Goodbye MLS for 2007
and other weekend football tidbits.
First things
first.
Work came first for me this weekend so I watched no games on
TV. I DVRd the games and watched the
highlights. I didn’t even have time to
check any results until Saturday evening.
Wow! What a surprise!
England
beat Austria
on Friday. The surprise isn’t the
win. That was just a dash of
sarcasm.
McClaren saw fit to reward Gareth Barry; the Villa midfielder
who’s been pretty good in an England
shirt of late; the recipient of at least two if not three Man Of The Match
plaudits with a seat on the bench.
The tired, tried and tested midfield partnership that
doesn’t work very well was aired again.
What is that McClaren #### doing?
From the highlights and many accounts the pairing failed to ignite a
dour England,
again.
Now had he gone with Barry and Lampard I would have
applauded him. Even Barry and Cole would
have been something, time and time again Joe Cole has shown he’s not a wide
player. And England
certainly have someone better on the right than Wright-Philips, his crossing is
poor for Chelsea and not much different for England.
At least he had the sense to play Lescott at the back
instead of on the left. Obviously El
Tel and McClaren learnt something from the game they attended at Stamford Bridge.
Owen get’s crocked. That
goal against Argentina is
such a long time ago, against Russia
he was poor. Let’s get 20 or thirty goal
ridden games from the ex Liverpool striker before we even let him sniff and England
shirt.
Still a win is a win.
It’s not three points but the manager has wasted another opportunity to
really use a friendly. I’m sure big Sam
will have crosses McClaren off his Christmas card list though.
Seals, nowt to do
with Fish.
Losing two nil at home to the League topping Milton Keynes
Dons; under the au####es of Paul Ince.
From one side of the fence it’s not a bad loss, the Dons are good and it
shows what we need to do in order to maintain our place in the upper echelons
of League Two. From this side of the
fence I say “Bollocks!” Two losses on
the bounce to a poor Bradford side and we had
a great chance to not lose three times on the bounce with the visit of table
topping MK. The lads in white and blue
blew it, big time. The manager also
needs a good kicking as well. Three
results like that at this time of year have the potential to kill a
season. Who do we have coming up? Well the Red Red Robin may not be a Bobbin’
but right here and right now it looks more like a great bug vicious, nasty
eagle! C’mon girls, at least win the
fight before the game.
Sour grapes from Scotland.
The Haggis munching Scots will have to settle for crying
into their kilts next year. No
debauching the monuments of Austria
and Switzerland like they
did the monuments of Madrid.
Brought a tear to my eye to see the Hampden Park
faithful in full roar. Then utterly
silenced by an early Luca Toni goal.
Great strike from the big lad. That’s
the best and the worst of sounds though, the silence at home after an away
goal.
They did fight back and of course they then got robbed. Sorry lads and lasses, getting robbed is what
Clattenburg does to your team after he takes a back hander from a pompous
Spaniard.
The Police will be gutted; drunken Scots urinating on
monuments is always an easier policing job than crazed, drunken English yobs on
the rampage after the inevitable shiity loss.
The only Scottish hope is that Austria will pull out and hand the
Jocks there spot. Apparently the
Austrian people think their team is just so shiite that it doesn’t actually
deserve to be playing in the tournament.
They want to hand it to the best loser.
I couldn’t find my
arse with both hands.
This little spot is dedicated to all the football experts
who didn’t give Israel
a chance.
They have nothing to play for. Oh so wrong!
Russia
is too good a side. No they are not!
Blah blah blah blah.
Blah blah blah blah.
A lot went for the draw but that’s the beauty of this
wonderful game of football. Deserve
means nothing. History means
nothing. Anything else bar those 22 or
more blokes, the referees and his assistant and the ball means absolutely
nothing. Maybe Israel got lucky but the result is in the book
and didn’t England
cheer long and loud. The bookies were
laughing all the way to the bank.
So some may agree with you Paul but most don’t. All that’s needed is a point against Croatia
on Wednesday and we go for a European Holiday next summer. Even McClaren can’t mess that one up, can
he? A point against a team that has
already qualified at home.
Being booed in Portugal.
They won but got booed for some really turgid and
unenteprising football. Has the team
with the Real Golden Generation finally come back down to earth, it was Armenia after
all.
Grotty Robert F
Kennedy Stadium isn’t Wembley or even the Millennium Stadium.
What may be home for the Redskins and the Baseball team that
occupies it in the summer but RFK isn’t a great football stadium.
It has no ends.
Behind the goals is unusually the loudest and most loyal section of the
fan base, here it’s just empty space.
A shade under thirty nine thousand people joined me at the
MLS Cup game today and the place still seemed devoid of atmosphere. Too many empty seats and great swathes of
gravel between the pitch and the fans just doesn’t a Cup Final atmosphere
make. The one side was packed, Houston at one side and New England
at the other, that was a good crowd, noisy and vocal and isolated.
The game turned out to be OK, not a classic but a decent
enough display. Although the half time
entertainment weren’t remotely entertaining.
Defences did dominate, as you’d expect but neither team
really exploited the width of the pitch to any degree. Wells Thompson has a blundering first half in
which he came inside at every opportunity, had little or no positional sense
and couldn’t help out his back three. In
the second half he seemed to take Nicols words a bit too literally and spent
long periods hugging the sunlit touchline, isolated from his team mates.
