Road to the Finals: Uzbekistan’s impressive showing

Uzbekistan became one of the first nations to qualify for the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2011™ Finals when they recorded their third successive Group C victory.

They joined hosts Qatar and the top three finishers in 2007, fellow qualifiers Syria, who secured their passage on the same day, and 2008 AFC Challenge Cup winners India.

India’s Challenge Cup victory meant Bob Houghton’s side were withdrawn from qualifying Group C leaving just three teams to battle it out for two places with the Uzbeks and the UAE for the tickets to Qatar ahead of ASEAN outsiders Malaysia.

Uzbekistan seized the early initiative when Farhod Tadjiyev’s 30th minute strike gave them a 1-0 win in the UAE before back-to-back 3-1 victories over the Malaysians ensured the Central Asians reached the AFC Asian Cup finals for the fourth consecutive tournament since making their debut in 1996.

A brace by Alexander Geynrikh and a strike by Server Djeparov put them 3-0 ahead at home against Malaysia before Mohamad Zaquan reduced the deficit eight minutes after the hour mark.

Anvar Gafurov opened the scoring for the Central Asians two minutes after the half hour mark in the return fixture at the Bukit Jalil National Stadium in Kuala Lumpur while Bakhodir Nasimov doubled the lead two minutes before the hour mark. Baddrol Bin Bakhtiar pulled one back for the hosts but Timur Kapadze made it 3-1 for the Uzbeks.

Uzbekistan’s campaign, however, was to end on a low note when the UAE extracted revenge for their earlier defeat in Sharjah, with the Gulf side’s winning goal coming in the third minute of second-half stoppage-time from Sultan Al Menhali.

Uzbekistan were placed along side hosts Qatar, Kuwait and China in the January
Source: www.the-afc.com

MTU’s home form concerns Karamah’s Kwid

Bangkok: Al Karamah coach Mohammad Kwid conceded Muangthong’s formidable home form will make them difficult to beat at Thunderdome Stadium on Tuesday but is confident his side possesses the strength to seal their passage to the semi-finals of the AFC Cup.

The 2009 runners-up claimed a 1-0 win in their quarter-final first-leg encounter in Syria last week to give them a slender advantage heading in the game.

Muangthong have made their home stadium something of a fortress in their domestic league this season and have won their last nine successive games there while conceding just one goal.

“The match will be very difficult. I regret that we did not score more in the first leg,” said Kwid.

“Muangthong are a very strong team, it will be a very different and more difficult game here in Bangkok.

“Muangthong rarely lose at home and are very organised with a good coach and great players.

“But I believe that our past experience in both the AFC Cup and the AFC Champions League will carry us through to the next round.”

Kwid singled out Muangthong midfield dynamo Datsakorn Thonglao as the main player they have to watch.


“Their whole team has quality but he is someone we will pay extra attention to as he has the ability to change the game,” he added.

“Whatever the result I am sure the players have what it takes to qualify for the next round.”

Muangthong coach René Desaeyere was reserved on his team’s chances and acknowledged the Thailand Premier League champions will have to be at their very best to defeat Al Karamah.

“To go through we will have to have a very good day,” said the Belgian tactician.

“For the first leg many of our players were not fit. Our players have a lot to prove in this leg.

“The Syrian team is very strong as they play as a unit without star players. They will run and fight for 90 minutes.

“To get something from this match we either need to play with the same mentality or play with more skill than them all over the pitch.”

On his match strategy Desaeyere remarked: “We play with the same formation in all competitions. We start with three up front but there will be some changes to our tactics.

“We need to be more attacking to get anything out of the match but we must protect ourselves against counterattacks.

“This game will not be won on the tactics board but my players on the pitch.”

Source: www.the-afc.com

Renault ponder Raikkonen deal

Renault's F1 chairman Gerard Lopez says the team will have to weigh up the cost before deciding whether to sign Kimi Raikkonen.

Earlier this week, the news broke that Raikkonen, who left F1 at the end of 2009 in favour of joining the World Rally Championship, had approached Renault enquiring about a 2011 race-seat.

