MLS Week in Review – Round 02 - 24th Minute

The second week of the 2014 MLS season took place over the weekend with eight matches (six Saturday and two Sunday), resulting in five draws and just one away win, as teams still find themselves struggling with late fitness through the early going.

Goals were at a premium this round with only nineteen scored, including a perfect two-for-two from the spot; considering six of those came in San Jose and that just three of the sixteen teams on display managed more than a single strike, this weekend was hardly a goal-fest.

Some 33 yellow cards were flashed and the first red card was shown, to Chicago’s Patrick Nyarko for a pair of yellows within nine minutes of each other. Not to be outdone, Chivas’ Agustin Pelletieri saw the first straight red of the season in Sunday’s second match for a more-clumsy-than-malicious hop in Los Angeles.

Before the results, the goals of the round:[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]

With so few from which to chose, only two are really worth highlighting, but some textbook plays will be applauded in postscript.

Up first is Toronto’s Jermaine Defoe, who announced his introduction to MLS with a brace 24 minutes into his debut in Seattle. Each exhibited his deadly finishing skills and sharpness in the final third, but the first earns the plaudits.

Many were concerned that Defoe would be starved for service in an anemic TFC attack, but Jonathan Osorio and Doneil Henry served him up on a platter in the 17th minute for the opener:

Expect to see many more of those this season.

Salt Lake’s Kyle Beckerman earns the second nod with this pinpoint accurate finish from range, kissing his left-footed shot off the inside of the left-post to draw his side level early in San Jose:

Who does not like a fierce strike from distance?

Honourable mentions for a trio of exemplary plays, textbook in their execution – Seattle shows how a

should be done, while San Jose make the most of a

, and Dallas give a lesson on how to best use a

Results in Brief

Philadelphia 1 – New England 0

The Union continued their strong start to the season, following that impressive draw in Portland, with a win in their home opener over the Revolution thanks to a Sebastien Le Toux strike just after a half-hour mark.

Surprise starter Leo Fernandes, who was called into action mere minutes before kickoff as Brian Carroll succumbed to illness, proved the difference maker, beating Andrew Farrell to a Fabinho pass up the left-wing, upending the defender before dashing towards goal and hitting a low ball through the six-yard box that Le Toux beat goalkeeper Bobby Shuttleworth to, redirecting it in with a right-foot.

New England suffered a rude shock on opening day in Houston and coach Jay Heaps responded to that disappointment by leaving stalwart centre-back Jose Goncalves out of the game-day lineup, much to the surprise of many.

Philadelphia bossed the opening third of the match before New England came to life, but the Revs could not beat Union keeper, Zac MacMath, who earned his first clean-sheet of the season.

John Hackworth’s renovated Union are now unbeaten through two matches, while Heaps and the highly-touted attacking talents of the Revolution have lost both their matches and are yet to score a single goal.

New York 1 – Colorado 1

Thierry Henry opened his 2014 goal-account with a tidy diving header, but the Red Bull home opener was spoiled by a debatable penalty decision that rescued a point for the Rapids on the debut of legend Pablo Mastroeni prowling the Colorado touchline.

After nearly setting up Bradley Wright-Phillips in the second minute, Henry broke the deadlock in the 57th, when Wright-Phillips won a loose ball back to Lloyd Sam, who worked inside the right-corner of the box and hit a lofted cross to Henry at the back-post. Both Marvell Wynne and Shane O’Neill were drawn to the threat of Tim Cahill, leaving Henry free for a diving header that whistled through the legs of debutant goalkeeper, John Berner.

A hard-fought match saw a running battle between Red Bull centre-back Armando and Rapids forward Deshorn Brown and a breakout performance from Dillon Serna, who twice drew fine saves out of Luis Robles.

The Rapids found their equalizer in the 72nd minute, under somewhat fortunate circumstances - Vicente Sanchez lifted a ball to Marvin Chavez in the Red Bull box, only for Jamison Olave to be whistled for a penalty kick when Chavez bounced off of him and to the ground as though he had run into a brick wall.

Sanchez coolly converted the spot kick, left-footing low to the keeper’s left; Robles guessed correctly, but could not reach the well-taken penalty.

Mike Petke’s New York, who failed miserably in the season opener in Vancouver, looked much better, but could not overcome the shock of the penalty decision, while Mastroeni’s Colorado salvaged a point in their season opener.

