The World of Sport

Notice

2011-06-04T11:37:00.000-07:00

As you have probably all realised, the website has been very quiet recently. The reason for this is because I am currently in the process of doing my A Levels. As it is now pretty much the end of the sporting season (for the majority of sports) I have decided to move the website from a blog, into a brand new, refreshing website. It should be up ready for the start of the new season. I hope you will like it!

Premier League: Game of the Day

2011-04-30T15:00:00.000-07:00

Wigan 1 - 1 Everton, DW Stadium

A late penalty from former Latic's left back Leighton Baines left Hugo Rodallega, and in particular Wigan ruing the 2 points lost from a game in which they dominated from start to finish.

A much needed 3 points seemed to have been thrown away by Wigan conceding two penalties. The first was saved brilliantly by Ali Al Habsi from Mikel Arteta, but he was unable to stop Baines from scoring from the spot at Everton's second time of asking.

Charles N'Zogbia celebrates scoring Wigan's first goal

Apart from the early moments, Wigan were very much in control of this match. They seemed to want the win more than Everton, and their adventurous nature was rewarded in the 21st minute when Charles N'Zogbia put them ahead, and deservedly so. Scotsman James McCarthy executed a delicate chip over Everton's backline, picking out N'Zogbia, who's initial control was poor. He was unable to recover the ball though, and even though he stumbled after Howard's challenge, he stroked the ball in from a tight angle.

However, Wigan's anxiety started to quickly show when they started to sit back more and more. Leon Osman nearly put Everton straight back into the game, but his fierce shot was palmed over for a corner by Al Habsi. Everton's best chance to equalise in the first half though was in the 35th minute, when Baines caught out Wigan's defence with a short free kick to Osman, who was tripped by the goalscorer N'Zogbia. A penalty from Arteta was saved by Al Habsi though, and in quite spectacular fashion as well.

There was a blow for Wigan just before the break when Mohammed Diame was forced off injured but on the stroke of half time, N'Zogbia nearly added his second, but his powerful drive was pushed to the side by Howard.

In the early stages of the second half, Everton seemed to have the better of the possession, and their chances of a result strengthened when ever threatening N'Zogbia limped off with a hamstring problem, being replaced by Victor Moses. However, Moses seemed to be a man possessed, and immediately took on the role of N'Zogbia, forcing 2 good saves out of Tim Howard within minutes of coming on.

He wreaked a lot of effort, and after a double subsitution from Everton, which saw Seamus Coleman and Jermaine Beckford come on for Arteta and Tim Cahill respectively, he created another chance single handedly, beating both Leighton Baines and Jack Rodwell before his shot was blocked. The loose ball was caught by McCarthy, but his shots were also blocked by defenders.

However, Hugo Rodallega cost his team 2 valuable points with a pointless handball from an Everton corner, with Lee Mason pointing straight to the spot. Leighton Baines smashed it into the roof of the net and drew Everton level.

Leighton Baines smashes home Everton's 2nd penalty.

In a bid to reclaim their lead, Wigan upped their tempo but they were kept at bay by man of the match Tim Howard. Rodallega had two chances to try and recover from his mistake, but his chances were saved, as was a Ben Watson shot, and Franco di Santo shot, which Howard had to make an acrobatic save to stop him from scoring.

A thoroughly entertaining match in Wigan, but I'm sure Martinez would've preferred a boring 1-0 win for Wigan. Points are more important than the performance at this stage of the season, and the major talking point from this match will be whether Wigan will be able to get more points from their last 3 matches to ensure their Premier League status for another season.

Will Wigan Athletic stay up?

Premier League Preview: 30th April - 1st May

2011-04-30T06:18:00.000-07:00

As I write this, I have just received the results of my poll, which has seen a whopping 76% of voters want me to write regularly about football. It is also just under an hour before 5 of the Premier League's fixtures get under way, in a ultimately crucial day for the sides near the bottom of the league.

Three of the five bottom teams are in action, with all of them at home. Blackburn play host to Owen Coyle's Bolton Wanderers, whilst Blackpool play Stoke at Bloomfield Road and Everton make the short trip to the DW Stadium to lock horns against Roberto Martinez's Wigan. For these 3 teams today, 3 points would be a massive step towards getting away from the drop zone, but a defeat could be totally the opposite.

