As the dust continues to settle on the Jamaica Football Federation’s (JFF) controversial non-renewal of Lorne Donaldson’s contract to head the Reggae Girlz programme, former JFF president Tony James believes the outcome could have been different had both parties tempered their egos.

James is of the view that neither the Michael Ricketts-led JFF, represented by general secretary Dennis Chung, nor Donaldson really considered the bigger picture, which was to place the Reggae Girlz and their progress at the forefront of the decision-making process to arrive at a more amicable settlement.  

In fact, while noting that Donaldson’s outspoken personality may have led to his ousting, James was by no means reserved in his criticism of the JFF, especially given the Girlz overwhelming success under the outgoing coach’s leadership.

 “No responsible organization is going to have its employees in the public making negative comments about the federation. The JFF has the authority to run football in Jamaica and there can be no questions about that and then there is the case of everybody having an ego which is not such a bad thing,” James remarked.

“The issue is that when you are excessive then you have a problem, so the ego has to be balanced. I am not approving one side; both sides needed to temper their ego and place the Girlz at the centre of their issues. Everybody is on a tangent and once you put the Girlz at the centre and they (JFF) apply good governance principles, I don’t think you would have had the same result,” he told Sportsmax.tv.

James argued that the national development of football should always be of utmost priority for the JFF hierarchy and its Technical Committee, despite personal feelings.

As such, he believes the decision to cut the country’s most successful coach, should have been discussed with certain stakeholders, to include women’s football ambassador Cedella Marley, who has significantly invested in the programme.

It was Marley, who first introduced Donaldson and former Head coach Hue Menzies to the Reggae Girlz programme in 2015, and the two led the country to an historic first FIFA Women’s World Cup appearance in France in 2019.

However, after Menzies departed the programme in late 2019, Donaldson followed suit a few months later, but was reappointed in June 2022, to replace Vinimore “Vin” Blaine, who was forced to resign a few months into his tenure after the players expressed their displeasure with his leadership in a scathing letter.

Like he did in 2019, Donaldson again led the Reggae Girlz to the World Cup, jointly hosted by Australia and New Zealand, where they had an historic run to the round of 16, after drawing with France and Brazil and defeating Panama in the group stage.

The Reggae Girlz eventually bowed out following a 0-1 loss to Colombia.

In their most recent fixtures, the Reggae Girlz suffered back-to-back losses to Canada in a failed bid to qualify for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, but the progress the team has made under Donaldson’s leadership is without question.

“You can’t take sides, you have to look on every stakeholder and see what they are bringing to the table and if you have good governance principles then you should discuss it with at least the major stakeholders.

“Cedella Marley is a major stakeholder, have they discussed it with Cedella Marley?” James questioned.

“And in all this the Girlz should be the front of the equation, there are representatives of the Girlz who are very vocal and very focused, you should have called them in and say ‘listen, here is our position. What is your view because I am sure they are going to get a view that is not in agreement with that decision by the JFF,” James continued.

The former football boss also took issue with the JFF’s widely circulated release stating that the decision to part ways was with Donaldson was mutual, as the coach refuted the claims and revealed that the meeting with Chung and JFF’s Human Resource Manager Suzie George-Gayle, lasted a mere five minutes.

The JFF statement said, “after an extended discussion, both parties came to an agreement that the contract would not be renewed.”

James said this again called the JFF’s character into question.

“And again, that is against governance principles. Discussion and respect are a part of good governance principles, so a five-minute thing, I don’t know what you call that, it is just disrespectful,” he opined.

“If the context of what the man [Donaldson] said is true, the press release emanating from that is also false then, because it said that they were in agreement. So, once it says that, and you bring false into it, then it doesn’t put JFF in a good light because there are other things people are going to assume are false,” James noted.

Upon reflection, James recalled the fact that Donaldson was not the initial first choice for the JFF from the onset.

It was Englishman Jonathan Morgan, who found favour with the JFF Technical Committee. However, Morgan later received an offer from Burnley Women’s team and opted out of the race for the Girlz top job, which resulted in Donaldson taking the reins.

“I think that is what is ticking off the JFF, the fact that coach Lorne Donaldson was not selected by them. So, what is embarrassing to the Technical Committee is that they chose someone [Morgan] and Cedella Marley chose a different person [Donaldson] and that person has worked miracles,” James reasoned.

“So, people should be willing to eat humble pie in the context of national importance given the success and progress made in that (World Cup) campaign and say alright let us look at it (Donaldson’s contract) again.

“From there, they could then lay down the plan, not only to Lorne, but to everybody in the national programme that you have to seek permission to speak on certain matters and if you don’t follow the guideline, you will be severely sanctioned,” he explained.

