Results tagged “sport”
West Ham 2 Aston Villa 2
Dean Ashton's late strike earned West Ham a share of the spoils at Upton Park, and then learned he's made Fabio Capello's latest England squad.
The 24-year-old forward's 88th minute goal, a superb first time effort from the edge of the box, rescued a point for the Hammers after Villa looked set to snatch a win on the last day of the Premier League season.
The point, coupled with Tottenham's 2-0 home defeat against Liverpool, meant West Ham finished 10th in the table, although for most of the second half the most likely outcome looked to be a comprehensive defeat against a determined and enterprising Villa side.
West Ham wrap up their season on Sunday when Aston Villa travel to Upton Park in a game that has significance for both clubs.
The Hammers need to win to guarantee tenth place, ahead of bitter rivals Tottenham who lie just two points behind them in the Premier League table.
Spurs' superior goal difference means Alan Curbishley's men could be overtaken if they draw and Tottenham beat Liverpool, something that would be unpalatable to the majority of the Upton Park faithful.
Millwall striker Neil Harris has been rewarded with the offer of a new contract after a strong finish to the season.
The 30-year-old was all set to leave the club after last Saturday's final League One game at Swindon, but was desperate to extend his stay at The Den, a plea he put in print in The Wharf last week.
But Harris' man-of-the-match display against Carlisle on April 26 seems to have persuaded Lions' boss Kenny Jackett to reconsider his decision to allow him to leave on a free transfer.
SIGN UP for a major corporate challenge next month and you’ll find yourself rubbing shoulders with one of rugby’s greats.
Rory Underwood, England’s flying winger during the ’80s and ’90s, is taking part in the Microsoft UK Challenge.
He will join teams from several Canary Wharf companies, including HSBC and Barclays.
The former sporting giant, who now runs high performance development consultancy UPH, said: “I’m really looking forward to it. I’m doing a couple of events, although I don’t quite know what they involve – but then that’s the whole point.
RORY UNDERWOOD is backing Martin Johnson to do the business as England team manager, but thinks people need to give him time.
Underwood, who won 85 caps between 1984 and 1996, believes Johnson, England’s world cup winning captain, has all the attributes for the job he inherited from Brian Ashton.
He said: “Martin’s got great personal qualities. He’ll bring clearer leadership and direction to the team. He’s not at the same coaching level as Brian Ashton but he has nous to pass on.
Betbrokers' Nigel Seeley - The "Wizard of Odds" - picks his selections for Wharf punters to back.
Oi Oi you punters! That was the cheer when all three of our selections went in at the weekend netting us a very healthy £107.76 profit.
This weekend’s conclusion to the Premier League offers some of the best punting opportunities of the year. Manchester United are going for the title while Wigan have lost every game to United in their history. But are they 16/1 pokes at home? No!
If this game was played five weeks ago Wigan would be no bigger than 7/1 to win. Just because United need to win to retain the title bookies have doubled their price. It’s the age long argument with gambling – putting reason before value. 16/1 on Wigan winning is too big for a team which defeated Aston Villa and held Chelsea 1-1 at Stamford Bridge.
IT SHOULD be Manchester United, but Chelsea will be ready to capitalise on any mistakes.
That’s the view of ex-Chelsea star Graeme Le Saux on this weekend’s Premier League climax, which sees the two clubs both in with a shout of clinching the title.
Le Saux, speaking at the launch of the Real Man Cycling Challenge yesterday, thinks defending champions United hold the aces.
He said: “The advantage is still with Manchester United. They are effectively a point ahead with their goal difference and I don’t think they’ll slip up at Wigan.
“Chelsea are at home to Bolton and that’s not a dead cert. But the atmosphere on Sunday at Stamford Bridge, and the form of the team means they will beat Bolton, so at least they’ll finish the season giving themselves the best chance if Manchester United do slip up.”
THE WHEEL deal rolled into Canary Wharf this morning when a host of cyclists descended on Canada Square to launch the Real Man Cycling Challenge.
The challenge, sponsored by Barclays, takes place on Sunday, September 14, when 2,000 cyclists compete in teams of four over a 35km course starting and finishing at ExCeL London. It will raise funds for the Prostate Cancer Charity and is being held on roads, mainly around Canary Wharf.
Lending his support was Phil Liggett, the familiar voice of cycling over many years of covering the sport on TV. He explained why he was involved.
He said: “I’m an ambassador for the charity. I hope we’ll raise lots of money because they’ve got the corporates involved and they’ve got the influence to get these roads closed. It’s going to be a very interesting concept and I really hope they get big support.”
THIS IS the man who proved Wharfers have big hearts when it comes to raising money for charity.
Alun Thomas, deputy global head at HSBC, raised a magnificent £5,000 in last year’s British Heart Foundation Canary Wharf Jog.
