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Timbers come back to gain a draw with the Sounders

Posted by Chris Singer on September 15, 2012 at 9:33 pm MLS, Portland Timbers, Seattle Sounders

Sep 152012

Rodney Wallace’s equalizer in the 78th helped the Portland Timbers (7-14-7, 28 points) come back for a 1-1 draw against Cascadia-rival Seattle Sounders.

After a scoreless first half, Fredy Montero put the Sounders ahead in the 57th minute, merely 20 seconds after keeper Joe Bendik came off the bench to replace an injured Donovan Ricketts.

Here’s some quick takeaways from today’s match:

* Give the Timbers credit

Few people thought the Timbers would even be in this match, let alone get points out of it. Since losing to the Timbers on June 24th, the Sounders have been on a tear, going 6-1-4 in MLS and 10-1-5 in all competitions. I thought the Timbers played better than expected and gave the Sounders a good battle, even coming close in the 90th minute to steal three points when a set piece led to a Bright Dike shot off the far post.

* Still…

That said, the Sounders are not the same team without Mauro Rosales and Christian Tiffert on the pitch. While Fredy Montero and Eddie Johnson are having terrific seasons, Rosales seems to be the key guy for the Sounders.

* Rodney Wallace

I think that was the best match I’ve ever seen Wallace play in a Timbers uniform.

* Kosuke Kimura

Kimura’s performance once again left a lot to be desired. He just can’t seem to gel with his teammates, and he’s very tentative offensively. Too many giveaways and passes to nowhere. There’s not much season left, I’d like to see Ryan Kawulok get a shot at right back.

* More Danny Mwanga please

Mwanga was a nice spark off the bench for the Timbers and he immediately drew attention from the Sounders defense. I’d like to see Mwanga get big time minutes and have a chance to finish the season strong.

* Set pieces were key for the Timbers

It was good to see Jack Jewsbury taking corner kicks again and that switch led to some excellent opportunities in the box for the Timbers with Hanyer Mosquera, Rodney Wallace (with the goal) and Bright Dike all getting chances.

* Updated Cascadia Cup Standings

Game stats:

Portland Timbers (7-14-7, 28pts) vs. Seattle Sounders FC (13-6-9, 48pts)
Sept. 15, 2012 – JELD-WEN Field

Goals by Half 1 2 F
Seattle Sounders FC 0 1 1
Portland Timbers 0 1 1

Scoring Summary
SEA: Montero (Gspurning), 57
POR: Wallace (Jewsbury), 78

Misconduct Summary
SEA: Johnson (Caution), 26
SEA: Martinez (Caution), 79

Lineups & Stats
POR: GK Ricketts (Bendik, 57), D Kimura, D Mosquera, D Horst, D Smith, M Nagbe, M Jewsbury ©, M Chara, F Zizzo (Alhassan, 83), F Dike, F Songo’o (Mwanga, 72)

Substitutes Not Used: D Danso, M Alexander, F Boyd, F Fucito

TOTAL SHOTS: 17 (Jewsbury, 4); SHOTS ON GOAL: 3 (Wallace, 2); FOULS: 12 (Chara, 4); OFFSIDES: 1; CORNER KICKS: 9; SAVES: 2 (Bendik, 2)

SEA: GK Gspurning, D Johansson, D Hurtado, D Parke, D Gonzalez, M Zakuani (Martinez, 70), M Alonso ©, M Rose, M Evans (Burch, 78) , F Montero, F Johnson

Substitutes Not Used: GK Ford, D Ianni, D Scott, M Caskey, F Ochoa

TOTAL SHOTS: 15 (Montero, 5); SHOTS ON GOAL: 2 (Montero, 2); FOULS: 11 (Gonzalez, Johnson, 2); OFFSIDES: 3; CORNER KICKS: 2; SAVES: 2

Referee: Ricardo Salazar
Assistant Referees: Peter Manikowski, Mike Kampmeinert
4th Official: Jesus Cisneros
Attendance: 20, 438
Time of Game: 1:53
Weather: Sunny, 74 degrees

Highlights:

Aug 272012

Philadelphia v Real Salt Lake

Poor NBC Sports. This match was a stinker. Real Salt Lake was pretty tired from playing in the CONCACF Champions League earlier in the week and the Philadelphia Union are never a guarantee to play any form of attractive soccer. The match ended in a 0-0 draw. Man of the Match went to the MLS video crew who somehow were able to fill up a highlight video over 4 minutes long.

