31-10-2022

MoNDAY, oCtoBer 31, 2022
9
Newcastle United's Miguel Almiron celebrates scoring their fourth goal with teammate Callum
Wilson.
photo: Ap
Newcastle comfortable at Premier League’s
top table after 4-0 win over Aston Villa
SportS DeSk
If anyone in the Premier League
remained in any doubt after last week,
Newcastle United underlined to their
rivals that they are very much part of the
top flight party, reports UNB.
For far too long the Magpies have been
passengers in the Premier League -
present but not a threat to anyone, and all
too happy to just exist.
But with the Public Investment Fund
now at the helm, and Eddie Howe at the
wheel, those days are long gone.
And it is becoming every bit more
obvious by the week just why the
established, so-called "big six," and others
with aspirations, fought so hard to make
sure that the PIF did not get their hands
on Newcastle.
Their wings were once clipped, but now
the Magpies are flying high - and doing so
with real purpose.
This was a rampant win, one done at a
canter - and one that left many Newcastle
fans flooding the city center on Saturday
evening asking "is this what it feels like to
Daniil Medvedev
reaches final of
ATP tournament
in Vienna
SportS DeSk
Daniil Medvedev made
short work of his last-four
match against Grigor
Dimitrov on Saturday to
reach the final of the ATP
tournament in Vienna,
reports UNB.
The former world No. 1 did
not face a single break point
in a dominant 6-4, 6-2
victory.
Medvedev will face Denis
Shapovalov on Sunday as he
bids to win his second title of
the season.
The Russian's only
tournament success this
year came in an ATP 250
event in Mexico in August,
which ended a run of five
straight final defeats.
"There were a few
moments in the match
where I thought I should
have done just a little bit
better, to go in front earlier
and try to build the pressure
earlier," said Medvedev.
"Then I managed to stay
consistent and, in the most
important points, managed
to raise my level. That was
enough today, and I'm really
happy with my level."
He had lost his previous
meeting with Dimitrov at
Indian Wells last year but
had no such problems this
time around, securing
victory by winning the last
five games of the match.
Medvedev is edging closer
to securing his place at the
ATP Finals which get
underway in Turin on Nov.
13.
The 26-year-old, who won
the season-ending event in
2020, sits fifth in the
standings.
actually be good?"
Callum Wilson netted twice against the
Villains, who were 4-0 winners
themselves last weekend, and Miguel
Almiron made it seven for the season,
with Joelinton getting a well-deserved
first, as Newcastle made it five wins in six.
But for a narrow Spurs win over
Bournemouth, the Magpies would be
sitting in third place. As it stands, though,
they had to settle for fourth - a
remarkable statement in itself, given
recent footballing history on Tyneside.
With England and Brazil bosses Gareth
Southgate and Tite watching on from the
stands - a first for St. James' Park - Howe
picked an unchanged team from the XI
who beat Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 last
weekend.
And in usual style, the Magpies started
the game very much on the front foot.
After just three minutes, Newcastle
swarmed down the right as Almiron
found skipper Kieran Trippier, making
his 300th English league appearance.
The right-back chipped on to the head of
Wilson, who peeled away from his man,
Swiatek confused,
but the effort went over. It was an early
warning shot that the visitors did not
heed.
It took Howe's men until the 45th
minute, plus five added minutes, to break
the deadlock after a rather disjointed half
of football, punctuated in the most part
by injuries to Emi Martinez and Emi
Buendia.
United threatened first with a sweeping
move down the right as Trippier found
Almiron, and Robin Olsen, on for
Martinez minutes earlier, saved well with
his outstretched leg.
Just minutes later, a similar move, with
Newcastle clearly targeting left-back
Ashley Young, broke down the stubborn
Villa defense as Almiron was again teed
up and his curling effort, bound for the far
corner, was stopped by the outstretched
arm of Young.
Wilson made no mistake, putting his
penalty straight down the middle, giving
Olsen no chance. Southgate take note.
Wilson had the ball in the net again
moments later, this time rounding Olsen,
but the offside flag denied him.
Simona Halep tested positive for the banned blood-booster roxadustat.
photo: Ap
disappointed by Halep's
failed drugs test
SportS DeSk
World number one Iga Swiatek said she was
left feeling confused after Simona Halep was
handed a provisional ban for doping and
hoped there would be more clarity soon on
the future of the Romanian player she has
looked up to, reports UNB.
Two-times major winner Halep was
provisionally suspended by the International
Tennis Integrity Agency this month after she
tested positive for the banned blood-booster
roxadustat.
Halep was tested during the US Open and
both her A and B samples confirmed the
presence of the anti-anaemia drug that
stimulates the production of red blood cells,
much like the prohibited substance
Erythropoietin.
"Well, for sure it was confusing to me
because I wouldn't expect hearing this news.
