Kritik » know what? Were not scoring," Subban said.

LONDON - Equality came to the self-proclaimed Home of Football on Sunday.More than seven years after the new Wembley opened, the England womens team was finally allowed to follow its male counterpart by playing in the $1.2 billion national stadium.Though it ended with a 3-0 defeat by European champion Germany, the match was a validation of the steady growth that womens football has enjoyed in England, particularly since the 2012 Olympics.History makers, proclaimed the cover of the matchday program for the 45,000 fans who defied torrential rain and transport issues — 5,000 more than the crowd that watched the England mens team play Norway in a September friendly.The Football Associations marketing machine achieved its mission, with a record womens crowd for an England game. The previous mark was just over 29,000 for a European Championship match against Finland at Manchester Citys Etihad stadium in 2005.However, the team coached by Mark Sampson fell short on Sunday as Germany mercilessly exposed Englands defensive deficiencies.England defender Alex Scott scored an own goal after six minutes, and striker Celia Sasic netted twice to show just why the second-ranked Germans could win a third World Cup next year.They are the benchmark everyone is aspiring to be, theyve had years and years of winning ... and were trying to reach them, England striker Eniola Aluko said.The purpose of friendlies is to understand what its all about to play in front of a big crowd with the pressure.Aluko is used to playing in front of just a few hundred fans. The womens Super League, where she plays for Chelsea, saw crowds grow by 30 per cent in the 2014 season but only to an average of 728. The highest attendance was 1,292 last month for Liverpools title-clinching game against Chelsea.Demand for tickets at Wembley, though, exceeded the 55,000 allowed to be sold in the 90,000-seat venue where the capacity was capped due to London Underground engineering work. The 10,000 no-shows were likely because of the poor weather and Tube turmoil.But with the game on free television — unlike Sundays Premier League games — this still felt like a successful launchpad to grow the womens game in England ahead of the World Cup in Canada.Its amazing the English association had a lot of people in the stadium, Germany defender Annike Krahn said. Even for the home of soccer it is not easy.In selecting an opponent for this landmark occasion, England sought an illustrious side rather than setting up a crowd-pleasing walkover. So the result was hardly a surprise: England had failed to win all 19 previous encounters with Germany.And if Englands women sought an equal billing with the men they got it when boos rang out around the stadium with each goal.The Germans are the best in the world and theyre going to punish you with clinical counter-attacks and clinical finishing, Sampson said. But weve taken so much from the game today and were in such a better place now than we were.One key difference between Sundays game and next years World Cup is the playing surface. The poor state of the Wembley grass — the result of three recent NFL games — perhaps vindicated FIFAs decision to play the games in Canada on artificial turf.If I could choose it I would never play on (artificial) turf but it wont be my decision, Krahn said. Football has to play on natural grass.But England seems content playing on plastic, rather than joining the legal action being pursued their American counterparts, who claim that not playing on grass is sexism.Playing on artificial turf might suit our style of play, Aluko said. There are technical differences, the ball bounces differently and runs smoother but you have to adapt to that and make sure youre ready.How ready England is to take on the worlds best next year remains unclear. But Wembley showed there is an appetite for further womens games, ensuring the national football stadium isnt just for mens teams.