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Barca ease past Man City, PSG cruise through (REUTERS) - Barcelona eased into the Champions League quarter-finals with a 4-1 aggregate victory over Manchester City yesterday and Paris St Germain (PSG) joined them after overwhelming Bayer Leverkusen 6-1 over the two legs of their last-16 tie. Barcelona, holding a 2-0 advantage from the first leg, had a penalty appeal waved away after Lionel Messi was brought down in the box early on and Neymar had a goal chalked off for offside after 18 minutes. Messi hit the post early in the second half before City, with manager Manuel Pellegrini watching from the stands, upped the pressure and Barcelona keeper Victor Valdes pulled off a stunning save to deny substitute Edin Dzeko and defender Pablo Zabaleta fluffed a shot just wide. Argentine Messi would not be denied a third time, however, taking advantage of Joleon Lescott’s error to clip the ball home after 67 minutes and City’s misery was compounded when Zabaleta was sent off for a second yellow card with 12 minutes left. City captain Vincent Kom-
Barcelona’s Neymar (L) challenges Manchester City’s James Milner during their Champions League last-16 mark when Simon Rolfes’ poor penalty was saved by Salvatore pany scored a consolation goal Sirigu. on 89 minutes but Dani Alves Ezequiel Lavezzi steered restored Barca’s lead in stophome PSG’s second early in the page time. second half and Leverkusen’s Any thoughts that LeverkuEmre Can received his marchsen, trailing 4-0 after the first ing orders for a second yellow leg, would roll over in Paris card as the hosts cruised to a 2-1 were extinguished after six minwin on the night. utes when Sidney Sam nodded Barcelona and PSG joined the visitors in front. holders Bayern Munich and AtMarquinhos equalised with letico Madrid, who progressed a header seven minutes later, on Tuesday, in the quarter-fihowever, before Leverkusen nals. The final four last-16 ties wasted the opportunity to retake will be completed next week. the lead just before the half hour
GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday March 13, 2014
Lycamobile gives up ownership of the Red Steele franchise
PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad (CMC) - Lycamobile, Europe’s largest Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO), has given up its ownership of Trinidad and Tobago Red Steele franchise, four months before the start of the second edition of the Limacol Caribbean Premier League (LCPL). CPL says it has reached a mutual agreement with Lycamobile for the global cell phone carrier to relinquish ownership of the franchise with immediate effect. Officials making the announcement say the joint decision has been taken ahead of the next round of franchise sales. “Our goal is to create longterm meaningful partnerships with franchise owners that benefit cricket in the region,” said Damien O’Donohoe, CEO of
… Warner Park to host semifinals and finals Caribbean Premier League. “We part on good terms and we are both keen to establish other ways in which we can work together in the future to help develop the CPL brand globally.” Lycamobile, which boasts a market share of 30 million customers across 17 countries, purchased Red Steele franchise just days before the start of the inaugural Limacol Caribbean Premier League (LCPL) T20 Tournament last year. CPL says it is in advanced discussions to secure a new owner for The Red Steel, who have already attracted significant interest from a number of potential owners. The franchise rights for
the remaining teams - Antigua Hawksbills, Barbados Tridents, Jamaica Tallawahs and St Lucia Zouks - will go up for sale shortly. Meanwhile, Warner Park in St Kitts has been chosen as the venue to host this year’s final, officials have announced. Warner Park, originally rebuilt for the 2007 ICC World Cup, will also host semi-finals and six group-phase matches in the CPL second edition which begins in July. The venue has undergone major renovation including state-of-the-art lighting facilities. “We are delighted to wel-
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Blazing Hodge leads Australia to victory in rain-reduced game (REUTERS) - Veteran Brad Hodge smashed two sixes in the final over to propel Australia to a five-wicket victory over South Africa in a second Twenty20 international reduced to seven overs a side in Durban yesterday. After Australia won the toss, South Africa piled up 80 for one and looked to be on course for victory when the touring side required 15 from six balls to win. That was reduced to 13 from four but 39-year-old Hodge crashed two sixes to the mid-wicket boundary off Wayne Parnell to guide his side to 81 for five with two balls to spare as he ended on 21 not out from eight deliveries.
Brad Hodge South Africa made just six in their first two overs but a sparkling unbeaten partnership of 74 off 32 balls between Quinton de Kock (41 not out) and Faf du Plessis (27 not out) lifted the home side to 80 for one. de Kock was the main aggressor and his runs came off
only 20 balls including four massive sixes and two fours, even as David Warner’s golden summer for Australia in South Africa, continued when he smashed 40 from 16 balls and the Australians looked like cantering to their target. But two wickets in the fifth over from JP Duminy, including Warner’s, put the brakes on the tourists and the game briefly swung in the home side’s favour. They could not tie down Hodge in the final over, however, and the teams head into tomorrow’s final match in the series with Australia leading 1-0 after the first game in Port Elizabeth was washed out without a ball being bowled.
‘Small, encouraging signs’ in Michael Schumacher’s condition MICHAEL Schumacher’s manager has said there are “small, encouraging signs” in the former Formula One driver’s condition. Schumacher has been in a medically-induced coma for over two months following a skiing accident in Meribel shortly before New Year, with doctors at his hospital in Grenoble having started to awaken him in recent weeks by slowly reducing the levels of his medication. Sabine Kehm, Schumacher’s agent and spokesperson, has reported, “We are and remain confident that Michael will pull through and will wake up. There sometimes are small, encouraging signs, but we also know that this is the time to be very patient. Michael has suffered severe injuries. It’s very hard to
Michael Schumacher comprehend for all of us that Michael, who had overcome a lot of precarious situations in the past, has been hurt so terribly in such a banal situation.” “It was clear from the start that this will be a long and hard fight for Michael. We are taking this fight on together with the team of doctors, whom we fully trust. The length of the process is not the important part for us. “It is heart-warming to see
how much sympathy his family is shown and I can say that the family is extremely grateful for it. However, it should not be forgotten that Michael’s family is dealing with an extremely intimate and fragile situation. “I would like to remind all of us that Michael has always actively kept his family out of the public eye and consequently protected their private lives. We try to channel all the energies we have toward Michael and we firmly believe that this will help him. And we believe that he will also win this fight.” Doctors had previously told Schumacher’s family that “only a miracle” could save the life of the seven-time world champion, according to a report. Last month, Schumacher’s family said they still “strongly believe” in his recovery, adding: “We are aware the wake-up phase can take a long time.”