• Galaxy face Red Bulls in glamour tie, without NYRB stars
• Vancouver host San Jose in big Western clash
• Philadelphia travel to Seattle for our live game
It's been a busy week, as the fixtures begin to pile up. For some clubs it marked the end of a 'phony war' of off-weeks, road games and Champions League commitments, that has arguably robbed them of momentum. Whether three games in a week might be a little more momentum than anybody would like, might be a moot point, but for some teams this week marked the start of not just a busy seven days, but a busy month.
First up, on Friday, Chicago Fire, bruised by a bad-tempered home loss to Seattle Sounders, travel to face a Chivas USA side whose run of impressive (if tight) away victories was ended by the late onslaught of Colorado Rapids last week. Seattle face Philadelphia this weekend, having improved their temper by finally beating their bogey team, LA Galaxy, in midweek, in a game that included a sublime strike by Fredy Montero to add to Eddie Johnson's opener.
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One thing that game didn't include was a number of Galaxy starters, as Bruce Arena chose to leave David Beckham, Todd Dunivant and Robbie Keane in Los Angeles - a decision that clearly irked some of the Sounders players when I spoke to them after the game - though Sigi Schmid was careful not to enter any potential controversy about Arena's decision. But with Los Angeles hosting New York on Saturday night, in one of the marquee games for MLS (and the only one between these two teams this season, unless both reach the MLS cup final), conspiracy theorists were out in full force to point out that a game already missing Henry and Marquez for New York, could not do without the rest of its promised all-star cast, even at the expense of dropping points in an in-conference game. Expect the fallout from that decision to rumble on for a while.
Speaking of rumbling on, the Earthquakes beat an in form DC United midweek, in a wild 5-3 game with braces of goals from Chris Wondolowski and the suddenly hot Steven Lenhart. San Jose now face Vancouver in what looks like a tasty game this weekend. DC meanwhile have the chance to get back on track when they go to basement club Toronto, who probably wish their midweek Canadian Cup draw with Montreal could have been translated into an MLS game to get them off the mark points-wise.
Two weeks ago Portland ended Sporting Kansas City's unbeaten record. Montreal beat Portland last weekend and therefore should beat Sporting Kansas City when they travel to Livestrong Park this weekend, right? Portland move on to face Columbus Crew with both sides needing a result after poor runs.
Colorado thought they'd cracked their own losing streak when they thrashed Chivas USA 4-0 last weekend, but lost momentum with a midweek loss to New England. They'll try to regroup with Sunday night's trip to Dallas, who lost a lead deep into stoppage time at the Galaxy last week. New England continue their road trip when they travel to Real Salt Lake, perhaps buoyed by the thought that RSL made heavy weather of beating Toronto last time out, and the Revs' own recent competitiveness.
A big weekend then - and it starts with that Chivas v Chicago game tonight. I'll be there, and at LA v New York tomorrow - drop me a note at @KidWeil or graham.parker.freelance@guardian.co.uk if you're going to either of those. For every other game, as always, we've got you covered, having enlisted the help of our fan reps, bloggers, podcasters and beat writers from each competing team. The results are below. Agree? Disagree? Have your say in the comments below; join Steve Busfield for live coverage of Seattle v Philadelphia at 4.30pm on Saturday, and check back on Monday when we'll discover the five things we learned this weekend
All game times below are EST. Some previews were submitted before the midweek games
Chivas USA vs Chicago Fire, Fri 11pm (ESPN Deportes)
Alicia Ratterree, Goats on Parade, Chivas USA:
Last week, Chivas USA traveled to Colorado to take on the Rapids, and lost 4-0. It was not a good performance by any means for Chivas, but the scoreline ballooned in the last 10 minutes as the Rapids scored three goals in quick succession. The best case scenario coming out of this match is that this is one of those games in which nothing clicks, but that it is ultimately an aberration. This team has struggled lately, but there's still hope that Chivas have the talent to make a big improvement overall this season.
