Sports

AMMAN — Hussein Ishaiash qualified for this summer’s Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro on Friday at the Asian and Oceania qualifying event in Qian’an, China.

The super heavyweight boxer bounced back from his semifinal defeat on Thursday to win the third place “Olympic box-off” against Iran’s Abdolmajid Sepahvandi. HRH Prince Feisal Al Hussein, president of the Jordan Olympic Committee, congratulated the boxer saying:

“On behalf of the Jordanian sporting family I would like to congratulate Hussein and the Jordan Boxing Federation on this wonderful achievement. Qualifying for an Olympic Games takes years of dedication and we are proud of what has been achieved.

I hope this will inspire other Jordanians to go on and also qualify and we wish them all well in their efforts. This is a great day for Jordan sport.” 

DEAD SEA — Khaled Juma on Friday was crowned champion of the first round of the Jordan Rally Championship “Samarah Rally” held with the participation of eight drivers at the Dead Sea area.

With this win, Khaled Juma and co-driver Emad Juma added 25 precious points after clocking 47m28s in their Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 7, followed by Salameh Qamaz and co-driver Ahmed Zeidan (50m16s) in their Mitsubishi Evo 5 and Basheer Azar and co-driver Mohammed Azarbeh (54m10s) in their Subaru Impreza.

Meanwhile, Raed Habaybeh and daughter/co-driver Marina settled for fourth place (1h45s).

Juma who reigned over all stages of the rally expressed his happiness and satisfaction with winning this season’s opener.

“It was a challenging event and at the same time a big lesson to learn before the Jordan Rally in May. The stages were exciting and very challenging and now it is time to focus on the next event,” he said.

Only five out of eight drivers reached the finish line in the event which witnessed a cancellation of the first stage (Panorama 1) due to an accident where driver Ehab Shurafa hit a sewage cover and flipped his car, but walked away uninjured.

Othman Naseef, Jordan Motorsport CEO, said: “Our main concern is the safety of everyone and that is why we decided to cancel Stage 1 in order to be safe.

“It was a very challenging event and a final rehearsal for the big event in May.”

“All preparations are set for the Jordan Rally which is expected to attract the best drivers in the region and we also hope Jordanian drivers will be able to participate and compete in this round of the Middle East Rally Championship,” he added. 

Isaiah Thomas scored all 22 of his points in the second half, including a driving lay-up with 8.3 seconds remaining, as the Boston Celtics ended the Golden State Warriors’ 54-game home winning streak with a 109-106 stunner on Friday.

The home loss was Golden State’s first since January 31, 2015, a streak that includes 36 straight wins this season.

After Harrison Barnes buried a three-pointer to get Golden State within 107-106 with 10.2 seconds to play, the Celtics called a timeout and got the ball to Thomas, who sneaked in behind the Warriors’ defence for the game-clinching hoop.

Golden State still had two opportunities to tie but Stephen Curry misfired from 28 feet and, after an offensive rebound, Barnes was not close on a desperation 24-footer, allowing Boston to snap a five-game losing streak against the Warriors.

The Warriors (68-8) retained a 4 1/2-game lead over the San Antonio Spurs in the race for top seeding in the Western Conference play-offs. Golden State had won five in a row.

The Celtics (44-32), meanwhile, kept pace with Miami (44-31) and Charlotte (44-31) in a tightly bunched battle for the third seed in the East.

Boston, which had taken the Warriors to two overtimes before losing at home on December 11, improved to 2-2 on their five-game Western swing after rebounding from a 116-109 loss at Portland on Thursday.

Evan Turner had 21 points and Jared Sullinger recorded a 20-point, 12-rebound double-double for the Celtics as Thomas led Boston in scoring for a franchise-record 15th straight time.

Curry had a game-high 29 points for Golden State, hitting eight three-pointers along the way.

Draymond Green had 16 points to go with team-highs in rebounds (nine) and assists (seven), and Klay Thompson added 15 points.

The Warriors trailed 103-96 before Thompson hit a three-pointer, Curry converted a drive and Shaun Livingston dropped in two free throws in a 7-2 run that got Golden State within two with 46.9 seconds to go.

Green then stole the ball from Boston’s Amir Johnson but after a timeout, gave it back to the same player with 23.7 seconds left, giving the Celtics an opportunity to run out the clock.

Turner made it a four-point game, 107-103, on two free throws with 18.1 seconds left but the Warriors immediately countered with the three-pointer by Barnes, closing the gap to one with still 10.2 seconds left.

