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Davids, Isaacs in the mix for Cup semi-final

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Roger de Sa admits that team selection is giving him sleepless nights. Ajax Cape Town host SuperSport United in a Nedbank Cup semi-final tie at the Athlone Stadium tomorrow night (kick-off 8.15pm) and, with everybody available and pushing for a place in the starting side, Ajax coach De Sa is wrestling with his starting team.

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His headache has especially been compounded by the fact that two experienced veterans performed magnificently in a 1-0 league defeat to Free State Stars on Tuesday. With De Sa resting central defenders Rivaldo Coetzee and Abbubaker Mobara, and central midfielders Travis Graham and Granwald Scott both suspended for the midweek game, 32-year-old Dominic Isaacs and 30-year-old Lance Davids were given a run – and De Sa was blown away by their robust, influential display.

Now, in a Cup semi-final against a quality SuperSport team, where calm, mature heads may well be needed, the duo have given De Sa some food for thought.

“My job was made rather difficult after Tuesday’s game against Free State Stars,” said De Sa. “It was a difficult fixture against extremely physical opponents. But we did well and we could have sneaked a point, with a little bit of luck. We had chances, but missed them.

“A number of players, though, put their hands up for selection for the semi-final, especially Dominic (Isaacs) and Lance (Davids). Dominic won a number of aerial duels and was up for the Free State team’s aggressive approach. Lance also has the same steel and he got stuck in. It was good that we had the two of them on the pitch in such a physical match. Lance has done a fantastic job for us whenever needed. He is a great professional and I’m sure he will be ready if he is needed in the semi-final.

“But I can only start with 11 players… I wish I could start with 25. But I’ll look at previous form, current form, the nature of the opposition and the game plan I want to use before deciding on the starting team.”

The measure of a successful football team is a good balance between youth and experience. For most of this season, though, Ajax have made do with a special crop of talented youngsters. And, for De Sa, it would be a magnificent achievement if this bunch of kids can make it to the final.

“These young boys are winners,” said the Ajax coach. “Remember that, when they were juniors, they won many trophies at the club, not only in Cape Town but overseas as well. They know how to win…

“This, of course, is a different level, but they are growing, and they continue to grow and mature. They are not there yet, but this semi-final is an opportunity for them to gain more valuable experience, and give themselves a shot at a final.

“For me, as coach, there is nothing more exciting than working with such emerging footballers. Look at a player like Rivaldo (Coetzee)… I gave him his debut as a 17-year-old last year, now he is in the semi-final of a Cup competition, has a few Bafana Bafana caps to his name, and he gets better with every game. That alone is motivation for me.”

De Sa also revealed why the match is taking place at Athlone, the venue for their last two Cup games, and not Cape Town Stadium, which is usually Ajax’s home ground.

“When the draw was made and we were at home, I opened it up to the players to decide where they wanted to play,” said the coach. “I must say I was surprised that the majority opted for Athlone. But I guess it’s a ground with a lot of history for many in the squad, a stadium that’s close to their heart.

“It’ll be great to get to the final, not only for the club and the squad, but also for the city. It’s an opportunity to do the Cape proud. This a region that has produced so many good players and it would be fantastic to put the city on the football map again.”

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Maritzburg battle past Ajax

Mohau Mokate scored an injury time winner to help hosts Maritzburg United to a 1-0 victory over Ajax Cape Town in their Premiership match at Harry Gwala Stadium.

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Pietermaritzburg – Mohau Mokate scored an injury time winner to help hosts Maritzburg United to a 1-0 victory over Ajax Cape Town in their Premiership match at Harry Gwala Stadium in Pietermaritzburg.

With the game seemingly headed for a goalless draw, up stepped Mokate to head home the only goal of the evening with the cross coming in from Deolin Mekoa.

The win means Maritzburg rise to 36 points as they jump from eighth to seventh on the league table.

For Ajax, they remain on 37 points in sixth spot.

Just after the 20 minute mark, Ajax midfielder Keagan Dolly reeled off a shot but it was blocked by Maritzburg player Philani Zulu. Franklin Cale sent in the resultant corner and Ntuthuko Mabaso cleared the danger.

Moments later Ajax were on the prowl again. This time Abbubaker Mobara was on hand with the shot, but Maritzburg keeper Shuaib Walters was up to the task and tipped the ball away for a corner.

Dolly was involved again just before the half-hour mark with a shot, but Walters again had it covered as he made the save.

Yet another attempt followed in the 32nd minute for Dolly, but his effort was directed just wide of goal.

Five minutes later the energetic player threatened once more. Dolly showed some quick footwork to reel off the attempt but still could not find the back of the net.

