Liverpool invested in young Academy graduate

WHAT were you doing at 17? Liverpool starlet Ben Woodburn has already written himself into the record books and his goal against Leeds is confirms the Reds’ investment.

As the new Reds’ youngest ever goalscorer, Woodburn returned to training the next day after his exploits against Leeds and fellow attacker Sadio Mane spoke of his great future, but Woodburn’s talent had been well known at the club for a decade.

“I want to congratulate him. He is a very good player and has a very good future,” Mane told Press Association Sport.

“I hope he will keep going and working hard and I think he will be a great player. Everyone was happy for him to score his first goal, especially in a big atmosphere at Anfield.”

Woodburn, who at 17 years and 45 days become Liverpool’s youngest player to get on the scoresheet, beating previous holder Michael Owen by 98 days, was spotted by the Premier League giants at just seven and quickly brought into their Academy set up.

Born and raised in Cheshire, and living an hour away from the Kirkby training venue for youngsters, Woodburn’s parents avoided moving closer for their son’s career.

So committed were the club to allow him to develop, they arranged for private transport between his family home and training — whether that be at Kirkby or now at the first team Melwood base.

When he was just 15, the youngster was brought into the Under 18 set up and has moved further up the ranks since. Former Academy Director Frank McPharland said when he left the club in 2013 that the then 14-year-old Woodburn was the club’s best prospect.

Manager Jurgen Klopp was quick to hose down hype about Woodburn post-game, hoping that he would not be distracted by the sudden flurry of attention.

“The only problem is I’m afraid about all you in the media. That’s why I’m so quiet [about Woodburn],” said Klopp of Woodburn, who in November signed his first professional contract, a three-year deal.

“We know how to handle the situation.

“He still has a lot of things to do and especially to keep the public away for as long as possible — but that is a difficult thing to do.”

Klopp added: “I said well done to him afterwards. It was not too difficult. I would have scored too in that situation. We know what Ben is capable of and what he is already able to do.”

Immediately after coming off the bench in the EFL Cup quarter-final and scoring in front of the Kop, there were calls for Woodburn to be called up into the English national team set up, with the Cheshire-born and raised winger playing youth football for Wales.

But Woodburn has pledged his allegiance to Wales, according to national team manager Chris Coleman.

“He’s said he’s committed to Wales and I’m happy to take his word for it,” Coleman was quoted as saying.

He’s not the only Liverpool youngster who could make up Wales’s front line for the next decade, with fellow Academy graduate Harry Wilson making his debut for the Dragons in 2013, at just 16 years and 207 days.

Enzo Zidane scores on debut in Real Cup rout

Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane's son, Enzo, scored on his senior debut as the European champions brushed aside third tier Cultural Leonesa 6-1 to progress into the last 16 of the Copa del Rey 13-2 on aggregate on Wednesday.

Enzo, the oldest of Zidane's four sons, all of whom play at different levels in Real's youth teams, was introduced by his father, a legendary former player for Real and France, at half-time.

The 21-year-old, who was previously coached by Zinedine at Real's youth side Castilla before he took the top job at the Santiago Bernabeu in January, showed a glimpse of his father's talent with a fine low finish from the edge of the area just after the hour mark.

With the tie over as a contest following Real's 7-1 first leg win and El Clasico away to Barcelona to come on Saturday, Zidane made nine changes from the side that started the 2-1 win over Sporting Gijon last weekend.

Norwegian starlet Martin Odegaard, 17, was also handed his full debut, but it was Dominican international Mariano Diaz who got Real off to a flying start as he slotted home the first of his hat-trick after just 23 seconds.

James Rodriguez headed home the hosts' second before Mariano smashed in a third, but Leonesa did have a moment to savour when Yeray Gonzalez fired into the top corner from long range in first-half stoppage time.

Enzo was then handed his long-awaited bow by his father, but ensured there was to be no claims of nepotism when he finished off a flowing team move with a classy right-footed finish.

Mariano completed his hat-trick two minutes from time before a Cesar Morgado own goal rounded off the scoring.

Sevilla and Villarreal also took huge strides towards the last 16 with comprehensive first leg wins.

