MLS Week 14 Review

America’s version of Super Sunday took place this weekend with national television network ABC broadcasting the final of Euro 2008 live from Vienna. Before that, a chance to showcase Major League Soccer was tagged on as D.C. United faced Los Angeles Galaxy in the capital.

A crowd of 35,979 showed up at RFK Stadium for D.C.’s “Beckham Match” showing that there is still some pulling power in MLS’s chief marketing asset. D.C.’s average attendance to date this season was 18,651. The great hope is that many of those additional customers lured by the hype will become regular attendees. Worrying though, at the height of the media blitz when Beckham arrived last summer this same fixture attracted 46,686 fans for the Englishman’s MLS debut. It seems 11,000 people left unimpressed.

There was much in the performance of D.C. United yesterday to entice those floating fans back through the turnstiles. If it was Beckham they showed up to watch it is unlikely they will return. Yet again he produced an insipid display fit for a pre-season testimonial as his Galaxy team were torn apart 4-1 by a vastly-improved United. The score could have reached double figures but for an outstanding display by Galaxy goalkeeper Steve Cronin.

Galaxy fell behind as early as the fifth minute. Midfielder Ante Jazic clumsily conceded a penalty for a challenge on D.C. winger Santino Quaranta and former Middlesbrough player Jaime Moreno, one of the best penalty takers in the game, coolly slotted his side in front.

Much of Beckham’s early touches came from just inside his own half on the right touchline. Too often though his speculative 50 yard punts in the direction of Landon Donovan and Edson Buddle were soaked up by D.C.’s well prepared back line. The Englishman was literally dragged kicking and screaming into action in the 15th minute after losing possession to a tough Moreno challenge in midfield. His retaliatory hack at Moreno went unpunished by the referee, though the Bolivian swiftly took revenge by unceremoniously dumping Beckham to the turf.

Beckham’s finest moment came in the 21st minute when he was allowed space on the right wing to pick out Donovan in the penalty area. The USA’s leading goalscorer finished in style at the near post but was correctly judged to be offside by the assistant referee.

Galaxy equalised five minutes later. Buddle again came up with the goods after good play between Chris Klien and Donovan created the chance. He still required strength and perseverance to work the opening before maintaining his poise to beat Zach Wells. Buddle has scored ten goal in the last seven games as he continues to grow in influence on Ruud Gullit’s side.

Buddle turned provider minutes later as he set Donovan through on goal, but his difficult looped header failed to beat Wells. This proved to be Galaxy’s last meaningful attack of the match as D.C. took complete control.

United’s lead was restored on 37 minutes and it was no surprise that it came down their left side. Marc Burch, on as an early replacement for the injured Quaranta, latched on to an overhit pass in acres of space and shaped to cross. As Beckham lazily trotted over before stopping five yards short of Burch to jump with his back turned, the substitute picked out Luciano Emilio who looped a brilliant header back across Cronin into the far corner.

Defending of that nature would be castigated at schoolboy level, but it seems you get a free pass if you are an iconic celebrity. Posters on L.A. Galaxy fan messageboards inconceivably blamed Cronin for the goal although John Harkes, the former Sheffield Wednesday and US international midfielder, almost broke media protocol from the commentators’ booth by suggesting that Beckham’s token effort was “something you don’t want to do”.

Marcelo Gallardo, D.C.’s designated player, was fortunate to remain on the pitch after an ugly clash minutes before the interval. As the veteran Argentine shielded the ball from a hustling Donovan, he threw his arms up to appeal for a foul. Knowing his opponent was on his shoulder, it also looked as though he had intended to catch the Galaxy man with his motion. He succeeded, and an irate Donovan was restrained by his team-mates as he left the field for treatment to stem his bloody nose.

The opening stages of the second half saw Gallardo badly off-target with two clear chances. In between, Brazilian forward Fred squandered another opportunity by shooting straight at Cronin when sent free on the left. Gallardo was presented with a third chance on 59 minutes when a lucky ricochet sent him clear of the beleaguered Galaxy defender Sean Franklin. This time he made no mistake.

