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Defending champions Abahani and title contenders Mohammedan Sporting Club registered victories over Khelaghar SKS and BKSP respectively in the Premier Division Cricket League at Fatullah and Bogra on Sunday. In the other match of the day, Victoria outplayed Surjo Tarun by 35 runs at BKSP.
   
   Abahani v Khelaghar
   Opting to bat first after winning the toss, Abahani amassed a respectable total of 268-8 in the stipulated 50 overs and eked out a 29-run victory at the Fatullah cricket stadium.
   On a wicket which was less helpful to the bowlers, Abahani’s batsmen took their opportunities and most of them made a good contribution.
   Their Indian recruit Ajay Kudva made highest 67 runs off 87 balls with four
   boundaries and a six, while wicketkeeper Sahagir Hossain scored 52 from 69 balls with three fours and a six.
   Mahbubul Karim and Nadif Chowdhury added 25 each. Rony Talukder, Nasir Hossain and Imrul Kayes were the other notable contributors to Abahani’s total with 24, 24 and 19 runs.
   For Khelaghar, Monwar Hossain earned some respect by capturing four wickets for 47 runs while Enamul Haque took two wickets for 38.
   In reply, Khelaghar fought bravely against the defending champions, but they
   were able to score 239 for seven in their quota of 50 overs.
   Middle-order batsman Ashraf Ali top-scored with 58 not out from 69 balls with four boundaries and Aslam Ali made 56 in 93 balls with three fours and two sixes. Shafiul Alam(42), Niaz Morshed (32) and Masum Khan (17) were the other notable scorers.
   Arafat Sunny and Mohammad Rafique grabbed two wickets each for 31 and 43 runs respectively.
   
   Mohammedan v BKSP
   Away at the Bogra District Stadium, Mohammedan Sporting Club outplayed BKSP by 23 runs. Batting first, Mohammedan were all out for 208 all out in 48.4 overs, but their bowlers did a splendid job to bundle the opponents out for 181 runs with two overs to spare.
   Opener Nafees Iqbal scored 28 runs and after some hiccups in the middle order skipper Khaled Mashud led the recovery making 22 while Faisal Hossain and Sri Lankan all-rounder Farveez Maharuf added 38 and 31 runs respectively. Extra 23 runs courtesy of the BKSP bowlers and fielders played a vital role at the end of the match. Anjum Ahmed grabbed three wickets for 42 runs and Md Furkan got two for 38.
   The BKSP openers, Ashiqul Alam and Shoumya Sarkar, provided their team a fine start putting on 35 and 41 respectively but their lower order failed to capitalise on their good work. One-down Asif Ahmed (25) and two-down Iqbal Ahmed (26) played well in the middle-order. Mohammedan bowlers struck when it was needed most. BKSP lost their last six wickets for 39 runs with Nabil Samad leading the way with a three-wicket haul for 41 runs. Aftab Ahmed and Md Shahzada both captured two wickets to present Mohammedan a hard-earned victory.
   
   Victoria v Surjo Tarun
   At BKSP, Victoria defeated Surjo Tarun by 35 runs in a low scoring match. Batting first, Victoria were all out for 144 runs in 46.2 overs, but Surjo Tarun saw a batting disaster to be bundled out for 109 in 41.3 overs.
   Kamrul Islam’s 20, Arafat Salahuddin’s 33 and skipper Md. Sharif’s 43 off 50 balls took Victoria to 144. Sanjamul Islam was the wrecker-in-chief for Surjo Tarun picking up four wickets for 22 runs and Mahbubul Alam took three for 24.
   But Surjo Tarun batsmen failed to rise to the occasion as Hannan Sarkers’ 22 and Dhiman Ghosh’s 21 were the only notable scores. Abul Bashar’s three wickets for 10 runs played the key role in Victoria’s win while Arsalan Mir scalped two for 20 runs.

