The Guardian from London, Greater London, England • 15

THE GUARDIAN Monday May 17 1993 SPORTS NEWS 15 Soccer Play-off semi-finals, first leg First Division: Swindon 3, Tranmere 1 King's men hit toy salvo RusMfl Thoma when Maskell set him free and there was some doubt about the scorer's position when his Australian co-striker returned the ball. Maskell did not wait for clarification, driving in his 22nd goal of the season just inside Nixon's right-hand post. Nixon had already twice been beaten, the first time after only one minute 43 seconds by his colleague Vickers. When Sum-mcrbee crossed from the right, the Tranmere defender was so concerned with Mitchell's near-post threat that he delivered an intended clearing header down inside the upright Tranmere's goalkeeper appeared to be still startled when he spilled MacLaren's low shot after two minutes 30 seconds. Mitchell needed no further invitation, just beating Higgins' challenge to Ore home.

An Aldridge header after four minutes, disallowed for the striker's push on Hoddle, rapidly reminded Tranmere's leading scorer of ill-fortune at this ground, where he struck twice for his club in December only for the game to be abandoned after a floodlight failure. At least a glimmer of hope was now provided by Morrissey's superb drive after 58 minutes. Afterwards Hoddle said he had "absolutely no comment" on speculation linking him with Chelsea and Tottenham. "All my energies are reserved for the play-offs," he added. Swtnden Town Digby; Summerbee.

Bodin. Hoddle, Caldsrwood. Taylor, Moncur (Hazard, 90min). Maclaren, Mitchell. Ling.

Maskell (Writte. 76). TramiMK Revert! Nixon; Higgins, Srannan. Irons, Proctor, Vickers. Morrissey.

Aldridge. Malktn. Nevin (Coyne, 74). Nolan. LENN HODDLE led Il2llls Swindon players IVlon a lap of honour afler this triumph yesterday.

If the celebration marked a winning end to their home programme, it may also prove the County Ground's last sight of their coveted player-manager. Sought by Chelsea and Tottenham, Hoddle could be forgiven many mental diversions over the last turbulent week. But Swindon's manager had primed his team for this playoff opener as they delivered an explosive start that seriously undermined Tranmere's chances of progress. Tranmere's manager John King admitted his side were "shell-shocked" by Swindon's two-goal salvo in the space of 47 seconds before the contest was three minutes old. It spoke volumes for Tranmere's spirit that they came back from that and Craig Maskell's 27th-rainute goal to stem the Swindon flow in the second half and secure an away goal through John Morrissey that could yet salvage their hopes in Wednesday's second leg at Prenton Park.

In a rumbustious game which could easily have produced more than three bookings Tranmere's tempers were strained also by that Maskell strike that looked suspiciously offside but was rendered valid by television play-backs. Mitchell, a driving inspiration throughout, looked to have advanced beyond any defender Gascoigne masks injury but cannot hide cheek as Lazio smile while Piatt needs manager's protection "In the second half they were all over us," said Trapattoni, five days before his side take a 3-1 lead over Bor-ussia Dortmund into the Uefa Cup final home leg. "One or two of our players looked tired but that was partly because of the special preparation they've had this week." equally dramatic he inspired the side to an emphatic win, setting up Lazio's third goal by beating four men before unselfishly supplying Karl-Heinz Riedle with an open goal. Giuseppe Signori, the league's top scorer, netted twice in the last two minutes to take his season's total to 25. On Saturday night, in a meeting of European finalists, David Piatt was criticised for his poor performance as Parma defeated Juventus 2-1 at home.

The Juventus coach Giovanni Trapattoni blamed the which appeared from a distance to have been rented from the props department of Phantom of the Opera, to protect the cheekbone which was broken during England's 2-2 World Cup draw with Holland at Wembley. The Englishman's contribution on his return was Paddy Agncw In Roma PAUL GASCOIGNE returned from injury with the aid of a carbon-fibre mask yesterday to lead Lazio to a 5-0 win over struggling Ancona in Serie A. Gascoigne wore the mask. Second Division: Stockport County 1 Port pass audition but forget their pay-off preparations for this week's Uefa Cup final second leg and defended Piatt, a surprising last-minute choice. "You can say that Piatt wasn't very sharp but it would be better not to name names, otherwise there would be a lot of others to put alongside that of Piatt.

penalty area in the fifth minute and although Musselwhite, the Port Vale goalkeeper, guessed correctly and dived to his right, he could not stop Gannon's perfectly struck penalty reaching the back of his net. Within seconds Stockport almost came unstuck. They hung on to their lead only because Port Vale's Foyle put his effort wide across the face of goal. But in an all too brief 10-minute spell of creative play Vale produced the equaliser. Kerr's corner was headed in by Taylor on Leicester City 1 Portsmouth 0 Joachim shines late in the gloom County Cynthia Batsman A PENALTY in the first five minutes gave Stockport, last year's losing play-off finalists, the start they needed to keep their foot in the door.

