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MONDAY, APRIL 6, 2015 SPORTS 10-man Rangers break Hearts GLASGOW: Fallen Scottish giants Zeefuik pulled one back for Hearts to pile Rangers made light of captain Lee the pressure on in the final stages. McCulloch’s red card before half-time to Rangers formed a guard of honor for inflict only the second defeat of the sea- Hearts, beaten just once as they cantered son on champions Hearts yesterday with to the Championship title, as they a fine 2-1 victory and move up to second emerged at Ibrox, but that was to be the in the second tier Championship table. last sign of respect for the champions as The win means Rangers are three the hosts snapped and snarled into every points clear, and a game in hand, of challenge. Hibernian in the race for second spot Law was first to test Neil Alexander in while Hearts, who have a 23 point lead at goal as he sent a thumping shot straight the top, remain on course for a record at the Hearts ‘keeper from an early free- points tally for the Championship. kick. Rangers were playing at a furious “It was a great day’s work for us tempo and it was Miller who opened the against a top class Hearts side,” Rangers scoring for the Ibrox club with a well- manager Stuart McCall said. worked goal in the 28th minute. “In the first half there was some good Law raced forward and laid the ball off football with two really good goals and to the overlapping Lee Wallace whose there was terrific spirit in the end after cross was expertly swept home by the going down to ten men.” Scottish striker from 10 yards out. Hearts head coach Robbie Neilson The home side extended their lead in said his side didn’t do enough to win. “In the 38th minute through a superb strike the first half we let them press us and we from Vuckic. The Slovenian striker collect- played into areas that allowed them to ed a pass from Dean Shiels before drop- do that,” Neilson said. ping his shoulder and taking a step away “It wasn’t until we went two up front from his marker to curl a shot inside the that we started causing them problems, far post from the edge of the box. but we didn’t do enough to get a result.” Despite McCulloch’s shameful exit, the Rangers took a deserved lead in the 28th home side should have extended their GERMANY: Augsburg’s midfielder Markus Feulner (left) and Schalke’s defender Dennis Aoogo vie for the ball during the German First Division minute through veteran striker Kenny lead in the 58th minute when Law burst Bundesliga football match. — AFP Miller before on-loan Newcastle United forward and swung a cross in for Nicky playmaker Haris Vuckic curled in a sec- Clark who, with time and space, fired a ond ten minutes later. weak first-time effort straight at McCulloch did not lead by example as Alexander. Hearts pulled one back in the Hertha pull clear of he saw red for leading with his elbow in a 83rd minute through Zeefuik. Sow’s challenge with Osman Sow on the brink header was saved by Bell but Zeefuik was of half-time, but the ten men held on on hand to tap in the rebound from a until the 83rd minute when Genero couple of yards out. —AFP relegation places Ibrahimovic rumored to BERLIN: Hertha Berlin are set to stay in the Bundesliga since the start of February. a first relegation from Germany’s top flight, Hamburg next season after their 2-0 home yesterday pushed vis- Borussia Moenchengladbach and Bayer Leverkusen sacked Joe Zinnbauer ten days ago. His successor Peter itors Paderborn deeper into the relegation mire. posted big wins as the battle for third-place, and an Knaebel could only watch as his team was thrashed as have applied for US visa Second-half goals by Swiss international Valentin automatic Champions League spot, intensifies. Third- Gonzalo Castro and Stefan Kiessling both scored twice Stocker and midfielder Nico Schulz sealed the win at placed Gladbach enjoyed an impressive 4-1 comeback for Leverkusen. STOCKHOLM: Paris Saint-Germain The Swede has a contract with PSG Berlin’s Olympic Stadium to lift Hertha to 11th and sev- win at Hoffenheim which keeps them two-points clear Second-placed Wolfsburg remain seven points star Zlatan Ibrahimovic has applied for until June 2016 and has previously en points above the relegation places. of Leverkusen, who recorded a 4-0 win at home over clear of Gladbach with a 3-1 win at home to bottom a US visa, according to a Swedish said he considered ending his career The capital city club are unbeaten in their last four hapless Hamburg. VfB Stuttgart. Swiss midfielder Ricardo Rodriguez con- media report