VALENCIA, Spain -- Gareth Bale filled the void left by the injured Cristiano Ronaldo, sealing Real Madrids 19th Copa del Rey title with a late goal in Wednesdays 2-1 win over Barcelona. nfl jerseys china . Ronaldos extra-time play gave Madrid the 2011 Copa del Rey title at Barcelonas expense. In his absence Wednesday, Bale scored in the 85th minute -- his first goal in three "clasico" matches -- to make sure Madrid repeated the feat. Angel Di Maria scored Madrids opener from a counterattack in the 11th minute, capitalizing on a Barcelona lineup that seemed to lack ideas in attack and was slow to recover in defence. Defender Marc Bartra equalized against the run of play in the 67th by heading in from a corner kick to ruin goalkeeper Iker Casillas record run of not conceding in this edition of the tournament. The goal appeared to energize Barcelona, sparking Lionel Messi into action and ensuring the last 15 minutes became a frenetic back-and-forth contest. But with the game hanging in the balance, Bale got the winner when he sprinted down the left side of the pitch, even running out of bounds to avoid Bartra, before racing into the area and rolling the ball under goalkeeper Jose Pinto. "It is difficult to see a player be able to sprint like that at that stage of the game," Barcelona coach Gerardo Martino said. "The game was going our way after we had levelled, until that counterattack." Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti said the goal was "surely the most important" of Bales career, which took a major turn last summer when Madrid broke its own spending record to pay his (euro)100-million transfer to pry him from Tottenham. "It was a decisive moment. When Bartra scored anything could have happened," Ancelotti said. Barcelona, however, still had one last chance, only for Neymars shot to hit the upright in the 90th. Neymars last-gasp effort almost "scared us to death," Casillas said. "Fortune was on our side, and we are thankful for it." Ronaldo joined his teammates to celebrate with their fans on the pitch before the team filed past King Juan Carlos to receive their medals and the prized trophy. The plane carrying the Spanish monarch had technical problems that delayed take-off, but he arrived on time to watch the match along with more than 50,000 spectators divided into large sections of white and blue-and-burgundy club colours. After failing to win the cup competition between 1993 and 2011, Madrid has won it twice in the last four years. Ancelotti earned his first trophy for Madrid and first "clasico" win after losing his first two meetings with Barcelona, and his team will now focus on overtaking Atletico Madrid in the league and its Champions League semifinal against Bayern Munich. The loss is a setback for Barcelona and a major blow to Martino. In an eight-day span, Barcelona exited Europes top-tier competition with a loss, slipped to third place in the Spanish league, and then lost Copa del Rey to its fiercest rival. "It has been a hard week on all fronts," said Martino, who remains confident of hanging on to his job for one more season. "As I have said for one, two, three months now, I dont feel that my future has changed because of all that we lost, and nor do I think it would be different if we had won." Barcelona will now have to catch both Madrid and Atletico with only five rounds left in the Spanish league to make sure it doesnt end the season without a major piece of silverware for the first time since the arrival of Pep Guardiola in 2008-09. cheap jerseys from china . And the Ottawa Redblacks linebacker wanted to be sure his words delivered their full effect. "Its an insult," he said over the phone Wednesday after the CFL Players Association lifted its media ban, giving its members the ability to speak openly about stalling collective bargaining talks. wholesale jerseys . That obstacle in the divisional round of the postseason was of course, eventual Super Bowl champion Green Bay. The field-stretching Packers had the opposite game plan than Atlanta, which primarily opted to run first before letting quarterback Matt Ryan do his thing in the pocket last season.A crucial battle in the Eastern Conference playoff race is on tap Wednesday at Air Canada Centre, as the Toronto Maple Leafs host the Tampa Bay Lighting in an Atlantic Division showdown. Catch the game on TSN starting at 7pm et/4pm pt. Tampa Bay currently holds the last of the Atlantics three automatic bids to the playoffs, but the Maple Leafs are just one point behind. Toronto is also in postseason position at the moment, occupying the first of the Easts two wild card berths. James Reimer is expected to get the call in net again for the Leafs. This is the first time the same goalie will start both games in a back-to-back for the Leafs this season. Reimer hasnt started back-to-back games since Games 6 and 7 in the playoffs last spring. Goalie Jonathan Bernier returned to the ice Wednesday and went through some light work for the first time since suffering a groin injury last week in Los Angeles. Toronto is 2-0 against the Lightning this season and has won three of four and seven of the past nine meetings in this series. Tampa Bay also has lost four in a row at Air Canada Centre. The Bolts dropped a 3-2 regulation decision in Toronto on Jan. 28 and were handed a 4-1 setback at home on Feb. 6. The clubs are set to meet once more in the regular season when the Leafs visit Tampa Bay Times Forum on April 8. The Lightning began their recent homestand with three straight losses before beating Florida, New Jersey and Vancouver to post a solid 3-1-2 mark during the stay in Central Florida. The brief surge has seen Tampa Bay log at least a point in five straight games and the Bolts would like to make it six-game point streak with another win on Wednesday. "Weve got points in five straight games at a time when we really need them," Tampa Bay head coach Jon Cooper remarked. "Hopefully this is good momentum for us going on the road." Tampa Bay is kicking off a three-game road trip on Wednesday and also will visit Ottawa and Pittsburgh during the swing. The Lighting are 17-16-2 as the visiting team this season. The Lightning were last in action on Monday when they notched a 4-3 regulation win over the Canucks. Ondrej Palat continued his five-game point strreak with a goal and an assist to help Tampa down Vancouver. cheap jerseys. Palat, a 22-year-old Czech winger, has four goals and five assists during the run and has been a pleasant surprise for the Bolts this season, posting 18 goals and 46 points through 68 games. Steven Stamkos also registered a goal and an assist in the Lightnings third straight victory. Valtteri Filppula and Tom Pyatt also scored while goaltender Ben Bishop made 25 stops in the win. Bishop expects to start tonight for Tampa, but the former Ottawa Senator is just 2-4-0 with a 3.05 goals against average and .884 save percentage in seven career games against Toronto. Toronto has struggled of late, losing two straight and three of its last four games. The Leafs hope to get back on track Wednesday when they play the first test of a two-game homestand. The residency also includes Saturdays important divisional tilt against the rival Canadiens. The Maple Leafs are 22-11-1 as the home team this season compared to a 14-15-7 mark on the road. Toronto wrapped a five-game road trip on Tuesday with a 3-2 regulation loss in Detroit. Gustav Nyquist scored a pair of goals to lead the Red Wings to the close victory at Joe Louis Arena. Jake Gardiner and James van Riemsdyk had one goal apiece for the Maple Leafs, while James Reimer allowed all three goals on 31 shots. "It was average. There was some good and bad throughout the five games," Maple Leafs forward Nazem Kadri said of the teams five-game road trip. Jonathan Bernier sat out his second straight game with a strained groin and the clubs No. 1 goaltender is considered day-to-day. Reimer could get the start on back-to-back nights and is 2-3-0 with a 2.94 GAA in five career games against Tampa Bay. Drew MacIntyre, who has been serving as the backup with Bernier sidelined, has not seen action in an NHL game since making two appearances with Buffalo during the 2011-12 season. After winning the final three tests of a six-game homestand, the Lightning hope to carry some momentum on the road for tonights important clash. So far in 2013-14, however, Tampa Bay has come up empty against the Maple Leafs. ' ' '
