MLS Weekend II Review
April 8, 2008 by f4denz.
So after a double header at midweek in MLS, there were 4 matches on Saturday and one on Sunday this week. Did any team really build on week one results? Or are we still looking at a bunch of pretenders?
Will the real DC United please step up.
So week one they go to the minor league baseball park that is home to the Wiz and they look like a team that is confused on what game they are playing, then mid week they go to Pachuca and get beat bad. Then comes their first home match of the MLS season and they get the underhand softball that is TFC, sorry I am calling them like I see them and I know some will cry that Toronto only had 10 men after Harmse got carded in the 22nd minute. The reality is that TFC played better with 10 men than they did with 11, they gave up two early goals and were on their heels for the first 20 minutes of the match and at least after the red card, they played better defense and even put one in the back of the net against DC. So on Saturday DC United comes to Salt Lake City, a place where they have had problems the last couple years, will RSL put their first mark in the win column, or will DC United show that they are a real contender for MLS Cup. Oh for my friends in Toronto, going in numbers to Columbus and shouting down their 100 fans is nothing, where were the Red Patch Boys at RFK? Sorry the best fans in MLS are in DC.
KC at the top of the table? Can the Rapids repeat?
OK it is only week two but KC is at the top of the table, with two wins and 5 goals for and 2 against, perhaps the real problem was two fold. Eddie Johnson is gone, and they are no longer putting their 5,000 fans in a stadium that holds almost 80,000, who knows but their new home is a converted baseball field and it looks funny on TV but KC is unbeaten at home. Colorado put up a good effort and look to be a much better team than they were last season, but two goals by Conrad and one by Sealy show that KC is going to be a tough place to play this year, can they keep it up on the road? Well they get more home matches before we will find out, they face New England on Wednesday night, and Houston comes to town on Saturday, before KC travels to Chicago on the 20th. Wow how do you get 4 home matches to open a season?
Red Bulls=No Bull, and the Crew go blue
So after a delayed opening match against San Jose, the Red Bulls opened their 2008 MLS season at home against the Crew, who were on a high after beating TFC at their home opener. The Red Bulls came out will all pistons firing and put up two goals in under 10 minutes, and the rest of the match was simply protecting that lead, the Crew appeared to have lost of their luster as Hesmer now appears human on regular shots, but for the second straight week stopped a PK. Wunderkid of week one Adam Moffat, also appeared to be a normal MLS player after a great week one performance. The Red Bulls left one question after their opener, what is going on with Jozy? He was on the bench, appeared to be fit, but did not see any action. How lethal will their attack be when Jozy gets into the mix for the Red Bulls?
RSL gets bit by their past Chivas tops the west
Well last year RSL tried a couple of things, first they traded away the 2006 Golden Boot Jeff Cunningham for Alecko Eskandarian and moved Atiba Harris to D-mid, well neither of those things helped out Jason Kreis’ first season as coach, but in the off season both of those players moved to Chivas. On Saturday evening, it proved to be the nail in the RSL coffin as both of them put the ball past Nick Rimando and into the back of the net, with Atiba getting the game winner in a 3-1 Chivas victory. It is an improvement over RSL’s first match against Chivas last season, but not much, it was a physical match and RSL controlled much of the possession, but that doesn’t win matches and the fact that they blew too many shots, failed to take advantage of chances to get off shots, and Findley’s offsides calls simply proved that RSL has a long way to go. Chivas have shown themselves as the class of the Western Conference, and I believe they will only get better as the season moves on, what will happen in a couple months when Guzan moves on to Europe? Real on the other hand get a chance to face off against DC United, a team they have done very well against when they face them in Salt Lake City, but so far they have not shown that their improved team can improve on the results of last season.
Another Sunday Draw, in Spanish
So at least this week, I could actually see the players and almost see the ball, the action was fast and furious during the first of the Dallas vs. Houston battles of 2008, three goals in the first half. Two by Man U reject Kenny Cooper (nice to see him recover from the broken leg that kept him out almost all of 2007), and one by Franco Caraccio of Houston. The second half was another three goal half, with Dallas scoring one for themselves and one for Houston and Houston putting one in for themselves. An entertaining match, I love the passion of the Spanish announcers even if I only understand a couple words and phrases, I only wish they would offer English subtitles and find a way to broadcast a higher quality signal.
Matches to watch this week
The nice thing is we don’t have to wait until the weekend to watch matches again, this week offers a ton of chances to watch the beautiful game. You have the 2nd legs of the CONCACAF Champions Cup with DC United hosting Pachuca, and Houston going to Costa Rica to face Deportivo Saprissa, you have the 2nd leg of the UEFA Champions League Liverpool vs. Arsenal @ Anfield, and Fenerbahçe vs. Chelsea in London, Man U vs. Roma at Old Trafford, and Schalke face off against Barcelona in Spain. Even the Wednesday match with KC vs. New England is on Direct Kick, so there are no excuses to not spend some time watching football this week. I know my DVR will be getting a workout this week.
OFF MY SOAPBOX