Spartak's Brazilians cut down Sporting

Two goals from their Brazilian substitute Marcão and one from compatriot Luis Robson gave Spartak Moscow a 3-1 win over Sporting Lisbon in their Champions' League Group A game yesterday.

Two goals from their Brazilian substitute Marcão and one from compatriot Luis Robson gave Spartak Moscow a 3-1 win over Sporting Lisbon in their Champions' League Group A game yesterday.

Marcão scored in the 67th and 81st minutes to help Spartak to one of their biggest wins in European competition, boosting their chances of reaching the second phase.

Spartak were forced to come from behind after the visitors went ahead after 24 minutes. Ricardo Sa Pinto easily knocked the ball in after a mistake by the Spartak goalkeeper Alexander Filimonov.

Robson equalised after 43 minutes after the former Manchester United goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel failed to fully clear a powerful shot by Andrejs Stolcers. Marcão scored his first with a powerful header after a cross by fellow substitute Vassily Baranov. He then finished off the Portuguese side after playing a superb one-two with Robson and drilling the ball past Schmeichel.

The Oceania Football Confederation is expected to elect Australia's Basil Scarsella as its new president tomorrow in place of New Zealand's Charlie Dempsey, who controversially resigned from the post in July.

Dempsey stepped down after abstaining from voting when Fifa's executive committee met to decide the host nation for the 2006 World Cup finals. He also resigned his position on the executive committee of the game's world governing body.