Bayern blitz Eintracht Frankfurt
BERLIN: Bayern Munich took their tally of goals for the season to 51 in the Bundesliga on Sunday, with a 5-0 demolition of Eintracht Frankfurt at home. The defending champions and this season’s leaders scored through Mario Goetze (12th minute), Franck Ribery (44th), Arjen Robben (67th), Bonfim Dante (69th) and Mario Mandzukic (89th). They now have 53 points from 19 games, with Bayer Leverkusen in second on 40 from 19. The reigning Champions League team have won 17 of their Bundesliga games so far, with two draws. In the other game on Sunday, Nuremberg climbed out of the relegation zone with a 3-1 victory at Hertha Berlin, only the visitors’ second win of the season. Among Saturday’s results, Leverkusen defeated VfB Stuttgart 2-1. Fourth-placed Schalke 04 were also 2-1 winners against VfL Wolfsburg. Borussia Dortmund, in third, won away at Eintracht Braunschweig 2-1 on Friday. (Agencies)
Moyes defiant as Man U’s top-4 bid falters
Stoke-on-Trent: Manchester United manager David Moyes had no concerns about his side’s performance despite the champions suffering their eighth Premier League defeat of the season at Stoke City’s windswept Britannia Stadium, losing 2-1. “I thought the performance was really good,” he said on Saturday. “I thought we played well, so I don’t think the question about a poor performance is right. “They got a goal, we got back in it, I thought we were the team more likely and I thought on the day we did enough to certainly get something from the game.” With Jonny Evans hobbling off in the 11th minute, Adam’s deflected opener and then a head injury to Phil Jones, Moyes could count himself unlucky, but his side also squandered several chances. “I thought we had bad luck, I really did,” he said. “It was our own downfall that we really didn’t take our chances. We must have got to the byline eight, nine, 10 times and never picked someone out in the box, so it is our own doing, but I thought we played well.” (AFP)
Focusing on my game, not selection: Ojha
New Delhi: Pragyan Ojha has fallen in the pecking order behind Ravindra Jadeja as the third specialist spinner with remote chances of playing a Test series overseas, but the Odisha-born Hyderbad left-arm spinner is not ready to throw in the towel yet. Ojha, who has got 100 wickets from 22 Tests and is currently on 113 wickets from 24 Tests, is waiting for his turn to play for India outside the sub-continent. “I just keep my cool and focus on my game rather than thinking about my selection. Selection matters are not in my hands but what is in my hand is my own performance. My job is to perform for the country and keep myself focussed on job at hand,” Ojha told PTI in an interview. “These types of thoughts fill your mind with negativity and hamper your performance. It’s important to remain positive and leave selection matters in the hands of our selectors,” the left-arm spinner added. Ojha doesn’t want to put too much pressure on himself on his non-selection. “If I start thinking about all this (did not get a game in South Africa and was not part of the New Zealand tour), seriously, I would be putting a lot of pressure on myself. I don’t want these factors to effect my game. I will wait for my chances and I am confident that one day I will get it. I don’t want to get into the negative side of my thoughts.” (PTI)
Positive Pandey gets a bowl in 2-day game
Whangarei: The lanky Ishwar Pandey finally got a chance to play a match on this tour of New Zealand in a two-day tour game and his three-wicket haul in 14 overs will surely make him happy after waiting in the wings for three weeks since India landed in this country. While the match being a two-day affair is not an official first-class game, skipper MS Dhoni will be impressed with Pandey’s positive attitude. Dhoni had said after the last one day that there is still some work that needs to be done with Pandey’s bowling. When Pandey was quizzed on the issue, he said,”Mostly, I have learnt a lot about the difference between bowling in different formats. How you have to bring in variations in your bowling in ODIs and T20s, what works and what doesn’t work, while learning how different it is to bowl in Tests.” (PTI)