Atletico Bilbao boss Marcelo Bielsa is the shock name on Chelsea’s hit list if they replace Andre Villas-Boas.

Despite maintaining he won’t be sacked, many critics believe Villas-Boas could go if the Blues are beaten by Napoli.

AVB: I’m safe for two more seasons 

Ex-Argentina boss Bielsa, 56, is regarded as an innovator, is vastly experienced and has a strong reputation within the game.

Barcelona were even linked with Bielsa in the Spanish media as a potential successor for Pep Guardiola if he stands down in 2013.

Guardiola would be a dream ticket for Chelsea in the long term but owner Roman Abramovich saw Guus Hiddink take over at Anzhi last week and has few options. Ex-England boss Fabio Capello has also been linked.

Article Sources: Exclusive: Bielsa is shock name on Chelsea’s hit list if they replace AVB

Matt Tubbs sent League Two Crawley into the FA Cup fifth round for the second consecutive season after his 57th-minute winner sunk npower Championship high-flyers Hull 1-0 at the KC Stadium.

Tubbs raced onto a fine through-ball from Sergio Torres to slide the only goal of the game under Tigers keeper Vito Mannone and revive memories of last year’s last 16 trip to Old Trafford.

Steve Evans’ underdogs richly deserved their win over a Hull side featuring seven changes to their last league outing, with on-loan new boy Sanchez Watt agonisingly close to extending their margin of victory late on.

Crawley, currently second in their first league season, oozed confidence from the start with Tubbs sending Mannone scrambling early, and Sanchez Watt – signed from Arsenal until the end of the season – causing problems with his pace.

Tubbs aimed an overhead kick just over Mannone’s bar after a lofted pass by Torres, and a Watt shot put more pressure on the home keeper as Crawley completely dominated the opening quarter of an hour.

With the underdogs’ attacks unrelenting, Tyrone Barnett beat Mannone on the by-line but drilled his attempted cross at the legs of Daniel East. In a rare response from Hull, Liam Cooper headed well wide.

Crawley created another fine chance on 32 minutes when Tubbs was denied the chance to get on the end of Barnett’s cross in front of goal by a superb interception from Joe Dudgeon.

Nick Barmby’s men finally managed their first shot on target in the 39th minute when Tom Cairney unleashed a low, long-range effort from the left which drifted into the hands of Crawley keeper Scott Shearer.

And Robbie Brady came closest one minute before the break when he lashed another long-range strike which took a deflection in the box and was well saved by Shearer diving to his left.

Hull’s revival continued just after break when Cairney saw a curling effort flapped behind by Shearer, but the visitors came close at the other end when captain Pablo Mills drilled a shot which Mannone did well to tip wide.

Crawley finally broke the deadlock in the 57th minute when Torres sent Tubbs clear cutting in from the left flank, and the striker kept his poise to squeeze the opener home under Mannone.

The goal sparked the game into life, with Richard Garcia almost prodding Hull level within two minutes only for a full-stretch Shearer to scoop the ball off his goal-line in a crowded box.

Shearer was fortunate to escape in the 68th minute when he raced from his box to reach a through-ball and was beaten to it by Hull substitute Aaron Mclean, who clattered his attempted lob against the keeper.

Crawley should have extended their lead in the 75th minute when Watt brought a point-blank save out of Mannone and from the resulting corner the same player somehow hit the outside of the post with the goal at his mercy.

Hull’s last chance to salvage an equaliser fell to substitute Mark Cullen in injury time but his swinging shot was blocked in a crowded box and Crawley hung on to secure another famous win.

Article Sources: Report: Hull City v Crawley Town – English FA Cup – ESPN Soccernet

Sheffield Wednesday chairman Milan Mandaric has denied having any interest in becoming involved with Scottish champions Rangers.

Mandaric moved quickly to dismiss reports circulating in Scotland that he might be interested in Rangers, who entered administration earlier this week.

In a statement released on Wednesday’s official website, Mandaric, 73, stressed he had "no interest, now or in the future" in the Scottish outfit.

The full statement read: "I am aware and shocked at the media reports today linking my name to an inquiry over the potential purchase of Glasgow Rangers Football Club..

"First and foremost, I can categorically deny that there is any substance to these stories and I am disappointed that such articles are printed without any foundation whatsoever.

"I have never had any dialogue or contact to anyone relating to Glasgow Rangers.