But they conceded a first-half equaliser and were never able to find the pay-off shot despite pushing to the limit a Port Vale side who finished 17 points above, them in the Second Division. John Rudgc's men were Swansea City 2, West Zico puts Lineker in the shade as League makes fine start Ardiles remains calm as Swansea's McFarlane throws Albion a lifeline Vale 1 ciative, crowd of 7,856 at a bitterly cold Edgeley Park. It was the first of three meetings this week after Wednesday's second leg they meet in the Autoglass final at Wembley on Saturday and had a touch of deja vu for Stockport. They faced the same sort of schedule against Vale's neighbours Stoke last season and lost out at Wembley both times. Nerves and expediency were more evident than skill and ingenuity, and that applied to the comments from the supporters Fifteen minutes later the tie looked beyond Albion as Legg's pull-back from the byline was side-footed home by Hayes.

A slice of luck gave Ardiles a lifeline 18 minutes from time. McNally's cross from Ardiles play-off drama BYRON NELSON CLASSIC (Irving, Texas): Final scores (US unless stated): 270 Simpson 65. 66. 68. 71.

271 Pavin 69. 68, 67, 67; Wei bring 68, 65. 69. 69; Mayfalr 71. 61, 69, 70.

272 Couplos 71. 63, 70. 68; Stewart 70, 66. 68. 68; Frost (SA) 68.

66, 69. 69 273 Calcavecchia 67, 65. 74, 67; Floyd 66, 69, 70. 68: Rinker 68. 69.

67, 69. ENGLISH OPEN AMATEUR STROKE PLAY CHAMPIONSHIP (Brabazon Trophy, Stone-ham)- Final roundi 277 Fisher (SloVe Poges) 63. 66. 70. 72.

278 Tataurangi (NZ) 68, 69. 71, 70. 281 Trodd (Langley Pk) 71, 69. 74. 67; James (Broadstone) 70.

64. 70, 77. 283 Barnes (Brockenhurst Mr) 71, 72, 70, 70; Evans (W Monmouthshire) 73. 69, 72. 69.

284 I Pyman (Sand Moor) 71, 70, 72, 71; Robertson (Cochrane Castle) 71, 69, 72, 72. 2BS Westwood (Worksop) 73. 73, 69, 70. 288 Davis (Kedleston Pk) 71. 72.

72, 71; Russell (Longniddry) 72, 69, 75, 70. Phillips (Stoke Poges) 67, 73. 72. 74; Webster (Alh-erstone) 71. 68.

77. 70. 287 Ellis (Wrexham) 72. 73. 74, 68: Bennett (Ruisllp) 74, 7,1.

70. 72. Tennis ITALIAN OPEN (Rome): SemMfnatsi Ivanisevic (Cro) bt Sampras (US) 7-6, 6-2; Courier (US) bt Chang (US) 6-2. 6-7. 6-0.

FInali Courier bt Ivanisevic 6-1. 6-2. 6-2. Doubles finah CttfnghP Hssrhula (Neth) bt FerreiraM Kratzmann (SAAut) 6- 4. 7-6.

CLAY CHAMPIONSHIP (Coral Springs; Fla) SsmMbialsi Whsaton (US) bt A Krlckstoln (US) 6-2, 4-6. 6-4: Martin (US) bt Masur (Aus) 6-4, 7-6 Final) Martin bt Whoaton 6-3. 6-4. GERMAN WOMEN'S OPEN (Berlin): Semifinals) 3 Oraf (Ger) bt Fernandez (US) 4-6. 6-4.

6-3: 0 SabatJnl (Arg) bt Marti noz (Sp) 6-3, 4-6. 7-5. Flnab Qraf bt Sabatlnl 7- 6. 2-6. 6-4.

FEDERATION CUPi Euro Africa quattfy Ing play-offs) (Nottingham): GB 3, Turkey 0 (M Java bt Gultekln 6-4, 6-2; Wood bt 1-0 Aksit 6-2. 6-3; SalmonA OrunfeW bt AksltGultekln 6-2. 7-6). Israel 2. Ireland 1 (A Smaahnova bt Nitand 6-4, 6-3; Segal bt Nicholson 6-3, 6-0; I BergerSegal lost to NugentC Curron 6-4, 7-6).

Squash BRAZILIAN CLASSIC (Rio Oe Janeiro): Second roundi Walker (Eng) bt A Adar-raga (Sp) 15-13, 15-10. 15-11; Evtes (Aus) bt Elopuro (Fin) 15-1 1, 15-9. 15-8. Martin (Aus) bt A Hands (Eng) 15-13. 15-13, 1 1-15, 14-17, 15-9, DRtmar (Aus) bt Zarak jahan Khan (Pak) 15-13, 6-16, 15-9.

