2020 Sport Year Review - Second Half
- Matchday FM
- Jan 1, 2021
- 10 min read
We're back to review the second half of the sporting year in 2020 with more of our pundits' highlights as sport came back with a bang.
JULY
The month saw Liverpool’s crowning moment as Jordan Henderson lifted the title in front of an empty Anfield. The Reds finished on 99 points, a full 18 points clear of second placed Manchester City. Chelsea and Manchester United secured Champions League qualification on the final day, but it was despair for Bournemouth and Watford who were relegated along with Norwich.
At Epsom, all you needed was Love who romped to victory in the Investec Oaks. Aidan O’Brien’s filly coped best with the unique camber of the Surrey track, with jockey Ryan Moore masterfully pulling his whip through to straighten her on the run to a stunning 9 length success.
In the Derby, Aidan O’Brien became the most successful trainer in the history of the race, but nobody could have foreseen how. 25-1 shot Serpentine went miles clear turning into the straight and was not for catching in a shocking yet remarkable success for first time classic winner Emmet McNamara.
Attention turned to cricket and the summer of 2020 witnessed the birth of the cricket bubble. West Indies were the first team to tour the UK since the pandemic began.
Before a ball was bowled, commentators Michael Holding and Ebony Rainford-Brent told a powerful story of their personal experience of racism and the players showed their unwavering support for the Black Lives Matter movement.
On the pitch, we were treated to some quite fantastic cricket. West Indies chased down 200 to deservedly take the first test and a 1-0 lead. Stuart Broad had been dropped for the first match at the Ageas Bowl and with added motivation inspired England to win the last two tests and end up the leading wicket taker. One wicket was a landmark milestone for Broad trapping Kraigg Brathwaite leg before for his 500th test wicket.
Other headlines:
- Leeds United earned promotion to the Premier League after a 16-year absence
- The F1 season finally got underway at the Austrian Grand Prix. Valtteri Bottas took the first race before Lewis Hamilton won the next three.
AUGUST
With the restrictions lifting some normality returned as Arsenal lifted the FA Cup for a record extending 14th time thanks to a brace from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
Elsewhere, the final stage of the 2019/20 Champions League was played to a conclusion in Lisbon. The third quarter-final left the football world stunned as Bayern Munich demolished a feeble Barcelona 8-2. The last English representative Manchester City were dumped out 3-1 by Lyon. Then the semi-finals provided comfortable wins for Bayern and PSG over Lyon and Leipzig respectively. The final itself did not live up to its billing but Bayern prevailed thanks to a Kingsley Coman goal to be crowned European champions for the sixth time.
It was Pakistan who were the next team to come over to play England and the first test provided more entertainment to a marvellous summer of cricket.
Kieran Makin 2020 Highlight – England Pakistan 1st Test at Old Trafford
“The first test between England and Pakistan at Old Trafford will be looked back on as a classic – a match that had all the twists and turns of a superb Test.
A century from Shan Masood, electric bowling from Pakistan seamers Shaheen Afridi, Mohammad Abbas and Naseem Shah and wizardry from leg spinner Yasir Shah had England bang in trouble, but the hosts fought back.
Pakistan were skittled for just 169 in their second innings after fine work with the ball from Stuart Broad and Chris Woakes, a magic run out from Dom Sibley and some late evening reverse swing from Ben Stokes.
After an intense battle in the middle, Jos Buttler (75) and Chris Woakes (84 not out) forged a gold dust partnership to chase down 277 and win the series opener.”
In the third test, James Anderson would bring up the milestone of 600 test wickets, cementing himself as England’s greatest ever bowler.
Joseph Richardson 2020 Highlight – World Snooker Championship Semi-Finals
“I have loved watching snooker from the Crucible, but never before in my years had I seen two matches like this let alone back-to-back.
The first semi between Anthony McGill and Kyren Wilson went to a nail-biting decider. With the black over the corner pocket, Wilson put McGill in a devilish snooker to try and hit the last red.
8 failed attempts later meant McGill needed a snooker of his own. But then Wilson potted the white on the next shot to give him the four points needed to still win. McGill eventually got in and looked set to clear up.
The pressure got to him and he snookered himself on the green handing Wilson a pot at match ball. Wilson missed. A bout of safety ensued until Wilson played the green round the table only for it to nestle in the pocket. He would take victory in perhaps the most dramatic frame since Dennis Taylor and Steve Davis’ decider in the 1985 world final.
In the second semi, two gladiators Ronnie O’Sullivan and Mark Selby faced off to join Wilson in the final. Selby looked to have the beating of O’Sullivan going one away at 16-14.
