Musik » -- 1.8 better than the Bulldogs 3.9 -

Will Grigg believes his early-season goals at Wigan have answered those who questioned whether he would be adversely affected by his Euro 2016 snub. The 25-year-old was in France for Northern Irelands first ever European Championship finals this summer, although he did not feature in the tournament.But having scored six goals for the Latics on their return to the Sky Bet Championship, he is keen to prove he can offer more to international football than just a catchy supporters song as the Northern Irish prepare to face Azerbaijan in the World Cup Qualifiers on Friday night, live on Sky Sports. I went to France as a footballer, not as anything else, so to not play a minute was tough, he said.It was really disappointing and it was a tough time. I went there as part of the squad and youre not guaranteed to play and thats what happened. Northern Ireland striker Will Grigg is back among the goals for Wigan Its one of those things, you have to get back quickly and there probably were a few question marks, whether Id come back flying again and I certainly did that.It wasnt a case of me going back sulking, or anything like that, it was good to have a good start.Ive always got that belief and desire to score goals and be the best that I can. Its always nice when you prove people wrong. N Ireland vs Azerbaijan November 11, 2016, 7:30pm Live on Get Sky Sports Get a Sky Sports pass His Will Griggs on Fire song, a reworking of Galas hit Freed from Desire, was the first song played over the PA system after Germanys win over Michael ONeills side in Hanover last month and remains a musical standard for Northern Ireland.But it was an actual fire that made the headlines on Wednesday as a car outside the front of the teams hotel in Belfast caught fire, with the problem understood to have been caused by a technical fault.The fire brigade soon had the blaze under control but the Northern Ireland players, who have spent the week in Dublin, were forced to come in through a different entrance.It was a bit of a coincidence but nothing to do with me, a smiling Grigg told Sky Sports News HQ. Northern Irelands captain, Southampton midfielder Steven Davis, is happy to see West Broms Chris Brunt back in the international squad As for the improvement in Northern Ireland in the four years since he made his international debut, Grigg admits he is unsure exactly how they developed from also-rans to a team capable of qualifying for tournament finals.Its probably a similar group of players, weve got that experience over the last two or three campaigns, he added.Weve developed as a group, a lot of that is down to Michael and the staff that have helped that. You cant put your finger on anything, I think its just a combination of everything, experience, confidence and the way we set up and work as a group.Meanwhile ONeill, who saw Stuart Dallas and Jamie Ward withdraw from his squad earlier this week because of injury, has now added Ross County striker Liam Boyce to the group in Belfast. Ross County striker Liam Boyce has been called up by Northern Ireland The World Cup qualifier against Azerbaijan is followed by a friendly against Croatia, with victory in the first contest enough to see Northern Ireland go into second place in their group, behind Germany, as they bid to qualify for back-to-back major tournaments after a 30-year absence.Watch Northern Ireland v Azerbaijan on Friday night. Coverage begins on Sky Sports 1 HD at 7:30pm. Also See: No poppies for Northern Ireland Northern Ireland lose Ward Brunt back for Northern Ireland World Cup qualifying state of play Cheap Old Skool China . It was the kind of score that might make everyone else wonder which course he was playing. Except that Graeme McDowell saw the whole thing. Crouched behind the 10th green at Sheshan International, McDowell looked over at the powerful American and said, "Ive probably seen 18 of the best drives Ive seen all year in the last two days. Old Skool Clearance . -- Patrick Reed got an early start in golf. http://www.cheapoldskoolchina.com/ . How great will be revealed in the next couple of days at the board of governors meeting in Pebble Beach, Calif. Discount Old Skool . Two pressure cooker bombs exploded near the finish line of the April 15 race in an area packed with fans cheering the passing runners. Three people were killed and more than 260 injured, including at least 16 who lost limbs. Cheap Old Skool From China . - Levi Browns tenure at left tackle for the Pittsburgh Steelers is over before it even began. (STATS) -- If youre looking for high-octane offense and passing games that can barely be slowed let alone stopped, its a good weekend to be a football fan.Friday nights Cal-Oregon shootout can be your amuse-bouche. Settle in for an entree on Saturday in the FBS (TCU-West Virginia, Oklahoma-Texas Tech) or FCS (Lehigh-Holy Cross, Montana-Northern Arizona), and if theres room for dessert, you could do a lot worse than Chargers-Falcons on Sunday afternoon.Those air raids might make a game like Saturdays tilt between The Citadel and Wofford at Spartanburgs Gibbs Stadium tough to swallow. But the Bulldogs and Terriers will shove it down your throat anyway.There are 125 teams in the FCS, and if you treat the combined passing attempts of The Citadel and Wofford as one team, theyd rank 120th. This is nothing new. Theyre the bottom two in the subdivision when it comes to putting the ball in the air for a third consecutive season.Its ground and pound all the way for these triple-option attacks, and if that isnt working? Keep grinding.There are a lot of similarities there, Citadel coach Brent Thompson said. They do a lot more out of the shotgun than we do on offense, but a lot of the basic premises are the same. Their defense is a little different than ours, but there are a lot of similarities there, too.Thompsons team would seem to be on letdown alert after one of the biggest wins in program history. The Bulldogs (6-0, 4-0) played keep-away from then-No. 5 Chattanooga last Saturday, holding the ball for 39:26 of a 22-14 win that established them as the SoCons team to beat.But theres no reason to overlook the Terriers (4-2, 2-1), who spent last weekend resting after a 31-19 win at Western Carolina on Oct. 8. Wofford won 16 straight in the series prior to last seasons 39-12 Citadel rout.We went down there (in 2015) and we played bad, and they punished us, Wofford coach Mike Ayers said. They flat punished us.Every game Ive watched, they havent had a lull in their play. Theyre very consistent in their psychological makeup, and theyre verry consistent in the Xs and the Os and the physical part of the game.dddddddddddd. This team is undefeated. Say no more.It should come as little surprise that The Citadel and Wofford rank 1-2 nationally in time of possession, with the Bulldogs 35:43 average giving them a six-second edge on the Terriers. But Thompsons team has been particularly unwilling to share in its last three games, holding it for 40:35 per contest.The ballgames gonna be determined by what team can get the other team off the field, Ayers said. If you dont win some third downs against those guys, theyll stay on the field all the way to the goal line.As good as both teams are at running the ball -- The Citadel averages 5.5 yards per carry while Woffords at 5.3 -- theres a bit of a defensive edge for the Terriers. Theyre allowing an FCS-low 2.1 yards per carry -- 1.8 better than the Bulldogs 3.9 -- and Ayers team is better defensively overall, yielding just 4.60 yards per play while The Citadel allows 5.47.The Bulldogs enter as just a 1 1/2-point favorite, so perhaps Las Vegas is factoring in the potential of a letdown -- or maybe there just isnt much separating these two mirror images.Theres little doubt, though, that Wofford needs it more in terms of making the playoffs. The Citadel has its signature win, gets a chance at another solid resume victory when Samford visits in two weeks and shouldnt have a problem getting in with a loss or two if it doesnt win the SoCon. The Terriers likely need to beat either the Bulldogs or Chattanooga to have a shot at getting an at-large spot.But Wofford has its sights set higher than sneaking in. Win Saturday and at worst the Terriers will finish the weekend tied for the conferences top spot in the loss column. Should The Citadel earn its first victory at Wofford since 1998, the Bulldogs might threaten to run away with it.Come Saturday, they might have found the team that can run with them. ' ' '