Wolverhampton Wanderers maintained their impressive start to the Premier League season as Mick McCarthy’s team ground out a 0-0 draw at local rivals Aston Villa yesterday.
McCarthy’s men won their opening two league matches and showed plenty of grit to keep Villa at bay in a hard-fought, but ultimately uninspiring midlands derby.
Wolves’ point takes them to the top of the table, although they are likely to surrender that position by the end of the weekend.
Photo: AFP
Villa are also still unbeaten after three matches, but Alex McLeish’s side will be more frustrated to have to settle for a draw.
The hosts’ first chance fell to Stiliyan Petrov, but the Bulgarian midfielder dragged his 20-yard drive wide.
Shay Given’s awkward movement suggested the Villa goalkeeper may have been struggling with the groin problem that has bothered him recently, but he still did well to block a Stephen Hunt header from Stephen Ward’s cross.
Villa should have taken the lead when Emile Heskey met Gabriel Agbonlahor’s cross, only for the former Liverpool and England forward to drag his effort wide at the near post.
WIGAN 2 VS QPR 0
AP, WIGAN, England
Argentine striker Franco Di Santo scored either side of halftime to earn Wigan a 2-0 win over promoted Queens Park Rangers and maintain his team’s unbeaten record yesterday.
The former Chelsea forward drilled a finish into the top corner in the 41st minute for the opening goal and wrapped up victory with a deflected shot from just outside the penalty box in the 66th minute.
Wigan only survived relegation on the final day of last season, but the northwest club has made a solid start to the new campaign, including draws in theri first two games.
Bologna on Thursday advanced past Empoli to reach their first Coppa Italia final in more than half a century. Thijs Dallinga’s 87th-minute header earned Bologna a 2-1 win and his side advanced 5-1 on aggregate. Giovanni Fabbian opened the scoring for Bologna with a header seven minutes in. Then Viktor Kovalenko equalized for Empoli in the 30th minute by turning in a rebound to finish off a counterattack. Bologna won the first leg 3-0. In the May 14 final in Rome, Bologna are to face AC Milan, who eliminated city rivals Inter 4-1 on aggregate following a 3-0 win on Wednesday. Bologna last reached the
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
The Minnesota Timberwolves, with so many promising performances spoiled by late mistakes fresh in their memory bank, sure timed this strong finish well. Jaden McDaniels scored a career playoff-high 30 points and spearheaded Minnesota’s stifling defense on an ailing Luka Doncic, and the Timberwolves beat the Los Angeles Lakers 116-104 to take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven Western Conference first-round series in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Friday night. “Jaden never looks tired. He looks like he could play 48 minutes,” said teammate Anthony Edwards, who had 29 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. Julius Randle added 22 points for the Wolves, who outscored
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
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