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Newcastle travel to the Amex Stadium to face Brighton in the Premier League this evening as they go in search of their first win of the season.

Graeme Jones appears set to take charge for the final time as interim head coach, with Eddie Howe reportedly on the verge of becoming the permanent replacement for Steve Bruce.

The Magpies lost 3-0 to Chelsea at St James’ Park in their last outing after drawing 1-1 at Crystal Palace in Jones’ first match at the helm.

How many changes will the 51-year-old make to the team for this evening? Here is our predicted XI…

We are predicting that he will make four alterations to the line-up from last Saturday, with Martin Dubravka, Jamal Lewis, Fabian Schar and Joe Willock all coming in.

Dubravka could make his first appearance of the season as Newcastle’s last line of defence. Karl Darlow recorded a dismal SofaScore rating of 5.7 against Chelsea and gave away a penalty as he clipped Kai Havertz in the box before Jorginho converted the spot kick past him.

The Slovakian was back on the bench against Thomas Tuchel’s side and has been named in his country’s squad for the upcoming international break. This suggests that he is fit enough to start and Jones could opt to throw him in from the start today.

We are also predicting that Schar and Lewis will come in at centre-back and left wing-back respectively across the back five. Emil Krafth was given a woeful SofaScore rating of 6.2 against Chelsea, losing two of his three ground duels and only making one tackle, and could be replaced by Schar – a natural centre-back.

After the defeat to Tuchel’s side, we published an article explaining why Matt Ritchie let Jones down badly on the left flank. Reece James scored both of Chelsea’s open play goals from his side of the pitch and that could tempt the head coach to give Lewis the nod for his first league start of the campaign.

Finally, we are predicting that Ryan Fraser will be axed from the side in favour of Joe Willock. The £63k-per-week Scotland international only had 17 touches of the ball in 66 minutes last weekend, creating zero chances and completing zero dribbles.

This could result in him being dropped for Willock to come back into the starting XI. The ex-Arsenal man has not started since the 3-2 defeat to Tottenham but has averaged a solid SofaScore rating of 6.71 in his appearances in the top flight this season. Today could be a chance for him to show the onlooking Howe that he could be the 43-year-old’s go-to man in midfield.

AND in other news, Howe could seal instant Newcastle masterclass by signing “perfect” £141k-p/w titan…

Hamilton Masakadza and Stuart Matsikenyeri produced a pair of half-centuries to propel Zimbabwe to another imposing total in the second ODI against Kenya at Harare

Cricinfo staff15-Oct-200950 overs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Nehemiah Odhiambo may not have managed much with the bat, but his four wickets proved crucial for Kenya•ESPNcricinfo LtdKenya clawed their way back into contention in their five-match series against Zimbabwe, winning the third match of the rubber by 20 runs in Harare. Batting first, they posted a competitive 266 for 9 in their fifty overs after winning their first toss of the series, and maintained their grip on the contest despite a 142-run stand for Zimbabwe’s fourth wicket between Brendan Taylor and Stuart Matsikenyeri.Trailing 2-0 after heavy defeats in the first two games, Kenya’s batting fired at the third attempt, as David Obuya and Alex Obanda produced a pair of half-centuries in a first-wicket stand of 119, before Collins Obuya and Thomas Odoyo provided the innings with vital late momentum.Graeme Cremer, who claimed a career-best 6 for 46 in the second match, was this time dispatched at a run a ball in nine wicketless overs, although he was involved in two of Kenya’s three run-outs, including Collins Obuya for 52 from the final ball of the innings.Instead it was the left-arm spinner Ray Price who kept Zimbabwe in the reckoning with 2 for 22 in nine immaculate overs. His wickets included Steve Tikolo for 1 and the dangerous Odoyo, who had made 28 from 22 balls when he fell to a return catch. The seldom-used medium pace of Hamilton Masakadza also proved useful to Zimbabwe, as he picked up the wickets of both openers to finish with 2 for 22 in six overs.Zimbabwe’s reply got off to an inauspicious start when the dangerous Mark Vermeulen was trapped lbw for 7 by Odoyo, who then followed up in his next over by bowling Charles Coventry for 1. Zimbabwe’s batsman of the series, Masakadza, responded with eight fours in a feisty 42, but Nehemiah Odhiambo bagged him early in his spell – the first of his four wickets.From 62 for 3, however, Zimbabwe responded through a responsible partnership between Taylor and Matsikenyeri, who rotated the strike well and rebuilt their innings to such an extent that, with ten overs remaining, they were marginal favourites, needing seven an over with three wickets standing.But Hiren Varaiya ended the stand with his left-arm spin, first by bowling Matsikenyeri for 58 from 85 balls, and he then repeated the dose in the following over to leave the more aggressive Taylor eight runs short of his maiden ODI hundred. He had produced a fine innings, with seven fours and two sixes in 109 balls, but his dismissal would prove decisive.Elton Chigumbura tried to keep the momentum going, striking a four and a six in a 24-ball 21, but his colleagues in the lower-order couldn’t cope with Odhiambo’s accuracy. With Sean Williams unable to bat through injury, the pressure was too great, and Zimbabwe were eventually dismissed with one ball of the match remaining, the contest already well out of their reach.

