Congo first time HOSTS Congo defeated defending champions Nigeria 1-0 in the final of the African Youth Football Championship to lift the trophy for the first time. It was the climax of a two-week event which started on 20 February with eight countries -- Congo, Gambia, Burkina Faso, Cote d'Ivoire, Nigeria, Egypt, Zambia and Cameroon. In the semi-finals, Nigeria beat Gambia 1-0 and Congo defeated Zambia 1-0. In the battle for third place Zambia defeated Gambia 1-0. The four semi-finalists of the championship will represent Africa in the FIFA World Youth Championship in Canada in the summer -- Gambia, Zambia, Nigeria and Congo. Egypt had beaten Cameroon and tied Nigeria before going down to Zambia 3-0. Ashour jumps FAR from resting on his laurels after winning the Young Male Player of the Year in December, the 19-year-old squash player from Egypt Rami Ashour made further dramatic progress in January when he won his first PSA Super Series title at the PACE Canadian Classic, then picked up the EBS Dayton Open crown two weeks later. Ashour's compatriot Amr Shabana, winner of the Infor Windy City Open in Chicago, extends his lead at the top of the new list, ahead of Australia's World Open champion David Palmer at No 2, France's Gregory Gaultier at No 3, fellow Frenchman Thierry Lincou at four, and Ashour at five. Australia's Anthony Ricketts, the 27-year-old from Sydney who was runner-up in Chicago, jumps three places to No 7. Another Egyptian is celebrating a career-best ranking in the new list: Wa'el El-Hindi, the 26-year-old from Cairo who reached the Canadian Classic semi-finals as 13th seed, rises two places to a best-ever No 13, while Mohamed Abbas is placed 15th among the top 20. Ahead by six MANCHESTER United restored their six- point lead at the top of the Premiership after thumping Tottenham 4-0 at White Hart Lane. The only hiccup for United was goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar who broke his nose before the end. The 36-year-old Dutch keeper was forced off after a late clash with Spurs striker Robbie Keane. Defender John O'Shea replaced Van der Sar in goal in the closing minutes. Cardiff thriller IRELAND defeated WALES 19-9 in an open and thrilling Rugby Union Six Nations clash in Cardiff. Wales had a nightmare start when Brian O'Driscoll blocked Stephen Jones' kick and Rory Best scored after 46 seconds. The hosts worked their way back through three Jones penalties, but the Irish led at half-time as O'Driscoll dived over in the corner for a converted try. A third Irish try nine minutes from the end, O'Gara scoring from close range, ended any Wales hopes of a comeback. Wales' backline had been hampered by a succession of injuries and suspension to their inspirational former captain Gareth Thomas. Wales scrum- half Dwayne Peel was bitterly disappointed after losing the match. Coach Gareth Jenkins, in his first championship game in charge, agreed that errors had cost them. Baghdatis triumphs MARCOS Baghdatis won the Zagreb Open title by beating champion Ivan Ljubicic. Baghdatis prevailed 7-6 (7-4) 4-6 6-4 after a hard- fought, two-and-a-half-hour battle. One break in the second set was enough for top seed Ljubicic to level the match but Baghdatis then pounced at 5-4 in the final set to take the title. Ljubicic, who won the Qatar Open last month but crashed out in the first round of the Australian Open, was left to regret letting the first set slip away. Snooker title SHAUN Murphy overwhelmed Ryan Day 9-4 in the final of the Snooker Malta Cup to win the second ranking title of his career. The 2005 world champion took the first four frames and raced to a 6-1 lead by the end of the opening session. Welshman Day fared better in the second session and scored the only century break of the final (102) when pulling the score back to 8-3. But Englishman Murphy sealed victory in the 13th frame for his first title since his shock win at the Crucible. It was a confident performance from Murphy but Day was guilty of errors at key moments. For Day, there was the consolation of the �15,000 runner's-up cheque, the biggest payday of his eight-year professional career, and a rise of six places to 12th in the ranking list. Foggy win NICKNAME came out of the mist to win the Grade Two Tied Cottage Chase at Punchestown. A thick fog fell at the Irish track just as the race got under way, meaning that for much of the two-mile trip, the runners could not be seen. It was something of an anti-climax to a race that had been billed as a clash between reigning Champion Chaser Newmill and young pretender Nickname. And Newmill then fell four fences from home, allowing Nickname an easy win. Nickname, trained by Martin Brassill and ridden by Ruby Walsh, had been the 9-10 favourite to add to his growing reputation. And despite Newmill's departure just as the race was getting going, bookmakers were impressed by Nickname's seven-length win, cutting his Champion Chase odds to as short as 5-1.
