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CARDIFF, Wales -- Wales and its star forward Gareth Bale hit a first major bump on the road to the 2018 World Cup on Sunday.Perhaps unsurprisingly for the Welsh, it was Georgia dealing the blow.The Georgians havent lost to Wales in four meetings now after they recovered from conceding a 10th-minute goal to Bale to draw 1-1 against the European Championship semifinalists. The first three matches between the countries all ended as wins for Georgia.This should have been a home banker at Cardiff City Stadium, with Wales -- powered by Real Madrids Bale -- ranked 10th in the world after its memorable run at Euro 2016 last summer and Georgia languishing at No. 137.Yet by the end of the Group D qualifier, there only looked like being one winner with Georgia attacking in waves and Valeri Kazaishvili shooting against the crossbar from outside the area. Ultimately, the visitors left with a point thanks to Tornike Okriashvilis header in the 57th.People will look at it as two points dropped, but it might be a point gained at the end of the day, said Wales manager Chris Coleman. We got too comfortable. The whole atmosphere was too comfortable.Bale, who scored seven goals in Euro 2016 qualifying, is now up to three in this qualifying campaign after rising unchallenged to meet Joe Ledleys corner and head home. It was Bales 25th international goal -- three behind Wales national record held by Ian Rush.Wales lost its way in the second half and the draw halts the teams upward trajectory under Coleman. It also means two points from a possible six in this international period, having drawn 2-2 at Austria on Thursday.Georgia picked up its first point in three matches.Wales lost its lead in the group after wins for Serbia and Ireland on Sunday:---SERBIA 3, AUSTRIA 2Serbia is top on goal difference after Dusan Tadics 74th-minute winner in Belgrade.Aleksandar Mitrovic twice gave Serbia the lead only for Marcel Sabitzer and Marc Janko to score equalizers for Austria, which had started the round on four points like Serbia.---MOLDOVA 1, IRELAND 3James McClean scored two goals in the final 21 minutes to help unbeaten Ireland earn its second win and keep pace with Serbia.Shane Longs second-minute goal for Ireland was canceled out by Igor Bugaev in first-half injury time. McClean scored in the 69th and 76th minutes.Moldova has lost all three of its games. . "Hes going to have hip surgery on Jan. 7, and hell be expected to rehabilitate for four to six months beyond that," Canucks general manager Mike Gillis said Friday in an interview. . Just not the game. Kyle Palmieri scored two straight goals in the third period to rally the Anaheim Ducks past the Philadelphia Flyers 3-2 on Tuesday night. . Ivanovic was leading 7-5, 1-0 when Hantuchova withdrew after falling 0-40 behind in the second game. The match started slowly for Ivanovic, who surrendered her first two serves as Hantuchova took a 5-3 lead. .com) - Yankee Stadium is the home of the Bronx Bombers, but on Sunday afternoon it will open its gates to host the latest addition of the Hudson River Rivalry. . LOUIS -- Roman Polak was celebrating even before Alexander Steen scored the winning goal in Saturdays 4-2 win over the Carolina Hurricanes. Coach Brendan Joyce admitted the Opals 61-56 victory over Turkey was anything but pretty.Still, it was good enough to give Australia a 2-0 win-loss record heading into Tuesdays key Olympic womens basketball clash with France and that was much more important than the aesthetic value of the contest.Liz Cambage played much of the tense final term with four fouls, while veteran Penny Taylor chipped in with a crucial five points when the match was on the line.Star centre Cambage top-scored for the second straight match, finishing with 22 points and 10 rebounds, while Katie-Rae Ebzery and Leilani Mitchell chipped in with 11 points apiece.It probably doesnt look great on TV but we were really up against it, said Joyce.There was a lot of emotion in the first game, so there was always a danger of how we played that second game.We didnt get any 50-50 calls, we played through a lot of contact.We didnt have great defence from everybody on a consistent basis but it was a defensive slog and we won the game - and thats what matters right now.Cambage said it was important to adjust to varying interpreetations by referees from different countries.ddddddddddddAs long as its four fouls and not five Im OK with that, she said.Im just trying to do what I do, keep my hands out, try and change shots, not block shots.Joyce paid tribute to the contribution of veteran Penny Taylor when the contest was at its fiercest.Shes 35, so Ive got to try and reduce her minutes, but it was hard to do tonight, he said.When a game is on the line Im going to have Penny Taylor in the last quarter even if shes playing poorly in some respects in the first three quarters.She hadnt scored by three-quarter time, but she came up with a crucial five points that helped us put the game away.Lara Sanders had a game-high 25 points for Turkey. Australia trailed by three points at the end of the first and second quarters.Seven straight points from Cambage propelled Australia to a 43-41 lead after the third term.The Opals opened their Olympic campaign with an 84-66 win over Brazil on day one. ' ' '
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