Kilmarnock defeated Ayr Utd 2-0 in Championship. The fixture is part of the Regular Season - 1 stage in the 2021 season. The match was played at BBSP Stadium Rugby Park in Kilmarnock. D. Robertson officiated the match. The full-time result capped a Kilmarnock vs Ayr Utd meeting in Championship with detailed post-match statistics available on Sportra. This match centre covers lineups, live events, player ratings, team statistics, xG, head-to-head history, and related news for Kilmarnock and Ayr Utd. On Sportra you can view xG, lineups, match statistics, events, player ratings, predictions, head-to-head history, and related news for this fixture.
ChampionshipRecorded meetings: 0 (available previous meetings, not necessarily all-time).
Kilmarnock defeated Ayr Utd 2-0 in Championship. The fixture is part of the Regular Season - 1 stage in the 2021 season. The match was played at BBSP Stadium Rugby Park in Kilmarnock. D. Robertson officiated the match. The full-time result capped a Kilmarnock vs Ayr Utd meeting in Championship with detailed post-match statistics available on Sportra. This match centre covers lineups, live events, player ratings, team statistics, xG, head-to-head history, and related news for Kilmarnock and Ayr Utd. On Sportra you can view xG, lineups, match statistics, events, player ratings, predictions, head-to-head history, and related news for this fixture.
ChampionshipRecorded meetings: 0 (available previous meetings, not necessarily all-time).
Kilmarnock's Greg Kiltie hopes the club's new pitch will change the narrative over their home form and the theory that their old artificial surface gave them a huge advantage. The artificial pitch at Rugby Park has been ripped up and replaced with a state of the art grass-hybrid pitch, which gets its first airing this Sunday with the visit of Celtic.
The power battle over Vanessa Gold’s shares and the David Sullivan Panorama allegations are overshadowing the start of the season in the ChampionshipThere have been 10 summers of West Ham’s London Stadium tenancy and a number of winters of discontent. As the Hammers kick off the new season on Saturday, a Carabao Cup first-round fixture with Portsmouth is a stark reminder of reduced circumstances, further confirmation of last season’s relegation from the Premier League. The summer has been as bleak as any of those winters, with a number of factors colliding to deepen the gloom of relegation.Certain clubs, including West Ham back in 2011-12 when promotion was achieved at first time of asking under Sam Allardyce, have used the Championship to take a beat, to refresh and replenish. Can this be the case at West Ham 2026? The Hammers are short-odds favourites for promotion but behind the scenes it has been a summer of turbulence, particularly in the boardroom, where a power struggle is being fought. Continue reading...
Tony Pulis believes Cardiff City is a massive club that would grace the Premier League, but warns they will need to step up a level as they return to the Championship after a season in League One. The experienced former Premier League manager - whose lengthy career included spells in charge at Stoke City, Crystal Palace, West Bromwich Albion and Middlesbrough - was impressed by the Bluebirds as they won promotion in their first season under boss Brian Barry-Murphy. "Obviously Cardiff had a fantastic season last year and they get promoted back up to the Championship," Newport-born Pulis told Radio Wales Breakfast.
Cardiff have made just one signing but are closing in on another and looked good in their surprise pre-season victory against Italian giants Roma. Joel Bagan, Perry Ng and Ronan Kpakio all have their skills, but you can't expect them to make it through a season without getting injured. David: The manager and team did a brilliant job last season - yes it was League One but the manager was still newish to management, and the team was full of very young inexperienced players.
Club have been promoted three times in four yearsPhil Parkinson’s side missed out on playoffs in 2026The Wrexham co-owner Ryan Reynolds called it a “punch-me moment” – his club playing Liverpool in a pre-season friendly at Yankee Stadium just five years after he and Rob McElhenney (now simply Rob Mac) completed their takeover of a club languishing in the National League. The knockout blow would be playing Liverpool at Anfield in the Premier League in 2027-28 and the manager, Phil Parkinson, accepts there is expectation on Wrexham to complete their remarkable rise through the divisions next season.Parkinson’s team face Liverpool with confidence in the Bronx on Wednesday having defeated Manchester United and Leeds in pre-season so far and moved on from the anguish of missing out on the Championship playoffs on the final day of last season. The near-miss was undoubtedly a setback to an ambitious club’s grand vision but finishing seventh in the Championship at the first time of asking, Parkinson insists, was an accomplishment that should not be dismissed lightly. Continue reading...
