Forums » Suggestions
addition to Bonino,
-
MANCHESTER, England -- Manchester United ruined Luis Suarezs long-awaited return from a 10-match ban for biting by beating Liverpool 1-0 in the third round of the League Cup on Wednesday, relieving some early-season pressure on manager David Moyes. Larry Jordan Jersey Store . Javier Hernandez showed a poachers instinct to volley home deftly 39 seconds into the second half, as United advanced despite fielding a largely second-string team against its fierce rival at Old Trafford. Suarez hogged the limelight on his return to club football five months after biting Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic in a Premier League game and he came closest to equalizing for Liverpool, curling a free kick against the crossbar. "I thought he was excellent, considering hed been out for such a long time," Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers said. "He ran himself into the ground. As he goes on, he will get sharper." Swanseas defence of the trophy ended in abject fashion by losing 3-1 at second-tier Birmingham, while Arsenal beat West Bromwich 4-3 on penalties after the match was deadlocked 1-1 after 90 minutes to set up a fourth-round match at home to Chelsea. There were also wins for Premier League teams Newcastle and Stoke. Beating Liverpool was a huge result for Moyes, who had come under fire after presiding over Uniteds worst start to a league campaign in nine years in his first season in charge after taking over from Alex Ferguson. Only three days ago, the champions had been thrashed 4-1 by neighbour Manchester City. "I think what was important (was) that the whole club showed we were hurt by the game on Sunday, and the players have gone out and done a great job," Moyes said. "Ive said I will fix it and turn it around, and I will do." With no European football this season, Liverpool is left with just two trophies to play for and will rue that its full-strength lineup missed a great chance to beat a weakened United for a second time this season, having already won 1-0 in the league on Sept. 1. An already high-profile match was given a further edge by the comeback of Suarez, who played a World Cup qualifier for Uruguay as recently as two weeks ago but hadnt worn a Liverpool shirt for a competitive match since April 21 -- when he sunk his teeth into Ivanovics upper arm. In those five months, his relationship with the club had been severely tested after he accused Liverpools hierarchy of breaking an agreement to sell him if it failed to qualify for the Champions League. Liverpool turned down two bids from Arsenal for Suarez over the summer. He was nevertheless well-received by Liverpools travelling support at Old Trafford, although his reception from the home fans was typically hostile having been banned for eight matches in 2011 for repeatedly racially abusing United defender Patrice Evra during a league match. With Liverpool changing formation to a 3-5-2, he played up front with Daniel Sturridge, with the pair initially posing problems on the counter-attack. Suarez miscontrolled when he could have run through on goal and Sturridge toe-poked wide after getting half a yard on his marker. United was poor in possession in the first half but when Jose Enrique lost Hernandez at a corner soon after the break, the Mexico striker leapt to guide home an impudent volley from inside the six-yard box, provoking an air-punching celebration from Moyes. Suarez shot into the side netting in the 70th, then sent a free kick crashing against the bar two minutes later as United held off a strong finish by Liverpool, a record eight-time winner of the competition. "It was a massive turnaround (from the weekend), especially with players who havent played a lot of games this season," United defender Chris Smalling said. "There was a lot of doubt after the weekend so we had to go out and get a performance and we did." Swansea conceded three times in 24 second-half minutes at St. Andrews to exit the competition it won last season for a first major title in the clubs history. Wilfried Bony grabbed a late consolation for the Welsh club. Nacho Monreal scored the winning penalty for a weakened Arsenal team at The Hawthorns after Craig Dawson and Morgan Amalfitano missed the target from 12 yards for West Brom earlier in the shootout. Thomas Eisfeld put Arsenal ahead in regulation time, scoring in the 61st minute after running onto a pass from striker Nicklas Bendtner, who was making his first start for Arsenal since August 2011. Saido Berahino sent the game into extra time by equalizing 10 minutes later. Papiss Cisse scored his first goal since April in Newcastles 2-0 home win over Leeds, while Stephen Ireland and Peter Crouch were on target for Stoke in a 2-0 victory at Tranmere. Cosmo Iacavazzi Jersey Store . In the last race before the Sochi Olympics, Bjoergen followed up her win in the 10-kilometre classical race on Saturday by beating World Cup sprint leader Denise Herrmann of Germany by 0.43 seconds for her fifth victory of the season. John Shonk Jersey Store . I kept my eyes focused up on the camera during each approach. I just tried to stay focused on my form, as I didnt know what the ball reaction was. I was quite emotional at the end. I did not actually see any of the shots in the game until I got home and watched the video.The Freeway Series is set to make its NHL playoff debut on Saturday, as the Anaheim Ducks host the Los Angeles Kings in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals. Watch the game on TSN at 7:30pm et/4:30pm pt. The new format unveiled for the 2014 playoffs was designed to force more geographical rivalries in the first few rounds. It certainly has paid off with this matchup, as these two Southern California rivals get set to meet in the postseason for the first time. The Ducks and Kings are shining examples of Gary Bettmans dream that hockey could work on the West Coast. The Kings entered the league as an original expansion club in 1967-68 -- well before Bettmans tenure as commissioner -- but Anaheim, an expansion club in 1993-94, broke through first with a Stanley Cup title in 2007. L.A., of course, was able to join the same club by winning a Cup as an eighth seed in the spring of 2012. Anaheim, the top seed in the West, finished 16 points ahead of Los Angeles in the Pacific Division standings this season and holds home-ice advantage at the start of this best-of-seven set. The Ducks also will host Game 2 on Monday before the series shifts to Los Angeles for Games 3 and 4. The Ducks went 4-0-1 against the Kings during the regular-season series, but a 3-0 win by Anaheim in L.A. on Jan. 25 marked the only encounter that was decided by more than one goal. The Kings enter this second-round series only days after earning a slice of NHL history by combing back from a 3-0 series deficit to eliminate the San Jose Sharks. Los Angeles completed the monumental comeback with its fourth straight win over the Sharks on Wednesday, taking the series with a 5-1 rout in San Jose. L.A. joined the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs, 1975 New York Islanders and 2010 Philadelphia Flyers as the only teams to pull off the monumental comeback. After winning the franchises first Stanley Cup in 2012 and making it to the Western Conference finals last season, the Kings were already on the rest of the leagues radar before the comeback, but the rally against San Jose is another reminder how dangerous this team L.A. can be. Despite dropping the first two games in San Jose by a combined score of 13-5 and losing a home Game 3 in overtime, the Kings came back from the brink of elimination to survive and advance. "It was a result of us staying together as a group of guys. When youve gone to the top of the mountain with the same group of guys its a little bit easier when youre at the bottom to come up," Kings captain Dustin Brown said. L.A. was the top defensive team in the league during the regular season, allowing an average of 2.05 goals per game. After getting torched for 17 goals in losing the first three games against San Jose, the Kings righted themselves and allowed the Sharks to score just five times the rest of the way. By the end of the series even the Kings offense was rolling. L.A. outscored the Sharks 12-2 over the final three games. The historic comeback was a total team effort, but it may not have been possible without Jonathan Quicks play in the crease. The 2012 Conn Smythe winner posted a save percentage of .963 over the final four games against San Jose and that number jumps to .979 over the last three contests. Over 57 career postseason games, the 28-year-old Quick boasts a 2.15 GAA and .927 save percentaage. Alfred Malone Jersey Store. Including eight shutouts, the American netminder has held the opposition to one goal or less 21 times during his standout playoff career. While Quick is the clear-cut No. 1 in the L.A. crease, the Ducks situation between the pipes is murky to say the least. Anaheim head coach Bruce Boudreau made the controversial decision to go with rookie Frederik Andersen at the start of the clubs first-round series against Dallas, but veteran backstop Jonas Hiller was in the crease when the Ducks finally clinched in Game 6. Hiller will start in Game 1 against the Kings. While Andersen started all six games in Round 1, Hiller was called upon to replace the 24-year-old on two occasions, including the Game 6 comeback win. Andersen was pulled after allowing four goals on 12 shots in that final game and Hiller stopped all 12 shots he faced to earn the series-clinching victory. Hiller is 11-10 with a 2.24 goals against average and .936 save percentage in 22 career playoff appearances. Andersen went 3-2 with a 3.40 GAA and .892 save percentage against the Stars in a rough introduction to the NHL postseason. The Ducks almost were pushed to a decisive seventh game by Dallas if not for a furious comeback to win a road Game 6 in overtime. The Stars led 4-2 heading into third period before Anaheim scored twice in the final 2:10 of regulation and winning it 5-4 early in overtime. Nick Bonino scored two of the games final three goals to help the Ducks pull off the comeback. Bonino tied for the team lead with three goals in Round 1, but Anaheims best player in the series was Hart Trophy finalist Ryan Getzlaf. The star centerman notched three goals and four assists against the Stars despite missing Game 4 due to a lower-body injury. Getzlaf returned to the lineup in Game 5 no worse for wear and helped spark a 6-2 rout with a one-goal, two-assist performance. Getzlafs linemate Corey Perry also had a solid first round, notching two goals and five assists to match his centerman for the team scoring lead in Round 1. All told, the Ducks spread out the goal-scoring against the Stars with 13 different players hitting the net. In addition to Bonino, Getzlaf and Perry, forwards Mathieu Perreault and Devante Smith-Pelly also added multiple goals with two markers apiece. Perreault missed Game 6 with a lower-body injury and is questionable for the opener of this series. Boudreau also created a minor firestorm when he made future Hall of Famer Teemu Selanne a healthy scratch in Game 4. The move may have paid off, however, as the 43-year-old Finn, who is expected to retire after this season, posted two assists in Game 6 after notching just one helper over his first four games of the series. Brown, Jeff Carter, Anze Kopitar and Tyler Toffoli combined to score all seven goals for L.A. in the 2013-14 season series with the Ducks. Kopitar led the way with three markers and Brown added two. Perry paced the Ducks with two goals and two assists in the season series, but Getzlaf only had a goal and an assist over five games. Both of Boudreaus goaltending options fared well against L.A. this season, with Andersen going 3-0 with a 1.62 GAA and Hiller posting a sparkling 0.96 GAA to go with a 1-0-1 record. Quick was 0-2-1 with a 2.30 GAA in three games for the Kings. ' ' '