Category Sports News

Scotland (17) 38

Tries: McGhie 3, Brebner-Holden, Gallagher, Orr Cons: Nelson 4

Wales (8) 8

Scotland cast aside their off-field issues to condemn Wales to a record six-try defeat in their World Cup opener.

Scotland’s preparations had been beset by player contract uncertainty, but they were united in a dominant performance in front of 10, 054 fans in Salford, a record for a game between the nations.

Francesca McGhie celebrated a hat-trick as Wales were outclassed in almost every facet, with Leia Brebner-Holden, Evie Gallagher and Emma Orr also crossing for the host team.

The victory was sweet revenge for Scotland who were devastated by a last minute Welsh penalty in their World Cup opener three years ago.

It also puts them in a commanding position to claim a spot in the quarter-finals, while Wales must realistically beat Canada – ranked second in the world – to keep their knockout hopes alive.

There was a lot of speculation in the build-up over which Scotland side would show up given the emotional turmoil players have been through this summer, but that was soon put to bed as they found themselves on the scoreboard inside the opening minute.

The ball was worked out wide to player of the match McGhie, who took full advantage of missed tackles to run in on her wing.

Wales ‘ poor start continued with a line-out going astray, conceding a scrum penalty while full-back Nel Metcalfe looked shaky under the high ball as the Scots showed a willingness to kick.

They eventually got a foothold when Lleucu George’s superb touch finder earned a five metre line-out, which Wales mauled over the line for Callender to score.

No sooner had Wales finished celebrating and Scotland were straight back in their 22. Some powerful carries in the midfield left the defence desperately exposed with players lining up to score out wide and former ballet dancer McGhie glided over.

Wales looked predictable in attack and settled for a Keira Bevan penalty to reduce the deficit after a breathless opening quarter.

Jasmine Joyce-Butchers injected some much needed fire into Welsh bellies with a meandering 40m break, but Scotland scrambled well and won a timely turnover.

McGhie then broke from Scotland’s half to set up Scotland’s third, the forwards trucked it up to the line allowing Brebner-Holden the opportunity to snipe as all good scrum halves do.

Wales desperately needed to find something after the break, but George looked a little casual in gathering the restart and her kick was charged down to give Scotland another attacking platform.

The backs showed slick hands to get the ball out wide to dangerwoman McGhie, who was always going to beat the last defender.

Meanwhile Wales continued to fluff their set-piece and five minutes into the half, coach Sean Lynn had seen enough and made five changes, including an all-new front row.

But the impact of big hitters like Sisilia Tuipulotu and Carys Phillips was not felt as Scotland continued to dominate, while Gwen Crabb’s yellow card for a high tackle added to Welsh woes.

Scotland’s scrum dominance set up their fifth try, a huge shove won a penalty which was taken quickly to allow Gallagher over on her World Cup debut.

As the clock ran down, Wales looked like they had narrowly avoided a record defeat to their Six Nations rivals, but Orr crossed on the 78th minute.

Wales were given a temporary reprieve as the final pass from Caity Mattinson looked forward, but on replay it was deemed flat to rub salt into Welsh wounds.

Some of Lynn’s players left the field in tears following a result that few saw coming.

Despite all the hype and build-up surrounding Wales, they will be desperately disappointed with their showing and have a week to regroup before taking on Canada.

Replacements: Elis Martin, Molly Wright, Lisa Cockburn, Jade Konkel, Eva Donaldson, Alex Stewart, Caity Mattinson, Beth Blacklock.

Wales: Nel Metcalfe, Lisa Neumann, Hannah Dallavalle, Courtney Keight, Jasmine Joyce-Butchers, Lleucu George, Keira Bevan, Gwenllian Pyrs, Kelsey Jones, Donna Rose, Alaw Pyrs, Gwen Crabb, Kate Williams (co-capt), Bethan Lewis, Alex Callender (co-capt).

Referee: Maggie Cogger-Orr (NZR)

Assistant referees: Holly Wood (RFU), Jess Ling (RA)

TMO: Ian Tempest (RFU)

Early pacesetters Glentoran continued their winning start to the Irish Premiership season as they beat Crusaders 2-0 at Seaview.

The Glens made it four wins and four clean sheets in a row as goals from Jordan Jenkins and Josh Kelly before half-time sealed the victory.

Unbeaten Coleraine moved up to second as a late goal from substitute Matthew Shevlin helped them to a 2-1 victory against 10-man Glenavon, who are without a win.

Ballymena United, who are also yet to concede this season, recorded a third straight win as they eased to a 4-0 home triumph against Bangor.

After a slow start to the game, the away side took the lead in the 31st minute after Liam Burt’s delivery was flicked on by James Singleton towards Jenkins, whose strike crashed off right hand post.

