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Celtic have had a storming campaign in the Premiership this season under the management of Ange Postecoglou.

Prior to Sunday’s Old Firm clash which could put the Hoops within touching distance of the title if they pick up a win, the Parkhead club have won 27 of their 34 league games.

Along with their impressive run of results, particularly since October, the Bhoys also boast the best attacking and defensive record in the top flight, with 80 goals scored and just 19 conceded.

However, one man who hasn’t been a particularly prominent figure for Postecoglou’s side is goalkeeper Vasilis Barkas, who is currently picking up a wage of £20k-per-week. The 27-year-old has only appeared in one league game for Celtic, this season which came back in December during their 3-1 win over St Johnstone.

Last month, it was reported that the Greece international had demanded to be allowed to leave the club in the summer.

Having had his move to the Parkhead club labelled a “disaster” by Frank McAvennie, it seems as though the Hoops have their eye on bringing in a new goalkeeper during the summer who could well end up replacing Barkas.

What’s the news?

According to a recent report from Football Insider, Celtic are plotting a move to sign Bodo/Glimt ‘keeper Nikita Haikin this summer.

Having started his career in England at youth level, the Russian has played with clubs in his homeland, Portugal, Spain and Israel before eventually joining his current employers in Norway.

In the midst of moving to and from clubs earlier in his career, the shot-stopper had run into issues with his passport and work permits, which he described as “insane”.

Since arriving at Bodo/Glimt, the 26-year-old has played in 81 games across all competitions, keeping 28 clean sheets in the process.

In Celtic’s 3-1 defeat against the Norwegian club in February’s Europa Conference League clash at Parkhead, the Russian made five saves in total, including one punch and one high claim. This shows just how capable a goalkeeper he is against tough opposition.

Looking ahead to the summer transfer window, if the Hoops are able to finally get rid of Barkas, adding Haikin to their ranks as his replacement could be a good bit of business for the club.

In other news: Bid made as Celtic now eyeing swoop for “strong” 63 G/A dynamo, he’s their next Edouard

Sunderland maintained their spot in the play-offs with a 1-1 draw at home to Rotherham in League One on Tuesday night.

The Black Cats are fifth in the table and one point ahead of seventh, as it stands, and know that a win on the final day of the season against Morecambe, who are battling against the drop, will seal their place in the top six.

It was an eventful night for Michael Ihiekwe at the Stadium of Light as he went from hero to zero for The Millers. He opened the scoring in the 17th minute before turning the ball into his own net in the 88th minute to gift Alex Neil’s team a point.

Sunderland did not register a single shot on target in the match as they struggled to break Paul Warne’s well-structured side down.

The home side were, therefore, a tad lucky to come away from the game with a point to show for their efforts as they did not trouble the opposition goalkeeper at all. Neil’s attackers struggled on the night and one player, in particular, who let the head coach down was centre-forward Nathan Broadhead.

Off the ball, he was a lightweight. As per SofaScore, he lost four of his six (66.6%) individual battles and this shows that he was dominated from a physical standpoint. He made one tackle in the match whilst failing to make a single interception, clearance, or block as he failed to help the defence out when Rotherham had the ball.

On the flip side of the game, he offered no attacking quality. As per SofaScore, he did not register a single key pass or shot on goal, whilst also failing to complete a single dribble. He only had 19 touches of the ball, with goalkeeper Anthony Patterson having 32, and completed just nine passes.

Broadhead struggled to get into the game in the final third as he let Neil down on and off the ball throughout the match. The Everton loanee has been sublime this season, with nine goals in 14 starts, but this was a performance to forget from the Welshman.

He must now dust himself down and work hard in training ahead of the crunchtime clash with Morecambe on Saturday. Neil will need the striker at his clinical best to ensure that the Black Cats are competing for a spot in the Championship via the play-offs next month.

