Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
BARNES IN A SWEAT OVER EUROS SPOT
ST JOHNSTONE
1-1 1-2 1-3 probably talking about him being out a minimum six weeks. A bit of the bone in his knee has come off.”
That would rule out Barnes until at least mid-april and could hardly have come at a worse time for a player hoping to impress Three Lions boss Gareth Southgate and the tournament - delayed from last year - due to start on June 11.
Barnes was carried off early in the second half (above) and Rodgers said: “It’s a bad one for him – it’s a huge blow. He had a clash of knees a few weeks ago so it’s been irritating him. He’s had niggles with it.
“The only consolation is that he’s not going to be out as long as it looked like. But it’s such a blow because Harvey has been outstanding all season. Hopefully he can get back for some part of the season.”
Leicester’s injury woes are piling up – defender Jonny Evans was forced off with 20 minutes to play and will have a scan on a calf injury.
Rodgers added: “It’s kind of like a dead leg but in his calf. He will need a scan. It’s been aggravating him, but it started to feel worse.”
SEAN DYCHE admitted Burnley were outclassed by rampant Tottenham on a day to forget.
Defeat leaves the Clarets five points above the bottom three and Dyche said:
“That’s the reality of the market we are in. When you put the amount of finance into players as they do, it is difficult on days like this.
“You are buying the clinical moments. We have to develop that over time. We defend well normally, but the attacking phase is difficult against this sort of side.
“They were clinical as they were last year. We had two or three really good chances in the second half.”
Dyche (right) hit out at his players for allowing Gareth Bale to grab a goal after just two minutes to ease Spurs’ nerves. “It’s a tough afternoon when these sort of sides get their noses in front,” he added.
“When you’ve got a focal point in Harry Kane, you are not going to go too far wrong. He is one of the top strikers in Europe.”
Burnley goalkeeper
Nick Pope pulled off superb saves from
Kane and Heung-min
Son on a tough day for Burnley, previously unbeaten in four.
But one plus for
Dyche was the return of top-scorer Chris
Wood for the last 18 minutes. Wood had missed six matches with a hamstring injury he’d picked up against
Chelsea at the end of January.
Rooney 32
SHAUN ROONEY headed the only goal at Hampden as St Johnstone lifted the Scottish League Cup for the first time.
The wing-back was on the end of Craig Conway’s corner just after the halfhour mark to ruin Livingston’s day.
Both teams had bosses in their debut seasons as managers and it was Callum Davidson (below, celebrating with his side) who came out on top.
The former Blackburn and Leicester defender, who was both a player and coach with the Saints, said: “That fighting spirit that we showed was magnificent.
“I’m just gutted we can’t share this with the fans in Perth but we’ve still got to enjoy the moment as much as we can. I’m over the moon.”
Livingston manager David Martindale added: “I don’t think the occasion got to the boys.
“I’d rather give St Johnstone credit for how they pressed us and managed the game.
“I just told the boys to bottle up that feeling they have but I’m proud of them. You don’t always get everything in life.”
St Johnstone also won the Scottish Cup for the first time in 2014 – and midfielder Murray Davidson missed out on both finals because of injury.
His team-mates made sure he was part of the celebrations this time round though as they collected their medals.
Davidson said: “It was touch and go right up until the middle of this week.
“These last few weeks have been my hardest in football. I’d be lying if I didn’t say it hurt me but I’m buzzing for my teammates and everyone at the club.
“It was my decision not to play. I didn’t want to go out there 20 per cent fit and let anyone down.”
JOHN KENNEDY began his tenure as Celtic’s interim boss with a narrow 1-0 win Aberdeen at Parkhead. The assistant manager was promoted on Wednesday morning following the resignation of Neil Lennon and got off to a winning start thanks to in-form striker Odsonne Edouard who netted his 21st goal of the season.
Jordan Roberts inspired Motherwell to a surprise 2-0 victory at Hibernian with a goal and an assist.
St Mirren took a sizeable step towards claiming a place in the top six with a 1-0 home victory over Ross County.
