Women’s Sports Column 27 April – 3 May 2019

Welcome to this week’s column.  Plenty to get though again with Chelsea’s valiant attempt in the Champions League semi-final plus news of the Premier 15s final and yes, the hockey play-offs (thanks Martin).  This week’s “And finally” is one I was hoping I wouldn’t have to write.  You’ll know why when you get there.

So here we go, stories this week come from football, cricket, athletics, tennis, rugby union, rugby league, netball and hockey.

Let’s crack on… 

Football

Chelsea

Chelsea went out of the Champions League semi-final, drawing the second leg at home 1-1, with the aggregate score 3-2 to holders Olympique Lyonnais.

The Blues were 2-1 down after the away leg and although they had a vital away goal, it was always going to be a monumental task for them to beat Lyon, even on their own turf.

Lyon struck a blow when they took the lead through Eugenie Le Sommer in the seventeenth minute.

The home side could have caved in at this point, but they didn’t and got their reward through an excellent Ji So-Yun free kick.

Although they battled hard and had chances, they just couldn’t score the second to bring them level on aggregate and take it to extra time.  And every time Lyon broke they looked dangerous and likely to score.

This will be Lyon’s fourth final in a row.  A crowd of 4,670 watched the match at Kingsmeadow.

Barcelona 1-0 Bayern Munich

(Barcelona win 2-0 on aggregate)

With a 1-0 lead from the away leg, Barcelona were always going to be favourites to go through.

This they duly did, the only goal coming from a penalty, slotted home by Mariona Caldentey.

A club record 12,764 crowd saw them clinch their place in the final.

The final is in Budapest on Saturday 18 May.

PFA Player of the Year Award 2018-19

Vivianne Miedema beat Steph Houghton, Nikita Parris, Keira Walsh, Erin Cuthbert and Ji So-yun to take the PFA women’s Player of the Year award this week.

The Dutch striker has scored 22 goals in 19 appearances in the WSL for title-winning Arsenal this season.  In all competitions she has 39 goals in 46 appearances.

Georgia Stanway won the Young Player of the Year award, having scored 11 goals for Manchester City this season in the WSL.  The other shortlisted players were Miedema, Keira Walsh, Erin Cuthbert, Alisha Lehmann and Sophie Baggaley.

Steph Houghton also received the PFA Special Achievement award.   She will captain England at the World Cup in France this summer and has already 104 caps.

FAWSL

Arsenal clinched their first league title since 2012 last Sunday.  They beat Brighton 4-0 at the Amex Stadium in front of a record WSL crowd of 5,265.

The weekend’s results were as follows:

Brighton 0-4 Arsenal
Needless to say Vivianne Miedema was in amongst it all, scoring the first and creating the second for Katie McCabe.

Beth Mead added a spectacular third and Danielle van de Donk the fourth as the Gunners secured the title in style, with a match to spare.

Birmingham City 2-0 Liverpool
White 20’ 29’

Everton 3-2 Reading
Kaagman 40’, Boye-Hlorkah 52’, Magill 65’
Allen 8’, Williams 77’

Manchester City 2-1 Yeovil
Parris 30’ (PEN), Hemp 65’
Fergusson 1’

Bristol City 1-2 West Ham United
Rafferty 60’ (OG)
Kiernan 74’, Ross 89’

So with most teams having just one game to play, Arsenal are top and champions with 51 points from 19 games.  Manchester City will finish as runners-up and are currently on 47 points, 10 points ahead of an impressive season from Birmingham City who are third.  They may not finish third, however, as Chelsea are just a point behind and have a game in hand.

FAWC

The weekend’s Championship results were:

Millwall Lionesses 0-5 Manchester United
Zelem 7’ (PEN), Turner 13’, Devlin 23’, Harris 29’ (PEN), Sigsworth 78’

London Bees 1-5 Aston Villa
McLachlan 66’
Richards 35’, Ale 38’, West 52’, Smith 80’ 90’

Leicester City 1-1 Durham
Johnson 82’
Robson 45’

Crystal Palace 1-4 Charlton Athletic
Balfour 77’ (PEN)
Eggesvik 24’, Graham 40’, Ejupi 75’, Agg 85’

Lewes 0-3 Sheffield United
Salmon 16’ 60’, Cox 35’

1 May
Aston Villa 1-1Tottenham Hotspur
West 50’
Naz 2’

As we know, Manchester United are champions.  With the draw against Villa, Spurs are promoted from second. All teams have one game left to play except for London Bees who have completed their season.

FA Cup Final

Don’t forget it’s The FA Cup final on Saturday.  Manchester City v West Ham Utd kicks off at 5.30pm and is live in the UK on BBC1 and on the radio on BBC 5 Live.

Tennis

Stuttgart Open

Petra Kvitova won the Stuttgart Open, defeating Anett Kontaveit in the final 6-3 7-6.

Kontaveit went through to the final after top seed Naomi Osaka withdrew with an abdominal injury before the match began.  Third seed Kvitova beat sixth seed Kiki Bertens in her semi-final 7-6 3-6 6-1.

Istanbul Open

Meanwhile, in Istanbul the final was between sixth seed Petra Martic, who had won the first set against Margarita Gasparyan in the first semi-final 6-1 when her opponent retired.  The second semi-final was a straight sets victory for the unseeded Marketa Vondrousova, who beat Barbora Strycova  6-2 6-1.

The final went to three sets, with Martic coming out the winner 1-6 6-4 6-1.

This week’s tournaments are in the Czech Republic and Morocco:

Prague Open

Two unseeded players will contest the final in Prague on Saturday 4 May.

Jil Teichmann will face Karolina Muchova, having beaten ninth seed Barbora Strycova (6-3 6-0) and the unseeded Bernarda Pera (6-2 7-5) respectively.

Rabat Open

Saturday’s Rabat Open final will be between sixth seed Maria Sakkari, who beat Alison Van Uytvanck (8) 6-4 6-4 and British number one Jo Konta (7), who defeated fourth seed Ajla Tomljanovic in her semi-final 6-2 7-6.

Netball

Vitality Super League

Last weekend’s results

Friday 26 April
Strathclyde Sirens 41-56 Wasps Netball

Saturday 27 April
Celtic Dragons 58-51 Surrey Storm
London Pulse 62-67 Loughborough Lightning
Saracens Mavericks 62-48 Severn Stars
Manchester Thunder 53-56 Team Bath

Wasps are out and away at the top with 42 points from 17 games.  They have qualified for the semi-finals.  Then come Thunder, Bath and Lightning on 36 points.  Lightning lie fourth with an inferior goal difference of just 14.  Just behind them, Mavericks are in fifth and can still qualify if they win and Bath or Loughborough lose as they have a massively better goal difference than the two above them.  It is bound to be an exciting final round of matches on Saturday.   Wasps have already secured a home semi-final.  The other is up for grabs.  Will Wasps get through again and if they do, can anyone stop them from making it a hat-trick of titles on 18 May?

It is the final (18^th) round of matches this weekend before the semi-finals on 11 May.  All games start at 6pm.

Saturday 4 May
Loughborough Lightning v Celtic Dragons
Saracens Mavericks v Strathclyde Sirens
Team Bath v London Pulse (Live on Sky Sports)
Severn Stars v Wasps Netball
Surrey Storm v Manchester Thunder

Hockey

Contrary to what I said in the column last week, the Investec Women’s Hockey Premier League play-offs actually took place on the weekend of 13-14 April, so my apologies for that.  It would be remiss of me not to mention it, now it has been pointed out to me so here are the results:

13 April
Holcombe 6-0 Buckingham
Surbiton 2-1 East Grinstead

14 April – play off final
Holcombe 0-1 Surbiton

So despite Holcombe finishing top in the regular season, Surbiton are champions for a sixth straight season after defeating them in the play-off final.

Slough went into the Promotion tournament, but could not finish in the top two, which means that along with Canterbury, they are relegated.  Hampstead & Westminster and Loughborough Students (at least they’re not called Lightning) finished first and second and are promoted.

Rugby Union

Premier 15s Grand Final

Saracens 33-17 Harlequins

Saracens retained their title in front of a (slightly disappointing?) crowd of 2,590 at Franklin’s Gardens, Northampton, on Saturday.

The holders took the lead on three minutes through Poppy Cleall.  They doubled their lead on 10 minutes when Sydney Gregson flew in on the wing.

On twenty minutes they were in for a third as Zoe Harrison went in and there were two more scores – a second each for Cleall and Harrison to make the score 27-0 to Saracens at half-time, leaving Harlequins with a mountain to climb if they were to get back into the match.

Quins made a spirited attempt after the break.  They were on the scoreboard early through an Emily Scott penalty.  Saracens responded with a penalty from Harrison.

Harlequins finally scored their first try on 54 minutes through prop Vickii Cornborough.  Soon afterwards captain Rachael Burford scored their second.

But it was not to be for the Quins who conceded another penalty late on, which Harrison slotted over.

Rugby League

Last weekend’s Super League results:

28 April
Bradford Bulls 58-6 Wakefield Trinity
Castleford Tigers 27-0 Leeds Rhinos
York City Knights 0-62 Wigan Warriors
St Helens 54-16 Featherstone Rovers

After three matches Castleford Tigers and St Helens have six points with three wins from three.  Bradford Bulls and Leeds Rhinos have four.  Wigan Warriors and Wakefield Trinity have two and York City and Featherstone Rovers have yet to get off the mark.

Athletics

London Marathon

Brigid Kosgei of Kenya won the elite women’s race in a time of two hours, 18 minutes and 20 seconds.  She beat defending champion Vivian Cheruiyot into second with Rosa Dereje of Ethiopia finishing third.  At 25, Kosgei is the youngest woman to win the race.

In the wheelchair race, Manuela Schar of Switzerland took gold in one hour 44 minutes and nine seconds.  She finished more than five minutes ahead of Tatyana McFAdden, with last year’s winner Madison de Rozario coming in third.

Cricket

Women’s T20 Challenge

No it’s not a Women’s IPL, but it’s building on last year’s event as so, should be applauded as progress.  The three squads have been announced, with the Australian’s due to play being notable absentees due to a spat between the BCCI and Cricket Australia over a men’s series due to played in India in January 2020.  So, the best female Australian cricketers will miss out on a big pay day and the exposure the tournament will bring because of a dispute between men.  ‘Twas ever thus, you might say.  Cricket Australia have apologised to Meg Lanning, Ellyse Perry and Alyssa Healy for their omission.

The squads are:

Supernovas: Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Anuja Patil, Arundhati Reddy, Chamari Athapaththu (Sri Lanka), Jemimah Rodrigues, Lea Tahuhu (New Zealand), Mansi Joshi, Nat Sciver (England), Poonam Yadav, Priya Punia, Radha P Yadav, Sophie Devine (New Zealand(, Taniya Bhatia.

Trailblazers: Smriti Mandhana (c), Bharti Fulmali, Dayalan Hemalatha, Deepti Sharma, Harleen Deol, Jasia Akhtar, Jhulan Goswami, R Kalpana, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Shakera Selman (West Indies), Sophie Ecclestone (England), Stafanie Taylor (West Indies), Suzie Bates (New Zealand)

Velocity: Mithali Raj (c), Amelia Kerr (New Zealand), Danielle Wyatt (England), Devika Vaidya, Ekta Bisht, Hayley Matthews (West Indies), Jahanara Alam (Bangladesh), Komal Zhanzad, Shafali Verma, Shikha Pandey, Sushma Verma, Sushree Dibyadarshini, Veda Krishnamurthy.

The tournament will be played from May 6-11 at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur.  More news next week

And Finally,

Will she appeal?  Will she retire?  What on earth has possessed the Court of Arbitration for Sport to reject Caster Semenya’s challenge to the IAAF’s new rule restricting the testosterone level of female athletes?

Even more bizarrely, Cas said it has “serious concerns as the future practical application” of the new rule.  These include:

• Worries that athletes might unintentionally break the strict testosterone levels set by the IAAF
• Questions about the advantage higher testosterone gives athletes over 1500m and the mile
• The practicalities for athletes of complying with the new rules

It also found that the ruling was discriminatory to those with Differences of Sexual Development (DSD).  Let’s just consider that statement in itself – it is not “positive discrimination” in any way; Just discrimination.  It goes on to qualify that by saying that it is “necessary, reasonable and proportionate” to practise this discrimination to protect “the integrity of female athletics”.

But is it?

To muddy the waters further, not only has the United Nations Human Rights Council called the move “unnecessary, harmful and humiliating”, but before the ruling was made, the World Medical Association (WMA) issued a press release where it “urges physicians not to implement IAAF rules on classifying women athletes.”  Read the press release here.

The new ruling comes into effect on 8 May.  If Semenya (or any other athlete affected) wants to compete at the World Championships in September, she will have to start taking the testosterone-reducing medication in the following seven days.

I’m not sure how many times I’ve written this, but we’ve not heard the end of this one.  It’s a decision that strikes at the heart of women’s athletics.  Semenya has a naturally high testosterone level.  She has not cheated, she has not taken performance enhancing drugs.  There are many and varied views on this, but I for one don’t think she should be penalised and forced to undergo medical treatment for what is a natural condition.  More news on this as it develops.

And, and finally,

To end on a positive note, one last call to remind you that Bank Holiday Monday, 6 May is Women’s County Cricket Day.  Get out there and support your local county side and perhaps you’ll see some of the biggest stars in the English game.  If you still need to know when and where the matches are taking place, the link to the fixtures is here.

More news and view next week.

 

Women’s Sports Column 20-26 April 2019

Welcome to this week’s column.   Apologies for my prolonged absence, but hopefully you’ve been keeping up with the women’s sports news without me.  But also, hopefully, you’re still with me as I return to the weekly blog.

I can’t pretend to be able to go through everything I’ve missed, but there’s plenty write about just from this week, so let’s crack on.

Stories and news this week come from football, cricket, rugby union, rugby league, hockey, netball, tennis and motor sport.

Tennis

Fed Cup

Great Britain beat Kazakhstan 3-1 in the promotion play-off to get into World Group II for the first time in 26 years.

Jo Konta started with a hard-fought win over Zarina Diyas in her customary three sets, 4-6 6-3 6-2.

Kazakhstan took the second rubber as a heartbroken Katie Boulter went down in three sets to Yulia Putintseva 3-6 6-2 7-6.

Konta beat Putintseva in the third rubber, again in three sets, 4-6 6-2 7-5

to make it 2-1 to Great Britain.

Boulter came through in the fourth match against  6-7 6-4 6-1, which meant Great Britain took the tie 3-1 and didn’t have to play the doubles rubber.

World Group

Meanwhile, in the World Group, the final will be between Australia and France.

Semi-final results:

France 3-2 Romania

Romania took 1-0 lead in Rouen as Simona Halep defeated Kristina Mladenovic 6-3 6-1.

Caroline Garcia drew France level, beating Michaela Buzarnescu in straight sets, 6-3 6-3.

In the third rubber, Halep won again, beating Garcia in three sets, 6-7 6-3 6-4 to take Romania ahead again, but in the final singles rubber, Pauline Parmentier defeated Irinia-Camelia Begu 6-3 2-6 6-2.

The tie was 2-2 going into the doubles, which went the way of France as Garcia and Mladenovic defeated Halep and Niculescu 5-6 6-3 6-4.

Australia 3-2 Belarus

Australia reached their first Fed Cup final for 26 years after they defeated Belarus in Brisbane at the weekend.

Belarus won the first rubber with Aryna Sabalenka beating Sam Stosur in three sets, 7-5 5-7 6-3.

Ash Barty levelled it with a win over Victoria Azarenka 7-6 6-3.  Barty also played the third rubber, defeating Sabalenka 6-2 6-2.

In the fourth, Azarenka comprehensively defeated Stosur 6-1 6-1, to take it to a deciding doubles rubber.

Barty and Stosur came out on top, defeating Azarenka and Sabalenka in three sets, 7-5 3-6 6-2.

The final will be in Australia over the weekend of 9-10 November.

Stuttgart Open

We are at the quarter-final stage in Stuttgart and the matches look like this:

Anastasija Sevastova (7) v Petra Kvitova (3)
Kiki Bertens (6) v Angelique Kerber (5)
Naomi Osaka (1) v Donna Vekic
Victoria Azarenka v Anett Kontaveit (8)

News on how it all panned out next week.

Istanbul Open

We are at the same stage in Istanbul and the matches are as follows:

Barbora Strycova v Elena Rybakina
Petra Martic (6) v Kristina Mladenovic
Lara Arruabarrena v Marketa Vondrousova
Veronika Kudermetova v Margarita Gasparyan

Again, more news next week.

Football

Champions League – Semi-Finals

Lyon 2-1 Chelsea

Chelsea grabbed a potentially vital away goal on Sunday, but it could and perhaps should have been even better for the London side.

Lyon took the lead through a Magdalena Eriksson own goal on 27 minutes.  Eleven minutes later the home side were two up when Amandine Henry scored from a corner.

Chelsea had the chance to pull one back on half-time when they were awarded a penalty.  Fran Kirby took it, but it was saved by Sarah Bouhaddi in the Lyon goal.

In the second-half, Chelsea did pull one back through Erin Cuthbert.

The second leg, at Kingsmeadow, is this weekend, on Sunday 28 April.  Kick-off is at 2pm.

Bayern 0-1 Barcelona

The Spanish side take a one-nil lead into the second leg.  After a goalless first-half, the only score came in the 63^rd minute, through Kheira Hamroaui.

The second leg is also on Sunday 28 April at 11am.

FAWSL

With just two games to go in the regular season, Arsenal are in the box seat.

They have a four point lead at the top over Manchester City.  Arsenal have 48 and City 44.  Chelsea are third, some way back, on 36.  At the bottom, Yeovil are already gone and lie on -3 having had points deducted for going into administration.

Last weekend’s results:

Reading 1-0 Brighton & Hove Albion
Furness 49’

Arsenal 2-1 Everton
Quinn 4’, Miedema 28’
Boye-Hlorkah 61’

Liverpool 5-2 Bristol City
Babajide 11’ 41’ 65’, Daniels 45’ Hodson 90+1’
Kerkdijk 35’, Fahey 83’ (OG)

West Ham 1-2 Birmingham City
Leon 27’ (Moorhouse sent off on 41’)
Ladd 44, Arthur 75’

FAWC

Manchester United have been crowned champions and will next season compete in the WSL.  They beat Crystal Palace 7-0 on Saturday to claim the title.