Simona, from my point of view, seems like a
person who always cared about being fair
and she was a great example for me,"
Swiatek said, speaking ahead of the WTA
Finals tournament which begins in Fort
Worth, Texas on Monday.
Halep had described the ban as the
"biggest shock of her life" and denied
knowingly taking any banned substance.
"I don't know how it works in terms of the
system … Is she going to be tested a couple of
more times or whatever? Hopefully it's going
to be more clear for fans and for us," Swiatek
added.
"But it's disappointing and she must feel
really bad. From my point of view, the most
important thing for me is just taking care of
myself, being safe always, making my
environment more safe and being careful. So
we'll do that."
Halep's ex-coach Darren Cahill, who
worked with the former world number one
for six years and guided her to her first
Grand Slam title, said last week there was
"no chance" she had knowingly taken a
prohibited substance.
Messi inspires
shaky PSG in
win over Troyes
SportS DeSk
Lionel Messi grabbed a goal
and an assist to inspire Paris
St Germain to a 4-3 comeback
victory over Troyes yesterday
as they restored their lead at
the top of Ligue 1 to five
points, reports UNB.
The result moved unbeaten
PSG to 35 from 13 games,
ahead of second-placed Lens
who beat Toulouse 3-0 on
Friday.
Mama Balde had given
mid-table Troyes the lead
twice before Messi assumed
control to score his seventh
Ligue 1 goal of the season and
take his tally of assists to 10 -
a league high.
PSG started slowly and
Troyes needed just three
minutes to stun the crowd at
the Parc des Princes as Abdu
Conte raced down the
touchline to send a cross into
the box where Rony Lopes set
up the chance for Balde to
volley into the net.
Liverpool's long unbeaten
home run ends in shock
2-1 defeat by Leeds
Road cycling, golf and goalball competitions
conclude at Saudi Games 2022
SportS DeSk
SportS DeSk
Saturday saw the first day of action
following the previous night's
spectacular opening ceremony of the
Saudi Games 2022 in Riyadh. Here are
some of the highlights across all
competitions.
para Games: Goalball
Prince Fahd bin Jalawi bin Abdulaziz
bin Musaed, vice president of the Saudi
Olympic and Paralympic Committee,
and director of the Saudi Games,
awarded Al-Baha the gold medal for
winning the goalball competition at the
Saudi Games 2022 at the Prince Faisal
Bin Fahd Olympic Complex.
Al-Baha defeated Riyadh 11-1 in the
final, while third place and bronze went
to Al-Rass after they beat Asir 8-2.
In addition to being honored by
Prince Fahd, the medallists were also
congratulated by Majid Al-Usaimi,
president of the Asian Paralympic
Committee, governing board member
of the International Paralympic
Committee and UNICEF national
ambassador.
Swimming
A full day of swimming heats and
medal events took place at the SAOC
Complex, starting off with the men's
50m freestyle, in which Emadaldeen
Basim Zaben took gold with a time of
23:88 seconds. He was followed in
second place by Yousif Buareesh (23:91
secs), while Faisal Al-Shilaty claimed
bronze with a time of 24:57 seconds.
In the men's 100m backstroke, Ali
Alessa won gold with a time of 58:98
seconds, silver went to Mohammed
Boksmati (1:00:81) and bronze to
Mohamed Agendi (1:02:76).
The third finals of the day saw Suktan
Alotaibi take gold in the men's 50m
breaststroke with a time of 29:72
seconds. Loai Tashkandi won silver
(29:89 secs), while Mahomoud Khalid
Yacoub took bronze (30:68 secs).
The men's 400m freestyle gold was
claimed by Ahmed Ali AL-Hashim with
a time of 4:16:92, while Zaid Al-Sarraj
took bronze with 4:20:00. Hassan Al-
Bagshi came in third place in a time of
4:20:79.
The winners in all categories were
awarded their medals by Ahmed Al-
Kudmani, president of the Saudi
Liverpool suffered a surprise 2-1 loss to Leeds
United after Dutch winger Crysencio
Summerville's 89th minute strike in their
Premier League clash at Anfield yesterday that
took the visitors out of the relegation zone,
reports UNB.
The Reds' first top-flight home defeat in 30
games follows last week's loss at bottom side
Nottingham Forest and further deepens the
crisis around the struggling Merseyside club,
who are ninth in the table on 16 points after 12
games.
The win takes Leeds up to 15th on 12 points.
Liverpool got off to another disastrous start
after four minutes when Joe Gomez played a
blind backpass to Alisson who had moved out
of his goal and slipped, leaving a gaping space
for Rodrigo to run in and tap the ball into the
empty net.
Mohamed Salah levelled for Liverpool 10
minutes later when Andy Robertson crossed
for the Egyptian international to hook a volley
into the net from close range, igniting the
Swimming Federation, and Abdullah
Al-Yami, executive director of the Saudi
Swimming Federation.
