Ford stalls in final after stirring comeback to tournament play
By RICARDO SARDINHA – Squash Mad Correspondent

Patrick Rooney confirmed his number one seed status and defeated Tom Ford, by 3-1, in the final of the International Tournament of Madeira. In an all-English battle the higher ranked player put an end to Tom Ford’s fairytale return to tournament play at the Galo Active Health Club.

After the performances of both players during the week everybody expected a very close final match, but the truth is Rooney was in control for most of the time. The number one seed started strongly, unsettling Ford’s smooth squash, closing the first game 11-6.

As expected, Ford responded in the second, pushing further the T position and putting more pressure on every shot. Rooney made a few unforced errors giving the wild card player four game points at 10-6. Ford needed only one point to tie the final at 1-1.

The third game was the best in the match and probably the best of the tournament. Great shots, unbelievable retrievals, long hard rallies; the works.

The players exchanged the lead several times leaving the decision of the game down to the last two points. Ford eventually handed the game after an unforced error playing an easy drop shot, by his standard, and missing a lob which caught him out in a stroke position; 12-10 for Rooney and 2-1 up in the match.

After this the unseeded Ford never fully recovered and Rooney seized the advantage early on in the fourth, 3-0. Tom battled his way back to 5-6 but the damage was done and Rooney ran away with the match, closing the fourth game 11-5.

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After the final Rooney was a happy man. He said: “I am really lost for words, feeling very emotional right now. I wanted to come here and do the best I could and I managed to win it. Really happy with how things worked out.”

This is a tournament that the number one seed knows very well. “I have been here a few times and I really enjoy coming to Madeira. It’s an event that I love. Everything is made real easy for the players by the organisation and I hope to come back next year.”

On the way to the final, Rooney beat Sergio Garcia Pollan of Spain, Canada’s David Baillargeon and Portuguese hope Rui Soares. Ford motored past Stuart MacGregor (England) and Emyr Evans (Wales) before taking out No.2 seed Bernat Jaume of Spain. He then beat the No.3 seed Aditya Jagtap of India in straight games in the semi-finals.

The tournament’s guest of honour, former word champion Ramy Ashour, joined the presentation ceremony. During the week he held a fun event of his own using his new, experimental scoring system of shorter games.

PSA $12,000 Men’s Madeira International Open 2019, Galo Active Health Club, Caniço, Madeira, Portugal.

Final:
[1] Patrick Rooney (ENG) beat [WC] Tom Ford (ENG) 11-6, 6-11, 12-10, 11-5 (60m)

Semi-finals:
[1] Patrick Rooney (ENG) bt [4] Rui Soares (POR) 11-5, 4-11, 12-10, 11-4 (45m)
[WC] Tom Ford (ENG) bt [3] Aditya Jagtap (IND) 11-9, 11-5, 11-3

Quarter-finals:
[1] Patrick Rooney (ENG) bt [6] David Baillargeon (CAN) 11-5, 11-6, 11-4 (28m)
[4] Rui Soares (POR) bt [5] Kristian Frost (DEN) 2-11, 7-11, 11-5, 11-9, 13-11 (65m)
[3] Aditya Jagtap (IND) bt Aqeel Rehman (AUT) 6-11, 17-15, 11-8, 11-5 (48m)
[WC] Tom Ford (ENG) bt [2] Bernat Jaume (ESP) 6-11, 11-2, 13-11, 9-11, 11-8 (81m)

2nd round:
[1] Patrick Rooney (ENG) bt [9/16] Sergio Garcia Pollan (ESP) 11-5, 11-7, 11-2 (40m)
[6] David Baillargeon (CAN) bt [9/16] Miles Jenkins (ENG) 13-11, 12-10, 11-5 (55m)
[5] Kristian Frost (DEN) bt [9/16] Robin Gadola (SUI) 11-4, 11-4, 11-8 (39m)
[4] Rui Soares (POR) bt [9/16] Harry Falconer (ENG) 11-7, 11-8, 11-8 (39m)
[3] Aditya Jagtap (IND) bt Owain Taylor (WAL) 11-9, 11-8, 11-5 (35m)
Aqeel Rehman (AUT) bt [8] Yannik Omlor (GER) 11-6, 11-4, 6-11, 13-11 (45m)
[WC] Tom Ford (ENG) bt [7] Emyr Evans (WAL) 11-5, 11-8, 12-10
[2] Bernat Jaume (ESP) bt [9/16] Claudio Pinto (POR) 11-5, 11-5, 11-8 (32m)