Last weekend’s results:

Manchester United 7-0 Crystal Palace
James 9’ 83’ 85’ 90’, Arnott 33’, Galton 35’, Sigsworth 46’

Sheffield United 4-1 London Bees
Cox 36’, Sarri 52’, Rayner 76’, Pennock 88’
Littlejohn 50’

Durham 1-0 Millwall Lionesses
Roberts 69’

Charlton Athletic 2-3 Tottenham Hotspur
Ejupi 41’, Graham 46’
Dean 53’ (PEN), Neville 71’ 80’

Aston Villa 2-2 Lewes
Ale 4’, Hutton 34’
Rood 45’ 90+2’

Everyone has two games to go.

West Ham

The FA Cup finalists have had their plea to move their men’s home game against Southampton on May 4 rejected.  Their match is due to kick off at 3pm on Saturday, with the FA Cup final kicking off at 5.30pm.

PFA Women’s Team of the Year

The Professional Footballers’ Association Team of the Year has been announced and features nine players from Arsenal, Manchester City or Chelsea.

Sophie Baggaley (GK) (Bristol City), Hannah Blundell (Chelsea), Demi Stokes (Man City), Ji Sun-Yun (Chelsea), Steph Houghton (Man City), Aoife Mannion (Birmingham City), Kim Little (Arsenal), Lia Walti (Arsenal), Erin Cuthbert (Chelsea), Nikita Parris (Man City), Vivianne Miedema (Arsenal)

BBC Women’s Footballer of the Year 2019

The shortlist for the award, drawn up by the BBC World Service is:

Pernille Harder (Wolfsburg), Ada Hegerberg (Olympique Lyonnais), Lindsey Horan (Portland Thorns), Sam Kerr (Chicago Red Stars and Perth Glory), Saki Kumagai (Olympique Lyonnais)

You can vote via the BBC website and voting closes on Thursday 2 May.  The winner will be announced on 22 May.

Netball

Vitality Netball Superleague

Last weekend saw a double round of fixtures with rounds 15 and 16 being completed.  The results were as follows:

Round 15 – Saturday 20 April
Strathclyde Sirens 44 -59 Loughborough Lightning
London Pulse 42-71 Manchester Thunder
Wasps Netball 76-42 Surrey Storm
Severn Stars 42-53 Team Bath
Saracens Mavericks 55-50 Celtic Dragons

Round 16 – Sunday 21 April
Wasps Netball 64-48 Celtic Dragons
Strathclyde Sirens 47-44 London Pulse
Surrey Storm 46-51 Severn Stars
Loughborough Lightning 60-57 Manchester Thunder
Team Bath 45-51 Saracens Mavericks

So with just two full rounds to go, Wasps are top with 39 points from 16 games.  The other three in the top four spots are Thunder (36), Team Bath (33) and Lightning (33).  Mavericks are fifth on 30 and could still qualify if results go their way.

Round 17 is this weekend:

Friday 26 April
Strathclyde Sirens v Wasps Netball (7.30pm)

Saturday 27 April
Celtic Dragons v Surrey Storm (4pm)
London Pulse v Loughborough Lightning (4pm)
Saracens Mavericks v Severn Stars (4pm – Live on Sky Sports)
Manchester Thunder v Team Bath (5pm)

The Grand Final is at the Copper Box in London on Saturday 18 May with the third/fourth place play-off at 3pm and the final at 5pm.  Both matches will be live on Sky Sports and the link to buy tickets is here.

Rugby Union

Tyrell’s Premier 15s

The Premier 15s Grand Final will be between Harlequins and Saracens, who beat Loughborough Lightning (26-10) and Wasps (31-13) respectively in their semis.

In the regular season the two teams finished top and second with Saracens top on 17 wins from 18 with Harlequins seven points behind them and with 15 wins.  Should be a classic.

You can still buy tickets here.  Under 16s get in for free.

The final is on Saturday 27 April at Franklin’s Gardens in Northampton.  Kick-off is at 17.45.  The match will be live on Sky Sports Action.

Sevens

It was the fourth of six rounds of the World Rugby HSBC Sevens series at the weekend in Kitakyushu.

England looked as if they were about to claim their first round title since 2016 when Canada pinched it right at the end.

Final

Canada 7-5 England

England scored a try through Amy Wilson Hardy late in the first-half.  It looked as if this was to be the decisive score until Canada captain Ghislaine Landry broke through the defence to score behind the posts, giving herself an easy conversion opportunity.  She kicked the extra points and the title went to Canada.  It was Canada’s first leg win since 2017.

USA finished with the bronze, defeating France 24-12.

New Zealand could only manage fifth, beating Australia in the play-off 34-26.

The Women’s Standings are as follows:

1. New Zealand 72
2. Canada 66
3. USA 64
4. Australia 56
5. France 46

The fifth round is in Langford, Canada over the weekend of 11-12 May.

Rugby League

While I’ve been off, the rugby league season has started once more, so apologies for the lack of coverage so far.  All Super League teams have played two games.  Castleford Tigers are top on points difference, having won both of their games, including a hammering of York City Knights away 80-0.  Needless to say, this has given a bit of a fillip to their points for column.  Leeds Rhinos and St Helens have also won their first two matches.

This weekend there are four fixtures:

Sunday 28 April
Castleford Tigers v Leeds Rhinos (13.00)
York City Knights v Wigan Warriors (14.00)
Bradford Bulls v Wakefield Trinity (14.00)
St Helens v Featherstone Rovers (17.45)

If you haven’t already had a look at the rugby league website, I would encourage you to do so.  It is very informative and kept up to date.  Check it out here:

Hockey

Apologies again, but it’s the time of year when I start to try to get my head around the hockey play-offs.  If you don’t know what happens at the end of the season, here are the regulations (thanks to the England Hockey website):

Investec Women’s Hockey League Champions and European Qualification
At the end of the regular season the team who finishes top of the Investec Women’s Hockey League Premier Division will receive an automatic place in the EuroHockey Club Championships as England’s second ranked team. They can improve on this ranking, and compete to be crowned English Champions, in the Investec Women’s Hockey League Finals tournament. 

The team who wins the Investec Women’s Hockey League Final will be crowned Investec Women’s Hockey League Champions and will be England’s first ranked team in the EuroHockey Club Championships for the subsequent season. In the event that the team finishing top of the league at the end of the regular season also wins the Final, the runners-up in the Final will be England’s second ranked team in the EuroHockey Club Championships.

What are the Investec Women’s Hockey League Play-Offs?
There are two types of play-off that determine which teams are promoted and relegated in the Investec Women’s Hockey League.

Investec Premier Division Play-Off
Here the winners of the three Conferences join the ninth-placed team from the Premier Division to battle it out in a round robin tournament for two spaces in the top tier, with the tenth-placed side having been automatically relegated.

Investec Conference Play-Offs
Here the teams that finish ninth across the three Conferences fight it out for survival. The winner of this round robin tournament will stay up while the other two will be relegated to their respective regional league along with the teams that finished in 10th in each Conference. The fixtures are played across three weekend with each side play a home and an away tie. The five regional league winners are then promoted to fill the vacant spots.

Holcombe finished top of the table in the regular season with 41 points from 18 games.  Surbiton finished second on 38 and East Grinstead third on 34.  East Grinstead were also deducted three points for fielding an ineligible player.  Buckingham finished fourth on 29.

Canterbury finished tenth on just eight points and have been relegated.

Play-off dates are still to be announced.  More news when I have it (Yes Martin, I know it’s simple really).

EuroHockey Club Cup

Amsterdam were triumphant at the EuroHockey Club Cup last weekend.

It was the last edition of the competition before it becomes the EHL in 2020.  Amsterdam will take their place in that competition with this win.

The tournament, also held in Amsterdam, saw the hosts beat Real Sociedad in the final 7-0.

The places finished as follows;

Bronze went to Alster, who been Den Bosch 2-1 in the third place match.

Hamburg beat English representatives Surbiton 4-1 in the 5^th/6^th place match.

Loreto defeated Ritm Grodno 2-1 in the 7^th/8^th place play-off.

FIH Pro League

Great Britain are currently lying seventh in the table after losing their fourth match of six against Germany on Wednesday.  Hannah Grablach scored a double on 38’ and 58’ as they won 2-0.  Great Britain’s next match is against China on Friday 3 May.

Australia are top with six wins from seven matches and a win/loss percentage of 85.71.  Argentina lie second having played 10 matches.  They have a win/loss percentage of 83.33.  Great Britain’s win/loss percentage is 27.78 from six matches.

And Finally,

Don’t forget it’s Women’s County Cricket Day on 6 May.  Get down to see your local county in action if you can.  You can read all about in my piece published last week.

More news and views next week. 

Women’s Sports Column 16-22 March 2019

Welcome to this week’s column.  Back with a vengeance this week with stories from rugby union, netball, football, hockey, cycling, cricket, winter sports and tennis.

Rugby Union

Six Nations
England retained their Six Nations championship title at the weekend, winning the Grand Slam as they crushed Scotland in their final match, 80-0.  An improving Italy finished second in the table as they beat France on Sunday and Wales beat Ireland.

16 March
England 80-0 Scotland

The Red Roses scored their first try of 12 after just two minutes when flanker Sarah Beckett went over.

Jess Breach scored a second four minutes later, and after 12 minutes they were three up through Natasha Hunt.  Breach scored her second on 17 minutes and so after 20 minutes England were already 26-0 up.

Kelly Smith scored England’s fifth after a fine scrum and the bonus point was already secured.

Poppy Cleall then went over and it was 40-0.  Things then went from bad to worse for Scotland as their captain Lisa Thomson was yellow-carded.

England took advantage of the extra player and Amy Cockayne made it seven tries before half-time.

After the break, with Scotland still down to 14, England piled on the pressure.  Prop Sarah Bern and captain Sarah Hunter both going over before Thomson’s return.

The other tries came from Emily Scarratt, Cleall with a second and second-half replacement Cath O’Donnell.

Katy Daley-McLean was in excellent form with the boot, slotting nine conversions and Scarratt added one right at the end.

17 March
Wales 24-5 Ireland

Ireland went into the lead after 13 minutes with a try from Beibhinn Parsons, but this was to be their only score.

Wales were level five minutes later through Jess Kavanagh.

Siwan Lillicrap was sin-binned for a high tackle for the home side, but Wales didn’t buckle, instead taking the initiative and did not concede in the ten minute period.

Once they were back to 15, Wales scored through Carys Phillips and they were in the lead.

In the second-half Wales scored two more tries through Beth Lewis and Jasmine Joyce, the latter securing the bonus point for the home side.

Italy 31-12 France

Italy capped a fine Six Nations with another excellent performance against France, which gave them second spot in the table.

The home side opened the scoring on 20 minutes through Sofia Stefan.

France levelled shortly before half-time as Caroline Boujard ran in from a Pauline Bourdon pass.

But Italy weren’t finished as Michela Sillari put over a penalty and the Azzure went in 8-5 ahead.

After the break, Sillari slotted another penalty as Coumba Diallo was sin-binned for France.  Then Italy went over again through hooker Melissa Bettoni.

Sillari’s third penalty made it 21-5 to Italy.

France rallied to score their second try through Ian Jason, which was converted by Jessy Trémoulière.

But Italy were not to be outdone and scored a fourth through Manuela Furlan, securing the bonus point and second place.

Cricket

England v Sri Lanka

England completed a 3-0 ODI series win over Sri Lanka this week.  Sorry, no time for reports, but here are the details:

First ODI
England 331/7 (50 overs)
Sri Lanka 159/8 (40 overs, target 314)
England won by 154 runs by D/L method

Nat Sciver scored 93 and Amy Jones 79.

Second ODI
Sri Lanka 187/9 (50 overs)
England 188/4 (33.4/50 overs)
England won by 6 Wickets with 99 balls remaining

Alex Hartley took 3/36 from 10 overs.  Amy Jones top scored for England with 54.

Third ODI
Sri Lanka 174 all out (50 overs)
England 177/2 (26.1/50 overs)
England won by 8 wickets with 143 balls remaining

Amy Jones top scored with 76 – that’s three half centuries in three games.  Tammy Beaumont scored 63.

There are three T20s to come: 24, 26, 28 March.

Tennis

Indian Wells

There was a surprise winner at Indian Wells last weekend as wildcard Bianca Andreescu defeated Angelique Kerber 6-4 3-6 6-4.

Andreescu had three match points on her serve, but was eventually broken as Kerber brought it back to be just 5-4 behind.

But then Andreescu produced some of her best tennis to break the German back and take the match.

Football – on the Pitch

Champions’ League Quarter-finals First Leg
Chelsea 2-0 Paris St Germain

Goals from Hannah Blundell and Erin Cuthbert see Chelsea take a 2-0 lead into the second leg of their quarter-final which takes place in Paris on 27 March.

FA Cup Quarter-finals

Durham 0-1 Chelsea
Ji So-yun’s goal was enough to see holders Chelsea through to the semi-finals of this year’s FA Cup.

Manchester City 3-0 Liverpool

Janine Beckie scored the first for City in the first-half and they went into the break 1-0 up.  In the second-half, Georgia Stanway, on as substitute for Beckie, scored their second and added a third late on to see them through convincingly.

Reading 2-1 Manchester United
Neither side could make the decisive breakthrough in 90 minutes and the tie went to extra time.

United took the lead through and Alex Greenwood penalty, but Remi Allen equalised to make it 1-1.  Fara Williams looked to have won it for Reading as she scored direct from a corner, but it was ruled out for an infringement in the box.

But Reading didn’t give up and got their reward in the 120^th minute when substitute and Iceland international Rakel Honnudottir scored from close range.

Aston Villa 0-1 West Ham
Scotland forward Jane Ross scored the only goal of the game to take West Ham through to the semi-finals.

Semi-Final Draw

Manchester City v Chelsea
Reading v West Ham United

Ties will be played on Sunday 14 April.

Spanish League
I couldn’t let this go by without a mention.  On Sunday, the crowd for the Liga Feminina match between Atletico Madrid and Barcelona at the Wanda Metropolitano in Madrid drew a crowd of 60,739.  I feel like I should write that out in words, sixty thousand, seven hundred and thirty-nine people.

Barcelona won the game 2-0 with goals from Asisat Oshoala and England’s own Toni Duggan.

Atletico are top of the table with 66 points from 24 games.  Barcelona are three points behind in second on 63.  Levante are third, way back on 51.

Football – off the Pitch
Women’s Super League BIG News

I hope you’ve all heard and digested this news already, but I couldn’t leave it out, could I?

At last, I say at last, the Women’s Super League is to have its first ever title sponsor.

Barclays have committed to a deal to the tune of what is thought to be in excess of £10m over three years.

The FA is, unsurprisingly, pleased with itself, calling it “the biggest ever investment in UK women’s sport by a brand.”

The WSL will be known as the Barclays FA Women’s Super League and there will be £500,000 of prize money at the end of the season.

Barclays will also be the lead partner of the FA Girls Football School Partnerships which aims to improve the availability of football to girls in schools.

We’re always using the term “game changer”, but this probably is.  Now trying telling us women’s football isn’t worth anything.  No business invests in a “useless” product.

And backwards we go…

However, it’s not woo-hoo all the way this week:

Yeovil Town

It has been reported this week that Yeovil may go back to being part-time at the end of the season.

They have already made three off-field personnel redundant.

The FA is believed to be trying to support them through this crisis but even if they avoid relegation (they are currently bottom of the league and five points away from safety), they may be demoted if they cannot assure the FA that their financial future is secure.

I hope there’s an answer to all this – I don’t want to see Yeovil go the way of Notts County.

Sophie Jones

There was a second unwelcome story this week as Sheffield United forward Sophie Jones was found guilty of racially abusing Tottenham Hotspur’s Renee Hector.

Jones has consistently denied the allegations, but has had her contract terminated by Sheffield United.   She has been suspended for five matches, fined £200 and must go on an educational course.

2023 World Cup

I know we’ve still got a World Cup to come this year, but the quest to hold the 2023 version is now underway.  And does it seem that countries are seeing the potential of women’s football at last?  A record nine countries have expressed an interest in hosting the event.  They are Argentina, Australia, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Japan, New Zealand and South Africa.  Apparently North and South Korea are also looking at making a joint bid.

The closing date for expressions of interest is 16 April.  More news as it happens.

Winter Sports

Skiing

On Sunday Mikaela Shiffrin of the USA became the first skier to win World Cup titles in overall, slalom, giant slalom and super-G in the same season.

She completed the set in Andorra when she won the giant slalom in 23.17 seconds, beating Alice Robinson of New Zealand into second.  She had already won the super-G earlier at the event.

Curling

Women’s Curling World Championships
The Championships which is currently taking place in Silkeborg in Denmark, runs from 16-24 March.  We are currently at the round robin stage.

The defending champions are Canada and those taking part in addition to Canada are USA, Korea, Switzerland, Japan, China, Finland, Latvia, Scotland, hosts Denmark, Sweden, Russia and Germany.

We are nearly at the end of the round robin stage with the qualification games (3 v 6 and 4-5), semi-finals, bronze medal game and gold medal game taking place this weekend.

So far Sweden, Russia and Korea have qualified for the play-offs.  There are three places still up for grabs with Switzerland, China and the United States in prime position.  Scotland, unfortunately, will not be amongst them having won four and lost seven of their matches.

Cycling
Para-cycling Track World championships

Great Britain’s para-cyclists had a good event.

Sophie Thornhill and pilot Helen Scott won two golds: in the B 500m Time Trial and the B sprint.

Kadeena Cox won gold in the C4 500m Time Trial and Sarah Storey took silver in the C5 version of this event.  Katie Toft took silver in the C1 version, but only gold was awarded.

Sarah Storey also won two golds; in the C5 Individual Pursuit and C5 Scratch Race.  Crystal lane-Wright took silver in the same Scratch Race.

