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Muktijoddha continued to ride their luck as a spirited Arambagh came back strongly but ended up as 3-4 losers in the lone match of the Premier Bank Premier Division Football League at the Bangabadhu National Stadium on Sunday.
   In their first match a few days ago Mutkijoddha defeated Wanderers 2-1 surviving from conceding an injury time goal as the shot of Milon hit the side post with custodian Aminul beaten. On Sunday, Arambagh scored the first goal and came back from 1-4 down to torment the Muktijoddha defence at the dying stages of the game. The Muktijoddha defence was sloppy and disorganised and they conceded two penalty goals to give the proof.
   The Muktijoddha defence, made up of Rajani, Titu, Rwandan Habimana Harry and Belal, was never united to create a strong wall. Armabagh’s Kenyan attacker Dominic Kubaye and experienced striker Ritu tore apart the Muktijoddha defence but missed easy sitters.
   Arambagh took the lead in the 12th minute when RaselAnsari danced down the left flank and sent a minus to Ritu rattled the net with a side-volley.
   Seven minutes later Kanchan drew level with a neat header off a Hasan al Mamun cross from the left flank.
   Off-colour Iqbal gave Muktijoddha the lead in the 33rd minute tapping in from a goal-mouth melee after Bidyut’s header fell in front of the goal.
   Nigerian striker Paul Anukuchu scored the third in the 37th minute off an Arman through pass rounding the custodian and placing the ball into the open net.
   Ritu failed to roll the ball into the net four minutes before the break as he failed to control a Dominic minus with Aminul caught in the wrong foot.
   Three minutes after the lemon break Paul scored his second and again Arman was the provider with a neat chip evading the off-side trap.
   In the 50th minute Ritu again blasted the ball over the bar but one minute later Harry presented Arambagh with a penalty as his headed attempt to clear a Morhsed shot resulted in a handball. In the 85th minute star defender Rajani pulled down Morshed in the danger zone and the referee awarded the second penalty.
   On both the occasions, Dominic Kubaye hit the net with power packed left-footers. Arambagh breached the Muktijoddha defence on a number of occasions but failed to score and ended up as the losers.

The turtle is back among the rabbits and looks favourite to win the race.
   Reliable Test opener Javed Omar regained his one-day place, which he lost due to his slow strike rate a year ago.
   Javed, who has the lowest strike rate among the top-order batsmen of Bangladesh, had scored 167 runs in the first three-day practice match against the British Universities and battled hard in both the Tests. And finally, he produced a gritty innings of 71 off 108 balls at the Riverside stadium bettering his one-day strike rate of 50.27.
   ‘It’s nice to have a place in the one-day squad. In the Test series, I was confident though, I did not score too many runs in the first Test. Still I wanted to play a big innings for my team and here at the Riverside I did just that and helped my team,’ a delighted Omar told New Age.
   ‘The innings gave me confidence to play in the upcoming one-day triangular series. So, I want to continue my form for the squad,’ added Omar.
   According to Omar, it was not the pace and bounce but the swing that troubled him a lot.
    ‘But overall we did not bat well and that is the reason for our batting debacle. In the first innings at Lord’s the swingers of England bowlers really troubled us,’ confessed the opener.
   Bangladesh team is still in search of a permanent opening pair. But the strike rate of Omar confused the selectors to fix a place for him in the team. Now, Bangladesh have a lot of stroke-makers in the team and Nafees Iqbal seemed one of the options. At times, Mohammad Ashraful, Rajin Saleh even Mohammad Rafique tried to fill the slot.
   Shahriar Nafees, a talented left-handed opener, surely has a prospect in the future and possibly will make his debut in the NatWest triangular series.
   So, it’s a good news for Bangladesh to have an experienced batsman like Omar in the squad who is in good form. His strike rate should not be counting on this occasion because the other Bangladeshi batsmen are struggling to stay at the crease. Therefore, they need a batsman who can stay in the middle and build up an innings, not a temporary stroke-maker. So, having an in-form Javed Omar in the squad is a great relief for Bangladesh.
   The four Bangladesh one-day players – Khaled Mahmud, Manjarul Islam, Nazmul Hossain and Tushar Imran – joined with the team on Saturday evening and conducted a half-hour gym work on the Sunday morning.

