Category Sports News

St. Johnstone v. Celtic in the Scottish Cup semi-final

Location: Hampden Park, Glasgow Date: Sunday, April 20, 2019 12:00 BST

After a video of the striker appearing to throw up in a taxi, Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers has defended Adam Idah and criticised those who try to “expose” football players.

Rodgers revealed that the 24-year-old Republic of Ireland international had a phone conversation with him on Thursday during the team’s day off.

The Celtic boss claims he had no doubts about Idah’s reputation as a “great young professional” and that he had been filmed after a night out on Wednesday.

Rodgers remarked, “There’s a sadness to it.” He is aware of my position in terms of group focus and mentality, and he is aware of my position. On a day off, this.

A 24-year-old football player who can’t let his hair down in his free time can’t let his hair down without being tried on by a camera is what saddens me.

“I believe that this is a challenge for people in general, but especially if you’re a young football player,” she said.

He told me the whole truth. He’s a fantastic young professional, without a doubt.

Rodgers said Idah will be ready to play his part when Celtic face St. Johnstone on Sunday in the second Scottish Cup semi-final.

He added that players must be carefully guarded in whatever kind of environment they are exposed to.

The Celtic boss continued, “Sadly, it’s the way of the world.”

Some clown appears and says something else in the video before people go to sign autographs or record a video.

Then, “people start asking themselves, why won’t people watch a video?” Why won’t they ratify? What draws them to pass? because you make an effort to hide them.

Why do they take the risk, then? Do they simply pass by or do nothing at all? Which is sad because kids want their belongings signed and other things.

However, they reacted last time out by beating Kilmarnock 5-1, and they are unbeaten in the Scottish Cup race for what would be their seventh straight defeat.

Rodgers says he does not anticipate a repeat of his team’s subpar performance in Perth despite being pleased with how his team handled a rare defeat.

If you think you can’t be aggressive and passive in the game, don’t give a lot, and expect to gain a lot, Rodgers said, “it doesn’t work.”

After that performance, we said, “That was our message. But you could tell from our performance last week that this Celtic team is all about.

Grand Prix of Saudi Arabia

Jeddah Dates: 18-20 April Start time for the race: 18:00 BST on Sunday

Alpine’s Pierre Gasly set the pace ahead of McLaren’s Lando Norris in first practice at the Grand Prix of Saudi Arabia.

Gasly edged past Norris by 0.007 seconds to finish his performance run on soft tyres later than the usual front-runners.

After four races, Norris and team-mate Oscar Piastri were three points clear of each other.

Ferrari’s Alex Albon and Mercedes’ George Russell were ahead of Piastri, who was 0. 995 seconds off Norris.

Verstappen continued to struggle to get a good balance out of the Red Bull, complaining of understeer in the first few sessions before declaring the car was “very loose, especially in the high speed” in the final stages.

Engineer Giampiero Lambiase suggested that he try backing off on entry to the long, banked Turn 13 left-hander for a quicker exit, but he said, “I can’t.” Basically, imagine having no balance.

Although Piastri was one of the few drivers to lightly brush the track at the start or finish of the high-speed, high-risk Jeddah street circuit and Norris one of the many to lock up at either the first or last corner as they adapted to the dusty track in the early stages of the weekend, there were no major incidents.

After being linked with Real Madrid, Bayer Leverkusen manager Xabi Alonso says it’s “not a good time” to talk about his future.

Should Carlo Ancelotti leave Real at the end of the season, the 43-year-old is reportedly a contender.

Alonso is well-known for leading Leverkusen to the German Cup and the Double of a Bundesliga title in his first full season as senior club manager last year.

“I don’t want to discuss rumors and speculation.” What’s happening right now is more important to me than anything else, as I understand that this is happening.

Alonso was “comfortable” at Leverkusen, according to Leverkusen CEO Fernando Carro, who stated last week that the pair were already making plans for the coming season.

Alonso stated at a press conference in March that he wanted to stay at Leverkusen despite previous contacts with Real, Liverpool, and Bayern Munich.

The former Liverpool and Spain midfielder won La Liga and the Champions League between 2009 and 2014.

Alonso left after three years with Bayern Munich in 2017 and withdrew as a player.

Prior to spending three years in charge of Real Sociedad’s B team, he began coaching Real Madrid’s Under-14 team the following year.

Leverkusen took over the club in October 2022, taking over from them as second-bottom in the Bundesliga, and leading them to a sixth-place finish.

Liam Cameron claims to have been paid “absolute fortune” for the decision to skip the next ten rounds of Saturday’s rematch with Ben Whittaker.

After Boxxer’s promoters made a mistake on the contract that Cameron received, the light-heavyweight initially agreed to hold a 12-round contest in Birmingham.

Boxxer insisted that the rematch should have been in doubt, so Cameron was paid an undisclosed fee to agree to the new terms because the fight should have been 10 rounds instead.

At Friday’s news conference, Cameron claimed, “They paid me an absolute fortune to get it down] from a 12 round.”

“If I were Ben, I would say I was fighting 12 and have that psychological edge. He might have acted upon my bluff. I could have fought 10 times in a row.

The first fight ended in a bizarre way last October, when both men fell over the ropes and injured Whittaker was unable to continue.

Whittaker, 27, won seven fights and won the Olympic silver medal, but some purists thought his flashy demeanor was disrespectful toward his rivals. He quickly became a hit for his showboating and highlight-reel victories.

When many onlookers predicted Cameron would win their first meeting comfortably before it was stopped, the West Bromwich fighter’s stock dropped.

Whittaker, who has won eight professional fights with the one draw, said, “I think that was the best chance to get me and he didn’t.”

He claims to have “got structure” in his training and has since joined coach Andy Lee.

