The Guardian from London, Greater London, England • 18

THE GUARDIAN Monday May 30 1988 18 SPORTS NEWS Soccer OJiiraekeir's Swiss gjoaD eposes migflamid treason 11 (teeDoeve Surely the point is that in such a high-quality field none the side to pin opponents down in their own half with the captain mounting guard against possible break-outs. The one slight doubt which has arisen from England's three games in eight days concerns the poor proportion of goals scored to opportunities created. In Lausanne, Lineker accepted one chance in five. An excellent save by Corminboeuf foiled him in the first minute but he missed badly on the stroke of half-time after a superb surge down the left by Barnes and failed again towards the when Beards-ley's early ball sent him clear. Lineker took the goal he did score, in the 59th minute, with familiar aplomb after Robson had released Beardsley behind the defence for a run and a cross but as the England manager remarked later "with his reputation he should have had two Lineker acknowledged his misses but remained philosophical.

"Goal-scoring is partly about luck," he explained. "So long as you keep getting into scoring positions the goals will come. We hope that we'll score them at the right time. Goals often come in bunches and I would rather they came in West Germany than in the warm-up games." He could also have mentioned that before his hat-trick in Monterrey he had failed to score for The one uncapped player in the squad, Dorigo, was always likely to be included once Pearce, the first-choice cover for Sansom at left-back, had been forced out by injury. Nevertheless it is a dramatic promotion for the 22-year-old Chelsea defender, who less than a year ago was leading young England sides into battle on recreation grounds near Toulon.

Originally Dorigo, who was born in Melbourne, risked all the money he had paying the air fare to England for a trial with Aston Villa. His Australian gambler's instincts have not let him down. Clearly Bobby Robson is taking a gamble on whatever permutation of centre-backs he decides to put out in the European Championship. This is because none of his central defenders has the stature of the absent Butcher. During the first half in Lausanne, Wright and Adams, comfortable in each other's company, confirmed the promise they had shown against Colombia four days earlier.

After half-time Watson replaced Adams and again demonstrated his power in the air and his strength in the tackle. So long as English teams do not employ sweepers there will always be misgivings about what might happen if attackers with speed and skill run at a flat back four. Bobby Robson is have match-winners and this is why Robson's squad will set off for Stuttgart on Wednesday week looking more optimistic than usual. The game on Saturday was a case in point. It was often a low-key affair and from time to time the attention wandered to the breathtaking backdrop of the French Alps lowering above Lake Geneva.

But one swift strike from Gary Lineker was sufficient to bring England victory and remind everyone of his ability to turn a game. Two years ago, just when it seemed that the last sight England would have of the 1986 World Cup would be the mountains of Monterrey, Lineker's hat-trick against Poland swung the side back on course for a more honourable departure in Mexico City. The gains from that tournament are reflected in the squad for West Germany. The attacking partnership of Lineker and Beardsley, which has now produced 24 goals in 16 appearances together, has matured and prospered. Steven, Waddle and Barnes have re-established wing play as a code of practice in England teams and Stevens and Sansom are, if anything looking better full-backs than they were in Mexico.

The big plus compared to 1986 is the form and fitness of Bryan Robson, whose strength and authority in midfield have eased the problems at centre-back Upwardly mobile Middlesbrough's Pallister outjumps Wicks League play-offs: Chelsea 1, Middlesbrough 0 (agg: 1-2) Optimistic Chelsea can profit from their loss caused by the loss ot Butcher. For similar reasons, nor will Chelsea find the Second Division a wasteland. All their sponsorships have been renewed, they will have four more home matches and, should they mount a promotion challenge, bigger gates than this season's average of around 20,000 will result. Suggestions of a 1 million loss are farfetched. They are profitable and money for players is available.

