Evening Times

Last night's results

BARCELONA set up a King’s Cup final against Athletic Bilbao when Cesc Fabregas scored once and created another for Xavi in a 2-0 win over 10-man Valencia in their semi-final second leg. They won the tie 3-1 on aggregate.

Under the spotlight: Bobby Williamson

SportTimes reporter THOMAS JORDAN catches up with the former Scottish Cup- winning boss as he continues in his bid to gain success with the Uganda team...

City’s masterful move

GLASGOW City have signed Rangers captain Lesley McMaster, who becomes head coach Eddie Wolecki Black’s fifth pre-season recruit ahead of their defence of the Premier League Championship.

It’s make or break now for Padraig

TIGER WOODS' first appearance in America this year has dominated the build-up to the AT&T National Pro-am at Pebble Beach.

Harrison: Rocks hard to crack when fit

EJ HARRISON claims a fully-fit Glasgow Rocks can be a match for anyone in the British Basketball League – including the leaders, Newcastle.

Hastings in warning to Andy’s wounded Scots

SCOTT HASTINGS says he is fearful of Scotland’s RBS Six Nations trip to the Millennium Stadium to play against Wales on Sunday.

Stories in today’s English papers...

Harry set to be handed the job

Jags stopper Archie is just raring to go

ALAN ARCHIBALD hopes Partick Thistle can kick-start their title challenge when they return to action after a winter break.

McKinlay grabs job as Irish assistant

FORMER Scotland and Dundee United midfielder Billy McKinlay is the new Northern Ireland assistant manager.

Law sets Well goal target...

NICKLY LAW has set himself a double-figure goal target for the rest of the season.

Daniel Cousin return a real coup for Ally McCoist

FORMER Rangers captain Craig Paterson today tipped Daniel Cousin to take the title race to the wire.

Scott Brown: Win was show of purpose

GOAL-MACHINE Scott Brown today admitted he has not frequented the scoresheet as consistently since he was aged 15.

Kyle Hutton presses the launch button for his career at Ibrox

KYLE HUTTON saw the Murray Park dressing room empty and feared the door would snap shut, stopping his career in its tracks.

Engine room drives Celtic to accelerate ahead in SPL

ONE thing Neil Lennon was not as a footballer was a goalscoring midfielder, but it’s the ability of his players in the middle of the park to find the back of the net which is driving his team ever closer to a domestic Treble.

Daniel Cousin in frame for an instant Rangers return

DANIEL COUSIN is set to be catapulted straight into an SPL title fight with Rangers when he jets into Scotland tomorrow.

Victor Wanyama: Bhoys are in it together

VICTOR WANYAMA today declared that it is the one-for-all, all-for-one attitude of the Celtic side which has pushed them to their sweet sixteenth straight domestic win.

Parks says his Scotland career is over

DAN PARKS has retired from international rugby with immediate effect.

Fixtures and results

TONIGHT

Euro Tour consider new Desert swing

EUROPEAN Tour officials are keen to launch a second ‘Desert Swing’ in the future, according to tournament committee chairman Thomas Bjorn.

Gilmour’s watching brief at amateur event

BIG-HEARTED Tommy Gilmour has vowed he will not poach any of the nation’s top amateurs when the St Andrew’s Club hosts its first Scotland versus England international match on Monday, February 20.

Battling Jacko aims to banish Cup blues

RUARIDH JACKSON admits looking on from the sidelines as Scotland lost the Calcutta Cup against England was the most frustrating moment of his injury nightmare.

Stories in today’s English papers...

Juve wing man could be a Blue

Killie waste chance to move into SPL top six

KILMARNOCK missed the opportunity to return to the SPL top six as Dunfermline claimed a valuable point in their battle against relegation at East End Park last night.

New tax threat at Tynecastle

HEARTS are confident of staving off the threat of liquidation by paying their latest tax bill.

Jags are keen to bring back Balatoni . . .

