Category Sports News

Tottenham Hotspur‘s belated show of spirit may keep the wolf from head coach Thomas Frank’s door a little longer, but a damaging FA Cup defeat reaffirms the lingering belief his time in charge is only heading one way.

If there is scant consolation for Frank after Spurs slumped to a 2-1 third-round loss at home to Aston Villa, it is that the mood at the end was nowhere near as ugly as it threatened to be at half-time.

Dig beneath that and – barring a trip to Fantasyland in which Spurs win the Champions League – the rest of this season is now a quest for respectability, and for Frank, survival.

Spurs supporters sent their team off at the interval with deafening jeers ringing in their ears after they were brushed aside by a vastly superior Villa, who established a fully deserved 2-0 advantage.

Such was the lack of hope that thousands of seats inside the vast Tottenham Hotspur Stadium remained empty for even longer than usual at the start of the second half, fans resigned to Spurs’ fate after a dismal first 45 minutes in which they conceded goals to Emiliano Buendia and Morgan Rogers.

It was deeply uncomfortable for Frank, who not only felt the full fury of the Spurs fans he is failing to convince, but also the taunts of thousands of travelling Villa supporters revelling in his misery.

As well as the time-honoured “You’re getting sacked in the morning”, he heard chants of “Thomas Frank is an Arsenal fan” after he was inadvertently pictured drinking from a Gunners-branded coffee cup before the Premier League defeat at Bournemouth.

Helped by complacency from Villa, who came out for the second half looking like their work was done, Spurs at least competed and poured forward, with Wilson Odobert’s 54th-minute goal offering a lifeline.

Frank clutched at what was offered by that improvement, telling BBC Match of the Day: “The second half is the one we take away going forward. It’s what we would like to be. The energy, intensity, playing forward, being aggressive. We were dominating and created chances.

“Unfortunately we couldn’t score the second goal which would have given us an extra opportunity in the extra time. It’s always about trying to put two good halves together – that’s the aim.”

In the wider context, though, this was another bad day for Frank and Spurs, a club that always has big aspirations in the FA Cup.

Spurs are 14th in the Premier League and now out of this competition. Frank does not have the belief or support of many fans, meaning this was the latest day of disappointment for the head coach.

The reaction at half-time was highly toxic. The second half at least spared Frank a repeat at the end. It was more sweat than style, but still not enough to make up for the glaring inferiority and inadequacies of the first half.

A melee involving both sides’ players and staff drew attention from the home support’s disappointed reaction – Spurs were unhappy with Villa’s celebrations in front of their elated fans, especially Ollie Watkins in close proximity to Joao Palhinha, who then clashed with Rogers.

“I think it’s good passion. But we shouldn’t be bringing this passion only when we are behind,” said Spurs defender Micky van de Ven.

“If we start a game like this, it will be a whole different game. We were nowhere near in the first half like what we did in the second. We need to do this for the full 90 minutes. Then we will be a totally different team.

“We have had too many ups and downs. We have too many games that we play at a good level and then there are games where we are way below our level. That’s what we need to work on and be more consistent.”

Frank has not been blessed with much good fortune aside from his own difficulties, with striker Richarlison suffering a hamstring injury as he chased with Villa defender Ezri Konsa in the first half.

In the past week, Spurs have also lost Mohammed Kudus, Lucas Bergvall and Rodrigo Bentancur to muscle problems.

The Danish manager told Match of the Day: “I under the frustrations. The fans were amazing in the second half. That unity together – the fans and players – everyone was full of energy and feeding off each other.

“We need to think how can we come out aggressive enough and with passion and how can the fans push us forward in spells when we are a little bit down, which will come in every football match.

Frank’s problem is that he has been unable to inspire his players into producing complete performances, meaning his hold on his job is loosened with every loss.

He believes he still has the club’s backing, saying: “Completely feel the support. No doubt about that. Of course we are disappointed by the result and the fact that we don’t have better results. We need to put more and better performances together and keep pushing forward.”

Commendable optimism, but reality dictates that Frank needs wins and needs them fast, with currently little enthusiasm for his methods among the Spurs fanbase, a disconnect that undermines any head coach.

Frank now has four games which will surely shape his future – at home to struggling West Ham and at Burnley in the Premier League, plus hosting Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League and testing trip to Eintracht Frankfurt.

European Champions Cup Pool 4

Scarlets (24) 38

Tries: Macleod 2, Hughes, Plumtree, Hawkins Cons: Hawkins 2 Pen: Hawkins

Pau (26) 47

Pau survived Scarlets’ second half comeback to come out on top of a thrilling Champions Cup contest in Llanelli.

