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• Son Heung-min believes Arsenal should fear in-form Tottenham

  Tottenham captain Son Heung-min is eager to right the wrongs of last season’s north London derby results and knows Arsenal will not want to face them.

  Spurs lost 3-1 and 2-0 to their closest rivals during the 2022-23 campaign, which allowed Arsenal to complete a first double in this fixture since 2014.

  Last season proved to be a nadir for Tottenham with a number of managerial changes followed by an eighth-placed finish, but the appointment of Ange Postecoglou has transformed the mood in N17.

  Postecoglou claimed the Premier League manager of the month award for August and Spurs will travel to the Emirates Stadium on a four-match winning streak in the division.

  “Any away game is tough in the Premier League, it’s not easy. We had a tough year at Arsenal last season,” Son acknowledged.

  “I know what it means for the club, the fans and players as well. We should understand what kind of game it is. It’s going to be a really difficult game but they won’t want to face us at this time.

  “We just have to give it everything we have and it will be a difficult game for both sides, but we’re looking forward to this game because it’s the right time to play against them. We’ll have a good game.”

  While Tottenham have enjoyed a flying start to life under Postecoglou, Arsenal warmed up for Sunday’s clash with a 4-0 victory over PSV Eindhoven on their Champions League return.

  Spurs were also rocked this week by the news Ivan Perisic has suffered a complex anterior cruciate ligament injury to his right knee.

  It will reduce Postecoglou’s options from the bench and Bryan Gil, who had surgery on his groin in August, is still working his way back to full fitness and not training with the first-team group yet.

  Nevertheless, Son will remind the squad and any new arrivals in the coming days of the importance of this weekend’s fixture.

  He added: “It is a special game, for them as well. The result is probably the most important of the season. Look, we had a tough year of away games, it was tough to take. Winning is never free.

  “You go there and you won’t get three points for free. We wish we could get them for free. Go there, get three points and come back. It sounds easy but it’s never like that.

  “We have to work hard, we’re working hard in the week. The players are ready and looking forward to it. I’m pretty sure they don’t want to face us at this moment. I guarantee we’re going to give everything. The result I can’t promise you, but one thing I can guarantee is we’re going to give everything for this club on Sunday.”

• KC, C'Bar blank Camperdown, Charlie Smith in Group A double-header

  Former champions Kingston College and Calabar continued their upward trend in Group A of the ISSA/Digicel Manning Cup, as both registered 2-0 and 3-0 victories over Camperdown and Charlie Smith respectively at the Anthony Spaulding Sports Complex on Wednesday.

  Both Kingston College and Calabar, who lost their opening contests, have rebounded nicely with these being their second win on the trot in a competitive group that is expected to go down to the wire for the top two positions.

  In the opening contest, Alex Hislop (fourth) and Kelvin Brown (65^th) got the job done for Kingston College over Camperdown, while Javel Watson (20^th), Fitzroy McLeod (79^th) and Kimani Thompson (90+2), were on target for Calabar in the feature encounter.

  With the win, both Calabar and Kingston College moved to six points, along with leader Hydel, who hammered Penwood 10-0 in their fixture. Charlie Smith remains in fourth on three points, with Camperdown and Penwood yet to put a point on the board.

  After Hislop fired Kingston College in front, the tempo of the young North Street-based team dropped significantly but picked up when the game resumed from a short break due to severe weather conditions.

  Kingston College should have added a second from the penalty spot, but Dejuan Green tried to be too fancy and hit the 12-yard kick wide, as the score remained 1-0 at the break.

  The purples continued their dominant show on the resumption and though Camperdown tried to play their game, the failed to really trouble Dominic Robinson in goal for Kingston College.

  Vassell Reynolds’s side eventually added to their tally when Brown waltzed his way around three defenders before finishing a right-footer with aplomb to seal the win.

  Though not impressed, Reynolds welcomed the improved second half display and, by extension, the win.