Friday's match, against the Chicago Fire, is a important game at this point in the season. Chivas still haven't scored at home, or picked up a point at the Home Depot Center, and the streak is getting pretty long. Although Chicago is a team with talent, they are struggling to find their rhythm and are dealing with some key absences, especially along the backline. As a result, this is a match that Chivas really need to find a breakthrough in order to overturn the two-match losing streak and break the bad mojo at home.
Dan Martin, Section 8, Chicago:
The match against Seattle was the Fire's first test against a winning side and though the final score was not in Chicago's favor there were plenty of positives to take away. Seattle's first goal was the kind of fluke that bites every team once in a while, but the second should never have happened - Eddie Johnson was very likely offside on the play but it's on Fire keeper Sean Johnson to control loose balls of that nature. SeanJohn struggled in this way in the early part of last season so it's possible we could see the return of Paolo Tornaghi should this trend continue. Overall I thought the Fire played up to the competition and moved the ball around very well, though I would have liked a bit more guile in midfield to counter the play of Alonso.
Friday at Chivas will see the Fire missing both Jalil Anibaba and Frank Klopas due to disciplinary punishment following the Seattle match. 2012 first-round draft pick Austin Berry is favored to start in Anibaba's place next to Arne Friedrich, a place he held before in a recent exhibition match. Fire fans are still waiting for the return of Chris Rolfe to the line-up but questions still remain, namely: who will make space for him? Marco Pappa was very effective against Seattle as a sub, perhaps he will begin on the bench once more? No matter who takes the field look for the Fire to come out flying, a result of high emotions following last weekend's home game. Chivas has had dreadful home form thus far so 3 points on the road are there for the taking.
Toronto FC vs DC United, 4pm Sat
Duncan Fletcher, Waking the Red, Toronto:
Last week saw Toronto FC go to Rio Tinto Stadium to take on Real Salt Lake, probably the hardest fixture in MLS. They put up a good fight, and got to injury time tied before letting in the winning 3-2 goal. The same old problems of individual mistakes and poor set piece defending once again killed them, and meant another defeat. In itself,out of context, it could qualify as a moral victory, and in normal circumstances, it'd be shrugged off as bad luck against a very good team, nothing to worry about and you move on to next week. Sadly the context of TFC's 0-6 record couldn't be avoided. It's become a huge monkey on the back of the players, and the goal that meant the 7th straight loss was met by all the players collapsing to the ground in exhaustion/frustration and 19 year old defender Doneil Henry trying to hold back tears in his post game interview. TFC have now equalled the record for the longest losing streak to start an MLS season.
They followed that with an ultra defensive effort against Montreal in the Canadian Championship. They didn't really defend competently, but some good saves by Milos Kocic, a header off the line from Reggie Lambe, some luck and some equally poor attacking from Montreal saw TFC escape with a 0-0 draw to bring home for next week's second leg.
What's going to happen this week? Well it's D.C United, so that means former TFC captain Maicon Santos WILL score, and the former captain before that Dwayne de Rosario WILL score late in the game in his first game back at BMO Field since his acrimonious exit, to ensure another heartbreaking loss, and hammer another nail in Aron Winter's coffin. I'd like to say "no, but seriously..." but that is seriously what I think will happen. We'll have the record all to ourselves and if we don't win the 2nd leg against Montreal, Winter will more than likely be gone as head coach.
Martin Shatzer, Black and Red United, DC:
Last week, D.C. United finished its three-game home stand with wins over two Eastern Conference rivals - the New York Red Bulls and the Houston Dynamo. Even though the Red Bulls boast a talented attack including the league's leading scoring Thierry Henry, United's win over the Dynamo was even impressive than the team's 4-1 domination of the depleted defense from New York. Houston is the type of high-energy high-pressure team that has given United trouble in the past, but D.C. came out firing and battled through two tying goals to escape with a 3-2 win at RFK Stadium. That match saw reigning league MVP Dwayne De Rosario get his first goal of 2012 as he continues his return to form, and Maicon Santos continuing to punish the entire rest of MLS for underrating him all these years.
