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Glasgow giants Rangers maintained their lead at the top of the Premiership with a 3-1 win over Livingston away from home on Sunday.

The Gers claimed the three points thanks to goals from Scott Arfield, Joe Aribo and Fashion Sakala, with Giovanni van Bronckhorst winning his first league match in charge of the club.

He has now won both of his opening games in Scotland after beating Sparta Prague 2-0 at Ibrox in the Europa League on Thursday.

Lightweight

However, there were some worrying signs for the Dutchman as a couple of defensive lapses forced Allan McGregor into some top-class saves to keep them in front. Another concern was the performance of Ryan Kent out wide on the left.

We published an article after the win over Sparta pointing out that the winger let Van Bronckhorst down with his disappointing display. The 46-year-old put his faith in the ex-Liverpool ace again, though, and there was no discernible improvement.

Kent put in another frustrating display which will surely leave his manager livid. As per SofaScore, he lost a whopping 11 of his 16 duels (68.75%) and failed to make a single tackle, whilst also being dribbled past once. This shows that he was a lightweight for the Gers as he was unable to stand up to the physical challenge in the game, often losing his 50/50 battles.

On the ball, he was inconsistent and lacking in quality final product. He kept picking the ball up on the left side in space, but only completed two of his six attempted crosses and did not manage a single shot on target before being substituted in the 73rd minute. Kent ended the clash without a goal or assist, much like he did in the Europa League earlier this week.

Therefore, Van Bronckhorst will surely be disappointed with the £12.6m-rated gem, who failed to repay the faith shown in him by the head coach after selecting him again following his dismal showing against Sparta. However, it is worth saying that Kent has recently returned from an injury and it may take time for him to find his best form.

It will now be interesting to see whether the 46-year-old sticks by him for a third consecutive match against Hibernian in midweek or if he decides to take the winger out of the spotlight for a bit.

AND in other news, Forget Tavernier: Rangers bulldozer with four key passes was the real star of the show…

The ICC match referee has insisted that Daryl Harper did everything right when he controversially ruled Graeme Smith not out to a reviewed caught behind appeal

Cricinfo staff16-Jan-2010Roshan Mahanama, the ICC match referee, has insisted that Daryl Harper did everything right when he controversially ruled Graeme Smith not out to a reviewed caught behind appeal on the second day against England at the Wanderers which led to the visitors to lodge a complaint with ICC.Smith was on 15 when he slashed at Ryan Sidebottom and England were convinced they heard an edge. Tony Hill, the on-field official, turned down the appeal and Andrew Strauss asked for a review. Harper upheld Hill’s decision because he could not hear a sound on the replay, but it later emerged that he had not increased the volume setting on his monitor. This incensed Andy Flower, the England coach, but Mahanama said the right protocols were followed.”During the review, the TV umpire followed the correct protocol and as he did not hear any noise to indicate the ball hitting the bat, he recommended Mr Hill to uphold his earlier decision. It must be noted that umpire’s decision is final,” Mahanama said.”There have also been suggestions in a section of the press that Mr Harper had turned down the feed volume. It is clarified that the volume on the third umpire’s feed, right throughout the series, had been configured to optimise the quality of the audio, by both an SABC Head Engineer and the ICC technical advisor.”Contrary to what Flower told the media on the second evening, Mahanama said that he had had not told the England management that Harper had forgotten to increase the volume of the replay.”It is also worthwhile to mention here that at no stage I indicated to the England team management that the third umpire had forgotten to adjust the volume of the speakers. I had actually briefed the England team management of the protocols that were followed during this review.”If the audio level had been increased above its optimum level, distortion on the audio feed would have occurred and the feed might not have given a clear indication of the true sound.””It should be kept in mind that the TV umpires sometimes receive feeds which are at a different level to what others are receiving,” Mahanama added, “for the simple fact that various broadcasters at times use different technologies while televising a match and Johannesburg Test is a case in point.”In the end, it must be remembered that there needs to be conclusive evidence to over-turn the decision of the on-field umpire as the Decision Review System has been designed to eliminate the obvious umpiring errors.”

Manchester United are could finally end their striker hunt after being linked with a move for Sevilla’s Youssef En-Nesyri ahead of the upcoming January transfer window.