Flocking to Twitter, many Nottingham Forest fans have erupted over an official club tweet involving loanee defender Djed Spence amid his impressive run of form.

The 21-year-old, who signed on loan from Middlesborough late in the summer transfer window, has gone on to become a revelation under Steve Cooper at the City Ground.

According to WhoScored, Spence has averaged the second-highest match rating per 90 out of this entire squad whilst completing more dribbles per 90 than any Forest player with more than two appearances.

Marking himself out as one of their top performers so far this season, the young defender has just been rewarded as Forest posted an official club tweet. Indeed, for his outstanding contribution over the month of October, Spence has now been named the club’s player of the month.

Forest fans erupt…

Flocking to this announcement, many supporters were overjoyed, whilst a few pleaded with the club to sign him on a permanent deal. There were also those who aren’t looking forward to seeing him return to his parent club, and given his performances so far, it’s little wonder why.

Check out some of their verdicts on this news below:

“Announce him as permanent please”

Credit: @cantwellsbabexo

“Sign him up in Jan ASAP.”

Credit: @Four_X_2K3

“Got a nasty feeling the new Boro manager will want him back. Hope not – I very much hope Forest can sign him permanently. He’s been awesome.”

Credit: @TeddyLesterCoC

“Give Boro whatever they want”

Credit: @NFFCJoe

“Unreal”

Credit: @RYANKING261

“not ready to see him leave”

Credit: @ClaireNffc_xo

“Listen, Forest might not thank me but get the contract out, put it on the table. Let him sign it, Let him write whatever numbers he wants to put on there, given what he’s done since he’s come in. Djed’s at the wheel, man. He’s doing it. He’s doing his thing. Forest are BACK!”

Credit: @Hilly14HD

While acknowledging the opportunity to shut out Pakistan had passed, fast bowler Chris Martin felt New Zealand’s 244-run lead was nearly enough

Cricinfo staff27-Nov-2009.Chris Martin said Peter Fulton was “unsure” whether he had hit the ball when he was given lbw•Getty ImagesNew Zealand’s plan at the start of the fourth day in Dunedin would have been to dismiss the tailenders as soon as possible, take a sizeable lead, and then bat Pakistan out of the Test. They achieved their first objective by capturing a 97-run advantage but their quest to accomplish the second was ambushed by Pakistan’s seamers and they limped to 147 for 8 before bad light ended play.However, while acknowledging the missed opportunity to shut out Pakistan, fast bowler Chris Martin felt New Zealand’s 244-run lead was nearly enough. “It wasn’t a direction we wanted the game to head in but the opportunity is there tomorrow,” Martin said. “We may have let an opportunity slip today by not batting them out of the game but, with the lead that we have and the runs that we’ve got now, the game is poised and is definitely there for us to take tomorrow.”Anything over 250 on a wearing wicket with variable bounce is going to be a big ask for them, especially if we do everything in a disciplined manner. In the past, our bowling has given us more opportunity to win games and I think that’s going to be the case tomorrow.”New Zealand’s troubles on Friday were caused by Pakistan’s fast bowlers Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamer. They swung the ball conventionally, and reverse, cut it, seamed it and thoroughly examined the batsmen’s technique. And Martin said he and the other New Zealand bowlers had learnt “quite a lot” by watching the carnage from the dressing room.”They put us under pressure by bowling straight, making us make a lot of decisions and giving us very few opportunities to score,” Martin said. “They got some nip by hitting the wicket hard and got it to wobble around a bit to make it do a little. If we are a thoughtful side, our bowling line-up in particular, we’ll be able to take a lot from that and take it into tomorrow.”Martin also offered insight into a baffling moment during New Zealand’s innings. Peter Fulton, making his comeback to the Test team, appeared to get an inside edge on to his pad against Umar Gul but he was given out lbw, reducing New Zealand to 91 for 4. Curiously, he didn’t ask for a review and made his way off the University Oval.”He was unsure whether he’d hit the ball,” Martin explained. “It was a very fine edge and sometimes you think you hit your pad or your boot or the ground, it’s hard to know. It’s a new format and such a new part of the game that, like most things, it’s going to take a while to get used to it and to get better at it. I think next time if you’ve got a hunch you’ll pretty much go for it [the review].” New Zealand will want to make better use of the system on the final day.