1st round:
[1] Patrick Rooney (ENG) bye
[9/16] Sergio Garcia Pollan (ESP) bt Ben Coates (ENG) 11-6, 6-11, 11-7, 5-11, 11-8 (72m)
[9/16] Miles Jenkins (ENG) bt [WC] Amadeo Costa (SUI) 11-2, 11-8, 11-3 (27m)
[6] David Baillargeon (CAN) bye
[5] Kristian Frost (DEN) bye
[9/16] Robin Gadola (SUI) bt Edwin Clain (FRA) 11-7, 11-7, 11-9 (36m)
[9/16] Harry Falconer (ENG) bt David Zeman (CZE) 11-6, 12-10, 11-4 (35m)
[4] Rui Soares (POR) bye
[3] Aditya Jagtap (IND) bye
Owain Taylor (WAL) bt [9/16] Roshan Bharos (NED) 11-7, 11-3, 9-11, 11-9 (71m)
Aqeel Rehman (AUT) bt [9/16] Alex Noakes (ENG) 11-5, 11-8, 11-7 (32m)
[8] Yannik Omlor (GER) bye
[7] Emyr Evans (WAL) bye
[WC] Tom Ford (ENG) bt [9/16] Stuart MacGregor (ENG) 11-6, 8-11, 12-10, 11-3 (45m)
[9/16] Claudio Pinto (POR) bt Charlie Cowie (ENG) 11-8, 11-8, 11-8 (35m)
[2] Bernat Jaume (ESP) bye 

Pictures courtesy of Galo Active Health Club, Madeira 

INDIANAPOLIS – Kevin Harvick controlled Sunday’s Big Machine Vodka 400 at the Brickyard from start to finish, with a dominant performance netting him his second victory at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Harvick started from the pole and won the final two stages of the 400-mile classic, leading five times for a race-high 118 laps en route to his third win of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season.

While pit strategy allowed Joey Logano to best Harvick in the opening segment at Indianapolis, when the chips were down, Harvick’s No. 4 Mobil 1 Ford Mustang was as good as money in the bank.

Harvick capitalized on a lap-89 caution that came out just after he made his pit stop under green, allowing the 2014 Cup champion to stay out and resume command of the race unhindered. He led the rest of the way to lap 100 to win stage two, then only had one scare the remainder of the way home.

That nervous stretch came shortly after an eight-car accident in turn two with 54 laps to go, closely following the start of the final stage where Harvick and Kyle Larson were in front of the field.

In that incident, Jimmie Johnson was squeezed down to the white line in turn two by teammate William Byron in the midst of a three-wide scramble, sending Johnson spinning into the middle of the pack and eventually hard into the outside wall – ending his 15-year streak of making the playoffs every season.

On the ensuing restart, second-running Ryan Blaney pounced on an unsuspecting Harvick, who chose the bottom lane for the one and only time all afternoon. Blaney soared around the outside to take the top spot away and then led 19 consecutive tours of the 2.5-mile oval as Harvick tried to regroup.

That bounce back came courtesy of a caution with 32 to go, when Kyle Larson smacked the inside wall off the exit of turn two, ending his strong run as Harvick was in the midst of his final pit stop.

With his service complete and remaining on the lead lap, Harvick was able to stay out again when those running ahead of him ducked to pit lane, retaking a position he wouldn’t relinquish the rest of the way.

Harvick led the final 30 laps for the win, his 48th in the Cup Series, and showcased his utter dominance during the nine-lap sprint to the finish set up by Matt Tifft’s hard crash with 14 to go in the event.

Despite a valiant effort by Logano to maintain contact with Harvick on lap 152, when the green flag returned for good, Harvick sped away to a 6.118-second victory by the time he took the checkers.

It was a big win for Harvick, who resets as the No. 4 seed for the playoffs, in more ways than one.

“Man, I can’t tell you how much coming to Indianapolis means to me,” said Harvick. “As a kid, I watched Rick Mears win Indy 500s and got to be around him as a kid … and he was my hero, so coming here and winning here is pretty awesome.

