While goals were aplenty, they, at times, lacked the showmanship that has been present over the past few months. There were no spectacular overhead kicks or unstoppable free-kicks – it was a weekend of scrappy goals.
Two of the best came in the same match, and even they could hardly be termed ‘Goal of the Year’ candidates.
Up first was the silky passing of New York that opened the scoring against Columbus, Bradley Wright-Phillips registering his league-leading fifteenth goal of the season on the end of another brilliant pass from Thierry Henry.
Henry played in-field to Eric Alexander from the left before darting into the box to get on the end of a return ball, squaring through the goalmouth to his in-form teammate, who made no mistake,
The second candidate leveled that match for Columbus 22 minutes later.
Wil Trapp won the ball in midfield, playing up to Federico Higuain, who chipped forward. Young centre-back, Matt Miazga, whiffed on his clearance, allowing Ethan Finlay to touch past both Miazga and Jamison Olave, towards Adam Bedell, who
The final nod of the week goes to Chivas and Cubo Torres, who continued their winning and goal-scoring streaks, getting on the end of a lovely cross from Marky Delgado after exchanging a few passes to work up the right with Mauro Rosales.
Delgado’s cross to the back-post was perfect and
On to the matches:
Results in Brief
The round began on Friday night at quaint little Buckshaw Stadium in San Jose, where the Earthquakes played host to DC United.
The last six weeks have not been kind to San Jose: riding a three-match losing skid, all by 1-0 score-lines, and who, thanks to Chivas’ winning streak, now prop up the Western Conference table - though still marginally ahead of Montreal for worst in the league. But with the return of their World Cup absences – Chris Wondolowski and Victor Bernardez - and the convalescence of Clarence Goodson, Yannick Djalo, and Shea Salinas, things were possibly looking up.
That is until the twelfth minute when a cross-field Davy Arnaud ball picked out Chris Rolfe, who stepped inside around Brandon Barklage and ripped a shot towards goal, striking the outstretched arm of the defender and prompting the referee to point to the spot.
Eddie Johnson would squeeze his right-footed finish under the San Jose keeper, Jon Busch, who dove correctly to his left, only to suffer the shame of it travelling beneath his grasp.
With the visitors in the lead, it was another mistake from San Jose that allowed them a second in the 25th minute. A miscommunication between Barklage and Busch led to a poor clearance from the keeper – he had come out to collect the ball, but could not after his teammate touched it back to him needlessly. DC’s Perry Kitchen gobbled up the weak distribution, played up the left for Rolfe, who whipped a ball to the near-post, picking out the run of Luis Silva, nipping in front of Goodson for a sliding touch across Busch to the far-side of goal.
Though rattled, San Jose immediately sought a goal of their own, only for Sean Franklin’s vital touch to force an Atiba Harris goalmouth ball away from Djalo in front of a gaping net at the back-post – Jordan Stewart’s follow-up was blasted over the bar.
Busch would find redemption for his poor clearance, coming up big to prevent Rolfe from trebling DC’s advantage, before Wondolowski would draw his side within one before the half-time whistle.
A strong run up the left-channel from Stewart led to a mad scramble atop the DC box, the loose ball eventually falling to Khari Stephenson who found Wondolowski to the right of the arc, from whence his left-footed shot kicked up off the sliding block of Steve Birnbaum to handcuff Bill Hamid and sail into the goal.
The second half began slowly, before San Jose increased the pressure as the clock wore down; the chances coming with the hour mark: First, Sam Cronin clipped in Wondolowski down the right-side of the area, but Hamid stayed big, doing enough to block; then Harris tried to squeeze a tricky shot in at the short-side, sending Hamid scrambling back to deny.
The DC keeper would parry a Cronin chance and be on hand again to deny Alan Gordon in the 89th minute, before capping off his stellar night with a glorious stop on Gordon’s back-post header in the 91st minute, preserving the valuable win for his side.
The 1-2 win was DC’s third-straight win on the road, bringing their tally on the year to four, having gone the entire 2013 campaign without a single away victory, while solidifying their lead atop the Eastern Conference.