Alun, 49, hopes to exceed that total in this year’s event on June 4, and he’s throwing the gauntlet down to the other banks in Canary Wharf to try and beat him.
He said: “I want other banks to take me and HSBC on. We raised more than £100,000 last year but we can do even better this time. It’s a great cause and a really fun event and the banks can be at the forefront of some really significant fundraising.”
Alun’s efforts saw him pick up The Wharf Trophy for raising the highest individual amount, and he revealed his success was due to revising his strategy.
THE GOLF Show delievered its usual mix of fun, fashion and big names when it rolled into Docklands.
The annual golfing extravaganza at ExCeL London last weekend always attracts big crowds and this year was no exception with thousands heading to the Royal Docks venue.
A sprinkling of celebrities added to the fun with two Ronnies – diminutive comedian Ronnie Corbett and former Manchester United manager Ron Atkinson – both at the show.
“I WANT to stay. I love Millwall and I’d love to be here next season.”
Millwall legend Neil Harris has sent out a plea to extend his stint at The Den, and give him the chance to break Teddy Sheringham’s all-time goal-scoring record.
Harris, who has hit 107 goals for the Lions, is out of contract at the end of the season and he’d dearly love to pass Sheringham’s mark of 111. But manager Kenny Jackett seemed to have ruled the striker out of his plans.
Betbrokers' Nigel Seeley - "The Wizard of Odds" - gives his tips for the week:
ASTON Villa's Ashley Young wasn't the only person to hit the crossbar last weekend!
We just missed out on a small fortune when Villa were held 2-2 by Everton, ending our hopes of a very nice treble. But our two other suggestions, Sunderland and Sheffield United, did the business to net us a tidy £28.43 profit.
This weekend sees the conclusion of the Championship. With so many teams fighting for their lives at both ends of the division it's hard to have a serious wager as the form book always goes out of the window on the final day.
IT'S ALMOST the end of the road for West Ham as they play their last away game of the season against Manchester United this weekend.
Alan Curbishley takes his 100 per cent record against the Premier League Champions to Old Trafford on Saturday (May 3), knowing a point would be good enough to guarantee the Hammers 10th place.
The Irons will be without Freddie Ljungberg, whose cracked rib sustained in last Saturday's (April 26) 2-2 draw with Newcastle will rule him out for a month, and possible the European Championships.
Millwall News with Ian Toal
With last Saturday’s excellent 3-0 home win over promotion chasing Carlisle United, the Lions have secured their position in League for next season with just one more game to go.
This was one of our best performances of the season, partly because we capitalised on our chances, something we have failed to do regularly enough this season.
The inspiration for the performance came from Millwall’s all-time leading league scorer, Neil Harris, who set up two goals and scored another in a man-of-the-match performance that reminded many fans of our former striker Teddy Sheringham.
LEE WESTWOOD had fans flocking to the Golf Show and the Ryder Cup star hopes 2008 will bring him a long-awaited first major title.
Westwood, 35, has been one of Europe’s top golfers for more than a decade but has yet to claim one of the game’s majors. His best finish was fourth at The Open in 2004, and it’s a tournament he’s determined to win.
“The Open is the most prestigious and important to any British player, with it being the only major held outside the States. Everybody wants to win the claret jug,” he said.
WEST Ham squandered a two goal lead but produced their best performance for weeks against Kevin Keegan's resurgent Newcastle side.
In bright sunshine at Upton Park on Saturday goals from Mark Noble and Dean Ashton were just reward for the Hammers' early dominance and they should really have been out of sight well before half-time.
But two defensive lapses enabled Obafemi Martins and then Geremi to pull the Magpies level just before the break, and Irons' fans must have feared the worst.
IT WAS 13th time lucky for Micky Steeds as he made his long-awaited return to the ring.
The Isle of Dogs boxer beat the veteran Paul Bonson on Friday night (April 19), in what was his 13th professional bout, after almost a year out of the fight game.
“I’m glad to have got that one out of the way,” said Steeds. “I’m pleased it wasn’t unlucky. It was a tough fight but it’s what I needed after a year out, so I’m happy.”
It was Steeds’ first fight since last May, and only his second at cruiserweight, having moved down from the heavyweight division.
WEST HAM’S big-earners can breathe easy this week as they won’t be the fall guys when the squad is cut down in size after the season finishes.
Alan Curbishley’s expensively assembled collection of players, many of whom have spent longer on the treatment table than the pitch, is almost certain to be reduced, according to Hammers’ chief executive Scott Duxbury.
But Duxbury denied senior, and highly-paid, pros like Freddie Ljungberg and Lucas Neill will be allowed to leave, insisting it will be fringe players, such as Nigel Quashie and Calum Davenport, who are likely to be shown the Upton Park door in an effort to cut costs.
