Leeds boss Daniel Farke hailed his side’s mentality to overcome the hostile atmosphere of The Den and return home with three points as they beat Millwall 3-0.

Striker Joel Piroe scored once in each half to put Leeds in control before Georginio Rutter added a third 10 minutes from time to seal a memorable visit to the capital.

Farke’s side weathered an early storm from the hosts before Piroe opened the scoring after 15 minutes and the German lauded the way his side stood strong in trying circumstances at times.

“I’m proud of my guys today because I’ve played here several times at The Den, I know it’s an unbelievably tough place to come,” he said. ”You have to be on it and it was a pretty complex performance.

“There are periods of the game where you have to show some steel and reliance. You have to be there and show these qualities because you can’t win all these long balls and all these long throw ins and sometimes they’ll have a corner kick.

“It is so difficult, you have to dig in and give your life in these moments and also to stay cool and mentally strong and wait for the moments where you can let your qualities shine and that’s what we did today.

“To return back from such a tough place with a clean sheet to the dressing room and to score three goals is pretty amazing.”

A comprehensive defeat at home continued Millwall’s slow start to the season, with the Lions taking just seven points from their opening six matches.

But manager Gary Rowett insisted the scoreline did not accurately reflect the balance of the contest.

“It felt a little bit harsh,” he said. “You concede three goals, and the opposition don’t concede then of course a 3-0 scoreline is what it is.

“It doesn’t look a fair reflection of the effort the players put in.

“I thought we got up against them, I thought we pressed really well, I thought we took a gamble in playing a little bit higher.

“We won a lot of good balls in and around the Leeds half and got into some good areas, forced lots of corners and (had) moments around the box without really creating obvious chances. But I don’t think Leeds did either.

“We go from those periods of pressure where we’re doing a lot of things well and a lot of things right to concede a poor goal.

“To be 1-0 down felt a little unjust and maybe gave Leeds a tiny bit of a lift, but after that we continued to put them under pressure, continued some of those moments.”

Dan Evans fought back from a set and a break down to defeat teenage debutant Arthur Fils and give Great Britain a 1-0 lead in their crucial Davis Cup clash with France in Manchester.

Although Leon Smith’s side were unbeaten after victories over Australia and Switzerland, other results meant only a win in the three-match tie would be enough to finish in the top two in the group and send them through to the final-eight event in Malaga in November.

Nineteen-year-old Fils showed his huge potential to put himself in a winning position and quieten the 13,000-strong sell-out crowd at the AO Arena – the biggest single-day attendance for a Davis Cup match in Britain.

But a combination of a drop-off from the Frenchman and a strong fightback from 33-year-old Evans carried him to a 3-6 6-3 6-4 victory, putting Britain in the box seat.

“There’s something about Davis Cup, it’s never, ever simple,” said Evans. “It’s an amazing crowd today.

“You really helped me get through when I was a set and a break down and not feeling exactly how I wanted to be playing. To be playing in front of such a big crowd for the country again, it’s everything to me.”

Team selection has been one of the most intriguing aspects of this week and here it was France springing a surprise by turning to Fils ahead of the experienced Adrian Mannarino, against whom Evans has a great record.

Smith opted for his two highest-ranked singles players, overlooking Jack Draper, who made his own impressive debut in beating Australia’s Thanasi Kokkinakis on Wednesday, and Andy Murray.

Fils is the highest-ranked teenager in the world at 44 and the most exciting of a crop of young French players.

It was immediately clear this was not a comfortable match-up for the 5ft 9in Evans, who struggles to impose his finesse-based game against power hitters.

He was not helped by a poor first-serve percentage in the opening set and a forehand winner drilled down the line earned Fils the break for 5-3.

Evans was in deep trouble when he was broken again to start the second set and he slammed his racket down in frustration at his inability to make life uncomfortable for his young opponent.

But the teenager’s assurance deserted him in the sixth game when he missed a succession of first serves and then a backhand to give Evans the break back.

Suddenly the spring was in the British number two’s step and, with the crowd right behind him, he kept the pressure firmly on Fils, breaking again to lead 5-3 and then again to start the deciding set.

The teenager stayed in contention by saving break points in his next two service games and the arena was racked with tension as Evans served for the match, leaping with delight when a final shot from Fils landed in the net.

