MLS Week in Review: Playoff Edition – Conference Championships, Second Leg - 24th Minute

This final is set.

Two matches were played over the weekend to determine which two of the four clubs remaining would take part in the 2013 MLS Cup Final in two weeks time.

Both matches went counter to their first legs with Kansas City and Houston morphing their defensive stalemate into a fast-tempo clash and Portland and Salt Lake’s high-scoring display turning into a offensively limited one-goal affair.

In the first, the home team won, while the away side took victory in the second. Four goals were scored and six yellow cards shown, leaving both finalist with their full complement of healthy players for the impending final.

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

Just one really worthy of recognition this round – Dom Dywer’s eventual game-winner for Kansas City.

Silky passing on a quick break and Benny Feilhaber providing that oft-absent little bit of class that had regularly blunted the otherwise rampant Sporting attack.

And a tidy finish from the sophomore forward who lit up USL Pro in his extended stint with Orlando City – who were named as the 21st MLS franchise in last week’s expansion announcement.

Results

Kansas City 2 – Houston 1 (Kansas City advance 2-1 on aggregate)

The first leg may have been a dire exercise that ended scoreless, no doubt impacted by the previous frantic two weeks of playoffs, but the second leg on Saturday more than made up for that disappointment.

It was cold – the coldest match in MLS history at 22° Fahrenheit, though those who attended the 2010 MLS Cup Final in Toronto would beg to differ – but that did not stop both teams from flying out of the gates with the opening whistle.

The big news prior to kickoff was as much about those absent from the starting lineups as those who would take the field. Houston, already shorn of centre-back Jermaine Taylor, would be without the services of both Ricardo Clark and Will Bruin, who combined had accounted for three of their seven goals through the first two rounds of the post-season.

Kansas City were healthy, more-or-less, though Peter Vermes opted, somewhat controversially, to keep their designated player, Claudio Bieler on the bench, fielding Dom Dwyer and CJ Sapong alongside Graham Zusi in attack – he would not be proved wrong.

Not until after a little scare, however.

Houston would take the lead in the third minute, putting a little fear and trepidation into the Kansas City faithful who packed out the ground and rocked the stands from whistle to whistle.

It began with a quick outlet pass that isolated Andrew Driver on Chance Myers. Houston’s left-sided attacker abused the KC right-back, drawing him in before pushing past him mercilessly to send in a cross. Aurelien Collin would cut out the service poorly, popping the ball straight up, to fall near the penalty spot, where Cam Weaver won it back towards Brad Davis over Seth Sinovic, who was drawn inside.

Davis spotted that space vacated by Sinovic and the drifting of Oscar Boniek Garica into it, nodding out to the right. Garcia shaped to one-time his shot, faking out Sinovic before walking around his desperate challenge and hammering a right-footer towards goal that kicked up off the last-ditch block attempt from Matt Besler to loop over Jimmy Nielsen into the left-side of the goal.

Handing Houston a one-goal advantage inside the opening five minutes was never part of the plan - would Kansas City be knocked out for a third-straight season by the Dynamo?

Vermes decision to leave Bieler on the bench looked a mistake in the eighth minute, when Dwyer missed a sitter from a Myers squared pass – credit to Eric Brunner who did enough to hurry the attempt.

Could Houston hold on for eighty-plus minutes?

Uncharacteristically, they would gift the hosts the equalizer in the fourteenth minute, on sloppy plays from two of their more impressive performers this season.

First it was Giles Barnes whose lackadaisical clearance was deflected by Zusi, straight to Uri Rosell on the right. He moved the ball quickly up and in-field to Benny Feilhaber, who turned and drove towards goal. Garcia and Warren Creavalle did well to collapse on the ball, squeezing out Feilhaber, leaving a harmless, loose ball bouncing towards stalwart centre-back, Bobby Boswell, who made the second, more critical mistake.

Boswell misread the movement of defensive partner Brunner, poking a back pass to where he was, not where he was going, that inadvertently played Sapong in clear down the right-side of the box. Sapong would one-time a right-footer past Tally Hall into the left-side of the goal to equalize on a gift.

Next it was Houston’s turn to be stung by wastefulness, when Weaver could not keep a glorious chance on target from a cutback on the half-hour mark. His blushes were somewhat spared when Sapong wasted a good look in the final minute of the first half.

Having played the first half at breakneck speed, both sides emerged from half-time with a little less energy, readjusting to the climate for the next quarter of an hour – the best chance came from Houston’s Garcia, who could only find the side-netting from a half-chance at a tight angle.

Kansas City would capitalize on the lull with a silky attack in the 63rd minute.

Collin chested a bouncing ball to Paulo Nagamura in the defensive third, who moved up-field before threading a ball to Zusi cutting from right to left. He crisscrossed with Feilhaber, before stopping dead and poking a pass to Feilhaber.

