Moon of Liberty Sportsround – 08 August 2017

Sportsround – Sports News Digest on 08 August 2017 at 7.20pm

tvnz – Canterbury Crusaders win the Super Rugby crown defeating the Lions in the final

Tennis.com – Alexander Zvarev beats big serving Kevin Anderson to win the Washington Open

BBC Sport – American Torie Bowie takes the women’s 100m, Favourite Elaine Thpmoson fails to medal.

The Elitist – Rugby League round-up from both sides of the World

Cricbuzz – Moeen Ali the hero as England wrap up 3-1 series win over South Africa at Old Trafford

pdc.tv – Dave Chisnall wins round 18 of the Players Darts Championship, his first title of 2017.

pdc.tv – Austrlaian Kyle Anderson claims maiden title in round 17 of the Players Darts Championship

The Elitist – India put 600 runs on the board again to thrash Sri Lanka and go 2-0 up

New Vision Uganda – Uganda thrash Zimbabwe in the final round of the African Gold Cup Rugby Union tournament

Sports Star Live – Sam Querry claims Los Cabos ATP title in Mexico

BBC Sport – Netherlands claim the Women’s Euro 2017 soccer title beating Denmark 4-2 

BBC Sport – GB’s Callum Hawkins an excellent fourth Kenya’s Geoffrey Karui wins the men’s marathon.

BBC Sport – Arsenal win the Community Shield beating Chelsea on penalties

Running Magazine – Ethiopia’s Almaz Anaya dominates the Women’s 10000m

Eurosport – Luvo Manyonga wins the Long Jump title for South Africa

BBC Sport – Notts beat the T20 Powerplay record

BBC Sport – Justin Gatlin stuns the world to beat Usain Bolt

The Elitists Echo – Saturday Soccer round up of the #MoonSoccer13. Opening day wins for Forest, Southport & Queen of the South

The Sun – Burnley friendly abandoned after crowd trouble

BBC Sport – Mo Farrah wins the first medal of the 2017 World Championships

Nottingham Post – Notts County manager Kevin Noaln calls his team ‘rabbits in headlights’ after opening day loss to Coventry

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Sportsround

Athletics – World Athletics Championships

Team GB are in good shape going into Rio with four golds and 7 medals at the World Athletics Championships in Beijing. Only 15 months after having had a baby Jessica Ennis-Hill pulled out a special performance to win the Heptathlon, the young hope, Katerina Johnson-Thompson, was on course for a medal herself until three no jumps in the long jump ruined her chances. Mo Farrah again delivered doing the double again in the 5000m and 10000m. Greg Rutherford also won the men’s long jump to ensure all three winners in the famous ‘Super Saturday’ at the London games in 2012 all did it again here.

Shara Proctor nearly added a fifth British gold in the women’s long jump but was pipped by American Tianna Bartoletta with the very last jump so has to settle for silver. Exciting 20 year old talent Dina Asher-Smith finished 5th in the 200m, despite a personal best in the final, the other were too good, the even being won by Dafne Schippers of the Netherlands. The 4×400 relay teams both got bronze, the USA winning the men’s race and Jamaica the women’s race. The sprint relays were both won by Jamaica, with a shock silver for hosts China in the men’s race after the USA were disqualified. Britain’s men dropped the baton in the final, the women’s team finished 5th.

Elsewhere Usain Bolt won the big showdown against Justin Gatlin in both the 100m and 200m. 800m star David Rudisha took gold after favourite and rival Nigel Amos was surprisingly knocked out at the semi-final stage. In the end it was Rudisha’s nation Kenya who topped the medal table. A full list of the medalists for every event can be found on the BBC website here.