Tom Scudamore steered I Still Have Faith to victory in the Vickers.Bet Leger Legends Classified Stakes at Doncaster.

Scudamore, who retired earlier this year, was having his first ride in the mile race confined to retired jockeys which raises valuable funds for the Injured Jockeys Fund Jack Berry House and the National Horseracing College.

This year’s line-up featured a range of recently-retired names, including Paul Hanagan, who only bowed out at the Ebor meeting, as well as the likes of Gary Bardwell, Gay Kelleway, Davy Russell, Robbie Power and Jamie Osborne.

The Ben Brookhouse-trained I Still Have Faith was sent off the 100-30 favourite and was covered up early on by Scudamore before launching his challenge with a couple of furlongs to run.

I Still Have Faith shot clear and while Hanagan tried his best to catch him aboard Biplane, the market leader had lots in hand, coming home a two-and-a-quarter-length victor.

Grand National-winning rider Power took third on Lion’s Pride, while Osborne finished with a flourish for fourth with Cliffs Of Capri.

Scudamore – who retired with 1,499 winners to his name over jumps – was sporting the colours of owner Roger Brookhouse, a long-term ally of his during his professional career.

He said: “It’s lovely. I had more winners for Roger than just about any other owner I rode for – I think I rode 60 or 70 winners for him. It’s a lot of winners and he was fantastic to me all through my career, right from as a claimer.

“We had some wonderful days – Western Warhouse for David (Pipe), we had some really special days. It wasn’t just Western Warhouse, I’m So Lucky – he had a fantastic family that’s still going well.

“He gave me some of my best days in racing and it’s a nice way of bowing out.”

He added: “Everybody wanted to do this, it shows the admiration and respect Jack Berry has from the whole of the sport. It was a great honour and privilege to be asked.”

Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz beat Lando Norris and Mercedes’ tactical gamble in a frenetic finale to win the Singapore Grand Prix and end Red Bull’s bid to become Formula One’s ‘Invincibles’.

Red Bull arrived at the Marina Bay Circuit with 14 victories from 14 rounds, but Sainz finally ended their crushing dominance with an impressive victory.

Norris took second after holding off George Russell and Lewis Hamilton, who both stopped for tyres with 17 laps remaining in a gung-ho bid to take the win.

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But Russell and Hamilton were unable to find a way past a resilient Norris in a dramatic conclusion with the former crashing out on the final lap.

Russell’s crash allowed Hamilton to complete the podium, with Charles Leclerc fourth.

Max Verstappen’s record winning streak is also over after the Dutchman – who became the first driver in the sport’s history to rack up 10 straight victories at the Italian Grand Prix a fortnight ago – finished fifth.

Verstappen’s lead over Sergio Perez, who finished eighth, stands at 149 points, meaning the former cannot secure his third world title at next weekend’s round in Japan.

Matt Fagerson revealed how he and brother Zander got to spend a “special” day with their devoted parents last week as they savoured the first time they had both played for Scotland in the same match at a World Cup.

The siblings featured in last Sunday’s 18-3 defeat by South Africa in Marseille.

Prop Zander, who had played at the previous World Cup, was on for the first 55 minutes at Stade Velodrome and back-rower Matt, who missed out on selection for the 2019 showpiece in Japan, was introduced from the bench in the 64th minute.

Although the result did not go as planned, the match held obvious sentimental value for the Fagerson family, and the brothers – two of five siblings – got to reflect on it with their parents Gwendolyn and Jonathan as the team were given some down time at the start of last week following the Boks showdown.

“It was amazing, our parents came through to Antibes (near the team’s World Cup base in the south of France) and me and Zander spent the day with them,” Matt told the PA news agency.

“It was really nice. We went for ice cream, had some food, went to the beach. They’re a huge part of why we do what we do and it was really special to have them out here and spend that time with them.

“We’re a very sporty family. Our little sister is in the Scotland hockey squad, one of our brothers ran a marathon the other day and our other brother is a DJ so everybody’s pretty busy at the moment.

“Our parents are incredibly proud of us and to be able to spend a couple of days with them out here was really special.”

At this time four years ago, Matt was at home, effectively on standby, after agonisingly missing out on selection for the squad.

The Glasgow back-rower has a good idea, therefore, of the range of emotions hooker Stuart McInally will have gone through after finding himself in a similar position over the past month before getting the call to join the squad on Wednesday after Dave Cherry withdrew with concussion after he banged his head when slipping on the stairs at the team hotel last Monday.

