Sports

AMMAN — Wihdat and Jazira need to boost their performance as they prepare to start Stage 4 of the 2015 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Cup.

In the latest matches, Wihdat kept their lead in Group A despite losing 1-0 to Syria’s Wihda on a penalty kick early in the match as Lebanon’s Salam Zgharta beat Oman’s Nahda 2-1.

Wihdat had earlier beat Oman’s Nahda 3-0 and Salam Zgharta 5-1. Wihda share lead with Wihdat on goal difference followed by Zgharta while three-time Oman champs Nahda are fourth in the group.

In Group B, Jazira scored their third draw holding Bahrain’s Hidd 1-1. Jazira kept losing points since they started the event drawing Iraq’s Shurta 1-1 and Palestine’s Wadi Nes by same score. Earlier, Shurta beat Wadi Nes 6-2 and held Bahrain’s Hidd 2-2.

Jordan Professional League champ Wihdat hope to advance in the AFC Cup this season after they exited the AFC Champions League, losing 1-0 to ACL and AFC Cup titleholders Kuwait’s Qadissieh. 

Locally, they still have a slim lead in the League after they beat Hussein 3-0 in their last match after a slump that saw them lose 1-0 to Ahli and draw 0-0 with bottom-placed Ittihad Ramtha.

Wihdat have never won the AFC Cup in the past seven times they competed while it is the first time for Jazira, who took part after two-time AFC Cup champ and League runner-up Faisali declined.

The 2015 AFC Cup includes 32 clubs from across the continent competing in eight groups with the top two from each group going to the Round of 16.

Last year, first time AFC Cup competitor and Jordan Cup champ That Ras exited the Round of 16 while former AFC Cup champ Shabab Urdun exited in Round 1. They were also eliminated by Bahrain’s Hidd in their preliminary round of the AFC Champions League.

The second-tier Asian club competition was won by Syria’s Jeish in its inaugural edition in 2004. Jordan’s Faisali won in 2005 and 2006, and Shabab Urdun won in 2007.

MADRID — Joe Hart is probably sick of the sight of Barcelona striker Luis Suarez and the Manchester City goalkeeper will need to improve his record against the Uruguayan if the English champions are to have any hope of reaching the Champions League quarter-finals.

Barca lead 2-1 from last month’s first leg ahead of the showdown at the Nou Camp on Wednesday, when Suarez netted both goals, more evidence he is nearing top form after a stuttering start to his stint in Spain.

The former Liverpool forward, who has scored 10 times since the turn of the year, also put two past Hart when Uruguay beat England 2-1 in Sao Paulo in June at the World Cup finals.

The 28-year-old was banned for four months for biting an opponent in Uruguay’s subsequent game against Italy but since making his Barca debut at the end of October has slowly been getting back to his lethal best.

Linking up well with fellow South American forwards Lionel Messi and Neymar, Suarez has earned praise from Barca coach Luis Enrique for his work rate and it will be a huge challenge for City to thwart the fearsome trio on Wednesday.

Scoring goals has been City’s main failure in recent weeks, however, and Saturday’s 1-0 Premier League defeat at Burnley was their third reverse in four outings, during which they have managed to find the net only four times.

It is a paltry return by City’s standards, especially considering they rattled in nine goals in their previous two games in England’s top flight.

“The issue for us at present is that we are not winning the games that we normally do, especially against teams we are expected to beat, and that is because we are not scoring goals,” City coach Manuel Pellegrini said.

“I’m sure all our players are giving all that they can at this moment but we have to keep trusting in what we are trying to do and believe our performances will return to our normal levels,” added the Chilean.

Four-time European champions Barca are seeking a record eighth consecutive quarter-final appearance and have history on their side.

They have progressed 33 out of the 35 times they won the first leg away in European competition, most recently against City at the same stage last season when the English club were appearing in the Round of 16 for the first time.

And only twice in the Champions League era has a team won a knockout round tie after losing the first leg at home.

Dortmund-Juventus

Borussia Dortmund’s must score at least once to overturn a 2-1 Champions League last 16 first leg deficit against Juventus on Wednesday but are confident their watertight defence can hold firm and keep the Italians at bay.