Montreal v DC United

The Montreal Impact continue to be one of the hottest teams in MLS right now after registering their 5th win in a row, defeating DC United 3-0. Troy Perkins registered his second shutout in his third game with the team and Marco Di Vaio gave the Impact the lead for good in the 24th minute, getting his 3rd goal of the season. Patrice Bernier continued his fantastic season scoring two second half goals to seal the victory. DC United coach Ben Olson received a bit of criticism after the match after deciding to sub out star players, Dwayne DeRosario and Chris Pontius in the first half. The Impact are now only 1 point out of the 5th Eastern Conference playoff spot.

Columbus v New England

This was an absolute goalfest with Columbus defeating New England 4-3. Read the entire match recap from GFT Columbus Crew blogger, Adam Uthe.

Houston v Toronto FC

Houston Dynamo coach Dominic Kinnear could not have been happy on Saturday night after seeing his team dominate a good portion of the match only to allow Toronto FC to equalize in the 85th minute. The Dynamo took the lead in the 21st minute when Will Bruin chipped the ball over a charging Freddy Hall. After a stellar first half, the Dynamo couldn’t maintain the same level of energy. Toronto finally took advantage of some sluggish play from the Houston backline after Terry Dunfield made a run through box and connected with a Darren O’Dea cross to steal a point for his team.

San Jose v Colorado

The Earthquakes got two goals each from Simon Dawkins and Alan Gordon to demolish the Colorado Rapids 4-1 and extend their home winning streak to 14 games. Gordon continued his stellar play which resulted in a call up to the United States National Team earlier this month. He now has a career-high 11 goals. San Jose remains the top team in MLS with a 15-6-5 (50 points) record. For the Rapids, at least they were able to pad on more air miles to their account. It was a truly dismal effort, even with it being on the road, for the Rapids.

Vancouver v Portland

The Portland Timbers finally got their first win under Gavin Wilkinson (0-5-2 in the previous 7 matches) and also went to the top of the Cascadia Cup standings after beating the Vancouver Whitecaps 2-1 Saturday night. Darlington Nagbe became the first Timbers player to get a goal in three games in a row and Franck Songo’o scored his first career MLS goal off a free kick to lead the Timbers. The Vancouver Whitecaps continued their struggles on the road this season and are now in the midst of a six match winless streak on the road. Read more about this match on the GFT Portland Timbers blog.

Seattle v Chivas USA

The Seattle Sounders put on a goal-scoring clinic and thoroughly embarrassed Chivas USA in a 6-2 drubbing at the Home Depot Center in Carson, CA. Fredy Montero’s first MLS hat-trick propelled the Sounders to an easy victory and their fourth in five matches. The Sounders are now 2nd in the Western Conference standings and their recent form has put the rest of the league on notice as one of the teams to beat in the MLS Cup Playoffs. Despite some promising trades and signings this summer (Danny Califf, Juan Agudelo, Shalrie Joseph) and having one of the top goalkeepers in MLS, Chivas USA can’t seem to right the ship and there’s no doubt that Robin Fraser is on the hot seat.

FC Dallas v Los Angeles

Galaxy take sole possession of the Western Conference’s fourth position by punishing FC Dallas mistakes to win 2-0. Read more about this game from our LA Galaxy blogger, Vincent LaRosa.

Sporting KC v New York

As if Sporting KC’s 1-1 draw to the New York Red Bulls wasn’t disappointing enough, Coach Peter Vermes also had to deal with the news that Teal Bunbury would miss the remainder of the season with a torn ACL injury. Read more about this match from Sporting KC blogger, Brian Sanders.

UPCOMING MLS ACTION:

Sounders Send Galaxy Crashing to Earth

Posted by Vincent LaRosa on August 6, 2012 at 3:12 pm Los Angeles Galaxy, MLS, Seattle Sounders

Aug 062012

Shooting up the standings and posting an impressive 7-2-1 record in their last 10 matches, the buzz around the LA Galaxy was they were finally back to championship form. Add reigning defender of the year Omar Gonzalez back to the mix, and LA seemed a no-brainer for the playoffs. The Galaxy had even pulled within one point of third-placed Seattle.

