West Ham teenager George Earthy was taken to hospital after suffering a horror head injury just two minutes into his Premier League debut.
The 19-year-old had just come on as a substitute when he collided with team-mate Edson Alvarez in the middle of the field.
Earthy fell to the ground awkwardly and appeared to have been knocked out cold, sparking worrying scenes as medics and team-mates rushed to help the stricken youngster.
After receiving treatment for eight minutes, Earthy was carried off on a stretcher. He was conscious when he was taken out of the London Stadium in an ambulance around 20 minutes after full-time.
The Hammers said: “West Ham United can confirm George Earthy will undergo an assessment in a London hospital this evening following the incident which saw him stretchered off during today’s Premier League fixture against Fulham.
“The midfielder – who entered the field as a second half substitute to make his Premier League debut against the Cottagers – was taken off in stoppage time.”
Manager David Moyes said: “I am really disappointed for George. He has been doing really well in training, done really well for the Under-21s.
“He started well with the ball, had some really nice touches. He is fine. It is a head knock. He is awake and has gone to hospital, we think he is OK at the moment. We all thought he had been knocked out but I don’t know any more.”
The incident overshadowed a 2-0 victory for Fulham courtesy of two goals from Andreas Pereira.
It was a second blow to West Ham’s European hopes in the space of four days, following Thursday night’s 2-0 Europa League first-leg defeat at Bayer Leverkusen, as a win would have lifted them to sixth.
“I thought we started well and should have been one or two goals up before they scored,” added Moyes.
“We were caught out by a long ball, we didn’t deal with it well. And we missed some opportunities to score as well. I think we dominated possession, kept the ball and passed it quite well. But we got done on the counter-attack.
“I’m gutted, today was a great chance to go sixth with five games to go, what a great position to be in.”
For Fulham it was a first win in four matches, and a first at West Ham since 2001.
Boss Marco Silva said: “Great win for us, well played from ourselves and to be honest we deserved the three points.
“West Ham had a good chance to score but after that, we scored the first goal and started to control the game. Overall we scored twice but created more chances to score as well.
“I think we were solid, compact and kept our concentration. We should have scored more goals to be even more comfortable.”
Montego Bay United continue decent start to JPL season with 1-0 win over Arnett Gardens
Montego Bay United continued their promising start to the Wray and Nephew Jamaica Premier League (JPL) season with a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Arnett Gardens in an entertaining encounter at the Montego Bay Stadium in Catherine Hall on Monday.
Captain Owayne Gordon was the hero of the night, scoring the decisive goal in the 40th minute to secure all three points for Rodolfo Zapata’s side. The win, their third of the campaign, moved Montego Bay United up to second on nine points, one point off leaders Cavalier on 10 points, while Arnett Gardens slipped to seventh on four points.
Zapata was visibly pleased with his team’s performance, lauding the effort and determination shown by the players throughout the match.
“I knew it was going to be a very exciting game; it was very interesting from a tactical aspect, and tactics are very important, but if you don’t have the technique, it won’t work. So I am very proud of my boys and the performance they put in," the Argentine tactician said.
“They (Arnett Gardens) are a good team so I have different tactical systems that I work with in games like these. We started with 3-3-3-1, and during the game I had to change, but my players responded to my coaching, and I am so proud of them, especially of that high-class finish,” he added.
It was a lively start by teams as they showed good attacking intent in end-to-end action, much to the delight of the sizeable crowd.
Both threw their weight in attack and tested their respective goalkeeper’s readiness in a few half chances in the opening half-hour.
However, Montego Bay United, led by Gordon, gradually gained the ascendancy, as they were more enterprising in the attacking third, stretching Arnett Gardens defence, which was slow to regroup.
The all-important goal by Gordon, his 77th in an outstanding JPL career, was the culmination of a well-executed build up that showcased Montego Bay United’s swift and effective transition play.
Gordon collected a pass on the break down the left channel and held his composure to delicately finish over the head of Asher Hutchinson in goal for Arnett Gardens to put Montego Bay United up at the break.
Montego Bay United remained in control at the restart and should have extended the lead on two occasions, but faulty execution proved their undoing.
The first came in the 48th when Gordon whipped in a weighted cross, but Lucas Lima Correa couldn't connect properly to get his header on target.
Nine minutes later, Tyrone Harrison danced his way through two defenders and fired on a cross for Shaneil Thomas, who steered the effort wide of the left upright.
As the chances came far and few in between, Arnett Gardens had their best look at goal in 69th when Warner Brown found himself with space and time to set for a left-footed effort from deep inside the 18-yard box. However, the usually clinical attacker hit his shot wide of the right upright, and that effort basically summed up the “Junglists” night.
