McGuinness urges Donegal to 'make the chance count'
McGuinness is not the only recent returnee - as his captain from the 2012 All-Ireland success, Michael Murphy, came out of retirement to bolster the squad this year, having initially stepped away in 2022."It's brilliant to have him," said the Donegal boss."He's been immense and any of the younger lads, he's been brilliant with them. It's fantastic to have the footballer, but also the leader. Hopefully there's another big day in Michael."It will require a big performance from Murphy and the rest of his team-mates if they are to finish the job on Sunday as they come up against a Kerry side laden with talent.There is plenty to ponder for the Donegal boss, not least what to do with David Clifford, but it is a challenge he says they all must embrace."The challenge is fairly immense," he acknowledges."When you get the pen and paper out to think about David Clifford, it can be a blank page for a long time. He is an elite player and one of the best we've ever seen, if not the best. His brother [Paudie] and Sean O'Shea are all elite players who, on any given day, can beat you, but David is a bit special. The challenge he and those other lads will be huge, but that's where we want to be."The boys have done really well to create this opportunity and we are just hoping they can show their best colours and make it count."
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Daily Mail
23 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Panathinaikos 1 Rangers 1 (Rangers win 3-1 on aggregate): New boss Martin survives baptism of fire
As the clock confirmed the 90 minutes had come and gone and darkness closed in, a hush finally descended on Panathinaikos' exuberant supporters. Russell Martin took one last look at his watch, exhaled deeply and drank in the moment. It had been far from pretty, but the fact his side did just enough in the heat of Athens will be remembered long after the minor details of this affair are long forgotten. Handed the most arduous opening assignment as manager of the Ibrox club, he's entitled to take no little satisfaction from this triumph. While he was correct to point out that its outcome would not define his side's season, it was always going to set the tone. Amid a summer of substantial change on and off the park, a two-legged victory against a seasoned European side will further engender an air of positivity around the club. It feels like a steady first step on a journey. Martin and his players may still have to clear two further hurdles to make it to the Champions League proper, but they now have the comfort of knowing they have secured group stage football of some description. The manager will need no one to tell him how differently all of this might have played out, however. With his side struggling for composure throughout the match, Panathinaikos — again — fashioned enough chances to get the job done. While Jack Butland again earned his corn, the fact is that the Greeks were toothless in the final third. A better side would have turned a hatful of chances into more goals and prevailed. There is still much work for Martin and his players to do. That, though, is for another day. For now, all that truly counts is that a work in progress has cleared an awkward first hurdle. Djeidi Gassama is emerging as quite the summer signing. A £2.2million capture from Sheffield Wednesday, the Frenchman made an immediate impact with the second goal in the first leg and made another telling contribution here. Deservedly behind on the night through Filip Djuricic's header early in the second half, Gassama soon quietened the home supporters with a superb flashing strike, his first touch of the night after coming off the bench. From that point on, Rangers looked good to get the result they came for. For all the supporters of Panathinaikos descended on the Olympic Stadium in their numbers, there was never any possibility of its 75,000 capacity being troubled. A temporary home for European matches, this stadium still echoed to the noise of their chants. But the running track around the perimeter of the pitch meant it lacked the hostility and intensity of their more compact home, the Apostolos Nikolaidis. Despite confirming that Gassama was ready to start, Martin kept the Frenchman in reserve, keeping faith the same XI who'd started the first leg. As predicted, Rui Vitoria's side came out swinging, forcing four corners inside the first 10 minutes. With the visitors struggling to get up to the pace of the game, Nico Raskin's clearing header only made it as far as Tasos Bakasetas. Butland was relieved to see the midfielder's strike from 18 yards creep a foot wide of the target. Rangers were certainly looking to get up the park, as Martin had directed them too. In the early exchanges, that proved to be wishful thinking. Fotis Ioannidis worked a one-two with Djuricic. Butland had to be smartly off his line to shut down the angle and make a telling block. Indecision by John Souttar then put Max Aarons in trouble. With the full-back beaten to the ball by Facundo Pellistri, Butland again advanced to save the day. Rangers were already riding their luck. Another green surge up the park brought a further moment of alarm for the visiting bench. Pellistri strode away from the struggling Aarons down the right and dragged Nasser Djiga out of position. His cross was met flush by the head of the flying Ioannidis. Butland didn't know much about it but was again in the right place at the right time. With his side detailed to build from the back, Djiga undercooked a pass to James Tavernier. Duricic pounced and squared the ball to Pellistri. The Uruguayan's failure to hit the target from 15 yards left his manager flapping his arms and looking up to the heavens. With men in white jerseys taking it in turns to give the ball