England captain Michael Vaughan refused to get carried away after seeing his side wrap up a crushing 2-0 Test series victory against Bangladesh at the Riverside here Saturday.
   England needed just 17 minutes and 26 balls to complete an innings and 27 run success which followed their even more convincing innings and 261 run win in the first Test at Lord’s.
   England did all that could be reasonably expected of them but as a guide to how they might fare against Australia, the world’s best team, when the Ashes series starts at Lord’s on July 21, the two Tests were all but meaningless.
   ‘It’s difficult to judge how much we’ve got out of these games because we’ve won so easily,’ Vaughan told reporters after England had won five successive Test series for the first time since 1971.
   ‘We’ve not had those real tough-in sessions and fight-through sessions where we’ve lost a batch of wickets. We have had stages when we had to knuckle down but it has been easier than I expected. To win two Test matches in almost two days each is obviously quite an easy series victory.’
   No England batsman below number four Ian Bell had an innings against Bangladesh.
   And with the likes of middle-order men Andrew Flintoff and wicket-keeper Geraint Jones included in the one-day squad for the series with Australia and Bangladesh, concerns have been expressed about England players not having enough first-class practice ahead of the Ashes.
   But Vaughan said, ‘It’s slightly disappointing Freddie and Geraint didn’t get a knock but over the next four weeks we’ll make sure they get plenty of practice leading in to the Ashes series.’
   The contest at the Riverside followed the same pattern as at Lord’s with England bowling out Bangladesh for barely a hundred and then compiling a big score. This time it was 447 for three declared with man of the series Marcus Trescothick adding 151 to his 194 at Lord’s and Ian Bell scoring his maiden Test hundred with an unbeaten 162.
   Pace bowler Matthew Hoggard, a Yorkshire team-mate of Vaughan’s, finished with match figures of eight for 97 and the man-of-the-match award despite ongoing no-ball problems.
   When England played Bangladesh in Bangladesh back in 2003-04 they won both Tests but the games were far more competitive than in this series.
   Indeed such was England’s dominance that Vaughan was slightly frustrated by his side’s inability to win the match in two days.
   Some belated resistance by the tourists’ batsmen - Javed Omar (71), captain Habibul Bashar (63) and Aftab Ahmed (82 not out) all making significant scores - took Bangladesh to their highest score against England of 316.
   ‘We set ourselves the goal yesterday (Saturday) of winning in two days - and if you set yourself goals you like to achieve them,’ Vaughan said.
   ‘I think we went searching for wickets rather than sticking to our disciplines and building pressure that way.’
   Vaughan did have some consoling words for the opposition batsmen, whose resolve restored some pride albeit a result that left Bangladesh with a record of just one win in 38 Tests was never in the remotest doubt.
   ‘They showed a bit of resolve and came out playing shots,’ he said. ‘They were a lot harder to beat on their home soil but they showed some flamboyancy and came after our bowlers here yesterday. There is a little bit of talent there.’

Pakistan (374) lead West Indies (275/4) by 99 runs at stumps, day 2
   Brian Lara scored his 30th Test hundred as West Indies reached 275 for four in their first innings reply against Pakistan at the close of day two in the second and final Test in Kingston, Jamaica on Saturday.
   Left-hander Lara, who moved into fourth place in the all-time standings for Test centurions, ended the day unbeaten on 125 to leave West Indies just 99 runs short of the Pakistan total of 374.
   The dismissal of captain Shivnarine Chanderpaul for 28 in the final over, caught behind off leg spinner Danish Kaneria, gave Pakistan some hope after a day dominated by a Lara special.
   Earlier, fast bowler Corey Collymore took seven for 78 to help bowl out Pakistan for 374 after they resumed on 336 for six.
   The 36-year-old Lara, who scored 130 in his side’s victory in the first Test in Barbados, closed in on Indians Sachin Tendulkar and Sunil Gavaskar (34 each) and Australian Steve Waugh (32) in the all-time list of Test century-makers.
   Lara struck 16 fours and two sixes as he went ahead of Donald Bradman’s tally of 29 centuries in his 117th match.
   He has now scored four hundreds in his last five matches, including two against South Africa this season.
   Although Kaneria claimed the important wicket of Chanderpaul, who scored 92 and 153 in Barbados, the wrist spinner suffered at the hands of Lara, who hammered 50 runs off him including two huge sixes in one over.
   Lara was also severe on Rana Naved, hitting him for three successive boundaries as he batted skilfully on a pitch of variable bounce.
   The unpredictable bounce led to the dismissals of openers Chris Gayle (33), caught behind off Abdul Razzaq, and Devon Smith (25), bowled by a Razzaq shooter immediately after lunch.
   However, Lara regained control for the home side as added 146 for the third wicket with Ramnaresh Sarwan (55) and 70 for the fourth with Chanderpaul.
   Sarwan was dismissed for his 22nd Test fifty after tea, attempting a pull off Shabbir Ahmed and holing out to Kaneria at deep square leg.
   Earlier in the day, Collymore became only the fifth West Indian bowler to have take seven or more wickets in an innings on at least two occasions.
   He claimed match-winning figures of seven for 57 against Sri Lanka in Kingston in 2003.

Superheroes at the Riverside
   Wonder Woman, Incredible Hulk, Superman, Danger Mouse and Austin Power were present at the Riverside and enjoyed the second Test between Bangladesh and England. Actually it was the fancy dress competition organised by npower, the sponsor of the Test series.
   The superhero group consisting 22 lads from north London, who were on a visit to the north-east to join a stage party, won the first prize when they came to see the match on the second day. There was a groom-to-be Peter Coke, who will be getting married in August, successfully led the superheroes dressing as a Wonder Woman.
   
   Ticket-price refund date changed
   The Durham County Cricket Club and the ECB extended the date for refund of ticket price by a day for in the second Test at Riverside. That means the buyers of tickets will get a 100 per cent refund if less than 10 overs are played in a day and 50 per cent for less than 25 overs. Such a refund policy only covers the rain-affected matches but as the second Test was at the closing stage on day two the DCCC and the ECB immediately took the initiative to encourage the spectators to see the match on the third day.
   And the few hundred spectators, who came to the stadium, watched the match for free as the England bowlers took only 26 balls to finish the game.

