USA v Catalonia game cancelled

The 9/13 friendly in Catalonia has been canceled by the Spanish Football Federation by an overwhelming majority vote. The reason has been cited as the Euro 2008 qualifier between Spain and Denmark the day after. The current plan is to hold a mini-camp prior to the Switzerland friendly, pending we find a replacement team.

New England Revolution v Carolina Railhawks match report

Veterans Stadium in New Britain, Connecticut was the venue for the US Open Cup semifinal between the New England Revolution of MLS and Carolina Railhawks of USL-1. 4,000+ were on attendance last night as the Revs pulled an extra time win over the Railhawks, coming back from a 1-0 deficit. Both teams finished the game with less than they started, Carolina receiving two red cards, New England getting one.

The game started poorly for the Revs as Carolina scored int he 6th minute off of an overall lazy effort from the team. The same can be said for the entire first half as lethargic play littered the field, the majority coming from Pat Noonan who seemed either hurt or bored. Towards the end of the first half, a ridiculous Carolina dive sparked both teams into a frenzy, the ensuing scuffles eventually leading to the ejection of Shalrie Joseph (New England) and Connolly Edozien (Carolina). Minutes later, Jeff Larentowicz would cap off a remarkable team goal, equalizing in the final minute of stoppage time.

The second half was better from the Revolution, as head coach Steve Nicol had obviously had some choice words for the team. Though you can't really say they played well, the were improving as the game went on, and would soon be aided by the ejection of David Stokes 10 minutes from the end of regulation. At the end of ninety minutes, we were deadlocked at one goal a piece.

Extra time started well for the Revs as Pat Noonan scored what would prove to be the game winner only three minutes into the first period. The goal came from a strong midfield run from the Gambian debutant Sainey Nyassi, who had encouraging play for his time on the field. The Revolution didn't die though, and continued to fight, with Adam Cristman having a goal handed on a silver platter minutes from the end of extra time, but unfortunately botched the shot.

Overall the Revolution played ok, well enough to beat a USL side, but if they want to win the Cup, improvements to the attitude and approach to the game must be made. Without Shalrie Joseph, and a slim selection for the backline, the offense will have to carry a lot of the weight.

New England now travel to Pizza Hut Park, the site where two Cup finals have been lost, on October 3rd.

Summer transfer roundup

Columbus Crew

IN: Guillermo Barros Schelotto (Boca Juniors), Alejandro Moreno (Houston Dynamo), Andrei Pacheco (W Connection)
OUT: Danny Sztela (Racing Santender), Joseph Ngwenya (Houston Dynamo

Chivas USA

IN: Ramon Nunez (FC Dallas)
OUT:

Colorado Rapids

IN: Mehdi Ballouchy (Real Salt Lake), Daniel Osorno (Atlas), Tony Sanneh (Chicago Fire)
OUT: Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake)

Chicago Fire

IN: Wilman Conde Jr. (Milonarios), Cuauhtemoc Blanco (America)
OUT: Thiago (released), Tony Sanneh (released)

DC United

IN:
OUT:

FC Dallas

IN: Denilson (Al-Nasr), Juan Sebastián Botero (Independiente Medellín)
OUT: Ramon Nunez (Chivas USA)

Houston Dynamo

IN: Joseph Ngwenya (Houston Dynamo)
OUT: Alejanro Moreno (Columbus Crew)

Kansas City Wizards

IN: Eloy Colombano (LP Estudiantes), Carlos Marinelli (no club)
OUT:

Los Angeles Galaxy

IN: Israel Sesay (Bethesda Arsenal), David Beckham (Real Madrid), Chris Klein (Real Salt Lake), Edson Buddle (Toronto FC), Abel Xavier (Middlesborough FC), Carlos Pavon (Real Espana)
OUT: Nathan Sturgis (Real Salt Lake), Robbie Findley (Real Salt Lake)

New England Revolution

IN: Sainey Nyassi (Ports Authority FC)
OUT: Arsene Oka (released), Ryan Solle (released)

New York Red Bulls

IN: Francis Doe (Atromitos FC)
OUT: Elie Ikangu

Real Salt Lake

IN: Javier Morales (Salamanca), Fabian Espindola (Sociedad Deportivo Quite), Matias Mantilla (Defensores de Belgrano ), Kyle Beckerman (Colorado Rapids), Nathan Sturgis (Los Angeles Galaxy), Robbie Findley (Los Angeles Galaxy)
OUT: Freddy Adu (Benfica), Chris Klein (Los Angeles Galaxy)

Toronto FC

IN: Kenny Stamatopoulos (Tromso)
OUT: Andy Welsh (Blackpool)

*This is not a complete list. I am editing in all the moves that happened between June and August. If you see anything that is incorrect or a missing transfer, please feel free to post as a comment. Keep in mind that I'm editing in more.

New York Cosmos 2.0?

The latest news out of LaLa land involves not a player move, but rather a switch to the backroom staff. The (heavily) rumored move involves the resignation of Frank Yallop, bringing in former German national team coach Jürgen Klinsmann as a replacement.

