Welcome to the latest edition of Hugh Watches Sports. In this week’s post we will look back on football matches from the EFL Cup and the Women’s Super League, a big tennis tournament in Mexico, a key event on the DP World Tour, plus a clash from week two of the NFL. Let’s get into it.
MANCHESTER UNITED VS BRIGHTON AND HOVE ALBION (FOOTBALL)
Round three of the EFL Cup saw the English teams competing in Europe enter the competition. Two of those, Manchester United and Brighton and Hove Albion, faced off on Wednesday. After a disappointing derby loss at the weekend where United lost to Manchester City 1-0 despite playing the majority of the game with a player advantage, it was crucial for them to bounce back strongly. Furthermore, they suffered a shock defeat in their opening EFL Cup match last season so would be hoping to avoid a second successive immediate exit. In contrast, Brighton headed to Old Trafford in fine form following a 5-0 victory against Coventry City last weekend. They could also take confidence from knocking United out of the FA Cup last season so they know how to win a cup tie at Old Trafford. As the match kicked off, United made a fast start to race into a 2-0 lead inside the opening ten minutes. The first goal came in the eighth minute when Youri Tielemans passed the ball to Shea Lacey on the right hand side of the penalty area and the United youngster cut inside and fired a low shot past Brighton goalkeeper Jason Steele at his near post. It was a phenomenal moment for Lacey as he scored his first goal for the club and things quickly got even better for United two minutes later as they went 2-0 ahead. This time it was Mason Mount who got his name on the scoresheet when he converted the rebound after Steele had made a good save to deny Marcus Rashford. With a 2-0 lead at home, some would be forgiven for thinking that the cup tie was already as good as over, however Brighton had other ideas. Later in the half, the Seagulls created an excellent chance for Malick Yalcouye but his attempt from just inside the penalty area drifted wide of Karl Darlow’s far post. That was a signal of intent from the visitors and they then managed to get a goal back right at the end of the first half. It came when Jaouen Hadjam’s long ball into the penalty area was met by Charalampos Kostoulas who steered the ball past Darlow at the back post to halve Brighton’s deficit. That left United a goal ahead at half time but also needing to be wary of a potential Brighton comeback. After the interval, Brighton began the second half on the front foot as they went in search of an equaliser. In the sixty-fifth minute, some terrible defending from United allowed Brighton a great opportunity to score which was duly taken by Pascal Gross. A clearance from Diogo Dalot was intercepted by Luka Vuskovic who headed the ball forward to Gross in plenty of space on the edge of the penalty area and he calmly slotted his finish beyond Darlow to level the score. Five minutes later, Brighton completed an unlikely turnaround when Diego Gomez’s pass set away Kostoulas on the right wing and he carried the ball into the penalty area before cutting it back for Maxim De Cuyper and he poked the ball into the back of the net to give Brighton the lead. From 2-0 down, the visitors were now 3-2 ahead as they stunned Old Trafford. Moving into the final twenty minutes, the onus was on United to look for a third goal although Brighton had momentum and were looking comfortable defensively. The best chance United created came late on when Bruno Fernandes slipped the ball in behind Brighton’s defensive line to set Rashford one-on-one with goalkeeper Steele and the Brighton stopper made a superb save to keep their lead intact. That was as close as the home side got to scoring an equaliser as Brighton held on to clinch a 3-2 win. It was a second consecutive defeat for United at home a and saw them crash out of the EFL Cup in their first game for the second year running. In contrast, Brighton’s superb start to the season continued as they reached the fourth round of the EFL Cup with an impressive comeback at Old Trafford. At the conclusion of the match, the draw for the next round of the competition took place and we learnt that Brighton will return to Manchester to face City in round four.