For San Jose, the fourth-straight loss and a third-straight at home was a bitter pill; home form has been crucial to past success, though they did snap a goal-less run after 354 minutes and the return of their starters is a boon.
Saturday kicked off in style with a rousing six-goal match that was rife with mistakes and included an inspired comeback from the home side.
Houston took the lead through some woeful Toronto defending in the thirteenth minute, when Giles Barnes ran up the right-channel and cut inside before finding Brad Davis completely unmarked on the left. Davis made no mistake, beating Joe Bendik with a left-footer to the short-side, giving his side, who had gone winless through their last six matches, a surprise lead.
He would double the advantage on the half-hour from an eerily similar play, completely unmarked at the back-post to get on the end of Barnes cross from the right, settling before squeezing a left-footer through the legs of Bendik.
That woke up TFC, who made the most of a handling error from Houston keeper, Tally Hall in the 39th minute – Jonathan Osorio nodding the bobbling of a right-sided Dom Oduro cross into the open net from inside the six yard box.
And Toronto would level before the half-time whistle, Oduro beating Hall with his second bite at the cherry after bursting towards goal on the counter having seen his first attempt saved by the keeper. Fortunately the rebound fell kindly and his second right-footer found the far, bottom-corner.
The waves of TFC attacks would continue in the second half, culminating in the game-winner in the 63rd minute when Jackson’s tidy back-heel on the right found Osorio, who played in-field to Jermain Defoe. Toronto’s leading goal-scorer walked around the outside of Houston’s troubled back-line to the left, beating Hall with a low left-footed shot under the keeper.
Their fourth unanswered goal would seal the night in the 89th minute when a horrid, under-hit back-pass to no-man’s land from Servando Carrasco allowed Defoe a clear run on goal. Hall would deny his initial effort, but the English hit-man would follow up the chance, stabbing in with his right-boot.
The 4-2 win was the perfect rebound from a series of disappointing results, ending a three-match winless run that included dropping their last home match against DC, as Toronto battles through a busy July.
For Houston, the loss was their sixth in their last seven matches, having gone without a win since May 17 – despite their extended troubles, they sit just five points off the final playoff spot in the East.
While that comeback was underway, Colorado engineered one of their own in Philadelphia.
The Union took the lead after sixteen minutes through Conor Casey, meeting a Ray Gaddis cross from the right after working past Marc Burch at the near-post and volleying a right-footer past Clint Irwin, only for the Rapids to respond two minutes later, when Dillon Serna collected a pass from Dillon Powers on the right, cutting inside across the top of the area past two defenders before slotting a left-footer low to the bottom right-corner of the goal.
Philadelphia would retake the lead in the 31st minute from a Cristian Maidana corner kick, where Sheanon Williams was allowed a free-header, getting goal-side on Shane O’Neill (who had a tough night and perhaps should have been dismissed after eleven minutes for a tackle on Danny Cruz) to help the delivery on to the far-side of goal.
Colorado nearly responded immediately once more, only for Deshorn Brown to be called offside.
In the 63rd minute, Philadelphia had a goal of their own chalked off, when an offside Sebastien Le Toux pounced on the rebound from a Michael Lahoud strike, but no such flag could prevent their third goal in the 74th minute when Andrew Wenger poked a loose ball in from the feet of Irwin after Jared Watts was caught in possession by Amobi Okugo inside his own area.
The match was turned on its head two minutes later when Lahoud was shown a red card for catching Watts in the face with a raised boot as he sought to clear a free-kick into the area, simultaneously conceding a penalty kick. Powers would convert, sending his right-footer high to the left-side of the goal after sending Zac MacMath the wrong way with his creeping run up, bringing Colorado within one.
And it was Brown, who had squandered so many half-chances throughout the match, that turned hero in the 86th minute, when he devastatingly turned Williams to break in alone, sending a left-footer to the bottom right-side of goal past MacMath. He would nearly find a winner a minute later, when MacMath strayed out of his goal, but his long-range effort from wide would not stay on frame.
