MLS Sunday Review

by Johannes de Jong, Sara DeWitt & TJ Boyce - July 23, 2007

 
▪ Blanco Scores on Fire Debut

A lone John Wolyniec goal helped New York top DC United and grab a share of the East lead. Elsewhere, Guillermo Barros Schelotto double downed Toronto FC, the Rapids staged a double rally to draw KC and New England shared six with Houston.

▪ Blues Win Beckham Debut
▪ MLS All-Stars Blank Celtic
 

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COLUMBUS ROLLS PAST TFC
Guillermo Schelotto scored twice in six minutes to help lead the crew to a 2-0 win over a Toronto FC side still struggling away from home in Columbus.

In the 19th minute, TFC's Tyrone Marshall brought a sigh of relief to the Canadians as he hustled back to clear an Alejandro Moreno attempt in front of goal, with his keeper indebted.

Moreno was denied again 20 minutes later as the home side continued to hold a firm grip over the opening half.

The first break of the game would come in the 50th minute, Frankie Hejduk broke free to deliver a cross into the box and the Argentinean Schelotto was up to the task of slotting it home.

Schelotto would double his tally and the lead six minutes later after Ned Grabavoy was fouled just outside the box by stepping up for a coolly struck free kick.

Time wound down with the Crew holding a grasp on the scoreline, having double their opponents in shots over the full 90 minutes of action.

Scoring
CLB - Guillermo Barros Schelotto 3 (Frankie Hejduk, Ned Grabavoy) 50'
CLB - Guillermo Barros Schelotto 4 56'

Line-ups
CLB - Will Hesmer; Frankie Hejduk, Marcos Gonzalez, Chad Marshall, Stefani Miglioranzi, Guillermo Barros Schelotto (Robbie Rogers 73'), Ned Grabavoy, Danny O'Rourke, Danny Szetela, Eddie Gaven (Andy Herron 87'), Alejandro Moreno

TFC - Srdjan Djekanovic; Andrew Boyens (Andy Welsh 59'), Tyrone Marshall, Todd Dunivant, Marvell Wynne, Jim Brennan, Chris Pozniak, Carl Robinson, Ronnie O'Brien, Collin Samuel, Jeff Cunningham (Andrea Lombardo 7') (Danny Dichio 70')

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REVS SPLIT SIX WITH CHAMPS
Conference leaders New England Revolutions and Houston Dynamo battled to a 3-3 draw at Gilette Stadium on Saturday. The match marked the first time Houston has conceded a goal since June 10th.

It took 32 minutes for New England to take the lead on a Pat Noonan chip.

The second half seesaw battle began four minutes after the break when a Dwayne De Rosario shot found the back of the net, but Taylor Twellman put the home side back on top two minutes later.

Midway through the half, Brian Ching netted a brace to give Houston their first, albeit short-lived, lead of the game.

Four minutes later, a De Rosario handball in the area earned the Revolution a penalty kick. Keeper Pat Onstad saved the first Shalrie Johnson attempt, but an infraction gave him a second try and he made no mistake in putting it away.

New England will host Real Salt Lake on Saturday, while Houston will play a friendly against Club América on Wednesday.

Scoring
NE - Pat Noonan 3 (Taylor Twellman) 32'
HOU - Dwayne De Rosario 4 (Eddie Robinson) 49'
NE - Taylor Twellman 8 (Pat Noonan) 51'
HOU - Brian Ching 5 (Joseph Ngwenya) 60'
HOU - Brian Ching 6 (Stuart Holden) 61'
NE - Shalrie Joseph 4 (PK) 66'

Line-ups
HOU - Pat Onstad; Eddie Robinson, Craig Waibel, Wade Barrett, Ryan Cochrane, Nate Jaqua (Corey Ashe 81'), Richard Mulrooney, Dwayne De Rosario, Stuart Holden, Joseph Ngwenya, Brian Ching

NE - Matt Reis; Jay Heaps, Michael Parkhurst, Andy Dorman, James Riley, Jeff Larentowicz, Steve Ralston, Shalrie Joseph, Khano Smith (Wells Thompson 46'), Pat Noonan (Adam Cristman 71'), Taylor Twellman


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WOLYNIEC NODS BULLS PAST DC
The New York Red Bulls moved back into a tie for first place in the Eastern Conference after downing D.C. United by a score of 1-0 on Sunday afternoon.

In the 19th minute of play, Josmer Altidore flicked the ball back into the middle, finding forward John Wolyniec, whose header beat DC keeper troy Perkins at the far post, giving the Red Bulls all they would need.

Eight minutes before halftime, DC defender Bobby Boswell nearly evened things up. Devon McTavish sent the ball in from the right side and Boswell got his head on it, with his shot clanging off the crossbar before being cleared away.