Houston
noise and smoke; how did they get that splendid smoke bomb past the eagle-eyed
security guards?; was a barometer for their team. The kept up some chanting in the first half
but the were equal to the Revolution Supporters. The second half they cut loose and dominated
the chanting.
The one time when New England
showed any width and quality they scored.
Great Twellman goal but they never really went for the second.
Fair play to Houston’s
fans and the Dynamos on the pitch. It
wasn’t pretty but they; also lacking width; plugged away and fought themselves
back into the game. They got their tying
goal moments after a volley shot just inches high of Onstad’s crossbar. Ngwenye stabbing home when he just couldn’t
give up.
Again a quality cross from wide and Houston take the lead, great De Rosario
header but shoddy marking.
New England came close but
a reluctance to shoot and a goal line clearance meant Nicol’s team remain
winless in their last four MLS Cup outings.
Do you think they can do a Buffalo
and lose four in a row in 2008?
The referee should have sent Smith off. He’s a winger not a bouncer and the way he
‘escorted’ Ngwenya off the pitch after he got a petulant first yellow necessitated
a second. The referee bottled that one.
Good game and definitely better than last years final and we
were spared the ignominy of extra time or penalties. But Please Mr. Garber, choose a stadium more
suited to football and not football next time, you’ll have a better final.
The MLS did bag a winner with the National Anthem
though. One of the Three Tenors from the
Italia 90, Placido Domingo, did a marvelous rendition.
Annoyed and from
DC.
On the Metro on the way back I chatted to some DC United
fans. Three main points came
across.
First that winning the League is a stunning yet barely
recognized achievement. They recognize
that the play off format is very American but don’t understand the paucity of
acclaim that comes from winning the League (or the MLS Supporters’
Shield). Very not football. And as Garber has changed some other rules to
better keep true to the version played abroad why not the League
Champions?
RFK location wise is great for DC United home games. The next stadium may not be quite so fan
friendly in terms of access. Even places
like Dulles have been touted and the fans are unhappy. They want the new stadium in the city and
accessible. The Metro is a cheap and
established transit system, why not take advantage of it?
The US Open Cup is magnificent. A clear fan favourite, old, established and an
American twin of the best Cup Competition in the world. Yes, I do mean the FA Cup. Even DC United fans follow it.
TTFN – a little
something from A A Milne.
It’ll be nice to get back to the rigours of Serie A and the
Premier League but for this weekend it was a pleasure to kick back and enjoy
some live football, always one of the very best ways to spend a Sunday
afternoon. Just be very wary of the dogs
if you ever take a trip to RFK.
Post Script.
Charles Boehm, someone who writes for MLSnet.com – are you
blind, mad, stupid or just a cack reporter.
Your article on this page;
Says the weather was cloudy.
Did you perhaps miss the bright sunshine that illuminated the Giant
Houston Dynamo Shirt. The fans on the
shady side of the stadium were gutted that their seats were cold and shady
whilst the seats opposite them were bathed in gorious late autumn
sunlighght.
If you can’t even get the weather correct can we assume you
spent too much time in hospitality?
The last game of the regular
season decided who got the last place in the 2007 play offs; Blanco goes
onwards whilst Beckham gets to ruminate before another season starts.
First let’s start with the axe –
now that the eight teams have their chance to prepare for the first leg what do
the other franchises do.
WEST:-
Colorado – A team with a solid manager and a
real lack of goals. Will the wily Clavijo
retain his job? I haven’t seen enough of
the Rapids this season to really make anything more than a guess.
LA Galaxy – surely a coach; who
admittedly managed to get the team on a late season burst with some good away
wins; who has a goal difference of -10; only won nine times in a thirty game season;
who has the best US player on is side and the terrible mismanagement of Beckham’s
(a manager who doesn’t get to decide his team sheet should surely resign
immediately) and finally the Galaxy played some of the poorest MLS football
this season, especially the back four; should go. Alexi Lalas comes across as pretty hard nosed
and it’s hard to see how he can justify keeping Yallop on.
Yallop isn’t a bad coach but he’s
probably not the coach that LA need right now.
Real Salt Lake – still struggling with the
previous coach’s poor initial selection of players Jason Kreis is making the
best of a bad hand. Trouble is he’s
traded quality for quality (Beckerman for Ballouchy) so the team as a whole
remains rather poor (Eddie Pope aside but he’ll retire now) and he’s barely out
of his playing boots. He’s a prime candidate
to accept an assistants job but without any coaching experience I think the
rebuilding of Real is beyond him.
EAST:-
Columbus Crew – Some quality players and a
useful coach but a lack of consistency.
That might save Sigi Schmid’s job.
Toronto FC – Mo Johnston has a
sound platform upon which to build, his season has been up and down with two
terrible records to his name (longest winless streak and longest goalless
streak); but he has shown signs of good management and will probably be given at
least 2008 to really turn things around, he really needs to sort out his sievelike
defence.
FIRST ROUND MATCH UPS:-
October 25th
Chicago Fire v DC United
One convincing win for DC and two
draws. DC have taken their foot of the
gas a touch recently and Chicago
will be buoyed by the win against LA.
Expect a tight game with a result for DC. Will Emilio have his shooting boots on?
The weather forecast is cool; mid
40’s; and cloudy.