Lora Fachie won bronze in the B Individual Pursuit.

Volleyball

Super League Top 5
16 March
London Orcas 3-0 Malory Eagles UEL (25-21, 25-16, 25-12)
TeamBU Wessex 0-3 Tendring VC Ladies (18-25, 17-25, 21-25)

Tendring are top with 36 points from 14 matches.  Durham Palatinates are a point behind with 35 from 13.

Super League Bottom 4
16 March
Sheffield Hallam 2-3 Polonia SideOut London (25-21, 17-25, 25-20, 14-25, 7-15)

Sheffield top the bottom four table with 16 points from 12 matches.

17 March
Bristol VC1 3-0 Birmingham Volleyball Club1 (25-19, 25-23, 26-24)

Netball

What a fixture to be live on Sky this week!  Lightning beat leaders Wasps in a thrilling match, by one point.  The winner was scored by Mary Cholhok with just four seconds remaining on the clock.  Brilliant stuff from Loughborough as Wasps suffered only their second defeat of the season.

Last weekend’s Vitality Super League were as follows:

Saturday 16 March
Team Bath 56-50 Celtic Dragons
Surrey Storm 53-44 Strathclyde Sirens
Saracens Mavericks 49-57 Manchester Thunder

Monday 18 March
Loughborough Lightning 60-59 Wasps Netball

Manchester Thunder have taken over at the top and are in ominous form.  They have the slightest goal average advantage over Wasps in second.  Both teams have 24 points from 10 games.  Saracens Mavericks are third with 21 and Loughborough Lightning are fourth, also on 21.  At the bottom, London Pulse still have only one win and three points.  Strathclyde Sirens are above them with six points and two wins.

Round 11 is this weekend:

Friday 22 March
Team Bath v Strathclyde Sirens (7.30pm)

Saturday 23 March
Manchester Thunder v Wasps Netball (5pm)
Severn Stars v Loughborough Lightning (6pm)
Saracens Mavericks v Surrey Storm (6pm)

Monday 25 March
Celtic Dragons v London Pulse (7pm, Live on Sky Sports)

Hockey

Investec Women’s Hockey League Premier Division

16 March results:
Canterbury 2-1 East Grinstead
University of Birmingham 0-1 Bowdon
Clifton Robinsons 1-4 Surbiton
Slough 0-0 Beeston
Buckingham 0-2 Holcombe

All teams have played 16 games.  Holcombe are top with 35 points, Surbiton second a point behind and East Grinstead are third with 28.  At the bottom, Canterbury have eight points.  Just above them are Slough on 13.

This weekend’s fixtures:

23 March
Buckingham v University of Birmingham (12 noon, Stowe School, P1)
Surbiton v Slough (1pm, Surbiton HC, water)
Beeston v Canterbury (2pm, Nottingham Hockey, P1)
East Grinstead v Bowdon (2pm, East Grinstead HC)
Holcombe v Clifton Robinsons (2pm, Holcombe HC, P1)

FIH Pro League

There have been four games over the last week:

Saturday 16 March
Australia 0-1 Argentina

Sunday 17 March
Australia 1-3 New Zealand

Thursday 21 March
China 0-1 Argentina

Friday 22 March
China 5-3 New Zealand

Different teams have played different numbers of games, but currently Netherlands are top with a points percentage of 80.0 from five games.  Argentina are second with 76.2 from seven games and Belgium are third on 66.7, but have played only three games.  Great Britain are eighth with a points percentage of 22.2 from just three games.

And Finally,

Big, big news in sports media this week as the Daily Telegraph finally put its money where its mouth is and announced its first Women’s Sports Editor, the completely excellent Anna Kessel.  It’s not often I have cause to praise the Telegraph, but this move is a brilliant one and will hopefully cause many other news outlets to follow suit.  It has already signed up Dina Asher-Smith as a columnist.

You can read the full story, and its “manifesto” here

You will know that I have an issue with the “ghettoising” of women’s sport – do we give it its own space, far away from everything else, so those offended (and there are still plenty), do not have to view it (although they will still comment anyway)?  Or do we mix it in with everything else because essentially “sport is sport”.  It’s a difficult one, but at the moment the issue is that there’s little coverage at all.  Not in a ghetto, not on its own page, not anywhere (starting to sound a bit like Dr Seuss there).  So, let’s get it in there first.  Let’s get it its own pages, web page and identity and see where we go from there.

Come on, all you other media outlets, get with it.  You know it’s going to be big – AT LONG LAST.  Don’t get left behind.  If consumers don’t get what they want from their coverage of women’s sport, they will vote with their paper-buying, website-viewing feet.

And, and Finally,

Go for it, Tayla Harris.  Need I say more?

Women’s Sports Column 2-8 March 2019

Welcome to this week’s column.  So much to get through this week and no prizes for guessing, with publication day due to be 8 March, that my “And Finally” may well have a flavour of IWD19 about it.  And why not – this column is all about celebrating the sporting achievement of women so let’s shout about it, enjoy it and be inspired!

Stories and news this week come from athletics, golf, rugby union, rugby league, cricket, tennis, football, volleyball, netball, hockey and cycling.

Let’s crack on….

Football

SheBelieves Cup

Only one place to start, this week!  England’s Lionesses have claimed their first SheBelieves Cup.  They finished top of the table on seven points with two wins over Brazil and Japan and a draw under their belts they went one better than the runners-up spot achieved last year.

One note of caution, though, before we all go “It’s Coming home” and Phil Neville starts donning a waistcoat and growing designer stubble; the Japan side was very young and without its established stars and Brazil will also undoubtedly come out stronger in the World Cup.

But let’s not deny England their moment.  It was an impressive tournament performance that bodes well for this summer in France.

USA 2-2 England
The home side took the lead in the first-half through a Megan Rapinoe volley.  The Lionesses hit back almost immediately.  They were awarded an indirect free-kick on the left-hand side of the penalty area.  Up stepped Steph Houghton, bending it prodigiously round the wall and into the far corner.

In the second-half, England stepped it up again and took the lead on 52 minutes when Nikita Parris hit home from a pinpoint Fran Kirby through ball.

But they couldn’t withstand the pressure of the USA’s set pieces and Tobin Heath scored from a corner.

Japan 3-1 Brazil
It looked to be heading for stalemate in the first-half until Yuka Momiki scored in the 44^th minute to take Japan 1-0 up at the break.

On the resumption, Debinha equalised for Brazil, but two goals in the last ten minutes, from Rikako Kobayahi and Yui Hasegawa saw Japan take the points.

Japan 0-3 England
A blistering first-half performance by the Lionesses saw them go in three-nil up and cruising.  All that was left after the break was to defend the lead and take both the points and the trophy.

Lucy Staniforth scored the first after 12 minutes.  On 23, Karen Carney doubled the lead with a close range header.  On the half-hour, England scored their third, and pick of the goals, when Keira Walsh picked out the excellent Beth Mead with a fabulous long-range pinpoint cross-field pass (and it was, folks, not a “hit and hope” as some kind gentleman on the BBC comments called it).  Mead cut in field and produced a fine finish to seal it before half-time.

Japan pressed in the second-half and deserved a goal, but were unable to break through the England defence.

The only downside for England was a serious-looking injury to Izzy Christiansen, who limped off in the first-half.

USA 1-0 Brazil
A goal from Tobin Heath after 20 minutes was enough for the hosts to seal victory against Brazil, who ended the tournament pointless.

Brazil had marginally more possession in the match, but only three shots on target throughout.

Algarve Cup

Scotland 0-1 Canada
Scotland were 10 minutes away from what would have been a fine draw against Canada when Chloe Arthur brought down Ashley Lawrence in the box and Christine Sinclair scored from the resultant penalty.

Iceland 1-4 Scotland
After their narrow loss to Canada, Scotland won their second group match comfortably.  Lizzie Arnot started the scoring on 14 minutes.  Erin Cuthbert got a second on 33 and Kim Little made it three on 56 minutes.  Iceland pulled one back through Sara Björk Gunnarsdóttir a minute later, but the comeback was never really on and Scotland made it certain with a fourth and Arnot’s second on 66 minutes.

The win ensured that Scotland finished second in their group and played for fifth place:

Scotland 1-0 Denmark
Scotland secured fifth place through a Jane Ross goal on 35 minutes.

The final:
Poland 0-3 Norway
Norway were convincing winners over Poland in the final.   They took the lead on 24 minutes through Isabell Herlovsen and went into half-time with that lead.  In the second-half Caroline Graham Hansen made it two on 65 minutes and the third came nine minutes later through Karina Saevik.

Norway dominated with 61 per cent possession and 26 shots to Poland’s eight.

Rugby Union

Just a quick reminder, if one were needed, that it’s round 4 of the Six Nations this weekend.  The fixtures and kick-off times are as follows:

Friday 8 March
Scotland v Wales (Scotstoun Stadium, 7.35pm)

Saturday 9 March
England v Italy (Sandy Park, 12.05pm)
Ireland v France (Donnybrook, 7pm)

Rugby League

The 2019 rugby league Super League, Championship and League 1 fixtures were all announced today, 8 March.

In the first round of the Super League, champions Wigan Warriors will be at home to St Helens.

Super League newcomers, Wakefield Trinity, will be away to Leeds Rhinos, while York City Knights will face Castleford Tigers and Bradford Bulls are at home to Featherstone Rovers.

All three leagues will start on 7 April and end on 29 September.  The Super League and Championship will then to into top four play-offs.

Rugby league is a great and much underrated product.  Check out https://www.rugby-league.com/leagues__competitions/womens_rugby_league

for more details of venues, kick-off times and live streaming.

Athletics

European Indoor Championships

There were some good performances by Great Britain’s female athletes over the weekend.

Laura Muir was star of the show completing her second successive European Indoors double claiming 3000m and 1500m gold.  Melissa Courtney took bronze in the 3000m.

Katerina Johnson-Thompson and Niamh Emerson made it a British one-two in the pentathlon.

Shelayne Oskan-Clarke won the 800m.

Holly Bradshaw took silver in the pole vault and the women’s 4 x400m team also took silver.

Asha Philip took bronze in the 60m.

Great Britain’s four golds were all won by women.

Cycling

Omloop Het Nieuwsblad Race

I think the best we can call it is a massive failure in organisation.  You’ll all have seen the story, but it doesn’t get any better on re-reading.  The women’s part of the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad race in Belgium was halted last week after the breakaway leader Nicole Hanselmann almost caught up with the back of the men’s race.

The men started 10 minutes before the women.  Hanselmann caught up with the men’s support vehicles after 35km.

She was stopped and the race was, horrible term, “neutralised” so that the gap could be created again.  At that point she had a lead over the peloton of two minutes.

When she was finally allowed to carry on, she was allowed to build a lead before the peloton was released.  But she was soon caught and in the end could finish only 74^th.

I’m not saying Hanselmann would have won the women’s race but stopping her certainly ended her momentum and gave the chasers hope.

There was also a real risk of injury to riders who were potentially coming into contact with support vehicles.

The cynic in me says it was highly embarrassing for the organisers to see the women so close.

Golf

Women’s World Championship

Park Sung-hyun of South Korea claimed the World Championship title in Singapore on Sunday.  She finished on -15, two ahead of Minjee Lee of Australia, with J-Y Ko of South Korea in third, two shots further back.

World number one Ariya Jutanugarn of Thailand was one shot ahead going into the final round, but finished with a 75 to end on -8 and in joint eighth place.

Top British finisher was Jodi Ewart Shadoff who carded a fourth round 73 to finish on -8, also in a share of eighth place.

Park was not on the leaderboard going into the final found, but came up with nine birdies and one bogey to storm to the title.

Of the other British players, Bronte Law finished on -1, Georgia Hall on +2, Charley Hull +10 and Catriona Matthew on +15.

Cricket

First T20
England 160/4 (20 overs)
India 119/6 (20 overs)
England won by 41 runs

England posted a good total thanks to 62 from Tammy Beaumont and an opening partnership of 89 with Danni Wyatt and a storming 40 from 20 balls from captain Heather Knight.

Shikha Pandey (1/18 from four) and Poonam Yadav (2/33 from four) were the pick of the Indian bowlers, but the rest of the bowling attack was poor.

In response, the England bowlers were lively with none of the first four batters getting into double figures with the home side at one stage 46/5.  Dipti Sharma and Shikha Pandey offered the only resistance, finishing on 22 not out and 23 not out respectively, but India were always going to fall well short.

Katherine Brunt took 2/21 in her four overs and Linsey Smith 2/22 from her allocation.

Second T20
India 111/8 (20 overs)
England 114/5 (19.1 overs)
England won by 5 wickets with 5 balls remaining

India have not been at the races in this T20 series.  They are, undoubtedly, missing injured captain Harmanpreet Kaur and Smriti Mandhana is yet to grow into captaincy.  And yet, to some extent England made hard work of the chase – sometimes an issue when the target is a low one.

A few players got a start for India, but no-one went on to make a telling score, neither was there a decent partnership.  Top scorer was Mithali Raj, who has come in for some criticism this series for appearing uninterested, with 20.

Katherine Brunt took 3/17 off her four overs and Linsey Smith an impressive 2/11 off three.

Danni Wyatt made a fine 64 from 55 balls, leading from the front for England.  Tammy Beaumont went cheaply for just eight, with Jones, Sciver and Knight all failing to get into double figures.  When Knight fell they were 56/4.

But Lauren Winfield’s 29 steadied the ship and eventually England got over the line with five balls to spare.

They now have an unassailable 2-0 series lead, but will be looking to complete the whitewash in the last match, which is on Saturday 9 March.

Cricket – off the Pitch

England injuries

England, meanwhile are racking up a number of injuries, most of which seem to be stress fractures of the back.  Georgia Elwiss is the latest to be so diagnosed and is flying home from the tour.  This makes three players suffering with stress fractures, the other two being Kirstie Gordon and Katie George.  Sophie Ecclestone broke a hand whilst out in India and Laura Marsh is still doubtful with a side strain.

Lord’s Honours Board

Some good news.  There are now new honours boards at Lord’s for women’s performances in ODIs.

Centuries and five-wicket halls will be listed.

Anya Shrubsole’s 6/46 in the World Cup final in 2017 will be on.  Centuries by Claire Taylor, Sarah Taylor, Caroline Atkins and Lisa Keightley of Australia will be listed as will Katherine Brunt for her bowling.

Tennis

Mexico Open

In the semi-finals of the singles, the unseeded Wang Yafan defeated third seed Donna Vekic 2-6 6-3 6-1.  The other semi went to fifth seed Sofia Kenin, who overcame the unseeded Bianca Andreescu also in three sets 6-4 3-6 7-5.

Wang Yafan went on to beat Sofia Kenin in the final 2-6 6-3 7-5.

In the doubles, after a monster semi-final which went to 13-11 in the third against Maria Sanchez and Sharon Fichman, Zheng Saisai and Victoria Azarenka went on to a much easier win in the final, defeating Desirae Krawczyk and Giuliana Olmos 6-1 6-2.

Indian Wells

We’re still in the early stages at Indian Wells with some first round ties still to be completed.

There was a straight sets win for Jo Konta in the first round, beating Pauline Parmentier 6-2 6-3.  She plays 27^th seed Hsieh Su-wei later on 8 March in the second round.

Netball

Last weekend’s Netball Super League results:

Friday 1 March
Team Bath 60-56 Manchester Thunder

Saturday 2 March
Surrey Storm 46-48 Celtic Dragons
Loughborough Lightning 56-51 London Pulse
Wasps Netball 61-34 Strathclyde Sirens

Monday 4 March
Severn Stars 46-64 Saracens Mavericks

Wasps remain top with seven wins from seven and 21 points.  Mavericks are second with 18 and Thunder and Lightning (!) on 15.  At the bottom, Pulse have three points.  Above them are the Sirens on 6.

This weekend’s round nine fixtures:

Saturday 9 March
Strathclyde Sirens v Saracens Mavericks (3pm)
Celtic Dragons v Loughborough Lightning (4pm)
Manchester Thunder v Surrey Storm (5pm)

Sunday 10 March
Wasps Netball v Severn Stars (4pm)

Monday 11 March
London Pulse v Team Bath (7.30pm, Live on Sky Sports)

Volleyball

Women’s Super League Top 5 result:
Malory Eagles UEL 3-0 London Orcas (25-10, 25-22, 25-23)

Durham Palatinates are still top with 12 wins from 12 matches and 35 points.  Tendring VC Ladies are second on 30 from the same number of games.

Women’s Super League Bottom 4 results:

Sunday 3 March
Sheffield Hallam 3-0 Bristol VC1 (25-17, 25-16, 25-17)
Polonia SideOut London 3-1 Birmingham Volleyball Club1 (25-19, 25-16, 23-25, 25-20)

Sheffield Hallam are top with five wins and five losses from 10 games.  They have 15 points.  Behind them are Polonia SideOut London with nine points from 10 games.

Hockey – on the Pitch

Investec Women’s Hockey League Premier Division

2 March
Buckingham 6-2 Canterbury
Nottingham 0-5 East Grinstead
University of Birmingham 1-0 Surbiton
Bowdon 1-2 Clifton Robinsons
Holcombe 4-1 Slough

Surbiton’s patchy form continues and Holcombe are top with 31 points, three points ahead of Surbiton.  East Grinstead are third on 25.  At the bottom, Canterbury have five points and Slough are just above them on nine.  All teams have played 14 games.

This weekend’s fixtures:

9 March
Slough v Clifton Robinsons (12.30pm Slough HC)
Bowdon v Holcombe (1.45pm, Bowdon Club)
Beeston v Buckingham (2pm, Nottingham Hockey P1)
East Grinstead v University of Birmingham (4pm, East Grinstead HC)
Surbiton v Canterbury (4pm, Surbiton HC Water)

Hockey – off the Pitch

There was disappointment for Irish hockey this week as women’s coach Graham Shaw resigned in order to take up a similar post with New Zealand.

Shaw was appointed in 2015 after serving as assistant to Darren Smith and took Ireland’s women to a stunning silver medal at the World Cup in 2018.

