MLS Week in Review – Round 17

Tired of the truncated fixture lists due to international action? Not enough football, what with only the Confederations Cup and the U-20 World Cup in swing?

Fret not, MLS returned with a massive double game week to satisfy all those cravings and more.

Round seventeen of MLS featured twelve matches – four on Wednesday, five on Saturday, and three on Sunday – providing 26 goals – four from the spot (with a further attempt missed by Houston’s Giles Barnes – possibly still rising) and a single own-goal (off of Dallas’ Je-Vaughan Watson).

A mere three draws, two of which were scoreless affairs, and only two away wins – and Los Angeles’ “away” win over Chivas at the newly christened StubHub Center hardly counts.

The referees were back in the spotlight with five penalty kicks called – some justly and some in a questionable manner, while 28 yellow cards and a pair of reds were flashed. Of note, the issue of player safety, particularly as pertains to clashes of heads, will be front of mind this week – more on that shortly.

Before the results, some candidates for the goal of the round. Tell us who you think deserves to win

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Candidate the First – Kyle Beckerman’s precise half-volley from the back-post for Real Salt Lake

Javi Morales’ free-kick from above the left side of the box is partially blocked by the wall, but squirrels towards the back-post where Beckerman lies in wait. He sizes up the situation and puts just enough on the right-footed shot to keep it down, knocking it in off the underside of the bar.

Candidate the Second – Will Johnson’s pop and volley for Portland Timbers

A long Donovan Ricketts goal-kick is flicked into the path of Rodney Wallace on the left by Frederic Piquionne. Wallace cuts back inside and touches the ball in-field for the surging run of Johnson arriving from deep. Will lifts the ball over the leg of one defender with his right-foot and smashes a low left-footer through Clint Irwin to double Portland’s advantage.

Who has your vote? Beckerman or Johnson?

Midweek Extreme Briefs

Montreal started like a shot, while Houston struggled to shake the rust of nearly three weeks without a match.

Goals from Felipe – after a defense-splitting ball from Patrice Bernier – and Marco Di Vaio – racing onto a poorly placed back-pass from Corey Ashe for his tenth of the season – in the first thirty minutes decided the outcome, but had Giles Barnes not missed his penalty attempt, it may have been a closer affair.

Chicago – and specifically, Mike Magee – continue their strong run of form stretching their unbeaten run to four with Magee scoring in each of the five matches – all competitions – he has played for the Fire.

Colorado took the lead when Deshorn Brown forced a turnover out of Austin Berry, but Magee converted from the spot – via a Panenka - and Berry made amends for his earlier transgression nodding home the winner from a Jeff Larentowicz cross.

New Chivas coach, Jose Luis Real, taking charge of his first match for the club, will have liked how his side started – with Tristan Bowen’s thunderbolt of a shot – but an 82 second spell in first half stoppage-time doomed the Ameri-Goats to a sixth consecutive loss.

Goals from Jordan Harvey – his third in the last four matches – and a brace from Camilo erased the Chivas lead and then put the Whitecaps out of reach.

Despite the busy fixture list – seven games in 29 days – and a reconstituted backline, Portland extended their unbeaten streak to an impressive fourteen matches – the longest ever such run for a first-year MLS coach.

LA snapped a two-game losing streak and will be thankful for the strong defensive performance – and subsequent clean-sheet – having conceded eight goals in their prior two matches.

Results in Brief

DC 1 – San Jose 0

105 days was all it took for DC to pick up their second win of the season, ending their long winless streak at thirteen matches.

Chris Pontius scored his first goal of the season - from the penalty spot in the eleventh minute - after Chris Korb was tripped up by Justin Morrow in the San Jose box. At first the referee appeared to waive for the right-back to get up, but his assistant raised his flag and eventually the call was made.

Pontius struck his right-footed attempt low to the keeper’s left and United held onto that precious one goal led for the remaining 79 minutes – their longest spell in front of the season – having only held the advantage for forty-odd minutes previously.

Ben Olsen had this to say, on the trying times, “We’ve all been tested and we’ll continue to be tested the rest of this year and for the next busy two weeks. It’s been brutal. It’s been brutal for the staff, the players. It’s been brutal for the organization. It’s been brutal for our fans. But what I’m most proud of is that we kept things moving forward. We had some bumps, but the loyalty the organization, the owners and the fans have had – all that stuff means a lot to these players and my staff. We’re doing the best we can and sometimes when you get into a spiral, a downward spiral, it’s tough to get out of. We were in an upward spiral last year, and we got every break. We didn’t have injury issues. Things went our way, and we had confidence. Things haven’t gone our way this year, and it’s no excuse to be in the situation we’re in, but I’m proud of the guys. They stayed together and continue to fight,” and will look to carry that momentum into Wednesday’s US Open Cup Quarterfinal with New England.

Mark Watson, in his second match in charge, will be disappointed to have not collected points away to the league’s worst team, even if it was without Chris Wondolowski (foot) and Steven Lenhart (knee inflammation).

Columbus 1 – Chicago 2

Mere days removed from their Open Cup meeting, Chicago refrained the score-line from that victory, but this time away from home and it was the off-season trade between clubs that proved the decisive factor.