17-16. Ouarter-flnala) Martin bt Eyles (Aus) 13-is. ti-e, la-s, is-u; jansner nnan (Pak) bt Walker 15-8. 15-9. 15-13: Marshall (Eng) 15-7, 8-16, 15-8.

15-7; line the edge of the area and Glover, at extremely close range, headed them level. There were opportunities for both sides in a ragged second half but all were wasted. The final chance fell to Stockport 10 minutes from time but Miller's shot was desperately cleared off the line. Stockport County! Edwards: Todd. Wallace, Flynn, Williams.

Finley, Gannon (Miller, 80min). Ward. Williams. Beaumont. Ryan (Duriield.

SO). Port Valet Musselwhite: Aspin. Sulley (Kent, 70). Porter. Billing, Glover.

Slaven, Van Der Laan. Foyle. Kerr. Taylor. Refereei A Wltkie The domestic players are generally fast on the ball and show good technique but their inexperience occasionally shows.

The foreign players are here as much to teach the value of a cool head and playing to position as to score goals. Purists might complain of the patchy standard of play but the crowds loved it all, roaring on every touch of the ball. The League is already a marketing success: Its logo appears on everything from beer cans to umbrellas, its stars advertise soft drinks and painkillers on television. Projected revenue for the league's first year is 640,000, mainly from novelty goods. The big question, however, is whether football will be more than just a passing fad and whether in the long run it can compete with Japan's national sports obsession, baseball.

There is good cause for optimism, though. Soccer roots run deep in Japan, with the sport's clubs outnumbering baseball clubs at elementary school' level. Only time will tell whether professional soccer will succeed in Japan but its first weekend has been a spectacular success. Cycling TOUR OF SPAINi 21st stage) 1. A Zuelle (Switz) Ihr Omin 59sec.

2. Rominger (Swit) at 48sec: 3. Breukink (Neth) 2 29 Final standings) 1. Rominger 96.7 2. Zuelle at 29: 3.

Cubino (Sp) 8 54; 4, Rincon 9 25; 5, Montoya 1027; 6. Delgado 11.17. TOUR DUPOHTt 1 1th stage (High Point to Greensboro, individual time-trial, 36.7 miles): 1. Alcala (Max) 1hr 14mln 16sec; 2. Copeland (US) at 45s: 3, Dennis (Aus) at 1.45, 4, Armstrong (US) at 2.07.

Also. 10, Elliott (GB) at 2.51. Final standings: 1. Alcala 46hr 52sec; 2, Armstrong at 2 26; 3, A Kvalsvoll (Nor) at 4.06, 4. Dennis at 5.25.

Also. 6. Elliott at 5.40 Table Tennis WORLD TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS (Gothenburg). Mem Saml-flnsls) Sweden 3, Korea China 3, Germany t. Finals, group 1) Belgium 3, Hong Kong 1.

Group 2i France 3, Romame 1. Women. Semi-finals: China 3, Hong Kong 0, Korea 3. Korea 1. Final) China 3, Korea 0- Finals, group 1A: Taiwan 3.

Hungary 2. 1 Bt Russia 3, Netherlands 1. Playoff! First roundi 918i Sweden 3, England 1 (M Svensson bt Mommessin 21-12. 21-14; Pettersson bt A Holt 21-18. 25-23, A SvenssonM Svensson tost to Holt Lomaa 19-21.

21-12. 19-21. Svensson bt Holt 21-6. 21-15). 4148) Latvia 3.

Wales 0. 4988) Turkey 3, Scotland 1. 8704) Ireland 3. Colombia 1. Second) 4148.

Wales 3, Mexico 0. 4988) Scotland 3, Iceland 0. Third) 910) England 3. US 0. 4640) Norway 3, Wales 0.

S3S4I Scotland 3, Chile t. 89601 New Zealand 3, Ireland 2. Quarter-finals) China 3. Taiwan Hong Kong 3. Russia Korea 3, Japan Korea 3, Ger many 1.

Fixtures Soccer DAVID O'LBARY FAREWELL MATCH) Arsenal Man Utd (7.45). BASS N-W COUNTIES) First Division) Newcastle Tn Prescot (7.30). Tony Rominger ol Switzerland, known lor his quick time trials; won his second consecutive Tour of Spain yesterday on the strength of ferocious mountain cycling In the final week of the 21-day event. Rominger finished second in the final stage 48sec behind fellow countryman Alex Zuelle but won the Tour by 29sec from Zulle with a time ot 96hr 7min 3sec and a final 29-second winning margin over Zuelle. A liunn (boom unailey).

green tracksuit top in the dugout but there was no lack of managerial presence with Portsmouth's Jim Smith stamping and cursing on the touch-line, his face looking as red as the stands. Portsmouth-finished 12 points and three places above Leicester and, after their battle with West Ham for automatic promotion, entered these playoffs with a sense of anticlimax. Leicester were delighted just to be there and are all the more dangerous for that The visitors were handicapped by the absence of the suspended Walsh, Butters and Aspinall, but until Joachim's thrilling intervention they appeared to have done enough to get at least a draw. They could even have won the game if Whittingham, the scorer of 47 goals this season, had shown his customary executioner's skills. He missed the best chance of the match in the eighth minute when he outpaced Smith only to produce a feeble shot straight at Poole.