AND in other news, Speakman howler: SAFC may now be on the verge of repeating brutal Hugill disasterclass…

England’s Twenty20 cricketers were barely forced to break sweat as they sauntered to a crushing six-wicket victory in Cardiff, against a Pakistan side whose off-field woes appeared to have seeped out into the middle with them

The Bulletin by Andrew Miller in Cardiff07-Sep-2010England 90 for 4 (Collingwood 21) beat Pakistan 89 (Bresnan 3-10) by six wickets
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsPakistan were dismissed for their lowest total in Twenty20 internationals•PA Photos

England’s Twenty20 cricketers were barely forced to break a sweat as they sauntered to a crushing six-wicket victory in Cardiff against a Pakistan side whose off-field woes appeared to have seeped out into the middle with them. Despite another slight wobble with the bat as England closed in on a record-equalling seventh T20I victory in a row, a dismal target of 90 never looked like being a challenge, as Eoin Morgan and Michael Yardy once again eased them over the line with six overs to spare.The victory wrapped up a 2-0 clean sweep of the Twenty20 series, and completed a subdued sojourn in South Wales for Pakistan, which started with further newspaper allegations ahead of Sunday’s opening fixture, and concluded this evening with their lowest ever total in the format, as Tim Bresnan led an excellent attacking bowling performance with 3 for 10 in 3.4 overs. In front of a county-standard attendance of 5,821, it was an anticlimactic spectacle in every sense. But at least the sunset was pretty.Although Pakistan this time batted first of their own volition, their innings started in an uncannily familiar fashion to Sunday’s first fixture. A loose first over from Ryan Sidebottom was swatted for 11 useful runs (one fewer than had been the case two days earlier), before Bresnan dismissed Kamran Akmal via a rash pull for the second game running. He struck with his second ball on Sunday, and his fourth today, but at 11 for 1, Pakistan’s innings had once again been robbed of its early momentum.The situation got steadily worse for Pakistan. Bresnan claimed his second wicket in five balls when Mohammad Yousuf flapped a well-directed bouncer to Bopara at deep square leg, and six balls later, Shahzaib Hasan was also suckered by the short ball, this time courtesy of Stuart Broad, who beat him for pace as he swished airily and snicked the thinnest of edges through to the keeper, Steven Davies.Broad then made it two in an over, as an anxious Shahid Afridi poked nervously at his first ball before top-edging his fourth to Morgan at midwicket. At 22 for 4 after five overs, Pakistan were already dealing with damage limitation.Mohammad Hafeez’s response was to drop anchor as if he was battling to save a Test match. He faced 19 of the next 21 deliveries of the innings, picking off five singles while Umar Akmal ticked impatiently at the other end of the pitch, and it came as little surprise when Umar beat that tally in one blow by mowing Graeme Swann straight back over his head for the first six of the series. He produced an identical blow in Swann’s next over, only to fall one delivery later, as Swann gave the ball extra air outside off stump, and a clueless Umar threw back his head to be bowled through the gate for 17.Hafeez’s torturous innings was ended by a sharp run-out as Sidebottom shied at the non-striker’s end from short fine leg, and two balls and a single later, Fawad Alam’s grim series was concluded by a first-ball duck, as he attempted to cut Swann off the back foot and edged instead to the keeper.Umar Gul produced the shot of the innings when he lifted a Broad slower ball over the fine leg boundary for six, but Razzaq was unable to find his range in a fitful performance. He finally struck his first boundary from his 19th delivery, as Sidebottom offered too much width from a low-toss, only for both men to fall from his next two deliveries. First to go was Razzaq, who top-edged a slower-ball bouncer to Yardy at slip, before Gul pumped a similar delivery to Bopara, running in from deep square leg.Shoaib Akhtar creamed Bresnan through the covers for a handsome four, but before the over was out, Bresnan had been rewarded for an impressive performance with his third and final wicket of the innings. A well-directed yorker took out the base of middle stump to leave England chasing a meagre 90 for victory.Their desire for a swift kill was showcased by Craig Kieswetter, who unfurled an audacious back-foot drive over extra cover for six as Umar Gul’s first over was clattered for 19. However, both he and Steven Davies fell in consecutive deliveries in Shoaib’s subsequent over, and thereafter England opted for a safety-first approach to their run-chase.The spin of Saeed Ajmal and Afridi claimed a wicket apiece after Paul Collingwood and Bopara had knocked off a third of the target in seven overs, but it was once again Morgan’s matchless repertoire that put the contest beyond doubt. Three fours in 14 balls, all of them from the spinners, injected some late oomph to the innings, before Yardy sealed the deal with an all-run four to deep cover

Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou has confirmed a major boost ahead of his side’s clash against Motherwell.

What’s the story?

Speaking in his pre-match press conference ahead of the Scottish Premiership fixture, he said: “Tom is good. After the midweek game, everyone got through ok in terms of injuries and Tom is available now.

