ScorecardFile photo: Rob Nicol took two wickets and hit an unbeaten 27•Associated Press
A combined bowling effort ensured Auckland beat Canterbury by two runs in a rain-affected fixture in New Plymouth to set up clash against Otago in the final of the Georgie Pie Super Smash 2015-16.Canterbury, who were sent in to bat, were bowled out for 113 in 19.3 overs, with Cam Fletcher’s 33 being the highest score. That the 24-run stand for the second wicket was the highest of the innings indicated their struggle. Matt Henry’s 10-ball 23 at the end helped them get past the 100-run mark. Donovan Grobbelaar, the left-arm seamer, was the most successful bowler, returning 3 for 23, while Tarun Nethula, Rob Nicol and James Fuller picked up two wickets apiece.Auckland started briskly courtesy Nicol, who hit two fours and a six in his unbeaten 27. Nicol and his opening partner Jeet Raval added 41 at a run-a-ball to wipe out a good chunk of the target. Todd Astle, the legspinner, then hit back with two strikes to give Canterbury hope. But rain thwarted their designs as Auckland were found to be two runs ahead of the Duckworth-Lewis method when rain forced an end to proceedings with 10.3 overs still to be played.The final on Sunday will also be played at the Yarrow Stadium in New Plymouth.
In the first ODI in Perth, India batted first, Rohit Sharma scored a century, and Australia were set 310 for victory. In the second ODI in Brisbane, India batted first, Rohit Sharma scored a century, and Australia were set 309 for victory. In Perth, Australia won with four balls to spare. In Brisbane, Australia won with six balls to spare. In both cases, and both chases, George Bailey was key. It was expected that the Gabba would serve up something similar to the WACA, but not similar.The end result was that Australia have a 2-0 lead and in Melbourne on Sunday they have the chance to wrap a series win with two to play. Perhaps at the MCG the teams will mix things up a bit. Not that everything in Brisbane was the same as Perth. Australia were 2 for 21 in the first game after their openers both fell cheaply; in the second game, Aaron Finch and Shaun Marsh put on 145 for the opening stand to set up the chase.
Hastings retained in squad for third ODI
John Hastings has been retained in the Australia squad for the third ODI against India, after the selectors decided to rest fast bowler Josh Hazlewood for the remainder of the home summer. Hazlewood will miss the rest of the ODI series and the T20s against India. Australia selector Trevor Hohns had indicated before the start of the series that Hazlewood would be rested after the first two games of the series, with the intention of managing the 25-year-old’s workload. Hastings had been called up to the squad for the second ODI as cover for Mitchell Marsh, who was rested after the match in Perth. Hastings bowled eight overs in the match and took one wicket for 46. Hazlewood, who was recently named the ICC’s Emerging Cricketer of the Year, played all six Tests of the Australian home summer, against New Zealand and West Indies. He took 21 wickets across the two Test series, including a match haul of 9 for 136 against New Zealand in Adelaide.