The improving Germans, who have recovered after a dismal first half to the domestic season that saw them anchored in last place as recently as last month in the Bundesliga, have kept a clean sheet in their last three league games, including a 0-0 draw against Cologne on the weekend.

With Neven Subotic and Mats Hummels back fit in central defence, along with fullbacks Marcel Schmelzer and Lukasz Piszczek, Dortmund’s defence has been as solid as it has been all season.

“[Against Cologne] we played another game without letting in a goal and that is something we can build on,” coach Juergen Klopp told reporters. “We want to advance to the quarter-finals and we can do this.”

Dortmund boast a fine record at home in Europe having won 11 of their last 14 Champions League games at the Westfalenstadion.

But in order to book a spot in the last eight they have to snap a losing run at home against Juventus, having lost all three previous encounters against the Italians in Dortmund.

Klopp will be counting on goals from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who has scored five in his last seven outings and in-form Marco Reus, who has struck five times in eight games.

Juventus are flying high in Serie A, edging closer to the Italian title with their first triumph away from home in over two months at Palermo, opening up a 14-point lead.

“One less win needed to win the league,” Juventus manager Massimiliano Allegri said, knowing he will now need to shift his focus to Dortmund and their attacking game.

“We will need to take the lead there, maybe score more than one goal,” said the coach.

They will, however, be without influential playmaker Andrea Pirlo who has yet to fully recover from a thigh injury suffered in the first leg.

“He has made good progress but not enough to be in Dortmund,” the club said in a statement.

AMMAN — The women’s national football team beat Uzbekistan 2-0 to reach Round 2 of the Asian qualifiers — the first phase of the qualifying journey to the 2016 Summer Olympics football tournament.

Jordan opened the Group A qualifiers with a 1-0 win over Hong Kong before beating Palestine 6-0. Other teams competing are Myanmar, India, Bahrain and Sri Lanka in Group B, and Taiwan, Iran and Laos in Group C.

The three group leaders advance to join Vietnam and Thailand in Round 2, from which the top team will move to Round 3 to play the top five seeded teams — Japan, Australia, South Korea, North Korea and China — which eventually qualifies the top two to represent Asia at the Olympic Games.

SYDNEY — Russell Domingo was keep track of time in his head, waiting for the inevitable reference to South Africa’s failure to win a knockout match at the Cricket World Cup.

It’s a record that has been universally — in cricket conversations — boiled down to one word: choking.

Domingo’s South Africa line-up gets a chance to rectify that on Wednesday at the Sydney Cricket Ground against 1996 champion Sri Lanka, in the first of the World Cup quarter-finals.

At a news conference Monday, Domingo was up front about how his squad was coping with a past that could have a big impact on its future.

It started with the preface to a question: “I hate to bring this up ....”

Domingo finished it himself.

“Choking? Choking — there you go,” he said, smiling. “It’s taken four minutes — it’s taken a long time.”

So, after finishing the question, he went straight into the answer.

“It’s been part of South African cricket for a period of time. Every time we get to these events it’s going to be questioned. We’ve spoken about it, no doubt about it,” he said. “We’ve faced up front that in the past, we have let opportunities slip by us.

“Hopefully, we’ll have learned from the lessons that previous sides have made at events like that. By all means, we want to make sure that doesn’t happen to us.”

South Africa won four of its group stage games to finish second behind defending champion India in Pool B. There were some comprehensive wins and two 400-plus totals, but losses to India and Pakistan were setbacks for a team that entered the tournament as a prime title contender — not for the first time.

“We’re trying to really focus on things we’ve done well, not get caught up in things that have happened in the past,” Domingo said. “South Africa finds themselves in a tough situation that if they win all their games before the knockouts, people question them. If they don’t win all their games before the knockouts, people question.

“We know we come with a clean slate — we come here knowing if we play to the best of our ability, we’ve got a good chance of winning on Wednesday.”

South Africa’s run of upset defeats started in 1992, when it rejoined the international sports community and played in the World Cup the only other time it was co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand. The South Africans were in control of their semifinal against England — the first of the knockout rounds at that tournament — until it started raining.