That’s when the Sounders put LA back in their place.

sp00054576 image Sounders Send Galaxy Crashing to Earth

In Seattle for the second time this season, the Galaxy had no Olympic, European or national team excuses this go around, as head coach Bruce Arena fielded one of his strongest sides of the year with all three designated players starting and Gonzalez at the center of defense. But just like their 2 – 0 loss to the Sounders three months prior, Sounders forward Eddie Johnson scored the match’s opening goal and the Galaxy never recovered.

With LA fielding arguably their most talented midfield and back line combination of the season, Seattle started the match with immediate pressure on the Galaxy defense, looking to clog LA passing lanes through midfield and strike quickly on the counter. And in the match’s 6th minute, Seattle took just two passes from midfield to beat the Galaxy defense.

As Osvaldo Alonso jogged the ball to midfield, the Sounders immediately when into attack springing forward Fredy Montero down the right channel. The Colombian’s first touch sent a pinpoint cross into his partner, Johnson, and the forward headed home before Gonzalez or the LA Galaxy could make a challenge. The lighting quick strike put Seattle up 1 – 0, a lead they would build on throughout the second half.

While the Galaxy enjoyed a bulk of the possession during the match, Seattle remained content on exposing LA on the counter and would go on to add goals by Montero, Alex Caskey and Andy Rose to complete the rout of LA, who came the closest to scoring when Landon Donovan was found by David Beckham long ball behind the Sounders defense and just 12 yards from goal. The forward was unable to get a clean shot off the 1v1 as the ball wouldn’t settle for the striker due to the field turf at Seattle’s CenturyLink Field.

The Galaxy might also have had legitimate shouts for a penalty when down the lone goal in the first half as AJ De La Garza was brought down by defender Leonardo Gonzalez in the penalty area in the 15th minute. Although the Seattle defender won the ball, it seemed he impeded De La Garza first, bringing the Galaxy defender to the ground, but the referee immediately waived away the Galaxy’s pleas.

The loss ends LA’s 5-game unbeaten streak and separates the two teams by 4 points in the standings. LA heads back to the Home Depot Center Sunday for the final installment of the SuperClasico against Chivas USA.

Three things we learned about the Timbers on Sunday

Posted by Chris Singer on June 26, 2012 at 8:01 am MLS, Portland Timbers

Jun 262012

The Rose City is still glowing from the Timbers fantastic result on Sunday against the dreaded neighbors to the north. While there is still plenty of work left to do (Colorado on Saturday) and things that still need to be addressed by the team (backline, Nagbe to name a few), I’d like to put out three things to take away from Sunday.

1.) The Timbers have heart, spirit and toughness. Sure, there have been glimpses at times but fans also remember both Dynamo matches from 2011, and even more recently, in Montreal. It may have taken almost a season and a half to prove it beyond a shadow of a doubt, but the Timbers showed on Sunday that they do indeed have the toughness and heart to back each other on the pitch.

boydnomeansnomontero Three things we learned about the Timbers on Sunday

Bad Fredy!

2.) “Care like we do.” The lowlight of the Timbers season was clearly the Cal FC loss in the U.S. Open Cup. During the match, the Timbers Army chanted “Care like we do” to the players on the pitch. On Sunday, I’m pretty sure fans learned that the Timbers definitely care. Pick a player and you can come away with countless examples of how much they cared on Sunday.

horst scores Three things we learned about the Timbers on Sunday

Horstache!

3.) Steven Smith is the Timbers left back now and for the future. If you give any credence to first impressions, Steven Smith’s wasn’t the greatest. The Montreal match was ugly on many counts and while Smith was by no means match-fit, it was hard to find positives about his presence on the team. Over the last few matches, Smith has steadily shown progress and after Sunday’s fantastic match (he was Man of the Match in my opinion), it’s clear Smith just needed to find his legs. If there’s anyone on the team who knows how important it is to give Kris Boyd a ball to his feet, it would be Smith. And he did so in quite possibly, the most important match of the Timbers young MLS existence.

* * *

More later this week. In the meantime, enjoy the highlights below.

