SPORT Nether Edge Echo
Sunday January 25 2009
BACK AGAIN
THE £108m MAN (NEARLY) Exclusive interview with Kaká p.20
Lance Armstrong on returning to racing, Barack Obama and winning his battle cancer p.21
CUP HOLDERS Portsmouth ditched by stylish Swansea, as Fulham stumble past non-League Kettering
SWANS SING REQUIEM FOR ADAMS
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BBC
CUPSETS: Swansea goalscorers Nathan Dyer (left) and Jason Scotland (centre) celebrate knocking out FA Cup holders Portsmouth in the Fourth Round tie at Fratton Park, while Kettering Town’s Craig Westcarr scores his sides first and equalising goal during an enthralling game against Fulham at Rockingham Road
Nathan Dyer, on loan to the Swans from Pompey’s arch-rivals Southampton, silenced the booboys in the 27th minute as he raced into the area and fired past goalkeeper David James. Things then got worse for Portsmouth moments before the break when Nadir Belhadj brought down Jordi Gomez in the area and Jason Scotland converted the penalty to make it 2-0.
Andrew Johnson and Bobby Zamora spared Fulham’s blushes away to non-league Kettering, firing home late goals as the Cottagers won 4-2 at Rockingham Road. It looked like it might be easy for the Premier League side when Simon Davies gave them a 12th minute lead with a sweet volley, but Craig Westcarr fired in a deflected free-kick 10 minutes before the break. Danny Murphy restored Fulham’s advantage but Westcarr quickly tied it up again with an 83rd-minute penalty. But with the hosts dreaming of a
replay, quickfire goals from Johnson and Zamora decided it late on. Paul Scholes and Dimitar Berbatov struck within a minute of each other to see Manchester United into the fifth round of the FA Cup at Tottenham’s expense. Roman Pavyluchencko gave Spurs a fifth-minute lead but the advantage looked shaky long before Scholes levelled with a shot that flicked off Tom Huddlestone. And within a minute, former Tottenham favourite Berbatov had belted home what turned out to be the winner, brilliantly controlling Michael Carrick’s chipped pass
with his first touch and steering his second into the corner. Chelsea made hard work of Ipswich at Stamford Bridge before prevailing 3-1. Michael Ballack opened the scoring as he turned in Ashley Cole’s cross after quarter of an hour, but Alex Bruce levelled for the Tractor Boys when he stabbed home from close range when Chelsea failed to clear a free-kick. Chelsea struggled to impose themselves, but went back in front when Ballack curled in a free-kick for his second before Frank Lampard’s late goal wrapped things up.
Earlier, a quickfire double in the final minutes of the first half gave West Ham a 2-0 win over Hartlepool but it was not without controversy as referee Lee Mason gave the Hammers a dubious penalty. Switzerland international Valon Behrami rifled in a shot from the edge of the area in the 44th minute and moments later Mason pointed to the spot when Michael Nelson handled the ball, albeit outside the area. Mark Noble made no mistake with the spot-kick. Ian Ashbee’s wonder strike capped a 2-0 win for Hull over Millwall after Michael Turner’s
headed opener. Jobi McAnuff had a hand in all four Watford goals as the Hornets beat Crystal Palace 4-3 to go through. McAnuff teed up Jay DeMerit and Jack Cork before Palace got back in it through Clint Hill early in the second half. But the Hornets then made sure of progress as McAnuff crosses picked out Will Hoskins and Grzegorz Rasiak, making sure a late Paul Ifill double was not enough for the visitors. A dramatic late goal from Martin Paterson earned plucky Carling
Murray got out to a 4-1 lead in the opening set before Melzer got back on level terms after holding his serve twice and breaking Murray when the Scot netted three times and also gave his opponent an easy smash. But another excellent service game from Murray, which included two more aces, put the 21-year-old British number one 6-5 ahead and when Melzer fired a backhand into the net Murray was a set up and on his way to victory. He did not concede another game until midway through the final set and rounded off the win with a booming ace. Murray added: “The start was very important. I knew if I played well - and the first set was very important - I felt like I could go on to win in three sets if I grabbed the first set. “When he gets ahead he can start serving well and he can get confident so the start was very important. “But I think I played much better today than (against him) at the US Open.” He continued: “There are going to be points in the match where he’s hitting a lot of winners and dictating what’s happening on the court because he plays ultra-aggressive, and has done every time I played against him. “He got back into the first set. But, you know, after that I thought I hit the ball really, really well. I took a lot of my chances. I made him do a lot of running and was very confident from the second set onwards.”