Philadelphia’s frustration with the referee boiled over and Okugo was shown a red card at the death, for apparently having uttered some unkind words towards the official.
The 3-3 draw, given the circumstances, was a fair enough result, though the Union were left fuming at many a decision – they should find solace in having found their goal-scoring boots, scoring three goals in five of their last eight matches.
For Colorado, the draw extended their all-time unbeaten form in Philadelphia, having never lost through four matches, while stretching their current unbeaten run to three matches.
A pair of simultaneous six-goal matches is a rare enough feat, but it was nearly a trio, as New York steamrolled over Columbus.
The first two chances of the night fell the visitor’s way, with Luis Robles coming up big on Ben Speas inside two minutes and Bernardo Anor whisking a drive wide of the top corner in the 7th minute, only to fall behind in the seventeenth minute, the victim of some lovely passing from New York.
Thierry Henry, having drifted wide left, found Eric Alexander inside, who laid a leading return ball down the left-side of the box for his teammate. Henry squared that pass through the heart of the Columbus area, finding Bradley Wright-Phillips on the edge of the six, who guided it on to the top right-corner with a confident right-footed finish.
Columbus would respond in the 39th minute, capitalizing on a whiffed clearing attempt from Matt Miazga after Federico Higuain collected a pass from Wil Trapp and chipped a hopeful ball forward. Ethan Finlay pounced on Miazga’s gaff, poking past the covering Jamison Olave, to Adam Bedell, who notched his first MLS goal with a thunderous left-footer that swerved past Robles in the New York goal.
Such defensive breakdowns make Henry angry and he responded in the final minute of the half, guiding a perfect right-footer into the top corner of the goal after Crew keeper, Steve Clark, did very well to claw a Wright-Phillips header off the line after Lloyd Sam’s right-sided cross picked out the oft-deadly striker. Unfortunately the weak clearance fell straight to Henry, who made no mistake.
The hosts would firm up their advantage in the 56th minute, Henry again playing provider – his second of three assists on the night – receiving a pass from Sam down the right, before returning the favour, finding Sam above the near-post, where he settled and swept a low right-footer across Clark in goal.
Columbus’ night would go from bad to worse in the 85th minute, when Anor was sent off for meekly kicking the ball into a prone Chris Duvall, drawing a red card for his frustration.
And Alexander would round out the rout in the 91st minute, Henry again playing the key pass after Sam’s sprint on the counter turned in-field to dish off to the Frenchman, who hit a visionary pass to spring Alexander down the left – his right-footer across the keeper sealed the result.
With the 4-1 win, New York stretch their unbeaten run to five matches, maintaining their grip on the fifth spot in the East with a three-point lead over vanquished Columbus.
The Crew, meanwhile, endure a sixth-straight winless result, in what Gregg Berhalter called their worst outing of the season.
It appeared as though the evening’s goals would continue to pour in when it took just four minutes for Sporting KC to take the lead in their third meeting of the season with Montreal.
Matt Besler, returned to the starting eleven from the World Cup, launched one of his patented long throw-ins from the right touchline, which Dom Dwyer, having escaped the attentions of veteran centre-back, Matteo Ferrari, met at the near-post to force a header past Troy Perkins’ short-side.
Montreal, who had lost the last two meetings with KC by a combined score of 7-0, replied in the 28th minute when Patrice Bernier picked out the run of Justin Mapp on the right and the winger’s knock-down header fell to Marco Di Vaio, who looped a header of his own over Andy Gruenebaum into the left-side of the goal from above the right-post.
The goal breathed life into the Impact, who finished the first half in rousing form, exhibiting the threatening counterattacks that made them the darlings of last season: nearly finding the go-ahead from the penalty spot, claiming that Felipe was taken down by a lunging challenge from Igor Juliao in the 33rd minute – which he was, though the referee waived play on.