Mancini replaces Gattuso for second spell in chargeRanieri takes over from Paolo Maldini in overseeing roleRoberto Mancini has agreed to be Italy head coach for a second time, the president of the Italian Football Federation (FIGC), Giovanni Malagò, said on Tuesday, also confirming Claudio Ranieri would take over as technical director.Mancini replaces Gennaro Gattuso, who left the post in April after Italy failed to qualify for a third World Cup in succession, and returns to a job he held between 2018 and 2023. He led the national team to European Championship glory in 2021 with a penalty shootout victory over England at Wembley but then failed to reach the 2022 World Cup and a slow start to Euro 2024 qualifying. In total, Mancini managed Italy for 58 matches during his first spell and at club level has managed Inter, Fiorentina and Manchester City, where he spent three years and guided them to their first Premier League title in 2011-12. Continue reading...
Today’s rumours are napping on the beachAs sports fans everywhere eagerly await the resumption of cricket’s County Championship season, what better way to while away a few minutes than to contemplate the latest football transfer rumours?Manchester United and Michael Carrick want to sign the 23-year-old Portugal winger Francisco Conceição from Juventus. The tricky former Porto player, who recently returned from the World Cup, is valued at about £43m (€50m). United are also said to be ahead of Chelsea in the race to snap up Alex Scott from Bournemouth. Continue reading...
Neymar's future at Santos has been put heavily in doubt after a reported confrontation in the locker room with club youngsters Gabriel Bontempo and Joao Ananias in the last game against Chapecoense. Neymar has rejoined Santos following his 2026 World Cup run with Brazil, but his long-term standing with O Peixe is once again on shaky ground. Following reports of a heated locker-room altercation with young teammates Gabriel Bontempo and Joao Ananias, serious doubts have re-emerged surrounding his future at the club. In the days leading up to his return to action, Neymar raised eyebrows by attending the BSOP Winter poker tournament, the fourth leg of the 2026 Brazilian Poker Championship, while Santos was in Venezuela facing UCV in the Copa Sudamericana. The Brazilian superstar fired back against public criticism over his absence, but the incident reportedly left a sour taste among his teammates. According to Brazilian outlet Globo Esporte, tensions boiled over Saturday during a match against Chapecoense, where Neymar berated youngsters Bontempo and Ananias in the dressing room following a disappointing draw. His behavior at halftime and after the final whistle at Vila Belmiro frustrated players, coaching staff, and Santos front-office executives alike. Things initially started bright for Santos, with Neymar opening the scoring in the 36th minute after a crisp team buildup, celebrating by mimicking a card dealer shuffling a deck. However, Santos collapsed early in the second half, conceding two goals in a 10-minute span before Neymar salvaged a draw late in the match by converting a penalty. Neymar Junior of Santos celebrates after scoring against Chapecoense. According to Globo Esporte, Neymar took an overly sharp tone when criticizing midfielder Bontempo and center-back Ananias, directly questioning the skill level of the young defender, who scored an own goal during the second-half collapse. Through his PR team, Bontempo downplayed the rift, describing it as a standard halftime team dressing-down rather than a targeted personal attack. Ananias also released a statement denying any direct confrontation with Neymar, though he confirmed a team-wide reprimand took place. The incident follows another recent training-ground clash where Neymar slapped teammate Robinho Jr., an episode for which the former Barcelona star later issued a public apology. Neymar and Santos reach a breaking point Neymar’s homecoming to Santos in February 2025 was pitched as a win-win: the forward would stay match-fit for Brazil’s 2026 World Cup campaign, while the club reaped major sponsorship deals and star power on the pitch. But the partnership has proven turbulent, with both sides growing increasingly dissatisfied. Santos management remains unhappy with Neymar’s leadership style and his treatment of younger players. That frustration was exacerbated by his appearance at the poker event on the very night Santos kicked off its South American cup fixture. Neymar, meanwhile, has voiced frustration with the club’s infrastructure and what he perceives as a lack of media protection at the CT Rei Pele training facility. Despite funding ongoing upgrades to the facility himself, Neymar and his father have openly questioned the quality of Santos’ roster as the club fights a relegation battle for the second straight year. Neymar Junior of Santos competes for the ball with Bruno Leonardo of Chapecoense. To make matters worse, Globo Esporte reports that Santos owes Neymar over R$ 90 million ($17.5M USD) in unpaid debts, having fallen up to three months behind on image-rights payments this year. With the 34-year-old under contract through late 2026, a contract extension is now considered highly unlikely by both camps.