Rangers manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst was officially unveiled at Ibrox earlier this week and will now be getting stuck into the job instantly.

Whilst the upcoming fixtures will be an immediate focus for the Dutchman, he may also start to think about his plans for the January and summer transfer windows to shape the squad to his will.

The Athletic have reported that replacing soon-to-be 37-year-old Steven Davis will be high on the manager’s priority list in the coming weeks and months, with the veteran midfielder out of contract at the end of the season.

Solution

Van Bronckhorst could find a solution to this Davis problem by landing Blackburn Rovers midfielder Joe Rothwell in January or next summer. It was reported last month that Rangers are closing in on a pre-contract deal for the English Championship player and he could be exactly what the ex-Feyenoord boss is looking for.

Davis, who is on £13k-per-week, cannot be expected to play forever and there must come a time when he is naturally moved on, which could come next summer, according to The Athletic. He has averaged a WhoScored rating of 6.79 and 2.1 tackles and interceptions per game in the Premiership this season, whilst also making 1.1 key passes per match.

Rothwell has averaged a WhoScored rating of 6.92 and 2.1 tackles and interceptions per game in the Championship for Blackburn, whilst also making 1.2 key passes per match. These statistics suggest that they are similar in play styles, although the 26-year-old has been able to perform consistently to a higher level, albeit in a different league.

Rovers boss Tony Mowbray once heaped praise on the midfielder’s speed as he urged him to get closer to goal, saying: “He’s an exciting talent, he’s exceedingly fast, he keeps the ball really tight. We want him running towards the opposition goal rather than across the pitch.”

This suggests that he has the potential to make an impact in the final third, along with his similar defensive statistics to Davis. Rothwell has one goal and four assists in the second tier of English football this season, whilst the 36-year-old has zero goals and one assist in Scotland.

Therefore, the Rovers beast, who is 10 years younger than the Northern Ireland international, could be a long-term successor to Davis. Van Bronckhorst must ensure that a deal gets over the line for him in January to bolster his squad and replace the veteran midfielder, who is out of contract next summer.

AND in other news, Van Bronckhorst can find his next Van Persie at Rangers in £33k-p/w gem who’s “like a jungle cat”…

Kumar Sangakkara scored an unbeaten 78 off 37 balls – Sri Lanka’s fastest fifty – to lead his team to 215 in Nagpur, a total that proved beyond India’s reach

