MLS Week in Review – Round 13 - 24th Minute

The thirteenth round of MLS action took place over the weekend, and what a bizarre, yet thoroughly entertaining rollercoaster ride it was – from its opening throes in Seattle on Saturday that saw a potentially history-making streak quashed to Sunday night’s seven-goal closer in Portland, there were thrilling comebacks, stunning upsets, curious red cards, a plethora of excellent goals and several brilliants set-ups.

Leaving aside the two midweek fixtures, nine matches were played over the weekend (six on Saturday and three on Sunday) resulting in a mere three away wins and just a single draw.

30 goals were scored, including six-of-seven from the penalty spot, while 33 yellow cards were flashed, as well as three reds – two straight and one accumulative (to Dallas’ Adam Moffat, in a twelve-minute span, no less).

There were stoppage-time winners, designated players finding their feet, contentious penalty decisions, and at least one player seriously affected from the on-set of the summer sweltering as temperature climb and the league braces to break for the World Cup.

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

Plenty of candidates, as the weekend featured more than a few choice gems.

In chronological order, up first is Seattle’s Marco Pappa and his inch-perfect free-kick against Salt Lake:

Unstoppable.

Up next, DC’s Fabian Espindola, whose looping finish caught out the KC keeper and won his side the match:

Not sure he intended to score? His

was evidence of the imagination that crafts such audacious visions.

And finally, San Jose’s Jean-Baptiste Pierazzi opened his MLS account in style – with a forty-yard bomb against Dallas:

None too shabby at all.

Special shout outs to Jermain Defoe, Kamani Hill, Max Urruti, Jordan Harvey, and Will Johnson, who all provided equally emphatic finishes this week.

On to the results:

Midweek Results in a Sentence (or Two)

In the meeting between defending MLS Cup and Supporters’ Shield Champions on Tuesday night, a 1-1 draw was a fair result as a ninth minute goal from Sporting’s Toni Dovale was cancelled out by a Bradley Wright-Phillips goal five minutes into the second half.

Both sides see their winless streaks extended to four matches with the result – a second-straight draw for KC after losing twice, while New York ends a three-game losing skid.

Wednesday night’s West Coast clash between Los Ameri-Goats and the Timbers saw the visitors stroll out 0-2 winners thanks to a pair of second half goals from recent addition, Fanendo Adi, in his first start for Portland.

The win, their second-straight, pushes Portland’s unbeaten run to six matches, while they collect their first clean-sheet of the season; for Chivas a forth-consecutive home loss and their fifth red card of the season doom them to remain at the bottom of the table, despite two results on the road in recent weeks.

Results in Brief

Seattle 4 – Salt Lake 0

Saturday’s action began with the high-profile meeting of Seattle and Salt Lake, two sides that know each other well having regularly met in the playoffs in recent years as they battle for supremacy in the Western Conference.

Both entered in good form, Seattle having gone unbeaten through two, despite losing key pieces to international duty, while Salt Lake, missing three important players themselves, faced the potential of setting a new MLS record for the longest unbeaten start to the season, still yet to lose after twelve matches.

The first half was an even contest, until a controversial decision in the 42nd minute turned the tide – and opened the floodgates.

Lamar Neagle did well to make himself a nuisance in the box, winning a header towards the end-line and prompting Aaron Maund to barge him over, enticing the referee to point to the spot. Maund and the rest of his side protested, claiming it was a clean shoulder-to-shoulder contact – but that the referee had missed an earlier claim when Cole Grossman upended Neagle in the 25th minute should not be discounted.

Either way Gonzalo Pineda converted from the spot for a second-straight match, this time opting to finish calmly to the goalkeeper’s right with his left-foot, rather than attempt another cheeky Panenka. Attinella went correctly, but could not reach the well-elevated spot kick.

Come the second half, Seattle’s flowing attack ran rampant over the stunned Salties, notching a second in the 55th from a perfect right-sided free-kick struck by Marco Pappa’s left-foot - curling over the wall and into the right side of the goal - and a third in the 62nd on the counter with Neagle picking out Chad Barrett with a squared ball across the top of the box – Barrett’s right-footer was on its way past Attinella and the recovering Maund could only redirect an attempted clearance into the roof of the net.