Seattle 1 – Toronto 2

The Jermain Defoe and Michael Bradley era in Toronto got off to a flier in Seattle as a seven-minute brace in the first half was enough to hand TFC an opening day victory, their first ever in Seattle.

It took just seventeen minutes for Defoe to show why he had been recruited, as a lightning quick attack began when Doneil Henry headed a half-cleared ball down the left channel. Jonathan Osorio collected, worked past Marco Pappa and then threaded a ball for Defoe, who savagely slotted a right-footed finish past Stefan Frei for the opener.

Seven minutes later, in the 24th minute (hmm, sounds familiar) Defoe exhibited his nose for goal, latching onto a poor back-pass from Pappa, crossing up Djimi Traore and placing another right-footed finish into the right-side of goal for his second of the afternoon.

Bradley was a force of nature, counterbalancing the midfield thrust of Clint Dempsey and Osvaldo Alonso; Dempsey found minor consolation after a poor Toronto giveaway allowed a classic counter. Lamar Neagle rolled the ball down the right touchline for Obafemi Martins to chase, he turned towards goal and laid a pass into the path of the hard-charging Dempsey, who took one touch to settle before lashing a right-footer past Julio Cesar to the short-side.

Unlike last season, Ryan Nelsen’s TFC was able to see out the result and begin their campaign with an impressive, if flawed, victory in Seattle; Sigi Schmid’s Sounders were unable to respond adequately after a mistake-filled first half, though they bossed the play and were perhaps unlucky to not find a point.

Kansas City 1 – Dallas 1

Late drama a plenty at the regular season opener at Sporting Park as Kansas City’s Aurelien Collin looked to have headed in the winner, only for Dallas’ Matt Hedges to respond in kind in the final minute of regulation.

Playing their third match in a week, KC once more shuffled their lineup, handing a debut to young Colombian midfield, Jimmy Medranda. Dallas proved, after a strong home win over Montreal in week one, that they would be in consideration this year, with a solid outing at a daunting venue.

Despite an even match, it appeared the points would rest firmly with the home side when Collin rose unmarked, dead-centre of the goal to flick a left-sided, in-swinging Benny Feilhaber corner kick on to the far-side of goal in the 81st minute of play.

But Hedges and dead-ball specialist Michel had other thoughts, combining on a free-kick from roughly 25 yards that the Brazilian curled towards a crowd at the back-post. Hedges rose majestically, similarly, unmarked, to power his header past Eric Kronberg into the upper right-side of the KC goal in the 90th minute.

Sporting boss, Peter Vermes, was adamant that conceding late goals – as they had here and last weekend in Seattle – was not part of his team; a problem that will undoubtedly be attended to in training. For Oscar Pareja, whose side remains unbeaten through two, the never-say-die attitude was exactly what he wanted from his charges.

Houston 1 – Montreal 0

A match with the potential to get nasty proved anything but, as a deflected goal from red-hot Will Bruin proved the decisive factor in a rematch of last season’s Eastern Conference Play-in match.

These two clubs do not like each other, whether the Brian Ching-saga, that Montreal demolished Houston in 2013, or a couple of chippy matches in 2012, is a matter for debate, but following last season’s disgraceful exit from the Impact that saw three players ejected and suspended as the match descended into anarchy and handbags, fireworks were expected.

With Marco Di Vaio still suspended from that incident, it was left to Andrew Wenger to provide the attack, but he squandered at least two glorious chances, before Bruin broke the deadlock in the 40th minute. A left-sided throw-in found Corey Ashe trying to bust into the corner of the box only to be denied, the loose ball fell to Giles Barnes, who neatly laid back to Bruin just left of the arc.

The striker, who nabbed a brace on opening day, shimmied to make space for a shot, sending a right-footer towards goal that kicked up off the sliding block of Eric Miller, looping into the top left-corner of the goal, handcuffing a helpless Troy Perkins in net. Bruin’s third of the season puts him squarely in the early lead for the golden boot chase.

Dominic Kinnear’s Dynamo begin the season with two wins at home, but must take that form on the road with a visit to Vancouver after a bye week, while Frank Klopas’ Montreal stare down the other side of that coin, having lost their opening two on the road and return home to face Seattle next weekend.