TOTTENHAM boss Harry Redknapp has confirmed he has made a bid for Sunderland striker Kenwyne Jones.
MURRAY’S POWER PLAY PREVAILS PA Sport, Melbourne
ANDY Murray believes he is playing better now than he was when he made his run to the final at the US Open last year.
The British number one booked his place in the fourth round of the Australian Open with an emphatic 7-5 6-0 6-3 win against Jurgen Melzer, who he also defeated on his way to meeting Roger Federer in New York. Back then Murray came from two sets down to claim the win against the Austrian left-hander, but on Saturday night in front of a vocal crowd in Hisense Arena, he needed just one hour and 40 minutes to put the 31st seed away. He rattled up 11 games on the trot at one point as he broke Melzer to win the first set then kept his opponent scoreless until the fourth game of the third. “I felt like I returned his serve much, much better than I had done in the past,” Murray said. “The conditions were slower, which helped me, because he plays very aggressively. He likes to come into the net, take the ball early, sort of rush you. But with the heavy conditions, I wasn’t as rushed, and returned the serve better.” After a tight first set, Murray didn’t give the 27-year-old Austrian a sniff after that,
DOMINANT: Murray though to the third round after an emphatic win against Melzer conceding three further games - all in the final set. He had too much power for Melzer who committed 30 unforced errors - a reflection of the pressure he was put under by the world number four. There was plenty of good quality tennis as well though with Murray firing a winner across court at full stretch with pinpoint accuracy on his way to breaking Melzer in the
second game of the second set. Melzer also had his moments with some beautifully-weighted drop shots and crunching winners down the line but unfortunately for the Austrian they were far outweighed by the vast number of errors. And both players were prepared to mix it up, advancing to the net - although not always successfully - rather than simply slug it out from the baseline.
COOK’S TOUR OF CAPTAINCY Richard Gibson ALASTAIR Cook was yesterday revealed as the surprise choice to aid captain Andrew Strauss on the Test tour of the Caribbean.
Although it is not England policy to appoint official vicecaptains, Cook, rather than more senior men in the side, will take charge should Strauss be forced off the field in the upcoming Test series. England have been intent on looking to the future rather than the past since arriving here, little wonder given the tumultuous start to 2009 and the choice of Cook fits in with that policy. Long viewed as a future England captain, the 24-year-old has 36 caps to his name but that was not sufficient for a place on the front row of the official tour photo taken before nets yesterday morning - former captains Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff flanked Strauss. “It is a very unofficial position, but it is another chance for me to gain some valuable leadership experience and help Straussy in any way I can,” Cook said, after the team to face St Kitts & Nevis
CAPTAIN & COMMANDER: Alistair Cook (left) greets Andrew Strauss ahead of the match in St Kitts & Nevis in a three-day contest was announced. “He will need support not just from me but from the other senior players as well and we do have a lot of leadership experience in the dressing room with three other guys who have captained
England. “They will be there to offer help and ideas and I can give them the viewpoint of someone that is slightly younger and might come at things from a different angle.” The surface for the match,
which begins today, is expected to be slow and England, who will field 11 men rather than treat the game as a free-for-all practice, surprisingly include Yorkshire’s Adil Rashid as a second spinner to Monty Panesar.