But on neither occasion did India truly make the most of the chance to bat first in good conditions. Harsh as it is to criticise 300-plus scores, in both matches they had such strong platforms that totals in the 350 range seemed feasible. Instead, Rohit’s hundreds have both gone in vain. And India’s streak of completed games against Australia in Australia without a win now stretches to 10, across all formats.Once again Australia paced their pursuit to perfection. Never did their required run rate get near eight an over, and for much of the innings it hovered around six. A run a ball is very gettable for a team that can keep wickets in hand, and India’s bowlers were unable to create enough chances to prevent Australia from doing that. Not that they grabbed every opportunity; Ishant Sharma dropped a sitter when Marsh was on 19, and a straightforward run-out chance also went begging.Marsh and Finch continued their strong association at the top of the order, albeit only temporary for the time being while David Warner is on paternity leave. With a five-innings minimum, no Australian ODI opening partnership has a better average than the 75.42 that Marsh and Finch average for their stands. It took a magnificent catch to end the partnership, when Finch on 71 lifted Ravindra Jadeja to long-off and Ajinkya Rahane snared it low to the ground.Five overs later, Marsh also fell for 71 when his leading edge lobbed up and was caught by Virat Kohli at cover, giving Ishant his first ODI wicket since 2014. But Bailey and Steven Smith had taken the match out of India’s hands in Perth, and again they did so in Brisbane. Their 78-run stand steadied Australia’s chase and although Smith was bowled by Umesh Yadav for 46, with nearly ten overs remaining, Bailey steered the chase home.Glenn Maxwell finished on 26 and hit the winning runs, but Bailey’s 76 not out from 58 balls was the difference. He lifted his tempo just when Australia needed him to, and brought up his fifty from his 41st delivery by crunching Barinder Sran over long-off for his only six. Bailey’s record against India only continues to improve: with a 500-run minimum, nobody in ODI history has a better average against India than Bailey’s 95.85.Rohit holds the same record against Australia: with a 500-run minimum, nobody in ODI history has a better average against Australia than Rohit’s 71.93. In his past five innings against Australia, Rohit has scored 209, 138, 34, 171* and now 124. Australia were fortunate that the one failure amongst those innings came in the World Cup semi-final, when he was bowled by Mitchell Johnson.There is no Johnson now, and an inexperienced attack featuring Joel Paris, Scott Boland, Kane Richardson, John Hastings and James Faulkner struggled to contain Rohit at the Gabba. It was a stroke of luck for Australia that finally ended Rohit’s innings, when Rahane’s straight drive clipped the fingers of the bowler Faulkner and ricocheted back onto the stumps with Rohit out of his crease, backing up.The Australians would argue they should have had Rohit on 89, when he the umpire failed to detect an edge behind off Paris, but by then he had already set India’s innings up nicely. But this was not simply the Rohit show. As in Perth, Kohli provided strong support with a half-century after opener Shikhar Dhawan fell in single figures, but this time Rahane, who had not been required to bat at the WACA, was the other key man.Rahane joined Rohit in the 24th over and they combined for a 121-run third-wicket stand that only ended with Rohit’s run-out. Rahane fell short of a century himself, caught for 89 off 80 deliveries when he skied a Faulkner slower ball to deep midwicket in the 49th over. It was one of four wickets that fell in the last two overs: Manish Pandey also skied a catch off a Faulkner legcutter for 6, then R Ashwin was caught trying to ramp Hastings in the last over for 1, and Jadeja was run out last ball.It was a disappointing finish for India, and the last ten overs had brought just 75 runs for the loss of six wickets. It was a period that arguably lost India the match after their strong start. As in the first game, Dhawan fell cheaply – this time he edged behind for 6 to give Paris his first ODI wicket – but again Kohli and Rohit put on an excellent display of rebuilding. Their 125-run stand ticked the score along with ease and little risk; Kohli cruised to his half-century from 60 deliveries.Australia’s bowlers looked about as likely to strike as lightning, and it took an electric throw from Richardson at deep fine leg to break the partnership when Kohli was run out for 59. Rahane proved a more than adequate replacement, and another century stand again was ended by a run out. Rohit struck 11 fours and only two came in front of the wicket, although he also cleared the boundary three times with ease.His century came up from his 112th delivery – as in Perth, it came in the 37th over of the innings – and India looked well set with 10 overs to go, at 2 for 233. But Rohit was run out, MS Dhoni was caught in the deep for 11 to give Boland his first ODI wicket, and Australia’s bowlers used their variations well. By the end of India’s innings it looked like Perth all over again, and by the end of Australia’s the similarities were even more striking.
