Entering this weekend, six of the seven Eastern Conference teams had accumulated more points than Western Conference leaders Colorado Rapids. Twenty cross-conference matches had seen 14 Eastern wins, four Western wins and two ties. Talk of Eastern dominance was becoming commonplace.
A glance at the history books should have told those commentators otherwise. Last season’s cross-conference matches signalled great parity (28 Western wins, 30 Eastern wins, 26 ties). Significantly however, Western Conference teams have won six of the last seven MLS Cups showing that they can raise their game when it matters most. Two of the West’s chief protagonists, Houston Dynamo and Chivas USA, set out to silence the detractors this weekend in key cross-conference matches.
Houston registered their first win in defence of the title against Colorado last Saturday, but a trip to rain-soaked Toyota Park on the outskirts of Chicago would provide a staunch examination of their improving form. It was a test that Dominic Kinnear’s men were to pass with flying colours.
The opening minutes belonged to the home side. Justin Mapp, rated among the top three most naturally gifted American players by Dynamo assistant coach John Spencer, showed his qualities early on by releasing the overlapping Gonzalo Segares whose inviting cross eluded Chad Barrett on the six-yard line. With the Dynamo defence struggling to read Mapp’s directions, the Chicago midfielder next cut in from the left wing to test Pat Onstad with a decent shot. The Dynamo goalkeeper was happy to fist clear.
Houston took the lead on 17 minutes from their first meaningful foray into opposition territory. After a typically patient build-up, captain Wade Barrett found Ricardo Clark at the edge of the Chicago penalty area. His shot took two wicked deflections, the latter off team-mate Dwayne De Rosario, before skipping off the greasy surface beyond a befuddled Jon Busch in the Chicago goal.
Dynamo quickly assumed control of the game as De Rosario and Brian Mullan set up further chances for Brian Ching, but Chicago equalised against the run of play on 28 minutes. Cuauhtemoc Blanco enticed Eddie Robinson into a needless challenge near the corner flag and the Mexican’s pinpoint cross was converted by Calen Carr. Kinnear will be disappointed at the way his defence, in particular De Rosario, allowed Carr freedom to head home.
In a fascinating battle, Mapp’s early influence waned as Brian Mullan gained in stature down the Dynamo right. Mullan attracts few headlines, but his tricky play produced a number of dangerous crosses for Ching and strike partner Franco Caraccio. On the other touchline two promising stars of MLS served up an equally intriguing contest but without the production. Chris Rolfe has the ability to score spectacular goals for Chicago, but he was switched to a deeper lying right midfield role in the absence of John Thorrington. Rolfe looked uneasy and was replaced by Wilman Conde after 67 subdued minutes.
Similarly uncomfortable was Houston’s Stuart Holden. The Aberdeen-born midfielder entered this season full of confidence after helping the US Under-23 squad reach the Beijing Olympics. His form during qualifying, and towards the end of last season, saw him earn his first call-up to the full national team for February’s friendly with Mexico, but an injury delayed his start to the new campaign. With Brad Davis still recovering from a thigh strain, Holden has been employed on the left side in recent weeks but he has struggled to make an impact.
Dynamo had to wait until the 82nd minute to secure their first road win. Richard Mulrooney’s set piece was met by a towering Bobby Boswell and his close range header left Busch helpless. Boswell has struggled to settle into the Houston line-up since his trade from D.C. United in the off-season, but this second consecutive commanding display hopefully points to an upturn in fortunes for the 2006 MLS Defender of the Year.
D.C., another Eastern powerhouse, continued their woeful campaign with a sixth defeat at injury-ravaged Chivas USA. Marcelo Gallardo put D.C. ahead on the half hour with a wonderful finish, but three late goals from Jesse Marsch, Sacha Kljestan and Jorge Flores saw United slip further adrift at the foot of the Eastern Conference. Flores was the winner of the 2007 Sueňo MLS (The Dream) reality television show earning him a developmental role with the team’s U-19 squad. He impressed enough to be offered a professional contract towards the end of last season. While his dreams appear to be coming true, the nightmare continues for D.C. head coach Tom Soehn. Only San Jose Earthquakes possess a worse record with over one quarter of the season gone.
