Category: 6. Sports

Kieffer Moore’s header put Wrexham on their way to their first win of the season in the Championship as they ground out a 2-0 victory against Millwall at The Den.

It was Wrexham’s first win in the second tier since they defeated Rotherham on the final day of the 1981-82 season, and it was sealed by Lewis O’Brien’s goal deep into stoppage time.

The only thing that took the shine off the result for Phil Parkinson’s side was a serious injury to Danny Ward, who was stretchered off not long before O’Brien’s clincher.

Neither team were able to fashion any clear chances in the early stages, although Millwall goalkeeper Steven Benda did well to prevent Ryan Hardie from getting on the end of Ryan Longman’s long pass.

But Wrexham could be pleased with the way they had nullified the hosts after they had made a bright start, with Zak Sturge and Aidomo Emakhu looking lively down the left-hand side.

That combination led to Massimo Luongo having a chance to take aim from outside the box with just over half an hour played, but the Australian miscued his shot over.

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A clearer chance for the hosts came after 36 minutes when Mihailo Ivanovic could have done better than glance an inviting cross from Emakhu wide.

There was another chance for Wrexham just before half-time when Hardie glanced on George Dobson’s cross, but Moore couldn’t get on the end of it at the back post.

The first time Ward was really called into action was two minutes after the restart when he had to push behind Sturge’s deflected cross.

But Millwall had started the second half well and created another opening when Emakhu played the ball into the area for Josh Coburn whose wild shot was comfortably off target.

Against the run of play, it was Wrexham who took the lead in the 57th minute when Moore beat Benda to Max Cleworth’s cross from deep and nodded in his fourth goal in three games.

The Lions struggled to respond to this setback and it took them until the 74th minute to threaten an equaliser when substitute Raees Bangura-Williams’ low shot was comfortably saved by Ward.

Emakhu then almost had the goal his performance deserved when his volley from Coburn’s cross flew narrowly wide of the near post.

Millwall’s best chance to level came three minutes into stoppage time when Ward, who injured himself on landing, dropped Joe Bryan’s long ball into the box but Kevin Nisbet blazed over.

There was a 12-minute delay before Ward was stretchered off, and Wrexham sealed victory in the 19th minute of added time when O’Brien got in behind and lofted the ball over Benda.

Wilson Isidor scored a last-gasp header as Sunderland came from behind to beat Brentford 2-1 at the Stadium of Light.

Dango Ouattara had a goal disallowed for offside in the first half and the visitors’ frustrations continued when Kevin Schade’s penalty was comfortably saved by Robin Roefs after the break.

A game of few clear-cut chances took a dramatic twist in the final 15 minutes as Igor Thiago’s header broke the deadlock, but Enzo Le Fée levelled from the penalty spot five minutes later.

Sunderland continued to push and substitute Isidor nodded home in stoppage time to snatch three points.

The Black Cats made two changes from their league defeat to Burnley as Le Fée came in alongside Nordi Mukiele, who made his Premier League debut.

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Yoane Wissa was still absent for Brentford, who named an unchanged team from their league win against Aston Villa and included another start for Jordan Henderson, who made his return to Wearside.

Sunderland used both wings to their advantage in the early stages with Reinildo Mandava and Chemsdine Talbi sending in curling crosses.

Mukiele blasted a powerful effort over the bar from Trai Hume’s corner and shouts for handball in the build up were waved away by referee Anthony Taylor.

The hosts continued to pile the pressure on Brentford, who nearly paid for an error at the back when Hume’s cross was spilled by Caoimhín Kelleher and Sepp van den Berg quickly cleared to prevent Le Fée from pouncing.

Brentford looked to strike down the right flank as Ouattara had a cross cleared before Schade flicked a header wide from Mikkel Damsgaard’s ball.

The visitors thought they had the lead in the 21st minute when Ouattara rolled the ball into the bottom corner from Nathan Collins’ threaded pass, but the goal was ruled out following a VAR check for offside.

Sunderland were again met by some solid Brentford defending as Van den Berg made a crucial intervention around the six-yard area to stab away a low Noah Sadiki pass.

Both sides had chances before the break when Schade headed a Damsgaard corner over the crossbar and Kelleher held Omar Alderete’s deflected strike.

Brentford grew into the second half as Damsgaard and Michael Kayode tried to link up and they were awarded a penalty after Mandava fouled Collins in the area.