The only unfortunate part about United's win though was that the team lost center back Emiliano Dudar to a hamstring strain, and will be without him for the next few weeks. Dudar has been United's most important player while leading the back line, and will be difficult to replace, especially with two games on the schedule this week - one against the Western Conference leading San Jose Earthquakes on Wednesday, and one against the winless Toronto FC on Saturday.
Seattle Sounders vs Philadelphia Union, 4.30pm Sat (NBCSN)
Guardian live game
Dave Clark, Sounder at Heart, Seattle:
In the Seattle Sounders young MLS life there is just one team that they can be measured against and be found clearly wanting. Now, in a two match week, they face that team midweek with some questions about health and fitness of key players. The good news for Sounders fans is that the LA Galaxy aren't the paragon of health either. There are questions about whether David Beckham will be traveling to Seattle. The Galaxy defense is vulnerable and porous, but they have a dynamic offense even without Beckham. Robbie Keane, Landon Donovan and Edson Buddle are all players well beyond MLS quality. Sigi Schmid will have to count on the depth of his young squad to pick up for those that can't play this weekend. Young leaders like Osvaldo Alonso, Fredy Montero and Brad Evans will have to be at the top of their form to grab some needed points in what could be a six point swing in the Western Conference standings.
Saturday's match against the Philadelphia Union is a pure trap game. It is easy to overlook, particularly because the Union will be without their head coach as Peter Nowak serves a two match suspension. The Sounders have started with a strong record against the East picking up 10 points in 4 played. Grabbing points against the easier conference should help Seattle as it competes against Western teams that overlook teams like Philly. Seattle performs better when the games come fast and furious, last August they went 7-0-1 in all competitions. With two wins in this compact week, the team will be on its way to an extraordinary start to a season where the goal is to get that MLS Cup that they desire.
Scott Kessler, The Brotherly Game, Philadelphia:
Expectations are lowered, to say the least, after last weekend's loss to the San Jose Earthquakes. The Philadelphia Union allowed two late goals by substitute Steven Lenhart drown out Gabriel Gomez's team leading third goal of the year, giving them the same amount of losses at home this year as all of 2011.
The loss to the Earthquakes dropped the Union from fifth to eighth place in the Eastern Conference, one point out of a virtual tie for fifth and three points out of taking over fourth place from the New England Revolution.
Despite a 2-0 win in Seattle against the Sounders last year, Philadelphia has the look of at best a draw on the road this weekend. Seattle has fared well when playing on short rest during its time in MLS (i.e. three straight U.S. Open Cup titles). A 1-1 tie would be living up to expectations this week. However, I can't help but feel this is another loss.
3-1 Seattle.
Vancouver Whitecaps vs San Jose Earthquakes, 7pm Sat
Brenton Walters, Communications Director, Vancouver Southsiders
Despite being outplayed for the majority of the match, the Whitecaps left Columbus with the three points. As I wrote in the preview, if our backline held firm, we'd come away with a point. Lucky as we may have been, neither of the two goals that made it in counted against us, and with some more luck our phenomenal right back YP Lee floated a cross into the top corner of the goal. It wasn't a pretty win, but it was our 6th clean sheet in 8 games.
We face(d) FC Edmonton on Wednesday in the first leg of the Canadian Championship, giving us just two days rest before we host Western leaders San Jose. We'll want revenge for our recent 3-1 loss, but to have a chance we'll need to play smarter than we did in that loss and cleaner than we did in the win in Columbus. Our passing has to be sharp and our marking has to be tight: you can't give San Jose chances, or they'll bury them.
