Sheffield Wednesday manager Xisco Munoz pleaded for unity at the struggling Championship club after fans turned on him during a 3-0 defeat at Swansea.
The winless Owls were brushed aside by their fellow strugglers in south Wales to the disgust of a large travelling contingent who called for Spaniard Munoz to go.
Wednesday offered little all afternoon, with a first-half Jamal Lowe penalty and later strikes by Jerry Yates and Charlie Patino proving their undoing.
Munoz said: “The performance was very strange. In the second half we had chances to score, but we are in difficulty now.
“Everything is negative but it’s important we stay together, I need people to help me in this situation.
“I know how hard the players are working every day. We can put the focus on me, but I will continue until my last day.
“I am not stupid, I knew the situation when I signed here. I understand the unhappiness.”
Swans boss Michael Duff went into the game with his side having failed to win any of their opening seven matches and only one point better off than their opponents.
Victory went some way to lifting the gloom, though restless Swans fans may still take some convincing Duff is the long-term solution.
The former Barnsley boss admitted during the week that he had been feeling the heat, even admitting his mother-in-law had criticised him over recent poor results.
After the final whistle, Duff said: “She was at the game! I’m a lucky man. I’ve a supportive family and a loyal dog. When we win, he wags his tail when I come home.”
But Duff added: “It’s not about me. I carry the can, but I won’t be coming in on Monday high-fiving anyone.
“I’ve said to the players to enjoy it for now. Hopefully winning can become a habit.
“I’m proud of the players and pleased with our crowd as well.
“A few passes went astray early on but there was no negativity.
“My overriding emotions are pride and relief.
“I am proud of the players and pleased with the crowd as well.
“At 0-0 a few passes went astray but there was no negativity in the ground at all.
“The players stayed together and showed a lot of energy and quality and could have scored a couple more goals.
“Once the second goal went in you could feel almost a sigh of relief in the stadium rather than a cheer because everyone has been feeling it.
“Everyone wants to do well but everyone has to be pulling in the same direction. Today I felt it was a little bit more how we want things to be.”
Pep Guardiola admitted he was angry with Rodri after the influential midfielder was sent off in Manchester City’s 2-0 win over Nottingham Forest.
The Spain international was dismissed early in the second half of Saturday’s Premier League clash at the Etihad Stadium after raising his hands to the neck of Forest’s Morgan Gibbs-White.
Rodri protested at the time, and there was a delay before referee Anthony Taylor’s decision was upheld by VAR, but Guardiola claimed there could be no excuses for his conduct.
The City manager said: “Hopefully Rodri will learn. The game was perfect with 35 minutes gone and after it became chaos.
“That’s not our responsibility, that’s for sure, but Rodri has to control himself and his emotions. I can get a yellow card but Rodri can’t. I don’t play. The guys inside (the pitch) have to be careful.
“I said at half-time, ‘Be careful guys, relax, control your emotions’. Unfortunately, Rodri could not do it. Now we have to accept the decisions.”
Asked if he was angry with Rodri, Guardiola said: “Yes. I don’t like to play with 10 for our faults. He has apologised.”
Despite being critical of Rodri, Guardiola was not happy with the way the game was controlled by Taylor.
As well as Rodri’s red card, there were 11 bookings during the game, including one for Guardiola himself.
Guardiola said: “The referee changed the game.
“For the first 35 minutes, it was absolutely not (a bad game). What changed? What happened after 2-0, it’s not down to us. You have to ask the other ones but I don’t know if they will hang up the phone.”
City had put themselves into a comfortable lead with goals inside the first 14 minutes from Phil Foden and Erling Haaland.
After Rodri’s departure, the hosts needed to change approach and Guardiola was pleased with the outcome.
He said: “Our game in the first 35 minutes was beyond good, how we find our men free, it was really, really good.
“It was a lot of minutes we had to defend, and we conceded one chance in the 94th minute. We didn’t concede anything else, against a team who won at Stamford Bridge and created problems at Arsenal and Old Trafford.
“I’m really satisfied and pleased for all of us.”