The promotion challenge, though, remains the crux of the matter. The contracts of Nevin, who wants a move, Bumstead and Hall are concluded. Dixon says he wants to sign a new one but will Chelsea, especially after his feeble display on Saturday, offer him one? Can they also hold on to such cornerstones as Dorigo, Clarke and Durie? Few Second Division footballers win international honours for England or Scotland. And will the players Final: Wolverhampton Wanderers 2, Burnley 0 Gold of Wolves glitters in they want, such as Rangers' Roberts, want to play in such a league, intriguing as it has proved to the public this season? The loss of Nevin, when he shows Saturday's appetite, would be great. In the first minute he hit a post, Pears turning his shot on to it, and, inspired by the home supporters' rabid enthusiasm, he produced the cross for Durie to hook in an excellent goal.

Cooper's fourth-minute shot off a post, Slaven wastefully heading the rebound over, might have settled it but the tension was protracted, fuelling the home support's aggression at the finish. Theoretically this is the last season of play-offs but the Football League, when they have their annual meeting on Friday, are unlikely, given their financial success, to take that loss. They may feel more able to bear the automatic loss of the Chelsea chairman, Ken Bates, organiser of the League's botched Centenary celebrations and who, ironically, wants a return to a 22-club First Division, from the management committee. Chelsea: Durie (19 min). Chelsea: Hitchcock: Clarke.

Dorigo, Wicks, McLaughlin, Pates (Hall, 80 min), Nevin, Bumslead, Dixon, Durie, Wilson (McAllister. 80). Middlesbrough: Pears; Parkinson, Cooper, Mowbray, Hamilton, Pallister, Slaven, Ripley, Senior, Kerr, Glover. Referee: Hill (Kettering): England six appearances, just past Pearce's near post. Power, too, was evident in the Wolves defence, where Streake and the veteran Robertson, until the latter's departure after 46 minutes with a dead leg, dominated Oghani and Taylor.

At full-back Bellamy embellished his surges down the right flank with a swerving free-kick against the bar after dummies by two other players at an imaginative set-piece. Burnley, assisted by the arrival of Leighton James after 61 minutes, saw their best chances fall to Comstive, but two headers were put over and another was hacked off the line. the League's founding members provided a fitting and timely reminder of the game's traditional values. The occasion was a reminder, too, of football's cycles of fortune. Here were two clubs who had faced extinction in recent years enjoying the financial fruits of a return to Wembley, a visit worth some 150,000 apiece from receipts of 600,000.

Burnley will also be consoled by their fight-back in the second half against a team superior in all departments. The second Wolves goal, a magnificent 50th-minute free-kick curled in by Dennison from 20 TONY DORIGO had some good news and some bad news on Saturday. "It's unbelievable," he said. "Everybody was sitting in the dressing room, heads between knees, when the manager announced my season wasn't finished yet." The Melbourne-born fullback is likely to play his first game for England on Saturday againstAylesbury 2 (agg: 3-3) Ian Ridley THE real work, as Middlesbrough's manager Bruce Rioch said afterwards, starts now. After the soured euphoria of his team's ultimately competent play-off victory comes the job, on training ground and telephone, of confirming the club's ability to become a First Division fixture.

Chelsea, as their manager Bobby Campbell emphasised, have the nucleus of a side capable of winning promotion from the Second. It is a question for him of retaining and adding to that nucleus in the face of more tempting offers. Money will talk this summer. Middlesbrough will need to hold on to their England centre-back Pallister and, more crucially, his partner and captain Mowbray, voted the North-east plaver of the year. Elsewhere, judgment from the white heat ot a piay-on nnai win neea to oe delayed.

Their players, having come from Third to First Division in two seasons, deserve a chance at the top level. Thev will not, though, una the First Division the promised land. Three fewer home games, if they produce a mediocre season, will probably mean less revenue through the turnstiles. But the feeling of being a member of the new 20-club "Super League" may prove worth it. Walsall 0, Bristol City A Shutt Cynthia Bateman DT was obvious before the kick-off at Fellows Park on Saturday that Bristol City, 3-1 down from the first leg of the play-off finals for a place in the Second Division, had not given up hope of overhauling Walsall.