“We’re all gutted for Dave,” said Fagerson. “It was a terrible accident that happened and we’re all behind him but Rambo (McInally) was unfortunate not to make the squad in the first place. We have some quality hookers but Rambo’s a quality player and we’re stoked to have him back in the squad.

“In 2019, I had about a week to get over it and then I was back in with the Glasgow boys doing pre-season.

“The message to all the boys in that situation is to keep fit because things like this happen, injuries happen.

“It needs the whole squad buy-in. Injuries happen in our sport so everyone should try to stay fit because if you get the call to come out you have to make the most of it and integrate back into the team.

“Rambo has come back in great shape, he’s ready to hit the ground running.

“It’s definitely a weird old time for him. It was obviously really tough for him when he didn’t make the squad and he had to get over that but it’s a fairytale that he gets to come out here and hopefully get that 50th cap (he is currently on 49).”

After losing to South Africa, Scotland know they must win all three of their remaining pool matches against Tonga, Romania and Ireland. They will probably require bonus points from their next two outings to give themselves an opportunity to qualify for the quarter-finals when they go into their October showdown with the Irish in Paris.

“We’ve got an uphill battle now but we’ve got a lot of belief in the squad so we’re looking forward to it,” said Fagerson.

“We’re going to have to put our best foot forward against Tonga on Sunday and then hopefully get a big finish against Ireland.

“If you start looking for bonus points too early in a game you can sometimes miss the beat in the first half but I think we will probably need bonus points so we’ll be looking to up the scoreline.

“We’re just focusing on Tonga just now and trying to start the game really well.”

Karl Burke is targeting Qipco Champions Day with Swingalong following her fine effort in the Betfair Sprint Cup at Haydock.

Third behind Shaquille in the Commonwealth Cup at Royal Ascot, Swingalong subsequently plundered a Group Three prize at York to earn herself a return to Group One level on Merseyside.

The daughter of Showcasing was beaten just a length and a half into fourth place by Regional but that does not tell the whole story, with Burke’s filly ploughing a lone furrow against the stands rail while much of the action was taking place on the far side of the track.

The Spigot Lodge handler feels Swingalong would have finished even closer had she had something to race with and is now hoping to see her return to Berkshire next month, provided conditions are suitable.

Burke said: “It was a shame. I walked the track pretty comprehensively because of Spycatcher (withdrawn due to unsuitable ground) and there was a track of ground there that Swingalong ran on that was as quick as anywhere on the track.

“I couldn’t believe that nothing came with us. As usual they all followed the main bunch and it was unfortunate because while she’s a good front-running filly, she will extend when a horse comes to her.

“If she had something chasing her or coming to challenge her, I’m sure she could have found another length or so, which would have put us absolutely bang there.”

He added: “She ran an absolute cracker and she’s got every chance of winning a Group One somewhere along the line. I think the plan at the moment is to leave her in training next year, which is great.

“The plan is to go to Champions Day. Hopefully the ground doesn’t come up too soft, but she loves Ascot and if she turns up there in the same form on good ground, she’ll run her usual big race.”

Matt Fagerson revealed how he and brother Zander got to spend a “special” day with their devoted parents last week as they savoured the first time they had both played for Scotland in the same match at a World Cup.

The siblings featured in last Sunday’s 18-3 defeat by South Africa in Marseille.

Prop Zander, who had played at the previous World Cup, was on for the first 55 minutes at Stade Velodrome and back-rower Matt, who missed out on selection for the 2019 showpiece in Japan, was introduced from the bench in the 64th minute.

Although the result did not go as planned, the match held obvious sentimental value for the Fagerson family, and the brothers – two of five siblings – got to savour it with their parents Gwendolyn and Jonathan as the team were given some down time at the start of last week.

“It was amazing, our parents came through to Antibes (near the team’s World Cup base in the south of France) and me and Zander spent the day with them,” Matt told the PA news agency.

“It was really nice. We went for ice cream, had some food, went to the beach. They’re a huge part of why we do what we do and it was really special to have them out here and spend that time with them.

“We’re a very sporty family. Our little sister is in the Scotland hockey squad, one of our brothers ran a marathon the other day and our other brother is a DJ so everybody’s pretty busy at the moment.

