Stand-in skipper Michael Owen’s 28th goal for England was enough to secure a 1-0 win over Azerbaijan in difficult conditions in Baku on Wednesday. The Real Madrid striker rose to joint eighth in his country’s all-time scoring charts by heading home Ashley Cole’s cross midway through the first half.

David Beckham’s future as England captain is assured after the Football Association made it clear there would be no action taken against him over his admission that he had deliberately fouled an opponent to get a convenient yellow card.

Bloemfontein Celtic went back to the Free State capital with a well-deserved point after they held unbeaten Orlando Pirates 1-1 in a fast-paced Castle Premiership clash played at Ellis Park on Wednesday night. The crowd of about 10 000 were treated to a thrilling opening half in which both sides played attractive, attacking soccer.

Blue Bulls coach Heyneke Meyer has made 11 changes to the side that held Western Province to a draw last week, for this weekend’s Currie Cup semifinal. Winger John Mametsa has been ruled out with an injury, but will be replaced by Keegan Fredericks in the only forced change to the team.

An angry Ernie Els has gone to war against the American Tour over demands that he must play more tournaments in the United States. Although the South African stopped short of saying he would boycott the American Tour, he made it clear on the eve of defending his title at the World Match Play Championship that he would not be pushed around.

Lamontville Golden Arrows collected maximum points when they beat struggling Jomo Cosmos 1-0 in a dull Castle Premiership encounter played at King Zwelithini Stadium on Wednesday afternoon. There was no score at the interval. Papi Zothwane netted the only goal of this game in the 69th minute.

After dilly-dallying, Bush Bucks finally came out of the closet on Thursday and officially announced the sacking of head coach Clemens Westerhof. However, the East London-based side hastily added that the Dutchman has, in fact, not been fired but redeployed to head their youth development and centre of excellence.