Schade stepped up to the spot for the visitors, but his tame effort to the left was easily saved by Roefs.

Sunderland then broke down the left wing through Le Fee and he crossed into an unmarked Habib Diarra, but the midfielder scuffed his shot wide.

In a thrilling finale, Brentford took the lead in the 77th minute when substitute Frank Onyeka whipped a cross in for Thiago and his header bounced in off the underside of the crossbar.

Sunderland were then awarded a penalty only moments later when Rico Henry fouled Diarra in the box from a corner and Le Fee coolly slotted his spot-kick past Kelleher to level.

There was further drama in store as Isidor found a late winner in the sixth minute of added time, heading underneath Kelleher from Granit Xhaka’s excellent cross to snatch a second league win this season.

A 16-year-old boy has been arrested on suspicion of possession of an imitation firearm, the Metropolitan Police has said.

The teenager was arrested on in Fulham Broadway at around 14:40 BST on Saturday and was believed to be on his way to a comic book convention, the police said.

Officers had received reports about a boy “displaying a weapon and walking towards a crowded area”.

No one was injured in the incident and the teenager remains in police custody.

Scotland booked their spot in the Women’s World Cup quarter-finals after battling to a 29-15 win over resilient Fiji at Salford Community Stadium.

Another early try from Francesca McGhie and a brace from Rhona Lloyd helped Scotland establish a 17-5 half-time lead but Manuqalo Komaitai’s score after the restart left this Pool B clash in the balance.

However, McGhie’s fifth try of the tournament and Emma Orr’s excellent solo effort — earning Scotland a bonus point — helped Bryan Easson’s side claim a hard-fought victory which guarantees a top-two spot.

Fiji scored a late consolation through Karalaini Naisewa but their pool-stage exit was confirmed, with Wales also eliminated after Scotland joined pool leaders and favourites Canada on 10 points.

While they were 10-0 up after 10 minutes, Scotland were put through their paces in a hard-fought match, with two of their four tries arriving when Fiji were down to 14 with players in the sin-bin.

After scoring in less than a minute in Scotland’s 38-8 win over Wales last weekend, McGhie needed just 94 seconds to open her account as Fiji were caught cold by Orr’s hack down the pitch.

McGhie raced on to the kick and grubbered a couple of metres before diving on the ball for a try, while Fiji’s bad start continued when Vika Matarugu was yellow-carded for a high challenge on Ellian Clarke.

Scotland took full advantage with their opponents down to 14 as Evie Gallagher handed off to Helen Nelson down the short side from a scrum before Lloyd finished in the right corner in the 10th minute.

Fiji, though, gradually started to find some rhythm as the first half wore on and following Nunia Daunimoala’s stunning break forward, the ball was worked to Loraini Senivutu to go over in the corner.

Just as it appeared Fiji were starting to get on top, Orr scooped up a loose ball and handed over to Lloyd, who exchanged passes with Lisa Thomson before racing clear for a 34th-minute try.

But Fiji’s intensity went up a notch after the break as they exerted intense pressure and camped in the Scotland 22, with Naisewa held up over the line before Komaitai dotted down in the 51st minute.

Scotland, though, responded well to the setback as a driving maul got them close to the Fiji line, with the ball worked to the left flank for McGhie to step inside Kolora Lomani after 56 minutes.

After Bitila Tawake was sin-binned for a shoulder-to-head challenge on Elis Martin, Orr collected the ball on halfway and shrugged off a couple of challenges for a fantastic solo try on the right.

Alowesi Nakoci had a try disallowed for a knock-on in the build-up while Kelerayani Luvu was denied a certain score when McGhie sprinted the width of the pitch to drag the Fijian into touch.

Naisewa barrelled over with five minutes remaining before Salote Nailolo received Fiji’s third yellow card late on.

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Evanilson’s fifth-minute goal earned Bournemouth a deserved 1-0 victory at Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday that brought Thomas Frank’s side back down to earth.

Frank had enjoyed an excellent start to life in the Spurs hotseat and followed up last Saturday’s excellent win at Manchester City with the arrival of Xavi Simons from RB Leipzig on Friday.

The Danish coach had won seven of his previous 10 meetings with Bournemouth, including two last season, but watched Spurs produce a tepid display in his fourth match in charge.

