Saints hit Gunners for four
STOKE, England (AP): Arsenal and Manchester United were embarrassed while Chelsea drew in an erratic Premier League that was as unpredictable as ever yesterday. And despite losing at Liverpool, Leicester’s surprise lead was maintained. Man United manager Louis van Gaal might not stick around in England to see if Leicester can win the league for the first time. A 2-0 loss at Stoke condemned United to a fourth consecutive loss in all competitions for the first time since 1961, and pushed the team down to sixth place. Van Gaal lamented his players’ inability to handle the pressure, and partly blamed the windy conditions at Stoke. The manager then conceded he might be at fault and suggested he could resign. “I do my utmost best to find solutions to cope with the pressure,” van Gaal said. “But in the end, my players have to do that by themselves.” It was a hapless first-half performance, and van Gaal questioned why his players “don’t dare to play football”. Memphis Depay’s diving backward header allowed Bojan Krkic to put Stoke in front, and Marko Arnautovic powered in a second goal from outside the penalty area. Wayne Rooney was forced to start a league game on the bench for the first time in two years, and United provided a greater threat only with its captain on the field in the second half. But a combination of poor finishing and Jack Butland’s saves prevented United from leaving Stoke with anything. Van Gaal’s comments and demeanour suggest his stay at Old Trafford is reaching an endgame after barely 18 months in charge. “I can also quit by myself,” van Gaal said when asked about receiving assurances about his job security, before adding: “It is not always … the club has to fire or sack me.” Asked if he would be in charge at Old Trafford on Monday when United plays Chelsea, van Gaal said: “You will have to wait and see, but I think so.” There was a bigger humbling for Arsenal, who missed the chance to go top after being thrashed 4-0 by Southampton. Cuco Martina’s half-volley put Southampton in front, and Shane Long scored twice either side of Jose Fonte’s header as the hosts rose to 12th place. Arsenal stayed two points behind Leicester, who lost 1-0 at Liverpool after conceding from Christian Benteke. Manchester City quickly recovered from losing at Arsenal on Monday to thump struggling Sunderland 4-1 to stay third. There were four different City scorers: Raheem Sterling, Yaya Toure, Wilfried Bony, and Kevin De Bruyne. A change of manager at Chelsea produced no quick fix. Guus Hiddink’s first match in charge ended in a 2-2 draw at home to high-flying Watford after Oscar missed a second-half penalty that could have secured back-to-back wins. Watford came from behind after conceding from Diego Costa’s volley to take the lead at Stamford Bridge. Troy Deeney levelled from the spot and Odion Ighalo put the visitors in front before Costa equalised with his second. While Chelsea remains two points above the relegation zone – and 13 points from fourth place – Watford is behind United only on goal difference in seventh place. Other results: Tottenham 3 Norwich 0; Bournemouth 0 Crystal Palace 0; Aston Villa 1 West Ham 1; Newcastle 0 Everton 1; Swansea 1 West Brom 0.
