Archive May 4, 2025

Betfred Super League

Wigan (12) 22

Field, French, Miski, Keighran 3 Goals: Keighran

Warrington (4) 20

In a Magic Weekend thriller at St James’ Park, the Wigan Warriors held on to beat Warrington Wolves to finish second overall.

Before Warrington’s Jake Thewlis turned in at the corner, Jai Field dived in to give Wigan the lead. Soon after, Bevan French added to their lead.

After the break, Rodrick Tai attempted to close the gap for Wigan, but Abbas Miski and Adam Keighran failed to do so.

Thewlis’ second clawed Warrington within two points, but Stefan Ratchford missed the extras as Wigan held on in the dying moments thanks to Joe Philbin’s powerful carry over the line.

Wigan’s victory puts them back in second place after borough rivals Leigh’s defeat of Catalans on Saturday bumped them down.

When Field received French’s offload and saw a gap before running in the line, Wigan went ahead with Field’s 14th try of the year in all competitions.

French’s try was quickly followed, but Wigan were given an odd advantage by referee Chris Kendall, who misplaced Jake Thewlis before he could try to take the Warriors’ talisman.

Thewlis unapologetically responded to Warrington’s first try by going in style, but Ratchford missed his kick at goal, keeping an eight-point lead.

Oli Leyland and Ratchford were fielded in the halves by Warrington, with George Williams, Marc Sneyd, and Danny Walker serving as the Warriors’ starting lineup. Leyland made his first appearance in the lineup since he was withdrawn after the Warriors’ humiliating defeat in Las Vegas.

Wigan believed Field had advanced further, but Junior Nsemba was found guilty of blocking Leyland during the build-up.

When Kruise Leeming and Wigan touched down just before half-time, it was a case of deja vu, but it was once more attributed to Nsemba obstructing Leyland in the build-up.

After the break, Josh and Jake Thewlis worked together to prepare Tai for the score, but Miski ran in with ease after French and Field’s outstanding work helped Wigan maintain pace.

Keighran added a try to his impressive points total by failing to initially receive a high kick that luckily fell for Jake Thewlis. However, when the ball came in, Keighran ran in from distance, but not before wrong-footing Matt Dufty as he cantered in on the wing, he accidentally hit Matt Dufty.

With six minutes left, Philbin touched down with an extended arm to ensure Wigan would work for the points, though Warrington made sure Wigan would do the same.

Dufty made amends for the error that caused Keighran’s score by slashing his way through the Wigan defense and running the entire field before handing it to Josh Thewlis, who then touched down his brother Jake.

Matt Peet, the head coach of the Wigan Warriors:

“I’m pleased I got the points, but I had a feeling it might be that game.” Nothing about the lads would have surprised me, despite my best efforts.

“A few years ago, everything we were talking about was quickening things up, including any dead time, without any indication that we were heading in the wrong direction.

“This isn’t just about the game of today,” he said. It has been discussed for some time. Really strange . Today’s game won’t likely feature many tired players, in my opinion.

Sam Burgess, the manager of Warrington:

“I believed we didn’t have a great start, missed a few opportunities, and will probably end up feeling a little more disappointed,” she said.

You can’t dispute the team’s commitment to one another and the bravery to continue competing, even though it would have been nice if we had kicked that goal.

“I believe our performances have been improving, and we will have a challenging match on Sunday in the]Challenge Cup] semi-final.”

Leeming, Dupree, Hill, Walters, and others.

Warrington: Dufty, Josh Thewlis, Lindop, Tai, Jake Thewlis, Ratchford, Leyland, Yates, Powell, Vaughan, Holroyd, Fitzgibbon, Currie, and others.

Harrison, Philbin, Musgrove, and Crowther swap.

The Old Firm Derby on Sunday was, in some ways, a two-number tale.

Cyriel Dessers, the much-denigrated Rangers hitman, is in the blue corner, stomping on chances with harrowing regularity but wallowing in abundance.

Adam Idah, who arrived with a rumored £9.5 million budget and has so far failed to persuade some Celtic supporters, is in the green.

Idah was rewarded for his performance in Norwich City’s second half of the previous season while on loan there on loan, scoring nine goals, the most notable of which came in defeating Celtic’s city rivals to win the Scottish Cup at the death.

The 24-year-old’s performances have received a lot of negative feedback since permanently moving north this summer, especially since Kyogo Furuhashi’s striking fulcrum left in the middle of the season.

Idah fits a very different mold from Daizen Maeda, a fellow Japanese rapier, who has netted a staggering 33 times this term.

Should Celtic alter their possession-based strategy to adopt a more direct approach, he offers size, muscle, and points of interest.

And his output is not at all disappointing.

The Republic of Ireland international started only five of the 14 games that ended in November and the middle of January without scoring.

This term, he has scored 18 goals, three of which were in the Champions League.