Burch rattled the crossbar with a thunderous free kick on 63 minutes before Emilio wrapped up the scoring five minutes later with his second goal after Gallardo and Fred had sliced through Galaxy’s exposed rearguard. Last season’s MVP did not complete his hat-trick due to the heroics of Cronin. The Galaxy goalkeeper made a number of great saves in the final 20 minutes as D.C.’s attack rained down on him. Rod Dyachenko and Burch also had their efforts foiled.

The biggest cheer of the day, however, was reserved for the returning Ben Olsen. After further ankle surgery in the off-season which prompted fears of an early retirement, the popular midfielder took to the field for the first time this season with the game wrapped up.

By that stage, The English Tourist could not even muster the effort to cross the field to take corners from the left side.

Week 14 Results

Houston 1 Dallas 1 (Hoops win "El Capitan" series trophy for 1st time on away goals)
Columbus 2 Colorado 1 (Impressive first goal from young Nigerian Ekpo wins game)
New England 2 Toronto 1 (Revs hang on to remain four points clear)
Kansas City 1 Salt Lake 0 (Late own goal gives Wizards first win in over two months)
Chicago 0 San Jose 0 (Fire's stuttering form continues)
Chivas 1 New York 1 (Goldthwaite error gifts Chivas an equaliser)
D.C. United 4 L.A. Galaxy 1

Standings

Eastern Conference
1) New England 30 points (played 16)
2) Columbus 26 (14)
3) D.C. United 22 (15)
4) Toronto 21 (14)
5) Chicago 20 (13)
6) New York 20 (14)
7) Kansas City 16 (13)

Western Conference
1) L.A. Galaxy 21 (14)
2) Salt Lake 19 (15)
3) Houston 19 (15)
4) Chivas 18 (14)
5) Dallas 17 (15)
6) Colorado 16 (14)
7) San Jose 12 (14)

MLS Week 13 Review

The global game has taken a fascinating turn in the last couple of years with the apparent death of the traditional centre forward, but the US national team and many MLS sides are still in pursuit of that ideal old school striker.

Manchester United achieved a sensational double success last season made all the more remarkable by the absence of a classic front man. Gone are the days of a Denis Law, Mark Hughes or Ruud van Nistelrooy leading the Red Devils’ attack. Sir Alex Ferguson has developed a modern free-flowing, interchangeable style with Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney and Carlos Tevez combining to provide 79 goals.

In Italy, Roma also utilise an intriguing striker-less system where Francesco Totti conducts the play for the willing runs of Ludovic Giuly and Mancini from deeper positions. Many commentators have speculated that the role of the traditional goal poacher is redundant in today’s age of supreme athletes where space in and around the penalty area is increasingly unavailable.

This pattern has yet to reach MLS. Not surprisingly for a fledgling league, familiar systems prevail and there remains a need for reliable, if unspectacular, goal scorers. Juan Pablo Angel provides the perfect example of this model at New York Red Bull, at least when he is fit to do so. At D.C. United, Brazilian striker Luciano Emilio picked up last season’s top scorer award despite very little plaudits for his all-round play. The likes of Taylor Twellman (New England), Brian Ching (Houston) and Kenny Cooper (Dallas) evidence a continuing fondness for the tall, powerful target man, as did the capture of Kenny Deuchar by Real Salt Lake.

No matter what the league, goals are the hardest commodity to obtain in football. The problem has hampered Bob Bradley’s USA side since the international retirement of Brian McBride after the 2006 World Cup. Three goalless games against England, Spain and Argentina in recent weeks followed on from seven goals in three friendlies earlier this year. Five of those strikes came from defenders.

Los Angeles Galaxy are fortunate that, in Landon Donovan, they possess the services of America’s all-time record goalscorer. Donovan started this campaign in impressive form leading the scoring chart with nine goals coming into the weekend’s action. Having been restored to Ruud Gullit’s starting line-up after grabbing his 36th international goal in last week’s 8-0 mauling of Barbados, Donovan quickly picked up where he had left off with two goals in a 3-3 draw with Columbus Crew.

