Sri Lankas incumbent pair has nevertheless fallenSri Lankas incumbent pair has nevertheless fallen

Sri Lankas incumbent pair has nevertheless fallenSri Lankas incumbent pair has nevertheless fallen

21.01.2020 12:15

PORTLAND, Ore. -- With two goals in the first 11 minutes, the Galaxy stole a 2-1 victory in Portland.Robbie Keane and Gyasi Zardes each scored for Los Angeles to put an end to the Timbers nine-game undefeated streak before a national TV audience.Zarek Valentin scored for the Timbers, who were stung when they lost veteran defender Nat Borchers to what appeared to be a left ankle injury late in the first half. Borchers was a key piece to the Timbers team that won the MLS Cup last season.It was the Galaxys fourth straight victory in Major League Soccer play, and fifth overall. Los Angeles (9-3-8) is third in the Western Conference, while Portland (7-7-8) is in sixth.Neither team added to the score in the second half.We definitely wanted to come out aggressive and I thought we did that. We didnt know what the second half had in hand, but the sun came out, turf got hotter. But I thought the substitutions were phenomenal. The guys that came on were just great and amazing and it worked well for us, Zardes said.The Timbers were already without defender Liam Ridgewell, who has a strained right calf and will also miss the MLS All-Star Game against Arsenal next week in San Jose.The Galaxy were without defender Ashley Cole because of a sore hamstring, and midfielder Steven Gerrard, who has a leg injury.The Galaxy went ahead early with Keanes easy tap in off Giovani dos Santos cross in the seventh minute. It was Keanes seventh goal in 10 overall matches this season.Los Angeles extended the lead to 2-0 in the 11th minute on Zardes bouncing header.It took us a while to get going, and we didnt make the plays we needed, Portland goalkeeper Jake Gleeson said.The slow start was a letdown for the Timbers, who were coming off a big 3-1 victory over rival Seattle last Sunday. But Portland narrowed it to 2-1 before the end of the half with Zarek Valentins a hard shot from atop the box in the 41st minute. It was his first goal of the season.Give them credit, they pushed for the goal. I think our biggest mistake in the game was conceding a goal at the end of the first half. We could have been in position to, I wouldnt say sail through that game, but deal with it a little bit better in the second half, Galaxy coach Bruce Arena said.A few moments later Portland suffered a major blow when Borchers was injured. It did not appear that the veteran defender was hurt by contact.Borchers could not stand after he was treated on the field and had to be stretchered off. Arena appeared to wish him well as he was carried to the locker room.Portland coach Caleb Porter said after the game he had no update on Borchers condition.Portlands early struggles on defense and the loss of Borchers came as rumors swirled concerning the Timbers interest in former Newcastle United defender Steven Taylor, who was at the match.Portlands Darlington Nagbe got a good chance with a clear shot in the 86th minute but the ball sailed just over the crossbar. The Timbers also got a free kick late but was unable to score.The last time the two teams met the Galaxy knocked the Timbers out of the U.S. Open Cup with a 1-0 victory at Providence Park in late June. Los Angeles has advanced to the semifinals of the competition, hosting FC Dallas at StubHub Center on Aug. 10.There was bad blood between the two teams stemming from a match earlier this year, during which Nigel de Jong tackled Nagbe.Nagbe, who has also been playing with the U.S. national team, sprained his ankle. De Jong was later given a three-game suspension by the league for the hit.The sellout crowd at Providence Park loudly booed de Jong when the lineups were announced before Saturdays match.It was the first soccer match for ESPNs SportsCenter On The Road. Fake Nike Air Max 1 . Didier Drogba gave away the penalty that put Senegal one goal away from a major upset, but the veteran striker will get another chance -- probably his last -- at the World Cup after Salomon Kalous injury-time strike sealed the Ivorians place in Brazil next year. Nike Air Max 1 2021 . McPhee said that Ovechkins father Mikhail is in stable condition after having the surgery this week and is no longer in intensive care. "Weve told him to stay as long as necessary with your dad," he said. Ovechkin and his Russian national team were eliminated from the mens hockey tournament in Sochi on Wednesday with a 3-1 quarter-final loss to Finland. https://www.cheapairmax1store.com/ . - Blake Griffin had 30 points and 12 rebounds, J. Discount Nike Air Max 1 . Thats about all he can do right now, so hes trying not to think about when he might be able to play again for the Los Angeles Lakers. Nike Air Max 1 2020 . -- Three close looks at the bucket, three misses. In a week in which there has been mild consternation in