Something from the weekend

The Good

Ronaldo stars for England

Ronaldo has never been one to be particularly kind to the English. Indeed many a Manchester United fan will doubtless remember the Brazilian's heart-breaking hat-trick that knocked the Red Devils out of the Champions League in 2003. But on Saturday evening, in the comfort of his own country, the now rather plump Ronaldo picked those all-important balls out of the bucket and gave England's football team a chance of progressing past the qualification stage of the World Cup in 2012. Poland, Montenegro, Ukraine, Moldova and San Marino are hardy the hardest opponents in Group H. A kind draw but it's never easy with England. They'd probably find a flat drawbridge difficult to drive across.

The Bad

Allardyce has it in for the kids

There has been so much optimism swirling around the prospect of London holding the Olympics next year, but spikey comments emanating from Sam Allardyce yesterday made sure spirits were slightly dampened.Speaking about the long-term effect of the Games, he called on the government to encourage more young people to play sport and called on them to raise the standard and state of sport's competitors. Speaking on Five Live's Sportsweek about the state of youth development, he barked: "We chose to make sure we bring up fat lazy kids who pass A Levels, and forget that in 10-15 years' time they haven't done enough exercise. Their bodies are going to shut down. They're going to be a massive burden on the NHS system."

The Odd

Havant meet their Waterloo

Conference South side Havant and Waterlooville took on the Spaniards Real Betis in front of an 800-strong support at Westleigh Park in a pre-season friendly on Saturday. The non-league side were eviscerated 7-0 but that was only half the story.

The non-league side replaced Portsmouth at the 11th hour, after the South coast side's players were stuck in North Carolina after their plane was struck by a catering lorry at the end of a tour. "They have just won the equivalent of the Championship - they basically brought their whole squad here," said Trevor Brock, a director at the Hampshire club. "This team was something else, we did the best we could." Now there's a story for the record books and the grandchildren.