Wednesday, July 30, 2008

NE vs Atlante

Here we go, with the game to decide the second finalist of the SuperLiga. The telenovela is ending, and Paloma's heart has been broken because she has just returned (from a kidnapping?) to find the love of her life has married. Or maybe it's a lie, but too late, the game is starting.
The announcers focus on the midfield, saying Shalrie Joseph is key for the Revs. Well, yeah.
Atlante:
* 3 - Federico Vilar (GK)
* 2 - Javier Munoz Mustafa
* 6 - Gerardo Espinoza
* 8 - Alan Zamora
* 9 - Giancarlo Maldonado
* 11 - Luis Gabriel Rey
* 15 - Arturo Munoz
* 17 - Jose Guerrero
* 18 - Christian Bermudez
* 23 - Gerardo Castillo
* 31 - Daniel Arreola
Revs:
* 1 - Matt Reis (GK)
* 2 - Amaechi Igwe
* 3 - Chris Albright
* 6 - Jay Heaps
* 11 - Kheli Dube
* 13 - Jeff Larentowicz
* 14 - Steve Ralston
* 16 - Mauricio Castro
* 21 - Shalrie Joseph
* 29 - Kenny Mansally
* 31 - Sainey Nyassi


Kickoff!
1- Albright scrapping from the start - no surprise there.
3 - Atlante might be considered the weakest semifinalist, but they're taking it to the Revs early, attacking hard.
4 - Maldonado earns a corner. Cleared, but Atlante regain possession and continue an attack. Reis is mentioned as the All-Star keep.
6 - Nyassi with a decent attempt in the box, but the cut-back move to get free was better than the shot. Vilar catches.
8 - Maldonado with a shot at the other end, but he doesn't even put it on frame. Reis dives, for practice more than anything.
9 - Dube with a header that is way off.
10 - The announcers mention Sunil Gulati is in the house, watching the game. Well, yeah, he works for the Revs.
11 - Maldonado called for offside, though he seemed even on the replay. But TV angles aren't always accurate. It depends where the camera is.
13 - The teams have played before, back when NE was training in preseason at Cancun. Atlante won 1-0.
14 - Revs developing a better rhythm after withstanding the early Atlante onslaught.
15 - Announcers report that Blanco gave Joseph serious props after the All-Star game, said his play allowed the other players to shine.
16 - Nyassi with a nice attack, gets overexcited and loses the ball at the edge of the box for no good reason.
18 - Igwe gets a pass or shot into the box, but Dube touches a pass back to the defense of Atlante.
19 - Dube with an opportunistic shot. High.
23 - Corner kick for Revs - cleared but leads to another corner. Joseph with a header, but it's high.
25 - Off the crossbar! Mansally with a great move to get free on the side, crossed the ball into the box, where Dube, I think kicked the ball off the crossbar.
26 - Corner for Atlante on the counter, Reis catches the header.
27 - Save! Reis dives to stop another shot. Igwe collided with Guerrero on the play, and Guerrero is down.
30 - Messy tackling in midfield. Ref is letting a lot go.
31 - GOAL- Off a FK by Rally near midfield, Ralston serves it into the Atlante box and Joseph goes high to power the ball into the goal. 1-0 Revs. Joseph is key indeed.
33 - Atlante have a FK of their own, closer than the one the Revs scored on. It appears to miss everybody, but they get a corner out of it. The Fort boos that lustily.
34 - No matter, Reis scoops up the corner kick and motions for his team to calm down.
35 - Dube shoots into the arms of Vilar.
37 - Nyassi with a hopeful shot. No.
39 - Castillo is off for Vanegas. Reis catches a cross and stops an Atlante attack.
40 - Albright in the box, working the give and go, but doesn't get much on his shot and Vilar catches it.
41 - Rally's FK misses everybody.
43 - Nyassi puts in a great low cross, but no one can reach it.
45 - Atlante appear to have lost their mojo.
45 + But just as I type that, they attack and Reis has to catch a cross to stop it.
Halftime
The Revs did well on their goal and stayed just ahead of every Atlante attempt on the other end, but the game is well within striking distance for the Mexican squad. A comeback is possible in the second half.
46 - Shalrie gets fouled - obviously Atlante has decided not to let him roam freely - he makes too much of an impact on the game. They're looking to shut him down.
48 - Fight! Ok, well, at least some shoving there. This game has a lot of emotions as well. I'll bet the Atlante player said to Reis, "What's the point? You'll just lose to the Dynamo again!" Meanie.
50 - Taylor Twellman is warming up.
52 - Atlante attacking hard - Nyassi gets a card for a tackle from behind.
54 - Atlante corner. Reis catches.
55 - Rally FK - Joseph gets a bit of it, but the ball ends up in Vilar's hands.
56 - Espinoza gets a card and Rally a FK in almost the same spot as a minute ago. Bad kick, though, Rally overshoots Joseph by quite a bit.
59 - Reis gives up a chance when he palms a ball instead of catching it, but the defense is able to clear.
61 - Igwe from distance, but Vilar sees the ball the whole way.
62 - Dube crosses to Mansally, but Kenny puts his chance wide. Poor.
63 - Handball! The ref doesn't give it, though. Lawrentowitz was going for the ball may have had his hand out for balance, but it definitely wasn't by his side.
66 - Nicol is exhorting his charges to keep calm.
68 - Joseph gets a ball full in the face from a teammate's attempted clear. That smarts.
70 - Maldonado is pissed off to be whistled offside.
72 - Nyassi fouled deep in Atlante territory. Vilar misses Rally's FK, but all the other Revs fail to poke the ball into the net.
75 - Rally with another FK, but Atlante manage to clear. TeleFutura now wants to know who is your game MVP. I say Shalrie wins in a landslide.
76 - Albright clears a service into the box via header, but gives up a corner.
77 - Save! Reis picks the ball off the Atlante attackers foot.
79 - Adam Cristman comes in for Mansally.
80 - Trujillo comes on for Guerrero.
83 - Joseph with a shot - deflection falls to Smith, who winds up - wide.
84 - Cristman gets fouled deep - a FK for NE. But before it can be taken, Joseph is down and handbags break out. I guess Joseph got a headbutt from Luis Gabriel Rey, who gets a red card. Vilar is pissed at Albright, who by the way speaks Spanish, so I'm sure something was said there.
88 - The FK finally gets taken, and cleared, though Nyassi gets a shot off the clearance. Wide.
89 - Nyassi down for another NE FK. It's taken quickly, but Albright then gets fouled. Another FK, leading to a Lawrentowitz shot - high.
90 - Cristman gets a yellow - I guess he threw the ball at someone? Chippy game.
90+ Atlante stop Smith on the line of the box - finally set up a real attack, but the cross overshoots everyone in the box. Bad.
Shalrie wins the MVP. Big shock.
Atlante scrap desperately for a final chance. Zamora gets beaten fo a ball with Joseph's touch. He twofoot tackles Joseph. That's his second yellow and he's gone. Something about Albright is dais by the announcers - apparently he and Zamora had words during the exit.
Mustafa elbows Dube, not even going for the ball - gets a yellow. Ugly.
Nicol is pointing at his watch. Finally, the whistle blows.
Revs win. Vilar comes hunting for Albright. A scrum breaks out, because he hits Heaps, just for being in his way. Albright is hit and pissed. The ref is trying to keep players off each other.Vilar is grabbed for an interview and he says he can't talk because this is a dangerous country or something like that.
The Atlante coach blames the ref, what's new?
So it's the Revs and Houston in the final. Deja vu all over again.
Just to wrap it up, here is the conduct report from the game, because I missed some, there were so many.
NE -- Amaechi Igwe (caution; Reckless Foul) 27
NE -- Sainey Nyassi (caution; Pushing, Holding) 52
ATN -- Giancarlo Maldonado (caution; Dissent) 53
ATN -- Gerardo Espinoza (caution; Pushing, Holding) 56
ATN -- Fernando Navarro (caution; Pushing, Holding) 71
ATN -- Alan Zamora (caution; Reckless Foul) 84
ATN -- Luis Gabriel Rey (ejection; Violent Conduct) 85
NE -- Chris Albright (caution; Dissent) 85
ATN -- Federico Vilar (caution; Dissent) 86
ATN -- Federico Vilar (ejection; Second Caution) 91+
ATN -- Alan Zamora (ejection; Second Caution) 94+
ATN -- Javier Munoz Mustafa (ejection; Second Caution) 95+
NE -- Jay Heaps (ejection; Violent Conduct) 95+
ATN -- Luis Venegas (ejection; Violent Conduct) 95+