They did not give ground until, having drawn level on aggregate, they lost the oenaltv shoot-out 4-2, allowing Walsall to stage the third match this afternoon. Even Bristols pre-match warm-up was more purposeful and disciplined than Walsall's and, it they startea as underdoes, thev soon began to snap at Walsall's heels. A powerful left-foot shot from Walsh thumped the post in the opening minutes. The home contingent in tne crowd of almost 14,000 the average at Fellows Park this season has been 5,735 started to twitch long before Newman got his head to Walsh's corner to reduce Walsall's aggregate lead. Shakespeare hooked the ball out of the goalmouth but the linesman silenced the home David Lacey INGLAND used KLM to I fly to Switzerland for warm-up match in Lausanne.

At least this was one way of reassuring themselves that they could stay with the Dutch for an hour or so at the highest level. Another was confirmed back at Luton Airport late on Saturday evening when Bobby Rob-son announced his squad for the European Championship. The list of names contained no surprises but it did emphasise the strength of continuity which has developed since the 1986 World Cup in Mexico. England have only won one major international tournament in nearly forty years, the 1966 World Cup when they played all their matches at Wembley. For much of the time they have flattered to deceive, but there is reason to believe that this is about to change.

England do not possess a Ruud Gullit, and not all of their players have the naturally fine touches inbred among the foot ballers of Italy, Spain, Holland, Denmark, West Germany and the Soviet Union. But they do Sherpa Van Trophy The Old Russell Thomas at Wembley THE sun shone on the Old Gold yesterday. Wolves and their massive following confirmed their revival as a footballing power with a decisive victory over Burnley in the Sherpa Van Trophy final before 80,841 an astonishing crowd for a confrontation of two Fourth Division clubs. It was a triumph for the men from Molineux completing a remarkable double with their Fourth Division championship and for football. In a near-revivalist atmosphere two of Tennis Teenager David Irvine in Paris TO music lovers, The Maid of Minsk is one of the lesser-known works of the composer Shostakovitch.

Yesterday, and in a rather different context, it was another Minsk maiden who achieved fame when the 17-year-old Nathalie Zvereva beat Martina Navratilova 6-3, 7-6 for a place in the quarter-finals of the French Open. Coming less than 24 hours after Chris Evert's loss by an identical score a round earlier to an even younger and unseeded Spaniard, Arantxa Sanchez, 16, it represented the heftiest blow the women's establishment had suffered in the 15 years since the Navratilova-Evert dynasty took charge. Asked if an era had ended, Navratilova who last week said she felt there was no way she could lose snapped back: "It's over when I say it's over. Maybe this result would support that notion, but don't jump the gun. If I could play her right now, there's no way I'd lose in two sets again." Zvereva's memorable 90-min-ute victory, during which she saved a set point at 5-6 before going on to win the tiebreak 7-5, was Navratilova's most humiliating loss since Kathy Horvath beat her at the same stage in 1983.

Zvereva beat Horvath at Strasbourg 10 days ago. Defeat left Navratilova hopping mad at falling so early in her 50th Grand Slam event. With Zina Garrison being routed 6-1, 6-2 by Helena Sukova, not one American has made the quarters, for the first time in 25 years. "It just pisses me off," Navratilova said. "It's not my idea of glasnost anyway.

But I guess she's a nice kid. She's got all the shots. I've never been a good wind player on clay, and it was swirling unbelievably out there." Her catalogue of excuses the drizzle, the wind, the light sounded much less convinc as to up to A the in makes Minsk-meat of Navratilova and open case of the eight European Champi onship finalists dare risk sub standard performances in any department of their play. This is what makes the 1988 tournament such an intriguing prospect. "England surprised me," said the Swiss manager, Daniel Jeandupeux.