When they left the field, they needed 22 runs to win from 13 deliveries, certainly an achievable task. But due to rain regulations in play at the time, when the game restarted South Africa was given the impossible revised target of 21 from one ball to win. The outcome caused an uproar, leading eventually to a change in the rules for rain-affected games.

It proved to be the start of a tough run for the South Africans. At the next World Cup, in 1996, South Africa had won 10 consecutive One-Day Internationals heading into its quarter-final against the West Indies, but lost by 19 runs in something of an upset.

At the next edition, in England in 1999, the South Africans were in control of a semifinal against Australia before a bizarre run out for the last wicket resulted in a tie — allowing the Australians to advance to a final that they ultimately won.

Domingo said his players were only too aware of the significance of the outcome on Wednesday.

“I honestly don’t think you don’t need to speak about it being a knockout game,” he said. Our strategy is “not focus too much on the opposition, not focus too much on the occasion. When the pressure points come, really focus on our strategies and our thinking, and what’s made us successful over the last year”.

PARIS/MADRID — Arsenal were on the floor after losing 3-1 to Monaco last month but the Londoners have rebuilt confidence enough to believe they can overturn their Champions League deficit in Tuesday’s return match.

Since being beaten in the last-16 first leg at The Emirates, the Gunners have bounced back by knocking Manchester United out of the FA Cup and by overcoming West Ham United, Queens Park Rangers and Everton in the Premier League.

“I think we have pulled ourselves together,” midfielder Francis Coquelin told the club’s website. “There are quite a lot of things to change after you lose 3-1 at home but we’ve done that in recent games.

“We haven’t conceded many goals and we’ve been scoring goals as well. We haven’t lost a game since Monaco and confidence is high.”

France striker Olivier Giroud, who had a terrible game in the first leg, also seems to be back to his best and scored the opening goal in Saturday’s 3-0 win over West Ham.

“[Responding] is one of his strengths. This is a boy who played at the age of 22 or 23 in division three,” said manager Arsene Wenger of Giroud’s spell with the Tours club.

“He’s come out and become an international footballer. You need some mental strength to do that.”

Wenger is likely to start Santi Cazorla and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain in midfield after they were rested on Saturday.

Like Arsenal, Monaco’s self-belief is also high after they brushed Bastia aside 3-0 in Ligue 1 on Friday thanks to an Anthony Martial double.

Martial started after coach Leonardo Jardim rested Dimitar Berbatov and the 19-year-old forward produced a sterling performance as Monaco remained fourth in the table.

Only once this season have the principality club conceded three goals or more, a 4-1 defeat at Girondins de Bordeaux in August.

“The ingredients we need to qualify? We’ll need to make sure we don’t concede or concede as few as possible, keep calm whatever happens... and take our chances,” said defender Wallace.

“A draw would be a great result for us thanks to our good win in the first leg.” 

Atletico-Leverkusen

Atletico Madrid will need to put an end to a recent goal drought if they are to have any chance of overturning a 1-0 deficit in Tuesday’s Champions League last 16, second leg at home to Bayer Leverkusen.

Atletico, last season’s beaten finalists, have only scored once in their last four outings in all competitions and slipped nine points behind La Liga leaders Barcelona after Saturday’s 0-0 stalemate at Espanyol.

Their chances of beating Espanyol were hampered by the dismissal of centre back Miranda shortly before halftime, Atletico’s third red card in their last five matches, which prompted coach Diego Simeone to replace forward Fernando Torres with defender Jose Gimenez.

Forwards Mario Mandzukic, Antoine Griezmann and Torres have been off colour in recent weeks and Atletico have failed to score in three consecutive away games in La Liga for the first time since Simeone took over at the end of 2011.

Leverkusen, by contrast, have rattled in 11 goals without reply in winning their last five games in all competitions, including Friday’s 4-0 drubbing of VfB Stuttgart.

“[Not conceding] of course gives you more confidence for the following matches, above all for Tuesday, and we wouldn’t complain if it could last another few games,” Leverkusen goalkeeper Bernd Leno said on the club’s website on Friday.

Atletico midfielder Tiago, who is suspended after his red card in the first leg along with centre back Diego Godin, said he was sure the goals would start to flow again for the Spanish champions.

“The team looked strong even when we were playing with 10,” the Portuguese told reporters.