Surrey have signed Australia batsman Aaron Finch as cover for Kumar Sangakkara while he is at the Caribbean Premier League. Finch, who has previously played for Yorkshire, is expected to be available from July 2, when Surrey begin a Championship fixture against Warwickshire.Sangakkara is Surrey’s main overseas signing for 2016 but has been named as one of the marquee players in this year’s CPL draft, which will be held next week. The CPL is due to run for six weeks from the end of June until the beginning of August, a particularly busy time of the English season when Surrey have fixtures in all three formats.Finch had formed an association with Yorkshire, coached by former Australia bowler Jason Gillespie, and had spells there in 2014 and 2015. Despite his T20 prowess, where he captains Australia and is ranked the No. 2 batsman in the world, his more notable performances for Yorkshire came in the Championship; he averaged 46.11 in eight matches, scoring one of his four first-class hundreds, compared to 20.75 in the NatWest T20 Blast.”This is a great opportunity for me and one I am very much looking forward to,” Finch said. To have the chance to play all forms of the game is a challenge I will relish, as I have ambitions to represent Australia in Test match cricket. I’m aware that Surrey have an exciting young squad and I hope I am able to add to their obvious talent.”Finch is currently beginning rehabilitation from a hamstring injury but hopes to be fit to lead Australia’s World T20 campaign next month.Surrey’s director of cricket, Alec Stewart, said: “Securing a player of Aaron’s quality for such a busy period of red- and white-ball cricket is excellent news for the club and I’m confident we will see his qualities in all formats of the game.”Last week, Surrey announced a short-term deal with Dwayne Bravo as their second overseas player for the Blast but his availability will also be cut short by his involvement in the CPL. The county are also looking for a new head coach, after Graham Ford’s departure for Sri Lanka and Paul Farbrace’s decision to stay with England.
Leeds United could well offer star striker Rodrigo Moreno a new Elland Road contract, according to reporter Ben Jacobs.
The Lowdown: 13 goals
Rodrigo has been the club’s main source of goals during the current campaign, netting 13 times in all competitions. The 32-year-old has scored nine more than any other Whites player and marked his return from injury prior to the international break with another Premier League goal against Wolves.
He is one of a number of Leeds players to be out of contract in just over 12 months’ time, and it looks as if a fresh deal could soon be on the table.
The Latest: Jacobs’ comments
Jacobs was talking to TEAMtalk regarding Rodrigo and the prospect of a new contract at Elland Road.
‘So Rodrigo is out of contract at the end of next season, and from the Leeds perspective they would like to keep him at the Club beyond June 2024. But he is, of course, 32 years of age, which is always a consideration for any football club.’
Jacobs went on to look at Rodrigo’s form in front of goal this season, saying:
‘This season has been his most productive since joining Leeds in 2020. He’s got 11 Premier League goals in 20 games, and I think 13 in all competitions. He’s only six goals off his best-ever tally in all competitions, which was 19 for Valencia in 2017/18.’
However, the reporter then claimed that new contracts for Robin Koch and Jack Harrison are the club’s current priorities.
‘On form, Rodrigo deserves a new deal. But Leeds know that their priorities, though, are Robin Koch and Jack Harrison.’
Jacobs ended by saying he wouldn’t be shocked if a one-year extension was agreed on with Rodrigo, who he understands is willing to stay if the club remain in the Premier League.
‘It wouldn’t surprise me if Leeds look to extend Rodrigo’s contracts by a year. He certainly deserves it based on the form that he’s in.
‘And, as I understand it, if Leeds stay up, the player is quite prepared to stay as well.’
The Verdict: Good news
Rodrigo has been key to Leeds’ survival push so far this season, and without his 11 Premier League goals, the club could have been in deeper trouble.
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The Spaniard has scored in all but one of Leeds’ six league wins so far, so it is good to see that he could extend his stay, should things go to plan on the pitch over the coming years.
Phil Hay criticised the deal to bring Rodrigo to Elland Road towards the end of last season, admitting he was unsure how he fits in at the club back in May. However, he has since received praise from Alan Shearer following the opening weekend win over Wolves, with James Marshment labelling him as ‘excellent’ last month.
Therefore, you could say that he has earned a potential new contract following his impact this season, so it could be one to keep an eye on over the summer.
