GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday March 19, 2014
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CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
Eto’o helps put Drogba’s Galatasaray to the sword
CHELSEA completed a 2-0 win over a wretched Galatasaray side to book their place in the Champions League quarter-finals with a 3-1 aggregate success on a night of utter frustration for Didier Drogba at Stamford Bridge. Drogba - scorer of 157 goals in 341 outings with Chelsea - was predictably the object of affection among the home supporters two years after he left the club having scored the
Chelsea’s Samuel Eto’o (R) shoots past Galatasaray’s goalkeeper Fernando Muslera (C) to score during their Champions League soccer match at Stamford Bridge in London, yesterday. (Reuters)
winning penalty in a shoot-out against Bayern Munich in the 2012 Champions League final. But Jose Mourinho’s side were not in the mood for sentimental memories as Samuel Eto’o accepted Oscar’s pass to drive the ball under Fernando Muslera for the opening goal on four minutes. Muslera probably should have halted Eto’s effort, and the goalkeeper was again at fault when he could only palm a John Terry header into the path of
Gary Cahill from Frank Lampard’s corner. England central defender Cahill gleefully hammered the loose ball into the net three minutes prior to half-time. Roberto Mancini’s visiting side cut a shambolic lot with Drogba and/or Wesley Sneijder doing little or nothing to justify their standing in the world game, but they were not helped by a lack of desire, quality and pace elsewhere in their team three weeks after a 1-1 draw in Istanbul in the
first leg. Chelsea go into Friday’s open draw for the last eight with Mourinho remaining on course to become the first coach to win the Champions League with three different clubs having lifted the trophy with Porto in 2004 and Inter in 2010. The first leg of the quarter-finals are scheduled for Tuesday April 1 and Wednesday April 2 with the return legs on Tuesday April 8 and Wednesday April 9.
Australia attack potent enough without Johnson - Bailey By Amlan Chakraborty DHAKA, Bangladesh (Reuters) - Australia will miss injured paceman Mitchell Johnson but their bowling attack remains potent enough to help them win a maiden World Twenty20 title in Bangladesh, captain George Bailey said yesterday. The left-arm quick has been in the form of his life, bowling Australia to an Ashes whitewash of bitter rivals England followed by an impressive performance in the subsequent Test series victory in South Africa. A toe infection, however, means Australia will miss
George Bailey s Johnson’s unnerving pace and the disconcerting bounce he generates from difficult angles as they bid for the only
major cricket trophy to have eluded them. Fellow left-arm paceman Doug Bollinger has been called up as Johnson’s replacement and Bailey backed him to be a success in Bangladesh. “We’ll miss Mitch, no doubt about that,” Bailey told reporters. “Just looking at his form over the last six months, he’s been absolutely unbelievable for us. The last time he was in the subcontinent in the one-day series against India in October, he was really good there. “But having said that, (in) Doug Bollinger, as his replacement, I think we’re
really lucky to have that sort of backup. “I think Doug’s in great touch. He has got some good Twenty20 form and pedigree behind himself and he has got good pace and swings the ball. These are the things which I think would be handy over here.” GOOD PACE Australia begin their Group B campaign against Pakistan on March 23, boasting a batting order replete with exciting strokemakers including David Warner, Aaron Finch, Shane Watson and the captain himself.
Ronaldo at the double as Real thump Schalke CRISTIANO Ronaldo struck a brace as Real Madrid warmed up for Sunday’s El Clasico by comfortably confirming their place in the last eight of the Champions League with a 3-1 home triumph over Schalke. Los Blancos came into the contest boasting an emphatic 6-1 lead from the first leg and they took little time in adding to their tally when Ronaldo opened the scoring on 21 minutes. The Portugal star finished off a slick move down the right involving substitute Gareth Bale and Alvaro Morata by firing in from close range. The hosts looked all set to open the flood gates, but after Morata twice fluffed clear-cut chances, the German outfit pushed forward and grabbed a shock equaliser. Tim Hoogland took advantage of some poor closing down to let fly with a speculative shot that took a wicked deflection off Sergio Ramos on its way into the corner of the net.
Real rarely got out of first gear but remained the greater threat with Ronaldo, Isco and Morata all going close before they finally sealed victory with two goals in a minute. First, Ronaldo made it 13 in the competition so far this term with a trademark run and shot that flew in at the near post, be-
fore Morata tucked home at the second attempt after the Portuguese star had thumped the bar. Ronaldo almost equalled Lionel Messi’s record of 14 Champions League goals in a single season five minutes from time but saw another thumping shot crash back off the post. The 9-2 win on aggre-
gate was a club record for the Spanish giants, but their night was somewhat soured by the news that Spain U-21 star, Jese looks set for a spell on the sidelines after being carried off on a stretcher with suspected cruciate ligament damage in the opening stages of the game. (Eurosport)
Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo (R) celebrates with teammate Gareth Bale after scoring a goal against Schalke 04 during their Champions League last-16 second-leg soccer match at Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid. (Reuters)
Bailey was equally pleased with the variety in the bowling department. “I’m really happy with the pace battery. In the subcontinent conditions, it’s important to have really good pace, to have guys swing the ball. “With the addition of Doug, I think in Mitchell Starc and Nathan Coulter-Nile, we’ve got three guys who bowl at really good pace and swing the ball. That’s really important for us. “I guess another important thing is you’ve to finish it well in the other end and all these guys have great skills at death (bowling).” Spin bowlers are expected to play a crucial role in Bangladesh’s slow and low wickets and Bailey said he was spoilt for choice in that department.
“I think we got all bases covered. Brad Hogg ... guess he’s been around for 30 years. James Muirhead is a really exciting leg-spinner for us. “I love the option of having leg-spinners. I think they are match-winners, wicket-takers. They force batsmen to do something different. “I think we’ve got a lot of part-time and back-up spinners. Glenn Maxwell has done a really good job for us in Twenty20 bowling. He’s probably no longer a parttime spinner, plays a main role for us. “Finch bowls a little bit of leg-spin, Cameron White bowls a little bit of leg-spin ... we’ve got plenty of options there.”
Sangakkara and Jayawardene to retire from T20 COLOMBO, (Reuters) - Sri Lanka stalwarts Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene have announced they will retire from international Twenty20 cricket after the World Twenty20 tournament in Bangladesh. Both players led their country to the finals of the World T20, Sangakkara in 2009 in England when Sri Lanka lost to Pakistan and Jayawardene in 2012 in Sri Lanka when his team was beaten by West Indies. “Right time for me to retire. Gives the selectors more time to build for next T20 WC,” tweeted Sangakkara, 36. “Hope to leave with a win.” The batsman has played 50 T20 internationals for Sri Lanka, hitting 1,311 runs at an average of 32.77 and a strike rate of 120. Jayawardene also 36 and a former captain, is Sri lan-
Mahela Jayawardene ka’s leading run scorer in the format having hit 1,335 runs at an average of 31.78 with a strike rate of 134.17 from 49 T20 internationals. Wisden India quoted Jayawardene as saying he too had decided it was time to go: “The rationale is pretty much the same as Sanga’s,” he said. “When it is clear that I can’t see myself playing in the next ICC World T20, there wasn’t much point in me occupying a spot. It makes more sense for a youngster to come into the mix and establish himself,” he said.