Leandro Trossard’s goal ended Arsenal’s woeful run at Goodison Park but the nature of their 1-0 victory over Everton was far from convincing for would-be Premier League title contenders.
The Belgium international’s second league goal for the club he joined in January was a paltry return for the dominance the Gunners enjoyed but it proved enough to halt a sequence of four defeats and a draw in L4.
But it was enough to extend this season’s unbeaten run and lift them back to within two points of leaders Manchester City and behind only Tottenham and Liverpool on goal difference.
For a team who enjoyed so much possession, Mikel Arteta’s side created very little with it until Trossard’s 69th-minute breakthrough – highlighted by starting centre-forward Eddie Nketiah’s paltry 10 touches before he was withdrawn three minutes before the goal.
Arsenal will have wished he had one fewer as it was his lay-off returning from an offside position which resulted in Gabriel Martinelli’s first-half goal being ruled out for offside.
On-loan Brentford goalkeeper David Raya was similarly underemployed having been handed his debut as part of Arteta’s rotation policy between the posts and the manager will not have learned much about his fellow Spaniard against an Everton side short on shots and attacking intent.
However, squeezing out a win on a ground which has recently proved a huge stumbling block for the north Londoners will have at least given the Gunners boss some satisfaction and the travelling support sang their appreciation of a scoreline with which they have become synonymous.
Not so his Everton counterpart Sean Dyche, whose side have now lost all three home matches this season, have only one point and remain in the bottom three and facing a third successive relegation dogfight.
While they posed little realistic threat, they did not do much wrong in frustrating their opponents for long periods and the return of Dominic Calvert-Lewin as a second-half substitute and winger Dwight McNeil starting his first game of the season should offer some grounds for optimism.
But with only two goals, both scored at Sheffield United immediately before the international break, and with summer signing Beto showing every inch of the “rawness” Dyche claimed he had, something has to improve up front.
The same could have been said for Arsenal on this occasion as they did not really pick up the pace until the start of the second half when Martin Odegaard forced Pickford to parry a fierce shot.
But desperation was started to show on the hour when the players frantically appealed for handball after Oleksandr Zinchenko’s drive from distance hit the diving James Tarkowski but his arm was tucked into his body.
Both managers decided a change of strikers was what needed to change their luck in the 66th minute and Calvert-Lewin – wearing a protective mask after a recent facial injury – and Gabriel Jesus arrived at the same time.
But it was first-half substitute Trossard who made the difference from an Arsenal short corner.
The ball was worked between Zinchenko and Odegaard to Bukayo Saka whose cutback was cleverly steered in left-footed via the far post by the Belgian for his first goal since February.
However, it was not much of an improvement on a forgettable first half, in which Everton matched the visitors for shots on target (one) despite having only 20 per cent possession, and the only real talking point was Martinelli’s disallowed 19th-minute goal.
Beto, making his home debut, charged down Gabriel and the ball rebounded to Nketiah, who laid off to Fabio Vieira to thread a pass in for his team-mate to curl a shot past Jordan Pickford only for VAR to chalk off the effort.
It was Martinelli’s last involvement as injury forced his replacement by Trossard.
Abdoulaye Doucoure wanted a penalty after breaking from midfield, lobbing Declan Rice, and cutting inside onto his right foot only to be clipped by William Saliba but referee Simon Hooper saw no infringement.
Mauricio Pochettino said he cannot control Chelsea fans’ reactions after a section of the away support appeared to boo Ben Chilwell at the end of the team’s drab 0-0 draw at Bournemouth.
Chilwell was a second-half substitute at the Vitality Stadium but failed to substantially alter the team’s fortunes as they laboured in vain to break the hosts down in wet conditions.
Pochettino named three outfield players aged 19 or under on the bench as well as two goalkeepers as the club’s injury crisis continued to deepen.
Marc Cucurella and Noni Madueke were fresh additions to the absentee list at Bournemouth, taking the total number of players unavailable to the manager to 12.
Chelsea threatened only sporadically, looking to use the channels to attack but only rarely finding a final ball to open up the home side.