The Top 14 side stormed into the lead with four tries inside the first half an hour, with Dwayne Peel’s men staring down the barrel of another sobering loss.

Explosive wing Toshi Butlin twice went over before Clement Mondinat’s effort, with Carywn Tuipulotu bagging the bonus-point against his former side.

Josh Macleod twice crossed to drag Scarlets back into the contest, with Archie Hughes’ effort bringing them back to within two points.

Taine Plumtree and Joe Hawkins burst over after the break to give Scarlets’ fans hope, only for Pau to show their pedigree with three unanswered tries from Remi Seneca, Theo Attissogbe and Siate Tokolahi.

Scarlets must beat Northampton Saints away next Sunday to keep slim hopes of finishing in the pool’s top four alive, while Pau play Bulls on Friday.

Scarlets enjoyed an early spell of pressure but after having two driving mauls repelled, they settled for a Hawkins penalty.

But they switched off when a quick-tap penalty by full-back Attissogbe released Butlin who showed a good turn of pace down his wing.

Butlin’s European debut became even more impressive five minutes later when he latched onto a looping pass from Desperes to saunter over for a second.

A third Pau try came inside a devastating eight minute period, Attisogbe broke the line before giving the scoring pass to replacement Mondinat.

Just as the game looked to be getting away, Scarlets hit back when a superb Hawkins touch finder provided a promising platform. Ryan Elias found his target at the lineout and Macleod touched down from the maul.

But Pau once again silenced the sparse crowd with Tuipulotu crashing over and leaving his former side a mountain to climb.

Scarlets recovered from the disappointment of having a Henry Thomas try disallowed with another powerful maul, and there was no stopping Macleod once he got a sniff of a second.

Still a man up after the break, Kemsley Mathias’ outrageous step looked to have set up a try, but a TMO intervention showed the loose-head had been held up.

Scarlets kept coming and a powerful run by Plumtree broke the defensive line, and while he also looked to have been held up, the in-form flanker managed to wriggle free to ground the ball as Scarlets took the lead for the first time since the eighth minute.

With the crowd now behind them, Pau’s discipline started to crumble and Hawkins finished off after the driving maul had done most of the damage.

Nathan Decron headed to the sin bin for an infringement, but Scarlets failed to take advantage as Pau demonstrated why they are currently the second best team in the Top 14.

They brought on their replacement forwards who made an instant impact, with prop Seneca taking advantage of some mis-communication in the defence to bust through.

A careless Sam Lousi penalry gifted Pau a five metre lineout, with Attissogbe finding a gap to give his side the lead once more.

Fletcher Anderson looked to have come up with what could have been a winning try after Eddie James’ pressure had won back possession, but the Scarlets number eight was stripped of the ball moments before grounding.

Scarlets: Murray; Rogers, Roberts, James, Mee; Hawkins, Hughes; Mathias, Elias, Thomas, Lousi, Ball, Plumtree, Macleod (capt), Anderson.

Replacements: Van der Merwe, Hepburn, O’Connor, Price, Davis, Blacker, Leggatt-Jones, Nicholas.

Pau: Attissogbe; Arfeuil, Decron, Valentino, Butlin; Desperes, Daubagna (capt); Etchebehere, Delhommel,Arrieta, Jolmes, Capelli, Zegueur, Hewat, Tuipulotu.

Replacements: Rey, Seneca, Tokolahi, Liufau, Iosefo, Pelesasa, Robson, Mondinat.

Referee: Sam Grove-White (Sco)

Assistants: Ian Kenny (Sco), Finlay Brown (Sco)

TMO: Dave Sutherland (Sco)

Investec Champions Cup

Leicester Tigers (24) 57

Tries: Radwan 2, Reffell, Henderson, Searle 3, Chessum, Ilione Cons: Searle 5, Woodward

Bayonne (0) 14

Fly-half Billy Searle scored a second-half hat-trick as Leicester Tigers kept their knockout hopes alive in the Investec Champions Cup with a dominant win over Bayonne.

Qualification remains difficult as a positive result will likely be required over Stormers, who are undefeated this season, in South Africa next Saturday.

Geoff Parling’s side had the bonus point secured before half-time, with Searle, captain Ollie Chessum and Emeka Ilione scoring in a one-sided second half.

Adam Radwan continued his fine scoring form with two early tries and Tommy Reffell also crossed in the first half.

Lock Cameron Henderson then showed his athleticism to score after a sharp break by England full-back Freddie Steward.

Parling’s side, like Bayonne, lost their opening two games in Europe but had tricky games in La Rochelle and Leinster.