“I can’t say enough about everybody on this Mobil 1 Ford Mustang. These guys built a heck of a race car,” Harvick continued. “This is the same stuff we took to Michigan and had a real good weekend there and went to victory lane. To come here to the Brickyard, and know how much this means to Rodney and Dax and all the guys that work on this car because we’ve been so close here before … that’s special.”

Joey Logano chased Harvick all the way home, but instead had to focus on fending off a hard-charging Bubba Wallace in the final laps to maintain second. Wallace crossed third, his best finish of the season.

William Byron and Clint Bowyer completed the top five, followed by Denny Hamlin, Ryan Blaney, Ryan Newman, Chase Elliott and Paul Menard.

Bowyer and Newman secured the final two available playoff positions on points Sunday afternoon.

Meanwhile, Harvick’s win was his second Brickyard 400 triumph, following one in 2003 that he earned with Richard Childress Racing just two years after the death of team superstar Dale Earnhardt.

That day, Harvick also started from the pole, but he didn’t control the race like he did on Sunday. Instead, he passed Jamie McMurray for the win with 16 laps left and held on to the finish.

This time around, there was no question who the strongest man in town was.

“I don’t know if we had the best car, but we sure had the fastest car,” said Harvick. “We gave up the lead there on one of those restarts and then we came and pitted, and the caution came out, and it worked our way. We’ve given so many away just because of circumstances here, and the way that the caution flag fell today actually worked in our favor was nice. It gave us control of the race and we were able to keep control of the race and not make any mistakes from there.

“We’re standing in victory lane at one of the greatest places on Earth to race; what’s not to like?”

To view complete race results, advance to the next page.

LA FARGEVILLE, N.Y. – A thunderstorm before the start of Sunday’s program didn’t stop promoter Tyler Bartlett from presenting the Showdown in September at Can-Am Speedway.

The rain delay was well worth it, too, as the shortened 60-lap event delivered a great feature with Billy Dunn out-dueling Tim Fuller for the win.

Late arrival Erick Rudolph completed the top three after starting from back in the field.

‘’We didn’t try to overthink and got the win,’’ said Dunn as he starts a busy fall race season. ‘’We are heading to Mohawk Friday and then NAPA Super DIRT Week.’’

Tim Sears Jr. and Ryan Arbuthnot were on the front row of the 31-car field, as Sears took the early lead over Arbuthnot. Sears and Arbuthnot raced side-by-side before Arbuthnot took the lead on lap three, with Mike Mahaney moving to fourth over Ryan Bartlett.

The first caution came on lap five for Garrett Rushlow.

On the restart, Sears went back in front, with Arbuthnot being challenged by Raabe for the second position as Billy Dunn cracked the top five at that point. Dunn passed Mahaney for fourth with 15 laps in the books, as the leaders got into slower cars.

Dunn was on the move as he passed Raabe for third on lap 23. The driver of the No. 49 machine continued his way up front, inching close to Arbuthnot at the halfway point.

Dunn used the inside portion to pass Arbuthnot for the second spot and started challenging the leader with 28 laps to go.

The second caution came out for Mike Mandigo who stopped on the backstretch as Mike Mahaney headed to the pits with smoke coming out from his engine bay and lost his top five position.

The green lights came back on lap 40 and saw Sears and Dunn in battle with Rudolph, who joined the front five after starting in 18th position.

Dunn went to the lead on lap 45 as Arbuthnot and Fuller exchanged the second position, with Rudolph moving to fourth with a dozen laps to go.

Fuller started to challenge Dunn, with the No. 49 closing the door several times as Rudolph took his place on the podium, but Dunn led the final laps and took the win over Fuller.

Rudolph, Arbuthnot and Jordan McCreadie completed the top five.

The finish:

Billy Dunn, Tim Fuller, Erick Rudolph, Ryan Arbuthnot, Jordan McCreadie, Chris Raabe, Tim Sears Jr., Dave Marcuccilli, Brian McDonald, Lance Willix, Larry Wight, Corey Wheeler, Nick Webb, Kyle Dingwall, Ryan Bartlett, Pat Ward, Rob Bellinger, Ron Davis III, Billy Whittaker, Scott Webb, Tyler Meeks, Michael Parent, AJ Miller, Matt Woodruff, Ryan Poole, Jeff Sykes, Cameron Black, Mike Mandigo, Mike Mahaney, Preston Forbes, Garrett Rushlow.

