Latest - A late rocket from Tomas Soucek gave West Ham United a 1-0 win at Everton in the first Premier League game of 2021 that had been short on fireworks until the Czech midfielder's well-deserved winner in the 86th minute.
Photo: PHOTOSPORT
The Hammers lost goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski to injury during the warm-up but his replacement Darren Randolph barely had a save to make as Everton struggled to break down their rearguard.
West Ham wasted some decent chances until Soucek struck late, first forcing Jordan Pickford to parry a shot before reacting quickest to steer home Aaron Cresswell's deflected effort for a goal that gave West Ham boss David Moyes his first victory at Goodison Park since leaving Everton in 2013.
The victory leaves West Ham 10th in the standings with 26 points while Everton, who could have gone second with a win, remain in fourth spot on 29 points.
- Reuters
Darts No 1 out of World Champs
The world darts number one Michael van Gerwen has been dumped out of the World Championships in stunning fashion.
Michael van Gerwen. Photo: PHOTOSPORT
A three-time world champ, the Dutchman has suffered a 5-nil quarterfinal loss to English eighth seed Dave Chisnall in London.
Chisnall will face two-time champion Gary Anderson for a place in the final, with the Scotsman earlier defeating Dutchamn Dirk van Duijvenbode 5-1.
The other semifinals will features Welsh third seed Gerwyn Price and England's Stephen Bunting.
Price scored a narrow 5-4 win over Northern Ireland's Daryl Gurney, while Bunting beat Polish player Krzysztof Ratajski 5-3.
Spirit knock over Blaze
Wellington's first loss of the season in the domestic women's T20 cricket competition has come in dramatic fashion.
The Blaze suffered a five-wicket loss to Northern Districts in Mt Maunganui on Friday after Spirit batter Meddy Hyde hit a boundary from the final ball of the match.
Northern Spirit's Meddy Hyde, right and Felicity Leydon-Davis celebrate victory. Photo: Photosport
Northern's successful chase of their 140-run target was anchored by 50 to opener Kate Anderson, with Nensi Patel hitting a crucial 25 from 18 balls.
Meanwhile in the men's match at the same venue, two rising young stars led Wellington to a nine-wicket win over Northern Districts.
Chasing 149 to win, the visitors got there with four overs to spare as Finn Allen belted 91 not out off 50 balls and Rachin Ravindra hit an unbeaten 40 from 31.
The former New Zealand under-19 team-mates combined for an unbroken second-wicket stand of 110 in just 11 overs.
Test call-up for Natarajan
India have named left-arm seamer T. Natarajan as the replacement for injured paceman Umesh Yadav ahead of the last two cricket tests against Australia.
Umesh Yadav is congratulated after taking a wicket. Photo: AFP
Yadav limped off during India's eight-wicket victory in the second test in Melbourne and is the injury setback for the tourists, who are also without experienced seam duo Ishant Sharma and Mohammed Shami.
The 29-year-old Natarajan was initially picked as a net bowler for India's tour Down Under after his strong showing in the Indian Premier League Twenty20 tournament.
Shardul Thakur, who made his test debut against the West Indies in 2018, replaced Shami in India's squad ahead of the Boxing Day test and is likely to get the nod for the third test in Sydney starting on January 7.
In some welcome news for India, opening batsman Rohit Sharma, who travelled to Australia last month after rehabilitation from injury, completed his quarantine and joined the team in Melbourne.
- Reuters
Virus wreaks havoc with fixtures, line-ups
Two Championship matches scheduled for Saturday have been postponed after Bristol City and Luton Town reported Covid-19 outbreaks in their squads.
City were scheduled to play second-placed Brentford while Luton were set to host Queens Park Rangers. The positive tests come three days after Luton hosted City and beat them 2-1.
City said their players showed Covid-19 symptoms but could not test the entire squad and staff as the testing laboratory was closed with Friday being a New Year bank holiday.
This is City's second major brush with Covid-19 after their Failand training ground was closed in November following a number of positive cases at the club.
Luton said there were positive cases among their senior players, staff and immediate members of family which meant others who were in close contact had to go into self-isolation.
Meanwhile, West Ham's Ryan Fredericks has tested positive for the virus with manager David Moyes announcing the Premier League club will close their training ground for four days.
A number of games across divisions have been postponed in recent weeks due to the pandemic, including those in the Premier League.
Three top flight matches were postponed in December after numerous positive cases at Newcastle United, Manchester City and Fulham.
- Reuters
Klopp urges EPL to keep going
Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp believes the Premier League must avoid implementing a "circuit-breaker" shutdown to help reduce Covid-19 infections, saying the safety measures in place will ensure the competition is not affected.
Jurgen Klopp Photo: Offside Sports Photography
West Bromwich Albion manager Sam Allardyce had earlier this week called for a temporary suspension of the league following a record number of positive cases in a week.
Klopp is ready to put Liverpool's title defence on hold if needed but stressed the role football can play in these uncertain times.
"It is understandable (to have concerns), but we try to do everything to keep the boys as safe as possible and I think the competition can go on," Klopp said.
"People want to watch it and, in this case, we are not part of society because usually we isolate, we go to the training ground and stuff like that, so I think we really can carry on.
"But I am not a specialist and I respect all the decisions made in the next few weeks."
- Reuters