csconstantine.com

{

Your account has been frozen. For your available options click the below button.

Options

To read this article in full you must have registered and have a Premium Content Subscription with the Edinburgh Evening News site.

Subscribe

To read this article in full you must be registered with the site.

Published Date: 03 February 2011 After 693 long, anxious minutes the Hibs support finally got what they'd been waiting for, a goal.The relief which greeted Derek Riordan's strike, the Easter Road side's first of 2011 was so intense you could almost reach out and touch it.

But even that was nothing compared to the roar which greeted a second goal from David Wotherspoon deep in

to added-on time, the youngster's stunning shot securing boss Colin Calderwood's first victory in 13 matches.

And few could blame the supporters for the scenes of unconfined joy which greeted the final blast of referee Mike Tumilty's whistle, almost three months of suffering had been put to an end, a run which had seen Hibs slip ominously towards the relegation zone with just two points from a possible 30, crash out of the Scottish Cup and go more than seven-and-a-half games without a solitary goal.

This victory won't win Hibs any prizes, the chances of those this season have disappeared, but it did, at least, bring some light at the end of what has been a long, dark and seemingly endless tunnel of despair.

While much work remains to be done, as Calderwood immediately acknowledged, the manager, players and fans alike can, for the time being, enjoy their moment of triumph, one which saw them leapfrog last night's opponents St Mirren and once more open up a five-point gap on basement outfit Hamilton ,although the Accies do still have two matches in hand.

Whether this results signals the start of better days to come or again prove to be no more than a false dawn, time alone will tell but there was certainly a steely determination among the players from first whistle to last, almost as if the predicament they were in and the consequences which might befall them had finally hit home.

Last Updated: 03 February 2011 11:14 AM Source: Edinburgh Evening News Location: Edinburgh Related Topics: Hibernian FC


Agences de presses

Labels: break, curse, finally, Mirren, Scotsman

{ After 693 long, anxious minutes the Hibs support finally got what they'd been waiting for, a goal.The relief which greeted Derek Riordan's strike, the Easter Road side's first of 2011 was so intense you could almost reach out and touch it.

But even that was nothing compared to the roar which greeted a second goal from David Wotherspoon deep in

to added-on time, the youngster's stunning shot securing boss Colin Calderwood's first victory in 13 matches.

And few could blame the supporters for the scenes of unconfined joy which greeted the final blast of referee Mike Tumilty's whistle, almost three months of suffering had been put to an end, a run which had seen Hibs slip ominously towards the relegation zone with just two points from a possible 30, crash out of the Scottish Cup and go more than seven-and-a-half games without a solitary goal.

This victory won't win Hibs any prizes, the chances of those this season have disappeared, but it did, at least, bring some light at the end of what has been a long, dark and seemingly endless tunnel of despair.

While much work remains to be done, as Calderwood immediately acknowledged, the manager, players and fans alike can, for the time being, enjoy their moment of triumph, one which saw them leapfrog last night's opponents St Mirren and once more open up a five-point gap on basement outfit Hamilton ,although the Accies do still have two matches in hand.

Whether this results signals the start of better days to come or again prove to be no more than a false dawn, time alone will tell but there was certainly a steely determination among the players from first whistle to last, almost as if the predicament they were in and the consequences which might befall them had finally hit home.

Agences de presses

Labels: break, curse, finally, Mirren, Scotsman

Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson believes England should follow the German model and implement a winter break.

The Scot believes a month's break in January is the way forward for the Premier League and sees nothing wrong with the season ending later in the summer.

Ferguson wrote in Saturday's match programme: "What is worth looking at is the German model of a month's break in January and then launching the second half of the season with their Cup competition.

"I know this would mean spilling over into the summer season but I see nothing wrong with that and playing league fixtures beyond the end of May.

"We are playing internationals in June and we could accommodate a league extension."

Manchester United controversially withdrew from the FA Cup in 2000 when European success saw them compete in the World Club Championship.

As a result of Wembley hosting the Champions League final, this year’s FA Cup final will be played two weeks before the end of the season, timing which Ferguson believes could be improved.

He added: "What I'd like to see preserved is the timing of the FA Cup final to fall on the last day of the season, with the big day at Wembley a natural climax."

Follow Goal.com on to get the latest soccer news directly. Check out Goal.com's

Agences de presses

Labels: believes, break, England, Ferguson, Follow, German, Goalcom, Implementing, Manchester, Model, Should, United, winter

{ Hendry has won the World Championship a record seven timesStephen Hendry opened his Welsh Open second round match against Stephen Maguire with a 147 break but lost 4-2.

It was Hendry's 10th maximum, putting him level with Ronnie O'Sullivan, but he then lost the next three frames.

World champion Neil Robertson lost 4-1 to Graeme Dott and Matthew Stevens beat Ryan Day 4-3 to reach the last eight.

Ali Carter ousted obdurate Peter Ebdon 4-1 and will play Ding Junhui, who came from 3-1 down to beat Mark Allen 4-3, with a break of 79 in the final frame.

Hendry, the seventh player to make a 147 this season, could not find his rhythm again after his magnificent start and his next highest break was 49.

Asked about his maximum he said: "Who cares? I lost my focus in the second frame, I had about 59 chances to win it but couldn't take them. After that I was garbage, total garbage. I had enough chances to win the whole tournament."

Maguire, who plays world number two Mark Williams in the quarter-finals, recorded a fluent 129 in frame three and closed out the match with a 55 after a mistake by Hendry on a straightforward red.

Dott avenged last year's World Championship final defeat against Robertson, with four consecutive frames after the Australian had taken the opener with a break of 51.

The Scot levelled after a scrappy second frame then reeled off three successive half century breaks.

Stevens won the opening frame against his fellow Welshman with a 58 but Day, who beat Ronnie O'Sullivan in round one, came from 3-1 down to force a decider which Stevens eventually claimed after a 66.

The match produced some high quality break building, with Day levelling at 1-1 after a well-crafted 89.

Stevens went ahead again with a 43 but Day compiled a 74 and then took the match to the final frame.

Day responded to his opponent's 66 with a 42 but after a tense tactical battle on the brown, world number 21 Williams, twice a beaten finalist at the World Championship, prevailed to book a quarter-final against defending champion John Higgins.

"I was feeling comfortable at 3-1 and missed a simple black. I should be out, I'm just pleased to be through," Stevens said.

"I love playing John, he's one of the all-time greats and I'm really looking forward to it. It's probably the first time I've been in the quarter-finals of the Welsh for about 20 years!"

World number eight Carter raced into a 3-0 against Ebdon, the world number 12, and closed out the match with a break of 74.

Williams whitewashed Jamie Cope 4-0 but said: "It looked easy on paper, but Jamie could have won a couple of them. It's flattering - it wasn't a 4-0 match."

Agences de presses

Labels: beaten, break, despite, Hendry, Sport, Stephen, Welsh