West Ham 0 Blackpool 0
LONDON // Striker Marlon Harewood was cheered on to the pitch as a second-half substitute for Blackpool, then cheered off it at the final whistle - and that was by the West Ham United fans.
In contrast, the home supporters ruthlessly booed Luis Boa Morte when he was taken off and offered resigned groans towards their own team. Many called for manager Avram Grant's head at the end.
Bizarre? Not really. It merely summed up how bad things have become for the Hammers when the frustrated natives preferred to proffer more regard and adulation for one of their former players then a current member of the team.
Harewood remains a totem of happier times for the Hammers while Boa Morte has become a symbol of the current team's parlous state.
Back in 2006 it was Harewood's winning goal that took West Ham to an FA Cup final they agonisingly lost on penalties to Liverpool.
Since then it has been pretty much downhill for the club, and now things would seem to be hurtling out of control. Despite this point, they remain bottom of the league and relegation is a realistic outcome to this season.
The fact the Hammers gained even a draw was because a couple of minutes after Harewood had come on for DJ Campbell in the 67th minute he had a tap in goal ruled out for a very marginal offside decision.
Then, five minutes from the end, Harewood produced one of the misses of the season when he somehow side-footed wide from five yards out.
So maybe some of the applause from the supporters at the end was out of sheer relief that he had not made things worse, as much as respect for his past efforts.
There was no doubt about why Boa Morte was on the receiving end of West Ham jeers.
He was one of a wave of players who were brought in at vast expense by the club's previous regime at the sacrifice of hardworking performers such as Harewood.
Boa Morte was once more a pitiful performer and when he did get the chance to make an impression, when beautifully set up by Scott Parker who again was West Ham's outstanding player, the Portuguese winger dragged his shot woefully wide.
Mind you he was not the only one to spurn some great openings for Grant's side, most notably in the 80th minute when Carlton Cole, the second-half substitute, somehow managed to hit the post from close range when it seemed easier to score. Then again Blackpool squandered chances too.
As Ian Holloway, their manager, pointed out: " I think it was one of the best and most open nil-nil [draws] I have seen."
In the wake of the midweek's furore over the weakened team he had selected at Aston Villa it was a satisfying outcome for Holloway, who made 11 changes to the side that lost to Villa and now knows he really has genuine competition for places.
Yesterday Blackpool looked a team up for the long fight ahead. West Ham looked a shambles.
Grant has run out of excuses apart from moaning over not getting penalty shouts. They sounded the cries of desperate man.
Meanwhile, it is understood that Harry Redknapp, the Tottenham manager, is ready to make a cut-price raid on his former club West Ham in the January transfer window.
Centre-half Matthew Upson and forward Carlton Cole would be the targets and given West Ham's poor financial situation, it is unlikely that owners David Gold and David Sullivan would be able to turn dow a serious bid.
Manchester City 0 Birmingham City 0
Roberto Mancini, the Manchester City manager, has defended his tactics after a second scoreless home draw in four days. “Which pressure? For what?” the Italian said. “You continue to say I am under pressure. Which pressure? Because some fans say I did not put two strikers on, or journalists say I am too defensive? I am not under pressure. We are in fourth position. We have some problems. Since the start of the season it has been the case that if Carlos Tevez doesn’t score, no one does.”
Stoke 2 Liverpool 0
Stoke - Fuller 56', Jones 90+1'
Red card - Leiva (Liverpool)
Liverpool's stuttering mini-revival petered out in dismal fashion as they lost 2-0 to Stoke City. A six-match unbeaten run came to end as they were out-fought, out-played and out-manoeuvred by Tony Pulis's side. Ricardo Fuller opened the scoring just after half time and Kenwyne Jones completed a comprehensive victory in the final minute before Lucas Leiva was sent off for a second booking.
Wigan Athletic 1 West Bromwich 0
Wigan Moses 70'
Roberto Martinez praised Victor Moses after he stepped off the bench to score the winner against West Bromwich Albion. It was a first league goal this season for Moses, 19, who moved from Crystal Palace in January and Martinez, the Wigan manager, said: "We wanted to stretch the game and that is why I sent on Moses. He has the ability and is in a great moment. He is still adapting to the Premier League. He is a raw talent."
