MONDAY, AUGUST 10, 2015 SPORTS ‘Hollywood’ penalty sinks holders Ahly

JOHANNESBURG: A ‘Hollywood’ penalty between two of the three most success- situation. Africa a 2-0 victory over CS Sfaxien of saves as Sfaxien sought a consolation condemned African club giants Al Ahly ful African football clubs. Confederation Ahly offered little in attack with the Tunisia in Group B at Orlando Stadium in goal. of Egypt to a 1-0 defeat by Etoile Sahel Cup title-holders Ahly have won a record second-half introduction of recent sign- Soweto. The South Africans will seal a semi- of Tunisia this weekend in a CAF 19 CAF titles and eight-trophy Etoile are ing Ghanaian John Antwi bringing no Slick passing involving Kermit finals place if leaders Zamalek of Egypt Confederation Cup top-of-the-table the only club to win all five African com- improvement. Erasmus and captain Oupa Manyisa avoid defeat Sunday at AC Leopards of clash. petitions, including two that are now Victory lifted 2006 Confederation Cup allowed rising star Rakhale to curl the Congo Brazzaville. Zamalek and Pirates Egyptian TV replays showed no con- defunct. winners Etoile to nine points, two more ball into the top of the net after 37 min- have nine points each and shock 2012 tact between Etoile attacker Baghdad Algerian Bounedjah was a constant than Ahly with two matchdays left. utes. Confederation Cup winners Leopards Bounedjah and Ahly defender Mohamed threat to Ahly in the high-profile Group Malians Stade Malien are also in con- A long pass from Patrick Phungwayo and record three-time title-holders Naguib in a first half penalty area chal- A showdown at Stade Olympique in tention for a top-two finish and a semi- enabled Masuku to sprint down the mid- Sfaxien have one apiece. lenge. Sousse, a resort city on the Tunisian finals place. They can join Ahly on seven dle, hold off a challenge and slam the A third loss in four group games But as Bounedjah fell theatrically, the Mediterranean coast. points by defeating Esperance of Tunisia ball past goalkeeper Rami Jeridi. means Sfaxien cannot reach the knock- referee pointed to the spot and Youssef But he fluffed a chance to double the in Bamako late yesterday. Pirates failed to take several other out stage and places a question mark Mouihbi sent Sherif Ekramy the wrong lead midway through the second half Goals from Thabo Rakhale and Menzi scoring chances before goalkeeper over the future of Portuguese coach way to settle a matchday 4 clash with Ekramy foiling him in a one-on-one Masuku earned Orlando Pirates of South Brighton Mhlongo pulled off several late Paulo Duarte. —AFP Celtic see off Thistle GLASGOW: Australia international Tom and Leigh Griffiths coming in for the Rogic grabbed his first goal for Celtic as the injured Scott Brown, Gary Mackay-Steven defending champions moved top of the and the suspended Nadir Ciftci. The Scottish Premiership with a 2-0 win at Scottish champions showed no signs of a Partick Thistle yesterday. European hangover, with Griffiths quick to Rogic, whose time at Celtic has been test the Thistle defence as he rose at the plagued by injury and interrupted by a loan back post to narrowly direct a header over spell at Melbourne Victory, marked his first from an Emilio Izaguirre cross. start for the Hoops in nearly two years with a fine flicked finish with his heel to open DEBUT FOR POGBA the scoring in the 28th minute. Celtic then laid siege to the Thistle goal, Kris Commons then showed good with Tomas Cerny making a save from awareness to take advantage of a lapse of Commons’s low drive before holding concentration in the Thistle defence by Griffiths’s dipping free-kick. chipping in Celtic’s second in the 63rd The Thistle shot-stopper was doing his minute, sealing a 14th consecutive win best to keep his side on level terms as he over their Glasgow rivals. made a point-blank save to deny Griffiths “I think the first 35 minutes was some of before a rasping 30-yard strike from Virgil the best football we’ve played this season,” van Dijk cracked against the base of the said Celtic manager Ronny Deila. post. A goal was coming and it came from “But we got a little bit tired at the end of the unlikely source of Rogic in the 28th the second half and we were a little bit minute. sloppy.” The win means Celtic now occupy Callum McGregor, an early substitute for their familiar position at the top of the Stuart Armstrong, sent a cross into the box league table ahead of newly promoted that Griffiths laid off for the Australian, Hearts-who defeated Dundee 2-1 on whose neat flick found the bottom corner Saturday-on goal difference. Thistle manag- from eight yards. er Alan Archibald admitted that his side Thistle had barely got out of their own had not done enough in the game. half but could have had a penalty seconds “We didn’t pressure Celtic enough and before the break following