Month: July 2019

Posted on

The Halfway-Line Goal from Harry Kane Sends a Message

As Harry Kane provided a phenomenal hallway line goal during stoppage time towards the end of the 3-2 defeat against Juventus, it was clear that the hangover from the Champions League would only affect him off the field.

The captain for England, who recently enjoyed celebrations for his 26th birthday, removed an agonized figure just seven weeks earlier when he returned from injury to play his first match in nearly two months against Liverpool during the Champions League final.

On that evening, Kane was nothing near his usual self. He was still hampered and off the pace after a seven-week layoff which was caused by an ankle injury. Virgil van Dijk had a pretty easy match against the striker from Tottenham.

The Comeback of Harry Kane

Harry Kane reflected over the past few weeks as he made his return to the preseason in Asia, informing reporters that Madrid will haunt him for a long time. However, the incredible goal over Juventus was a fantastic start to draw the line and start again.
Kane recently stated that the match against Liverpool in the Champions League final was challenging to get over, primarily because the entire team did so well to reach the final. He continued by saying that big games deserve the best performances and he, unfortunately, couldn’t play at his best, which hurt a great deal afterwards. The team was well aware that the Champions League was up for the taking, which is something Tottenham needs to deal with over the summer.

Although it’s a difficult one to get over, the team believes that they did exceptionally well to get that far in the Champions League which has given the team a boost of confidence as they start their new season at Wembley. It’s mainly down to the group to perform as well as they did last season and try their best to reach the finals once again to take the cup this time around hopefully.

Mauricio Pochettino’s Selection in Madrid

The selection of Harry Kane during the Champions League final in Madrid was perhaps the most important call from the head coach’s time in management. Without Harry Kane, Tottenham Hotspur managed to make it to the final where Lucas Moura, his replacement, managed to score a hat-trick against Ajax in a remarkable semi-final. During Harry’s absence, Fernando Llorente, Son Heung-Min, and Moura rose to the occasion along with Dele Alli finding his attacking force once again that was absent for most of the season.

However, when your primary striker scores consistently, it would have been a massive call for the head coach to overlook Harry Kane during the final in Madrid, even though he was unable to play for seven weeks. However, do you believe it was the right decision to include Harry Kane during the final? This is football at the end of the day, and everyone will have their opinion. Let’s hope the new season is better for Harry Kane.

Posted on

How The Open Returned to Northern Ireland

Rory Mcllroy managed to get 61 on a course during his teenage years, Darren Clarke calls the famous Royal Portrush both the location and club home, and Graeme McDowell grew up in this town that only has 8,000 people, spending much of his youth learning golf on the layout next to the prestigious Royal Portrush. Three golf champions that all hail from this small country within Northern Ireland, preparing to welcome the world of golf to the 148th of The Open.

The Return of Royal Portrush

There’s no denying that the success of the three significant champions had a massive role in the return of Royal Portrush in The Open. The only staging of the oldest golf championship in the world last occurred 68 years ago at this prestigious golf course.

The victory by McDowell at the U.S Open in 2010, followed by the U.S Open triumph by Mcllroy in 2011, followed by the triumph from Clarke at The Open a month later, gave Northern Ireland a total of 3 champions in a matter of 6 months and assisted in shining a bright light on a country that has been headlined over its political conflicts as oppose to its glorious golf roots.

However, hosting The Open is a gigantic and daunting task, and making a return into the conversation took far more than just three local players. Mcllroy doesn’t waste any time when it comes to the subject of how the Royal Portrush golf course came back to life in The Open, pointing out to a club employee who he has known for years and her spearheaded attempt to get the golf course ready for The Open.

Wilma Erskine

Her name is Wilma Erskine, and she was the key to bring back the Royal Portrush golf course back into The Open. Wilma Erskine has been the club manager and secretary of the Royal Portrush for more than 35 years. However, she refuses to take credit for the return of the course. There’s no denying that she had a massive role when she envisioned something far more significant than a simple weekend of golf which is what she found when she first started working at the club back in 1984.

Once The Troubles arrived within Northern Ireland, absolutely nothing happened as the country was mostly part of an economic downturn which caused a decline in membership. The state also didn’t have any revenue from the United States, which left the golf club at the bottom. The Troubles was a conflict in Northern Ireland encompassing complicated political and religious struggle that lasted 30 years during the late 1990s.

Therefore, it was out of the question to host a golf tournament as prestigious as The Open. No golf tournament with any significance could have been organized by the club back then. Thankfully, that all changed with Wilma Erskine in the mix, allowing the golf course to be part of The Open in 2019 for the first time in a long time.