Chicago sent Dominic Oduro to the Crew in exchange for Dilly Duka and the right to Robbie Rogers, which in turn brought Mike Magee to the club.

Oduro created the first goal, pressuring Austin Berry in possession, who, as he did midweek, relinquished to a speedy opponent. Oduro bore down on goal only to be upended by Sean Johnson drawing a yellow card and penalty kick in the sixth minute of play.

Federico Higuain converted the opportunity – his third this year from the spot, having once been denied – but Duka found a measure of revenge against his former employers, stretching his right-leg to get a touch on a Joel Lindpere ball swung to the back-post from the left in the 52nd minute.

And it was Magee, who has now scored in each of the six matches (all competitions) he has played for the Fire, who took the lead, directing another inviting left-sided ball from the Estonian, Lindpere, into the goal two minutes later with his chest.

Crew boss, Robert Warzycha will lament dropping more points at home, having only recently snapped a three-game losing streak at Crew Stadium, while Frank Klopas’ Fire are flying, unbeaten in five with four wins and a draw over that spell.

Dallas 2 – Kansas City 2

Kansas City burst in front after the first hour, but, after losing CJ Sapong to a silly red card, could not hold off Dallas - who scored twice in the final two minutes, and were lucky to escape with a point in the end.

Kei Kamara opened the scoring in the 43rd minute from the spot, sending his attempt low to the keeper’s right after Aurelien Collin was hauled down in the box by Andrew Jacobson. The awarding was messy once more, as the ball was turned in shortly after the foul, but it was disallowed, leaving Kamara to make amends from twelve paces.

Sporting doubled their advantage in the 57th minute, when a left-side Graham Zusi corner kick skipped in the box and struck Je-Vaughan Watson in the middle of the six-yard box, bounding into the Dallas goal.

But Sapong saw red for directing a ball into the face Jacobson, lying prone on the ground after an aerial collision, before Jacobson found revenge – and salvation for conceding the penalty – when he flicked a cross from debutant Ramon Nunez past Jimmy Nielsen in the 88th minute, breathing life into the home side.

Walker Zimmerman, a highly-touted defensive prospect from this year’s draft, scored the first goal of his professional career in the final minute of regulation, getting on the end of a right-sided David Ferreira free-kick from near the corner flag, directing his powerful header in to draw the clubs level.

Schellas Hyndman praised his side’s uncompromising attitude in their come-from-behind display in an impromptu on-field talk, while Peter Vermes will be forced to stew on dropped points, ruing a four-match winless spell that has stalled their season.

Houston 0 – Toronto 0

Two teams struggling for goals played out a score-less draw in the heat and humidity of Houston, a result that one will be more grateful for than the other.

The Dynamo have now been shutout in two straight matches – and three of their last five – as their winless run, since witnessing their long home unbeaten streak was snapped by Sporting last month, stretches to five matches.

Toronto, having ended their own long winless run at eleven games last weekend, picked up a valuable road point and are now unbeaten in three.

Dominic Kinnear will ensure his side spends some time working on finish in training this week, with Will Bruin in particular wasting several good chances to break the deadlock, while Ryan Nelsen will find hope in the turnaround of his club, who face a difficult stretch of matches over the next month that could define their season.

Salt Lake 2 – Seattle 0

When two of the hottest teams in the league met on Saturday night, the home side emerged victorious, striking on either side of half-time and stifling the opposition.

Salt Lake entered the match winners of six of their eight and threatening the top of the Western Conference. Seattle, unbeaten in four, had won six of their last nine, rapidly making up ground after a woeful start to the season.

But Kyle Beckerman opened the scoring with his quality half-volley and Robbie Findley made it two in the opening stages of the second half, when his initial attempt was saved, but Alvaro Saborio’s follow up got stuck in the American’s feet, before he adroitly turned and hit a low right-footed shot through the Seattle keeper.

Jason Kreis’ Salt Lake move into joint first-place in the Conference – alongside Portland, a point ahead of Dallas – and their admitted rebuilding season looks as though it will not be accompanied by a drop in quality. Sigi Schmid will look to put this match behind them, as they did with a dreadful night in Los Angeles, and chalk it up to experience, though the trend of falling on their faces against quality opposition on the road is troubling.

Philadelphia 3 – New York 0

Sunday’s opening match pitted two fierce Eastern Conference foes against one another, and it was Philadelphia who emerged victorious, snapping New York’s domination of the series – they had won the previous five matches.

Conor Casey, who had an earlier goal ruled offside, opened the scoring in the 7th minute, with a header from the end of a Sheanon Williams left-side cross to the back-post.

Then misfortune struck New York, as Dax McCarty’s equalizer was ruled out, before Lloyd Sam was sent off for an unnecessary two-footed challenge on Danny Cruz in the 28th minute.

Casey completed his brace in the 64th minute, collecting the rebound from a Keon Daniel shot and finishing low past Luis Robles, before Antoine Hoppenot capped the scoring in the 88th arriving late in the box from deep to finish a Sebastien Le Toux cutback – the Frenchman’s seventh assist of the season.