INDIANAPOLIS – After clinching the regular-season championship a week early at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway, Kyle Busch officially secured the No. 1 seed for the Monster Energy NASAR Cup Series playoffs on Sunday.

Despite an engine failure that took him out of the Big Machine Vodka 400 at the Brickyard and left him with a 37th-place finish at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Busch collected the 15 playoff points that came with earning the most points during the first 26 races of the Cup Series season.

As such, he’ll start next week’s playoff opener at Las Vegas (Nev.) Motor Speedway with 2,045 points – most in the 16-driver postseason field – on the strength of four race wins and 10 stage victories.

Both of those marks lead the league in their respective statistical categories.

While Busch, who will carry a 15-point lead over second place, enjoys a healthy margin atop the standings for now, he’ll have two of his Joe Gibbs Racing teammates chasing him early on.

Denny Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr. earned the second and third seeds, respectively, for the 10-race playoff run. Both had four race wins during the regular season, though neither could match Busch’s prowess in stages over the first 26 rounds of the 2019 campaign.

Hamlin will head to Las Vegas with 2,030 points, while Truex sits just one point behind Hamlin at 2,029.

Kevin Harvick and Joey Logano tied for the fourth seed, with Harvick getting the nod by having more wins than Logano.

Each has 2,028 points, but Harvick’s third win of the year Sunday lifted him over Logano’s two.

Sixth-seeded Brad Keselowski sits on 2,024 points, six more than Chase Elliott, the seventh seed who earned two wins during the regular season.

Kentucky winner Kurt Busch rounds off the top half of the playoff field, with 2,011 points and the No. 8 seed to his name. Ninth and 10th seeded Alex Bowman and Erik Jones were both single winners during the regular season, the lowest among the drivers to guarantee their postseason berths with victories.

Both Bowman and Jones will start the playoffs with 2,005 points.

Kyle Larson earned the 11th playoff seed, with four stage wins during the regular season and also having a reset value of 2,005 points thanks to being 10th in points after 26 races, while double stage winner Ryan Blaney ranks 12th in the adjusted standings at 2,004.

William Byron and Aric Almirola sit 13th and 14th with 2,001 points apiece, while the final two drivers to make the playoffs on points – Clint Bowyer and Ryan Newman – will roll from the base value of 2,000.

Both Bowyer and Newman will have just a two-point hole to dig out of to get above the cut line, with the top 12 in points escaping the first elimination round following race 27 of the season at the Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway ROVAL on Sept. 29.

This year’s playoff lineup is notable in that it doesn’t contain seven-time Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson for the first time in the 16-year history of the playoff format.

The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series playoffs begin on Sept. 15 at Las Vegas (Nev.) Motor Speedway.

Updated Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Point Standings

1. Kyle Busch – 2,045
2. Denny Hamlin – 2,030
3. Martin Truex Jr. – 2,029
4. Kevin Harvick – 2,028
5. Joey Logano – 2,028
6. Brad Keselowski – 2,024
7. Chase Elliott – 2,018
8. Kurt Busch – 2,011
9. Alex Bowman – 2,005
10. Erik Jones – 2,005
11. Kyle Larson – 2,005
12. Ryan Blaney – 2,004
13. William Byron – 2,001
14. Aric Almirola – 2,001
15. Clint Bowyer – 2,000
16. Ryan Newman – 2,000

MILLVILLE, N.J. – Cameron Beaubier will need a little help in the final round of the MotoAmerica Superbike Championship at Barber Motorsports Park, but he at least has a chance at the title.

Beaubier won the second EBC Brakes Superbike race in the Championship of New Jersey on Sunday at New Jersey Motorsports Park, elevating himself back into the conversation.

After finishing second on Saturday and winning on Sunday to claw back into championship contention with just the two races at Barber left on the schedule, Beaubier trails Toni Elias by 16 points.

Yoshimura Suzuki’s Elias had an off-weekend and finished fourth in both races, giving up 19 points to Beaubier and his Monster Energy/Yamalube/Yamaha Factory Racing YZF-R1.

On Saturday, Beaubier lost out to his teammate Garrett Gerloff and on Sunday he had his hands full with Attack Performance Estenson Racing’s JD Beach.

Gerloff, meanwhile, was declared unfit to race after a big crash in the morning warm-up session that left him concussed.

Beaubier and Beach were joined up front by Westby Racing’s Mathew Scholtz, but the South African ended up finishing third, some seven seconds behind Beaubier.