“We had clear chances and it’s true that we didn’t put them away but I see a team that is sure of itself and in good shape.

“We know our strengths. We have to keep trying so that the goals and the victories come.”

Although Atletico have only won a European tie twice before after losing the first leg away 1-0, their home form suggests they have a good chance of pulling it off against Leverkusen.

Looking to reach the quarter-finals of Europe’s elite club competition for a seventh time, Atletico have won 20 of their last 22 European matches at the Calderon.

Their only defeat was a 2-0 reverse to Rubin Kazan in the Europa League last 32 in February 2013.

LONDON — Chelsea were frustrated by Southampton's dogged defending and Fraser Forster's saves on Sunday, going six points clear of Manchester City with a 1-1 draw but missing the chance to open up a bigger lead at the Premier League summit.

Against an energetic and creative Southampton side, Chelsea seemed to experience a Champions League hangover in the first half, four days after being eliminated by Paris Saint-Germain.

Although Chelsea striker Diego Costa ended a seven-game goal drought, Southampton quickly leveled from the spot through Dusan Tadic in the 19th minute and seized the initiative.

"We showed that when we play good as a team nobody can beat us," Tadic said.

Goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois came to Chelsea's rescue with instinctive saves in the first half. And Chelsea were then repeatedly thwarted after the break by Forster demonstrating why Southampton have conceded the fewest goals this season.

"The penalty changed the rest of the first half and my players felt it," Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho said. "We stopped playing and we made a few mistakes. They scared us with a few dangerous counterattacks.

"From the moment Ramires came on [for Nemanja Matic in the 53rd minute], we killed their counterattack. They felt that and we had complete control."

But after opening the league season with 10 successive home wins, Chelsea have drawn three of its last four at Stamford Bridge.

It would take an epic collapse for Chelsea to miss out on their first league title since 2010. The Blues have a six-point cushion at the top, and a game in hand over second-place defending champion City, which were surprisingly beaten by Burnley on Saturday.

When Chelsea's Champions League campaign ended, the inquest highlighted Costa's failure to score once in Europe this season for Chelsea.

So prolific in front of goal in the first half of the domestic season, Costa's finishing has evaded him. But the Spain striker just took 11 minutes to start and complete the move for his league-leading 18th goal of the season.

Eden Hazard, released by Costa, held off Jose Fonte before sending the ball out wide to Branislav Ivanovic, who provided a pinpoint cross for Costa's header.

The lead was immediately protected by Courtois pushing away Sadio Mane's shot. But Mane was tripped by Nemanja Matic shortly afterward in the penalty area. Tadic sent the ball down the middle, going into the net after clipping Courtois' feet.

Chelsea's own penalty appeal was dismissed by referee Mike Dean when Ivanovic went down after being clipped by Tadic.

Southampton's bursts forward were unsettling the hosts, with Mane particularly menacing and Tadic lively.

Courtois preserved parity before half time by denying Tadic and diving low to block Mane's strike. And at the start of the second half, the Belgium goalkeeper palmed away one-handed a free kick from Toby Alderweireld, and Mane's follow-up overhead kick was also blocked.

But then Mourinho believes Chelsea "recovered tactically and emotionally”.

Southampton's rearguard was superb, with Chelsea finding no way through.

The point keeps Southampton in touch with an unexpected challenge for the top four Champions League places.

MELBOURNE, Australia — Lewis Hamilton joined Arnold Schwarzenegger on the top step of the podium at the Australian Grand Prix on Sunday and in unison they repeated the actor’s trademark phrase: “I’ll be back.”

Hamilton was back as the reigning world champion, back as a race winner, and gave every indication that he’ll be back on that top step many more times this season after sweeping to victory in Formula One’s season-opening race.

The Briton led Nico Rosberg in a one-two finish for Mercedes as the team extended it 2014 dominance into the new year.

Hamilton led from start to finish and beat his teammate by 1.3 seconds at the Albert Park circuit, with Sebastian Vettel finishing third in his first race for Ferrari.

“My team has done an awesome job and it is an incredible feeling to continue on winning from last year,” Hamilton said. “Nico was very quick throughout the race. It was really trying to manage the fuel and the tyres, not knowing the limit in terms of how far they can go.