Nigerian forward Kalou Johnson powered Farashganj to a 2-0 win over their Old Dkaka rivals Rahmatganj in the lone match of the Citycell Bangladesh League at the Bangabandhu National Stadium on Sunday.
   The bad-tempered match saw Rezaul Karim Reza of Farashganj and Asif Hossain Rimon of Rahmatganj sent off in the 63rd and 79th minutes respectively.
   Kalou scored a brace in the 82nd and 89th minutes to present Farashganj their first win of the season while Rahmatganj tasted the first defeat in their very first match of the Bangladesh League. Rahmatganj did not play in the first round as they were given a break.
   Farashganj dominated the first half and their Guinean striker Musa Camara scuffed his shot inches wide of the side post from a Kalou square pass in the 20th minute.
   Rahmatganj were unfortunate in the 28th minute when midfielder Mamun’s side-volley off a Kabir Hossain pass slipped through Farashganj keeper Titumir’s gloves but defender Reza cleared the ball from the goal-line.
   Farashganj’s penetration paid off in the dying minutes and Kalou arrived as the hero at the end of the day. Farashganj had played out a goalless draw with Chittagong Abahani in their first match.

Bangladesh kicked off their group E qualifiers of the AFC U-19 Championship with a 5-0 defeat to Asian powerhouse South Korea at the Royal Thai Stadium in Bangkok on Sunday. The winners led the first half 2-0.
   Korea took the lead in the 6th minute through Lee Jae-gwan and in the 35th minute Lee Hak-min scored the second goal. Bangladesh goalkeeper Sohel Alam denied the Korean strikers twice in the 16th and 25th minutes.
   However, the Bangladesh boys failed to cope up with the pressure in the second half and conceded another three goals, two of which were scored within two minutes.
   Kim Won-sik scored the third goal in the 58th minute from a penalty and just two minutes later Suk Hyun-jun netted the fourth. The rampant Koreans, however, did not show any mercy and added the fifth in the last minute of the match.
   Bangladesh coach Shafiqul Islam Manik, however, looked unmoved by the result. ‘Korea are a World Cup playing nation and the result is not surprising at all. But I hope to come back in the other matches,’ said Manik.
   Bangladesh play their second match against Vietnam on Tuesday.

New Zealand and Pakistan will both be hoping they can overcome a series of setbacks when they clash in the first of three one-day internationals here on Tuesday.
   Since finishing runners-up to Australia in the Champions Trophy last month, New Zealand’s problems have multiplied, following injuries to key players and the sudden departure of coach Andy Moles.
   Moles’s resignation after differences with some of the players has left a void, but skipper Daniel Vettori is confident his team are capable of rising to the occasion.
   ‘Now every single person in the squad has to pick up a little bit of the slack,’ Vettori said when asked about the team’s being without a coach.
   ‘People will still expect us to win, there’s no reason why we shouldn’t, and that’s the mindset that we have to have going,’ said Vettori who will be an acting-coach as well as a selector and the team’s leading all-rounder.
   The Black Caps will also be without hard-hitting opener Jesse Ryder, all-rounder Grant Elliott and pace spearhead Daryl Tuffey—all nursing injuries. Their places go to the uncapped Bradley-John Watling, recalled Scott Styris and fast bowler Tim Southee.
   Elliott starred in New Zealand’s five-wicket win over Pakistan in the semi-final of the Champions Trophy in South Africa.
   ‘It is disappointing because you would always want to bring your top team for a series,’ said Vettori. ‘Despite injuries we did well in the Champions Trophy and hope we can do the same.’
   Vettori will also be without a deputy after wicketkeeper-batsman Brendon McCullum quit the vice-captaincy to focus on his batting.
   The New Zealand captain said both sides were struggling with their form.
   ‘I think inconsistency probably plagues both the teams. There are some really talented players in both the sides who can win games but how often are we consistently doing that?,’ said Vettori.
   ‘We know we’re going to battle hard against Pakistan and we need those key players to step up to either win games or nullify Pakistan’s key players.
   ‘They’ve got a lot of issues going on but they’ve dealt with them in the past and they’re used to it.’
   Pakistan captain Younus Khan offered to resign over unproven match-fixing allegations following his team’s defeat against Australia and New Zealand in the Champions Trophy.
   Pakistan Cricket Board rejected Younus’s resignation, but there were reports of disharmony within the team.
   Younus, however, stressed unity was vital if they were to achieve a win.
   ‘We can only win if we play above our potential and play as a unit,’ said Younus, who will pass the captaincy to all-rounder Shahid Afridi for two Twenty20 matches after the one-day series.
   ‘New Zealand are like Australia and Sri Lanka, who play as a unit and you have to play like that to beat them.’
   Pakistan will be without key fast bowler Mohammad Asif, who was not selected because immigration officials will not let him into the United Arab Emirates following his deportation from Dubai last year on charges of possessing a banned drug.
   The second and third one-dayers will be played here on November 6 and 9. The series was moved out of Pakistan after New Zealand refused to tour following attacks on the Sri Lankan team in March this year.