The Bulletin by Sriram Veera09-Dec-2009
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were outKumar Sangakkara equalled the record for the fastest fifty by a Sri Lankan•AFPKumar Sangakkara starred with his highest Twenty20 score, a serenely-destructive 37-ball 78, as Sri Lanka thumped India by 29 runs in Nagpur. Chamara Kapugedera pitched in with a cameo to charge Sri Lanka to 215, a total that proved too much for India, who fell away after a promising start provided by Gautam Gambhir.Gambhir tried valiantly with a counter-attacking fifty but it was Sangakkara who stole the show. He played only one dot ball till reached his fifty – from 21 deliveries, the quickest for Sri Lanka – but it wasn’t a conventional Twenty20 knock in which the batsman goes hell for leather. There weren’t many ugly swipes or heaves and anything unconventional was designed with the field in mind.Sangakkara’s innings sparked off in the ninth over against Pragyan Ojha’s left-arm spin. He chipped the first delivery he faced from Ojha over mid-on, swept the next to the boundary and lifted the third for a six over long-on. There were more classy strikes, the highlight being a chipped shot over mid-on to a length delivery from the debutant Ashok Dinda. Sangakkara’s predetermined shots also came off perfectly: when he shuffled to the off side, the ball was invariably so full that it was easily lapped around the corner; when he moved outside leg, he flat-batted short-of-length deliveries over mid-on or mid-off.It wasn’t a solo show from him, though. Sangakkara found support from his partners at various points in the innings – Tillakaratne Dilshan at the start, unfurling a couple of on-the-up hits, Chamara Kapugedera in the middle and Angelo Mathews at the very end. Kapugedera was fluent against everyone but he reserved his best for Ashish Nehra, looting 18 runs from the 19th over with four boundaries to all parts of the ground – a punch over cover, a pull, a slice and a cut over point – which reflected the bowler’s poor lines.The run-glut came after India started with four tight overs, only for their bowling and fielding to disintegrate under pressure. Nehra and Ishant Sharma got the ball to skid from short of a length and cramped the openers for room but the fielding gave way first after which the bowling buckled under the assault. Yuvraj Singh dropped a sitter at point off Jayasuriya when he was on 2.After the let-off, Jayasuriya went berserk in the fifth over, bowled by Nehra, taking him for 22 runs with five boundaries, including two lap-shots past the short fine-leg fielder. Dilshan was dropped too, with Ishant missing a straightforward return chance, and he too took full toll. Though the openers didn’t go on to make big scores, they had broken the shackles and set the platform for Sangakkara to play a gem.Despite Virender Sehwag’s fall in the third over, Gambhir helped India take 76 from the Powerplay but their hopes started to sink with his departure. Gambhir’s was a cheeky yet intelligent innings and he peppered the off-side field with his well-timed drives – the highlight being a sequence of seven fours from nine deliveries spread over two overs from Lasith Malinga and Nuwan Kulasekara. Despite a crowded field – a short point, backward point, cover point and cover were in place – he stole five of those seven boundaries through the off side. However, he fell while trying to paddle sweep Angelo Mathews and India lost four more wickets, including those of MS Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh, in three overs as the chase derailed spectacularly. The bowling was disciplined, without ever being threatening, but India were done in by the pressure of the steep run-rate.

It took Michael Klinger more than a decade to post a century at the MCG but when he did he made it a double as South Australia took control against Victoria

Cricinfo staff11-Dec-2009
ScorecardMichael Klinger’s unbeaten 207 kept South Australia on top at the MCG•Getty ImagesIt took Michael Klinger more than a decade to post a century at the MCG but when he did he made it a double as South Australia took control against Victoria. Klinger and Mark Cosgrove both registered hundreds before South Australia declared at 6 for 517 and things worsened for the Bushrangers when they lost Chris Rogers on the last ball of the day.Victoria reached 1 for 35 at the close with Nick Jewell on 13, having lost Rogers, who was caught in close off Aaron O’Brien for 21. It capped off a horror day for the hosts, who could do nothing to stop the charge of their former team-mate Klinger as he played his way to an unbeaten 207.Klinger made his debut for Victoria in 1999-00 but never managed to score a century at the MCG for the Busghrangers. He and Cosgrove combined for 152-run third-wicket stand that ground down Victoria, who were one bowler short on the second day as Darren Pattinson had a calf strain.Cosgrove made 103 from 146 deliveries before he was trapped lbw by John Hastings and despite another two quick wickets from Bryce McGain, Klinger then found support from Daniel Christian. They added 103 before Graham Manou declared in the final session, with Christian unbeaten on 52.

Newcastle are looking increasingly likely to sign Lazio goalkeeper Thomas Strakosha, according to Italian newspaper Il Messaggero (via Sport Witness).

The lowdown

The form of Newcastle’s goalkeepers has been a real problem so far this season, contributing to the Premier League’s joint-worst defensive record.

If you go by the shot-stopping metric of ‘post-shot expected goals minus goals allowed’, Freddie Woodman (-3.7) and Karl Darlow (-3.3) both figure in the league’s bottom five.

Martin Dubravka, who finished last season as the Magpies’ number one, has returned to the substitutes’ bench in recent weeks after recovering from a foot injury.

