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Jack Grealish has been ruled out of Aston Villa’s trip to Leeds on Saturday, but Dean Smith has suggested that his captain could return for a visit to Sheffield United on Wednesday.

The Villans were left frustrated ahead of their last Premier League outing when an untimely knock for their talismanic midfielder was leaked to Midlands rivals Leicester.

The 25-year-old played no part in a 2-1 defeat to the Foxes and will not come back into contention for a clash with Leeds at Elland Road.

What has been said?

Villa boss Smith has told reporters at his pre-match press conference: “Jack won't be available for the game.

“The latest is he's still got a little bit of pain, not too much. As ever with Jack, whenever he's involved with anything, there's an awful lot of speculation.

“Now, I know I was a little bit vague last week because it's a bit of a strange injury and I can't speculate on something. I know, certainly, that a lot of people were speculating that he was going to be out for this amount of games, or weeks.

“But I don't know, Jack doesn't know and the doctor doesn't know how long this will be. It's not long term.

“He could be back for Sheffield United on Wednesday or Wolves next week, that's how the injury is. We’ll be led by Jack on that. He won't be available for tomorrow. Other than that, we're OK.”

What is Grealish’s injury?

The England international has been struggling with a leg complaint.

He was unable to play any part against Leicester as a result, with Villa in no position to take risks on the fitness of their most prized asset.

How was Grealish’s injury leaked?

No official announcement has been made on how news of Grealish’s latest setback got out, but there have been suggestions that Fantasy Premier League was able to reveal the news.

Foxes boss Brendan Rodgers has admitted to knowing before team sheets dropped that Villa would be without their skipper, leading Smith to declare that he would be launching an investigation.

He said: “I was made aware on social media there were rumours he was not going to play. If that is coming out of our training ground I will find out where it is coming from and reprimand whoever it is coming from.

“It certainly does [help the opposition]. It is something I would not be happy with.

“It is something I wouldn't be happy with and we will certainly get to the bottom of it.”

Further reading

Arsenal star Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has described Thursday’s 3-2 victory over Benfica as a hard result which will boost the team’s confidence in the remaining games of the season.

The Gabonese captain scored a goal in each half of the encounter which helped the Gunners progress to the Round of 16 of the Uefa Europa League with a 4-3 aggregate win.

After he opened the scoring at the Stadio Georgios Karaiskaki, Aubameyang grabbed the match-winning goal three minutes from full-time as Mikel Arteta’s side escaped elimination via away goals.

When asked to rate the team’s overall performance, Aubameyang told the club website: "Solid! I have to tell the truth! It was a hard one, but at the end I think we deserved it because we showed great character tonight, all the team and the guys that came in as well. They gave so much for the comeback and we did it, so we are so happy!

"It’s hard because when you concede one, it’s okay, but then when you concede a second one, you know that you have to score two goals again, so it’s really hard, but as I said, we showed character and we kept calm during the whole match. We scored in the last minute and we are happy.

"It could be very good [for the rest of the campaign]. I think in this difficult season, hopefully this will give us some hope, but also some confidence for the future that we can do comebacks like this."

Meanwhile, Arteta expressed his total confidence in Aubameyang, who has scored 13 goals in all competitions so far this campaign.

“I completely trust him because we produced the chances and you know with Auba that when he has chances, he is going to score goals,” he told the same publication.

“The last few days after the game in Rome against them, he missed three opportunities that are normally three goals for him, and he needed to react and it's great to see that the way he reacted is by being upset and trying to be better and not just feeling sad for himself in this moment. I am really pleased with how he did tonight.”

Aubameyang will be hoping to continue his goalscoring form when Arsenal visit Leicester City for Sunday’s Premier League clash.

Ini Umotong has admitted that her poor run of goalscoring at Brighton cost her a place in Nigeria's 2019 Women's World Cup squad. 

Umotong had excelled on her international debut for Nigeria against Mali in an All African Games qualifier on March 22, 2015, and also made the squad to the 2015 Women's World Cup in Canada.

However, she was left out of the France-bound squad by Thomas Dennerby in 2019 despite being part of the set-up since January, breaking her international duck in a 3-0 win over Romania in China.

Having scored only once in 14 appearances, she only lasted the duration three times in the entire 2019 Women's Super League term.

The 26-year-old, who was faced with a lack of regular playing time and disappointing moments in front of goal, opened up on her struggles with the Seagulls.

"Maybe [rough times], but it's a completely different level," Umotong told Goal.

"I'd say it is a lot more mentally challenging than it is physically challenging. Form, especially as a striker, comes and goes.

"When you're on form, it's great, when you're off form, it's mentally trying to get back to the form you're used to. 

"That level as well as so much more rotation for the teams makes form even more mentally challenging for the striker. 

