Breitmann Tuning » net. He wasnt the best player on the pitch for

MONTREAL -- FC Edmonton had its first Amway Canadian Championship final within its grasp. But then it all slipped away. Edmonton was winning on aggregate after 90 minutes of play on Wednesday, even though the Montreal Impact were winning the match 3-2. But Patrice Bernier scored late in stoppage time on a penalty kick to give Montreal its second consecutive Amway Canadian Championship final berth. "Its sickening," said Frank Jonke, who scored the games two goals for Edmonton three minutes apart in the second half. "It leaves a sick feeling in everybodys stomach on our team. To lose, to not go through on that, is very sickening for us." Having lost the first leg of the home-and-home series 2-1 in Edmonton last week, the Impact needed a two-goal victory for a spot in the next round. Berniers goal five minutes into stoppage time, effectively the last kick of the game, gave Montreal the 5-4 victory on aggregate over the Eddies. In the dying minutes of added time, Montreals Heath Pearce fired a shot into a crowd of Edmonton defenders in the box. Referee Drew Fischer blew his whistle for handball, ran over to Edmontons Kareem Moses, and then pointed to the penalty spot. "I dont think it was a handball," said Jonke. "I dont think it was a penalty, and I think we should be going through." Edmonton coach Colin Miller also thought his team was robbed. "(Two Edmonton players) saw one of our players with his hands behind his back. And the ball hit him here," said Miller, pointing to his shoulder. "The referee then went to the wrong player to tell him it hit him." Miller was livid with Fischer after the game, and confronted the official as he was leaving the pitch. "Our players in the second half didnt deserve to get beaten in the manner that they did," said Miller. "I had a go at the referee after the game, and rightly so. The job that we do as coaches is hard enough without that decision being made." Impact president Joey Saputo then jumped onto the field and got into a screaming match with Miller. "I wished him a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!" quipped the Edmonton coach. "Im sure Mr. Saputo will buy me a Guinness afterwards." With the win, Montreal (1-0-1) will play either Toronto FC or the Vancouver Whitecaps in the two-leg final on May 28 and June 4. The winner will advance to the CONCACAF Champions League. The Impact went up 3-0 on Wednesday on two first-half goals by Jack McInerney and a 47th minute strike by Jeb Brovsky. Montreal was all but assured victory before Edmonton clawed back in the second half. Jonke scored his first goal in the 67th minute when his shot from just outside the six-yard box deflected off an Impact defender and beat goalie Evan Bush. The Edmonton striker added what would have been the series-clincher three minutes later from the penalty spot, firing right down the middle for his second of the game. The Eddies were awarded a penalty after Impact defender Karl Ouimette took down Neil Hlavaty in the box. Jonkes goals were the first conceded by the Impact at Saputo Stadium in four Canadian Championship matches dating back to 2012 when the team joined MLS. "The game should have been 5-0," said Impact coach Frank Klopas. "It should have been over. It was a lack of concentration. In five minutes, the game changed. We should have never been in this situation. We crumbled. Our mentality has to be stronger." If not for Berniers stoppage-time goal from the spot, the Eddies would have progressed to the next round. "Some guys took their foot off the gas pedal, and we let them right back into it," said McInerney. "We were fortunate to get a goal at the end. Its about time something goes our way this season." Last week in Edmonton, the Eddies scored a stoppage-time goal for the 2-1 victory. McInerney was the lone goal scorer for Montreal in that game, beating goalkeeper John Smits in the 56th minute. It only took 10 minutes for McInerney to score on the return leg at Saputo Stadium, firing home after a Justin Mapp cross missed Felipe in the box but fell right to the 21-year-old instead. "No disrespect to Edmonton, but theyre a lower-level team," said McInerney. "I would expect from myself to go out there and score every game against them." Mapp fed McInerney again seven minutes later, flicking the ball to the on-rushing striker with his heel at the edge of the 18-yard box. McInerney gave no chance to Smits, beating the Eddies keeper with a quick strike. As winners of last years Canadian Championship, the Impact made it to the CONCACAF Champions League for the second time in the continental tournaments six-year history, where they were eliminated in the group stage. Notes: Edmonton plays in the North American Soccer League, a league just below MLS. They are ninth in the NASL with four points from five games and have now played eight games in the last 26 days. a Striker Marco Di Vaio (hamstring injury) missed Wednesdays game. Di Vaio has not played since April 26. a There were less than 5,000 people in attendance at Saputo Stadium. a The Impact return to MLS play on Saturday when they take on D.C. United in the American capital. a The Eddies are on the road to face the San Antonio Scorpions on Saturday. Wholesale Air Max From China . Doug Fister allowed two runs over seven innings and Washington hit three solo homers in a 6-2 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Wednesday night. Discount Air Max . Johnson shared an update after his surgery Tuesday on Twitter. He also wrote, "now lets get on the grind." The running back told The Tennessean he was having surgery in Pensacola, Fla. http://www.cheapairmaxstore.com/ . The 48th-ranked Williams made her first appearance in Dubai since she won her second straight title here in 2010. Shed missed the last three years either because of injury or Sjogrens Syndrome. Air Max China . The Maple Leafs may not have had a pick until the third round, but they have made the biggest move of the second day of the Draft, dealing defenceman Carl Gunnarsson and a fourth-round pick in the draft to the St. Cheap Nike Shoes From China . -- Downcast before the final game of what had been a difficult road trip, the Ottawa Senators found a way to dig out a little momentum in the desert before heading home.They say a trip to play Celtic is a vital part of your