"After seeing them against Scotland they were better than had ex pected. They gave us more problems than West Germany who beat the Swiss 1-0 last monthl." Some four hundred English supporters made the trip and with close liaison between the FA and Swiss security the pos sibility of trouble was kept to a minimum. Unhappily this small but hopeful portent for West Germany was soon overtaKen by the news from Stamford Bridge and a further knee-jerk from the Minister for Sport. SWITZERLAND. Corminboeuf; Tschup- pert, Schallibaum, weber, Geiger, Herret (Anaermau, qaminj, suiter, nermann, Zwicker, Bickel (Motliez, 82), Bo win (Turkyii-maz, 66).

ENGLAND Shilton (Woods, 45): Stevens, Sansom, Webb, Wright, Adams (Watson, 45), Robson (Reid. 80), Steven (Waddle, 45), Beardsley, Lineker, Barnes. ENGLAND EUROPEAN C'SHIP SQUAD. Goalkeepers: Shllton (Oerby), Woods (Hangers), uerenaers: aievens itvenonj, Anderson (Man Utd), Sansom (Arsenal), Dorigo (Chelsea), Wright (Derby), Walson (bverion). Adams (Arsenal).

Miaueio: Hanson (Man Utd). Webb (Nottm Forest). Reid (kverton), Steven noaoie (Monaco), McMahon (Liverpool). Forwards; Beardsley (Liverpool), Barnes (Liverpool), Hateley (Monaco), Lineker (Barcelona), Waddle (Tottenham). the sun Afterwards the Wolves man ager, Graham Turner, said "It didn't matter whether it was the Sherpa Van Trophy, the World Cup or the FA Cup because you couldn't have bet tered tnat tor colour and noise." Burnley's manager, Brian Miller, was also happy: "It means the bank manager will probably call the chairman by his first name next week." Wolverhampton Wanderers: Kendall; Bellamy, Thompson, Streake.

Robertson (Gallagher, 4bmin), Hoomson, uennison, owning. Bull, Mutch, Holmes (Vaughan, 45). Burnley! Pearce; Oaniel, Oeakin, Britlon, Davis, Gardner, Farrell, Oghani, Taylor, Comstive, McGrory Referee: Millord (Bristol). III to- Stefan Edberg. Perez-Rol-dan's precise passing shots asked too much of Edberg's volleying and the Argentinian should prove an ideal test for the irrepressible Agassi.

It was twice-former champion Mats Wilander who. averted what would have been a disastrous day for the Swedes by avenging himself on Haiti's Ronald Agenor the man he lost to in Rome with a 6-1, 7-6, 6-3 win. He now plays Emilio Sanchez, who marked his 23rd birthday (and matched little sister Arantxa) by beating the 1983 champion, Yannick Noah, 4-6, 6-3, 6-7, 6-2, 6-2. A rain interruption upset the Frenchman's momentum and Sanchez showed increasing authority. placing his faith in the ability of yards, brought out the best in the Lancashire side, but their attack lacked penetration.

That quality was supplied for Wolves by Mutch, overshadowing for once the exploits of Bull, the scoring cult hero of the Black Country. While Mutch provided the first Wolves score with a glancing header and hit a post in the last minute, Bull remained largely in the pocket of his marker, Steve Davis. Bull did, however, have his rampaging moments. His acrobatic hook across the box paved the way for Mutch's goal in the 23rd minute. Before, he had signalled his power with a shot Oh, the anguish Navratilova Torquay United 3, Swansea City 3 (agg: 5-4) Sorrow at the seaside as the Swans soar McClaren crossed from the right and Shutt brought the aggregate scores level City's fans raised the ramshackle roof of this tin-shack stadium.

If the contest is still a draw after extra time today the penalty shoot-out will be for a larger prize. Fears that City might be without Shutt were allayed last night. He will play with a heavily strapped ankle in an unchanged side. SCORERS. Biittol City: Newman (31min).

