Matt Dickinson compares the Capello’s manner to that of Sir Alf Ramsey.
A piece on Anguilla’s World Cup second leg qualifying match against El Salvador.
Stephen Brunt writing a couple of days before Toronto FC opened the season with a loss to the Columbus Crew.
John Cushley who spent much of his Celtic career as a back up to Billy McNeill has died from Motor Neurone Disease, the same illness that took Jimmy Johnstone. Cushley spent sometime with West Ham in the late 60s.
Regarding Diaby's red card. As has been pointed out there has been a stunning silence on the blog from those ready to have Martin Taylor hung, drawn and quartered a few weeks ago. Even though Arsene Wenger seems to be able to differentiate between the two incidents the only difference I can see is that Eduardo was unfortunate that his foot was planted while Steinsson was on the move and got lucky.
If everything goes well I should be making a midweek appearance on Wednesday's Fox Soccer Report - Champions League edition.
After thirty five minutes of this match the USA could not have imagined how they could possibly not make into the last four of the FIFA under-20 World Cup. But two decisions by Austrian coach Paul Gludovatz turned the game in his team’s favour. The first move to bring on Harnik on the right side of midfield helped stem the attacks that the USA was mounting down that side. The second was to bring on striker Erwin Hoffer in extra time and he scored the winner with his first touch of the ball.
For almost all of the first thirty five minutes the USA was very much in control of this game. The opening goal was well crafted and started with Bradley taking a quick free kick and pushing the ball out to the left. Rogers picked the ball up before springing Freddy Adu deep in the Austrian half. Adu then got behind the Austrian defense and send over a teasing out-swinging cross. Altidore held off two defenders and placed an inch perfect header down to the keeper’s right that bounced just inside the post.
The Austrian equalizer came from multiple errors. First of all Proedl was not closed down and allowed to shoot (even though he was far out the wet surface places a premium on blocking shots from any range). Then Seitz spilled the original shot to Okotie who was quick to follow up. Okotie was then able to outmaneuver one US defender before Valentin chose to stand off him and allowed the Austrian striker to get his shot off. Seitz was unable to keep the shot out as Okotie’s strike overpowered him low to the right. It was the second time in the half that Seitz spilled a shot and doubts about his fitness were confirmed as he became less and less mobile as the game progressed.
In fact every time the Austrians lofted a ball into the USA penalty area there was confusion. Ironically it was probably the strength of Austria in the air that caused American coach Thomas Rongen to gamble on Seitz in preference to the smaller Brian Perk who had deputized in the win over Uruguay. However, with the mobility of Seitz compromised, the US lost one of his key strengths – his control of the penalty area.
Chances for the USA were limited in the second half and i####oal was to come it was more likely to come from Austria. Half way through the second half Sturgis had to clear off his line as the USA’s confidence visibly wilted. Ten minutes later and a double save from Seitz and the goal post saved the day again.
In extra time Freddy Adu missed a golden opportunity to put the USA into the lead after being played in beautifully by Dax McCarty. However, his touch around the Austrian keeper (who never looked confident but was rarely tested) produced a poor angle and the final shot went wide.
Then just three minutes later Anthony Wallace was given a second yellow card for an ill-considered challenge on Harnik. The resultant free kick was played in and never dealt with by the USA defense as it bobbled around and at one stage it clearly struck Michael Bradley on the arm. The left off was only temporary as the ball eventually broke to Hoffer as it rebounded off the goal post and he slid home the winner from six inches.
As the ten men US pushed forward Austria had numerous chances to sew the game up but failed to make the most of their opportunities. With six minutes left a free kick found Ferrari alone at the back post with the Austrian goal open and at his mercy. He failed to hit the target. The final USA chance fell to Freddy Adu who was left with the keeper to beat but Zaglmair stood his ground and deflected the shot wide.
