
Leaders Walsall decide against Gills postponement
League Two leaders Walsall have opted not to postpone Saturday's trip to Gillingham even though they have three first-team regulars on international duty.On-loan Stoke City goalkeeper Tommy Simkin has been called up by England Under-21s for two friendlies against France (Saturday, 21 March) and Portugal (Tuesday, 24 March).And two other almost ever-present first teamers, right wing-back Liam Gordon and defender David Okagbue have been called up too.Gordon has two Concacaf Gold Cup games for Guyana against Guatemala (Sunday, 22 March and the second leg on Wednesday, 26 March).Okagbue, along with Ronan Maher, currently on loan at non-league neighbours Tamworth, and Darius Lipsiuc are all with Republic of Ireland Under-21s for friendlies against Scotland (21 March) and Hungary (24 March).And on-loan Manchester United striker Ethan Wheatley is away with England Under-19s for European Championship qualifiers against Wales (19 March), Turkey (22 March) and Portugal (25 March).Walsall also now have left wing-back Connor Barrett suspended for two games, after running up 10 yellow cards.Mat Sadler's Saddlers remain top of League Two, in the wake of last Thursday night's 2-2 comeback draw at Bromley, three points clear of second-placed Braford City.But they are now only six points clear of the chasing play-off pack, having not won in five games. And they have managed only three victories in 13 League Two games since top scorer Nathan Lowe was forced to return to parent club Stoke in January.John Coleman's Gillingham, who came from behind to draw 1-1 at Bescot last month, are 19th - but are now 12 points clear of danger with 10 games left.
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Powys County Times
an hour ago
- Powys County Times
England Under-21s held to goalless stalemate by Slovenia
England Under-21s missed the chance to secure their place in the knockout stage of the European Championship after being held to a goalless draw by Slovenia. Lee Carsley's side were frustrated in the first half against a Slovenia side who threatened at times themselves, but Ethan Nwaneri and Harvey Elliott spurned golden opportunities. Goalkeeper James Beadle played his part in keeping England level with decent saves to deny Svit Seslar. Another point on the board at the #U21EURO finals, as our #YoungLions draw with Slovenia on matchday two. — England (@England) June 15, 2025 England moved to the top of the group, for the time being at least, but will have to wait to secure their qualification against Germany when they meet in Nitra on Wednesday, while Slovenia kept their slim hopes of progressing alive. Slovenia started brightly and came close when Seslar's whipped free-kick deflected inches wide of the target and Beadle was then called into action for the first time to stop Seslar's drilled effort with his legs. England's first chance came in the 20th minute. Captain James McAtee will have been disappointed to drag his close-range effort harmlessly wide. England should have been ahead just before the half-hour when Jonathan Rowe showed great feet to get past his marker and put the ball on a plate for Nwaneri, but with the goal at his mercy he somehow missed an easy tap-in. Slovenia started to threat again, with Seslar proving a menace as he let rip with a ferocious effort from outside the box which Beadle did well to tip over the crossbar. England again came close to an opener before the break. Elliot Anderson superbly picked out the run of Elliott and he lifted his effort over goalkeeper Martin Turk only to see the ball bounce off the upright and away from danger. Another glorious chance went begging when Tino Livramento hooked the ball into the six-yard area and McAtee directed a shot on goal but Turk was in the right place to save. Slovenia almost made England pay for those missed chances as another chance fell to Seslar, but he saw a curling strike saved by Beadle. Substitute Omari Hutchinson injected some pace into England's attack and his cross found Elliott who could not direct his header on target.


The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
England Under-21s held to goalless stalemate by Slovenia
England Under-21s missed the chance to secure their place in the knockout stage of the European Championship after being held to a goalless draw by Slovenia. Lee Carsley's side were frustrated in the first half against a Slovenia side who threatened at times themselves, but Ethan Nwaneri and Harvey Elliott spurned golden opportunities. Goalkeeper James Beadle played his part in keeping England level with decent saves to deny Svit Seslar. England moved to the top of the group, for the time being at least, but will have to wait to secure their qualification against Germany when they meet in Nitra on Wednesday, while Slovenia kept their slim hopes of progressing alive. Slovenia started brightly and came close when Seslar's whipped free-kick deflected inches wide of the target and Beadle was then called into action for the first time to stop Seslar's drilled effort with his legs. England's first chance came in the 20th minute. Captain James McAtee will have been disappointed to drag his close-range effort harmlessly wide. England should have been ahead just before the half-hour when Jonathan Rowe showed great feet to get past his marker and put the ball on a plate for Nwaneri, but with the goal at his mercy he somehow missed an easy tap-in. Slovenia started to threat again, with Seslar proving a menace as he let rip with a ferocious effort from outside the box which Beadle did well to tip over the crossbar. England again came close to an opener before the break. Elliot Anderson superbly picked out the run of Elliott and he lifted his effort over goalkeeper Martin Turk only to see the ball bounce off the upright and away from danger. Another glorious chance went begging when Tino Livramento hooked the ball into the six-yard area and McAtee directed a shot on goal but Turk was in the right place to save. Slovenia almost made England pay for those missed chances as another chance fell to Seslar, but he saw a curling strike saved by Beadle. Substitute Omari Hutchinson injected some pace into England's attack and his cross found Elliott who could not direct his header on target. England were denied in stoppage time as Brooke Norton-Cuffy's pinpoint cross picked out Jack Hinshelwood who directed a powerful header on target but Turk tipped the ball behind and secured an important point.