Joaquin Correa scored a hat-trick in Sevilla's 5-1 win at Formentera, whilst Villarreal cruised to a 3-0 victory at Toledo.

Holders Barcelona begin their defence later on Wednesday at Hercules.

Melbourne City crowned FFA Cup 2016 winers

Tim Cahill has brought success to Melbourne City at long last, scoring the only goal of the FFA Cup final against Sydney FC as the A-League upstarts claimed the first trophy in their seven-year history.

Cahill headed home Ivan Franjic's cross on 53 minutes to earn City the prize before hobbling off with a knee injury shortly after.

City will anxiously await a diagnosis on the star Socceroo, but whatever the outcome the club richly celebrated a maiden triumph.

Transformed by the millions provided by cashed-up owners City Football Group, the triumph showed the sleeping giants of Australian football have woken up.

As an event, there was much to like — this was a proper cup final, the emotion running as freely as the sweat and the raucous crowd of 18,751 howling at every provocation. Within seconds it exploded into life, after Michael Zullo was the victim of ugly tackles from first Cahill and then Luke Brattan. Sensing his leftback was being targeted Sydney coach Graham Arnold reacted furiously, and instantly almost every player was involved in the ruckus.

Brattan was booked for the tackle, Milos Ninkovic perhaps fortunate not to get at least that for shoving Fernando Brandan to the floor. But the tone was set for the night, and the tackles came thunderously.

Sydney briefly threatened, with Rhyan Grant wriggling free in the City box but underhitting his cutback to Bobo. But City were in their stride, led by the imperious Fornaroli. The Uruguayan was scarcely containable as Sydney desperately scrambled in defence, his mesmeric ability to hold the ball and turn causing constant problems.

From Neil Kilkenny’s freekick Tim Cahill headed narrowly wide, then Fornaroli drove in a cross that Brandan skied over the bar wastefully from close range. Fornaroli beat Matt Jurman to a cross but headed wide, and Brandon ‘Neill was booked for a late tackle on City’s captain.

Ninkovic seemed dazed by the early aggression, unable to get into the game and his touch uncharacteristically heavy. He was hardly alone, with Sydney struggling to get any attacking foothold in the game. Early in the second half Josh Brillante’s header into the City box gave Alex Brosque space, but his shot lacked conviction.

That was hardly a description you could level moments later when Cahill made the breakthrough. Arnold could only watch in despair as his side fell to a suckerpunch — a short corner gave Brattan the angle for a cross, and Cahill peeled away from Matt Jurman at the far post to plant a header past Danny Vukovic.

Seconds later he limped out of the contest, his work done — two chances, one goal. Sydney could find no greater cohesion having gone behind than before and Arnold took off the ineffective Filip Holosko to bring on the power of Matt Simon, and with 70 minutes gone the forward drove in a cross that Bobo headed goalward only for Michael Jakobsen to clear off the line.

In the final seconds Brosque went down under challenge from Osama Malik and appealed for a penalty, but referee Peter Green waved them away, and the game was up.

Desperate teenager reveals she is selling her virginity for £850,000 to ...

Romanian teenager appears on This Morning saying she will sell her virginity

Viewers of This Morning were shocked when a teenage girl revealed she would be selling her virginity for one million euros.

Speaking to presenters Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield, 18-year-old Aleexandra Kefren said today she wanted to do it to help her parents because they were going to be evicted from their house.

She said: “Many girls [lose] their virginity and after that they break up with the guy, and it’s not worth it.

“So I have a really good cause. I need the money to study abroad because I want to go to Oxford University.

“Plus I live in a very poor country and I need to help my parents so I need to buy them a home.”

At one point, Phillip Schofield asked her whether she was “out of her mind”.

And many people took to Twitter in disbelief during the interview, describing her as “naïve” and declaring that she needed help.

One said: "I genuinely feel anxious and scared for this girl who wants to sell her virginity. She has no clue and needs support."

Another added: "This young girl obviously hasn't thought about everything properly just thought about the money! It's crazy."

Aleexandra, who is from Romania, said she had been inspired by the film Indecent Proposal.