Rugby League – Challenge Cup Final

There was to be no upset in the Challenge Cup Final at Wembley as Leeds Rhinos put Hull Kingston Rovers to the sword to win the cup for the second year in a row. Tom Briscoe was the true hero of the day scoring 5 of the Rhinos nine tries getting himself into the record books in the process. Captain Kevin Sinfield, for whom this may be his last final as he is due to switch to Rugby Union at the end of the season, scored 14 points through converting seven of the nine tries. Bret Delaney set Leeds on their way with additional tries from Danny McGuire, Brad Singleton and Rob Burrow to complete a 50-0 demolition. Kull KR never got started making too many mistakes and giving penalties away. By the end Leeds looked like they could score at will the the energy of the side from East Hull fell away..

HOCKEY

England’s women won the Euro Hockey title in London for the first time since 1991 with a comeback and a penalty shoot out win against the favourites Holland. two goals from Caia van Maasakker gave the Dutch a 2-0 lead but England battled back as Sophie Bray and Lily Owsley scored to force a 2-2 draw and a penalty shoot out. Goalkeeper Maddie Hinch save three times to help England to a 3-1 win in the shoot out.In the men’s event, Holland made no mistake thrashing Germany 6-1 in the Final.Two goals from Mink van der Weerden set them on their way to a 5-0 half-time lead. England’s men had to settle for 4th place after being beaten by Ireland in the 3rd/4th place play-off.

SNOOKER

Essex’s Ali Carter has won his first ranking title since being given the all clear from cancer. He won the best of seven frame final against former World Champion Shaun Murphy. Murphy made him work all the way taking it to a final frame decider but in a scrappy frame Carter took it to win the Paul Hunter Classic staged in Furth in Germany. Murphy tweeted his congratulations to his opponent afterwards in a good news story for the sport.

DARTS

Adrian Lewis took hos first World Series of Darts title for the year, doing it the hard way winning two contests that went the distance. He first defeated Phil Taylor, who had been looking for his fourth title in a row, 10-9 in the semi-finals of the Auckland Masters in New Zealand in a match he trailed all the way until the very last leg. He then faced an in form Raymond Van Barneveld who raced into a two leg lead early on. Lewis battled back to lead 8-5 and then 10-8 before the Dutchman broke Lewis and then held with a 12 dart leg including his 11th 180 of the match to take the best of 21 leg match all the way. Lewis however held his nerve to take the title. Both men are running nicely into form as we move into the autumn season and towards the World Championship, with Taylor, Wade and Ven Gerwin also playing very well and Gary Anderson looking to retain his title, it could be a very open Championship come January.

MOON OF LIBERTY SCOREBOARD

ATHLETICS

World Athletics Championships – At The Bird’s Nest Stadium, Beijing, China

Team GB Medals

Gold (4) – Mo Farrah (Men’s 5000m) Mo Farrah (Men’s 10000m) Greg Rutherford (Men’s Long Jump) Jessica Ennis-Hill (Heptathlon)

Silver (1) – Shara Proctor (Women’s Long Jump)

Bronze (2) – Christine Ohuruogu, Annika Onuora, Eilidh Child & Seren Bundy-Davies (Women’s 4x400m Relay) Rabah Yousif, Delanno Williams, Jarryd Dunn & Martyn Rooney (Men’s 4x400m relay)

RUGBY LEAGUE

Challenge Cup Final at Wembley Stadium, London

Leeds Rhinos (16) 50 (Tries – (9) (Briscoe 5, Delaney, McGuire, Singleton, Burrow) Goals – (7) Sinfield 7)

Hull Kingston Rovers (0) 0

MOON OF LIBERTY STAR MAN – Tom Briscoe (Leeds Rhinos)

Leeds Rhinos win the Challenge Cup

HOCKEY

Euro Hockey European Championship at The Lee Valley Hockey & Tennis Center, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, Stratford, London

Men’s Final

Holland (5) 6 (Bakker, Van der Weerden 2, Hertzberger, Hofman, Puijser) Germany (0) 1 (Ruhr)

MOON OF LIBERTY STAR MAN – Mink Van der Weerden (Holland)

