Several City stars will be casting their minds forward to next summer's World Cup after the final round of qualifying games on Wednesday night.

Shaun Wright-Phillips bagged his fifth goal for his country as England eased to a 3-0 win over Belarus at Wembley. He gave a good account of himself despite playing on the left flank, and he was joined in the starting line-up by Wayne Bridgeand Gareth Barry, who helped set up Peter Crouch's fourth-minute opener.

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• Off The Post off the post Gareth Barry's homecoming welcome at Aston Villa

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• Lescott out of England squad - Manchester City - Football - Sport - Manchester Evening News

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• Shay Given condemns 'unfair' Aston Villa fans for baiting Gareth Barry | Football | guardian.

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Regular season USL-1 play has now concluded for 2009. The playoffs start tomorrow (Thursday). Sure it would have been nice to see Austin there; but I guess it just wasn't meant to be. We might as well get a head start on looking back.
Both of the league's expansion teams, the Austin Aztex and the Cleveland City Stars, fared poorly in their inaugural seasons, winding up at the bottom of the final standings:
P
Team
Pld
W
D
L
GF
GA
GD
Pts
1 Portland Timbers 30 16 10 4 45 19 +26 58 2 Carolina RailHawks FC 30 16 7 7 43 19 +24 55 3 Puerto Rico Islanders 30 15 8 7 44 31 +13 53 4 Charleston Battery 30 14 11 5 33 21 +12 53 5 Montreal Impact 30 12 7 11 32 31 +1 43 6 Rochester Rhinos 30 11 10 9 34 32 +2 43 7 Vancouver Whitecaps FC 30 11 9 10 42 36 +6 42 8 Minnesota Thunder 30 7 10 13 39 44 -5 31 9 Miami FC 30 8 5 17 26 52 -26 29 10 Austin Aztex FC 30 5 8 17 28 51 -23 21* 11 Cleveland City Stars 30 4 19 7 22 52 -30 19
As you can see, the Aztex escaped the very last spot, if barely. Click to continue reading...

It's always been my dream to have one of those super high-paying jobs. You know, not one where they measure your salary with 6 figures for the year, but one like modern day footballers have, where they eek out a modest go at life on 5 figures per week.
I mean, I'm out of shape, washed up, saddling up to middle-age and have the athletic ability of Andrew the Giant (in his current state), but sign me up for about $65,000 a week and you will see me run for 90 minutes on a soccer field like you could never imagine. Click to continue reading...

I say (nearly) because there's one game (Austin at Miami, September 5) with no reported attendance. If you know about Miami, there's a possibility there was no actual attendance, but until I get a number, the chart below gives you a fairly good picture of how things went in USL's top division this year:

Team G Total Avg. Click to continue reading...

Hot on the heels of their 2-1 upset of the Portland Timbers, the Aztex head north of the border for their final game of the 2009 season. They'll face the Vancouver Whitecaps on Sunday evening, Sept. 13, at 6:00 CT. Watch the game free on USLLive.com.
The Whitecaps are currently in the 7th and last playoff slot, though they haven't punched their ticket yet. Click to continue reading...

The Minnesota Thunder Lose 3-1 to the Puerto Rico Islander in Bayamon, Puerto Rico on a waterlogged Juan Ramon Loubriel Stadium.

The Minnesota Thunder headed into Saturday evenings game with the Islanders coming off a nice 3-0 victory at home on Thursday evening against the Cleveland City Stars.

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The Minnesota Thunder Lose 3-1 to the Puerto Rico Islander in Bayamon, Puerto Rico on a waterlogged Juan Ramon Loubriel Stadium.

The Minnesota Thunder headed into Saturday evenings game with the Islanders coming off a nice 3-0 victory at home on Thursday evening against the Cleveland City Stars.

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The only goal the Minnesota Thunder needed to defeat the Cleveland City Stars on Thursday night was struck early by Lawrence Olum in the 7th minute. Olum made a run into the box after a cross was made by Marco Terminesi. It would take 83 more minutes before the Thunder could seal the deal and bury the Cleveland, both goals coming from Terminesi.

