The Guardian from London, Greater London, England • 29

The Guardian Monday May 17 1999 0 tmmmmmmaBamaaBmmmmm Football Scottish review Saints ready for Euro journey First Division Ipswich and Birmingham left with deficits to make up in home legs Ian Archer ager, and Burley, who is attempting to lead his team past the semi-final stage at the third time of asking. Todd's career has seen him involved in relegation or promotion issues in 11 of his 12 seasons as coach or manager at Middlesbrough and Bolton, a staggering record of ulcer-inducing tension which cannot have been helped by yesterday's close encounter. Neil Cox's 18-yard strike against the bar in the 54th minute was the closest either side came to stealing an edge before Johansen's late heroics, but Ipswich will feel hard done by departing a goal down. The impressive Frandsen capped a dominant opening spell for the home team when, spying Wright a step or two out of position, he sent a 25-yard shot inches over. The Danish midfielder also forced Wright into afine save at the foot of his post with a header.

But Ipswich organised and resilient at the back, quick on the counter-attack showed no residual effect from the disappointment of missing out on second spot last week. Johnson troubled Andy Todd with his movement and pace, surging away in the 22nd minute only to produce a poor finish. Later, supplied by Jamie Clapham's cross, he shot meekly into the arms of Steve Banks from six yards. Although Bolton enjoyed the greater possession, Ipswich always threatened on the counter. In the 82nd minute Jamie Scowcroft set up Richard Naylor and Banks had to save superbly at the substitute's feet By then Todd had introduced his own substitutes Bo Hansen and Paul Warhurst for one last offensive.

It was a bold move, which saw Johansen pushed on to. the left, and it paid dividends six minutes from time. Johansen cut in from the flank and chipped the ball forward for Bob Taylor, who chested a return for the Dane to volley a fabulous strike into the back of the visitors' goal. lanWhittell at the Reebok Stadium Bolton Wanderers 1 Johansen 84 Ipswich Town 0 Two managers whose play-off experience makes them leading candidates for a research programme into stress management go into the deciding game at Portman Road on Wednesday with their teams' destiny firmly in the balance. The advantage may have passed to Colin Todd's Bolton after Michael Johansen's excellent late winner but Todd and George Burley are astute enough to appreciate that this tie will probably not be settled until its dying seconds.

There was not much to separate the teams, despite the 10 points and three places between their final league positions. The pace of the striker David Johnson, denied a clear penalty after a 38th-minute trip by Mark Fish, and the assured goalkeeping of Richard Wright demonstrated why Ipswich came so close to automatic promotion. But the midfield drive of Per Frandsen and the unpredictable spark that the winger Johansen provides make the outcome far from clear-cut. "Overall I thought we were unfortunate to lose but there is still everything to play for," said Burley. "If it had been 0-0 we would still have had to win on Wednesday.

"I thought we were denied a clear penalty. David was favourite for the ball, the. defender slid in and missed the ball. The linesman was there and their defender never touched the ball. David ran across him and he caught his ankles." Todd, however, feels the momentum may have shifted significantly.

"There's still alotof work to be done," he said, "but you could see their bench was demoralised after coming that close to a 0-0." This is familiar territory for Todd, entering his fourth playoff campaign as coach or man Heads I Watford's Michel Ngonge beats Gary Rowett to a fifth-minute corner to score the only goal yesterday Photograph: Richard Heathcote St Johnstone last played in Europe 28 years ago and, when their Sarajevo opponents flew in for the tie, the Scottish club's officials inquired of the then Yugoslavians why they had chosen to stay in a hotel near Glasgow, some 60 miles from Perth. "We looked up Johnstone on the map and it is nearby, is it not?" The mistake will probably not be made again. There is the internet now. But the Saints have proved that they are worthy candidates to go and play anywhere across the continent. If they beat Dundee next Sunday, and Kilmarnock do not win against Rangers at Ibrox, they will have won that right by finishing third in the league behind Celtic and the champions Rangers.

It might raise their manager Sandy Clark to the same cult status that Willie Ormond held back in 1971. Ormond would journey up from his Musselburgh home and start each working day with a couple of bacon sandwiches, and possibly something stronger, at a local pub. Clark may be altogether less eccentric buthe has assembled some formidable results. A draw at Kilmarnock on Saturday, in front of a capacity 15,000 crowd, was the result he needed. When Gary Bollan equalised Mark Roberts' early goal, the initiative which the Ayrshire club had held for much of the season evaporated.

