Andy Roddick saw the punch-line and its havoc-forming possibilities coming long before the person with the microphone had formed the question himself. On June 12, England will play the United States in the opening game of Group C in the World Cup finals and Roddick, well, he did not want to be lured into saying something he may later regret. Andy Murray has been there and it is not a nice place.
“I’ve got the British crowd on my side right now,” Roddick said, a reference to the reception he was given at the end of last year’s Wimbledon final and its tumultuous concluding set. “I’ve built up a lot of goodwill over the last couple of years and I don’t want to ruin that. I’m going to enjoy my sudden popularity in London and leave it at that.”
The American knows he will never quite form the affinity with the French that has become part-and-parcel of his relationships with those in Britain who admire him both for his sporting prowess and the fact that he has treated all of the deep frustration at losing three Wimbledon finals to Roger Federer with such open-hearted equanimity.
Once more, his excursion to Paris lasted but for a brief few days. At the first changeover yesterday he complained that the backstop tarpaulins were so wet that any ball that landed in them was bound to grow heavier - “I’ve complained about this for the last ten years,” he muttered. At the next, he plucked two polythene-wrapped rackets from his bag and threw them across the dirt suggesting that their string tensions were all wrong.
Thus, when the world No.8 and No.6 seed was defeated in straight sets, the levels of surprise were not that high. That he lost to Teimuraz Gabashvili, a qualifier from Georgia, though, was a little less credible.
Gabashvili had never been beyond the second round of a grand slam tournament before – now he is into the fourth round of the men’s championship, the last of the qualifiers whose 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 victory was the best of his career and maintained his record of not dropping a set in the championships to date.
Roddick could point to the fact that he had not had one match on clay before landing in Paris as reason for his sub-standard performance. After his victory in the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami, he chose to celebrate his first wedding anniversary rather than playing in either Monte Carlo or Rome (Hawaii was not a bad substitute, especially as his wife is one of the world’s most photographed swim-suit models). Roddick did arrive in Madrid, only to fall victim to food poisoning.
It would be unfair to describe him as a fish out of water on clay, for he has only swum in the shallows of this event. For him, the French Open is a means of getting a few miles on the clock, fine tune his game, work himself into form and prepare to strike on the grass where his form and fortunes in the past few summers has been prodigious.
Larry Stefanki, his coach, has described Court Suzanne Lenglen as a sandpit and he is not far wrong. “It’s the slowest one here,” Roddick said. “It’s a fun court as far as the people viewing but the way it plays just doesn’t help me out much. That’s all. That’s fine. It’s just my personal preference is all. I have to deal with it and play through it.”
Gabashvili will meet Jurgen Melzer of Austria in the last 16, not a match that many would have envisioned when the draw was made. Gabashvili was still involved in the qualifying competition then he eschewed the suggestion that it couldn’t get any better than beating a top ten player. “My best match was the second round of qualifying against Thierry Ascione (of France). It was unbelievable, I won 6-2, 6-0, I made 31 winners and only seven errors, so it was a crazy match. Today was very good – but not the best.”
Neither was Novak Djokovic purring but the world No.3, still clearly suffering from the allergies that seem to affect him most severely on the clay, secured a place in the fourth round when he defeated Romania’s Victor Hanescu 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 in two hours and 38 minutes of tennis played in intermittent drizzle.
Source:The Times
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Main Aim primed to hit target
Sir Michael Stoute-trained five-year-old has yet to win since landing this Haydock prize last year but has done little wrong.
Main Aim developed into a top-class performer for Sir Michael Stoute last season and is strongly fancied to stage a repeat success in the Timeform Jury Stakes (3.30) at Haydock Park today.
He failed to win another race after landing this contest in emphatic fashion 12 months ago, but showed improved form nonetheless, notably when chasing home Fleeting Spirit in the group one July Cup at Newmarket.
Main Aim showed that he retains all of his ability when a close third in group two company on his reappearance at York, staying on strongly but just finding six furlongs on that sharp track too much of a test of speed. This return to farther looks sure to suit, while it will not be a problem for this versatile performer if the forecast rain materialises.
Lord Shanakill travelled strongly for a long way before fading into third behind Paco Boy in the Lockinge Stakes at Newbury and has good form claims, but he has run his best races on a fast surface and the main threat may come from Mia’s Boy, who can reverse recent course-and-distance form with Lovelace if the ground eases.
