Must-See Moment: Utah Royals midfielder Courtney Brown scores for her…

The Utah Royals are in the midst of their best ever start in club history and have just won their fifth straight match, 2-0 over Houston Dash.

In the 88th minute, midfielder and Utah native Courtney Brown clinched the result with a goal. tbzikra.com

“It was super special. Obviously, I’m from Utah. It’s super awesome to come and score for my hometown club, it was a really special moment for me.”

With the win, the Utah Royals have moved to second in the NWSL table, only three points behind leaders, Portland Thorns.

The Victorian government has overturned a ban on World Cup matches being shown on big screens at Melbourne's Federation Square.

The ban had been put in place by Melbourne Arts Precinct, which manages the venue, after poor behaviour by some supporters at previous events.

However, state premier Jacinta Allan has now permitted gatherings at the square after Football Australia urged her government to overturn the ban.

"I disagree with that decision – and I am overturning it," Allan said in a statement.

"There's always a risk of bad behaviour from a few at every public gathering, but police and security will be on site, and there'll be zero tolerance for it. Now more than ever, people deserve more free stuff to do together in the city."

Australia supporters have gathered at Federation Square to watch tournament matches since 2006.

The Melbourne Arts Precinct had said behaviour in previous years had been "unacceptable and damaging".

Video of fans celebrating went viral during the 2022 World Cup in Qatar as Australia advanced to the last 16, but there were incidents involving people being injured by flares and projectiles.

Supporters also stormed barricades during the 2023 Women's World Cup semi-final between Australia and England, leading to the screening of the Matildas' third-place play-off being cancelled at the square.

"After careful consideration, we've made the decision not to show the World Cup on Fed Square's Big Screen this year," Melbourne Arts Precinct director and chief executive Katrina Sedgwick had said on Wednesday.

"This is due to the behaviour of a small number of people at previous screenings which was simply unacceptable and damaging to Fed Square."

Football Australia had urged people to support calls for the Melbourne Arts Precinct and the state's government to change the "disappointing" decision "in the best interests of football fans, local businesses and all Victorians".

Martin Kugeler, chief executive of the governing body, said: "Melbourne is one of Australia's sporting and multicultural capitals, and this decision goes against this tradition.

"Federation Square has created some of the most memorable moments in Australian sporting history, dating back to the Socceroos' historic 2006 Fifa World Cup matches and the 2023 Fifa Women's World Cup."

Patrick Clancy, chair of Football Supporters Association Australia, added: "The pictures and videos of Fed Square during World Cup 2022 went viral around the world. We want to see this repeated."

Australia play Turkey, Paraguay and joint hosts the United States at this summer's World Cup, which starts on 11 June, with the final on 19 July.

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Manchester United’s pursuit of Myles Lewis-Skelly has taken a sharp turn, despite the Red Devils leading the chase for the Arsenal starlet, according to a new report.

Two Birds One Stone

With Champions League football secured after last weekend’s 3-2 victory over Liverpool, United’s attention now turns to a defining summer window for INEOS.

The most urgent priority is an overhaul of the midfield unit. Casemiro‘s contract will expire in June, while Manuel Ugarte‘s future hangs precariously in the balance.

Two options are expected to arrive to fix the stalling engine room, though a third could be signed if a buyer can be found for the 25-year-old Uruguayan.

The club are also intent on bolstering the left-hand side of the pitch, with both full-backs and wingers on the radar. Luke Shaw has stayed fit this season, but the increased workload of a return to Europe will take its toll on the 30-year-old Englishman’s body next year.

This has led United to plot a bombshell raid on the Emirates to sign Lewis-Skelly, given he is capable of playing in central midfield or at left-back.

TEAMtalk reveals the Red Devils are pushing the hardest out of the 19-year-old dynamo’s suitors. Talks have been held between club officials and intermediaries, with a sense that regular first-team minutes are his biggest priority.

“Sources have confirmed Manchester United remain the most strongly interested club, viewing the England international as a long-term successor to Luke Shaw.

“Intermediaries have spoken about the player to Old Trafford officials, and United appreciate his technical ability and versatility as they seek to rebuild their defence. A move to Manchester would provide the regular first-team football Lewis-Skelly craves, particularly with an eye on securing his place in Thomas Tuchel’s England plans moving forward.”

Crystal Palace, Everton and West Ham are also interested, while Spanish rivals Atletico and Real Madrid are both admirers of the Hale End graduate.

Arsenal rule out an exit

If the season had ended a few weeks ago, United’s hopes of striking a deal with Arsenal would have been sky-high, as Lewis-Skelly has been largely ignored by Mikel Arteta this season.

However, the Spanish manager has since entrusted him to start in midfield for two of Arsenal’s biggest matches of the season over the past week — first in the 3-0 win over Fulham that strengthened their grip on top spot in the Premier League, and then in the 1-0 victory over Atlético Madrid that sealed their place in the Champions League final.

The youngster shone in each game, earning standing ovations from the Emirates faithful when being substituted in both after producing excellent performances next to Declan Rice. And while these displays justify United’s interest, they have also virtually killed any chance of an exit from north London this summer, as Arsenal are understood to now be keen to keep their academy starlet.

“Now, having forced his way back into the reckoning, the prospect of a move away looks to have been firmly taken off the menu. Indeed, sources understand that performances like those against Fulham suggest the Gunners would likely prefer to retain and develop the talent, rather than cash in prematurely. With the summer window approaching, Lewis-Skelly’s future remains far less uncertain,” TEAMtalk contends.

