TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2014 SPORTS

Time to heed the ‘don’t kill Rooney’ advice again

LONDON: Don’t kill Wayne Rooney. It’s ened out.” “He will have to accept that as a further win in seven matches this season. “I could be achieved before the 2016 advice that is as pertinent now for Just six games into his captaincy it part of the pressure.” Before Saturday, think everyone knew (I was in the European Championship, with San English football as it was eight years ago was seen by some as a throwback to the Rooney had not been sent off since wrong),” Rooney said. “So I am just Marino and Estonia, the weakest teams when offered as Sven-Goran Eriksson’s days when the striker was defined by his October 2011, when he kicked out at a grateful that the lads were able to hold in England’s qualifying group, the oppo- last act as England coach. hot-headedness and his chances of win- Montenegro player during a Euro 2012 on.” nents next month. When one of Eriksson’s successors, ning the captain’s armband for club and qualifier. The last United dismissal came Had United lost again, Rooney would United will have to cope without Roy Hodgson, announces his squad for country seemed as thin as his receding two years before that, receiving a sec- undoubtedly have faced a far more hos- Rooney for the entire month of October. next month’s European Championship hairline. While it took a hair transplant ond booking and unleashing abuse at tile reaction from critics who resent him A consequence of the early League Cup qualifiers this week, questions over to bring the follicles back to life, the referee, a habit that seems to have for earning 300,000 pounds ($487,000) a loss to lower-league MK Dons means Rooney’s temperament will once again Rooney’s confidence and leadership been eradicated from his game. week. the three-match suspension will be be raised. abilities have developed with maturity. How many times was Vidic, the previ- The latest contract terms were served entirely in the Premier League. One rash swing of the right boot at When Nemanja Vidic left United in ous holder of the United armband, sent agreed last year after Rooney agitated The greatest beneficiary could be Juan Stewart Downing on Saturday earned May, it was Rooney against Robin van off in the Premier League? Twice last for a transfer unsuccessfully for a sec- Mata, the $60-million January signing Rooney a straight red card while cap- Persie for the captaincy, and new man- season alone, and six times in total ond time. However much those actions who was demoted to the bench on taining Manchester United against West ager Louis van Gaal overlooked his com- across nine seasons. divided sections of the United fan base, Saturday, with Rooney not eligible until Ham on Saturday. The tackle was wild patriot. Rooney has been dismissed just Rooney will now surely end his career at the Nov. 2 derby against Manchester and needless, coming inside the West When Steven Gerrard retired from twice in 313 league appearances for Old Trafford as one of the club’s greats City. Ham half. England duty after a woeful World Cup, United. Unfortunately for the former alongside Bobby Charlton, even if his “It is tough,” Rooney said. “So I just Reckless rather than malicious, even the 28-year-old Rooney was Hodgson’s Everton prodigy, Saturday’s blip came conduct hasn’t always matched that of have to make sure I train well and be though it earns a three-match suspen- obvious choice as the most experienced while marking a decade since his United the gentleman of English football. ready for when I come back.” And sion for serious foul play, with no appeal and vocal member of a youthful squad. debut. At Old Trafford, Rooney couldn’t Rooney is just 31 goals from the 250- ensure he remains as contrite as he is being sought. “Baggage,” is how Hodgson replicate his 2004 debut hat trick mark that would overhaul Charlton as now. “Don’t kill him, I beg you,” Eriksson “I tried to trip him up,” Rooney described Rooney’s past indiscretions against Fenerbahce, but significantly he United’s all-time leading scorer. The tar- said after Rooney was sent off as offered by way of explanation. “As he and flare-ups on international duty after did score before the Downing kick and get to claim Charlton’s England record is England exited the 2006 World Cup. “He pushed the ball away, my leg straight- being handed the honor, conceding: United did still collect just its second 50 and he needs nine more goals. That is a fantastic player.”—AP Boca Juniors eye upset victory over River Plate

