World Cup: Colombia thrash insipid Poland
Kazan (Russia), June 25 : Colombia thrashed Poland 3-0 in a Group H encounter of the FIFA World Cup here on Sunday.
Yerry Mina (40th minute), Radamel Falcao (70th) and Juan Cuadrado (75th) scored for Columbia. The win kept alive Columbia's chances of advancing from the group stage.
They are on three points from two matches. They had been defeated 1-2 by Japan in their first game.
Poland, who had been defeated by Senegal in their previous match, have no points and are as good as out of the tournament. Colombia dominated proceedings right from the start.
The South Americans controlled possession beautifully and Poland struggled to contain their star-studded attacking line-up.
Cuadrado was impressive form, keeping the capacity crowd awestruck with his runs down the right wing.
He formed a superb combination with Juan Quintero and the duo created all sorts of problems for the Poland defence.
Apart from his good work upfront, Cuadrado also did some really good defensive work, falling back with speed whenever Poland went on the counter.
Poland never really seemed to be in the game and created very little scoring chances.
They have one of the best centre forwards in the world in Robert Lewandowski but Poland's link up play from the midfield was rendered ineffective by Columbia's excellent defensive organisation.
The Bayern Munich star was left totally isolated in the absence of proper support from the midfield.
Whenever Poland went on the attack, Colombia's speed down the flanks saw the Europeans being caught on the counter.
Colombia took the lead shortly before half time off a corner when James Rodr Aguez floated in a cross into the penalty box and Mina rose above the Poland defence to head the ball in.
The South Americans continued to dominate after the break and created scoring chances at regular intervals. But a combination of poor finishing and excellent defending by Poland prevented them from scoring.
But Colombia could not be denied for long as Falcao, who seemed to be struggling with his form, finally found his scoring touch.
A quick attack by Colombia saw Quintero put forward an excellent through and Falcao raced into the opposition box and calmly slotted home into the bottom-left corner.
Poland were forced to go all out in attack which saw Cuadrado score Colombia's third goal off a fast counter a short while later.
James initiated the move charging out of defence down the left wing before finding Cuadrado upfront.
Cuadrado, who had raced down the right wing before receiving the ball in the centre, continued his run and beat Poland goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny with an excellent finish.
That virtually sealed the issue as Poland never seemed capable of scoring and Colombia clinched a well deserved victory.
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Karnataka's Bill against Hate Speeches conspiracy against Hindutva activists: Pramod Muthalik
Davanagere: Sri Rama Sene national president Pramod Muthalik has accused the state government of using the proposed Hate Speech and Hate Crimes (Prevention) Bill to target Hindus and to suppress Hindutva organisations and their leaders.
Speaking at a press conference on Saturday, Muthalik said the Sene opposes the Bill. According to him, the government is bringing this legislation only to appease Muslim voters while selectively targeting Hindu voices.
He questioned whether it is wrong to speak against cow slaughter when the ban is already in force but violations still occur in many places. “Is it wrong to raise awareness among Hindus about love jihad? Is it wrong to oppose illegal construction of churches, mosques or encroachments on cremation grounds? Is objecting to religious conversions wrong?” he asked.
Muthalik alleged that the Bill attempts to silence anyone who questions or protests such issues. He said the move goes against the spirit of the Constitution framed by Dr B.R. Ambedkar and is aimed at weakening the Hindu community.
He urged BJP and JD(S) MLAs to strongly oppose the Bill in the upcoming session and ensure it does not get passed. The organisation will submit memorandums to all legislators and mount pressure, he added.
During the press meet, Muthalik tore copies of the Bill in protest. Leaders of Sri Rama Sene including Parashuram Nadavinamani, Yashavanth, Sridhar and Madhu were present.