Colorado remain top of the Western Conference after a 2-0 win over Rocky Mountain rivals Real Salt Lake. Omar Cummings swept home a low Colin Clark cross to give the hosts a 65th minute lead. Christian Gomez capped another fine individual display with a late penalty to seal the points and leave Salt Lake ruing a host of missed chances. Former Rapids midfielder Kyle Beckerman led the visitors’ charge in the first half, supported by the experienced Jamaican international Andy Williams. Unfortunately neither of the strikers, Kenny Deuchar nor Fabian Espindola, could turn the supply into goals.
L.A. Galaxy won an astounding match at FC Dallas to climb above Steve Morrow’s side into second place. Last season’s Superliga meeting between the sides saw Galaxy take a 4-0 lead within 18 minutes before surviving a Dallas fight-back to emerge as 6-5 winners. This game started in similar fashion – L.A. taking a 4-0 lead by half-time – but there were no heroics from the home side as Galaxy romped to a 5-1 win in spite of another lame performance by The English Tourist. There cannot be many people left who feel that Mr Beckham is genuinely interested in performing. His petulant antics late in this game towards the dismissed Adrian Serioux were frankly embarrassing. One wonders whether Beckham will watch Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes, his former Manchester United team-mates, attempt to win a glorious double this coming Wednesday in Moscow and reflect on where it all went wrong in his career. Probably not.
Nonetheless, with Galaxy, Chivas and Houston all seemingly returning to form, it surely takes a brave or foolish observer to discard the Western Conference as the poorer relation.
Week Eight Results
Colorado 2 Salt Lake 0
Toronto 0 Columbus 0 (Crew survive a raucous BMO Field to remain top)
New England 2 San Jose 0 (A "spectacular unbelievable own goal" by James Riley)
New York 1 Kansas City 1 (A minor improvement in Borman's goal celebration)
Chicago 1 Houston 2
Chivas 3 D.C. United 1
Dallas 1 L.A. Galaxy 5
Standings
Eastern Conference
1) Columbus 19 points (played 8)
2) Chicago 16 (8)
3) New England 16 (9)
4) New York 12 (7)
5) Kansas City 11 (8)
6) Toronto 11 (7)
7) D.C. United 6 (8)
Western Conference
1) Colorado 12 (8)
2) L.A. Galaxy 11 (8)
3) Houston 10 (8)
4) Dallas 9 (8)
5) Chivas 8 (8)
6) Salt Lake 8 (8)
7) San Jose 4 (7)
A glance at the history books should have told those commentators otherwise. Last season’s cross-conference matches signalled great parity (28 Western wins, 30 Eastern wins, 26 ties). Significantly however, Western Conference teams have won six of the last seven MLS Cups showing that they can raise their game when it matters most. Two of the West’s chief protagonists, Houston Dynamo and Chivas USA, set out to silence the detractors this weekend in key cross-conference matches.
Houston registered their first win in defence of the title against Colorado last Saturday, but a trip to rain-soaked Toyota Park on the outskirts of Chicago would provide a staunch examination of their improving form. It was a test that Dominic Kinnear’s men were to pass with flying colours.
The opening minutes belonged to the home side. Justin Mapp, rated among the top three most naturally gifted American players by Dynamo assistant coach John Spencer, showed his qualities early on by releasing the overlapping Gonzalo Segares whose inviting cross eluded Chad Barrett on the six-yard line. With the Dynamo defence struggling to read Mapp’s directions, the Chicago midfielder next cut in from the left wing to test Pat Onstad with a decent shot. The Dynamo goalkeeper was happy to fist clear.
Houston took the lead on 17 minutes from their first meaningful foray into opposition territory. After a typically patient build-up, captain Wade Barrett found Ricardo Clark at the edge of the Chicago penalty area. His shot took two wicked deflections, the latter off team-mate Dwayne De Rosario, before skipping off the greasy surface beyond a befuddled Jon Busch in the Chicago goal.
Dynamo quickly assumed control of the game as De Rosario and Brian Mullan set up further chances for Brian Ching, but Chicago equalised against the run of play on 28 minutes. Cuauhtemoc Blanco enticed Eddie Robinson into a needless challenge near the corner flag and the Mexican’s pinpoint cross was converted by Calen Carr. Kinnear will be disappointed at the way his defence, in particular De Rosario, allowed Carr freedom to head home.
In a fascinating battle, Mapp’s early influence waned as Brian Mullan gained in stature down the Dynamo right. Mullan attracts few headlines, but his tricky play produced a number of dangerous crosses for Ching and strike partner Franco Caraccio. On the other touchline two promising stars of MLS served up an equally intriguing contest but without the production. Chris Rolfe has the ability to score spectacular goals for Chicago, but he was switched to a deeper lying right midfield role in the absence of John Thorrington. Rolfe looked uneasy and was replaced by Wilman Conde after 67 subdued minutes.