“But the thing with the Girlz programme is that you don’t know who has the authority to speak because you don’t hear anything from anybody else. So, I am not sure who is making the decision for the JFF, if it is the Technical Committee or the Board of Directors, nobody really knows, so apparently all legislation is left to this fellow [Chung],” James ended.

John McGinn’s last-gasp winner saved Aston Villa from embarrassment as they laboured to an uninspiring 1-0 victory against Zrinjski Mostar.

The captain netted in the fourth minute of added time to break battling Mostar hearts.

It looks like Villa’s Europa Conference League campaign would continue to stutter until then after the hosts were left frustrated by their organised and combative opponents, who refused to buckle until stoppage time.

Despite dominating, Villa struggled to break Mostar down and had a penalty call reversed in the second half.

Referee Urs Schnyder changed his decision to award a spot-kick for handball after replays showed Ollie Watkins’ header hit Slobodan Jakovljevic in the face.

Nemanja Bilbija wasted the visitors’ best opening in the first half as the Bosnian champions fell just short in the Group E clash.

Ezri Konsa, unfortunate to be left out of the latest England squad, confessed to having never heard of the visitors. He would not have been the only one.

Boss Krunoslav Rendulic called it the biggest game in the visitors’ history and the club which gave a 17-year-old Luka Modric his professional debut were a nuisance from the start.

Antonio Ivancic briefly threatened first, lobbing the ball over Emi Martinez only to lack support, before the goalkeeper needed to parry Bilbija’s shot after Marijo Cuze’s low cross.

In between, Nicolo Zaniolo twice threatened but it was a chance Mostar should have taken. They had, at least, sapped the energy from Villa Park in the opening 20 minutes and the hosts’ frustrations were underlined when McGinn was booked for an obvious dive.

As a team Villa are still learning to adapt to European football and the opening 3-2 defeat at Legia Warsaw did little to justify their favourites tag in the competition. In the first half at Villa Park, there were even fewer hints.

Mostar fought back from 3-0 down to beat AZ Alkmaar 4-3 last month and were comfortable, Zaniolo’s overhead kick allowing goalkeeper Marko Maric to offer a save for the cameras but there was little else to trouble them.

Unai Emery had seen enough and summoned Watkins, Douglas Luiz and Matty Cash from the bench and their arrival lifted Villa.

Watkins conjured a chance for Diego Carlos, only for the defender to get his header all wrong and the striker thought he had earned a penalty eight minutes into the second half.

Cash’s cross was met by Watkins, whose header cannoned into the face of Jakovljevic – with official Schnyder giving a spot-kick for handball.

It was clear, though, the ball hit the defender in the face and once Schnyder had checked his monitor he correctly overturned the decision.

It did finally light a fire under Villa and Maric saved Diego Costa’s header as
the hosts camped in Mostar’s half for the rest of the game.

Youri Tielemans and Zaniolo went close before McGinn rescued the hosts in stoppage time.

Cash got free on the right and crossed for the midfielder to nod in from six yards.

Ryan Gravenberch benefited from an error by Union Saint-Gilloise goalkeeper Anthony Moris to score his first goal for the club as Liverpool laboured to a 2-0 Europa League victory to maintain their 100 per cent record in Group E.

For all the attacking firepower at their disposal – and it was considerable with Mohamed Salah, Darwin Nunez and Diogo Jota boasting 248 goals between them – it was a 21-year-old former Ajax and Bayern Munich midfielder who had scored just nine in five years who popped up with the breakthrough at a crucial moment a minute before half-time.

That two of the front three were replaced at the interval was more down to a prepared plan rather than a reflection of their first-half contributions but if either had been anywhere close to their sharpest the game would have been out of sight before Gravenberch’s intervention.

Jota remained on for the whole game and scored the second with a breakaway in added time to ease any late nerves.

Salah’s first Europa League start for the club would have led to speculation about just how much devastation he could inflict, especially after his 16-minute cameo in their first European game produced a goal, an assist and a couple of other chances.

In his 150th game at Anfield he should have added to the 103 he has scored already on this ground as early as the fifth minute.

The excellent young centre-back Jarrell Quansah, deputising for rested captain Virgil van Dijk, won the ball high in midfield and released the Egypt international through the middle but he could not beat the goalkeeper.

It was the beginning of a long list of chances ultimately concluded by Gravenberch’s close-range effort and while Liverpool never looked in any real danger after Gustaf Nilsson had headed over Union’s best midway through the first half until the latter stages the game was more of a grind than it should have been.

Nunez’s 10th-minute rebound goal from Gravenberch’s shot was flagged offside and, on this occasion, UEFA’s VAR officials swiftly made the correct call.

