Churchill face Shivajians
Goa: Churchill Brothers FC Goa, who finally opened their account after a hard-fought draw against DSK Shivajians, will be cautiously optimistic against title favourites Bengaluru FC, whose air of invincibility and high flying run was cut short by a 2-1 defeat against East Bengal. The respective results saw Churchill Brothers move up to the 8th position above Chennai City and Minerva Punjab while Bengaluru FC find themselves in the fourth position behind Mohun Bagan, East Bengal and Aizawl FC. "We are looking forward to our home match and they are coming from a loss while we are coming from a draw. So some positives are there and maybe their confidence can be low after that defeat. We have some tactical plans on how to contain them and since they are such a strong team with quality players, we have to come up with something extra," Churchill’s coach Alfred Fernandes said.
Shukla step down
Kanpur: Six office-bearers of the Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association (UPCA) including secretary Rajiv Shukla on Thursday stepped down from their respective posts at the state body's working committee meeting here, after they were rendered ineligible as per the Supreme Court appointed lodha Panel's recommendations. The office-bearers who were forced to step down were Tahir Hasan, Madan Mohan Mishra (both vice-presidents), B C Jain (jt Secretary accounts), K N Tandon (treasurer), Suhaib Ahmed (jt Secretary) and Shukla. While Shukla and Jain have completed the maximum nine-year tenure, the others are above 70, which make them ineligible to continue as per the lodha recommendations.
Celta oust Real from Copa
MADRID: Celta Vigo pulled off another major upset in the Copa del Rey, eliminating Real Madrid with a 2-2 home draw on Wednesday to reach the semifinals for the second straight season. A year after ousting Atletico Madrid in the quarterfinals, Celta knocked Real Madrid out at the same stage with a 4-3 aggregate victory. It had stunned the Spanish powerhouse with 2-1 win in the first leg last week. The result dashed Madrid's hopes of winning five titles this season. It had already won the European Super Cup and the Club World Cup, and remains in contention in the Champions league and the Spanish league.