I've been close before but Northern Ireland debut is my major goal: Linfield striker
The Linfield Women striker came agonisingly close to selection for the tournament, having been part of the full-time training squad in preparation for the adventure in England.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Times
18 minutes ago
- Times
Maria Sakkari tells beaten rival ‘nobody likes you' in post-match spat
Tempers flared at the Bad Homburg Open as Maria Sakkari defeated Yulia Putintseva before promptly telling her rival at the net: 'Nobody likes you.' The Greek world No86, a former French Open and US Open semi-finalist, claimed a straight sets 7-5, 7-6 win in the third round in an ill-tempered affair in Germany that spilled over at the shake of hands at the net. After a brief exchange, Sakkari, 29, appeared to take offence at the lack of eye contact from Putintseva and began to berate the 30-year-old from Kazakhstan. She responded with a sarcastic bow to her victor before they shook hands with the umpire. Please enable cookies and other technologies to view this content. You can update your cookies preferences any time using privacy manager. Loud music over the speaker system made some of the subsequent exchange inaudible but Sakkari could be heard saying: 'Just talk to me like a human being.' Putintseva then appeared to say: 'Go f*** yourself, just leave me alone.' Sakkari then told Putintseva: 'Nobody likes you.' When asked after the match about the exchange, Sakkari said: 'I don't think she's gonna invite me for dinner for the rest of our lives, but I don't care to be honest. I have very good friends.' It is not the first time either player has been involved in on-court controversy. Putintseva, the world No27, went viral last year for a bizarre tantrum at a ballgirl at the US Open while Sakkari at this same Bad Homburg tournament last year accused a German umpire of being biased towards her opponent Jule Niemeier. Sakkari, who was once ranked as high as No3 in the world, moves into the round of 16 and will now meet the winner of Monday's match between Ekaterina Alexandrova and Belinda Bencic in one of the final Wimbledon warm-up events. In Nottingham, McCartney Kessler claimed her first grass-court WTA title with a 6-4, 7-5 win over Dayana Yastremska. Kessler, the 25-year-old world No42 from the United States, came out on top in a rain-affected final against the Ukrainian, who said after her semi-final win on Saturday that she may be allergic to grass. 'I really love playing on grass, even though I think I have a bit of an allergy to it,' she said after defeating Magda Linette.
Rhyl Journal
18 minutes ago
- Rhyl Journal
Stand-in captain James Anderson sees Lancashire frustrated by Kent and weather
England's all-time leading wicket-taker Anderson has been handed the captaincy for Lancashire's next two games, with Marcus Harris having returned to Australia for the birth of his second child. Hopes of making early inroads at Stanley Park, though, were scuppered as Kent – put into bat – pushed on to 213 for three through 57.4 overs before play, having already seen a delayed restart to the afternoon session, was eventually called off for the day at 5.30pm. Captain James Anderson. With red ball in hand. Tap below to watch — Rothesay County Championship (@CountyChamp) June 22, 2025 Kent opener Ben Compton was unbeaten on 86, with 10 boundaries, while Zimbabwe batter Tawanda Muyeye had earlier made 63 off 95 balls. George Balderson finished the day with two wickets, while Anderson went for 36 runs off his nine overs which included four maidens. All eyes at Chester-le-Street were on the return of Jofra Archer to first-class action for Sussex in their Division One match against Durham. England bowler Archer – who last played in a red-ball match for Sussex more than four years ago following a litany of injuries – made a swift late cameo with the bat, chalking up 31 off 34 balls as the visitors reached 322 for nine on the back of a fine unbeaten 117 from James Coles. Durham bowler Bas de Leede took four for 83 from his 21 overs. It was an emotional day at Bristol for Gloucestershire, where tributes were paid to David 'Syd' Lawrence, who has died at the age of 61 after being diagnosed with motor neurone disease last year. Lawrence, the first British-born black cricketer to play for England, took 625 wickets in 280 matches during a 16-year career at Gloucestershire. A minute's silence was held before the start of the Division Two match against Derbyshire, with players wearing black armbands. Before the start of play, Gloucestershire players and staff, alongside @DerbyshireCCC , held a minute of silence in memory of David 'Syd' Lawrence MBE, Gloucestershire's President. — Gloucestershire Cricket 🏆 (@Gloscricket) June 22, 2025 Derbyshire took control after Gloucestershire were bowled out for 187, only captain Cameron Bancroft showing some resistance with a half-century, as Jack Morley took six for 55. The visitors ended the day at 116 for two, with Harry Came unbeaten on 29. Elsewhere in Division One, leaders Nottinghamshire reached 298 for six against Yorkshire at Trent Bridge. Opener Ben Slater fell just short of a century on 96, while Ishan Kishan was 44 not out at stumps on his Nottinghamshire debut. Champions Surrey took control against Worcestershire at New Road. Worcestershire, who sit bottom of the table, won the toss and went in to bat, but were dismissed for 209, Matthew Waite making 68, as Matt Fisher and Jordan Clark both took three wickets. That concludes a strong opening day for Surrey at New Road. 