Daily Record
2 hours ago
- Daily Record
Burning Celtic rumour blown apart as 3 key transfers Brendan Rodgers wants dissected by insider
Our man Michael Gannon takes you inside the three big transfers on the agenda at Celtic Park Benjamin Nygren, Callum Osmand, and a new left-back. It might not necessarily come in that order, but those are the three burning transfers on Celtic 's agenda as we speak. But our man Michael Gannon isn't quite buying everything he reads – particularly where the rising Fulham striker is concerned. Brendan Rodgers has made it clear he wants to freshen things up this summer and while Celtic fans may be used to playing the waiting game where summer signings are concerned, they've wasted no time this year. Kieran Tierney is already back in the door and two new forwards, in the shape of Nygren and Osmond, look set to after the window officially opens tomorrow. Versatile Sweden forward Nygren will solve a few problems for Rodgers if indeed a deal is struck and, speaking on tonight's Hotline Live, our man Gannon sees a few reasons it makes sense. He said: "There's question marks over Nicolas Kuhn. Is he looking to go? Will they try and cash in? "But if they can keep Kuhn and get him back playing how he was last season, and have Nygren as backup or competition and an option in midfield, it looks a good signing. "That's the right hand side of the pitch pretty much covered. If you look at the left side with Daizen Maeda – they're looking to bring in a striker, so that will free Maeda up to go back into that position. Hotline Live - 15 June 2025 "He had a brilliant season up front but I still think they'll buy a striker. Jota might be out until 2026 so it's an area they need to address. "Nygren can play both sides so he might be another option there. It's a good profile of signing because he can play right across the forward line and fill in those gaps at times, because there are a few gaps in there." Nygren will be asked to make an instant impact but that's not so much the case with 19-year-old Osmond. He may indeed nick Johnny Kenny's spot as the third-choice striker but those expecting a Moussa Dembele-esque explosion from the Fulham kid should park the breaks. "By all accounts it's pretty much sorted," Gannon said on Osmand. "The window isn't open officially until tomorrow, so all these deals will be rubber-stamped this week. "The word seems to be that he's not going to be a B-team player. But I'm not sure that's the case. He's not even a regular every week with the 21s at Fulham. He's played a lot of games in PL2, but you wouldn't even say he's a nailed-on guy at that level, so I think he has a bit to go until he's a first-team player. "Johnny Kenny got a wee taste of it last season, but I suspect he'll be getting a loan deal somewhere – he's got to play 25-30 games over the next 12 months which he's not going to get at Celtic. So he'll go on loan somewhere. If they can get him an English Championship loan deal, or even abroad, that would be perfect for him. "Osmand might take that third-choice spot. They could give him a year just to get used to his surroundings. There could be a loan deal beyond that, this is a long-term strategy. "He might come in, catch fire and become a superstar right away. But people are comparing him to Moussa Dembele – he was a first-team player at Fulham at that point. He was only 19 but he was a France U21 international, built like a tank with first-team football under his belt. It's not a comparison. "The only comparison is it's a cheap deal across the border, and the same clubs are involved. Other than that, they're completely different players." Providing he's fit, Kieran Tierney will start next season as Celtic's primary left-back, but the question marks over his fitness mean securing his deputy is key. Greg Taylor looks increasingly likely to leave and that leaves the Hoops in the awkward spot of recruiting someone good enough to step in for Tierney, without the guarantee of being a starter. Gannon said: "I think it's a tricky one. It's an awkward signing for Celtic, because it's not really a backup they're looking for, it's a job-share. But it's a hard sell. You're telling a player he's kind of going to be the second choice if Tierney is fit. "But you might play 25 games a season, because Tierney isn't going to play 90 minutes 55 games a season, at least in the short term. If he does, fair play, that would be great. But he's only played 90 minutes six times in two years. So there is going to be a big part to play for whoever comes in. So Celtic need to find someone who can play in these big Champions League games if needed, but also be on the sidelines. "You need to get a young guy to come in and compete for the place, or an experienced guy who can't play every week either to share the job. Getting a guy at 26 at his peak is going to be difficult."