'New player' Graham hails loan experiences
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Daily Record
13 minutes ago
- Daily Record
Ayr United in pole position to land promising Celtic kid Kyle Ure
The Honest Men are making further moves to strengthen their squad ahead of the new Championship season. Ayr United have moved into pole position to land highly rated Celtic kid Kyle Ure. The midfielder, 19, is set to follow Parkhead teammate Jude Bonnar in completing a loan move to Somerset Park. Ure, the Celtic 'B' captain, had also been wanted by Championship rivals Partick Thistle. But Ayr, who are negotiating an official cooperation agreement with the Hoops, look to have beaten them to the punch. Shaun Maloney, the new Player Pathway chief at Celtic, has been at Somerset for Ayr's last two games to watch Bonnar make his bow. And he's been impressed with the setup at United under Celts legend Scott Brown. Ambitious Ayr have made a pitch for Ure, who is highly regarded by Hoops boss Brendan Rodgers, to develop in the heart of their midfield. He has skippered Stephen McManus' development side in the Lowland League during the past 18 months and been part of Celtic's first team squad during their recent pre-season campaign. Fellow youngster Bonnar has made a flying start to his Somerset stay and, speaking last week, told of his desire to prove himself playing regular football. He said: "Celtic have told me that I need professional games under my belt as I've not had that to this stage of my career. "I'm dying to see what the challenge is like here - I'm at that age now where I need to be exposed to this level of football. "The team plays in an attacking style, so it's going to benefit me." Ayr have kicked off their League Cup section with three wins from three, hitting 13 goals in the process. They head to St Mirren on Sunday, in a game televised live on Premier Sports.
The Guardian
11 hours ago
- The Guardian
Mason Lino's last-gasp drop goal stuns Leeds and boosts Wakefield's playoff hopes
Wakefield Trinity edged a thrilling West Yorkshire derby with Leeds Rhinos, with Mason Lino's drop goal in the final act of the contest securing victory to move them into the Super League playoff places. In front of a sell-out crowd, the biggest at Wakefield for well over a decade, Trinity – who were playing in the Championship last year – underlined their playoff credentials to inflict a potentially decisive defeat on Leeds in their own pursuit of the top two. The game seemed destined to be heading for golden point extra time with the scores level at 14-14 before, with seconds remaining, Lino kicked a nerveless drop goal with what proved to be the last kick of a pulsating game to move Trinity into the top six. The Rhinos, who missed the chance to go third here, will rue this as a missed opportunity. It was a statement victory for Daryl Powell's side, who are playing in front of crowds three times bigger than when they were relegated from Super League with a whimper two years ago, but are now reborn under the ownership of Matt Ellis. They appear to be bona fide contenders for the race for Old Trafford come October. The opening exchanges were indicative of two sides pushing for success this year, with both completing at a high percentage rate and not affording the other an inch. However, when the first error did arrive it gave Wakefield an opportunity they wouldn't pass up, as Max Jowitt converted a penalty to open the scoring. Two minutes later, with the momentum behind them, Trinity went further ahead when a wonderful handling move led to Lachlan Walmsley crossing in the corner. Jowitt couldn't convert, but the hosts were certainly good value for their early six-point lead. That try came after Brodie Croft had been sent to the sin-bin for a trip on Lino but to their credit, the Rhinos dug in well for the 10 minutes they were at a numerical disadvantage, even kicking a penalty through the boot of Jake Connor to narrow the arrears to just four points. Jowitt then returned serve with another penalty, with points and gilt-edged attacking opportunities at a premium, to make it 8-2. But Leeds continued to improve as half-time approached and they got the try their efforts deserved as Sam Lisone forced his way over three Wakefield defenders, giving Connor a simple goal to make it 8-8 at the break. The tense, nervy nature of proceedings continued after half-time. Perhaps the biggest talking point in the 20 minutes after the restart was Leeds losing Connor to a freak incident after he was punched in the face by his teammate, James Bentley, as the pair attempted to tackle a Wakefield player. Sign up to The Recap The best of our sports journalism from the past seven days and a heads-up on the weekend's action after newsletter promotion The contest then came alive in spectacular fashion in the final 15 minutes. Leeds had spent most of the second half defending their own line but in a rare foray down into Wakefield territory, they went ahead for the first time as Jarrod O'Connor grounded the ball under extreme pressure to put the visitors in front. With Jack Sinfield converting, you wondered if Leeds would be able to hold on from there with time ticking away. However, Trinity responded magnificently as Lino's inch-perfect pass sent Matty Storton across from close range – and Jowitt converted to make it 14-14 and set up a grandstand finale. The Rhinos came desperately close to snatching victory with Croft's drop goal going narrowly wide of the posts but Lino made no mistake at the other end, nervelessly kicking the winning point from long range to spark rapturous scenes.
