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yyys123 · Joined: 08 Jul 2019 Posts: 855

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. 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. Tubular Shadow Sko . PETERSBURG, Florida – Heading into Thursday nights action, Dioner Navarro had caught 14 innings combined from starters Drew Hutchison and Mark Buehrle. Nmds Norge . PETERSBURG, Fla. http://www.nmdnorgesalg.com/eqt-sko-norge.html . -- A.J. Burnett was happy to escape from New York. Adidas Gazelle Tilbud . He made that dream a reality Wednesday night. Olt, who grew up in Branford, Connecticut, attended UConn and made a nearly 2 1-2 hour trek to Boston a handful of times to watch the Red Sox, belted a two-run homer, one of four hit by Cubs in a 16-9 rout that completed a three-game interleague series sweep. Nmd r1 Norge . Raonic, the No. 8 seed from Thornhill, Ont., had 18 aces in the match. He needed one hour 39 minutes to complete the victory. PITTSBURGH -- Bernhard Langer spent 45 anxious minutes Friday night wondering if the driver that he has used the last two years would be healthy enough to make it to work Saturday. Fortunately, a Champions Tour club technician was able to find a replacement screw for the one that busted inside the clubhead at the end of Langers second round at the Senior Players Championship. The "gamer" back in his ever steady hands, Langer moved closer to his third major title on the 50-and-over circuit, overcoming a slow start to shoot a 4-under 66 in the third round and stay in front of hard-charging Kenny Perry at Fox Chapel. "Theres always slight doubts," Langer said. "Youre putting something together. They say its the same, but youre never sure its the same ... I was convinced it was very close to the same. You dont want it to get into your head." It hardly looked like Langer was bothered while moving to 15-under 195 through 54 holes at an event where he has five top-10 finishes but no victories. The two-time Masters hit 10 of 14 fairways and shot a 4-under 31 on the back nine to regain control after briefly losing the lead to Perry. Perry, trying to join Arnold Palmer as the only player to win the Senior Players in consecutive years, was three behind after a 65 he allowed could have been even better. Still, the deficit is hardly daunting for Perry, who trailed Fred Couples by two heading into the final round last June only to emerge with the first major of his professional career. "Hopefully, the results will be the same," Perry said, laughing. Russ Cochran, Joe Durant and Bill Glasson were four back. Cochran had a 63, the low round of the day. Durant shot 67, and Glasson had a 68. Jeff Sluman was at 10 under following a 64 as the field began to spread out behind Langer. While Langers driver was just fine when he walked to the first tee on Saturday, everything else in his game looked shaky early on. The 56-year-old German three-putted the first hole for bogey and couldnt get up and down for par from a greenside bunker on the fifth. With Perry rocketing up the leaderboard in front of him, the unflappable Langer regained control of the tournaament.dddddddddddd A 30-foot birdie from the back of the green on the par-4 sixth got him going and he backed it up with another birdie on the seventh to bring him back to even par, setting the stage for the strong back nine. After finding himself one shot behind Perry at the turn, Langer put on a clinic. He birdied the 12th then ran off three more birdies from Nos. 14-16, all of them on putts inside 15 feet. Langer has been one of the most dominant players on the Champions Tour since making his debut in 2007. He has won 20 times since turning 50, including the Senior British Open and the U.S. Senior Open in 2010. He has challenged frequently at the Senior Players, where hes never finished worse than 13th in six starts, including a tie for eighth behind Perry last June. This time Langer finds himself in the role of leader, but hell have an eyeful of Perry on Sunday after the streaky Kentuckian put together another scorching round at the par 70 layout. Perry bounced back a methodical 70 in the opening round with a 63 on Friday. He followed it with a roller-coaster 65 that included six birdies, an eagle and three bogeys. "I need to make that a little bit better tomorrow," Perry said. "I need to clean it up a little bit and put on a little bit of pressure." A birdie on No. 14 seemed to have Perry poised for his second straight 63, but he cooled over the closing stretch, bogeying the 16th after his tee shot landed against a tree. Playing into the wind on the uphill par-5 18th, he settled for par, leaving himself and the rest of the field with some work to do to catch Langer. Not that Langer is taking anything for granted. "I still have got to shoot under par tomorrow," he said. "I feel Kenny Perry is going to go under par. Theres still 18 holes to play. Thats a lot of golf." Maybe, but Perry knows Langer isnt going to come back to the pack. Perry estimated it would take a 63 to make things interesting on Sunday. Anything less could turn the round into a victory lap for his good friend. "If he kicks my butt, Ill shake his hand, give him a hug, whatever," Perry said. "Were going to go out and compete and see where the chips fall." ' ' '