In the 57th minute, substitute Nicholas Addlery had a one-on-one breakaway, but NY keeper Jon Conway smothered the shot to keep the Red Bulls in front.

Two minutes later, Christian Gomez had a perfect opportunity to tie the game when he received the ball just yards from the keeper. As Conway came out to cut off the angle, the reigning MLS MVP successfully chipped the ball over him, but also over the crossbar and out of play.

Any hope of a United comeback was dashed in extra time when Brazilian midfielder Fred received a straight red card from referee Abbey Okulaja for tackling the Red Bulls' Dane Richards from behind.

With the win, the Red Bulls move back into a tie for first place in the Eastern Conference with the New England Revolution. DC United's loss leaves them in fifth-place in the crowded East, with only three points separating the top five clubs.

Scoring
NYRB - John Wolyniec 3 (Jozy Altidore, Claudio Reyna) 19'

Line-ups
DCU - Troy Perkins; Devon McTavish, Bobby Boswell, Greg Vanney, Marc Burch (Stephen deRoux 73'), Clyde Simms (Nicholas Addlery 55'), Brian Carroll, Christian Gomez, Joshua Gros, Luciano Emilio, Fred

NYRB - Jon Conway; Hunter Freeman, Carlos Mendes, Jeff Parke (Joe Vide 46'), Kevin Goldthwaite, Dane Richards, Claudio Reyna (Dema Kovalenko 73'), Seth Stammler, Clint Mathis (Dave van den Bergh 85'), Jozy Altidore, John Wolyniec

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JOHNSON STAY HOT IN WIZ TIE
Eddie Johnson re-took the league lead in scoring as he tallied two goals to help the Kansas City Wizards to a 2-2 tie at home against the Colorado Rapids.

In the 12th minute, Rapids forward Herculez Gomez got by Wizards defender Jimmy Conrad with some nice moves and fired a bending shot toward the upper corner, only to see his effort go just wide.

Johnson put the Wizards ahead in the 24th minute when he got on the end of a centering pass from Davy Arnaud in the box, slotting the ball past Rapids 'keeper Bouna Coundoul at the near post for a 1-0 lead.

Six minutes before halftime, Gomez would again cause problems for the Wizards defense. As keeper Kevin Hartman was racing to beat Gomez to the ball, defender Conrad appeared to shove Gomez, resulting in a penalty kick.

Jovan Kirovski stepped up to beat Hartman down the middle and even things up as 'El Gato' dove to his right. It was the Rapids' first goal in four league matches.

The Wizards would answer just before halftime, again in the form of Johnson. In the 43rd minute, Arnaud's shot from the left side skipped through the box and caromed off the right post and back into Johnson's path. The US international easily put the ball away for his second goal of the game, and 12th of the season.

Just before the hour mark, Johnson appeared to have bagged his third hat trick of the season as he scored after receiving a perfect through pass. Unfortunately for Johnson and the Wizards, the assistant referee had flagged the play dead, keeping it a one-goal game.

In the 66th minute, the very physical match turned ugly. During a scramble in the Colorado box, Wizards defender Jose Burciaga was taken down while going for the ball. When he got up, he immediately went after Coundoul and needed to be restrained by teammates. Burciaga was shown a straight red card, leaving Kansas City a man down for the remainder of the game.

Ten minutes later, the Rapids would capitalize on the advantage. Recently acquired defender Facundo Erpen rose above his man on a corner kick and headed the ball inside the far post, tying the game 2-2.

In extra time, Coundoul was forced to make a save on an Arnaud breakaway to preserve the tie in a match that saw eight yellow cards and a red.

After the tie, Kansas City moves back into third place in the hotly-contested Eastern Conference, just one point behind New England and New York, the co-leaders. They are also only one point ahead of fourth-place Columbus and two points ahead of fifth place DC United.

Colorado remains in fourth place in the Western Conference, six points behind Chivas USA for third.

Scoring
KC - Eddie Johnson (Davy Arnaud, Sasha Victorine) 24'
COL - Jovan Kirovski (PK) 42'
KC - Eddie Johnson  43'
COL - Facundo Erpen (Terry Cooke) 77'

Line-Ups
KC - Kevin Hartman; Michael Harrington, Nick Garcia, Kerry Zavagnin, Jose Burciaga Jr., Eddie Johnson (Yura Movsisyan 81', Ryan Pore 89'), Sasha Victorine (Kurt Morsink 46'), Carlos Marinelli, Jimmy Conrad, Jack Jewsbury, Davy Arnaud

COL - Bouna Coundoul; Facundo Erpen, Brandon Prideaux, Jovan Kirovski, Mehdi Ballouchy, Jose Cancela, Herculez Gomez (Omar Cummings 84'), Terry Cooke, Ugo Ihemelu, Nicolas Hernandez (Jacob Peterson 74'), Pablo Mastroeni

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