City’s Mancini goads United January 18, 2010 MANCHESTER CITY vs MANCHESTER UNITED MANCHESTER City boss Roberto Mancini has lit the touchpaper ahead of his first derby with Manchester United by predicting the Eastlands side could usurp their bitter rivals as England’s biggest club. City’s recent history has been anything but illustrious, containing spells in the Championship and even League One as recently [...]
Murray races into second round in rainy Melbourne January 18, 2010 BRITISH No1 Andy Murray admitted his relief at dodging a rain delay after breezing into the second round of the Australian Open with an emphatic victory. Murray, seeded fifth in Melbourne, swept past South African qualifier Kevin Anderson 6-1, 6-1, 6-2 in just one hour and 40 minutes. Stormy conditions caused more than 20 first-round [...]
Sharapova crashes out as Nadal marches on January 18, 2010 MARIA SHARAPOVA insisted she will take defeat on the chin after becoming the first big-name casualty of the Australian Open. The 2008 champion, seeded 14, made no fewer than 77 unforced errors and served 11 double faults as she crashed 7-6 (7-4), 3-6, 6-4 to fellow Russian Maria Kirilenko. “It’s a bad day and you [...]
England put faith in captain Cook as Strauss gets a rest January 18, 2010 NATIONAL selector Geoff Miller has backed Alastair Cook to prove he is captaincy material when the batsman leads England on the tour of Bangladesh. Cook, regarded as the natural successor to Andrew Strauss, will spearhead the one-day series and Test campaign against the Tigers, starting next month. As expected Strauss has been afforded a rest, [...]
Fifa won’t punish Henry over Ireland handball January 18, 2010 FRANCE striker Thierry Henry last night escaped punishment for his handball against the Republic of Ireland after world governing body, Fifa, admitted they were powerless to sanction him. Henry was referred to Fifa’s disciplinary committee by president Sepp Blatter last month after he handled the ball twice before squaring to William Gallas to score the [...]
Chelsea rocked by Essien injury blow January 18, 2010 CHELSEA have been hit by another injury blow to midfield star Michael Essien. The Ghanaian suffered a partially torn ligament in his left knee in a training ground accident and has been ruled out of action for at least a month. Not only does that rule the 27-year-old out of the Africa Cup of Nations, [...]
Walcott returns as Arsenal target top January 18, 2010 ARSENAL boss Arsene Wenger has been boosted by the return of winger Theo Walcott and midfielder Denilson for tomorrow’s crunch visit of Bolton. The Gunners will leapfrog Chelsea and Manchester United to go top of the Premier League if they can win their second clash against the Trotters in four days by at least two [...]
Injury crisis for Gatland as Phillips and Peel miss out January 18, 2010 WALES coach Warren Gatland has been left with a scrum-half injury crisis after Mike Phillips and Dwayne Peel failed to make the 35-man squad for the Six Nations squad. Phillips, the British and Irish Lions star, is Gatland’s first-choice No9 but has been out since October after injuring his foot playing for Ospreys against Clermont [...]
Bet on Schumy to claim title No8, insists Brawn January 18, 2010 MERCEDES team principal Ross Brawn says he wouldn’t bet against Michael Schumacher claiming an eighth world championship this season. The 41-year-old retired from F1 back in 2006 after claiming two world titles with Benetton and five with Ferrari – all under the guidance of Brawn. Now the pair are reunited for the Mercedes team this [...]
Charl can equal Seve’s haul January 18, 2010 CHARL SCHWARTZEL will go in search of a little piece of history in Qatar next weekend – and you wouldn’t bet against the South African achieving it. Victory at his home Joburg Open at the weekend was Charl’s second straight win on the Tour, following his success in the Africa Open. The legendary Seve Ballesteros [...]