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BBC News
23 minutes ago
- BBC News
Charity Shield: Linfield take on Dungannon Swifts
Update: Date: 19:43 BST Title: What they said Content: Linfield v Dungannon Swifts (19:45 BST) Linfield defender Euan East: "Spirits are high in the camp and we want to get going again and try to retain what we did last year. "It's good to get into a competitive game so quickly. You need that competitive edge to a game that that will give us. It's a good way to start the season. "Dungannon always give you a hard game and we know they will always be up for it." Dungannon winger Thomas Maguire: "It's a bit of a bonus having this game to look forward to. It's not a friendly, there's something to play for against good opposition on a good pitch with something on the line. "Everyone is looking forward to the game and then just kicking on and hopefully it will stand us in good stead for Europe." Update: Date: 19:39 BST Title: Team news Content: Linfield v Dungannon Swifts (19:45 BST) The first team news of the season is in! For David Healy's side, Chris Johns is back between the sticks having been dropped in favour of David Walsh midway through last season while Jamie Mulgrew wears the armband as usual. Rodney McAree gives three players their competitive debut as Peter Maguire, Tiernan Kelly and Mal Smith all start with Gael Bigirimana captaining the side after Dean Curry's retirement at the end of last season. Linfield: Johns, East, Millar, Allen, Hall, Archer, Mulgrew (C), McGee, Fitzpatrick, Morrison, Orr Substitutes: Walsh, Roscoe, Whiteside, Shields, Offord, McKee, Brown, McCullough, Annett, McKay Dungannon Swifts: Dunne, P. Maguire, Marron, Galvin, Dillon, Glenny, Kelly, T. Maguire, Smith, Wallace, Bigirimana (C) Substitutes: Henderson. Glass, S. Scott, J. Scott, King, Boyd, Alves, McGinty, McAleese, McAllister Linfield v Dungannon Swifts Update: Date: 19:36 BST Title: How did they get here? Content: Linfield v Dungannon Swifts (19:45 BST) Linfield secured their place in this year's Charity Shield by emphatically lifting the Gibson Cup for a record-extending 57th time. The Blues built an unassailable lead before the five sets of post-split fixtures and finished 22 points ahead of second-placed finishers Larne. The south Belfast side go into the game boosted by the news that manager David Healy has signed a three-year extension to his contract as boss. Dungannon followed up their hugely impressive fourth-place finish in the Premiership by collecting the Irish Cup for the first time in their history. The early-May decider with holders Cliftonville ended in a 1-1 draw after extra time, but Rodney McAree's side prevailed 4-3 in a penalty shootout. Update: Date: 19:31 BST Title: Here we go Content: Linfield v Dungannon Swifts (19:45 BST) It feels like yesterday the Irish Premiership season came to a close, but a new campaign is now upon us. It's time for the Charity Shield to kick things off and Iris Cup winners Dungannon Swifts take on runaway Irish Premiership champions Linfield. We'll have live updates right here so you can follow along. Thanks for joining us.


The Guardian
27 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Thomas Partey: the former Arsenal midfielder facing five rape charges
For the first time since Thomas Partey left his home town of Krobo Odumase in eastern Ghana at the age of 11, he woke on Tuesday without a club. Three days later the midfielder, who had departed Arsenal after his contract expired, was charged with five counts of rape and one count of sexual assault. What happens next with Partey's career will be determined by the outcome of legal proceedings scheduled to start with his appearance at Westminster magistrates court on 5 August. The allegations relate to three women who reported incidents between 2021 and 2022. Partey denies all the charges and 'welcomes the opportunity to finally clear his name', his lawyer said. Partey, 32, had been linked with moves to Spain, Turkey and Saudi Arabia in recent weeks after talks over extending his Arsenal contract hit an impasse, even though Arsenal's manager, Mikel Arteta, had insisted in May that he wanted him to stay. 'Consistency-wise it's been his best season,' Arteta said. 'The way he's played, performed, his availability, has been exceptional and he's a really important player for us.' Partey joined Arsenal from Atlético Madrid in a record fee paid for a Ghanaian player – £45m – in October 2020. He struggled with injuries during his first two seasons at the Emirates but became a regular during the 2022-23 campaign when Arsenal finished as runners up behind Manchester City. A hamstring injury in November 2023 kept Partey out for most of the following season before he emerged as a key performer last season at the base of Arsenal's midfield. The impending arrival of Martín Zubimendi from Real Sociedad in a £51m deal that has been in the pipeline since January affected Partey's status as a first choice, with the Spain international expected to line up alongside Martin Ødegaard and Declan Rice in a recalibrated midfield. Partey is understood to have been offered a new deal on slightly reduced terms and confirmation of his departure came with Arsenal having agreed a fee that could rise to £15m to bring in Brentford's Christian Nørgaard as his replacement. Partey made 52 appearances last season. Arsenal will face questions about whether it was appropriate for him to have continued playing while being investigated by the police over such serious allegations. Partey moved to Europe after being spotted playing for Ashaiman Revelation FC in Accra as a teenager. 'I played for them until I was 18, which is when I moved to Spain,' Partey told Arsenal's website. 'But that was the club I grew up at as a footballer. We had a good, young, talented team at the time, and I still have a few mates from that time who are now playing elsewhere in Europe. They are not at the very top now but they are still playing and I still talk with them a lot.' He was encouraged to attend trials in Spain by his father, who coached him as a junior, and joined Leganés before moving to Atlético in 2012. The tough-tackling player was sent on loan to Mallorca and Almería before eventually making his debut for Diego Simeone's side in 2015. He made almost 200 appearances for Atlético and was part of the side beaten in the 2016 Champions League final by Real Madrid before winning the Europa League two years later. Partey has played 52 times for his country, scoring nine goals. Ghana confirmed last month that Partey had been 'given a break by head coach Otto Addo' after he wasn't included in their squad for the Unity Cup tournament in London. He also missed their Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against Angola and Niger last November after holding 'confidential' talks with Addo. Partey has represented Ghana at three Afcon finals and the 2022 World Cup, where they were eliminated in the group stages. He remains one of the country's most famous figures.


BBC News
32 minutes ago
- BBC News
Notts sign Barnsley wing-back Cotter on loan
Notts County have signed wing-back Barry Cotter on a season-long loan from League One side 26-year-old drops a division to join the Magpies after featuring 72 times for the Tykes in all competitions since his move to Oakwell in January 2023 from League of Ireland club Shamrock 29 of those Barnsley appearances came as league starts for the Yorkshire side, where he had a spell playing under now Magpies boss Martin Paterson when he was an assistant head coach there. "I know him well, which means I'll be able to help him perform to the best of his abilities as quickly as possible," Paterson told the club website., external