More cricket news on p.20
In-depth match reports on all the day’s games on p.20 and p.21
KENWYNE SET FOR SPURS? Spurs have been heavily linked with Jones and there is a possibility Darren Bent might move in the other direction. And Redknapp, who completed the signing of Wigan’s Wilson Palacios on Friday, admitted he is in the hunt for new faces. “We have made an enquiry for Jones,” confirmed Redknapp. “I have no idea how far the chairman has got with it or even whether Sunderland want to do a deal.” There is no chance of Jones being signed in time to face Stoke on Tuesday night but, given the lack of bodies available to him, Redknapp will continue searching for reinforcements until the February 2 deadline. “We are short in one or two areas,” he said. “I have brought Palacios in from Wigan to give us a bit of drive and energy in midfield. When we get Jermaine Jenas and Aaron Lennon back, it will give us a bit more pace as well.”
JONES TO GO?: How Jones could look in a Tottenham Hotspur shirt
MANNY-HIT MAN BACK ON RICKY Hatton is “99% certain” to fight Manny Pacquiao in May after the Filipino superstar finally signed a contract for the showdown.
PA Sport, St Kitts
Emnes coming off the substitutes’ bench to fire in the winner seven minutes from time. Sam Vokes had earlier cancelled out Afonso Alves’ opener. Goals from Danny Webber and Lee Hendrie gave Sheffield United a 2-1 victory over Charlton and a ticket into the fifth round. Charlton got a 69th-minute goal back through Chris Dickson but were well beaten. Elliott Ward’s late goal broke Torquay hearts as Coventry won 1-0 at Plainmoor.
Hatton’s lawyer Gareth Williams told PA Sport yesterday he expects a copy of the contract to arrive for the light-welterweight world champion to sign early next week before officially confirming the fight. The development follows weeks of uncertainty after it emerged Pacquiao wanted to renegotiate financial terms despite having agreed a 50-50 split before Christmas. But Pacquiao, currently the world’s leading fighter, has now agreed to share the proceeds equally with Hatton, and Golden Boy Promotions chief executive Richard Schaefer, negotiating on the Mancunian’s behalf, has received a signed contract from the Filipino. Williams told PA Sport: “Richard Schaefer has definitely got the contract. I’m 99% certain the fight will happen. “It is on its way to me and I’m pretty confident it will be all right and everything will be fine.” As for the financial terms of the contract, Williams said: “We never wavered from a 50-50 split. “All this talk about us making different offers is just nonsense.
PA
GETTY
Emma Stoney
Cup semi-finalists Burnley a replay at home against West Brom following a 2-2 draw. The Clarets had led through Graham Alexander’s penalty but West Brom looked good for the win as goals from Robert Koren and Kim Do-Heon turned it around before Paterson’s late intervention. High-flying Aston Villa face a replay after being held goalless away by Doncaster, while Sunderland and Blackburn must also try again after a goalless encounter at the Stadium of Light. Middlesbrough left it late to beat Wolves at Molineux, with Marvin
SIMON PEACH (C)
HOLDERS Portsmouth were dumped out of the FA Cup yesterday as they were stunned by Championship club Swansea at Fratton Park.
CLASH OF THE TITANS: Ricky Hatton’s (left) much anticipated fight with Manny Pacquiao (right) looks to be back on We reached one agreement and we didn’t offer anything else.” The proposed May 2 clash in Las Vegas looked to have been scuppered when pound-for-pound king Pacquiao seemingly refused to sign up by Wednesday’s original deadline.
There appeared to have been a disagreement over how the purse would be split, the Filipino supposedly unhappy at the proposed 50-50 share with Hatton. Williams said on Thursday that the fight was “dead in the water” for the time being - but admitted the ap-
pearance of a signed contract would force them to reconsider. Yet Pacquiao’s promoters Top Rank declared on Friday the fight was back on and Hatton’s camp have now confirmed the contest is set to be officially announced next week.
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