April was always going to be a big test for the new-look Vancouver Whitecaps with games against some of Major League Soccers top teams.
Chris
Wideman Senators Jersey . After back-to-back matches against LA Galaxy,
the Caps now head to Rio Tinto Stadium - a place where they have never won - to
face Real Salt Lake, the only remaining unbeaten team in Major League Soccer
this season. The Form: The Whitecaps are winless in their last three matches,
but after a hard fought defeat at LA and a 2-2 draw against the Galaxy at home,
there are clear signs the team is growing under new head coach Carl Robinson.
"In the last two games weve shown we can compete against one of the top teams in
Major League Soccer," said Robinson. "Now its another great challenge for us.
You look at the fixtures weve had and its been tricky against good teams. We get
another big test. They are a squad that has been together for the last couple of
years so its another marker to see where we are." The Big Question: Will Kekuta
Manneh start? The 19-year-old has appeared in every match this season but has
started only once. The young Gambian was impressive coming on as a half time
substitute against LA Galaxy at BC Place a week ago. He injected life into the
Whitecaps attack and scored the game-tying goal with a fantastic strike with
just four minutes left to play. "I toyed with the idea of playing him from the
start, said Robinson. "Me, being a young head coach thought is it better to be
in the game and then unleash him on them." Theres no doubt Manneh has loads of
talent and will have a big future in the game. But there is also still plenty
that he needs to learn. Robinson doesnt want to rush the youngster, and
acknowledges he needs to improve his defensive qualities before he becomes a
regular starter. This is a long-term project. Robinson wants to build the
Whitecaps around some fantastic young players, a job that doesnt need to be
rushed. Manneh will continue to get his chance at the right times. That also
applies for Erik Hurtado. The speedster was drafted along with Manneh in the
first round in 2013. Hes still waiting for his first MLS goal, but was another
big spark in the second half against LA when he came on as a substitute last
week. "Hes been training very well over the last two or three weeks and from
where he was last year to where he is now, it is night and day for the kid,"
said Robinson when asked about Hurtados form. "If he continues to push hell get
plenty of opportunities." The Lineup: Aside from whether Manneh will come into
the starting lineup, one of the other big decisions for head coach Carl Robinson
is in defence. Its extremely likely that Robinson will select Johnny Leveron in
the team after bringing the Honduran on at halftime of the draw against the
Galaxy. Robinson has made no secret of the fact that he admires the qualities
Leveron possesses, particularly his ability with the ball at his feet. The
Hondurans abilities match the way Robinson wants his team to play. Leverons only
start this season was at New England where the Whitecaps registered their only
clean sheet so far. On that day he was beside Andy OBrien. It will be
interesting to see which one of the veterans - OBrien or Jay DeMerit - is
replaced if Leveron gets the call to start. The Opposition: Stability has been a
major factor in the success of Real Salt Lake over recent years. Despite losing
head coach Jason Kreis at the end of last season when he departed to join
expansion club New York City FC, RSL has started the season strongly under new
head coach Jeff Cassar. He may be in his first season as manager, but Cassar has
been at the club since 2007 and was a key part of Kreis coaching staff. They
have also managed to keep a core group of players together over the last few
seasons. Eleven of Salt Lakes current squad have been with the club for five
years of longer. Real Salt Lakes 1-0 win at home to Portland Timbers last week
leaves them four points ahead of the Whitecaps heading into Saturdays match.
Their clean sheet against the Timbers was their fourth of the season, in just
seven matches. Veteran goalkeeper Nick Rimando was the star of the show, winning
the MLS Player of the Week award for his performance. The Odds: One of the areas
the Whitecaps will need to improve upon if they are to make the playoffs this
season is picking up points against Western Conference opposition. Both of
Vancouvers wins so far wins this season have come against the East (New York and
Houston). From four matches against Western opponents, they have two draws and
two defeats. History isnt on the Whitecaps side as they head to Utah - theyve
only won two of eight previous meetings against RSL, and have never won at Rio
Tinto Stadium with three losses and a tie from their last four visits. With RSLs
strong start to the season, the home team will be heavy favourites heading into
the match, but the Caps showed against LA a couple of weeks ago they have the
potential to go toe-to-toe with the leagues top teams, even on the road. Where
to Watch: Vancouver Whitecaps at Real Salt Lake is live on CTV2 BC on Saturday
at 6:30pm pt/9:30pm et.