India’s key batsmen Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir are injury doubts for the fourth one-day international against Australia here today.
   Sehwag was struck on his left foot by a Peter Siddle yorker while Gambhir was hit below the ear by a pull shot from Australian captain Ricky Ponting during the third one-dayer in New Delhi on Saturday.
   Wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik has been called up to the squad as cover, a statement by the Board of Control for Cricket in India said on Sunday.
   ‘Dinesh Karthik will be joining the Indian team in Mohali,’ BCCI Secretary N Srinivasan said in a statement.
   ‘A final decision on the availability of Sehwag and Gambhir for the fourth match will be taken on the morning of the game.’
   India lead the seven-match series 2-1 after victories at New Delhi and Nagpur. Australia won the opening match at Vadodara by four runs.
   Karthik, 24, was overlooked for the current series after featuring in the Champions Trophy in South Africa in September-October.
   He has scored 502 runs in 33 one-day internationals at 23.90 and is also likely to be a backup for captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni behind the stumps.

Former tennis star Andre Agassi has admitted the lion mane-style hairstyle he sported during the 1990s was actually a wig, in extracts from his autobiography published in British newspapers Saturday.
   Agassi said he wore a hairpiece held together with pins in his first Grand Slam final, the 1990 French Open final, and blamed his concerns that it would fall apart for losing the match to Andres Gomez.
   Before the match he prayed ‘not for victory, but that my hairpiece would not fall off’, he writes in ‘Open’.
   In previous excerpts, Agassi admitted he had used the drug crystal methamphetamine in 1997.
   He said he started to wear a wig to disguise hair loss.
   ‘Every morning I would get up and find another piece of my identity on the pillow, in the wash basin, down the plughole,’ he wrote.
   ‘I asked myself: you want to wear a toupee? On the tennis court? I answered myself; what else could I do?’
   But the wig began to disintegrate as he took a shower the night before the Paris final—’probably I used the wrong hair rinse,’ Agassi writes.
   He panicked and called his brother Philly into the room. Together, they managed to clamp the wig together using clips and pins.
   Agassi, 39, writes: ‘Of course I could have played without my hairpiece, but what would all the journalists have written if they knew that all the time I was really wearing a wig?
   ‘During the warming-up training before play I prayed. Not for victory, but that my hairpiece would not fall off.
   ‘With each leap, I imagine it falling into the sand. I imagine millions of spectators move closer to their TV sets, their eyes widening and, in dozens of dialects and languages, ask how Andre Agassi’s hair has fallen from his head.’
   It was actress Brooke Shields, who he married, who persuaded him to cut off all his remaining hair.
   ‘She said I should shave my head,’ he said. ‘It was like suggesting I should have all my teeth out.
   ‘Nevertheless, I thought for a few days about it, about the agonies it caused me, the hypocrisy and lies.’
   But after taking the plunge, ‘a stranger stood before me in the mirror and smiled,’ Agassi said. ‘My wig was like a chain and the ridiculously long strands in three colours like an iron ball which hung on it.’
   Agassi won eight Grand Slams during his career and is one of only six men to win all four major titles.

Bangladesh fast bowler Dollar Mahmud has been fined 15 per cent of his match fee for bowling two beamers in an over during the second ODI against Zimbabwe in Mirpur on Thursday.
   Both deliveries were bowled during the 42nd over of Zimbabwe’s innings, with Malcolm Waller and Elton Chigumbura at the crease. The fourth ball, to Waller, was a high full toss down the leg side which beat the wicketkeeper and raced to the boundary. The final ball was another beamer, which hit Chigumbura on the helmet. The umpire penalised the bowler and Mahmud wasn’t allowed to bowl for the rest of the innings. The over was completed by Mahmudullah.
   Mahmud was found guilty of a Level 1 offence, according to the match referee Ranjan Madugalle. ‘At the outset, I explained to the bowler that his actions of bowling high full tosses was clearly against the spirit of the game and is considered ‘unfair play’ under the Laws of Cricket,’ Madugalle said. ‘He pleaded guilty and immediately apologised for his actions in both instances to the batsmen and also apologised to the two on-field umpires.
   ‘In arriving at my decision, I took into account that it was his first offence under the code. His immediate actions also showed his genuine concern to the batsmen.’