away, there was little respite from the pressure. The half-time whistle was nigh by the time the visitors held the ball for more than a minute. While Raskin headed Joe Rothwell's corner just over the top, Martin's side didn't create a single chance of note from open play in the first period. The manager raced back up the tunnel the instant the half-time whistle sounded, doubtless with some choice words to impart. They didn't have the desired effect. Within nine minutes of the restart, Panathinaikos had the goal they richly deserved. Bakasetas's in-swinging cross from the right caught those in front of Butland on their heels. Djuricic's header back across goal was well-placed. Butland scrambled but could not prevent it from sneaking in. A raised offside flag offered Rangers false hope. As VAR eventually identified, Aarons had played Duricic onside. With Rangers rattled, Ioannidis was a hair's breadth from connecting with Djuricic's cross and squaring the tie. The introduction of Gassama arrived when his side most needed him. Starved of service to that point, Danilo had a pair of strikes repelled by a defender then the keeper. The ball sat up perfectly for the winger. His right-foot strike caught the inside of the far post and went in. The Greeks' lead had lasted just six minutes. Having laboured for so long, Rangers could now see the winning post in sight. Panathinaikos began to force the play. Substitute Adam Gnezda Cerin almost caught Butland out with a speculative cross. Ahmed Touba marched forward and drilled one wide from 30 yards. The introduction of Jefte for Kieran Dowell suggested Martin was now content for his side to sit in and see the game out. Panathinaikos rang the changes, but their body language was becoming that of a beaten side. By hook or by crook, Rangers got the job done. Yet there remains considerable scope for improvement.
The Guardian
24 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Rangers see off wasteful Panathinaikos in Champions League qualifier
Djeidi Gassama turned super-sub once again with a crucial goal as Rangers beat profligate Panathinaikos 3-1 on aggregate in their Champions League second qualifier in Athens. Leading 2-0 from the first leg at Ibrox, only another fine performance in the Olympic stadium from their goalkeeper Jack Butland, who thwarted the Greek side in the first leg, kept the tie goalless at the break. Filip Djuricic opened the scoring with a header in the 53rd minute but moments after climbing off the bench, Gassama, who scored after coming off the bench on his debut last week, levelled at 1-1 with a stunning drive. A remarkable start to the 21-year-old's Rangers career took the heat out of the home side's fightback, although Russell Martin should not be fooled. His side rode their luck for the second time against Panathinaikos, who will rue a series of missed opportunities over the two games. In what was Martin's first away game as Rangers manager and only his second in Europe he kept the same side which started last week at Ibrox. Rui Vitória's side were without suspended right-back Georgios Vagiannidis, sent off in Glasgow for picking up two yellow cards, and his place was taken by Giannis Kotsiras. The home side bossed and battered Rangers in the first half, starting in the fifth minute when midfielder Anastasios Bakasetas drove just wide from the edge of the box following another corner. In the 14th minute, Rangers' dithering defender Max Aarons was robbed by former Manchester United man Facundo Pellistri, which left the attacker one-on-one with Butland and the goalkeeper brilliantly blocked the shot. Butland then made another terrific save from a close-range header by captain Fotis Ioannidis, who had beaten defender John Souttar to a great cross from Pellistri. Panathinaikos defender Erik Palmer-Brown headed a Bakasetas free-kick over the bar from six yards before the unmarked Pellistri missed a sitter in the 28th minute, blasting high over from 12 yards after James Tavernier had conceded possession inside the box. Rangers' two real efforts came in rare attacks, Findlay Curtis missing the target and midfielder Nico Raskin heading over, both from corners. Waves of Panathinaikos pressure continued after the break but when Duricic wrong-footed Butland with a header from a Bakasetas cross, the flag went up for offside. However, after a long VAR check, Italian referee Simone Sozza awarded the goal but more drama quickly ensued. Moments later, Gassama, the former Sheffield Wednesday forward who replaced Curtis after the goal, fired in off the post from 14 yards in a rare Rangers attack to restore their two-goal lead. Rangers' substitute Cyriel Dessers missed a great chance in added time when he failed to beat Bartlomiej Dragowski following a counter-attack but it mattered not. Rangers moved into the next qualifying round and guaranteed themselves group-stage European football of some sort this season. Shelbourne's hopes of progressing in the Champions League were ended by a 4-0 aggregate defeat to Azerbaijani club Qarabag in the second qualifying round. Trailing 3-0 following last week's first leg at Tolka Park, the League of Ireland champions were beaten 1-0 at Tofiq Bahramov Republican Stadium in Baku. Elimination means Joey O'Brien's side drop into the third qualifying round of the Europa League. Qarabag, who played in the Champions League group stage during the 2017-18 season, went ahead on the night in the 44th minute thanks to an own goal from John Martin. The visitors came close to a 56th-minute equaliser when midfielder Kerr McInroy was denied by home goalkeeper Mateusz Kochalski following fine work down the left from Liverpool loanee James Norris. O'Brien's men could have fallen further behind in the 68th minute but Wessel Speel saved a penalty from Qarabag's Brazilian midfielder Kady Borges.