Clark was quick to announce that for the last match of the season entrance prices into McDiarmid Park will be reduced to 5. Perth residents are not noted for their exuberance but will fill the stadium to shout the team home. Clark was brought to the club from Hamilton at the start of the season after Paul Sturrock was enticed away to Dundee United. Without making many changes he has ensured that the Saints have found a harder and more consistent streak. They will be favourites to qualify unless Rangers start thinking about the cup final when they meet Kilmarnock.

But the most heart-warming story came from Dundee, whose 3-1 victory over relegated Dunfermline ensured that they will finish in the top half of the table. They were everyone's tip to be relegated and the Scottish Premier League wanted to boot them out because of the miserable state of Dens Park. But they played in front of an audience of bulldozers and JCBs as work started on new grandstands and they will rightly stay in the league. Their manager Jocky Scott clearly saw the light on the road to Dens halfway through the season. After a heavy defeat by Celtic he threw his tactics up in the air and abandoned the five defenders and the three defensive midfielders a formation which was driving the fans to distraction.

Dundee thereafter attacked with young players such as Ian Anderson, and it worked. Their half of Dundee will be further heartened by the fact that their neighbours, United, will probably end the season in ninth position. Dundee United's assistant manager John Blackley apologised to fans after a dismal 4-1 defeat at Hearts. "We were a shambles out there and the players let everyone down connected with the club. "In all my years in football I have never been so embarrassed by a performance.

I am totally gutted and appalled." United's consolation was a late goal from John Eustace. When Birmingham did create chances, Adebola wasted them. In the 61st minute he had the goal at his mercy from six yards after Alec Chamberlain dropped the ball under pressure from Paul Furlong but he toe-poked his shot over. Even worse was his miss seven minutes later. Chamber-Iain again dropped a cross and was left scrambling along the ground like a baby as Adebola chased the loose ball.

Incredibly the striker could not force it home from less than five yards and Watford cleared. Mooney finished at left-back after the dismissal of Paul have done more to enhance their prospects. Watford got off to the perfect start as they chased an eighth victory in nine games, helped by criminal Birmingham defending. The visitors watched as Ngonge rose unmarked to head Peter Kennedy's corner into the bottom of the net for his sixth goal of the season. Birmingham did not seem to heed the warning and allowed 'Kennedy two great chances to increase the lead.

First he shot over from Darren Bazeley's cross, then he headed a Richard Johnson pass wide from an almost identical position. Before the interval both sides had hit the woodwork. Lee Bradbury set up Chris Holland for a 20-yard shot which clipped the outside of a post, and 11 minutes later Nick Wright ran on to Ngonge's flick and lobbed an effort which clipped the top of the bar. The introduction of Dele Ade-bola at half-time was supposed to help Birmingham gain more of a foothold but it was Watford who came closest to scoring again in the 59th minute through Tommy Mooney. The striker was unlucky to see his powerful header from Bazeley's cross hitthebaseofa post.

Duncan Mackay at Vicarage Road Watford 1 Ngonge 5 Birmingham City 0 Michel Ngonge, a Zaire international rescued from the obscurity of the Belgian second division last summer, scored the goal which means Watford travel to St Andr ews on Thurs-day for the second leg with a clearer view of But Birmingham have not lost sight of it. After a match of missed opportunities both sides must have left believing they could Robinson. Booked in the 20th minute for throwing the ball away, he left the referee no option but to send him off in the 76th minute for a crude challenge on Peter Ndlovu. He will miss the return. "We have to consider ourselves fortunate we came in at half-time only one down," said Birmingham's manager Trevor Francis.

"But Adebola should have had a couple of goals in the second half. They were easy chances." Watford's manager Graham Taylor said: "We're in the better position but it's going to be difficult up there." Third Division Swansea inch closer to Wembley Swans profit from leap of Bound Orient fluff their lines but expect to get it right on Wednesday night Paul Rees at Vetch Field Swansea City 1 Bound 44 Scunthorpe United 0 Swansea City were fined 21,000 by the Welsh FA last week for two pitch invasions so White Riot was hardly the most apt piece of music to play at half-time. But at the end of a tense 90 minutes they were a clean sheet away from Wembley. They are considering appealing against the fine, which followed crowd trouble in the matches against West Ham and Brighton, and they erected fences yesterday with the promise of alife ban for anyone who ran on to the pitch. The Watson gives Bath a ticket to Europe Rotherham and danger, after some of their home performances this season, was that quite a few would want to take up the offer.

