AJACCIO, France -- Marseille beat lowly Ajaccio 3-1 Friday in the French league to make up ground in the race for a Champions League spot. Marseille forward Dimitri Payet opened the scoring in the 27th minute before Ajaccio defender Grenddy Perozo levelled with a downward header in the 31st. But Andre-Pierre Gignac fired into the top corner from the edge of the box in the 39th and Florian Thauvin scored from close range in the 58th to seal the win. Marseille pulled within two points of third-place Monaco while Ajaccio remained in the relegation zone. "We showed character tonight," Payet said. "As long as we show commitment and aggression like we did, we can expect good results." In a match pitting two teams needing points, tempers flared in the 17th when Thauvin and Ajaccio midfielder Johan Cavalli received yellow cards for clashing. Marseille put the hosts under pressure in the first half. Gignac struck the woodwork with a cross-shot from the left flank in the 10th before cutting inside in the 21st to curl a shot that bounced off the post. Marseille capitalized on a turnover from Ajaccio to take the lead. Thauvin won the ball on the right flank and found Payet, whose first-time effort from 15 yards beat goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa. Four minutes later, however, Ajaccio converted its first scoring chance to equalize. Perozo connected with a free kick from Cavalli to head in. Ochoa saved a long-range strike from Payet in the 34th but was helpless when Gignac chested down a cross from fullback Kassim Abdallah to score his sixth goal this season. Marseille added a third goal in the second half when Payet charged down the left wing to feed Thauvin, who flicked home from eight yards. The 2010 champions had no trouble to protect their lead despite an effort from Cavalli in the 55th from a tight angle and a long-range attempt from substitute Claude Goncalves in the 78th. "I believe theres talent in this squad," Marseille coach Elie Baup said. "The Champions League matches used up a lot of energy and we paid a heavy price in the French league." On Saturday, its: Reims vs. Paris Saint-Germain; Evian vs. Lorient; Lyon vs. Valenciennes; Montpellier vs. Guingamp; Rennes vs. Bordeaux; and Sochaux vs. Bastia. On Sunday, Lille hosts Toulouse, Monaco visits Nantes, and Saint-Etienne faces Nice. Stitched USA Soccer Jerseys . Louis Cardinals continued their offensive tear with a 9-5 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers in the opener of a four-game series. Fake USA Soccer Jerseys . - The Pittsburgh Pirates plan on keeping promising left fielder Starling Marte playing alongside National League MVP Andrew McCutchen for years to come. https://www.cheapusasoccer.com/. Donald Young lost in straight sets to Israels Dudi Sela 6-3, 6-0. Querrey, ranked No. 61, is the second-highest ranked American, ahead of Johnson (64). USA Soccer Jerseys 2019 . Venus Williams advanced to the ASB Classic final in Auckland on a walkover when fellow American Jamie Hampton withdrew from their semifinal Friday with a right hip injury. USA Soccer Jerseys China . Louis, MO (SportsNetwork. HARRISON, N.J. -- Omar Cummings helped the Houston Dynamo advance to the MLS Eastern Conference finals. Cummings scored in the 104th minute to help the Dynamo oust the New York Red Bulls with a 2-1 victory on Wednesday night. Cummings scored in the second minute of stoppage time on Sunday to give the Dynamo a 2-2 draw in the first leg. The Dynamo moved on with an aggregate score of 4-3. Houston will face Sporting Kansas City in the East finals, which start on Saturday. The Red Bulls led Sundays game 2-0 before Jamison Olave committed a foul that led to a red-card ejection and allowed Houston to rally for a 2-2 draw. "Its terrible, I guess you cant exorcise every game this year from this club," Red Bulls first-year coach Mike Petke said. "Hats off to Houston, theyre a playoff team and they proved it the last three years. We did it to ourselves these last two games. " On Wednesday night, Red Bulls defender Ibrahim Sekagyas errant pass led to the tying goal by Houston. "It was individual mistakes, and they happen," Petke said. Cummings came off the bench in both matches and Dynamo coach Dominic Kinnear went to him in the 64th minute Wednesday. "I was trying to put some fresh legs closer to the goal and hope that something would come out of it and Omar has made me look good for two games in a row here," Kinnear said. Cummings got his foot on a ball that slipped past Red Bulls goalie Luis Robles at the near post. Houston, which won the 2006 and 2007 MLS Cups in its first two years in the league, reached the MLS Cup final in each of the past two seasons, losing in the final each time to the LL.ddddddddddddA. Galaxy. The Red Bulls took a 1-0 lead in the 23rd minute on the first career playoff goal by Bradley Wright-Phillips. Lloyd Sam crossed the ball into the box and Dynamo goalie Tally Hall went down to grab it with two hands. But when he hit the ground, the ball squirted out of his grasp and Wright-Phillips was there to knock it into an open net from inside the 6-yard box. "I tried to pin it against the ground and it slipped out," Hall said. "Its a sinking feeling. Whether I made a mistake or not, I still have a job to do for the rest of the game. This team has a will to win like nothing Ive ever seen before. Thats why our jersey has two stars on it (2006 and 2007 MLS titles)." Hall made one of his best saves in the closing seconds of regulation when Thierry Henry hit a bicycle kick on goal, but the Houston goalie managed to block it with his leg. Houston took advantage of a Red Bulls mistake to tie it at 1-1 on a goal by Brad Davis. Sekagya attempted to clear the ball from the top of the penalty area by sending the ball across the middle. The rolling ball went right to the foot of Davis inside the box and he placed it past Robles. "The guy looked up and I knew he was going to try and play it across," Davis said. "Luckily he mishit it, I looked up and it was the goalie and me." The Red Bulls dominated Houston during the regular season, winning all three matches. But the Dynamo extended New Yorks playoff futility, making the Red Bulls winless in their past six playoff games. The Red Bulls had come into the playoffs with an eight-game unbeaten string of 6-0-2. ' ' '