Raheem Sterling hit the crossbar with a fiercely hit free-kick whilst Nicolas Jackson also struck the woodwork in the first half but it was Robert Sanchez who was called upon to make the save of the game when he spread himself low at the feet of Dango Ouattara as the striker bore down on his goal.
It leaves Pochettino’s side 14th in the table with just one win from five matches, and with an uneasy sense that last season’s problems in front of goal are a long way from being fixed.
And some fans seemed to vent their frustrations when England international Chilwell went over to applaud the away end at full-time.
“What can we do?” said Pochettino. “For me, I have nothing to say. The fans can do whatever they want.
“We know what we need to do, we are strong in our belief. We have 12 injured and today we had three or four young guys and two keepers on the bench.
“I’m going to cry? I’m going to complain? To who? I need to accept this, the challenge and keep being positive.”
The Argentinian continued: “Bournemouth is a good team, they are going to compete. Every team is going to compete and be difficult.
“But these are the circumstances we need to accept and be positive, patient. We are not going to change in the way we do things.
“What can I do? Only to keep believing. If you say to me we have today all of our players, all of our signings, no injuries, and maybe we cannot win this game? Then maybe I can tell you we need to see (it) in a different way. But we cannot lie to the people.”
Chelsea have failed to score in their last two Premier League outings and have won just twice in the league since March, at the Vitality Stadium late last season when Bournemouth were already safe and last month at home to newly-promoted Luton.
Pochettino was asked whether he was sympathetic to the reaction of those supporters that booed the players off.
“What I can tell the fans is the circumstance that we cannot change,” he said. “The reality that we cannot change. We have too many players (injured). We’re a team that would be strong if we are together.
“Even Manchester City, Arsenal, when they have all the squad fit, they can compete for everything. Why is it different for us? It’s because of what? We don’t have all the squad available from the beginning of the season.”
Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola reflected on a performance that showed promise despite the winless run at the start of his tenure now stretching to five league matches.
“I’m really happy with the performance,” he said. “The game was quite level. Both teams had their chances. Overall, we had very good individual performances and finished the game even better.
“There were moments later on where we thought the game could be ours.”
Mauricio Pochettino said he cannot control Chelsea fans’ reactions after a section of the away support appeared to boo Ben Chilwell at the end of the team’s drab 0-0 draw at Bournemouth.
Chilwell was a second-half substitute at the Vitality Stadium but failed to substantially alter the team’s fortunes as they laboured in vain to break the hosts down in wet conditions.
Pochettino named three outfield players aged 19 or under on the bench as well as two goalkeepers as the club’s injury crisis continued to deepen.
Marc Cucurella and Noni Madueke were fresh additions to the absentee list at Bournemouth, taking the total number of players unavailable to the manager to 12.
Chelsea threatened only sporadically, looking to use the channels to attack but only rarely finding a final ball to open up the home side.
Raheem Sterling hit the crossbar with a fiercely hit free-kick whilst Nicolas Jackson also struck the woodwork in the first half but it was Robert Sanchez who was called upon to make the save of the game when he spread himself low at the feet of Dango Ouattara as the striker bore down on his goal.
It leaves Pochettino’s side 14th in the table with just one win from five matches, and with an uneasy sense that last season’s problems in front of goal are a long way from being fixed.
And some fans seemed to vent their frustrations when England international Chilwell went over to applaud the away end at full-time.
“What can we do?” said Pochettino. “For me, I have nothing to say. The fans can do whatever they want.
“We know what we need to do, we are strong in our belief. We have 12 injured and today we had three or four young guys and two keepers on the bench.
“I’m going to cry? I’m going to complain? To who? I need to accept this, the challenge and keep being positive.”
The Argentinian continued: “Bournemouth is a good team, they are going to compete. Every team is going to compete and be difficult.
“But these are the circumstances we need to accept and be positive, patient. We are not going to change in the way we do things.
“What can I do? Only to keep believing. If you say to me we have today all of our players, all of our signings, no injuries, and maybe we cannot win this game? Then maybe I can tell you we need to see (it) in a different way. But we cannot lie to the people.”