After a timeout, Thomas scored off an inbounds play to increase the Boston lead to 109-106 with 8.3 seconds remaining.

The Celtics had led 84-83 in the second minute of the fourth quarter before using a 9-0 burst to open their biggest lead of the game to that point.

Reserve guard Marcus Smart converted a driving hoop and a three-pointer to cap the run.

After having scored 36 points in the third quarter, Golden State had only four to show for the first 5 1/2 minutes of the final period and was still down by 10, 95-85, before backup guard Leandro Barbosa buried a three-pointer.

Green followed with a three-point play on a drive and added a three-pointer, and when he followed in a Brandon Rush miss with 3:53 to go, the Warriors had reduced the deficit to 99-96.

But then a key sequence went in Boston’s favour, when a Warriors fast break resulted in a Rush turnover, with Thomas benefiting at the other end with a lay-up that extended the margin to five with 3:21 left.

NOTTINGHAM — Leicester City’s surge towards a first top-flight crown may spark a major power shift in England, according to players from the 1978 Nottingham Forest team that produced a similarly unexpected title triumph.

It is 38 years since Frank Clark, Garry Birtles, John McGovern and Archie Gemmill were involved in Forest’s remarkable transformation.

Having scraped promotion to the old first division in third place, they stunned the football world by winning the league in their first season back in the top flight before claiming consecutive league and European Cup title triumphs under manager Brian Clough and assistant Peter Taylor.

Leicester, five points clear of Tottenham Hotspur at the top of the Premier League with seven games remaining, are attempting to become the first side since Forest to win a maiden crown.

While they still have a long way to go to be mentioned in the same breath, City’s exploits this season have drawn inevitable comparisons.

“We were a side that came out of nowhere, won promotion, then astounded everyone by winning the league by seven points when it was still only two points for a win,” said McGovern who captained Forest to both European Cup successes.

“Like Leicester we were told we were just a flash in the pan... I am not so sure that if Leicester, or Spurs for that matter, win the title, it will be a one-off either,” added McGovern who played all 42 matches in Forest’s title-winning season.

Leicester share another similarity to the title-winning Forest side in that they have made the most of limited resources.

While squad sizes differ a lot between the two eras, so far this season Leicester have used 23 players, the joint fewest in the league. When Forest won the title they fielded 16.

“It’s fantastic that a provincial team like Leicester can be five points clear at this stage of the season,” said Gemmill who won two league titles with Clough at Derby County before landing the crown again and the first European Cup with Forest.

“I hope they go on and do it. It will be terrific for football in this country. The league needed a breath of fresh air.”

Leicester have lost three of their 31 games this season, the same amount of defeats Clough’s side suffered in their 42-game campaign.

Forest maintained their remarkable run into the following season and between November 26, 1977 and November 25, 1978, Clough’s side set a record of 42 consecutive league matches without defeat.

That record lasted until it was eclipsed by Arsenal’s “Invincibles” 26 years later.

Big money

Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal are one of only four teams, along with Manchester City, Manchester United and Chelsea, to have won the league since 1995.

Clark, a former Forest player and manager who won a league championship and one European Cup, said the Premier League could be set for change on the back of the new £5.14 billion ($7.40 billion) three-year TV rights deal that starts next season.

“Manchester United, Manchester City, Arsenal and Chelsea have been able to do what they have done for years because of money and resources,” Clark said.

“But the clubs below them are getting big money with the new TV deal and will be able to sign some very good players because the top clubs cannot buy them all.

“The new money will make the league less predictable because clubs like Leicester, West Bromwich Albion, Stoke City and the others will make the league more competitive with more clubs able to win it.”

A film of Forest’s rise, “I Believe in Miracles”, opened to critical acclaim in October and is being shown at Nottingham’s Theatre Royal Concert Hall on April 22 with every member of the 1979 European Cup-winning squad expected to attend.

Among them will be Birtles who said he was delighted another unfashionable side from the east Midlands was upsetting the big clubs.

“Leicester thoroughly deserve all the accolades they are getting because coach Claudio Ranieri has ripped up the coaching manual,” said the striker who embodied Forest’s team-without-stars narrative.

“Fans have become bored with the same teams winning it every season, with a certain arrogance from the bigger clubs.

“That’s why I am delighted Ranieri has said, ‘we are not playing like that, we will send it long, we will turn defenders’, and it’s taken the Premier League big boys by surprise.”

