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)
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)
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