a rare foray for- they probably played in second or third wards. gear for long spells of the game, which was David Wilson’s cross came off the arm of disappointing,” Archibald said. “I know that Mikel Lustig, but the stand-in Celtic captain we are a lot better than that.” knew little about it and referee John Celtic made three changes from their Beaton judged it accidental. mid-week Champions League qualifier The Jags introduced new signing against Qarabag, with Rogic, Commons Mathias Pogba, older brother of Juventus midfield star Paul Pogba, as they looked to make more of an impact in the second FRANCE: Bordeaux’s Malian forward Cheick Diabate (left) challenges Reims’ French defender Anthony Weber during the French L1 football half. But Commons capitalised on poor match. —AFP Matches on TV defending to knock home Celtic’s second (Local Timings) in the 63rd minute. A long ball over the top of the Thistle defence came off the Saint-Etienne and Bordeaux shoulder of Callum Booth and Commons English Premier League nipped in to chip the ball over Cerny and into the empty net. Cerny did well to pre- West Bromwich v Man City 22:00 vent Celtic adding to their advantage suffer opening day defeats beIN SPORTS 1 HD moments later when he beat away a sting- beIN SPORTS 11 HD ing strike from Griffiths.—AFP PARIS: Bordeaux and Saint-Etienne both suf- hostage over his new contract. A strongly-word- Marseille to enjoy a season to the height of its fered Ligue 1 opening day defeats yesterday as ed club statement claimed: “Marseille possess a expectations”. French football was still suffering the shock- sufficiently rich history to refuse to surrender to Bielsa, who had been in charge since May waves of Marcelo Bielsa’s resignation as the rule of one man”. 2014, wrote in his resignation letter: “I am sad Preview Marseille coach. The French giants insisted they wouldn’t be and frustrated. “I cannot accept the situation of At the Nouveau Stade de Bordeaux, Willy “held prisoner by a man who places his personal instability at the club. Sagnol’s men were 10 minutes from victory interests high above those of the club”. “We had reached an agreement on a con- before Nicolas De Preville cancelled out Wahbi The attack on the man known as ‘El Loco’ (the tract extension for 2016-2017, which was miss- Pellegrini must satisfy Khazri’s 41st minute opener and Theoson mad man) came less than 24 hours after he had ing just a signature.” Bielsa said he had met Jordan Siebatcheu grabbed a dramatic 88th delivered what captain Steve Mandanda Wednesday with the club’s chief executive City’s appetite minute winner for Reims. described as his “hammer blow”. Philippe Perez and Igor Levin, Louis-Dreyfus’s At Toulouse, Loic Perrin gave Saint-Etienne a Bielsa blamed last minute changes to his lawyer. “They wanted to change the contract,” WEST BROMWICH: Manuel Pellegrini left-back Gael Clichy, who has an ankle 17th minute lead before the home side turned contract for the decision which left Marseille he complained. “I took this final decision as may have been handed a new contract injury, and former Aston Villa midfielder matters around. Martin Braithwaite levelled the president Vincent Labrune dumbfounded. working together requires a minimum of trust, but, as Manchester City prepare to open Fabian Delph, who is still two weeks away match 10 minutes after Perrin’s opener before “I am, like all the supporters, dazed by which we do not have.” their Premier League campaign at West from recovering from the hamstring tear star striker Wissam Ben Yedder put away the Marcelo Bielsa’s shock decision,” Labrune Bielsa, who guided Chile to the last 16 at Bromwich Albion today, the Chilean he suffered on his debut in pre-season. winner, eight minutes into the second half. declared in a statement. “However, we take note the 2010 World Cup, was at pains to point out Toulouse finished the match with 10 men when of this decision which places the club in a diffi- his abrupt exit had nothing to do with money, coach is under no illusions he must win Argentina forward Sergio Aguero, Aleksandar Pesic was shown a straight red card cult place having started the new season with a revealing he had turned down a new deal silverware to keep his job. City’s leading scorer last season, could be with four minutes left. home defeat.” multiplying his salary threefold. And he said Pellegrini followed the resounding suc- rested for the opening game while he Meanwhile, Bielsa’s shock exit at Marseille He confirmed that one of Bielsa’s assistants, he’d been patient with the club, despite cess of his first year at City, in which he works on his fitness following Copa after Saturday’s opening 1-0 defeat at home to Franck Passi, would step up as caretaker coach uncertainty in the way they had conducted won the Premier League and League Cup, America duty. Caen sparked