Gilberto spared Arsenal a nightmare housewarming at their new Emirates Stadium on Saturday as his dramatic late goal secured a 1-1 draw with Aston Villa in their English Premiership opener. Villa had seemed intent on marking the new arena’s competitive debut with a shock win.
England’s Stephen Harmison insisted he has no major concerns about his form heading into the Ashes series against Australia despite a faltering display in the fourth and final Test against Pakistan in London at The Oval. The spearhead fast-bowler, who is suffering from a back injury, had a wretched day on Friday.
England’s Luke Donald was doing his best to pull away from the pack by posting four birdies on his first six holes in the third round of the PGA Championship on Saturday. Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Mike Weir, Chris DiMarco and Sergio Garcia were also firmly in the hunt at the Medinah Country Club.
Western Province kept up their charge at the top of the Currie Cup table with a sixth consecutive victory as they downed the Pumas 43-10 at Newlands on Saturday. It was a largely scrappy encounter and WP seldom moved out of third gear as they dominated almost every facet of the game.
Trailing 13-11 at half-time, defending Currie Cup champions the Free State Cheetahs showed their mettle when defeating Griquas 31-20 in very warm, early-spring conditions in Kimberley on Saturday afternoon. There was very little to choose between the teams in the first half.
The Lions continued to upset the apple cart as they carved out a memorable 22-21 victory over the Sharks in their Currie Cup encounter at Ellis Park on Saturday evening. For the better part of this encounter the Sharks had looked like the stronger side and seemed to deserve victory more.
South Africa’s Lyndon Ferns cruised through the heats of the 100m butterfly at the Pan Pacific Championships in Victoria, Canada, on Saturday morning. South Africa’s 800m silver medallist at these championships, Troyden Prinsloo, meanwhile, qualified for the 400m freestyle final.
A bemused and bewildered Orlando Pirates were snatched from the jaws of victory in a bizarre Supa8 quarterfinal at Loftus on Saturday night. Supersport United secured victory by a 6-5 margin in the penalty shoot-out after the teams had finished level 1-1 after extra time. A 10-man Pirates appeared to have secured victory in the 119th minute.
The ceasefire in Lebanon was holding by a thread on Saturday night after Israel sanctioned a commando raid in the east of the country. Kofi Annan, the United Nations Secretary General, said Israel had violated the truce, and he was ”deeply concerned” about it.
Iran’s Foreign Minister, Manouchehr Mottaki, will hold talks with Sasol chief executive Pat Davies and several government officials during a two-day visit to South Africa this week, said the Department of Foreign Affairs on Sunday. South African imports from Iran — chiefly of oil — amounted to R14,3-billion last year.