Allgemeines » Europe needs more from him and his li

TORONTO -- After going seven hours of playing time without a goal, Toronto FC players had every reason to look skyward and shake their heads as a club-record winless skid at BMO Field appeared poised to continue. But Saturdays late afternoon rain storm ended up being an inspiration rather than an insult, as the Reds scored two goals over the final seven minutes to defeat the Columbus Crew 2-1, ending a BMO Field futility mark that had extended over 16 matches and more than a year. "If we get a monsoon every last 10 minutes that would be great," Bobby Convey quipped afterwards. "The fans got into it and they got right behind the team and you saw that it gave everybody energy. "Hopefully theres more of this to come." Convey was the catalyst, setting up both goals as TFC won for the first time in seven matches, along the way snapping a goalless drought of more than 420 minutes, the worst in Major League Soccer in 2013. "To get that monkey off the back is big," said TFC head coach Ryan Nelsen. "Its something weve got to build on." Second-half substitute Andrew Wiedeman, who ironically scored the decisive goal the previous time Toronto won at BMO Field on July 18 of last year, played hero again. He lunged to get his left foot on a cross from Convey in the fourth minute of second-half stoppage time, putting it past Columbus goalkeeper Andy Gruenebaum and just inside the far post to touch off a celebration by fans and players. "It felt great," said Wiedeman, who was making just his third appearance of 2013, all off the bench. "Obviously minutes have been hard to come by. Its been kind of a roller-coaster ride of a season. "Its good to get in there, get some minutes and get a reward for it," he said of his first goal of 2013. After the final whistle, those remaining among the drenched 17,987 fans, roared their approval. Many Toronto players raised their arms skyward in celebration and hugged each other as teammates poured off the substitutes bench. Others pointed to the supporters and applauded. Just prior to Wiedemans winner in the midst of the worst of the downpour, hometown boy Jonathan Osorio tied the game with another superb finish. The rookie took a flick on from Jeremy Brockie on a play started by Convey and drilled a left-footed shot past Gruenebaum from just inside the penalty area. After the 87th minute strike, Osorios fourth of the season, he celebrated by tearing off his red jersey and waving it over his head with his teammates chasing him, earning a yellow card. "I think justice is finally served for us," Osorio said. "Weve been working hard and weve come close and finally we turned the tables today." After a solid opening quarter of an hour, Toronto (3-10-8) went down on a goal by Columbus (6-10-5) against the run of play. It was one that goalkeeper Joe Bendik would no doubt like back. Matias Sanchez sent a long diagonal ball to Dominic Oduro at the top right corner of the TFC penalty area. The Ghanaian striker had a deft first touch with his right foot before thumping a volley that skipped inside the near post in the 17th minute past a diving Bendik, who looked startled by the drive. "Its funny, goalkeepers end up bailing everybody out," said Bendik, who kept the deficit at one with two superb saves barely 60 seconds apart near the half-hour mark. "Today, the team really bailed me out." After keeping the game close in the first half, Toronto took the game to the visitors over the final 45 minutes. The Reds dominated possession and had several good scoring chances, including Steven Caldwells header off the inside of the goalpost behind a helpless Gruenebaum off a corner kick in the 90th minute. Brockie said Nelsen gave the side a stern talking-to for their play in the first half, "which was probably pretty fairly deserved. And, we came out and there was really only one team in the second half." Where To Buy Cheap Jerseys . 31, the CFL club announced Monday. The team also has yet to decide on the future of Doug Berry, who began the season as a consultant to the head coach but took over the offensive co-ordinators duties in July. Best Site Buy China Jerseys ., and Rudi Swiegers of Kipling, Sask., took sixth spot on Saturday in pairs at the NHK Trophy ISU Grand Prix figure skating competition. https://www.cheapjerseysreview.com/ . He was followed closely by David Clarkson, donning red, seconds later. Clarksons actions one night earlier, leaping off the bench in defence of Kessel during a pre-season game against the Buffalo Sabres, will cost him the first 10 games of the regular season. Cheap Jerseys Review .Y. -- Marcell Dareus and the Buffalo Bills defence made life miserable for Super Bowl MVP Joe Flacco. Cheap Jersey Website . -- In a span of seven Washington Redskins offensive plays, Justin Tuck sacked Robert Griffin III four times. TORONTO -- Most people thought that culling together players from eight different nations to comprise Team Europe would turn out to be a sideshow. Many believed that the patchwork squad would become the laughingstock of the World Cup of Hockey.That most definitely has not been the case, and now Team Europe has a chance to eliminate one of the top contenders to win this tournament when it faces Team Sweden in the semifinals on Sunday at Air Canada Centre (1 p.m. ET on ESPN and the ESPN app). Team Europe finished the round-robin portion of the tournament with a 2-1 record, including victories over Team USA and the Czech Republic, before losing to Canada.The Europeans 3-0 win over the U.S. in the opener for both teams stunned everyone in the hockey world and jump-started Europes run to the semifinals. Prior to this best-on-best tournament, no one knew what to expect from Team Europe, but its evident this team has come together both on and off the ice and is motivated to reach the finals. In its final preseason game, Team Europe trounced Sweden 6-2 and scored five goals on 22 shots against Swedish goaltender Henrik Lundqvist.Now that the Europeans believe in themselves, theyll be even tougher to eliminate. Coach Ralph Krueger has pushed all the right buttons and Team Europe is poised to win. Sweden (2-0-1) is still considered a strong favorite, however. The Swedes defeated Russia and Finland, but dropped a 4-3 overtime decision to Team North America.Best playersSweden: Without a doubt, Lundqvist has been Swedens best player. Despite missing the first game of this tournament against Russia because of the flu, he has been outstanding the past two games and has proven why he should still be considered a world-class goalie. He has made a total of 81 saves on 85 shots the past two games, and will need to continue to stand on his head against Team Europe if Sweden is to advance to the finals. This tournament is likely the last time Lundqvist, 34, will represent his country in international competition. Hes proud of his international success and wants to end it with a World Cup of Hockey championship.ddddddddddddEurope: Its tough to single out one player on this roster. The reason this team reached the semifinals is because it believes in the team concept. In order for Europe to advance, forward Mats Zuccarello needs to produce. He has one goal and two assists for three points in three games, but Europe needs more from him and his line.Matchup to watchSwedens third line of Carl Hagelin, Marcus Kruger and?Jakob Silfverberg?has been a solid, shutdown unit in this tournament. This threesome has used its speed and forechecking ability, including a little bit of grit, to slow down the oppositions top lines. That will likely be the case again against Team Europe. Expect that line to match up against Europes top unit of Marian Hossa, Anze Kopitar and Tomas Tatar.We saw how Hagelin, Kruger and Silfverberg were able to neutralize Team North Americas top line, including?Connor McDavid, after the young squad jumped out to an early lead. Sweden needs to play a more patient game than it did against Team North America. Once the Swedes settled things down and controlled the play, they held the attack for the final two periods of regulation before the loss in OT. Sweden needs to control the puck and not turn it over, which is something the team has done a few times in this tournament. Also, special teams will become a big factor in this game. Sweden uncharacteristically went 0-for-5 on the power play against Team North America. Meanwhile, Europe is 11-for-12 on the penalty kill in this tournament.PredictionPrior to the start of this tournament, many people, including me, picked Sweden to win it all. I still believe Swedens depth, ability to score, overall team defense and the fact that Lundqvist has been solid will equal a win over Team Europe and set up a three-game championship series against the winner of the Canada-Russia semifinal. I believe it will be a low-scoring game, but that Lundqvist will stand on his head once again.?Sweden wins 2-0. ' ' '