Africa Cup of Nations ~ Ivory Coast keep clean sheets but still lose
Zambia celebrated a penalty shoot-out victory over Ivory Coast in the final of the Africa Cup of Nations last night. It is the fourth time in seven tournaments the competition has been settled by penalties, the most recent coming in 2006 when Ivory Coast lost to Egypt. The Elephants became the first side history to lose the tournament without conceding a single goal in normal or extra time. Zambia triumphed 8-7 in the shoot-out, defying their underdog position and winning the tournament for the first time.

In 1993 a plane crash killed 18 Zambia players as they were taking off from the Gabonese capital of Libreville, where last night's final was played. The Chipolopolo players said the tragic crash was the inspiration for their victory.

Premier League ~ Grant Holt responds to Swansea boos
Two of the promoted sides laid on an exciting display of attacking football at the Liberty Stadium, as Norwich City inflicted Swansea's second home defeat of the season. Having lost 3-0 at Swansea last season, Norwich were determined to get revenge. It came in the form of Grant Holt. The striker enraged Swansea fans this week when he tweeted "good team nice ground shame there welsh" [sic]. He was booed throughout the match, but scored twice as the Canaries won 3-2 win. Norwich are now eighth in the table, just four points behind Liverpool.

Championship ~ Leeds fans protest against Bates
Leeds United fans marched from the city centre to Elland Road before their game against Brighton to protest against Ken Bates' leadership and the direction the club is moving in. Although they lie four points short of the Championship play-offs, Leeds have not beaten a team that has finished the game with 11 men since Millwall on December 3. On Saturday they lost 2-1 to a Brighton team managed by Gus Poyet. The Uruguayan would be a popular choice as manager of Leeds, though he has said it is not the right time for him to take the position. This news will come as a blow to Leeds fans, who watched Poyet's team go above them in the league thanks for Alan Navarro's injury-time winner.

League One ~ Blades pile pressure on Owls
Only three League One games survived the cold weather this weekend, two of which involved the Sheffield clubs. United ended the weekend happier, having swept aside Wycombe Wanderers at Bramall Lane. Wednesday lost 2-1 at Exeter. United have been in fantastic form recently, losing just twice in 11 games and scoring plenty of goals in the process. With Ched Evans and new loanee Will Hoskins up front, United will be confident they can move into the automatic promotion places. They sit one point behind Wednesday with two games in hand. Next up, though, are fourth-place Huddersfield Town, with the Steel City derby looming at the end of the month.

League Two ~ Torquay's amazing form continues
With all but three matches in League Two postponed, Torquay United beat promotion rivals Shrewsbury 1-0 to move up to fourth place. Having won only three games until mid-October, Torquay have taken 38 points from the last 45 available. They are now just three behind leaders Cheltenham, who will be disappointed they only managed a draw away at Hereford United, though that point did return them to the division's summit.

Bundesliga ~ Schalke lose out at top in Germany
Borussia Monchengladbach increased their chances of lifting the Bundesliga title with a 3-0 win over Schalke. The sides, fourth and third respectively before the match at Borussia Park, were both trying to close the gap on Dortmund at the top of the league. The win put Gladbach above their opponents. They remain three points behind the leaders and one behind second-place Bayern Munich. That this was a top of the table clash at all is remarkable, as both clubs were almost relegated last season. Tom Hocking

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