Austria becomes the fifth team in nine knock out games to come from behind to win and they continue their quest to become the Greece of 2007. It’s amazing how far some grit, determination, good organization and a little bit of good fortune can take a team.
The USA moved on to the last eight of the FIFA under-20 World Cup and will play Austria. If you want to see why a team should play to the last seconds o####ame the Americans illustrated it tonight. For although the statistics show that Uruguay enjoyed less possession than the USA, the quality of their possession was much better for large stretches of the game.
When Uruguay took advantage of a ball that slipped from the grasp of stand in keeper Brian Perk to take the lead with only 17 minutes to play this game looked as if it would go down as another disappointment for the US.
But Coach Thomas Rongen threw on Ferrari as an extra forward with around ten minutes left as the US rolled the dice. Seven minutes later the gamble paid off as a Freddy Adu corner from the right found an unmarked Danny Szetela at the back post. Szetela showed great composure before driving a cross #### shot across the Uruguay penalty area.
Andre Akpan – an early second half substitute for what looked to be a badly injured Jozy Altidore – drove to net forcing Mathias Cardaccio into an own goal.
As the game moved into extra time Uruguay began to lose their shape as Edinson Cavani found himself more and more isolated. Dax McCarty had reverted to an auxiliary right back after the equalizer and pushed forward at every opportunity.
The momentum was clearly moving in the USA’s favour and Uruguay coach Gustavo Ferrin must have been regretting the decision to take off goalscorer Luis Suarez with seven minutes of normal time left.
Suarez has been a thorn in the side of the US and once he had been substituted Uruguay lost a key attacking option.
The winner came as the game moved into the last fifteen minutes and another corner for the USA led to the winning goal. This time Michael Bradley was on hand to redirect a shot high into Uruguay’s net.
As Uruguay desperately sought an equalizer there were a few nervous moments left for USA fans. But the USA goal survived intact and the Americans were left to celebrate an epic win.
It’s difficult to single out any one player but my man-of-the match would be Nathan Sturgis. He may not be the fleetest of foot but he can read a game and his positioning is outstanding.
As for Uruguay let's just say that they blew their chance of the Fair Play Trophy.
I sat down and watched the complate game this morning rather than just the second half as originally planned.
You would have to be incredibly mean spirited not to acknowledge a string of positives in the US’s win over Brazil. There were precious few weak spots and in cases where isolated mistakes were made they were more than made up for in renewed diligence and concentration.
Seitz made some critical saves and at the group stage looks to be one of the best keepers on show. Centre-back Ofori Sarkdorie started the first two games on the bench and didn’t get his chance until Julian Valentin had to leave thirty minutes into the game against Poland. Sarkdorie has been very impressive as he goes about his job in an unspectacular but effective way.
The two wide players – Sal Zizzo and Robbie Rogers – were excellent particularly in the first half when they managed to get the ball and make deep runs into the Brazilian half of the field. The US had already settled into the game when JozyAltidore scored his first goal after FreddyAdu made a fine tackle 35 yards from the Brazil goal.
The Brazilian defense was caught napping as the ball was turned over and the Red Bulls striker drilled the ball home from 20 yards. Adu was again the architect of the second goal giving sports shows around the globe a highlight moment with his juggle and turn to take two Brazilian defenders out of the play.
Altidore was Jozy-on-the-spot when Adu’s shot deflected to him seven yards out and left unmarked. It took Altidore’s tally to three for the tournament and he joins team mates Szetela and Adu and Argentina’s Sergio Aguero at the top of the goal scorer’s chart.
With his build and strength I’m betting that Altidore has some European scout’s drooling at his potential.
So the USA qualifies as group winner with two wins and a draw – next opponent still unknown but it will be a third place side. I will be in Toronto to see the game next week.
Poland finishes second with four points and a rather bizarre – although it means nothing – of minus 4. Poland’s prize is a game against Argentina which I will also be attending.