There is also the small matter of another Midlands derby, with revitalised West Brom playing Aston Villa at the Hawthorns. Two sides who are on a decent run of form, which has seen both most likely stay in the league for another season, play in a match which is more about bragging rights, then points.

At 5.30, our heads will turn to the top of the Premier League in a real crunch tie in West London. Tottenham will travel the short distance to Stamford Bridge, where they will play an in-form Chelsea side. This is a real 6 point affair, but for different reasons. Chelsea still have a chance to retain their Premier League crown, albeit a very small chance, whilst Tottenham need to try and close the gap on Manchester City, who play host to relegation threatened West Ham United tomorrow afternoon.

Other games tomorrow feature Arsenal and Manchester United. The Red Devils are just 7 points away from grabbing their 19th Premier League title, whilst a defeat for Arsenal will leave them trophy less for another season under Arsene Wenger. There is another Midlands derby, with Birmingham and Wolves playing at St Andrews. After disappointment midweek away to Stoke, Wolves really need to be looking for a better performance against the Blues, and hopefully grab some vital points to drag them away from the drop zone. There is also the small matter of Liverpool and Newcastle United as well. Both have had a very much rollercoaster season, with Liverpool on a high at the moment, whilst Newcastle not so much on a high. A home tie for the Reds should be enough for them to grab 3 points and keep their hopes alive of snatching 5th place after an impressive run under Kenny Daglish

So there you go, there is a quick preview for you all ahead of this weekends fixtures. Later on, I will write a review on my "game of the day" for today, and will repeat the same feat on Sunday night.

Manchester City jump for joy after 30 years of hurt

2011-04-20T10:46:00.000-07:00

Blues beat city rivals Manchester United in a close encounter at Wembley

It seems that Sheikh Mansour's millions are starting to pay off for the blue side of Manchester after Saturday. Manchester City reached their first FA cup final in 30 years after beating Manchester United 1-0 in the first of the two 2010-2011 FA Cup semi finals this year. It was their first victory against the reds since they beat them 2-1 last January in the 1st leg of their Carling Cup semi final. However, times have changed since then, and Mancini seems to have finally created a squad capable of challenging with the cream of the crop.

Jumping for joy: Roberto Mancini & co follow in their fans footsteps with the 'Poznan'

Manchester United started off the better side though, and there was a feeling that City were still trying to adapt to the proceedings. They could hardly get out of their own half, and were letting veteran Paul Scholes control the game from midfield. United's dominance seemed to have paid off when some slick passing on the edge of the area put Dimitar Berbatov through on goal. However, keeper Joe Hart blocked the shot superbly and knocked it out for a throw in. Seconds later, Berbatov missed an absolute sitter from yards, hitting the ball over the bar.

Perhaps this was a wake up call for City, who started to grow in self-belief as the interval drew closer. Gareth Barry mustered up their first chance of the game, turning in the area and finding the side netting. There were then a host of chances in the last 5 minutes from the blues, starting with Mario Balotelli's stunning 30 yard strike which 40 year old Van der Sar dealt with well, turning it over the bar. The resulting corner from Adam Johnson found Joleon Lescott, who fired over from yards. He should've done much better. Another Adam Johnson corner close to half time found captain Kompany on the edge of the area, who hit a first time shot just wide.

Yaya Toure puts Manchester City 1-0 up at Wembley

Their self belief continued into the second half, and they eventually found the breakthrough in the 52nd minute through a Yaya Toure goal. An uncharacteristic mistake from Michael Carrick conceded possession to the Ivorian who took full advantage of the mistake, racing past both Carrick and United captain Nemanja Vidic, before slotting a composed finish past Edwin van der Sar. United couldn't seem to regroup, and Manchester City were rampant. Adam Johnson's shot almost crept in from the near post and from another corner, Joleon Lescott headed just wide, pouncing upon another error in the Manchester United defence.

And the Ivorian sent the city fans into raptures, with their 'Poznan'

United's best chance came through a Nani freekick, which deflected off Balotelli's head. Joe Hart once again did brilliantly and saved the shot onto the bar. Alex Ferguson decided to bring on Javier Hernandez for winger Antonio Valencia to bring some pace up front, but United's chances all but ended with 17 minutes left, when Paul Scholes was deservedly sent off for a high tackle on Pablo Zabaleta. Manchester City held on well and when the final whistle went, a party started in the West side of the stadium, whilst the east side of Wembley was all but empty.