And Finally,

In case you missed it, today (Friday 8 March) is International Women’s Day.  Now there seems to be a day for just about everything, and I don’t tend to pay much attention, but this one I think is important and I’m so glad it falls on a Friday this year so that my blog can be my offering towards it.

I wouldn’t be writing this blog if I didn’t think things needed to change and I thought you could access your women’s sports fix in one place.  I wouldn’t be writing it if I thought all was fine and dandy in the world of women’s sport and we didn’t have to suffer vile levels of abuse just for daring to play/administrate/referee/write about/have views on the thing we love.

Similarly, I don’t suppose you’d be reading it if you felt you had adequate access to women’s sports stories elsewhere.

So to all of you who love sport of any kind, women’s or men’s (or both, for crying out loud), this is for you.  Stand up for women’s sport, shout down the abuse, be an advocate for those currently in sport and for those little girls looking for role models and careers in the future.

And one day, maybe, we’ll get there.

No column next week as I’m out and about. 

 

Women’s Sports Column 9-15 February 2019

Welcome to this week’s column.  With news of Lindsey Vonn’s last race, the wonderful Six Nations, football, netball, hockey, athletics, volleyball, cricket, speed skating and tennis I’d better get on…

Football

FAWSL

Last weekend’s results:

Sunday 10 February

Bristol City 0-0 Brighton & Hove Albion

Manchester City 2-2 Chelsea
Wullaert 12’, Stanway 24’
So-yun Ji 50’, 89’

FAWC

Sunday 10 February

London Bees 0-3 Tottenham Hotspur
Dean 14’ (Pen), Johnson 22’ (OG), Wiltshire 47’

Leicester City 2-3 Crystal Palace
James 68’, Dugmore 74’
Whinnett 57’, Bryan 64’, 84’

FA Cup – Remaining Fourth Round Ties

We now know the full fifth round line-up, after the fourth was completed at the weekend:

Durham 5-1 Cardiff City
Millwall Lionesses 1-0 Lewes
Reading 13-0 Keynsham Town
Liverpool 6-0 MK Dons
Loughborough Foxes 0-2 Sheffield United
Charlton 3-3 Huddersfield Town (Huddersfield won 5-4 on penalties)
Stoke City 1-2 Aston Villa
Yeovil Town 1-3 Birmingham City

The fifth round takes place this Sunday, 17 February.

Hockey – on the Pitch

Investec Women’s Hockey League Premier Division

The league was back after its winter break last weekend:

9 February

Buckingham 2-1 Surbiton
Slough 1-1 Canterbury
University of Birmingham 2-2 Clifton Robinsons
Beeston 2-1 Bowdon
East Grinstead 1-2 Holcombe

10 February

Bowdon 4-1 Slough

All teams have played 11 now except Bowdon and Slough who have played 12.  With Surbiton suffering their third defeat of the season, Holcombe are now top with 25 points.  Surbiton are second on 22 with East Grinstead third on 19.  At the bottom, Canterbury have four points from 11, and Slough are just above them on eight, having played the extra game.

This weekend’s fixtures will take them all to 12 games played:

16 February

Clifton Robinsons v Buckingham (1pm, Coombe Dingle P1)
Holcombe v Beeston (2pm, Holcombe HC P1)
Canterbury v University of Birmingham (4pm, Polo Farm SC, P1)
Surbiton v East Grinstead (4pm, Surbiton HC Water)

Hockey – off the Pitch

Maddie Hinch has been named FIH Female Goalkeeper of the Year for the third year running.

Ayeisha McFerran (Ireland), Rachael Lynch (Australia), Maria Ruiz (Spain) and Ye Jiao (China) were also shortlisted.

Winter Sports

Speed Skating

Elise Christie won silver in the 500m at the last World Cup event of the season in Turin.

Martina Valcepina of Italy took gold and Maame Biney of the USA the bronze.

Lindsey Vonn

After crashing out in her penultimate race, the super-G at the Alpine World Championships in Are, Sweden the previous Tuesday, Vonn made amends in her last race, the downhill, winning bronze.  Defending champion Ilka Stuhec took gold and Corinne Soutar, silver.

In winning the bronze, Vonn became the first female skier to win a medal at six World Championships.  What a way to go out!

Cricket

Alyssa Healy scooped three prizes at the Australian Cricket Awards this week.  She won female ODI player of the year (6 matches, 329 runs at an average of 54.83), female T20I player of the year (17 matches, 578 runs at an average of 41.29) and also the Belinda Clark Award.

The Betty Wilson young cricketer of the year award went to Georgia Wareham and female domestic player of the year was Heather Graham.

Rugby Union – Six Nations

England 41-26 France

Quite surprisingly, this game was only ever going one way.  England were 24-0 up and coasting at half-time, and although France came back to put a good number of points on the scoreboard, it was never going to be enough to overhaul the Red Roses.

A record crowd of 4,674 were at Doncaster to see it.

England scorers:
Tries: Breach (2), Cleall (2), Smith, Botterman, O’Donnell
Conversions: Mclean (3)

France scorers:
Tries: Bourdon (2), N’Diaye, R Menager
Conversions Bourdon (3)

Italy 3-3 Wales

Stalemate in Lecce as neither side could make the decisive score to win the match.  Robyn Wilkins scored a penalty to give Wales the lead after 30 minutes.  In the second half, Michaela Sillari drew the home side level with a penalty on the hour.

Wales thought they had snatched it late on when Jasmine Joyce went over from a breakaway, but the visitors were pulled back for a forward pass.

The home side then had a chance to win it, but a second Sillari penalty went wide.

Italy scorers:
Pen: Sillari

Wales
Pen: Wilkins

Scotland 5-22 Ireland

Ireland opened the scoring through Aoife McDermott, but Scotland drew level through Hannah Smith.

It looked as if they would go into the break level, but Ireland had other ideas as Leah Lyons went over again to make it 10-5 to the away side at half-time.

Straight into the second-half Ireland were on the attack again and five minutes in Alison Miller grabbed their third try of the match.

Anna Caplice bagged the bonus point try just before the hour, picking up the ball from the back of a ruck to crash over.

Scotland scorers:
Tries: Smith

Ireland scorers:
Tries: McDermott, Lyons, Miller, Caplice
Conversions: Fowley

Other Rugby News

It was announced this week that England will play the Barbarians at Twickenham in June.  The Barbarians’ women’s side was only formed in October 2017.  This will be the first time they have played England.

They will play before the men’s team in a double-header on Sunday 2 June.

The game kicks off at 12.45pm with the men’s following at 3pm.

Tennis – on the Court

Fed Cup

Group A

Great Britain 2-0 Hungary
Katie Boulter triumphed in the first rubber against Dalma Galfi 6-4 6-7 7-6.  This was followed by another three set victory for Jo Konta 6-2 6-7 7-6.

Greece 2-1 Slovenia
Valentini Grammatikopoul beat Kaja Juvan 7-6 5-7 6-3.  Maria Sakkari defeated Dalila Jakupovic 4-6 6-4 6-3.  The doubles rubber was a walkover for Slovenia.

Group B

Serbia 2-1 Croatia
Olga Danilovic defeated Jana Fett in the first rubber 2-6 6-2 7-6.  The second went to Croatia as Donna Vekic beat Aleksandra Krunic 1-6 7-5 6-1.  The deciding doubles went to Danilovi and Krunic as they beat Jurak and Konjuh 1-6 6-1 6-4

Turkey 3-0 Georgia
Cagla Buyukakcay defeated Mariam Bolkvadze in the first rubber 6-4 6-1.  In the second, Pemra Ozgen beat Ekaterine Gorgodze 7-6 6-3.  The doubles were a walkover to Turkey.

Great Britain and Serbia finished top of their respective groups, each winning three from thee ties.  They faced each other in the promotion play-off

GB 2-0 Serbia
In the play-off, both Boulter and Konta kept up their tremendous run of form:

Boulter beat Ivana Jorovic in the first rubber 6-4 6-3 Konta struggled in her match and was visibly distressed at the end through physical exhaustion.  She came through her match against Aleksandra Krunic 7-6 3-6 6-2.  The doubles rubber was not played.

The World Cup Group II play-off draw was also made this week and GB have a home tie.

They will play Kazakhstan in April with the venue yet to be announced, although it may well be at the Copper Box Arena in London.

Meanwhile, the World Group semi-finals look like this:

20-21 April

France v Romania
Australia v Belarus

Qatar Open

Having seen off Sam Stosur in qualifying (7-6 3-6 6-4), unseeded Anna Blinkova then put out seventh seed Anastasija Sevastova 7-6 6-4.  She finally succumbed in the next round, to Barbora Strycova in a bizarrely scored match, 6-0 3-6 6-0 to the unseeded Strycova.

We are now at the semi-final stage, which will be completed today, Friday 15 February:

Simona Halep (1) v Elina Svitolina (4)
Angelique Kerber (3) v Elise Mertens

We are also at the semi-final stage in the doubles, with only one seeded pairing left in the competition.  Both games again today, 15 February:

Chan Hao-Ching/Latisha Chan v Jelena Ostapenko/Veronika Kudermetova
Alison Riske/Ons Jabeur v Demi Schuurs/Anna-Lena Grönefeld (4)

Tennis – off the Court

Maria Sharapova had withdrawn from next month’s Indian Wells tournament.

She is suffering ongoing problems from a shoulder injury that has forced her to withdraw or retire from two of her last three events since playing in the US Open in September.

Volleyball

Last weekend’s results from the Women’s Super League Top 5 were:

9 February

Durham Palatinates 3-0 Malory Eagles UEL (25-16, 25-18, 25-22)
London Orcas 0-3 Tendring VC Ladies (17-25, 14-25, 15-25)

Durham are top with 29 points from 10 games.  Tendring are second with22 from nine.

Women’s Super League Bottom 4:

9 February

Sheffield Hallam 3-1 Birmingham Volley Club1 (25-17, 25-22, 25-27, 25-16)

All teams have played nine games.  Sheffield are top with 12 points, then come Polonia SideOut London (6), Bristol VC1 (4) and Birmingham Volley Club1 (3).

Athletics

British Indoor Championships

More team GB places have been booked as we build up to the European Indoor Championships in Glasgow in March.

Results in full:
Pole vault: 1. Holly Bradshaw (4,80m), 2. Jade Ive (4.40m), 3. Sophie Cook 4.30m)
Triple Jump: 1. Naomi Ogbeta (14.05m), 2. Laura Samuel (13.61m), 3. Alexandra Russell (13.27m)
60m hurdles: 1. Cindy Ofili (8.16), 2. Katarina Johnson-Thompson (8.27), 3. Gabriella Ade-Onojobi *13.21)
60m: 1. Asha Philip (7.19), 2. Rachel Miller (7.20), 3. Kristal Awuah (7.35)
3000m: 1. Laura Muir (8:48.03), 2. Melissa Courtney (8:50.61), 3. Amy Eloise Neale (8:59.86)
Shot Put: 1. Sophie McKinna (17.97m), 2. Amelia Strickler (17.28m), 3. Adele Nicoll (15.58m)
5000m walk: 1. Heather Lewis (22:55.15), 2. Madeline Shott (25:15.58), 3. Pagen Spooner (26:43.74)
Long Jump: 1. Katarina Johnson-Thompson (6.46m), 2. Jahisha Thomas (6.36m), Abigail Irozuru (6.35m)
High jump: 1. Morgan Lake (1.94m), 2. Bethan Partridge (1.87m), 3. Nikki Manson (1.80m)
400m: 1. Zoey Clark (52.85), 2. Amber Anning (53.00), 3. Laviai Nielsen (53.03)
200m: 1. Hayley Mills (23.59), 2. Kiah Dubarry-Gay (24.01), 3. Melissa Roberts (24.28)
800m: 1. Shelayna Oskan-Clarke (2:05.04), 2. Mari Smith (2:05.68), 3. Adelle Tracey (2:05.72)
1500m: 1. Jemma Reekie (4:17.08), 2. Sarah McDonald (4:18.10), 3. Katie Snowden ( 4:19.34)

Netball

Last weekend’s Vitality Superleague results were as follows:

Friday 8 February
Strathclyde Sirens 46-50 Celtic Dragons

Saturday 9 February
Severn Stars 49-62 Manchester Thunder
Loughborough Lightning 50-75 Team Bath

Monday 11 February
London Pulse 49-69 Surrey Storm
Wasps Netball 54-50 Saracens Mavericks

Wasps are still top with four wins from four.  Manchester Thunder are second on the same points but with an inferior goal average.  Team Bath are third on nine points from four games.  At the bottom, there are two teams with three points from five games; London Pulse and Strathclyde Sirens.

This weekend’s round six fixtures:

Saturday 16 February
Manchester Thunder v Loughborough Lightning (5pm)
Severn Stars v Surrey Storm (6pm)
Saracens Mavericks v Team Bath (6pm – Live on Sky Sports)

Monday 18 February
Celtic Dragons v Wasps Netball (7pm)
London Pulse v Strathclyde Sirens (7.30pm)

And Finally,

Is she a woman?  Is she a man?  It still seems that no-one can agree.  While they debate her physical make-up, what happens to Caster Semenya’s mental health?  How does she feel having her gender debated in this way?  Will she have to undergo treatment to lower her testosterone levels?  If so, when tested she will have show the lower levels six months before competition.

Earlier this week it was reported that the IAAF’s lawyers will say Semenya is a “biological male”.  The organisation has denied this.

Now Semenya’s lawyer has said that she is “unquestionably a woman”.

Semenya herself says,

“It is not fair. I just want to run naturally, the way I was born.

“It is not fair that I am told I must change. It is not fair that people question who I am.”

I’m not arguing with her.  I just want her to be able to run – where she wants to run.

Not here next week, so more news and views in a fortnight. 

Women’s Sports Column 17-23 November 2018

Welcome to this week’s column. Plenty to get into again this week, from England’s perhaps surprising progress into the final of the World T20 to the loss of Jordan Nobbs for Arsenal, and the possibility that she will miss next year’s World Cup.   Stories this week come from hockey, golf, football, netball, rugby, cricket, motor racing, volleyball and sailing.  Plus, another bout of rather miserable and somewhat predictable misogyny from the keyboard warriors living in their parents’ basements…

So let’s crack on.

Cricket – International

T20 World Cup

Well, we’re nearly there.  It seems to have passed in a flash and, to be honest, as much as I love my cricket (as you all know), I can’t say that I’ve been inspired by this tournament.  There have been no surprises, no shocks and no team has come through as a “dark horse”.  Australia were favourites at the start and have pretty much lived up to that status, although they proved against India that they are fallible.  West Indies fell very much short against Australia in the semi-final when they had a distinct chance of going through, and India lost disappointingly to England in the other semi-final.  I would have loved to have seen India win the World Cup and finally fulfil their potential.

It all comes down to Australia v England on Saturday – midnight start UK time.

How the semi-finals played out:

Australia 144/5 (20 overs)
West Indies 71 all out 17.3 overs)
Australia won by 71 runs

I actually thought West Indies had this until Deandra Dottin imploded in the 19^th over and conceded 17 runs.  Up until that point, Australia had looked impressive but struggled to get away from a fairly efficient West Indies bowling side.

But in the 19^th over Dottin lost it.  Two wides and three boundaries from Rachael Haynes left the Windies exasperated and Dottin mutinous.

Beth Mooney went early, but the restored Alyssa Healy took it on, scoring 46 from 38 balls.  Lanning was slow but steady, anchoring the innings as wickets fell around her.  But it was Rachael Haynes 25 from 15 at the back end of the innings, including the dismantling of Dottin that did the damage as the Aussies posted 144.

West Indies’ poor end to the innings seemed to infect their batting.  Hayley Matthews was first to go, run out for just five as the jitters went through the hosts.  Dottin never recovered her cool and went for six from 11 balls.  Stafanie Taylor tried to offer some resistance as all around her was chaos, but she was the only player to make double figures; 16 from 28 balls.

Australia shared the wickets round with Perry, Kimmince and Gardner taking two each and Schutt, Molineux and Wareham one apiece.

It was a sad end to a fine tournament for the defending champions.

India 112 all out (19.3 overs)
England 116/2 (17.1 overs)
England won by 8 wickets

The second semi-final was equally one-sided.  India won the toss and elected to bat.  They started well, scoring 43 before the fall of the first wicket.  But after the top four were out, no-one else got into double figures.  Three run-outs in the Indian innings didn’t help.

Captain Heather Knight (why doesn’t she bowl herself more often?) took 3/9 off two overs while Sophie Ecclestone and Kirstie Gordon took two each as India were reduced to 112 all out.

India would have taken heart with their start with the ball after the openers were out cheaply,  Tammy Beaumont for one and Danni Wyatt for eight.

But Amy Jones and Nat Sciver took hold of the situation, scoring 53 and 52 respectively as England cruised home.

Coverage of the final is via BBC TMS on the radio and Sky Sports on TV.

Cricket – Domestic

Meanwhile, the ECB seem to be on the verge of throwing away the biggest and best development in English women’s cricket in recent memory.  Perhaps it was a good time to “bury bad news” as England went into the final of the T20 World Cup?

It was already in the cards that the KSL would go with the advent of The Hundred, but it seems that the ECB needs to cut its costs in a big way and that could hit the women’s game.

The ECB has said that there will be no reduction in the number of teams or matches but that “efficiency savings” will come from cutting match-day costs and economising on flights for players coming from overseas.

Cuts could be in the region of 12-20 per cent.

If the cuts go ahead and the overseas players don’t come, it will be a huge backwards step for the women’s game and for the KSL in particular.

And, I’m afraid it’s yet another example of two steps forward, one back from a governing body, when it comes to the promotion of the women’s game.

For a more in-depth analysis of this latest news, see George Dobell’s excellent piece for Cricinfo:

http://www.espn.co.uk/cricket/story/_/id/25348712/funding-issues-mount-england-women-ksl-faces-budget-cut

Motor Racing

Most motorsport crashes are high profile, but if it’s a woman and she’s just 17, the column inches are going to stack up.

Last Sunday, Formula 3 driver, Sophia Florsch, crashed in the Macau Grand Prix and fractured her spine.

