State of the URC: All to play for in final round

There’s plenty on the line for South Africa’s Vodacom URC contenders heading into the final round of the regular season, writes LINDIZ VAN ZILLA. truewildslot.com

The big winners this past weekend were the Vodacom Bulls, who jumped from seventh to fourth on the URC standings after a 54-19 win over Zebre at Loftus, and teams around them faltering.

The Stormers didn’t lose, but their disappointing 38-38 draw to Ulster in Belfast saw them surrender top spot to the Glasgow Warriors.

The Lions did lose against Leinster and slipped from third to fifth. They find themselves back in the playoff mixer, with six teams all within five points of each other.

KEO: Stormers may rue Belfast slip

The STORMERS managed to secure a dramatic last-minute draw and three valuable log points, but there is no escaping the fact that they let the game slip against Ulster.

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How costly that could prove will depend how far John Dobson’s troops go in the competition.

The Stormers head into their final-round clash against Cardiff knowing they can ill afford another slip-up and fall out of the top two.

DOBBO: Brannas injury a ‘big blow’

Glasgow are top on 60 points, followed by the Stormers on 59, with Irish powerhouse Leinster looming large in their rearview mirror on 58.

The BULLS keep on doing the business.

It wasn’t pretty and far from perfect against Zebre, but a fifth consecutive URC win lifted Johan Ackermann’s side to fourth in the standings.

Most crucially, the Bulls have done enough to qualify for the playoffs.

While ninth-placed Connacht (49 points) can technically still draw level with the Bulls on 54, the Pretoria-based side have 11 wins compared to the nine of the Irish club and that will be the determining factor in the event of teams tied on the log.

ACKERS: Cheswill injury the ‘only negative’

The main prize for the Bulls heading into their final clash against Benetton at Loftus is to hold onto fourth place and secure home-ground advantage for the quarter-finals.

The LIONS gave it a good go in Dublin on Saturday but ultimately suffered a 31-7 defeat to a Leinster outfit missing several first-choice players, ending a six-match winning run in the competition.

It doesn’t get any easier for the Lions with a trip to sixth-placed Munster at Thomond Park on Saturday night.

The Lions will have one eye on the Bulls, who sit a point and one place above them, but need to be wary of the chasing pack as they could still be overtaken by Connacht, who are away to Edinburgh.

The Lions at least have the advantage of knowing what will be required, as their clash will bring a close to the regular season.

Restoring pride and the blooding of young talent is the best the SHARKS can aim for as their season peters out.

JP Pietersen’s side produced a stirring performance in their 46-7 win over Benetton at Kings Park, with young guns Zekhethelo Siyaya and Jurenzo Julius to the fore.

JP: Siyaya answered my questions

Many Sharks fans may be asking where this Sharks team has been this season, which has delivered just seven wins and a draw from 17 URC matches.

The 10th-placed Sharks finish their campaign with a home clash against bottom-placed Zebre on Saturday.

Round 17 results
Glasgow 40 Cardiff 17
Ulster 38 Stormers 38
Bulls 54 Zebre 19
Sharks 46 Benetton 7
Ospreys 27 Scarlets 20
Leinster 31 Lions 7
Dragons 15 Edinburgh 24
Connacht 26 Munster 7

Round 18 fixtures
Friday, 15 May
Cardiff vs Stormers (8:45pm)
Ulster vs Glasgow (8:45pm)
Edinburgh vs Connacht (8:45pm)
Saturday, 16 May
Sharks vs Zebre (1:45pm)
Bulls vs Benetton (4pm)
Leinster vs Ospreys (6:15pm)
Scarlets vs Dragons (6:15pm)
Munster vs Lions (8:45pm)

Photo: Anton Geyser/Gallo Images

The post State of the URC: All to play for in final round appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.

Il faudra compter sur Stade Rennais la saison prochaine. Les rouges et noirs seront européens la saison prochaine. Ils ont réussi à sécuriser leur billet ce soir. C’était ce soir au Roazhon Park face au Paris FC. En effet, c’était à l’occasion de la 33e journée de la Ligue 1. L’international camerounais, Mahamadou Nagida et

L’article Ligue 1 : bonne nouvelle pour Mahamadou Nagida ! est apparu en premier sur Camfoot.com.

Si la règle éphémère du but en or, qui a, entre autres, permis à la France de gagner l’Euro 2000 face à l’Italie (2-1), le but marqué par l’USM Alger samedi soir en finale aller de la Coupe de la Confédération africaine face au Zamalek (1-0), vaut vraiment de l’or ! Les circonstances dans lesquelles il a été marqué, en plus du suspense et de l’émotion qu’il a suscités, font que ce but sera la pupille des yeux des Usmistes au match retour, où le Zamalek sortira la grande artillerie sur le terrain du Cairo Stadium, qui sera, lui aussi, envahi par des milliers de supporters, tous vêtus en blanc.

