David Beckham's Inter Miami refused to be blown off course in their pursuit of reaching the Major League Soccer playoffs on Sunday, securing a famous victory while battling tropical storm Eta.
Wild winds and rain made conditions in South Florida extremely difficult, but a combination of Diego Alonso's side beating Cincinnati 2-1 and rivals Atlanta and Chicago dropping points ensured a difficult inaugural campaign has now been boosted with a trip to the post-season, where fellow newcomers Nashville will welcome Miami on November 20.
Goals from Mikey Ambrose - the first of his career - and defender Leandro Gonzalez Pirez in the opening 45 minutes had put Beckham's franchise in control at the interval yet more drama was to follow after a brilliant strike for the visiting team from Joe Gyau on 66 minutes.
A late red card for Inter defender Andres Reyes ensured a nervy finale.
Some crazed celebrations at the final whistle began, however, once confirmation of defeats for Atlanta and Chicago arrived on MLS's "Decision Day" finale to the regular season.
This was just the seventh win from 23 in the regular season for Alonso's side, who grabbed the last available play-off ticket by finishing 10th in the Eastern Conference.
Cincinnati, who are coached by Beckham's former Manchester United teammate Jaap Stam, end up bottom for the second year in a row as Inter Miami moved on.
"We are very excited, it has been a difficult year but we have worked hard and today we got the reward," said a delighted Alonso, who dedicated the triumph to the 2,703 fans who cheered on their team while combating the elements.
"It's a big step for us, if they were normal conditions we would have won by more but we are just happy to get there.
"We knew the results were falling into place but needed to wait and it's great we could celebrate with the fans who came to support us in such circumstances.
"They still showed up and that"s incredible. They are some of the worst conditions I have ever seen as a player or coach and it was difficult to know how to play.
"We wanted to attack, but it wasn't a day for a lot of touches. Every time the ball went into the air it was difficult."
The MLS play-offs are all one leg knock-out games and Alonso added: "A new tournament starts now and we can forget what has happened in the season up until this point.
"This group loves to play life or death matches. I am delighted."
The chances of Inter Miami extending their season appeared slim before kick-off with Atlanta, Chicago and Montreal also vying for two available slots.
But although Thierry Henry's Montreal triumphed over DC United and will play New England in the next round, Atlanta and Chicago Atlanta lost against Columbus and Chicago fell to New York City FC to ensure Miami also sneaked through despite Cincinnati pushing hard at the death for a draw which wouldn't have been enough for the home team.
"The conditions were crazy, when we saw the storm would hit close to the game, we knew it would be like this," said Gonzalez Pirez.
"We had the wind in our favour in the first half so we knew we had to get it done and then try to manage the game in the second. Rain is no problem but playing with the wind is so tough.
"But we did it and now we can prepare for what's ahead."
With every MLS team in action Sunday, the Philadelphia Union locked up the Supporters' Shield for the team with the best regular-season record with a 2-0 victory over New England.
Toronto FC, also in the running for the Supporters' Shield, closed out the regular-season with a 2-1 defeat to New York Red Bulls.
In the Western Conference where all eight playoff teams were already confirmed, Sporting Kansas City clinched the top seed with a 2-0 victory over Real Salt Lake at a snowy Rio Tinto Stadium in Utah.
Los Angeles FC'S Uruguayan star Diego Rossi won the Golden Boot award as the top scorer in the pandemic disrupted season, with 14 goals in 19 appearances, two more than Columbus' Gyasi Zardes, Chicago's Robert Beric and Seattle's Raul Ruidiaz.
TEAMS
US Team
Dustin Johnson, Jordan Spieth
Justin Thomas, Daniel Berger
Brooks Koepka, Rickie Fowler
Kevin Kisner, Patrick Reed
Matt Kuchar, Kevin Chappell
Charley Hoffman*, Phil Mickelson*
International Team
Hideki Matsuyama, Jason Day
Adam Scott, Louis Oosthuizen
Marc Leishman, Charl Schwartzel
Branden Grace, Si Woo Kim
Jhonattan Vegas, Adam Hadwin
Emiliano Grillo*, Anirban Lahiri*
* denotes captain's picks
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MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
Where to buy
Limited-edition art prints of The Sofa Series: Sultani can be acquired from Reem El Mutwalli at www.reemelmutwalli.com
Other must-tries
Tomato and walnut salad
A lesson in simple, seasonal eating. Wedges of tomato, chunks of cucumber, thinly sliced red onion, coriander or parsley leaves, and perhaps some fresh dill are drizzled with a crushed walnut and garlic dressing. Do consider yourself warned: if you eat this salad in Georgia during the summer months, the tomatoes will be so ripe and flavourful that every tomato you eat from that day forth will taste lacklustre in comparison.