Edson Buddle remains closely behind his strike partner in the goals tally after adding his ninth of the season with an excellent finish. He continues his push for recognition in Bradley’s upcoming US squads.

That the Crew’s three counters originated from Galaxy’s right side was wholly unsurprising given that The English Tourist can scarcely raise a jog to help out in defence. Expending energy isn’t part of his $250 million contract; looking pretty and selling jerseys is. He did, however, contribute by earning a dubious penalty with the worst flop seen since Andrei Kirilenko’s Utah Jazz were knocked out of the NBA play-offs by Beckham’s new buddy Kobe Bryant and the L.A. Lakers.

Over on the East Coast, Angel missed both of New York’s matches this week with a strained hamstring. Only San Jose and Kansas City have scored fewer goals than the Red Bulls this season; a worrying statistic for head coach Juan Carlos Osorio in light of the recent departure of teenage sensation Jozy Altidore to Villarreal in Spain. Osorio will be delighted to have obtained four valuable points from two tough fixtures.

On Wednesday night his team travelled up the I-95 to earn an unexpected 1-1 draw at New England Revolution. Saturday brought a hard fought 1-0 win over Dallas. Defender Kevin Goldthwaite scored the only goal on 16 minutes before limping off shortly afterwards with a similar injury to that of Angel. The field turf of Giants Stadium continues to wreak havoc for Osorio’s squad.

New England’s recent run of 16 points from six games had seen them take command of the Eastern Conference, but a miserable week for Steve Nicol’s men was completed by a 2-1 defeat at Salt Lake on the worst pitch in MLS. The opening of the new soccer-specific Real Salt Lake Stadium cannot arrive early enough.

Emilio notched his eighth goal of the season as D.C. United swept past San Jose Earthquakes by 3-1 in Sunday’s fixture. Nowhere is the absence of a quality striker more acutely felt than in Northern California where head coach Frank Yallop has wisely opted to build the expansion side from the back. San Jose continue to compete admirably but fall short in the attacking third, while United’s early season woes seem ever distant after their fourth win in five matches.

Elsewhere, the lack of reliable sources of goals makes for great unpredictability. Chicago Fire have netted only once in the month of June as their challenge begins to stutter. Houston’s shortage of in-form attackers sees head coach Dominic Kinnear persevere with midfielder Brian Mullan in an advanced role, but another blank at Colorado sees only San Jose with less goals than the defending champions in the West.

Week 13 Results

New England 1 New York 1
Salt Lake 0 San Jose 0 (Ten man 'Quakes sneak a point)
Chivas 2 Chicago 0 (Early Barrett miss sets poor tone for Fire)
Toronto 0 Kansas City 0 (Ten games unbeaten at BMO Field for Reds)
New York 1 Dallas 0
Colorado 0 Houston 0 (Both teams miss late chances to seal the win)
Salt Lake 2 New England 1
L.A. Galaxy 3 Columbus 3
D.C. United 3 San Jose 1

Standings

Eastern Conference
1) New England 27 points (played 15)
2) Columbus 23 (13)
3) Toronto 21 (13)
4) Chicago 19 (12)
5) D.C. United 19 (14)
6) New York 19 (13)
7) Kansas City 13 (12)

Western Conference
1) L.A. Galaxy 21 (13)
2) Salt Lake 19 (14)
3) Houston 18 (14)
4) Chivas 17 (13)
5) Colorado 16 (13)
6) Dallas 16 (14)
7) San Jose 11 (13)

MLS Week 12 Review

Week 12 kicked off with a repeat of the last two MLS Cup Finals – Houston Dynamo versus New England Revolution. Despite the heartache of losing out on both occasions after dominating for long stretches, New England entered this match holding a superior regular season record over Houston with two wins and three draws in their five clashes. On a stifling Texan evening, they comfortably notched a third win.

Houston had been on a roll in recent weeks, picking up 13 points in six games after an indifferent start. A recall to the US international team for striker Brian Ching along with the loss of Canadian playmaker Dwayne De Rosario severely blunted the attacking options available to head coach Dominic Kinnear for this encounter.