"There were highs and lows in my performance and form, at that level, but all of those experiences I've learned [from]. They're all learning experiences and made me a better player."

After missing out on her dream of playing in back-to-back Women's World Cup finals, she will be hoping her form will earn her a future Nigeria recall.

Tanzania head coach Kim Poulsen has named players who are going to play two friendly games against Kenya ahead of the Equatorial Guinea and Libya African Cup of Nations qualifiers.

Poulsen, who is yet to take charge of a single game since replacing Burundian coach Etienne Ndayiragije, will lead the Taifa Stars in a double-header against the Harambee Stars - who have also lined up a friendly against South Sudan - on March 15 and 18.

The new coach has maintained the majority of players who were regular first-teamers under Ndayiragije with captain Mbwana Samatta and Simon Msuva highlighting the squad.

Aishi Manula, who was the preferred goalkeeper in the African Nations Championship where they were eliminated at the group stage, is expected to keep his position with his Yanga SC rival Metacha Mnata as well as experienced Juma Kaseja of KMC FC being the other goalkeepers set to compete with him.

Erasto Nyoni of Simba has been named even though he has had to contend with very few minutes at club level due to the arrival of Joash Onyango. Defender Kelvin Yondan has also earned a nod as well as Mohamed Hussein of Simba and  Bakari Mwamnyeto of Yanga.

Midfielder Jonas Mkude will expect to be involved even as he fights hard to slot back into Simba's first team since he was frozen out due to matters of indiscipline. His club teammate Muzamir Yassin and Yanga's Yassin Mustapha are expected to be Mkude's fiercest rivals.

With a win, a draw and two losses, the Taifa Stars are third in Group J where Tunisia are leading with 10 points while Libya, with a win and three losses, are at the bottom.

Tanzania Squad:

Aishi Manula, Metacha Mnata, Juma Kaseja, Shomari Kapombe, Hassan Kessy, Israel Mwednwa, Erasto Nyoni, Dickson Job, Bakari Nondo Mwamnyeto, Kelvin Yondan, Carlos Protas, Laurent Alfred, Kennedy Juma, Mohammed Hussein, Nickson Kibabage, David Bryson.

Yassin Mustapha, Edward Manyama, Simon Msuva, Hassan Dilunga, Mzamir Yassin, Jonas Mkude, Saidi Ndemla, Fiesal Salum, Himid Mao, Ally Msengi, Baraka Majogoro, Salum Aboubakar, Iddy Nado, Mbwana Samatta, Thomas Ulimwengu, John Bocco.

Yohanna Mkomba, Shaban Chilunda, Ditram Nchimbi, Deus Kaseke, Abdul Suleiman, Kelvin Pius John, Nassor Hamoud, Meshack Mwamito.

Axel Tuanzebe admits that Champions League exit disappointment has lingered at Manchester United, but the Red Devils are looking to achieve “the second best thing” by winning the Europa League.

A frustrating group-stage exit was endured by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side in elite continental competition, forcing them to make do with a consolation prize.

Progress has been made into the last 16 of the Europa League, after seeing off Real Sociedad, and those at Old Trafford are now looking to make their way down an alternative route to major silverware.

What has been said?

Tuanzebe has told United’s official website ahead of Friday’s last-16 draw: “We want to win the competition. We are in it to compete. What is the point in being in it to just play in it? We want to win.

“It was disappointing to get knocked out of the Champions League so this is the second best thing.”

What else can United win in 2021?

The Europa League is one of several targets for the Red Devils as they enter the business end of an eventful 2020-21 campaign.

Solskjaer’s side are also through to the quarter-finals of the FA Cup, while a second-placed standing in the Premier League has them well on course to secure further Champions League qualification at the very least.

Major silverware remains the ultimate target, though, with United having gone four years without a trophy and with four semi-final setbacks from the last 12 months still fresh in their memory.

Tuanzebe added on those reversals: “They’ll always stay with you, it’s a learning curve, it’s an experience.

“You don’t want to feel like that again, that’s the most important thing and you always remember the feeling of losing – even more so than winning. You try your best and do everything to ensure that doesn’t happen again.”

The bigger picture

Solskjaer has always been keen to point out that he is working towards long-term targets at Old Trafford.

The Norwegian has his side back in contention for top honours, with patience being rewarded on the back of serious questions being asked of a Norwegian coach who enjoyed considerable success in Manchester as a player.

“It takes a while to get momentum going, it takes a while to have faith in players, to have faith in the manager and I think this season especially, we’re starting to build that,” Tuanzebe said of the progress being made this season.

“It’s not something that’s done in a year or two, it’s a long project. We’re just having faith in our players, having faith in our coaching staff and the results are starting to come through and hopefully we’ll just build on that.”

