Tag Archives: quartet

Peter Charles and Nick Skelton defeated in FEI World Cup qualifier

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Charles and Skelton still riding high despite defeat

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UPDATED:

21:55 GMT, 22 December 2012

British Olympic heroes Peter Charles and Nick Skelton just missed out on the perfect climax to an unforgettable year when they were pipped for glory in the FEI World Cup qualifier at Olympia.

The Netherlands' Marc Houtzager thwarted home hopes by claiming the 30,000 first prize and gaining some revenge for his Olympic heartache.

Top form: Marc Houtzager rides Sterrehof's Tamino

Top form: Marc Houtzager rides Sterrehof's Tamino

Houtzager was a member of the Dutch team beaten to the Olympic gold after a nerve-shredding jump-off by the British quartet of Charles, Skelton, Ben Maher and Scott Brash at Greenwich Park less than five months ago.

Malin Baryard-Johnsson of Sweden finished second yesterday with Charles, riding a recent addition to his string, Murka's Odie de Frevent, third and Skelton fourth aboard his Olympic mount Big Star.

Charles flew the British flag with one of only three double clear rounds despite his performance coming just three months after he underwent surgery on his groin.

'I have been off for a long time and this was the horse's first proper grand prix,' Charles said.

Best of British: Peter Charles on Odie de Frevent

Best of British: Peter Charles on Odie de Frevent

'The course was plenty big enough today and you certainly needed a very quick horse towards the end of the course.'

Charles, though, admitted that his partnership with Odie de Frevent remains in its infancy.

He added: 'I am still trying out new bits with the horse. I don't know how fully I can go with her, but I think I will run her in the grand prix tomorrow.'

Then, reflecting on an unforgettable season, Charles, who will be 53 on New Year's Day, added: 'This year has been what dreams are made of.

'I didn't think I was going to be fit enough to ride at this show. To do that today was really nice.'

Hannah Miley earns second medal at World Short-Course Championships

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Miley earns second medal at World Short-Course Championships

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UPDATED:

19:12 GMT, 15 December 2012

Medal winner: Hannah Miley earned a bronze to go with her gold

Medal winner: Hannah Miley earned a bronze to go with her gold

Hannah Miley claimed her second medal of the World Short-Course Championships when she was third in the 200 metres individual medley in Istanbul.

The 23-year-old won gold in her specialist 400m event on the first night of competition, breaking her own European record in the process.

The Garioch swimmer was fourth with
50m to go tonight but she managed to force her way into the podium
places to touch in two minutes 07.12 seconds.

It was Great Britain's fourth medal of the five-day competition in Turkey, which will conclude on Sunday.

Miley, seventh in this event at the Olympics, said: 'I am really, really happy with that. It has given me another boost of confidence and motivation for the next part of the season.'

In the other final in which Britain competed, the women's 4x100m freestyle relay finished eighth.

The quartet comprising Rebecca
Turner, Lizzie Simmonds, Eleanor Faulkner and Fran Halsall had qualified
seventh and they were 0.03secs slower tonight in a race won by the
United States.

Roy Hodgson says England needs to stop asking what has gone wrong and instead look to the future

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Hodgson urges England to forget the failures since '66 and look to the future

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UPDATED:

16:38 GMT, 15 December 2012

Roy Hodgson cannot see the point in England handicapping themselves by constantly lamenting what has gone wrong since 1966.

After a solid start to their World Cup qualifying campaign, the Three Lions visit San Marino and Montenegro next March before an autumn push towards the World Cup in Brazil.

If England do achieve their first objective, Hodgson knows references to their sole World Cup win are bound to be raised, plus the inevitable debate about why progress has been so slow since that memorable occasion.

England boss Roy Hodgson says England need to stop lamenting past failures and focus on the present and future

England boss Roy Hodgson says England need to stop worrying about what has gone wrong since 1966 and focus on the present and future of the team

But England's coach feels that assessment is counter-productive.

'One of my concerns for England has always been that we're not trying to win in the present, we're trying to win in the past and we can't do that,' Hodgson told FATV.

'I know there's 1966 and that it's 50 years and that we've failed here and there and missed penalty shoot-outs, but unfortunately there's not very much I can do now to change anything that's historical.

England manager Roy Hodgson

'You can't turn back the clock and you can't win yesterday. You can only win today and while winning today, you can only have an eye on how we can win tomorrow.'