P W D L GF GA GD Pts1. Leicester 24 14 8 2 44 26 18 502. Man City 24 14 5 5 46 23 23 473. Tottenham 24 12 9 3 44 19 25 454. Arsenal 24 13 6 5 37 22 15 455. Man Utd 24 11 7 6 31 21 10 406. West Ham 24 10 9 5 38 28 10 397. S’hampton 24 9 7 8 32 24 8 348. Liverpool 24 9 7 8 30 34 -4 349. Watford 24 9 6 9 27 26 1 3310. Stoke City 24 9 6 9 24 28 -4 33 P W D L GF GA GD Pts11. Everton 24 7 11 6 43 34 9 3212. Crystal P 24 9 4 11 25 29 -4 3113. Chelsea 24 7 8 9 32 34 -2 2914. W’ Brom 24 7 8 9 23 31 -8 2915. B’mouth 24 7 7 10 29 39 -10 2816. Swansea 24 6 8 10 23 32 -9 2617. Norwich 24 6 5 13 28 46 -18 2318. N’castle 24 5 6 13 25 44 -19 2119. S’land 24 5 4 15 28 47 -19 1920. Aston V 24 2 7 15 18 40 -22 13
Pint-sized striker Peter Keyes thought he had unlocked a victory for Boys’ Town over defending champions Arnett Gardens in the Trench Town derby on Monday night, when he fired his team ahead in the 46th minute.His hopes were dashed in the 54th minute when defender Dicoy Williams headed home a Marcelino Blackburn cross to tie the scores.”Scoring was a good feeling and the way we played is work in progress. Since the last month, we have put in some hard training and it is paying off. The last two games I have scored back-to-back goals, so it is a good sign,” said Keyes, who was disappointed not to win the game.”The goal against us was a mishap between the defenders and the goalkeeper. We had a slip-up and paid the price, but it is always good to get a point away from home.”We came into the game with positive thoughts; hoping to win or even come home with a draw, but we can’t curse ourselves. We really played well in stages and came home with a point, and that is good enough,” the former Vauxhall High Manning Cup player said.While most people would have written off Boys’ Town’s chances of advancing to the semi-final, the player who is in his second stint at Boys’ Town after stops at Waterhouse and Cavalier believes they have a realistic chance.”The aim is to stay in the League and remain competitive. The semi-finals are still not out of our reach. The fourth-placed team is on 39 points and we are on 35 points and with four games to go, that is 12 points, so if we continue to work hard and get some three points here and there, it is not impossible,” said Keyes.Despite being on the wrong side of his career, Keyes, like most players in the League, still harbours thoughts of a much-coveted national cap.”I am 29 and once you are playing and performing and you have condition, it is never out of your mind. You always have a national call in the back of your mind. I have been working hard over the years and if one should come right now, I would grasp it with both hands,” said the man who has so far scored six goals this season.
Joshua Daniel Alleyne, a standout at the Mayberry Preparatory and Primary Schools Swimming Championships, shattered four individual records in helping his school to second place courtesy of the highest overall individual performance.Meanwhile, a total of 38 prep and primary swimmers broke records, while there were six relay marks set at the highly entertaining and compact event.Twelve-year-old Alleyne is Sts Peter and Paul Preparatory’s head boy and contributed a whopping 43 points to their title ambitions, which saw them finishing second best behind Wolmer’s Prep’s 232.50 points, with 148.Young Alleyne trains every day except Tuesdays at the National Aquatics Centre, where he has gone unbeaten in over three years, and swept four records last year.He will be looking to attend his preferred choice, Campion College, later this year.Mother, Norma Kerr Alleyne, describes the young swim sensation as a metaphor for youngsters who work really hard to excel.”He is one of those youngsters who puts in his time. He does try his best,” she told The Gleaner.Though Joshua had to prepare for his Grade Six Achievement Test, he balanced it well with swimming.”Obviously, we hope that he is going to go to Campion (College). His brother is there,” said his mother.The brilliant young swimmer’s record-shattering feats last Saturday included the boys’ 11-12 50m backstroke, which he won in 35:89; the 11-12 50m freestyle in 30:25; and the 12 and under 100m freestyle in one minute 07:45 seconds.Joshua also took the 11-50m breaststroke, emphatically shaving off .36 seconds from 40.88 to 40:52 seconds.The long-standing development meet has nurtured and fostered the development a number of swimmers.
