Tag Futebol

Wolves are not in the best run of form at the moment, having lost three of their last five Premier League games.

Looking ahead to the next few weeks and months, it seems as though the Midlands club will also have to make do without one prominent figure for the time being.

What’s the news? 

In a recent tweet from journalist John Percy, Nelson Semedo is set to be out of action for four to eight weeks after picking up a hamstring injury during Wolves’ recent 2-1 defeat against Arsenal.

Described as being a “big blow for Bruno Lage”, the journalist also added that the defender’s earliest return could be in April after the international break, following scans this week.

Having started 23 of the Old Gold’s 26 league games so far this season, it’s safe to say that the Portuguese defender has been a pivotal figure for the team, explaining why Percy thinks his absence will be a big setback for his manager.

In addition to his constant presence in the team, the 28-year-old has also shown with his performances how important he is for the club. WhoScored list him as the fifth-highest rated outfield player currently in Lage’s squad to has started more than two league games this season, with an overall rating of 6.8/10.

As a result of Semedo’s injury, Lage chose to play Ki-Jana Hoever in their previous league game against West Ham United, which they lost 1-0.

During the match at the London Stadium, the 20-year-old full-back lost possession of the ball 20 times and only won four of his 10 duels, ultimately earning himself an underwhelming overall match rating of 6.3/10 from SofaScore.

Taking into account how long the former Barcelona defender is going to be out of action, Hoever will need to improve his performances if he wants to stay in the team moving forward and show his manager that he has what it takes to fill in for his injured team-mate for the next few weeks.

FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. Subscribe FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.

---

Subscribe

By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.

Lage and everyone at Molineux will undoubtedly be hoping that Semedo can make a speedy recovery and get back out on the pitch as soon as possible to help them try and secure European football for next season.

In other news – Fosun masterclass: £74k-p/w “weak link” has seen his value drop 40% after Wolves exit

Scorecard
On a rain-affected day in which only 56 overs of play was possible, Barbados took control of their match against Guyana through centuries from left-hand batsmen Jason Haynes(111) and Ryan Hinds(101 not out). Resuming on 58 for 2, the pair kept the Guyanese bowlers at bay till the penultimate over of the day, when Haynes edged legspinner Leon Johnson to slip. They added 212 runs for the third wicket to leave Barbados in charge at 256 for 3 at stumps on the second day, a lead of 71. It was Haynes’ maiden first-class century, and contained 11 fours, while Hinds, who made 95 in the previous match against Windward Islands, capitalised on a dropped catch to reach his seventh century. Guyana used as many as eight bowlers but were unable to make much of an impact on a Kensington Oval track which was perfect for batting.
Scorecard
A solid batting performance gave Jamaica a 187-run first-innings lead and put them in charge of their game against Combined Campuses and Colleges. Former West Indies batsman Wavell Hinds top scored with 87 while Xavier Marshall contributed 69. Marshall, who started the day on 50, added 54 for the third wicket with nightwatchman Andre Russell(33). Fast bowler Jamal Nowell then removed both batsmen before Hinds and Brendan Nash were involved in a patient 85-run stand. However, the tail caved in meekly, with the last six wickets falling for 38, as Jamaica were bowled out for 286. Nowell was the highest wicket-taker with four, while left-arm spinner Kavesh Kantasingh picked up three, including that of Hinds. In reply, the visitors had reached 36 at stumps, losing the wicket of captain Shirley Clarke in the process.
Scorecard
Leeward Islands dismissed Windward Islands for 134 to gain a handy 67-run first-innings lead before their batsmen consolidated the advantage by reaching 179 for 5 at stumps. After being bowled out for a paltry 201 in the first innings, Leewards stormed back into the match with the help of former West Indies fast bowler Adam Sanford’s four wickets. Windwards lost their last six wickets for 41 runs to be bowled out at the stroke of lunch. Leewards’ captain Omari Banks led their batting with an unbeaten 51 to ensure they maintained the upper hand in the game. Montcin Hodge (21), Steve Liburd (24) and Javier Liburd (36) also chipped in with useful contributions.