Beaubier was also able to gap Beach in the closing laps, besting Beach by 1.44 seconds after 23 laps for his fourth win of the season and the 36th of his Superbike career.

“At the beginning I was pretty confident going in just because I felt like I had pretty good pace there at the beginning of the race yesterday, and then after latching onto (Garrett) Gerloff he kind of pulled us three away from the field,” Beaubier said. “Then at the end it was us two. I was pretty confident that my bike was going to be better than it was yesterday, but I was struggling pretty bad at the beginning when the tires were new. I felt like I couldn’t really take advantage of the grip I had with the previous setup we had yesterday. But it felt okay at the end of the race. I was able to manage the tire decent.

“JD (Beach) was riding awesome. Then I saw my pit board when I was in second. I didn’t know who it was, but I saw that gap close right back up onto us,” he added. “I was like, ‘Oh man. I’m in for a long last 10 laps.’ I’m really happy we got this win and kind of the monkey off of our back, type of thing. I’m more relieved than anything. Today feels good.”

M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Jake Lewis finished fifth, one spot better than on Saturday, and ahead of sixth-placed Kyle Wyman on the Lion Fuel/Cyclance/KWR Ducati.

Yoshimura Suzuki’s Josh Herrin was seventh, with Scheibe Racing BMW’s Jake Gagne ending his weekend with an eighth-place finish.

FLY Racing/ADR Motorsports’ David Anthony and Omega Moto’s Cameron Petersen rounded out the top 10.

With Beaubier now trailing Elias by 16 points, Gerloff holds on to third, though he’s dropped to 41 points behind after missing Sunday’s race.

Sunday’s Supersport race two was another good one for New Yorker PJ Jacobsen as the Celtic HSBK Racing Yamaha rider held off hard-charging and determined championship leader Bobby Fong aboard his M4 ECSTAR Suzuki.

Jacobsen and Fong diced with each other as the laps wound down, and Jacobsen bested Fong at the checkers by .028 of a second.

With a double win at NJMP, Jacobsen now trails Fong in the championship by just 10 points.

Rocco Landers, who clinched the Liqui Moly Junior Cup class championship on Saturday, celebrated his title in the best way possible.

Aboard his Ninja400R.com/Norton Motorsports/Dr. Farr Kawasaki, Landers won Sunday’s race with a gap of nearly seven seconds over Quarterly Racing/On Track Development Kawasaki’s Damian Jigalov.

Former Liqui Moly Junior Cup Champion Alex Dumas has been on a roll in the latter half of the Twins Cup season, and on Sunday, the Roadracing World Young Guns Suzuki rider won his fourth race in a row and fifth out of the past six races.

Dumas withstood a staunch challenge from RBoM Racing/Blud Lubricants/HJC Suzuki rider Jackson Blackmon, who raced in both Liqui Moly Junior Cup and Twins Cup this weekend and made the podium in both classes.

Last year’s Stock 1000 Champion Andrew Lee successfully defended his title when he clinched the 2019 Stock 1000 Championship by winning Sunday’s race.

Lee, aboard his Franklin Armory/Graves Kawasaki, started from the pole, but the race was red-flagged and had to be restarted. Despite the drama, Lee stayed in front and kept title rival Stefano Mesa behind him.

INDIANAPOLIS – Kevin Harvick’s victory at Indianapolis Motor Speedway during Sunday’s Big Machine Vodka 400 at the Brickyard was a win for more than just himself.

It marked a score for the racing legends who helped to shape Harvick’s career.

One of the first people Harvick referenced during his frontstretch winner’s interview, and then again during his media center press conference, was four-time Indianapolis 500 winner Rick Mears – the open-wheel icon who was raised in Harvick’s hometown of Bakersfield, Calif., as a youth.

“Man, I can’t tell you how much coming to Indianapolis means to me,” Harvick noted. “As a kid, I grew up watching Rick Mears win Indy 500s and got to be around him as a kid … and he was my hero, so coming here and winning here where he did so many times is pretty awesome.”

That Harvick looked up to Mears and wanted to go into auto racing because of him came as no surprise.

What was, perhaps, more of a surprise was that Harvick’s initial desire to pursue a racing career didn’t involve full-fendered cars. Instead, he wanted to follow Mears into Indy car racing.