A video replay only increased the Uruguay international’s embarrassment with his next effort, however, as he screwed wide from six yards having opted to go with his right instead of left foot for Salah’s cross after Harvey Elliott had carried ball effortless through the Union midfield.

A weak Salah header straight at the goalkeeper, a Jota penalty claim turned down and a Nunez shot tipped around the near post from Ibrahima Konate’s diagonal pass all followed as chances came and went.

After all just about withstanding all that in-your-face pressure Union were undone from their own attacking corner as captain-for-the-night Trent Alexander-Arnold broke down the left, cut inside on his right foot and drilled in a low shot which bounced in front of Moris.

It was not the most vicious of strikes and the Luxembourg international should have done better than to spill the ball a couple of yards in front of him.

It was all the encouragement Gravenberch needed and he popped home the rebound from close range.

A triple half-time substitution brought an end to the participation of the misfiring Salah and Nunez and also midfielder Wataru Endo as Jurgen Klopp sent on Luis Diaz, Curtis Jones and Alexis Mac Allister – who was made to wait 45 minutes to face his brother Kevin in the opposition defence.

After an early scare when Alisson Becker missed his punch at a corner and almost turned the ball into his own net only for Quansah to sweep up behind him.

Moris tipped over a Jota header and did even better denying Gravenberch a second from a curling shot and even when he was beaten by Diaz his left-hand post came to his aid, while Jones narrowly missed the target with a low shot.

Jota’s goal made the game safe and victory over Toulouse, two points behind, at Anfield in three weeks will go a long way to securing qualification to the knockout stages but Liverpool cannot afford to be so sloppy if they want to enjoy comfortable progress.

David Moyes saluted his “maverick” forward Lucas Paqueta after the 2-1 Europa League win at Freiburg, even though he drives him mad.

Freiburg’s nickname is the Breisgau Brazilians due to their flamboyant style of play, but it was West Ham’s Samba star Paqueta who stole the show.

He put them ahead after only nine minutes with a towering header from a cross by Jarrod Bowen, celebrating his return to the England squad.

Paqueta then spent the rest of the evening tormenting the hosts with his array of flicks, tricks and occasional theatrics.

“It was a bit of an old-fashioned goal, down the side with a good cross, and then a great header like an old-fashioned centre forward. I really enjoyed watching it,” said Hammers boss Moyes.

“Jarrod played well but Lucas was terrific. He drives me mad sometimes but everybody who watched him would have said this player has got incredible talent.

“There is a word that goes around, a maverick. He is that for us.

“It is really important we get him in and adapt to him and accept some of his things he may not do, things which I would say are conventional.

“But we are really enjoying him at the moment and he is terrific at taking the ball under pressure – but also there are moments when I say: ‘what are you doing’?”

The match may have taken place on the edge of the Black Forest, but it was never going to be a piece of cake for the Hammers against a side eighth in the Bundesliga.

They were also up against 34,000 noisy fans, with no away supporters allowed to attend following incidents during West Ham’s Europa Conference League final triumph in June.

Freiburg equalised after half-time through Roland Sallai, but Nayef Aguerd’s header from a James Ward-Prowse corner made it two wins from two in Group A and a 17th match undefeated in Europe, a record for an English club.

“It’s a brilliant achievement, I’ve said to the boys we need to keep it going. Winning the game tonight was most important,” added Moyes.

“I’m really pleased. We played very well especially, in the opening 20 or 30 minutes.

“They came back, which I expected. They got better and we had moments when we played very well but we mainly won the first half. We had to then be good defensively.”

Interim boss Steven Davis insists he retains confidence in the Rangers squad as he called for unity following the 2-1 Europa League defeat by Aris Limassol in Cyprus.

The former Light Blues midfielder was asked to take over after Michael Beale was dismissed at the weekend following the 3-1 loss Aberdeen at Ibrox which left the Gers seven points behind cinch Premiership leaders Celtic.

Rangers had beaten Real Betis in their Group C opener at Ibrox but found the Cypriot side too much, losing the first goal after nine minutes to defender Alex Moucketou-Moussounda.

Striker Shavy Babicka added a second goal in the 59th minute before Light Blues attacker Abdallah Sima pulled a goal back for the Ibrox men but the visitors could not complete the comeback.

Ahead of the trip to St Mirren on Sunday, Davis said: “I still believe we have some real quality players. Obviously, confidence has been hit.

“You go through these periods in your career and it’s a really difficult moment.

“As I say by sticking together you make sure to do the basics right in terms of hard work and application which they have been doing.

“It’s important we continue that and things will turn because I believe in the qualities of the squad.

