As the push for the playoffs rolls ahead, this week brought quite a lot of MLS action. As some teams tumbled out of playoff contention and others sealed their places, the results ranged from the thrilling to the slightly bizarre.
THURSDAY, 10/2
PHIvCHI (1-1)
This was a must-win for the Philadelphia Union, who saw their playoff hopes dashed by a stoppage time equalizer from Chicago’s Robert Earnshaw. For nearly 90 minutes, there was little action on either side and it looked as though both teams were headed to a scoreless draw. But the Union’s Amobi Okugo found himself on the end of a loose ball in front of the net in the 88th minute, and came through for his side with what appeared to be the go-ahead goal.
Unfortunately for Philadelphia, Chicago’s Earnshaw capitalized on a poor turnover from Union goalkeeper Rais Mbolhi just minutes later. Mbolhi, the Algerian international, attempted a clearance that fell directly at the feet of Earnshaw, who dribbled toward the box and chipped the ball into the net. With a playoff spot out of reach, both teams move on to upcoming matchups, with the Union facing Columbus at home and the Fire headed to Sporting Kansas City (after hosting Montreal later in the week).
FRIDAY, 10/3
DCvSKC (0-0)
It was another draw for the Eastern Conference – but this one saw far more action than Thursday’s PHIvCHI matchup. Both sides battled in the pouring rain and pushed forward with scoring chances — most notably a diving header from Kansas City’s C.J. Sapong in the 76th minute, which was stopped by United’s goalkeeper, Bill Hamid.
Although Kansas City appeared to control the play for most of the match, DC held firm for not only a point at home but a guaranteed spot in the playoffs and their place at the top of the table in the east. Another bright spot for United was the return of Chris Pontius, who made his first appearance since undergoing hamstring surgery in the off-season. The midfielder made a noticeable impact on the game and United will no doubt look to him to do the same next week when they face the Dynamo away at Houston. Likewise, Sporting Kansas City will host the Chicago Fire, as they continue their attempt to rise above the red line in the playoff race.
SATURDAY, 10/4
NYvHOU (1-0)
The Red Bulls continued to charge ahead towards the playoffs this weekend, despite quite a few recent distractions – not least of which the talk of new ownership and midfielder Tim Cahill’s call up for international duty at a critical time for his club. But New York seemed to put this all aside on Saturday, and dominated play from the beginning. The Red Bulls came frustratingly close to several first-half goals before captain Thierry Henry took control of the narrative and put one in the back of the net off of a deflection in the 47th minute. The Red Bulls held on to earn a crucial three points, putting them at fourth in the east and one step closer to securing a playoff spot.
The only blemish on this solid victory was a late red card for Tim Cahill who, in a truly strange series of events, was sent off for a challenge on Houston’s Boniek Garcia just three minutes after he stepped onto the pitch late in the second half. The distractions just keep on coming for New York but they’ll have to retain their focus as they next face Toronto FC (also fighting for a playoff spot) at home next week.
VANvDAL (2-0)
Vancouver took control early and locked up a 2-0 lead by the 18th minute. And despite a push by Dallas (including a goal by Blas Perez, controversially called offside), the Whitecaps held firm and maintained their dominance throughout the first half. The second half brought a slower pace of play, with the home side holding off Dallas and preserving their shut out. This win gives the Whitecaps a boost as they look to earn the final Western Conference playoff spot, especially as they next face a tough match away at regional rivals, Seattle.
NEvCLB (2-1)
New England continued its run of form Saturday night in Foxborough, MA. And despite a valiant effort by Columbus, the Crew fell 2-1 to the Revs thanks to a goal from Jermaine Jones in the 67th minute. Lee Nguyen was first on the board for New England, latching onto a Charlie Davies header in the 20th minute. But it didn’t take Columbus long to equalize, with Ethan Finlay dancing around the Revs’ defense just five minutes later to make it 1-1.