Further reading

Kalidou Koulibaly has expressed his disappointment after Napoli bowed out of the Uefa Europa League with a 3-2 aggregate loss to Granada on Thursday.

The Serie A club lost the first leg in Spain by 2-0, however, Piotr Zielinski got them off to flying start with his third-minute opener at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.

Montoro compounded Napoli's woes after scoring an equaliser for Granada in the 25th minute.

Fabian Ruiz restored the Parthenopeans’ lead on the night just before the hour-mark but the effort was not enough despite their 2-1 victory.

Koulibaly, in his reaction, believes they could have done more to overturn the result in a tense encounter that saw 11 yellow cards handed out.

"We are disappointed, as we could’ve done more," Koulibaly was quoted by Football Italia. "It was difficult after the 2-0 first-leg defeat, conceding the equaliser today knocked the wind out of us, but we still tried to the end

"We wanted to go forward in the competition and going out today is painful. We saw once again that Granada played with everyone behind the ball.”

The exit dealt a blow to Napoli's chances of securing a title this season as they are also out of the Coppa Italia.

With their sights set on returning to the Uefa Champions League, Koulibaly has urged his teammates to give their all in the Italian top-flight.

The Senegalese centre-back continued: “There are no more excuses now. Our objective is to get back into the Champions League and we must do everything to get into the top four. It’s simply too important for us, we have to reach the top four at all costs.”

They are seventh on the Serie A table with 40 points from 22 matches, and are currently four points adrift of fourth-placed Roma.

The top-four battle will continue when Napoli host Benevento for their next league fixture on Sunday evening.

Former Tanzania U17 coach Bakari Shime is confident the team will go far in the Africa Cup of Nations U17 tournament set for Morocco in March.

According to the draw conducted on Wednesday, Tanzania were pooled in Group B alongside Nigeria, Algeria and Congo, Group A will have Uganda, Morocco, Ivory Coast and Zambia and Group C is comprised of Cameroon, Senegal, Mali and South Africa.

Despite the tough draw, Shime is confident the team will go far in the competition considering the fact this is the most productive age in football which if nurtured well, can reach the highest levels.

“This happens to be the third time Serengeti Boys have qualified to play in junior Afcon finals as such, they have gathered enough experience from their past two appearances and people want to see how far they can go,” Shime explained to Daily News after learning of the draw.

“Here, we should not use lack of experience as an excuse if the team fail to impress because featuring in two competitions of the same status is enough for them to thoroughly know the contest better.

“There is neither simple nor difficult group in group stages and what separate teams is usually the level of their preparations. I believe that Serengeti Boys will shine this time around because they have been preparing for a long time.

“They are together with famous teams on the continent with enough experience of playing in U17 Afcon games but it should be known that we are now matured to stage a good fight mainly because this is our third time to compete.”

The Serengeti Boys will begin their campaign in the competition by taking on Nigeria on March 14 before facing Algeria on March 17 and end their group fixtures with a clash against Congo on March 20 - with all matches lined up for Moulay Hassan Stadium.

Tanzania and Uganda were also part of the U20 competition that is ongoing in Mauritania. The Ngorongoro Heroes of Tanzania were eliminated in the group stage but Uganda's Hippos have progressed to semi-finals after beating Burkina Faso on Thursday.

The East African countries, and Zambia as well, were also participants in the African Nations Championship tournament held in Cameroon and were eliminated in the group stage, but Chipolopolo were knocked out in the Round of 16.

Ghana attacker Frank Boateng believes Thursday's penalty shoot-out victory over Cameroon at the ongoing Africa U20 Cup of Nations in Mauritania defies popular belief that the nation has poor penalty takers.

The Black Satellites booked a place in the semi-final of the championship with a 4-2 penalty shoot-out win, the game having ended 1-1 after extra-time. Goalkeeper Danlad Ibrahim was ultimately the hero of the shoot-out.

Ghana's ability to send the game into penalties was down to Boateng, who registered a prompt equaliser after Kevin-Prince Milla put Cameroon in front in the first half of the extra period. 

"Our dream of winning the competition remains intact and we are determined to win just as we did in Benin," Boateng, who was adjudged as the official Man of the Match, said at the post-match press conference, according to footballghana.

"Again, we have shown once again that we are good when it comes to penalties. Now we are motivated going into the next game."

It was the Satellites' second straight shoot-out win, having overcome Niger 5-3 in the semi-final of the Wafu Zone B Cup which served as qualifiers for the Afcon.

Until then, Ghana has suffered a series of penalty heartaches.

The senior Black Stars team, whose best appearance at the Fifa World Cup ended in a shoot-out defeat to Uruguay in 2010, exited the 2019 Afcon by a shoot-out defeat to Tunisia.

