My take on the game for TopDrawerSoccer.
On these game reports, writers rate the players numerically. It may not make sense to some that I have Sacha Kljestan so low, since he played impressively in the main. But I was pretty appalled at his tackle on Andy Williams.
It's likely that Williams could be out for the rest of season - if his leg is in fact broken, which is what the medical staff thought happened.
Last season, Dominic Mediate broke his leg landing awkwardly from a Ugo Ihemelu tackle, one which didn't even draw any card from the ref, but the MLS committee, upon video review, handed down a two game suspension, calling it a dangerous tackle.
Williams didn't fall, but cried out on the impact of Sacha's tackle, then crumpled to the ground. So if William's leg is broken, it's from the hit of the tackle itself.
Sacha's own coach called the play "silly", and it could haunt Chivas USA if the disciplinary committee hands down a suspension, leaving Sacha out of games like the Superclassico.
Of course, RSL is worse off in comparison in losing Williams.
"You don't expect to see that," said RSL coach John Ellinger. "Sacha's not a malicious kind of guy. He just made a poor decision."
3 comments:
This is the first I've heard about that, how unfortunate.
I'm a fan of Kljiestan and I believe he has a big future, but based on what you described I hope he gets punished pretty severely for what he did.
Speaking of bad tackles, I may be in the minority but Mathis deserved his red, IMO. He exposed the bottom of his cleat very high to the Houston players' knee/thigh with almost no chance of getting the ball. I also believe that Mathis had bad intentions when he did it, maybe not to injure the player but definitely to get a 'cheap' shot in and send a message.
The referee interpreted it correctly IMO. And for that matter, Mathis' intentions really aren't even important. To expose your cleats like that to a player whose leg is vulnerable, is grossly irresponsible, and if Mathis didn't know that (which I'm sure he does) he knows it now.
Last thought, I thought the ref in the Houston/NYRB game did a very good job overall.
I still really bad for Domenic Mediate, who was having a pretty decent season for DC as a reserve / substitute, before Ugo's tackle broke his leg. He hasn't been able to recover fully from the injury and is no longer with DC United. I actually strongly dislike Colorado because Ugo plays for them now. I'm not a big fan of leg breakers, whether it's Ugo, Stoichkov, or Dema Kovalenko
That play was wrong and uncalled for. Sacha had a bad night, imho. He's young and will learn. I hope his supension isn't too long, either.
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