Referees’ body stands by diversity initiativesWebb believes diverse talent pool will ‘raise standards’Howard Webb, England’s chief refereeing officer, has vowed to continue increasing the talent pool from under-represented communities in English football’s officiating pathway, rejecting the wider backlash against diversity initiatives.Addressing that historic under-representation has prompted a new direction. In June, the newly named Professional Referees’ Body (Pro Ref), formerly called Professional Game Match Officials, announced that Select Group 1, 2 and its supplementary list had been merged into a new, single Professional Referee Group in the men’s professional game and will largely service the Premier League and the Championship from the start of the 2026-27 season. Pro Ref said it would create flexibility in appointments and help to recognise a wider variety of talented match officials as part of the organisation’s new direction. Continue reading...
Aodhan Doherty has joined Falkirk on a season-long loan as the Northern Ireland Under-21 winger signed a new four-year contract with Blackburn Rovers. The 20-year-old had played 14 times for Linfield in Northern Ireland's top flight before joining the Championship club last summer and made his first-team debut for Rovers against Hull city in the FA Cup in January, before featuring in three league games later the same month. Falkirk manager John McGlynn says Doherty is not just a straight replacement on the left for Calvin Miller, who was sold to Hearts this summer, as he can play as a number 10 as well as out wide.
Kilmarnock midfielder Aaron Tshibola has vowed to "pick up where I left off" after returning "home" by signing a new one-year contract with the Scottish Premiership club. The former Aston Villa 31-year-old, who was part of DR Congo's World Cup squad this summer, spent the second half of last season with Neil McCann's side. After playing a key role as they avoided relegation with a fine run at the end of the season, Tshibola has effectively started a fourth spell at Rugby Park, having first joined in 2018 under Steve Clarke.
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Kilmarnock's Greg Kiltie hopes the club's new pitch will change the narrative over their home form and the theory that their old artificial surface gave them a huge advantage. The artificial pitch at Rugby Park has been ripped up and replaced with a state of the art grass-hybrid pitch, which gets its first airing this Sunday with the visit of Celtic.
The power battle over Vanessa Gold’s shares and the David Sullivan Panorama allegations are overshadowing the start of the season in the ChampionshipThere have been 10 summers of West Ham’s London Stadium tenancy and a number of winters of discontent. As the Hammers kick off the new season on Saturday, a Carabao Cup first-round fixture with Portsmouth is a stark reminder of reduced circumstances, further confirmation of last season’s relegation from the Premier League. The summer has been as bleak as any of those winters, with a number of factors colliding to deepen the gloom of relegation.Certain clubs, including West Ham back in 2011-12 when promotion was achieved at first time of asking under Sam Allardyce, have used the Championship to take a beat, to refresh and replenish. Can this be the case at West Ham 2026? The Hammers are short-odds favourites for promotion but behind the scenes it has been a summer of turbulence, particularly in the boardroom, where a power struggle is being fought. Continue reading...
