MLS Week in Review – Round 12 - 24th Minute

The twelfth round of MLS play has come and gone – leaving aside the pair of midweek fixtures, nine matches were played, resulting in three draws and just one away win.

29 goals were scored, including a perfect six-for-six from the penalty spot, and 34 yellow cards were shown, as well as a pair of reds.

Simple numbers aside, it was a weekend that will live long in the memory, both for its historic implications and the sore feeling left upon a number of those who felt hard done by.

Plenty of intriguing sights and sounds from the weekend, and a whole lot of controversy - it was enough to make one sick (that was gross, by the way).

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

Up first is Landon Donovan’s record setting strike – for its implications rather than beauty:

The perfect response from a slighted star.

Then there was Erik Hurtado’s stunning strike against Seattle:

Featuring a double- ankle-breaking move on two experienced defenders followed by a venomous hit.

Kamani Hill’s dipping lash was worthy of a re-watch:

Not a bad way to score one’s first goal since 2012 – why this guy does not get more playing time is a mystery.

And finally, a spectacular solo effort from Montreal’s Andres Romero:

If only Montreal could play as a team.

Onto the results…

Midweek Results in a Sentence (or Two)

DC continued their fine form with a solid 2-0 win over Houston on Wednesday night on goals from Chris Rolfe and Fabian Espindola – the three points would see them already eclipse last season’s total by a full two points.

For Houston, who fell to a second loss in their last three matches, the night was made all the more intolerable by a concerning early knee injury to workhorse rookie forward, Mark Sherrod that dampened an already rainy occasion.

LA end their four-match winless streak with a 2-1 home win over Dallas on first-half goals from Robbie Keane and Gyasi Zardes, before Canadian rookie, Tesho Akindele, notched his first MLS goal in the second frame.

Dallas saw their long winless streak extended to six matches, losing for the fifth time over that stretch – they have lost six of their last eight, after a five-match unbeaten start to the season.

Results in Brief

Kansas City 2 – Toronto 2

Friday night fixtures are a rare luxury, one that fans should grow accustomed to as the new MLS TV deal will see them become a regular occurrence, but for now, they remain a special treat.

This one, though both sides were missing key pieces – Toronto without Michael Bradley and KC, basically, without a centre-back – evolved into a mistake-filled cracker after an uneventful first half.

With the second came Dom Dwyer, notching within two minutes of the restart to continue his scintillating goal-scoring form, registering in a fourth-consecutive match. The Englishman out battled Kyle Bekker to a ball on the right-side of the pitch, skipped away from a Nick Hagglund tackle, then moved across the top of the area, finding Sal Zizzo on the left-side of the box.

Zizzo moved towards goal before pulling back a low ball to the top of the area, where Dwyer had found a pocket of space from whence to sweep in his ninth goal of the season with a low left-footer, guided to the bottom right-corner of the TFC net.

It was a rather miserable, disjointed performance by Toronto on the whole, who failed to find much purchase; the night only got worse when captain, Steven Caldwell was dismissed in the 63rd minute for a high boot that caught Sporting’s Toni Dovale in the centre-circle.

It was undoubtedly an awkward play, but whether it warranted a red – or Caldwell’s heated remonstrations with referee Baldomero Toledo earlier had more to do with the decision - is a matter of debate, but undaunted, Toronto found new life four minutes later when recent acquisition, Collen Warner forced a turnover in midfield and bundled up field.

He played up to Jermain Defoe, who continued towards goal before Seth Sinovic stepped up, bringing down Defoe, but not before he got a strong enough touch to play up towards Luke Moore, making a diagonal run from the right.

Moore, who himself only recently joined from Chivas, showed his quality, with a lovely bent finish around KC keeper, Eric Kronberg, that snuck inside the right-post to level the match at one – it was his second league goal in as many games for his new side.