PARTICK THISTLE are considering a move for defender Conrad Balatoni following his release from Hearts.

Neil Lennon: Hard work now paying dividends

NEIL LENNON stood in a corner of the bustling, cramped Press room beneath the main stand at Tynecastle.

Danny looks for improvement in Well fixture

ST MIRREN manager Danny Lennon believes his side can retain a positive outlook ahead of Saturday’s visit of red hot Motherwell.

Sergio is confident of Hearts victory

HEARTS manager Paulo Sergio has attributed Celtic’s unbeaten run to growing confidence after exiting Europe.

Scott Brown’s prepared for a battle

HANGING tough comes naturally to Scott Brown. And the Celtic skipper means to lead by example all the way to the finishing line in this season’s SPL title race.

Adam Matthews has mature view despite his tender years...

ADAM MATTHEWS has already had one dose of suffering the bitter disappointment of watching Celtic lose a championship which most considered was within their grasp.

Daniel Cousin lined up for Ibrox return

DANIEL COUSIN could be set for a sensational return to Ibrox this week.

Neil Lennon: If you believe league is over you won’t be in my team

TITLE-CHASING Celtic stars have been handed a stark warning by cautious manager Neil Lennon:

Thistle snare midfield star Welsh from Hibs

HIBS midfielder Sean Welsh is set to sign a loan deal with Partick Thistle until the end of the season.

All systems go for SFA refs’ chief

From HUGH MacDONALD at the Scottish referees’ winter training camp in La Manga, Spain...

Answers needed to satisfy baffled support

WALTER SMITH stood inside a deserted Rugby Park and opted to gaze to the future, rather than revel in the moment.

Neil Lennon: Celtic can’t put a value on Gary Hooper

NEIL LENNON today said Gary Hooper is priceless – and can be worth his weight in goals as Celtic set their sights on ensuring their season ends with at least one crock of gold.

Strauss won’t panic over loss

ENGLAND cricket captain Andrew Strauss said there would be no knee-jerk reaction to the 3-0 series defeat by Pakistan that has seen his team’s lead at the top of the Test rankings slashed to one point.

Stories in today’s English papers...

Balotelli linked with Milan move

Sir Bobby has minor surgery

MANCHESTER United legend Sir Bobby Charlton has undergone minor surgery after taking ill before last night’s Laureus World Sports Awards.

Limond puts return on the back burner

PRESSURE of work has forced Willie Limond, the former Commonwealth lightweight champion from Glasgow, to shelve plans to make his comeback on the undercard of Lee McAllister’s European title bout in Aberdeen on February 25.

Mental toughness was key for Giants

NEW YORK GIANTS head coach Tom Coughlin said “mental toughness” explained how his team could find the late season burst of form that led them to win the Super Bowl over the New England Patriots.

Beattie backs Scots to find catalyst in Cardiff

JOHN BEATTIE says Scotland are capable of bouncing back from their Calcutta Cup defeat to England by beating Wales at the Millennium Stadium on Sunday.

Clyde decimated with long-term injuries

CLYDE boss Jim Duffy is counting the cost of a spate of injuries that have decimated his side.

Killie aim to split from pack with Pars victory

KILMARNOCK boss Kenny Shiels has urged his side to seize the initiative in the race for a top-six spot by beating Dunfermline tonight.

Friendly tie saw Kelvin Wilson hallmark stamped on again

A DEVELOPMENT Squad bounce game against Fleetwood on the Lancashire coast provided Neil Lennon with the answer he had been fishing for.

Lasley: We’ve busted Well home hoodoo behind them

KEITH LASLEY believes Motherwell could not have asked for any more than a home tie in the William Hill Scottish Cup quarter-finals.

Cup draw a bit of a Hassel for Buddies striker

NIGEL HASSELBAINK admits the Scottish Cup quarter-final draw has done St Mirren no favours.

