Dynamically Impacted

Last night we celebrated a superb first match of the 2013 MLS Playoffs in which Seattle and Colorado offered beautiful footballing art as Seattle moved on to meet their archrivals, Portland Timbers. Quite the opposite happened tonight as the Houston Dynamo FC welcomed the Montreal Impact FC in their orange-clad house. This match was not close although Houston played well and Montreal showed glimpses of their brilliance.

As typical, both teams started off hot but very early on it became clear that Houston had control of the game and Montreal did not. Houston played a well-rounded game from the opening whistle. The team had a good understanding of their strategy in defense, midfield, and attack. Montreal seemed to be quite dangerous on a few occasions in the attacking third but their defense and even the midfield struggled to find a rhythm. The defense, in particular, seemed uncoordinated at best. It appeared that Andrew Wenger was going to serve as a lynchpin for Marco Di Vaio but that certainly did not happen as Di Vaio, a reliable prolific scorer, often found himself waiting for passes or having to crawl back to the center line to get a couple of good touches on the ball. In defense, Camara and Rivas struggled.

The Houston mastermind, Dominic Kinnear, knows exactly which buttons to push once his team makes the playoffs. Truthfully, the Dynamo cannot boast with their performance during the long stretch of the 2013 season, but once in the playoffs they turn on a different switch and all of a sudden they look like potential contenders for the MLS Cup. Brad Davis was his usual self; simply playing a superbly reliable match all 90+ minutes. Boniek Garcia who is quickly becoming a venerated personality in Honduras, whose national team he helped greatly to become a participant at next year’s FIFA World Cup in Brazil, was excellent covering great ground and interchanging positions with Will Bruin and Brad Davis seamlessly. Barnes Giles, played a solid game all around. A great source of hope for the Dynamo is Will Bruin who seems to have re-found his scoring boots at the right time. He was excellent both in terms of skill and work ethic. Houston goalkeeper Tally Hall deserves praise, as he was simply fabulous. The composed keeper was probably their most consistent player all season long and he just informed the rest of MLS that he’s serious about his job.

The match was unfortunately very rough on the part of the Impact players. A few of them seemed relentless about taking down the Houston players. It made for an ugly match on more than one occasion. The referee Mark Geiger did a fine job, but there’s only so much a man can do. Nelson Rivas, who had a sub-par performance in the center defense for Montreal was cautioned repeatedly and ended up seeing yellow twice, immediately followed by red. The Impact was basically done by that point anyhow, but the sending off of Rivas really seems to have been the nail in the coffin. The saddest part is that for about 10 minutes prior to that Montreal was finally getting some fluidity to their attack with a couple of subs that had come in. Sadly the end of the match is marred by yet another tantrum by some Montreal Impact players. Montreal’s Andres Romero kicked Seattle’s Kofi Sarkodie while down after the whistle, followed by the traditional shoving which quickly escalated to serious pushing and shoving, even chocking and scratching by the famous Marco Di Vaio. This was simply horrible and unacceptable. Referee Mark Geiger correctly red-carded both Romero and Di Vaio leaving only eight Montreal footballers on the pitch. The game ended soon after with Houston moving on based on their excellent 3 – 0 win, but even more importantly with great dignity.

What might one say about this childish outburst on the part of the Montreal players?! Sad! Unfortunately, some of us who have followed the Montreal Impact for many years through the USL and NASL, this does not surprise us. Such reaction by a losing Montreal Impact side has become expected. Even one of the color commentators called them ‘sore losers’ and they certainly came across that way. Now, before too many accusations fly about, please take note that this writer does not believe all Montrealers, nor even the Montreal Impact to be sore losers but something must be addressed in the organization in order to change this club attitude when faced with a loss. This experience was especially disappointing considering that the Montreal Impact have played a superb season all year long. Needless to say, the Impact are a serious organization and they will address this matter responsibly.

The first two elimination matches of this year’s playoffs are done and now we move into the weekend with great anticipation. Congratulations to Seattle and Houston and good luck to all the teams already dreaming of lifting the coveted MLS Cup.

