MLS Week in Review – Round 8 - 24th Minute

The eighth weekend of the 2013 MLS season saw the yellow-card frenzy of last round continue.

After a tame first few weeks, where the referees tried to control the matches with words rather than action, the last few rounds have seen bookings ramped up; when words fail, cards will do.

Twenty-nine in round seven were followed by thirty-two, albeit in one more match - ten - this round, as well as three red cards.

Bookings aside, in many ways - Toronto conceding late: like clockwork, San Jose scoring in an equally timely fashion, Los Angeles looking imperious on the break, Vancouver woeful on the road, and a cluster of very tight matches - it was a return to normalcy.

And it featured the first midweek fixture of the season.

Twenty-two goals scored – two of them own goals – and a missed penalty kick – Chivas for a second consecutive week – led to only two draws and included three away wins, a slight deviation from the home-strong nature of MLS.

Before delving into the results, the nominees for goal of the round:

Sure, there were plenty of candidates – Jeremy Hall’s adroit switch to his right foot to make space for a seeing eye shot – where did that come from?; Warren Creavalle’s cheeky flicked header from the goal-line at the death; Obafemi Martins first in MLS; the counterattacking majesty of Los Angeles - both goals taking advantage of Sporting’s commitment of numbers forward; Salt Lake’s role reversal as Alvaro Saborio turns provider for the rarest of goals, a Javier Morales header; Jack McInerney’s brace and San Jose’s stoppage-time leveler - all good, but nothing special.

Without a standout candidate, it’s time to go off the board.

Goal of the round goes to Brad Rusin’s own-goal that opened the scoring for Dallas against Vancouver.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]

An own-goal? Preposterous one may decry, but upon closer inspection it was as well-orchestrated as any on show.

Jair Benitez attempts to curl a ball from the left-flank in behind the Vancouver defense at the near-post, but Andy O’Brien cuts it out, conceding a corner kick.

David Ferreira tees up a right-footed in-swinging corner to the near-post area. Andrew Jacobson, rather than affect the ball, creates a pick to hold off both Nigel Reo-Coker and Jun Marques Davidson from a clearing touch, letting the ball bounce into the crowd above the six-yard box.

George John, attacking that area, is well-blocked by Rusin, but he cleverly steers the Whitecaps defender into the ball, redirecting it goal-ward.

It seems whenever John is involved in the box the peculiar occurs. He has previous with the bizarre – his goal against Houston earlier in the season came when Bobby Boswell’s clearing header ricochet off his back and into the Dynamo goal.

Did he do it on purpose?

It’s always hard to claim intent, but watch carefully how he shoves and turns Rusin into the ball and then watches as the deflection loops towards goal and then celebrates as though he scored when YP Lee is slow to clear it off the line at the back-post.

In truth, it was probably just a happy accident - he tried to stick a boot on the ball and just happened to manhandle Rusin perfectly for fortune to favour the brave.

Coincidentally, it was nearly from the exact spot where he took a beer bottle after scoring last round, at least he had the good sense to celebrate under the cover provided by the net this time.

Results in Brief

New York 0 – Kansas City 1

Wednesday night saw the aforementioned first midweek match of the season with New York welcoming in-form Kansas City to Red Bull Arena for a high-profile Eastern Conference clash.

High-profile, yes, but high-scoring, no, as Aurelien Collin’s thirteenth minute header - beating Jamison Olave at the near-post to a right-sided Graham Zusi corner-kick - was all Sporting needed on the night.

A third-straight win for Peter Vermes’ side, extended their impressive clean-sheet streak to more than five matches – 519 minutes without conceding – and their unbeaten run in New York to five. Mike Petke bemoaned his team’s effort in a terse half-time interview and will be forced to regroup for Saturday’s match without the services of midfield maestro Juninho, who was shown a straight red card for kicking the ball at KC keeper, Jimmy Nielsen, whom he deemed was taking too much time on goal-kicks.

Nielsen duly went down as though shot – or perhaps struck by a bobble-head – wasting more time as the Brazilian was handed his marching orders.

Toronto 1 – Houston 1

Just as it looked that TFC would collect their first win at BMO Field since July 18th of last season, having put in a solid ninety minute performance against perennial contenders, the Houston Dynamo, cruel fate struck once more.

Jeremy Hall had put Toronto ahead in the 58th minute, collecting a weak clearance, deftly switching onto his right-boot and sending a low shot through a crowd into the bottom left-corner of the goal. They should have increased their advantage, up a man with Jermaine Taylor dismissed for a flailing arm in the soft face of Robert Earnshaw, but several opportunities went begging.

