English Triumph
It was anticipated that all three English clubs would make it through to the last 16 of the Europa League last night, with Liverpool, Spurs and United all at home to Augsburg, Fiorentina and Midtjylland respectively. And so it proved to the case as in the end, all three teams won comfortably, despite some sticky moments, not least for Manchester United another injury problem as Antony Martial was injured in the warm up, meaning that young striker Rashford had to start. As far as I'm concerned for United, this is a problem that we foresaw as early as August when Rooney and Martial were the only strikers in their squad so I don't know why they didn't reinforce that area of the pitch in January.
Anyway, staying with United, for the majority of their game with Midtjylland, things did not go United's way. And when a wonderful solo goal from Sisto put the visitors in front just before the half hour mark, United were in trouble. They went in at half time level through an unfortunate own goal from Bodurov but when Juan Mata missed a penalty, with United still needing a goal just to take the game to extra time, they must have thought that it wasn't going to be their night. But up stepped Rashford, with two clinical finishes that put United first ahead on the night, and then ahead on aggregate with 15 minutes to go. And from there, there was only one side winning as late goals from Herrera and Memphis Depay put the gloss on what was for 75 minutes a very tough game for United.
Another game where the scoreline didn't really reflect the balance of play was at Anfield, where Liverpool could really have put four or five past Augsburg after James Milner's early penalty gave them the lead, but failed to take advantage of their chances and had to settle for a 1-0 win on the night, sending us through 1-0 on aggregate, a result that I am very happy with. I missed the game because Varsity but from what I heard we were comfortably the better side, carved out all the chances and despite one or two hairy moments defensively (Mignolet never ever makes me comfortable), we thoroughly deserved to win, and win we did.
But it was Spurs who impressed me the most, with a comfortable, emphatic win against Fiorentina, to secure England's coefficient status ahead of Italy next year for certain. As expected from Spurs, one or two key individuals were missing, not least Harry Kane with a broken nose and they rotated their full backs, as well as Dembele's lack of fitness, but they still got the job done with Nacer Chadli, Christian Eriksen and Erik Lamela all taking it in turns to play up front and Ryan Mason in midfield. And it was Mason who gave them the lead halfway through the first half, with a delightful side foot finish, before goals in the second half from Lamela and an own goal from Rodriguez completed a 4-1 aggregate win for Spurs that they believe will have firmly established their credentials as Europa League contenders.
However, those credentials are about to be put to the biggest test possible. Because if last night was an excellent one for English teams in Europe, this morning well and truly deflated that bubble, as Spurs found themselves drawn with Borussia Dortmund, easily the most dangerous team left in the competition. And in two weeks time, when Spurs go to the current second best team in Germany, we'll see how they stack up. It will be very interesting to see how strong their team is for that match. But as they showed last night, even a weakened team is capable of performing spectacularly in Europe.
Oh and there's the small matter of Liverpool v Man United to come in the next round. Personally, I'm very happy and excited by this draw for a number of reasons. For starters, no away trip hundreds or thousands of miles to Spain or Germany or even further to face a difficult team on away soil. Even the relatively short trip to Augsburg didn't favour us at all. Secondly, in terms of motivation, nothing will get the players up for the Europa League, which frankly they'll need to be up for after this Sunday, quite like a trip to our arch-nemeses. And if I'm being honest, I fancy us over two legs against United, should we be able to send out Sturridge and Coutinho. This United side do not scare me in the way that the likes of Dortmund, Sevilla or Leverkeusen do. They're vulnerable. And I can really see the lads doing a number on them. But either way, it's a game to get the neutrals and even our own fans, excited about the Europa League.
Warwick Hit A Wall
And meanwhile, I was at Planet Ice, as the annual Warwick vs Coventry Varsity tournament kicked off properly. Cov had already won some of the preliminary encounters, but with Warwick still favourites in a lot of sports today and tomorrow, the Ice Hockey was the first big event, the first real chance for Cov to make a signal of intent that this was finally going to be their year and that after 25 years of humiliation, they would knock us off our perch.
And well, they certainly made a statement.
First off, I have to say that I've never been to anything quite like it before. Stood in the punditry box with a great bunch of people, watching a sport that I knew nothing about, played at a ferocious pace, with brutal tackles that looked like horrible fouls being waved away every couple of seconds, players getting into fisticuffs and slammed into walls, all with two halves of the stadium screaming at each other and getting behind their side. This was sport at its electrifying best. The Warwick crowd were absolutely amazing, and despite being outnumbered and out-equipped, as this was Coventry turf, the longer the game went on, the more that we were winning the battle off the pitch.
Unfortunately, on the ice, everything was going horribly wrong. Coventry were able to call on three professional players, including one international and their quality showed in the opening period, as Warwick had no answer to their ferocity and tenacity. It was 7-1 before we knew it, and in scenes reminiscent of Harry Potter, the Coventry fans were gleefully singing our goaltender's name. Warwick went into the 2nd period looking shellshocked, and Coventry applied the pressure, going for the throat and at 12-1, the game was over.
But then the fans found their voice, urging their team on and one or two moments of real quality from superstar Jack Meadows had the Warwick boys ending the 2nd period only 12-4 down. The sense of defeat that had lingered at 12-1 was gone, and although there wasn't a sense of optimism as such, the crowd and the players started to feel the pressure disappear, and they started to enjoy themselves.
The final period was where the game and the atmosphere hit their heights, as five goals in quick succession saw Warwick turn 14-4 into 14-9 and Harrison came into his own with a string of increasingly brilliant saves that meant that it was Warwick's turn to chant his name. The final ten minutes were brutal on the pitch, as violence was breaking out increasingly, and the jovial, playful hostility between the fans reached its peak, as "F*ck off Warwick" was responded to with "Shoes off if you hate Coventry", as Warwick's Dodgeball team let the response, shoes waved in the air. In the box, above the fans but close enough to feel part of it, we were lapping it up.
Tonight, no less than seven matches on Warwick's home turf, including live broadcasts of the Netball, and I'll be on lead comms for the Basketball. Game on Cov. Game on.
The Hard and Fast Section
- Valencia won 10-0 on aggregate. Brutal.
- FIFA are currently voting for a new President. Reforms passed.
- Laura Robson has suffered another injury setback. Gutting.
- Six Nations is back tonight. Booyah.
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