Renault, though, do not have the financial clout to offer Raikkonen a contract in line with what he was earning during his days with Ferrari.

Added to that, the team in fact signed a paying driver this season in Vitaly Petrov, who brought in much-needed funds through his Russian backers.

As such, Lopez admits the team needs to weigh up the cost of signing a big-name, big-salary but big-draw card driver like Raikkonen versus another paying driver.

"It's funny because people now think things are going well and we're going to change drivers," Lopez told Autosport.

"There's a certain rally driver that wasn't interested in Formula 1 but now has made contact and is interested in coming back to F1, funnily enough with us, but we're not there yet.

"It's very important (the financial considerations). As I said, we use Formula 1, and we have to push our team to succeed because we use the platform to do business. And you know, it's a question of image.

"People like to do business with winning teams, so it goes hand in hand. For us still, the main consideration in this outside of Eric's [Boullier] mission and the team's mission to start winning races again, is the business one.

"And it has become more important now that we've solidified the team, that we've found the sponsors, that we're bringing the sponsors, that we're doing whatever needs to be done.

"It's even more important now to build the team, to use that platform for the business side of it. And the fact that we're doing more and more deals with companies that come through Renault Formula 1 because we provide other things, I think it's even more important for 2011 than it was for 2010. In 2010 we had to rebuild. In 2011 we can focus on business."

As for Petrov's chances of retaining his race-seat next season, Lopez insists it's not about the money, rather it's about his ability out on track.

"It's not that Vitaly is a paying driver, because he's not, but certainly the sponsors that he brought or that came, which is Lada, have been very good sponsors. But Vitaly was not bringing the kind of money that people were saying.

"And he's a good driver. Vitaly was second in the GP2 Championship last year and could easily have won that championship if he hadn't had six failures last year. On top of all that, he is a driver that has 250 million Russian-speaking people that are convinced in him, so we'd be stupid not to assume that there is a business behind that.

"But we have to build the driver. He is to us a very important element, just as Robert [Kubica] is."

Source: www.espnstar.com

Japan reach FIFA U-17 women’s semis

Arima: Japan became the third Asian team to reach the semi-finals of the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup here in Trinidad and Tobago after a hardfought 2-1 victory over the Republic of Ireland in a tense and even encounter.

Japan’s Kumi Yokoyama sealed victory with her fifth goal of the finals after Ireland had drawn level. The Japanese now play DPR Korea in an all-Asian last four. Hikaru Naomoto put Japan ahead with a penalty in the 34th minute but this lead was neutralized by Denise O Sullivan in the 53rd minute.

The first attempts on goal for Japan came from Yokoyama in the 16th minute and a few seconds later, both missing the target by a whisker.

The Irish defence was broken down when Megan Campbell made light contact with Yokoyama inside the area and the Canadian referee pointed to the spot. Naomoto stepped up and pushed the ball to Maloney’s left to make it 1-0 in the 34th minute.

The scores were level when Denise O’Sullivan hit a cleared rebound into an open goal after a mistake by goalkeeper Eri Hirao but Yokoyama fired the winning goal a few minutes later after squeezing past Ciara O’Brien and striking well with her right-foot into the top corner from the edge of the box.

Ireland equalized almost immediately but Hirao pulled off a couple of saves to ensure that Japan met defending champions DPR Korea in the semi-finals in Couva on 21 September.

Source: www.the-afc.com/en/home

Dean Stoneman wins F2 title to earn Williams F1 test

Briton Dean Stoneman has secured a test with the Williams Formula One team after winning the F2 title.

Ninth place at Spain's Valencia Circuit in the first of this weekend's final round of races gave him an unassailable lead over compatriot Jolyon Palmer.

The Southampton 20-year-old also qualifies for the FIA superlicence that allows him to race in F1.

"Getting into F1 has always been my dream, and this just brings me one step closer to that," said Stoneman.

This year was Stoneman's debut in F2, which is a feeder series for F1, and he finished the season with six victories.

"It's hard to know what to expect but it's obviously a fantastic opportunity to be testing a Williams Formula One car, so hopefully I can prove myself," added Stoneman.

