Van Marwijk: Blame me for Holland’s early exit June 17, 2012 PORTUGAL (2) vs HOLLAND (1) HOLLAND manager Bert van Marwijk accepted the blame for his side’s shock early elimination from the European Championship after their third defeat from three became the devastating denouement of a woeful campaign. The recalled Rafael van der Vaart scored for Holland before Cristiano Ronaldo inspired a Portuguese victory that finally [...]
Bad blood at Queen’s as final is ruined by Nalbandian kick June 17, 2012 ARGENTINA’S David Nalbandian yesterday provoked controversy amid the usually quaint surroundings of Queen’s after he was disqualified for kicking an advertising board into a line judge’s leg, drawing blood from the official’s shin. The final of the Aegon Championships, widely seen as a warm-up to Wimbledon, ended bitterly as chair umpire Fergus Murphy dismissed Nalbandian [...]
Crutchlow: Injury cost me June 17, 2012 BRITAIN’S Cal Crutchlow bemoaned that only a broken ankle cost him a place on the podium at yesterday’s Moto GP at Silverstone, after he defied doctors’ orders to compete in the race. Crutchlow produced a heroic performance, moving from the back of the grid to finish sixth in front of a cheering home crowd, despite [...]
Lancaster eyes Care to replace injured Youngs June 17, 2012 ENGLAND coach Stuart Lancaster is confident about the ability of Harlequins scrum-half Danny Care to replace Ben Youngs after the latter’s shoulder injury ruled him out of the remainder of the tour of South Africa. Care was dropped for the Six Nations because of several off-field incidents but has since been recalled and, after impressing [...]
Germany wary of dangerous quarter-final against Greece June 17, 2012 DENMARK (1) vs GERMANY (2) GERMANY coach Joachim Low last night predicted that Greece will prove a tough nut to crack, after his team set up a quarter-final against the 2004 winners scheduled for Friday. Low’s men finished top of Euro 2012’s Group B on maximum points thanks to a late winner from Lars Bender. [...]
Hodgson hopes to start Walcott June 17, 2012 ENGLAND manager Roy Hodgson admits winger Theo Walcott may start tomorrow against Ukraine if he can recover from the recurrence of a hamstring injury he suffered yesterday in training. Walcott scored England’s equaliser and set up their winning goal in the 3-2 victory over Sweden after coming off the bench and Hodgson hopes to have [...]
Antagonistic atmosphere won’t bother England, insists Rooney June 17, 2012 ENGLAND striker Wayne Rooney is adamant he and his team-mates will be fully prepared for a hostile crowd away to Ukraine in Donetsk as it is nothing they have not experienced before. Victory over Sweden on Friday night means England need only a point against Ukraine to advance to the European Championship quarter-finals and though [...]
Cavendish wins Tour warm up June 17, 2012 TOUR de France hopeful Mark Cavendish secured a morale-boosting victory in the run up to the epic event yesterday, grabbing his first-ever general classification win. Cavendish, Britain’s world champion cyclist, took the Ster ZLM Toer for Team Sky, holding onto the yellow jersey. Radobank’s Lars Boom came in second, eight seconds behind Cavendish. “I wanted [...]
Federer loses to Haas in Halle June 17, 2012 World No3 Roger Federer stumbled in his preparations for Wimbledon yesterday, losing the Gerry Weber Open final in Halle. German wildcard Tommy Haas completed a dream tournament by beating Federer 7-6 (7-5) 6-4. “If someone had said before that I was going to beat Roger Federer – probably the best player of all time – [...]
M’Vila drops Gunners hint June 17, 2012 France international midfielder and Arsenal target Yann M’Vila has admitted he is interested in joining the club for next season. “I have heard Arsenal are interested in me,” he said. “I like Arsenal and I like the Premier League. I don’t know what is happening with the clubs, but yes, I would be interested in [...]