MLS Saturday Review by TJ Boyce, Ryan O'Hanlon & Mark Flannery - August 26, 2007 |
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| ▪ Hamm, Foudy Enter Hall of Fame | |
New York helped New England to a 2-1 victory with an 80th minute own goal, while Conor Casey has opened his MLS account as the Rapids kept LA reeling. |
▪ Bob Begins His Euro Quest |
| ▪ Denílson Finds the Hoops | |
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Clint Mathis and Claudio Reyna almost teamed up for a goal in the 14th when the Georgia man intercepted a clearance at midfield. Three paces after taking off down field he found Reyna on his right, but Reis came out to stop Reyna's left footer before he had a chance to pick his spot.
This week's phantom penalty call came in the 17th minute when Seth Stammler was called for a penalty on a clear dive by Jeff Larentowicz. Shalrie Joseph's ensuing kick was wide left, however, and the game remained scoreless.
Altidore did convert with Angel in the 30th to give New York the lead on a classy goal past Reis. The U-17 starlet passed to Angel who one touched forward for Altidore to run onto, and he one-timed it for his eighth goal of the season.
New England started to put pressure on the New York defense as the half wound to a close, and eventually brought his side level in the opening minute of the second half.
Earning the rare assist for a keeper, Reis booted it upfield and Twellman, still 40 yards out had a superb first touch, and took the ball in 15 more yards before firing past Jon Conway.
Reis then came up with a great one-v-one stop on Angel in the 61st, then in the 66th Angel saw a shot go wide after a cross in from Dane Richards.
Then in the 80th, Carlos Mendes sent a back pass from 45 yards out, but Jon Conway inexplicably was unable to stop the roller looked confused that the own-goal had happened.
New York could drop to fourth place depending on the Wizards result Sunday night, while New England remain perched at the top of the Eastern conference.
The Red Bulls welcome Cuauhtémoc Blanco and the Fire on September 1st, while the Revs are off until the 9th when they face DC United.
Scoring Line-ups NE - Matt Reis; Jeff Larentowicz, James Riley, Avery John, Michael Parkhurst, Andy Dorman, Steve Ralston, Shalrie Joseph, Khano Smith (Wells Thompson 60'), Taylor Twellman, Adam Cristman
NY - Jon Conway; Kevin Goldthwaite, Jeff Parke, Chris Leitch, Seth Stammler, Dane Richards, Joe Vide (Mike Magee 85'), Clint Mathis, Claudio Reyna (Carlos Mendes 76'), Jozy Altidore (Francis Doe 71'), Juan Pablo Angel
TFC BLANKED AGAIN, SET FUTILITY RECORD A goal from Fred in the eight minute was enough to give DC United a 1-0 victory over Toronto FC at BMO field.
In the early going, Toronto pressured add looked set on not becoming the MLS record holder for most minutes played without a goal.
Despite the pressure, the first six minutes passed without a goal, and Toronto became the new MLS leader in scoring futility. Almost immediately after the record was set, Maurice Edu nearly gave Toronto the lead when his close-range volley was stopped by a leaping Troy Perkins.
Seconds later, a contested header found its way to Fred, who streaked past the Toronto backline and slotted past Kenny Stamatopolous to give United a 1-0 lead.
The next legitimate chance came in the 57th minute when Danny Dichio headed Carl Robinson's cross over the bar. Twenty minutes from time, Todd Dunivant got onto the end of a pass from Dichio, but the former Galaxy defender was stopped by Perkins.
In a last ditch attempt to equalize, Stamatopolous pushed up for a Toronto corner, but the Canadian keeper headed wide.
Scoring Line-ups TFC - Kenny Stamatopoulos; Adam Braz, Tyrone Marshall, Jim Brennan, Marvell Wynne, Maurice Edu, Chris Pozniak (Miguel Canizalez 81'), Carl Robinson, Todd Dunivant, Collin Samuel, Danny Dichio
DCU - Troy Perkins; Bryan Namoff, Devon McTavish, Greg Vanney, Marc Burch, Brian Carroll, Christian Gomez (Domenic Mediate 84'), Clyde Simms, Fred, Rod Dyachenko (Jaime MorenO 46'), Nicholas Addlery (Guy-Roland Kpene 61')
HOUSTON GRABS LATE EQUALIZER The Columbus Crew strengthened its hold on the final playoff spot with a 1-1 tie at Houston on Saturday night.
Sigi Schmid's men continued to pressure and found themselves on top after seventeen minutes. Barros Schelotto found Alejandro Moreno at the penalty spot, and the former Houston striker fired home to put his former club behind.
Thirty minutes in, Dwayne De Rosario's shot from thirty yards out was kept out of the upper left corner by a diving Will Hesmer.
In a span of six minutes, Joseph Ngwenya drew two yellow cards on Marcos Gonzalez, as the Chilean was ejected in the 38th minute.