What’s the story?

According to Spanish outlet Super Deporte (as relayed by the Manchester Evening News), the Red Devils have the highly-rated 24-year-old on their ‘agenda’, with new manager Ralf Rangnick looking to make his mark on the first-team squad.

The report states that: “Manchester United has the Sevilla player Youssef En-Nesyri on the agenda…The English team are looking for a forward with good scoring figures, and En-Nesyri fits the profile they are managing.”

En-Nesyri was close to joining fellow Premier League outfit West Ham United in the summer after they had a €30 million (£25.5m) bid rejected, and Sevilla are said to be happy to let him leave ‘if a good offer arrives.’

Ralf Rangnick could end Man Utd’s striker hunt

With Edinson Cavani set to become a free agent at the end of the current campaign and Cristiano Ronaldo turning 37 in February, reinforcements at the top end of the pitch should be high up on Rangnick’s wishlist.

United have long been linked with an additional striker, and although Borussia Dortmund’s Erling Haaland is believed to be their No.1 target, the competition for his signature is set to be fierce.

Therefore, viable alternatives will need to be assessed by the club’s hierarchy, and a potential move for the £36m-rated En-Nesyri could well be on the cards.

The Morocco international only arrived from La Liga minnows Leganes in January 2020, but he’s quickly established himself as one of the division’s elite forwards, bagging 24 goals in 52 appearances for Julen Lopetegui’s charges last term.

And his underlying number were equally as impressive. As per WhoScored, En-Nesyri averaged 2.1 shots per league game throughout 2020/21, 2.5 aerial duels won and 1.6 touches in the penalty area, placing him in the top two for each metric when compared to his teammates.

These returns saw pundit Terry Gibson dub the African forward a “world-beater” and highlight his truly top-class potential.

Whether Rangnick would deem En-Nesyri an ideal fit for his high-intensity pressing system remains to be seen, but it appears as though the United hierarchy are keeping close tabs of the 6 foot 2 target man.

And, in other news…Huge boost: David Ornstein delivers big Man Utd update, Rangnick will be elated

The Indian board (BCCI) has confirmed that it will extend the contract of Gary Kirsten after his term runs out next month

Cricinfo staff03-Feb-2010The Indian board (BCCI) has confirmed it will extend the contract of Gary Kirsten, India’s coach, after his term runs out next month. Rumours have been circulating that Kirsten – who signed a two-year deal in March 2008 – was a frontrunner to take over as South Africa’s coach but he has denied being approached by his home country’s board.”He [Kirsten] will continue his stint with the Indian team,” the BCCI president Shashank Manohard told . “We will renew his contract.”Kirsten told the paper he had not been contacted by Cricket South Africa.Under Kirsten, India moved to No. 1 in the ICC’s Test rankings and they have won six of their last seven bilateral ODI series.

The New Zealand batsman Peter Ingram, who marked his debut with a brisk 42, believes the home side can cross 400

15-Feb-2010The New Zealand batsman Peter Ingram, who marked his debut with a brisk 42, believes the home side can cross 400. An unbeaten 100-run association between Martin Guptill and Brendon McCullum enabled New Zealand to overcome a tough position and finish the first day on top.”We’ll be looking for 400-450,” he said. “The boys will be going out there doing their routines and processes the best they can to try and achieve that. There’s a positive feeling in the camp. We talked about more guys needing to go on. Hopefully the boys do that tomorrow and put Bangladesh under pressure.”Ingram, 31, found himself at the crease in the sixth over after Shafiul Islam picked up Tim McIntosh. He began confidently with a series of boundaries before his dismissal – a loose pull shot to mid-on – left New Zealand 66 for 3. They became 126 for 4 when the impressive Rubel Hossain picked up his third wicket, Ross Taylor.”I’m happy with the way I played until the shot I played when I got out,” said Ingram. “It was a bad decision and bad execution. I felt like I hit balls that were there to be hit and played well until I made a bad decision and I got out. The wicket is a nice easy pace and good to bat on. I’m pretty gutted I threw it away really.”We all got starts and more guys need to go and make big scores which hopefully Guppy [Guptill] and Baz [McCullum] do tomorrow. Rubel bowled some good heat and you’ve got to be on top of your game every ball.”After taking those early wickets Bangladesh were seriously tested by Guptill and McCullum and will go into the second day trying to limit the damage. “We had a good chance the first two hours when we bowled well and fielded well,” said Mohammad Ashraful. “But later on we didn’t take any wickets so we’ve gone from 158 for five to 258 for five. Tomorrow we have to bowl well and take the rest of the wickets. The wicket was good I think. Rubel bowled well and Shakib [Al Hasan] bowled well but it’s not turning that much.”