Becqu Adoree, a French import, can make a winning debut in Britain in the EBF Joan Westbrook Pinnacle Stakes (3.00). Successful in four of her eight starts in her native country, she ran a cracker when beaten 2½ lengths into sixth in the group one Prix Vermeille at Longchamp in October. A repeat of that form would make her hard to beat.
Inxile can bounce back to his best to land the sports360.co.uk Achilles Stakes (2.00). He showed good speed to beat Prime Defender at Doncaster in March before disappointing when sixth behind the same rival at York. This drop back to the minimum trip should suit and he will be hard to pass if allowed to dominate early on.
David Nicholls, his trainer, will have high hopes of a quick double through Mister Manannan in the J W Lees Sandy Lane Stakes (2.30). However, his best form has come over five furlongs and at this longer trip Layla’s Hero, a former stablemate, can come out on top. The latter won five times for Nicholls last season and appeared not to handle the all-weather surface when below par on his reappearance. Subsequently switched to David Simcock, the up-and-coming Newmarket trainer, Layla’s Hero can get off the mark for the year.
The best bet of the day is Raincoat in the Sports 360 Sports Advertising Specialists Handicap (4.45). He has shaped better than the result suggests on both starts this season, staying on strongly to take fifth in listed company at Nottingham on his reappearance and then never able to land a blow having been held up last in the Chester Cup. He made good progress in the latter race before finding his path blocked on the home turn and was far from disgraced in a race where those up with the early pace dominated throughout. Classy in his younger days, he retains enough ability to take advantage of a slipping handicap mark.
At Newmarket, the in-form Jack My Boy can take the coral.co.uk Sprint (3.20). He has been much sharper since fitted with blinkers on his past two starts and beat Bagamoyo with something in reserve in a similar race over course and distance last time. He rates a fair bet at 12-1 with William Hill.
Source:The Times
Main Aim developed into a top-class performer for Sir Michael Stoute last season and is strongly fancied to stage a repeat success in the Timeform Jury Stakes (3.30) at Haydock Park today.
He failed to win another race after landing this contest in emphatic fashion 12 months ago, but showed improved form nonetheless, notably when chasing home Fleeting Spirit in the group one July Cup at Newmarket.
Main Aim showed that he retains all of his ability when a close third in group two company on his reappearance at York, staying on strongly but just finding six furlongs on that sharp track too much of a test of speed. This return to farther looks sure to suit, while it will not be a problem for this versatile performer if the forecast rain materialises.
Lord Shanakill travelled strongly for a long way before fading into third behind Paco Boy in the Lockinge Stakes at Newbury and has good form claims, but he has run his best races on a fast surface and the main threat may come from Mia’s Boy, who can reverse recent course-and-distance form with Lovelace if the ground eases.
Becqu Adoree, a French import, can make a winning debut in Britain in the EBF Joan Westbrook Pinnacle Stakes (3.00). Successful in four of her eight starts in her native country, she ran a cracker when beaten 2½ lengths into sixth in the group one Prix Vermeille at Longchamp in October. A repeat of that form would make her hard to beat.
Inxile can bounce back to his best to land the sports360.co.uk Achilles Stakes (2.00). He showed good speed to beat Prime Defender at Doncaster in March before disappointing when sixth behind the same rival at York. This drop back to the minimum trip should suit and he will be hard to pass if allowed to dominate early on.
David Nicholls, his trainer, will have high hopes of a quick double through Mister Manannan in the J W Lees Sandy Lane Stakes (2.30). However, his best form has come over five furlongs and at this longer trip Layla’s Hero, a former stablemate, can come out on top. The latter won five times for Nicholls last season and appeared not to handle the all-weather surface when below par on his reappearance. Subsequently switched to David Simcock, the up-and-coming Newmarket trainer, Layla’s Hero can get off the mark for the year.
The best bet of the day is Raincoat in the Sports 360 Sports Advertising Specialists Handicap (4.45). He has shaped better than the result suggests on both starts this season, staying on strongly to take fifth in listed company at Nottingham on his reappearance and then never able to land a blow having been held up last in the Chester Cup. He made good progress in the latter race before finding his path blocked on the home turn and was far from disgraced in a race where those up with the early pace dominated throughout. Classy in his younger days, he retains enough ability to take advantage of a slipping handicap mark.
At Newmarket, the in-form Jack My Boy can take the coral.co.uk Sprint (3.20). He has been much sharper since fitted with blinkers on his past two starts and beat Bagamoyo with something in reserve in a similar race over course and distance last time. He rates a fair bet at 12-1 with William Hill.
