Harry Kane moved ahead of Wayne Rooney into outright second in the all-time list of Premier League goalscorers to give Tottenham Hotspur’s hopes of clinging on to a European place a boost.

A header from Kane on the stroke of half-time – his 209th in the top-flight – gave Ryan Mason his first victory as caretaker manager and Spurs their first win in six games.

Kane’s goal came courtesy of a cross from Pedro Porro, who was Tottenham’s most dangerous player, and set another record as the striker became the first player to score 10 headers in a Premier League season.

The victory and Porro’s contribution vindicated Mason’s decision to revert back to a back four and drop Eric Dier to the substitutes’ bench.

Tottenham also hit the crossbar through Cristian Romero, while Heung-Min Son wasted a great chance to double Tottenham’s lead after being sent clean through by the Argentinian.

Son looked to have rounded Crystal Palace’s Sam Johnstone, but the goalkeeper recovered brilliantly to get a hand to his goalbound shot.

Michael Olise forced Spurs goalkeeper Fraser Forster to make a first-half save, while Wilfried Zaha went close with a chipped effort that dipped just over the bar shortly after the break.

While this was a far from scintillating performance from the home side, it was largely a comfortable victory and will be a very welcome clean sheet.

Tottenham had not kept a clean sheet in the League since beating Chelsea in February and had conceded 20 goals in the previous seven games, dating back to Antonio Conte’s final game in charge against Southampton.

Palace defender Joachim Anderson gave Spurs a late fright when he rolled the ball across the six-yard box, but Kane was back to clear the danger.

The Eaglets came from behind twice before beating South Africa 3-2 in an entertaining clash at the Stade Mohamed-Hamlaou.

The Nigeria U-17 team, the Golden Eaglets have booked their place in the quarter-final stage of the ongoing U-17 Africa Cup of Nations in Algeria.

The Eaglets showed great tenacity in their final group game on Saturday as they came from behind twice before beating South Africa 3-2 in an entertaining clash at the Stade Mohamed-Hamlaou.

The victory sees the Eaglets secure six points (two wins and a loss) and thus qualify for the quarter-final.

Shaky start

The final group game between fierce rivals South Africa and Nigeria kicked off with a bang as Vicky Mkhawana netted the opening goal for the Amajimbos just six minutes into the match.

Nigeria’s Golden Eaglets were quick to respond but saw Abubakar Abdullahi miss a golden opportunity from close range.

The Eaglets believed they had equalised in the 10th minute when Charles Agada found the back of the net, but the goal was disallowed due to an offside call.

The first half continued as a tense, back-and-forth battle, with Nigeria relentlessly searching for an equaliser but unable to break through South Africa’s solid defence.

In the 34th minute, the pressure finally paid off, with Charles Agada levelling the score for the Eaglets, heading the ball into the net with pinpoint accuracy.

However, just before the halftime whistle, Mabena fired South Africa back in front with a thunderous strike that rattled the crossbar before crossing the line.

Second half

Nigeria began the second half with renewed determination, and Light Eke found the equaliser within the first minute of play, finishing off a brilliant run by Agada.

Golden Eaglets

The Golden Eaglets maintained the pressure on their opponents, and their efforts were rewarded in the 65th minute when Emmanuel Michael set up Abubakar Abdullahi for a clinical finish, giving Nigeria a well-deserved 3-2 lead.

Despite creating numerous chances in the remaining minutes, Nigeria could not extend their lead, either due to the South African goalkeeper’s heroics or their own lack of finishing prowess.

Nonetheless, the Golden Eaglets held on to their one-goal advantage, securing a thrilling 3-2 victory that has taken them closer to their first target of qualifying for the U17 World Cup

In the other Group B clash, Zambia secured a shock 2-1 win over Morocco.

Chelsea are still 11th in the Premier League with four games left.

Chelsea’s interim manager Frank Lampard on Saturday expressed his happiness to see his side finally playing like a team.

The former English Premier League (EPL) champions snapped a nine-match winless run in all competitions with a 3-1 victory at Bournemouth on Saturday.

Chelsea have looked like a fractured outfit after a number of arrivals in the last two transfer windows and three different managers this season.

But they showed glimpses of finally gelling together as a unit to end a six-match losing run.

Chelsea are still 11th in the Premier League with four games left.

But Lampard said the win would be a boost as they look to end the season on a high after just their second away victory of the year.

“I’m happy. We came in off the back of a tough run. It’s been a tough year and there is a lot of work to do,” he told reporters.

“But the performance and the result in isolation are really good, we deserved to win the game.

“It’s a nice step forward for the lads. To work hard and come to a place that has been very hard for a lot of teams this year… I’m very happy.

“In the modern game, those changes are huge. It’s important with the squad that we have that people feel like they can come in and affect the game.

“We’ve worked towards that and I think every one of them did.”