Liverpool centre-back Joe Gomez would be an ‘amazing’ signing for Newcastle United, according to former Leeds United striker Noel Whelan.

The Lowdown: Gomez linked with Liverpool exit

The England international has had a frustrating start to the season, not starting a single Premier League game for the Reds and finding himself sidelined with an injury.

It has led to a rumour linking Gomez with a move away from Anfield in January, in order to enjoy more playing time ahead of next year’s 2022 World Cup.

With Newcastle languishing at the bottom of the table, Eddie Howe will no doubt to looking to sign players in January and Gomez could be a possible option.

The Latest: Newcastle tipped to sign defender

Speaking to Football Insider, Whelan admitted he struggles to see a move materialising but has no doubts about how good he would be for the Magpies:

“You’ve seen already that Zouma has been allowed to leave Chelsea. You never say never but it would be a shock. There are teams out there that need centre-half replacements. I’m looking at Newcastle for one.

“You could probably build a team around him at centre-half. He’s an amazing player and could be one of the pieces that Eddie Howe is looking for.

“But look, I mean, Joe Gomez seems to sort of player that wants to fight for his place before anything else.

“He’ll only think about his future Liverpool if he’s not required.”

The Verdict: Ideal but unlikely

While Gomez’s lack of football may suggest a move away from Liverpool could happen, it would be a major surprise if Jurgen Klopp let him leave midway through the season, having named him as captain against Norwich City in the Carabao Cup back in September.

At 24, he still represents the future for the Reds, and with Joel Matip injury-prone and Virgil van Dijk suffering a serious knee problem last season, he will surely be viewed as a key man still.

There is no denying that Newcastle could do with defensive reinforcements in their quest to beat the drop – they have conceded 30 times in 15 league games – but they may have to look elsewhere for additions.

It is also worth stressing that Gomez has had big injury problems of his own, so there could be a risk element in Newcastle signing him.

In other news, Newcastle reportedly have ‘the opportunity’ to sign one player. Find out who it is here.

Pundit Noel Whelan has been reacting to the news that Celtic forward Kyogo Furuhashi could be out of action for two to three weeks.

The Lowdown: Woes continue…

Furuhashi was brought on for Albian Ajeti on Thursday against Real Betis in a Europa League dead rubber clash, with the Swiss striker needing to be withdrawn with a hamstring problem.

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The Japan international also suffered a hamstring issue after coming on as a substitute and needed to be replaced in the 3-2 win over the La Liga outfit.

Ange Postecoglou confirmed on the weekend that the Celtic medical team believe Furuhashi will be out of action for ‘two to three weeks’, meaning he could miss the Glasgow derby on January 2 as well as the League Cup final next Sunday.

The Latest: Whelan’s comments

James Forrest was the latest Celtic player to suffer an injury at the weekend in a 1-0 win over Motherwell.

Whelan, who contributes for BBC Radio, was talking to Football Insider about Celtic’s injury problems and the latest on Furuhashi, to which he said:

“Every injury to that Celtic squad is going to be a massive blow – they don’t have the greatest depth.

“They’ve got the cup final coming up next weekend, and players like Jota, Forrest and Kyogo are potential match-winners.

“Those players have got the experience to make the difference in the title battle as well. This is a period in the season that can make or break your title challenge, and that’s the case now for Celtic.

“Big decisions are going to have to be made by Postecoglou, some players are going to have to step up and be that shining star.

“It’s not easy to get it right, they won’t want to be rushing these players back and risking them being out for longer.”

The Verdict: Will it ever end?

Celtic now have a shortage of attacking options with Ajeti, Forrest, Furuhashi, Giorgos Giakoumakis, Jota and Karamoko Dembele all sidelined.