Le Zamalek, qui a fourni une seconde mi- temps de haute facture, aurait pu l’emporter sur ce but, qui aurait pu valoir de l’or lui aussi, du remplaçant brésilien Juan Alvina Bezerra, mais il y a eu ce penalty qui a permis à l’imperturbable Ahmed Khaldi de mettre le ballon hors de portée du gardien Mohamed Awad. Le Zamalek SC, resté invaincu lors de ses quatre dernières confrontations contre des clubs algériens en Coupe de la Confédération : deux nuls contre le NA Hussein Dey en phase de groupes 2018-2019 (1-1 et 0-0), puis une qualification acquise face au CR Belouizdad en demi-finales cette saison grâce à un succès cumulé de 1-0 (victoire 1-0 puis nul 0-0), est finalement tombé face à des Rouge et Noir qui alignent leur dixième match sans défaite et le sixième sans encaisser de but !

Est-ce un signe, quand on sait que ce score piège de 1-0 a souvent posé problème aux équipes qui courent derrière au moins l’égalisation ? Un signe, comme ce regard de l’entraîneur sénégalais de l’USMA, Lamine Ndiaye, qui a montré à la fin de la rencontre qu’il n’était pas très satisfait du résultat et de la conduite de son équipe sur le terrain. Il a d’ailleurs passé une bonne partie du match à échanger avec ses adjoints, notamment Hadj Adlane, lui le gagneur et le perfectionniste, dont l’empreinte sur le jeu de son équipe est de plus en plus palpable, notamment sur le dispositif tactique qu’il met en place à chaque fois. Au Caire, le Zamalek sera obligé de passer davantage à l’offensif pour espérer rattraper son retard, ce qui donnera d’autres idées
au coach Ndiaye pour bien négocier cette deuxième manche.

Toute proportion gardée, le match retour entre le Paris Saint-Germain et le Bayern Munich peut être considéré comme un exemple, puisque les hommes de Luis Enrique ont pu aller damer le pion à leurs adversaires sur
leur terrain, même si, du côté de l’Afrique, la CAF n’a toujours pas mis à jour la règle du but inscrit à l’extérieur comptant double. Un avantage qui reste en faveur des Usmistes, qui n’ont pas encaissé à l’aller et qui gagneraient à en marquer au Cairo Stadium, ce qui compliquerait davantage la tâche des Zamalkaouis.
– MOHAMED MALIK

L’article CDC : L’USMA et son but en or massif est apparu en premier sur Foot Afrique.

Simba Sports Club head coach Steve Barker praised his players for delivering a complete performance after the Msimbazi Reds cruised to a commanding 4-0 victory over Tanzania Prisons in a NBC Premier League match played at KMC Complex Stadium.

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The emphatic victory keeps Simba firmly in the title race as they continue piling pressure on the league leaders with another convincing display.

The hosts dominated large spells of the contest and showed attacking quality throughout despite an early setback after missing a penalty in the opening stages of the game.

In the 12th minute, Seleman Mwalimu failed to convert from the penalty spot after Anthony Mligo had been brought down inside the box by Salum Kimenya.

However, Barker’s side continued to control possession and create dangerous attacking opportunities. Their persistence finally paid off in the 27th minute when Morice Abraham opened the scoring. Clatous Chama delivered a dangerous free kick that was headed by Anthony Mligo onto the crossbar before Morice reacted quickest to slot home the rebound.

Speaking after the match, Barker said he was pleased with the way his team started the game and maintained control despite the missed penalty.

“I thought we controlled the game, played with a lot of intensity and energy. Even after missing the penalty, we continued asking questions and creating opportunities,” said Barker.

Chama doubled the lead in the 42nd minute with a composed finish after receiving a well worked pass from Allasane Kante. Just two minutes later, Seleman Mwalimu redeemed himself by scoring Simba’s third goal after finishing off a clever chipped pass from Libasse Gueye.

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The rout was complete in the 61st minute when Ismail Toure powered in a header from a corner delivered by Chama.

Barker also highlighted the importance of squad management during a busy fixture schedule, revealing that the technical bench used the second half to rest some key players while maintaining control of the match.

“We achieved all our objectives won the game, kept a clean sheet, scored good goals and rested some players because we still have many matches coming in a short period,” he explained.

The South African tactician further praised Chama’s influence and technical quality, describing him as one of the team’s most important players.

“Everybody knows Chama’s ability. He’s comfortable on the ball, gets into good scoring positions and his technical quality is excellent,” Barker added.

The result sees Simba move to 49 points after 22 matches, remaining second in the NBC Premier League standings as the championship race continues to intensify.

Simba’s position on latest NBC Premier League table

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