A sloppy corner kick was conceded in the 93rd, Ricardo Clark rose highest to poke a header goal-ward, where Warren Creavalle, virtually on the goal-line, flicked the slow-moving ball into the net to level the score with nearly the last touch of the ball.

Houston coach Dominic Kinnear will grab the point and run, happy to steal something from a match that never looked to be fruitful for his side – both Adam Moffat and Brad Davis were removed early with hamstring and groin concerns, respectively. Ryan Nelsen must find a way to address these ghosts of the past that continue to stall the progress of his side as they brace for a busy spell with the Voyageur’s Cup looming large on the horizon.

Colorado 0 – Seattle 1

As Steve Zakuani returned to the scene of his horrific leg break for the first time, Seattle’s winless start to the season – five matches - finally came to an end, with Obafemi Martins scoring his first MLS goal.

Homegrown sensation DeAndre Yedlin surged up the right-side, dishing out to Lamar Neagle; his cross was touched back to Shalrie Joseph by Zakuani, setting up a cannon blast from the big midfielder that was parried by Clint Irwin in the Colorado goal.

The rebound fell kindly to Martins on the left side of the box, who waited, made space for a shot and calmly stroked the only goal of the game into the far-side of the net, to stretch the Sounders winning streak over the Rapids to seven matches.

Colorado’s injury plague continued to fester as Edson Buddle was a last-minute scratch with a reoccurrence of his knee troubles and Marvell Wynne was forced off early with a quad strain leaving Oscar Pareja scratching his head at the unending misfortune. Seattle’s Sigi Schmid can chalk up their first victory of the season in the hope that it will kindle further movement up the Western table.

New York 4 – New England 1

A heavy-hearted Revolution could muster little in the opening phase of their first match since Monday’s bombings at the Boston Marathon.

New York had two inside of eight minutes – three, if one counts Brandon Barklage’s own-goal – from Dax McCarty and Fabian Espindola to set up an early lead.

McCarty stroked a low shot into the bottom left-corner of the goal from inside the arc after a failed Thierry Henry corner kick was worked to Jonny Steele on the left. His cross nearly led to Tim Cahill and McCarty getting tangled, but they got out of each other’s way, with Cahill touching Dax’s chested control back to the ginger-haired midfielder, who controlled and struck sweetly to open the scoring.

Barklage saw a Lee Nguyen free-kick skim off him and into the net to level the score two minutes later, only to make amends a further two minutes on, hitting a long pass for Espindola to run onto and finish clinically, cutting onto his left-foot, crossing up AJ Soares and placing his shot low to the far-corner.

The Revolution regrouped and held firm, but could not find a way back into the match. Henry and Steele extended the lead in the final ten minutes – Steele played provider for Henry’s, passing a ball behind the ragged New England defense for the Frenchman to run onto down the left and finish low to the far-corner with his right-boot. Steele then capped a wonderful bit of counterattacking, tapping in a squared ball from Eric Alexander who had been laid in down the right by newly acquired Andre Akpan.

Head coach Mike Petke can rejoice at his side’s ability to bounce back from a disappointing midweek affair on little rest, while Jay Heaps must ponder what ails his side, now winless – and goal-less - in four matches.

Dallas 2 – Vancouver 0

League-leading Dallas continued their impressive, franchise-best start to the season with a dominant performance over an out-of-sorts Whitecaps side.

Handed the lead by Brad Rusin’s own-goal, Blas Perez doubled it in the 50th minute, reacting quickest to a deflected Kenny Cooper shot with a diving header past a helpless Joe Cannon.

Shades of offside, mattered not in the end, as Vancouver were lucky to escape the state of Texas – where they have never won – with so light a beating; their continued struggles away from home negate any advancements made at BC Place.

Martin Rennie will be scratching his head as his tinkered lineups continue to underwhelm and the winless run stretches to five, but will have an immediate chance for redemption when the two meet once more in Vancouver for the second leg of the home-and-home series. Schellas Hyndman’s side, now unbeaten in six, further stretched their lead in the Supporter’s Shield race to five points come weekend’s end.

Chicago 1 – Columbus 0

Despite Columbus keeper, Andy Gruenebaum’s heroics, the Crew could not withstand the second half pressure from the slowly-boiling Fire, with Jeff Larentowicz scoring his first for his new club in the 83rd minute.

