Aktionen » had long spells of possession in the second half

AMMAN, Jordan - Uruguay looks almost certain to qualify for the 2014 World Cup after crushing Jordan 5-0 in Ammian on Wednesday in the first leg of their intercontinental playoff. Goals from Maxi Pereira, Cristian Stuani, Nicolas Lodeiro, Cristian Rodriguez and Edinson Cavani have put Uruguay firmly in control ahead of the second leg in Montevideo next week. Luis Suarez set up Pereiras 22nd minute opener, and Stuani made it 2-0 just before halftime. Jordan had long spells of possession in the second half but was vulnerable on the counter-attack. Lodeiro slotted in from the edge of the box in the 69th minute and an unmarked Rodriguez hit a crisp volley from close range in the 78th. Cavani steered a free kick into the top right corner of the net in stoppage time as victory turned into a rout. "This result will put us in a good position for the second leg," Uruguay coach Oscar Tabarez said. "We will play with the same formation to honour the Uruguayan fans who will fill the stadium next Wednesday, as I heard that 60,000 tickets were sold." Jordans Egyptian coach Hossam Hassan said he was "fully responsible for this result" and "satisfied with the performance of my players." "I wished the Jordanian fans had seen their team win, but this is what happened," Hassan added. He said the squad would leave for Uruguay on Thursday. Pereira pounced to open the scoring after a header by Cavani was parried by Jordan goalkeeper Mohammad Shatnawi and Stuani made it 2-0 after collecting a pass from Lodeiro. Jordan showed more determination in the second half, with its best chance falling to Adnan Hasan, whose effort flew past the post. But Jordans defence proved helpless as Lodeiro increased Uruguays lead, Rodriguez fired in the fourth and Cavani completed the rout with a free kick that left Shatnawi rooted to the spot. Jordans King Abdullah II and members of his royal family were among the 25,000 spectators at the Amman International Stadium. Their national team has never reached the World Cup and struggled on Wednesday to compete against Uruguay, a semifinalist at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa that finished fifth in South American qualifying. The defeat followed extensive preparations in Jordan for the game. The king donated $500,000 toward the cost of the teams preparations, while Jordan Television held a one-day telethon that raised $2.8 million. The fever also spread to the UAE where Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum and Princess Haya offered a private plane to fly the Jordan team to Uruguay for the second leg. Security was tightened for the match in Amman, where traffic was diverted away from the stadium, causing suffocating jams. Cars honking horns, despite the heavy defeat, were draped with the Jordanian flag and portraits of their players. Tickets for the match were sold at five times their face value on the black market. Connor McGovern Jersey . Vargas (8-3) allowed four singles and two walks while striking out five, allowing only two runners from a diluted Twins lineup to reach second base. Mike Moustakas and Jarrod Dyson hit RBI singles in the second inning against Kevin Correia (4-10), and that was all Vargas needed. Roger Staubach Womens Jersey . Gough finished in fourth, 0.433 seconds behind American Erin Hamlin, who took the bronze medal at the Sanki Sliding Center in Rzhanaya Polyana. http://www.cowboysrookieproshop.com/Cowboys-Terrell-Owens-Jersey/ . "It feels good, Ive never had one before, not even in College," Hagelin said after the Rangers outgunned the Jets 4-2, behind some solid goaltending from Henrik Lundqvist following a pretty wide open first period. Michael Irvin Jersey . Venable and Jeremy Hermida drove in three runs apiece, and the Padres beat the Colorado Rockies 7-2 on Sunday to snap a nine-game losing streak. Chuck Howley Youth Jersey . Arsenal had already scored its goals in the third round fixture when the fierce rivalry turned ugly in the final ten minutes as Walcott was being carried off on a stretcher.The Formations Knowing he would be facing one of the premier teams in MLS, Vancouver Whitecaps head coach Carl Robinson elected to revert back to his 4-2-3-1 formation for their away match with Real Salt Lake. Jonny Leveron replaced skipper Jay Demerit in defence, while Kekuta Manneh replaced Pedro Morales; both Demerit and Morales were rested for the match, and stayed behind in Vancouver. Real Salt Lake head coach Jeff Cassar made one change to the team that defeated the Portland Timbers 1-0 the week previous. Joao Plata replaced Olmes Garcia up front, where the diminutive Ecuadorian partnered RSLs top goalscorer, Alvaro Saborio. The Game To suggest the Whitecaps were flat in the opening 45 minutes would be an understatement – they were very poor. They did not make effective use of the space that was available to them (which was in wide areas) and they were half a step slow and half a step late defensively. The result was that the Whitecaps trailed 2-0 after just nine minutes, with RSL getting goals from both Plata and Saborio. RSL very nearly went in at the break up 3-0, but David Ousted did well to deny Plata a second goal just before the halftime whistle. The opening half was a perfect exhibit of the challenge faced when fielding a very young lineup - those players dont yet have the experience to figure out how to fix things when they go wrong on the pitch. Of the six attacking players who started the match, only Kenny Miller (34) can be classified as an experienced player. Matias Laba (22), Gershon Koffie (22), Russell Teibert (21), Kekuta Manneh (19) and Darren Mattocks (23) are young, talented professionals – but when things go wrong, they cannot rely on previous experience to help them turn things around. In the first half, the movement of RSLs midfield