"I'm just going to go there and do what I do best: get in the car and drive as fast as I can."

Stoneman will get his chance for Williams in the young drivers' test in Abu Dhabi at the end of the F1 season.

"Stoneman and Palmer have really stretched out above the rest of the field, but what we'll all really find out is what happens when Stoneman gets in a F1 car and we should see that at Abu Dhabi," said Williams technical director Sam Michael.

In the 2008 Formula Renault UK series, Stoneman finished with a better record than Lewis Hamilton managed in his debut year in the competition.

Source: http://news.bbc.co

Casey Stoner secures pole for Aragon GP

Casey Stoner held off championship contenders Jorge Lorenzo and Dani Pedrosa to secure pole position for Sunday's Aragon Grand Prix.

The Ducati rider, fifth in the title race but 141 points behind Lorenzo, posted a time of one minute 48.942 seconds with Lorenzo 0.309 secs adrift.

Andrea Dovizioso, third in the standings, trailed in eighth, one place behind Valentino Rossi.

Stoner's pole is his first since the season-opening race in Qatar.
And the Australian admitted he has had to endure a difficult campaign, with other riders making the running in the title race.
"I've had plenty of weekends where things have gone well up to the race," the 24-year-old said.
"We changed my riding position on the bike, tried some other things and got some more grip. The rear's a bit more stable and seems to be working well.
"I feel pretty confident on the bike." However, the real attention on Sunday will be on Stoner's front-row companions, with Yamaha's Lorenzo and Repsol Honda rider Pedrosa continuing their battle for the 2010 title.
Lorenzo, who holds a 53-point advantage with six races remaining, admitted that he struggled for power on the Spanish track.

"We really lost so much power on the main straight and also in every acceleration, especially compared to the Hondas," he said.

"But this is the bike we have now and the bike we have tomorrow so we have to do the best we can."

Pedrosa had looked set to steal pole on his final lap until running wide. Behind him, Ducati's Nicky Hayden, Yamaha Tech 3 rider and Honda's Randy de Puniet make up the second row.

However, Yamaha's seven-time world champion Rossi and Honda's Dovizioso endured a frustrating session, both more than a second behind Stoner.

In Moto2 qualifying, Scott Redding was pipped by Andrea Iannone, who took pole with his final lap.

Redding was racing despite being injured a fortnight ago in the crash that killed Japanese rider Shoya Tomizawa.

As a mark of respect for Tomizawa, all riders will wear his number 48, with the number then being retired.

Aragon MotoGP qualifying result:

1 Casey Stoner (Aus) Ducati 1min 48.942secs
2 Jorge Lorenzo (Sp) Yamaha 1:49.251
3 Dani Pedrosa (Sp) Honda 1:49.343
4 Nicky Hayden (US) Ducati 1:49.506
5 Ben Spies (US) Yamaha 1:49.565
6 Randy De Puniet (Fra) Honda 1:49.952
7 Valentino Rossi (Ita) Yamaha 1:50.017
8 Andrea Dovizioso (Ita) Honda 1:50.046
9 Marco Simoncelli (Ita) Honda 1:50.088
10 Hector Barbera (Sp) Ducati 1:50.323
11 Colin Edwards (US) Yamaha 1:50.440
12 Alvaro Bautista (Sp) Suzuki 1:50.523
13 Aleix Espargaro (Sp) Ducati 1:50.537
14 Marco Melandri (Ita) Honda 1:50.580
15 Hiroshi Aoyama (Jpn) Honda 1:50.836


Moto2

1 Andrea Iannone (Ita) Speed Up 1min 55.148 secs
2 Scott Redding (GB) Suter, 1:55.189.
3 Alex De Angelis (San) Motobi, 1:55.194.


125cc

1 Marc Marquez (Spa) Derbi 1min 59.335secs
2 Sandro Cortese (Ger) Derbi 1:59.898
3 Nicolas Terol (Spa) Aprilia 1:59.970

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/motorsport/motorbikes/9012050.stm