The Badal Benefit Open National Squash Championship, organised by Dhaka club, got underway at the club’s squash court on Sunday.
   Dhaka Club has named the tournament after their long-serving squash marker Badal Chowhan, also known as Badla. The players of the five participating clubs – Dhaka Club, Gulshan Club, RAOWA Club, Cadet College Club and Uttara Club – will donate money and Dhaka Club will add Tk 1 lakh to the benefit fund. The organisers hoped that the total amount will be around Tk 5 lakh.
   Bangladesh Squash Federation also declared a donation.
   At a press briefing at the club premises on Sunday club president Sadat Hossain Selim and secretary of the club’s squash committee Istekaruddin Naushad revealed the details of the meet to the newsmen.

Australian fast bowler Brett Lee said Sunday he was far from finished as a Test cricketer following his latest injury setback.
   Lee, 32, returned home on Sunday with an elbow injury which forced him out of Australia’s seven-match one-day series in India.
   The one-time pace spearhead is bidding to recover in time for the opening Test against the West Indies, starting in Brisbane on November 26.
   ‘I certainly have not ruled out playing Test match cricket and that is definitely the most important thing that I want to achieve—to get back in and play Test match cricket,’ Lee told reporters.
   Lee said he will consult a specialist this week about his elbow complaint and is hopeful of being fit to play for New South Wales in their Sheffield Shield match against Tasmania starting November 17.
   The elbow injury continues a run of misfortune for Lee over the past 12 months.
   He spent the early part of this year recovering from foot and ankle surgery before suffering a side strain early in the Ashes tour and missed all five Tests against England.

Liver-pool’s English Premier League title hopes suffered a huge setback as they lost 3-1 away to Fulham on Saturday and finished the match at Craven Cottage down to nine men.
   Liverpool’s sixth loss in seven matches left them nine points off the top of the table and undid much of the good work achieved by last week’s win over champions Manchester United.
   ‘If you see the first half, it is difficult to explain the second-half,’ bewildered Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez told Sky Sports.
   In all eight red cards were shown in Saturday’s matches – a record for one day in the Premier League.
   Table-toppers Chelsea maintained their lead over United with a second 4-0 win this week over Bolton Wanderers.
   Second-half goals from Dimitar Berbatov and Wayne Rooney saw United keep Chelsea’s lead to two points after they beat Blackburn Rovers 2-0 at Old Trafford in Saturday’s late kick-off.
   ‘One-nil is good as well as long as you get the three points,’ Berbatov told ESPN. ‘As long as we keep on winning I think everyone will be happy.’
   Earlier, Arsenal enjoyed bragging rights in north London after a 3-0 derby win over Tottenham Hotspur.
   ‘Do we have enough to win the title? I say yes,’ said delighted Gunners boss Arsene Wenger.
   At the other end of the table, basement club Portsmouth won in the league for only the second time this season, beating Wigan 4-0 at Fratton Park with Aruna Dindane scoring a hat-trick.
   ‘I thought we thoroughly deserved the win,’ said Pompey manager Paul Hart after a second 4-0 home success in a matter of days following their League Cup rout of Stoke.
   Second-bottom West Ham drew 2-2 with Sunderland, also the scoreline in Stoke’s match against Wolves. Everton and Aston Villa, who both had a player sent off, drew 1-1 at Goodison Park.
   Burnley added to the pressure on Hull manager Phil Brown with a 2-0 victory over the relegation candidates at Turf Moor.
   ‘I expect to be manager of this football club in the Premier League next year,’ a defiant Brown said afterwards.
   At Craven Cottage, Fulham went ahead against the run of play when striker Bobby Zamora turned in a Damien Duff cross in the 24th minute.
   But before half-time Liverpool were level with Spain’s Fernando Torres pouncing after Andriy Voronin’s header came back off Aaron Hughes.
   However, Fulham regained the lead when Norway’s Erik Nevland struck from close range in the 73rd minute.
   Worse followed for the Reds with defenders Phillip Degen and Jamie Carrragher sent-off for fouls on Clint Dempsey and Zamora respectively.
   And Fulham wrapped up the match when Dempsey netted three minutes from time.
   Chelsea took the lead on the stroke of half-time through a Frank Lampard penalty after Bolton’s Jlloyd Samuel was sent off for a foul on Didier Drogba.
   And Chelsea doubled their lead after Deco scored in the 61st minute following good work by Nicolas Anelka. Zat Knight’s own goal and Drogba’s late effort made it 4-0.
   Robin van Persie scored twice as Arsenal put Tottenham’s title aspirations in perspective.
   The Dutchman opened the scoring in the 42nd minute when he turned in Bacary Sagna’s cross at the near post.
   From the kick-off, Gunners captain Cesc Fabregas surged through the visitors’ defence to make it 2-0.
   Van Persie piled on the misery for Harry Redknapp’s team in the 60th minute.
   Cash-strapped Portsmouth were on their way when Dindane scored his first Premier League goal in the 35th minute after running on to Michael Brown’s through ball.
   Frederic Piquionne scored just before the break before the previously misfiring Dindane grabbed two more goals.
   Graham Alexander marked his 100th appearance for Burnley with two goals, starting with a 20th-minute penalty.
   Hull’s Geovanni found the back of the net with a free-kick but his effort was ruled out for a foul. The Brazilian was then sent off and Alexander added a second for Burnley.
   West Ham went 2-0 up through goals from Guillermo Franco and Carlton Cole but Sunderland hit back courtesy of Andy Reid’s free-kick.
   However, the hosts were reduced to 10 men when striker Kenwyne Jones was sent off for a push on Herita Ilunga.
   But Sunderland levelled through Kieran Richardson and then West Ham were a man down when Radislav Kovac was dismissed.
   Stoke were also 2-0 up, through a George Elokobi own-goal and Matthew Etherington before Jody Craddock struck twice for Wolves.
   Everton took the lead through Diniyar Bilyaletdinov in the 45th minute before substitute John Carew drew Villa level.
   Bilyaletdinov then saw red for a wild tackle on Stiliyan Petrov before, moments later, Villa’s Carlos Cuellar was sent off for a second yellow card.