Chelsea have failed to score in their last two Premier League outings and have won just twice in the league since March, at the Vitality Stadium late last season when Bournemouth were already safe and last month at home to newly-promoted Luton.
Pochettino was asked whether he was sympathetic to the reaction of those supporters that booed the players off.
“What I can tell the fans is the circumstance that we cannot change,” he said. “The reality that we cannot change. We have too many players (injured). We’re a team that would be strong if we are together.
“Even Manchester City, Arsenal, when they have all the squad fit, they can compete for everything. Why is it different for us? It’s because of what? We don’t have all the squad available from the beginning of the season.”
Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola reflected on a performance that showed promise despite the winless run at the start of his tenure now stretching to five league matches.
“I’m really happy with the performance,” he said. “The game was quite level. Both teams had their chances. Overall, we had very good individual performances and finished the game even better.
“There were moments later on where we thought the game could be ours.”
Chelsea’s indifferent start to the Premier League season continued as they were held to a drab goalless draw by Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium.
Mauricio Pochettino’s side were again short on creative threat as the hosts dealt comfortably with what their opponents could muster in attack, only once looking genuinely troubled when Raheem Sterling’s second-half free-kick cracked the underside of the crossbar.
For Chelsea it was a familiar case of failing to find the critical pass, as possession and overall control of the match counted for little.
It leaves the team assembled for more than £1billion by co-owner Todd Boehly languishing in 14th place with just one win in their first five league games.
Andoni Iraola saw the winless streak with which his Bournemouth tenure has started stretch to five matches but also witnessed moments of genuine attacking intent from his team, most notably when Dango Ouattara was denied brilliantly in the first half by Chelsea goalkeeper Robert Sanchez.
Sterling had the first sight of goal in the 10th minute when he darted into the box to latch onto Conor Gallagher’s chipped pass but his shot was horribly miscued and rolled away to safety.
Nicolas Jackson made better use of his first opportunity, striking the outside of the post from Mykhailo Mudryk’s through-ball, but on the whole the opening exchanges passed with little incident.
It took a superb sprawling save from Sanchez to keep out Ouattara, the goalkeeper diving at the striker’s feet after Bournemouth had caught Chelsea out with a quick free-kick.
Sterling looked in the mood to continue the rich vein of form with which he has started the season. In the 22nd minute, Malo Gusto linked up well with Gallagher down the right and sent over a low cross that Sterling was first to react to, but his shot was deflected to safety.
Neto got a strong right hand down to beat away Gallagher’s effort from 18 yards after he had been set up by Mudryk. For Chelsea, the first half had traced a familiar pattern; plenty of possession and probing balls into the channels, but little to suggest they had fathomed how to break Bournemouth down.
Sterling nearly gave them the perfect start to the second period, his free-kick from 20 yards crashing off the bar and down onto the goal line. Levi Colwill tapped home the rebound but was rightly called offside.
The Blues had conceded five goals in their first four league games, and there were again signs of defensive frailties in Dorset.
Axel Disasi failed to get height or distance on his clearance from the edge of the box, heading the ball to the feet of Ryan Christie who curled a well-struck effort into the palms of Sanchez.
Chelsea’s breakthrough looked to have arrived after 65 minutes when Sterling slid a ball in behind for Jackson, whose low cross was almost turned home by the stretching Colwill – with Neto clawing the ball to safety.
But the visitors were looking increasingly desperate in their approach. Gusto and Sterling each epitomised the dearth of creative ideas that has dashed Pochettino’s early ambitions, lashing speculative shots high and wide from distance when there were options on.
At the other end, Bournemouth were increasingly a threat. First Philip Billing saw a free-kick deflected narrowly wide, before Dominic Solanke’s low drive was well saved by Sanchez.
Cole Palmer was summoned from the bench to help find Chelsea’s rhythm, but the summer signing from Manchester City had little more success than the player he replaced, Mudryk.
Ben Chilwell also came on and made one good burst forward and crossed for Jackson, but the striker’s header was easy for Neto.
Mason Greenwood made an impact off the bench during Getafe’s 3-2 defeat of Osasuna in LaLiga.