In the morning of the third day of the second Test, a light drizzle, which is a common phenomenon here at Chester-le-Street, scared the few spectators present at the stadium.
   During the second Test, there were hardly any Bangladeshi faces in the galleries and on the third day, they were at a premium.
   None was interested to see the England bowlers taking the last two Bangladeshi wickets very quickly to confirm their series sweep.
   However, a few Bangladeshi families who live within 30 to 40 miles of the stadium were very upset after missing the last two sessions of the second day.
   ‘That’s my team Bangladesh,’ said Tuhin Mollah, an employee of a restaurant in Durham. ‘I know that Bangladesh can bat even better than this.
   I had the opportunity to see the match because I had a holiday, but I thought Bangladesh would not last even one session. Now I realise what a match it was on the second day,’ added the chef.
   Ramzan, who is a colleague of Tuhin, was very angry with the Bangladesh team till Friday. But smile returned on his face on Saturday night.
   ‘Tell me brother, how Aftab punished the England bowlers. Is it possible to take a 100-run lead in the match?’ asked an ambitious Ramzan, who dreamed of beat England in a Test and was disheartened by the performance of Bangladesh.
   About one hundred Bangladeshi supporters came to watch the Test on the first two days.
   And they were teased by some England fans when returning home by train.
   ‘Now we have something to say – let the England team play against the mighty Australians. Then they will realise how difficult cricket can be,’ said the Bangladeshi supporters, who are eagerly waiting to see an English tragedy.

Craig Victory scored a golden goal 11 minutes into extra-time to give Australia a thrilling 4-3 triumph over South Korea in the final of the 14th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup here on Sunday.
   Victory turned in Grant Schubert’s cross from the right to complete an amazing comeback for the Olympic champions, who fought back from 3-1 down to claim their second successive title.
   The Aussies beat second-half kings Korea at their own game, showing more finesse and determination in the final quarter to overturn a two-goal deficit and force extra time.
   After Michael McCann gave Australia a ninth-minute lead with a field goal, the slick Koreans took control and turned the match with two quick goals just before the interval.
   First, Lee Nam-yong converted a penalty corner in the 30th minute and soon afterwards, Seo Jong-ho scored from close range to make it 2-1 to Korea.
   Striker Jang Jong-hyun scored Korea’s third three minutes into the second half with a penalty corner. Australia looked out of contention, easily losing possession and allowing the Korean players to pass and run at will.
   But giant defender Luke Doerner brought the Kookaburras back to life with 17 minutes left when he slammed home a penalty corner. McCann tied it nine minutes later with a deft deflection off Jamie Dwyer’s shot from the top of the circle.
   Australia finished strongly, despite having Liam De Young yellow-carded in the 66th minute, and forced Korean goalkeeper and man of the match Ko Dong-sik into two excellent saves in the dying moments.
   The Aussies continued to dominate in extra-time, missing a number of chances. Although it was still 3-3 after the first period of seven and a half minutes, Victory spared them the ordeal of a penalty shootout with his 81st-minute winner.
   Earlier, Pakistan defeated New Zealand 4-2 to secure third place.
   It was scant consolation for the Pakistanis, who threw away their chance of reaching the final when they were beaten 1-0 by hosts Malaysia in league play on Friday.
   Pakistan had been the most impressive side in the seven-team event but their shock loss on Friday relegated them to the third/fourth-place play-off and allowed South Korea to sneak into the final against defending champions Australia.
   In other play Sunday India gained a measure of revenge against Malaysia when they beat the hosts 2-1 in extra-time to finish fifth.

Australian captain Ricky Ponting has claimed the schedule for this summer’s Ashes tour could work in his side’s favour.
   The world champions landed in England on Sunday morning and face a full itinerary of one-day internationals, including a triangular tournament against the hosts and Bangladesh plus three further games, before the Test series starts at Lord’s on July 21.
   The Australians have not played a Test for seven weeks and during the break have had just a short training camp in Brisbane to fine tune their game.
   England meanwhile have completed a comfortable 2-0 Test win over Bangladesh.
   But Ponting is sure the timetable will give his side time to adjust to conditions and score some psychological points over England before the real business of the summer gets under way.
   Ponting said: ‘It could be a bit of an advantage for us the way the summer has panned out with us having a long break and then 10 one-dayers before the first Test. It could seem like the end of the summer for England and we have got time to get playing.
   ‘There are going to be a number of changes and but I am happy we are ready for them.
   ‘We are all looking forward to this tour immensely, the build up has been big-time already.
   ‘This is a big tour for us - it always is - but more especially because it is number one in the world against number two. It should be great all round.’
   And Ponting is hoping his side can get some momentum from the one-day games before defending the Ashes which the Australians have held since 1989.
   He added: ‘It would be good if we could achieve that going into the Tests but I’m not overly worried about what happens in the one-dayers in terms of the Tests.
   ‘We want to win every game we play in and if we do that and we have created some momentum then all well and good but I don’t take a lot out of one-day series. Test cricket is a different game, there will be a few changes of personnel so we will have to see how it goes.
   ‘But we are not just here preparing for the Test series. The one-dayers are our main focus to start with.
   ‘But we will have a lot of cricket under our belts by the time the Test series comes around and it will be good to get under way with the cricket.
   ‘It is an exciting time for us and world cricket now.’
   Australia will start the series as firm favorites to retain the Ashes urn but coach John Buchanan is not worried about the fact that they are expected to defeat their hosts.
   He said: ‘This team is always faced with a lot of expectation. A number of them are world class players who will go down as greats of the game so there is always expectation no matter who we play.
   ‘The great thing about this team is that they just don’t look at those expectations, they just look at their own performances.’
   Australia travel to Lille in France on Monday to visit the graves of Australian soldiers who were killed in the First World War - Steve Waugh led a similar expedition to the memorial in Gallipoli when he was captain in 2001.
   Buchanan added: ‘It means something different; it is more of a life experience than a cricket experience. It is just something we have got the opportunity to really experience a bit in terms of what Australians experienced in the war theatre.’