Lampard said there were still a lot of players finding their feet, especially youngsters, and urged them to “grasp” confidence from the performance.

“Typically at Chelsea, one or two have fed into the group and now we have more. It’s understandable that as a group finding rhythm and confidence can be difficult,” the former Chelsea player added.

“This is a first step. It won’t be plain sailing, but there is talent there and the players need to come together to get us to where we want to be.”

Chelsea’s next game is at home against relegation-threatened Nottingham Forest next weekend.

Assar who is the defending champion proved to be a hard nut to crack for Aruna as he romped to a 4-1 victory.

The hopes of Nigerian table tennis star Quadri Aruna upstaging his arch-rival Omar Assar of Egypt at the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) Africa Cup have been dashed again.

Assar, who is the defending champion, proved to be a hard nut to crack for Aruna as he romped to a 4-1 victory in the thrilling contest that took place at the Moi International Sports Centre in Nairobi, Kenya.

The Saturday encounter saw Aruna, the highest-ranked African player, lose all but one of the five sets played.

Assar breezed to an 8-11, 13-15, 7-11, 11-9, 7-11 victory to show his prowess on the continent yet again.

Despite the setback, Aruna demonstrated great skill and sportsmanship throughout the tournament.

To secure his place in the final, Aruna had previously triumphed over another Egyptian player, Mohamed Youssef, in the semi-finals with a score of 4-0 (11-9, 11-5, 11-3, 12-10).

The victory had increased expectations of Aruna in the final match.

In the women’s event final, 15-year-old Egyptian prodigy Hana Goda successfully defended her title, defeating compatriot Dina Meshref in a nail-biting 4-3 finish to clinch the trophy.

Aside from Aruna, three other Nigerians, Fatimo Bello, Taiwo Mati and Tosin Oribamise were also in action in Kenya but none was able to achieve a podium finish.

The ITTF Africa Cup, which began on Thursday, climaxed on Saturday, showcasing the best table tennis talent the African continent has to offer.

The 2023 ITTF Africa Cup had countries like host Kenya, Nigeria, Egypt, Algeria, Tunisia, Cameroon, Djibouti, Uganda, Burundi, and Congo Brazzaville among others competing in the women’s and men’s singles event.

Meanwhile, this year’s Africa Cup has been described as a dress rehearsal for the first World Championships taking place in Africa in 84 years, which is due to take place in Durban, South Africa from 20 to 28 May.

The Premier League is now in its final weeks of the 2022/2023 campaign.

And as is always the case, there is something to fight for all across the table.

This weekend promises to be another exciting instalment.

Here are four fixtures where you could see shock results.

1. West Ham vs Man Utd: Erik Ten Hag’s men have a poor away record this season. And that was not enhanced by their dramatic 1-0 defeat at Brighton on Thursday. Forget that the winning goal came in the 99th minute, Roberto De Zerbi’s men outplayed the Red Devils and deserved the three points. United face another tough game at the London Stadium, against the Hammers who will be welcoming back key players.

2. Man City vs Leeds: Sam Allardyce returned to the Premier League this week, replacing Javi Garcia at Elland Road. And the former Everton and West Brom boss provided some interesting soundbites, claiming he is just as good as City boss, Pep Guardiola. Well, he could as well prove that in his first game in charge at the Etihad, as he tries to keep Leeds in the top flight.

3. Bournemouth vs Chelsea: Frank Lampard is yet to win as Chelsea’s interim boss, losing his first six matches in all competitions. If the Blues drop points to Bournemouth, then it is officially a crisis at Stamford Bridge. However, the Cherries have been in fine form lately and are capable of causing yet another upset, just like Wolves did in Lampard’s first game.

4. Liverpool vs Brentford: In the reverse fixture, the Bees stung Jurgen Klopp’s men, winning 3-1 on their home patch. And you cannot bet against them taking points off Liverpool, even though this fixture will be played at Anfield. The Reds are looking to sneak into the top four this season and this is a must-win game if they are to take advantage if Manchester United slip up.

Golden Eaglets head coach, Nduka Ugbade is expecting a tough encounter against South Africa at the 2023 Africa U-17 Cup of Nations on Saturday.

The two-time champions will be up against the Amajimbos in their final Group B game at the Stade Mohammed Hamlaoui.

The Eaglets sit in second position in Group B with three points from two games.

Ugbade’s side need just a point to seal a place in the quater-finals of the competition

The Amajimbos are on similar point with the Golden Eaglets but have inferior goal difference.

“We are prepared against South Africa, we saw the game they played against Zambia, totally different from the first one,” Ugbade said in a short video posted on NFF TV.

“When you look critically to the situation the two of them met at the COSAFA and Zambia won 1-0. I’ve seen the whole team, very strong team. My concern is more about development.”

The game will kick-off at 8pm Nigerian time.