All that remained was for Obafemi Martins, still stinging due to his exclusion from the Nigerian World Cup squad, to add his sixth goal of the season (all but one in their last eight matches) in the 90th minute touching in a goal-mouth cross from Kenny Cooper with the left-boot after Pappa collected on the right, moved in field and laid a ball down the right-side of the box for the big forward.

Sigi Schmid praised the spirit of his side, rising to the occasion to knock off their previously unbeaten opponent and solidify their position atop the Western Conference and the league with an impressive 4-0 win.

Jeff Cassar and Salt Lake admitted that the controversial penalty decision unsettled them, but knew that all good things must come to an end.

Toronto 3 – Columbus 2

If the start to the afternoon was not surprising enough, Toronto fell behind twice in their match against Columbus, only to overturn the deficit with a stoppage-time winner and claim the Trillium Cup for just the second time in its seven-year history – truly a bizarre occurrence.

Justin Meram opened the scoring for the Crew in the 18th minute, capping off a smooth counterattack with a fine finish into the top right-corner past Joe Bendik. Tony Tchani played forward to Jairo Arrieta, who exploited the space left by Doneil Henry to feed Ethan Finlay moving in from the right. Finlay found Meram down the left-side of the box with a leading ball before the wide midfielder cut in onto his right-foot to finish.

Three minutes on TFC had leveled through Jermain Defoe from the penalty spot. A brilliant touch from the Englishman after Jackson picked him out between the centre-backs prompted Tyson Wahl to grab a hold of the forward, bringing him down in the box. Defoe himself converted the chance with a low right-footer to the keeper’s right; Columbus’ Steve Clark did well to get a hand to the ball, but could not keep it out.

Columbus retook the lead in the second half, when Agustin Viana beat Henry to a left-sided Ben Speas corner kick hit to the back-post, rising up to head down from the edge of the six yard box, but Toronto again responded, once more through Defoe, in the 81st minute.

A hopeful ball forward from Henry found Gilberto, who did very well to nod it forward into the path of Defoe down the left-side of the area. Defoe patiently let it run across his back, and then waited to first-time the bouncing ball on the half-volley with a thunderous left-footed hit past a helpless Clark to the left-side of goal.

With four forwards on the pitch, Toronto used that momentum to continue their assault on the Crew net, resulting in the 92nd winner, a moment of redemption for Henry. The young centre-back has been in the spotlight for the wrong reasons of late – repeatedly conceding penalty kicks (four already this season in all competitions).

But, as he did midweek against Montreal, the big man connected wonderfully with a left-sided Daniel Lovitz free-kick after shirking his marker, helping it on and in off the back-post to win the match. He then celebrated accordingly – and was promptly booked for it.

Ryan Nelsen admitted it was hardly the best performance from his side, but will have enjoyed clawing out the 3-2 victory in such a dogged manner, turning a three-match losing skid into three-unbeaten, without the services of the influential Michael Bradley.

Gregg Berhalter, on the other hand, will be desperately disappointed in his side’s inability to protect the lead – twice – and then cling to a result in the waning minutes.

Montreal 2 – New England 0

Unbeaten Salt Lake getting smashed; TFC coming from behind – and winning in stoppage-time; what madness is this?

Bizarro weekend continued when Eastern Conference basement-dwellers Montreal upset conference toppers New England, 2-0 at Stade Saputo, with a pair of first half strikes.

The two may indeed have been separated by sixteen points when the match began, but that mattered little in the 3rd minute when Andres Romero put the hosts in front with his second is as many matches.

Jack McInerney pressed deep on the right, dishing off to Romero, who found Marco Di Vaio atop the box; Di Vaio returned a pass down the right-side of the area. Romero bade his time, out-waiting Revolution keeper, Bobby Shuttleworth, before sliding a right-footed finish under the leg of the keeper as he moved to cover the short-side.