The Sun
24 minutes ago
- The Sun
Viktor Gyokeres' Arsenal transfer proves that more Premier League clubs should look to the Championship for new stars
TWO YEARS ago, after two outstanding Championship seasons with Coventry, Viktor Gyokeres was on the market for £20million. Now Arsenal could end up splashing out a whopping £63.5m on the Swedish hitman, who will make his Gunners debut in a North London derby in Hong Kong. 3 So why did no Premier League club take the plunge on Gyokeres back in 2023, when Ruben Amorim's Sporting ended up doing so? And indeed why do so few English top-flight clubs ever buy from the second tier any more? It is a bugbear among many Premier League scouts that the Championship is so frequently overlooked as a mine of talented players, proven in the English game. The argument is that elite clubs are far more likely to take a punt on players from the Portuguese, Dutch or other middle-ranking European leagues than on those from the Championship — which has far more in common with the Premier League in terms of tempo and physicality. Gyokeres netted 38 goals in two full Championship campaigns at Coventry. By 2023, he was a 25-year-old coming into his prime, already renowned for his pace, strength, finishing and hold-up play — and regarded as a rare oversight from Brighton. Yet despite Gyokeres being tracked by many Premier League clubs at the time, none made a significant offer — and Sporting swooped in. The only player to outscore Gyokeres in the 2022-23 Championship campaign was 28-goal Chuba Akpom, who then moved to Ajax, rather than an English club. While Arsenal and other elite clubs might be excused for believing the step up from Championship to Champions League was too steep for Gyokeres, what about the rest of the top flight? 3 So many are infected with an ongoing snobbishness over England's second tier, failing to see the division as the excellent pathway it undoubtedly is. There are exceptions, notably Crystal Palace — whose former sporting director Dougie Freedman has successfully raided the Championship. Eberechi Eze was snapped up from QPR for an initial £15m five years ago and has seen his price tag quadruple, as an England star who scored the winner in this year's FA Cup final. Michael Olise, signed by Palace from Reading for £8m, was flogged to Bayern Munich for £50m. Midfielder Adam Wharton, an £18m recruit from Blackburn, has been outstanding at Selhurst Park, with Romain Esse, signed from Millwall in January, is expected to be the next to make a big impact for the Eagles. Fellow Scot David Moyes brought Jarrod Bowen to West Ham from Hull, as well as Tim Cahill, Joleon Lescott and Phil Jagielka from Championship clubs during his first Everton stint. Aston Villa's Unai Emery spent around £1billion on 164 players during his coaching career before he ever signed an Englishman. When he dipped into the Championship for Middlesbrough's Morgan Rogers he plucked out a gem. But others refuse to make such moves, meaning an absence of money flowing down from the filthy-rich Premier League to the lower reaches of the English game. There has been a steep downward trend in Championship to Premier League transfers — save for the regular vulturing of clubs who have just been relegated from the top flight. Brighton's £10m move for Tom Watson, 18, from Sunderland, is this summer's only example of an established Premier League club signing anyone who played in the Championship last term. The Middlesbrough duo of Hayden Hackney and Finn Azaz are highly regarded, as are West Brom's Tom Fellows, Norwich striker Josh Sargent and many more. But will anyone take a calculated risk on any of them? It is doubtful.
