Surrey held on for the draw, Amla 37 not out from 278 balls. Kent did similar against Lancashire, but Jack Leaning’s 53 not out from 199 was a bit expansive for my taste.
@Ticht – if you double click on the video, it should go fullscreen, then you can access the volume control.
Or, right-click on the video and select ‘Show Controls’. Then click on the video to pause, again to un-pause and you can increase the volume with the up arrow.
That was a good finish by van der Merwe for the Lions. The commentary team have a problem cos they’re in London and don’t really know the Sharks players. They were wondering where the full back was and he was standing up against van der Merwe.
Also, I quite like that Conor McNamara is fucking up the name of the Cell-C Sharks. He’s calling them the C-Cell Sharks.
Just navigated through all the porn on refits link to watch the first half highlights. Glad to see Simmons is playing well. Curry, underhill and Simmons would be a great back row for England. Billy as a sub.
Just turned the sound back on for the Lions. I hear the comms team have given up with the “Cell-C Sharks” (or “sea-shell sharks” as Greenwood called them) tongue-twister.
Belated Happy Birthday Thauma! Hope you had a lovely dinner!
Lions were again excellent, but the difference in power, pace and communication was evident from the get go. They will steamroll all the provinces here, assuming they play another match.
Congrats to England as well. Saw the 90, but fell asleep during extra time. They do play very nice football at times – as did the Danes. I think Italy are slight favourites for the Final, but then what do I know? Rhetorical, no need to answer that.
If even the ITV commentators don’t think it’s a penalty then I think we know it wasn’t. Danes never got anything going at all after half-time though, Schmeichel was their best player and England were much the better team even if they were lucky with the goal.
“Bizarrely, Roy Keane had promoted the musical theme before kickoff with a rare show of his human side and the revelation he is a fan of Neil Diamond.
The Irishman, revelling in his detachment from the occasion, had attended a Diamond concert a decade ago.
“I ended up arguing with a woman next to me,” he recalled, to nobody’s great surprise. “She kept singing all the songs out loud so I ended up in a bit of trouble that night. A brilliant concert though.””
The Danes seemed to be playing for penalties from about 60 minutes, but were really good before that. They bypassed Rice and Phillips rather too easily at times.
Sterling was excellent, really dangerous.
If Italy had Billy Gilmour, the game would be theirs. As it is, I think (hope) it’ll be a close game. The England attacking 4 can cause them problems. The Italian press will cause England problems.
@TomP – I think you’re a bit generous to the Danes. They did look dangerous on the break in the first half with some really nice turns and passing, but it didn’t lead to anything much in the way of really good chances to score. England had had the best of the first 10-15 minutes anyway and were also on top after they equalised so first half was pretty even. After that England knackered them out and they ended up bringing on a load of substitutes to shore things up as they were starting to get over-run. An understandable gamble, but the players who came on weren’t as good and they ended up with no sub for the injury in extra time.
I suspect the Spain game was a bit of an aberration for Italy due to the Spanish style and they’ll be back to dominating possession against England. I think they’re the better team, but it’s pretty close. Should be a really good match so it probably won’t be!
I thought England were good as well in the first 60, CMW. They’ve got great subs to bring on to play forward as well – Grealish, Foden, Sancho, Bellingham, and for more speed or power Rashford and Calvert-Lewin.
They’re also, in comparison with previous English teams, phenomenally comfortable on the ball. If Rice or Phillips could play facing the opposition goal more often, I’d be more confident about them. Still think they can win.
They do look comfortable on the ball, but I think you and I agree that that will be put to a much bigger test especially for the defenders and defensive midfielders by Italy’s approach. They also haven’t made many defensive howlers and haven’t paid for any (the goalie was lucky with some of his throws and kicks out last night). Makes me think there will be one in the final, but if they get through the tournament without then well done to them as the last few years they’ve been mostly good at the back but with just a few too many lapses of concentration.
Wait til you find out about the Russian linesman who put the second ball on the pitch.
Better than a finger up the backside.
Did Pickford beat Gordon Banks’ record of time in play with a clean sheet? On whichever feed we got here the commentator was waxing lyrical about him being only 10 minutes away from the record midway through the first half, so the Danes goal would have been close to that time.
Caught most of the 2nd half and then extra-time (doing a bit of a Denis Law down at the pitch and putt with 2 of my lads)
Speaking with a Danish work colleague this morning – he was disappointed with the pen but accepted England were better team (as they were).
