Sports FRIDAY, APRIL 10, 2015 Lokomotiv crush ex-champions Al Sadd 5-0 SINGAPORE: Uzbekistan’s Lokomotiv Muhannad Naim. 43rd minute. Iranian club Persepolis stayed less first half, South Korea’s Suwon raced inflicted a 5-0 defeat on former champions Bikmaev doubled the lead in the 14th on top of the group with nine points after away with goals by Kwon Chang-Hoon, Seo Al Sadd of Qatar as the race to qualify for minute after knocking down a cross from they defeated Saudi Arabia’s Al Nassr 1-0 Jung-Jin and captain Yeom Ki-Hun in a dev- the AFC Champions League last 16 from Jasur Khasanov and drilled a left-footer past with Mehdi Teremi scoring from the spot in astating 15-minute spell. Group C got desperate on Wednesday. the goalkeeper. Sanjar Shaakhmedov made the 61st minute. Luke DeVere pulled a goal back for the Marat Bikmaev scored twice inside the first it 3-0 in the 54th minute to all but seal the Earlier in East Asia, struggling Urawa Red visitors with 10 minutes remaining but they 15 minutes and the Tashkent side added result before substitutes Damir Kojasevic Diamonds denied Beijing Guoan a place in dropped to third place, six points behind three more in the second half as they exact- and Ruslan Korian put the issue beyond the last 16 as Shandong Luneng and Beijing with two games remaining. In Group ed revenge on the surprise 2011 champions doubt in the final 10 minutes. In another Kashiwa Reysol played out an eight-goal E, South Korean champions Jeonbuk who had won their first leg clash 6-2 in Group C match, Al Hilal of Saudi Arabia thriller. Urawa were hosting Chinese league- Hyundai Motors and Japan’s Kashiwa Reysol Doha last month. defeated Iran’s Foolad Kouzestan 2-0, with leaders Beijing on the back of three straight were also prevented from reaching the The win helped Lokomotiv move up to Nasser Al-Shamrani and Yasir al-Shahrani on defeats, and they were flirting with elimina- eliminators as they were held to draws. third spot with four points and open up target in the second half. Al Hilal and Al tion after Yu Dabao’s tap-in on 33 minutes. Kashiwa’s game was a belter as Shandong Group C where all four teams now entertain Sadd now have seven points with the Saudi But the Japanese side grabbed a lifeline in Luneng staved off possible elimination by hopes of qualifying for the next phase. side ahead on goal difference. front of their home fans in Saitama when coming from 3-1 down to lead 4-3 when Coach Vadim Abramov had demanded a Tomoaki Makino headed them level in the Yang Xu converted a penalty early in the reaction from his players after their humilia- Teremi keeps Persepolis top 74th minute for a 1-1 draw. The draw kept second half. But Shandong had to settle for tion in Doha and they responded in style In Group A, Qatar Stars League champi- Urawa last in Group G with their first point, a 4-4 draw when goalkeeper Wang Dalei with a seventh minute strike from Bikmaev, ons Lekhwiya edged past another Uzbek while Beijing remained top with 10 points, comically mishandled a 76th-minute free- who tapped in a rebound after Ikromjon side, Bunyodkor, 1-0 with Slovakian forward three ahead of Suwon Samsung, who beat kick by Brazilian forward Cristiano into his Alibaev’s effort was parried by goalkeeper Vladimir Weiss netting the winner in the Australia’s Brisbane Roar 3-1. After a score- own net. — AFP Celtic take a step closer to title with Thistle win GLASGOW: Celtic maintained their seven point advantage at the top of the Scottish Premiership as they ground out a 2-0 victory over ten-man Partick Thistle at Parkhead on Wednesday. The Hoops struggled to break down a well-organised Thistle side but made the breakthrough on the stroke of half-time when Kris Commons scored from the penalty spot after James Craigen saw red for a tackle from behind on Stuart Armstrong. The Scottish champions then spurned a number of opportunities before stand-in skipper Stefan Johansen finished off a fine move in the 63rd minute. The win keeps Celtic seven points clear of Aberdeen, who defeated Inverness Caledonian Thistle 1-0 at Pittodrie, as Ronny Deila’s side close in on their fourth successive Scottish Premiership title. “I am satisfied with the performance. The first 15 minutes was very good and we should have scored one or two goals,” Deila said. “Partick Thistle showed they are a good team, but we got our chances and our goals in the end.” Partick Thistle manager Alan Archibald took positives out of defeat. “I was proud of the players and the way they organized themselves,” Archibald