Head coach Xavier Gilbert acknowledged that they were found wanting for the most parts.
“To be honest, Mobay was committed. I don’t think we were committed as much, especially in the first half, and it is something that we spoke about because we can’t give away the ball and don’t have that urgency to win it back immediately. It has been haunting us for the last four or five games, but we are still trying to fix it.
“It is still a long season and we just have to be better at keeping the ball. Also, the end product just wasn’t there and it is just one of those games. I said it to Kimani [Arbouine] because he has been doing well but tonight just wasn’t his night,” Gilbert reasoned.
Matchweek Four Results
Molynes United 4, Chapelton Maroons 0
Humble Lion 1, Harbour View 1
Portmore United 2, Vere United 0
Tivoli Gardens 0, Waterhouse 1
Cavalier 4, Dunbeholden 1
Mount Pleasant 4, Racing United 0
Montego Bay United 1, Arnett Gardens 0
Former Barcelona and Spain midfielder Iniesta announces retirement
Former Barcelona and Spain midfielder Andres Iniesta has announced his retirement from football at the age of 40.
Iniesta, who also played for Japanese side Vissel Kobe, most recently played for UAE Pro League club Emirates and had the option to extend his contract until 2025, but has instead decided to hang up his boots.
The midfielder started his career at Barcelona, joining at the age of 12 before making his senior debut in 2002.
He went on to make 674 appearances for Barcelona in all competitions, the fourth-most in the history of the club, behind Lionel Messi (778), Xavi (767) and Sergio Busquets (722).
"Please allow me to be a little emotional today..." a tearful Iniesta said at a press conference on Tuesday.
"I never thought this day would come. I never imagined it. Yes, all these tears we have shed these days are tears of emotion, of pride. They are not tears of sadness.
"They are tears of that boy from a small town like Fuentealbilla, who had the dream of being a footballer and we achieved it after a lot of hard work, sacrifice... of never giving up, essential values in my life. I feel very proud of this path, with all the people who have accompanied me."
Iniesta scored 35 goals in 442 LaLiga appearances, with Barcelona unbeaten in the 35 league games in which he scored (W33 D2). Only Angel Correa (58 games) has scored in more games without losing in the competition in the 21st century.
While at Barcelona, he won 29 major honours, including nine LaLiga titles, four Champions League, two UEFA Super Cups and three FIFA Club World Cups.
Iniesta also made 131 appearances for Spain, the fifth-most in the history of the male national team, and famously scored the winning goal in the 2010 World Cup final as La Roja lifted the trophy for the first time.
His strike in the 116th minute against the Netherlands (115:54 exactly) is the latest winning goal in the showpiece match in the history of the tournament.
He was also a part of Spain's European Championship successes in 2008 and 2012, being named the Player of the Tournament at the latter edition.
Despite playing an integral role in those tournaments, Iniesta failed to score with any of the 34 shots he attempted in his three appearances at the Euros finals (2008, 2012, 2016), a record number of attempts without scoring by any player at the tournament since at least the 1980 edition.
Bonmati refuses to rule out WSL move but open to retiring at Barcelona
Aitana Bonmati has refused to rule out a move to the Women's Super League in the future, though she is also open to the prospect of ending her career at Barcelona.
Bonmati, who won the Ballon d'Or last year after helping Spain become world champions for the first time, recently put pen to paper on a new four-year contract with Barca.
She has been with the club since 2012, winning 23 trophies with the senior side to sit eighth in the all-time ranking for most titles with the Catalan giants.
Bonmati, who is Barcelona's all-time leading scorer, has won the Champions League on three occasions, netting in last season's final victory over Lyon.
In an interview with Sky Sports, Bonmati was asked if she could foresee a scenario in which she never leaves Barca, and she is open to the idea.
"Yes, that would be nice to be a one-club player," the creative midfielder said.
"For now, I've been playing for Barcelona since I was 13 years old. It would be nice if I could end my career like this… but you never know.
"I'd never close the door. You never know what might happen in the future. But for now, I'm here for four more years, so I want to enjoy."
If Bonmati were to leave Spain, a number of WSL clubs – including Chelsea, Manchester City and Arsenal – would likely be in the hunt for her signature.
Bonmati appreciates the growing strength of the WSL, saying the investment in women's football in England compares favourably with that seen in Spain.
"It's a league that is so nice because England are investing a lot in women's football since the Euros – I cannot say the same about here in Spain," she said.
"Of course, it's a league that we have to keep watching, to be like them for helping women's football grow."
Barcelona open their Women's Champions League campaign against City on Wednesday, having been drawn into Group D alongside Hammarby and St Polten.
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