Ryan Broad has been recalled to the Queensland squad © Getty Images

Queensland have made two changes to their batting line-up ahead of their Pura Cup match against South Australia at Brisbane starting next Friday, promoting Ryan Broad and the uncapped Greg Moller. The team was humiliated by an innings and 45 runs in their game against Western Australia this week and now sit second-last on the Pura Cup table.Lachlan Stevens, the opener who averages 22 from his five games this season, has been dropped from the 12-man squad along with Grant Sullivan, the fast bowler who did not play the Western Australia match. Broad’s one-and-only outing in 2006-07 yielded scores of 1 and 2 but he was preferred to Stevens as an opening partner for Jimmy Maher for next week’s clash.Moller, 24, impressed the selectors with 120 and 97 for the Queensland Academy of Sport against the ACT last month. The season has got better and better for Moller, a right-hand batsman, after he missed the first four matches of Brisbane’s grade competition due to knee surgery. He will warm up for his potential first-class debut by playing alongside Shane Watson for Redlands in club cricket on Saturday.Pura Cup squad Jimmy Maher (capt), Ryan Broad, Shane Watson, Clinton Perren, Craig Philipson, James Hopes, Greg Moller, Chris Hartley (wk), Andy Bichel, Ashley Noffke, Daniel Doran, Nathan Rimmington.

A brief history compiled by Dr.Andrew Hignell (Hon. Statistician and Historian to Glamorgan CCC)Pontypridd entered the first-class cricket calendar in 1926, asGlamorgan`s officials tried to boost the club`s membership bytaking county cricket into the valley communities. YnysangharadPark still stages an annual fixture, either a championship gameor a one-day game. However, in 1994 the South African touristsvisited the ground, followed in 1996 by the Pakistanis. Thesegames came about as a result of generous sponsorship fromTaff-Ely Borough Council , and a lot of hard work by theofficials from Pontypridd C.C. However, as in the match with thePakistanis, it seems that every time county cricket ventures upthe Taff Valley to Pontypridd, the heavens open, and the gamesend in rain-affected draws.Cricket in Pontypridd dates back to 1858, and like many otherclubs in these industrial communities, its origin was the resultof the influx into the Valleys of English born and educatedmigrants. A few barriers existed to the development of the gamewith the shortage of suitable land and long hours of work at thebooming iron foundries and steelworks, and the earliest gameswere often just glorified practice sessions. Things had improvedby May 1870 when a formal club was established, and fixtures weregained with other recently formed teams from other valley towns.These games were initially staged in the grounds of GelliwastedHouse, before a move in 1873 to a more spacious area of farmlandowned by Gordon Lenox, the resident director of Brown Lenox, thetown’s largest ironworks.Over the years, there has been a very close link between BrownLenox and Pontypridd C.C. Gordon Lenox oversaw the laying of adecent wicket in one of the fields at Ynysangharad Farm (looselytranslated as Angharad`s Isle) alongside the River Taff. Thecompany, who manufactured anchors, chains and cables for theAdmiralty, also acted as generous philanthropists by giving thecricket club money to buy equipment and also kit, knowing thatmany of the club`s members were men of quite modest means. Giventhis help, the number of members increased and in 1897 Pontypriddwere able to enter the newly-formed Glamorgan Cricket League,playing fixtures with clubs from Treherbert, Treorchy, MerthyrTydfil, Ferndale and Mountain Ash.The farmland home of Pontypridd C.C. was transformed into anattractive parkland after the Great War, when hundreds ofsoldiers and servicemen from the town were killed. When the Warfinally ended, plans were set in motion for the creation of a WarMemorial for Pontypridd, and in keeping with their role asgenerous patrons to the town, Brown Lenox offered their farmlandat Ynysangharad. Public subscriptions and grants from the MinersWelfare Fund helped to finance the conversion of the farmlandinto a spacious park and public recreation ground. The WarMemorial was opened on August Bank Holiday Monday 1923, and overthe next few years a bowling green, rugby pitch, swimming pool,tennis courts and bandstand were added to the already existingcricket pitch and small pavilion.The Park proved to be a popular attraction, and it was nosurprise that when Glamorgan were looking to tap new supportduring the late 1920`s, they should choose the Ynysangharad Parkground. The attendances at the earliest county games were sogood, that in 1929 Pontypridd was allocated the prestigioustourist match with South Africa, plus two other county games withNottinghamshire and Leicestershire. Indeed, in the latter game,George Geary recorded the best ever bowling figures against theWelsh county, taking 10-18.As Glamorgan took county cricket into Monmouthshire andCarmarthenshire, Pontypridd`s allocation was limited to oneannual game. In recent years, this has been a limited overscontest, but in 1994 sponsorship from the Borough Council andlocal businessmen, saw South Africa return to Ynysanghard Park.During the previous winter, the old single-storey pavilion hadbeen replaced by a modern two-storey brick building, and althoughGlamorgan have to install temporary seating and other facilitiesat the Park, the games at Pontypridd have been well attended.For further information about the history of this, and othergrounds used by Glamorgan, you may be interested in purchasing”The Cricket Grounds of Glamorgan”, written by Andrew Hignell andpublished in 1985 by the Association of Cricket Statisticians andHistorians. For further details, please consult the A.C.S.homepage on CricInfo, send e-mail to [email protected] or write toPeter Wynne-Thomas at 3, Radcliffe Road, Nottingham.