United fans flock out of Wembley whilst a party occurs on the other side

They will play Stoke City in the final on May 14th, and if they were to win that, Roberto Mancini and his team will go down in Manchester City folklore and finally lift that monkey off the back of the Eastland's outfit. It won't be an easy task though, against a Stoke side determined to win their first ever FA Cup, and their first trophy since 1972. And of course there's the small matter of revenge for Potters manager Tony Pulis, who's only other trip to Wembley was ruined in injury time against Manchester City, who scored twice in injury time to level their Division 2 playoff with Gillingham.

Overall, a great day for all concerned with Manchester City, who will look forward to another visit to the capital in a months time.

Did Manchester City deserve their semi final victory?

Heartbreak for Sri Lanka, ecstasy for India.

2011-04-06T13:23:00.000-07:00

The World Cup Final
A tightly contested World Cup Final ended up in a 6 wicket victory for India, who ended their 28 year wait for the most prestigious prize in world cricket.

India will have their captain MS Dhoni and vastly underrated Gautam Gambhir to thank for the victory though, who both made brilliant totals in India's chase to get 275. The game started in a confusing manner, when match referee Jeff Crowe allowed a re-toss after nobody was sure on what Sri Lankan captain Kumar Sangakkara called, but won the toss second time around, and made no hesitation in batting first on a pitch that looked full of runs.

Yuvraj celebrates the winning runs from MS Dhoni

However, the innings started off terribly for Sri Lanka, with Zaheer Khan dominating proceedings. His 3 consecutive maidens put a lot of pressure on the opening batsman, and they eventually fell to that pressure when in his fourth over, he forced Upul Tharanga (2 off 20 balls) to edge the ball to slips, into the hands of Virender Sehwag. Tillakaratne Dilshan and Sangakkara made a decent partnership of 43, but it ended in the 17th over when Dilshan's innings came to an end, albeit in poor unfortunate circumstances. His attempt to sweep Harbhajan Singh deflected onto his stumps.

Jayawardene was up next for Sri Lanka, and he needed to make a big score. He certainly impressed too, making a massive 103 off only 88 balls. Him and Sangakkara made 62 together, before Sangakkara edged a short ball from Yuvraj Singh behind. Sri Lanka, who were at 122-3 at this point, lost Thilan Samaraweera and Chamara Kapugedera in consecutive overs. The next batsman up, Nuwan Kulasekara, helped Jayawardene in upping the batting tempo. He entered the fray during the batting powerplay, but was run out in the 48th over, just a few balls after Jayawardene reached his half century. Perera ensured the innings finished with a bang, grabbing 22 off only 9 balls, with a six and three fours in the final over.

It was a bad start from India though, with Lasath Malinga bowling out Sehwag for a duck and later in his spell, he removed the dangerous Tendulker for a score of just 18.

The innings was stabilised though with the partnership of Gambhir and Kohli, who made 83 runs in just 15.3 overs. There was a scare for Gambhir earlier on in his innings, when he was dropped on 30 by Kulasekera, but he got lucky and strolled on to make an impressive 97. The third wicket came at 114, when Kohli was caught and bowled by part time spinner Dilshan. Yuvraj Singh was expected to come out next, but captain Dhoni decided to promote himself, and fully justified himself, with a score of 91 off just 79 balls.

52 runs were needed off 53 balls when Gambhir made a silly mistake against Perera to deny himself a century. However, there was never any worry from India, as Yuvraj was next to enter the frame. Him and Dhoni looked calm and controlled, and completed the chase with 10 balls to spare, thanks to the batting powerplay.

If Carlsberg did International friendlies....

2011-03-30T12:11:00.001-07:00

England vs Ghana, Tuesday 29th March, Wembley

There seemed to be a great deal of optimism surrounding this fixture since England returned from Cardiff on Saturday. At first it seemed like it would be a traditional English victory against weaker opponents on home turf, after Ghana had to travel over 4,000 miles after their African Cup of Nations qualifier against Congo last Sunday but with the backing of approximately 21,000 Ghanaians, Ghana grabbed a wholly deserved equaliser in the 90^th minute through a classy Asamoah Gyan strike.

