SOCCER
Egypt win penalty shoot-out
Veteran 44-year-old goalkeeper Essam El Hadary saved Bertrand Traore’s spot-kick as Egypt beat Burkina Faso 4-3 on penalties on Wednesday to secure their place in the Africa Cup of Nations final. A tense semi-final in Libreville, Gabon, had ended 1-1 after 90 minutes and extra-time, with AS Roma star Mohamed Salah’s superb 66th-minute opener for Egypt quickly canceled out by Aristide Bance for Burkina Faso. That goal was the first conceded by El Hadary — the oldest ever player at the Cup of Nations — in 653 minutes at the tournament going back to 2010. Abdallah El Said missed Egypt’s first penalty in the shoot-out, but El Hadary kept the Pharaohs in it when he saved from opposing goalkeeper Herve Koffi, before denying Traore. Unbeaten in 24 games at the tournament, Egypt play Cameroon or Ghana in the final on Sunday.
SOCCER
Totti fires Roma to semi-final
A last-gasp penalty from Francesco Totti fired AS Roma into a Coppa Italia semi-final with city rivals SS Lazio after a shaky 2-1 win over AC Cesena on Wednesday. Totti was given a rare start by Roma coach Luciano Spalletti, but it took the Serie A title challengers until the 68th minute to hit the mark, Edin Dzeko making up for a series of glaring misses by sweeping Stephan El Shaarawy’s pass from the left past onrushing goalkeeper Federico Agliardi. Second-tier Cesena were given a chance to pull level when Roma goalkeeper Alisson, standing in for Wojciech Szczesny, almost collided with defender Kostas Manolas as he rose to challenge for a high ball, spilling it into the path of a thankful Luca Garritano, who fired home from the edge of the penalty area on 73 minutes. The match looked to be heading for extra-time until Totti stepped up to beat Agliardi from the spot in the seventh minute of stoppage-time.
CRICKET
Morgan laments batting
Skipper Eoin Morgan said England’s batting collapse in the third Twenty20 international was their worst performance in recent times after India inflicted a crushing defeat in the series decider in Bengaluru. Chasing 203 for victory, England’s much-vaunted batting lineup imploded on Wednesday, losing their final eight wickets for eight runs after being set to push for victory. Leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal’s 6-25 combined with Jasprit Bumrah’s three wickets ripped through the English middle and lower order, with five batsmen being dismissed without scoring. “I can’t put my finger on it. We haven’t produced a batting performance as bad as that in two-and-a-half years,” Morgan said.
ICE HOCKEY
Blues fire coach Hitchcock
The Blues abruptly fired coach Ken Hitchcock on Wednesday, cutting short the veteran’s final season in St Louis and putting coach-in-waiting Mike Yeo in charge of the underperforming team months earlier than planned. General manager Doug Armstrong announced the change one day after the Blues’ fifth loss in six games. “We don’t lose with pride,” Armstrong said. “I don’t think that we’ve given our best effort and Ken, ultimately he’s paying the price with all our failures, starting with mine.” Hitchcock had a 248-124-41 record and made the playoffs in each of his five seasons, but St Louis are 24-21-5 and mired in eighth place in the Western Conference.
MOTHER KNOWS BEST: Warriors’ coach Kerr said his 91-year-old mother criticized him for his attitude toward officials that led to his ejection from Monday’s game Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on Wednesday rescued the Oklahoma City Thunder with a game-tying buzzer-beater before finishing with 46 points in a 129-125 overtime victory against the Utah Jazz. The reigning NBA champions looked to be heading for a third straight loss after the Jazz inched into a 114-112 lead following Lauri Markkanen’s layup with just three seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. However, NBA Most Valuable Player Gilgeous-Alexander drained a superb 13-foot jump shot to tie it up at 114-114 as the buzzer sounded to send the game into overtime. Gilgeous-Alexander then took over in the extra period with nine points as the Western
Mohamed Salah’s Egypt knocked reigning champions Ivory Coast out of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) with a 3-2 win in the quarter-finals on Saturday, while Victor Osimhen starred as Nigeria beat Algeria 2-0 to set up a clash with hosts Morocco. In Agadir, Morocco, a thrilling last-eight tie saw Omar Marmoush and Ramy Rabia net in the first half for the Pharaohs before an own goal by Ahmed Aboul-Fetouh brought the Ivorians back into it. Salah then got Egypt’s third early in the second half and they held on after Guela Doue again reduced the deficit. Egypt is to face Senegal
AUSTRALIAN ADVENTURE: Sabalenka aims to follow up with a third Australian Open win, while Taiwanese Joanna Garland claimed a WTA 125 title in Canberra Aryna Sabalenka beat Karolina Muchova in straight sets to reach her third Brisbane International final in a row yesterday, a week ahead of the Australian Open. Sabalenka looked in great touch against the tricky Czech, who had won their last three meetings and went into the match as one of the few players with a winning record over the world No. 1. However, Sabalenka showed her class and power as she broke Muchova once in each set to take the semi-final 6-3, 6-4 in 89 minutes to face Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk in the final. “I struggled against her a couple of times [in
Brandon Miller scored 18 points, LaMelo Ball had 17 and the Charlotte Hornets built a 47-point lead in the first half of a 150-95 rout against the Utah Jazz on Saturday night. It was the second-biggest win in franchise history for the Hornets and their largest on the road. The Hornets bounced back from a pair of frustrating losses in a big way, having fallen to Toronto by one point and Indiana by two in their last two games. Charlotte pounded the NBA champion Thunder by 27 in Oklahoma City before those defeats, previously the Hornets’ most lopsided victory of the season. Tre
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