She hit the back of the car driven by Jehan Daruvala, went over the inside kerb and then hit the car of Sho Tsuboi and over the barriers.  She was travelling at approximately 171.6mph.

She has now been through 10 hours of surgery in which bone from her hip has been used to repair one her of vertebrae.

It is thought she will not suffer any paralysis.

See my “And finally” for more on this story.

Football

Injury

Arsenal’s Jordan Nobbs ruptured her anterior cruciate ligament last weekend at Everton – an injury that may not only put her out for the rest of the season, but may impact on her participation in next year’s World Cup in France.

Nobbs had been having a storming season, both for Arsenal and for England and this will be a big blow to both.

Every England fan will have to cross fingers and indeed toes in the hope that she will have recovered by next summer.

 Last weekend’s results:

Championship

London Bees 2-0 Sheffield United
Littlejohn 55’, Gibson 78’

Crystal Palace 0-5 Manchester United
Arnott 17’ 55’, Green 59’ 83’, Greenwood 75’ (Pen)

Milllwall Lionesses 1-5 Durham
Clarke 5’
Hepple 2 ’9’, Gears 4’, Wilson 37’, Ness 56’

Lewes 1-1 Aston Villa
Kempson 72’
Richards 16’

Tottenham 1-0 Charlton Athletic
Naz 24’

Tottenham are still top of the Championship with 21 points from eight games.  Manchester United have 19 in second, but have played a game fewer.  Millwall are still bottom with just a single point from eight games and Crystal Palace are just above them on four.

WSL

Chelsea 5-0 Yeovil Town
Bright 20’, So-yun Ji 27’, Cuthbert 42’, Bachmann 45’, England 79’

Birmingham City 3-0 West Ham Utd
Harrop 1’, Follis 40’, Staniforth 79’

Bristol City 2-1 Liverpool
Graham 16’. Rutherford 21’
Sweetman-Kirk 36’

Brighton & Hove Albion 1-4 Reading
Whelan 61’
Hourihan 20’ (OG), Chaplen 58’, Williams 65’, Davison 81’

Everton 0-4 Arsenal
Van de Donk 44’, Nobbs 49’, Miedema 50’ 65’

Arsenal are still yet to drop a point this season.  They lie top with 24 points from eight games.  Manchester City are second with 18 and Chelsea third with 16.  There was still no respite for Everton at the bottom.  They have two points, with Yeovil just above them on three.

This weekend sees a programme in the top two divisions plus the first round of the FA Cup.  For a complete list of FA Cup fixtures click here.

Hockey – International

Champions Trophy

 Netherlands have been a class apart so far in this tournament.  They are yet to be tested, having won four from four and are happily through to the final with a game to spare.  They will finish top by a mile.  Australia are second with two wins and a draw from four games.  China have six points, China 3, GB and Japan both have two.

Great Britain have had a poor event so far and need to win their last match against Argentina to make it into the bronze medal match.

They opened with a draw against hosts China, twice coming from behind.  Xu Wenyu scored China’s first in the first quarter, but Hannah Martin equalised at the end of the first period.

In the second quarter China took the lead again through Peng Yang, but Lily Owsley brought GB level again and that’s where the scoring ended.

In their second match, GB lost 2-0 to Australia.  Australia scored early in the first quarter through Brooke Peris and doubled their lead in the second through Kalindi Commerford.

They still couldn’t catch a break in their third match, drawing 2-2 with Japan.  Japan were 2-0 down thanks to goals from Tessa Howard and Sophie Bray in the first quarter.  But they couldn’t maintain their superiority.  Japan were level by half-time with two goals from Hazuki Nagai.

Netherlands were comfortable victors against Great Britain in their fourth match 4-0.  They were 2-0 up by half-time with goals from Marijn Veen and Margot Zuidhof.  Ginella Zerbo got the third in the third quarter and Zuidhof scored her second in the fourth quarter to complete the win.

Most worryingly for Great Britain, they had only three shots in the match.

They play Argentina in the last group match on Saturday 24 November.

Hockey – Domestic

Investec Women’s Hockey League Premier Division

Last weekend’s results were as follows:

Canterbury 1-2 Surbiton
University of Birmingham 2-3 East Grinstead
Beeston 1-3 Holcombe
Slough 2-2 Bowdon
Buckingham 1-2 Clifton Robinsons

Surbiton are still top with seven wins and one draw from nine and 22 points. Holcombe lie second with 19 and East Grinstead third with 16.  At the bottom, Canterbury have three points, and Bowdon are just above them on seven.

This weekend’s fixtures are the last before the winter break.  The league recommences on 9 February 2019:

24 November
Clifton Robinsons v Canterbury (1pm, Coombe Dingle, P1)
Bowdon v Buckingham (1.45pm, Bowdon Club)
Holcombe v University of Birmingham (2pm, Holcombe HC, P1)
East Grinstead v Slough (4pm, East Grinstead HC)
Surbiton v Beeston (4pm Surbiton HC Water)

Rugby Union – International

France 20-27 New Zealand

A crowd of 17,102 saw France beat the Black Ferns in Grenoble in a pulsating game.

France opened the scoring through Julie Duval but the away side were soon level through Stacey Waaka.

Then France made a double strike; Maëlle Filopon with the first and Romane Menager with the second had France pulling away.  After half an hour France had a 19-7 lead.

But before half-time New Zealand were back in it.  Fiao’o Faamausili scored a try that was converted to make it 19-14.

After the break France extended their lead again through Caroline Drouin, but New Zealand hit back through Selica Winiata after a lineout on the French 5m line.  Then, out of nowhere, New Zealand were level as Kendra Cocksedge kicked a penalty to make it 24-24 with 26 minutes to go.

Just one minute later Ruahei Demant was yellow-carded and France took advantage as Drouin converted the penalty to put them back ahead.

Drouin kicked another penalty on 70 minutes, but Cocksedge did likewise almost directly afterwards, 30-27.

The Black Ferns had the pressure in the last 10 minutes to take the game, but France were defending for their lives.  Both teams had chances, but neither could score and France held on for a memorable win.

England 27-19 Canada

England continued their winning form with five tries against Canada in Doncaster.

The Roses went ahead early through pack dominance with tries from Lark Davies with her first and international try, Poppy Cleall bagged England’s second and Davies went in again for the third.  All three went unconverted.

Canada struck back before the break as Alex Tassier crossed the line after picking up Anaïs Holly’s kick.  The score was converted by Brianna Miller, taking it to 15-7 at half-time.

In the second-half Canada came quickly out of the blocks, scoring their second try through Elissa Alarie.

But England were not done.  They brought on Katy Daley-Mclean and the difference was evident.  Kelly Smith went over in the corner to score England’s fourth try and soon afterwards the fifth came through Abbie Scott.

Canada had the last word though, with Courtney Holtkamp going over from close range and Magali Harvey converting to take the score to 27-19.

Ireland 10-19 USA

USA Eagles claimed their first test win since the World Cup with their defeat of Ireland at Donnybrook.

Ireland started well, but despite having all the early pressure, they couldn’t convert it into points.

Eventually USA took the lead as Kimber Rozier went in, converting her own try to make it 7-0 in the 13^th minute.

Each side then had some pressure, but no added points were scored until Kaitlyn Broughton went down the right wing to score and make it 12-0 to the Eagles.

Ireland struck back before half-time as Laura Sheehan went over on the left but it was unconverted and the home side went in 12-5 down.

On the resumption each side again had a period of pressure, but it was the USA who took their chance as Meya Bizer went over the line and the try was converted by Rozier.

Ireland worked tirelessly and hard until Eimear Considine finally crossed the whitewash for the home side’s second try.  The conversion was again missed and the visitors took the win.

This week’s fixtures:

24 November
England v Ireland (5.40pm, Twickenham)
Wales v Canada (11.30am, Cardiff Arms Park)

27 November
Scotland v Canada (7pm, Scotstoun)

Rugby Union – Domestic

Premier 15s is back this weekend.  The fixtures, all on 24 November, are:

Richmond v Bristol Bears (2pm, Richmond Athletic Ground)
Worcester Valkyries v Firwood Waterloo (2pm, Sixways Stadium)
Wasps v Gloucester-Hartpury (2pm, Twyford Avenue Sports Ground)
DMP Sharks v Harlequins (3pm, Northern Echo Arena)
Saracens v Loughborough Lightning (3.45pm, Allianz Park)

Volleyball

Women’s Super League

There were a full set of fixtures in the Super League last weekend:

17 November
London Orcas 3-0 TeamBU Wessex (25-16, 25-21, 25-13)
Sheffield Hallam 0-3 Mallory Eagles UEL (19-25, 14-25, 19-25)
Durham Palatinates 3-0 Birmingham Volleyball Club 1 (25-5, 25-12, 25-17)

18 November
Bristol VC1 3-1 Polonia SideOut London (25-22, 12-25, 25-21, 25-21)
Sheffield Hallam 0-3 Durham Palatintes (18-25, 20-25, 17-25)

Durham are top, but they have played more than everyone else.  They have 20 points from seven games.  London Orcas are second with 11 from five games.  Mallory Eagles are one point behind them but have played only four.  At the bottom, Birmingham are the only team still to get off the mark and have played four games.

Golf – Solheim Cup

European Captain Catriona Matthew has named her final Vice Captain for the 2019 Solheim Cup at Gleneagles; Dame Laura Davies really needs no introduction, but suffice it to say that she has played in 12 Solheim Cups and is the event’s leading points scorer, with 25.  She has featured in four winning teams, in 1992, 2000, 2003 and 2011.

This means that her three vice captains, Davies, Suzann Petterson and Kathryn Imrie, have the grand total of 21 Solheim Cup appearances between them and have scored 45½ points for Europe.  If experience has any bearing on the outcome, Europe should be well-placed!

Tickets for the event, which takes place from 9-15 September 2019 are already on sale.  Check out the website, www.solheimcup2019.com.

Netball

The England Roses v Uganda series starts on Tuesday 27 November.  There are three matches – the first is at the Liverpool Echo Arena on Tuesday.  The other two, at the Copper Box in London are on

Friday 30 November and Sunday 2 December.

It should be an exciting and tight series.  Tickets are still available.  Click here for information.  If you can’t be there in person, it’s all live on Sky Sports.

And Finally,

In the immortal words of Britney Spears (!), “oops, I did it again.”  In other words, yes I looked at some of the comments on the BBC sports Facebook and Twitter pages.  In particular, I looked at what “people” had to say on the Florsch crash and on the Nobbs injury.  I was pretty sickened by both.

Florsch, who could easily have lost her life or been paralysed was offered little in the way of either sympathy or respect, with many (yes, many) comments along the lines of “typical of women drivers”.  Crass, rude, and not acceptable in any way.  There were a few males coming in telling the Neanderthals their comments were not acceptable, but they were few, and unfortunately far between.

The comments on the Nobbs injury were, possibly, more insidious.  Several dismissed it as “an irrelevance” – well not to Nobbs, her teammates, friends, family and England Lionesses’ supporters everywhere.  How can you dismiss someone’s possibly dashed hopes of a World Cup appearance as an irrelevance?  It’s a pitiful attitude, chaps.

I realise it’s a reflex action with most of them – it’s a story about a woman in sport, therefore we have to demean it, insult it and dismiss it, but it’s pretty damned infuriating to read it all the time.

 Rant over.  That’s all for this week. Sorry, no column next week as I am busy elsewhere.  I’d just like to wish England good luck in the World T20 final on Saturday night.  I hope you’ll all be listening/watching.  

Women’s Sports Column 10-16 November 2018

Welcome to this week’s column.  This week’s stories range from a wet West Indies to Rotherham with plenty in between.  There is so much going on including one high-profile administrator steps down while another takes up a massive challenge.

So, stories this week come from cricket, football, rugby, hockey, volleyball, sports admin, tennis and modern pentathlon.

Cricket T20 World Cup

At one stage it the ICC seemed to be considering moving group A from St Lucia because of the persistent bad weather, but it looks like we’re sticking with it now.  From what I’ve seen, I have no reason to change my view that Australia are the team to beat.  Here’s where we are at the moment:

Group A

It’s tight in Group B, where the weather could yet play a deciding part.  West Indies are two from two at the top with wins against South Africa and Bangladesh and are looking good.  England are second, a point behind with one win against Bangladesh (via DLS)and a washout against Sri Lanka.  England still have to play the two strongest teams in the group, South Africa and West Indies and need to take points from both.

Bangladesh 76/9 (20 overs)
England 64/3 (9.3 overs)
England won by seven wickets (DLS method)

Kirstie Gordon took 3/16 on debut as England beat Bangladesh in a rain-affected match at St Lucia.  Anya Shrubsole and Nat Sciver both took early wickets to leave Bangladesh 3/2 after three overs.  But Ayasha Rahman showed resolve, scoring 39.

In reply, Danni Wyatt went first ball, but when England’s target was revised towards the end of the innings after a spell of drizzle, they cruised home with 39 balls to spare.

Amy Jones made 28 and Nat Sciver 23.

Group B

Australia are three from three with wins against Ireland, Pakistan and New Zealand and have already qualified for the semi-finals.  India are second on net run-rate.  They play each other to see who finishes top of the table.  New Zealand are third with only one win from three matches and cannot qualify.

Pakistan have flattered to deceive once again and should have done better.  They beat Ireland, but could have done so much more.

Ireland, also, will be frustrated.  They targeted the game against Pakistan as a possible win, but fell badly short.  Their bowling has been excellent in patches, particularly from Lisa O’Reilly, but the batting has been poor.  They even had a chance against India as they restricted them to just 145, but, in truth, I’m not sure there were many watching and listening who were convinced they could chase the target down.  In the end they had a fine aggressive power play, but once again tailed off and could only reach 98/8 at the end of their 20 overs.

You can listen to and watch all of the action via Sky Sports and BBC Radio Test Match Special.  There are also video clips on the BBC website if you don’t have Sky.

Women in Sports Administration

Liz Nicholl will step down from her role as CEO of UK Sport next summer, after eight years in post.   She had worked at UK Sport, in its various incarnations, for 20 years.

“This really is the best job in sport and I have enjoyed every minute of it,” she said.

“My successor will find British sport in a good position to realise our vision of inspiring the nation in Tokyo and beyond.”

Meanwhile, the football Premier League has appointed Susanna Dinnage as its new chief executive.

Dinnage’s background is in media, including roles at MTV, Channel  5 and Discovery.

“I am excited at the prospect of taking on this fantastic role. The Premier League means so much to so many people,” she said.

“It represents the pinnacle of professional sport and the opportunity to lead such a dynamic and inspirational organisation is a great privilege.

“With the support of clubs and the team, I look forward to extending the success of the league for many years to come.”

This experience will likely be invaluable when negotiating new broadcast deals, but there will be many other issues she will have to face.  Whatever happens, it is good to see a woman reach such a high-level post in such a traditionally male, stale and pale environment.

Modern Pentathlon

British modern pentathlete, Samantha Murray, has retired from the sport at the age of 29.

She won silver at the London 2012 Olympics and gold at the World Championships in 2014.

Football – International

England Lionesses

After putting in a fine away performance to beat Austria 3-0 last week, the Lionesses were looking to celebrate captain Steph Houghton’s 100^th cap with an equally good game against Sweden in Rotherham.   But football, as we know, is fickle and it didn’t go to plan.

Austria 0-3 England

England were dominant throughout, even though the team was an inexperienced one.  Former USA under-23 player Chioma Ubogagu scored the first on her debut and Georgia Stanway, also making her first appearance, bagged the second.

Rachel Daly scored the third in the second-half.

England 0-2 Sweden

The Lionesses suffered a shock defeat to Sweden at Rotherham on Sunday.  It was the first time they had lost at home since 2015.

Sofia Jakobsson scored Sweden’s first and Anna Anvegard the second to spoil the Steph Houghton party.

The game was a sellout with 9,561 fans packed into the New York Stadium.

From Phil Neville’s first 12 games in charge, England have won seven, drawn three and lost just two.  I’ll never be his greatest fan, but the women are clearly enjoying their football and I am impressed by his comments and commitment to the role.

Scotland 0-1 USA

Scotland were unlucky not to scrape a draw from this match.  They had defended well up until the 39^th minutes, when Alex Morgan took advantage of some poor marking to volley in a cross from Mallory Pugh.

The USA were also awarded a penalty in the second-half but Carli Lloyd hit the bar.

Scotland’s best chance came through Lana Clelland but it her shot was turned around the post.

Champions League

Chelsea will play Paris St-Germain in the quarter-finals of the Champions League.  If they manage to overcome PSG they will face Wolfsburg in the semis, who have knocked them out of the competition at the quarter-final stage for the last three years.

Quarter-final draw:

Slavia Praha v Bayern Munich
Barcelona v LSK Kvinner
Lyon v Wolfsburg
Chelsea v PSG

First leg to be played on 20 and 21 March 2019, with return leg the following week.

Semi-final draw

Lyon or Wolfsburg v Chelsea or PSG
Slavia Praha or Bayern Munich v Barcelona or LSK Kvinner

Semi-finals will be played towards the end of April 2019.

Managerial Casualties

There have been two manager sackings this week; WSL side Everton dispensed with the services of head coach Andy Spence and Championship club Lewes sacked John Donoghue.

Everton have only one game this season and that was against Reading in the Continental Cup.  They are currently bottom of the WSL table, having been beaten by previous bottom side Yeovil Town last weekend.  Goalkeeping coach Jennifer Herst has been put in interim charge.

Donoghue had been with Lewes since 2014.  He helped to establish Lewes in the National League (South) before they were allocated a spot in the newly revamped Championship for 2018-19.

Hockey

Champions Trophy 2018

The Champions Trophy takes place in Changzhou, China from 17-25 November.

The six teams involved are Great Britain, hosts China, defending champions Argentina, 2018 World Cup winners Netherlands, Oceania champions Australia and Asian Games champions Japan.