That is just what they were saying when Forest triumphed all those years ago.

Fans of Leicester, however, remember 1978 less fondly, they finished bottom that season and were relegated. 

OAKLAND, California — Stephen Curry knocked down six 3-pointers on the way to 26 points, and the Golden State Warriors beat the Washington Wizards 102-94 on Tuesday night to stay on pace for the all-time NBA wins record.

Klay Thompson followed back-to-back 40-point games with 16 as Golden State (67-7) stayed a game ahead of the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls’ pace during their 72-10 season. The Warriors must go 6-2 over their final eight games for the record.

Curry (356) and Thompson (255) already had the most combined 3-pointers by a pair of teammates in a season. Curry, the first player in NBA history with 300 3s in a season, has eight games left to chase 400. Thompson is aiming to top Curry’s previous record of 286 3s.

Draymond Green had 15 points, 16 rebounds and nine assists to just miss back-to-back triple-doubles in the Warriors’ 54th straight regular-season home win and 36th consecutive this season.

Elsewhere, James Harden scored 27 points as Houston rallied from a 20-point deficit to beat LeBron James-less Cleveland 106-100.

Harden scored 18 points in the fourth quarter and Houston outscored Cleveland 35-16 in the period.

Dwight Howard’s free throw with 2:13 left put Houston ahead 95-94. Harden’s 3-pointer made it 98-94 before Kyrie Irving hit a 3-pointer with 1:30 left, making it a one-point game. Both teams missed shots on their next possession, but Trevor Ariza’s 3-pointer from the corner with 17 seconds left gave Houston a 101-97 lead.

Irving scored 31 points for Cleveland, which rested James for the night and fell to 1-3 this season without him.

In Indianapolis, Jimmy Butler made a tiebreaking jumper with 3.7 seconds left as Chicago beat Indiana 98-96 to end a four-game losing streak.

Nikola Mirotic scored 28 points as Chicago (37-37) got back to .500 and pulled within two games of Indiana for the eighth and final play-off spot in the Eastern Conference. Mirotic made seven 3-pointers, his final one tying it at 96 with 2:19 remaining.

The Pacers missed five shots in the final two minutes that would have given them the lead before the Bulls rebounded Pau Gasol’s miss with 20 seconds remaining and got the ball to Butler for his 17-footer from the right wing.

Detroit’s Marcus Morris scored 24 points as the Pistons took advantage of Kevin Durant’s absence in a 88-82 victory over Oklahoma City.

The Thunder rested Durant and Serge Ibaka, and Oklahoma City were held to only nine points in the third period en route to their lowest-scoring game of the season. The Thunder rallied from a 15-point deficit, closing the gap to just one in the fourth, but Detroit were able to get another victory in its push for a play-off spot.

Russell Westbrook led Oklahoma City with 24 points on 8-of-28 shooting.

Charlotte set a team record for wins in a month with their 13th victory in March, topping Philadelphia 100-85.

Nicolas Batum had 19 points, 12 rebounds and 12 assists for his second triple-double of the season and Cody Zeller added 18 points and 11 boards.

The Hornets, who entered the game in sixth place in the Eastern Conference, also inched closer to clinching their first play-off spot in two years and just second postseason berth in the last 13 years.

Orlando’s Aaron Gordon had 20 points and Elfrid Payton had 11 points and 12 assists as the Magic scored a season high in defeating Brooklyn 139-105.

The Magic had eight players in double figures, including back-ups Andrew Nicholson with 24 and Jason Smith with 14.

SYDNEY — Tim Cahill scored twice as Australia eased into the final round of Asian qualifying for the 2018 World Cup with a convincing 5-1 victory over Harry Redknapp's Jordan on Tuesday.

Cahill's 46th minute and 47th minute international goals, combined with a first half effort from the excellent Aaron Mooy and scores after the break from Tom Rogic and Massimo Luongo saw the Asian champions comfortably secure top spot in Group B.

Jordan, which had inflicted the only defeat of the campaign on the Socceroos, never looked like repeating the feat and was left relying on other results to keep alive its slim hopes of progressing as one of the four best runners-up.

Australia's victory sent Syria through with one of the runners-up spots and they both joined Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Japan, Thailand and South Korea in securing places in the 12-team third qualifying phase, from which four countries will earn tickets to Russia in 2018.

"It was good," said Australia coach Ange Postecoglou, whose side also booked a spot at the 2019 Asian Cup.