“Nir Bitton, who was obviously suspended is available, and Daizen (Maeda) is fully available now, he obviously wasn’t 100 percent even though he did a great job for us off the bench (on Wednesday against Rangers).”

Fans will be buzzing

After the euphoria of the Hoops’ incredible victory over Rangers in the Old Firm clash last time out, momentum is well and truly on Celtic’s side heading into the business end of the Scottish Premiership season.

The club were given a lift by making a number of new signings in the January transfer window, and a couple of them put in starring displays against the Gers – none more so than Reo Hatate, whose spectacular double and superb cross for Liel Abada has made him an immediate folk hero.

It’s no surprise then that with things going so good in recent weeks, that Ange’s confirmation that a couple of the stars who were absent for that game being back has him in even higher spirits.

He added: “This is exactly why I wanted to put this squad together. I have not had the chance yet to really shape it the way I want to in games and between games. We have injuries and absences and injury and international duty and all these kinds of things.

“It’s great we are getting to that stage. I have never seen it as competition for places, I have seen it as players pushing each other on a daily basis to be the best you can be.”

Celtic fans will no doubt be buzzing with Ange’s pre-game news.

Meanwhile, Celtic must finally start this man vs Motherwell…

تحدث البرتغالي جوسيفالدو فيريرا المدير الفني لنادي الزمالك عن تعادل فريقه أمام إنبي في المباراة التي أقيمت بينهما اليوم الأربعاء في الدوري.

الزمالك تعادل مع إنبي بهدف لكل فريق في إطار منافسات الجولة الرابعة من عمر بطولة الدوري المصري الممتاز على ملعب استاد المقاولون العرب.

وقال فيريرا في المؤتمر الصحفي بعد المباراة: “خسرنا نقطتين، وقدمنا مباراة هجومية كبيرة في الشوط الأول وهدف واحد كان قليلاً”.

طالع | ترتيب الدوري المصري بعد فوز الأهلي على الداخلية وتعادل الزمالك أمام إنبي

وأضاف: “الشوط الثاني كان قليلاً ومتوقع بعد السفر والمباراة الأخيرة كان يوجد إجهاد”.

وتابع: “إنبي الشوط الثاني استطاع أن يستحوذ ولكن بدون خطورة ومن كرة ثابتة نجحوا في تحقيق التعادل”.

وواصل: “الزمالك لم يتراجع ولكن إنبي نجح في الاستحواذ ولم يكن هناك تعليمات بالتراجع ولن أتحدث كثيرا عن الأرهاق ولكن خسرنا نقطتين”.

وعن مشاركة أوباما في رأس الحربة، أوضح: “هو يلعب كثيرًا في هذا المركز ومشاركته جاءت بدلا من الجزيري”.

وأتم: “أنا لا أتحدث عن لاعبين غائبين عن المباراة، فقط أنا اتحدث عن اللاعبين الموجودين”.

A tie was just as good as a win for India A as they qualified for the tri-series final in a freakish run-fest at Worcester, with both teams locked on 343

Cricinfo staff06-Jul-2010
ScorecardAbhinav Mukund ensured India were always in the game•Getty ImagesA tie was just as good as a win for India A as they qualified for the tri-series final in a freakish run-fest at New Road, with both teams locked on 343. India were a point behind West Indies A and needed at least a tie to get the two points to ensure qualification, and they didn’t give up till the last ball. Ian Bell’s 158 carried England Lions to what seemed like an unassailable 343, but the Indian batsmen, led by Abhinav Mukund, always ensured that they were in the game.The Lions innings was built around two century partnerships at the top of the order, both driven by Bell. The wicketkeeper Steve Davies added 107 with him for the second wicket, contributing 54 off 52 balls. Iqbal Abdulla, the left-arm seamer, got India the breakthrough when he trapped Davies lbw. It was only temporary relief for India as Darren Stevens joined Bell to script the highest partnership of the innings. The pair added a further 154 off nearly 22 overs to push the Lions towards a massive score. Stevens made 64 off 61 balls before he was dismissed by Abhimanyu Mithun, with the score at 267 in the 42nd over.Bell reached his century off 117 balls, but his next 50 came off just 21. He hit 20 fours and a six before he was dismissed by the seamer Jaskaran Singh for 158 off 143 balls. All the frontline bowlers got smashed, with the exception of Abdulla, who took 2 for 56.It was hard work for the Lions bowlers as well, as the Indian openers added 79 in quick time. Shikhar Dhawan made a brisk 44 off 26 balls before he was dismissed by Liam Plunkett. Ajinkya Rahane then joined Abhinav for a steady stand of 74 to keep their side in the contest. Abhinav then added 41 with Cheteshwar Pujara and 56 with Manoj Tiwary before he was dismissed for 114, bowled by Ravi Bopara. The well-set Abhinav’s presence meant that India were always in with a chance.Fortunately for India, the lower order didn’t disappoint after Abhinav departed. Tiwary blazed 46 off 36 balls and when he was out, Wriddhiman Saha took over. Saha added 38 in quick time with Manish Pandey to take India closer. However, a double-strike by Plunkett tilted the game towards the Lions but Saha wasn’t giving up without a fight. Abdulla’s last-ditch cameo of 13 off just five balls swung it back India’s way. There was further drama off the penultimate ball as Abdulla was run-out after taking a single. India needed two to win and one to tie but they stole a bye to level the scores and seal their place in the final, also against the Lions, on Thursday.