When Justine Henin-Hardenne told a press conference ‘Impossible is Nothing’, it became a phrase which launched thousands of advertising posters and sold countless trainers.
   But beating the odds is second nature to the 23-year-old Belgian who clinched her second French Open title by beating French veteran Mary Pierce 6-1, 6-1 in Saturday’s one-sided final here.
   Lean and pint-sized at a petite 1.67m and tipping the scales at 57kg, the girl from Liege was told she would never make it as a professional in a world dominated by behemoths.
   But she has gone on to collect 23 tour titles, including four Grand Slams and an Olympic Games gold medal, amassing over nine million dollars in the process. She has also overcome painful episodes in her private life.
   She has endured a split with her father Jose but her biggest setback was as a 12-year-old watching her mother Francoise die from cancer in 1994.
   It was Francoise who gave her daughter a love of tennis, bringing her star-struck kid to Roland Garros as a 10-year-old to watch Steffi Graf and Monica Seles.
   From that point on, Henin-Hardenne was hooked and when she won her first Grand Slam here in 2003, it was to her mother that her thoughts turned.
   ‘I would like to dedicate this victory to my mother, who is watching over me in heaven. I hope you are very proud of me, mum,’ Henin-Hardenne said after her final win over compatriot Kim Clijsters.
   ‘She gave me all the energy I needed to win the match. When I woke up this morning, I said: ‘You’ll have to win. You’ll have to do it for your mother’.’
   Henin-Hardenne only returned to the tour in April this year after seven months on the sidelines due to a mystery virus and then a fractured knee.
   She was soon back in the old routine, however, winning three titles in the run-up to the French Open. Saturday’s win came just three days after her 23rd birthday.
   ‘It was amazing to reach the final after what’s happened to me over the last few months,’ said Henin-Hardenne.
   ‘It was the best birthday gift. If I ever play only one more Grand Slam final in my career, I would have wished it to have been here because this is a very special place for me with lots of memories.’
   Roland Garros may be special, but it was a demanding friend in 2005.
   Henin-Hardenne endured three-set marathons in three of her six rounds going into the final and had to save two match points to get past US Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova in the round of 16.
   Those examinations have led to problems with her back, but she was determined to dig out one last effort against Pierce to whom she has never lost.
   In the end it was a straightforward exercise overwhelming the 30-year-old Frenchwoman in just 62 minutes.

English cricket officials are worried about playing in the southern port city of Karachi on their tour later this year.
   Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Shaharyar Khan said on Sunday that the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) had expressed reservations about playing a Test match in Karachi, which has been the target of several bomb attacks.
   ‘They don’t want to spend a long time in the city. They feel that while there is no direct threat to their players yet they have concerns over the atmosphere and don’t want to be caught in any crossfire,’ Shaharyar told Reuters.
   ‘But we have assured them that there is no problem in playing in Karachi. We have also invited them to send a security delegation to inspect the venues and review security arrangements.’
   England are due to tour Pakistan from October 22 to play five one-day internationals and three Tests.
   Pakistan has already dropped Peshawar, which is close to the Afghanistan border, from a proposed itinerary sent to the ECB.
   Since the September 11 2001 attacks on the United States other touring sides including Australia, West Indies, South Africa and New Zealand have shunned Karachi.
   Last year India refused to play a Test match in the city but agreed to play a one-day game which passed off without incident.
   Karachi witnessed a suicide bomb attack on a mosque in a busy locality of the city on May 30. It killed two people and led to rioting by angry protesters. Six employees at a fast food store died when the building was set on fire.
   Shaharyar said the PCB could consider moving the Test to Faisalabad, Multan, Lahore or Rawalpindi.
   ‘But we definitely want them to play a match in Karachi even if it is an ODI,’ he added.