October 27th
New York Red Bulls v New England Revolution
Two wins and an away draw. The rivalry, the form of NE and home
advantage scream a home win. Angel’s
performance in front of goal could a spanner in the works though.
The weather forecast is cool; low
50’s with a chance of showers and thunderstorms.
FC Dallas v Houston
Dynamo
Two wins and goalless draw
without conceding a goal. Houston seem to have their
rivals’ number. De Rosario is the one to
watch in this game.
The weather forecast is mostly
clear with temperatures in the 60s.
Kansas City Wizards v Chivas USA
Both sides won at home this
season. Tough one to call; if Chivas
injury problems subside you have to fancy them for the win. How will Eddie Johnson perform in front of
goal?
The weather forecast is partly
cloudy and temperatures in the 50s.
This season the East has five teams, the West just three. Is the East the better conference?
The Supporter’s Shield goes to
the East.
63 wins versus 43 for play off
teams – an average of 12.6 versus 14.3.
230 goals versus 126 scored for
play off teams – an average of 46 versus 42.
207 goals versus 95 conceded for
the play off teams – an average of 41.4 versus 31.6.
Each Eastern conference team has
three inter conference games but only plays two against the West.
Each Western conference team has
three inter conference games but only plays two against the East.
Of the ten top scorers only nine
make the play offs; of those nine 6 are from the East.
New York has Angel (19) and Altidore (9). New England
has Twellman (16). Kansas City has Johnson (15). Chivas has Galyndo (12) and Razov (11). LA has Donovan (8). DC has Emilio (20) and Gomez (10).
Of the top five goalkeepers; by
MLS statistics; three are in the West and one of those won’t be in the play
offs.
Assist leaders (for the stattos
amongst you) with only Schelloto from Columbus
missing out. Again, Chivas have two,
Kljestan 13) and Razov (8). LA has
Donovan (13). New
England has Ralston (14). Kansas City has Arnaud
(9). New York has van den Bergh (8). DC has Gomes (9) and Fred (8).
Feisty players abound, the top
yellow card holders (making the play offs are) Robinson (11) for Houston. Marsch (9) and Nagamura (8) for Chivas. Olsen (8) for DC. And the only real livewire in the play offs
is New York’s
Mathis with two reds.
The Supporter’s Shield winner has
won the MLS Cup four times:-
1997 – DC United
1999 – DC United
2000 – Kansas City
2002 – LA Galaxy
Whomever you think is the best
conference it’ll be a tough competition.
The away goal rule will surely come into play so a 2-1 loss away in the
first game isn’t curtains. Some of the
best talents in the MLS are being left out this year but the teams involved
have enough quality to provide the end of season tournament with plenty of
quality football. This season no one
team has dominated the league; every team has had it’s ups and downs. And when it’s win or go home the games can
throw up suprises.
I still have to go with DC – they’ve
just played the best football I’ve seen in the MLS this season.
LA show fight but defensive frailty and offensive stutters can’t give
them the needed victory, Donovan is superb and Angel isn’t in a 1:1 draw.
Huge support out in Carson, many
hoping to get a glimpse of LA’s superstar Designated player. The evening was temperate and the atmosphere;
in the purpose built stadium; was bouncing.
Five wins on the trot had seen LA raise themselves up from also rans to
potential contenders. Lose this game and
they have to wait till next year and Yallop is likely sacked; win and they
control their fate, draw and their play off hopes are dependent on other
results. New York
was determined not to just roll over although a repeat of the nine goal;
defensively awful; game in New York
was unlikely.
Yallop would again pack his bench
with talent; the starting eleven play in a 4 4 2 formation with Pavon and
Donovan up front; the number 10 will be the deeper player; width in midfield is
provided by Jones and Martino, Tudela and Vagenas provide some meat in the
middle; Roberts and Jazic provide solidity at centre back with Klein is the
right back with a license to attack mirrored by Randolph on the left; Cannon
keeps goal.
Ex USMNT manager Arena started
with Conway in goal; van den Burgh provides width and crosses from the left
with Mendes and Parke inside him and Freeman on the right; Richards provides
pace and crosses from the right with Altidore moving out wide to cover for
injury and suspensions; Stammler and Vide are tough tackler in the middle with
Angel; MLS’s second highest goal scorer this season and Wolyniec up front.
Klein shows LA’s intentions with
a bold right sides run, his cross let run by a team mate and falls to the
surprised Martino whose finish is poor.
Altidore cuts through the LA left
and lays a beautiful ball into the are for Angel; the Colombian is timid as
Cannon bravely smothers the tame shot which then goes for a corner, Stammler
gets forward to take and gets it back from Vide after a weak LA clearance, his
back post ball is almost perfect but Angel; rising unchallenged amidst the poor
LA defence; heads wide of the far post.
Richards and Randolph start the
battle that will last all night; the Jamaican skins the American and whips a
ball in which only ends up as a corner kick; Wolyniec’s attitude wins another
corner; Richards cuts once too many to bamboozle Randolph and Jazic is able to
step in and clear; van den Burgh plays a ball up to a wide Angel, he cuts
inside, rides a challenge from Richards and sets up Wolyniec, Klein is
excellent in covering the shot; the ball is being kept well by New York and
their attacking intent is causing all sorts of problems for LA, they just
haven’t got the class to be in front.