Mosa Lebusa for Ajax had the next chance in the 42nd minute. His header from inside the area, like his teammate, was off target.

Minutes after the interval, Mohammed Anas had a chance for Maritzburg. With the shot coming in from Anas, Ajax player Travis Graham was able to get the block in to stamp out the threat.

Ajax had the next chance in the 50th minute. Cecil Lolo had a dip at goal from a free kick, but again Walters made the save.

With five minutes left in the encounter, Thamsanqa Mkhize tried his luck for Maritzburg but goalkeeper Anssi Jaakkola had it covered in the Ajax goal. – ANA

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Barca give Getafe six of the best

Barcelona's Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar fired the La Liga leaders to a 6-0 rout of Getafe that stretched the gap over Real Madrid to five points.

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Barcelona - Barcelona's Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar motored past 100 goals for the season to fire the La Liga leaders to a 6-0 rout of Getafe that stretched the gap over Real Madrid to five points.

After Suarez was felled, Messi set treble-chasing Barca on their way with a dinked penalty in the ninth minute at the Nou Camp, the first time the Argentina forward has attempted a “Panenka” in 75 spot kicks for club and country.

Suarez clipped a volley into the net from Messi's floated pass in the 25th and Neymar weaved into space to fire low into the corner three minutes later, the 100th goal for Messi, Suarez and Neymar, known as 'MSN', in all competitions this term.

Messi is on 49 goals, Uruguay striker Suarez, whose ban for biting an opponent expired at the end of October, has 21 and Brazil forward Neymar 32.

Playmaker Xavi, making his 501st league appearance for the Catalan giants, curled a superb shot into the top corner on the half hour and Suarez netted his second after a flowing move five minutes before the break.

It was the first time Getafe, who are 13th, have conceded five goals in the first half of a La Liga match.

Messi took his league tally to 38 this term, one behind top scorer Cristiano Ronaldo of Real, with a whipped shot into the top corner two minutes after the break before Getafe managed to repel waves of attacks for the remainder of the game.

Barcelona have 84 points with four matches left, while second-placed Real can trim the gap back to two points if they win their game in hand at home to Almeria on Wednesday.

Champions Atletico Madrid are seven points adrift of Real in third ahead of their game at Villarreal on Wednesday.

Barcelona, and their formidable attack, look to be in ominous form before a crucial run of games over the next two weeks, including their Champions League semi-final tie against German champions Bayern Munich.

They are also through to next month's King's Cup final against Athletic Bilbao and thus have a chance of repeating 2009's historic treble of Champions League and Spanish league and Cup titles under current Bayern coach Pep Guardiola.

“The team is 100 percent committed, the fans, everyone,” Suarez told Spanish television.

“We have an obligation to achieve great things and we are facing the most important phase of the season,” added the 28-year-old, who joined Barca from Liverpool in July.

Bilbao missed a chance to climb above Malaga into seventh when they let slip a one-goal lead and were held to a 1-1 draw at home to 10-man Real Sociedad in the Basque derby.

Sociedad, who are 12th, had defender Mikel Gonzalez sent off when he conceded a penalty five minutes after halftime for a foul on Bilbao forward Aritz Aduriz.

Aduriz scored with the spot kick but Sociedad fullback Alberto De La Bella levelled with a powerful long-range strike into the top corner on the hour.

Bottom side Cordoba are on the brink of relegation after they were beaten 1-0 at fellow strugglers Levante. They are 11 points adrift of the safety zone with four games remaining. – Reuters

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Dortmund ruin Bayern’s treble hopes

Holders Bayern Munich slumped out of the German Cup semi-finals 2-0 on penalties to Borussia Dortmund after failing to score any of their spot kicks.

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Munich - Holders Bayern Munich slumped out of the German Cup semi-finals 2-0 on penalties to Borussia Dortmund after failing to score any of their spot kicks as their hopes of repeating their 2013 treble were dashed.

Bayern, who won the Bundesliga title on Sunday, had captain Philipp Lahm and Xabi Alonso slip as they sent their penalties into the stands as the Munich side missed all four of their efforts after a 1-1 draw following extra time.

Dortmund, beaten finalists last season, took revenge and maintained their hopes of a Europa League spot next term through the Cup competition after a disappointing Bundesliga campaign.

Unlucky Bayern will now focus on the Champions League where they face Barcelona in the last four next week.

“I did not expect such a game,” beaming Dortmund coach Juergen Klopp told reporters.

“I wanted us to play with more courage in the first half and I told my players that it is ok to lose here but not with this nonsense. Let's go down fighting,” added Klopp, who is leaving the club at the end of the season.

Yet it had all looked to be going in Bayern's favour with their former Dortmund striker Robert Lewandowski scoring for the third time against his old club when he drilled home on the rebound in the 30th minute.

