New England Revolution

Sir Alex can talk about winning the double this year but New England Revolution coach Steve Nicol is trying to do him one better by winning the triple. The first leg in the triple was the SuperLiga championship which New England won 3-2 last night in a penalty shoot-out with the Houston Dynamo.

Houston had beaten the New England Revolution in the past two MLS Championship matches so it was not a surprise when Nate Jacqua opened the scoring for the Dynamo in the 18th minute. NE tied the game up right before half-time when Steve Ralston scored.

That is how the teams stood until extra time when Houston regained the lead when reserve forward Kei Kamara headed in a cross from the left side from Brian Ching in the 98th minute. But, in the 102nd minute, New England’s Shalrie Joseph headed in the equalizer for the Revolution, converting an indirect kick from the left side by Steve Ralston.

We headed to penalties where New England player of the year, goalkeeper Matt Reis tipped a shot by Corey Ashe off the crossbar in the eighth round of penalty kicks to give the Revolution the 3-2 victory.

The Revolution who are defending U.S. Open champions meet D.C. United at RFK Stadium in Washington on August 12th. A victory in the nations capital would make the Revolution firm favorites to win their second U.S. Cup of August 26th against Charleston or Seattle.

The third leg in the Revolution’s quest for the triple crown is the MLS Cup where New England has suffered heartbreaking loses in the final in the last two years. The Revolution have the best record in Major League soccer at the half-way point of the season and have to be favorites to make their third MLS Cup.

I have criticized Revolution coach Steve Nichol in the past, but he has quietly built a perennial contender in New England with little fanfare or press. He does a fantastic job scouting young (and cheap) players to plug into his system.

Last night was the final match of Superliga between the New England Revolution and the Houston Dynamo and I decided I needed to make a personal appearance.

This was predicated on three distinct factors. One, the match was only available on a Spanish language television network that I don’t think exists. Two, it was probably the only chance I would ever have to actually see a Championship live and in person. Three, I had such a great time at the first Superliga match that I attended; so I just needed to make an appearance.

For those of you who don’t know what Superliga is, the top four teams in the Mexican league and the top four teams in Major League Soccer go at it in a poor man’s version of the UEFA Cup.

Amazingly, the MLS version of the Buffalo Bills actually won the hardware this year, after beating the Dynamo in a shootout after the full 90 minutes and two 15 minute OT periods.

Instead of a cut and dry rundown on the 120 minute match (plus final shootout), I’m going to hand out awards in a manner I hope you will all find fun and entertaining (or hopelessly boring).

Best Goal of the Match: This is a tough one. On the basis of pure prettiness, you have to go with Steve Ralston’s goal in the 41st minute. It came at a nearly impossible angle and I was sure that even if you shot it, it would hit the side of the net.

On the basis of momentum, it goes to Shalrie Joseph’s goal at the 102nd minute, only four minutes after the Dynamo went up 2-1 in the extra period.

Most Annoying Fan of the Match: The Englishman who sat behind me and commentated the whole match. It was extremely annoying. My personal favorite was when he said the EPL was better than the MLS. Gee, really? Next thing you know, he was going to tell me that the sun rose in the East that morning.

Worst Clearance of the Match: No doubt about it, it goes to Rev’s defender Amaechi Igwe. The Dynamo sent a long free kick into the Rev’s penalty area, which Igwe ran on to and flicked back over his head (I have no idea why) and it just stopped dead. Dynamo Forward Nate Jacqua, who was making his run, happened upon this gift and easily put it past Matt Reis in the 18th minute.

Player of the Match for the Revs: As much as I hate giving it to the guy with the stats, it has to go to Steve Ralston. He had the pretty goal to even it at 1-1 in the first half, and then served up the assist off a free kick to Joseph’s head to tie it at 2-2.

Number two would be forward Mauricio Castro. Only played 70 minutes, but he was running all over the field, causing havoc for the Dynamo defenders. That’s the stuff you don’t see on the score sheet.

Worse Man-Crush of the Match: The Englishman behind me had a huge crush on Dewayne De Rosario. Everything he did was “pretty” or “amazing” or “outstanding.” I mean, he’s good, but this guy was about five minutes away from picking out a China pattern.

Player of the Match for the Dynamo: Man-Crush aside, I have to give it to De Rosario. He did all the things you want. He opened up the offense, he made runs, he caused fits for the defenders, and he kept going for the full 120 minutes.

Number two would be Rev’s defender Amaechi Igwe. He did everything to help the Dynamo. If the game had gone any longer, I’m sure he would have scored an own goal.