But Toledo was not done and Caldwell’s replacement, Doneil Henry, would be made to pay for a moment of over aggression. Chasing down his own header, Henry barged into Sporting right-back, Igor Juliao, as he tried to move in from the right, prompting the referee to contentiously point to the penalty spot.

Dwyer, of course, dispatched the opportunity with an unstoppable penalty, placing his left-footer perfectly beyond the reach of Joe Bendik into the left side-netting.

Toronto were no doubt frustrated - Ryan Nelsen’s pointed post-match comments will undoubtedly earn his discipline from the league - but come the 91st minute, when Daniel Lovitz clipped a deep free-kick into the box that led to Hagglund lifting in a follow up from Dwyer’s half-cleared header, finding Bradley Orr lurking off the shoulder of Paulo Nagamura for a flicked header past keeper Kronberg, tying up the match in stoppage-time, their concerns were somewhat assuaged.

The 2-2 draw sees Kansas City’s winless run stretch to three matches, while an injury to Chance Myers further depletes their stores of defensive options – much to the chagrin of Peter Vermes. Nelsen, though still livid, heralded the tenacity of his side, who in consecutive weeks beat the defending Supporters’ Shield champions in Toronto and drew away, in difficult circumstances, to the defending MLS Cup champs.

New York 1 – Portland 2

Saturday’s action began with a firecracker of a contest when New York hosted Portland; falling 1-2 after Bradley Wright-Phillips had put them in the lead from the penalty spot, only for a pair of Maximiliano Urruti strikes to overturn the result.

New York, fresh off two-straight losses, who had struggled to start matches well – conceding five goals in the opening fifteen minutes already this season - were determined to redress that situation, flying out of the gates and dominating the first half-hour of play.

Sweeping attacks, seemingly in waves down the left-side of the pitch culminated in a 36th minute penalty kick for Wright-Phillips after he was wrestled to the ground by Pa Modou Kah, as he attempted to turn in the area, having received a slipped pass from Thierry Henry on the left-corner of the area.

The Englishman, whose resounding miss proved so costly last weekend in Toronto, made no mistakes, right-footing low to Donovan Rickett’s left having eyed the keeper the other way.

But Portland, who have struggled mightily all season under the mantle of contenders, did not bow – leveling the match in the final moment of first-half regulation somewhat fortuitously, when Steve Zakuani, on the left, played up to Urruti in a pocket of space above the area. His hopeful hit skimmed off the back of centre-back Armando, handcuffing Luis Robles and finding the left-side of the New York goal.

Already a hard-fought affair, the match descended into a controlled anarchy; the referee, who had to struggle to keep a lid on the madness, had shown one yellow in the first half, but the next thirty minutes saw a further six players booked, before Urruti struck again.

Jorge Villafana on the left drove a fierce cross through the goal-mouth, Armando got enough to cut it out, but his near-handball fell to Urruti lurking at the back-post for a low, right-footed drive through a mass of bodies back across the goal for his second of the match.

The Red Bulls would search for an equalizer, nearly finding it in the 84th minute when Timbers defender, Norberto Paparotto cleared a Henry chance off the goal-line, but Portland, who had struggled to see out results, held on this time.

Mike Petke’s New York fall to a third-straight loss, though he remains calm, knowing that there is a long season ahead, while Caleb Porter likened this result to last season’s turning point, when an away performance in Kansas City sparked their climb up the table.

Vancouver 2 – Seattle 2

Meanwhile across the continent, a Cascadia Cup clash played out to an entertaining, eventful, and ultimately controversial 2-2 draw.

Chad Barrett, making his first start for the Sounders, began the scoring in the 36th minute, from the end of a right-sided Kenny Cooper cross, lifted towards the penalty spot. Barrett rose over Nigel Reo-Coker to direct a downward header on to the far-side of goal, beyond the reach of David Ousted in the Vancouver net.

Three minutes later Vancouver responded through in-form Erik Hurtado. The fleet-footed forward who has found some confidence of late - scoring in their last league match, as well as against Toronto in the Voyageurs’ Cup – put that belief into action with a fantastic spell of individual talent.