Hodgson cannot be faulted for the number of younger players he has introduced to the Three Lions fold since he took charge in May.

Raheem Sterling and Carl Jenkinson were amongst those to make their debuts in Sweden last month, whilst others, including Danny Welbeck and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain were part of his Euro 2012 squad despite their limited experience.

With the exception of Sterling, none of that quartet could be regarded as first-choice for their clubs in a league where so many of its top men are foreign.

Hodgson sees little point arguing against the mass continental influx.

Instead he feels the onus is on those young English players to prove themselves indispensable.

'Clubs will do what they have to do and I can't expect that a manager who is under pressure to get results is thinking long-term for the benefits of the English national side,' he said.

'If he thinks his interests are best served by getting a player from Montenegro, Russia or Israel, they're entitled to do that.

'Rather than complain that there are a lot of foreign players, let's turn it on its head and make certain that our players do better.

'Take Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain for example, who plays some games but not others. He has got to become so good that Arsene Wenger doesn't want to look elsewhere.

'That's what I've got to hope for and that's got to be their ambition.'

Challenge: Hodgson has said that players like Arsenal's Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (pictured) have to 'become so good that Arsene Wenger doesn't want to look elsewhere'

Challenge: Hodgson said that players like Arsenal's Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (pictured) have to be 'so good that Arsene Wenger doesn't want to look elsewhere'

Aston Villa, Newcastle and Reading keen on Osasuna"s Raoul Loe

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Premier League quartet fighting it out for Osasuna's Loe with club in need of cash

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UPDATED:

22:45 GMT, 11 December 2012

Aston Villa, Newcastle and Reading are keen on Osasuna's Raoul Loe.

The 6ft 4in defensive midfielder has been outstanding for the Spanish side this season but their perilous financial state means they will listen to any decent offers for the 23-year-old.

Norwich have also shown interest in the Frenchman.

In demand: Raoul Loe is being tracked by a host of Premier League clubs

In demand: Raoul Loe is being tracked by a host of Premier League clubs

Stuart Fielden signs for Huddersfield

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Huddersfield pick up former Great Britain prop Fielden on two-year deal

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UPDATED:

22:05 GMT, 12 October 2012

Huddersfield have signed former Great Britain prop forward Stuart Fielden following his release by Wigan.

The 33-year-old Fielden has signed a two-year contract with the Giants, where he will link up with head coach Paul Anderson, his old Bradford team-mate.

With Brian McDermott and Joe Vagana, they formed the famous 'awesome foursome' front row quartet who laid the foundations for Bradford's trophy-laden years in the early days of Super League.

Giant: Stuart Fielden has signed a two-year deal with Huddersfield

Giant: Stuart Fielden has signed a two-year deal with Huddersfield

Fielden was widely acknowledged as the best front rower in the game when he left Bradford midway through the 2006 season.

He cost Wigan a world record transfer fee of 440,000 but he was not offered a new contract after making just two appearances in the last two seasons due to knee and pectoral injuries.

England v South Africa – live score, T20, Durham

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LIVE: England v South Africa – Follow the score from the first T20 match in Durham

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UPDATED:

11:42 GMT, 8 September 2012

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England take on South Africa at Chester-le-Street in Durham on Saturday afternoon in what is the first contest of a three-match Twenty20 series.

With the World Twenty20 coming up in Sri Lanka later this month, both sides will be looking to gain some momentum in the shortest format of the game before they depart these shores.

England – who are aiming to beat South Africa for the first time in a series this summer having lost 2-0 over three Tests and drawn 2-2 over five one-day internationals – see captain Stuart Broad return, having been rested for the 50-over series.

Also expected to feature for the home side alongside Broad are fellow Twenty20 stalwarts Eoin Morgan and Graeme Swann, while the world class quartet of Hashim Amla, Jacques Kallis, Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel will feature for the tourists.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE LIVE SCORECARD
Ready to go: England captain Stuart Broad (left) with his South African counterpart AB De Villiers

Ready to go: England captain Stuart Broad (left) with his South African counterpart AB De Villiers

US Open 2012: Johanna Konta qualifies for Great Britain

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Rising star Konta completes British quartet after qualifying for US Open

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UPDATED:

22:33 GMT, 24 August 2012

Made it: Britain's Johanna Konta

Made it: Britain's Johanna Konta

Great Britain will have four women in the main draw when the US Open starts on Monday after Johanna Konta survived a third-set wobble to defeat Zhang Shuai of China in the final round of qualifying.