As the West Indies prepares to take the stage as host of the 2007 Cricket World Cup, one of its most iconic players paints a bleak picture of the state of the sport in the Caribbean.
   ‘I think we’ve lost our way big time,’ former West Indies skipper Viv Richards said on Friday in an interview before accepting the Caribbean Tourism Organization’s Award of Excellence at a gala in New York City.
   Sir Viv, as he’s as he’s fondly called since his knighthood, helped the West Indies win the first two World Cup titles in the 1975 and 1979, but has since watched the team descend to shadow of its former greatness in the 1990s. He blames the decline on regional cricket administrators for not concentrating on what’s important — the players.
   All the attention is on aesthetics and new stadiums being built for cricket’s premier event in 2007, Richards says. One will be named for him in his native Antigua and Barbuda.
   ‘I would love to see emphasis placed on getting the team in a proper competitive position ... but it looks to me the other way round,’ he said.
   Perhaps that is why people like him are being drafted ‘to maybe explain what’s gone wrong,’ he said. An imperious batsman and brilliant fieldsman, Richards amassed a total of 8,540 runs in 121 Tests, as well as 6,721 runs from 187 limited-overs internationals.
   But he is also widely recognized as a personality whose strengths transcended the sport to provide cultural and ideological leadership.
   ‘He was one of the most imposing personalities in cricket who proved to the rest of the world that despite our small size we in the region can achieve greatness,’ the tourism organization’s chairman, Pamela C. Richards, said before the ceremony. ‘The Caribbean is as proud of him today as in the days he struck fear in the hearts of opposing teams.’
   Richards began his international career in 1974 when Caribbean cricket was widely admired for its entertaining style, but before the West Indies proved it had the creativity and staying power to do it consistently and be the best in the world. Through the late 1970s and into the ‘80s, that’s exactly what the West Indies proved they could be.
   ‘We finally did ... and a lot of people never expected us to have done that and done it well and with such a fine-tuned machine for such a long time,’ Richards said.
   But now increasing numbers of youngsters in the Caribbean are turning to soccer and basketball, and Richards says regional cricket administrators must shoulder the blame.
   ‘The administrators wanted all the glory for themselves,’ he said, adding that the ‘product’ that is the West Indies team was not promoted and administered well.
   West Indies cricket for years has been disrupted by arguments between players and the West Indies Cricket Board, based in Richards home island, Antigua.
   Most recently the board won a wrangle that pitted players who had personal endorsements from the telecommunications giant Cable & Wireless against team new sponsor, Irish-based Digicel.
   The argument jeopardized the team’s tour to Australia in January, and prevented seven players, including star batsman Brian Lara, from playing in the first Test against visiting South Africa last month. Despite bursts of brilliance when they joined the series, the West Indies were swept 5-0 by South Africa on their home ground - a disappointing showing that has become typical in recent years.
   Maybe some of the administrators and ourselves never quite did our homework, (never) did what was needed to get some of the younger fellows involved and keep that torch alight,’ he said.
   Some administrators thought they had ‘the knowledge to move West Indies cricket forward and I just felt they failed us big time.’
   That shows, he said, not just in the non-results in competition but neglected issues such as ‘respect factors.’ If the process were a relay race, ‘I think we dropped that baton a long time ago ...’
   A great legacy may be lost, he implied.

Ian Bell spoke of his relief at scoring his first Test hundred after England just failed to beat Bangladesh inside two days in the second and final Test at the Riverside here Saturday.
   ‘It’s my first one and it is a relief,’ Bell told reporters after scoring 162 not out as England piled up 447 for three declared against the Asian minnows.
   The 23-year-old Warwickshire right-handed batsman is competing for a middle-order berth during the forthcoming Ashes series against the likes of Kevin Pietersen, yet to play Test cricket, and Kent’s Robert Key.
   And Bell, appearing in his third Test after scoring 70 on debut against WI at The Oval last year, did not care that his maiden hundred at this level had come against a Bangladesh side that had won just one of its previous 37 Tests.
   ‘A lot of effort has gone in since I was young to get me into Test cricket and you cannot take that away from me.’ Looking ahead to the Ashes, which start on July 21 with the first Test at Lord’s, Bell added: ‘I am trying to put myself in as good a position as I can with the Ashes coming up.
   ‘There will be more testing times ahead but I am happy to have the first opportunity of the summer because there are a lot of other players up for a place,’ explained Bell who has not been included in the England’s squad for the one-day series.
   ‘I am looking forward to testing myself against the best, Australia. It’s not something I will be sitting around and worrying about,’ insisted Bell who has now the extraordinary Test average of 297 having been dimissed just once in three innings.

Argentina’s plans of booking an early place at next year’s World Cup were upset as they crashed 2-0 away to Ecuador on Saturday, while Chile and Colombia both enjoyed emphatic home wins to stay in the hunt.
   Second-half goals from Cristan Lara and Agustin Delgado in Quito mean that Argentina, who would have made sure of their place in Germany if they had won, will now have to try again in Wednesday’s meeting with Brazil.
   Colombia trounced Peru 5-0 in steamy Barranquilla and Marcelo Salas became Chile’s all-time leading scorer after hitting the target in the 3-1 win over Bolivia, ending a four-year wait for his 35th international goal.
   Venezuela were held 1-1 at home by Uruguay in the night’s other tie, which ended with scuffles between the players.
   Argentina still lead the 10-nation South American group with 28 points from 14 games while Brazil, who are four points behind, meet Paraguay in Porto Alegre on Sunday to complete the weekend’s fixtures.
   Third-placed Ecuador have 23 points followed by Paraguay (19), Colombia, Uruguay and Chile (17), Venezuela (15), Peru (14) and Bolivia (13).
   Argentina coach Jose Pekerman rested several top players and refused to blame Quito’s high altitude after the first defeat in eight games since he took over.
   ‘There are no excuses,’ he said. ‘We have to hand the merits to Ecuador.’
   Fullback Neicer Reasco weaved his way through the Argentine midfield and laid the ball off for Lara to score from the edge of the area in the 54th minute.
   Then Lara tricked his way past his marker and crossed for Agustin Delgado to head the second in the 90th.
   Argentine midfielder Esteban Cambiasso was sent off for elbowing an opponent in the scuffle which followed.
   There was also trouble in Maracaibo, where Venezuela coach Richard Paez accused Uruguay captain Paolo Montero of provoking his players.
   ‘He leaves a lot to be desired for a player of his experience,’ Paez said.
   Spanish league top-scorer Diego Forlan lobbed Uruguay ahead after two minutes with his sixth goal of the qualifiers.
   Uruguay had Carlos Diogo sent off for an off-the-ball incident before halftime and Venezuela levelled with a 25-metre strike from Giancarlo Maldonado in the 73rd minute.
   In Santiago, two headers by defender Luis Fuentes gave Chile a 2-0 halftime lead over Bolivia before Salas added the third in the 67th minute.
   Salas, whose career has been plagued by injury, had been level on 34 with his former striking partner Ivan Zamorano since 2001. His last goal came against the same opponents.
   Chile’s Sebastian Gonzalez was sent off before halftime and Bolivia pulled back a goal with an 83rd minute penalty by Jose Castillo.
   Chile, who fired coach Juvenal Olmos in April, were playing their first game under his replacement Nelson Acosta, who was in charge of Bolivia when Chile won 2-0 in La Paz last year.
   Luis Gabriel Rey, Elkin Soto, Juan Pablo Angel, John Javier Restrepo and Edixon Perea shared the goals as Colombia, who had scored only twice in their previous six qualifiers, found their scoring touch.
   Peru, playing their first competitive match under new coach Freddy Ternero, were left off lightly as Mario Yepes missed a first-half penalty for Colombia, who also wasted several late chances.