Seeing as Chelsea and Tottenham have also been linked with Klinsi, I'm not sure that this is much more than a rumor, but he loves LA and I'm sure the Galaxy could find some loophole to get him here.

Stay tuned.

Sweden v USA afterthoughts

Never have I seen the US come out as flat as they have tonight. Most of our best players, a deflated Swedish performance, and a small crowd, yet we still couldn't beat them? Hell, we didn't even get ten shots! I was very disappointed by Steve Cherundolo's performance, I'd expect more from him. The defense overall was fairly shaky, and the late defensive subs of Johnathan Spector and Jay DeMerit were invisible. Another person who was invisible was Landon Donovan. When that happens, you know something's gone wrong. There wasn't anything positive I could really say about tonight's game, though I was pleased by Pablo Mastroeni, and I think Bradley made the wrong choice taking him off at the half.

Rosters set for USA v Sweden

August 22, 2007
2:30 p.m. ET
Göteborg, Sweden
Fox Soccer Channel, Galvision

SWEDEN

GOALKEEPERS (2): Rami Shaaban (Fredrikstad FK), Johan Wiland (IF Elfsborg)
DEFENDERS (6): Matias Concha (VfL Bochum), Erik Edman (Stade Rennais FC), Petter Hansson (Stade Rennais FC), Daniel Majstorovic (FC Basel), Olof Mellberg (Aston Villa), Mikael Nilsson (Panathanaikos)
MIDFIELDERS (9): Niclas Alexandersson (IFK Göteborg), Daniel Andersson (Malmö FF), Kennedy Bakircioglü (Ajax Amsterdam), Dusan Djuric (Halmstads BK), Samuel Holmén (IF Elfsborg), Kim Källström (Lyon), Tobias Linderoth (Galatasary), Fredrik Ljungberg (West Ham United), Christian Wilhelmsson (Bolton FC)
FORWARDS (5): Marcus Allbäck (FC Copenhagen), Johan Elmander (Tolouse), Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Inter Milan), Rade Prica (Aalborg BK), Markus Rosenberg (Werder Bremen)

UNITED STATES

GOALKEEPERS (2): Marcus Hahnemann (Reading FC), Tim Howard (Everton FC)
DEFENDERS (6): Carlos Bocanegra (Fulham FC), Jonathan Bornstein (Chivas USA), Steve Cherundolo (Hannover 96), Jay DeMerit (Watford FC), Oguchi Onyewu (Standard de Liege), Jonathan Spector (West Ham United)
MIDFIELDERS (6): DaMarcus Beasley (Glasgow Rangers), Michael Bradley (SC Heerenveen), Bobby Convey (Reading FC), Clint Dempsey (Fulham FC), Benny Feilhaber (Derby County), Pablo Mastroeni (Colorado Rapids)
FORWARDS (5): Landon Donovan (Los Angeles Galaxy), Charlie Davies (Hammarby IF), Kamani Hill (VfL Wolfsburg), Josh Wolff (1860
Munich), Sal Zizzo (Hannover 96)

It's cozy up here in 1st place

New England have a habit of messing up when it counts. Fortunately, we were able to pull off a win against Kansas City at home, a feat we haven't been able to accomplish in 11 previous attempts. The game was back and forth all night, and was as tactical as a game could have been. The genius of Steve Nicol and Curt Onalfo clashed in what has been one of the most exciting mental games I've seen. There have loads of better games in terms of skill, but rarely have I seen a better thinking game.

Both teams came out with their full squad, with the only major change being Avery John in for James Riley at New England's left back position. This was surely done as a method of cutting off Eddie Johnson, which when teamed up with Shalrie Joseph, was a terrific success.

The first half was a battle of keepers with former Los Angeles teammates Kevin Hartman and Matt Reis manning the posts for their respective teams. Both keepers were impressive in parrying shots, constantly being tested by the sublime skill in both teams attack. Hartman was forced to deal with the lethal Taylor Twellman and Pat Noonan combo, with support from Andy Dorman, Steve Ralston and Khano Smith, while Matt Reis was kept busy with MLS leading scorer Eddie Johnson and service from Carlos Marinelli. The first half ended with 17 total shots, two yellow cards, and a 0-0 scoreline. Hardly the game you'd expect from MLS' two top scoring clubs.

The second half however was a different story. Both coaches kept their original lineups, but had obviously changed tactics a bit. New England came out the aggressor in this half, with KC relying on the counter attack. In the 55th minute, Khano Smith belted a cross to Taylor Twellman, who wisely headed it towards Pat Noonan, finishing an easy ball and giving New England the 1-0 lead. The game seemed to switch to the defensive until the 80th or so minute, when both coaches started to make changes, Adam Cristman being one of them. With little time to play, Cristman recieves a ball at the half, give-and-goes it to Steve Ralston, who returns the service at the top of the box and an easy finish form the rookie give New England the insurance goal in the 91st minute.

New England keep their unbeaten streak on turf intact, beat a strong KC team, and cement 1st place in the East.....at least for the time being. Both teams played strong and the scoreline doesn't accurately reflect the play, but a win is a win and Revs fans can go home happy. With Kansas City off for over two weeks, and New England welcoming DC United and Los Angeles this week alone, you've got to hope that the Revolution can stake their claim on 1st place.

