Top XI
G: Brad Guzan Matt Reis
D: Julius James
D: Facundo Erpen
D: Carey Talley
M: Jorge Flores
M: Javier Morales Steve Ralston
M: Dwayne De Rosario
M: Jesse Marsch
F: Robbie Findley
F: Tom McManus Dominic Oduro
F: Kheli Dube
Top coach: Preki. Even with Claudio Suarez, Shavar Thomas and Ante Razov dressed and available, Preki stuck with young guys like Bobby Burling and Justin Braun, and Chivas USA picked up its third straight win because of it.
Jason Kreis didn't panic when his team squandered a PK chance, and made the right changes to turn the game in RSL's favor.
Top player: Robbie Findley. A second-half substitute, Findley's impact against San Jose was immediate. A long-range bomb and an assist from Findley helped Real Salt Lake turn their fortunes around at a moment's notice.
Jesse Marsch put the game away for his squad - the veteran has the knack for timely goals this season - and has been key to turning Chivas USA around from their early season difficulties. He still gets it done on defense, as well, a complete two-way player.
Top game: New England 2, DC 2. The Revs nearly lost to the Eastern bottom dwellers at home, but after falling behind 2-0 made a game out of it.
Top: Jorge Flores vs Columbus. The 18-year-old's left-footed volley was something else. He scored a goal like that in the preseason, so it's not exactly a fluke goal.
For all-out hustle and heart, can't beat Tom McManus for the winner versus Dallas.
Best save: Adam Moffat may have thought he had a goal against Chivas as a corner kick bounced its way around before landing at his feet but Brad Guzan dived and somehow stopped the ball from crossing the goal line.
LOWLIGHTS
Alex Prus completely botched a play late in the Houston-FC Dallas game. Eddie Robinson dealt Marcelo Saragosa a forearm blow and touched off a scrum. Somehow Saragosa was booked as well as teammate Andre Rocha. Robinson was correctly sent off but Prus, as always, tried to even things out by sending Rocha off. Not surprisingly, Houston came back to tie the match.
MLS now has to look at TFC as indulgent parents do when they realize that no matter how cute their kid looks breaking basic societal rules, letting things go often leads to worse problems. A fan disrupting a game in progress, streamers during open play, trash and full beer cups hitting players shouldn't be part of the beautiful game.
With David Beckham and Landon Donovan, the Galaxy truly looks like a contender and a team that can make noise in the playoffs. Without them, the Galaxy looks clueless and barely resembles an MLS team. Two players, no matter how good they are, shouldn't make that much of a difference.
Granted, the refs shouldn't have allowed Atiba Harris to push Columbus players down in the box - but the frontier justice of O'Rourke isn't the answer.
New York was once seemingly an Eastern contender. It looks like the wheels have fallen off this sham of a club.
1 comment:
"Eddie Robinson dealt Marcelo Saragosa a forearm blow and touched off a scrum. Somehow Saragosa was booked as well as teammate Andre Rocha."
Not sure which game you were watching here. Saragosa hit Robinson upside the head with a cast on - that's a forearm blow. Robinson pushed him back (clearly a push away with hands, NOT a violent forearm shot), and Saragosa collapsed like he had been shot. They both deserved the yellow cards they got.
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