Yesterday's kick-off was brought forward to 12.30pm to prevent spectators overindulging but the early start did not suit Scunthorpe, who were fortunate not to be more than one down at half-time. The visitors' midfield was the more enterprising but their front two were just not on the same wavelength. Swansea moreover were at their most dangerous from set pieces, and Scunthorpe's tendency to concede free-kicks close to their own area made Tim Clarke the busier goalkeeper. Matthew Bound should have given Swansea the lead after away victory over 14 men from a club in such administrative disorder that it may have been their last match in the professional game. And Newcastle suffered it 100 miles away.

Bath had two targets, one to chase, another to set. It was like a limited-overs innings, first batting second, then batting first. They needed a 36-point margin to oust London Irish, as wide a one as possible to tax Newcastle. There was no time for the pack to snack. The last quarter was crucial, as Scottish were spent and split.

Until then Bath were on no more than their 36-point course: nine-up after 20 minutes, 18 at half-time, 28 on the hour. Andy Robinson, their coach, said later: "The guys were relaxed" so relaxed as to be careless, so careless as to test patience. Mike Catt squandered four conversions, too. But it was easy to enthuse after five converted tries in the last 18 minutes. Jeremy Gus-cott doubled his total to four.

"We've got the pace," added Robinson. But how they laboured to make it tell. Scottish owed it to their fellow Imports formerly Exiles 20 minutes. After Andrew Dawson became the second of four Scunthorpe players to be shown the yellow card, Nick Cusack set up Bound from the free-kick but the defender failed to keep his shot down. Roger Freestone had earlier moved smartly to his right to parry Steve Housham's left-foot drive, but for all their skill in midfield Scunthorpe lacked bite.

Martin Thomas had two further chances for Swansea and Freestone saved well again from Housham before Bound opened the scoring on the stroke of half-time. Russ Wilcox needlessly fouled Tony Bird, who had just come on for the injured Steve Watkin, and Michael Howard's free-kick from the left curled away from Clarke and on as well as to Newcastle to make it difficult. Jannie de Beer and Simon Holmes took it on themselves to do the work of the 15th man until substituted. The Scottish used all seven replacements, Bath four. Kevin Yates warily came on in a scrum-cap.

It was always going to be a holding operation for Scottish, rather like their season, and they held well. Holmes mischievously pulling the margin back from 35 to 28 with his try. Guscott scored four of Bath's 1 2 tries at the Rec to the head of Bound, who scored from 20 yards. Swansea surrendered the initiative after the interval so their manager John Hollins brought on an extra attacker in Richard Appleby, and the switch nearly worked with Jonathan Coates and Bird going close. But Scunthorpe were by now the more dangerous side.

Freestone had to be agile when Jamie Forrester's shot seemed to be curling into the top right-hand corner, and Alex Calvo-Garcia headed wide with two minutes to go. Bird squandered two opportunities for Swansea, tripping over the ball and then shooting high and wide, and in the final minute he hit the post. The second leg is at Scunthorpe on Wednesday. James Philip, from the apprentice scheme, pulled off four try-saving tackles, which made John Steele, director of rugby, both proud and sad. "We're in a position to reap the rewards of what we've been doing," he said.

"On the field we've improved the assets of the club. But we've got to have a proper plan, proper backing, off it. There haven't been a lot of people coming forward with money." He said there was no point in delaying a decision. As if to set an example, Watson's case will be heard today. "He's very physical, and embarrassed by what he's done," Steele said.

"We needed 15 guys totally focused." Robinson said simply: "It's a feisty game. I feel there's another twist still to happen." Scorari: Bath: Tries: Regan, Guscott 4, Peiry 2, Catt 2, Cooper, Hilton, Balshaw. Conversions: Catt 8. London Scottish: Try: Holmes. Conversion: McAusland.

Penalties: De Beer 2. Bath: Perry; Balshaw, Maggs, Guscott leapt), A 'Adebayo (de GlanviOe, 75mln; Catt, Cooper (Nicol, 75); Hilton (Yates, 55), Regan (Long, 55), Ubogu, Haag, Borthwlck, Earnshaw, Thomas, Stumham. London Scottish: McAusland; Mllligan, Bonney, Eriksson, Philip (R Davies, 65); De Beer I Binns, 47), Mulralne (Milkvard, h-t); Johnstons (Johnston, 34), Cummins (Rudham, 59), Burnell, Jones (Bishop, 59), Watson, Fenn, Holmes leapt; Davies, 59), Hunter. Referee: Morrison (Bristol). defence for Paul Warne to run on to only for the goalkeeper Scott Barrett to react smartly and collect the ball.

