
Noting that while they’re playing for victory, he’s not looking at teams now, he’s focused on his team to see where the season takes them, whilst praising his competent returning players.
Their opening opponent’s coach, Pryce of St. Hughs Prep believes they can get better.
“We have a fairly young team this year, a group of grade 5 boys coming out to play some really nice football, they were up against the defending champions which is very good and for me they performed the best they could.” said Pryce.
“The boys are growing, they are coming along, they have a lot more experience to gain so the more they play, the better they’ll get over the years. They’re just here to put on a good show for themselves this year and get some confidence going into next year’s season. They just need to play faster and a bit more confident.”
In another St. Andrew match, 2023 finalist Hillel, the Zone 2 favorite, took home the gold with a 7-2 score at the end of the match to secure their move to the next round. While both teams were tied at halftime, Hillel took things up a notch in the second half to score 5 more points.
“It was our first game and we just wanted to see how the boys would play real competitively, and they did well; apart from a few mistakes we got back in our game in the second half and scored some goals, tried to get the benchers in and get some experience for the new ones but all in all, we have more work to do because I’m quite sure there are better teams out there to play; we’re looking forward to that; we need the challenge to ensure our team is ready.” said coach Nicholas Locke of Hillel Academy.
Coach-nominated Players of the Match for the 2024 season’s opener included St. Hugh’s James Whittingham and Hillel’s Jace Lowe.
Other matches played in Saturday’s season opener included: Lannaman’s Prep VS Mount Alvernia Prep (2-0), Creative Kids VS Ardenne Prep (0-1), Emmanuel Christian Academy VS Portmore Missionary Prep (8-0) and Sts. Peter and Paul VS Our Lady of the Angels Prep (11-0).
Skinner compares 'immense and intense' Terland to Haaland
Erling Haaland may have hit unprecedented heights for Manchester City but Marc Skinner believes Manchester United have a similar talisman in Elisabeth Terland.
United boss Skinner likened Women's Super League star Terland to City's Premier League hero Haaland after the Norwegian scored twice in Sunday's 3-0 victory over Tottenham.
That marked her first two goals for United since joining from Brighton, having first blasted a volley home before looping another header over Becky Spencer.
Asked to describe Terland, Skinner said: "Intense in a good way. She is a person who is always focused, she doesn't dip off her focus whether it's pressing or whatever the task is, she's all in.
"I think she knows Haaland personally and I don't want to compare the two but the immense and intense action of both of them, that's how she performs."
Terland's heroics helped to ensure United's 100% record in the WSL this season stayed intact, with three wins and three clean sheets from three games.
The former Brighton forward, who found the net 13 times in the league last season, appeared all over the place against Spurs, attempting a game-high five shots with three of those on target.
Her two goals came from an expected goals tally of just 0.65, though, suggesting superior finishing from lower quality chances, something that will delight Skinner.
"I came to a club that wants to achieve big things. I know playing in a better team will make me better," Terland told Sky Sports.
"Part of my job is to score goals, it is great to get the first one for the club. A good win and I am proud of the team."
United finished fifth last campaign and lacked a regular scorer, with Nikita Parris finishing the term as the club's top scorer in the WSL with only eight goals.
Skinner knows the tide may now turn, however, with Terland firing up top.
"I just think she's an incredible talent," Skinner added.
"The beauty of her is I think she slows the moment and sees the opportunity under the most immense pressure."
Ancelotti influence key for Endrick development, say Dida and Cafu
Carlo Ancelotti's player management can turn Real Madrid's Endrick into a "great player", according to Brazil's World Cup winners Dida and Cafu.
Endrick arrived in the Spanish capital from Palmeiras in July in a deal reportedly worth €60million, signing a six-year deal with the 15-time Champions League winners.
The 17-year-old has scored two goals in nine appearances across all competitions this season, though he has only featured for 107 minutes across those games.
But Ancelotti has shown his faith in young players during his tenure with Los Blancos, with the likes of Jude Bellingham, Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo all developing under his stewardship.
Cafu, who made 119 appearances for Milan under Ancelotti, believes Endrick has the right man to guide him through the early stages of his promising career.
"Ancelotti is a great coach, and he is really good at developing young players," Cafu told Stats Perform at Festival dello Sport in Trento, Italy.
"He's really good at managing them, he understands them and knows when it's the right time for them to play or when they need to stay on the bench.
"For someone like him he will be like a father who will give the right advice."
It was a sentiment echoed by Cafu's former Milan team-mate Dida, who hopes he can become an important player for Brazil ahead of the 2026 World Cup.
"We all know Carlo [Ancelotti], he knows how to manage all the champions," Dida added.
"He knows how to make these kids grow even if they are already in an important team.
"And that is certainly something very nice for [Endrick], we hope he does well because he is a Brazilian who will surely do well with the [Brazil] national team.
"I hope that our national team always works with this type of players and we hope that Carlo, as always, does his job."
Endrick was picked for the Brazil national team for the first time in November 2023, becoming the youngest male player to secure a senior call-up since Ronaldo Nazario in 1994.
He netted his first goal for his national side in a 1-0 win over England at Wembley back in March this year, scoring again three days later in an entertaining draw with Spain.
Endrick was also part of Dorival Junior's squad for the Copa America.
After three substitute appearances in the group stage, he made his first start for Brazil, replacing Vinícius who was suspended for their quarter-final against Uruguay.
However, he struggled during the contest, completing just one pass during the match, from kick-off, as they crashed out on penalties to Marcelo Bielsa's side.
Though showing only glimpses of what he can become, Cafu believes the sky is the limit for Endrick.
"Endrick can become a great player. He's young and has enormous potential and can grow a lot," Cafu concluded. "With Ancelotti as a manager, I'm sure he can become a top player."
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