A long throw from Jalil Anibaba on the right, was flicked on by Austin Berry for the midfielder to win bravely between a pair of collapsing defenders and earn his side their second win in three matches, having struggled early in the campaign.

Robert Warzycha’s Crew sees their unbeaten run end at four, with their struggles in Chicago – winless in ten visits – continuing; Frank Klopas will enjoy the three points, hoping their scoring troubles – six goals through seven matches - will not continue to be an issue having broken down a stubborn opponent.

Salt Lake 1 – Chivas 0

Salt Lake won the first of a three-game home-stand after playing five of their first seven matches on the road – one of several teams to endure such a difficult beginning.

Edgar Mejia missed a prime opportunity to put Chivas ahead in the 36th minute from the spot – after Ned Grabavoy was deemed to have handled in the box – but Nick Rimando made the all-time league-leading eighteenth penalty kick save of his career.

It was the second consecutive missed attempt from the Ameri-Goats, who would rue falling to a second straight 1-0 result as a consequence of their wastefulness from twelve paces.

Javier Morales scored his first of the season, knocking a header past Dan Kennedy via a well-constructed Alvaro Saborio cross after last weekend’s goal-scorer Olmes Garcia played the Costa Rican striker down the right.

A touchline scuffle ensued when El Chelis was unhappy with Morales’ slow-moving substitution – prompting the Chivas bench to exit early - and Mejia, soon joined them, when he was shown a red for a forearm smash on Grabavoy in stoppage-time.

Jason Kreis will look to build on the victory that sees his team remain unbeaten at home; El Chelis will grumble about his side’s inability to take advantage of crucial spot kicks, as their goal-scoring prowess has been quieted with two-successive shut-outs.

Los Angeles 2 – Kansas City 0

In the only scheduled meeting of the year between cross-conference powerhouses, Los Angeles took advantage of a tired Kansas City squad - who were forced to travel across the continent after a midweek win in New York - on the counter.

Landon Donovan, making his first start in the league, figured in both goals - setting up Marcelo Sarvas, who controversially handled in the build-up, for a simple tap in from a ball across the goal-mouth from the left and then tallying his first goal of the season after Robbie Keane stole in alone and unselfishly squared to his teammate for an equally easy finish.

Sporting’s clean-sheet streak was snapped at 545 minutes – as was their three-game winning run – with the unsatisfying defeat leaving coach Peter Vermes to cry foul at the schedule and the missed call. Bruce Arena’s healthy-again side – with Keane, Sean Franklin, and Todd Dunivant back in the eleven - will look to put CONCACAF disappointments behind them and push on in their chase of Dallas.

DC 2 – Philadelphia 3

A preordained brace from Jack McInerney vaults him into the league-lead with six goals and helps power Philadelphia to a valuable three points – and their first ever win at RFK – over Eastern rivals, DC.

The Union were ahead by a pair after eleven minutes, through McInerney – after a DC pass was intercepted by Brian Carroll and threaded for the striker by Conor Casey – and Casey – who collected a cut-back from Danny Cruz at the top of the box and squeezed a low left-footed shot past Bill Hamid in goal.

Perry Kitchen grabbed one back six minutes on - smashing a clever Dwayne De Rosario set-up through a crowd into the Philadelphia net – but McInerney replied less than ten minutes later, with his second, unmarked at the back-post when a right-sided Sheanon Williams long-throw was flicked on to the striker by Amobi Okugo.

Lionard Pajoy made a match of the second half, scoring two minutes in against his former team, getting on the end of a delicious cross from Daniel Woolard on the left for a free-header.

It would serve as little consolation as DC’s losing streak stretched to four matches, prompting Ben Olsen and his team to search for answers amidst the frustration. John Hackworth’s Union, riding the impressive form of McInerney and his deadly partnership with the hulking Casey – while relegating fan-favourite Sebastien Le Toux to the bench - will push on with a newfound confidence.

San Jose 1 – Portland 1

The final tie of the round ended with honours even in the dramatic conclusion of the home-and-home series between these bitter West Coast foes. If last weekend’s meeting in Portland was hard fought, this was equally so, as neither side offered, nor asked, any quarter.

Sam Cronin and Steven Lenhart battled endlessly with Will Johnson and the Timbers back-line, at times it appeared destined to boil over.

