NEU » off 77 balls.The brea

SAO PAULO -- Matildas coach Alen Stajcic doesnt believe in omens.And he hopes the rest of the Australian Olympic team dont either after his womens footballers opened the nations Rio campaign with a horror show.Not only did the first Australians in action at the Rio Games lose 2-0 to Canada.They also copped the fastest goal in Olympic womens football - 20 seconds.And conceded another when their goalkeeper was sprawled near the halfway line.All against a Canadian outfit who played 75 minutes with 10 players after a send off.Oh, and the result also means their next match against superpowers Germany becomes that much more important.Its not the start you want, is it, to an Olympic campaign, a grim-faced Stajcic said after Wednesdays demoralising defeat at Sao Paulos Arena Corinthians.The Matildas are removed from the rest of the Australian Olympic teams troubled preparation in Rio which has included a burning building. But they just may have burnt their Olympic bridge - in record time.In just 20 seconds, the Australians were a goal down.Laura Alleway sent a sluggish sideways pass towards her defensive counterpart Alanna Kennedy, who didnt sense snooping Canadian captain Christine Sinclair until too late.Sinclair intercepted, charged at goal, and arrowed a poised pass to teammate Janine Beckie who tapped in the gift from barely one metre out.The Australians then dominated - 11 shots to two by halftime - but couldnt score.Stajcic was more perplexed at Australias lacklustre second half when they failed to press their numerical advantage.I dont think the goal in the first minute was the decisive factor, Stajcic said.I think our second half performance for 45 minutes was the decisive factor in the result.We just lacked the creativity to be able to get in behind them ... we just werent good enough.We werent clever enough on the ball and lacked the creativity needed to break a defence like that down. I cant remember one chance in the second half, to be honest.Next up, an encounter against the dual World Cup-winning Germans in Sao Paulo on Saturday from 1800 (0700 AEST Sunday), before a last group game against Zimbabwe three days later.You have got to pick yourself up ... we havent spent one month (training) in Brazil to have a sulk now, Stajcic said.The top two teams from each of the three, four-team groups qualify for the knockout stages along with the two best-placed sides that finish third. China Jerseys Stitched .875,000, avoiding arbitration. Clippards deal Monday means all eight Nationals players who filed for arbitration wound up settling before a hearing. Cheap Jerseys From China . -- Catcher Brett Hayes has agreed to a $630,000, one-year contract with the Kansas City Royals, avoiding salary arbitration. https://www.chinajerseyscheap.us/ . -- San Francisco 49ers linebacker Ahmad Brooks was fined $15,570 by the NFL on Wednesday for his hit on Saints quarterback Drew Brees last Sunday. China Jerseys Cheap . Philadelphia is 2-0 against the Senators this season and scored five goals in each victory. The Flyers recorded a 5-0 win in Ottawa on Nov. 12 and then earned a 5-2 home decision on Nov. 19. The Flyers have claimed three straight and four of the last five encounters with the Sens overall and Philly has won two in a row and three of its past four tests in Canadas capital city. Fake China Jerseys .J. Jefferson has been charged with assaulting his girlfriend. Ireland 237 for 4 (Joyce 105*, Kevin OBrien 75, Hassan 2-21) beat Afghanistan 236 (Shahzad 81, Kevin OBrien 3-28, McCarthy 3-57) by six wicketsScorecard and ball-by-ball details Ed Joyces fourth ODI century and Kevin OBriens all-round brilliance combined to give Ireland a six-wicket win over Afghanistan in the third ODI in Belfast.Irelands bowlers, led by OBriens 3 for 28 in 9.1 overs, put up a strong performance after they lost the toss and dismissed Afghanistan for 236. OBrien then made another crucial contribution, scoring 75, and his fourth-wicket partnership of 144 with Joyce helped the hosts cruise to the target in 47.3 overs and level the five-match series 1-1. Joyce remained unbeaten on 105.The chase wasnt smooth until the Joyce-OBrien partnership: Ireland were reduced to 29 for 3 in the ninth over after Hamid Hassan struck twice. Ireland captain William Porterfield edged to first slip for 1 in the second over, before Sean Terry was trapped lbw for 3 by one that came back in. Asghar Stanikzai introduced spin in the ninth over and the move immediately paid off as Stuart Poynter picked out backward square leg off Mohammad Nabis second delivery.Joyce and OBrien then steered Ireland to safety by batting together for 28.5 overs. OBrien struck seven fours in his 85-ball knock before falling in the 38th over, with Ireland requiring 64 off 77 balls.The breakthrough hardly provided respite for Afghanistan..dddddddddddd. Paul Stirling chipped in with an unbeaten 39 off 37 balls to dominate an unbroken fifth-wicket partnership of 64 with Joyce, who reached his century off the first ball of the 48th over and hit the winning runs two balls later.Ireland could have been pushed harder if Afghanistans batsmen had built on Mohammad Shahzads platform. He held firm with 81, his third consecutive half-century, even as wickets tumbled around him.Javed Ahmadi, Rahmat Shah and Samiullah Shenwari fell without doing much to leave Afghanistan on 63 for 3 in the 17th over. Shahzad, who had marched to 36, resurrected the innings through a 76-run fourth-wicket stand with Stanikzai. The duo kept Irelands bowlers at bay for 15 overs, before pace bowler Peter Chase removed both batsmen in the space of three deliveries. Stanikzai chased a wide one and got an edge towards third man where Joyce completed a running catch, before Shahzad found first slip in his attempt to guide a short delivery.Afghanistan once again lost quick wickets. That they passed 200 was down to Nabi and his 52-run eighth-wicket stand with Rashid Khan, who scored 24 at No. 9. Nabi was the ninth man dismissed, for a 41-ball 40, and Afghanistan were bowled out in 49.1 overs. OBrien and Barry McCarthy finished with three wickets each. ' ' '