a bitter war of words between the pending a permanent replacement. themselves in the close-season transfer mar- with a disappointing season that ended Meanwhile, Albion manager Tony Pulis Argentine and his former employers. The club and owner Margarita Louis-Dreyfus ket. Champions Paris Saint-Germain opened with the big-spending club surrendering is eager to further strengthen despite the Former European champions Marseille assured fans they would “take all necessary the Ligue 1 season on Friday with a hard the title to Chelsea and finishing empty- arrival of winger Serge Gnabry on loan accused the Argentine of trying to hold them measures in the coming days to enable fought 1-0 win at Lille. —AFP handed in May. from Arsenal. Despite that failure, and mounting “We’re not happy. I wouldn’t say we’re speculation that Bayern Munich boss Pep not good enough, but we’re not happy as Guardiola was lined up to take over, City’s a club with what we’ve got at the Bayern off to winning start Abu Dhabi-based owners awarded moment but we’re trying to bring more Pellegrini a one-year contract extension in,” he said. on Friday, tying him and three of his staff Having taken over at Albion in mid- BERLIN: Bayern Munich got their German Cup campaign off to a 3-1 win- to the club until 2017. season, the Welshman pulled off his latest ning start over amateur fifth division side But the 61-year-old is well aware that a relegation escape act, steering the Noettingen yesterday in the first round repeat of last season’s second place finish Baggies to a creditable 13th. which again proved fatal for Bundesliga in the Premier League and Champions Yet he remains philosophical over their rivals Hamburg. Hamburg, who open League last 16 exit will not be acceptable. prospects for the new campaign despite their Bundesliga campaign at Bayern “For me a good season with a big team finishing the last season in excellent form. next Friday, fell 3-2 after extra time at is that you must win a title,” Pellegrini said. “Every season you start, it’s like opening fourth division Carl Zeiss Jena. “You cannot say it is a very good season if your Christmas presents again and you Four days after their 1-0 victory over you win nothing. After that also it is very just don’t know what’s coming,” Pulis said. Real Madrid in the Audi Cup, Bayern important in the way you win a title. “Experience makes you more aware of overran the amateur side, playing at “Maybe you can win a title and if I am not what’s around the corner and what could Karlsruhe Stadium. happy in the way we play, then for me it is happen, so there is determination to have New Chilean signing Arturo Vidal not a good season. “For me both things: a good season and apprehension. opened the scoring for Bayern with a first of all win because you must win titles “I want to do the best I can with the penalty after six minutes but ten minutes and second play the way I think we must material I’m given. That’s always been my later Noettingen equalised thanks to play. “In my career, when I don’t get the philosophy - to squeeze everything I can striker Niklas Hecht-Zirpel, a young stu- results I want, I am the first to be self-criti- about the team I have.”—AFP dent of sports and mathematics. cal. Mario Goetze put Bayern back in front “I don’t think as a manager you can just a minute later with Robert think that you didn’t win the title because Lewandowski sealing the winner ten minutes later as Munich coach Pep the players failed. It’s the complete thing, Guardiola brought on Dutch midfielder directors, manager, players.” Arjen Robben after 55 minutes. Cup holders Wolfsburg eased to a 4-1 LONG TERM win on Saturday at Stuttgarter Kickers, as That note of caution aside, Pellegrini is Borussia Dortmund, last season’s run- clearly relishing the challenge ahead in a ners-up, won 2-0 at Chemnitzer FC, season that kicks off on Monday at the thanks to goals from Pierre-Emerick Hawthorns and he insists his goal is to Aubameyang (25) and Henrykh remain with City for some years to come. Mkhitaryan (82). “One year ago there were some impor- Hamburg had grabbed an equaliser tant managers, like (Carlo) Ancelotti, at for 2-2 four minutes into injury time only teams they have since left. As a profes- to fall behind after 106 minutes to for- sional it’s very difficult to talk about long mer East German champions Carl Zeiss term,” he said. Jena, to join newly-promoted Ingolstadt, “But if you ask me of course I think I who lost 2-1 at fourth-division can continue working here for the long Unterhaching, and Hoffenheim, who lost 2-0 at second-division Munich 1860, as GERMANY: Michael Schuerg of Noettingen (right) challenges for the ball with Munich’s David Alaba term.” Pellegrini’s men visit Albion without Manuel Pellegrini the elite victims. —AFP during the German soccer cup first round match. —AP