San Jose 3 – Salt Lake 3

In a weekend that was largely devoid of free-scoring, San Jose and Salt Lake provided a neat contrast with a six-goal thriller that prompts the question, Do Quakes ever die?

Chris Wondolowski, goal-scorer extraordinaire, got his 2014 tally started in the sixth minute when a wonderful Shea Salinas set-piece from the left, skimmed off the head of big Victor Bernardez into the path of the deadly striker, who kneed in the finish instinctively with his right-leg.

Salt Lake responded with a trio of goals – including one while San Jose coach, Mark Watson, was being interviewed on the sideline – first from Kyle Beckerman who lashed a left-footer in off the base of the left-post after Joao Plata teed him up from some 25-plus yards in the 11th minute.

Plata himself added the second in the 32nd minute, avoiding the attentions of two defenders in the left corner by playing back to Luis Gil before surging into the box to receive a return ball. A momentary hesitation, aided by a fake shot, bypassed Jason Hernandez and gave the diminutive forward space to smash a right-footer into the bottom left-side of goal for his second in as many games.

Luke Mulholland rounded out the impressive first-half from Salt Lake when he pounced on the rebound from a blistered Ned Grabavoy shot that Jon Busch could only parry into the path of the Englishman, who has proved a good fit for RSL’s style – exhibiting a bit of panache with his celebratory dance.

But, as they had many times before, the Earthquakes refused to admit defeat. Watson called on Alan Gordon and JJ Koval after the hour mark and Salinas’ dead-ball skills proved crucial once more in the 75th minute when his left-sided, in-swinging corner kick was invitingly served up for Bernardez at the near-post, where the defender rose well to redirect in to the far-side.

The minutes ticked down as the assistant referee’s board flashed for five minutes of stoppage-time – San Jose would use every second.

In the final minute, a corner kick was eventually cleared deep, but Shaun Francis lofted one more hopeful ball into the area. Gordon went up with Nick Rimando, but could not take it down. The ball rolled to Bernardez, who settled and smacked a right-footer into the bottom left-side of goal from near the penalty spot to equalize in the 95th minute – Goonies and all that jazz.

Watson’s San Jose, who similarly worked their way back into their Champions League match midweek with a late equalizer (from Gordon), got their MLS season underway in their usual style, while Jeff Cassar’s Salt Lake were not able to pull out another away victory, having stole a result in LA on opening day.

Portland 1 – Chicago 1

Sunday’s early match was a near carbon-copy of Portland’s opener a week ago, as Chicago surprised the hosts by bossing the early play and taking a lead through Jeff Larentowicz at the spot, only for Gaston Fernandez to once more steal a point in the final third of the second half.

Chicago, who opened the season with a disappointing display at Chivas, shuffled their starting eleven, handing starts to Benji Hoya, Harry Shipp, and Quincy Amarikwa, rewarding strong cameos in week one and preseason. It was Amarikwa who really threatened, eventually winning a penalty kick after nineteen minutes when he got goal-side of Norberto Paparotto, who clumsily bundled the forward over in his haste to recover.

Larentowicz calmly converted the spot kick; right-footing his finish low the keeper’s left after eyeing Donovan Ricketts in the other direction.

Portland pressed for an equalizer that would not come and Chicago responded with several half-chances of their own; a breakthrough would eventually come in the 79th minute. Jack Jewsbury on the right handed off to Diego Valeri, who cut back a pass to Darlington Nagbe arriving late at the top of the box. Nagbe’s hot-drive was too much for Sean Johnson to handle, pushing his save straight to the boot of Fernandez, standing all alone at the left-post for a simple right-footed tuck into the open goal, not unlike his stoppage-time header against Philadelphia last weekend.

Caleb Porter’s Portland have yet to find their feet after an impressive 2013, but have managed to salvage draws in both their matches – a feature that served them well, though dropping points at home is of concern. Frank Yallop’s side responded to a week spent on the West Coast, but were once more haunted by a late-concession.

Chivas 1 – Vancouver 1

Despite a circumspect red card inside the first thirteen minutes, it appeared as though Chivas would see out Erick Torres’ deflected strike, until late-substitute Kekuta Manneh leveled in the last ten minutes of play.

Agustin Pelletieri was dismissed in the thirteenth minute for jumping into a block tackle on Pedro Morales, catching the midfielder on the leg, though whether it warranted a straight-red was a matter for debate.