  “I think we rose to the occasion; it is still a work in progress, but the youngsters are learning very quickly. I am pretty satisfied with how they recovered from the first half. I thought the break helped us really, we were giving away possession of the ball and we lacked the composure in the first half, but they came out and equipped themselves in the second half,” Reynolds said in his post-game assessment.

  His counterpart Lebert Halliman cited indiscipline for his team’s defeat, their second of the season. They also have against Hydel in which they are down 0-5 to be completed.

  “Indiscipline is why I took off my captain because he wasn’t playing his role. But overall, I think the team did well, it’s a young team and a long season, so it’s a learning process for them,” Halliman said.

  The feature contest was much more eventful, as both Charlie Smith and Calabar were evenly matched for the most parts.

  Both displayed individual flair and some colorful plays in patches, but it was Calabar that proved the most clinical in the end.

  The Andrew Price-conditioned Calabar opened the scoring in the 20^th minute when an unmarked Watson, easily headed home at close range from a Jaheim Rankine cross.

  They almost doubled the lead 12 minutes later, as Sheridan Wilson’s stinging right-footed shot from a distance had Deonte Gary, in goal for Charlie Smith beaten, but the effort came back off the crossbar.

  With no changes to the scoreline at the break, Charlie Smith showed more purpose on the resumption in their hunt for the equalizer. However, they not only found themselves with a numerical disadvantage when they lost Gary to straight red in the 61^st minute for stomping on an opponent, but they also found themselves with a two-goal deficit to make up.

  This, as Anthony McDonald’s weighted free kick found McLeod, who made no mistakes.

  And if that wasn’t bad enough, Thompson rubbed salt on an already wounded Charlie Smith with an easy close range finish in time added.

  Wednesday’s results

  Zone A

  Kingston College 2, Camperdown 0

  Charlie Smith 0, Calabar 3

  Penwood 0, Hydel High 10

  Zone B

  Meadowbrook 3, Cumberland 2

  Jamaica College 3, Spanish Town 0

  Zone D

  Excelsior 7, Cedar Grove 1

  Bridgeport 2, Clan Carthy 1

  Zone E

  St Catherine 7, Edith Dalton James 0

  Innswood 2, Holy Trinity 0

  Mona 9, St Mary’s College 1

   

• Valerien Ismael frustrated by mistakes in Watford’s draw with West Brom

  Watford head coach Valerien Ismael was unhappy with errors from his side in their 2-2 draw against West Brom.

  The hosts took the lead and lost it again within the first 17 minutes before fighting back at a drenched Vicarage Road.

  With the game declining as a spectacle due to the conditions, Ismael believed his side were too sloppy.

  He said: “We made a mistake and we gave West Brom a chance to stay in the game.

  “To come back into the game shows a great mentality. We do the right thing but if we want to improve we have to avoid mistakes – to be more ruthless.

  “At the minute we take too many chances to score. Sometimes it works well, so this is what we take from the game.

  “If you see their second goal, it’s incredible. It’s a process when you work with young players you have to be patient.”

  Those braving the rain in Hertfordshire witnessed a pulsating opening 23 minutes.

  Tom Ince netted his first goal for Watford after just three minutes but West Brom responded with a John Swift free-kick and a Jed Wallace strike to lead 14 minutes later.

  But Watford replied when Matheus Martins picked the ball up, made his way to the edge of the area and struck sweetly past Alex Palmer.

  The contest saw no further goals, although Daniel Bachmann had to turn away a Brandon Thomas-Asante drive after the break.

  Alex Palmer was made to turn a header from Ismael Kone on to the crossbar and away to safety, but a point was enough for both sides.

  West Brom head coach Carlos Corberan wanted his side to be firmer in their play.

  He said: “We conceded an early goal, it was a poor start to the game. We played a ball we shouldn’t have done.

  “In general, I had the feeling in the first half that we were too deep, we were not aggressive enough in pressing them.

  “Today, I liked the reaction of the team after the first goal, we should have been more aggressive in defence.

  “There was a lot of effort but it was not the most technical game. We will analyse, review and improve.”