The Sunday Times - UK (2022-06-05)

2GS The Sunday Times June 5, 2022 23

Sport

I’m writing this sober. It’s a

state I haven’t been in much

this past week. It began with

my mates arriving in London

from Nottingham a week ago

last Saturday. I promised

myself that I’d not have a drop

until after the play-off final but

having the kind of willpower

that would collapse instantly

under the most gentle of

breezes I found myself pint in

hand by 5pm on Saturday

evening. I can’t remember not

having one in my hand until I

woke up on Tuesday.

I’ve entered a kind of weird

Alice in Wonderland portal. I

was told there was no better

way to be promoted than in a

play-off final at Wembley and

whoever it was who said it is

right. The match went by in a

kind of nerve-stretching

psychedelic dream. I was

aware of the sound of the

crowd as it bounced around

the giant stadium but I spent

the game twisting into my seat

and berating young super

athletes who couldn’t control

the ball completely as it

pinged towards them. I mean,

didn’t they know the agony I

was in?

There were even (it turned

out valid) appeals for penalties

and a soul-crushing wait on

VAR where I could genuinely

feel my heart beating in my

chest. As they stood and

waited I thought it would

come through my rib cage. No

penalty, they decided, and I

breathed out like a man who

had been told his family was

safe from harm. I looked to the

heavens as the game went into

added time and asked my

father to give me a hand. If he

were alive he would have been

the first to have told me to pull

myself together and then

laugh, as he’d probably done

the same himself.

When the whistle went the

joy exploded all around me.

People falling to their knees,

bursting into tears and

hugging one other in ecstasy.

It was without doubt one of

the most thrilling moments

I’ve ever had in my life. I’m

very aware of what it meant to

Nottingham Forest financially

to return to the Premier

League but it was what it

meant to the very soul of the

place that has hit home since.

It’s one of this country’s

biggest cities. It has a glorious

sporting history but everyone

will tell you that something

has been missing these past

two decades as football has

gone stratospheric.

Forest not being in the top

flight has hurt them. There’s

no doubt they were spoilt by

the genius of Brian Clough as

they marauded across Europe

all those years ago. Now, they

have a chance to write another

chapter as my compatriot

Steve Cooper has returned

them to the promised land. A

party city famed for its nights

out will host Manchester

United, Manchester City,

Liverpool and Arsenal.

And me? Well I’ve got to do

it all again today in Cardiff as

Wales play for a place in the

World Cup finals for the first

time since 1958. Pray for me.

‘When the final

whistle went

the joy exploded

all around me’

EXTRA TIME

with

Jonny Owen

Forest back in big

time and I stayed

drunk till Tuesday

GENERAL RESULTS

FOOTBALL
Uefa Nations League A
Group three
Hungary 1 England 0
Szoboszlai 66 (pen)
HT 0-0
Italy 1 Germany 1
Pellegrini 70 Kimmich 73
HT 0-0
League B: Group one
Armenia 1 Ireland 0
Spertsyan 74
HT 0-0
Group three
Finland 1 Bosnia-Herz 1
Pukki 45+1 pen) Prevljak 90+3
HT 1-0
Montenegro 2 Romania 0
Mugosa 66
Vukcevic 87
HT 0-0
League C: Group one
Lithuania 0 Luxembourg 2
Sinani 44, 78
HT 0-1

Turkey 4 Faroe Islands 0

Ünder 37

Dervisoglu 47

Dursun 82

Demiral 85

HT 1-0

CRICKET

Vitality Blast: South group

Hampshire v Sussex

Ageas Bowl (Sussex Sharks won toss)

Hampshire Hawks (balls)

*J M Vince b Crocombe 65 (41)

@B R McDermott c McCoy b Lenham 60 (35)

T J Prest c Hudson-Prentice b Crocombe 9 (9)

R A Whiteley c McCoy b Finn 6 (6)

J K Fuller c and b McCoy 8 (9)

T E Albert not out 23 (15)

L A Dawson b Crocombe 14 (5)

N T Ellis not out 2 (2)

Extras (b 1, lb 4, w 3, nb 4) 12

Total (6 wkts, 20 overs) 199

C P Wood, S W Currie and M S Crane did not bat.