MATCH HIGHLIGHTS:

MATCH STATS:
Scoring Summary
POR: Boyd (Smith), 16
POR: Horst (Songo’o), 25
SEA: Johnson (Scott), 58

Misconduct Summary
SEA: Evans (Caution), 18
POR: Chara (Caution), 43
POR: Alonso (Caution), 48
POR: Alhassan (Caution), 53
POR: Smith (Caution), 73
POR: Jewsbury (Caution), 90
SEA: Montero (Ejection), 90+1
POR: Palmer (Ejection), 90+2

Lineups & Stats
POR: GK Perkins, D Jewsbury ©, D Danso, D Horst, D Smith, M Alhassan (Zizzo, 54), M Chara, M Nagbe, M Songo’o (Palmer, 78), F Fucito (Mwanga, 66), F Boyd

Substitutes Not Used: GK Bendik, D Chabala, D Purdy, M Alexander

TOTAL SHOTS: 13 (Boyd, Horst, 3); SHOTS ON GOAL: 3 (Boyd, 2); FOULS: 15 (Boyd, 4); OFFSIDES: 4; CORNER KICKS: 5; SAVES: 5

SEA: GK Weber, D Parke (Ianni, 42), D Scott, D Hurtado, D Burch, M Rosales ©, M Alonso, M Evans (Rose, 46), M Caskey (Cato, 75), F Montero, F Johnson

Substitutes Not Used: GK Meredith, D Gonzalez, F Levesque, F Ochoa

TOTAL SHOTS: 15 (Johnson, 3); SHOTS ON GOAL: 6 (Alonso, 2); FOULS: 23 (Montero, 6); OFFSIDES: 0; CORNER KICKS: 8; SAVES: 1

Referee: Ricardo Salazar
Assistant Referees: Peter Manikowski, Mike Kampmeinert
4th Official: Jasen Anno
Attendance: 20,438
Time of Game: 1:56
Weather: Partly Cloudy, 67

Timbers Pre Game Thoughts

Posted by Chris Singer on June 24, 2012 at 8:30 pm MLS, Portland Timbers

Jun 242012

The Portland Timbers (3-6-4, 13 points) play host to longtime rivals Seattle Sounders (7-4-4, 25 points) for a massive Cascadia Cup matchup (2 p.m. PT) at Jeld-Wen Field.

3 Quick Thoughts:
1.) Mike Fucito gets his first start for the Timbers. I like this move. Mwanga obviously isn’t quite 100% fit for today’s match (dead leg/calf injury) and Fucito has been working feverishly in training to earn the start. And what a start too – against his former teammates. This could be exactly what the Timbers need to jumpstart them today.

2.) Darlington Nagbe can’t be invisible today. Quite frankly, Nagbe has been a disappointment lately and his recent negative play (37 out of 39 completed passes against the Galaxy were backwards) has really hurt the Timbers. The Timbers need the Nagbe that showed so positively against Real Salt Lake if there’s going to be any chance for 3 points today.

3.) Spencer needs to step up. I was very bothered by one of Coach John Spencer’s quotes this week about games like this not being about tactics but only about the work effort of the players. For me, that was a set up to take all the responsibility of today’s result off of his shoulders. That disappointed me and because Spencer’s tactics, substitutions and other decisions have been such an issue, I would like to see Spencer just once take some responsibility. Today, if things are clicking for the Timbers, he must pull the trigger and act boldly instead of just saying, “Well the players didn’t get it done.”

TIMBERS STARTING LINEUP:
XI:
GK Troy Perkins
DEF Jack Jewsbury (RB), Futty Danso (CB), David Horst (CB), Steven Smith (LB)
MF Kalif Alhassan (LM), Diego Chara (DCM), Darlington Nagbe (CM), Franck Songo’o (RM)
FW Mike Fucito, Kris Boyd

BENCH:
GK Joe Bendik
DEF Mike Chabala, Steve Purdy
D/M Lovel Palmer
MF Sal Zizzo, Eric Alexander
FW Danny Mwanga

SOUNDERS STARTING LINEUP:
XI:
GK Andrew Weber
DEF Zach Scott (RB), Jeff Parke (CB), Jhon Kennedy Hurtado (CB), Matt Burch (LB)
MF Mauro Rosales (LM), Ozzie Alonso (DCM), Brad Evans (CM), Alex Caskey (RM)
FW Freddy Montero, Eddie Johnson

BENCH:
GK Bryan Meredith
DEF Patrick Ianni, Leo Gonzalez
F/M/D Roger Levesque
M Andy Rose
F/M Cordell Cato
F Sammy Ochoa

INJURY REPORT:

PORTLAND TIMBERS – OUT: DF Eric Brunner (concussion); DF Rodney Wallace (R ankle sprain)

