SOCCER
Tahiti beat New Caledonia
Lorenzo Tehau scored his fifth goal in two matches as Tahiti held off a brave rally from nine-man New Caledonia to win 4-3 in Honiara, Solomon Islands, on Saturday and stay unbeaten atop Group A at the Oceania Nations Cup tournament. Tehau scored four goals in Tahiti’s 10-1 opening-round win over Samoa and was again joined by brother Alvin Tehau among the goalscorers as Tahiti stayed on track for the semi-finals. However, they had to battle hard for their second win of the tournament as New Caledonia, who won their opening match 5-2 over Vanuatu, rallied strongly after trailing 3-0 in the 54th minute when they lost a second player to a yellow card. Georges Gope-Fenepej was sent off in the 28th minute for a deliberate handball and Jean-Patrick Wakanumune in the 54th minute for a dangerous challenge.
SOCCER
Honduras defeat El Salvador
Carlo Costly and Allan Lalin scored in the second half as Honduras beat El Salvador 3-0 at RFK Memorial Stadium in Washington on Saturday in the final tuneup for both teams before resuming World Cup qualifying. Victor Bernardez also scored early for Honduras. Emilio Izaguirre set up two of the goals with crosses from the wing. Honduras’ Brayan Beckles was sent off for a reckless challenge in the 84th minute, moments before Lalin’s goal.
RUGBY UNION
Weepu named an All Black
New All Blacks coach Steve Hansen made his first major team announcement a contentious one when he included scrumhalf Piri Weepu in his 30-man squad for Tests against Ireland, despite Weepu’s recent lack of fitness or form. Hansen, who took over from Graham Henry after New Zealand’s World Cup victory in October last year, had previously named 35 players to attend training camps in preparation for the three-Test series, which begins in Auckland on Saturday. In refining that squad, including seven new caps, Hansen gave the first clear sign of the player he believes will take New Zealand on from the World Cup success.
CRICKET
Barath, Bravo save Windies
Adrian Barath and Darren Bravo both made 50s against Leicestershire as they rescued the West Indies from yet another top-order collapse on their tour of England on Saturday. The West Indies are already 2-0 down in the three-match Test series heading into this week’s climax at Edgbaston, with their top order having repeatedly slumped during the series. It looked like the tourists were set to suffer yet more embarrassment when the struggling Kieran Powell and Kirk Edwards both fell in the same over at Grace Road in Leicester from seamer Nadeem Malik to leave the Windies 25 for two. However, a third-wicket stand of 111 between opener Barath (53 not out) and Bravo (66) helped propel their side to 150 for three at the close of the first day of this two-day match. Edwards, the Windies’ acting captain, opted to bat after winning the toss. Powell had managed just nine when he was caught behind by Ned Eckersley off Malik’s first ball. However, Barath, who has looked the most promising member of a weak top four, got the tourists going again with his favored cover-drive and Bravo followed suit to bring up the West Indies’ 100 off Malik. Barath’s 50 took 136 balls, but was no less valuable for that, before bad light ended play for the day with Assad Fudadin 7 not out.
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
His team were knocked out of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in agonizing fashion on Tuesday, but the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s (DR Congo) human statue Michel Kuka Mboladinga would be remembered as the tournament’s most remarkable supporter. The colorfully dressed Kuka has earned fame as the fan who stands completely immobile throughout his team’s games, looking toward the sky with his right arm raised and palm open. He has become a media star and on Tuesday was accompanied by a delegation of several hundred Congolese supporters whose trip to Morocco was paid for by the country’s government. They took their
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