Portsmouth were the more fluent and controlled team for most of the match but Joachim had warned them of what might be; with eight minutes left he was in a marvellous position but shot over from eight yards. Portsmouth have an impressive home record but, when Smith was asked how he felt about the return, he had only one word: "Nervous." Cthn Poole: Mills. Whitlow Smith. WalshHill. Oktlteld.

Thompson. Gee. Gibson turayson. tjlminj. triiipon (Joachim, 62).

Portsmouth! Knight; Awford. Price, McLoughlin, Symons. Daniel. Neill. Chamberlain (Burns, 70), Powell (Lawrence.

58). Whlttttigham, Kristensen. Referee Hackett (ShoHiekJ). BAQ SCOTTISH LEAGUE) Pramter Dfw atom Airdrie 1. Mothorwell Celtic 2, Dundee Dundee Utd 1, Aberdeen 4, Falkirk 1, Rangers Hibernian 0.

Partick St John stone 3. Hearts 1 A Pta 4 97 35 73 '7 87 36 04 6 68 41 00 Rangers 44 33 44 27 10 44 24 12 Celtic- Dundee Utd 44 19 9 16 56 49 47 Haatta 44 15 14 15 46 51 44 St Johnston 44 10 20 14 52 66 40 Hibernian 44 12 13 19 54 64 37 Partick 44 12 12 20 50 71 34 44 11 13 20 46 62 30 44 11 12 21 48 68 34 44 11 7 26 60 86 29 6 17 21 35 70 29 Leading goalscorers (total): 49 McColal (Rangers) 28 Hatetey (Rangers). 27 Shearer (Aberdeen). 21 Wright (St Johnstone). 20 Paatelainen (Aberdeen).

Fare OMatont Clydebank 4. Raith Dunfermline 1, Morton Kilmarnock 0, Hamilton Meadowbank 2, Dumbarton St Mlrren 1, Cowdenbeath Stirling 1, Ayr 1. A Pts Rahh 44 25 15 4 85 41 00 44 21 12 11 67 40 84 44 22 8 14 64 47 02 44 21 9 14 62 52 SI 19 12 13 65 45 SO 19 10 15 65 56 48 44 14 18 12 49 44 40 44 16 13 15 71 66 43 44 15 7 22 56 71 37 44 11 13 20 44 61 38 44 11 10 23 51 60 32 Cowdenbeath 44 3 7 34 33109 13 Lsadlng goateeorera (total): 34 Dalzlel (Raith). 24 Eadle (Clydebank). 22 Brewster (Raith); Flannigan (Clydebank).

S-H COUNTIES LCAOUSt First OnrUfetu Tottenham 6, OPR 0. WELSH CUPt Flnab Cardiff 5, Rhyl 0. IRISH CUPt Shelbourne 1, Dundalk 0. DUTCH LEAGUEi Go Ahead Eagles 0. Vo-lendam Sparta Rotterdam 2, PSV Wlllem II Ttlburg 4.

MW Maastricht SV Dordrecht '90 0, Roda JC Kerkrade 1: Fortune Sittard 1, Cambuur Leauwarden 1. Leading stand-Ingsi 1, PSV (P31. PI 8 43): 2. Foyenoord (30-48); 3. Ajax (30-tt).

FRENCH LEAGUE! Saturday. Auierre Lyon La Havre 1, Montpelller Lens 2, Metz Marseille 4, Lille Monaco 4, Toulouse Nantes 3. Valenciennes Nimes 0, Toulon Sochaux 0, Strasbourg 0, SI Etlenne 1, Caen 1. Fridayi Bordeaux 1, Paris St Germain 1. Leading standings 1, Marseille (P35, Pts51); 2, Paris St Germain (35-47): 3.

Monaco (35-47). too. "Sign him as a sponsor," shouted one as a Stockport man collected his raffle winnings at half-time. "Sign him as a centre forward," groaned another. County were without their 6ft 7in striker Kevin Francis, the division's leading scorer with 38 goals, who was suspended for this match and the return leg.

He was missed and Stockport needed some assistance from Vale's experienced defender Aspin before they could take the lead. Aspin impeded Finley in the the right reached Burgess on the six-yard box and his lob landed on the crossbar. As McFarlane waited for it to drop, the ball hit his chest and crossed the line. Seven minutes from time Hunt was denied an equaliser by Freestone to leave the Swans slight favourites. Swaneeai Freestone: Lyltle.

