Churchill go down to Indonesia’s Persipura
Margao: Churchill Brothers went down 2-0 to Persipura Jayapura in their opening Group E encounter of AFC Cup at Mandala Stadium in Indonesia on Tuesday. Second half goals by Boaz Solossa and Yohanes Pahabol ensured the win for the home side and three points. Churchill coach Mariano Dias made a couple of changes with Richard Costa and Ashley Fernandes coming on for Bineesh Balan and Abdelhamid Shabana, but there was no change to proceedings. The Indian club will take on New Radiant of the Maldives in their next AFC Cup match, to be held on March 11 at Fatorda Stadium in Goa. (PTI)
Pune FC begin AFC Cup campaign today
Pune: Pune FC will start their maiden AFC Cup campaign against Myanmar’s Nay Pyi Taw FC in a first round encounter here on Wednesday. The Group H clash is a face-off between two teams who are playing for the very first time in Asia’s second-level competition. Currently, Pune FC are midway through their league campaign and are confident going into the big game having logged a couple of positive results at home. But coach Mike Snoei was cautious ahead of the game. “The home games in the tournament are very important. We should make the most of it, otherwise we will be under pressure going into the away games,” he said. (PTI)
Smedley follows Massa to Williams
LONDON: Former Ferrari race engineer Rob Smedley is following Brazilian driver Felipe Massa to the Williams Formula One team, where he will take on the new role of head of vehicle performance. Williams said on Tuesday that Smedley, whose radio conversations with Massa during races have made him an F1 personality, would start work before the Bahrain Grand Prix in April. The Briton had been expected to move to Williams after Massa, with whom he had forged a close working relationship, joined the team from Ferrari at the end of 2013. At the German Grand Prix in 2010, it was Smedley who gave Massa the message ‘Fernando is faster than you’ when Ferrari controversially decided to impose ‘team orders’ to ensure Spaniard Fernando Alonso won the race. The order, which has gone down in Formula One lore, was devastating for Massa who had been on course for his first win since 2008 – the year before he suffered a near-fatal head injury – but finished second. Massa’s race engineer this year will be Andrew Murdoch, who worked previously with Pastor Maldonado. Williams said Richard Lockwood had also joined the team from Marussia as head of race strategy. The latest appointments reflect the former champions’ determination to move back up the grid after a disappointing 2013 season. Williams finished ninth overall last year with a meagre five points. (Reuters)