Chapecoense could be awarded Copa Sudamericana title

The Colombian team that was scheduled to play Brazil’s ill-fated Chapecoense side in a South American championship final says it is offering the title to the rivals whose plane crashed.
Medellin-based Atletico Nacional says it has asked the South American football confederation to award the title in honour of the Brazilian team that was on board a plane that went down with the loss of 75 lives.

The small Brazilian team had been flying to Colombia to play Atletico in Wednesday’s Copa Sudamericana final.

Atletico Nacional says Chapecoense should receive the title in recognition of the team’s great loss, and as a tribute to the players who died.

Matches were cancelled around South America and Brazil declared three days of mourning.

For a few glorious days, the tiny club was the side of the moment, the latest in a string of sporting surprises in 2016.

Bucked the odds

Like Leicester City winning the Premier League for the first time or the Chicago Cubs finally taking baseball’s World Series after a 108-year wait, Chapecoense bucked the odds and delighted the romantics.

The team’s passage to the final of South America’s equivalent of the Europa League was a fairy tale to rival any of them.

“This wasn’t just a group where everyone respected each other, it was a family,” Plinio David de Nes Filho, a club director, told Globo TV on Tuesday morning, just hours after the accident wiped out almost the entire squad.

“Before they got on the plane they said they were going to make this dream come true. And this morning the dream ended.”

The story of Chapecoense’s rise goes back decades.

Founded in 1973 in the small agricultural city of Chapeco in western Santa Catarina state in southern Brazil, Chapecoense won its first state title four years later.

The team established itself in a competitive league without making waves outside the rugged region they called home and it was not until the new millennium that their fortunes changed.

Money troubles almost forced them to the wall but a group of local businessmen rescued them from financial collapse and set them on the road to the top.

Chapecoense won promotion from Serie D in 2009 and then rose steadily up the divisions, finally making it into the top tier in 2013.

Although they rank only 21st in Brazil in terms of revenue, Chapecoense have held their own against giants such as Flamengo and Corinthians thanks to a prudent administration that eschewed expensive signings in favour of blending young talent and experienced journeymen.

The team’s best-known player was Cleber Santana, a midfielder whose best years were spent in Spain with Atletico Madrid and Mallorca. Coach Caio Junior also was experienced, having managed at some of Brazil’s biggest clubs, Botafogo, Flamengo and Palmeiras among them.

The team was more than the sum of its parts and victories over Argentine giants Independiente and San Lorenzo, were among its greatest ever.

Several hundred dejected fans gathered around the team’s Conda stadium in Chapeco, many of them wearing the team’s green strip. At least one young fan burst into tears.

“It is still hard to believe what has happened to the Chapecoense team just when it was on the rise,” said Agenor Danieli (64) who lives inthe agricultural town of about 200,000 people in Santa Catarina state. “We are in crisis. The town has come to a stop. Companies are giving people the day off so they can come here to the stadium. We need to pray. It still doesn’t feel real.”

“They were the hope of our city. They played for the love of the shirt and not for the money,” fan Jean Panegalli (17) said. “They played with the commitment that only those who have lived here know. They were ferocious.”

South America football federation suspends all games

The South American football federation has suspended all games after a plane carrying a Brazilian football team Chapecoense crashed in Colombia.

The team was among 81 people on board when it came down on Monday night apparently due to electrical failure.

The federation, CONMEBOL, said its president, Alejandro Dominguez, was on his way to Medellin, near the crash site.

"All federation activities are suspended until further notice," it added in a statement on its website.

Chapecoense football club had been due to face Atletico Nacional of Medellin in the first leg of Wednesday's Sudamericana final.

It was the first time the small club had ever reached the final of a major South American club competition.

Emma Morano, the world's oldest person, celebrating 117th birthday this week

This week, the world's oldest person will celebrate her 117th  birthday.

Emma Morano was born on either Nov. 27 or Nov. 29, 1899, in Civiasco, Italy. (The date depends on who you ask.)

Morano is the last person alive who was born in the 1800s. Up until last year, she lived by herself in an apartment  in Italy. Now, she has a full-time cargiver said the Daily Mail

Morano says she's lived a long times because he she eats so many eggs. She started eating eggs every day when she was 20 and diagnosed with anemia. She's also told reporters that she drinks a glass of homemade brandy every day.