The Poland international then hit the post in the second half as Bayern dominated and looked certain to enjoy more goals.

But a quick break sent Dortmund's Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang through at the far post and the Gabon forward slid in for the equaliser in the 75th against the run of play.

It was the wake-up call Dortmund needed and twice they had the chance to score again as the game turned on its head but Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer's superb reflexes denied Marco Reus and Henrikh Mkhitaryan.

Bayern then lost winger Arjen Robben, who had come on as a substitute following a stomach muscle injury last month but lasted only 16 minutes.

“We played a great game and in the first half they had no chance,” Bayern coach Pep Guardiola said. “We had some problems for five or seven minutes. I am very proud of my team.

“As for the penalties, this happens. Penalties are always about controlling emotions and maybe we were a bit tired.”

Dortmund were reduced to 10 men in extra time following the dismissal of Kevin Kampl but kept their cool and keeper Mitch Langerak made the save of the game by stopping Bastian Schweinsteiger's point-blank header.

They then converted two penalties, as Bayern's hopes were dashed when their first two takers missed after slipping before Mario Goetze's spot kick was saved and Neuer rattled the bar. – Reuters

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PSL race for second spot hots up

The fight for second spot in the PSL and entry into the Caf Champions league becomes the biggest prize up for grabs in the last few games of the season.

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Johannesburg – With the title race already decided, the fight for second spot and entry into the Caf Champions league becomes the biggest prize up for grabs in the last few games of the season.

Orlando Pirates occupy third place on the log with 45 points and three games remaining. Mamelodi Sundowns, meanwhile, are second with 48 points but still have four matches left.

The Buccaneers face SuperSport United at Orlando Stadium in one of the key encounters of the six matches on the evening.

Pirates midfielder Thandani Ntshumayelo believed second spot was still well within his team’s reach heading into the clash with their Pretoria-based opposition.

“We are still within reaching distance of that last Champions League spot,” said Ntshumayelo.

“We just have to make sure that we win all our remaining matches.”

The Soweto outfit, however, will also be duelling with Wits who are also on 45 points but crucially have a game in hand over the much-fancied Pirates.

“We need to focus on our games because we have control over that and avoid focusing on Sundowns and Wits. Hopefully they can drop points and allow us to sneak into number two.”

Caf success will still be on the minds of many of the Pirates players, as the team reached the final of the competition in 2013 under coach Roger de Sa where the South African side went down 3-1 over two legs to Al-Ahly of Egypt.

“We simply have to win all our remaining matches because our prevailing ambition as players and as a club is to play in the Champions League on a regular basis. We believe that we are good enough to compete with the best our continent has to offer,” said Ntshumayelo.

SuperSport, in contrast, were in the middle of a battle for a top eight finish on the log. With four matches left, Matsatsantsa were seventh on the table with 35 points, two ahead of both Maritzburg United and Polokwane City immediately below.

With much to play for in the clash, Ntshumayelo believed Pirates would be the team to come away with all three points.

“Despite all the problems we faced this season we came back and put up a good fight.

“For me that bears testament to the quality, character and spirit that is Orlando Pirates which is why I believe we can get the second spot starting with a victory over SuperSport United on Wednesday night.”

In the other matches on the evening, Sundowns host champions Kaizer Chiefs at Lucas Moripe Stadium. Free State Stars host Wits at Goble Park, AmaZulu take on Platinum Stars at Princess Magogo Stadium, Polokwane City welcome Black Aces to Old Peter Mokaba Stadium and Chippa United host Bloemfontein Celtic at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium. – ANA

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RVP keen on United stay

Robin van Persie has given Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal a boost by revealing he wishes to stay at Old Trafford.

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Robin van Persie has given Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal a boost by revealing he wishes to stay at Old Trafford beyond the summer.

Van Persie has played a bit-part role in United’s season this time around, with injury restricting him to 25 starts and 10 goals in all competitions.

The Dutch striker knows that his days as United’s premier centre forward may well have gone, with Wayne Rooney the club captain and Van Gaal on the lookout for another big-name scorer.

However, it is understood that Van Persie, who will be 32 before the start of the next campaign, is happy to stay at the club into the final year of his contract next season — if United still want him and he is guaranteed a decent amount of playing time.

Van Persie is happy in the north-west of England, with his children settled in a school in Cheshire. Van Gaal has not yet indicated what his plans are for him beyond the end of this season but last night a source close to the striker said: ‘Robin is in no rush to leave. He still thinks he can achieve things and contribute at Old Trafford.’

Van Persie returned from an ankle injury as a late substitute in United’s 3-0 defeat at Everton on Sunday and is in line to make a starting return to the team in the home game against West Brom this weekend.