McInerney would double the Impact’s advantage in the 38th minute after a strong run up the left from Issey Nakajima-Farran, making his first start for his new club. Issey blew past Andrew Farrell and hit a left-footed drive from distance that was spilled by Shuttleworth. McInerney reacted quickest to the loose ball, touching in a right-footer past the prone keeper.

Jay Heaps’ Revolution, who entered the match on a five-game winning streak, unbeaten in seven, having outscored their opponents 19-6 over that spell, but could not find anything in Montreal, ending both runs, leaving their manager to admit they were a little off on the night and were stung by the early goal

For Frank Klopas’ Impact the win was just their second all season, snapping a three-match winless skid and responding to last weekend’s disappointing outing in Colorado – all of which bodes well for their midweek Voyageurs’ Cup finale against Toronto.

DC 1 – Kansas City 0

As if all that was not strange enough, defending Champions Sporting KC saw their winless slide extended to five matches (their longest since 2011), losing 1-0 to a resurrected DC United, who claw to within two points of the top spot in the East with the victory.

The match did not start well for Sporting, who lost Aurelien Collin to a resurgence of his hamstring issue after just six minutes – he was replaced by seventeen-year old Erik Palmer-Brown, who fared much better in his second MLS match.

Still it took a moment of sheer imagination from Fabian Espindola to break the deadlock in the 28th minute.

A left-sided throw-in led to a cross from Christian that was headed away by Seth Sinovic. Chris Korb collected on the right-side of the area, playing out wide to a retreating Espindola, who adroitly spotted KC keeper, Eric Kronberg, off his line and hit a hopeful floating cross-shot towards goal.

Regardless of intent, the left-footer sailed over the keeper into the top left-corner; a goal that proved enough to separate the sides.

The win was DC’s first over Sporting since 2010 (when they were known as the Wizards) – ending an unbeaten stretch of seven meetings for the visitors.

Post-match Ben Olsen heralded his goal-scorer, who overcame flu-like symptoms to feature and prove the difference, calling Espindola a ‘warrior’ and stating it was a definite attempt on goal, referring to a certain ‘nice arrogance’ that his player embodies.

Peter Vermes, who does not enjoy losing, was frustrated with the result, especially the time-consuming and rhythm-breaking gamesmanship from DC, but still recognized that given the circumstance – a paucity of true centre-backs and two of their most influential players on international duty – thought their effort tremendous.

Dallas 1 – San Jose 2

Meanwhile down in Dallas another long streak was coming to an end.

Dating back to March of 2011, San Jose and Dallas had met nine times prior to Saturday night; regardless of where the match was played, the one constant was that the home team had not lost since.

But that run was finally ended, with San Jose emerging 1-2 winners in Dallas – not without a scare or two – and thanks, in part, to an early red card to Dallas’ Adam Moffat.

Dallas, who entered in the midst of a dire seven-match winless run, looked to start on the right foot, taking the lead after sixteen minutes when a long throw-in from the left bounced through the San Jose box to be collected by Fabian Castillo on the right.

He hit a driven cross back through the goalmouth that Blas Perez did very well to get on the end of for an instinctive finish, right-footing into the left-side of goal having stepped in front of Ty Harden.

San Jose would draw level in the 27th when a left-sided Shea Salinas corner kick bounced off Steven Lenhart and fell perfectly for Atiba Harris above the penalty spot – his low right-footer found the bottom right corner of the goal. Dallas claimed that Lenhart had redirected the ball with his arm, but replays showed otherwise.

The screws of fortune turned further in the visitors favour in the 37th minute when Moffat saw his second booking of the evening. Facing the ever-lively Yannick Djalo, Moffat was forced into repeated interventions – he picked up his first yellow in the 25th for persistent infringement and drew the second for an obvious pull on the tricky Portuguese midfielder after getting beat in the centre-circle, reducing Dallas to ten men.

Eight minutes later Dallas would be made to pay, when Jean-Baptiste Pierazzi collected a ball from Khari Stephenson in the space that Moffat would have occupied. Without pressure, Pierazzi took his time, sizing up a right-footed effort from some forty-yards that sizzled past Chris Seitz and into the top right-corner of the Dallas goal.