WTA GUADALAJARA (TENNIS)
On the same day that Alexander Zverev was winning the final match of the US Open in New York, tennis was already kicking off elsewhere as the Guadalajara Open began in Mexico. Despite being the week after a grand slam, the WTA500 tournament had a strong line-up which was headlined by top ten player Marta Kostyuk and defending champion Iva Jovic. However as two of the top four seed’s, they both received a bye in round one. On the court in the opening round, two American wildcard’s recorded impressive victories. First, Taylor Townsend defeated Tatjana Maria 6-7 6-3 6-2 just seventy-two hours after winning the US Open women’s doubles title in New York. Then, fellow American Sloane Stephens opened her campaign in Guadalajara with a 6-4 7-6 triumph over Carole Monnet. Elsewhere in round one, fellow wildcard Bianca Andreescu was beaten in straight sets by sixth seed Cristina Bucsa. Moving into round two, top seed Kostyuk was handed a walkover when Townsend was forced to withdraw from the tournament due to injury. Meanwhile, second and third seed’s Jovic and Sara Bejlek kicked off their respective tournament’s with straight set wins. In contrast, fourth seed Diane Parry suffered an immediate exit as she went down 6-2 7-5 against Peyton Stearns. Elsewhere in round two, Stephens saw off fifth seed Janice Tjen 7-6 7-6 in two close sets. Although the most dramatic encounter of the second round came when Liudmila Samsonova beat Kayla Day 7-6 2-6 7-6. On Thursday in Mexico it was time for the quarter finals to be played. In her opening match of the tournament top seed Kostyuk lost out to Samsonova in an incredible battle which was won 4-6 6-2 7-5 by the eighth seed. That put Samsonova into the semi finals where she would face the winner of an all-American last eight encounter between Stearns and Stephens. After two tight sets, Stearns defeated her compatriot to progress into the last four. Meanwhile in the bottom half of the draw, Bucsa moved past Bejlek in straight sets, whilst Jovic continued her title defence with a 6-2 6-1 triumph against Magdalena Frech. As we reached the last four stage of the tournament, Stearns took on Samsonova. After a tight first set which was decided on a tie-break, Stearns ran away with the second to secure her place in the final with a 7-6 6-2 victory. Next on court Jovic aimed to return to the final in Guadalajara for a second successive year as she faced Bucsa. Similarly to the other semi final, Jovic won a close first set snd then cruised to victory in the second as she clinched a 6-4 6-1 win. That set up an all-American final as Stearns and Jovic battled for the trophy. Interestingly, it was the first meeting between the two players on the WTA Tour which only increased the intrigue in the lead-up to the final. As play got going, both players looked comfortable on serve with the opening eight games all going the way of the server. Then the first break of serve came in the ninth game when Jovic seized her opportunity to go 5-4 ahead. The defending champion then served out the opening set to take it 6-4 before going up an early break in the second set to take control of the final. Another break late on in the match helped Jovic clinch victory as she beat Stearns 6-4 6-2 to successfully defend her title. It was the perfect week for the young American as she won her second WTA title at the same location where she won her first twelve months prior. Elsewhere on the WTA Tour this week, Kaitlin Quevedo sealed her first tour-level title by triumphing at the WTA250 event in Sao Paulo.
MANCHESTER CITY WOMEN VS LIVERPOOL WOMEN (FOOTBALL)
Having started their title defence with back-to-back wins, Manchester City aimed to continue their perfect record on Friday when they hosted Liverpool. The Citizens opened their campaign with a 3-1 victory over Birmingham City and then backed that up by beating Aston Villa 4-1 last weekend. Meanwhile Liverpool have also made a positive start to the season with four points from their first two league games. Following a comfortable win over Charlton on the opening day, the Reds played out a 1-1 draw against Tottenham Hotspur in week two to remain unbeaten. That set them up nicely as they headed to play the champions knowing that they could go above City if they were able to pull off an upset. As the encounter got underway in the Manchester rain, City were on the front foot with Lauren Hemp the star of the early exchanges. In the fifth minute, Hemp won possession just inside Liverpool’s half and carried it all the way into the penalty area before unleashing a shot which was tipped over the crossbar by Liverpool goalkeeper Khiara Keating. Not long after, a superb pass down the line from Alex Greenwood found Carlotta Wamser on the left wing and she played a pass into the path of Hemp who took one touch to set herself and then buried the ball into the far bottom corner of the net with her second to score. That put the hosts 1-0 up as they made the ideal start to the encounter. Although six minutes later Liverpool found an equaliser to stun their hosts. It came when Greenwood was caught in possession by Beata Olsson and the ball broke kindly for Vivien Endemann who slid an excellent pass into Alice Bergstrom and she provided a neat finish to level the score. It was a great response from the visitors and things got even better for them nine minutes later when a cross from the right caused chaos in City’s penalty area and resulted in Endemann smashing the ball towards goal and although City goalkeeper Ayaka Yamashita got a hand to it, the ball ended up in the back of the net. It was a great finish from the Liverpool winger as the visitors completed a superb turnaround to lead 2-1. Inevitably there was a response from the home side and they almost made it 2-2 when Mary Fowler’s pass set away Khadija Shaw who rounded the goalkeeper but her shot from a tight angle hit the post. As we reached the concluding moments of the first half, City continued to pile pressure on Liverpool’s defence and their equaliser