With a large Rico Clark-shaped pocket of space in front of him to attack, Feilhaber strode towards goal before lifting a brilliant chipped ball through the narrowest of gaps for Dwyer, who took it down neatly, hesitated to let Kofi Sarkodie commit past him, before taking a slight touch to the outside and slotting a left-footer to the open left-side of goal.

Houston would ring in the changes as they went in search of an equalizer with Omar Cummings and Servando Carrasco replacing Driver and Creavalle before mounting a more concerted response.

Of some interest, the first recorded save of the match from a keeper did not come until the 79th minute when Dwyer’s header was easily caught and held by Hall.

Desperation began to set in as the Dynamo continued to pump hopeful balls forward that were easily dealt with by Collin and Besler.

Sporting would see out the result with a pair of defensive subs – Ike Opara and Jacob Peterson - before Bieler finally came on in the 94th minute – the final minute of stoppage-time – for Dwyer.

At the third time of asking, Kansas City finally get past the Dynamo in the MLS Playoffs, clinch the Eastern Conference Championship and now have two weeks to prepare for their third-ever MLS Cup Final, their first since 2004.

Afterwards, Vermes reflected on the achievement, “It seems like it always come down to not a battle but a war. I think as far as this series, we deserved it. We played smart and I think we showed real maturity. Three years ago, I think we were very new to this when we played them in the same situation. We were very new, in everything. I even think our fans were new to it. There was a lot of apprehension that year, but I think this year was very different. I think the players understood the task at hand. Even though they scored early, we never panicked” continuing, “Everybody has talked about how Houston has been that thorn in our side, and I didn't necessarily buy into that. You could say the same thing for L.A. if you wanted. Everybody has that hurdle that they have to get over and we're a very young team. And to accomplish this with such a young maturity level on our team is fantastic.”

With the loss, Houston will miss out on their first final in three seasons.

Dominic Kinnear was magnanimous in defeat, “It was a tough game. We knew it was going to be close. It was a tough one, but congratulations to Kansas City. They'll host the final which I think is a good thing for the MLS,” adding, “It's hard. A lot of things kind of went against us this last month or so I think… from a coaching staff point of view, I'm very proud of the team and what we've done this year. Walking of the field the last time as a competitive group is awfully hard, but I don't think they can second guess their effort or determination.”

Portland 0 – Salt Lake 1 (Salt Lake advance 5-3 on aggregate)

Sunday’s offering was an entirely different proposition.

Goals aplenty in the first leg allowed the visitors to enter the match with a two-goal cushion; it would have been a near-insurmountable three if not for Frederic Piquionne’s last-minute header – still it was a big ask for Portland to overturn the series.

Despite the absence of their preferred starting centre-forwards – Portland’s Ryan Johnson made way for Piquionne in the starting eleven and Salt Lake’s Alvaro Saborio missed out through injury – the two traded early chances with RSL rookie Devon Sandoval sending a header from a Javier Morales free-kick, down into the turf, bouncing over the bar and Piquionne strafing a cross inches beyond the reach of Diego Valeri at the other end.

In the fifteenth minute Portland had the ball in the back of the net, with Futty Danso nodding in after Rodney Wallace had headed a ball back into the centre, but it was ruled out for a shove in the back of Lovel Palmer by Wallace, controversy.

Undaunted, the Timbers continued to look for the much-needed opener and Valeri has two good cracks at goal in the same series after a Piquionne lay off, but both were blocked by the stingy Salt Lake defense.

Every team needs a bit of luck to fall their way, especially when faced with the task of making up a two-goal deficit, but Portland would find the soccer gods aligned against them further when the impressive Piquionne was forced off with injury in the 28th minute, replaced by Maxi Urruti.

And a minute later Robbie Findley sunk a dagger into the comeback, extending Salt Lake’s advantage to three goals.

It began with a long Nick Rimando kick that sailed over Sandoval, bounding to Pa Modou Kah, who inexplicably headed a poor clearance into the middle of the pitch. Morales would gladly collect the loose ball, deftly touching to Luis Gil who glided past Diego Chara, moving towards goal down the left-channel to have a right-footed lash from some 25 yards, attempting to finish across the keeper.

Donovan Ricketts got down to parry the drive, but could not control the rebound, leaving it kindly on a platter for Findley, who reacted quickest, beating both Kah and Michael Harrington to the loose ball to tuck in a left-footer at the right-post.

With their task made all the more difficult, tensions started to mount, flaring up on a Portland free-kick, with Nat Borchers and Kah, amongst others, shoving in the defensive wall, requiring the intervention of the referee to iron out the differences.

Shortly thereafter, in the 33rd minute to be more precise, the Timbers had another potential goal ruled out, this time clearly offside, from Danso after Valeri’s shot was denied and the centre-back tucked in the rebound.