Through the second half, both sides exchanged half-chances, and the match appeared destined for a draw, until the 89th minute, when a late, defensive miscue, for the second-straight match, proved costly for the home side.
Neither Heath Pearce, nor goalkeeper Perkins, dealt with a loose ball, allowing CJ Sapong to stick his boot in, prying it free by bouncing it off the Montreal keeper. The now-loose ball fell kindly to the lurking Dwyer, who notched his second of the match – his fourteenth of the season and sixth versus Montreal – with a simple right-footer into the unprotected net.
The 1-2 win kept KC within reach of conference-leading DC – two points behind – while extending their unbeaten run to four matches, including wins in their last three away from home, and completing the season-sweep over Montreal.
Montreal, who had hoped that a modest two-game unbeaten streak would spark them to a strong second half of the season, fell to a second-straight, soul-sapping loss – so close to a point, only for a preventable mistake to bring doom and despair once more.
Just like in Montreal it took only four minutes for the road team to steal the lead in New England, as Chicago took advantage of a slow start.
Mike Magee lifted a ball behind the Revolution back-line for Quincy Amarikwa to chase; he held off the covering pressure of Andrew Farrell before right-footing a clinical finish past Bobby Shuttleworth, while New England broadcaster, Paul Mariner, was expelling the virtues of a quick start and keeping a clean-sheet for the home side.
Shuttleworth’s audible (and profanity-laden) excoriations of his disjointed defenders would ring out for the next ten minutes, as they scrambled to prevent a second Chicago goal – a poor giveaway allowed Amarikwa in again, though AJ Soares recovered to cut out his square ball and Harrison Shipp nearly continued his fine form, drawing a good save out of Shuttleworth, who tipped his low shot around the post.
The Revolution would snap out of it eventually and were mere inches away from leveling in the 35th minute when a long Soares ball found Diego Fagundez down the right and his goalmouth cross was just beyond the reach of Teal Bunbury at the near-post and Daigo Kobayashi at the back.
Having escaped the first half down by one, New England emerged for the second with intent, drawing a strong save from Sean Johnson on a Chris Tierney free-kick, before a bouncing Bunbury effort was tipped wide of the right-post by the Chicago keeper. Johnson would later deny Patrick Mullins’ strong shot on the turn in the 76th minute, after Farrell found the forward at the top of the area.
The Fire would pass up on an opportunity to double their lead in the 78th minute, when pressure from recent signing Matthew Fondy forced a turnover out of Soares and the striker broke in alone, only for his weak effort to be aimed disappointingly straight at Shuttleworth.
It looked as though Fondy and the Fire would pay dearly for that miss in the 84th minute, when Jerry Bengtson was hauled down in the penalty area by Gonzalo Segares, gifting the Revolution a shot at an equalizer from the penalty spot, but Johnson came up huge, first saving Chris Tierney’s left-footed attempt by diving majestically to his right, tipping it onto the post, then having the wherewithal to collect the spinning rebound before it could trickle in, or be placed there by the collapsing Revs.
That save guaranteed the visitors took the point, Johnson’s superb performance keeping just the second clean-sheet of the season for the Fire, who snapped a six-match winless run with the 0-1 result.
New England’s troubles continue, falling to a fifth-straight loss, mirroring their five-match winning streak, though the failings of the rest of the conference still sees them squarely in the playoff picture.
Saturday’s action continued, after a brief pause, on the other side of the continent, with the first of two all-Western affairs, when Vancouver hosted a surging Chivas USA, who had won their last three by 1-0 score-lines, while riding a 325-minute shutout streak.
Vancouver threatened in the nineteenth minute, when Erik Hurtado had the ball in the back of the net, only for the offside flag to cancel out his effort, but the Chivas clean-sheet streak came crashing down in the 27th minute when Carlyle Mitchell got on the end of a Pedro Morales corner kick from the right-side, nodding that out-swinging service past Dan Kennedy, having escaped the woeful marking of Eric Zavaleta.