JAMAAL LASCELLES does not score many but when he does they tend to come in
1-1 draws at home to Wolves.
His goal at St James’ Park on Saturday replicated his previous Premier League goal for Newcastle, back in October 2019.
To be fair, the defender did score in the 7-0 EFL Cup thrashing of Morecambe earlier this season.
Potts 23, Evans 67, Sinclair 80 3
BRAD POTTS banged on the door of Preston manager Alex Neil begging for a chance in his favoured No.10 role.
Now he has got it, Potts knows he needs a string of good displays to prove his boss was right to listen to him.
So Saturday’s man-of-thematch performance against Huddersfield was the ideal response as Potts (right) scored the first, made the second and also hit the bar.
“I asked the gaffer for a run of games in the position I feel I’m at my best,” he said. “But I have to play well. A goal and an assist, that’s what I’m in the team for.”
Huddersfield started well but fell away as Ched Evans and Scott Sinclair added to Potts’ first-half opener.
The Terriers have taken five points from 33 and sit just seven points clear of the bottom three. “The reality is only we can get ourselves out of it. We must stick together,” said defender Richard Keogh.
PRESTON: Iversen 7, Van den Berg 6, Storey 6, Hughes 6, Cunningham 6, Browne 6 (Molumby 90, 3), Whiteman 6, Sinclair 6 (Johnson 90), Potts 8, Gordon 5 (Barkhuizen 78, 5), Evans 7
HUDDERSFIELD: Schofield 6, Edmonds-green 5 (Rowe 46, 5), Keogh 6 (Stearman 75, 4), Sarr 5, Pipa 6, Vellejo 5, O’brien 6, Mbenza 6 (High 70, 3), Bacuna 6, Holmes 5 (Phillips 53, 4), Campbell 5 (Sanogo 75, 3)
REFEREE: James Linington
BRAD POTTS (PRESTON)
BY ROSS HEPPENSTALL
ANGUS MACDONALD remains confident Rotherham can beat the drop despite a run of five defeats.
Reading’s Michael Morrison scored the only goal of the game (above) midway through the first half after keeper Viktor Johansson parried his initial header.
After successive losses, the result was a boost for play-off chasing Reading – leaving them in fifth – but marked a fourth successive 1-0 defeat for Rotherham.
But Millers defender Macdonald insisted: “We’re not playing bad football and it’s not like we’re not creating chances and getting battered 3-0 or 4-0 every week. It’s one goal here and there, so we just need our luck to change but we’re definitely up for the fight.
“Everyone wants to work for each other, as you can see from some of the performances, so we have to take that into the next 15 games. Working for each other is first and foremost what we have to do and then hopefully the chances, the goals and the points will come.”
Automatic promotion may prove beyond the Royals but matchwinner Morrison is happy to be challenging at the right end of the table.
He said: “When you get to this time of the season, teams are fighting for their lives or have other pressures on them, so it’s about staying level headed.
“We know if we keep winning games and put a run together, then we can make sure we don’t get caught and so make those play-offs.”
ROTHERHAM: Johanson 6, Harding 6, A Macdonald 6, Robertson 6 (Wiles 15, 6), Olosunde 6, Wing 6 (Hirst 80, 6), S Macdonald 6 (Clarke 66, 7), Crooks 6, Giles 6 (Sadlier 66, 6), Ladapo 6 (Jozefzoon 80, 6), Smith 7
READING: Cabral 6, Yiadom 6, Morrison 8, Moore 6, Richards 6, Semedo 6, Laurent 6, Rinomhota 6 (Esteves 87), Olise 7 (Holmes 90), Ejaria 6 (Mcintyre 76, 6), Joao 6
MOTM MICHAEL MORRISON (READING)
CHELTENHAM 2
Smith 25, Wright 41
CALLUM WRIGHT hopes Brendan Rodgers is keeping an eye on his efforts to get Cheltenham promoted.
The on-loan Leicester midfielder, 20, added to Sam Smith’s opener to keep the Robins in third spot.
He said: “I’m sure Leicester are keeping tabs on me. Scoring goals, winning games and getting minutes in is what I have come here to do.”