“Once you get a one or two-second gap, you manage that — there is no need to eke out more. When Nico turned up the heat I was able to react.”

Rosberg once again finished runner-up, which was a position he occupied far too often last year, but was both gracious and tenacious when referring to his teammate.

“Lewis drove like a world champion today, but I was driving to the max every lap and I will be doing my best to give this guy a big run for his money,” Rosberg said.

With few people expecting anything but a one-two finish for all-conquering Mercedes, the real race in Melbourne was for best of the rest and Vettel was delighted with taking that crown in his new scarlet race suit.

“It’s not a victory, but for us it feels like a victory after a horrible season last year,” Vettel said. “There’s a lot of work ahead to beat these two and Mercedes, but I’m sure we will.”

A series of pre-race incidents meant only 15 cars started the race, and only 11 finished, with Jenson Button last in the uncompetitive McLaren-Honda.

Williams driver Felipe Massa finished fourth and Felipe Nasr was fifth for Sauber, providing some welcome good news for that team after a week of legal battles and a 2014 season without a single championship point. Nasr’s fifth was the best finish by a driver on his debut since Hamilton finished third in this race in 2007.

Local favourite Daniel Ricciardo was sixth in a disappointing race for Red Bull, which clearly has not solved the issues with its Renault engine. The Australian spent much of the race trying and failing to pass the Sauber in front of him, which was an alarming decline for a team that until recently was the sport’s pre-eminent power.

Force India drivers Nico Hulkenberg and Sergio Perez were seventh and 10th in a good finish by a team which made a very late start to its season preparations.

Sauber’s Marcus Ericsson was eighth — the first championship points for a Swede in 26 years — and Toro Rosso’s Carlos Sainz Jr. finished an encouraging ninth on debut.

Williams driver Valtteri Bottas was ruled out of the race by a back injury suffered in qualifying, while the McLaren of Kevin Magnussen and the Red Bull of Daniil Kvyat both suffered engine failures on the installation lap and did not start.

It was a dismal day for Lotus, with Pastor Maldonado crashing out at the first bend after being clipped from behind, and Romain Grosjean retiring after just one lap.

Toro Rosso’s 17-year-old rookie Max Verstappen retired with yet more Renault engine trouble just after mid-race, and Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen stopped after he was released from a pit-stop with his left rear tyre not properly fitted.

The second race of the season is in Malaysia on March 29, when it seems Mercedes’ rivals will once again be fighting for third.

“You have to be realistic,” Vettel said. “Thirty-four seconds down the road is a lot for everyone else. You can turn it around a little bit for the next grand prix, we can be closer, but it could be even worse.”

AMMAN — Mohammed Taayseer on Friday was crowned champion of the first round of the Speed Test Championship “The Kumho Speed Test” held at the Royal Automobile Club of Jordan racetrack with the participation of 64 drivers.

Taayseer clocked 1m33.970s, followed by Rami Kaghado (1m36.100s) and Jad Nabas (1m37.980s).

Ghaith Wreikat (1m38.160s) and Salim Tuaima (1m38.560s) rounded off the top five.

“It was a very hectic first round especially when I saw Kaghado winning the first lap and I came sixth, but in the second lap I changed my strategy and took the lead,” Taayseer said.

Taayseer registered the best time in the best 10 drivers competition to win the race.

Othman Naseef, Jordan Motorsport CEO, said that the outcome was amazing.

“We are really happy with the number of participants which is a good sign for this season’s kick off. Everyone was excited to watch the first round especially with the calibre of drivers taking part as we had the beginners and the professionals in the same race,” he said.

“We are excited that we did modify some tracks inside the first round by increasing the straight line tracks to give more freedom to the drivers and we are also happy that we had three ladies participating in the event which means more women drivers are really interested in being part of the Speed Test Championship,” he added.

Three women drivers signed up for the event: Abir Batikhi, Lina Hadidi and Marina Habaybeh with the latter taking the Women’s Cup, and the other two not running at all.

The first round of the Drift Championship will be held next Friday at Arena Motor Sport in Madaba.