Man of the Match:

Avery John/Shalrie Joseph

I can't just give it to one as their tandem shut down KC's most dangerous threat in Eddie Johnson. The Caribbean duo's physicality took it's toll on Johnson, and allowed him only a handful of chances, the most dangerous being a Reis deflection that hit the post. Shalrie continues to do the dirty work while John seems to have finally impressed enough to replace James Riley in the starting left back position.

New Expansion Team to be Named

Don Garber revealed today in his live chat that tomorrow he would likely announce a new expansion city in his "State of the League" address. He also said that before the season ends that there should be a 16 team plan with all teams playing in MLS by 2010. SI.com reports that the 14th MLS franchise is going back to San Jose where the league left just two years ago. Seattle, Portland, Philadelphia, Atlanta, St. Louis, and Las Vegas are popular choices for #'s 15 and 16.

[EDIT] The 14th Major League Soccer club has been confirmed as San Jose and will begin play in 2008.

-Nathan

New England top Red Bulls in ancient rivalry

It's well known that New York and New England/Boston teams really don't like each other. In the nation's two biggest sports, New England and New York have two of the biggest rivalries. The Jets and Patriots of th NFL and the Red Sox and Yankees of MLB. However, little is known about the rivalry that's existed between the former New York/New Jersey Metrostars and New England Revolution. It is a rivalry that's as old as the league itself and has had it's fair share of bitterness, foul play, and no lack of aggression from either side. The first game of the 2007 chapter was played last night, and it fully lived up to expectations.

The game started with both teams coming off poor runs in recent games. New England welcomed the return of Taylor Twellman (national team), Shalrie Joseph (injury), and Edgar Davids....err..Jeff Larentowicz (eye injury), with the squad playing it's strongest lineup. New York on the other hand had numerous defensive players out with injuries and Josmer Altidore is still at the U-20 World Cup, though with the defeat at the hands of the Austrians, he'll be returning next week.

Action was quick, with the fast pace of the game set early on. New England came out strong in the first ten minutes, with numerous chances on goal. The best came in the 4th minute when Andy Dorman surged past the Red Bull defense and shot straight at a diving Conway. The game quickly went to New York's favor around the 15 minute mark, with Clint Mathis hitting the post, receiving the ball again, and sending it wide. New York would continue controlling the game, and just before the half hour mark, Juan Pablo Angel pulled two defenders before blasting at the top corner, which deflected off the crossbar. Then in the 38th minute, Steve Ralston back heels to Shalrie Joseph in the middle of the field, who sends a ball 30 yards into open space where Andy Dorman runs onto it and blasts a well taken shot from the top of the box past John Conway. New England up 1-0. New York weren't out of it yet however, with Juan Pablo Angel getting a chance in the 45th minute, heading it over goal. Only a minute later, Steve Ralston runs diagonally into the box, blasting a ball which Joe Vide deflects with his face. The half would end with both teams fighting going into the locker room, a surprising finish to due to the lack of a yellow or red card in the entire first half.

Half: New York 0 - 1 New England

The second half took no time to pick up the action, with New England and New York going back and forth. Juan Pablo Angel and Claudio Reyna teamed up offensively, producing the majority of the chances. The action was fast, but chances were limited. Most of the sparks in the second half were caused by chippy fouls and aggressive play as opposed to shots and goals. Scary times for New England fans when former Wake Forest teammates James Riley and Michael Parkhurst collided, with Parkhurst getting the worst of it. Initially, you would think he might have broken his nose, but it turned out to be nothing more than a nasty collision. Minutes later, New England fans would have a bright spot with Adam Cristman entering the game and immediately getting a shot at Conway, which was parried well. Then in the 90th minute, frustration boiled over for Juan Pablo Angel when he elbowed Shalrie Joseph in the face. The referee, who had kept control of the game and let Angel off the hook several times, immediately reached in his back pocket. Red card Angel. The game would end soon after, with the traveling New England supports ride home made easier now with the assurance of three points.

Final: New York 0 - 1 New England

Fire to announce Juan Carlos Osorio as new Manager

The Columbian native was believed to be at the top of John Guppy's list from the second Dave Sarachan was fired. Honestly, I've never heard of this guy, but reading his Wiki a little bit, he has a science and football degree from Liverpool U (HOLY SHIT you can get Football Degree's?), he also was rated a "A" rated coaching license from the English FA. Former assistant at the Metro and a 5 year stint at Manchester City from 2001-2006. He then managed Millionarios (who? lmao) last year during the 2006/2007 football campaign, and now of course he will be announced by the Chicago Fire on Monday as the new manager. Am I happy? Shit, I have to find out who he is before I can form an opinion.

RSL Win First Game, Against D.C., so why is Lalas to blame?

It was meant to be a night of reunions in sunny Nevada. With three players on their roster from D.C. United's of last season Real Salt Lake would certainly up for yet another chance to get their first win of the season. Unfortunately, one of the three, Freddy Adu, was away on U-20 international duty. However, Alecko Eskandarian and Nick Rimando would both suit up against their former team.