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The only goal the Minnesota Thunder needed to defeat the Cleveland City Stars on Thursday night was struck early by Lawrence Olum in the 7th minute. Olum made a run into the box after a cross was made by Marco Terminesi. It would take 83 more minutes before the Thunder could seal the deal and bury the City Stars, with 2 additional goals coming from Terminesi.

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Minnesota Thunder Hosts Cleveland City Stars Thursday Followed by Road Match at Puerto Rico Saturday
BLAINE, Minn. (Tuesday, August 25, 2009) – The Minnesota Thunder will host the Cleveland City Stars Thursday, August 27th at the National Sports Center in Blaine. Kickoff is set for 7:05 p.

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Minnesota Thunder Hosts Cleveland City Stars Thursday Followed by Road Match at Puerto Rico Saturday
BLAINE, Minn. (Tuesday, August 25, 2009) – The Minnesota Thunder will host the Cleveland City Stars Thursday, August 27th at the National Sports Center in Blaine. Kickoff is set for 7:05 p.

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The Minnesota Thunder lost the last game of a long grueling road trip to the last placed Cleveland City Stars on Saturday evening. The� Cleveland City Stars ended a 13-match winless streak with the 1-0 victory over the visiting Minnesota. Rookie forward Teteh Bangura scored his first goal of the season for the City Stars and goalkeeper Hunter Gilstrap anchored the defensive effort with three saves in recording the shutout.

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The Minnesota Thunder lost the last game of a long grueling road trip to the last placed Cleveland City Stars on Saturday evening. The� Cleveland City Stars ended a 13-match winless streak with the 1-0 victory over the visiting Minnesota. Rookie forward Teteh Bangura scored his first goal of the season for the City Stars and goalkeeper Hunter Gilstrap anchored the defensive effort with three saves in recording the shutout.

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The Aztex head back to Canada on Sunday, to face the Montreal Impact for the third and final time of the season. The game will be televised nationally on Fox Soccer Channel; kickoff is at 2:45 CT.
The Impact, sitting right in the middle of the table in 6th, would qualify for the playoffs if the season were to end today. Click to continue reading...

Vancouver Whitecaps 1:1 Carolina RailHawks
Whitecaps help to 1-1 draw against RailHawks Vancouver Sun
RailHawks earn draw with Caps The News & Observer
Montreal Impact 2:1 Cleveland City Stars
Byers, Biello score second half goals as Impact beat City Stars 2-1 The Canadian Press Click to continue reading...

Melvin Tarley named as Player Of The Week and Ricardo Sanchez Team Of The Week

Blaine MN 8/18/09
The Minnesota Thunder continues their road trip with a mid week match against the Rochester Rhinos tomorrow at 6:00 p.m. After Wednesday, the Thunder will only have a couple days before they have to be in Cleveland to face the City Stars on Saturday at 6:00 p.

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Melvin Tarley named as Player Of The Week and Ricardo Sanchez Team Of The Week

Blaine MN 8/18/09
The Minnesota Thunder continues their road trip with a mid week match against the Rochester Rhinos tomorrow at 6:00 p.m. After Wednesday, the Thunder will only have a couple days before they have to be in Cleveland to face the City Stars on Saturday at 6:00 p.

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Tuesday, August 11
Cleveland City Stars 1:4 Charleston Battery
Cleveland Rocked Charleston Post and Courier
Wednesday, August 12
Portland Timbers 1:0 Montreal Impact
Streaking Timbers fall on Impact Ottawa Citizen
Timbers' unbeaten streak at 21 games The Oregonian
Real Maryland Monarchs 0 - 2 Wilmington Hammerheads
Victory means finale at Richmond for first place StarNewsOnline. Click to continue reading...

Friday, August 7
W-League Final
Pali Blues 2:1 Washington Freedom
Pali repleats as W-League champs USLsoccer.com
Charleston Battery 2:1 Vancouver Whitecaps
Charleston chews up weary Caps Vancouver Sun
Battery beats Whitecaps, 2-1 Charleston Post and Courier
Crystal Palace Baltimore 0 - 0 Harrisburg City Islanders
City Islanders go goalless again PennLive. Click to continue reading...

