BRASILIA, Brazil -- Starved of the World Cup action for 16 years, Colombia -- and its fanatical travelling supporters -- are certainly making the most of
being back on footballs biggest stage.
Maicon Brazil Jersey . Driven on by a partisan pro-Colombian crowd that turned the Estadio Nacional into a sea of
yellow, the South Americans scored through James Rodriguez and substitute Juan
Quintero in a devastating six-minute spell in the second half to beat Ivory
Coast 2-1 on Thursday. A second victory in Group C, following a 3-0 win over
Greece, leaves Colombia on the verge of qualifying for a place in the last 16.
Since 1998, every team that has earned six points in the group stage has
advanced. "We have had two wins with players who are playing their first World
Cup," Colombia coach Jose Pekerman said. "Were happy to have defeated such a
good opponent. We have a lot of young players, and this is going to help them
grow." Known for his midfield artistry, playmaker Rodriguez showed his prowess
in the air by getting clear of Ivory Coast captain Didier Drogba -- again only
used as a substitute -- at a corner to head in Colombias opener in the 64th
minute, lighting up a disappointing match. The celebrations had hardly died down
among the vast hordes of Colombia supporters by the time a defensive mistake by
Ivory Coast midfielder Serey Die allowed Teofilo Gutierrez to play in Quintero,
and the midfielder slotted home a low finish. Ivory Coast replied with a
brilliant 73rd-minute solo goal by Gervinho, his second of the World Cup, but
couldnt find a second despite a strong finish. The Ivorians remain on three
points after their 2-1 opening win over Japan. Instead of Radamel Falcao, the
countrys star striker who was ruled out through injury before the tournament,
the most important factor in Colombias march through the group stage has
arguably been its amazing support. With supporters wearing yellow shirts
dominating the stadium, it was effectively an away game for the Ivorians. "It
was extraordinary," Rodriguez said, "it was very much in our favour that
Colombia could win." The crowd roared with relief at the final whistle, with
Drogbas introduction in the 60th minute helping pep up Ivory Coasts attack that
had previously looked rudderless with Wilfried Bony as the lone striker. "I must
say that we didnt deserve to lose," Ivory Coast coach Sabri Lamouchi said. "It
was very experienced Colombia team who waited for us to make mistakes." The
Ivorians may still need to beat Greece in their last group game to reach the
knockout stage for the first time at a World Cup. Drogba may now start that
match but Lamouchi will also be looking for more from the squads top player,
Yaya Toure, who seems like a shadow of the player who starred for Manchester
City in the English Premier League last season. There was no mistaking the
passion of the Ivory Coast lineup -- Die was in tears during the national anthem
-- but the teams undoubted attacking quality has been lacking so far at this
World Cup and Colombia looked more threatening going forward. The best chance of
a cagey first half was spurned by Gutierrez, who miscued a volley with the goal
at his mercy after being perfectly set up by Rodriguezs left-wing cross in the
28th. Otherwise, the highlight of the first 45 minutes came when a large
inflatable ball bounced onto the playing surface, causing a brief stoppage.
Tricky winger Juan Cuadrado struck the bar with a fierce, angled shot before
teammate Rodriguez, named man of the match, broke the deadlock with the kind of
header that Drogba -- the player supposed to be marking the Monaco playmaker --
has been used to delivering. Quinteros side-footed finish gave Colombia
breathing space, meaning that Gervinhos goal -- he jinked through two defenders,
beat another and shot inside goalkeeper David Ospinas near post -- proved to be
just a consolation.
Casemiro Jersey . - Henrik Samuelsson and Curtis Lazar each had two goals and two assists as the Edmonton Oil Kings
secured top spot in the Eastern Conference by defeating the host Red Deer Rebels
7-4 on Saturday in Western Hockey League action.
Renato Augusto Brazil Jersey . Mako Vunipola was promoted from the reserves, with Matt Mullan called up to the bench on
Thursday. "It is important that Joe is with his partner at this exciting time,"
England coach Stuart Lancaster said.MIAMI -- History would suggest they did
everything right. Oops. Since LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh teamed up
for the "Big 3" era with the Miami Heat, there had been some absolute truths
when it came to their home playoff games. When they shot at least 48 per cent,
they were 18-0. When they made at least 10 shots from 3-point range, they were
12-0. And in this post-season, they were a perfect 8-0 in their building. No
more. On any count. No Miami miracle this time, either. A blowout got
interesting for a few minutes, but in the end, it wound up as a blowout -- and
the road to a third straight NBA championship for the Heat got considerably
tougher. Down by a staggering 25 points at one point in the first half, the Heat
whittled their way within single digits. But they never got all that close to
the San Antonio Spurs and wound up falling 111-92 in Game 3 of the NBA Finals on
Tuesday night. The Spurs lead the series 2-1, and need only to hold serve at
home to end Miamis reign as NBA champions. "What it feels like is the finals,"
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "And you have to deal with all the emotions
there are in the finals -- frustration, anger, pain, elation, all of it, and it
can swing back and forth. Its a long series. We have to be able to manage this
and it starts with tomorrow, owning it. Thatll be the process we all have to go
through together." James and Wade each scored 22 points, Bosh didnt miss a shot,
they connected on 52 per cent of their tries from the floor, and they still got
drilled. Rashard Lewis scored 14, Ray Allen had 11 and Bosh had only nine --
getting just four shots in 34 minutes. "We will get better from tonight," James
said. "We hate the performance that we put on. But its 2-1. Its not 4-1. Its
2-1, and we have to make some adjustments, come in and learn from our mistakes
as we always do after a loss." So far, these finals are just like the 2013
version: Spurs win Game 1. Heat win Game 2. Spurs blow Heat out in Game 3. Only
this time, Miami doesnt have the luxury of potentially having a Game 7 at home.
"We have to take this one oon the chin," Bosh said.
Everton Ribeiro Brazil Jersey. "We are kidding ourselves if were going to win a championship with that kind of effort,
home or away." Kawhi Leonard led the Spurs with 29 points. Danny Green and
Tony Parker each scored 15 for San Antonio and Tim Duncan added 14 for the
Spurs. The signs of trouble for the Heat were obvious from the get-go. James had
14 points in the early going, and Miami was still down by seven. The Heat gave
up 41 points in the first quarter, defence nowhere to be found. At one point in
the second quarter, it was Spurs 55, Heat 30. That matched the largest deficit
Miami has faced at home at any point in the Big 3 era, tied only with the
25-point lead Oklahoma City held over the Heat during this regular season. The
numbers were absurd. Out of San Antonios first 21 shots, the Spurs missed two.
Yes, two. They were shooting 91 per cent for the game at one point in the second
quarter. They made 11 straight shots in one stretch. They had the best-shooting
first half by any NBA team since ... well, them, more than three years ago
against Detroit. "That will never happen again," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich
said. "I mean, thats crazy." Predictably, the Heat locker room was not the
worlds happiest place at halftime, with Miami down 71-50. "We had every
conversation," Allen said. "We yelled at each other. We encouraged each other.
We went through a range of emotions trying to find a spark." A spark, they
found. But they needed an inferno. Miami got within seven in the second half,
and the 19,900 white-clad fans in the building had to be thinking of the
ridiculous finals comeback last season against the Spurs. The Heat were down by
five with 28.2 seconds left in Game 6, then rallied to not just save the game,
but save their title hopes. "We knew they were going to make a run," Duncan
said. Thats all it was, just a run. The outcome was never really in doubt. And
the building was just about empty when the final buzzer sounded. "Little
frustration," Wade said. "But thats the nature of the playoffs. Its not always
good."
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