A disastrous stoppage-time own goal by Gerard Pique denied Barcelona the spoils in a 1-1 draw at Osasuna on Saturday as the champions saw their lead over Real Madrid cut to a single point.
   Barca looked poised to win in Pamplona after Seydou Keita followed up his hat-trick against Real Zaragoza last weekend with a 73rd-minute strike but with seconds left former Manchester United man Pique diverted a cross into his own net for a Halloween howler.
   ‘Gerard (Pique) tried to clear the danger and almost did but it ended up in the net,’ lamented Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola. ‘It is frustrating especially as it was so late in the game but these things can happen.’
   Barcelona now face a trip to Russia to take on Rubin Kazan in Wednesday’s Champions League match and will need no warning about a potential slip-up, having lost 2-1 to the Russians at Camp Nou in their last European match.
   On the domestic front unbeaten Barca stay top, though, 10-men Real closed in with a 2-0 home win over Getafe courtesy of a brace from Gonzalo Higuain.
   Real bounced back from their mid-week King’s Cup shambles against Alcorcon by defeating their derby rivals despite playing almost three quarters of the match with ten men.
   Argentine Higuain was the hero, scoring twice in three minutes (53 and 56) as Real eased the pressure on coach Manuel Pellegrini following their 4-0 first-leg cup defeat to tiny Alcorcon on Tuesday.
   ‘After a terrible week this was just the boost we needed,’ said Higuain.
   ‘We now have Milan and Atletico so it was important to start with this win against Getafe.’
   Sevilla stayed in touch with the leading duo by winning 2-0 at Xerez.
   Recently-capped Spanish international Alvaro Negredo and Brazil striker Luis Fabiano were on target as Sevilla closed to within four points of Barca.
   Elsewhere, new Atletico Madrid coach Quique Sanchez Flores got off to a losing start on his league bow falling 1-0 at Athletic Bilbao on Saturday.
   Highly-rated Javi Martinez, 21, scored on 19 minutes to keep Atletico fourth from bottom and dent confidence further ahead of Tuesday’s vital Champions League home match against Chelsea.
   It is a crunch week for Atletico who need to beat Chelsea to have any chance of qualifying for the knockout phase and then prepare for a derby against Real Madrid at the Vicente Calderon.
   Barcelona captain Carles Puyol, 31, celebrated signing a new contract until 2013 this week and
   showed his versatility by deputising for the injured Dani Alves at right-back against Osasuna.
   French striker Thierry Henry was back after a fortnight on the sidelines following a leg injury sustained on international duty with France and began on the substitutes’ bench.
   Barca were brimming with confidence after last weekend’s 6-1 drubbing of Real Zaragoza and almost scored in the first minute with Lionel Messi forcing a fine fingertip save.
   Osasuna were far from over-awed though and Carlos Aranda should have scored in the 11th minute but shot wide of Victor Valdes’s post.
   The visitors almost took the lead following a training ground corner routine that culminated in a scuffed shot from Zlatan Ibrahimovic that appeared to be blocked by a hand but the referee waved away Barca’s penalty appeals.
   In the second half Barca put their foot on the pedal to peg back Osasuna and they got their reward when a clever move involving Lionel Messi ended with Puyol crossing for Keita to control and drill home his sixth goal of the season.
   Osasuna were the last team to beat Barcelona in the league, winning 1-0 at Camp Nou on the penultimate weekend of last season, and they stole a draw at the death when Pique haplessly put the ball past Valdes for a painful own goal.
   Barca now turn their attention to the Champions League, while Real must focus on a testing Champions League trip to AC Milan on Tuesday and then another derby against Atletico.

