Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/463339
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 15 FEBRUARY 2015 35 Sport FOOTBALL Lallana nets winner as Liverpool recover to oust Palace A review of Saturday's action in the FA Cup fifth round as Liverpool beat Crystal Palace and Josh King was the hero for Blackburn. LIVERPOOL are through to the FA Cup quarter-finals after a second- half comeback steered them to a 2-1 win against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park. The Reds trailed at the interval to Fraizer Campbell's follow-up strike on the quarter-hour mark. But Daniel Sturridge netted a vol- leyed equaliser four minutes into the second half and, nine minutes later, Adam Lallana converted on the rebound when Julian Speroni failed to deal with substitute Mario Balotelli's free-kick. Blackburn came from behind to book their place in the last eight as well as Josh King's hat-trick helped the Sky Bet Championship outfit record a surprise 4-1 victory over Stoke, who had Geoff Cameron sent off just before half time. The Potters took a 10th-minute lead at Ewood Park through Peter Crouch's third goal in three games, but things went badly wrong for the Barclays Premier League side from there. King brought things level before a foul on the Norway forward in first- half stoppage time earned Cameron a straight red card and Blackburn a penalty, which Rovers' top-scorer Rudy Gestede converted. Two quickfire slotted efforts from King after the break wrapped up the triumph as Stoke boss Mark Hughes suffered an embarrassing return to his old club. West Brom were another side who advanced into the quarter-finals in emphatic style, seeing off West Ham 4-0 at The Hawthorns. Brown Ideye netted twice to take his tally to four goals in his last three matches, the efforts coming either side of a James Morrison strike as Tony Pulis' men established a 3-0 lead inside the first hour. Albion also ended up facing 10 men, with Hammers substitute Morgan Amalfitano, once on loan at West Brom, being given his marching orders 10 minutes af- ter coming on, and moments later Saido Berahino fired in the Baggies' fourth. Reading emerged triumphant from their all-Championship fifth- round tie at Derby, with transfer deadline day signing Yakubu com- ing off the bench to seal a 2-1 vic- tory. Once again there was a sending- off, Rams defender Stephen War- nock seeing red in the first half, and after Hal Robson-Kanu's opener for the visitors shortly into the second period was cancelled out by Darren Bent, Yakubu clinically despatched the winner eight minutes from time. Football Results & Fixtures Malta - FA Trophy Qormi - Sirens ................................. 7-0 Birkirkara - Pieta Hotspurs ............... 3-0 England - FA Cup West B. Albion - West H. United ........ 4-0 Blackburn R. - Stoke City .................. 4-1 Derby County - Reading ................... 1-2 Crystal Palace - Liverpool ................. 1-2 Today 13:30 Aston Villa - Leicester City 15:30 Bradford City - Sunderland 17:00 Arsenal - Middlesbrough Tomorrow 20:45 Preston North End - M. United Italy - Serie A Sassuolo - Fiorentina ...................... 1-3 Palermo - SSC Napoli ....................... 3-1 Today 12:30 AC Milan - Empoli 15:00 Atalanta - Inter 15:00 Genoa - Hellas Verona 15:00 Roma - Parma 15:00 Torino - Cagliari 15:00 Udinese - Lazio 18:00 ChievoVerona - Sampdoria 20:45 Cesena - Juventus Spain - Liga BBVA Sevilla - Cordoba ............................. 3-0 Real Madrid - Deportivo La Coruna ... 2-0 Granada - Athletic Bilbao ................. 0-0 Malaga - Espanyol ........................... Late Today 12:00 Valencia - Getafe 17:00 Barcelona - Levante 19:00 Rayo Vallecano - Villarreal 21:00 Celta Vigo - Atletico Madrid Tomorrow 20:45 Eibar - Elche Germany - Bundesliga Bayer Leverkusen - Wolfsburg .......... 4-5 Bayern Munich - Hamburger SV ....... 8-0 Borussia M. - FC Cologne ................. 1-0 Hoffenheim - VfB Stuttgart ............... 2-1 Werder Bremen - Augsburg.............. 3-2 Eintracht Frankfurt - Schalke 04 ....... 1-0 Today 15:30 Hertha Berlin - Freiburg 17:30 Hannover 96 - Paderborn Adam Lallana celebrates putting Liverpool ahead while Crystal Palace goalkeeper Julian Speroni is grounded Are UK online casinos ready to take over Premier League sponsorship? WITH Casinos and bookmakers becoming major shirt sponsors for a majority of Premier League clubs, could this mean a new era for new sponsorships? When Everton travelled to Lille to take on the French giants in the Europa League in the league's group stages this season they were forced to wear sponsor-less shirts, because of a ban on the promotion of alcohol in France. It was a strange scenario to see a Premier League side returning to their roots and sporting a plain strip, bringing to mind old Match of the Day clips featuring the stars of 70's football wearing their tra- ditional colours before shirt spon- sorship really took off. If online casinos are still allowed to sponsor shirts till the current season, this would have a huge im- pact, not only in affecting club rev- enues but also in changing the face of the game. Where previously Premier League sponsorship was dominat- ed by drinks companies, Everton, sponsored by Chang, are now the only club that would fall foul of the French alcohol ban. Whilst a number of clubs are sponsored by travel companies and airlines, arguably the most domi- nant sector among Premier League shirt sponsors is online gambling and casinos. With four Premier League clubs currently sporting their logos, they account for 20% of Premier League shirt sponsorship. English football is a huge draw for fans across the world, with millions of viewers tuning in, from Austral- ia to the United States every week. The attention that Premier League clubs in particular draw from fans across continents opens up a huge range of markets for online gam- bling companies. Where previously gambling may have been associated with smoky backstreet betting shops, it is now a normalized part of UK culture and punters can place bets or play casino games in their own homes. Football is a normal, everyday, part of life for millions of people; by sponsoring so many Premier League shirts online gambling companies are seeking to become part of that norm, and who can blame them? The signs are that gambling cultures within UK football and football coverage are here to stay. In addition to the shirt sponsor- ship, Sky Bet sponsors the English Football League and William Hill sponsors the Scottish Cup. This is not to mention the significant rise in gambling advertising during football coverage, with numerous bookmakers now offering 'in-play' markets and publicizing their odds at half-time.