The 21-year-old made the switch to Spain on deadline day after it was announced last month that he would continue his career away from Old Trafford.
Greenwood was suspended by United last year over allegations relating to a young woman after images and videos were posted online and faced charges including attempted rape and assault but the Crown Prosecution Service announced in February this year that the case had been discontinued.
On Sunday he made his first appearance for his new club, coming off the bench with 13 minutes of the contest remaining and the teams level at 2-2.
Greenwood looked bright and he had a hand in the home side’s winner, earning a corner from which Nemanja Maksimovic scored.
Earlier, Stefan Mitrovic opened the scoring for Getafe but Iker Munoz equalised just before half-time.
Jose Carmona headed in to restore the home side’s lead in the 51st minute but Ante Budimir’s penalty six minutes later levelled things up for a second time and that was the extent of the goalscoring prior to Greenwood’s introduction.
Unused substitute Fabrizio Angileri received a red card for dissent in the closing stages but the hosts held on during 10 added minutes to seal the win and maintain their unbeaten home record.
Getafe’s next match is at high-flying Real Sociedad next Sunday.
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.”
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.
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.”
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.
Andrew Robertson believes Liverpool have been let off the leash.
The stand-in skipper hailed the Reds’ fresh start following their 3-1 win at Wolves on Saturday.
Robertson scored his first goal since May 2022 – also against Wolves – with five minutes left before Harvey Elliott’s shot deflected in off Hugo Bueno in stoppage time.
It capped a comeback started by Cody Gakpo’s second-half equaliser and extended Liverpool’s unbeaten run in the Premier League, stretching back to last season, to 16 games.
They finished fifth last season, 22 points adrift of champions Manchester City but Robertson welcomed the clean slate.
“It’s a new start. We’ve got a lot of new players, kind of a new way of playing and things like that. So I think we just feel free,” he told the club’s official website after a fourth straight win.
“We’ve got good, exciting young players that sometimes you could probably see that in the first half where it was time to just put the foot on the ball and we were still maybe trying to force it.
“Then in the second half, they just came out, played with no fear and we made really good substitutions. Darwin (Nunez) caused problems, Harvey caused problems and Luis Diaz comes on at half-time.
“So, we’ve got a strong squad, we’ve still got players obviously missing with Trent (Alexander-Arnold) and Thiago.
“They weren’t in the squad so we can only get stronger. But if we keep everyone fit, we believe that we’ve got a squad that can compete, and we need to keep on showing that.”
Hwang Hee-chan gave Wolves an early lead and the hosts dominated the majority of the first half, with Matheus Cunha missing a golden chance to double their lead.
Defeat means Gary O’Neil’s side have lost four of their opening five league games, despite promising performances under the new head coach.
“Like the coach said after the game against Manchester United, we cannot perform at this kind of level and have this kind of game – the first half we dominated the game – and get out of it with zero points,” Pedro Neto told the club’s official website.
“We’re feeling it a lot, but we have to continue to work, we have to take points. We have to continue to do these first halves and take what we did in the first half into the second half.”
Celtic moved clear at the top of the cinch Premiership while there were also wins for Rangers, St Mirren and Hearts.
Livingston’s bus broke down on the way to Dingwall but they claimed a point while there was also a share of the spoils at Rugby Park.
Here are five things we learned from the weekend’s action.
Rangers suffer Euro blow
Danilo was the most expensive of Rangers’ summer signings but his settling-in period will be prolonged.
He suffered a suspected fractured cheekbone when heading the opener in Saturday’s 2-0 win over St Johnstone following a clash of heads that also saw Saints captain Liam Gordon go off.
The injury came before the Europa League opener against Real Betis at Ibrox on Thursday night and Michael Beale will have to come up with another formula in his ever-changing attack.
Aberdeen are the worst this century
The Dons remain on two points after a 2-0 defeat by Hearts at Tynecastle in their fifth game of the season.
It is their worst start to a campaign since Ebbe Skovdahl lost his first seven league games as manager in 1999.
Aberdeen made 13 summer signings but there is little immediate sign of a return on investment.
The Dons have only won two of their last 13 games since Barry Robson was named permanent manager last season.