Wolves 2 Bolton Wanderers 3
Wolves - Foley 69', Fletcher 77'
Bolton - Stearman (og) 1', Elmander 62', Holden 67'
Owen Coyle insisted he is comfortable with Johan Elmander's contract situation after seeing the striker further boost his reputation with a fine strike in Bolton's 3-2 win at Wolves. "He is in the last year of his contract," Coyle said. "But I speak to him every day and we have a very good relationship. I'm comfortable with the situation and he keeps giving me everything he's got."
Newcastle United 0 Fulham 0
Andy Carroll earned the praise of both managers after he came closest to breaking the deadlock at St James’ Park. Fulham goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer denied Carroll his eighth goal of the season with a superb save which ensured honours remained even. “He couldn’t have done any more this season to stake a claim [for an England] call up,” said Newcastle United manager Chris Hughton. “He’s a difficult player to deal with. He’s a real threat,” added Fulham’s Mark Hughes.
sports@thenational.ae
The specs
Engine: 2.7-litre 4-cylinder Turbomax
Power: 310hp
Torque: 583Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh192,500
On sale: Now
TWISTERS
Director: Lee Isaac Chung
Starring: Glen Powell, Daisy Edgar-Jones, Anthony Ramos
Rating: 2.5/5
Greatest of All Time
Starring: Vijay, Sneha, Prashanth, Prabhu Deva, Mohan
The%20specs
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Squads
India (for first three ODIs) Kohli (capt), Rohit, Rahul, Pandey, Jadhav, Rahane, Dhoni, Pandya, Axar, Kuldeep, Chahal, Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar, Umesh, Shami.
Australia Smith (capt), Warner, Agar, Cartwright, Coulter-Nile, Cummins, Faulkner, Finch, Head, Maxwell, Richardson, Stoinis, Wade, Zampa.
Company%20profile
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North Pole stats
Distance covered: 160km
Temperature: -40°C
Weight of equipment: 45kg
Altitude (metres above sea level): 0
Terrain: Ice rock
South Pole stats
Distance covered: 130km
Temperature: -50°C
Weight of equipment: 50kg
Altitude (metres above sea level): 3,300
Terrain: Flat ice
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
Start times
5.55am: Wheelchair Marathon Elites
6am: Marathon Elites
7am: Marathon Masses
9am: 10Km Road Race
11am: 4Km Fun Run
Quick pearls of wisdom
Focus on gratitude: And do so deeply, he says. “Think of one to three things a day that you’re grateful for. It needs to be specific, too, don’t just say ‘air.’ Really think about it. If you’re grateful for, say, what your parents have done for you, that will motivate you to do more for the world.”
Know how to fight: Shetty married his wife, Radhi, three years ago (he met her in a meditation class before he went off and became a monk). He says they’ve had to learn to respect each other’s “fighting styles” – he’s a talk it-out-immediately person, while she needs space to think. “When you’re having an argument, remember, it’s not you against each other. It’s both of you against the problem. When you win, they lose. If you’re on a team you have to win together.”
If you go
The flights
There are direct flights from Dubai to Sofia with FlyDubai (www.flydubai.com) and Wizz Air (www.wizzair.com), from Dh1,164 and Dh822 return including taxes, respectively.
The trip
Plovdiv is 150km from Sofia, with an hourly bus service taking around 2 hours and costing $16 (Dh58). The Rhodopes can be reached from Sofia in between 2-4hours.
The trip was organised by Bulguides (www.bulguides.com), which organises guided trips throughout Bulgaria. Guiding, accommodation, food and transfers from Plovdiv to the mountains and back costs around 170 USD for a four-day, three-night trip.