But the match calmed, if only slightly, at the start of the second half, when Diego Valeri pounced on a fortunate bounce to volley a finish past Jon Busch, to open the scoring against the run of play. Right-back Steven Beitashour – making his first appearance of the season - cut out a threaded Darlington Nagbe ball bound for Ryan Johnson, only for it to loop perfectly for Valeri to finish.

The never-say-die attitude that inspired San Jose to the Supporter’s Shield last season resurfaced, as they pressed forward endlessly in search of an equalizer. As with so many matches before, it would eventually come in stoppage time.

A long Busch free-kick was flicked on by Lenhart, then again by Adam Jahn, falling to Nana Attakora on the left-side of the box. He was cleaned out by Mikael Silvestre as he went to play the ball, but scuffed it over to Chris Wondolowski, who corralled and laid off to Jahn by the penalty spot. His powerful right-footer found the open side of the goal to draw the match level in the 92nd minute, sending the crowd wild.

An emotional and hard-fought night, given the circumstances surrounding the match – Alan Gordon’s slur-induced suspension, the bad-blood from last weekend, and the reported fan troubles in Portland; not to mention the heightened security due to the events in Boston – a diplomatic draw seemed apt.

Frank Yallop’s San Jose, though still winless in four, will take some solace from the well-earned point; Caleb Porter’s Timbers – now unbeaten in five – will learn lessons from the disappointment of conceding late.

Canadian Content

Will be up shortly. And from now on in its own, separate article.

Overheard

New York’s Mike Petke delivered the most deadpan half-time interview during the midweek. “That was not good enough,” he said perfectly summing up the poor display his side committed against Kansas City. The unfortunate soul tasked with the interview struggled to turn the conversation, that ended with Petke repeating himself before kindly walking off.

Luckily they turned it around come the weekend, inspired in part by an excellent performance from midfielder, Jonny Steele, who, when asked about his ‘fiery’ play had this to say, “I’ve got some family issues with my father not well and stuff, so every game I’m going to dedicate to my dad. I just got to pray and do things for him… (He) just had a stroke… I’m just rewarding him for what he has done for me and my career.”

Heartfelt words from the wandering midfielder; best wishes to his father and family at this difficult time.

And yes, the Salt Lake announcers, as well as the San Jose ones, are far too biased to be broadcast nationally or internationally. MLS Live is great – especially here in Canada, where blackouts are virtually non-existent - but one must wonder if these fellows know they are being watched by more than the immediate regional market.

See It Live (We’re Seeing It Live)

Moments of silence and paraphernalia in remembrance of the tragedies in Boston and West, Texas were on display this weekend - from ‘Boston’ Armbands in New York on Wednesday to “Peace” and “West” in Dallas on Saturday.

The Red Bull and Revolution fans marched together to their match, holding aloft the “New York Stands With Boston Banner’ displayed on Wednesday night.

Matt Reis’ previously underplayed, heroic role is rushing to help the wounded moments after the blast was revealed with pictures of his bald-headed and blue-shirted self amidst the chaos. His father-in-law is still battling the effects of the carnage in critical condition at last report.

Chivas’ coaching staff chirping at Javier Morales and then storming off was a welcome bit of buffoonery on such a heavy weekend, they had left early before, but never in such a storm.

Glimpses of the grounds crew at San Jose setting up some sort of put-the-ball-through-here-and-win type cut-out on one of the goals was a nice touch to the final match – way better than the make-throw-ins-into-garbage-cans-junk in Toronto.

Upcoming Fixtures

The 2013 edition of the Voyageur’s Cup begins on Wednesday with Montreal travelling to Toronto and Vancouver to Edmonton; should be a cracker.

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

Parting Thoughts

A few questions to ponder and discuss:

The Voyageur’s Cup is set to be one of the best ever with all three MLS sides in decent enough nick, and each with the goal of the Champions League place squarely in their sights? Who takes the initiative in these first leg ties? Can Edmonton surprise Vancouver, who they faced in a preseason match not long ago? Can Toronto defend their title and make it five in a row? How will these extra matches affect league play? And is winning the Cup more trouble than it is worth, with all those extra flights to far-flung destinations? Are the odds stacked against the Canadians with the Mexicans and Americans held apart in the preliminary stages?

Can anyone stop Dallas’ rise in the West? Do Seattle, Los Angeles, and Salt Lake build on wins from the weekend to reassert themselves as the class of the league? Will anything stop the rot in DC and New England? Are Colorado the ones to finally end Houston’s home streak?

Until next weekend.

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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