arrived in stoppage time with Shaw netting her fourth goal of the season. Once again, Hemp was heavily involved as her shot from inside the penalty area was parried by Keating and Shaw reacted quickly to tap in the rebound. That meant that at the end of a thrilling first half, it was 2-2 at the Joie Stadium. Moving into the second half, the majority of the match was played inside Liverpool’s half as City looked for a third goal which would put them in front. On sixty minutes, Keating made a spectacular save to deny Shaw’s near-post effort from Hemp’s low cross. Then, nine minutes later, an ambitious chip from outside the penalty area by Yui Hasegawa bounced off the crossbar as City got closer and closer to scoring again. The hosts’ search for a winning goal continued all the way until the ninetieth minute when Grace Clinton’s cross from the right was turned into her own net by Liverpool defender Grace Fisk. It was a horrible moment for the Liverpool captain as her attempted clearance flew past Keating at the near post and handed City a 3-2 advantage. With the match now in stoppage time, Liverpool pushed forward to try and equalise. However, that left them open defensively and Hemp exposed that in the ninety-fifth minute when she picked up the ball just inside her own half and sprinted up the field before calmly slotting the ball past Keating to seal a 4-2 victory for City. The score line was tough on Liverpool who matches their hosts in the first half and put up a valiant defensive effort in the second but ultimately the quality of City’s attack enabled them to clinch the three points. That continues the champions perfect start to the season as they sit at the top of the league after the opening three matches.
BMW PGA CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL ROUND (GOLF)
The race to Dubai on the DP World Tour intensified this week with the BMW PGA Championship at the Wentworth Club in Surrey. With just five more events left after this one in the regular season, it was a crucial tournament for players aiming to secure their qualification for the season-ending play-offs in November. Ahead of the tournament there was a star-studded Pro Am on Wednesday which featured multiple celebrities and champions from other sports including footballers Eden Hazard, John Terry and Gareth Bale. Then on Thursday the tournament commenced on Wentworth’s prestigious golf course. At the end of the opening three rounds played between Thursday and Saturday, we had two players tied for the lead as Filippo Celli and Manuel Elvira sat top of the leaderboard with a score of -13. Just behind them on a tight leaderboard came the trio of Johannes Veerman, Alejandro Del Rey and JJ Spaun who were all just one shot down on the leaders. Two shots behind the lead came five golfers, including Rory McIlroy and Adam Scott who would start the final round on -11. As Sunday’s play got going, Aaron Rai put together the stand-out round of the early starter’s as he hit seven birdies to drop his score for the tournament to -15 and take the clubhouse lead. Meanwhile, the pairing of McIlroy and Scott headed onto the course looking to close down the two-shot gap between themselves and the leading pair. Two birdies on the front nine saw McIlory do just that, although Scott remained on -11 at the halfway point of the round. Behind them on the course, Spaun bounced back from a bogey at the first hole with two birdies to join McIlroy on -13 after nine holes. However things weren’t going as smoothly for the pairing of Veerman and Del Rey with the Spaniard dropping two shots across his front nine, whilst Veerman slipped a shot down to -11. Last on the course were the leader’s Celli and Elvira. Three bogey’s on the front nine proved costly for Celli as he dropped a shot to fall behind McIlory and Spaun’s current score. In contrast, Elvira recovered superbly from a nervy bogey at the first hole to record birdies at the fourth and eighth to take the outright lead on -14 at the halfway point of the round. Moving onto the back nine, the duo of Scott and McIlroy were both on a charge with an array of birdies between them. A bogey at the eleventh hole was wiped out by a birdie at the twelfth for McIlory before he also went under par at the fourteenth and seventeenth to end his round -15 for the tournament. Meanwhile, Scott hit four birdies on a magnificent back nine to join McIlroy and Rai as joint clubhouse leader’s. Back on the course, birdies on three straight holes from the fourteenth to the sixteenth thrust Spaun to the top of the leaderboard. The American then ended his round with a birdie at the eighteenth to post a final score of -17, two shots ahead of McIlroy, Rai and Scott’s total. That set the target for the golfers remaining on the course to catch. Neither of Del Rey or Veerman were able to match that as their rounds fizzled out with both finishing the day as they started it on -12. That left just Celli and Elvira as the players who couldn’t prevent Spaun from getting his hands on the trophy. Two birdies on the back nine helped Celli get close but he had to settle for ending the weekend on -15 and joined the trio of McIlroy, Rai and Scott in joint second. Meanwhile, birdies at the tenth and twelfth holes, plus an eagle at the seventeenth put Elvira level with Spaun on -17 as he reached the eighteenth tee. It was set up to be a tense finish for the world number 294 as he went in search of his first title on the DP World Tour. However he got off to an unfortunate start to the hole by finding the bunker with his tee shot and that set the tone for the remainder of the hole. A double bogey at the eighteenth from Elvira confirmed the title for Spaun as the Spaniard fell at the final hurdle. That marked a first title at the Wentworth Club for Spaun as he ended the weekend on -17, two shots ahead of the quartet who ended on -15. A final round score of five under par saw world number twelve Spaun pick up his second DP World Tour title as he triumphed at the end of four days of thrilling golf at Wentworth.