“When I was young, I wanted to race Indy cars, because at that point Indy car racing was more popular than stock cars,” Harvick recalled. “It took a drastic turn over the next 10 or 12 years, but at that particular point, if you wanted to race at the top level, you needed to race Indy cars. You didn’t want to race stock cars. And then all that changed.

“For me, I had a dad who I could have went and raced midgets with at 13, 14 or 15 years old, but at that particular point he wanted nothing to do with open-wheel racing and liked stock cars,” Harvick continued. “He was a firefighter and worked on cars on the side and went to the race track on the weekend, and that’s what I did. I went to the local short track and watched, and when I turned 16, that’s what we did.

“That was just the path. There was really no choice. I didn’t really have a say in that, and we raced go‑karts and then went straight to late model stock cars, and then from there it was just a progression of getting an opportunity to go to the next level, and I went all the way through the whole ranks of the NASCAR system at that particular time all the way to the top.

“It was really not my choice, but it worked out pretty well.”

Harvick’s win on Sunday was his second in the Brickyard 400, following a win 16 years ago, during the 2003 season in his early years with Richard Childress Racing.

That puts him halfway to matching Mears’ total of four Indianapolis 500 victories, “and hopefully we can get a little closer before we’re done,” Harvick smiled.

But Mears wasn’t the only great who Harvick honored with his victory on Sunday.

The 2014 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion also won for car owner Tony Stewart – a two-time Brickyard 400 winner as a driver in his own right – who Harvick raced against for many years.

Stewart, who will be formally inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2020, had won the Brickyard 400 before as an owner in 2013, but Harvick wanted to make sure he gave Stewart another PPG Trophy.

“I know how much this place means to Tony, and you can just see that in the way that he walks around here. He’s got a little more pep in his step when he walks around here than he does anywhere else,” noted Harvick of his boss. “He walked up to the car (after qualifying), and he said, ‘Yep, you’ve done a good job so far this weekend. Congrats on the pole. Now go out there, and I want you to destroy them today, and then after you’re done we’re going to climb the fence.’”

Harvick lived up to those wishes, leading five times for a race-high 118 laps and winning by more than six seconds over Joey Logano at the hallowed 2.5-mile oval.

It also meant he got to get Stewart to pay up on his request – which Stewart did jubilantly.

“I did remind him after the race that he said we were going to the climb the fence,” Harvick grinned. “I just wanted to see him climb the fence. That was his tradition, so that was kind of fun to be able to help him relive some memories, and I’m sure it was exciting for him. But there’s still nothing like driving the car and being able to enjoy those moments from a driver standpoint, and I think he’d tell you that too.

“Today was a lot of fun, because I know how much the Brickyard means to him, and those are the two things that he told me to do, so that’s what we did today,” Harvick added. “I’m glad it worked out, because he was happy and celebrating out there. I raced against him for a long time, but I respect him as an owner and it’s cool to do this together as a team.”

So was Harvick’s win for his own celebration at the famed Indianapolis grounds on Sunday? Absolutely.

But it was also a hearkening back to two Indiana heroes who left indelible imprints on both the sport and a veteran who has taken their lessons to heart and added his own.

Spain homed in on Euro 2020 by easing past the Faroe Islands 4-0 on Sunday for a sixth straight qualifying win that featured two goals each from Rodrigo and Paco Alcacer and moved them further clear at the top of Group F.

Sergio Ramos equalled Iker Casillas' record of 167 appearances for Spain on an emotional night at Sporting Gijon's El Molinon stadium, which paid tribute to the late Spain and Sporting forward Quini before kick off.

A minute's silence was also held in memory of former Spain coach Luis Enrique's daughter Xana, who passed away last month.

There followed a straightforward win that took Spain on to a maximum 18 points after six games and leaves them seven ahead of second-placed Sweden, who drew 1-1 at home to Norway.

Romania beat Malta 1-0 with a goal from George Puscas to leapfrog Norway into third place on 10 points.

Valencia striker Rodrigo tapped into an empty net to put Spain in front in the 13th minute despite being in an offside position when he received a pass from Mikel Oyarzabal.

But with video technology not in use in the qualifying phases, the goal stood.

Rodrigo doubled Spain's lead in the 50th minute on coach Robert Moreno's home debut by cutting in from the right wing and firing a left-footed shot towards goal which took a heavy deflection off a visiting defender on its way into the net.

