There is losing, and then there is being completely and totally outplayed. For the last three times that Ireland have played ODIs against Full Members, it has been the latter. They were beaten by 255 runs by Pakistan, and before that, by 136 runs and 76 runs by Sri Lanka, making for grim reading. However, William Porterfield, their captain, managed to find the positives.Weve done a lot of things well for 80 to 85 overs in a lot of those games, Porterfield said. Against Pakistan, we pretty much had an off day, and Sharjeel (Khan) had a very good day. He was the big difference in the game. If we kept him out of it, it would have been a decent enough contest. We probably lost the Sri Lanka game in seven or eight overs on the field. Those things can happen if youre not right on it.Realistically, that is a generous analysis. Sharjeels 152 off 86 balls accounted for almost half of Pakistans total of 337, but even if he had been kept quiet, Ireland only managed 82 in response. Similarly, they were unable to muster strong replies against Sri Lanka after conceding heavily in both the matches they played in June.The real reason for Irelands recent struggles may lie a little deeper, and Porterfield was willing to acknowledge that. The biggest thing for ourselves was that we had quite a few debutants in those games, especially with our bowling attack, and the experience they have taken from that is going to be key.Against Sri Lanka, Barry McCarthy earned his first cap to join a young pace pack that included Andy McBrine, who has played 16 ODIs, and Max Sorensen, who has 13 ODIs to his name. Add that to new faces in the batting line-up such as Stuart Poynter and Sean Terry, and you have a team in a transition of sorts, which makes the dip in consistency understandable.That makes it particularly important for Irelands stalwarts like Porterfield and the OBrien brothers to perform well in the two matches in South Africa, but even more important that Tim Murtagh provides influence and inspiration through his presence. Murtagh joined the squad early on Saturday morning after winning the county championship with Middlesex, and Ireland will see the value of having someone with that success.Whether Murtagh plays the first game remains to be seen, especially as he would only have had little more than 24 hours of recovery time, but simply having him around will boost Irish spirits. He is here today, training, Porterfield said, his tone notably lighter than when he was dissecting Irelands last few performances. He has got 20 years of experience behind him, so he knows what he needs to do and how his body is going to feel, and he will be pretty open and honest himself, how he is feeling.How Ireland are feeling is also transparent. They are both nervous and excited at the possibilities that lie ahead in the next four days, and they are determined to make the most of them, so that they can be asked back to these shores in future. Having the opportunity to come to South Africa and play them in their own backyard, and to play the world champions - Ireland play Australia in a one-off ODI after the South Africa match - in different conditions is what we have been building towards, Porterfield said. Weve got to keep improving and keep putting in performances to merit the games that we get. Were not here to just make up numbers for a couple of games, but we are here to win games of cricket. 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It was the Maple Leafs first road win of the season.He made the right plays at the right time, said Maple Leafs goaltender Frederick Andersen, who made 42 saves. It was cool to see him bury a couple there. Some big goals on the road here.The 19-year-old Marner scored for the first time since Oct. 15 and had his first two-goal game.He was playing great and focused on doing everything right, Maple Leafs coach Mike Babcock said. And then when he scored, then he probably wanted to score a little bit and focused on scoring and didnt score. Focus on doing things right, and everything works out for itself.Marner is fourth among NHL rookies in scoring with three goals and five assists in 11 games. His 20-year-old teammate, William Nylander, leads all rookies with four goals and seven assists. Auston Matthews, the 19-year-old center Toronto selected with the No. 1 pick in last Junes draft, is second with six goals and four assists.Matthews had four shots on goal and didnt record a point for the fifth straight game.Andersen followed up a 44-save performance in Torontos 3-2 overtime victory over Edmonton on Thursday with another big game and improved to 5-0 against Buffalo. Andersen spent the past three seasons with Anaheim.Hes been amazing for us, Marner said. Hes been our best player on the ice every night and hes been giving us a chance to win. When you have a goaltender like this, you have confidence up front to do things.The Maple Leafs improved to 1-3-3 on the road. They also ended an eight-game winless streak in Buffalo.Marcus Foligno scored for the Sabres and Robin Lehner made 27 saves. Buffalo had a four-game winning streak snapped.The Sabres 42 shots on goal were a season-high.Were shooting a lot, ccreating a lot of chances, but weve got to score more than one, forward Tyler Ennis said.ddddddddddddMarner opened the scoring 4:08 into the first period. Tyler Bozak carried the puck from behind the net and fed Marner for the tip-in from the right slot.Marner netted his second goal 1:50 into the second period when he stripped Foligno in front of the net and flicked a wrist shot around Lehners left skate.Foligno atoned for the turnover four minutes later, scoring his second goal of the season on a backhand from the left edge of the crease.Andersen had 15 saves in each of the first two periods. He slid across the crease to kick away a point-blank shot from Zemgus Girgensons and stopped Girgensons again on a rebound late in the first period. Midway through the second, Andersen dived in front of the net and reached across his body to make a glove save on a slap shot by Foligno.He was definitely the reason they came out of here with two points, Foligno said.Game notesMaple Leafs: Scratched D Matt Hunwick (lower body), D Frank Corrado, C Peter Holland and C Seth Griffith. ... Folignos father, Mike, attended the game as a scout for Las Vegas. He played for both the Sabres and Leafs from 1979-94. ... Torontos last victory at KeyBank Center came on Jan. 29, 2013.Sabres: D Zach Bogosian will miss several weeks with a sprained ligament in one of his knees, coach Dan Bylsma said before the game. Casey Nelson replaced Bogosian on the Sabres second defensive line, playing for just the second time this season. ... The Sabres were also without top-line forwards Jack Eichel (sprained left ankle) and Evander Kane (broken ribs), LW Nicolas Deslauriers (knee) and RW Hudson Fasching (groin).UP NEXT:Maple Leafs: Host Vancouver on Saturday.Sabres: At Ottawa on Saturday ' ' '