Fall of wickets 1-124, 2-137, 3-145, 4-147,

5-180, 6-196.

Bowling Rawlins 2-0-30-0; Finn 4-0-29-1;

McCoy 4-0-52-1; Crocombe 4-0-31-3; Lenham

3-0-30-1; Bopara 3-0-22-0.

Sussex Sharks (balls)

L J Wright c Fuller b Wood 5 (9)

T L Seifert not out 69 (43)

A G H Orr c McDermott b Currie 9 (6)

F J Hudson-Prentice c Vince b Fuller 8 (14)

*R S Bopara c Ellis b Dawson 5 (9)

D M W Rawlins run out 32 (21)

H D Ward not out 1 (1)

Extras (lb 4, w 4, nb 2) 10

Total (5 wkts, 17 overs) 139

O C McCoy, A D Lenham, S T Finn and H T

Crocombe to bat.

Fall of wickets 1-19, 2-29, 3-50, 4-61, 5-131.

Bowling Wood 3-0-24-1; Ellis 3-0-21-0; Currie

3-0-19-1; Dawson 3-0-17-1; Fuller 4-0-37-1;

Crane 1-0-17-0.

Third ODI (Amstelveen): West Indies beat

Netherlands by 20 runs: West Indies 308-5

(50 overs: K R Mayers 120, S S J Brooks 101no);

Netherlands 288 (45.9 overs: M P O’Dowd 89,

V Singh 54).

First ODI (Harare): Afghanistan beat Zimbabwe

by 60 runs: Afghanistan 276-5 (50 overs:

Rahmat Shah 94, Hashmatullah Shahidi 88; B

Muzarabani 4-52); Zimbabwe 216 (50 overs:

Sikandar Raza 67; Mohammad Nabi 4-34).

GOLF

DP World Tour Porsche European Open

(Hamburg): Leaders after three rounds (GB and

Ire unless stated): 211 V Perez (Fr) 69 71 71. 212 J

Lagergren (Swe) 67 74 71, J Brun (Fr) 69 72 71.

213 W Besseling (Neth) 68 75 70, Li Haotong

(China) 67 75 71. 214 J Walters (SA) 70 75 69. 215

N Noergaard Moeller (Den) 74 67 74, D Huizing

(Neth) 69 75 71, R Mansell 72 71 72, J Smith 70 68

77. 216 T Fleetwood 75 72 69, J Catlin (US) 71 73
    72, A Knappe (Ger) 73 70 73, J Scrivener (Aus) 70
    73 73, E Molinari (It) 74 72 70, L Nemecz (Aut) 73
    73 70. 217 B Stone (SA) 76 68 73, J Veerman (US)
    72 71 74, M Kawamura (Japan) 74 69 74, M
    Schmid (Ger) 70 75 72, R Sterne (SA) 70 74 73.
    US PGA Tour Memorial Tournament (Dublin,
    Ohio): Leaders after two rounds (US unless
    stated): 136 C Smith (Aus) 67 69. 137 Lee
    Kyoung-Hoon (S Kor) 67 70, D McCarthy 68