Group games schedule
17: Great Britain v China (06:00), Australia v Argentina (08:00), Netherlands v Japan (10:00)
18: Australia v Great Britain (06:00), China v Japan (08:00), Netherlands v Argentina (10:00)
20: Australia v Netherlands (06:00), Argentina v China (08:00), Japan v Great Britain (10:00)
22: Argentina v Japan (06:00), China v Australia (08:00), Great Britain v Netherlands (10:00)
24: Japan v Australia (06:00), Netherlands v China (08:00), Great Britain v Argentina (10:00)

Finals schedule
25: 5th v 6th (06:00), 3rd v 4th (08:15), Final (10:30)

TV coverage is via BT Sport.

Last weekend’s Investec Women’s Hockey Premier Division results:

Canterbury 1-3 Beeston
Holcombe 1-0 Surbiton
Bowdon 1-0 East Grinstead
Clifton Robinsons 4-2 University of Birmingham
Buckingham 1-0 Slough

Surbiton dropped points at the weekend, but are still top of the table on 19 points from eight games.  Holcombe are second on 16 and Buckingham third on 14.  East Grinstead have also been deducted three points for fielding an illegible player and are now fourth with 13.  At the bottom, Canterbury have three from eight games, with Bowdon just above them on six.

This weekend’s fixtures:

17 November
Buckingham v Clifton Robinsons (12pm, Stowe School P1)
Slough v Bowdon (12.30pm, Slough HC)
Beeston v Holcombe (2pm, Nottingham Hockey P1)
Canterbury v Surbiton (4pm, Polo Farm SC, P1)
University of Birmingham v East Grinstead (4pm, Birmingham Uni P1)

Volleyball

Just one result from the Women’s Super League from last weekend:

Durham Palatinates 3-1 Tendring VC Ladies (16-25, 25-16, 25-17, 26-24)

Durham are top with five wins from five games and 14 points.  Tendring are second with three wins from four games and nine points.  At the bottom, Birmingham have no wins from three games and have no points.  Bristol VC 1 are just above them on one point from five games.

Rugby union

England 57-5 USA

There was a record win for England against USA last weekend as they won 57-5 at Allianz Park.

The score did not reflect USA’s contribution and they will perhaps feel aggrieved that prop Megan Rom was sent off in the 14^th minute for a high tackle, an event that made the visitors’ task that much harder.

England started the scoring with a try through Leanne Riley.  Sarah McKenna got a second under the post, making it 14-0.

Ten minutes later England were awarded a penalty try and Kate Zachery was yellow-carded.  England scored two more tries before half-time, including one for Katy Daley-McLean, winning her 100^th cap for England and racing 50m to go over the whitewash.  The score was 33-0 at the break.

In the second-half England soon made it 40-0 but then took their foot off the gas.  Sarah Hunter scored another to make it 47-0 after 53 minutes and then there were 20 minutes of even play culminating in a try for USA through Jennine Duncan.

England had the final word, though, with time for two more tries, one from Kelly Smith and one from Carys Williams.

Wales 19-5 South Africa

Wales also began their autumn internationals with a win, beating South Africa at Cardiff Arms Park.

The Welsh tries came through Jasmine Joyce, Sioned Harries and Carys Phillips, with Robyn Wilkins converting two.

The Welsh pack was dominant throughout and South Africa’s only score came through a try from Lusanda Dumke.

This weekend’s fixtures see Wales take on Hong Kong on Friday 16, while England play Canada and Ireland face USA on Sunday 18.

Tennis

Agnieszka Radwanska has announced her retirement from tennis at the age of 29.

She has admitted that her body is beginning to let her down and feels that now is the right time ,

“Unfortunately I am no longer able to train and play the way I used to, and recently my body can’t live up to my expectations,” she added.

“Taking into consideration my health and the heavy burdens of professional tennis, I have to concede that I’m not able to push my body to the limits required,” she said.

Always a fine player to watch with plenty of subtlety to her game and possibly the best drop-shot out there, she will be missed from the WTA Tour.

At her peak she was world number two to Serena Williams in 2012.  She reached a Wimbledon final and won 20 WTA titles in her 13-year career.

And Finally,

The BT Action Woman 2018 shortlist has been announced: Dina Asher-Smith, Lizzy Yarnold, Fran Kirby, Georgia Hall, Vicky Holland, Laura Kenny, Menna Fitzpatrick & Jen Kehoe and Lucy Bronze.

Voting closes at 11.59pm on 25 November and the ceremony is live on BT Sport on Monday 3 December.

Check out the link here to vote: https://sport.bt.com/action-woman-2018-01364108169407

That’s all for this week.  More news and views next week. 

Women’s Sports Column 27 October – 2 November 2018

Welcome to this week’s column.  I realise that, of late, the column seems to have been getting longer and longer.  While this obviously means that there is a lot of women’s sport out there, it also means that it’s taking me a long time to compile.  At the moment it’s taking me a day and half to write and post.  I enjoy it very much and I hope you do too.  But sometimes it’s a bit of a strain.

Towards Christmas and the end of the year, the column may become more sporadic as I have other commitments to fulfil.  I hope you’ll bear with me and read on.

So, here we go.  Stories this week come from football, hockey, cycling, rugby union, volleyball, cricket, gymnastics, sports politics, netball, sailing and tennis.  Plus the only possible “And Finally” and if you haven’t heard about it it’s a corker – if you have, it’s worth another read.

Let’s crack on.

Netball

Fast5 World Series

New Zealand claimed the Fast5 World Series 2018 title in Melbourne, defeating Jamaica in the final by a single point 34-33.  Ironically, Jamaica were the only team to beat New Zealand in the rounds stage.

In the table, Australia finished third, Malawi fourth, England fifth and South Africa sixth.

Defending champions England had a difficult tournament winning only one of the games in the rounds, losing all three games on day one and gaining their one win against Australia on day two, 29-28.

Australia claimed bronze, defeating Malawi in the play-off 38-15.

England finished fifth, defeating South Africa in the fifth/sixth place play-off 35-33.

Tennis

WTA Finals – Singapore

Elina Svitolina took the WTA Finals singles title in Singapore.  She defeated Sloane Stephens in the final 3-6 6-2 6-2.

It was a miracle that Stephens actually made it to the final.  She lost the first eight games of her semi-final against Karolina Pliskova.  She eventually took the match 0-6 6-4 6-1.

The second semi-final also went to three sets, with Svitolina triumphing over Kiki Bertens 7-5 6-7 6-4.

The doubles title went to second seeds Kristina Mladenovic and Timea Babos as they defeated top seeds Barbora Krejčíková and Kateřina Siniaková 6-4 7-5.

WTA Elite Trophy

The second-tier end of season tournament is taking place this week in Zhuhai.

We are currently only at the group stage.  Keep up with events here:

http://www.wtatennis.com/scores

Cycling

UCI Track World Cup

Great Britain won eight medals at the Cup in Milton, Canada last weekend, of which three golds went to women riders.

The Pursuit team comprising Katie Archibald, Eleanor Dickinson, Laura Kenny and Elinor Barker took gold, defeating Italy in the final.  New Zealand beat Germany to take bronze.

Archibald and Barker also took gold in the madison with Denmark in silver and Canada in bronze.

Laura Kenny won gold in the omnium with Lizbeth Salazar of Mexico in silver and Jennifer Valente of USA in bronze.

Australia took gold in the team sprint, defeating Germany in the final.  Gazprom-Rusvelo took bronze, defeating Netherlands in the bronze medal final.

Alexandra Goncharova of Russia won the scratch race.  Olivija Baleisyte of Lithuania finished second and Jennifer Valente of USA was third.  Eleanor Dickinson was twelfth.

Madalyn Godby of the USA won the keirin.  Stephanie Morton of Australia took silver and Martha Bayona Pineda of Colombia the bronze.

The event comprises six stages with Olympic qualifying points at stake.  The next round is in Berlin at the end of November.

Trek-Drops

There was bad news for women’s cycling this week as British team Trek-Drops announced their new sponsorship deal has fallen through and unless they can find backing they will fold.

In a press release the team said:

“The title sponsor in a cycling team invests the largest proportion of budget and the company pulling out leaves us with a large deficit in our budget for 2019,” said the press release.

“This leaves the future of 12 riders and a number of staff, uncertain.”

Although sponsors Trek had announced in July that they would be forming their own team, Trek-Segafredo, it was thought that their sponsorship of Drops would continue.

But this is no longer the case and Drops have turned to crowdfunding to try to secure their 2019 future.

The campaign was launched on Tuesday morning and the team’s crowdfunding page invites contributions from £50 through to £250,000.  It is time-limited to 15 days.  If you can help check out the page: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/be-part-of-drops-cycling-team#/

Football

England Lionesses

The England squad for the friendlies against Sweden and Austria has been announced.  Neville has included the former USA Under -23 forward Chioma Ubogagu.

Ubogagu was born in London but emigrated to the USA as a child.  She made her professional debut for Arsenal in 2015 and now plays for Brisbane Roar.

The other squad debutantes are Georgia Stanway and Ellie Roebuck.

England squad in full:

Goalkeepers: Mary Earps (Wolfsburg), Ellie Roebuck (Manchester City), Carly Telford (Chelsea)

Defenders: Hannah Blundell (Chelsea), Millie Bright (Chelsea), Lucy Bronze (Lyon), Gabby George (Everton), Alex Greenwood (Manchester United), Steph Houghton (Manchester City), Abbie McManus (Manchester City), Leah Williamson (Arsenal)

Midfielders: Isobel Christiansen (Lyon), Fran Kirby (Chelsea), Jordan Nobbs (Arsenal), Jill Scott (Manchester City), Lucy Staniforth (Birmingham City), Georgia Stanway (Manchester City), Keira Walsh (Manchester City)

Forwards: Rachel Daly (Houston Dash), Toni Duggan (Barcelona), Beth Mead (Arsenal), Nikita Parris (Manchester City), Chioma Ubogagu (Brisbane Roar, on loan from Orlando Pride)

Champions League

After a tense first leg two weeks ago, Chelsea turned on the style in Florence to go through to the Champions League quarter-finals.  The other British side left in the competition, however, Glasgow City, bowed out as they were well beaten by Barcelona.

Fiorentina 0-6 Chelsea
Chelsea win 7-0 on aggregate

A hat-trick from Fran Kirby was the highlight of a fine Chelsea performance that saw them through to the next round.  Chelsea opened the scoring in the 24^th minute through Drew Spence.  Fran Kirby scored her first and Chelsea’s second in the 38^th and they went in two-up at the break.  In the second-half Kirby got her second through a penalty and Erin Cuthbert scored the fourth.  Kirby grabbed her hat-trick just past the half-hour and Ramona Bachmann bagged the sixth on 67 minutes.  Chelsea had to play the last fifteen minutes with ten players as Millie Bright was sent off for a professional foul, but by then the tie was effectively over.

Glasgow City 0-3 Barcelona
Barcelona win 8-0 on aggregate

The damage had already been done in Barcelona and the chances of Glasgow pulling off a shock win were slim.  But they gave it everything they had from beginning to end.  England striker Toni Duggan bagged two, in the 13^th and 51^st minute while Alexia Putellas scored in the 48^th, between the two Duggan goals, to take Barcelona through 8-0.

Brondby 0-2 LSK
LSK win 3-1 on aggregate

Bayern 3-0 Zurich
Bayern win 5-0 on aggregate

Paris 3-2 Linkoping
Paris win 5-2 on aggregate

Slavia Praha 0-0 Rosengard
Slavia Praha win 3-2 on aggregate

Lyon 9-0 Ajax
Lyon win 13-0 on aggregate

Atletico Madrid 0-6 Wolfsburg
Wolfsburg win 10-0 on aggregate

The quarter-final draw is on 9 November.

FAWSL

Friday 26 October

Manchester City 1-1 Reading
Stanway 33’
Moore 50’

Sunday 28 October

Bristol City 0-4 Arsenal
Nobbs 14’, Miedema 41’ 88’, van de Donk 90’

Brighton & Hove Albion 2-1 Yeovil Town
Brett 13’, Williams 32’
Mason 69’

Everton 1-2 West Ham
Walker 5’
Ross 27’, Lehmann 45’

Chelsea 1-0 Liverpool
Ericsson 27’

So at the top, Arsenal go romping on with six wins from six games and a goal difference of +31.  As Manchester City could only draw, they are now three points behind in second on 15, having played a game more, with Birmingham City in third with 13 points from six games.

At the bottom, there was still no joy for Yeovil and they remain pointless.  Everton are just above them with two and Brighton third from bottom on four points.

FAWC

Sunday 28 October

Leicester City v Manchester Utd
Postponed due to the dreadful events in Leicester on Saturday evening

Millwall Lionesses 0-8 Charlton Athletic
Ejupi 24’ 31’ 44’ 59’, Agg 26’, Gur 45’, Bowers 58’, Graham 87’

Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 Aston Villa
Neville 41’, Dean 82’ (PEN)
Welsh 7’

Crystal Palace 0-1 Sheffield United
Pennock 34’

London Bees 0-1 Durham
Hepple 19’

Tottenham keep up their 100% record in the Championship, with six wins from six games.  Manchester United are second with 13 points from five and Charlton are third on the same points but having played a game more.

At the bottom, Millwall have only one point and Aston Villa are just above them with two.  Both teams have played six games.

Football – off the Pitch

Liverpool Women’s new manager is Vicky Jepson.  Former England goalkeeper, Chris Kirkland, will be assistant coach and goalkeeping coach.

Jepson takes over from Neil Redfearn, who resigned in September.  She has been caretaker manager since then.

Jepson has been with Liverpool since 2009, and has, up to this point, been development squad manager.

There was more good news for Arsenal this week as Joe Montemurro signed a new long-term contract with the club.

The length of the contract has not been disclosed, but the buzz around the club is palpable and this news is another boon for the Gunners.

Hockey

Investec Women’s Hockey League Premier Division

Last weekend’s results looked like this:

Beeston 1-3 Surbiton
Canterbury 0-4 Buckingham
East Grinstead 1-0 Clifton Robinsons
Bowdon 2-2 University of Birmingham
Slough 2-1 Holcombe

Surbiton are now five points ahead at the top with five wins from six games.  Buckingham lie second with 11 points and East Grinstead third on ten.

At the bottom, Bowdon and Canterbury both have three points from six games with Bowdon at the foot on goal difference.

This weekend’s fixtures:

3 November
Clifton Robinsons v Bowdon (1pm, Coombe Dingle P1)
University of Birmingham v Holcombe (1.30pm, Birmingham Uni, P1)
Beeston v Slough (2pm, Nottingham Hockey, P1)
East Grinstead v Canterbury (4pm, East Grinstead HC)
Surbiton v Buckingham (4pm, Surbiton HC Water)

Rugby Union – off the Pitch

Heather Fisher has signed for Gloucester-Hartpury Women on a short-term contract.  Fisher had recently announced she is to take a break from international rugby.

In an interview featured on the excellent website womenseliterugby.com Fisher said,

“I think everyone’s aware that I’ve taken a few months out of the game just to get my physical and mental state back to where it needed to be to get back to international level.

“I came here to Hartpury to do commentary last weekend, and I realised that I missed that team environment. I watched them playing and I thought to myself that I could see myself playing a few games.

“Part of the love for playing rugby is playing with your mates. I know the likes of Kelly Smith and Millie Wood from Sevens, and a few of the Welshies and some girls who used to play for Worcester.

“I watched them last weekend and they play with a bit of dog, they don’t give up, they keep going right until the very end, I like the style they play. I left thinking ‘Could I play?’ You know what, let’s just see what happens.”

Rugby Union – on the Pitch

Last weekend’s Premier 15s results:

27 October
Firwood Waterloo 20-51 Loughborough Lightning
Worcester Valkyries 10-50 Bristol Bears
DMP Sharks 0-38 Wasps

28 October
Richmond 10-40 Harlequins
Saracens 48-24 Gloucester-Hartpury

It’s played seven, won seven for Loughborough Lightning and they sit top with 34 points.  Saracens are second with 30 and Harlequins three further back on 27.

At the bottom, Worcester still only have two points and will not be buoyed by the thought of facing Lightning in Loughborough on Saturday.  Just above them are Firwood Waterloo with five points from seven games.

This weekend’s fixtures:

3 November
Loughborough Lightning v Worcester Valkyries (12pm Loughborough Uni)
Gloucester-Hartpury v Richmond (2pm)
Firwood Waterloo v DMP Sharks (2pm, Firwood Waterloo RFC)
Bristol Bears v Saracens (2.30pm, Shaftsbury Park)

4 November
Harlequins v Wasps (4.30pm, The Stoop)

Volleyball

Last week’s Women’s Super League results:

 27 October
London Orcas 3-0 Sheffield Hallam (25-24, 25-18, 25-23)
Durham Palatinates 3-0 Polonia SideOut London (25-14, 25-12, 25-19)
Birmingham Volleyball Club1 1-3 TeamBU Wessex (25-23, 25-17, 24-26, 25-19)

 28 October
Bristol VC1 0-3 Tendring VC Ladies (25-16, 25-12, 25-17)

Durham have won three from three and are top with nine points.  London Orcas are second on eight.

At the bottom Polonia and Birmingham have yet to register a point, Polonia from three games and Birmingham from two.

Sports Politics

Sports Minister Tracey Crouch has resigned over the delay to introducing a cut in the maximum stakes for fixed-odds betting machines from £100 to £2.

In Monday’s budget Chancellor Philip Hammond said the cut would now be enforced in October 2019.

Crouch said that pushing back the date was “unjustifiable” and has resigned.

I may not be of Crouch’s political colours, but she has been a good Sports Minister and it has been excellent to have a woman in the role.  I also admire her stand over this issue.  I discussed the stance of Scotland’s women’s football a few weeks ago when they stated they were not going to accept sponsorship or advertising from betting sites.  It’s a plague in this country.  But while we have those willing to stick to their principles let’s hope that eventually the constant bombardment that we receive when watching (or listening to) sport may at some point have had its day.

Gymnastics –World Championships

Simone Biles does it again.  She won her fourth all-around title at the world Championships in Doha.

Not only did she do this, but she did it falling twice in the process and while suffering with a kidney stone.