28 comments:

Anonymous said...

Atlante 2-1 New England

Atlante takes the whole thing getting revenge for the 4-0 loss to Houston.


Michoacano

L.B. said...

Oh, tragic! Poor Paloma. She's hot, though. She'll recover.

Uh, let me see, um, as far as the game goes, Revs 1-0. Goal by Dube.

Anonymous said...

I say the Revs take it, facing Houston in the poorly attended Superliga final.

starinyourfire said...

i say new england takes this game, by what score i'm not sure...by one goal maybe 2 max

bdure said...

Paloma? That's a Carbon Leaf song, isn't it?

Anonymous said...

Pachuca and Atlante have been a fucking disgrace.

Anonymous said...

Atlante should be absolutely ashamed of themselves. They were intentionally trying to pick fight in order to get the Revs players suspended for the final. Atlante played extremely dirty. In addition to hitting Joseph below the belt, they are pushing the Revs after the whistle! ARE YOU KIDDING ME! What a disgrace. I hope you or Luis addresses this. Thanks.

-Steve

P.S. I don't post very often, but I check your blog many times a day. Keep up the good work!

nothingtoseehere said...

Unnecessary ugliness at the end of the game was not surprising at all.

I don't know why people bag on Superliga so much. It was pretty entertaining to watch this year, especially since MLS teams laid the beatdown once again. Where is the final going to be played? Definitely an early preview of MLS Cup.

Anonymous said...

its a f@#$%ng disgrace that team staff (from any club) come on the field and do anything but hold there own players back.

