SOCCER
Real Madr id go through
Holders Real Madrid had to dig deep to come from two goals down and beat heavily bankrolled Malaga 3-2 in their Spanish Cup Last 16 first leg clash in Madrid on Tuesday. Malaga — who have been transformed since Qatari Sheikh Abdullah Al Thani invested in them — were looking comfortable after goals by Sergio Sanchez and Martin de Michelis put them ahead, but Real roused themselves to gain a slight advantage ahead of the second leg in Malaga next week. Three goals in 10 minutes in the second-half by German midfielder Sami Khedira, Argentinian striker Gonzalo Higuain and French strike partner Karim Benzema saw a first-choice Real side edge to victory. Both Malaga’s goals came from headers before the half hour mark.
SOCCER
Havenaar joins Dutch team
Japan striker Mike Havenaar has completed a medical and joined up with his new teammates at Dutch first division club Vitesse Arnhem. The beanpole 24-year-old, who left relegated J-League side Ventforet Kofu to join Vitesse, had also been linked with German club Wolfsburg before opting for the Netherlands. Havenaar, whose Dutch father Dido is the goalkeeping coach for Japan’s Shimizu S-Pulse, was born and raised in Japan. He has signed a two-year-plus contract with Vitesse, who also have Japanese defender Michihiro Yasuda on their books, to run until the end of the 2014 season. Havenaar made his national team debut as a substitute on Sept. 2, when Japan squeezed past North Korea in their opening 2014 World Cup qualifier. He then scored twice in an 8-0 thrashing of Tajikistan in another home qualifier and netted 17 J-League goals last year to finish second in the scoring charts, two behind Australia striker Josh Kennedy.
SOCCER
QPR appeal red card
Queens Park Rangers are appealing to the English FA following the red card awarded to Joey Barton in Monday’s match against Norwich City. The struggling west London club said on their Web site that they had lodged a formal appeal and would be making no further comment. Barton was dismissed for an off-the-ball incident with Norwich’s Bradley Johnson after 34 minutes, when he appeared to headbutt his opponent during the Premier League match at Loftus Road which Norwich won 2-1 after Barton had given Rangers an early lead. Both Barton and his manager Neil Warnock vehemently protested the sending off after the game, with Warnock claiming that referee Neil Swarbrick and his linesman were “conned” into sending off the Rangers skipper. “The assistant referee has guessed, if I’m honest,” Warnock told BBC Sport. “Who says cheats don’t prosper? Bradley has conned him.” Barton said the officials told him at halftime that they “never saw” the incident with Johnson.
CRICKET
Sri Lanka in Twenty20 bid
Sri Lanka is in negotiations to host Indian Premier League (IPL) matches to raise money for its financially strapped cricket board, the Cricinfo Web site reported yesterday. Upali Dharmadasa, the newly elected president of Sri Lanka Cricket, told the Web site he had approached the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to schedule some of the Twenty20 league’s games on the island. “Make it a venture,” he said. “On the whole, they [the BCCI] will help Sri Lanka as a tourist attraction and see that Sri Lanka Cricket comes up.”
MARRED FINAL: As most of Senegalese players walked off the pitch after a controversial decision, some supporters threw objects and attempted to get onto the pitch Senegal on Sunday won the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) as Pape Gueye’s extra-time winner sunk hosts Morocco 1-0 after a chaotic final that saw the eventual champions storm off the pitch late in the game. Brahim Diaz could have won the trophy for Morocco with a controversial spot-kick in the 24th minute of added time at the end of normal time as ugly scenes broke out in the stands. However, Senegal goalkeeper Edouard Mendy easily saved the weak attempted “Panenka” chip by the Real Madrid winger, who was clearly distracted by the long delay that followed the penalty award.
James Harden on Friday scored 31 points and came up big in overtime to help the Los Angeles Clippers erase a double-digit deficit on the way to a 121-117 NBA victory over the Toronto Raptors. Harden scored 16 points in the fourth quarter and overtime as the Clippers pushed their wining steak to five games despite the absence of star Kawhi Leonard with a sprained right ankle. The Clippers trailed by 11 entering the fourth quarter, but Harden drilled a pair of free-throws with 1:24 left in regulation to tie it and after misses from both teams, they went to
Dallas Mavericks rookie Cooper Flagg on Wednesday was ruled out for the second half of their 118-109 loss to the Denver Nuggets after the No. 1 pick sprained his left ankle in the first half. Flagg was called for a foul while defending against Peyton Watson and turned the ankle as he fell to the floor with 6 minutes, 1 second left in the second quarter. Flagg limped to the bench and continued to the locker room, but returned for the final 2 minutes, 35 seconds before the break. The 19-year-old did not come out for the second half before the announcement that
Yassine Bounou on Wednesday saved two penalties, while Youssef en-Nesyri netted the decisive spot-kick as hosts Morocco secured a 4-2 shoot-out victory over Nigeria following a 0-0 draw in a tense Africa Cup of Nations semi-final in Rabat. Morocco, seeking their first continental title in 50 years, are to face 2021 winners Senegal in Sunday’s decider in Rabat, while Nigeria take on Egypt in the third-place playoff tomorrow. The 120 minutes before the shoot-out had few clear-cut chances for either side, but it was Morocco who created more opportunities, although they were denied by some fine saves from Nigeria goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali. Nigeria
RSS