Morano also has told reporters that she partially credits her long life to the fact that she has lived alone since she got rid of her husband in 1938.

Morano also gets a lot of sleep. She goes to bed before 7 p.m. and gets up before 6 a.m.

Brazilian football team Chapecoense on board plane that crashed over Colombia

The football team on the plane

An airplane with 81 people on board, including players from a Brazilian football team heading to Colombia for a regional tournament final, has crashed on its way to Medellin's international airport.

Medellin's Mayor Federico Gutierrez said that it is possible there are survivors.

"It's a tragedy of huge proportions," Mr  Gutierrez told Blu Radio on his way to the site in a mountainous area outside the city where the chartered aircraft is believed to have crashed shortly before midnight local time..

He said on Twitter that ambulances and rescuers were on their way. It is not clear what caused the crash.

The Colombian Civil Aviation Authority said that the Lamia Airlines aircraft "had issues over El Cerro Gordo, close to La Union in the state of Antioqiua." 

Medellin's airport confirmed that the aircraft, which departed from Bolivia, was transporting the Chapecoense football team from southern Brazil, which was scheduled to play the Copa Sudamerica finals against Atletico Nacional on Wednesday in Colombia's Medellin. The aviation authority also confirmed the presence of the footballers on board.

Melbourne City see off Wellington Phoenix to go second

Melbourne City have tuned up for their Westfield FFA Cup Final with a hard-earned 2-1 win over Wellington Phoenix at AAMI Park on Sunday.

Bruno Fornaroli secured the hosts’ second win in three matches with a coolly-taken 71st minute penalty, a result which sees City leapfrog Melbourne Victory into second.

Nick Fitzgerald earlier opened the scoring on the stroke of half-time when the winger’s heavily-deflected shot wrong-footed an in-form Glen Moss.

Roy Krishna equalised at the second attempt of Wellington’s own penalty on the hour, but Ernie Merrick’s side struggled to create enough genuine chances in slipping to their fifth defeat of the season.

GOALS 1-0 City: Nick Fitzgerald, 44’ Fitzgerald turned inside Adam Parkhouse and saw his left-footed effort take a heavy deflection to wrong-foot Phoenix ‘keeper Glen Moss.

1-1 Phoenix: Roy Krishna, 59’ Ivan Franjic was punished for tugging the shirt of Kosta Barbarouses and, after Dean Bouzanis parried Roy Krishna’s initial penalty attempt, the Fijian converted his own follow-up. 

2-1 City: Bruno Fornaroli, 71’ After Marco Rossi was adjudged to have pulled down Bruno Fornaroli, the Uruguayan stepped up to the spot and clinically rolled his penalty into the bottom corner. 

Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors claim AFC Champions League 2016 title

South Korea's Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors were crowned the 2016 AFC Champions League winners on Saturday night as a 1-1 draw with inaugural champions Al Ain earned Choi Kang-hee’s side a 3-2 aggregate victory and a place at December’s finals of the FIFA Club World Cup.

Han Kyo-won gave Jeonbuk the lead on the night, and extended the K League Classic side’s advantage following their 2-1 first leg win, in the 30th minute before Lee Myung-joo levelled for Al Ain four minutes later.

But a missed penalty by Brazilian striker Douglas in the dying minutes of the first half and a resolute defensive showing in the second half by the 2006 winners was enough to seal Jeonbuk a second AFC Champions League crown.

Al Ain coach Zlatko Dalic made one change from the team that lost the first leg, bringing in Douglas in place of Mohamed Abdulrahman while Jeonbuk made two changes, with Lee Dong-gook replacing Kim Shin-wook and Lim Jong-eun making way Cho Sung-hwan.

Trailing by a goal from the opening game in Jeonju, it came as little surprise that Al Ain started aggressively, Caio narrowly failing to connect with Danilo Asprilla’s low cross before Omar Abdulrahman’s header minutes later was saved at point blank range by Kwoun Sun-tae.

Midway through the half Douglas’ speared effort from distance was pushed away by Kwoun and the Brazilian was again causing problems in the 28th minute when his overhead attempt following Caio’s cross flew back across the face of goal to safety.