Forest manager Steve Cooper had conflicting thoughts about his side’s performance.
He said: “We had a really poor start in terms of goals conceded. We knew the level of the challenge we faced here – it doesn’t get any tougher – and the two City goals were of great quality, typical City goals.
“But we’d planned for that. It was a repeat tactic and to let it happen as easily as they did – if they were going to score I wanted it to be with real difficulty.
“The game changes with the red card. That we had a second half played in City’s half I have mixed feelings about.
“You rarely get an opportunity to have that territory here. Even more experienced teams don’t get anywhere near that but we need to make more of these opportunities. We have got to be more productive.”
Stevenage boss Steve Evans was thrilled to see Elliott List bag a brace in a comfortable 3-0 win at managerless Cheltenham Town.
The former Gillingham forward missed a year of action after suffering an ACL injury at the start of last season.
He came off the bench in the 57th minute and added to Jordan Roberts’ first-half strike for Boro, leaving bottom side Cheltenham still without a league goal this season.
“I’m really pleased for Elliott List,” Evans said. “It’s been a long 15 months for him.
“He did his ACL in the first game of last season and the reaction from the group, including everyone on the bench, was pure joy when he scored his goals.
“If he’d watched my finishing in training he could’ve had three. In fact, he was annoyed he missed one and I had to remind him he’d scored two, we’d won 3-0 and it was a good day at the office.”
Cheltenham rallied in the first half after Roberts’ opener, but the second half was all Stevenage.
“We’re delighted with the performance overall and should’ve scored three in the first 15 minutes,” Evans said.
“Cheltenham then came back into it and hit the bar. But in the second half it could’ve been anything. It was one-way traffic.
“They’re between managers which creates uncertainty for the players, but we were the superior side.”
The Robins parted company with boss Wade Elliott in midweek and placed Kevin Russell in temporary charge.
It took Boro only seven minutes to pierce their defence when Dan Butler’s corner fell for Roberts in the box and he beat Luke Southwood with a low finish.
Jovan Malcolm smashed a shot against the bar for the hosts after Liam Sercombe’s pass in the 34th minute.
Aidan Keena fired a shot just over and Sercombe forced Kristian Hegyi into a flying save before half-time as the Robins rallied.
But List made it 2-0 in the 69th minute after another Butler corner was not dealt with and he followed up to score his second in the 73rd minute after Southwood parried Ben Thompson’s shot from the edge of the box.
Cheltenham have now waited more than 13-and-a-half hours for a goal and never before has a team gone nine games without scoring at the start of a league season.
Interim boss Russell saw positives in the performance, but distanced himself from taking the job on a permanent basis.
“I came in with Wade as a coach and he’s a really good friend of mine, so it’d be really difficult for me to take the job,” Russell said.
“With regards to working with the new person, that’s a conversation that needs to be had further down the line. We’ll have to see.
“There were some positive aspects to look forward to, for whoever comes in, with a lot of continuity to push on. There is still a lot to play for.”
Henry Arundell plundered five tries as England overcame a frantic start to dismantle World Cup newcomers Chile with a 71-0 victory that continues their march towards the quarter-finals.
Steve Borthwick’s team were rewarded for discarding their unpopular kicking game in favour of all-out attack and although the strategy resulted in some frenzied early play, upon settling they amassed 11 tries.
Arundell marked his World Cup debut by equalling the England record of five tries scored in a game as he ran riot in perfect conditions at Stade Pierre-Mauroy.
Two-try Marcus Smith shared star billing after providing an extra dimension with the ball in hand from full-back – albeit against a side positioned 22 in the global rankings.
Apart from brief flourishes Chile were totally outclassed, yet there were still enough fireworks in Smith’s first start at 15 to suggest he is a genuine option in the position for the final group game against Samoa and possibly beyond.
Owen Farrell returned from suspension to lead England for the first time at this World Cup and his 16-point haul leaves him just two short of eclipsing Jonny Wilkinson’s national record of 1,179.
England had kicked more than other team across the opening two rounds of the tournament but their intent to run against the group’s weakest opponents was evident from the start.