ARGENTINA: Such is the must-win status Bombonera five days earlier and have 13 of the “Superclasico” that Boca Juniors points. would have gone to El Monumental confi- “We are Boca and we have to win (the dent of upsetting high-flying arch-rivals derby), for the shirt, for what it represents, River Plate even at their lowest ebb this to shorten the distance (behind River),” season. Argentina’s biggest match, like the Agustin Orion, Argentina’s third-choice world’s other major derbies, is a game goalkeeper at the World Cup in Brazil, told apart in which the result does not necessar- reporters. ily follow form, although unbeaten champi- onship leaders River are favourites on their RACING RALLY own turf next Sunday. Striker Gustavo Bou, who began his River, with a goals record of 21-5 in nine career at River, has lifted Racing with five matches have been pegged back by two 1- goals in a week contributing to a haul of 1 away draws, the latest at Lanus on seven points out of a possible nine to help Sunday, after a run of six wins in a row. his side climb back into title contention The league’s top scorer, Colombian Teo with 16 points. Gutierrez, claimed the equaliser from out- Bou, who has struck up a good partner- side the box against a tough Lanus team ship with former Inter Milan striker Diego gunning for River’s title to take his tally to Milito, scored twice in Sunday’s 4-1 win eight. over Belgrano in Cordoba, having also River have 21 points, promoted scored a brace at Boca. Independiente 18, after Sunday’s 2-0 home South American champions San Lorenzo win over Rosario Central, and Lanus 17. are struggling for the form they will need if Newell’s Old Boys, with 16 points, can climb they are to challenge for the Club World into second with a victory over Banfield in Cup title in Morocco in December and went Rosario on Monday. down 2-0 at home to Gimnasia on River’s slight dip in form may be partly Saturday. due to the loss through injury until next “We are worried and extremely angry year of young holding midfielder Matias because the team aren’t playing well,” said Kranevitter, widely regarded as a new coach Edgardo Bauza, who in 2008 steered Javier Mascherano in the making. Ecuador’s LDU Quito to the Club World Cup FRANCE: Marseille’s French forward Andre-Pierre Gignac (right) challenges Saint-Etienne’s Senegalese defender Moustapha Sall during the Boca, rejuvenated since coach Rodolfo final against Manchester United in Japan. French L1 football match. —AFP Arruabarrena took over from Carlos Bianchi “I think the players are struggling to a month ago, did their confidence some reach the level of concentration they had good with a 1-0 home win over Quilmes with that achievement (winning the having been upset 2-1 by Racing Club at La Libertadores Cup last month).” —Reuters Marseille strengthen lead

PARIS: Midfielder Gianni Imbula and winger All the goals came in the second half, with lead in the 51st when center half Bakary Kone Dimitri Payet scored first-half goals Sunday as Rennes striker Mahamadou Habibou canceling beat goalkeeper Remy Riou with a glancing French league leader Marseille beat Saint- out winger Wahbi Khazri’s opener for Bordeaux header from Alexandre Lacazette’s free kick. Etienne 2-1 at home to record a sixth straight before Toure pounced in the third minute of But Kone then gave away a penalty in the win. injury time. 72nd, knocking over Chaker Alhadhur and Imbula put Marseille ahead after just seven Rennes looked the more dangerous side Jordan Veretout converted. PSG was held 1-1 minutes with a low shot that skimmed inside before