The home side came out in a 4-3-3 formation that featured recent acquisition Robbie Findley as the front attack man. Their opponents would use the 4-4-2 line-up that they've grown used to since going on a seven-game undefeated streak. Jaime Moreno, who is away with Bolivia for the Copa América, and Troy Perkins, who was receiving his first rest of the season, were noticeable absences.

Anyway, to the game. Despite RSL quickly moving the ball down the field to gain a corner kick in the opening minutes the first bit of the game was quite cagey. Neither team seemed to want to take a chance of being killed on a counter attack.
Around the twentieth minute the game started heating up, but it was surprisingly the winless team that was doing most of the attacking. A lack of finishing from both Eskandarian and Bellouchy kept the game at zeros despite both players being presented with great chances to score. Christian Gomez was virtually invisible for D.C. United and it showed. Without their play maker playing well the men from Washington could get nothing significant going in the attack.

After a while their lack of forward movement finally bit them in the butt. In the 40th new RSL acquisition Robbie Findley intercepted the ball around midfield and just flat out burned the entire D.C. defense. After making his way around Erpen he easily slotted the ball past stand-in-keeper Nolly for an RSL lead. Thank you Alexi Lalas.
Soehn made an interesting move before half time, taking off young striker Rod Dyachenko and putting on Guy-Roland Kpene. Personally I think it was a dumb move. There was only about a minute left to half time and that minute could of made the difference between embarrassing Dyachenko or not.

The second half continued in much the same way. In the 49th Findley was once again able to penetrate the D.C. defense, this time burning Namoff, and sprint his way toward a goal. 2-0 to RSL. The next thirty minutes didn’t even look like the D.C. players realized they were losing. Despite switching to their old and more offensive 3-5-2 formation and even later throwing on a third striker in the form of Addlery there was never any real commitment to evening the score.

However, very late, in the 87th, the Black and Red were able to pull one goal back. After a cross came in from the right wing the ball bounced around in the back with no Real defender able to clear it. Finally it fell to the feet of Emilio who wasn’t going to miss from close range. 2-1 to RSL. Even five minutes of stoppage time and many feeble, not to mention wasteful, boots up the field by D.C. United players they were not able to pull of the miraculous come back.

As the referee blew his whistle D.C. United’s seven game undefeated streak came to an end and Real Salt Lake celebrated their first victory of the 2007 MLS season. For D.C. I can only hope this isn’t a sign of things to come when they loose two more players, in the form of Olsen and Boswell, to the Copa América tournament. As for RSL, well, they can thank L.A.

Final: Real Salt Lake: 2 - D.C. United: 1

If you're lucky, next time I might even check my grammar and post a picture. But I have a USA - Mexico game to watch.

Chicago Fire relieve Dave Sarachan of Managerial Duties

I have been calling for this for quite some time (as well as my guys in S8C). Well it finally happened today, of all days today. The ironic things are that this comes on my birthday (Thank you Chicago Fire FO for this wonderful present) and it happens two days before their international club friendly against MKS Cracovia. Dennis Hamlett has been named the interim head coach for now. He will begin his tenure with the friendly against Cracovia this Friday.

Honestly, I wanted him gone since the losing streak began in early May, but I thought Guppy would let him stay AT LEAST till he showed us what he can do with Blanco playing. This all happened as a surprise to me, I can't believe he would do this so quickly. Also, expect Hamlett to have a big winning streak ahead of him and eventually get the Interim tag taken off.

Toronto Continues it's Dominance of the West

Toronto FC won it's third straight game against Western Conference opposition Sunday in their most impressive showing of the season routing FC Dallas 4 - 0. Maurice Edu got Toronto on the board after banging home a rebound from a couple of Danny Dichio shots. The goals continued in the 22nd minute when, with the crowd singing his song, Danny Dichio got his head on a well placed free kick into the area, burying it in the back of the net.

The goals continued in the second half as Carl Robinson notched his first MLS goal heading a cross into the back of the net and as time wound down Toronto continued to press against a demoralized Dallas squad with Jeff Cunningham eventually netting his second goal for Toronto.

Toronto's rookie back-up keeper Srdjan Djekanovic recorded his first MLS clean sheet (and Toronto's second against Texas opposition). It is still up in the air as to when Greg Sutton will be able to return to action with his national team duty and a concussion suffered while away but Srdjan has proven himself as a more than competent back-up allowing only 3 goals in his 3 games played.

It wasnt all good news for Toronto though as Danny Dichio was injured in the first half and Andrea Lombardo was forced to start the second half. Reports are that he has a sprained ankle and is questionable for Toronto's visit to Foxboro. Toronto, who have up until recently had a glut of strikers to choose from, now find themselves in the unenviable position of playing the next few games minus starter Danny Dichio, and first choice off the becnch Anrea Lombardo, who will be playing with the Canadian U-20's for the next month.

