NNBA|BA Page 5 GOLF| Page 6 Westbrook Wallace beats lift s Thunder Johnston in over San play-off to win Antonio Spurs Indian Open Monday, March 12, 2018 CRICKET Jumada II 24, 1439 AH De Villiers, Rabada GULF TIMES excel as S Africa take control SPORT Page 4 FOOTBALL/AFC CHAMPIONS LEAGUE Duhail target last 16 spot, Rayyan hope for fi rst win Lokomotiv suff ered two defeats in a row on the road, but have an excellent record when playing on their home ground By Sports Reporter Al Duhail barely got time for Doha extended celebrations aft er nailing the title with a 5-0 win over Al Kharaitiyat resh from their QNB Stars corresponding with challengers League triumph, Al Duhail will Al Sadd’s heartbreaking defeat aim to become the fi rst team to to Umm Salal on Friday seal their spot in the last 16 of Fthe AFC Champions League when they means Al Rayyan can concentrate on take on Uzbek giants Lokomotiv in a their Asian campaign. Group B clash in Tashkent today. “We are focused on the AFC Cham- With three wins already under their pions League because we know we can’t belt, Al Duhail are leading their group win the title and we have secured the on nine points, and need just a draw third place whatever the result in the today to ensure their passage to the remaining two matches. knockouts with two matches to spare. “That’s the reason that I want to give “It is great to be in this position a chance to our youngsters in the league where a draw will guarantee us a spot in and fi eld my best players in the AFC the last 16 but we will be surely playing Champions League.” for a win,” said coach Djamel Belmadi. Runners-up last year, Al Hilal have “The fact we won the QNB Stars endured a diffi cult start in the 2018 League with two games to spare has campaign, drawing two of their open- certainly come as a relief because we ing three games with a loss to Esteghlal can now concentrate on our Asian cam- sandwiched in between as the Saudi paign. The players are also confi dent side currently sit bottom of the stand- and looking forward to the challenge ings. despite the hectic schedule” Despite the poor start, Al Hilal re- Al Duhail barely got time for extend- main just three points off the top of the ed celebrations after nailing the title table and a win would move them two with a 5-0 win over Al Kharaitiyat cor- points above Al Rayyan and possibly responding with challengers Al Sadd’s into the top two qualifi cation spots with heartbreaking defeat to Umm Salal on two games remaining. Friday. Al Hilal, meanwhile, are also grap- Had Al Sadd won, the league would pling with the issue of fi xture conges- tion, with coach Juan Brown saying his team will have to fi nd a way to deal with it. Hurdles ahead: Al Rayyan captain Rodrigo Tabata trains ahead of the team’s match against Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal, while at right, coach Michael Laudrup shows he has “We played against Al Rayyan last lost none of his skills with the ball. week but this is a diff erent setting. Our players are tired because of back-to- have gone down to the wire with the ti- Al Wahda in their opening match of The sides met in Riyadh last week ended up in draws and the scenario of back matches in our league and the AFC tle being decided on the last day of the the tournament, Lokomotiv went on to when Mohsine Moutouali gave the Qa- qualifi cation will be clear only towards Champions League, but will try to beat tournament. lose their next two away games, 2-0 at tari team an early lead before Abdullah the end of the last group matches next Al Rayyan tomorrow,” said Brown who Belmadi, whose team defeated Loko- Zobahan and 3-2 at Al Duhail last Tues- al-Zori restored parity after the interval month,” Al Rayyan coach Michael took charge of the team recently follow- motiv 3-2 in Doha last week, however, day as they slipped from fi rst to third in as a 1-1 draw left things extremely con- Laudrup told reporters at his pre-match ing the sacking of Ramon Diaz. added that facing them on their home the standings. gested in Group D. press conference. “All the teams in the group have ground will be a tougher proposition. Youssef El Arabi netted two early Al Rayyan have played three draws “It’s not easy facing a rival of this equal chances of qualifying. This is just “They are the Uzbek champions and goals for Al Duhail and Youssef Msa- – against