Badrijani nigvzit
A delicious vegetarian snack or starter. It consists of thinly sliced, fried then cooled aubergine smothered with a thick and creamy walnut sauce and folded or rolled. Take note, even though it seems like you should be able to pick these morsels up with your hands, they’re not as durable as they look. A knife and fork is the way to go.
Pkhali
This healthy little dish (a nice antidote to the khachapuri) is usually made with steamed then chopped cabbage, spinach, beetroot or green beans, combined with walnuts, garlic and herbs to make a vegetable pâté or paste. The mix is then often formed into rounds, chilled in the fridge and topped with pomegranate seeds before being served.
THE SPECS
Jaguar F-Pace SVR
Engine: 5-litre supercharged V8
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Power: 542bhp
Torque: 680Nm
Price: Dh465,071
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
Takreem Awards winners 2021
Corporate Leadership: Carl Bistany (Lebanon)
Cultural Excellence: Hoor Al Qasimi (UAE)
Environmental Development and Sustainability: Bkerzay (Lebanon)
Environmental Development and Sustainability: Raya Ani (Iraq)
Humanitarian and Civic Services: Women’s Programs Association (Lebanon)
Humanitarian and Civic Services: Osamah Al Thini (Libya)
Excellence in Education: World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE) (Qatar)
Outstanding Arab Woman: Balghis Badri (Sudan)
Scientific and Technological Achievement: Mohamed Slim Alouini (KSA)
Young Entrepreneur: Omar Itani (Lebanon)
Lifetime Achievement: Suad Al Amiry (Palestine)
UK-EU trade at a glance
EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years
Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products
Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries
Smoother border management with use of e-gates
Cutting red tape on import and export of food
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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CONFIRMED%20LINE-UP
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Where to donate in the UAE
The Emirates Charity Portal
You can donate to several registered charities through a “donation catalogue”. The use of the donation is quite specific, such as buying a fan for a poor family in Niger for Dh130.
The General Authority of Islamic Affairs & Endowments
The site has an e-donation service accepting debit card, credit card or e-Dirham, an electronic payment tool developed by the Ministry of Finance and First Abu Dhabi Bank.
Al Noor Special Needs Centre
You can donate online or order Smiles n’ Stuff products handcrafted by Al Noor students. The centre publishes a wish list of extras needed, starting at Dh500.
Beit Al Khair Society
Beit Al Khair Society has the motto “From – and to – the UAE,” with donations going towards the neediest in the country. Its website has a list of physical donation sites, but people can also contribute money by SMS, bank transfer and through the hotline 800-22554.
Dar Al Ber Society
Dar Al Ber Society, which has charity projects in 39 countries, accept cash payments, money transfers or SMS donations. Its donation hotline is 800-79.
Dubai Cares
Dubai Cares provides several options for individuals and companies to donate, including online, through banks, at retail outlets, via phone and by purchasing Dubai Cares branded merchandise. It is currently running a campaign called Bookings 2030, which allows people to help change the future of six underprivileged children and young people.
Emirates Airline Foundation
Those who travel on Emirates have undoubtedly seen the little donation envelopes in the seat pockets. But the foundation also accepts donations online and in the form of Skywards Miles. Donated miles are used to sponsor travel for doctors, surgeons, engineers and other professionals volunteering on humanitarian missions around the world.
Emirates Red Crescent
On the Emirates Red Crescent website you can choose between 35 different purposes for your donation, such as providing food for fasters, supporting debtors and contributing to a refugee women fund. It also has a list of bank accounts for each donation type.
Gulf for Good
Gulf for Good raises funds for partner charity projects through challenges, like climbing Kilimanjaro and cycling through Thailand. This year’s projects are in partnership with Street Child Nepal, Larchfield Kids, the Foundation for African Empowerment and SOS Children's Villages. Since 2001, the organisation has raised more than $3.5 million (Dh12.8m) in support of over 50 children’s charities.
Noor Dubai Foundation
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum launched the Noor Dubai Foundation a decade ago with the aim of eliminating all forms of preventable blindness globally. You can donate Dh50 to support mobile eye camps by texting the word “Noor” to 4565 (Etisalat) or 4849 (du).
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
