Chelsea’s Ivorian duo head home January 24, 2010 FAVOURITES Ivory Coast crashed out of the Africa Cup of Nations at the quarter-final stage last night after being beaten 3-2 after extra time by England’s World Cup opponents Algeria. The Elephants, captained by Didier Drogba, led twice through his Chelsea team-mate Salomon Kalou and Kader Keita, only for Algeria to hit back through Karim [...]
Sunday’s best paired as Blues host Cardiff January 24, 2010 MANCHESTER CITY were rewarded for avoiding their potential banana skin at Scunthorpe with a home tie with fellow Premier Leaguers Stoke. The Potters caused the upset of the round with their victory over Arsenal yesterday and now must make the trip to Eastlands over the weekend of 13/14 February. Holders Chelsea will be confident of [...]
Ivanovic out after shock Dulko defeat January 21, 2010 FORMER world No1 Ana Ivanovic’s dramatic fall from grace continued yesterday when she crashed out of the Australian Open in the second round. The Serb, runner-up in Melbourne in 2008, again looked horribly out of sorts as she succumbed to the unseeded Argentinian Gisela Dulko 6-7 (6-8), 7-5, 6-4. Just 18 months ago Ivanovic was [...]
Wenger ready for acid test January 21, 2010 ARSENAL boss Arsene Wenger has hailed the never-say-die spirit of his team, but warned them that the true test of their Premier League title credentials is still to come. The Gunners overtook Chelsea at the top of the table on Wednesday night after rallying from two goals behind to overcome Bolton 4-2. That victory resembled [...]
Murray ready to go distance with Serra January 21, 2010 BRITAIN’S Andy Murray is expecting to have to fight tooth and nail when he meets Florent Serra today for a place in the last 16 of the Australian Open. Fifth seed Murray has enjoyed a hassle-free start to his quest to snare a first Grand Slam title in Melbourne, dropping just 12 games on his [...]
Tevez fuels spat with ‘boot-licking moron’ Neville January 21, 2010 MANCHESTER City striker Carlos Tevez last night launched a scathing attack on former team-mate Gary Neville, calling the Manchester United captain a “boot-licker” and an “idiot”. Neville infuriated Tevez this week by publicly supporting United boss Sir Alex Ferguson’s decision to let the Argentinian leave last summer because he did not think him worth the [...]
Borthwick’s our man, insists Easter January 21, 2010 HARLEQUINS’ Nick Easter admits it is flattering to be talked about as the next England captain – but insists Steve Borthwick is still the man to lead the Six Nations campaign. Borthwick has been handed the captain’s armband in every match since Martin Johnson took over as coach in April 2008, but the Saracens lock [...]
Ski hopefuls may still compete in Vancouver if BSSI goes bust January 21, 2010 BRITAIN’S skiers and snowboarders have been told they will be allowed to compete in next month’s Winter Olympics – even if the sport’s governing body goes into administration. The British Ski and Snowsport Federation is around £600,000 in debt and has been forced to cut training programmes and ask athletes to fund their own Olympic [...]
Fair result after a fair hearing January 21, 2010 WHILE we were naturally delighted with the outcome of the RFU hearing this week, it’s nice to prepare for tomorrow’s Challenge Cup trip to Rovigo knowing we can concentrate on matters on the field again. A suspended ban, together with an apology to referee David Rose, was our initial recommendation to the RFU to solving [...]
SPORT | IN BRIEF January 21, 2010 Last-gasp kick denies Wasps RUGBY UNION: Wasps face an agonising wait to discover whether they have earned a home quarter-final tie in the European Challenge Cup after an injury-time penalty saw them slip to a 19-17 defeat to Racing Metro last night. Wasps led through two Tom Varndell tries and seven points from Danny Cipriani, [...]