“We’ll get players back which will help. The most important thing is right now is us being a group together.

“It was a really difficult night because we felt a real opportunity to come here and build on the Betis game.

“I think we caused a lot of our own problems in the game. Obviously, with the two goals we give away we’re really disappointed with and when that happens you have a mountain to climb.

“Firstly I’ve got to take some responsibility. In the first half we kept trying to play in the middle of the pitch when it wasn’t really on, they were good at getting transitions from that with the pace they had up front which caused us problems all night.

“Whenever you go behind in a second half you must throw some caution to the wind at certain points.

“We tried to simplify the game really, trying to get the ball in behind, get it wide and cross the ball into the box and ultimately we didn’t do enough to take something from the game.

“In terms of the effort of the players, I thought they tried to keep going till the end and in terms of the energy they put in, I couldn’t ask for any more in that respect.

“There wasn’t a lack of effort, we’d never question that from the dressing room but it is a really difficult moment that everyone is in.

“When that happens you maybe start to make the wrong decision and things like that.

“Sunday’s coming up and it’s a really quick turnaround. We’re hurting from tonight but it’s important as a group we stick together.”

Roberto De Zerbi praised an “incredible” reaction from Brighton after they recovered from two goals down at the Stade Velodrome to salvage a point against Marseille and keep alive their hopes of progressing in the Europa League.

Substitute Joao Pedro scored an 88th-minute penalty to earn a 2-2 draw that kept Brighton in contention in Group B following their defeat to AEK Athens two weeks ago, the striker slotting home coolly after Tariq Lamptey had been tripped.

A draw had looked an unlikely outcome when Marseille struck twice in the space two first-half minutes, the first a low finish from former Newcastle defender Chancel Mbemba, then a strike by Jordan Veretout that went through the hands of goalkeeper Jason Steele after Lewis Dunk had given the ball away with a poor miss-kick.

Brighton weathered the Marseille storm, too often giving the ball away cheaply when in possession but surviving to go in only two down at the break, before launching a comeback early in the second period when Pascal Gross slotted home from Kaoru Mitoma’s cutback.

From there on De Zerbi’s team were on top, and it came as just rewards when Pedro was given the chance to level from the spot and salvage their hope of progressing to the knockout rounds.

The manager said he was concerned by the way his injury-hit side have played recently but praised their powers of recovery in the south of France, particularly coming off the back of Saturday’s 6-1 defeat to Aston Villa.

“I want to be honest more than other days, other games,” De Zerbi said. “I think we are not playing well, it’s a very tough period for us in this moment. It’s difficult to show our quality like last season, like a month ago.

“It’s a period where we have to work, but after that in football it’s important the quality of the play and the players, but it’s important playing with heart, passion and the right behaviour.

“I’m really proud of the performance today, of the players. After the defeat 6-1 at Villa Park and the second goal to close the first half at 2-0, this reaction is incredible. For it I am very happy.”

Brighton appeared stagestruck during the first half inside a stadium that rocked with the noise of a vociferous home support.

De Zerbi admitted the atmosphere had been a factor in knocking his players out of their usual rhythm that has seen them win five of their first seven Premier League games this season.

“I know we are not a big team yet,” he said. “We are a small club. We reached the European competition playing very well, showing the incredible qualities of the players, but it’s possible we suffered too much from the atmosphere. (It was) the first game (away) in Europe for Brighton, the players and the fans.

“I’m not a big coach, I’m not used to playing in this competition. We have to adapt, we have to get used to playing in this competition from this moment.

“We can lose the game but we can’t lose our DNA, our spirit, our bravery and passion. This season will be important to progress, to adapt to playing in different competitions, playing three games every week.

“Today we played not more than 30 per cent of our potential.”

Marseille manager Gennaro Gattuso acknowledged his team lost their way after a dominant opening and gave Brighton the encouragement they needed in order to recover.

“The pressure we applied in the first 65 minutes was (good),” he said. “Then we started to press in a different way, not the best way. We should have paid more attention to them.

“With Brighton, if you don’t press well and do the good things, they will punish you. I think the players gave 65 minutes where they were able to press high but it was still not enough.”

Manchester United midfielder Ella Toone joked she probably “won’t be best friends” with former team-mate Alessia Russo when the pair meet in the Women’s Super League on Friday night.

After spending three seasons in Manchester, Russo swapped the Red Devils for Arsenal in the summer, joining the north London outfit on a free transfer.

The 24-year-old striker now makes a quick return to her old stomping ground when United host the Gunners at Leigh Sports Village and her childhood friend Toone knows exactly what a threat her England colleague poses.

“We speak every day but we’ve not spoken about (Friday’s) game as such, probably not something we will speak about either,” Toone told the PA news agency.