Jenkins. Walker, Hams. Hayes. Culien (West, 64mm). Coughlin, McFarlane.

Corntorth (Ford. 75). Legg. West Bromwich AJMonr Lange: McNally. Lilwall.

Bradley, Raven. Burgess. Hunt (Heggs. 86), Hamilton, Taylor. Mellon (Reid, 66).

Donovan. Refereei Ourkin (Ponland). Crewe look certain to reach Wembley in the Third Division play-offs after demolishing Walsall 5-1. Tony Naylor scored two first-half goals and Crewe doubled that with two goals within 90 seconds just after the interval. In the other play-off York City's goalkeeper Dean Kiely produced a superb performance to deny Bury in the goalless draw at Gigg Lane.

Martin bt Norman (NZ) 15-11. 14-15. 15-7, 15-10. SeniMlnate) Dtttmar bt Martin 15-8. 15-17.

15-12, 15-10; Jansner bt Martin 15-13. 15-3. 15-12. Real Tennis LAURENT-PERRIER MASTERS (Queen's): Seml-flnalat Snow (GB) bt Fahey (Aus) 5-6. 6-5.

6-1, 6-4; DewcharAus) bt Bray (GB) 6-0, 6-4, 6-2. Equestrianism ROYAL WINDSOR HORSE SHOW) The Toyota Area International Trial) 1. Everest Limited Addition (N Skelton) clear, 36.34sec; 2. Everest Monsanta (M Whi taker) clear 38.67; 3. Lannegan (D Broome) clear; 42.93.

The Toyota British Horsemasten 1, Whitaker (Everest Lifestyle); 2, Armstrong (Rockall); 3, Funnoll (Mandevilles Supreme); 4, Edgar (Everest Radiant) Cara-don Everest Mens Championship! 1. Ever-' est Two Step (M Whitaker) clear. 51.18; 2. Bow River Queen (J Fisher) clear. 55.79; 3, Everest Limited Edition (N Skollon) 4111s; 50.72.

Harrods International Driving OPl Standings after marathon) Horse teams) 1. Bowman (GB) 135.5; 2. Eriksson (Swe) 147 3. Slandaert (Bel) 150.8. Pony teams) Final standing at 1.

Fla ackers (Bel) 161.7; 2. Gammell (GB) 169.9: 3. Hirschberg (GB) 185.2. Also) 6, HRH Prince Philip 200.8. Hockey ALL-ENGLAND WHA CUP) Final (Milton Keynes): Ealing 0, Leicester 1.

Motor Racing SOOt First day quaUfyuw 1, A Luy'endyk (Neth) Lola-Ford Cosworth; 2. Androtti (US) Lofa-Ford Cosworth; 3. Boesel (Br) Lola-ford Cosworth; 4. Goodyear (Can) Lola-Ford Cosworth: 5, A Unser Jr (US) Lota-Chevy 6. Johansson (Swe) Penske-Chevy 7, Tracy (Can) Penske-, -Chevy 8.

Mansetl (GB) Lola-Ford Cos-worth; 9. Fittipaldl (GS) Penske-Chevy 10, Guerrero (US) Lola-Chevy C. Motor Cycling AUSTRIAN GP (Salzburg ring): BOOoet 1. SchwanU (US) Suzuki; 2. Doohan (Aus) Honda; 3.

Rainey (US) Yamaha. World championship atandlngat 1. Schwantz 111pls; 2, Ratney 106: 3. Beattie (Aus) 72.I 280cct 1, Rombon) (It) Honda; 2, Capir-ossi (It) Honda; 3, Bradl (Ger) Honda. 12Sco Tsuilmura (Japan) Honda; 2, Sakata (Japan) Honda; 3, Raudies (Ger) Honda.

WC atandlngs) 1. Sakata 105: 2, Raudies 91; 3, Tsuilmura 80. robbed of the second promotion place they held on to for much of the latter part of the season by Bolton, who overtook them in the dying minutes of the last game. So Vale were the first side to score so many points (89) in this division, yet fail to gain automatic promotion. The gap between themselves and sixth-placed Stockport showed only briefly as they bludgeoned their way through this Sunday midday match in front of an enthusiastic, although not necessarily appre Bromwich Albion 1 match.

Four players Hamilton, Raven, Cornforth and Coughlin were booked but the quality of the football belied the conditions caused by almost constant rain. Last season's long-ball game adopted by Bobby Gould resulted in West Bromwich not even making the play-offs. Ardiles' neat passing style needs to be supplemented by the creation of clearer chances and a more deadly finishing streak if this season too is not to end in vain. The first half promised but failed to deliver with Swansea bringing three excellent saves from Lange. Swansea went ahead, five minutes after the interval through the determination of McFarlane.