Ghana decided to field a strong side, most of whom played in their quarter final World Cup match against Uruguay last summer, to match England's strength in depth, with the likes of Asamoah Gyan and Sully Muntari starting for the Black Stars. Fabio Capello however, decided to allow 5 players from Chelsea, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur to leave the England camp and return to their respective clubs because of preparations for the Champions League fixtures next week. This left a largely inexperienced side, one which involved Andy Carroll for only his 2^nd England cap, Gary Cahill and Stewart Downing. There were some regular players in the side though, with Gareth Barry (who captained England for the first time under Capello. In fact, he also was the first Manchester City player to captain England since Colin Bell in 1972!), Jack Wilshire and Glen Johnson all getting a start.

It was also a good day for Danny Welbeck and Matt Jarvis, who both grabbed their first caps for England after coming off the bench late on. Carroll also grabbed his first England goal in only his 2^nd appearance which gave England a first half lead. It was a good performance from England, with many players giving a good account of themselves and giving Fabio Capello a possible selection headache for the future. We shouldn't get too ahead of ourselves though, and Capello will have no worries in choosing who will play in central defence when John Terry and Rio Ferdinand come back into the fray, after Joleon Lescott's and Phil Jagielka's average performances, to put it nicely.

The early stages of the match were played at a frantic pace, with both England and Ghana putting in high energy performances, and Ghana were determined not to just come and sit back and allow England to play. They wanted to be the first African team to beat England. Their best chance came in the 27^th minute, just 2 minutes after Ashley Young hit the bar from close range. Dominic Adiyiah was the man with the chance, and he forced a very good save out of Joe Hart. There weren't many more chances, apart from Carroll's goal a few minutes before the half time whistle, and a slight chance for Gyan, but the Sunderland hitman couldn't get his feet sorted quick enough and the chance was gone.

Coming out for the second half, Ghana started the better, passing and moving with a style that we saw often in their World Cup campaign last summer, and after an hour gone Fulham's John Pantsil was deflected marginally over the bar. Their equaliser which came in injury time was thoroughly deserved, and the Ghana team celebrated in typical style, a dance in front of their fans! This game was a breath of fresh air to international football and Fabio Capello, and one that was needed on the day that Qatar played Russia, two teams who won bids suspiciously to host the World Cup in 2018 and 2022.

The return of Formula One

2011-03-27T07:39:00.000-07:00

Formula One made a return to our screens today at Albert Park in Melbourne, Australia. The race was 58 laps, totaling 307.574 kms. Most interestingly for F1 fans, it was the first time to see the new regulations in action.

Those include the return of KERS (Kinetic Energy Recovery Systems), the introduction of adjustable rear wings and, of course, the new Pirelli tyres. (see right hand image)

Due to the high wear of the Pirelli rubber, many people complained as they felt it would have a bad effect upon the F1 season, but it seemed to have no effect in Melbourne whatsoever.

Reigning world champion Sebastian Vettel started the race in pole position in the grid, with McLaren's Lewis Hamilton in second, hoping to see the benefits in the installation of a new exhaust system. It worked too, and Hamilton surpassed expectations to finish 2nd in the race, behind Vettel.

It was a comfortable victory for Vettel though, who was never really tested by the Englishman apart from in the early stages. It left Vettel with his 11th career victory and his 3rd first place finish in a row, with this one arugably being the most impressive, finishing an emphatic 22.2 seconds faster than Hamilton. It gives the German a massive lift going into the Malaysian Grand Prix in 2 weeks time and proves he won't give up his F1 title that easily.

The most joyous racer though was Vitaly Petrov, who grabbed third place for Renault. It was his first ever podium finish in F1, as well as Russia's. Fernando Alonso grabbed fourth place for Ferrari, whilst Mark Webber had another disappointing race on home soil, finishing fifth. The equally frustrated Button finished behind him in the 2nd McLaren in sixth place.

Discussions were dominated by Sauber's drivers (Mexican Sergio Perez and Japanese team mate Kamui Kobayashi) who were both disqualified for a breach of technical regulations in the design of the back of their car. Perez was devastated as well, making his dream debut in Formula One and finishing one place ahead of team mate Kobayashi in seventh. Sauber said afterwards that they intended to appeal against the decision made.

