1. Home
  2. Manchester United's confidence returning, says Van Gaal after win at Derby

Manchester United's confidence returning, says Van Gaal after win at Derby

January 30, 2016

Derby, Jan 30: Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal lived to fight another day on Friday and said he would celebrate a confidence-boosting FA Cup win at Derby County with a bottle of wine provided by executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward.

Manchester

All eyes were on experienced Dutchman Van Gaal ahead of the fourth-round clash at Championship (second-tier) side Derby after mounting speculation that he faced the sack if they lost.

Clinical finishes from Wayne Rooney, Daley Blind and Juan Mata and some electrifying wing play from Anthony Martial lifted the gloom, however, and a well-deserved 3-1 win kept alive United's hopes of a first Cup triumph since 2004.

"I will go back home and wine will be ready. An expensive wine. It is from Ed Woodward," former Barcelona and Bayern Munich coach Van Gaal, who on Thursday accused the media of "sacking" him three times already this season, told reporters. "I liked the performance in the first half, it had a lot of confidence and that is back which is very important. "The second half was even better, we created a lot of chances and we scored goals. But also we created more chances to score more goals. I am a very happy coach."

Van Gaal's side have managed only 12 Premier League goals at home this season and fans have become increasingly disgruntled by the style of football being produced.

A turgid 1-0 home defeat by Southampton last weekend left United 10 points adrift of leaders Leicester City and five behind fourth-placed Tottenham Hotspur, who occupy the last spot that qualifies for the Champions League.

With former Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho favourite to replace Van Gaal, should the axe fall, the pressure has begun to tell on the 64-year-old who said before kickoff on Friday that it had been hard to enjoy his job in recent weeks. What was clear on Friday, though, was that the players were still giving 100 percent for the cause.

Left-winger Martial was a threat all night, creating numerous chances, while Rooney's opening goal was a cracker. "I think in the first 20 minutes (Martial) was very bad. But after that he was fantastic," Van Gaal said.

"I am very happy that he is a Manchester United player because I think he shall be a great player for Manchester United for a long time." Van Gaal also praised the 5,000 United fans who cheered the team on, albeit with his tongue firmly in his cheek.

Comments

Add new comment

About text formats
  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
Agencies
June 2,2020

New Delhi, Jun 2: Expressing solidarity with the 'Black Lives Matter' campaign, star West Indies batsman Chris Gayle has alleged that he faced racist remarks during his career and cricket is not free of the menace.

Gayle did not elaborate when he faced racial remarks but hinted it might have been during his stints at global T20 leagues.

"I have travelled the globe and experienced racial remarks towards me because I am black, believe me, the list goes on," he posted on instagram on Monday night.

"Racism is not only in football, it's in cricket too. Even within teams as a black man, I get the end of the stick. Black and powerful. Black and proud," he said.

The big-hitting batsman's comments came in the backdrop of African-American George Floyd's death in the USA after a white police officer, Derek Chauvin, pressed his knee on the handcuffed man's neck as he gasped for breath.

The incident has sparked violent protests across the USA.

"Black lives matter just like any other life. Black people matter, p***k all racist people, stop taking black people for fools, even our own black people wise the p***k up and stop bringing down your own!," Gayle wrote.

Racism in cricket was drew attention most recently last year when England pacer Jofra Archer was abused by a spectator in New Zealand.

New Zealand's top players and the cricket board had offered apologies for the incident to the Englishman.

Also on Monday night, the England cricket team's official twitter handle posted a message denouncing racism.

"We stand for diversity, We stand against racism," the message read.

Comments

Add new comment

About text formats
  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
June 20,2020

Dhaka, Jun 20: Former Bangladesh skipper Mashrafe Mortaza on Saturday tested positive for coronavirus.

The skipper had gone for a coronavirus Test last week, and now his reports have come back as positive, ESPNCricinfo reported.

As per a report in ESPNCricinfo, it is not known how Mortaza contracted the virus.

Mashrafe, also a member of the parliament from Narail 2 constituency, had stepped down as the ODI captain of the country in March this year.

Covid-19 cases have crossed 1,00,000 mark in Bangladesh and the government is now planning area-wise lockdown.

Bangladesh was slated to face Sri Lanka in July in a three-Test series and the side would have later hosted New Zealand in August, but both series look unlikely now.

The Asia Cup, scheduled for September, is also uncertain due to the coronavirus.

Comments

Add new comment

About text formats
  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
Agencies
August 1,2020

Bengaluru, Aug 1: Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Chennai Super Kings (CSK) are aiming to set up their preparatory camp for the 13th edition of the tournament from early August.

This year's IPL was slated to commence from March 29 but the tournament was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Recently, the IPL Governing Council chairman Brijesh Patel had confirmed that the 13th edition of the mega event will commence on September 19 in the UAE.

As per a report in ESPNcricinfo, CSK players have been asked to report to Chennai first, following which they will leave for Dubai via a charter flight only after approval from the Indian government.

The IPL Governing Council will meet on August 2 to finalise the schedule and other key arrangements for the tournament. Also, the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) around securing eight teams for 51 days across three venues will be formally established in that meeting.

CSK, who has the oldest squad in the IPL, are looking for a month's preparation before ahead of the tournament.

Before the coronavirus pandemic, the side was the first team to start their training camp in March. Senior players like Suresh Raina and Ambati Rayudu had begun training their training in December 2019.

Comments

Add new comment

About text formats
  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.