Best Quote of the Match #1: As the second OT period was winding down, I turned to the Duchess and said “If this goes to a shoot-out, it’ll be like Man U/Chelsea, except on a much, much smaller scale.” She rolled her eyes. Hey, what are girlfriends for?

Best Quote of the Match #2 – Near the beginning of the match, the aforementioned Englishman was asked by his daughter which player was De Rosario. His answer was “The one with the ponytail.” Um, there was no player on the pitch with a ponytail.

This was nearly as classic as the Trinidad & Tobago/US World Cup Qualifier I was at when some guy was praising Dwight Yorke for some play that Stern John had made. When I finally pointed out this error to him, he stayed quiet for the rest of the match. Good times.

The past two days have seen two American teams face two Mexican teams.  The result: An all American Superliga Final.

In the end, the United States will tie Mexico in the Superliga Championship standings, each with one.  The question that has yet to be answered however is: What American side will be crowned the Champions?  

Will it be the Beast of the East, New England Revolution? Maybe it will be a team that got off to a slow start in the West but has been playing extremely well of late, The Houston Dynamo.  Either way, this will prove to be a very exciting match.
 
In the MLS Final last fall, these two teams battled, and in the end, while one of them was going to have to fall short, you thought they both deserved the glory of victory. This game also pits two teams trying to achieve different things.
 
Houston is a team that has high expectations, but due to a slow start, is just hoping to make the playoffs, let alone win the regular season, or even the Western Conference.  Then they will go from there.  New England has consistently been one of the MLS' top teams, but doesn't have a championship to show for it.  

They have actually only won one trophy, the 2007 US Open Cup.  New England has a chance to go for not only the Triple Crown this season (Superliga, MLS Regular Season, MLS Cup) but are now in the semifinals of the US Open Cup.

Will New England finally be able to put some trophies in its case, or will they continue to plagued with adding to the list of runner-up honors?

Back to Houston, they were in this game last year, but fell on penalties to finish as the runner-up.  But they don't have a shortage of trophies winning the MLS Cup.  They have proven they can win the Cup, going 2-0 in their championship history.  Ironically, the last two finals have been between Houston and New England.  

This will be the third, and probably not the last, final between these two squads.  They always play a good, entertaining game, and I am sure this one will not disappoint.

The Semifinal Results:

Houston 2 - 0 Pachuca CF

New England 1 - 0 Atalante

My prediction:

Halftime:  0-0

Full Time: 1-1

120 Minutes: 1-1

Penalties:  New England 4 - 3 Houston

The final will take place Tuesday August 5 at 8 PM in Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts.

Dear Major League Soccer,

I've been holding this in for some time, but I think it's time I expressed my true feelings:

I hate you.

I know this may seem harsh after the long relationship we've had. From DC United's MLS Championships to Ricardo Clark's assault on Carlos Ruiz. From McBride leaving the Crew to Taylor Twellman crying every year at the finals. It's been a great ride, but I can't hide it any longer. I hate you.

Every weekend I am forced to watch slow, boring, uninteresting and horrific soccer. It's painful. But like an annoying girlfriend that's been around for years and years, it's been hard to sever the tie.

Of course, there are Brian Ching's amazing headers and DeRosario's ridiculous bending free kicks. Then there is the speed of Dominic Oduro and the flying saves of Matt Reis. I won't deny that you give me some action here and there, but it's time you accept the fact that it's just not good enough. The problem is that the breathtaking moments happen rarely.

For the most part, it's terrible.

I hope that one day you will realize that the reason for your lack of quality, dullness, horrible first touches, and never ending turnovers can easily be fixed with one small adjustment. Beckham isn't playing in the United States because of prestige or distinction. He is here for the money, and maybe because the United States isn't a bad place to live and work, especially when your wife is the boss.

He is here because he is making $1,000,000.00 per week. Whether it's endorsements, jersey and ticket sales, Adidas contracts or just plain salary. Beckham makes more in one day than some MLS players make in a year.

It doesn't sound right because it isn't right. It's simple: quality players will leave when they are offered more money.

Adjust your salary regulations and maybe the future Altidores will be happy with their surrounding players, their salary and (oh yes, it IS possible), world class play in the United States. Until then, we are officially on a break and I will be fulfilling my needs with every means possible.

Even if it means watching Mexico's horrific excuse for a league.

Until we meet again, Diego

The Boston Celtics became the latest team to win a championship in the city of Boston. Since 2002, Boston has enjoyed six championships.