The hosts would have a glorious chance to level in first-half stoppage-time, when a skillful touch from Castillo prompted San Jose left-back Jordan Stewart to bite, bringing down the Colombian in the box and allowing the referee to award a penalty kick.

Castillo stepped to the spot himself, hitting a low right-footer to the keeper’s right, but Jon Busch was equal to the task, preserving the lead by getting down quickly to deny the attempt.

Deflated, Dallas, try as they might, could not find purchase in the second, falling to a sixth loss in their last nine matches; their last win having come back in the middle of April over Toronto FC. Oscar Pareja indicated that he was very upset with the result, opting to state plainly, “It’s not good enough, we need to be better” rather than wax on about positives.

Mark Watson, whose side picked up their first road win of the season, have won back-to-back matches for the first time this season, both without the talismanic Chris Wondolowski, as they begin the slow climb out of the Western cellar.

Chivas 0 – Philadelphia 3

The final contest of Saturday night pitted two of the worst teams in the league, each with just two wins all season, as ninth-place in the West hosted their counterparts from the East.

As to be expected, it took a little bit of luck to break open the match.

In the 27th minute one of the rarest calls in the game was made, as Chivas keeper, Dan Kennedy, was penalized for a six-second violation, handing Philadelphia an indirect free-kick in the box. Making matters worse was that when Cristian Maidana struck his effort, the referee all too eagerly, blew up play for a handball on Martin Rivero, gifting the visitors a chance from the penalty spot.

Conor Casey handily dispatched the effort for his first of the season, beating Kennedy to his left with a well-placed right-footer.

Casey would add his second shortly after the hour mark after a nice flowing Union move through the midfield allowed Maurice Edu to find Maidana in space on the left. The Argentine hit a perfect ball from the flank over the head of Carlos Bocanegra for Casey to get on the end of with a diving header, once more beating Kennedy to the right-side of goal.

Maidana, a designated player acquired in the off-season, had struggled to make his influence felt, with just one goal and two assists through twelve appearances.

But he factored in all three Union goals on the night – winning the penalty and setting up Casey, before notching his own in the 76th minute, not without another spot of controversy, however.

Vincent Nogueira found Maidana wide on the left, from whence he cut in-field onto his right-foot before hitting a low shot across the keeper to the far-post. Kennedy attempted to reach the ball, but Andrew Wenger, clearly in an offside position, did enough to get out of the way of the shot – it rolled through his legs – but rather likely interfered with Kennedy’s ability to make the save. Much to the forlorn keeper’s consternation.

Still, the goal stood and Chivas, who now trailed 0-3 could only boil in frustration – resulting in yet another red card – their sixth, as their midfield destroyer, Oswaldo Minda, snapped at the heels of Edu and was harshly dismissed.

With the loss – their fifth-straight at home – Wilmer Cabrera reiterated that Chivas must stop giving openings to the opposition, whether through penalty kicks, red cards, or rule violations, as tough decisions continue to prove costly; they must not give an inch.

John Hackworth, whose side collected their second win in four matches, will hope this offensive burst is a sign of things to come.

Chicago 1 – Los Angeles 1

The first of three Sunday fixtures saw Chicago host Los Angeles in the sweltering heat and humidity of a summer’s afternoon in the Great Lakes region.

Both sides struggled to find flow in the sweltering conditions – LA’s Dan Gargan had to leave the match after a half-hour due to the effects of the weather – and it was a mistake in the second half that gave Chicago the breakthrough when Quincy Amarikwa intercepted a Juninho pass and drove towards goal.

The Brazilian recovered to put in a challenge on the edge of the penalty area, but even the officials were apparently affected by the dizzying climate, awarding a penalty kick for an infraction that was clearly outside the box.

Regardless, Jeff Larentowicz dispatched the chance from the spot, beating Jaime Penedo with a right-footer low to the keeper’s right having sent Penedo diving in the opposite direction.

The Galaxy would respond six minutes later, making the most of an interception of their own, when Robbie Rogers, who replaced Gargan at right-back, read an under-hit pass from debutant Chris Ritter and stole in down the right-side of the box to play a low cross through the goalmouth to Landon Donovan at the back-post.