Postecoglou has never really had a fully fit squad at his disposal since coming to Glasgow, but his attacking options have never been hit this hard during his Parkhead tenure.

Youngsters Liel Abada and Mikey Johnston are the only two fit and available senior attacking options at this moment in time, with David Turnbull starring in a false nine role against Motherwell.

The Hoops may need to go with that again on Wednesday, and hopefully at least one forward will be back in time for the League Cup final on Sunday.

In other news: Devlin claims ‘special’ Celtic ace may have broken bone amid ‘conflicting’ info. 

Plays of the Day from the IPL fixture between Mumbai Indians and Kings XI Punjab at the Brabourne Stadium

Cricinfo staff30-Mar-2010
Yuvraj Singh’s uneasy relationship with the Mumbai crowd continued (file photo)•Associated PressHarbhajan pays back
Harbhajan can make the captain angry for various things. So when he fumbled to pick the ball neatly for the second time in two overs, he earned Sachin Tendulkar’s wrath, as the Mumbai captain gestured angrily. Harbhajan did silence his critics soon, as he rushed back, fell down but held on to a difficult catch from Irfan Pathan at midwicket. Immediately, he got back on his legs, put his fingers to his lips, asking the crowd that had booed him earlier to stay mum.Missed call alerts
They were perhaps calling in Punjabi. Otherwise, it was difficult to understand the numerous misunderstandings Shaun Marsh and Mahela Jayawardene had during their eventful 49-run partnership, which would have ended even before it began had Marsh decided to remain stranded halfway down the pitch while taking a single. The confusion persisted even as both had the upper-hand against the bowlers. But the miscommunication finally claimed Jayawardene, who rushed to complete the single after Marsh had tapped towards point, but suddenly stopped a few yards into the run.Mumbai boos Yuvraj again
The Mumbai crowd has never been cordial to Yuvraj Singh. In the 2005 Ranji Trophy semi-final between Mumbai and Punjab, Yuvraj climbed into the stands at the Wankhede Stadium, bat in hand, to take on the spectator who was constantly heckling him with personal taunts.Then, during the first IPL in 2008, at the same venue, a disgruntled Yuvraj had to listen to incessant booing from all parts, which only prompted him to go on a wild victory-run after Punjab won the game. On the victory podium he quipped: “The crowds should remember there are players from Punjab who play for India.”Today, as Yuvraj lumbered in to bat, the crowd began to heckle him again. As fate would have it, Yuvraj found a horrendous way to throw his wicket, going for a pre-meditated scoop which finished in the hands of Harbhajan at short fine-leg. The chants only grew louder.Uninformed jockey
‘”Sreesanth (or) Harbhajan Singh”, screamed a ground DJ to stir up the crowd’s attention an hour before the game. Clearly, the man had been paid to read the lines blindly, and so he did, not knowing that Sreesanth had not made the trip to Mumbai for this game.David floors Goliath
Kieron Pollard is 6’4″. Piyush Chawla stands 5’6″ in socks. Still the diminutive Punjab player managed to ground Pollard as he set off to take a tight single. As Pollard rushed out of the blocks from the non-striker’s end, Chawla’s right foot came in the way, unintentionally, and the Trinidadian stumbled, lost his bat and then crawled into to the crease just in the nick of time to finish the run. As Chawla moved in to apologise, Pollard walked the other way.Harsh call, umpire
Let’s say it one more time: every rule in the Twenty20 is meant to make the batsman’s life easy. Apart from a purple cap, the bowlers get nothing much. So when Shalabh Srivastava bowled a fuller-length delivery, marginally wide of left-hander Saurabh Tiwary’s off stump, umpire Shavir Tarapore harshly called it a wide. Srivastava couldn’t believe it. Umpires clearly have a lot on their mind, but at times like these, they could be a little more lenient.