When Lyttle's header arrived in the box, the rangy striker slid the ball home from eight yards despite relentless shirt-pulling from Raven. WORLD CUP QUALIFYING Finland 3. Austria 1. AFRICAN CHAMPION CLUBS CUPi Second round, first legt ASEC Mimosas (Ivory Coast) 2, Costa do Sol (Mozambique) 0, AS Sogara (Gabon) 1, African Club (Tunisia) 0. Rugby Union TEST MATCH (Tucuman, Arg).

Argentina 30. Japan 27. Rugby League STONES BITTER DIVISIONAL PREMIERSHIP Final Featherstona (6) 20, Workington (8) 10. Fsathsrstonei Trlaat Newlove 2, Maloney. Goalai Pearson 4.

Worklngtoni Trleai McKenzie, Oglandby. Qoelai Marwood 4 (37.000). STONES BITTER PREMIERSHIP Final SI Hslens (4) 10, Wkjan (0) 4. St Hetenat Trtosi Connolly, Loughlin. Drop si O'Donnell 2.

Wlgani Try Forshaw (36.598). ACADEMY CUPi Flnafi Hull 12. Warrington 19. Coif SPANISH OPEN (Madrid). Final round (GB Ire unless slated): 276 Haeggman (Swe) 69.

69. 69. 68. 277 Faldo 68. 69.

72. 68. Eis (SA) 70. 68, 69. 70 2 78 I Woosnam 67.

70. 72, 69; J-M Olazabal (Sp) 74, 69. 67. 68: Lannor (Swo) 72, 64. 73, 69.

279 Hobday (SA) 70. 70, 70, 69. 280 Chapman 70, 72, 71, 67: Thul (Gflr) 72, 72, 66. 70; Baker 70, 69. 70.

71. 281 Mason 70. 70, 74. 67. 282 Brand Jnr 68, 73.

74, 67; Rocca (It) 76, 68, 69. 69; James 69, 71. 70. 72. Kranlz (Swe) 70.

71. 69, 72. 283 Oay (US) 69, 71. 75. 68; Farry (Fr) 72, 68.

74. 69. 284 Raflerty 68. 74, 70, 72. 260 McGlnley 74.

70. 72. 69: Rivero (Sp) 71. 71. 74, 69; P-U Johansson (Swe) 74, 69.

72, 70; Luna (Sp) 71. 67. 75. 72. Broadhurst 69.

75. 70. 71; Plnoro (Sp) 72. 68. 73.

72; M-A Jimenez (Sp) 71, 72, 65. 77. 280 Co ceres (Arg) 71, 74. 72. 69; A Forsbrand (Swe) 70, 73, 72, 71: Singh (Fiji) 72, 70, 73, 71.

Claydon 72, 71. 72. 71; I Garbutt 70. 73. 71.

72; Gilford 73, 70, 68, 75; Clarke 69, 71. 70, 76. 26 7 Richardson 69. 74, 75, 69; Oerendt (Arg) 71, 74. 69, 73; A Shorbomo 70, 72.

72, 73; Payne 71. 72. 71, 73. 288 Gates 71. 74, 72.

71; Davis (Aus) 70. 70, 76, 72; Curry 70. 74. 72, 72; Mouland 72. 72.

72, 72; Davis 71, 72, 72, 73; GOrr 76. 67, 72, 73: Ballflsteros (Sp) 69. 74. 69. 76; Bosanceney (Fr) 74, 69, 69.

76. 289 M-A Martin (Sp) 74. 70, 74. 71; Mayo 75. 70.

73. 71; Fowler (Aus) 71. 71. 75. 72; Boxall 72, 72, 72, 73 2 80 Romero (Arg) 69, 71, 77, 73; Sunesson (Swa) 71, 72.

73, 74. Paul Weaver THIS match took place at Nottingham Foresfs City Ground because of redevelopment at Filbert Street and towards the end of the second half it came to mind that the construction work would have made a better spectacle. But a dreadful match was partially redeemed by a stunning goal from the Leicester substitute Julian Joachim four minutes from the end. The 18-year-old YTS recruit, who has played in England's youth side, had replaced Phil-pott in the 62nd minute and at once troubled Portsmouth's defence with his pace on the right But when he adopted a central position he looked even more potent; the thorn in the side became a stake through the heart He made his chance when he spun away from Symons and then showed exceptional acceleration to sprint between Aw-ford and Kristensen before beating Knight with a low shot Brian Little, the Leicester City manager, had resisted the temptation to play the exciting Joachim from the start. "Julian scored a super goal.

He's always capable of that but doesn't always produce, which is why I've had to pull him off a few times," said Little. In the second leg on Wednesday Leicester have only to produce a repeat of the draw they gained at Fratton Park in February to go through to Wembley. It feels strange coming to this ground and not seeing the familiar, barmy old sage in the Weekend results Soccer FA CUP Final 0) Bhstff Wad (01 1 Wright Hirst (aet, replay. Thursday, Wembley 7.30) Leading goalscorers (total): 20 Sher-ingham (Tottenham); Wright (Arsenal). 24 Ferdinand (OPR).