He is likely to ease ahead of fellow striker Radamel Falcao, who made little impression when given 45 minutes at Goodison Park, while Wayne Rooney is awaiting the results of tests on a bang to his knee picked up on Merseyside.

United would not comment on Rooney’s fitness last night but it is understood that Van Gaal is not overly concerned.

Rooney was given permission to attend the PFA awards dinner in London after Sunday’s game and was seen walking without any problem at the event.

Van Persie enjoyed a sensational first season at United after signing from Arsenal in the summer of 2012. He was United’s top scorer as they won the Premier League title but has struggled to make the same impact since.

Still one of the club’s highest earners, Van Persie would nevertheless be an attractive proposition to other clubs in Europe.

He has only a year left on his contract and would therefore be available for a relatively low price if United did look to sell.

United certainly need to bounce back quickly after Sunday’s defeat and central defender Chris Smalling admitted yesterday that Van Gaal’s players let themselves down. Smalling said: ‘This was a massive wake-up call for us. Right from the first minute we were off the pace and they had a pressure that we usually have.

‘We haven’t been the second-best team in games, even when we’ve lost we’ve always had that aggression and those tackles but on Sunday we were far from it.

‘I think we’ll see a different Manchester United against West Bromwich Albion. The fans deserve better.’

United will today confirm details of their summer tour of the USA. The trip will be confined to the west coast, with a base in Seattle and four matches.

Meanwhile, PSV Eindhoven winger Memphis Depay has said it would be a dream come true to move to the Premier League this summer. United and Liverpool are interested in signing the 21-year-old who looks certain to leave Holland at the end of the season.

Depay has scored 21 goals for the runaway Eredivisie leaders — 27 in all competitions — and admits he dreams of making a high-profile transfer this summer.

When asked about a possible move, Depay, who is the division’s top scorer, said: ‘If that would become reality, it would be fantastic. It is a dream to make a transfer with such a big impact.

‘But I already said there is a lot of speculation and a lot of stories, but I don’t know how things will work out, so let’s wait and see.

‘It would be great to go to one of the big competitions this summer but for now I don’t want to speak about that.’ – Daily Mail

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Time for Walcott to leave Arsenal?

Another season at Arsenal after this will see Theo Walcott break 10 years at the club. But, will he see that day?

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When Theo Walcott signed for Arsenal, the club were still playing home games at Highbury; Ashley Cole was the first-choice left-back and Stan Kroenke was yet to own a single share in that venerable institution he now controls from afar.

The world for Arsenal has changed in the intervening nine years and yet, like so many child prodigies, it can be hard to imagine Walcott as anything other than the 16-year-old boy who was deemed too young even to attend the press conference to announce his arrival from Southampton.

He is only 26, although in football years it feels like Walcott has had an entire career already, ripe to regale his younger team-mates with tales of a bygone era when a footballer with a tattoo was considered edgy, the only person who took pictures in the dressing room was the club photographer and an England international had to be alive 24-7 to the perils of being merked by Rio Ferdinand.

For Walcott, however, the eternal boy-man of English football, a decision looms on the horizon over his future with Arsenal and on Sunday, when he started on the bench, it looked again like he is slipping further from his manager Arsène Wenger's thoughts. Against Chelsea, it was not until the 84th minute that Wenger eventually elected to send on Walcott, although that is nothing new.

There was the same reluctance from Wenger to use his winger until relatively late when goals were required against both Monaco in the second leg of the Champions League tie and Reading in the FA Cup semi-final. Walcott has started just three league games since his full return from that career-interrupting cruciate ligament injury against Tottenham Hotspur in January last year and its consequences.

With one further season left on Walcott's contract after the summer, it begs the question whether contract politics are coming into play again.

Is Wenger simply unwilling to make changes to a team that has won 24 games in 30 or does his coolness over Walcott have its roots in what he perceives as a reluctance from the player to commit, with no negotiations over a new deal having started yet?

And, in turn, what effect will that have on Walcott's confidence, as he decides where to spend what should be the best years of his career?

What is certain is that neither side has forgotten the last contract negotiations, which reached deadlock in the summer of 2012.

It took Walcott's best-ever season in 2012-13, with 21 goals, to force the hand of Wenger, who had frozen him out in the early part of the campaign. In the end, Walcott made himself undroppable and in January 2013 the club backed down and gave him the £100 000-a-week deal he had sought. He started the next season as a regular, if less prolific goalscorer, and then came that injury.

Walcott is fond of Arsenal, where he has spent more than a third of his life, but you wonder if the club ever forgave him for winning the battle last time.

