SEATTLE - Kekuta Manneh took advantage of his own injury to score the only goal the Vancouver Whitecaps needed on Friday.
[b]Wholesale Flames Jerseys[/b] .After a collision near the end of the first half, Manneh left the field to receive treatment on a bruised quad, but promptly returned, slipping a close-range shot under Seattle goalkeeper Stefan Frei en route to a 1-0 Whitecaps win over the Sounders.I felt like I had a chance to go to score a goal, Manneh said. I was still in pain, but I had to go take the chance.Vancouver (11-8-13) won its third straight game and jumped a point ahead of Portland for the fifth and final Western Conference berth. Both teams have two games remaining.The Sounders (19-10-3) remained tied with Los Angeles atop the overall MLS standings. The Galaxy visit FC Dallas on Sunday, then will face Seattle in a home-and-home series.Mannehs goal, off a long pass from Pedro Morales, was the last action of the first half.After scoring, the Whitecaps striker abruptly pulled up, waving off his teammates attempts to celebrate with him, and limped away from the scene clutching his left hip.He sat out the rest of the game with a contusion in his quadriceps, exacerbated by a sudden sprint on the goal so soon after his initial injury. After the match Manneh said he felt that he would be able to play in the Whitecaps next game next week.The Sounders defenders said they were surprised referee Jair Marrufo allowed Manneh back onto the field in a counterattacking situation. They felt it gave Vancouver an unfair advantage, as Seattles Jalil Anibaba and Chad Marshall were left alone to defend.We were all under the impression that Manneh was still off the field, Anibaba said. The next thing we knew, he has the ball and hes running in on goal.Evans, who strayed from his usual position because he thought his direct opponent was off the field, said Marrufo should have waited until the play finished to allow Manneh back on.When were pushing forward, theres always the risk of a counterattack, Evans said. The referee has to wait until the play is done.One year and one day before this match, Manneh scored a hat trick as Vancouver shocked Seattle, 4-1. At the time, Manneh was a relatively unknown 18-year-old who turned in a breakout performance in one of the most hostile away environments in the league.Manneh said he remembered that night as he stepped onto the pitch at CenturyLink Field again 366 days later.I had a good feeling. It definitely gave me a lot of confidence coming into this game, Manneh said. Everybody was like, You did it last year. Why not again this year? Everybody believed in me in the locker-room, and I can see the support from the coaching staff and the senior players.Vancouver travels to San Jose Oct. 18 before finishing the regular season at home Oct. 25 against the Colorado Rapids.Whitecaps head coach Carl Robinson said that if his team wins its own matches, it shouldnt matter what the schedules are or what Portland does.(The win) puts us in a decent position, he said. If we take care of our business, then well get to where we (want to) go. If we dont, we dont deserve to be there. Its irrelevant about what Portland do; weve got to take care of our business.The win was Vancouvers first on the road in 10 attempts, since a 4-3 victory against the chasing Timbers on June 1. The Whitecaps also locked up the Cascadia Cup competition held annually among Seattle, Vancouver and Portland.Vancouver punctuated the win with a series of clearances under pressure as the clock wound down, including a ball headed off the goal-line by Kendall Watson in stoppage time.As the final whistle blew, Vancouvers players jumped off the bench and punched the air jubilantly, rushing onto the field to hug their teammates. Boos rained down from the stands, except from a small patch of Vancouver supporters in the upper deck who made the three-hour drive south.Not many people gave us the opportunity and believed that we could win, but I did, 1,250 (travelling) fans did and the group did, which was the most important thing, Robinson said. Its all down to the players today, and I give them all the credit.
[b]Flames Jerseys China[/b] . The first of the three games will be played in Week 4, when the Oakland Raiders will take on the Miami Dolphins on Sept.