"Glasgow Rangers is a huge football club with a great heritage and history, but I already have that here at Sheffield Wednesday.

"For clarity, I have not instructed any of my associates to register an interest in the administration process at Glasgow Rangers and I have no interest, now or in the future, of becoming involved in the club."

Rangers were forced into administration over an unpaid tax bill of

Article Sources: Milan Mandaric denies Rangers interest

Nigeria’s Men senior football team has been charged to defeat their Rwandan counterparts when they meet next week.

Former Skipper of the team, Kanu Nwanko gave the charge while speaking to the players after training on Tuesday at Abuja National Stadium.

He said “every Nigerian has the belief that the national team can go to Kigali in Rwanda next week to pick the three points at stake.”

Inferiority complex

“You have to have confidence in yourself and to be determined and not be shaky because some of your brothers are coming from Europe to join the team”, he advised.

Kanu added that, “They all started from here like you and you should show them that you can play as well as they can and demonstrate it when you engage Rwanda in Kigali”.

The Home-based Super Eagles are in camp ahead of the team’s first Africa Nations Cup (AFCON) qualifier against Rwanda.

He praised the courage and belief of Keshi in the players and urged the players to repay Keshi with wins in all their qualifying games for the South Africa 2013 Nations Cup and the Brazil 2014 World Cup qualifiers.

We can do it

Team skipper, Chigozie Agbim, assured that the team will not let him and the Nigerian public down when they confront Rwanda in eight days time.

Agbim, who replied on behalf of the players, thanked the ex-international for finding time to visit them in training.

Implication

The visit of the Portsmouth hit man will help increase their level of confidence when they play alongside their foreign-based colleagues against Rwanda.

Article Sources: Free Headlines:

It has been kept somewhat quite for a while, but the return of the Lincoln Walk is the next walk Graham Duckworth will be doing to raise money for the Bradford Burns Unit and to remember the 56 who died in the Bradford Fire Disaster.

This time Bradford City supporters are invited to join Graham in the 24 hour none stop walk, that this time will start in Lincoln at Lincoln City Football Club’s home ground Sincil Bank and end at Valley Parade, home of course to Bradford City Football Club.

Having completed the none stop walk from Valley Parade to Sincil Bank when he began on new years eve 2010 he arrived in time for Bradford City’s fixture at Lincoln City and was given a warm welcome by supporters and the team as they warmed up, stopping for a moment to give Graham a round of applause on January 1, 2011.

It just had to be done, the walk had to this time finish at Valley Parade, and this is the sequel to the walk that raised over £5000 for the Bradford Burns Unit. If you would like to join Graham you can contact us via our contact page. The numbers this time are limited as the logistics of walking from Lincoln to Bradford are very different from those involved with doing the Three Peaks Challenge.

Lincoln to Bradford Walk Information

The walk will take place on May 4th 2012, this allows people who wish to join the walk to get in training and get prepared for a tough but highly rewarding challenge.

Anybody that wishes to walk, or help out in any way they can are welcome to contact us as we would be very pleased to hear from you. You can also follow Bantamstrek on Twitter. We will be doing live Twitter updates on the day this will include photos and videos from the walk so you can stay up-to date with everything that is going on. We have also plenty of time to test a dedicated a page on the website for blow by blow information as the walk progresses.

Remember – May the 4th be with you

Article Sources: Bantamstrek walking Lincoln to Bradford in May

Leeds United have made a crucial step towards regaining their status as England’s most hated football club with the appointment of Neil Warnock.

The Yorkshiremen rejected a string of candidates – including hotly tipped Sith Lord Darth Vader – before selecting the former Sheffield United boss.

Leeds are now closing in on Liverpool in their bid to regain their crown as football’s most hated team. The Merseysiders currently top most fans’ list of ‘clubs you’d most like to ‘do a Rangers”.

Warnock is almost universally disliked in football, making him an ideal choice for the Leeds board.

United already have a suitable figurehead at the club, with Ken Bates in place as Emperor. He cemented his credentials by sacking well-regarded manager Simon Grayson in February, a move which left a gap for a suitably evil boss to take the reins.

“We had considered a few top managers for the role,” said Bates.

“Lord Vader interviewed well. His interpretation of ‘Marching On Together’ featuring 20,000 stormtroopers and a planet-destroying spacestation was impressive, but didn’t quite fit with our ambition of promotion to the Premier League.”