Press and Journal
13 hours ago
- Press and Journal
Don Cowie assesses Ross County's biggest Premier Sports Cup test - against league rivals Partick Thistle
Manager Don Cowie insists Saturday's must-win showdown with Partick Thistle will show how ready Ross County are for the Championship kick-off. Tuesday's rousing 8-0 rout over League Two visitors Edinburgh City in the Premier Sports Cup – on the back of last weekend's 1-0 win at Championship hosts Queen of the South – means County still have a chance of reaching the last 16. The back-to-back wins followed a 1-1 draw at League Two Stranraer, which ended in a penalty shoot-out defeat at Stair Park. Thistle have won all three of their ties, so have a two-point lead ahead of the weekend's Dingwall tie. The final Group B fixture comes exactly a week before County, relegated from the Premiership in May, kick off their league campaign at Airdrieonians. For four years running, Partick have reached the promotion play-offs but have yet to clinch their place back in the top-flight, following relegation in 2017-18. In 2023, County staged the most remarkable recovery to beat Partick in the play-off final on penalties, after the Glasgow team led by three goals. Now under the sole management of Mark Wilson, Jags fans will expect their side to again be in the promotion race. Cowie reckons that will be a multi-club chase for places in the Premiership. While beating Edinburgh City in such style was pleasing, Cowie knows only the best will do against Partick. He said: 'I think pretty much every team will be a play-off or a title contender because of how competitive the league is. 'We've seen that year after year and Partick have been really consistent to finish in the play-off for the last few years. 'It will be a good test to see where we are, and we'll have to temper Tuesday tonight. 'Edinburgh are a League Two team and now we're going to be facing a Championship team, so we'll see where we really are. 'It was great to get eight goals but Saturday is what really counts now. 'Like we said after the first game in the group, we gave ourselves a bit of a mountain to climb. 'We knew that but we also knew that winning the next three games would give us a real chance of finishing top. 'We've won two and that was always our aim. It will be a different quality of opposition on Saturday against Partick, but we're looking forward to it.' Saturday's win in Dumfries was County's first victory since March, with a major dip in form taking them out of the top-flight via a play-off final loss against Livingston. Cowie hopes his new-look side – with 11 new faces – can get used to winning to gather momentum when the league season gets going. He said: 'We want to build momentum to start the season well, and we want our new players to have that good feeling. 'Winning is a habit and last year it became a struggle at the end because we weren't winning, so we want to get into that mode and that habit again. 'The good sign (from Tuesday) was that even though it was 3-0 at half time, we didn't take our foot off the gas. We kept going and it finished 8-0, and that's the mentality we need to create. 'It would be important for us to get out of the group and finish top, and that's what we're aiming to do.' Defender Akil Wright, who played every Premiership minute for his side last term, sat out the goal feast against Edinburgh but he should be back to face Thistle. Returning midfielder Jamie Lindsay is set for his first County appearance since helping the club win the Championship in 2019. Cowie explained: 'Akil felt a little niggle from the weekend, so we thought it was best to be a bit cautious and leave him out on Tuesday and hope that means he is available for Saturday. 'It was good to see Dylan Smith playing in his natural position, and I thought he played really well too, so that was a real positive. 'Akil will hopefully be back, and I think Jamie Lindsay has a good chance. 'He has only just re-joined us, and he's keen and eager to be involved. I thought tonight was far too soon, but Saturday is still a few days away so I think that's realistic. 'Gary Mackay-Steven is back training with the squad, but I think it will be the first league game before he's back, and Connor Randall will be back with us then as well with the protocol (after a head knock).' Cowie underlined that recruiting another centre half remains a priority in the coming week or so after the early capture of ex-Dundee United defender Declan Gallagher.
