1. Art and Diseño

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 28, 2015
S P ORTS
Higuain
brace lifts
Napoli
MILAN: Gonzalo Higuain scored two
goals, both of them controversial, to
give Napoli a 2-1 win over angry Genoa
which lifted them into third place in
Serie A on Monday.
Higuain headed the hosts in front
after seven minutes from a rebound
but replays suggested he was just offside when Jose Callejon fired in a shot
which Genoa goalkeeper Mattia Perin
parried into the Argentine’s path.
Iago Falque levelled for Genoa in
the 56th minute but Napoli regained
the lead with a controversial penalty
awarded for an alleged push by Juraj
Kucka on Higuain.
Contact appeared to be minimal
but Higuain, oblivious to the Genoa
protests, fired home from the penalty
spot with 15 minutes left for his 12th
league goal of the season.
Italian football has been hit by a
rash of controversial refereeing decisions since the mid-season break and
Napoli themselves were furious after a
3-1 home defeat by leaders Juventus.
Napoli went into third place, the
Champions League playoff spot, with
36 points from 20 games, six behind
second-placed Roma.
Silvan Widmer scored an unusual
goal to give mid-table Udinese a 2-1
win at Empoli when his cross from the
right caught goalkeeper Luigi Sepe
napping and went into the goal off the
inside of the post.
Veteran Antonio Di Natale put
Udinese in front, the 37-year-old’s ninth
goal of the season, and Riccardo
Saponara levelled for the strugglers with
a penalty before halftime. — Reuters
ITALY: Napoli’s
Argentinian forward
Gonzalo Higuain (center)
fights for the ball with
Genoa’s Argentinian
defender Facundo
Roncaglia (left) during the
Italian Serie A football
match. — AFP
M’brough handed FA
Cup trip to Arsenal
LONDON: Middlesbrough were rewarded for
beating Manchester City with a trip to FA Cup
holders Arsenal while Chelsea’s conquerors
Bradford City host Sunderland or Fulham after
the fifth round draw on Monday. Third tier
Bradford and Championship (second tier)
Middlesbrough overcame the odds to register
two of the biggest FA Cup shocks in recent
memory. Bradford trailed 2-0 against Premier
League leaders Chelsea before mounting a
stunning fightback to win 4-2 while
Middlesbrough outplayed City to claim a 2-0
victory at the Etihad Stadium.
“I’d prefer (to play) Sunderland to be fair,”
Bradford co-chairman Mark Lawn told Sky
Sports. “We’re at home and I think we can win
at home. When we get this stadium bouncing I
don’t think any team will want to come here.
Whether it’s Sunderland or Fulham, they won’t
want to come to Valley Parade.” In other ties
Manchester United face a trip to Preston North
End or Sheffield United should they overcome
fourth tier Cambridge United-the lowest
ranked side still in the competition-after they
forced a heroic replay against the eleven-time
winners.
West Bromwich Albion host West Ham
United and Leicester City travel to Aston Villa
in two all Premier League ties. Seven-time winners Liverpool or Bolton Wanderers will travel
to Crystal Palace, Blackburn Rovers host Stoke
City, who cruised past third tier Rochdale 4-1
on Monday, and Derby County will entertain
Reading. — Reuters
Possible venue change
for Nations Cup q-final
EBIBEYIN: Hosts Equatorial Guinea’s quarterfinal with Tunisia at the African Nations Cup
on Saturday could be moved from the small
Estadio de Ebibeyin to a bigger venue, the
Confederation of African Football said on
Monday.
The recently-built 5,000-seater stadium is
patently too small for the expected turnout as
the small country rides a euphoric wave after
their surprise victory over their neighbours
Gabon in their last group game on Sunday.
“It’s clearly a challenge and we will be consulting all the stakeholders,” said CAF
spokesman Junior Binyam. “As things stand
the schedule stays the same but there is
nothing in the regulations that prevents a
change. We are fortunate that we have both
our executive committee and organising
committee here on the ground and they will
look at all the scenarios.”
He gave no indication of when a decision
could be announced. A heavy rain storm on
Monday during the last group match at the
venue between Cape Verde and Zambia will
have added to the dilemma, leaving the newly laid pitch in a poor condition.
Binyam said this would also be taken into
consideration but security was the primary
concern. The Nations Cup has already seen
spectators breaking through fences at the
opening game in Bata on Jan. 17 and filling
the 35,000-capacity stadium there to overflowing.
In other venues, segregated areas for VIPS
and media have also been overrun at times
by supporters, whom poorly trained police
have been unable to control.
In Ebibeyin, a small town on the eastern
border with both Gabon and Cameroon,
organisers are using recruits from a nearby
police college to provide security with assistance from police from Angola.
A force of 350 has come from Luanda to
help Equatorial Guinea, who were only
awarded the finals and reinstated in the competition two months ago after previous hosts
Morocco pulled out because of fears over the
Ebola virus. — Reuters
Cameroon, Ivory Coast
clash in tense Group D
MALABO: The old adage that everything will be
decided on the pitch may not prove to be true in
the case of Group D at this year’s Africa Cup of
Nations.
All four matches in the group have ended in
1-1 draws, leaving the Ivory Coast, Cameroon,
Guinea and Mali absolutely even ahead of the
final games in Malabo and Mongomo on
Wednesday.
Two more identical draws will mean the
drawing of lots will be required to decide who
progresses to the quarter-finals and in which
order. That would not be unprecedented, with
the drawing of lots required at the 1988 Cup of
Nations to send Algeria through to the knockout
stage at the expense of the Ivory Coast, who had
drawn all three of their matches.