Smith settled quickly through some early touches but his play lacked accuracy and once the initial assault subsided, Chile showed their flair for counter attack that on one occasion swept them into the 22.
Max Malins’ high error count was proving costly but England built pressure once more and in the 21st minute they were over when Farrell’s long pass gave Arundell an easy run in.
Theo Dan finished a line-out drive and then supplied Arundell with the easiest of tries after Danny Care’s quickly taken free-kick caught Chile unaware.
After the over-exuberance displayed in the opening quarter, England were showing greater accuracy as the ball was swept left to right, aided by quick ruck speed and a desire to make things happen.
Smith launched an attack that ended in a try for Bevan Rodd and then the Harlequins fly-half claimed a solo touchdown by collecting his own grubber and outrunning Chile’s defence.
Chile were unable to secure any kind of foothold in the game with their scrum especially vulnerable and early in the second half they leaked a second line-out maul try, with Dan touching down.
Arundell completed his hat-trick after Elliot Daly’s smart kick bounced kindly for him and Smith’s comfort at full-back was clear when he caught a tricky kick with aplomb.
Having claimed three easy finishes, Arundell showed his class for his fourth which he engineered with a run down the right touchline and chip ahead.
A moment of magic from Smith teed up the Racing 92 wing’s fifth and when Smith broke from deep from inside his own half Chile must have been sick of the sight of him.
The move ended with Smith crossing and England touched down for the final time through Jack Willis.
Rob Edwards was frustrated Luton did not get the result he felt their performance deserved in a 1-1 draw against 10-man Wolves at Kenilworth Road.
Luton claimed their first point since earning promotion to the Premier League after Carlton Morris’ penalty cancelled out Pedro Neto’s opener.
But Edwards believes the Hatters should have converted more of their 20 shots after they failed to take full advantage of Jean-Ricner Bellegarde’s first-half sending off.
“I’m pleased but I think it should have been all three points,” Edwards said.
“I’m really proud of the players, the performance was excellent, it’s a great day for the club, the supporters were great and the players did everything we asked for to engage the fans.
“We started the game so well, it was probably the best we’ve played since I’ve been at the club. I think the level of the game, the fact Wolves couldn’t get out of their half we completely dominated the game.
“Overall I’m really happy and proud but we should’ve won.
“We were really aggressive on the front foot and tried to provoke them and that’s what Kenilworth Road can do.
“When they get a man sent off you really want to try and find a way to win but they’ve got quality and Neto’s a top player and we lost the ball cheaply. We gave away a goal but to get something from the game after it’s a positive.
“The lads are flat and deflated because we feel that there was a win there for us today.”
Luton are still searching for their first Premier League win and still sit at the foot of the table.
Edwards highlighted the difficulty of the league after a lapse of concentration by Tom Lockyer in the 50th minute was punished by Neto, who scored his first of the season.
“It shows how good the Premier League is, you have to be almost perfect to get anything from it and today we were close with how we wanted to play but we haven’t won,” Edwards added.
“It’s like a different sport (Premier League) in every way. Everyone is way better (than the Championship), the decision making, the quality, the speed that things happen and the execution is hard to comprehend.
“If people look at us as a small club in the Championship then they’ll look at us as a small club in the Premier League.
“We’re up against mammoths, giant clubs and in a way we probably shouldn’t be here.”
Gary O’Neil was disappointed with Wolves’ first-half performance which saw them on the back foot.
He said: “I’m extremely disappointed with the first 25 minutes.
“We knew today would be a test of mentality and Luton were aggressive and we lost every duel, they were faster in midfield.
“We had to change the shape and get a foothold which I thought we then did.”
England’s next generation offered a promising glimpse of their white-ball future as Will Jacks, Sam Hain and Rehan Ahmed all starred in a 48-run win over a full-strength Ireland.
Jacks’ 94 off 88 balls contained seven fours and four sixes, contrasting with a more understated 89 off 82 deliveries from Hain, but the duo underpinned England’s 334 for eight in the second Metro Bank ODI.