PANAMA CITY, (CMC):Jamaica’s Montego Bay United conceded two first-half goals as they slumped to a 3-0 defeat to Arabe Unido in their opening Group H game of the CONCACAF Champions League at the Estadio Maracana here Wednesday night.JosÈ Gonzalez and Renan Addles both netted to give the hosts a 2-0 lead at the break, before Enrico Small added a third late in the second half, to wrap up the points.The defeat left Montego Bay with a tall order to qualify, as they face powerful Major League Soccer’s DC United in their next game later this month.Hoping for a bright start, the Jamaican outfit were behind after just 12 minutes when Yoel Barcenas set up Gonzalez, who fired past goalkeeper Jacomeno Barrett from inside the area.It was Barrett who was at fault for the second goal, seeming to misjudge Addles’s free kick from nearly 30 yards out, and watching helplessly as the ball bounced past him.Montego Bay kept the scoreline intact until eleven minutes from the end when Small finally broke through to complete a convincing victory.The 26-year-old eluded his marker and climbed on to a free kick to power past Barrett from point-blank range.
Zimbabwe cricketer investigatedover racial slurHARARE, Zimbabwe (AP):A Zimbabwe cricketer witha history of disciplinary problems is being investigated for making a racial slur on social media where he referred to black people as “apes”.Zimbabwe Cricket said it is looking into comments posted on Facebook by batsman Mark Vermeulen. Vermeulen was responding to a complaint made by black player Prosper Utseya alleging racism in Zimbabwe cricket.In the post made back in July, Vermeulen wrote that black people wouldn’t have any problems “if we had left them in the bush”, and Utseya might be happier if he was living “in his mud hut”. He referred to black people as “the apes”.Vermeulen, who has played nine Tests and 43 one-day internationals but has been in and out of the team, could face a life ban in Zimbabwe after a series of previous problems.Ex-T&T captain submitspoll candidacy to FIFABERNE, Switzerland (AP):David Nakhid’s campaign team says the former Trinidad and Tobago captain has submitted his candidacy to FIFA to stand in February’s emergency presidential election.Campaign strategist Josanne Leonard told The Associated Press by email that “Nakhid’s papers and five nominations have been lodged with FIFA”.Presidential hopefuls have until October 26 to submit their candidacies for approval by FIFA’s election committee.As well as being backed by five federations, candidates must have had an active role in football for at least two of the last five years and pass integrity checks.Those checks could prevent Michel Platini from being declared a candidate since he is currently serving an ethics suspension.England’s Taylor to makehistory in men’s gameADELAIDE, Australia (AP):England wicketkeeper Sarah Taylor will make history today when she becomes the first woman to play in a men’s A-grade cricket match in Australia.Taylor will appear for the Northern Districts club against Port Adelaide on the opening day of a two-day match in South Australia’s elite men’s competition.No woman has played in the competition since it began in 1987 and it is believed none has done so in a two-day match in a men’s A-grade tournament in any other state. Former Australia fast bowler Cathryn Fitzpatrick played one Twenty20 match for the Dandenong club in Victoria in 2006-07.Taylor, who is the current ICC Women’s International One-Day Cricketer of the Year, said she is “nervous and excited” about her debut.”I’ve always wanted to push myself and check where I’m at in terms of my cricket,” Taylor said.
