Los Angeles woes for Galaxy and Chivas; Vancouver upset the San Jose bandwagon; Impact's joy is Sporting's disappointment; Seattle have momentum for busiest month
Home (Depot) Invasion, Part 1
The atmosphere at Robin Fraser's post-game press conference on Friday was positively funereal - hardly helped by the shroud like curtains that surround the Home Depot TV studio and of course the fact that mere moments earlier he had been on the verge of guiding his side to their first home point of the season. But as stoppage time ticked down, Marco Pappa, who is making a habit of late shows, capped the game with a winner lashed home from the edge of the box, to break Chivas hearts and lead to a somber interrogation of the coach.
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Every ten minutes or so during the game, the pre-recorded roar of "Arriba las Chivas!" would play over the tannoy to fire up the fans and team, but it was Chicago who were consistently forcing the pace to give their opponents trouble, with Oduro and Nyarko pressing and forcing numerous Chivas turnovers and the consistently inventive Grazzini making a nuisance of himself in the advanced midfield position.
It had started reasonably promisingly for the hosts, as Chivas took the lead with what was amazingly their first home goal of the season - a penalty from Juan Pablo Angel after Austin Berry had climbed all over Moreno. The lead lasted a mere two minutes, before Berry made amends, in front of his watching parents (who'd flown in for his first Chicago start), by turning in Grazzini's wonderfully deft chip as Chivas were slow to clear their lines.
Chivas could have done with some of Grazzini's inventiveness, or just the directness of Pappa - as they labored all evening. They're a frustrating side to watch, as you see glimpses of what more directness could do for them. The introduction of Ryan Smith threatened to add some pace to their midfield, and Bolano had a couple of darts that looked threatening, but such moments were notable mostly for their rarity and as in other Chivas games at the Home Depot Center this season, there was an abiding impression that the home team was conceding the advantage to their opponents by over-worked build up play that too often resulted in turnovers.
Nonetheless they looked to have got away with it, largely thanks to the efforts of blameless goalkeeper Dan Kennedy, until Pappa's late strike left Chivas without a point at home this season. Asked afterwards whether he now felt "under pressure", Fraser at first deflected the question by saying he was under pressure in every game and then sharply said he understood the question "the first time", when his interrogator tried to persist. It was a hint of the flintiness that he'll need to instill in his team in turn, as their season starts to drift - though on Friday, understandably, the abiding impression was of a proud man experiencing a traumatic setback. It's probably of little comfort to Fraser that there's a coach just up the corridor from him whose side only have one point more...GP
Home (Depot) Invasion Part 2
...24 hours after Fraser had stoically sat through his home defeat inquest, Bruce Arena was in the same seat and carrying out the same task, as the coach looked back on the Galaxy's third home defeat of a young season, at a venue where they went unbeaten in MLS last year. The Home Depot Center might not look like a fortress (with its walls of bougainvillea, sunken pitch and flower beds dotted round the grounds, it can look more like a progressive open prison), but until this season it had enjoyed a reputation as one, as Galaxy found a variety of ways to win - from blowing other teams away with firepower to squeezing their way past stubborn opposition for tight wins. Not that Arena had much truck with the latter description of his team on Saturday night:
"Win by a goal - that's what you're supposed to do. All this horse shit of win by a goal or this or that - that's the stupidest thing I've ever heard in my life. New York would gladly take a 1-0 win tonight. Any time you win a game by a goal you should be thrilled."
That defiance aside, Arena was sanguine about the realities of the situation - calling their plethora of missed chances "the story of our season" and responding with weary honesty to the suggestion that the New York game had been a step backward:
"At this point we're 3, 5 and 1 - I wouldn't say we took a step back tonight..."
