Wilkommen bei den Schatten » The breakthrough hardly provided respite

WASHINGTON -- Steve Birnbaum and Luciano Acosta scored first-half goals and D.C. United beat the Portland Timbers 2-0 on Saturday night at sweltering RFK Stadium.Birnbaums second goal of the season put D.C. on the board in the seventh minute. Bobby Boswell reached Lloyd Sams corner and headed it to foot of Birnbaum inside the box for his second goal in a week.Acosta took a short chip from Patrick Mullins in tight quarters, got the ball to his feet and dinked it over sliding keeper Jake Gleeson in the 29th minute.Winless in the previous six games, D.C. (6-8-9) vaulted over New England and Orlando City into playoff position in the Eastern Conference.Portland (8-9-8) holds the final qualification spot in the Western Conference, a point up on San Jose, which has two games in hand. Despite a big advantage in possession time, Portland managed just six shots and only put two on target.With the temperature near 100 degrees at kickoff there were regularly scheduled hydration breaks. John Smoltz Jersey . SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. Darren ODay Jersey . -- Arizona knocked off some quality opponents, rolled over a few overmatched ones and grinded out victories even when things didnt go so well. http://www.baseballbravesproshop.com/david-justice-braves-jersey/ .Y. -- Knicks coach Mike Woodson said Wednesday that J. Babe Ruth Jersey . -- Catcher Brett Hayes has agreed to a $630,000, one-year contract with the Kansas City Royals, avoiding salary arbitration. Mike Foltynewicz Jersey . -- Charlie Graham stopped 67 shots as the Belleville Bulls edged the visiting Guelph Storm 6-5 on Saturday in Ontario Hockey League action. 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. ' ' '