New York’s Mike Petke has seen his side’s seven-match unbeaten run crumble into two straight losses in the league and an early exit from the Open Cup, a stall he must address. Conversely, Philadelphia’s John Hackworth has seen his side reap the benefits of shoring up defensively, keeping a fourth clean-sheet in their last seven matches, winning each of the four.

Portland 3 – Colorado 0

Portland’s impressive unbeaten run continues, stretching to a whopping fifteen matches, while keeping a third consecutive clean-sheet in the process.

Rodney Wallace, who returned from international duty with Costa Rica, had a hand in all three goals - first, when Will Johnson hit a clever quick free-kick towards the left end-line for Wallace to cross into the middle where Frederic Piquionne headed in off the underside of the bar; then when Piquionne flicked a Timbers’ goal-kick out to the wide attacker who then played in to the streaking Canadian, who popped and volleyed their second of the afternoon; and finally, squaring to the other Johnson, Ryan, to cap off a penetrative passing play between himself and Ben Zemanski down the left in the 84th minute of play.

Caleb Porter’s Timbers move into joint top spot in the league – though Montreal trails by only a point with three games in hand. Meanwhile, the formerly rising Rapids, led by Oscar Pareja, have now lost three-straight matches, conceding three goals in each.

Chivas 0 – Los Angeles 1

The not-so-Super-Clasico late on Sunday evening was a drab, low energy affair, decided by a single goal at the end of the first half.

The outspoken Gyasi Zardes outmuscled Mario de Luna to a right-sided Landon Donovan free-kick near the penalty spot in the 44th minute of play, directing his header past Dan Kennedy in goal.

The Galaxy had an earlier Robbie Rogers tally cancelled, when the officials correctly ruled that Robbie Keane was interfering with play by obstructing the view of Kennedy.

Jose Luis Real’s first home match ended in a seventh-straight loss – now winless in ten – that sees the Goats drop below even Toronto FC in the standings, ahead of only DC, now by a mere two points.

Bruce Arena’s Galaxy, who welcomed back Omar Gonzalez and Keane from international duty and Todd Dunivant from injury, snapped a three-game winless streak and continued their domination of the LA derby with a ninth win in the last eleven meetings.

CanCon

As usual, the extended look at the Canadian contributions will be post midday tomorrow (Tuesday) featuring a masterful performance from Will Johnson, Russell Teibert continuing his excellent form, and a glorious ball from Patrice Bernier.

Overheard

Sporting’s Frenchman, Collin, tore a strip off his Danish keeper, Nielsen, absolutely barking at him after he only watched a dangerous free-kick that hit off the post and then again when he was slow off his line, before showing him some love when he rushed out to smother a ball before Fabian Castillo could get onto it shortly thereafter.

Neilsen later gave an earful to Jacob Peterson – or so it appeared – for not closing down a shooter as KC clung to a point, he was booked for time-wasting after his rant.

Clearly emotions are running high at a struggling side.

Head coach, Peter Vermes could be heard to ask “How did he not see that?” when the referee wrongly awarded a goal-kick rather than a corner. Frustration comes from the top.

LA’s Donovan added a warning to the linesman who denied Rogers first goal back in MLS – and the subsequent headlines – with his offside flag, “that’s a big call.”

See It Live

MLS launched their latest project,

Jordan Harvey’s goal on Wednesday was the 10 000th in MLS history.

Khari Stephenson sombrero on Seattle’s Zach Scott was enjoyable, but the contrast of sun and shadow at the RioT are unbearable.

Will Johnson’s log slice broke in half; surely that is bad luck – does that mean they have to cut another one?

While the hug between Piquionne and Porter when the former came off was another sign of how much fun is being had in Portland.

Controversy

Three controversial moments to weigh in on:

Sapong’s red card – was it deserved, or would a yellow have been more just?

Servando Carrasco’s “Foul” on Saborio that led to Salt Lake’s opening goal – savvy CONCACAF gamesmanship or the wrong call?

Will Johnson’s screamer – should it have been blown dead

Opinion Poll

Speaking of head clashes, Ethan White was forced to play on with an apparent head injury for nearly twenty minutes before he was replaced in DC.

The league will undoubtedly tighten up its protocols, but where does the responsibility lie? On the referee? On the player – should he have gone down? Or on the club, who could have gotten a replacement ready more quickly and made more of an issue of their player needing treatment?

Late goals have been a major talking point in Toronto, but in reality it is a league wide susceptibility – as evidenced by Kansas City’s collapse in Dallas. Why are a disproportionate number of goals scored in the final fifteen minutes of matches? Is it the disparity of quality between defense and attack? Is it the desperation of the attackers? Or just dumb luck?

Upcoming Fixtures

The Quarterfinals of the US Open Cup take place on Wednesday with DC hosting New England, Chicago-Orlando City, Dallas-Portland – in a tasty clash – and Salt Lake-Carolina.

Saturday: Toronto-Salt Lake; Philadelphia-Dallas; DC-Vancouver; Montreal-Colorado; Kansas City-Columbus; San Jose-Los Angeles (at Stanford Stadium); Chivas-New England. Sunday: New York-Houston.

Until next weekend.

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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