Kerala Blasters blasts 1 goal deficit to emerge 1-2 wiiners in crucial away tie

Delhi Dynamos plays a dull draw against highlanders to be held 0-0 at home game

High Five for Chennaiyan FC as they pummels Mumbai City FC 5-1

Elano Blumer and John Stiven Mendoza inspired Chennaiyin FC to a thumping 5-1 win against fancied Mumbai City FC with a brace each at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Chennai tonight. Jeje Lalpekhlua also got onto the score sheet for the hosts while Syed Rahim Nabi notched a consolation goal for the visitors late in the game by heading in a corner.
Chennai move to second on the table with nine points from their third win in four games while Mumbai remain in the sixth position with three points after succumbing to their third defeat.
Hero of the match and tournament top scorer with five goals, Elano opened the account with a penalty in the 9th minute and followed it up with a wonderful free kick in the 70th minute. In between, Jeje hit the target in the 26th minute after the Brazilian had lobbed the ball over the Mumbai defence. Mendoza, who tormented the Mumbai defence with his tricky runs, then netted two goals just before half-time.
The Colombian striker made the most of the opportunity after Mumbai goalkeeper Subrata Paul had clumsily parried an Elano free-kick. He scored his second of the evening when he latched onto a pass from the midfield and deftly whizzed past Paul to make it 4-0 at the break. The India goalkeeper however made a couple of good saves to keep down the margin of defeat.

Even though the away side had more possession and forced several corners, it was the home team who created more of the chances. The only notable chance for the visitors was when Nicolas Anelka, who made his debut in the tournament, put Subhash Singh through on goal but Shilton Paul got down well to stop the shot. Manager Marco Materazzi, who also made his first appearance for Chennai as a defensive midfielder, had a good outing before he was replaced by Bojan Djordjic in the second half.
Peter Reid will have a lot of thinking to do on the way back home with his team due to play Kerala Blasters in Navi Mumbai on November 5. On the other hand, Materazzi’s men are flying high and will face league leaders Atletico de Kolkata with confidence when they meet in the southern city on November 4.

22 member Indian squad for SAFF Women's Championship announced

22 Member squad for the SAFF Women’s Championship has been announced. The team is currently enjoying practice at Patiala, Punjab. The SAFF Women's Championship, into its third edition will be held at Pakistan this time around where eight nations: India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Bhutan, Nepal, Maldives and Sri Lanka will compete against each other. India has won the the tournament twice(2010 and 2012) defeating Nepal on both the occasions.The 22 member team is as follows:
GOALKEEPERS: Okram Roshni Devi, Anjana Saikia
DEFENDERS: Ashem Romi Devi, Loitongbam Ashalata Devi, Suprava Samal, Gurumayum Radharani Devi, Sumitra Marandi, Thokchom Umapati Devi, Supriya Routray
MIDFIELDERS: Yumnam Kamala Devi, Yumlembam Premi Devi, Nameirakpam Montesori Chanu, Oinam Bembem Devi, Lako Phuti Bhutia, Moirangathem Mandakni Devi, Manpreet Kaur, Indumathi Kathiresan
 FORWARDS: Irom Prameshwori Devi, Ngangom Bala Devi, Gita Das, Jyoti Ann Burrett, Michel Margaret Castanha.        
The team will be later trimmed to 20 members

South Africa’s international goalkeeper Senzo Meyiwa shot dead

Senzo Meyiwa in action for South African against Nigeria at Cape Town Stadium in September 2014. Photograph: Gallo Images/Getty Images

The captain of South Africa’s national soccer team was fatally shot when armed men broke into the house where he was staying, police said.

Goalkeeper Senzo Meyiwa was killed around 8pm Sunday after two gunmen entered a house in Vosloorus township near Johannesburg while an accomplice waited outside, the national police force said on its Twitter account. 

The three assailants then fled on foot, according to the police service, which offered a reward of nearly $14,000 for information leading to arrests in the case.

Police said there were seven people in the house during the attack, and that the shooting followed an “altercation”.

Authorities said they would do everything possible to find the killers.

South Africa has a high rate of violent crime, but it was not immediately clear whether the house where Meyiwa was staying was targeted by thieves or gunmen with another motive. Solomon Makgale, a South African police spokesman, declined to comment, referring Associated Press to updates on the police Twitter account.

Meyiwa’s South African soccer club Orlando Pirates said in a statement that it “has learned with sadness about the untimely death of our number one goalkeeper and current captain Senzo Meyiwa”.

“This is a sad loss whichever way you look at it to Senzo’s family, his extended family, Orlando Pirates and to the nation,” the Pirates chairman, Irvin Khoza, said.

Meyiwa, 27, was South Africa’s captain in its four qualifiers for the African Cup of Nations this year, including its last game, a 0-0 draw with Republic of Congo on 15 October. He played for Orlando Pirates on Saturday in a 4-1 win over Ajax Cape Town.