All season, track and field fans have had a dilemma. With the JAAA schedule packed on every Saturday from the start of the year, hard choices have been made. If you saw the slip-surge 10.44-second run by Calabar High School’s Christopher Taylor at the Camperdown Classic, it meant you missed the determined 52.4 4x400m anchor leg by Junelle Bromfield for STETHS at the Western Relays. Choosing either one meant almost certainly missing the 51.91-metre record discus heave by Excelsior throws princess Shanice Love at the King of the Rings at the Antrim-Mountain View Avenue-based institution. That dilemma disappears on Saturday with the Gibson/McCook Relays. As is customary, there are no other meets on the JAAA schedule on the day when the Gibson/McCook Relays presents a feast for sprint fans. First staged as the Gibson Relays in 1973, the meet is a festival of speed. The 4×100-metre relay is at the foundation of the meet, with preparatory, primary, secondary and tertiary student-athletes all attempting to move their batons around the National Stadium track at high speed. Bordered by the meet-opening and meet-closing 4x400m relays, Gibson/McCook also has competitions in the 4x200m, 4x800m, the sprint medley and selected individual events. Jamaica has always loved the sprints, so while other meets have come and gone, the Relays has retained its appeal. Many view it as a prelude to the ISSA Boys and Girls’ Championships and use it as an indicator for the results of that high-energy high-school meet. Hence, the core of the support of the Gibson/McCook has long come from past students of the champion teams in the land. With no scheduling dilemma to split the attentions of the fan base, this Saturday should be no different. In recent years, interest has been boosted by the presence of superstars who have foregone the traditional move to the United States of America to study and train. This has given fans an early-season glance at Usain Bolt, Asafa Powell, Brigitte Foster-Hylton and the like. Very few have the opportunity to see them at the Olympics or the World Championships, so it’s a day aficionados cherish. Bolt has been a brilliant source of speed and excitement. His Racers team holds the men’s 4x100m record at a phenomenal 38.08 seconds. That was at the 2010 renewal, when the tall man also zipped through a 4x400m anchor leg in 44.2 seconds in vain. Last year, he made the news worldwide for a race his Racers team lost by inches, the men’s 4x100m to the University of Technology. Relays are the team event of athletics. It takes co-operation to pilot the baton, from start to finish, safely and quickly enough to win. The speed, the fine margins for error, and the excitement, has kept fans on the edge of their seats and on their feet during each of the previous 39 stagings of the event. Don’t be surprised if it happens again on Saturday. – Hubert Lawrence has made notes at trackside since 1980.
FIRST SUPER-6 FANCIES (1) FORCE DE HOUR/GOLDEN BULLET (2) RICHIE’S PIK/LEGAL ARENA (3) SIR BIGGS (4) GOLD MINER/ZANDRINA (5) DA JACKAL/CHEERS (6) ALEXANDER/EXPRESS TRUCK WITH the Pick-9 and Super-6s having been caught on Wednesday, both start anew on tomorrow’s mammoth 13-race programme, which commences as early as 11.15 a.m. The Pick-9 will embrace races five to 13, the first Super-6 from race one to six, the late Super-6 from eight to 13. We look at the first Super-6, which commences with a $550,000-$500,000 claiming race to be contested by seven starters over 1400 metres, including the recent winner, FORCE DE JOUR, with 3.0kg claiming apprentice Bebeto Harvey riding for veteran trainer Robert Darby Sr. FORCE DE JOUR beat RED FLAG and EDISON over 1100 metres on January 31 in a highly competitive overnight allowance race, and now edging down to high claiming company, should tick off his eighth win from his last 11 races. ACTION MAN, who won recently, and the consistent GOLDEN BULLET, should ensure that FORCE DE JOUR is extended. RICHIE’S PIK, with champion jockey Shane Ellis riding for trainer Collin Blair, looks best of a moderate lot in the second race again over 1400 for maiden four-year-olds and up. The four-year-old son of War Marshall was a fast-finishing second to LAGUNA POINT over the straight course on January 1 and followed up with a fair effort behind MINY LEE on January 9. On both occasions, he was ridden by the sparingly-used jockey Phillip Parchment. Ellis could make all the difference tomorrow. LEGAL ARENA looks the obvious danger in a field of 10. SIR BIGGS, who has been knocking at the door lately, gets the nod over old rival SCAR in the third race over a mile to be contested by nine starters. SIR BIGGS, who will now be ridden by top apprentice Linton Steadman for trainer Donovan Plummer, went under in a close finish to TURBO MACHINE CAT over 1400 metres on January 31, a race in which SCAR was just behind in third and is a danger to SIR BIGGS as a result of that performance. The last three races in the first Super-6 should be won by GOLD MINER (Omar Walker up), down in class DA JACKAL (Aaron Chatrie), and ALEXANDER with Dane Nelson aboard.