The Lions' Roar by Ian Toal
Last weekend’s home defeat against Leeds United summed up our season well.
The Lions played well, putting the giants of the division under pressure in the second half and creating quite a few chances.
But you just knew that if we did not take one of those chances we would live to regret it. Predictably Leeds broke upfield and Prutton mis-hit a shot that squirmed into the bottom corner. One-nil then turned into 2-0 and it was game over for Millwall.
Charlton Athletic supporters will get a second chance to receive a free Premier League season ticket.
Chairman Derek Chappell has announced the club has decided to repeat last year’s offer to provide a season’s top-flight football at no extra charge if the Addicks are promoted at the end of the 2008/09 campaign.
And Chappell promised that everyone at Charlton will be pulling out all the stops to make the free season ticket become a reality.
Millwall Rugby Club will celebrate the end of the season with their annual festival at Mudchute Farm this Saturday.
With the official league season drawing to a close, the Isle of Dogs club have begun preparations for their annual Millwall England v Millwall Rest of the World match, where all the English adult men’s players from the club take on a Barbarians-like team featuring players from over 15 countries.
The festival day also features matches from the Millwall U12s, U14s, Millwall Venus - the club’s Ladies section - and the hugely successful U16s.
RONNIE O’SULLIVAN is the man to beat – but don’t rule out a surprise in this year’s Snooker World Championships.
So says player-turned-commentator John Virgo ahead of the biggest tournament of the year, which starts at Sheffield’s Crucible Theatre on Saturday (April 19).
O’Sullivan, champion in 2001 and 2004, is the bookies’ favourite, but Virgo, an ambassador for Wharf-based betting company Betbrokers, thinks there are plenty in the field who could give him a run for his money.
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Chessboxing could be coming to East London. Are you ready for fight knight?
BRAINS and brawn could be colliding in Docklands this summer.
The area may host Britain’s first showcase of Chessboxing, a discipline which allows competitors to test their opponent’s brain power before pummelling it in the ring.
North London resident Tim Woolgar is keen to launch the sport in the UK after visiting an event in Berlin last year. He runs a class in Islington but also hopes to set up another in Shadwell.
He said: “It’s the number one thinking sport combined with the number one fighting sport.
“I think the East End has the right sort of atmosphere for this. People seem quite open to trying new things.”
West Ham fans will have the chance to play at Upton Park if they enter a five-a-side tournament in aid of the Bobby Moore Fund.
Organisers of the new competition, which aims to raise £70,000 for cancer research, want teams from east London and Essex to take part in a qualifying competition in Dagenham on May 18.
The winning team will go forward to a finals day at the Boleyn Ground on June 2, where they will face seven other teams from across the country for the Bobby Moore Fund Trophy.
The Lions Roar by Ian Toal
The away win at Hartlepool was hugely important.
The win on Saturday hasn’t yet guaranteed our safety in League One, but it was a pretty large step
towards it.
In fact, it even dragged a couple of other clubs back into the relegation dogfight.
The huge importance of the game was demonstrated by the supporters up there, who were all talking nervously in the pub before the game as to where we were going to get the points needed between now and the end of the season.
WEST HAM’S injury jinx has struck again.
Saturday’s (April 12) 1-0 defeat at Bolton not only dealt another blow to West Ham’s hopes of securing a top-10 finish, but saw centre-back Anton Ferdinand limp off with a hamstring injury which is likely to rule him out for the rest of the season.
It’s just the latest of a seemingly endless run of injuries for the unfortunate Hammers this season, with many of the first-team squad currently missing.
THE LONG wait is nearly over for thousands of runners in the Flora London Marathon, but even if you aren’t one of them you can still play an active part.
This Sunday (April 13) some 36,000 runners will take to the streets for the race, with thousands more lining the route to watch.
The Isle of Dogs and Docklands hosts about six miles of the race and volunteers are urgently needed to help marshal the route and give out information to spectators. Marshals are provided by local charity the Dockland Settlements.
MARTIN JOHNSON is the man to lead the revival of English rugby, according to one of his former international team-mates.
Harlequins star Andy Gomarsall thinks Johnson, who skippered England to World Cup glory in 2003, is perfect to take on a manager’s role – and he could work with current coach Brian Ashton.
“I think he would be fantastic,” he said. “His rugby cv is the best so he would be awesome."
Transport for London (TfL) has announced details of road closures and alterations to public transport on the day of the race.
Bus services on the Isle of Dogs and in south-east London will be subject to diversions and suspensions, some of which will take effect from 6.30am.
Affected routes include the D3, D7, D8, 100, 277, ELC and ELW. Passengers are advised to find alternative routes. Roads on the Isle of Dogs will close from 8am, reopening by 7pm.