GOALS from Lucy Anthony, Lucia Yates and Daisy Moore were enough for RAG to book their place in the next round of the cup as the dominance of their midfield seemed all too much to handle for the home side.
A quick start to the encounter payed off, when Jenna Emmerton’s shot rebounded off the USW keepers’ foot and straight into the path of Daisy Moore, who calmly slotted home to make it 0-1.
The away side shortly followed up with another goal to make it 0-2 after 8 tough minutes for USW. Moore was controlling the midfield area, and slotted through a neat pass that found the stick of Lucy Anthony who turned the ball past the keeper.
After 10 minutes of play, it was obvious that USW were being dominated in the middle of the park.
Another case of bad defending from the home side allowed RAG to take the game further from USW’S grasp, as Anthony tapped the ball home at the far post.
Two goals on the stroke of half time seemed to have killed all of USW’S momentum, before Anthony secured her first half hat-trick and helped RAG extend their lead to 0-5.
USW came out in the second full of energy, and it didn’t take long for them to create their first chance. After a penalty corner, the ball fell nicely and was shot well, but it was excellently saved by a diving Eliza Nelstrop.
Soon after, USW had another opportunity to get their first goal. An effort from just inside the box unfortunately hit the post and bounced back for RAG to counterattack.
Despite their chances, USW conceded their sixth goal of the game late on after a scrappy bit of play in their own D. The home side were unable to clear the danger which resulted in Emmerton netting from close range.
Just before the full-time whistle, RAG wrapped up the game by securing their seventh goal. The keeper rushed out to clear the ball, but Emmerton was on hand first to score the game’s final goal.
The game finished 7-0 to the away side with USW rueing their missed chances. The heavy defeat sees USW exit the competition while RAG advance to the next round.
Bayer Leverkusen beat Borussia Dotmund 4-3 in an exciting end-to-end game at the BayArena, which will have a big impact on the title race.
Leverkusen took the lead, Dortmund were then able to hit back with two goals but the home side Leverkusen were able to equalise before the break. Dortmund took the lead once again but Leverkusen were able to seal the win with two quickfire goals.
The earlier chances fell for Dortmund. Jadon Sancho and Julian Brandt the men involved with the majority of those chances. Lukas Hradecky was the first keeper to be properly tested after a powerful effort by Erling Haaland at the near post.
Despite their early efforts, Dortmund found themselves behind after a terrific counterattacking breakaway. A through ball played just ahead of a sprinting Kevin Volland allowed him to get away from his defender and finish into the bottom corner to make the score 1-0 to the hosts.
Immediately after going behind Dortmund had a chance to score but Brandt’s effort was pushed out for a corner. The corner which was superbly whipped in by Sancho found the head of captain Mats Hummels who was able to direct it in to the far corner of the goal and Dortmund found themselves on level terms just two minutes after conceding.
Leverkusen did then have a goal disallowed for offside. A cross found Moussa Diaby who volleyed it in but it was not to be on this occasion.
Minutes later, Dortmund found themselves ahead. The ball fell to Emre Can and on his league debut for Dortmund, he whipped the ball in to the corner from distance, giving Hradecky no chance.
The away side thought they were going in at half time ahead but just before the break, Leverkusen took a short corner and whipped the ball towards the back post. A clever flick back in to the middle by Jonathan Tah fell to Volland who smashed it in for both his and Leverkusen’s second of the game.
Shortly after the break the away side thought they had taken the lead once again. Brilliant play from Sancho who passed the ball out wide to Achraf Hakimi who eventually cut the ball back out to Sancho who was able to direct his finish under the keeper and in. However, after a pitchside VAR check, the referee was able to spot an off the ball foul in the build up to the goal and disallowed yet another goal.
Moving in to the 64th minute, Leverkusen came close to taking the lead after Kai Havertz hit the post, but after the ball was cleared, Dortmund, on the counterattack, passed it around the box and eventually, Hakimi was able to play it in to Raphael Guerreiro who passed the ball in to the bottom corner to make the score 4-3.
With just 10 minutes remaining, Leverkusen were able to find their equaliser. After Can was able to tackle Volland just before he could get his shot away in front of goal, the ball fell fortunately for substitute Leon Bailey who finished it simply.
A minute later, Leverkusen picked the ball up out wide and it was eventually whipped in to the box where their captain, Lars Bender, was there to meet it with his head and find its way in to the back of the net to make it 4-3.
Dortmund had a chance to get a point out of the game in the final minute but Axel Witsel was unable to get his header on target. The final whistle blew meaning that it was Leverkusen who would take all three points from a thrilling game.
The win pushes Leverkusen up to 37 points, 2 behind Dortmund, 4 behind second placed RB Leipzig and 5 behind Bayern Munich who are currently top. Munich and Leipzig face eachother tomorrow in the Bundesliga with top spot up for grabs.