I thought England were mistaken to sit back once 2-1 ahead – they lost a bit of momentum/concentration and a better team than Denmark or maybe one with 11 players on the pitch might have gotten back into the game. The opposition have to chase the game – and with speedsters like Sterling you’ve a high chance to catch them on the break….
@cmw – I’d agree that – for a guy who’s conceded the one goal – Pickford looks like the weak link. His kick outs were poor last night and weren’t terrific against Ukraine. It’s such a significant part of the game now. In GAA, the goalkeeper is more valued for his kicking length and accuracy than shot stopping – in a game which restarts after a score (or miss) with a ‘kickout’ from 21m – you might have 25+ kickouts in a game – you can’t cede possession to the opposition close to goal.
Italy – from what I’ve seen – play faster from back-to-front than most teams – we’ll see Sunday if they can upset England that way. I’d have made England favourites – playing at home “and all that”.
@Trisk – England didn’t look like conceding so I guess the keep-ball was understandable. I thought they did turn down a couple of chances to play Sterling in on goal to finish it during that period though and I guess Denmark could have got something from a free-kick or corner towards the end that would have made them regret it.
Ovally Balls 
Italy’s the story of these champs. They’ve pushed Ireland and France really hard. Probably should have beaten France.
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31-21 now.
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Apparently we’ve got 17 players from this cohort available for next year.
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I predict that Sam Simmonds will end up playing as a centre…………….
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anyone got a video link to the Lions and the England?Wales u20s?
ta, muchly.
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@Slade – the U20s will be here:
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Surrey held on for the draw, Amla 37 not out from 278 balls. Kent did similar against Lancashire, but Jack Leaning’s 53 not out from 199 was a bit expansive for my taste.
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thank you dearboy!
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And I’m watching the Lionz here: http://cricfree.live/watchfeeds/index/9
0-14 to the Lions, after just 6 mins.
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OT, how do I get sound on that cricfree link?
I’m also getting fucking annoying pop ups of bare breasted women
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I’m curious, could Greenwood waffle any more?
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@ticht
For a change its not my fault this time :-). Blame Refit
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@Ticht – if you double click on the video, it should go fullscreen, then you can access the volume control.
Or, right-click on the video and select ‘Show Controls’. Then click on the video to pause, again to un-pause and you can increase the volume with the up arrow.
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Thanks refit
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That was a good finish by van der Merwe for the Lions. The commentary team have a problem cos they’re in London and don’t really know the Sharks players. They were wondering where the full back was and he was standing up against van der Merwe.
Also, I quite like that Conor McNamara is fucking up the name of the Cell-C Sharks. He’s calling them the C-Cell Sharks.
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ticht, cricfree seems to recognise something from your search history. I always get ads for “The Big Book of Facts”.
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In (well, outside) an actual pub having birthday dinner. What’s the score?
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19-0.
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I should really get adverts for musical instruments and woodworking tools
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Happy birthday Thaum!
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24-0 now. Aki with a pick up and smash from 3 metres after a close-in line-out. Still no tries by English players.
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Oh, Happy Birthday Thaum, and a belated HB to BB
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26 now, thaum. Same as your age.
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Yay – thank you!
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Thanks for the Lions link, Refit!
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Just navigated through all the porn on refits link to watch the first half highlights. Glad to see Simmons is playing well. Curry, underhill and Simmons would be a great back row for England. Billy as a sub.
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Trying to watch 3 matches (Euros, Lions & U20s) is a little tricky.
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Just turned the sound back on for the Lions. I hear the comms team have given up with the “Cell-C Sharks” (or “sea-shell sharks” as Greenwood called them) tongue-twister.
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Unlucky for Navidi, just before he’s subbed.
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Belated Happy Birthday Thauma! Hope you had a lovely dinner!
Lions were again excellent, but the difference in power, pace and communication was evident from the get go. They will steamroll all the provinces here, assuming they play another match.
Congrats to England as well. Saw the 90, but fell asleep during extra time. They do play very nice football at times – as did the Danes. I think Italy are slight favourites for the Final, but then what do I know? Rhetorical, no need to answer that.
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You fell asleep? Then, let me assure it was a definite penalty. No need to watch the footage.
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If even the ITV commentators don’t think it’s a penalty then I think we know it wasn’t. Danes never got anything going at all after half-time though, Schmeichel was their best player and England were much the better team even if they were lucky with the goal.
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@OT – Looks a bit harsh on the basis of that photo.
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“Other contrary behaviour”!
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I almost wish I’d watched the pre-match nonsense:
“Bizarrely, Roy Keane had promoted the musical theme before kickoff with a rare show of his human side and the revelation he is a fan of Neil Diamond.
