PUMA Athlete and Club Update April 2010

Football

FA Cup

Puma team Tottenham were beaten 2-0 by Portsmouth in Sunday’s FA Cup semi-final at Wembley. The game was 0-0 after 90 minutes before Pompey scored twice in extra-time to win the game 2-0. Spurs must now focus on finishing 4th in the Premiership. Portsmouth will face Chelsea in the final at Wembley after they best Aston Villa. Nicolas Anelka, who wears the V1.10 Speed Boots, gained an assist as Frank Lampard scored the final goal in the 3-0 victory.

Premier League

Manchester City goalkeeper Shay Given put in another solid performance as they won 5-1 against Birmingham at Eastlands. City remain on course to finish 4th. Kevin Doyle fought tirelessly for Wolves but they only managed a 0-0 draw at home to Stoke.That was one of 3 0-0 draws in the Premier League over the weekend, the most significant being at Ewood park where Manchester United were held by Blackburn to give Chelsea a significant advantage in the title race. Puma players Nemanja Vidic and Michael Carrick couldn’t inspire the Red Devils to a much needed victory. It rounded off a bad week for the Manchester duo who also saw their side knocked out of the Champions League by Bayern Munich.

Championship

Chris Brunt scored for West Brom as they joined Newcastle in being promoted back to the Premiership after winning 3-2 away at Doncaster. The all Puma encounter between Cardiff and Reading ended in a 0-0 draw. Cardiff remain in 4th whilst Reading still have an outside chance of reaching the play-offs. Bristol City moved up to 9th and extended their unbeaten run to 6 games after a 1-0 home win over promotion chasing Swansea. Coventry’s miserable run continues as they lost again, this time 1-0 away at Sheffield United. Sheffield Wednesday’s season remains hanging in the balance as they lost at the Riverside to Middlesborough. It’s looking more and more likely their final game at home to Crystal Palace will decide who avoids the drop.

Rugby Union

Puma player Nick Easter was influential in helping Harlequins beat struggling Leeds 46-11 at The Stoop. Bruce Reihana failed to inspire Northampton as Munster set up a Heineken Cup semi-final against Biarritz, beating the Saints 33-19. Jamie Heaslip scored two tries for Leinster as they overcame Clermont Auvergne in a thriller on Friday night. Leinster secured victory with late penalty to win 29-28 in the Heineken Cup quarter final tie.

Rugby League

In the Super League, St Helens and Harlequins were involved in an all Puma encounter. Saints maintained their positive start to the season edging out the struggling Harelquins side 32-24. Castleford’s poor start continues as they lost away at Huddersfield. The Tigers didn’t manage to get a point on the board, eventually losing 24-0.

Cricket

The IPL continues, but the group stages are nearly complete. The two Puma sides, the Rajhastan Royals and the Deccan Chargers are vying for a semi-final place with 2 games remaining. Deccan are currently 5th and Rajhastan 4th in the table. Adam Gilchrist, Puma player and Deccan captain has had a quiet week by his standards but he is confident of leading the team to the semis. Brendon McCullum has been appearing for the Kolkata Knight Riders and was at his entertaining best with 45 on Wednesday. However, it was all in vain as they lost to Delhi Daredevils.