Good day for:
Renault
Sebastian Vettel
McLaren

Bad day for:
Sauber
Mercedes (both drivers retired early on in the race)
Williams (Rubens Barrichello served a penalty for crashing into Rosberg)
Mark Webber (His three stop strategy failed and although equalling his best time in Melbourne, he finished well off the pace)

Some information

2011-02-25T07:55:00.001-08:00

Hey guys, at the moment I am focusing on writing on sporting events mainly in the UK. However, if you feel there is anything worthy of writing about then please don't hesistate to e-mail me your ideas at aaron.leggott@gmail.com

Thanks!

Deadline Day mayhem

2011-02-01T13:12:00.000-08:00

Year after year, football fans across the country always anticipate transfer deadline day as one of the biggest events in the footballing calendar, purely due to its ability to shock even the better of us. Yesterday's deadline day was no different, with Liverpool and Chelsea grabbing the headlines in particular.

It seemed like Chelsea decided to create a transfer merry go round when they expressed an interest in Liverpool striker Fernando Torres last week, as they knew that they would have to spend big to bring one of Liverpool's most prized possessions to Stamford Bridge. Therefore, it took a huge sum of around £50 million to lure Liverpool to part company with Torres. As we all know, Chelsea are in the need for some depth, but surely spending £50 million on one player (who is also very injury prone) is ludicrous? There are many forwards out there who would've cost much less, such as Diego Forlan or Sergio Aguero, both of whom have a better goal ratio than Torres currently, but instead, they chose to look to Torres as their answer to the current problems in West London. They also finally sealed the signing of David Luiz, the portugese centre back from Benfica, after a long game of haggling between Chelsea and Benfica for much of this transfer window. Luiz has though, signed for a fee around £21 million. Once again, this is a fee which unfortunately represents how much the market has inflated in recent years.

We have seen a lot of criticism thrown towards Manchester City in recent years after the multi billionaire Sheikh Mansour took them over in August 2008, and many journalists have accused them of even 'killing football'. But when Liverpool made a £35 million move for Andrew Carroll yesterday, journalists were very much the opposite, labelling this transfer as a good move for both parties. Considering Manchester City's most expensive signing was £32.5 million for Brazilian international Robinho, it seems a bit odd that Liverpool have been given the benefit of the doubt when Andrew Carroll, an unproven player at the top level, is now the 8th most expensive player all time.

The winners of the January transfer window though were Blackpool. After a month of speculation on the future of Charlie Adam, it seemed likely that he was on his way to Liverpool last night, but it wasn't to be. He has stayed at Blackpool and the likes of Andy Reid, Jason Puncheon and James Beattie have all joined Holloway's free flowing team. Top half finish for Blackpool anyone?

Although I have slated both Chelsea and Liverpool in this article, I feel that it is now necessary in the modern era to spend money to strengthen and challenge for honours. I can see Liverpool climbing up the league now they have two recognised strikers in their team, and now Chelsea have added some experience to their squad, I can also see them finishing in the top 4 alongside Arsenal, Manchester City and Manchester United

Will Andy Murray ever win a grand slam title?

2011-01-31T14:33:00.000-08:00

After a long wait for his first Grand Slam title, Andy Murray saw the best chance to claim a title slip out of his grasp against Novak Djokovic in Melbourne yesterday. Previously undefeated against the 23 year old Serb, Murray was simply outclassed from start to finish, and Djokovic proved how far away Murray actually is from being a true tennis great.

The one saving grace for the Scot was that, in the main, he had a very good tournament, bar the final, and it seemed like lady luck was shining upon him when both Rafa Nadal and Federer were knocked out in earlier rounds. It seemed a formality for him - but a mixture of self-doubt on Murray's behalf and Djokovic's masterclass of outwitting his opponent, it just wasn't to be the Murray.

So, in answer to my original question, do I believe he will ever a grand slam title? Yes. But it will take him a few years to reach the top heights of true tennis greats, and this will only happen when he starts to become more confident in his own abilities. Onwards and upwards to the Stade Roland Garros in May!

Sport round up!