said. “Their shape was good and they kept their discipline and created chances here, even with 10 men.” Only the woodwork prevented LEVERKUSEN: Leverkusen’s Gonzalo Castro (left) and Bayern’s Dante from Brazil fall during the German soccer cup (DFB Celtic from taking a first minute lead when Armstrong’s low deliv- Pokal) quarterfinal match between Bayer 04 Leverkusen and Bayern Munich on Wednesday, April 8, 2015. — AP ery into the box was diverted on to the bar by Dutch defender Virgil van Dijk. A minute later Johansen, captaining Celtic due to Scott Bayern book Cup semis Brown’s suspension, was clean through but Conrad Balatoni slide in to stop the midfielder’s shot. Balatoni then superbly took the ball off the head of Swedish striker John Guidetti as he looked to have the simple task of nodding home a lofted Emilio Izaguirre after penalty shoot-out pass before he blocked a fierce Gary Mackay-Steven in a busy start to the game for the Jags defender. At the other end Craig Gordon was at full stretch to tip Kallum Higginbotham’s volley Moenchengladbach knocked out round the post after he connected well with a Steven Lawless cross into the box. BERLIN: Holders Bayern Munich reached the played on April 28 and 29. “That’s ok for us, least two million euros ($2.1m) for reaching The first half looked destined to end goalless, but a moment of German Cup semi-finals after beating Bayer if you want to win the cup you need to beat the semi-finals. madness from Craigen handed the Hoops a 45th minute penalty. Leverkusen 5-3 in a penalty shoot-out on the best teams, so it’s Dortmund for us,” On Tuesday, a thunderbolt of a shot from The Jags player’s horror tackle brought down Armstrong as he Wednesday as their last eight clash finished said Bayern coach Pep Guardiola. Earlier, veteran midfielder Sebastian Kehl sealed bore down on goal, earning him a straight red, and Commons goalless after extra time. This is the sixth year minnows Bielefeld produced a classic Borussia Dortmund’s 3-2 extra-time win over expertly despatched the spot-kick beyond Scott Fox. Fox had to in a row that Bayern have reached the semi- German Cup upset by knocking out Hoffenheim to book their place in the last be alert to stop a low drive from Commons sneaking in at the start finals. Germany goalkeeper Manuel Neuer Bundesliga high-fliers Borussia four. The 35-year-old Kehl’s speculative half- of the second half as Celtic looked to make the most of their extra was Bayern’s hero at Leverkusen’s BayArena Moenchengladbach as their quarter-final volley flew perfectly off his boot and into the man advantage. However, the Jags ‘keeper didn’t see much action after saving Swiss striker Josip Drmic’s first was also decided by a penalty shoot-out. Hoffenheim net on 107 minutes to put again until the 63rd minute when he was helpless to stop spot-kick penalty to give Bayern the advan- Lucien Favre’s Gladbach, who are set to Dortmund in the semi-finals for the third tage. Thomas Mueller, Robert Lewandowski, play Champions League football next season, time in four years. Dortmund had taken an Johansen making it 2-0. The Norwegian played a backheel into Xabi Alonso, Mario Goetze and finally Thiago become the third Bundesliga side after early lead but Neven Subotic’s 19th-minute the path of Guidetti who returned the pass allowing Johansen to Alcantara, who is just back from a year’s Werder Bremen and Hertha Berlin to lose to goal was cancelled out by Hoffenheim’s bury a shot low into the bottom right-hand corner. absence with injury, all then drilled home Arminia on their march to the semi-finals. Kevin Volland just 102 seconds later. Brazil Elsewhere, Dundee leapfrogged Hamilton into the top six as their spot kicks to put Munich in the last four. Bielefeld held their nerve to win the penalty international Roberto Firmino put they claimed a 3-1 win over Dundee United at Dens Park. Greg “No-one deserved to lose a game like shoot-out 5-4 as it finished 1-1 after extra- Hoffenheim 2-1 up at half-time before Pierre- Stewart’s shot squirmed through the legs of United stopper that,” said Neuer. “You could really see that time. Arminia took the lead at their sold-out Emerick Aubameyang equalized midway Radoslaw Cierzniak before Nadir Ciftci equalized from the penalty no-one wanted to make a mistake. “Of Schueco-Arena after midfielder Manuel through the second-half as it stayed 2-2 at spot two minutes later when Kevin Thomson blocked a shot with course, it’s a bitter result for Leverkusen, Junglas fired home with 26 minutes gone.