Holland win the Men’s Euro Hockey

Women’s Final

England (0) 2 (Bray, Owsley) Holland (1) 2 (van Maasakker) – AET

England win 3-1 on penalties

MOON OF LIBERTY STAR WOMAN – Maddie Hinch (England)

England win the Women’s Euro Hockey

SNOOKER

Paul Hunter Classic at Stadthaile, Furth, Germany

Final (Best of 7)

Ali Carter (England) 4 Shaun Murphy (England) 3

Ali Carter wins the Paul Hunter Classic

DARTS

PDC Auckland Masters At The Trusts Stadium, Auckland

Final (Best of 21 legs)

Adrian Lewis (England) 11 Raymond Van Barneveld (Holland) 10

Adrian Lewis wins the PDC Auckland Masters

Sunday Sportsround

Boxing

Undisputed light-heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev made light work of Algerian born Nadjib Mohammedi who many observers before the fight felt was completely over-matched. They were proved right as the Algerian barely landed a punch in three totally one sided rounds. With combinations getting through at will, Kovalev scored a knock down in the second round before a right-left combination finished the contest in the third. It was an ugly contest that could have ruined Kovalev’s reputation if it had gone on too long. Thankfully least Kovalev finished it early to continue his domination of the division. There is talk of a possible fight with Super Middleweight Andre Ward, although politics could make that fight difficult to make.

FORMULA 1

Sebastian Vettle scored an upset victory to tie Ayrton Senna on 41 Grand Prix wins in Hungary. Championship leader Lewis Hamilton had an awful day after looking dominant most of the week in practice and qualifying. He stalled at the start losing several places and also earned a time penalty. It could have been worse as team mate and title challenger Nico Rosberg was in second place until he punctured his left front wing after a collision with Daniel Ricardo meant he had to come into the pits ruining his chances with only four laps to go, Hamilton recovered into 6th to score some points and maintain his title lead. Vettle kept his concentration win a fitting victory for Ferrari on the weekend the drivers were paying tribute to Jules Bianchi who was part of the Ferrari young drivers programmed. Ricardo recovered from his collision with Rosberg to finish third behind Russian team mate Daniil Kvyat who earned his first podium finish in second.

ATHLETICS

The Anniversary Games at the Olympics Stadium in London saw a welcome return to form for 100m champion Usain Bolt. Bolt was the international highlight of the event winning the 100m in a time of 9.87 seconds. He will need to find more to beat American Justin Gatlin at the World Championships but the run, his first in a while after a run of injuries was a welcome return to form. Mo Farrah set a best time in the world in 2015 to win a 3000m race further suggesting he is in fine form going into Beijing to defend his 5000 and 10000 meters titles. Olympic Heptathlon champion Jessica Ennis-Hill competed in three events, She impressed winning the 110m hurdles and produced seasons best in the 200m despite coming 8th in a world class field of 200m specialists. She was also near her personal best in the long jump, won by Shara Proctor who herself got a personal best and is in good position to attempt to win a medal herself. Ennis-Hill has still not decided if she is going to the World Championships, she is still very much coming back after having her first child.

Elsewhere UK sprinter Dina Asher-Smith went under 11 seconds for the first time further announcing herself as a contender for a medal at the World Championships. Long Jump Champion Greg Rutherford suffered a rare defeat, the event was won by Marquis Dendy of the USA and In a much anticipated contest Nijel Amos of Botswana defeated Olympic Champion David Rudisha of Kenya.

TENNIS

Australian Sam Stosur added to her victory at the Strasbourg Open by adding the Nuremberg Open by defeating Italian Karin Knapp. Knapp took the first set but the tide turned when the Australian took the 2nd set on a tie-break. The Italian, who had earlier in the day had to finish her semi-final again Sarah Errani, began to tire with Stosur breaking twice in the final set to take the title 6-2.

SAILING

British sailing legend Sir Ben Ainslie led the new British team to victory in the first America’s Cup World Series event in Portsmouth. 50,000 people including the Duke and Dutchess of Cambridge attended on Saturday where The UK team won the first race and where second behind New Zealand in the second. The third race due on Sunday had to be cancelled due to high winds. This left the UK team ahead to take the first meet of the series, and proves the UK team can compete with the very best going forward.