Chivas solidified down a man and took the lead thanks to a horrendous giveaway from Nigel Reo-Coker, passing straight into Mauro Rosales who sprung a sharp counter. Rosales run up the middle, fading to the left before playing in-field to Torres who cut back onto his right-foot and saw his shot deflect off Jay DeMerit past a helpless David Ousted in the 45th minute.

Vancouver had little response for a stoic defensive display from Chivas, making it difficult at times to determine which side was playing with a man advantage. That is until a similarly poor turnover handed the speedy Whitecaps contingent a good look at goal.

Darren Mattocks, who has responded to a controversial off-season with renewed vigour, again played provider, collecting a poor touch from Dani Fragoso and charging down the left before cutting back to Manneh arriving high at the near-post. The youngster’s right-footed finish was placed neatly into the bottom left-corner of goal to salvage a point for the road side.

Wilmer Cabrera’s charges have shown a certain steel in their two home matches, having beat Chicago in the opener and not let their heads drop with the early red card in this one. Carl Robinson’s Vancouver similarly have surprised through the opening two matches to remain unbeaten, responded to critics that expected little from them.

CanCon

As usual, the in-depth review of the Canadian performances this weekend will be posted tomorrow (Tuesday) – watch for strong outings from Jonathan Osorio, Doneil Henry, and Patrice Bernier, while Will Johnson was everywhere, but forgot to put on his scoring boots.

Overheard

San Jose keeper Jon Busch sang the praises of the two-goal performance from Victor Bernardez post-match, but could not resist ribbing the defender for a woeful free-kick attempt, “He’s always a stud and to add two goals tonight – I was going to give him a little grief about his free kick, but I think I’ll leave that be now that he’s got two goals and got us a point.”

New England’s Jay Heaps responded to the surprise exclusion of Jose Goncalves with the pointed, if diplomatic, “Our focus is to put the best players on the field to win this match. We wanted to put the guys in a position to win the game, and that’s what we did.”

Peter Vermes was not pleased with conceding another late goal, though he reserved tough words for behind closed doors, “It's unacceptable and it's not who we are. I'm not happy and the guys know it. It's not who we are. We have been very good the first five minutes of every game, the last five minutes of each half, the first five minutes of the second half ... we've been very good. So it's not something that is going to continue, I can tell you that.”

while he was being interviewed mid-match on the touchline spoke volumes.

See It Live

Plenty of little nuggets from the weekend, from the signal loss in the Colorado broadcast in the final minute of stoppage-time that left the announcers scrambling and apologizing for the technical difficulties to Michael Bradley jawing at Osvaldo Alonso as the two midfield powerhouses went toe-to-toe in Seattle.

The skillful capture of a bird from the Houston pitch could have descended into farce, where it not for the quick, calm hands of an unnamed field attendant, while the ongoing mismatched battles between Victor Bernardez and Joao Plata provided a moment of levity in a hard-fought match in San Jose.

And then there was

by capturing his teammates on film.

It appears the thunder of this segment has been stolen somewhat...

Controversy

The penalty conceded by Jamison Olave in New York was a tough call, as was the red card on Chivas’ Agustin Pelletieri – was either really necessary?

The second week of replacement refereeing passed largely without incident, though, as usual, there were plenty of penalty shouts waived away – none of which truly warranted much consideration.

Upcoming Fixtures

Nine matches on the docket for next weekend headlined by a rematch of the opening night Salt Lake-LA clash.

Saturday: New England-Vancouver; Salt Lake-Los Angeles; Montreal-Seattle; Toronto-DC; Columbus-Philadelphia; Colorado-Portland; Kansas City-San Jose; Dallas-Chivas Sunday: Chicago-New York

The CONCACAF Champions League resumes midweek as well. All three MLS clubs took positive results from their home legs, but must travel down to Mexico in order to progress to the Semifinals.

Tuesday sees LA make the short border hop to Tijuana with the aggregate score set at 1-0; Wednesday pits San Jose against Toluca (1-1 aggregate) and Kansas City against Cruz Azul (1-0 aggregate) – should be interesting, if nerve-wracking viewing.

All video and quotes courtesy of MLSsoccer.com

Each week James takes a look at the league as a whole.

You can follow James on twitter @grawsee or read more of his writing atPartially Obstructed View

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MLS Week in Review – Round 02

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