Welcome Guest [Log In] [Register]
Add Reply
ns in
Topic Started: Apr 29 2014, 02:52 PM (5 Views)
ainimeng

BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. -- The Chicago Fire received a lesson in soccer from Aston Villa on Saturday night. Gabriel Agbonlahor scored in the 29th minute and then left with an injury in the second half as the English Premier League club beat the Fire 1-0 in an exhibition match. Villa thoroughly dominated the match nearly until the final whistle. It wasnt until nearly three minutes into extra time that the Fire launched their one on-target shot of the night. However, backup goalkeeper Brad Guzan, a Chicago-area native, made the save to preserve the shutout. Agbonlahor went down clutching his left leg after spinning by a defender in the 63rd minute, screaming in pain. The trainer for Villa gingerly flexed Agbonlahors leg, which caused more pain, and the forward was carted off. Villa manager Paul Lambert said he thought the Agbonlahor could be out for two weeks. Villa came out attacking, and the push paid off with Agbonlahors goal. He headed the cross of defender Chris Herd past Chicago goalkeeper Jay Nolly from 10 yards out. Villa continued pushing after with and without the ball, keeping the Fire players on their heels. Their defensive movement from side to side was particularly impressive. "Their quickness," Fire defender Dan Gargan said. "Theyre an organized, compact unit." Villa went 7-14-17 in the Premier League last year, then brought in Lambert to coach. Theyre 3-0-0 in their preseason, including two wins against MLS squads. "This was great for us," Lambert said. "Ive got nothing but praise for the players, the way theyve gone about it. As a group, our defence is very strong, not just the back four." Asked if there was a team similar to Villa in MLS, Gargan hesitated and said, "I dont know. Some are similar, but thats a different side." For his part, Chicago head coach Frank Klopas said he got what he wanted out of the exhibition, which included four yellow cards and a good deal of hard tackling. "Im happy with the effort, and both our (backup) goalkeepers played 45 minutes," Klopas said. "Its different for them when you get in pressure situations. "We played a very good team. Its good for our guys in their first year in the league to play a team like this." The Fire were back on their heels from the start. Villa midfielder Stephan Ireland narrowly missed scoring with a sliding kick in the box in the 12th minute, and midfielder Charles NZogbia shoved an even closer shot over the goal three minutes later. Aside from defender Arne Frederich, Chicago played a lineup of backups from Nolly forward. The Fire brought in starters Dominic Oduro and Patrick Nyarko with 30 minutes to play, and added other regulars in the final minutes, but generated little offence. Villa started defender Eric Lichaj, its other Chicago-area-bred player, with the recently re-signed Guzan entering with 11 minutes remaining. Lichaj played 57 minutes, his best play a sharp pass to NZogbia that nearly paid off with a goal. The Lions opened their three-match exhibition tour of the U.S. by beating Philadelphia 1-0 on Wednesday. It concludes with a match at Portland on Tuesday. cheap jerseys from china . The San Francisco Giants will need that trend to continue on Sunday if they want to even their best-of-five National League Division Series against the Cincinnati Reds. wholesale jerseys china . Then, Durant and the Thunder got going and finished the night with their best offensive performance on the road since 2009. Russell Westbrook scored 28 points and Durant added 26 as the Thunder built a big lead in the second quarter and rolled to a 124-94 win over Houston. http://www.chinacheapnfljerseysstore.com/ . So did manager Terry Collins. The Mets were roughing up on one of their fiercest rivals and a boisterous crowd at Citi Field was enjoying every minute. cheap jersey . You can watch Raonic play Paul-Henri Mathieu of France live on TSN2 and TSN.ca at approximately 3:30pm et/12:30pm pt. cheap nfl jerseys . The Oilers open the abbreviated NHL season Sunday with high hopes centred around a core of young sharpshooters, notably the latest No. FLORHAM PARK, N.J. -- Braylon Edwards was sticking up for his former teammate, taking to Twitter to back Mark Sanchez and bash the team he once played for. Dont blame the quarterback for the New York Jets struggles, the wide receiver wrote last week. Rather, people should blame "the idiots calling shots" in the organization. A few hours later, Edwards was cut by the Seattle Seahawks -- and he quickly apologized to the Jets for a mistake made "in the heat of the moment," thinking he blew any chance of a return with his stinging 140-character criticism. "After the tweet, I was like, Yeah, I burned that bridge," Edwards said with a smile Thursday -- back as a member of the Jets with all apparently forgiven and forgotten. Edwards was claimed off waivers from Seattle