Bates confirmed that Satan was also considered for the role. The Devil had a strong CV, but there were concerns he would struggle with the rainy northern climate.

“In the end we went for Neil, who was terrifying. I mean this bloke is seriously evil. Much nastier than Vader and Satan put together.”

Warnock has been handed a lucrative contract which expires the millisecond he secures Leeds’ return to the topflight.

Article Sources: Neil Warnock pips Darth Vader to Leeds United job

Chelsea host Manchester United, while Tottenham travel to Liverpool in the next round of Barclays Premier League fixtures.

SATURDAY 4 FEBRUARY

Arsenal v Blackburn 1pm

Arsenal midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (knee) will be assessed ahead of tomorrow’s clash with Blackburn at Emirates Stadium.

Full-back Kieran Gibbs (groin) has returned to full training, but Carl Jenkinson (back), Andre Santos (ankle) and midfielder Abou Diaby (hamstring) are still out.

Ivory Coast forward Gervinho is still away at the African Nations Cup, but Morocco striker Marouane Chamakh is due back, although not in time for tomorrow. Midfielder Jack Wilshere suffered a setback in his rehabilitation from an ankle injury.

Arsenal provisional squad: Szczesny, Sagna, Vermaelen, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Walcott, Song, Ramsey, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Arteta, van Persie, Fabianski, Rosicky, Henry, Park, Coquelin, Benayoun, Arshavin, Miquel.

Blackburn team news to follow.

Norwich v Bolton 3pm

Ryo Miyaichi and Marvin Sordell could make their Bolton debuts at Carrow Road.

Midfielder Miyaichi, who has joined on loan from Arsenal for the rest of the season, and striker Sordell, recruited from Watford in a permanent deal, are both in the Wanderers squad after completing their moves on transfer deadline day.

Fellow new arrival Tim Ream, the centre-back signed earlier in the January window from the New York Red Bulls, is flying in from the United States too late to be considered for selection, while another defender, Gretar Steinsson, is a major doubt having picked up a knock in Wednesday’s 0-0 draw with the Gunners.

Bolton provisional squad: Bogdan, Jaaskelainen, Wheater, Boyata, Knight, Mears, Eagles, Robinson, Muamba, Petrov, K Davies, Klasnic, Tuncay, M Davies, Pratley, Ngog, Blake, Reo-Coker, Ricketts, Riley, Miyaichi, Sordell.

Norwich will again be without left-back Marc Tierney. Tierney is suffering from a groin injury, but centre-back Elliott Ward made his long-awaited return to the squad following a pre-season knee injury for the midweek defeat at Sunderland and could be included again.

Striker James Vaughan has also recovered from his knee ligament injury, but may need more time to get fully match fit.

Norwich provisional squad: Ruddy, Martin, Whitbread, Ayala, Naughton, Bennett, Johnson, Crofts, Pilkington, Holt, Morison, Steer, Surman, Hoolahan, Wilbraham, D Fox, Jackson, Ward, Vaughan.

QPR v Wolves 3pm

Bobby Zamora is in line to make his QPR debut against Wolves.

The England forward, who joined Rangers from Fulham on transfer deadline day, is set to form a new-look strike partnership with Djibril Cisse.

Adel Taarabt and Armand Traore are back from African Nations Cup duty and Jay Bothroyd could return from a groin problem but Heidar Helguson (groin), DJ Campbell (hamstring) and Alejandro Faurlin (knee) are out while Akos Buzsaky (Achilles) is a major doubt.

QPR provisional squad: Kenny, Cerny, Murphy, Gabbidon, Onuoha, Ferdinand, Taiwo, Traore, Hall, Hill, Young, Derry, Barton, Buzsaky, Taarabt, Ephraim, Smith, Mackie, Wright-Phillips, Hulse, Macheda, Balanta, Bothroyd, Cisse, Zamora.

Wolves manager Mick McCarthy has no fresh injury worries ahead of the trip to Loftus Road.

Defender Sebastien Bassong could make his first start for the club after moving from Tottenham on loan until the end of the season, while midfielder Jamie O’Hara is back in contention after recovering from a double hernia operation.

Midfielder Karl Henry is still suspended for the trip to west London, where Wolves will be looking to end their nine-game winless league run.