Steve Nicol, the New England head coach, was not without his problems. Call-ups for Kenny Mansally (Gambia), Shalrie Joseph (Grenada) and Khano Smith (Bermuda) added to the continuing absence of the injured Taylor Twellman.

Even in those Cup Final defeats, Nicol has held the tactical upper hand with his five-man midfield tending to suffocate Houston’s creative players. Kinnear, a staunch proponent of 4-4-2 with the squad at his disposal, has been forced into bolstering his midfield numbers mid-game before it was too late. It didn’t help him on the opening day of this season though as New England ran out comfortable 3-0 winners in Massachusetts. Nor did it help here.

Kinnear broke rank to employ a five-man midfield from the start with Brad Davis, normally so productive on the left, adopting a central role flanked by Ricardo Clark and Stuart Holden. The inclusion of Brian Mullan, another midfielder, in the lone forward position gave further indication of how far the young Argentine striker Franco Caraccio has fallen from favour since his close season signing.

Far from allowing Davis to dictate, the early moments saw him swamped on the narrow Robertson Stadium pitch. Worse was quickly to follow for the home side as they gifted New England an eighth minute lead. Patrick Ianni’s blunder allowed Kheli Dube to reach the six yard box unchallenged before squaring for Steve Ralston to tap home.

Ianni and his centre-back partner Bobby Boswell had been responsible for their fair share of defensive errors in the season’s early weeks. It was surprising to see them reunited despite the availability of Eddie Robinson after his suspension.

Kinnear’s response was an immediate change back to 4-4-2 with rookie midfielder Geoff Cameron pushed forward to accompany Mullan. As Dynamo’s players struggled to adapt to their unfamiliar line-up, New England took advantage to score a second goal with the home defence again sealing their downfall.

Tony Caig, standing in for Canadian international goalkeeper Pat Onstad, has done little to endear himself to the Houston support this season thanks to costly errors against Dallas and Saprissa in April. His stock plummeted even further on 35 minutes. Mauricio Castro’s corner kick found Dube strangely unmarked ten yards out, but his mishit volley appeared to be bouncing harmlessly into the goalkeeper’s grasp. Bizarrely though, Caig’s arms remained static at his side as he jumped to chest the ball over his own goal line. It was a simply terrible piece of goalkeeping.

Dynamo battled back valiantly to create a number of decent opportunities before the break but they were thwarted each time by the impressive Matt Reis in New England’s goal. Kinnear finally introduced a natural forward, Chris Wondolowski, after 60 minutes in place of the ineffectual Davis before Caraccio joined the action shortly after.

Houston were given a lifeline with ten minutes remaining after the referee deemed Michael Parkhurst’s tackle on Caraccio to be worthy of a penalty kick. It seemed neither a foul or inside the box. Nonetheless, Reis got on with the job of thwarting Stuart Holden with a diving save to his right to complete a miserable night for the home side.

Saturday’s live Fox Soccer Channel clash gave viewers a chance to check on the form of David Beckham, the overwhelming leader in fan votes for July’s All-Star game against West Ham. Though FSC’s commentators appear contractually obligated to spout hyperbolic rhetoric at his every touch, it remains perfectly obvious to anyone with a pulse, a set of eyes and an iota of footballing nous that Beckham is a man going through the motions in a league for which he shows scant interest or enthusiasm.

So what to make then of L.A. Galaxy’s convincing 3-0 win at San Jose Earthquakes which sends them three points clear at the top of the Western Conference?

Ruud Gullit, the Galaxy head coach, deserves great credit for the way he has organised a ramshackle bunch of talented individuals into an effective unit. Defender Sean Franklin, Gullit’s first pick in this year’s Superdraft, continues to grow in confidence and the consistency of full backs Mike Randolph and veteran Chris Klein has led to a settling of the back four.

Ante Jazic, formerly of Hadjuk Split and Rapid Vienna, returned from injury to produce an impressive display on the left of midfield where his link-up play with Randolph regularly troubled San Jose. Brazilian newcomer Alvaro Pires is beginning to find his feet in centre-midfield after his move from Russia whilst striker Edson Buddle continues his hot goalscoring streak.

