Ince hails super Villanueva after debut

BLACKBURN // The Blackburn manager Paul Ince hailed striker Carlos Villanueva as "different class" after the youngster marked his Rovers debut with a man-of-the-match performance in the 4-1 Carling Cup victory over Grimsby at Ewood Park. Villanueva, 22, played a starring role as an unfamiliar team overcame the shock of falling behind to Tom Newey's superb early free-kick to stroll into round three.

The Chilean player of the year had seen the start of his Rovers career hampered by a bout of chickenpox, and was understandably itching to show his worth to the home fans. And he seized his opportunity by scoring with an exquisite drive into the far corner. The new boy also sent a fizzing left-footed effort just wide of the upright and smacked the bar with a brilliant free-kick in the dying stages. And Ince did little to play down Villanueva's eye-catching display immediately after the game. "The lad is different class," he insisted. "I've said before he is a special talent. I thought he was sensational." Rovers have agreed a fee to sign MK Dons midfielder Keith Andrews.

* PA Sport

Some of Darwish's last words

"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008

His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.