Brazil settles for third place in the group and although they are not certain to qualify it looks extremely likely that will survive to fight another day. Chile is a possible opponent in the last sixteen. If Luiz Adriano had scored with a header from what was virtually point blank range with only seconds left he would have guaranteed that Brazil moved on…….it would, however, have meant a Argentina vs. Brazil showdown on Thursday.
Discipline
From FIFA.com – “The FIFA Disciplinary Committee has suspended the Brazilian player David Marinho (#4) for 4 matches and fined him CHF 5,000 as a result of an incident during the FIFA U-20 World Cup match between Brazil and Korea Republic on 3 July 2007 in Montreal.
Video evidence of the match shows that in the 65th minute, David Marinho elbowed the Korea Republic player Shin Young Rok (#18), who was admitted to the hospital as a result of the incident.
According to art. 84 a) FIFA Disciplinary Code (FDC), the FIFA Disciplinary Committee is responsible for sanctioning serious infringements which have escaped the match officials’ attention.
Any suspensions the player cannot serve during the FIFA U-20 World Cup Canada 2007 will be carried over to the team’s subsequent official matches in accordance with art. 38 par. 2 let. b FDC.”
What Canada needs to do to defintetly move on.
Must win and… Hope Scotland and Costa Rica draw or….. Zambia and Jordan don’t win.
Otherwise it comes down to beaten other three point tems on goal difference,
You can send any information (fsr@mts.net) that you think might be of interest about the twenty-four countries and I will post a regular selection. If you have a FIFA Under-20 blog go ahead and post your link under comments.
Oh what a weird and wonderful game football is. While Poland made the headlines with the opening game win over Brazil in the FIFA under-20 World Cup, the USA was lucky to escape with a point from a match against South Korea. Three days on and Poland was on the wrong end of a 6-1 thrashing from a rampant American side.
What’s more it was the Poles that took the early lead from Dawid Janczyk. But rather than providing the foundation for a second win it was, apart from a shot in the second half that struck the USA post, the last thing of any consequence generated by Poland. Less than five minutes after the Poles took the lead Danny Szetela arrived in the Polish penalty box and finessed a header past Bialkowski of Southampton.
Ten minutes after that and Freddy Adu provided a glimpse of the talent that is so often hidden when he curled a beautiful left shot past the Polish keeper. Zizzo was the creator and just on the stroke of half time the same two teamed up for a killer goal.
While most players would be looking to run down the clock until half time Zizzo picked the ball up in is own half and drove past numerous Polish players and into the penalty box before laying the ball back to Adu. Adu curled another left footed shot past a helpless keeper.
If the Poles were to recover they needed to strike early in the second half. Instead it was Svetela taking advantage of terrible marking by the Polish central defenders to slip through and drill home the fourth goal for the USA. After good work down the left side Altidore scored his first of the tournament with twenty minutes to go. The scoring was completed when Adu was fed in by Rogers and despite an attempt to “Beasley” it the USA captain completed his hat trick and a famous route.
So why the turnaround? To start with Poland gave the USA much more room than they had given the Brazilians. The Americans were able to find space behind and in front of the Poles back four. The Poles never gave up that space to the Brazilians. The same was true of space on the wings. Against South Korea Rogers and Zizzo were forced inside to help out a central midfield that was under threat of being overrun was much of the game.
The Poles were never allowed to put Svetela and Bradley under the same pressure and the pair were able to play balls into Adu up front or wide to Zizzo and Rogers. With four points in the bag and a plus five goal difference it would need some exceptional circumstances for the USA not to move on to the last sixteen.
Freddy Adu will garner the headlines but there were a number of excellent performances throughout the USA team. The back four was caught square on the Poles goal but apart from that the defense was rarely troubled. Szetela made it three goals in two games and Zizzo put in a terrific shift on the right side of midfield.
You can send any information (fsr@mts.net) that you think might be of interest about the twenty-four countries and I will post a regular selection. If you have a FIFA Under-20 blog go ahead and post your link under comments.