CYCLING

Chris Froome was confirmed as Tour De France winner in the final stage on the Champs Elysee. The Final stage was won by Andre Greipel of Germany, winning his fourth stage, it was not however enough to defeat Peter Sagan of Slovakia for the sprinters Green Jersey. Froome, who survived an attack from Nario Quintana in the Alps the previous day, has a margin of 72 seconds in hand and he and his Team SKY crossed the line together in Paris. Froome also doubles up as the winner of the King Of The Mountain’s since the legendary Eddie Merckx in 1970.

DARTS

Dutchman Michael Van Gerwin was in great form in Blackpool to defeat James Wade 18-12 in the Final of the World Matchplay in Blackpool. Mighty Mike had beaten Peter Wright with Wade defeating Phil Taylor in the semi-finals. The early stage were closely fought with both men missing doubles. The key stage came as Wade lead 6-5, Wade missed six darts allowing Van Gerwin to level. The Dutchman then took advantage of more missed doubles from Wade to take the lead with a 144 finish. Hitting another three 180’s he then stretched the lead to 9-6 and never looked back. Wade was well off his best and never recovered, looking as if his win over Taylor had taken too much out of him, only just averaging over 90. Van Gerwin hit 88 to take a 17-11 lead. Wade held his throw once more but Van Gerwin finished it off to take the second most important trophy in the calender, and setting a marker that he wants his world title back.

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MOON OF LIBERTY SCOREBOARD

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CYCLING

On Le Champs Elysee, Paris

Tour De France – Final Stage

Final Stage result

1st Andre Griepel (Germany)

2nd Bryan Coquard (France)

3rd Alexander Kristoff (Norway)

Final Race Result

1st Chris Froome (GB)

2nd Nairo Quintana (Colombia) +1 min 12 secs

3rd Alejandro Valverde (Spain) +5 mins 25 secs

Sprinter Green Jersey Winner

Peter Sagan (Slovakia)

King Of The Mountains Winner

Chris Froome (GB)

Tour De France overall winner

Chris Froome (GB)

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BOXING (Champion red, Challenger blue, New Champion yellow)

At Mandalay Bay Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada

IBF,WBO & WBA light-heavyweight Title

Sergey Kovalev (Russia) beat Nadjib Mohammedi (Algeria) by KO in Round 3

Still IBF,WBO & WBA light-heavyweight Champion … Sergey Kovalev

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FORMULA 1

At Hungaroring, Mogyorod, Hungary

Hungarian Grand Prix

Result (Top 5)

1st Sebastian Vettle – Germany (Ferrari)

2nd Daniil Kvyav – Russia (Red Bull)

3rd Daniel Ricardo – Australia (Red Bull)

4th Max Verstappen – Holland (Toro Rosso)

5th Fernando Alsonso – Spain (McLaren)

Championship (Top 3)

1st Lewis Hamilton – GB (Mercedes) 202 Points

2nd Nico Rosberg – Germany (Mercedes) 181 Points

3rd Sebastian Vettle – Germany (Ferrari) 161 Points

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TENNIS

At The Nuremberger Gastain, Nuremberg 

WTA Nuremberg Open Final

Sam Stosur (Australia) beat Karin Knapp (Italy) 2-1 (3-6, 7-6, 6-2)

Sam Stosur Wins the WTA Nuremberg Open

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DARTS

At The Winter Gardens, Blackpool

PDC World Matchplay Semi-Finals (Best of 33 legs)

James Wade (England) 17 Phil Taylor (England) 14

Michael Van Gerwin (Holland) 17 Peter Wright (Scotland) 12

PDC World Matchplay Final (Best of 35 legs)

Michael Van Gerwin (Holland) 18 James Wade (England) 12

Michael Van Gerwin wins the PDC World Matchplay Championship