Week 14 was a hell of a thing, wasn’t it? Considering the crush of games between last Wednesday and yesterday afternoon en masse seems like trying to eat a Big Mac in one bite, something the Surgeon General would recommend against, no doubt. The weight of those games feels almost like a pivot point, a time to take stock of what came before and to study the prospects for the future.
As such, an expanded, context-free edition of this site’s power rankings seems in order. Rather than look back at past week’s rating, what comes below takes a step back for a shot at The Big Picture: impressions from the season’s frenetic, surprising opening games to the wilting pace of the recent, hot weeks, as well as signs of things to come will determine who goes where in this table; expect some personal blind-spots to misshape these standings as well (see: Galaxy, Los Angeles). Moreover, the rankings will bow to the playoff format: the top two teams from each conference will make up the top four, while the four teams that follow from there are the teams I expect to make the post-season.
In other words, an attempt will be made here to be both current and predictive...with the expectation that the distance between my estimation of things and reality should be amusingly vast.
Here goes...
1) Houston Dynamo
The Dynamo is, without question, the best team in Major League Soccer (MLS) right now. With them firing on all cylinders - and on both sides of the ball - I’m to a point where I’ll accept the vilest of food dares about this team making the playoffs (I’m open to drinking dares on them winning the West). Brad Davis’ injury upset the offensive balance a little, but Brian Ching/Joseph Ngwenya looks surprisingly effective and Stuart Holden looks like sufficient cover for DeRosario’s so-far sub-par 2007. With MLS’s (by far) sturdiest defense behind them, the Canadian Wonder only needs to wake up (or stops thinking about what tight bastards league honchos are midway through a dribble), for these guys will romp to a repeat.
What Might Kill ‘Em: Their brick-shithouse defense will carry them to the post-season, but they’ll need their offense to get them out of it smiling. A return of the early-season goals drought seems the likeliest pitfall. This matters because, among the rarefied breed of actual contenders, the question isn’t making the playoffs, but winning the league.
2) New England Revolution
When some people look at New England, they see a glass half-full; when I look at them, I see a glass three-quarters empty. Why am I hardest on the ones I love? That’s a big question with a tough love answer: the Revolution will grab the top spot in the East because they’re one of the rare teams in MLS without significant holes somewhere on the field - e.g. they’ll make it by default. Solid and unspectacular, they’re hard to beat and possess the firepower to punish most teams. New England takes the field with two missions, the second subordinate to the first: Mission 1: Stop the other team from scoring; Mission 2: score as many goals as possible without in any way compromising Mission 1. For what it’s worth, those adjectives - “solid and unspectacular” - get at why they make the finals, but don’t win them. The only question left is, why do I like this team?
What Might Kill ‘Em: Given the thin (certainly cheap, possibly cynical) calculus on which this team operates, they seem one prolonged slip in attentiveness or confidence away from contender, or even meaningful, post-season, status. It’s possible this is happening now, but I’ve waited a while for this slip to come, Steve Nicol to get fired, etc. Even through several series of rookie classes, it never has. What can I say? The man has a system and it works - even if it’s too often uninspiring.
3) DC United
In all honesty, DC is the only team in this mix I can see failing to make the playoffs. But I’ll also admit upfront I don’t know how they do what they do, but the fact remains that they do (got that? Good). Judging by form and appearances, Coach Tom Soehn has figured out how to make the pieces of his mysteriously effective machine work. Christian Gomez doesn’t seem the threat he was in 2006 and both their big-shit new signings still seem to be finding their feet....and, yet, the team from DC keeps making progress; maybe Troy Perkins rediscovering confidence played the key role there. Their middling scores in the significant statistical categories (goals for/against) come from their early season nightmare; the fact they’ve attained respectability speaks up the team’s recovery.
What Might Kill ‘Em: Placing DC so high relies on two suppositions: first, that there’s no shame to losing to Houston on the road and, second, dubbing the loss to Real Salt Lake an anomalous hiccup. The long and the short is that, because DC is a model organization - good fans, plugged-in front office - signs of progress seem reliable. Says here, they’ll make the playoffs.