Hosts Jamaica recovered from their defeat to Ireland on Saturday to overpower Canada by 63 runs to extend the winless streak for the North Americans in the Jamaica Cricket Festival

Cricinfo staff12-Apr-2010Hosts Jamaica recovered from their defeat to Ireland on Saturday to overpower Canada by 63 runs to extend the winless streak for the North Americans in the Jamaica Cricket Festival.The Jamaicans were propped up by their top-order batsmen Brenton Parchment, Danza Hyatt, Donovan Pagon and John Ross Campbell, who all chipped in with significant scores to lay the foundation for a strong score.Parchment went after Rizwan Cheema, smashing 17 runs off the sixth over to push the Jamaicans to 51 without loss at that point.Hyatt, who topscored with 48, struck ten off the next over, from Hiral Patel, and there was no let-up for the tourists. Cheema eventually got Hyatt, after an explosive 33-ball 48, and Parchment departed soon after.Campbell and Pagon then took up the mantle towards the middle of the innings, posting 52 runs for the third wicket.Andre Russell and Carlton Baugh pushed up the scoring during the closing stages to finish with an imposing 175 for 4. Parth Desai bowled well to finish with 3 for 21.Canada’s reply was wrecked by Krishmar Santokie’s spell of 3 for 7 in three overs. Bevon Brown and Tamar Lambert picked two wickets each, to push Canada out of the game, and it was left to captain Ashish Bagai to strike an unbeaten 51, and taken them into three figures.Jamaica’s coach Junior Bennett was happy with the team’s improved performance and expressed satisfaction with the contribution of the young players in the squad such as Campbell and Kemar Marshall. “We are pleased with our performance throughout the festival. We are happy with the performances of the youngsters that we introduced this year and we were much better with the bat today,” said Bennett.”The openers gave us a good start and the batsmen did well to put them on the back foot and put away the poor deliveries.”Canada’s coach Pubudu Dassanayake was disappointed with the performance of his team. “We didn’t do too well at all when they made 175 it was pretty much unreachable for us but it’s good to see Ashish (Bagai) still getting some runs. That’s the only positive about this. We are now hoping to have a better time at Sabina Park,” he said.

Celtic have been dealt a major injury blow ahead of their upcoming Scottish Premiership fixture.

What’s the latest?

In recent comments cited by the Daily Record, Ange Postecoglou confirmed that David Turnbull is out of contention for the trip to St. Mirren on Wednesday evening, before going on to suggest that Kyogo Furuhashi is also a doubt for the clash.

Furthermore, the 56-year-old also went on to reveal that Benfica loanee Jota, who has been out of action since the start of the month after pulling his hamstring against Hearts, will not make a return to first-team football before the upcoming winter break, something that rules the winger out of the Old Firm fixture at the start of January.

Speaking about the current state of his squad, Postecoglou said: “Jota’s injury was quite significant, so we don’t think we will see him back out there before the break.

“Dave was the major one coming out of the final. We have had the scan, but we haven’t had the results yet. He will definitely be out for St Mirren, but I’m not sure how long he will miss.

“We will also have to particularly manage Kyogo during this period as he is not 100 per cent. I just need to see how he came through the game and look at St Mirren. I am not expecting anyone else to miss out and I also don’t expect anyone who was missing to return.”

Postecoglou will be fuming

While it is undoubtedly a major blow to lose the services of one of Celtic’s most impressive performers for the trip to The SMISA Stadium on Wednesday evening in the form of David Turnbull, the news that Jota does not look likely to return to first-team football before the club’s crunch match with Rangers on January 2 is sure to have left the Bhoys boss fuming.

Indeed, over his 11 Premiership appearances so far this season, the £3.15m-rated loanee has been in remarkable form for the Hoops, scoring five goals, providing four assists and creating two big chances for his teammates, as well as taking an average of three shots and making 1.5 key passes per game.

These returns have seen the £7.1k-per-week 22-year-old average an extremely impressive SofaScore match rating of 7.38, ranking him as Celtic’s fifth-best performer in the top flight of Scottish football – of the players who remain a part of Postecoglou’s first-team squad.

As such, while the loss of Turnbull and the potential absence of Kyogo ahead of the St. Mirren clash will certainly be frustrating for the Greek-Australian coach, the news that Jota looks likely to miss what could well be a make or break game in Celtic’s season against Rangers next month will undoubtedly come as a devastating blow for Postecoglou and his side.

In other news: Ange can finally axe “pathetic” £7.9k-p/w Celtic flop with swoop for £270k-rated beast