MINNESOTA VIKINGS @ CHICAGO BEARS (AMERICAN FOOTBALL)
One of the headline match-up’s of week two in the NFL was a divisional battle between the Chicago Bears and the Minnesota Vikings. Both of these teams began their season’s with a win last Sunday. The Bears were the highest-scoring team in the entire NFL in week one as they out up fifty-nine points against the Carolina Panthers. Similarly, the Vikings were also in fine form offensively as they saw off the Green Bay Packers 39-22. However Minnesota did suffer a setback during that game when starting quarterback Kyler Murray picked up an injury. He was replaced by Carson Wentz and the experienced back-up continued to fill in for Murray this weekend in Chicago. As the clash begun in the rain at Soldier Field, there was a slow start from both offense’s, who were limited to just a field goal each in the first quarter. First, Will Reichard scored from thirty-five yards to out Minnesota ahead, before Cairo Santos’ fifty yard field goal levelled the score. In the second quarter, the defense’s remained in control with both teams struggling to reach the opposition’s red zone. Midway through the second quarter, the Vikings were able to post another three points courtesy of a second field goal from Reichard and that gave them a 6-3 lead as we reached half time. It seemed bizarre after the success both offense’s enjoyed last weekend how little they were able to create but credit must go to both team’s well-organised defense’s. After the interval, the Bears finally managed to get within ten yards of the end zone but a fumble saw them concede possession and ended any chance of a touchdown. That was as close as either side came to registering points in a scoreless third quarter. As we entered a crucial fourth quarter in a game where no touchdowns had yet been scored, the Bears trailed by three points. They looked to be heading for another underwhelming drive when they were still inside their own half on third down but running back D’Andre Swift was able to carry the ball deep into Vikings’ territory to retain possession. As they reached the red zone, what came next was a disastrous few minutes for the home side. First, star quarterback Caleb Williams pulled up with a hamstring injury as he attempted to evade the Vikings’ defense. That ended his game and back-up quarterback Tyson Bagent was required to enter the field. Then, when they opted to go for a field goal Santos’ attempt was blocked by Isaiah Rodgers to preserve the Vikings’ three-point lead. With just six minutes to go, Wentz headed onto the field to lead Minnesota’s latest drive. He was able to get far enough up the field that Reichard was handed the opportunity to kick a thirty-nine yard field goal between the uprights, which he duly did to put the visitors 9-3 ahead. At that point, the Bears got the ball back with just over a minute left on the clock and needing their back-up quarterback to lead the team to a touchdown in order to prevent suffering a defeat. With Bagent attempting deep and ambitious throw’s towards the end zone, Rodgers thought he had won the game when he caught the ball for an interception. However the officials ruled that he landed out-of-bounds and therefore the Bears kept possession. That was on a second down and the third quickly disappeared thanks to an incomplete pass. With just a second left on the clock it was now or never for the Bears. On fourth down, Bagent took too long to throw the ball and was sacked by Vikings linebacker Dallas Turner. It felt very appropriate that the game ended with a superb play from the Vikings defense who had been outstanding for all four quarter’s. They sealed a 9-3 victory to continue their winning start to the new season. In contrast, it had been a terrible day for the Bears as they were beaten at home and star man Williams suffered an injury whilst his offense uncharacteristically struggled to score. They will now look to show a strong response in their week three fixture against the Philadelphia Eagles next week. Meanwhile, the Vikings will hope to move to 3-0 when they face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in week three. Elsewhere in the second round of fixtures in the NFL, the Buffalo Bills played their first game at the new Highmark Stadium as they saw off the Detroit Lions 41-31. Another notable result came in the match-up between the Green Bay Packers and the New York Jets where the Packers sealed a 20-17 triumph in overtime. In Sunday’s late game, overtime was also required for the Kansas City Chiefs to to defeat the Indianapolis Colts 33-30 and move to 2-0 for the season.