Ukraine made a firm step towards their first ever World Cup finals with a 2-0 home victory over Kazakhstan, helped by a goalless draw in the clash between Turkey and Greece.
   AC Milan sharpshooter Andrei Shevchenko netted Ukraine’s opening goal, while Kazakhstan’s full back Igor Avdeyev netted an own goal.
   Ukraine now have 20 points from eight matches and are five points clear of second-placed Greece and seven ahead of Turkey with only the group winners earning an automatic qualifying berth to the 2006 finals in Germany.
   The Istanbul Group 2 clash between arch rivals Turkey and Greece had been eagerly-awaited and the away side, although the reigning European champions, have still never beaten Turkey.
   Ukraine looked in complete command as they began testing the visitors’ defence right from the kick-off, keeping Kazakhstan’s goalkeeper Yury Novikov on his toes.
   Kazakhstan defended stoutly but were unable to prevent Shevchenko’s opening goal after 18 minutes when Ukraine’s skipper sent the ball into the net from the edge of the six-yard box.
   The home side dominated play till the break and missed many chances to increase their lead.
   After the restart, Ukraine were still in command but they lacked precision in the final phase of their attacks while Kazakhstan packed their defence and stifled any offensive moves on the edge of their box.
   However the visitors failed to resist Ukrainian pressure and defender Avdeyev sent the ball into his own net in an attempt to stop Ruslan Rotan’s cross from the left with seven minutes remaining.
   A lot was expected of the Turkey versus Greece clash. World Cup semi-finalists Turkey have never lost against Greece but this was the first match between the sides since Greece won last year’s Euro 2004 tournament.
   For the record, Turkey won the first match between the sides - a friendly in 1988 - 3-1 and returned from Athens six months later with a 1-0 victory.
   The sides’ next encounter, 15 years later and in the current qualifying campaign, ended in a goalless draw at the Karaiskaki stadium in Piraeus last September.
   For Greece, they have started their World Cup qualifying campaign slowly and, though a draw in Istanbul is on paper a creditable result, failing to win has meant winning the group, and an automatic qualifying berth, looks less likely.
   Turkey’s Belozoglu Emre tested Antonis Nikopolidis with a superb shot in the sixth minute but the Greek keeper ably parried the ball away and the match settled into a controlling game by the Greeks, past masters as seen in their European championship winning exploits in Portugal last summer.
   Stelios Giannakopoulos nearly put the Greeks ahead in the 36th minute on a counter attack but Turkey keeper Recber Rustu saved at full-stretch. Giannakopoulos also hit the crossbar eight minutes after the break.
   The inclusion of Fenerbahce striker Tuncay Sanli for Turkey in the second half heralded a period of pressure from the home side and Tuncay nearly scored with a shot that skimmed the left hand post.
   Although without their playmaker Emre, who left the field injured in the 79th minute, Turkey kept up the pressure and Serkan Balci had a chance in the final minutes.
   Drama in the closing stages came in the shape of Turkey’s Yildiray Basturk being sent off for a second yellow card in the 89th minute after contesting a decision by German referee Markus Merk.
   Holland beat Romania 2-0 in Rotterdam to hold on to their lead in Group 1 but coach Marco van Basten was not entirely happy. ‘It wasn’t a great match tonight. We didn’t play as well as we could have but overall I’m satisfied. I have to take my hat off to young players such as Robben, Lucius and van Persie who did very well.’
   In Group 3, Portugal beat Slovakia 2-0 after a great performance from Manchester United’s Cristiano Ronaldo.
   VfB Stuttgart defender Fernando Meira, set up by Paris Saint Germain’s Pauleta, gave Portugal the lead on 21 minutes before Ronaldo doubled the scores four minutes before the break with a 25-metre shot.
   Israel kept up the pressure in Group 4 as they came from two goals down to draw 2-2 with the Republic of Ireland in Dublin.
   While all the goals came in the first half - in fact there were five with Robbie Keane having one ruled out for offside - the second half was characterised by acrimony and bookings.
   Italy remained top of Group 5 after a goalless draw against Norway in Oslo, Spain beat Lithuania 1-0 in Valencia to draw level on top of Group 7 with Serbia-Montenegro who drew 0-0 against Belgium, and Croatia and Sweden both had victories to stamp their authority on Group 8.