So what ails the Galaxy at home and why did they lose to a New York side missing several starters and with a back line featuring around 20 MLS starts between them? The Omar Gonzalez theory has traction of course - and it's a fact that the Galaxy are sorely missing their dominant center back. But there's also the fact that Buddle and Keane are yet to gel alongside each other. They look more dangerous when Keane drops a little deeper to thread little through balls in, but of course that robs the side of Keane's still-fearsome poaching prowess. The attack also looked a little one dimensional, with long crosses targeting the crowded heart of the Red Bulls defense, where Ryan Meara had an immense game for his second consecutive shut out. In front of him, Barklage was consistently winning headers, McCarty scurried through the pain barrier (having been caught by a Clumsy Beckham Tackle™ at the end of the first half), and even the much maligned Holgersson sprinted back to clear the ball off the line when a Keane goal looked certain. The Red Bulls generally showed appetite and patience - taking their chance when it came through a well-worked exchange between Lindpere and Solli (deployed on the day as the 5th choice central midfielder and the 3rd choice left midfielder...).
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Basically, Galaxy looked fatigued, despite resting key starters for the trip to Seattle in midweek. The conventional thinking before the game was that they'd sacrificed the points on the road for the "guarantee" of a win at home. There are no such guarantees of course and right now, there's no fortress in LA, whoever the occupier is. GP
Vancouver burst San Jose's bubble
Vancouver's fantastic early season form had petered off in recent weeks but it has returned with successive wins, one in the Amway Canadian Championship and the other a last-gasp league win over the red-hot San Jose Earthquakes. This was San Jose's first defeat in seven games.
Martin Rennie's side looked refreshed, refocused and rejuvenated despite playing three games in a week. Squad rotation meant that the 'Caps looked lively after a midweek ACC victory against NASL's FC Edmonton, with a much-changed lineup. Last month the the Western conference leaders beat Vancouver 3-1 but this time things were different. San Jose took an early lead, as intelligent build up play saw MLS' leading goalscorer Chris Wondolowski peel off unmarked at the back post to head home his 11th of the season.
Vancouver responded with teenager Omar Salgado's trickery down the left flank coaxing defenders into rash challenges and giving away free-kicks in dangerous positions. The youngster ghosted in off the left flank, helping to create space for the extremely attack minded fullback Lee Young-Pyo. Gershon Koffie has been a bit-part player so far in MLS, but the Ghanaian headed home a set-piece just before half time.
The Canadian side's forward line has been much changed, maligned and debated since the opening day of MLS. Several combinations have been selected in the three-pronged attack line, yet none have set the world alight. Recently Salgado has returned on the left hand side, adding his considerable frame to the discussion. One man who has particularly gone through the wringer is Eric Hassli. The 30-year-old Frenchman had a goal drought that dated back to August 7 2011 but that ended in the dying embers of the game.
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His closest friend, and fellow substitute, Davide Chiumiento played a ball through which was deflected into Hassli's path. An eerie silence came over the stadium as the Frenchman honed in on goal, then after a 180-spin he gave a swift flick of his right boot and the ball found the back of the net via the post, sending the home crowd into raptures. Hassli's relief was evident, as the towering striker was mobbed by teammates.
The win was Vancouver's third-straight in the league and means they now sit just five points behind joint-leaders San Jose and RSL on 22 points. The Western conference just got a whole lot more interesting.
San Jose's late defensive lapse can perhaps be put down to mental tiredness, after their enthralling encounter with in-form D.C. on Wednesday. San Jose won 5-3 thank to braces from Steven Lenhart and Wondolowski as the two hottest teams in the MLS went blow for blow in an epic encounter. JPW
Shock of the week
Montreal pulled off a huge shock by defeating Sporting Kansas City in the cauldron of Livestrong Sporting Park. That's right, MLS newcomers Montreal Impact recorded a 2-0 victory over SKC, who until very recently had looked unbeatable.
With two defeats on the bounce, has Sporting's bubble burst? Not quite, but it was another bad day at the office — to go alongside the 1-0 defeat to Portland — yet fans of Peter Vermes' side should not panic yet.