New England Patriots: They have been a dominate team since the 2001 season, when they went on to win Superbowl XXXVI. They have been in the playoffs every year since 2003 as division champs and have been to Superbowls XXXVIII and XXXIX and won them both. In the 2007 season, the Patriots were the first team since the 1972 Miami Dolphins to finish the regular season undefeated before losing Superbowl XLII to the New York Giants back on February 3.

Boston Red Sox: They were cursed by the Curse of the Bambino. On October 27, 2004, the Boston Red Sox broke the 86-year curse and won the World Series. During the 2007 season, they finished first in the AL East for the first time since 1995, had the best regular season record, 96-66 in the 2007 season, and it all ended on October 28, 2007 with a second World Series title in four years.

Boston Celtics: During the 2006-2007, they finished the season with one of the worst records in the league that season, 24-58. During the 2007-2008, they had a complete turnaround ahd finished 66-16, first place in the conference and WON THEIR 17th NBA CHAMPIONSHIP!

Boston Bruins: They made the playoffs in 2008 and they lost in the first round to the Montréal Canadians. They have not won a Stanley Cup since the 1972.

New England Revolution: They have made it to the MLS Cup three straight times from 2005-2007 and they lost in all three seasons. The Revolution have a chance to win the MLS Cup in 2008.

The stretch between October 2007 and June 2008 was the first time in a while that all four major league teams and the Revolution made it into the postseason! Not to mention, every pro team in the major sport leagues, except for the Bruins have made it to their final matchup during that stretch.

Watch out world! Boston is a City of Champions for the decade!

On Friday night the New England Revolution behind first-half goals from Adam Cristman and Steve Ralston beat F.C. Dallas 2-1. Cristman scored his third goal of the season in the fifth minute, sending a diving header into the left corner off Sainey Nyassi’s cross from the right wing.

Ralston scored his second goal of the season in the 22nd minute on a penalty kick to help the Eastern Conference-leading New England (7-3-2) extend its unbeaten streak to five matches. New England midfielder Jeff Larentowicz was flagrantly fouled by Dallas defender Drew Moor in the penalty box area and Ralston converted the free shot to the lower right corner past goalkeeper Ray Burse.

I was at the game which preceded the international friendly between Brazil and Venezuela. As the picture shows, most of the crowd in the first half came dressed as empty seats.

It was a game of two half’s as New England totally dominated the first half and as bad as Dallas were in the first half, they were that good in the second. Sainey Nyassi for the Revolution was really impressive in the first half and he had the beating of the Dallas fill back whenever he got the ball. You would think that with such an offensive weapon that NE would have kept feeding Nyassi the ball. But no. Revs coach Steve Nichol is way to conservative for that.

Instead of feeding Nyassi and going for the third goal that would have killed the game off, New England reverted to its rope-a-dope strategy, just like they did in the MLS Cup last year against Houston. Instead of pushing men forward to attack, NE plays held back and let Dallas get back into the game. If it wasn’t for the brilliance of Revolution goalkeeper Matt Reis, this game would have ended up like the MLS Cup with New England losing.

Nichols must think that the Revolution can shut up shop and protect a one goal lead. But this is not Liverpool that we are talking about Steve. Your New England Revolution has more holes in it that Swiss cheese. This is three games in a row that Reis has bailed out the Revs. He won the game in Columbus against the Crew, earned them a draw against DC United and then won last nights game. The Revolution might be in the first place in the East but they are dong it with smoke and mirrors and unless something dramatic happens to tighten up that Revolution defense it is gong to be a long season in Foxboro.

MLS POWER RANKINGS (06/03):