SEATTLE SOUNDERS FC – OUT: FW Babayele Sodade (R knee ACL tear); FW David Estrada (L foot fracture); DOUBTFUL: GK Michael Gspurning (R hip strain); DF Leo Gonzalez (L quad strain); DF Adam Johansson (R hamstring strain); MF Steve Zakuani (R leg fracture); QUESTIONABLE: GK Josh Ford (R knee stress fracture); DF Patrick Ianni (lower back pain)

INTERNATIONAL ABSENCES: none

SUSPENDED: POR: Hanyer Mosquera; SEA: Alvaro Fernandez (through June 24)

WARNINGS:

SUSPENDED NEXT YELLOW CARD: SEA: Fredy Montero, Eddie Johnson

SUSPENDED AFTER TWO YELLOW CARDS: POR: Kris Boyd, Lovel Palmer, Diego Chara … SEA: Osvaldo Alonso, Zach Scott

PREDICTION:

Throw out the records and just sit back and enjoy MLS’ best rivalry. Timbers and Sounders play to a 1-1 draw. Be safe at the game everyone!

Match Preview: What Do You Mean They Don’t Have Real Grass?

Posted by Vincent LaRosa on May 2, 2012 at 3:49 am Los Angeles Galaxy, MLS

May 022012

After stealing a point at home against FC Dallas, LA travel to take on the Sounders in Seattle.

Don’t call it a comeback. Especially, since they only stole a point in the dying embers of their last match at home. But the Galaxy are starting to climb to a more respectable position in the standings as of late.

Wednesday’s match at the Sounders should be a real litmus test for this Galaxy team.

Starting the season with a less than “champion-like” effort, LA has managed to avoid defeat in their last three. But having victimized a now quickly sinking Portland Timbers side, albeit with the help of a dubious offside call, and been bailed out by the quick reflexes of goalkeeper Josh Saunders in Colorado and Pat Noonan back in LA, a good showing against a side of Seattle’s caliber will go a long ways to signal which way this team is in fact headed.

AP111030041581+(1) Match Preview: What Do You Mean They Dont Have Real Grass?

Los Angeles Galaxy goalkeeper Josh Saunders makes a save during the first period of an MLS soccer match against the New York Red Bulls Sunday, Oct. 30, 2011, Newark, N.J. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)

Sadly, one of those recent heroes will not be with the Galaxy. Today, the LA Times broke that Saunders would be entering a substance abuse program and be unavailable to the team indefinitely. The goalkeeper did not play in LA’s draw with FC Dallas due to what the team and head coach Bruce Arena called “personal reasons.” After the match, Arena would not give a timetable and preferred to keep the explanation simply at personal matters, but now we know the Galaxy no. 1 will definitely not be traveling with the team. Bill Gaudette will likely be in net again after his excellent spot performance last Saturday.

Also likely not on the plane to Seattle, none other than David Beckham. The Englishman’s poor relationship with artificial turf has been longstanding, and as ESPN’s Scott French is reporting, he did not participate in training Monday. With a marquee match against the NY Red Bulls looming Saturday, it was unlikely the midfielder would take part anyways, but with the Galaxy sorely misfiring in attack in recent games, Beckham’s absence may hurt that much more and it will be interesting to see how Arena shuffles his attack in response.

Much of LA’s struggles this season has been in part to their inability to keep the opposition off the scoreboard. Seattle boasts one of the better striker forces in the league with Fredy Montero, the addition of Eddie Johnson and recent discovery of David Estrada’s attacking prowess. It will be interesting to see how stable the Galaxy backline has become, even with the loss of their starting keeper.

Kick-off in Seattle is 7:00 pm PST.

As mentioned already, Josh Saunders has entered what is likely a very difficult time in his life. It should be a reminder to all of us that substance abuse can happen to anyone, and it’s no joke. I had the good fortune of knowing Josh before he was a professional when he coached the goalkeerpers at my high school. He was a great goalkeeper and even better guy then, and someone I looked up to. My thoughts go out to him and his family, and I’m pulling for him in light of this setback.

Match Day #6, Seattle Sounders Preview

Posted by GFT Editor on April 27, 2012 at 2:48 pm Chicago Fire, MLS

Apr 272012

The Chicago Fire (2-1-2) host the Seattle Sounders (3-1-1) tomorrow night in a battle of teams playing catch up with the rest of the league. The Fire are coming off a tough, tough road win against Toronto; while Seattle had a week off after defeating Colorado 1-0 two weeks ago. Only Houston has played as few games as the Fire and Sounders. The debate of “would you rather have games in hand or not” is only really relevant toward the end of the season, so the focus of this match, for the Fire, will be revenge.