Lisa Erickson, Center Line Soccer, San Jose:
This last week, Steven Lenhart got braces and Chris Wondolowski's feet are still golden. Lenny went from no goals to second-placed goal scorer for the Earthquakes in less than 5 days. The MLS Player of the Week scored a brace in each match against the Philadelphia Union and Wednesday night's goal-fest against DC United (final score was 5 - 3). Not wanting to be outdone by his partner in crime, Wondolowski, who earned MLS Player of the Month for April, secured the game winner against the second place in the East. Wondo's brace in Wednesday's match helped him surpass NY's Thierry Henry in the MLS Golden Boot race with his 10 goals (out of 20) in this very young season.
Now the Best in the West Quakes (7-1-1) go north of the border for a rematch with the Vancouver Whitecaps (4-2-2). The Whitecaps also played on Wednesday night in a Canadian Championship match; however, they chose to rest most of their starters so that they would be fresh for San Jose. I think this will be a tough match up with Vancouver wanting to exact revenge on their 3 - 1 loss at Buckshaw back on April 7. The Earthquakes, playing their third game in eight days, will have a rough time at BC Place with the artificial turf and the enclosed atmosphere but the San Jose players all say they are up for the challenge. We shall see if the Boys in Blue and Black can continue their goal scoring streak of at least 2 goals per game since March 31st against a very staunch defense who've only allowed 6 goals this entire season. I think, however, the SJ fire power will be able to pull off getting another 3 points from Vancouver.
Los Angeles Galaxy vs New York Red Bulls, 8pm Sat (ESPN, ESPN Deporte, TSN 2)
Brian Lynch, Angel City Brigade, Los Angeles:
Last week's game against Dallas was bittersweet. A point was salvaged thanks to Noonan's goal in stoppage time, but the Galaxy had so many missed chances it was frustrating. Landon Donovan beat the 'keeper but missed the open shot. Keane guessed right on a penalty kick…and missed. On the defensive end things weren't much better as a solid effort was disrupted by Lopes' terrible decision to chest the ball to the 'keeper with a Dallas player breathing down his neck. Dallas was outplayed except when it counted.
This week looks rough. The team heads up to Seattle for a midweek game Wednesday night. Well, some of the team anyway. It looks as though some of our marquee players are being saved for Saturday's high profile game against New York. On top of that Josh Saunders has entered rehab and no one outside of the team seems to know what the details are. Luckily the Galaxy have Bill Gaudette who looked extremely capable against Dallas. He'll have a chance to shine because Seattle's high-powered offense is absolutely going to pepper him with shots unless somehow our back line figures out how to contain them, which at this point seems about as likely as Landon Donovan receiving a hero's welcome at Century Link.
Then it's back to Los Angeles for the New York game. This should be an interesting match with quiet a bit of scoring. The Galaxy's back line will have their hands full again with Cooper and probably Solli, but the Galaxy should have some chances to exploit a shaky Red Bull midfield and bad defense. I think this will be one of those games that will be fun to watch even for people who don't have in interest in either team. The Galaxy have a much superior midfield and should be able to get three points at home. Maybe this will be the breakout game we've been waiting for. Or maybe not. With the way this season's gone it's anyone's guess.
Brent Gamit, 101 Singer, Empire Supporters Club, New York:
On Saturday morning, I was worried that we may get our first loss at RBA, since so many important players were missing the match and weren't due back for a couple of weeks That being said, I was quite surprised that our young defense and goalkeeper managed to stave off the New England attack. It was nerve-wracking to watch, to be honest. I knew that NE's offense wasn't THAT potent on the road, but I usually fear for the worst. Just a force of habit, to be honest, after more than a decade and a half of watching this team.
With Henry's injury, I don't anticipate a victory at LA. The only silver lining is that both Agudelo and Solli may return for the match and get minutes, with possibly Juan coming off the bench. Not sure if Solli will get the start, but getting him back, in addition to Agudelo's return, will give the team a boost, hopefully.