Toronto FC set out on 6 games, month long road trip starting in New England where they caught a 4-0 thrashing themselves in the teams second MLS game. They wont be back home until July 25th when they take on english side Aston Villa in a friendly, and return to MLS play at BMO the next Sunday

Real Salt Lake in hot water with FIFA?

RSLFM Report

That link is to an analysis someone has done over a developing situation with the Liberian Football Association and Real Salt Lake over Willis Forko. Allegedly Salt Lake listed Forko as injured so he wouldn't get called up to the Liberian national team, but played him in the next two games. Liberia were eliminated from African Cup of Nations qualifiers after a scoreless draw with Guinea. According to FIFA rules, the team would have to forfeit it's results with Forko in it, though I believe they lost anyways, but this could get Salt Lake in a lot of trouble, stay tuned for further updates.

Guadeloupe at the Gold Cup

These guys aren't affiliated with FIFA. Hell, these guys aren't even technically affiliated with CONCACAF. Instead they are a UEFA (They are a region of France, believe me I did my homework) team playing in a CONCACAF tourney, and honestly, showing much more heart than some of CONCACAF's World Cup regulars (i.e. Costa Rica and Mexico) and beat a team making a strong case for it's 2010 World Cup bid (Canada).

I just watched their match against Honduras, which they won, 2-1. They by no means have been playing amazing tactical football, nor have they been getting lucky (excluding that embarrassing open goal miss by Ivan Guerrero). They just had 2 chances to score, and they took both of them and put 2 on the scoreboard. They escaped the second half with the lead 2-0, and they played a defensive kind of football in the second half and it for the most part, served it's purpose. They stopped a team that I previously thought to be one of the top in the tourney in terms of showing in group play.

These guys will probably get torn apart by Mexico in the semi-final, but hell the fact some little island in the Caribbean can make the semi-finals at the Gold cup is quite amazing. So to top it off, these guys aren't the best football players, but they damn sure have plenty more heart than some of the teams that were predicted to go MUCH farther than they are right now. Just a little note, I pray to whatever being, if any, is up there that Taylor Twellman is watching and taking notes on this teams finishing ability right now.

Wanted: Defensive depth

I'm broke, I'm sunburned and I'm pissed off. How is it that in New England has only managed two points in their last three games, despite scoring six goals, facing two of the worst teams in the league, and having a two goal lead at some point in two of those games?

I'll tell you how, Jay fucking Heaps. When he's on, he's one of the best right backs in MLS, but as of late he's been nothing short of "MLS quality" and has cost us dearly. The defense in general has looked shaky since Michael Parkhurst left with Steve Ralston and Taylor Twellman for the Gold Cup. Avery John was fine tonight, despite getting his first minutes of the season, but James Riley and Jay Heaps have got to sharpen up or it's going to be a long season.

I had a feeling Adam Cristman would show up big tonight, and he did, but his efforts were futile with Khano Smith stinking up the attack. In typical Steve Nicol fashion, we opted not to use any substitutes, though we were letting the game slip away. I can have no complaints about our offense today, excluding Khano Smith. We had three well taken goals, but unfortunately it wasn't enough.

For defense on the other hand, I am very upset. Shalrie and Big Red played solid games, but it looked like James Riley wanted to play right back and Jay Heaps wanted to play right wing back, as there was this huge gaping hole where they should have been playing. Matt Reis really couldn't do much about either of the goals as by the time he was in a position to save, the attacker had already had enough time to settle and take a shot.

The Revolution lined up in an expected 3-5-2 formation with rookie Adam Cristman replacing Taylor Twellman up top and James Riley sliding in from the left to replace Parkhurst, with Avery John starting on the left. Wells Thompson filled Steve Ralston's shoes admirably.

GK: Matt Reis - 6
RB: Jay Heaps -5
CB: James Riley - 5
LB: Avery John - 6
DM: Shalrie Joseph - 7
DM: Jeff Larentowicz - 7
RM: Wells Thompson - 7
AM: Andy Dorman - 7
LM: Khano Smith - 5
CF: Pat Noonan - 7
CF: Adam Cristman - 8

The game started very well, within the first twenty four seconds we had already been in the box twice and managed two decent crosses. However, in the 8th minute Columbus took one shot, one goal, and had a lead. However, Adam Cristman responded only five minutes later with a well taken goal that was finger tipped by Columbus keeper Will Hesmer. Only four minutes after that Andy Dorman played a beautiful ball to Pat Noonan who calmly finished his first of the season. The play would go back and forth until the 37th minute when Pat Noonan played across the box for Adam Cristman and the rookie had his second of the game. New England fans however would suffer a hard blow as an unmarked Schelotto cut Columbus' deficit to one, sliding a ball past a diving Reis in the final seconds of stoppage time.

Half: New England 3 - 2 Columbus

The second half was littered with poor runs from Khano Smith and lazy defending from Jay Heaps. James Riley certainly looked improved this half, but was picking up most of Heaps slack and eventually Columbus took advantage, playing a ball up that right wing and Alejandro Moreno would get his second goal with Columbus, evening things up at three. New England could have easily lost this game due to horrible defending and if I'm Steve Nicol, I'd be looking at several defenders right now. Hell, he had four national teams to scout today.

