Dundee United stay top despite defeat to Airdrieonians

By Sports Desk February 27, 2024

Dundee United suffered a stutter in their push for the cinch Championship title as Jim Goodwin’s men were beaten 2-0 by Airdrieonians at Tannadice Park.

After the Tangerines went close to taking the lead in the first half, with Glenn Middleton’s free-kick hitting the bar, they fell behind in the 59th minute when Gabby McGill headed in a Charlie Telfer cross.

Rhys McCabe’s side then wrapped things up via a Josh O’Connor finish in the fourth minute of time added on at the end.

Dundee United remain top of the table but on goal difference alone, with second-placed Raith joining them on 51 points after drawing 0-0 at home to Morton.

Related items

  • Tottenham 0-3 Arsenal: Gunners stay unbeaten under Slegers with derby rout Tottenham 0-3 Arsenal: Gunners stay unbeaten under Slegers with derby rout

    Arsenal retained their unbeaten record under interim manager Renee Slegers by thrashing North London rivals Tottenham 3-0 in the Women's Super League on Saturday.

    Slegers had overseen a return of four wins and one draw from her first five matches in charge of the Gunners following Jonas Eidevall's exit, and her team managed another statement victory at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

    They needed just 63 seconds to open the scoring through Alessia Russo, who fired across goal and in after turning on the left-hand side of the area.

    Arsenal continued to dominate and only a fine block from Amanda Nilden denied Katie McCabe from eight yards, but Tottenham's resistance was broken again in the 22nd minute. Frida Maanum exchanged passes with Kim Little before slotting her finish into the bottom-left corner, with a static Spurs defence applying no pressure whatsoever.

    Beth England drew a full-stretch save from Daphne van Domselaar as Tottenham briefly improved, but Arsenal killed the contest 66 minutes in, substitute Stina Blackstenius breaking onto Mariona Caldentey's delicate throughball to finish when one-on-one.

    The victory takes Arsenal fourth in the table with 15 points, one adrift of Brighton, who continued their impressive start to the campaign with a 3-2 victory over West Ham earlier on Saturday.

    Fran Kirby scored an 82nd-minute winner for the Seagulls after West Ham had fought back from 2-0 down to level the contest, having also assisted Rachel McLauchlan's opener. That first goal involvement took Kirby to 100 in the WSL, making her just the fourth player to reach that milestone.

    Data Debrief: Fast start key for Arsenal

    Tottenham improved in the middle period of the game but a slow start cost them, which will be a particular blow to coach Robert Vilahamn after they conceded within 24 seconds versus Manchester City last time out.

    Russo's goal, scored after one minute and three seconds, is the second-fastest in Arsenal's WSL history, after Jordan Nobbs' 28-second strike against Liverpool in October 2014. 

  • 'It will happen in a year, two years' - Ronaldo hints at retirement date 'It will happen in a year, two years' - Ronaldo hints at retirement date

    Cristiano Ronaldo says it will be one or two years before he retires from football as he aims to enjoy the end of his career.

    The 39-year-old scored twice on Friday, including a stunning overhead kick, as Portugal cruised past Poland 5-1 in the Nations League, to clinch top spot of Group A1.

    Overall, Ronaldo has now netted 910 times in his career, with 135 of those coming for Portugal, including five goals in five Nations League appearances this campaign.

    Ronaldo has dropped hints in recent months though that his retirement is drawing closer, with his 40th birthday coming up in February, and he says his main goal is to enjoy playing football while he still can.

    "Planning the retirement of football... It will happen in a year, two years, I don't know," Ronaldo said.

    "I say honestly, it's not a joke, it's enjoying the moment, feeling that I'm enjoying football. Get up and go to training and to the game motivated.

    "When I don't feel that, I'll step forward and say, 'I can't do it anymore.' It's an excellent career, I haven't felt it yet."

    He was a standout once again for Portugal as he finished the match against Poland with a game-high 2.06 expected goals (xG), generated from five shots, the most of any player on the pitch.

    Ronaldo hit the 900-goal mark in September, with many believing he would next be targeting 1,000 as another goal in his storied career.

    The forward has scored 10 more goals since then but insisted he was not actively thinking about making it to four figures.

    "If you ask me if I want to reach a thousand goals... It's normal to want it. But I don't think about it," he added.

    "Think game by game. In three months, I will be 40 years old. It's about taking it easy and enjoying.

    "That's what I've been doing, especially in the national team, which is where I like to play the most. I like to play for the national team, and I really enjoy coming here. Scoring goals and good performances helps too.

    "Day by day. Enjoy goal after goal. Enjoy the moment. The thousand goals don't matter to me at all, honestly."

  • Indonesia 0-4 Japan: Visitors stay unbeaten with rout Indonesia 0-4 Japan: Visitors stay unbeaten with rout

    Japan continued their unbeaten start to World Cup qualifying with a 4-0 victory over Indonesia on Friday.

    Two goals from the visitors in either half were enough to seal the three points and get them back to winning ways after a stalemate with Australia last time out.

    Ragnar Oratmangoen should have put Indonesia ahead, but he hesitated one-on-one with the goalkeeper, and Japan did not look back after that. They got a bit of fortune with their first goal, Justin Hubner deflecting a cross into his own net in the 35th minute.

    Takumi Minamino got their second just before the break, finishing off a pacy counter-attack by darting onto the end of Kaoru Mitoma’s cross to sweep it past Maarten Paes.

    While there was not much the goalkeeper could do with that one, he was at fault for the third as he gifted the ball to Hidemasa Morita, who coolly picked out the bottom corner just after the break.

    Yukinari Sugawara came off the bench to round off the scoring in the 69th minute. He raced down the right wing and instead of looking to his options, he rifled it in from a tight angle at the near post.

    Japan are up to 13 points after five games, sitting top of Group C, while Indonesia are bottom, still in search of their first win.

    Data Debrief: Clinically done

    For a team still chasing their first win, Japan are probably not high on the list of opponents they would want to face, and Indonesia were undone by their visitors.

    Hajime Moriyasu's side created 0.79 expected goals (xG) to Indonesia's 0.72, while they only had four more shots than their hosts (12 compared to eight).

    Japan took their chances, and though the win margin may look harsh, they were deserving of the three points, having dominated throughout the game.

© 2024 SportsMaxTV All Rights Reserved.