Teenage leg-spinner Ahmed collected four for 54 as Ireland were all out for 286 in 46.4 overs at Trent Bridge against England’s understudies, for whom Phil Salt was the most experienced in his 15th ODI.
Ahead of this de facto series opener after a washout at Headingley earlier this week, England’s XI contained a combined 38 ODI appearances – compared with Ireland’s 720 – as the hosts made use of their deep pool of reserves, with their World Cup stars resting ahead of travelling to India next week.
Hain took top billing among the four England debutants but George Scrimshaw had fluctuating fortunes, bowling six front foot no-balls in his first two overs before rebounding with figures of 8.4-0-66-3.
Jamie Smith and Tom Hartley had more modest outings but this was still an impressive display amid an expected changing of the guard after the World Cup, while Jacks’ dazzling innings may have given the selectors a nudge about being on standby should injury befall the main group in the subcontinent.
Tipped as the successors to Jason Roy and Alex Hales, Jacks and Salt paid a fitting tribute to the pair who revolutionised opening the batting for England in the shorter formats, feasting on Ireland’s fruitless pursuit of early swing with a rash of fours to bring up the 50 stand in the sixth over.
Jacks sumptuously drove the expensive Josh Little for three successive fours but Craig Young found a better length, drawing the splice of Salt’s bat on 28 before stand-in captain Zak Crawley was lbw for a two-ball duck in his first England innings since leading their run-charts in this summer’s Ashes.
England ended the powerplay with Jacks dismissively swiping Barry McCarthy for six as he and Ben Duckett steadily rebuilt from Young’s double strike.
Put down on 44, Jacks went to fifty in style by clearing extra cover off Andy McBrine, who also went the distance off Duckett.
Fellow spinner Dockrell had more luck as Duckett paddled to short fine-leg on 48 to end a run-a-ball 102-run stand with Jacks, who slog swept the slow left-armer for his fourth six to move into the 90s.
Attempting a repeat to reach three figures in Dockrell’s next over, Jacks top-edged to Andy Balbirnie, who took a steepler a few feet in from the deep midwicket boundary.
England added just 140 in the final 20 overs but 15 of those came with Hain as the only frontline batter left after Smith holed out.
Hain, whose List A average of 57.96 is the second highest ever, had a single from his first 11 balls and was put down by a diving Harry Tector from his 12th but he gradually started to find rhythm.
Hain used his feet well to offset the bowlers’ lengths in an unobtrusive 52-ball fifty and while there were few big hits – he managed just eight fours in total – he was responsible for England going past 300. Needing 11 off the last over for his century, he miscued McCarthy to mid-off.
While England had their highest score in ODIs against Ireland, the tourists were aided by Scrimshaw’s repeated front-foot faults.
There were four no-balls in his first over in an England shirt and two, plus a wide, in his next as he leaked an eye-watering 35 having sent down just 11 legal deliveries.
When he drew Balbirnie’s outside edge with his 12th, Scrimshaw forlornly turned round to Rod Tucker after Ben Duckett snaffled the chance but the umpire gave a thumb’s up and patted him on his shoulder.
From the next ball, Paul Stirling, whose 250 List A appearances before Saturday was just 29 fewer than England’s XI combined, chopped on for 25 off 17 balls after Matthew Potts found lavish inward movement.
Ireland were up with the rate but wickets fell at regular intervals, with Ahmed into the act when the dangerous Tector was out for 39 after skewing to a backtracking Jacks.
Googlies from Ahmed snared McBrine and Mark Adair, while the youngest member of England’s XI had his fourth from his penultimate delivery as Dockrell clothed another wrong’un to Salt.
From 188 for eight, England were unable to finish proceedings quickly as Ireland’s last three batters McCarthy (41), Young (40 not out) and Little (29) all recorded ODI bests. But Scrimshaw took the final wicket as Little slammed to long-on to banish thoughts of a remarkable Ireland comeback.
Oxford head coach Liam Manning praised his players for digging in despite not being at their best after their 3-0 win over Exeter lifted them up to second place in League One.
Ruben Rodrigues headed in Kyle Edwards’ cross in the eighth minute before Cameron Brannagan sealed victory with two late penalties following fouls on Rodrigues and then Josh Murphy by City captain Will Aimson.
