MLS Weekend Review by TJ Boyce - Sep 30, 2007 |
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Luciano Emilio became the first MLS 20-goal scorer in four years while both LA teams earned points, with the Galaxy's running their win streak to three and ▪ Chivas settling for a share versus Chicago. |
▪ Match Report: Chivas - Chicago |
| ▪ MLSU Power Rankings | |
| ▪ WIN! American Soccer Trivia Quiz | |
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Four different players scored for United, as Marc Burch tallied for the first time this season to cancel out a well-taken first half Carl Robinson free kick. Fred and Jaime Moreno each got their seventh goals of the season on either side of the hour-mark and Luciano Emilio notched his 20th of the season late to put an exclamation point on the scoreline.
DC United would get the first crack at goal when a 7th-minute Fred corner kick was met by the head of Guy-Roland Kpene, but the Ivory Coast native’s effort was off-target, missing high and wide.
With goals hard to come by for Mo Johnston’s club this season, Toronto FC unexpectedly took a first-half lead for the second straight game when a Robinson free kick hit the back of the net in the 14th minute. Cutting his right-footed attempt past the DC wall and into the upper corner, Robinson’s second goal of the season gave TFC the early advantage on the road.
Not a usual starter for Tom Soehn’s club, Kpene continued to assert himself in the 22nd minute, breaking in on goal and firing a shot that Kenny Stamatopoulos could only get a piece of. The Toronto keeper slowed the shot down enough that it allowed a defender to get back and clear the ball away from the goal.
Just past the half-hour mark, Clyde Simms’ long-distance blast scraped the crossbar on its way by, keeping the mid-week hero from also celebrating on Saturday. Simms scored the winning goal in DC’s 2-1 victory over Chivas de Guadalajara in the Copa Nissan Sudamericana on Wednesday.
At halftime, Toronto FC was the surprise leader, making Robinson’s set piece goal stand up against the best team in the league. DC coach Soehn opted to make two substitutions at the break, bringing in veterans Jaime Moreno and Ben Olsen to spark the attack.
The tactical moves helped open up the field for United, leading to their first goal in the 52nd minute, when midfielder Fred dribbled the ball across the top of the box and left it off for Burch. The second-year defender’s left-footed blast was hit so hard that Stamatopoulos had no chance to make the save, getting both hands to the attempt in vein as the ball rocketed into the upper part of the net to draw the two teams level.
DC was only getting started, as Fred would do the honors five minutes later from nearly the same spot on the field. His arcing shot flew over the Toronto keeper and dipped just under the crossbar, turning United’s one-goal deficit into a one-goal advantage less than 15 minutes into the second half.
In the 66th minute, it was Jaime Moreno’s turn, receiving a through pass from Simms and running into the right side of the box. Measuring his shot carefully, the 33-year-old captain slotted the ball between Stamatopoulos’ legs to extend DC’s lead to 3-1 with less than a half-hour to play.
Just four minutes later, Christian Gomez’s free kick slammed off the crossbar and came back into play for Luciano Emilio. The Brazilian sensation opted to volley the ball, hitting a stunner through traffic and into the goal for his league-leading 20th of the season, putting his stamp on the game. Emilio becomes the first player since Carlos Ruiz in 2002 to hit the 20-goal mark in a season.
Stunned by the offensive explosion, Toronto FC could only manage one shot on goal the rest of the way, going down to defeat by a score of 4-1.
The loss seals Toronto’s fate for the season, with the club unable to make a late-season push for a playoff spot. They will hope to keep the New York Red Bulls from clinching a postseason spot when the two clubs meet at BMO Field on Thursday.
Already the top team in the league, DC uses the three points to maintain their advantage in the race for Supporter’s Shield, now at four points over the New England Revolution and five over Chivas USA. The second leg of their Copa Sudamericana series with Chivas de Guadalajara will be held on Tuesday in Mexico while they club’s next league action will be a road match against Eddie Johnson and the Kansas City Wizards on Friday.
Scoring
Lineups
TOR – Kenny Stamatopoulos, Andrew Boyens, Adam Braz (Jeff Cunningham 62’), Maurice Edu, Jim Brennan, Todd Dunivant, Chris Pozniak (Miguel Canizalez 81’), Tyrone Marshall, Marvell Wynne, Collin Samuel (Andrea Lombardo 75’), Carl Robinson -------------------------- RSL, RED BULLS SHARE FOUR Chris Brown and Kyle Beckerman each scored go-ahead goals for the club, but a Francis Doe strike just after halftime and a questionable penalty kick that was converted by Juan Pablo Angel with ten minutes left to play sealed the result, officially ending RSL’s run to the postseason, while New York’s was temporarily put on hold.
The Red Bulls wasted no time in getting their offense started, with Francis Doe blasting a shot goalward less than a minute after kickoff. Aimed directly at RSL keeper Nick Rimando, however, the shot was easily smothered.
In the 7th minute, a long-distance header from Juan Pablo Angel was snapped over the bar and seconds later, Angel took another crack at the Salt Lake netminder, aiming a low shot from the left side at the near post. Again, Rimando was up to the task, knocking the ball out of play.