With only three minutes left in the first half, Nate Jaqua was alone on goal, but his strike was too high.
In injury time, De Rosario wriggled free from three defenders, only to see his shot roll inches wide of the post.
The first twenty minutes of the second half saw an improved Houston attack with headers from Jaqua and Ngwenya barely missing the goal.
Ten Minutes from time, the Dynamo evened the score thanks to a goal from Jaqua. Ngwenya and Ricardo Clark played a give-and-go, which led to a shot from Ngwenya that was stopped by Hesmer. The Columbus keeper was unable to hold, and Jaqua pounced on the rebound for his third of the year.
Scoring
COL - Will Hesmer; Frankie Hejduk, Marcos Gonzalez, Ezra Hendrickson, Rusty Pierce (Ned Grabavoy 68'), Guillermo Barros Schelotto (Danny Szetela 77'), Danny O'Rourke, Duncan Oughton, Eddie Gaven, Alejandro Moreno, Ricardo Virtuoso (Stefani Miglioranzi 46')
RAPIDS CONTINUE STREAK AGAINST LA A makeshift Galaxy lineup was no match for the Colorado Rapids as Los Angeles was dropped 3-0 in front of an announced sell-out crowd at Dick's Sporting Goods Park on Sunday afternoon.
With a good portion of the regular Los Angeles lineup nursing injuries, including David Beckham, Landon Donovan and Abel Xavier, Galaxy skipper Frank Yallop was forced into pressing rookies Mike Caso and Josh Tudela into action in the midfield, with little success.
The Rapids pressured the inexperienced Galaxy backline from the opening whistle and nearly jumped ahead in the third minute when Jovan Kirovski got his head to a Terry Cooke corner kick, only to push the effort wide of the far post.
Cooke would create another chance minutes later when his cross from the right side was spilled by Galaxy keeper Joe Cannon. Former Mainz forward Conor Casey stood just a few feet away, but the two-time MLS Goalkeeper of the Year would recover the ball in time to keep the Rapids off the scoreboard.
Both clubs would settle down over the following quarter of an hour, with the next chance going to Colorado in the 26th minute.
Colorado would waste no time in doubling their advantage, scoring again in the 35th minute. Cooke’s low cross was met in the box by the Galaxy’s Troy Roberts, but the defender lost his footing as he went to clear the ball away and Colin Clarke was there to clean up the leftovers, notching the first goal of his career.
Just minutes before halftime, Cannon came off his line to punch away another Colorado corner kick, but couldn't clear the ball out. Instead, the ball landed at the feet of Mike Petke who easily slotted the ball back through the crowd in the box and into the back of the net, moving Colorado further ahead 3-0.
A dejected Los Angeles side went into the locker room at halftime without having registered a single shot on goal, looking up at the three-goal mountain they would have to climb in the second half.
Instead, both teams started the second half looking as if they were content with the result, with sloppy play and turnovers dominating the early part of the second half.
The Galaxy almost pulled one back in the 62nd minute when Rapids keeper Bouna Coundoul nearly gifted a goal to Kyle Veris. The Senegalese keeper’s failed clearance left Veris with an open net, but the Galaxy defender’s shot hit Petke in traffic and skipped harmlessly out of play.
In the 78th minute, forward Alan Gordon found himself in a one-on-one situation with Coundoul, but it was Coundoul who would win out once again, making the save on Gordon’s shot to preserve the shutout.
Joe Cannon kept Colorado from celebrating a fourth goal by making a save on former Galaxy standout Herculez Gomez’s shot in the 88th minute, but it would be little consolation for Los Angeles, who watches the Rapids move to 13 points in front of them with the victory.
Scoring
Line-ups
LA - Joe Cannon; Chris Klein, Troy Roberts, Kyle Veris, Mike Randolph, Gavin Glinton, Kyle Martino (Cobi Jones 66'), Mike Caso (Peter Vagenas 46'), Josh Tudela, Edson Buddle (Quavas Kirk 46'), Alan Gordon
MARSCH GOAL LIFTS CHIVAS USA After thrashing their intra-city rivals in mid-week, Chivas USA used a first-half Jesse Marsch goal to defeat Real Salt Lake 1-0 at the Home Depot Center on Sunday evening. For Chivas, it was their seventh win in eight home games this season and third consecutive shutout.
Chivas would get the first look at goal when Francisco Mendoza fed in a cross from the left side in the third minute. Ante Razov tried to settle the ball in the box and fire a quick shot from five yards out, but the ball was just out of reach for the veteran forward as he collided with RSL keeper Nick Rimando.
Real Salt Lake would get their first chance three minutes later when Atiba Harris hurdled defender Claudio Suarez on his run down the right side and slid the ball across the front of the goal to an onrushing Robbie Findley. Just a step late in getting to the ball, Findley’s crack at the open net was high and wide, allowing the Chivas defense to breathe a sigh of relief.
