Waring holds one-shot Abu Dhabi lead as McIlroy struggles

LONDON: Ange Postecoglou admits Tottenham’s “vicious cycle” of injuries has hampered his attempt to get the troubled club back on track.
Postecoglou is under severe pressure after a miserable run of seven Premier League games without a win, with six defeats in that dismal spell also triggering fan protests against chairman Daniel Levy.
Ahead of Sunday’s game at Brentford, Postecoglou’s side are languishing in 15th place, just eight points above the relegation zone.
The Australian earned a little breathing space on Thursday when a 3-0 win against Elfsborg booked Tottenham’s place in the Europa League last 16.
But Postecoglou is battling a lengthy injury list that threatens to stop the north Londoners ending their malaise.
Postecoglou was already without Dominic Solanke, Cristian Romero, Guglielmo Vicario, Brennan Johnson, Destiny Udogie, Wilson Odobert, Timo Werner and James Maddison.
Romania defender Radu Dragusin became the latest to be bitten by the injury bug when he was forced off against Elfsborg, although center-back Micky van de Ven played 45 minutes on his return from a hamstring problem.
“We’ve had to deal with a real extreme situation, which unfortunately once we got hit, it is then very hard to rectify on the run,” Postecoglou told reporters on Friday.
“We obviously got some significant injuries early on, which hampered our progress, and then we had to rely on a small group of players to get us through and that then burdened them.
“It has been this vicious cycle. The volume of games that clubs are playing, we’ve been in an extreme situation but a lot of clubs are facing similarities in Europe.”
It is a vital week for Tottenham, who travel to Liverpool holding a 1-0 lead in the second leg of the League Cup semifinals on Thursday before heading to Aston Villa in the FA Cup fourth round on February 9.
Injuries forced Postecoglou to turn to youth academy graduates Dane Scarlett, Mikey Moore and Damola Ajayi, who all scored their first goals for the club against Elfsborg.
Now the former Celtic boss is desperate to avoid any further fitness setbacks as he bids to end a Tottenham trophy drought stretching back to 2008.
“Every time I’ve seen the light at the end of the tunnel, it’s usually been an oncoming train,” he said.
“We seem to be losing players as we get them back. We don’t want to lose anyone else, but again, best laid plans.
“You can’t plan for these things. We’ve got a big week coming up, starting Sunday.
“We’re going to have to do it with this core group of players, so we’ve just got to be careful about how we go about it.”

HAIL: Qatari rally driver Nasser Al-Attiyah told Arab News on Friday that he is happy to be present at the 20th edition of the Hail Rally, a race he has won twice in the past.
This time, however, Al-Attiyah is here not as a driver, but to run and support his team, Nasser Racing.
“I have eight cars here to be driven by four drivers from Qatar, one from Portugal, two from the United Arab Emirates and one from Saudi Arabia,” he said. “I am so happy to have a group of such good drivers with Nasser Racing here in Hail and I hope they win this special rally.”
He continued: “The Hail Rally is one of the most beautiful rallies and the organization is amazing. There is great interest from the emir of the region and the Saudi Automobile and Motorcycle Federation, and there is a great turnout from the people of Hail, who are (true) rally lovers. They have a great rally culture. I congratulate them on the 20th anniversary.”
The Qatari sports icon praised the support of the Saudi government and SAMF for high-level motorsport, noting that Saudi Arabia has become a fixture on the calendar.
“During the last five years, we can see major changes in the Kingdom related to motorsport. For us, as competitive drivers, we feel lucky to take part in major races here in our second home. Motorsport is really gaining popularity and we can see many young people joining the sport,” he said.
Discussing the latest edition of the Dakar Rally, which took place earlier this month, and in which Al-Attiyah came fourth, he said: “It was an amazing and tough rally. Unfortunately, we could not fight for the podium because we had a new car, However, we were happy. We had a good performance, but a new car always needs time”.
The five-time Dakar champion promised he would be back to fight for top spot in next year’s rally, adding that he is determined to keep competing in order to win more titles and break new records.