"Against a side everyone acknowledged was a tough opponent, we were dominant from start to finish.

"We probably should have scored five or six more."

With Cahill restored to lead the line after missing last week's 7-0 thrashing of Tajikistan and Mooy and Robbie Kruse irresistible in midfield, the match was as good as over as a contest by half-time.

Mooy and Kruse combined to give Cahill a simple tap-in to open the scoring in the 24th minute and the trio were all involved again when Mooy went through to double the lead with a fine finish 15 minutes later.

Just before half-time, Mooy found Kruse and the winger's cross provided Cahill with all the invitation he needed to find the net with a trademark leaping header from the middle of the penalty box.

The 25,000 fans at the Sydney Football Stadium had to wait for eight minutes after the break until Rogic resumed the scoring and substitute Luongo lashed home the fifth 20 minutes from time.

Former Tottenham Hotspur manager Redknapp kept up his urging from the sidelines until the final whistle but only a string of saves from Amer Shafi, one to deprive Cahill of a hat-trick, prevented the scoreline from blowing out further.

Substitute striker Abadallah Deeb, though, restored a modicum of pride for the Jordanians with a superb shot into the top corner in the dying minutes.

"There was a gulf in class," said the 69-year-old Englishman.

"We stepped up a level tonight and it was difficult, they were better than us."

Whoever was in charge going forward, however, Redknapp felt they would need to make changes if the Jordanians were to get to the stage where they might be able to qualify for a World Cup for the first time.

"There's so much work needs doing if Jordan is going to move on, having been here five or six days, the whole structure, the set-up needs so much work," he said.

"We've got no analyst, we don't have anything on the opposition, we don't have sports scientist. The players are short of fitness so when they play against better teams, they struggle for fitness."

Overall, however, Redknapp said it was an experience he would remember fondly.

"I've enjoyed it apart from today," he said. "No one enjoys standing on the touchline getting well beat."

Doc Rivers couldn’t resist needling Los Angeles Lakers’ fans after Paul Pierce went down with an ankle injury Monday night.

“It is his ankle, which is good news, because when he went down I thought it was his knee,” Rivers said. “Of course, the Lakers’ fans thought they were going to bring out the wheelchair at some point, but they didn’t do that, so that was good.”

Rivers was referring to the 2008 NBA finals when he was coach of the Boston Celtics and Pierce was one of the team’s stars. Pierce left the court in a wheelchair with an apparent leg injury, only to return a short time later and resume playing.

Pierce’s ankle sprain put more of a scare into the Clippers than the Celtics did. Austin Rivers scored 16 points, and Los Angeles rolled past Boston 114-90 at Staples Centre.

DeAndre Jordan and Jamal Crawford added 15 points apiece for the Clippers, who won their third consecutive decision. Jordan also had 13 rebounds and three blocks in three quarters.

Chris Paul finished with 13 points and 14 assists, Wesley Johnson scored 11 points, and Jeff Green contributed 10 for Los Angeles (46-27). Paul’s 14 assists equalled the entire output of the Celtics, while the Clippers had 29.

Isaiah Thomas led Boston with 24 points, while Avery Bradley and Marcus Smart each scored 13. The Celtics (43-31) had their four-game winning streak snapped.

The Clippers’ shooting was the difference. The Clippers made 52.4 per cent of their shots to 34.8 per cent for the Celtics. Los Angeles also connected on 11 of 25 (44 per cent) 3-point tries to seven of 19 (36.8 per cent) for Boston.

“Any team in this league, if they’re knocking down shots, it’s tough to guard,” said Smart, who connected on six of twelve shots but missed all four of his 3-point attempts. “They were very comfortable out there, and we kind of let them get into their zone. It was hard to stop them in the second half.”

Pierce, who scored eight points in 12 minutes, hurt himself with 2:06 left in the second quarter when he drove to the bucket as he was defended by Jared Sullinger. He slumped to the court after he landed at an awkward angle under the basket.

“I was worried about him,” Paul said. “I did not even see him fall. Once he made [the shot], my mind clicked straight to defence. Paul is a warrior and a guy that has been through a lot, and we are glad that he is OK.”

Pierce’s departure occurred when the Clippers were completing a dominating second quarter that allowed them to bolt past the Celtics. They outscored Boston 37-26 in the second and turned a six-point advantage after the first quarter into a 67-50 halftime lead.

Los Angeles increased the margin to 92-70 heading into the final quarter.