At just 20 years of age, Aston Villa striker Cameron Archer is already a well-known figure amongst the first team, having made his Premier League debut this campaign.

Moreover, a hat-trick against Barrow and a goal against Chelsea in the EFL Cup, as well as six goals in four EFL Trophy appearances for the U23s, has shown that the Englishman is on the verge of regular game time for the Villa first team.

There has been evidence of youngsters becoming first-team regulars for Villa, with 20-year-old midfielder Jacob Ramsey an excellent example.

To ensure that his progress isn’t stunted though, the West Midlands outfit sent the youngster on loan to Championship outfit Preston North End for the remainder of the season, and the striker has already made a big impression.

Within minutes of coming off of the bench on his debut for the Whites, Archer netted against one of Villa’s fierce rivals in West Bromwich Albion, securing a 2-0 win for his loan side.

Since then, the 20-year-old has started Ryan Lowe’s side’s following two league matches, blanking in a 2-2 draw at home to Bristol City and scoring the sole goal last time out away at Hull City.

Following the loanee’s debut, Lowe said: “He’ll just get better in terms of our style, he’s just got to adapt, it’s a little bit different to how they play at Villa.

“What we’ve got to do is make sure we get him in the right areas, in the first half we didn’t get him in the right areas, we didn’t slide many balls down the sides of them. Fantastic performance, really pleased for him, the more games he plays, the better he will be.”

Three games in and two goals to show for it, the opening weeks of Archer’s loan spell have gone exactly to plan, with the striker’s temporary move having the potential of being a masterstroke for both clubs.

For Preston, they are still well in with a shout of securing a finish in the playoff places, with Lowe’s side sat in 11th with 41 points, four off sixth-placed West Brom, all though the Baggies do have a game in hand.

With the Englishman’s goals, the Lancashire outfit could propel up the table and find themselves breathing down the necks of the second tier’s elite.

As for Villa, the hope will be that Steven Gerrard will be receiving a striker with much more experience of playing senior football at a high level who can then be integrated into his squad as and when he’s needed.

To think that the 20-year-old could be leading the line for Villa as early as next season seems a rather tall ask, however, Ollie Watkins’ future is uncertain, with Arsenal continuously linked with the 26-year-old whilst Danny Ings hasn’t had the most impressive start to his Villa tenure.

The main hope will be that Archer will return to the West Midlands as an improved player who can properly break through in Gerrard’s side next campaign, potentially saving the club millions on a Watkins replacement in the process.

In other news: Steven Gerrard drops exciting injury update that’ll have Villa fans buzzing

Singapore’s Mohamed Shoib Abdul Razak has received an official reprimand for breaching the ICC Code of Conduct

Cricinfo staff25-Feb-2010Singapore’s Mohamed Shoib Abdul Razak has received an official reprimand for breaching the ICC Code of Conduct during his country’s match against United States of America in the World Cricket League Division 5 on Wednesday.The charge was brought by the two on-field umpires, Tyron Wijewardene and Buddhi Pradham, at the conclusion of the match, which Singapore won by 99 runs. Razak was found to have breached Section 12 Article 2.1.3 of the ICC Code, which relates to ‘showing dissent at an umpire’s decision’.He pleaded guilty to the charge and accepted the penalty imposed by Match Referee David Jukes without the need to convene a disciplinary hearing. “Heat of the moment or not, there is no place for this sort of behaviour in international cricket. Mr Razak has apologised for his actions and I hope that we will not see a recurrence,” said Jukes.