He began the play himself, forcing a turnover out of Osvaldo Alonso in the midfield then playing wide right to Sebastian Fernandez, who in turn picked out Pedro Morales in the middle. The silky Morales lifted a ball over the Seattle back-line down the right-channel for Hurtado to chase, which he did.

Hurtado’s first move was to cut back inside around the pressure of Alonso, before reversing to the outside with an ankle-breaking cut that left both Alonso and Djimi Traore helpless before roofing a tight-angled right-footer over Stefan Frei, in off the underside of the bar. Woof!

Vancouver would go on to take the lead in the 66th minute, thanks in part to a brain cramp from Frei, who rushed out to the corner flag to keep a ball in play, only to see his clearance fall straight to Gershon Koffie some forty yards from goal.

Koffie controlled with his chest, then hit a left-footed half-volley towards the unguarded Seattle cage, bouncing across the line as Frei attempted to race back into position – to little avail.

At home and riding a two-match winning streak, it appeared as though the Whitecaps would see out the result, but come the 82nd minute, a controversial penalty decision from the referee would turn the tide.

A harmless cross into the Vancouver area was cleared by Jay DeMerit, out-leaping Cam Weaver, who tumbled to the ground in the process, only for the official to point to the spot, much to the surprise and consternation of DeMerit and his side.

Gonzalo Pineda stepped to the spot and deftly dispatched the chance with a measured chip straight down the middle having guided Ousted to his right.

Vancouver manager, Carl Robinson, was no doubt frustrated at the decision that cost his side two points on the night, while Sigi Schmid’s side will count themselves lucky to have escaped with a point, though their security atop the West could be threatened, depending on how Salt Lake fared later that evening.

Columbus 2 – Chicago 0

In Columbus, however, no such late drama was required as the hosts strolled to a two-goal lead within the first 25 minutes and rode that early momentum to a sound victory.

Of course, it was the skillful guile of Argentine maestro, Federico Higuin, who crafted both goals.

In the tenth minute, having received a pass in the centre-circle from Justin Meram, Higuain threaded a perfectly-positioned ball inside the Chicago right-back to spring Ethan Finlay in on goal.

The sophomore rounded Sean Johnson in the Fire goal and tucked a right-footed finish in from a tight-angle; for a moment it appeared as though recovering defender Steven Kinney had closed down the space, but he could not make up the final gap – it was his second goal in as many games.

Higuain was at it again fifteen minutes on when his perfectly-weighted, outside-of-the-boot bending pass for Jairo Arrieta played the Costa Rican behind Patrick Ianni and in alone on goal. The forward, who was left off the World Cup squad, finished coolly, slotting a right-footer through the legs of Johnson – Frank Yallop on the Chicago bench was not best pleased with the circumstances.

It was not all magic for Higuain, who rashly picked up his fifth yellow card of the season for delaying a restart and will be suspended for their next match.

The Fire would muster little by way of a comeback, despite the introduction of Tottenham-loanee, Grant Ward, who displayed some quality; Quincy Amarikwa would be shown a yellow card for an embarrassing dive, emblematic of their off-night – he would bounce up immediately, having anticipated an outstretched leg from Eric Gehrig that never came, but was called for the infraction.

With the 2-0 win Gregg Berhalter’s Crew end their long, eight-match winless run (dating back to the end of March); for Yallop, who was forced into several changes with injuries to the likes of Mike Magee, Patrick Nyarko, Alex, and Bakary Soumare, the loss ends a modest two-game winning streak.

New England 2 – DC 1

Through the opening month of the season, when both New England and DC went winless through their first three matches, were someone to predict that the two would meet to determine, given KC’s draw on Friday, who would take the top spot in the East, they would be incredulously laughed down.

But that is exactly what their Saturday meeting would determine, with the Revolution on twenty points and United on eighteen from eleven matches.

