CONCACAF Champions Cup, MLS Midweek, and UEFA Champions League
April 3, 2008 by f4denz.
Wow what a busy midweek, first up CCC
So after a very flat looking DC United on Tuesday night, would Houston look any better playing at home? Well the easy answer is yes, they did not give up any goals and despite a lot of efforts they did not score any in a 0-0 draw that was anything but boring. Playing against Deportivo Saprissa of Costa Rica, both teams played an attacking style, and despite the lack of scoring, the match was fun to watch, Saprissa controlled most of the 1st half action, but the second half the Dynamo stepped up their pace and effort, but each team had to settle for a lot of counters and no finishing, Houston had 17 shots to Saprissa’s 8. I for one can’t wait until the return match, should be a barnburner.
Liverpool vs. Arsenal & Fenerbahçe vs. Chelsea
Let’s start with the upset of the quarters, Fenerbahçe put in two goals to Chelsea’s one (an own goal). In front of a very loud, very excited crowd in Turkey, the boys from London looked shell shocked and a bit tired and despite putting more shots on goal, they dropped the opener and will have to wait until they get to the return leg next week but will have to win and keep Fenerbahçe off the scoreboard to advance.
The second match of Wednesday featured another London team Arsenal facing Liverpool and the action picked up in the 23rd minute on a brilliant header by Adebayor. It gets my vote for the best goal I have seen in a couple months, a great corner kick put the ball in just the right place and it was finished well. The home town fans went crazy, but their joy was cut short just 3 minutes later after a super play by Stevie G, which resulted in a Dirk Kuyt goal. Arsenal were the better team and it showed in the fact that they had almost 70% of the possession, but football is a funny game and goals are the only stat that really matters and heading into next weeks leg in Liverpool, the stage will be set for the third time these two teams will face off in a week. Could that precious away goal be the thing that moves Liverpool on to the semi finals?
MLS Midweek
So I flipped on the TV expecting to see New England dominate like they did against Houston, and what a surprise. Chicago has put in 4 goals in the first half and while the Rev’s have had their chances, this one has been dominated by the Fire. The first goal came in minute number 4 and Chad Barrett put it into the back of the net, and was followed by a straight red card to Jeff Larentowicz in the 7th minute. The other Fire goals came in the 22nd minute by Tomasz Frankowski, who also scored in the 39th minute, and in the 37th minute Blanco put a PK into the back of the net. Can the Revolution make any kind of a comeback, and does this make the RSL result last weekend seem a little more acceptable?
More from the second half
Talk about a 180 degree shift, no New England did not score 4 goals, in fact in the second half no goals were scored and the match was nowhere near as exciting as the first half. A 10 man Revolution team was simply no match for the Fire. Final score 4-0
Galaxy vs. Earthquakes
So as the match starts, the Galaxy defense looks to be as poor as it was against Colorado, SJ attacks and puts one in the back of the net, but the offside flag is up. The Galaxy counter and win a corner kick, but nothing comes of it. At least the LA attack appears to have more teeth than what they offered last weekend. In the 9th minute Golden balls puts the ball in the back of the net, and the flag stays down (wow was that close). 1-0 LA. Well one thing is sure, as bad as the Galaxy were against Colorado, the Earthquakes are worse than the Galaxy. It appears that if you can control possession of the ball, that the LA attack is shut down, but if you let them poke and prod at your defense they do have one of the best crossers of the ball in Beckham, and a guy who knows how to score MLS goals in Landycakes. By the way Landy put in the second LA goal and they are up 2-0 at the half, and it could get worse for SJ as they appear to have nothing to stop the LA attack. Next week the Galaxy face Toronto, so we may not know if they are really as bad as they looked last week, until their April 19th match against Houston. OK time for me to go watch the second half, I will post the final score in the morning.
OFF MY SOAPBOX