■BRAZIL
Flamengo take derby honors
Adriano struck twice as Flamengo beat Fluminense 2-0 in their Rio derby in front of a record Maracana crowd while leaders Palmeiras won 3-1 at Santos in the Brazilian championship on Sunday. Adriano, who has revived his career at home in Brazil since leaving Inter in April, took his leading scorer’s tally to 15 at the Maracana, where 78,409 fans set a Brazilian championship record for the season. “The Emperor” scored twice in 12 minutes early in the second half to lift Flamengo into sixth place and push their “Fla-Flu” derby rivals deeper into relegation danger. Fluminense forward Alan was taken from the pitch in an ambulance in the second half after a clash with Flamengo defender David but the club later said he was not seriously hurt. Palmeiras coach Muricy Ramalho, whose side are five points clear, is dreaming of a fourth successive title having steered Sao Paulo to the championship in the last three years. “We don’t have a super team but we have very determined athletes who never give up,” Ramalho told reporters after Palmeiras came from a goal down for the win.
■ARGENTINA
Palermo heads Boca to win
Striker Martin Palermo headed a remarkable winner in Boca Juniors’ 3-2 victory over Velez Sarsfield on Sunday. Boca ended a run of four defeats to give coach Alfio Basile a boost while arch-rivals River Plate’s coach Nestor Gorosito resigned after his team lost 2-1 at San Lorenzo. Argentina’s big two clubs are well off the championship pace, with Boca eight points behind leaders Estudiantes, who have 16 after seven matches, and River 11 adrift. Estudiantes are a point clear despite Saturday’s 1-0 defeat at Argentinos Juniors, who climbed to second, while title holders Velez dropped to third a point further back, level with Banfield. Boca twice equalized after goals by Velez forward Leandro Caruso early in each half — first with midfielder Sebastian Battaglia’s diving header after half an hour, then with Juan Roman Riquelme’s exquisitely placed drive into the top right corner in the 64th minute. Ten minutes later Velez goalkeeper German Montoya cleared weakly from the edge of his box down the middle where Palermo headed straight back from more than 35m into the unguarded net.
■NEW ZEALAND
Skipper should be fit
New Zealand assistant coach Brian Turner is confident captain Ryan Nelsen will be fit for the crucial first leg of their World Cup qualifying playoff against Bahrain on Saturday. Nelsen missed Blackburn Rovers’ 6-2 defeat by Arsenal in the English Premier League on Sunday with a back injury, but Turner said he expected Nelsen would lead his country in Manama. Turner and several New Zealand based players joined coach Ricki Herbert and his A-League Wellington Phoenix players already in Dubai yesterday, where they will prepare for the game before traveling to Bahrain on Friday.
■BOSNIA
Fight leaves one dead
Media reports say one person was killed and several injured when rival fans fought before the start of a game. Bosnian TV said the fight erupted as soon as Sarajevo fans arrived in the southern town of Siroki Brijeg on Sunday. The station quoted witnesses as saying that shots could be heard and several vehicles were set on fire, including a police car. Windows of nearby shops and private homes were smashed by stones the rival groups threw at each other. Sarajevo fans are predominantly Muslim Bosnian, and fans of the Siroki Brijeg team are Catholic Croats.
RSS