Morning Star international editor ROGER McKENZIE reminisces on how he became an Aston Villa fan, and writes about the evolution of the historic club over the years
ENGLAND: The FA Trophy final, to be played at Wembley on May 19, will be an all-National League affair between table-topping Leyton Orient and play-off chasing Fylde.
Orient won 2-1 at AFC Telford to claim a 3-1 aggregate victory while Fylde needed Alex Reid’s last-gasp winner to seal their 3-2 win at Stockport County after Ashley Palmer had equalised for the home side in the 89th minute.
NORTHERN IRELAND: Andrew Waterworth scored four as Linfield thumped Dungannon 5-0 and moved nine points clear in the Irish Premiership, with second-placed Ballymena suffering a shock 2-1 reverse at home to Warrenpoint.
Glenavon won 1-0 at bottom of the table Newry, Crusaders came from two down to draw 2-2 with struggling Ards and Aaron Jarvis’s injury time goal earning Institute a 1-0 win over Coleraine.
CHINA: Uruguay will meet Thailand in today’s final of the China Cup. Despite missing Luis Suarez and Edison Cavani the defending champions saw off Uzbekistan 3-0 in Friday’s play-off with two goals coming from former Middlesbrough striker Christian Stuani.
Arsenal’s Lucas Torreira was a second-half substitute. Thailand had earlier beaten hosts China, who are managed by Fabio Cannavaro, 1-0 thanks to Chanathip Songkrasin’s 33rd minute strike.
Snippets of news from the sporting world