Final Thoughts

Lewis-Skelly ticked virtually every box INEOS look for from a recruitment perspective: young, athletic, tactically versatile, ‘cheap’ wages, homegrown, Premier League proven — and the fact it would have dealt a blow to a rival would have been the cherry on top.

The report states there is still a chance United could “intensify” their interest, but it would require an “exceptional” offer to bring Arsenal to the negotiating table. And even if the money was fronted, Arteta’s signal of trust now means Lewis-Skelly is “unlikely to pursue a departure from the club he loves.”

Featured image Clive Mason via Getty Images

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• Rafaela Pimenta describes Erling Haaland as someone who ‘doesn’t like the spotlight’
• Brazilian super-agent says the City striker treats football as ‘the most serious game you can play’
• Haaland has scored 32 goals in all competitions for City this season as they chase a domestic treble

Super-agent Rafaela Pimenta has lifted the lid on Erling Haaland’s personality away from football, describing the Manchester City striker as modest, grounded and entirely focused on the game above all else.

Pimenta offered a rare personal insight into the Norway international, painting a picture of a player whose public image as one of the most fearsome strikers in world football bears little resemblance to the person she deals with off the pitch.

Haaland has been in prolific form for Manchester City this season, scoring 32 goals across all competitions as Guardiola’s side chase a domestic treble in the final weeks of the campaign.

Revealed: The super-agent behind Phil Foden’s Manchester City contract extension and pay rise

His performances have been central to City’s remarkable second-half surge, including a hat-trick in the 4-0 FA Cup quarter-final win over Liverpool and crucial goals in the title run-in.

Pimenta: Football is the most serious game he can play

In a recent interview with ESPN Netherlands, Pimenta was warm and specific in her description of Haaland, drawing a clear contrast between his on-pitch intensity and his off-pitch demeanour.

“His demeanour is very informal; he’s very pleasant, very relaxed, modest,” she said on the 25-year-old forward, as quoted by Sport Witness.

“He doesn’t like the spotlight, doesn’t like nonsense. He likes to focus on what really matters: football. To him, football is the most serious game you can play.”

The portrait is consistent with the glimpses Haaland has offered of himself in public – a player who has consistently deflected personal attention back towards his teammates and whose social media presence, while playful at times, rarely strays far from football.

His Snapchat post celebrating Leeds United‘s win over Manchester United earlier this season offered perhaps the most unguarded version of the Norwegian the public has seen – and even then, the caption was simply “Get in”.

Erling Haaland drops huge hint on Manchester City future amid ongoing squad refresh

What does Pimenta’s assessment tell us about Haaland?

Pimenta’s description of Haaland as modest and averse to the spotlight is notable given the scale of his achievements since joining Manchester City from Borussia Dortmund in 2022.

The Norwegian has broken scoring records at a pace that has few parallels in the history of English football, yet Pimenta’s words suggest none of it has altered the fundamental simplicity of his relationship with the game.

For City, that singularity of focus is arguably as valuable as the goals themselves. With four Premier League games remaining and an FA Cup final against Chelsea at Wembley on the horizon, Guardiola will be counting on Haaland to deliver when it matters most – as he has done so often before. On the evidence of Pimenta’s assessment, his mind will already be there.

Guernsey FC manager Tony Vance has said he is "dumbfounded" by a decision to strip his side of home advantage in their play-off final.

The Green Lions had been due to host Peacehaven and Telscombe in the Southern Combination Premier Division play-off final on Sunday, 10 May.

But with the island having its annual Liberation Day celebrations that weekend there have been difficulties in arranging travel for the game.

It has led to the Southern Combination Football League rearranging the game for either Tuesday 12 or Wednesday, 13 May on the English mainland - a decision which Guernsey FC say they are considering lodging an appeal against.

"I think dumbfounded is an understatement," Vance told BBC Radio Guernsey about his feelings when he heard the news.

"The joy and excitement of having a home play-off, which we'd earned, and then suddenly being given a bombshell.

"Those are the rules - whoever finishes higher gets the home play-off.

"We will do anything we can to help people get over - it is logically difficult, particularly on a Liberation Day weekend, so we were prepared to do that and then before we even got the chance we were given the bombshell that we were no longer having the game."

• Guernsey FC stripped of home advantage in play-offs
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'What's happened isn't right'

Guernsey earned the right to host the final as they finished the season in third place, two places higher than Peacehaven.

The islanders beat Horsham YM 3-0 in the play-off semi-final on Saturday afternoon while Peacehaven were 1-0 winners at second-placed Haywards Heath Town that evening.

Guernsey are hoping to be promoted back to the eighth tier of English football at the first attempt, after being relegated from the Isthmian League last season.

When approached by the BBC, the Southern Counties Football League said they would not comment on the situation.

But Vance says home advantage at Victoria Park would have been a big advantage for his side.

"What it can do to the home team is huge in terms of you're in a comfortable surrounding, you know the pitch, you know everything about it, the dressing room, the whole matchday experience, that can't be underestimated," he added.

"In addition to that, when the noise is like it is - and I've played in games and coached in games when you're on the other side of it when the noise is just unbelievable - it can really have an effect on you.

"Since we started this campaign we've strived to get a home play-off, so this decision has been made within 24 hours after an entire season of effort from the players, people who book the travel, everyone and anyone around the football club, and it could be taken away from us and we're extremely disappointed and frustrated.

"What's happened isn't right."

Related internet links

• Guernsey FC