■ NETHERLANDS
NAC Breda top the table
PSV Eindhoven scored four first-half goals on Saturday to beat Heracles Almelo 4-0 in the Dutch league, while NAC Breda drew 1-1 with NEC Nijmegen to go top. PSV’s big win lifted the defending champions to fifth in the league. Francisco Rodriguez opened the scoring in the 15th minute, Ibrahim Afellay made it 2-0 with his seventh goal of the season, before Danko Lazovic and Balazs Dzsudzsak completed the rout. In Breda, NEC took the lead against rivals NAC when Lasse Schoene fired in a left-foot shot from the edge of the area in the 27th minute. NAC earned the point that took them top when Edwin de Graaf headed in a second-half equalizer. In Enschede, Steve McClaren’s FC Twente humiliated Heerenveen 6-0. Defender Ruud Knol scored an injury-time equalizer to give Sparta Rotterdam a 3-3 draw with De Graafschap Doetinchem.
■ ENGLAND
Pardew leaves the Addicks
Charlton manager Alan Pardew left the struggling Championship club by mutual consent after his side’s 5-2 thrashing by Sheffield United on Saturday. Pardew paid the price for a woeful run of eight games without a win that left Charlton languishing in the relegation zone just 18 months after they dropped out of the Premier League. Speaking after the match, but before news of his sacking was confirmed, Pardew said: “My record coming to this club has been good, but it’s been difficult here. When I arrived they were on the slide and I haven’t been able to stop that. We’re in a sticky situation and I have to accept whatever decision is made.”
■ PORTUGAL
Sporting move up to third
A first-half goal from Liedson da Silva gave Sporting a 1-0 victory at Naval to temporarily move them into third place in the Portuguese league on Saturday. The Brazilian striker headed Derlei Fernandes’ pass home in the 15th minute at the Jose Bento Pessoa Stadium for only their second win in six games. Leixoes ensured they stayed top of the table after nine rounds on Friday with a 2-1 victory over Rio Ave.
■ TUNISIA
CS Sfaxien win Cup final
CS Sfaxien become the first club to win the African Confederation Cup twice after forcing a 2-2 draw at Etoile Sahel in the second-leg of the all-Tunisia final. The first-leg two weeks ago ended goalless and the Red Devils of Etoile were expected to use home advantage and add to eight African Football Confederation trophies won in 13 years. But Sfaxien got off to a dream start with Ghana-born striker Agyemang Opoku scoring after just two minutes. It took Etoile until 12 minutes into the second half to level through another West African striker, Nigerian Emeka Opara. However, Sfaxien regained the lead on 74 minutes via Abdelkrim Nafti, only for Aymen Abdennour to trigger a thrilling climax with an equalizer soon after.
■ SOUTH AFRICA
Miss World assists at draw
Brazil, Italy, Egypt and the US were drawn together on Saturday in much the tougher of the FIFA Confederations Cup first round groups. The other group includes hosts South Africa, Spain, Iraq and New Zealand in a draw conducted by FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke with assistance from the reigning Miss World and seven contestants for this year’s event. Highlights of the first phase include World Cup holders Italy against South American champions Brazil in Pretoria on June 21 and South Africa against European champions Spain a day earlier.
US track and field athletes have about four dozen pieces to choose from when assembling their uniforms at the Olympics. The one grabbing the most attention is a high-cut leotard that barely covers the bikini line and has triggered debate between those who think it is sexist and others who say they do not need the Internet to make sure they have good uniforms. Among those critical or laughing at the uniforms included Paralympian Femita Ayanbeku, sprinter Britton Wilson and even athletes from other countries such as Britain’s Abigail Irozuru, who wrote on social media: “Was ANY female athlete consulted in
Forget Real Madrid, Manchester City or Paris Saint-Germain, the world’s best soccer team — statistically speaking — might be a little-known outfit from the closed central Asian nation of Turkmenistan. Founded last year, Arkadag, named in honor of former Turkmen president Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, have been unstoppable, notching up 36 consecutive domestic victories in a run still ongoing. The side have not lost a single competitive match and swept to a league and cup double in their inaugural season — success unthinkable almost anywhere else. However, in Turkmenistan, it could hardly have gone any other way. The energy-rich country is one of the most closed
Former US Masters champion Zach Johnson was left embarrassed after a foul-mouthed response to ironic cheers from spectators after a triple bogey at Augusta National on Friday. Johnson, the 2007 Masters winner, missed the cut after his three-over-par round of 75 left him on seven-over 151 for 36 holes, his six on the par-three 12th playing a big role in his downfall. Television footage showed Johnson reacting to sarcastic cheers and applause when he tapped in for the triple bogey by yelling: “Oh fuck off.” Such a response would be considered bad form in any golf tournament, but is particularly out of keeping
Taiwan’s Lee Jhe-huei and Yang Po-hsuan on Saturday won the men’s doubles bronze medal at the Badminton Asia Championships in Ningbo, China, after they were bested by the hosts in their semi-final. The Taiwanese shuttlers lost to China’s Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang, who advanced to yesterday’s final against Malaysia’s Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzudin. The Chinese pair outplayed Lee and Yang in straight games. Although the Taiwanese got off to a slow start in the first game, they eventually tied it 14-14, before Liang and Wang went on to blow past them to win 21-17. In the second game, Lee and