Manning said: “I was pleased most of all with the clean sheet.
“I’m delighted with the players.
“On a day when we didn’t manage the game like we’d want to, we showed a different side, in being able to block and being
able to defend well.
“Sometimes there’s a little bit of snobbery in football around what it should look like and what people want to see. Across the course of a season you’re never always going to play at the highest level you can.
“I’ve just said to the players, it’s a nice feeling to not necessarily be as we were in other games but win. Against Cambridge and Port Vale we played well but ended up losing the game.
“You have different experiences with the group and manage it in a different way. We could have controlled the ball better, but we showed a great togetherness and a great resilience.
“And the physicality – I thought the physical output was outstanding, which is credit to them and the staff for the work that’s done every day. You can only put in a shift like that if you’re in peak condition and train properly.
“I’m proud of the players because I thought they really showed what they are about as a group and as people.
“I feel the group are growing. The lads have such a respect for each other.
“For me it felt like quite a big moment in terms of finding a different way to win which in the past we maybe haven’t done. That shows the progress in the game.
“I don’t think Exeter created loads of chances. The keeper’s made a couple of good saves, but for all the ball they had, a lot of it was in areas where we controlled the game.
“Analysing the chances that were created in the game, it was definitely us who had the greater threat.
“There isn’t a player in League One I would trust more to take penalties than Cameron Brannagan. I feel so confident when he steps up and his record speaks for itself.
“And Ruben got his first goal for us today – it’s important to get goals from different areas.”
Yanic Wildschut’s fierce angled shot which came back off a post was as close as Exeter came and manager Gary Caldwell felt his side lacked a cutting edge.
He said: “I’m disappointed with the result.
“We got off to a poor start and gave away a really bad goal, which made it difficult.
“We controlled the rest of the first half without creating too many opportunities, although Yanic had a great chance, but it was a brilliant save off the post.
“Second half we were in total control, but we didn’t penetrate enough or create enough chances.
“The longer the game went on, we left ourselves vulnerable to counter-attacks which Oxford punished us with.
“It’s a game we need to learn from, but overall I didn’t think it was a 3-0 game. There were moments that went against us and we have to dust ourselves down and go again.
“The team were excellent in training for this match, but we were playing without a recognised number nine, which gave us a problem.
“That was probably why we looked a bit toothless at times.
“I can’t fault the team’s effort – we just didn’t have the understanding or intensity in the final third to make things happen and turn it into goals.
“At 1-0 down, if we could have scored, we were very much in the ascendancy at that point.
“We left ourselves open to counter-attacks and Oxford scored two penalties from those situations.”
Manager Joey Barton saluted Jack Hunt after he set Bristol Rovers on course for a thumping 4-1 win over Wigan with his first goal for the club.
Right-back Hunt later helped seal their biggest League One win of the season with a brilliant assist for John Marquis to round off victory, with Luke Thomas and Aaron Collins also on target.
“Jack was first-class for us today but he has been since he first arrived in August,” Barton said.
“Jack’s performance epitomised his attitude and application since he joined us in the off-season.
“That was there for all to see today and we were miles the better side against a very good team.
“We’re seeing the benefits of the way he looked after himself despite being out of contract after leaving Sheffield Wednesday.
“That was testament to his professionalism and by keeping himself in great shape by ticking over with Harrogate, it means he’s had a tremendous impact since he came to Rovers.
“His performance today was probably his best in a quarters shirt but also he’s setting himself a really high bar and I think we’ve still got a spell of finding out about Jack.
“He’s had a fantastic career and was in and around the Premier League with Crystal Palace but he’s worked really hard and he’s humble so he’s had a huge impact on our team and our culture.”
Thomas put Rovers ahead on 13 minutes with a stylish left-footed finish only for Charlie Wyke to equalise five minutes later with a tap-in.
But when Hunt put Rovers back in command with a smart finish on 26 minutes they never looked back.
Collins scored for the second successive time on League One duty eight minutes after the break when he smashed a shot past past keeper Sam Tickle before Marquis nodded in Hunt’s cross.