However, the Crusaders ‘ defence was slow to react which gave the striker time to fire home the rebound.

Deep into first-half additional time, Kelly doubled Glentoran’s lead when he steered Danny Amos ‘ flicked on free-kick past Jonny Tuffey for his first goal since joining the Glens in 2023.

Just after the restart Singleton thought he had extended Declan Devine’s side’s advantage when his header found the back of the net, but he was offside.

The Bannsiders broke the deadlock on the stroke of half-time through the unlikely source of defender Adam Long.

On the pitch as a first-half substitute following an injury to Charles Dunne, he was in the right place at the right time to get on the end of a Lewis McGregor cross to the back post to score on his debut.

Earlier, the dangerous McGregor rattled the Glenavon crossbar with a ferocious drive after evading the challenges of two home defender and letting fly from just inside the penalty area.

At the other end, the hosts were restricted to few chances though Jack Malone tested Coleraine goalkeeper Aidan Harris with a well-struck effort from distance while Stephen Mallon curled a left-footed effort over the crossbar from 20 yards.

The home side improved after the break, and they were rewarded for their efforts with an equaliser 20 minutes from the end.

Second-half substitute Francely Lomboto was denied by a brilliant point blank save from Harris but Paul McGovern, following up, swept home the rebound to register Glenavon’s first goal of the campaign.

Lomboto’s day ended early, however, when he was shown a straight red card by referee Mark Dillon following an incident in the centre circle with Lyndon Kane.

The home side took a sixth-minute lead when David Toure’s cross from the right brushed off the head of Ben Kennedy but fell kindly for Calvin McCurry to guide a shot into the bottom corner of the net.

Bangor might well have levelled on the quarter-hour mark when Kyle Owens met Lewis Harrison’s cross with a thumping header, but United keeper Sean O’Neill sprang across his goal to push the effort away.

Instead, the home side doubled their advantage from the penalty spot on 20 minutes after Harrison bundled over Toure near the edge of the penalty area and Kennedy sent 16-year-old keeper Lawton McMahon the wrong way from the penalty spot.

McMahon did well to prevent Ballymena from netting a third in the first half when he dived to his right to push away Kennedy’s 25-yard effort.

But Ballymena did grab a third goal less than two minutes into the second period as Patrick McEleney’s pass was laid off by McCurry to Kian Corbally, who arrowed a left-footed shot into the bottom corner from the edge of the penalty area.

The same player added United’s fourth on 66 minutes when he reacted quickest to nod home from close range after Kennedy’s 25-yard shot had crashed off the crossbar.

Luke McCullough stood up the ball for Lecky’s first goal, with the striker nodding home from six yards out.

Danny Gibson was the provider for the second, with his cross-finding Lecky at the back post and the frontman sent a powerful header beyond Declan Dunne.

Near the end of the first half, Carrick should have made it three, with Jimmy Callacher and Matthew Snoddy coming close with quickfire efforts.

In the opening stages of the second half, Lecky should have sealed his hat-trick after a Jack Scott cross found him in space in the box. However, the ball seemed to strike Lecky’s thigh and his effort sailed over the crossbar.

When Morecambe fans bought their tickets to watch their side play their first delayed National League fixture of the campaign, following a financial crisis and period of suspension in which their very existence was under serious threat, they could hardly have cared less about the outcome of Saturday’s match against Altrincham.

After months of dread, confusion and turmoil, culminating in the finalisation of a takeover by new owners Panjab Warriors, it was being back in their home, watching their team in action, alongside the rest of their people, that mattered far more than the scoreline.

But in the end a nightmare that had endured for months turned into an utter dream, as the Shrimps secured a stunning 2-1 win thanks to a 98th-minute winner from new signing Daniel Ogwuru, who only signed for the club on Friday night.

“We thought we were gone, dead and buried”, said Pat Stoyles, chair of fans ‘ group The Shrimps ‘ Trust. “We just wanted to not be humiliated today. Now it’s turned into a fairytale hasn’t it?

” The atmosphere all day has been electric. It was perfect. “

Hardy hugs and plenty of tears were shared by people young and old who had spent the summer worrying they may never even watch their side play here again, never mind see them deliver last-gasp winners.

” Today has been all about bringing the club back together, “said 23-year-old Zoe, who has been coming to Morecambe matches with her father Dusty for 19 years.

” For so long we have wanted to come out with our friends and family and get all the Shrimps as one again. It’s just a great feeling. The whole town has been raring to go. “

Josh, 29, added:” For the first few weeks of the season, while we’ve not been playing, I haven’t known what to do with myself. You lose your routine and the people you go with. I really thought we were going to be liquidated.

“I’ve been coming since I was five. My grandad first took me, and he’s passed away now. Having the club back means we keep that family, generational link going”.

