World Cup: Robben dive row as Dutch grab late win June 29, 2014 HOLLAND 2 MEXICO 1 HOLLAND winger Arjen Robben was dragged into another diving row last night after the Dutch scored two last-ditch goals to defeat Mexico and set up a World Cup quarter-final against Costa Rica. Mexico coach Miguel Herrera accused former Chelsea star Robben of cheating to win the penalty from which Klaas-Jan Huntelaar [...]
World Cup: Navas’s penalty heroics continue fairytale campaign for Costa Rica June 29, 2014 COSTA RICA 1 GREECE 1 Costa Rica win 5-3 on penalties GOALKEEPER Keylor Navas enhanced his burgeoning reputation with a stunning save to keep out veteran striker Theofanis Gekas’s penalty, as Costa Rica won a high-class shoot-out to reach the World Cup quarter-finals for the first time in their history. The Central American minnows, ranked [...]
Sport Comment: Futile to rail against Suarez and football June 29, 2014 FOR ALL the great football, dramatic penalty shoot-outs and spectacular skills on offer, Luis Suarez’s teeth have blighted this World Cup, and yet it’s hard to write anything rational about them without sounding like some ridiculous reactionary or ludicrous libertarian. That he is an outstanding player is undeniable. That he is a flawed human being, [...]
James equipped to deny Brazil a Hollywood ending to World Cup June 29, 2014 IF LIVERPOOL striker Luis Suarez has been the World Cup’s villain, then James Rodriguez, the dazzling Colombia No10 named after James Bond and partial to a Thunderball, is surely the hero. His two goals, including a majestic volley, sank a Suarez-less Uruguay on Saturday and cemented the graceful Monaco playmaker as the tournament’s revelation. The [...]
World Cup in brief June 29, 2014 France feeling the heat in Brasilia FRANCE boss Didier Deschamps fears his team may wilt in the heat in today’s last-16 tie with Nigeria in Brasilia. France played all of their Group E matches in the evening, but have an earlier kick-off time today, which will mean playing in temperatures exceeding 30 degrees Celsius. Deschamps [...]
Zanotti sees off Stenson in epic June 29, 2014 WORLD No305 Fabrizio Zanotti became the first Paraguayan to win a European Tour title yesterday when he won a four-man play-off at the BMW International Open in Cologne. He was taken to a fifth extra hole by Henrik Stenson, as the Swede recorded his best finish since the extraordinary 2013 campaign in which he topped [...]
Kennaugh and Trott sprint to road race titles June 29, 2014 TEAM Sky’s Pete Kennaugh won a sprint duel with colleague and friend Ben Swift to claim his first British National Road Race Championships title yesterday in Abergavenny. Kennaugh repeatedly failed to lose Swift during the last two laps but beat him to the line, with Orica GreenEdge’s Simon Yates third. “On the last lap it [...]
Anderson aims to end Murray’s reign on grass June 29, 2014 CHAMPION Andy Murray has never had it so easy in the first week at Wimbledon. The Scot dropped just 19 games in the first three rounds, enabling him to extend his winning run at the All England Club to 16 matches, pre-dating the London 2012 Olympics in which he won gold. But standing 6ft 8in [...]
British title win has Chambers rethinking retirement June 29, 2014 SPRINTER Dwain Chambers revealed he was considering hanging up his running spikes before storming to an eighth British title – and fifth in a row – in Birmingham yesterday. The 36-year-old rolled back the years to cross the line in a season’s best 10.12 seconds ahead of Harry Aikines-Aryeetey and third fastest Briton of all [...]
Williams’ conqueror Cornet set to take Centre stage once more June 29, 2014 FRANCE’S Alize Cornet dumped world No1 Serena Williams out of Wimbledon on Saturday and faces an immediate return to the action when she is first on Centre Court today to play Canadian rising star Eugenie Bouchard. With Williams’ exit following second seed Li Na’s early flight home, world No3 Simona Halep is the highest ranked [...]