But Ronnie roared back with two astonishing century breaks to take us into the second decider of the day. He looked odds on to take it but broke down on 64 with just one more red and colour required for victory.
Selby recovered to trail by 30 points as both players settled into a gruelling safety battle with just one red remaining. Ronnie got lucky and left Mark a horrible shot to hit the red off the top cushion from behind.
He produced an unbelievable shot to leave the cueball in behind the black and leave Ronnie snookered. But the Rocket hit the most majestic of replies, snipping the red onto the side cushion and putting Mark back in trouble. Ronnie would pot the last red and take the match on a day snooker fans will never forget."
Other headlines:
- Alexander Povetkin produced a shock knockout of Dillian Whyte despite being floored twice in their heavyweight bout as Whyte’s hopes of a world title shot were put on hold
- Ireland sensationally beat England with a ball to spare to win their third ODI. England won the series 2-1
23-year old Collin Morikawa, in just his second season as a professional won the 2020 PGA Championship. Sharing the lead with three holes to play, he produced this magical tee shot [above] at the drivable 16th hole. He duly made the 7 foot putt for eagle and won by those two shots to strike gold on home Californian soil.
SEPTEMBER
September saw two US Opens for the price of (well one was on Amazon and one on Sky but you get the jist).
The tennis tournament was dramatic with Novak Djokovic disqualified from the tournament for hitting a line judge in the throat during his fourth-round match.
That paid the way for a new name to join the list of grand slam champions. Dominic Thiem came through in a five-set thriller against Alexander Zverev coming from two sets down to win the deciding tie break. Both players had served for the match and both were broken serve. It went the distance in the women’s final as Naomi Osaka beat Victoria Azarenka in three sets to secure her second US Open title.
In the golf, proclaimed ‘scientist’ Bryson DeChambeau dissected the monstrously difficult test of Winged Foot to win by 6 shots, the only player in the field to post under par.
As the new football season started, there were a number of marquee signings in the women’s game which saw world stars like Alex Morgan, Pernille Harder and Lucy Bronze join the Women’s Super League.
OCTOBER
Chris Coughlin 2020 Highlight – Durrant dazzles in Premier League
“Everyone loves an underdog story and Glen Durrant provided just that in 2020. The former three-time BDO world champion made the step up to the PDC in 2019 and a superb first year earned him a place in the Premier League.
The likes of Michael van Gerwen, Gary Anderson and defending world champion Peter Wright did not faze him as Durrant won 16 of his 21 group matches. He finished top of the league thus ending van Gerwen’s 8 year period of dominance of the tournament. Durrant then held his own against Anderson to win 10-9 in the semi-finals before beating fellow Premier League Nathan Aspinall to claim his first PDC major title.”
Other highlights:
- It was the case of the new and the established at the French Open. 19-year-old Iga Swiatek won the Ladies Singles, whilst the imperious Rafael Nadal did not drop a set on the way to Roland Garros title number 13.
- It was a magical day in the Hollie Doyle and Tom Marquand household as they both rode two winners each on British Champions Day at Ascot, Doyle notching up her first group 1 in the process.
- MMA legend Khabib Nurmagomedov completed a perfect unbeaten career with his 29th win over Justin Gaethje in Abu Dhabi.
- Exeter Chiefs completed a domestic and European double, winning the Gallagher Premiership and European Champions Cup.
- A scarcely believable Sunday in the Premier League saw Manchester United embarrassed 6-1 at home by Tottenham. That was then followed by Aston Villa’s 7-2 demolition of champions Liverpool, which could have easily been more.
NOVEMBER
Lewis Hamilton would make it a magnificent seven world championships in Formula 1 after victory at the Turkish Grand Prix. Having matched Michael Schumacher’s number of world titles and overtaken the German’s career race wins, Hamilton is now officially the most successful driver in the sport’s history.
The qualification for the postponed Euros, now to be played in 2021 was sewn up in November. England and Wales had both qualified before Scotland travelled to Serbia for a winner takes all play-off match. The visitors took the lead in the second half through Ryan Christie, but they never do things easy and they conceded an equaliser in the 90th minute.
It would take some resolve and character to go again, but go again they did. In the penalty shootout, they scored all 5 of their penalties leaving Alexander Mitrovic having to score to send it to sudden death.
But David Marshall’s strong left hand clawed the ball away and despite stopping in his tracks in fear of being off his line, the referee blew for the end of the game sparking wild celebrations among the Scotland players thus ending a 23-year wait for a major tournament appearance.