Final: New England 3 - 3 Columbus

June 17th, 2007

Just a little update, I watched a recording of the game and Noonan's hand ball at the end was an atrocious call, another instance of the Revolution getting screwed over by officiating.

Heartbreak in Salt Lake: FCD - 1 RSL - 0

FC Dallas have had their way with Real Salt Lake this season. First it was the 2-2 draw in which Carlos Ruiz headed home a loose ball in front of the net in the dying seconds of the game stealing a road point and leaving the RSL fans dissapointed after Jeff Cunningham had an impressive double. Then the two teams met in May in Frisco where Chris Gbandi's stunning goal gave the Hoops a 2-1 win over Jason Kreis' RSL. Since then, Jeff Cunningham has been shipped north of the border to Toronto in exchange for Alecko Eskandarian. RSL have yet to win a game, but their 6 draws have kept them tied for last in the West, and the league, with the Galaxy with 6 points. FC Dallas currently lead the West, but they'll want 3 points to keep off a surging Houston to whom they lost to two weeks ago.

Without Guatemalan forward Carlos Ruiz on international duty, and dynamic striker Kenny Cooper with a broken leg, FC Dallas would look to Juan Toja, Abe Thompson, and Dominic Oduro for goals, all of whom had found the net this season. Jason Kreis in need of a win put out a new formation with Eskandarian playing the lone striker and Adu and Klein supporting him on the wings. Nick Rimando had shaken off his poor start to the season and has posted two shutouts of Eastern Conference teams on the road in his last two games.

The game began with Dallas in total control of possesion. Arturo Alvarez was having his way with Willis Forko on the right wing, Alvarez had 6 shots on the night. He created a number of quality chances that Rimando did well to keep out of the net. Salt Lake's best chance of the first half came when Alecko Eskandarian chose to take a long range shot that was batted away by Dario Sala instead of playing the ball to Freddy Adu who had space and likely was the best option on the play. Whether Eskandarian thought he would surprise Sala, or he just thought he could place the shot well enough, neither happened and it led to frustration from Freddy Adu and the fans at the stadium.

Halftime Score: RSL - 0 FCD - 0

The second half started with some inspired play by Salt Lake. RSL had much of the possesion and some quality chances were created. RSL's best chance of the night came when Andy Williams whipped in a beautiful cross to Eskandarian who vollied it but it was kicked away by Sala on just one of his spectacular saves on the night. Later in the half Freddy Adu broke free on the wing, took it down the endline and blasted a shot which Dario Sala deflected away. With stoppage time drawing nearer and a 0-0 draw looming, Atiba Harris attacked the goal and was brought down by Clarence Goodson at the top of the 18, the referee ruled no foul. The no-call shook Jason Kreis from his usual concentrated demeanor and his loss of composure caused referee Ricardo Salazar to eject him from the match. This was after Alecko Eskandarian and Marcelo Saragosa got into a shoving match in the middle of the field. The 16,000 fans who showed up to support RSL were upset as they seemed to be on their way to a 3rd straight 0-0 draw, but this time at home. But things turned from bad to worse deep into stoppage time where Dario Sala sent a long ball down the field in hope of forcing a mistake by the RSL defense, the punt was headed on by Marcelo Saragosa, collected by Dominic Oduro, and then blasted past RSL kepper Nick Rimando. The goal marked the second time this season RSL have lost points to FC Dallas at home in stoppage time.

Final Score: FCD - 1 RSL - 0

Attendance: 16, 278

Chicago Fire Update/Preview of Fire vs. DC United

After such an amazing start to this season, the Chicago Fire have stunk it up. To say that they have been underachieving these last few games is a huge understatement. The Fire won 3 of 4 and tied once in all of April. May was not as kind to them though, as they lost their first 4 games and had a goalless draw to MLS cellar dwellers, Real Salt Lake. June has started off with a mix of both months in it, beating Columbus 3-2 to start and losing atrociously to Chivas USA, 1-0, just last week. This week, they have to play DC United, who started off the MLS season losing their first 3, which lead into a current streak of 4 wins and 2 ties.

DC United comes into this match with momentum, with strength, with everything the Fire don't seem to have. The Fire come into this match without their two best players (Justin Mapp playing at the Gold Cup and more on Chris Rolfe later in this entry) and they don't have the drive they seem to have had earlier on in this season. This game is important for the Fire and their respective season, this is a early must win for them as they are falling out of playoff contention, and in to comparison with teams like Real Salt Lake. Expect a DC United home victory.

Chris Rolfe's nagging ankle injury kept him off the United States Gold Cup roster. It has kept him out of more than just the Gold Cup, it has also effected his recent addition in the Chicago Fire starting XI, and it will for at least another six weeks. Chicago Fire head coach Dave Sarachan said about the injury "He's in a cast". He also mentioned the fact that there is a slight possibility that he could be back in 4 weeks instead of the previously mentioned 6, but don't count on it.