Al Ain, Estheglal and al Hi- class. They have strong credentials be- the fourth round but this will certainly they will be playing in front of their fans kni put the Qatari side three up after 25 lal – and need a victory to boost their ing the runners up in the tournament show which teams can make it. We and would be keen make amends. We minutes, although Lokomotiv will take chances of making it to the last 16. last year. They are among the top teams would like to show tomorrow that we cannot aff ord to be complacent.” heart from pulling two back before the However, with several matches in the in Asia We did manage a draw last week deserve to go through. Lokomotiv suff ered two defeats in a hour to give themselves hope. group ending in draws – former cham- in Saudi Arabia but we will try to get “The expectations are always high row on the road, but were beaten just Meanwhile, in Group D, Al Rayyan pions Al Ain are also on three points three points at home tomorrow.” from a big club like Al Hilal as fans want once in 12 home games in the competi- will be targeting a fi rst win of the cam- with three draws – Al Rayyan can still Laudrup added that the fact that the you to win every game. There is pres- tion. paign when they host Al Hilal at Jassim hope to make the cut. QNB Stars League has been won by sure of winning matches and we will try Duhail coach Djamel Belmadi. Having stormed to a 5-0 victory over bin Hamad Stadium in Doha today. “I think many matches in this group Al Duhail with two matches to spare to live up to expectations.” EPL Spurs shrug off Kane injury, Arsenal win AFP hour mark, but the off side fl ag had already been fi rst Premier League win for fi ve weeks. London Arsenal’s Pierre-Emerick raised. Former Borussia Dortmund duo Pierre-Em- Aubameyang celebrates And much worse was to come for the visi- erick Aubameyang and Henrikh Mkhitaryan scoring against Watford tors when Kane failed to return as he limped again showed their fi ne relationship for the on Heung-Min ensured Tottenham in the EPL yesterday. away to protect the same right ankle that saw Gunners by teeing each other up to score in the Hotspur didn’t pay a heavy price for an him spend two short spells on the sidelines last second half after Shkodran Mustafi had headed ankle injury suff ered by Harry Kane as season. the hosts into the lead. he scored twice in a win 4-1 at Bourne- Spurs didn’t wallow for long, though, as just Watford could have got back into the game at Smouth yesterday. a minute after Erik Lamela replaced Kane, they 2-0, but Troy Deeney saw his penalty saved by Spurs move above Liverpool into third in the levelled when Dele Alli steered home Serge Au- Petr Cech. Premier League, but it was a bittersweet victory rier’s excellent cross. That was a sweet moment for the home fans, with concerns over Kane’s fi tness for both club The visitors always looked the likelier side as Deeney had questioned Arsenal’s heart when and country. to score after half-time and Son continued the Hornets won the corresponding fi xture in Elsewhere, Arsenal were also comfortable his scintillating form by acrobatically turning October. 3-0 winners over Watford at the Emirates Sta- home Alli’s cross. “We have had a disappointing period and dium to snap a run of three straight Premier And with Bournemouth pushing for an our supporters suff ered like we suff ered,” said League defeats. equaliser, the South Korean had acres of space Wenger. Tottenham had endured a hugely disappoint- to run through and slot home his 18th goal of “But our job is to perform and stick together ing Champions League exit at the hands of Ju- the season three minutes from time. in important moments and get the fans back on ventus in midweek and still seemed to be reel- Indeed, only a super save from Begovic de- side.” ing as they struggled in the opening 10 minutes. nied Son his hat-trick moments later. It was the fi rst spot-kick the Czech ‘keeper Junior Stanislas had already hit the bar with But the Bournemouth ‘keeper was at fault had saved in three years with Arsenal and it en- a clear chance before he opened the scoring by as he parried Kieran Trippier’s cross into Au- sured he also became the fi rst man to register fi ring low into the far corner just seven minutes rier’s path, and the Ivorian headed home Spurs’ 200 clean sheets in the Premier League.