22 Quinn (Coventry): Shearer (Blackburn). PLAY-OFFS Semi-finals, first leg First Division Leicester (0) 1 Portsmouth (0) Joachim 24,538 (City Ground, Nottingham) Swindon (3) 3 Tranmere (0) 1 Vickers (Og), Mitchell Morrissey Maskell 14,230 Leading goalscorsrs (total): 47 Whittingham (Portsmouth). 29 Cole (Newcastle); Blissett (Brentford). 28 Kelly (Newcastle). Second Division Stockport (1) 1 Gannon (pen) Port Vale (1) 1 Glover Swansea (0) 2 Waat Brom (0) 1 McFarlane McFarlane (og) Hayes 13.917 Loading goalacorera (total)' 37 Taylor (West Brom), Francis (Stockport).

3)3 Stein (Stoke), Walker (Bolton). 25 Etlis (Preston); McCarthy (Bradford). Third Division Bury (0) York (0) 6,620 Crewe (2) 5 Wataal) (1) 1 Naylor 2, Clarkson Cecere Edwards, Ward 6,198 LMdlng goalscorers (total): 31 Foreman (Scarborough); Griffiths (Shrewsbury). 23 Clarke (Walsall). 2t Naylor (Crewe).

GERMAN LEAGUEi Saturday) Oayern Munich 4, Bayer Leverkusen Elntracht Frankfurt 0, Schalke Hamburg 2, Saarbruocken Dynamo Dresden 0. Bocnum Cologne 2, Karlsruhe Wattenscheld 4, Nuremberg 1. Leading atandlnost 1, Bayerrt Munich (P31, Pts44); 2. Warder Bremen (31-42); 3 Borus-sla Dortmund (31-39) Robert Stern in Tokyo GARY LINEKER. the highest paid foreigner in the new League at 1.1 million a year, found himself upstaged by the 40-year-old Brazilian Zico as the game arrived this weekend amid a carnival atmosphere worthy of the World Cup.

Lineker, 32, playing for Na-goya Grampus Eight, had an early goal disallowed for offside and then watched Zico, looking worth every yen of the 320,000 a year it took to tempt him out of retirement, score a stunning hat-trick as Kashima Antlers ran out 5-0 winners. All five of the league's opening matches were carried live on television, and all sold out weeks ago with nearly a million fans applying for tickets to the inaugural round. Much of this soccer fever comes from the exotic image lent by the league's 46 foreign players. The hired guns (average age 28, mostly Brazilians) duly obliged their fans with 13 of the 27 goals scored. On the evidence of the first few games the Japanese public can look forward to fast-paced, physical, committed football.

INTERNATIONAL SUPER CUP (Oulton Pk): Superteami 1, Masters (Suzuki); 2, Cowie (Yamaha), 3. Peacock (Suzuki). Su-perbikei First race) Whitham (Yamaha); 2, McElnea (Yamaha): 3. Jetferles (Yamaha). SWocarsi 1.

WebsterG Simmons (ADM); 2. FisherV Butter (Yamaha); 3. RobinsonR Graham (LCR). Boxing INTERNATIONAL BILL (Glasgow): WBO Super-mlddlewslght) Chris Eubank (Brighton, hdr) drew with Ray Close (Belfast). Heavyweight) Savon (Cuba) bt Kandelakl (Geo) wo.

Super-mMdlswelght: Willie Oubin (Scot) bt Dave Owens (Castle-ford) pts. Middleweight: A Hernandez (Cuba) bt A Kuloglu (Tur) pts. Super-feath-erwsfghfa Alan Levlne (Liverpool) bt Ross Davison (Salford) pts. WBO Flyweight) Jake MatfaJa (SA) bt Pat Clinton (Scot, hdr) ko 8. WBO Mini-flyweight championship) Paul Weir (Scot) bt Fernando Martinez (Mex) rsl 7.

WORLO AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIPS (Tampere. Finland): Plnatsi Flyweight) Font (Cuba) bt Akhemedov (Uzbek) pts. Featherweight! 8 Todorov (Bui) bt Carrion (Cuba) pts. Ught-heawywelght) Gar-bey (Cuba) bt Jacobs (Nig) pts. Super-heavyweight) Balado (Cuba) bt Rusalnov (Bui) pts.

Athletics GOTHENBURG HALF-MARATHOHi Men) 1, Naali (Tan) 63min 37sec. Womeni 1, Lemettlnen (Fin) 73.30; 2, Rlgg (GB) 73.47. Basketball NBA) Ptsy-offsi Western Conference) Houston 97. Seattle 79 (Seattle lead senos 2-1); San Antonio til, Phoenix 96 (Phoenix lead series 2-1). Eastern Cleveland 90, Chicago 96 (Chicago lead serfes 3-0).

