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GROZNY, Russia -- Three days after being criticized by Vladimir Putin, Russia ended a run of poor form Tuesday by beating Romania 1-0.Magomed Ozdoev grabbed a last-minute winner in the friendly for the 2018 World Cup host.Russia had won just one of its last 10 matches, triggering the Russian president to remark that we havent seen beautiful play from the national team for a long time.In the first international game to be played in the formerly war-torn Russian region of Chechnya, Russia struggled for much of the 90 minutes due to poor finishing and good saves from Romanian goalkeeper Costel Pantilimon.That all changed when Romania struggled to clear the ball in the final minute of stoppage time. Some fortunate deflections saw the ball fall to Ozdoev for an easy finish despite a possible offside.Russia coach Stanislav Cherchesov is trying to inject new blood into a team which was among the oldest at the summers European Championship, where it crashed out. He opted Tuesday for Spartak Moscows up-and-coming Ilya Kutepov and Terek Groznys Andrei Semyonov at center back. The partnership held up well though rarely came under sustained pressure from a Romanian team which also failed to qualify from the group stage in Euro 2016.Pantilimon showed good reactions to keep out Alexander Samedovs effort for Russia early on, before Dorin Rotariu missed the target when one-on-one with Russian `keeper Igor Akinfeev in Romanias best opportunity of the game.Samedov shot wide just before halftime, and Russia came close again in the 65th when Alexander Kokorin mis-hit a shot straight at the advancing Pantilimon when a slight lob would have likely scored.Russia was able to host Romania in Chechnya, which is ruled by sports-loving and pro-Kremlin strongman Ramzan Kadyrov, because it was a friendly rather than a competitive European game. UEFA has consistently refused to allow games to be played in Chechnya due to security concerns.One team at the 2018 World Cup will be based in Grozny despite occasional incidents of unrest there, including an attack by militants in December 2014 which left more than 20 people dead. Delon Wright Jersey . The No. 1-ranked Nadal tweaked his back warming up for the Australian Open final, which he lost almost four weeks ago in a major upset against Stanislas Wawrinka. His first stop after the layoff is the clay in Rio as he tests the back and tries to stay healthy for the French Open in three months. Lorenzo Brown Jersey . But the quarterback hopes to stay involved in football after officially calling it quits Tuesday. "Id love to look at those opportunities as they arise," Pierce said in an interview from his Winnipeg eatery. http://www.cheapraptorsjerseys.com/ . -- Team after team passed on Andre Ellington in the draft. C.J. Miles Jersey . -- Edmontons Val Sweeting is two wins away from a trip to Winnipeg to play in Canadas Road of the Rings in December. Jakob Poeltl Jersey . -- Al Jefferson found a groove just in time for the Charlotte Bobcats. ST. LOUIS -- The St. Louis Cardinals and Pittsburgh Pirates had better sleep quick before they start their four-game series Monday in Busch Stadium.While St. Louis (43-38) survived a 3-hour, 48-minute ordeal, plus 2 hours and 15 minutes of rain delays Sunday to earn a 9-8 win over Milwaukee, Pittsburgh (41-41) polished off a sweep at Oakland with a 6-3 decision.The Pirates then got into town late Sunday night, losing two hours to the clock on their flight from the Bay Area. But after extending their winning streak to four games, theyre feeling pretty good about making the trip.Its huge, especially to come from behind three games in a row on the road, rookie left fielder Adam Frazier said. Its pretty big. Its huge momentum heading east to St. Louis.Frazier was a big part of Sundays win, going 2-for-4. His triple in the sixth inning tied the game at 3 and he later scored the go-ahead run as Pittsburgh swept the Athletics for the first time.The Pirates will try to gain revenge for the sweep they suffered at the Cardinals hands last month in PNC Park. St. Louis, which lost five of its first six meetings to Pittsburgh, outscored it by a combined 22-7 in winning all three games of that series.That included a 5-1 verdict on June 11 that saw Carlos Martinez come within two outs of his first big league complete game. Martinez (7-5, 2.83), whos pitched to an earned run average of 1.06 over his last six starts, takes the ball Monday.Hell be opposed by left-hander Jonathon Niese (6-6, 5.07), whos 0-1 in two starts against the Cardinals this year.ddddddddddddNiese was tagged for all eight runs on June 12 in an 8-3 loss, giving up homers to Matt Holliday and Randal Grichuk.While both teams are still looking up at the Chicago Cubs in the NL Central, St. Louis made up three games in as many days over the weekend, thanks to the Cubs being swept at the New York Mets. The Cardinals start Monday eight games back, the closest theyve been since May 25.Its good, but were taking it day-by-day, St. Louis right fielder Stephen Piscotty said. Theres still plenty of time.Piscotty was the star of Sundays win, belting his second grand slam of the year in the sixth inning to highlight a 3-for-4 day. Piscotty has been deadly with the bases loaded during his first season in the big leagues. Dating back to July 22, 2015, hes 8-for-15 with 18 RBI in that spot.The Pirates are hopeful of getting center fielder Andrew McCutchen back Monday. He sat out Sunday with a heel injury and manager Clint Hurdle said the team wanted to rest McCutchen ahead of this series and a weekend visit from the Cubs.On Tuesday night, the Cardinals send Mike Leake (5-6, 4.13) to the mound against rookie Jameson Taillon (2-1, 3.86). Lefties Jaime Garcia (6-6, 3.84) and Pittsburghs Jeff Locke (8-5, 5.13) match up Wednesday night, while St. Louis Adam Wainwright (7-5, 4.70) meets rookie Chad Kuhl (1-0, 4.09) in Thursdays series finale. ' ' '