Wolves provisional squad: Hennessey, Ward, Johnson, Berra, Foley, Edwards, Kightly, Frimpong, Jarvis, Jonsson, Fletcher, Bassong, De Vries, Elokobi, Stearman, Hunt, Milijas, Ebanks-Blake, Doyle, O’Hara.

Stoke v Sunderland 3pm

Stoke winger Matthew Etherington is a doubt for Saturday’s Barclays Premier League clash with Sunderland at the Britannia Stadium.

Etherington has missed two days of training due to a virus and will be assessed ahead of kick-off.

Aside from that concern, manager Tony Pulis has virtually a full squad to select from, with only long-term absentee Mamady Sidibe (knee) unavailable.

Sunderland boss Martin O’Neill will be without defender Wes Brown and midfielder David Vaughan as the pair face up to weeks on the sidelines.

Brown (knee) will be missing for up to two months, while Vaughan (ankle ligaments) is expected to be out for a lesser, but still significant, period.

Midfielder Lee Cattermole (hamstring) is hoping to return to training a the end of next week, while defenders Matt Kilgallon (ankle) and Titus Bramble (Achilles/foot) are still sidelined, but Sotirios Kyrgiakos is available to join fellow loan signing Wayne Bridge in the squad.

Sunderland provisional squad: Mignolet, Westwood, Bardsley, Bridge, O’Shea, Turner, Kyrgiakos, Lynch, Richardson, Gardner, Larsson, Elmohamady, McClean, Meyler, Colback, Sessegnon, Wickham, Ji, Campbell.

Stoke City provisional squad: Sorensen, Begovic, Wilkinson, Huth, Shawcross, Wilson, Pennant, Delap, Palacios, Etherington, Crouch, Walters, Shotton, Upson, Diao, Jones, Whitehead, Whelan, Woodgate, Fuller, Jerome, Collins.

West Brom v Swansea 3pm

West Brom boss Roy Hodgson is weighing up whether to give full debuts to newcomers Liam Ridgewell and Keith Andrews against Swansea.

Former Birmingham defender Ridgewell has completed only one game so far in 2012 while midfielder Andrews, signed from Blackburn, has not figured since playing on loan for Ipswich on Boxing Day.

Winger Jerome Thomas (calf) remains a doubt but right-back Steven Reid (ankle), striker Shane Long (digestive problem) and midfielder Paul Scharner (Achilles) are close to fitness.

Albion skipper Chris Brunt (fractured ankle) and fellow midfielder Zoltan Gera (knee) are long-term absentees.

West Brom provisional squad: Foster, Fulop, Reid, Jara-Reyes, Olsson, McAuley, Dawson, Tamas, Mattock, Ridgewell, Shorey, Mulumbu, Andrews, Morrison, Thorne, Scharner, Dorrans, Thomas, Tchoyi, Cox, Fortune, Odemwingie, Long.

Swansea manager Brendan Rodgers has to decide whether to include new signing Curtis Obeng in his squad.

Highly-rated full-back Obeng, 22, joined the Swans this week from Wrexham on a three-and-half-year contract for an undisclosed fee, with Daniel Alfei being loaned out to the Dragons for the rest of the season.

The Swans will be without Ferrie Bodde for at least two weeks after he suffered a knee injury in a reserve game and will be assessed over possible surgery. Fellow midfielder Andrea Orlandi is also out for six weeks with a hamstring strain.

Swansea provisional squad: Vorm, Rangel, Caulker, Williams, Taylor, Britton, Allen, Sigurdsson, Dyer, Graham, Sinclair, Tremmel, Routledge, Monk, Lita, Moore, Agustien, Richards, Obeng.

Wigan v Everton 3pm

Wigan will welcome back key midfielder Mohamed Diame for the clash with Everton following his return from the African Nations Cup.

Striker Hugo Rodallega was only fit enough for a place on the bench against Tottenham on Tuesday because of a soft tissue injury but should be in contention to start along with David Jones (calf).

Franco Di Santo was forced off at White Hart Lane with a badly cut leg while Antolin Alcaraz has a groin injury but both could be involved.

New signings Nikica Jelavic and Steven Pienaar are set to be included in Everton’s squad to face Wigan at the DW Stadium.

The pair joined on deadline day but the former is closer to match fitness than Pienaar, who has returned to his ex-club on loan and has struggled for pitch time at Tottenham this season.