Richards and Freeman combine to
send in a ball for Angel but Cannon is quicker to the ball than the Colombian;
quick distribution from Cannon sees Pavon at the other end win a corner kick,
Altidore’s clearing header falls to Martino who lays it wide to Donovan, a
quick run and a great cross sees Conway in no mans land and an unmarked
Richards at the back post have an easy header for an LA lead.
The lead wouldn’t last long; van
den Bergh makes a run on the left, crosses from deep and a shoddy LA defence is
pulled apart by Wolyniec’s near post run, Altidore is in his favoured spot and
makes no mistakes, heading past Cannon from six yards out. The softest of equalizers may have cost LA
their play off place.
LA have some fight in them;
Donovan sees a chance flash just wide; his run is good but the cross isn’t; he
forces a corner kick and LA keep New York pinned back; a poor clearance from
Conway; who was used almost like a sweeper for much of the first half; kicks a
poor clearance which comes back to Donovan off van den Burgh, the number ten’s
effort is deflected narrowly over; Pavon falls into the New York offside trap
(again and again and again and again and again until he eventually gets
subbed); on the half hour a van den Bergh free kick comes into the LA area, the
defenders don’t but Angel hasn’t got his shooting boots on and Cannon saves
easily.
Conway
comes up with a good save after a great overlapping Klein run and cross, the clearance
comes back but Conway
just beats Donovan to the long ball.
Wolyniec gets a fabulous ball
into Angel but one too many touches by the Colombian allow him to be closes
down and his shot is off balance and wild; a good clearance from Cannon sets
Jones free, the veteran skins van den Bergh and whips in a great cross which is
wasted with non existent LA movement.
Plenty of chances in a first half littered with slack attacking and poor
defending.
Leitch comes on for the inured
van den Bergh at the start of the second half.
Yallop was ambivalent about his
side allowing such a rapid equalizer; a reason we probably won’t see him at LA
next year; “that’s football” was his quote, he wants his side to “keep on
keeping on” and suggested he’ll have Beckham on in the second half.
Parke lofts the ball forward to
Donovan who shows world class (yes really! stunning skills by the LA #10) with
his cushioning of the ball whilst on the move, his excellence in seeing the
wide run of Martino and his quickness of thought in playing the ball perfectly
into the path of the winger, Martino cuts deeper into the area and unleashes a
shot across Conway but the keeper is alert and holds onto the ball with Donovan
sprinting in to mop up any Robinsonesque error.
WOW! This clip should be on every MLS
season highlight reel! Awesome skill on display from Donovan, great movement
off the ball and a fine shot from Martino and a great save under pressure from Conway. WOW!
It was nice to hear Wynalda suitably
awestruck!
Roberts heads over from a well
delivered back post corner; Donovan sees a fine cross well cut out; LA are
surging forward; almost desperate for the win.
Richards has a fine run; in which
he skins Randolph
(again); and cross wasted by Angel, the Colombian takes too many touches and
the shot is blocked; Angel and Richards combine again with some neat interplay
but the move breaks down; when the ball comes out to Stammler he has a wild
shot from distance.
LA try to keep the tempo high but
their attacks lack a cutting edge, their play in midfield is good, harrying New
York and not allowing them time to settle; but the away side still look to break;
Richards finds himself in space, has a good run and shot which is well saved by
Cannon; Glinton replaces Martino; Angel sees a free kick kiss the outside of
the post; Donovan; easily LA best player; runs at New York, cutting through
their defence, he lays the ball across the six yard box but Pavon is too slow
to reach the gift wrapped goal scoring opportunity; he’s then taken off for
Buddle; Richards beats Randolph (yes he did it again) with pace and strength
and dinks the ball past Cannon who dives and trips the winger; then you get a
close up of the bewildered Jamaican when the referee waves play on.
Jones sets up Klein whose ball in
allows Vagenas to strike a wicked shot which brings a class save from Conway who
turns it around the post for a corner kick; then the keeper beats Buddle to a
high through ball.
Vagenas is brought off for
Beckham leaving the young Tudela to partner the Englishman at the heart of
midfield; the superstar has twenty-two minutes to make his mark.
Space is appearing for New York with LA focused
almost 100% on scoring next; Altidore beats Tudela, cuts inside but see his
shot blocked; and Vide gets the ball from a corner and has a shot which Cannon
does well to keep track of.
The desperation of LA is becoming
apparent as their play is becoming ragged; Beckham really isn’t making a
positive impact in fact it looks like he’s unbalanced the team somewhat; Leitch
gives away a soft corner and Beckham delivers a delightful ball to Tudela whose
shot is well turned aside by Conway; a neat and well executed training ground
move; for all the huff and puff of the Galaxy in the final few minutes the best
chances come to New York with Altidore firing once high and once wide and
Roberts needed a well timed tackle to strip the ball from an onrushing
Colombian.
Yallop bowed to the pressure
exerted by Beckham and wrongly played him; he unbalanced the team and they
never looked quite as sharp and dominant without Vagenas. Lucky to escape this game with a win the LA
defence allowed Angel a myriad of chances and were lucky to have a incompetent
referee. Donovan was awesome, power,
pace, touch, vision, work rate, passing, movement he had it all but was maybe a
little too far beyond his team mates; particularly Pavon.
Yallop may still save his job if
the gods of football are kind but he really fluffed this home chance to make
the play offs more attainable.