He was not an academy boy at the club, but he joined so young he can be perceived that way and football clubs often resent paying top whack to their own. As the games run out this season, and with a pivotal summer ahead, Walcott has to ask himself whether he can afford to wait for the weather to change.

Arsenal have developed a healthier competition for places than they had pre-January 2014 but, at 26, Walcott is unlikely to settle for a place as an impact substitute behind an out-of-position Aaron Ramsey or being picked behind Danny Welbeck.

If he is being punished for taking his time over signing a contract in January 2013, he might wish to point out that, in the interim, Wenger himself left it a matter of days before the expiration of his previous deal before he re-signed last May.

But if that relationship has been damaged for good and Walcott is to remain at Arsenal to come off the bench rather than starting games like the one on Sunday, he will know that his future is better served playing elsewhere.

No player leaves a club like Arsenal lightly, but then it is also about knowing when a change of scene will benefit him.

His marginalisation with his club would have an effect on his career for England, where a new generation of Raheem Sterling, Ross Barkley and Harry Kane has emerged, not to mention Walcott's injured Arsenal team-mate Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain - and there are more coming.

These should be the best days for Walcott with England, when seniority and experience kick-in, but there has been little straightforward about his international career encompassing three World Cup finals at which, for various reasons, he has not played a single game.

Another season at Arsenal after this will see Walcott break 10 years at the club and, with Abou Diaby's departure this summer, he will be the longest-serving player in the squad. He is young enough to be an attractive prospect to Liverpool if they were to lose Sterling or to Manchester City and their depleted reserves of home-grown players, in a summer when they are expected to rebuild. The question for Walcott is what he wants from what should be the best days of his life as a professional footballer.

His strength has been the attitude shown in times of adversity. The philosophical response to that 2010 World Cup England squad omission; the quiet confidence in the face of some studs-up criticism from the ranks of the ex-pros; even the 2-0 scoreline on his fingers in January 2014 as he was ferried in stately fashion past the Spurs supporters. A cheerful boy, grateful for the good life conferred on him by playing in English football's days of plenty.

The lowest points of the last 15 months - another lost World Cup finals, missing out on the first Arsenal trophy of his career - have been beyond his control. At his age Wayne Rooney already had 73 caps for England to Walcott's 38. But 10 years into his career, at the age of 26, Walcott is embarking on the second half with a chance to seize back control of his destiny. It might take a brave decision this summer to do so.– The Independent

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Real’s Chicharito dilemma

Real Madrid have a tough decision to make in the next few days as the club decides whether or not to take up the option to buy Mexican international striker, Javier Hernandez.

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Madrid — Real Madrid have a tough decision to make in the next few days as the club decides whether or not to take up the option to buy Mexican international striker, Javier Hernandez.

Hernandez, whose nickname ‘Chicharito’ means ‘little pea’ (because of his green eyes) joined Real Madrid on loan from Manchester United at the end of August with an option for the Spanish side to make the move permanent for a price fixed at 20 million Euros (around 22 million US dollars).

Despite Chicharito scoring two goals away to Deportivo la Coruna early in the season, for most of the campaign it has looked unlikely that Real Madrid would be tempted as coach Carlo Ancelotti played his “unnegotiable” starting trio of Gareth Bale, Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema.

Hernandez had played less than 400 minutes in all competitions and during the March international break complained that all he wanted was a chance to show what he could do.

That chance came with injuries to Bale and Benzema and Hernandez has responded in the best way possible.

Last Wednesday he scored an 88th minute winner against Atletico Madrid to qualify Real Madrid for the Champions League semi-finals and on Sunday he netted a brace to help Real to a vital 4-2 win in Vigo.

Hernandez has now scored 6 goals in 510 minutes football, one every 85 minutes, and that has caused a rethink at the Santiago Bernabeu. There are still barriers to overcome, with Benzema expected to be fit in a fortnight will he be able to convince Ancelotti he deserves to be first choice and will he settle for returning to the subs’ bench after his recent displays?

Real Madrid could try and use the fact that Hernandez is out of contract with Manchester United in 2016 to try and lower the asking price, but his recent goals mean there will be no shortage of clubs in Europe vying for his signature and that could keep the price higher than Real Madrid want.

In the striker’s favour are his goals: one goal every 85 minutes is good for anyone in the top flight and can they afford to let a player who works hard, is ambitious and has shown his worth to simply walk away? – Xinhua

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Footballer critical after collapsing

Belgian footballer Gregory Mertens was in a critical state in hospital after suffering a heart-attack playing for Lokeren reserves.

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Belgian footballer Gregory Mertens was in a critical state in hospital after suffering a heart-attack playing for Lokeren reserves the previous night, press reports said.

The 24-year-old defender collapsed on the field 20 minutes into the game against Genk and was given emergency treatment before being rushed to hospital.