It’s fair to say that in recent times Newcastle haven’t enjoyed that much success,where back in 2009 the team suffered relegation to the second tier of English football for the first time in 16 years. However the team have bounced straight back up to the Premiership at the first attempt and will be hoping that they can build upon this and the good times can finally return to St. James’ Park.Throughout their history the team have been Champions four times prior to the 30’s, the FA Cup on six occasions, the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup and the UEFA Intertoto Cup. Formed in 1892, the club is one of the best supported clubs in the country.We have looked back at some of the moments and key players that had a massive impact at the football club and a few memorable videos from recent years:Click on King Kev to view gallery:[youtube dK4wFKYtipo]Newcastle 7-1 Tottenham[youtube Gh-OS3gHwnk]Newcastle 3-2 Barcelona[youtube DPGe9OrT53Y]Alan Shearer[youtube aWNCwHNsuuU]
Until the ubiquitous and unscrupulous presence of the media, the World Cup was the stage that dominated tactical advances in the game. It was Brazil, known for their overt attacking intuitions, who were the first to shift to four defenders (from the traditional W-M formation) in their triumph at the 1958 World Cup. This led to a widespread imitation of their 4-2-4 over the next few years but as the world adapted to Brazil’s 58’ formula, the seleção had evolved yet again by 1962. This time they dazzled with a 4-3-3.
The World Cup continued to showcase tactical progressions and instigate widespread adoptions of winning formulas up until the 90s, where worldwide broadcasting and the internet took hold. With almost every league available to watch it became far more difficult to shock the world football consciousness with something revolutionary or unplayable; in essence it levelled the playing field a great deal. Now it is top level club football that dictates the direction of the game, and no better exemplar can be found than the single striker system at use by almost every team at the World Cup today.
If we take the Premier League, the flat 4-4-2 was adeptly destroyed by Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal (see here) early in the 2000s. Mourinho’s Chelsea similarly highlighted how a numerical disadvantage in midfield can cripple an opposition. The need for the Premier League teams to vary their tactics became especially clear in European ties and greater variation, always in a single striker system (Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United), led to sustained success in the last half of the 2000s. But the common dictum attached to playing a lone striker, especially in England, is that it’s a ‘negative’ or ‘defensive’ formation. That a formation itself is either offensive or defensive is a prevailing fallacy in the game. The truth is that formations remain neutral but it is the personnel and instructions to players that make them overtly attacking or defensive. Taking a glance at France’s Euro 2000 final team, in a single striker system, shows Djorkaeff, Zidane and Dugarry playing off Thierry Henry. Can that possibly be considered defensive?
The major international tournaments have reflected the changes of club football rather than instigated them. If we take Euro 2008, by the end of the tournament, albeit for injuries as well as tactical decisions, Germany, Croatia and Spain all played with a single striker. In the 2008 African Cup of Nations 13 of the 16 teams started with 4-4-2 but this year, at the same tournament, the use of twin strikers had almost disappeared (barring Ghana’s occasional switches to 4-4-2). And the World Cup is largely going to be a tournament for the single striker system (Spain, Italy, Germany, Argentina and Holland will all be using some form of it). What’s perhaps more interesting than rudimentarily observing the change is a comparison between the evolutions of two of the best propagators of single striker systems at South Africa: Brazil and Spain.
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Teams in Spain had adopted the 4-2-3-1 very early in the 2000s. The national team only produced its best football in the Euro 2008 semi and final when Fabregas had to replace the injured Villa. Counter intuitively the injury to Villa facilitated a change to 4-1-4-1 and the team played much more cohesively. They retained their shape in the final and have since – it seems – decided that a single striker formation allows their stars the best platform on which to play. And now, due to Senna’s absence, the team have opted for two holding midfielders (in Busquets and Alonso) instead of one. Silva and Iniesta operate on the right and left respectively as wingers with strong central intuitions; cutting in from wide induces the interchanging and fluid movement that most teams only enjoy after training at club level for a long time.
Spain’s success is not just the sheer volume of world class midfielders and forwards; the fact that they play the same systems at club level has already given them intimate tactical knowledge and an inbuilt understanding with their compatriots (Xavi, Iniesta and Busquets train together for club, Silva plays the same outside right position for Valencia, Villa understands his ex team mate’s movements and fluidly interchanges, Alonso is Madrid’s deep lying playmaker). England on the other hand play a modified 4-4-2 and none of their stars (Rooney, Gerrard, and Lampard) play the same formation at club level. The highly systematised nature of elite football means these changes are significant; it is a contributing factor, but by no means the whole reason, to Spain being so cohesive and England being so disjointed.