Prior to kick-off, the new owners were given a raucous welcome by the 3, 500 home fans in attendance, who revelled in their return and generated a tremendous atmosphere from start to finish.

From there, Altrincham – who had lost two of their three opening games, but have at least been able to enjoy unhindered preparation – grew into the match and deservedly levelled. The visitors created plenty of chances to win the game in the second half but couldn’t quite make one count.

As they piled forward, Morecambe took advantage of the space left behind, with Ogwuru arrowing a ferocious finish into the far corner before celebrating with the delirious supporters behind the goals.

Before that, Morecambe had at times looked like a team of strangers – because that is exactly what they are. When Panjab Warriors ‘ takeover was finalised on Monday, the club had five players in their squad.

Since then, 12 have been signed by new manager Ashvir Singh Johal as he begins his first senior managerial role, including 19-year-old second-half substitute Ma’kel Campbell, who only finalised his deal a few hours before kick-off on Saturday morning.

Misunderstandings over when the ball is going long or short, who has a tendency to cut inside or go out wide, and when to launch into a full counter-attack, are to be expected from a team which has had no pre-season and a single training session to work together.

But the sheer quality Morecambe have managed to bring in during a whirlwind few days, including a plethora of players who graduated from the academies of some of the country’s elite clubs, was already enough to turn them into a team that looked competent and talented from the get-go.

Johal was an energetic presence on the touchline for the entirety of the match, delivering instructions about the team’s shape to a midfield clearly adjusting to each other, while the majority of the bellowing of encouragement was left to his newly-assembled backroom staff.

“I have a clear process”, Johal said afterwards. “Becoming a manager has been my aim for four or five years now. I’ve had a lot of good experiences, so my job is to ignore everything on the outside and make sure the recruitment is right and that there is a good gameplan.

” On Thursday and Friday, the players were on the pitch. Because they haven’t trained together before, we had to limit their exposure to the outside and focus on fitness.

“The sessions were about 45 minutes long and we talked about the principles of how we want to play. We were very clear on the style.

“It’s happened again, it’s happened again, Manchester City, it’s happened again.”

That was the chant bellowed from the Etihad Stadium’s away end at full-time after City were again humbled at home by Tottenham Hotspur.

Spurs were scintillating on their visit here last November and inflicted a 4-0 thrashing, but they were given a helping hand on this occasion and it was one they gleefully accepted.

This time it was 2-0. The visiting Spurs contingent, who have suffered as targets of the “it’s happened again” jibe in the past, made sure to enjoy the moment.

Deploying a high defensive line cost Pep Guardiola’s City side the opening goal, while goalkeeper James Trafford did not cover himself in glory for the second in an overall jittery performance on his home debut.

Ederson has been City’s undisputed number one for eight years, but the Brazilian watched on from the bench after missing the Wolves game through illness last weekend amid heavy links with a move to Turkish giants Galatasaray.

What is clear is that Guardiola has a big long-term decision to make about the goalkeeper role.

“James made a good first game and I decided to continue [with him],” said Guardiola, explaining Trafford’s selection.

“The keeper is a special position, of course, to have more consistency in the goal.

“When I take decisions in the first part of the season for all the players who play one or two games, everyone thinks ‘OK this is the starting line-up, these are the players who are going to play’, but with these amount of games, everyone will play.

Trafford was in celebratory mood earlier in the week when he collected the PFA’s Championship player of the year award at the Opera House in Manchester city centre, reward for his performances in the second tier for Burnley.

The 22-year-old kept 29 clean sheets in the league last season for the Clarets, and after joining City he was quickly on song, as Guardiola pointed out, in the opening win at Wolves.

But this was a different story, a difficult first showing in a City shirt at Etihad Stadium.

Trafford came through the City ranks and rejoined the club for £27m from Burnley this summer having not made a senior appearance in his first spell.

He will have been dreaming of playing Premier League football for City at the Etihad, but it turned into an uncomfortable afternoon, Trafford slipping away from centre stage at the final whistle with songs from joyful Spurs fans ringing in his ears.

Guardiola has turned to youth in his rebuild.

Saturday’s team, with an average age of 24 years and 326 days, was the youngest starting XI named by the Spaniard in the Premier League and they have plenty to learn.

Tottenham’s Richarlison pressed relentlessly all game and forced Trafford into conceding a corner, while the keeper was lucky not to be dismissed for a collision on the edge of the box with Spurs winger Mohammed Kudus.

And at 1-0 behind, with the crowd beginning to get anxious, those shaky moments then turned into a calamity as Trafford played a loose pass inside the area to Ruben Dias, who failed to control, and Joao Palhinha eventually smashed in.

City failed to recover, slipping to defeat in their first home game of the campaign.

“City were well beaten today,” former Premier League striker Chris Sutton said on BBC Radio 5 Live. “I’ve got to say I’m not sure about the goalkeeper situation.