Napoli fought back from a two-goal deficit for the second time in three days to shock Juventus 3-2 in Turin on Saturday and prevent Ciro Ferrara’s team from closing the gap on leaders Inter Milan.
   Marco Borriello scored a brace as improving AC Milan moved up to fourth with a 2-0 defeat of newly-promoted Parma, who dropped to sixth.
   Having scored two injury-time goals to earn a 2-2 draw at home to Milan on Wednesday, Napoli produced another dramatic and ultimately even more successful comeback.
   Marek Hansik scored a brace while substitute Jesus Datolo scored one and created one as Napoli moved up to fifth while second-placed Juve remain four points behind Inter.
   Ferrara could not hide his disappointment.
   ‘This defeat is like a punch in the face which hurts, it hurts a lot,’ he said.
   ‘Already in the first half we took a lot of risks. After we went in front we didn’t play with the right intensity against a team like Napoli who never give up.
   ‘We wanted to win this game but we lost it because of our own lack of concentration.’
   It means Napoli coach Walter Mazzarri is unbeaten in four matches since taking over from former Italy boss Roberto Donadoni.
   ‘Right now I already want to start thinking about our next game against Catania, throw water on the fire, but we’ll still enjoy this victory, we did very well,’ he said.
   ‘I’ve found a good group who quickly understood my ideas. It’s not just about character, the lads are also understanding certain moves.’
   Napoli’s German Denis, the substitute hero on Wednesday with a goal deep into injury time, quickly turned to villain for the southerners.
   Four times in the first 22 minutes he was presented with goalscoring chances but three times he headed wide from close range and with the fourth he failed to even make contact.
   Juve goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon also had to make a fingertip save to divert a dipping Salvatore Aronica shot over the bar as Napoli dominated.
   Finally Juve started to exert some pressure themselves and Felipe Melo shot inches wide after Diego teed him up.
   The hosts then took the lead out of the blue as Zdenek Grygera cut in from the right onto his left foot and sent a delightful in-swinging cross for veteran French forward David Trezeguet, who made an expert run across the line and headed home as centre-back Hugo Campagnaro was guilty of ball-watching.
   Juve doubled their lead on 54min after even poorer defending from Napoli as Matteo Contini inexplicably headed a Trezeguet cross down to Sebastien Giovinco, unmarked on the edge of the six-yard box, who gratefully accepted the gift.
   Napoli did not let their heads drop, though, and were quickly back in the game as Hamsik rifled home at the back post from Datolo’s cross on 59min.
   And Datolo equalised five minutes later as Denis won another header at a corner – finally directing one on target – with Buffon palming the ball away and Datolo sweeping home the rebound.
   The winner came from a lightning counter-attack with Ezequiel Lavezzi running at the heart of Juve’s back-pedalling defence and feeding the overlapping Datolo out on the left and after Tiago failed to clear his cross, Hamsik followed up to fire high into the top corner from 12 yards.
   Juve substitute Amauri was then harshly sent off in injury time for a challenge on Napoli goalkeeper Morgan De Sanctis.
   In Milan Borriello converted a clever pass from Ronaldinho on 12 minutes, just moments after Blerim Dzemaili had rattled the bar for Parma.
   Milan goalkeeper Dida had to make a great save to deny Valeri Bojinov while Alex Pato had the best Milan chance but sent a header from Massimo Oddo’s cross well wide when it looked easier to score.
   Late on Thiago Silva could have sealed the win for Milan, bursting out of defence he fed Borriello on the left and then met the striker’s pinpoint cross but hit the bar with his header.
   But in injury time Borriello acrobatically converted a Ronaldinho cross to settle the affair and banish memories of an injury-plagued year.
   ‘We’re on the right path but I still need a bit of condition, I don’t have enough in my legs yet,’ he said.
   ‘The dark period is behind me, it’s almost a year since I’ve played a full game.’