on Tuesday, reuniting the veteran wide receiver with Sanchez and the team he helped lead to consecutive AFC title games in 2009 and 2010. "I felt as though," Edwards said, "this was home." But first, there was a potentially uncomfortable moment Wednesday when Edwards ran into general manager Mike Tannenbaum, someone who calls those "shots" for the Jets, in the teams cafeteria. "The relationship that we developed here is that were all kind of goofy among each other," Edwards said. "Everybody has a weird, funny or cool interaction. There actually wasnt a moment of awkwardness. ... I saw him and he was just as happy as me, or so it seemed. The awkwardness wasnt there." Edwards was a limited participant in his first practice Thursday with a hamstring issue, but passed his physical and coach Rex Ryan was optimistic about his chances to play Monday night at Tennessee. "Just based on the progression that I see, I hope I can go," Edwards said. Edwards presence certainly could help a low-scoring offence that has been dealing with a thin receiving corps all season. Rookie wide receiver Stephen Hill sprained the lateral collateral ligament in his right knee at Jacksonville on Sunday, and will likely miss the game against the Titans. With top receiver Santonio Holmes out for the season with a foot injury and Clyde Gates is still dealing with a concussion, that left only Jeremy Kerley, Chaz Schilens, journeyman Mardy Gilyard and rookie Jordan White as healthy players at the position. "Its great news," Sanchez said of Edwards return. "Its exciting to have somebody like that back. Were going to work him in slowly and hopefully get him ready to play." Edwards was released Monday from the Seahawks injury-reserve list after less than one unproductive season in Seattle. He had just eight catches for 74 yards and a touchdown in 10 games after signing a one-year deal in July. He spent last season in San Francisco, catching 15 passes for 181 yards in nine games with the 49ers. "I feell great and I wished I had the chance to show it more, and now I do," Edwards said.dddddddddddd "I feel good. I feel like I have the same speed and I feel like I have the same strength, if not better, and I feel like I still have that same understanding of the game. "Im ready, and youll get a chance to see." Following the 2010 season, the Jets had to make the difficult choice of keeping either Holmes or Edwards since they wanted to have the money to be able to pursue other free agents to fill needs. New York considered Holmes the bigger playmaker and signed him to a five-year deal, while Edwards made it clear hed prefer to return to the Jets at the right price. That never came, and Edwards eventually signed with the 49ers. During the past off-season, Edwards tweeted regularly about his progress in his recovery from a knee injury that cut short his stint in San Francisco. But, the wide receiver still never heard from the Jets, who went out and drafted Hill -- a similar-type receiver -- out of Georgia Tech in the second round. "To not get a phone call or not get an invite to see what was going on," Edwards said, "thats when I mentally (thought), Well, its not going to happen. Lets move on and get myself prepared to play in another situation." So, he signed with Seattle and had a limited role there before tweaking his hamstring while running a route on Dec. 2 at Chicago. Seahawks coach Pete Carroll told Seattle-area reporters Wednesday that the team thought Edwards would be sidelined another three weeks, so it decided to move on. "I dont think Pete has an M.D.," Edwards said with a laugh. "Im just joking. That was what they thought. That was his opinion and everybody is entitled to their (opinion). The Jets have a different opinion." The 29-year-old Edwards, who had no catches against the Jets in Seattle back on Nov. 11, is still a terrific blocker. And he is a good fit for Tony Sparanos run-first offence. He also has a good history with Sanchez, catching 88 passes for 11 touchdowns in two seasons with the Jets. The two also linked up for an 80-yard reception, the longest in the teams post-season history, against Indianapolis in the 2009 playoffs. "Hes one of those guys that knows how to run routes," Sanchez said. "Hes played for a long time, understands coverages and picks up things quickly. Were excited to have him back," Edwards has also been a personal favourite of Ryan, who routinely praised the receiver during his first stint in New York. "I was happy to see him, despite the obvious comment," Ryan said with a smile, before adding later: "He knows what Ive always thought about Braylon. Ive always been a big fan of Braylons because I like the way he plays. So I think that comment, please. ... Theres things privately where Ive been called a lot worse from players." ' ' '
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
1 user reading this topic (1 Guest and 0 Anonymous)
« Previous Topic · General Discussion · Next Topic »
Add Reply