Weightlifting
Three weightlifting events took place
at the Al-Riyadh Club Main Court,
starting off with the women's 71 kg
category, which saw Al-Ahli Club's
Amal Al-Sharani take gold with a total
lift of 147 kg.
Alanoud Al-Khelaifiwon silver (139
kg), while Lilia May claimed bronze
(136 kg).
In the men's 89 kg category, Ismail
Al-Swyleh took first place and the gold
medal after lifting 329 kg. With a lift of
just two kilograms less, Ali Al-Abandi
secured silver, while Nawaf Alaid took
bronze with 319 kg.
The final weightlifting competition of
the day was the men's 102 kg, with Ali
Al-Othman taking gold (332 kg). Silver
went to Khalil Al-Hamqan with 317 kg,
and bronze to Jehad Al-Ghazwi with
316 kg.
The winners received their medals
from Mohamed Ahmad Alharbi,
president of the Saudi Arabian
Weightlifting Federation and member
of the International Weightlifting
Federation, and Ali Dhafir Hakami,
vice chairman of the board of directors
of the Saudi Arabian Weightlifting
Federation.
Golf
Taking place over two days at the
Riyadh Golf Club, the men's golf
competition saw the participation of 38
players, with Faisal Al-Sahlab coming
out on top.
Saud Al-Sharif took silver, and
Othman Al-Mulla bronze.
The winners were awarded their
medals by Mohamed Al-Muhanna,
board member of the Saudi Golf
Federation.
Cycling (road)
The men's and women's individual
road race cycling events concluded in
Riyadh on Saturday, with the men's
event taking place over 126 km, and the
women's totalling 56 km.
Gold in the men's individual road
race went to Mohammed Al-Jaber, who
finished in 2:50:20. Taking second
place and silver was Fahad Al-Ghamadi
(2:50:22), while Hassan Al-Ibrahim
Action from the men's road cycling race at the Saudi Games 2022 on Saturday.
Liverpool supporters as their team began the
chase for a winner.
Leeds continued to threaten on the break,
though, and Brenden Aaronson almost put
them back in front a few minutes later, meeting
Rasmus Kristensen's cross from the right with
a deft volley that cannoned off the crossbar.
Leeds French keeper Illan Meslier kept his
side in the game almost single-handedly in the
second half, pulling off a superb save from
Darwin Nunez in a one-on-one after 67
minutes and then clawing away a shot from the
same player 11 minutes later.
Meslier's saves set the scene for Summerville
to steal the three points with a last-gasp
poacher's finish.
On the eve of his 21st birthday, the forward
snapped up a ball in the box from Patrick
Bamford and quickly pulled the trigger, firing
across Alisson into the net.
It was Leeds' first away win of the season and
a first league loss for Dutch defender Virgil van
Dijk at Anfield since he signed for Liverpool in
January 2018.
(2:50:52) secured bronze.
The women's individual road race
was won by Mishael Al-Hazmi with a
time of 1:47:10. Silver went to Monirah
Al-Draiweesh (1:47:20) and bronze to
Erika Martinez (1:47:28).
The medallists were honored by
Princess Mashael Bint Faisal, head of
the women's committee of the Saudi
Arabian Cycling Federation, as well as
Abdullah Alwathlan, president of the
Saudi Arabian Cycling Federation, and
board member Amin Al-Halili.
padel
The women's doubles competition
concluded with Areej Fareh and Sarah
Salhab taking gold after defeating
Alexia Tashbaeva and Samaher Kurdi,
who had to settle for silver. The bronze
medal went to Najwa Salhab and
Noura Al-Soliman.
The medals were presented by Khalid
Alsaad, president of the Saudi padel
committee, and managing director,
Munirah Al-Barrak.
Basketball
The women's basketball group
matches continued on Saturday at Al-
Hilal's Main Court with the following
results:
Abha 56-41 Al Hilal
Al-Wehda 50-44 Al-Ittihad
Riyadh 36-31 Al-Nassr
Handball
Three group matches in the men's
handball took place at KSU Arena's
Center Court with the following
outcomes:
Al-Khowildiah 30-30 Al-Trraji
Al-Wehda 43-37 Al-Adalah
Al-Safa 25-21 Al-Ahli
Volleyball
Five group matches took place at the
SAOC Complex today.
In the women's groups, Al-Etihad
beat Al-Taraje 3-0, while Al-Hilal
overcame Alanka 3-1. Finally, Al-
Nasser beat Al-Nahda 3-0.
In the men's group matches, Al-Ahli
beat Abha 3-0 and Al-Hilal defeated Al-
Nassr 3-0.
Futsal
The latest results from the men's
preliminary group matches:
Al-Nassr 5-5 Al-Qadisiyah
Riyadh 3-3 ALula
Musadaa 16-2 Amjaad.
photo: Ap