No stopping St Mirren
The unbeaten Buddies moved second as Scott Tanser’s cushioned volley proved enough to inflict Motherwell’s first league defeat of the season.
It completed an early-season double over the Lanarkshire side, who crashed out of the Viaplay Cup in Paisley.
Stephen Robinson’s side are unbeaten since the first game of the season, a Viaplay Cup defeat at Montrose.
Mixed feelings for new Hibs head coach
Nick Montgomery was happy with some of his side’s football and no doubt delighted to see them take a two-goal lead at Kilmarnock when Dylan Vente added to a Will Dennis own goal on the hour mark.
But signs of the inconsistency which dogged Montgomery’s predecessor, Lee Johnson, were soon evident as goals from Kyle Vassell and Joe Wright earned Killie a point and denied the new man a debut win.
Celtic introduce some new boys
Nat Phillips was handed a debut from the start as Celtic beat Dundee 3-0, although a minor ankle issue forced him off at half-time.
Three goals early in the second half allowed manager Brendan Rodgers to give some players a rest and he introduced Luis Palma and Paulo Bernardo to the Parkhead faithful while handing Reo Hatate a comeback from injury.
Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers claims excitement has wiped out any trepidation ahead of their Champions League opener.
The Scottish champions begin their European campaign against Feyenoord in Rotterdam on Tuesday.
Rodgers’ side warmed up with a 3-0 win over Dundee which took them two points clear at the top of the cinch Premiership on Saturday but there were further signs they are still finding their rhythm under Rodgers during a goalless first half when Joe Hart made an impressive save from Luke McCowan.
Rodgers, whose side also face Lazio and Atletico Madrid in the group stage, said: “It’s a really exciting time. I know there always can be a wee bit of trepidation going into the Champions League and the level, but for me there is nothing but excitement.
“It’s a brilliant opportunity for us playing in the elite competition in European club football.
“We are going to a real historical ground. We are coming off the back of a couple of really good wins in different ways.
“We will recover well, we will get our plan right and we will put out a team to get a result.
“We are really going to enjoy the Champions League. Listen, they are the Dutch champions so they will be a very good side.”
Daizen Maeda had a goal ruled out for offside and Matt O’Riley hit the post with a deflected effort but Celtic otherwise struggled to get in behind Dundee during the first half.
The breakthrough came in the 51st minute when David Turnbull netted a penalty after getting himself in the way of Ryan Howley’s over-eager attempts to win the ball on the edge of the box.
Celtic stepped up the tempo and Kyogo Furuhashi headed home before setting up O’Riley to round off the scoring midway through the half.
Rodgers had handed Nat Phillips a debut only for the on-loan Liverpool defender to come off at half-time with an ankle injury, although he is expected to be fit for Rotterdam.
Paulo Bernardo and Luis Palma made their Celtic debuts off the bench while Reo Hatate made his comeback from a calf injury during the second half.
Dundee manager Tony Docherty was happy with how his game plan was working at half-time and he vowed they would not be derailed by the 16-minute goal flurry.
Docherty, whose side host Kilmarnock on Saturday, said: “We will not be defined by losing at Celtic Park but what we will be defined by is our reaction to it.
“A lot of positives, a lot I was pleased about. Every goal was preventable but I have got to take positives and move on to what is a massive game next week at home.”
Tottenham match-winner Dejan Kulusevski credited the calmness of head coach Ange Postecoglou for inspiring their last-gasp 2-1 victory over Sheffield United on Saturday.
Spurs were heading for a first Premier League defeat under the Australian after Gustavo Hamer put the Blades ahead in the 73rd minute.
But the hosts kept their composure and levelled in the eighth minute of stoppage time through Richarlison before Kulusevski rifled home the winner two minutes later to spark jubilant celebrations.
It helped continue the feel-good factor around the club and Swedish attacker Kulusevski paid tribute to his boss following a fourth consecutive league success.
He told SpursPlay: “I was quite calm. In the end I just tried to stay calm, it’s just a game of football.
“When Richy scored, we knew we’re not going to lose and then I got the ball and did my thing. I know I just need to make one good thing to score and that’s what happened.