Australia about the state of the Galle surface, Angelo Mathews has made no apologies about what the visitors can expect at the SSC: It will turn again, he said - get used to it.With the islands ground curators directly employed by the board, Sri Lanka has long catered pitches to the teams needs. Against India last year, surfaces at the P Sara Oval and the SSC had seam and bounce, as it was hoped those qualities would enhance Sri Lankas chances of winning (as it happened, India won both matches).Against teams from further afield, and particularly Australia, tracks are made to spin, spin, spin.Australias cricketers have focused almost solely on their own performances. But it is clear that reports in the Australian press about pitch doctoring in Galle, have prompted indignation within the Sri Lankan team.We had to work really hard to win those two games, Mathews said. We played better cricket than them. Im hearing that the Aussies have not played good cricket, and the wickets were poor - I mean, come on, youve got to grow up. We play on the same wicket. Theyve got spinners and weve got spinners. Theyve fought really hard, but its just that our spinners have bowled extremely well. Our spinners have exploited the conditions and bowled better than them. Credit should go to the whole team, the way theyve worked extremely hard.Home-team advantage appears to be increasingly sought in Test cricket. Over the past two years, Sri Lanka has played on pitches in Christchurch and Hamilton that were so thickly layered in grass, they were almost indistinguishable from the remainder of the square. The pitch at Headingley, in May, had been another green top. And often forced to tour temperate climates in their early summer (thanks largely to economic considerations), Sri Lanka have also been made to play in the colder foreign venues, like Dunedin, Leeds and Chester-le-Street, to cite three examples from the past eight months.The SSC surface has lately ceased to be the wellspring of runs it has been in the past, and on the eve of the Test, appears at least as dry as the pitch at Galle. Sri Lanka have already confirmed their triple-spin attack - with allrounder Dhananjaya de Silvas offspin in support - will be set loose in the third Test as well.Its going to be a turner once again, Mathews said. SSC has traditionally been a very good, batting-friendly wicket. But in the last few games against South Africa and Pakistan, it did take a lot of turn. We hope that it will take a loot of turn again from day one, and we hope that it will be a spinners paradise.ddddddddddddn the batting front, the series win - and possibly some good catching - has bought openers Kaushal Silva and Dimuth Karunaratne another opportunity. Sri Lanka has recently become the most difficult country in the world to score runs as an opener, but Sri Lankas incumbent pair has nevertheless fallen short of the teams expectations. So far in this series, neither Silva nor Karunaratne has scored more than seven, in four innings apiece. Still, given their history of better performances overseas, Mathews said he and the selectors would grant them another chance.What the management and selectors think is that we can give opportunities to players who we believe can deliver, Mathews said. When it was tough in England, Kaushal fought really hard and showed his character. After two games, we dont want to throw a character like him away.Dimuth didnt score runs in England, but he had got a big hundred in New Zealand and he showed his character there as well. Hopefully, he can deliver and everyone will get through that rough patch.Dhananjaya de Silva had been one of the standout openers in first-class cricket this year, but as he is already settling in at No. 7, no other obvious opening candidates have presented themselves either. Mathews said the decision to retain Silva and Karunaratne had been made with a view to forthcoming foreign tours as well.If we have guys who have scored heavily outside the team, we can consider replacing the openers - but that has not happened, Mathews said. We have got to keep in mind that the South African series is coming in a few months time. We believe that this set of players can go to South Africa and do well. They are talented, and if they are given opportunities, they can come good.Mathews now has the opportunity to effect perhaps the most high-profile 3-0 whitewash for any Sri Lanka captain. They have three other 3-0 results, but those came against weaker Zimbabwe and Bangladesh teams, and a modest West Indies outfit propped up by mountains of Brian Lara runs. A whitewash against the worlds top-ranked team will likely be remembered fondly for years to come.We are extremely excited at the prospect, Mathews said. Weve trained harder than we had over the past two weeks, because we want to win it 3-0. Everyone is all geared up, and we havent taken the foot off the gas. ' ' '


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