Defender Sylvain Distin and midfielder Jack Rodwell (both hamstring) are edging closer to fitness but are not quite ready while Phil Jagielka (knee), Leon Osman (knee) and Seamus Coleman (thigh) are still some way off a comeback.

Wigan provisional squad: Al Habsi, Figueroa, Watson, Boyce, Alcaraz, Diame, Caldwell, Moses, Gomez, McCarthy, Di Santo, Jones, Stam, McArthur, Lopez, Thomas, Sammon, Maloney, Crusat, Gohouri, Rodallega, McManaman, Beausejour, Pollitt, Kirkland.

Everton provisional squad: Howard, Heitinga, Baines, Hibbert, Neville, Gibson, Cahill, Drenthe, Fellaini, Donovan, Stracqualursi, Mucha, Barkley, Duffy, Gueye, Vellios, Pienaar, Jelavic, McFadden, Baxter.

Manchester City v Fulham 5.30pm

Mousa Dembele and Mark Schwarzer return for Fulham’s Barclays Premier League clash at City.

The former has missed recent matches with a hip problem but is fit to return, while goalkeeper Schwarzer has recovered from a spine injury picked up in mid-December.

Andrew Johnson (groin) and Steve Sidwell (hernia) both miss out, while Pavel Pogrebnyak will not feature as he awaits international clearance.

Fulham provisional squad: Schwarzer, Stockdale, Etheridge, Hangeland, Senderos, Riise, Kelly, Frei, Murphy, Etuhu, Gecov, Dempsey, Ruiz, Davies, Duff, Hughes, Baird, Dembele, Trotta, Kasami.

Manchester City are again without suspended striker Mario Balotelli for tomorrow’s Barclays Premier League clash with Fulham at the Etihad Stadium.

Defender Kolo Toure and midfielder Yaya Toure are still at the African Nations Cup but playmaker David Pizarro, signed on loan from Roma this week, is in contention.

Defenders Vincent Kompany and Micah Richards are expected to overcome minor knocks.

City provisional squad: Hart, Pantilimon, Richards, Zabaleta, Kompany, Lescott, Savic, Kolarov, Clichy, Nasri, Johnson, Milner, Silva, Hargreaves, De Jong, Barry, Pizarro, Dzeko, Aguero, Suarez, Razak.

SUNDAY 5 FEBRUARY

Newcastle United v Aston Villa 1.30pm

Aston Villa striker Gabriel Agbonlahor is again a major fitness doubt with back and hamstring spasms.

Agbonlahor is to undergo a special fitness programme with the club’s conditioning coach, Adrian Lamb, to try and eradicate such problems after missing the midweek home draw with QPR.

Winger Marc Albrighton (thigh) and central defender James Collins are also battling to be fit while midfielder Chris Herd continues to recover from an ankle injury.

Villa provisional squad: Given, Guzan, Hutton, Lichaj, Collins, Cuellar, Dunne, Warnock, Baker, Bannan, Clark, Petrov, Ireland, Albrighton, Bent, Keane, Agbonlahor, Heskey, N’Zogbia, Weimann, Marshall, Johnson, Gardner, Stevens.

Senegal strikers Demba Ba and Papiss Demba Cisse are included in the Newcastle squad.

Fifteen-goal Ba and new signing Cisse are available following their country’s premature departure from the African Nations Cup with the latter in line for a debut following his big-money January move from Freiburg.

Midfielder Yohan Cabaye serves the second game of his three-match suspension after being found guilty of violent conduct, while defender Steven Taylor (Achilles) and midfielders Sylvain Marveaux (groin) and Sammy Ameobi (knee) continue their respective recoveries.

Newcastle provisional squad: Krul, Elliot, Harper, Simpson, R. Taylor, Santon, Ferguson, Perch, Coloccini, Williamson, Kadar, Obertan, Ben Arfa, Gutierrez, Gosling, Abeid, Vuckic, Ba, Cisse, Best, Shola Ameobi, Lovenkrands.

Chelsea v Manchester United 4pm

Alex Ferguson is ready to welcome Ashley Young and Tom Cleverley back to his squad for Sunday.

Young has been missing for six weeks with a knee problem, while Cleverley has not featured since injuring an ankle at Everton in October.

Wayne Rooney (ankle) and Nani (foot) are also back after missing two games, while David De Gea is set to return in goal as United look to record their first Premier League win at Stamford Bridge since 2002.

Danish goalkeeper Anders Lindegaard will be sidelined for at least a month with an ankle injury.