Dema Kovalenko would get a pair of chances for the Red Bulls in the 13th minute, pushing his first shot inches over the bar and redirecting a cross just wide of the goal a minute later.
Earning zero opportunities in the first twenty minutes of the match, RSL’s first true attack resulted in their first goal of the night. Getting the ball wide right, Chris Wingert cut it back and launched a left-footed cross into the box at the back post where Chris Brown’s diving header was hit down and bounced over a flummoxed Ronald Waterreus to put Real Salt Lake in the lead.
A 35-yard effort from Alecko Eskandarian sailed high of the bar six minutes from halftime, keeping RSL’s advantage at one goal.
In the 44th minute, Angel knocked at the door again, gathering a loose ball in the box six yards from the goalmouth. Rimando again was able to get his fingers to the Colombian superstar’s hurried shot, keeping it out of the back of the net.
The Red Bulls continued to pressure the goal at the end of the first half, with Kovalenko getting an open look in the middle of the box in the 45 minute, but he was unable to beat the goalkeeper with his shot as Rimando made his fifth save of the first half.
Four minutes into the second half, New York would equalize as Francis Doe was left one-on-one with his defender. Using a series of cutback moves, Doe evaded his defender and beat Rimando with a low show that just crept inside the far post to level the game, 1-1.
Doe’s attempt at a second tally in the 56th minute was not as strong as desired, as Doe drew two defenders as he moved inside the box. The added pressure kept Doe from putting his best shot on frame, with Rimando easily able to deal with the close-range attempt.
Eskandarian drove another shot over the bar in the 65th minute, keeping Waterreus on his toes.
Four minutes later, Dave van den Bergh drove down the left-side and hit a rocket toward the RSL goal, but it was straight at Rimando, with the RSL keeper punching the hard shot away. Coming across few quality opportunities in the game, Real Salt Lake made the most of the few they got, scoring again in the 75th minute.
Eskandarian led the attack down the left side before dishing forward to Fabian Espindola. With nobody marking him, the Argentinean cut the ball back to a wide open Kyle Beckerman inside the box, with the U.S. international’s first-time shot beating Waterreus at the far post, Beckerman’s third goal of the season.
In the 78th minute, Clint Mathis snuck behind the Salt Lake backline, using his chest to settle a pass before looking goalward. Rimando pounced quickly off his line to break up the attack, but Mathis tapped the ball around the keeper as it bounced slowly toward the goal. As Mathis began to celebrate, Mathias Mantilla raced back to clear the ball off the goal-line and keep RSL in the lead.
Mantilla might as well have grabbed the gloves at that point, called upon to make another goal-mouth block seconds later on a vicious Angel header. Van den Bergh’s cross into the box looked tempting enough to draw Rimando out of the net to deal with it, but Angel snuck in front of the keeper to get his shot off. Only Mantilla was able to stop it as it hit him squarely in the chest before clearing it away.
The lead would only last for one minute more, as Seth Stammler was taken down just inside the box by Carey Talley, drawing a penalty kick for the Red Bulls. Angel was selected to take the kick and blasted it into the upper-left corner to make the game 2-2 with ten minute left to play. The goal was a record-breaking one as Juan Pablo Angel’s 17th of the season allowed him to break the franchise mark of 16 set by fellow Colombian Adolfo Valencia in 2000.
Having little to do in the match, Waterreus was called upon to make a save as Fabian Espindola broke in on goal in the 86th minute. The Dutch goalkeeper broke well off his line to deal with the situation, sliding through the ball to clear it out of danger. An 88th minute opportunity was taken by second-half substitute Jozy Altidore. Battling with Wingert to get on the end of a give-and-go, the RSL defender stopped play as he appealed for a foul. No whistle came, however, and Altidore had continued his run in on goal with the ball, ultimately firing just wide of the far post, keeping the game tied.
Angel appeared to score goal #18 in the second minute of stoppage time, settling a pass deep in the box before turning and slotting the ball past Rimando. The goal would come back, however, as Angel was ruled to be offside when he received the pass.
The last good attempt for either club, both sides played out the remaining minutes to share the points on the night in a 2-2 draw.
Real Salt Lake picked up a rare point on the road in the game, but it was not enough to stave off the inevitable, as they were officially eliminated from playoff contention on the night. With only pride left to play for in 2007, RSL will try to dent the Supporter’s Shield hopes of Chivas USA when they host the Goats next Saturday.
Outshooting RSL by a 20-8 margin in the match, the Red Bulls were unable to come away with a win that would have punched their ticket to the postseason. Instead, they remain in sixth-place overall, six points clear of Chicago for the eighth and final playoff spot. Instead, they must look for a result in their mid-week road clash with Toronto FC to lock up a birth in the postseason.
Scoring
Lineups
RSL – Nick Rimando, Carey Talley, Kyle Beckerman, Chris Brown (Fabian Espindola 61’), Alecko Eskandarian, Chris Wingert, Willis Forko, Eddie Pope, Matias Mantilla, Yura Movsisyan (Robbie Findley 81’), Andy Williams (Atiba Harris 74’) |
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