Biles fluffed her landing in the vault and fell from the beam but still took the title with 57.491 points, 1.693 points ahead of Mai Mukarami of Japan, who took silver.  Morgan Hurd of the USA took the bronze.

Britain’s Ellie Downie finished 11^th after a long lay-off with an ankle injury.

The individual apparatus finals take place this weekend.

Sunday Times Women’s Sportswoman of the Year

Last night (Thursday 2 November) saw the SWOTY awards.

Dina Asher-Smith won the main award.  Lizzy Yarnold was second and Katie Archibald, third.  Also nominated were Georgia Hall, Rachel Atherton and Vicky Holland.

The England Roses Commonwealth Games winning team won Team of the Year.

Georgia Hall, winner of this year’s Women’s British Open was named Young Sportswoman of the Year.

Menna Fitzpatrick (thanks Sunday Times for tweeting that “Mina” Fitzpatrick” had won), along with guide Jen Kehoe won the Disability Sportswoman of the Year award.

Jennie Price, the outgoing Chief Executive of Sport England, was given the Lifetime Achievement award.

Triathlete Trish Deykin won the Helen Rollason Award for Inspiration and Alex Paske the Grassroots Award.  Paske, from Stamford in Lincolnshire, founded MIntridge Events when she was just 24.  It aims to increase young people’s sports participation, enhance their life skills and promote their knowledge of health and wellbeing.

Cricket

Don’t forget the Women’s T20 World Cup begins next Friday, 9 November.  You can follow it on Sky Sports and via BBC Radio Test Match Special.  I’m away next week, but there will be plenty of news and results in a fortnight.

And Finally,

It had to be, didn’t it?  In a way I hope you’ve all seen this already, but if you haven’t, it’s possibly the classic to end all classics as regards sexism in sport, why so many women give up on sport so early and why they are reluctant to return later on.

Many thanks to journalist and campaigner Anna Kessel (@Anna_Kessel) for tweeting about this and, of course, to Simone Webb (@SimoneWebbUCL), who had to bring it to Swim England’s attention in the first place.

Hats off to Swim England – you really are the “best”.

Swim England, the governing body for swimming in England, has a campaign to get people swimming.  It’s called “Just Swim”.  So far, so good.  However, when Simone Webb was considering taking up swimming after a long period away from the sport, when she consulted “Just Swim”, she found that some of the advice was, how shall we put it?  Less than helpful, perhaps?

In a piece entitled “Guide to Choosing Swimwear for Women” she found the following juicy morsels;

“If your body is short in proportion to your legs, you will want a swimsuit that gives the impression of litheness”

“A pear shape has often been the plague of women, but it no longer needs to be so.”

“…try pairing an eye-catching bikini or tankini top with subdued bottoms in a dark colour.  This type of swimsuit will draw attention toward your more appealing characteristics.”

“To add curves and subtle cleavage to a small bust, look for a bikini top with triangle-shaped cups and a tie-front.”

“Boyish body.  Try push-up cups and twisted bandeaux to enhance your cleavage.”

Perhaps all this means if I get it right I’ll be able to swim like Becky Adlington?  Perhaps not.

Unfortunately, by the time I’d got there the piece had been taken down – I would have loved to have read it in full.  Swim England’s response was somewhat bizarre; apparently the piece had been there since 2010, but they were unaware of it.  They have since apologised.

And, and finally,

Congratulations to one of my favourite contacts in sailing, Dee Caffari, for being shortlisted for the Pro Sailor of the Year award in the British Yachting Awards 2018.  It’s a formidable shortlist as Dee is up against Carolijn Brouwer, Charlie Crumbly, Phil Sharp, Sophie Weguelin & Sophie Ainsworth and Wendy Tuck (5 women in the shortlist!).  If sailing’s your thing and you would like to vote check it out here https://www.britishyachtingawards.com/pro-sailor-of-the-year/

I’m away next week, but I’ll be back in a fortnight, by which time the World T20 will be in full swing.  Can anybody stop the Southern Stars?

Women’s Sports Column 20-26 October 2018

Welcome to this week’s column.  Plenty to get through yet again with stories from rugby union, football, cricket, tennis, athletics, hockey, volleyball, golf, netball, boxing and taekwondo, plus the result of the Young Sportsperson of the Year award winner.   Also, from the seriousness of last week’s “And Finally” we come to the ridiculous of this week’s….

Let’s crack on.

Tennis – on the Court

Kremlin Cup

Jo Konta couldn’t quite make it to the final of the Kremlin Cup, succumbing to eventual winner and sixth seed Daria Kasatkina, 6-4 6-3.  In the other semi-final Ons Jabeur beat fifth seed Anastasija Sevastova 6-3 3-6 6-3.

Daria Kasatkina won the final, 2-6 7-6 6-4.

Luxembourg Open

In the Luxembourg Open semi-finals, Belinda Bencic defeated ninth seed Dayana Yastremska 6-2 3-6 7-6 and top seed Julia Goerges beat Eugenie Bouchard 6-7  7-5 6-1.

Goerges went on to win the final 6-4 7-5.

WTA Finals

Of course all eyes are now on Singapore and the fierce competition at the end of season finals.

Red Group:
Angelique Kerber
Naomi Osaka
Sloane Stephens
Kiki Bertens

Matches so far:
Stephens beat Osaka 7-5 4-6 6-1
Bertens beat Kerber 1-6 6-3 6-4
Kerber beat Osaka 6-4 5-7 6-4
Stephens beat Bertens 7-6(4) 2-6 6-3

White Group
Caroline Wozniacki
Petra Kvitova
Elina Svitolina
Karolina Pliskova

Matches so far:
Svitolina beat Kvitova 6-3 6-3
Pliskova beat Wozniacki 6-2 6-4
Wozniacki beat Kvitova 7-5 3-6 6-2
Svitolina beat Pliskova 6-3 2-6 6-3
Pliskova beat Kvitova 6-3 6-4
Svitolina beat Wozniacki 5-7 7-5 6-3

More news of who eventually triumphed next week.

Tennis – off the Court

After her exit from the WTA Finals at the group stage, Caroline Wozniacki has revealed that she was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis in August.

She said,

“In the beginning, it was a shock.  It’s obviously not ideal for anybody, and I think when you’re a professional athlete, it’s also not even more ideal.

“I think I didn’t want to talk about it during the year because I don’t want to give anyone the edge or thinking that I’m not feeling well, but I have been feeling well.

“You learn how to just cope after matches. Some days you wake up and you can’t get out of bed and you just have to know that’s how it is, but other days you live and you’re fine. You don’t even feel like you have it.”

There is no cure, but the symptoms of pain and swelling in the joints can be relieved by medication and treatment.

We cannot know at this stage just how and how fast the condition will progress, but Wozniacki is determined to fight through as far as she is able.

Taekwondo

There were a series of excellent results for British women at the World Taekwondo Grand Prix in Manchester over the weekend.

First, Lauren Williams won gold in the -68kg division, beating Matea Jelic of Croatia in the final 15-10.

Then Bianca Walkden took silver in the +67kg category, losing 6-4 to Olympic champion Zheng Shuyin of China in the final.

And finally, two-time Olympic champion, Jade Jones, won the -57kg title, beating Zhou Lijun of China 11-4 in the final.

Volleyball

Two weeks of Women’s Super League results to catch up on:

13 October
Tendring VC Ladies 3-0 Sheffield Hallam (25-16, 25-19, 25-15)
Polonia SideOut London 0-3 London Orcas (17-25, 10-25, 10-25)
Durham Palatinates 3-0 Bristol VC 1 (25-12, 25-4, 25-8)
Malory Eagles UEL 3-0 Birmingham Volleyball Club 1 (25-22, 22-14, 25-9)

20 October
Sheffield Hallam 3-0 Bristol VC 1 (25-17, 25-14, 25-12)
Team BU Wessex 0-3 Durham Palatinates (25-15, 25-19, 25-11)
Malory Eagles UEL 3-0 Polonia SideOut London (25-13, 26-24, 25-12)

Most teams have now played two games.  Durham are top with two wins from two with Malory Eagles second, also with two wins from two but with an inferior points quotient.  Three teams have no points, Polonia from two games and Birmingham and Wessex from only one.

Football

Last weekend’s Super League results:

Yeovil Town 1-2 Bristol City
Gaylor 33’
Graham 32’, 73’

Brighton & Hove Albion 0-6 Manchester City
Stanway 21’ 64’ 68’, Weir 43’, Parris 87’, Emslie 91’

Birmingham City 0-0 Chelsea

West Ham 0-1 Liverpool
Sweetman-Kirk 7’

Reading 0-6 Arsenal
Miedema 3’ 49’ 85’, Nobbs 7’, Mead 47’, Van de Donk 76’

It’s as you were at the top with another big win for Arsenal.  Five wins from five for the Gunners and a massive +24 goal difference.  Manchester City are second with 14 from six games and Birmingham third with 13, also from six.  At the bottom, Yeovil are still without a point and Brighton sit just above them with one point from six games.

Championship results:

London Bees 3-2 Lewes
Beckett 11’ 44’, Gould 63’
Quayle 17’, Kempson 26’

Charlton Athletic 2-0 Sheffield United
Stobbs 42’, Clifford 72’

Durham 2-0 Crystal Palace
Roberts 57’, Watling 89’ OG

Leicester City 1-1 Aston Villa
Axten 43’ (Pen)
Hutton 20’

Tottenham Hotspur 8-0 Millwall Lionesses
Addison 21’ 83’, Dean 29’ 50’ 71’, Wiltshire 30’, Neville 37’, Baptiste 62’

Tottenham are top of the Championship with their stunning 8-0 win over the Lionesses.  They have 15 points from five games.  Manchester United are second with 13 from five.  At the bottom, Millwall have a single point from five games and Aston Villa are just above them on two from five.

World Cup Build-up

More friendlies have been announced this week.

Scotland will play USA in Paisley on 13 November.  It will be the US’s first game in Scotland.  The question is, can the US do it on a wet Tuesday in Paisley?

England, meanwhile, will face Austria in Vienna on Thursday 8 November and then Sweden at Rotherham’s New York stadium on Sunday 11 November.

Hockey – on the Pitch

Investec Women’s Hockey League Premier Division

20 October
Surbiton 6-0 Bowdon

21 October
Holcombe 1-2 East Grinstead
Clifton Robinsons 1-1 Slough
Buckingham 1-2 Beeston
University of Birmingham 1-1 Canterbury

Surbiton march on.  Four wins from five and top of the table with 13 points.  Holcombe and East Grinstead lie second and third on 10 points.  Bowdon are bottom on two points.  Slough also have two points but are second from bottom on goal difference.

This weekend’s fixtures:

Saturday 27 October
Slough v Holcombe (12.30pm, Slough Hockey Club)
Bowdon v University of Birmingham (13.45pm, Bowdon Club)
East Grinstead v Clifton Robinsons (2pm, East Grinstead Hockey Club)
Beeston v Surbiton (4pm, Nottingham Hockey Club P1)
Canterbury v Buckingham (4pm, Polo Farm SC – P1)

Hockey – off the Pitch            

Women’s Hockey will finally have a new European league, launching in 2020.

The men’s league, which features the top 24 teams in Europe, has been in existence since 2007.

European Hockey is yet to finalise details, but it’s a great move and one that has been a long time coming.  We look to hockey to be a leader in sporting equality, so it is good to see that the women will, at last, get their chance.

Rugby Union – Off the Pitch

The long-running dispute between Coleraine Rugby club and Ulster Rugby seems to be at an end.  The authorities have now fined the club £5,000 for the incident in which a female referee was verbally abused at the club last season.

Colleagues of the referee, thought to be Grainne Crabtree, staged a protest and refused to officiate at Coleraine’s home matches until a satisfactory result had been reached.  They have now ended this protest, but it still is not clear whether the official has received an apology from the club.

The club has refused to comment as to what reparations have been made.

In a statement, the club somewhat disingenuously said,

“Coleraine Rugby Club is pleased that there has been a resolution to the long-running dispute involving rugby’s Ulster Branch Referees Society and the club,” a spokesperson said.

“The club has accepted the decision of the Ulster Branch review into this matter.

“We are now looking forward to giving a warm welcome to all referees and teams visiting our club for matches this week and in the future.”

It is unlikely that we will ever know just what the “resolution” has been.

Rugby Union – on the Pitch

Last weekend’s Premier 15s results were as follows:

20 October 2018
Wasps Ladies 31-15 Richmond Women
Loughborough Lightning 59-3 DMP Sharks
Gloucester-Hartpury 67-3 Worcester Valkyries
Harlequins 20-17 Saracens
Bristol Bears 75-13 Firwood Waterloo

It was a chastening weekend for both Worcester and Firwood Waterloo at the bottom, while at the top a shock defeat for Saracens sees a new leader.  Loughborough Lightning are now top with six wins from six and 29 points, including five bonus points.  Saracens are second with 25 and Harlequins third on 22.  At the bottom, there is no respite for Worcester who still have only two bonus points and Firwood Waterloo just above them on five.

This weekend’s fixtures:

27 October
Firwood Waterloo v Loughborough Lightning (12.30pm, Firwood Waterloo Rugby Club)
Worcester Valkyries v Bristol Bears (2pm, Sixways Stadium)
DMP Sharks v Wasps Ladies (5pm, Northern Echo Arena)

28 October
Richmond Women v Harlequins (3.30pm, Richmond Athletic Ground)
Saracens v Gloucester-Hartpury (3.45pm, Allianz Park)

Rugby Sevens

New Zealand powered their way to yet another win in the World Rugby Women’s Sevens Series in Glendale, Colorado.

They defeated USA 33-7 in the final.  There was a hat-trick of tries for Portia Woodman, and one each for Sarah Goss and Niall Williams.  Tyla Nathan-Wong kicked four conversions.  The US scored one try, through Nicole Heavirland which was converted by Alev Kelter.

Canada beat France 28-0 in the bronze final.

Australia took fifth, beating Ireland in the fifth place play-off 21-19 and England finished eighth, beaten in the seventh place play-off by Russia 17-14.

The next round is in Dubai on 29-30 November.

Boxing

Katie Taylor retained her IBF and WBA titles at the weekend with a unanimous points victory over Cindy Serrano in Boston.

Taylor has now won all 11 fights since turning professional in2016.

BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year

Kare Adenegan has been named 2018 BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year.

Adenegan has had a storming year, taking Hannah Cockcroft’s world record in the T34 100m.  She also took gold in the same event at the Para-athletics European games in Berlin, again beating Cockcroft in the process and also took silver in the T34 800m.

The original shortlist was whittled down to three, the other two being swimmer Freya Anderson and jockey James Bowen.

The shortlist and winner were chosen by a panel including BBC presenters, current and former sporting stars and two representatives from the Youth Sport Trust.

Athletics

Great South Run

Eilish McColgan won the Great South Run at her first attempt last weekend.

The race, run over 10 miles (16 km) was held in Portsmouth and Southsea.

McColgan won in a time of 54:43 with Steph Twell in second in 55:15 and last year’s champion Gemma Steel in third in a time of 56:56.

Netball

England Netball Investment

We all know that the seemingly best-supported women’s sport actually usually hangs precariously over a precipice, so news of any investment is welcome.

In January England Netball revealed it had a shortfall in funding which could have resulted in cuts to the England programme, but this week came the announcement that Vitality will extend its sponsorship of English netball for another three years.

Joanna Adams, Chief Executive of England Netball said,

“We want netball to be a career, and a career option for players and coaches. We want it to be a fully professional sport with a fully professional Superleague and we want to keep our young athletes in netball.

“As women’s football, cricket and rugby grow, we just can’t be left behind as a sport.”

“The Australian league is still the best in the world,” Adams added.

“But in the next three to four years we want to be as competitive as Australia, we want our top English stars playing in this league and we want to attract some of the top internationals too.

“We need more investment in Superleague so it is a similar environment to the national squad.”

So the immediate future for netball in England is bright.  I’m not sure about the England team being now known as the “Vitality Roses”, but needs must, I suppose.  Possibly marginally less bizarre than the Samsung Diamonds….

Fast 5 World Series

This weekend sees the third edition of the Fast 5 World Series.  It takes place at the Melbourne Arena in Melbourne, Australia on 27-28 October.

New Zealand won the first event in 2016 and England the second in 2017.  This will be the third and last time (for now) that the tournament will be held in Australia.

All teams will play six 24 minute games across the two-day series. Each team will feature on both days of competition, with finals held on Sunday.

The countries taking part are Australia, New Zealand, England, Malawi, Jamaica and South Africa.

The whole event is live on Sky Sports.

Cricket

Australia sealed a 3-0 win over Pakistan in their ODI series this week.  After skittling Pakistan for 95 in the first ODI, they pressed home their advantage to take the series easily.

Second ODI – Kuala Lumpur
20 October
Australia 273/7 (50 overs)
Pakistan 123 all out (40.1 overs)
Australia won by 150 runs

Captain Meg Lanning hit 124 and put on a stand of 181 runs with Rachael Haynes, who scored 79 as the Southern Stars made a fine 273/7 in their 50 overs.

In response Nahida Khan made 66, but no-one else could muster a score as Pakistan were all out for 123.  Sophie Molineux took 4/14 off nine overs.  Ash Gardner and Megan Schutt took two wickets each.

Third ODI – Kuala Lumpur
22 October
Australia 324/7 (50 overs)
Pakistan 235/7 (50 overs)
Australia won by 89 runs

Alyssa Healy fell three short of a century before she was bowled by Diana Baig.  Nicole Bolton was the only player to miss out, lbw for a duck to Sana Mir.  Everyone else got into double figures as the Australians put on an imposing 324/7.  Sana Mir took 3/53 from her 10 overs, and in doing so became number one ranked bowler in women’s ODIs.

Pakistan started well in response.  They had reached 49 before the first wicket fell, Muneeba Ali caught by Molineux off Gardner for 15.

Most of the Pakistanis got starts, but they soon fell behind the required rate.  Aliya Riaz top-scored with 51, but Pakistan fell short by 89 runs.  Gardner was again in the wickets, taking 3/44 off her 10 overs.