The 21-year-old had two match points serving at 5-1 but let them slip away and lost four games in a row.

But she held serve to move within a game once more and this time she sealed it, making no mistake with a simple smash on her fifth match point.
Konta's 6-4 3-6 7-5 victory means she will play in the main draw of a second consecutive grand slam after pushing top-30-player Christina McHale all the way in the first round of Wimbledon as a wild card.

Konta said: 'It was definitely a challenge to close it out. I'm very lucky and happy that I was able to do so in the end.

'I was obviously feeling the nerves in my legs and my hands. It means a lot to me. This was my first qualifying appearance in any grand slam so I was very happy I was able to convert that into main draw.'

Konta, who is based in Eastbourne but recently switched allegiance from the land of her birth, Australia, was watched by Venus Williams for the first few games as she began strongly on a hot day at Flushing Meadows.

The British No 5 had not lost a set in her first two rounds but Zhang, ranked 10 places higher than her opponent at 195th in the world, had dropped only three games.

Konta held on to a break to serve out for the first set and fought back from 3-1 down in the second but could not prevent Zhang taking the match into a decider, where she eventually prevailed after two hours and 47 minutes.

Having already beaten three higher-ranked players, Konta goes into the main draw full of confidence, and she has the experience of Wimbledon to call on.

She added: “There was a ton of pressure at Wimbledon seeing as there was a home crowd but I was very fortunate that the All England Club gave me a wild card. That experience is under my belt and hopefully I can use that in my match here.”

Konta's victory means that for the sixth consecutive grand slam there have been at least four British women in the main draw.

Anne Keothavong, Heather Watson and Laura Robson qualified automatically on their ranking, but Elena Baltacha is not in New York after taking time out to have ankle surgery.

Liverpool plan to rotate squad in Europa League

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Squad players will get time to shine as Liverpool say they will rotate in Europa League

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UPDATED:

14:07 GMT, 22 August 2012

Fantasy football 2012

Brendan Rodgers is likely to rotate his squad this season in Liverpool's Europa League campaign – starting at Hearts on Thursday.

Steven Gerrard, Luis Suarez, Martin Skrtel and Glen Johnson have all remained behind on Merseyside to rest ahead of Sunday's visit of Barclays Premier League champions Manchester City.

That means some fringe players will be involved in the Europa League qualifying play-off in Edinburgh and assistant manager Colin Pascoe accepted that would be the case this season if they successfully progressed from the two-legged tie.

Rested: Luis Suarez is not in the squad to face Hearts

Rested: Luis Suarez is not in the squad to face Hearts

'That's the way you've got to look at it,' he said.

'With the squad and the players we have got here it's fantastic so you have to rotate the players because you play on a Saturday, then a Thursday and a Sunday, so it's an opportunity for all the players to perform.

'One minute you are in the Europa League and the next we will be playing Manchester City, then it's the second leg against Hearts followed by Arsenal.

'There are some fantastic games and teams who you want to play against. These are games we can't wait for.'

Despite the squad being weakened by the absence of that key quartet Pascoe insisted they would not be taking the Scottish Cup winners lightly.

'Every game you put a shirt on for Liverpool FC is very important,' he said.

'There will be a full house up in Scotland and all of the boys are looking forward to it.

In the squad: Stuart Downing will travel to Hearts

In the squad: Stuart Downing will travel to Hearts

'It's one of those banana skins and it's a great pull for them to play Liverpool.

'It's two legs and we are going to be
positive and try to win the tie up there and then bring them back to
Anfield for the same again.'

Midfielder Jordan Henderson may be given a run-out in Edinburgh and he is looking to find a way back into the team having been left on the bench at West Brom.

The 22-year-old had a difficult first campaign at Anfield last season but believes he has learned from the experience.

'I think there were a lot of positives to be taken out of my first full season,' he said.

'Admittedly there were also a lot of ups and downs but I learnt a lot and I became a man in that time.

Chance: Jordan Henderson is looking to gain experience

Chance: Jordan Henderson is looking to gain experience

'I've just got to use all the experience that I gained in that year and hopefully this can be a better year for me.

'Obviously all of us players are disappointed if we haven't played very well or we've got beat but you've just got to go away and stay positive and keep training hard, keep working hard and eventually it will come right for you.