💪 A late flurry of Ryan Patel boundaries means we reach 47/0 in response to Worcestershire's 209. 🤎 | #SurreyCricket — Surrey Cricket (@surreycricket) June 22, 2025 At stumps, unbeaten Surrey had reached 47 without loss from 15 overs. An unbeaten century from Charlie Allison, 101 not out, and a resolute 71 from Matt Critchley helped Essex make 292 for eight against Hampshire at Chelmsford, where Kyle Abbott took three wickets. Somerset made a strong start against Warwickshire at Edgbaston, finishing the opening day 327 for three. Tom Kohler-Cadmore (104) made a century, sharing a first-wicket stand of 186 with fellow opener Josh Davey (67) – only to then swiftly head back to the pavilion a couple of overs later. Scored his first red-ball hundred against the division table-toppers! 👏 How impressed are we with young Asa Tribe 🙌#LEIvGLAM#OhGlammyGlammy — Glamorgan Cricket 🏆 (@GlamCricket) June 22, 2025 In Division Two, Glamorgan ended at 305 for five against leaders Leicestershire at the County Ground. Asa Tribe, 21, scored his maiden first-class century with 107, hitting 14 boundaries and one six. Middlesex piled on the runs at Northamptonshire. An unbeaten 106 from Joe Cracknell and half-centuries from Leus du Plooy (66) and Luke Hollman (51) saw the visitors make 397 for eight. Liam Guthrie picked up a six-wicket haul for 87 runs off his 19-over spell.
Glasgow Times
18 minutes ago
- Glasgow Times
Carlos Alcaraz had ‘no expectations' ahead of tennis grass season
The Spanish top seed regained his crown as the King of Queen's Club and replicated his debut triumph of two years ago with a 7-5 6-7 (5) 6-2 victory. Alcaraz lifted the trophy just a fortnight after his epic five-set victory over Jannik Sinner in the final of the French Open. The 22-year-old made the tight turnaround from clay to grass look simple, even though he took time out for a holiday in Ibiza before heading to London. 'It's really complicated, the switch from clay to grass in just few days, because that's the time I had before the tournament began,' he said. 'Just two days of practising and then I had to compete here. So I came here with no expectations at all. 'I just came here with a goal to play two, three matches, try to feel great on grass moving, and, you know, give myself the feedback of what I have to improve, what I have to do better. 'So what I'm more proud about this week is th e way that I have been improving every day. You know, since the first day until today, I think I'm a different player on grass. I just got used to it really quick.' Jiri Lehecka was the first Czech finalist in 35 years (Adam Davy/PA) It was an 18th-straight match win for Alcaraz – in his fifth consecutive final – following his title successes in Rome and Roland Garros. World number 30 Lehecka had knocked out home hope Jack Draper on Saturday to become the first Czech finalist since Ivan Lendl won the title in 1990. The 23-year-old played his part in a high-quality final with some huge serves and powerful groundstrokes, forcing the match to a decider via a tie-break. But Alcaraz did not face a single break point and slammed down 18 aces on his way to a 21st career title, proving he will be the man to beat at SW19 again with a stylish win in two hours and eight minutes. Alcaraz celebrated with the ballkids (Adam Davy/PA) There will be no trip to the party island to celebrate this one, though. 'I wish,' he smiled. 'I'm a player who needs days off, days to enjoy, days for myself to spend with my friends, with my family, just to turn off my mind. I need that, and the good thing is that I know that. 'The days in Ibiza helped me a lot, just to feel like I'm not a tennis player, just to enjoy life a little bit with my friends, have fun, enjoy those days, and then come back to the court with more energy, I mean, be more hungry to play again. 'So that was really helpful for me. I'm not going to say that I won the tournament because of Ibiza, but, after this tournament, I can't go back home. I'm going to stay here in London, hopefully enjoy London a little bit. 'I'm going to have my days off to rest up, to enjoy, and then be back and preparing Wimbledon the best way possible.'