Battle in Seattle

The first game of the MLS Playoffs 2013 has ended with the expected victory of the much-hyped Seattle Sounders FC of the visiting Colorado Rapids FC. It would have been quite the upset, had the Rapids defeated the Sounders on their home pitch in front of their excited, and somewhat weary fans. It was not to be a night of upsets.

As expected, there was much anticipation about the match, especially being the first of this year’s playoffs. The MLS Cup run has been a difficult aspect of Seattle’s MLS history in spite of all other successes, on the pitch, in the front office, and especially in the stands. For all intents and purposes the Sounders had a shaky season, but they continued to make headlines with their fans and most notably with the signing of superstar Clint Dempsey. The US men’s national team and Tottenham Hotspur striker returned to MLS making history in the process, but that story is well known at this point. The MLS Playoffs leading to MLS Cup still puzzle football fans across the world, but in English-speaking North America they seem to energize us. The Colorado Rapids have an MLS Cup in their cupboard from 2010, and they have done well this year also.

The match began with plenty of spark from both teams as is typical these days throughout the world. Both teams made every effort to score early. The first 10 minutes went by and the teams settled in, and both kept an upbeat tempo, however, Seattle seemed to make many more connections in the attacking third. The first goal came from Brad Evans with a superb strike that sent the Sounders fans into jubilation. Rightly so! They really attacked the Colorado net constantly. The Rapids were not deterred and they continued to play with great energy, inspired in no small measure by Colorado coach Oscar Pareja. The second half is always expected to bring about a change of sorts, particularly for the team that’s down a goal facing elimination. Indeed, in the second half we saw more energy and strategic thoughtfulness from the Rapids. There was also a noticeable difference in the drive of the Sounders, especially after the 1-hour mark. This was to be expected as Seattle Coach Sigi Schmidt was clearly already planning for the next match against Portland, whose coach Caleb Porter was already well into his pages of notes sitting comfortably a few rows up from the legendary Seattle coach.

The match was nearing the end as both teams played with lots of heart; Colorado fighting for their first goal and Seattle managing the game toward the final whistle. The whole match was very entertaining with lots of great plays and many attempts at goal from Seattle. The pitch is populated by 22 footballers with great passion for this sport, their respective teams and cities. At times it was a little rough but referee Silviu Petrescu deserves great accolades for managing these two teams superbly. With less then 10 minutes left, the unthinkable happened. A quick attack by Colorado and Seattle goalkeeper Michael Gspurning catches the ball just a couple of feet outside the area. Naturally, Petrescu showed him the red card. The entire Seattle fanbase skipped a heartbeat collectively at that point. Backup keeper Marcus Hahnemann, the 41-year old Seattle native comes in and does well for the final 10 minutes or so. This was a dream come true for this incredible goalkeeper who still plays top-flight football at his age. He is an inspiration. But, of course, 10 minutes is plenty of time to score two goals with the attacking prowess of Colorado in the likes of Gabriel Torres and the experienced Edson Buddle. Dershorn Brown was kept away from the Seattle net most of the night, but now the Rapids were one man stronger. Not only did Seattle keep the Colorado attacks at bay but also Eddie Johnson scored an insurance goal, which sent the fans into a frenzy. This was a great finish for the Seattle team and fans. Clint Dempsey, Leonardo Gonzalez, and Osvaldo Alonso had a superb showing throughout the match. Dempsey in particular was able to deliver more than 20 excellent passes. His greatest contribution, in this writer’s opinion, is his ability to move without the ball. This type of cerebral playing strategy freed up players like Neagle and Johnson to attack more easily. The first goal scored by Brad Evans was, in fact, a direct result of the Deuce pulling two Colorado defenders with him which gave Evans all the time in the world to place that shot exactly where he wanted it, beautifully stretching the net. The entire Seattle team played well. Colorado also played very well, and hopefully they take satisfaction and pride in that as they retreat into the Rockies. The next season is just around the corner and they have much to look forward to next year as well.

The 2013 MLS Cup run has begun with a bang and we have more to come. Seattle are already preparing for Saturday’s match against their Cascadian neighbors to the south. Houston will play host to Montreal and this also promises to be a fantastic match between teams with great attackers. Predictions will fly in all directions, and hearts will either soar or be crushed but all will enjoy every moment of our beautiful game.