The football world mourned the death of one of the greatest players to grace the game Diego Armando Maradona. The Argentine suffered a heart attack at his home in Buenos Aires at the age of 60. Three days of national mourning would take place in Argentina following Maradona’s passing.
In Golf, the postponed Masters was finally played at Augusta National. The look and sound of the tournament was different, but the top-quality golf remained the same as Dustin Johnson made history in shooting the lowest ever tournament score of 20-under par. Tiger Woods would make history of his own but for the wrong reasons, making a 10 on the par 3 12th his worst ever score on a hole in his professional career.
Chris Stott 2020 Highlight – Drop goal drama in Super League Grand Final
“The most dramatic ending to any Grand Final of the Super League era! There’s also a strong case to say it was the best final of all time. With the game between Wigan and St Helens finely balanced after a brutal 79 minutes, it looked nailed on for extra time.
Then Tommy Makinson tried his luck with a drop goal for Saints which rebounded off the uprights – the resulting bounce deceived Bevan French for young Jack Welsby to ground the ball and write his name into the history books. The reaction of James Graham summed up the emotion perfectly. It was a fitting end to the season.”
Chris Stott 2020 Highlight – Grosjean’s miraculous escape
“This incident at the Bahrain Grand Prix had everyone watching fearing the worst. On the first lap, Haas driver Romain Grosjean clipped the Alpha Tauri driven by Daniil Kyvat and careered into a barrier at frightening speed.
Upon impact, the car was split completely in two and burst into flames. A marshal and the safety car driver and doctor were immediately on the scene and able to help Grosjean out of the burning inferno.
Seeing the Frenchman walk away was beyond miraculous. The pictures of the wreckage bought home just how close of a call it was. Grosjean had been sat embedded in the barrier with only the smallest gap for him to escape. It highlighted just how much risk drivers take on racing for our entertainment, but just how vital safety implementations such as the halo have been in saving lives including that of Romain Grosjean."
DECEMBER
A cracking night of heavyweight boxing was headlined by Anthony Joshua’s knockout of Kubrat Pulev in the 9th round. It was a dominant and confident performance from Joshua who floored his rival as early as round 3, but the Bulgarian proved a tough opponent in sticking with the three-belt world champion. Attention turned straight onto talk of an all-conquering all British bout between Joshua and Tyson Fury in the new year.
Rob Lee 2020 Highlight – Sergio Perez breaks F1 duck
"A helter-skelter year in Formula One included two brand new winners in Pierre Gasly of Alpha Tauri and the long-awaited win of Sergio Perez. Facing the wrong way at turn three on the opening lap of the Sakhir Grand Prix after a collision with Ferrari’s Charles LeClerc, he could have written his afternoon off as a leisurely Sunday drive. Perez though had other ideas and dug deep to climb to 9th by lap 21.
Following a virtual safety car and on fresh rubber, Perez was able to put the hammer down again and with 30 laps to go sat 3rd. What came next was a slice of good fortune for Perez but a nightmare for Mercedes with the wrong tyres on the wrong cars allowing the Mexican to take control and lead the race.
Only a late charge from George Russell, filling in for Lewis Hamilton could stop him. But a slow puncture for Russell meant Perez took the chequered flag and end his 190 wait for a race win."
Rob Lee 2020 Highlight – England win a nail-biting final
“England cruised through the Autumn Nations Cup, beating Georgia, dispatching Ireland and seeing off Wales to set up a final against France where they were favourites to win.
England should have probably led early and won comfortably against a stand-in French side, but that is never the case in an England France game. A determined France quickly took the lead and had a seven point advantage with just 5 minutes left which looked good enough to see them home.
England had to dig deep, and they found an answer courtesy of replacement hooker Luke Cowan-Dickie. His try allowed Owen Farrell to level the scores and take the match to extra time. Farrell then missed a chance to win the game, but he was fortunate that another opportunity fell his way. His kick this time dissecting the uprights and took England over the line to win the silverware.”
Other highlights:
- Kevin Sinfield completed his 7 marathons in 7 days raising in excess of a million pounds for Motor Neurone Disease in support of his great friend and ex-team mate Rob Burrow.
- The snooker drama continued in the UK Championship as the final between Neil Robertson and Judd Trump went to the final frame and the last two balls on the table. Trump twitched and missed the pink allowing Robertson to pot it and seal a 10-9 success.
- Bryony Frost partnered Frodon to a surprise King George VI success at Kempton becoming the first female jockey to win the race. It was Paul Nicholls’ record extending 12th victory in the Boxing Day centrepiece.
- Lee Westwood rolled back the years to win the Race to Dubai title following a second placed finish in the season ending DP World Tour Championship.
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