Arena will wonder about the
bodged penalty decision and the regularity with which Angel failed to find the
net given his array of wonderful opportunities.
His defence played well and Conway kept them in the game with some fine
second half saves; whilst presses throughout they never looked as like
capitulating although the goal was a soft one the equalizer was a display of
simple, well executed football and a touch of skill to finish. He can look forward to the play offs.
The referee was a homer; way too
many decisions incorrectly favoured the home side and he waved play on after a
blatant penalty; which if he thought wasn’t a penalty should have seen Richards
get a yellow card. His two cards were
merited but his use of advantage was poor.
Not one of the better performances from Kevin.
Galaxy keeps their play off hopes alive with a 2-1 win against plucky
ten men Toronto.
Home Depot Centre for the night
game was is packed with expectant fans wanting the winning streak to
continue. Playing under lights creates
an extra buzz even their designated player has turned out to support his team.
Yallop sticks with a strong bench
and plays Cannon at the back; a back four of Klein, Roberts, Jazic and Randolph
will look to attack up the wings; Jones and Martino provide width in the
midfield, Tudela; the excellent rookie; and Vagenas hold things down in the
middle; Pavon and Donovan combine up front.
Johnston
picks a makeshift side; plenty of absences due to International duty, injuries
and suspension force his choices somewhat; Stamatopolous got the nod at the
back; Braz, Reda, Marshall
and Gala provide a four man back line; Wynne, Pozniak, Hemming and Dunivant are
the midfield four with Samuel and Cunningham in attack.
Toronto clear a good cross from
Klein, Pozniak runs at LA but eventually his run flounders; Toronto are sitting
deep but hold a high line, they look to break with number; LA probe and press
they look for the forward pass r to get the ball wide and behind Toronto.
Randolph, making a rare useful
contribution, gets forward and under pressure back heels the ball for Donovan,
he spreads play back to the middle and Vagenas spreads it wide to Klein, the
cross is splendid and just right for the lurking Pavon, Hemming; back helping
out his defence; reads the cross and heads clear in front of the Honduran.
Samuel draws a soft free kick
when he combines with Cunningham; the back post delivery is almost perfect and
requires a hectic clearance for a corner, the ball is only half cleared and
when it comes back in Samuel leaps well to head the ball on goal but he can’t
generate the power needed to beat Cannon; Pavon can’t cut back a good deep ball
in behind the defender; LA are struggling to break down an obdurate and well
organized Toronto.
Martino holds his run, avoids the
offside and gets in a nice cross, Cobi heads over; Pavon can’t hold his run and
a neat move breaks down with an offside call; Martino runs from deep to beat
the Toronto offside trap, he gets onto a Donovan through ball but his attempt
at a chip goes woefully high; Donovan gets onto a ball on the left, he crosses
towards the penalty spot and Cobi is able to chest it down, Stamatopolous comes
up with the ball after a hectic scramble.
Wynne cuts inside and runs at LA,
he draws in four defenders and hasn’t the vision to play the ball off to either
one of his supporting team mates, poor decision to keep going as he looses the
ball and the attack flounders; Gala gets upfield and cuts the ball back from
the byline to win a corner as Toronto mount something of an offensive in the
last few moments of the half.
No changes are made at the half
but Frank wants LA to push forward more and Maurice is content with his team’s
performance
The second half starts in a more
open fashion then the first, Klein halted in his tracks by a stellar tackle;
Cannon has to parry a powerful shot from Cunningham, Toronto, flooding forward,
get a corner; Wynne plays the ball up for Samuel but the powerful Trinidadian’s
shot is easy for Cannon; Pavon gets onto a good diagonal ball from the LA midfield
but looks for the penalty as he cuts in from the left, he goes down way too
easy and play continues.
Yallop changes things up with the
withdrawal of Martino for Glinton, he goes up front and Donovan drops back into
midfield; almost immediately the substitution pays dividends, his pace allows
him to get between the flat Toronto back line onto a Donovan diagonal ball; he
is tussling with Reda who hauls him back; a penalty is awarded to LA and Reda
gets a straight red; Donovan’s stutter step sends Stamatopolous the wrong way
and he slots home with ease for an LA lead.
Toronto comes back with some
intense pressure; Cannon keeps his team in the game with a smart save from a
powerful Samuel free kick, LA scramble clear the resultant corner; Cunningham
is well marshaled when he steps forward and Toronto are kept honest with
Pavon’s run and shot from Donovan’s diagonal ball bringing a fine save from
Stamatopolous.
Dunivant steps in and clears as
Jones and Pavon dither on the edge of the area; the ball is played quickly
upfield to Pozniak who spots the run of Samuel, his ball in is reached by the
Trinidadian with barely a challenge from the awful Randolph and the final shot whizzes past a
diving Cannon for the equalizer.
LA step up the pressure, a win is
almost a must for play off qualification; Pavon can’t find a good delivery with
a cross; Jones’s direct run at Toronto is ended with a poor shot straight at
Stamatopolous but the communication; or lack or if; must worry Johnston as a
defender had to stab the ball clear after a moments hesitation by everyone,
Pavon had a chance at the rebound if only he hadn’t given up on the play.
Buddle comes on for the promising
Tudela and immediately makes an impact, Donovan’s through ball beats the flat Toronto back line to find
the run of Klein, the cross is fired in but Buddle handles the speed and side
foots into the roof of the net for the lead.