1. Chicago Fire [last week 1]:  No game, no move. The best get to rest and the lesser squads of MLS get a brief respite from getting burned by the Fire.
2. New England Revolution [last week 3]: That was some gritty stuff coming back from the 2-0 deficit. Taylor Twellman? Who needs ‘em when you got Dube!
3. Columbus Crew [last week 2]: A disappointing loss for sure. The offense looks like it has slowed since its early spurt. Schmid needs Schelotto to find more space.
4. Toronto FC [last week 5]: I would have laughed if you told me TFC would be #4 in Week 10. Then again, their schedule has certainly been home heavy so far.
5. Los Angeles Galaxy [last week 4]: Nobody plays well in the confines of BMO. But of course, the Galaxy will never play well without Becks & Donovan.
6. New York Red Bulls [last week 6]: NYRB has wasted its hot start and can’t get anything going offensively. They are getting outmuscled by weaker squads.
7. Kansas City [last week 7]: No game, no move. What a weird schedule for KCW. Hopefully, the Jimmy and the rest of the Wiz put the week off to good use.
8. Colorado Rapids [last week 8]: To be the best, you have to want it more than everyone else. The Rapids wanted it more than Dallas, and McManus proved it.
9. Chivas USA [last week 10]: Guzan lives! Enjoy the shutout (which haven’t been as plentiful as last season). Two early strikes is all it took for Preki’s pals.
10. Houston Dynamo [last week 11]: Houston, we have a pulse. The Dynamo played like last year’s tough-as-nails squad and secured a classic HOU 1-0 victory.
11. Real Salt Lake [last week 12]: RSL has to enjoy blowing out another squad. Sure, it was the worst team in the league, but I’m betting RSL fans will take it.
12. FC Dallas [last week 9]:  Oduro is the only one attacking the net and the defense continues to cede late goals. The new coach’s roster is a revolving door. Uh-oh… 
13. DC United [last week 13]: DCU showed in the first 60 minutes against NER they still had the talent to be a top team. Then, in the last 30, they showed why they don’t. No fitness.
14. San Jose Earthquakes [last week 14]: I told you it would be a long year. Is there no one that can save SJE’s season? Well, maybe. Brian McBride is available.

Player of the Week: Kheli Dube. I have to say, Dube’s receipt of this week’s honor has nothing to do with the vulgar, racist language he was taunted with in Columbus last week. Rather, he earns the hardware strictly based on his on-the-field pursuits.

He set up the Rev’s first goal and scored the second, and all game he was their offensive focal point. Dube was the center of controversy and could have let distraction detrimentally affect his game. Instead, he played like a champion and forced his team into a draw when most teams would have laid down for a loss. Congratulations, sir. Both on your play, and the way you have conducted yourself in the midst of a MLS debacle.

Here are the reports from this weekend's Major League Soccer games. The highlights were the LA Galaxy’s hammering of FC Dallas, the Houston Dynamo’s second consecutive win this season and Chivas coming from behind to win a game for the first time in their history

Los Angeles 5 - FC Dallas 1
The Galaxy scored four goals - including two by Edson Buddle—within a 15-minute span midway through the first half en route to a 5-1 victory over FC Dallas. Buddle went on to complete a hat trick five minutes from the end on a header at the left goalpost off a cross from David Beckham. The win moved the Galaxy (3-3-2) into sole possession of second place in the MLS Western Division standings, while FC Dallas (2-3-3) dropped to fourth in the division with the loss.

Dynamo 2 - Fire 1
The Dynamo (2-2-4), has won twice in a row after struggling for more than a month for win No. 1. The two-time defending MLS Cup champions also won for the third time in three games at Toyota Park, and handed the Fire (5-2-1) their second loss at home this season.

Crew 0 - Toronto FC 0
Columbus (6-1-1) had a five-game winning streak ended. Laurent Robert nearly scored for Toronto in the 60th minute, drifting in from the right, beating two defenders and sending a left-footed shot past goalkeeper William Hesner and off the post. Columbus hasn’t lost in six games while Toronto (3-2-2) is unbeaten in five.

Revolution 2 - Earthquakes 0
Kheli Dube scored for New England (5-3-1) in the sixth minute, before Riley’s own goal in the 23rd. San Jose (1-5-1) only had one shot on target and four overall. Taylor Twellman didn’t play again for New England because of an injured ankle.

Chivas USA 3, DC United 1
Chivas came from behind to win a match for the first time in club history. After Marcelo Gallardo put DC ahead in the 30th minute, Chivas’ Jesse Marsch tied the match in the 73rd minute. Jorge Flores scored a late goal to help give Chivas (2-4-2) a two-goal cushion. DC United fell to 2-6 and remained winless in four road games.

Wizards 1, Red Bulls 1
Danleigh Borman’s late goal lifted the 10-man New York Red Bulls to a 1-1 tie with the Kansas City Wizards on Saturday night. Borman’s second goal of the season came in the 81st minute, when he took a pass from Juan Pablo Angel and beat Wizards goalkeeper Kevin Hartman. Jimmy Conrad gave Kansas City (3-3-2) the early lead when he scored on a header in 20th minute off a corner by Carlos Marinelli. The Red Bulls (3-1-3) extended their unbeaten streak to five games.

New England Revolution beat FC Dallas 1-0, which was Dallas’ first loss of the season.

The only goal in the prime time Thursday night MLS game was in the 72nd minute as Khano Smith fired a ball from the left side of the box giving the Revs a 1-0 lead, which would be the final score. Smith received a pass from Kheli Dube and darted into the box eluding a Dallas defender and fired a shot past Dallas goalie Dario Sala.