Donovan, who responded to his US National Team exclusion with a two-goal performance last weekend, added his third of the season with a cool left-footed finish high into the Fire net past Sean Johnson.

Frank Yallop, whose Chicago side have lost just once in their last four since winning their first match of the season, was satisfied with the strong performance of his side, missing several of their recognized starters.

Bruce Arena decried the league’s decision to play the match so early in the day, given the conditions – though he was not as strong in his wording as Robbie Keane; despite their complaints, the extension of their unbeaten run to three matches will assuage some concerns, if do little for the sunburn and heatstroke.

Colorado 3 – Houston 0

Colorado continued their offensive outburst, adding three goals to the four they got last week, while Houston’s miserable road trip comes to dire end, as the Rapids rolled out 3-0 winners.

It took just five minutes for the hosts to open the scoring, when Marvell Wynne beat Andrew Driver around the outside on the right and hit an inviting cross into the middle, where Deshorn Brown had backed off his marker, Jermaine Taylor, to connect with a downward header against the grain, beating Tally Hall to the right-side of goal.

Brown would add his second in the 35th minute. Wynne again began the attack, playing up to Nick LaBrocca, who found Dillon Powers in the middle. Powers, who scored twice last weekend, put a ball behind the sluggish Dynamo back-line for Brown to chase down the right-side of the area.

Despite the pressure of Taylor and the full attention of Hall, Brown managed to guide a low right-footer across the keeper, tucking his finish into the far-side netting.

And six minutes into the second half the rout was complete when Kamani Hill met a left-sided, in-swinging Powers corner kick to back-heel a neat flying-flick on to the far-side of goal from the near-post for Colorado’s third.

Pablo Mastroeni, who is still finding his feet as a manager in his first season off the pitch, will have enjoyed a second-straight win from his side that featured a free-flowing and rampant attack.

Dominic Kinnear, who endured a woeful three-match road swing in which his side was outscored 8-0, cannot wait to get back home and address those short-coming on the training pitch; hopeful of entering the World Cup break with a win over Kansas City on Friday.

Portland 3 – Vancouver 4

Saving the best for last, the latest installment in the Cascadia Cup provided an entertaining close to the round, as Vancouver outlasted Portland, picking up a 3-4 win at the home of their Northwestern rivals.

In a furious, fast-paced match, Portland kicked off the seven-goal madness after just three minute when Max Urruti collected a pass from Diego Valeri and was allowed to walk across the top of the Vancouver box, unleashing a fierce left-footed drive that beat David Ousted to the top left-corner of the goal.

Vancouver, undaunted from the early sting, would respond with four unanswered goals – two from the penalty spot, each dispatched by Pedro Morales, before Erik Hurtado ended the first half with a somewhat fortunate finish and Jordan Harvey opened the second with aplomb.

Vancouver’s first penalty was won by Hurtado in the 16th minute, when his incisive run into the left-side of the area was halted by the combination of a nip on the heels from Diego Chara and a barge from Jack Jewsbury – Morales would beat Ricketts with a right-footer straight down the middle as the keeper lunged to his right.

Their second came in the 26th when Sebastian Fernandez was upended by a stray leg from Jorge Villafana as the defender attempted to poke clear a loose ball – Morales went to Rickett’s right with his right-footer, having sent the keeper diving the other direction.

Portland would see a penalty shout of their own waived away in the 31st minute, when Valeri was felled in the act of shooting by Matias Laba – much to the chagrin of an angry Caleb Porter.

The first half closed after four minutes of stoppage-time when Hurtado got on the end of a Vancouver break, bundling over the line when Ricketts had denied his first attempt. The play began when Morales, having drifted wide right, played in to Laba, who returned a ball down the right-side of the area.

Morales’ goalmouth cross was met by Hurtado - whether the rebound caromed off Hurtado, or Jewsbury on the ground, mattered not, as the Whitecaps took the 1-3 lead into half-time – it was his third goal in as many MLS matches (fourth in four if one considers the Voyageurs Cup).