Donovan had a chance to ice the
cake but can only find touch when one on one with Stamatopolous.
Yallop is still hanging tough and
another win keeps the play off dream alive.
Not playing particularly well but winning I the sign of a form team, Toronto made sure it
wasn’t easy for LA but the home side managed to eke out a victory, made all the
more sweet as they had to pick up the game in the second half. Good substitutions by a coach many see as
being unemployed next MLS season.
Johnston has another running battle with the
fourth official but his team was flat, too intent on defending and woefully
short of starters they held their own for long periods in the game. Playing for your job next season seemed to
work for some players whilst not for others.
The referee was good enough, his
red and penalty decisions were spot on but he allowed himself to be overruled
by a soft call form his assistant, in a tough defensive game he only showed the
one yellow. He did enough to assert his
authority without interrupting the game needlessly.
Strangely tepid match in Texas; Dallas and Chivas
scoreless. .
Perfect night for football in Frisco, Texas;
defensive consistency and the MLS Supporters Cup at stake.
Morrow sticks with his Brazilian,
including him on the right; Burse gets the nod in goal, the back four is Rhine,
Moor, Pitchkolan and Wagenfuhr; Alvarez, Serioux and Toja combine with Denilson
in the middle, Cooper; back after injury; and Thompson start up front.
Preki; without his two first
choice strikers goes for Merlin and Cunliffe in attack; a four man midfield is Mendoza,
Nagamura, Marsch and Kljestan; in front of Guzan are Zotinca, Thomas, Hernandez
and Bornstein.
Cooper shows hi slack of match
fitness by being unable to outpace Thomas to a good through ball; Marsch and
Kljestan combine in attack but Dallas clear; Kljestan attacks again but his shot
is weak an easy for Burse.
Neither side is able to gain the
upper hand in a tightly contested midfield, Chivas work the ball with good
passing and movement, Toja is at the heart of everything Dallas and Denilson seems mostly AWOL.
Toja combines in a forward
position with Denilson, the ball is fed out wide to Cooper who beats his man
and crosses well, no Dallas player makes a run and Guzan gratefully claims;
Moor clears a decent Cunliffe cross; Rhine combines with Alvarez on the left
and Bornstein gives up a free kick, the ball in is cleared and Denilson tries a
chip which goes a foot over.
Kljestan takes a shot and the resultnat
corner kick is beautifully lighted but read by no one.
Serioux gets forward and has a
long range shot parried behind by Guzan; Dallas have more of the ball as the
half ends; Thompson gets onto a good pass and Hernandez does well to track him
as he cuts inside, the shot is still fired off but Guzan stretches out a leg to
make the save. This was the only clear
chance of the half.
Morrow wants his team to move the
ball quicker; he’s happy with the defence but wants more actions up front. No changes are made at the half though.
Thompson cuts the ball back from
the touchline, Alvarez finds Toja but Chivas come away with the ball; Merlin
has a shot blocked, Zotinca puts one in for Mendoza, the hard work is done with
Rhine well beaten but he can’t get his head to the ball; Burse claims a
Cunliffe cross; the game is still played between the boxes with little goal
mouth action; as the hour goes by Chivas gets more of the ball.
Mendoza puts in a cross from the
left, the low ball is only parried by Burse but Kljestan can only hit the ball
over the bar on the rebound; Denilson beats two, cuts inside and finds Cooper
in the area, the big man turns and shoot but Guzan is on form tonight; Alvarez
fires one in from range which Guzan handles easily; Thompson goes deep on the
left, he cuts inside his defender and shoots, the blocked shot pops out to
Cooper who lashes it goal wards, Guzan parries but Thompson had stopped so
fails to get on the lose ball; Copper is allowed to play a Dallas advantage but
doesn’t quite have the legs to beat his man and take the shot; McCarthy
delivers a great ball in from a corner but Chivas eventually clear and break up
field; Alvarez goes in for a professional foul and gets a yellow and then in
the melee Rhine gets a straight red. The
game isn’t too one sided as Razov and Hernandez are slightly crocked.
Galyndo shoots wide; Alvarez work
the ball around the edge of the area and shoots when he see the goal, Guzan is
beaten but the post saved Chivas, Kljestan ####s in a poor free kick for the
last play of the game.
Morrow got a clean sheet, still
has issues with Denilson, got a red card on his Captain and saw his team lack penetration,
but overall a decent night.
Preki had two players crocked who
couldn’t be subbed, his goalie played well but his team lacked punch up front,
not so good a night for the away manager.
Peacock
The referee had a poor game, one
yellow was good the other for dissent when it was clearly for a foul, his red
was awful though, what referee gives out a straight red for a bit of lip from a
player? He did play a couple of good
advantages; which get maximum #### Points; and let the game flow for the
most part. Apparently this referee is
nicknamed, “The Peacock”.
Toronto play well and get the result; a robust and exciting game of
football, two red cards and three goals; the Canadian home fans finally get
something to really celebrate; 2-1.
BMO field, foggy and packed with
a raucous crowd. Great night for football
at one of the better supported MLS teams, New York were looking to cement a
play off place and Toronto were looking for a win, ex-Ney York manager Mo
Johnston had a little to prove against his former team.