“We have got to stay calm. You see our coach Ange, he is on the side always being very calm so we have to do that as players.
“Stay calm, trust in each other and play like a family. We can improve a lot.
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“First half we wanted to score too much, we thought we would score a lot of goals, but we have got to stay calm always and wait for the game to come to us.”
Tottenham’s late show ensured Postecoglou kept his lengthy unbeaten home league record, which now stands at 50 matches across spells with Yokohama, Celtic and Spurs.
The 58-year-old has not tasted defeat in a league fixture on home turf in almost three years since Yokohama lost to Kashima in November, 2020.
Postecoglou said: “I do put a big emphasis on that wherever I’ve been because ultimately for your supporters, as much as you enjoy the away wins because you’ve got to earn every one of them, it’s when they come to their home ground that you want to really reward them.
“I’ve been very fortunate that at the last three clubs I’ve had, we’ve had even in Japan 30,000 to 40,000 and at Celtic they’re always sold out and it creates an atmosphere and you can see it helps the team.
“I think that helps you as a club if you’re really strong at home, so yeah it’s something I’m proud of.”
Sheffield United boss Paul Heckingbottom was left to reflect on another near-miss after they suffered a third loss of the season due to late goals.
Forward Oli McBurnie was also sent off deep into stoppage-time for a second yellow card, which Heckingbottom insisted was handed out by referee Peter Bankes due to a simple query.
“A centre-back jumps into Wes (Foderingham), turns his back, leads with his elbow, Wes gets stitches and that’s deemed a yellow card,” Heckingbottom said.
“Oli McBurnie goes over to say he’s pulling my shirt – not swearing – and he gets booked. Deemed the same offence. We’ve got a player missing now.
“(Officials) just do not know what they’re doing and it’s nothing to do with the results.
“Both sets of players are frustrated, both sets of fans are frustrated. Why? Because the people directing the game haven’t got a clue about football. They do not know football.”
Ben Davies hopes Rangers got back on track with their 2-0 cinch Premiership win over St Johnstone at McDiarmid Park.
The 28-year-old defender made his first start of the season on Saturday after recovering from fitness issues dating back to a hamstring complaint picked up against Aberdeen in May.
Brazilian striker Danilo headed the Light Blues ahead after 16 minutes but had to be immediately substituted along with Saints captain Liam Gordon after both men clashed heads, with the Gers player taken to hospital with a fractured cheekbone.
Substitute Rabbi Matondo added a second in the 79th minute and, after damaging defeats to Celtic and PSV Eindhoven before the international break, the Govan side go into the Europa League opener against Real Betis at Ibrox on Thursday night with renewed confidence.
Davies told RangersTV: “It was good to be back, I felt my fitness – lungs wise – was good and I felt quite strong in the game.
“It was my first 90 minutes since before Aberdeen, so it’s been a long time and I was happy to be out there and involved.
“When I realised I was playing, I was just thinking, ‘Solid performance and clean sheet’. So I was happy that we’ve done that.
“I thought we controlled the game really well, limited them to not much at all. We scored two good goals and could have scored more.
“But it’s a step back in the right direction and the start of hopefully a good run.
“The most important game is always the next one and to bounce back from not a great start (to the season) is crucial to do so at the first opportunity and we’ve done that.
“We sent fans home pretty happy and now we can look forward to playing the next game.
“I’m looking forward to Thursday, under the lights at Ibrox is special, so it’s really important that we find a performance.
“I’ve got a few days now recovering until the next game so hopefully make the most of that and then we can go again.”
St Johnstone are bottom of the table with just two points and no wins in five games, but manager Steven MacLean believes there is better to come from his squad.
The former McDiarmid Park striker said: “I always said we will get better as we go on. We have 11 new signings and we are going to improve.
“There is certainly enough to work with. I was concerned at the start of the season, but the group I have got together now. if we keep working hard and improving we will be fine this season.”
Former champions Glenmuir High maintained a positive start to the ISSA/Wata daCosta Cup season, as they outclassed last year’s beaten finalist Central High in a come-from-behind 5-1 win in what turned out to be a lopsided encounter at the former’s base on Saturday.
