Stanley’s title party put on hold by County
NEWPORT COUNTY ........ 2 ACCRINGTON ................... 1
NEWPORT County put Accrington Stanley’s League Two title celebrations on hold with a deserved victory at Rodney Parade.
Accrington travelled to South Wales needing just a point to clinch the league title but ex-Stanley man Padraig Amond and Frank Nouble handed all three points to the Exiles.
The wet and windy conditions didn’t help the flow of the game but the hosts coped with it better with Amond the main threat. The Irishman went close in the early exchanges after Nouble found him with a perfect cross but his header flew straight into Aaron Chapman’s arms.
Accrington’s best chance of the half came when Scott Brown played Kayden Jackson through on goal but Mickey Demetriou was alert to the danger and managed to clear.
Mike Flynn’s men took the warning as they went straight up the other end and scored. Ben Tozer was given too much space in midfield and he slipped in Amond, who produced a smart finish against his old club.
That galvanised the hosts, and the fans, and Nouble almost doubled the lead minutes later with a fierce drive that Chapman did well to divert over the crossbar.
Billy Kee, the league’s top scorer, had had a quiet night but should have levelled the score when brilliantly set up by Jackson but Joe Day did well to block his close-range effort with his legs. However, Kee’s effort sparked the visitors into action.
In an open final 15 minutes, Mark Hughes hit the woodwork for Stanley while Amond and Aaron Collins both had shots blocked before Nouble found the net with a strike from just outside the box.
Kee then set up a tense finale as he pulled one back but County held on for the victory.
LIVERPOOL ........................ 5 ROMA .................................. 2
MOHAMED Salah savaged his former side Roma with a brilliant individual performance in a superb 5-2 Champions League semi-final firstleg victory undermined by two late goals for the visitors.
He scored two brilliant first-half goals - his 42nd and 43rd of an incredible season - with two also for Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane on target as well as Liverpool made the most of their first Champions League semi-final in a decade.
The downside were goals from Edin Dzeko and Diego Perotti and a knee injury to Alex OxladeChamberlain, who left the pitch on a stretcher with hhis knee in a brace to put his World Cup in some doubt.