Golf – on the Course

Indian Open

Becky Morgan won her first professional tournament at the weekend, at the 119th time of asking.  She took the Indian Open title by two shots, finishing on -7.  Caroline Hedwall (Swe), Christine Wolf (Aut), Nicole Broch Larsen (Den) and Felicity Johnson (Eng) tied for second on -5.

In her 18-year professional career Morgan has had 22 top-10 finishes.

Golf – off the Course

The fourth oldest golf club in the world, the Bruntsfield Links Golfing Society in Edinburgh, has voted to accept women members.  It has only taken them 257 years.

The club announced that 83.7% of members who voted were in favour of admitting women. The turnout was 67%.

We’re getting there, folks.

And Finally

The judging panel for World Rugby’s Women’s 15s Player of the Year has been announced.  And you couldn’t make it up.  Maggie Alphonsi (so far, so good), then it’s Fabien Galthié, George Gregan, Richie McCaw, Brian O’Driscoll, Agustín Pichot, John Smit and Clive Woodward.  Hmmm.  Call me cynical (and I’m not the only one), but how many of these esteemed names will have watched enough women’s rugby to reach an informed decision on this issue?  Well, probably one.

This is the governing body that not so long ago, last year in fact, produced its strategy for women and girls’ rugby, Accelerating the Global Development of Women in Rugby 2017-25.  Obviously the strategy doesn’t extend to participation on judging panels.

Of course I’m not saying that men don’t watch women’s rugby, but these seven?  I don’t think so.  Could they not at least have a fifty-fifty male/female split?  Obviously not.  But good luck to the poor souls that have to provide the panel with its crib notes so that they can come to a Verdict.

Come on World Rugby, you can do better. Can’t you?

More news and views next week.

Women’s Sports Column 13-19 October 2018

Welcome to this week’s column.  The motorsport issue is still causing fierce debate, but there’s so much more to offer this week with stories from winter sports, hockey, rugby league and union, netball, football, gymnastics, athletics, golf, tennis and cricket!  Unfortunately, also two disturbing and despicable “and finally” items this week.

So let’s crack on….

Winter Sports

The biggest story this week, as regards British athletes, has to be that Lizzy Yarnold, two time Olympic gold medallist, has announced her retirement from the skeleton.

She is Britain’s most decorated Winter Olympian, having defended the title she won in 2014 at Pyeongchang in 2018.  She also won World Championship gold in 2015 and bronze in 2012 and 2017, World Cup gold in 2013-14 and silver in 2014-15 and European Championship gold in 2015.

It is no secret that the skeleton has taken its toll on her body, with her back and knees taking the brunt of this punishing sport.  She also suffers from vestibular disorder which affects her inner ear and brain, causing dizziness.

Yarnold’s decision may have been hastened by former teammate Amy Williams’ revelation that her skeleton career has caused her so much back and knee pain that she has had to sell her house and move into a bungalow.

Whatever the reason, there is no doubt that Yarnold is a brilliant role-model for would-be winter sports athletes and I’m sure she’ll stay involved in sport, perhaps working with youngsters and their motivation and I would like to offer my congratulations to her on a stunning career.

Rugby League – Super League Grand Final

Leeds Rhinos 16-18 Wigan Warriors

Wigan defeated Leeds Rhinos in the Grand final on Saturday with a penalty in the last minute.

Leeds took the lead through Rhiannon Marshall, but Wigan were ahead at the break 8-6.  Rachel Thompson scored a hat-trick of tries and Georgia Wilson one try as Wigan pulled 10 points ahead.

But Leeds were not done.  They drew level to 16 points all with tries from Caitlin Beevers and Suze Hill with two goals from Courtney Hill.

With one minute to go, Wigan were awarded a penalty and Charlotte Foley calmly slotted it home to take the two points and the game.

Leeds have still had a great season, winning the League Leaders’ Shield and the Challenge Cup.

Tennis – on the court

Kremlin Cup

Jo Konta is through to the semi-finals of the Kremlin Cup.  She had a fine win in the first round of the beating seventh seed Elise Mertens 6-3 7-5.  In the round of 16 she defeated Daria Gavrilova in three sets 6-4 3-6 6-3 and in the quarter-final she overcame Aliaksandra Sasnovich 6-2 2-6 7-6.

She faces sixth seed Daria Kasatkina in the semi-final.  The first semi is between Ons Jabeur and fifth seed Anastasija Sevastova.

Luxembourg Open

We are also at the semi-final stage of the Luxembourg Open where top seed Julia Goerges meets Eugenie Bouchard and Belinda Bencic comes up against ninth seed Dayana Yastremska.

Tennis – off the court

Britain’s Katie Boulter is into the top 100 of the WTA world rankings for the first time.

Last week she lost at the quarter-final stage of the Tianjin Open to world number six Karolina Pliskova.

Now the 22-year old from Leicester is ranked 96 in the world.

Race to Singapore

She was due to be number one seed at the WTA Finals which begin on 21 October, but Simona Halep has had to withdraw due to her ongoing back injury.  Kiki Bertens, who finished ninth in qualifying, takes her place.  The full line-up is as follows:

(1. Simona Halep)

Angelique Kerber
Caroline Wozniacki
Naomi Osaka
Petra Kvitova
Sloane Stephens
Elina Svitolina
Karolina Pliskova
Kiki Bertens

Gymnastics

After the hideousness of the Larry Nassar scandal, it is up to USA Gymnastics to get its house in order, and quickly.  Unfortunately, it seems they have failed spectacularly this week.

It had appointed Mary Bono as interim head, but after objections by Olympic champions Simone Biles and Aly Raisman, Bono has resigned after just four days in post.

First Biles criticised Bono for appearing to oppose Nike’s Colin Kaepernick advertising campaign.

Bono has responded that she did not oppose the campaign because of Kaepernick’s stance over racial injustice, but because of the slogan “Believe in something. Even if it means sacrificing everything”.  She said she was responding as someone who has lost family serving in the armed forces – the ultimate sacrifice.

But it Raisman has also raised the issue that Bono was a solicitor at the law firm that represented Larry Nassar in 2015.  Bono did not represent him directly, but the firm and the sport’s administrators were aware of abuse allegations at the time.

Nassar was sentenced to 300 years in prison for child pornography and sexual abuse charges.  He abused both Biles and Raisman while coaching for USA Gymnastics.

Time for USA Gymnastics to think again.

Football

World Cup Qualifying

Three more countries qualified for next year’s World Cup this week.  The USA and Canada qualified from the CONCACAF Women’s Championship as finalists.  USA beat Canada 2-0 in the final with goals from Rose Lavelle in the second minute and Alex Morgan in the 89^th.

There was an historic result in the third-place play-off as Jamaica defeated Panama 4-2 to qualify for their first World Cup finals.  The match ended 2-2 in normal time and the deadlock still could not be broken in extra-time.  So it went to penalties.  Jamaica coach, Hue Menzies, took off the first-choice goalkeeper in the last minute of extra time to bring on Nicole Mcclure, a renowned shot-stopper, a manoeuvre that paid off as Mcclure saved two penalties while the Jamaicans scored all their four.

Panama still have a chance to qualify, but they have to beat Argentina, who finished third in the Copa America Femenina.  First leg is Monday 5 November and the second is just over a week later on Tuesday 13.  Brazil and Chile have qualified for next year’s finals after finishing top and second respectively.

Champions League

Chelsea 1-0 Fiorentina

Chelsea may rue their missed chances when it comes to the second leg in Florence in two weeks.  Emma Hayes had made seven changes to the team that were demolished 5-0 by Arsenal at the weekend.

Chelsea played well and were most often on the front foot, with chances for Fran Kirby, Ramona Bachmann (who ran and ran all night) and Millie Bright.

The only goal of the game came from Karen Carney from the penalty spot on eight minutes.

Fiorentina seemed happy to sit back and try to hit Chelsea on the break, but in truth it would have been most unjust if they had scored an equaliser.

Some fine goalkeeping from Fiorentina’s Stephanie Öhrström kept the score down and Fiorentina will go into the second leg confident of overturning the 1-0 deficit.

Barcelona 5-0 Glasgow City

Glasgow contributed to their own downfall with a series of mistakes and now the tie seems to be over.

Barcelona were three-up at half-time with goals from Kheira Hamraoui, Aitana Bonmati and Patricia Guijarro.  After the break the onslaught continued and two more goals from Andressa Alves and Maria Leon ensured a thumping first leg win for the Spanish team.

Other Champions League scores:

Wolfsburg 4-0 Atletico Madrid
Zurich 0-2 Bayern Munich
Ajax 0-4 Lyon (a goal for Izzy Christiansen for Lyon in this match)
FC Rosengard 2-3 Slavia Praha
Linkoping 0-2 Paris St Germain
Lillestrom SK 1-1 Brondby

The Round of 16 second leg matches are 31 October and 1 November.

Football – English Domestic

Arsenal are on Fire, as the current idiom would have it.  They put five past Chelsea at the weekend away from home to stay top of the table, but they need to watch out as Manchester City also seems to be hitting their straps at last.

Super League Results from Sunday 14 October:

Bristol City 0-1 Birmingham City
Mannion 75’

Everton 3-3 Brighton & Hove Albion
Kaagman 27’, George 46’, Kelly 70’
Buet 2’, Brazil 75’ 78’

Liverpool 2-1 Yeovil Town
Linnett 18’, Clarke 87’
Heatherson 28’

Manchester City 7-1 West Ham United
Weir 2’, Parris 7’ 17’, Stanway 72’ 80’, Houghton 76’, Wullaert 86’
De Graaf 82’

Chelsea 0-5 Arsenal
Little 21’ (pen), Miedema 38’ 57’, Nobbs 52’ 67’

On the negative side for Arsenal, Scotland striker Kim Little fractured her leg in the match and will be out for approximately 10 weeks.  According to social media it was a bad tackle by Drew Spence that took her out and she should have been red carded, although she was only booked.

Arsenal are top from Birmingham City on goal difference.  Both teams have 12 points, the Gunners from four games and the Blues from five.  Manchester City are a point behind in third.  At the bottom, Yeovil are still without a point and Brighton are above them with just one.

Championship results from 14 October:

Millwall Lionesses 1-2 Leicester City
Lumsden 20’
Axten 61’ 77’

Crystal Palace 1-0 London Bees
Hincks 21’

Aston Villa 0-0 Durham

Lewes 1-3 Tottenham Hotspur
Kempson 14’
Baptiste 16’, Dean 32’ 45’

Manchester United 3-0 Charlton Athletic
Zelem 16’, Sigsworth 57’, Arnott 75’

Who can stop Manchester United from running away with it?  They are top with 13 points from five games.  Spurs are second a point behind, but from four games, and Leicester are third with nine from five.  At the bottom, Villa and Millwall have a point each but Villa have a terrible goal difference (-17).

Athletics

Don’t say I didn’t warn you.  The introduction of the IAAF’s new testosterone rules has had to be delayed due to a legal challenge from Athletics South African (ASA) and 800m runner Caster Semenya.

The new ruling was due to come in on 1 November, but that has now been put back to 26 March 2019.

However, the ruling states that female athletes have to keep their testosterone levels below the prescribed amount for at least six months before competing.

This means that the athletes affected (primarily Semenya), will not be allowed to run for six months from the date the rule comes in.  If the March date happens, six months from then will be 26 September, just one day before the start of the World Athletics Championships in Doha.

More to come as it happens.

Hockey

Investec Women’s Hockey league Premier Division

Last weekend’s results were as follows:

Holcombe 2-1 Canterbury
Beeston 4-3 Clifton Robinsons
Surbiton 1-0 University of Birmingham
Slough 0-3 East Grinstead
Buckingham 2-1 Bowdon

So the Surbiton juggernaut rolls on.  They are top on 10 points from four games.  Second are Holcombe with the same points but an inferior goal difference.  Buckingham lie third on eight points.  At the bottom Slough lost again and still have only one point.  Canterbury and Bowdon are just above them with two.

This weekend’s fixtures:

20 October:
Surbiton v Bowdon (12 noon, Surbiton Hockey Club)
University of Birmingham v Canterbury (4pm, Birmingham Uni P1)

21 October
Buckingham v Beeston (12 noon, Stowe School P1)
Clifton Robinsons v Slough (1pm, Coombe Dingle, P1)
Holcombe v East Grinstead (2pm, Holcombe Hockey Club, P1)

Rugby Union

Premier 15s

Last weekend’s Premier 15s results were as follows:

DMP Sharks 15-7 Richmond
Saracens 21-5 Wasps
Loughborough Lightning 36-18 Bristol Bears
Worcester Valkyries 19-69 Harlequins
Firwood Waterloo 10-43 Gloucester-Hartpury

After five games Saracens are top with 24 points.  Loughborough are second with the same number of points but an inferior goal difference.  Harlequins are third on 18.  At the bottom, Worcester have only two points having lost all of their games so far.  Firwood Waterloo lie above them on five.

This weekend’s fixtures are:

20 October
Wasps v Richmond (2pm, Twyford Avenue Sports Ground)
Bristol Bears v Firwood Waterloo (2.30pm, Shaftsbury Park)
Harlequins v Saracens (3pm, Surrey Sports Park)
Gloucester-Hartpury v Worcester Valkyries (4.30pm)
Loughborough Lightning v DMP Sharks (5pm, Loughborough University)

Young Sports Personality of the Year

The shortlist for Young Sports Personality of the Year has been announced.  There are six girls and women in the list of 10:

Kare Adenegan (17) (Para-athletics)
Freya Anderson (17) (Swimming)
Georgia-Mae Fenton (17) (Gymnastics)
Anna Hursey (12) (Table tennis)
Georgia Roche (17) (Rugby League)
Maisie Summers-Newton (16) (Para-Swimming)

Check out the credentials of the contenders here

Netball

A full house at the Copper Box saw Wasps Netball win the second Fast5 Allstars tournament at the weekend.  They beat the benecosMavericks 42-32 in the final.

The series of results were as follows:

Double elimination stage

Loughborough Lightning 19-21 Surrey Storm
Strathclyde Sirens 4-15 Severn Stars
Team Bath 23-18 Manchester Thunder
benecosMavericks 31-41 Wasps Netball
Surrey Storm 12-28 Severn Stars
Team Bath 23-37 Wasps Netball
Loughborough Lightning 32-28 Strathclyde Sirens
Manchester Thunder 22-32 bencosMavericks
Surrey Storm 15-6 Loughborough Lightning
Team Bath 21-47 benecosMavericks

Semi-Finals
Wasps Netball 45-36 Surrey Storm
Severn Stars 8-38 benecosMavericks

The Final
Wasps Netball 42-32 benecosMavericks

There are a number of “warm-up” tournaments before the Vitality Netball Superleague begins in January.  Check out your favourite team’s website to see who they’re playing.

Sunshine Series

Meanwhile England Roses have suffered a disappointing series defeat against Jamaica’s Sunshine Girls in Kingston.  England were without some of their star names, but with the World Cup next year, Tracy Neville will be concerned that none of the three matches was particularly close.

First Test
Jamaica 55-43 England

Second Test
Jamaica 58-39 England

Third Test
Jamaica 58-43 England

Cricket

It was an easy a start to a series as Australia could wish for as they demolished Pakistan in a rain-affected first ODI in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday.

Pakistan 95 all out (37.2 overs)
Australia 95/5 chasing revised target of 92 (22.2 overs)
Australia won by five wickets with 112 balls remaining

The rain hit when Pakistan were 76/6 and reduced the game to 41 overs per side, but Pakistan were in deep trouble already by then.  Sana Mir made 21 not out and captain Javeria Khan also made 21, but Megan Schutt took 3/17 from 7.2 overs and Nicola Carey 3/19 off 7 as the home side slumped to 95 all out.

Australia’s target was revised to 92 via the D/L method.  They started well with an opening stand of 40 before Alyssa Healy was out for 26 in the seventh over.  Meg Lanning and Ellyse Perry went cheaply (four and one respectively), both wickets falling to Sana Mir, who eventually took 3/26 in seven overs.  After Nicole Bolton was out for 22 it was up to Rachael Haynes and Beth Mooney to see it home.  Haynes was out with just one needed, but Ash Gardner came in to back up Mooney and take the win.

The only real positive for Pakistan is that they took five Australian wickets.

Reports from the rest of the series next week.

Golf

Laura Davies has won the Senior LPGA in Indiana.  She finished four ahead of the field on -8.  Helen Alfredsson of Sweden and Silvia Cavalleri of the US were tied for second on -4.  Of the other British players, Trish Johnson finished on +3 and Catriona Matthew +4.

This is Davies’ second senior major win of the year, after winning the US Senior Women’s Open in July.

And Finally,

I have neither the space nor time do justice to the subjects of this week’s “And Finally”.

This week Chelsea winger Karen Carney received abuse, rape and death threats on Instagram after Chelsea’s win over Fiorentina on Wednesday.

You will know how much I tend to “go on” about the abuse women receive on social media and on “Have Your Say” sections of websites, but there has been talk that the abuse of Carney is of “another level”.  Is it?  Is it not part of the same systematic degradation of women in sport (and in other areas of public life) that goes on every day?  It’s despicable and unacceptable and sends chills right through me, but I would say, seeing the stuff that gets through the comments pages, I would imagine it is probably on a level with those comments that are “moderated and removed because they have broken house rules.”

No-one should have to contend with this, be they woman or man – no-one should be threatened for doing their job, be that on the pitch, as a journalist, an administrator or an activist.

What is on “another level”, however, is the news from Mexico that a woman who spent her life working to promote women’s football, Marbella Ibarra, has been murdered.  It is not known whether her links to football made her a target, but it has certainly brought home to me yet again that while words are upsetting and unacceptable, women all over the world are being killed or suffer violence for their thoughts, actions and stances.

Read the full story of the death of Marbella Ibarra here

I in no way mean to belittle what Carney and many, many other women have gone through – goodness knows I try to highlight it and call it out as much as I can.  I also realise that violent words can often escalate into violent behaviour, so we should always investigate this kind of abuse and find out the motivation behind it.  But I also realise that social media is not the be-all and end-all of life.  Some people are living through real-life horror stories every day.  And some may not survive it.

More news and views next week.