Mattocks' double leads Whitecaps past Dynamo

Darren Mattocks scored a goal in each half Sunday as the Vancouver Whitecaps defeated the Houston Dynamo 3-1 in Major League Soccer play.

Jordan Harvey had the other goal for Vancouver (6-3-4), which was playing its first game since May 26.

Houston substitute Macoumba Kandji replied for the Dymano (4-4-4).

Mattocks scored his second of the game to make it 2-0 for Vancouver in the 66th minute.

The Jamaican forward took a feed from Gershon Koffie and fired a right-footed shot past Tally Hall.

The Houston goalkeeper was forced to bat away a line drive off the foot of Koffie in the 71st minute to keep his team’s hopes alive at 2-0.

The Dynamo cut the Vancouver lead in half in the 83rd minute when Kandji took a pass from Brian Ownby and fired a shot past Whitecaps ’keeper Joe Cannon for his first goal with Houston.

But Vancouver put the game out of reach in the 88th minute when Harvey took a pass from Koffie and beat Hall for the defender’s first goal since 2010.

Mattocks, the second overall pick in the 2012 MLS Superdraft, opened the scoring in the fourth minute with his second goal in as many games.

Young-Pyo Lee rushed down the right side and centred the ball to a streaking Mattocks, who one-timed a volley past Hall.

The 21-year-old Mattocks also scored the tying goal two weeks ago when he came on to score in the 90th minute of a 1-1 tie with Portland.

Mattocks had a great scoring opportunity in the 22nd minute after taking a feed from Sebastian Le Toux but fired a bouncing ball high over the net.

Houston’s Brian Ching blocked a Cannon goalkick in the 28th minute but failed to take advantage, firing the ball high and wide.

Cannon made up for that mistake in the 41st minute with a great save off Bobby Boswell. The Houston defender had lots of time after taking a cross at the top of the box, but a Cannon jumped high and to his right to punch the ball out of harm’s way.

In the second half, the Whitecaps weathered an early storm by the Dynamo before taking control.

Vancouver’s Davide Chiumiento had a nifty play just prior to the 60-minute mark but his shot slid just wide of the post.

The game was the only contest on the MLS schedule. Many players are away from their clubs, currently participating in 2014 World Cup qualifying tournaments.

The Whitecaps were without Omar Salgado, who was injured while playing for the U.S. under-20 team last week. Michael Boxall is currently with New Zealand’s national team for qualifying. Vancouver was also without the injured duo of Atiba Harris and backup goalie Brian Sylvestre.

Houston was without Geoff Cameron, Canadian international Andre Hainault, Je-Vaughn Watson and Jermaine Taylor, who are all involved in qualifying.

Notes : Cannon made three saves on the day, while Hall finished with four. ... With the win, Vancouver moved past Colorado into fourth place in the Western Conference. ... Houston, which had a four-game undefeated streak snapped, missed a chance to move from seventh to fourth in the Eastern Conference standings. ... Attendance at B.C. Place Stadium was 18,811. ... Vancouver host Colorado on Saturday, while Houston welcomes Dallas FC.

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Peliculas Online

Shevchenko double gives Ukraine winning start at Euro 2012

Andriy Shevchenko made his coach look brilliant, scoring two great headers Monday to give Ukraine a 2-1 win over Sweden at the European Championship.

In photos

Day 4 at Euro 2012

After Zlatan Ibrahimovic had given Sweden the lead in the 52nd minute, Shevchenko responded by heading in the equalizer just three minutes later and then added the winner in the 61st.

The victory gives Ukraine a serious chance of advancing from Group D after England and France drew 1-1, while Sweden faces an uphill battle to remain in the tournament.

“We showed today our character, our good football,” Shevchenko said. “We have very good chances to qualify.”

Shevchenko is already a national icon in Ukraine and carried the hopes of the team going into the tournament. In front of sea of yellow and blue in the packed Olympic Stadium, he certainly didn't disappoint. He rewarded the faith coach Oleg Blokhin showed in the veteran who was not a certain starter for the tournament.

Showing flashes of the scorer's instinct that once made him one of the world's top strikers, Shevchenko beat Olof Mellberg to a cross for his first goal and then met a corner to head the ball inside the near post for the second.

That set off shouts of “Sheva” that could reverberate throughout the nation for a long time.

“Every game for us is like a final,” Shevchenko said. “We showed great football tonight.”

These days it's Ibrahimovic who is considered a world-class forward, but AC Milan's current star came up short against its former standout forward.

Ibrahimovic did provide the focal point of the Swedish attack and shaved the post with a header in the first half before putting his team ahead.

Kim Kallstrom collected a long cross at the left side of the penalty area and sent it to Ibrahimovic in front of the net. The Sweden striker calmly slotted the ball past Andriy Pyatov and into the net.

But Sweden seemed to relax after that and Shevchenko took advantage by meeting Oleh Gusev's cross and sending his header past Andreas Isaksson.

That made the home crowd erupt and the noise grew even louder six minutes later as the 35-year-old Shevchenko's header from a corner found its way past defender Mikael Lustig at the near post. That sent Blokhin jumping up and down the sideline and waving his hand frenetically.

Ibrahimovic had one good chance to equalize, but his hard, swerving shot was saved by Pyatov. Substitute Johan Elmander and Mellberg both shot high in the final minutes.

Shevchenko was given a well-deserved standing ovation as was taken off in the 81st, while Ibrahimovic strode off the field immediately after the final whistle with his head down.

“Today it was off the post and out, the next game it will be off the post and in,” Ibrahimovic said. “We have three games to play here, it's not just one game.

“I feel sad. We had more chances to score. There's still two games left and we still have the two games to get a result. We need to play a better game than we did today.

“We can't really lose the lead like we did.”

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Peliculas Online