The action continued in the second half but the score remained level, thanks in part to the heroics of Revs goalkeeper, Bobby Shuttleworth. But it was Jones’ second half goal, from a free kick from Chris Tierney, that sealed up the three points for New England. And to add further insult to injury, the Crew’s Waylon Francis was sent off with his second yellow shortly after Jones’ goal. Francis will now miss Columbus’ next matchup away at Philadelphia.
LAvTOR (3-0)
With two goals from Robbie Keane and one from Alan Gordon, the LA Galaxy continued to dominate and now remain unbeaten in their last 10 games. Toronto played aggressively and also had their share of chances but only managed to put one on target. Toronto FC sit three points behind Columbus in the Eastern Conference, and will need to turn things around quickly if they want to secure a playoff berth and move above the red line.
LA, on the other hand, now have 60 points and sit atop the league table with a playoff spot guaranteed. And team captain Landon Donovan also made history to become the all-time MLS assist leader, reaching 136 in the matchup against Toronto. LA will look to extend their lead when they face FC Dallas next Sunday.
SJvPOR (1-2)
A contentious match saw Portland come from behind to secure a 2-1 win against the San Jose Earthquakes. It was a scrappy first half, with both sides struggling to find scoring chances. However, the action picked up in the second half, when San Jose’s Chris Wondolowski found the net first in the 56th minute. But it was the Timbers’ Rodney Wallace who made the biggest impact – just 15 minutes later, Wallace scored from inside the box to bring Portland level. And then it was just another two minutes before Wallace found the back of the net again, this time off of a header from Liam Ridgewell.
With this latest defeat, the Earthquakes are out of the playoff race for the second year in a row. The Timbers, however, remain just one point behind Vancouver for the final playoff spot in the west. Portland will look for a repeat result as they will face San Jose again at home Wednesday.
SUNDAY, 10/5
COLvSEA (1-4)
The Sounders earned a convincing 4-1 win over Colorado, led by Clint Dempsey and Obafemi Martins. It was Dempsey who opened the scoring in the 14th minute and Martins in the 28th. Dempsey was back in the spotlight again, when his expert back heel found Marco Pappa to put Seattle up by three. The Rapids struggled to control the play but did manage to get on the board in the 43rd minute, courtesy of forward Deshorn Brown.
In the second half, however, Seattle retained their dominance and effectively shut down Colorado for the rest of the game. And Martins got his second goal of the game in the 70th minute, sealing the Sounders a victory on the road.
CHIvMTL (0-0)
Chicago Fire and Montreal Impact are both at the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings and both teams struggled to make any impact in match which ended in a 0-0 draw. Each side did have some chances to get on the board – particularly the Fire’s Quincy Marikwa, who saw his header confidently saved in the ninth minute by Impact goalkeeper Evan Bush, and Montreal’s Justin Mapp, who found Jack McInerney in the 38th minute. McInerney’s bicycle kick found the back of the net but was disallowed due to an offside call against Mapp.
Neither side seemed able to bounce back in the second half and there was little action on either end. A few, final attempts in the dying minutes of the match nearly put the Fire ahead, as Gonzalo Segares nearly got the ball over Bush in the 90th minute.
With this draw, both teams are officially eliminated from playoff contention.
CHVvRSL (1-0)
Another team struggling in the midst of distractions, Chivas USA, put all of that behind them and managed a convincing performance against a strong Real Salt Lake side. Chivas finally put an end to their seven game losing streak and held off Salt Lake’s attempts to earn a berth in the playoffs.
Salt Lake controlled possession much of the game but could not take advantage and were unable to find the goal. Chivas, on the other hand, had most of the scoring chances but also failed to capitalize and ended the first half scoreless. The action picked up right away in the second half, however, when Chivas finally found the net in the 47th minute. Felix Borja, scoring his first MLS, collected a shot from Torres that bounced off the crossbar and put his side up 1-0. Chivas had an opportunity to double their lead with a penalty kick in the 64th minute but Salt Lake goalkeeper Nick Rimando expertly stopped the shot.
For the remainder of the match, Chivas was able to hold off Real Salt Lake, who will now face San Jose at home as they try to claim a spot in the playoffs.
(image courtesy of Steve Bosch)