Tony Pulis believes Cardiff City is a massive club that would grace the Premier League, but warns they will need to step up a level as they return to the Championship after a season in League One. The experienced former Premier League manager - whose lengthy career included spells in charge at Stoke City, Crystal Palace, West Bromwich Albion and Middlesbrough - was impressed by the Bluebirds as they won promotion in their first season under boss Brian Barry-Murphy. "Obviously Cardiff had a fantastic season last year and they get promoted back up to the Championship," Newport-born Pulis told Radio Wales Breakfast.
Cardiff have made just one signing but are closing in on another and looked good in their surprise pre-season victory against Italian giants Roma. Joel Bagan, Perry Ng and Ronan Kpakio all have their skills, but you can't expect them to make it through a season without getting injured. David: The manager and team did a brilliant job last season - yes it was League One but the manager was still newish to management, and the team was full of very young inexperienced players.
Club have been promoted three times in four yearsPhil Parkinson’s side missed out on playoffs in 2026The Wrexham co-owner Ryan Reynolds called it a “punch-me moment” – his club playing Liverpool in a pre-season friendly at Yankee Stadium just five years after he and Rob McElhenney (now simply Rob Mac) completed their takeover of a club languishing in the National League. The knockout blow would be playing Liverpool at Anfield in the Premier League in 2027-28 and the manager, Phil Parkinson, accepts there is expectation on Wrexham to complete their remarkable rise through the divisions next season.Parkinson’s team face Liverpool with confidence in the Bronx on Wednesday having defeated Manchester United and Leeds in pre-season so far and moved on from the anguish of missing out on the Championship playoffs on the final day of last season. The near-miss was undoubtedly a setback to an ambitious club’s grand vision but finishing seventh in the Championship at the first time of asking, Parkinson insists, was an accomplishment that should not be dismissed lightly. Continue reading...
Mancini replaces Gattuso for second spell in chargeRanieri takes over from Paolo Maldini in overseeing roleRoberto Mancini has agreed to be Italy head coach for a second time, the president of the Italian Football Federation (FIGC), Giovanni Malagò, said on Tuesday, also confirming Claudio Ranieri would take over as technical director.Mancini replaces Gennaro Gattuso, who left the post in April after Italy failed to qualify for a third World Cup in succession, and returns to a job he held between 2018 and 2023. He led the national team to European Championship glory in 2021 with a penalty shootout victory over England at Wembley but then failed to reach the 2022 World Cup and a slow start to Euro 2024 qualifying. In total, Mancini managed Italy for 58 matches during his first spell and at club level has managed Inter, Fiorentina and Manchester City, where he spent three years and guided them to their first Premier League title in 2011-12. Continue reading...
Today’s rumours are napping on the beachAs sports fans everywhere eagerly await the resumption of cricket’s County Championship season, what better way to while away a few minutes than to contemplate the latest football transfer rumours?Manchester United and Michael Carrick want to sign the 23-year-old Portugal winger Francisco Conceição from Juventus. The tricky former Porto player, who recently returned from the World Cup, is valued at about £43m (€50m). United are also said to be ahead of Chelsea in the race to snap up Alex Scott from Bournemouth. Continue reading...
