Mariga out
of Stars Clash with Eagles
The Kenya National
Football Team, Harambee Stars, will again miss the services of Mariga during
their 2014 World Cup Qualifier clash with Nigeria on Wednesday 5th
June, 2013 at the Moi International Sports Center Kasarani.
MacDonald Mariga, who plays for Italian club, Inter Milan, will not be available for Stars’ return leg against the reigning African champions, Super Eagles.The midfielder has failed to feature for the team for over a year now and is once again ruled out due to knee injury. “Mariga is not coming. Hence, there is no way he is fit to play against Nigeria,” said the Stars head coach, Adel Amrouche in an interview with SuperSport.
The team has been training at the City Stadium in preparation for the match but will shift to Naivasha today, Wednesday 29thMay. According to coach Amrouche, this move will allow the players to bond perfectly and avoid distractions during the training sessions. They will return to Nairobi on Sarturday 1st June.The first leg was played in Calabar, Nigeria on 23rd March, 2013 and ended in a 1-1 draw.
Harambee Stars must
beat the Super Eagles in order to keep their hope of qualifying for the 2014
Brazil FIFA World Cup. They are currently at the bottom with two points, one
behind Namibia in Group F where Nigeria and Malawi are jointly at the top with
five points each. A loss against Nigeria will see Kenya out of the contention.
Palace Earns
Promotion
Crystal Palace was
promoted to the Barclays Premier League after a 1-0 win against Watford in the
play-offs final on Monday 27th May, 2013.
The side finished on the fifth position in the recently concluded England Championship League with 72 points and qualified for the promotion play-off stage together with Watford, Brington and Leicester City. Palace went past Brington with a 2-0 aggregate score to the play-off final where a narrow 1-0 victory over Watford took them back to the England Premier League since the 2004/05 season.Crystal Palace therefore joins Cardiff City and Hull City, who finished first and second respectively,to replace relegated Wigan Athletic, Queens Park Rangers and Reading in preparation for the 2013/14 season.
Following their promotion, the side has hinted on a possible negotiation with Manchester United to retain Wilfried Zaha on loan at the club. Zaha was signed by the Premier League champions for £15 million transfer fee during the January transfer window but was immediately loaned back to Palace for the rest of the season. He then won the Championship Professional Football Association (PFA) player of the year award alongside helping his side back into the main league of the English football.