The West Africans' last berth in the grand finale of Afcon also ended in disappointment after another round of penalties in 2015.

In 2014, the home-based Black Stars also lost the final of the African Nations Championship to Libya on penalties

Ghana boss Abdul Karim Zito, meanwhile, is over the moon by the latest feat.

“I want to thank my colleague coaches back home in Ghana who never stopped trusting in me and gave words of encouragement that this team can make it," said the coach, as reported by the Ghana FA's official website.

“This is a big achievement for me and for all coaches in Ghana.

“I reminded them [the players] that this tournament is about them and their future as footballers. I also told them most importantly they have to think about Ghana and die for the country.

“For now, we are waiting to know our opponents for the semi-finals then we roll out our plan for that match."

Ghana await the winner of Friday's quarter-final clash between the Gambia and the Central African Republic for a semi-final showdown on Monday. 

Wolverhampton Wanderers defender Romain Saiss is happy with his improved tackling which has seen him receive just one yellow card in the Premier League this season.

His only booking so far was against Southampton a fortnight ago when Wolves defeated their hosts 2-1 at St. Mary's Stadium.

In comparison to his last four league seasons at Molineux, Saiss picked up 39 yellow cards in total as 11 of them came in the 2019-20 campaign.

The 30-year-old admitted the huge progress in his defensive play this season and he disclosed how he has been able to avoid bookings, after talks with Nuno Espirito Santo.

“We spoke a lot about this and I had to improve on yellow cards. There was too many," Saiss told Express and Star.

“You can be suspended, or when you take a yellow card at the start of the game, it can be hard to finish the game.

“I’ve tried to avoid doing as many fouls, and to be more clever. I’m happy because I’ve only picked up one yellow card this season. I hope to keep it at one yellow, and I’m happy to have improved in this way.”

Saiss has contributed three goals in 16 league appearances for Wolves this term as they occupy the 12th spot in the Premier League table.

Following a turbulent run of form earlier this year, Nuno Espirito Santo's men have bounced back to winning ways and they are currently unbeaten in their last four matches.

The Moroccan defender reflected on how the team reacted to the bad run of results and he is looking forward to a 'tough' outing against Newcastle United at St. James' Park on Saturday.

"Of course, we were disappointed about the last few games before this series as we didn’t get a lot of points,” he continued.

“But the atmosphere between us was always good. We tried to stay positive as it’s a pleasure to be here every day.

“I hope we are going to stay in the same way – get more points and finish the season as high as possible.

“It’s always the same. We know the most important thing is us working day after day, to keep in the same way. We just keep our identity. We never change.

“It’s another tough game now as we know Newcastle need points.

“It will be tough – never easy to play there. For us, it’s important to win this game as we want to keep this confidence.”

Malaba Youth Development Association FC assistant captain Isma Mafabi is hopeful the Ugandan Premier League debutants will get their first league win against BUL FC on Friday.

The Malaba-based team will be at Kyabazinga Stadium to play the hosts hoping to get their first win of the season. Since making their debut, they have lost eight out of the nine games they have played, drawing the remaining one.

However, the vice-captain is hopeful they will record their maiden win when they play the Kakindu-based team.

"It has been our first season in the league and we have lost many games but [I am sure we will get our first win on Friday]," Mafabi said ahead of the match.

"We have had a number of challenges since the start of the season but most of those have been handled and currently, I am glad to say the players are in good shape both mentally and physically."
Mafabi went on to opine where the problem has been for the UPL newcomers in the on-going season.

"It is very sad that the team has been losing games due to small mistakes that can surely be rectified and as a team we have tried to work on some of them and we believe they will be prevented," he continued.

"BUL have also lost their last three games meaning they are wounded buffaloes who will come to get results from us but we are more than ready to stage a challenge."  

The hosts are in 13th position with seven points, six more than Myda who are at the bottom of the table. The latter's last match was a 4-1 loss against Express FC on February 23.

In-form striker George Senkaaba put them into the lead in the 22nd minute after rounding up the Myda defence to squeeze the ball into an empty net. Despite seeing much of the ball in the first half, the Wasswa Bbosa-led charges went into the break enjoying a 1-0 lead.

On resumption, Express continued to press their hosts but they had to wait until the 58th minute when Godfrey Lwesibawa powered home the second goal from a free header and they were 3-0 up two minutes later when Ssenkaba scored his second of the afternoon after a fine finish.

Lwesibawa then made it 4-0 for the Red Eagles, meeting a cross from Ssenkaba to drive a low-footed effort past the keeper, however, Myda denied Express keeper Mathias Muwanga a clean sheet after Issa Lumu was fouled inside the box with the referee pointing to the penalty spot.