Luis Figo says he is proud to have became Portugal’s most capped player after he emerged from a short-lived retirement on Saturday to take part in the team’s 2-0 home win over Slovakia in a World Cup qualifier.
   ‘I am not here to break records but to help the team. But at the same time this means that I have taken part in many matches for my country,’ he told state-owned television RTP.
   ‘I feel very honoured for having defended the jersey of my country so many times,’ he added.
   Figo, 32, now counts 111 appearances since making his debut in 1991 and is the team’s third-highest scorer with 31 goals.
   He resumed the role of captain during the match on Saturday and was loudly cheered by the sell-out crowd of some 60,000 that included Portuguese President Jorge Sampaio when he walked onto the pitch at the Stadium of Light in Lisbon.
   The FIFA World Player of the Year in 2001 had not played for Portugal since the squad’s shock 1-0 loss against Greece in the Euro 2004 final on July 4 held at the same venue.
   ‘The last time I was at this stadium Portuguese fans left very disappointed and saddened. This result is a small reward for the disillusionment of the previous time,’ he said.
   Figo was active throughout the full 90 minutes against Slovakia and had a chance to score in the 32nd minute but his shot was deflected by a defender.
   He announced in August last year that he was halting his international career because his commitments to the national team on top of his heavy schedule with Spanish giants Real Madrid were hurting his fitness.
   But Portuguese football officials continued to hope for his return and never awarded his number 7 jersey to another player.
   Last month Figo announced his desire to return to the national squad last month after losing his regular place at Real in early April.
   Portugal coach Luiz Felipe Scolari also named Figo in his squad for the World Cup qualifier against Estonia in Tallinn on Wednesday.

When Greece surprisingly won the Euro 2004 competition last summer their fans proudly called for a match up with world champions Brazil.
   The Greeks have only played the Brazilians once, back on April 28 1974 when they held them to a goalless draw in a friendly match watched by 100,000 spectators at the Maracana stadium.
   On June 16 in Germany, the Greek fans will get their wish when their team faces Brazil in Group B of the Confederations Cup.
   With the European championship the only claim to fame for Greece, after a disastrous showing in their only World Cup appearance in 1994 when they lost all three matches and failed to score, Greece coach Otto Rehhagel is getting his team ready for this glamorous fixture.
   He also wants to maintain ‘our international recognition and keep the high level we have reached.
   ‘We are very satisfied that we were drawn with Brazil. Brazil is the standard against which everything is measured. The game between Greece and Brazil is a very important game. We have already shown that everything is possible,’ Rehhagel said.
   Rehhagel added, ‘Participation in this tournament is a great opportunity for Greek soccer. I’m delighted to be pitted against Brazil. Besides, there is no ranking stress in this case and we’ll try to play freely and make a good display. I expect the support of Greek people living in Germany.’
   Asked whether he thought Greece stood a chance against the perennial soccer powerhouse, Rehhagel said, ‘Brazil are obviously an exceptionally tough proposition.
   But ever since our triumph in Portugal Euro 2004, we’ve noticed our opponents take a different attitude and pay us a lot more respect.
   ‘My players have earned that respect, and they deserve it too. Since then, they’ve had to prove they can cope with the title and the recognition. And, in the meantime, we’ve got it well under control.’
   Despite reports that some of the key Brazilian players may be missing from the match with Greece, Rehhagel believes that the world champions possess incredible depth.
   ‘Brazil could put out three different teams if they wanted to, and each of them would be favourites to win the tournament,’ Rehhagel said.
   The German coach of the Greek side admitted that the task of qualifying for the World Cup 2006 is more important on the mind of his team, but nevertheless said it was a great honor for Greece to be in the Confederations Cup as Europe’s representative.
   Traianos Dellas, the backbone of the Greek team’s defense, speaking on a private radio station stated that a game with Brazil will be a great experience, stressing however that the preliminary World Cup matches have greater meaning.
   ‘The game with Brazil will be a great experience for us. I see it as a celebration. If we win, it will be even better. It is an event in the far horizon. For now we are thinking about the preliminary games of the World Cup,’ Dellas said.
   Only top defender and MVP of Euro 2004 Theodoros Zagorakis will be missing the first two matches as he will be playing for his Bologna squad in a playoff to avoid relegation in the Italian league.
   ‘We would like to have him, if possible, with us for the third Confederations Cup match,’ Rehhagel said.
   Midfielder Giorgos Karagounis will also be involved this month in action for Inter Milan but Rehhagel said he would join the team for the first match.

Portuguese winger Cristiano Ronaldo, who has been linked to Spanish giants Real Madrid, is staying put at Manchester United, the English Premiership club's assistant manager Carlos Queiroz said Saturday.
   'That is speculation. Manchester United is building an entire project around Ronaldo. Around him, striker Wayne Rooney and the younger players,' he said in an interview published in daily Portuguese newspaper 24Horas.
   Manchester signed the 20-year-old from Sporting Lisbon for five years in a deal worth just over 12 million pounds (17.8 million euros, 21.8 million dollars) in August 2003.
   Queiroz added that age would not be an impediment to signing Real Madrid winger Luis Figo but he refused to say if the club has its sights set on the 32-year-old.
   'I don't want to speculate about that. The decisions we make are not made according to ages, but according to the interests of the team. As far as I know Figo is at Real Madrid,' the Portuguese assistant manager said.
   The Spanish press reported earlier this week that Real Madrid had released the player, who has been demoted to the bench at the club since early April.