Danish Kaneria points out that he’s effective in one-day cricket, too© Getty Images

Danish Kaneria has admitted he fears for his one-day international career following the disappointment of being left out of Pakistan’s squad for the triangular VB series in Australia.The leg spinner Kaneria believes he could come to be thought of as a Test bowler only after he was dropped for the tournament, which starts on January 14 and also features West Indies. He took 15 wickets as Pakistan were whitewashed 3-0 by Australia in the recent Test series, and believes he could have used the experience of bowling to top batsmen to great effect in the forthcoming one-dayers.”It is disappointing not to be retained for the one-dayers because I think I can be effective in limited overs cricket as well,” Kaneria, 24, told the Reuters news agency on Sunday. “Having bowled to the world’s best batsmen I have gained a lot in confidence and ideas. But the team management told me I needed to rest before the tour to India in February.”But Kaneria, who has played ten one-day internationals, remained upbeat about his chances of making a return to the limited overs arena, and vowed to try hard to gain a place in the forthcoming tour of India in February, which includes five one-day internationals.”Leg spinners have played an effective role in one-dayers in the past,” he argued. “Shane Warne, Anil Kumble… they all won matches for their country. I will just have to work harder to convince everyone they can rely upon me in limited overs cricket.”

Bangladesh 97 and 178 (Bashar 54, Al Sahariar 36; MacGill 5 for 65) lost to Australia 407 for 7 dec Australia, as expected, won their first Test against Bangladesh by an innings. They weren’t quite at their ruthless best, but they didn’t need to be. Bangladesh showed a singular lack of application in their first innings, though they showed some spine in the second before a sudden middle-order collapse brought them to their knees. Steve Waugh was in a relective mood after winning his record 37th Test as captain; Dav Whatmore could only watch in despair as Bangladesh lost his first Test as their coach; Stuart MacGill, the chief architect of Australia’s domination on the final day, picking up his seventh five-wicket haul, was exhilarated. Here is what they had to say:Steve Waugh
On what makes Australia special: It’s about our scoring rate and how quickly we can get our runs and put the opposition in. it’s a positive way of playing the game and we like to win in quick time.It helps when you have someone like Adam Gilchrist batting at number seven who can make the game go forward so quickly and put a lot of pressure on the opposition. We score so quickly that we have extra time to take those 20 wickets and we can put a lot of pressure on their batsmen.That’s the way cricket should be played and if all the countries can take a leaf out of that book then it’s good for world cricket.On how Tests involving Australia hardly ever last five days: A lot of the games are finishing early, but I think the quality of cricket we put out in that period of time is much better than five dull boring days. I’d rather have three exciting days and make the spectators enjoy the cricket we play; we rather play that way as well. I hope the public appreciate the way we play and I think we’ll continuethat way.Dav Whatmore
On what he makes of the team he’s just taken charge of: I’m just being a little patient to make assessments given the class of opposition that we faced here. It will take a bit more time to really separate and go on and I think we have to be patient before making any firm assessments.The positives from the game: There were indications of fight here and that’s promising and, really, the game, for me, wasn’t about winning or losing. It’s about being to see what we can do under pressure and try to match the opposition and be as competitive aswe possibly could.There were times when I thought Australia had to fight for their runs – the first 100-150 runs it was a real struggle for them. If it was any other team I believe there was enough pressure applied to pick up more wickets, which has a stabilising effect when you come to chase runs in the second innings, but it wasn’t to be.On how he felt at the end of the game: I don’t think any coach is satisfied – maybe [John] Buchanan [Australia’s coach] might be a bit more satisfied. I’m not sure if I will be satisfied for a long while yet, but it’s a matter of identifying areas where we need to improve -it’s a fairly easy area to identify for us – and going ahead and working on it.Stuart MacGill:
On the seventh five-wicket haul of his 24-Test career: I’ve learned through my career that when you get a chance with the ballyou have to make the most of it, so I’m really quite satisfied with how it went today.On how so many of his wickets in this game came from the wrong `un: Normally 90% of my wickets come from my legbreak and even in the first innings I got both my wickets with something different. In this game I felt if I was consistent with my legbreak perhaps thevariation was a chance and it was.On how county cricket has helped his bowling: I’ve been playing for Nottinghamshire in the English county championship and we play on really slow wickets and I think it’s improving my bowling because the margin for error is much smaller over there and I have to work alittle bit more on my consistency.On Mashrafe’s Mortaza’s slog against him (14 runs in an over): That last six I got hit for was definitely one of the biggest sixes off my bowling.Click here to read day 2 quotes.