Orient's French front man Amara Simba, the best player on show, twice had opportunities to open the scoring but his firm header was blocked and then a bicycle kick soared over. Rotherham wasted the best chance of the second half when Hudson, unmarked at the far post, headed John Varty's cross high and wide. Ronnie Moore, the visitors' manager, said: "If someone had offered me 0-0 before the game I'm sure I would have taken it. You've got to be happy, but we know if we' make one mistake and they score we could be out" were out of sight, and a Tombs touchdown nine minutes into the second period effectively put the issue beyond doubt. Leicester finished their championship season In style at Welford Road yesterday when they disposed of relegated West Hartlepool by 72-37, and 12 tries to five, before receiving the trophy in front of almost 13,000 fans.

They showed their intention from the kick-off and, but for a slip two metres from the line, would have scored in the first minute. They did not have to wait long. From a line-out Neil Back barged over from Martin Johnson's catch. In case West had not learned, they repeated the move five minutes later; Back scored again. West briefly came back with a penalty from Jon Benson and a try by Gareth Maclure before a 10-minute period put the issue beyond reasonable doubt.

Leicester scored 31 points through five tries, of which Tim Stimpson converted three. The second half produced another five tries for Leicester, with Back completing his hat-trick. West responded with four tries, of which Benson converted three. just pleased that the players came off the pitch with a clean sheet," said TommyTaylor, Orient's manager. "The forwards tried to make things happen and we put a few crosses in; although they weren't quite good enough.

But we'll work at that on Monday and Tuesday and be ready for Wednesday. "We're going up there with no fear at all. If we get at least a draw we win the game." Orient made a determined start, forcing three early corners, but found it difficult to create chances against a well-organised defence. Indeed it was Rotherham who created the first real opportunity, the midfielder Danny Hudson playing a neat chip over the Richard Butland was the busiest Richmond player, constantly called up for conversions. He kicked 13 and two more hit the woodwork.

Gloucester ended a run of eight successive league defeats when their fly-half Simon Mannix scored 28 points against the Premiership runners-up Northampton in a 43-31 victory. Northampton were without five internationals at King-sholm Pat Lam, Paul Grayson, Federico Mendez, Budge Pountney and their captain Tim Rodber and Gloucester took full advantage to claim their first league triumph since they beat Bath in early January. It gave them a finishing position of 10th above Sale on points difference. Mannix made his mark on a free-flowing game, kicking five penalties and four conversions and also scoring a try as Gloucester surged into a 30-14 interval lead. They had stretched that to 40-19 before Northampton fought back with tries from David Dantiacq and Craig Moir.

Among his kicks Mannix finished off a marvellous move inspired by the Australian centre Richard Tombs. Suddenly Gloucester Chris Brown at Brisbane Road Leyton Orient 0 Rotherham United 0 Barry Hearn had described this game as Leyton Orient's biggest for a decade. With Wembley only 180 minutes away and promotion to the Second Division within touching distance, most of the crowd, many of them with drums and trumpets, clearly felt the same as the club's chairman. The disappointment was that both sets of players also recognised it, and their caution coupled with an understandable nervousness produced a scrappy goalless match. "It was a tough game and I'm Richmond became the first team to run up a century of points in the Premiership, on what was possibly their last day as a professional club.

They beat Bedford 106-12 yesterday, scoring 16 tries. It was less a match than fulfilment of the fixture list. Bedford, condemned to a play-off to preserve their Premiership One status, rested their first XV in preparation for the away leg on Thursday against the Premiership Two runners-up Rotherham. Richmond also have other things on their mind: they may be bought out and closed down by English First Division Rugby. But they piled up the points remorselessly, running in tries from the fifth minute to the 73rd.

Ten players scored tries. Brian Cusack and Mel Deane led the way with hat-tricks; Craig Quinnell and Jason Cusack scored two each. But kM Jeremy Alexander at the Recreation Ground Bath 76 London Scottish 13 Newcastle know their task. To pip Bath for the sixth and last English place in next season's European Cup they must beat Saracens at Watford on Thursday by 30 points or more. London Irish fell out of the reckoning as Bath roared past them on points difference.

Bath could hardly believe their luck as London Scottish bit themselves in the ear in the opening minute. Newcastle could hardly believe their ears as, swallowing failure at one conquest, they saw a new mountain rising ever higher in the west. This was all about hitting a man when he is down. Mick Watson, no stranger to cards, started it, butting Martin Haag in the game's second ruck for a dismissal that was instant, unargued and uncon-soled by team-mates. (If the evening kick-off had caught him unawares and fouled up a dinner engagement, he could not have recovered better.) Bath continued it, with a run Derbyshire 66 Middlesex 77 Durham 69 Northants.

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