Eric Mutebi then stepped up for Myda to send keeper Muwanga the wrong way and hand their team at least a goal from the battle.

Nicolas Otamendi considers Pep Guardiola to be a “beast” of a boss, with the former Manchester City defender revealing that the Catalan expects his players to “evolve” themselves after being given the “tools” they need to succeed.

Those methods have delivered rich rewards down the years, with considerable success enjoyed at Barcelona and Bayern Munich before taking the reins at the Etihad Stadium in 2016.

A historic quadruple remains on the cards this season, with the in-form Blues enjoying a 19-game winning run, and Otamendi is not surprised to see a proven coach generating more positivity.

What has been said?

Asked by The Athletic to give his take on Guardiola, Otamendi has said: “A beast.

“There’s nothing better than having a coach like Pep. Honestly, I was lucky to spend those four years with him.

“It’s important to listen to every instruction Pep gives you. He’s a demanding coach. He doesn’t allow you to relax: you have to compete with the other player for your position every day.

“He improves you technically. He works on your positioning, your aggression, everything. I tried to absorb all the information Pep gave me, to learn from everything he said to me.

“If you do things the way he tells you, it’ll end up going the right way for you during a match. That’s why you have to be very open, to have your head ready to take it all in. You have to be prepared to learn.”

Otamendi, who left City for Benfica in the summer of 2020, added: “Pep gives you all the tools you need to learn, after that it’s up to you to evolve. You have to concentrate.

“Honestly, the years I spent with him were very happy ones. I learnt something every day, in every training session, from every little tip. I’m fortunate to have had a coach like him.”

The bigger picture

Guardiola has taken in 272 games as City boss, with victories secured in 199 of those fixtures.

His stint with the Blues is now the longest of his managerial career, and a contract has been committed to through to the summer of 2023.

More success is expected to be enjoyed by then, with a star-studded side looking to re-write the record books in 2021.

City have already booked a place in the Carabao Cup final, while also making their way into the quarter-finals of the FA Cup and last 16 of the Champions League.

A 10-point lead has been opened up at the top of the Premier League table, with a home date against West Ham next on the agenda.

Further reading

Simba SC coach Didier Gomez Da Rosa has confirmed he will rotate his squad when they face African Lyon in the domestic cup competition on Friday.

The Msimbazi giants will host the division one side as they seek to retain the title they won last season and also clinch a treble, as they are firmly in the Mainland Premier League title race as well as the Caf Champions League.

Simba will play at their favourite Benjamin Mkapa Stadium, where they made history three days ago, becoming the first African team to beat coach Pitso Mosimane 1-0 since the South African took charge to handle Al Ahly from Mamelodi Sundowns.

Ahead of the fourth round fixture, Frenchman Da Rosa has confirmed he will rest a large number of players who did duty against the African champions and give the chance to other players in the squad to show what they are made of.

“Tomorrow [Friday] we will give a chance to other players in the squad to show their fans they are also in good form and can do the job like the rest of the squad,” Da Rosa told the club’s social media pages on Thursday.

“We want to give a break to the regular starters, they have done a fantastic job [beating Al Ahly] and must also get some day off to freshen up, they need a rest and I will have to rotate my squad.”

On his part, Simba media officer Haji Manara has maintained the team is aware of the importance of the game and they will not underestimate their opponents.

“We are the defending champions and would like to win it again this season as such, we have urged the squad not to underestimate African Lyon as they too want to go further in the competition,” Manara said as quoted by Daily News.

“As a club, we have already set our targets for this season of which we want to defend both the domestic cup and the top-flight league. We can ill-afford not to progress into the quarterfinals of the Champions League but there is no way we can give away the league title this season.”

The domestic competition will give coach Da Rosa a chance to see the fitness of his key striker John Bocco, who has recovered from the injury he picked up while with the Tanzania national team at the African Nations Championships in Cameroon.

Bocco could be handed a start, so too Kenyan midfielder Francis Kahata, who came on as a second-half substitute in the historic win against the Red Devils on Tuesday.

Other players who could start in the game include keeper Ben Kakolanya, who will come in for Aishi Manula, and Jonas Mkude, who is yet to play for the team since he was forgiven and drafted back into the squad after his alleged misconduct.

Uganda sealed their place in the semi-finals of the Africa U-20 Cup of Nations after a 5-3 win over Burkina Faso in a penalty shootout following a 0-0 draw in regulation time at Sheikha Bedia Stadium in Nouakchott on Thursday night.

The East Africans, who are making their debut in the competition, came into the match as underdogs owing to the experience of their opponents from West Africa. 

It was the Young Stallions who had a lively start hoping to get an early goal, and in the first 15 minutes, they had chances to score but left-back Bamba Karamoko and forward Joffrey Bazie failed to capitalise on them. 

