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■NETHERLANDS

ADO The Hague top the table

Midfielder Ibrahim Afellay scored in the 58th minute on Saturday to give defending champions PSV Eindhoven a 1-0 win over Sparta Rotterdam in the Dutch league. It was Afellay’s third goal in two games, giving PSV a perfect six points and a share of the lead with ADO The Hague. ADO beat AZ Alkmaar 3-0 and lead PSV on goal difference to top the standings for the first time since January 1971. In Rotterdam, Jon Dahl Tomasson scored on penalties in the 14th minute and 30th minute to help Feyenoord rout newcomers FC Volendam 5-0. Substitute Diego Biseswar also netted a second-half double, before Michael Mols added a goal in the 90th minute as Feyenoord secured their first three points of the season. FC Twente drew 1-1 with NEC Nijmegen and former England coach Steve Mclaren is still looking for his first win with the club after an identical result last weekend. NEC substitute Joel Tshibamba canceled Eljero Elia’s first-half goal with an 88th-minute strike. Heerenveen fired 25 shots on target in their 2-2 draw against Heracles Almelo on Friday.



■ROMANIA

Timisoara play despite threat

First division team FC Timisoara fulfilled their fixture against Universitatea Craiova on Saturday despite the club’s owner threatening to boycott matches after they were docked six points. A Court of Arbitration for Sport ruling in 2006 found the club were wrongfully using the name and violet colors of the original FC Politehnica Timisoara and they were ordered to stop, but they agreed only to change the team name. World soccer’s governing body FIFA threatened to suspend the Romania Federation (FRF) unless FC Timisoara were docked points and soon after club owner Marian Iancu said the FRF decision, which he labeled “illegal,” meant the end of his “former club.” He added that his team “will [therefore] be kicked out of the competition” for not playing anymore. However, FC Timisoara, whose players wore yellow and black instead of their traditional violet shirts, turned up on Saturday and won 3-1 with three goals in the last eight minutes. The result leaves them on 10 points from seven matches.



■GREECE

Panathinaikos boost morale

Panathinaikos prepared for tomorrow’s Champions League opener against Inter by easing to a 3-0 win over Panthrakikos in the Greek Super League on Saturday. After losing their opening league game to AEK Athens, Panathinaikos delivered a morale-boosting performance against the newly promoted side from the northeastern city of Komotini. Brazil striker Souza opened the scoring after just 14 minutes and 33-year-old Greece defender Ioannis Goumas added a second 10 minutes before halftime. The Greens were cruising when Austria captain Andreas Ivanschitz fired in number three. Champions Olympiakos Piraeus, who face Danish side Nordsjaelland in the first round of the UEFA Cup tomorrow, had to work hard for a 1-0 win at Xanthi.



■PORTUGAL

Ronaldo gets Golden Boot

Manchester United’s Portugese winger Cristiano Ronaldo received the European Golden Boot trophy at a ceremony in his native Madeira on Saturday. It took place at a hotel on the mid-Atlantic island, fulfilling Ronaldo’s wish to receive the award where he was born as a tribute to his late father Diniz Aveiro. The European Footballer of the Year, who scored 31 goals in the Premier League last season, has been sidelined since surgery on his right ankle in July.


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