BRE SPORT MAN OF THE MATCH: Kevin Volland. Could have gone to a number of players. Volland gets it for his two first half goals, his commitment throughout the game and his runs off the ball.
On November 9th 2019, KSI, defeated Logan Paul by split decision in both their professional boxing debuts and now Logan’s brother, Jake, is seeking revenge.
British Youtuber, KSI, came out on top against American Youtuber, Logan Paul in Los Angeles’ Staples Centre, which accumlated, approximately 2 million live viewers. KSI’s split decision win came as a result of the referee’s controversial decision to deduct 2 points from Logan for two illegal punches landed upon KSI. The undercard welcomed championship fighters, such as Devin Haney and Billy Joe Saunders and was promoted by Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing.
So, after the first professional boxing fight between two youtubers, which many boxing fans defined as an ‘insult’ to boxing, where do we go from here? Well, after his brother’s defeat, Jake Paul, is now making it his mission to avenge his brother’s defeat and beat KSI. However, before this, he must defeat British Youtuber, Anesongib.
It’s no mystery that Jake had always planned to fight KSI, even if his brother had defeated him, but one of the specifications that Eddie Hearn and Matchroom Boing offered him in order to be granted a fight with him, was that he fought one fighter before this, to show his worth, as it were. Many names were thrown about but none seemed to be professional boxers, just more entertainers.
Jake won his first and only amateur fight against KSI’s brother, Deji, on the undercard of the first encounter between the two internet giants back in 2018 by way of TKO. His fight with ‘Gib’ will serve as the co-main event for the Demetrius Andrade-Luke Keeler WBO middleweight title fight and will take place on January 3oth in Miami.
The bout will be six 3-minute rounds with each fighter wearing 10-ounce gloves. Gib has had two amateurs fights, winning both, one by way of TKO.
The Press Conference of the Jake Paul v Anesongib fight.
“It seems like I’m overlooking him because that’s the narrative we’ve built,” Paul said at their press conference at the beginning of January. “At the end of the day, I have to defeat him first. Jan. 30 is what I’m focused on. But I know I’m going to win. You have nothing to lose. This is your biggest payday. This is your 15 seconds of fame. You’re seven-and-half seconds in. How is it so far? Is it good? You enjoying your 15 seconds of fame? Soak it in while you can.
“But here’s the thing: You have nothing to lose. I have everything to lose. I’m Jake Paul, the big, bad wolf. If you think you have a mental edge over me, you’re f—ing wrong, kid.”
While Gib has played the more humble role, stating he understands the challenge laid out ahead of him but he is ready.
“This is the fight I wanted, he didn’t want this fight. I forced this fight upon him. So, I’ve been training every day. I’m doing the sparring. I’m doing the running. I’m doing the training. That’s all I got to do.”
Both fighters have a strong motive going in to this fight and either one of them has the capability of winning it. Eddie Hearn has expressed that, like the KSI v Logan fight, this will be a professional fight and it will be treated as such.
Is Youtube boxing going to now be a thing? This will be the fourth boxing event that Youtubers have played a role. Boxing fans don’t seem to support this decision but as Eddie Hearn will say, this is the way the world is going, this is a digital age and having internet stars such as Jake Paul and Gib fighting on professional boxing cards, will bring in a younger audience, fans that may not have been as interested in boxing beforehand. Can we really argue with that?
The fight takes place on January 30th in Miami and you can watch on Sky Sports Box Office.
When we look back at some of the best heavyweight boxers, such as, Ali and Tyson, in their prime, there’s no doubt that they were the best in the world, at the time. However, with the likes of Anthony Joshua, Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury now all experiencing the primes of their careers, the question of who is the best appears far more controversial. Where do we start?
For the past four years, it has been Joshua who’s been recognised as the best but after his shock defeat to Mexican heavyweight, Andy Ruiz Jr, it’s now all a matter of opinion who it is. It’s been looking likely for some time that Joshua would eventually fight Deontay Wilder, given that he currently holds the WBC heavyweight champion belt, the one belt that Joshua does not already hold. However, plenty of things have gotten in the way of this fight, that fans have been calling for ever since Joshua beat Klitschko back in 2017.
In that time, Joshua has fought Carlos Takam, Joseph Parker (his first fight that went the distance), Alexander Povetkin, his loss to Ruiz and then his rematch win that saw him win his belts back. Joshua’s record currently reads, 24 fights, 23 wins, 1 loss and 21 of his wins coming by way of knockout. Many out there feel that his one loss to Andy Ruiz has most likely prevented him from ever being considered the best boxer ever, or at least of this generation but I believe they’re wrong…
Let’s take a look at Deontay Wilder. Wilder is currently 34 years old, 4 years older than Joshua, and has fought almost double the number of professional fights that Joshua has. His record is currently, 43 fights, 42 wins, 1 draw and 41 wins by knockout. He remains unbeaten.
