MLS Week 27 Review

The last rites remain undelivered, but Chicago Fire striker Chris Rolfe may have dealt a fatal blow to Los Angeles Galaxy’s slim post-season hopes this past weekend.

In a dazzling performance, Rolfe netted two goals and set up another for Cuauhtemoc Blanco as Chicago overcame the supposed Galacticos 3-1 at Toyota Park. San Jose aside, all of Galaxy’s Western Conference play-off rivals recorded vital wins as the battle took a new twist – as it now stands, four teams from each conference will progress.

Rolfe’s impact during his debut season in 2005 saw him earn his first international cap that November in a friendly against Scotland. His progression has been slowed by injuries, but on his day there are few better forwards in MLS.

John Thorrington and Blanco combined to engineer Rolfe’s first chance on nine minutes. His curling left-foot shot from the right of the penalty box was smartly tipped around the far post by Galaxy goalkeeper Josh Wicks. Four minutes later, Rolfe worked his way into a similar position after a couple of attempted tackles ricocheted in his favour. This time his composed effort curled around Wicks to give Chicago the lead.

Galaxy worked their way back into the game in the latter stages of the first half. Eddie Lewis equalised on 34 minutes, his first goal for Los Angeles, brilliantly adjusting his body under pressure to flick home a cross by right-back Chris Klein. Thereafter, it was largely one-way traffic as Chicago dominated after the interval.

An electrifying turn by Rolfe created space for him to thread a through-ball for Blanco on 57 minutes. The veteran Mexican may not be the world’s fastest sprinter, but he covered enough ground to be in position to take advantage of a defensive mix-up. Blanco stepped in to slot the ball into an empty net as Galaxy defender Troy Roberts and the advancing Wicks left the clearance to each other.

The contest was over two minutes later as Chicago treated the buoyant home crowd to an example of their finest play. Blanco’s instinctive back-heel released Gonzalo Segares down the left and his cross-field pass found Rolfe racing clear. He advanced on goal before steering his finish just beyond Wicks’ reach to seal the win.

While Blanco continues to inspire Chicago, an increasing number of Galaxy fans are wondering what their superstar brings to their team. David Beckham still has many apologists defending his lack of defensive application by incorrectly branding him as a creative winger. Others shrug off his lack of offensive threat by citing his play as that of a deep-lying defensive midfielder. At his best Beckham was neither, but he worked diligently to perform both sides of the wide-midfield role extremely effectively. Today, Beckham is still neither but he chooses to do neither. It looks like Galaxy fans will have an extra month during the off-season to contemplate this third reason.

Dallas entered the weekend one point above L.A. but extended that lead with a 3-0 trouncing of D.C. United. The capital side are enduring a terrible run of form at the worst possible moment with two points gained from the last 15 as well as two disappointing losses in the CONCACAF Champions’ League in recent weeks. This defeat sees them slip out of the play-off places as Real Salt Lake, fourth in the West, eclipse their points total.

Salt Lake achieved that feat courtesy of a surprising 3-2 win at San Jose which ended the Earthquakes’ nine-game unbeaten run. That streak coincided with the arrival of Darren Huckerby. He scored twice to bring his tally to six so far for San Jose, but his exploits were matched by Yura Movsisyan before Javier Morales earned the visitors the win with a textbook free-kick. RSL move into the Rio Tinto Stadium on October 9. They have given themselves a great opportunity to christen their new home with the team’s first ever trip to the play-offs.

Colorado picked up an unlikely road win at Giants Stadium, overcoming the dreadful artificial surface to beat New York in a goal fest. Conor Casey’s perfectly executed volley in the final minute sealed his hat-trick and a 5-4 win for the Rapids to keep them in third place in the West.

With so much excitement surrounding the race for play-off places – only Toronto now look out of the picture – Saturday evening’s clash between the league’s two top sides was somewhat overshadowed. New England Revolution were looking to reduce the five-point advantage established by Columbus Crew, but Sigi Schmid’s side continued their impressive season with a 1-0 win at a rainy Gillette Stadium. Even the 65th minute dismissal of captain Frankie Hejduk could not derail the visitors as Chad Marshall’s first half header proved decisive.

Houston Dynamo retain an outside chance of overhauling Columbus for the Supporters’ Shield, but their CONCACAF Champions’ League involvement leads to an intensive October schedule which will test the depth of Dominic Kinnear’s squad. Marvell Wynne’s late equaliser for Toronto earned a 1-1 draw against the defending champions at BMO Field after teammate Hunter Freeman had gifted the visitors a first half lead with a bizarre own goal.

The Dynamo organisation would love to add the Supporters’ Shield to the list of accomplishments achieved during their brief tenure, but few connected with the club will have too much cause for complaint if their third season ends in similar fashion to the first two – by lifting MLS Cup.

Week 27 Results

Chicago 3 L.A. Galaxy 1
Toronto 1 Houston 1
Chivas 2 Kansas City 1 (Injuries begin to clear at the right time for Preki's team)
New England 0 Columbus 1
New York 4 Colorado 5
San Jose 2 Salt Lake 3
Dallas 3 D.C. United 0

Standings

Eastern Conference
1) Columbus 50 points (played 26)
2) New England 42 (26)
3) Chicago 41 (26)
4) *New York 35 (26)
5) D.C. United 33 (26)
6) Kansas City 32 (26)
7) Toronto 28 (26)

Western Conference
1) Houston 40 (25)
2) Chivas 36 (26)
3) Colorado 34 (26)
4) *Salt Lake 34 (26)
5) Dallas 33 (26)
6) L.A. Galaxy 29 (26)
7) San Jose 29 (25)

*Lines show teams occupying play-off positions.