Despite their dominance, however, Al Ain went a goal behind on the half hour mark. Han Kyo-won, an early substitute for the injured Ricardo Lopes, side footed the ball home from close range following Lee Jae-sung’s corner to send the Jeonbuk bench into raptures.

But four minutes later Al Ain were level when Lee Myung-joo’s scuffed volley bounced into the turn before beating Kwoun to his right.

The goal gave the home side a boost and it seemed it was only a matter of time before Al Ain would add to their tally. Kwoun again saved from Douglas before Lee’s weak effort from the edge of the area rolled through to the Jeonbuk keeper.

With two minutes remaining in the half, Al Ain were given a gilt edged opportunity to take the lead on the night and level the scores on aggregate when Asprilla was brought down in the area by Kim Hyun-gil only for Douglas to stroke his penalty over the bar. To make matters worse, Dalic was sent to the stands by referee Ryuji Sato soon after.

Al Ain kept pushing for the goal that would level the scores across the two games as the second half played out: Ismail Ahmed headed over the bar, Caio shot just wide and Asprilla forced Kwoun into action while, 15 minutes from time, Douglas’ shot was pushed away by the Jeonbuk goalkeeper.

Kwoun was his side’s saviour again nine minutes from time when he kept out Ibrahim Diaky’s close-range drive, and Jeonbuk closed out the game to take the trophy back to Korea Republic

FIFA Confederations Cup 2017 draw

Host Russia will play against Portugal, Mexico and New Zealand in Group A at the FIFA Confederations Cup Russia 2017 as it was decided at the Official Draw ceremony held in Kazan on Saturday. 

The FIFA Confederations Cup Russia 2017 will take place in the Russian cities of St. Petersburg, Moscow, Kazan and Sochi between June 17 and July 2, 2017. The opening game will be held in St. Petersburg on June 17 between Russia and New Zealand. Russia will face Portugal in Moscow on June 21 and on June 24 it will play Mexico in Kazan.

The Portugal v Mexico match will be held in Kazan on June 18, Mexico will face New Zealand on June 21 in Sochi, and New Zealand will clash with Portugal on June 24 in St. Petersburg.

Group B has brought together Germany, Chile, Australia and the winner of the African Cup of Nations, expected to be named in February 2017.

After the Group matches, two best teams from each group winners in will clash in the semi-final playoffs, due to be held in Kazan and Sochi respectively. On July 2, Moscow will play host to a third-place match, whereas the final will be played in St. Petersburg.

GROUP A

Russia

Portugal

Mexico

New Zealand

GROUP B

Germany

Chile

Australia

TBD (African Nations Cup winners)

Chelsea take top spot in Premier League with win over Tottenham

Chelsea consolidated their position at the top of the EPL table by inflicting a first Premier League defeat of the season on Tottenham with a 2-1 victory at Stamford Bridge.

First Manchester City and then Liverpool had taken over first place during Saturday's matches.

However, it was the Blues who finished the evening one point ahead again after coming from behind as Spurs lost in the league for the first time in 13 games.

Christian Eriksen fired Tottenham into the lead 10 minutes in with a fierce strike from the edge of the penalty area but that moment was to be Spurs' best.

Despite plenty of possession, the visitors could not find a second and Chelsea levelled just before halftime when Pedro cut inside from the left to curl a sublime finish past Hugo Lloris into the far left corner.

Chelsea went ahead early in the second half when, on 51 minutes, Victor Moses knocked the ball home after Diego Costa had pulled it back across the face of goal following a powerful run down the left.

Earlier on Saturday, there was a dramatic finish at the Liberty Stadium where Fernando Llorente struck twice in stoppage time as Swansea completed a remarkable 5-4 win over Crystal Palace to further increase the pressure on Eagles boss Alan Pardew.

Palace, hovering just outside the relegation zone, were in front after 19 minutes through Wilfried Zaha, before Gylfi Sigurdsson's free-kick made it 1-1 on 36 minutes.

Zaha saw his header come back off the crossbar just before halftime and the Eagles were behind on 66 minutes when Leroy Fer scored.

The Dutchman quickly grabbed a second from close range in the 68th minute as Swansea led 3-1.

However, James Tomkins set up a grandstand finale when he reduced the deficit with 15 minutes left before Zaha's cross looped in off Swansea midfielder Jack Cork to equalise at 3-3 on 82 minutes.

