International Roundup

JS Kabylie wins third straight CAF Cup title

YAOUNDE (Reuters) -- Algerian club JS Kabylie won a record third consecutive Confederation of African Football (CAF) Cup title on Sunday despite losing the second leg of the final away at Tonnerre Yaounde of Cameroon.

Tonnerre won 1-0 in front of some 25,000 fans but a massive 4-0 lead from the first leg was enough to ensure a comfortable aggregate win for the Algerians, who now keep the trophy after winning it three times in a row.

Their overwhelming advantage never looked under threat even after Jean-Rene Eyoum scored for the home side in the 33rd minute of a game that was delayed for 25 minutes after one of the Tunisian linesmen was struck on side of the head by a sharp object thrown from the crowd.

The incident happened with the game just two minutes old. The official was taken to hospital to receive treatment to a cut on the side of his face and then returned to his post swathed in bandages for the rest of the game.

The shocking state of the pitch in Yaounde, half covered in grass and full of divots, meant there was little chance of any enterprising football from Tonnerre, as they sought to fight back from the first leg in Algiers on November 8.

Eyoum's goal came after a goalmouth scramble following a free kick floated into the Algerian side's penalty area. An initial attempt from Gaston Olivier Bindzi was blocked by JSK goalkeeper Lounes Gaouaoui, but Eyoum followed up to score with a shot from close range.

JSK, coached by Frenchman Jean-Yves Chay, had two chances to score after that but Hamid Berguiga, who scored twice in the first leg, went close with a diving header and Tonnerre captain Alain Guy Olinga cleared off his own line after a defensive mix-up before halftime.

The cup triumph for JSK was celebrated by a small band of supporters who travelled to Cameroon for the second leg and followed on the club's success over Ismailia of Egypt in the 2000 final and Etoile Sahel of Tunisia last year.

In all, JSK have now won six African club competition titles, including two previous successes in the African Champions Cup. Only Egyptian club Al Ahli, with seven continental titles in total, have achieved more success in the annual African club competitions.

Utrecht survives nervous finish in Dutch league

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands (AP) -- FC Utrecht hung on to edge NEC Nijmegen 3-2 Sunday and rise to fourth place in the Dutch premiership despite conceding two very late goals.

The win narrowed the gap with third-placed Feyenoord to three points, but Utrecht is still 10 points adrift of leader Ajax.

Utrecht went ahead through an inspired Stefaan Tanghe lob from the edge of the penalty area. In the second half, Yugoslav Igor Gluscevic and Pascal Bosschaart stretched the lead to 3-0 within 65 minutes.

But a tirelessly attacking NEC never gave up. Frank Demouge pulled one back in the penultimate minute and defender Danny Hesp made Utrecht sweat by netting in injury-time, but the home side clung on.

In Sunday's other game, FC Groningen sent on striker Martin Drent to replace Zimbabwean Glen Salmon and the switch paid off. Drent scored twice to boost Groningen to a 2-0 win at FC Zwolle and lift it off the foot of the table.

Ahn on target again as S-Pulse beat Antlers

TOKYO (Reuters) -- South Korea striker Ahn Jung-hwan scored his third goal in a week as Shimizu S-Pulse beat Kashima Antlers 2-1 in the J-League first division on Sunday.

Ahn, who was on target for South Korea in the 3-2 defeat by Brazil in midweek, scored for the second game running in the J-League, putting S-Pulse in front with a clinical finish in the 34th minute at Nihondaira Stadium.

Captain Masaaki Sawanobori made it 2-0 for Shimizu six minutes into the second half against a strangely subdued Kashima, who were dethroned as J-League champions by Jubilo Iwata on Saturday.

Defender Yutaka Akita pulled one back for the Antlers in the 66th minute but S-Pulse comfortably held out to take the three points.

The result moved S-Pulse onto 17 points from 14 second-stage matches heading into the final round of fixtures next weekend.

Kashima stay third on 23 points but had to content themselves with the Nabisco Cup this season after an injury crisis hit their chances of winning a third successive J-League championship.

Meanwhile, substitute Kenji Fukuda scored a golden goal as FC Tokyo beat Urawa Reds 1-0 to climb above the Saitama club into fourth on 22 points. Urawa have 21 points.

Ricardo nabbed in accident for no-license driving

TOKYO (AP) -- Brazilian defender Ricardo was nabbed by Japanese police Sunday for driving without a license and reckless driving, when he collided with two taxis on the way home from post-game festivities, police said.

Ricardo Cavalcante Ribeiro emerged with only light injuries to his face after running a red light in the northern city of Sendai where he plays for soccer club Vegalta Sendai, a Miyagi prefecture (state) police official said on condition of anonymity.

There were no other injuries reported.

The player, formerly of CFZ do Rio, took the car -- belonging to Vegalta's owner, Tohoku Hundred Co. -- without permission and knew that it was illegal to drive without a license, the official said.

Kyodo news agency reported that the president of Tohoku Hundred Co. has taken a pay cut because of the incident and Ricardo has been suspended for the rest of the season.

Ricardo was driving home from late-night revelries Sunday morning, police said. Vegalta narrowly escaped being relegated to the second division of Japan's professional soccer league with a 2-0 win the previous day.

Only one round, being played next Saturday, remains in the 15-round second-stage of the J-League season.

 

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The Associated Press contributed to this report.