You can also use this blog to contribute your thoughts on the South Korea vs. Brazil game tonight. I have an Old-Timers game tonight so I will be taping the game and watching it later.
The USA came away from this game with what might be a vital point against a vibrant and exciting South Korean side. Despite having to endure extended spells of intense Korean pressure the Americans deserve credit for sticking to the task and pulling themselves back into the game particularly in the last thirty minutes.
The opening goal came from a fine cross from Zizzo that eventually found Danny Szetela at the pack post. A diving header gave us the first goal from open play of the tournament. The South Koreans stormed back and Shin Young Rok wasted two fantastic chances before he eventually made it third time lucky.
This under-20 squad is a carbon copy of the senior national team of World Cup 2002. Playing a 3-4-3 formation the Koreans were constantly trying to force the USA to play at a tempo that was not to their liking. US defenders and midfielders were repeatedly caught in possession and if it was not for some wasteful finishing (another trait of the 2002 WC side) South Korea could have had the game sown up by half time. As it was the Koreans again spurned second half chances although US keeper Chris Seitz pulled off a couple of excellent saves in the second half.
Dex McCarty’s arrival into the game in the second half was instrumental in helping the USA to hold on to ball and eventually create some chances of their own. If the USA was to nip a win it looked as if it was come courtesy of a Freddy Adu free kick delivered from the right side with his left foot. As it was both teams traded late chances but had to settle for a point each.
Lee Young Sung was outstanding for South Korea as was the back three. Chris Seitz looked good in the USA goal while Nathan Sturgis recovered from an early slip to help turn back the many Korean attacks. Zizzo and McCarty also played their part.
The next round of games is on Tuesday with USA vs. Poland and South Korea playing Brazil.
You can send any information (fsr@mts.net) that you think might be of interest about the twenty-four countries and I will post a regular selection. If you have a FIFA Under-20 blog go ahead and post your link under comments.
Canada has shown that they are a legitimate challenger for one of the CONCACAF spots on offer at the 2010 World Cup. However, at this moment that is probably of little consequence given the nature of their controversial loss to the USA in the Gold Cup semi-final.
With only seconds left and Canada pushing for an equalizer a ball was lofted forward towards the US penalty box. Onyewu stretched for the header and finished up heading the ball to the feet of Atiba Hutchinson who calmly side footed it past Keller in the US goal.
From the limited TV replays we received in Canada – apparently the Toronto thingies were playing a game of rounders – Hutchinson was not in an offside position when the initial ball was played forward and although he was in an offside position when he benefited from Onyewu’s wayward header the only way it could have been judged offside was if the ball had deflected of the big US defender.
It would require an active imagination to construe Onyewu’s header as a deflection. But an active imagination apparently is exactly what the assistant referee has as he immediately flagged and the referee accepted his call. If there are any referees out there who might shed some light on this decision I know a good number of Canadian fans would love to hear from you.
The first thirty minutes of the match consisted of the USA trying to play a bit too quickly while Canada could have done with a bit more pace to their game. Although the US may have had the better of the play Canada had a couple of set piece opportunities that might have turned profitable.
But it was the USA that opened the scoring through full back Frankie Hejduk. Hejduk may have trouble with his distribution at times but you have to admire the enthusiasm and energy that he brings to every game. And you have to admire the way he struck the ball from just outside the box to put the US into the lead.
The second goal came from the penalty spot after Beasley was tripped by Canadian keeper Pat Onstad. Beasley was played in by the simplest of passes inside full back Paul Stalteri. Donovan drilled his penalty down the middle.
The two goals the USA scored in the last ten minutes or so of the first half served to change the shape of the game in the second half. The play spread out and as Canada tried to push forward there were acres of space for the US midfielders and forwards to run at the Canadian defence. As the second half progrressed the US’s bad habit of spurning chances reemerged and it proved costly, although thanks to the officiating, it was not fatal.