The Chicago Fire-Marcelo Salas saga has been going on since he was offered a trial with the club some 2 weeks ago. The Chicago Tribune talked of him as a very quiet person, and also mentioned that he went as far as to mention to a friend that he hated it in Chicago and wanted to leave. Now, two weeks later, and the Fire and Salas' people are at a deadlock. It was reported as far back as a week ago that a decision would be made very soon, but of course nothing came of light. After that announcement, it seems the Fire and Salas' people were even further from making a deal, after Dave Sarachan came out and said that Salas wouldn't play immediately. As of 5 P.M. Wednesday, there is no contact between the Fire and Salas' people.

Notes: The only other Fire player to be named to a Gold Cup roster was Trinidad and Tobago defender, Osei Telesford. He suffered an groin injury at the Gold Cup. He is said to be out the majority of the summer.

Pope calls the 2007 season his last

What can I say about Eddie Pope that hasn't already been said? He was one of the best players this country has ever produced, hands down. No other defender has been so dominant in MLS or on the US men's national team. He's won multiple NCAA and MLS awards, including several Best XI and All Star selections. Pope also helped DC United to three MLS Cups and a CONCACAF Champion's Cup as well as being on the last team to win the InterAmerican Cup, a tournament held between CONMEBOL and CONCACAF clubs. In addition to his club success, he played for the USA in three World Cups and multiple CONCACAF Gold Cups.

The 33 year old defender, who retired from international play after the 2006 World Cup, has said the 2007 season will be his last. Pope was one of the few remaining MLS originals, with Chris Armas, Jason Kreis, Preki and Cobi Jones amongst others announcing their retirement earlier this year, leaving only a handful. Eddie Pope beagan his career in DC where he scored the goal that won DC United the inaugural MLS Cup, the first of three he would win with the club. Eddie Pope is the current captain of last place Real Salt Lake, which goes to show the 33 year old's class.

There is no doubt he will be missed and his contribution to progressing soccer in America made a definite impact. When I first got into the game, I remember Pope being a rock in our defense, solid and consistent. Though his career was plagued by injuries, he never showed signs of slowing down and it's a testament to his strength that he's retiring at 33. There is no doubt in my mind that he will be inducted into the Hall of Fame in Oneata, NY as soon as he is eligible.

USA vs. El Salvador player ratings (out of 10):

Tim Howard - 7 - Wasn't called into action much, but looked alert and ready to pounce. Made some heads up plays on a few bad clearances.

Jonathan Bornstein - 6 - Faded in and out of the attack, made a few bad tackles and could have hustled back a bit more after losing possession.

Michael Parkhurst - 8 - Solid game, made few to no mistakes and looked much more confident than his debut.

Oguchi Onyewu - 7 - Caught out twice, but recovered to clear the danger once and in general played a much more calm and collected.

Jonathan Spector - 6 - Very tidy at the back, but didn't contribute much to the attack.

Benny Feilhaber - 6 - Short passing lacked authority and made a couple questionable decisions in that regard, but moved well and long passing was good.

Pablo Mastroeni - 8 - Did well for his first game in almost a year, looked comfortable with the clogged midfield and did an excellent job distributing the ball and controlling the tempo.

Michael Bradley - 5 - The effort was there, but made too many mistimed passes and tackles. Bad tackle early resulting in a booking limited his ability to enforce himself on the game.

Landon Donovan - 6 - Didn't look entirely comfortable being in between playing centrally and wide. Didn't utilize width or fullback support enough. Service on set pieces still need work.

DaMarcus Beasley - 9 - MAN OF THE MATCH - Two well taken goals and all around great play. Created chances around the box and always had El Salvador on their heels. Unlucky not to have scored more.

Clint Dempsey -8 - Worked extremely hard, linked up well, and was unlucky not to have gotten on the scoresheet.

Substitutes:

Taylor Twellman - 7 - Very well taken goal, good movement off the ball.

Brian Ching - 7 - Excellent no look pass to set up Twellman's goal, worked very hard.

Frank Simek - 6 - Not much time to put his stamp on the game, went forward well.

USA vs. El Salvador Match Report

Coming into the game, the United States had already qualified for the quarterfinals, needing only a point to ensure they won Group B. Bob Bradley put out a strong lineup in quite an interesting formation. Now being a good time to experiment, he went with a 4-3-2-1 'Christmas Tree' formation with 3 holding midfielders, 2 attacking midfielders pushed in from the wings with a lone striker up top.

Howard was back in goal, preferred to Kasey Keller, and Jonathan Spector and Michael Parkhurst started for the second game running with Onyweu and Bornstein returning after a game off. Spector switched from left-back to right-back to accomodate Bornstein with Onyweu and Parkhurst in the center.

Pablo Mastroeni returned from his World Cup suspension and went straight into the starting lineup alongside Benny Feilhaber and Michael Bradley in central midfield. All 3 played pretty similar roles, with Feilhaber seeming to have a little more freedom to roam forward than his more defensive minded teammates.

Landon Donovan and DaMarcus Beasley took up the right and left central attacking midfield spots with Clint Dempsey the lone striker role. A valuable feature of the 4-3-2-1 was the ease to shift to a 4-3-3 and not sacrifice much in terms of defense, and Donovan and Beasley were well selected to take advantage of this.