Harvey would pad their advantage four minutes into the half, when Morales again played provider, drifting wide right once more to hit a cross-field ball to the wide open left-back, who settled and hit a low left-footer across Ricketts to the bottom right-corner of the goal.

Porter wrung in the changes, bring Fanendo Adi, Gaston Fernandez, and Kalif Alhassan into the match.

Those substitutions proved instrumental in the Timbers comeback attempt, with Fernandez getting on the end of a left-sided Valeri cross to the back-post in the 77th minute and Adi setting up Will Johnson in the 86th after controlling a long Valeri ball on his chest, before juggling and playing in the Portland captain down the left-side for a smashing left-footed finish.

But the hosts could not find the equalizer, falling by the odd goal in seven to their Canadian-Cascadian rivals.

Porter, whose Timbers had their two-game winning and six-match unbeaten runs ended, was very disgruntled come the end of the match, decrying the decision to award to penalties one way and ignore, what he saw as, equally valid shouts at the other end.

Carl Robinson, who is no shrinking violet himself on the touchline, guided his Whitecaps to their first ever win over Portland in MLS, as they continue their six-match unbeaten run.

CanCon

As always, the extended review of the Canadian performances will be posted tomorrow – featuring a spot of redemption from Doneil Henry, a cracking finish from Will Johnson, and new roles for Dwayne De Rosario, and possible Ashtone Morgan.

Overheard

Just one sound-byte this weekend, as Robbie Keane proves that the Irish melt above 30 degrees Celsius (or at least their tempers do), “I don’t know who makes these f***ing stupid decisions.* Play a f***ing game at three o’clock in the afternoon.* Who wants to watch that crap?* Do you?* I don’t want to watch that crap.* These people who haven’t got a clue about soccer make these decisions when we play a game.* Why not play at eight o’clock? It wasn’t on national television.* It’s so stupid.* They need to look at these games and use their head and be clever.* No player wants to play in that humidity.* Everyone was affected by the heat.* Why would you want to play at three o’clock in the afternoon?* On the hottest day of the year so far here in Chicago, knowing it is going to be that hot.* And you can’t blame the Kings-Hawks game because you didn’t know that was going to happen until two days ago.* This is absolutely ridiculous.* We have to stop.* We have to listen to the players instead of listening to people who have never kicked a soccer ball in their whole life.”

Amen brother Robbie – bonus points for acknowledging the NHL playoffs.

See It Live

Bobby Burling’s huge hit on Fanendo Adi near the touch-line, then yaps at the Portland bench:

Evil Caleb Porter with the goatee – was menacing.

Fabian Castillo’s skill to win the penalty:

Then get denied by Jon Busch from the spot:

Donovan Ricketts going walkabouts at the death in Portland – he appears to have learned nothing from that incident in Colorado, hurting himself once more – though at least he did not concede another penalty this time.

Controversy

Plenty of controversy to discuss:

Did Burling deserve a red card for the above hit on Adi? What about Oswaldo Minda for his bite at Maurice Edu? Or Alex Caskey for his lunge on Kevin Ellis?

Some sort penalty kicks given – did Aaron Maund’s shoulder barge warrant a spot kick? And what about Juninho’s foul on Quincy Amarikwa? Outside the box, no?

Then there was the non-call on Matias Laba as he interrupted Diego Valeri’s shot.

And a little play-acting from Sebastian Fernandez, who was not touched in the face by Portland’s Pa Modou Kah on this play.

Never mind the bizarre six-second call on Chivas’ Dan Kennedy or Andrew Wenger’s clear interference on the Cristian Maidana goal.

Upcoming Fixtures

Just one round – plus a few scraggly midweek fixtures - remains before the league shuts up shop for this summer’s World Cup in Brazil.

A pair of midweek contests make way for a full slate of nine weekend matches – keep an eye out for Friday night’s Houston-KC, as the two do not like each other after repeated playoff meetings; while Saturday’s Salt Lake-Portland tie has the potential to be brilliant, and the always-underwhelming LA derby come Sunday.

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

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 at Partially Obstructed View

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