Latics boss Shaun Maloney, whose club are still struggling in the relegation zone, added: “I was really disappointed with the first half and we were lucky to go in 2-1 down.
“I say that because we were nowhere near it in terms of real desire without the ball.
“And I have to eradicate that because we have to play every single game as if it means the world to us.
“We could have defended better and but they were better than us in terms of how much they wanted to compete.
“It’s sore when that happens but we’re a young side – but I don’t want to see a team play like we did in the first half. As long as we sprint and work hard I won’t complain.
“Sam Tickle made a mistake (for Hunt’s goal) but that’s football and the first half was the bigger disappointment.”
Liam Williams has hailed the work ethic behind Wales’ transformation from Six Nations also-rans to potential Rugby World Cup quarter-finalists.
It is barely six months since Wales floundered on northern hemisphere rugby’s biggest stage.
Their solitary win – a 29-17 victory over Italy in Rome – spared them the indignity of propping up the table.
The Six Nations campaign also unfolded against a backdrop of major financial and contractual uncertainty in Welsh professional rugby, factors which almost led to a player strike as Wales prepared for a Six Nations appointment with England.
Warren Gatland had returned for a second spell as head coach, but there was little opportunity for him to make an impact amid such off-field chaos.
The World Cup build-up, though, began in late May as Gatland enjoyed 16 weeks of unbroken preparation – highlighted by punishing training camps in Switzerland and Turkey – leading into Wales’ World Cup opener against Fiji.
And Wales will arrive at at the OL Stadium in Lyon on Sunday knowing that victory over Pool C rivals Australia would confirm a last-eight spot one game inside the distance.
“We’ve worked hard as a group, everyone,” said Wales full-back Williams, who wins his 87th cap this weekend.
“The pre-World Cup camps were hell, to be honest, but the boys have just been digging in. We are all on the right page.
“If you had said six months ago that we would have played two pool matches and been at the top of the group with 10 points we would have bitten your hand off. We have just got to go and back that up on the weekend.”
Central to the revival has been Gatland’s ability to get the best out of his players, something that he achieved repeatedly during an 11-year reign sprinkled with Six Nations titles, Grand Slams and World Cup semi-finals.
Williams added: “He doesn’t really change. He has a laugh and joke sometimes, and when it comes down to work, then you just work.
“That is what we have done for the last six months, and every other time I have worked under Warren. It doesn’t change too much.
“Many years ago, he knew how to press the right button for me to get a reaction, to get me back playing well.
“Being one of the older heads now, he doesn’t need to press any more buttons. I think he does with a couple of the younger boys, and he knows what ones to press to get the best out of them.
“He just used to blank me! It used to really get on my nerves.
“If I played well, I would be walking past him with a big smile on my face, and he would just walk past me, kind of thing.
“It would really get me annoyed, then I would train in the week, work incredibly hard and play well again, and he would say, ‘I knew you would play well this week’. Little things like that, I guess.”
Wales’ impressive fitness levels came to the fore during a pulsating 32-26 victory over Fiji, and they now face an Australian side on the brink of elimination if they lose.
“The ball was in play was for 38 minutes (against Fiji) which is I think the highest of this Rugby World Cup so far,” Williams said.
“It was a pretty crazy game, and we were glad to come away with the points in the end.
“The ball wasn’t in play as much in the Australia-Fiji game (Australia lost 22-15) – I think it was 11 minutes down compared to our game.
“They (Australia) have just lost to Fiji, so they are going to be going for blood, but we are taking it like any other game in the pool. We are going to try to win.”
Rory McIlroy believes Europe’s preparations for the Ryder Cup could give them an edge over a “well rested” American side.
All 12 members of Luke Donald’s team made the cut in the BMW PGA Championship last week and seven finished in the top 10, with Tyrrell Hatton second, Jon Rahm fourth, Viktor Hovland fifth and Tommy Fleetwood sixth.
McIlroy, who only made the weekend thanks to a birdie on the 18th in round two, carded closing scores of 67 and 65 to climb into a tie for seventh, with 54-hole leader Ludvig Aberg and Sepp Straka part of a tie for 10th.