MELBOURNE, Australia — Lewis Hamilton claimed a record-breaking fourth pole position at the Australian Grand Prix and Mercedes continued its dominance of Formula One by locking out the front row for the season-opening race with another peerless performance in Saturday’s qualifying.

Hamilton, last season’s champion driver, set a time of 1 minute, 26.327 seconds at the Albert Park circuit; six-tenths of a second faster than teammate Nico Rosberg, as Mercedes made it a one-two in qualifying for the ninth consecutive race dating back to last season.

Mercedes’ performance underscored the significant edge the team retains heading into the new season after an all-conquering 2014. Hamilton’s time was 1.4 seconds faster than third-place Felipe Massa of Williams — a giant margin in F1 terms.

Their dominance was summed up by Massa, who grinned as he said: “They are in a different category.”

It was the 12th straight pole position for Mercedes, moving the team into equal fourth place on the all-time list for consecutive poles. Given the performance edge it enjoys, the team could challenge the record of 24 set by Williams from 1992-93.

“I’ve worked hard with the engineers yesterday and today to find a good balance,” said Hamilton, who also became the first driver to win four poles in Australia. “Then, in the session, I just tried to push hard and put the pieces together. It’s so much fun when it works right, because this is the competition that I live for.”

The Briton’s race performances in Australia have not measured up to his qualifying efforts, with his last win in Melbourne coming in 2008. Last year, he started from pole but a misfiring engine resulted in his retirement after just two laps.

Rosberg said he was not too concerned by the wide margin between himself and his teammate and chief rival for the championship.

“Lewis was in impressive form today, did an awesome job and nailed it every time,” Rosberg said. “I didn’t get my laps together today. I’m not worried about pace at all. Maybe I can turn it around tomorrow. On Friday in the long runs I was very strong.”

Ferrari drivers Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen qualified in fourth and fifth, ahead of Valtteri Bottas of Williams. The two teams were closely matched as the best of the rest behind an out-of-reach Mercedes.

“We have four cars fighting with very similar times all the time,” Massa said. “It will be a big fight tomorrow with Ferrari especially.”

Local favourite Daniel Ricciardo qualified in seventh as his Red Bull had another day of major problems with its Renault engine, even after his team replaced the power unit during Friday practice.

Both Ricciardo and teammate Daniil Kvyat complained over the radio about the car’s performance and the Australian had to be pushed back into the pits by stewards during pre-qualifying practice after his car ground to a halt immediately after exiting for a run.

Toro Rosso’s Carlos Sainz Jr. qualified in an impressive eighth in his first qualifying race, ahead of the Lotus drivers Romain Grosjean and Pastor Maldonado.

It was a day to forget for McLaren — the most successful team in the race’s history — as its two cars qualified on the last row of the grid as the team struggles with its new Honda engine.

After Sauber postponed resolving its legal dispute with ex-driver Giedo van der Garde until after the Australian GP, one of the team’s new drivers, Felipe Nasr, had a good run in qualifying, finishing just seven-hundredths of a second out of the top-10 shoot-out.

Van der Garde agreed on Saturday to suspend his challenge against the team over his contractual right to be a race driver this season. That allowed Nasr and Marcus Ericsson to compete in qualifying and Sunday’s race, but the issue remains unresolved and further legal arguments will resume next week.

The Manor team did not take part in qualifying and therefore will not compete in the race. The team only came out of financial administration two weeks ago and has faced an enormous task trying to prepare its cars without any testing and having to rebuild all the complex computer software.

AMMAN — Jordan dropped four spots to 101st in the lastest FIFA World Rankings issued on Thursday. Jordan trails Iran (42), Japan (53), South Korea (56), Australia (65), the UAE (69), Uzbekistan (72),  China (83), Oman (96), Iraq (97) and Saudi Arabia (99) among Asian teams. 

The top 10 is still led by Germany, followed by Argentina, Columbia, Belgium, Netherlands, Brazil, Portugal, France, Uruguay and Italy. Jordan is next slated to host Syria on March 26 and Saudi Arabia on March 30 as the team undergoes a transitional phase and will soon start preparing for upcoming international qualifiers.

The line-up will be completed during the upcoming week after Wihdat and Jazira played second stage Asian Football Confederation Cup matches and pros playing abroad were released from their respective club league duties.