STOCKHOLM (AP):Zlatan Ibrahimovic deliberated, tapped his fingers on the desk in front of him and let out a beaming smile.The Sweden striker had just been asked if he had received an offer to join Manchester United and his actions spoke as much as his words.”Let’s see what happens,” he said, laughing.Ibrahimovic is looking for a team for next season after leaving Paris Saint-Germain and has been heavily linked with United, who are set to hire Jose Mourinho as their new manager. Mourinho and Ibrahimovic got on well during their time together at Inter Milan.He said he has received “concrete offers” from clubs in England, Italy and other countries but didn’t mention any team by name.”I have taken my decision,” Ibrahimovic said after a training session with the Swedish national team. He didn’t elaborate.Asked if Mourinho was the right man for United, Ibrahimovic said: “I think it’s a great move. If you want action, you bring Mourinho. I believe he is the man to bring them back to the top, yes. Wherever he went, he won. He knows what he is doing. If you want to win, you bring Mourinho.”Ibrahimovic added that he is in regular contact with the Portuguese coach.Ibrahimovic joined PSG from AC Milan in 2012. Before that he was in Barcelona on loan in 2010 and the move was made permanent the following year. He also spent three seasons at Inter and two at Juventus.Ibrahimovic also won the Dutch league twice with Ajax and the Spanish title with Barcelona before lifting another Serie A trophy with Milan.A serial winner of trophies, like Mourinho, Ibrahimovic said that, at 34, he is “only warming up.””I have proved age is just a number,” he said. “Everything is in your head. Whatever you want to do, you will do it. It’s a mind game. If I want to make it, I’ll make it. If I want to do it, I’ll do it. I’m not worried at all.”
POSITIVE STROKE PLAYER POTCHEFSTROOM, S A (CMC): Wicket-keeper Shane Dowrich believes his transition to the one-day format will not be a difficult one, as he gears up for his first-ever 50-overs series with the West Indies side starting next week. The 25-year-old was a late inclusion in the 15-man squad for the Tri-Nations Series in Zimbabwe against the hosts and Sri Lanka, after veteran batsman Marlon Samuels pulled out. Dowrich has been impressive in his eight Tests to date since making his debut last year and said he was thrilled by the prospect of one-day cricket. “I’m very excited. Things seem to be going my way this year. I’ve been putting in a lot of work in the background, and it seems to be paying off,” the Barbadian said here during the one-week camp. “I’m excited about the one-day tour; it’s a new chapter for me. I haven’t really played a lot of one-day cricket but I think it is something to look forward, and it is something I am very interested in as well.” Dowrich is competent gloveman and a stylish lower-order batsman who has impressed with four half-centuries in 14 Test innings. A positive stroke-player, the right-hander has already gathered three first class hundreds, in averaging nearly 37. However, he said there would be tweaks needed for both his batting and glove work, in order to be successful in the one-day format. “For me, one-day cricket is about being smart. You have to look to bat 50 overs, but you still have to be positive in your intent and I’m a positive person, so I don’t think it will be a big transition for me, but just being selective and being able to pick gaps and that sort of stuff [will be important],” he pointed out. “In terms of the keeping, [I have to be] a little more explosive and mobile in terms of movement. That’s all I have to really work on going into the one-day series.” Dowrich made headlines recently as West Indies stunned Pakistan to win the third and final Test in Sharjah by five wickets recently. He stroked an upbeat, unbeaten 60 to help pull West Indies out of trouble at 67 for five, and steer them to their target of 154 on the final day. Dowrich said the victory – the only one of the nine-match tour for West Indies – had been a huge boost for the Caribbean side. “Obviously, the vibe is very good around the setup right now. After winning the game, the guys are chirpy and you can see it in terms of the practice sessions,” he noted. Reflecting on his role in the victory, he said vice-captain and fellow Barbadian Kraigg Brathwaite who finished not out on 60, had been an inspiration. West Indies will leave here at weekend and play their first game of the Tri-Nations Series against Sri Lanka next Wednesday in Harare. – S.F.