The latter then came closest in the 39th minute when his well-taken free-kick hit the crossbar with the goalkeeper well beaten.

On the other hand, Steven Sserwada had a golden chance to put the Hippos in the lead moments prior to the half-time break, but his fierce effort was parried by the Burkinabe custodian.

After the break, the teams had a few chances to get an opening goal as they resorted to cautious play.

Neither side managed to get a goal in regular time as well as the extra time prompting the match to be decided by penalties.

The Hippos scored their penalties through Derrick Kakooza, Joseph Kizza Bukenya, Najib Yiga and Ivan Bogere.

Eric Chardey, Bamba and Ousmane Diane replied for the Young Stallions while Nasser Djiga failed to beat Jack Komakech in the Uganda goal.

Earlier on at the same venue, Ghana eliminated Cameroon from the annual competition after a 4-2 win in penalties as well after a 1-1 draw in regular and extra time.

After failing to score in the first 90 minutes, Milla Prince opened the scoring for the upcoming Indomitable Lions in the 103 minute. It looked like the winning goal until the opponents struck back just a minute later courtesy of Frank Boateng.

In the shootout, Goni Ali beat the goalkeeper but his effort was stopped by the crossbar, while Milla's penalty was stopped by goalkeeper Danlad Ibrahim. Saidou Alioum and Saidou Ibrahim scored the two penalties for Cameroon.

Daniel Afriyie, Frank Kwabena, Ivan Anokye and Percious Boah converted for Ghana.

In the semis, Uganda will play the winner between Morocco and Tunisia while Ghana will square it out with either Gambia or the Central African Republic.

Tusker winger Eric Zakayo has explained his happiness of working under experienced players as the team strives to achieve their target of winning the FKF Premier League title this campaign.

The young winger is among the players who were promoted to the Brewers’ senior team from the junior side and his superb display after coming off the bench against Nzoia Sugar caught the eyes of the team’s technical bench and the fans.

With Tusker trailing 1-0 against the Sugar Millers, Zakayo came on and played the key pass that led to the team’s equaliser by Jackson Macharia before floating in a cross that was headed in by Henry Meja to help the Brewers’ pick up maximum points.

Zakayo has since admitted he is happy to be learning under the wings of experienced players at the club and promised to help the club whenever he is called upon.

“The senior players not only offer competition in the team but are also present an opportunity to learn,” Zakayo told the club’s official website.

“They are always there to share their advice and every day I am learning from them, I take positives a lot and that is a motivation for me to keep working hard. Being behind foreign players should not be a discouragement you will not play but rather a motivation to keep working.

“The biggest lesson I have learnt is being humble and discipline, that’s the only thing that can take you far and give you success in football.”

On his contribution to beat Nzoia Sugar, Zakayo explained: “I really feel happy to have come in to help the team. I thank the coach for trusting me and one thing he usually tells us is we should always be ready when needed. I have always been patient and anytime a chance comes, I take it with both hands.

“My target is to keep playing more frequently and I will show from training and hopefully score or assist more to help the team.”

The win, a seventh straight for the title-chasing side, saw them stretch their lead at the top of the 18-team table to seven points, but according to coach Robert Matano, his players must stay focused and forget about getting excited if they are to win the title.

“This victory is now gone and we forget about it,” Matano told the club’s official website in a previous interview. “There is no need to be excited, we cannot talk about it now.

“Our focus is on the game against Bidco United on Saturday and we need to continue being consistent, it is still very early in the league and still tough, but we have to keep working hard and deliver results.”

On the game against Nzoia, Matano said: “It was a very tough game for us. We know that Nzoia is a strong team with very good running players and they have a lot of energy. We also knew that after beating KCB, they would come strongly and were ready for us.

“The first half was tough because they play very well in their half, but in the second half, we knew they would be tired and we made tactical substitutions that suited our game plan in the final minutes and I am happy we got a win.”

Burnley taking on West Bromwich Albion probably didn't hold massive appeal for the neutral owing to the perceived dearth of quality of the teams; however, the game at Turf Moor produced one of the controversial incidents in a Premier League weekend filled with questionable calls.

Mike Dean went over to the pitch-side monitor and deemed that Semi Ajayi’s handball just inside the Albion’s half had prevented a clear goalscoring opportunity for Matej Vydra which resulted in the centre-back’s 30th-minute dismissal.

While many debated the occasionally intolerable referee’s decision, it was actually quite straightforward and a clear interpretation of the rules.

Replays showed that Ajayi moved his right arm towards the ball and stopped the Burnley forward from running through on goal. Despite the supposed distance from their 18-yard box, the location of the incident and stricter punishment for deliberate handballs meant the sending off was just.