The emergence of Ian Hume was a turning point for Canada as the wee man starting hustling the US defence and running at the them at every opportunity. Suddenly Canada’s attacks became more intense and threatening and when Hume equalized with a quarter of an hour left we knew we were in for a barnstorming finish.
Ratings Canada Onstad (6) – Had no chance with either of the two US goals. Otherwise rarely tested.
Stalteri (4) – Was guilty of a sloppy back pass in the second half. Was unable to get forward into attacking positions.
Hastings (6) – Handled Dempsey and Johnston well.
Hainault (6) – Ditto.
Jazic (7) – A very competent performance.
Bernier (6) – Pace of the game was a bit too quick for him but he made few mistakes.
Hutchinson (7) – Never imposed himself on the game but he showed again that he is type of player who can turn a game in an instant.
Nash (4) - When given time he sprayed a couple of great passes but in close quarters he was ineffective.
De Guzman (7) – Victim of a brutal challenge in the first half but De Guzman was Canada's most consitent performer over 90 minutes.
De Rosario (5) – Looked like he was going to pull off something special in first half but faded in the second.
Gerba (6) – A thankless task being the lone striker with little support for long stretches of the match. Fought valiantly.
Subs. Hume (8) – A terrific performance off the bench only reinforced the unanswered question as to why he was used so sparingly in this competition.
Nakajima-Farran – no rating
USA Keller (6) – Handled what he came his way.
Hejduk (8) – Scored a call and was here, there and everywhere…although you may not want to see that in your right back.
Onyewu (3) – He might be a fan favourite but too often he is an accident waiting to happen.
Bocanegra (4) – Was lucky to be on the park after a spectacularly late challenge on De Guzman in the first half.
Bornstein (5) – Showed great promise and energy in the first half but suffered in the second half as much of the US attacks avoided the left side.
Dovovan (6) – The upside his Donovan continued to look for the ball even though he struggled most of the evening. He will want to remember his set up for the first goal and his well-struck penalty. He will want to forget his wiff with an open goal in front of him. That was in the 50th minute and would have killed the game as a contest.
Bradley (4) – Was prominent in the early stages of the first half but his performance dropped off alarmingly as the game progressed. Rightfully shown a straight red card for a challenge that was late, high, from behind and designed to stop a player breaking away from him – the referee got that one spot on!
Mastroeni (7) – Patrolled his area well with a minimum of fuss as a good holding midfield should do.
Beasley (6) – Everytime I watch Beasley I am left with the feeling that he could have contributed so much more.
Johnson (4) – Poorly timed runs and failed to link well with Dempsey and the midfield.
Dempsey (5) – Absolutely starved of the ball but failed to go and get as well.
Nicky Campbell delves into the vaults for the story of Joe Baker. One of the comments mentions that Joe’s brother Gerry played for the USA. Something I thought the writer would have mentioned. Joe Baker was a legend at Hibs and scored 42 goals in the 1959/60 season.
The Stevens’ Inquiry looks to moving to the arrest and charges stage.
And to this weekend’s football.
Gillette Stadium is host to a triple header on Saturday with two Gold Cup quarter finals (Canada vs. Guatemala and USA vs. Panama) and New England Revolution vs. Columbus Crew in MLS.
Traditionally Canada has found goals difficult to come by but are scoring on a regular basis at the moment. In Guatemala they face a country that they have only ever lost to twice in their history – 11 games in all. However, on both occasions the losses were costly. In World Cup 2006 qualifying Canada lost 2-0 at home in the first game of the semi final round robin group stage. Canada did pull off a notable 1-0 win in the return fixture but the opening game loss was devastating.
Back in 1988 Guatemala inflicted on Canada their worst ever win!! Sound strange then let me explain. The two countries were drawn against each other in an early stage of qualifying with the winners moving on to the group stage. Two years earlier Canada had made it to the World Cup Finals in Mexico and was favourite to beat Guatemala.