Brazil’s 4-2-3-1 is a change from the European style. The main difference is Robinho’s position; he plays a withdrawn second striker role on the left hand side and Ramires offers energy and defensive capabilities on the right. Their shape is called a diamond in midfield instead of an outright 4-2-3-1 but the subtlety of their execution should not be ignored. Jonathan Wilson commented on Robinho’s position as a main stumbling block for opposition teams, especially European sides who employ a similar system. The player has shown no desire to be defensive at all so should an opposing right back be instructed to maraud forward (calling Dunga’s bluff on that side of the field) or hold his position to nullify Robinho’s threat? It remains a strength for Dunga’s side indelibly geared to their strengths on the counter attack.
But the final point worth mentioning is how much does the labelling of a formation (calling it 4-4-2 or 4-1-3-2 or 4-2-3-1) actually matter? It is argued that when we actually recognise something and give it a name, it can be evolved and modified. So whilst it is important to gauge the widespread shift to the single striker system what should not be lost are the positional variations that players impose on their formations. Many would attribute Ferguson’s 1990s success to a flat 4-4-2 but he claims he has never used twin strikers; he says one has always been withdrawn. For Spain’s formation Villa is rendered the focal point of attack but in games, just as often, he drifts as a false nine to provide for team mates (who themselves have drifted to exploit space). Greece’s Euro 2004 win had the morning papers after their quarter final and semi final victories torn between dubbing their system a three man defence and a four man defence. The truth is the team varied their defensive setup during the tournament, completely dependent on their opposition strengths. So tactical observations remain important but we should always remember a 4-2-3-1, for example, isn’t going to cover the subtlety in movement between the Spanish style and the Brazilian style.
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Aston Villa boss Martin O'Neill has revealed that Manchester City transfer target James Milner has asked to leave.
O'Neill vowed to fight to keep hold of the England international after rejecting an initial £20million offer from the big-spending Eastlands club before the World Cup.
However, following Milner's return to pre-season, O'Neill has admitted the 24-year-old midfielder will be allowed to leave if the price is right.
Milner, who still has two years remaining on his existing contract, has made 90 appearances for Villa since arriving in a £13million deal from Newcastle United in July 2008.
Speaking earlier in the month, O'Neill admitted the former Leeds United and Newcastle man was key to Villa's hopes of improving on last season's sixth-placed finish in the Premier League.
"Eventually if players do want to leave the football club, or any football club for that matter, then it becomes more difficult than ever before," he explained.
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"But what I will say is we have a better chance of performing in the manner in which we did last season if we could keep the best players and James comes into that equation."
O'Neill has been linked with a move for West Ham United midfielder Scott Parker should Milner leave Villa Park.Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
When Tottenham Hotspur acquired the services of Giovani Dos Santos in the summer of 2008 their fans hoped they had gained a former Barcelona player to rival that of Arsenal’s Cesc Fabregas. This attacking player who is equally adept at playing on the wing has yet to stamp his authority on White Hart Lane. The Mexican international has hardly had a chance to make his presence felt due to a succession of ankle injuries and loan moves. Tottenham’s successful push for a Champions League spot last season can be partly attributed to the improved performances of a number of players. Gareth Bale is foremost amongst these players, having put in some exhilaratingly commanding performances on Spurs’ left wing during their difficult end of season run-in. He was a player transformed but in another important season in which Harry Redknapp has already raised the issue of fixture congestion, can Dos Santos step up to become this campaign’s Gareth Bale?
Giovani Dos Santos’ three goals for Barcelona all came during his final appearance for the club in their 5-3 defeat of Real Murcia. In June 2008 the Mexican completed an £8.6 million move to north London. It was unfortunate that an ankle injury halted his progress initially and with first-team opportunities not forthcoming he was loaned to Championship outfit Ipswich Town for the latter half of the 08/09 season. A return of four goals in eight appearances and scoring the winner in the keenly contested East Anglian derby earned him praise at Portman Road. Frustratingly for the player the next campaign followed a similar pattern. Having suffered another ankle injury he was eventually sent to Turkish giants, Galatasaray on loan.