Man United provisional squad: De Gea, Amos, Smalling, Rafael, Ferdinand, Evra, Evans, Fabio, Fryers, Cole, Carrick, Cleverley, Scholes, Pogba, M Keane, Valencia, Park, Giggs, Young, Nani, Rooney, Welbeck, Berbatov, Hernandez.

John Terry will miss out with the knee problem that kept him out of Tuesday’s match at Swansea.

Terry, who was this morning stripped of the England captaincy for the second time in his career, has been unable to train this week, meaning Gary Cahill may make his debut.

Frank Lampard could return from the calf injury that has kept him out of the last two games, but Ashley Cole is suspended, while Ramires (knee) and John Obi Mikel (hamstring) are still out.

Chelsea provisional squad: Cech, Bosingwa, Ivanovic, Luiz, Cahill, Chalobah, Hutchinson, Bertrand, Romeu, Essien, Lampard, Mata, Malouda, Meireles, Torres, Sturridge, Lukaku, Turnbull.

MONDAY 6 FEBRUARY

Liverpool v Tottenham

New signing Louis Saha could make his Tottenham debut in Monday night’s game at Liverpool.

Jermain Defoe (hamstring) is unlikely to play, Rafael van der Vaart is struggling with a calf problem and Emmanuel Adebayor hobbled off during Tuesday’s win over Wigan with a hamstring complaint.

Aaron Lennon (hamstring) is extremely doubtful, William Gallas (calf) and Tom Huddlestone (ankle) are unavailable, but Kyle Walker (groin) and Ledley King (knee) should be fit.

Tottenham provisional squad: Friedel, Gomes, Cudicini, Assou-Ekotto, Rose, Kaboul, Khumalo, Walker, King, Dawson, Nelsen, Livermore, Sandro, Parker, Bale, Kranjcar, Lennon, Dos Santos, Modric, Van der Vaart, Defoe, Adebayor, Saha.

Striker Luis Suarez returns from an eight-match suspension and will go straight back into the Liverpool squad.

The Uruguay international has not played since St Stephen’s Day and is likely to be given a place among the substitutes.

Captain Steven Gerrard is also back having been rested for the midweek win at Wolves.

Liverpool provisional squad: Reina, Johnson, Agger, Skrtel, Enrique, Adam, Gerrard, Downing, Henderson, Kuyt, Carroll, Doni, Kelly, Carragher, Coates, Aurelio, Spearing, Shelvey, Bellamy, Suarez, Rodriguez.

Article Sources: English Premier League team news

CAUTIOUS Garry Hill is refusing to gloat that the Blue Square South title race is won.

The Woking boss was delighted and relieved as his runaway leaders beat Dartford 1-0 in Saturday’s first-versus-second clash at Kingfield to go 14 points clear.

A third-minute header from centre back Alan Inns, following a Keiran Murtagh corner, ultimately separated the sides in a compelling tussle in front of 2,528 fans.

Asked if he felt his Cards had one hand on the crown, Hill replied: “No, I would never say that. I’m not the sort of person who will turn around and want to be Humpty Dumpty and sit on the wall and watch it all crash around us, but at the end of the day it was going to be a six-pointer today.

“I know we only got three but it feels like six – we were either going to be 14 clear or eight so it was a massive game.”

Hill’s opposite number Tony Burman took defeat on the chin, saying: “Teams worry when they don’t create. We created but unfortunately couldn’t put the ball in the back of the net.”

He went on: “Fair play to Woking, they aren’t top of the league for no reason – they’re a good side.

“I’m proud of my players because we had a go which is what I asked them to do and I felt they played very well.”

And on the chase that now looks to be for the play-off places, rather than the crown, Burman said: “It’s a mountain to climb. I would love to be in Woking’s position.

“They have been the most consistent side in the league and that’s why they’re top. We’ve been the second most consistent but we will carry on and plug away.”

Hill added: “We’ve nicked the result and if it had been a draw we would have been disappointed but it would have been a fair result.

“Dartford are a good side and they are better than I probably gave them credit for.”

The match marked the return to Woking of Kevin Betsy, the former youth product – now 33 and a free agent having left Wycombe in December – receiving a warm ovation from fans after re-joining the club, at least until the end of the season, on Friday.

Betsy – whose other former clubs include Oldham, Barnsley and Bristol City – was originally sold by the Cards to Kevin Keegan’s Fulham in 1998 in a deal worth £150,000.