New Zealand’s bowlers will have a valuable two-hour stint following captain Stephen Fleming’s declaration at tea on the final day of their tour match against the Queensland Academy of Sport at the Allan Border Field in Brisbane.Fleming called a halt to New Zealand’s innings straight after wicketkeeper Adam Parore brought up his century with a boundary.The Black Caps finished at six for 296, Parore unbeaten on 100.Earlier, Parore and Fleming put together a 158-run partnership to rescue the side after it teetered at 5-110.The unlikely winning target for the QAS is 327.

For once, Steven Smith had other people to talk about. Joe Burns, tick. Usman Khawaja, tick. David Warner, tick, tick, boom. So much went perfectly for Australia in this win over New Zealand that it was easy to overlook one thing that didn’t: Smith himself didn’t so much as score a half-century. It mattered not. In fact, it was kind of a good thing. It meant others had carried the batting load.This was Australia’s tenth Test victory since the start of last year, and just the second time in those ten games that Smith had failed to pass fifty – the lowish-scoring win over West Indies in Dominica last year was the only other. In fact, in seven of them, Smith had scored first-innings hundreds that helped set up the wins: 115, 100, 162*, 133, 199, 215, 143.It was not surprising, then, that Smith’s decision to move down the order from No.3 to No.4 for this series was a subject of much debate. The lack of experience in the top three could have been the source of some hope among the New Zealanders: Burns opening in a Test for the first time, Khawaja having a third crack at Test cricket at first drop.The result? A first-innings ton for Khawaja, a second-innings hundred for Burns. Not to mention a century in each innings for Warner. It meant there was little for Smith to do except suffer a case of pad rash. He came to the crease at 2 for 311 in the first innings and struck 48, and walked out at 2 for 254 in the second and fell for 1.”They did a terrific job,” Smith said. “It was tough early on day one and for Davey and Joe to get through that period was really crucial for us. The partnerships we had in the top three were crucial to our success for this Test match. It enabled me to come out and play quite freely at No.4. I thought they really set the game up for us.”The numbers were quite staggering. It was the first time in Australia’s 781-Test history that they had raised century opening partnerships in each innings of a Test. More than 80% of Australia’s runs in the Test came from their top three batsmen alone. Life without Chris Rogers and Michael Clarke could hardly have started in a more positive fashion.Of course, it will not always be this easy. More revealing will be the future occasions when Burns and Khawaja have to scrap against an attack on top of its game. Here, they faced a New Zealand attack lacking any sort of bite. Tim Southee’s new-ball spell on the first day featured a few good balls that beat the edge, but that was about it. It did not help that Southee later sat out with a back injury.New Zealand’s lack of fight was not the only disappointing thing about the match. Australia’s fielding was sub-standard, with catches dropped at slip, point and short leg. And although Australia had no trouble claiming 20 wickets, their work with the new ball was also inconsistent. New Zealand’s opening batsmen were able to allow too many deliveries to sail by without using their bats.”I think we improved this morning on our line and length,” Smith said. “I thought our new-ball bowling in this game needs a bit of improvement. I thought we bowled a little bit too short. That’s what we normally don’t do out here, we usually get the ball up and make the batters drive and I think that is going to be important for us leading into Perth, which are probably going to be similar conditions.”Crowd numbers at the WACA will also be closely watched; a record crowd attended for Australia-New Zealand contests at the Gabba but the numbers became lacklustre as the game wore on. The 1373 who attended the final day – which began with New Zealand still having seven wickets in hand – was the size of a Sheffield Shield crowd, not a Test attendance.”There wasn’t many out there today, it’s obviously disappointing as we would like everyone coming out and watching us play,” Smith said. “Both sides play a very aggressive brand of cricket and a good brand to watch, so it was disappointing not to have the crowds out here and hopefully we get a bit more support at the WACA.”