The Revolution offense has exploded onto the scene in recent weeks, notching five goals each in consecutive matches, but United, who entered the match having conceded just once in their last three matches, was up for the task, stifling the rampant Revs through the first 55 minutes of play.

And when the breakthrough finally came, it was not without a spot of controversy.

Diego Fagundez surged through the DC defense, slicing in from his station on the left. Jeff Parke did just enough to block his route, the loose ball falling to Chris Korb in the box, but Fagundez did not give up, bundling the defender to the ground, freeing Patrick Mullins to collect, step around a tackle from Parke and stab a left-footer high over Bill Hamid from a tight-angle.

Ben Olsen noted afterwards that on initial look, they though the barge warranted a foul, but regardless, New England took the lead.

Fabian Espindola, whose resurgent campaign after a quiet year in New York last season has been the driving force of DC’s turnaround, scored his sixth of the season in the 73rd minute to draw his side level after Lewis Neal swung the ball wide left for Christian on the overlap. His whipped ball through the six-yard box was partially cut out by AJ Soares, falling to Espindola below the PK spot, who wasted no time in tucking a left-footed finish under Bobby Shuttleworth in the Revolution goal.

But four minutes later, Fagundez would again strike, this time from the end of a dangerous Teal Bunbury ball driven through the box after Lee Nguyen had out-competed two DC defenders on the right-side from a throw-in before poking through Bunbury.

The cross skirted through that corridor of uncertainty, beyond the reach of Hamid, who dove out to intervene, leaving Fagundez at the back-post the entire net to first-time a right-footer for the eventual winner.

Frustration got the better of Eddie Johnson, who appeared to attempt a stomp on Kelyn Rowe in the 82nd minute – there was not much contact, if any, and Rowe certainly kicked out in retaliation, but Johnson was shown red and sent off, thus proving that referees do not all spot the second infraction, more than the first.

The 2-1 win allows New England’s current run to continue, stretching their winning ways to five-straight and extending their unbeaten form to seven, while putting them into a five-point lead atop the East, though they could not achieve another five-goal outing. For Olsen and DC, the loss ends a modest three-game unbeaten run, but was only their second defeat in their last ten outings; quite the turnaround from last season, something to be very proud of indeed.

Colorado 4 – Montreal 1

Montreal’s horrid start to the campaign continued as Colorado found their scoring boots, notching one early and others later in a 4-1 rout of the struggling Impact.

The match began poorly for the visitors, who were unfortunate to have a supposed foul by Sanna Nyassi on Edson Buddle in the box whistled by the referee, handing Colorado the opener inside the first five minutes from the spot.

Dillon Powers confidently dispatched the chance, registering his first goal of the season with a powerful finish, blasted straight down the middle as Troy Perkins lunged to his right.

The dynamic, pace-fueled attack of the Rapids, who had scored just five goals in their last eight matches, caused the Impact all sorts of problems, specifically down the left.

And it was from that flank that Kamani Hill doubled their advantage nine minutes into the second half, Left-back Chris Klute rampaged up the flank, moving slightly in-field before handing off the Buddle, who swung the ball back wide to Hill.

Making just his third-start of the season (and eighth in three seasons), Hill backed Montreal’s defender, Hassoun Camara into position before hitting a dipping right-footer across the keeper to the right-side of goal for his first of the season and first since 2012. Perkins stretched, but could not reach the perfectly placed effort.

Four minutes later it was Shane O’Neill’s turn to get on the score-sheet, tallying his first-ever MLS goal with a thunderous right-footer into the top left-corner of the goal after Jose Mari had tried to squeeze one past Perkins at the right post and Jeb Brovsky’s weak clearance fell to the defender atop the box.

Any chance of a comeback from the Impact was stifled in the 65th minute when Issey Nakajima-Farran’s goal was improperly and dispiritingly ruled offside.