Article Sources: Woking FC

STRIKER Denis Stracqualursi believes he is now reaping the rewards of a regular place in the Everton first team.

Stracqualursi has scored three times in his last five games after finally breaking his goalscoring duck on his 12th appearance in the 2-1 FA Cup win over Fulham last month.

The Argentine, on a season-long loan from homeland side Tigre, has featured in all bar one of Everton’s 11 games since the turn of the year.

And the 24-year-old is convinced that extended run in the senior team has helped him acclimatise to life in English football.

“When I first got here, it was difficult to adapt to the different style of football,” said Stracqualursi.

“But now I’m getting games and getting time, I’m scoring goals and that’s the main thing for a forward.

“I’m very happy with the goal. It’s very important for forwards to score goals for confidence.

“The main thing, though, is that we won. It’s a team effort.”

Stracqualursi was on target in the 2-0 Goodison win over Blackpool on Saturday that put Everton into the FA Cup quarter-finals for the second time in four seasons.

And he said: “We are confident and we are happy that we got to the next round.

“There’s a lot of confidence in the team and we need to keep it up and take it into the next games.”

Meanwhile, Phil Neville has hailed Landon Donovan’s second loan spell as even more impressive than his first.

Donovan, who spent two months at Everton in 2010, has returned to LA Galaxy after his temporary switch to Goodison came to an end at the weekend.

The 29-year-old was given a rousing send-off by the home crowd after he took to the pitch after Saturday’s win, having unfortunately missed playing in the game through illness.

And Neville said: “Last time he came here, he lit the place up.

“He came back this time a couple of years older and with more expectation on his shoulders.

“He was really on a hiding to nothing and I think this time he’s performed even better.

“I know how he felt when he had to miss the game. He was devastated.

“It was just nice that he could thank the fans for a tremendous two months.

“He was a breath of fresh air around the place.

”He immersed himself in the whole club – not just on the pitch but off the pitch as well.

“We will miss him.”

Article Sources: Denis Stracqualursi thrives on regular football at Everton FC

West Ham started much the brighter of the two sides, playing with the tenacity and purpose you would expect of a team leading the division.

Ricardo Vaz Te could have given the Hammers the lead just 43 seconds into his first start for the club, but Kelvin Davies’s outstanding low save kept him at bay.

It was wave after wave from Sam Allardyce’s men in a frenetic opening, but a chaotic two minutes was to completely change the complexion of the game.

Mark Noble went down from Billy Sharp’s challenge and the referee pointed to the spot. In the ensuing melee of players Matt Taylor raised his hand followed by referee Lee Probert raising his, brandishing the red card.

It wasn’t the card Taylor would have been hoping for on Valentine’s Day and for the second game in succession West Ham would have to play out the majority of the match with 10 men.

After all this, Noble kept his head and coolly slotted home his third penalty in two games.

With the extra man Southampton were able to work their way back into the game and finished the half the stronger team. Robert Green was forced into two wonderful saves when a Saints goal seemed the only outcome.

The second half was always going to be about containment for Big Sam’s men and unsurprisingly Southampton began to dominate possession, but a resolute Hammers defence limited them to half chances and long range efforts.

Eventually the pressure proved too much, but the West Ham boss will be bitterly disappointed that it was a set piece that undid his side. Jos Hooiveld latched onto Danny Fox’s knockdown and silenced the home support with just 15 minutes remaining.

With the scores level both sides seemed happy to settle for a share of the spoils and both managers were left to reflect on a bittersweet point and decisions that might have gone their way.

“In my opinion it wasn’t a penalty,” said Nigel Adkins after the game. “We should have had our own penalty — the officials certainly had an interesting game.

“We’ve had good opportunities to go and win it and maybe the chances we’ve had we should have gone on to win it. But taking four points from West Ham over a season isn’t too bad,” said the Saints boss.

Allardyce was similarly frustrated with decisions that went against his team. “Before the first one was given we should have had two penalties and they should be down to ten men,” fumed Allardyce after the game.

“It was a triumph from the point of view of the result with 10 men, but I hope the officials stop getting in the way of what we are striving for,” added the Hammers boss who will be hoping his side can play out their remaining games with the 11 men they started with.

Article Sources: West Ham 1-1 Southampton: Probert performance has rival managers fuming