With LA being able to field Donovan, Buddle, Keane and Beckham, I honestly say that my pessimism is getting the best of me. If I had to make a prediction, I will say 1-1, hoping for the best.
Sporting Kansas City vs Montreal Impact, 8.30pm Sat
Andy Edwards, Editor, Talkin' Touches, Sporting Kansas City:
Sporting are coming off their first week off in the 2012 season, and it couldn't have come at a better time. Their first loss of the season came two weeks ago now, the final day of a three-games-in-eight-days run, away to Portland Timbers.
The first bit of adversity seen by Peter Vermes' squad, and they could quite possibly have the perfect matchup on the weekend to bounce back: expansion side Montreal Impact. And with the expansion club making its first ever trip to LIVESTRONG Sporting Park, so does ten-year servant and two-year captain, Davy Arnaud. Arnaud is the all-time leader in appearances for Kansas City, and an absolute legend among fans. A warm reception before and after the match are surely on tap for him.
Sporting will have to do without starting leftback Seth Sinovic (broken hand) for a week or two, but the Sporting backline, who have given up only three goals on the season, (one by own goal, one from free kick) don't look to drop of too much from Sinovic to replacement Michael Harrington.
Key for Sporting to get three points: building through the middle. Montreal boast an aging, slower defense, and forwards CJ Sapong, Kei Kamara and Teal Bunbury could do well with proper play from Graham Zusi putting them in behind on through balls.
Sofiane Benzaza, Mount Royal Soccer, Montreal:
Last week's games (or should we say this week) for the Montreal Impact were a mix of good and not bad. The 2-0 definitive victory over the Portland Timbers at home was an excellent morale booster as the team played probably it's most complete game yet. The team as a unit performed as per the plan and mixed counter attacks and play construction efficiently. Talking efficiency, the Montreal Impact have not shown an efficient finishing as the team produced a few chances but could not capitalize on it early in the game. They still scored in the second half via a Bernardo Corradi PK and a Sinisa Ubiparipovic tap in from a counter attack.
The efficiency theme followed the team as they faced Toronto FC for the 2012 Amway Canadian Championship semi-finals. The 1st leg was played at home and finished in a scoreless tie that was quite a dull game as Toronto FC parked the bus and played for the clean sheet. The Montreal Impact could have easily made it 2-0 at the half but bad luck, bad finishing and an excellent Milos Kocic played their part.
Facing Sporting Kansas City at Kansas City, we will expect some changes from the squad as the same players played in the Portland and Toronto game. We will have a chance to see the ''original '' MLS signing Nelson Rivas who will get a spot in the heart of the defense next to Matteo Ferrari. Another comeback kid will be Patrice Bernier that will finally get some playing time since he lost his spot to Collen Warner. Against a strong SKC team, the Impact will need to continue its compact united game and expect the team to take it to SKC but not too aggressively and the Montreal defense will need to be wary of a quick explosive SKC attack with Kei Kamara and C.J. Sapong.
I see a 2-2- tie at SKC.
Real Salt Lake vs New England Revolution, 9pm Sat
Denzel Eslinger, RSL Soapbox:
Real Salt Lake had a rather bizarre week last week coming of their controversial match at San Jose, they headed to Texas for a showdown with FC Dallas, remember that RSL has never won a match in the Lone Star state and once again controversy would affect the outcome of their match. FC Dallas scored on a PK from a questionable handball call, to take a 1-0 lead but RSL wasn't going to just lay down and die, they battled back and if you look at the stats, they dominated the match with more passes, more possession and late in the match they found a bit of a miracle. In the 69th minute RSL took a chance and brought on rookie forward Emiliano Bonfigli, and he made an impact within seconds as he created a dangerous run into the box, but it was 3 minutes after stepping on the pitch for his first real appearance of the year, that he found himself on the end of a great ball played over the top by Will Johnson, Emiliano ran onto it and put it past Chris Seitz to even the match at 1-1. The performance reminds us how important the new faces of Real Salt Lake have been this year.