yesterday, stoking spec- with a major North American club. games while second-from-bottom Paderborn are Hosts Hoffenheim took the lead at home to verted a penalty and a free-kick either side of half-time poised for an immediate return to the second division Gladbach when forward Sven Schipplock enjoyed a before ex-Chelsea winger Andre Schuerrle came off ulation about his future with the While speculation was rife over after five defeats and a draw in their last six games. simple tap-in on 17 minutes, but Gladbach proved the bench to add their third. Freiburg find themselves Ligue 1 champions. Ahead of yester- whether Ibrahimovic was already in Bottom side Stuttgart, Paderborn and Hamburg are their mettle with three goals in ten first-half minutes as three-points clear of the relegation zone after their 1-0 day’s crucial game against Marseille, discussions with a club, Aftonbladet the sides currently in the relegation places with seven winger Patrick Herrmann scored twice. win at home to Cologne while Hanover dropped to tabloid Aftonbladet said the 33-year- said there had been suggestions that games left. Earlier, Schalke 04 and Augsburg’s hopes of Fourth-placed Leverkusen also underlined their just above the bottom three with a 2-2 draw at old PSG striker had applied for a non- the trip could also be related to an reaching next season’s Champions League suffered a Champions League pedigree by putting Hamburg to Eintracht Frankfurt. Hanover’s Ivory Coast striker Didier tourist visa at the US embassy in Paris advertising contract. Ibrahimovic will setback after their goalless draw. the sword and are currently on course for a Champions Ya Konan rescued his team with a late equaliser, his last month. go before the disciplinary commission Roberto di Matteo’s Schalke remain fifth in the League play-off place. first for the north German club since his six month “He was there on March 19 and of the French league on April 9 for German league, eight points behind fourth-placed With the team third from bottom and on course for sojourn at Saudi Arabian side Al Ittihad Jeddah. — AFP applied,” an anonymous source told scathing comments targeting the ref- Leverkusen, with the top four in Germany’s top flight the paper, adding that the immi- eree and the country of France after qualifying for next season’s Champions League. Sixth-placed Augsburg are a point behind Schalke German League results/standings grant visa he applied for allows PSG’s 3-2 top flight defeat at Bordeaux and are also destined to play in the Europa League long-term stays. on March 15. —AFP next season alongside Di Matteo’s Royal Blues if they keep their current place. Both sides had their chances Augsburg 0 Schalke 04 0, Hertha Berlin 2 (Stocker 68, Schulz 88) Paderborn 0. at Augsburg’s SGL Arena, but the point came at a price Played Saturday Herrmann 31, 51, Raffael 36); Werder Bremen Preview for Schalke, who lost midfielder Leon Goretzka with a Bayer Leverkusen 4 (Castro 7, 63, Kiessling 44, 0 Mainz 05 0; Eintracht Frankfurt 2 (Madlung thigh injury after only 15 minutes. The 20-year-old, 56) Hamburg 0; VfL Wolfsburg 3 (Rodriguez 27, Aigner 54) Hanover 96 2 (Marcelo 69, Ya who won his first cap for Germany last year, was mak- 41-pen, 65, Schuerrle 76) VfB Stuttgart 1 Konan 82); Freiburg 1 (Frantz 37) Cologne 0; Pellegrini wants fading ing his first start after an injury-ravaged season. On Saturday, Robert Lewandowski scored against (Harnik 44); Hoffenheim 1 (Schipplock 17) Bor. Borussia Dortmund 0 Bayern Munich 1 City to finish on a high his ex-club Borussia Dortmund to seal league leaders’ Moenchengladbach 4 (Kruse 26-pen, (Lewandowski 36). Bayern Munich’s 1-0 win which keeps them on course German Bundesliga table after yesterday’s matches (played, won, drawn, lost, goals for, goals for a third straight Bundesliga title. against, points): LONDON: Manuel Pellegrini has chal- the beginning of the season to the end. Lewandowski’s 35th-minute header clinched Bayern’s win which left them ten points clear at the top Bayern Munich 27 21 4 2 71 13 67 Borussia 27 9 6 12 34 34 33 lenged Manchester City to end the sea- That is the mentality we must have as a VfL Wolfsburg 27 17 6 4 60 30 57 Hertha Berlin 27 9 5 13 33 44 32 son with eight successive victories as the big team. of the table. Their victory underlines Bayern’s domina- tion in Germany and came without injured stars David Moenchengladbach 27 14 8 5 41 21 50 Mainz 05 27 6 13 8 35 36 31 champions look to revive their fading bid “So many times you ask me after a Alaba, Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery.