The $200m match decided by defensive error as QPR back in EPL

May 24, 2014

The so-called richest game in football hinged on a late defensive error by Derby captain Richard Keogh as Bobby Zamora scored a dramatic injury-time winner for 10-man Queens Park Rangers in the Championship playoff at Wembley Saturday.

Promotion to the English Premier League is estimated to be worth $200m and it was QPR celebrating an unlikely win at the final whistle.

Former England international Zamora scored with a first-time volleyed shot after Keogh's intended clearance fell straight to his feet.

It was QPR's first shot on target after a match largely dominated by Derby -- particularly after Gary O'Neil's red card on the hour mark.

O'Neil went for hacking down Johnny Russell as he raced towards goal and it looked only a matter of time before Derby, managed by former England boss Steve McClaren, grabbed a winner.

His QPR counterpart Harry Redknapp admitted as much as he reflected on his side's triumph.

"We were hanging on with 10 men until a fantastic finish," he told Sky Sports. "We were hanging on for our lives," he admitted.

QPR, relegated from the EPL last season, has spent heavily, backed by owner Tony Fernandes, with a massive wage bill in comparison to other rivals in the second flight of English football.

Leicester City and Burnley gained the two automatic promotion spots, leaving QPR to negotiate its passage through the playoffs involving the next four best-placed teams in the league.

Victory over Wigan saw QPR into the final, while Derby thrashed Brighton to reach the Wembley showdown.

A cagey and tactical match produced few chances, the best coming after O'Neil was dismissed but QPR's man-of-the-match defender Richard Dunne and goalkeeper Robert Green were outstanding in repulsing Derby.

Then came the late drama -- with Zamora repeating a feat he achieved in helping West Ham win the playoffs in 2005.

It left a distraught Keogh to be consoled by his teammates while QPR lifted the playoff trophy.

For McClaren it was a bitter disappointment after guiding his young team to third place in the regular season standings and a deserved place in the final.

"I've lost some games in my career but that is the cruelest," he told BBC Sport. "For somebody to make mistakes -- we don't blame anybody," he added.

South Africa's Zuma pledges focus on economy in second inauguration

May 24, 2014

South African President Jacob Zuma was sworn in Saturday for a second term, pledging to focus on the economy in a country battling growing inequality.

"Today marks the beginning of the second phase of our transition from apartheid to a national democratic society," Zuma said during his inauguration at the Union Buildings in Pretoria.

"This second phase will involve the implementation of radical socioeconomic transformation policies and programs over the next five years."

His party, the African National Congress, won the general election this month, holding on to power despite economic woes, deadly mining protests and corruption allegations.

It got 62% of the vote -- lower than the last time -- with its popularity and that of Zuma's taking a hit due to various issues, including a scandal centered in his private homestead in Nkandla. The state watchdog has alleged more than $20 million of public money was misused in improvements to the sprawling complex. Zuma has denied any wrongdoing.

After a turbulent first term, Zuma said his government will perform better this time around and take responsibility for any shortcomings.

"We will ... ensure much tighter accountability, with firm consequences where there is a failure to deliver services to our people," he said.

He said South Africa has made progress since the days of apartheid two decades ago.

"While the lives of millions of people have improved, poverty, inequality and unemployment still persist," he said.

"Economic transformation will take center stage during this new term of government as we put the economy on an inclusive growth path."

The ANC, which has governed for 20 years, still enjoys widespread support after the defeat of the apartheid system and the beginning of democracy in South Africa.

Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan and his Zimbabwean counterpart, Robert Mugabe, were among the heads of state attending Saturday's ceremony.