4) FC Dallas
Call me crazy (cue chorus: “You’re crazy!”), but Dallas’ recent defensive solidity - along with the introduction of some leadership in Adrian Serioux - has me viewing them as 2007’s dark-horse contender; I give tons of credit for that turn-around to Dario Sala, but the rest of the pieces are shaping up as well. Add a return to health for Kenny Cooper into the mix, the likelihood of Carlos Ruiz, at last, slimming down to fighting weight, a great pair of recent additions in Juan Toja and Pablo Ricchetti, and - gasp - useful threats like Arturo Alvarez and Ramon Nunez lurking in the wings, and Dallas looks like a decent candidate for making some noise. There was something curiously inspiring - at least from the point of view of Dallas fans - to that draw with Houston a couple weeks back, ugly as it was. The knock on Dallas has always been fragility, so the sight of them kicking and scrapping walks that one back a bit.
What Might Kill ‘Em: When you’re cursed, you’re cursed. Dallas has to exercise their demons, establish a sense of belief they can win the big ones...whoops, the verb ought to be “exorcise.” It’s Ruiz they need to exercise...
5) Kansas City Wizards
This team can score; assuming Eddie Johnson doesn’t bring his Copa America form home with him, they should score even more. Wayward finishing has hurt them lately, but the chances are coming by, literally, the score. The Wizards are fast, pretty, and fun to watch. The fruits they derive from pressuring teams all over the field showed as recently as this past weekend against LA. The highly relevant question is whether that same pressuring game is what leaves them so vulnerable at the back. If you accept that statement that Dallas sets a Gold Standard (of sorts) for Dodgy Defending, what does the fact that KC has allowed one more goal in the season so far say? (And, it should be noted, in two fewer games.) The hard reality is that KC’s defensive performance ranks with Chicago’s and RSL’s - not good company. Sort out the defense and KC suddenly becomes a contender; but will sorting out the defense take away from the flash offense? That’s the question of KC’s season.
What Might Kill ‘Em: The defense, without question; teams that can shut up shop against these guys will find a way past them eventually.
6) Chivas USA
This constitutes one of my “wacky” pick (OK, the third, perhaps fourth), but I think I’ve got the general picture right, even if I louse up the details: i.e. the post-season will feature a 5-3 split, favoring the Eastern Conference. I’m feel comfortable, though not quite confident, about that call. Where I don’t feel so good is picking Chivas as that team. There’s enough to like about them - beginning with that c-rrazzzy home record (5-0-1, 1 goal conceded) - and, in general, they strike me as a team built essentially right for MLS: solid in terms of shape and equipped with enough lethality to win close ones. On the downside, their 8th in the league for scoring and, at times, it seems like Maykel Galindo is the all the offense they have. Then there’s that road form issue: 1-5-2...ouch. Still, a win or two - or as many ties as possible - in their seven remaining road games and the Goats control their destiny. Not too shabby.
What Might Kill ‘Em: So many different threats: a resurgence from LA; Colorado waking up and realizing they can win, etc. Combine any of these with Chivas’ struggles on the road and they’re one of the three Western Conference teams hitting the links early. For what it’s worth, I count LA getting their shit together the biggest threat.
7) Columbus Crew
I don’t view this as wacky; Columbus, making the playoffs, that is; placing them over New York? Maybe. The thing is, Columbus has as much depth as any team in the league - not quality of depth, but simple depth in the sense of players familiar with and available for familiar with positions. That amounts to guys playing where they’re comfortable, which should spare them the Personnel Hell Red Bull has endured. The Crew’s offense started showing signs of life with the deal that brought in Alejandro Moreno; Guillermo Schelotto has taken care of the running the show. The offense’s stir coincided with another happy event: the up-and-down defense hitting an up in the form of three consecutive clean-sheets and only six goals allowed in their last six games; mixed in all that were seven points of nine against higher-placed Eastern Conference rivals. In general, the trends are good; so long as the Crew keeps guys like Chad Marshall and Schelotto fit and productive they’re a plausible playoff team.
What Might Kill ‘Em: Injuries...or the possibility they'll wake up and remember they're Columbus. I kid, I kid. They’ve got great depth - in midfield in particular, even if it’s a bit green - but not a defense or forward. Take a hit there and this call goes pear-shaped fast.
8) Red Bull New York
Week 4 - y’know, back when no one could score on Red Bull and Dane Richards and Clint Mathis looked like God out there - well, that seems like ten seasons ago with the way Red Bull looks lately. A funny thing about that: it’s not so much that Red Bull simply sucks, but it appears they may just suck on the road - against competent teams, at least. The stretch of June and July games, in which Red Bull allowed 16 and scored only 10, featured six road games out of seven; the two wins they managed came against Colorado and a lucky one against Toronto. Seeing as they stay at home till the middle of August, we should all know a little more about New York by then. In the here and now, the injury-plagued defense draws a lot of commentary - and that is a problem - but there’s plenty more wrong with the Red Bulls, some related to aging Europeans fizzling on the wings. For all that, I get the sense that what’s becoming an annual struggle between Kansas City and New York will recur in 2007, only with a bigger potential prize: whichever team that gets things right soonest could easily bump New England or DC.