With 25 strikes conceded in the Premier League so far this season, Aston Villa have let more goals in than Burnley, Brentford and Brighton & Hove Albion.

Taking this into account, the upcoming January transfer window could provide the Midlands club and Steven Gerrard with the opportunity to bring some reinforcements into the club, particularly in the defensive areas.

One deal that the club could look to do to strengthen the squad up at the back is by signing Rangers centre-back Connor Goldson, who Villa are reportedly in the frame to sign in January according to journalist Peter O’Rourke.

It was previously reported that Goldson had rejected the chance to sign a new deal with the Scottish club in an effort to join a Premier League club, which could pave the way for Gerrard to reunite with the defender after the 29-year-old made a total of 182 appearances under the current Villa boss at Rangers, scoring 17 goals and providing five assists in the process.

Labelled as a player with “incredible leadership” on and off the pitch by Gerrard, signing Goldson in January could be a dream move for the Villa manager to help give some guidance to Villa’s younger defenders such as Ezri Konsa, Kortney Hause and Axel Tuanzebe.

Since joining Rangers back in the 2018 summer transfer window from Brighton in a deal worth a reported fee of around £3m, Goldson has gone on to make 188 appearances for the club across all competitions, showing how vital he has been for the team since his arrival and why they would presumably prefer to keep hold of him for the remainder of the season.

This season has seen the defender, who is currently earning a weekly wage of £27k-per-week according to Salary Sport, play in all but two of Rangers’ games across all competitions, completing the full 90 minutes in all of them, highlighting him importance to the club.

With Villa also linked with a move for Liverpool centre-back Joe Gomez, Goldson could be a much cheaper alternative than the England international.

That’s when you take into account his advanced age and the presumption that the Reds would want more money for their player than Rangers would want for their asset, especially with his contract set to run out at the end of the season.

In other news: Lange must avoid transfer catastrophe at AVFC over “magnificent” £28.8m-rated machine – opinion

David Moyes’ West Ham United side got 2022 off to a perfect start against Crystal Palace on Saturday evening, with the Hammers running out 3-2 victors at Selhurst Park.

The fixture looked to be done and dusted at halftime, with Michail Antonio’s 22nd-minute opener and Manuel Lanzini’s brace giving West Ham a 3-0 lead at the interval.

However, Palace did come extremely close to levelling the scores right at the death, as Jean-Philippe Mateta’s spectacular bicycle kick flew just wide after Odsonne Edouard and Michael Olise had pulled two goals back for the hosts.

Nevertheless, the Hammers hung on to all three points, a result which – coupled with Arsenal’s 2-1 defeat against Manchester City – sees Moyes’ men well and truly back in contention for a top-four spot.

Aside from the result, the displays of a number of his starting XI will have been extremely encouraging for the 58-year-old manager – particularly that of Declan Rice, who ran the show after returning to the side following his suspension.

12 defensive actions

Indeed, over his 90 minutes on the pitch on Saturday evening, the defensive midfielder enjoyed 60 touches of the ball – the joint second-most of any West Ham player – completed 41 of his 46 attempted passes – one of which was key – found his man with two of his four attempted long balls and ended the fixture with an assist to his name – setting up Lanzini’s stunning first goal.

The £67.5m-rated man also impressed in metrics more typical of his position, making three tackles, three interceptions, two clearances and winning four duels, totalling 12 defensive actions.

These returns saw the £62k-per-week 22-year-old earn a SofaScore match rating of 7.2 – ranking him as West Ham’s third-best performer on the day.

Football.London journalist Tom Clarke also appeared to be impressed with the performance of the England international, awarding Rice a seven in his own player ratings, as well as stating of the midfielder’s display: “Back in the team and back to running games. Drove forward well and got West Ham on the front foot after a sloppy start.”

Indeed, it is clear for all to see that the academy graduate did run the game for Moyes’ side against Crystal Palace, something which Rice will have to maintain going forwards should his team have any chance of securing a Champions League finish in the top flight this season.

In other news: Forget Dawson: £61k-p/w flop who lost 66% duels may have played his last game for WHU