The departure of star fly-half Handre Pollard and his potential replacement hung over Leicester for a large part of last season.

Australia’s James O’Connor was signed as the marquee replacement, with Searle and Orlando Bailey also picked up as backup options.

Availability early in the Prem season has allowed Searle to establish himself as Leicester’s starting fly-half, and he has not looked back.

Searle, who has spent time at several clubs, has been around at 29, but is now playing some of the best rugby of his career.

Two long passes set up Radwan in the first half, before a smart support line was rewarded with a score of his own.

Searle then intercepted the ball and raced clear for his second try of the game, before walking in a third.

Backing up his player-of-the-match performance against Saracens last weekend was a tough task, but Searle picked up the award again.

The short pool format can lead to heavy rotation and despite showing up better than in the thrashing by Harlequins, Bayonne never looked like winning.

Player of the match Searle, speaking to Premier Sports: “It’s exciting. Our game is always to move the ball and that suits my game down to a tee. The boys are flourishing, there’s a long way we can go and it’s a very promising sign going forward.

Leicester: Steward; Radwan, Wand, Bailey, Hamer-Webb; Searle, Van Poortvliet; Smith, Clare, Heyes, Henderson, Chessum (capt), Thompson, Reffell, Cracknell.

Replacements: Blamire, Haffar, Hurd, Moro, Ilione, Whiteley, Woodward, Pearson.

Bayonne: Spring; Lapegue, Martocq, Tuilagi, Hannoun; Boyle-Tiatia, Tilloles; Calles, Martin, Cotet, Iturria (capt), Garcia Iandolino, Leota, Marchesin, Ariceta.

Referee: Hollie Davidson (Sco)

Assistant referees: Ru Campbell (Sco) and Jonny MacKenzie (Sco)

Barcelona want Marcus Rashford to stay beyond his loan, Aston Villa eye return for Tammy Abraham and Manchester United hope to beat Arsenal to sign teenager Igor Tyjon.

Barcelona want to keep England forward Marcus Rashford, 28, beyond the term of his loan from Manchester United. (Athletic – subscription required)

Aston Villa are looking to recruit 28-year-old English striker Tammy Abraham, who is on loan at Besiktas from Roma this season. (Telegraph – subscription required)

Manchester United are hoping to beat Arsenal to signing Blackburn Rovers and England youth international Igor Tyjon, 17. (Sun)

Newcastle United are assessing Atalanta and Italy centre-back Giorgio Scalvini, 22, following the injury to Swiss defender Fabian Schar, 34. (Teamtalk)

Chelsea have ‘overtaken’ their rivals in the race to sign 25-year-old Real Madrid and Brazil forward Vinicius Jr. (Fichajes – in Spanish)

Crystal Palace boss Oliver Glasner is the frontrunner with Manchester United‘s hierarchy to become the club’s next permanent manager. (Caughtoffside)

Three horses have died after sustaining injuries in separate incidents during Kempton Park’s Lanzarote Hurdle card.

Grade One winning Kalif Du Berlais, who was part-owned by former Manchester United manger Sir Alex Ferguson, fell and unseated jockey Harry Cobden in the final stages of the four-runner Silviniaco Conti Chase.

The six-year-old sustained a broken shoulder and could not be treated by the veterinary team, with trainer Paul Nicholls describing the loss as “a big kick in the teeth” and a “sad day”.

Also on Saturday, Wertpol suffered a fatal fall in the juvenile hurdle, while Peso pulled up with an injury in the Shaker Handicap Chase.

A spokesperson for Kempton Park said: “All of us at Kempton Park care deeply about the welfare of all racehorses, as do the thousands of racing staff who provide them with world-class levels of care at home every day.

“Our heartfelt condolences are with the connections of all three horses.”

The British Horseracing Authority (BHA) said it will analyse each incident in detail through its fatality review process.

“At this stage there does not appear to be any common factor that can be attributed to these incidents, with each of the injuries different in nature and sustained in unique circumstances,” it added.

Briton Nicholls said Kalif Du Berlais had been “travelling beautifully” at Kempton and they had “a lot of faith” the horse could go far.

“He’s won a Grade One and had a big future, there is no doubt about that, but we’re not going to know how big, sadly,” he said.

Harry Derham, who was riding Wertpol, wrote on X it had been “an utterly miserable day” and said the three-year-old “was a bright talent who was fresh and happy doing his work every day, often playing around and expressing himself”.

He added: “Racing can at times be a painful sport and today has been a tough day for a number of connections. A day to forget.”