Undaunted, Chivas replied from a corner of their own shortly after the restart, Agustin Pelletieri getting on the end of an in-swinging Mauro Rosales delivery from the left in the 47th minute with a downward header after getting away from Johnny Leveron’s lax attention.
Carl Robinson sought to inject life into his side, bringing on Nigel Reo-Coker and Darren Mattocks, only for a rash tackle from Jordan Harvey on Oswaldo Minda a minute later in the 69th to draw a red card, dooming the best laid plans.
Vancouver burned their final substitution, shoring up their defense for the remaining twenty minutes, but lasted only ten before Chivas took the lead through the ever-ready Cubo Torres - Marky Delgado picked out the striker at the back-post with a curling ball from the right, after a one-two with Rosales.
It appeared that the Whitecaps had found an equalizer in the 92nd minute, when Morales touched in as Chivas keeper, Kennedy, stumbled over his goal-line, keeping the ball outside the cage with one hand, prompting the Chilean to tap it in, but the officials deemed the ball to be ‘under the control’ of the keeper and whistled for a foul on Vancouver’s maestro.
Chivas would add a third goal in the 94th minute, Leandro Barrera finishing into an empty net on the counter with Vancouver keeper David Ousted caught up-field as he travelled to the Chivas area in hope of helping out on a set-piece.
The 1-3 win extends Los Ameri-Goats winning streak to four matches, while Torres scores in a fifth-straight match, ushering them well-clear of the oh-so-familiar Western conference basement and within striking distance of the dividing playoff line – two points shy of fifth-placed Vancouver.
The Whitecaps, who had kept two-straight clean-sheets at home, drop their first ever home loss to Chivas – in five matches, and have just one win in their last five matches.
Saturday night culminated in what should have been a grand affair, but instead proved to a be grinding match, decided by a single goal.
For all their obvious talent, LA is frustratingly inconsistent – pairing scintillating passages with large stretches of emptiness; Salt Lake at least had the excuse of being in the midst of a horrible run of form, requiring a pair of penalty kicks last weekend to end a five-match winless run, that has hampered their quality.
That said, this meeting was indeed better than the previous two, which came so early in the season as to rob them of any impetus. It was LA who got off to the better start, finding the back of the net after fifteen minutes, though Baggio Husidic’s goal was called back for an offside in the build up on Robbie Keane.
Five minutes later, the Galaxy would find their lead when Marcelo Sarvas, who has figured in goals in their last three matches, moved up the right before squaring towards Landon Donovan in the middle. Donovan dummied the pass, allowing it to fall to the streaking Gyasi Zardes, himself in excellent form, who shirked the attentions of Joao Plata before squeezing off a right-footer from the edge of the eighteen-yard box that struck the base of the left-post and nestled inside the right one – it was his fifth goal in his last six appearances, all competitions.
LA and Zardes nearly added their second of the night in the 22nd minute, but Robbie Rogers goalmouth ball to the back-post was just beyond his reach and Juninho’s follow-up attempt was blocked by Chris Schuler.
Kyle Beckerman saw both of Salt Lake’s best chances of the evening come his way. First in the 29th when his dipping shot was parried by LA keeper, Jaime Penedo, and then in the 55th when an almighty scramble in the box fell to him at the top of the area, only to drag his shot wide of the right-post, while Plata saw his chance in the 62nd denied by a great reaction save from Penedo.
Salt Lake thought they earned a penalty when Juninho’s high-booted clearance caught Chris Wingert in the face, but played was waved on by the referee.
LA would ride out those moments of pressure and had a final chance to double their winning margin with a final kick of the match from the penalty spot, after Nick Rimando felled Sarvas as he attempted to round the keeper, but the spry, veteran keeper dove sharply to his right to save Sarvas’ right-footer in the 98th minute.
The 1-0 win extends LA’s unbeaten run to seven matches, though it was only their second win in their last five matches, as they slowly chew up the ground between themselves and the playoff places – they are now within one point of Vancouver, with two matches in hand.