78. 138 B Horschel 70 68, L List 67 71, D Riley
    67 71, J Vegas (Ven) 69 69, C Young 67 71. 139
    R McIlroy (N Ire) 70 69, K Mitchell 70 69, F
    Molinari (It) 71 68, A Wise 70 69. 140 M
    Hughes (Can) 67 73, Im Sung-jae (S Kor) 70
    70, J Niemann (Chile) 71 69, B Wu 71 6.
    Women’s US Open (Southern Pines, North
    Carolina): Leaders after two rounds (US unless
    stated): 133 M Harigae 64 69, Min-Jee Lee (Aus)
    67 66. 135 Choi Hye-jin (S Kor) 71 64, A
    Nordqvist (Swe) 67 68. 136 Ko Jin-young (S Kor)
    69 67, I Lindblad (Swe) 65 71. 137 M Jutanugarn
    (Tha) 69 68, Kim Sei-young (S Kor) 69 68. 138 M
    Khang 71 67, B Law (Eng) 69 69, A Lee 70 68, R
    O’Toole 67 71, Park Sung-hyun (S Kor) 69 69.
    139 N Korda 70 69, A Thompson 68 71, Ji Eun-
    hee (S Kor) 70 69. 140 L Hartlage 71 69, Lin Xiyu
    (China) 71 69, L Maguire (Ire) 70 70, L Vut 71 69.

141 H Green (Aus) 70 71, L Ko (NZ) 72 69, S

Koiwai (Japan) 70 71, Lee So-mi (S Kor) 73 68, A

Olson 69 72, L Salas 71 70. 142 B Altomare 73

69, Ant Nam-rin (S Kor) 72 70, C Boutier (Fr) 71

71, A Doherty 70 72, A Ewing 68 74, J Korda 72

70, M Saigo (Japan) 70 72, B Shoemaker 72 70,

Y Takagi (Japan) 74 68. Others: 143 G Hall

(Eng) 72 71, C Hull (Eng) 75 68.

RUGBY LEAGUE

Betfred Super League

Castleford 12 Wigan 32

Toulouse 14 St Helens 28

P W DL F APts

St Helens 14 12 0 2 336 140 24

Catalans D 14 10 0 4 304 194 20

Wigan 14 10 0 4 364 283 20

Huddersfield 14 914 311 240 19

Hull 13 8 0 5 284 230 16

Castleford 14 6 0 8 297 320 12

Hull KR 13 6 0 7210 256 12

Leeds 14 51 8 233 250 11

Salford 13 5 0 8 263 312 10

Warrington 14 5 0 9 272 350 10

Wakefield 13 3 0 10 198 324 6

Toulouse 14 2 0 12 216 389 4

Betfred League One

Cornwall 20 London Skolars 24

North Wales 12 Keighley 56

Betfred Women’s Super League

Group two

Wakefield 10 Bradford 28

RUGBY UNION

Gallagher Premiership

Exeter 47 Harlequins 38

Gloucester 54 Saracens 7

Leicester 20 Wasps 10

Northampton 65 Newcastle 26

Sale 42 Bristol 19

Worcester 43 Bath 27

United Rugby Championship

Quarter-finals

Blue Bulls 30 Sharks 27

Leinster 76 Glasgow 14

Stormers 28 Edinburgh 17

TENNIS

French Open (Roland Garros, Paris):

Finals (seeds in brackets): Women: Singles

(1) I Swiatek (Pol) bt (18) C Gauff (US) 6-1 6-3.

Men: Doubles (12) M Arévalo (El Salvador) and

J-J Rojer (Neth) bt I Dodig (Cro) and A Krajicek

(US) 6-7 (4-7) 7-6 (7-5) 6-3.

Lloyd was a fan
of Knowles

WHERE IT ALL BEGAN
When I first picked up a racket
aged about four, the big
advantages I had were my dad
Dennis being a tennis fanatic
and my brother David already
winning junior matches. Our
family life was based around
the Westcliff Hardcourt Tennis
Club. I never had an option.

MY BREAKTHROUGH MOMENT
Just after I let school, I played
the Chilean, Jaime Fillol. He
was ten years older than me
and a senior player. I lost but I
was in the match all the time.
Afterwards I thought: “I can do
him: this is not a kid’s fantasy.”

THE COACH I LOOKED UP TO
Bob Brett. He was the rock
who rescued me from ending
my career when I was married
to Chris Evert. I was 28, quite
old for a tennis player and
plummeting down the
rankings to the 400s. I was
gone. It was twist or bust. He
said: “I don’t need your
money, I don’t care about your
reputation” — which was what
I needed. He helped me zoom
back up those rankings.

