Latest - Wellington Phoenix coach Ufuk Talay is confident his side can still qualify for the A-League playoffs despite seeing their long-awaited homecoming end in a 4-0 defeat to Central Coast Mariners.
Photo: PHOTOSPORT
A crowd in excess of 18,000 turned up at Wellington Regional Stadium on Sunday to see Talay's side on home soil for the first time in 322 days after spending the entire season on the road in Australia due to COVID-19 travel restrictions in New Zealand.
"For me, the supporters are very important to us and the game itself, and it's nice that they still applauded the boys for the effort and energy that they've put in so far this season," Talay said.
"We missed them dearly. It was great to come back home and play a game, but disappointed with the outcome."
The defeat leaves Wellington fifth on 33 points in the 12-team standings, with the top six finishers advancing to the finals series in May.
Four points separate the teams from fourth to eighth and Wellington are due to take on struggling Western Sydney Wanderers in their next outing at Eden Park on Sunday.
"It's a loss that we didn't want, but at the end of the day we're still in a great position to move forward," said Talay.
"We'll have a good week's build-up leading into the game in Auckland against Western Sydney, which will give the players time to recover and the possibility for me to do some tactical sessions where we can work on a few things we need to improve."
-Reuters
Spieth returns from bad week to win
Jordan Spieth overcame "the worst feeling" of his career to triumph at RBC Heritage tournament in South Carolina, less than two weeks after missing the cut for the first time at Augusta National.
Photo: PHOTOSPORT
The 2015 Masters champion beat Patrick Cantlay with par on the first playoff hole, recovering from a tiny putt flub a day earlier at Hilton Head Island and leaving with his 13th PGA Tour title.
The three-times major winner said he rolled into the tournament with his frustration level at an all-time high after producing his worst showing of his career at the Masters earlier this month.
"I never missed a cut at the Masters before and very rarely had not had a chance to win on the weekend. So I hated it. It was the worst feeling. It was the worst feeling as a golfer that I can remember," said Spieth.
The win marked sweet redemption for Spieth, who bogeyed on the final hole Saturday after missing a putt officially measured at just 18 inches.
"Obviously very happy to be in this position," he told reporters. "What a great tournament to win."
-Reuters
Quadruple almost impossible
Liverpool are still in contention for four trophies this season after yesterday's FA Cup semi-final win over Manchester City but defender Virgil van Dijk said it is "almost impossible" to complete the quadruple.
Jurgen Klopp Photo: PHOTOSPORT
Liverpool have already won the League Cup and face Villarreal in the Champions League semi-finals later this month. They are second in the Premier League, a point behind Manchester City, with seven games left.
No English team have ever won all four trophies available in a single campaign and Van Dijk said Liverpool would take it one game at a time.
"Nobody did the quadruple and there is a reason for it - because it is almost impossible to do," the BBC quoted Van Dijk as saying.
"All this talk about quadruple or treble is from the outside world and could put extra pressure on us.
Liverpool will meet Chelsea in the FA Cup final.
-Reuters
Big win for Steel
The Southern Steel have beaten competition leaders the Mystics, 64-59, in the ANZ netball premiership in Invercargil.
Shannon Saunders Photo: Photosport
The win was extra special for Steel co-captain Shannon Saunders who was playing her 150th national league match for the Invercargil based franchise.
The Steel trailed by five goals at the end of the first quarter but clawed their way back to trail by just one, 30-29, at halftime.
They finished the strrong of the two sides with a strong last two quarters to eventually win by five.
Both teams now have four wins from six games but the Mystics remain top with bonus points.
-RNZ
Chelsea into two FA Cup finals
Chelsea will play Liverpool in English football's FA Cup.
Chelsea have advanced to the final with a 2-nil win Crystal Palace in the semi-final.
Chelsea fans Photo: Photosport
Chelsea are also through to the Women's FA Cup final after a 2-nil win over Arsenal and will now face Manchester City for the trophy.
Meanwhile Newcastle have scored a last gasp 2-1 win over Leicester City to take another vital step towards preserving their Premier League status.
The win moves Newcastle up to 14th place on 37 points, 12 above Burnley in 18th and looking to have finally put enough distance between themselves and the bottom sides to ensure top-flight survival.
Burnley drew 1-all with West Ham.
And Rangers will play Hearts in the final of the Scottish Cup final next month after coming from behind to beat Celtic 2-1 in extra time in and Old Firm derby.
-Reuters/BBC
Tsitsipas win first title of year
Greece's Stefanos Tsitsipas has won his second straight Monte Carlo Masters crown with a workmanlike 6-3 7-6 win over first-time ATP Tour finalist Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.
The tournament win is Tsitsipas' first of the year.
-Reuters