The reports said that Mertens had been placed in an induced coma in an effort to save his life.

“Sporting Lokeren sympathises with the family and hopes for a positive outcome,” his club said in a statement.

Mertens began his career in Brussels with Anderlecht, but moved to Bruges in 2011 before transferring to Lokeren in January, 2014. He was capped several times for Belgian national youth sides. – AFP

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Pitso bemoans venue for cup final

Pitso Mosimane is not happy having to face Ajax Cape Town in the final of the Nedbank Cup at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium.

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Mamelodi Sundowns coach Pitso Mosimane, you can be sure, will speak his mind no matter the occasion.

The temperamental and loquacious coach was at it once again after his side reached the final of the Nedbank Cup courtesy of Mzikayise Mashaba’s wonder strike that ensured victory over Vasco Da Gama at the Lucas Moripe Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

From expressing displeasure at the venue for the final – Port Elizabeth, calling himself a “crazy coach” to poetically vowing to come back stronger next season, Mosimane was in his element.

Though treading carefully the coach was not happy with the choice of facing Ajax Cape Town in the final of the Nedbank Cup at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in PE.

“The venue is out of our hands. We don’t control that. Whether we like it or not, we will go. If you ask my opinion, I would not like to go to Port Elizabeth but I have to go.

“I would like to go to Durban, I think PE suits Ajax better. That’s my opinion. But I must be careful of what I say. It’s difficult for our people to get there. It’s difficult for Sundowns. I don’t know the decisions, who makes them? It’s not for me,” said Mosimane.

With the disappointment of losing the Absa Premiership title this season to Kaizer Chiefs, Mosimane vowed to fight with his all to win it and also called himself a crazy coach who can win everything on offer next season. In a typical politician’s style, Mosimane rendered a rhetoric.

“Anything is possible. I am a crazy coach. I believe that we can win everything next year. I mean, why not?

“If I went to the semi-finals of the Telkom Knockout, I can go to the final. If I made the final of the Nedbank Cup, I believe I can win the Nedbank Cup. If I came second, I believe I can take it one notch up and win the league. If I lost 3-2 on aggregate to TP Mazempe, I believe I can score one goal to take me through.

“That’s the reality, it’s not dreams or emotions. The team is improving all the time,” said Mosimane.

Against Vasco, Sundowns battled until Mashaba unleashed a 25-yard thunderbolt to break the deadlock.

Tomorrow Mosimane will be hoping his men can put one over Kaizer Chiefs in a quest to regain some pride.

“Before the tussle, Sundowns will give Chiefs a guard of honour to salute them for winning the championship this season. After that it will be war as Sundowns fight for pride and a better position.

“We didn’t just drop the ball. We gave our best to try and win the league but circumstances were difficult for us.

“The team is improving. We are trying to fight for the CAF Confederation Cup if we win the cup. We are trying in our next two games to give us a position in the CAF Champions League. It’s not easy games – Chiefs and Platinum Stars.

“So we still have to fight hard,” said Mosimane. - The Star

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Jose hits back at Chelsea critics

Jose Mourinho pointed to fabulous goals and individual heroics, aghast that anyone would dare to criticise the style of Chelsea.

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Jose Mourinho gazed into his crystal ball and predicted football’s future might as well be played on the moon without goalposts if Chelsea are to be branded boring champions.

Mourinho pointed to fabulous goals and individual heroics, aghast that anyone would dare to criticise the style of a team clearly the best in the Barclays Premier League.

Football’s priorities were muddled, he said, but at least Roman Abramovich is enjoying the game again — and a happy billionaire owner makes for a happy Chelsea manager.

Mourinho can relax so long as the Russian is not bored, and Abramovich has attended the last three matches to see his club zero in on their first title since 2009-10. ‘He is happy, very happy,’ said Mourinho. ‘I saw him hugging players in the dressing room. Every Chelsea fan is happy if we win the title.’

Two more wins will wrap up Chelsea’s fourth Premier League title, but Arsenal fans hit a nerve when they sang: ‘Boring, boring Chelsea’ near the end of the goalless draw at the Emirates.

Mourinho hit back, teasing Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger in his post-match press conference. ‘Boring is no title in 10 years,’ he sniped. ‘Boring is when you want to win at home and take off your No 9.’

He added: ‘I met this morning a gentleman who lives almost next door to me, an Arsenal fan of more than 50 years, and he congratulated me for my press conference, saying I was spot on.’

The Chelsea manager is shocked that some critics question the entertainment value of a team that has scored 65 goals in 33 games.

‘Maybe the future of football is a beautiful, green grass carpet without goals,’ said Mourinho. ‘And on that beautiful pitch, the team with more ball possession wins.