___Rob Harris can be followed at www.twitter.com/RobHarris Brandin Cooks Jersey .J. -- Having Ondrej Pavelec earn his 100th NHL win and seeing Mark Scheifele and Evander Kane break goal droughts were nice highlights for the Winnipeg Jets. Aqib Talib Jersey . "Yeah, [I heard them]," he said. "They made me miss the free throw." A year ago, Lowrys post-game antics may not have been so well received but what was snide and snarky is now endearing quick wit. http://www.laramsfansshop.com/c-82-rams-brandon-allen-jersey.aspx . Mickelson shot a 2-under 70 after opening with a 77 -- his worst score of the season -- on TPC San Antonios AT&T Oaks Course. Lefty was 11 strokes behind leader Steven Bowditch, the Australian who had a 67 to reach 8-under 136. John Franklin-Myers Jersey . - Rookie Kyle Larson will start from the pole position Saturday night in the NASCAR race at Richmond International Raceway after a thunderstorm arrived just in time to wash out qualifying. Custom Los Angeles Rams Jerseys . Some members of the U.S. Congress arent so sure. They say Russia isnt doing enough to assure that athletes will be protected at the Feb. 7-23 games, happening not far from an Islamic insurgency that Russias huge security apparatus has struggled for two decades to quell. Russia may run greater risks in towns outside the tightly controlled Olympic zone. Suicide bombs last month a few hundred kilometres (miles) away have increased concerns, and an Islamic warlord has urged his followers to attack the Sochi Olympics, Russian President Vladimir Putins pet project.TAMPA, Fla. -- There are two ways to look at Dale Weise scoring the Game 1 overtime winner for the Montreal Canadiens. From a glass-half-empty perspective, the Habs probably shouldnt have needed the fourth-liner to score after outshooting the Tampa Bay Lightning by more than double in regulation and dominating the play. From a glass-half-full perspective, they can be thankful they spread the scoring around five different players. Thats the kind of depth that can propel a team in the playoffs, and while the power play tops the list of what must improve for Game 2 and beyond in this series, the Habs are confident in the bevy of scoring options they have up and down the lineup. "Its playoffs, I think you see a lot of guys like Weiser, a lot of guys in his kind of role are going to score those big goals in overtime or late in the third period," winger Rene Bourque said. "Its nice, though, we do have depth. We could rotate guys in and out of the lineup from the first to the fourth line." The Habs got goals from the first (Thomas Vanek), second (Tomas Plekanec), third (Lars Eller and Brian Gionta) and fourth line (Weise) in Game 1 on Wednesday night. That kind of scoring balance makes it hard for any opponent to key on one line. "We need contributions from everyone if we want to have success," coach Michel Therrien said. "You need to use and you need to show confidence in all your players when you go to the playoffs." Therrien showed plenty of confidence in his forwards, playing each at least 12 minutes. That includes almost a full extra period because of overtime, but its not like the fourth line of Weise, Daniel Briere and Michael Bournival got benched when the game was on the line. The Habs put 35 shots on net in regulation to the Lightnings 16. That was one reason why defenceman P.K. Subban liked the "structure" of play so much. "I cant remember the last game we outshot a team,&quuot; Subban said.dddddddddddd"For us, structurally, I thought we did a great job." Problem is, the Habs did a great job and still couldnt close the deal. No lead lasted more than four minutes, and they could never take a stranglehold on the game. One reason was that Montreals power-play drought extended to 0 goals in its last 25 chances dating to March 26. Therrien put his team through some power-play work at Tampa Bay Times Forum on Thursday. "Im confident as a coach that it will be more productive," he said. "By working, by communicating, by teaching, this is the way we believe that eventually were going to be better." Subban put the blame on everyone, saying the defencemen need to do a better job of putting the puck in better places for forwards to retrieve it. As for what exactly isnt working, check the scoreboard. "You know what? Were not scoring," Subban said. "Its just not going in for us. If we score, it changes everything." In addition to the power play, the Habs might want to stop giving up as many quality chances as they did. After the 5-4 victory, captain Brian Gionta called the shot total "misleading" because the Lightning had several golden opportunities. Those opportunities, and the goals that resulted, also frustrated goaltender Carey Price. The Habs dont want that. "I think hockeys a game of mistakes and you see yesterday, they capitalized on every mistake we made," Bourque said. "Weve just got to tighten up defensively a little bit more." Players and Therrien expect plenty of adjustments and for this to be a long series that changes as it develops. But even winning Game 1 the Habs know what they cannot continue to do. "If we give up four goals Im not sure were going to win the next game," Therrien said. "There were a few breakdowns that were going to approach with our team to make sure were more solid." Follow (at)SWhyno on Twitter ' ' '