Andoni Iraola’s side should have won by a greater margin, with David Brooks a constant threat and unfortunate not to score as the Cherries made a mockery of a difficult summer of outgoings with an impressive three points in London.

For Spurs, it shows Frank’s squad still needs reinforcements with days of the transfer window left open.

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There was a buzz inside Tottenham Hotspur Stadium before kick-off as the crowd awaited the presentation of new signing Simons and a home goal almost followed inside 60 seconds, but Pape Matar Sarr’s shot-cum-cross was blocked by Djordje Petrovic.

It was not a sign of things to come, though, as Bournemouth took a surprise lead after five minutes.

Centre-back Marcos Senesi spotted the clever run of Evanilson, who peeled away from Cristian Romero and had a left-footed shot deflected over Guglielmo Vicario.

Djed Spence, fresh from his maiden England call-up, had been at fault after he played Evanilson onside and the forward dragged another effort wide moments later.

The Cherries remained firmly in the ascendancy as Antoine Semenyo headed over Brooks’ sumptuous cross before the Welsh winger went close with a clever free-kick to the near post, which Vicario scrambled across to save.

An injury to ex-Spurs defender Adam Smith allowed Frank the chance to speak with his players, but the regroup failed as Micky van de Ven was forced to slide in to thwart Marcus Tavernier and Evanilson sent another effort wide.

A smattering of boos greeted the half-time whistle and yet the one-way traffic continued after the break as Vicario saved from Semenyo before a pulse-quickening passage of play in the 49th minute.

Firstly, Senesi went down inside the area after slight contact by Mohammed Kudus, but play carried on and Vicario dived at the feet of Evanilson and Brooks’ follow-up shot struck the crossbar.

The drama was not over there as Richarlison was hauled down by the already-booked Semenyo moments later, but referee Simon Hooper elected to keep the second yellow in his pocket.

Frank had seen enough and introduced Lucas Bergvall and Wilson Odobert after 54 minutes.

After Tavernier sent a shot into the side-netting, Spurs finally had their first shot on target with 69 minutes played when Bergvall’s left-footed effort from Richarlison’s tee-up was saved by Petrovic.

Left-back Destiny Udogie was the next roll of the dice by Frank and he almost provided an instant impact, but his deflected cross was smashed over from 12 yards by Odobert.

The pressure was finally being piled on, but Petrovic claimed a difficult cross before Mathys Tel sent a sweet volley wide from 20 yards in the first of seven minutes of added time.

One final free-kick offered Tottenham the chance to salvage an undeserved point, but Udogie headed wide to consign Frank to his first league defeat in charge.

Marco Silva did not hide his disgust with the officials after Fulham’s 2-0 defeat at Chelsea, saying it was “unbelievable” that a video assistant referee review led to Josh King having his first goal in senior football ruled out when the game was goalless.

The head coach and Fulham were left seething after nothing went their way in a heated west London derby. They thought they were ahead when King scored in the 21st minute but the 18-year-old’s goal was ruled out after Michael Salisbury, the VAR, instructed the referee, Rob Jones, to view the pitchside monitor to assess whether Rodrigo Muniz had fouled Trevoh Chalobah during the buildup.

Jones ruled against Fulham, even though Muniz was in possession of the ball when he caught Chalobah inadvertently. Jones later awarded Chelsea a penalty for handball by Ryan Sessegnon but only after dismissing appeals for a foul by João Pedro during the buildup.

“In the first half I saw my team playing outstanding football,” Silva said. “Playing football – not trying to be fake, not parking the bus or something like that. All the decisions from the VAR and the referee made a massive impact on the game.

“To disallow a goal like that is unbelievable. Unbelievable. We have all the meetings with the people in charge; we try to see their direction. One of the main things was: ‘VAR is not here to referee the game.’ I would prefer to say nothing more as I will be punished. I want to be on the bench for the next game, I don’t want to pay fines. But it has been difficult with so many decisions against us at the start of the season.” Manchester United took the lead in Fulham’s 1-1 draw at Craven Cottage last Sunday that stood despite Leny Yoro pushing Calvin Bassey before the header that led to Muniz’s own goal.

Silva was also unhappy with Chelsea being given time to take the lead at the end of the first half. A minimum of eight minutes were added on. Fulham thought that the half-time whistle should have blown before Enzo Fernández delivered a corner for João Pedro to open the scoring in the ninth added minute.