'I look to kick on every season. This season is no different.

'I just need to work hard and try and get into the team first. I need to make sure I train well and that come the weekend, the manager can't leave me out.'

A summer stint with England at the European Championship, where he made two substitute appearances has also helped his self-belief.

'Being there with these types of players gives you more confidence when you go and play at the highest level,' he added.

'It gave me a lot of confidence, so let's hope I can use that and just keep pushing forward.'

Tyson Gay wins 100m at AVIVA London Grand Prix in Crystal Palace

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Gay fires Olympic warning to Bolt and co by storming to 100m win in Crystal Palace

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UPDATED:

19:34 GMT, 13 July 2012

Tyson Gay warmed up for the Olympic Games by winning the 100m final at the Aviva London Grand Prix in Crystal Palace.

Gay won in a time of 10.03s into a headwind of 1.2 metres per second, with compatriot Ryan Bailey and Jamaican Nesta Carter in second and third.

Can't catch me: Tyson Gay (right) won the Diamond League athletics meet at Crystal Palace

Can't catch me: Tyson Gay (right) won the Diamond League athletics meet at Crystal Palace

Centre of attention: Gay holds off fellow American Ryan Bailey and Jamaica's Michael Frater to win

Centre of attention: Gay holds off fellow American Ryan Bailey and Jamaica's Michael Frater to win

'I'm in pretty good shape, I just need to work on some things on my groin area with my physio and I should be good to go,' the former world champion said.

'I feel I know how to mentally prepare for this type of weather and this was the best place to prepare for the Games.'

British quartet Dwain Chambers, Mark Lewis-Francis, Andrew Robertson and Simeon Williamson had all failed to advance from the earlier heats, with Chambers the quickest in 10.35s.

In good shape: Bailey congratulates Gay on his impressive victory just two weeks before the Olympics

In good shape: Bailey congratulates Gay on his impressive victory just two weeks before the Olympics

Early exits: Great Britain's Mark Lewis-Francis (left) and Dwain Chambers (right) during the 100m heats

Early exits: Great Britain's Mark Lewis-Francis (left) and Dwain Chambers (right) during the 100m heats

London 2012 Olympics: Perri Shakes-Drayton willing to wait for glory

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Shakes-Drayton willing to wait for Olympic glory and concedes London may be too soon for gold

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UPDATED:

17:39 GMT, 11 July 2012

Britain's Perri Shakes-Drayton concedes her best chance of Olympic glory may not come at the stadium she grew up so close to.

Shakes-Drayton sprang to prominence in the European Championships in Barcelona in 2010, winning bronze in the 400 metres hurdles and adding another in the 4x400m relay.

Willing to wait: Perri Shakes-Drayton believes her Olympic success may come later in her career

Willing to wait: Perri Shakes-Drayton believes her Olympic success may come later in her career

That led to high expectations for the 23-year-old from Bow, east London, but she has struggled to build on that success since.

Her time of 54.18 seconds in Barcelona remains her personal best, while her quickest time of 55.25secs this season leaves her 21st in the world and behind British team-mate Eilidh Child.

'A lot of people were saying 'going for gold medal potential' but everyone is going out there trying to get a medal. It's not going to be easy,' Shakes-Drayton said ahead of the London Grand Prix at Crystal Palace.

'I've never had in my thoughts that I'm going to get a medal come 2012, maybe four years after is more my time.'

Asked what would satisfy her in London, she added: 'Making it to the final and running a PB. Then I will be over the moon.'

Attempt: Shakes-Drayton will attempt to get a place on the pdium

Attempt: Shakes-Drayton will attempt to get a place on the pdium

Perhaps a better chance of a medal will come in the 4x400m relay, with Shakes-Drayton anchoring the British quartet to a surprise gold at the World Indoors in Istanbul in March.

'We have a very good team,' added Shakes-Drayton, who missed out on selection for the last Olympics despite winning the trials.

Tasha Danvers was chosen instead and won bronze in Beijing.

'I don't know about winning but we are definitely capable of a medal. It's not going to be easy just getting into the quartet.

'Everyone is going to step up their game and no one is just going to give it to you, we all have that fighting spirit.'

Shakes-Drayton held off individual champion Sanya Richards-Ross on the last leg in Istanbul and would love the chance to do so again in London.

'I'm going to run like a dog's chasing me!' she joked.