Arsenal defender Ashley Cole believes he may never play for the club again. Cole, who on Wednesday was found guilty of approaching Chelsea and fined £100,000, blames Vice-chairman David Dein for his contract dispute.
   'I think it's a broken bridge that is impossible to mend. I blame David Dein for trying to force me out of the club I love,' he told the News of the World.
   'They've left me feeling there is no way back, that they don't want me to put my beloved Arsenal shirt on again.'
   Cole added, 'Dein didn't show me any respect and treated me like a little kid. 'I am now convinced a section of the Arsenal board don't want me.' Cole became unhappy that the Gunners were £5,000-a-week short of his £60,000-a-week pay demands and went to a meeting with Chelsea officials to explore other options.
   But the Premier League found Chelsea and their manager Jose Mourinho guilty of tapping up Cole and fined them a total of £500,000, as well as fining Cole.

Brazil international midfielder Kaka says he will marry after the 2006 World Cup in Germany.
   His wife-to-be is 17-year-old Brazilian student Caroline Celico, who has been Kaka's girlfriend since he was 13 years old.
   'I'll get married after the Cup, hopefully with the title won,' the AC Milan player told Globo TV during a live interview on Saturday.
   Kaka, 23, made the announcement just hours before Brazil's last practice ahead of Sunday's World Cup qualifier against Paraguay in the southern city of Porto Alegre. Celico will have turned 18 by next year's World Cup.

Landon Donovan scored twice and Kasey Keller made a pair of crucial second-half saves Saturday as the United States breezed to a 3-0 win over Costa Rica in a CONCACAF qualifier for the 2006 World Cup.
   The Americans (3-1-0) have nine points after four matches and are one point adrift of first place Mexico who blanked Guatemala 2-0 on Saturday.
   Playing its first qualifier since March 30, the US fed off the energy at Rice-Eccles Stadium and struck quickly. Donovan received a crossing pass from Josh Wolff and drilled it in the top left corner in the sixth minute.
   The score remained 1-0 thanks to Keller, who dove to his right to keep out a drive by Jafet Soto in the 47th minute and thwarted another effort by Soto with a dive to his left in the 59th.
   Three minutes later, Brian McBride attempted a diving header at Costa Rican goalkeeper Alvaro Mesen, who made the stop. However, the rebound came right to Donovan for the easy tap-in.
   McBride was rewarded for his solid effort with a score in the 88th minute - the 27th of his international career. In another Saturday's CONCACAF qualifier, Trinidad and Tobago posted a 2-0 home victory over Panama, which hosts the Americans on Wednesday.
   Stern John in the 33rd minute and Dennis Lawrence in the 70th gave Trinidad and Tobago three valuable points in the six-nation group.

Narail emerge new champions
Narail DSA emerged as new champions in the City Bank National Youth Volleyball Championship beating Jessore DSA by straight 3-0 sets in the final at the Shaheed Suhrawardy Indoor Stadium in Mirpur on Saturday. President of Bangladesh Volleyball Federation Nasiruddin Ahmed Pintoo MP witnessed the day’s final as chief guest and later distributed the prizes. City Bank director Mohammad Shoeb was present as special guest. Earlier, in a place-deciding match, Dinajpur DSA finished third beating Tangail DSA by 3-2 sets at the same venue. On way to the final, Narail eliminated Dinajpur by 3-0 sets while Jessore beat Tangail by 3-2 sets in the semifinals on Saturday.
— UNB

Shooting team leaves for Germany today
Bangladesh shooting team leaves Dhaka for Germany today to participate in the World Shooting Championship to be held in Munich on June 6-13. The four-member Bangladesh shooting team comprises three shooters - Suriya Akhter, Sharmin Akhter and Anwaruzzaman - and an official, Ferdous Ara Khanam (Aleya Ferdousi), who will act as the team manager. Bangladeshi shooters will take part in the men’s and women’s Air Rifle events, likely to be finalized on June 11-12. The team will return home on June 13.
— UNB

Swadesh SKP beat Dhaka Junior
Swadesh Samaj Kalyan Parishad beat Dhaka Junior SC by 5-2 goals in the only match of the Metropolis Third Division Football League at the Banani Army Stadium on Sunday. Touhid and Shamim scored two goals each while Rana scored the other goal for the winners. Anis netted two goals to reduce the Dhaka Junior SC margin. The day’s other match between Friends Social Welfare Organisation and Jirabo SC could not be held due to inclement weather. The match will now be held today at the Banani Army Stadium at 4:15pm.
— UNB

Haradhon SS get walkover
Master Haradhon Smriti Sangsad received another ‘walk over’ due to the absence of the contestant Rajostholi upazila team in Sunday’s scheduled match of the Zila Parishad Junior (Under-14) Gold Cup Football tournament, being held at local stadium. Sujon Smriti Sangsad will take on the Bilaichhari upazila team today.
— New Age

Tsunami survivor realises dream
An eight-year-old survivor of the Asian tsunami realised a dream on Saturday when he shared the pitch with the Portuguese national soccer team before their World Cup qualifier against Slovakia. Martunis, an Indonesian third-grader, shook hands with and was kissed by members of both sides before the start of the Group Three match at a packed Luz stadium. Dressed in a red-and-green Portuguese team jersey, Martunis walked on to the pitch holding the hand of AC Milan’s Rui Costa, who has retired from international soccer. He watched the game from the stands at Costa’s side. He was also given a cheque for 40,000 euros ($49,100) by FIFA president Sepp Blatter, a gift from the Portuguese Soccer Federation. Martunis was found by a British TV crew after the December 2004 tsunami wandering delirious and dressed in a Portuguese team jersey.
— Reuters