Nyron Allen (15th), Kyle Gordon (31st), Deandre Johnson (48th), Tajaun Cummings (52nd) and substitute Derrick Henry (69th), were on target for the Andrew Peart-coached Glenmuir side, after James Gallimore gave Central High an 11th-minute lead.
Peart welcomed the win, which was his team second on the trot, putting them in firm control of Zone L on six points.
“The result is very important at this group stage, especially also due to the fact that both teams had some level of success last season so there were a lot of talk around the town about who would win, and we came out on top,” he said in a post-match interview.
“We are just training hard and always seeking to improve, last year we laid down some foundations and we have built on them so far. So there is no pressure, I am just looking at what is in front of me, the players that are in front of me and the direction we want to take the school in,” Peart added.
With Glenmuir being gradually slow to settle, Central capitalised and grabbed the early ascendancy when James dyer sidewined his way between two defenders before playing a pass off to Gallimore, who made no mistakes from close range.
However, their lead was short-lived, as captain Gordon dispossessed a defender and found an unmarked Allen, who fired a firm right-footed effort past Davone Robinson in goal for Central.
Glenmuir suffered a setback as they lost last season’s standout player after he picked up what appeared to be a broken arm in the 25th minute. Watson tallied 17 goals and nine assist last season.
Still, Glenmuir pressed on and found the lead just past the half-hour mark when Gordon converted from the penalty spot, after Johnson was felled inside the danger area by Robinson, to put Glenmuir 2-1 up at the break.
They wasted little time to pick up where they left off on the resumption and extended the lead three minutes in when a defensive mix up, allowed Johnson to arrive on the ball and head past Robinson for his second goal of the season.
And Cummings put further daylight between Glenmuir and Central with a cool, calm and collected finish over a well-advanced Robinson, who was left in no man’s land.
Though Central tried to play their game and had a few openings from which they could have narrowed the gap, Justin Murray, in goal for Glenmuir was not for beating.
While Central’s hunt was fruitless, Glenmuir helped themselves to a fifth, as Allan slipped two defenders, before passing to Henry, who slotted home from deep inside the 18-yard box.
A disappointed Jermaine Douglas of Central High felt his team lost their composure after finding the lead.
“I thought we were playing well in the first 15 to 20 minutes, but my concern was always scoring first and then becoming complacent, it's something we try to guard against but that is exactly what happened. I don’t think we should have lost by this margin we got some chances that we didn’t put away, but such is football,” he said.
The result leaves Central pointless, while the other group contest between Porus and Old Harbour was called off due to bad weather with the latter leading 5-0.
Saturday’s results
Zone A
Cornwall College 0, Irwin High 0
Maldon 4, Green Pond 0
Spot Valley 2, St James 1
Zone D
Mannings 1, Petersfield 0
Zone I
Tacky High 3, Horace Clarke 3
Wycliff Martin 1, St Mary Technical 1
Zone J
Dinthill 6, Ewarton 0
McGrath 1. Enid Bennett 0
Zone K
Yallahs 6, Robert Lightbourne 0
Morant Bay High 1, Paul Bogle 0
Zone L
Glenmuir High 5, Central High 1
Porus 0, Old Harbour 5 (Game called off due to lightning)
Zone M
Kemps Hill 0, Vere Technical 2
Garvey Maceo 8, Tacius Golding 0
Kingston College moved to fourth place in Zone A after clipping Calabar 1-0 for their first win of the season in the ISSA/Digicel Manning Cup.
Zone leaders Hydel were leading Camperdown 5-1 at halftime before the rest of the game was called off due to lightning. Charlie Smith, who are second in the Zone, also had their game against Penwood called off at halftime with a 3-0 lead.
In Zone D, STATHS got their second win in as many games with a 4-0 win over Clan Carthy.
In Zone F St. George’s College secured a 2-1 win over Campion College while Waterford beat Ardenne 3-0.
A Zone G clash between St. Jago and Wolmer’s Boys was also called off at halftime due to lightning with St. Jago leading 2-0.
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