FORTALEZA, Brazil -- Georgios Samaras scored an injury-time penalty to send Greece into the second round of the World Cup for th

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FORTALEZA, Brazil -- Georgios Samaras scored an injury-time penalty to send Greece into the second round of the World Cup for the first time with a 2-1 win over Ivory Coast on Tuesday, eliminating the Africans in the process. Dallas Keuchel Jersey . Samaras was adjudged to have been tripped in the area by substitute Giovanni Sio, and calmly slotted in the spot kick for a win that puts Greece through to the knockout stage. Ivory Coast would have advanced with a draw. "This means so much to me, to us ... Tonight we had energy," Samaras said, dedicating the win to Greeks suffering through financial crisis. "We really hope we can make the people happy back home. We are a team. A team -- thats it." In Athens, where the game ended well after midnight, thousands of fans poured into the streets to celebrate. The players in Fortaleza danced around in a circle and sang with small groups of travelling fans at Arena Castelao who had been drowned out all night by the pro-African Brazilian crowd. The Greeks had taken the lead just before halftime through substitute Andreas Samaris, who punished Ivorian Ismael Tiote for a careless pass backward. Substitute Wilfried Bony equalized for Ivory Coast in the 74th, beating goalkeeper Pangiotis Glykos from close range after being set up by Gervinho. That goal looked like it would put the Africans through until the late drama. Samaras met a cross in the area and tried to shoot with his left leg, which got caught against the leg of Sio. Samaras foot then hit the ground and he fell to the turf, drawing a penalty. With his countrys hopes on the line, Samaras sent his spot kick past goalkeeper Boubacar Barry, who guessed the right way but couldnt keep the ball out. "We came here to advance from the group stage. Weve never done it before, and we did tonight in a great way," said Greece captain Giorgos Karagounis, a veteran of the team that won the European Championship in 2004. "The goal should have come earlier. So God helped us in the end and we all thank him. We prevailed against the odds. We had passion and we had fight." Veteran striker Didier Drogba started for Ivory Coast along with Yaya and Kolo Toure despite the recent death of their brother Ibrahim. The Ivorians wore black armbands as a sign of mourning. "The Ivory Coast is a great football nation. And this was a cruel game, a cruel game," Ivory Coast coach Sabri Lamouchi said. "After so much hard work and so much sacrifice, all of us and everyone in the Ivory Coast is very sad." Greece, which had failed to score in the previous two Group C matches, finished second in Group C with four points, behind winner Colombia with nine. Ivory Coast had three and Japan one. On Tuesday, the Greeks missed a handful of scoring chances against Ivory Coast, hitting the crossbar twice with shots from distance. The Greeks were also forced to make two early substitutions after valuable midfielder Pangiotis Kone and goalkeeper Orestis Karnezis were injured in the first half. "We found balance tonight. We are not the worst team when we lose or the best when we win," Greece coach Fernando Santos said. "To everyone in Greece I say: Go out into the street and celebrate." ------ Lineups: Greece: Orestis Karnezis (Panagiotis Glykos, 24), Sokratis Papastathopoulos, Kostas Manolas, Jose Holebas, Vassilis Torosidis, Giannis Maniatis, Panagiotis Kone (Andreas Samaris, 12), Lazaros Christodoulopoulos, Giorgos Karagounis (Fanis Gekas, 77), Georgios Samaras, Dimitris Salpingidis. Ivory Coast: Baboucar Barry, Souleymane Bamba, Arthur Boka, Kolo Toure, Serge Aurier, Ismael Tiote (Wilfried Bony, 61), Yaya Toure, Die Serey, Didier Drogba (Ismaael Diomande, 7, Solomon Kalou, Gervinho (Giovanno Sio, 83). Mike Scott Jersey . - Kevin Labanc and Joseph Blandisi were a potent combination for the Barrie Colts on Friday night. Houston Astros Hats . The Brazilian-born strikers brace drew him level with Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo as the leagues leading scorers with 17 goals apiece through 16 rounds. "The important thing is to help the team win, not the goals," Diego Costa said. After a first half dominated by defence, Atletico pressed Valencia into its area and Diego Costa did the rest. http://www.houstonastrosshop.com/Jason-Castro-Jersey/ . David Perron had a career high four-point night with two goals and two assists as the Oilers experienced an offensive explosion, blasting the Columbus Blue Jackets 7-0 to record a rare home win for their second victory in a row.PHOENIX - The celebration seemed muted, maybe because these Patriots had gone through so much just to have a chance to win.They milled about midfield as the confetti streamed down, while Seahawks fans who just a few minutes earlier were sure this was their Super Bowl filed out of the University of Phoenix stadium in shocked silence.If anyone was worried about legacies and deflated footballs, the frenetic end to this game Sunday night surely went a long way to settle that. If anyone was worried that the New England Patriots couldnt overcome both controversy and recent history, well, the Lombardi trophy was going back East once again after the Patriots somehow escaped with a 28-24 win.For those keeping score at home, thats four Super Bowl wins in 14 years for the powerhouse under Tom Brady and Bill Belichick. But the last one was a decade ago, and the pressure had been building long before the pressure was taken out of the balls in the AFC title game.I never thought another trophy would feel this good, but this absolutely does, owner Robert Kraft said. Any true Patriot fan understands that.Yes, Russell Wilson tossed this one away with one terribly ill-advised throw on what began as an ill-advised play call. No team with Marshawn Lynch in the backfield should throw the ball on the 1-yard-line with the Super Bowl on the line.Indeed, by all measures, the Seahawks should have been the ones celebrating. They should have had their second straight Super Bowl win, and the talk should have been about the dynasty Pete Carroll was building in the Pacific Northwest.But now Brady has his fourth ring, and is in the conversation again when it comes to great Super Bowl quarterbacks. Now the talk can begin again about the great Patriot dynasty that was quieted with losses in New Englands last two Super Bowls.Give the owner a rare assist on that. Kraft stepped forward upon the Patriots arrival in Arizona with a handwritten speech blasting everyone — including the NFL — who thought the team might have been cheating by deflating the balls in the AFC game against Indianapolis.. Houston Astros Carlos Beltran Jersey. .He wanted to take the pressure off his team, and he did. The questions about deflated balls became questions about football instead.And when it came time for actual football to be played, the Patriots were more than ready. Brady was better than Wilson despite throwing two picks of his own, and no one panicked when the Seahawks rolled to a 24-14 lead in the third quarter.Surprisingly enough, the New England defence was also better than the vaunted Seattle unit behind Richard Sherman, especially when cornerback Malcom Butler made the play of his life by intercepting Wilson at the goal line with 20 seconds left.Its not the way we drew it up, Brady said, but this team has never given up the entire year.They didnt give up because they were professional football players, and they both played and acted like it. The Seahawks played pretty well, too, but the contrast in styles couldnt have been more evident.On the sidelines in the second half, Sherman mugged for the cameras. After scoring the touchdown that put his team up 10 points, receiver Doug Baldwin was flagged for a celebration that looked like something he might do in the bathroom, not on the field.And in the final seconds, Seattle linebacker Bruce Irvin was ejected after starting a fight.None of that would go on under Belichick, of course, though style doesnt always win games. Neither, for that matter, do 37-year-old quarterbacks who hear the whispers after going a decade between big wins yet somehow rise to win both the game and the MVP award.Brady was 8-for-8 on the final drive to put the Patriots ahead— all with balls that had been checked and rechecked by the best security people the NFL could hire.I dont think about that, Brady said when asked if it would be his signature drive. Its a team effort. Theres never one player. 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