Columbus Crew 1 - 2 Real Salt Lake
Red Bull New York 0 - 0 DC United
Chicago Fire 3 - 0 Kansas City Wizards
Real Salt Lake (RSL) made a clear statement last night: We are not the worst team in the league; those guys are. Since their arrival last year, there has been no easier game in Major League Soccer than playing Real Salt Lake at home. Last night, they passed the torch.
The Columbus Crew are the unlucky recipients of said torch. In fact, the defining challenge of the remainder of Columbus' 2006 season comes down to ducking the crown for worst team in MLS history. Only six futile games to go and they'll top the 18-game winless streak RSL garnered between their first and second seasons in the league. Are they bad enough to do it? Head coach Sigi Schmid said it as well as anyone:
""We might still be in the hunt until the last game but if I were going to Vegas I wouldn't bet on us."
This is the coach, mind you, discussing the success of the product he organizes on the field. No one posed the question, but one has to wonder whether Schmid would place a bet on RSL passing the "worst-team" torch (this needs a name, I think; how about "The Poo Stick"?) to Columbus before the season ends.
As for RSL, one can only credit them for an impressive run. If beating up on the Columbus Crew compares unfavorably to pounding on a one-armed toddler, one has only to refer to previous wins against DC United and the Colorado Rapids for a little perspective on their three-game winning streak. They've scored seven goals over that span and let in two; it's also worth noting that two of those were away games. Even if RSL coach John Ellinger misspoke when he said that RSL's away record bettered their home record (in wins, yes, in points earned no), a little confidence on the road helps with the overall.
Four points out of playoff contention isn't ideal - due to that one "extra" point, it's a maddeningly tricky place to be - but who thought RSL would be where they now are in, say, mid-June?
Of the other two games, DC's tie with New York is remarkable only insofar as it suggests some slowing to United's torrid early-season pace. While most other teams have endured three winless games, this is new territory for the Red and Black - at least in 2006. There's no reason to suspect, at this point, that they'll surrender the 16-point lead they've got in the Eastern Conference, but the playoffs can abruptly render a stellar regular season irrelevant.
Whoops. One last thing to add: the "missed" penalty for Red Bull. Watch the highlights (see Sights & Sounds) and check out how DC's Brian Namoff positions his hands as he runs alongside Youri Djorkaeff. It's not hugely obvious - Namoff's running with his hands up in the classic "I'm-not-pushing" position, but he squares his chest toward Djorkaeff just as he's about to deliver the shot/cross. With the benefit of replay, I would have called this one. In the live action, I can't say I blame the ref for passing.
Finally, if Kansas City hasn't been so woefully weak this season, Chicago's win would have meant a whole lot more. It seems wise to wait till this weekend's visit to the New England Revolution before drawing any conclusions from this one.
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