Khazri’s goal, with winger Paul-Georges at Toulouse on Saturday, drawing for the fifth the post, and Payet doubled the lead in the Ntep causing problems with his pace and tech- time in eight league games ahead of its 28th after converting Ghana winger Andre nique. He created chances for center forward Champions League clash with Spanish league Ayew’s cross from the left. Ola Toivonen and Steven Moreira but they leader Barcelona today. —AP “We have to be honest. This is all down to were unable to take them. the coach (Marcelo Bielsa),” Marseille goalkeep- The win gives Bordeaux 17 points, putting it er Steve Mandanda said. “He’s precise, every- two points behind Marseille. Lille is third with one knows their role.” 15 points and two-time defending champion Saint-Etienne’s attack featured Turkey striker Paris Saint-Germain is one point behind. Matches on TV Mevlut Erding and 17-year-old Allan Saint- “The players never gave in, they finished the (Local Timings) Maximin, and he set up defender Jonathan game exhausted and they still managed to go Brison’s goal in the 53rd to ensure a tight fin- and get a winner in the closing stages,” said UEFA Champions League ish. But Marseille came closest to scoring again Bordeaux coach Willy Sagnol, France’s right when top scorer Andre-Pierre Gignac saw his back when it reached the 2006 World Cup final. CSKA V Bayern 19:00 shot well saved by goalkeeper Stephane “The players deserve it. Everyone is giving beIN SPORTS 4 HD QUITO: Players of the Brazilian women’s national soccer team celebrate after winning Ruffier in the 84th. everything they have.” beIN SPORTS 1 HD FR the Women’s Copa America in Quito, Ecuador. The final game against Colombia end- “We knew it would be a big game at home Rennes midfielder Abdoulaye Doucoure’s BATE v Bilbao 21:45 ed in a 0-0 tie, but Brazil was able to win on points. —AP and we wanted to keep our winning run early shot went just over the crossbar and beIN SPORTS 8 HD going,” Marseille winger Andre Ayew said. “We Bordeaux goalkeeper Cedric Carrasso made a beIN SPORTS Max 6 played really well in the first half and then we smart double save to thwart Toivonen and Man City v Roma 21:45 eased up a bit and conceded the goal. But we Doucoure midway through an entertaining beIN SPORTS 1 HD Chivas held to 0-0 draw showed we have a great team spirit.” Ayew first half from the visitors. beIN SPORTS 1 HD FR praised the notoriously turbulent Marseille Bordeaux scored against the run of play in CITY: Chivas had two players sent Sunday with a 40th-minute tap-in. He fans, who are fully behind the team this sea- the 73rd minute when Toure got past two PSG v Barcelona 21:45 off during the second half in a 0-0 draw at volleyed another nine minutes into the sec- son. defenders before crossing from a narrow angle beIN SPORTS 3 HD home against Puebla on Sunday and ond half, and struck from close range in the “The stadium was boiling hot tonight,” he to the back post, where Khazri was left Sporting v Chelsea 21:45 slumped to 15th spot in Mexico’s first divi- 60th. Santos pulled one back via a Carlos said. “We’re all enjoying this and there’s noth- unmarked to fire home. beIN SPORTS 2 HD sion. Puebla’s goalkeeper Rodolfo Cota saved Izquierdoz header in the 70th, but Layun ing better.” After eight matches, Marseille has The lead was short-lived as Habibou equal- beIN SPORTS 2 HD FR Angel Reyna’s penalty attempt in the 51st scored again in the last minute of regulation 19 points and is five ahead of bitter rival Paris ized seven minutes later, finishing after Apoel v Ajax 21:45 minute, and Chivas struggled after Nestor time. Monterrey’s Lucas Silva struck from out- Saint-Germain, which is in fourth place. Carrasso had tipped away Doucoure’s shot beIN SPORTS 5 HD Vidrio and Israel Castro were sent off. side the area in the 8th, and doubled his “Marseille is a candidate for the title,” Saint- from the edge of the penalty area. Toure’s goal beIN SPORTS Max 5 Miguel Layun scored all four goals as team’s lead with a shot into the left net in the Etienne coach Christophe Galtier said. Fourth- came in