What Might Kill ‘Em: The comphrensive funk they’re now in could prove lethal. A lack of depth in defense is the chief structural problem, but they haven’t looked good much of anywhere. Could this be Arena’s first outright, no-safety failure? Will the New York market destroy another reputation? I'd pay to see that (because I'm a horrible, little man).
OK, since I don’t think the rest of these cats will make it, I’ll write shorter pieces for them. And do note the subtle difference in language: it’s no longer “what might kill ‘em,” but “What Might Let ‘Em In.”
9) Los Angeles Galaxy
If there's a fly in the ointment, it lives in LA. I thought they looked pretty good against KC - though that could be down to the Wizards approach buying them crazy amounts of space. Still, the difference between this game and how appallingly horrible they looked in losses to Colorado, Dallas, and the Crew recommends keeping an eye on this bunch. Unlike a number of teams below, LA has made trades to improve - or attempt to improve, anyway. They’re schedule might kill them in the end, but at least the cavalry has arrived.
What Might Let ‘Em In: It won’t take more than “good enough” form, a slip by Chivas, and continued horrible play from Colorado. Way stranger things have happened.
10) Toronto FC
I start the no-hopers list with the team most likely to defy the label. At least Toronto meets losses with determination, even anger; the rest of the remaining teams look flustered and harried. They’ve got the fight, but need to learn to win on the road. And, just to pass on a bit of advice: I don’t think playing both Colin Samuel and Danny Dichio is the answer.
What Might Let ‘Em In: A couple road wins would probably do it - especially if they come against the more vulnerable Eastern teams. Translation: they really needed to beat Chicago this past weekend.
11) Colorado Rapids...
....are in free-fall. Fire Fernando, dudes, your team hasn’t won since May. (Where’s Real Salt Lake when you need them?) On the upside, the main problem looks like offense: the wait for their last two-goal game goes back further still to April. At this point, it’s almost not a question that Clavijo is to blame: the man who excels at getting the most out of human reclamation projects has now built a team of them - and it shows.
What Might Let ‘Em In: The return of that mysterious Rapids/Raiders swagger. When they get in that “us-versus-them” mode, Colorado starts winning - ugly, yes, but winning all the same.
12) Chicago Fire
I don’t know anything about the Fire’s new coach, but I believe one thing to be true: Sir Alex Ferguson couldn’t make winners of this bunch. I kid, I kid. In truth, last weekend’s game against Toronto showed a lot about this Fire team: individual players found ways around the TFC defense, they played in beautiful balls to...to...no one. In one particular memorable (and sad) moment, Chris Armas capped a promising Fire move with a nearly perfect run into the area, but no one followed him, and no one was there to knock in an enticing, yet blind, cross. The thing is, that game was theirs for the taking.
What Might Let ‘Em In: Armas’ run wasn’t the only instance of good play going nowhere. Maybe Osorio will get the Fire’s attackers on the same page. There are useful players, but they’re misfiring to a degree where I want to hide the children.
13) Real Salt Lake
The odds would have to be biblical to make a bet on these guys to make the playoffs worth taking. The smarter bet might be on them beating Chivas’ worst-ever season. Bad, and unlikely to get better.
What Might Let ‘Em In: The Earth opening up and swallowing three teams from each conference. Points deduction for match-fixing among the teams above them. Perhaps a massive bribe to bring Jack Warner into the picture. In other words, it ain’t gonna happen.
Showing posts with label Week 14. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Week 14. Show all posts
MLS Week 14: Part the First
No collective power rankings this week; with the midweek schedule so fat and plentiful, all other schedules seem messy and sideways. Speaking of which, hope everyone had a good 4th of July. Like the schedule, mine was messy and sideways and dealt heavily with children, fireworks, and some locus of fear and admiration of the latter.
Amid all that mess - and a 94-degree day passed in an irresponsible mix of baking and gin - I managed to catch a couple games as well as all the results of Major League Soccer’s (MLS) Week 14, Part One. Thoughts on those two games - and four teams - follow; I’ll also throw in the few thoughts I had on the other results.
Let’s do this chronologically...makes as much sense as anything, right?
