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MONDAY, JUNE 12, 2017 SPORTS Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Zambia suffer shock losses ABUJA: Former African champions Bouake. Zambia, champions in 2012, fell Nigeria coach Gernot Rohr. Libya top low cross. Before then, Chipolopolo lost 1-0 to Mauritania in front of their Nigeria, Ivory Coast and Zambia all lost 1-0 at home to a daring Mozambican Group E after a 5-1 spanking of goalkeeper and captain Kennedy fans in Francistown after they failed to at home Saturday on a day of upsets in side in Group K. Seychelles on Friday in Cairo, Egypt. Mweene had to pull off a point-blank put away many chances. the first qualifying round for the 2019 New South Africa coach Stuart Baxter In Bouake, the Elephants of Ivory save to deny the visitors. This gutsy contest was decided on 78 Cup of Nations. labelled his team the underdogs going Coast went down to Guinea despite a Guinea-Bissau, shock qualifiers for minutes when substitute Abdoulaye Three-time champions Nigeria lost a by their poor head-to-head record brace by Seydou Doumbia. Germany- the 2017 Cup of Nations, edged past Soudani controlled a long ball before fir- competitive game against South Africa against Nigeria. But goals by Tokelo based striker Naby Keita fired the winner Namibia thanks to a Jerson goal on 24 ing past the Botswana goalkeeper. for the first time when they fell 2-0 in the Rantie and substitute Percy Tau in the for Guinea in the 79th minute. minutes in the other Group K fixture. Hosts Burkina Faso won the other southern Nigerian town of Uyo in Group second half sunk the home team and Zambia also got off to a losing start Cameroon and Malawi both won in Group I tie against Angola 3-1 with big E. While in Group H the Ivory Coast, who the visitors were unlucky not to have on the road to Cameroon 2019 when Group B. Reigning champions Cameroon striker Aristide Bance bagging a brace. had vowed to win in memory of former scored more goals in the Group E clash. they lost for the first time to pipped Morocco 1-0 in Yaounde while Burundi beat South Sudan 3-0 in Group team-mate Cheick Tiote, who collapsed “My young team tried their best, Mozambique at home. Malawi beat the Comoros by the same C with Mali fought back from a goal and died in China this week, slumped 3- there was a mistake for the first goal and Stanley Ratifo grabbed the last-gasp scoreline in Blantyre. down to beat Gabon 2-1 in Bamako in 2 to fellow west Africans Guinea in the second goal was a gift,” admitted match winner when he stabbed home a In Group I, the Zebras of Botswana the other group game. — AFP Lewandowski hat trick keeps Poland on course for WCup WARSAW: Robert Lewandowski hit a hat Islamkhan was sent off for a foul on William trick and stretched his 11-game run of scor- Kvist. Kazakhstan’s task was made even ing in successive World Cup qualifiers as harder early in the second half when Yuri Poland consolidated its lead in Group E by Logvinenko conceded a penalty for a foul beating Romania 3-1 on Saturday. on Yussuf Poulsen. Lewandowski made no mistake from Christian Eriksen duly scored from the the penalty spot before the half-hour mark spot, and though Islambek Kuat pulled one after he had been fouled by Cristian back on a counterattack, Danish substitute Sapunaru, then claimed his 10th goal of Kasper Dolberg ended any hopes of a this campaign with a header from open comeback with his side’s third. play. He completed his hat trick with anoth- Denmark stayed third, level on 10 points er penalty just after the hour, after Alin with Montenegro. Tosca fouled Piotr Zielinski. Bogdan Stancu pulled one back with a MONTENEGRO 4, ARMENIA 1 brilliant finish for Romania but Poland nev- Montenegro captain Stevan Jovovic er looked likely to drop to its first defeat as scored a hat trick and set up another goal it restored its six-point lead in the group. to steer his side to an impressive win that Lewandowski took his tally for this cam- keeps it in pole position for second place. paign to 11 goals, level with Portugal star Jovovic got the hosts off to a great start Cristiano Ronaldo. when he set up Fatos Beciraj in the second Group winners from the nine groups minute, then made it 2-0 with low shot qualify automatically for the 32-team World from edge of box and struck his second Cup in Russia, while the eight runners-up after the break. with the best records against the sides first, Jovovic completed his hat trick with a third, fourth and