Fridays action from Brazil concludes with Ecuador and Honduras both looking for their first win at the 2014 World Cup. Listen to Ecuador vs. Honduras LIVE at 6pm et/3pm pt on TSN Radio 1050 Toronto and TEAM 1410 Vancouver. Ecuador and Honduras will both be aiming to bounce back after suffering defeats in their respective World Cup openers in Group E play at the Arena da Baixada on Friday. Both sides enter the match without a point, but the two teams arrived at that destination in very different ways. Ecuadors 2-1 defeat to Switzerland came on a stoppage-time winner from Swiss substitute Haris Seferovic, while Honduras was hammered 3-0 by France and had Wilson Palacios sent off in the first half. There is no room for error for either team in this game as the loser would be eliminated, and both must pick themselves up after tough defeats to open the competition. Ecuador took the lead in the contest in the 22nd minute through a goal from Enner Valencia as he headed home a free kick. But Switzerland made the most of a set-piece chance of its own and equalized early in the second half courtesy of Admir Mehmedi. The match was there for the taking for either side in the second half, but just when Ecuador seemed to be pressing for the winner, Switzerland hit on a counter attack in the dying minutes to snatch the win on a well-worked piece of play that resulted in Seferovic slamming home the winner from close range. "It was an intense and evenly-matched game. Weve seen both teams perform to the best of their ability," said Ecuador head coach Reinaldo Rueda, "We seemed to have the game under control, but what use is that if you end up losing? But thats football, although we didnt deserve to lose. Both teams went looking for the win. We have to get this defeat out of our heads and get ready to face two very strong opponents." That first opponent, Honduras, was soundly beaten by France through two goals from Karim Benzema and an own goal that brought goal-line technology into play. Benzema converted from the penalty spot shortly before halftime to put France into the lead, while Honduras entered the break with 10 men after Palacios received a second yellow card. At that point it was mostly about damage control for head coach Luis Fernando Suarez and his team, although he watched France add another goal in the 48th minute when a shot from Benzema struck the post and was deflected into his own net by goalkeeper Noel Valladares. Benzema then capped the match with another tally 18 minutes from time, leaving Suarez to hope that his side can learn from the defeat and move forward. "It was a tough match, and they came through it better than we did," Suarez said. "Weve got no regrets; they were simply better than us on the day. There are certain aspects that well need to improve ahead of our next game. Its difficult to overcome a team thats already up by a goal and is capable of holding on to the ball so well. Well need to retain the lessons we learned today." Honduras is still searching for its first win at a World Cup, while Ecuador can give itself a chance at reaching the round of 16 for the second time with three points on Friday. . Its been two seasons in one for both parties and neither will look back on the first 18 games fondly. "I think I took the fall for a lot of things," said Gay, reflecting on his short time in Toronto ahead of Wednesdays game against his former club. . -- Jerome Williams glanced at Philadelphias schedule and realized he would be facing the Oakland Athletics yet again, with another new team.
http://www.airmaxdanmark.com/. Mika Zibanejad and Jason Spezza scored in the shootout to lead the Ottawa Senators to a 2-1 victory over Nashville on Saturday night. . Matt Carkner got back into the Ottawa lineup, and made his presence felt right away by settling his clubs score in a one-sided fight with Rangers forward Brian Boyle. . -- Matt Rupert scored once in regulation and again in the shootout as the London Knights extended their win streak to nine games by defeating the Owen Sound Attack 4-3 on Friday in Ontario Hockey League action.MINNEAPOLIS - The Toronto Blue Jays were getting mowed down by Phil Hughes through the first five innings on a chilly night at Target Field, but the big swingers never panicked. The Jays have a long history of beating up on the former Yankees right-hander, so they knew it was only a matter of time before they got him in his new home in Minnesota. Jose Bautista had three hits and an RBI, and Brett Lawrie hit a grand slam in the ninth inning to help the Blue Jays beat the Twins 9-3 on Tuesday night. Edwin Encarnacion had two hits and an RBI, and Aaron Loup (1-0) won in relief of starter Brandon Morrow, who lasted 3 2-3 innings in 35-degree weather. The Blue Jays led 5-2 going into the ninth before Lawries towering drive off Jared Burton put it away. "I think it just took a little bit of getting used to," said Lawrie, who drove in five runs. "We didnt hit (batting practice) today. We just rolled into town, so we kind of just hit in the cages and rolled right out into the game. So it just took a little bit to adjust once we got in the box. Once we got a few hits, it just started snowballing." Chris Colabello had three hits and an RBI, and Trevor Plouffe hit a solo home run for the Twins. But Hughes (0-1) watched an impressive start go to waste in Torontos five-run sixth inning. "He was cruising before that," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. "I thought the ball was coming out of his hand really good. All of a sudden I think it was three or four hits in a row and I dont know what happened. He just couldnt get a ball where he wanted to and they put some really nice swings on the ball." Hughes gave up four runs and eight hits with seven strikeouts in five-plus innings, snapping Minnesotas three-game winning streak. Munenori Kawasaki had two hits, including a double, after being called up from Triple-A Buffalo to help replace Maicer Izturis, who is out for the season with torn ligaments in his left knee. Designated hitter Adam Lind, who had a walk, a single and scored a run, left in the seventh inning with tightness in his lower back.dddddddddddd The Blue Jays have historically hit the ball very well at pitcher-friendly Target Field and they were going against one of their favourite pitchers in Hughes, who faced them many times over the years with the New York Yankees. Toronto hit 15 home runs off Hughes in 116 2-3 innings while he was in pinstripes. Hughes kept the ball in the ballpark and kept the Blue Jays off balance through five. He recorded all seven of his strikeouts and needed just 74 pitches to get to the sixth. Then it all came apart. Hughes gave up four quick hits to start the inning, including RBI singles by Bautista and Encarnacion to get chased with two on and nobody out. Michael Tonkin gave up a single to load the bases, and a throwing error from catcher Kurt Suzuki later in the inning allowed Dioner Navarro to score for a 5-2 lead. The big inning helped Toronto overcome a rough start from Morrow, who threw 98 pitches and couldnt get out of the fourth. Morrow gave up two runs and four hits with four walks and four strikeouts. "Weve got a good hitting team," Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said. "I figured that was not going to last very long. Hughes was tough on us early but we had that one big inning where we broke it open." Bautista played centre field because Colby Rasmus needed an extra day to rest his ailing hamstring. It was the sluggers first start there since 2009 and he badly misplayed a sinking liner from Pedro Florimon, letting the ball get behind him for a triple. Florimon scored on a single by Joe Mauer, who struck out three times, for a 2-0 lead. NOTES: It was Lawries second career grand slam. ... Kawasaki was ruled out in the first inning when he laid down a bunt but stepped out of the batters box with his left foot before making contact with the ball, which is illegal. ... Twins assistant GM Ron Antony said OF Oswaldo Arcia, on the disabled list with an injured wrist, received a cortisone injection in hopes of speeding his recovery. ... Twins RHP Mike Pelfrey (0-2, 7.84 ERA) pitches Wednesday night against RHP R.A. Dickey (1-2, 5.30). ' ' '
