Daily Mirror - 26.08.2019

26.08.2019 DAILY MIRROR

mirror.co.uk/sport/football^15

DM1ST

NETFIX

HULL CITY 1

Bowen 44

BRISTOL CITY 3

Afobe 41 pen, 80, Burke 78 og

BY JASON MELLOR

ASHLEY WILLIAMS has been

backed to hit the 100-cap mark –

thanks to turning vegan.

New Bristol City arrival Williams

(above) has lost almost two stone

since cutting out meat at the start

of the year.

Now the 35-year-old Wales

defender hopes to prolong his

career by earning a long-term

deal with the Robins after joining

initially until January.

Williams was left out of Ryan

Giggs’ squad for the upcoming

Euro 2020 qualifier with

Azerbaijan, and friendly against

Belarus, after failing to find a club

following his release by Everton.

But boss Lee Johnson reckons

the former Swansea and Stoke

centre-back can go from strength

to strength. He said: “Ash has

done all the physical tests, he’s

very powerful and he’s very lean.

He’s got the best body-fat

percentage at the club.

“He’s been a vegan for six

months and has dropped about 10

kilos in weight from where he was

last year at Stoke.”

Williams has 86 Wales caps and

Johnson added: “He’s very keen

to continue his international

career and he’s definitely got

another 10 to 15 caps in him.”

On-loan Stoke striker Benik

Afobe opened the scoring from

the spot before Jarrod Bowen

levelled for Hull before half-time.

But City were ahead thanks to

Reece Burke’s own goal, before

Afobe made sure Johnson’s side

stretched their four-month

unbeaten away run.

Tigers midfielder Jackson

Irvine said: “We’ve got some new

players who are still bedding in, so

not everyone is on the same page

yet, but we are getting there.”

‘VEGAN ASH

IS HUNGRIER

THAN EVER’

MOTM BENIK AFOBE (BRISTOL CITY)

HULL CITY: Long 6, Lopes 6, Burke

5, De Wijs 7 (Tafazolli 76, 6), Fleming

5, Honeyman 7 (Bowler 87), Stewart

6, Irvine 5 (Magennis 88), Bowen 6,

Eaves 5, Grosicki 6

BRISTOL CITY: Bentley 9, Moore 7,

Kalas 7 (Palmer 32, 7), Baker 7,

Pereira 6 (Hunt 66, 7), Brownhill 8,

Massengo 7, Weimann 8, Rowe 8,

Afobe 9, Diedhiou 7 (Semenyo 75)

REFEREE: Dean Whitestone

IN ASSOCIATION

WITH

MORE THAN HANDY

Jonny Williams applauds the home

fans after exiting; (left) Gallagher at

the end and scoring the winner

Jonny has starring role

at Addicks and says boss

has given him belief back

BY STEVE JUDGE

JONNY WILLIAMS is happy to admit

this is his best-ever start to a season.

That would appear a no-brainer for the

midfielder who had never started a league

match in August before this

campaign.

But it runs deeper than

that for the Charlton star

who made it four assists in

five games in the win

against Brentford.

Fans saw him at his

lowest ebb on Netflix’s

Sunderland ’Til

I Die series,

when he spoke

to a psychologist

(right) about the

loneliness and fears he

felt during an injury-plagued loan spell in

2017-18. That was screened last December.

A month later, Williams, 25, took the

heart-wrenching decision to end his

17-year association with Crystal Palace to

join Charlton and a manager in Lee Bowyer

who has given him something he rarely felt

before – belief.

To watch him now is to see a player

released from years of frustration and

doubt to grasp the chance to push his

boundaries and discover how good he

really can be.

The skills of a player Palace fans called

‘Joniesta’ are known. It is the aggression and

desire Williams has shown off the ball that

is pleasing Bowyer and won him a recall to

the Wales squad. He showed both sides

when he slid in to tackle Brentford’s

Christian Norgaard and play the perfect

pass for Conor Gallagher to slam in

the Addicks’ 33rd-minute winner.

Williams (with Bowyer, above, left) said:

“Lee has given me belief. He has believed

in me as a player. I haven’t always had that

in my career. It does help when I have a

manager who puts an arm around me.

“At Palace I didn’t have that. I wasn’t the

player I am showing I am

today, and it is down to

Lee really believing in me

and giving me a chance.

“It is definitely the best

start to a season in my

nine years as a pro. It is

brilliant to be playing at

club level and Wales is

just the icing on the cake.”

Brentford dominated a

sunbaked encounter at

The Valley.

But the Bees only had

tanlines to show for their

efforts as they failed to score for the third

time in five league games despite racking

up 22 shots.

Centre-half Ethan Pinnock said: “At the

moment we are just not clinical enough

and it is frustrating.”

s n r s n b c j s T

MOTM CONOR GALLAGHER (BRENTFORD)

CHARLTON: Phillips 5, Oshilaja 6 (Lapslie 33, 6),

Lockyer 6, Pearce 7, Purrington 6, Pratley 8,

Cullen 8, Gallagher 9, Williams 8 (Field 81), Leko

6 (Hemed 46, 6), Taylor 7

BRENTFORD: Raya 6, Dalsgaard 6, Pinnock

6, Jansson 6, Racic 6 (Benrahma 61, 6),

Henry 7 (Mbeumo 72, 7), Norgaard 5

(Mokotjo 61, 6), Jensen 6, Canos 7, Watkins

6, Marcondes 6

MORE TH

Jonny William

fans after exit

the end and sc

t MOTMCONOR^ GALLAGHER^ (BRENTFORD))

32% POSSESSION 68%

1 SHOTS ON TARGET

1 SHOTS OFF^4

TARGET 8

(^2) CORNERS 14
(^2) OFFSIDE
12 2
FOULS 10
(^0) 1 CARDS 3 0
MATCH STATS
REF: Tim Robinson ATT: 16,771
CHARLTON 1
Gallagher (^41)
BRENTFORD 0