In stark contrast, only three Americans will have played competitively since the end of August when they tee it up in Rome a month later, with Justin Thomas and Max Homa playing the Fortinet Championship and LIV Golf’s Brooks Koepka in action in Chicago.
“The Americans will certainly be well rested,” McIlroy said.
“I don’t think there’s any substitute for being sharp and playing tournaments. The only thing is it’s match play and not stroke play so it’s a little bit different, but I don’t think us playing a little bit more over these last few weeks is going to hurt us at all.
“If anything I would say it’s certainly better for me. I wouldn’t have liked to go into the Ryder Cup with my last start being the Tour Championship but that’s personal preference. I like to play my way into the big events.”
McIlroy felt Donald would have viewed the Wentworth leaderboard as “awesome” and was full of praise for the former world number one’s captaincy since succeeding Henrik Stenson after he was sacked for joining LIV Golf.
“I think he’s been fantastic,” the four-time major winner added. “He took the job in very weird circumstances I guess but he’s taken it in his stride and he’s been fantastic with me.
“I’m sure he’s had a lot more interaction with some of the rookies and the new guys that are on the team. I feel at this point I can take care of myself a little bit.
“If you speak to everyone we’ve all been really pleased with the job him and all of his team have done so far; the vice-captains are a big part of it and Ryder Cup Europe with all the backroom staff and everyone involved. It’s been great so far.”
McIlroy is the most experienced player on the European team and will be making his seventh Ryder Cup appearance in Rome, but Donald has made it clear where the Northern Irishman’s priorities will lie.
“Yeah, he doesn’t expect me to stand up there and make big speeches or say a lot of things,” said McIlroy, who was reduced to tears by winning just one point from four matches in the record defeat at Whistling Straits.
“But if I can lead by example and be the first one to the team room if there is a meeting, first one on the bus on the way to the course; anything like that where I’m still doing all the things that you should do and not getting complacent, that’s the way I would like to lead.
“And, as Luke said, lead with my clubs and making birdies and getting blue on the board.”
Leyton Orient recorded a hard-fought home victory over Shrewsbury with a solitary goal from Ruel Sotiriou separating the two sides.
There was a lively and positive start to the game with five corners within the opening eight minutes, the first in favour of the visitors within 16 seconds of the start.
The Shrews squandered a golden opportunity after four minutes when Max Mata was sent clear but saw his shot blocked by the outstretched foot of O’s goalkeeper Sol Brynn.
But O’s striker Sotiriou showed the way after 20 minutes when he slammed a shot into the roof of the net for his fourth goal of the season after Idris El Mizouni fashioned the opportunity.
The second period lacked quality with the visitors, who had not scored in their previous four league matches, showing their profligacy in front of goal with Brynn denying Ryan Bowman and Tom Flanagan.
At the opposite end, Sotiriou and Ethan Galbraith missed good opportunities to put the issue beyond all doubt for the hosts.
Manchester City had Rodri sent off as they extended their winning start in the Premier League with an unnecessarily complicated 2-0 victory over Nottingham Forest.
The champions looked to be cruising to victory after early goals from Phil Foden and Erling Haaland put them in complete control at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday.
The mood changed dramatically early in the second half when Rodri was dismissed for violent conduct after raising his hands towards the neck of Morgan Gibbs-White.
The game became fractious and City lost some of their discipline before manager Pep Guardiola switched to a defensive shape to secure the three points.
It was City’s sixth win in succession at the start of their latest title defence but the price of Rodri’s indiscretion is yet to be seen. The influential Spaniard now faces a three-game ban which will include a trip to Arsenal next month.
That City made such hard work of victory was extraordinary given their dominant and untroubled start.
Julian Alvarez had already forced a good save from Matt Turner from a free-kick when they pieced together a remarkable 46-pass move that led to the opening goal inside seven minutes.
The hosts built patiently before Rodri caught out the Forest defence with a superb crossfield ball to pick out Kyle Walker’s run into the box. The England full-back’s touch was equally brilliant as he laid off to Foden with a cushioned volley. Foden then did the rest with a clinical strike.