Posted on

United States Claim Fourth Title in Women’s Soccer World Cup

The women’s soccer team from the United States have managed to dominate yet another group during the World Cup final to claim their fourth title on Sunday where they defeated the Netherlands in a phenomenal 2-0 victory that took place in Lyon, France to remain the World Cup champions successfully.

The Netherlands vs the United States

Rose Lavelle and Megan Rapinoe both managed to score second-half goals for the incredible United States. It took the team more than an hour to break through the Netherlands defence successfully, but once it broke after several rushes, the United States took complete advantage of the situation and score twice for good measure.
Rapinoe managed to break through the defence during the 61st minute with a penalty kick, while Lavelle managed to seal the win with a driving run that occurred during the 69th minute. After the match, Rapinoe was nominated as the most outstanding player of the tournament who stated that it was surreal how everything tuned out.

This was the second consecutive World Cup title for more than ten players in the United States squad, who managed to claim their first tournament four years ago in Canada. It also led to cement their exalted status as the gold standard when it comes to women’s soccer.

The tears started flowing freely after the incredible victory, ranging from Alex Morgan as the United States striker who managed to lead the tournament with six goals, to Kelley O’Hara who was unfortunately forced from the match after a dreadful head-to-head collision. The Netherlands was the only team that could actually match the United States in the tournament and even they shed a few tears after the match due to their unfortunate loss.

The Future for the United States

The Dutch were the only team in the tournament that managed to keep the United States from scoring a goal during the first half while playing in France. However, much like all the other teams before them, including England, France, Spain, Sweden, Chile, and Thailand, they were unable to hold off the United States forever.

The team provided everything they possibly could during their World Cup journey and Jill Ellis, the head coach for the United States women’s team, couldn’t thank her players enough for this prestigious win. Ellis managed to become the first head coach to claim successive titles in the Women’s World Cup, and her squad hasn’t lost a single game in this tournament since 2011. The future of the team is to reclaim the Olympic Championship that will take place in Tokyo.

There’s already massive plans set in motion once the team returns to the United States who will land in New York. After the group received their medals, the trophy was raised in a cloud of blue and gold confetti. There was also loads of chants from the crowd that promoted equal pay to women in a sport, which we believe is spot on after such an excellent performance.

Posted on

How Red Bull and Verstappen Dominated in Austrian Grand Prix

If the Grand Prix in France was a showcase of everything wrong in modern Formula One, the Grand Prix in Austria proved what is still right in the world of motorsport. Despite having the same drivers, the same rules, and the same cars, all the necessary ingredients were available, including a surprise winner, wheel-to-wheel racing, and a decent serving of controversy. Why was the Grand Prix in Austria such a thriller and are we in for some more nail-biting races in 2019?

Red Bull Savours Victory

The victory by Max Verstappen was a considerable surprise for Red Bull and the millions of spectators from around the world. This was the first victory in 2019 that didn’t feature a Mercedes, and it managed to come from nowhere after Verstappen dropped from 2nd place on the grid to 8th during the opening lap, leaving him behind his teammate Pierre Gasly. Unexpectedly, Verstappen managed to take pole position at the end and lapped his teammate in the process.

The team boss stated after the Austria Grand Prix that the team was on fire during the second half of the race. The car was phenomenally quick, and the reality of the situation is that no one truly understands how this happened. However, the updates that were received over the last few races indicate that everything is finally coming together as it should. Victory in Austria was claimed the hard way as Verstappen had to pass three or the four primary opponents to claim pole position.

Although Red Bull doesn’t currently have a car to match it, the talent from Max Verstappen has been crystal-clear all year. He now leads both the Ferrari drivers when it comes to championship standings which tells you everything you need to know in terms of speed and consistency from this world-class driver, and while Sebastien Vettel and Charles Leclerc have made several mistakes, Max Verstappen took this opportunity to lead the pack.

The Austrian Grand Prix

The primary reason why the race on Sunday was so thrilling to watch was that all three of the top teams were racing for glory and pole position. Ferrari managed to get the fastest lap during qualifying. However, Vettel began the race out of place which meant Ferrari had their work cut out for them against a Mercedes that was second fastest in qualifying.

The Red Bull car seemed quite competitive in the race. However, no one anticipated that it would be the fastest car on the track during the second half of the Grand Prix. This was mainly down to the driver behind the wheel as well as the assistance from a remarkable tyre strategy that helped Verstappen to take control of the race on fresher tyres. Verstappen went for medium tyres, while Ferrari opted in for softer tyres which cost them dearly. Now that Max Verstappen has a victory, do you think it will create more opportunities going forward?