“Our parents are incredibly proud of us and to be able to spend a couple of days with them out here was really special.”

At this time four years ago, Matt was at home, effectively on standby, after agonisingly missing out on selection for the squad.

The Glasgow back-rower has a good idea, therefore, of the range of emotions hooker Stuart McInally will have gone through after finding himself in a similar position over the past month before getting the call to join the squad on Wednesday after Dave Cherry withdrew with concussion after he banged his head when slipping on the stairs at the team hotel last Monday.

“We’re all gutted for Dave,” said Fagerson. “It was a terrible accident that happened and we’re all behind him but Rambo (McInally) was unfortunate not to make the squad in the first place. We have some quality hookers but Rambo’s a quality player and we’re stoked to have him back in the squad.

“In 2019, I had about a week to get over it and then I was back in with the Glasgow boys doing pre-season.

“The message to all the boys in that situation is to keep fit because things like this happen, injuries happen.

“It needs the whole squad buy-in. Injuries happen in our sport so everyone should try to stay fit because if you get the call to come out you have to make the most of it and integrate back into the team.

“Rambo has come back in great shape, he’s ready to hit the ground running.

“It’s definitely a weird old time for him. It was obviously really tough for him when he didn’t make the squad and he had to get over that but it’s a fairytale that he gets to come out here and hopefully get that 50th cap (he is currently on 49).”

After losing to South Africa, Scotland know they must win all three of their remaining pool matches against Tonga, Romania and Ireland. They will probably require bonus points from their next two outings to give themselves an opportunity to qualify for the quarter-finals when they go into their October showdown with the Irish in Paris.

“We’ve got an uphill battle now but we’ve got a lot of belief in the squad so we’re looking forward to it,” said Fagerson.

“We’re going to have to put our best foot forward against Tonga on Sunday and then hopefully get a big finish against Ireland.

“If you start looking for bonus points too early in a game you can sometimes miss the beat in the first half but I think we will probably need bonus points so we’ll be looking to up the scoreline.

“We’re just focusing on Tonga just now and trying to start the game really well.”

Ralph Beckett’s promising Task Force has the Juddmonte Middle Park Stakes in his sights after a flawless start to his career.

The Frankel two-year-old is unbeaten in two outings, taking a Salisbury maiden that has since produced three further winners before moving up in grade for the Listed Ripon Champion Two Yrs Old Trophy Stakes.

In the latter Task Force – who runs in the colours of the Middle Park sponsor – was the winner once again, prevailing by a length and a quarter from stablemate Matters Most with George Scott’s Seven Questions a neck behind that horse in third.

Seven Questions subsequently went down by just a head to the another Beckett runner, Starlust, in the Group Three Sirenia Stakes at Kempton, leaving the form from both of Task Force’s runs looking increasingly solid.

The Group One Middle Park at Newmarket on September 30 is now on the agenda for the well-bred bay, whose dam is the Cheveley Park Stakes and 1000 Guineas winner Special Duty.

“He’s run two great races and the form has worked out well with the race at Kempton,” said Juddmonte racing manager Barry Mahon.

“He’s in good form, the owners have indicated that they’d like to go to the Middle Park with him at Newmarket.

“Ralph is of the same mind, so that’s where we’re headed with him at the minute.”

Dubai World Cup runner-up Algiers will put his Breeders’ Cup aspirations to the test when he heads to America to tune-up for the Santa Anita showpiece.

Simon and Ed Crisford’s six-year-old proved a revelation at the Meydan carnival in the early part of 2023 and having won the first two legs of the Al Maktoum Challenge, came agonisingly close to big-race glory on World Cup night.

He has been off the track since then, but having shown a real liking for the dirt in Dubai in the early part of the year, will continue to ply his trade on that surface upon his upcoming return.

Having enjoyed an extended summer break to recover from his exertions in the early part of the year, the gelded son of Shamardal will head to the States for a Breeders’ Cup prep run which could come in the Ack Ack Stakes at Churchill Downs at the end of this month.

“He’s heading to America in a couple of weeks and there’s a couple of races out there for him,” said Ed Crisford.

“There’s one at Churchill and one at Aqueduct and those tracks will be a lot different to Meydan, so we’ll see how he gets on.

“He’s had the summer off and a nice break after Dubai and is clearly ready to run, so we’ll give him a go out there and see how he handles the dirt and take it from there.