Erik
Karlsson Jersey . Bring on Freddy Garcia. The well-travelled 36-year-old
right-hander earned his second NL victory since 2007, and his first since he
joined the Atlanta Braves last month, pitching six innings to help beat Miami
6-1 Thursday.
Thomas
Chabot Senators Jersey . Geovany Soto had an RBI for the Cubs. Carlos
Silva gave up one run on three hits over six innings to pick up the win. Josh
Willingham drove in the lone run for the Nationals, who had just four hits.
http://www.hockeysenatorsonline.us/chris-kelly-hockey-jersey/ . Nwaneri, who was born in Dallas and attended Naaman Forest High School in
nearby Garland, Texas, tweeted, "Its official! Im coming home, Im coming
home.WASHINGTON -- Milos Raonic has had nearly a month to digest his Wimbledon
semifinal loss to Roger Federer. But even after all that time, the sting still
lingers. "Im still pretty angry about it," Raonic said of the straight-sets loss
to the Swiss star. It was the first Grand Slam semifinal for the hard-serving
player from Thornhill, Ont., who reached a career-high sixth in the world
rankings. Now ranked seventh, he says the disappointment of not advancing to the
final at the All-England Club has left him with extra incentive heading into the
hard-court season. "Out of all the ranking climbs that Ive made over the past
three years that have been significant to me, its probably the one that I
enjoyed the least because I felt that I could have done much better in that
situation," said Raonic, who returns to the court this week at the Citi Open.
Raonic arrived in Washington last Friday -- five days ahead of his opening match
-- rested and rejuvenated but with the July 4 loss to Federer still fresh in his
mind. The Canadian is seeded second, behind only fifth-ranked Tomas Berdych of
the Czech Republic. "Its been a lot of frustration, anger and disappointment,
specifically to that semifinal, and its actually sort of transformed into a lot
of energy to do better, to work harder and now its got me really excited," said
Raonic. "It makes me want to play that much more badly and get through these
next tournaments." The Citi Open is the first of three straight hard-court
events for Raonic, who returns home to Toronto next week for the Rogers Cup
before playing in the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati the week after.
That Raonic is heading into the hard-court season with extra motivation and a
newfound confidence is a potentially scary thought for the rest of ATP Tour. "I
have more belief in what I can do and the kind of damage that I can make," said
Raonic, who has won 82 per cent of his first-serve points this year, second-most
on tour, and is third with 567 aces in 34 matches. "I can make guys feel
uncomfortable whether theyre ranked No.1 in the world or No. 50. I dont think
anybody enjoys playing me so I have a lot more understanding of that and how to
use that to my advantage." Prior to his semifinaal run on the grass courts at
Wimbledon, Raonic also reached the quarter-finals on the clay courts of the
French Open.
Chris
Driedger Jersey. Overall, the 23-year-old compiled a 16-7 record on grass
and clay this spring, after going 8-8 over the same stretch a year ago. Combine
the recent success in Europe with Raonics past performances on hard courts and
he says "this is the most eager" hes ever felt heading into his favourite time
of year. "Its the best thing for my game," he said of the hard courts and the
typically hot and humid playing conditions that accompany the North American
summer schedule. "After spending four months of tennis where Im adjusting to
playing the surface, this is a surface where Im comfortable and where I dont
have to worry about OK in this situation, I have to hit this kind of shot. (On
hard courts) I have that stuff ingrained in myself naturally." Raonics coach,
former world No.3 Ivan Ljubicic, also sees the hard-court season as a tremendous
opportunity for Raonic to close the gap with the games elite and to potentially
breakthrough with his first career Grand Slam title at the U.S. Open. "His level
is much higher than at this time last year," said Ljubicic, who challenged
Raonic last August to "save" his 2013 season with a strong tournaments in
Montreal, Cincinnati and New York. "Hes shown recently that hes better able to
handle certain situations -- the pressure situations -- very well," he said.
"Hes got the type of personality and character where he feels more comfortable
with a higher ranking, where he doesnt feel the pressure. If anything, he has
more hunger to do better." Raonic now has his sights set on defending his
ranking points at the Rogers Cup -- he reached the final in Montreal last year
before falling to Rafael Nadal -- and building towards a strong U.S. Open. He is
also eyeing his first career top-5 world ranking. "I think theres a big
opening," Raonic said of joining Nadal and Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic
among the top-5. "The biggest threshold and the biggest barrier or wall to pass
is the one that Novak and Rafa have on the 1-2 spots. But I think that the rest
of the parts, this year specifically, are up for grabs."
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