On Saturday RSL played host to the win less Toronto FC, in what might have looked on paper like a lopsided affair but the actual match was anything but, a combined 25 shots with 9 on goal and 5 finding the back of the net gave fans at Rio Tinto reasons to cheer and to boo as a couple of close calls again were seen going against them. It was an early goal in the 7th minute as Kyle Beckerman pushed a ball past Milos Kocic to give RSL a 1-0 lead in the match, RSL created a bunch of chances but the TFC defense stiffened and were able to hold the score at 1-0 as the teams broke for the half. TFC answered in the 48th minute of the second half on a great goal by Eric Avila to tie the match at 1-1, RSL would continue to put a ton of pressure on TFC and 57th minute RSL took the lead back on a goal by Alvaro Saborio that was counted as an own goal, but he celebrated all the same, As the match neared stoppage time Doneil Henry was able to use the back of his head to put a ball past Nick Rimando and tie the match up in the 87th minute. One thing that has been clear in MLS this year is late goals are coming in record levels, and for RSL it would once again be one of the new guys who would me a difference maker, Jonny Steele came on with less than 5 minutes to go in the match and after a couple of bad touches found himself at the top of the 18 yard box on a play that saw two world class assists by Javier Morales and Kyle Beckerman leave him the ball perfectly as he simply powered it into the back of the net in the 93rd minute of the match and RSL celebrated a 3-2 win.
That brings us to this week. For the first time in a while RSL didn't have a midweek league or reserve match so the team was able to take a couple days off to rest after their league leading 10th match of the season. They will play host to the 3-5-0 New England Revolution on Saturday night at Rio Tinto Stadium, in what should be a very interesting match. New England have a new head coach in Jay Heaps, and a lot of changes on the field as new players join the squad, none has made more of an impact than Saer Sene, the 25 year old forward already has 3 goals and 2 assists while establishing himself as the focal point of the Rev's offensive efforts. Recently RSL has held a fairly dominant edge in matches with New England, but this is a Rev's team that was able to pick up a big midweek win over the Colorado Rapids to snap their 3 match losing streak, for RSL it is all about doing what they do best, create chances by dominating possession via quality and quantity of passes. RSL knows that they won't want to leave the match undecided until late, so I expect a strong start as they look to take advantage of the Revs who should be a bit tired after their match on Wednesday and then travel to Salt Lake City, not to mention the elevation that often leaves opponents gasping for air late in the match. Should be a fun match to see if RSL can find a way to put New England away early.
Christopher Camille, Midnight Riders, author of NE tactics blog Soccer Theory:
The Revs looked like a team that hadn't played in two weeks for their first 20 minutes again the Red Bulls this past weekend and that let down was enough to fall behind against Thierry Henry and the New York club. From there the Revs went on to dominate possession and even create some dangerous chances. Unfortunately they are still a club lacking that killer instinct in front of the net. They've dropped points throughout this young season when their level of play was enough to earn something and this match was more of the same.
Stephen McCarthy, the defender who was marking Henry when he scored his goal, has received quite a bit of vitriol for his part in the lone goal in the game. If getting beat by Henry makes you a poor defender then there are a lot of players around the league who you can also level that criticism against. McCarthy, to me, is an emerging talent on the Revs. He makes good choices on the ball and has great ability in the air. His partnership with AJ Soares has been a consistent bright spot this season. Even if McCarthy was able to deny Henry, the Revs still did not score.
If fingers need to be pointed, they need to be aimed up front. The Revs have only managed five goals this season.