Wilder is known for his insane punching power, which is evident by his 41 knockout wins, and in his draw with Tyson Fury, back in December 2018, was able to knock him down despite struggling to take control during the first half of the fight. His power can not be understated. The first bout between Wilder and Fury was the only fight that either of them hadn’t won. Wilder was, in my opinion, dominated in the fight, and despite knocking down Fury in the 12th round, he should’ve lost the fight, but he drew and his record remains in tact, so therefore, he holds on to his belt. The rematch between the two will take place on the 22nd February and we have to assume that one of these two heavyweights are going to experience their first loss, but who?
Wilder isn’t known for his defence game, most likely because he always seems to be the one attacking but nonetheless, these are things that need to be considered when assessing who is the best. The ‘Bronze Bomber’ recently stated that he would have beaten prime Mike Tyson, a questionable statement but nevertheless, we can not question this guys confidence, he believes he can beat anyone he’s put in a ring with, as all boxers should but his cool, calm and collected demeanour is one of the things that makes him so deadly.
Let’s take a look at the ‘Gypsy King’, Tyson Fury. A year older than Joshua, at 31, with another undefeated boxing record that reads, 30 fights fought, 29 wins, 1 draw and 20 wins by KO. Fury is no stranger to a fight that has gone the distance. As we know, he took a lengthy spell out of boxing between 2015 and 2018, where his known mental health issues caused him to get overweight, to the point where he was weighing more than 27 stone. His journey, from then to now, has been extraordinary.
In his last fight against, Otto Wallin, he weighed in at 18 stone. A tremendous turnaround and now he’s on to fight Wilder in February, hoping to win the WBC Heavyweight Championship off him. Fury is 6 foot 9 and there’s not much that he can’t do in the ring, he can outbox, counter, roughhouse, the lot. He arguably lacks the power that Joshua and, certainly, Wilder possess but he makes the most of his. His head movement matches that of Ali and for such a big guy, his stamina is superb.
Rumours are suggesting that the winner of Wilder Fury II will face Anthony Joshua in Saudi Arabia, allowing the winner to be undisputed heavyweight champion of the world. However, Joshua and Wilder and their promoters have struggled to set up a fight between the two for some time, so don’t get too excited just yet, but it’s something we would all like to see.
In terms of predicting who will win the rematch, which takes place in Las Vegas, I would have to go with Fury. My heart says Fury but my head says Wilder but I’m letting my heart make the choice with this one. Fury almost won the first fight and had it not been for Wilder’s late knockdown he would’ve won and I just think that he will be more prepared this time round. He would have taken some hard shots in training ready for the powerful jabs that Wilder can unleash, thus toughening up his chin. Unless Wilder can end the fight early, before at least the 7th round, which I just can’t see happening, then I think Fury has the necessary energy and stamina to outbox the Bronze Bomber.
This means that I put Fury above Wilder, in the pecking order of who is the best heavyweight boxer in the world. So, assuming a fight is arranged for the winner of the rematch to take on Joshua in Saudi Arabia at the end of 2020, do I think that Fury could beat Joshua too? Now, as much as I love Anthony Joshua and how disappointed that he lost to Ruiz in the first fight, potentially tarnishing his chances of being the best, I can’t help but think that Fury’s fighting style compared to his would result in Fury winning, possibly even easier than the fight with Wilder.
I think that Tyson Fury will beat Deontay Wilder on the 22nd February and assuming that it is prearranged that the winner of the fight will face Anthony Joshua at the end of the year, then I can see Fury beating Joshua and ultimately becoming the undisputed heavyweight boxer of the world. Therefore, I put Fury, at number one.
Just to finish off, in terms of second place, despite thinking that Fury would have an easier fight against Joshua than he will against Wilder, I still believe that Joshua’s boxing mind and his tactics would actually be enough to stop Wilder, should the two eventually ending up fighting also. So, for me, I put Joshua second, behind Fury but ahead of Wilder.
Gareth Southgate’s England Team are under 6 months away from their opening game of the 2020 European Championships and therefore, we’re getting to the point where he and his coaching staff will need to decide who comes with them and who will be left behind. Here’s who I would take and who I believe, won’t have a seat on the plane.
Firstly, when I say plane, I mean that metaphorically because, as we know, each of England’s group stage matches will be played at Wembley Stadium, as well as both semi-finals and the final itself. So, England have home advantage during the group stage and depending on how far they get, the semis and the final.
Southgate certainly has plenty of players who have a good enough reason to go and that, therefore, means that some players who, some may say, deserve to go, will not be included. There are also players who, at the start of the season, you may have said definitely should be going, or definitely shouldn’t go but as the season has gone on they have shown enough quality and passion to get their names on the squad list.