Alcacer then furthered his reputation as a highly productive substitute by further stretching Spain's advantage with simple strikes in the 89th minute and deep in stoppage-time. Midfielder Thiago Alcantara said the team had not played as well as they would have liked due to the visitors' negative tactics.

"It was very tough at first, you expect a team like them to close you down and sit back and that's what happened and we struggled to break them down," he said.

"They had three players marking one of ours although once we got the first goal it was slightly easier. We still weren't completely comfortable but we're happy with the result."

With the top two sides in each group guaranteed a place at Euro 2020, Spain need only win two of their remaining four games to qualify for the tournament, but Thiago said his side were determined to win every match.

"We are focused on getting all the points, it doesn't matter to us when we qualify, we want every point, from the first to the last," he added.

Italy maintained their perfect record in Euro 2020 qualifying when a harsh penalty converted by Jorginho gave them a 2-1 win in Finland on Sunday.

Jorginho scored the spot kick with 11 minutes left after Nicolo Barella's shot hit Sauli Vaisanen's arm just above the elbow at point-blank range when the Finnish player had his arm across his chest.

Ciro Immobile had earlier headed Italy in front in the 59th minute with his first international goal for two years before Teemu Pukki levelled for Finland with a penalty in the 72nd minute.

"We suffered a little but we caused it ourselves by losing the ball where we shouldn't lose it," said Italy coach Roberto Mancini, who has been given the job of rebuilding the team following their failure to qualify for last year's World Cup.

"On the other hand, there were lots of things that I liked. It's very positive that we dominate games away from home. Our nature is always to attack and I've seen that again tonight, giving very little of the ball to our opponents."

Finland started aggressively, pressing Italy and causing them to make some mistakes in defence, with Emerson Palmieri pulling a muscle as he chased back to stop a Pukki run.

Italy began to assert themselves and Stefano Sensi brought a flying save from Lukas Hradecky with an exquisite volley on the turn from the edge of the area.

Francesco Acerbi had a shot deflected for a corner, another Sensi effort fizzed wide of the post and Hradecky saved with his legs to deny Federico Chiesa from a tight angle.

Finland had a chance at start of the second half when Pukki was released on the left but he skewed his shot wide.

Italy took back control and went ahead when Chiesa made space on the right and delivered a pinpoint cross for Immobile, who powered his header past Hradecky for his first Italy goal since September 2017 when he scored against Israel.

Shortly afterwards, Pukki burst into the Italy penalty area and went down under a challenge from Sensi, who also marred his fine performance by starting the move when he lost possession in midfield.

The Norwich City striker comfortably converted for Finland's first goal against Italy since 1977.

Yet Italy replied with a penalty of their own which is bound fuel the controversy over the new handball rules.

Italy lead Group J with 18 points from six games, six ahead of Finland who still remained on course for their first-ever major tournament appearance despite the defeat.

There is a scene in the film The Edge which might capture the moment England started building the side that took them to No. 1 in the Test rankings.

It centred on a team meeting just after England had been bowled out for 51 in Jamaica in early 2009. In that meeting, for the first time in a while, the players were encouraged to be honest with one another; to criticise one another; to try to pinpoint the exact reasons why they were underperforming.

The conclusion, in short, was that England weren't as good as they thought they were. They weren't training as hard as they should be; they weren't living the lifestyles they should be. And only by acknowledging their short-comings could they understand where they needed to change and improve. Diagnosis is the very step towards recovery.

Might England be in a similar place now? Yes, we know some of this team have excellent records in white-ball cricket. And yes, we know some of them are hugely talented. But it increasingly seems several of them are living on the promise of what they might achieve rather than what they have. Eventually, such promises must be kept.

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There is a danger, perhaps, that England may focus on positive moments in this series - their admirable resilience under pressure; their stubborn refusal to accept they are beaten; the glimpse of victory offered at Lord's and the miracle of Leeds - and allow it to obscure their weaknesses. But if they're really honest with themselves, they will admit that their batting unit - a unit that has lost 10 wickets within a single session four times in three years - has been painfully fragile for several years and that their faults this series were, for a while at least, simply obscured by Ben Stokes' brilliance at Headingley.

Certainly that seemed to be a theme of Joe Root's post-match media conference. It focused a little too much on the positives - and yes, his side is engagingly hard to kill off - without acknowledging that good sides don't get themselves into the position where they have their backs against the wall this often. It was hard to avoid the impression that Root is increasingly in denial about the holes within his England side. Only one man in the team averages as much as 36. They're not as good as they think they are.