That episode threatened to ruin Sam Allardyce’s afternoon in a must-win encounter, but his side rallied and fashioned out the best opportunities to win the game. Huge misses from Mbaye Diagne and Matheus Pereira meant West Brom could only reduce the gap on Newcastle United to 11 points with 13 games to play.

Allardyce seemed pleased with the reaction of his side to going a man down and hailed it as one of the best he’d ever seen from an under-manned group, although he rued their profligate finishing.

“We are showing how much we are improving," he told BBC Radio 5 Live. “That was one of the best 10-man performances I have ever seen in my time.

“I have actually won a lot of games with 10 men, and this one well deserved a win with 10 men, but unfortunately we have to kick ourselves for missing golden opportunities.”

In a sense, it seems irreconcilable that the usually leaky Baggies have picked up two points from successive games largely due to their ineffectiveness in attack as opposed to allowing soft goals. While the arrival of Diagne has given them additional punch in the attacking third, their season-long defensive mistakes were always going to be a concern.

If the last couple of outings are evidence of what’s to come for the rest of the campaign, perhaps Allardyce’s recent call for his backline to become harder to breakdown has been heard. They kept Manchester United at bay in the 1-1 draw at the Hawthorns before limiting Burnley to very little on Saturday, evidenced by the pair’s respective expected goals of 0.42 and 0.54 per Understat.

Thus, Ajayi will breathe a huge sigh of relief that mistakes in both fixtures didn’t cost his colleagues. He had Craig Pawson’s reversal of an initial penalty award to thank against the Red Devils while there was a bit of fortune that Saturday’s red card came against a side with little invention up front.

Be that as it may, a meticulous analysis of both events may lessen the criticism of the towering centre-back. He was caught on the wrong side of Harry Maguire from Bruno Fernandes’ free-kick and briefly panicked by holding onto the England centre-back.

While the United defender looked to go down under minimal contact, Ajayi’s lapse in concentration could have seen the Albion hand the initiative to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s team who hardly deserved to win.

The Nigerian should partly be absolved of blame for the sending off against Burnley, though, as the arched back pass from Connor Gallagher (under pressure from two players) put the defender in an awkward position with the onrushing Vydra.

Directing the ball into Ajayi’s left foot was the easier-to-complete pass while the alternative option to play the ball into touch for a Burnley throw-in will have allowed the visitors to regroup. In the end, the Chelsea loanee did neither and the West African nearly carried the can for an avoidable incident that put his side at a disadvantage for an hour.

As a consequence, Allardyce won’t have the ex-Rotherham United central defender available for this weekend’s visit of Brighton & Hove Albion, who’s due a return against an Everton side that have fared better on their travels this season.

The English manager will look to Niang to chip in with much-needed goals to match the effort he puts in by the Galatasaray loanee throughout games while hoping the defensive solidity demonstrated vs Man United and Burnley is sustained for the concluding part of the season.

The recent errors have put Ajayi in a bad light but Big Sam has to retain belief in the defender whose mistakes couldn’t have been more ill-timed for a West Bromwich side looking to achieve the impossible in the next three months by beating the drop.

Mathare United coach Salim Ali has conceded the early goal they gave away against Wazito FC spoiled their superb display in the FKF Premier League match played on Wednesday.

The Slum Boys headed into the match against the Nairobi-based outfit seeking to bounce back to winning ways having lost 2-1 to promoted side Bidco United in their last outing and they were trailing very early in the game after a defensive lapse.

Maurice Ojwang scored for Wazito when Mathare United failed to clear the danger presented by their visitors in the third minute but Lennox Ogutu equalised for the Slum Boys in the 18th minute after he latched onto James Kinyanjui’s delivery and headed home to secure the 1-1 draw.

Coach Ali has now admitted the team put up a near-perfect display against the title-chasing side but the only thing that stopped his charges from capping the performance was the goal they had conceded very early in the battle.

“We conceded another early goal and it shows that we still have to work even more towards creating a rock-solid defence,” Ali told the club’s social media pages.

“You look at the goals we’ve conceded this season and most of them have come inside the first quarter and that shouldn’t be happening.

“You end up using too much energy trying to come back in the game and it is not ideal, credit to the players though as they fought and got back in the game. I feel we were the better side and could have won it in the end.

“It could have been perfect had it not been for the goal. We just have to work at it again and again. I know we are capable of much more.”

The draw enabled the Slum Boys to move from the relegation zone for the first time this season and are now 15th with nine points from 10 matches while Wazito remained sixth with 21 points from 12 matches.

The Slum Boys will now prepare to take on Nairobi City Stars in their next league match at Kasarani Stadium on Sunday.

Ghana coach Abdul Karim Zito reveals he fired up his team for Thursday's Africa U20 Cup of Nations quarter-final clash with Cameroon with talks of a possible qualification ticket reward for the cancelled 2021 Fifa U20 World Cup.

