miaowang123: rallied to draw 1-1 at Elche

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MONTREAL -- There was at least one tight battle in Rachel Homans 10 straight victories at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts. Stitched Bengals Jerseys . Homan and her Canada rink from Ottawa had to fight back from a 3-0 deficit to defeat Saskatchewans Stefanie Lawton 7-6 on Thursday afternoon at the Maurice Richard Arena. Then the Homan rink posted an 8-5 victory over Newfoundlands Heather Strong (4-7) in an evening match to secure first place in the round robin portion of the tournament. "Its good to have a game like that," Homan said of her win over Saskatchewan (8-2). "All the time, every day, all week long would be tough, but it was a great battle by both teams." Homan mused this week about her chances to go undefeated in the Scotties, which hasnt been done since Linda Moore in 1985. Jennifer Jones, now competing for Canada at the Winter Olympics, went undefeated in the round robin last year in Kingston, Ont., but then was beaten by Homan in the final. She has one round robin game left Friday against New Brunswicks Andrea Crawford (6-4), who saw her playoff hopes dashed when Albertas Val Sweeting (8-3) scored three in the ninth and then stole one in the 10th to defeat Manitobas Chelsea Carey (8-2) 7-4. Sweeting clinched a playoff spot and ensured no tiebreaker games would be needed. Carey had a chance at a big score in the 10th, but her angle raise just failed to dislodge Sweetings shot stone. Carey needs a win over P.E.I.s Kim Dolan (3-7) on Friday to finish second and play Homan in the first versus second playoff game on Friday night. The loser of that game plays the winner of the third-versus-fourth game in the semifinal on Saturday. The bronze medal game and the final are on Sunday. Lawton, who lost to Manitoba in the round robin, is in third place. She has a game left against Yukons Sarah Koltun (1-9). Roars went up from the 2,415 spectators at the evening draw as Quebecs Allison Ross (2-9) ended her tournament with a 5-3 win over Ontarios Allison Flaxey (3-7). Flaxey plays Nova Scotias Heather Smith (3-7) on Friday. Going into the Saskatchewan game, Homans rink had outscored eight opponents by a combined 71-30 and had not had to play a full 10 ends. Some wondered if the one-sided wins would leave her vulnerable in the playoffs because she had yet to make any shots under pressure. She answered that with solid play in a close match, although one in which Saskatchewans shot making faltered in the second half. "That wasnt our strongest game as a team," said Lawton. "We can pick it up. "Rachels team played great and put pressure on us. We can finetune a few of those shots and make them better." Lawton said the fact that her squad didnt have its A-game gives her hope if she ends up meeting Homan again in the playoffs. "I know we can play better and well come out and push them even more," she said. "We had the lead and played a strong first half, but in the second half we werent as strong and that showed on the scoreboard." Homan wrecked on a guard to let Lawton score three in the second end. Canada got two back in the third and another two in the seventh to make it 5-5. It was Lawtons turn to miss in the eighth with a draw that went a little long to give Homan her first lead with a steal of one. Lawton tied it in the ninth, but Homan had the hammer in the final end. She still hasnt had to throw a 10th-end last rock because Lawtons final steal attempt fell just short. Carey clinched a playoff spot in the afternoon with a 9-8 win over Flaxey on a point in an extra end. "Thats step one -- making the playoffs," said Carey. "If Im in the playoffs, Im a happy camper." Crawford downed Koltun 5-4 and Dolan beat Smith 7-5. Flaxey started the Scotties 1-5, but emerged as a spoiler Wednesday with victories over Alberta and the Yukon. She gave Carey a scare with a three in the sixth and another two in the eighth for a 7-5 lead. But Carey rallied with three in the ninth and held Flaxey to one in the 10th to force an extra end. In the morning draw, Sweeting earned a 10-3 win over Ross. Ross opened with the hammer but Sweeting had steals of two, three and two points over the first three ends for a commanding 7-0 lead before Quebec scored one in the fourth. The other early game saw B.C.s Kesa Van Osch claim a 7-3 victory over Strong. Nick Vigil Jersey . Hazard lasted just 18 minutes in Tuesdays contest before being substituted with the calf problem, and Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho believes he will be without his star winger for at least the next two weeks. Hardy Nickerson Jr. Jersey . Make that, almost always subjective. Saturday at Carrow Road, the spirit of fair play trumped the rulebook, costing Norwich City three points. MADRID, Spain -- Atletico Madrid and Barcelona showed the battle for the title would be a long, drawn-out affair after the Spanish co-leaders drew 0-0 in their first league meeting of the season on Saturday. Both teams finished the first half of the season tied on 50 points after an exciting, back-and-forth showdown at Vicente Calderon Stadium yielded no winner. Barcelona was troubled by Atletico pair Diego Costa and Arda Turan throughout, while second-half substitute Lionel Messi enjoyed the visitors best chances as the Barcelona forward headed wide before forcing goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois into a clutch stop in the 81st. Neymar also came on in the second half for Barcelona but the Brazil striker made little impact as the teams played out their third straight draw following the summer Spanish Super Cup series. "It was like a game of chess," Atletico coach Diego Simeone said. "The game reflected where these two teams are in the standings." Atletico will remain encouraged about winning its first title since 1996 and dislodging the Barcelona-Real Madrid monopoly that has been broken only by Deportivo La Coruna and Valencia since. Real Madrid travels to Espanyol on Sunday knowing a victory will move it to within three points of the leaders. While Barcelona counted on its squad of regulars, Atleticos lineup was relatively unchanged down to Simeones all-black suit and jacket. The hosts started more brightly as Turans short cross along the goal-line was headed just over for the games opening chance four minutes in. The physical Diego Costa forced goalkeeper Victor Valdes into a save before awkward positioning kept him scoring from a headed-on corner in the 28th. Barcelona braved Atleticos early surge and its choking pressure up the field with its passing game, with Pedro Rodriguez heading over goal inn the 33rd before Courtois saved Gerard Piques long, low shot. Boomer Esiason Jersey. With Cesc Fabregas playing as a "false 9" Barcelona had trouble breaking through in attack. "We expected a very strong, disciplined, and unrelenting opponent. They dont leave any open space in their area and its very difficult to expose them," Barcelona midfielder Xavi Hernandez said. "We just couldnt create enough chances on goal. It was a very intense game." Tension was building as the action moved end-to-end in the hard-fought, energetic match with Simeone warned by the referee to cool down just before the break. Andres Iniesta hurt his left knee and gave way to Messi to start the second half but it was Diego Costa who continued to prowl Barcelonas goal only to shoot wide in the 59th. Messi perhaps showed some rust from a two-month injury layoff when he headed Jordi Albas cross wide from the penalty spot at the other end. Alba and Daniel Alves made little impact in attack as the Barcelona fullbacks were cut off by Atleticos strikers. Atletico looked set to break through in the 79th but Turan volleyed a looping ball straight at Valdes, moments before Courtois denied Messis hard-taken shot from the left. "I dont know what will happen between now and the last 19 rounds but I expect Atletico to stay in the fight," Barcelona coach Gerardo Martino said. Also, Athletic Bilbao maintained its grip on fourth by demolishing Almeria 6-1 while Valencias season-long slide continued with a 2-1 defeat at Celta Vigo. Athletic enjoys a four-point cushion in fourth at the halfway point of the season, while Almeria sits three points above the drop zone. Celta moved three points clear of the relegation zone with the victory. 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