“Is James Trafford really top drawer? If it’s a choice between Trafford and Ederson, I’m going with Ederson.

Paris St-Germain’s Gianluigi Donnarumma is rumoured to be of interest to City and sources have not totally ruled out a move for the Italian, but it would need Ederson to move on.

Guardiola, though, now has a decision to make as to whether he sticks with Trafford, brings Ederson back into the fold, or sells the Brazilian and signs Donnarumma.

The manager seems unsure himself, having said before the start of the season that Ederson was his number one, but then on Friday saying he will pick “who trains good”.

Trafford was given the nod, but the decision raises more questions than answers.

Similar to counterpart Ruben Amorim across the city, the managers of both Manchester clubs each have a goalkeeping conundrum to deal with if they are to claw their way back to the top.

“There was a lot of talk after week one that this Man City team were back,” former Everton midfielder Leon Osman said on BBC Radio 5 Live. “I think this lets everybody take a step back and reassess that.

“It’s happened again, it’s happened again, Manchester City, it’s happened again.”

That was the chant bellowed from the Etihad Stadium’s away end at full-time after City were again humbled at home by Tottenham Hotspur.

Spurs were scintillating on their visit here last November and inflicted a 4-0 thrashing, but they were given a helping hand on this occasion and it was one they gleefully accepted.

This time it was 2-0. The visiting Spurs contingent, who have suffered as targets of the “it’s happened again” jibe in the past, made sure to enjoy the moment.

Deploying a high defensive line cost Pep Guardiola’s City side the opening goal, while goalkeeper James Trafford did not cover himself in glory for the second in an overall jittery performance on his home debut.

Ederson has been City’s undisputed number one for eight years, but the Brazilian watched on from the bench after missing the Wolves game through illness last weekend amid heavy links with a move to Turkish giants Galatasaray.

What is clear is that Guardiola has a big long-term decision to make about the goalkeeper role.

“James made a good first game and I decided to continue [with him],” said Guardiola, explaining Trafford’s selection.

“The keeper is a special position, of course, to have more consistency in the goal.

“When I take decisions in the first part of the season for all the players who play one or two games, everyone thinks ‘OK this is the starting line-up, these are the players who are going to play’, but with these amount of games, everyone will play.

Trafford was in celebratory mood earlier in the week when he collected the PFA’s Championship player of the year award at the Opera House in Manchester city centre, reward for his performances in the second tier for Burnley.

The 22-year-old kept 29 clean sheets in the league last season for the Clarets, and after joining City he was quickly on song, as Guardiola pointed out, in the opening win at Wolves.

But this was a different story, a difficult first showing in a City shirt at Etihad Stadium.

Trafford came through the City ranks and rejoined the club for £27m from Burnley this summer having not made a senior appearance in his first spell.

He will have been dreaming of playing Premier League football for City at the Etihad, but it turned into an uncomfortable afternoon, Trafford slipping away from centre stage at the final whistle with songs from joyful Spurs fans ringing in his ears.

Guardiola has turned to youth in his rebuild.

Saturday’s team, with an average age of 24 years and 326 days, was the youngest starting XI named by the Spaniard in the Premier League and they have plenty to learn.

Tottenham’s Richarlison pressed relentlessly all game and forced Trafford into conceding a corner, while the keeper was lucky not to be dismissed for a collision on the edge of the box with Spurs winger Mohammed Kudus.

And at 1-0 behind, with the crowd beginning to get anxious, those shaky moments then turned into a calamity as Trafford played a loose pass inside the area to Ruben Dias, who failed to control, and Joao Palhinha eventually smashed in.

City failed to recover, slipping to defeat in their first home game of the campaign.

“City were well beaten today,” former Premier League striker Chris Sutton said on BBC Radio 5 Live. “I’ve got to say I’m not sure about the goalkeeper situation.

“Is James Trafford really top drawer? If it’s a choice between Trafford and Ederson, I’m going with Ederson.

Paris St-Germain’s Gianluigi Donnarumma is rumoured to be of interest to City and sources have not totally ruled out a move for the Italian, but it would need Ederson to move on.

Guardiola, though, now has a decision to make as to whether he sticks with Trafford, brings Ederson back into the fold, or sells the Brazilian and signs Donnarumma.

The manager seems unsure himself, having said before the start of the season that Ederson was his number one, but then on Friday saying he will pick “who trains good”.

Trafford was given the nod, but the decision raises more questions than answers.

Similar to counterpart Ruben Amorim across the city, the managers of both Manchester clubs each have a goalkeeping conundrum to deal with if they are to claw their way back to the top.

“There was a lot of talk after week one that this Man City team were back,” former Everton midfielder Leon Osman said on BBC Radio 5 Live. “I think this lets everybody take a step back and reassess that.