However, Newcastle may also look to the transfer market for a solution, and crucially Strakosha is out of contract at the end of the season.

The latest

Il Messaggero claimed (via Sport Witness) that Strakosha is on his way out of the Stadio Olimpico.

The report added that he will ‘probably’ end up at Newcastle, although it’s not clear whether he’ll join midway through the season or next summer.

The verdict

All of Strakosha’s minutes this season have come in the Europa League, with Pepe Reina recognised as Maurizio Sarri’s first-choice in Serie A.

The Albanian has kept two clean sheets in his four outings in Europe, redeeming himself for an almighty howler against Galatasaray in September. BT Sport’s official Twitter account called it an ‘absolute nightmare’ and their clip of the incident was viewed 132,000 times as it went viral at the time.

However, it seems that Newcastle will look past that moment to forget. Overall, the 26-year-old has played 181 matches for the Rome-based outfit, recording 53 shutouts, while he was also labelled ‘explosive’ by former goalkeeping team-mate Silvio Proto.

Such praise and statistics would suggest that he could indeed be very shrewd acquisition on a cut-price deal or a free transfer by the Magpies.

In other news, one possible target for Newcastle at the other end of the pitch has emerged

Leeds United’s poor form in the Premier League continued at the weekend as they were condemned to a fifth defeat of the season at the hands of Tottenham Hotspur, and it was another game in which Tyler Roberts did himself no favours whatsoever.

The Yorkshire giants find themselves just one place above the relegation zone after 12 matches, with only two points separating them and 18th-placed Burnley.

Of course, there have been some factors that have contributed to their disastrous campaign thus far, most of which boils down to persistent injury problems that see Marcelo Bielsa lose several key players, such as vice-captain Luke Ayling and leading talisman Patrick Bamford.

However, the fringe members of the Argentine’s squad aren’t taking their chances and may not be good enough to compete in the big time and that seems very much the case for the 22-year-old Wales international.

He is a player that is capable of playing anywhere in attack, so with Bamford, Raphinha and even Rodrigo absent at the weekend, it was maybe a surprise to see Joe Gelhardt selected up top.

In fact, Roberts has started just once in the Premier League – a 1-0 defeat to Southampton – so that is rather telling in itself, so if Bielsa no longer trusts him, having handed him a new long-term contract in only June this year, then he ought to be sold this winter whilst his value is at an all-time high.

Valued at €15m (£13.5m) by CIES Football Observatory, the former West Brom graduate could generate some much-needed funds to bolster the playing squad in the necessary areas, with players that are going to feature, unlike him.

Roberts scored just once in 27 top-flight appearances last season, perhaps showing that he is just not right for this level of football, not yet at least.

“Is he good enough? In my opinion he isn’t,” claimed ex-Whites frontman Noel Whelan to Football Insider in February. ” I need him to show me more. He needs to show more fight and desire. I just do not see that.”

Meanwhile, he left Bielsa “furious” for one moment in their defeat to Arsenal in the Carabao Cup, another game in which he had the perfect opportunity to prove himself in, but didn’t.

“It was interesting to see the flashpoint which convinced Bielsa to go for Gelhardt last night, though.

“Roberts received the ball in a promising position last night with Arsenal out of shape and rather than look to turn Maitland-Niles, as he had the time to do, he waited and looked for contact from behind to go down.

“The referee waved played on and the hosts took the ball away. Bielsa was furious and barked immediately for Gelhardt to come on,” as revealed by LeedsLive journalist Beren Cross.

The 22-year-old came on in the 72nd minute against Spurs but was graded as their worst-performer on SofaScore, having managed only nine touches, whilst he made just one pass from five attempts (20%), too.

Wasteful and passenger-like, much of his time in the Premier League has been like this, so it’s time for Bielsa to be ruthless and axe him from the team this January.

