SOCCER
Kean on course for title
Former Blackburn Rovers boss Steve Kean remains on course to win his first trophy as a manager after his Brunei DPMM side edged past Geylang International on penalties to reach Friday’s Singapore League Cup final. The Scot, chased out of the English club after some vitriolic abuse from unhappy fans in 2012, could win a rare treble in his first season in Southeast Asia, with Brunei three points clear at the top of the 12-team table and also in the semi-finals of the Singapore Cup. Kean’s side are to face Tanjong Pagar United in Friday’s League Cup final after they downed Geylang 3-0 in the shootout after 120 goalless minutes.
SOCCER
S Korea to overhaul staff
The South Korea Football Association hopes to appoint a new technical chief this week, the first step in a overhaul that will end with a new head coach after the disappointing World Cup showing in Brazil. Former skipper Hong Myung-bo stepped down as coach after the team managed just one point in their group stage exit in Brazil following losses to Belgium and Algeria, with technical head Hwangbo Kwan following him out of the door. The association met on Monday with Hwangbo’s successor the top priority, followed by a restructuring of the technical committee and the inclusion of former national team coaches to it before they appoint a new manager. Former Celtic player and head coach Neil Lennon has been linked with the role as has Croatia’s Robert Prosinecki.
SOCCER
Player attacked in Brazil
Andre Santos, a defender with struggling Brazilian top-flight side Flamengo, was attacked by fans following Sunday’s 4-0 thrashing by Internacional in what his club called a “cowardly” act. The loss left the once proud Rio side bottom of the table after a run of just one win in 11 games. The fans allegedly lay in wait for Santos, who played for English Premier League side Arsenal from 2011 until last year, after the game in Porto Alegre and kicked and punched him as the team prepared to fly back to Rio, the player said. “I was kicked and punched. I was on my own save for a security guard. The police arrived straight away and helped me a lot but I received a lot of blows before I could get into the coach,” he told the Globo newspaper. “There have been various such cases in our country but we have to take them seriously. Yesterday it happened to me — but it could happen to anybody,” Santos said.
BOXING
Dereck Chisora cancels fight
Dereck Chisora has withdrawn from his European heavyweight title fight against Tyson Fury after fracturing his hand during a sparring session. The Londoner was set to meet Fury in Manchester to contest the European belt and the vacant British title on Saturday night, but the fight is now to be rescheduled with a new date to be announced shortly. “I can’t tell you how disappointed I am to have to pull out of the fight against Fury, but it is on the advice of my specialist that I have to do this,” Chisora said on Friday. After a bad-tempered runup to the fight, Fury reacted unsympathetically to his opponent’s withdrawal. “Told you all what would happen find me a real man to fight the furious1,” Chisora tweeted. “If any1 feels like a fight I’m in Bolton town centre& I feel like a rumble.” Saturday’s bout was also set to be a final eliminator for the WBO world title, currently held by Wladimir Klitschko. Chisora and Fury fought three years ago, with Fury winning on points.
Shohei Ohtani and Clayton Kershaw on Friday joined their Los Angeles Dodgers teammates in sticking their fists out to show off their glittering World Series rings at a ceremony. “There’s just a lot of excitement, probably more than I can ever recall with the Dodger fan base and our players,” manager Dave Roberts said before Los Angeles rallied to beat the Detroit Tigers 8-5 in 10 innings. “What a way to cap off the first two days of celebrations,” Roberts said afterward. “By far the best opening week I’ve ever experienced. I just couldn’t have scripted it any better.” A choir in the
The famously raucous Hong Kong Sevens are to start today in a big test for a shiny new stadium at the heart of a major US$3.85 billion sports park in the territory. Officials are keeping their fingers crossed that the premier event in Hong Kong’s sporting and social calendar goes off without a hitch at the 50,000-seat Kai Tak Stadium. They hope to entice major European soccer teams to visit in the next few months, with reports in December last year saying that Liverpool were in talks about a pre-season tour. Coldplay are to perform there next month, all part of Hong Kong’s
Shohei Ohtani, Teoscar Hernandez and Tommy Edman on Thursday smashed home runs to give the reigning World Series champions the Los Angeles Dodgers a 5-4 victory over Detroit on the MLB’s opening day in the US. The Dodgers, who won two season-opening games in Tokyo last week, raised their championship banner on a day when 28 clubs launched the season in the US. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts shuffled his batting lineup with all four leadoff hitters finally healthy as Ohtani was followed by Mookie Betts, then Hernandez and Freddie Freeman in the cleanup spot, switching places with Hernandez. “There’s a Teoscar tax to
Marcus Rashford’s first goals for Aston Villa on Sunday inspired a 3-0 win against Preston North End that sent his side into the FA Cup semi-finals for the first time in 10 years. Rashford struck twice in the second half at Deepdale to end Preston’s stubborn resistance before Jacob Ramsey wrapped up Villa’s long-awaited return to the last four. Villa are to face Crystal Palace — 3-0 winners at Fulham on Saturday — in the semi-finals at Wembley Stadium in London. Revitalized since joining Villa on loan from Manchester United during the January transfer window, Rashford is beginning to show the form that
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