“I’m sure we won’t be best friends for those 90 minutes, but I’m sure as soon as the game’s done we’ll be back to normal!

“In football that’s what happens, people move on and Alessia’s coming back to where she started her WSL career now so it’s exciting for everyone who’s there.

“For us we don’t want her to score, we know what kind of player she is, she’s unbelievable on the ball. We’ll really try and stop her threats.

“It’s going to be different, I remember the last time we were up against each other was probably when she was in the Chelsea youth and I think I was in Blackburn academy. That was one of the only times we did come up against each other.

“It’s always nice when you come up against people who you know, you know what they’re like as players and you know how to try and stop them. She’s going to come back to where she started and it’ll be nice to see her, but I guess for those 90 minutes I’ll want to beat her!”

Toone was speaking on behalf of McDonald’s to promote their McDelivery campaign, encouraging people to get their McDonald’s fix in the comfort of their own home and sharing their favourite orders.

United will be looking to secure back-to-back wins on Friday having opened the season with a 2-1 victory against Aston Villa thanks to Rachel Williams’ late winner.

Marc Skinner’s side are hoping to go one step further this season having come incredibly close to securing a maiden WSL title last year, finishing two points behind champions Chelsea.

The side have made some exciting signings over the summer with World Cup golden boot winner Hinata Miyazawa and Brazil forward Geyse joining, and Toone is determined that the club can keep building.

“We’re at a club with high ambitions, as players we have those ambitions as well,” she said.

“You don’t want to be at a club where you’re not winning trophies, so for us it’s about kicking on and really progressing as much as we can.

“Coming off the back of last season we finished the highest we’ve ever finished in the league and we managed to reach a FA Cup final, which is the best cup run we’ve had.

“So it’s about building on that now, we’ve signed some really good, talented players and integrated them into the squad nicely, for us it’s about taking each game as it comes and progressing in the league.”

Ella Toone is encouraging football fans up and down the country to get in on a game day McDelivery. Download the McDonald’s App and order today!

Managerless Rangers’ season went from bad to worse with a 2-1 Europa League defeat by Aris Limassol in Cyprus.

Former Gers midfielder Steven Davis was asked to take over as boss on an interim basis after Michael Beale was dismissed at the weekend following the dismal 3-1 defeat by Aberdeen at Ibrox which left them seven points behind cinch Premiership leaders Celtic.

However, whatever plan Davis put in place for Europe did not work in a dreadful first-half performance which saw defender Alex Moucketou-Moussounda head the home side in front after just nine minutes.

Striker Shavy Babicka added a simple second goal in the 59th minute before Light Blues attacker Abdallah Sima pulled a goal back for the Ibrox men 10 minutes later but despite heavy pressure in the final stages the visitors could not complete the comeback.

Rangers beat Real Betis in their Group C opener but once again the players came up short.

The Light Blues travel to St Mirren on Sunday before the international break but this was a real setback in Europe with a double-header against Sparta Prague looming.

There had been some encouraging team news for the visitors in the build-up to the game with striker Kemar Roofe and midfielder Nico Raskin declared fit.

However, only the latter, who had missed four games with a knock, started with left-back Borna Barisic and attacker Scott Wright, sent off against Aberdeen, also coming into the first Gers team picked by Davis.

The Cypriot side, who claimed their first league title last season, were playing their first home game in the Europa League in an 11,000-capacity stadium which looked less than half-full with a pitch far from perfect.

Rangers, playing in a new mainly-red kit, looked disjointed and ill at ease from the start and there was no real surprise when they fell behind.

Jack Butland blocked a shot from Mihlali Mayambela for a corner which was taken short and when Leo Bengtsson crossed into the box from the right, Moucketou-Moussounda got away from Ibrox defender Connor Goldson to flick a header past the Gers keeper.

Moments later, after Barisic sloppily conceded possession, a quick Aris counter ended with Bengtsson clearing the Rangers bar from close range when he at least should have hit the target.

The rattled visitors battled back and Aris’s Brazilian keeper Vana comfortably saved an angled-drive from Sam Lammers and then Gers striker Cyriel Dessers had the ball in the net only to be ruled offside by the linesman, confirmed by a lengthy VAR check.

Vana saved a Sima header from a Barisic corner then the keeper collided with Dessers inside the box and required some treatment before continuing.

The home side claimed for a penalty just on the stroke of half-time when the ball appeared to hit Sima’s hand inside the box but a VAR check ruled in favour of the lacklustre Light Blues.

Mayembela started the second half by driving over from the edge of the box with the Gers defence again looking fragile.

When Sima’s shot was parried into the air by Vana in the 54th minute Dessers could not finish it off although he was offside.