The Revs next match is against the Colorado Rapids at Gillette Stadium in front of what surely will be a sparsely attended match. Week night fixtures all the way out in the pastoral town of Foxboro are notoriously bad draws. The traffic leaving Boston is soul-crushing and enough to keep even the most ardent soccer supporters away from the match. For those that are making the journey, they will again be treated to better soccer than they saw all of last year and a likely three points for the Revs. Despite their record, they have played well and will be spurned on by the tough loss against New York. Also, Colorado will again be without Conor Casey. His absence should be the difference and I expect the Revs to post a shut out and sneak a goal on a Chris Tierney set piece.
The Revs stop at Gillette is a brief one, however, as they will be taking on Real Salt Lake at Rio Tinto Stadium. Both teams will be looking to keep the ball from their opponents but RSL will likely be the side coming out on top. Three matches being played in eight days in the Revs high tempo style will mean that the team has little left in the tank when they make it out to Utah, a place where they have experienced little success in recent years. Look for a comfortable 2-0 win for the Claret and Cobalt.
Portland Timbers vs Columbus Crew, 10.30pm Sat
Michael Orr, Mao Football, host of Soccer made in PDX podcast:
Portland Timbers' road woes continued last weekend in a 2-0 away loss to Montreal Impact at the Olympic Stadium. The match was the second straight for John Spencer's new 4-1-3-2 formation featuring former right back Lovel Palmer set just above the central defenders. While the strategy worked well in the upset victory against Sporting Kansas City a week earlier, it was a disaster against the Impact. Portland created just two shots on goal, one of which came from a free kick, and never threatened what was supposedly as porous a defense as there is in MLS. Meanwhile, the Timbers lost Steve Purdy and Troy Perkins to injury, had Steven Smith's debut ruined with a handball in the box and left Canada without answers to a growing list of questions.
The Timbers welcome Columbus Crew to Jeld-Wen Field on Saturday night, a match the home side will hope turns out as well as the fixture did in 2011. Columbus have struggled as well this season, sitting on the same seven points as the Timbers and are winless in four. Yet injuries continue to ravage Portland and will play a key role on Saturday, whatever the outcome. Purdy will be absent at right back due to a concussion, Perkins might not play thanks to the horrible gash on his nose, winger Kalif Alhassan remains out with a knee sprain and Steven Smith might not have his P-1 visa in time for the game. The Timbers need another win badly, if only to stave off the cascading negativity currently in the fan base. With ten days until the next game, Portland's few healthy players have a nice opportunity to play put their fitness to the test and try to make Jeld-Wen Field as difficult a place for opponents as it was in 2011. If not, it will be a long ten days before the Timbers travel to Houston.
Ben Hoelzel, Crew Union, Columbus Crew:
Winners win games. Losers make excuses. Lately there have been a lot more excuses than wins in Columbus.
Last week's excuses includes blaming the refs for calling back two goals in the opening fifteen minutes, and then the excuse that Vancouver got lucky on an errant cross that somehow floated into the back of Columbus' net. But this is MLS, poor officiating is nothing new, and sometimes you have to make your own luck. The Crew's attack remains flaccid, but the defense has continued to play well despite a patchwork of starters and reserves in the back four. New starting central defender Josh Williams was probably even the Crew's best offensive threat as well. He had one goal inexplicably called back in the opening minutes and a stunning bicycle kick that rattled the crossbar.
Unfortunately, starting this weekend in Portland, I see more excuses than wins on the horizon. Let's line them up shall we? Injuries will most likely be the first excuse we hear. The Crew's injured list already had eight players on it. Joining that list for the next 4-6 weeks will be the starting striker duo of Aaron Schoenfeld and Olman Vargas. If a tree falls in the woods but no one is there to hear it does it make a sound? If a striker tandem fails to score goals will anyone care when they are placed on the injured reserve list? I'm not sure, but I do know you'll hear it as an excuse.
The next excuse is that the Crew are simply unlucky. We'll hear about how Columbus had more possession, more shots, more corners, more everything! But, in the end they were just unlucky not to score more goals. But, these guys need to learn that you have to make your own luck. Make better decisions, work harder, and display some finesse, and I guarantee your "luck" will get better.