2010-09-05T04:16:00.000-07:00

It has been a very busy week in the world of sport, with Colin Montgomerie choosing his 3 wild cards for his European Ryder Cup team, 3 members of the Pakistan cricket team being accused of match fixing, the start of the US open in Tennis and much, much more.

Firstly, I will start with the Challenge Cup final in Rugby League, which happened last Saturday. It was said to be one of the most anticipated finals in recent years, with an estimated 80,000 tickets having been sold for the match at Wembley. The match pitted Leeds Rhinos and Warrington Wolves together, but it was by no means an even match. The Wolves eased themselves to victory, eventually winning 30-6 after being 14-0 in the lead at half time. Chris Hicks scored the first Cup final hat-trick since the Leeds wing Leroy Rivett ran in four tries in the last final at the old Wembley, in 1999. Ryan Atkins collected a couple against the club that rejected him as a boy, and at the other end Richie Mathers saved three tries with last-ditch tackles that helped the Wolves on their way to victory.

We have seen perhaps the biggest story of the year unveil before our eyes, when the News of the World reported that 3 members of the Pakistan cricket team were involved in a match fixing scandal, where they would deliberately bowl no-balls. The facts are that in the first three Tests of this series, Mohammed Amir bowled three no-balls in 105 overs. In the Lord’s Test he bowled 28 overs with four no-balls. Surely this proves that the players are in a bit of a mess? It has definitely caused controversy in the world of cricket, with almost every important figure in the cricketing world having their say of the matter. Andrew Strauss and Ricky Ponting, the England and Australia captains respectively, both believe that they should get lifetime bans if found guilty.

Elsewhere in Sport, the Belgian Grand Prix saw Englishman Lewis Hamilton finish in 1st place, with Red Bull's Mark Webber finishing in a close second place, after starting 6th on the grid. The result's of this grand prix mean that both Hamilton and Webber are 1st and 2nd respectively in the overall leaderboard. In Football, we saw the passing of the infamous Transfer Deadline Day. The biggest coup of the transfer window was arguably Tottenham Hotspur's purchase of Dutch winger Rafael van der Vaart with only minutes left in the transfer window. It was seen to be quite a steal as well, with the London based club getting the world cup finalist for a mere £8 million! Manchester City and Robinho also parted ways after a difficult two years between the pair. Robinho has joined AC Milan on a £23 million deal, with it being reported that City will gain a profit of £10 million on the £32 million they paid for him in August 2008, due to wages and bonuses'.

The US Open, after 6 days of play so far, has seen the likes of Roger Federer, Rafa Nadal and Andy Murray all progressing to the 3rd round. However, ninth seed Andy Roddick saw his hopes of claiming a second US Open title end early with defeat by Janko Tipsarevic. Wimbledon finalist Tomas Berdych was another to suffer a surprise defeat as he lost to France's Michael Llodra.

Finally, in golf, we saw Colin Montgomerie pick his 3 wildcards for his Ryder Cup team next month. Padraig Harrington, Eduardo Molinari and Luke Donald all made the cut, with world number 9 Paul Casey missing out. This was a shock to most fans, but most believe if it wasn't for Molinari's hat-trick of birdies to win the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles, then he would've been in the squad. It will be interesting to see whether this European side will be able to regain the Ryder Cup this year.

Is goal-line technology a must in football after events during the summer?

2010-08-28T07:37:00.000-07:00

Mr Platini came out last year stating that there was no need for goal-line technology in football, and he also said all referee's had his full belief that they'd do their job properly.

However, on the world's biggest stage this summer, the World Cup 2010 in South Africa, we saw two massive decisions in the last 16 stage which changed two games dramatically. The first, and one which many Englishmen will remember, was during Germany and England's last 16 knockout match, with Germany 2-1 up. England were on top and then, Lampard's shot from the edge of the box struck the underside of the crossbar and bounced down, with the Uruguayan referee Jorge Larrionda ruling the ball had not crossed the goalline. TV Replays showed the exact opposite, and the ball was yards over the line. The other incident I was talking about was later that day, when Mexico and Argentina met in the last 16. Mexico were comfortably handling the strong Argentinian forward line, until Carlos Tevez seemed to have finally broken through the resolute defence. TV Replays were put on the massive scoreboard at Soccer City and the whole Mexican team saw that Tevez was clearly offside

The moment which caused controversy around the world

And now, 2 months on, in only the 2nd week of the Premier League season, we saw Chris Foy, a relatively experienced referee, miss an obvious goal at the Britannia Stadium, Stoke, which left Stoke City going home with no points whilst Tottenham got the full 3. Only a few yards from the incident, it was clear for Chris Foy to see that Jonathan Walters headed the ball into Peter Crouch's stomach, which was in the goalmouth! Tony Pulis was obviously angered, and his team was as well.

