Week 5 in the books
So I will get to the RSL vs. DCU match a bit later, I want to watch it again and see if I am still as angry and disappointed after seeing it again. So let’s start with the match of the weekend.
SuperClasico
Wow talk about a match that had it all, it looked like a typical match up of the LA based teams 1-1 at the half with goals by Landycakes and Sasha, but all that changed in minute 59 and the remainder of the match was equal to the hype of the LA Galaxy in preseason. The Galaxy showed that when their attack is in form, that you better have a very solid defense or it will get out of hand in a hurry. It started with Landy’s second goal of the night and then just 3 minutes later in the 62nd Razov answered to tie it at 2-2, things then clamed down and it looked like a typical MLS match would go to the record book as a draw, but then the Galaxy simply exploded and put 3 more goals into the back of the net in a span of just over 8 minutes. Alan Gordon put one in, then Donovan got his hat trick a minute later, and then in the 84th minute was the exact attack that the Galaxy had been hoping for when they brought Beckham to MLS, a three player attack with the ball going from Beckham to Landycakes in the box, but without a real shot he puts the ball at the feet of Gordon who closes out the scoring. Chivas didn’t look horrible, but LA did look that much better and finished their attacks. After each of Galaxy goals, Chivas did attack and try to quickly counter and twice their shots were within a foot of goal but, a foot the wrong way meant that the Galaxy put this one away 5-2.
Toronto wins again
If anyone had been talking about Toronto having 3 wins in their first five matches, when they only had six wins in all of 2007, you would have thought they were crazy. But, Toronto has changed, the players they have brought in since week two have made a huge impact, we saw it last week as Robert got the game winner on a set piece, and this week both Toronto goals were scored by Amado Guevara. While KC remains a point above TFC in the table, there is no question that in this match TFC was the better team.
The Crew keep on working
I am not sure if it is magic, or if the team with a workman as their logo is simply working harder than anyone else, but as week 5 comes to an end, the Crew are the best team in MLS with 4 wins and only one loss. They have beat Chivas, Houston, DC United, and TFC, their only loss has come on the road against the Red Bulls, their 12 points are enough to give them a two point cushion over New England, KC, and Chicago. This win came with a little bit of controversy, as the Dynamo blow it on a set piece and an offside call pull a goal off the scoreboard in the 13th minute, as the issues continue for the former MLS champions. Houston has struggled to score goals and if you take away their 3 goals against Dallas, they have only scored two goals in their other four matches. It sure had some strange moments like the scrum on the goal line as Columbus kept the ball out of their own goal in minute 35, talk about strange. Both teams had a good number of scoring chances in the match, but goals were far and few between in this match, with only one goal a 22nd minute shot by Alejandro Moreno making the difference as the Crew win 1-0.
The matches that no one saw
So the MLS in their attempt to do something, no clue what have allowed matches to be exclusive to HDNET (which holds about 10% of the cable HD market- which is about 1% of all actual HD programming) so I can offer nothing more than a score line for the Fire vs. Rapids 2-1 (play by play – from MLS website). Slightly better than not being able to see the HDNET exclusives is having to watch a horrible quality signal on Telefutura (what will they do when they have to broadcast in digital?), I actually enjoy the Spanish commentary, despite knowing very little Spanish, but the picture quality is so bad that even the graphics look horrible. I was able to see enough to know that the Earthquakes held their own against the Red Bulls, as both teams really did seem to be balanced on the pitch. Of course had New York been able to play injured Juan Pablo Angel, it most likely would have been a different matter, but injuries happen and the result is that both teams struggled for offensive chances. 78 scoreless minutes were broken by a PK, and then as the clock was winding down a goal from Jozy in the 94th minute to end the match at 2-0 for the Red Bulls.
Week 5 is over and the East appears dominant
This week saw 5 matches of East vs. West and in every single one of them the East got a win, the only team from the West to win was the LA Galaxy, who faced fellow Western Conference side Chivas. FC Dallas the best team in the West would be in 6th place in the East, and no team in the West has more than two wins in the first 5 weeks of the season. It is still early in the season but this weekends results showed that as of week 5 in the MLS, the East is simply dominating the West, and the worst team in the East is DC United, the team that ended 2007 by winning the supporter’s shield for best record in the league. It could be a long spring and summer for all the teams of the Western Conference unless something changes. The next time there will be 5 matches between the East and West on one weekend will be the end of June, let’s hope it is not a clean sweep again. Just a final note, my predictions were right in 4 matches, and an exact score pick in the 2-0 New York win over San Jose.
OFF MY SOAPBOX
This entry was posted on April 27, 2008 at 6:30 pm and is filed under MLS Review. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site.