Marquez feels FC Goa needs to qualify for ACL-2 every year to improve quality
FC Goa’s Spanish coach Manolo Marquez believes the team must have to make a habit of playing at the highest level to grow up. He means by saying ‘highest level’ is the AFC Champions League-2 at least. After Goan outfit edged past East Bengal via a tie-breaker to lift the Super Cup for the third time on Sunday in Margao, Goa Marquez said, “We have to play competitive games every year. We need to qualify every season to increase our level because when you play against better players, your level improves and at the moment, I mean ACL-2 is a much better competitive tournament.” East Bengal’s assistant coach, Bino George felt his team created better opportunities, taking the game to the defending champion. “We had more chances at the home of FC Goa. We played a good game, but penalty shootouts are unpredictable. We dominated the first half entirely,” he said. Marquez, though, felt the goalless draw in the end was a fair reflection of the game. “I don’t share this opinion. There were some moments for both teams. We hit the post twice and had the clearest chances. Both teams were better in certain moments. It was a very tactical game, and the score was fair in my opinion. “I don’t believe too much when people say penalty shoot-outs are lotteries, but today, I felt it was because both teams were completely dead,” he said
Starc surpasses Wasim Akram; scalps most Test wickets as the left-arm pacer
Mitchell Starc cracked Pakistan legend Wasim Akram’s record, becoming the left-arm pacer with the most wickets in Test history. Starc achieved the feat during the second session of the opening day of the Pink-ball Test of the ongoing Ashes series. He dismissed Harry Brook after getting the wickets of Ben Duckett and Ollie Pope earlier in the day. Starc has broken Akram’s record in 102 matches after starting off the Ashes series on fire. In the first Test in Perth, Starc picked up seven wickets in the first innings and followed it up with three in the second innings. Now, Starc has achieved 415 wickets in 102 matches, while Wasim Akram finished his career in Test, scalping 414 wickets in 104 matches. He now sits on the 16th all-time wicket-taker’s list and has Shaun Pollock, who has 421 wickets in his kitty, and Harbhajan Singh, with 417 wickets after him. Another legendary fast bowler, Richard Hadlee, is ahead of them with 431 wickets. The Australian speedster continues to dominate in pink-ball Tests, claiming over 80 wickets at an average of just over 17. From a first-over dismissal of Ben Duckett to breaking Akram’s record, Starc has cemented his legacy as one of the greatest left-arm fast bowlers in cricket history.
After 15 years Bengal girls on the verge of winning title! Reach the finals of the junior national football championship
After a gap of 15 years, Bengal’s girl football team are on the brink of clinching the title of junior national football championship. Bengal girls defeated Delhi by 4-2 via a tie-breaker in the semi-final at Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh, on Thursday. The match ended goalless in the 90 minutes’ regulation time. In the tie-breaker Kusum Orao, Piu Roy, Adrija Jana and Lovely Mondol scored for Bengal. Bengal’s coach Rinku Ghosh revealed, while speaking to Parallel Sports from Anantapur after the match, “The players fought till the end. In the tie-breaker also, the players did not get nervous while scoring. Along with them, I must mention our goalkeeper, Rubina Khatun’s name who made a crucial save in the tie-breaker, helping us to reach the final.” Bengal’s junior girls last clinched the title in 2010 under the guidance of Shukla Nag. Rinku who has been the coach of Bengal’s junior girls for the third consecutive time, sounded optimistic says that this time Bengal will have the last laugh in the final also. Coach lamented that two their shots rebounded off the post. Otherwise, Bengal would have won the match within the 90 minutes’ regulation time. The girls got hardly a week to train together before leaving for Anantapur. Secondly, with only one alternative day’s gap between the matches in the championship, the young girls often were getting tired. Rinku, who worked with Adamas University and also guided West Bengal Police to win the State Games, believes Manipur is a tough side. “But I am optimistic about our girls’ mental strength. If they carry out the momentum they maintained today, then we have a fair chance of clinching the title,” added Rinku.