Sepp Blatter has even admitted last month that goal-line technology needs to be discussed at FIFA's next meeting. People argue that it will kill the drama of football, which is understandable, but it is costing team's points. What if Stoke City get relegated by 1 point? They have been cheated out of a point, so it really isn't a topic we can stall about. Lower league teams do not have the equipment that bigger teams have, so wouldn't it be clever to just trial this technology in the major European leagues? Then if its a success, it can go across the world.

We are rapidly moving through a technological era, and this technology will significantly improve the game. It is clear that Rugby has been a success since technology has been introduced, so does football need to get with the times? However, my only argument against goal line technology is will the entertainment value of football be removed?

Nerveless New Zealand clinch Tri Nations crown in dramatic win

2010-08-24T07:40:00.001-07:00

New Zealand clinched their seventh Tri-Nations in the last 9 years by beating a very out of form South Africa side 29-22 last Saturday. The tri nations series hasn't finished yet, with New Zealand still to play 1 game, whilst Australia have 3 games and South Africa with 2 games yet to play. However, Australia and South Africa will now have to fight it out for 2nd place as New Zealand showed their superiority in the world of Rugby Union by winning all 5 matches.

South Africa did put up a resolute defensive performance, and were leading 22-17 until the last few moments, when New Zealand clinched an enthralling win by converting 2 late tries. The first of the 2 tries in the 78th minute sparked a lot of controversy, with South African coaches saying that there was a forward pass in the build up to Richie McCaw's try. But it was given, and the try levelled the scores at 22-22, although Dan Carter missed the subsequent conversion from the far touchline which would have given New Zealand a two-point lead.

With a draw seemingly on the cards, the New Zealand substitute Isreal Dagg defied all odds and ensured New Zealand extended their winning run to 14 successive matches when he outsprinted full-back Gio Aplon after centre Nonu carved through the shambolic Springbok defence. And Dan Carter, who missed five of his nine attempts at goal at the stadium formerly known as Soccer City, added the conversion in front of the posts before the final whistle.

It was a cruel blow for the South African captain John Smit, whose 100th test appearance saw his side only lose the lead once in the whole game, and that was in the defining moments of this tense affair. One of the largest crowds ever for a Rugby International were also hit hard by the defeat, having to come to reality that the current world champions were no real match for the All Blacks and slumped to their fourth consecutive defeat, and with only one point, are seemingly resigned to finishing last in the Tri Nations 2010.

Final day drama in the Cricket

2010-08-21T11:57:00.000-07:00

Pakistan's Umar Akmal celebrates victory over England

Even though we were only in the 4th day of events at the Brit Oval, it was obvious that this match would be finished before the close of play on the 5th day, with Pakistan only needing 148 runs to win the 3rd test match of this series, and give themselves a chance of drawing the series 2-2.

England's last line of defence was broken in the first over of day 4, with Steven Finn getting one run before Stuart Broad was caught at mid-on by Mohammad Asif. So, with only 148 runs needed to win, this seemed like a straight forward job, but we are talking about a team who usually crumble under pressure.

However, Pakistan were determined to prove all their doubters wrong, but it started badly when Graeme Swann caught Yasir Hameed on the 2nd attempt, after nearly dropping the edge after Anderson's beautiful delivery. This gave England a huge boost of confidence to pull off an unlikely victory.

But there was still a long way to go, and Pakistan showed this by strolling past the 100 run mark, losing only 3 wickets with Imran Farhat, Salman Butt and Mohammad Yousuf all getting decent scores, passing the 30 run mark and the captain Salman Butt was even 2 runs off a half century before being caught by Paul Collingwood. However, I don’t think Butt would’ve been too fussed, with Pakistan only needing 45 runs for a famous victory.