Seattle is giving the “Kings of the Cup” some serious headaches, having won the last three US Open Cups, including last year’s 2-0 win over the Fire. (The Fire still have 4 Cups in six finals appearances.) In fact, the Fire have never beaten the Sounders in regular season MLS play either, they hold a 0-3-3 record all time versus the men in (neon) green.

The Fire will be without defender Cory Gibbs (knee surgery recovery), returning hero Chris Rolfe (ankle sprain) and probably veteran Marco Pappa (international duty). If Pappa misses the match, or even starts on the bench, this will give some of the new additions a chance to shine. If head coach Frank Klopas decides to keep Patrick Nyarko at forward, I’d bet that Rafael Robayo gets the start on the wing. If Nyarko drops back to cover the left wing, Federico Puppo will most likely get the nod at forward next to Oduro. Either way, it will be nice to see if some of the newcomers have what it takes to make an impact with the team.

For Seattle, Alvaro Fernandez is listed as doubtful, but Brad Evans and Mauro Rosales are both down as probable.

With or without Rosales, Seattle has enough weapons and options to give the Fire endless headaches. The Fire will need to defend well and would be well served to watch this excellent video from MLS a few dozen times.

Pause and Pardo need to break up the attacking play of Seattle, Dom needs to use the jets and maybe, just maybe, Seattle will…(the answer is somewhere in this song)

For The Fans

Posted by GFT Editor on October 22, 2011 at 5:39 pm Uncategorized

Oct 222011

Fan Appreciation Night at The Home Depot Center as Chivas USA’s season finale is against the Sounders.

Chivas%2BUSA vs SeattleSounders For The Fans

Chivas USA will hope to end their season on a high note when they take on the Seattle Sounders tonight at the Home Depot Center.

Chivas USA are coming off their 1-0 defeat to pesky cross hall rivals the L.A. Galaxy last weekend, while Seattle are mending their 2-1 defeat to Monterrey in the CONCACAF Champions League this past Tuesday.

With no playoff matches for Chivas USA to look forward to this gives the Rojiblancos the perfect opportunity to show their supporters their gratitude.

“We gotta win.” said Chivas USA goalkeeper Dan Kennedy “We gotta give our fans something to cheer about. That’s what it’s about.”

Injury News
Paulo Nagamura will miss the season finale with a broken right foot, defender Michael Umaña may also miss the match after suffering a knee sprain on international duty. Simon Elliott is considered probable after being forced off after just 10 minutes with a quad strain in Chivas USA’s reserve match vs. Vancouver. Justin Braun is also probable after missing last weekend’s match with a calf injury, Heath Pearce made his return last weekend following his hamstring injury replacing David Junior Lopes in the final 45 minutes.

Chivas and Seattle first squared-off on Aug. 13, playing to a scoreless draw at CenturyLink Field. The Sounders had a great opportunity to take the lead in the 19th minute when Alvaro Fernandez earned a penalty after knocking the ball off Chivas defender Michael Umaña’s arm. But his attempted penalty kick came back off the post.

The Sounders are a tough opponent away from home. Seattle have not lost an away match since July 30th when the Houston Dynamo beat them 3-1. This should be a good match up for the two clubs and for everyone who is attending this match. I am curious to see who Robin Fraser will put in the center of defense will he keep the Andrew Boyens and David Junior Lopes partnership? Or will he start Heath Pearce?

Since it’s Fan Appreciation Night Chivas USA is giving anyone in attendance a chance to win some really great prizes. For a list of the prizes click on the link below. The fun begins at 7:30 p.m at the Home Depot Center.

http://www.cdchivasusa.com/fans/fanappreciation

The Rojiblancos vs. The Reds

Posted by GFT Editor on September 23, 2011 at 11:23 pm Uncategorized

Sep 232011

Chivas USA vs Toronto FC The Rojiblancos vs. The Reds

Chivas USA’S return to the Home Depot Center tonight to face Toronto FC. The Rojiblancos are coming off a 2-2 draw against D.C. United which still leaves them with a chance at the final wild card spot. It will be a tough task as Chivas USA must win all of their four remaining matches which includes the likes of LA Galaxy, Philadelphia Union and Seattle Sounders, but first they must beat Toronto.