Powers would add his second of the match – and Colorado’s fourth – in the 84th minute, following a nice build-up from the right between Marvell Wynne and Marlon Hairston, who squared to Powers inside the area to turn and hit a low, left-footer to the bottom left-corner of the goal.

The Impact would find meagre consolation in the 88th middle, with a jaw-dropping solo effort from Andres Romero, who eluded two defenders on the right-touch-line before twisting up Klute and soiling Clint Irwin’s clean-sheet with a low, left-footer across the keeper to the left-side of goal.

The victory was Colorado’s first in four matches, ending a two-game losing streak and post-match many credited Pablo Mastroeni’s rousing half-time team-talk as the catalyst for the second half breakthrough, laying into his team for playing too passively after being gifted the lead.

Frank Klopas, whose side have not won in three matches since picking up their first win of the season at the end of April, is running out of options (and time) as the heat ratchets up and the trigger fingers get itchy in Montreal.

Salt Lake 0 – Dallas 0

Saturday’s final contest was a prelude to history – in more ways than one, as the score-less draw extended Salt Lake’s unbeaten start to the season to twelve matches, tying the record set in 1996 by Los Angeles (which they refrained in 2010).

Dallas, who entered the match riding a dire six-match winless run that included five losses, had made it their intention to be difficult to beat – a mission which they accomplished on the night.

Both sides had half-chances throughout, but most noteworthy were a pair of non-goal incidents – first, when Blas Perez caught Chris Wingert on the chin with an inadvertent forearm in an aerial challenge that left the defender stunned (normally, the term inadvertent when Perez is involved would be sarcasm, but this time it was rather innocent) and then when Joao Plata was forced off the field after forty minutes with a recurrence of the hamstring injury that saw his miss action already this season.

Both events could have implications for the future, should Perez be suspended or Plata absent for a prolonged period.

Salt Lake’s Jeff Cassar denied that the shadow of the record played a role in a less-than-adventurous outing, preferring to emphasize that getting a result without playing particularly well was important in the long-term.

Oscar Pareja, whose Dallas side may now be winless in seven, picked up their first clean-sheet of the season, undoubtedly a positive development as they find their way without creative force Mauro Diaz.

Los Angeles 4 – Philadelphia 1

Come Sunday, but in earnest all weekend, eyes were focused on one man and one man alone – Los Angeles’ Landon Donovan, whose exclusion from the US World Cup team stunned the soccer-verse last week.

Many a word has already been spilled on the decision from Jurgen Klinsmann to leave the most decorated American player ever off the roster; should the US falter in the purported Group of Death, this will undoubtedly be pointed to as a mistake.

On his return to the Galaxy, Donovan made sure that his play stole the show.

One of the excuses used to justify ‘The Decision’ was that Donovan has not been in the greatest of form this season – he had been one goal shy of taking sole possession of the all-time goal-scoring lead in MLS (tied with Jeff Cunningham on 134) all season, having registered just two assists through seven matches.

But two minutes in, he showed the sort of impetus he can provide, hitting a perfectly placed free-kick from deep on the right to the edge of the six for centre-back Leonardo to direct a header against the grain and open the scoring against a stunned Philadelphia side.

Cometh the second half, cometh the moment, when four minutes in Kenny Walker played up the middle to Donovan, who dished out wide right to Robbie Keane. The Irishman, no stranger to being the centre of a nation’s attention himself, unselfishly found Donovan at the back-post with a low ball, leaving a simple right-footed tap in for the historic strike.

Donovan celebrated well, sharing the moment with his team as the ball was set aside for safe keeping.

Philadelphia, who have oft been their own worst enemy this season, alternating moments of class with dastardly breakdowns, shot themselves in the foot once more when Sheanon Williams fumbled a simple back-pass, allowing Keane to steal in on goal unmolested down the right before finishing with a measured right-footer through the legs of exposed keeper, Zac MacMath.