For Salt Lake, the loss – their fourth in their last six matches - draws them back within reach of the chasing pack, though they maintain second spot in the West; of more concern, they have not scored from open play in nearly 350 minutes.
A lone fixture closed out the weekend on Sunday, as Pacific Northwest rivals met for the second time this week, in Seattle.
The Timbers and Sounders had met just four days earlier in the US Open Cup quarterfinals, Seattle moving on to the semis on the strength of a 3-1 win in extra time - heavy legs from 120 minutes of midweek action were evident through the first half of Sunday’s match, with neither side able to take the lead after a cagey start.
The simmering dislike of familiarity came to a head after thirty minutes, when Ossie Alonso saw the match’s first booking for a late, snipping tackle on Will Johnson, drawing a crowd, but those in attendance would have to wait until the second half for the match to crack open.
Two minutes after the restart, Portland keeper, Donovan Ricketts, had to be alert to deny a Gonzalo Pineda header and Steve Zakuani drew a good save out of Seattle Stefan Frei a minute later. The introduction of Obafemi Martins in the 51st minute, to pair up top with Clint Dempsey, altered the match, tipping the balance towards the Sounders, who finally found the breakthrough after some extended pressure in the 71st minute.
Ricketts did very well to deny both Dempsey and Martins from close range in quick succession before the half-cleared ball fell to Pineda outside the box and his shot-pass picked out Dempsey at the right-post, for a simple touch into the empty net.
Lamar Neagle nearly doubled their lead in the 82nd minute, but his effort struck the outside of the post; Portland’s Gaston Fernandez then nearly leveled out of nothing, when his hopeful shot from range beat Frei, but not the post in the 86th minute.
Seattle’s ascendancy would come to fruition that same minute, when another quick break against a worn-down Portland resulted in their second goal. Neagle again surged up the left, squaring in-field to Marco Pappa arriving at the penalty spot from the right, checking in-field and placing a left-footer to the left-side of goal, taking advantage of Ricketts’ stumble to seal the match.
The 2-0 win allowed Seattle to increase their lead atop the Western Conference to ten points - given Salt Lake’s loss, Colorado’s draw, and Dallas’ bye-week - as they rebound from last weekend’s loss in Vancouver.
Portland’s inconsistent season continues, having lost two of their last three, mired in a four-game winless run. Their season has been defined by such runs, going winless through eight to start before showing signs of life in a six-match unbeaten run, only to revert to this current winless form – though, to be fair, they have only lost back-to-back games once.
CanCon
As usual, the extended review of the Canadian contributions to the weekend will be posted Tuesday (tomorrow) midday.
Pickings were slim once more this round, but TFC duo of Jonathan Osorio and Doneil Henry deserve special mention for outstanding matches after a poor start, while the ever-present Will Johnson and Patrice Bernier put in solid shifts in losing efforts.
Overheard
There was minor storm over what the correct decision is when wild overhead kicks catch an opponent in the face.
Last week, the referee did not send off Chicago’s Quincy Amarikwa for catching Steven Caldwell with an errant boot, but this week, the very same official did dismiss (and award a penalty kick) when Philadelphia’s Michael Lahoud caught Colorado’s Jared Watts on a very similar play.
Union manager, Jim Curtain, was unsure of what to make of the decision, “If it’s a yellow, maybe it’s Mike’s second yellow, I can get that, but to give a straight red on a play where I don’t think Mike can do a lot about it, was an interesting one. But this is MLS, this is how things go week in and week out. The crazy endings, the red cards, the penalty kicks. It unfortunately seems to happen quite a bit and it seems to have happened here in a 3-3 game, which is unacceptable to give up three goals at home.”
The very same night, Salt Lake’s Chris Wingert was caught by a high boot from Los Angeles’ Juninho and there was no call, much to the chagrin of his manager, Jeff Cassar: “If you put yourself in those positions enough times, the calls aren’t going to be good calls. But, that’s a foul. Chris isn’t putting his head down below to get kicked in the face. It’s right there. It’s on whether he has the gall to make that call, but he chose not to. But we put ourselves in those positions. I’m really proud of the guys.”
