Manchester City blew a hole in 10-man Portsmouth’s chances of claiming a UEFA Cup spot via the English Premier League with a 3-1 victory at Eastlands on Sunday.
A defensive mix-up saw Darius Vassell score in the 11th minute and Martin Petrov made it 2-0 two minutes later with a deflected shot.
John Utaka pulled one back for Pompey on 24 minutes before Hermann Hreidarsson was sent off five minutes before the break for bringing down Vassell.
Benjani Mwaruwari playing against Portsmouth for the first time since his farcical transfer in January which left neither club sure who owned the striker, sealed victory for City with a 74th-minute goal.
Portsmouth could still secure a UEFA Cup berth by winning their FA Cup final clash with Championship side Cardiff City at Wembley on May 17.
Elano played at right-back for City, a position he has filled for Brazil and at club level in his homeland.
Portsmouth shot themselves in the foot for the opener. England goalkeeper David James came rushing out of his goal, causing center-half Sol Campbell to ease up instead of clearing the ball.
Stephen Ireland took full advantage and played the ball across for Vassell, who slid in at the far post for his sixth league goal of the season as James trotted back into his penalty box.
There was barely time for Campbell to dwell on the mix-up before Petrov piled more misery on him.
The Bulgaria attacking midfielder beat Lauren in the box and toe-poked a shot which deflected off the inside of Campbell’s left thigh, wrongfooting James and leaving the visitors stunned.
However, Nigeria striker Utaka got Portsmouth back in the game with his fifth league goal of the season.
City failed to clear Lassana Diarra’s inswinging corner and when the ball came back into the box, Jermain Defoe headed it goalwards and Utaka helped it on past goalkeeper Joe Hart.
When it seemed Portsmouth had got themselves back in the game, Iceland defender Hreidarsson made matters much harder for the visitors by getting himself sent off.
Though it was debatable whether the former England forward would have got to the ball, Hreidarsson was shown the red card after putting his arm across Vassell’s throat and bringing him down.
Benjani scored his second goal in city colors in the 74th minute, with Ireland again the provider.
The Zimbabwe captain twisted and turned Sylvain Distin before firing his shot past James.
College basketballer Kaitlyn Chen has become the first female player of Taiwanese descent to be drafted by a WNBA team, after the Golden State Valkyries selected her in the third and final round of the league’s draft on Monday. Chen, a point guard who played her first three seasons in college for Princeton University, transferred to the University of Connecticut (UConn) for her final season, which culminated in a national championship earlier this month. While at Princeton, Chen was named the Ivy League tournament’s most outstanding player three times from 2022 to last year. Prior to the draft, ESPN described Chen as
College basketballer Kaitlyn Chen (陳凱玲) has become the first player of Taiwanese descent to be drafted by a WNBA team, after being selected by the Golden State Valkyries in the third and final round of the league's draft yesterday. Chen, a point guard who played her first three seasons in college for Princeton University, transferred to the University of Connecticut (UConn) for her final season, which culminated in a national championship on April 6. While at Princeton, Chen was named the Ivy League tournament's most outstanding player three times from 2022 to last year. Prior to the draft, ESPN described Chen as a
Robinson Cano spent 17 seasons playing in the MLB in front of all kinds of baseball fans, but he said there is something special about his stint with the Mexican Baseball League’s Diablos Rojos. He is not alone. The league last week opened its 100th season, aiming to keep an impressive growth in attendance that began after the national team’s surprise run at the 2023 World Baseball Classic, and is already surpassing some first-division soccer clubs. After finishing third in the 2023 tournament, many casual fans, some of them soccer enthusiasts disappointed after Mexico were eliminated in the first round in the 2022
In-form teenager Mirra Andreeva on Thursday crashed out of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, Germany, after going down in straight sets to fellow Russian Ekaterina Alexandrova in the last 16. World No. 7 Andreeva, who already has two titles under her belt this season, lost 6-3, 6-2 against the 22nd-ranked Alexandrova in just over an hour. The 17-year-old Andreeva had defeated her elder sister Erika in the previous round on Wednesday, but Alexandrova quickly took control as she claimed her fourth win over a top-10 player this season. The 17-year-old Mirra Andreeva in February became the youngest winner of a WTA
RSS