Sport

Championship round up: Cardiff hit four, Swansea hit for four

Published

6 days ago

February 22, 2021

CARDIFF City strengthened their push for a play-off place on Saturday as they thrashed Preston North End 4-0 at the Cardiff City Stadium.

The Bluebirds are now three points off the play-off places with managerless Bournemouth well within reach after their 2-1 defeat to QPR at the weekend.

Cardiff were ahead as early as the second minute in their game with Preston as a penalty was given after Sean Morrison was brought down in the area.

Kieffer Moore fired the ball in for his fourteenth goal in a Cardiff shirt.

The home side came close to doubling their lead when Harry Wilson’s free kick was headed towards goal but Preston keeper Daniel Iversen made a good save to keep it out.

Preston striker Ched Evans also came close with a header but City keeper Dillon Phillips also made the save.

It remained 1-0 at the break but within a minute of the restart the Bluebirds did double their lead.

Wilson set up Josh Murphy who shot low into the far bottom corner.

Preston seemingly woke up after that goal and were awarded a penalty when Wilson brought down substitute Anthony Gordon.

City keeper Phillips guessed the right way to save Paul Gallagher’s spot kick but in the follow up, Aden Flint was judged to have fouled Gallagher and the referee pointed to the spot for a second time.

This time it was Ched Evans who took on the responsibility but Phillips again guessed the right way to make a second save in a matter of minutes.

That all but ended Preston’s brief fight back and the Bluebirds were soon three goals ahead.

A mix-up at the back saw Sheyi Ojo gain the ball and his cross found Moore whose header was saved by Iversen but the rebound was followed up by Marlon Pack who tapped in.

Cardiff were not done there though as sub Mark Harris latched on to a poor back pass and rounded the keeper and defenders to slot into an empty net to make it 4-0.

Swans suffer shock defeat in Yorkshire

SWANSEA City suffered a shock 4-1 defeat at the hands of Huddersfield Town on Saturday.

The Swans came into the game on the back of a win against Nottingham Forest the previous Wednesday.

They came up against a Huddersfield side though who had beaten them 2-1 at the Liberty earlier in the season and it was former Cardiff man Fraizer Campbell who put them ahead at the John Smiths Stadium.

Conor Hourihane did level for the Swans on the stroke of half time with an excellent free kick but that was as good as it got for Steve Cooper’s side.

The Terriers scored three goals in the space of ten minutes at the start of the second half to seal an emphatic win.

Lewis O’Brien put Huddersfield ahead and Duane Holmes then added a third. He saved the best for last though as his stunning strike found the top corner.

There was more disappointing news for the Swans after new signing Jordan Morris was taken off on a stretcher with boss Cooper saying it ‘doesn’t look good’.

Swansea have slipped to fourth in the table following the weekend’s other results while Cardiff sit seventh.

Swansea are in action again on Wednesday as they host Coventry City in a 7pm kick off.

Cardiff visit Bournemouth in what will be a crucial game for both sides, kick off is at 7:45pm.

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Signed Wales shirts gifted to RNLI go up for auction

Published

3 days ago

February 25, 2021

James Hemingray

FOLLOWING a winning start to the Six Nations Tournament, the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) have scored a winning try for the RNLI, gifting six signed rugby shirts to help save lives at sea.

Each rugby shirt has been signed by the full WRU squad and are accompanied by a certificate of authentication – a winning prize for any Welsh rugby fan.

To avoid a ruck for the WRU shirts the charity has placed all six signed shirts on an online auction, ensuring a fair game for all who wish to win the golden prize. The auction will be live until Wednesday, March 31, which allows plenty of time for supporters to bid for the team in red.

Each signed shirt includes Wales Captain, Mumbles RNLI supporter and the most capped international player of all time Alun Wyn Jones; as well as Louis Rees-Zammit, the Man of the Match in the nail-biting Scotland v Wales game.

Nick Evans, RNLI Fundraising and Partnership Lead said: ‘On behalf of the charity I would like to say a big thank you to the Welsh Rugby Union for donating these fantastic prizes to the RNLI. RNLI volunteers are on call 24-7 and are often called away from important events such as family celebrations – or international rugby tournaments – to respond to the pager if someone is in trouble at sea.

‘Like all charities, 2020 was a challenging year for the RNLI when all traditional fundraising had to stop – all our shops were closed, there were no collections and all events had to be cancelled. This is why we at the RNLI are so grateful to all the team at WRU for their ongoing support. The auction is now live and we would like to encourage all Wales rugby supporters to throw the RNLI a lifeline and place their bid for the winning prize.’

To place a bid or find out more about the charity auction please visit https://www.jumblebee.co.uk/rnliwru.

Sport

Five subs to be allowed for JD Cymru Premier clubs

Published

3 days ago

February 25, 2021

James Hemingray

THE FAW’s National Leagues Board has confirmed that JD Cymru Premier clubs will be permitted to make five substitutions in matches, in accordance with the Laws of the Game, until the end of the 2020-21 top-flight season.

FIFA extended the use of the rule, which was first introduced following the COVID-19 outbreak, citing “player welfare” as part of the reason for the temporary amendment to Law 3 of the Laws of the Game.

FIFA stated that “Some competitions which resumed in 2020 may have a shorter-than-usual recovery/preparation period before the start of their next season.”

“For many competitions, the 2020/21 season will involve matches being played in a condensed period due to a delayed start and the inability to end later than usual because of major international tournaments.”

With the JD Cymru Premier set to restart on March 2, the National Leagues Board has approved the use of the rule in the JD Cymru Premier until the end of the current campaign.