Rangers, Tottenham, Blackburn and Newcastle kept the Union Jack flying in the UEFA Cup on Thursday with the British quartet all registering wins to move closer to the knockout stages.
Newcastle faced arguably the trickiest assignment down in Sicily against joint Serie A leaders Palermo but the Magpies came away with a 1-0 win after Spanish striker Albert Luque scored eight minutes before half time.
Palermo laid siege to Newcastle's goal in the second half, and the visitors were indebted to their 18-year-old Dutch keeper Tim Krul for a string of outstanding saves.
"What an atmosphere, it was unbelievable, and a I got a clean sheet as well," said Krul, called up for his debut as a stand-in for the injured Steve Harper.
Over at White Hart Lane Tottenham looked to be in for an awkward night as FC Bruges made the better start.
The Belgian visitors were in front before the quarter of an hour mark after a goal of exceptional quality from Ghanian Salou Ibrahim.
But Dimitar Berbatov, on the mark against Besiktas last month, volleyed in minutes later.
Heart of the action
The Bulgarian forward was at the heart of Tottenham's second when he found Robbie Keane with the Republic of Ireland international sending a classy finish past Stijn Stijnen. Berbatov's emphatic header sealing victory 10 minutes later.
"We needed a lot of chances to score," coach Martin Jol said. "We showed we can score goals, but we need to be more greedy."
On Berbatov's contribution Jol added: "I'm happy he showed everybody he is a skilful player. If he gets the service he's a good center-forward. It's not easy for a foreign player to adapt to the English game. They need three, four, five months, but maybe he can do it earlier. I hope so."
A breathtaking 75th minute goal from Turkish international Tugay helped Blackburn to a 3-0 rout of outfit FC Basel at Ewood Park.
The Swiss visitors looked set to leave with a hard-earned point before Tugay beat keeper Franco Costanzo from 25-yards.
Former Arsenal striker Francis Jeffers made it 2-0 from the penalty spot in the final minute after Reto Zanni had fouled Morten Gamst Pedersen before Benni McCarthy, the victim of racism in Blackburn's opening win over Polish side Wisla Krakow, scored with virtually the last kick.
Rovers manager Mark Hughes heaped praise on 36-year-old Tugay.
"It was a fantastic strike and he continues to defy his advancing years. It was my birthday the other day so I know how hard it is to stop yourself from feeling old. But he plays with a smile on his face and can still have a great influence."
He also had a word for Jeffers after his first goal since April last year.
"He has had a difficult time the last couple of seasons," said Hughes. "We gave him a chance and he is working very hard to take the opportunity."
Up in Scotland Rangers kept up the winning momentum with a 2-0 win over Maccaibi Haifa.
Goals in either half from Spanish striker Nacho Novo and Charlie Adam put paid to the Israeli outfit to help lift spirits at Ibrox after Rangers' stuttering domestic campaign which has left them well adrift of Celtic in the Scottish Premier League.
`Almost Qualified'
"We've almost qualified, that's good news," said Rangers coach Paul Le Guen who had to make an earlier than anticipated substitution by replacing keeper Lionel Letizi who suffered an injury in warm-up with Allan McGregor. "This is confirmation that we can do better in the league. We have to, we have to start winning regularly."
The four British sides are now sitting pretty on the road to the knockout stages with each one topping their respective groups with a three point cushion.
Elsewhere Livorno's Marco Amelia made a rare intervention for a keeper in his side's 1-1 draw at Partizan Belgrade -- by scoring a goal.
The home side were leading thanks to Nenad Mirosavljevic's goal in the 70th minute.
But Livorno, who lost 3-2 to Glasgow Rangers in their opening Group A match, leveled the score two minutes from time thanks to their unlikely scorer.
Amelia, Italy's third-choice keeper in their World Cup winning squad, went up for a late free-kick and headed home Dario Passoni's crossed free-kick to salvage a precious point for the Tuscan club.
Greek swimmer Kristian Gkolomeev was the only athlete to “beat” a world record on Sunday at the Enhanced Games, winning the men’s 50m freestyle at the divisive competition where athletes were free to take performance-enhancing substances. His time of 20.81 seconds — which is not considered official — came in the final event of the night in Las Vegas, sparing the blushes of organizers who made claims that multiple world records would be surpassed due to a sophisticated doping regime. Gkolomeev, who was wearing a synthetic “supersuit” long banned at events such as the Olympics, outpaced Australia’s Cameron McEvoy’s 20.88 set in
Fred Kerley is competing unaugmented against drug-fuelled athletes at this weekend’s Enhanced Games and still hopes to race in the 2028 Olympics, the suspended former 100m world champion said on Friday. Arguably the biggest name at the divisive event in Las Vegas, where doping is permitted, the US sprinter said he had chosen not to take any of the banned substances including testosterone and steroids that his competitors have been using. “I don’t need it. God gave me fast feet for a reason. And I’m here to showcase my talent,” Kerley said. Kerley last September became the first US competitor and first track
VICTORY ABROAD: The team took home a fistful of medals and secured spots for the autumn’s Asian Games, scheduled for September in Nagoya Taiwan’s women’s team captured the overall title at the Asian Taekwondo Championships in Mongolia on Sunday, finishing with two golds, one silver and one bronze medal. The strong showing, led by gold medalists Wang Chieh-ling and Chang Jui-en secured the full quota of available spots for Taiwan at the Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan, in September. Wang opened Taiwan’s medal run by winning gold in the women’s under-46kg class on Thursday, the first day of competition. Liu Yu-yun later earned a silver in the under-49kg class. On the final day on Sunday, Chang won Taiwan’s second gold medal in the under-62kg event, and
The manager of the Yomiuri Giants, one of Japan’s most popular baseball teams, resigned yesterday after he was arrested for allegedly physically attacking his teenage daughter. Shinnosuke Abe allegedly grabbed the 18-year-old and forced her to the floor at their home in central Tokyo on Monday evening, reported national broadcaster NHK and Kyodo News, citing unnamed police sources. “Leaving like this really means I’m causing you a lot of trouble, and I feel truly sorry about that,” Abe told a hastily arranged news conference, his eyes red with tears. The former star catcher, who is among baseball-obsessed Japan’s most recognized sports figures,
RSS