Baseball AMERICAN LEAGUE) Minnesota 7, Boston Detroit 5. Baltimore New York 4, Toronto Milwaukee 5, Cleveland Oakland 2. Seattle Texas 6. Chicago 4: California 5, Kansas City 3. NATIONAL LEAGUE) Houston 7, Los Angeles 1: Montreal 2, New York Cincinnati 5, Colorado Atlanta 5, Philadelphia 3, Chicago 14.

Pittsburgh Florida 8, St Louis San Francisco 3, San Diego 0. Ice Hockey NATIONAL LEAGUE) Play-offst Norris division finale) Toronto 6. St Louis 0 (Toronto win series Conference flnab Montreal 4, NY lalancers 1 (Montreal lead 4-1). Grahame Lloyd THREE years ago Ossie Ardiles experienced the euphoria of winning promotion to the old First Division when Swindon Town beat Sunderland in the play-off final only for the club's irregular financial dealings to lead to demotion to the Second Division. After yesterday's set-back at Swansea Ardlles's new club may not even make it to Wembley, but the Argentinian remains calm.

"We knew it was going to be close," he said. "I don't think we were lucky to finish at 2-1. The tie is in the balance. Swansea had the edge today but let's see what happens on Wednesday night. It's going to go right to the final whistle." Albion's 12-polnt superiority melted away in the heat of a ferociously competitive Dhrialaoi Arbroath 0.

Forfar Clyde 1, Brechin 2, East Fife 1. Berwick 2, East Stirling 0, Albion Montrose 3, Queen's Pk 1: Queen ol South 0. Alloa Stenhousemuir 2, Stranraer 5. A Pta Ctyda- 39 22 10 7 77 42 04 Brechin 39 23 7 9 62 32 S3 19 15 5 69 44 83 IB 10 11 74 54 48 16 12 11 63 54 44 18 8 13 59 50 44 15 10 14 59 48 40 16 7 16 56 64 39 14 10 15 70 64 3 8 12 9 18 57 72 33 8 12 19 51 73 28 10 7 22 46 71 27 8 9 22 50 85 20 6 10 23 36 76 22 (total): 28 Mathieson Rosa (Brechin). 23 Stsnhouaarmrir.

39 Brwick 39 East Ftf 39 Queen Of South. 39 Quaen'a Park 39 Montro 39 EartSttrUng 39 Leading goatacorsrs (Stenhousemuir). 24 Sorbie (Arbroath). POOLS CHECK! Jackpot draws (total 5): 10. 19, 23, 24, 49.

High-score draws (5): 4. 27. 31. 41. 53.

Ho-scors draws (4). 7. 9, 14. 38. BELGIAN LEAGUE! Antwerp 4.

FC Liege Mechelen 3. Beveren 0: Lokeren 1. Cercle Brugge Molenbeek 0, Waregom Lommet 4, Genk Charleroi 2. Anderlecht Club Brugge 2, Ghent 0: Boom 0, Dorse Standard Liege 4, Ekeren 2. Leading standings! 1, Anderlecht (P34, Pts58); 2, Standard Liege (34-45); 3, Mechelen (34-42).

ITALIAN LEAQUEt Atalanta 2. Fiorontina Foggla 1, Sampdoria Genoa 1, Interna-zlonale 1: Lazio 5. Ancona 0: AC Milan 0, Roma Pescara 3, Napoli Torino 0, Ca-gliarl Udinose 2, Brescia 2 Saturday. Parma 2, Juventus 1. Leading atandtngst 1, AC Milan (P31, Pts47); 2, Internationale Parma (31-37).

SPANISH LEAGUE) Sevlila 3, Real Socle-dad Rayo Vallecano 2, Tenenfe Cadiz 3, Real Burgos Espanol 1. Sporting Gijon Real Zaragoza 0, Albacete Athletic Bilbao 0, Deportivo Coruna 1: Logrones 3, Valencia 2. Saturday! Atlattco Madrid 2, Osasuna Celta.1, Roal Madrid 1: Real Ovledo 1, Barcelona 0. Leading standings! 1. Barcelona (P33, Pts50); 2.

Real Madrid (33-60): 3. Deportivo La Coruna (33-46). PORTUGUESE LEAGUE Belrd Mar 1, Ben-flca Guimaraes 3, Boavista Belenenses 1, Esplnho Estorll 1, Farense Pacos Ferrelra 3, Braga Tlrsertse 3. Famalicao Gil Vicente 2, Salgueiros 0. Saturday) Marl-timo 4.

Sporting 2. J-LEAQUEi Yokohama Flugels 3, Shlmlzu S-Pulse Hiroshima San Frecce 2, Ichlhara JEF Utd Kaahlma Antlers 5, Nagoya Grampus Eight Gamba Osaka 1, Urawa Reds 0..