“Whether he goes to a Breeders’ Cup or not will depend on how he gets on out there, but he’s doing really well and I couldn’t be happier – he’s done well for the break.”

Although Algiers was seen to great effect running over 10 furlongs in Meydan, he also impressed over a mile in Dubai and his training team are preferring to aim for the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile over the longer Breeders’ Cup Classic at this stage.

“He only got caught out late on in the World Cup off a very fast pace, but over the mile he was exceptional that day at Meydan,” continued Crisford.

“He was so good over a mile at Meydan, so the Dirt Mile, we’re thinking that way for now.”

Yorkshire handler Craig Lidster admits he has been humbled by the chance to train Macarone for the Rob Burrow Racing Club as he sets his sights on a fitting Pontefract date later this month.

Burrow’s battle with motor neurone disease has touched the hearts of the nation and has also left a lasting impression on the Easingwold-based handler, who has relished the opportunity to train for the racing club that raises money for charity in the former England and Leeds Rhinos star’s name.

Lidster has recorded 30 winners so far in his fledgling training career, but none meant as much to him as Macarone’s maiden triumph at Beverley last month, which came on his first start in the Rob Burrow Racing Club colours.

And although injuring his back on the gallops a day before Macarone broke his duck, Lidster was trackside to witness the son of Havana Grey open his account in the hands of Paul Hanagan, who not long afterwards announced his retirement from the saddle.

He said: “We were thrilled to bits to get that win at Beverley and it was special as it was one of Paul’s last rides.

“It’s an honour to train for Rob. People asked me before Macarone won what was the pinnacle of my training career and I would say watching Julie Camacho and Steve Brown win Group Ones with Shaquille because they are very good friends of mine.

“But to go and top that with Macarone winning for the Rob Burrow Racing Club was a massive pleasure and humbling.

“I had broken my back the day before (in an accident on the gallops) and people were saying ‘what are you doing here?’. But when you turn around and see people in a worse situation than you, there was no way I was going to miss that in a million years.”

Having now got off the mark, Macarone will now attempt to climb the ratings at Thirsk in a bid to secure his place in a Pontefract nursery later this month.

It would be an appropriate climax to the youngster’s juvenile campaign with the race taking place in Burrow’s home town and at the closest racecourse to Leeds where he made his name in the Rhinos’ jersey.

“He is going to go to Thirsk on Monday,” continued Lidster.

“The main target is Pontefract on September 28 which is Rob’s home track so we would like to get Macarone to Rob’s home turf. The race is a 0-78 so we would like to come up the weights a bit to make sure we get in there.

“He’s a nice horse and a nice prospect going forward and with Rob Burrow taking him on, both myself and Steve (Burdett, the horse’s previous owner) were really keen to help Rob in any way we can.

“It’s a massive cause for such a lovely fella and we just couldn’t turn down helping.”

Sheffield United have condemned racist abuse and threats aimed towards goalkeeper Wes Foderingham following the 2-1 Premier League defeat at Tottenham.

Foderingham,  who made a string of fine saves to deny Spurs before conceding two goals in added time, said in an Instagram post on Saturday night:  “I don’t mind opposition fans calling me every name under the sun. But be easy with the racism and family threats. Think before you type.”

The Blades responded on Sunday morning offering support for their keeper and promising to investigate.

A statement read: “Sheffield United condemn the racist, abusive and threatening messages that have been sent to Wes Foderingham after yesterday’s game against Spurs.

“The club will now work with relevant bodies to investigate and support Wes.

“There is no room for racism in our game.”

Tottenham also responded with a statement of their own offering to assist Sheffield United with their investigation and ban any Spurs fans found to be responsible for the abuse.

The Spurs statement read: “We are disgusted to hear of racist, abusive and threatening messages sent to Wes Foderingham following yesterday’s match.

“The Club stands firmly against all forms of discrimination and will cooperate fully with Sheffield United and the relevant bodies in their investigations.

“We shall not hesitate in taking the strongest possible action, including Club bans, against any so-called fan found responsible.”

Paul Heckingbottom’s side were 1-0 up heading into the closing stages at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium thanks to a Gus Hamer opener.

But late goals from Richarlison and Dejan Kulusevski turned the game around and the Blades are still winless from their opening five fixtures.