Beckham’s lame contribution was coloured by a generous assist on L.A. Galaxy’s first goal in six minutes. His clipped cross was wonderfully cushioned by Josh Tudela into the path of the onrushing Buddle who volleyed home immaculately from the edge of the penalty box. Buddle added two thumping second half headers from Jazic and Randolph crosses to complete a memorable hat-trick.

Beckham, meanwhile, jogged along the right touchline in familiar warm-up mode clutching his hamstrings for effect before disrobing at the final whistle to present one young female fan with his unsullied shirt.

Surely someone in MLS can see that they are being short-changed? Three and a half more years of this routine is a sickening proposition.

Week 12 Results

Houston 0 New England 2
D.C. United 4 New York 1 (Emilio hat-trick drives the D.C. revival)
Kansas City 0 Columbus 3 (Crew's goal drought finally ends)
Toronto 3 Colorado 1 (Reds' dominant home form continues)
San Jose 0 L.A. Galaxy 3
Chivas 0 Salt Lake 1 (more disappointment for Preki)
Dallas 1 Chicago 0 (Kenny Cooper seals Dallas win)

Standings

Eastern Conference
1) New England 26 points (played 13)
2) Columbus 22 (12)
3) Toronto 20 (12)
4) Chicago 19 (11)
5) D.C. United 16 (13)
6) New York 15 (11)
7) Kansas City 12 (11)

Western Conference
1) L.A. Galaxy 20 (12)
2) Houston 17 (13)
3) Dallas 16 (13)
4) Colorado 15 (12)
5) Salt Lake 15 (12)
6) Chivas 14 (12)
7) San Jose 10 (11)

MLS Week 11 Review

As humans, the majority of us are willing to learn from our mistakes. Experience makes us all the wiser the next time we are confronted with an adverse or testing situation. One hopes that the officials of Major League Soccer fall into this majority after farcical circumstances surrounded last Wednesday’s match between D.C. United and Houston Dynamo.

With thunderstorms battering most of America’s north-east – I had first hand experience having spent ten hours in Chicago’s O’Hare airport on Tuesday awaiting a rescheduled flight – concerns for the safety of the players and spectators needed to be paramount. However, with torrential rain still pouring from the Washington skies close to kick-off the match was merely delayed by 31 minutes to let the storm clouds pass. It was an exercise in futility as only 16 goalless minutes had passed when another downpour, accompanied by lightning strikes, brought the teams back to the sanctuary of the RFK Stadium dressing rooms.

That this game commenced at all was inconceivable. Players splashed around on a surface seemingly more akin to filming a sequel to Kevin Costner’s Waterworld than a professional sporting contest. At least the MLS salary cap ensured a far more meagre budget.

Even then the continuing driving rain did not force the game’s complete abandonment until 9.40pm local time; one hour and 23 minutes after the referee had brought the players inside. Whether the skies had cleared or not, the pitch was never in a suitable condition at any point. Summarising for Houston’s Channel 55 broadcast, Glenn Davis estimated that around a third of the pitch lay under puddles when the action got under way. Thankfully no injuries were sustained by the time play finally came to a halt.

A word of praise must go to the passionate D.C. fans who, despite their state of saturation, continued to sing and chant defiantly in the face of Mother Nature. Those Screaming Eagles finally had something to cheer on Saturday as Luciano Emilio’s injury time winner in Chicago hauled D.C. off the bottom of the Eastern Conference for the first time since Week Three. Chicago have impressed on the road this year, but this 2-1 defeat was their third loss in five home games.

Despite the presence of Mexican superstar Cuauhtemoc Blanco and former Argentine international Marcelo Gallardo, it was referee Baldomero Toledo who attracted much of the attention with his whimsical display. Six players had already been cautioned when he ejected Gallardo and Fire’s Brandon Prideaux in the 55th minute for an off-the-ball incident which seemed to have been brought to his notice by the fourth official, possibly with the aid of televised replays.