City doubled their lead seven minutes later, this time after a Matheus Nunes run down the right.
The Portuguese reached the byline and then centred perfectly for Haaland, scorer of a hat-trick in the corresponding fixture last season, to head home from close range.
In spite of some rumblings about the high volume of chances the Norwegian had missed in his previous two games, it was his eighth goal in nine appearances.
Forest’s first serious attack ended when Taiwo Awoniyi was tripped on the edge of the area by Manuel Akanji. Both the Swiss and Guardiola – for his protestations – were booked but Gibbs-White’s free-kick came to nothing.
Alvarez twice went close to adding to City’s lead before the break as he forced another save from Turner before being denied by a good block from Willy Boly.
City’s control temporarily evaporated within minutes of the restart when Rodri got involved in a tussle with Gibbs-White by the corner flag.
The pair came face to face as the situation escalated and, amid the pushing and shoving, Rodri placed his hands close to Gibbs-White’s neck. The Forest midfielder ended up on the ground and referee Anthony Taylor showed the red card in Rodri’s direction.
City were unsettled and moments later Ederson and Awoniyi were booked after clashing in the area.
Guardiola settled his side by sacrificing Jeremy Doku and Alvarez for Kalvin Phillips and Nathan Ake.
Forest battled on but did not look like scoring until Anthony Elanga and Boly tested Ederson in injury time.
Haaland could have added a third for City but volleyed over after a good run by Ake.
There were further scuffles in the closing minutes with Jack Grealish – returning from injury as a late substitute – involved but City saw it out.
Luton claimed their first point of the Premier League season with a 1-1 draw against 10-men Wolves at Kenilworth Road.
Carlton Morris’ penalty cancelled out Pedro Neto’s earlier strike to share the spoils in a positive Hatters performance.
Rob Edwards will be proud of his side’s display but will leave thinking his side should have used the extra-man more effectively after Jean-Ricner Bellegarde was sent off in the 39th minute.
Edwards experimented with a 4-4-2 and the change in shape worked in the early stages as the Hatters enjoyed possession and space out wide through Chiedozie Ogbene and Jacob Brown, who nearly got on the end of a dangerous cross in the fifth minute.
Kenilworth Road’s vocal support set the tone and striker Morris nearly rewarded it in the 10th minute when his thunderous long-range effort cannoned off one of Jose Sa’s posts.
Edwards would have wanted a response after a poor second half against Fulham last week and he got that through midfield duo Marvelous Nakamba and Albert Sambi Lokonga who relentlessly pressed, tackled and played dangerous passes as the hosts began to ramp up the pressure.
Wolves began to work their way into the game after 30 minutes and strung neat passages together before the creative Bellegarde produced a stunning through ball in behind, but there was no one there to get on the end of it.
But the Frenchman undid his positive work when he was shown a straight red card. The midfielder was dispossessed by Tom Lockyer and he kicked out at the Luton captain before he was given his marching orders by referee Josh Smith.
Wolves held on during added time but the home side were hot out the traps in the second half when Morris got on the end of strike partner’s Ogbene’s cross in the 48th minute but his effort was saved by Sa.
Luton were on top but it was Wolves who took a 1-0 lead against the run of play in the 50th minute.
Neto gambled on a long ball and beat Lockyer in a foot race before he shrugged the defender off, cut in on his left foot and produced a thumping strike past Thomas Kaminski.
The Premier League newcomers paid the price yet again for a simple lapse of concentration.
Kenilworth Road cried out for a response and in the 65th minute Luton levelled the contest.
Joao Gomes handled the ball in the box and after a VAR check Morris stepped up, stuttered in his run up and finished calmy past Sa into the bottom left corner.
Target man Elijah Adebayo was brought on by Edwards and orange shirts marauded down the flanks and whipped in crosses in search of the striker but they were denied by Wolves’ tight defence.
Nakamba’s shot was deflected into the path of Ogbene who finished his effort but it was ruled offside and Luton could not get the goal they searched for in six minutes of added time.
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