Anonymous said...

someone please read Federico Vilar wiki page its awesome

Anonymous said...

I'm not sure SuperLiga can continue if every freakin' Mexican team craps their trousers when their losing in last 15 minutes and starts an MMA cage match. Seriously -- Pachuca and Atlante are freakin' disgraceful. Can you guys recall any recent MLS match where a team was down 1-0 in the last 15-20 minutes and then went totally ape?

Joseph gets chopped down twice and doesn't retaliate, while that douchebag defender (don't know his name) throws shoulders, elbows, etc.

I really hope if an MLS team ever pulled this kind of crap in SuperLiga that the Don would ban them from further competition.

Anonymous said...

Another classy display from a mexican side. I can understand their players being angry. That was a blatant handball and should have been a penaly. But to react like that at the end of the game and also having other coaches come on the field and start swinging, thats just ridiculous.

Anonymous said...

Where did the new stuff about Vilar go on Wikipedia? There was a beautiful peice on how he is an avid homosexual and seeks to pick fights with players after games?

nothingtoseehere said...

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e111/Rhysdigital/federico.jpg

enjoy. :)

Anonymous said...

should we expect anything less from the land down under?

Unknown said...

It was a good game before the fouls started happening. Very disappointed in the finish. Again these announcers are killing me, they are so biased, though they praised New England (Joseph) a lot. Swartz is a dork. The mexican managers get up and say stuff, and Swartz says they are right in whatever they argue. Nicols gets up, and Swartz says he doing his "berinches". Funny stuff.

Anonymous said...

I love how their are several Mexican haters posting their meaningless hypocrite garbage on Mexican teams, and how they are always classy. I agree the way Atlante acted during and after the game was wrong. but god they act as if mls players are the classiest players around. Hit, hit Clark,Albright, and so on. I am just sick and tiered of hearing MLS anti-Mexican racist spilling their bull. I hope they cancel the Superliga. This shit is a joke.

Anonymous said...

Both New England and Atlante are in Group C of the Concacaf Champions League. It could get very interesting in few weeks if the Revs have to play in Mexico...hell a rematch period could be down right ugly.

Anonymous said...

yeah i agree enough with the white supremacy speech. MLS fan here, and both sides are at fault. Thats why most Mexican-Americans or Mexicans in the USA will never support the US nats.

Anonymous said...

Americans soccer fans don't know what classy is.

Anonymous said...

Nothing here is racist.

Quit trying to play the race card.

Atlante is a Mexican team. New England is a US team.

Atlante tried to start fights the whole night.

The Brofessor said...

Isn't this what we want? A little drama and testiness? Without the scrapping, it would have been a totally boring game.

Anonymous said...

Jim:
Last time I checked poor sportsmanship, cheating, and being a SORE LOSER weren't being taught in school. Instead of blaming teachers for this kind of crap, why don't you see if parent(s) may have something to do with it. You sound very republican by the way.

Anonymous said...

That's what I thought. Walks like a duck... Are you sure your not a victim of the vague, blanket, knee-jerk comment you made? I know, your not only the president, your also a member. Next time explain your position with facts, examples, ect., before you make these self-rightous, ambiguous accusations. Whatever...

Anonymous said...

@anon: you're right, parents do bear the brunt of the responsibility for raising their children (a very Republican thing for you to say BTW if you want to talk political affiliations, not that there would be anything wrong with that counter to your thinking. It is possible for people to have differing political leanings and not be 'evil' and such. )

However, last time I checked, schools do have physical education classes and sports teams. If you believe that the coaches of those classes/teams have no onus of responsibility to make sure people treat other people with some respect while they are playing the games; than we are truly lost as a society.

Anonymous said...

I hear you papa bear. I guess I was thinking more along the lines of elementary school-age and the early AYSO range. But one could also argue it's the repubs ALWAYS blaming the teachers for most of societies woes. I'm sure Andrea would concur. But point taken. Who knows, it could be the societal/cultural atmosphere that breeds that ridiculous "sour grapes" hostility/mentality/acceptance in much of latin america, esp Argentina.

A.C. said...

People of all political affiliations complain about teachers, I've found, so I make no assumptions on that part. At times, the complaints are justified, others, not so much.

Anonymous said...

Fair enough. But the vast majority of repubs historically and to this day, do more than complain. They hate us, our union, and think everyone out to be like kids from Salt Lake City. Diversity who? They BLAME teachers for bad test scores, poor student conduct, using funds incorrectly, ect.,ect.,ect. Further, they, Arnold et. al, what to put non-educators in charge because all kids are the same, right? BS. How do I know? I've taught public elementary school 15 years; my brother 20; my dad 35- in the barrio. So I think I have a decent insight. As you probably know, teachers are the most altruistic, givng, under-paid professionals around-- sans most of MLS. That's why knee-jerk comments and, sorry, the republican party line, strike a nerve, especially when they have NO IDEA what it is to walk a few feet, let alone a mile, in our moccasins. Sorry for the soap box rave, but many have no clue at all.

How 'bout those Revs huh? :)