Shutt (65). WalsaH: Barber; Taylor, Dornan, Shakespeare, Forbes. Goodwin, Hawker, Hart, Christie, Ketty, Naughton. Bristol City: Waugh: Llewellyn, Newman, Humphries, Pender, McClaren. Milne, Gal-liers.

Shutt (Caldwell, 85), Walsh, Jordan. Referee: Tyspn (Sunderland). Lee Clark, a schoolboy associated with Newcastle United, scored three goals on Saturday in the England Under-15 team's 4-1 win over Italy at Wembley. Luther Blissett says he needs "a new challenge" and is unlikely to sign the one-year contract Watford'have offered him. Bristol Rovers will share Bath City's ground at Twerton Park for another three years.

There are plans to increase the crowd capacity from 6,600 to 9,000. The full-back, McNichol, was near to a Torquay hat-trick. He headed in Kelly's free-kick, nudged the ball over the line following a corner from Sharpe, then headed powerfully onto the bar in the second half. He has hit 14 goals this season. But Swansea showed tremendous fervour after Raynor had shot them into an early lead from 20 yards.

Their other goal came from Davies after Rayn-or's free-kick spun off the wall. SCORERS. Torquay United: McNichol 2 (33min. 39); Caldwell (67). Swansea City: Raynor (23), McCarthy pen (28), Oavies (45).

Torquay United: Allen; McNichol, Kelly, Dawkins, Cole, Impey. Caldwell, Lloyd. Loram, Dobson, Gibbins. Swansea City: Guthrie; Harrison, Coleman, Melville, Knill, James, Davies. Love, McCarthy, Raynor, Hutchison.

Referoe: Martin (Hants). a Hughes relief contract to Barcelona, back to Manchester United. Bayern's capacity for foreign strikers has been exhausted by signing Ekstrom and the Algerian Rabat Madjer. AC Milan, the Italian champions, have agreed to sign Frank Rijkaard, the Dutch defender, from Sporting Lisbon. supporters like a mute button on a remote control with his ruling that the ball had crossed the line.

Walsall did not look like scoring in the first half and those who had not bought a full-colour poster of Kelly, their wonder striker who has been the subject of Liverpool's attention recently, might never have known he was there. Kelly received little service from his mates and, when he did, was hard-pressed to escape his minders. The strong, swirling wind was not altogether responsible for some pretty awful football. Walsall were more spirited in the second half, causing a few scares, not least from a succession of corners. Waugh, City's goalkeeper, had an excellent game, not so much from fingertip saves, although there was one of those when Kelly at last got free, but from bold decisions to come off his line to join the nip and tuck.

He was kept busy but City, inspired by Joe Jordan, their player-manager, who looked 10 years older at the end of the game, never flagged. When great strain on managers and it also gets to boardroom level." Swansea went into the game with a 2-1 advantage, and by the 28th minute were 4-1 ud as both teams battered away with pragmatic enthusiasm, producing five of the goals in one first-half spell of 22 minutes. Torquay have played 62 competitive matches this season, though the legs refused to collapse in the deteriorating slush. McCarthy scored against them with a penalty given for a beefy challenge on Love which some referees would have let go. For Torquay, Caldwell missed the best chance of the afternoon just after the interval and headed in, by way of compensation, after 67 minutes.

Ekstrom signing SAYERN MUNICH have apparently ended their efforts to hold on to Mark Hughes with their purchase of Johnny Ekstrom. The German club have agreed to pay Empoli 800,000 for the Swedish centre-forward. Alex Ferguson has shown an interest in bringing Hughes, who is still under ing than her earlier admission that she wasn't sufficiently "fired up" after having trounced Zvereva in their two previous matches. "I didn't take her seriously enough," she confessed. As to her set point, she had hit it flat, she intended, but it then "floated like About five feet over the baseline, in fact.