Similarly uncomfortable was Houston’s Stuart Holden. The Aberdeen-born midfielder entered this season full of confidence after helping the US Under-23 squad reach the Beijing Olympics. His form during qualifying, and towards the end of last season, saw him earn his first call-up to the full national team for February’s friendly with Mexico, but an injury delayed his start to the new campaign. With Brad Davis still recovering from a thigh strain, Holden has been employed on the left side in recent weeks but he has struggled to make an impact.
Dynamo had to wait until the 82nd minute to secure their first road win. Richard Mulrooney’s set piece was met by a towering Bobby Boswell and his close range header left Busch helpless. Boswell has struggled to settle into the Houston line-up since his trade from D.C. United in the off-season, but this second consecutive commanding display hopefully points to an upturn in fortunes for the 2006 MLS Defender of the Year.
D.C., another Eastern powerhouse, continued their woeful campaign with a sixth defeat at injury-ravaged Chivas USA. Marcelo Gallardo put D.C. ahead on the half hour with a wonderful finish, but three late goals from Jesse Marsch, Sacha Kljestan and Jorge Flores saw United slip further adrift at the foot of the Eastern Conference. Flores was the winner of the 2007 Sueňo MLS (The Dream) reality television show earning him a developmental role with the team’s U-19 squad. He impressed enough to be offered a professional contract towards the end of last season. While his dreams appear to be coming true, the nightmare continues for D.C. head coach Tom Soehn. Only San Jose Earthquakes possess a worse record with over one quarter of the season gone.
Colorado remain top of the Western Conference after a 2-0 win over Rocky Mountain rivals Real Salt Lake. Omar Cummings swept home a low Colin Clark cross to give the hosts a 65th minute lead. Christian Gomez capped another fine individual display with a late penalty to seal the points and leave Salt Lake ruing a host of missed chances. Former Rapids midfielder Kyle Beckerman led the visitors’ charge in the first half, supported by the experienced Jamaican international Andy Williams. Unfortunately neither of the strikers, Kenny Deuchar nor Fabian Espindola, could turn the supply into goals.
L.A. Galaxy won an astounding match at FC Dallas to climb above Steve Morrow’s side into second place. Last season’s Superliga meeting between the sides saw Galaxy take a 4-0 lead within 18 minutes before surviving a Dallas fight-back to emerge as 6-5 winners. This game started in similar fashion – L.A. taking a 4-0 lead by half-time – but there were no heroics from the home side as Galaxy romped to a 5-1 win in spite of another lame performance by The English Tourist. There cannot be many people left who feel that Mr Beckham is genuinely interested in performing. His petulant antics late in this game towards the dismissed Adrian Serioux were frankly embarrassing. One wonders whether Beckham will watch Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes, his former Manchester United team-mates, attempt to win a glorious double this coming Wednesday in Moscow and reflect on where it all went wrong in his career. Probably not.
Nonetheless, with Galaxy, Chivas and Houston all seemingly returning to form, it surely takes a brave or foolish observer to discard the Western Conference as the poorer relation.
Week Eight Results
Colorado 2 Salt Lake 0
Toronto 0 Columbus 0 (Crew survive a raucous BMO Field to remain top)
New England 2 San Jose 0 (A "spectacular unbelievable own goal" by James Riley)
New York 1 Kansas City 1 (A minor improvement in Borman's goal celebration)
Chicago 1 Houston 2
Chivas 3 D.C. United 1
Dallas 1 L.A. Galaxy 5
Standings
Eastern Conference
1) Columbus 19 points (played 8)
2) Chicago 16 (8)
3) New England 16 (9)
4) New York 12 (7)
5) Kansas City 11 (8)
6) Toronto 11 (7)
7) D.C. United 6 (8)
Western Conference
1) Colorado 12 (8)
2) L.A. Galaxy 11 (8)
3) Houston 10 (8)
4) Dallas 9 (8)
5) Chivas 8 (8)
6) Salt Lake 8 (8)
7) San Jose 4 (7)
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1 comment:
Nice rundown Ian, And I think you're right to point out Mullan's role as the game went on. Kyle Brown's pace in the latter minutes was also nice and kept Chicago off balance.
Hope you lead your Reds to a win at Pittodrie Thursday after St. Mirren dropped the ball today. It all comes down to you to deny the strangers!
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