Formation:


The USA started out well, with the first few minutes being high intensity back and forth action with the US having a slight advantage for most of the early procedings. The Americans looked like they would take the lead in the 7th minute when Jonathan Spector whipped in an outstanding cross which Landon Donovan headed just past Montes' far post. Michael Bradley was then booked after a rash, studs-up challenge. Just after the booking, Donovan had another chance to score, intercepting an El Salvadorian pass, only to have his shot from the top of the 18 sail just wide. El Salvador countered well and Campos got through on goal after Oguchi Onyewu appeared to hesitate in stepping up for the offside trap, but Campos pushed the shot wide and 'Gooch' was off the hook. Unfortunately for El Salvador, they couldn't create much more in the first half.

About halfway through the first period, Clint Dempsey pounced on a misplayed ball in the El Salvador box, only to see his outside of the boot shot hit the post after beating Montes. It was Dempsey again moments later with another chance after some good play by Benny Feilhaber, this time Dempsey could only hit side netting. The US would dominate the game from this point on, with the breakthrough finally coming ten minutes later. A Landon Donovan corner was cleared weakly to the top of the box to a waiting DaMarcus Beasley who side footed home on the half volley through a sea of players. The 1-0 lead seemed to further energize the Americans as they carried on attacking and looking for more. Beasley had a chance to make it two after Donovan layed the ball off to him at the top of the box, but Beasley blasted his shot nearly out of the stadium. Only a minute later Beasley found himself with another chance. He did better, but still put it narrowly over.

Just when it looked like the US would be content to go into the half up one-nil, one more counter attack lead to Feilhaber winning a penalty after his cross into the box was handled by an El Salvadorian defender. Donovan lined up to take the penalty, but Montes guessed right and pushed it on to the post. Donovan pounced and slotted home the rebound, but Michael Bradley was ruled to have entered the area early on the original kick and the referee ruled the penalty had to be retaken. This time around, Donovan beat Montes from the spot and the US were up two-nil and the halftime whistle sounded.

Halftime Score: 2-0 USA

The US made one substitution at halftime, bringing on hometown hero Taylor Twellman for goal-scorer Donovan. Clint Dempsey took over Donovan's withdrawn role to allow Twellman his usual spot up top. It seemed as if El Salvador realized at the half they had to get something out of the game to have a chance to go on and their play in the second half showed. Despite controlling the tempo and better play in general, it was still the Americans who had the better chances. Six minutes into the second half, Jonathan Spector played a beautiful ball into the box in the path of DaMarcus Beasley, but Montes was just a little quicker than Beasley and collected the ball. As was the case many times tonight, they had another chance only a minute later when Pablo Mastroeni made a great challenge in the midfield to set up a counter attack that ended in Benny Feilhaber shooting over.

Probably El Salvador's best chance of the night came when Juan Campos crossed up a flat footed Oguchi Onyewu who was slow to react and caught Campos as he was going by, earning himself his third yellow card of the tournament and El Salvador a free kick 25 yards from goal. In the end it went harmlessly over and Onyewu was off the hook again.

In the 64th minute, the US made their second sub of the night, bringing Brian Ching on for Michael Bradley. This effectively pushed the US back into a standard 4-4-2 with Dempsey on the right, Beasley on the left, Mastroeni and Feilhaber in the center, and Twellman and Ching together up top. Ching didn't take long to get involved, taking a shot from a full 30 yards soon after coming on that went close. In the resulting El Salvador attack, Jonathan Spector was uncharacteristically caught out of position in the back and after hustling to get back, he was turned in the box, but the shot was poor and never looked like troubling Tim Howard.

That would be the last dangerous chance for the El Salvadorians as the US unleashed another deadly counter attack lead by DaMarcus Beasley. Beasley took the ball up the left side where he played it into space for Brian Ching who made an excellent no look pass into the path of Taylor Twellman who controlled well and shot through El Salvador keeper Montes for three-nil United States. From then on it was an exhibition for the United States. Clint Dempsey nearly made it 4-0 with an outstanding shot from outside the area, but Montes made an excellent one handed save to force a corner. Frank Simek then came on for Jonathan Spector who was slightly less effective in attack than he was in the T&T game, but had a good game defensively.

With stoppage time looming, the US made it 4-0 after some slick passing between Dempsey and Twellman freed up DaMarcus Beasley who had a simple finish after being played in by Twellman to complete the rout. In the final minute of stoppage time, Taylor Twellman missed the simplest chance of the night for the Red, White, & Blue, smashing an open shot past Montes' near post with the gaping far post open. It was no matter however, as the United States won by their largest margain in Bob Bradley's short tenure as head coach and clinched Group B with an impressive 9 points out of 9 and a goal difference of +7 with none allowed.

Full-Time: 4-0 USA

The US will meet one of the following in Saturday's quarterfinal: Guadeloupe, Honduras, Cuba, or arch-rivals Mexico, depending on the outcomes of the remaining group stage games.



Coming up later tonight/tomorrow: Player analysis