Austin Rivers scored 10 points in the second quarter.

“Sometimes, we try to get it back in one play,” said Thomas, who collected half of his points on the foul line, where he hit 12 of 13. “A lot of teams do that, though. We can’t get down like that, especially to a good team. It’s hard to come back against a really good team and get down 20, especially on the road. We can’t put ourselves in that hole.

“Honestly, we just didn’t make shots. For the most part, we got the looks that we wanted, [but] guys didn’t make shots. Like I said, against a team as good as they are, you have to play a perfect game on the road. You have to be able to make shots and defend them at a high level. We didn’t do that.”

The clubs split the season series. The Celtics won the initial meeting 139-134 in overtime at Boston.

AMMAN — Jordan plays a vital match against Australia in Group B qualifiers for the 2018 World Cup doubling as part of the qualification for 2019 Asian Cup.

“We know it’s going to be a much tougher game in Australia,” said Redknapp after arriving at the airport, according to the Sydney Morning Herald. “We understand that.

“It’s got the makings of a real good game. We need to win, so we’ve got to be going for it.

“We’ll have to start well because [there will] be a big crowd, great atmosphere.

“And we’ve got to make sure we come out as ready as we were to compete [against Bangladesh] and play the way we played.”

After an 8-0 win over Bangladesh in Amman, the team remained second in the group as leaders Australia crushed Kyrgyzstan 7-0. A win in the 11:30am Jordanian time match will secure Jordan’s advance to the next round, while a draw might boost qualifying chances as 40 teams end their home and away round-robin matches in the current second qualifying round following which group winners and four best runners-up (total 12 teams) will advance to the 2019 AFC Asian Cup finals and the final round of qualifying for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. The next best 24 teams from the preliminary stage of the joint qualifiers will compete in a separate competition for the remaining slots (12 slots or 11 slots + 1 slot for the host) in the 24-team 2019 Asian Cup. 

So far in the qualifiers, the Kingdom lost 1-0 to Kyrgyzstan, and beat Australia 2-0 and Tajikistan 3-0. In the first leg, Jordan was held to a disappointing 0-0 draw with Kyrgyzstan, beat Tajikistan 3-1 and Bangladesh 4-0. 

It will be the fourth match between the two teams: Jordan beat Australia 2-1 in the qualifiers for the World Cup in Brazil, before the Aussies beat them 4-0 in the return leg. Jordan also beat Australia 2-0 in the current qualifiers in October.

After an interim inconsistent period, the Jordan Football Association last week introduced Harry Redknapp who will lead the team in the upcoming period with a focus on reaching the Asian Championship and keeping World Cup qualifying chances alive.

Redknapp sounded optimistic although he has a tough task with the little time to prepare the line-up. “I believe the future is good for Jordanian football. Winning the next match is a difficult challenge. We have to believe we can do it,” he added.

Redknapp guided Tottenham into the UEFA Champions League for the very first time in 2009–2010 the season. He previously managed Bournemouth, West Ham United, Portsmouth, Southampton, and Queens Park Rangers. In his second spell at Portsmouth, he managed the side that won the 2008 FA Cup.

Jordan is now 82nd in latest FIFA World Rankings but observers noted the drawbacks of not playing friendlies ahead of the last two qualifiers and only beating Egypt 1-0 earlier this year under interim coach Abdullah Abu Zam’eh. Egypt did not employ its senior squad and Jordan played without most pros while some were on the injury list. 

The Kingdom’s most memorable World Cup qualifying journey was in 2013 when they lost the chance to play at the World Cup for the first time and advanced to play then World’s 6th ranked Uruguay in an intercontinental qualifying tie for a place in the 2014 World Cup, losing 5-0 on aggregate. Jordan had never reached that far in World Cup qualifying since taking part in the qualifiers since 1985. 

In the Asian Cup, Jordan reached the championship three times since first taking part in qualifiers in 1972. The pinnacle was at the 13th Asian Cup, when they lost to Japan in the quarter-finals and jumped to the best ever FIFA rank of 37th in August 2004. In 2011, Jordan again reached the quarter-finals.

In 2015, Jordan’s line-up was led by Briton Ray Wilkins under whom the team failed to advance past the quarters of the 16th Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup. Ahmad Abdul Qader took over in the transitional phase under whom the team played the first qualifier. Belgian Paul Put took over in July and his contract was suspended after he got caught in the midst of a court case over match fixing in the Belgian league. 

Group B standings