A minute of wailing, end-to-end drama felt akin to the microcosmed Old Firm Striker saga.

Idah was sent through on goal with half-time approaching. He shot clumsily at goalkeeper Liam Kelly after grabbing a few earlier chances. The Ibrox roared.

Dessers, Vaclav Cerny’s cunning dummy, rolled calmly into the Celtic net after passing Liam Scales, who was Rangers went up the other end.

However, Idah remained unaffected. He was successful in making an effective play with Maeda down the left, linking it with accuracy, and receiving the winning goal.

Pat Bonner, a former Celtic goalkeeper, believes his former team needs to find another striker for the upcoming season and that his countryman would be better suited in the front two.

On BBC Radio Scotland, he claimed, “They have spent about £9 million on Adam Idah.”

They could reach that height once more to get that out-of-touch striker who can score goals.

They must employ someone there, they say. They can’t just put Maeda and Adam in there.

Adam has scored today, but I’m not sure if he needs to work with him.

Idah’s qualities have been mentioned frequently by Brendan Rodgers, and the Celtic manager once more resolutely praised them at full-time.

We are aware of Adam’s qualities, he said, and he doesn’t get criticism from us.

He only has a season to go, and he’s only going to get better. He plays in the big situations. He scores significant goals and victories. He will always improve.

He doesn’t set his price tag, but people are judging him based on it.

He has consistently demonstrated that he can score goals at every level, according to the company.

Brendan Rodgers’ manager was pleased with the leveller from Idah, which kept Rangers’ 17-point lead over their second-placed city rivals and prevented a third straight loss.

Rodgers continued, “I still believed we were in a good position in the game at half-time.”

We had complete control over the second half of the game. You occasionally have 10-15 minutes where you feel really pressured or pushed against the wall when visiting Ibrox, but I never felt that way.

The Old Trafford crowd elicited a rousing applause as Melvine Malard celebrated her equalizer like it was a stoppage-time winner. The significance of Manchester United’s outcome was reflected in the result.

It confirmed Champions League football for the upcoming season by coming from 2-0 down to win against bitter rivals Manchester City with 10 players after Aoife Mannion was sent off.

With one game left, United put an end to City’s own hopes of playing in Europe by four points clear.

City will assess where everything went wrong while Marc Skinner’s side now has a chance to look at unique hiring tactics and potential financial gains.

Simply put, United’s 2-2 draw on Sunday was a victory.

It feels like a win to go 2-0 up, then come back, then go down to 10 players, manager Skinner said.

Before moving up to the Champions League in 2023, United had previously been in this position before, but they ultimately fell short of the qualifying stages a few months later.

Chelsea, the women’s champion of the Super League, will enter the group stage of the competition the following year, while second and third places will enter the qualifying stages, causing United to have to navigate that.

However, they want to go one step further and make an effort to entice the biggest names in Europe to participate.

There are advantages financially. They would receive just over £430, 000 in starting fees and bonus payments in addition, depending on results, if they advanced to the Women’s Champions League group stages.

“It’s huge. We need to recruit the right way next, Skinner said.

We must add the depth necessary to reach the depths of the Champions League and, in our opinion, to reach the group stages.

That’s what the Champions League gives you. A Champions League team is a popular choice. Hopefully, it will help us find that market.

United is also elevated in the women’s game thanks to European football.

They no longer need to rely on Manchester United’s reputation as a club for their success as a whole.

They are also encouraged by Sir Jim Ratcliffe, Ineos chairman, and his staff’s efforts to persuade them that the women’s team is worthwhile.

Skinner continued, “The women’s team has a young status, but the club has a big status.” We once qualified for Europe, but we have since done it once more, which is a big boost.

The agents are stating that “when we have recruitment calls, it’s always about whether we get to the Champions League.”

United must prepare well for the crucial transfer window Skinner has repeatedly cited while making bigger plans.

United signed Brazilian winger Geyse, goalkeeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce, and World Cup Golden Boot winner Hinata Miyazawa when they last entered Europe.

Although Geyse is currently on loan at Gotham FC, American Tullis-Joyce did not make the first team until this year, alongside Miyazawa consistently.

They needed more skill and physicality, according to Skinner, but recruiting players with the same level of experience and skill is a must.

In terms of our recruitment, I have not stopped all year. “We haven’t just waited,” Skinner remarked.

We have a moment to reflect, but it will undoubtedly be a big summer.

How will United ensure that the window is successful?

The club is developing a proprietary analysis system that helps them identify the best players for them based on data and statistics.

The task is being led by technical director Jason Wilcox and women’s recruitment manager Harvey Bussell.

It is becoming much stronger, she said. Although it is still in its early stages, I believe that is the strategy we will employ, Skinner added.

We’ve spoken as a team, we win the Champions League, and then we need to evaluate our budget and market performance.

We are competing in a market, he said. Therefore, I need to use my expertise to discover ways to improve a player.