[b]Flames Jerseys 2020[/b] . Jamies number grades given are out of five, with five being the best mark. Tuukka Rask, Boston Bruins (5) – He had a brilliant game; it was a huge response for his average games before. KVITFJELL, Norway -- Erik Guay has never been a fan of skiing with pain but is showing he can adapt and overcome. The native of Mont-Tremblant, Que., captured a World Cup downhill event Saturday, his second this year and fifth career victory on the circuit. And it came on one of his favourite courses as two of his victories and four of his 22 podium finishes have come at Kvitfjell, where theres a super-G scheduled for Sunday. "There are a lot of similarities (between Norway and Quebec)," Guay said during a conference call. "When I left Quebec it was raining and warm and thats pretty much exactly what its here but it can easily be -30 C, again, a lot like Quebec. "I feel comfortable when I come here." Guay finished fourth in a downhill event Friday. The impressive showings came following a respectable 10th-place effort in the downhill at the Sochi Games. But Guay said he battled knee issues in Russia. He had knee surgery in the summer and claimed a World Cup downhill in Val Gardena, Italy, in December but didnt feel anywhere near 100 per cent in Sochi. "It (knee) affected me a lot," he said. "I have a hard time skiing through pain, I have a hard time really finding that courage, that determination to fight through it and push on the ski. "I was trying not to mention it too much in the media because I wanted to put it out of my head completely and sort of pretend and focus that it wasnt even there. You definitely have that on the brain and it was affecting me because I couldnt do a proper preparation for the Games." However, Guay said hes working on improving his mental ability to deal with injury much like teammate Jan Hudec of Calgary, who has overcome numerous ailments to succeed on the world scene. "The ideal situation is to not have that pain and I plan to deal with it in the off-season," Guay said. "Right now Im trying to work through it and I think its an important thing. "If I look at a guy like Jan Hudec, probably one of his biggest strengths is that strength and character he shows when he has those injuries. I know he skiis in a lot of pain so I like to watch those circumstances and try to emulate them. Its not always easy for me. I think when I dont feel 100 per cent its tough for me to go out and attack it but id like to think its getting better." Guay, 32, finished ahead of Frenchman Johan Clarey and Olympic champion Matthias Mayer of Austria. American Travis Ganong, who was third Friday, narrowly missed out on another podium, finishing 0.62 seconds back in fourth.
[b]Calgary Flames Pro Shop[/b]. Bode Miller, a bronze medallist in the super-G at the Sochi Olympics, was eighth. Conditions were overcast and a little foggy but unlike Fridays downhill the rain stayed away. Guay had a time of one minute 22.17 seconds, finishing 0.35 seconds ahead of Clarey -- who secured a third career podium. "Its difficult conditions, soft snow. I think you need a really well-balanced touch," Guay said. "If youre too aggressive or leaning in a little bit, its easy to lose (time)." Jeffrey Frisch of Mont-Tremblant finished 17th while Manuel Osborne-Paradis of North Vancouver, B.C., was 21st. Benjamin Thomsen of Invermere, B.C., was 43rd, finishing one spot ahead of Hudec. Other Canadians included: Conrad Pridy of Whistler, B.C., (50th), Torontos Dustin Cook (59th) and Morgan Pridy of Whistler (60th). Meanwhile, it was the best result of Clareys career. "It shows anything can happen, even late on. Better late than never," Clarey said. "Im not hugely confident at the moment and the Olympics were difficult for me to cope with mentally." Clarey had pondered retirement after the Sochi Games, where he didnt finish the downhill and was 19th in super-G. "This changes my ideas a little bit from a psychological point of view," he said. "Even though my knees still pretty banged up." Despite already having an Olympic gold medal, the 23-year-old Mayer clinched his first career podium in World Cup downhill and only his third overall. "I had a lot of things to do, with celebrating the Olympic victory back home. I hadnt much time for me to be prepared," Mayer said. "I can be happy with this result. Its very difficult to be fast here, with the soft snow its not the best conditions." Ganong finished fifth in the downhill at the Sochi Olympics. "I really thought I could (win), so I pushed a little harder and had a couple mistakes. I was able to make up a lot of time on the bottom and salvage fourth place," he said. "Its really fun skiing right now. Im having a good time and the results are coming." Olympic super-G champion Kjetil Jansrud of Norway, who tied for the win Friday with Austrian Georg Streitberger, placed fifth. "I made a couple of mistakes which I didnt think I would make," Jansrud said. "Fell on my inside ski a couple of times, I had to support myself on my hand." Overall World Cup leader Aksel Lund Svindal of Norway was tied for sixth with Switzerlands Silvan Zurbriggen. ' ' '
Find in Directory
Find in Events
Find in Marketplace