Bayer Leverkusen went back to the top of the Bundesliga on Saturday despite comeback kings Schalke 04 forcing a late equaliser for the second match running to seal a 2-2 draw.
   With eight minutes remaining, Leverkusen were cruising to a 2-0 win, but goals from Schalke forwards Kevin Kuranyi on 83 minutes and Vicente Sanchez on 88 sealed the draw, but Bayer are still a point clear of second-placed Bremen.
   Leverkusen’s 64-year-old coach Jupp Heynckes brushed off the effects of ‘flu to see teenager Tony Kroos and Germany striker Steffan Kiessling put the guests 2-0 ahead at the break.
   Midfielder Kroos, who is on loan from Bavarian neighbours Bayern Munich, hit a stunning volley on 29 minutes and the 19-year-old’s shot gave Schalke goalkeeper Manuel Neuer no chance.
   Then Kiessling scored with a header just before the break to make it 2-0 in Schalke’s backyard.
   But the Royal Blues, whose coach Felix Magath said on Saturday he may have to sell some of their stars – including both Vicente and Kuranyi – to reduce their substantial debt, fought back to stay fourth in the league.
   Kuranyi, who broke Hamburg hearts last Sunday with a last-minute header which prevented them from going top, struck again before Sanchez beat Bayer goalkeeper Rene Adler with a header to take a point.
   ‘At the end, we were all out on our feet,’ admitted Adler.
   ‘We really gave away two points at the end, no question.’
   And despite his wonder strike, Kroos took no comfort from his goal.
   ‘The disappointment of throwing the game away like that far outweighs the goal,’ said the teenager.
   ‘I can’t take much satisfaction from that.’
   Earlier, Werder Bremen had temporarily taken over at the top of the table after attacking midfielder Aaron Hunt hit two second-half goals to help his side come from behind to salvaged a 2-2 draw at Nuremberg.
   ‘The result was good considering our performance in the first-half,’ said Hunt after Nuremberg’s striker Christian Eigler and Albert Bunjaku put the hosts 2-0 up at the break.
   ‘We didn’t work hard enough to win the ball and we had to tighten up after the break.’
   Hamburg were robbed of the chance of going top of the German league for the second consecutive match after mid-table Borussia Moenchengladbach poached a shock 3-2 away victory as Canadian striker Rob Friend hit a 82nd-minute winner.
   Hamburg had taken a 2-1 lead midway through the second half after goals by Germany winger Piotr Trochowski and a free-kick by Brazil midfielder Ze Roberto.
   But a header from Brazil defender Dante put
   the visitors level on 76 minutes and then Friend hit
   the winner with time running out to leave Hamburg third.
   Stuttgart coach Markus Babbel boosted his chances of holding onto his job after his side held Bayern Munich to a scoreless draw in Stuttgart.
   Stuttgart were dumped out of the German Cup last Tuesday at Greuther Fuerth, their fifth consecutive defeat, but the ex-Bayern Munich midfielder received a vote of confidence from his board on Wednesday.
   And having broken his losing streak, Babbel’s fortunes appear to be looking up.

Bayern miss ‘Robbery’
   Team manager Uli Hoeness said on Sunday Bayern Munich are not the same without their playmakers Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben as they prepare for their crucial Champions League showdown with Bordeaux. Robben and Ribery - who the German media have labelled ‘Robbery’ due to their ability to unlock defences - are both struggling with injury, but Dutch star Robben may be fit to face Bordeaux said coach Louis van Gaal.‘I am not normally someone who is concerned about injuries,’ admitted Hoeness.‘But Bayern without Franck Ribery or Arjen Robben is not the same team.‘When they return, we will return very quickly to a higher level.’ Robben has recovered remarkably quickly from his knee operation at the start of last month and van Gaal said he is likely to play him on Tuesday at Munich’s Allianz Arena. ‘I preferred to rest him against Stuttgart and save him for the match against Bordeaux,’ said van Gaal.
   