AND in other news, Forget Firpo: £60k-p/w Leeds lightweight who lost possession 24x badly let Bielsa down again…

Tillakaratne Dilshan made 2009 his own, scoring 10 centuries in all forms, and he didn’t start too badly in the new year either, compiling another robust ton to guide Sri Lanka to an easy win in the tri-series opener

The Bulletin by Kanishkaa Balachandran 04-Jan-2010
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were outTillakaratne Dilshan scored his sixth one-day century, and went past 4000 runs in ODIs in the process•Associated PressTillakaratne Dilshan made 2009 his own, scoring ten centuries in all forms, and he didn’t start too badly in the new year either, compiling another robust ton to guide Sri Lanka to an easy win in the tri-series opener. Bangladesh gave a good account of themselves with the bat in getting to 260, but their bowlers lost the battle against Dilshan, Kumar Sangakkara and the dew.Defending totals under lights will pose a challenge to all teams in this competition, with the dew factor kicking in, and tonight, Bangladesh were bitten after losing the toss. Shakib Al Hasan said this was a “minimum 250” wicket and his batsmen obliged. Early into the Sri Lankan chase, they realised that they were at least 30 short.The opening over by the debutant Shafiul Islam was a sign of things to come, as he leaked ten runs. Upul Tharanga was in fine touch, caressing the ball square of the wicket on the off side with very little effort. Bangladesh had packed the off-side field to restrict the left-handers but both Tharanga and Sangakkara managed to pierce them.However, Tharanga threw it away, chasing a delivery angled across him. Sangakkara was very harsh on anything wide of the off stump and played some delightful drives along the ground. The instinctive Dilshan didn’t mind hitting it in the air, clearing his back leg to pull and clip it over midwicket. In the process, he went past 4000 runs in ODIs.Shakib wasn’t amused. Early in the chapter, he showed his frustration by placing his hands on his head, without a clue about what to do. He brought himself on in the sixth over after his seamers had already leaked 52. Not that the introduction of spin made any difference. Shakib, Abdur Razzak and Mahmudullah were impeded by the dew, which didn’t allow them to grip the ball properly.They often dropped it flat and quick, in order to get the ball to skid through, but Sangakkara and Dilshan managed to get on top of them, rocking on the backfoot and crashing it past the infield. Both proceeded towards their half-centuries at the same pace, reaching their milestones in the 21st over, bowled by Razzak.Sangakkara was also heading towards a century but fell off a very loose shot, tamely edging Shafiul to the wicketkeeper. Dilshan continued to grind the opposition, nudging it in the gaps for singles and pounding the off boundary. He was harsh on anything short and rendered the spinners impotent with his sweeps. He brought up his hundred with a slash off Mohammad Ashraful past point. The Bangladesh fielding too wasn’t upto the mark, and those extra runs only hastened Sri Lanka’s progress.Dilshan suffered a scare when he suffered a groin strain while turning for a second run. Sangakkara came out as a runner and hung around almost till the very end, before a full-blooded pull by Dilshan landed in Naeem Islam’s hands at short midwicket. Dilshan walked off for 104 and Sri Lanka will wait on his fitness for their second game tomorrow against India. Thilan Samaraweera then sealed what was a very one-sided period of play under lights.It took Bangladesh a lot of hard work and concentration to get to a formidable score. It was not without some anxious moments though, when the top order pushed the self-destruct button to lose four wickets for the addition of nine runs. The score went from 65 for 0 to 74 for 4 primarily through irresponsible batting. Imrul Kayes, Tamim Iqbal and Shakib all perished in that manner, trying to clear the infield when it really wasn’t required. Raqibul Hasan fell to a stunning one-handed take by Samaraweera at second slip and that was the only top order wicket which wasn’t gifted away.By the 17th over, Bangladesh had to start all over. Ashraful and Mushfiqur Rahim scripted a steady and patient recovery with dogged resistance. Ashraful was forced to look for the singles, which the pair managed to do fairly easily during their 58-run stand for the fifth wicket. They were more focused on accumulation rather than domination.Ashraful didn’t change gears after Mushfiqur departed and continued grafting against the spinners, this time with Mahmudullah for company. Incredibly, Ashraful picked up his first boundary off his 37th ball – a loft over extra cover off Thilina Kandamby – in sharp contrast to the way he normally plays. It’s a style of play he’s getting used to, after being criticised time and again in his career for throwing his wicket away after making a start.His 75 was significant mainly because it kept the Sri Lankans at bay, helped the innings last the entire 50 overs, something Bangladesh have struggled to do in the past. Naeem’s final-over fireworks (off Suranga Lakmal) pushed the score past 250 and as the Bangladesh players walked off in satisfaction, there was hope of a contest. An hour and a half later, those smiles vanished.