In the 13th minute, Mendoza would catch up to a ball over the top as the flag stayed down, sending in another dangerous cross. Newly acquired Ramon Nunez found himself with time to strike a ferocious volley, but Rimando came up with a big save on the Honduran’s effort, keeping the game scoreless.
Rimando would be called upon to make another key save in the 18th minute after Sacha Kljestan broke through the defense on the end of a give-and-go. Again the RSL keeper was up to the task and denied the Goats from getting the early advantage.
Thirty one minutes into the match, Chivas would finally break though. After having his corner kick defended, Ante Razov recovered the ball and skipped in a cross that would be redirected at the near post by Jesse Marsch, finding the back of the net.
Razov appeared to double Chivas’ advantage in the 37th minute when he headed home a cross from Orlando Perez, but the goal was disallowed after the linesman ruled Razov was in an offside position as the ball was struck.
Chivas would get several more chances before the break but were unable to extend their lead, going into the locker room with a one-goal advantage.
In the 56th minute, second-half substitute Chris Brown tried to catch Chivas keeper Brad Guzan napping with a surprise header on a break from the top of the box, but his effort ended wide of the net.
Nine minutes later, Real Salt Lake earned a free kick from the left side of the field. Piling seven men into the box, Andy Williams delivered a nice ball into the area but Guzan came out and got his fingertips on the ball, just enough to disrupt it.
At the other end, Razov led the counter-attack and had just one defender to beat. As Paulo Nagamura raced up the field to join the attack, Razov laid the ball off for him, but the pass had too much pace on it and the Brazilian could not catch up to the ball for what would have been an easy goal.
In the 70th minute, Razov would again create a good opportunity. Making his defender look foolish with a series of nice moves, Ante unleased a vicious shot at point-blank range, but Rimando was positioned perfectly as the ball caromed off of him and away from danger.
Three minutes later, Sacha Kljestan fed a perfectly weighted through-pass to the feet of Razov. Again left alone with Rimando, Razov tried to toe-poke the ball around the keeper, but was again unsuccessful, with Rimando diving to his right to make the save with ease.
In the 78th minute, RSL nearly found an equalizer when Kyle Beckerman redirected a hard shot from Chris Wingert in front of the net, but the U.S. international’s effort was just off-target, hardly troubling Brad Guzan.
Guzan would be tested a few minutes later when Atiba Harris unleashed a hard blast from the right side, but El Guzano was up to the task, pushing away the shot as the defense got back to clear the ball away.
A last-ditch effort for RSL was ended when Chris Lancos' header sailed well over the bar in the final minute of stoppage time, dooming RSL to their six loss in the last seven league games.
With the win, Chivas USA moves into second place in the Western Conference standings, tied with FC Dallas in points but boasting the better goal differential. Sunday’s victory was their 11th win of the season, a franchise record for the young club.
RSL - Nick Rimando; Jean-Martial Kipre, Eddie Pope, Ritchie Kotschau, Chris Wingert, Kyle Beckerman, Carey Talley, Andy Williams (Matias Mantilla 72'), Atiba Harris, Fabian Espindola (Chris Lancos 68'), Robbie Findley (Chris Brown 56')
BLANCO KEYS FIRE WIN
Though Kansas City dictated the tempo of the first half, getting six shots, though only forcing one save out of Chicago keeper Jon Busch.
It wasn't even a shot from the run of play that saw Blanco earn his second goal of the year.
Wizards defender Kurt Morsink fouled Ivan Guerrero just outside the penalty area, leaving Chicago with a free kick attempt from 20 yards. Blanco stepped up and let Fire fans be thankful for bringing him on, perfectly placing his shot just inside the left hand post for the lead.
Sacha Victorine, who has been deadly from distance a couple of times this year, thought he had levelled matters in the 47th, but Jon Busch fully extended kept the sometime National teamer off of the scoreboard.
Chris Rolfe, himself a part of the national team pool, will remember his missed shot three minutes later when he scooted his effort from a Guerrero centering pass just wide of the post.
Calen Carr put the game on ice in the 86th when he took a cross from Blanco and, jumping higher than anyone else, headed home to Kevin Hartman's left giving Blanco his fourth assist since joining the two-time MLS champions.
Scoring CHI - Jon Busch; C.J. Brown, Diego Gutierrez, Dasan Robinson, Justin Mapp (Calen Carr 28'), Chris Armas, Cuauhtémoc Blanco (Chad Barrett 87'), Bakary Soumare, Ivan Guerrero, Paulo Wanchope, Chris Rolfe (Logan Pause 59')
KC - Kevin Hartman; Kurt Morsink (Carlos Marinelli 67'), Jimmy Conrad, Nick Garcia, Ryan Raybould (Eloy Colombano 76'), Davy Arnaud, Sasha Victorine (Ryan Pore 88'), Kerry Zavagnin, Michael Harrington, Eddie Johnson, Scott Sealy |
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