Guatemala won 1-0 at home and the return was at Swangard Stadium in Burnaby, British Columbia. My recollection is that the game was at least partially played in a downpour and Guatemala led 2-0 at half time. Although Canada came back (Ian Bridge and now soon to be national team coach Dale Mitchell with 2) and won 3-2 they went out on the away goals rule.
You may remember that Mexico was suspended for the 1990 World Cup for using ineligible players in age group competitions and the USA – courtesy of Paul Caligiuri’s goal against Trinidad and Tobago – went to Italy representing CONCACAF together with Costa Rica. In those days I think it is fair to say that Canada got the better of the US more times than not. The defeat to Guatemala and with it, a possible chance to return to the World Cup Finals, coincided with the second season of the fledgling Canadian Soccer League.
Given that a number of the national team players played in the CSL a successful World Cup qualifying campaign might have been enough to provide the new league with some traction. As it was the league died a lingering death and was deceased before the 1994 World Cup was held in the United States. In my opinion the loss to Guatemala was a pivotal moment in Canadian soccer history and one that I would suggest it has yet to fully recover from.
The USA picked up the pace against El Salvador and has now scored seven goals in three matches. The goals have come from six different players with DaMarcus Beasley notching a double on Tuesday. Despite some reports to the contrary there is no indication that Rangers have in fact signed the American winger from PSV Eindhoven. In the second quarter final the 2005 Gold Cup Final will be repeated with Panama providing the opposition. Panama continues to grow in stature and should provide the USA with a stiff challenge.
After last weekend’s sensational finishes in La Liga it is probably unrealistic to think that there could be a repeat. However, with the title to be decided, UEFA Cup spots still in doubt and four teams trying to avoid the last two relegation spots you can bet that there is going to be drama somewhere.
The Spanish League has opted to split the final round of La Liga matches on Sunday into two batches. Generally the first group of games at 9:00 EST will decide the drop spots. (Celta Vigo v Getafe, Racing Santander v Real Betis, Valencia v Real Sociedad, Athletic Bilbao v Levante and Espanyol v Deportivo Coruna).
Four hours later the matches to decide the champion club and UEFA Cup qualification will kick-off. (Gimnastic v Barcelona, Osasuna v Atletico Madrid, Sevilla v Villarreal, Real Madrid v Real Mallorca and Recreativo Huelva v Real Zaragoza).
It is extremely likely that the tie breaker rule will need to be used to decide final placements. So here for your ready reference is the rule. 1. Most points obtained in the games between the teams in question 2. Goal difference in the games between the teams in question 3. Goals scored in the games between the teams in question 4. Goal difference in all league games.
There are another three criteria but given the standings it the first four should suffice. At the top of the table there appears to be the following permutations. Real Madrid wins the league if they at least match the results of Barcelona and Sevilla. Real Madrid would also take the title if they drew as did Barcelona and Seville won. All three teams would finish on 74 points but Madrid would win based on a mini-league table.
Barcelona can win the league if they can produce a better result than Real Madrid even it was only a draw. In that situation Sevilla could win and tie with Barcelona on points but still lose on the head to head rule. The only way for Sevilla to win the league is for both Barcelona and Real Madrid to lose and Sevilla to win or for Real Madrid to draw, Barcelona to lose and Sevilla to win. That would leave Sevilla and Real Madrid tied at the first three levels but Sevilla would win on a better league goal difference.
Sevilla has the least chance of winning and they have to play a rampant Villarreal side that has won their last seven league games and now sit in fifth spot. However, Sevilla has a cracking record against Villarreal and have only lost twice in the last 13 head-to-head meetings.