It was the second death to hit South African sports in three days, as former 800m world champion runner Mbulaeni Mulaudzi was killed in a car crash on Friday. At the time, the president, Jacob Zuma, said “the nation has lost a true hero.”

Early on Monday local time, the youth league of South Africa’s ruling party sent condolences to the families of Meyiwa and Mulaudzi, saying “their premature passing is indeed a great loss to the country and sporting nation”.

Meyiwa’s international team-mate Dean Furman, who plays for South Africa and Doncaster Rovers, tweeted: “Beyond devastated at the loss of our captain & friend Senzo Meyiwa. thoughts & prayers are with his family & friends at this terrible time.”

Darren Keet, a fellow South African goalkeeper who plays for Belgian club KV Kortrijk and the national side, offered his deepest condolences to Meyiwa’s family and friends. He wrote: “Deeply saddening to hear this news about our captain and friend”, adding that Meyiwa would be “missed, but never forgotten”. He said Meyiwa’s killing was sad for South Africa.

Kerala Blasters gets crucial away 1 point as they held Athletico de Kolkata to 1-1 draw

Kerala Blasters FC got their first point of the Hero Indian Super League after coming from behind to earn a hard-fought draw against league leaders Atlético de Kolkata. In a pulsating encounter at Kolkata’s Salt Lake Stadium, both sides would feel they could have taken all three points, with good chances at either end in the second half.The game got off to a lively start, as Kolkata took advantage of their raucous home support and put Kerala on the back foot. Their breakthrough came in the 22nd minute, when Jofre ran down the left wing and put a delightful low ball into the box. Borja Fernández scuffed the chance but managed to keep control and set up Baljit Sahni for a superb finish through two Kerala defenders and past David James to give his side the lead.
Kerala grew stronger after going behind, and their attacking approach finally paid off. Canadian striker Iain Hume, who was the Blasters’ standout performer throughout the match, displayed some excellent skill to control a difficult high ball, and then played a clever one-two with strike partner Milagres Gonsalves. The Goan’s exquisite flick beat the Kolkata defence, and Hume put in a composed finish past keeper Subhasish Roy Chowdhury.
Going level into the halftime interval was a huge boost for Kerala, setting them up to push on in the second half. They started strongly, keeping hold of the ball and patiently looking for a way through the Kolkata defence. Kolkata were comfortable playing on the break, however, with their pace and physicality causing problems whenever they went forward. At times, their aggressive style caused frustrations to spill over, with a few hard tackles flying in as scorers Hume, Sahni, and Kolkata substitute Rakesh Masih were all yellow-carded in quick succession.
As the game reached its closing stages, the home side began to apply more pressure on the Kerala defence in the hope of nicking a late goal. They nearly found their winner, when Jofre again put in an excellent low ball across the face of goal, but Sahni could only hit the crossbar with his finish. Despite their efforts, however, the game ended level, giving Kerala a long-awaited point to get off the mark in the ISL.
Kolkata remain unbeaten, however, and will want to continue their fine form in their next outing against Chennaiyin FC on November 4. Kerala will be buoyed by a hard-earned point in an away fixture, and will now be looking to build some momentum. Their next game, a fourth successive away match, is against FC Pune City on October 30.

ISL announces ruling on incidents from FC Goa vs Atlético de Kolkata fixture

The All India Football Federation (AIFF) disciplinary committee has announced its ruling on incidents which took place during Match 10 of the Hero Indian Super League (ISL) between FC Goa and Atlético de Kolkata on October 23. FC Goa marquee player Robert Pirès and Atlético de Kolkata striker Fikru Lemessa, manager Antonio López Habas, and goalkeeping coach Deshi Bhaktawer have all been fined and suspended from upcoming fixtures for their respective teams, pending appeal. All parties have the right to lodge an appeal within four days.

Details of the individual punishments are as follows:
1. Robert Pirès of FC Goa has been suspended for the next two matches of the ISL and fined ₹5,00,000 (Rupees five lakh) for breach of AIFF Disciplinary Code (Article 58) of Offensive Behaviour and Fair Play.
2. Fikru Lemessa of Atlético de Kolkata has been suspended for the next two matches of the ISL and fined ₹5,00,000 (Rupees five lakh) for breach of AIFF Disciplinary Code (Article 58) of Offensive Behaviour and Fair Play.
3. Antonio López Habas, manager of Atlético de Kolkata, has been suspended for the next four matches of the ISL and fined ₹5,00,000 (Rupees five lakh) for breach of AIFF Disciplinary Code (Article 58) of Offensive Behaviour and Fair Play for the second time. Habas was previously summoned and warned by the AIFF Disciplinary Committee under its Article 58, on October 18.
4. Predipkumar Bhaktawer, goalkeeping coach of Atlético de Kolkata, has been suspended for the next match of the ISL and fined ₹30,000 (Rupees thirty thousand) for breach of League Rule 22.2.