PUMA Athlete and Club Update April 2010

It was all change at the top of the Premier League over Easter weekend. Chelsea beat Manchester Utd 2-1 to go back to the top of the table. Puma players Nemanja Vidic and Nicolas Anelka came head to head in the encounter at Old Trafford.

Bacary Sagna, Tomas Rosicky and Emmanuel Eboue all took part in Arsenals 1-0 win over resilient Wolves. Puma player Kevin Doyle fought tirelessly but was unable to stop the
Gunners, as they kept their title hopes alive with an injury-time winner.

In the race for 4th, Tottenham slipped up losing 3-1 away at Sunderland.  Manchester City leap-frogged Spurs into 4th place after Spurs lost. City Puma Keeper Shay Given was very happy with his side’s performance having had a relatively quiet evening in his sides 6-1 win.
Diniyar Bilalyetdinov scored for Everton as they were held to a 2-2 draw against
West Ham at Goodison Park.

Championship

There were games played on both Saturday and Monday for football league clubs,
meaning a busy Easter weekend. On Saturday Bristol City held promotion chasing Nottingham Forest 1-1 at Ashton Gate which further enhanced Keith Millen’s chances of earning the job full-time.

The result of the day was in the Welsh derby where Cardiff beat Swansea 2-1. Puma ambassador Michael Chopra got both goals taking his tally to 16 for the season.

Coventry lost 1-0 at home to Derby which all but ended their slim chances of reaching the play-offs. Readings unbeaten run was ended as the 10 man Royals lost 2-1 to Ipswich at Portman Road.  Sheffield Wednesday fought hard for a much needed point earning a 1-1 draw away at fellow strugglers QPR.

On Monday the all Puma tie at Hillsborough saw Bristol City beat Sheffield Wednesday to keep up City’s revival and see Wednesday move back into the drop-zone.

Reading bounced back from Saturdays defeat as they beat Coventry in another all
Puma fixture. Simon Church scored from the penalty spot to continue their late surge
for a play-off place. Coventry have now gone 7 games without a win.

Cardiff all but consolidated their play-off place with a 0-0 home draw against 3rd placed
Nottingham Forest. Forests failure to win meant Newcastle United secured promotion back to the Premiership at the first time of asking.

They capped off a memorable day on Tyneside with a 2-1 home win against Sheffield United. Puma player Peter Lovenkrands bagged his 15th of the season from the penalty spot.

Rugby Union

Bruce Reihana set up Northampton team-mate Ben Foden to score the winning try as Saints beat Leeds 14-7 at Headingley. Leicester extended their lead at the top of the table as they
overcame Puma team Bath 43-20 leaving them in 6th position.

Rugby League

St Helens’ clash with local rivals Wigan didn’t fail to disappoint on Good Friday. The
Warriors came out on top however winning 18-10 at Knowsley Road.

However, in an all Puma tie on Easter Monday Saints rediscovered their winning form
with a crushing 52-18 win away at Castleford. That made it back to back defeats for
Castleford also who lost 19-6 to Wakefield over Easter weekend.

Harlequins continue to struggle as they remain bottom of the league with only one
victory all season.

Cricket

Craig Kieswetter’s fine form in Bangladesh has led to him being called up to the
England Twenty20 squad for the World T20 in the Caribbean later this month. The
Somerset keeper-batsman will also be handed the gloves for the tournament, replacing
Matt Prior.

In the IPL, Deccan Chargers poor run continues and they have now won only 3 games
out of 9 leaving them 7th in the table. The Chargers entertained the other Puma side
in the competition the Rajasthan Royals again on Monday. Adam Gilchrist scored a
quick-fire 34 but all in vain as Shane Warne led his Royals team to 3rd in the table leaving
them well placed to reach the semi-finals.