Source:The Times
Colin Montgomerie pins faith in Sergio García to get back on course for Ryder Cup
Colin Montgomerie has moved to assure Sergio García that despite his poor form, he expects the Spaniard to be a part of his Ryder Cup team when Europe take on the United States at Celtic Manor, Newport, in October.
A dispirited García, who has fallen from No 2 in the world 18 months ago to No 32, said last week that he was playing so poorly that if he were the captain, he would not pick himself.
Montgomerie, speaking yesterday at Gleneagles — which will host the Johnnie Walker Championship in August, the final event in which players can qualify automatically for the 12-man team — said he was surprised to hear García’s words, but was unconcerned for a such a top player.
“Any team without Sergio is a weaker one and, conversely, any team with him in it is a stronger one,” Montgomerie said of a player who has often been a thorn in the side of the Americans and who, by common consent, has brought the locker room alive.
Under Nick Faldo’s captaincy at Valhalla, Kentucky, in 2008, García was a shadow of his former self. He claimed to have been unwell in the immediate build-up, but might have responded to better captaincy. Most surprising was the way in which he was taken apart in the opening singles match by Anthony Kim, who outswaggered Europe’s own king of swagger.
Montgomerie used to raise his own game to exalted levels in the Ryder Cup. But it was clever captaincy from such as Sam Torrance, Bernhard Langer and Ian Woosnam that drew the best out of him. Each told him they were relying on him to lead the team to victory and he revelled in the role. He seems ready to use the same technique to bring on García.
“I feel that Sergio’s form will turn around,” he said. “There are three major championships to go before selection and I am not concerned about his lack of form at this stage — although I am glad that he is.
“You can see his passion for the event. I have not spoken to him yet, but I shall be going over to the US Open [at Pebble Beach, California, in three weeks’ time] and I shall see him then.”
Montgomerie will have three captain’s picks and will announce them after the Johnnie Walker Championship. He said he hoped that all players who were in with a chance of qualifying automatically for the team would play in the event. “I expect potential team members to be here,” he said. “It would not be a black mark against them, but it is in their interest to come. There is always the risk that players at six, seven or eight in the standings could get knocked out.”
Asked if he would leave his three selections until the last moment, Montgomerie gave the impression that he would know whom he would be choosing, but added that he would leave a couple of picks until the end of the final round at Gleneagles.
“It’s not right to pick anyone until qualifying is finished,” he said. An oblique reference, perhaps, to the fact that Faldo chose Ian Poulter in 2008 even though the Englishman decided not to play at Gleneagles for the final event in which he could have qualified automatically. Many asked whether Poulter had been given the nod by Faldo and felt, therefore, that he did not need to travel to Scotland from his home in Florida. In the event, he was Europe’s most successful player and fully justified his selection.
On the American side, some are wondering whether Tiger Woods will play. His form is so scratchy that he could, like García, conceivably require a captain’s pick. Montgomerie, for one, wants him to play. “I do hope that he is in the team for the sake of the Ryder Cup,” he said. “Any win — be it a tournament or the Ryder Cup — is bigger and better when he has been playing.”
And what of Montgomerie when it is all over? “I shall return to the back benches and try to get into shape for the 2012 Ryder Cup,” he said in all seriousness. “No one has ever played in the Ryder Cup after captaining the side. I would like to do it. It’s just a matter of focusing on my game.”
Source:The times
A dispirited García, who has fallen from No 2 in the world 18 months ago to No 32, said last week that he was playing so poorly that if he were the captain, he would not pick himself.
Montgomerie, speaking yesterday at Gleneagles — which will host the Johnnie Walker Championship in August, the final event in which players can qualify automatically for the 12-man team — said he was surprised to hear García’s words, but was unconcerned for a such a top player.
“Any team without Sergio is a weaker one and, conversely, any team with him in it is a stronger one,” Montgomerie said of a player who has often been a thorn in the side of the Americans and who, by common consent, has brought the locker room alive.
Under Nick Faldo’s captaincy at Valhalla, Kentucky, in 2008, García was a shadow of his former self. He claimed to have been unwell in the immediate build-up, but might have responded to better captaincy. Most surprising was the way in which he was taken apart in the opening singles match by Anthony Kim, who outswaggered Europe’s own king of swagger.
Montgomerie used to raise his own game to exalted levels in the Ryder Cup. But it was clever captaincy from such as Sam Torrance, Bernhard Langer and Ian Woosnam that drew the best out of him. Each told him they were relying on him to lead the team to victory and he revelled in the role. He seems ready to use the same technique to bring on García.