Montreal clearly went to Kansas with a game plan. A wonder goal from diminutive Brazilian Felipe - a 30-yard drive into the bottom corner past an unsighted Jimmy Nielsen - gave them the lead. In the second half Aurelien Collin was judged to have scythed down Lamar Neagle, and Patrice Bernier stepped up to smash the spot-kick home. Impact offered little else but successfully stifled their opponent's fluid link up play in the final third.
After the game, influential midfielder Graham Zusi admitted that for the first time this season his SKC side had been outworked:
"I think we got outfought tonight, and I can honestly say that it's the first time that this team, our team, that it's happened to us this year. I can pretty much promise you that it won't happen again."
Sporting are now without a goal for 205 minutes of play. Coming off a bye week it can be hard to get going again. But as D.C. United and New York inch ever closer to SKC at the top of the Eastern conference, Sporting will be hoping hard work and determination will spark a similar run which saw them seven straight to open the season.
The win will boost Montreal's confidence levels in their inaugural season, and after back-to-back wins they could even challenge for a playoff spot in the topsy-turvy East.
Captain and scorer of the second goal Bernier believes the victory signifies a key step in Montreal's progression as an MLS side.
"I was thinking the team needed maybe eight or nine games to develop our reflexes and our sense of what we're about. A team with a lot of new faces showed that we have a lot of depth and a lot of quality players, which will make the coach's decisions difficult. We've shown over the last few games that we're there in every game and that we're a tough team to play against."
One of the reasons they were solid defensively, was the inclusion of Colombian central defender Nelson Rivas. The former Inter Milan player has been out injured but made his first appearance for Montreal and look assured at the back. The 29-year-old's presence will be key if Montreal are to push on and establish themselves as unlikely playoff contenders.
Another Serie A veteran, former Italian international Marco Di Vaio, could also be on his way to Montreal. The Quebec club announced over the weekend that the current Bologna skipper — who has scored 219 goals in his illustrious club career — will be arriving for talks at the end of May with a 18-month contract on the table. JPW
Seattle surf momentum at start of their busiest month
No more stop-start scheduling for Seattle (though that schedule was designed to accommodate further Champions League games that never materialized), and no more quietly coming-up-on-the-rails, as they entered May with three games in the course of a week - winning all of them. They now sit second in the West, with that lone home loss against San Jose the current difference between the two sides - though the Sounders have two games in hand and with their run of seven MLS games in May and the Earthquakes stumbling at last, the Sounders may overtake them soon.
Three games this week and three wins, with Marco Pappa's late goal from a corner kick the only goal against. The fact that the Sounders won each game was impressive enough, but there's also been an economy of effort and variety of pace that suggest the team is maturing. We've been, if not outright critical, at least politely concerned in the past about a vulnerability in Seattle's swashbuckling style when they over-commit, but when Alonso is on his game at the heart of midfield he has an ability to set his own team's tempo, and disrupt the momentum of the other teams, in a way that is demoralizing for opposition to come up against. It also ensures his back four has time to reset on the occasions they do face attacks and this has contributed to their stingy defense.
Not that Seattle aren't still exciting going forward, or that it isn't their default mode, but they've added "lulling" to "marauding" as an attacking option, partly through the metronomic precision (and occasional brute intervention) of Alonso, and partly through the returning Rosales, who brings constant menace on the right as the Sounders spread the play. Up front, some questioned the wisdom of the Eddie Johnson trade, but he has rediscovered his scoring touch with two goals in those three games and in doing so kickstarted Fredy Montero into action beside him. We've already shown his wonder goal against Los Angeles several times on these pages so we won't...oh go on then...but his inventiveness is causing all sorts of problems for opposing teams and his pass to Rosales for his game winner on Saturday was superb.
This Sounders side like momentum - last August they crammed in a 7-0-1 series of games that included a 6-2 win over Columbus and a famous away win at defending CCL champions Monterrey. With rivals San Jose losing at the weekend and Sporting Kansas City faltering after their invincible start in the East, the Sounders could be poised to go on a charge - and a good week could become a great month. GP
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