Chivas USA broke their four match winless streak as they drew with D.C. United on Wednesday. Two goals from Juan Pablo Ángel in the second half brought the match level, but a stoppage time penalty save from Chivas goalkeeper Dan Kennedy made sure the boys in red and white returned to California with a point.

“Getting the point is critical.” said Head Coach Robin Fraser “At this point, certainly there’s a host of teams that are kind of at the bottom and looking up into the playoff race and every point you get is critical at this time. Obviously we’d like to have gotten three, but a point is better than no points at all.”

Toronto FC defeated defending MLS Champions Colorado Rapids 2-1 this past weekend putting them seventh in the Eastern Conference on thirty points. They have won back to back matches their best streak this whole season. Toronto are hoping to make it victory number three tonight, but face a Chivas side still fighting for the chance to play in the postseason.

I am curious to see which line-up Robin Fraser will start with, we know that Toronto like to play with three in the back, he has options to exploit that defense the question is who will he use. As we saw against D.C. United two strikers are better than one and with the additions of Laurent Courtois and Justin Braun in the second half of that match it was easier to supply Angel and Moreno with passes.

Toronto has never won away when they have played Chivas USA. In fact they have been shut out in three of their last four meetings. I feel confident Chivas USA can get all three points, if they play like they did in the second half of the D.C. United match then they have every chance of winning.

Boos and Yellows

Posted by GFT Editor on August 15, 2011 at 10:03 pm Uncategorized

Aug 152011

Chivas USA earn a point in Seattle

It was a scrappy battle from both sides as Chivas USA and Seattle Sounders FC played to a 0-0 draw on Saturday. Boos echoed throughout CenturyLink Field at the final whistle as Seattle Supporters felt they were robbed of two points.

Seattle was coming off of a 2-1 win over Sporting Kansas City that saw the Sounders nab two injury time goals to claim the victory. Chivas USA arrived to the Emerald City with a victory under their belt as they defeated the New England Revolution 3-2 in Foxborough last weekend.

Both squads searched and generated many goal opportunities throughout the match with Seattle dominating most of the match with ten shots on goal compared to Chivas’ four.

Seattle had a golden opportunity take the lead after being awarded a penalty in the 18th minute.

An attempted cross from Alvaro Fernandez struck the arm of Michael Umaña and the referee immediately pointed to the spot. Fernandez took the penalty kick and hit the post. The rebound came back into play but richocheted off Chivas goalkeeper Dan Kennedy before rolling out of play.

Chivas had a good chance to go ahead in the 40th minute Alejandro Moreno pulled off a nice back flick that allowed Nick LaBrocca to break through the defense leaving him one-on-one with Sounders goalkeeper Kasey Keller. Keller rushed off his line and blocked LaBrocca’s shot, deflecting it out to defender Zach Scott who cleared it out of danger.

Seattle had another great chance to get the lead when Freddy Montero looked certain to score inside the box, but Michael Umaña blocked the shot with a sliding challenge to deny the Colombian.

Chivas USA goalkeeper Dan Kennedy had a good day as he recorded his eight clean sheet of the season. Kennedy made two big saves in the second half with the first coming in the 50th minute. Erik Friberg’s shot from outside the box deflected to Pat Noonan whose attempt was heading goalward when Kennedy dived to his left to push it away. With 13 minutes left, Alvaro Fernandez was denied again. James Riley sent a cross to the back post and Fernandez’s shot from close range was blocked by the feet of Dan Kennedy.

Controversy struck in the final minutes of the match when Lamar Neagle was brought down by new Chivas signing David Junior Lopes in the box in what appeared to be a sure penalty. It appeared the referee had pointed to the penalty spot, but referee Kevin Stott signaled for a goal kick to the dismay of the Seattle players and supporters.

Stott handed out five yellow cards in the match with three of them to Chivas USA. The way the match was heading I am surprised no one was shown a red.

The draw gives the Sounders 42 points putting them third in the Western Conference. Chivas USA remains in sixth place with 30 points they are still in the playoff hunt and currently sit in the last Wild Card berth.

.

The Rojiblancos will travel to Dick’s Sporting Goods Park to face Western Conference rivals Colorado Rapids. Chivas’ fourth consecutive road match will take place on Saturday, August 20th with kick off at 6:00 pm PT.

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