Mo Johnston picked an attacking
side for this game, a 4 4 2 with Stamatopoulos in goal behind a back four of Dunivant,
Brennan, Boyens and Braz, the midfield
four is debutant Gala, Robinson Edu and ex New Yorker Wynne; Samuel and
Cunningham; getting a first start after injury; played up top.
Arena; is still looking for his definitive
team; Waterreus kept goal; the back four is Leitch, Stammler and Parke and van
den Burgh; the four in midfield are Mathis, Vide, Kovalenko and Richards with
Angel and Altidore working together in attack.
The first few attacks are all
long balls, nothing much comes of them and quality is scarce in a frenetic
fifteen minutes.
The best thing so far are the
crowd; singing “Who are you!” in response to an Altidore foul and the streamers
at New York
corner kicks.
Robinson puts in a good free kick
only too see it cleared; Richards uses his pace to get free in front of goal
but cuts inside, into traffic, on his weaker foot and loses the ball; he had a
clear shooting opportunity but chose not to take it for some reason.
Mathis gets clattered and then
Kovalenko clatters so gets a yellow.
The first goal comes from a Toronto throw, the ball
comes to Wynne he attacks the channel and place the ball in the path of Edu who
calmly beats the defender and the outstretched Waterreus to find the far
corner. A great pass and a clinical
finish and an unexpected Toronto
lead.
A Brennan yellow allows van den
Burgh the chance to deliver a good ball in, he does but Stamatopolous; pretty
alert tonight; collects; the ‘keeper’s punched clearance falls to Samuel who
breaks up field quickly but can’t quite find Wynne.
Vide gets a yellow as the game
gets just a little chippy; we get interrupted by a stupid “30 on 30” which just
blocks the view of the game and repeats what ESPN’s BottomLine has already told
us at least thirty times, wankers; Braz hauls back Altidore and Mathis’s free
kick is whipped into the box, Stamatopolous manages to save it under intense
pressure from the big seventeen; New York are getting things working in attack
but already Toronto have started to drop off a little and protect their
lead.
Gala does all the hard work on
the left to beat van den Burgh but his quality near post cross is not read by
Samuel; Edu gets a yellow; Samuel nutmegs someone and plays in a good ball
which is rewarded with a corner kick, Toronto use the opportunity poorly; Angel
has a chance at the death only to fire wide.
Johnston
wants his team to apply more pressure to New
York. Arena expects
better pressing from his side he wants possession to increase and early
crosses.
Samuel exerts some good early
pressure; Robinson gets a yellow; Mathis’ corner kick is poorly cleared but
Kovalenko’s shot is high; the second corner is better for New York , Mathis put
the ball out perfectly for Kovalenko and the attempted chip is saved under the
crossbar by Stamatopolous; Samuel brushes past two New York defenders and put
in a great ball, it pinballs around and finally comes to Gala whose finish is
weak and easy for Waterreus; the tempo increases as does the chippiness;
Toronto’s build up play is good, Cunningham finds Gala whose lob beats a
flailing Waterreus but not the last defender; a defensive error from Toronto
allows Altidore in he lays the ball off to Mathis whose thunderous strike goes
a fraction wide; Altidore gets a yellow as the crowd chants, “Jozy is a girl’s
name!”; Kovalenko comes off to save him from getting sent off, he is replaced
by Doe; Dunivant’s long throw causes jitters at the back for New York but they
clear the ball eventually; Vide’s clumsy challenge stops the next Toronto
attack and earns the midfielder his second yellow; he duly gets a red and is
sent off, Robinson’s free kick is only just over; Stamatopolous ####s one
forward and he finds Edu, the rookie runs at New York and slides a ball into
the channel for Wynne, the cross is poor but Waterreus flails at it and Leitch;
haring in on goal; can only tap it into his own net under pressure from
Cunningham.
Boyens scythes Altidore on the
left and a challenge which would normally be only a yellow is given a straight
red; now it’s ten on ten.
Cunningham gets the ball on the
edge of the area after some neat Toronto passing, he turns and fires narrowly
wide; Pozniak comes on for the tiring Gala; a Samuel volley exudes technical
excellence but sizzles just over the bar; van den Burgh finds Richards at the
back post and the ball comes back in but Stamatopolous claims; Altidore beats
Braz, and the offside trap and lays a great ball in for Angel, the Colombian’s
first touch is woeful, but he gets a corner; Richards sneaks forward in the six
yard box as van den Burgh prepares to take the corner kick, the delivery has
plenty of pace and Richards; having escaped the attention of his marker scores
only the second goal from a corner kick Toronto have let in all season.
Van den Burgh crosses deep,
Angel’s shot is blocked and Richards fires one over; Samuel; still full of
running; plays a great ball into space in the area, a tired Cunningham doesn’t
have the legs to get to the cross and make it 3-1; Richards gets into the
byline on the right and whips in a low ball which Stamatopolous and his
defender scramble clear; Richards runs up the middle, through a static Toronto
defence only to be stopped in his tracks by a brave and well timed Toronto tackle.
The crowd went wild and Johnston
gets one over on his old employers; a great game which kept the Scot on his
feet all night; his team attacked with some verve and defended stoutly if a
little too deep at times; Cunningham wasn’t really ready for a start but Edu
and particularly Samuel lit up BMO field with some pretty attacking football;
Stamatopolous will be pleased to get the win under his belt and Toronto will
start to look to the draft and 2008.