footballing education. And, of course, when I say they, I mean some of the greatest to ever play the game. Barcelonas Xavi: "The atmosphere generated by the fans in Celtics stadium for our visit was the most impressive Ive ever witnessed. The grounds of Liverpool and Manchester United are good and the hostile feeling of playing against Real Madrid in the Bernabeu is also excellent, but the atmosphere against Celtic was the best." If the opinion of Xavi is not enough, how about someone equally as brilliant and smart. Someone like Paolo Maldini... "Every professional footballer should seek to play at least one game at Celtic Park. I have never felt anything like it," he said. The great thing about Maldini and Xavi is that they are all-time greats, not only for the way they played on the field but also for the way they carried themselves off it. They speak, you listen. They remain two of the smartest players I have ever watched and listened to. Throughout their long careers at the top of the game, they certainly never referred to themselves as one of the games best players. And then there is Mario Balotelli and the comments he made to the Scottish Sun newspaper this week: "I have heard all about the fans and the atmosphere they create - and my message to them is bring it on! "If fans want to try and make a stadium hostile for me - or boo me because I am one of the best players in the world - then I hope they do." One of the best players in the world, eh? Okay. The Italian touched down in Glasgow this week having played a total of 27 Champions League games in his career. For his three teams, Inter Milan, Manchester City and AC Milan, he was important enough to only have started just 11 of those, coming on 16 times as a substitute. He had scored just seven Champions League goals in 1,276 minutes played, averaging a goal every 182 minutes. For Inter, he was nothing more than an after-thought on their way to glory in 2010 while at City, he started just two of 12 matches, spread over two frustrating campaigns for both club and player. The third chapter in his Champions League career is back at the San Siro. For now. The thing with Mario is, you just never quite know what he is going to do next, and that includes choosing where to play. On Saturday, in a league game against Genoa, Balotelli missed a penalty in a frustrating 1-1 draw that sent the Italian giants down to 13th in Serie A. After the match he took to twitter to thicken the plot. This is the end. :-) - Mario Balotelli (@FinallyMario) November 24, 2013 Before the Genoa match, he had told the Italian press I am happy at Milan and I am happy to be here. Balotelli certainly played happy, despite making it eight straight games without a goal, and was a menace throughout the match and arguably Milans best performer. That didnt stop Milan fans from voicing their complaints after the game towards Balotelli and his teammates. It is hard to blame them. Their performances, just like their league position, have not been good enough. Yet, with the transfer window closed until January, this is not a club Balotelli can run away from. At Inter and Manchester City, Balotelli wass surrounded by a plethora of outstanding players who could easily demand a starting spot ahead of the Italian, who could happily move aside and away from having to perform on the field.dddddddddddd At Milan, things are very different. An out-of-form Balotelli, smiling or sulking, remains the clubs best option up front. There will be no sitting on the bench for Mario. And so with that presents the self-proclaimed one of the best players in the world an opportunity, a run of games to help carry Milan back towards the top three in Serie A and into the last 16 of the Champions League. "Great atmosphere always brings the best out of me," he had said in the run-up to the game and so it proved. The game was effectively over as a contest just after half-time, with Milans both goals coming from corners that Celtic failed to deal with, killing the usual atmosphere Celtic Park is famed for. Much will be made of Kakas easy header inside the box to open the scoring but it was Balotellis run from a deep position that led to a free kick that won the corner and placed Milan into scoring territory. It was to be that kind of day for Balotelli, a day where he would have to bide his time, show patience and a mature side to his game when waiting to receive the ball. It is these kind of games that people have wondered about the 23-year-old. He is built very much like a striker who can play up top on his own, but his overall attitude and tendency to drift out of games is one of the reasons he hasnt started as many Champions League games as he should have. At Celtic, he had an appetite to come deep to receive the ball, start quick counter-attacks with his midfielders and drift wide to provide key outlets and pull the central defenders into areas they dont want to go. Balotelli would get rewarded for his hard work when he scored his eighth career Champions League goal in the second half, coming deep, before timing a run superbly, sprinting into space to receive a great ball from Riccardo Montolivo and finishing it off at the near post. He also used his supreme strength to brush aside the defender, let the ball run, and not even touch it until he kicked it into the net. He wasnt the best player on the pitch for Milan but on this night, he didnt need to be. The fantastic Kaka, playing behind Balotelli, was, as the Brazilian rolled back the years with a sensational performance that included powerful runs from distance, incisive passes and an ease at finding space. Kaka, unfortunately, wont be given such space by many teams in Italy and so the responsibility of carrying Milan back towards respectability falls at the feet of Balotelli. In Glasgow, perhaps without even knowing or caring, he passed another test of his footballing education and finally showed signs that he does have an ability to lead the line for a team in Europes elite club competition. He is far from one of the worlds best players but if he wants to get anywhere near to the level once shown by Maldini, and still shown by Xavi, the European Champions League gives him the stage to perform. We know how much he likes a stage, now it is up to him to ensure what he does on it. Why Always Me? The truth is it hasnt been about you enough, Mario. ' ' '