Christian Benteke looked to have given the Eagles all three points when he put them 4-3 up on 84 minutes.

Llorente, though, equalised in stoppage time, before then stabbing the ball home from close range to hand new Swansea manager Bob Bradley a first win and lift his side off the bottom.

Liverpool had to work hard to secure a 2-0 win over Sunderland at Anfield.

The Reds lost Brazilian playmaker Phillippe Coutinho after just 33 minutes to what looked like an ankle injury.

Sunderland's resistance was finally broken with 15 minutes left when his replacement Divock Origi cut inside from the left and curled a low drive into the far corner, then James Milner added a late second from the penalty spot in stoppage time.

In Saturday's lunchtime kick-off, Sergio Aguero scored twice as Manchester City secured a 2-1 win at Burnley.

Dean Marney's first goal in the Premier League for seven years put the Clarets ahead on 14 minutes.

Aguero levelled on 37 minutes, poking the ball in at the far post, and then put the visitors ahead on the hour with a scrappy close-range finish, which was enough to secure victory.

Premier League champions Leicester snatched a 2-2 draw at home to Middlesbrough with a stoppage-time penalty from Islam Slimani, while Hull and West Brom played out a dull 1-1 draw.

Adelaide hold Sydney to 0-0 draw

A below-par Sydney FC have escaped a first A-League defeat but dropped another two points in an uninspiring goalless draw with Adelaide United.

The Sky Blues spurned the chance to go nine points clear at the top of the table on Saturday night at Allianz Stadium, in a performance as anaemic as the scoreline.

They equalled their record nine-game undefeated streak of 2006-07 but were fortunate, given last-placed United played with a confidence that belied their winless season, in a sign a victory is close.

Suspended coach Guillermo Amor needn't have worried how his defending champions would fare without him on the sidelines, as the Reds attacked with venom in and end-to-end start barely resembling its top-versus-bottom billing.

Ryan Kitto found joy on the left flank as he and Ben Garrucio targeted the in-form Rhyan Grant.

But the frenetic opening exchanges soon dissolved into scrappy play rife with turnovers that yielded few chances for either side.

Isaias and an under-performing David Carney went into the book while tough defender Matt Jurman suffered a horrible head clash during an aerial challenge with James Holland that left him bleeding heavily.

A bandaged Jurman eventually returned and earned enthusiastic cheers from the 13,179 crowd for each of his three headers in quick succession.

That was the main first-half entertainment apart from a sole opportunity apiece.

The first belonged to Adelaide defender Tarek Elrich, who fired off a 20-metre left-footed strike that shaved the outside of the post.

Soon after, a quiet Filip Holosko burst into space but, under pressure from Iacopo La Rocca, applied too much angle on his finish.

In the second half, Sydney coach Graham Arnold sensed the need for change and replaced Holosko with skipper Alex Brosque and eventually Bobo with Matt Simon, while Henrique returned for Adelaide at the expense of a cramping Nikola Mileusnic.

Holland came closest after the break, skipping past three Sydney defenders only to botch his finish, while Simon sent one wide and Alex Wilkinson took a feeble stab that was indicative of a squad perhaps more focused on next week's FFA Cup final.

Arnold said his side struggled to deal with Adelaide's long balls and slow play in a cynical match featuring a total 36 fouls.

"It was two desperate teams trying to win," he said.

"Adelaide's position on the table doesn't reflect the type of team they are ... but they took the tempo out of the game and it was hard for us to get going.

"Every time we tried, there was a foul, they took their time on throw-ins and goal kicks and slowed the game up a lot.

"We have to be honest - the players are disappointed in their own performance."

Reds assistant coach Pau Marti was happy to keep a first clean sheet.

"To get a point here was a good result," Marti said.

"I think the way we played, we deserved to get three points - we had the chances ... we stopped them playing."

Marco Rojas sends Victory to second in A-League

Marco Rojas has sent Melbourne Victory to second on the A-League table with a decisive role in Saturday's 2-0 win over Newcastle.

The Kiwi winger transformed the contest with a deflected strike in the 52nd minute and a breakaway finish two minutes later.