   Ballack keen to extend Chelsea contract
   Germany captain Michael Ballack said on Saturday he is keen to extend his contract at English giants Chelsea until after next year’s World Cup. The 33-year-old wants to stay with the London club and says things are improving under Italian coach Carlo Ancelotti with the German’s contract due to expire on June 30 2010. ‘Things are improving in such a way that we will soon be consistent,’ he told German magazine Der Spiegel. And the midfielder says he is enjoying his time in the English capital. ‘Things are easier with the language’, he admitted. ‘At first, I was quiet in the changing room. But things soon got better when I learned English, especially after I could articulate myself and it makes it easier working with the other players.’ With Ballack set to spearhead Germany’s challenge for next year’s World Cup, the ex-Bayern Munich star insists he has no problem with negative feedback from within the squad – but sometimes it’s his way or the highway. Ballack landed himself in hot water in October 2008 when he criticised coach Joachim Low for not showing his senior players enough loyalty and he clashed with team manager Oliver Bierhoff on the pitch after the Euro 2008 final in Vienna in June 2008. ‘One must always put the team first,’ Ballack told Der Spiegel. ‘If the criticism is not very positive, then you have to ask yourself: is there a better way of doing things. But I will also not bend my personality. Sometimes you have to say: this is the way it is, full-stop.’
   
   ‘No chance of Kuranyi’s return’
   Schalke 04’s Kevin Kuranyi may have scored crucial goals in his last two games, but Germany coach Joachim Low insists there will be no World Cup place for the rebel striker. Kuranyi, 27, netted an 83rd-minute goal on Saturday that began Schalke’s fightback against Bundesliga leaders Leverkusen which sealed a 2-2 draw, while last Sunday he also scored a late equaliser in the 3-3 draw at Hamburg. But after Kuranyi stormed out at half-time of Germany’s 2-1 World Cup qualifier win against Russia in October 2008 after being left in the stands, Low insists there will be no World Cup place for Kuranyi in South Africa. Low accepted Kuranyi’s apology after the incident, but the Germany boss says there will be no recall while he is in charge. ‘In my time, there will be no recall for Kuranyi,’ Low told German television broadcaster Sky with Germany set to play friendly internationals later this month. ‘I hope the question about him, which emerges on a regular basis, will have been asked for the last time.’
   — AFP

Sachin, the grandfather!
Sachin Tendulkar maybe just 36 but he is already being addressed as grandfather—by his India teammates. Tendulkar’s teammate Yuvraj Singh paid rich tribute to the batting maestro’s longevity and his insatiable hunger for perfection, saying it would be difficult for any other player to survive the wears and tears that Tendulkar has endured. ‘We have started calling him grandfather,’ Yuvraj quipped last night, after guiding India to a six-wicket win against Australia in the third one-dayer. ‘Even at this stage, he wants to improve with every game. For him, there is no end to getting better, no matter whatever you have already achieved. He is an amazing man and I don’t think any other player can go on to play for 20 years or more like he has,’ Yuvraj gushed. Yuvraj said, ‘We are tired of planning celebrations for him. Every week, the guy goes on to make some record or other. How many times can you celebrate.’
   — PTI

Vicenza player still finishes game
A Vicenza player was twice ordered from the field by the referee during his team’s Serie B match away to Modena on Saturday but still finished the game. Michele Ferri, who learnt his trade in the AC Milan youth system, was twice sent off by the referee before being definitively called back onto the field to complete the game. Seven minutes from time the referee brandished a yellow card to the 28-year-old who, believing that he’d also been booked in the first half, turned on his heels and walked off before even waiting for the red that followed. However, the referee then called Ferri back onto the pitch before checking his list of bookings and ordering him off again. The situation then took a farcical turn as the referee consulted his assistants and called Ferri back onto the field again. This time he stayed on for good but his team still lost 1-0. The confusion arose from the first half when the referee booked Francesco Signori, wearing the number 88 shirt, for arguing, and not Ferri, who was wearing number 81.
   — AFP