Now, it may be that there is no combination that England could have selected which would have won this series. Australia have been, by some distance, the better side. Steve Smith has been exceptional and Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins not far behind. Without the Stokes-inspired miracle of Leeds, the scoreline in this series might be 3-0 already.

But England's selection requires attention. For asking players to fulfil at Test level roles they do not fulfil at county level is irresponsible and foolish. The failure of Jason Roy, a man who has never batted for two sessions in his entire first-class career, as opener was not just predictable but raises questions about the judgement of the selection panel. His technique - his hands pushing in front of his pad offering the hope of an edge to the slips and a gate onto the stumps - was apparent long before it was exposed so brutally by this Australian attack. It's both weird and worrying that the selectors couldn't see it.

And it's not as if Roy is a one-off. Ollie Pope, who had never come in before the 20th over of a first-class game and batted No. 6 for Surrey, was asked to come in at No. 4 - and in the first 10 overs of the innings - when he represented England last year. Joe Denly, who gave up opening years ago, has been asked to take up the role once more at the higher level.

Remember Sam Curran being preferred to Stuart Broad in Barbados? Dom Bess being preferred to Moeen Ali last year? The grim refusal to accept that Keaton Jennings wasn't up to it or that Denly wasn't the spin-bowling all-rounder England required ahead of the World Cup? Increasingly, the judgement of Ed Smith is looking suspect.

And then there's the captain. Root now averages 40.87 as captain of this side, compared to 52.80 when not captain. All of which provides compelling evidence that the leadership is compromising his ability to perform his primary role in the side: run scorer. At the same time, England have won 16 and lost 13 of his matches at the helm. Having inherited a side that seemed to have the potential to build into something special, he has instead presided over what increasingly looks like its disintegration. Moeen Ali has already gone, Jonny Bairstow and Jos Buttler may not be far behind. There's not much evidence to suggest he has the tactical or rhetorical skills to lift this side.

Most of all, England should acknowledge that this disappointment was the result of choices made long ago. When Andrew Strauss was appointed as director of cricket, he made a clear decision to prioritise white-ball cricket. The coach was chosen with that in mind, the domestic schedule was changed with that in mind and players were selected with that in mind. The entire landscape and language of English cricket was altered and, without it, England would not have won the World Cup.

But there were also negative consequences. And they have been increasingly apparent in this series. If England do still value Test cricket, there has to be some recalibration of the balance between the formats. The white-ball window that dominates the 2020 season schedule suggests the ECB's talk is not matched by their actions. While they have that window, they have a problem.

Too many players in this England side are doing just enough to retain their places but nowhere near enough to shape games. Take Bairstow, who is averaging 20.57 this year (and 26.38 since January 1, 2018), Denly, who averages 24.92 after seven Tests and could have been caught at deep mid-wicket - yes, deep mid-wicket - as he batted for a draw on Sunday, and Buttler, who has now played 35 Tests and scored only one century. None of them are improving in this England set-up. None of them are doing enough to shape games for their side.

Indeed, it may be Buttler who most exemplifies this team. Yes, he's talented. Yes, he can hit a white ball as well as anyone in the world. But he goes into the final Test of this series as a specialist batsman coming in at No. 7 and averaging just 16.25. Various other players - the likes of Pope, Moeen, Bairstow and Stokes - have been moved to accommodate him. But the return on the investment is modest and the reputation, in Test cricket at least, is bigger than the achievement.

His returns shouldn't surprise us. He averages just 32.12 in first-class cricket. He's made only five first-class centuries in his entire career of 99 games. But his raw talent - his ability to hit balls to the boundary, really - has seduced the selectors into thinking he's something he's not and concluding that he can turn those figures around at the higher level. It's poor logic. He's been living off promise for years.

That's, basically, the story of this England side. It's full of batsmen with big reputations and small averages. Batsmen who can impress for an hour or two but lack the old-school skills required to build match-defining innings. And bowlers who, while honest, were put in the shade by the sustained excellence of Cummins and Hazlewood. Yes, England did wonderfully well to win the World Cup. But in Test cricket, at least, they're not as good as they think they are. They need an honest appraisal of where they are - much like Jamaica in 2009 - if they are to move forward.