Arena saw his team out hussled
and well defended, Altidore and particularly Angel were well marked but the
Colombian was pretty much AWOL for the entire game; his ‘keeper made a couple of
errors and as a team the crosses weren’t causing as much trouble as they
should. Back to the drawing board for
next week’s game.
The referee was pretty decent, he
r#### hard but mainly fair although he wasn’t exactly consistent; the Toronto red was a bit
harsh but it did quieten the game down a little.
I’ve given this piece some
thought, so please feel free with your comments.
FOR:-
17 goals this season already – a
new record
More exposure in Colombia about the MLS may mean more players
from Colombia
attracted to the MLS
Only cost $325000 basic
AGAINST:-
Plenty of Colombians in the MLS
before Angel came along.
New York is in the same position in the
league now (more or less) as they were this time last year, so Angel hasn’t
made a huge difference.
In England bringing in older foreign
players worked. The money was there, the
sport is HUGE in the UK,
TV revenues have allowed player wages to reach unforeseen heights – It’ll be
tough to replicate that progression in the MLS.
He had one good season at Villa
and a few mediocre ones.
I still kind of waver on this
signing. From certain angles it looks
good but from others it doesn’t.
A better Colombian signing by far
is Juan Carlos Toja, at 22 he’s got the potential to be an MLS player for years
to come.
Juan Pablo Angel is a different
kettle of fish to David Beckham.
Back and forth battle; in a stadium that I’ll be glad to see not used
for football; as Real Salt lake’s playoff hopes die and New York keep theirs
alive; 2-2-
Giants Stadium is a terrible
place to play football; the fake pitch, the lack of appropriate space around
the pitch and the football lines just a nuisance; the new Red Bulls home ground
can’t come soon enough. That didn’t stop
a good night time crowd, vocal and excited; expectant and drumming.
Arena; still looking for the best
way to utilize all the talent at his disposal; went with Waterreus in goal;
Stammler and Parke at centre back, van den Burgh on the left and Leitch on the
right; midfield is Reyna; pulling the strings; Richards; getting forward and
Vide and Kovalenko shoring things up; Liberian Doe and Colombian Angel are the
forwards.
A very different Real side from
the one that narrowly lost to Dallas; Kreis is making some progress in
personnel and tactic; Rimando keeps goal behind Forko, Mantilla, Pope; he’ll be
asked to do a job on Angel; and Wingert; Beckerman will sit in the middle with
Williams and Talley looking more forward; a three man front line of Brown, Movsisyan
and Eskandarian will rotate the point man.
Route one football almost hands New York a dream start,
Angel flicks a long ball on for Doe, Rimando smothers the opportunity.
New York are pushing for the
early goal, Angel is battling with Pope for space and opportunity and Doe is
pulling the Real defence around to create space for Reyna to drop balls
into. Real focus on keeping a clean
sheet and break when they can but a first twenty minutes see no shots from the Utah outfit. At the other end, Angel keeps attacking but
his lack of real quality shows with too many offisides and some poor finishing
and decision making, Rimando is equal to anything else; Richards; with his
forward forays provides a real thorn in the Salt Lake side, plenty of crosses
go in the area but none a met with enough conviction and when the chance does
come he runs into the same space as Doe and sees the ball drop into space at
the back post; he is a Rookie though.
With their first effort on goal
Real are successful; Wingert puts the ball in after being played through by
Williams; Brown is alert at the back post and heads past Waterreus; the cross
and finish were good but the defending and goalkeeping were very poor.
New York keep up their attacks and are
denied twice at the death by fine Rimando saves, Real get forward sporadically
with little success or quality.
Kreis wants more possession from
his players and needs them to use the ball better. Arena wants to get back into the game and
brings on Mathis for Vide; who had a good first half.
The equalizer is all about speed
and class; van den Burgh plays the ball forward up the left flank, Angel flicks
the ball on and Doe absolutely skins Mantilla, turning the Argentinean inside
out; twice!; before firing past Rimando inside the far post. The Liberian scored a great goal, definitely
a candidate for goal of the season.
Stammler; coming up from the
back; works a shooting opportunity with Doe but fires wide; Reyna comes off
with an injury; Espindola replaces Brown; Altidore comes on for Doe, the
changes favour Real, Espindola causing all sorts of havoc down the right and
Altidore not as sharp or mobile as Doe.
The Argentinean works well on the
left off a pass from Eskandarian, he pulls the ball back and Beckerman; playing
further forward; calmly slots the ball past Waterreus.
Mathis has a chance but the
bounce from the fake grass isn’t kind to the substitute and Mantilla clears off
the line, the Argentinean defender comes good moments later when Angel head goal
wards from a Mathis cross.
Van den Burgh, crossing well all
night; delivers another good ball into the area; Real fluff and Talley fouls
Mathis for a penalty kick; Angel buries the spot kick for his seventeenth of
the season; a new New York record.
Half chances fall at either end,
Espindola coming close and Altidore scuffing a good opportunity wide. Neither side can find the final ball or shot
to grab a winner and the entertaining game ends in a draw.
Arena has still to find the
formula in New York,
Altidore for Doe was a poor substitution, the Liberian was always more
dangerous than the American. Still looking
at a play off spot they will need to step up on their defence if they want play
off