Firstly, the goalkeepers. Straight away, I’d put, England regular, Jordan Pickford in. Whether he starts I’m not sure yet but, for me, he’s been in the fold for England for some time now and he makes it in. The other keepers that could be included are: Tom Heaton, Nick Pope, Dean Henderson and Jack Butland.
Immeditately, I’m going to eliminate Butland, I believe he can be a good keeper but I think his time in the England squad may be over. That means that one of the other three mentioned will not be included. All of which play in the Premier League and all have had a decent start to the season. However, Heaton’s recent injury which has ruled him out for almost the whole of the remaining season, makes it an easy decision. So my keepers are; Pickford, Pope and Henderson.
On to our defenders. I’d first like to discuss the right-back situation as, it seems as if England possess almost all of the world’s best right-backs currently. There’s Alexander-Arnold, Walker, Wan-Bissaka, James and Trippier. All of which are good enough to get in to most teams but if we are only taking two, I believe that Southgate should take Trent and Walker.
Trent needs no explanation as to why he should be going but perhaps Walker does. Walker is very reliable and is still one of the best fullbacks in the world, in my opinion, but the reason I think he gets in over Wan-Bissaka, Reece James and Trippier, who have all had good seasons, thus far, is because he’s the most experienced and that’s something that the current England squad are perhaps limited on. The other three would feel disappointed not to be picked.
As for the other defenders I would bring, Harry Maguire, John Stones, Michael Keane, Tyrone Mings, Joe Gomez and Ben Chilwell. All of which have been in the squad before and I don’t think it would be a surprise to anyone of all of these players would picked. Arguably, Danny Rose and Fikayo Tomori should be in the squad but it’s just about whether they should get in over those I’ve included. If I were to swap anyone though, it may possibly for Tomori for Stones.
This is where it gets far more difficult. The midfield options. England aren’t short of midfielders, so who are some of our options. There’s: Henderson, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Barkley, Mount, Maddison, Rice, Winks, Foden, Lingard, Grealish, Loftus-Cheek, Alli and I could go on. I’m going to get rid of Foden, who just hasn’t played enough, Lingard, who is clearly under performing, Grealish, who I simply don’t think makes the England squad just yet, but could be starting by the time of the 2022 World Cup and Loftus-Cheek, who, again, hasn’t played enough recently.
Therefore, that means that I would take, Henderson, Alli, Maddison, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Mount and Winks. I have left out both Rice and Barkley, both of whom, might make many other people’s Euro squads, but for me, the others are slightly ahead of them in the pecking order. I believe James Maddison could be on of England’s stars at the Euros and I’m looking forward to seeing him get more international minutes.
Finally, we’ll asses our forwards. It’s recently been announced that captain, Harry Kane, is most likely going to miss the rest of the season and perhaps even the European Championships, which would be a massive blow for England but for the purposes of this, I will be going, with the assumption that he will be fit enough to travel.
At the start of the season you may not have thought that some players would be in the limelight to potentially make the Euro squad, such as; Tammy Abraham, Danny Ings and Callum Hudson-Odoi. Players like: Kane, Sterling, Sancho and Rashford will certainly be making my squad.
This means that there is two spots left in our 23-man squad. I’m going to give the first to Tammy Abraham, who has been Chelsea’s top scorer this campaign and if Kane was not to get into the squad, could be a suitable replacement. The final person that makes my England squad is actually going to be Callum Wilson. It was between him, Ings and Calvert-Lewin.
Ings, who already has 14 goals in the league this year, one more than Abraham, could’ve been a great option but I just don’t see him getting in to that final squad, even if Kane is injured. I believe that Calvert-Lewin is actually more likely to be included. There were also rumours that Jamie Vardy could be included, but that’s now looking unlikely.
I have also left out 19-year-old Callum Hudson-Odoi who has made more than one appearance for England’s senior team already and although he is beginning to pick up minutes in the Chelsea team, under Frank Lampard, he hasn’t done enough to get in over, Rashford, Sancho and Sterling.
There we have it, our 23 man squad looks like this:
Goalkeepers: Jordan Pickford (Everton), Nick Pope (Burnley), Dean Henderson (Sheffield United).
Defenders: Harry Maguire (Manchester United), Michael Keane (Everton), John Stones and Kyle Walker (Manchester City), Tyrone Mings (Aston Villa), Ben Chilwell (Leicester), Trent Alexander-Arnold and Joe Gomez (Liverpool).
Midfielders: Mason Mount (Chelsea), Jordan Henderson and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (Liverpool), James Maddison (Leicester), Dele Alli and Harry Winks (Tottenham).
Forwards: Jadon Sancho (Dortmund), Marcus Rashford (Manchester United), Raheem Sterling (Manchester City), Harry Kane (Tottenham), Tammy Abraham (Chelsea), Callum Wilson (Bournemouth).
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