Portland’s hope were struck a further blow when Wallace too was forced off injured, replaced at the start of the second half by Kalif Alhassan.

Tempers flared once more when Chris Schuler flung himself recklessly into Portland keeper, Ricketts, on a deep free-kick, for which the Salt Lake defender was booked after some light shoving and verbal sparring.

With the clock now clearly running against them, Portland’s otherwise reliable sources of inspiration faltered. Valeri missed a further pair of good chance – sending a dropped touch from Darlington Nagbe over from the top of the box and pulling another sizzler well wide – and Will Johnson found space for a shot, but he too whistled his look wide.

Throwing caution to the wind with twenty minutes remaining, Portland replaced their right-back, Jack Jewsbury, with another forward, Ryan Johnson, and were nearly made to pay immediately when a long pass into the space vacated by the departing Jewsbury played Findley in alone down the left, forcing Ricketts quickly off his line to clear the danger.

The emotions of a long season nearing its end started to trickle in as in became clear that there was no way back, with the cameras isolating on one fan in particular who appeared to be choking back tears while continuing to sing on the home side vociferously.

The Timbers would see a few more desperate chances wasted – Urruti shooting straight at Rimando and Danso sending a final header from a Valeri cross harmlessly over the bar.

In the end the deficit from the first leg, against a solid Salt Lake outfit, proved too much for the home side, and they bowed out after an impressive season.

Credit must be given to the Timbers Army who sang their hearts out to the end, fired up their smoke devices in the waning minutes and then gave their side a raucous reception post-match, even in defeat.

Caleb Porter was equally classy, “First of all, I’d like to congratulate Real Salt Lake for moving on to MLS Cup. They’re a great team, great coaching staff, and they deserve everything they get. They were great in the series and as much as we fought them tooth-and-nail, they deserved to move on. So, we wish them all the best.”

Before reflecting on his side’s performance – in his usual wordy way, “My team, I thought they deserved more, in all honesty. Obviously, this is the first time we’ve been in this position, and there’s a reason a team like Salt Lake moved on to win the series. You see teams like Salt Lake. You see teams like Kansas City. You see teams like Houston and the LA Galaxys of the world, and there’s a reason they continue to be in this position year after year. It’s because they’re experienced collectively and they have players that have been in that situation. What I would say about our group is that we didn’t look out of place. I think that’s remarkable for our team, really 10 months into this, to be in the position we’re in. In saying that, there are some things we’ll learn from the series and when we’re back – and we will be back – we’ll do better. You look at Salt Lake and you look at the last time they won it, and you look at how long it took them to get back…it takes time. There’s definitely a progression when you’re knocking on the door. This was our first time knocking on the door and unfortunately we didn’t open the door. I can’t fault my guys’ effort. I’m proud of every last one of them. You could see how much it meant to them today. They fought every single second for 94 minutes. They gave everything they had and left it all on the field. I thought we played well enough to win the game today. If that first goal stands, I think the game is different, but it didn’t play out that way. I would say, we probably didn’t finish well enough to move on in the series. We had a lot of chances. I thought we dominated the game in terms of performance – that was clear. Again, Salt Lake knew what they needed to do, and they did it. I thought their center backs were exceptional in the box tonight. We threw everything at them, and I thought they managed the box brilliantly. You have to take your hats off to their team. You could see their maturity, you could see their experience. They did what they needed to. It wasn’t any fault to our guys. I thought we came out and played, in terms of energy, some of the best stuff of the year and, in terms of control, some of the best stuff of the year. We didn’t finish well enough to move on in the series, but I thought we certainly performed well enough to win tonight, and for whatever reason it didn’t fall that way.”

In many ways – including his lengthy dissertations, Porter has been a breath of fresh air this season.

Too many coaches give meaningless rote answers to post-match questions, everyone should appreciate Porter’s willingness to talk after the match.

Jason Kreis, whose contract incidentally is up at the end of the season, steers his Salt Lake into their second-ever MLS Cup Final – and first since winning in 2009 (shocking given how dominant their style has been over these past four seasons) - picking up just their second trophy with the Western Conference silverware en route.

A fact not lost on Kreis, “I think for me, the most rewarding thing is not about getting back to the MLS Cup. The most rewarding thing is that finally this group has won a trophy. Another trophy. Frankly, in my honest opinion, and I’m sure it’s not everybody’s – this team deserves more trophies than they have. They’ve put themselves in a position to win so many times, and it’s just been unfortunate not to. So I think that this is a very deserved trophy. Both, for what we have done over the regular season and certainly in the playoffs, but more so for what we’ve done now for five years in a row.”