fifth in their groups go on brilliant scissors kick late on, before Ruslan to play-offs to decide the other four tourna- Koryan scored a consolation of sorts for ment places allocated to Europe. Armenia. Montenegro, which needed Danijel Petkovic to deny Marcos Pizzelli an KAZAKHSTAN 1, DENMARK 3 equalizer after Beciraj scored, avenged its Denmark maintained its push for a play- 3-2 defeat to Armenia in Yerevan last off place with a comfortable win in Almaty, November. KINGSTON: Usain Bolt (C) of Jamaica reacts after winning his final race in home country during the Racers Grand Prix at the national stadium in where the home captain Bauyrzhan Montenegro moved back ahead of Kingston, Jamaica, on Saturday. Bolt partied with his devoted fans in an emotional farewell at the National Stadium on June 10 as he ran his Islamkhan was sent off with a straight red Denmark on goal difference, while Armenia final race on Jamaican soil. Bolt is retiring in August following the London World Championships. — AFP card before the break. Nicolai Jorgensen stayed fifth on six points, level with opened the scoring for the Danes before Romania in fourth on goal difference. —AP ATHLETICS Drogba scores in debut Bolt shakes off nerves to win with American side SCOTTSDALE: It wasn’t in front of tens of “It took me five weeks to kind of get final race on Jamaican soil thousands at London’s famed Stamford back in shape. I still need a few weeks to Bridge, nor the masses inside World Cup improve, but it’s good to start at home,” KINGSTON: Usain Bolt partied with his devoted without the support of my parents.” The nine- “His contribution has been mammoth. A fig- venues of years past. But Didier Drogba’s Drogba said. fans in an emotional farewell at the National time Olympic gold medallist Bolt did not run in ure to all of us in his sport and I wish him the presence on the pitch before a sellout On Saturday, Drogba took the field to Stadium on Saturday as the world’s fastest man the fastest 100 metre race of the evening, but his best of luck. “There is nowhere else I would crowd of 7,062 in 100-degree heat at an lead warmups with a throng of photogra- ran his final race on Jamaican soil. Bolt wanted devoted fans didn’t care. He ran in front of a sea rather be as president of IAAF than in this stadi- American second-division facility Saturday phers recording his every move and fans in to go out in a blaze of glory as he won the 100 of green and yellow clad Jamaican fans who um with you tonight.” night still created a buzz. the single-tier seating bowl shouting his metre “Salute to a Legend” race in front of a rau- showed their pride by dancing, waving flags and He said he plans to run the 100m at the Drogba, wearing No. 11 in red and the name. The club issued an estimated 30 cous crowd of 30,000 on the same track where blowing vuvuzela horns while fireworks lit the London World Championships but he still has a captain’s armband, made his playing debut press credentials, three times the amount he launched his international career at the world sky. Bolt said the reception he received was larg- lot of work to do to get ready. “My execution was for USL side Phoenix Rising FC about two for a typical match since the season opener. juniors in 2002. The 30-year-old Bolt leaped out er and louder than he anticipated. “I never bad and my start was poor,” he said of Saturday’s months after agreeing to join the club as As he took the pitch for the start of the of the blocks and cruised to victory in a time of expected this. I knew it was going to be big but race. “It is my first race and I didn’t expect any- player and part owner. He looked sharp game, Drogba raised both arms in salute of 10.03, well below his world record time but the stadium was jam-packed with people sup- thing spectacular. “I just wanted to come out from the start and rewarded the crowd and the Rising supporters groups, La Furia Roja good enough to beat a solid field. porting me I appreciate that,” he said. “To see here and put on a show for the crowd and thank those watching around the world online and Los Bandidos. “I don’t think I have ever been that nervous to everybody turn out shows that what I have done them for the support.” with the game’s opening goal in the 40th The lone striker at the top of Rising’s for- run the 100 metres,” said Bolt, who is retiring in for the sport is a big deal to them.” In other events, Jamaica’s Yohan Blake won minute.

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