The Cypriot side always looked dangerous on the break and Rangers fell further behind when Bengtsson left midfielder John Lundstram in his slip-stream down the left and crossed for Babicka to escape the attention of Ibrox defender Ben Davies and beat Butland with a confident finish.

In the 67th minute Davis brought on Roofe and Jose Cifuentes for Lammers and Raskin and there was a quick return when Sima headed in a Lundstram cross, which brought another VAR check but this time the goal stood.

Rangers had hope.

Moments later, however, a mistake by Davies inside his own box almost proved costly but Butland saved the drive from Aris substitute Aleksandr Kokorin at the expense of a corner which came to nothing.

Rangers pushed hard in the final stages for the equaliser but it was mostly in desperation and not even six minutes of added time could help salvage a point.

Brighton gave themselves a Europa League lifeline as Joao Pedro’s late penalty completed a comeback from two goals down away to Marseille and helped Roberto De Zerbi’s side avoid a second straight European defeat.

Pedro slotted home in the 88th minute after Tariq Lamptey was tripped inside the box, earning the visitors what had looked an unlikely point when Marseille duo Chancel Mbemba and Jordan Veretout struck two goals within a minute of each other in the first half.

At that stage, a badly out-of-sorts Brighton looked like they would be lucky to avoid the kind of thrashing Aston Villa meted out to them on Saturday. Marseille threw everything at them, whilst the visitors gave only space and encouragement.

Still they held on, figured out how to contain Gennaro Gattuso’s side, and hit back. Pascal Gross made it 2-1 after 56 minutes, and from there their pressure grew until Pedro’s dramatic intervention at the death.

Marseille started with high energy, roared on by the support of a noisy Stade Velodrome.

Amine Harit tested the reflexes of Jason Steele early, lifting a free-kick over the wall and requiring the Brighton goalkeeper to leap and flick it over the bar.

Gattuso’s side had conceded 10 goals in their last three games and were winless in five, but this was a confident opening that defied their lowly Ligue 1 position of 12th.

Brighton by contrast were lethargic off the ball and careless when on it, giving away possession as they sought to play out through midfield, inviting pressure onto themselves.

After 19 minutes, that pressure yielded a goal. Kaoru Mitoma slipped as he sought to close the ball down, allowing France international Jonathan Clauss space to charge down the right flank and, after linking up with Iliman Ndiaye, he fired in low cross which the unmarked Mbemba – the former Newcastle defender – guided home first-time past Steele from near the penalty spot.

There was barely time for De Zerbi to take stock before it was 2-0, and it was Brighton captain Lewis Dunk on his European debut whose mistake set things in motion, missing his kick and losing the ball inside his own half, allowing Harit time to size up a cross. With Dunk out of position Joel Veltman came across to clear but was fractionally too slow to prevent Veretout beating him to it and striking it beyond Steele, who appeared to let the ball bounce through his hands.

Then came what appeared to be Brighton’s road back. The referee was called to the pitchside monitor to adjudicate on a possible Marseille handball inside their box and initially said penalty. After a moment of confusion, VAR ruled there had been an earlier foul, and Brighton’s lifeline was whipped away.

With the home support buoyed into a deafening chorus, Marseille sought the third goal to bury Brighton and Steele was called on again to turn over a long-range Harit effort.

Pau Lopez in the hosts’ goal twice denied Brighton late in the half, first flinging himself to keep out Ansu Fati’s header then blocking with his feet after Danny Welbeck raced clear from Veltman’s through-ball.

The second half began with renewed Marseille pressure and so it was against the run of play that Gross hauled Brighton back into it. Lamptey carried the ball almost to the byline and tucked it back for Mitoma, who looked up to see Gross arriving in the box and teed him up to make it 2-1.

It had a transformative effect and suddenly Brighton had found their rhythm. The wayward passing of the first half became accurate and direct, and now it was Marseille conceding possession cheaply.

They still had a chance to restore a two-goal lead when substitute Vitinha looked to have got the better of Dunk after a hoofed ball up from Lopez, but the captain recovered brilliantly to block.

Mitoma struck a left-footed effort too close to Lopez allowing the goalkeeper to parry as Brighton’s intensified their threat.

Then, late drama and a chance for De Zerbi’s side to salvage their European campaign.

Clauss dived in on Lamptey as he looked to dart into a channel inside the box, and the referee did not hesitate. From the spot, substitute Pedro defied the pressure to send Brighton home with a point.

West Ham continued their continental cruise as headers from Lucas Paqueta and Nayef Aguerd secured a 2-1 win at Freiburg and a record 17th match unbeaten in Europe.

The Hammers took control of Europa League Group A with a battling display in southern Germany.

The match may have taken place on the edge of the Black Forest, but it was never going to be a piece of cake against a side eighth in the Bundesliga.

They were also up against 34,000 noisy fans, with no away supporters allowed to attend following incidents during West Ham’s Europa Conference League final triumph in June.

That march to Prague contributed to West Ham’s now record unbeaten streak, putting them one ahead of Bill Nicholson’s Tottenham, Don Revie’s Leeds and Pep Guardiola’s current Manchester City.

Freiburg’s nickname is the Breisgau Brazilians due to their flamboyant style of play, but it was West Ham’s Samba star Paqueta who put them ahead after only nine minutes.

Vladimir Coufal collected the ball from Mohammed Kudus and sent Jarrod Bowen scampering down the right.

Bowen, buzzing after his recall to the England squad, drew his marker out before sending in a cross which Paqueta met with a towering header above two defenders at the far post.

Moments later a shot from Kudus was spilled by goalkeeper Noah Atubolu, who was mightily relieved to see the ball cannon back off the foot of his post.

Then Paqueta had the ball in the net after a surging run into the box from Pablo Fornals, but the goal was ruled out for offside.

Freiburg’s cow field of a pitch was making it difficult for both sides to knock the ball around with any confidence.

But West Ham had initially adapted better and could have doubled their lead when James Ward-Prowse got through on the stroke of half-time, but his shot was too close to Atubolu.

The Hammers should have been further ahead but sat back on their lead, so there was an all-too familiar feeling when Freiburg equalised after the restart.

Goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski was unfortunate, keeping out Roland Sallai’s shot and the follow-up from Lukas Kubler but Sallai smashed the ball home at the third attempt.

West Ham then had an almighty let-off when Kiliann Sildillia’s header bounced off the woodwork and Lucas Holer blazed the rebound over from six yards out.

Instead the visitors wrapped up the victory after 66 minutes, Aguerd rising highest to head home Ward-Prowse’s corner.

Bowen should have marked his return to the national squad with a sixth goal of the season – only to fire wide when clean through – but West Ham had done enough to sit top of the group with six points from their opening two matches.

St. George’s College defeated Ardenne High 3-0 in ISSA/Digicel Manning Cup action on Wednesday.

The game started on Tuesday and the 22-time Manning Cup champions took the lead through Brian Burkett in the 13th minute before play was halted by weather in the 55th minute.

The game was then rescheduled and started at an earlier time on Wednesday and the light blues picked up where they left off.

It took them only two minutes into the restart to double their lead as Adrian Reid Jr. slotted home in the 57th.

Matthew Spence then later added a third in the 88th to put the tie to bed. STGC now extends their unbeaten run to five games and is comfortably atop Zone F on 15 points, six points ahead of second placed Jose Marti and eight ahead of Campion College in third.

The five other games scheduled to take place on Wednesday were postponed due to weather.

Arsenal boss Jonas Eidevall brushed off suggestions that summer signing Alessia Russo will put herself under extra pressure when she faces former side Manchester United on Friday.

The 24-year-old England striker completed the free transfer in July before she left for the Women’s World Cup in Australia,  though it was the conclusion of a courtship that extended at least as far back as the January transfer window.

Russo may be met with disappointment from the home support on her first trip back to Leigh Sports Village, but Eidevall insisted she is taking everything in stride.

He said: “Alessia is 100 per cent professional. She always trains with a lot of motivation, but of course it’s special when you return to play against a club where you have all your former team-mates and former fans and so on. 

“It’s really important for us, like with every time we go somewhere, we go there together and we play together.”

Arsenal placed third in the Women’s Super League last season, while United qualified for Champions League football for the first time after finishing runners-up to champions Chelsea.

The Gunners have gotten off to a shaky start, first with a shock elimination in the Champions League qualifying stages then a loss to Liverpool to kick off the new campaign.

United boss Marc Skinner, who brought in Brazil international Geyse to replace Russo, was adamant he and his side were only looking forward.

He said: “In all honesty I’m not really here to talk about Alessia.

“Of course it’s a narrative that wants to be spun around. Look, Alessia is coming home, but she’s not our player anymore.

“You prepare for her like she’s the opponent.”

San Juan North leapfrogged Fatima College to the top of the Trinidad and Tobago Secondary School Football League (SSFL) table on Wednesday following a 2-1 victory over Trinity College East. The three points means San Juan North now have 18 points, two more that previous leaders, who were beaten 1-0 by Presentation College in Round-7 action.

Fatima College was suffering their first loss of the season.

Meanwhile, Naparima College lost their second match of the season when they went down 3-2 to St Benedict’s College, which leaves them three points behind San Juan North.

Elsewhere, Speyside High School notched their fourth win of the season edging East Mucurapo Secondary 2-1 to be fifth in the league standings with 13 points.

Three teams are locked on 12 points but St Anthony’s College is ahead on goal difference lying sixth following their 6-1 drubbing of Pleasantville Secondary. Arima North Secondary are next following a 2-1 victory over Malick Secondary.

St Mary’s College is the third team in the mid-table log jam following their 3-2 win over Bishop’s High School.

Queen’s Royal College enjoyed the biggest win on the day when they blanked Chaguanas North Secondary 6-0 and now have nine points from their seven games this season.

Celtic right-back Alistair Johnston believes they can be a “really top team” if they sharpen up in both boxes but he accepts they are running out of chances in the Champions League.

The Scottish champions suffered defeat by the narrowest of margins against Lazio on Wednesday night.

Luis Palma was ruled offside by the VAR officials after thinking he had put Celtic 2-1 ahead in the 81st minute after it was decided that the ball skimmed off the leg of Daizen Maeda on its way to the winger.

Then Lazio got the crucial third goal of the night five minutes into stoppage time after former Chelsea and Barcelona forward Pedro won the ball back and headed home seconds later with the VAR officials ruling him just onside.

Celtic are on zero points from two matches after going down to nine men in an opening defeat by Feyenoord and now face a pivotal double-header against Atletico Madrid, who visit Glasgow on October 25 after beating the Dutch champions 3-2 to move on to four points.

Johnston said: “We still believe. I think we have shown we can play with anyone. That was a top team and we had a lot of spells with the ball where we were comfortable.

“But you need to find a way to turn that into wins because every match, especially when you go away in the Champions League, is going to be difficult.

“Our mind is still on getting out of this group and I still think there’s a chance but this next match becomes all the more important. We know that. You lose again and the ride is probably done.

“We need to really dig in and find a way in these next two games against Atletico to get some points on the board.”

Celtic took an early lead through Kyogo Furuhashi after a penetrating move but conceded an equaliser from a corner.

Johnston added: “We just need to get a little more ruthless in both boxes, in terms of defending our box and set-pieces, and just be a little more clinical.

“If we can add that element in both boxes I think we can be a really top team because we showed in the middle third that we can play with these teams.”

Celtic had looked the likelier team to get in front for most of the second half.

The Canada international said: “It felt really good second half, like we could move the ball around, we were comfortable, breaking through their press. We probably didn’t create as many clear-cut chances as we would have liked but we weren’t really conceding much.

“With the crowd behind us, we always felt like we were going to get one, and it felt like we did with Palma finishing it off.

“That’s football, isn’t it? Sometimes it goes your way and sometimes it doesn’t but we want those ones to start falling our way because it feels like there have been a couple now that have gone against us and we need to find a way to get the win.

“The margins are so slim, one slip and this level of players will punish you. I mean, that’s Pedro with the header at the back post, for crying out loud, from one little thing.

“We need to be extra cautious and that’s part of my role in the Champions League, to be really defensive-minded. There was one moment where I kind of get caught out and all of a sudden they are scoring at the back post. That’s what is frustrating for myself personally and I think for the team as well.

“I would love to say we are going to learn from this and we will but at this stage you just don’t even want to make that mistake, we feel we are past that.

“It’s frustrating but we have to move on and bounce back.”

Dominican Republic's Moca FC secured their place in the 2023 Concacaf Caribbean Cup semi-final with a 2-0 win over Trinidad and Tobago's Defence Force in their Group A showdown at the Hasely Crawford Stadium in Port of Spain, on Wednesday.

Moca with nine points, finished as runners-up to Jamaican side Cavalier FC, which ended on 10 points.

It was one-way traffic in the first 45 minutes, with Moca content to sit back and guard the 0-0 result knowing that a draw was enough to seal their passage to the semifinals.

Meanwhile, Defence Force committed numbers forward, with their best chance being a Jamali Garcia shot in the 21st minute that forced a reaction save from Moca goalkeeper Odalis Baez. Defence Force certainly had the bulk of the chances, but not the breakthrough they sought.

All of the energy spent by Defence Force started to open up space for Moca as the second half wore on, and the visitors from the Dominican Republic made the most of it, scoring the crucial opening goal in the 64th.

A deep cross from Juan Angeles was initially deflected out by the Defence Force defense and Moca’s Gustavo Ascona was first to react to the loose ball, stabbing home the finish for a precious 1-0 lead.

Moca remained in control and put the three points and semi-final spot-on ice in second half stoppage time, when Ronaldo de Pena finished off a counterattack to complete the 2-0 scoreline.