Established 1961 Sport WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 9, 2019 Kerber through as Stephens Tons for Taylor, Nicholls as Klopp defends changes as Wolves 25avoids shock loss in Sydney 26 NZ sweep S Lanka ODI series 27 dump Liverpool out of FA Cup Saudis open in style at Asian Cup Late Iraqi free-kick breaks Vietnamese hearts at Asian Cup DUBAI: North Korea’s midfielder Il Gwan Jong (C) fights for the ball against Saudi Arabia’s defender Hamdan Alshamrani (1st-L) during the 2019 AFC Asian Cup group E football match between Saudi Arabia and North Korea at the Maktoum Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum Stadium in Dubai yesterday. — AFP DUBAI: Three-time winners Saudi Arabia laid down a North Korea already had a mountain to climb but first-game emotions, the players felt the pressure a by that point looked to be running out of steam. marker as they ruthlessly dismissed 10-man North their plight worsened just before half-time, when Han little bit.” “I knew it would be a tough game,” added A lazy foul on the edge of the penalty area subse- Korea at the Asian Cup yesterday, while Iraq over- Kwang Song received his second yellow card for the Slovenian. “But the most important thing was the quently presented Adnan with the chance to take all came stage fright to edge past Vietnam. bringing down Almoqahwi. three points.” three points and he did not disappoint, curling a left- The Saudis, humbled at last year’s World Cup in Salem Al-Dawsari made it 3-0 with a smart finish Vietnam’s Golden Dragons took a shock lead after foot shot into the top corner, prompting several Russia, looked far more at home in neighbouring on 69 minutes before Fahad Al-Muwallad bagged a 24 minutes in the Group D clash in Abu Dhabi, Vietnamese players to slump to the turf in despair. United Arab Emirates as they tore North Korea apart soft fourth goal against an exhausted Korean defence defender Ali Faez panicking under pressure from Iraq join Iran on three points after their bitter 4-0 in their opening Group E game. three minutes from time. Nguyen Cong Phuong and clumsily backheeling the rivals thrashed Yemen 5-0 on Monday. “If we want to It was a performance that tagged Saudi Arabia as ball past goalkeeper Jalal Hassan Hachim. go deep into the tournament we will have to one of the teams to beat at the continental showpiece ‘FIRST-GAME EMOTIONS’ Iraq, who defied the odds to win an emotional improve,” shrugged Katanec. “But I have a clearer along with Iran, who thrashed Yemen 5-0 on Monday. Earlier, Iraq’s Ali Adnan swept home a brilliant, Asian Cup title in 2007, levelled 10 minutes later picture now of our overall condition and we will grow The Green Falcons attacked relentlessly in the open- last-minute free-kick as the former champions twice through striker Mohanad Ali, who profited from a into the tournament.” ing stages and Hatan Bahbri put them in front in the hit back to beat Vietnam 3-2. It was a heart-breaking defensive error to rifle home from the edge of the Vietnam coach Park Hang-seo, who steered his 28th minute, turning defender Ri Il Jin inside-out and way for Vietnam to lose in Abu Dhabi, but no more box. Cong Phuong restored Vietnam’s lead three min- side to the southeast Asian title last December, insist- firing into the far corner. than Iraq deserved for going for the jugular after utes before the break, stabbing in from close range ed he had no regrets. They were 2-0 up nine minutes later, when Hussain Humam Tareq had hauled them level on the hour- after Nguyen Trong Huang’s shot had been parried by “I’m proud of my players,” said the South Almoqahwi’s free-kick glanced off the outstretched mark. “The first half was horrible,” said Iraq coach Hachim. Korean. “At the end they were exhausted and lost boot of Mohammed Al-Fatil and past Ri Myong Guk Srecko Katanec. “We showed nothing that we did in But Tareq lashed home a second equaliser follow- a bit of concentration but we were a little unlucky in the North Korean goal. training-no power, no personality at all. Maybe it was ing more horrific defending from the Vietnamese, who too.” — AFP de Marcona. Villiers. Spaniard Carlos Sainz, the defend- Loeb wins Loeb had started the day 13th and ended ing champion, was sixth overall and lost it in fifth place, one minute and 56 seconds time with two punctures. Argentine driver off the lead but with his 11th career stage Orlando Terranova, driving a Mini 4x4, Dakar second win on the Dakar-even if he was almost retired after crashing out halfway through reeled in by Roma at the finish. the stage. The former stage winner was tak- stage in Peru, “In the end, it was a good strategy, en to hospital for checks after suffering because it was advantageous for us to start back pain. behind the leaders, even if we were a bit Stephane Peterhansel, a record 13 times De Villiers leads further back than we would have liked,” said Dakar winner, lost some 15 minutes after a the Frenchman. lengthy stop in the dunes during the stage “It was a good special (stage) with no before Mini team mate Cyril Despres came LIMA: Nine times world champion major mistakes. I thought the pace was to the rescue. Sebastien Loeb won the second stage of good. I’m getting a good feeling back, “We started with some electrical prob- the Dakar Rally in the Peruvian desert yes- because I’ve only done about 100km of lems inside the car: no microphones, no air- terday, with South African Giniel De Villiers testing since the Dakar last year. conditioning, no wipers, nothing was OK. I taking the overall lead for his Toyota team. “I’m not quite at the same level as last lost my concentration a little bit, and after I De Villiers, the 2009 Dakar champion, year, but it’s working well for the moment”. got stuck in a really bad place,” said the leads team mate Bernhard ten Brinke by 28 Qatar’s overnight leader Nasser Al-Attiyah, Frenchman. The endurance rally, staged in seconds with Spaniard Nani Roma third in a who is driving a Toyota, opened the road for South America since being switched from Mini, 42 seconds off the pace after the the rest and dropped back to eighth place, Africa in 2009 for security reasons, ends in LIMA: Peugeot’s French driver Sebastien Loeb and co-driver Daniel Elena compete during the Stage 2 of 342km timed stage from Pisco to San Juan nearly three and a half minutes adrift of De Lima on Jan. 17. — Reuters the Dakar 2019 between Pisco and San Juan de Marcona, Peru, yesterday. —AFP.