Zvereva, who collects her award as the world junior champion tomorrow, seemed almost unable to comprehend what she had done. "I'm so happy. I can't imagine I won today. I'm so surprised." Her ability to come to terms with the conditions was a significant factor. But for a rain break, the end would have been sooner.

As it was, from 1-3 and 30-30 in the second the players returned after a 42-minute interruption for the No.2 seed to win the first six points. A later seven-point sequence then gave Navratilova 6-5 but Zvereva conquered her nerves win with a superb backhand service return whipped at Navratilova's feet. Though Navratilova follows her usual pattern by warming for Wimbledon at Eastbourne, Evert is almost certain withdraw from the Pilking-ton Glass Championship because of an injury to her right heel. Even her attendance at Wimbledon is by no means certain. decision on when she can start preparing hinges on how injury has mended after 10 days' rest.

Her defeat was only her third 52 Grand Slam events before the semi-final stage. In 46 Grand Slams in which both Evert and Navratilova have appeared, it was the first time neither the one nor the other had reached the last eight. Sanchez now finds herself bracketed with Margaret Court, Hana Mandlikova, Andrea Jaeger and Navratilova as one of only five opponents to have beaten Evert in her 78 singles at Paris dating back to 1972. Sanchez went on to defeat Catherine Tanvier 6-2, 6-0 yesterday. Cruiser class retains the overall lead but Simon Pender, with two firsts and a second in the Sonata class, should maintain his outstanding record.

Arnold Clark's Drum has. led home the big Channel Handicap class each day. on her way to defeat by Zvereva in Paris yesterday Mellow Mac the humanist David Foot WE ALL ended up feeling sorry for Torquay, even Terry Yorath, Swansea's manager: "I've got all the sympathy in the world for them. Against a vocal dressing-room background of trium-nhant Welsh choruses. Yorath was still willing to castigate the piay-ou system, inougn naa brought his side promotion at the evnense of the humble Devon club seven points superior in the Fourth Division which nearly went out of the League altogether a year ago.

5iyril inowies, lurquay a manager, desperately wanted to win on what could be his last game in charge. The speculation tnai ne iriioVit- nnw Vie wnnerl awav to a larger club is not misguided. He was significantly cagey on the subject. He has an extrovert nature nnrl nnknnwlerieed the Plain- moor cheers before the game. Aiterwaras, near teats seemed, he agreed with the Yorath verdict on the system: "It's all wrong.

I don't like it, what ever the financial considerations, and I'm not saying that because we lost. There's such a has mellowed. He now realises his attitude to the on-court officials was bad. "Looking at everyone as human beings makes it a lot harder to get angry," he said. "Taking time off gave me a chance to take a step back and look at my career and readjust before it was too late.

I want these last years to be enjoyable." McEnroe at least has another American, 18-year-old Andre Agassi from Las Vegas, to ease the burden of responsibility. While McEnroe rested yesterday, Agassi beat Magnus Gustaffson 6-4, 6-2, 2-6, 6-0 to earn a quarterfinal crack at the beaten Rome finalist Guillermo Perez-Roldan, a 7-5, 6-3, 6-3 winner over the second seed, FIRE versus Ice was how L'Equipe billed it last time. Today's fourth-round clash in Paris between John McEnroe and Ivan Lendl may not quite match up to that epic final in 1984, when the Czech came back from a two-set deficit to win, but tickets for their first clay court match since then have never been harder to come by, writes David Irvine. Losing then, as McEnroe freely admits, was the low point of his career. "But there's no point looking back.

I've got my hands full enough as it is." Lendl too sees no point in dwelling on the past: "All I know is he's playing well again." In one important respect at least, the angry American Sailing Threat to Brown's unlikely lead AFTER the calms of the long offshore race that began the McEwan Scottish series, masts tumbled in two breezy races in Loch Fyne, writes Bob Fisher. Clive Brown, who unexpectedly won the 93-mile race in.