And then, in the 81st minute yet another Union turnover added emphasis to an emotional night, when Stefan Ishizaki forced a turnover out of the usually sure-footed Brian Carroll, allowing Donovan to collect and turn to goal.

He again found Keane out wide, on the left this time, who once more unselfishly set up his teammate with a squared return ball into the middle, which Donovan settled and capped the night with a measured left-footer past the keeper, before subbing off to a raucous reception from his home fans.

Philadelphia would find scant solace in a late consolation penalty kick, from another national team reject, Mo Edu in the 88th minute after Raul Mendiola barged over Zach Pfeffer in the LA box.

Bruce Arena’s charges picked up their second win of the week, climbing from last place in the West up to sixth, with a few matches still in hand. John Hackworth’s side, on the other hand, remain rooted to the lower levels of their conference, floundering to a second-straight loss, having dropped five of their last six and won just one of their last twelve matches, or, as Danny Cruz put it, unacceptable, and something must change.

San Jose 3 – Houston 0

Sunday’s night cap pitted two teams with a shared history, as the reborn Earthquakes hosted the former Earthquakes, now known as the Dynamo, at quaint little Buck Shaw Stadium.

With both sides depleted due to injury and international duty, a pair of early saves from San Jose’s Jon Busch was all that separated them, until a mistake from Houston keeper, Tally Hall, proved decisive.

David Horst cut out an Earthquakes ball, touching back towards his keeper, but when Hall picked up what could have easily been booted away, a back-pass was called and an indirect free-kick awarded to the home side.

Khari Stephenson would make the visitors pay for that momentary lapse, smashing a low, right-footed shot through the crowd to the left-side of goal after Jean-Baptiste Pierazzi touched it back to him above the right-post.

Another silly error proved equally costly in the 58th minute, when Corey Ashe barged into Steven Lenhart in the box, allowing Stephenson to notch his second of the night from the penalty spot, right-footing low to the keeper’s right after Hall dove the opposite direction.

And once more, in the 70th minute, a mental error gifted San Jose a third, when Hall raced out of his area for a long Shaun Francis ball, only to realize that without the use of his hands, his misread of the bounce would allow Atiba Harris to win the challenge, knocking the header over Hall.

His initial attempt struck the base of the right-post, but he was first to the follow up, right-footing into the empty net.

San Jose, who were without talismanic striker, Chris Wondolowski (he was watching from the stands with child in arms, as he prepares for the World Cup), have struggled mightily for goals – scoring just ten through their first ten matches. Buoyed by the returns to fitness of Yannick Djalo and Lenhart, Mark Watson’s side, after riding those early bailouts from Busch, made the Dynamo pay for their errors en route to a second win in their last three matches.

Dominic Kinnear’s Houston, who once more could not fill their entire substitute’s bench, fall to a second loss of the week and third in their last four.

CanCon

The extended look at the Canadian performances from this round of MLS action will be posted tomorrow, featuring another combative outing from Will Johnson, Tesho Akindele’s first MLS goal, and Doneil Henry’s latest struggles.

Overheard

Will Johnson’s line from last week may have broke this segment for good, but it shall try and live up to that quote of the season material.

TFC’s Ryan Nelsen was not best pleased by referee Baldomero Toledo’s performance, taking swipes at both the official and the head of refereeing, Peter Walton, post-match, “If they gave Steven a yellow, nobody would have blinked an eyelid, nobody would have worried about it, but because [the referee] has set a precedent throughout his refereeing career that he always likes to influence games, he decided to give a red for what was really a yellow card.”

Continuing, “In all honesty, there’s not one person who has seen the replay that said that was a penalty…. when you’re down to 10 men, in the 84th minute, you have to be 100 percent certain that it’s a penalty: 100 percent certain. The referee will watch the replay and he will say to himself, ‘it’s not a penalty.’ I’m looking forward to hearing the excuse from Peter Walton, why it was called and all that. I’d like to hear his excuse about it which will be quite funny.”

