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Today's
Edition for
29th March 2000
Today's
Headlines
NI
U21's report
Cambridge
to lose skipper
Oldham
Evening Chronicle
On-loan
Dunning hit by injury setback
NEW-BOY
Richard Dunning has been hit by injury only a week after signing for Athletic. The
19-year-old defender, who is on loan from Blackburn until the end of the
season, is struggling with a knee problem and has returned to Ewood Park
for assessment. Dunning's spell with
Athletic is an extended trial, although he could come into first-team contention
as cover is sparse at right wing-back. He has looked promising in four
games for the reserves, but was forced off after an hour during Monday's
win in the Pontins League Cup.
Athletic
are at Turf Moor tonight in the second of their back-to-back fixtures against
Burnley. Dunning misses the match — which this time is in the league —
but was expected back at Boundary Park today after Blackburn's club doctor
had done some checks on his knee. Athletic
have also left out Mark Innes, Richard Graham, Ryan Sugden and Danny Boshell,
all of whom played on Monday night. They will be involved in the senior
squad this weekend and, in a busy month, manager Andy Ritchie doesn't want
to push his players too hard. Striker Wassim El Banna is in from the start
for the last game of his scheduled trial period.
RESERVES:
Robertson, Thom, McLoughlin, Futcher, Roberts, Smith, Salt, Walsh, Gardiner,
El Banna, Tipton. Subs: Whittle, Rock, Doran, Oliver, Froggatt.
Athletic's
reward for their Pontins League Cup win against Burnley is a semi-final
at Scunthorpe, the date of which has yet to be arranged. The other semi-final
is between Tranmere and Huddersfield.
Ross
from Hyde writes Isn't
it about time that Ritchie looked more positively at our season? I admit
that we are not 100% safe from last seasons worries, but the fact that
Ritchie has harped on about a points total of 52 this season, only commits
to putting the players under pressure. Maybe that is what we need? But
from past experience, that has never seemed, to me, to have been the answer.
The amount of lock-ins and tantrums that occurred last season, never did
any good and to put pressure on the players now, to still beat the drop,
is very negative.
Looking at the
league today, we stand in 13th on 49pts. However, Brentford are positioned
in 9th on 51pts and have played 2 games more. That is where we should finish
up, in 9th meaning a top 10 finish, and our highest position in this 2nd
Division since we dropped down into it. Athletic are definitely top 10
material, and maybe with one other player (obviously a striker) we could
have been challenging for the play-offs. That will never be known now.
Maybe Ritchie will find that 20 goals-a-season man, during the summer.
If he does, and this team avoids the start we gave ourselves this year,
then who knows where we will be next season. But the future has to look
bright now. We have a real chance of some glory next season, and I think
we all deserve it.
Teamtalk
Oldham
Major
Dudley blow
Oldham
striker Craig Dudley may miss the rest of the season after straining a
hamstring in Saturday's 2-1 win at Scunthorpe. The 20 year-old had to limp
out of the contest when his hamstring tightened and prevented him from
playing at full pelt. The good news is that the damage seems likely to
be a strain rather than a pull, which almost certainly have ruled out the
forward until the end of the current campaign. However with six games to
come in April, Dudley's injury could not have come at a worse time, as
Dudley's pace is a tremendous asset for the Latics and will be sorely missed.
Boss Andy Ritchie said: "It could well be two or three weeks, or even longer.
We will just have to wait and see."
Dunning
injures knee
The Latics'
defender Richard Dunning, on loan from Blackburn Rovers until the end of
the season, has strained a knee in a reserve outing. Dunning has only been
at Boundary Park for a couple of weeks and his absence will be felt strongly
while Craig Dudley is also on the injury list. Boss Andy Ritchie said:
"We won't know the full extent of the injury until it settles down, but
he is not walking very well."Teamtalk
Burnley
Reserves
back in action
After
the Pontins League Cup exit against Oldham on Monday night, Burnley Reserves
are back in action against them at Turf Moor on Wednesday night. And once
again it looks as though reserve team boss Mick Docherty will only have
the club's youngsters to pick from. On Monday, the only senior professional
in the team was loan signing Gerry Harrison. And he is set to continue
his search for full match fitness when he again leads the young Clarets.