The Irishman, revelling in his detachment from the occasion, had attended a Diamond concert a decade ago.
“I ended up arguing with a woman next to me,” he recalled, to nobody’s great surprise. “She kept singing all the songs out loud so I ended up in a bit of trouble that night. A brilliant concert though.””
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Could do with the architecture mob back on here for this one:
https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2021/jul/08/a-great-city-has-been-defaced-why-has-a-poo-emoji-arrived-on-edinburghs-skyline
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The Danes seemed to be playing for penalties from about 60 minutes, but were really good before that. They bypassed Rice and Phillips rather too easily at times.
Sterling was excellent, really dangerous.
If Italy had Billy Gilmour, the game would be theirs. As it is, I think (hope) it’ll be a close game. The England attacking 4 can cause them problems. The Italian press will cause England problems.
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@TomP – I think you’re a bit generous to the Danes. They did look dangerous on the break in the first half with some really nice turns and passing, but it didn’t lead to anything much in the way of really good chances to score. England had had the best of the first 10-15 minutes anyway and were also on top after they equalised so first half was pretty even. After that England knackered them out and they ended up bringing on a load of substitutes to shore things up as they were starting to get over-run. An understandable gamble, but the players who came on weren’t as good and they ended up with no sub for the injury in extra time.
I suspect the Spain game was a bit of an aberration for Italy due to the Spanish style and they’ll be back to dominating possession against England. I think they’re the better team, but it’s pretty close. Should be a really good match so it probably won’t be!
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Deebs – thank you, I did, but ate far too much and suffered for it!
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I thought England were good as well in the first 60, CMW. They’ve got great subs to bring on to play forward as well – Grealish, Foden, Sancho, Bellingham, and for more speed or power Rashford and Calvert-Lewin.
They’re also, in comparison with previous English teams, phenomenally comfortable on the ball. If Rice or Phillips could play facing the opposition goal more often, I’d be more confident about them. Still think they can win.
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Just saw the penalty. Scythed! Hacked! If the grass had been more even, he’d have kept his footing.
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Wait til you find out about the Russian linesman who put the second ball on the pitch.
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They do look comfortable on the ball, but I think you and I agree that that will be put to a much bigger test especially for the defenders and defensive midfielders by Italy’s approach. They also haven’t made many defensive howlers and haven’t paid for any (the goalie was lucky with some of his throws and kicks out last night). Makes me think there will be one in the final, but if they get through the tournament without then well done to them as the last few years they’ve been mostly good at the back but with just a few too many lapses of concentration.
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Wait til you find out about the Russian linesman who put the second ball on the pitch.
Better than a finger up the backside.
Did Pickford beat Gordon Banks’ record of time in play with a clean sheet? On whichever feed we got here the commentator was waxing lyrical about him being only 10 minutes away from the record midway through the first half, so the Danes goal would have been close to that time.
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He did. They conceded just after.
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“Better than a finger up the backside.”
Better than growing a garden, ringing silver bells, arranging cockle shells, sticking your finger up a prop’s bum. Any of that stuff really.
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Sticking your finger up a prop’s bum would, among other things, probably have to count as ‘brave’.
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Caught most of the 2nd half and then extra-time (doing a bit of a Denis Law down at the pitch and putt with 2 of my lads)
Speaking with a Danish work colleague this morning – he was disappointed with the pen but accepted England were better team (as they were).
I thought England were mistaken to sit back once 2-1 ahead – they lost a bit of momentum/concentration and a better team than Denmark or maybe one with 11 players on the pitch might have gotten back into the game. The opposition have to chase the game – and with speedsters like Sterling you’ve a high chance to catch them on the break….
@cmw – I’d agree that – for a guy who’s conceded the one goal – Pickford looks like the weak link. His kick outs were poor last night and weren’t terrific against Ukraine. It’s such a significant part of the game now. In GAA, the goalkeeper is more valued for his kicking length and accuracy than shot stopping – in a game which restarts after a score (or miss) with a ‘kickout’ from 21m – you might have 25+ kickouts in a game – you can’t cede possession to the opposition close to goal.
Italy – from what I’ve seen – play faster from back-to-front than most teams – we’ll see Sunday if they can upset England that way. I’d have made England favourites – playing at home “and all that”.
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@Trisk – England didn’t look like conceding so I guess the keep-ball was understandable. I thought they did turn down a couple of chances to play Sterling in on goal to finish it during that period though and I guess Denmark could have got something from a free-kick or corner towards the end that would have made them regret it.
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