The Black Satellites booked a place in the semi-final of the African championship with a 4-2 penalty shoot-out victory over the young Indomitable Lions at Stade Olympique in the Mauritanian capital of Nouakchott.

Ordinarily, all Afcon semi-finalists are also rewarded with spots to represent Africa at the U20 World Cup but the situation has been made different this year after Fifa cancelled the 2021 global showpiece set for Indonesia, owing to health and safety concerns about the coronavirus pandemic.

The cancellation announcement for the tournament was made in December, only days after Ghana won a sub-regional Wafu Zone B championship in Benin to qualify for the continental gathering.

“We came into this game with the mental attitude to win. They won all their group matches so it was a tough challenge but today we are happy to beat them and qualify to the next stage," Zito said at the post-match press conference, as reported by the Ghana FA's official website.

“It’s a big achievement to meet Cameroon and beat them. The most important thing for now is that we have qualified to the semis. I'm happy we have been able to qualify to the semis.

“I told my boys Fifa can change the decision not to play the World Cup so they should just qualify, and we will see what will happen.

“I congratulate Cameroon because they fought a good fight but there’s always an element of luck in the game.

“People have always said that Ghana wasn’t good with penalties, but we did it in Benin and we have done it again today."

After a goalless 90 minutes, Cameroon broke the deadlock in the first half of extra-time through Kevin-Prince Milla.

Ghana responded four minutes later through Frank Boateng, taking the games into penalties.

On Monday, the Black Satellites will take on one of Gambia and the Central African Republic in the semi-final.

Ghana last qualified for the U20 World Cup in 2015 when they went on to reach the Round of 16 of the championship held in New Zealand.

Zito's outfit is three-time African champions (1993, 1999 and 2009) and 2009 world champions. 

Al-Ittihad registered a thumping 3-0 win over Fujairah courtesy of a superlative second-half performance away from home in the Arabian Gulf League (AGL) on matchday 18.

Meanwhile, Al-Dhafra shocked heavyweights Al-Ain 2-1 at Al-Dhafra stadium. Whereas, Al Wasl had to settle with a point after drawing 2-2 with Al Wahda at the Zabeel stadium. 

Ittihad's Mlapa in fine form 

Just before the halftime break, Peniel Mlapa opened the scoring from the spot for Ittihad after the referee spotted a handball inside the box. They did not have to wait long for their second goal as within eight minutes in the second half Mohamed Sabeel scored the insurance goal. 

Ittihad continued their domination and it was keeper Saleh Rabei's heroics that prevented Fujairah from a humiliation. However, Rabei could not stop Mlapa from scoring the second of the night in the 87th minute who had been in good form throughout the match. 

Bani Yas gets a breather as Al-Ain lose 

Whereas, Al-Ain could not keep up the pressure on Bani Yas for the third-place as they went down quite uncharacteristically to 10th-placed Al Dhafra. Makhete Diop scored in each half at Hamdan Bin Zayed Stadium to earn three valuable points for his side. 

In the 34th minute, the Senegalese forward broke the deadlock as he rifled a shot into the bottom corner of the net beyond the reach of the goalkeeper. Al-Ain started played with more purpose after conceding and in the 50th minute equalised from the spot through Laba Kodjo. 

Seven minutes later, the hosts were awarded a penalty but could not make the most of it as Pedro Conde's effort struck the woodwork. But Al-Ain continued to be generous with giving away penalties and this time Diop shouldered the responsibility with maximum precision. 

This win ended Al-Dhafra's seven-game winless streak and now have 20 points in their kitty. 

Al-Wasl's Fabio Lima temporarily displace Ali Mabkhout in the golden boot race 

In the third match, Fabio Lima was the star for Al Wasl as he scored two goals to temporarily go top of the goalscoring charts with 16 goals to his name. Lima was quick to give his team the lead when he scored from 12 yards in the eighth minute. But, Wahda's Myung-joo Lee erased the deficit three minutes from half-time to change the dynamics of the game. 

Al-Wahda were reduced to 10-men when Ruben Amaral was sent off for a rash challenge and Lima restored the lead from the spot. However, Vuk Rasovic's men showed character and found the equaliser on the 82nd minute through Omar Khribin. 

Standings

After a 3-0 win, Al-Ittihad stand in ninth place with 26 points, while Fujairah is staring towards dropping in the relegation zone as they stand 12th with 10 points. 

AL-Ain continue to be in fourth place with 30 points while Al-Dhafra are 10th with 20 points. 

After the draw, Al Wasl and Al-Wahda both sit on 28 points from 18 matches. However, courtesy of a better head-to-head Al Wahda sit seventh and Al Wasl on eighth.