PARIS - Paris Saint-Germain narrowly avoiding a second straight defeat in a scrappy 1-1 draw at mid-table Guingamp in the French league, prompting criticism of sloppy defending at set-pieces by coach Laurent Blanc on Saturday.
[b]Anthony Bemboom Angels Jersey[/b] . Center half Alex headed home from a corner in the 87th minute after striker Mustapha Yatabare did the same three minutes earlier to give Guingamp the lead. PSG was outplayed by Guingamp for much of the match, three days after losing 2-1 at home to Montpellier in the French Cup. "Weve conceded two goals in three games from set-pieces," Blanc said. "At the moment our opponents know that they can hurt us on corners and free kicks. We always seem to have a player whos not really concentrating and loses their player. The same thing happened against Montpellier." Second-place Monaco can close the gap at the top to three points if it beats Marseille at home on Sunday. Blanc called the pitch "detestable" in the rainy conditions and said "it favoured one team (Guingamp) more than the other." However, Blanc praised Guingamp coach Jocelyn Gourvennec. "With the limited means he has, what Gourvennecs doing is incredible," Blanc said. With PSG star striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic having a rare off day, Yatabare caught the eye and rose impressively to head Guingamp in front from Rachid Aliouis corner in the 84th. "Guingamp played with a lot of heart and caused us problems on the break," PSG goalkeeper Salvatoire Sirigu said. "We knew they were very good on set-pieces. We need to think about the mistakes we made." PSG was missing captain Thiago Silva, who sat out the match with an ankle injury and was replaced at centre half by Marquinhos, who was again out of sorts after a poor match against Montpellier. After a scrappy opening to the match, Ibrahimovic tried his luck 40 metres out with an ambitious free kick that he blasted straight into the Guingamp wall, and Alioui went on a surging run and hit a powerful low shot just past the post. PSG responded quickly and Edinson Cavani came close to his 21st goal of the season when he turned sharply and his goal-bound shot hit a defenders thigh. On halftime, Alioui went close with a swerving free kick that Sirigu saved with his legs. "It was very hard to read the trajectory of the ball," Sirigu said. The ball bounced up and hit the crossbar, and it appeared that Guingamp should have got a penalty when Marquinhos grabbed Yatabare around the neck and pulled him down as he was about to pounce on the rebound. "I dont know if it was a penalty or not, theres no point talking about it," Sirigu said. Alioui continued to cause problems after the break, and his cross was headed just wide by Yatabare. Ibrahimovic managed his first shot on target in the 53rd, but his low strike was comfortably saved by Guy Ndy Assembe. PSG midfielder Javier Pastore, who had a disappointing game, was taken off midway through the second half and replaced by winger Lucas. But Guingamp continued to look the better side, forcing two corners in quick succession. The match between Toulouse and Bastia was postponed because of the local rivers rising water levels. Toulouses stadium is on an island and the citys prefect has banned any access due to the threat from the Garonne River, the French league said in a statement. No new date has been set. Also, it was: Ajaccio 1, Sochaux 1; Montpellier 3, Nice 1; Nantes 0, Reims 0; and Valenciennes 1, Lorient 1. In Sundays other games, Bordeaux hosts Saint-Etienne and resurgent Lyon faces Evian. Third-place Lille was held to 1-1 by struggling Rennes on Friday.
[b]Matt Thaiss Angels Jersey[/b] . -- Orleans Darkwa ran in from 1 yard with 1:45 left, and the Miami Dolphins rallied from two scores down in the final minutes to beat the Dallas Cowboys 25-20 on Saturday night.
[b]Joe Garagiola Angels Jersey[/b] . But qualifying for her first Scotties Tournament of Hearts after years of falling short in tough Manitoba provincial championships is as good as consolation prizes get for the 29-year-old from Winnipegs Fort Rouge Curling Club.BOSTON -- The Boston Bruins forechecked aggressively, cleared the puck easily and dominated the Washington Capitals. Tuukka Rask got the 22nd shutout of his career -- probably one of the easiest -- Gregory Campbell and Loui Eriksson scored second-period goals and the Bruins shut down the Capitals 3-0 on Thursday night. "We did a great job of getting on them quickly and not giving them opportunities to make too many plays," Bruins coach Claude Julien said. For the second straight night, the Capitals managed just eight shots in the first two periods, not the kind of offence they need as they try to move into the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. So where do they go after being outshot 43-16 by the Bruins? "Up. You cant get much lower than that, I guess," Capitals defenceman Karl Alzner said. "The killer instinct isnt there right now and it needs to be there because we are running out of time." Washington is one point out of the eighth playoff spot with 18 games left. Boston finished the scoring on Brad Marchands empty-net goal with 1:34 left and moved one point behind Eastern Conference-leading Pittsburgh, which played at San Jose. Rasks NHL-leading sixth shutout of the season came just five days after the Capitals beat him 4-2, also in Boston. But since then Washington is 0-3 and Boston is 3-0. Rask was 0-3-3 against the Capitals in his career, but was rarely challenged on Thursday. Boston didnt even have to worry about Washingtons power play, the second best in the NHL. No penalties were called in the game. "Youre kind of afraid of those guys when they get a power play because theyve got so much firepower and they are so disciplined," Rask said. Capitals goalie Braden Holtby played well but suffered his first loss against the Bruins after winning the first four matchups of his career. "It was frustrating, but its no more frustrating to me than it is to the other guys in the room," Holtby said. "A goalie cant rely on offence. You have no control over that. You control your game and what you can contribute to the team.
[b]Trevor Cahill Angels Jersey[/b]. " Washington has lost all its games since beating Boston on Saturday for its fourth straight win. It lost to Philadelphia twice, 5-4 in overtime then 6-4 on Wednesday night, before getting blanked by Boston. "We talked about that before the game, how theyre probably going to be a little tired and we need to take advantage of that," Bruins defenceman Matt Bartkowski said. "I think we did a good job of it." Campbell gave the Bruins a 1-0 lead at 3:05 of the second period when he tipped in Patrice Bergerons shot. Bergeron fired the puck from the top of the left circle and Campbell, standing just to the right of Holtby, deflected it in for his seventh goal of the season and fourth in four games. Eriksson got his seventh at 8:20 after missing one game with an infected heel that he said he sustained at the Winter Olympics in Russia where he played for Sweden. Carl Soderberg passed the puck from behind the net to Eriksson, whose short shot from the left side beat Holtby. That was more than enough for the Bruins, who gave the Capitals little room to operate. "They played last night," Julien said. "It was important for us to get on them physically and make them throw pucks away and guys did a great job." Alex Ovechkin, who leads the NHL with 44 goals, had just one shot after scoring two power-play goals on nine shots in Washingtons win in Boston last Saturday. The Capitals took 31 shots in that game, while Holtby stopped 36 of the Bruins 38 shots. NOTES: Washington D Cameron Schilling played after being recalled from Hershey of the AHL on Wednesday. ... Boston D Andrej Meszaros and Corey Potter were healthy scratches one day after being acquired. Meszaros came in a trade with Philadelphia and Potter was claimed on waivers from Edmonton. ... Mark Recchi, a forward on the Bruins team that won the 2011 Stanley Cup, dropped the ceremonial first puck. ... Rask played in his 46th game, a new season high. ... G Jaroslav Halak, obtained from Buffalo on Wednesday, did not play for Washington. ' ' '
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