01-17-2020, 06:34 AM
HARRISON, N.J. -- Maximiliano Urruti scored in each half to rally Portland to a 2-1 victory over the New York Red Bulls on Saturday night, extending the Timbers unbeaten streak to five with only their second win of the season. Urruti tied it just before halftime and added the winner in the 74th to help Portland improve to 2-3-7 and move out of last place in Major League Soccers Western Conference. The Red Bulls (3-5-5) have lost three straight and two in a row at home. The win was the first for Portland in five meetings between the clubs. The Timbers only other victory this season came May 3 at home, 3-2 over D.C. United. After Bradley Wright-Phillips put New York ahead in the 36th, Urruti scored his fourth and fifth goals to lead Portland. "If youve seen us play this season, we wait until we get punched before we react," Timbers goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts said. "It was a nice response from the team." With less than a minute remaining in the first half, Steve Zakuani sent a simple pass to Urruti just outside the penalty area. The Argentine, who joined Portland in September, had time and space to turn and hit a shot that deflected off of New York defender Armandos shoulder and skip past keeper Luis Robles. "The first goal was key because we were kind of spread out throughout the pitch," Urruti said through a translator. "It kind of brought us back together again. It was good. We had to go into the locker room and come out more aggressive in the second half." Urruti added the winner when Jorge Villafanas cross through the 6-yard box deflected off Armando and bounced to the far corner of the goal area. Urruti ran in and drove the free ball into the far side netting. "Ive been getting used to the league. Getting more minutes has been key," Urruti said. "Getting more playing time being on the pitch, thats been moulding me into the player that Ive become and moulding me to the league itself." The Red Bulls started quickly, getting an Eric Alexander header from the edge of the six that went just high in the third minute. Wright-Phillips hit the inside of the right post from the middle of the penalty area six minutes later but the ball caromed back into the area. Wright-Phillips had a second chance seconds later when he put in a rebound of teammate Lloyd Sams shot, but he was offside. "Ive been in this league long enough, and Ive been through a hell of a lot longer and worse spells than were in right now," Red Bulls coach Mike Petke said. "Part of its mental. We did enough to win this game. It just didnt fall." Wright-Phillips put New York ahead in the 36th converting a penalty kick after Pa Mouda Kah was called for bringing down Lloyd Sam. Sam took a pass from Thierry Henry on the edge of the six and, with Kah on his back, the two jostled. Kah fell backward, pulling Sam on top of him. It was Wright-Phillips 10th of the season, giving him a share of the league lead with Kansas Citys Dom Dwyer. Len Dawson Jersey . Im very excited about the playoffs, particularly in the Western Conference with amazing match-ups, as well as the wonderful local story in the Toronto Raptors. It should be a blast. Here are my predictions, but based upon my lousy prognostications during the NCAA Tournament, you might be better off going the other way on some of mine - particularly with the Raptors, who I hope and pray are able to win an incredibly difficult match-up. Stefen Wisniewski Jersey . Next years tournament is also within sight for Bosnia-Herzegovina, which has never played in a World Cup, but Cristiano Ronaldo looks destined for the playoffs with Portugal after a night when the qualifying picture in the nine groups became much clearer. http://www.customchiefsjersey.com/custom...