FC Dallas 2 - 0 Chivas USA
- Is it just me, or is Dallas finally building a respectable home record? Nope, they’re actually doing it.
- I have to confess I checked out of this one early; Dallas had the lone goal and Chivas didn’t look much like scoring one as the second half dragged on. Needing to see Dallas’ second provided the excuse to watch the highlight reel MLS put together, a production that made Chivas look the better team. I didn’t quite see that in real time: Chivas certainly did create the better openings early, but this was a pretty tight game.
- Dallas eventually, and gradually, took the upper hand; maybe the heat played a role.
- Nice as it was to see Ramon Nunez again (I told that dude he was still alive...have to find a way to collect on that one) and he scored a peach, but the Dallas player I’m enjoying the most lately has got to be Arturo Alvarez. What he does well isn’t showing in the numbers, but he’s doing as much as any Dallas player to shake up the opposition.
- The same can’t be said for a lumbering, long-shooting Carlos Ruiz.
- The most remarkable thing about Dallas’ late form, though, is the improvement in the defense. I’ll be damned if that half-cobbled back four isn’t gelling.
- Or is that gelling only apparent? Did Dallas’ D simply benefit from Chivas’ road woes? Based on how well FCD’s team defense held up against Houston at the end of June, I’m inclined to call it real (and that goes double given the match report to follow).
- The couple openings Chivas found over the top aside, they turned in a pretty unremarkable performance.
- All in all - and I curse them for this - Dallas has me thinking they have a shot again. Dallas has come to the table bluffing so many times that all signs of progress or promise feel like more of the same. On the other hand, Serioux ought to help stabilize the back - and he’s coming soon - Cooper will be back before long, and they’ve got some Brazilian or another in the pipeline, not to mention two of the best foreign recruits in Juan Toja and Pablo Ricchetti. So, damn them, but I’m starting to think Dallas is fer reals again.
- As for Chivas...I’m still trying to get a good bead on them. My present opinion tells me there’s something missing....but what?
Houston Dynamo 4 - 0 Red Bull New York
- Gimme a second, here. I’m helping New York get Houston’s foot out of its ass...
- The emblematic moment of this game for me came at some undetermined moment, perhaps in the second half (damn, cheap gin), when Dave van den Bergh got stood up on Houston’s right, attempted and failed on a short series of fakes, then ended the play by, essentially, giving up and bouncing the ball of the Houston defender; I swear I could feel the lazy, baffled frustration of that kick through the screen.
- The big thing here: Red Bull cannot defend set-pieces...either that, or Houston is just that good on them (their performance against Dallas tells me they’re not). It was just atrocious. And maybe it was the (horrendously cheap, probably toxic) gin working/talking, but I swear I could see the Houston players slip away from their marks on each goal; I mean, you could just see the goals happen in real time, something I can’t normally do in a scrum of players. But, here, the gaps opened so wide.
- Defense aside - the steady collapse of which a blind man totally unfamiliar with soccer could see - something bigger afflicts the Red Bulls. They looked a mess going forward, just a patchwork of soft, wayward passes and dead-end movement off the ball. We’re talking serious misfiring.
- It makes you wonder if MLS’s New York franchise will butcher another reputation. The Bruce suddenly looks less like a genius.
- Speaking of which, I don’t get Markus Schopp. Why he’s starting over Dane Richards - who, the line-up tells me, never got on the field - I’ll never know. Schopp looks slow and grumpy, like a past-it athlete uncle at a family reunion who seems more interested in pointing out your short-comings and sweating than in playing the game.
- I’m a confirmed Clint Mathis whore, so take this with a grain of salt: I thought New York improved once Mathis came on. Then again, that could be a factor of Houston taking their boot off the Bulls’ necks.
- Speaking of Houston, that defense is seriously something. Provided they pick up chances at the other end and put ‘em away, Houston is looking like a powerful outfit again. The scarier thing is that no one particularly stood out; solid all 'round.
- Well, except Stuart Holden, but that’s only because he’s a rookie. Then again, when he scored Houston’s fourth, I bet I wasn’t the only one who thought, “Was that DeRosario?” On the other hand, I might have been (stupid gin....).
- What’s happened to Red Bull? Counting from June 2, they’ve gone 1-4-1 in league play - and, if memory serves, that one win was a fortuitous one against Toronto. Is it just the defense? After all, they scored ten goals during that stretch, which ain’t a bad haul. Whatever it is, they’re definitely yesterday’s darlings.