Clearly the league and the officials need to have a sit-down and figure out what the proper decision is on such situations.
The official in Philadelphia saw further criticism for two separate incidents. The first, a dangerous challenge on Danny Cruz from Shane O’Neill that only drew a yellow card: “it was the definition of a red card”, said Cruz, continuing, “The main thing I said to the ref is, ‘This is my career,’ It was a nasty tackle. It was late. He knew he wasn’t getting there first. He knew what he was doing. And it’s very frustrating to not have the man in the middle support you. It is tackles like that that get people injured. It is tackles like that that get people out for a year. I want to feel protected. And from that minute on, I didn’t feel protected.”
One of the roles of the official is to manage the game, communication, within the boundaries of decorum, are part of that mandate. That particular official, according to Amobi Okugo, who saw a red card after the final whistle, seems to be struggling to meet those standards, “There was no explanation. He gave me a card when my back was turned – kind of cowardly, but whatever.”
On a more positive note, Bradley Wright-Phillips gushed about his teammate, Thierry Henry, after their match: “There are not many people that can go out on the left and play like a winger, drop back and play like a central midfielder. We’re lucky to have that and it’s very unselfish of him to do that. He’s got the ability to play up front and get a bag full of goals. It’s very unselfish of him and I’m enjoying it.”
Read what else Henry is getting up to for his team here.
See It Live
Plenty of outstanding saves this weekend: Bill Hamid’s late game-preserving denial of an Alan Gordon header; Clint Irwin on Danny Cruz; Luis Robles on Ben Speas; Steve Clark on Bradley Wright-Phillips (or possibly teammate Eric Gehrig) – Clark would later claw another Wright-Phillips header off the line, but the rebound was put in by Thierry Henry; Sean Johnson’s penalty and rebound saves; Jaime Penedo’s reaction save on Joao Plata; Nick Rimando’s late penalty kick save; and Donovan Ricketts, who was great – denying Gonzalo Pineda on one occasion and both Clint Dempsey and Obafemi Martins on another.
Montreal’s Felipe took a vicious Dom Dwyer shot to a sensitive spot – ouch.
Igor Juliao really sold the foul by Montreal’s Krzysztof Krol; the old turtle-shell spin does it every time – perhaps he was just using the opportunity to get in some practice on his break-dancing moves.
Chicago’s Patrick Ianni, an unused substitute, saw yellow for what appeared to be putting an extra ball on the pitch to slow down the match from a corner kick – cheeky.
And a nice
Controversy
Bernardo Anor’s red card for kicking the ball at a prone Chris Duvall was a little weak, though, having already picked up a yellow card, he would have been off with another anyways.
Jordan Harvey earned his red card for this rash challenge on Chivas’ Oswaldo Minda – to be honest, kind of surprised those names are not arranged the other way.
Vancouver’s Pedro Morales looked to have equalized, only for the referee to decree that Chivas’ Dan Kennedy had the ball “under control” and was thus a foul on Morales – dicey.
Felipe penalty shout after being felled by fellow Brazilian, Juliao, was most likely worthy of a spot kick.
Upcoming Fixtures
Four midweek matches on the docket, with the all-Canadian meeting between Toronto and Vancouver, perhaps the best of the lot.
A full slate of nine fixtures on the weekend, Sporting KC hosting LA and Vancouver’s visit to Salt Lake look tasty, while, surprisingly, Sunday’s meeting between DC and Chivas will feature two of the form teams in the league.
Wednesday: Philadelphia-New York; Columbus-Kansas City; Toronto-Vancouver; Los Angeles-New England. Friday: Portland-Colorado. Saturday: Kansas City-Los Angeles; New York-San Jose; Columbus-Montreal; Chicago-Philadelphia; Dallas-New England; Houston-Toronto; Salt Lake-Vancouver. Sunday: DC-Chivas.
All videos and quotes courtesy of MLSsoccer.com
Each week James takes a look at the league as a whole.
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