‘Because everyone speaks about teams playing fantastically well: “My team had great ball possession” and “Oh, we build very well”. Good. It looks like the goals aren’t there.

‘You conclude a team that scores as many as us is boring, but a team that has 70 per cent of the ball and doesn’t score isn’t.

‘Maybe when I am a grandad, football will be without goals and we will just enjoy people passing the ball. Maybe putting the ball in the net is not the objective, and stopping the ball from going in your own goal doesn’t matter.

‘When football started centuries ago there was one objective and now it looks like there’s another. Football is about putting the ball in your opponents’ net and keeping it out of your own.’

The debate will go on but Abramovich was suckered in last time, when he tired of winning the Mourinho way and sacked him in 2007 in search of something more.

For six years, Chelsea tried to win with flair but found that it was not easy. Aspiring to recreate Barcelona under Pep Guardiola has proved impossible. Wenger can vouch for that.

‘Barcelona, beautiful every week?’ scoffed Mourinho. And, when it was put to him that at their peak they were exactly that, the former Real Madrid boss replied: ‘When was their peak? When Real Madrid were champions?

‘For me, the beautiful game is to know exactly the way you have to play and what you have to do. At Arsenal, we were brilliant. We were brilliant from the first minute.

‘Style and flair, what is it? The way people analyse style and flair is to take the goals from the pitch. It is the football they play on the moon — and the surface is not good. Some holes. But no goals.

‘It comes from you (the media) or from some managers who can only teach their guys to keep the ball.

‘Who scored the most beautiful goals? Is that a criterion? If so, Chelsea did it collectively with the beauty of some of the goals we scored. Or you go to Charlie Adam, and that is obviously the goal of the season.

‘If the number of goals decides if a team is good, bad or boring, Manchester City scored more, but 18 scored fewer. Then, we have 18 teams more boring than us.

‘If it is the team with more points we are the best. If it is the team with most victories we are the best. If the best team has the fewest defeats, we are the best.

‘If the best team are the champions, not yet, but the team that leads, we are the best team. If the best team has the fewest goals conceded, we are the second best team. In any point of analysis, any criteria, we are the best team or the second best team.’

Mourinho insists all that matters is winning, but he would like the recognition along the way, be it from those paid to assess Chelsea’s performances or from players who voted six of his team into the PFA’s Premier League team of the year.

‘There should have been more,’ he sighed. ‘Just as an example, for Cesc Fabregas not to be there after the season he has had is strange.That team would not win (the title). It is without balance. It is missing a midfielder, and that midfielder should be Fabregas.

‘But I look now as a fan, not a manager. It looks like I’m in a pub discussing things that aren’t important. The important thing is to be champions.’ – Daily Mail

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Everton defeat is a ‘wake-up’ to United

Chris Smalling believes Manchester United's 3-0 defeat by Everton must serve as a “massive wake-up call” to those who felt Champions League qualification was already in the bag.

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Chris Smalling believes Manchester United's 3-0 defeat by Everton must serve as a “massive wake-up call” to those who felt Champions League qualification was already in the bag.

If results had gone their way, United would have risen to second in the Premier League at the weekend, but now they are looking over their shoulders after dropping to fourth.

United have lost successive games for the first time under Louis van Gaal and they will be just four points ahead of Liverpool in fifth if Brendan Rodgers' side win their match in hand at Hull tonight.

Smalling agreed with Van Gaal's assessment that United lacked aggression from the first whistle and he wants a response from his team-mates when West Bromwich Albion come to Old Trafford.

“This is a massive wake-up call for us,” the United defender said. “Right from the first minute we were off the pace and they had a pressure that we usually have.

“We haven't been the second-best team in games this season, even when we've lost, we've always had that aggression and those tackles, but on Sunday we were far from it. I think we'll see a different Manchester United next Saturday against West Brom. We'll make sure we learn from this, the fans deserve a lot better.”

United's chances of making the top four would decrease if Wayne Rooney were ruled out for part of the run-in. The United captain was replaced by Robin van Persie at Goodison Park in the 88th minute after suffering a kick to the knee. However, the club's medical staff were happy to allow Rooney to travel to London on Sunday night for the Professional Footballers' Association Awards.

United, meanwhile, will today announce the final details of their pre-season tour of the United States. For the second year running, they will play in the International Champions Cup - a 10-team tournament involving United, Chelsea, Barcelona, Porto, Paris Saint-Germain, Fiorentina, the Los Angeles Galaxy, the New York Red Bulls, Club America and the San Jose Earthquakes.– The Independent

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Liverpool will challenge again - Rodgers

Brendan Rodgers is adamant he will turn Liverpool into Barclays Premier League title challengers once more.