the third minute of injury time. A long Shakhtar v Porto 21:45 league leader America thrashed Santos 26th. Edgar Castillo scored a deflected long- place PSG has 14 points and leads Metz and ball was played into the penalty area and beIN SPORTS 7 HD Laguna 4-1 to keep a four-point buffer over range strike for Atlas in the 84th, but it came Saint-Etienne on goal difference. imposing Mali striker Cheick Diabate chested it second-place Monterrey, which had a 2-1 vic- too late to be anything more than a consola- Meanwhile, midfielder Thomas Toure creat- down to Toure, who curled the ball expertly beIN SPORTS 3 HD FR tory over Atlas. tion. Toluca’s Pablo Velazquez scored a header ed the opening goal and scored the winner past goalie Benoit Costil. Schalke v Maribor 21:45 In other 10th-round results, Queretaro from a corner in the 14th and the referee with seconds remaining as second-place Elsewhere, Lyon drew 1-1 at Nantes and beIN SPORTS 6 HD drew 1-1 with Toluca, Veracruz defeated awarded a penalty for Queretaro after Camilo Bordeaux beat Rennes 2-1. Lens drew 0-0 at home to Caen. Lyon took the beIN SPORTS Max 4 Tijuana 1-0 after David Villalva’s 23rd-minute Sanvezzo went down in the area seconds strike, Pachuca lost 3-2 to Tigres, before halftime. It was Sanvezzo, rather than beat Leon 1-0, Morelia overcame Leones Ronaldinho, who claimed and scored the Negros 2-1, and Pumas drew 2-2 with penalty on the former Brazil star’s home Chiapas. Layun opened his account on debut. —AP N Korea women defeat South

INCHEON: North Korea beat hosts and arch- demanding reunification of the peninsula torn Mi could not clear. The ball fell to Ho who rivals South Korea 2-1 with an injury-time goal apart since the 1950-53 Korean War. made no mistake and was quickly buried Monday to set up a priceless chance for A delegation of about 30 North Korean ath- under a mass of celebrating players. South revenge against Japan in the Asian Games letes and the 500 regular South Korean foot- Korean coach Yoon Duk-Yeo was among those women’s football final. Substitute Ho Un-Byol ball fans were drowned out by the political reduced to tears. His North Korean counter- seized on a defensive error to fire in the win- cacophony. part Kim Kwang-Min praised the players for ning goal just seconds from the end. North There was no trouble between the two their fightback after giving up the first goals. Korean tears of joy were matched by the Korean women’s sides. With national honour “Our players were running on fumes in the South’s cries of desperation. at stake they battled for every ball for 90 min- second half,” he said. Japan, who beat the North in the 2010 utes. Jeong Seol-Bin put the South ahead in The North, who have twice won the Asian Games final, hammered Vietnam 3-0 in their the 12th minute with a 25-metre free kick that Games title and want a third to boost their semi-final through goals from Mizuho went under the body of the North’s goalkeep- preparations for next year’s World Cup, now Sakaguchi and Kana Osafune, and a header er Hong Myong-Hui. Ri Ye-Gyong equalised take on a Japanese side who beat them 1-0 from Yuika Sugasawa in the 74th minute. before half-time. four years ago. A bizarrely divided Korean crowd cheered Both sides then had chances-Ji So-Yun North Korea beat the Japanese women in a on the two sides as they met for the first time thundered one 25 metre shot against Hong’s penalty shootout in the 2006 final in Doha. For in an Asian Games semi-final. About 1,000 old- crossbar-but the game seem destined for Japan, the semi-final against Vietnam was in er supporters of the South Korean hosts were extra time in the rain until the South’s defen- comparison a stroll before the final on MEXICO: Cruz Azul’s (right) and Jaguares’ Martin Bravo, battle for a matched by another 1,000 middle-aged mem- sive error gifted victory. Lim Seon-Joo made a Thursday. They had more than 20 shots while header during a Mexican soccer league match. —AP bers of a cheer squad for North Korea and panic header back that goalkeeper Kim Jung- the Vietnamese had barely a chance. —AFP