- On the other hand, since I read this, let the record show that someone (Ian Plenderleith, actually) talks more about Houston's success than Red Bull's failures in analyzing this game.
I only caught the highlights on the rest of these, so I’ll embed MLSnet.com’s match reports under the scores...may as well give you something better than snark to read...
Kansas City Wizards 0 - 1 DC United
- OK, except this one. For some reason, the video didn’t want to work for this game. Here’s a question, though: why don’t I mind? Why does DC so utterly fail to interest me?
- Whatever I think, they’re doing pretty damn well.
- Anyone else get the sinking feeling we might end up with the final predicted in preseason: DC v. Houston? But I don’t wanna pull for Houston!
- Oh yeah, I should mention KC. Anyone have them pegged at #1 any more? More importantly, are they still playing pretty? They need something to redeem their recent, shaky run.
Colorado Rapids 0 - 0 Columbus Crew
- It’s games like this that make me thankful I dropped the Columbus Crew beat for The Offside.
- I genuinely pity anyone who feels compelled to follow Colorado in 2007. They could at least do you the courtesy of sucking outright.
- On the Crew’s side of the ledger, the highlights suggested they had the better of the game. Whether or not that’s the case, this isn’t a bad result for them...keeps the unbeaten streak going at least.
Real Salt Lake 1 - 2 Toronto FC
- Hey, Toronto picked up their first road win...sort of. Well...it was RSL. Does that even count?
- Seriously, does it? Let’s just say the jury on that one is still out.
- RSL, on the other hand, probably just reclaimed 13th spot in everyone’s rankings (except Dan Loney’s, that is).
Los Angeles 2 - 0 Chicago Fire
- I thought LA’s penalties looked suspect, particularly the second, which can be safely filed under “phantom." Turns out, I wasn’t the only one. You can file Ain Plenderleith’s column on those under “incensed.”
- Like Chicago needs more bad luck/bad vibes/bad play. Against that, though, the highlights didn’t record a single instance of the ball leaving Chicago’s half of the field....all right, maybe one instance, but that’s it.
Amid all that mess - and a 94-degree day passed in an irresponsible mix of baking and gin - I managed to catch a couple games as well as all the results of Major League Soccer’s (MLS) Week 14, Part One. Thoughts on those two games - and four teams - follow; I’ll also throw in the few thoughts I had on the other results.
Let’s do this chronologically...makes as much sense as anything, right?
FC Dallas 2 - 0 Chivas USA
- Is it just me, or is Dallas finally building a respectable home record? Nope, they’re actually doing it.
- I have to confess I checked out of this one early; Dallas had the lone goal and Chivas didn’t look much like scoring one as the second half dragged on. Needing to see Dallas’ second provided the excuse to watch the highlight reel MLS put together, a production that made Chivas look the better team. I didn’t quite see that in real time: Chivas certainly did create the better openings early, but this was a pretty tight game.
- Dallas eventually, and gradually, took the upper hand; maybe the heat played a role.
- Nice as it was to see Ramon Nunez again (I told that dude he was still alive...have to find a way to collect on that one) and he scored a peach, but the Dallas player I’m enjoying the most lately has got to be Arturo Alvarez. What he does well isn’t showing in the numbers, but he’s doing as much as any Dallas player to shake up the opposition.
- The same can’t be said for a lumbering, long-shooting Carlos Ruiz.
- The most remarkable thing about Dallas’ late form, though, is the improvement in the defense. I’ll be damned if that half-cobbled back four isn’t gelling.
- Or is that gelling only apparent? Did Dallas’ D simply benefit from Chivas’ road woes? Based on how well FCD’s team defense held up against Houston at the end of June, I’m inclined to call it real (and that goes double given the match report to follow).
- The couple openings Chivas found over the top aside, they turned in a pretty unremarkable performance.
- All in all - and I curse them for this - Dallas has me thinking they have a shot again. Dallas has come to the table bluffing so many times that all signs of progress or promise feel like more of the same. On the other hand, Serioux ought to help stabilize the back - and he’s coming soon - Cooper will be back before long, and they’ve got some Brazilian or another in the pipeline, not to mention two of the best foreign recruits in Juan Toja and Pablo Ricchetti. So, damn them, but I’m starting to think Dallas is fer reals again.
- As for Chivas...I’m still trying to get a good bead on them. My present opinion tells me there’s something missing....but what?
Houston Dynamo 4 - 0 Red Bull New York
- Gimme a second, here. I’m helping New York get Houston’s foot out of its ass...