Having been brought to the club by former manager, Juande Ramos and sporting director Damien Comolli, Dos Santos has had to adjust to the straight-talking regime implemented by Harry Redknapp. For the experienced Englishman the player harbours the talent and ability to succeed but has lacked motivation. In the Mail on Sunday Redknapp said, “It’s whether he has the dedication and the desire. He lacked that in the past but hopefully he’ll get his head right and show what he can do.”
The motivation and desire to showcase his attacking skills was not an issue in Mexico’s World Cup campaign. Although he evidently enjoyed the confidence of the now former Mexico boss, Javier Aguirre as he played in every game for the side in South Africa. His performances merited a place on the shortlist of Fifa’s prestigious Hyundai Best Young Player Award. With his brother Jonathan narrowly missing out on Mexico’s 23-man squad some questioned whether his attitude would again be at fault. This was not the case as the forward deployed on the right wing unleashed a number of powerful shots in the opening game of the tournament. Dos Santos who would invariably drift into a more central, freer role appeared sharp and quick witted in attack, combining well with his team-mates and unsettling labouring defenders with his speed. His final ball could have been more consistent but the ideas, creativity and enthusiasm from this young attacker was palpable.
Gareth Bale transformed his reputation at Spurs last season from that of perpetual loser to one of the best left-sided players in the league. His contributions together with the improved performances of Bentley, Gomes and Pavlyuchenko were critical as the side beat Manchester City to the coveted fourth place finish. The achievements of Bale and other players who have endured difficult spells should provide hope and context for Dos Santos. In the continued absence of one special signing Spurs may just need Dos Santos to be this season’s Gareth Bale.
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With the PL season nearly upon us, let’s see the WAGS that will be keeping the players on their toes. Click on image to VIEW gallery
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Liverpool have been handed a tricky test in the Europa League play-off round after being paired with Turkish Cup winners Trabzonspor.
The Reds have met their opponents once before in Europe, in the second round of the 1976-77 European Cup, with Pool winning 3-1 on aggregate on their way to their first triumph in the competition.
Aston Villa will take on Rapid Vienna for a place in the group stages, looking for revenge after being knocked out by the Austrians at the same stage of the competition 12 months ago.
Big-spending Manchester City will be confident of progressing after being drawn with Romanian side Timisoara.
Celtic take on Dutch outfit FC Utrecht after being knocked out of the Champions League, while Scottish Cup winners Dundee United have a tough task as they face Greek side AEK Athens.
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Motherwell are paired with Danish club Odense, while Welsh champions The New Saints clash with Bulgarians CSKA Sofia.Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
Liverpool didn’t get the front man required to take the pressure off Fernando Torres. Judging by the forums most were delighted that they failed to secure a deal for Cole on deadline day, although you do wonder in hindsight whether he would have been better than nothing.
This week at FFC we have seen a mixed bag blogs which has included…Rafa’s the special one; what does £11.5m buy Liverpool and the transfer window poser.
Plus we have taken a look at the best Liverpool stories on the Web this week.
After failing at Arsenal, Liverpool…the Last chance for a footballing enigma?
Rafa’s the special one
Liverpool benefit from a steady transfer approach
What will Liverpool be getting for their £11.5m?
The transfer dealings at Anfield
Top 10 Premier League ‘new boys’ to look out for
Fantasy is ruining how I watch the Premier League. Am I alone?
The Transfer Window Poser
A strategic loan so Liverpool can recoup their investment?
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Best of Web
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Fergie didn’t knock us off our perch… Souness did, says Liverpool’s Carragher – Daily Mail
14 Years of dedication to club and city – Live4Liverpool
Bill Shankly birthday tribute – Liverpool Echo
Phil Thompson: Liverpool FC will need Fernando Torres more than ever now – Liverpool Echo
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A Long Road Ahead – Kopblog
LIVERPOOL FC: There’s Klingons on the starboard bow – Well Red
Ignore the doom mongers: Roy’s team has to be given a chance – Live4Liverpool
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A welcome addition to the Premier League’s Wag arena – Click on image below to view gallery