Barcelona is at already relegated Gimnastic and would seem to be a banker bet to win. That leaves Real Madrid in the poll position. Unless you have been asleep under a rock it will be the final game in Madrid colours (if white is a colour) for David Beckham. The same goes for Roberto Carlos. A final game win would be a remarkable triumph for a Madrid side that for most of the season played quite poorly.
However, it would also mark an incredible season for Ruud Van Nistelrooy. Van Nistelrooy has scored in seven consecutive matches equaling a club record set by Hugo Sanchez. He has scored 25 league goals and is one behind the current Golden Shoe leader Francesco Totti who has completed the Serie A season.
Should Madrid stumble on the final day of the season it will not be the first time in recent memory. In 1992 and 1993 Real Madrid lost their final game of the season at Tenerife and allowed Barcelona to take the title.
At the wrong end of the table four teams are fighting to escape the two remaining relegation spots. Real Sociedad (34 points), Celta Vigo (36), Athletic Bilbao (37) and Real Betis (37) are involved in a fight to the end. There are so many possible permutations it drives you nuts trying to come up with them – I know I have tried. Suffice to say that Real Sociedad (away to Valencia) is in the most difficult position, followed by Celta Vigo (home to Getafe) and Athletic Bilbao (home to Levante). Bilbao has never been relegated but they are cutting it mighty close this season.
Real Betis is in the best position and cannot be relegated as long as they at least match Athletic Bilbao’s result. In most of the possible tie situations Real Betis holds an advantage although they would lose out if they finished equal with Real Sociedad alone. In the event of a four way tie then the mini-table would be Real Betis (10), Real Sociedad (9), Celta Vigo (8) and Athletic Bilbao (5). Celta and Athletic would be relegated.
After a 2-2 draw with the Columbus Crew Toronto fans are left to decide whether the glass is half full or half empty. While scoring their first goal and gaining their first point on the road is another step forward, Toronto will feel that they let a chance to gain something greater get away.
While most MLS teams have international call ups to worry about in the next few weeks the problem has already hit Toronto. Both Carl Robinson (Wales) and Andrew Boyens (New Zealand) were called up for a friendly in Cardiff and it forced Coach Maurice Johnston to make changes to a side that had been fairly settled over the last four games.
In came Marco Reda as a straight switch for Boyens at centre back while Canadian Chris Pozniak came in to make his first start at left midfield. In turn Andy Welsh moved to the right side of midfield and Ronnie O’Brien took over Robinson’s spot in the centre of midfield. Also coming into the TFC side was striker Jeff Cunningham who arrived this week from Real Salt Lake in exchange for Alecko Eskandarian.
It was, however, a Columbus Crew striker who made the biggest impact in the first half. Making a return after a four-game suspension for elbowing, Andy Herron took advantage of sloppy Toronto defending to score twice before being forced to leave the game due to a thigh injury with less than forty minutes played.
Both Crew goals left Toronto defender Marvell Wynne badly exposed after poor positional play and marking by the Toronto central defenders. In between the two Columbus goals Toronto had equalized through a classic big-man wee-man combination of Dichio and Cunningham. After Dichio controlled and knocked down a long-ball to Cunningham, the new striker played a return pass that Dichio whipped past Andy Gruenebaum in the Crew goal from the edge of the penalty box.
Mo Johnston must have administered his own form of the air dryer at half time as a more defensively sound and organized side appeared in the second half. And it didn’t take long for Toronto to tie the game up. Five minutes into the second half a simple but well executed free kick routine saw Jim Brennan hammer home a shot from 30-plus yards out. However, given that the ball hit closer to the middle of the net than the corner you would have to question keeper Gruenebaum’s positioning.
Columbus may have enjoyed more of the possession in the second-half but it was Toronto that created more scoring opportunities as Dichio drifted into deeper positions and left space behind the Crew defense for Cunningham to exploit with his pace. Cunningham took advantage and found himself with only the keeper to beat on a number of occasions but failed to score each time.
