Ally McCoist warned his Rangers players not to get carried away after the fallen Scottish giants defeated Motherwell 2-0 to knock the Scottish Premier League leaders out of the League Cup.
McCoist was delighted with victory but warned his side, who sit second in the Third Division and were knocked out of another Cup competition last week by Queen of the South, they still have a long way to go.
“It is a wee indicator to themselves and the support that we can certainly play against teams higher up in the divisions,” McCoist said.
“But also we can’t get carried away. It is a very small step in what is going to be a long, long road and I make no apologies for telling the supporters that.”
Crowd violence at Russian match
The 2018 World Cup hosts Russia were grappling yesterday with a new football hooliganism scandal after the unruly behaviour of fans who threw fireworks on the pitch forced the abandonment of a top-flight cup match.
The referee called off the fourth round Russia Cup match between Dinamo Moscow and rivals Torpedo Moscow in the 51st minute amid chaotic scenes with parts of the pitch blanketed in smoke and fireworks crackling on the turf.
Police said in a statement that 20 fans were arrested as fights broke out between rival fan groups on the streets around the stadium before the match late Wednesday. Another six were arrested after the match was stopped.
Bahrain firm to buy Leeds United
A unit of Bahraini investment firm Gulf Finance House (GFH) will lead and arrange the purchase of Leeds United, GFH said in a statement yesterday.
“GFH would like to confirm that GFH Capital Ltd, a 100 per cent subsidiary of GFH, has signed an exclusive agreement to lead and arrange the acquisition of Leeds City Holdings, the parent company of LUFC,” the brief statement said.
Leeds United, who last won the English championship in 1992, currently lie 12th in the second tier of English football.
Ronaldinho jeered
Atletico Mineiro’s Ronaldinho, returning to Flamengo for the first time since walking out on the club in May, was greeted with the deafening sound of 30,000 plastic whistles every time he touched the ball on Wednesday.
The former PSG, Barcelona and Milan player was also jeered and insulted by the home crowd and made little impact on the Brazilian championship match, which his team lost 2-1.
Ronaldinho, who has enjoyed a revival with Mineiro, left Flamengo in May after winning a court injunction which released him from his contract.
Kaka back in Brazil squad
Former World Player of the Year Kaka (picture) was recalled by Brazil yesterday and is set to play his first international since the 2010 World Cup.
The Real Madrid playmaker was included in the squad for the friendlies against Iraq in Sweden on Oct. 11 and Japan in Poland five days later.
It is the second time he has been called up under coach Mano Menezes, who replaced Dunga after the World Cup in South Africa, but last year he had to drop out through injury.
Kaka’s last appearance for Brazil was in the 2-1 defeat by the Netherlands in the 2010 World Cup quarter-final.
Alves upset by Zenit feuding
Zenit St Petersburg’s Portuguese defender Bruno Alves yesterday said the infighting at the big-spending Russian champions was doing no one any good.
The key Russian players in the side, Igor Denisov and Alexander Kerzhakov, have been relegated to the youth team after demanding higher wages in a revolt over the expensive signings of Brazil’s Hulk and Belgium’s Axel Witsel.
“What is happening is not doing anyone any good,” Alves told the Sport Express daily as he broke his silence over the scandal that is threatening to blow the team apart.
He described the standoff, which started last week when Denisov and Kerzhakov refused to take to the pitch for the first team or take part in training, “as a big and unpleasant surprise”.
Freund praises Spurs youngsters
Tottenham assistant boss Steffen Freund felt Wednesday’s 3-0 League Cup third-round victory at Carlisle was a good demonstration of the strength in depth the London club’s squad now has.
Academy graduates Adam Smith and Ryan Mason were handed starts, along with Tom Huddlestone and Michael Dawson, the latter appearing for the first time since Andre Villas-Boas was appointed Tottenham boss over the summer.
Freund said: “We brought a few young players in and we believe in them all.
“Adam Smith was fantastic at right-back and Ryan Mason has been scoring in the development squad, so we knew he can play.
“Then in the centre of midfield Tom Huddlestone is back after his injury, Michael Dawson is back.”