After coming out from lunch on 115-3, we started to see the first signs of Pakistan’s nerves and they made hard work to try and win the game. They lost their 4th wicket for 124 runs, with Azhar Ali being the victim of a very silly run out. It went from bad to worse, however, with Mohammad Yousuf being bowled by Anderson to put Pakistan on 131-5. England started to gain some emphasis in the game, and grabbed another wicket after Kamran Akmal was given LBW from a very good delivery by off spinner Graeme Swann. This led to a very baron spell for Pakistan, and underwent extreme pressure from both Anderson and Swann, and it seemed unlikely they would even get a run.

They did find the 16 runs in the end, and cruised to an unlikely victory when the match started on Wednesday. Some great individual performances including the captain Salman Butt for his 48 in Pakistan’s 2nd innings, and Saeed Ajmal’s very impressive 7-71 in 31 overs. I do think however that England will bounce back from this shock defeat and win the last match at Lords to make it 3-1 in the series.

England vs Pakistan: 3rd Test at the Oval

2010-08-20T09:42:00.000-07:00

The 3rd Test was predicted to be another white-wash victory for England, with Pakistan's batting order being nothing short of abysmal. And with the overhead conditions, and a pitch perfect for seam bowling, it seemed that after England won the toss and chose to bat first was quite a strange decision.

Their decision proved to backfire after they lost 7 wickets for only 94 runs, with a mixture of a brilliant bowling display by Pakistan and a shocking display with the bat for the Englishman, with the top scorer being Eoin Morgan with a mere 17 runs. However, there seemed to be a hint of some light at the end of the tunnel, with an impressive 84 by wicket-keeper Matt Prior. His partnership with Stuart Broad got England to 213-8. However, in the end England could only manage a poor 233. The highlight was Pakistan's Wahab Riaz, who claimed a very impressive 5-63.

This put Pakistan in a strong position to attempt to capitalize on England's underestimations of their young, inexperienced side, and they certainly did this, ending their first innings on 308, giving them a lead of 75 runs. This was much better than their recent batting scores against England!! The highest scorer was Azhar Ali, who was only playing his 5th competitive test match for Pakistan, once again showing how young this Pakistan side actually is. Even if he hadn't played many games before, he was making batting look like a stroll in the park with his variety of strokes. Mohammad Yousuf also had a decent innings, grabbing himself a solid 56 from 102 balls.

England's 2nd innings needed to be a much improved one, otherwise they could be staring at defeat in the 3rd test. However, it wouldn't be an easy task, with Pakistan seeking a win to make the score 2-1 and give them a possible chance of drawing the series against the current T20 world champions. It wasn't the start England wanted though, with Andrew Strauss being caught and bowled for just 4. The introduction of James Anderson as night watchmen at number 3 seemed to give England some stability, and they got to a decent 194-4, with Alastair Cook grabbing his 13th Test Match century, eventually being caught by the wicket-keeper Kamran Akmal for 110. Jonathan Trott also contributed to the total with a reasonable 36. One of the worrying aspects for me was how Kevin Pietersen once again had a very average, if not poor, innings. With the Ashes coming up this winter, will the England selectors be prepared to drop him for arguably the most important test series in World Cricket??

Back to the game, and a storm was approaching for England, and it wasn't going to be very nice. After tea on day 3, their collapse was unbearable as an England supporter, seeing Pakistan take 6 wickets for only 26 runs, dreadful. With England on 221-9 at the close of play of Day 3, I cannot see the last 2 holding on for long tomorrow morning. Hopefully, Broad can get a decent half century without taking any risks. With a lead of only 146 runs, we need a resolute batting performance by lunch tomorrow and hopefully Andersen and co. can do us a favour in the bowling department!

I will report back the last events of this thrilling test match when it finishes.

The start of my blog

2010-08-18T08:34:00.000-07:00

Hey to all who are reading this. My name is Aaron Leggott and I am a keen follower of Sport, mainly Football. I am about to start my 2nd year in a Sixth form college and having to think about applying for University in a couple of months. I have my eye set on a course in Sports Journalism, and this is the major reason for the creation of this blog, so I can work on my writing skills and hopefully give myself a better chance of getting onto the course!

I hope you all enjoy reading my views on the major sporting events and also tell me what your thoughts are.