"Andrew exceeded expectations defensively,"

ROME -- Roma beat Napoli 3-2 in the first leg of their Italian Cup semifinal on Wednesday thanks to a double from Ivory Coast forward Gervinho. The return match will take place next Wednesday. Udinese leads Fiorentina 2-1 in the other semifinal. Napoli staged a second-half comeback from two goals down after Gervinhos opener and a stunning strike from Kevin Strootman. But Gervinho scored the winner two minutes from time. "In our league, ninety per cent of the matches are played defensively but its good to play like this against strong players," Roma midfielder Daniele De Rossi said. "Its good to see games like this, theyre an advert for football. "It wasnt good for us mentally to concede a minute after the restart. But after they made it 2-2, we responded brilliantly. Another good game like tonights awaits us in Naples." Napoli started the brighter but it was Roma which broke the deadlock in the 13th minute when Gervinho ran onto a delightful through-ball from Francesco Totti and rounded goalkeeper Pepe Reina before firing home from three meters. Strootman doubled Romas lead in the 32nd with a stunning rocket into the top right corner from more than 30 metres. Gonzalo Higuain pulled one back for Napoli a minute into the second half as the ball deflected off Mehdi Benatia and goalkeeper Morgan De Sanctis got his hands to it but could not prevent it from going in. It was the former Real Madrid strikers 16th of the season. Substitute Dries Mertens levelled in the 70th, four minutes after coming off the bench, when he burst between two defenders and blasted an effort past De Sanctis. Gervinho secured the match for Roma when he collected Alessandro Florenzis pass and coolly slotted into the near side of goal. Udinese, which has eliminated both Milan teams, beat Fiorentina on Tuesday in a match which saw three wonderful goals. Antonio Di Natale broke the deadlock in the 36th minute with his first goal from open play since September but Juan Manuel Vargas smashed an effort in off the underside of the crossbar a minute from halftime. Substitute Luis Muriel scored a long-range winner for Udinese, which is hoping to reach the final for the first time since 1922. Both sides eliminated illustrious teams in the previous round. Napoli knocked out holder Lazio, while Roma defeated Juventus, which is on course for a third successive league title. Albert Wilson Jersey . Abduraimova had not won a tour-level match since 2009 but was a wild-card entry in Tashkent and broke her opponent twice in each set to reach the second round. Second-seeded Irina-Camelia Begu of Romania advanced easily by beating Kateryna Kozlova of Ukraine 6-3, 6-1, while No. Kalen Ballage Jersey . Siddikur, who led on all four days and took a four-stroke lead going into the final day, bogeyed four out of six holes starting at the sixth and continued a forgettable last round in which he returned a three-over 75 to finish with a 14-under 274. http://www.dolphinsrookiestore.com/Dolphins-Aj-Derby-Jersey/ . Ireland was the last unbeaten side in the championship after France fell to Wales on Friday, and was favoured to end a three-match losing run to England with a side with more than twice as many caps, rampant momentum, and added incentive to celebrate Brian ODriscolls world record-tying 139th test cap. Custom Miami Dolphins Jerseys . JOHNS, N. A.J. Derby Jersey . -- Chris Jones and Louisville have done a tremendous job protecting the basketball this season and thats led to easy victories.BRADENTON, Fla. -- Pitcher Wandy Rodriguez contributed a two-run homer and RBI single as the Pittsburgh Pirates got 29 hits Tuesday and routed the Toronto Blue Jays 22-5. Starling Marte and Jose Tabata each homered and drove in four runs. Marte got five hits and Tabata had four. The Pirates finished with nine extra-base hits. In his first at-bat of the spring, Rodriguez hit a full-count fastball from J.A. Happ into the Pirates bullpen in right field. "Its a 3-2 count and I knew the fastball was coming," Rodriguez said with a laugh. "I made good contract and the wind helped me, too. I dont have a lot of power." Rodriguez added his single in an eight-run fourth inning. Rodriguez made his final start of spring training, working 4 2-3 innings and allowing three runs on six hits and four walks. Matt Tuiasosopo hit a solo home run for Toronto. Happ did not help his bid to claim a job in Torontos rotation. He faced 20 batters in three-plus innings and allowed seven runs and 12 hits. "I was throwing a lot of strikes on a tough-conditions day," Happ said. "They were putting the ball in play. I feel good about throwing the ball in the zone, but this is one start that Ive just got to try to get over." Blue Jays: With a 20.57 ERA after five outings, Happ might not beat out Dustin McGowan for the final open spot in the starting rotation. Happ, however, said he came to camp believing the job was his and doesnt believe its in jeopardy. "I dont know whos all saying things have changed," he said. "I guess Im not part of those conversations. I havent had one with anybody whos telling me things are changing. Its you (media) guys saying that. I take positives and move forward, and I plan on getting better." Happ has been bothered by a sore back, but said he feels fine now. Would he be willing to pitch in relief if he doesnt crack the rotation? "Im not thinking about that," he said. "Ill answer that question if one of the bosses decides he needs to ask me that. Well deal with that then." McGowan pitched in a minor league game and allowed three hits in four innings. He likely will start another minor league game Sunday. Pirates: As the No. 3 starter in the rotation, Rodriguez is scheduled to make his season debut April 4 against the St. Louis Cardinals at PNC Park. Last year, he made only 12 starts due to chronic forearm pain and went 6-4 with a 3.dddddddddddd9 ERA. He will be a free agent after this season. "I feel very happy because when I started spring training, I was thinking a lot about my arm," Rodriguez said. "Every time I throw, I feel good." Pirates: Left-hander Francisco Liriano (groin) will throw off a mound Wednesday in a simulated game. If the injury has not improved and he must start the season on the disabled list, right-hander Brandon Cumpton is a possible replacement. Cumpton replaced Edinson Volquez as the scheduled starter Wednesday against Minnesota. Volquez instead will throw two or three innings in a simulated game. Pirates: First baseman Andrew Lambo was optioned to Triple-A Indianapolis, which means non-roster invitee Travis Ishikawa likely will begin the season as the Pirates backup first baseman. "I looked at other situations last winter," Ishikawa said. "The thought of playing time, good chance of making the club, was definitely more positive here than other places." Lambo, who was converted this spring from an outfielder to first baseman, hit .095 with a .269 on-base plus slugging percentage in 17 games. Ishikawa, a natural first baseman, is batting .333. "Andrew exceeded expectations defensively," general manager Neal Huntington said. "Offensively, the results werent there. He faced a lot of fastball-count offspeed pitches. In our mind, the right thing to do to get him back on track was to have him start the season in Indianapolis." Blue Jays: Tuiasosopo continued his six-day audition for a backup outfielder job after being claimed off waivers from Arizona. He went 1 for 4 and is 2 for 7 in two games with Toronto. Pirates: Outfielder Jaff Decker and reliever Jared Hughes were optioned to Triple-A Indianapolis. Pitchers Adam Wilk, Jay Jackson, Zack Thornton and Daniel Schlereth; outfielder Chris Dickerson; catcher Omir Santos; and infielders Robert Andino and Michael Martinez were reassigned to minor league camp. The Pirates acquired right-hander Vance Worley from the Twins for cash considerations and assigned him to minor league camp. The 26-year-old Worley made his big league debut in 2010 with the Philadelphia Phillies. Last season, he went 1-5 with a 7.10 ERA in 10 starts with the Twins. Wholesale Hoodies NFL Shirts Outlet Jerseys NFL Wholesale Cheap NFL Jerseys Free Shipping Wholesale Jerseys Cheap Cheap NFL Jerseys China Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap NFL Jerseys ' ' '