In the dying moments, with the score tied at 1-1, D.C. defender Bryan Namoff received two rapid bookings to leave his side hanging on for one point. That they were to receive the full compliment owed much to the improved form of Emilio and poor goalkeeping from Chicago’s Jon Busch.

With Chicago camped in the D.C. half in search of an injury time winner, Emilio countered down the left side on a breakaway before cutting in to fire past Busch from the edge of the penalty box. Busch left his near post exposed and was punished for the error. It was a great pity as he had performed magnificently all evening, notably with a fine double-save from Fred and Emilio in the first half.

New England Revolution took advantage of Chicago’s slip to extend their lead at the top of the East after a 2-1 win over Dallas. Adam Cristman, standing in for the injured Taylor Twellman, set Steve Nicol’s side on their way with his third goal of the season. Twellman has only managed 45 minutes of action so far in this campaign, scoring in the 2-1 win at Chivas, but the team has performed admirably without the presence of their talisman.

Columbus Crew will be disappointed not to have remained within a point of New England as they fell to a surprising 2-0 loss at home to San Jose. The Crew have now gone four league matches without scoring following on from five straight wins and will be hoping to halt their slide this Saturday at bottom of the table Kansas City.

Houston Dynamo turned in their most impressive display of the season to win 3-1 over Toronto at Robertson Stadium. Much was made in the opening weeks of Houston’s inability to find the net, but with Dwayne De Rosario pushed into an attacking role alongside Brian Ching there was an ever present threat to Toronto’s defence.

Ching released De Rosario for the opener in first half stoppage time before netting two in the second half as he regains the confidence that has made him a regular goalscorer in recent years. Unfortunately for Dominic Kinnear, the Dynamo head coach, upcoming international fixtures for Canada and USA will deny him the services of his new front pairing in the coming weeks at a time when his side are finally beginning to look like back-to-back champions.

Los Angeles Galaxy beat Colorado 3-2 at Home Depot Center to replace the Rapids at the top of the Western Conference and banish memories of their opening day humiliation in Denver.

Week 11 Results

D.C. United vs Houston – match abandoned after 16 minutes
New York 1 Chivas 0 (Juan Pablo Angel seals a much needed win)
New England 2 Dallas 1
Columbus 0 San Jose 2 (shockingly bad celebration on the second goal)
Chicago 1 D.C. United 2
Salt Lake 0 Kansas City 0 (26 shots, no goals)
L.A. Galaxy 3 Colorado 2
Houston 3 Toronto 1

Standings

Eastern Conference
1) New England 23 points (played 12)
2) Chicago 19 (10)
3) Columbus 19 (11)
4) Toronto 17 (11)
5) New York 15 (10)
6) D.C. United 13 (12)
7) Kansas City 12 (10)

Western Conference
1) L.A. Galaxy 17 (11)
2) Houston 17 (12)
3) Colorado 15 (11)
4) Chivas 14 (11)
5) Dallas 13 (12)
6) Salt Lake 12 (11)
7) San Jose 10 (10)

MLS Week Ten: The MLS Exile Continues

There are many barriers standing in the path of Major League Soccer as the league’s decision-makers seek to make inroads into a domestic sports landscape dominated by America’s Big Three of football, basketball and baseball. But for MLS to gain increased recognition in Western Europe an insurmountable opponent requires befriending – time.

In this age of globalisation where modern technology allows instant communication across continents, British football connoisseurs can keep abreast of action from Scotland, England, Spain, Italy, Germany, France and Holland before the sun sets. Even the most xenophobic of followers are now capable of holding informed conversations about happenings in La Liga or Serie A.

However, there is only so much that ardent football junkies can consume to satisfy their cravings. Sadly for MLS that fix has been devoured well before the day’s results filter across the Atlantic Ocean. It is an inherent hurdle that the league is saddled with, even should the quality of play continue to improve over the coming years.

Perceptions were not helped this week by the tepid performance of Team America at Wembley Stadium in a friendly match shown live across the United Kingdom by the BBC. Confronted with the biggest of stages, at least in terms of venue if not significance, the USA disappointed. Negative reaction toward MLS formed on this game is grossly unfair given that Ricardo Clark of Houston Dynamo was the only home-based player to start the match.