Like most of his Victory teammates, Rojas stuttered and was without polish in a first half of missteps rather than memorable moments.

But when Fahid Ben Khalfallah was brought down by acting Jets captain Wayne Brown just outside the box early in the second half, Rojas delivered from the set piece.

The 25-year-old's free kick deflected off defender Iain Fyfe and into the net, leaving goalkeeper Jack Duncan cursing his luck.

Victory are likely to dispute the awarding of the goal to Fyfe.

If the opener had a touch of good fortune, the second was clinical

Rojas seized on teenage defender Johnny Koutroumbis' loose ball, surging forward to sidefoot home.

The only Victory figure among 18,267 fans to seemingly be displeased was Besart Berisha, who would have preferred a cross, and who turned his back and walked towards the centre circle without acknowledging the goalscorer.

But the rest were delighted with a third-straight home win that has Victory humming in the league.

Their success was amplified given the tight history shared by two sides - not since March 2013 had either club won this fixture by more than a single goal.

There was relief for coach Kevin Muscat too, who had to turn to his signing of three days - Matthew Acton - in goal.

Acton was given the gloves after a finger injury to Lawrence Thomas in mid-week training, with second-choice gloveman Alastair Bray out with a dislocated shoulder.

Despite a hairy moment when he collected Devante Clut crudely outside the box, the 24-year-old proved himself to be a worthy shotstopper, assisted on 89 minutes with a clearance from James Donachie off the line.

Jets debutant Andy Brennan missed his side's two best chances - from a one-on-one inside the first five minutes and from a cutback with 10 minutes remaining.

Despite missing seven senior players, with Morten Nordstand departing at halftime with a minor hip flexor issue, coach Mark Jones said they were still upset to lose.

"We're very disappointed to switch off for five, 10 minutes and that's enough. You can't afford to do that," he said.

Victory could count themselves unlucky not to win by a greater margin.

Berisha produced a contender for miss of the season, sidefooting James Troisi's cross wide from three metres with an empty net beckoning.

Until Rojas' emergence, Troisi was the major creative force at AAMI Park, taking 10 of Victory's 21 shots and setting up several others.

Muscat said he was delighted to break through.

"The difficult thing for us tonight was getting the first goal. It didn't come off for us early and frustration built," he said.

"But in the second half, we corrected things ... and what could have been a dangerous game for us turned out to be a good night."

Fidel Castro, revolutionary Cuban Leader, dies aged 90

Fidel Castro, Cuba's former president and leader of the Communist revolution, has died aged 90, state TV has announced.

It provided no further details.

Fidel Castro ruled Cuba as a one-party state for almost half a century before handing over the powers to his brother Raul in 2008.

His supporters praised him as a man who had given Cuba back to the people. But his opponents accused him of brutally suppressing opposition.

In April, Fidel Castro gave a rare speech on the final day of the country's Communist Party congress.

He acknowledged his advanced age but said Cuban communist concepts were still valid and the Cuban people "will be victorious".

Panathinaikos Athens survive stern Darussafaka challenge

Panathinaikos Athens held off visiting Darussafaka Dogus 86-80 at Olympic Sports Center Athens on Friday night. Both teams now hold 5-4 records. Panathinaikos led by as many as 14 points in the second quarter, but Will Clyburn led Darussafaka’s rally and his long jumper gave the visitors their only lead of the second half, 76-77. 

But Ioannis Bourousis, Nick Calathes and Chris Singleton made plays down the stretch as Panathinaikos prevailed. Bourousis finished with 18 points, including a put-back with 11.6 seconds to go and then 2 free throws in the final seconds that sealed the deal. KC Rivers and Singleton scored 13 points apiece, Nikos Pappas 12 and Calathes collected 11 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists in victory. 

Clyburn played entire 40 minutes, and paced Darussafaka with 26 points and 9 rebounds, Brad Wanamaker scored 19 and James Anderson 16 points in defeat.