Elsewhere the team is to be made up of young players, many of whom are
looking for new contracts. The likes of Chris Scott, Matty Heywood and
Brad Maylett will all need new deals in the summer and will all be hoping
to impress against Oldham. Last season the trio of teenagers played regular
first team football until Stan Ternent was able to strengthen his squad
with more experienced players. None of them has kicked a ball in anger
in the first team this season. But they will all be keen to do well in
the remaining reserve team games and earn the chance of extended contracts.
The same will be true to goalkeeper Craig Mawson who has been at the club
for five years and has yet to make his senior debut
Belfast Telegraph
Friars
conjures up late win for U21's
Malta
U21 1 Northern Ireland U21 2
WHEN a game
is drifting towards a draw, a manager always looks for a player to produce
a piece of magic to claim the winner. Yesterday at the Hibernians Stadium,
Sean Friars pulled a rabbit out of the hat for Roy Millar on his debut
as Under 21 boss. Friars is on-loan at Portadown from Ipswich Town but
if his quality shown throughout this game is anything to go by, particularly
in the 89th minute, the winger - with the greatest respect - deserves to
be playing at a much higher standard than the Irish League. Picking up
the ball just inside the Maltese half, Friars took off beating three defenders
with a mixture of pace and skill. He followed that dazzling run with a
delightful pass which sent substitute Maurice Harkin clear. The Wycombe
Wanderers striker, who had missed a decent chance moments earlier, did
not disappoint on this occasion firing home a low right-foot shot.
 |
As commentator
Alan Parry once said about Ian Rush and Kenny Dalglish: "Harken the scorer
but Friars the creator supreme."Danish legend Michael Laudrup, in the stands,
would certainly have appreciated Friars' touch of class. Ports boss Ronnie
McFall will hope that the injury the winger sustained in making the pass
is not serious. Glentoran's Michael Ferguson replaced him in injury time,
which surprisingly lasted only four minutes. It could have been ten given
the amount of time the respective physios spent on the pitch. This friendly
was anything but!It all started well for Northern Ireland with Andy Kirk
displaying his predatory instincts on five minutes. Again Friars was involved
as was Richard Graham before Kirk typically slipped the ball into the net
inside the box.
|
The home side
equalised on 23 minutes through Michael, who looked offside when he tapped
in from close range, after former Manchester United triallist Michael Mifsud
had his initial shot well saved by David Miskelly. That was a cruel blow
for the visitors but throughout the match it was they who looked the likelier
winners. Derry City's Darren Kelly, in his first outing at this level,
Kirk and Harkin all went close and Graham had a goal disallowed as Northern
Ireland pressed for a second. It would have been an injustice on the impeccable
Sean Holmes at the back, the hard-working Kirk and of course Friars had
a winner not arrived. But thanks to his piece of wing wizardry it eventually
did.
MALTA: Camilleri,
Camenzuli, Mamo, Scicluna, Forace, Grima, Farrugia, Giglio, Mifsud, Galea,
Sylla.
NORTHERN
IRELAND: Miskelly, Dolan, McAreevey, Skates, Kelly, Holmes, Carson, Whitley,
Kirk, Graham, Friars. Subs: Ferguson for Friars; McFlynn for McAreevey;
Toner for Skates; Hamilton for Kirk; Harkin for Graham.
Referee:
Joe Attard (Malta).
Cambridge
Evening News
New
blows for United
ALREADY
without their spearhead, Cambridge United are facing the threat of losing
strongman skipper Paul Wanless for Saturday's Division Two match at Oldham.
And another midfielder, Neil Mackenzie, could be forced to sit out the
second division game with the strikeforce of Trevor Benjamin (suspended)
and Tom Youngs (injured). As the club's injury crisis -- which has claimed
as many as 10 players -- deepened, a thigh problem restricted Wanless'
training to some bicycle riding, while Mackenzie received treatment for
a knee injury. "Paul Wanless is the worry at this stage," said manager
Roy McFarland. "He's experienced some tightening in a thigh, and it's difficult
to know how it's going to turn out. "We'll have to wait to see whether
we can put him through a test on Friday, or leave it later than that and
try to get a run-out up at Oldham before the game. "Planning for the match
won't be easy. We'll have to leave that a day or two until Ken Steggles
gives us a rundown on the players' chances. "But it could mean a change
of formation, something I've had to give some thought to with both Trevor
and Tom unavailable."
He
could have some players back from injury, however: Left-back Clive Wilson
is training again after missing eight games due to a knee injury, Neil
Mustoe reckons he will be fit for Saturday, while deadline day loan signing
Jonathan Hunt, from Sheffield United, is likely to be in contention.
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