After winning a contract with Frank Warren’s Queensberry Promotions against Whittaker in Saudi Arabia, Cameron feels like he “has won the lottery.”

The 34-year-old Sheffield boxer was depressed and had alcohol issues while receiving a four-year ban for his part due to a 2019 anti-doping violation.

Cameron, who has won 23 fights, lost six, and drawn one, said, “I have grabbed every opportunity I can get.”

Ebenezer Tetteh and Olympic bronze medalist Frazer Clarke square off against Ebenezer Clarke at BP Pulse Live Arena on the undercard.

After having surgery on his jaw and cheekbone following a first-round stoppage loss to Fabio Wardley in October, Clarke insisted he is “healthy” and that “there is a lot more to come” in his career.

The 33-year-old claimed that she has been hit and injured before.

Following a five-month recovery from knee surgery, England international Lauren Hemp has resumed training.

Hemp, 24, hasn’t played since November 8 but was training with Manchester City on Friday as they geared up for a game against Everton.

One of the key players in the race to recover fully fit in time for England to defend their European Championship title in Switzerland in July is the forward.

When asked about Hemp’s knee problem in November, England manager Sarina Wiegman confirmed that it wasn’t an ACL injury.

Hemp would undoubtedly not have been included in England’s Euros plans if an injury of that magnitude had occurred.

Hemp, who typically plays wing, will now work toward full-match fitness.

It has been a really positive week for us, according to interim Manchester City boss Nick Cushing, despite the difficult injury season.

This week, Lauren Hemp and the team had a great week of training.

Hemp’s return strengthens a City side that has been dealing with injury problems and is set to lose its season.

Hemp had five games to go before suffering with her injury, but she had been one of the top scorers in the Women’s Super League this year. She had scored twice and assisted five times.

After having surgery on a medial collateral ligament (MCL) knee injury, her England and City team-mate Alex Greenwood is pursuing a recovery and displaying symptoms that are beginning to show in the club’s treatment room.

Alex Greenwood and Aoba Fujino continue to improve, according to Cushing. Rebecca Knaak spent the entire week training and is currently a member of the team.

“It seems like we are quickly progressing, starting to get players back, and adding that much needed depth to our training.” The team will begin to change about their appearance.

Hemp’s progress will have been confirmed in the England training camp, but Chelsea’s announcement on Friday that Lionesses forward Lauren James has “sustained a hamstring injury and will be out for a period of time” was less encouraging.

Betfred Super League

Hull FC (4) 14

Goals: Pryce, Briscoe, and Ashworth

Hull KR (16) 28

In a fiery derby between Hull KR and Hull FC, cadet Cust received the first red card of the Super League season.

After 16 minutes, when league leaders KR were in front through an Oliver Gildart try in the meeting of the top two, the Australian stand-off was sent off for a shoulder barge to Arthur Mourgue’s face.

The Black and Whites’ only option was Jack Ashworth, who appeared to have given them the upper hand as Peta Hiku and Arthur Mourgue appeared to have established a stronghold in the hands of the Robins.

The fact that referees could keep their red cards in their pockets helped the sport and its safety record significantly. There were seven dismissals in this period of the season last year.

Cust, who had been playing for Hull FC for 15 years, shoulder-barged Mourgue’s head as the France full-back fielded a kick behind the posts, leaving the official Luke Moore with no choice.

The Robins were already in front at that point when Mikey Lewis, back from injury, delivered a powerful pass that sent Gildart running clear.

Cust’s rush of blood, which was used by KR after an overload down their left, gave them a huge advantage after more than three-quarters of the game.

As Ashworth ran into Aidan Sezer’s grubby kick before two defenders, Mourgue, who had recovered from a head injury assessment following Cust’s challenge, scampered over for a 12-point half-time lead, gave his side something to cheer for.

The Black and Whites threw the ball around with brilliant abandon in the second half, scoring Briscoe for a superb take and finish, and it was obvious that they were on fire in the second half.

The video ref’s sighting of KR players ripping the ball out made it even more successful for Hull FC to score two points as Rapana made another quick passing move to swerve inside and score.

Hull FC’s efforts soon began to speak, and Rovers pounced as their opponents got tired, even though KR appeared rattled and the home crowd was bouncing.

With James Batchelor back from injury and carving inside to extend the lead, they responded with some champagne rugby of their own, keeping the ball alive.

John Cartwright, the head coach of Hull FC, told BBC Radio Humberside:

When you’re playing 13 on 12, there are a few different circumstances. You should try to stay focused and keep the scoreboard close in the end. It was a fantastic effort to have a chance to win the game in the second half.

There were “a few things that really went against us,” the referee said, “and after the Cade Cust incident, I believe there were some punches thrown, and players were very vocal.”

The kicker was beaten to the ground by Johnny Asiata, who received a penalty 60 yards downfield. When Liam Knight was attempting to pick it up, he was taken off the ball. We were really hurt by both of those incidents.

[On the red card] “I do have a problem with the red card generally because I believe Cade was going for the ball very hard and didn’t have much time to pull out of it.

Willie Peters, the head coach of Hull KR, told BBC Radio Humberside:

Credit FC, they were outstanding, they forced us to the limit, and it was “dead set,” according to Credit FC.

“It pleased me how our players were able to advance beyond our current level in the final 20 minutes.”

People say that losing teaches you a lot of things, and that they also learn a lot from playing games like that.

Ashworth, Balmforth, Eseh, Ashworth, and Aydin are the exchanges.

Sent-off: Cust (16).

Mourgue, Davies, Hiku, Gildart, Gildart, Gildart, Gildart, May, Lewis, Sue, J Litten, Waerea-Hargreaves, Batchelor, Hadley, Minchella, and others in Hull KR.

Luckley, Whitbread, Broadbent, and Tanginoa are exchanges.