Annual Report 2018-19

More misery for Manchester City as Aston Villa comfortably see off the champions

Manchester City’s abysmal run of form continued with a 2-1 defeat to Aston Villa thanks to goals in each half from Jhon Duran and Morgan Rogers. Both sides let late leads slip to defeat last week but Villa ensured victory in rather comfortable fashion to condemn the current Premier League champions to a sixth defeat in their last eight league matches. City gave themselves a glimmer of hope when Phil Foden got them on the board with a minute to play but it proved too late and Unai Emery’s side climbed above City in the Premier League table. Guardiola made four changes from Sunday’s late implosion to neighbours Manchester United as Kyle Walker and Kevin De Bruyne dropped out of the side alongside Ederson and the injured Ruben Dias. Unai Emery opted for Amadou Onana while Diego Carlos missed out completely and Duran’s recent goalscoring form was rewarded with a third consecutive league start over Ollie Watkins. City’s nightmare run looked to be continuing with just 15 seconds on the clock at Villa Park when Josko Gvardiol was caught napping by John McGinn, who fed in Duran who shot too early and it was palmed behind by Stefan Ortega. Ortega was called into action again less than a minute later when he somehow clawed Pau Torres’ glancing header out from under the goalframe and away to safety. City had their first sniff of goal when John Stones’ long ball picked out Jack Grealish – his first touch was greeted by loud boos from the fans who used to sing his name – and he cut in on his right and flashed the ball wide of the far post. In the 16th minute, City found themselves behind. Youri Tielemans created the opportunity with a sublime pass which sliced through City’s spine to Rogers who squared for Duran to score his third league goal in as many games. The visitors started to get a foothold into the contest and Foden forced Emi Martinez’s first meaningful save after his one-two with Rico Lewis opened up the opportunity for him to fizz it into the far corner but the Villa stopper was on hand to push behind. Another opportunity flashed by the way of the champions – Grealish swung a cross in for Gvardiol who was unable to guide his header under the crossbar. City had the goalframe to thank for not going two goals behind after some neat link-up play between Rogers and Duran opened up the space for the former to crash an effort off the post. Ex-City youth player Rogers was not to be denied with his second of sight of goal though after 65 minutes. The 22-year-old turned from creator to scorer on this occasion and he started the move with a bursting run down the middle and then received a pass from McGinn before he dispatched across Ortega. Two goals down and City’s confidence looked shot to bits with a tame and toothless attack, a frustrated Erling Haaland in particular was unable to bring any spark to the game. City pulled one back with a minute to play as Foden took advantage of Lucas Digne’s slip before he finished beyond Martinez from close range. But it was the Villa faithful singing at the end. Published: 21/12/2024 by Radio NewsHub

Drivers urged to be patient as millions begin Christmas getaway

Millions of drivers have been urged to be patient on the roads as the UK prepares for a “perfect storm” of the Christmas getaway and bad weather. Roads and public transport could be disrupted by strong gusts after the Met Office announced yellow warnings for parts of the country. The AA predicted 23.7 million drivers would hit the road on Friday, making it the busiest day on the roads since the group’s records began in 2010. It projected that Saturday would see 22.7 million drivers and Sunday 21.3 million. A spokesperson for the group said: “With more than 20 million car journeys expected on both Saturday and Sunday if the congestion wasn’t enough of a headache, the inclement weather could create the perfect storm. “We advise those heading out to allow extra time to travel and increase the distance between themselves and other road users.” The RAC has estimated seven million leisure trips will be made on major roads during the weekend, which excludes everyday traffic. It predicted that congestion hotspots will be on both directions of the M1 to Gatwick via the M25 and the M23; Liverpool to Chester on the M53; Oxford to the south coast via the A34 and the M3; the M25 to the south coast along the M3; and at the Taunton to Almondsbury Interchange in Bristol heading down the M5. Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Saturday morning, RAC senior policy officer Rod Dennis urged drivers to be patient: “What we’re saying to people is just be patient. These are journeys that matter to us this time of year. Just don’t expect to get there the minute your sat-nav says it will. Allow yourself a bit of time to make it easy and get there safely.” Disruption has also extended to air travel, with Heathrow Airport confirming a “small number of flights” had been cancelled on Saturday due to “strong winds and airspace restrictions”. A spokesperson said: “This will ensure the vast majority of passengers can still safely travel as planned. “We know how important travel at this time of year is and have extra colleagues on hand in our terminals to support people on their journeys. We encourage passengers to check in with their airlines for the latest information about their flights.” P&O Ferries also confirmed journeys between Larne and Cairnryan have been cancelled for at least 24 hours. A spokesperson said: “Due to adverse weather conditions, all P&O Ferries sailings between Larne and Cairnryan have been cancelled from 2000 tonight (21st December) until at least 2000 tomorrow night (22nd December). We ask our customers please not to travel to either of the ports if their sailing has been cancelled, to avoid causing traffic congestion.” Sunday’s warning also includes London, the South East, the South West, the East Midlands, the West Midlands, Yorkshire and all of Wales and Northern Ireland. Westerly winds are forecast to pick up over Saturday with 50-60mph gusts expected, with a small chance of some reaching 80mph. The Met Office said: “The strongest winds are expected across the far north of Scotland on Saturday afternoon and evening, with the potential for gusts in excess of 80mph in coastal districts including Orkney. “Dangerous coastal conditions can be expected too, with large waves an additional hazard, especially with respect to causeways. This period of strong winds may lead to some transport disruption, including ferry delays or cancellations. “Frequent blustery showers will also be a feature on Saturday and may merge into a longer spell of rain for a time in the far north and north west.” Showers could turn to several centimetres of snow on the hills in the north west of Scotland from Saturday evening into Sunday. Some sleet, snow and hail may fall at lower levels and produce icy conditions by Sunday morning. The strong winds will be more widespread on Sunday, meteorologists said. Ferries have been cancelled and train services impacted as high winds hit Scotland’s Christmas getaway. By noon on Saturday, CalMac, which operates ferry services on Scotland’s west coast, reported that sailings on 21 of its routes were cancelled for the day, with other services facing disruption. Meanwhile, Northlink Ferries, which runs services between Aberdeen and the Orkney and Shetland isles, also reported disruption. It said “adverse weather conditions” meant a sailing between Kirkwall on Orkney and Lerwick in the Shetland Isles was cancelled, along with sailings between Aberdeen and Lerwick, which were scheduled for Saturday evening. Rail operator ScotRail announced that speed restrictions would be in place for part of the route between Glasgow and Oban/Mallaig, and the Inverness service to Kyle/Wick. Published: 21/12/2024 by Radio NewsHub

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Annual Report 2018-19

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More misery for Manchester City as Aston Villa comfortably see off the champions

Drivers urged to be patient as millions begin Christmas getaway

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