The draw leaves both teams on the same number of points but and with a number of challenges to overcome. Without Andy Herron the Columbus Crew attack looks as threatening as a rubber knife, while Toronto’s lack of squad depth could prove costly over the next six weeks.
Next up for Toronto is a visit from the Colorado Rapids next Saturday while the following day the Crew is away to Chicago Fire.
A 2-1 away win for DC United means they leapfrog Toronto FC in the Eastern standings and the home side returns to the cellar.
With the visitors enjoying almost two weeks of rest since their last game and Toronto FC playing their third game in a week it was not surprising that DC United’s game plan emphasized retaining possession for long stretches of the match.
An unspectacular but very effective midfield gave DC control of much of the game although Toronto FC rallied late on and keeper Troy Perkins needed to turn away a stinging Ronnie O’Brien drive with only six minutes to play to preserve the three points.
In the first half Toronto FC struggled to bring the strike pairing of Danny Dichio and Alecko Eskandarian into the play. When the ball was played forward to Dichio a battle with DC United defender Facundo Erpen was a recurring feature. The less physically imposing Erpen was eventually booked in the 35th minute after chopping down the big striker just outside the penalty box although the resultant free kick came to nothing.
As half time approached DC United had reason to be happy with their performance. But then Toronto struck and Dichio was instrumental in creating the goal. A long throw from full back Marvell Wynne was headed down by Dichio and the ball found Carl Robinson on the edge of the box.
The shot from the Welsh international rebounded off Eskandarian but the former DC United man got a second bite at the cherry as the ball ran loose in the penalty box. Eskandarian was not about to miss such a chance and rifled a shot into the roof of the net as Troy Perkins claimed unsuccessfully for offside.
Despite finding themselves a goal down against the run of play United never waivered from their game plan. A golden chance to equalize came with only five minutes of the second half played. Emilio was sent clean through after a route one clearance by Perkins but failed to hit the target.
However, a goal for DC United came shortly after when Christian Gomez sent in a dipping and pacey free kick into the TFC penalty area. Full back Kevin Goldthwaite stretched to clear the ball but only succeeded in heading the ball into his only net. An unfortunate first own goal for Toronto FC.
Only three minutes later United Coach Tom Soehn made a game changing decision. He opted to withdraw Erpen and replace him with forward Guy-Roland Kpene. In his on-going battle with Dichio, Erpen was sailing very close to the wind with referee Baldomero Toledo. If Soehn had not substituted him, Erpen would surely have been first to shower.
Bryan Namoff dropped back to play on the right side of the defense while Bobby Boswell took on the man-to-man marking responsibilities on Danny Dichio. The more robust Boswell proved to be a more effective marker and after twenty minutes Dichio too was substituted.
As three games in eight days began to take their toll on Toronto another goal for DC United seemed inevitable. When the goal came it was from the penalty spot after Wynne was judged to have fouled Emilio. At first glance it looked to be a harsh decision but replays clearly show that the referee’s decision was spot-on.
Jaime Moreno stepped up to score his third goal of the season and in the process he tied Jason Kreis’ MLS scoring record of 108 goals.
Next weekend DC United plays Houston Dynamo in Washington while Toronto FC visits the Columbus Crew.
Were you at the game or did you watch it on television? Here's a chance to share your thoughts and opinions.
I am the soccer analyst for the Fox Soccer Report and appear twice a week - every Monday and Friday at 10:00 EST. I have also been a regular contributor to the Fox Soccer Channel website since the summer of 2004. Over the last twenty years I have contributed to various radio and television programs throughout North America as well writing about the game for newspapers, magazines and websites.
Thank you to all who take time to visit this blog and especially to those of you who post your comments and thoughts.
PS - If you have questions please post them on the regular Monday blog. I am unable to answer e mails posted to the inbox on this site.
And one more thing. If you have questions or complaints or compliments about programming please contact Fox Soccer Channel or Fox Sports World Canada directly. I have no control over what the stations televise.