Jay DeMerit was similarly miffed regarding him concession, but was a touch more measured in his criticism, opting for the introspective route, "It's devastating. Not only for myself, but to see guys put in the type of performance that they did. Guys put themselves on the line for 90 minutes and for that to be taken away from us is disappointing. As players, all we can do is play hard and play committed and work hard for our teammates, and I thought all of us did that tonight.”

Adding, when questioned about the changing nature of the game and defending in particular, "That is the worry. And I'm too old to start changing my game and play less committed … it is hard and that's the thing that's really eating me inside, is that if I have to change my game, then I'm going to be in trouble and that's sad.*I've been around this game for a long time. When you play hard and you play with your heart on your sleeve and get punished for that, again, it's disappointing."

Then there was Dwayne De Rosario, no stranger to making a statement, who released this tweet congratulating his old teammate, Landon Donovan, on his accomplishment.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Congrats to <a href="https://twitter.com/LAGalaxy">@LAGalaxy</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23LandonDonovan&src=hash">#LandonDonovan</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/MLS">@MLS</a> all time leading goal scorer with 135. Perfect timing my friend!</p>— Dwayne De Rosario (@dwaynederosario) <a href="

">May 26, 2014</a></blockquote>

Whether it was the record, or the two fingered salute (one, if one prefers) at Klinsy, is unclear.

And finally, it’s old new by now, but Brad Evans’ response to being left off the roster for the World Cup deserves to be mentioned:

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>You got off easy this time <a href="https://twitter.com/Cristiano">@Cristiano</a></p>— Brad Evans (@brad_evans3) <a href="

">May 23, 2014</a></blockquote>

See It Live

Plenty of little gems throughout the weekend to look out for when catching up on the action:

Bradley Wright-Phillips’ early turn on Pa Modou Kah before hitting the post was a thing of beauty.

Or keep an eye out for how Diego Valeri just manages to get his arm out of the way of Max Urruti’s winner at the very last second.

There was Erik Hurtado double-ankle-breaker on Ossie Alonso and Djimi Traore, as well as Stefan Frei’s brain-cramp and Gershon Koffie’s long-range half-volley.

Harrison Shipp had a tough afternoon, landing very awkwardly from an aerial dual with Tony Tchani in Columbus, before preventing a third Crew goal with a goal-line face-block of a Dominic Oduro header.

Not to mention, New England rookie, Steve Neumann’s win-preserving goal-line block – leaving DC to curse his name.

Some cracking penalty kicks, in Dom Dwyer’s perfectly placed effort, Gonzalo Pineda’s cheeky finish, and Dillon Powers, well, powering one straight down the middle.

And the glorious passing session of Federico Higuain, the first was impressive, but he does that all the time, the second one was unbelievable.

To cap it all off, a pair of hilarious fouls with Will Johnson virtually piggybacking on Thierry Henry to slow down the Frenchman, while Tony Beltran had both arms similarly wrapped around Fabian Castillo to draw a yellow card of his own in Salt Lake.

Controversy

Plenty of contentious decisions this weekend:

Be they penalty kicks - Doneil Henry’s for barging into Igor Juliao; Jay DeMerit for winning a header; Sanna Nyassi’s ‘shove’ on Edson Buddle; and Corey Ashe for a similar incident with Steven Lenhart.

Red cards – Steven Caldwell’s high boot; Eddie Johnson’s stomp.

Non-calls – such as when Diego Fagundez’ shove on Chris Korb made space for Patrick Mullins’ opener – or offside flags – either those that should have gone up (such as for Tesho Akindele’s off-side strike midweek) or those that shouldn’t have (that denied Issey Nakajima-Farran a goal for Montreal on his debut)

Upcoming Fixtures

A further pair of midweek fixtures – one on Tuesday and another on Wednesday, as well as the opening leg of the Voyageurs’ Cup Final on the docket before a full slate of nine matches on the weekend.

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

All videos 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 at Partially Obstructed View

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