Scoreline
Al Wasl 1 (Caio Canedo 90 1')
Al Ain 2 (Ismail Ahmed 3', Marcus Berg 50')
Red cards: Ismail Ahmed (Al Ain) 77'
The biog
Name: Salem Alkarbi
Age: 32
Favourite Al Wasl player: Alexandre Oliveira
First started supporting Al Wasl: 7
Biggest rival: Al Nasr
T20 World Cup Qualifier, Muscat
UAE FIXTURES
Friday February 18: v Ireland
Saturday February 19: v Germany
Monday February 21: v Philippines
Tuesday February 22: semi-finals
Thursday February 24: final
The Saudi Cup race card
1 The Jockey Club Local Handicap (TB) 1,800m (Dirt) $500,000
2 The Riyadh Dirt Sprint (TB) 1,200m (D) $1.500,000
3 The 1351 Turf Sprint 1,351m (Turf) $1,000,000
4 The Saudi Derby (TB) 1600m (D) $800,000
5 The Neom Turf Cup (TB) 2,100m (T) $1,000,000
6 The Obaiya Arabian Classic (PB) 2,000m (D) $1,900,000
7 The Red Sea Turf Handicap (TB) 3,000m (T) $2,500,000
8 The Saudi Cup (TB) 1,800m (D) $20,000,000
Company%20Profile
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MEDIEVIL%20(1998)
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SPECS
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Scorebox
Sharjah Wanderers 20-25 Dubai Tigers (After extra-time)
Wanderers
Tries Gormley, Penalty
Cons Flaherty
Pens Flaherty 2
Tigers
Tries O’Donnell, Gibbons, Kelly
Cons Caldwell 2
Pens Caldwell, Cross
BORDERLANDS
Starring: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Jamie Lee Curtis
Director: Eli Roth
Rating: 0/5
Company%20profile
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Company%20profile
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GOLF’S RAHMBO
- 5 wins in 22 months as pro
- Three wins in past 10 starts
- 45 pro starts worldwide: 5 wins, 17 top 5s
- Ranked 551th in world on debut, now No 4 (was No 2 earlier this year)
- 5th player in last 30 years to win 3 European Tour and 2 PGA Tour titles before age 24 (Woods, Garcia, McIlroy, Spieth)
RESULTS
Bantamweight title:
Vinicius de Oliveira (BRA) bt Xavier Alaoui (MAR)
(KO round 2)
Catchweight 68kg:
Sean Soriano (USA) bt Noad Lahat (ISR)
(TKO round 1)
Middleweight:
Denis Tiuliulin (RUS) bt Juscelino Ferreira (BRA)
(TKO round 1)
Lightweight:
Anas Siraj Mounir (MAR) bt Joachim Tollefsen (DEN)
(Unanimous decision)
Catchweight 68kg:
Austin Arnett (USA) bt Daniel Vega (MEX)
(TKO round 3)
Lightweight:
Carrington Banks (USA) bt Marcio Andrade (BRA)
(Unanimous decision)
Catchweight 58kg:
Corinne Laframboise (CAN) bt Malin Hermansson (SWE)
(Submission round 2)
Bantamweight:
Jalal Al Daaja (CAN) bt Juares Dea (CMR)
(Split decision)
Middleweight:
Mohamad Osseili (LEB) bt Ivan Slynko (UKR)
(TKO round 1)
Featherweight:
Tarun Grigoryan (ARM) bt Islam Makhamadjanov (UZB)
(Unanimous decision)
Catchweight 54kg:
Mariagiovanna Vai (ITA) bt Daniella Shutov (ISR)
(Submission round 1)
Middleweight:
Joan Arastey (ESP) bt Omran Chaaban (LEB)
(Unanimous decision)
Welterweight:
Bruno Carvalho (POR) bt Souhil Tahiri (ALG)
(TKO)
Scorebox
Dubai Sports City Eagles 7 Bahrain 88
Eagles
Try: Penalty
Bahrain
Tries: Gibson 2, Morete 2, Bishop 2, Bell 2, Behan, Fameitau, Sanson, Roberts, Bennett, Radley
Cons: Radley 4, Whittingham 5