The 2015 version of the Elephants will hope
to win and thereby avoid a similar fate as they
face Cameroon at the Estadio de Malabo.
Coach Herve Renard will again be without
forward Gervinho, who completes a two-match
suspension following his sending-off against
Guinea, while midfielder Cheick Tiote will serve a
one-game ban after being booked in both
matches to date. Meanwhile, Max-Alain Gradel
could start after coming off the bench to grab
the late equaliser against Mali. “Cameroon have
experienced players in every department. For us,
except for Kolo Toure, we have no other experienced defender,” said Renard.
“It is a match that will be decided by little
details. Concentration, an ability to take our
chances and defensive rigor will all be important. Whichever team shows a little less of these
things will go home.”
Salomon Kalou, who will also be hoping to be
recalled after being dropped to the bench
against Mali, called it “the final before the real
final”. “Cameroon is a great football nation and
so is the Ivory Coast. All we want is to get
through to the last eight, and now we have 90
minutes to show who wants it more.”
Recent history suggests Cameroon are best
MALABO: Cameroon’s national soccer team Coach, Volker Finke (left) and Cameroon soccer player,
Stephane Mbia, attend a press conference ahead of their final Group D Match today. — AP
Nevertheless, winger Ibrahima Traore, who
placed to win this encounter, though. After all,
the Indomitable Lions won their qualifying scored against Cameroon at the weekend and
group ahead of the Ivorians, trouncing the has been one of the players of the tournament
Elephants 4-1 in Yaounde in September before so far, said: “We are progressing.
We have played against two of the tournadrawing 0-0 in the return match in Abidjan in
November. However, Cameroon are set to once ment favourites and nobody expected us to take
again be without midfielder Eyong Enoh, who anything from them. “It’s not over, we have a
injured his left thigh in the opening match final to come and we’ll do everything to get the
three points.” Guinea coach Michel Dussuyer has
against Mali.
At the same time, west African neighbors defensive problems, however, with a calf probMali and Guinea, the supposed outsiders before lem having kept captain Kamil Zayatte on the
sidelines so far while Florentin Pogba came off
the tournament began, clash in Mongomo.
Both have impressed observers with their dis- against Cameroon with a groin injury.
Germain Berthe is set to start in goal for Mali
plays so far, although Mali have twice failed to
see out leads in their games while Guinea could after Soumaila Diakite was ruled out for the rest
live to regret not seeing off the Ivory Coast after of the competition with the groin injury that
forced him off against the Ivorians. — AFP
leading and having a one-man advantage.
Spurs seek comfort against Blades
SHEFFIELD: Tottenham Hotspur’s reputation as a club that
thrives in knockout competition was dented by an FA Cup
exit at the hands of Leicester at the weekend but Mauricio
Pochettino’s men remain close to reaching the League Cup
final, nonetheless.
Only third-tier Sheffield United stand in their way and
Spurs will arrive in Yorkshire for today’s second leg of the
semi-final with a 1-0 lead secured when the teams met in
north London.
Spurs have won the League Cup four times in all and
have reached the final three times this century alone, beating Chelsea in 2008 and then going down on penalties to
Manchester United the following year, having previously
lost in the 2002 climax to Blackburn Rovers. A Wembley
date with either Liverpool or Chelsea, who play on Tuesday,
awaits the victors at Bramall Lane and Pochettino was keen
for his players to forget about the Leicester defeat and
seize the opportunity. “It is important to keep our motivation and confidence, because we need to play on
Wednesday with our best performance,” the Argentinian
coach said. “It will be a really tough game.”
Goalkeeper Michel Vorm has been playing in the
domestic cup competitions, with Spurs first-choice Hugo
Lloris preferred for Premier League fixtures and in the
Europa League, which resumes next month. Dutchman
Vorm was guilty of a bad error that led to Leicester scoring
a late winner on Saturday, however, so it remains to be
seen whether he will keep his place, especially as the hugely-experienced Brad Friedel is another option available to
Pochettino. “I am gutted now, but you have to go on
because there is another big game ahead on Wednesday
and we have to focus on that as quickly as possible,” Vorm
LONDON: Tottenham Hotspur’s Togolese striker Emmanuel Adebayor reacts in this file photo. — AFP
said. “If that mistake happens earlier in the game, maybe
you can turn it around, but at the end makes it even worse.
When the ball goes in, it is horrible, but that is football.”
Winger Erik Lamela made his comeback from a calf
injury in the Leicester game following almost a month on
the sidelines and is expected to feature against the Blades.
“ To win a trophy here is what I want the most,” the
Argentina international said. “To win a cup is everything I
hope for.” Sheffield United will be confident of causing an
upset however as they boast a remarkable record in knockout competitions under Nigel Clough, their manager. Of
the 19 FA Cup and League Cup matches Clough has overseen, the Blades have lost only two, and neither of those
defeats have come at home.
“The tie is definitely alive,” midfielder Jose Baxter said.
“We would have liked to get a goal and bring that back to
Bramall Lane but it was a great performance from the team
and we need to bring that belief into the next game.
“It was a case of giving them the respect they deserved
and then once the game was underway thinking ‘hang on,
we can get something here’.
“They’ll probably come out all guns blazing now knowing we’re a good team.” Sheffield United are likely to name
the same starting eleven to the team that played in the
first leg, with new signing Kieron Freeman expected to feature among the substitutes.
Clough’s team are still in the FA Cup and are pushing for
promotion from League One. Both teams will be playing
their 38th fixture of the season but Baxter said the United
squad could cope with the demanding schedule. “Games
are better than training. More games is better for us,” he
said. “We want to get fitter and keep learning.” — AFP