Crystal Palace made no mistake in securing a win in their latest Premier League fixture with a 4-1 victory over Watford at Vicarage Road in midweek.

Having opened the scoring after 15 minutes through Jean-Philippe Mateta, Patrick Vieira’s side then conceded shortly after with midfielder Moussa Sissoko grabbing an equaliser just a few minutes later.

Shortly before halftime, Palace midfielder Conor Gallagher put the visitors back ahead before two late goals from Wilfried Zaha secured the three points for the Eagles.

Aside from the three goalscorers, there was one other player, in particular, that was rather impressive in the game as well.

Playing the full 90 minutes in the left-back position, Tyrick Mitchell managed to have a total of 73 touches of the ball and complete 41 accurate passes with one of them setting up Gallagher’s goal.

In addition to that, the 22-year-old also showed what an impressive defender he is by racking up four tackles, one interception and one clearance as well as winning an eye-catching 75% of his duels.

This overall performance ultimately earned the Englishman a particularly exciting overall match rating of 7.6/10, making him the second-highest rated player in a Palace shirt on the day according to SofaScore, higher than goalscorers Gallagher and Mateta.

Football.London also picked up on the defender’s impressive display by saying that he was “comfortable on the ball thereafter helping push the visitors forward.”

Labelled as a “silent assassin” by his U16s coach Anthony Hayes, Mitchell has played more minutes in the league than any other Eagles player this season, proving just how important he is for Vieira.

FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. Subscribe FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.

---

Subscribe

By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.

Taking into account his performance against the Hornets, it seems likely that he will continue to rack up regular minutes in the team throughout the remainder of the season, especially if he can keep being solid at the back and provide an attacking threat going forward as he did last night.

Having failed to win any of their six previous league games prior to the Watford clash, everyone at Selhurst Park will undoubtedly be hoping that this latest result can kickstart a good run of form and positive results that can get the side into the top half of the league table.

In other news: Big concern: Vieira drops worrying Palace injury update that’ll have fans sweating – opinion

Tears were shed at the DW Stadium back in May as West Ham’s relegation was confirmed after a dramatic 3-2 defeat to Wigan, leaving most Hammers fearing the worst for their beloved club.

Five months down the line and the East Enders have settled into their new surroundings well and sit second in the Championship table going into an away clash at Brighton and Hove Albion on Monday night.

There have been many comings and goings over the summer and I feel that the new look West Ham side are better off from the drop down to the Football League as it will benefit them in the long run.

Immediately after the relegation was confirmed, Avram Grant was rightfully sacked by the club’s board, which resulted in the biggest cheer of the day from the travelling 4,500 away fans returning from the North West.

That was just the beginning of a much needed clear out at Upton Park that saw players such as Mathew Upson, Kieran Dyer and Luis Boa Morte leave on free transfers after their poor form and injuries during the season.

The financial side of things would have been the main concern for the owners who were able to bring in some money from the sales of Manuel Da Costa, Scott Parker and Junior Stanislas.

Hammers fans were disappointed with the departures of Ba and Hitzlsperger who perhaps owed something to the club having given them the chance in England but decided to look for new clubs.

With the squad trimmed down to just the players that wanted to be there, Sam Allardyce was brought in and given the target of instant promotion in his first season in charge.

Whatever your opinion on Big Sam, he was the right man for the job and has installed some heart and passion into the club along with toughening up a terribly leaky defence.

Big name signings such as Kevin Nolan, Matthew Taylor and John Carew have arrived and made instant impacts along with wing backs Joey O’Brien and George McCartney settling in very well.

Allardyce’s team is a huge contrast to last year’s whipping boys and on paper it would be fair to say the squad is stronger than it was this time last year even though it is in the Championship.

Late transfer window action saw Henri Lansbury, Sam Baldock and Papa Bouba Diop also arrive at Upton Park giving a fantastic strength in depth to the best squad in the division.

FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. Subscribe FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.

---

Subscribe

By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.

If West Ham had not been relegated, I for one am sure they would have been in a battle to survive again this season, probably with Avram Grant still in charge and wantaway players putting in 50% effort for the cause.

If, but more likely when, West Ham return to the top flight, they will be much better off from their short stay in the Football League, bringing them back to reality and showing the passion of the supporters who still turn up in their droves for a home match with Peterborough United.

With the right man in charge and a talented squad things are looking brighter in East London and that combination could install some pride back to the club when they return to Premier League football next season.

[ad_pod id=’unruly-2′ align=’left’]