Calathes got Panathinaikos going, fueling the Greens to an early 12-7 lead, before Rivers hit a three that sparked a 9-2 run and opened a 21-12 lead. Clyburn had 8 points in the first quarter for Darussafaka, helping cut it to 21-16, before Wanamaker scored 9 points in the second quarter, including a three-pointer and a pair of runners that got the visitors within 33-29. But back-to-back triples from Singleton and Pappas quickly pushed the margin to double figures, 39-29. Rivers hit a triple, his tenth point of the night, helping increase the margin to 14 and eventually to 46-34 at halftime. Darussafaka scored the first 7 points of the second. Semih Erden made his presence felt inside, Wanamaker and Anderson contributed, and Clyburn’s fastbreak dunk cut the deficit to 48-46. Darussafaka allowed no field goals for almost six minutes to open the third quarter, but a jumper from James and a triple from Rivers on consecutive trips down the floor restored breathing room for the hosts at 56-48. Clyburn strung together 6 points, helping keep the visitors close, but with Bourousis fighting inside and Pappas hitting a triple, the hosts kept 64-60 lead going into fourth quarter. Bourousis committed his fourth personal foul at the very end of third quarter, but Demetris Nichols made a triple and a fade-away jumper to make it 69-60. However, Anderson nailed two triples, Wilbekin hit another and Clyburn’s jumper put the visitors in front, 76-77 with less than three minutes to go. 

But Bourousis dished to Calathes for a reverse layup and Singleton stole the ball on the perimeter and raced for a fastbreak dunk and an 80-77 edge with 90 seconds to go. Anderson split free throws, but Bourousis made a put-back with 11.6 seconds to go, making it 82-78 and essentially sealing the outcome.

Athina Onassis buys Irish horse for €12 million

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MHS Going Global, the Irish Sport Horse gelding which was ridden at this year’s Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro by Co Tipperary show jumper Greg Broderick, has been sold to Greek shipping heiress Athina Onassis for a figure believed to between €10 and €12 million.

The new owner is a daughter of the late Christina Onassis who died when the rider was just three years old. The 31-year-old is the sole surviving descendant of Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis who, in 1968, married Jackie Kennedy, widow of the American President, John F. Kennedy.

The sale of MHS Going Global, which was announced at lunchtime on Friday on The Irish Field website by Catriona Murphy, had been under negotiation for the past two weeks, but was only concluded on Thursday following a full veterinary examination.

While no sale price has been confirmed by Broderick or by the horse’s joint-owner, Canadian Lee Kruger, it is speculated the 10-year-old Quidam Junior bay has changed hands for between €10 and €12 million.

Onassis, who represented Greece at the 2013 European Championships in Denmark and at the following year’s World Equestrian Games in France, flew to Ireland two weeks ago to try the horse in the company of her advisers Jan Tops and the latter’s Australian-born wife Edwina Alexander Tops.

MHS Going Global, which was bred in Co Kilkenny by the late Ita Brennan out of the well-related Cavalier Royale mare Gowran Lady, was first produced on the Irish show jumping circuit by Francis Connors with Broderick taking over the ride in the summer of 2011.

The horse left Ireland on Friday with Broderick commenting on his Facebook pag: “Today is Juniors final day at Ballypatrick, it’s been an unbelievable journey for us right from novice classes in Ireland to making Dreams come through with Olympic Games and Nations cup wins most memorably our double clear in 2015 to help Ireland win the Aga Khan in front of our home crowd.

“He has given my family, friends, owners and the Irish horse world something to be very proud of and thank you to everyone who has been supportive of us along the way.

“He was part of the family here at Ballypatrick and like a best friend to me. He will be hugely missed but it was a logical decision to sell him in the height of his career.

“I’d like to wish his new owner Athena Onasis all the luck with him and a big thank you to Lee Kruger for the opportunity to ride this great horse.”

Meanwhile, on the competition front, Co Meath’s Elizabeth Power was presented with a new John Deere tractor following her win in Thursday night’s indoor cross-country competition at Stockholm.

As only three outside counties were invited to compete at the Swedish venue, the Co Meath dual purpose rider accepted an invitation to line up as a member of the New Zealand team which finished third behind Germany and the host nation and in front of Great Britain.

Power was mounted on the 15-year-old High Roller gelding Doonaveeragh O One on which she was home clear in 74.68, taking the individual top prize ahead of the German team members Freya Füllgraebe riding Oje Oje (74.75) and Ingrid Klimke on board Parmenides (74.77).