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Brendan Rodgers is adamant he will turn Liverpool into Barclays Premier League title challengers once more and ensure the disappointments of this season are a blip.

It is 25 years to the day since a 2-1 win over Queens Park Rangers at Anfield secured Liverpool the last of their 18 titles and they will mark the anniversary at Hull by trying to rekindle their hopes of a top-four finish.

Rodgers, who will be without Daniel Sturridge again due to a hip problem, guided Liverpool to within two points of the championship 12 months ago but hopes of going a step better were ruined by a dreadful start to the campaign.

The manager has ‘absolute belief’, though, that his side will thrive again. ‘When I came in here it was a long way off,’ said Rodgers. ‘The club was eighth and you would never have even talked about the title. It’s a mark of how the club has moved forward that there is such disappointment that we weren’t challenging this year.

‘Of course it’s been disappointing not to have challenged this time. I’ve no doubt we can push on again. There is a greater base and foundation in the team where they understand the principles of how we work.

‘It will be a big summer for us to find the right type of player that can come in and do that. Then we can go and work how we’ve worked for a lot of the last 18 months.’

A picture emerged after the 0-0 draw at West Bromwich on Saturday of Rodgers sitting on the floor, looking disheartened, but he stressed the image was misleading.

‘They have removed the benches from the dug-outs, so I had nowhere to sit!’ said Rodgers. ‘My two assistants were sat on the ice box.

‘I’m as hungry as I’ve ever been. I’m ambitious to win and there is no greater place than here to win. I am still committed to doing that here.’

Hull manager Steve Bruce, meanwhile, believes his team will have to beat one of the Premier League’s big names if they are to escape relegation.

Four of Hull’s final five matches are at home but three of those fixtures are against Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester United.

‘Any result against the big boys is great. We need a result against one of them and let’s hope we can get it done early,’ said Bruce, whose side eased their relegation fears with an impressive 2-0 win against Crystal Palace on Saturday.

‘We’re quietly confident that, starting with Liverpool, we can get enough points to stay up.’ – Daily Mail

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Ex-United keeper pleads guilty to road rage

Former Manchester United goalkeeper Mark Bosnich has pleaded guilty to a charge of reckless driving after a road rage incident that left a cyclist injured.

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Melbourne - Former Australia goalkeeper Mark Bosnich has pleaded guilty to a charge of reckless driving after a road rage incident that left a cyclist injured.

Bosnich, who played for Manchester United, Chelsea and Aston Villa in the English Premier League and now works as a TV soccer pundit in his home country, was charged after he knocked the cyclist from his bike when driving a BMW in Sydney a year ago.

Police tendered to Sydney's Downing Centre court that the 43-year-old “turned his steering wheel into the direction of the victim” after the two had a dispute about lane-changing.

“The collision caused the victim to fall from his bicycle onto the ground,” police said.

The victim was taken to hospital and found to have sustained injuries to his ribs and left elbow.

The case returns to court in June. – Reuters

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Leicester will survive drop - Jose

Chelsea will take another big step towards the Premier League title if they win at relegation-threatened Leicester City.

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London - Chelsea will take another big step towards the Premier League title if they win at relegation-threatened Leicester City but boss Jose Mourinho expects their opponents to stay up whatever the result.

Leicester, who were bottom from the end of November until last week, have climbed out of the drop zone after winning their last four matches and Mourinho said on Monday he was surprised they were ever there in the first place.

“I was surprised with their bad position. For me they are a good team with good players. We played them very early in the season at Stamford Bridge, and I could immediately feel the quality of the team.

“I am not surprised they are out of the relegation zone. And I won't be surprised when they stay in the division. I think they will survive.”

Chelsea's immediate targets are very different from Leicester's with Mourinho's Champions-elect team needing six points to guarantee winning the title while Leicester need as many as possible to avoid an immediate Championship return.

At the bottom, seven clubs are separated by nine points but Leicester are the in-form team and stand a point above the relegation places filled by Sunderland, Queens Park Rangers and Burnley, with a game in hand over the latter two teams

Mourinho thinks that one player “who means a lot to me” will help Leicester beat the drop.

Argentine midfielder Esteban Cambiasso was in the Inter Milan team Mourinho led to the Champions League title in 2010, and the Portuguese coach praised his former player on Monday.

“Cambiasso was in my golden team at Inter so obviously he is one of the players who means a lot to me. He has been phenomenal for Leicester this season and I am very happy for him.

“I was not surprised he came to England. I know that he is an Inter man forever, but he is an open guy with the desire to try other experiences.

“Being such a bright guy and speaking English so well it did not surprise me that when he left Inter he came to England.

“For sure, next season he will play for Leicester in the Premier League.” – Reuters

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