“I feel that Sergio’s form will turn around,” he said. “There are three major championships to go before selection and I am not concerned about his lack of form at this stage — although I am glad that he is.
“You can see his passion for the event. I have not spoken to him yet, but I shall be going over to the US Open [at Pebble Beach, California, in three weeks’ time] and I shall see him then.”
Montgomerie will have three captain’s picks and will announce them after the Johnnie Walker Championship. He said he hoped that all players who were in with a chance of qualifying automatically for the team would play in the event. “I expect potential team members to be here,” he said. “It would not be a black mark against them, but it is in their interest to come. There is always the risk that players at six, seven or eight in the standings could get knocked out.”
Asked if he would leave his three selections until the last moment, Montgomerie gave the impression that he would know whom he would be choosing, but added that he would leave a couple of picks until the end of the final round at Gleneagles.
“It’s not right to pick anyone until qualifying is finished,” he said. An oblique reference, perhaps, to the fact that Faldo chose Ian Poulter in 2008 even though the Englishman decided not to play at Gleneagles for the final event in which he could have qualified automatically. Many asked whether Poulter had been given the nod by Faldo and felt, therefore, that he did not need to travel to Scotland from his home in Florida. In the event, he was Europe’s most successful player and fully justified his selection.
On the American side, some are wondering whether Tiger Woods will play. His form is so scratchy that he could, like García, conceivably require a captain’s pick. Montgomerie, for one, wants him to play. “I do hope that he is in the team for the sake of the Ryder Cup,” he said. “Any win — be it a tournament or the Ryder Cup — is bigger and better when he has been playing.”
And what of Montgomerie when it is all over? “I shall return to the back benches and try to get into shape for the 2012 Ryder Cup,” he said in all seriousness. “No one has ever played in the Ryder Cup after captaining the side. I would like to do it. It’s just a matter of focusing on my game.”
Source:The times
Lewis Hamilton acclaims McLaren progress
Two cars in the front four on the Istanbul grid represents a serious improvement for the British motor-racing team
It was more in hope than expectation that McLaren claimed to be getting closer to Red Bull this weekend, but two cars in the top four - including Lewis Hamilton on the front row - represented a serious step forward.
While Mark Webber achieved the seventh successive pole position for Red Bull this season, Hamilton made the front row for the first time, recording a time of 1:26.433, 0.327sec ahead of Sebastian Vettel in the other Red Bull.
“I was very, very happy with that lap I couldn’t have asked for anything more,” Hamilton said. “These guys (Red Bull) have been untouchable in terms of pure pace, but this puts us in a strong position.”
McLaren’s improvements included a new rear wing, which had been brought forward after being expected to be ready for the Candian Grand Prix in a fortnight.
Jenson Button took fourth position, his final flying lap scuppered when he was forced to slow after Michael Schumacher crashed. But he fears the set-up of the car may cause problems on the bumpy track with a full load of fuel.
“Being the last car is sometimes a good thing but Michael went off in front me, I saw the yellow flag and decided to come in,” said Button, who is in fourth place in the driver standings. We are a lot closer to Red Bull than I expected. I was hitting the ground a lot through turn eight and I think we’ve run the car too low. With a lot of fuel on board for tomorrow, it will be tough on turn eight.”
It was more in hope than expectation that McLaren claimed to be getting closer to Red Bull this weekend, but two cars in the top four - including Lewis Hamilton on the front row - represented a serious step forward.
While Mark Webber achieved the seventh successive pole position for Red Bull this season, Hamilton made the front row for the first time, recording a time of 1:26.433, 0.327sec ahead of Sebastian Vettel in the other Red Bull.
“I was very, very happy with that lap I couldn’t have asked for anything more,” Hamilton said. “These guys (Red Bull) have been untouchable in terms of pure pace, but this puts us in a strong position.”
McLaren’s improvements included a new rear wing, which had been brought forward after being expected to be ready for the Candian Grand Prix in a fortnight.
Jenson Button took fourth position, his final flying lap scuppered when he was forced to slow after Michael Schumacher crashed. But he fears the set-up of the car may cause problems on the bumpy track with a full load of fuel.
“Being the last car is sometimes a good thing but Michael went off in front me, I saw the yellow flag and decided to come in,” said Button, who is in fourth place in the driver standings. We are a lot closer to Red Bull than I expected. I was hitting the ground a lot through turn eight and I think we’ve run the car too low. With a lot of fuel on board for tomorrow, it will be tough on turn eight.”