Miami FC out with a campaign to fill up their regular season finale against the Puerto Rico Islanders at Lockhart Stadium in Ft. Lauderdale. The announcement was made on the club's Facebook page.
Miami FC's campaign consists of a player on the team will shave their heads for every 500 tickets sold for the Islanders match on August 19th. Click to continue reading...

Cleveland City Stars 1:4 Rochester Rhinos
Menyongar sparks Rochester Rhinos with two goals Rochester Democrat & Chronicle
Montreal Impact 2:2 Austin Aztex
A pair of second-half goals gives Montreal a 2-2 USL tie with Austin Aztex The Canadian Press
Aztex again fumble away win in closing moments Austin American-Statesman
Puerto Rico Islanders 2:4 Vancouver Whitecaps
James scores twice, Whitecaps roll to 4-2 win over Islanders The Canadian Press
Whitecaps score crucial 4-2 win over Islanders Vancouver Sun
Charlotte Eagles 0:0 Crystal Palace Baltimore
The Eagles and Crystal Palace End in 0-0 Draw charlotteeagles. Click to continue reading...

The Aztex are back in Austin on Saturday night, July 25, to host the Montreal Impact.
The Impact are sitting mid-table, with a 6-8-3 record. They won their last match 4-1, a midweek home game rout of the Cleveland City Stars (match report / box score).
Montreal has also been making news lately for less flattering reasons. Click to continue reading...

The victory ends the Impact's five game winless streak in USL competition.
John Mahoney, The Gazette
Cleveland City Stars 1:4 Montreal Impact
Eduardo Sebrango scores twice as Impact beat City Stars 4-1 The Canadian Press
Impact finally finds back of the net Ottawa Citizen
City Stars dominated by Montreal, 4-1 Cleveland. Click to continue reading...

Charleston Battery 0:0 Cleveland City Stars
Battery Tie City Stars WCBD
Portland Timbers 1:1 Miami FC Blues
Win slips away from Blues Miami Herald
Late goal spoils Miami FC upset bid SunSentinel.com
Timbers match USL record for longest unbeaten streak OregonLive.com
Vancouver Whitecaps 1:2 Carolina RailHawks
Whitecaps lose 2-1 to RailHawks Vancouver Sun
Hawks take out Caps The News & Observer
Real Maryland Monarchs 1:3 Wilmington Hammerheads
Jaime Watson leads Hammerheads to share of first StarNewsOnline
Bermuda Hogges 0:5 Western Mass Pioneers
Pioneers boss Bermuda Hogges 5-0 MassLive. Click to continue reading...

Another home win, 2nd in a row, for the Puerto Rico Islanders in week-11 "normal" action as they terminated the Charleston Battery's undefeated season streak with a 1-0 win by a last second 'alajuelazo', in front of a 2,000 Thursday crowd! The Islanders (22 pts) remaining in 4th place in the "normal" standings this week, 4 points behind the new (normal) league leading Portland Timbers (26 points) who trounced their opponents this week, and took advantage of Charleston's loss to take the top stop of the league.

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Another home win, the 2nd in a row, for the Puerto Rico Islanders in week-13 "normal" action. The Islanders terminated the Charleston Battery's undefeated season record with a last second 'alajuelazo' 1-0 win, in front of a 2,000 Thursday crowd!

The Islanders (22 pts) remain in 4th place in the "normal" standings, 4 points behind the new (normal) league leading Portland Timbers (26 points) who trounced their opponents this week.

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The preview of the sxth round should take many forms, the first one being a homage to Pasi Rautiainen. This Monday's match between Honka and TPS in Tapiola turned into something of a media event, with most of the Finnish under-21 squad presented with roses for their achievement in failing to win a single game or point, and scoring a solitary penalty during their three matches in Sweden.

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Big win for the Puerto Rico Islanders in week-12 "normal" action as they trounced their opponent 4-1 in front of a 4,000 home crowd! The Islanders (19 pts) climb a spot back to 4th place in the "normal" standings this week, 5 points behind the league leading Charleston Battery (24 points) who tied their game this week.

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