caused problems for the Whitecaps. Despite having a numerical advantage, Vancouver struggled to put pressure on the ball. When the Whitecaps did manage to regain possession, they were too often wasteful, giving the ball straight back to RSL, as Teibert did on the opening goal. Offensively, they were never able to use their speed in transition to maximum effect. In Darren Mattocks and Kekuta Manneh, Vancouver had the two quickest players on the pitch. However, neither player was able to use that speed to their advantage, as Vancouver never found their passing rhythm. Both fullbacks, Jordan Harvey and Steven Beitashour, were cautious in their approach when Vancouver had the ball. This was entirely understandable, given Real Salt Lakes formidable home record and their early 2-0 lead. The result was that far too often Vancouver failed to use the only space that RSL conceded to them, which was out wide. This played into RSLs hands perfectly, as their two wide midfielders, Ned Grabavoy and Jake Mulholland, simply dropped slightly deeper to sit alongside Kyle Beckerman when Vancouver tried to build in midfield. The RSL defenders, who compressed the space between lines, supported this tight midfield unit. This meant that there was very little space in which Vancouver could play. Real Salt Lake controlled virtually the entire first half. Robinson and his coaching staff showed their worth once they could sit the players down at the break. There, the coaches were able to correct the mistakes that were being made and give their young players renewed belief in their abilities. The result was a completely different performance from Vancouver in the second half. The Whitecaps aggressively closed space in midfield, pressured the RSL defenders and midfielders into conceding possession, and denied both Plata and Saborio a sight at goal. While Saborio struck the bar with a header in the 80th minute after a quickly taken free kick, the home side appeared content to defend their 2-0 lead. Vancouver showed better control of the ball and much better use of space in wide areas in the second half.dddddddddddd. There was a confidence in the Whitecaps team that wasnt present in the opening forty-five minutes – a belief that they could not only compete with RSL, but also get something out of the game. Robinson again used his substitutes effectively, bringing Erik Hurtado, Nicolas Mezquida and Sebastian Fernandez into the game. And it was the two Uruguayans – Mezquida and Fernandez – who clawed back a point for Vancouver. Mezquida scored Vancouvers first goal in the 86th minute, knocking home a poor rebound from RSL goalkeeper Nick Rimando after great work from Darren Mattocks. Fernandez scored the equalizer deep into stoppage time, ripping a strike from 35 yards past a flat-footed Rimando. The RSL goalkeeper – along with his teammates – will be left to ponder just how they managed to throw away two points after failing to extend their dominant first half performance into the second. The Positives The second half performance from Vancouver was exactly what their fans want to see – positive, confident, attacking play. The pace in Vancouvers team is frightening; Mattocks, Manneh and Hurtado are all likely in the leagues top 10, if not the top 5, in sprint speed. It is really about finding a way for these players to use their assets to maximum effect, which Vancouver did really well in the second half. Good performances from all three substitutes will give Robinson and his coaching staff some decisions to make in choosing their starting lineup for their next match at home on May 3rd against the San Jose Earthquakes (TSN2, 6:30pm ET, 3:30pm PT). It is an enviable problem to have, as every coach much prefers to have too many good players from which to choose than not enough. Real Salt Lake put on the best forty-five minutes of football that I have seen from a team so far this season in the opening half. The concern for Jeff Cassar is finding a way to extend that performance over the course of the game. While they havent found the secret to this yet, RSL is still unbeaten this season. The Negatives Poor performances all around for Vancouver in the opening half, but the silver lining is that this can be used as a teaching moment. With such a young squad of players, the biggest challenge for Robinson is to develop his promising youngsters into seasoned professionals who can solve problems on the pitch, without always requiring the intervention of the coaching staff. This isnt a job that will happen overnight, and the players will now be expected to reflect on what they did differently in the second half that they werent doing in the first. As long as the players are able to learn from their mistakes, the opening forty-five minutes can be looked back on as a valuable lesson. Nick Rimando has been sensational for Real Salt Lake this season, so he can be forgiven for having a 10-minute spell to forget at the end of the game. He should have prevented both of Vancouver goals, and on any other day would likely have done so. The Star Man This was the best performance I have seen from Erik Hurtado. The youngster has incredible speed, but is still learning how to best utilize his prized asset. He made a big impact coming off the bench in last weeks 2-2 come-from-behind draw with the Los Angeles Galaxy, and while he didnt score in that game or against Real Salt Lake, he made a very meaningful contribution on Saturday. His willingness to run in behind stretched the RSL back line and created space for his midfielders to operate, effectively changing the game. He is still very raw and has a great deal of learning to do, so it will be important for him to seek out the coaching staff to carry on that education. But he is certainly showing exciting potential at this moment in time as a second half substitute that can change the game. ' ' '