MONTREAL -- If there is a team in MLS that gives the Montreal Impact headaches, it is the Columbus Crew. jerseys from china . The Impact looked to be cruising to a win after Marco Di Vaios Major League Soccer-leading 18th goal in the 23rd minute when the crafty Federico Higuain went to work, setting up a pair of second-half goals in the Crews 2-1 comeback victory on Saturday afternoon. Defender Chad Marshall and striker Dominic Oduro scored for Columbus (10-14-5), which has been a thorn in Montreals side this season. The Crew, who handed the Impact only their second home loss of the season, won the season series with Montreal 2-0-1, taking five of six points at Saputo Stadium. Impact coach Marco Schallibaum uses the French term "bete noire" to describe Columbus, which his players know means nemesis. "Its football -- you always have a bete noire," said Schallibaum. "Its very hard to explain." This one was straightforward. The Impact wasted several chances to make it a 2-0 game, and pushed so hard for a second goal that they left themselves open for talent like Higuain to make them pay. The first was a smartly curled free kick that found Marshalls head on the left side of the penalty area in the 66th minute to tie the game. The second came after Justin Mapp lost the ball in the midfield and Higuain sent a perfect pass that the onrushing Oduro got a toe on in the 79th. "Its difficult to explain, but every time we play against Columbus its a difficult game for us," said Impact defender Matteo Ferrari. "We started well. "In the second half, we were in control and also had some chances. It was important to score the second goal and we didnt. They got the second goal with a mistake in the midfield and then it was difficult to come back." The game-winner was Oduros 10th of the season, including one in each game against Montreal. "It looks like I have their number, but at the end of the day, we just played well," said Oduro. "We wanted to get a result and we did. We played well and made it happen." Montreal (13-8-6), which entered the day in a tie for first place in the Eastern Conference, ended a four-game unbeaten run with a game they should have had salted away by the intermission. The Impact got the early lead Patrice Bernier lofted a pass over the penalty area to Ferrari, who headed into the middle for Di Vaio to nod in for his seventh goal in the last five games. But Mapp was stopped from point blank by Matt Lampson in the opening minutes, captain Davy Arnaud just missed converting a Di Vaio pass, Felipe Martins froze on a chance from close range, Di Vaio wasted one when he cut left instead of shooting, and Jeb Brovsky was stopped by a diving save at the end of the half. Di Vaio had another chance early in the second half, but was stopped. "I dont think they were hungrier than us, I just think our focus was maybe too much on getting the second goal and we didnt do a good enough job covering space when we were going forward," said midfielder Collen Warner. It was a game they were counting on to win. Schallibaum started his first 11, not saving any veterans for a key CONCACAF Champions League game in San Jose on Tuesday night. "Its very disappointing," said Arnaud. "I thought we created a ton of chances. "We could have put the game out of reach. We talked before the game about how dangerous they are on set pieces and it hurt us because they got back in the game on a set piece." It all added up to another setback against Columbus, a team that lost eight of 11 games before making a coaching change on Sept. 2. Interim coach Brian Bliss has two wins and a loss since taking over. Now the Crew hope to put a streak together to try to climb back into the playoff hunt. They are on the tail of Chicago, Houston and England for fifth place and final a post-season berth. "This was critical to our goal of getting a playoff spot," said Bliss. "Now weve put some pressure on some teams that are ahead of us." Montreal resumes league play Saturday against the visiting Vancouver Whitecaps. cheap jerseys from china . -- Three close looks at the bucket, three misses. wholesale nfl jerseys . Virtue, from London, Ont., and Moir, from Ilderton, Ont., gave Canada nine points in the multi-stage event with a score of 72.98. Meryl Davis and Charlie White of the United States finished first with 75.There will be seven teams in the newly-formed National Basketball League of Canada. The final team was named Thursday and that is a club from Summerside, Prince Edward Island. London is in. So is Oshawa. Then Moncton joined the lineup. And thats not all. Add on the three original teams, Halifax, Saint John and Quebec to the Summerside franchise and you get a glimpse of the National Basketball League of Canada. Its been a big week for the fledging league set to open across Canada, make that Maritime Canada, Quebec and Ontario; as theyve rolled out teams like Tim Hortons rolls out coffee. Oshawa became the first team to have all their paperwork done, leases signed and all dots crossed and that happened on Monday. That was followed by London and then Moncton and finally on Thursday afternoon came Summerside PEI. Four franchise announcements in four days, Wow. And its big news for those cities since this sport will compete with major junior in all centres except Summerside, where there is a Maritime junior franchise that has been here for decades. "Its a great day for Summerside and a great week for the NBL," said interim league president Andre Livingstone. "We are ready to roll and play basketball." Play will start in late October or very early November. Each team will have a 36-game schedule, meaning 18 home dates. Each team will carry at least two Canadians on its active roster. Each team has paid their entrance fee of at least $100,000 dollars and has a place to play. Oshawa will play at the General Motors Centre. The team is holding an on-line name the team contest. The names of their owners are impressive. Some of the centres are wellknown and are great places such as the Halifax Metro Centre for the Rainmen and the John Labatt Centre for the London team. Livingstone made the announcement in London, heaping praise on the city and the mayor. "Mayor Fontana and the London city council were extremely aggressive and supportive in welcoming professional basketball to the city," said Levingston. &"They truly understand what professional sport will mean for their local economy and for their community. wholesale jerseys. If we receive the kind of support across Canada that the city of London has shown us, I have no doubt that this will one day be the most successful league in North America and one of the best places to play in the world." Now thats stretching it but theres enthusiasm. In Prince Edward Island, it was a close call between the capital Charlottetown and Summerside the second city. The Summerside team will play in Credit Union Place that was built only a few years ago and seats 4,200. "Its a great place to play," said owner Duncan Shaw. Shaw and his partners had to decide between Summerside and Charlottetown and negotiated with both cities and opted out for Summerside. Hockey was a factor. The QMJHLs PEI Rocket play in Charlottetown so they wont be competing with the Rocket for fans and attention. "Its only 40 minutes between cities so we intend to get many from Charlottetown," added Shaw. One thing is certain and that is the team will have a name that speaks, even screams PEI. "It wont be the Spuds or the Stompin Toms but the name and colours will tell everyone that were an island team." Shaw is a big sports fan and has done well in business. "This league has so much potential. Im excited to be part of it," said Shaw. The last time a pro team came to PEI was the Senators in 1993 -1996. They averaged 2,200-2,400 per game but folded in their last season. "Lessons were learned from that," said Shaw. Its been a great week for the league. Four new franchises join and the total that will start in the National Basketball League of Canada is seven. Will it be lucky seven, we will see. The next step is when these teams hit the court in late October or early November. But in the brief history of this league, certainly this week has been impressive. For TSN.ca Im Alex J. Walling Alex J. can be reached via email at: ajw@eastlink.ca cheap jerseys ' ' '