“There were eight minutes of added time, they score in the ninth,” Silva added. “He has to stop the game, it’s the rules. I asked the referee, he told me that we lost time because he was talking to a player. I checked the video – the game didn’t stop one second. What can I say? Chelsea won the game and we move on.”

Silva fumed about the buildup to Fernández giving Chelsea a 2-0 lead from the spot after Ryan Sessegnon handled Chalobah’s cross. “It’s handball,” the head coach said. “But before that moment you can see easily two, three or four fouls for ourselves. There was a stamp on Alex Iwobi, handball by João Pedro, push on Joachim Andersen. They saw the penalty after three moments at least that they have to see for us.

“It’s the same VAR that found something unbelievable: a stamp from Rodrigo. The same people didn’t find a stamp on Alex Iwobi before the penalty. I can’t tell you anything more, but I don’t understand it.”

• EuroBasket 2025: Official site | Games
• Schedule, standings & results | Rosters

Sacramento Kings point guard Dennis Schröder scored 26 points as Germany beat Lithuania 107-88 to become the first team to qualify for the final 16 of EuroBasket on Saturday.

Orlando Magic forward Franz Wagner added 24 points and seven rebounds, and Daniel Theis chipped in with 23 points as Germany got a third win in as many games.

Rokas Jokubaitis scored 20 points for Lithuania, which is 2-1, and Denver Nuggets center Jonas Valančiūnas had 14 points.

Lithuania pulled to within 55-51 in the third quarter, when Wagner scored six points in an 8-2 run and Germany saw out the win.

World champion Germany guaranteed it will move on from Group B with its 3-0 start. The top four teams in each of the four groups of six teams each will advance to the knockout phase in Riga, Latvia, from Sept. 6-14.

More carries, more metres made, more possession for Fiji but it was Scotland’s incisiveness that proved decisive in this cracking Pool B match, with two second-half tries putting the gloss on for the women in blue. 

Story of the match

The tone for a pulsating 80 minutes was set from the opening whistle. In no surprise perhaps to Fiji’s analysts, it was Francesca McGhie who struck first for Scotland. After three tries last weekend, the 22-year-old winger showed brilliant footwork to cushion a perfectly weighted kick-through from centre Emma Orr before flopping over. All in the first 90 seconds.

With Fiji wobbling – not helped by 10 minutes on the sideline for Vika Matarugu after a high tackle – Scotland helped themselves to a 10-0 lead. But then Fiji brought the sunshine. First a steal, then a barnstorming run from the superb Nunia Daunimoala before loose-head prop Loraini Senivutu showed great gas to gallop over.

For a while after it was all Fiji yet Scotland roused themselves just in time. Orr gobbling up a loose ball, and Lloyd bursting through for her second to send Scotland into the break 17-5 up.

To the delight of the 11,000-plus fans the action only got better after the break. If Senivutu’s effort was Fijian rugby at its best, the 51^st-minute try by number eight Manuqalo Komaitai – a Buckingham Palace guard by day – is just as deserving of a spot in the highlights reel.

With rampaging replacement Adi Salote Nailolo to the fore, it looked like Fiji might steal it. But while nerves were fraying in the stands, Scotland just about kept their cool, two tries in four second-half minutes giving the Scots some breathing space.

It was needed. Fiji shrugging off the loss to a 20-minute red card of Bitila Tawake to close the gap again. But for a disallowed effort and a stunning late try-saving tackle from McGhie, it could have got even better for the Pacific Islanders.

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TAMPERE (Finland) – An incident involving a spectator, who engaged in racist verbal abuse directed at Germany player Dennis Schroder, occurred during halftime of the FIBA EuroBasket 2025 game between Germany and Lithuania on 30 August in Tampere, Finland.

Following an immediate review, arena security identified the individual through CCTV footage. This person has been banned from attending any further games of FIBA EuroBasket 2025.

FIBA unequivocally condemns hate speech, discriminatory conduct, and racist language in any form. Creating an inclusive, respectful, and safe environment for players, teams, and fans remains a fundamental priority of our sport.

FIBA has provided the relevant footage and information to local law enforcement authorities, who are continuing to investigate the matter.

In addition, FIBA will engage with the Lithuanian team delegation to inform them of the situation and to support efforts aimed at preventing similar incidents in future games.

FIBA