Dallas was the last team in the MLS that had not lost a game this year. New England’s record now stands at 3-2-1 and Dallas is now 2-1-2. To make matters worse for Dallas is that they lost the game at home.

When asked after the game about his goal Smith said, “I beat (McCarty) and it actually touched his hand, but the referee let the play go on, so I was able to get in front of him and get to the ball. I was trying to go outside and he kept shoving me inside, so that’s when I got into the box and decided to have a shot with my right (foot).”

In the 85th minute is looked as if Dallas FC would be awarded a penalty kick after Dallas striker Arturo Alvarez went down in the penalty box after contact with Revs fullback Amaechi Igwe. But instead of awarding FC Dallas a penalty referee Alex Prus gave Alvarez a yellow card for taking a dive in the box. The yellow card was a surprise for Alvarez, who said about the incident, “(Prus) didn’t say anything to me. He just gave me a yellow after I got hit,” My quad is really hurting right now. It happens a lot of times, but it’s just very disappointing that I got the card. There was, for sure, contact.”

Andre Rocha had two chances to tie the game but missed from only 10 years out in the 87th minute and was just wide only seconds later.

New England head coach Steve Nicol said after the game, “We knew we had to keep it tight because they do throw men forward. So it was important that we didn’t leave any holes. The objective was to come here and be solid. We wanted to find our feet in the game and get forward. I think we did that.”
The first half saw very few scoring opportunities for both teams, as FC Dallas only had 1 shot on goal, while New England had 3. In the second half both teams had a few chances to score but Smith’s goal was the only ball that found the twine.

FC Dallas head coach Steve Morrow said about the game, “We needed to get the ball in quicker at times, especially in the first half. We got a lot of good spots in the last third of the field and should have had a goal on a cross into the box. We talked about it at halftime, and I think we did better in the second half. We’ve had a good start (but) we’re disappointed to give up our unbeaten run here at home.”

Kansas City in first place? D.C. United in last place? Toronto FC on a 2 game winning streak? Those are the facts and even though the MLS season is still very young there have been many surprises in the Eastern Conference.

Many people picked D.C. United to be the Eastern Conference representative in the MLS Finals with all the off-season acquisitions that the team made. So much press was given to United that it seemed they were the only team that made any moves. Well, so far in the young season those moves have not translated to success. United is in last place with only 3 points and sports a record of 1-3-0. 3 losses already and they have lost two in a row, losing to Columbus 2-1 at home and getting embarrassed 4-0 against Real Salt Lake. Their only win was against lowly Toronto.

Did I just say lowly Toronto? FC Toronto has won 2 games in a row including a 3-2 win over the L.A. Galaxy in L.A. Toronto is 2-2-0 and is in the middle of the pack in the Eastern Conference. Their lack of scoring last year was well chronicled and they did not make the changes that many, including me, thought would help their lackluster offense. But apparently their offense is starting to click, as the young franchise is on a 2 game winning streak and is at the .500 mark for the first time in team history.

Many people thought Kansas City would be a surprise pick for the East and so far they have looked good. They are in first place in the Eastern Conference, after winning the match up of 2 of the top 3 teams in the East with a 1-0 win over the Chicago Fire. Kansas City is wining with a solid mid-field game and have dominated possession in all but one of their games. Overall the Wizards have scored 7 goals and given up 5 goals in their 5 games. They have a record of 3-1-1 to sit atop the Eastern Conference.

The Columbus Crew have been another early season surprise, as they are alone in 2nd place with a 3-1-0 record. If you are looking to watch an exciting high scoring game tune into a Crew match up as they have scored 8 goals in 4 games, but given up 6 goals as well. Conversely if you like low scoring defensive soccer tune into a New York Red Bulls game. The Red Bulls have been playing great defense in the early part of the season only giving up 3 goals in 3 games. The only thing is they have only scored 3 goals, which translates to a record of 1-1-1 and a 2nd to last place standing in the conference.

New England has played decent being 2-1-2, which puts them at the middle of the pack in the East. They have scored 7 goals in the 5 games but have also given up 7 goals. They are just biding their time until they get goal-scoring machine Taylor Twellman back from a knee injury. The Chicago Fire have been playing well, as their defense has been stellar only giving up 2 goals in 4 games. Both Chicago and New England are tied for 3rd place in the Eastern Conference with 7 points each.

The season is young and a lot can happen in the upcoming months, but not many would have predicted this wild start in the Eastern Conference.