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Seattle, WA (SportsNetwork. wholesale nfl jerseys .com) - Clint Dempsey made a triumphant return to Seattle on Sunday as he scored in the 71st minute to help the Sounders to a 2-0 win over the Portland Timbers at CenturyLink Field. Dempsey spent the past month in Brazil with the United States national team at the World Cup, but in his first game back, it was his second-half goal that separated the Cascadia Cup rivals before Marco Pappa added an insurance tally four minutes from time for the hosts. Seattle has now won four of its last five games to move 10 points clear at the top of the Western Conference. The match was an extremely cautious affair in the opening 45 minutes as the two sides combined to put just one shot on target. But things came to life after the break as Portland goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts needed to be alert to keep out a chance from Gonzalo Pineda in the opening minute of the half. Dempsey nearly turned home a header from Zach Scott at close range in the 59th, but he made no mistake with his next chance. Ricketts produced a fine double save to first deny Dempsey and then Obafemi Martins in front of goal. However, Portland was unable to clear the ball and Pineda drove a shot toward the net that Dempsey was able to redirect home. Lamar Neagle nearly added another goal for the Sounders when he struck the post in the 82nd minute, while the Timbers came within inches of an equalizer in the 85th as Gaston Fernandez unleashed a long-range shot that clipped the outside of the upright with Seattle goalkeeper Stefan Frei easily beaten. One minute later, Seattle put the game away as Neagle led a counter-attack that saw him square the ball to Pappa inside the area for a left-footed finish. nfl jerseys china . The thunderous cheers quickly changed to an appreciative chant: "Ma-son! Ma-son! Ma-son! Headed to New York with new life, Mason sure earned this curtain call. jerseys from china . Blown save in the ninth inning? No problem.DOHA, Qatar -- Top-seeded Rafael Nadal was the only seed remaining at the Qatar Open after he beat seventh-seeded Ernests Gulbis 7-5, 6-4 in the quarterfinals on Thursday. Nadal is often tested by the 24th-ranked Gulbis but has yet to lose a match to the Latvian in seven played. This match, which was delayed for two hours by rain, marked only the second time Nadal has beaten Gulbis in straight sets. The other time was also in Doha, in the 2011 quarterfinals. Nadal is set to play German qualifier Peter Gojowczyk. The 162nd-ranked Gojowczyk defeated fellow German qualifier Dustin Brown 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (5) to reach his first career tour semifinal. The other semi will pit Florian Mayer of Germany against Gael Monfils of France. Mayer defeated Victor Hanescu of Romania 6-4, 6-7 (8), 6-4, and Monfils took out Daniel Brands of Germany 6-2, 6-1. Nadal finally broke Gulbis in the 11th game when the latter sent a drop shot wide. Nadal needed five set points to close ouut the first set in the next game. cheap jerseys. Gulbis raced to 3-0 in the second set but couldnt hold on to the advantage. He had three points for 4-1 but ended up losing serve. Nadal broke with a stunning backhand cross-court that creased the line in the seventh game to take a permanent lead. He closed the match with a breathtaking backhand volley winner. "Im happy to win against Ernests," Nadal said. "If you are not playing well its very, very difficult. Hes able to hit winners from every part on the court." Before this week, Gojowczyk had only one ATP tour-level match win, at the 2013 U.S. Open. Gojowczyk was serving for the match against Brown at 5-3, 40-30 in the third set but netted a forehand to drop his serve. From 5-5 in the tiebreaker, Gojowczyk won the final two points. "Im so happy to be in the semifinals, its an unbelievably good feeling," Gojowczyk said. "2014 is beginning great for me." wholesale jerseys cheap jerseys ' ' ' |