Neymar's future at Santos has been put heavily in doubt after a reported confrontation in the locker room with club youngsters Gabriel Bontempo and Joao Ananias in the last game against Chapecoense. Neymar has rejoined Santos following his 2026 World Cup run with Brazil, but his long-term standing with O Peixe is once again on shaky ground. Following reports of a heated locker-room altercation with young teammates Gabriel Bontempo and Joao Ananias, serious doubts have re-emerged surrounding his future at the club. In the days leading up to his return to action, Neymar raised eyebrows by attending the BSOP Winter poker tournament, the fourth leg of the 2026 Brazilian Poker Championship, while Santos was in Venezuela facing UCV in the Copa Sudamericana. The Brazilian superstar fired back against public criticism over his absence, but the incident reportedly left a sour taste among his teammates. According to Brazilian outlet Globo Esporte, tensions boiled over Saturday during a match against Chapecoense, where Neymar berated youngsters Bontempo and Ananias in the dressing room following a disappointing draw. His behavior at halftime and after the final whistle at Vila Belmiro frustrated players, coaching staff, and Santos front-office executives alike. Things initially started bright for Santos, with Neymar opening the scoring in the 36th minute after a crisp team buildup, celebrating by mimicking a card dealer shuffling a deck. However, Santos collapsed early in the second half, conceding two goals in a 10-minute span before Neymar salvaged a draw late in the match by converting a penalty. Neymar Junior of Santos celebrates after scoring against Chapecoense. According to Globo Esporte, Neymar took an overly sharp tone when criticizing midfielder Bontempo and center-back Ananias, directly questioning the skill level of the young defender, who scored an own goal during the second-half collapse. Through his PR team, Bontempo downplayed the rift, describing it as a standard halftime team dressing-down rather than a targeted personal attack. Ananias also released a statement denying any direct confrontation with Neymar, though he confirmed a team-wide reprimand took place. The incident follows another recent training-ground clash where Neymar slapped teammate Robinho Jr., an episode for which the former Barcelona star later issued a public apology. Neymar and Santos reach a breaking point Neymar’s homecoming to Santos in February 2025 was pitched as a win-win: the forward would stay match-fit for Brazil’s 2026 World Cup campaign, while the club reaped major sponsorship deals and star power on the pitch. But the partnership has proven turbulent, with both sides growing increasingly dissatisfied. Santos management remains unhappy with Neymar’s leadership style and his treatment of younger players. That frustration was exacerbated by his appearance at the poker event on the very night Santos kicked off its South American cup fixture. Neymar, meanwhile, has voiced frustration with the club’s infrastructure and what he perceives as a lack of media protection at the CT Rei Pele training facility. Despite funding ongoing upgrades to the facility himself, Neymar and his father have openly questioned the quality of Santos’ roster as the club fights a relegation battle for the second straight year. Neymar Junior of Santos competes for the ball with Bruno Leonardo of Chapecoense. To make matters worse, Globo Esporte reports that Santos owes Neymar over R$ 90 million ($17.5M USD) in unpaid debts, having fallen up to three months behind on image-rights payments this year. With the 34-year-old under contract through late 2026, a contract extension is now considered highly unlikely by both camps.
Referees’ body stands by diversity initiativesWebb believes diverse talent pool will ‘raise standards’Howard Webb, England’s chief refereeing officer, has vowed to continue increasing the talent pool from under-represented communities in English football’s officiating pathway, rejecting the wider backlash against diversity initiatives.Addressing that historic under-representation has prompted a new direction. In June, the newly named Professional Referees’ Body (Pro Ref), formerly called Professional Game Match Officials, announced that Select Group 1, 2 and its supplementary list had been merged into a new, single Professional Referee Group in the men’s professional game and will largely service the Premier League and the Championship from the start of the 2026-27 season. Pro Ref said it would create flexibility in appointments and help to recognise a wider variety of talented match officials as part of the organisation’s new direction. Continue reading...
Aodhan Doherty has joined Falkirk on a season-long loan as the Northern Ireland Under-21 winger signed a new four-year contract with Blackburn Rovers. The 20-year-old had played 14 times for Linfield in Northern Ireland's top flight before joining the Championship club last summer and made his first-team debut for Rovers against Hull city in the FA Cup in January, before featuring in three league games later the same month. Falkirk manager John McGlynn says Doherty is not just a straight replacement on the left for Calvin Miller, who was sold to Hearts this summer, as he can play as a number 10 as well as out wide.
Kilmarnock midfielder Aaron Tshibola has vowed to "pick up where I left off" after returning "home" by signing a new one-year contract with the Scottish Premiership club. The former Aston Villa 31-year-old, who was part of DR Congo's World Cup squad this summer, spent the second half of last season with Neil McCann's side. After playing a key role as they avoided relegation with a fine run at the end of the season, Tshibola has effectively started a fourth spell at Rugby Park, having first joined in 2018 under Steve Clarke.
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