Paul Robinson breaks deadlock for Millwall
No-one, allegedly, likes them, but tonight they won’t care. For at long last Millwall have won through the play-offs. Five previous attempts to progress through the end-of-season lottery have ended in failure, but a goal after 38 minutes from Paul Robinson, the captain and central defender, finally ended the sequence.
A year after Kenny Jacketts team lost the League One play-off final to Scunthorpe United on a sweltering afternoon, they went one better in cool, rainy conditions today and are back in the Championship after four seasons in League One.
Robinson, who came up through the club’s youth ranks, had said that to lead the team out after failing to start last season’s play-off final through injury would be a dream come true, but scoring the winner and being voted man of the match would have seemed even more far-fetched.
Swindon, at Wembley for the first time since beating Leicester City 4-3 to reach the Premier League in 1993 and bidding for a return to the second tier after a decade, never really got going and could have been more than a goal down at half-time. But stubborn resistance kept them in the match and Charlie Austin, the former Poole Town forward who scored 20 League goals after making his full debut in November, had an excellent chance to draw the sides level in the second half. However, he shot wide with only the goalkeeper to beat.
Around 40,000 Millwall supporters made the short journey from Bermondsey and New Cross hoping to see their team win at Wembley for the first time. Swindon’s decision to wear all white in order to counter the effects of the Wembley heat - pitchside temperatures reached 41C in the Blackpool v Cardiff City match a week ago - were mocked by cool, drizzly conditions.
They struggled to impose their passing game as Millwall threatened first. Steve Morison did well to stay just onside as Danny Schofield played the ball through and then floated a clever chip just over the crossbar - proving that he is not just a battering-ram centre forward.
And Swindon were breathing another sigh of relief when Kevin Amankwaah headed powerfully into his own net but were relieved to see a flag raised because Liam Trotter had strayed offside when the ball was played in from the right.
Amankwaah, jeered by the Millwall fans for criticizing local hero Neil Harris earlier in the season, could not have done more to win them over than score an own goal - it was not his fault it was disallowed.
But Millwall did not have to wait long for a legitimate goal to cheer. It came in the 38th minute as Schofield’s corner kick from the left soared over attackers and defenders and dropped to Robinson, who chested the ball down and poked it in. It was the simplest of goals and the sort to drive the managers of defending teams to distraction.
While Neil Harris and Morison had been in the thick of the action, very little had been seen of Austin and Billy Paynter, the usually prolific Swindon forward pairing.
Danny Wilson, the Swindon manager, needed to give the sort of inspirational team talk that he had delivered at The Valley when his team trailed 2-0 in the semi-final second leg. On that occasion they went down to ten men before forcing extra time, so he and they knew that they had come back before.
But Millwall continued to press. Scott Cuthbert made a last ditch clearance as Shaun Batt looked to force his way through, and David Lucas saved with his feet as Schofield was played in by Harris. Then Harris’s shot rebounded off Lucas’s chest as Batt ran across the goalkeeper’s line of sight.
Morison also missed chances to add to his 21 goals since coming out of non-League football at Stevenage Borough. He had scored and won at Wembley twice before with his previous club, but was less than sharp today.
You felt that Millwall might regret not making certain of victory and that Swindon must get a chance and it came on 72 minutes as Robinson committed his only error of the match. Attempting to head a low-bouncing ball away, he only nodded it straight to Austin.
The Swindon forward raced away with only David Forde to beat and Robinson surely wondering whether to attempt to atone for his error with a foul and inevitable red card. It looked a stonewall chance for the former bricklayer, but to the relief of Robinson and the 40,000 Millwall fans, he curled his shot a yard wide.
Danny Wilson held his head in his hands, and did so again when Austin’s deflected shot in injury time was fingertipped to safety by Forde. The whistle blew seconds later, and the years of hurt were over for Millwall.
Millwall (4-3-3): D Forde S Barron, P Robinson, D Ward, T Craig (sub: A Frampton 44min) S Batt (sub: C Hackett 70), L Trotter, N Abdou, D Schofield N Harris, S Morison. Substitutes not used: J Sullivan, G Alexander, A Fuseini, M Laird, J Obika.
Swindon Town (4-4-2): D Lucas K Amankwaah, S Cuthbert, L Jean-Francois, A Sheehan (sub: S Darby 67mins) J-P McGovern (sub: A OBrien 73), J Dougles, S Ferry, D Ward C Austin, W Paynter (sub: V Pericard 81). Substitutes not used: P Smith, C Easton, M Timlin, S Morrison. Booked: Jean-Francois.
