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Football is back and better than ever. All our South Yorkshire teams were back in action last week, delivering thrilling performances and intense matches.
Sheffield United were up against a tough Leeds side. A Friday night kick-off, live on TV, set the scene for what is always an intense Yorkshire derby. From the get-go, Leeds dominated all play in the game. Chances from Ramazani and Aaronson in the first half nearly put Leeds ahead, although neither converted. The second half started the same way, with the Blades on the back foot. Finally, in the 69th minute, Leeds defender Pascal Struijk placed the ball in the back of the net. The West Yorkshire side sealed the deal in the 90th minute when substitute Mateo Joseph put Leeds 2-0 up. Overall, a poor performance from the Blades, which can hopefully be rectified midweek.
Onto Saturday, where Wednesday faced Burnley at home. After a shaky start, the Owls managed to grow into the game, coming close to scoring multiple times. However, a mistake by Wednesday’s Yan Valery—failing to clear the ball—left an opening for Burnley forward Jaidon Anthony. The Clarets were a goal up at half-time. Five minutes into the second half, Burnley doubled their lead, making it 2-0. The Owls were defeated at Hillsborough.
Rotherham were also at home at the weekend, this time facing a strong Wrexham side looking to get three back-to-back promotions. There was only one goal separating the two sides at full time. Paul Mullin scored 16 seconds into his return to the starting line-up. A back operation in the summer meant his appearance against The Millers was only his second since the start of the season. Rotherham had a few chances throughout the game, but none good enough to bring the home side back into it. It finished 0-1 at the New York Stadium.
Credit: BBC
Barnsley were away at Blackpool, looking to improve after a defeat against Huddersfield a few weeks before. Barnsley started off strong, and by the 28th minute, took the lead thanks to Keillor-Dunn. The Tykes seemed to have a strong advantage going into the second half, but this was soon cut short as the Seasiders managed to pull a goal back, making it all level. The game looked to be heading towards a draw until a dramatic stoppage-time winner from Roberts saw Barnsley snatch all three points.
Finally, in League Two, Doncaster Rovers looked to push closer to the top of the table. They faced a struggling Swindon side. Doncaster looked certain to score in the first half, but it wasn’t to be. Soon into the second half, Doncaster scored via a header from Oluwu. Unfortunately for Rovers, Swindon striker Harry Smith slid in to convert a long cross in the 75th minute. It again looked as though Doncaster Rovers would only be going away with a point. This was until Joe Ironside’s stoppage-time penalty saw them beat Swindon and keep up their title charge in League Two.
Formula One was also back, this time at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas. It was a sprint weekend, meaning two races would be held across the course of two days as well as two qualifying sessions. Max Verstappen took pole position for the sprint race and quite easily converted that into a win on the Saturday. This fine run was stopped, however, by Lando Norris, who snatched pole for the Grand Prix on Sunday. It was in Lando's hands to get that perfect race start, which he often struggles with. It proved to be something he would struggle with yet again. By Turn 2, Lando had lost the race lead, but Verstappen wasn’t the one he conceded it to. With great shock, it was Charles Leclerc who made his way to first. Soon after, he created a comfortable gap to the rest of the pack. Carlos Sainz also capitalized on the Turn 1 incident, finishing P2. Though Lando crossed the line in third, his 5-second penalty from earlier in the race meant he conceded another position to Max Verstappen, dropping Norris to 4th and pushing Max up to 3rd.
Credit: BBC
In tennis, Rafael Nadal reflected on an ‘amazing rivalry’ between him and Novak Djokovic after losing their final game together as professionals. The pair shared a warm embrace at the end of their match at the Six Kings Slam exhibition event in Saudi Arabia. Nadal, aged 38, announced he will retire from tennis earlier this month, after what many see as one of the greatest tennis careers in the history of the sport. That’s it in this week’s wrap-up. See you again next time!
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