The next excuse we are bound to hear is travel. The Crew have three West Coast away games in two and half weeks coming up. First is a trip to Portland this weekend. Then Columbus has a home game against a very good Dallas team before heading back out West for games at San Jose and Seattle. So, be sure to listen for the travel excuse. And remember - winners win games. Losers make excuses.
FC Dallas vs Colorado Rapids, 7pm Sat (Galavision)
Jon Beard, The Inferno, Dallas:
Saturday's game at the Home Depot Center was a strange one for a couple of reasons - firstly, it's one of those rare times that both teams could feel aggrieved that they didn't come away with a win. For LA, the thought of Donovan's shot off the foot of the post and Keane's horrendous penalty kick, combined with some excellent Chris Seitz saves (and what a phenomenal few performances he has put in in Hartman's absence) probably kept fans and players alike up at night. For Dallas, after leading for the majority of the second half, and not giving LA too much in the way of clear cut chances, Jair Benitez's fumbled clearance attempt in stoppage time was an absolute heartbreaker, particularly given this was the chance to get the first road win of the season. Dallas was also left to rue some great opportunities to put additional goals on the board, particularly two late Ihemelu headers that failed to hit the target.
It was also odd because LA was the first opponent we Dallas fans have seen this season that played to keep the game flowing rather than disrupting the flow with hard tackles. It's no coincidence that Dallas is the most fouled MLS team so far this season - teams know that putting in the hard hits prevents Dallas from playing their way. Despite the result (or maybe because of it), it feels like this was a great game to watch for the neutrals, with fast paced, free-flowing attacking soccer throughout, along with generally clean defending and great goalkeeping. This is the style of play that MLS should be aspiring to, and I can only hope that the heavier presence of the Disciplinary Committee will help push teams into playing this way more often, rather than resorting to a game of hackball.
Thankfully, no new injuries came out of this game, though today we discovered that Bobby Warshaw did pick up an injury in the reserve game against Kansas City (and given how few times we play them this year, it's amazing how many of our guys they've hurt so far), which puts our midfield into an even bigger hole. Right now, our central midfield options for this weekend's game against Colorado consists of an aging Daniel Hernandez, and two players just returning from injury in Andrew Jacobson and Bryan Leyva. This could be Leyva's big chance to impress in his natural #10 role, though it will likely have to be off the bench. Colorado have had problems of their own just lately though - a great start to the season under new coach, and former Dallas favorite, Oscar Pareja, seems to have petered out just lately.
Given Dallas' injury problems, I'm having a hard time predicting their results lately. Against LA, I expected them to need to absorb pressure and hit back on the break, and yet plenty of times throughout the game the opposite was more true. Something that they do have going for them is their unbeaten form at home. I don't know whether they'll get a sorely needed win, but much like Jason Kreis' returns to his former Dallas home, I don't think Pareja's going to walk out with the 3 points either.
Richard Bamber, COO, Bulldog Supporters Group, Colorado Rapids:
Saturday's game against Chivas couldn't really have gone any better for us with the Rapids running riot in the 2nd half to clock up a 4-0 scoreline. Also notible was the introduction of Conor Casey in the 90th minute after a long injury lay-off.
This week brings us two away trips. First up is New England on Wednesday night & we will will fancy our chances against a team with a 3-3-3 record. Then we travel to Dallas, who will be better rested as they don't play midweek. Dallas will be a difficult game & we will be looking to avoid a repeat of last years 3-0 drubbing. Overall, the Rapids would be happy to take 4 points out of a possible 6 from these two games.
You've read the previews, now have your say in our comments section – and while you're at it, let's hear your predictions for this weekend's games. Join us for live minute-by-minute coverage of Seattle vs Philadelphia, from 4.00pm on Saturday. And on Monday morning for five things we learned this weekend. Read More
انسخ الكود التالى و ضعه فى موقعك او مدونتك.
