India U-16 lose 1-2 to Oman
new delhi: Indian U-16 football team went down fighting 1-2 to Oman in a friendly fixture in Turkey on Monday. Oman scored on either side of the half-time, while Vikram reducing the margin by scoring from the penalty spot in the added time of the match. Oman took the lead three minutes to the half-time whistle, before doubling the advantage in the 55th minute to put themselves in a comfortable position. Coach Bibiano Fernandes rang in a few changes to find the back of the net but Oman stood tall to thwart their efforts until the final minute of the regulation time. Vikram was brought down in the box in the 89th minute and the skipper slotted in the spot-kick to halve the gap. Although India pushed hard to find the equaliser towards the end, Oman held on their nerves to win the match eventually.
Nayar moves to Pondicherry
mumbai: Veteran all-rounder Abhishek Nayar, who played 99 first class games for Mumbai, will turn up for Ranji Trophy debutants Pondicherry this season. Nayar has moved to Pondicherry after getting an NOC from Mumbai. "I was in talks with them (Pondicherry). On Saturday I took my NOC from the Mumbai Cricket Association and this morning submitted it to the BCCI. So basically today I kind of hit the nail in the coffin," Nayar said confirming that he will play for Pondicherry. Nayar, 34, scored 5,627 runs in the 99 first class games with 259 being his highest score. He had hit 13 hundreds and 31 fifties and snapped 164 wickets with best figures of 7/131. Nayar said he opted for Pondicherry as he did not want to take someone's place in a team. "One of the reasons why I opted for Pondicherry is that I felt its a new team, new culture, I was not taking anyone’s place," he said.
FC Goa to travel to Spain
panjim: FC Goa will be travelling to Murcia, Spain on Wednesday to sharpen their skills ahead of the fifth edition of Hero Indian Super league (ISl). Having retained a number of key players from their last campaign, Sergio lobera has added plenty of new faces to the squad and will hope his team settles together during their trip to la Manga. The 24-man squad, which will include four players from developmental team, will travel to Murcia to train and play five friendlies at the la Manga Club, which boasts of world-class facilities. "I think that all of the players that went to la Manga last year noticed that it was an ideal place to prepare for a new season," said head coach, Sergio lobera. The Gaurs have five potential friendlies lined up against the likes of FC Cartagena, UCAM Murcia CF and former la liga side Real Murcia before returning to Goa on September 17.
Spurs move cl opener to Wembley
london: Tottenham's first home game in the group stages of the Champions league will be played at Wembley, the club confirmed on Monday after reaching an agreement with UEFA. Spurs announced last week that the move to their new 62,000-capacity stadium had been delayed by at least a month due to safety issues. "We have agreed with UEFA that the first home matchday of this season’s Champions league group stage, scheduled on either matchday one (week commencing 17 September) or matchday two (week commencing 1 October), will be staged at Wembley Stadium," the club said in a statement. The first game at the new White Hart lane was due to be against liverpool on September 15, but that fixture and the visit of Cardiff on October 6 have now been switched to Wembley, where Spurs played all their home games last season.