Anthony Stokes says strike battle hotting up

ANTHONY STOKES realises not even the fact he has shot to the top of the Celtic scorers’ list guarantees him a place in Neil Lennon’s team.

Craig Whyte’s pledge on Rangers’ accounts

CRAIG WHYTE has assured Rangers fans’ chiefs that the club’s accounts will be published “within the next few weeks”.

Deserted stadium is witness to latest low

FOR large chunks of this game, Ally McCoist cut a disconsolate figure on the Ibrox touchline.

Stories in today’s English papers...

Ronaldo eyes Premier return

AVB and Sir Alex raging at officials

ANDRE VILLAS-BOAS and Sir Alex Ferguson both lambasted the performance of the match officials in the 3-3 draw between Chelsea and Manchester United at Stamford Bridge.

Fabio unhappy over Terry axe

ENGLAND coach Fabio Capello says he disagrees with the FA’s decision to strip John Terry of the national team’s captaincy.

Imogen doubles up to clinch 10th domestic success

OLYMPIC hopeful Imogen Bankier took her tally of domestic badminton titles to 10 with two victories at the Scottish National Championships in Perth.

Gartland relieved after Wales’ late show

WALES ruby coach Warren Gatland said his team “got out of jail” after their RBS 6 Nations victory in Ireland yesterday.

Evans: Waiting game is key in Scots’ try pursuit

MAX EVANS reckons Scotland must rein in their attacking instincts to start hitting the try line regularly.

Paul feeling chipper after Doha win

PAUL LAWRIE is a world top-50 golfer again after a flawless performance gave him victory in the Qatar Masters in Doha.

Moore blasts Ton over Fir Park shambles

MORTON manager Allan Moore is worried his side’s Cup defeat at Motherwell could have a negative impact on their First Division existence.

Shiels: Home crowd played their part

KENNY SHIELS believes the introduction of new faces – and the enthus-iasm of Pa Kujabi – may have put his Kilmarnock team on the back foot in the captial.

McCoist support from Houston

PETER HOUSTON has backed Ally McCoist to transform Rangers’ fortunes, but says his side deserved credit for the win.

Rout is perfect start to Ojamaa’s Well career

MOTHERWELL striker Henrik Ojamaa has told how the 6-0, fifth-round thrashing of Morton was the perfect end to the best week of his career.

Mair: Now we’re ready to do it the hard way

LEE MAIR claims St Mirren must make the most of their second chance to reach the quarter-finals following a stoppage-time reprieve against Ross County in Paisley.

No change Queen’s

QUEEN’S PARK kept their play-off place in the Irn-Bru Third Division, despite slipping to a 2-1 home defeat to Alloa.

Sergio is baffled as Kello blanked

HEARTS manager Paulo Sergio claims keeper Marian Kello has been frozen out of the side by the club’s board.

Steven Davis: We’ve got to save our season

IT is all about football, not finance, for Steven Davis.

Legal team in move to ease Jags’ worries

PARTICK THISTLE today announced a sponsorship deal with Just Employment Law until the end of the season.

Neil Lennon’s so solid crew flex muscles in tussle for Treble

TOUGH at the top? Celtic certainly are as they show not only strength in depth, but strength on the pitch.

Ally McCoist’s final demands fall short in shadow cast by tax case

AGAINST a backdrop of empty blue seats, the only noise made by the small Ibrox crowd was an echo of boos as the Rangers players trudged off the pitch yesterday.

We’ll need big Hearts for capital, says Neil Lennon

TYNECASTLE holds no fear for Neil Lennon and his high-flying Hoops – even though the venue for Wednesday’s SPL game was the last place Celtic were beaten by a Scottish club.

Fans have to do their sums

IT’S time for Rangers fans to play the numbers game … and they must look beyond the most obvious statistic they awoke to today: That two out of this season’s three domestic trophies are gone after their meek Scottish Cup capitulation at home to Dundee United.

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