Clark, a combative holding midfielder for the two-time defending MLS champions, is highly rated by Houston’s coaching staff of Dominic Kinnear and John Spencer, but his performance did little to enthuse the British press – 4 out of 10 was the mark attributed by The Times newspaper.

Brad Guzan fared better after his second half introduction. He produced some decent saves which will maintain his high-standing with scouts of Celtic, Arsenal and Aston Villa – all of whom have expressed an interest in signing the Chivas USA goalkeeper. Work permit issues have prevented any move from being completed.

I finally enjoyed some success in tracking down MLS action on Day Nine of my current jaunt to Scotland. In scanning the television guide I noticed that Five, the UK’s fifth and final national terrestrial analogue channel, were screening a 40-minute show called “Major League Soccer” albeit at 4.30am. It was time for my father to look out the long-lost video recorder instructions and set the timer.

Since Five’s 1997 launch, the channel has specialised in showing live late night sporting action from the US (as well as energetic late night action of another kind). Their coverage of Major League Baseball and the National Hockey League has been admirable if largely inconvenient for the majority of the working population.

David Beckham’s arrival in Los Angeles last season heralded the dawning of a new Wednesday evening show on Five – David Beckham’s Soccer USA – featuring highlights of the previous weekend’s matches. The programme could have been more appealingly titled and structured for a British audience tiring of the central character’s fading charades. It lasted less than three months before being pulled.

Nonetheless, credit goes to Five for their continuing efforts. At least I was able to digest highlights of the San Jose Earthquakes 2-1 victory over Houston Dynamo even if it was fully one week after the final whistle had sounded. In fairness, the trimmed-down version taken from ESPN’s full live coverage in the US did make for an enjoyable watch and would be worthy of contemplation for American broadcasters looking to attract more viewers to the sport. On many occasions, live televised matches can become too tedious for the impartial spectator no matter which league is involved.

And so to this week’s league action. Despite missing Ricardo Clark on Wednesday night, Houston battled to a 2-2 draw at FC Dallas before dispatching New York Red Bulls by a single Brian Ching goal on Saturday evening. The latter result was achieved without Pat Onstad and Dwayne De Rosario, both of whom were called up to the Canada squad that narrowly lost 3-2 to Brazil in Seattle.

Such conflicts between the domestic league and international fixtures will continue while MLS adopts a summer schedule. Harsh winters in the north and competition from the NFL and basketball seasons at this time of year suggests that a calendar switch will be unlikely in the foreseeable future.

Colorado Rapids reclaimed top spot in the Western Conference thanks to a late Tam McManus winner in a 2-1 win over Dallas. Only four points separate six teams after L.A. Galaxy lost out 2-0 at Toronto while Real Salt Lake battled back into contention with a 3-1 win over San Jose Earthquakes.

New England edged to the top of the Eastern Conference despite being held to a 2-2 draw at home against D.C. United. Chicago Fire were inactive and Columbus Crew were defeated 2-0 at Chivas USA. Steve Nicol will be pleased with a point having witnessed his side falling two goals adrift shortly after half-time.

Normal service for Hawksport resumes next weekend.

Week Ten Results

Dallas 2 Houston 2
New England 2 D.C. United 2
Toronto 2 L.A. Galaxy 0
Houston 1 New York 0
Salt Lake 3 San Jose 1
Chivas 2 Columbus 0
Colorado 2 Dallas 1

Standings

Eastern Conference
1) New England 20 points (played 11)
2) Chicago 19 (9)
3) Columbus 19 (10)
4) Toronto 17 (10)
5) New York 12 (9)
6) Kansas City 11 (9)
7) D.C. United 10 (11)

Western Conference
1) Colorado 15 (10)
2) L.A. Galaxy 14 (10)
3) Chivas 14 (10)
4) Houston 14 (11)
5) Dallas 13 (11)
6) Salt Lake 11 (10)
7) San Jose 7 (9)