MY CHILDHOOD HERO
The Wolves footballer Peter
Knowles, who
gave up the
game to
become a
Jehovah’s
Witness. About
20 years ago, he
heard how
much I liked him.

He sent me an autographed

picture and a note saying he

didn’t regret his decision at all.

TENNIS NEVER GOT ANY BETTER

THAN...

Being 39-year-old Jimmy

Connors’s practice partner

during his run to the 1991 US

Open semi-finals. He had the

crowd dangling and dancing.

Then in the locker room, he’d

be hooked up to drips. In the

limo back, he’d be cramping

up, begging me not to make

him laugh. Next day he’d

come back for more. That will

to win is the difference

between good and great.

MORNING I HAD THE HANGOVER

TO END ALL HANGOVERS

When I was 16, I went to a

party, drank cider and threw

up. I hate throwing up more

than anything and thought

“why would I want to do that

again?” I haven’t.

MY FAVOURITE VENUE

Flushing Meadows. They

booed me once, deservedly,

but I love the crowd, I

loved their passion

and I loved the way

the New Yorkers let it

all hang out.

MY LEAST

FAVOURITE

VENUE

Accra, Ghana,

1996, when I

coached my

brother David’s

Great Britain

Davis Cup team.

Little kids, ten or

12 years old

ped me zoom

nkings.

HERO

baller Peter

.

but I love

loved t

and I lo

theN

al

M c b G D L

LESSONS FROM

A LIFE IN SPORT

JOHN LLOYD

The former grand-slam

finalist on solo trips

to the cinema and

skate and chips

last week of its run, I’ll go in

the afternoon with my

popcorn and Diet Coke.

Sometimes I’m the only

person there: at that moment,

the world is the greatest.

MY FAVOURITE MEAL

When I come back to the UK

for Wimbledon I go to Smileys

on Westcliff-on-Sea’s seafront

with wives, girlfriends,

whatever. They look at me like

I’m in a coma. I have skate and

chips, followed by treacle

sponge and custard with Diet

Coke, lukewarm since there’s

no ice. Magnificent.

I KNEW THE GAME WAS UP

WHEN...

Getting up to practice for

Wimbledon 1986 was a chore.

I was two sets up to Christo

Steyn, lost all passion and the

next three sets. I came off

court and said: “That’s it.”

MY ONE REGRET

Until the last couple of years I

didn’t put 100 per cent in.

That was criminal.

BEST ADVICE FOR A YOUNG

SPORTSPERSON

Don’t be like me. When you

wake up in the morning, know

you’ve done all you can and

have no regrets. I have them.

John Aizlewood

Dear John — The John Lloyd

Autobiography — By John

Lloyd, with Phil Jones, from

Pitch Publishing, £19.99

were begging for money. The

locker rooms smelled of

urine, people were defecating

in the streets and this was a

rich country. People should

not be living like this.

MY TOUGHEST OPPONENT

Connors. I beat Bjorn Borg

once. I should have beaten

John McEnroe once too, but I

never got a chance with

Jimmy. I didn’t have enough

weapons to go at him. Every

time we played, I looked at

him and he was “I’ve got this

in the bag.” I beat him on the

senior tour when he withdrew

injured. That counts for me.

MOST EMBARRASSING MOMENT

FROM MY CAREER

I can’t remember who I was

playing, but I split my tight

shorts in North Conway. In

those days I wore jockstraps,

so people were getting views

of things they probably hadn’t

paid to see.

I LEARNT MOST FROM

The player, coach and

broadcaster John Barrett. My

dad passed me onto him as a

coach when I was 12 and later

he became my mentor in the

commentary box. He taught

me a lot of life-lessons and he

helped me grow up.

MY GUILTY PLEASURE

I have an app which scans

cinema listings at home in

Florida. When a film’s on the

Lloyd did not have “enough weapons” to take down Connors