- The emblematic moment of this game for me came at some undetermined moment, perhaps in the second half (damn, cheap gin), when Dave van den Bergh got stood up on Houston’s right, attempted and failed on a short series of fakes, then ended the play by, essentially, giving up and bouncing the ball of the Houston defender; I swear I could feel the lazy, baffled frustration of that kick through the screen.
- The big thing here: Red Bull cannot defend set-pieces...either that, or Houston is just that good on them (their performance against Dallas tells me they’re not). It was just atrocious. And maybe it was the (horrendously cheap, probably toxic) gin working/talking, but I swear I could see the Houston players slip away from their marks on each goal; I mean, you could just see the goals happen in real time, something I can’t normally do in a scrum of players. But, here, the gaps opened so wide.
- Defense aside - the steady collapse of which a blind man totally unfamiliar with soccer could see - something bigger afflicts the Red Bulls. They looked a mess going forward, just a patchwork of soft, wayward passes and dead-end movement off the ball. We’re talking serious misfiring.
- It makes you wonder if MLS’s New York franchise will butcher another reputation. The Bruce suddenly looks less like a genius.
- Speaking of which, I don’t get Markus Schopp. Why he’s starting over Dane Richards - who, the line-up tells me, never got on the field - I’ll never know. Schopp looks slow and grumpy, like a past-it athlete uncle at a family reunion who seems more interested in pointing out your short-comings and sweating than in playing the game.
- I’m a confirmed Clint Mathis whore, so take this with a grain of salt: I thought New York improved once Mathis came on. Then again, that could be a factor of Houston taking their boot off the Bulls’ necks.
- Speaking of Houston, that defense is seriously something. Provided they pick up chances at the other end and put ‘em away, Houston is looking like a powerful outfit again. The scarier thing is that no one particularly stood out; solid all 'round.
- Well, except Stuart Holden, but that’s only because he’s a rookie. Then again, when he scored Houston’s fourth, I bet I wasn’t the only one who thought, “Was that DeRosario?” On the other hand, I might have been (stupid gin....).
- What’s happened to Red Bull? Counting from June 2, they’ve gone 1-4-1 in league play - and, if memory serves, that one win was a fortuitous one against Toronto. Is it just the defense? After all, they scored ten goals during that stretch, which ain’t a bad haul. Whatever it is, they’re definitely yesterday’s darlings.
- On the other hand, since I read this, let the record show that someone (Ian Plenderleith, actually) talks more about Houston's success than Red Bull's failures in analyzing this game.
I only caught the highlights on the rest of these, so I’ll embed MLSnet.com’s match reports under the scores...may as well give you something better than snark to read...
Kansas City Wizards 0 - 1 DC United
- OK, except this one. For some reason, the video didn’t want to work for this game. Here’s a question, though: why don’t I mind? Why does DC so utterly fail to interest me?
- Whatever I think, they’re doing pretty damn well.
- Anyone else get the sinking feeling we might end up with the final predicted in preseason: DC v. Houston? But I don’t wanna pull for Houston!
- Oh yeah, I should mention KC. Anyone have them pegged at #1 any more? More importantly, are they still playing pretty? They need something to redeem their recent, shaky run.
Colorado Rapids 0 - 0 Columbus Crew
- It’s games like this that make me thankful I dropped the Columbus Crew beat for The Offside.
- I genuinely pity anyone who feels compelled to follow Colorado in 2007. They could at least do you the courtesy of sucking outright.
- On the Crew’s side of the ledger, the highlights suggested they had the better of the game. Whether or not that’s the case, this isn’t a bad result for them...keeps the unbeaten streak going at least.
Real Salt Lake 1 - 2 Toronto FC
- Hey, Toronto picked up their first road win...sort of. Well...it was RSL. Does that even count?
- Seriously, does it? Let’s just say the jury on that one is still out.
- RSL, on the other hand, probably just reclaimed 13th spot in everyone’s rankings (except Dan Loney’s, that is).
Los Angeles 2 - 0 Chicago Fire
- I thought LA’s penalties looked suspect, particularly the second, which can be safely filed under “phantom." Turns out, I wasn’t the only one. You can file Ain Plenderleith’s column on those under “incensed.”
- Like Chicago needs more bad luck/bad vibes/bad play. Against that, though, the highlights didn’t record a single instance of the ball leaving Chicago’s half of the field....all right, maybe one instance, but that’s it.
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