All thanks to getting that first goal to seal the tie, “You know, they say in soccer, and I believe it’s true, especially in our league, that the first goal matters so much in games. I think the percentage for the team that wins games that scores the first goal is off the charts, really, in our league. And then you enter a match like this where you’re already up two, and I think that first goal becomes ten times as important. If Portland scores the first goal, they’ve got all the momentum, they’re on their home field, they’ve got their fans behind them. I think that we would’ve been in a really, really tough place. If we score the first goal, now it’s 3-0, and now they get a little desperate, some heads are hanging, and there’s some frustration involved. Great that we got the goal, probably wasn’t the prettiest one we’ve ever scored, but we’ll take it, and I thought we handled the match pretty well from there.”

CanCon

Will Johnson bows out of the 2013 MLS Playoffs with Portland’s elimination at the hands of Salt Lake. Johnson had a strong outing, deployed in a much more advanced position with the Timbers in need of goals – especially as the match wore on.

He had a couple good looks and delivered some decent set-pieces, but could not lead his side over this one final hurdle.

But rest assured they will be back next season, as Johnson himself pointed out:

“It’s a winning culture, no doubt about it. That’s one of the things we talked about afterwards, is what we’re proud of. We’re no longer the Portland Timbers that everybody beats up on. We’re starting to become an elite team in this league. We have to do it consistently. We’ll find ourselves in championship games year after year if we continue to have that hunger and desire. For me, this just makes us hungrier, if that’s possible. It’s a good group of guys. We’re competitive. This fan base deserves a competitive team, a team that fights and gives everything. Our effort was fantastic tonight, we just needed better quality.”

Overheard

More what went unheard – NBC’s Kyle Martino trying to interview Jimmy Nielsen as the Eastern Conference trophy was presented to Sporting only for his microphone to convey none of the conversation to the audience, rather just a barrage of celebratory music pumping as the two tried desperately to interact.

The Portland fans who, though no doubt disappointed in the result, cheered their players to the end, earned the praise of both Will Johnson - “It’s amazing. You certainly expect it from them. They’re with us through thick and thin. They’ve been with us now for, a lot of the guys, for three years. It’s been pretty awesome. It just gives you chills. It’s why we try so hard. We try too hard at times to the point where we get in our own way, but they’re amazing, that’s it.”

And Michael Harrington - “That was amazing. It just makes you proud to be part of something like that. Not everybody gets to be part of something like that in their life. It makes me proud. It’s just fantastic to be supported in that way, because that’s rare. Even all over the world, I think that’s rare, so it was a lift to us. We’re disappointed, but that’s a light in the darkness there.”

MLS Commissioner Don “The Don” Garber talked expansion at half-time of the Eastern Conference Championship – it’s worth a watch.

See It Live

A few minor highlights (or lowlights):

That dreadfully terrible free-kick routine mix up between Graham Zusi and Benny Feilhaber, getting their signals cross as both went for it getting in each other’s way and turning over possession wastefully.

Oscar Boniek Garcia’s rattling hit on Seth Sinovic.

Somebody – possibly Seth Sinovic – pantsing CJ Sapong as he celebrated in front of the Cauldron.

And one final glimpse at a sombre Brian Ching leaving the field for the last time in his storied career as the result became official and the two sides shook hands.

Pa Modou Kah giving Kyle Beckerman an earful of Gambian opinion after a flare up in the defensive wall on a Portland free-kick was something fierce.

The two week break did give both home supports time to put together some pretty nifty tifos.

In Kansas City:

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Only photo I could find (so far) of South Stand's tifo. <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23mls&src=hash">#mls</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23MLSPlayoffs&src=hash">#MLSPlayoffs</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23skc&src=hash">#skc</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23SKCvHOU&src=hash">#SKCvHOU</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23football&src=hash">#football</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23supporters&src=hash">#supporters</a> <a href="http://t.co/hrjNt9s6D7">pic.twitter.com/hrjNt9s6D7</a></p>— Casual Life (@AmericanCasual1) <a href="

">November 24, 2013</a></blockquote>

And in Portland:

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Well, yeah <a href="http://t.co/pEFhD0tYck">pic.twitter.com/pEFhD0tYck</a></p>— Michael Orr (@MichaelOrrFtbl) <a href="

">November 25, 2013</a></blockquote>

Controversy

Portland’s hopes of a comeback were stymied by two goals that were ruled out in the first half.

The second, from Futty Danso was quite clearly offside, but the first was debatably chalked off by an early foul call – for an apparent shove in the back of Lovel Palmer from Rodney Wallace.

There is often a lot of jostling in the box on set-pieces, did that really warrant a shrill blast from the referee? Caleb Porter certainly did not think so.

Opinion Poll

MLS Cup Final is set, who you got winning it all?

Upcoming Fixtures

One match remains in the 2013 MLS season; what a ride it has been.

Saturday, December 7 at 4 pm (EST): Sporting Kansas City will host Real Salt Lake at Sporting Park in the 2013 MLS Cup – should be a cracker.

All 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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MLS Week in Review: Playoff Edition – Conference Championships, Second Leg

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