-916n.html .com) - The Winnipeg Jets got over one hurdle by snapping their longest losing streak of the season. Lloyd Burrus Jersey . PETERSBURG, Fla. Demarcus Robinson Jersey . He managed to save par, and went on to put together his best opening round of the year. Calcavecchia and Wes Short Jr. SHEFFIELD, England -- Italys Vincenzo Nibali displayed his riding smarts at the Tour de France, winning Stage 2 on Sunday and taking the yellow jersey after a well-choreographed attack on rivals in the postindustrial English city known for "The Full Monty." The Astana team leader nicknamed "The Shark" for his road savvy took the final lead in a cycling dance of sorts with other title hopefuls, who took turns in front in the last stretch through a sea of fans from York to Sheffield. Nibali perhaps had more at stake: The 29-year-old rider has won the Italian Giro and Spains Vuelta, but has never captured cyclings showcase event. The victory on Sunday gave him both his first Tour stage win and yellow jersey, and sent a message that he could contend to take it home from Paris in three weeks. With less than two kilometres left, Nibali escaped a 21-man breakaway bunch at the end of the 201-kilometre course over nine heath-covered hills of Yorkshire, and held off their late surge. England is hosting the first three Tour stages this year. GERMAN LOSES YELLOW JERSEY Marcel Kittel, a powerful German sprinter who often struggles on climbs, trailed nearly 20 minutes back and lost the yellow jersey that he had captured by winning Stage 1. While the Italian won the fight to the line, under the shadow of a black Sheffield Forgemasters tower, defending champion Chris Froome of Britain and two-time winner Alberto Contador of Spain are focusing more on the overall race -- which ends July 27 on Paris Champs-Elysees. Overall, Nibali leads 20 other riders by two seconds, including Froome in fifth place and Contador in eighth. A six-man breakaway bunch tried its chances early, but got swallowed up by the pack with less than 40 kilometres left. Then, the big race stars moved to the front, splitting the pack. Contador, Froome, and Americans Andrew Talansky and Tejay van Garderen all spent time at the front. At times, they mustered bursts of speed or zipped across with width of the road in tactical manoeuvrs. "In the finale, a lot of contenders were making moves: Nibali ended up taking two seconds on us," Froome said. "Its not a big margin. For me, it was about staying out of trouble to stay at the front, and avoiding any major issues or splits. "Im tired, but I hope everyones tired after a day like today." TIME TO WORK, ASTANA Dave Brailsford,, boss of Froomes Team Sky, said the leaders actually "were all hesitant, because nobody wanted the jersey.dddddddddddd" In the cycling playbook, the yellow shirt brings both glory and responsibility. Brailsford said: "Astana will have to now defend it, which is pretty good for anybody else. "Perfect. Theyve got to work." Nibali didnt dare claim he might keep it all the way to Paris, saying "the Tour de France doesnt stop here: We have three weeks to go, and very tough and tricky stages lie ahead." Mondays stage should be a far less grueling ride: Riders cover 155 kilometres from Cambridge to London, where the pack will finish on the Mall not far from Big Ben and Westminster Abbey. CROWDS FOR A CLASSIC STAGE The course Sunday resembled that of historic one-day races known as "classics," which often feature hilly terrain. Michael Rodgers, an Australian on Contadors Tinkoff-Saxo Bank team, called it "a bit of a special stage, like the Amstel Gold Race, but with 20 times the people." New roads for cyclings greatest race also mean new audiences, some of whom are so enthusiastic and eager for a selfie with the pack that they might not realize the hazards of getting too close to the riders as they go by. Untold thousands turned out just hours after one of the biggest British stars in the race, Mark Cavendish, dropped out because of pain from a separated right shoulder sustained in a crash Saturday. "There are thousands and thousands of people. Its great but its also dangerous," Contador said. Race officials say millions of fans have flooded the course route in just the first two stages. While Yorkshire doesnt have ascents on a par with the Alps or Pyrenees in France, riders faced nine low- to mid-grade climbs. The hardest was the Holme Moss pass. The steepest was also the shortest: The 800-meter Jenkin Road pass had an average gradient of 10.8 per cent. Several riders crashed. Simon Gerrans, who went down with Cavendish in Saturdays stage, also spilled -- as did van Garderen and Joachim Rodriguez, the third-place finisher in the 2013 Tour. All recovered to finish the stage. On the up-and-down, picturesque course, the 197-rider peloton scaled a narrow, cobblestone hill in Haworth, where the Bronte sisters -- the famed 19th-century novelists -- lived when their father was parson in the town. ' ' '