Referee: C Webster.
A year after Kenny Jacketts team lost the League One play-off final to Scunthorpe United on a sweltering afternoon, they went one better in cool, rainy conditions today and are back in the Championship after four seasons in League One.
Robinson, who came up through the club’s youth ranks, had said that to lead the team out after failing to start last season’s play-off final through injury would be a dream come true, but scoring the winner and being voted man of the match would have seemed even more far-fetched.
Swindon, at Wembley for the first time since beating Leicester City 4-3 to reach the Premier League in 1993 and bidding for a return to the second tier after a decade, never really got going and could have been more than a goal down at half-time. But stubborn resistance kept them in the match and Charlie Austin, the former Poole Town forward who scored 20 League goals after making his full debut in November, had an excellent chance to draw the sides level in the second half. However, he shot wide with only the goalkeeper to beat.
Around 40,000 Millwall supporters made the short journey from Bermondsey and New Cross hoping to see their team win at Wembley for the first time. Swindon’s decision to wear all white in order to counter the effects of the Wembley heat - pitchside temperatures reached 41C in the Blackpool v Cardiff City match a week ago - were mocked by cool, drizzly conditions.
They struggled to impose their passing game as Millwall threatened first. Steve Morison did well to stay just onside as Danny Schofield played the ball through and then floated a clever chip just over the crossbar - proving that he is not just a battering-ram centre forward.
And Swindon were breathing another sigh of relief when Kevin Amankwaah headed powerfully into his own net but were relieved to see a flag raised because Liam Trotter had strayed offside when the ball was played in from the right.
Amankwaah, jeered by the Millwall fans for criticizing local hero Neil Harris earlier in the season, could not have done more to win them over than score an own goal - it was not his fault it was disallowed.
But Millwall did not have to wait long for a legitimate goal to cheer. It came in the 38th minute as Schofield’s corner kick from the left soared over attackers and defenders and dropped to Robinson, who chested the ball down and poked it in. It was the simplest of goals and the sort to drive the managers of defending teams to distraction.
While Neil Harris and Morison had been in the thick of the action, very little had been seen of Austin and Billy Paynter, the usually prolific Swindon forward pairing.
Danny Wilson, the Swindon manager, needed to give the sort of inspirational team talk that he had delivered at The Valley when his team trailed 2-0 in the semi-final second leg. On that occasion they went down to ten men before forcing extra time, so he and they knew that they had come back before.
But Millwall continued to press. Scott Cuthbert made a last ditch clearance as Shaun Batt looked to force his way through, and David Lucas saved with his feet as Schofield was played in by Harris. Then Harris’s shot rebounded off Lucas’s chest as Batt ran across the goalkeeper’s line of sight.
Morison also missed chances to add to his 21 goals since coming out of non-League football at Stevenage Borough. He had scored and won at Wembley twice before with his previous club, but was less than sharp today.
You felt that Millwall might regret not making certain of victory and that Swindon must get a chance and it came on 72 minutes as Robinson committed his only error of the match. Attempting to head a low-bouncing ball away, he only nodded it straight to Austin.
The Swindon forward raced away with only David Forde to beat and Robinson surely wondering whether to attempt to atone for his error with a foul and inevitable red card. It looked a stonewall chance for the former bricklayer, but to the relief of Robinson and the 40,000 Millwall fans, he curled his shot a yard wide.
Danny Wilson held his head in his hands, and did so again when Austin’s deflected shot in injury time was fingertipped to safety by Forde. The whistle blew seconds later, and the years of hurt were over for Millwall.
Millwall (4-3-3): D Forde S Barron, P Robinson, D Ward, T Craig (sub: A Frampton 44min) S Batt (sub: C Hackett 70), L Trotter, N Abdou, D Schofield N Harris, S Morison. Substitutes not used: J Sullivan, G Alexander, A Fuseini, M Laird, J Obika.
Swindon Town (4-4-2): D Lucas K Amankwaah, S Cuthbert, L Jean-Francois, A Sheehan (sub: S Darby 67mins) J-P McGovern (sub: A OBrien 73), J Dougles, S Ferry, D Ward C Austin, W Paynter (sub: V Pericard 81). Substitutes not used: P Smith, C Easton, M Timlin, S Morrison. Booked: Jean-Francois.
Referee: C Webster.
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